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The present invention relates to compliance rules analytics systems and methods for facilitating compliance, such as the compliance of an investment portfolio or a set of investment portfolios, with a rule or a set of rules.
1. A system for enforcing rules-based portfolio compliance, said system comprising:
a compliance rules computer coupled with an electronic data network and configured to maintain computer accessible data for a plurality of portfolio compliance rules; and
a compliance-engine computer server coupled with said electronic data network and configured to execute a compliance analytics engine (CAE) operative to receive from an order management system (OMS) via said electronic data network, an electronic request to evaluate compliance of a set of proposed electronic trade orders stored on said OMS prior to execution of said trade orders, to access said plurality of portfolio compliance rules maintained on said compliance rules computer server, to perform a compliance evaluation of said set of proposed electronic orders based at least in part on the portfolio compliance rules, and to generate an electronic message including data for one or more violations of the portfolio compliance rules to the OMS based upon said evaluation, wherein said CAE is configured to perform said compliance evaluation using, at least in part, a RETE-based process.
2. A computer implemented method of providing rules-based portfolio compliance comprising steps of:
providing a data server coupled with an electronic data network and configured to maintain computer accessible data;
storing computer accessible data for a plurality of portfolio compliance rules on said data server;
providing a computer server coupled with said electronic data network; and
programming said computer server with executable instructions to configure said computer server to execute a compliance analytics engine (CAE) operative to receive from an order management system (OMS) via said electronic data network, an electronic request to evaluate compliance of a set of proposed electronic trade orders stored on said OMS prior to execution of said trade orders, to access said plurality of portfolio compliance rules, to perform a compliance evaluation of said set of proposed electronic orders based at least in part on the portfolio compliance rules, and to generate an electronic message including data for one or more violations of the portfolio compliance rules to the OMS based upon said evaluation, wherein said compliance evaluation is performed using, at least in part, a RETE-based process.
3. A system for enforcing rules-based portfolio compliance, said system comprising:
means for storing computer accessible data for a plurality of portfolio compliance rules on a data server;
means for providing a computer server coupled with said electronic data network; and
means for programming said computer server with executable instructions to configure said computer server to execute a compliance analytics engine (CAE) operative to receive from an order management system (OMS) via said electronic data network, an electronic request to evaluate compliance of a set of proposed electronic trade orders stored on said OMS prior to execution of said trade orders, to access said plurality of portfolio compliance rules, to perform a compliance evaluation of said set of proposed electronic orders based at least in part on the portfolio compliance rules, and to generate an electronic message including data for one or more violations of the portfolio compliance rules to the OMS based upon said evaluation, wherein said means for programming said computer server is further configured to program said computer server to perform said compliance evaluation using, at least in part, a RETE-based process.
4. The system according to
This application is a continuation of now-pending application Ser. No. 11/253,273, filed Oct. 18, 2005, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/654,667, filed Feb. 18, 2005, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Applicants hereby submit computer program listings on a compact disc, 2 copies (Copy 1 and Copy 2) of which are submitted herewith. Each copy of the CD contains a master folder entitled "Macgregor_Tabet_CD_Contents" having a size of 33 MB and having been created on Oct. 10, 2005. The master folder contains a folder entitled XIPWS, having a size of 33 MB and having been created on Oct. 10, 2005. The XIPWS folder contains the following folders: a "3rd party" folder having a size of 1.33 KB, an "App" folder having a size of 403 KB, and a "Common" folder having a size of 32.6 MB, each of the folders having been created on Oct. 10, 2005 and each of the folders and all of the files contained in those folders, and on the CD, being incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. A complete listing of all files contained on each copy of the CD, their date of creation, and the size of each of those files is attached as Appendix I.
The present invention relates to rule-based systems, e.g., portfolio compliance rule-based systems. Portfolio compliance is a unique challenge because it requires maintenance of potentially millions of aggregations with fast impact analysis of any proposed transaction set. An aggregation is a combination of positions, e.g., positions owned or controlled by a single trader or group of traders, that one can use to ensure compliance with rules such as regulations. A position is the amount of a security either owned (which constitutes a long position) or borrowed (which constitutes a short position).
Because the mapping between proposed transaction sets and a set of affected aggregations is not explicit, a compliance architecture must support an efficient matching, calculation and identification of affected aggregations to provide fast impact analysis and explicit reporting. The mapping is not explicit because the aggregations and the proposed transaction sets are both dynamic, e.g., changing over time. Many of these aggregations are comprised of hundreds or thousands of data values across a variety of data structures and sources.
Investment activity in large firms involves tens of thousands of daily transactions affecting a variety of aggregations. The requirement for effective pre-trade compliance is to quickly identify the impact of each set of transactions without adding delays to the investment process.
Conventional systems have not achieved comprehensive real-time scalable portfolio compliance. Only a small percentage of the portfolio compliance rules (typically less than about 10%) are evaluated in real-time. The large majority of compliance rules are checked only in a post-trade (post-mortem) basis. Such post-mortem checking means that violations are only detected after the fact and millions of dollars are put at risk or wasted in preventable errors. The primary impediment to implementing preventive measures is that current solutions do not provide the performance level and scalability needed to evaluate the status of portfolio compliance as part of real-time investment processes. Moreover, the business challenge is getting worse since most organizations have to deal with increasing volumes. Industry trends towards separately managed accounts and increased market regulation will continue to raise the performance thresholds that compliance solutions need to clear before they can be practically integrated into real-time investment processes.
From a technology perspective, existing devices are based on non-scalable and mostly stateful designs. In addition, prior methods typically restrict their choice of technologies to a small set of programming models. Typically portfolio compliance systems are built on procedural language frameworks (like C++) combined with relational database management systems. These systems do not achieve, and thus a need remains for, practical real-time scalable portfolio compliance.
The present invention relates to rule-based systems and methods, e.g., rule-based systems and methods for achieving portfolio compliance. One embodiment of the invention provides a compliance rules analytics system including: a rule editor operative to receive rule-related data and to convert the rule-related data into intermediate format data; a rule translator in communication with the rule editor and operative to receive the intermediate format data and operative to translate the intermediate format data into executable format data; and a compliance analytics engine (CAE) in communication with the rule translator and operative to receive the executable format data and to perform a compliance evaluation based at least in part on the executable format data, the evaluation being performed using, at least in part, a RETE-based process.
In one embodiment, the CAE includes: compliance services operative to receive a check compliance message from a request queue; a rules engine in communication with the compliance services and operative to receive a do-inference message from the compliance services and to execute executable format rule-related data; and business objects in communication with the rules engine. The business objects include: a data sensor in communication with the rules engine and operative to receive a get static data request from the rules engine and to return static data to the rules.net engine; and an aggregate sensor in communication with the rules engine and operative to receive a get aggregation data request from the rules engine and to return aggregation data to the rules engine.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a method for performing a compliance evaluation. The method includes: receiving rule-related data for portfolio compliance rules; obtaining aggregation data from an online analytic processing component; and performing a portfolio compliance evaluation based at least in part on the rule-related data and the aggregation data, the evaluation being performed using, at least in part, a RETE-based process.
Yet another embodiment of the invention provides a compliance rules analytics system including: rule editor means for receiving rule-related data and converting the rule-related-data into intermediate format data; rule translator (RT) means in communication with the rule editor means, the RT means for receiving the intermediate format data and for translating the intermediate format data into executable format data; and compliance analytics engine (CAE) means in communication with the RT means, the CAE means for receiving the executable format data and for performing a compliance evaluation based at least in part on the executable format data, the evaluation being performed using, at least in part, a RETE-based process.
The present invention relates to rule-based systems, e.g., such as rule-based systems for ensuring portfolio compliance.
The application server 34 also has data access components 84 including business objects (BO) data access interface 86 and data access components (DAC) 88. The Data Access Components (DAC) are a set of components implementing data access functions in a data access layer (DAL). The DAL exposes the data stored in databases to the business logic layer (shown as element 58 in
The application server 34 also has presentation layer server side components 52 including a Push to Browser (PTB) server 54 and a page manager 56. The application server 34 interfaces with a client PC 32. The client PC 32 has presentation layer client side components 38 including view components 40, controller components 42 and a fa�ade 44. The fa�ade 44 interfaces with the business logic layer 58 and the controller components 42 interface with the presentation layer server side components 52.
