text:
While last year's election race for board of trustees seats in Mineola ended with one new mayor and one trustee, 2012's tallies came and went without much of a fight, with two current staples on the board running unopposed, certifying their spots on the board for another term.
The Village of Mineola held its Organization Night on, Monday, April 2. With approximately 100 people in attendance, which included Legislator Rich Nicolello, State Senator Jack Martins, village justice John O'Shea, two familiar faces were sworn into the board, along with Acting Village Justice Richard M. O'Callaghan.
Lewis was appointed superintendent of the Plainview-Old Bethpage (POB) School District on April 2. The former East Williston (EW) School District helmsman will take over the 4,900-student POB district in August. East Williston enrolls approximately 1,800 students.
Mineola School District Board of Education Trustee John McGrath last week responded to recent comments made by school board candidate Artie Barnett. The two seats up for election for next school year are McGrath's and board president Christine Napolitano. He and Napolitano said they would seek re-election.
Uncle Louie G's reach spans a continent and now Mineola is lucky to fall within that reach. "Feel like a kid again" is his motto and serving delicious treats to kids and that little "kid" in every adult.
Mineola residents John and Lisa Sandler of JTS & JBS Corp. will open an Uncle Louie G's ices and ice cream store at 254 Mineola Boulevard. Cartridge World previously called that corner near Washington Avenue home.
The last time the board of trustees denied 7-Eleven Inc. the chance to plant its flag in the village, court proceedings ensued en route to the store finally opening on the corner of Mineola Boulevard and Jericho Turnpike.
The Nassau Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) made the announcement last week, citing a possible budget deficit this year of up to $100 million.
County Executive Edward Mangano praised the decision as a "stabilizing" force in the budget process.
Mineola School District officials have been in Albany hammering out what could impact local districts that implement new state exams in the coming years, District Superintendent Michael Nagler revealed. Assistant superintendent Patricia Burns spent the first three days of last week in the State Capitol in meetings with state officials to discuss the approach on new testing techniques.
"The state is in a constant state of flux about the new assessments and this new APPR [Annual Professional Performance Review]," Nagler said. "It's amazing when [Pat and] I have conversations when she comes back and how it changes from meeting to meeting and some of the thought process."
If you think government is a bit bloated these days, it has just been put on a strict "diet," according to Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, who delivered his official State of the County address on Wed., March 14, at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City.
During the speech, Mangano touted his administration's accomplishments and equally stressed the challenge of dealing with the county's ever-increasing property taxes, warning of a potential 13-percent property-tax hike in the future.
The Bruce Terrace flood project came to fruition after decades of flood mitigation problems in what's considered the lowest part of the village. Since homes were built 60 years ago, in the area of and on Bruce Terrace on the border of Mineola and Carle Place, flooding has ensued during times of heavy rainfall. The area around Bruce Terrace is essentially the funnel of all the rainfall because of flow and gravity issues.
The Mineola Junior Fire Department held its 16th annual Pasta Dinner fundraiser at Village Hall this past Sunday. Inside the Mineola Fire Department, the junior fire fighters served endless pasta, salad and dessert to those in attendance. The food was catered by La Parma, Churrasqueira Bairrada, and included the over 3,000 meatballs supplied by Piccola Bussola.
Along with the dinner, there was a Chinese and a silent auction. The prizes included elaborate gift baskets all donated by the department's families and friends. The money raised from the dinner and auction is used for the junior fire department's events throughout the year, including their training, equipment, trips, and their donations to other organizations.
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text:
jNews introduces you to the next generation of email marketing. A powerful newsletter component for Joomla, jNews gives you quality outputs with the newest professional and cool features making sure that your communications yields the best results that you really wanted. From the makers of your best-loved email marketing app, Acajoom, jNews is still designed with ease of use and robustness in mind but with more powerful features to make your experience worthwhile.
Editor's Note
- This extension inserts a backlink to the developer.
jNews comes with the newest powerful features:
• Send mailings to one or several lists
• Enhanced jNews Module with Ajax effects and with cool display effects (Mootools Slide, Mootools Modal)
• Includes 5 default newsletter templates to make your newsletter look sharp and professional
• Newsletter templates management
• Emails queue management and resend to overcome hosting limitation
• Automatic subscription of users to one or more list upon registration
• Enhanced Statistics to see how many who receives and reads your mails
• Track subscriber's IP
• Easily import your users from other Joomla newsletter system through CSV
• Automatically synchronize with your Joomla users
• Insert and Sort contents (articles from Joomla) according to date, section, or category
• Unlimited lists
• Unlimited subscribers
• Unlimited newsletters
• Social Tags (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)
jNews also integrate with many popular Joomla extensions:
• JomSocial to automatically add newly registered JomSocial users to jNews subscribers
• FlexiContent to add articles in your newsletter
• Community Builder, list of newsletter on registration form
• VirtueMart automatic subscription to list at registration
• Includes K2 content into your newsletter
• jMarket to insert Joobi Tags (Latest Products, Top Vendors and many more... )
• jCalPro enable to insert events
• And many more tags, like including product of VirtueMart in your newsletter.
It also includes classical newsletter functionality:
• Handle registered or unregistered subscribers
• Attachment capability
• Email address validation and confirmation when registering (Double Opt-in)
• Sending test email to admin before whole list
• Embedded images option
• Ability to Ban emails
• Automated unsubscribing link
• Preview newsletter before sending either on the screen or send a test email
• HTML or TEXT-only mailings
• Statistics management (Number of Sent / Opened newsletters, HTML or text only)
FREE SUPPORT through livechat, ticket system and forum during weekdays.
I want to highlight the outstanding support:
Two times I needed some help to customize fields to my needs. Using the chat support was really a good experience - an outstanding support I never had before.
Newsletters were always a tough thing every month and I am really confident it will be easier from now on !
Reviews: 4
The extension is versatile enough to cover complex needs, various kinds of newsletters, etc. but also simple enough not to drive to crazy. Recommended.
Only suggestion is there needs to be more options for resizing the module.
I have been testing different newsletter products before choosing which to buy - tried both acajoom and the newer jnewsletter
It works perfectly - client understands how to use it
it syncs great with jomsocial, and so far its teh only one that fit all my requirements perfectly
I was running into a small warning error regarding headers already sent between jomsocial and jnews
Tried searching on the support page
First thing i noticed
LIVE CHAT SUPPORT --- online
cant remember last time i was at any site webdesign or otherwise related that said it was online
Immediately an answer
Immediately proper responses and NOT CANNED responses
not in a hurry to get rid of me either
helped me out
immediately emailed me a latest version to try out instead
and yes
THIS WAS FOR THE FREEEEEEEEE Version
i havent given them a penny
and even though i've said a nice bye and thank you. their live chat is still open in a tab in my browser, and i hear it pinging away - so in the time its taken me to write this, i STILL have their live support chatting to me
What with a great great product - and such AMAZING support - i am without doubt definately going to become one of their happy customers
try it out - wont regret it guys
This product might not have as many downloads yet as AcaJoom or reviews etc
Thats because its from the same guys - it's like a newer component of theirs, they still run / support acajoom, but made a new product with much more features etc.... looks great works great - and oh wow the support!!
And yes
i am not affiliated to them in any way
no i am not on drugs - they really have impressed me that much... last time a company impressed me with such great support for free was from the large company Creative, (who anyone whose used them would know how good they are) and that was nine years ago.......
Just be patient with this new and exciting component
I recently had two clients who's email list grew from 600 to over 2000 quickly. My server would only allow 750 emails to be sent at once to protect from spammers.... I needed a solution that could overcome this....and quick so I could get the monthly newsletters out!!
This is the only component I could find that would achieve this....and a whole lot more..... such as the ability to see who has opened the sent newsletters
Although I did encounter some of the bugs mentioned below the support team were super quick to resolve them..and very polite and helpful too!
This is definitely the most promising Newsletter component I have used in my 5 years of joomla/mambo
Plus that the support team is doing a superb job and they are very very kind and helpful.
Thank you again for such a wonderful product, and keep up the good work.
Best Regards
Again I am new to this so I am guessing that I have done something wrong but the fact that I have only downloaded there free version I am very impressed with their commitment to your service.
If I like what I see i will be crossing their plams with silver to upgrade soley based on their service right now.
I will drop another post once it is up and running
Highly recommended !
Reviews: 15
As another user, who posted here, it's been the worst extension I've ever used - and I've used MANY.
I've worked with the developer extensively and support is very slow and poor. A very popular answer is "Our developers are now aware of this bug and it will be fixed in a future release". Meanwhile, you're left with a buggy extension until who knows when and when they release a new version, you lose a lot of your customization. You will waste yet more time re-configuring your modules/components.
As stated before by others, this extension was released prematurely and without proper testing.
