Parameterizing cell-to-cell regulatory heterogeneities via stochastic transcriptional profiles
Patent No. 10,453,555
Regulated changes in gene expression underlie many biological processes, but globally profiling cell-to-cell variations in transcriptional regulation is problematic when measuring single cells. Transcriptome-wide identification of regulatory heterogeneities can be robustly achieved by randomly collecting small numbers of cells followed by statistical analysis. However, this stochastic-profiling approach blurs out the expression states of the individual cells in each pooled sample. Various aspects of the disclosure show that the underlying distribution of single-cell regulatory states can be deconvolved from stochastic-profiling data through maximum-likelihood inference. Guided by the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation, the disclosure provides mixture models for cell-to-cell regulatory heterogeneity which result in likelihood functions to infer model parameters. Inferences that validate both computationally and experimentally different mixture models, which include regulatory states for multicellular function occupied by as few as one in 40 cells of the population, are also encompassed. When the disclosed method extends to programs of heterogeneously coexpressed transcripts, the population-level inferences are much more accurate with pooled samples than with one-cell samples when the extent of sampling was limited. The disclosed deconvolution method provides a means to quantify the heterogeneous regulation of molecular states efficiently and gain a deeper understanding of the heterogeneous execution of cell decisions.
Inventors: Kevin Janes (Richmond), Sameer Bajikar (Missouri City, Texas), Fabian Theis (Garching, Germany), Christiane Fuchs (Munich, Germany)
Assignee: University of Virginia Patent Foundation (Charlottesville, Virginia)
October 22, 2019
Nanoporous bioelectrochemical sensors for measuring redox potential in biological samples
Patent No. 10,451,606
A bioelectrochemical sensor utilizing a nanoporous gold electrode. The bioelectrochemical sensor is suitable for measuring redox in biologic media while having increased resistance to biofouling as compared to conventional electrodes such as planar gold electrodes, due to greater exposed surface area of the three-dimentional ligature structure defining the nanopores. The nanopores have a pore size of 5-100 nm, preferably with an average pore size of less than 50 nm, and more preferably with an average pore size of less than 20 nm.
Inventors: Rodney C. Daniels (Plymouth, Michigan), Kevin R. Ward (Superior Township, Michigan), Maryanne M. Collinson (Richmond)
Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan) & Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond)
Oct. 22, 2019
Wind turbine blade
Patent No. 10,451,037
Wind turbine blades comprising one or more deformable trailing edge sections, each deformable trailing edge section comprising a first and a second actuator, wherein the second actuator is arranged substantially downstream from the first actuator, and wherein the first actuator is of a first type and wherein the second actuator is of a second type, the second type being different from the first type. The application further relates to wind turbines comprising such blades and methods of operating a wind turbine comprising one or more of such blades.
Inventors: Jaume Betran Palomas (Catalonia, Spain), Arturo Rodriguez-Tsouroukdissian (Richmond)
Assignee: GE Renewable Technologies Wind B.V. (Breda, Netherlands)
Oct. 22, 2019
Re-seal label and container with re-seal label
Patent No. 10,450,120
In an example embodiment, a re-sealable label for covering an opening of a box includes a sheet of polymer material that includes a re-sealable adhesive on an underside thereof. A liner is adhered to the underside of the sheet of polymer material. The liner is configured to cover the opening and includes a foil layer and a paper layer. The sheet of polymer material includes a line of perforations wherein one or more of the perforations of the line of perforations include a rectilinear portion and a non-rectilinear portion.
Inventors: Stephen Bellamah (Midlothian, Virginia), Scott A. Fath (Richmond), Andrew Peeler (Richmond)
Assignee: Altria Client Services (Richmond)
Oct. 22, 2019
Method of enhancing interdigitation of bone cement to bone for attachment of prosthesis to bone during arthroplasty
Patent No. 10,448,958
A method of attaching prosthetic implants to bone, applicable to tibia, patella, acetabulum, glenoid, or femur, includes trimming an articular surface of the bone, leaving a trimmed surface. Holes are punched or drilled into the surface in a predetermined array before polymethyl methacrylate bone cement is used to attach the surface to the implant. In an embodiment, the holes are punched by placing a punch-plate with sharpened punch spikes on the surface, and striking the punch plate to drive punches into the trimmed surface. In another embodiment, holes are drilled using a drilling template with predrilled guidance holes placed on the surface of the bone. In another embodiment, holes are drilled by positioning a robotic drill over the trimmed surface; adjusting a drilling pattern of the robotic drill according to the trimmed surface; and using the robotic drill to drill holes of predetermined depth according to the drilling pattern.
