All The Claims

1. A method of treating a solid tumor; melanoma; renal cell carcinoma; non small-cell lung cancer; bladder cancer; Hodgkin’s lymphoma; or gastric cancer in a human, the method comprising administering to said human an anti-PD-L1 antibody or antibody fragment that specifically binds to a human PD-L1 that is expressed by a PD-L1 nucleotide sequence comprising a variation selected from the group consisting of:
rs1411262; rs4143815; 8923C; rs150439231; rs138261640; rs142983488; rs76741468; rs822336; rs183400620; rs187252832; rs146143976; rs139023765; rs73641615; rs17718883; rs139709512; rs140045210; rs141978642; rs146495642; rs370800260; rs143235887; rs373692552; rs140304675; rs12551333; rs376993991; rs367921713; rs41280721; rs61752860;

wherein the antibody or antibody fragment that specifically binds to human PD-L1 comprises a human gamma-1 heavy chain constant region that comprises an amino acid selected from the group consisting of:
an Asp corresponding to position 204 of SEQ ID NO: 42 and a Leu corresponding to position 206 of SEQ ID NO: 42; and

wherein said human comprises:
(i) an IGHG1*01 human heavy chain constant region gene segment, or the human expresses antibodies comprising human gamma-1 heavy chain constant regions comprising said selected amino acid; and
(ii) a PD-L1 nucleotide sequence comprising said selected variation.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected variation is a nucleotide corresponding to SNP rS1411262, SNP rs4143815, 8923C or 395C.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said human is homozygous for said variation.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the antibody or antibody fragment that specifically binds to humanPD-L1 comprises an IGHG1*01 human heavy chain constant region.
5. The method of claim 1, comprising, before said administering, selecting a human comprising said PD-L1 nucleotide sequence of (ii), wherein the human is the human of claim 1.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the human has been determined to comprise said PD-L1 nucleotide sequence of (ii).
7. The method of claim 1, comprising the step of determining that the human comprises said PD-L1 nucleotide sequence of (ii), optionally, wherein the determining step is performed before administration of the antibody or antibody fragment that specifically binds to human PD-L1 to the human.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of determining comprises assaying a biological sample from the human for a PD-L1 nucleotide sequence comprising said selected variation.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the assaying comprises contacting the biological sample with
a. at least one oligonucleotide probe comprising a sequence of at least 10 contiguous nucleotides that can specifically hybridize to and identify in the biological sample a nucleotide sequence comprising said selected variation or that specifically hybridizes to an antisense of said sequence, wherein said nucleic acid hybridizes to said selected variation or hybridizes to an antisense sequence thereby forming a complex when at least one nucleotide sequence comprising said selected variation is present; andor
b. at least one oligonucleotide probe comprising a sequence of at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a nucleotide sequence comprising said selected variation or comprising an antisense sequence of said contiguous nucleotides, wherein said sequence of contiguous nucleotides comprises said selected variation thereby forming a complex when the nucleotide sequence comprising said selected variation is present; and
detecting the presence or absence of the complex, wherein detecting the presence of the complex determines that the human comprises a PD-L1 nucleotide sequence comprising said selected variation.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the assaying comprises nucleic acid amplification and optionally one or more methods selected from sequencing, next generation sequencing, nucleic acid hybridization, and allele-specific amplification andor wherein the assaying is performed in a multiplex format.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein said human is or has been further determined to be substantially resistant a PD-L1 or PD-1 treatment.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein said human is receiving or has received a PD-L1 or PD-1 treatment or has reduced responsiveness to a PD-L1 or PD-1 treatment.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein said biological sample comprises serum, blood, faeces, tissue, a cell, urine andor saliva of said human.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein said antibody or antibody fragment that specifically binds to human PD-L1 is administered by intravenous or subcutaneous injection andor is comprised in an injectable preparation.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the antibody or antibody fragment that specifically binds to human PD-L1 is a human antibody or antibody fragment.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A maskant used in aluminiding a surface of a metallic substrate, the metallic substrate having a substrate surface composition comprising nickel, a substrate aluminum content, and other alloying elements, the maskant including
