Abstract: A non-contact friction ridge capture device is described. The device comprises a device housing, the device housing including an electronics compartment and an illumination shield, with an opening between the electronics compartment and the illumination shield into which a user can insert the user's hand. The device further comprising a camera disposed in the electronics compartment for capturing an image of at least one friction ridge surface on a user's hand. The device further comprises a light source disposed in the electronics compartment, the light source emitting light in the direction of the illumination shield, wherein the peak wavelength of emitted light is in the range of 440 to 570 nanometers (nm). The user's hand is not required to contact the device when the camera captures the image of at least one friction ridge surface on a user's hand.

Abstract: A first aspect of the invention provides a method of joining a part to a composite component, the composite component comprising fibres impregnated with a matrix material, and the part comprising a plurality of projections, the method comprising: inserting the projections into the composite component; and pre-heating the projections before they are inserted into the composite component, so that the projections are at a higher temperature than the composite component as they are inserted into the composite component. The projections locally heat the matrix material of the composite component as they are pushed into the composite component. Increased temperature during insertion is advantageous as the reduced matrix viscosity, due to the increased temperature of the matrix, results in better consolidation of the fibres around the projections and minimises the distortion of the fibres.

Abstract: A method, including identifying, in network data traffic, multiple scans, each of the scans including an access, in the traffic, of multiple ports on a given destination node by a given source node during a time period. A group of high-traffic ports are identified in the traffic that include one or more ports that receive respective volumes of the traffic that exceed a threshold, and respective signatures are generated for the identified port scans that indicate the ports other than the high-traffic ports that were accessed in each of the port scans. A respective frequency of occurrence of each of the signatures over the set of the port scans is computed, and a whitelist of the signatures for which the respective frequency of occurrence is greater than a threshold is assembled. Upon detecting a port scan for which the respective signature is not whitelisted, a preventive action is initiated.

Abstract: A method, including identifying, in network traffic during multiple periods, scans, each scan including an access of multiple ports on a given destination node by a given source node, and computing, for each given source in the scans, an average of destinations whose ports were accessed by the given source during any scan by the given source, and a fraction of periods when the given source accessed at least one of the destinations in at least one scan performed by the given source node. A whitelist is assembled sources for which one or more of the following conditions applies: the average of destinations accessed in the scans was greater than a first threshold, and the fraction of periods during which at least one destination was accessed in at least one scan was greater than a second threshold. Upon detecting a scan by any non-whitelisted node, a preventive action is initiated.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus and computer software products implement embodiments of the present invention that include defining, for a given software category, respective, disjoint sets of communication ports that are used by each of a plurality of software systems in the given software category, including at least first and second disjoint sets. A set of port scans are identified in data traffic transmitted between multiple nodes that communicate over a network, each of the port scans including an access, in the data traffic, of a plurality of the communication ports on a given destination node by a given source node during a predefined time period. Upon detecting a port scan by one of the nodes including accesses of at least one of the communication ports in the first set and at least one of the communication ports in the second set, a preventive action is initiated.

Abstract: A method, including identifying, in network data traffic, multiple scans, each of the scans including an access, in the traffic, of a plurality of ports on a given destination node by a given source node during a predefined period. Respective first probabilities of being accessed during any given scan computed for the communication ports that were accessed in the identified scans, and a respective second probability that both of the ports in the pair were accessed during any given scan are computed for each pair of the ports in the identified scans. Upon detecting a scan by one of the nodes including accesses of first and second ports on a given destination node for which the respective second probability for the pair of the first and second ports is lower than a threshold dependent upon the respective first probabilities of the first and second ports, a preventive action is initiated.

Abstract: A method, including identifying, in network data traffic, a set of pairs of source and destination nodes, each pair having a given source node, a given destination node, and one or more ports accessed in the traffic between the nodes in each pair, and computing, for each pair, a respective baseline that indicates a first number of the ports that source nodes other than the given source node in the pair accessed on the given destination node during a first period. For each pair, a respective test score is computed that indicates a difference between a second number of the ports that the given source node in the pair accessed on the given destination node during a second period and the baseline, and a preventive action is initiated with respect to the given source node in any of the pairs for which the test score is greater than a threshold.

Abstract: The present invention provides biodegradable, biomimetic particles for interacting with cells, including immune cells. In various embodiments, the particles comprise a polymer blend comprising a polyester, such as poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and a polyamine, such as poly(beta-amino ester) (PBAE). The particles further comprise, on their surface, one or more ligands for one or more cell surface receptor(s) or cell surface molecule(s). In some embodiments, the cell surface receptor or cell surface molecule is on an immune cell, such as a lymphocyte (T cell or B cell), natural killer cell, dendritic cell, or other cell of the immune system or tumor microenvironment.

Abstract: Systems and methods for initiating and conducting an automated survey are disclosed herein. According to some implementations, a processing device of a computer may receive a notification of an occurrence of a trigger event after the occurrence of the trigger event, initiate an automated survey to be offered to the customer, conduct the automated survey with the customer, and receive survey result information from the customer in response to the automated survey.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a vaccine composition comprising a bacterial strain with a deleted or inactive ntrX gene.

