Abstract: A substance deposition and backflow preventing arrangement including a housing having a port therein, a sleeve disposed within the housing and positionable to cover or uncover the port, the sleeve having a first seal at one end thereof presenting a first hydraulic dimension and a second seal at another end of the sleeve having a different hydraulic dimension, a biasing member operably connected to the sleeve and to the housing and configured to urge the sleeve to a position covering the port.

Abstract: A cell cultivation apparatus for cultivating microorganisms and growing cells at high density is provided. The apparatus includes a membrane comprising multiple surface features on a first side of the membrane for cell placement. The surface features comprising one or more compartments within which a cell can be located. The membrane includes a material that is at least partially permeable to gas. A second side of the membrane defines a gas region. The second side of the membrane is separated from the first side of the membrane by the membrane. The apparatus further includes a media region for receiving media. The compartments are configured to at least partially reduce media flow shear forces on one or more cells in the compartments. The surface features may be ridges, protrusions, fins, wells, and/or posts.

Abstract: A system and method for providing a gratuity is disclosed. The system includes a mobile computing device including one or more processors and memory holding computer program instructions executable by the one or more processors. The computer-implemented program instructions reads a machine-readable code in a hotel room and transmits the machine-readable code and an indication of a gratuity amount including a gratuity sender source of funds account to a service provider.

Abstract: An object removal enhancement arrangement including a seat, a volume movable with the seat, the volume being protected in a first condition of the seat and unprotected in a second condition of the seat, and a material disposed within or as a part of the volume, the material degradative of an object.

Abstract: A degradable object including a shell comprising a degradable material, a substance disposed at least partially within the shell, the substance having a coefficient of thermal expansion greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the shell.

Abstract: An object removal enhancement arrangement including a second object comprising a material configured to enhance degradation of a first object. A resource recovery system including a tubular string disposed in a formation, a first seat disposed in the tubular string, a second seat disposed in the tubular string, an object receivable in the second seat upstream of the first seat, the object comprising a material to enhance degradation of an object receivable in the first seat. A method for enhancing response time for degrading degradable objects in a system including landing a first object on a first seat, pressuring against the first object, landing a second object on a second seat uphole of the first object, releasing a material of the second object to an environment between the first seat and the second seat.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for determining an alignment between cross-modal sensor data. In one aspect, a method comprises: obtaining (i) an image that characterizes a visual appearance of an environment, and (ii) a point cloud comprising a collection of data points that characterizes a three-dimensional geometry of the environment; processing each of a plurality of regions of the image using a visual embedding neural network to generate a respective embedding of each of the image regions; processing each of a plurality of regions of the point cloud using a shape embedding neural network to generate a respective embedding of each of the point cloud regions; and identifying a plurality of region pairs using the embeddings of the image regions and the embeddings of the point cloud regions.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for determining that prediction outputs generated by a prediction system are sensitive to variations in the values of one or more of a set of target sensor calibration parameters. In one aspect, a sensitivity analysis system is configured to perform operations comprising updating the values of one or more target sensor calibration parameters of each sensor data tuple of a plurality sensor data tuples, comprising, for each sensor data tuple: providing the sensor data tuple with the current values of the target sensor calibration parameters to the prediction subsystem to generate a current prediction output; determining a gradient of a function of the current prediction output with respect to the target sensor calibration parameters; and updating the current values of the target sensor calibration parameters of the sensor data tuple using the gradient.

Abstract: A production system and a frac sleeve assembly of a frac assembly of the production system. The frac sleeve assembly includes a funnel section that reduces in diameter in a direction of an outlet of the frac assembly, a throat section having a selected diameter, and a ball seat at an intersection of the funnel section and the throat section for receiving a ball. When seated in the ball seat, an entire portion of a ball extending into the funnel section is exposed to disintegrating fluid in the funnel section.