Perhaps this extension works if you use very little of its functionality. All I can say is that i've tried to use some of its "features" and it's been nothing but headaches and wasted time.
I hope this review will helps someone else.
The support has been spotty as well, if you happen to catch a developer you can get some real help, but the agents on their "Legendary 27/7 support" chat are generally not knowledgable enough to solve problems beyond sending you an upgraded version. And the really frustrating part is that they are trying to handle so many simultaneous customer support sessions that it is common to wait 5 minutes for a response between messages.
Finally, we have had to throw up our hands after the last two 3-hour sessions with them as they pushed paid upgrades that didn't solve problems (just a lot of new bugs), expressed surprise with error messages, found features and functions that didn't work, and were generally unhelpful.
Moving on...
Page 12 of 16

subset: commoncrawl


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November 28, 2014
October 18, 2007
The Virginia Supreme Court's newest justice swore in on Thursday. Bernard Goodwyn took the oath of office during a ceremony in Richmond.
For the last 10 years Goodwyn has been a circuit court judge in Chesapeake. Several speakers praised Goodwyn at the ceremony.
Governor Tim Kaine, who appointed Goodwyn, spoke of the Harvard-educated justice's character, background and fairness. Others praised his integrity, intelligence, professionalism and compassion.
The 46-year-old Goodwyn said he was humbled by the responsibility bestowed upon him and vowed to do his best on behalf of Virginia citizens. The General Assembly still must confirm Goodwyn's appointment. He was broad support from both political parties.
Click Here to access the online Public Inspection File
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or email@example.com.


text:
George W. Bailey, from Berlin, Vt., came to Elmore February 6, 1821, and located upon the farm now occupied by P. C. Darling, on road 4. Here he resided for a few years, then removed to the farm now owned by his son-in-law, A. M. Kelley, on road 15. Mr. Bailey held most of the town offices, was a representative two terms, was twice elected to the State senate, and was sheriff two years. He was married to Rebecca Warren, December 21, 1820, the union being blessed with a family of ten children, three of whom are now living, one in this town. His life was brought to a close August 19, 1868. His widow still survives him, aged eighty years.
Biographical Sketch of George W. Bailey
MLA Source Citation:Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and business directory of Lamoille and Orleans Counties, Vt., for 1883-1884. Hamilton Child. 1887. AccessGenealogy.com. Web. 22 November 2014. http://www.accessgenealogy.com/vermont/biographical-sketch-of-george-w-bailey.htm - Last updated on May 22nd, 2011
Categories: Vermont
Topics: Biography
Locations: Berlin Vermont, Elmore Vermont, Lamoille County VT, Washington County VT
Surnames: Bailey
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text:
Barnes & Noble may be toning down its Android tablet business, but they'd still really appreciate it if you bought some books from them. To that end, they've updated the Nook Android app to version 3.4, with a focus on better magazine browsing and book images. Now Android tablets with a resolution of 1280x720 or higher (which should be pretty much everything made in the last year, barring some off-brand hardware) have access to bigger, sharper HD scans of magazines.
Real Racing is one of the more authentic racers on Android, and you can give it a shot for free. There's more reason than ever to take a look now that the game ahs been updated to version 1.2. The developers have made a ton of improvements, including adding licensed cars from more manufacturers.
Between all the new game types and events introduced in this update, there are over 180 new races to complete.
Back when Redbox Instant first hit Android, many users were a bit upset that Redbox and Verizon decided to shun rooted users by blocking the app's video playback on rooted devices. Updates came and went, but nothing was done to correct this [rather ridiculous] error. Until now.
The app was just updated to v1.2, which "changes the way [it] handles rooted devices." Considering the changelog wasn't very clear about what that means, we decided to jump in and check it out for ourselves.
The backstory in Bombcats is bizarre. The felines in this particular title have found that their offspring are imprisoned in glowing blue bubbles. Now, the most rational course of action might be to calmly find a way to get the kittens safely out. But no... this is Bombcats, and these cats blow up to break their kittens out of their prisons. Of course, the kittens also blow up. I'm really not sure what you accomplish in Bombcats, but it's pretty fun.
While Samsung has been dipping its toes into the single-screen multitasking world, Google has yet to do the same. According to noted Android and Google tipster ryan_socio (Ryan Matthews, not his real name), that's about to change. Ryan posted a message to The Verge's social user section, detailing an upcoming version of the YouTube Android app that will let users watch videos and interact with the rest of Android at the same time.
Kairosoft is one of the most dependably solid Android game developers out there. While their titles tend to have a lot in common, those who appreciate the city builder/RPG formula love it to death. The company's latest title is Pocket League Story 2, which builds on the eponymous original with a handful of new features, most notably the ability to play soccer games (well, sort of) against real-world opponents.
Here's the gist: you're the owner of a brand-new soccer team, represented by tiny pixelated players and managers.
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a couple of puzzlers, a slightly metaphysical adventure game, and a pacifistic real-time strategy title.
If you can afford a Tesla electric car (in addition to the car you drive when you have to go more than three hundred miles), odds are pretty good that you can afford a Google Glass Explorer unit, too. If you happen to have both, in addition to the envy of every working class geek on the Internet, a developer has just enabled you to combine your favorite technological excesses. GLASSTESLA mixes the functions of the official Tesla app with the always-on, ever-ready nature of Glass to make you and your car into an ultra-efficient crime-fighting duo.
Fred has gotten around. He's fallen from great heights, he's run across great distances, and now he's hitting the slopes in Skiing Fred. Granted, after watching the trailer for this new release, we see that skiing really isn't all that different than falling. Fred's still scared of the Grim Reaper, and there will still be blood. Fred will bleed onto pristine snow, get hit by meteors, and dissolve into rivers of molten lava.


text:
What began as a routine stop for a traffic infraction became a foot chase in Mishawaka Monday morning.
At 9:39 a.m., a Mishawaka Police officer observed a car tailgating an ambulance through an intersection.
The officer activated a siren and attempted to pull over the vehicle, but the driver wouldn't stop.
After a short chase, the driver abandoned the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot through an alley.
A tip from a neighbor led police to a closed garage near Broadway and Marian, inside of which they found the fleeing man.
A call to Elkhart authorities confirmed that the vehicle had been stolen, and the driver was arrested for resisting law enforcement and auto theft.
The MIshawaka Police Department will release the man's name after their investigation is completed.


text:
A system and method for minimizing, if not completely eliminating, the systematic bias present in an MR system used for DTI is disclosed. A test object or "phantom" of the present invention is scanned with a desired DTI protocol. The eigenvalues measured with the phantom are compared to the actual values that should have been measured, and a parametric map that links measured eigenvalues to actual eigenvalues is calculated, which is applicable to the desired protocol. Future eigenvalue measurements using this protocol can be recalibrated to actual eigenvalues using this map.
1. A method for evaluating data acquired through a DTI scan, comprising:
scanning a test object having a plurality of anisotropic structures with a DTI protocol;
measuring a plurality of eigenvalues for the test object based on the scanning;
associating the measured eigenvalues with actual eigenvalues of the test object; and
comparing the measured eigenvalues to the actual eigenvalues.
2. The method of
3. The method of
4. The method of
5. The method of
6. The method of
7. The method of
8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed on a programmed processor, carry out a method for evaluating data acquired through a DTI scan, comprising:
instructions for scanning a test object having a plurality of anisotropic structures with a DTI protocol;
instructions for measuring a plurality of eigenvalues for the test object based on the scanning;
instructions for associating the measured eigenvalues with actual eigenvalues of the test object; and
instructions for comparing the measured eigenvalues to the actual eigenvalues.
9. The computer-readable medium of
10. The computer-readable medium of
11. The computer-readable medium of
12. The computer-readable medium of
13. The computer-readable medium of
14. The computer-readable medium of
15. A system for evaluating data acquired through a DTI scan, comprising:
means for scanning a test object having a plurality of anisotropic structures with a DTI protocol;
means for measuring a plurality of eigenvalues for the test object based on the scanning;
means for associating the measured eigenvalues with actual eigenvalues of the test object; and
means for comparing the measured eigenvalues to the actual eigenvalues.
16. The system of
17. The system of
18. The system of
19. The system of
20. The system of
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/220,172 filed on Jul. 21, 2008, which claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 60/961,458 filed on Jul. 20, 2007; 61/126,458 filed on May 5, 2008; 61/011,165 filed on Jan. 16, 2008; and 61/011,166 filed on Jan. 16, 2008. This application further claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 61/126,458 filed on May 5, 2008; 61/011,165 filed on Jan. 16, 2008; and 61/011,166 filed on Jan. 16, 2008. The disclosures of all of these applications are incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.
