Abstract: Payment card transactions at a point of sale (POS) are secured in certain embodiments by intercepting, with a POS security layer installed on a POS terminal, payment data from the POS terminal, transmitting the payment data from the POS security layer to a server security application installed on a POS server, and providing false payment data from the POS security layer to a POS terminal application installed on the POS terminal. The false payment data in various embodiments is processed as if it were the payment data, such that the POS terminal transmits an authorization request to the POS server using the false payment data. In addition, the authorization request may be transmitted from the POS server to a payment gateway.

Abstract: An electronic commerce (e-commerce) system may send advertisement emails to customers that are registered with the e-commerce system. The advertisement emails may include mailto hyperlinks. Each mailto hyperlink describes an email message that may be generated when that hyperlink is selected. When a mailto hyperlink is selected, the generated email message may include one or more parameters related to a donation that be made by the customer to a non-profit organization. For example, the generated email message may include a customer identifier, and/or one or more parameters that indicate the non-profit to which a donation should be made, and an amount to be donated. The generated email message may then be transmitted to the e-commerce system. The e-commerce system may receive the message and, based on the parameters in the received message, communicate with a payment processing system to perform the donation indicated in the message.

Abstract: An information management system may store information related to tasks to be performed by workers in an organization. Workers in the organization may communicate with the information management system using email messages. The information management system may not require a login or authentication procedure, and workers may interact with the information management system without the need to log in to the information management system. The information management system may receive an email message from a worker that indicates a request for a report. The information management system may determine whether to transmit the report to the worker based on whether the worker is appropriately registered with the information management system, and/or whether the worker has administrative privileges. The information management system, in response to a positive determination, may transmit the report to the email address from which the requesting email message was sent.

Abstract: A shredder has cutter elements for destroying articles (paper) and a feed mechanism for advancing paper from a stack in a tray into cutters for shredding. The feed mechanism has a feed member provided adjacent to the tray with an elastic arm for engaging and disengaging the stack. The feed member rotates in a feeding direction about an axle, with the elastic arm elastically deforming to apply pressure to feed paper atop the stack to the cutters. The elastic arm can include a protruding tip that is inserted into the stack. The tray includes a curved feed bed to assist in feeding paper into the cutters and deforming the elastic arm. A pivot arm can also move the feed member relative to the tray (e.g., vertically). A disengagement mechanism can hold the feed mechanism in an inoperable feeding position when a drawer or tray is moved into an open position.

Abstract: A shredder includes a shredding mechanism and a vibration sensor configured to detect vibrations generated by the shredding mechanism. The shredder includes a controller configured to regulate operation of the shredder's motor in response to the detected vibrations. The controller may regulate operation of the shredder so as to keep the detected vibrations below a predetermined vibration level during operation of the shredder. The controller may modify operation of the shredder (e.g., turn the shredder off, conduct an autocorrect sequence, increase or decrease the shredder's speed, display an error message) in response to the detected vibrations having a predetermined characteristic (e.g., frequency and/or amplitude within a predetermined range, a characteristic that indicates a material/paper jam or misfeed).

Abstract: A method for making a cellular seal member for a turbine is disclosed. The method includes, in sequence, forming a diffusion aluminide coating on a surface of a cellular seal to form a coated cellular seal. The method also includes brazing the coated cellular seal to a seal substrate.

Abstract: An alarm system is provided that includes an alarm and a snooze system. The snooze system is operable to suspend the alarm for at least one snooze duration, wherein the length of the snooze duration is random. In some embodiments, the random snooze durations may be selected by shuffling a set of predetermined snooze durations, and in others the random snooze duration may have a minimum or maximum duration.

Abstract: A shredder includes a shredding mechanism and a vibration sensor configured to detect vibrations generated by the shredding mechanism. The shredder includes a controller configured to regulate operation of the shredder's motor in response to the detected vibrations. The controller may regulate operation of the shredder so as to keep the detected vibrations below a predetermined vibration level during operation of the shredder. The controller may modify operation of the shredder (e.g., turn the shredder off, conduct an autocorrect sequence, increase or decrease the shredder's speed, display an error message) in response to the detected vibrations having a predetermined characteristic (e.g., frequency and/or amplitude within a predetermined range, a characteristic that indicates a material/paper jam or misfeed).

Abstract: A slurry and slurry coating process for forming a diffusion aluminide coating on a substrate, including internal surfaces within the substrate. The process involves preparing a slurry of a powder containing a metallic aluminum alloy having a melting temperature higher than aluminum, an activator capable of forming a reactive halide vapor with the metallic aluminum, and a binder containing an organic polymer. The slurry is applied to surfaces of the substrate, which is then heated to burn off the binder, vaporize and react the activator with the metallic aluminum to form the halide vapor, react the halide vapor at the substrate surfaces to deposit aluminum on the surfaces, and diffuse the deposited aluminum into the surfaces to form a diffusion aluminide coating. The process can be tailored to selectively produce an inward or outward-type coating. The binder burns off to form an ash residue that can be readily removed.

Abstract: A contaminated solvent recycling system is disclosed and claimed. The system comprises a distillation vessel having an upper distillation zone and a separate, lower, waste collection zone. A heater heats contaminated solvent feed within the distillation zone to distill off the solvent. By separating the distillation zone from the waste collection zone, the distillation zone can process consecutive batches of contaminated solvent feed. The waste collection zone can accommodate waste accumulating from the distillation process for extended periods of time between waste removal operations.

Abstract: An information management system may store information related to tasks to be performed by workers in an organization. Workers in the organization may communicate with the information management system using email messages. The information management system may not require a login or authentication procedure, and workers may interact with the information management system without the need to log in to the information management system. The information management system may receive an email message from a worker that indicates a request for a report. The information management system may determine whether to transmit the report to the worker based on whether the worker is appropriately registered with the information management system, and/or whether the worker has administrative privileges. The information management system, in response to a positive determination, may transmit the report to the email address from which the requesting email message was sent.

