text:
Geo-referencing of aerial imagery using embedded image identifiers and cross-referenced data sets
Digital watermarking technology is used in conjunction with map data, such as is acquired by satellite and other aerial sensors, and as may be generated from databases based on such aerial data. The watermarks can be used, e.g., to track meta data, provide serialization and forensic tracing, and various other benefits. The disclosure also contemplates that incoming imagery is automatically geo-referenced and combined with previously-collected data sets so as to facilitate generation of revised composite maps.
[0001] The present invention relates to image management and processing, and is particularly illustrated in the context of near real-time management of satellite and other aerial imagery, and automatic revision of map data based on such imagery.
[0002] Acquisition of aerial imagery traces its history back to the Wright brothers, and is now commonly performed from satellite and space shuttle platforms in addition to aircraft.
[0003] While the earliest aerial imagery relied on conventional film technology, a variety of electronic sensors are now more commonly used. Some collect image data corresponding to specific visible, UV or IR frequency spectra (e.g., the MultiSpectral Scanner and Thematic Mapper used by the Landsat satellites). Others use wide band sensors. Still others use radar or laser systems (sometimes stereo) to sense topological features in 3 dimensions.
[0004] The quality of the imagery has also constantly improved. Some satellite systems are now capable of acquiring image and topological data having a resolution of less than a meter. Aircraft imagery, collected from lower altitudes, provides still greater resolution.
[0005] For expository convenience, the present invention is particularly illustrated in the context of a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). A DEM, essentially, is an "elevation map" of the earth (or part thereof). One popular DEM is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey and details terrain elevations at regularly spaced intervals over most of the U.S. More sophisticated DEM databases are maintained for more demanding applications, and can consider details such as the earth's pseudo pear shape, in addition to more localized features. Resolution of sophisticated DEMs can get well below one meter cross-wise, and down to centimeters or less in actual elevation. DEMs—with their elevation data—are sometimes supplemented by albedo maps (sometimes termed texture maps, or reflectance maps) that detail, e.g., a grey scale value for each pixel in the image, conveying a photographic-like representation of an area.
[0006] There is a large body of patent literature that illustrates DEM systems and technology. For example:
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,405 details a method of generating a Digital Elevation Model from the interference pattern resulting from two co-registered synthetic aperture radar images.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,581 discloses a technique for generating a Digital Elevation Model from two images of ground terrain, by reference to common features in the two images, and registration mapping functions that relate the images to a ground plane reference system.
[0009] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,974,423, 6,023,278 and 6,177,943 disclose techniques by which a Digital Elevation Model can be transformed into polygonal models, thereby reducing storage requirements, and facilitating display in certain graphics display systems.
[0010] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,995,681 and 5,550,937 detail methods for real-time updating of a Digital Elevation Model (or a reference image based thereon), and are particularly suited for applications in which the terrain being mapped is not static but is subject, e.g., to movement or destruction of mapped features. The disclosed arrangement iteratively cross-correlates new image data with the reference image, automatically adjusting the geometry model associated with the image sensor, thereby accurately co-registering the new image relative to the reference image. Areas of discrepancy can be quickly identified, and the DEM/reference image can be updated accordingly.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,972 details how interferometric synthetic aperture radar data can be used to generate a Digital Elevation Model.
[0012] From systems such as the foregoing, and others, a huge quantity of aerial imagery is constantly being collected. Management and coordination of the resulting large data sets is a growing problem.
[0013] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, digital watermarking technology is employed to help track such imagery, and can also provide audit trail, serialization, anti-copying, and other benefits.
[0014] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, incoming imagery is automatically geo-referenced and combined with previously-collected data sets so as to facilitate generation of up-to-date DEMs and maps.
[0015] The foregoing and additional features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description.
[0016] (For expository convenience, the following specification focuses on satellite "imagery" to illustrate the principles of the invention. The principles of the invention, however, are equally applicable to other forms of aerial surveillance data and other topographic/mapping information. Accordingly, the term "image" should be used to encompass all such other data sets, and the term "pixel" should be construed to encompass component data from such other data sets.)
[0017] When new aerial imagery is received, it is generally necessary to identify the precise piece of earth to which it corresponds. This operation, termed "georeferencing" or "geocoding," can be a convoluted art and science.
[0018] In many systems, the georeferencing begins with a master reference system (e.g., latitude and longitude) that takes into account the earth's known deformities from a sphere. Onto this reference system the position of the depicted region is inferred, e.g., by consideration of the satellite's position and orientation (ephemeris data), optical attributes of the satellite's imaging system, and models of the dispersion/refraction introduced by the earth's atmosphere.
[0019] In applications where precise accuracy is required, the foregoing, "ephemeris," position determination is refined by comparing features in the image with the placement of known features on the earth's surface (e.g., buildings and other man-placed objects, geological features, etc.) and compensating the georeference determination accordingly. Thus, for example, if the actual latitude and longitude of a building is known (e.g., by measurement from a ground survey—"ground truth"), and the corresponding latitude and longitude of that building as indicated in the georeferenced satellite imagery is different, the reference system applied to the satellite data can be altered to achieve a match. (Commonly, three or more such ground truth points are used so as to assure accurate correction.)
[0020] Ground-truthing is a tedious undertaking. While computer methods can be used to facilitate the process, the best ground truth correction of imagery generally requires some human involvement. This is impractical for many applications.
[0021] Let us consider the basic principle of cost/meter as a useful metric, and imagine that various applications for exploiting satellite data are willing to pay different amounts in order to achieve given levels of geocoding accuracy. The following disclosure hypothesizes that there are ways (possibly novel, alluding to the idea that the author lacks detailed knowledge of the state of the art, and presumes no novelty nor lack thereof) to utilize all collected satellite data, properly identified and stored as a huge intercorrelated reference system—itself anchored by ground truth data—as a means to automatically geocode incoming raw pixels to the massive overall data set. The accuracy of this automated geocoding would hopefully be higher than that obtainable from ephemeris-type systems alone, but would probably be less accurate than "manually instigated" precision geocoding based directly on ground truth. The hope and goal would be that a lower core cost/meter geocoding accuracy could be achieved.
[0022] Such a system may involve the following elemental components:
[0023] 1) An ideal sphere with an arbitrary time origin (as the starting point for the DEM model)
[0024] 2) A time-evolving DEM
[0025] 3) A time-evolving master-correlate albedo texture map
[0026] 3A) A finite layered index map, organizing current raw data contributors to map
[0027] 4) Ground Truth Data
[0028] 5) Nominal ephemeris data per contiguous datastream
[0029] The ongoing automation process includes:
[0030] 1) Creating initial sphere, DEM, and texture map using existing ground truth
[0031] 2) Creating a layered index map
[0032] 3) Each newly acquired datastream is cloud-masked, DEM-projection-and refraction-corrected
[0033] 4) The masked-corrected data—using nominal ephemeris data as a starting point—is correlated to a master DEM/albedo map, itself projected along nominal ephemeris
[0034] 5) The quality of the new data is evaluated, and incrementally added to the master albedo map and index map if it is deemed acceptable
[0035] 5A) a pseudo infinite impulse response (based on time and quality of data) in coming up with current albedo map pixel value (omnidirectional pixel value)
[0036] At the core of building the albedo-map (and also the DEM) is the need to always track its inputs for several reasons:
[0037] redundant checking for accuracy and veracity of inputs;
[0038] indexing of what data is contributing to the master albedo map;
[0039] coordination of data from similar or even vastly different sources, all contributing to either the master maps or to existing relational databases.
[0040] As detailed below, watermarking can play an important role in the achieving these objects.
[0041] The foregoing will be clearer from the following.
[0042] Consider an illustrative DEM system with a 10 meter horizontal resolution, and featuring continual refresh and georeferencing. At two bytes per pixel, and a model size of 4M by 2M pixels, the model comprises 16 Terabytes of data. The albedo map is on the same order of resolution, with the same data storage requirements. The database storing this information desirably is arranged to easily graph necessary correlation scenes.
[0043] Presume an existing master DEM and albedo map. These may have been formed by a dozen or more redundant component data sets (e.g., aerial images, ground surveys), acquired over the previous days, months or years, that have been composited together to yield the final DEM/map ("model").
[0044] Now imagine a new satellite image is acquired corresponding to part of the region represented by the master model. The particular terrain depicted by the satellite image can be inferred from ephemeris and other factors, as noted above. By such techniques, the location of the depicted image on the earth's surface (e.g., the latitude and longitude of a point at the center of the image) may be determined within an error of, say 5-500 meters. This is a gross geo-referencing operation.
[0045] Next a fine geo-referencing operation is automatically performed, as follows. An excerpt of the master model is retrieved from the database—large enough to encompass the new image and its possible placement error (e.g., an area centered on the same latitude/longitude, but extending 250 meters further at each edge). A projective image is formed from this master DEM/map excerpt, considering, e.g., the satellite's position and atmospheric effects, thereby simulating how the master model would look to the satellite, taking into account—where possible—the particular data represented by the satellite image, e.g., the frequency bands imaged, etc. (The albedo map may be back-projected on the 3D DEM data in some arrangements to augment the realism of the projective image.)
