A comprehensive system and method allow an integrated circuit designer to extract accurate estimates of parasitic impedances in interconnection lines of an integrated circuit. The method includes collecting values of electrical characteristic parameters to provide a technology profile for a particular fabrication process. An Interconnect Primitive Library builder provides a collection of interconnect `primitives` that any interconnect structure fabricated under the fabrication process can be broken down into, and combines it with the technology profile for simulations in a 3-dimensional field solver to extract parameterized coupling capacitances and other characteristic impedances for each interconnect primitive. An extraction tool traces a signal path of an integrated circuit and decomposes the interconnect structures on the signal path into interconnect primitives and maps them to the Interconnect Primitive Library. An RC network module provides an RC network based on the characterized parametric values in the mapped interconnect primitives. The RC network thus provided can be used to accurately estimate signal delays in a circuit simulator or delay calculator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automated tools for integrated circuit design. In particular, the present invention relates to modeling tools for calculating, measuring or predicting electrical characteristics of interconnect wiring in an integrated circuit.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As integrated circuit ("IC") technology advances, integrated circuits are made at higher integration levels and to run at higher clock speeds. In fact, at sub-micron feature sizes, the signal delay associated with a signal path is dominated by metal interconnections, or "wires", which are used to connect the active devices. For example, in gate-arrays and other routed designs with relatively long wires, the signal delays due to wiring ("wire delays") dominate signal delays between active devices at dimensions just below 1.0 micron. For more densely packed standard-cell designs, wire delays dominate at below 0.6 micron. Unlike the signal delay in the active device itself, which is typically well-characterized, and can be read from a device library, a wire delay depends on the structures in the vicinity of the wire, and thus cannot be modeled or calculated until after all circuit elements associated with the signal path of interest are placed and routed. Often, the accurate modeling of parasitic effects (e.g., parasitic capacitances) associated with these wires are now critical to a successful integrated circuit design.
However, accurate modeling of parasitic impedances of wires is a complex problem, requiring extensive knowledge in the diverse areas of device physics, process technology and electromagnetic field theory. Further, to be of practical value, an accurate model of parasitic impedances must be made both readily available to the integrated circuit designer in his/her normal course of work, and easily incorporated in the integrated circuit under design.
The tasks ("design methodology") of an integrated circuit designer can be summarized by the design flow chart 100 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, at step 101, the designer uses a high level hardware description language (e.g. Verilog or VHDL) to specify the functional and logic designs of the integrated circuit. Then, at step 102, the logic circuit is synthesized to a logic gate level circuit description, using an automatic logic synthesis tool. Typically, at the next step (i.e., step 103), a preliminary timing analysis on the logic gate level circuit is performed. Upon completing various verification steps (not shown) to ascertain the correctness of the logic gate level circuit and satisfying all timing constraints at the gross level, the physical design step (i.e., step 104) is carried out.
During physical design step 104, which is illustrated in further detail by flow chart 200 of FIG. 2, the logic gate level circuit description of step 102 is provided to a layout design system to be "placed" and "routed" (step 201). Placing is the process by which the logic elements of the logic gate level circuit description are realized in the circuit elements of a physical implementation. Routing is the process by which wires interconnecting the circuit elements of the physical implementation are created. At step 202, estimates of the parasitic impedances of wires in the physical implementation are made ("extracted") to form an interconnect delay model. The estimated parasitic impedances are then used, in step 203, to calculate signal delays resulting from these parasitic impedances. At step 204, a detailed timing analysis is ithen performed to verify that timing requirements are met in the physical implementation. If timing requirements are not met, the integrated circuit designer must return to step 201, i.e., to the layout design step, to make corrective modifications to the layout design In fact, in some instances, the circuit designer may have to return to step 102, where the logic circuit is redesigned such that a circuit implementation meeting timing requirements may be re-synthesized. Steps 202-204 are then repeated as necessary. In designing a high-speed logic circuit, steps 201-204 are typically reiterated many times.
When the design is deemed to have met its timing requirements, the final verification step (i.e., step 105) is performed. In the final verification step, the layout design is checked for compliance with design rules, and an even more extensive timing analysis is also performed.
In the prior art, as the physical circuit elements are interconnected, most place and route systems generate estimates of wire parasitic impedances to be used in subsequent timing simulations. These estimates of parasitic impedances are typically based on a simplistic model which often takes into account only the dimensions of individual wires. The parasitic impedances due to the surrounding structures are compensated for by a conservative "guard band". However, as integrated circuits go to successively higher levels of integration (i.e., smaller sizes and higher circuit densities) and use more layers of conductors, the simplistic model breaks down. In fact, the simplistic model is insufficient to allow accurate analysis of sub-micron designs, especially when estimating parasitic impedances in "critical" nets of the integrated circuit.
For an accurate analysis of parasitic impedances, the Poisson's equation can be solved for the space of interest using a 3-dimensional field solver. However, because both the computation and the input parameters are highly complex, 3-dimensional field solvers are difficult to set up, require a significant amount of computational power, and their results are difficult to use. Typically, to achieve an accuracy that justifies the effort, values of relevant physical parameters of a fabrication process contemplated for implementing the design are required as input data to the 3-dimensional field solver. In addition, because the computation is so complex even for the analysis of a small portion of the integrated circuit, practical solutions require the surrounding wires of a space of interest to be broken up by the user into small segments and be analyzed separately. The user must then collect and process the separate solutions of each analysis to be used in a subsequent delay calculation. As a result of its the complexity, the 3-dimensional field solver approach cannot be extensively used with an existing design methodology, such as that illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

System and method for extracting parasitic impedance from an integrated circuit layout


The present invention provides agents having high antimicrobial activity for preventing and treating infectious diseases. Thus, the present invention provides novel cyano-(substituted)-methylenepiperidinophenyl oxazolidinone derivatives, processes for making the compounds, as well as antimicrobial compositions containing said derivatives as active ingredients and methods of treating bacterial infections with the said derivatives.

Oxazolidinones represent a novel chemical class of synthetic antimicrobial agents. Following a chequered historical development since about the early-1980s, a watershed event took place with the clinical development and release for medical use in the late 2000s of the first representative, Linezolid, of this class1,2 This advance enabled the profiling of the unique properties of the members of this class, which is that they display activity against important Gram-positive human and veterinary pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) and β-lactam resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP). The oxazolidinones also show activity against Gram-negative aerobic bacteria and Gram-positive and Gram-negative anaerobes3.
The deficiencies of this class of oxazolidinones have also surfaced. They are inactive against Enterobacteriaceae4. They are generally bacteriostatic and do not display activity at a useful level against aerobic fastidious Gram-negative pathogens, as well as Gram-negative anaerobes. Moreover their potency for atypical respiratory pathogens such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae, M. hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticium and Chlamydia species is of a borderline range which could result into unacceptable clinical efficacy for the treatment of respiratory tract infections3.
Other limitations that have appeared through the clinical development studies and use of Linezolid and its potential successors in development are that the class has a propensity to induce myelosuppression with consequent thrombocytopenia5. Inhibition of monoamine oxidase by oxazolidinones has prompted a recommendation made to clinicians that clinical use of members of this class be done with caution during concomitant usage of adrenergic or serotonergic agents and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors6.
Linezolid is shown to have two targets in cells for its inhibitory effects. It binds to the 50S subunit within domain V of the 23S or RNA peptidyl transferase center near the interface with the 30S subunit, thereby blocking the formation of the tMet-tRNA-ribosome-mRNA ternary complex. In addition, linezolid associates with the nascent 50S particle and stops the assembly process7.
Considering that the oxazolidinones are bacteriostatic, as indeed are most other agents that inhibit bacterial protein synthesis, there is a strong likelihood that resistance can emerge under selective pressure during therapy, specially for infections which require a bactericidal therapy to be used. The significant concern related to this class of antibacterials is attributed to this essentially bacteriostatic effect against their prime target pathogens such as staphylococci, enterococci and pneumococci. It is pertinent to quote from the Adis R&D Insight report (Document 013296 dated Dec. 27, 2001) that an oxazolidinone AZD 2563 under clinical development is described to be "ineffective against linezolid-resistant S. pneumoniae". This concern is further aggravated due to the recent reports of emergence of Linezolid-resistant strains of enterococci and staphylococci in clinics. In fact the first clinical isolates of E. faecium, E. faecalis and S. aureus resistant to linezolid have recently been described8. Also, resistant strains have been generated by serial passage techniques, the resistance being associated with specific mutations in the 23S rRNA gene9.
Our own studies have also led to the identification of novel Linezolid-resistant strains, an embodiment of this invention. It has been reported that in-vitro staphylococci and enterococci resistant to linezolid can be selected only with difficulty8, which through genome characterization studies have shown the resistance to be associated with specific mutations in the 23S rRNA nucleotide sequence. The linezolid-resistant strain of S. pneumoniae ATCC 6303 LR has guanine replacing adenine at the nucleotide position 2160 of 23S rRNA. Similarly, our Linezolid-resistant strains of S. aureus Smith & MRSA 032 have uracil replacing guanine at nucleotide position 2447. These three resistant mutants, harbouring changes in the molecular targets of linezolid, showed significant elevation of MIC values for Linezolid indicating the loss in affinity of the drug to its ribosomal targets.
"Fine tuning" of this class of agents to improve the affinity of its members for the ribosome at existing or altered single or multiple target sites is conceivable, resulting thereby in significantly increasing their potency, and in incorporating bactericidal activity against Linezolid-sensitive/-resistant strains.
The present invention describes a novel series of oxazolidinones which display increased potency, and incorporate bactericidal activity, in contrast to the earlier-described bacteriostatic activity, against Linezolid-sensitive/-resistant strains, thus indicating a differential binding at the conventional site/s of the ribonucleoprotein and/or targeting multiple such receptor sites. In addition, using comparative molecular field analysis10, a study of literature-described oxazolidinones and the novel compounds of the present invention has enabled the identification of newer/additional structural motifs of the oxazolidinone class, novel and non-obvious from the prior art, which support the activity against the Linezolid-sensitive/-resistant pathogens. There is no prior description of oxazolidinones displaying such bactericidal activity or useful activity against Linezolid-sensitive/-resistant or other oxazolidinone-resistant microbial pathogens.
The following publications may be referred to with respect to the statements made in the above-described background information.
1Slee AM, et al., Antimicrob. Agents Chemother (1987) 31:1791-1797;
22nd European Congress of Chemotherapy and 7th Biennial Conference on Antiinfective Agents and Chemotherapy (Final Program), (1998): 93;
3Diekema D J et al., Lancet 2001; 358: 1975-82;
4Zhanel GG et al., Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2001, 12: 379-390;
5Kuter D J et al., Pharmacotherapy, 2001: 21: 1010-1030;
6Ament P W et al., Am Fam Physician 2002, 65: 663-70;
7Shinabarger D, Exp. Opin. Invest. Drugs (1999) 8:1195-1202; Champrey W S et al., Curr. Microb. 2002, 44: 350-356;
8Zurenko GE et al, In 39th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Washington DC, (1999) abstr. 848; Gonzales RD et al., Lancet 2001; 357:1179; Tsiodras S, et al., Lancet 2001; 358: 207-08;
9Swaney SM et al., In 38th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Washington DC, (1998) abstr. C-104;
10Pae, A. N. et al, Bioorg. & Med. Chem. Lett., 1999, 9:2685-90.
After filing of our pending provisional U.S. application No. 60/395,164 methylenepiperidinyl and methylenepyrrolidinyl oxazolidinone antibacterial agents were described in Kim H Y et al., Bioorg. & Med. Chem. Lett., (2003), 13:2227-2230.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Antibacterial cyano-(substituted)-methylenepiperidinophenyl oxazolidinones targeting multiple ribonucleoprotein sites


