text:
A system and method for remote navigation of a specimen.
1. A method of remotely navigating a slide, comprising:
transmitting a command to move a stage of a remote microscope to view an image of an area of a specimen disposed on the stage by capturing the image during the movement; and
receiving the image at a level of detail that is a function of the speed of movement of the stage when the image was captured.
2. The method of
3. The method of
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This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/448,913, filed May 30, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,224,839 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/323,371, filed Jun. 1, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,413 which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/087,523, filed Jun. 1, 1998.
The present invention relates generally to the field of remote operation and viewing of a videographic imaging system and, more particularly, to the acquisition and transmission of images useful in the field of telemedicine to effect remote site diagnostic and consultation procedures.
The digital revolution has intruded in almost every sphere of modern electronic communications and has given rise to applications and abilities that were not even considered prior to the introduction of the small platform computer system in the late 1960's and its subsequent development through the 70's, 80's and 90's. Although totally pervasive in every aspect of society and sector of the economy, the digital revolution has had a significant impact in the field of electronic communication and, most particularly, to that area relating to the capture, transmission and faithful reproduction of audiographic and videographic data. No one field has benefited more from the capabilities generated by the digital revolution than that of telemedicine.
Functionally, telemedicine allows a physician to have a remote site capability by means of which they are able to direct procedures, make diagnosis, and generally engage in the practice of certain forms of medicine without the need to be physically present in the operating theater or the examination room in order to effect a practically real-time interaction. In the field of pathology, specifically, telemedicine (telepathology to be more precise) allows the investigating pathologist to be separated from the local origin of tissue to be investigated and, ideally, still be able to make an effective investigation of a tissue sample in order to render a diagnostic opinion.
The current trend in telemedicine in general, and telepathology in particular, gives rise to some very interesting implications for the quality of healthcare services available to the public at large. Telepathology particularly allows a surgeon about to perform an invasive surgical procedure, to select a particular specialist without regard to that specialist's location. Selection of pathology services need only be made, therefore, by determining those most suited, or experienced, in dealing with the particular organ system under consideration. In the daily routine of a large hospital, such service flexibility becomes highly relevant when the diverse character of the procedures carried out as such hospitals is considered. Likewise, small to medium sized hospitals, which may not be able to support a large pathology staff incorporating the many subspecialties required for full coverage, are able to avail themselves of the same quality of pathology services that one might find in a major urban hospital. Clearly, the benefits of telemedicine, particularly telepathology, would be most greatly felt by small to medium sized hospitals in remote areas of the country where the size and quality of specialty medical staff is necessarily limited to due to geographical isolation.
The enabling tool for providing telepathology services is a telemicroscopy system connected to a bi-directional telecommunications network which is pervasive enough to allow the necessary equipment to be set up and operated virtually anywhere. Conventional forms of telemicroscopy equipment are generally well known in the art and suitably comprise a remote controlled microscope system where microscope images are acquired with a conventional video camera and transmitted, for display, to a control system. Remote operation of the microscope system and remote display of transmitted images can be realistically performed using a variety of communications technologies. However, in order to ensure a general availability of a developing telepathology network, interconnectivity is most realistic in the context of narrow band or broadband landline connections. Narrow band systems (like PSTN and ISDN) generally guarantee worldwide availability for very low costs, but at the price of bandwidth and/or channel capacity. Broadband systems (like ATM) allow enhanced channel capacity but still suffer from a lack of sufficient bandwidth to allow video transmissions at anything approximating real-time. Because of these limitations, conventional telemicroscopy systems have had to make certain compromises between channel capacity and image quality. The higher the quality of the transmitted image, the longer the time it takes to complete a transmission. Conversely, when transmission speed is an overriding concern, image quality necessarily suffers.
With a limited bandwidth available on PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), the only means available to increase transmission speed is to reduce the average number of transmitted bits per image, i.e., compress the digital image data developed by video camera. Before telepathology services become truly viable, image transmission must operate at bit rates of only a few hundred kilobits or a few megabits per second, which can only be achieved through rather large compression of the data.
Most sensory signals contain a substantial amount of redundant or superfluous information. For example, a conventional video camera, that captures approximately 30 frames per second from a stationary image, produces very similar frames, one after the other. Compression techniques attempt to remove the superfluous information from repetitive frames, such that a single frame can be represented by a reduced amount of finite data, or in the case of time varying images, by a lower data rate. It is well known in the art that digitized video signals comprise a significant amount of statistical redundancy, i.e., samples are similar to each other such that one sample can be predicted fairly accurately from another. By removing the predictable or similarity component from a stream of samples, the video data rate can be reduced. Such statistical redundancy is able to be removed without perturbing the remaining information. That is, the original uncompressed data is able to be recovered almost exactly by various inverse operations. The algorithms used in a compression system depend on the available bandwidth, the features required by the application, and the affordability of the hardware required for implementation of the compression algorithm on both the encoding and decoding side.
