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- ITV Report
Name of hero Sudbury firefighter revealed
Live updates
Police warn of traffic delays in Sudbury
Suffolk police say there is severe disruption to traffic in Sudbury.
Officers were called at 9am after an HGV needed assistance to avoid a low bridge on Cross Street.
Drivers coming into Sudbury from Essex are advised to avoid using the A131.
HGVs joining the A131 after Braintree are currently advised to pick up the A120 at Braintree signed towards Colchester, and from that point to follow directions to Sudbury on the A134. They should not take the B1508, which is currently closed for roadworks.
Police say traffic is moving slowly and is expected to stay the same until 4pm today.
Armed robbery at Suffolk shop
Police are investigating an armed robbery at a shop in Sudbury, Suffolk.
Officers were called just before 3.20pm yesterday to reports that a man had gone into the store on Ballingdon Street with a knife and stolen items.
Police immediately attended and began a search of the area. A short time later the 18-year-old was arrested.
Anyone who saw anything in the area around this time is asked to call Suffolk Police on 101, quoting CAD 226 of Wednesday 1 April.
Sudden death in Suffolk investigated by police
The sudden death of a man in Sudbury, Suffolk is being treated as unexplained, say police.
Officers were called by the ambulance service to an address in Jameson Place in Subury at 10.20am today following the sudden death of a man there.
A post mortem examination is due to take place shortly.
- ITV Report
Battleground Anglia: Suffolk South
The Conservatives won the South Suffolk constituency at the 2010 General Election with a majority of nearly 9,000 votes.Read the full story ›
Sudbury school reveals winner of mock election
More than 1,100 students have taken part in a mock election at Thomas Gainsborough School in Sudbury this afternoon.
It followed a special debate which involved a panel of local parliamentary candidates from the area.
Full results of mock election below:
- UKIP - 272 votes (23%)
- Conservative - 252 votes (22%)
- Labour - 247 votes (21%)
- Lib Dem - 246 votes (21%)
- Green - 151 votes (13%)
Students give MP candidates an election grilling
Students at a high school in Suffolk have been questioning the candidates hoping to be elected as MP at the General Election in May.
Among the topics covered in the hour-long debate were the economy and jobs, ending the monarchy and the question of leaving the European Union.
Thomas Gainsborough School in Sudbury has also been holding a mock election.
Watch the full debate between students and candidates by clicking below
- ITV Report
Suffolk school holds special debate and mock election
A school in Suffolk has been holding a special debate and mock election ahead of the General Election on 7 May.Read the full story ›
Man killed by lorry in Sudbury named by police
A 69-year-old man who died after being struck by a lorry in Suffolk has been named by police as Rodney Williams.
The crash happened in Newton Road in Sudbury on Wednesday February 25.
Police are asking anyone who saw the collision to contact PC Dean Webb on 101.
Blaze at pet food factory in Sudbury
Firefighters from Suffolk and Essex have been tackling a huge blaze at the Nestle Purina factory in Sudbury, Suffolk.
Fire crews were called to the scene on Chilton Industrial Estate in Windham Road at about 10.15am this morning. Suffolk Fire and Rescue reported dealing with 'a serious fire involving several large tanks of animal fat close to an adjacent factory building'.
The fire has now largely been extinguished and crews are ensuring that any final hot spots are dealt with.
Firefighters continue to work closely with the Nestle staff on site to ensure the incident is brought to a close at the earliest opportunity. Firefighters are expected to be at the scene for several hours yet.
- ITV Report
Exhibition shows power of satirical cartoons
The power of satirical cartoons has been in the spotlight since the attacks on Charlie Hebdo. But their ability to provoke is nothing new.Read the full story ›


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DVR Alert: Talk Show Listings Friday, July 3, 2009 - Mario Cantone & More
David Letterman: Kid Scientists, Teri Hatcher, Rick Ross with Magazeen, a Top Ten List presented by Ron Howard (Rerun from 5/14/09)
Conan O'Brien: Kobe Bryant, William Shatner, Incubus (Rerun from 6/17/09)
Late Late Show: Matthew McConaughey, Cokie Roberts (Rerun from 5/7/09)
Jimmy Fallon: Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Baldwin, Keane (Rerun from 5/26/09)
Last Call: N.A.S.A. (Rerun from 3/6/09)
Jimmy Kimmel: Josh Duhamel, Tracy Hutson, Bat For Lashes (Rerun from 6/24/09)
The View: George Lopez, Mario Cantone, Lewis Black, MVP (Rerun from 6/19/09)
Regis and Kelly: Brad Paisley, Neal E. Boyd
Ellen DeGeneres: TBA
Tavis Smiley: Jane Mayer, Malina Saval
Chelsea Lately: Derek Fisher, Randy Sklar, Jason Sklar, Jeff Wild, Sarah Colonna (Rerun from 6/22/09)
George Stroumboulopoulos: Gov. Sarah Palin, Marlee Matlin, John Legend (R)
Bonnie Hunt: TBA
Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
About Author
- SAG-AFTRA Convention Continues, George Heller Memorial Awards Presented
- Hugh Jackman, Lady Gaga, and More to Appear on THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON
- David Leitch to Direct THE COLDEST CITY
- SAG-AFTRA Announces Gabrielle Carteris Re-Elected Executive Vice President at National Convention
- VH1's Primetime Ratings For Third Quarter Surge Ahead +34% Over Prior Quarter Among Adults 18-49
- Sara Bareilles, Idris Elba, Adam Lambert, and More to Visit LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS
- KEVIN HART PRESENTS PLASTIC CUP BOYZ to be Released on Comedy Dynamics 10/13
- The First Lady Joins Public Media Effort, American Graduate Day 2015
- Review Roundup: Matt Damon Stars in Action Adventure THE MARTIAN
- Original Motion Picture Score from Acclaimed Film THE MARTIAN Out Today
- Kaley Cuoco & More Attend Opening Day of MASTERS OF LA
- Mika Kaurismaki's THE GIRL KING Available 12/8
- Sony Classical Releases THE WALK Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Today
- Documentary PINK & BLUE: COLORS OF HEREDITARY CANCER Set for Worldwide Theatrical Premiere Tonight
- Warner Bros. Celebrates Release of PAN by Asking Audiences to 'Discover Your Neverland'
- THE DAILY SHOW's Trevor Noah to Participate In Politicon
- As World Preps or Release of SPECTRE, Gillette Celebrates 'Bond Moments' in Every Man's Life
- Innovid and Netflix Win 2015 IAB MIXX Gold Award
- Director Ridley Scott Incorporates GoPro into the Making of THE MARTIAN
- Special Screening of Documentary SIR IVAN: I AM PEACEMAN to Kick Off Transgender Awareness Campaign

subset: commoncrawl


text: Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images [ DPS Arrests Alleged 68-Year-Old Marijuana Trafficker On I-40 By James G January 14, 2015 A traffic stop on I-40 turning into a large marijuana seizure on Monday. Read More|Comment Category: Amarillo News Tags: Amarillo, dps, i-40, Marijuana Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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Basche's Martial Artsedited April 27Martial Arts • Fort Wayne, United States
Practice between classes and you will learn faster
My Name is Shane Grantham. I am a Computer Consultant in Fort Wayne and the surrounding area. My purpose in life to make sure my clients computers are operating
Practice between classes and you will learn faster
Use a different web browser than Internet Explorer on Windows computers.
I have learned a lot about my muscles and body from Diedra! She is superb.
Regular adjustments are important for good health
Virus fighting
Meeting new business people
If you come to workout during the off peak hours you have a private gym to yourself
She has great products and has great service.
Computer repair.
Chicken broccoli in garlic sauce
Business cards, vehicle wraps, brochures, qr code decals, and social media decals
I eat their beef and pork all the time. Always great. They also sell pies and today I had a strawberry rhubarb one which was very good
Networking! People.
If you have a Microsoft Windows XP computer, we can try the Linux OS on it and see if it sees your hardware. Then we can install it in a dual-boot configuration and you can use both OSs.
My wife Jody has worked for the komets for 24 years and can help you with your advertising, group tickets, and season tickets.
Great Dentist who is also humorous.
Worked here from 1977 to 1983 when it was Holly's Landing. They should have never closed off the open kitchen.


text:
Think ordinary is boring? Explore the weird, the strange, the obscure, and the downright freaky.