The present invention relates generally to the field of medical imaging, and particularly to systems and methods for parametric mapping for correction of noise-based systematic bias of DTI metrics, using a DTI mapping phantom.
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an MRI-based technique with great potential to enhance clinical diagnosis of pathology in structured tissue. In particular, DTI has shown promise in the area of neurological disease, exhibiting some sensitivity to identifying white-matter tumor extent, sclerotic lesions, and compression trauma in spine. In clinical research, DTI has been used to map white matter fiber trajectories in the brain. Other pathology that may be favorably characterized with DTI includes liver and renal diseases.
Despite its utility, the routine diagnostic application of DTI remains in its infancy. Reasons for this include that, considering the large amount of information that DTI provides as compared to an ordinary MR sequence, the clinical adoption of standardized protocols is lagging. During a DTI sequence, a series of images are generated by applying gradient magnetic fields along particular directions, to measure the directional dependence of diffusion. DTI reduces this series of measurements to a tensor at every image location, with each eigenvalue (sometimes referred to as "e-value") and eigenvector representing the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values along principle axes of an ellipsoid. Precision of the measurements depends on the number of directions sampled and the choice of particular direction schemes. Furthermore, DTI measurements characterize tissue properties indirectly, including cellular size, orientation, heterogeneity, and cell permeability. Uncertainty persists in the understanding of how DTI measures correlate with these tissue characteristics and how they change with disease.
Procedures for quality assurance (QA) and for estimation/measurement of systematic uncertainty have yet to be developed for DTI. In comparison with a single intensity value per voxel measured using a T1-weighted MR sequence, the end-product of a DTI series is six values to define a tensor within a given reference frame, where the frame is defined by three orthogonal vectors. As expected, the effect of noise on DTI data is more complicated than for routine clinical images, leading to a systematic bias that depends on SNR (signal to noise ratio). In an effort to eliminate image distortion inherent to the echo-planar imaging sequences predominantly used in the clinic and to migrate to higher-resolution imaging, parallel imaging has been incorporated with DTI. Unfortunately, while the array coils necessary for parallel MR scanning systems show improved SNR overall, their use changes the spatial properties of the noise distribution over the image. This effect of non-uniformity in the spatial sensitivity of surface coils is enhanced further using parallel imaging, leading to regions where noise may be higher or have variable spatial correlation, decreasing sensitivity within these regions.
Another complication with DTI QA procedures is the lack of a suitable test object, to evaluate and correct systematic bias. Diffusion depends on temperature, so thermal stability of such objects can also be important.
In example embodiments, the present invention provides a system and method for minimizing, if not completely eliminating, the systematic bias present in an MR system used for DTI. The user scans a test object or "phantom" of the present invention with a desired DTI protocol. The eigenvalues measured with the phantom are compared to the actual values that should have been measured, and a parametric map that links measured eigenvalues to actual eigenvalues is calculated, which is applicable to the desired protocol. Future eigenvalue measurements using this protocol can be recalibrated to actual eigenvalues using this map, thereby minimizing if not completely eliminating, the systematic bias present in the MR system.
In one form, the present invention provides a method of scanning the phantom using the desired DTI protocol; verifying eigenvalue determination before or after use of a known sorting procedure; and creating the parametric map for future use after DTI scanning with the same protocol.
These and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be understood with reference to the drawing figures and detailed description herein, and will be realized by means of the various elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following brief description of the drawings and detailed description of the invention are exemplary and explanatory of preferred embodiments of the invention, and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawings(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.
The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Any and all patents and other publications identified in this specification are incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.
The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Also, as used in the specification including the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include the plural, and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from "about" or "approximately" one particular value and/or to "about" or "approximately" another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent "about," it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment.
The present invention provides a system and method for providing quality assurance of ADC ("apparent diffusion coefficient") values obtained when scanning an object, such as tissue of a human or animal subject, with a DTI sequence of an MRI scanner. As a spatial distribution of ADC values are used to calculate other clinical metrics of DTI (e.g., fractional anisotropy), this invention also can provide quality assurance of DTI metrics in general. Additionally, the present invention also provides a phantom or test object that can be scanned by an MRI using a DTI (or other) sequence to provide a baseline reading for DTI analysis of tissue of a human or animal subject. Accordingly, once a baseline is obtained, a practitioner can employ one or more methods of the present invention to scan tissue of a human or animal subject to separate apparent anomalies in the tissue from systematic bias in DTI.
the present invention provides example phantoms or test objects that can be scanned to provide a baseline reading for DTI analysis of tissue of a human or animal subject. As shown in
Preferably, each capillary array 104 includes a plurality of glass capillaries 108 therein, as shown in
Referring back to
The plurality of capillary arrays 104 can be bound together into the macro-array 106 with a water absorbent material, such as cotton string (not shown for purposes of clarity). In alternative embodiments, the capillary arrays 104 can be held together with a somewhat of an interference fit (such as a mechanical or pressure fit) if the housing is only slightly larger than the macro-array, thereby providing a mechanical force against the macro-array. Those skilled in the art will understand that other suitable devices and techniques can be used to secure the capillary arrays 104 together and/or secure the macro-array within the housing so as to prevent the macro-array from moving while the phantom 100 is scanned.
As shown in
In a typical example embodiment, there are generally enough capillary arrays 104 to fill or substantially fill the housing 102. A sufficient amount of water (such as distilled water) is placed inside of the housing and hence fills any voids between the arrays and between the arrays and the housing. In alternative embodiments, the macroarray of capillary arrays 104 fill only a portion of the housing 102. In such an embodiment, it may be advantageous to place a weight, such as a water-saturated piece of material (such as cotton) or fabric, on the macro-array 106 so as to keep the capillary arrays 104 in a tightly stacked configuration. However, when hexagonal or trapezoidal capillary arrays 104 are used, there is a natural tendency for the macro-arrays to stack in a tight configuration in shape.
The phantom 100 can be scanned with an MRI using a DTI sequence of the present invention to image the prolate ADC distributions in a region of interest ("ROI") containing the capillaries 108. Data from scans of the phantom 100 in this configuration can then be used to synthesize other distributions.
A second example embodiment of a phantom 150 is shown in
Notably, this stacking pattern of capillary arrays 154 in the phantom 150 allows more water to be located outside of the arrays, as shown by arrows 160. For example, the water 160 located outside of the arrays 154 can be approximately 40% by water volume. Because of the increase in water external to the arrays 154 (as compared to the phantom 100 of
In an alternative embodiment, the shapes of the arrays 154 can be trapezoidal. With such construction of rows rotated 90° relative to adjacent rows, flat layers of arrays can be built with alternating layers of capillaries (with fewer voids than that of
A third example embodiment of a phantom 200 is shown in
Prior to imaging, the glass housings 206, 208 can be placed into a single water-filled container 218, such as an approximately 0.6 liter polypropylene container although other suitable containers can be used. Accordingly, the phantom 200 can accommodate voxel sizes typical of a clinical procedure (i.e., approximately 1-10 mm3) and can be used to study the effect of SNR on DTI eigenvalues using a clinical MRI scanner. Both arrays 202, 204 can be imaged in at least one 2D axial plane of approximately 3 mm thickness.
Optionally, the water in the housings 206, 208 and/or the container 218 can be lightly doped with a suitable contrast dopant, such as copper sulfate (CuSO4), Gd-DPDT, or heavy water (deuterium oxide or D2O), to allow for shorter TR and/or TE, to alter the signal intensity, and to decrease sequence duration. The phantom 200 can be employed to examine the effect of iteration on sorting procedures. Additionally, heavy water may provide certain additional advantages over other contrast dopants. Heavy water has virtually the same properties as normal water, with the exception that the hydrogen nucleus in heavy water contains an extra neutron. So, heavy water diffuses at approximately the same rate and has approximately the same magnetic susceptibility as normal water, but heavy water is not visible using a standard MRI sequence. So, in a compartment having a mixture of equal parts of normal water and heavy water, the image of that compartment will be about 50% the signal (and SNR) of that of a compartment of normal water. Accordingly, the SNR can be adjusted without adjusting the T1 or T2 relaxation.
A fourth example embodiment of a phantom 300 is shown in
The phantom 300 includes a water-filled housing 302. Preferably, the housing 302 is permanently sealed such that the water cannot escape the housing. Alternatively, the housing 302 can include a removable lid with a watertight seal. In the depicted embodiment, the housing 302 has a generally cylindrical shape, although those skilled in the art will understand that other suitable shapes for the housing can be employed as well. In a typical example embodiment, the size and shape of the housing 302 approximates the size and shape of a human head or brain. For example, the diameter can be between approximately 8-12 inches in diameter and the length can be about 5-6 inches. Those skilled in the art will understand that such dimensions are exemplary and can vary in other embodiments. The housing 302 can be constructed of any suitable material such as, but not limited to, polypropylene, polyethylene, PMMA, or glass.
