Abstract: Provided herein is a string shooting device having a string capable of generating lift when propelled from the string shooting device and a guide to readily attach and detach the string from the string shooting device. A string shooting device described herein includes: a body; a housing attached to the body; a pair of wheels, where at least one of the pair of wheels is a driven wheel; and a string, where the string includes a surface texture configured to increase air friction in response to the string being propelled through the air by the pair of wheels. The string of an example embodiment defines an axis along which the string extends, and where the string includes a plurality of fibers extending away from the axis.

Abstract: A disposable insertion instrument for inserting an implant includes a handle assembly, a drive assembly, and a plunger assembly. The drive assembly comprises an inner shaft and a spring received within an outer sleeve. A locking pin and drive lobes on the inner shaft cooperate to reversibly lock the drive assembly in a retracted position. A medical implant may be attached to the instrument via an adapter located at a distal end of the drive assembly. Following insertion of the medical implant into a patient, the disposable insertion instrument may be discarded.

Abstract: A swivel joint includes a tail section and a body portion that define a passageway therethrough and which can rotate relative to one another. One or more seals and bearings can be disposed between the tail section and the body portion. An electrical conductivity grease fitting can be mounted within a bore hole in the body portion. The electrical conductivity grease fitting can have a lubricant passed therethrough to lubricate the bearings. The electrical conductivity grease fitting has a first portion in electrical communication with the body portion and a second portion that is biased into electrical communication with the tail section to maintain electrical conductivity between the tail section and the body portion.

Abstract: Systems, devices, and techniques described herein relate to iron-based desalination of water. In some cases, an inflow of water including chlorine and sodium can be received. A plurality of iron nanoparticles may capture the chlorine and the sodium. The iron nanoparticles may at least partially include Zero Valent Iron (ZVI). An outflow of the water may be emitted. The chlorine and the sodium may be omitted from the outflow.

Abstract: Scalable coding concepts are described. One aspect improves parallel decoding of inter-dependent layers of a multi-layer video data stream by introducing a long-term syntax element structure for guaranteeing that during a predetermined time period the pictures of the dependent layer are subdivided so that borders of the spatial segments of the pictures of the second layer and the spatial segments of the first layer overlay. Another aspect concerns upsampling from base layer to enhancement layer. Another aspect introduces a long-term syntax element structure allowing the decoder to determine the inter-layer offset for a predetermined time period. Another aspect introduces a type indicator field changing a way a layer indicator field within the NAL unit headers is to be interpreted. Another aspect allows different codecs/standards to be used for the different layers. Another aspect concerns a syntax element structure which indicates the inter-layer offset in units of the base layer blocks.

Abstract: A fluid mixing device that includes a housing having a fuel inlet and at least one primary orifice positioned at the inlet, wherein the at least one orifice configured to disperse a stream of fuel into a plurality of fuel droplets. The plurality of fuel droplets contact a fuel impingement surface to break up the plurality of fuel droplets into a plurality of smaller secondary droplets and create a thin film of secondary droplets on the impingement surface. At least one pressurized air channel delivers an airflow into contact with the secondary droplets. The secondary droplets pass through a plurality of secondary outlet orifices to exit the housing. A size of the plurality of secondary droplets is reduced when passing out of the plurality of secondary orifices.

Abstract: Systems and methods for material processing using wafer scale waves of precisely controlled electrons in a DC plasma is presented. The anode and cathode of a DC plasma chamber are respectively connected to an adjustable DC voltage source and a DC current source. The anode potential is adjusted to shift a surface floating potential of a stage in a positive column of the DC plasma to a reference ground potential of the DC voltage/current sources. A conductive plate in a same region of the positive column opposite the stage is used to measure the surface floating potential of the stage. A signal generator referenced to the ground potential is capacitively coupled to the stage to control a surface potential at the stage for provision of kinetic energy to free electrons in the DC plasma.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide for systems and methods for submitting speech queries to one or more voice assistant devices, and retrieving the responses, in a soundproof environment. The systems and methods provide for sound-dampening voice boxes that are configured to house the respective voice assistant devices, in which the sound-dampening voice boxes submit speech queries to the respective voice assistant devices, and retrieve the responses therefrom.

Abstract: An electric drive axle including an electric motor, a gear arrangement, a differential, and a disconnect device at least partially disposed within a differential case. The gear arrangement is configured to produce a certain gear ratio between the electric motor and the differential.

