Abstract: Fiber optic connectors, including SC connectors having a unitary housing that supports a ferrule and also allows for disengagement and release of the connector from, e.g., an adapter. The unitary housing includes a pair of release arms pivotal relative to a main body of the unitary housing, where pivoting of the release arms enables engagement and disengagement of corresponding latch arms in an adapter, for example.

Abstract: Provided are methods for both pollinating and simulating pollination of a crop plant having one or more stigmas that are receptive to pollen and that produces at least one seed, grain, or fruit of interest. Methods of the present invention include ingesting input data, such as reproductive maturity data, for a population of the crop plant, sufficient to determine one or more days on which the crop plant will be receptive to pollen. The input data is modeled to generate the amount of receptive stigmas in the population, the effect of intentionally applying pollen during each time step to transform the number of receptive stigmas to a modeled output of seed, grain, or fruit of interest, and generating one or more time steps during which intentional pollination is modeled to provide a greater harvest of the seed, grain, or fruit of interest than other of said time steps.

Abstract: An automatic dishwashing composition is provided, comprising: a dispersant polymer blend, comprising an acrylic acid homopolymer; and a copolymer of acrylic acid and a sulfonated monomer; wherein the dispersant polymer blend has a blend ratio of the acrylic acid homopolymer to the copolymer of 3:1 to 1:3; a surfactant; a builder; and optionally, an additive.

Abstract: A method comprising synthesizing a cyclic organic compound via reaction of an unsubstituted or substituted cyclopentene with an unsubstituted or substituted acrylic acid in the presence of phosphoric and/or sulfonic acid reagent to make the cyclic organic compound. Also, a method of synthesizing a ligand for a transition metal, and a related substituted ligand-metal complex and catalyst, from the unsubstituted or substituted cyclopentene and unsubstituted or substituted acrylic acid. Also, the cyclic organic compound, ligand, and substituted ligand-metal complex and catalyst synthesized thereby. Also a method of polymerizing an olefin with the catalyst to give a polyolefin, and the polyolefin made thereby.

Abstract: Systems and methods for operating a fuel system that includes two separate fuel tanks are disclosed. In one example, fuel may be purged from a fuel rail in response to Reid vapor pressure of a fuel so that engine starting may be improved. A fuel with a higher Reid vapor pressure may be pumped into the fuel rail when the engine is expected to be cold started.

Abstract: A method and system for operating a vehicle that includes a plurality of engine starting devices and an internal combustion engine is described. In one example, the method determines whether or not to inhibit automatic engine stopping so that a lifespan of an engine starting device may be extended. In one example, the inhibiting is based on a ratio of an actual total number of engine starts generated via the engine starting device to an actual total distance traveled by the vehicle since the engine starting device was installed.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for increasing a temperature of a catalyst of an engine by operating the engine in a split lambda catalyst heating mode. In one example, a method may include, while operating an engine in a split lambda catalyst heating mode, adjusting a magnitude of a lambda split between a rich set of combustion events and a lean set of combustion events based on soot formation in the rich set of combustion events. In this way, catalyst temperature may be increased while maintaining engine efficiency and preventing soot formation in the cylinders.

Abstract: A fastener assembly includes a stud and a nut. The stud has a proximal end and a distal end with a body therebetween. The stud also has a central axis extending from the proximal end to the distal end. The proximal end has a flange for coupling to a surface. The body has a cavity opening to an orifice at the distal end. The nut is retained within the cavity. Rotation of the nut about the central axis is inhibited.

Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein provide for systems and methods for converting a community device to a personal device. A personalization option is selected on a portable computing device. A device management server is queried to verify that a specific individual has authorization to personalize the portable computing device. If authorization is confirmed, the portable computing device is configured so that only credentials for the specific individual can be used to access the portable computing device. Authorization may include verifying that the specific individual has sufficient funding and/or verifying that a third party has provided funding for the specific individual. Restricted content is automatically downloaded onto the portable computing device as part of or following the personalization process.

Abstract: Read parameter estimation techniques are provided that obtain information from multiple read operations to customize read parameters for data recovery. One method comprises performing the following steps, in response to a decoding failure of a page of a memory or a codeword of the memory: obtaining at least three read values of the page or codeword; and processing the at least three read values to determine read parameters comprising: (i) a log likelihood ratio, and/or (ii) a center read reference voltage, wherein the determination is based on a signal count of a number of bits falling in particular regions of multiple regions of the memory and wherein the determined read parameters are used for a decoding of the page or codeword following the decoding failure and/or a subsequent read operation following a successful decoding of the page or codeword.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for engine braking in a vehicle. In one example, a method may include deactivating fueling to at least one cylinder of an engine, increasing an air mass provided to the engine via an electric boosting device, and adjusting an exhaust valve opening timing of the at least one cylinder in response to a request for engine braking. In this way, an amount of engine braking torque may be increased with reduced wear to engine system components.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses are provided that configure downlink and uplink signal paths by obtaining information about at least one of a downlink filter and an uplink filter in a duplexer unit after the duplexer unit is coupled to a primary uplink signal path and a primary downlink signal path. Based upon such information, at least one component of the downlink and uplink signal paths is adjusted to compensate for the insertion losses of a downlink filter and an uplink filter, where the downlink signal path comprises a secondary downlink signal path in the duplexer unit and the primary downlink signal path, and the uplink signal path comprises a secondary uplink signal path in the duplexer unit and the primary uplink signal path.