Inventors: Douglas W. Van Citters (Hanover, New Hampshire), Bridget E. Shaia (Richmond), Spencer H. Amundsen (Lebanon, New Hampshire), James A. Yang (Palatine, Illinois)
Assignee: The Trustees of Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire)
Oct. 22, 2019
High tenacity high modulus UHMWPE fiber and the process of making
Patent No. 10,450,676
Processes for preparing ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (“UHMW PE”) filaments and multi-filament yarns, and the yarns and articles produced therefrom. Each process produces UHMW PE yarns having tenacities of 45 g/denier to 60 g/denier or more at commercially viable throughput rates.
Inventors: Thomas Tam (Chesterfield, Virginia), John Armstrong Young (Midlothian, Virginia), Ralf Klein (Midlothian, Virginia), Mark Tallent (Midlothian, Virginia), Henry Gerard Ardiff (Chesterfield, Virginia)
Assignee: Honeywell International (Morris Plains, New Jersey)
Oct. 22, 2019
Controlling building systems
Patent No. 10,452,090
Methods, apparatus, and systems are provided for measuring the supply of a consumable product to a facility over time and analyzing the measurements to determine the consumption or supply of the product by one or more loads and/or sources in the facility, and to determine induced and residual heat flow through the facility’s envelope. Various aspects compare the measured supply of the consumable product to a database of consumption signatures. Operating conditions and facility characteristics may be further considered in determining a particular user’s access of the consumable product. Thermal resistance factors of the building may be determined, which are based on the induced and residual heat flow through the facility. Finally, one or more signatures of a building system are analyzed to determine a building’s overall efficiency, including determining a controllable load of a building and/or determining an efficient start time for one or more building systems.
Inventors: Michael Craig Scelzi (Glen Allen, Virginia)
Assignee: Netesco (Glen Allen, Virginia)
Oct. 22, 2019
Systems and methods for providing a customer service
Patent No. 10,453,087
The disclosed embodiments include systems and methods for providing customer service. The system may include one or more memory devices storing software instructions. The system may also include one or more processors configured to execute the software instructions to receive customer data and location data from a client device. The one or more processors may also execute the software instructions to identify a customer and a merchant based on the received data. The one or more processors may also execute the software instructions to determine an applicable customer service option based on at least the identified merchant and the identified customer, the customer service option including at least an option to activate a credit card secondary benefit, and transmit a notification to the client device, the notification including the customer service option when the identified customer is eligible for the determined customer service option.
Inventors: Moshe Benjamin (Midlothian, Virginia), Lawrence Douglas (McLean, Virginia)
Assignee: Capital One Services (McLean, Virginia)
Oct. 22, 2019
Ballistic helmets and method of manufacture thereof
Patent No. 10,448,695
A method for manufacturing a high performance thermoplastic matrix composite ballistic helmet includes forming/shaping highly consolidated helmet preforms free of wrinkles and with no cuts or seams from a flat stack of 0/90 uni-directional prepreg layers, both with and without carbon epoxy skins or layers, using a pressure forming process. The wrinkle free and no cuts pre-formed helmet shell is pre-heated and placed between match-metal dies in a compression molding press to be molded under constant pressure during heating at high temperature and cooling down to below 160.degree. F. in less than 45 minutes.
Inventors: Francisco Folgar (Midlothian, Virginia)
Assignee: Inter Materials (Midlothian, Virginia)
Oct. 22, 2019
Wave energy and rip current control system for surf pools
Patent No. 10,449,433
The invention relates to a Surf Pool wherein a portion of the beach is provided with a wave catch basin. With the wave catch basin extending along the length of the beach, the wave catch basin will allow water to go over an infinity edge and settle in the wave catch basin, wherein wave energy backflows are eliminated and rip currents are avoided. With the wave catch basin extending along the beach side of the surf pool, the water that is collected in the wave catch basin and by pumping water out of pipe fittings or creating positive suction into pipe fittings, alters the flow of the rip current, thereby altering the wave formation characteristics. As the rip currents enter the rip current flow channels on both sides of the surfing reef, water can be suctioned down through return pipes or pumped in any direction along the surf pool bottom to stop the rip currents in the rip current flow channels, which helps the breaking waves from becoming distorted as they break.
