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In this article, a low power and compact scanning micromirror for LiDAR (light detection and ranging) system is designed, fabricated, and characterized. A 5 mm-diameter scanning micromirror is electromagnetically actuated with multi-turn copper winding formed on the gimbal and magnet assembly formed under the silicon substrate. A unique magnetic circuit that generates an asymmetric radial magnetic field has been designed and analyzed. A series-connected double spring-mass system consisting of a gimbal and a mirror plate has been used to amplify the deflection angle. An analytic model of the system has been developed and verified with finite element analysis. Also, a reinforcement rim structure is utilized to reduce the dynamic deformation of the reflective surface down to 19.3 nmrms. An optical scan angle of 30° is obtained at 690 Hz, 17.4 mArms input, and corresponding power consumption is 7.8 mWrms. A prototype scanning system with $180^{\circ } \times 30^{\circ }$ field-of-view has been demonstrated with fabricated scanning micromirror as the vertical scanner. The proposed approach provides a simple and compact design for a large diameter scanning micromirror, which can potentially be utilized in various LiDAR applications.

Antibody discovery by phage display consists of two phases, i.e., the binding phase and the amplification phase. Ideally, the selection process is dominated by the former, and all the retrieved clones are amplified equally during the latter. In reality, the amplification efficiency of antibody fragments varies widely among different sequences and, after a few rounds of phage display panning, the output repertoire often includes rapidly amplified sequences with low or no binding activity, significantly diminishing the efficiency of antibody isolation. In this work, a novel synthetic single-chain variable fragment (scFv) library with complementarity-determining region (CDR) diversities aimed at improved amplification efficiency was designed and constructed. A previously reported synthetic scFv library with low, non-combinatorial CDR diversities was panned against protein A superantigen, and the library repertoires before and after the panning were analyzed by next generation sequencing. The enrichment or depletion patterns of CDR sequences after panning served as the basis for the design of the new library. Especially for CDR-H3 with a higher and more random diversity, a machine learning method was applied to predict potential fast-amplified sequences among a simulated sequence repertoire. In a direct comparison with the previous generation library, the new library performed better against a panel of antigens in terms of the number of binders isolated, the number of unique sequences, and/or the speed of binder enrichment. Our results suggest that the amplification-centric design of sequence diversity is a valid strategy for the construction of highly functional phage display antibody libraries.

Copper (II) tungstate (CuWO 4 ) has better light absorption and selectivity for a photochemical water-splitting reaction than those of its binary oxide counterpart. In this work, we report a facile single-step hydrothermal method to grow CuWO 4 with a bitter gourd shape directly on a transparent conductive substrate for the first time. CuWO 4 was synthesized via the condensation of a stable aqueous precursor solution of peroxopolytungstic acid and a copper precursor. The proposed method uniformly deposited CuWO 4 on fluorine-doped tin oxide with strong adhesion. The obtained CuWO 4 films showed a superior photocurrent density of 0.6 mA/cm 2 at 1.23 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode in a 0.1 M Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte, which was relatively higher than the values recently reported for CuWO 4 photoanodes. The optimized CuWO 4 exhibited an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency of 30% at 350 nm for the photoelectrochemical oxidation of water. An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy valence band edge analysis revealed an increase in the valence band edge position in the CuWO 4 , along with a decrease in the band gap compared to those in WO 3 . The procedure proposed here provides a promising approach for the design of an efficient CuWO 4 photoanode for water splitting.

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of quetiapine XR and lithium on actigraphy-measured circadian parameters in patients with bipolar II depression. METHODS/PROCEDURES This was an 8-week, open-label, prospective, randomized comparative study. The assessments included the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score and actigraphic measures concerning the previous 7 days, collected at each visit (weeks 0 [baseline], 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8); the actigraphic data were analyzed with a cosinor analysis. FINDINGS/RESULTS Medication, time, and the interaction between medication and time were significantly associated with acrophase for the entire group (Ps = 0.003, 0.020, and 0.042, respectively). More specifically, acrophase was significantly delayed at weeks 1 and 6 (Ps = 0.004 and 0.039, respectively) in the quetiapine XR group. The F statistics significantly increased over time for the entire group (P < 0.001), and there was a significant increase in F statistics on weeks 4 and 6 in the quetiapine XR group (Ps = 0.016 and 0.020, respectively) and on weeks 4 and 8 in the lithium group (Ps = 0.001 and 0.016, respectively). In addition, scores on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were significantly associated with the F statistics during 8 weeks for the entire group (P = 0.008). IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS Both quetiapine XR and lithium affected several circadian parameters, including peak activity time and robustness of circadian rhythm, but exerted different effects on acrophase in patients with bipolar II depression. In particular, clinical depressive symptoms were associated with robustness of circadian rhythm during the course of the 8-week treatment.