In other words, with reference to
In operation, the presentation layer client side 38 components implement the user interface functionality such as viewing account data, rules, and compliance results. These components interface with presentation layer server-side 52 and allow the PTB Server 54 to push data from the server to the web client page and allow the page manager 56 to manage of page layouts. Session Management 46 and Messaging Services 50 are conventional application server infrastructure components. The Business logic layer 58 interfaces with the client side presentation layer. Its main function is to provide components implementing the application business logic. In one embodiment, the system aggregates Business Services 60 and Business Packages 62 in order to provide business logic for portfolio compliance clients. A business service is a standard web service and is coupled to a single business package. A business package implements specific functionality (application business logic such as check compliance, generate reports, and persist exception violations). In one embodiment, a business package is based on conventional .NET enterprise service technology available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond Wash. Business logic layer interfaces with data access components 84 which encapsulate all data access logic. The Data Server component 36 is a conventional database server (MS SQL Server for example)
With reference to
The compliance services 68 include validation services (rules and transactions) 25 and check compliance services 27. Validation services 25 checks a rule to confirm that the rule conforms to a particular grammar and check compliance services 27 confirms that a proposed trade or set of trades complies with a rule or set of rules. The compliance check generates a 'pass/fail' status where fail means that a rule is violated. Whether the compliance check generates a pass or a fail status, the system returns calculated values, if any, to show how proposed transaction violates a rule. In one embodiment the compliance rule engine services 70 include a rules.net engine 128 and a rules.net application programming interface (API) 29. .NET is a Microsoft operating system platform that incorporates applications.
The business objects 45 include aggregate objects 31, aggregate sensor 33, domain objects 35 and a data sensor 132. Compliance services 68 are in communication with the data sensor 132. The two components communicate internally using an interface (API), and exchange data from the domain model (e.g., securities, positions, account information) represented as C# objects.
The BL compliance components further include rule repository services 135. The repository services 135 include deployment services 21 and a repository service application programming interface (API) 23.
In one embodiment the data access components 84 include an online analytical processing (OLAP).service.net service 37 (primarily responsible for OLAP refresh) and one implementation of OLAP.service.net is based on the Microsoft Decision Support Object (DSO) package. OLAP is computer processing that enables a user to easily and selectively extract and view data from different points-of-view. For example, a user can request that data be analyzed to display a spreadsheet showing all of a company's suntan lotion products sold in Massachusetts in the month of August, compare revenue figures with those for the same products in October, and then see a comparison of other product sales in Massachusetts in the same time period. To facilitate this kind of analysis, OLAP data is stored in a multidimensional database.
MOLAP (multidimensional online analytical processing) is OLAP that indexes directly into a multidimensional database. In general, as noted above, an OLAP application treats data multidimensionally; the user is able to view different aspects or facets of data aggregates such as sales by time, geography, and product model. If the data is stored in a relational database, it can be viewed multidimensionally, but typically only by successively accessing and processing a table for each dimension or aspect of a data aggregate. MOLAP processes data that is already stored in a multidimensional array in which all possible combinations of data are reflected, each in a cell that can be accessed directly. For this reason, MOLAP is, for most uses, faster and more user-responsive than relational online analytical processing (ROLAP), the main alternative to MOLAP.
The data access components 84 further include an OLAP.client.net service 134. This service accesses aggregate data from within the left-hand side (LHS) of a rule (i.e., the condition part of a rule). In other words, this service accesses data based on the expression contained in the LHS side of a rule. The following is an example of a rule using 2 aggregates in its LHS. This rule implements a money Markey fund compliance rule:
In addition, the data access components 84 include a DB.client.net service 39. This component is a database client and provides data source connectivity and access.
The data server 36 includes a MOLAP/ROLAP component 138 and a database 41 that includes an application database and rule repository 140.
The OLAP.client.net service 134 generates objects that the system matches against specified properties for the left hand side of a rule. One example of an aggregate object includes the following information: measure (holds the value of the aggregate as returned by OLAP), key (represents the kinds of aggregate value, here 10.3.0 means account total market value), and slicevalue (here the system sliced the data based on the account ID, this is just an input to OLAP). The OBJECT variable holds a pointer to the aggregate so the system can use it in the rule where it is declared:
The Business Objects layer deals with aggregate objects and with domain objects, A domain object is an object containing data of interest to the system—a domain object is an object from a domain model. A conventional domain object encapsulates business rules and logic. A Domain Model creates a web of interconnected objects, where each object represents some individual entity, the individual entity having meaning to the system. The individual entity can be as large as a corporation or as small as a single line on an order form. In the present invention, the rules are separate from the domain objects.
Using service rules, the Compliance Engine generates aggregate objects dynamically based on the rules needs. The conditions of each rule match on specific objects. Furthermore, one who creates a rule can assign compliance rules to specific accounts. The combination of this information allows a compliance engine according to the invention to create instantiations of aggregate objects at runtime as the rules fire for a given account (or accounts) Similarly, the system creates domain objects using the data sensor layer. Domain objects are created similarly to aggregate objects, based on rules conditions (referring to specific classes of data for given accounts). The engine uses the data sensor to issue a conventional query to the database and fetch that data. The object instances are then created from the returned data. This is not a standard command in C# Jess (C# is a programming language and Jess is a general purpose rule engine). The aggregate object and domain object messages contain object instance, data values according to the attributes of those objects and their types. Examples of such domain objects include securities, position data, and account details. An asset object has attributes such as an asset ID, a short name, an asset type code, an issuer ID, a primary exchange code, price currency code and votes per share. At runtime, given one or more accounts and their specific properties or constraints (for example a money market account), we only create object instances related to such a context. This allows the system to load only necessary data objects and optimize memory usage, One could imagine generating SQL code to query the data sources before running rules, but such an approach is not efficient.
Thus, one embodiment of the BL compliance components include:
A core element of the compliance engine is Rules.NET, its rule engine. Rules.NET is a forward chaining rule engine using, in one embodiment, a pattern matching data driven algorithm called RETE. This algorithm defines a network of logical patterns (rule conditions) and allows for the reuse of common patterns between rules, enabling fast evaluation of conditions and activation of rules.
System Interfaces
The Rules.NET library 29 is an API allowing various levels of access to the Rules.NET engine execution environment and object model. The library (a DLL) allows a Rules.NET user to observe/manipulate the operation of the rules engine. As an example, a user can see the rules being selected for execution, new facts that have been created, data that has been updated, and the number of rules that have been fired. The Library (a dynamic link library or DLL) can be used by various components to build services. A dynamic link library is a library which is linked to application programs when they are loaded or run rather than as the final phase of compilation.
The Compliance Engine Gateway (Compliance Services) 68 interface is a bridge allowing the integration and interaction between the compliance engine 70 (component 70 can be referred to as a compliance engine or as compliance rules engine services—one uses the term services in the context of APIs and interfaces and one uses the term engine in the context of components) and external components and services, such as an order management system (OMS). It is the entry point for compliance checking on a proposed set of orders or a list of transactions. The gateway provides low-level validation such as data type checking, integrity check, and other validation tests such as checking if the input transaction set exists already. The gateway is also used to retrieve the results from the underlying engine and stores them in the database using the data access layer interface.
DB.CLIENT.NET 39 is an API used for data access by components of the system. The engine's data sensor uses this interface to retrieve security data for example, and other domain model objects, as needed.
OLAP.CLIENT.NET 134 defines the interface to access aggregate data in the OLAP server using the engine's aggregate factory. The retrieved aggregate data is also transformed into objects using this interface and asserted as facts into the engine's working memory.
OLAP.SERVICE.NET 37 is primarily responsible for OLAP refresh. This component defines an API facilitating its configuration and the management of multiple OLAP cubes installations. It also provides a method to set a refresh interval as a default or per declared cube. A cube update service can be turned off, for example in the case of overnight cycles. The overnight cycle is a process that takes place at a scheduled time after the end of day (after the market closes). It includes any processing on carry over orders, changes to data, generation of reports on all activity that happened that day, and in some cases, tests all rules against the data and generates reports on compliance checks at that point as well.
Rules.NET Engine 128
Rules.NET is a J# port of the Java-based Jess rule engine. J# is a Microsoft-supported language for .NET. J# is Microsoft's implementation of the Java programming language. As noted above, .NET is a Microsoft operating system platform that incorporates applications. Rules.NET adds an extended API to allow for an easy integration with the platform. one can practice this invention using any "Production Rules Engine" that supports .NET platform or Java platform.