A method of manufacturing a thin film transistor array panel is provided, which includes forming a semiconductor layer of poly silicon, forming a gate insulating layer on the semiconductor layer, forming a conductive layer including a first metal layer and a second metal layer formed on the first metal layer, depositing and forming a photoresist pattern on the first and the second metal layer, forming a gate electrode by etching the conductive layer, wherein the gate electrode includes a double layered structure including the first metal layers having a narrower width than a width of the second metal layer, forming a source region and a drain region in the semiconductor layer by doping conductive impurities, ashing the photoresist pattern to expose a portion of the second metal, etching the exposed portion of the second metal layer, removing the photoresist pattern, and forming lightly doped drain regions having a lower concentration compared to the source region and the drain region by using the gate electrode as a doping mask.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor array panel.
2. Description of Related Art
A flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting display (OLED) includes a thin film transistor array panel including a plurality of pixel electrodes, a plurality of thin film transistors (TFTs) connected thereto, a plurality of signal lines connected to the TFTs, a plurality of drivers for driving the display panel, and a controller for controlling the drivers.
The signal lines include gate lines for transmitting gate signals from the drivers to the TFTs and data lines for transmitting data signals from the drivers to the TFTs.
A TFT includes a semiconductor layer of amorphous silicon or polysilicon, a gate electrode connected to the gate line, a source electrode connected to the data line, and a drain electrode connected to the pixel electrode.
A polysilicon TFT, using a polysilicon such as a semiconductor layer, has the relatively high electron mobility by amorphous silicon TFT, and the polysilicon TFT enables the implementation of a chip in glass technique that a display panel embeds its driving circuits.
A TFT including a polysilicon layer usually places the gate electrode on the polysilicon layer and the polysilicon layer includes lightly doped drain (LDD) regions disposed between a channel region and source and drain regions for reducing punch through, etc.
A gate overlapped lightly doped drain (GOLDD) TFT, which has lightly doped drain regions overlapping the gate electrode, is widely used in metal oxide semiconductor ("MOS") TFT technique, because the GOLDD TFT has a high reliability in comparison with a general LDD TFT, and reduces off current without the drop of on current. Particularly, a TFT having a short channel adopts the GOLDD type rather than the general LDD type on account of the reliability of the TFT due to hat carriers.
However, it is difficult to control a doping concentration with N type impurity in a manufacturing method of the conventional GOLDD structure and to apply an excimer laser annealing process having high activation ratio to such a manufacturing method.

Method of manufacturing thin film transistor array panel


Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a method of providing patient information. The method includes requesting patient data, supplying the patient data using a mobile electronic device, storing the patient data to a memory associated with the mobile electronic device, and communicating the patient data to a remote data server.

The present invention generally relates to patient registration. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and systems for providing patient registration information.
Healthcare environments, such as hospitals or clinics, include information systems, such as hospital information systems (HIS), radiology information systems (RIS), clinical information systems (CIS), and cardiovascular information systems (CVIS), and storage systems, such as picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), library information systems (LIS), and electronic medical records (EMR). Information stored may include patient medical histories, imaging data, test results, diagnosis information, management information, and/or scheduling information, for example. The information may be centrally stored or divided at a plurality of locations. Healthcare practitioners may desire to access patient information or other information at various points in a healthcare workflow. For example, during surgery, medical personnel may access patient information, such as images of a patient's anatomy, that are stored in a medical information system. Alternatively, medical personnel may enter new information, such as history, diagnostic, or treatment information, into a medical information system during an ongoing medical procedure. Additionally, patients may access information systems for scheduling, diagnosis and/or treatment information, check-in or admission, and/or other tasks. One or more of these systems comprise a healthcare information system, for example.
In typical healthcare settings, the patient registration process is a lengthy and repetitive procedure that patients must endure at nearly every encounter with a healthcare professional. Each new doctor, office, department, or even visit often requires a new set of forms to be completed. Moreover, paper-based forms are still widely-used to document a patient's demographic information, medical history, current medications, allergies, and other information. These paper-based forms are often added to the patient's folder associated with the particular doctor, department, or office being visited. In many settings, the information provided by the patient is transcribed into an electronic healthcare information system. Of course, the transcription process is prone to error in data entry and necessarily results in the patient losing control of his or her data.
In more advanced healthcare enterprises, patients have the ability to input their relevant information directly into an electronic system, thus bypassing the transcription process. For example, kiosk systems enable patients to enter their information at a kiosk that aggregates and transmits the information to the healthcare information system. However, these systems are typically disparate, thus requiring patients to redundantly enter the same information at every new facility or information system they encounter. Moreover, kiosk systems are tied to a physical location, and the ease of access to a kiosk depends on the number of patients waiting to use the kiosk. These systems can also be quite expensive, so smaller healthcare facilities are unlikely to have a multitude of kiosks available for patient use. Additionally, a patient may realize during the registration process that he or she is missing some piece of information required by the system. In such a scenario, the patient may be forced to abandon his or her current registration and vacate the line in order to obtain the necessary information. Furthermore, these systems still may result in a lengthy registration process that cannot be completed, or even begun, until the patient has arrived at the site of the kiosk.
Thus, there is a need for methods and systems that provide one-time input of patient registration information, patient-controlled dissemination of patient data, and secure transferring of patient information that is not tied to a physical location or time. There is a need for methods and systems that provide the remote handshake transfer of patient information during the patient registration process.

Methods and systems for providing patient registration information


Dynamic advertising scheduling, display, and tracking for the world wide web. The invention includes at least one template web page that has conventional HTML codes defining the format and content of the web page. Special "ad tags" are used to indicate the characteristics of an ad that can be displayed on a web page at the position of the ad tag. A request to view a page is sent to a server-resident parser. The parser accesses the template for the requested page, parses the conventional HTML codes, and provides such codes to the user. In addition, the parser "expands" each ad tag to standard HTML code that defines the characteristics of an ad. During expansion of ad tags, the parser determines from each ad tag the type of ad that can be inserted at the page position of the ad tag; a bin identifier defining which ads can be associated with the ad tag; a page identifier of the page associated with the ad tag; and various optional flags and codes. The parser generates a list of valid ads by searching through a conventional database, selects one that fulfills all the parameters of the ad tag, and generates HTML code linking a particular ad to the ad tag. That HTML code is then sent to the user. The parser program can also apply scheduling criteria to select ads from the generated list of eligible candidates.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to management of advertising on network systems, particularly for Internet worldwide web pages.
2. Description of Related Art
The worldwide web is an international electronic network comprising a vast number of interconnected electronic sites. The architecture of the worldwide web (simply, "web") includes the use of web "pages" at a site to provide text and graphical information to users accessing that site. Typically, there are only a small number of web pages for a particular site. Many sites are beginning to use advertisements on their web pages in the same way that advertisements have historically been used in other media, such as magazines and newspapers. Typically, the heaviest viewer traffic is on the main page of a site. Accordingly, advertisers generally want to have their advertisements ("ads") displayed on the main page of a web site. This desire can be accommodated by manually periodically changing such ads. However, manual changes are time consuming and costly.
Therefore, the present invention is directed at solving the problems of maximizing the number of advertisers and advertisements on web pages while also maximizing the number of views for each advertiser.