[0046] The projective image formed from the master DEM/map excerpt differs somewhat from the image actually acquired by the satellite. This difference is due, in part, to the error in the gross geo-referencing. (Other differences may arise, e.g., by physical changes in the region depicted since the master DEM/map was compiled.)
[0047] The projective image is next automatically correlated with the satellite image. A variety of known mathematical techniques can be utilized in this operation, including dot product computation, transforming to spatial frequency domain, convolution, etc. In a lay sense, the correlation can be imagined as sliding one map over the other until the best registration between the two images is obtained.
[0048] From the correlation operation, the center-to-center offset between the excerpt of the master DEM/map, and the satellite image, is determined. The satellite image can thereby be accurately placed in the context of the master model. Depending on system parameters, a fine placement accuracy of, e.g., between 5 cm and 5 meters (i.e., sub-pixel accuracy) may be achieved.
[0049] (In some embodiments, affine transformations can be applied to the satellite data to further enhance the correlation. E.g., particular geological or other features in the two data sets can be identified, and the satellite data (e.g., map or image) can then be affine-transformed so that these features correctly register.)
[0050] With the satellite image thus finely geo-referenced to the master DEM/map, it can be transformed (e.g., resampled) as necessary to correspond to the (typically rectilinear) reference system used in the master model, and then used to refine the data represented in the model. Buildings or other features newly depicted in the satellite image, for example, can be newly represented in the master model. The master model can be similarly updated to account for erosion and other topological changes revealed by the new satellite image.
[0051] Part of the finely geo-referenced satellite data may be discarded and not added to the master model, e.g., due to cloud cover or other obscuring phenomena. The remaining data is assessed for its relative quality, and this assessment is used in determining the relative weight that will be given the new satellite data in updating the master model.
[0052] In one embodiment, the finely geo-referenced satellite data is segmented into regions, e.g., rectangular patches corresponding to terrain 1000 meters on a side, and each patch is given its own weighting factor, etc. In a system with 10 meter resolution (i.e., a pixel size of 10 m2, the patch thus comprises an array of 100×100 pixels. (In some embodiments, the fine geo-referencing is done following the segmentation of the image, with each patch separately correlated with a corresponding area in the master model.) Each patch may take the form of a separate data file.
[0053] When the new satellite data is added to update the master model, old data may be discarded so that it no longer influences the model. Consider an area that is imaged monthly by a satellite. Several months' worth of image data may be composited to yield the master model (e.g., so cloud cover that obscured a region in the latest fly-over does not leave part of the model undefined). As each component image data gets older, it may be given less and less weight, until it no longer forms any part of the master model. (Other component data, in contrast, may be retained for much longer periods of time. Map information collected by ground surveys or other forms of "ground truth" information may fall into this category.)
[0054] The master model may be physically maintained in different ways. In one exemplary arrangement, a database stores the ten sets of data (e.g., acquired from different sources, or at different times) for each 1000×1000 meter patch. When interrogated to produce a map or other data, the database recalls the 10 data sets for each patch, and combines them on the fly according to associated weighting factors and other criteria (e.g., viewing angle) to yield a net representation for that patch. This composite patch is then combined (e.g., graphically stitched) with other adjoining, similarly-formed composite patches, to yield a data set representing the desired area.
[0055] In another embodiment, the component sets of image data are not separately maintained. Rather, each new set of image data is used to update a stored model. If the new image data is of high quality (e.g., good atmospheric seeing conditions, and acquired with a high resolution imaging device), then the new data may be combined with the existing model with a 20/80 weighting (i.e., the existing model is given a weight four-times that of the new data). If the new image data is of low quality, it may be combined with the existing model with a 5/95 weighting. The revised model is then stored, and the new data needn't thereafter be tracked.
[0056] (The foregoing examples are gross simplifications, but serve to illustrate a range of approaches.)
[0057] The former arrangement—with the component data stored—is preferred for many applications, since the database can be queried to yield different information. For example, the database can be queried to generate a synthesized image of terrain as it would look at a particular time of day, imaged in a specified IR frequency band, from a specified vantage point.
[0058] It will be recognized that a key requirement—especially of the former arrangement—is a sophisticated data management system. For each data set representing a component 1000×1000 meter patch stored in the database, a large quantity of ancillary data (meta data) must be tracked. Among this meta data may be a weighting factor (e.g., based on seeing conditions and sensor attributes), an acquisition date and time (from which an age-based weighting factor may be determined), the ID of the sensor/satellite that acquired that data, ephemeris data from the time of acquisition, the frequency band imaged, the geo-referenced position of the patch (e.g., latitude/longitude), etc., etc. (Much of this data may be common to all patches from a single image.)
[0059] Classically, each component source of data to the system (here referred to as an "image" for expository convenience) is associated with a unique identifier. Tapes and data files, for example, may have headers in which this identifier is stored. The header may also include all of the meta data that is to be associated with that file. Or the identifier can identify a particular database record at which the corresponding meta data is stored. Or hybrid approaches can be used (e.g., the header can include a file identifier that identifies a data base record, but also includes data specifying the date/time of data acquisition).
[0060] In the final analysis, any form of very reliable image identification may suffice for use in such a system. The header approach just-discussed is straightforward. Preferable, however, is to embed one or more identifiers directly into the image data itself (i.e., "in band" steganographic encoding using digital watermarking). A well-designed watermarking name-space can in fact become a supra-structure over several essentially independent serial numbering systems already in use across a range of satellite sources. Moreover, rudimentary georeferencing information can actually be embedded within the watermark name-space.
[0061] For example, on initial acquisition, an initial watermark can be applied to satellite imagery detailing the ephemeris based gross georeferencing. Once the image has been finely georeferenced, the existing watermark can either be overlaid or overwritten with a new watermark containing the georeferencing information (e.g., "center lat: N34.4324352, long: W87.2883134; rot from N/S: 3.232; x2.343, y2.340, dx0.123, dy493, etc."). These numbers essentially encode georeferencing info including projective and atmospheric distortions, such that when this image is DEM-projection corrected, high accuracy should be achieved.
[0062] Another way to explain the need for watermarking might be the following: Pity the first grade teacher who has a class of young upstarts who demand a lengthy dissertation on why they should simply put their names on their papers. The uses defy even common sense arguments, and it is no different with watermarks . . . sear in a serial number and just keep track of it.
[0063] The assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,403, and pending application Ser. No. 09/503,881, detail suitable digital watermarking techniques in which values of pixels, e.g., in a 100×100 pixel patch, can be slightly altered so as to convey a plural-bit payload, without impairing use of the pixel data for its intended purpose. The payload may be on the order of 50-250 bits, depending on the particular form of encoding (e.g., convolution, turbo, or BCH coding can be employed to provide some error-correcting capability), and the number of bits per pixel. Larger payloads can be conveyed through larger image patches. (Larger payloads can also be conveyed by encoding the information is a less robust fashion, or by making the encoding more relatively visible.)
[0064] The watermark payload can convey an image identifier, and may convey other meta data as well. In some systems, the component image files are tagged both by digital watermark identifiers and also by conventional out-of-band techniques, such as header data, thereby affording data redundancy.
[0065] Watermarking may be performed in stages, at different times. For example, an identifier can be watermarked into an image relatively early in the process, and other information (such as finely geo-referenced latitude/longitude) can be watermarked later. A single watermark can be used, with different payload bits written at different times. (In watermark systems employing pseudo-random data or noise (PN), e.g., to randomize some aspect of the payload's encoding, the same PN data can be used at both times, with different payload bits encoded at the different times.)
[0066] Alternatively, different watermarks can be applied to convey different data. The watermarks can be of the same general type (e.g., PN based, but using different PN data). Or different forms of watermark can be used (e.g., one that encodes by adding an overlay signal to a representation of the image in the pixel domain, another that encodes by slightly altering DCT coefficients corresponding to the image in a spatial frequency domain, and another that encodes by slightly altering wavelet coefficients corresponding to the image).
[0067] In some multiple-watermarking approaches, a first watermark is applied before the satellite image is segmented into patches. A later watermark can be applied after segmentation. (The former watermark is typically designed so as to be detectable from even small excerpts of the original image.)
[0068] A watermark can be applied by the imaging instrument. In some embodiments, the image is acquired through an LCD optical shutter, or other programmable optical device, that imparts an inconspicuous patterning to the image as it is captured. (One particular optical technique for watermark encoding is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,369.) Or the watermarking can be effected by systems in the satellite that process the acquired data prior to transmission to a ground station. In some systems, the image data is compressed for transmission—discarding information that is not important. The compression algorithm can discard information in a manner calculated so that the remaining data is thereby encoded with a watermark.
