Abstract: The reel of a combine header includes a rotatable central tube with side members.

Abstract: A technique selects and serves local information items (e.g., news articles) to users. In a first stage, the technique uses a machine-trained localness-determining system to determine whether a candidate information item contains the kind of information that qualifies as locally-themed. In a second stage, a scope-determining system determines a particular geographic region associated with the information item. The technique then selectively serves the information item to a particular consumer upon determining that the particular consumer is located in the particular geographic region associated with the item. In some implementations, the scope-determining system describes the particular geographic region of the information item using a set of geohashes, and describes the location of the consumer using at least one geohash. The technique uses an ensemble approach to identify the particular geographic region of the item, and to generate training examples for use in training the localness-determining system.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for capturing stabilized digital video in a digital imaging device includes displaying a preview of a subject within a field of view of the imaging device in a user interface of the imaging device. A video comprising a sequence of images is captured, and a motion of the imaging device while capturing the digital video is detected. The subject in one or more images of the sequence of images is detected, and a location of the subject within the images is detected. A stabilized video is obtained by determining shift amounts for the sequence of images of the video taking into account the motion information and location of the subject within the images, obtaining a sequence of modified images by modifying the sequence of images of the video based at least on the shift amounts determined, and combining the modified images to obtain a stabilized video.

Abstract: A computer system for identifying medical care providers outside a process-of-care standard for a field of health care is configured to perform steps that include retrieving claim line item information including procedure/service codes, and retrieving definitions for marker code groups associated with each of a set of medical conditions; deriving, for each marker-condition pair, an actual rate of utilization of the marker code group for episodes of the associated medical condition; and assigning a status to each marker-condition pair in response to the actual rate of utilization respectively exceeding or not exceeding a target rate. The steps also include aggregating the statuses across the marker-condition pairs to obtain an overall score, and causing an output to be displayed in a viewable format. The output includes the overall score, each marker-condition pair of the set of medical conditions, and the status for each marker-condition pair of the set of medical conditions.

Abstract: A method involves determining a threshold error rate that will result on data stored on a magnetic disk surface of a disk drive being unrecoverable. The method also involves determining a seek velocity that will overwrite sufficient portions of the data such the data will exhibit at least the threshold error rate. The disk drive performs at least one traversal of the magnetic disk surface with a head of the disk drive that emits an erase field during the at least one traversal at the seek velocity. The at least one traversal sanitizes the data.

Abstract: An optical coupler is described herein. The optical coupler includes at least one optical coupler unit. The at least one optical coupler includes an optical coupler entrance face and an optical coupler exit face. The optical coupler entrance face is configured to face, and receive light emitted by, at least one LED during operation. The optical coupler exit face is shaped as a Fresnel lens with a focal point at or behind a light emitting area of the at least one LED and is configured to face a lightguide entrance face of a slab lightguide. The optical coupler exit face has dimensions that match at least a part of the lightguide entrance face. The optical coupler entrance and exit faces are configured to refract light emitted by the at least one LED during operation.

Abstract: A connective protective packaging element is provided. The connective protective packaging element may include a protective body in a high-density supply configuration. The protective body may be configurable into a low-density configuration for cushioning packaged products. The body may include an exposed surface in the low-density configuration. The connective protective packaging element may also include a bonding element attached to the exposed surface that operably bonds the exposed surface to an abutting surface by contact with the bonding element.

Abstract: A hair diffuser includes a connection member having a chamber wall that forms an air inlet that is connectable to a hair dryer and a cover member that is connected to the chamber wall of the connection member to form an interior chamber between the cover member and the connection member. The cover member has at least one generally vertically aligned inner circumferential wall having a longitudinally extending vent that directs air flow toward a central axis of the cover member.

Abstract: A firearm magazine carrying device includes a base and clip, where the clip portion can fold into the base. When the device is attached to or integrated into a firearm magazine baseplate, it allows the attachment of a firearm magazine to an article of clothing, pocket, bag, or other places where it is desired to secure a firearm magazine, without the aid of a carrier, pouch, or other devices. The base can include a removable central portion that can be repositioned to permit the clip to be disposed on either side of the firearm magazine.

Abstract: Processes for converting ethanol and syngas (CO and H2) to isobutanol are disclosed. Syngas and ethanol are reacted in the first reaction zone in the presence of a first heterogeneous catalyst to produce a first reactor effluent comprising a first mixture of alcohols. The first reactor effluent is reacted a second reaction zone in the presence of a second heterogeneous catalyst to produce a second reactor effluent comprising a second mixture of alcohols. The second reactor effluent is separated into an overhead gas stream and a liquid bottom stream. The liquid bottom stream is separated into at least a C1-2 stream, a C3 stream, and a C4+ stream. The isobutanol is recovered from the C4+ stream.

