Abstract: A magnetic field sensor includes a sensing structure having a ring-shaped well, a plurality of contacts of equal size disposed along the ring-shaped well, a circuit having a plurality of electronic switches associated with the contacts of the sensing structure, a logic block for controlling the electronic switches, at least one current source, a voltage measuring device, a timing circuit providing a control signal for controlling the logic and providing a reference signal, wherein the logic block is configured to switch the switches under the control of the control signal so that a predetermined number of contacts of the plurality of contacts form a vertical Hall element supplied with current from the at least one current source and having two contacts connected to the voltage measuring device and circuitry configured to measure a phase shift between the reference signal and an output signal of the voltage measuring device.

Abstract: Nanoparticles that activate complement in the absence of biological molecules are described. The nanoparticles are shown to specifically target antigen presenting cells in specifically in lymph nodes, without the use of a biological molecule for targeting. These particles are useful vehicles for delivering immunotherapeutics. Surface chemistries and chemical formulations for the nanoparticles are described.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for decomposing a set of even and odd pictures into low-band and high-band pictures respectively in a image decomposing unit, in which the even picture is used by at least two prediction motion compensators on which the output signal of each prediction motion compensator is scaled according to the number of prediction motion compensators. The method includes calculating the high-band picture by subtracting from the odd picture the scaled motion-compensated signals and using the high-band picture in the at least two update motion compensators, the output signal of each update motion compensator being scaled according to the number of update motion compensators. Finally, the low-band picture is calculated by adding the scaled update motion-compensated signals to the even picture.

Abstract: A method for acquiring signals in laser scanning microscopy, includes the steps of: moving a focused optical excitation beam relative to an object to be measured so that the focus point of the beam follows a predetermined path in the space of the object; and acquiring optical measurement signals along the path according to at least one acquisition parameter; characterized in that the path of the excitation beam is determined so as to substantially minimize the variations of the optical properties of at least one portion of the environments crossed by the excitation beam between consecutive acquisitions, and in that at least one acquisition parameter among the acquisition parameters is modulated during the movement of the excitation beam. A device for implementing the method is also described.

Abstract: A method for heteronuclear decoupling in fast magic-angle spinning NMR measurements comprises application of a decoupling RF-pulse sequence with a decoupling-field amplitude ?1I on spins of a first nucleus and of an excitation pulse on spins of a second nucleus, the sequence comprising m blocks of pulses, with m?4, each block comprising an N-fold repetition of a pair of pulses with pulse width ?p and phases whereby ?p is equal for all pulses, whereby the phase of the pulse pair of the (i+1)-th block is inverted with respect to the pulse pair of the i-th block, with i=1 . . . m?1 and i is an odd number, whereby the pulses within each pair are phase inverted, whereby a phase shift is carried out after each j-th block, with j is an even number. The efficiency of the inventive method compares favorably with CW, TPPM, SPINAL and XiX decoupling methods at medium and high RF amplitudes, particularly under rotary resonance conditions.

Abstract: The present invention provides new bi- and polypyridine ligands of ruthenium dyes. The invention also provides solar cells, in particular dye-sensitized solar cells comprising the dyes.

Abstract: The invention relates to a compound comprising at least one polymeric chain incorporating phosphorus atoms and consisting, in all or in part, of identical or different repeated units, each of said units being represented by the following formula: wherein X3 represents —[Si(O2)]—; or —O—[Si(R1R2)O]— with R1 and R2 being, independently of each other, a C1-C30 alkyl or alkoxy group, a C5-C30 aryl group; or a mono- or polyorganosilicate derived radical; or —N(R3)— with R3 being —H, a C1-C30 alkyl group or a C5-C30 aryl group, optionally substituted with —OH or —NH2, or at least one unit of general formula (I), and ?X4 represents an electron pair, ?O, ?S, ?NR4 with R4 representing a C1-C30 alkyl group or a C5-C30 aryl group, ?Se or ?Te, and its use for complexing metal atoms.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for encoding and decoding information. In one aspect, methods of encoding information in an encoder include the actions of receiving a signal representing information using a collection of discrete digits, converting, by an encoder, the received signal into a time-based code, and outputting the time-based code. The time-based code is divided into time intervals. Each of the time intervals of the time-based code corresponds to a digit in the received signal. Each digit of a first state of the received signal is expressed as a event occurring at a first time within the corresponding time interval of the time-based code. Each digit of a second state of the received signal is expressed as a event occurring at a second time within the corresponding time intervals of the time-based code, the first time is distinguishable from the second time.

Abstract: In bus communications methods and apparatus, a first set of physical signals representing the information to be conveyed over the bus is provided, and mapped to a codeword of a sparse signaling code, wherein a codeword is representable as a vector of a plurality of components, some of which are quiescent components and some of which are non-quiescent components, wherein the number of quiescent components and non-quiescent components meet a sparseness requirement.

Abstract: A method for hair removal from a skin area by selective photo-inactivation of the pilo-sebaceous apparatus using derivatives of ALA with alkylene-glycol chains. Selectivity of the method is further enhanced by treatment of the epidermis by agents reducing PpIX levels in the epidermis. Side effects are diminished by using short drug/light intervals.