Inventors: Walter Judson Bennett (Mechanicsville, Virginia)
Assignee: N/A
Oct. 22, 2019
Blockchain systems and methods for user authentication
Patent No. 10,454,683
Computer-implemented systems and methods for user authentication based on blockchain technology. The authentication may comprise operations including receiving, from a user system, an authentication request for a user. The operations may also include determining a root system for the user using a blockchain, and redirecting a member system to the root system. The operations may include receiving, following redirection, a verification message indicating that the root system successfully authenticated the user, and including an authorization code for receiving, from the root system, a root system secret. The operations may include receiving from a database, identification data using the root system secret. Determining the root system may comprise identifying, using the authentication request and index information stored in the blockchain, a block of the blockchain storing root system information for the user. Receiving the identification data may comprise retrieving identification data from the database.
Inventors: Jonathan Weimer (Henrico, Virginia), Ryan Fox (Alexandria, Virginia)
Assignee: Capital One Services (McLean, Virginia)
Oct. 22, 2019
Snow guard
Patent No. 10,450,757
A snow guard for a standing seam metal roof, which may impede falling or melting snow and ice and may prevent gutters from being overwhelmed by falling or melting snow and ice. Such a snow guard may be fitted to the standing seams of the roof by screws or similar fasteners. The snow guard may prevent leakage through the holes created by the fasteners, may aesthetically blend into the material of the standing seam metal roof system, and may function as a base for scaffold systems. Such a snow guard may also add strength to the panels on which it is disposed. Finally, such a snow guard may also have the benefit of being easy to install.
Inventors: Andrew Christian McIntosh (Powhatan, VA)
Assignee: N/A
Oct. 22, 2019
Composite sheet and cargo container comprising same
Patent No. 10,457,013
This invention is directed to a non-rigid composite sheet comprising in order (i) a first component having an areal weight of from 88 to 678 gsm comprising a first fabric of filamentary yarns having a tenacity of at least 11 g/dtex and a UV and weather impervious first polymeric layer. (ii) a second component having an areal weight of from 120 to 430 gsm comprising a flame resistant paper and (iii) a third component having an areal weight of from 88 to 678 gsm comprising a second fabric of filamentary yarns having a tenacity of at least 11 g/dtex and an impact and scratch resistant second polymeric layer, the second fabric of the third component being adjacent to the paper of the second component.
Inventors: Dariusz Wlodzimierz Kawka (Midlothian, Virginia), Tomas L. Perez (Richmond)
Assignee: DuPont Safety & Construction (Wilmington, Delaware)
Oct. 29, 2019
Sphingosine kinase type 1 inhibitors and uses thereof
Patent No. 10,456,370
Provided are inhibitors of sphingosine kinase Type I and their use in the treatment of asthma, among other indications and diseases.
Inventors: Sarah Spiegel (Richmond), Robert Elliot Zipkin (Wynnewood, Pennsylvania), Jeffrey Kroll Adams (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania)
Assignee: Enzo Therapeutics (Farmingdale, N.Y.) & Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond)
Oct. 29, 2019
Cartridge for electronic vaping device
Patent No. 10,455,863
A cartridge for an e-vaping device enables separate vapors to be formed proximate to separate, respective ends of the cartridge. The cartridge includes multiple reservoirs and separate vaporizer assemblies coupled to separate reservoirs on opposite ends of the reservoirs. The separate reservoirs may hold separate pre-vapor formulations. The separate vaporizer assemblies may draw separate pre-vapor formulations from separate reservoirs towards opposite ends of the cartridge and vaporize the separate pre-vapor formulations via operation of separate heaters proximate to the separate ends. The separate heaters may be independently controlled to independently control vapor formation at the separate ends. The heaters may be controlled to independently control vapor formation rates proximate to the separate ends. The heaters may be controlled to form separate vapors at least one of simultaneously, concurrently, and at different times.
