Abstract: We disclose a method of tagging a variety of pharmaceutical or nutritional products in which well-studied chemicals may be added to the products in unique ratios. The identities of the chemicals and their relative ratios comprise unique taggants. The taggants may identify which of multiple distinct categories the product falls within. The method includes the step of systematically varying the relative concentrations of the chemicals resulting in multiple ratios of the chemicals. The plurality of ratios of a defined set of chemicals may be collected to form a library of taggants associated with specified items or categories. As the number of chemicals added per product increases, the library supports more categories and the system is less likely to produce a false positive. The method may result in a series of taggants for each item which is single fault tolerant or double fault tolerant.

Abstract: We disclose an in-toilet urinalysis system which includes a system for collection urine and for analysis of urine components using aptamer technology. Urine collection system may dispense urine into cuvettes, channels, or other containers that include aptamers. The aptamers may detect target molecules in urine. The aptamers may measure urine analytes, detect excreted drugs or drug metabolites, or disease markers. Upon binding to the target molecule, the aptamers may produce a signal which a sensor in the toilet may detect. In some embodiments, the signal may be electrochemical, fluorescent, or colorimetric. The measurements obtained from analysis of the urine may be used to assess a user's health or diagnose disease. In some embodiments, the measurements are stored in a controller which may transmit the measurements to a healthcare provider for assessment.

Abstract: We disclose a method of using taggants to assess how and to what extent a drug in a drug composition has decayed in response to environmental conditions and time. The taggants may decay in response to environmental conditions which cause drugs to lose their efficacy. The decay may occur due to improper storage or excursions into certain environmental conditions. These environmental conditions may include light, temperature, moisture, oxidation, and age. By including taggants that have different decay characteristics, the environmental condition that caused the decay may be determined. The amount of time the drug composition was exposed to the environmental condition and the amount of effective drug remaining may also be determined. The disclosed method may reduce the need for a unique assay for each drug to assess decay and determine shelf life. The disclosed method may also be used as a quality control technique for pharmaceutical products.

Abstract: We disclose a method of tagging nutritional or drug compositions using chemical entities which are known to be safely consumed and which are detectable using known techniques, including near IR spectroscopy. The chemical entities used as tags may be detected in easily obtainable biological samples, including urine and feces. The biological sample may be deposited into a medical toilet which may analyze the biological sample using an analytical device associated with the medical toilet. The tag may be identified and quantified to then identify and quantify the nutritional or drug composition the subject consumed along with the tag. This system may be used to track the source of a food or drug, confirm compliance to a prescribed diet or drug treatment, confirm drug consumption in clinical trials, identify the source of contaminated food, and identify the food substances used to produce food products.

Abstract: We disclose a method of using taggants to assess how and to what extent a drug in a drug composition that a user has consumed has decayed in response to storage conditions and time. The taggants may decay in response to environmental conditions which cause different drugs to lose their efficacy. These environmental conditions may include light, temperature, oxidation, moisture, and age. The taggants may be detected in biological samples, including urine and feces. By identifying the taggants, the drug composition and other information relating to the drug may be identified. Additionally, quantification of the different taggants may be used to determine whether the drug in the drug composition has been exposed to environmental conditions which may reduce its efficacy.

Abstract: We disclose a method of using taggants to assess how and to what extent a drug in a drug composition that a user has consumed has decayed in response to storage conditions and time. The taggants may decay in response to environmental conditions which cause different drugs to lose their efficacy. These environmental conditions may include light, temperature, oxidation, and age. The taggants may be detected in biological samples, including urine and feces. By identifying the taggants, the drug composition and other information relating to the drug may be identified. Additionally, quantification of the different taggants may be used to determine whether the drug in the drug composition has been exposed to environmental conditions which may reduce its efficacy.