About StumbleDNA StumbleDNA
catlikegrace's Interests
Are you a bookworm? Do you dream of a Pulitzer? Explore the literature of your favorite authors.
Whether you like romantic comedies or black comedies, have a laugh by Stumbling through funny films.
From DC to Marvel, from Batman to the Fantastic Four, learn more about the world of comic books.
Where would movies or video games be without computer graphics? Learn about animation, modeling and more.
Find out more about forks.
Are you afraid of the dark? Spook yourself by Stumbling through the best horror flicks and scary movies.
Funny jokes, pictures or quotes...whatever your sense of humor, we have something to make you laugh.
From Shakespeare's English to American classics to world literature, learn more about the written word.
How'd they do that!? Channel your inner wizard with card tricks, optical illusions, spells and more.
Always first in line for the best new movies? Explore the magic of Hollywood and the cinema.
Music makes the world go round. Discover new bands, songs, lyrics, music videos and more.
Mythological gods, heroes, and monsters...learn more about the stories of the Greeks and Romans.
You'll beat that high score someday! Play online arcade games, puzzles, multiplayer games and more.
Can I pick your brain for a minute? Learn about social, behavioral and cognitive psychology.
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but research has led to amazing discoveries in science, medicine and more.
Growth never ends. Learn about personal development to increase your confidence and self-esteem.
Glued to your Xbox, PS3 or Wii? Whatever you prefer, Stumble through video games for your gaming fix.
Whether you're writing a college paper or the next great American novel, get writing tips here.


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761 results
SORT BY Relevancy
Socially Awkward 9-The Visitor
in Pop Culture
A special return visit from Gator, who inevitably says some slightly inappropriate things. The gang also talks about holiday travels, the existence of God, unusual sexual situations, as well as more conversion discussion.
Socially Awkward 8: Interrobang II
in Pop Culture
Flynt & Paisley continue discussing conversion, as well as Red Eye, introversion, lesbianism (again), and Hebrew
Socially Awkward
in Pop Culture
Flynt, Gator, and Paisley discuss acid as art, celebrity crushes, and peach tea.
Socially Awkward 7: Interrobang I
in Pop Culture
Flynt & Paisley discuss Black Friday, tatoos, Bibi, conversion, Michael J. Fillmore, and punctuation
Socially Awkward 10: The Big Gay Episode
in Pop Culture
An impromptu, post-Christmas episode brings us Flynt & Paisley discussing gay marriage, sacraments, bakeries, kids in glasses, dimetap, Sons of Anarchy, and the awesomeness of Trey Parker & Matt Stone. (Editor's Note-This was recorded about 3 months before Nebraska's stupid constitutional ban on gay marriage/civil unions was struck down; that still seems to be tied up in court so who knows what'll happen here.)
Socially Awkward 6-Well Manicured
in Pop Culture
Flynt, Paisley, and new our lovely new co-host, Chevron discuss some ingenious nail polish, pcp, Spanish rice, and Jimmy hats
Socially Awkward 4-The Pre-Hangover
in Pop Culture
This is what happens when we try to do two shows in one night. Some attempt at Slenderman discussion is made again but quickly goes off track. Hugs abound.
Socially Awkward 2: The Revenge
in Pop Culture
Flynt, Gator, and Paisley-along with guests Elroy and Jason-discuss CAKE, hangman's blood, and cannibalism.
Learn more about hangman's blood here: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drinkn1m5411.html
Learn more about Michael J. Fillmore here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcN34Taw6jPShbIwp8uv4Tg
Socially Awkward-Episode 3: The Hijack
in Pop Culture
Paisley and Flynt attempt to discuss Slender Man. Gator has other plans.
If it Looks Pretty You're Doing Something Wrong: Going from Awkward to Amazing
in Motivation
With that whole back to school energy in the air, us DIGs (Divine It Girls) got to talking about how that first day of school in a new grade or new school could feel so tremendously awkward. Often, when we're in the upleveling process, entering a new level can feel awkward, and let me tell ya, honey, sometimes it is nowhere near pretty! But there's power in the ugliness and we want to show you how to access it. We'll "DIG" in, bring our A game for ya (that would be awkward AND awesome in this case!), and maybe get a little ugly so you can see the greatness that can come out of it. Join me, Jessica Nevins (http://www.jessicanevins.com) and my lovely badass co-host, Therese Tucker (http://www.blythestarlight.com) for a fun-filled, tip and trick packed show, yo.
Want even more amazingness in your life? Therese and I have created an EPIC 8-week telecourse to completely rock your world and create a red carpet life with all access to power, purpose and wealth. Learn more here: https://jessicanevins.leadpages.co/dig9915/
And as always, after the show, you can find us hanging out on Facebook. Our Divine It Girl Radio Page has launched, so put yo hands up to celebrate and holla at us! Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/divineitgirlradio
01 always awkward
Diva gets asked her age and other personal stats during a pedicure (supposed to be relaxing) while Ducky announces something no one expected (or does she).
That Awkward Moment, Labor Day
in Film
This week we hit both sides of the comedy/drama front with the twenty-something dating comedy That Awkward Moment and then it get's real with the Josh Brolin/Kate Winslet "Stockholm Syndome" love story Labor Day. After that we'll be getting a Sundance wrap up from Travis and most certainly will be debating the big news this week that Jesse Eisenberg will be playing Lex Luthor in the upcoming Batman Vs Superman.
- ...
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Dean Kirsten's Gallery from European Bug-In 5
Chimay, Belgium
Friday's photos show how the setup day looked like, with weather an issue for the up-coming weekend. No drag racing on Friday, but we are hoping that the weather will clear for Saturday and Sunday's show.
More to See...
Don't Miss the Next Issue. Subscribe Now!Subscribe now to get the latest issue of Hot VWs Magazine.
FLUFFY'S COLLECTIONComedian Gabriel Iglesias opens his "Compound" to Hot VWs for an exclusive look at his impressive collection of Volkswagens, including eleven Type 2s and three Beetles — and he loves driving every single one of them. Check it out in the October issue, on-sale September 1st at newsstands everywhere.


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Trolltech Greenphone Sell-Out
Norwegian developers Trolltech have sold out their entire inventory of Linux Greenphones. This is the end of Trolltech's excursion into the world of hardware.
"Back to the roots", that is, back to software development is the new tack that Trolltech will be taking. Trolltech will be looking to help developers who joined the Greenphone adventure to migrate to compatible platforms. Trolltech views its mission of creating a development platform for cellular radio applications on Linux as fulfilled. "The success of Greenphone is due in large part to the void it filled in the market by providing an open phone platform that could be used for experimentation and to build innovate applications," says Benoit Schillings, Trolltech CTO.
Trolltech will continue to support the Qtopia Greenphone community with new software releases in the coming months. In addition, community developers and organizations looking for phone hardware on which to develop Qtopia applications, Trolltech recommends the Neo1973 from FIC and OpenMoko.
Issue 180/2015
Buy this issue as a PDF
Dyreza Malware is Back
Powerful man-in-the-middle attack is now targeting online shopping.
Kernel Developer Matthew Garrett Forks the Linux Kernel
Another high-profile coder says the kernel team needs a kinder, gentler culture.
Bugzilla Bug
Bug database has a bug of its own that could allow an intruder to create an unauthorized account.
US Launches New Strategy for Broadband Access
Report focuses federal resources on achieving universal Internet access.
RC4 Finally Gets the Fork
Leading browser makers say "no" to porous encryption algorithm
IBM Says TOR Network a Vehicle for Ransomware
Report from the X-Force group says attackers are using TOR to hide their crimes
Mozilla Announces new Firefox API
Future Firefox extensions will be compatible with Chrome.
Weird Security Flaw Affected Intel Chips for 16 Years
Better read this if you bought your computer before 2011
OpenSSH 7.0 Secure Shell Arrives
Users should upgrade to the new version as soon as possible
Qemu Flaw Lets the Guest Escape
Xen project announces a privilege escalation problem for Qemu host systems


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Well, without a doubt this is certainly a colorful photograph. But where in the National Park System can you capture the same image? Some of the fine artwork should help you narrow the answer down to a few thousand square miles and a dozen or so units.
National Park Mystery Photo 17: Well, It's Certainly Colorful
By Kurt Repanshek on December 30th, 2009
Submitted by Bob Janiskee on December 30, 2009 - 7:36am.
David Smith has also identified the mystery photo. Nicely done, David.