[0069] The ground station receiving the satellite transmission can likewise apply a watermark to the image data. So can each subsequent system through which the data passes.
[0070] As indicated, the watermark(s) can identify the imaging system, the date/time of data acquisition, satellite ephemeris data, the identity of intervening systems through which the data passed, etc. One or more watermarks can stamp the image with unique identifiers used in subsequent management of the image data, or in management of meta data associated with the image.
[0071] A watermark can also serve a function akin to a hyperlink, e.g., as detailed in application Ser. No. 09/571,422. For example, a user terminal can permit an operator to right-click on a region of interest in a displayed image. In response, the system can respond with a menu of options—one of which is Link Through Watermark(s). If the user selects this option, a watermark detection function is invoked that decodes a watermark payload from the displayed image (or from a portion of the image in which the operator clicked). Using data from the decoded watermark payload, the terminal interrogates a database for a corresponding record. That record can return to the terminal certain stored information relating to the displayed image. For example, the database can present on the terminal screen a listing of hyperlinks leading to other images depicting the same area. By clicking on such a link, the corresponding image is displayed. Or the database can present, on the user terminal screen, the meta-data associated with the image.
[0072] In some embodiments, watermarks in component images may carry-through into the master DEM/map representation. If an excerpt of the master DEM/map is displayed, the user may invoke the Link Through Watermark(s) function. Corresponding options may be presented. For example, the user may be given the option of viewing each of the component images/data sets that contributed to the portion of the master model being viewed.
[0073] (It will be recognized that a variety of user interface techniques other than right-clicking, and selecting from a menu of options thereby displayed, can be employed. That interface is illustrative only.)
[0074] In some embodiments, a watermark can be applied to each DEM/map from the master database as it is retrieved and output to the user. The watermark can indicate (i.e., by direct encoding, or by pointing to a database record) certain data related to the compiled data set, such as the date/time of creation, the ID of the person who queried the database, the component datasets used in preparing the output data, the database used in compiling the output data, etc. Thereafter, if this output data is printed, or stored for later use, the watermark persists, permitting this information to be later ascertained.
[0075] Watermarks can be applied to any data set (e.g., a satellite image, or a map generated from the master database) for forensic tracking purposes. This is particularly useful where several copies of the same data set are distributed through different channels (e.g., provided to different users). Each can be "serialized" with a different identifier, and a record can be kept of which numbered data set was provided to which distribution channel. Thereafter, if one of the data sets appears in an unexpected context, it can be tracked back to the distribution channel from which it originated.
[0076] Some watermarks used in the foregoing embodiments can be "fragile." That is, they can be designed to be lost, or to degrade predictably, when the data set into which it is embedded is processed in some manner. Thus, for example, a fragile watermark may be designed so that if an image is JPEG compressed and then decompressed, the watermark is lost. Or if the image is printed, and subsequently scanned back into digital form, the watermark is corrupted in a foreseeable way. (Fragile watermark technology is disclosed, e.g., in applications Ser. Nos. 09/234,780, 09/433,104, 09/498,223, 60/198,138, 09/562,516, 09/567,405, 09/625,577, 09/645,779, and 60/232,163.) By such arrangements it is possible to infer how a data set has been processed by the attributes of a fragile watermark embedded in the original data set.
[0077] Assuming that early testing proves out that the addition of "watermarking energy" into the normal workflow of satellite imaging systems does not materially disturb the function of most of the output of that system, nevertheless certain "watermark removal" tools can be built to alleviate any problems in cases where unacceptable impact is identified. This can either be a generic tool or one highly specialized to the particular application at hand (perhaps employing secret data associated with that application). In a second generation system (without too much fanfare) a fairly simple "remove watermark before analyzing this scene" function could be automatically included within analysis software such that 99% of image analysts wouldn't know or care about the watermarking on/off/on/off functionality as a function of use/transport.
[0078] As will be apparent, the technology detailed herein may be employed in reconnaissance and remote sensing systems, as well as in applications such as guidance of piloted or remotely piloted vehicles.
[0079] To provide a comprehensive disclosure without unduly lengthening this specification, applicant incorporates by reference, in their entireties, the disclosures of the above-cited patents and applications.
[0080] It should be understood that the technology detailed herein can be applied in the applications detailed in the cited DEM patents, as well as in other mapping and image (or audio or video or other content) asset management contexts. (Likewise, the technologies detailed in the cited patents can be advantageously used in embodiments according to the present invention.)
[0081] While particular reference was made to Digital Elevation Models and albedo maps, the same principles are likewise applicable to other forms of maps, e.g., vegetative, population, thermal, etc., etc.
[0082] While the illustrated embodiment correlated the incoming imagery with a projective image based on the master DEM/map, in other embodiments a reference other than the master DEM/map may be used. For example, a projection based just on part of the historical data from which the DEM/map was compiled can be used (e.g., one or more component data sets that are regarded as having the highest accuracy, such as based directly on ground truths).
[0083] Although not belabored, artisans will understand that the systems described above can be implemented using a variety of hardware and software systems. One embodiment employs a computer or workstation with a large disk library, and capable database software (such as is available from Microsoft, Oracle, etc.). The registration, watermarking, and other operations can be performed in accordance with software instructions stored in the disk library or on other storage media, and executed by a processor in the computer as needed. (Alternatively, dedicated hardware, or programmable logic circuits, can be employed for such operations.)
[0084] Certain of the techniques detailed above find far application beyond the context in which they are illustrated. For example, equipping an imaging instrument with an optical shutter that impart a watermark to an image finds application in digital cinema (e.g., in watermarking a theatrical movie with information indicating the theatre, date, time, and auditorium of screening).
[0085] In view of the wide variety of embodiments to which the principles and features discussed above can be applied, it should be apparent that the detailed embodiments are illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. Rather, I claim as my invention all such modifications as may come within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereof. (For expository convenience, the term "map" as used in the claim should be construed to encompass terrain models, such as DEMs.)
1. In a method of compiling satellite imagery and generating a map therefrom, an improvement comprising:
- watermarking image data acquired by a satellite;
- storing the watermarked image data in a database;
- generating a map from the database; and
- watermarking the map.
2. In a method of generating a digital map from a database containing data from a plurality of aerial sources, an improvement comprising watermarking the map.
3. The method of claim 2 in which the watermarking encodes, or points, to information that is also conveyed with said map in the form of header data.
4. The method of claim 2 in which the watermark permits later identification of the data sources used in generating the map.
5. The method of claim 2 in which the watermark comprises, or serves as a link to, an image identifier.
6. The method of claim 2 in which the watermark comprises, or links to, data identifying at least one of the following: component maps used in forming said digital map, the date of digital map creation, an identifier corresponding to a person who created the digital map, an identifier corresponding to a person to whom the digital map was provided.
7. The method of claim 2 in which the watermark is designed to be lost, or degrade predictably, when the map is processed in a particular manner.
8. A database storing plural sets of component map data, from which a composite map formed using said component map data can be formed, characterized in that said plural sets of component map data each are encoded with a different watermark, said watermark encoding, or linking to, meta data associated with each said component map data.
Patent History
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 5, 2001
Publication Date: Sep 5, 2002
Patent Grant number: 7061510
Inventor: Geoffrey B. Rhoads (West Linn, OR)
Application Number: 09800093
International Classification: G09G005/00; H04L009/00; G06F017/00; G06F007/00;


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UCL Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates (UPCs) are intensive one-year foundation courses for international students of high academic potential who are aiming to gain access to undergraduate degree programmes at UCL and other top UK universities.
Typical UPC students will be high achievers in a 12-year school system which does not meet the standard required for direct entry to UCL.
For more information see: www.ucl.ac.uk/upc.
English language requirements
If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency. Information about the evidence required, acceptable qualifications and test providers can be found on our English language requirements page.
The English language level for this programme is: Advanced
A variety of English language programmes are offered at the UCL Centre for Languages & International Education.
Degree benefits
UCL is ranked in the top three universities in the UK for Classics by the Guardian University Guide 2018.
You will have access to an unparalleled range of optional modules, from Roman Love Poetry to Greek Palaeography, from Ancient Greek Religion to Roman Epic.
UCL has excellent library facilities, and is ideally situated close to world-renowned resources such as the British Museum, the British Library, and the Institute of Classical Studies.
The lively student-run Classical Society organises an annual Classics play (a Greek or Latin drama in translation) shown at the nearby Bloomsbury Theatre, as well as other events.
Degree structure
In each year of your degree you will take a number of individual modules, normally valued at 15 or 30 credits, adding up to a total of 120 credits for the year. Modules are assessed in the academic year in which they are taken. The balance of compulsory and optional modules varies from programme to programme and year to year. A 30-credit module is considered equivalent to 15 credits in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).
The main emphasis of the programme is on the study of Greek and Latin texts in the original language. The choice of optional modules is very wide, but the language element follows a set pattern.