A system provides a form manager that defines an electronic form comprising a field to populate with a data object. The form manager further defines a schema associated to the form. The schema describes the data object. The form manager further defines a variation rule for the electronic form. The variation rule describes a variation that may occur in the data object. The variation rule represents variation processing to be dynamically applied to the electronic form in response to detecting the variation.

Computer systems allow for the exchange of information in a variety of ways. Conventional software applications operate on computer systems to allow people, commonly referred to as forms developers, to design and create electronic forms. An electronic form is a digital document that can be defined with form fields that can be electronically populated with data. Other computer users, often referred to as end users, can provide the data to the form fields to create a completed or populated form using a form completion application. An example of an electronic form is a Portable Document Format (PDF) form that a forms developer can create, and that an end user can populate, each using a software application such as Adobe Acrobat manufactured by Adobe Systems Incorporated of San Jose, Calif., U.S.A. Adobe and Acrobat are Trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. In one configuration, such conventional forms development and forms population software applications or systems allow an end-user to specify a data object to be provided for an electronic form. Such a data object can be a data source that defines many data structures, data records, text or numeric data or other types of records having a common data organization—known as a schema. By providing the data object to the electronic form, the conventional software application that manages electronic forms can populate multiple versions of the form with each record of data from the data object as defined by the schema. In this manner, the end-users can populate many versions of the form with the data from the data object for any intended purpose. This population of forms with data sources defined by a schema can be automated to populate many forms at one time with little end user intervention.

Methods and apparatus for dynamic form definition


The present invention is drawn to water soluble derivatives aliphatic acid aromatic secondary and tertiary amine containing drugs. The present invention is further drawn to methods of making water soluble derivatives of aliphatic and aromatic secondary and tertiary amine containing drugs.

Many drugs have unfavorable physicochemical properties which create barriers to the attainment of their maximum therapeutic potential. The creation of prodrugs provides a means of chemically modifying drugs in order to temporarily modify the drugs' physicochemical properties. The prodrug is then able to overcome the original barrier, revert back to the parent drug, interact with the receptor and elicit a pharmacological response at the drug's site of action (FIG. 1).
Secondary and tertiary amines often have reasonable aqueous solubility at low pH values but tend to be insoluble around the physiological pH values. Traditional methods for formulating parental dosage forms of tertiary amines have involved non-physiological pH conditions (low pH) and/or exotic, non-aqueous co-solvent addition as well as the use of cyclodextrins and detergents. These traditional methods often have secondary toxicities associated with them which are not observed with the parent drug alone.
Tertiary amines are unusual in chat their derivatization forms quaternary ammonium compounds. However, quaternary salts resulting from simple alkylation of tertiary amines are very stable and do not easily revert back to the parent tertiary amine, thereby limiting their suitability as prodrugs. In addition, if they are used as prodrugs, quaternary ammonium compounds can be quite toxic, therefore the requirement for rapid conversion to the parent tertiary amine is essential. Bodor (U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,099; U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,765; U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,722; Bodot, N. 1981; Bodor, N. et al., 1980(a); Bodor, 1984; Bodor, N. et al., 1980(b)) has developed a class of labile quaternary ammonium salts having a general structure depicted in Formula 1. ##STR1##
In this structure, R and R.sub.1 each represent hydrogen, alkyl, or aryl; X is oxygen or sulfur and Y is a halogen. These compounds hydrolyze to yield the parent tertiary amine, an aldehyde (RCHO), a carboxylic acid (R.sub.1 COXH), and HY. Applications of this approach have included the preparation of soft quaternary germicides, antiglaucoma agents, anticholinergic agents, and antitumor agents. (Hammer et al., 1993; Bodor, N. and Kaminski, J., 1980; Bodor, N., 1977).
Vinogradova et al. have studied tertiary amine prodrugs using a variety of tertiary amines of various chemical structures representing different pharmacological classes of drugs (Vinogradova, N. et al., 1980). The general structure of the prodrugs of Vinogradova et al. is shown in Formula II where R is alkyl or acyl and X is a halogen. ##STR2## Another example of a prodrug of a tertiary amine is that of Bogardus et al. having the labile quaternary salt of Formula III, where R represents H, CH.sub.3 or CH.sub.3 CO. (Bogardus, J. et al., 1982). ##STR3##
However, the possible production of a quinone methide intermediate following decomposition may preclude this prodrug from clinical application due to toxicity.
Tercel et al. have proposed the tertiary amine prodrug for the nitrogen mustard anti-cancer agent mechlorethamine shown in Formula IV(a) and (b) Formula IV(a) shows the parent drug mechlorethamine and Formula IV(b) shows the proposed hypoxia-selective tertiary amine prodrug. (Tercel, M., et al., 1993). ##STR4##
The nitrrobenzyl promoiety of the prodrug of mechlorcethamine was designed primarily as a new class of hypoxia-selective cytotoxin. The quaternary nature of the prodrug deactivates the mustard and increases its water solubility. One electron reduction of the nitroaromatic portion causes the release of the reactive aliphatic mustard in cells which are deprived of oxygen, such as those in solid tumors.
Davidson investigated the ability of N-(acyloxyalkyl) pyridinium salts to enhance the solubility of a platelet activating factor antagonist (Davidson, S., et al., 1994). The general structure of these prodrugs is shown in Formula V, where buffer and plasma stability can be adjusted through variations of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2. ##STR5##
The use of a methylene-spaced phosphate group applied to an imide and an alcohol has been reported as a promoiety in two separate reports. Varia and Stella were the first to report on the use of this prodrug strategy when they described a water-soluble phenytion prodrug, 3-(hydroxymethyl)-5,5-diphenylhydantion disodium phosphate ester (Varia, S., et al., 1984(a); Varia, S. et al., 1984(b); Varia, S. et al., 984(c); Varia, S. et al., 1984(d)). This prodrug was shown to be a substrate for alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme ubiquitous to the human body. The prodrug breaks down in the presence of alkaline phosphatase to give the parent drug, formaldehyde, and inorganic phosphate as shown in Reaction Scheme I. ##STR6##
The second use of the promoiety was presented in EP 0 604,910 A1 by Golik et al. The investigators described prodrugs with derivatization on the 2'- and 7-position alcohols of the taxane molecule. The prodrugs were created in an effort to improve the poor aqueous solubility of taxol. This prodrug also degraded in the presence of alkaline phosphatase to give the parent taxane derivative, formaldehyde and inorganic phosphate. However, neither Varia and Stella nor Golik et al. apply this technology to amine drugs.

Water soluble prodrugs of secondary and tertiary amine containing drugs and methods of making thereof


A pharmaceutical composition comprising thyroxine, acacia, and an antioxidant selected from propyl gallate, butylated hydroxyanisol, and butylated hydroxytoluene is disclosed. The pharmaceutical composition has an improved shelf life. In one embodiment, the composition additionally comprises sucrose, microcrystalline cellulose, and mannitol. The pharmaceutical composition may be used for treating thyroid disorders by orally administering the composition to a patient in need thereof.

Thyroxine active drugs are known for both therapeutic and prophylactic treatment of thyroid disorders. For example, levothyroxine sodium is prescribed for thyroid hormone replacement therapy in cases of reduced or absent thyroid function in, for example, ailments such as myxedema, cretinism and obesity. See, for example, Post and Warren in Analytical Profiles of Drug Substances, Vol. 5, Florey (ed.); Academic Press, New York (1976), pp. 226-281. Levothyroxine sodium is quite unstable, hygroscopic, and degrades rapidly when subjected to high humidity, light, or high temperature. See, for example, Won, Pharm. Res. 9(1):131-137, 1992. Because of the chemicophysical properties of the drug, formulations of levothyroxine sodium have extremely short stability duration, which is worsened under conditions of high humidity and temperature. Tablets may decompose approximately 1 percent per month under ambient conditions. Gupta et. al., J Clin. Pharm. Ther. 15:331-335, 1990. The stability problem has been so widespread that some drug companies marketing levothyroxine sodium tablets have been forced to recall various batches due to lack of stability.
There have been recent attempts to develop more stable dosage formulations of levothyroxine sodium. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,209, issued Jun. 3, 1997, to Groenewoud, et al., discloses levothyroxine sodium in combination with potassium iodide as part of a stabilizing excipient. In the manufacture of this formulation, levothyroxine sodium was first mixed with microcrystalline cellulose, and then added to a dried granulation of potassium iodide and microcrystalline cellulose. The formulation purportedly provided increased active drug potency over a three month period in comparison to then commercially available formulations.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,204, issued Jul. 6, 1993, to Chen, et al., discloses a complex of levothyroxine sodium and a cellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone or Poloxamer. The formulation may be prepared by dissolving the drug complex in a polar organic solvent, adding a cellulose carrier to the liquid, and drying the resulting mixture to obtain a complex of levothyroxine sodium and polyvinylpyrrolidone or Poloxamer adsorbed on the cellulose carrier.
Although purportedly increasing the stability of the formulation, the deposition onto cellulose may have resulted in some increased stability due to improved content uniformity. Tests of such combinations yielded stability results at best equal to commercially available preparations such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,105, issued Sep. 21, 1999, to Mitra, et al., and in some cases substantially worse. The inventors of this stabilized composition teach that instability of the dosage form was the result of an interaction between the active drug substance and carbohydrate excipients, and so should be avoided. The inventors also teach that the instability of thyroxine drugs is due to an interaction between the drug and the excipient. These inventors incorporated into the formulation a soluble glucose polymer designed to eliminate the interaction between the drug and other excipients contained in the final blend.
Because of degradation of the active ingredient in currently available formulations of levothyroxine sodium, new methods of formulating solid dosage forms of this drug would be highly desirable. Although different methods for producing a formulation stable enough to meet requirements for shelf-life have been attempted, no method has been entirely successful. There is, then, a great need for new formulations of thyroxine active drugs with increased stability and shelf life.


