Abstract: A method of preparing an acid neutralizing polymer powder (ANPP) includes preparing a first reaction product by contacting and reacting virgin polyamide powder material with tert-butoxide in a first aliquot of a polar aprotic solvent and preparing a mixture of an halogenated dialkylalkylamine to a second aliquot of the polar aprotic solvent. ANPP is prepared by mixing the first reaction product and the mixture for a period of time and at a temperature sufficient to produce the ANPP.

Abstract: Compositions, methods and processes for producing an electrically conductive metal-organic material is disclosed, wherein the material is based on a coordination polymer consisting of a plurality of ligands and metal ions, each coordinated with a ligand to impart conductivity to the material. Further provided are methods of deposition and use to produce conductive textiles, stretchable, flexible and transparent devices and surfaces. The electrically conductive metal-organic material may be used in a variety of fields including wearable electronics, sensors (gas, wearable, sweat, temperature, humidity), batteries, supercapacitors, electronic and pressure sensitive textiles/cotton/paper, electromagnetic shielding fabric, triboelectric nanogenerators, conductive paints/ inks, antistatic coatings, conductive spray for flexible, transparent, and pressure sensitive glass/elastomers/plastics.

Abstract: The present invention provides compositions and a process for the preparation of porous bipolar plates with pore volume density and pore size that can result in high water uptake by the plates while providing the desired resistance against gas permeation. The combination of porogens (pore-forming agents) with specific types of graphite particles and polymer binders provides the desired characteristics. The porous bipolar plates have high electrical conductivity and flexural strength.

Abstract: An axicon scatter filter assembly operates on light that is approximately temporally and spatially coherent (requiring either active illumination or a very narrow field of view). The filter exploits the difference in behavior between spatially coherent and spatially incoherent light. Spatially coherent light is shaped and moved by the axicons. This allows the spatially coherent light to diverge and then be reconstructed into a rectified image. The spatially incoherent light is neither shaped nor moved by the axicons. Where the coherent light diverges, the incoherent (scattered) light does not. Thus, masks can be used to block a portion of the incoherent light while passing all of the incoherent light. The filter assembly thus removes undesired scattered light that degrades image quality. The axicons then reconstruct the original image with less scattering, which can be imaged by a lens and camera.

Abstract: Aspects of the invention include a porous and water-permeable electrode for electrocatalysis comprising: a porous and water-permeable reactive electrochemical membrane (“REM”) comprising: a porous and water-permeable support membrane; wherein the support membrane comprises a titanium metal; and an electrocatalytic coating on at least a portion of the metal support membrane, the electrocatalytic coating being a tin oxide bilayer comprising: a first layer adjacent to and directly contacting the metal support membrane; wherein the first layer comprises tin oxide doped with antimony; and a second layer adjacent to and directly contacting the first layer; wherein the second layer forms a surface of the REM such that the second layer is in direct contact with an aqueous solution when the REM is in contact with the aqueous solution; wherein the second layer comprises tin oxide doped with antimony and nickel or cerium. Preferably, the support membrane is formed of a titanium metal.

Abstract: Provided is a spinning disc with plasma discharges for the treatment of liquid. In one configuration, plasma is introduced to the surface of a liquid by a point-plane discharge, dielectric barrier discharge or as a plasma jet. This liquid exists as a thin film on the surface of the spinning disc. The thin liquid layer, as well as the enhanced mixing provided by the spinning disc, allow the plasma generated radicals to more easily interact with the contaminant.

Abstract: An annular bubbling electric discharge reactor for treating water includes a non-conductive pipe having a top and a bottom with a gas sparger installed within the non-conductive pipe and positioned adjacent the bottom and adapted to generate bubbles or foam and control the bubble size formation. A high voltage electrode is fixed concentrically within the non-conductive pipe and a ground electrode is fixed at an intermediate position within the non-conductive pipe and in circumferential relation to the high voltage electrode with an annular space defined between the ground electrode and high voltage electrode. A liquid inlet and a liquid outlet are provided to allow polluted liquid/water into the reactor and discharge treated liquid/water therefrom. A circuit and power supply are provided for generating an electrical discharge between the high voltage electrode and ground electrode, thereby creating a plasma generation region where the liquid is treated.

Abstract: A method and sensing system for the determination per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is disclosed, wherein the probe is based on measurement of the redox activity of a redox indicator. The method includes adding a PFAS compound to an indicator solution, gel, 3D printed object, electrode or a sensing surface containing and measuring the change in the indicator signal as a function of PFAS concentration. Further provided is a portable sensor for rapid monitoring of the presence and PFAS concentrations. The present invention includes deposition of the indicator component within a method, assay, apparatus and sensing platform. Further provided is a composite electrode and sensor with binding and signaling activity for a broad range of PFAS, as well as printing ink compositions that incorporate the redox indicator.

Abstract: A system for generating a semantic 3D map, that includes at least one image capture device capable of capturing and transmitting digital frames of images; a temporal and unified panoptic segmentation module programmed, structed, and/or configured to receive the frames of images from the at least one image capture device and integrate a heuristic panoptic label fusion module with a loss function of a neural network to realize end-to-end panoptic segmentation; a geometric segmentation module programmed, structured and/or configured to receive the frames of images from the at least one image capture device and for discovering previously unseen scene elements, wherein at every frame, it generates a set of closed 2D regions and a set of corresponding 3D segments from a depth image; a segmentation refinement module programmed, structed, and/or configured to refine geometric labels using panoptic labels; and a 3D volumetric integration module programmed, structed, and/or configured to directly register each pixel of