a plurality of maskant particles, each maskant particle having a maskant particle composition comprising a maskant metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, titanium, chromium, iron, and combinations thereof, and a maskant aluminum content.
2. The maskant of claim 1, wherein the maskant aluminum content is about the same as the substrate aluminum content.
3. The maskant of claim 1, wherein the particle composition is substantially the same as the substrate surface composition.
4. The maskant of claim 1, wherein the plurality of maskant particles are distributed substantially uniformly throughout the maskant.
5. The maskant of claim 1, wherein the maskant has a first surface and a second surface, and wherein the plurality of maskant particles are distributed nonuniformly throughout the maskant such that there are more maskant particles adjacent to the first surface than to the second surface.
6. The maskant of claim 1, further including
a plurality of nickel particles, each nickel particle having a nickel composition comprising nickel and substantially no aluminum.
7. The maskant of claim 1, wherein the maskant further comprises a binder in which the maskant particles are distributed.
8. The maskant of claim 1, wherein the maskant comprises
a maskant particle layer comprising the maskant particles overlying and contacting the surface, and
a maskant layer overlying the particle layer, the maskant layer comprising other metallic particles.
9. The maskant of claim 1, wherein the maskant aluminum content is from about 0.3 to about 30 percent by weight of the maskant particles.
10. The maskant of claim 1, wherein the maskant aluminum content is from about 5 to about 7 percent by weight of the maskant particles.
11. A method for aluminiding a surface comprising the steps of
providing a metallic substrate having a substrate surface, the metallic substrate having a substrate surface composition comprising nickel, a substrate aluminum content, and other alloying elements;
applying a maskant overlying a protected region of the substrate surface to produce a masked substrate surface having an exposed region and the protected region, the maskant comprising a plurality of maskant particles, each particle having a maskant particle composition comprising a maskant metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, titanium, chromium, iron, and combinations thereof, and a maskant aluminum content; and
contacting a source of aluminum to the masked substrate surface, whereby aluminum deposits on the exposed region and does not deposit on the protected region.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the maskant aluminum content is about the same as the substrate aluminum content.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the particle composition is substantially the same as the substrate surface composition.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of maskant particles are distributed substantially uniformly throughout the maskant.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the maskant has a first surface and a second surface, and wherein the plurality of maskant particles are distributed nonuniformly throughout the maskant such that there are more maskant particles adjacent to the first surface than to the second surface.
16. The method of claim 11, further including
a plurality of nickel particles, each nickel particle having a nickel composition comprising nickel and substantially no aluminum.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein the maskant further comprises a binder in which the maskant particles are distributed.
18. The method of claim 11, wherein the maskant comprises
a maskant particle sublayer comprising the maskant particles overlying and contacting the substrate surface, and
a maskant sublayer overlying the particle layer, the maskant layer comprising other metallic particles.
19. The method of claim 11, wherein the source of aluminum comprises an aluminum-containing gas.