A portable radiant heating apparatus is provided for performing splices in waterstops. The heating apparatus includes a pair of radiant quartz heating elements that are mounted intermediate the end members of a generally rectangular-shaped frame. The heating elements are preferably positioned in parallel fashion one above the other. Heat deflecting shields are mounted to the top and bottom frame members proximate to the heating elements to concentrate the radiant heat along the sides of the heating apparatus. A splicing operation is performed by positioning the ends of two waterstop sections to be joined adjacent to and on opposite sides of the heating apparatus so that the ends of the two waterstop sections are exposed to the radiant heat from the heating apparatus. Once the waterstop sections have been sufficiently heated to cause the ends thereof to begin to melt, the waterstop sections are removed from the heating apparatus and the ends therefor pressed and held together until the waterstop material cools, thereby forming a water-tight seam.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to heaters for performing splicing operations in waterstops and, more particularly, to a portable radiant-type heating apparatus for such purposes.
2. Discussion
Waterstops are frequently used in the construction industry for providing a water-tight seal between adjacent layers or slabs of concrete such as between wall-to-wall, or wall-to-floor, junctions and expansion junctions. Typical waterstops are made of a resilient plastic or rubber material, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and generally have some sort of integral supporting members. The integral supporting members generally have laterally extending portions which are attached to reinforcing rods of the adjacent slabs prior to the pouring of concrete. The slabs of concrete are then formed with the waterstop integrally embedded therein to thereby provide a water-tight seal between the slabs of concrete. A detailed discussion of the structure and function of a typical waterstop is contained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,180 issued on Aug. 25, 1981 to Hinton et al. and entitled "Waterstops".
Waterstops are generally available in rolls of flat preformed sections which frequently require splicing where adjacent sections intersect. For example, it may be necessary to splice the vertically oriented waterstop bridging the joint between two adjacent wall sections with the horizontally oriented waterstop at the juncture between the walls and the floor. The resulting spliced waterstop configuration is formed to substantially match the configuration between the slabs or layers of concrete where a continuous water-tight seal is desired. Consequently, contractors are frequently required to perform various splice configurations, such as straight butt splices, T-shaped, L-shaped, cross-shaped, and other special configurations as needed to ensure a continuous waterstop seal. In practice, the special junction configurations are typically custom ordered from the waterstop manufacturer so that the contractor need only perform the simple butt-type splices to the ends of the special junction configurations in the field. However, this practice, while simplifying the type of splice performed, multiplies the total number of splices required to be performed by the contractor. Consequently, the efficiency with which the contractor can perform a splicing operation becomes extremely important.
Conventional waterstop splicing techniques generally employ a heated splicing iron for directly contacting and melting a pair of adjacent edges of two sections of waterstop. The adjacent melted edges of waterstop are then pressed together and cooled to harden and thereby form a continuous water-tight seal. Conventional splicing irons have generally employed resistance heating elements which are in direct thermal contact with a conductive metal casing. The conventional splicing iron is heated and positioned to directly contact the edges of waterstop to be spliced together.
The direct contact of the conventional splicing iron with the adjacent edges of waterstop may burn the PVC or other resilient material. The burned material may weaken the waterstop seal and further cause a charring effect and/or leave undesired contaminants within the seal. In addition, a conventional splicing iron usually requires 15 to 20 minutes to heat up and typically reaches a maximum temperature of approximately 480.degree. F. The rather lengthy heat-up time is time consuming and therefore costly to the contractor, especially when multiplied over hundreds of splices. In addition, the maximum temperature of conventional splicing irons may be inadequate to effectively perform waterstop splicing in very cold weather conditions which are common in the construction business.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for an improved heating apparatus for performing splices in waterstops which does not suffer from the above-mentioned limitations associated with the conventional splicing iron. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable radiant heating apparatus for performing splices in waterstops which does not require direct physical contact with the edges of the waterstop. In addition, it is another object of the present invention to provide a portable radiant heating apparatus which rapidly generates very high temperature radiant heat and therefore may be effectively and efficiently employed even in adverse weather conditions.

Portable radiant heater for performing splices in waterstop


A dosage form is disclosed for delivering an antiepileptic drug, which dosage form comprises for maintaining the integrity of the dosage form and of the antiepileptic drug.

The term epilepsies is a collective designation for a group of central nervous system disorders having in common the repeated occurrence of sudden and transitory episodes of abnormal phenomena of motor, convulsion, sensory, autonomic, or psychic origin. The seizures are nearly always correlated with abnormal and excessive discharges in the brain which can be recorded by an electroencephalogram.
Epilepsy afflicts millions of people worldwide, and the disease is more common in children than in adults. For the purposes of drug treatment, it is useful to classify patients according to the type of seizure the patient experiences. The generally accepted classification of epileptic seizures comprises partial seizures consisting of focal and local seizures, and generalized seizures consisting of convulsive or nonconvulsive seizures. Partial seizures are classified further as simple partial seizures, complex partial seizures, and partial seizures secondarily generalized. Generalized seizures are classified further as absence seizures, atypical absence seizures, myoclonia seizures, clonic seizures, tonic seizures, tonic-clonic and atonic seizures. The epilepsies are presented in The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 8th Ed, Chapter 19 (1990), Editors Gilman and Rall, Pergamon Press.
Antiepileptic drugs are available for treating epilepsies, as disclosed in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Remington's, 18th Ed., pp 1072-1081 (1990) published by Mack Publishing Co., and while the drugs are useful for treating the epilepsies, there are many shortcomings associated with these drugs. For instance, the drugs often are poorly soluble in aqueous and biological fluids, which property makes it difficult to both provide and dispense the drugs from a dosage form in a known dose over and extended time. The drugs also can be extremely hygroscopic and they may liquify rapidly, which physical-chemical characteristic dictates against their delivery from a dosage form at a controlled rate over a prolonged period of time. Then too, many drugs exhibit a short half-life that can lead to fluctuations in blood antiepileptic drug levels. These properties can interfere with manufacture and the release of the drugs from dosage form and from pharmaceutical compositions; and these shortcomings are serious drawbacks in the management of epilepsies.
Prior to this invention, the prior art administered an antiepileptic drug in conventional forms like a standard nonrate tablet or a common dose-dumping capsule at repetitive dosing intervals. The prior art modes of therapy leads to a drug concentration in the blood during the dosing interval, followed by a decrease in drug concentration as a result of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination. The concentration difference in dosing intervals is related to the presence and to the absence of administered drug, which is a major disadvantage associated with conventional dosage forms. Conventional dosage forms and their mode of operation are discussed in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Remington, 18th Ed., pp 1676-1686 (1990), Mack Publishing Co.; The Pharmacological and Clinical Pharmacokinetics, 3rd Ed., pp 1-28 (1984), published by Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, Pa.; and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,598,122 and 3,598,123, both issued to Zaffaroni.
The above presentation dictates of the critical need for a dosage form that overcomes the shortcomings of conventional dosage forms, including tablets, capsules, elixirs and suspensions. These conventional dosage forms produce peaks and valley patterns, and they do not provide for dosage-regulated drug therapy over an extended period of time. The drug, as delivered by the prior art is dosed twice or thrice a day, which does not lend itself to controlled and sustained therapy. This prior art pattern of drug administration speaks of the need for a dosage form that can administer the drug in a rate-controlled pattern over an extended time to provide constant therapy and thereby eliminate the peaks and valleys and eliminate the need for multiple uncontrolled dosing of the drug.
The prior art provided controlled-release dosage forms that can administer a drug continuously over time for controlled-rate therapy, as in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,725 issued to Cortese and Theeuwes, and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,612,008; 4,765,989; and 4,783,337 issued to Wong, Barclay, Deters and Theeuwes. The dosage forms disclosed in these patents provide a controlled-rate drug delivery over an extended time to provide constant drug therapy and thereby eliminate the need for multiple dosing of the drug. These dosage forms can deliver many drugs for their intended therapy, but there are certain drugs that are not readily manufactured and delivered from dosage forms. For example, phenytoin sodium converts to practically insoluble phenytoin in the gastrointestinal pH range of 1 to 8 and the release of unprotected drug in this range is incomplete and this abstracts from acceptable therapy.
It is immediately apparent, in the light of the above presentation, that an urgent need exists for a dosage form endowed with controlled-release delivery for the administration of an antiepileptic drug for antiepileptic therapy. The need exists for this dosage form for delivering an antiepileptic drug in a controlled-sustained dose in a therapeutic antiepileptic range and for simulateously providing extended therapy. It will be appreciated by those versed in the dispensing antiepileptic drug art, that such a dosage form that can administer an antiepileptic drug in a controlled-rate dose over time, and it would be a major advancement in the therapy of the epilepsies.


