Abstract: There are disclosed a method and an arrangement for preventing the agglomeration of crusts in a lance opening passing a wall of a metallurgical vessel and provided for a lance carrying a measuring and/or sampling probe. During the metallurgical process proceeding within the metallurgical vessel and during the taking of a measurement and/or sample by means of a lance introduced into the metallurgical vessel through the lance opening, a gas that is inert relative to a melt bath contained in the metallurgical vessel, or air, is injected into the lance opening from outside, which gas produces a gas veil at the mouth of the lance opening facing the melt bath.

Abstract: Data processing for a health insurance management system verifies the insurance status of the claimant, identifies the appropriate insurance policy, calculates the amount to be paid to the health care provider, pays the provider, calculates the payment required by the claimant, if any, and debits the account of the claimant in the amount required. A claim may be processed under more than one policy where appropriate. The system can handle both individual and family insurance policies.

Abstract: A method of suturing using a suture made from materials which, upon application of energy, contract or expand after implantation in tissues and/or prosthetic materials same.

Abstract: In a vending machine for discharging one of articles by manual operation of lever after depositing a coin, a rotary plate is rotated by the manual operation of the manual lever and a driven plate is rotated through the deposited coin which is received in a pocket formed by cooperation of the rotary plate and the driven plate. The driven plate drives an article discharging mechanism. An article discharging mechanism has a package separating mechanism for separating one package from a package belt having scored lines between adjacent packages to discharge it as the article. The package separating mechanism comprises a package guide roll for guiding one package thereon during rotation and elastic fingers rotating together with the package guide roll. The elastic fingers pinch the package onto the package guide roll with bending. The fingers rapidly return to the original shape from the bent shape by their elasticity to give a tension force to the package.

Abstract: For protection of the otherwise sharp protruding end of a given instrument for use in ophthalmic or other surgery, as when the instrument is to be used only after it has traversed the major part of a scleral tunnel, a shiftable guard or shield is manipulable after it has served its function of avoiding damage to hemorrhageable tissues adjacent tunnel-wall tissue, thereby exposing the sharp end only after safely passing the hemorrhageable region. Various embodiments are described.

Abstract: Compounds of formula (I): ##STR1## or a tautomeric form thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or a pharmaceuticallyacceptable solvate thereof, wherein:A.sup.1 represents a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic heterocyclyl group;R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an acyl group, an aralkyl group, wherein the aryl moiety may be substituted or unsubstituted, or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group;R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 each represent hydrogen, or R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 together represent a bond;A.sup.2 represents a benzene ring having in total up to five substituents; andn represents an integer in the range of from 2 to 6; pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds and the use of such compounds and compositions in medicine.

Abstract: A fire protective glass panel for use in a fire protective window, door, and partition wall, which comprises at least one sheet of fireproof glass plate and a fluorocarbone resin film of a chain molecular structure type bonded to a side surface of the glass plate and which has non-shattering property as well as fire protection property wherein the fireproof glass plate is a heat-resistant and light transparent crystallized glass plate or, alternatively, the fireproof glass plate is a wire glass plate and the fluorocarbone resin film has a thickness of 0.02-1 mm and is made of one of FEP, PFA, PCTFE, ETFE, and PVDF.

Abstract: A process is provided for the recovery of substantially pure zinc from geothermal brine also containing recoverable amounts of lead and silver. The process comprises selectively extracting lead and silver from the brine and then contacting the brine impoverished in lead and silver with a substantially insoluble organic extractant (e.g., an ion exchange resin [IX] or an organic solvent [SX]) selective to the extraction of zinc to produce a spent brine, and a zinc-loaded organic extractant. The zinc-loaded organic extractant is separated from the spent brine and the zinc-loaded extractant is contacted with an aqueous solution to remove the zinc as an aqueous zinc chloride solution. The pH of the zinc solution is adjusted, if necessary, to a level to condition the solution to promote the extraction thereof by a cationic organic solvent.

