Abstract: In one example, the disclosed apparatus is a substrate contact-ring to support a substrate. The substrate contact-ring includes a peripheral structure sized and configured to support the substrate within the substrate contact-ring. The peripheral structure includes a substantially flat ring-section, and a spaced array of contact fingers mechanically coupled to the substantially flat ring-section. Each of the spaced array of contact fingers is resiliently movable to engage an edge of the substrate supported within the substrate contact-ring. A proximal end of each of the contact fingers is mechanically coupled to the flat ring section of the substrate contact-ring and a distal end of each of the contact fingers is resiliently movable radially inwardly and outwardly of the substrate contact-ring to alternately engage and release the edge of the substrate when the substrate is alternately being supported or removed from the substrate contact-ring. Other apparatuses and methods are disclosed.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for predicting recommendations for a user interface. The method includes generating a graphical user interface that receives an input from a user of a client portal, crawling tasks associated with the user in the client portal, ranking the tasks according to an intent associated with the input from the user, fetching at least one task from the ranked tasks, calculating a quantity of steps to complete the task from the ranked tasks; identifying one or more slots used by the task in at least one step from the quantity of steps, and generating one or more recommendations comprising a subsequent action for the user to complete the task.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for immersive guidance using a supply chain execution platform. The method comprises monitoring and receiving input comprising user interaction and user input signals, detecting a user intent within a supply chain execution environment from the user input signals, determining associated focus prompts and action prompts, displaying immersive guidance to the user comprising a visual prompt using augmented reality and updating the immersive guidance based on real-time user action updates received from one or more sensing devices. The method further comprises where the user intent further comprises a series of prompts for the user that guide the user through completion of one or more tasks and where the focus prompts are determined based on eye cornea reflection tracking and facial expressions.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for performing multimodal fusion for e-commerce. The method includes monitoring a focus prompt of a current user, detecting a response of the current user corresponding to a displayed item, collecting attributes of the displayed item at different levels and track a focus and an emotional state of the current user, calculating an action-based similarity to generate a recommendation score of action similarity, applying collaborative filtering on a user-user similarity, identifying a most similar user to the current user based on the applied collaborative filtering to generate a user-user similarity, combine the recommendation score with the user-user similarity and superimpose a response classifier to generate a combined adaptive weighting scheme, identifying top suggested actions the current user is expected to perform based on the combined adaptive weighting scheme, and recommending an item or service to the current user based on the top suggested actions.

Abstract: A nanofiber for an air filter and a method for manufacturing the same are proposed. The nanofiber may include a styrene-(meth)acrylate-acrylonitrile random copolymer having a zwitterionic functional group in a side chain. The nanofiber can greatly enhance the bonding of particulate matter (PM) particles with the surface of a polymer by having a high dipole moment derived from the zwitterionic functional group, thereby providing high efficiency of filtration (>99.9%) of the PM particles. Furthermore, the nanofiber can be very usefully used as a core material for air purifier filters and vehicle air purification filters by having low airflow resistance and excellent antibacterial properties.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a driver stage comprising a pull-up driver circuit coupled to a pull-down driver circuit. The apparatus includes a driver-supporting circuit coupled to the pull-up driver circuit and the pull-down driver circuit. The apparatus includes a resistor ladder coupled to the driver-supporting circuit. The apparatus includes an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuitry coupled to the resistor ladder and an input/output (I/O) pad.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for virtual planogram automation comprising receiving, by a planogram planner comprising a server, image data from imaging devices of products prior to the display of the products in a product display area at a retail entity, detecting changes in a product based on the received image data, performing simulated annealing to generate new planogram options by generating a planogram option in response to received image data and one or more received KPI's, incrementing the planogram option according to neighboring states of the planogram parameters, calculating an objective function measuring optimality of the incremented planogram option, repeating the generating, incrementing and calculating steps until a stopping criterion is met according to the objective function, and determining a final planogram based on the stopping criterion being met.

Abstract: A decision feedback equalizer (DFE) includes a first sample-and-hold (SH) circuit to generate a first voltage signal pair based on an input voltage signal, a second SH circuit to generate a second voltage signal pair based on the input voltage signal, and a first comparator circuit to generate a first output voltage signal based on the first voltage signal pair, a first feedback signal, and a second feedback signal. The first SH circuit generates the first voltage signal pair at least based on a first clock signal. The first SH circuit is configured to limit the first clock signal to at least a 25% duty cycle based on limiting a conversion phase delay associated with the first clock signal, narrowing a reset phase of the first clock signal, and generating a hold phase of the first clock signal based on the narrowing of the reset phase.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for predicting recommendations for a user interface. The method includes generating a graphical user interface that receives a conversation-based input from at least one user of a client portal, receiving a user profile and a navigation history for the user, providing the conversation-based input from the user to a natural language processing engine, decoding using the natural language processing engine an intent and slots from the conversation-based input; and generating one or more recommendations based, at least in part, on the intent, the slots, the user profile, and the navigation history.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology generally relate to systems and methods for providing an interface to securely handle messages from 5G services for network monitoring purposes. In an example, a packet encoder is provided as an interface handler. The packet encoder may receive from one or more network functions (NFs) in a communication exchange on a 5G network, an input including a plurality of messages. Upon receipt, the packet encoder may determine an input format from the input and determine an output format for a feed generated based on the plurality of messages. The packet encoder may also translate the plurality of messages from the input format to the output format, where the input format is different than the output format, and the feed includes the plurality of messages in the output format. The packet encoder may then transmit the feed to a network monitoring system.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology generally relate to systems and methods for providing an interface to securely handle messages from 5G services for network monitoring purposes. In an example, a network traffic monitoring system is provided as an interface handler. The network traffic monitoring system may receive from a plurality of network functions (NFs) in a communication exchange on a 5G network, a first plurality of messages, determine microservices to apply to the first plurality of messages, and process, by respective microservice modules, the first plurality of messages using the microservices. The network traffic monitoring system may also generate a feed based on processing the first plurality of messages using the microservices and transmit, to a network monitoring system, the feed, where the first plurality of messages is in an input format and the feed is in an output format, the input format being different than the output format.