A method of managing accounts relating to presentation instruments includes receiving at a host computer system information from a client defining an account management rule. The rule includes an event, a condition, and an action to be taken if the condition is satisfied upon the occurrence of the event. The method also includes monitoring a plurality of accounts for the occurrence of the event, upon the occurrence of the event for a specific account, evaluating the condition, based on the evaluation, taking the action, thereby managing the account without human intervention, and providing notification of the action to an individual.

The present invention relates generally to credit card processing services. The present invention relates more specifically to automated post-issuance presentation account management systems and methods.
The birth of a credit card generally begins with an applicant supplying information to complete a credit card application provided by an issuer. The issuer is usually a financial institution that issues the credit card and extends credit to the cardholder through the credit account linked to the credit card. Typically, the process of supplying the necessary information can be done electronically or by paper. The credit card application is then processed, and if approval criteria are met, a credit card is issued to the applicant who now becomes a cardholder. The process of issuing a credit card involves a number of steps including, for example, coding the credit card with cardholder data on the magnetic stripe and embossing the cardholder's name, account number and expiration date on the credit card.
When the credit card is first received by the cardholder, the cardholder needs to activate the credit card. Activation of the credit card is generally done by requiring the cardholder to call the issuer from his/her home phone. Once the credit card is activated, the cardholder may then use the credit card to make purchases or conduct transactions.
A typical credit card transaction involves a number of parties. In addition to the cardholder and the issuer, the parties involved in a credit card transaction include a merchant, an acquirer and a credit card association such as Visa or MasterCard. The acquirer is a business entity, e.g., a commercial bank, that has a business relationship with the merchant and handles credit card transactions from that merchant.
A typical credit card transaction involves the following steps. First, the merchant calculates the amount of the transaction or purchase and seeks payment from the cardholder. The cardholder then presents the merchant with his/her credit card. The merchant then runs the credit card through a point of sale terminal. The point of sale terminal captures credit card and sales information and sends such information together with an authorization request to the acquirer. The acquirer, in turn, processes the information received from the point of sale terminal and forwards any relevant information and the authorization request to the issuer. The issuer processes the relevant information and the authorization request to determine whether the transaction should be authorized. The issuer then sends an approval or denial code back to the acquirer. The acquirer relays the approval or denial code to the point of sale terminal for use by the merchant. If the transaction is authorized, the cardholder is allowed to consummate the transaction with the merchant. Typically, at a later time, the accounts maintained by the issuer and the acquirer are settled and reconciled. The end result is that the issuer transfers the transaction amount minus a fee to the acquirer. The acquirer then deducts a fee from the amount received from the issuer. The remaining amount is then transferred by the acquirer to the merchant's account.
While certain parties, such as the issuer and the acquirer, are described above as performing certain functions, in typical situations, most or all of the functions to be performed by these parties may be performed on their behalf by third parties. For example, in some instances the third party may be a credit card processing organization. The credit card processing organization may provide credit card processing services on behalf of many clients, such as banks, or other financial institutions, and the like, who wish to issue credit accounts to their customers. The credit card processing organization may receive and process credit card applications, issue credit cards, receive user account information relating to a transaction, approve and process the transaction information, and provide payment to the merchant. Periodically, the credit card processing organization produces financial statements that summarize transactions for customers and bill the customers at least a minimum amount based upon their usage of the credit account. One example of a credit card processing organization is First Data Corporation, Greenwood Village, Colo.
Post-issuance account management can be a labor intensive process. Any number of circumstances—over-limit charges, address changes, irregular usage patterns, sustained usage in good standing, and the like—may trigger the need for an individual to become involved in the management of an account. This is costly to the processing organization and/or the issuer. Thus, systems and methods are needed which reduce or eliminate the need for human involvement in the account management process.


A scroll compressor includes a stationary scroll member accommodated in a closed housing and having a stationary end plate and a stationary scroll wrap protruding axially from the stationary end plate, and also includes an orbiting scroll member accommodated in the closed housing and having an orbiting end plate and an orbiting scroll wrap protruding axially from the orbiting end plate so as to engage with the stationary scroll wrap to define a plurality of working pockets therebetween. A volume ratio indicating a ratio of the volume of the working pockets at an end of suction to that at an end of compression is set to be smaller than a value corresponding to a compression ratio determined by an evaporation pressure and a condensation pressure at a performance half a rated performance during heating.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scroll compressor for use in an air conditioner.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, when a room air conditioner is used for both heating and cooling purposes, the evaporation temperature and condensation temperature to be set change variously. Where a scroll compressor, which is obliged to take a certain volume ratio for structural reasons, is employed in the room air conditioner, it is considerably difficult to select the volume ratio of the scroll compressor. Accordingly, a relatively large volume ratio has been hitherto selected in order to ensure the performance of the scroll compressor in any working range.
However, when a scroll compressor having a large volume ratio is operated at a relatively low cooling or heating load, the scroll compressor is considerably reduced in efficiency due to excessive compression peculiar thereto. In contrast, when a scroll compressor having a very small volume ratio is operated at a relatively high load, insufficient compression is caused, resulting in a considerable reduction in efficiency.
To overcome this problem, Japanese Laid-Open Patent. Publication (unexamined) No. 61-14492 discloses a scroll compressor with a discharge valve wherein the volume ratio is set to be smaller tan that determined by the condensation temperature and evaporation temperature during a heat pump cycle.
However, this compressor has the following drawbacks. The volume ratio determined by the evaporation temperature and condensation temperature used during the actual heating operation is relatively small and, hence, insufficient compression is brought about for almost the whole operating time, which in turn causes a back flow of the discharge gas, thus considerably reducing the compressor efficiency.
Although the discharge valve is provided so as to reduce the back flow, if a spring constant thereof is set large to close it quickly, another problem, e.g., an increase of noise or the like is generated. In contrast, if the spring constant is too small, the effect of the discharge valve cannot be expected.
It is therefore difficult to reduce the annual consumption of power required for the operation of the air conditioner.
In order to enhance the reliability of the compressor, it has been also proposed to provide a compliance mechanism in the axial direction, with a tip seal mounted on only an orbiting scroll. In this case, for the purpose of minimizing inclination of the orbiting scroll which has been hitherto caused by an overturning moment specific to the scroll compressor, if the orbiting scroll is physically pressed strongly against a stationary scroll, the compressor efficiency is reduced considerably. If the force or pressure is small, the effect is reduced. It is therefore necessary to pay scrupulous attention to both the magnitude of the force or pressure and sufficient sealing so as not to reduce the compressor efficiency.
Especially, if a horizontally arranged scroll compressor is operated at high speeds, it is preferred that a crank shaft be sufficiently supported at opposite ends thereof. Moreover, an oil feed means should be provided to surely supply a lubricating oil to each bearing, resulting in an increase in manufacturing costs.
At the same time, the horizontally arranged scroll compressor is required to support an axial force acting on the crank shaft, which likewise increases costs as a result of an increase in the number of elements.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method for determining a mobile communication terminal user's points of interest, in which geographic information of an area where the mobile communication terminal user stays longer than a threshold time, and an apparatus for providing the geographic information using the method. The method includes providing identification information received from a mobile communication repeaters, which use a limited number of the identification information and repeatedly reuse the identification information at different places.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to providing geographic information, and more particularly, to a method for determining a mobile communication terminal user's point of interest and an apparatus for providing the geographic information using the method.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, a technique for measuring the position of a mobile communication terminal has come into wide use. The technique can be implemented using a conventional communication system based on a base station or using a global positioning system (GPS).
An apparatus for providing geographic information of a mobile communication terminal according to the conventional art measures the position of a mobile communication terminal periodically or at a user's request and provides geographic information of the measured position to the user using visual information such as an electronic map.
Thus, the user can be provided with a service such as a service for checking a user's current position or the direction in which the user is moving. In particular, position information of the mobile communication terminal may be combined with other information and provided as a location based service (LBS) providing an application required by the user.
There is a need for various services using position information. For example, a service for setting an area where a mobile communication terminal user stays for a long time as a point of interest (POI) and providing the POI at the request of the mobile communication terminal user is required so that the mobile communication terminal user can check his/her past schedule.
To provide such a service according to the conventional art, the position of a mobile communication terminal should be periodically measured or a user should directly request measurement of the position of the mobile communication terminal while staying in a POI. However, when the position of a mobile communication terminal is periodically measured, position measurement is also performed in not only a POI but also other areas, increasing the battery consumption of the mobile communication terminal and causing a user's inconvenience of having to check all geographic information corresponding to the measured position. Once a position measurement command is directly input by a user, the user should input the position measurement command whenever a POI is reached, which is quite a bothersome work.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,774,838 discloses a power saving device and method for a GPS receiver in which, for a case when a GPS receiver is used as a car navigator, movement of a car is detected, and an operation of the GPS receiver is stopped when the car does not move and the GPS receiver is actuated when the car moves, thereby providing navigation information. U.S. Pat. No. 6,774,838 can solve the power consumption problem of a GPS receiver used as a car navigator, but is not suitable for personal use.