Inventors: Ali Rostami (Richmond), Christopher S. Tucker (Midlothian, Virginia), David Kane (Richmond), Peter Lipowicz (Midlothian, Virginia), Georgios Karles (Richmond), Gerd Kobal (Sandy Hook, Virginia), Yezdi Pithawalla (Richmond)
Assignee: Altria Client Services (Richmond)
Oct. 29, 2019
Method for rapidly determining sulfur content in a plurality of samples
Patent No. 10,458,964
Methods for measuring the sulfur content in a plurality of individual sulfur-containing fiber or article samples, comprising: a) contacting a plurality of samples with a solution comprising potassium hydroxide to convert the sulfur to potassium sulfate; b) concurrently and individually combusting the plurality of samples from step a) in a furnace at a temperature of greater than 650.degree. C. to remove essentially all organic materials to produce a plurality of residues; c) dissolving each of the pluralities of residue in concentrated nitric acid to form individual residue solutions; and d) analyzing the individual residue solutions with Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Emission Spectrometry to determine the sulfur content of each sample.
Inventors: Jonathan Samuel Tschritter (Chesterfield, Virginia)
Assignee: Dupont Safety & Construction (Wilmington, Delaware)
Oct. 29, 2019
Credit data analysis
Patent No. 10,460,306
A device may receive transaction data associated with a plurality of merchants. The transaction data may include a first set of transactions and, for each transaction included in the first set of transactions: data identifying a merchant and a method of payment. The device may identify, from the first set of transactions, a second set of transactions associated with a credit account method of payment from the first set of transactions. The device may train, based on the first set of transactions and the second set of transactions, a merchant model. The merchant model may be trained to: receive, as input, data identifying the merchant, and produce, as output, a measure of likelihood that the merchant accepts the credit account method of payment. The device may perform an action based on the merchant model.
Inventors: Heather Ramos (Glen Allen, Virginia), Shankar Chithambarana (Henrico, Virginia), Mark Mendez (Henrico, Virginia)
Assignee: Capital One Services (McLean, Virginia)
Oct. 29, 2019
Tobacco plants exhibiting altered photosynthesis and methods of making and using
Patent No. 10,457,953
This disclosure provides tobacco plants that exhibit altered photosynthesis as well as methods of making and using such plants.
Inventors: Yanxin Shen (Glen Allen, Virginia), Dongmei Xu (Glen Allen, Virginia)
Assignee: Altria Client Services (Richmond)
Oct. 29, 2019
Mixed detergent composition for intake valve deposit control
Patent No. 10,457,884
A detergent additive package, fuel additive concentrate, fuel composition and method for operating an engine on an unleaded gasoline fuel. The additive package includes a Mannich base detergent mixture, wherein the mixture contains a first Mannich base detergent component derived from a di- or polyamine and a second Mannich base detergent component derived from a monoamine. A weight ratio of the first Mannich base detergent to the second Mannich base detergent in the mixture ranges from about 1:6 to about 3:1.
Inventors: Joseph M. Russo (Katy, Texas), William Jay Colucci (Glen Allen, Virginia)
Assignee: Afton Chemical Corp. (Richmond)
Oct. 29, 2019
Systems and methods for generating and reading intrinsic matrixed bar codes
Patent No. 10,460,138
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for decoding matrixed bar codes, such as Quick Response (“QR”) codes. In one implementation, system for decoding an intrinsic matrixed bar code may include an image-receiving device; at least one processor configured to execute instructions; and at least one memory storing the instructions. The instructions may be to perform operations including receiving an image using the image-receiving device; determining a grid for the image, the grid having a plurality of cells; selecting at least one cell of the grid as a candidate cell for containing an intrinsic matrixed bar code; extracting at least one intrinsic matrixed bar code located within the candidate cell; determining that the at least one extracted matrixed bar code is degraded; and repairing the at least one extracted matrixed bar code.