Submitted by Bob Janiskee on December 30, 2009 - 7:07am.
Charles just nailed it. Waytogo, Charles! We'll let the rest of you work on it a while longer. Anybody else know where this photo was taken?


text: Quick View save 49% Mini Goals Notepad by Chronicle $11.95 $6.00 Out of stock online Write it down and get it done—today. This smart notepad helps turn even the most notorious procrastinators into efficiency experts with fill-in to-do lists that keep you focused on and on track. 100 tear-away sheets. 9" x 6". See Details was


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10 Awesome Ads on Cars
Posted by Fortey on Apr. 26, 2012
Tom Lennon is here to tell you that many things belong in a bun, but your h...
Tom Lennon tells you how to man up and break up.
Jump on your magic carpet and revisit the classic Disney animated film abou...
Posted by Fortey on Apr. 26, 2012


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'Little Door Gods' features anthropomorphized godsPosted by Fred on Mon 28 Sep 2015 - 04:57
Here is another anthropomorphic animated movie trailer! Little Door Gods may not seem anthro at first glance, but look at the frogs in the background. Then take a closer look at the main characters, especially Shen Tu (the fat guy).
These aren't humans, they're Chinese door gods (ménschén); the little anti-evil charms that the Chinese have traditionally posted at their front doors. Modern Chinese no longer believe in them and have stopped using them. Light Chaser Animation in Beijing has used this as its plot for this movie: what happens to the door gods in the spirit world when humans no longer believe in them? Brother door gods Yu Lei and Shen Tu are worried about being thrown out of work. The comic-relief Shen Tu is fatalistic about it, but Yu Lei determines to journey into the human world and cause enough commotion to prove to mortals that they still need the door gods.
'The Angry Birds Movie' takes flightPosted by Fred on Fri 25 Sep 2015 - 22:57
The trailers for anthropomorphic animated movies are coming thick and fast. Here is the teaser trailer for The Angry Birds Movie, due out (unless the date is changed) May 20, 2016. The concept is by Finnish video game company Rovio Entertainment, of course, but the CGI movie is by Sony Pictures Imageworks' new animation studio in Vancouver (where Sony Pictures Animation moved it from Hollywood for British Columbia's tax breaks). It's what Sony Imageworks will be working on now that Hotel Transylvania 2 is finished.
The feature is directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly, from a screenplay by Jon Vitti. Voices include Jason Sudeikis as Red, Josh Gad as Chuck, Maya Rudolph as Matilda, Danny McBride as Bomb and Peter Dinklage as Mighty Eagle, with Bill Hader as Leonard, a Minion Pig.
The dinosaurs talk; thankfully, not in SpanishPosted by Fred on Thu 24 Sep 2015 - 00:22
The first international trailer of Pixar's/Disney's The Good Dinosaur, with the dinosaurs talking, has just been released. The captioning is in Spanish, but the voices are in English, as the movie will be released in U.S. theaters on Thanksgiving.
'Psiconautas' is depressing, but it's anthropomorphicPosted by Fred on Wed 23 Sep 2015 - 00:08
Here is a "stealth" anthropomorphic animated feature that has just appeared. Psiconautas (Psychonauts), directed by Alberto Vázquez and Pedro Rivero, and produced by ZircoZine in Santiago de Compostela & Basque Films in Bilbao, has just premiered at the 63rd (2015) San Sebastián Film Festival (September 18 to 26) on the 24th. No word yet on when or where it will be generally released.
Psiconautas is based upon the graphic novel by Alberto Vázquez. The synopsis is "Teenagers Birdboy and Dinky have decided to escape from an island devastated by ecological catastrophe: Birdboy by shutting himself off from the world, Dinky by setting out on a dangerous voyage in the hope that Birdboy will accompany her." This may be an animated cartoon, but it is clearly not a "cute" film for children.
NSFW warning: The trailer does contain some violent imagery.
Yes, Disney's 2016 live-action 'The Jungle Book' is anthropomorphicPosted by Fred on Wed 16 Sep 2015 - 01:29
YouTube has the first teaser trailer of the Disney studio's April 15, 2016 "live-action" (heavily VFX) adaptation of The Jungle Book, directed by Jon Favreau, and it's definitely full of anthropomorphic animals. The voice actors include Bill Murray as Baloo, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Lupita N'yongo as Raksha, and Christopher Walken as King Louie.
As you can see, it will be a mixture of Rudyard Kipling's 1894-'95 literary classic and Disney's own 1967 animated classic. A lot of this was revealed at Disney's D23 Expo in August, but now you can see it for yourself.
Place your bets! Will 'The Good Dinosaur' feature migrating?Posted by crossaffliction on Mon 14 Sep 2015 - 18:36
'Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos' takes a top-ten box office spot over Labor Day weekendPosted by crossaffliction on Sun 6 Sep 2015 - 23:09
A box office surprise just came out of Mexico; Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos (that's "The Rooster with Many Eggs" for our mostly-English-speaking audience, though "huevos" has a double meaning in Mexican Spanish slang) took a top-ten spot at the American box office for the Labor Day weekend.
Box Office Mojo is placing the movie with an estimated 7th or 8th place (final tallies will most likely arrive Monday) with an approximate box office of $3.4 million; this is a fantastic run for a movie that is currently only available in Spanish, and which opened in just 395 theaters.
The movie did seem to come out of nowhere to English-speaking American audiences; the announcement it exists was In-Fur-Nation's top story at this piece's press time. Cartoon Brew notes it "had no […] mainstream press coverage", so furries weren't the only group to drop the ball.
Review: I keep my promise to 'Shaun the Sheep'Posted by crossaffliction on Tue 1 Sep 2015 - 00:02
Back in 2011, I wrote my first top ten movies of the year list, where I chose Winnie the Pooh as the seventh best movie I saw that year, but I didn't see it in the theaters. Because it was Winnie the Pooh, and it was a children's movie even more so than the average animated movie featuring talking animals, and it would have been embarrassing for a late twenty-something to be caught going alone to the movie theater to watch it. Explaining that I was only watching it to review it for a furry website wouldn't have really changed that. But I wrote back in that first top ten list:
I decided to skip this movie at the theaters because, you know, it's Winnie the Pooh. Big mistake. Next time, I'll man up, and watch the kid's movie.
I was right back then; it does, sometimes, take a man to review a kid's movie. That was a promise to myself that I wouldn't let embarrassment get the better of me in the future. Shaun the Sheep was the first real test of this self promise. I mean, Free Birds were a slightly different proposition; as "geek culture" becomes more and more prevalent in pop culture, to the point they are nearly synonymous, watching animated movies, even those with slightly awkward studio pedigrees, is much less of a big deal. But I was fairly certain Shaun the Sheep was meant as a pre-school level animation (I was unfair in this assessment; I was thinking of the spin-off Timmy Time, which is meant for pre-schoolers but is not the basis of this movie); but I made that promise to myself not to let pre-school prejudice get in the way.
Good call; this is a pretty good movie.
'Zootopia' ('Zootropolis'?) coming sooner than you thinkPosted by Fred on Thu 20 Aug 2015 - 20:36
The release date of Disney's forthcoming theatrical feature Zootopia (Zootropolis in the U.K., Portugal, Turkey and other countries; Zootropola in Croatia and Zwierzogród in Poland) is March 4, 2016. But on January 19, 2016, the Disney merchandising machine will release a slew of tie-in books, published by Disney print subsidiaries or licensed by it. Most, but not all of them, will be juvenile-oriented. Some of them, such as the Disney Zootopia Ultimate Sticker Book or Judy Hopps and the Missing Jumbo-Pop, will be little more than picture books featuring the leading characters. Others, such as the Zootopia Big Golden Book, will also be picture books but will show a condensation of the movie's plot. And a few, such as Zootopia: The Official Handbook, Zootopia Junior Novelization and DK's Disney Zootopia: The Essential Guide, will be of interest to the adult enthusiast. No lavish The Art of Zootopia coffee-table art book has been announced yet, but there will undoubtedly be one by next March – or sooner.
2016 movie showdown, part 7: Zootopia vs. Sly CooperPosted by crossaffliction on Mon 17 Aug 2015 - 16:26
Shakira to play a sexy pop star gazelle in 'Zootopia'Posted by crossaffliction on Sun 16 Aug 2015 - 16:48
Pop star Shakira revealed via Twitter that she would be playing the character of Gazelle, the world of "Zootopia's biggest pop star." Apparently, Gazelle is a ... gazelle (perhaps Shakira is a chinkara?). The pop star also revealed she would be performing a song, "Try Everything," for the movie.
