Abstract: A catheter comprising an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve surrounding the inner sleeve, the inner and the outer sleeves being longitudinally displaceable relative to one another to enable the catheter to move from an open state to a closed state, each sleeve having a distal portion and a proximal portion, the catheter further comprising a retainer which is open in the open state, and closed in the closed state, the catheter further comprising a lock mechanism comprising lock formed in a lock portion of the catheter for locking the catheter in the open state, and a releaser for releasing the lock, the releaser being adapted to remove at least a part of the lock portion from the catheter.

Abstract: The invention relates to a trackbed liner which has a particular utility in a railway trackbed, as well as in other trackbeds such as tram trackbeds. The trackbed liner may include an upper support layer; a lower support layer; and at least one middle filtration layer of a material having a plurality of pores and which is normally impermeable to liquid water. In use and under the load of a vehicle acting on the trackbed, the filtration layer permits passage of liquid water upwardly therethrough but restricts the passage of solids materials, so as to restrict pumping erosion of material located beneath the liner. The trackbed liner may be used to renovate a trackbed comprising ballast contaminated with clay particles. The method includes removing contaminated ballast; laying the trackbed liner; and locating fresh ballast on an upper surface of the liner to provide a renovated trackbed.

Abstract: Novel 5-azaindole bisphosphonate compounds are disclosed, as well as methods of preparing the compounds, pharmaceutical compositions including the compounds, and administration of the compounds in methods of treating abnormal calcium and phosphate metabolism, including bone and joint diseases and other disorders.

Abstract: A modular construction member and kit including a panel having a first side and a second side opposite the first side and spaced apart from the first side by a distance defining a thickness. The panel having a plurality of ends extending between the first side and the second side with each of the first side, the second side, and at least one of the ends having a plurality of holes formed therein which are configured to receive a connector which is also receivable in a hole of a like panel for connecting the panel to the like panel.

Abstract: An apparatus for controlling memory access in a multithreaded processor supporting a plurality of threads is provided. The apparatus includes a processor core; a cache memory storing data accessible by each of the plurality of threads; a main memory storing data accessible by a plurality of threads; an incoherency detection module; and a memory arbiter. The incoherency detection module is connected between the processor core and the memory arbiter, and the memory arbiter is connected between the incoherency detection module and the main memory. There is a separate request queue for each thread for read and write requests sent from the cache memory to the memory arbiter. The incoherency detection module stores an indication of a memory address for each write request sent from the cache memory to the main memory in a write address memory, and compares the address of each subsequent read request sent from the cache memory with indications in the write address memory.

Abstract: Methods and systems for redeeming digital coupons within a network-based system are disclosed. For example, a method can include receiving a payment request, accessing a digital coupon, validating the digital coupon, applying the validated digital coupon, and processing payment of a revised payment request. The payment request includes sufficient information for a payment processor to transfer funds between a user and a merchant. Receiving the payment request also includes a reference to a digital coupon associated with an item included in the payment request. The digital coupon is accessed using the reference received from the user within the payment request. Validating the digital coupon creates a validated digital coupon that is applied against the payment request to create a revised payment request.

Abstract: The invention generally relates to systems and methods for mass spectrometry analysis of samples. In certain embodiments, the invention provides a mass spectrometry probe including at least one porous material connected to a high voltage source, in which the porous material is discrete from a flow of solvent.

Abstract: This invention concerns a quantum device, suitable for quantum computing, based on dopant atoms located in a solid semiconductor or insulator substrate. In further aspects the device is scaled up. The invention also concerns methods of reading out from the devices, initializing them, using them to perform logic operations and making them.

Abstract: Disclosed and claimed are a mutant of a gram negative bacterium, wherein said bacterium has at least one mutation in a nucleotide sequence which codes for a polypeptide having an identity which is equal or more than 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% with an amino acid sequence coded by a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of nucleotide sequences identified SEQ ID NO: 2, 6, 9, 12, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52, 55, 58, 61, 64, 67, 70, 75, 78, 81, 84, 87, 90, 93; said mutation resulting in attenuated virulence of the bacterium. Immunogenic compositions and vaccines containing such a mutant are also disclosed and claimed.