Method for determining mobile communication terminal user's point of interest and apparatus for providing geographic information using the method


A semiconductor memory apparatus includes a first pad group located along a first edge of a plurality of banks, a second pad group located along a second edge of the plurality of banks opposite the first pad group, and a pad control section configured to provide first and second bonding signals and to implement control operation in response to a test mode signal and a bonding option signal to selectively employ signals from the first and second pad groups.

1. Technical Field
The embodiments described herein relate to a semiconductor memory apparatus and a multi-chip package having the same, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory apparatus which can control pads on both edges or one edge and a multi-chip package having the same.
2. Related Art
In general, as sizes of semiconductor packages gradually decrease due to the miniaturization of electronic appliances, such as portable electronics appliance, and trends toward light, thin, compact, and miniaturized designs increase, as well as demands for multi-functionality, requirements are made to decrease the thickness of the semiconductor package. Accordingly, a semiconductor package includes at least two semiconductor chips having the same functionality are stacked to increase capacity to at least two times. This stacked chip semiconductor package is commonly called a multi-chip package (MCP).
In the MCP, since a plurality of semiconductor chips can be provided in one package, an overall size of the package can be significantly reduced. However, when manufacturing the MCP, in order to prevent the bonding wires connected to the semiconductor chips from being damaged, support members, such as spacers, should be formed between the stacked semiconductor chips. Accordingly, the lengths of the bonding wires of the semiconductor chips are increased, wherein stability of the bonding wires deteriorates. In addition, the routing of signals through the bonding wires is problematic due to the increased lengthens of the bonding wires.
In addition, since address pads and command pads are located along one edge of the semiconductor chips and data input and output pads and power pads are located along another edge of the semiconductor chips, the pads on both edges must be employed for the operation of a semiconductor memory apparatus. Accordingly, during packaging processes, bonding wires must be formed on both edges to supply signals to the semiconductor memory apparatus.

Semiconductor memory apparatus for controlling pads and multi-chip package having the same


A communications system made up of a number of multi-channel optical node (MCON) platforms uses free space optical communications terminals that have the ability to track, detect, measure, and respond to the acceleration or movement of the platform. Instead of using mirrors or traditional beam steering techniques, the platform uses a series of telecentric lens systems to re-align the focal plane such that beams are maintained in original pointing directions. A network of control systems is used to detect and measure movement of the platform, to re-align the platform after such movement, and to maintain connection with a number of other MCON platforms.

The present invention relates to the field of wireless free space optical communications (FSOC). Specifically, the present invention relates to optical communication technology necessary to sustain a mesh network linking wide networks of airborne platforms using lasers or radio frequency (RF) signals to, for example, provide a wider coverage for Internet backhaul.
Technologies requiring Internet or network connection are becoming increasingly commonplace. It is estimated that nearly 40% of the world population has an Internet connection today, whereas two decades ago it is estimated that only 1% of the world population used the Internet. In 2014, nearly 300 million people in the United States were estimated to be Internet users. With an estimated 64% of Americans owning smartphones, there can be no question that there is an exponentially growing demand for Internet or network connections.
Current technology in the field of wireless FSOC uses mirrors, gimbals, or other electro-optical deflection devices to ensure that the optical signal from a transmitting terminal is properly aligned with the proper receiving terminal, so that electrical communication signals can be transmitted. These types of systems can be heavy and bulky, and often times the pivot arm distances of these systems increase errors in the alignment accuracy. With the increasing prevalence of Internet and network devices, there is an immediate need for a communications system that can accurately and efficiently provide wide area network coverage.

Simultaneous multi-channel optical communications system with beam pointing, switching, and tracking using moving focal plane devices


The present invention provides a method for diagnosing cancer, predicting a disease outcome or response to therapy in a patient sample. The method involves isolating a circulating tumor cell (CTC), for example, a viable CTC, from a sample using a parylene microfilter device comprising a membrane filter having or consisting of a parylene substrate, which has an array of holes with a predetermined shape and size; and detecting and quantifying telomerase activity in blood circulating tumor cells. The invention further provides methods of using cells live-captured in various applications.

Cancer is a major health concern worldwide, accounting for millions of deaths and untold pain and suffering each year. The biologic heterogeneity of this disease and the vast populations afflicted pose the pivotal questions of whom to treat and with which therapies, challenges that can only be addressed through the development of more accurate and informative biomarkers. Peripheral blood circulating tumor cells (CTCs) recently have been detected and shown to have prognostic and predictive value in breast and prostate cancer (see, Ignatiadis, M., et al., J Clin Oncol 2007; 25:5194-202; Pachmann, K., et al., J Clin Oncol 2008 (ASCO Annual Meeting abstr 11001); Rack, B. K., et al., J Clin Oncol 2008 (ASCO Annual Meeting abstr 503); Goodman, O. B., et al., J Clin Oncol 2008 (ASCO Annual Meeting abstr 5169); Pittard, G., et al., J Clin Oncol 2008 (ASCO Annual Meeting abstr 5072); Fizazi, K., et al., Ann Oncol 2007; 183:518-21; and Shaffer, D. R., et al., Clin Cancer Res 2007; 13:2023-9). However, these preliminary efforts have been hampered by two significant limitations: (1) CTC isolation and (2) CTC detection. Collecting CTCs has involved a laborious process that employs multiple antibody binding and magnetic bead sorting steps, requiring expensive reagents and equipment, and ultimately yielding a relatively small population of CTCs, which may vary from sample to sample depending on the expression pattern of cell surface markers used in this method. Currently, CTCs are isolated from blood by methods which rely on immuno-magnetic binding of cell surface epithelial cell adhesion molecules (EpCAMs), an expensive, labor-intense approach that is limited to EpCAMexpressing tumors (see, Cristofanilli, M., et al., N Engl J Med 2004; 351:781-91; and Nagrath. S., et al., Nature 2007; 450:1235-9). An alternative platform using a novel parylene-C pore microfilter which traps CTCs quickly and efficiently based on their size differential from other blood cells (See, Zheng, S., et al., J Chromatogr A 2007; 1162:154-61). However, like the EpCAMbased approach, the pore microfilter still relied on fixation, staining, and visual enumeration of captured cells, a laborious and subjective process prone to reader/operator variability. Nevertheless, regardless of the isolation method, it is difficult to derive accurate diagnostic, prognostic or predictive data from absolute numbers of CTCs because of the relative paucity of these cells in peripheral blood.
Therefore, there is a need to develop simple yet highly sensitive and specific cancer detection systems and methods to overcome the above and other problems. The detection systems and methods can be used as a diagnostic, prognostic or predictive assay in patients.