Abstract: A ball-valve member, which in its valve-closed condition must have circumferentially continuous sealed contact with its seat, is mounted for rotation about an axis which is eccentrically displaced in the course of limited rotation of an actuating element that is journalled in the valve body. The eccentric throw is selected to be such in relation to the full course of actuating-element rotation that, beginning with a fully-closed condition of the valve, an initial fraction of the course of actuating-element rotation is devoted to achieving the eccentric throw (without rotating the ball), whereby to displace the ball-rotation axis in the axial direction away from seat engagement; the ball surface is thus displaced into axially offset clearance with respect to the seat, before devoting the remaining fraction of actuating-element rotation to the task of rotating the ball to its valve-open position.

Abstract: A card suitable for cleaning cotton fibers and other fibrous materials is provided. The card comprises fixed carding flats adjacently disposed about a peripheral portion of a rotatable cylinder adapted to receive clothing on the surface thereof. Each of the flats comprises a group of spaced parallel blades arranged in alternate sequence with a group of distance or separator pieces and held fast thereto. The fixed carding flats are characterized by a forward end face with the spaced blades extending to the end face, the end face being disposed against the rotational direction of said cylinder. The forward end face of each of the carding flats is inclined such that the blades extending to the end face are disposed at an acute angle relative to the clothing fed to the surface of said cylinder for removal of impurities therefrom.

Abstract: An automated health benefit processing system. The system includes a database and three processors. The database includes, for each geographic area and for each medical procedures for which a benefit is payable, the benefit payable to an insured if the procedure is prescribed and performed, a list of providers available to perform the designated procedure, and each provider's charge for performing the designated procedure. The first processor generates a treatment plan concerning the insured that specifies the identity of the insured and the medical procedures to be performed on the insured. The first processor also accesses the database to retrieve the information stored in the database under the medical procedures to be performed and to append this information to the treatment plan. The second processor generates a treatment record specifying the medical procedures actually performed by a provider and the provider's actual charge therefor.

Abstract: A lighting fixture having a simplified structure is provided with such benefits as a junction box attached directly to the housing, a full reflector for improved optics, and support means for installation in different ceiling structures. A bulb or lamp is disposed in a socket which is attached to the reflector such that the lamp is disposed entirely within the volume of the reflector. Additionally, the reflector is positionable within the housing, whereby inexact or inaccurate mounting of the housing to the ceiling structure can be corrected by changing the orientation of the reflector. Accordingly, lighting of the environment is not compromised by imprecise mounting of the housing and can be redressed by positioning the reflector as required. The invention also allows the fixture to be moved easily along the support bars connected to the joists even after the bars have been connected.

Abstract: A process for the preparation of a compound of formula (A): ##STR1## wherein X is hydrogen, hydroxy, chloro, C.sub.1-6 alkoxy or phenyl C.sub.1-6 alkoxy and R.sub.a and R.sub.b are hydrogen, including acyl and phosphate derivatives thereof; which process comprises:i) the preparation of a compound of formula (I): ##STR2## wherein R.sub.1 is C.sub.1-6 alkyl, or phenyl C.sub.1-6 alkyl in which the phenyl group is optionally substituted; R.sub.2 is hydrogen, hydroxy, chlorine, C.sub.1-6 alkoxy, phenyl C.sub.1-6 alkoxy or amino; and R.sub.3 is halogen, C.sub.1-6 alkylthio, C.sub.1-6 alkylsulphonyl, azido, an amino group or a protected amino group, which process comprises the reaction of a compound of formula (II): ##STR3## with a compound of formula (VII): ##STR4## wherein Q is a leaving group, J is hydrogen or halo and R.sub.

Abstract: In use of laser radiation to ablate corneal tissue, to achieve a sculptured change in curvature of the optically used region of the cornea, a variable magnification (zoom) lens is combined with different sized apertures of an indexible mask to develop a relatively smooth profile for the changed curvature. The zoom-lens settings are varied in the course of cornea exposure through each of the succession of mask apertures. To do this, the range of zoom-lens magnification can always be less than 2:1, yet the zoom-lens system can effectively reduce to insignificance the stepped profiling that is inherent in reliance only upon the indexed aperture technique. Also described are techniques to achieve compensation for delivered flux-density variation as a function of instantaneous zoom-lens setting, and programmable control of the area of delivered flux density in a manner to correct for parabolic or other fall-off in delivered beam intensity as a function of radius outward of the axis of beam delivery.