You must take at least 1.0 credit of Greek-based modules and at least 1.0 credit of Latin-based modules in your first year, and can then concentrate on Greek-based modules in your second and final years.
In addition, there are some compulsory modules in the first and second years involving texts in translation.
An indicative guide to the structure of this programme, year by year.
Core or compulsory module(s)
1.0 credit of Greek-based modules
1.0 credit of Latin-based modules
Interpreting Greek Literature
Interpreting Latin Literature
Optional modules
You will select 1.0 credit from a wide range of optional modules.
Core or compulsory module(s)
2.0 credits of Greek-based modules
Classics and Literary Theory
Optional modules
You will select 1.5 credits from a wide range of optional modules.
Year abroad
Year abroad at an approved university.
Core or compulsory module(s)
2.0 credits of Greek-based modules
Optional modules
You will select 2.0 credits from a wide range of optional modules.
Your learning
You will be taught through lectures, seminars and small-group work. Some sessions involve direct study of artefacts, including access to the collections of the British Museum.
Most modules combine both continuous assessment and end-of-year written examinations, although a few modules are assessed solely by one or other of these methods.
Detailed course descriptions are available on the department website: Greek with Latin with Study Abroad BA.
Knowledge of languages such as Greek and Latin will help you to develop mental agility and versatility, equipping you with the ability (amongst other things) to learn modern languages with comparative ease, opening up a wider range of possibilities in the future.
The Greek with Latin with Study Abroad BA is a rigorous and broad-ranging degree which qualifies you for a remarkably wide variety of jobs. The Classical Society hosts regular talks from former students which may help guide you in your future career choices.
Career destinations in recent years have included: graduate study, teaching, law, computing, accountancy, marketing, banking, music (classical and popular), acting, the media, business, the voluntary sector, local government and politics.
UCL is commited to helping you get the best start after graduation. Read more about how UCL Careers and UCL Innovation and Enterprise can help you find employment or learn about entrepreneurship.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
The fees indicated are for undergraduate entry in the 2019/20 academic year. The UK/EU fees shown are for the first year of the programme at UCL only. Fees for future years may be subject to an inflationary increase. The Overseas fees shown are the fees that will be charged to 2019/20 entrants for each year of study on the programme, unless otherwise indicated below.
- UK/EU students
- £9,250 (2019/20)
- Overseas students
- £19,970 (2019/20)
Full details of UCL's tuition fees, tuition fee policy and potential increases to fees can be found on the UCL Students website.
Additional costs
If you are concerned by potential additional costs for books, equipment, etc. on this programme, please get in touch with the relevant departmental contact (details given on this page).
Various funding options are available, including student loans, scholarships and bursaries. UK students whose household income falls below a certain level may also be eligible for a non-repayable bursary or for certain scholarships. Please see the Fees and funding pages for more details.
Additional costs
If you are concerned by potential additional costs for books, equipment, etc. on this programme, please get in touch with the relevant departmental contact (details given on this page).
Departmental scholarships
Funding opportunities relevant to the department may appear in this section when they are available. Please check carefully or confirm with the programme contact to ensure they apply to this degree programme.
The Scholarships and Funding website lists scholarships and funding schemes available to UCL students. These may be open to all students, or restricted to specific nationalities, regions or academic department.
Application and next steps
Your application
Entry to the degree is competitive so it is important you highlight your interest in and passion for the subject in your application. In addition to meeting the academic standards stated, we look for dedication and self-motivation, good communication skills and a real enthusiasm for your chosen area of study.
How to apply
Application for admission should be made through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). Applicants currently at school or college will be provided with advice on the process; however, applicants who have left school or who are based outside the United Kingdom may obtain information directly from UCAS.
Application deadline: 15 January 2019
Each application is carefully assessed. Those candidates being considered for an offer will be invited to an applicant open day, which will include a lunch with staff and current students where you can discuss the degree programme, living in London and studying at UCL, and take a tour of the campus.
For further information on UCL's selection process see: Selection of students.


text:
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text: HKSS.com | Community > Discussion Forum > View topic - News Corp (parent of NDS) acquires MySpace.com Home Community Superstars Music | What's New | Help HKSS | Search* Discussions | HKE Chat | Reflections of Life | Virtual Cards | Member Galleries Please excuse our mess. HKSS is currently under re-construction and some links/sections don't work yet. What's New: Latest updates | Member Galleries | Music | HKE Chat | About HKSS.com Community Discussions HKE Chat Reflections of Life Member Galleries Virtual Cards* Play Music Superstars Profiles* Galleries* Reviews Gossip & News Other Privacy Policy Terms of Use Link to HKSS* HKSS.com What's New About Contact* Advertise* Help HKSS Links YesAsia yuenStudios Do you like HKSS? My Watched Topics | My Favorites | My Profile Private IMs Register Log in Help | Stats | Members | Groups Search Forum News Corp (parent of NDS) acquires MySpace.com HKSS.com Forum Index -> Gossip and News View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message Mikey_Life is good. Be inspired.Joined: 04 Oct 2003Posts: 1322Location: Fountain Valley, California (USA) Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:09 am Post subject: News Corp (parent of NDS) acquires MySpace.com I did NOT expect this at all, but my work's parent company has recently purchased MySpace.com: News Corp in $580m internet buy News Corp, the company run by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has made one of its first major internet purchases. It has bought Intermix Media, owner of Myspace.com, the fifth most-viewed internet domain in the US and owner of other sites for $580m (?332.85m). Mr Murdoch says the networking site will drive traffic to his Fox TV sites. Last week the company set up a new internet unit. Mr Murdoch has said that newspapers have been slow to respond to competition from the internet. Advertising advantage "With a significant amount of advertising dollars moving from traditional outlets to online, News Corp, like most media companies, is looking to boost its internet assets," Alan Gould, an analyst at Natexis Bleichroeder, told Reuters. The US market for internet advertising is growing at 15% in 2005, according to media buyers Universal McCann. Myspace.com users connect to the site for dating, making friends, professional networking and sharing interests. Earlier this year, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer accused Intermix of deceptive business practices, including the use of spyware that delivered pop-up adverts and redirected users to its search engine. Intermix agreed to pay $7.9m to settle the suit but did not admit wrongdoing. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/4695495.stm Michael Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First HKSS.com Forum Index -> Gossip and News All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Entertainment----------------All EntertainmentReviewsGossip and NewsIdol DiscussionsMusicMoviesTV Shows Non-Entertainment----------------General DiscussionsNew MembersFun and GamesReflections of LifeHobbies, TravelFood and CookingHelp!Websites HKSS.com----------------Announcements/ What's New?Help HKSS.comFeedback/ Contact HKSS.comWishlist You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Back to top Copyright © 1996-2014 HKSS.com™. All Rights Reserved. About | Link to HKSS.com | Advertise | Contact | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use Information and images accessed from this site are protected by international copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. You may infringe these rights if you download, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, or exploit such content without the explicit consent of HKSS.com. > Site design by yuenStudios.com (2006)


text:
Every afternoon at about four, a slight woman named Runi slips out of the cramped, airless room that she shares with her husband and their sixteen children. She skirts the drainage ditch in front of the building, then walks toward the pile of hardened dung cakes that people in this slum on the edge of the northeastern Indian city of Patna use for fuel. Dressed in a bright-yellow sari shot with gold threads, Runi is followed by several of her children. Although she can't remember their ages, or her own, Runi must be about forty, because she dates her life from its first crucial memory: the smallpox epidemic that devastated Patna and much of surrounding Bihar province in 1974.
Runi survived that plague, and several others, but, about a year ago, after developing a persistent cough, she visited one of the private medical clinics that line the streets of Patna. There someone who called himself a doctor stuck a needle in her arm, drew a few drops of blood, examined them, and told her that she had tuberculosis. It is not an uncommon diagnosis. Tuberculosis has always been the signature disease of urban poverty, passed easily in poorly ventilated spaces. India has nearly two million new cases each year, and every day a thousand people die of the disease, the highest number in the world. Tuberculosis is also the leading cause of death among people between fifteen and forty-five—the most productive age group in any country and the key to India's prospects for continued economic growth.
For most patients, the choices are bleak. Public hospitals are so overcrowded that people are forced to rely on inaccurate tests dispensed at private labs and clinics. They are unregulated enterprises, and peddle blood tests that are responsible for tens of thousands of misdiagnoses every year. "This is deadly," L. S. Chauhan, the director of the National TB Control Program, told me when we met in New Delhi. "But there are thousands of labs. Shut one down and the next day ten more appear."
Runi's test was indeed worthless. It determined the presence of antibodies, which show that a body's immune system has begun to respond to an infection. But most TB infections are latent: no more than ten per cent will ever cause illness. This means that ninety per cent of people with antibodies for TB in their blood don't have the disease. Runi's cough was clearly caused by something else.
