Abstract: A novel control system for a simple and compact all-solid-state laser generating 300 nm to 600 nm nm light with continuously variable output power in the range from 1 mW to at least 120 mW. Single frequency radiation from an external cavity semiconductor laser is frequency doubled in, for example, a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 ridge waveguide. Our laser maintains a high quality TEM00 circular beam with M2<1.1 and a very low. noise of less than 0.06% over its range of output power. Less than 0.1% peak-to-peak output power variation is seen even during prolonged operation. In one example, no degradation of the conversion efficiency is observed for operation at an output power of 70 mW, and the laser has a small footprint of 5 cm.×8 cm.

Abstract: An electronic device (9) has an interactive screen display (27) which is interactive with a stylus (10). The electronic device (9) has an actuator (30) associated with an engagement member (18) of a housing (16) of the device. The actuator (30) is actuated when the stylus (10) engages the engagement member (20) to provide an activation signal indicative of the stylus engaging or disengaging the engagement member (20). As a result, the electronic device (9) or display screen is inactivated or activated when the stylus (10) engages the engagement member (20).

Abstract: A fluid flow test device comprising: a chromatography path of aqueous wicking material on which is deposited at an upstream site at a selected delivery time an aqueous biological sample to be tested for the presence or absence of a target material; a capture material bound to the wicking material at a test site downstream of the upstream site, the capture material having a functionality that binds to a first locus on the target material upon wicking of the target material downstream to the test site; a visual label material having a functionality that binds to a second locus on the target material, the chromatography path having a site upstream of the test site at which the visual label material is begun to wick at a predetermined point in time after the first delivery time such that the visual label material does not intermix with the aqueous biological sample within the chromatography path.

Abstract: A cavity ring-down spectrometer includes: a) multiple detectors for monitoring the intensity of the radiation emitted from the cavity and the wavelength of the radiation injected into the cavity; b) controllers which turn off the radiation into the cavity and precisely adjust the temperature of, and current to, the laser gain medium; and c) means for adjusting the beam path length of the optical cavit to bring the cavity into resonance with the injected radiation. Additionally, disclosed is a method for using the spectrometer to detect a target analyte.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for decreasing the time required to calculate a ring-down time from sampled ring-down data and/or increasing the accuracy of the calculated ring-down time are provided. The time required to obtain an accurate calculation of a ring-down time is reduced by performing a linear least squares fit using an estimate B1 of the background, then using the results of the fit to estimate the error in B1. The estimated error in B1 is then used to provide an improved estimate of the ring-down time. Alternatively, the time required to accurately calculate a ring-down time is reduced by averaging consecutive data points into “bins” and performing a linear least squares fit to the resulting binned signal. The parameters obtained from the fit to the binned signal are then used to obtain an improved estimate B2 of the background, and the ring-down time is calculated by performing a linear least squares fit using B2.

Abstract: A monoclonal antibody or fragment thereof, wherein at least the hyper variable region is from a monoclonal antibody having an affinity of at least 1011 1/mol, and at least the constant region (or, if no constant region, the variable region) is derived from human immunoglobulin. The high-affinity monoclonal is from sheep or another mammal that gives higher affinity than a rodent.

Abstract: Islet cell membrane antigen has been purified and, since it displaces islet cell surface antibodies, is of utility in the prevention or treatment of diabetes.