The particular features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood when considered with respect to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings wherein:
In order to gain a complete understanding of the compression packaged image transmission system and method of the present invention, it will be useful to examine how the system might function in the context of a typical telepathology procedure. During the course of a surgical intervention, as a surgeon is preparing to perform an invasive procedure, the surgeon will typically remove a sample of tissue from a patient and forward the tissue sample to the hospital's diagnostic laboratory for immediate evaluation. The tissue sample is prepared in conventional fashion and loaded onto the sample stage of an examining microscope, comprising the laboratory's telemicroscopy system, where an image of the tissue sample is captured by a video camera and electronically communicated to a pathologist at a remote site for evaluation. During the initial, or preliminary, evaluation, a pathologist is able to view the tissue sample in macro and is further able to give directions to laboratory personnel as to location and direction of sectioning to be performed in order to further any subsequent diagnosis. Frozen sections are prepared according to the guidelines of the pathologist, the sections are mounted on glass slides, appropriately stained, and subsequently loaded onto a robotically controlled microscope stage of the telemicroscopy system. Control of the telemicroscopy system is then given to the remote-site pathologist.
The remote site pathologist is able to manipulate all of the microscope's features and view images appearing under the microscope objective as though the pathologist were present at the laboratory site and directly manipulating the microscope. Motion control of the microscope stage in X-Y directions, as well as focus control of the stage in the Z direction, is performed by issuing the appropriate control commands to a remote site small platform computer system which, in turn, transmits motion control commands to the telemicroscopy system in the hospital laboratory. Following each X and/or Y translational movement of the microscope stage, the resulting tissue sample image is transmitted to the pathologist's remote site, where it is displayed on a high resolution monitor. The pathologist is, thus, able to manipulate and view a tissue sample as if the microscope containing the specimen were directly in front of him.
Following the pathologist's investigation, the pathologist can prepare a report which provides the surgeon with his diagnostic opinion in the case, either over the same bi-directional communication medium used to examine the specimen, or by any one of a number of various other electronic communication forms available to the pathologist. In particular, the pathologist may transmit a written protocol to the surgeon by facsimile, e-mail, and the like, or make a direct oral report to the surgeon and follow-up with written documentation communicated electronically. After making a diagnosis, the pathologist releases the telemicroscopy connection and is then available for a next consultation with some other surgery team which might be preparing to perform a different surgical procedure in a totally different location. In the meantime, the original consulting surgeon is able to continue the intervention procedure according to the outcome of the diagnosis made by the pathologist. As a check, the original consulting surgeon may decide to forward the original tissue specimen to a local pathology laboratory for a final diagnosis, in accordance with conventional accepted procedure. This manner of "Gold Standard" cross-checking, is particularly useful as a means of acquiring data on the accuracy of results obtained by formulating diagnostic opinions on the basis of televised images which have been compressed, transmitted over long distances over relatively "noisy" communication connections, decompressed and viewed on a high resolution video monitor screen.
In this regard, it bears mentioning that if visual image data can be transmitted to a remote site pathologist for the purpose of obtaining a diagnostic opinion, the same visual image data can be transmitted to a consulting pathologist, by either the primary diagnostician, or the hospital. A primary and a consulting pathologist, or more than one consulting pathologist, are able to confer with respect to the same visual image data representing the tissue sample. The ability to obtain on-line consultations is extremely advantageous, particularly where the proposed intervention implies a tissue morphology requiring the services of a pathologist or pathologists having a highly developed and correspondingly rare sub-specialty.
Turning now to
The telemicroscope portion, indicated generally at 10 suitably comprises a remotely controllable microscope 12 configured with an illuminated, robotically controllable microscope stage 14. The microscope stage is movable in X and Y directions and is controllable from a remote source by mechanically coupling X and Y translation motors to the stage platform through control circuitry 16. A suitable illumination source is disposed beneath the stage and is also translationally movable beneath the stage in order to shift the apparent illumination source with respect to a specimen on the microscope stage. Both the translational motion and intensity of the illumination source are remotely controllable under software program control operating as an application on the control processor.