The announcements were part of Disney's D23 expo, which was held to promote Disney's many upcoming movies. Footage from Zootopia was shown; it is actually the first footage of the movie shown (the previously released teaser trailer featured a unique scene). The footage shown featured duel protagonist fox Nick Wilde's and rabbit Judy Hopps' actual first meeting (involving a young fox in an elephant suit) and a scene at a sloth run DMV. Aquatic mustelid fans will also be pleased to note that the previously revealed "missing mammal" case that is the basis of the plot is actually a missing otter.
Disney to produce new 'Lion King' direct-to-TV movie in NovemberPosted by Fred on Thu 13 Aug 2015 - 22:46
Whoa; we didn't see this one coming -- so soon, anyway. Multiple sources (abc.news.go.com; Animation Scoop; ComingSoon.net; Variety; etc.) announced yesterday that the Disney Channel will present a brand-new Lion King direct-to-TV short movie in November: The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar. The movie will be a prelude to a new The Lion Guard TV series that the Disney Channel will present in early 2016.
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar will be about the adult Simba and Nala's juvenile son Kion, and his forming a new Lion Guard team – traditionally the pride's bravest adult lions, to police the African savannah – with his own juvenile friends: Bunga, a honey badger; Ono, an egret; Fuli, a cheetah; and Beshte, a hippo. Their adversaries will include the juvenile sons of the evil hyenas in The Lion King; from the teaser, it's obvious that the crazy hyena Ed has a son.
Further details are in the articles. More will be presented at Disney's D23 expo in Anaheim on August 16.
2016 movie showdown, part 6: Sly Cooper vs. SparkPosted by crossaffliction on Mon 10 Aug 2015 - 01:23
2015 Anthropomorphics Reading List: August 8 updatePosted by Fred on Mon 10 Aug 2015 - 01:19
The Anthropomorphics Literature and Arts Association (ALAA), which administers the annual Ursa Major Awards, has updated the 2015 Anthropomorphics Reading List to include the titles recommended by furry fans through August 8. This list is often used by fans to nominate in the next year's Awards.
All fans are invited to recommend worthwhile anthropomorphic works in eleven categories (motion pictures, dramatic short films or broadcasts, novels, short fiction, other literary works, graphic stories, comic strips, magazines, published illustrations, websites, and games) first published during 2015, if they are not already on the list. Send in your recommendations to email@example.com, and read the List to see what other fans have recommended.
Nominations for the 2015 Ursa Major Awards, in the same eleven categories, will open on 14 January 2016 (the first day of Further Confusion 2016) and will be accepted until 28 February. Don't miss this opportunity to nominate the titles that you felt have been the best anthropomorphic movies, novels, comic strips and books, websites, games, etc. of 2015 for the Awards. And don't forget to vote when the polls open on 15 March.
Three coming Russian animated features with anthro animalsPosted by Fred on Mon 10 Aug 2015 - 00:51
The Hollywood Reporter announced on May 13 that Wizart Animation in Moscow (business office) and Voronezh (animation studio) is producing The Snow Queen 3 for release in late 2016. Presumably this is in Russia, and it'll come to the U.S. in 2017. Also presumably the cast will include Orm the troll and Gerda's pet ermine Luta, since they were so popular in The Snow Queen and The Snow Queen 2: The Snow King.
The same Hollywood Reporter article announces that Wizart is pre-selling its own Sheep and Wolves featuring anthro wolves and sheep – it's titled Volkii I Ovtsi (wolves and sheep), in Russian. Here's the the English language for Sheep and Wolves.
The article continues, "Wizart will also be […] offering pre-sales for Urfin and His Wooden Soldiers (by Melnitsa Animation)."


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Jane McNamara is a tech-savvy CEO of a non-profit agency in Michigan. In February of this year, she bought a second home in Florida from Bonita Springs, Fla.-based WCI Communities. When she signed the contract, the sales agent handed her an iPad preloaded with MyWCi, an application that organized all of her home-buyer documents and gave her instant contact with all of her WCI contacts. It put a host of information at her fingertips and allowed her to share photos and news about her new home with family and friends.
Both my grandfathers were self-made men who did well during the Great Depression and retired quite comfortably, if not wealthy by today's standards. Each began with an 8th grade education and nothing backing them up but grit and determination, and each feeling graced by having survived serious crashes on Indian motorcycles. My mother's dad started as a packing boy at General Electric in Youngstown, Ohio at age 15 and retired at age 65 as plant general superintendent. Fifty years of service with one company. Just imagine. He had a lot of plaques on the wall thanking "E.
I have been fortunate enough to be working with Jeff Rutt and Matt Collins from Keystone Custom Homes, Perry Bigelow from Bigelow Homes, and several other great folks on a housing solution for Haiti. The overriding concept is to help alleviate the housing crisis by providing qualified Haitians with Micro Loans and assisting them in building their own house. The passion and commitment for this cause is infectious. It has been, and continues to be, a very rewarding experience.
I recently conducted an online survey of over 1200 home building employees. The survey asked the question," If the US market was good today, would you strongly consider leaving your current employer"? The options in answering this question were; 1. In a Heartbeat 2. Yes 3. Maybe
In a recent discussion regarding the impact of quality on the ASQ Design & Construction Division Linkedin Group, a member made the comment that 'everything made by man is defective.' Of course this is correct, we cannot create perfection. It was a wonderful comment and it made me ponder perfection in construction and to think of some of the world's most ancient and iconic buildings and be reminded of just how long quality and construction have been associated.
In every industry I have worked in, Communication seems to be the common denominator, of dysfunctionality. We write books about, train our leaders on it and spend countless hours using technology today to attempt to convey our thoughts. Sadly though, the form outweighs the substance. When I am involved in a consulting project involving the people of an organization, the number one issue that surfaces is the confusion, misinterpretation and anxiety surrounding communication.
Eric Tiffin our magically talented Project Manager brought up the idea of writing about point loads this week. My first thought was that there may not be much to write about with this topic. He convinced me otherwise.
You know that phenomenon where you hear a reasonable sounding, logical guy armed with facts that presents an convincing analysis of a problem and his solution and you think, "You know, he's right" … and then you hear another logical guy armed with facts that presents a totally contrary analysis of the identical problem and a completely different solution and you think, "Whoa, wait a minute … HE is right … I think … maybe." So now you don't know who to believe and then it occurs to you that had you heard just ONE of these two guys, you'd be in his camp, probably quoting him to your friends,
Wisdom is timeless, which is why two Harvard Business Review articles published in 2001 and 2008 are still as valid and thought provoking today as when they were published. (The references to the papers are listed at the end of this blog.) In an economic crisis and industry downturn Rigby considers that there are three phases and critical dos and don'ts to be aware of in each stage. Reflect on how you reacted in phases 1 & 2 and how you plan to react as phase 3 emerges. 1. Storm clouds gather. Don't act as if the storm will blow over.
From 1979 to 2001 I worked in high level positions within corporate America. I was always surprised over the number of consultants that called offering their advice, solutions and their roadmap to success. So in 2001, when I decided to broaden my scope nationally and offer my consulting services. I was always very conscience of my approach. Initially, I actually had CEO's tell me that they felt I was more interested in the sale than I could ever be about their success. This was a certain wake up call.
For over 30 years I have worked with executives that indicate they are interested in improving their skills, leadership ability or their overall company performance. About two thirds of that time was as a corporate officer and the balance as a consultant. In the old days, exploring the strengths, areas of development and desires of the executive wasn't called coaching. In fact, many executives at that time would have taken offense to the term.
As a consultant, I literally spend 30 hours a week on the phone with builder owners, CEO's and senior level staff of Home builder's, Real Estate Brokers and Land Developers. My approach on every call is to build a relationship and determine the pain points that keeps these executives up at night.
The latest numbers from the Census Bureau confirms what we've all been seeing: more people are doubling-up. Whether it's getting a roommate or recent grads staying with their parents, more people are living together than in the past. Some 30 percent of households are doubling up, up from 27.7 percent in 2007.