Vaccines and antibiotics have long been seen as touchstones of medical progress. To stop tuberculosis, however, particularly in the developing world, an accurate diagnostic exam is needed even more. In India, China, and Africa, at least two billion people have latent infections. Yet every day thousands are told, mistakenly, that they are sick and need treatment. That's what happened to Runi. Soon after she received her diagnosis, Runi began a regimen of powerful (and toxic) drugs provided by the public-health service, and she stuck to the program for the required six months. Not long after finishing, however, she started to feel worse than she ever had before. "This is the tragedy of our TB-control program,'' Shamim Mannan said as we watched Runi's children play. Mannan, who is from Assam, a few hundred miles from Patna, serves as the Indian government's chief TB consultant in the region.
"Officially, she is cured,'' he said. "But how would we know? She took a test that showed she had the antibody for TB in her blood. So do I. So do five hundred million Indians." As Runi stooped to gather fuel for the stove, she began to cough, lightly at first and then with alarming force. Every cough sounded as if somebody had shattered a pane of glass.
"Now she really is sick,'' he continued, explaining that Runi's TB was no longer dormant, and that taking drugs when they are not necessary often makes them ineffective when they are. "This is what happens when tests mislead us. She will need the drugs again. If they don't work properly, she will be in real trouble. She has almost certainly infected some of her children. That makes everything harder, more expensive, more painful.''
Tuberculosis strikes vulnerable people with special ferocity. Victims are seized by severe night sweats, wasted by fatigue, and punished by the blood-tinged cough that is the disease's defining symbol. In most cases, tuberculosis affects the lungs, but it can invade almost any organ of the body. When an infectious person coughs, sneezes, spits, or even shouts, he sends minute particles of sputum, or phlegm, into the air—exposing anyone nearby. For many years, the disease, which is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, was referred to as "consumption," because without effective treatment patients often wasted away.
To fight the infection, the body's immune system forms a scar around the TB bacteria which serves as a kind of moat. Afterward, the bacteria lie dormant and cannot spread or infect others. But immune systems fail, and when that happens TB can move from the lungs to the bloodstream and then to the kidneys, the brain, and other organs. (That's why in patients with H.I.V., which ravages the cells that the body uses to defend itself, tuberculosis becomes particularly deadly.) The only way to cure the disease is with a combination of antibiotics. The treatment lasts six months because the drugs work only when the TB bacteria—which grow slowly—are dividing.
For centuries, tuberculosis has been the source of misguided stereotypes, including the association of consumption with creativity and brilliance. "Doctors suspect that tuberculosis develops genius,'' a 1940 article in Time pointed out, "because 1) apprehension of death inspires a burning awareness of life's beauty, significance, transience, 2) the bacillus breeds restlessness and an intoxicated hypersensitiveness." Keats, Chekhov, the Brontë sisters, and George Orwell—who was born not far from Patna, where his father managed the regional opium trade—all died of the disease.
Nonetheless, tuberculosis has always taken its most serious toll on the industrial-labor class—not on artists. The rise of industry throughout the world has been mirrored uncannily by a rise in deaths from tuberculosis. It was the leading cause of death in Europe and the United States from the eighteenth century into the twentieth. Then prosperity—rather than medicine—drove the rate of infection down. As a society becomes richer, the conditions that allow tuberculosis to flourish start to wane. Sanitation and housing improve and so does nutrition. By the nineteen-fifties, very few people in the West were dying of the disease.
In the developing world, though, tuberculosis has surged dangerously, and this year, according to the World Health Organization, there will be ten million new cases, the largest number in history. As people join the great migrations from villages to crowded cities, slum life and tuberculosis await them. With India's urban population expected to double in the next thirty years, to seven hundred million, its cities will remain fertile ground for an infectious epidemic. Yet—no doubt owing to the fact that rich people in the West rarely get the disease—tuberculosis receives fewer resources, fewer research dollars, and less attention from the global health community than either AIDS or malaria—the two other most deadly infectious diseases. TB activists don't march on Washington or chain themselves to the gates of pharmaceutical firms to demand better treatment.
Tuberculosis can be cured, but taking several antibiotics nearly every day for six months is not easy, particularly in parts of the world without running water or refrigeration. In 1994, the W.H.O. instituted a program called DOTS, which stands for "directly observed treatment, short course." DOTS requires health workers to provide medicine—and then to watch people swallow it every day until they complete their treatment. Compliance is essential, because stopping treatment in the middle permits the most resilient strains of the bacteria to thrive, greatly increasing the chance that they will become resistant to basic, inexpensive drugs.
Thirty-six million people have received care under the DOTS program, eight million of whom would have died without it. It has been a triumph by any measure. Even DOTS, though, has not been able to keep the disease from spreading. That is largely because there is no cheap, reliable test that can determine who is sick and who is not.
Blood tests, like the one Runi had, often do more harm than good. One recent study found that Indians undergo more than 1.5 million useless TB tests of this kind every year. Other approaches are almost as unreliable. Examining a person's sputum—a diagnostic procedure that was developed more than a century ago—remains the most common way to detect the infection. It is a laborious process. Technicians smear the sputum on a slide and then place the specimen under a microscope. The instructions are comically complex. "Spread sputum on the slide using a broomstick,'' a typical recipe, posted on the wall of a clinic in Patna, begins. "Allow the slide to air dry for fifteen to thirty minutes. Fix the slide by passing it over a flame from three to five times for three to four seconds each time.'' If the slide isn't held over the flame long enough, false stains will appear—suggesting that people are sick when they are not. Hold the slide too long, though, and the stain will disappear and show nothing at all. The results are accurate little more than half the time.
"You can treat a lot of people, and India has,'' said Madhukar Pai, an epidemiologist at McGill University and the co-chairman of the international group that assesses new diagnostics for the Stop TB Partnership. "But if you have tests that cause misdiagnosis on a massive scale you are going to have a serious problem. And they do."
Medicine rarely provides magic bullets, but, for the first time, a technology has been developed that might help countries like India escape the endless cycle of mistaken diagnoses and haphazard treatment. A company called Cepheid, based in Sunnyvale, California, now makes a device, called a GeneXpert, that allows doctors to diagnose TB in under two hours—without error or doubt. "The machine is so powerful that it could help end tuberculosis,'' Mannan told me. "I don't think that is an exaggeration.''
An editorial three months ago in the New England Journal of Medicine also raised the possibility that, with proper use of this device, tuberculosis—a disease that has been around since the days of the Pharaohs—could be eliminated. The cost, however, would be far too high for the Indian Ministry of Health. "Private business would have to take the lead,'' Mannan said. "In the past, countries waited until they got richer and tuberculosis mostly went away. India cannot do that. The epidemic is just too big. And we are too poor."
The GeneXpert was developed in 2002, with initial support from the Department of Defense. After the events of September 11th and the mailing of anthrax spores later that year, biological threats became a national priority. The only sure way to recognize dangerous new organisms, whether made by man or by nature, is to analyze their unique DNA, and the GeneXpert has tested billions of pieces of mail for toxins. Its diagnostic capabilities seemed even more promising, however. In 2008, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, and the National Institutes of Health, researchers at medical centers throughout the world began to assess the machine's effectiveness in diagnosing tuberculosis.
Its success was striking. In a study published along with that editorial in the Journal, researchers reported that the GeneXpert identified more than ninety-eight per cent of active TB infections, including many that sputum smears had missed. Because the test looks for the TB bacterium itself, rather than for antibodies, latent infections don't confuse the GeneXpert as they do blood tests. The machine costs nearly twenty-five thousand dollars and each test is about twenty dollars. Prices could plunge if similar machines were introduced and used widely.
"This is absolutely transformational technology,'' Peter Small, the director of tuberculosis programs for the Gates Foundation, said. "It is a system that removes the guesswork from one of our most deadly diseases.'' Unlike the sputum technique, the molecular approach is straightforward: a patient spits into a cup, and the sample is placed in a cartridge that looks much like the pods used in many espresso machines. A computer examines the sample's DNA to see if it contains the genetic signature of TB. Results are available within hours.
The GeneXpert can even determine whether the bacteria are resistant to rifampicin, the most effective and widely used component of the four-drug cocktail commonly prescribed for TB. "People often equate sophisticated science with complexity, and this is just the opposite," Small said. "As long as there is electricity, the tests could be carried out by unskilled workers in any village. Training them would be easy, and the potential benefits—saving billions of dollars and millions of lives—worth any effort. The question is how do we get there. I have heard people say that we should trust the government bureaucracy. But others say let's put our faith in an unregulated collection of free agents. It's hard to know which approach is more ludicrous."
I put that question to Mannan, the official responsible for TB control in the Bihar region. A slight, intense man with eyes the color of wet coal, Mannan is a former Army doctor who left the service after he injured his leg jumping from an airplane. He has been frustrated by how rarely the promise of Indian medicine is realized, and by how little entrepreneurs—in one of the world's most entrepreneurial countries—are doing to help.