Abstract: A system and method for charging a chromium-based catalyst to a mix vessel; introducing a reducing agent through an entrance arrangement into the mix vessel, and agitating a mixture of the chromium-based catalyst, the reducing agent, and a solvent in the mix vessel to promote contact of the reducing agent with the chromium-based catalyst to give a reduced chromium-based catalyst.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for interactively authoring a layout of a network includes providing a network of activities, embedded nodes, milestones, benchmarks, and links between at least a portion of the activities, milestones, and benchmarks; identifying a plurality of activity clusters from the activities, each such activity cluster comprising a sequence of linked, contiguous activities in the network; and placing, as a group, the activities of each of the activity clusters on a display grid upon which the network is laid out.

Abstract: Systems and methods for forming a workpiece are disclosed. The system may include a fixture assembly for receiving a workpiece having opposing first and second surfaces, first and second tools, and a vibration source configured to vibrate the first and/or second tool. The first and second tools may be configured to move along first and second predetermined paths of motion as the first and/or second tool is vibrated by the vibration source and may exert force on the first and second surfaces to form the workpiece. The method may include vibrating a tool using a vibration source and moving the vibrating tool and another tool along first and second forming paths to form the workpiece. The vibration source may be an ultrasonic transducer and may vibrate the tool at a frequency of at least 1 kHz.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for a fuel injector. In one example, a system may include an injector comprising two or more passages shaped to flow a mixture in opposite directions before injecting the mixture.

Abstract: “Tiered” groups of devices (tiered service radios) and/or licenses associated with the devices or users so as to provide a hieratical set of interference protection mechanisms for members of each tier of service are disclosed. Point-to-point and point-to-multipoint data links for any communication application, including wireless backhaul applications, are also disclosed. Exemplary systems, devices, and methods disclosed herein allow for the efficient operation of such a tiered service. Interference protection among tiered service devices belonging to one or more tiers of the service, from other devices within the same tier of service, or devices of other tiers of service, is disclosed. Identification of other devices of the same or differing tiers of service, and interference mitigation between other tiered service devices based upon intercommunication between the devices, and/or via a central registry database, are also disclosed.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for operating an electric motor to drive either a transmission fluid pump or a direct injection fuel pump. In one example, a method may include operating an electric motor to drive a direct injection fuel pump to supply fuel to a direct injection fuel rail while an engine of a start/stop vehicle is on, and operating the electric motor to drive an auxiliary transmission fluid pump to circulate transmission fluid to a transmission rotationally coupled to the engine while the engine is off during an auto-stop. In this way, the direct injection fuel pump may be electrically driven without increasing vehicle costs through adding an additional electric motor.

Abstract: A wearable device includes a strap, a base connected to the strap, a display detachably connected to the base, and a camera embedded within the display. The display is configured to rotate around a perimeter of the base to adjust the orientation of the camera with respect to the base. Rotating the display allows the camera to capture one or more fields-of-view at different positions with respect to the base. In some embodiments, the display includes two or more cameras having distinct lenses. In some embodiments, the lenses of the two or more cameras are macro lenses, prime telephoto lenses, optical zoom lenses, or normal lenses. In some embodiments, the wearable device includes a second alternative display having one or more embedded second cameras. The second display is configured to detachably couple to the base after detaching the first display.

Abstract: A 3D conversation system can facilitate 3D conversations in an augmented reality environment, allowing conversation participants to appear as if they are face-to-face. The 3D conversation system can accomplish this with a pipeline of data processing stages, which can include calibrate, capture, tag and filter, compress, decompress, reconstruct, render, and display stages. Generally, the pipeline can capture images of the sending user, create intermediate representations, transform the representations to convert from the orientation the images were taken from to a viewpoint of the receiving user, and output images of the sending user, from the viewpoint of the receiving user, in synchronization with audio captured from the sending user. Such a 3D conversation can take place between two or more sender/receiving systems and, in some implementations can be mediated by one or more server systems. In various configurations, stages of the pipeline can be customized based on a conversation context.