Abstract: In one aspect, an engine ignition apparatus for a natural gas engine may include a housing including a drive piston, a floating piston, a controllable hydraulic fluid chamber located between the drive piston and the floating piston, and an ignition chamber acted on by the floating piston, the ignition chamber having an outlet formed by a plurality of orifices, the outlet being in direct communication with a combustion chamber of the engine. In another aspect, an engine ignition apparatus for a natural gas engine may include, among other features, a controllable valve connected to a hydraulic fluid chamber, and configured to open and release a hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic fluid chamber, and to close. In still another aspect, a method for controlling an engine ignition apparatus for an engine includes, among other features, controlling a volume of a hydraulic fluid chamber of an ignition apparatus.

Abstract: A trailing link multi-bar suspension assembly for a cycle having improved stability includes a first arm having a first side and a second side, a first arm fixed pivot and a first arm shock pivot, the first side and second side defining a wheel opening. A shock link has a shock link fixed pivot and a shock link floating pivot. A shock absorber has an inline configuration, a gas spring, a first shock mount, and a second shock mount, and the shock absorber is substantially located on the first side or second side of the wheel opening. A spring unit, has a gas spring comprising a spring body, a first spring mount and a second spring mount, and the spring unit is substantially located on the first side or second side of the wheel opening A wheel carrier has a wheel carrier first pivot and a wheel carrier second pivot spaced apart from one another, and a wheel mount that is adapted to be connected to a wheel.

Abstract: The invention relates to a solid composite material comprising copper and an amount by volume of silver of less than about 5% by volume, relative to the total volume of said material, a process for manufacturing said material, and the uses of said material in various applications.

Abstract: A multiplier has a MOSFET in a common source configuration. A MOSFET current source is coupled to a drain terminal of the MOSFET, An inverter has an input coupled to the drain terminal of the MOSFET. An output of the inverter gates two currents whose current magnitudes are proportional. A first capacitor has a first terminal coupled to a first of the two currents and a gate of the MOSFET and a second terminal grounded. A second capacitor has a first terminal coupled to a second of the two currents and a second terminal coupled to the first of the two currents. The multiplier is first reset by discharging a gate capacitance of the MOSFET and then allowing it to be recharged to a Vt comparator threshold after which a charge is removed from the gate terminal of the MOSFET reducing a voltage on the gate terminal below the Vt comparator threshold, causing the two currents to be enabled until the Vt comparator threshold reaches a previous Vt comparator threshold and the inverter turns off the two currents.

Abstract: A real-time computational device includes a programmable real-time processor, a communications input port which is connected to the programmable real-time processor through a first broadside interface, and a communications output port which is connected to the programmable real-time processor through a second broadside interface. Both broadside interfaces enable 1024 bits of data to be transferred across each of the broadside interfaces in a single clock cycle of the programmable real-time processor.

Abstract: A wearable orthotic appliance to which at least one corrective element for correcting neuromuscular imbalances may be removably attached is made of fabric assembly held in compressive tension when worn by a user, the fabric assembly including a cavity or chamber into which the corrective element may be placed and secured at any of a plurality of continuously-adjustable positions. Maintenance of the corrective element position during use of the appliance may be assisted by establishing a compression gradient over selected areas of the appliance during assembly. The wearable orthotic appliance may be a shirt, vest, body suit, or other garment or article of clothing, and the corrective elements may be weights, electrodes, or other discrete elements whose therapeutic effect depends on proper positioning relative to the wearer's torso or other body parts.

Abstract: A combustor for a gas turbine engine includes a liner having a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, and defining a plurality of effusion cooling holes. At least one of the effusion cooling holes includes an inlet section and a converging section downstream of the inlet section. The at least one of the effusion cooling holes includes a metering section downstream of the converging section. The at least one of the effusion cooling holes includes an outlet section downstream of the metering section. The outlet section is proximate to the second surface. The inlet section, the converging section, the metering section and the outlet section extend along a longitudinal axis, with the inlet section asymmetrical relative to the longitudinal axis and the metering section symmetrical relative to the longitudinal axis.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods and systems for spectrometric analysis of samples. In some cases, the spectrometric analysis is Raman spectrometry. The methods and systems may be used to identify one or more characteristics of a sample, such as the identity of and the quantity of a molecule within the sample. In some embodiments, the methods and devices provide for rapid sample analysis that is more accurate, precise and cost-effective than traditional methods.

Abstract: Disclosed is a surgical system that includes a surgical hub couplable with inventory items of an institution, and a cloud-based analytics system communicatively coupled to the surgical hub. The cloud-based analytics system is configured to receive a selection of a surgical procedure to be performed; determine a property of a tissue to be treated in the surgical procedure; select from the inventory items a surgical device for use in the surgical procedure based on the tissue property; and suggest using the surgical device in the surgical procedure based on availability of the surgical device in inventory.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to provide improved engine load models are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a model generator to generate an engine load model for an engine using flight information, weather information, and manifest information to predict a load on the engine from an engine subsystem utilization modeled for a flight. The example model generator is to incorporate the engine load model into an engine model, the engine model representing engine behavior for the flight. The example model generator is to determine a first measure of thrust from the engine and a second measure of fuel flow to the engine using the engine model with the engine load model, the engine load model to modify engine behavior by the predicted load on the engine from the engine subsystem utilization.