Methods for cancer detection, diagnosis and prognosis


The admissibility of periodic traffic to a wireless medium can be estimated using a measurement report format that includes a field indicating the number of bins for a predetermined channel of the wireless medium that were busy during a measurement period, and a field indicating the number of bins for the predetermined channel of the wireless medium that were idle during the measurement period. Additionally, the measurement report format includes a field indicating the granularity in multiples of slot times of the wireless medium and a plurality of Bin Density fields, such that one Bin Density field indicates a density of medium time that the wireless medium is busy, and at least one other Bin Density field indicates a distribution of idle time after the wireless medium was busy for time 0 slots.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications. In particular, the present invention relates to format for a medium sensing measurement histogram report.
2. Description of the Related Art
The IEEE 802.11k standard relates to radio resource measurements. In particular, IEEE 802.11k Draft 1.0 specifies a "Medium Sensing Time" histogram measurement report that is used for measuring the distribution of busy and idle times on the medium. The measurements are marginal distributions, and as such, do not provide information that would be useful to a station management entity for determining whether a given audio/video stream would be admissible on the medium, based on the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for the audio/visual stream for throughput, latency, jitter, and medium servicing requirements.
Accordingly, the measurement, as proposed, is not particularly useful for determining whether a Traffic Specification (TSPEC) can be admitted for a QoS flow. QoS flows generally have requirements for service times (a stream must get a poll approximately every Tservice seconds, in which the medium would be construed as "busy," and would, in general, allow for idle times of Tidle seconds. By obtaining an estimate of busy and idle times, and communicating the estimates to higher layers, a convergence layer, an application layer, or a station management entity would have information relating to whether the medium may support the admission of a particular AV or Voice Over IP (VoIP) stream.
FIG. 1 shows the field format 100 of a conventional Medium Sensing Time Histogram Report, as set forth in the IEEE 802.11k Draft 1.0. The Channel Number field is used for indicating the channel number to which the Medium Sensing Time Histogram Report applies. The Channel Band field is used for indicating the frequency band for which the measurement report applies. The Actual Measurement Start Time field is set equal to the value of the Time Synchronization Function (TSF) timer of the measuring Station (STA) at the time at which the measurement is started. The Measurement Duration field is set equal to the duration over which the Media Sensing Time Histogram Report was measured and is expressed in Time Units (TUs).
The Medium Sensing Measurement Subtype field is used for indicating the subtype of Medium Sensing Time Histogram Report. The Request Polling Interval (RPI) Threshold field is used for identifying a received power level threshold as seen at the antenna connector. The RPI Threshold field is used for determining when a Medium Sensing Interval begins and ends, while collecting information for the RPI Time Histogram.
The Bin Offset field is used for indicating the position of the first bin and is expressed in microseconds. The Bin Duration field is used for indicating the time interval during which Medium Sensing Events are counted to be in a bin and are expressed in slot times. The Number of Bins field is used for indicating the total number of time intervals that are covered by the time histogram. The Total Number of Medium Sensing Intervals is used for indicating how many intervals have been counted during the measurement. Lastly, the Medium Sensing Time Histogram Report contains fields for indicating the measured densities of each of the N time intervals in the specified channel over the measurement duration.
Table 1 indicates the definitions for the Medium Sensing Interval, as set forth in the IEEE 802.11k Draft 1.0.
TABLE 1Medium SensingMedium SensingMedium SensingMeasurement TypeMeasurement NameInterval0RPI Time HistogramTime interval duringwhich RPI is above thespecified RPIThreshold1Clear Channel AssessmentCCA Idle Time(CCA) Idle TimeHistograminterval2CCA Busy TimeCCA Busy TimeHistograminterval3Network Allocation VectorInitial NAV time value(NAV) Busy Timewhen setHistogram4-255ReservedReserved
To compute the Bin i density, Bi, 0=i<N, the STA initializes all Bin values to zero. During the measurement duration the STA monitors the measurement channel for the medium sensing intervals of the requested subtype. The length (duration) of the detected interval determines which bin count is to be incremented. If the detected interval has a duration time t with:i0+(i*Δi)≦t<i0+((i+1)*Δi) for i<N−1, and  (1)i0+(i*Δi)≦t for i=N−1,  (2)withi0=bin offset,  (3)Δi=bin interval,  (4)i=bin index, and  (5)N=number of bins,  (6)then the interval count in Bin i is increased by one, except when the bin contains a count of 255. During the Medium Sensing Measurement, a histogram is generated that represents the probability distribution of Medium Sensing Time Intervals.
If a measurement request is received in which i0+((N−1)*Δi) is greater than the requested measurement duration, the measurement request is deemed invalid and is ignored.
What is needed is a way for admission control units that admit TSPECs to have a measurement of joint densities of idle and busy times.

Medium sensing histogram for WLAN resource reporting


An ultra-low compression three-piece golf ball is disclosed herein. The core preferably has a PGA compression less than 30. The mantle layer and cover have approximately the same thickness. The cover comprises a thermoplastic polyurethane material and has a specific gravity greater than the core and mantle layer. The golf ball has a PGA compression less than 75 and a COR of at least 0.780.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to low compression three-piece golf balls.
Description of the Related Art
The prior art discloses golf balls with low compressions.
Sullivan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,451, for a Golf Ball Cover Of Neutralized Poly(ethylene-acrylic acid) Copolymer, discloses in Table One a golf ball having a compression of below 50 and a cover composed of ionomers having various Shore D hardness values ranging from 50 to 61.
Sullivan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,545, for a Golf Ball discloses a golf ball having a Rhiele compression below 50 and a cover having Shore C values as low as 82.
Egashira et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,652, for a Solid Golf Ball, discloses the use of a zinc pentachlorothiophenol in a core of a golf ball.
Pasqua, U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,304, for a Golf Ball Composition, discloses a golf ball with a core having a low compression and the core comprising calcium oxide.
Sullivan, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,924, for a Golf Ball discloses a golf ball having a PGA compression below 70 and a COR ranging from 0.780 to 0.825.
Sullivan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,886, for a Golf Ball And Method Of Manufacture discloses a golf ball having a PGA compression below 70, a cover Shore D hardness of 57, and a COR as high as 0.794.
Tzivanis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,870, for a Golf Ball, discloses a golf ball having a core compression less than 50, a cover Shore D hardness of 55 or less, and a COR greater than 0.80.
The prior art fails to disclose a three-piece golf ball with a low compression and a high COR for tour level performance.


In a method for the production of a magnet coil arrangement which can create a predetermined magnet field B and has a minimal inductance L. The magnetic field B to be generated is expanded in spherical harmonics with coefficients C.sub.n,m and a field error .DELTA. B=f.sub.1 (C.sub.n,m) is defined fixing the deviation of the magnet field profile of the coil arrangement to be calculated from the given magnet field B within a volume and, if necessary, further parameters P=f.sub.2 (C.sub.n,m) are predefined, whereby the value of P which is calculated with a particular set of coefficients C.sub.n,m is within predetermined limits. By defining limits for technically relevant parameters and their variation as well as by giving the desired minimum inductance, the procedure achieves a high flexibility in conjunction with independent optimization of the parameters, in particular field errors, minimum inductance and current density oscillations.

To an ever increasing extent, magnet coil configurations of the above mentioned kind are used in the field of nuclear spin resonance (NMR) technology for the production of magnetic fields or magnetic gradient fields. However, they may also be used in other technological fields. One of the main requirements is that, with the magnet coil configuration, a predetermined magnetic field distribution has to be produced as exactly as possible and the inductance L of the magnet coils must be as small as possible. Other boundary conditions must also be observed such as, for example, an optimum shielding of the exterior from the magnetic field produced inside the magnet coil configuration and minimized oscillation of the current density distribution produced by the current carrying magnet coils.
In the above mentioned publication, EP-A1 0320 285, an algorithm is described to calculate the geometrical data of such a magnet coil configuration which allows the calculation of the current density of the main and shielding coil in such a way that, with perfect shielding, the inductance L is minimum and the desired distribution of the magnetic field is given as defined only in an indistinct way by fixing singular field points. This algorithm is not limited to gradient systems, but may in principle be applied to all coil systems. Aside from the field points fixed at the outset, the resulting field produced by the magnet coil system and the corresponding field errors can be calculated at all points only after calculation of the current densities.
Since merely singular field points are predetermined by this procedure, the corresponding global field error is by no means defined a priori. The magnetic field may oscillate between the singular field points. A definition of the desired magnetic field including defined permissible field errors at the beginning would only be possible by predetermining the global field or by an intelligent, specific system of selecting geometrically well defined field points, whose relative geometry had to be fitted to the individual case. However, such a selection system is not described in the above mentioned publication EP-A1 0320 285. According to the specification, the disclosed method may only be described as a "trial and error", method with respect to the desired magnetic field distribution and defined maximum permissible errors.
As a consequence of the described "one way" algorithm, the known method yields no direct possibility to influence the variation of the current density distribution. In order to counteract unacceptably strong oscillations of the current density distribution and multiple current inversion, i. e. multiple change of sign of the winding directions within the coil, the known method suggests using an "apodising function". However, this careful smoothing works only outside the algorithm for minimum inductance etc., quoted in the publication. As is the case with the above mentioned field error, a technically realizeable current density distribution can also only be found by "trial and error", with this method. However, the above mentioned publication does not explicitly describe such a method or a corresponding set of parameters for smoothed shielding coils with minimum inductance. On the other hand, each current density distribution which deviates from the oscillating theoretically derived result additionally has the retroactive consequence of an only insufficient realization of the field distribution of the predetermined intended field, shielding effect and minimum inductance.
From all this, it is clear that the known method lacks any possibility of a direct coupling of global permissible field errors to the remaining properties of the magnet coil configuration which has to be calculated. Therefore there is also no practical possibility to optimize each desired magnet coil system to the one configuration with minimum errors. Moreover, the strongly oscillating current density distribution as calculated according to the known method can either not at all be technically realized or only in a limited sense. As a consequence, however, the properties coupled mathematically to the respective current density distribution (with or without oscillations) as minimum inductance, maximum shielding, etc. can also only be realized in a limited sense.
It is therefore the object of the invention to present a method of the above mentioned kind which yields results that can technically be used as easily as possible whereby in addition to the required minimization of the inductance L within predetermined boundary conditions, also additional technically relevant parameters of the magnet coil configuration can be optimized independently from each other.

Method for the construction of an optimized magnet coil


An outer casing is partitioned, in a plan view, into a high-voltage transformer drive circuit block for disposing at least a high-voltage transformer drive circuit, a high-voltage transformer block for disposing at least a secondary side of a high-voltage transformer, and an ion-generating element block for disposing an ion-generating element. It is thereby possible to obtain an ion-generating device suitable for reduction in size and thickness, and an electrical apparatus mounted with the same.