The housing 302 encases a plurality of matrices of discrete compartments. In the depicted embodiment, the housing 302 encases two matrices 304, 306 of compartments, each having sixteen discrete and spaced-apart compartments 308 a-308 p, 310 a-310 p, although those skilled in the art will understand that only one or a plurality of matrices can be employed and that fewer or additional compartments can be used. In a typical example embodiment, the compartments 308 a-308 p, 310 a-310 p are generally cubical in shape and measuring about one cubic inch, although those skilled in the art will understand that such shape is not critical and that any suitable sized and shaped compartment can be used. Adjacent compartments can be spaced about one inch apart, While in an alternative embodiment, adjacent compartments can closely abut each other.
The first matrix 304 includes sixteen compartments 308 a-308 p, namely four rows by four columns of compartments. Each compartment 308 a-308 p is preferably spaced apart from the others and secured to a wall of the housing 302. As depicted, the compartments 308 a-308 p are attached to the inner face of the cylindrical housing 302. Alternatively, each compartment 308 a-308 p can be attached to a disk-like plate that is secured within the housing 302.
Each compartment 308 a-308 p encases a single macro-array of a plurality of capillary arrays having capillaries of a single inner diameter, but each column of compartments preferably includes capillaries having differing inner diameters. The configurations of the arrays are substantially similar to that of
The first column includes capillaries of a first diameter; the second column includes capillaries of a second diameter (which is different than the first); the third column includes capillaries of a third diameter (which is different than the first and second); and the fourth column includes capillaries of a fourth diameter (which is different than the first, second, and third). Preferably, the various compartments in a row span a reasonable range of diameters that is clinically relevant. Accordingly, the change in diameter size depends, in part, on the number of compartments and the range spanned. Assuming a range of approximately 20 to 80 microns (which is a clinically relevant range) and four compartments, the inner diameters of the capillaries of the arrays of the four columns are 82, 51, 32, and 20 microns, respectively. Thus, the size of the capillaries varies by about 60% between adjacent compartments. Accordingly, such arrangement of compartments results in a range of different eigenvalues to be measured.
The first row of compartments 308 a-308 d, each is filled with normal water. The remaining compartments 308 e-308 p are each filled with a mixture of water and a contrast dopant that surrounds the arrays. As explained above, such dopants can include, but are not limited to, (CuSO4), Gd-DPDT, and heavy water. Each compartment in each row has the same specified amount of applied dopant, but preferably the amount of dopant varies among the rows. Thus, when the first matrix 304 of the phantom 300 is imaged using a DTI sequence, the eigenvalue along the axis of each array is the same for each compartment given distilled or doped water as the compartment fillant, while the two smallest eigenvalues spanning across the diameter of the capillaries should get smaller with smaller diameter. Those skilled in the art will understand how to construct other suitable ranges and arrangements.
The second matrix 306 is substantially similar to the first, with the notable difference being that there are no capillaries or arrays in any of the compartments 310 a-310 p. Rather, each compartment contains only water and optionally a dopant. In other words, the compartments 310 a-310 d include only water, while the compartments 310 e-310 p include a mixture of water and dopant. Typically, the number and shape of the compartments 310-310 p of the second matrix 306 generally mirror that of the first matrix 304. Each column of compartments of the second matrix 306 can be identical to that of the other columns, as the amount of dopant varies between the rows. Preferably, the amount of dopant applied to each to each compartment 310 provides the same or substantially similar concentration as that of the corresponding compartment of the first matrix 304. Those skilled in the art will understand that a single column can be used, but preferably, a matrix of compartments having the same number as the first matrix is used to determine how noise varies across the image plane.
Nominally, DTI imaging of the water-filled compartments 310 a-310 p of the second matrix 306 should result in measurements of isotropic diffusion, whereas, the macro-array-filled compartments 308 a-308 p should show diffusion occurring more freely along the capillary array axis and more restricted across the diameter of the capillaries.
The increase in dopant allows for the SNR of each compartment to vary along this direction by shortening either a) the T1-relaxation time to decrease magnetic saturation effects of water and increase signal intensity, or b) the T2-relaxation time to decrease signal intensity in the DTI image series. Both types of dopants (T1- and T2-altering agents) result in an alteration of the image intensity and therefore vary the SNR bias. Dopant such as heavy water can also alter SNR of the image without altering T1 and T2 relaxation rates. Both the matrices of capillary array compartments and the free-water compartments contain this variation in contrast dopants.
As shown in
Preferably, the one or more rods 320 are constructed of a substantially rigid and durable material, such as but not limited to as plastics (polypropylene, polyethylene, etc.), PMMA, and glass. The rods 320 can be adhered to the housing 302 with a suitable glue or adhesive. Alternatively, the housing 302 can include a plurality of slots into which the rods are slid and secured (as per a mortise and tenon joint, for example). Other suitable fasteners and fastening techniques can be employed to secure the rods 320 to the housing 302.
Also preferably, the rods 320 are completely or substantially filled with water so that they can function as fiducials to provide imaging landmarks for proper alignment of the imaging plane with respect to the capillaries in the compartments 308 a-308 p. Given that the rods 320 are preferably in permanent alignment, the imaging plane can be prescribed in a variety of different directions, from which the angle with respect to the capillaries will be known. This feature allows for the testing of the measured eigenvector directions, given the actual orientation of the capillaries.
An alternative configuration for the rods is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/220,172, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
Optionally, the housing 302 can be wrapped with a thermal insulating material so as to keep the temperature (and the corresponding diffusivity within the compartments) constant. Additionally or alternatively, the housing 302 can be wrapped with thermal tubing 330, as shown in
In an example manner of use, when the phantom 300 is imaged with a DTI sequence, the range of SNR values can be adjusted by scanning the phantom multiple times with the identical sequence, then averaging images in the DTI series together. SNR can be measured using the following formula:
In summary, one would in practice preferably scan the phantom 300 a number of times using the same protocol, for averaging series together to increase SNR as well as for imaging after manipulating the phantom temperature to increase the range of measurable eigenvalues.
Accordingly, the configuration of the phantom 300 provides a reasonable amount of quality assurance by having at least two matrices of compartments. The first matrix 304 includes capillaries in the compartments 308 a-308 p, where the size varies from compartment to compartment and the contrast dopant varies from compartment to compartment. In this manner, a practitioner can look at a range of eigenvalues from compartment to compartment, which can be calculated using regions of interest in the images with different signal intensities (and corresponding signal-to-noise ratios) from compartment to compartment. Thus when the phantom 300 is imaged with a DTI sequence, all of the measurements of eigenvalues (three per image pixel in a region of interest) should be the same for a given capillary size. Any differences can be attributed to the introduction of systematic errors from the MR scanner system or increases in noise relative to signal (as manipulated by dopants in the compartments 308 a-308 p), and that difference typically is of a different magnitude for each different capillary size.
In other words, by design, the phantom 300 allows for some degree of relative self-verification. Examining the capillary macro-array compartments 308 a-308 p, each column would yield the same trio of eigenvalues if there were no SNR bias. Furthermore, the second and third largest eigenvalues would be the same if there were no SNR bias because of the cylindrical symmetry of the capillaries. Considering the compartments 310 a-310 p (having no capillaries), all three eigenvalues for all compartments 310 a-310 p should be identical for no SNR bias, as diffusion in water is isotropic. Differences from those noted above result from the SNR bias that is to be determined.
In an alternative embodiment, the compartments 308, 310 are filled with one or more fluids in addition to or other than water that have different diffusivities. Such fluids can include, but are not limited to, mineral oil and alkanes. In this manner, those skilled in the art will understand that even though the eigenvalue would be the same within a plane, the eigenvalue along the axis of the arrays would vary from plane to plane.
In still an alternative embodiment as shown in
With such a modular arrangement, the matrix 356 in housing 352 can include a plurality of arrays arranged in the manner disclosed in
Prior to describing the system and method of the present invention, a review of how a DTI sequence measures diffusion is now discussed. Use of a Stejskal-Tanner sequence to measure water diffusion in tissue along a particular direction, {circumflex over (r)}i, allows for the diffusion to be calculated in an image voxel according to this familiar equation:
Here, di is the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measured along the direction {circumflex over (r)}i. The measurement of ADC using a single diffusion-weighted (DW) image or a multi-direction DTI sequence requires the acquisition of an additional image with no diffusion weighting (a "b=0" image). In the above equation, Si is the DW-signal, and So is the signal without any diffusion weighting. Both images share the same contrast weighting contribution from T2 relaxation. The additional diffusion weighting for Si is controlled using magnetic gradients and is characterized by the parameter b, given by the following equation:
The strength, duration, and separation of the diffusion gradient pulses applied along {circumflex over (r)}i are given as |gi|, Δ and δ, respectively. γ is the gyromagnetic ratio of the proton.