Inventors: Eric Barnum (Midlothian, Virginia)
Assignee: Capital One Services (McLean, Virginia)
Oct. 29, 2019
Parameterizing cell-to-cell regulatory heterogeneities via stochastic transcriptional profiles
Patent No. 10,453,555
Regulated changes in gene expression underlie many biological processes, but globally profiling cell-to-cell variations in transcriptional regulation is problematic when measuring single cells. Transcriptome-wide identification of regulatory heterogeneities can be robustly achieved by randomly collecting small numbers of cells followed by statistical analysis. However, this stochastic-profiling approach blurs out the expression states of the individual cells in each pooled sample. Various aspects of the disclosure show that the underlying distribution of single-cell regulatory states can be deconvolved from stochastic-profiling data through maximum-likelihood inference. Guided by the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation, the disclosure provides mixture models for cell-to-cell regulatory heterogeneity which result in likelihood functions to infer model parameters. Inferences that validate both computationally and experimentally different mixture models, which include regulatory states for multicellular function occupied by as few as one in 40 cells of the population, are also encompassed. When the disclosed method extends to programs of heterogeneously coexpressed transcripts, the population-level inferences are much more accurate with pooled samples than with one-cell samples when the extent of sampling was limited. The disclosed deconvolution method provides a means to quantify the heterogeneous regulation of molecular states efficiently and gain a deeper understanding of the heterogeneous execution of cell decisions.
Inventors: Kevin Janes (Richmond), Sameer Bajikar (Missouri City, Texas), Fabian Theis (Garching, Germany), Christiane Fuchs (Munich, Germany)
Assignee: University of Virginia Patent Foundation (Charlottesville, Virginia)
October 22, 2019
Nanoporous bioelectrochemical sensors for measuring redox potential in biological samples
Patent No. 10,451,606
A bioelectrochemical sensor utilizing a nanoporous gold electrode. The bioelectrochemical sensor is suitable for measuring redox in biologic media while having increased resistance to biofouling as compared to conventional electrodes such as planar gold electrodes, due to greater exposed surface area of the three-dimentional ligature structure defining the nanopores. The nanopores have a pore size of 5-100 nm, preferably with an average pore size of less than 50 nm, and more preferably with an average pore size of less than 20 nm.
Inventors: Rodney C. Daniels (Plymouth, Michigan), Kevin R. Ward (Superior Township, Michigan), Maryanne M. Collinson (Richmond)
Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan) & Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond)
Oct. 22, 2019
Wind turbine blade
Patent No. 10,451,037
Wind turbine blades comprising one or more deformable trailing edge sections, each deformable trailing edge section comprising a first and a second actuator, wherein the second actuator is arranged substantially downstream from the first actuator, and wherein the first actuator is of a first type and wherein the second actuator is of a second type, the second type being different from the first type. The application further relates to wind turbines comprising such blades and methods of operating a wind turbine comprising one or more of such blades.
Inventors: Jaume Betran Palomas (Catalonia, Spain), Arturo Rodriguez-Tsouroukdissian (Richmond)
Assignee: GE Renewable Technologies Wind B.V. (Breda, Netherlands)
Oct. 22, 2019
Re-seal label and container with re-seal label
Patent No. 10,450,120
In an example embodiment, a re-sealable label for covering an opening of a box includes a sheet of polymer material that includes a re-sealable adhesive on an underside thereof. A liner is adhered to the underside of the sheet of polymer material. The liner is configured to cover the opening and includes a foil layer and a paper layer. The sheet of polymer material includes a line of perforations wherein one or more of the perforations of the line of perforations include a rectilinear portion and a non-rectilinear portion.
Inventors: Stephen Bellamah (Midlothian, Virginia), Scott A. Fath (Richmond), Andrew Peeler (Richmond)
Assignee: Altria Client Services (Richmond)
Oct. 22, 2019
Method of enhancing interdigitation of bone cement to bone for attachment of prosthesis to bone during arthroplasty
Patent No. 10,448,958
A method of attaching prosthetic implants to bone, applicable to tibia, patella, acetabulum, glenoid, or femur, includes trimming an articular surface of the bone, leaving a trimmed surface. Holes are punched or drilled into the surface in a predetermined array before polymethyl methacrylate bone cement is used to attach the surface to the implant. In an embodiment, the holes are punched by placing a punch-plate with sharpened punch spikes on the surface, and striking the punch plate to drive punches into the trimmed surface. In another embodiment, holes are drilled using a drilling template with predrilled guidance holes placed on the surface of the bone. In another embodiment, holes are drilled by positioning a robotic drill over the trimmed surface; adjusting a drilling pattern of the robotic drill according to the trimmed surface; and using the robotic drill to drill holes of predetermined depth according to the drilling pattern.
