Abstract: The present invention provides a computer-implemented method for analysing a urine sample from a subject. The method comprises providing the value of one or more cell-free DNA fragment size metrics for said sample, and determining whether the sample has a high or low likelihood of being from a brain cancer patient by providing said values of said cell-free DNA fragment size metrics as input to a machine learning model. The machine learning model is trained to classify sample data into one of at least two classes, the at least two classes comprising a first class having a high likelihood of being from a brain cancer patient and a second class having a low likelihood of being from a brain cancer patient. Methods for diagnosing or screening for brain cancer, detecting recurrence or residual disease, providing a prognosis or selecting a treatment for brain cancer are also described.

Abstract: The present invention provides a computer-implemented method for detecting cell-free DNA (cfDNA), such as circulating tumour DNA, in a DNA-containing sample obtained from a patient, the method comprising: (a) providing loci of interest comprising at least 2 mutation-containing loci representative of a tumour of the patient (“patient-specific loci”); (b) providing sequence data comprising sequence reads of a plurality of polynucleotide fragments from a DNA-containing sample from the patient, wherein said sequence reads span said at least 2 mutation-containing loci of step (a); (c) optionally, performing reads collapsing to group the sequence reads into read families; (d) calculating the mutant allele fraction across some or all of said at least 2 patient-specific loci, optionally wherein the mutant allele fraction is calculated by aggregating mutant reads and total reads; (e) classifying the sample as containing or not containing the target cfDNA based on the calculated mutant allele fraction.

Abstract: A system for facilitating the processing and settlement of a securities trade is provided. The system includes a computer which receives trade execution information indicative of an executed trade by a first trading party and trade allocation information indicative of an executed trade by a second trading party. The system also includes a database of trading party profiles accessible by the computer, the trading party profiles being indicative of acceptable trade parameters for each trading party. Executing on the computer is a matching program for comparing the trade execution information with the trade allocation information and for determining that a match exists if the trade execution information and the trade allocation information correlate within the acceptable trade parameters supplied in the trading party profiles for the first trading party and the second trading party.

Abstract: An apparatus and method, as embodied and broadly described herein, provide a respiratory mask for the application of positive pressure to the airways of a patient. The mask includes two chambers in which a first chamber is maintained with positive pressure with respect to the ambient pressure and contains a first opening which, when in use, is positioned against the patient's face. A second chamber, maintained at negative pressure with respect to the ambient pressure, contains a second opening which, when in use, is positioned against the patient's face, such that the face contacting area of the first opening is smaller than the face contacting area of the second opening.

Abstract: Polymers that are stable under aqueous conditions of high ionic strength are combined with non-fused, silicate based microspheres that are modified with multivalent metals but not washed or dried, said microspheres being present as filters.