Abstract: We disclose a drug tracking system and method of use which may be used to screen a subject's bodily waste in order to assess whether the subject has consumed a drug. The system includes a drug composition which is tagged with at least one artificial sweetener that may be detected in the subject's bodily waste. The subject may consume the tagged drug and a user may obtain a sample of the subject's bodily waste. The bodily waste sample may be analyzed to detect the artificial sweetener or its metabolite. In some embodiments, the result of the analysis of bodily waste may be entered into a database, compared to standards that comprises analyses of a plurality of drug tags, and the identity of the drug tag, and consequently the drug composition, determined.

Abstract: We disclose a drug tracking system and method of use which may be used to screen a user's bodily waste and to collect information about the drugs the user has consumed. The system includes mixing or adhering a drug tag with a drug compound. The drug tag includes at least one nucleic acid or nucleic acid analog, the unique nucleotide sequence of which correlates to information about the drug. The unique sequence may correlate with a drug molecule, a drug class, a manufacturer, and/or a distributer. Each of these categories of information may be incorporated into the nucleotide sequence of a separate nucleic acid or nucleic acid analog molecules or combined in a single molecule. The sequence of the drug tag may be entered into a database which stores the drug information associated with each discrete nucleotide sequence.

Abstract: We disclose a toilet system which analyzes solid waste to detect tags which were associated with pharmaceutical or nutritional products and excreted in the solid waste of a user. The toilet system may include a receptacle for receiving solid waste, a liquid dispenser for providing a liquid to assist in dispersing the solid waste, a solid waste dispersing system which may mix the solid waste with the liquid thereby homogenizing the solid waste, and an electromagnetic signature detector which may analyze the tags in the solid waste. The electromagnetic signature detector may include a selective binding surface which may bind tags present in the solid waste and which may be connected to a transducer which senses the presence of bound tags.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a toilet apparatus for detecting a drug marker in a urine sample. The drug markers are fluorophores each of which emits a unique fluorescence spectrum. Accordingly, the toilet does not detect the drug but rather, the drug marker. The user consumes a drug composition which includes a drug and a fluorescent drug marker. The user urinates normally into the toilet and fluorescence spectrometer within the toilet analyzes the urine for drug markers based on their unique fluorescent spectra. Computer software associated with the toilet identifies, and in some embodiments, quantifies the fluorescent spectra by comparing the detected spectra to known spectra of fluorescent markers associated with the drug.

Abstract: Devices and methods for well logging using a wear-resistant electrode are provided. A downhole device may include a drill collar and a first electrode mounted on the drill collar. Further, the first electrode may include a wear-resistant face. The first electrode may be movably coupled within the drill collar, and the first electrode may be configured to extend and retract into a wellbore to maintain contact with a wall of the wellbore. Furthermore, the first electrode may be configured to measure impedance of a geological formation.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a toilet apparatus for detecting a drug marker in a urine sample. The drug markers are fluorophores each of which emits a unique fluorescence spectrum. Accordingly, the toilet does not detect the drug but rather, the drug marker. The user consumes a drug composition which includes a drug and a fluorescent drug marker. The user urinates normally into the toilet and fluorescence spectrometer within the toilet analyzes the urine for drug markers based on their unique fluorescent spectra. Computer software associated with the toilet identifies, and in some embodiments, quantifies the fluorescent spectra by comparing the detected spectra to known spectra of fluorescent markers associated with the drug.

Abstract: We disclose a method of tagging pharmaceutical and nutritional products with nanoparticles which include noble metals. The disclosure describes a plurality of nanoparticles each with either a different size and/or shape. The nanoparticles of different sizes and shapes are distinguishable using spectroscopic techniques because each is associated with different optical properties and have a different spectral signature. The different optical properties are at least due to the unique size or shape of the nanoparticles. Each of the plurality of nanoparticles may be associated with a different characteristic of the tagged pharmaceutical or nutritional product. The method includes mixing the nanoparticles with or adhering the nanoparticles to the tagged pharmaceutical or nutritional product. Two or more of the plurality of nanoparticles may be mixed with or adhered to the tagged pharmaceutical or nutritional product in a ratio and the ratio may be associated with a characteristic of the product.