Abstract: An optical computation system includes a light source configured to produce a pump beam, an optical modulator configured to modulate the pump beam based on the modulation mask to generate a modulated beam, a non-linear medium configured to convert a portion of the modulated beam to a second harmonic (SH) beam and to produce an output including the SH beam and an unconverted portion of the pump beam, and a dichroic mirror configured to receive the output of the non-linear medium and to decouple the SH beam and the unconverted portion of the pump beam, a detector configured to detect a first optical power of the unconverted portion of the pump beam and to detect a second optical power of the SH beam, and a controller configured to generate an updated modulation mask based on the first and second optical powers for transmission to the optical modulator.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology generally relate to systems and methods for providing an interface to securely handle messages from 5G services for network monitoring purposes. In an example, a packet encoder is provided as an interface handler. The packet encoder may receive from one or more network functions (NFs) in a communication exchange on a 5G network, an input including a plurality of messages. Upon receipt, the packet encoder may determine an input format from the input and determine an output format for a feed generated based on the plurality of messages. The packet encoder may also translate the plurality of messages from the input format to the output format, where the input format is different than the output format, and the feed includes the plurality of messages in the output format. The packet encoder may then transmit the feed to a network monitoring system.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology generally relate to systems and methods for providing an interface to securely handle messages from 5G services for network monitoring purposes. In an example, a network traffic monitoring system is provided as an interface handler. The network traffic monitoring system may receive from a plurality of network functions (NFs) in a communication exchange on a 5G network, a first plurality of messages, determine microservices to apply to the first plurality of messages, and process, by respective microservice modules, the first plurality of messages using the microservices. The network traffic monitoring system may also generate a feed based on processing the first plurality of messages using the microservices and transmit, to a network monitoring system, the feed, where the first plurality of messages is in an input format and the feed is in an output format, the input format being different than the output format.

Abstract: In accordance with the present disclosure, a switch under maintenance indicates to one or more of its neighbors that it will go into maintenance mode. The switch can add a maintenance indicator in a message to the neighbors. This “tagged” message informs the neighbor devices of the switch's intent to go into maintenance mode. After a time subsequent to sending the tagged message, the switch under maintenance advertises a message to the targeted neighbors to divert traffic away from itself. The neighbor computes a new path while at the same time continuing to receive traffic on the old path. Graceful switchover occurs when the neighbor sees traffic on the new path and, in response, stops traffic on the old path without losing traffic.

Abstract: Event processing techniques for updating a database in real time based on events in a continuous event stream are disclosed. The techniques can update the database to incorporate information from thousands of received events per second. The events can include metrics measuring milestones for an organizational process defined by a user. Moreover, multiple streams can include metrics from many tenants concurrently. The techniques include receiving, from a first user device, information identifying a group identifier for a first action object. The techniques then include assigning the identifier to the first action object and to at least one other action object.

Abstract: In accordance with the present disclosure, a switch under maintenance indicates to one or more of its neighbors that it will go into maintenance mode. The switch can add a maintenance indicator in a message to the neighbors. This “tagged” message informs the neighbor devices of the switch's intent to go into maintenance mode. After a time subsequent to sending the tagged message, the switch under maintenance advertises a message to the targeted neighbors to divert traffic away from itself. The neighbor computes a new path while at the same time continuing to receive traffic on the old path. Graceful switchover occurs when the neighbor sees traffic on the new path and, in response, stops traffic on the old path without losing traffic.

Abstract: Event processing techniques for updating a database in real time based on events in a continuous event stream are disclosed. The techniques can update the database to incorporate information from thousands of received events per second. The events can include metrics measuring milestones for an organizational process defined by a user. Moreover, multiple streams can include metrics from many tenants concurrently. The techniques include receiving a plurality of events corresponding to a time interval and identifying that two events share a value of a key attribute. The techniques then include causing to be generated an in-memory combined database record comprising a combination of first and second attribute information from the two events and the value of the key attribute. In response to a trigger signal, the techniques include transmitting a single message, based at least in part on the combined database record, to update the database.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for predicting recommendations for a user interface. The method includes generating a graphical user interface that receives an input from a user of a client portal, crawling tasks associated with the user in the client portal, ranking the tasks according to an intent associated with the input from the user, fetching at least one task from the ranked tasks, calculating a quantity of steps to complete the task from the ranked tasks; identifying one or more slots used by the task in at least one step from the quantity of steps, and generating one or more recommendations comprising a subsequent action for the user to complete the task.

Abstract: An ingress provider edge (IPE) device of a provider network receives a packet from outside of the provider network. The IPE device determines the packet is to be transmitted to a device on an Ethernet segment on which the IPE device is multihomed. The IPE device transmits the packet on the Ethernet segment even though the designated forwarder for the Ethernet segment is from IPE device. Furthermore, the IPE device labels the packet with an IPE identifier that identifies the IPE device for the packet, and forwards the labeled packet to other devices on the provider network. An egress provider edge (EPE) device that is (a) multihomed on the same Ethernet segment as the IPE device and (b) is the designated forwarder for the Ethernet segment receives the packet. The EPE device refrains from transmitting the packet on the Ethernet segment.