The following table describes the component information:
In one embodiment, the CE gateway service 68 is the primary check compliance interface for all other components of the platform. Given a set of orders, the compliance service, via its interface with the rule engine, captures a set of violations generated by rule firings in the engine (if there are any), and returns them to the requester (for example an order management system) In one embodiment the order management system interfaces with the system via the fa�ade 44 shown in
The CE gateway uses Rules.NET engine deployment descriptors (XML files) combined with a configuration model to load rulebases as well as any required data and metadata. A rulebase is a set or a group of rules. For example, one can create a rulebase made of rules specifically dealing with money market funds.
With reference to
The following table describes the CE Gateway Service component information:
This component is a database client, using an object linking and embedding database (OLEDB) provider. In other words, one embodiment of the invention uses a database management system, such as Microsoft SQL server available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond Wash., that supports standard query language (SQL). The database client provides concrete support for data source connectivity and access. Its API is generic and facilitates data access for certain components.
The following table describes the component information:
The system uses OLAP.CLIENT.NET to access aggregate data from within the left-hand side of a rule (the condition part of a rule). A typical example of an aggregate object is one that stores the total market value for a given account. Here is an example of this aggregate object used in the condition of a compliance rule:
The variable ?accTotal hold the MarketValue for a given account with the account ID matching the value stored in the variable ?accountID. The key "10.3.0" represents a market value by account.
Here is an example of rule leading to the aggregate mentioned:
The aggregate is created only if it is not already available to the engine (see the not statement in the LHS of the rule).
This OLAP.CLIENT.NET service component 134 is an OLAP client, used to execute OLAP queries. The component is auto generated from the domain object model using XSL transformations. The OLAP.CLIENT.NET service provides an API allowing the auto-generation of methods for aggregates based on templates. As described more fully below, one can use an OLAP multi-dimensional expression (MDX) query markup to query OLAP databases. Furthermore, one can base the MDX queries on templates.
The following table describes the component information:
With reference to
With reference to
Returning to
In addition, in the illustrated embodiment the RT 102 extracts and persists the Rule Attributes properties 112 of the rule so that the rest of the system can directly access that information. In other words, the RT outputs Rule Attributes (RA) 112. The RA interface exposes a set of static basic properties of each rule that user interface (UI) applications require for display purposes. These properties can include a complete list of domain attributes referenced by the rule in question and information on how to navigate the attributes. The Security Asset Code from the security business object or the safe harbor date on the Account business object represent two examples of domain attributes referenced in regulatory rules (U.S. regulations as an example). There are other attributes regarding account properties (e.g., taxable or not-taxable and national or state).
The RT also generates a Relevance Filter (RF) function 114 for each translated rule. The RF 114 is an executable function unique for each rule. In one embodiment, in the portfolio compliance context, the RF receives as input a set of identifiers for securities and determines which of the securities, if any, contribute to the possible failure of that rule. A relevance filter is a function tightly coupled to the rule and in one embodiment is written as C# standard query language (SQL) code. One adds these filters to support post-compliance functionality. Here is an example of such code:
The properties to filter on are country and effective duration:
Once the CA engine 106 receives the CLIPS rules, the CA engine evaluates and records the status of portfolio compliance with respect to the assigned rules in near-real time. In other words, an output of the CA engine 106 is compliance status 108. A compliance workstation 110 accesses the rule attributes 112 and the compliance status information 108 to perform in-depth analysis and reporting.
With reference to
With reference to
The DoInference( ) call in 5 a is a call for the engine to fire rules. The rules.net component 128 creates exception data, e.g., data regarding aspects of a portfolio and/or a set of trades that do not comply with deployed rules. The rules.net component 128 passes the exception data back to the compliance service 68, which in turn passes a persist-evaluation-data request to a post compliance component 126. The post compliance component 126 passes an update-compliance-state request to the data sensor 132 and the compliance service 68 passes a post-result request to the response queue 136.
With reference to
When the CE 128 receives a do-inference request from the compliance services 68, the CE executes a fire function and returns results to the compliance services 68. The compliance services 68 send a save-results request to the data sensor 132 and send a return-results message to the OMS 116 b.
With reference to
Service Rules
A rule is a kind of instruction or command that applies in certain situations. For the purposes of this document, one embodiment of a rule has a left-hand side (LHS), i.e., a predicate or premise, and a right-hand side (RHS), i.e., an action or conclusion. One can imagine a rule without a LHS (no conditions), which one could interpret to be a fact, or without a RHS (no action), which one could interpret to be a query. The Service Rules provide a meta-evaluation level to efficiently optimize the calls to OLAP from the left-hand-side (condition part) of each compliance rule that is a candidate to be evaluated. In conventional OLAP usage, a procedural integration component would be built and used to access data in OLAP. Such an approach would require many calls and overhead. According to one embodiment of the invention, a user of the system can declare that a rule needs certain types of aggregates. When the rule matches on specific account information for a given rule, it will then generate an instance of the aggregate object, and use the parameters of the instantiation to call OLAP. OLAP will then return the results, for example a measure of the total market value for a given account. The system reuses such result in compliance rules to then check compliance status (for example a rule checking that a mutual fund market value for a given industry must be under 5% of the total of the account). The use of service rules (evaluated first before the compliance rules) filters unneeded data and information.
Metadata objects are objects used to define other objects. By creating metadata objects to represent aggregate instances and using them declaratively from within the left-hand-side of the rules, Service Rules provide a bridge between the analytics system (e.g., an OLAP system) and the rules-inferencing mechanism. An aggregate object, which is a metadata object, is used in the condition (LHS part) of a rule. The statement is declarative and not procedural where one would have to call a routine to communicate with OLAP.
One embodiment of the Service Rules bridge integrates the results of the analytics (OLAP processing) directly into the inferencing mechanism (i.e., the Rules Engine 128 in
Aggregations are declaratively defined since they are described as conditional patterns in service rules (in one embodiment service rules are the rules the system fires before the compliance rules). Consider the following compliance business rule: A money market account cannot own more than 5% of its total market value in technology. The aggregate objects (two in this case) return the total market value for the account and the total for the account for tech assets only. This information is then used by the compliance rules to check the 5% condition. The matching (of patterns against available data) is part of the engine's function, and the architecture of one embodiment of the present invention makes sure the system matches first on service rules and then compliance rules (which means in this cases, aggregates are created first and populated with the results from OLAP and then compliance rules are tested).
Another aspect of the invention is the fact that the rules are operating independently from the OLAP implementation. Declarative programs, such as certain rule-based programs, describe what the computer should do, but omit much of the instructions on how to do it, leaving the runtime system to fill in the blanks.
Service rules reuse the same RETE-based forward chaining rule execution mechanism as the business rules. The Rete algorithm is an efficient pattern-matching algorithm for implementing rule-based ("expert" systems). In other words, a RETE-based forward chaining rule execution mechanism is used to determine whether to execute a particular business rule for a given set of facts. Service rules use the same RETE-based forward chaining rule execution mechanism to determine an efficient way to access the data that is to be tested to determine if a particular business rule should be executed. The RETE algorithm provides a two-phase optimization of its network. The Rete algorithm is described in a paper by Charles Forgy entitled "Rete: A Fast Algorithm for the Many Pattern/Many Object Pattern Match Problem" published in Artificial Intelligence, 19, pp 17-37, 1982, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Service rules contain conditions that are satisfied at runtime allowing the selection of which data to load, and filtering any unneeded data and objects.
The architecture appears as if there was a rule engine inside the rule engine. The present invention allows the engine running compliance rules to be driven by the inference process applied to metadata on accounts/portfolios, securities, and other business objects. When such meta-rules fire (one can refer to these meta-rules as service rules), they generate data objects in an efficient way (only the data needed is generated) allowing the compliance rules to be fired and the compliance-check to be executed. As noted above,
Each aggregate class is generated using an OLAP multi-dimensional expression (MDX) query markup. MDX was created to query OLAP databases, and has become widely adopted within the realm of analytical applications. MDX is a standard for issuing queries to, and exchanging data with, multidimensional data sources. At runtime, the instantiation of each instance in the engine is what enables the implementation of the bridging between the rules and the OLAP queries, empowered by the choreography of Service Rules. In other words, once a rule is evaluated against the facts at a particular point in time, the service rules can efficiently access the necessary data based on the present state of the rule and the present state of the data by using the Rete algorithm. The instantiation and the evaluation of the rules enable the system to focus on specific OLAP cells at any point in time (an OLAP cell represents a single aggregate value in any dimension). The Service rules are efficient because they use the Rete algorithm to take advantage of the context data.
