Abstract: An animation tool which is configured to enable a user to generate one or more animations for subsequent execution on a computer platform is described. The animation tool provides a plurality of graphical integers which a user can use to generate an animation. The graphical integers are divisible into graphical elements and graphical element effects, the effects being applied by a user onto an element and defining the viewing properties of that element.

Abstract: A method of wet etching produces high-precision microneedle arrays for use in medical applications. The method achieves precise process control over microneedle fabrication, at single wafer or batch-level, using wet etching of silicon with potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution by accurately identifying the etch time endpoint. Hence, microneedles of an exactly required height, shape, sharpness and surface quality are achieved. The outcome is a reliable, reproducible, robust and relatively inexpensive microneedle fabrication process. Microneedles formed by KOH wet etching have extremely smooth surfaces and exhibit superior mechanical and structural robustness to their dry etched counterparts. These properties afford extra reliability to such silicon microneedles, making them ideal for medical applications. The needles can also be hollowed. Wet etched silicon microneedles can then be employed as masters to replicate the improved surface and structural properties in other materials (such as polymers) by moulding.

Abstract: An array of highly efficient micro-LEDs where each micro-LED is an integrated diode structure in a mesa, in which the mesa shape and the light-emitting region are chosen for optimum efficiency. A single one of the micro-LEDs includes, on a substrate and a semiconductor layer, a mesa, a light emitting layer, and an electrical contact. The micro-LEDs in this device have a very high EE because of their shape. Light is generated within the mesa, which is shaped to enhance the escape probability of the light. Very high EEs are achieved, particularly with a near parabolic mesa that has a high aspect ratio. The top of the mesa is truncated above the light-emitted layer (LEL), providing a flat surface for the electronic contact on the top of the semiconductor mesa. It has been found that the efficiency is high, provided the top contact has a good reflectivity value. Also, it has been found that efficiency is particularly high if the contact occupies an area of less than 16% of the truncated top mesa surface area.

Abstract: A strain of Bifidobacterium isolated from resected and washed human gastrointestinal tract is significantly immunomodulatory following oral consumption in humans. The strain is useful in the prophylaxis and/or treatment of undesirable inflammatory activity, especially gastrointestinal inflammatory activity such as inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome. The inflammatory activity may also be due to cancer.

Abstract: An initial epitaxial layer of GaN is grown on a sapphire substrate. The epitaxial layer is then etched in a reactive ion etch (RIE) chamber. This etching acts preferentially at defects, causing them to become enlarged cavities. The cavities are too large in proportion to the crystal lattice to act as defects in the usual sense, and so a further GaN epitaxial layer fills into the cavities. Thus, propagation of defects is avoided.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of manufacturing an avalanche diode comprising the steps of applying a mask (6) over an active diode region (5) in a wafer (1), and damaging the region the surrounding the active diode region by breaking bonds in the semiconductor lattice to provide gettering sites in this surrounding region.

Abstract: An insulating layer (5) and a conductive seed layer (6) are applied to a substrate (1) in a simple process. A photo resist with palladium chloride are provided in a bath for electrophoretic deposition onto the substrate. The photo resist is an insulator and the palladium chloride is a catalyst. The layer is heated with UV to cure it. The layer is plasma etched to expose more of the palladium chloride, which acts as a catalyst for electrodes plating of the conductive seed layer. A thicker conductive layer (7) is then electroplated onto the seed layer. These steps may be repeated for successive insulating and/or conductive layers.

Abstract: A Fabry-Pérot (FP) laser device (1) has an n-type substrate (2), an active region (3), a p-type cladding (4), an insulator (5), and a contact (6). The cladding (4) comprises a ridge (7) having a number of slots (8). The slots (8) cause a partial longitudinal reflection of the light. The precise locations of the slots are chosen to accurately and predictably achieve a particular selected mode or modes in the output light. A method to design a slot pattern both preferentially selects a particular Fabry-Pérot mode as the peak emission wavelength and also suppresses an arbitrary number of neighbouring Fabry-Pérot modes. The method selects a set of Fabry-Pérot modes in preference to other Fabry-Pérot modes within the cavity. In this way the method addresses the important problems for semiconductor lasers of predetermination of the peak lasing wavelength and also stability of the peak lasing mode with changes in temperature.

Abstract: A strain of Bifidobacterium isolated from resected and washed human gastrointestinal tract is significantly immunomodulatory following oral consumption in humans. The strain is useful in the prophylaxis and/or treatment of undesirable inflammatory activity, especially gastrointestinal inflammatory activity such as inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome. The inflammatory activity may also be due to cancer.

Abstract: A strain of Bifidobacterium isolated from resected and washed human gastrointestinal tract is significantly immunomodulatory following oral consumption in humans. The strain is useful in the prophylaxis and/or treatment of undesirable inflammatroy activity, especially gastrointestinal inflammatory activity such as inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome. The inflammatory activity may also be due to cancer.

Abstract: A strain of Lactobacillus salivarius isolated from resected and washed human gastrointestinal tract inhibits a broad range of Gram positive and Gram negative microorganisms and secretes a product having antimicrobial activity into a cell-free supernatant. The activity is produced only by, growing cells and is destroyed by proteinase K and pronase E, the inhibitory properties of the strain and its secretory products being maintained in the presence of physiological concentrations of human bile and human gastric juice. The strain exhibits a broad-spectrum of activity against bacteria including Listeria, Staphylococcus, including methocillin resistant St. aureus (MRSA), and Bacillus, but does not inhibit many closely related lactobacilli. An antimicrobial agent is obtained from the strain which has bacteriocin-like properties.