A plurality of objective lenses 18 are connected to a rotatable objective frame such that a specimen may be viewed at various magnifications. The rotatable frame may also be robotically controlled such that the various objective lenses can be moved into the microscope optical path and a specimen be viewed under any one of a number of magnifications at the desire of the operator. Examples of robotically controlled microscopy systems suitable for use in connection with the present invention include the Olympus Vanox microscope system equipped with a Prior H100 remotely controllable stage, or other similar computerized stages such as those manufactured and sold by Opelco.
A control processor, indicated at 20, implemented as a small platform computer system such as an IBM-type x86 personal computer system, provides the data processing and platform capabilities for hosting an application software program suitable for developing the necessary command and control signals for operating the microscope system. The control processor 20 is able to receive and interpret commands issued by a system user on a conventional input device, such as a mouse or a keyboard, and convert user defined commands into signals appropriate for manipulating the various components of the microscope system. The control processor 20 is typically coupled to the microscope system through an interface, such as an SCSI interface, a proprietary interface or any one of a number of alternative coupling interfaces, which, in turn, defines a system bus to which the various control electronics operating the microscope system are connected.
A magnification control system suitably comprises a robotically controllable motor and motor driver combination which is coupled to the objective frame and is configured to rotate the frame to bring various desired objective lenses into the optical path. Upon receipt of an appropriate movement command signal, the magnification control system directs the motor to rotate the rotatable frame, thus moving a different objective lens into the optical path of the microscope system. Stage movement is likewise robotically controlled by a stage movement control system 16 which also comprises motors for moving the sample stage 14 in the X, Y (16) and Z (17) directions along with appropriate motor driver circuitry for actuating the motors. The mechanical apparatus and electronic control circuitry for effecting stage movement is preferably implemented to include some form of open or closed-loop motor positioning servoing such that the sample stage can be either positioned with great precision, or its translational movement can be determined very accurately in the X, Y and Z directions. For reasons that will be described further below, it is important that the microscope stage respond precisely to movement commands and that stage movement can be very precisely determined and carefully controlled.
When the stage control system is configured to operate closed-loop, position feedback information can be recovered from the motor itself, or from optical position encoders or laser interferometer position encoders, if enhanced precision is desired. Closed-loop servo control of stage motion allows the stage position to be determined with great accuracy and insures that translation commands are responded to with great precision. Thus, a command to translate the stage 50 microns in the positive X direction will result in the stage moving precisely 50 microns in +X, at least to the mechanical resolution limits of the motor system.
If the system is configured to operate semi-closed-loop, or open-loop, stage control is not dependent on feedback per se, but it is at least necessary to precisely define where the motors controlling the stage were told to go. For reasons detailed further below, the transmitted video image is compression packaged in a manner that takes stage motion (both relative degree and absolute magnitude) into account when defining the compression packaging technique used under various circumstances.
Focusing is performed by causing small excursions of the stage in the Z direction under control of corresponding focus control circuitry 17. Because the amount of relative motion during focusing is significantly smaller than the amount of relative motion during gross Z translational movements, the focus circuitry may well comprise a microstepping motor controlled by appropriate motor driver circuitry and operating in parallel with the Z axis stage translation motor. The z axis translation motor could, thus, be provided with a more gross response characteristic so that it would be able to accommodate vertical optical sectioning of a specimen, i.e., viewing a specimen on various horizontal planes vertically disposed therethrough, while the focusing motor would accommodate the micromotions required to adequately focus each image plane. Illumination circuitry controls the intensity of the illumination light source in conventional fashion.
A video camera 22 is optically coupled to the microscope to capture diagnostic-quality images of microscopic tissue samples disposed on the sample stage. The video camera 22 is preferably a high resolution, color, digital video camera operating at an image resolution in accordance with, at least, the NTSE standardized composite color video image specification. Examples of video cameras suitable for use in connection with the present invention include the Sony DKC-5000 series of video cameras, the Ikegami 370-M video camera, and other makes and models of composite, color video cameras of comparable quality and resolution. Images captured by the video camera 22 are directed through video image processors 24 whereby they are able to be displayed on a high resolution digital display screen coupled to the telemicroscope control processor 20.
In addition, and in accordance with the present invention, high-resolution video images captured by the camera are compression packaged by the control processor 20 for transmission over a telecommunications interface 26, coupled, in turn, to a wide-area-network 28 such as the Internet.