"We do know that private enterprise can work in India,'' he said. "Just look at the mobile-phone industry. And the public efforts to halt major diseases have been remarkable. But how do we get them to work together?" Nobody has an answer to that question. The interplay between public and private medicine in India is difficult to navigate, in part because the quality of private medicine varies so wildly. To demonstrate the range of medical options open to most people in Bihar, Mannan suggested that we travel to Darbhanga, about ninety miles northeast of Patna. Before we left, he said, "Everything you find in the country, the good and the bad—it is all in Darbhanga."
Even at first light, the road that leads from Patna, Bihar's capital, to Darbhanga is impossibly crowded. On the ramp of the Mahatma Gandhi Bridge, which passes over the Ganges and leads north toward Nepal, oxen jostle with motorcycles and giant trucks. On the day I made the trip, the traffic was so heavy on the bridge—at more than three and a half miles, it's one of the longest in the world—that it took an hour just to reach the lush banana plantations on the other side.
Patna and Darbhanga were once important centers of civilization. Buddha found enlightenment under a bodhi tree in Bihar, twenty-five hundred years ago, and the Fortress of Maharajas still stands in Darbhanga. Today, though, the province lags behind other regions of India in every category of economic and human development. Its eighty-five million residents earn, on average, less than half what people in the rest of the country earn; plumbing and sanitation facilities are meagre. Tens of thousands of migrants pass through Darbhanga each year as they abandon their ancestral villages and seek new lives in Delhi, Mumbai, and other major cities.
The Medical College Hospital, an imposing white fortress spread over several city blocks, is the largest in the region, but the city is also home to what may well be India's most formidable collection of unregulated pharmaceutical wholesalers, a kind of medical red-light district. Virtually any drug can be purchased, in whatever quantity one desires, without a prescription. Want a thousand polio vaccines? Narcotic painkillers, cancer medication? Scarce AIDS therapies? They are all readily available in Darbhanga. But rarely at the hospital.
The tuberculosis and AIDS clinics at the Medical College Hospital are open every day from 8 A.M. to 2 P.M. By the time Mannan and I walked into the cavernous waiting room early that morning, patients packed the benches and sprawled across the floor. Most sat silently, their eyes hollow, their heads down. The sound of harsh coughing filled the air. The line for medications snaked into the courtyard, where dozens of women, many of them cradling infants in their arms, waited patiently.
Like other public hospitals in the developing world, the Medical College Hospital struggles to provide medicine for its patients. The dispensary is rudimentary: basic tuberculosis drugs are available, but not those needed to treat resistant strains, which now account for nearly twenty per cent of India's growing caseload. For people who do not respond to the first line of TB treatments, there are two choices: find money to buy medicine somewhere else or get sicker.
Since late 2009, the hospital has had one unique asset: a piece of equipment called a P.C.R., which can multiply tiny samples of DNA and analyze them. The device is not as fast as the GeneXpert, but it can examine the genetics of virtually any organism, including tuberculosis. The hospital's machine, which was purchased with money from a government research grant, has never been used. "The hospital has had this for months,'' Mannan said. "But nobody knows how it works." We were standing at the door of the virology lab, where the new P.C.R. Cobas TaqMan 48, made by Roche and sold for roughly fifty thousand dollars, was resting on a shelf, still wrapped in its shipping material.
How could that be? I was staring at a machine that could alter, even save, the lives of scores of the people who were sitting nearby in the gathering heat. Mannan said nothing, though his anger was palpable. "Ask them,'' he said, referring to the scientists who worked in the hospital, when I tried to get him to explain. "They will tell you."
We walked down the hall to meet Ravindra Prasad, a doctor in the department of social medicine. He was an agreeable man with a round face and an easy manner. I asked why the P.C.R. machine sat imprisoned and unused.
"The chemical kit expired,'' he said, smiling politely. The chemicals used in the machine have a short shelf life; but I learned later that they are not hard to replace. That couldn't have been the reason. "The methods we have for diagnosing tuberculosis all function smoothly," Prasad added, as if he were reading from a prepared statement. He was referring to sputum tests, which are often inaccurate. "We follow the standard manual." Prasad offered us tea, but said nothing more about the medical needs of his patients. "It's a nice lab,'' Mannan said when we left. "Beautiful, actually. But if the doctors used it properly that would interfere with their private practice."
I asked what he meant.
"It is simple,'' he said. "If patients are treated at the hospital, they won't need to pay for anything else."
The Darbhanga medical red-light district lies just a few blocks from the main hospital. On most days, as the public clinics prepare to take their last patients, touts appear in the waiting rooms and on the hospital grounds, eager to steer people toward a private doctor on Hospital Road. More than eighty per cent of medical services in India are in private hands, and health-care costs are among the most common reasons for bankruptcy.
The touts—equal parts salesmen, psychologists, and pimps—are good at their job. If you need TB medication or a test or an X-ray, these men will get you quickly to a clinic that charges for services people are entitled to receive at no cost in public hospitals. According to Mannan, the tout receives ten per cent of any eventual fee from a referral. Rickshaw drivers get five per cent, medical assistants ten, and the referring doctor, almost always a physician based at the Medical College Hospital, thirty-five per cent. That leaves forty per cent for the clinician.
Much of the time, the referring physician from the public hospital is also the private clinician who does the work. That earns him seventy-five per cent of any fee. Public salaries are not sufficient to support most doctors, so, every afternoon, many of the hospital's physicians work in these private clinics.
Well-trained doctors are not the only people working on Hospital Road, however. Officially, a doctor needs a license to practice medicine in India. In fact, though, there are no mechanisms to verify the validity of licenses or to punish people who break the law. It is not rare for "doctors" to lack medical training completely.
We arrived as darkness began to fall; hundreds of people, having finished the workday, crowded the rutted streets. There were dozens of drug shops, with names like Raj Medical Agency, Krishna Scientific and Surgical Works, and Zar Whole Sale Drugs—often illuminated by a single bulb. The streets of the medical red-light district are filled with "specialists." Mannan and I wandered into a back alley where two men asked after our health with more solicitousness than was necessary. I asked what they were offering, and one of them let out a loud cackle.
"Let me show you,'' he said, and led us to a small room with several chairs, a table, and three refrigerators. The man said that his name was Pranay, and he offered a variety of blood tests, for liver function, kidney function, H.I.V., and several other standard diagnostics, all at reasonable prices. Wholesalers make their money through volume sales, not high prices. "We get twenty-five to thirty referrals a day,'' he told me.
The stall next door could have been an exhibit in a science museum: it contained an ancient X-ray machine, held together with duct tape and baling wire. The owner had just finished taking chest slides for a middle-aged man. He didn't offer any of the customary lead shields or other protections against possible radiation leaks—and that machine certainly leaked. "It's safe,'' the man said. "They are X-rays."
He told us that he ran about fifteen to twenty chest X-rays a day; he charges a hundred rupees for each, or a little more than two dollars. His services were also available for broken bones and other routine problems. I asked how he had acquired his equipment and where he had learned to use it. He told us that he had taken the X-ray machine from a hospital in Bihar that was about to throw it away. The idea of training made him laugh. "Did you see 'Slumdog Millionaire'?" he said. "Before this, I was a chai wallah''—a man who serves tea—"just like that kid."
It was time to return to Patna; driving late at night on the roads of rural India is a risky business. Before we left, though, Mannan insisted that we make one more stop, at another clinic nearby. The place was essentially an open concrete garage; against one wall stood a small table with hot plates on which patients could heat rice. The room was full, and more than a dozen people stood on the street, waiting to get in. "This is the best TB clinic in town,'' a pharmacist who owned the shop next door explained.
The head of the clinic, Dr. P. M. Srivastav, works at Medical College Hospital, and we had spoken with him earlier. At night, for a hundred and thirty rupees, Srivastav will see anyone who waits in line. He doesn't test for tuberculosis at his clinic, and said that he refers people he suspects of having the disease to the hospital. He does, however, earn a fee from every patient he sees, including those he sends back to the hospital for free treatment. "Now do you understand why that machine is wrapped in plastic?" Mannan asked.
As we were about to leave, a large car pulled up at the front door. Srivastav climbed out of the back seat, looked at us with surprise, and smiled sheepishly. Before I had a chance to ask a question, he was gone, safely tucked away in his private office.
The uncertainties and dangers of diagnosis remain the greatest obstacle to successful TB treatment, in India and throughout the developing world. For that to change, investments from international aid organizations and from private companies will be necessary. That may seem unlikely, but it has happened before, most notably with AIDS drugs. In the nineteen-eighties, when AZT became the first effective treatment for H.I.V., the annual cost for each patient was ten thousand dollars. People in the West, who were rich or lucky enough to have good insurance, could afford it. In countries that struggle to provide basic immunizations against diseases like measles, though, AIDS treatments were a fantasy. Then various groups, including the Clinton Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, joined together to push for lower prices. Generic manufacturers, led by Cipla, the Mumbai-based pharmaceutical giant, began to churn out highly effective medicine at a small fraction of what it cost in the United States. Political pressure mounted, officials of the World Health Organization joined the call for cheaper AIDS medications, and today the governments of poor countries like India can buy those drugs for an annual price of less than a hundred dollars per patient. These drugs are normally distributed in bulk, through international AIDS organizations.