Abstract: A synthetic aperture photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor is disclosed. A group or matrix of contiguous PPG sensors located on a toilet seat are conditionally combined based on sensor measurements. Conditional combinations may be based on timing data and signal-to-noise ratio data of each of the PPG measurements. Measurements associated with the conditional combinations are then used to determine a cardiac function of a toilet user.

Abstract: We disclose a drug tracking system and method of use which may be used to screen a subject's bodily waste and to identify the drug the subject has consumed. The system includes a drug that is tagged with a food dye that may be detected in the subject's bodily waste using absorption spectroscopic analysis. The subject consumes the tagged drug and a user obtains a sample of the subject's bodily waste. The user may analyze the subject's urine using an absorption spectroscopic technique. The user may enter the emission spectrum obtained from the absorption spectroscopic analysis into a database that includes the signature emission spectra from multiple food dyes that are used as drug tags. The emission spectra may be compared and the identity of the food dye and its associated drug may be determined.

Abstract: A recommendation system communicates with end user devices over a computer communications network and includes a recommendations engine that communicates with the network from behind a firewall that inhibits unauthorized communications from the network, a data file system that receives disposition update data in response to purchase actions initiated by an end user device and receives ingested user activity data in response to activity at a network storefront initiated by an end user device, and a database system that updates a recommendation model for the end user device in response to receiving the disposition update data and ingested user activity data. The recommendations engine generates a recommendation for the end user device in response to the update of the recommendation model.

Abstract: Devices and methods for well logging using a wear resistant electrode are provided. A downhole device may include a drill bit, a gauge pad mounted on the drill bit, and a first electrode mounted in the gauge pad. An insulating polycrystalline diamond (PCD) material may surround at least a portion of the first electrode. Additionally, the first electrode may include an electrically conductive wear resistant contact point that maintains constant contact with a wall of a wellbore. Additionally, the first electrode may measure an impedance of a geological formation during a drilling operation.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a method of detecting a drug marker in a urine sample. The drug markers are fluorophores each of which emits a unique fluorescence spectrum. Accordingly, the method does not detect the drug but rather, the drug marker. The drug marker may include quantum dots which may be functionalized by connecting the quantum dot to a biomolecule. The biomolecule may be cleavable by a peptidase, a protease, or a nuclease to release the drug. Alternatively, the composition may include a liposome carrier. A user who has consumed the drug composition provides a urine sample. The fluorescence spectrometer screens the urine for drug markers based on their unique fluorescent spectra.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a method of detecting a drug marker in urine a urine sample using a toilet. The drug markers are fluorophores each of which emits a unique fluorescence spectra. Accordingly, the method does not detect the drug but rather, the drug marker. The drug marker may include quantum dots which may be functionalized by connecting the quantum dot to a biomolecule. The biomolecule may be cleavable by a peptidase, a protease, or a nuclease to release the drug. Alternatively, the composition may include a liposome carrier. A user who has consumed the drug composition urinates into the toilet and a urine sample is captured. The toilet includes a mechanism for fluid handling which diverts urine into a fluorescence spectrometer. The fluorescence spectrometer screens the urine for drug markers based on their unique fluorescent spectra.

Abstract: A system with an associated method for preloading advertisements by a server to a user's device is disclosed. In response to inquiries made by members of a user group, the system presents advertisements to the members and keeps a record of these presentations. Next, the system identifies those advertisements which have been frequently presented to the members, and preloads the identified advertisements on the device of a user who belongs to the user group. Subsequently, upon receiving a specific inquiry from the user's device, the system determines a response to the specific inquiry. When the determined response contains one of the preloaded advertisements, the system sends an instruction to the user's device to present the preloaded advertisement to the user.