Abstract: A spray system includes a spray device with a housing enclosing an electrostatic power supply that generates an electrostatic charging voltage and a nozzle assembly including a liquid tip that receives a spray liquid and an air stream and emits an atomized spray and an electrode coupled to receive the electrostatic charging voltage and configured to inductively charge the spray. A base unit includes a liquid source that supplies the spray liquid, an air source that supplies the air stream and a power source that supplies power for the electrostatic power supply. A tether couples the spray device to the base unit. The tether includes a liquid supply line coupling the liquid source to the liquid tip, an air supply line coupling the air source to the liquid tip, and a power supply line coupling the power source to the electrostatic power supply.

Abstract: According to some embodiments, a railcar extension for extending the width of a railcar comprises: a top portion for attaching to a railcar support; a first side portion coupled to the top portion, the first side portion comprising two parallel transverse walls connected by a longitudinal wall all extending perpendicular from the top portion and the two transverse walls are for attaching to the railcar support; a second side portion coupled to the first side portion, the second side portion comprising two parallel transverse walls connected by a longitudinal wall all extending downward from the first side portion and the two transverse walls are for attaching to the railcar support, and wherein the second side portion pivots with respect to the first side portion to conform to the railcar support; and a bottom portion coupled to the second side portion, the bottom portion for attaching to the railcar support.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are embodiments of a silicone-based foam material and composition and method embodiments for making the same. Also disclosed are embodiments of a silicon-based material that can be formed from the silicone-based foam material, as well as methods for making the same.

Abstract: In some aspects, a first plug-in module that is installed on a server receives an instruction to install a particular database on a first target server that is near (e.g., less than a threshold number of hops from or having less than a threshold latency communicating with) the server. The first plug-in module creates a first persistent authentication session between the server and the first target server and initiates a first installation of a first database on the first target server using the first persistent authentication session. Concurrently with the first installation, a second plug-in module that is installed on a second server initiates a second installation of a second database on a second target server using a second persistent authentication session. The second target server is near the second server.

Abstract: An application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is provided for reliable transport of packets. The network interface card may include a reliable transport accelerator (RTA). The RTA may include a cache lookup database. The RTA may be configured to determine, from a received data packet, a connection identifier and query the cache lookup database for a cache entry corresponding to a connection context having the connection identifier. In response to the query, the RTA may receive a cache hit or a cache miss.

Abstract: An aerosol-generating system may include a capsule and a releasably connectable vaporizer or vaporizing unit. The capsule comprises a distal end and defines a reservoir configured to contain an aerosol-generating substrate. The vaporizing unit comprises a housing and a heating element and a transfer element disposed in the housing. The heating element is configured to heat the transfer element to vaporize the aerosol-generating substrate. The housing of the vaporizing unit has a proximal end. A portion of the transfer element extends beyond the proximal end of the housing. The vaporizing unit is configured such that the transfer element is the initial part of the vaporizing unit to penetrate into the reservoir of the capsule as the distal end of the capsule is moved towards the proximal end of the vaporizing unit.

Abstract: The present disclosure is generally related to a data processing system to determine operational statuses of agents interfacing with digital assistant applications. The data processing system can access a log database. The log database can maintain response metrics for an agent service. Each response metric can correspond to a response by the agent service to a request generated by a digital assistant application responsive to an input audio signal. The data processing system can transmit a ping request to the agent service and can wait for a second response from the agent service. The data processing system can determine an operational status of the agent service based on the response metrics and on a time elapsed since the transmission of the ping request. The data processing system can cause the digital assistant application to perform an action based on the operational status.

Abstract: A vehicle includes an engine block heater, a traction battery, and a controller. The controller, responsive to a temperature being less than a threshold, charges the traction battery with grid energy until a state of charge of the traction battery achieves a charge target. The controller is further programmed to, responsive to the state of charge achieving the target, discharge the traction battery to power the engine block heater until the state of charge falls below a discharge target or the temperature achieves a temperature target. The controller is also programmed to, responsive to the charge falling below the discharge target, charge the traction battery with grid energy until the state of charge achieves the charge target. Additionally, the controller is programmed to, responsive to a temperature achieving a temperature target, inhibit charging and discharging the traction battery.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for using learnable robotic control plans. One of the methods comprises obtaining a learnable robotic control plan comprising data defining a state machine that includes a plurality of states and a plurality of transitions between states, wherein: one or more states are learnable states, and each learnable state comprises data defining (i) one or more learnable parameters of the learnable state and (ii) a machine learning procedure for automatically learning a respective value for each learnable parameter of the learnable state; and processing the learnable robotic control plan to generate a specific robotic control plan, comprising: obtaining data characterizing a robotic execution environment; and for each learnable state, executing, using the obtained data, the respective machine learning procedures defined by the learnable state to generate a respective value for each learnable parameter of the learnable state.