Abstract: Methods of preventing creaming and age gelation in heat treated dairy based products are provided herein. Heat treated dairy based products are also provided, in which physical instability is prevented.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a housing configured to be disposed in a borehole in a resource bearing formation, the housing including an axially extending fluid conduit configured to receive borehole fluid, and a seating assembly including a convertible component that is configured to be actuated to move the convertible component in a radial direction between an open position and a seating position. The convertible component extends radially into the fluid conduit and forms a landing seat for an object when in the seating position, and the convertible component allows passage of the object therethrough when in the open position.

Abstract: An object seat including a seat host having a seal bore therein, a seat body dimensioned to be receivable in the seal bore, the seat body having an object receptor. A method for carrying out a pressure operation in a borehole including seating an object on an object receptor of a seat body, the seat body disposed in a seat host, the seat host disposed in the borehole, pressuring against the object, and moving the seat body along an interface between the seat body and the seat host to create a fluid flow pathway through the seat body and seat host interface. A borehole system including a borehole in a formation, an object seat as in any prior embodiment disposed in the borehole.

Abstract: A plug seat including a body having a lead in and a tooth, a flow feature disposed at the body, the feature providing fluid access directly to an area immediately adjacent the tooth. A plug seat including a tooth positioned relative to a body to be at an upstream most end of the body, a cage extending from the body immediately downstream of the tooth to an area radially outward of the tooth and upstream thereof.

Abstract: A vehicle trim assembly comprises a foam bun, an electrically insulative top finish layer above the foam bun, a thermal gradient assembly under the finish trim layer, and a thermal enhancement layer between the thermal gradient assembly and the finish trim layer. The thermal gradient assembly is adapted to generate a thermal gradient when receiving an electric current and has an electrically conductive top layer, an electrically conductive bottom layer, and a semiconductor layer having first and second semiconductor regions between the top and bottom layers. The thermal enhancement layer has a thermal conductivity adapted to direct thermal energy transfer between the thermal gradient assembly and the finish trim layer.

Abstract: A method of controlling degradation of a degradable material including forming a fluid in a hydration unit, admixing one or more additives to the fluid in a blender, introducing the fluid into a wellbore, injecting a degradation fluid between the hydration unit and the blender. The degradation fluid forms a degradation zone in the fluid. A degradable component formed from a degradable material is introduced into the degradation zone, and the degradable material and the degradation zone is pumped into a wellbore.

Abstract: A degradable object including a shell comprising a degradable material, a substance disposed at least partially within the shell, the substance having a coefficient of thermal expansion greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the shell.

Abstract: A production system and a frac sleeve assembly of a frac assembly of the production system. The frac sleeve assembly includes a funnel section that reduces in diameter in a direction of an outlet of the frac assembly, a throat section having a selected diameter, and a ball seat at an intersection of the funnel section and the throat section for receiving a ball. When seated in the ball seat, an entire portion of a ball extending into the funnel section is exposed to disintegrating fluid in the funnel section.

Abstract: An object seat including a seat host having a seal bore therein, a seat body dimensioned to be receivable in the seal bore, the seat body having an object receptor. A method for carrying out a pressure operation in a borehole including seating an object on an object receptor of a seat body, the seat body disposed in a seat host, the seat host disposed in the borehole, pressuring against the object, and moving the seat body along an interface between the seat body and the seat host to create a fluid flow pathway through the seat body and seat host interface. A borehole system including a borehole in a formation, an object seat as in any prior embodiment disposed in the borehole.

Abstract: An object removal enhancement arrangement including a second object comprising a material configured to enhance degradation of a first object. A resource recovery system including a tubular string disposed in a formation, a first seat disposed in the tubular string, a second seat disposed in the tubular string, an object receivable in the second seat upstream of the first seat, the object comprising a material to enhance degradation of an object receivable in the first seat. A method for enhancing response time for degrading degradable objects in a system including landing a first object on a first seat, pressuring against the first object, landing a second object on a second seat uphole of the first object, releasing a material of the second object to an environment between the first seat and the second seat.

Abstract: An object removal enhancement arrangement including a seat, a volume movable with the seat, the volume being protected in a first condition of the seat and unprotected in a second condition of the seat, and a material disposed within or as a part of the volume, the material degradative of an object.