The Rete algorithm is a network linking all the conditions of the rules that are deployed in the compliance engine. Rete is a fundamental algorithm for production rule systems. The way Rete is structured, it remembers the instantiation of the conditions using the current facts, and therefore can decide which rules are ready, or are close to being ready, to fire. As an example, consider a rule that needs to check compliance for an account against a rule restricting trading in technology in certain countries. These conditions are used in service rules to only load specific data from the database for this account. Compliance rules are then applied only against the returned data as opposed to loading all the data related to that account, as is done by many other systems.
Service Rules help to satisfy the demanding performance and scalability requirements of portfolio compliance. Most data intensive applications make extensive use of data caching schemes in order to satisfy performance requirements. However, the open ended nature of user defined business rules combined with real-time changes to portfolio information and the need for scalability renders conventional data schemes inefficient and even counterproductive.
To amplify on this last point, user defined business rules can apply to arbitrary data sets and aggregations, and therefore data access patterns are typically unknown at design time (e.g., one organization may want to limit client portfolio investment in any security with more than 10% sales exposure in any one country except for those countries with GDP growth greater than 3%). In one embodiment, the compliance rules analytics engine design begins to get around the classic performance limitations of ad-hoc data analysis by leveraging the power of commercial OLAP engine technology to enable fast on-the-fly generation of arbitrary aggregations. An aggregation in the OLAP context is a composition technique for building a new object from one or more existing objects that support some or all of the new object's required interfaces.
One embodiment of the invention uses a Microsoft Analytic Services engine, e.g., one could purchase a Microsoft� SQL Server™ 2000 Analysis Services platform from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. and load it onto a server as part of performing the methods of the present invention. Alternatively, other OLAP engines could be used to practice the present invention.
In addition, for every business rule defined the rule translator module generates a set of 'service' rules that define the data access rules associated with executing that business rule. The RT generates both service and business rules starting from the natural language. For each template rule mapped to the natural language expression, there is a corresponding service rule defining the data objects needed for such a template. The instantiation of the templates to real rules happens at translation time, and the instantiation and creation of data access objects happens at runtime as a result of the engine executing the service rules. In essence, the compliance engine 'caches' the data access strategy. Moreover, because the rules engine is RETE-based it naturally optimizes the data access strategy defined declarative in the service rules. A data access strategy in this context refers to the algorithm used to query and retrieve specific data from the database at a given point in time during the compliance check process. As an example, assume the system is checking compliance for a money market account. Since one embodiment of the system uses service rules (therefore declaratively stating the conditions for data access), the system can target specific data to load for this account only and not others. Further, this embodiment of the system will only load the data needed by the rules used by this account.
The RETE algorithm does not distinguish between 'business' logic rules and 'data access' logic rules and it optimizes them just the same. The optimization is a property of the algorithm itself. As noted above, the Rete algorithm is described in a paper by Charles Forgy entitled "Rete: A Fast Algorithm for the Many Pattern/Many Object Pattern Match Problem" published in Artificial Intelligence, 19, pp 17-37, 1982, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The algorithm builds a network of nodes where each node represents the patterns or the conditions of each rule (this is the case for both the service rules and the compliance business rules of the present invention).
As noted above, the arbitrary nature of user defined business rules would make it difficult, if not a practical impossibility, to generate optimal data access schemes at design time.
The RT 102 translates service rules into CLIPS rules (shown in
The following paragraphs describe the process of translating a rule from a UI RuleGist format to executable rules. One part of translation involves resolving the intent of a rule against the rule created by the editor.
Because of the natural language presentation of a rule, rules are open to interpretation, from simple rules with several conditions to complex rules with parenthetical.
The following steps explain in detail the process for creating rules using the UI RuleGist. In some cases, we refer to the implemented application classes. Details on each one of the classes are given in the next section. Some of these steps can be viewed as a recommendation on best practices:
For a detailed description of how to parse RuleGist structure, please refer to the methods in GrammarTranslator. The GrammarTranslator is a class part of the overall RulGist UI Application (Rule editor). The file name is GrammarTranslator.cs and it is part of the computer program listings residing on each of the copies of the compact disc submitted with this document. One can find the GrammarTranslator.cs file on each copy of the compact disc at the following location:
All of the methods have detailed comments, which explain how parsing works.
Required Assemblies
The following assemblies are required by the RuleTranslator.
This section provides an explanation of the core classes in RuleTranslator. It is meant to provide a high-to-medium level view of the responsibilities of each class.
Knowledge Maintenance Framework (KMF)
With reference to
With the KMF, the present invention provides a semantic integration of all the elements in use. The present invention does not have separate concepts, used in completely different ways and concepts 'meaning' different things in each model. To clarify, one embodiment of the system uses a single XML schema (tree structure) to include all the elements making the 'knowledge base' of the present compliance system. For example, one embodiment of the KMF includes rules, sql queries, OLAP MDX queries, all in the same uniform representation.
In one embodiment, the Rules Analytics Engine integrates a variety of best-of-breed information processing technologies, e.g., MDX queries, OLAP and Rules.Net, the .Net implementation of Jess (In addition to those technologies already mentioned above, one can obtain SQL Server, Net development tools, and C# programming language from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.). Each of the information processing technologies performs a certain kind of function, and each supports a different model of operation with proprietary semantics. Many of these technologies have not been adopted widely enough to be subject to robust industry standardization. The semantic integration challenge implied by the combination of these technologies is likely a major reason why other organizations have not successfully pursued the approach implemented by the present invention. Integration is always a difficult task requiring advanced technology. In this invention, multidimensional data and multiple sources add to the challenge. Semantic integration challenges include the translation of meaning from one model to another (for example the queries described in OLAP, the way the system uses the queries in rules, and how the user understands the queries). Another example of a semantic challenge in compliance systems is translating from one data source's interpretation to another. The integration of the meaning from one source to another is a challenge. Declarative systems as supported in this invention help alleviate such issues because logical expressions, conditions, and other types of information, are described declaratively and not encoded in procedures.
The framework of
One embodiment of the invention provides a flexible mechanism allowing the definition, representation and deployment of MDX statements as part of the MLC knowledge base, which includes business rules for compliance and domain data and metadata.
One embodiment of the invention provides an XML markup for MDX queries with an object-centered approach. An XML document according to the invention integrates MDX statements, Rules and other SQL statements together in the same environment (An MLC XML document contains rules, metadata, mdx and sql)
An XSL transformer implements the translation layer from XML to MDX statements for execution. The MDX template navigator, used to view and edit the list of available templates and their contents, is similar to the explorer interface in windows. In one embodiment, a feature is added to test and monitor the performance of each query and compare any changes that have been made and their performance with the previous version. The XSL transformer is written in standard XSL. Given the MDX XML schema, one can write an XSL translator. The template navigator is a conventional C# application.
The MDX markup language is a subset of the overall knowledge base markup, shown in
The MDX subset starts with '<olapquerybase>' 142 as its main root element. It is a sequence, possibly empty, of mdxquery elements. Each '<mdxquery>' element 144 represents a single mdx statement. With reference to
The MDX markup goes beyond any published markup related to OLAP.
One embodiment of the detailed MDX tree hierarchy is shown in more detail in
MDX XML Schema
The XML schema is defined in an object-centered fashion.
<olapquerybase> 142
The '<olapquerybase>' element is the root element. It is a container for the sequence of MDX queries. It can also be empty since MLC knowledge bases may have no defined OLAP queries initially.
<mdxquery> 144
The '<mdxquery>' element is defined as an optional and unbounded sequence of mdx queries. Each '<mdxquery>' element is itself a sequence of three elements: '<header>', '<body>', and '<qparams>. An optional fourth element '<qtest>' is available for testing purposes.
<header> 154
The header element represents the header information for a given mdx query. It is used for C# code generation. Each header includes a parameter (optional), a description (header summary), and return values (<hreturn> element).