Assuming that 3D tissue diffusion can be represented using a diffusion tensor, D, the measured ADC value is the projection of the tensor along the gradient direction: di={circumflex over (r)}i TD{circumflex over (r)}i. One can apply a rotation, R, to the gradient coordinate system such that the eigenvectors of the tensor align with the coordinate axes:
In the coordinate system of the diagonalized tensor D∥, the ADC value is sampled along some direction {circumflex over (p)}i=[cos θi; cos φi sin θi; sin φi sin θi], related to the gradient direction via the rotation R: {circumflex over (p)}i=R{circumflex over (r)}i.
Here, λi are the eigenvalues of the tensor, which lie along the x; y; z-axes in the frame of the diagonalized tensor. Because of the squared directional term in Equation 7, the sampled ADC distribution is proportional to the square of the angular distribution function describing actual diffusive behavior. For tensors with prolate symmetry (i.e., one large eigenvalue and two smaller, equal eigenvalues), associated with capillary structures, the distribution in Equation 5 forms the familiar "peanut" shape as depicted in
The effect of systematic error or noise on the determination of di, leading to uncertainty or bias in eigenvalues, can be understood using Equations 1 and 2. Unstable or erroneous gradient performance can affect b, which can modulate Si, di, and measurements of the tensor positively or negatively. On the other hand, noise in magnitude images follows a Rician distribution, adding a positive contribution to Si and to the non-DW b=0 signal (So) to a lesser extent. In general, this raises the value of Si when it becomes comparable to the mean value of noise, decreasing the measured value of di.
Method of Imaging the Phantom and Calculating Multi-Parameter Map
Referring now to
As discussed herein, design elements of the phantom 300 allow for self-consistent verification of whether measured e-values are affected by SNR-based bias (but not necessarily verification of other sources of bias):
The phantom 300 is imaged a sufficient enough times to provide images for yielding unbiased "gold-standard" or "actual" e-values at very high SNR (where bias is diminishingly small); for averaging series together to achieve higher SNR than in a single acquisition; and for acquiring series that can be scaled to expand the e-value range. In an example embodiment, the phantom 300 is scanned at least six times. A large number of averages substantially, if not completely, removes bias altogether from the free water and array compartments of the phantom 300 having the highest intrinsic SNR after doping. The e-value data from such averaging are considered the "gold-standard" (or "actual") e-values, for the prolate and homogeneous diffusion occurring in the phantom. Each scan of the phantom 300 defines a map over a range of SNR and diffusivity; multiple scans of the phantom complete the map over a larger range. Preferably, the phantom 300 undergoes multiple repetitions for averaging, to modulate further the dynamic SNR range.
Then, the temperature is adjusted in intervals of about 10° F. to about 20° F. over a temperature range of about 40° F. (which is a temperature slightly warmer than the freezing point of water) to about 100° F. (which is approximately body temperature). Preferably, the same number of images acquired at each temperature point to obtain additional measured e-values. Also preferably, image series at different phantom temperatures are acquired to modulate the diffusivity range substantially.
At step 404, the trios of measured e-values that are affected by bias are associated to actual e-values, for a given SNR value. The measured "gold-standard" e-values can be considered the actual e-values; however, dyadic sorting can also be used to determine actual e-values if time is not permitting to measure the very high SNR "gold-standard" data. Dyadic sorting will lead to a less-accurate determination of actual e-values, but it may be employed under circumstances (such as under circumstances of time constraint). Over the range of SNR values that are measured in all compartments (whether in a single DTI series or using multiple series averaged together), differences may be noted in some or all compartments. If significant differences are noted in some compartments of high SNR value but not in all, the actual e-values for a given SNR value can be considered equal to the measured e-values in the high SNR compartment in addition to the "gold-standard" e-values. If differences are noted in all compartments, then one can use the technique of dyadic sorting in each compartment to reduce the bias significantly within a large ROI. Validation of the use of sorting to determine the gold-standard for non-prolate data can proceed by comparing the gold-standard prolate e-values and those obtained using dyadic sorting for lower SNR. Uncertainty can be assigned to this mapping based on the range of actual e-values that can result from measurement error.
The trios of measured e-values that are affected by bias are associated to actual e-values, for a given SNR value in a map at step 406. An example map is shown in the pictorial representation of
The association of actual e-values with measured e-values constitutes part of a map, shown in Box 2 in
Following the schema in
Here, Ivoxel is the signal intensity in a voxel, and σair is the standard deviation of signal intensity within an ROI drawn in a region of air outside the phantom. The numeric factor accounts for the fact the noise within magnitude images follows a Rician distribution. Within a DTI scan, the apparent diffusion coefficient is sampled along particular directions, with the magnitude ADCi along a direction being given as follows:
Here, S(b) is the signal intensity in a voxel after the application of a diffusion gradient, and S(b=0) is the signal intensity with the gradient turned off ("b=0 image"). From this equation, the error in determining ADC associated with the SNR relies on both S(b) and S(b=0). Defining the term inside the parentheses in Equation 10 as f and applying the chain rule to evaluate the expression for error, we derive the following result:
The last equation recognizes that each term of the form σx 2/x2 is equivalent to 1/SNR2 if σ is the error from image noise. Therefore, a composite SNR value for each direction sampled can be defined as:
Note that use of this expression is slightly different from prior art reports, where SNR values for all images are added together or the SNR for only the b=0 image is reported. Because both S(b) and S(b=0) contribute to each calculated value of ADCi using the least-squares technique for calculating the tensor, this expression combines their separate errors more rigorously. Using the DTI protocol of the present invention, SNR for b=0 should correspond to the two volumes averaged together. Finally, the value of SNR used during the mapping process (SNRmap) is the average of SNRcomposite over all directions. In a similar fashion, the mean SNRmap value within an ROI is simply the mean of all values for a voxel.
Before calculating the full map from measurement to actual e-space (Box 2 in
Measured and actual e-values for geometry other than prolate or spherical can be synthesized from phantom scans using the scaling methods described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/220,172, filed on the same date as the present application and titled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR RESCALING IMAGE INTENSITIES WITH DIFFUSION MRI TO SYNTHESIZE COMPLEX DIFFUSIVE GEOMETRIES," which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Thus, data for a number of image series are scaled such that the e-values are consistent with non-prolate and non-spherical geometry. Considering the smallest e-value of the smallest capillary at the lowest temperature to be a lower bound and the largest e-value of free water at the highest temperature to be an upper bound, all three measured e-values for any imaging run designated for scaling are scaled independently between these two bounds. To arrive at the gold-standard, actual e-values for these scaled runs, dyadic sorting can be used within the ROIs of each compartment. The accuracy of the gold standard for these scaled data can be verified by sorting measured prolate e-values at this SNR and comparing these results to the high SNR, gold-standard prolate e-values. Measurement of the equivalency of these two suggests sufficient accuracy using dyadic sorting to establish the non-prolate gold standard e-values. Assuming that each compartment has approximately 680 voxels, the ROIs should be adequate at SNR of approximately 18 to determine the mean of both small e-values to greater than 99% accuracy after dyadic sorting. Inaccuracy can be quantified and propagated to the map.
In an alternative embodiment, rather than applying the resealing methods described above, one could also use the methods described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/220,172, titled "TEST OBJECT FOR USE WITH DIFFUSION MRI AND SYSTEM AND METHODS OF SYNTHESIZING COMPLEX DIFFUSIVE GEOMETRIES USING NOVEL GRADIENT DIRECTIONS", which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Thus, data for a number of image series are collected using novel gradient directions such that the e-values are consistent with non-prolate and non-spherical geometry. To arrive at the gold-standard, actual e-values for these scaled runs, dyadic sorting can be used within the ROIs of each compartment. The accuracy of the gold standard for these scaled data can be verified by sorting measured prolate e-values at this SNR and comparing these results to the high SNR, gold-standard prolate e-values. Measurement of the equivalency of these two suggests sufficient accuracy using dyadic sorting to establish the non-prolate gold standard e-values. Assuming that each compartment has approximately 680 voxels, the ROIs should be adequate at SNR of approximately 18 to determine the mean of both small e-values to greater than 99% accuracy after dyadic sorting. Inaccuracy can be quantified and propagated to the map.
Once the measured e-values are associated with the actual e-values, the user will have set of three mean e-values that have been measured at a particular SNR, that correspond to another set of actual e-values without bias. Furthermore, a range of individual e-values can be noted in each voxel of a compartment, corresponding to a range in the systematic biasing effect for a given mean SNR value.