Abstract: Systems and methods create a digital geospatial display of facilities to aid facility management. In one implementation, a system retrieves data for a plurality of facilities from various databases, including, but not limited to, map data for creating maps, location data for the facilities, and resource data for the facilities. The system marks the locations of the facilities on a map display using a facility icon. The facility icon comprises one or more resource status areas, each of which convey information about the state of a resource at a facility. The system calculates the resource status areas of the facility icons based at least on the resource data.

Abstract: The invention generally relates to systems and methods for transferring ions for analysis. In certain embodiments, the invention provides a system for analyzing a sample including an ionizing source for converting molecules of a sample into gas phase ions in a region at about atmospheric pressure, an ion analysis device, and an ion transfer member operably coupled to a gas flow generating device, in which the gas flow generating device produces a laminar gas flow that transfers the gas phase ions through the ion transfer member to an inlet of the ion analysis device.

Abstract: Novel 5-azaindole bisphosphonate compounds are disclosed, as well as methods of preparing the compounds, pharmaceutical compositions including the compounds, and administration of the compounds in methods of treating abnormal calcium and phosphate metabolism, including bone and joint diseases and other disorders.

Abstract: Novel imidazo[1,2-?]pyridinyl bisphosphonate compounds are disclosed, as well as methods of preparing the compounds, pharmaceutical compositions including the compounds, and administration of the compounds in methods of treating abnormal calcium and phosphate metabolism, including bone and joint diseases and other disorders.

Abstract: The application relates to methods for determining whether a patient is at increased risk of developing wet AMD or whether a patient has an increased likelihood of benefiting from treatment with a high-affinity anti-VEGF antibody.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a glass composition formulated to provide the controlled release of certain transition metal ions to regulate the cellular hypoxia pathway and the use of these hypoxia-pathway regulating glasses in medicine and in biomedical research, including in the repair, restoration or regeneration of diseased or damaged tissue.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for producing a porous glass construct with interconnected porosity, the resulting porous construct and its use as a macroporous scaffold in bone repair and regeneration.

Abstract: A method of producing a heat sealable label comprises the steps of: (i) providing a textile substrate which is of synthetic polymeric fibres and which is provided on one of its faces with a heat sealable adhesive, (ii) applying to the other face of the substrate a curable resin system, (iii) effecting cross-linking of said curable resin system, (iv) printing on to said cross-linked resin system a uv curable ink in the form of the desired marking, and (v) effecting uv curing of said ink. The ink incorporates monomer components which during the uv curing of step (iv) covalently bond to the cross-linked resin system.

Abstract: A noise cancellation system for an audio system such as a mobile phone handset, or a wireless phone headset has a first input for receiving a first audio signal from one or more microphone positioned to receive ambient noise, and a second input for receiving a second audio signal from a microphone positioned to detect the user?s speech, as well as a third input for receiving a third audio signal for example representing the speech of a person to whom the user is talking. A first noise cancellation block receives the first audio signal and generates a first noise cancellation signal, and this is combined with the third audio signal to form a first audio output signal. A second noise cancellation block receives at least a part of the first audio signal and said second audio signal and applying noise cancellation to generate a second audio output signal.

Abstract: This invention concerns an electronic device for the control and readout of the electron or hole spin of a single dopant in silicon. The device comprises a silicon substrate in which there are one or more ohmic contact regions. An insulating region on top of the substrate. First and second barrier gates spaced apart to isolate a small region of charges to form an island of a Single Electron Transistor (SET). A third gate over-lying both the first and second barrier gates, but insulated from them, the third gate being able to generate a gate-induced charge layer (GICL) in the ESR line substrate beneath it. A fourth gate in close proximity to a single dopant donor gate atom, the dopant atom being encapsulated in the substrate outside the region of the GICL but close enough to allow spin-dependent charge tunnelling between the dopant atom and the SET island under the control of gate potentials, mainly the fourth gate.

Abstract: Disclosed and claimed are a mutant of a gram negative bacterium, wherein said bacterium has at least one mutation in a nucleotide sequence which codes for a polypeptide having an identity which is equal or more than 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% with an amino acid sequence coded by a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of nucleotide sequences identified SEQ ID NO: 2, 6, 9, 12, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52, 55, 58, 61, 64, 67, 70, 75, 78, 81, 84, 87, 90, 93; said mutation resulting in attenuated virulence of the bacterium. Immunogenic compositions and vaccines containing such a mutant are also disclosed and claimed.