Lean savings that go direct to the trades don't reduce the builder's costs, right? If this is your belief, there is no greater obstacle to becoming truly Lean. I once heard a purchasing manager say in regard to the many extra trips the lumber company was making on the builder's behalf, "So what? Those are his costs and they don't count for us." If you are hoping to crack the code on Lean, you have to acknowledge that a dollar is a dollar is a dollar, and no matter where it falls, it is important and it counts.
We all have our eye opening moments in life. When I was 17 my dad would often remind me to keep checking the oil in my 72 Bonneville. I did check the oil frequently (in my mind anyway) for a while. It was only after the old workhorse left me stranded on the expressway with a thrown rod that it dawned on me that running out of gas (an activity I participated in much too often) was quite a bit different than running out of oil. During the struggle to get to school, work and figure out how to pay for another car was when the lesson really sank in.
What are the risks for your business. Where are your weak points? Obviously safety is a key issue, but what about warranty, defects and other issues? Specific risk sources in construction projects include:
Probably the simultaneously most understandable yet least valid excuse for not launching a Lean implementation is that your staff is overloaded and has no time. I hear it constantly so let's just say it, "No one has enough time or people today!" That's the nature of a housing recession. It's a given.
It seems hard to believe now, but when the iPad was introduced last year, there was a lot of question about whether or not Apple had finally made a mistake — would people pay $500 or more for a tablet when all others had failed to catch on in a major way?Well, we all know the answer to that question. The iPad has been a raging success, with some 25 million sold as of this summer. The even bigger surprise has been the use of the iPad as a business tool, even in the usually tech-averse remodeling industry.
From the year 1999 to 2001 I led the enterprise wide SAP conversion for a top ten builder. Up until that time, very little was ever seen of a fully integrated software system for the builder. Software companies claimed to be fully integrated, but when you tested the product, it fell short of expectations. SAP was to be the shining knight on the white horse for Home building, offering a system that would revolutionize the industry. Well simply stated, it was developed by software developer's not home builders and failed miserably.
BIM is technology which can be of enormous help. It can of course be a great tool to help us integrate for example design and estimating. It should also become a critical tool for communication with the client, engineering consultants and trade partners and in this way help to create an integrated project. BUT let us not forget the construction team! If the construction team is not involved then the critical opportunity to better connect Design – Construction or rather Design-Build is lost.


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|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|22 Oct 1996
|Filing date
|30 Jun 1995
|Priority date
|30 Jun 1995
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Lee Weng
|Original Assignee
|Siemens Medical Systems, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (4), Non-Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (90), Classifications (10), Legal Events (5)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This patent application relates to copending application Ser. No. 08/414,978, filed Mar. 31, 1995, for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING LARGE COMPOUND ULTRASOUND IMAGE.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ultrasonic diagnostic imaging, and more particularly, to an ultrasonic imaging system that produces a spatially compounded image by an image registration method that correlates movement between consecutive image frames.
2. Description of Related Art
Ultrasonic imaging techniques are commonly used to produce two-dimensional diagnostic images of internal features of an object, such as a human anatomy. A diagnostic ultrasonic imaging system for medical use forms images of internal tissues of a human body by electrically exciting an acoustic transducer element or an array of acoustic transducer elements to generate short ultrasonic pulses that travel into the body. The ultrasonic pulses produce echoes as they reflect off of body tissues that appear as discontinuities or impedance changes to the propagating ultrasonic pulses. These echoes return to the transducer, and are converted back into electrical signals that are amplified and decoded to produce a cross-sectional image of the tissues. These ultrasonic imaging systems are of significant importance to the medical field by providing physicians with real-time, high resolution images of the internal features of a human anatomy without resort to more invasive exploratory techniques, such as surgery.
The acoustic transducer which radiates the ultrasonic pulses typically comprises a piezoelectric element or matrix of piezoelectric elements. As known in the art, a piezoelectric element deforms upon application of an electrical signal to produce the ultrasonic pulses. In a similar manner, the received echoes cause the piezoelectric element to deform and generate the corresponding electrical signal. The acoustic transducer may be packaged within a handheld device that allows the physician substantial freedom to manipulate the transducer easily over a desired area of interest. The transducer would then be electrically connected via a cable to a central control device that generates and processes the electrical signals. In turn, the control device transmits the image information to a real-time viewing device, such as a video display terminal (VDT). The image information may also be stored to enable other physicians to view the diagnostic images at a later date.
A drawback of conventional ultrasonic imaging systems is that the image frames are susceptible to various undesirable phenomena, such as ultrasound image "shadowing" or "speckle." Ultrasound shadowing occurs when the ultrasonic pulses produce shadows by reflection from tissue regions of disparate density that effectively prevent the ultrasonic pulses from reaching a region of interest and producing an echo return. When this happens, information regarding the region of interest is not collected, and the imaging system cannot produce a complete image of the region. To the viewer of the image, the image shadowing appears as dark patches that cover portions of the region of interest. The dark patches tend to mask or otherwise obscure small image detail and contrast differences within the image, making diagnostic analysis of the image more difficult and thus less reliable.
The image shadowing phenomenon and its solution are analogous to a similar problem with the use of a flashlight to illuminate an object of interest. If the object of interest lies either partially or completely within the shadow of another object, the object of interest cannot be completely seen; however, the flashlight can be repositioned to illuminate the object of interest from another direction in order to avoid the shadow of the blocking object. This technique represents an image averaging technique. If all the information received by illuminating the object of interest from different viewing angles were combined into a single image, then a complete, multidirectional image of the object of interest could be obtained. Within the ultrasound domain, the acoustic transducer can be repositioned so that the region of interest is imaged from several different directions. By combining these different ultrasonic images together, the image shadowing would be filled in and a more complete image of the region of interest could be obtained. This process of combining multiple images into a single image is commonly referred to as spatial compounding.
Ultrasound image speckle is an artifact caused by coherent image formation. A speckle pattern is generated by interference among echoes from a large number of randomly distributed ultrasound scatterers within the imaged area. The ultrasound speckle appears as random noise in the image, and its existence makes ultrasound diagnosis more difficult, especially in areas having low contrast and small-sized lesions. It has been observed that by varying the position of the ultrasound imaging transducer slightly, the image of the lesions and other deterministic targets in the imaged region is relatively unchanged, but the speckle pattern will change substantially. A spatially compounded image obtained by averaging several images taken from slightly different spatial locations would have significantly reduced ultrasound speckle.
There are two known methods for generating a spatially compounded ultrasound image. A first technique utilizes a conventional transducer that is moved to various locations to acquire several different images. The transducer location is accurately measured by sensing devices in order to register each of the discrete image frames together into a single compound image. An example of a compound image-scanner utilizing angular sensing devices on an arm assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,007, to Amazeen et al., for REFERENCED REAL-TIME ULTRASONIC IMAGE DISPLAY. In practice, however, the arm assembly is awkward and inflexible to operate, and the sensing devices add significant complexity and cost to the ultrasonic imaging system.
A second technique uses a large aperture phased array transducer to generate two or more images at slightly differing viewing angles from a fixed transducer location. The images can be readily combined since their relative orientation is generally known, or can be ascertained. This technique produces acceptable results when the region of interest is relatively shallow below the skin surface, as very little transducer movement is necessary. The technique is less effective for deeper level imaging, however, since the phased array transducer must necessarily be very large in order to produce viewing angles between individual image frames that are large enough to yield acceptable results.
Thus, a critical need exists for a method and apparatus for spatially compounding a plurality of discrete image frames produced by an ultrasonic imaging system into a single image in a manner that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior are techniques. Of particular importance, the method and apparatus should be compatible with modern handheld ultrasonic transducers without encumbering the handheld transducers with position sensing devices that undesirably increase the cost, weight and complexity of such imaging systems.
This application provides a method and apparatus for generating a spatially compounded ultrasonic image using an image registration method, referred to herein as an IR-SC image. In the image registration method and apparatus, a current image frame is correlated with previously generated IR-SC images in order to derive the transducer motion information for IR-SC image generation.
In particular, the current image frame is divided into several smaller sub-frame regions, and a very fast and robust image motion detection algorithm is utilized to measure the sub-frame motion. This algorithm uses a fast adaptive coarse/fine minimum-sum-absolute-difference (MSAD) search strategy to compute an initial estimation of the local motion vectors. The initial estimation is combined with two measurement parameters by use of a fuzzy logic technique to derive a final estimation of the local motion vectors. The final local motion vectors are applied to a least-squares (L-S) process in order to estimate global image motion. Based on the global image motion information, the current image frame is transformed geometrically to coincide with the previously compounded image frame. Once transformed, the current image frame is compounded with the previously compounded image frame to provide a new IR-SC image. Finally, a fast display technique generates and displays the IR-SC image.