<hparam> 156
The '<hparam>' element is an optional element, describing declared header parameters. This element has two attributes: name and type. The name is used for the parameter name and the type is used for the corresponding data type. In the following example, one declares the parameter 'MeasureID' of type Integer:
<hparam name="MeasureID" type="int">
<hsummary> 158
The '<hsumarry>' element contains the description and comment for the defined query, as shown in this example:
<hsummary> Select a measure by crossjoin of members</hsummary>
<hreturn> 160
The '<hreturn>' element contains a sequence of '<hcolumn>' elements, where each one of them represents a value returned by the execution of the mdx query. Here is an example with two columns: 'Members' and 'MeasureID':
The '<hcolumn>' element is a single element with and the name attribute representing the name of the return declared column.
<hcolumn name="Count"/>
<body> 164
The '<body>' element is the main mdx query element. It contains the query statement itself. This is similar to the body of a rule in the sense that it defines the conditions for the query.
This element contains a non-empty sequence of query items ('<qitem>' element in the MLC MDX schema). Example of markup:
Each '<qitem>' element defines a query item, part of the mdx statement. A '<qitem>' element contains two attribute: The attribute code and the attribute name. The code can be either a mdx keyword such as 'WHERE' or an attribute name. Here is an example:
The '<qparams>' element is a container for the sequence of declared parameters for the mdx query. These parameters are referenced and used in the body of the mdx query.
<qparam> 170
The '<qparam>' element has two attributes: type and name to represent the type and the name of each declared query parameter, respectively. A third attribute, 'members', is optional. The example below illustrates that some query parameters include an optional '<tuple>' element.
The '<tuple>' element is defined by the '<qparam>' element with the attribute 'members'. It allows the declaration of a dimension. Here is an example of the markup:
The '<dimension>' element is defined as part of a '<tuple>' element, itself defined within a '<qparam>' element. It has one attribute, name. Markup example:
<dimension name="SliceDim"/>
<qtest> 176
The '<qtest>' element is defined for testing purposes only. As such, it is not a required element for the mdx query to be valid with regards to the MLC MDX schema. The '<qtest>' element contains a sequence of test parameters.
<tparams> 178
The '<tparams>' element is the container of all '<tparam>' elements.
The '<tparam>' element is a declaration of a single test parameter for the test query element. Some test parameters are fairly simple and define the parameter name and its corresponding value, as shown in the following example:
Others may include an inclusion or exclusion property when lists are involved (for example, when the parameter is country excluding certain countries), as illustrated in this example:
The '<tparamval>' element contains the value corresponding to the parent element (test parameter name).
<tparammember> 180
The '<tparammember>' element is used once exclusion or inclusion lists are involved in the definition of the values corresponding to the test parameter (parent element). Here is an example:
The '<item>' element is used to list a collection of values as part of an exclusion or an inclusion list, as shown in the example in section 3.1.18.
The knowledge elements defined in
With reference to
One of the available representations for each rule is its "text representation", accessible from the Rule Editor. This is intended to be as close to the natural language expression of that rule as possible. Once the above rule is entered, its text representation is:
"The weight based on Net Assets of investments where SecurityAssetCode is equal to CS must be less than 70%"
Rule Gist (a Rule Object Model)
The Rule Gist is the internal extensible markup language (XML) representation that the Editor and the Translator use to communicate with each other. As noted above, Appendix II provides one embodiment of a rule grammar specification for a structured standard grammar language close to Backus Naur form (BNF) standard syntax. Using this specification, a person of ordinary skill in the art can create a rule editor and a natural language grammar that support the rule expressions provided in the compliance engine of the present invention.
The Rule Gist XML representation is a hierarchical form that captures the structure of the rule along with all referenced values used by the editor. In our example the generated Rule Gist file is:
CLIPS Rule Set
As noted above, one of the Rule Translator's outputs is a set of CLIPS rules representing the translated Compliance Rule. The generated set in our example is attached here:
Simple Service rule that creates an internal list of all the referenced Security Asset Codes (in this case it's just the one-element list {CS}; additional AND/OR clauses in the original rule would cause this list to grow
From a technology perspective, the present invention overcomes current problems associated with developing real-time flexible and scalable portfolio compliance systems. The invention overcomes these problems through the successful integration of declarative rules and OLAP technologies. Service Rules and the Knowledge Maintenance Framework facilitate this success. The present invention integrates OLAP and Rules technologies to achieve scalable real-time execution performance while maintaining a semantic range that is flexible enough to support user defined business rules. In other words, one embodiment of the present invention integrates RETE-base rules systems, OLAP systems. RDBMS systems, Web Services, Object Oriented Systems and procedural 3GLs (e.g. C#).
Having thus described at least one illustrative embodiment of the invention, various alterations, modifications and improvements are contemplated by the invention. Such alterations, modifications and improvements are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended as limiting. The invention's limit is defined only in the following claims and the equivalents thereto.
Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
Referenced by
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The finalists for the 2015 Gazette Athletes of the Year have been announced.
Have you thought about what data files are important for sustaining your business? I would bet that they would includ ... »
This may be what happens when history is hidden or allowed to fall into the trap of selective memory.
Cedar Ra ... »

subset: commoncrawl


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Turn ordinary gifts into something memorable and unique by adding a personal touch.
Here's how you can create these personalized gifts for your friends and family, and capture a little bit of homemade goodness in a jar.
Turn ordinary cola into a "witches' brew" or juice drinks into a bottle of "bat poison" with these Halloween-inspired designs.
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You don't have to unwrap this treat to appreciate its sweetness.
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Biden's Son, Delaware Official, Stable After Stroke
May 12 (Bloomberg) -- Beau Biden, Vice President Joe Biden's son and the Delaware attorney general, remains hospitalized in Philadelphia after suffering what a doctor described as "a mild stroke."
Beau Biden, 41, was in "stable condition, alert, with full motor and speech skills" and is expected to recover, a statement yesterday from the vice president's office said.
Before hosting a dinner in honor of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the vice president responded to a reporter's question about his son, saying "he's doing great, thank God."
His son's good prognosis made this the "best day" of his life, the vice president said. "They're going to make him rest probably four weeks -- good luck getting him to do that," he said.
Beau Biden will "continue to follow standard protocol and receive medical therapy over the coming days," according to a statement from the Delaware Department of Justice. "He looks forward to returning to his duties as attorney general in the near future."
Biden was admitted to Christiana Care Health System hospital in Newark, Delaware, yesterday morning and he was transferred later in the day to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia for "further observation and examination." The hospital is the region's only one with a facility dedicated to neuroscience, according to its website.
'Complete Recovery'
Timothy Gardner, medical director of the Center for Heath and Vascular Surgery at the Delaware hospital, said in a statement that Biden was "in good spirits and talking with his family at the hospital."
"We expect him to make a complete recovery," Gardner said.
The younger Biden is a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard's Judge Advocate General's Corps and served a 12-month tour in Iraq that ended in October 2009.
Beau Biden said in January that he wouldn't seek the Senate seat formerly held by his father this year and instead would run for re-election as state attorney general, a job he's held since 2007.
The vice president and his wife, Jill Biden, were staying in Philadelphia this morning to be with their son, a statement from his office said. The vice president scrapped his scheduled return to Washington from Delaware yesterday for a lunch with President Barack Obama and meetings on Afghanistan.
Cranial Aneurysms
Joe Biden, 67, suffered two cranial aneurysms more than 20 years ago. Following surgery in 1988, he didn't attend Senate sessions for seven months. The elder Biden has talked about the experience in discussions about the Obama administration's efforts to overhaul the health-care system.
Beau Biden survived a 1972 car crash that killed his mother and 1-year-old sister. He and his brother Hunter were seriously injured in the collision, which occurred just weeks after Joe Biden was elected to the U.S. Senate.
At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Beau Biden recalled that one of his earliest memories was "my dad always at our side."
"We, my brother and I, not the Senate, were all that he cared about," Beau Biden said. His father was sworn in at the hospital.
To contact the reporters on this story: Edwin Chen in Washington at firstname.lastname@example.com; Nicholas Johnston in Washington at firstname.lastname@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Tackett at email@example.com


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SOURCE: Religion News Service
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Bible Museum Planned For Washington, D.C.
(RNS) A large-scale Bible museum will open in Washington, D.C., within four years, say planners who have been touring the world with portions of their collection.
Cary Summers, chief operating officer of The Museum of the Bible, a nonprofit umbrella group for the collection of the billionaire Green family of Oklahoma, said they considered Washington, Dallas and New York but decided the nation's capital was the best location. The final name of the museum and its exact location have not been disclosed but planners hope to confirm a location later this summer.