Abstract: A roadway fixture system includes a lighting fixture having an outer housing that holds one or more light devices. The outer housing includes an access door through which an interior of the lighting fixture is accessible. The system also includes a radio frequency (RF) transceiver configured to send and receive cellular communications. The RF transceiver includes a mounting plate that is sized and shaped to fit into a space occupied by the access door of the outer housing of the lighting fixture so that the RF transceiver is mounted to the lighting fixture.

Abstract: A method of additive manufacturing and heat treatment. A substrate is secured to a fixture and an additive manufacturing system is operated to perform a build process by building a part on the substrate secured to the fixture, the part being built by forming a series of layers of metallic material on the substrate, the metallic material melting and solidifying during the build process thereby bonding the part to the substrate and creating thermally induced stress in the part. The part, the substrate and the fixture are moved together from the additive manufacturing system to a heat treatment system, wherein the substrate remains secured to the fixture and the part remains bonded to the substrate as they are moved. The heat treatment system is operated to perform a heat treatment process by heating the part, the substrate and the fixture together thereby relieving the thermally induced stress in the part, the substrate remaining secured to the fixture during the heat treatment process.

Abstract: Systems and methods for analyzing results of an automated survey are provided. In one implementation, a computer-implemented method comprises conducting, by a processing device, an automated survey on a survey recipient associated with a customer location. The automated survey is configured to prompt the survey recipient regarding the quality of a service performed for a customer associated with the customer location. The method also includes receiving survey result information from the survey recipient in response to conducting the automated survey. The method further includes analyzing the survey result information and determining if one or more subsequent follow-up actions are warranted based in part on analyzing the survey result information.

Abstract: Systems and methods for prompting follow-up actions in response to a survey are disclosed. According to some implementations, a computer-implemented method may include conducting an automated survey on a customer associated with a customer location regarding a service performed by a servicer for a customer associated with the customer location, the automated survey being configured by a computer utilizing a processing device to automatically prompt the customer for survey result information regarding the quality of the service performed by the servicer for the customer associated with the customer location, wherein the customer location is the location of the customer from which the servicer leaves upon completion of the service performed by the servicer for the customer. The method may also include automatically receiving, by the computer, the survey result information regarding the service performed by the servicer for the customer associated with the customer location.

Abstract: Systems and methods for initiating and conducting an automated survey are disclosed herein. According to some implementations, a processing device of a computer may receive a notification of an occurrence of a trigger event after the occurrence of the trigger event, initiate an automated survey to be offered to the customer, conduct the automated survey with the customer, and receive survey result information from the customer in response to the automated survey.

Abstract: A roadway fixture system includes a lighting fixture having an outer housing that holds one or more light devices. The outer housing includes an access door through which an interior of the lighting fixture is accessible. The system also includes a radio frequency (RF) transceiver configured to send and receive cellular communications. The RF transceiver includes a mounting plate that is sized and shaped to fit into a space occupied by the access door of the outer housing of the lighting fixture so that the RF transceiver is mounted to the lighting fixture.

Abstract: A stretchable conductor includes a substrate with a first major surface and an elongate wire, wherein the substrate is an elastomeric material, the elongate wire is on the first major surface of the substrate, the wire includes a first end and a second end, and further includes at least one arcuate region between the first end and the second end. At least one portion of the arcuate region of the wire in the region has a first surface area portion embedded in the surface of the substrate and a second surface area portion unembedded on the substrate and exposed in an amount sufficient to render at least an area of the substrate in the region electrically conductive. The unembedded second surface portion of the arcuate region may lie above or below a plane of the substrate. Additionally, different methods of preparing said stretchable conductor are disclosed. Composite articles including said stretchable conductor in durable electrical contact with a conductive fabric are also disclosed.

Abstract: The system described here utilizes at least one electronic processor, an image analysis application executing on at least one electronic processor, image data, and a machine learning application executing on at least one electronic processor to analyze images containing representations of at least one piece of produce. The analysis provides an assessment of the quality of the piece of produce and that assessment is displayed on an output device. The user can provide feedback as to the accuracy of the assessment and that feedback is used to improve future assessments by the machine learning application. The assessment can be used to by a user of the system to decide whether to purchase or use a particular piece of produce shown in the image.

Abstract: A shipping package (1) comprises an enclosure for receiving content within, a closure (14) for sealing the enclosure, a label comprising shipping information, a network module (380), a sensor module (382), and a battery module (384). The battery module provides power to the network module and the sensor module. The sensor module (382) providing location information to the network module, the network module transmits a shipping status message to an external device.

Abstract: A gateway provides duplex-directional, multimedia ad hoc mesh networking, peer-to-peer direct communications, power optimization, dynamic configuration, and data management, while operating within various devices and network topologies. A multitasking virtual machine monitor for mobile networked devices, that is capable of functional expandability and portability to various operating environments, interoperability with a variety of operating systems, the Gateway Control System (GCS) performs functional capabilities in both a local and a networked topology using local and remote hardware and software. Software within the GCS is partitioned into sequentially, autonomous code, referred to herein as “modules,” each module being configured to communicate with hardware and other gateway modules. Collectively, all gateway modules are referred to herein as the gateway stack (GS). Each member of the GS can be turned on or off, downloaded from a remote site, and dynamically configured.