The map and confidence intervals can be developed. Data for all measured triplets of e-values at all SNR values can be incorporated into the parametric mapping function. The mapping function can be determined using a multi-dimensional polynomial approximation, which maps measured e-values to actual e-values for a given SNR. Given the measured and actual e-values, FA (fractional anisotropy) values for each of these can be calculated as well, leading to an FA map. Confidence intervals can be defined based on the uncertainty in the data and the total least squares error in the determination of a map.
A simpler, graphical example of the method of creating a parametric map is described with reference to the following example.
Each magnitude-sorted eigenvalue lies on a plane that represents how magnitude sorting biases the measurement as a function of SNR. The functional shape of the plane in this example in
Once the planes for each eigenvalue have been determined, future measurements can be mapped to actual values using these planes in the following manner. Each eigenvalue plane has a corresponding uncertainty that depends on the value of SNR.
The intersection of the measurement plane and the region of uncertainty surrounding the fit eigenvalue plane can be determined for all three measured eigenvalues.
In general, the maps created in by the process 406 of
For example, the computing system environment 500 can be implemented on a conventional MRI machine and/or it can be implemented on other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, telephony systems, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.
With reference to
Components of the computer 504 may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit 510, a system memory 512, i/o devices 514, and a system bus 516 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit. All of the components of the computer 504 are conventional and well known to those skilled in the art.
For example, the processing unit 510 is a hardware device for executing software that can be stored in memory 512. The processing unit 510 can be virtually any custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU), data signal processor (DSP) or an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with a server, and a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip) or a macroprocessor. Examples of suitable commercially available microprocessors are as follows: an 80x86 or Pentium series microprocessor from Intel Corporation, U.S.A., a PowerPC microprocessor from IBM, U.S.A., a Sparc microprocessor from Sun Microsystems, Inc, a PA-RISC series microprocessor from Hewlett-Packard Company, U.S.A., or a 68xxx series microprocessor from Motorola Corporation, U.S.A.
The memory 512 can include any one or combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), tape, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), disk, diskette, cartridge, cassette or the like, etc.). Moreover, the memory 512 may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Note that the memory 512 can have a distributed architecture, where various components are situated remote from one another, but can be accessed by the processing unit 510.
Input/output devices 514 can include one or more of the following: a keyboard, a microphone, a pointing device, such as a mouse, trackball or touch pad, a joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, monitor, display device, speaker, printer, or the like.
The system bus 516 can be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus also known as Mezzanine bus.
Additionally or alternatively, the methods of the present invention can be implemented in a conventional MRI machine having computing components similar to the computer 504, including a processing unit 520, a system memory 522, i/o devices 524, and a system bus 526 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 520, in addition to the conventional MRI components 528 (such as a coil, magnets, etc.). MRI machines are well known in the art, and thus, the internal components will not be discussed in detail.
The methods of the present invention can be embodied in computer program elements 550, 552. Computer program elements 550, 552 of the invention may be embodied in hardware (such as in the processing unit 520 or memory 522 of the MRI machine 502 or in the processing unit 510 or memory 512 of the computer 504 or computing device operatively connected to an MRI machine) and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.). If implemented in hardware, a system of the present invention be implemented with any one or a combination of the following technologies, which are each well known in the art: a discrete logic circuit(s) having logic gates for implementing logic functions upon data signals, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having appropriate combinational logic gates, a programmable gate array(s) (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.
The invention may take the form of a computer program product, which can be embodied by a computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable or computer-readable program instructions, "code" or a "computer program" embodied in the medium for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system. In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or computing device and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computer. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term "modulated data signal" means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.
Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner. The computer program product and any software and hardware described herein form the various means for carrying out the functions of the invention in the example embodiments.
While the invention has been described with reference to preferred and example embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications, additions and deletions are within the scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.
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Video Archives – Roundtable Discussion on Occupy Wall Street (2011)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011: Roundtable Discussion on Occupy Wall Street
-- Roger Berkowitz, Associate Professor of Political Studies and Human Rights; Academic Director, Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and the Humanities, Bard College.
-- Paul Mariental, Director of the Bard TLS Program.
-- Jennifer Derr, a former professor in the History and Middle Eastern Studies programs at Bard College.
-- Steven Maslow, a banker on Wall Street and an avid supporter of the Hannah Arendt Center.
-- Two Bard Students who have been involved in the OWS demonstrations.
On October 12th, 2011, the Arendt Center hosted a roundtable discussion on the Occupy Wall Street movement with Bard faculty, Bard students who participated in the protests, and representatives of Wall Street.
American Exceptionalism: What Are We Fighting For?
Roger Berkowitz recently gave the opening lecture at the Hannah Arendt Center Conference "The Unmaking of Americans: Are There Still American Ideas Worth Fighting For?" The conference, held at Bard College, included talks by David Bromwich, Anand Girdirhardas, Kennan Ferguson, Jerome Kohn, Ann Lauterbach, Lawrence Lessig, Charles Murray, George Packer, Robert Post, Joan Richardson, Amity Shlaes, Jim Sleeper and Kendall Thomas. You can view the conference in its entirety here. For the Weekend Read this week, we provide an edited transcript of Professor Berkowitz's speech: "American Exceptionalism: What Are We Fighting For?"
The Unmaking of Americans: Are There Still American Ideals Worth Fighting For?
(Featured Image - The American Flag, Source: The Sleuth Journal)
Parts of this post have appeared before; it is rewritten and presented in preparation for this week's Hannah Arendt Center Conference "The Unmaking of Americans: Are There Still American Ideals Worth Fighting For?"
On Thursday and Friday of this week, "The Unmaking of Americans: Are There Still American Ideals Worth Fighting For?" will gather leading public intellectuals, lawyers, students, professors, writers, politicians, business people, philosophers, and citizens to think together about what American ideas, if any, can inspire Americans to sacrifice and struggle for the common good.
Is America Coming Apart?
President Obama's recent speech laying out his plan to "degrade and destroy" the Islamic State in Syria (or in the Levant as he prefers to call it) hasn't drawn that much rhetorical analysis. But some have noted its strong appeal to American exceptionalism.
Video Archives – "Blogging and the New Public Intellectual – A Conversation with Jay Rosen and Megan Garber" (2013)
October 27, 2013: "Blogging and the New Public Intellectual – A Conversation with Jay Rosen and Megan Garber"
-- Roger Berkowitz, Associate Professor of Political Studies and Human Rights and Academic Director of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and the Humanities, Bard College.
-- Walter Russell Mead, James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and the Humanities, Bard College.
-- Jay Rosen, Professor of Journalism, NYU.
-- Megan Garber, media critic and staff writer, The Atlantic.
Roger Berkowitz and Walter Russell Mead of Bard College have a discussion with Jay Rosen and Megan Garber about the state of journalism today.
Amor Mundi 9/7/14
Hannah Arendt considered calling her magnum opus Amor Mundi: Love of the World. Instead, she settled upon The Human Condition. What is most difficult, Arendt writes, is to love the world as it is, with all the evil and suffering in it. And yet she came to do just that. Loving the world means neither uncritical acceptance nor contemptuous rejection. Above all it means the unwavering facing up to and comprehension of that which is.
Every Sunday, The Hannah Arendt Center Amor Mundi Weekly Newsletter will offer our favorite essays and blog posts from around the web. These essays will help you comprehend the world. And learn to love it.
Eichmann Before Jerusalem: The Unexamined Life of a Mass Murderer is the new English translation of Bettina Stangneth's exhaustive history of the life of Adolf Eichmann. Stangneth writes that her book has two aims. The first is "to present all the available material, as well as the challenges that come with it." The second is to engage in a "dialogue with Hannah Arendt, and not simply because I first came to this topic many years ago through Eichmann in Jerusalem." Stangneth traces her interest in Eichmann to Arendt's book, a book that in Stangneth's words "had the courage to form a clear judgment, even at the risk of knowing too little." Her plunge into the depths of Eichmann's soul is an effort to reckon with power and provocation of Arendt's judgment. Stangneth goes to great lengths to praise Arendt in interviews and in her writing, citing Arendt as an inspiration and model for fearless and critical thinking about difficult and horrible events. In the end, however, Stangneth concludes that as brilliant as Arendt's book on the Eichmann trial is, Arendt herself was mistaken in her characterization of Eichmann as banal: "one of the most significant insights to be gained from studying Adolf Eichmann is reflected in Arendt: even someone of average intelligence can induce a highly intelligent person to defeat herself with her own weapon: her desire to see her expectations fulfilled." In other words, Arendt expected Eichmann to be thoughtless; in concluding that he was banal, she was fooled by him. Stangneth's book is the best account of Eichmann the man to appear since Arendt's trial report in 1963. You can read an excerpt here. You can read my account on the Arendt Center blog.