A similar effort will be required to lower the cost of diagnosing tuberculosis. There will also have to be a transformation in how TB medicine is regulated. That may seem like an insurmountable barrier, but, with the proper incentives, the system could work. Again, one can look to the history with AIDS medicines for a model. Because Cipla and other Indian pharmaceutical companies are frequently inspected by international regulators—such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—governments are willing to buy their products. That's one reason that Indian firms have become the most important manufacturers of generic AIDS medicines in the world.
Any company that sells molecular diagnostics would need the same sort of oversight. But producing cheap, internationally acceptable versions of the GeneXpert would surely lead to great profits.
"You have to keep in mind that India has many terrible doctors," Madhukar Pai told me. "But it also has some of the best private medicine available." I saw that in Darbhanga, where, in addition to the shoddy purveyors of the medical red-light district, I visited the Geeta Molecular Diagnostic Lab, a new private facility not far from the center of town. There I was greeted by a team of researchers, all in starched lab coats, including Deepak K. Prasad, a geneticist and the director of the laboratory. He led us on a tour: there were separate sections for gene detection, gene amplification, and histological analysis. Geeta Diagnostics had two P.C.R. machines and other, similarly advanced diagnostic tools. Few facilities in New York are better equipped. Patients sat on cream-colored couches reading magazines and sipping tea.
"The genetic approach to diagnosis is really where medicine is going," Prasad told us. The company, which is two years old, offers tests for heart disease, several types of cancer, thyroid disease, H.I.V., and tuberculosis, among other disorders. The TB test costs fifteen hundred rupees—a little more than thirty dollars. The lab does between fifty and seventy-five each week, and its doctors are paid well enough so that they don't need to work at second jobs.
"You can call it expensive, but you have to look at the eventual costs, not the initial price of a single test or one piece of machinery," Prasad said. That would be difficult to dispute. Thirty dollars may be a lot of money for most Indians; but treating drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis costs thousands of dollars and places a terrible burden on the country, not to mention on the people who are sick. In fact, treatment and deaths caused by TB in India cost more than three billion dollars in lost productivity each year.
The power of machines like the GeneXpert has already become evident at Mumbai's Hinduja Hospital, a private institution that has been using one for three years. Mumbai has one of the worst TB problems in India, particularly with drug-resistant cases. Yet at Hinduja the machine has made it possible for doctors to diagnose and treat patients before they are able to spread the disease. "There has always been a pretty standard approach to using fancy medical technology,'' Camilla Rodrigues, who runs the microbiology department, told me when I visited. "You develop it in the West and use it there. Eventually, it trickles down to the poor countries.'' Rodrigues pointed out that, with tuberculosis, the pattern makes no sense. The GeneXpert was invented in the West, but India and Africa need it much more urgently. "Every time we make a correct diagnosis, we save not one life but many,'' she said, waving in the direction of the boxy metal-and-Plexiglas machine sitting in a corner of the lab. "And with this machine we make correct diagnoses in two hours."
Rodrigues has been working with tuberculosis for two decades. "When I started, it seemed hopeless,'' she said as we sat in her office, which is adjacent to a busy lab filled with graduate students, most of whom are focussing on TB.
"You would ask people why we are not doing more to stop this terrible, crippling epidemic, and the answer was usually a shrug," she continued. Rodrigues has cavernous eyes and long dark hair pulled back in a bun. She speaks frankly but somehow conveys a buoyant sense of optimism. "For so long tuberculosis has been a part of life here. In the past, if you said you have the disease people would hardly flinch. Can you imagine going to a neighbor in New York and saying you have tuberculosis? People would shriek."
Lately, though, Rodrigues has begun to sense a shift away from the habitual fatalism that has defined the Indian approach to public health. "Sometimes I go to Churchgate Station,'' she continued. "It is the busiest train station in the city, maybe in the country. I go at rush hour. You cannot move or breathe or think. You cannot walk or talk. It is the perfect place to spread tuberculosis.
"But it is also the perfect place to stop it,'' she said. "I walk around that platform and I look at people and I say to myself, Which of you are sick? We need to know. And, finally, after more than a century we can know. At this point, it is just a matter of will." ♦


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Viktor Bilak-Mercedes-Benz Russia Exhibition Design
At Design Interviews
Interview with Viktor Bilak : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. Viktor Bilak : The main aesthetic idea of the Mercedes-Benz Russia stand is the image of twisting road. .Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. Viktor Bilak : The main focus in designing of this progect was to organize the space of the stand to place all vehicles and define the comfortable trajectory for walking of visitors. .Frank Scott: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?. Viktor Bilak : The creation of design concept of this stand took two months. .Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. Viktor Bilak : This design project was created by inspiration becouse the image of twisting road desided artistic and technical tasks. .Frank Scott: Who is the target customer for his design?. Viktor Bilak : Mercedes-Benz Russia SAO Company is the customer for this design. .Frank Scott: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?. Viktor Bilak : This project required detailed empirical research of the real space for placement of vehicles. .Frank Scott: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?. Viktor Bilak : The customer and visitors of Mercedes-Benz Russia stand highly appreciated this design and it convenience for work and presentation of vehicles. .
Viktor Bilak-Mercedes-Benz Russia Exhibition Design Images:
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How to
Use the Activities
Inquiry Question
Activity 1: Living in Frederica
Activity 2: Reconstruction or Preservation?
Assign one group the "pro" position and the other the "con" position. Then have them debate the statement: "Fort Frederica National Monument should be maintained in its present state." Have each group choose a spokesperson to present a five-minute argument and a two-minute rebuttal. At the end of the debate, release students from their assigned position and ask them to vote on the question.
Activity 3: Moving Day
After the groups have recorded their ideas, have them consider how they would react if a military base, military industry installation, or a major factory that employed a large percentage of the towns population in their community closed, and they found themselves in the same situation as the settlers of Frederica. Have each family answer the same three questions and then develop a list of resources they would have today that were not available to Fredericas population. Have the class discuss each familys option to determine similarities and differences in their solutions to both scenarios.
Activity 4: Planned Communities
Now have students research their own community. When and how was it founded? How is it similar to and different from the planned communities they researched? from the town of Frederica? Hold a class discussion on the students findings.


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Undergraduate Degrees, Majors and Concentrations
PHIL1000 - Survey Of World Religions
Summer 2019
Survey of World Religions explores the basic nature of religion by examining the major "living" world religions and their cultural manifestations. Close attention will be paid to the various religions' doctrine, symbols, stories, institutions, and rituals. Emphasis will be placed on understanding and appreciating the diversity of religious belief and experience throughout the world. 3 credits
3 Credits
Schedule Book for All Active and Available Future Terms, Course starting with PHIL1000
No Courses Found


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I have problems while using the ZonalHistogram function in Python. It seems to give strange results, while, with the same code run in arcgis' python window everything works fine. I am trying to study the snow cover per elevation ranges, thus including in the function a MODIS image (showing snow cover) as the input raster, and a reclissified DEM as the input value raster. I tried to modify the reclassification many times, but still not solving the problem... Moreover, inverting the input raster with the input value raster (meaning, inverting the function parameters), everything works fine, but it's a mess since I'm working on thousands of images and having the MODIS not always the same number of columns (while being the DEM always the same). Hope someone could help me. Here is my script, so that you can have a look at it in order to better understand my request:
import arcpy, os, sys, shutil
newpath= r'G:\\Chile_2012\\MODIS10A2.V005\\provvisoria\\Zonal_Histogram\\temporary'
if not os.path.exists (newpath):
os.makedirs (newpath)
arcpy.env.workspace= 'G:\\Chile_2012\\MODIS10A2.V005\\Cobertura_nival\\Cuencas_Copia\\campione'
arcpy.env.overwriteOutput= True
from arcpy.sa import *
listRaster= arcpy.ListRasters ()
elev_ranges= 'G:\\Chile_2012\\MODIS10A2.V005\\DEM\\elev_ranges'
out_dir= 'G:\\Chile_2012\\MODIS10A2.V005\\provvisoria\\Zonal_Histogram\\'
for raster in listRaster:
arcpy.CheckOutExtension ('Spatial')
ZonalHistogram (raster, 'Value', elev_ranges, newpath+ '\\'+ raster)
arcpy.ClearEnvironment ('workspace')
arcpy.env.workspace= newpath
listTable = arcpy.ListTables ()
print listTable
arcpy.Merge_management (listTable, out_dir+ 'Rio_Aconcagua_Merge.dbf')
shutil.rmtree (newpath)
print arcpy.GetMessages ()
I would add that my idea would be to work with layers (by means of functions that could transform rasters in layers) since the table returned in arcgis has a "LABEL" field (coming from the classification in symbology) which is the thing I would like to include in the final table and which is not included while working out of arcgis (in pywin), in order to know on what I am working on.