Abstract: An apparatus for video decoding includes processing circuitry. The circuitry can be configured to receive a syntax element indicating whether a prediction refinement with optical flow (PROF) is disabled for affine prediction. Further, the circuitry can determine whether to apply the PROF to an affine coded block based on the syntax element. Responsive to the syntax element indicating not to apply the PROF to the affine coded block, the circuitry can disable the PROF to the affine coded block.

Abstract: The invention relates to a topical composition comprising an extract of Tiger lily (Lilium tigrinum) enriched in low molecular weight RNA. The invention also relates to a method of cosmetic care including the topical application a composition comprising an extract of Tiger lily (Lilium tigrinum) in a physiologically acceptable medium, in order to reduce skin signs of aging and photo-aging. The invention is also directed to a cosmetic method of treatment to improve cell viability, to improve cell protection against particulate matter and against DNA damages, and to reduce cellular senescence.

Abstract: Example imaging systems are disclosed. One example includes a signal source and a signal receiver configured to receive a reflected electromagnetic signal from an imaged object. The imaging system further includes a processor configured to, for each of N wavelengths, determine a phase value of a reflected component of the reflected electromagnetic signal having that wavelength. The processor may compute an estimated distance to the imaged object at least in part by mapping the plurality of phase values to a 2N-dimensional vector, and computing a plurality of zeroes of a trigonometric polynomial. For each of the plurality of zeroes, computing the estimated distance may further include computing a respective geodesic distance between the 2N-dimensional vector and a point along the curve evaluated at that zero, and selecting and outputting a shortest geodesic distance multiplied by a least common multiple of the wavelengths.

Abstract: Dual cameras that simultaneously capture RGB and IR images of a scene can be used to remove glare from the RGB image, transformed to a YUV image, by substituting a glare region in the luminance component of the YUV image with the pixel values in a corresponding region of the IR image. Further, color information in the glare region may be adjusted by averaging over or extrapolating from the color information in the surrounding region.

Abstract: A cyclonic inlet diverter for initiating the separation of a multi-phase inlet fluid flow comprises an enclosed tubular body mounted crosswise within a larger separator vessel. The inlet diverter includes a splitter plate positioned within a center portion of the tubular body and configured to split the inlet flow into a first stream and a second stream, and a swirl plate positioned on each side of the splitter plate with angled surfaces configured to increase the cyclonic motion of the first and second streams within the tubular body. The inlet diverter further includes elongate apertures formed through bottom sidewall portions of the tubular body on each side of the splitter plate, an axial aperture formed through opposing end caps of the tubular body, and at least one radial aperture formed through lateral sidewall portions of the tubular body proximate each opposing end cap.

Abstract: Implementations of squat machines may include a seat coupled to a platform, a first foot brace directly coupled to the platform, a second foot brace directly coupled to the platform, a knee brace post coupled to and extending perpendicularly away from a first surface of the platform, a knee brace arm directly coupled to the knee brace post and extending perpendicularly away from a longest length of the knee brace post, and a knee brace directly coupled to the knee brace arm. The knee brace may be configured to contact the front of either a user's knees or shins while performing a squat exercise. The seat may be configured to temporarily contact a buttocks of a user while performing the squat exercise.

Abstract: Techniques for implementing a pipeline system including a pipe fitting, which includes a fitting shell that define a fitting bore and a tubing cavity around the fitting bore. The tubing cavity interfaces with pipe segment tubing to facilitate fluidly coupling the fitting bore to a pipe bore. The fitting shell includes a seal groove that is recessed into a fitting shell surface that facilitates defining the tubing cavity. The pipe fitting includes a belt seal having a multisided axial cross-section profile, in which the belt seal is to be disposed in the seal groove to implement a fitting seal in the pipe fitting that includes a protruding portion having a wedge-shaped axial cross-section profile that protrudes beyond the fitting shell surface into the tubing cavity to facilitate sealing a fluid conduit implemented in an annulus of the pipe segment tubing in the tubing cavity of the pipe fitting.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method, an electronic device, and a computer program product for managing a storage system. The method includes: determining multiple storage units provided by multiple storage devices, each storage unit in the multiple storage units having a storage space allocated from a first number of storage devices among the multiple storage devices; dividing the multiple storage units into at least one storage unit group based on a total number of the multiple storage devices and the first number, each storage unit group in the at least one storage unit group including a second number of storage units; and storing, based on a logical address of to-be-stored data, the to-be-stored data into the at least one storage unit group. Embodiments of the present disclosure can allocate storage resources more reasonably and thus improve the performance of a storage system for processing sequential data.