Inventors: Douglas W. Van Citters (Hanover, New Hampshire), Bridget E. Shaia (Richmond), Spencer H. Amundsen (Lebanon, New Hampshire), James A. Yang (Palatine, Illinois)
Assignee: The Trustees of Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire)
Oct. 22, 2019
High tenacity high modulus UHMWPE fiber and the process of making
Patent No. 10,450,676
Processes for preparing ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (“UHMW PE”) filaments and multi-filament yarns, and the yarns and articles produced therefrom. Each process produces UHMW PE yarns having tenacities of 45 g/denier to 60 g/denier or more at commercially viable throughput rates.
Inventors: Thomas Tam (Chesterfield, Virginia), John Armstrong Young (Midlothian, Virginia), Ralf Klein (Midlothian, Virginia), Mark Tallent (Midlothian, Virginia), Henry Gerard Ardiff (Chesterfield, Virginia)
Assignee: Honeywell International (Morris Plains, New Jersey)
Oct. 22, 2019
Controlling building systems
Patent No. 10,452,090
Methods, apparatus, and systems are provided for measuring the supply of a consumable product to a facility over time and analyzing the measurements to determine the consumption or supply of the product by one or more loads and/or sources in the facility, and to determine induced and residual heat flow through the facility’s envelope. Various aspects compare the measured supply of the consumable product to a database of consumption signatures. Operating conditions and facility characteristics may be further considered in determining a particular user’s access of the consumable product. Thermal resistance factors of the building may be determined, which are based on the induced and residual heat flow through the facility. Finally, one or more signatures of a building system are analyzed to determine a building’s overall efficiency, including determining a controllable load of a building and/or determining an efficient start time for one or more building systems.
Inventors: Michael Craig Scelzi (Glen Allen, Virginia)
Assignee: Netesco (Glen Allen, Virginia)
Oct. 22, 2019
Systems and methods for providing a customer service
Patent No. 10,453,087
The disclosed embodiments include systems and methods for providing customer service. The system may include one or more memory devices storing software instructions. The system may also include one or more processors configured to execute the software instructions to receive customer data and location data from a client device. The one or more processors may also execute the software instructions to identify a customer and a merchant based on the received data. The one or more processors may also execute the software instructions to determine an applicable customer service option based on at least the identified merchant and the identified customer, the customer service option including at least an option to activate a credit card secondary benefit, and transmit a notification to the client device, the notification including the customer service option when the identified customer is eligible for the determined customer service option.
Inventors: Moshe Benjamin (Midlothian, Virginia), Lawrence Douglas (McLean, Virginia)
Assignee: Capital One Services (McLean, Virginia)
Oct. 22, 2019
Ballistic helmets and method of manufacture thereof
Patent No. 10,448,695
A method for manufacturing a high performance thermoplastic matrix composite ballistic helmet includes forming/shaping highly consolidated helmet preforms free of wrinkles and with no cuts or seams from a flat stack of 0/90 uni-directional prepreg layers, both with and without carbon epoxy skins or layers, using a pressure forming process. The wrinkle free and no cuts pre-formed helmet shell is pre-heated and placed between match-metal dies in a compression molding press to be molded under constant pressure during heating at high temperature and cooling down to below 160.degree. F. in less than 45 minutes.
Inventors: Francisco Folgar (Midlothian, Virginia)
Assignee: Inter Materials (Midlothian, Virginia)
Oct. 22, 2019
Wave energy and rip current control system for surf pools
Patent No. 10,449,433
The invention relates to a Surf Pool wherein a portion of the beach is provided with a wave catch basin. With the wave catch basin extending along the length of the beach, the wave catch basin will allow water to go over an infinity edge and settle in the wave catch basin, wherein wave energy backflows are eliminated and rip currents are avoided. With the wave catch basin extending along the beach side of the surf pool, the water that is collected in the wave catch basin and by pumping water out of pipe fittings or creating positive suction into pipe fittings, alters the flow of the rip current, thereby altering the wave formation characteristics. As the rip currents enter the rip current flow channels on both sides of the surfing reef, water can be suctioned down through return pipes or pumped in any direction along the surf pool bottom to stop the rip currents in the rip current flow channels, which helps the breaking waves from becoming distorted as they break.
