òòò½Íø

In various embodiments, an optical alignment structure may be provided. The optical alignment structure may include a light carrying structure configured to receive an input optical light from an external light source. The optical alignment structure may further include a light redirection mechanism coupled to the light carrying structure. The light redirection mechanism may be configured to receive the input optical light from the light carrying structure. The light redirection mechanism may be further configured to redirect the input optical light back to the light carrying structure, the redirected input optical light configured to be detected by a detector for alignment of the optical alignment structure with the external optical source.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an energy harvesting apparatus, including: an energy harvester for generating electric power from an ambient source; a power conditioning circuit coupled to the output of the energy harvester; including: a boost converter module; a buck-boost converter module; and a power modification control module; wherein the power modification control module is configured to initialize the energy harvesting apparatus from inactivity to a normal energy harvesting state by operating the boost converter module, and operating the buck-boost converter when an output voltage of the power conditioning circuit rises to a predetermined value. A corresponding method of operating an energy harvesting apparatus is provided.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a flip-flop circuit is provided. The flip-flop circuit includes a first stage circuit and a second stage circuit, wherein each of the first stage circuit and the second stage circuit is operable in two modes of operation, and a driver arrangement, wherein the first stage circuit includes a first transistor and a first non-volatile memory cell connected to each other, wherein the second stage circuit includes a second transistor and a second non-volatile memory cell connected to each other, and wherein the driver arrangement is configured, at a clock level, to drive the first stage circuit in one of the two modes of operation to access the first non-volatile memory cell and, at the clock level, to drive the second stage circuit in the other of the two modes of operation to access the second non-volatile memory cell.

An automatic frequency control (AFC) device is provided. The AFC device includes an input module, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) module and a carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation module. The input module down converts and samples a received signal. The RSSI module is coupled to the input module and calculates a RSSI signal in response to the down converted and sampled received signal. The CFO estimation module is coupled to the input module and the RSSI module and calculates a moving average of binary elements of the down converted and sampled received signal. The CFO estimation module continues to calculate the moving average until the AFC converges.

A system and method for speech-to-singing synthesis is provided. The method includes deriving characteristics of a singing voice for a first individual and modifying vocal characteristics of a voice for a second individual in response to the characteristics of the singing voice of the first individual to generate a synthesized singing voice for the second individual. In one embodiment the method includes deriving a template of first speech characteristics and first singing characteristics in response to a first individual's speaking voice and singing voice and extracting second speech characteristics from a second individual's speaking voice, then modifying the second speech characteristics in accordance with the template to generate the second individual's approximated singing voice and aligning acoustic features of the second individual's approximated singing voice in response to the first speech characteristics, the first singing characteristics and the second speech characteristics to generate the second individual's synthesized singing voice.

The invention relates to a method to encapsulate nanoparticles into a protein cage by inserting the nanoparticles into the core through holes. Currently commercially available nanoparticles can be functionalized using the inventive method. The inventive hybrids have applications in biosensing and bioimaging. The use of an affinity between poly-histidine chains and nitrilotriacetic acid as chelating reagent to obtain the inventive cages and hybrid assemblies by the method according to the invention is shown in FIG. 1.

According to embodiments of the present invention, an energy harvesting device is provided. The energy harvesting device includes a plurality of energy harvesting elements, each energy harvesting element including a transducer, and at least one spring arranged in between at least two energy harvesting elements of the plurality of energy harvesting elements to mechanically couple the at least two energy harvesting elements to each other. According to further embodiments of the present invention, a method for forming an energy harvesting device is also provided.

A method of reducing aggregate content in a preparation having a target protein includes contacting the preparation with an alkyl cation to form a mixture, and contacting the mixture with at least one functionalized solid to remove excess alkyl cation.

A number of cationic antimicrobial polymers have been synthesized by a condensation polymerization in bulk. The initial polymer formed has backbone tertiary nitrogens, which are subsequently quaternized using a suitable quaternizing agent (e.g., alkyl halide). The cationic polymers include polyamides, polycarbonates, polypolyureas and polyguanidiniums having a cationic repeat unit comprising the quaternary ammonium nitrogen as a backbone nitrogen. The cationic polymers can be active against Gram-negative, Gram-positive microbes, and/or fungi.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a microfluidic device for gel electrophoresis is provided. The microfluidic device includes a sample channel configured to receive a sample; a stacking channel comprising a preloaded stacking reagent; and a separation channel comprising a preloaded separation reagent, wherein the preloaded stacking reagent has a physical characteristic different from that of the preloaded separation reagent; and wherein the sample channel, the stacking channel and the separation channel are in fluid communication with one another. According to further embodiments of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a microfluidic device for gel electrophoresis is also provided.