Research they commissioned found that the general population was more willing to travel to the nation's capital for a Bible-focused museum than the other two cities, Summers said....
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- Did a historian who said he's a victim of McCarthyism get the story wrong?
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This adorable, all electric home has so many updates you will think it's almost new! Updates include: energy efficient heat pump (3 yrs.), roof (6 yrs.), water heater (6 yrs.), smooth top range, microwave, fridge and dishwasher, most plumbing and light fixtures, storm door, and newer carpet throughout. All updates are per seller. Additionally, this home includes 2 bedrooms with ample size closets (one of which is a walk-in), a wood burning fireplace, a laundry closet (sellers to include washer and dryer) and an enclosed storage area in the backyard for extra storage! Close to parks, shopping and restaurants.
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It's not as if anyone listens to him anyway, but what Vice President Joe Biden said at a recent college commencement about immigration reform is scary.
TruthRevolt.org is reporting that Biden, while speaking at Miami-Dade College on Saturday, responded to a heckler who shouted "Stop deportations!" by saying, "We'll do that, too, kid, just let me finish my speech …"
The website reported that during the rest of his speech, Biden argued that immigration reform would increase gross-domestic product by 5.4 percent, or $1.4 trillion, because it would add 11 million people to the workforce.
And here we thought that the Obama administration was having a tough enough time providing jobs for people from America. Miami-Dade College gave Biden an honorary degree after his speech.
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Glenn Harris discusses the goals and tactics of Seattle's unique "Race and Social Justice Initiative."
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The time has never been better to stop this colossal waste of money, resources and, most importantly, lives.
For Yolanda Andrews, losing her house would mean losing everything. That's why she's standing up to predatory banking.
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July 25, 2008
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State soccer head coach Heather Cairns announced Friday that midfielder Andrea Seledee (pronounced On-dree-ah Sell-ah-dee) has signed to compete for the Aggies in the 2008 season. Seledee, who played for two seasons at Texas State, will have two years of eligibility with USU.
Seledee, a native of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., finished the 2007 season second on the team with seven points off two goals and three assists, which ranked first on the team. As a freshman at Texas State, she was third on the squad with 12 points on four goals and four assists to go along with two game-winning goals. Seledee scored two of her four goals on Nov. 3, 2006 to help the Bobcats defeat Southeastern Louisiana, 2-1, and advance Texas State in the Southland Conference Tournament.
"We are excited to add Andrea to our roster and her two years of collegiate experience will be very beneficial," said Cairns. "With the loss of three midfielders in Lacey Christenson, Abby Hunt and Shannon Ross, Andrea's experience at that position will definitely help fill a big gap."
With the signing of Seledee, Utah State's 2008 class is now at 11 players as Seledee joins freshmen, Brittney Boyack, Shantel Flanary, Allie Maduell, Molli Merrill, Megan Rhoads, Chandra Salmon, Marissa Sanchez, Danielle Shorts, Summer Tillotson and Alexis Venable.
Utah State returns seven starters and 17 letterwinners from last season's squad that posted a 10-11-0 record, tying the most-ever wins in the program's 12-year history. Utah State's 5-2-0 conference record ties the previous program-record mark of five league wins set in 2006. USU also set records for most points in a season (114), most goals in a season (40) and most assists in a season (34) last year.
Utah State will begin preparations for its fall season on Tuesday, August 5 and hold its first practice on Wednesday, August 6.
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4 Bottle French Wine Carrier With Votive Holders
Re-creation of an antique French wine bottle carrier. Removable votives are like the candles that were used for lighting the way inside the caves where wine was stored. Handcrafted of iron, with a wood handle. Votive holders are made of glass. Transport your wine and leave carrier on the table with candles lit for ambience.See More Product Details
Item # 956 02 10
Item # 956 02 10


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230 Riverside Drive
Auburn, Maine, 04210
Commute to Downtown Auburn
Almost all errands require a car.
Score Details
230 Riverside Drive has a Walk Score of 23 out of 100. This location is a Car-Dependent neighborhood so almost all errands require a car.
This location is in Auburn. Nearby parks include Raymond Park, Maple Street Park and Lincoln Street Park.
Explore how far you can travel by car, bus, bike and foot from 230 Riverside Drive.
View all Auburn apartments on a map.
Popular apartment searches include single family and hardwood floor.
This location is in the city of Auburn, ME. Auburn has an average Walk Score of 30 and has 23,055 residents.Learn More About Auburn


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The Vamps replicate the 2004 McFly That Girl video with guests Dougie Poynter and Carrie Hope Fletcher.
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GREENWICH, Conn. – Hundreds of "spontaneous volunteers" joined the American Red Cross crew to assist in Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, according to CEO Mary Young, of the New York North chapter of the American Red Cross, which includes Greenwich.
"We doubled our work force of 400 volunteers, and half of the new recruits are from Greenwich," she said. "The town has a wonderful commitment to support the Red Cross."
Red Cross volunteers gave out clean-up kits Saturday afternoon at the Sound Beach and Cos Cob volunteer fire departments.
The Red Cross has provided a number of services in Greenwich since Sandy hit, including overseeing sheltering operations at the Eastern Middle School, where 151 local residents and members of the U.S. Forest Service and power company line crews have stayed. The Red Cross has also fed residents at the middle school.
The Red Cross is also offering health services, from doctors and nurses to mental health professionals.
Young said the Red Cross was involved in immediate relief efforts after Sandy hit and will now assist families during the recovery phase.
"We deal with families individually and help them move forward," she said.
The Red Cross is also supporting FEMA in its efforts to assist storm victims. "We're getting out their info about their recovery centers," Young said.
The Greenwich center is located at the Western Greenwich Civic Center, 449 Pemberwick Road, and is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Call 800-621-FEMA to register for FEMA assistance.
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Explore social justice themes of hunger, the environment, and the criminal justice system as part of your observance of Yamim Noraim.
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|...terms. I am looking for someone to create a PHP/CSS template for this website. ? The format of the website...column for adds. Obviously I would just need one template for the definition pages and I would copy and
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|Aug 26, 2009
|Aug 26, 2009Ended
|PHP CSS Template Coder
|...plugin has CSS, JS and PHP same as a traditional WP page. You will need just to change the CSS and position
|PHP, Wordpress, CSS
|Jun 19, 2015
|Jun 19, 2015Ended
|Custom template, CSS, PHP
|I need a site design to be duplicated without using the theme. The reason is that a plugin I have to use has code conflicts on the theme so to use it I've made a separate install of Wordpress that needs the same design as the original site without using the theme.
