Abstract: Systems and methods can remove material of interest, including blood clots, from a body region, including but not limited to the circulatory system for the treatment of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, cerebrovascular embolism, and other vascular occlusions. The capture system can include a tubular body comprising a first end, a second end, and an axial length therebetween, the first end having an opening and a capture guide. The capture system can include one or more tensioners coupled to the capture guide. The tubular body has a first configuration in which the first end and the capture guide are expanded while the second end and a majority of the tubular body remains compressed. The tubular body is transformable to a second configuration by application of tension by the tensioners. The catheter can remove a large volume of clot.

Abstract: Methods and systems for protecting seller privacy during an ecommerce transaction are disclosed. In one aspect, a method includes, receiving, via an online listing configuration interface for a first session, one or more candidate pick up times and specific pick up locations for an item, determining a generalized version of the one or more specific pick up locations, displaying, via a second session, an online listing for the item, displaying, via the second session, the one or more candidate pick up times and the generalized versions of the one or more specific pick up locations, receiving, via the second session, a selection of one of the candidate pick up times and one of the generalized versions of one of the specific pick up locations, in response to receiving payment for the item, displaying a specific pick up location corresponding to the selected one generalized version.

Abstract: A baseball or softball bat includes a barrel extending from a handle. A chamber is formed in the bat, such as in the knob attached to the handle, or an end cap attached to the barrel. A liquid or gel at least partially fills the chamber and dissipates vibrations created when the bat strikes an object.

Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to systems and methods for use in the implementation and/or operation of quantum information processing (QIP) systems, and more particularly, to a fast single-mode spectroscopy technique that may be used in trapped-ion QIP systems. A method is described that includes performing a first measurement scan (full scan) across all motional modes of an ion chain in a trap followed by a second measurement scan on a single motional mode of the motional modes (single-mode scan). The second measurement scan determines a frequency shift associated with the single motional mode, which is applied to adjust the frequencies of all the motional modes. An implementation of two-qubit gates for quantum computations is based on the adjusted frequencies. A quantum computer or QIP system is also described that is configured to implement and perform the method described above.

Abstract: A system defining a visual sensing pipeline architecture flexibly allows application developers to dynamically adapt the spatial resolution and update rate of different “rhythmic pixel encoding regions” in a scene. The system ingests pixel streams with raster-scan pixel read-out patterns, but only encodes relevant pixels prior to storing them in memory. The system includes streaming hardware to decode the stored rhythmic pixel encoding region stream into traditional frame-based representations to feed into standard computer vision algorithms.

Abstract: A baseball or softball bat includes a barrel extending from a handle having a knob. A cap defining a chamber partially filled with gel is attached to an end of the barrel or the knob for dissipating vibrations created when the bat strikes an object.

Abstract: An aroma cartridge 100 includes a columnar housing 360 consisting of upper and lower surfaces 362 and 364 parallel to and congruent with each other, and a side surface 366 formed to connect their circumferences. Housing 360 has a hollow portion in which a scent source is sealed. In the housing 360, an air feed inlet 220 communicating with the hollow portion and the outside of the housing, and a scent passage 300 are formed. The aroma cartridge 100 further includes a metal plate 240 of ferromagnetic body, fixed at least on a portion of the side surface 366. By providing a magnet on a cartridge loading section of the aroma cartridge, aroma display can be loaded/unloaded with aroma cartridge 100 easily and reliably.

Abstract: Systems and methods for maintaining immutable data access logs with privacy are disclosed. In one embodiment, in a cloud provider comprising at least one computer processor, the cloud provider having a plurality of clients, a method for maintaining immutable data access logs with privacy may include: (1) receiving data from a data owner, wherein the data owner is one of the clients; (2) storing the data in cloud storage; (3) executing an action or condition that impacts the data stored in cloud storage; (4) generating a log entry associated with the action or condition; (5) encrypting at least a portion of the log entry with a public key for the data owner; and (6) committing the log entry including the encrypted portion to a distributed ledger so that the committed log entry is immutable and cryptographically verifiable.

Abstract: A system and method for assigning a single use real-time privilege are disclosed. A processor validates credentials of a user based on comparing credentials data of the user with pre-stored reference data in response to receiving a request to access a target computer to execute a single process; creates a single use blockchain private key for the single process and generates the passcode in response to a successful validation of the credentials. The processor also writes request data corresponding to the private key and the passcode onto a blockchain. In response to receiving user login data and the passcode to access the target computer, the processor validates passcode by confirming that the passcode matches the request data wrote in the blockchain; and assigns a single use real-time privilege to the user for executing the single process in response to successful validation of both the passcode and the received request.

Abstract: A bat includes a handle having a proximate end and a distal end, a barrel having a hollow portion that accommodates the distal end, and a first damping section at least partially sandwiched between the handle and the barrel in the interior of the hollow portion. The first damping section includes a first portion in contact with each of the handle and the barrel in the interior of the hollow portion, and a second portion disposed closer to the proximate end than the first portion, the second portion being in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the barrel and not being in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the handle. In a cross section along a center axis of the barrel, the barrel has a depression depressed relative to the inner peripheral surface in the cross section, the second portion has a protrusion fitted in the depression.