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a conventional ultrasound transducer manipulated spatially to obtain incoherent images of a region of interest;
FIG. 2 illustrates an image display of a current image frame;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating derivation of a local motion vector deviation factor for the minimum-sum-absolute-difference search;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an image registration based image compounding method in accordance with this invention;
FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating derivation of a weight value based on the number of image frames; and
FIGS. 6A through 6D are graphs illustrating fuzzy logic membership functions for the quality factor and the deviation factor to derive a control value and a single numerical output.
This invention satisfies the critical need for a method and apparatus to spatially combine discrete image frames produced by an ultrasonic imaging system in a manner that reduces ultrasound image shadowing and speckle. In the method and apparatus of this invention, an image registration technique is used to correlate consecutive image frames. Significantly, the transducer motion information is derived without encumbering the transducer with position sensing devices that would otherwise increase the cost, weight and complexity of such ultrasonic imaging systems. In the detailed description that follows, like element numerals are used to describe like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures.
Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, portions of an ultrasonic imaging system adapted for real-time display within a clinical environment are illustrated. In FIG. 1, a transducer 12 is pressed against a skin surface 15 of a patient as part of an ultrasonic imaging operation. A region of interest 16 lies below the skin surface 15 that may be completely or partially obscured by other tissue disposed between the region of interest and the skin surface 15. To perform the imaging operation of the region of interest 16, the operator manipulates the transducer 12 to various positions along the patient's skin surface 15. The previous position of the transducer is denoted by 12' in FIG. 1. As known in the art, an acoustically conductive lubricating agent may be applied to the skin surface 15 prior to bringing the transducer 12 into contact with the skin so as to improve the acoustic coupling between the transducer and the patient.
The transducer 12 includes either a single piezoelectric element or matrix of individual piezoelectric elements that generate ultrasonic pulses in response to electrical signals. A plane of ultrasonic pulses 14, 14' associated with the current and previous positions of the transducer 12, 12', respectively, propagate through the skin 15 of the patient. Although the ultrasonic pulse planes 14, 14' are illustrated as a single contiguous planar beam of acoustic energy, it should be appreciated that each pulse plane actually comprises a plurality of sequential pulses from each of the piezoelectric elements that fire in the manner of a raster or sector scan. The ultrasonic pulse planes 14, 14' echo off of the patient's internal anatomical features, including the region of interest 16. The echoes return through the skin to the transducer 12 which converts the echoes back into electrical signals that are transmitted to an image processor for processing into a visual image. The image processor decodes the electrical signals into a two-dimensional, cross-sectional image 24 that is displayed on the video display terminal 22 of FIG. 2. The image information may also be electronically stored in a memory medium, including a non-volatile storage medium such as a disk or tape drive, a volatile storage medium such as a solid state memory, or can be printed to a hard copy image such as a photograph.
The current ultrasonic image 24 displayed on the video display terminal 22 (or stored by use of the various other storage media described above) comprises only the information representative of the region traversed by the ultrasonic pulse plane 14. Although a previous image corresponding to the ultrasonic pulse plane 14' is taken from a different orientation than that of the current image 24, the previous image and its respective orientation is not reflected on the video display terminal 22. Instead, the video display terminal 22 typically displays the current image 24 only, with the current image superimposed over and replacing the previous image. In other words, the image content changes but the displayed orientation remains constant. As noted above, it would be very desirable to provide a spatially compounded image in which each of the differing perspectives are combined to form a single image that reflects the particular orientations of the differing images, such as the previous image 24'.
Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram of an image registration based spatial compounding method (IR-SC) in accordance with this invention is illustrated. The previous image frame 24' of FIG. 2 (also referred to herein as image frame n-1) is combined with all previous image frames into a spatially compounded image frame (the IR-SC image frame), which provides a reference image. The current image frame 24 (also referred to herein as image frame n or the n'th image frame) is compared with the IR-SC image frame to estimate motion of the transducer, and is adjusted to further improve the IR-SC image. There are two major advantages of using the IR-SC image frame as a reference. First, the IR-SC image frame has less speckle than the uncompounded image frame n-1. Therefore, the estimation of image frame n motion with respect to the IR-SC image frame is less sensitive to speckle variation and more robust in matching deterministic image features. Second, the global accumulative registration error is eliminated so that the user can move the transducer back and forth without the likelihood of mismatching.
In order to estimate image motion from the IR-SC image frame to image frame n, frame n is divided into a plurality of sub-frame regions 25, and the local motion of each of the sub-frame regions is estimated. For I total blocks, the i'th block of frame n is defined as n(i). The particular size and number of the sub-frame regions 25 are selected by consideration of various factors. The sub-frame region size should approximate the size of the particular image features. For example, image features such as tissue boundaries and blood vessels would require a relatively small sub-frame region size. Nevertheless, such a small sub-frame region size would not be suitable for estimation of motion because the small sub-frame region size decorrelates very rapidly with relatively large magnitudes of motion. Moreover, the small sub-frame region size would not be stable for in-vivo images where small scale tissue motion exists. At the same time, if the sub-frame region size is too large, there will be too few sub-frame regions per image frame for motion estimation and the motion estimation will be unstable. Further, a large sub-frame region size may introduce an image rotation error into the local motion estimation where the sub-frame region is incorrectly assumed to have a translation component but no rotation component.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a sub-frame region size of approximately 48�48 pixels is deemed acceptable for motion estimation in view of these factors in relation to an image frame size of about 200�400 pixels. A minimum sub-frame region size of 32�32 pixels could also be utilized in relation to a smaller image size. These sub-frame region sizes result in a number I between approximately eight and twenty in order to yield the best results.
FIG. 3 illustrates the current image frame n divided into a plurality of sub-frame regions 25. The local motion of each subframe region n(i) of image n is estimated by moving the sub-frame region n(i) around on the IR-SC image frame to find the "best match." Specifically, the current frame n is matched with the portion of the IR-SC image frame which includes the region of interest. The "best match" is determined by use of a minimum-sum-absolute-difference technique (MSAD) 32 to match the n(i) sub-frame regions 25 with the associated region of the IR-SC image. The sum-absolute-difference (SAD) is the sum of absolute differences between corresponding pixel values between each subframe region 25 and the IR-SC image. The "best match" between the sub-frame region 25 and the IR-SC image region occurs where the SAD value is at a minimum. The MSAD technique is used to derive a first estimation of the local motion vector v(i) having a direction and magnitude indicating how the sub-frame region n(i) translated from the IR-SC image frame to the n image frame. The direction of the local motion vector v(i) for each one of the sub-frame regions 25 is denoted by the arrows of FIG. 3. It should be noted that the sub-frame regions 25 that do not contain any arrows have experienced negligible local motion.
It should be apparent that calculating the MSAD could be a very slow computing process if the number of blocks is large, the block size is large, and the search region is large. For example, a frame n having sixteen sub-frame regions 25 with a 48�48 pixel size and an IR-SC image region of 64�64 pixels would require about 300,000,000 separate additions/subtractions and about 65,000 comparisons to complete a single MSAD computation. Even with the relatively high speed of conventional processors, this would still encompass too much computation to accommodate real-time application. Accordingly, various search techniques are utilized in order to reduce the magnitude of the MSAD computation.
One such technique for calculating the MSAD utilizes a conventional MPEG encoder. MPEG, or Moving Picture Expert Group, is an industry accepted data compression standard for digitizing graphical information. MPEG encoders are commercially available that can be used to perform a rough estimate of MSAD location based on historical movement of the image. A "best match" is sought between an image characteristic within a sub-frame region 25 and an IR-SC image region by searching within a local neighborhood comprising a finite dimensional range, such as within ten pixels in the X and Y directions relative to the image characteristic. A drawback of the use of an MPEG encoder is that it results in a high incidence of inaccurate local motion vectors, which must be filtered out.