|PHP, Wordpress, CSS
|Feb 13, 2015
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|HTML/CSS/PhP template
|We need HTML/CSS templates based on the PSD files which will be delivered by the start of the project...structure and styles. The delivered code should be php-files which result in a working website. The homepage...The delivered pages should be the following set op php-files: index.php hoewerkthet.php voorwie.php
|PHP, Graphic Design, CSS, HTML
|Jan 21, 2013
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|Modification of a template with php/css
|...would like to update the template The mission will thus be to update the template of my site by taking...taking back the characteristics of the template of my competitor whom I shall indicate you. (project includes...website). You have to master perfectly php and css for the template. You also have to have notions on
|PHP, CSS, Codeigniter
|Feb 21, 2014
|Feb 21, 2014Ended
|CSS / PHP Template Cloning
|I have a template I would like cloned in different color schemes, but also, the css elements must be...colors in the style sheet, again, I need each template to have differently named classes / id's, and...re-working of the style sheet, and .php template files. The template uses sliding doors for top tabs,
|PHP, Website Design
|Apr 19, 2009
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|PHP, Adobe Flash, CSS, PSD to HTML, HTML5
|Jul 18, 2011
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|Template CSS PHP Alterations
|...have a basic PHP website with multiple front end and backend PHP pages that currently has CSS on all the...the pages instead of all wrapped up nice in one CSS file, in the headers and footers etc, we would like...entirely, basically take the PHP and build a professional style template around it, but the site also
|PHP, CSS, Templates, MySQL
|Nov 20, 2014
|Nov 20, 2014Ended
|CSS / PHP Template for Directory
|I need a template created for my directory. The directory is located at: <http://www.outersports.com/directory/>...com/directory/> . I want the directory template to look like the rest of my site. Really just the header...footer and background. I am using a free open source php directory found here: <http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles
|PHP, Engineering, CSS, Software Architecture, Software Testing, MySQL
|May 16, 2007
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|Wordpress Template - CSS and PHP
|I would like a template developed for Wordpress (css and PHP). - Wordpress is here: http://wordpress...http://wordpress.org/ - The template will be a modified version of this type of layout: http://www.pronetadvertising...but no graphics need to be created - Finished template must be selectable in wordpress ## Deliverables
|PHP, Engineering, CSS, Software Architecture, Software Testing, MySQL
|Dec 2, 2006
|Dec 2, 2006Ended
|Template Alteration CSS and PHP
|I have a script to change front page PHP with CSS file basically to change the feel and look. Need a...term basis...PHP Expert is a most, please do not bid if you are not 100% confident in PHP, please do not
|PHP, Script Install, Website Design
|Jul 28, 2008
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|CSS Template
|...and needs to be sliced and all pages created using css. The structure is a portal page and then seven identically...different colour scheme for each. We require a template and css for each of the seven sites. Need to have: ...some php The site will have database integration at a later date, hence the requirement for php pages
|PHP, Website Design
|Oct 27, 2008
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|CSS Template
|...rounded corner CSS based HTML template. Header and Footer, php includes for these. Mainly use CSS, but small...required. Valid XHTML also. Header image controlled by CSS And within block 3 ,4,5 easy to insert text and...commented, so that can be "switched on?? or off by css or quick editing. Headings, ie Menu and other resources
|PHP, XML, Engineering, CSS, Software Architecture, Software Testing, Website Testing, MySQL, Website Management, Web Hosting
|Apr 24, 2006
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|Template CSS
|...a full Website or Full Template design just some minor changes to the code, CSS, and Bootstrap that need...Bootstrap and CSS to improve a template that was purchased on themeforest I will provide the template in an...five days. The template is perfect for what the company is looking for but template needs two top menus
|PHP, Joomla, CSS, HTML
|Jan 29, 2014
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|php/css Template and Theme Modification
|php/css Template and Theme Modification
|PHP, Software Architecture
|May 1, 2014
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|446015 Template CSS/PHP Fix
|Hey I need someone with knowledge in CSS/PHP. I have a theme that I've been trying to modify a specific
|PHP, Website Design, Wordpress, CSS, Editing, Anything Goes, Website Management
|Oct 3, 2010
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|css intergration and php template fixes
|...items removed from the template, its not difficult. Just more or less minor template edits, that i cannot
|Dec 21, 2011
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|Template - PHP Design CSS/bootstrap
|...http://findfreight.co/mm/login.php Needs to have this template http://findfreight.co/mm/htmls/pages/sign_in...com/emerald/htmls/forms.html If possible use template required fields notifications. As you can...become finalized we will give to you to complete CSS changes.
|PHP, CSS, Bootstrap
|Oct 4, 2014
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|CSS/bootstrap Template - PHP Design
|...http://findfreight.co/mm/login.php Needs to have this template http://findfreight.co/mm/htmls/pages/sign_in...com/emerald/htmls/forms.html If possible use template required fields notifications. As you can...become finalized we will give to you to complete CSS changes.
|PHP, Javascript, CSS, jQuery / Prototype, Bootstrap
|Oct 4, 2014
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|HTML5, CSS and PHP template Modifications
|hello i alredy buy one this template: http://creative-wp.com/demos/fantazia/default.html#portfolio
|PHP, Javascript, CSS, HTML5, HTML
|Nov 16, 2013
|Nov 16, 2013Ended


text: An idiots guide to tekkit episode 7 Flag By: phanact Channel: minecraft (More by author: Most viewed, Newest, Most Thumbs) random - Fav + Fav Comment New episodes will have a new logo, as well as better quality yet agian. We have had smooth lighting turned off while we record. Tags: Minecraft | tekkit Recommend tagsx -8 Views: 538 Favorited: 0 Submitted: 06/09/2012 Share On Facebook Remove from favorites Add to favorites Unsubscribe from phanact Subscribe to phanact Subscribe to minecraft Unsubscribe from minecraft


text:
One of my favorite things about using the world as your gym, is how a change in the environment can change a workout. Such was the case yesterday. No Puget Sound drizzle, no puddle jumping, and no rain gear needed. Nature surprised us with a snowy Wright Park workout!
34 degrees and picture perfect for our Outdoor Fitness Fusion class.
In health, fitness & fun,
Tacoma Living Fit


text:
iHerb Customer Reviews
Very good product
1 person found the following review helpful
Posted by Reviewer3343402 on Aug 30, 2009
My husband takes it for his prostate; mostly preventive but it seems to help with urinary frequency too.
Elevates Testosterone levels much like Zinc do...
1 person found the following review helpful
Posted by PracticalReviews on Oct 26, 2013
when i bought this product i thought i could compensate the occasional lack of tomatoes at home because i like the elevated mood they give me after eating it fresh & raw in salads,i guessed it was the Lycopene inside so i bought this product.although you get a distinct after taste of tomato sauce after taking this product it didn't give me the known feeling i was searching for,but instead i felt my testosterone levels going up much like after taking about 60mg of Zinc or more.this suggests this will be a Great supplement for prostate or other hormonal problems especially for Men.i did like the right amount of vitamin E this product contains-Good quality but not for me...you are welcome to rate & read my other reviews
Posted by Reviewer2555447 on Mar 04, 2014
Works slightly better than other lycopene alone products i have tried for urine pressure,and has not effected my blood viscosity as i am on warfarin so 5 stars.
good product
Posted by Reviewer2286126 on Oct 14, 2010
I like the composition, and although not expected medium-term effects on his silent trust protection
Posted by Reviewer3002319 on Mar 08, 2011
Excellent result for enlarged, non-cancerous prostate. Can now sleep the whole night without bladder pressure.


text:
Former NFL future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre told NBC's Matt Lauer that if he had a son he wouldn't let him play football.
Favre also recently came out and said that he suffers from memory loss and that he forgets normal things that he shouldn't.
Like I said before, this shouldn't be a surprise. Favre played through multiple injures and took many brutal hits during his career.


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This is one of my pieces that were include in the Kindling, a newspaper published by the Graphic Design Department at Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
More Fernando Garcia V
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Fun Flicks »
Bowling Green's Ted Ouellet sacks the school's SID for fun
I wonder if this was in the job description when Dave Meyer took the sports information director position at Bowling Green. Strap on a full uniform and stand there as senior defensive tackle TedRead More »
Novak Djokovic impersonates Maria Sharapova in front of her boyfriend
The third leg of the tennis Grand Slam kicks off today. But before it did, #1 Novak Djokovic was persuaded to perform his famous Maria Sharapova impersonation during a Wimbledon warmup. Oh did IRead More »
Long snapper trick shot videos are all the rage
Zach Smith shows everyone across the globe what he's bringing to USC next yearRead More »
2013 Champions League final in Lego form
What was a great final between Bayern Munich & Borussia Dortmund is now immortalized in Lego formRead More »
Charissa Thompson gets posterized by DeAndre Jordan
The best part of DeAndre Jordan dunking on Charissa Thompson was the knee he gave her as he threw it down. Bet you she regret agreeing to this skit. She still took it betterRead More »
Orb's 2013 Kentucky Derby in animated form
Orb ran a beast of a race in the 2013 Kentucky Derby and now thanks to Trakus we get to see just how Joel Rosario got to the winner circle. Can anyone beat himRead More »
Lionel Messi scores off the field
At least the fake Lionel Messi does. Does this actually work with girls? If so I'm going to dress up and walk around NYC like a fake Psy this weekend. C'mon, if it wasRead More »
Charles Barkley out bench presses Shaq
In a promo for the movie "Pain & Gain," Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal decided to have a lift off. While they both handled 135 lbs and 225 lbs rather easily it was theRead More »
Gareth Maybin is the golf trick shot king
I would love to see Tiger Woods try to do this. He can't hold Gareth Maybin's jock when it comes to trick shots. The man might be ranked 443rd in the world, but he'sRead More »
2013 One Shining Moment
The college basketball season is over and the Louisville Cardinals are your national champions. Cue Luther Vandross!Read More »


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Give your holiday tree a proper send-off; rather than tossing it in the trash, recycle it! You'll be doing our local landfills a favor.
