Abstract: A method for the economic assessment of residual oil zones (“ROZ”), support for the engineering of the design of CO2 enhanced oil recovery (“EOR”) systems associated with production of petroleum from ROZ, support of EOR operations, and subsequent management and monitoring of CO2 sequestered in ROZ is disclosed. This efficient identification and assessment of ROZs significantly increases the geographic footprint and target locations into which CO2 can be injected and ultimately utilized and permanently sequestered in a commercial fashion generating value to partially offset the parasitic costs associated with the capture of anthropogenic CO2. Microbial self limitation (MSL) conditions of an ROZ are exploited for the assessment and management purposes of the ROZ.

Abstract: A wearable thorax percussion device for dislodging mucous buildup in the airways of a human patient, the device comprising frame elements and electromechanical actuators retained by the frame elements to intermittently percuss the thorax, and an electronic controller and power source for generating and modulating an electrical signal to energize the actuator. The frame elements may be interconnected by a garment, or fasteners and elastic or adjustable strapping.

Abstract: Body joint tracking is applied in various industries and medical field. In body joint tracking, marker less devices plays an important role. However, the marker less devices are facing some challenges in providing optimal tracking due to occlusion, ambiguity, lighting conditions, dynamic objects etc. System and method of the present disclosure provides an optimized body joint tracking. Here, motion data pertaining to a first set of motion frames from a motion sensor are received. Further, the motion data are processed to obtain a plurality of 3 dimensional cylindrical models. Here, every cylindrical model among the plurality of 3 dimensional cylindrical model represents a body segment. The coefficients associated with the plurality of 3 dimensional cylindrical models are initialized to obtain a set of initialized cylindrical models. A set of dynamic coefficients associated with the initialized cylindrical models are utilized to track joint motion trajectories of a set of subsequent frames.

Abstract: Techniques for protecting passwords and/or password entry by a user are provided. User identification data for a user can be received from a remote computing device. An identity of the user can be determined based on the user identification data. A password for the user can be determined. A modified keyboard configuration associated with the user can be determined. A request can be transmitted to the remote computing device for the password for the user based on the modified keyboard configuration. A modified password from the remote computing device can be received. A converted password based on the modified password and the modified keyboard configuration can be determined. The converted password can be compared to the password for the user. The user can be authorized when the converted password matches the password for the user.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to fixed-cutter drill bits with track-set primary cutters and backup cutters, methods of designing such bits, systems for implementing such methods, and systems for using such fixed-cutter drill bits to drill a wellbore in a geological formation.

Abstract: Various embodiments are directed to dynamically and temporarily adjusting power to an NFC reader of a computing device from a first power level to a second power level based on a feedback mechanism between a contactless card and the computing device. The contactless card may provide a message containing a checksum. The computing device may receive the message and calculate a checksum based on the received message. By comparing these two checksums, it may be determined whether the entire message has been correctly received. If not, the power to the NFC reader may be temporarily increased to allow better communication between the contactless card and the computing device.

Abstract: The method includes electrically connecting a power supply to a heater in an e-vaping device, where the power supply and the heater are in an electrical circuit. The method further includes configuring the electrical circuit to be selectively electrically connectable to a grounding terminal to complete the electrical circuit.

Abstract: A well tool for use within a borehole with borehole fluid. The well tool may include a body, an acoustic velocity transducer, a reflector plate, and a processor. The body may include a fluid conduit extending between a flow inlet and a flow outlet. The flow inlet and the flow outlet may be positioned on an exterior of the body to allow the borehole fluid to pass through the fluid conduit. The acoustic velocity sensor may be positioned within the fluid conduit and configured to generate and receive an acoustic pulse. The reflector plate may be positioned within the fluid conduit such that the pulse is reflected off of the reflector plate back to the acoustic velocity transducer. The processor may be programmed to determine an acoustic velocity of the borehole fluid based on a return time of the pulse reflected back from the reflector plate.

Abstract: Coil nails and similar fasteners to be driven by an automatic nailing tool have at least two different visual appearances after driving. Fasteners driven from a fresh magazine have a first visual appearance, and fasteners driven thereafter from the same magazine have a second, different visual appearance. A magazine may include fasteners having three or more different appearances. Preferably, all of the different appearances are grouped together so that all of the first appearance fasteners are driven, then all of the second appearance fasteners, and so on, until the last fastener having the last appearance is driven. Visual differences may be in color, size, shape, surface texture, or another characteristic.