Abstract: The present invention is drawn to a method for characterising nucleic acid molecules, which comprises the steps of: i) introducing a modified base which is a substrate for a DNA glycosylase into a DNA molecule; ii) excising the modified base with the DNA glycosylase to generate an abasic site; iii) cleaving the DNA at the abasic site to generate and release an extendible upstream DNA fragment having a 3? hydroxyl terminus; and iv) incubating the released extendible upstream DNA fragment in the presence of an enzyme allowing for extension thereof and an additional template nucleic acid and analysing resultant fragment(s).

Abstract: A DAC (1) has a switched element capacitor (7, Cr) to which charge is delivered via switches (6, S1/S2) depending on required analog voltage level (Vref1, Vref2). An output switch (S3) is closed and a ground switch (S4) is opened to deliver charge to the output according to received bi-level digital inputs (+1, ?1). The control block (2) has a memory and determines an inactive output level if there is an input digital transition from +1 to ?1 or from ?1 to +1. For the inactive level S3 is kept open and S4 is kept closed. Thus, for every clock cycle with one of these transitions there is no charge transfer and hence no thermal noise. Overall noise is therefore considerably reduced.

Abstract: A substituted thiourea having the general formula characterized in that each of R1 and R2 independently comprises an alkyl, alkaryl or aryl group or a substituted derivative thereof, and contains at least one fluorine atom, and in that each of R3 and R4 is selected from the group which consists of H, alkyl, alkaryl and aryl and substituted derivatives thereof, including fluorine-containing derivatives. A method for producing the substituted thiourea is disclosed, and a method for extracting a noble metal such as gold from a matrix by treating the matrix with the substituted thiourea is also disclosed.

Abstract: The invention provides an offset and low frequency noise insensitive magnetic sensor which incorporates a magnetic field effect transistors (MagFETs). Methods of improving the signal to noise ratio and reducing errors from offsets when measuring magnetic fields using MagFETs are also described. The invention also provides for the use of such methods and sensor in circuitry adapted to provide for residual current detection.

Abstract: A strain of Lactobacillus salivarius isolated from resected and washed human gastrointestinal tract inhibits a broad range of Gram positive and Gram negative microorganisms and secretes a product having antimicrobial activity into a cell-free supernatant. The activity is produced only by, growing cells and is destroyed by proteinase K and pronase E, the inhibitory properties of the strain and its secretory products being maintained in the presence of physiological concentrations of human bile and human gastric juice. The strain exhibits a broad-spectrum of activity against bacteria including Listeria, Staphylococcus, including methocillin resistant St. aureus (MRSA), and Bacillus, but does not inhibit many closely related lactobacilli. An antirmicrobial agent is obtained from the strain which has bacteriocin-like properties.

Abstract: A strain of Lactobacillus salivarius isolated from resected and washed human gastrointestinal tract inhibits a broad range of Gram positive and Gram negative microorganisms and secretes a product having antimicrobial activity into a cell-free supernatant. The activity is produced only by growing cells and is destroyed by proteinase K and pronase E, the inhibitory properties of the strain and its secretory products being maintained in the presence of physiological concentrations of human bile and human gastric juice. The strain exhibits a broad-spectrum of activity against bacteria including Listeria, Staphylococcus, including methocillin resistant St. aureus (MRSA), and Bacillus, but does not inhibit many closely related lactobacilli. An antimicrobial agent is obtained from the strain which has bacteriocin-like properties.

Abstract: The invention provides an offset and low frequency noise insensitive magnetic sensor which incorporates a magnetic field effect transistors (MagFETs). Methods of improving the signal to noise ratio and reducing errors from offsets when measuring magnetic fields using MagFETs are also described.

Abstract: An activated substrate surface suitable for electronics and microsystems preparation is prepare by contacting the surface with a surface activation compound, e.g. organometallic based on palladium, platinum, rhodium or iridium. The photo labile ligand has an optical absorption band which overlaps with the wavelength of the UV. A UV lamp is used, in combination with a mask, to selectively irradiate the contacted surface. Irradiation of the surface with light of a suitable wavelength decomposes the organometallic compound to the activating metal. The surface is then ready for electroless plating with the desired conducting material. The mask is patterned to delineate areas where surface activation is not to occur. The organometallic compound absorbs ultraviolet radiation in the wavelength range 210-260 nm, or in the wavelength range 290-330 nm, in the solid state if the compound exists as a solid at 25° C. or in the liquid state if the compound exists as a liquid at 25° C.

Abstract: An analog to digital converter for converting an analog input signal to a digital output signal, includes a first converter having a filter unit for producing at least one filter output signal by filtering the difference between the analog input signal and a feedback signal generated from a first digital output, a quantizer for producing the first digital output by quantizing the weighted sum of a first filter output from the filter unit and the analog input signal, a second converter for producing a second digital output by converting a second filter output from the filter unit, and a digital combiner for combining the first output digital signal and the second output digital signal into the digital output signal.