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These scones almost didn't make it. I've used this recipe for years, so I only casually glance at the ingredient list as I throw things into the mixing bowl. When I reached the final ingredient and started stirring in the heavy cream, the batter just wouldn't come together – it was dry and clumpy. Undeterred, I figured I just needed a little more liquid and added a few more splashes of cream. Nope. That didn't work. In a panic, I check the recipe, convinced that I must have needed read the measurement for the cream wrong. I read something wrong, but not the cream. The recipe called for a full cup less flour than I had added. At this point, I didn't have enough ingredients or time to try again or make something else. After some hasty calculations, I figured out how much I needed to add for all of the other ingredients in order to get the recipe proportions correct. In the end, tea time was saved, but I had a LOT of scones. Two thirds more than usual, to be exact. However, an overabundance of scones is something I can deal with.
Is there really such a thing as too many scones? I don't think so. These cranberry scones are the perfect addition to your breakfast or afternoon tea time. They come together quickly in a single bowl and don't even require cutting in cold butter. The resulting cranberry scones are tender and not too sweet – just the way a scone should be.
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 small-medium orange
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Granulated sugar for sprinkling
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Place the granulated sugar in a large bowl and add the orange zest. Whisk until the sugar is uniformly moistened by the zest.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt, whisking to combine. Stir in the dried cranberries.
- Pour in the cream and, using your fingers or a fork, stir together until combined.
- Pour dough onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead to bring dough together. Pat into an 8-inch circle and cut into 8 triangles.
- Place triangles on prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the scones are just lightly browned. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature.
Source: Brown Eyed Baker


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Time for an upgrade? Find the mobile phone that's right for you.
Smartphones are key to our social lives, entertainment lives, work lives and, well, pretty much our whole lives these days. For something that hasn't been around that long, they're certainly becoming one of the most indispensable tools for modern living. The best smartphone is the one that most easily performs the tasks that make your life easier and more enjoyable, but how do you know which one that is? Well, that's where we come in.
Review and compare
Buying guides
The mobile phones team
Our smartphones are tested in world-renowned laboratories in a joint testing arrangement with our sister organisations, Which? in the UK, and Consumer Reports in the USA. This means we can report on more products, more often. Our Telstra NextG test is done here in Australia though, with the reception test carried out in The (we're only half kidding) Middle of Nowhere.
Denis Gallagher
Product Category Manager - Digital Home
Home entertainment, Phones, Cameras, Computers, Gadgets, Tablets and personal media devices, Cars, Camping, Cooling, Heating, Bedroom
Scott O'Keefe
Test coordinator - Digital home
Home entertainment, Phones, Tablets and personal media devices
Get the best phone for your home.
Whether you're using a landline, a mobile, or VoIP, our independent advice on reducing your bills is totally off the hook!
Mobile phone and home phone reviews, tests and buying guides to help you get – and stay – connected.


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Cute tops that can help protect you from the sun
If you're planning to hit the beach and soak up some sun this summer, these rash guards should be at the top of your packing list.
For starters, they're actually incredibly stylish and a celebrity favorite––in hot pink and blue and white stripes, these tops have much more in common with the rest of your summer wardrobe than they do with anything you'd think of as 'sun protection'. But unlike your other summer tops, these rash guards have SPF, so they'll protect you from painful burns (not to mention dramatically lower your risk of skin cancer).
They're quick drying, so you can even wear them in the water. If you're not quite ready to show off your bikini body, just dive in, and you'll look chic and sporty instead of looking like someone threw you into the pool with your clothes on.
If keeping your skin youthful, radiant, and cancer-free isn't enough, first time Joyus customers will get 10% off plus free shipping on orders over $50 with the promo code STYLELIST10. So say no to wrinkes and pick out your favorite style here.


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Volunteer Opportunities
Group Work Parties or Projects
Are you an environment-minded community leader of any flavor looking for a service project? Well you have come to the right place! The No Ivy League can provide tools, work sites, and guidance on whatever form of service you would like; including invasive plant removal, trail repair, and restoration planting. If you are interested, please contact us!
Saturday Work Parties
Earn community service credit for school or other service requirements!
Drop in for our regular Saturday work parties and become a steward of our beloved natural area: Forest Park!! Volunteer will take a short hike to one of our various sites and work off-trail removing English ivy. This is a DIRTY job so come prepared in grubby, long-sleeved clothing and boots. We'll provide gloves and tools.
- Groups of five or more persons need to call 503-823-3681 to register at least a few days in advance.
- Groups of 10 or more should call 503-823-3681 at least one week ahead.
- All ages are welcome to attend; young children must be supervised by an adult.
Meet at the Field House at the Lower Macleay Trailhead, 2960 NW Upshur, Portland, OR 97210
First Wednesdays, first and third Saturdays each month, 8:45 AM-noon. Check our calendar for event cancellations or for more details.
Still have questions? Contact us.
Other Volunteer Opportunities
Are you interested in doing your part to halt the advance of invasive species or improving the public spaces in your community? Looking for groups in your area? Look no further, here is a list of websites to help steer you in the right direction.
- Stewardship Opportunities- Join a volunteer event to help restore our natural areas.
- Portland Parks & Recreation Volunteer Opportunities - Invasive species removal, community gardens, community centers, youth sports, the list goes on.
- Hands On Greater Portland - A great website to help connect passionate volunteers to projects in their own communities.
- Forest Park Conservancy - Another good way to help preserve the natural beauty of Forest Park: trail repair, plantings, invasive species removal.
- Friends of Marquam Nature Park - Help maintain one of Portland's historic natural areas.
- Friends of Terwilliger Parkway- Get involved to help restore this historic natural area.
Know of any other groups to be posted here? Contact us.


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Recommended Reading: Mynette Louie's "Innovate Or Die"/
It took me a week but I finally caught up with Mynette Louie's IFP Blog Post "Innovate Or Die". She does an excellent job at capturing the Indie Producer's life at this point in our cultural era. More importantly, she makes a fantastic and necessary plea to us all:
"let's put our heads together and figure out how to sustain not only ourselves, but ultimately, the art that we love so dearly, and the diversity of artistic voices that make it. There is a better way, and we've got to find it soon."
Read the whole post here.


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Possible Duplicate:
Is that a good idea to use one database for 50.000+ shops?
We are developing an internet application in C# with MVC 4. It's connected to a database which will contain a companies customers and their turnovers, also the products.
Naturally,these companies want their data secured, and also the data needs to be brought from the database to the web application as quickly as possible.
We are unsure what is the most secure and performance effective approach:
Have one smaller database for each company, containing their customer data. This way the only "weak" human link is to code the connection string correct depending on who's logging in.
Use one single database containing every companies data and all their customer data. This will naturally be a very much larger database, and possible(?) more room for error, leading to one employee seeing another companies turnovers. A critical situation.
What solution might be most secure, and the fastest in crunching numbers and processing it to the web application? is this a common "security" solution, to minimize human error by giving each company their own database?


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Major retailers are meeting this week to discuss worker safety in Bangladesh after a building collapse last week killed at least 433 garment factory workers.
And the death toll in the collapse will likely continue to rise — 149 people are still missing, and Bangladesh officials don't think they'll find any more survivors.
Richard M. Locke, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who has researched and written a book on enforcing fair labor standards within global supply chains, says retailers' demands for variety and fast production are contributing to unsafe working conditions in garment factories abroad.
"These are Western companies located in advanced democracies and ... the brands and large retailers are asking their suppliers for the same goods they produced the year before, only cheaper with shorter [production] times and more variety," he told Business Insider.
Retailers have been embracing the fast fashion model because it encourages customers to come to the store often to check for new styles. The model also cuts down on inventory, making customers feel like they have to make the purchase on the spot to guarantee it won't sell out.
The cost of doing business is also increasing — material and transportation costs have risen, but that doesn't mean all companies are willing to pay more for merchandise.
"That takes even more money out of (the factory's) pocket that they can't invest in better working conditions," he said.
Locke argues that the current system of using private companies for regulatory oversight and auditing isn't working.
When retailers — who source from these factories — and NGOs are in charge of auditing, they often use employees who can analyze payroll records and time cards but don't have training in structural or fire safety analysis.
"After over a decade, these programs just don't work," Locke said.
Other experts agree and say that the problem will likely get worse.
"This happens all the time," Timothy Ryan, Asia department director for the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, told Business Insider last week.
"As the infrastructure ages, you're going to see more and more of this … it's a chronic problem."
A possible solution? Locke said we should ditch the private compliance system.
"Let's do something else, give these factories the kind of capabilities they need to run better factories and recognize that the ... retailers have a responsibility because we're driving these factors," he said. "Unless we change things, we're going to always see this stuff."