Ta-Nehisi Coates spent the summer in a French immersion program at Middlebury College. In an essay about the experience, he talks about how communicating and reading almost exclusively in French alienated him from the world outside of campus (except, perhaps, the world according to the French), how educational opportunities in America have been traditionally afforded to some and not others, and how the importance of the experience is, in part, discovering something counterintuitive: "One afternoon, I was walking from lunch feeling battered by the language. I started talking with a young master in training. I told her I was having a tough time. She gave me some encouraging words in French from a famous author. I told her I didn't understand. She repeated them. I still didn't understand. She repeated them again. I shook my head, smiled, and walked away mildly frustrated because I understood every word she was saying but could not understand how it fit. It was as though someone had said, 'He her walks swim plus that yesterday the fight.' (This is how French often sounds to me.) The next day, I sat at lunch with her and another young woman. I asked her to spell the quote out for me. I wrote the phrase down. I did not understand. The other young lady explained the function of the pronouns in the sentence. Suddenly I understood-and not just the meaning of the phrase. I understood something about the function of language, why being able to diagram sentences was important, why understanding partitives and collective nouns was important. In my long voyage through this sea of language, that was my first sighting of land. I now knew how much I didn't know. The feeling of discovery and understanding that came from this was incredible. It was the first moment when I thought I might survive the sea."
We are sick of politics, and who can blame us when the only rational conclusion is that getting involved doesn't make a difference? And yet every once in a while someone comes along who is convinced that they can make a difference, that politics can matter again. David Cole writes about Zephyr Teachout and her new book Corruption in America. "Indeed, according to Teachout, corruption is not just Cuomo's-or New York's-problem. It is the most pressing threat that our democracy faces. And the problem, as Teachout sees it, is that those in power refuse to admit it. Just as Cuomo shut down the Moreland Commission's inquiry into corruption, so the Supreme Court, by adopting an ahistorical and improperly narrow view of corruption, has shut down an exploration of the very real threat that unrestricted campaign spending actually poses to our democracy. In Corruption in America, an eloquent, revealing, and sometimes surprising historical inquiry, Teachout convincingly argues that corruption, broadly understood as placing private interests over the public good in public office, is at the root of what ails American democracy. Regulating corruption has been a persistent theme through American history and has bedeviled lawyers, politicians, and political philosophers alike. Everyone agrees that it is a problem, but few can agree on how to define it, much less fight it effectively." Teachout spoke at Bard last week as she prepares for the NY Democratic primary this Tuesday, in which she is challenging Andrew Cuomo. And she will be speaking as well with Lawrence Lessig at the Hannah Arendt Center Conference The Unmaking of Americans in October.
Daniel Bergner describes Eva Moskowitz as a one-woman tsunami bringing about the drive for educational excellence in New York. "'I thought that as chairwoman of the Education Committee, I could make a difference,' [Moskowitz] said. But labor was too intransigent, the government bureaucracy too cumbersome and entrenched. 'I kept getting more and more narrow: Well, if you can't bring better science or better arts - I held a hearing on toilet paper. I thought, That's going to be a winner, everyone's for toilet paper, surely we can come together. But you couldn't, because the administration denied' that there was a problem. 'I had to go around photographing bathrooms where there wasn't toilet paper. . . . I thought, This is not a system that delivers for children. Kids can't wait till all the policies change. That's going to be another two centuries.'" Moskowitz has created a series of schools in which mostly poor and disadvantaged students test better than students at the best public and private schools. Her technique might surprise: "Above all, there are her exacting standards for the network's adults - the teachers she hires straight from certification programs or after stints with public schools or Teach for America and the administrators who have been promoted from her faculty. It's their intellectual capacity that is her main concern; the training sessions I sat in on this summer were less about teaching teachers to teach than about teaching them to think. I watched Jessica Sie, the associate director of literacy, lead an auditorium full of elementary- and middle-school faculty members in a discussion of the nuances in a short essay from The New Yorker. They wouldn't be using the essay with their students. But Moskowitz wants her faculty to know how to read in the deepest way, so they can model this for their pupils right from the youngest grades, when everyone is discussing 'The Tortoise and the Hare.'"
While pursuing her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt, Tish Harrison Warren led the Graduate Christian Fellowship-a chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship-until a new policy led her group to be put on probation. Their fault was to require leaders of the group to affirm certain Christian beliefs. She hoped it was all a misunderstanding. "But as I met with other administrators, the tone began to change. The word discrimination began to be used-a lot-specifically in regard to creedal requirements. It was lobbed like a grenade to end all argument. Administrators compared Christian students to 1960s segregationists. I once mustered courage to ask them if they truly thought it was fair to equate racial prejudice with asking Bible study leaders to affirm the Resurrection. The vice chancellor replied, 'Creedal discrimination is still discrimination.' .... The line between good and evil was drawn by two issues: creedal belief and sexual expression. If religious groups required set truths or limited sexual autonomy, they were bad-not just wrong but evil, narrow-minded, and too dangerous to be tolerated on campus. It didn't matter to them if we were politically or racially diverse, if we cared about the environment or built Habitat homes. It didn't matter if our students were top in their fields and some of the kindest, most thoughtful, most compassionate leaders on campus. There was a line in the sand, and we fell on the wrong side of it." All of which leads Warren to ask, with justification, if there is still space for religious organizations in America's universities.
James Ward, who puts on something called the Boring Conference, talks to conference goers, including a woman who takes photographs of IBM cash registers, another who makes sound recordings of vending machines, and a man who keeps track of his sneezes. Why pay some attention to something so, well, boring? Ward explains: "'How should we take account of, question, describe what happens every day and recurs every day?' asks the French writer Georges Perec in his 1973 essay on the 'infra-ordinary' (his word for everything that's the opposite of 'extraordinary'). Perec challenges us to question the habitual. 'But that's just it, we're habituated to it. We don't question it, it doesn't question us, it doesn't seem to pose a problem, we live it without thinking, as if it carried within it neither question nor answers, as if it weren't the bearer of any information. Perec's point is that everything contains information. It's just that, sometimes, it takes a bit of work to notice it. These days, an audience and a platform can be found for even the most niche interests, as people demonstrate that nothing is truly boring - not if you look at it closely enough.'"
Lunchtime Talk with Kenan Malik
Details soon to follow.
Wednesday, September 17h, 2014
The Hannah Arendt Center, 12:30 pm
Resolved: "The fate of the world depends upon the success or failure of America's model of democratic self-government."
Tuesday, October 7th, 2014
Campus Center Multipurpose Room, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
October 9-10
The Hannah Arendt Center's annual fall conference, The Unmaking of Americans: Are There Still American Values Worth Fighting For?, will be held this year on October 9-10!
Registration is now OPEN! You can register here!
Want to know more about the schedule of the conference? Please click for details here!
Learn more about the conference here.
This week on the Blog, Richard Barrett discusses scientific and philosophic truth in the Quote of the Week. French philosopher Henri Bergson provides this week's Thoughts on Thinking. We look back on a Lunchtime Talk with Ory Amitay on the nature and history of monotheism in our Video Archives. We celebrate the return of our Library feature with a visit to the Hannah Arendt Library at Bard College. Roger Berkowitz addresses some of the common critiques leveled against Eichmann in Jerusalem in the Weekend Read. And as a special treat, Roger Berkowitz discusses Bettina Stangneth's Eichmann Before Jerusalem: The Unexamined Life of a Mass Murderer.


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Tactile and sensual
More Tekken Tag Tournament 2 news. Gaming peripherals company Hori are making a special edition joystick, with a theme to match the said title.
The arcade-style stick is being brought onto the Japanese market in December to coincide with the game's Wii U debut (that rhymes). Gamers over there will have to pay 7980 Yen for the privilege. There's no information on whether a western release will happen - best not to get your hopes up really.
Here's a closer look at this buttoned beauty:
Much like a Classic Controller, the joystick connects into a Wiimote and then works wirelessly.
3,021 news items
danfango said:
The stick looks great, but pricey in my opinion. I also think these things work better with a solid surface, rather than on your lap.