Sacramento County Waste Management Recycling and SMUD are partnering again this year to offer free holiday tree recycling, including flocked trees, for residents and businesses of Sacramento County. Please remove all tinsel, lights, tree stands and nails prior to bringing them in.
Dates, Locations, Addresses and Times
Dec. 26 – Jan. 31 -Elder Creek Recovery and Transfer, 8642 Elder Creek Road: Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dec. 26 – Jan. 31- Sacramento Recycling and Transfer Station, 8491 Fruitridge Road: Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 3- SMUD Corporation Yard, 6100 Folsom Blvd., 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Free mulching available)
Here's one idea:
The Sacramento Sheriff's K-9 Association has an online store featuring a number of specialty items including mouse pads, stickers, clothing, etc. Proceeds benefit this non-profit organization that supports our four-legged canine deputies. For more information, please visit the Sacramento Sheriff's K-9 Association website.
Officer Brian Law and Officer Juan Gonzalez were killed in a single vehicle crash while responding to an accident call on Highway 99, near Bethel Avenue, in Kingsburg at approximately 6:00 am.
Both officers were riding in the same cruiser responding to the accident, which had been incorrectly reported in the northbound lanes of Highway 99. As they responded to the scene they came upon the accident in the southbound lanes. The patrol car swerved in an attempt to avoid striking the previous collision, struck the guardrail, and overturned. They both suffered fatal injuries in the crash.
The officers had gone through the 27 weeks of training at the CHP Academy together in 2008, and became close friends as well as partners over the past six years.
Officer Gonzalez is survived by his mother, Maria Gonzalez, sister, Sandra Gonzalez.
Officer Law is survived by his wife, Rebecca, with three children - Lauren (age 10), Brandon (age 9), Samantha (age 2).
If wedding bells are in your future, don't miss the opportunity to attend a complimentary "Bridal Open House" this Sunday, January 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arden Hills!
Newly engaged couples and event planners are invited to the breathtaking Resort where they will enjoy tasty appetizers and refreshments while touring the gorgeous site with three elegant ballrooms, two lush wedding courtyards, the luxurious overnight Villas and award-winning spa and salon.
Known as the area's premiere wedding destination, Arden Hills is the perfect venue for creating events to remember. For more, call 916-482-6111 or visit www.ardenhills.net.
Before the hectic holiday season begins, now is the perfect time to plan ahead for a special wedding ceremony and reception perfectly suited for the two of you! Newly engaged couples -- and event planners, too -- are invited to the next complimentary Bridal Open House at Arden Hills on Sunday, November 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
You are invited to visit the breathtaking Resort to enjoy tasty appetizers and refreshments while touring the gorgeous site with three elegant ballrooms, two lush wedding courtyards, the luxurious overnight Villas and award-winning spa and salon. Known as the area's premiere wedding destination, Arden Hills is well suited for creating events to remember!
For more, call 916-482-6111 or visit www.ardenhills.net.
What's your all-time favorite app for getting more done?
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.
1. Fancy Hands
I'm a huge fan of Fancy Hands. It helps me get more done by focusing on the stuff that I can't ask someone else to do. They handle anything that can be done over the Internet, from scheduling meetings to doing specific research. It has made me much more productive with my time.
California State Fair
Exotic Plants
News10, 400 Broadway, Sacramento, CA 95818-2098
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Copyright 2015


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You won't be able to dismiss this by usual means (escape or click button), but you can close it programatically based on user choices or actions.
"I was under a time crunch, so I literally just used one of the templates available, I would normally change things, colors, etc. but did not have time. My order came quickly, and I was completely satisfied with the quality and design of my invitation. Very easy and effortless process!"
"This design was just perfect for our dinner. It was pretty and elegant, but casual, and it allowed enough space for all the wording we needed, without looking crowded. I was looking for something that highlighted the couple's names, rather than the dinner itself. We used the space on the back of the postcard for listing the entree options for guests to choose from."
"This invitation came out so nice. It's professionally done, the colors are perfect and I love the design. It's so easy to customize. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants professional, but affordable, invitations to any event. There are a lot of designs to choose from too."
"I was thrilled with the card stock and the overall invitation! The service was great and the delivery was better than stated. An overall perfect order. Thank you!"
"Loved the quality and graphics of this card. Rounded the corners and had the back done in a light cream (same light yellow from front) and it was perfect! Can't wait to mail them out!"


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New Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's first state budget proposal reveals him to be something that would have been rare - and perhaps unthinkable - a couple of generations ago.
He's an evangelical Christian who is also a social Darwinist. More on that in a moment.
The bulk of Pence's budget contained nothing unexpected or even at all notable.
It contained some boilerplate conservative language about the importance of fiscal discipline and cracking down on government waste.
"This budget sends a strong message that Indiana's public servants will use only those resources necessary to keep Indiana moving in the right direction - and not a penny more," Pence said in the budget's executive summary.
It also called for some more money for roads, some fresh funds for vocational education and, of course, a 10 percent cut in the state's individual income tax rate - from 3.4 percent to 3.06 percent.
That last proposal will have tough sledding because state legislative leaders - who are, like Pence, Republicans - still aren't sure how easy the tax cut would be to sustain. They worry that even if the numbers add up now - and they're not even sure of that - that might not be the case if there's another economic downturn. The last thing they want to have to do is vote for a tax increase or impose drastic cuts in services during an election year.
But that drama was to be expected. The General Assembly's heavyweights - in particular, House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis - signaled even during the campaign that they weren't thrilled with Pence's tax cut proposal.
What is of fresh interest about Pence's budget is his plan for education.
His plan calls for all schools in the state to divide $126 million - roughly $63 million in each of the next two fiscal years - among themselves. That's a 1 percent increase, which is less than half the rate of inflation.
Here's where it gets interesting.
In the second year of his budget, the governor wants to give schools that are doing well an additional $64 million to divvy up. By doing well, Pence means that the school must have achieved either an A or B grade in the state's assessment system, graduate 90 percent of its students or have 90 percent of their third-grade students pass a standardized reading test.
That's a hurdle that many prosperous, well-funded school systems won't have much trouble clearing. When they do clear the hurdle, they'll find cash to help them build booster steps over future hurdles.
But for many struggling school districts, that hurdle might as well be the Great Wall of China. And when they fail to get over the wall, they'll find themselves in a pit for the next year that makes the wall seem even higher.
But, then, Darwin never said that survival of the fittest was either fair or gentle.
And that was the objection that many evangelicals had to Darwinism. Their views too often have been caricatured as a mindless resistance to the idea of scientific inquiry - in part because H.L. Mencken's satirizing of William Jennings Bryan's part in the Scopes "Monkey" Trial was so witheringly effective.
It also was brutally unfair.
Bryan's primary objection to evolution wasn't the science involved, which he cared little about. That's why he testified so poorly at the trial as a self-proclaimed biblical expert.
No, it was the moral implications of Darwinism to which Bryan - and so many evangelical Christians of the 20th century - objected. Bryan and other evangelicals believed that an adherence to notions of natural selection would make it too easy for human beings favored by fortune to dismiss other less lucky people as not human or worthy of concern. Such an attitude, Bryan argued, wasn't moral - or Christian.
Even a casual look at the modern world's history of world wars and other genocidal struggles suggests that Bryan's concern was not misplaced.
That was then.
This is now, when we have perhaps the most openly evangelical governor in Indiana history offering up an education budget that will allow the state's fittest schools and students to survive, even thrive, while the others are forced to shift as they can. It may not be natural, but there definitely is a selection going on.
Perhaps Darwin was more right than he knew. Almost everything evolves, including the views of evangelicals.
John Krull is director of Franklin College's Pulliam School of Journalism, host of "No Limits" WFYI 90.1 FM Indianapolis and executive editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news service powered by Franklin College journalism students and faculty.
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The American Association of University Women has been empowering women since 1881.
AAUW–Texas includes the state organization and local branches in four districts, working for equity for women and girls in schools, on campuses, and in our communities.
Register to receive AAUW Texas UWT Newsletters & Alerts!
Serve on the AAUW-TX Board
Nominations are being accepted from July 1, 2015 – Oct. 15, 2015.
The Texas Board is currently revising officer descriptions. The information will be available by the end of June. Nominations can then be emailed to the designated nomination co-chair. See "Why Serving on the Texas State AAUW Board Is a Great Idea" for additional information.
Who may serve on the Texas State Board
2015 AAUW National Convention – San Diego, CA,
June 18-21, 2015