Inventors: Walter Judson Bennett (Mechanicsville, Virginia)
Assignee: N/A
Oct. 22, 2019
Blockchain systems and methods for user authentication
Patent No. 10,454,683
Computer-implemented systems and methods for user authentication based on blockchain technology. The authentication may comprise operations including receiving, from a user system, an authentication request for a user. The operations may also include determining a root system for the user using a blockchain, and redirecting a member system to the root system. The operations may include receiving, following redirection, a verification message indicating that the root system successfully authenticated the user, and including an authorization code for receiving, from the root system, a root system secret. The operations may include receiving from a database, identification data using the root system secret. Determining the root system may comprise identifying, using the authentication request and index information stored in the blockchain, a block of the blockchain storing root system information for the user. Receiving the identification data may comprise retrieving identification data from the database.
Inventors: Jonathan Weimer (Henrico, Virginia), Ryan Fox (Alexandria, Virginia)
Assignee: Capital One Services (McLean, Virginia)
Oct. 22, 2019
Snow guard
Patent No. 10,450,757
A snow guard for a standing seam metal roof, which may impede falling or melting snow and ice and may prevent gutters from being overwhelmed by falling or melting snow and ice. Such a snow guard may be fitted to the standing seams of the roof by screws or similar fasteners. The snow guard may prevent leakage through the holes created by the fasteners, may aesthetically blend into the material of the standing seam metal roof system, and may function as a base for scaffold systems. Such a snow guard may also add strength to the panels on which it is disposed. Finally, such a snow guard may also have the benefit of being easy to install.
Inventors: Andrew Christian McIntosh (Powhatan, VA)
Assignee: N/A
Oct. 22, 2019
Composite sheet and cargo container comprising same
Patent No. 10,457,013
This invention is directed to a non-rigid composite sheet comprising in order (i) a first component having an areal weight of from 88 to 678 gsm comprising a first fabric of filamentary yarns having a tenacity of at least 11 g/dtex and a UV and weather impervious first polymeric layer. (ii) a second component having an areal weight of from 120 to 430 gsm comprising a flame resistant paper and (iii) a third component having an areal weight of from 88 to 678 gsm comprising a second fabric of filamentary yarns having a tenacity of at least 11 g/dtex and an impact and scratch resistant second polymeric layer, the second fabric of the third component being adjacent to the paper of the second component.
Inventors: Dariusz Wlodzimierz Kawka (Midlothian, Virginia), Tomas L. Perez (Richmond)
Assignee: DuPont Safety & Construction (Wilmington, Delaware)
Oct. 29, 2019
Sphingosine kinase type 1 inhibitors and uses thereof
Patent No. 10,456,370
Provided are inhibitors of sphingosine kinase Type I and their use in the treatment of asthma, among other indications and diseases.
Inventors: Sarah Spiegel (Richmond), Robert Elliot Zipkin (Wynnewood, Pennsylvania), Jeffrey Kroll Adams (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania)
Assignee: Enzo Therapeutics (Farmingdale, N.Y.) & Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond)
Oct. 29, 2019
Cartridge for electronic vaping device
Patent No. 10,455,863
A cartridge for an e-vaping device enables separate vapors to be formed proximate to separate, respective ends of the cartridge. The cartridge includes multiple reservoirs and separate vaporizer assemblies coupled to separate reservoirs on opposite ends of the reservoirs. The separate reservoirs may hold separate pre-vapor formulations. The separate vaporizer assemblies may draw separate pre-vapor formulations from separate reservoirs towards opposite ends of the cartridge and vaporize the separate pre-vapor formulations via operation of separate heaters proximate to the separate ends. The separate heaters may be independently controlled to independently control vapor formation at the separate ends. The heaters may be controlled to independently control vapor formation rates proximate to the separate ends. The heaters may be controlled to form separate vapors at least one of simultaneously, concurrently, and at different times.