We present the characteristics of titanium dioxide (TiO2) inorganic film deposited by RF magnetron sputtering for liquid crystal display applications in this paper. TiO2 films supported vertically aligned liquid crystal (LC) molecules based on ion-beam (IB) irradiation time dependence. Uniform alignment was obtained only when the incident time was two minutes with 1.8 keV of incident energy and an incident angle of 45°. Energy from uniform high-density plasma by IB irradiation affected the interaction between the TiO2 layer and LC molecules to produce vertical alignment of the LC molecules.

We studied the state of the dual liquid crystal (LC) alignment which displays both homeotropic and homogeneous alignment on blended polyimide (PI) layer. The research was conducted using rubbing method at different imidizing temperatures and the blended PI was made using homeotropic PI having an alkyl side chain and homogeneous PI without the side chain. The uniform LC alignments were achieved, and have thermal stability. The results of contact angles were similar to that of pretilt angles.

The controllable pre-tilt angle of liquid crystals was investigated using a blend of horizontal and vertical polyimide prepared using a rubbing method. Various pretilt angles ranging from 0° to 90° were achieved as a function of the vertical polyimide content. We observed uniform liquid crystal alignment on the rubbing-treated blended polyimide layer. A no-bias-bend (NBB) pi cell with an intermediate pretilt angle of 47.8° was manufactured. This cell had no initial bias voltage and a low threshold voltage, which indicates that it has low power consumption. In addition, the response time of the NBB pi cell was rapid.

The aligned liquid crystals (LCs) display on SiNx thin films using ion-beam (IB) irradiation was studied with controllability of pretilt angle depending on incident energies of the IB. The LCs alignment property for the SiNx thin films were observed to verify the practical application potential. A good LCs alignment of vertical alignment LCs cells on SiNx thin film surfaces irradiated with incident IB energy of 1800eV was achieved. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of LCs on SiNx thin film surfaces irradiated with IB energy was used for the surface analysis.

We studied homogeneous liquid crystal (LC) alignment properties on ion-beam (IB) irradiated TiO2 films deposited by the electron beam evaporation method. Stable homogeneous LC alignment on a TiO2 surface resulted from IB irradiation energy over 1800 eV. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses showed that Ti4+ 2p3/2 and Ti4+ 2p1/2 peaks were increased with increasing IB energy. Assuming that the increased peaks produced anisotropy dipole fields in the direction of the IB exposure process, we confirmed that the increasing IB energy induced strengthened the surface energy for entirely clear and stable LC molecule orientation. The voltage-transmittance characteristics of the twisted-nematic cell on the TiO2 surface indicate that the TiO2 film has potential for use as the LC alignment layer.

We investigated liquid crystal (LC) alignment as a function of ion beam (IB) incident angles and electro-optical (EO) characteristics of twisted nematic (TN)-liquid crystal displays (LCD) on polyimide (PI) surfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis showed that the intensity of C=O chemical bonding decreased, while that of C–O chemical bonding increased for increasing IB incident angles. This indicates that the dipole-dipole interaction between C–O chemical bonding and the LC molecules has a chemical alignment effect. A good uniform alignment of nematic LCs on PI surfaces by the IB irradiation was observed, and good EO properties of IB-aligned TN-LCDs on PI surfaces were achieved.

This paper introduces the homogeneously aligned liquid crystal (LC) display using ion beam (IB) bombardment of a new silicon oxynitride (SiON) alignment layer for the first time. The pretilt angle was shown to be a function of the IB incident energy, and possible mechanisms of LC alignment were investigated with physical and chemical methods. An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that the LC alignment on the IB-bombarded SiON inorganic surface was due to the reformation of Si–O bonds as a major factor. The electro-optical characteristics were comparable to those of rubbed polyimide films.

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible enhancement of com-passion in college students as a result of participating in community-basedlearning immersion trips. In two separate experiments, a total of 123 collegestudents were given a series of questionnaires immediately before and afteruniversity-sponsored immersion experiences to measure compassion andrelated constructs. In Experiment I, 19 participants on college immersiontrips as well as 20 comparison students not attending immersion trips wereevaluated. In Experiment II, the same questionnaires were administered to45 immersion participants and 39 comparison students. Results of Experi-ment I suggest that immersion participants had higher posttrip empathyscores and less stress. In Experiment II, results indicate a significant increase in compassion scores among students who participated in an immersion experience compared to those who did not. Because community -based learning seeks to increase student and community engagement andconnection to those in greatest need, it is likely that compassion and related constructs such as empathy are nurtured through these now popu-lar experiential learning opportunities.