Abstract: A method for identifying a leak for dynamic logging may comprise estimating a Stoneley wave slowness, separating a Stoneley wave into an up-going Stoneley wave and a down-going Stoneley wave, estimating an amplitude of the up-going Stoneley wave and the down-going Stoneley wave, identifying a difference between the amplitude of the up-going Stoneley wave and the down-going Stoneley wave, forming an amplitude summation curve or an amplitude difference curve, and identifying a location of the leak.

Abstract: An aerosol generating system includes a heater assembly and a manually operated pump. The pump includes a hollow member with an inlet portion and an outlet portion. The inlet portion of the hollow member is configured connectable with a liquid storage portion. The outlet portion of the hollow member is in fluid communication with a dispensing assembly. The pump is configured to dispense a liquid material onto the heater assembly. The pump is configured to pump the liquid material from the liquid storage portion via the dispensing assembly and onto the heater assembly.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods and systems for collecting and processing user transaction information for determining a financial profile associated with an income generating activity of a user. One exemplary method comprises: accessing email data associated with a user of an account associated with a financial service; monitoring a user financial profile by scanning the email data associated with the user and identifying email messages including transaction information associated with an income generating activity; extracting income information by determining an amount of payment to the user from the identified email messages; determining user income associated with the income generating activity within a previous period based on the extracted income information; and generating, based on the user income within the previous period, an output indicating an adjustment of at least one service term of the account of the financial service.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method is disclosed for training neural networks of a group recommender to provide item recommendations for ephemeral groups having group interaction sparsity. A preference encoder and aggregator generate user and group preference embeddings from user-item interactions, wherein the preference embeddings form a latent user-group latent embedding space.

Abstract: Disclosed are topical wound healing compositions useful in the holistic treatment of a patient's wound, particularly diabetic wounds of the foot. Methods of using these formulations topically and in coordinated use with certain oral supplements to improve treatment is also disclosed. In particular, formulations may include one or more of: water, Aloe Barbadensis leaf juice, micro silver, L-Arginine, locust bean gum, and Manuka honey. The topical formulations may be in the form of a gel.

Abstract: Systems, apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable media are provided to alleviate data sparsity in cross-recommendation systems. In particular, some embodiments are directed to a recommendation framework that addresses data sparsity and data scalability challenges seamlessly by meta-transfer learning contextual invariances cross domain, e.g., from dense source domain to sparse target domain. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

Abstract: A method for making a smokeless tobacco article can include combining thermoplastic polymer particles with tobacco particles to form a mixture of particles, compressing the mixture of particles within a pressing apparatus to form the mixture into a predetermined shape, separating the mixture from the pressing apparatus such that it retains the predetermined shape, and heating the mixture outside of the pressing apparatus to at least partially melt at least some of the thermoplastic polymer particles and form a matrix of polymer and tobacco particles.

Abstract: The use of pectins and/or polymers to prevent nicotine oxidation in tobacco containing products is disclosed. These polymers may be naturally occurring anionic polymers or synthetic polymers. These pectins and/or polymers prevent nicotine from oxidizing into cotinine, nicotine-cis-N-oxide, nicotine-trans-N-oxide, and/or nicotine-1,1-di-N-oxide. Molluscicides, algaecides, pesticides, and stabilized nicotine compositions comprising nicotine and pectin, anionic polymers, or combinations thereof are disclosed.

Abstract: A computer system for secure data access control, according to some examples, may perform operations including: receiving first data from a first client associated with a first user; using a first data access agent to store the first data in a first data store, the first data access agent having access to the first data store and not having access to a second data store; receiving second data from a second client associated with a second user; and using a second data access agent to store the second data in the second data store, the second data access agent having access to the second data store and not having access to the first data store.

Abstract: A method for removing a guided wave noise in a time-domain may include recording one or more acoustic signals with one or more receivers at a first location, wherein the one or more acoustic signals are raw data. The method may further include determining a slowness range, estimating a downward guided wave noise by stacking the one or more acoustic signals based at least in part on a positive slowness, estimating an upward guided wave noise by stacking the one or more acoustic signals based at least in part on a negative slowness, and identifying a dominant direction of propagation. The method may further include identifying a slowness from a highest stacked amplitude for the dominant direction of propagation, estimating a downward guided wave noise with the slowness, estimating an upward guided wave noise with the slowness, and subtracting the downward guided wave noise and the upward guided wave noise.