Abstract: A razor blade including: a substrate having a tip portion including a tip region, a blade body including a base, and first and second outer sides disposed opposite a split line of the substrate that converge at a tip; and first and second coatings disposed substantially on the first and second outer sides, respectively. Also provided is a method of coating the razor blade, including: applying a first coating to at least a portion of the first outer side; and applying a second coating to at least a portion of the second outer side. The first and second coatings each extend from the tip region toward the base and are substantially different, as compared to each other.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for determining a subset of a plurality of relationships between a plurality of parameters describing operation of a lithographic apparatus, the method comprising: determining a first set of data describing first relationships between a plurality of parameters of a reference apparatus; based on one or more measurements, determining a second set of data describing second relationships between the plurality of parameters of the reference or a further apparatus; comparing the first set of data and the second set of data; and selecting from the second set of data a subset of the second relationships based on differences between the first set of data and the second set of data.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for isolating transaction records having deficient standard data elements. The method may include: acquiring a first transaction record corresponding to a transactional entity, the first transaction record including a set of standard data fields in a first state; acquiring a second transaction record corresponding to the transactional entity, the second transaction record including the set of standard data fields in a second state; analyzing the first state and the second state to identify a deficiency of the standard data fields of one or both of the first transaction record and the second transaction record, the deficiency corresponding to a misclassification of an installment payment transaction of the transactional entity; and storing a record of the misclassification, the record identifying one or both of the first transaction record and the second transaction record.

Abstract: An aerosol containment enclosure dimensioned to enclose a head of a patient comprising a plurality of panels to be folded or moved from an unfolded position to a folded position in order to form the aerosol containment enclosure to protect from expelled contaminated aerosol particles.

Abstract: A system for optimizing blending for mass production produced products. The system may include a processor configured to aggregate material information, aggregate production information, model consumer liking of the at least one product, and provide plan information for controlling production resources based on the material information, the production information, and the consumer liking. The material information can be associated with a product input of the at least one product. The production information can be associated with the production resources of the at least one product.

Abstract: A virtual environment system for validating executable data using authorized hash outputs is provided. In particular, the system may generate a virtual environment using a virtual environment device, where the virtual environment is logically and/or physically separated from other devices and/or environments within the network. The system may then open a specified set of executable data within the virtual environment and perform a set of commands or processes with respect to the executable data. If the system determines that the executable data is unsafe to run, the system may generate a hash output of the executable data and store the hash output in a database of unauthorized executable data. In this way, the system may securely generate a repository of authorized and unauthorized hashes such that the system may ensure that unsafe executable data is blocked from being processed within a network environment.

Abstract: In various examples, a current claimed set of points representative of a volume in an environment occupied by a vehicle at a time may be determined. A vehicle-occupied trajectory and at least one object-occupied trajectory may be generated at the time. An intersection between the vehicle-occupied trajectory and an object-occupied trajectory may be determined based at least in part on comparing the vehicle-occupied trajectory to the object-occupied trajectory. Based on the intersection, the vehicle may then execute the first safety procedure or an alternative procedure that, when implemented by the vehicle when the object implements the second safety procedure, is determined to have a lesser likelihood of incurring a collision between the vehicle and the object than the first safety procedure.

Abstract: A system and a method are disclosed for ray tracing in a pipeline of a graphic processing unit (GPU). It is determined whether a ray bounce of a first ray intersects a first primitive that is the closest primitive intersected by the ray bounce. The first ray is part of a first group of rays being processed by a first single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) process. The first ray is assigned by a sorting or binning unit to a second group of rays based on the intersection of the first primitive. The second group of rays is processed by a second SIMD process. The first ray is assigned to the second group of rays based on a material identification of the first primitive, an identification of the first primitive intersected by the ray bound of the first ray, a pixel location, and a bounce number of the ray bounce intersecting the first primitive.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and related products that provide emotion-sensitive responses to user's commands and other utterances received at an utterance-based user interface. Acknowledgements of user's utterances are adapted to the user and/or the user device, and emotions detected in the user's utterance that have been mapped from one or more emotion features extracted from the utterance. In some examples, extraction of a user's changing emotion during a sequence of interactions is used to generate a response to a user's uttered command. In some examples, emotion processing and command processing of natural utterances are performed asynchronously.

Abstract: An exemplary system, method, and computer-accessible medium for providing a financial account recommendation to person(s) can include receiving a transaction history for the person(s) associated with a first financial account, determining first rewards information based on the transaction history, accessing database(s) containing rewards rates for a plurality of second financial accounts, determining second rewards information for a particular second financial account of the plurality of second financial accounts based on the transaction history, and providing the financial account recommendation to the person(s) to one of (i) keep the first financial account or (ii) switch to the second financial account based on a comparison of the first rewards information to the second rewards information.