2 years ago
Yacht Club Games Interview
David D'Angelo gives us some chat on Shovel Knight
Reggie Fils-Aime Talks Nintendo Third Party Woes
Who needs Call of Duty when you have Mario and Zelda
11.5.2014 Nintendo Direct Showcases Upcoming Games
2015 shaping up to be a great year
Nintendo Introducing a Pre-Download Option for its Digital Releases
An exciting idea that brings a potential problem with it
Former Factor 5 President Reveals Cancelled Rogue Squadron Game for the Wii
The force wasn't strong with this one
3DS Homebrew Channel Back on Track After Slight Delay
Giving gamers a place to brew their own games
Pokemon: Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Dual Pack Confirmed
Why choose, when you can have both
Wii U Owners Frustrated Over Low Stock for Bayonetta 2
This witch is proving elusive for gamers
Super Smash Bros. Overload
8 player smash, new game modes, stage builder, and the return of Mewtwo
Psyscrolr Prepares To Imbue The Wii U eShop With Psychic Platforming
Mind Bending
Rob Jones said:
Nice one Matt, good interview. ... Yacht Club Games Interview
Zachary Wickwire said:
This was a good read. I am glad to hear that they have so much planned for Shovel Knight, it was easily one of the best ... Yacht Club Games Interview
sena_16 said:
how will you play this thing YA-HA! ... Eyeshield 21
Rob Jones said:
I've got the basic white Wii U, so my USB hard drive is a godsend. ... Nintendo Introducing a Pre-Download Option for its Digital Releases
Kacy Haydel said:
Thanks guys! I know I have been away for months and just saw this but reading all of these helpful comments kinda of ... A journey through Hyrule... and the ages
Wii's World is not officially affiliated with Nintendo! (but they wish we were).


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page 2 - Building the Beast
A look inside the Corvette Z06.
By September 22, 2005 / Photos by Illustrations by Dave Kimble
The starting point for all of this is the small-block Chevy V-8 of 1955 that displaced 4.3 liters. To maintain the compact size, GM has stayed with this engine's 4.40-in. cylinder-bore-center spacing for their small blocks to this day. The Gen I and II blocks were cast iron and from 1969 displaced 350 cu. in. (5.7 liters) in the Corvette. They had 4.00-in. bores with a 3.48-in. stroke and when the Gen III aluminum cylinder block came along, the bore diameter was reduced to 3.90 to make room for iron cylinder liners. Stroke was increased to 3.62 to compensate. But this conservative approach proved to be unnecessary so the bore went back to 4.00 in. on the 6.0-liter LS2. For the new Z06, lessons learned have allowed the bores to be safely enlarged to a whopping 4.125 in. that, combined with a 4.00-in. stroke, brings displacement up to 7.0 liters. Viewing these cylinder block decks (the cylinder head mating surface), this looks truly radical with very little remaining but holes ringed by cast-iron cylinder liners machined flat where they would otherwise overlap.
With multilayer steel head gaskets, the sealing between these cylinders is not a problem and the big-small-block approach has already been well proven. A limited number of specially cast big-bore cylinder blocks have been available from GM performance parts since 1998, and Katech has been using them in the C5-R endurance-racing Corvettes starting in 2000. What hasn't been available outside of the racing program are cylinder heads that can take full advantage of the extra liter of displacement.
The LS7 heads are a work of art with their valve angle reduced from 15 to 12 degrees, the same as the new C6-R's racing heads. The ports and combustion chambers are CNC machined, and it's no surprise that the valves get bigger with 2.20-in.-diameter titanium intake valves replacing 2.00-in. steel ones. As with the last Z06 engine, exhaust valves are still sodium-filled steel shells but they increase in size from 1.55 to 1.61 in. These valves are slightly larger than the ones in the racing heads because those engines have to breathe through rules-mandated air restrictors, while the LS7 inhales through a huge oval air filter that would look at home on one of GM's monster-displacement crate motors. This feeds an intake manifold made from the familiar black Nylon 6 plastic but with a more squared-off appearance filling all of the available space to increase its volume. There's a more aggressive camshaft than the one in the 2001 Z06 LS2 engine with a valvetrain that is unchanged except for the needle bearing steel rocker arms. The new cams are a little longer, have a different motion ratio, and are angled slightly to reach the relocated valves.
The compression ratio has been raised a bit from 10.9 to 11.0:1 and exhaust gases flow through hydroformed primary pipes into collectors welded directly to larger catalytic converters. The racy-looking short-skirt pistons are still flattops but have valve clearance notches for the first time in this family of engines. They are linked to the forged steel crankshaft by titanium connecting rods that are taken very close to the cam and block skirts by the long 4.00-in. stroke. The crank runs in six-bolt main bearing caps that are also forged steel, and its stroke is amplified by the 4.125-in. pistons' increasing windage in the compact crankcase to the point that a racing type dry-sump lubrication system is called for.


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Challenge level:
What shapes can you make by folding an A4 piece of paper?
In this challenge, you will work in a group to investigate circular
fences enclosing trees that are planted in square or triangular
Did you know mazes tell stories? Find out more about mazes and make
one of your own.
Using different numbers of sticks, how many different triangles are
you able to make? Can you make any rules about the numbers of
sticks that make the most triangles?
Can you cut a regular hexagon into two pieces to make a
parallelogram? Try cutting it into three pieces to make a rhombus!
How many triangles can you make on the 3 by 3 pegboard?
What do these two triangles have in common? How are they related?
Have you noticed that triangles are used in manmade structures?
Perhaps there is a good reason for this? 'Test a Triangle' and see
how rigid triangles are.
In how many ways can you fit two of these yellow triangles
together? Can you predict the number of ways two blue triangles can
be fitted together?
Generate three random numbers to determine the side lengths of a triangle. What triangles can you draw?
These practical challenges are all about making a 'tray' and covering it with paper.
What is the largest number of circles we can fit into the frame
without them overlapping? How do you know? What will happen if you
try the other shapes?
The ancient Egyptians were said to make right-angled triangles
using a rope with twelve equal sections divided by knots. What
other triangles could you make if you had a rope like this?
A jigsaw where pieces only go together if the fractions are
This practical problem challenges you to make quadrilaterals with a loop of string. You'll need some friends to help!
What happens to the area of a square if you double the length of
the sides? Try the same thing with rectangles, diamonds and other
shapes. How do the four smaller ones fit into the larger one?
Arrange your fences to make the largest rectangular space you can. Try with four fences, then five, then six etc.
NRICH December 2006 advent calendar - a new tangram for each day in
the run-up to Christmas.
Starting with four different triangles, imagine you have an
unlimited number of each type. How many different tetrahedra can
you make? Convince us you have found them all.
These are pictures of the sea defences at New Brighton. Can you
work out what a basic shape might be in both images of the sea wall
and work out a way they might fit together?
Can you make the most extraordinary, the most amazing, the most
unusual patterns/designs from these triangles which are made in a
special way?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Granma T?
Kaia is sure that her father has worn a particular tie twice a week
in at least five of the last ten weeks, but her father disagrees.
Who do you think is right?
You could use just coloured pencils and paper to create this
design, but it will be more eye-catching if you can get hold of
hammer, nails and string.
Can you make the birds from the egg tangram?
Ideas for practical ways of representing data such as Venn and
Carroll diagrams.
Where can you put the mirror across the square so that you can still "see" the whole square? How many different positions are possible?
Use the lines on this figure to show how the square can be divided into 2 halves, 3 thirds, 6 sixths and 9 ninths.
An activity making various patterns with 2 x 1 rectangular tiles.
Are all the possible combinations of two shapes included in this
set of 27 cards? How do you know?
Here's a simple way to make a Tangram without any measuring or
ruling lines.
Investigate the smallest number of moves it takes to turn these
mats upside-down if you can only turn exactly three at a time.
Follow the diagrams to make this patchwork piece, based on an
octagon in a square.
If you'd like to know more about Primary Maths Masterclasses, this
is the package to read! Find out about current groups in your
region or how to set up your own.
Take 5 cubes of one colour and 2 of another colour. How many
different ways can you join them if the 5 must touch the table and
the 2 must not touch the table?
Take a counter and surround it by a ring of other counters that
MUST touch two others. How many are needed?
Have a go at drawing these stars which use six points drawn around
a circle. Perhaps you can create your own designs?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this telephone?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Little Fung at the table?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Little Ming playing the board game?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this junk?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Wai Ping, Wah Ming and Chi Wing?
Here are some ideas to try in the classroom for using counters to investigate number patterns.
Looking at the picture of this Jomista Mat, can you decribe what
you see? Why not try and make one yourself?
Here is a solitaire type environment for you to experiment with. Which targets can you reach?
The triangle ABC is equilateral. The arc AB has centre C, the arc
BC has centre A and the arc CA has centre B. Explain how and why
this shape can roll along between two parallel tracks.
Can you recreate this Indian screen pattern? Can you make up
similar patterns of your own?
Let's say you can only use two different lengths - 2 units and 4
units. Using just these 2 lengths as the edges how many different
cuboids can you make?
Make a cube out of straws and have a go at this practical
Exploring and predicting folding, cutting and punching holes and
making spirals.


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China's interest-rate cut: Should we buy it? Is China overtaxing its companies? (Caixin)
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IRS finds missing Lerner emails
Republicans vow to block Obama on immigration
Nervous Ferguson awaits grand jury verdict
Barry, former Washington mayor,
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Big changes coming for Obamacare premiums
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