Abstract: Payment card transactions at a point of sale (POS) are secured in certain embodiments by intercepting, with a POS security layer installed on a POS terminal, payment data from the POS terminal, transmitting the payment data from the POS security layer to a server security application installed on a POS server, and providing false payment data from the POS security layer to a POS terminal application installed on the POS terminal. The false payment data in various embodiments is processed as if it were the payment data, such that the POS terminal transmits an authorization request to the POS server using the false payment data. In addition, the authorization request may be transmitted from the POS server to a payment gateway.

Abstract: The present invention relates to cellulose mixed esters, processes for preparing these and uses of the cellulose mixed esters, for example in coating compositions. The cellulose mixed esters have glass transition temperatures that fall within an appropriate range to allow for film formation to occur at ambient temperatures and have a total degree of substitution per anhydroglucose unit of about 2.5 to about 3.5; a residual hydroxyl functionality per anhydroglucose unit of 0 to about 0.5; a degree of substitution per anhydroglucose unit by C2-C6 ester groups of about 0.5 to about 2.8; and a degree of substitution per anhydroglucose unit by Ievulinyl ester groups of about 0.2 to about 2.6.

Abstract: An electronic commerce (e-commerce) system may send advertisement emails to customers that are registered with the e-commerce system. The advertisement emails may include mailto hyperlinks. Each mailto hyperlink may be associated with a product that is being offered for sale, and each mailto hyperlink describes an email message that may be generated when that hyperlink is selected. When a mailto hyperlink is selected, the generated email message may include one or more parameters related to the product associated with the hyperlink, such as an identifier of the product. The generated email message may then be transmitted to the e-commerce system. The e-commerce system may receive the message and, based on the parameters in the received message, execute a transaction to purchase the identified product on behalf of the customer.

Abstract: Various exemplary devices and methods are provided for adjusting brightness of a light source. In general, the devices and methods can allow brightness of a light source to be adjusted by varying a power supply of the light source. The power supply can be varied in response to a user input. In one exemplary embodiment, the light source can be included as part of a scope, e.g., a borescope, an endoscope, etc., configured to be advanced into a target and to gather one or more video images and/or one or more still images within the target using a camera. The light source can be configured to illuminate the target at a selected one of the variable amounts of brightness. A white balance of the light source can be configured to automatically adjust in response to the selected amount of brightness.

Abstract: A process of treating a coated article and a treated article are disclosed. The process includes providing an article having a MCrAlY coating, applying an aluminide treatment onto the MCrAlY coating to form a treated MCrAlY coating, and outwardly forming ?-phase material from the MCrAlY coating into the treatment. The applying is selected from the group consisting of soaking, spraying, brushing, dipping, pouring, pack cementation, vapor deposition, and combinations thereof. The treated article includes a substrate and a treated MCrAlY coating positioned on at least a portion of the substrate. The treated MCrAlY coating includes a ?-phase aluminide in a spray-applied, brush-applied, pour-applied, dip-applied, pack cement-applied, vapor deposit-applied, or soaking-applied treatment.

Abstract: The present disclosure is generally related to an apparatus having cutter elements for destroying articles such as paper sheets and a mechanism for separating at least a sheet from a stack in a tray. The separation mechanism can be activated by rotation of the cutter elements. In one embodiment, the separation mechanism is provided in the form of a helical mechanism, such as a coil, configured for insertion into the stack and to receive separated sheets from the stack in between its spaces as it is rotated. The separated sheets can fall via gravity into the shredder mechanism. Optionally, a paper feed mechanism can feed separated paper to the cutter elements. The tray can include an edge to assist in directing separated paper towards the cutter elements. One or more staple picking support mechanisms can also be provided to assist in separating sheets from a stapled set of pages.

Abstract: An electronic commerce (e-commerce) system may send advertisement emails to customers that are registered with the e-commerce system. The advertisement emails may include mailto hyperlinks. Each mailto hyperlink may be associated with a product that is being offered for sale, and each mailto hyperlink describes an email message that may be generated when that hyperlink is selected. When a mailto hyperlink is selected, the generated email message may include one or more parameters related to the product associated with the hyperlink, such as an identifier of the product. The generated email message may then be transmitted to the e-commerce system. The e-commerce system may receive the message and, based on the parameters in the received message, execute a transaction to purchase the identified product on behalf of the customer.

Abstract: Methods of reducing an initial cross-sectional area of a hole in a component to a predetermined cross-sectional area including preparing a composition comprising at least an aluminum alloy with a melting temperature higher than aluminum, applying the composition to an interior surface of the hole, and then heating the component to cause a metal within the component to diffuse from the component into the composition and react with the aluminum alloy in the composition to form a coating on the interior surface of the hole. The heating step is performed to selectively modify the initial cross-sectional area of the hole and thereby directly attain the predetermined cross-sectional area thereof.

Abstract: A casting process for producing metal alloy castings, facecoats and apparatuses suitable for carrying out the process, and castings produced by the process. The casting process entails the use of a mold having a cavity with a continuous aluminum-containing solid facecoat on its surface. A molten quantity of a metal alloy is introduced into the mold cavity so that the molten alloy contacts the solid facecoat. The mold is then allowed to cool to solidify the molten alloy and form a cast product. During the casting process, aluminum in the solid facecoat diffuses into the cast product to form an aluminum-containing surface region at the casting surface. Following removal of the cast product from the mold, an alumina-containing scale grows on the casting surface as a result of oxidation of the casting surface region.