The nematic liquid crystal alignment capability and electro‐optical (EO) performance characteristics of in‐plane switching (IPS) cells were first demonstrated on organic hybrid overcoat layers via ion beam irradiation. Usually the organic hybrid overcoat is used as the material for making a plate alignment layer in a colour filter process. To characterise the organic hybrid overcoat layer, we analysed the surface composition of the organic hybrid overcoat by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that the intensity of C = O and C–O bonding undergoes a change corresponding to the changes in energy of the ion beam exposure. Moreover, EO performance characteristics of IPS cells on the organic hybrid overcoat layer via ion beam irradiation were observed to have similar characteristics to the polyimide.

In this paper, we synthesized a new photo-crosslinkable polyitaconimide containing a cinnamoyl moietys by radical polymerization. Also, the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) aliging capabilities on these photopolymer surfaces and the EO performances in the photoaligned TN-LCD by photoalignment method were studied. The good LC alignment can be obtained with UV exposure on the polyitaconimide surfaces. The homeotripic alignment using UV exposure for short time was observed on polyitaconimide with a cinnamoyl group connected to a hexylene group. However, The homogenous alignment can be obtained using UV exposure for long time on the polyitaconimide surface. We can consider that the LC aligning ability on the polyitaconimide depends on intensity of UV exposure on the photopolymer surface. Also, good V-T curves and response time can be achieved by UV exposure on the photopolymer surface for 1 min.

We have investigated the generation of pretilt angle for a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) with rubbing alignment method on polyimide (PI) surfaces using thin plastic substrates. The NLC pretilt angles generated are about 3° by the rubbing alignment method on thin plastic substrates. However, the pretilt angles are at about 1.7° lower on the glass substrate than on thin plastic substrate. We obtain that AFM (atomic force microscope) image of rubbed PI surface with polymer film has formed the micro-groove structure at the low curring temperature (120°C). However, no grooves are obtained on the glass substrate at the same temperature. The tilt angle increases with increasing baking temperature for making PI layer using glass substrate. Also, EO characteristics of the TN-LCD with a rubbed PI surface based on polymer are almost the same as that of the TN-LCD with a rubbed PI surface based on glass. However, the transmittances of the TN-LCD with a rubbed PI surface based on polymer is less than that with a rubbed...

Pretilt angle generation and liquid crystal (LC) aligning capabilities for a nematic (N) LC with obliquely polarized UV exposure on a homeotropic polyimide (PI) surface by an in-situ photoalignment method were studied. The high pretilt angle of 30θ for NLC with obliquely polarized UV exposure on the PI surface for 20 min can be achieved. The pretilt angle generated in NLC by the in-situ photoalignment method was higher than that generated by a conventional photoalignment method on a homeotropic alignment layer. Also, we suggest that the generation of pretilt angle in NLC with obliquely polarized UV exposure during imidization of the polymer for homeotropic alignment is a promising method to generate a high pretilt angle. Lastly, the good electro-optical (EO) characteristics of the photoaligned vertical alignment (VA)-liquid crystal display (LCD) by UV exposure on the PI surface for 10 min were observed.

The nematic liquid crystal (NLC) aligning capabilities using a-C:H thin film deposited at the three kinds of rf bias condition were investigated. A high pretilt angle of about 11° by the ion beam alignment method was observed on the a-C:H thin film (polymer-like carbon) deposited at 1 W rf bias condition, and the low pretilt angle the NLC than 1 W rf bias conditions was observed on the a-C:H thin film (diamond-like carbon) deposited at rf 30 W and 60 W bias condition. Consequently, the high LC pretilt angle and the good aligning capabilities of LC alignment by the ion beam alignment method on the a-C:H thin film deposited at 1 W rf bisa condition can be achieved. Also, the good thermal stability of LC alignment by the IB alignment method on the a-C:H thin film as working gas at rf bias condition can be achieved.

In this study, we explored the effects of ion beam (IB) bombardment on the orientation of liquid crystal (LC) molecules on Ta 2 O 5 surfaces. Increasing the IB exposure time resulted in improved LC alignment characteristics. Through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, it was also confirmed that IB irradiation caused Ta 4f and O 1s peak shifts in the positive direction. The breaking phenomenon of the O 1s bonds may cause anisotropic dipole-dipole forces to stably align the vertical LC molecules. Finally, measuring the contact angles on the IB irradiated Ta 2 O 5 surfaces, we concluded that increasing the IB irradiation time strengthened the anisotropic surface energy on the Ta 2 O 5 surfaces, and stable vertical LC alignment was achieved via the transformed surface energies.

We recently achieved the homogeneous alignment of liquid crystal (LC) on amorphous Ta2O5 layers. This study demonstrates that LC layers could be aligned either homogeneously or vertically by increasing the growth temperature of rf magnetron sputtering device and the irradiation time of the DuoPIGatron type Ar ion beam device causing uniform and dense plasma. We attained two LC orientations by observing Ta 4f and O 1s peak shifts with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Moreover, the decreased thickness of layers with high-k dielectric constants helped to decrease driving LC voltages and in turn to achieve low power consumption.