Abstract: A system and method for FIB aggregation. FIB Aggregation with Quick Selections (FAQS) is a FIB aggregation algorithm that leverages compact data structures and three unique optimization techniques to quickly and incrementally select next hops when handling route updates. As a result, FAQS can run up to 2.53 and 1.75 times faster for IPv4 and IPv6, respectively, than the optimal FIB aggregation algorithm while achieving a near-optimal aggregation ratio. Meanwhile, it consumes much less memory and generates much smaller number of FIB changes when carrying out frequent updates. The performance enhancement of the new algorithm addresses many concerns from ISPs regarding performance issues, and enhances the probability to push FIB aggregation techniques further to the level of production adoption by the industry.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes various embodiments of systems, apparatuses, and methods for large-scale processing of weather-related data. For one such system, the system comprises a database of weather-related data providing from a plurality of weather monitoring stations and a plurality of interconnected processors for coordinating a data processing job for processing a set of input weather-related data from the database. Accordingly, the input data comprises sensor data from an array of weather monitoring stations positioned on an open shoreline during a hydrodynamic event, weather model data for the hydrodynamic event, and at least one of air-craft reconnaissance data or satellite reconnaissance data regarding the hydrodynamic event, wherein the plurality of interconnected processors are configured to assimilate the input data and generate, using machine learning, an improved weather prediction model for the hydrodynamic event. Other systems, apparatuses, and methods are also provided.

Abstract: A system and method to authenticate users on a computing system using a free text behavioral biometric method by recording on the computer system a dataset for each user to be authenticated to create a user profile for each user to be authenticated, each data set comprising a plurality of free-text keystrokes entered by a respective user on a computer that is part of the computing system, and storing each user profile in the memory, subsequently collecting the keystrokes of a user to be authenticated as the user enters text on a keyboard connected to the computing system, creating a plurality of graphs based on the collection of keystrokes entered by the user and calculating n instance based tail area density (ITAD) metric, and then combining the ITAD metric for each graph duration into a single similarity score.

Abstract: A method for determining location of a target within an indoor environment, including the steps of: classifying a set of anchors having known locations within the indoor environment and a set of targets having unknown locations within the indoor environment, wherein each of the anchors and targets comprise hardware having sensors and wireless communication capabilities; creating a set of ordinal pair data sets comprising relative distances between each target and all anchors; ranking and aggregating the ordinal pair data sets to produce a set of dissimilarities that approximate distances; transforming the dissimilarities into estimated distances between each anchor and target using the known distances between the anchors as calibration; and inferring location of targets by formulating and solving a multidimensional unfolding optimization.

Abstract: According to various embodiments, there is provided a toner composition and a developer. The toner composition includes toner particles including a resin, a colorant; and a surface additive applied to a surface of the toner particles. The surface additive includes polyaniline doped strontium titanate (SrTiO3).

Abstract: A tightly coupled fusion approach that dynamically consumes light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and sonar data to generate reliable and scalable indoor maps for autonomous robot navigation. The approach may be used for the ubiquitous deployment of indoor robots that require the availability of affordable, reliable, and scalable indoor maps. A key feature of the approach is the utilization of a fusion mechanism that works in three stages: the first LiDAR scan matching stage efficiently generates initial key localization poses; a second optimization stage is used to eliminate errors accumulated from the previous stage and guarantees that accurate large-scale maps can be generated; and a final revisit scan fusion stage effectively fuses the LiDAR map and the sonar map to generate a highly accurate representation of the indoor environment.

Abstract: According to various embodiments, there is provided a toner composition and a developer. The toner composition includes toner particles including a resin, a colorant, a charge control agent, and a surface additive applied to a surface of the toner particles. The surface additive includes strontium titanate (SrTiO3), silica (SiO2), silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) and a charge control agent.

Abstract: A method of preparing an acid neutralizing polymer powder (ANPP) includes preparing a first reaction product by contacting and reacting virgin polyamide powder material with tert-butoxide in a first aliquot of a polar aprotic solvent and preparing a mixture of an halogenated dialkylalkylamine to a second aliquot of the polar aprotic solvent. ANPP is prepared by mixing the first reaction product and the mixture for a period of time and at a temperature sufficient to produce the ANPP.

Abstract: Provided is a system and method using an electrochemical reactor and electrode materials that can effectively treat harmful algae contaminated water supply, such as lake water or seawater. The reactor features the compact design, easy transportation, scalable treatment capacity, and high efficiency for algae inactivation and the degradation of microcystin. The equipment can be installed on boats and docks to directly treat the lake water. It can be driven by electricity provided by grid power, generator, or solar panels, and requires no chemical input.

Abstract: A method of preparing an acid reactive functionalized polyamide includes preparing a first reaction product by contacting and reacting virgin polyamide fabric material with tert-butoxide in a first aliquot of a polar aprotic solvent and preparing a second reaction product by adding an amine to a second aliquot of the polar aprotic solvent. A third reaction product is prepared by mixing the first reaction product and the second reaction product where the third reaction product is the acid reactive functionalized polyamide. The preparation of each respective reaction product is for a period of time and at a temperature sufficient to produce the respective reaction product.

Abstract: A method for measuring fracture characteristics of adhesive polymeric material comprises: (i) bonding a sample to a rigid substrate; (ii) cooling the sample from a first temperature to a second temperature such that thermally-induced stresses are generated within the sample, wherein the thermally-induced stresses generate an inward-growing three-dimensional spiral crack within the sample; (iii) detecting, by three or more AE piezoelectric sensors, mechanical transient waves generated during development of the inward-growing three-dimensional spiral crack within the sample and determining the accurate 3D geometry of the spiral using source location technique; (iv) visualizing the two-dimensional spiral cracking pattern deposited on a surface of the rigid substrate and measuring the precise width of the crack; (v) determining, using the detected mechanical waves and the visualized deposited sample, AE-based fracture characteristics of the sample; and (vi) reporting the determined one or more fracture characteri