Many ion-generating devices that utilize a discharge phenomenon have been put into practical use. Each of these ion-generating devices is generally configured with an ion-generating element for generating ions, a high-voltage transformer for supplying a high voltage to the ion-generating element, a high-voltage transformer drive circuit for driving the high-voltage transformer, and a power supply input portion such as a connector.
Ion-generating elements are roughly categorized into two major types. One type uses a metal wire, a metal plate having an acute-angled portion, needle-shape metal, or others as a discharge electrode, and uses a metal plate, a grid, or others at a ground potential as a counter electrode, or uses the ground as a counter electrode without specially disposing a counter electrode. In this ion-generating element, air serves as an insulator. This ion-generating element utilizes a scheme to produce a discharge phenomenon by causing electric field concentration at a tip of an electrode, identified as an acute-angled portion, when applying a high voltage to the electrode, and causing an electrical breakdown of the air in close vicinity of the tip.
The other type is configured with a pair of an induction electrode embedded in a high-breakdown voltage dielectric, and a discharge electrode disposed at a surface of the dielectric. The ion-generating element of this type utilizes a scheme to produce a discharge phenomenon by causing electric field concentration in proximity to an outer edge portion of the discharge electrode at the surface when applying a high voltage to the electrode, and causing an electrical breakdown of the air in close vicinity thereof.
As a high-voltage transformer that applies a high voltage to the above-described ion-generating element, a winding transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, and a piezoelectric transformer made of a piezoelectric ceramic element and utilizing a piezoelectric phenomenon, have been put into practical use.
As to the conventional ion-generating device, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-374670, for example, describes an example. This ion-generating device is of a type in which an ion-generating electrode is set as a discharge electrode and no counter electrode is disposed. In this ion-generating device a piezoelectric transformer that supplies a high voltage to the ion-generating electrode, and a drive circuit for driving the piezoelectric transformer are mounted in a casing, and integrated by molding. It is noted that the ion-generating electrode is disposed outside the casing, and connected to a cable led out from the casing.
As to the high-voltage transformer, the above-described publication describes the differences between a piezoelectric transformer and a winding transformer, and their advantages and disadvantages, stating that although a piezoelectric transformer itself can be made more compact than a winding transformer, its peripheral circuitry becomes more complicated. This publication also describes that the high-voltage transformer and other components are mounted on the same substrate, and that the substrate is disposed in an outer casing by being lifted off from a bottom surface of the casing at a certain distance.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-374670

Ion-generating device and electrical apparatus


A wind turbine nacelle (50) which comprises a frame (54) and a drive train which comprises a gearbox (55). The nacelle (50) has a rotor attached thereto and comprises a rotor hub (52), with one or more blades (53), which supported by a rotor bearing(s) (56) located on a tubular part (57) at an end of the frame (54) furthest from the tower (51). The gearbox (55) comprises a gearbox housing (58), not constituting part of the frame (54), which is rigidly and axially connected to the frame (54) by a gearbox flange (66) such that a side of the gearbox flange (66), furthest from the gearbox input side (I), is connected to an end of the frame flange (67) furthest away from the tower (51). An input shaft (76) of the gearbox (55) is connected to the rotor hub (52) via a separate connection part (77).

Nowadays, a lot of effort is put in optimising the cost of energy of wind turbines. Cost of energy comprises three main items, i.e. capital expenditures (capex), operation and maintenance costs (O&M costs) and annual energy production (AEP). To improve the cost of energy of a particular wind turbine type, one, two or each of the different items can be tackled.
One way of handling the O&M costs is by focusing on improving and simplifying servicing of the wind turbine. Servicing, e.g. maintenance or component replacement of wind turbine drive train components such as a gearbox and/or generator, is in many cases a difficult and expensive activity. Therefore, wind turbine designs should not only be reliable such that servicing activities can be limited, but should also be service friendly, such that servicing, when necessary, can be performed easily and at low cost.
Nowadays, a lot of effort is done for finding solutions for making servicing activities of wind turbines easier and less expensive.
WO 2010/130717 describes a wind turbine comprising a hub 1 carrying one or more blades, a frame 2 and planetary gearing for transmitting the torque of the hub 1 (see FIG. 1). The hub 1 is rotatably mounted upon the frame 2 at or near a distal end thereof by means of bearings 3. The torque of the hub 1 is introduced into the planetary gearing through a planet carrier 4 which is located at or near the distal end of the frame 2. The hub 1 may therefore be connected to the planet carrier 4 at various connection points 5 around the circumference of the hub 1. The planet carrier 4 may be one integral element or may be formed with a first part 4a and a second part 4b connected to each other. The connection may be formed by simple fasteners such as screws or bolts. Alternatively, the connections may comprise at least one elastic element such as flexible bushings. Planet shafts 6 are rotatably supported at both ends within the planet carrier 4. An annular gear 7 is arranged around planet gear wheels 8. The torque of the hub 1 is in this way transmitted from the planet carrier 4 to a sun gear 9 mounted on an output shaft 10 of the first stage. The planetary gearing comprises a second stage comprising a planet carrier 14 carrying a plurality of planet gear wheels 18 upon planet shafts 16. First stage output shaft 10 functions as input shaft for the second stage. The torque is transmitted through the planet carrier, which is formed of separate elements 14a and 14b. The planet carrier 14 is rotatably mounted through bearings 13 upon a support structure 12. Planet gear wheels 18 rotate within second stage annular gear 17, whereas second stage sun gear 19 is mounted upon second stage output shaft 20.
The drive train described above is relatively compact, and is substantially completely housed within the frame 2. Repair and installation of gearing is relatively simple, because the configuration allows easy access to the remainder of the gearing by simply removing the planet carrier 4 from the hub 1.
Another embodiment described in WO 2010/130717 is illustrated in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the hub 1 comprises an extension 1a, connected to the hub 1 at various connection points 5. The planet shafts 6 are cantilever mounted and the planet gear wheels 8 comprise double gearing, first gearing 8a meshing with sun gear 9 and second gearing 8b meshing with annular gear 7.
First stage output shaft 10 serves as second stage input shaft and carries second stage planet carrier 14. Planet carrier 14 is rotatably mounted through bearings 13 in support structure 12. Planet gear wheels 18 mounted upon planet shafts 16 transmit the rotation to second stage sun gear 19 and second stage output shaft 20. Second stage output shaft 20 is rotatably mounted through bearings 33 in the housing of the generator 30. The generator 30 comprises a generator rotor 31 and a stator 32. Generator rotor 31 is driven by second stage output shaft 20. The generator housing is integrally formed with frame 2, upon which hub 1 is rotatably mounted through suitable bearings 3.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 no part of the planetary gearing is mounted within frame 2. Instead, the components of the second stage of the planetary gearing are mounted within a support structure 40 arranged within hub 1, forward of frame 2. An advantage of the arrangement with the forward support structure 40 is that both installation and maintenance of the planetary gearing is facilitated; easy access to the planetary gearing is ensured.
Support structure 40 may be connected to frame 2 through a flexible connection 15 which can only transmit axial torque. The advantage of a coupling 15 that only transmits torque is that support structure 40 and also the planetary gearing carry no substantial bending loads. All cyclical loads due to e.g. weight of the hub 1 are transmitted only to frame 2. This may reduce the fatigue loads on the gearing and increase its life time.
In the embodiments described in WO 2010/130717, the planet carrier can simply be removed so as to allow easy access to the remainder of the gearing. However, when the complete gearbox has to be removed, it still may be an expensive and time consuming action as the complete gearbox still cannot easily and completely be removed.
Another disadvantage of the embodiments described in WO 2010/130717 is that, due to rotor loads, the frame 2 can deform, which can have a negative effect on the bearings 3. This can be solved by making the frame more stiff, which will increase the manufacturing cost, and thus the capex, of the hub 1.
Another example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,673. This document describes a hub 101 of a rotor employed in a wind-power plant (see FIG. 3). The hub 101 is provided with accommodations 102 for blades and is accommodated in a large-scale roller bearing 103 which is attached to a rotor support 104. The rotor support 104 is connected to a mast (not shown) by way of an azimuth bearing 105. The roller bearing 103 has a stationary outer ring rigidly fastened to the rotor support 104 and a rotating inner ring 107 onto which the hub 101 is screwed. The wind-power plant also includes a transmission in the form of a two stage planetary gear comprising an input stage 109 and an output stage 110. The axle of the sun wheel in input stage 109 constitutes the gear's output shaft and is coupled to the shaft of a generator 111.
The inner ring 107 in roller bearing 103 is connected to the hollow wheel 113 in input stage 109. This hollow wheel 113 is connected to another hollow wheel 114 in output stage 110 in the planetary gear's rotating housing 115. Planetary support 116 forwards the reaction torque deriving from the planetary gear into the rotor support 104.
The generator 111 is screwed onto the stationary planetary support in input stage 109 by which the planetary gear and generator 111 are combined into a single drive-train module. This module is connected to rotor support 104 by way of vibration suppressors 117. The wind-power plant furthermore comprises mounting rails 118 for installing and removing the module from the hub 101.
The wind-power plant's modular construction allows the planetary gear and its subassemblies and generator 111 to be removed from the mast by a crane individually or as a whole and be replaced. This can, especially for offshore applications, reduce the expense of maintaining a wind-power plant.
For removing the planetary gear and generator 111 the nacelle has to be opened, such that a crane can be attached to the planetary gear and generator 111. Furthermore, for being removed, the planetary gear and generator 111 have to be displaced through the nacelle to the back of the nacelle. Consequently, other parts, such as for example a lubrication system or a converter, which are present in the nacelle also have to be displaced. Moreover, the planetary gear cannot be removed without having to remove the generator 111.