Abstract: A method for the dimensional characterization of a structured material, in which method: an excitation laser beam suitable for coherent nonlinear microscopy is generated, this excitation laser beam being focused in a focal volume within the structured material; signals emitted by the structured material are detected; a plurality of emission patterns, each corresponding to one particular shape of the focal volume, is produced, the particular shapes being obtained for various non-Gaussian spatial profiles of the excitation laser beam wavefront; and on the basis of the emission patterns thus produced, dimensional characteristics of the structured material are deduced therefrom.

Abstract: The invention relates to new proteins called alkylcytosine transferases (ACTs) derived from O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase, and to substrates for ACTs specifically transferring a label to these ACTs and to fusion proteins comprising these. The substrates according of the invention are substituted cytosines of formula (I) wherein R1 is an aromatic or a heteroaromatic group, or an optionally substituted unsaturated alkyl, cycloalkyl or heterocyclyl group with the double bond connected to OCH2—; R2 is a linker; and L is a label or a plurality of same or different labels. The invention further relates to methods of transferring label L from these substrates of formula (I) to ACTs and ACT fusion proteins. The system of ACT-compound of formula (I) is particularly suitable for double labelling studies together with the known system O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT)-benzylguanines.

Abstract: An ocular drainage system is provided for treating diseases that produce elevated intraocular pressures, such as glaucoma, wherein the system includes an implantable device and an external control unit. The implantable device includes a non-invasively adjustable valve featuring at least one deformable tube and a disk rotatably mounted within a housing, such that rotation of the disk using the external control unit causes the disk to apply a selected amount of compression to the deformable tube, thereby adjusting the fluidic resistance of the deformable tube and regulating the intraocular pressure.

Abstract: Endosseous implant to be applied to a human or animal bone, wherein the surface of the implant is made from titanium or a titanium alloy, said implant having a smooth or rough surface texture, which is characterized in that said surface has been treated with at least one selected organic phosphonate compound or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or ester or an amide thereof; process for producing said implants.

Abstract: An encoder/decoder for multi-channel audio data, and in particular for audio reproduction through wave field synthesis. The encoder comprises a two-dimensional filter-bank to the multi-channel signal, in which the channel index is treated as an independent variable as well as time, and and the resulting spectral coefficient are quantized according to a two-dimensional psychoacoustic model, including masking effect in the spatial frequency as well as in the temporal frequency. The coded spectral data are organized in a bitstream together with side information containing scale factors and Huffman codebook identifiers.

Abstract: An electronic polarimetric imaging system for a colposcopy device designed for in vivo observation of a cervix, wherein the colposcopy device includes a light source for illuminating the observable cervix and at least visual elements for monitoring an image of the cervix, the illumination optical path towards the cervix and the image optical path coming back from the cervix being separated from one another over at least one portion of the paths thereof. The system includes a polarimetric adapter housing which is removable into the separated portion of the illumination and image optical paths, the polarimetric adapter housing including a polarisation state generator (PSG) on the illumination optical path and a polarisation analyser (PSA) on the image optical path, wherein the polarisation state generator (PSG) and the polarisation analyser (PSA) are controllable. Several levels of polarimetric characterisation are possible. An adaptor housing is also disclosed.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for treating drops in a microfluid circuit, comprising at least one microchannel (12) through which the drops flow, characterized in that a laser (26) is brought to bear on the interface of said drops in the transport liquid (F3), or on the interface of drops in contact, in order to carry out a sorting of the drops, to form nanodrops from a larger drop or to fuse drops (60, 64) in contact and initiate reactions between the fluids contained in said drops.

Abstract: A device for generating a secondary source from a primary optical source emitting a first optical beam focused onto a surface in movement, with which said first beam interacts so as to generate a secondary beam, includes an optical device for controlling the orientation and position of said surface to determine the orientation and position of the emission point of said secondary source on said surface. The device comprises: a control laser beam split into two branches, a fixed reference beam and a mobile analysis beam reflected by the surface in movement; means for making said reference and analysis beams interfere to generate interference fringes; means for imaging the interference fringes carrying information about the orientation and position of said surface; means for analyzing said interference images; and means for generating a feedback loop for controlling the orientation and position of said surface in movement based on the analysis.

Abstract: Reconfigurable Systems-an-Chip (RSoCs) on the market consist of full-fledged processors and large Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). The latter can be used to implement the system glue logic, various peripherals, and application-specific coprocessors. Using FPGAs for application-specific coprocessors has certain speedup potentials, but it is less present in practice because of the complexity of interfacing the software application with the coprocessor. In the present application, we present a virtualisation layer consisting of an operating system extension and a hardware component. It lowers the complexity of interfacing and increases portability potentials, while it also allows the coprocessor to access the user virtual memory through a virtual memory window. The burden of moving data between processor and coprocessor is shifted from the programmer to the operating system.

Abstract: Endosseous implant to be applied to a human or animal bone, wherein the surface of the implant is made from titanium or a titanium alloy, said implant having a smooth or rough surface texture, which is characterized in that said surface has been treated with at least one selected organic phosphonate compound or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or ester or an amide thereof; process for producing said implants.