What is claimed:

1. An optical switch comprising:
a first optical transmission line for transmitting a first optical signal;
an optical reflectivity variable mirror capable of varying a reflectivity in a range of 0% to 100% for reflecting said first optical signal, said optical reflectivity variable mirror being connected with said first optical transmission line;
a second optical transmission line connected through said optical reflectivity variable mirror to said first optical transmission line;
an optical transmitter connected through said second optical transmission line to said optical reflectivity variable mirror for transmitting a second optical signal,
wherein if said optical reflectivity variable mirror sets said reflectivity at less than 100%, then said first optical signal is reflected by said optical reflectivity variable mirror so that said first optical signal is outputted from said first optical transmission line,
wherein if said optical reflectivity variable mirror sets said reflectivity at 100%, then said first optical signal is transmitted through said optical reflectivity variable mirror, whilst said second optical signal transmitted from said optical transmitter is also transmitted through said optical reflectivity variable mirror to be outputted from said first optical transmission line.
2. An optical loop-structured circuit having at least a plurality of looped optical transmission lines having at least a plurality of optical transmission line junctions from which at least three optical transmission lines extend,
wherein at least one of said plurality of optical transmission line junctions has an optical device having at least any one of wavelength multiplexing and demultiplexing functions, which is connected to said at least three optical transmission lines, so that said optical device having at least any one of multiplexing and demultiplexing functions serves as a same roll as an optical coupler so as to reduce an optical power loss when said optical signal is transmitted through said optical transmission line junction structure.
3. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein all of said plurality of optical transmission line junctions have said optical devices.
4. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein at least one of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines has at least a single set of an optical amplifier and an optical isolator so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical amplifier.
5. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 4, wherein said at least one of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines is further connected to at least two set of an optical receiver and an optical transmiter so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical add-drop multiplexer.
6. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein at least one of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines has at least a single set of an optical attenuator and an optical isolator so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical equalizer.
7. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein at least two of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines are connected to an optical multiplexerdemultiplexer, whilst a single looped optical transmission line is separated by said at least two of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines from said optical multiplexerdemultiplexer, so that optical signals are individually transmitted along said plurality of looped optical transmission lines, and wherein all of said plurality of optical transmission line junctions have said optical devices.
8. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines has at least a single set of an optical amplifier and an optical isolator so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical amplifier.
9. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 8, wherein each of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines is further connected to at least two set of an optical receiver and an optical transmitter so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical add-drop multiplexer.
10. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines has at least a single set of an optical attenuator and an optical isolator so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical equalizer.
11. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein said optical device comprises an optical multiplexerdemultiplexer.
12. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein said optical device comprises an optical multiplexer.
13. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein said optical device comprises and optical demultiplexer.
14. An optical loop-structured circuit having at least a plurality of looped optical transmission lines having at least a plurality of optical transmission line junctions from which at least three optical transmission lines extend,
wherein at least one of said plurality of optical transmission line junctions has an optical circulator, which is connected to said at least three optical transmission lines, so that said optical circulator serves as a same roll as an optical coupler so as to reduce an optical power loss when said optical signal is transmitted through said optical transmission line junction structure.
15. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 14, wherein all of said plurality of optical transmission line junctions have said optical circulators.
16. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 14, wherein at least one of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines has at least a single set of an optical amplifier and an optical isolator so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical amplifier.
17. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 16, wherein said at least one of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines is further connected to at least two set of an optical receiver and an optical transmitter so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical add-drop multiplexer.
18. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 14, wherein at least one of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines has at least a single set of an optical attenuator and an optical isolator so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical equalizer.
19. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 14, wherein at least two of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines are connected to an optical multiplexerdemultiplexer, whilst a single looped optical transmission line is separated by said at least two of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines from said optical multiplexerdemultiplexer, so that optical signals are individually transmitted along said plurality of looped optical transmission lines, and wherein all of said plurality of optical transmission line junctions have said optical circulators.
20. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 14, wherein each of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines has at least a single set of an optical amplifier and an optical isolator so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical amplifier.
21. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 20, wherein each of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines is further connected to at least two set of an optical receiver and an optical transmitter so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical add-drop multiplexer.
22. The optical loop-structured circuit as claimed in claim 14, wherein each of said plurality of looped optical transmission lines has at least a single set of an optical attenuator and an optical isolator so that said optical loop-structured circuit has a function of an optical equalizer.
23. An optical gate switch comprises:
a main optical transmission line;
first and second optical multiplexerdemultiplexers provided on said main optical transmission line so that said first and second optical multiplexerdemultiplexers are separated from each other, and said first and second optical multiplexerdemultiplexers being connected with first and second subordinate optical transmission lines respectively;
an impurity doped fiber provided on said main optical transmission line and positioned between said first and second optical multiplexerdemultiplexers; and
an excitation light source connected through said first subordinate optical transmission line to said first optical multiplexerdemultiplexer so that said excitation light source emits an excitation light which is transmitted through said first subordinate optical transmission line and said first optical multiplexerdemultiplexer to said impurity doped fiber,
whereby said second optical multiplexerdemultiplexer transmits said optical signal onto said main optical transmission line and also transmits a leaked part of said excitation light onto said second subordinate optical transmission line.
24. The optical gate switch as claimed in claim 23, further comprising an optical reflecting mirror provided on said second subordinate optical transmission line for reflecting said leaked part of said excitation light to said impurity doped fiber.
25. The optical gate switch as claimed in claim 23, further comprising a secondary excitation light source on said second subordinate optical transmission line.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A flexible swimming pool, comprising a pool wall, a base sheet and an inflatable ring, said pool wall being formed by connecting the sidewalls which are made of flexible PVC plastic material sheets and provided with a reinforcing net therein, the inflatable ring being mounted on top of the pool wall to support the pool wall, characterized in that said sidewall is a continuous sidewall, that is, without a welding seam in a vertical direction from the top, on which the inflatable ring is connected, to the bottom; the sidewall is connected directly with the base sheet through a welding seam; the pool wall is formed by connecting a plurality of continuous sidewalls at both sides of them with each other into a loop; the pool wall formed of the sidewalls connected into a loop is connected with the inflatable ring at its top to support the pool wall in a vertical direction; at least one notch is cut out in the lower edge of each continuous sidewall; and a sidewall bottom ring folding inwards which is formed by overlapping and bonding the material sheets of both sides of each notch is connected directly with the base sheet.
2. The flexible swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein the notch cut out in the lower edge of each continuous sidewall is a notch of equilateral triangle, and a reinforcing sheet is provided on top of the portion where the material sheets of both sides of the notch are overlapped.