The images developed by the video camera should have at least the resolution available under the NTSC standard. In North America and Japan, the NTSC color video image comprises approximately 480 pels per image scan line in the red, green and blue (RGB) color components. Approximately 480 scan lines comprise an image frame, and image frames are generated at a rate of approximately 30 frames per second. If each color component is coded as an 8-bit value (24 bits/pel, i.e., "true color") representing some form of luminance plus color difference encoding, for example, the representing continuous composite video is produced at a bit rate of about 168 Megabits per second (Mbps). For truly high resolution image production suitable for telepathology applications, the video camera should be able to generate still images with resolutions preferably in the range of from 800×600 (pels×lines) to about 1024×1024 (pels×lines). These images are transmitted at frame rates of 30 fps and, at 24 bits per pel, this results in an image bit rate in excess 750 Mbps.
Clearly, the effective bandwidth of the electronic telecommunications network connection which interconnects the host server system with a pathologist's remote viewing and diagnostic facility (termed herein a client system), determines the amount of time, or intrinsic delay, required to remotely display transmitted high resolution images on a high resolution monitor in a form and of a quality suitable for telepathology applications. Ideally, the system and method of the present invention are implemented as an application software program, hosted on both a hospital's host server and a pathologist's client system. The application program should be independent of the communication links interconnecting various sites, and should be capable of operation over a wide variety of conventional local and wide area network (LAN and WAN) architectures. Preferably, the system is configured for optimum performance as a Windows-based TCP/IP implementation, compliant with the WinSock 1.1 specification, and is thus compatible with LAN-over-broadband telecommunications architectures such as an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) based optical fiber connection.
Basic rate ISDN, bundled ISDN, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop (ADSL) and various Frame Relay telecommunications links are also contemplated as electronic communications interconnections suitable for use in connection with the system present invention. Although ATM-based communication protocols in conjunction with an Internet-based interconnect architecture is preferred, all that is really required is a communication architecture (connect hardware and data transmission methodology) able to bi-directionally communicate digital data at bitrate appropriate to the invention. The actual communication bandwidth required will, of course, depend on the kind and amount of compression applied to the raw video data stream. As will be developed in greater detail, below, compression packaging the video data stream in accordance with the invention results in effective bit rates sufficiently low enough to make effective use of many LAN/WAN architectures.
Ideally, the pathologist's client system would operate within a Windows.RTM. or Windows-like graphical user interface (GUI) based environment in order to best take advantage of the preferred Internet-based bi-directional communication system in accordance with the invention. Operating within the familiar graphical Windows-based environment, the pathologist is able to control the remote telemicroscopy system by merely "clicking" on various commands available through menus, or submenus, presented by the application software in a manner which mimics conventional Webbrowser application software. Alternatively, the GUI environment would allow image tracking and movement commands to be generated by "clicking" directly on the screen image. All of the telemicroscope controls are available to the pathologist by using simple mouse commands, or alternatively, by issuing simple step commands over a keyboard. Multimedia functionality allows for bi-directional audio communication between the pathologist at the remote site and clinical personnel at the telemicroscopy server, so that the pathologist is able to converse with laboratory technicians, issue directions, make suggestions and the like, all in parallel with the video feed. The Windows.RTM. or Windows-like interface for microscope control and image display remains active throughout the entire session, for continuous ease of use.
The methodology of the present invention is preferably implemented as an application software program running on both the telepathology network server and a pathologist's client system and is adapted to both control a telemicroscopy system and receive information from a video camera connected thereto. A microscope slide containing an investigation section is placed on the robotically controlled sample stage of the server system's telemicroscope. In one particular embodiment of the invention, the server system might initially create a "mosaic" of smaller images which are arranged in a grid, or tiled, to define a complete low power image of the entire tissue specimen to be examined. As a pathologist initiates an electronic communication with the server system, the mosaic image of the sample becomes available and is stored on a mass storage media device such as a hard disk drive on both systems for future reference. The pathologist may use the mosaic image as a reference image or "roadmap" for further evaluation of the sample and is able to select any area of the mosaic for viewing at higher optical magnification. As will be described in greater detail below, the mosaic is initially transmitted with a particular level of detail, i.e., magnification resolutions of from 1× to about 10× are immediately available for viewing. As additional resolution is desired, resolutions greater than 10×, for example, only the additional resolution detail required for examination of that particular mosaic "tile" is transmitted, representing a significant bandwidth savings.
As the pathologist determines which portion of the mosaic to investigate, higher optical magnification is obtained by issuing the appropriate commands over the client system, which are transmitted to the server system through the network's communication connection. Additional portions of the mosaic are captured for viewing by issuing the appropriate commands to move the remote sample stage of the telemicroscope to appropriate X-Y positions which correspond to a selected location on the low power mosaic image. Selection of particular locations for further viewing might be accommodated by "clicking" on the selected location using a mouse and further "clicking" on a desired magnification factor provided on a menu. All images transferred to the client system remain on the display until no longer required. All images may further be archived in a database along with their X-Y coordinates with respect to the mosaic image, a time stamp, illumination data, and any such other information required to reconstruct the pathologist's diagnostic "trajectory" through the specimen. These archived images are particular useful in developing a database for clinical education purposes.