Abstract: Pipeline isolation tool for sealing extrusion gaps of up to about 20% or greater includes a pair of fenced barriers (60, 160) having overlapping segments (68/70, 168/170) for restraining a seal (40). The segments expand to a pipe wall before the seal to prevent transition of seal medium over the segments and form a support wall for the seal. The support wall may include a protection ring (200). Springs (80, 180) surround each fenced barrier for returning the support system to a relaxed position. Inner rings (90. 190) are provided on sealing element facing surfaces (64, 164) of the fenced barrier for supporting the segments. The inner rings define a smooth inner guiding surface (92, 192) for the seal. The guiding surface is tilted inwardly towards the seal for resisting the sealing element during expansion and for preventing an inside diameter of the seal from expanding outwardly when compressed.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a memory and processor. The memory stores OCR and NLP algorithms. The processor receives an image of a physical document page and executes the OCR algorithm to convert the image into text. The processor identifies errors in the text, which are associated with noise in the image. The processor generates a feature vector that includes features obtained by executing the NLP algorithm on the text, and features associated with the identified errors in the text. The processor uses the feature vector to assign the image to a document category. Documents assigned to the document category share one or more characteristics, and the feature vector is associated with a probability greater than a threshold that the physical document associated with the image includes those characteristics. The processor then stores the image in a database as a page of an electronic document belonging to the assigned document category.

Abstract: A casing system, includes a landing ring and a slip hanger. The landing ring defines an opening extending between a first end portion and a second end portion. The first end portion is configured to couple to a conductor pipe. The landing ring includes a landing ring shoulder extending radially inward from an inner surface of the opening. The slip hanger is configured to engage with casing The slip hanger includes at least one slip segment configured to engage with an outer diameter of the casing and an outer slip ring. The outer slip ring is disposed around and coupled to the at least one slip segment. The outer slip ring is configured to engage with the landing ring shoulder.

Abstract: Described is a method of hosting a teleconference among a plurality of client devices arranged in two or more acoustic spaces, each client device having an audio capturing capability and/or an audio rendering capability, the method comprising: grouping the plurality of client devices into two or more groups based on their belonging to respective acoustic spaces, receiving first audio streams from the plurality of client devices, generating second audio streams from the first audio streams for rendering by respective client devices among the plurality of client devices, based on the grouping of the plurality of client devices into the two or more groups, and outputting the generated second audio streams to respective client devices. Further described are corresponding computation devise, computer programs, and computer-readable storage media.

Abstract: A system and method is provided for use in the implementation and/or operation of quantum information processing (QIP) systems, and more particularly, to design or configure an optimal side-band cooling operation for trapped ions. A method is described that involves applying a first cooling operation on the trapped ion chain and subsequently applying a second cooling operation on the trapped ion chain that includes applying to each cooling ion in the trapped ion chain, as part of a side-band cooling pulse sequence, at least one analysis pulse followed by a corresponding batch with one or more side-band cooling pulses, wherein each analysis pulse is configured to determine a detuning and pulse duration of the one or more side-band cooling pulses of the corresponding batch. A quantum computer or QIP system is also described that enables the operation of the method described above.

Abstract: A two-piece valve shell (body and bolted-on top bonnet) structure reduces possible leakage paths while also providing a top-side ball/stem installation/removal path (when the bonnet piece is not present) to facilitate initial valve assembly as well as subsequent inspection/removal of the ball/stem and other valve internals for conducting valve maintenance without requiring the valve body to be removed from its process connections. Internal wetted valve surfaces are coated with tantalum to provide a tantalum ball valve suitable for use as a sulfuric acid feed valve in severe high-temperature high-pressure industrial processes such as HPAL processes. Sealing cavities created by spaced-apart body-to-bonnet and/or stem-to-bonnet sealing structures can be inertly pressurized to hermetically isolate the sealing structures from ingress/leakage of corrosive process materials.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to methods for treating hair with lactones. The lactones form a covalent thio-ester bond with free thiols groups on chemically treated hair, and thereby impart a “repairing” or “conditioning” effect to the hair, for example, by making the hair more hydrophobic. Typically, after hair has been treated with a composition comprising one or more reducing agents that reduce disulfide bonds of hair to free thiols, a composition comprising one or more lactones is applied to the hair and the one or more lactones react with the free thiols to form a covalent thio-ester bond. Treatment with the lactones prevents reversion of the repaired bonds to their free thiol state after a single application.

Abstract: A method is provided for securely accessing code in an external memory. In the method, plaintext code may be stored in internal memory as sets of multiple blocks, each of the multiple blocks having N-bits. The code is encrypted and stored in the external memory. A block cipher having an authenticated encryption mode is used to convert the plaintext code to ciphertext code plus an authentication tag corresponding to each set of the multiple blocks. The external memory is formatted to store the ciphertext and the authentication tag. A translated address for the ciphertext is created from a plaintext address. During a read operation, the generated authentication tag is checked with an expected authentication tag. If the check is successful, the ciphertext code is decrypted and provided to a CPU for execution as plaintext code. In one embodiment, the CPU executes the plaintext code “in place” in the external memory.

Abstract: Systems and methods can remove material of interest, including blood clots, from a body region, including but not limited to the circulatory system for the treatment of pulmonary embolism (PE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), cerebrovascular embolism, and other vascular occlusions.

Abstract: Systems and methods for maintaining immutable data access logs with privacy are disclosed. In one embodiment, in a cloud provider comprising at least one computer processor, the cloud provider having a plurality of clients, a method for maintaining immutable data access logs with privacy may include: (1) receiving data from a data owner, wherein the data owner is one of the clients; (2) storing the data in cloud storage; (3) executing an action or condition that impacts the data stored in cloud storage; (4) generating a log entry associated with the action or condition; (5) encrypting at least a portion of the log entry with a public key for the data owner; and (6) committing the log entry including the encrypted portion to a distributed ledger so that the committed log entry is immutable and cryptographically verifiable.