Alternatively, a fast adaptive coarse/fine MSAD search strategy can be devised that significantly reduces the total magnitude of computation. A coarse search can be performed first to reduce the IR-SC image region to a smaller area, followed by a fine search within the smaller area. The two-dimensional MSAD search can be reduced to two one-dimensional searches in the X and Y directions, respectively. The first search should be conducted in the X direction to quickly narrow down the search region, followed by subsequent alternating one-dimensional searches in both the X and Y directions to quickly find the MSAD location. Points which have been searched during the coarse search or have been searched in the other direction could be skipped during the fine search. Based on the above search strategy, in most cases the location of the MSAD can be identified after one coarse and one medium search in the X direction, one coarse search in the Y direction and one small two-dimensional fine search in both directions. For the same example given above, the total number of computations can be reduced to 2,600,000 additions/subtractions and 560 comparisons; representing a reduction of the total number of computations by roughly 115 times.
Under the influence of image noise, tissue motion and other image artifacts, the first MSAD motion estimation is not always very reliable. Accordingly, two measures of the quality and reliability of the first local motion vector estimation v(i) are devised, termed S1(i) and S2(i). S1(i) is a quality factor of MSAD, and measures the difference between the value of MSAD and mean SAD. MSAD quality increases with the value of S1(i), i.e., the deeper the SAD valley, the better is MSAD quality. When strong image noise exists, or when there is a lack of image features, the SAD map will become more flat so that S1(i) becomes smaller. In that case, the estimation of v(i) becomes less reliable.
The second parameter S2(i) measures how much v(i) deviates from the averaged intraframe neighborhood motion 34. The averaged neighborhood motion of the i'th block, h(i) is the recursively averaged sum of previous final local motion vector outputs of the i'th block. S2(i) is the vector difference between v(i) and h(i). Generally, image motion is fairly smooth and consistent for both experienced and un-experienced ultrasound operators. If one value of v(i) has a very different direction and magnitude as compared with its history, it is very likely that this estimation is under the influence of noise or local tissue motion and does not accurately reflect true image local motion. In this case the v(i) estimation is not very reliable. Thus, a large value of S2(i) indicates that the estimated v(i) is less reliable.
While the above estimation quality control concept is easy to understand, it is difficult to implement in practice since image changes caused by motion of the transducer can be rather complex. Accordingly, the quality and reliability of the motion estimate can be efficiently quantized by use of fuzzy logic. A fuzzy logic control block 37 receives S1(i) and S2(i) as inputs, combines them using fuzzy rules (described below), and produces a single numerical output w(i) which represents a degree of accuracy of v(i). The numerical output w(i) ranges from zero to one, with the estimation accuracy of v(i) increasing as w(i) approaches one.
The inputs S1 (i) and S2 (i) are first "fuzzified" into the linguistic expressions, or labels, "high", "medium" and "low". Output w(i) also has its fuzzy expression as "very high", "high", "medium", "low" and "very low". Membership functions of S1(i), S2 (i) and w(i) are defined from a large number of experimental results, and are illustrated at FIGS. 6A through 6C, respectively. The membership function of S1(i) is graphically illustrated at FIG. 6A as comprising three regions labeled as L (low), M (medium) and H (high). The regions overlap to a certain extent; specifically, the L and M regions overlap, and the M and H regions overlap. The horizontal axis of the membership function graph defines the measured value of S1(i), and the vertical axis defines the degree of membership of the measured value within the defined label.
The membership function of S2(i) is graphically illustrated at FIG. 6B, and is constructed similar to the membership function of S1(i). Similarly, the membership function of w(i) is graphically illustrated at FIG. 6C, and is constructed similar to the membership functions of S1(i) and S2(i) , though it includes five overlapping regions labeled as VL (very low), L (low), M (medium), H (high), and VH (very high).
Seven fuzzy rules are used to define the relationship between S1(i) , S2(i) and w(i). These fuzzy rules include:
(1) If S1(i) is low (L) AND S2 (i) is also low (L), then w(i) is medium (M);
(2) If S1(i) is medium (M) AND S2(i) is low (L), then w(i) is high (H);
(3) If S1(i) is high (H) AND S2(i) is low (L), then w(i) is very high (VH);
(4) If S1(i) is low (L) AND S2(i) is medium (M), the w(i) is low (L);
(5) If S1 (i) is medium (M) AND S2(i) is also medium (M), then w(i) is medium (M);
(6) If S1(i) is high (H) AND S2(i) is medium (M), then w(i) is high (H); and
(7) If S2(i) is high (H), then w(i) is very low (VL).
The fuzzy rules are applied in parallel to determine the truth of the rules. For example, assume that measured values of S1(i) and S2(i) are 0.3 and 0.1, respectively. In FIG. 6A, a measured value of 0.3 relates to degrees of membership of approximately 0.65 in the L label and approximately 0.25 in the M label. In FIG. 6B, a measured value of 0.1 relates to a degree of membership of approximately 0.75 in the L label only. As a result, only the first two fuzzy rules are true, though they yield inconsistent results in that the first fuzzy rule concludes w(i) is medium and the second fuzzy rule concludes that w(i) is high. The output w(i) must be converted back to a numerical value, and the inconsistent results must be reconciled.
Under the first fuzzy rule, the low value of S1(i) is combined using a logical AND with the low value of S2(i) to provide the medium value of w(i). Under the logical AND operation, the minimum value of the truth of the expressions is taken as the truth level of the rule. In other words, the 0.65 degree of membership of S1(i) is less than the 0.75 degree of membership of S2(i), and is thus taken as the truth level for the first fuzzy rule. Similarly, under the second fuzzy rule, the medium value of S1(i) is combined using a logical AND with the low value of S2(i) to provide the high value of w(i). The 0.25 degree of membership of S1(i) is less than the 0.75 degree of membership of S2(i), and is thus taken as the truth level for the second fuzzy rule. The M and H labels of the w(i) membership function are then truncated at the truth levels defined by the fuzzy rules, as illustrated graphically in FIG. 6D.
Finally, a centroid defuzzification technique is used to convert the fuzzy output back to a numerical number w(i). Using this technique, an estimate of the center of gravity is provided for the entire region determined to be true (illustrated as the shaded region of FIG. 6D). From FIG. 6D, the center of gravity of the shaded region is approximately 0.6, providing a numerical value for w(i).
After the reliability parameter w(i) is obtained, the next step of the block diagram of FIG. 4 is to use w(i) to improve the local motion estimation v(i) by the estimation modification 35. If w(i) is large, v(i) is used directly as the final local motion vector lmv(i). In contrast, if w(i) is very small, the averaged neighborhood motion h(i) is used as the estimated lmv(i), since the averaged neighborhood motion is more likely to be a better estimation than the less reliable v(i). If w(i) is neither very large nor very small, it is used as a weighting factor to average v(i) and h(i). For instance, if w(i)=0.6, as in the above example, then the local motion vector lmv(i) is given by the following equation:
lmv(i)=0.6v(i)+(1-0.6) h(i)
The averaged neighborhood motion h(i) is also updated recursively by averaging lmv(i). The averaged neighborhood motion is given by the following equation: ##EQU1## where j is an index value ranging from 1 to i-1, representing the frames prior to the n'th frame.
Once all of the local motion vector outputs lmv(i) are estimated for the n'th frame, the outputs are combined together at 39 to estimate the frame global motion vector, gmv(n). Minimum least-squares (L-S) error parameter fitting is used to combine the motion vector outputs, using three optimization parameters including frame translation (Xn, Yn) and rotation 8n. The weighted L-S gives the local motion vector v(i) which has a larger w(i) more weight than those having smaller w(i). This way, the more reliable local motion vectors v(i) contribute more heavily to the optimization process.
The estimated global motion vector gmv(n) is then used to geometrically transform at 42 the current image frame n to match the orientation of the IR-SC image. If probe rotation is also large, it may be necessary to first rotate the IR-SC image back to a zero degree angle before it can be matched with the current image frame n. This results from the inherent difficulty of accounting for large angular differences between the IR-SC image and the current image frame n within the geometric transformation algorithm, and in some cases may double the geometric transformation computation in certain circumstances.
After geometric transformation, a recursive averaging algorithm 44 is used to spatially compound the current image frame n with the existing IR-SC image. In overlapping area, the new IR-SC image represents the weighted average of the SC image and the current image frame n, in accordance with the following equation:
SC(n)=((1-m) (SC(n-1))+(m Input(n))
where m is a weighting factor, n is the frame number, and Input(n) is the image data representing frame n. The weighting factor m ranges from 0 to 1, and is a function of both the frame number n and the frame motion speed estimated from the image registration algorithm described above, as indicated at 46 of FIG. 4.