Inventors: Ali Rostami (Richmond), Christopher S. Tucker (Midlothian, Virginia), David Kane (Richmond), Peter Lipowicz (Midlothian, Virginia), Georgios Karles (Richmond), Gerd Kobal (Sandy Hook, Virginia), Yezdi Pithawalla (Richmond)
Assignee: Altria Client Services (Richmond)
Oct. 29, 2019
Method for rapidly determining sulfur content in a plurality of samples
Patent No. 10,458,964
Methods for measuring the sulfur content in a plurality of individual sulfur-containing fiber or article samples, comprising: a) contacting a plurality of samples with a solution comprising potassium hydroxide to convert the sulfur to potassium sulfate; b) concurrently and individually combusting the plurality of samples from step a) in a furnace at a temperature of greater than 650.degree. C. to remove essentially all organic materials to produce a plurality of residues; c) dissolving each of the pluralities of residue in concentrated nitric acid to form individual residue solutions; and d) analyzing the individual residue solutions with Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Emission Spectrometry to determine the sulfur content of each sample.
Inventors: Jonathan Samuel Tschritter (Chesterfield, Virginia)
Assignee: Dupont Safety & Construction (Wilmington, Delaware)
Oct. 29, 2019
Credit data analysis
Patent No. 10,460,306
A device may receive transaction data associated with a plurality of merchants. The transaction data may include a first set of transactions and, for each transaction included in the first set of transactions: data identifying a merchant and a method of payment. The device may identify, from the first set of transactions, a second set of transactions associated with a credit account method of payment from the first set of transactions. The device may train, based on the first set of transactions and the second set of transactions, a merchant model. The merchant model may be trained to: receive, as input, data identifying the merchant, and produce, as output, a measure of likelihood that the merchant accepts the credit account method of payment. The device may perform an action based on the merchant model.
Inventors: Heather Ramos (Glen Allen, Virginia), Shankar Chithambarana (Henrico, Virginia), Mark Mendez (Henrico, Virginia)
Assignee: Capital One Services (McLean, Virginia)
Oct. 29, 2019
Tobacco plants exhibiting altered photosynthesis and methods of making and using
Patent No. 10,457,953
This disclosure provides tobacco plants that exhibit altered photosynthesis as well as methods of making and using such plants.
Inventors: Yanxin Shen (Glen Allen, Virginia), Dongmei Xu (Glen Allen, Virginia)
Assignee: Altria Client Services (Richmond)
Oct. 29, 2019
Mixed detergent composition for intake valve deposit control
Patent No. 10,457,884
A detergent additive package, fuel additive concentrate, fuel composition and method for operating an engine on an unleaded gasoline fuel. The additive package includes a Mannich base detergent mixture, wherein the mixture contains a first Mannich base detergent component derived from a di- or polyamine and a second Mannich base detergent component derived from a monoamine. A weight ratio of the first Mannich base detergent to the second Mannich base detergent in the mixture ranges from about 1:6 to about 3:1.
Inventors: Joseph M. Russo (Katy, Texas), William Jay Colucci (Glen Allen, Virginia)
Assignee: Afton Chemical Corp. (Richmond)
Oct. 29, 2019
Systems and methods for generating and reading intrinsic matrixed bar codes
Patent No. 10,460,138
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for decoding matrixed bar codes, such as Quick Response (“QR”) codes. In one implementation, system for decoding an intrinsic matrixed bar code may include an image-receiving device; at least one processor configured to execute instructions; and at least one memory storing the instructions. The instructions may be to perform operations including receiving an image using the image-receiving device; determining a grid for the image, the grid having a plurality of cells; selecting at least one cell of the grid as a candidate cell for containing an intrinsic matrixed bar code; extracting at least one intrinsic matrixed bar code located within the candidate cell; determining that the at least one extracted matrixed bar code is degraded; and repairing the at least one extracted matrixed bar code.
Inventors: Eric Barnum (Midlothian, Virginia)
Assignee: Capital One Services (McLean, Virginia)
Oct. 29, 2019