FIG. 5 illustrates graphically the determination of the weighting factor m. When the spatial compounding process starts, the weighting factor m is mainly controlled by the image frame number n. For small values of the image number n, the weighting factor m is large, because the current frame should dominate when there has not been too many previous image frames to combine into the IR-SC frame. Conversely, after a large number of image frames, each individual frame should not have too much of an effect on the IR-SC frame. This way, there is a strong compounding effect in the beginning of the scan and the IR-SC image quickly converges to its maximum compounding effect. After a few frames, the weighting factor m becomes smaller and eventually a constant value is used for the weighting factor, which is defined by motion speed. As illustrated in FIG. 5, different values for the constant weighting factor m can be utilized for high speed, low speed and very low speed. The compounding effect is more reliable where there is high or moderate frame motion speed; if the transducer were kept still for several image frames (i.e., zero frame motion speed) the weight from these particular frames should be substantially less so as to not erase the previous IR-SC frame.
It is advantageous to use a constant minimum value for the weighting factor m as the frame motion approaches zero; otherwise, when the frame motion is very slow, the weighting factor m would become smaller and approach zero when the motion is stopped. This adaptive averaging technique not only makes the compounding effect independent from motion speed, but also eliminates the problem of erasing the IR-SC image when the probe motion is virtually stopped. The optimal constant value of the weighting factor m can be readily derived from a consideration of various factors, including the intended frame rate, the imaging depth and the transducer rotation.
After spatial compounding is complete, the image shadowing and speckle is greatly reduced; however, it is desirable to sharpen the IR-SC image to prevent it from having a flat or overly processed appearance. Accordingly, the IR-SC image is passed through a two-dimensional high-pass filter 45 to make image details and edges sharper prior to display. The two-dimensional sharpening filter may have the following structure: ##STR1## where the parameter s ranges from 0 to 1 and is a function of the frame number n. Before applying the two-dimensional filter to the IR-SC image, the filter characteristics should be normalized so that the sum of all its elements equals one. The parameter s controls the filter sharpening performance such that the smaller the parameter s, the sharper the output image. When the spatial compounding scan starts, the frame number n is small and the IR-SC image has more noise. Accordingly, the parameter s should be large to prevent the IR-SC image from over sharpening. Alternatively, the parameter s can be derived from a consideration of various factors, including transducer frequency and scan depth which effect the relative speckle size in the raster image. Higher probe frequency and larger scanning depth make the speckle size smaller (i.e., less pixels per resolution cell). In other words, the filter should also be adaptive to the change of relative resolution cell size.
Finally, the IR-SC image is displayed on a video display terminal 48 or other such device, providing a clear image of the region of interest. Clinical testing of the spatial compounding algorithm has demonstrated that the algorithm yields favorable results in terms of reduction of image speckle. The operator generates the spatially compounded image by moving the transducer back and forth linearly over the region of interest. As the number of frames increases, the quality of the IR-SC image continues to improve until the image speckle decorrelates and fine detail of the region of interest becomes visible.
It should be apparent that the above method and apparatus for generating a spatially compounded image is applicable to both real-time imaging and re-generation of recorded image information. In application, a physician may use a conventional ultrasonic imaging system to produce image frames that are recorded onto a permanent storage medium, such as tape. Subsequently, the image frames could be processed into an spatially compounded image for later viewing by the physician by bringing the recorded image frame data to a viewing station. The viewing station would then process the image frame data by use of the method described above to generate an IR-IR-SC image. It should also be apparent that the method and apparatus of this application are not limited to processing of ultrasonic images, but would be equally applicable to other imaging modalities, such as radar or photographic imaging.
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|U.S. Classification
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|30 Jun 1995
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Former Juventus stopper Mark Iuliano is interesting Lazio.
The veteran is a free agent after being released by Messina over the summer and could provide injury-hit Lazio a stop-gap solution.
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"I love you, Aiden. I love you." "I love you."
technically, Shawn D is older than Brady, but if you add SORAS-ing into the mix, then Brady is older than Shawn D, but not by much.
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Award-Winning Programs
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5th-8th grade girls will have the opportunity to participate in a fun 3-hour website design workshop on Friday, October 23, 2015, from 12-3 PM at Percy Julian Middle School.Read More ›
Spoken Word Launch Q&A with Anne McNamee-Keels
Spoken Word coordinator Anne McNamee-Keels answered a few questions about the program, which will launch in October 2015.Read More ›
NEW - BASE Camp Arboretum Adventures on Monday, Oct 12
Oak Park Education Foundation is excited to introduce BASE Camp's newest offering, Arboretum Adventures.Read More ›
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] All the excitement about nanotechnology comes down to this: Structures of materials at the scale of billionths of a meter take on unusual properties. Technologists often focus on the happier among these newfound capabilities, but new research by an interdisciplinary team of scientists at Brown University finds that nanoparticles of nickel activate a cellular pathway that contributes to cancer in human lung cells.
"Nanotechnology has tremendous potential and promise for many applications," said Agnes Kane, chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. "But the lesson is that we have to learn to be able to design them more intelligently and, if we recognize the potential hazards, to take adequate precautions."
Kane is the senior author of the study published in advance online this month in the journal Toxicological Sciences.
Nickel nanoparticles had already been shown to be harmful, but not in terms of cancer. Kane and her team of pathologists, engineers and chemists found evidence that ions on the surface of the particles are released inside human epithelial lung cells to jumpstart a pathway called HIF-1 alpha. Normally the pathway helps trigger genes that support a cell in times of low oxygen supply, a problem called hypoxia, but it is also known to encourage tumor cell growth.
"Nickel exploits this pathway, in that it tricks the cell into thinking there's hypoxia but it's really a nickel ion that activates this pathway," said Kane, whose work is supported by a National Institues of Health Superfund Research Program Grant. "By activating this pathway it may give premalignant tumor cells a head start."
Size matters
The research team, led by postdoctoral research associate and first author Jodie Pietruska, exposed human lung cells to nanoscale particles of metallic nickel and nickel oxide,
|Contact: David Orenstein
Brown University


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DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids
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July 27, 2006
Chad Simmons
As UGASports.com continues to raise the bar in recruiting coverage, one of the new features we have is the Hot Seat. We sit down with Georgia commitments and ask them questions, tell them phrases, or just say a simple word and ask them to say what first comes to mind. The prospect in the Hot Seat this time is Conrad Obi. Obi is given some tough questions and phrases, but he does a great job. Check out Obi in the Hot Seat inside. ...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now!
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...when I say, God is not in control, of course I'm not saying that, God is not all powerful—I believe God is all powerful. God is all knowing, but what I think many people mistake is the difference between the concept of sovereignty and control. I believe God is sovereign, but not in control, and the reason...control implies: using your power to manipulate people and circumstances to force a desired outcome. And sovereignty is instead having ownership over everything, but working through delegated authority; offering people choices with consequences.—Hill, Craig. It's Supernatural with Sid Roth 2015. http://sidroth.org/television/tv-archives/craig-hill-1 June 5, 2015.
Craig Hill did an excellent job defining and contrasting control and sovereignty, which is an essential understanding.
But Hill should have also elaborated upon divine guidance, which is one key aspect of the ministry of Holy Spirit. And something which the illuminated elites do not have—true divine guidance.
One example is how Holy Spirit led Jesus in the wilderness: And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness...—(Luke 4:1 ESV) So not only did Jesus send Holy Spirit to teach us, but also to sovereignly lead us.


text:
RALPH WALDO EMERSON, the first of American thinkers, was born in the third year of the last century, May 25, 1803, in the "parish house" of the First (Unitarian) Church of Boston, of which his father, William Emerson, was minister. It is the pastime of his biographers to trace back his paternal ancestry through many stalwart and striking figures, mainly clerical, to its first clear emergence into the light of history in the sombre and troubled England of the Puritans and the Stuarts. The source of the family's earliest distinction is one Peter Bulkeley, "Rector of Woodhill or Odell in Bedfordshire," a man of admirable scholarship, piety, and contumacy, who found the breadth of the Atlantic the only adequate symbol of the divergence between his views and those of the dogmatic and despotic Archbishop Laud. Bulkeley came to America in 1634 and founded in the yet virgin wilderness the town of Concord; later on, his race, in the person of a granddaughter, allied itself with the Emersons, a stock in the fame of whose heroism and genius the town and the founder were both to participate.
The race maintained its high tradition in the New World; and its unbroken record of worth and distinc-