Once the pathologist has determined where to begin examination of the specimen, sample magnification is increased to an amount appropriate for examination of detail and transmission of detailed video data is initiated in accord with the invention. Video data is transmitted to the client system according to an adaptive, multi-tiered compression methodology which dynamically adapts the form, content and detail of transmitted images to the visual perception abilities of a typical system user. To summarize, if a user is unable to perceive image detail because, for example, the image is moving due to sample stage translation, the image is adaptively transmitted at a significantly lower resolution, i.e., using significantly lower bandwidth. As the image stabilizes, and higher resolution is perceptible, the system adaptively increases transmitted detail. Thus, the system inherently delivers detail proportional to a user's ability to perceive that level of detail.
The system is termed multi-tiered, in that various forms of compression, both cognitive and operative, are used to define the transmitted image data. For purposes of illustration only, an exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described in terms of a three-tiered compression system in which the tiers comprise; first, necessary image transmission; second, progressive image encoding, and; third, bitwise image compression, exemplified by the JPEG still image compression standard.
In operation, when a pathologist selects a particular sample portion for detailed viewing and requests the sample stage to move in the X or Y direction, the server system controls stage movement according to appropriate commands received from the client via a special-purpose TCP/IP network protocol. It should be noted, here, that this network protocol is merely an extension of HTTP and is configured to support application-specific protocols relating to session management, hierarchical image decomposition, image compression, data transmission and telemicroscopy control commands. These commands include translating the sample stage in the X or Y direction in order to alter the relative X-Y position of the camera with respect to the stage and, thus, the specimen or frozen section. When the pathologist requests stage movement in the X or Y direction, the client system issues this request to the telemicroscope through the server, the telemicroscope system moves the stage and a new portion of the section is brought into view. It is important to realize that when the sample stage is moved, the prior image is effectively translated in the X and/or Y directions by a specific amount, defined by the pathologist working at the client system.
As illustrated in
It will be understood by those having skill in the art that those previously transmitted image portions 36 which remain in the present field of view need not be retransmitted by the server system, but need only be analyzed and displaced by the client. Those portions of the new image which were not previously transmitted, i.e., the new portions 38, are the only image portions which require transmission. This necessary image transmission procedure results in a significant bandwidth savings when translational motions in both the X and Y direction are relatively small, requiring a significantly reduced amount of image information transmission in order to define the new field of view. Once the new image portions have been determined, those image portions are designated for transmission and may be either directly transmitted in a PKZIP-type bitwise compression format, for example, or alternatively, compression packaged in accordance with the system and method of present invention and subsequently transmitted as a compressed bitstream.
The progressive encoding tier of the multi-tiered compression scheme is typically invoked when sample stage translational movement is fast enough that entire frames, or substantial portions of frames are "dropped off" such that the majority of the image comprises a "new" image portion. In this case, the image is subject to a progressive encoding scheme based on differential subsampling. In accordance with the invention, image sampling would only be performed with respect to every other pel, for example, in both X and Y. Taking only half the pels in both the X and Y dimensions, typically results in a reduction in the image size by about 75%. However, overall image size can be maintained by merely replicating each pel in software, at the receiving (client) site, resulting in a full-size image having one-fourth the original resolution density. In a 1024×1024 system, this factor-two progressive encoding scheme would result in an image having the effective resolution of a 512×512 original. This resolution level is certainly acceptable for fast panning and is also marginally acceptable for "quick-stop" fast impressions.
Once panning is concluded (i.e., when the system no longer "sees" X and/or Y translation commands being issued to the server), the unsent portions of the video signal are transmitted in background, and are used to fill-in the image in place of the replicated pels, until the ideal 1024×1024 resolution is reached. Needless to say, the subsampling index can be selected by the user through a settable system parameter. The progressive encoding tier is able to be programmed to sample every other pel, every third, every fourth, etc. according to the perceptual desires of the user. Lower value indices, while increasing resolution during fast panning, do so at the cost of bandwidth and should be invoked only after careful consideration.
Turning now to
In accordance with the invention, the previous frame video data 44 is provided to the frame segmentation and differencing engine by retrieving the previous frame data from server system memory and decompressing the data using a decompression engine 46 to, thereby, redefine the raw video information defined in the previous frame. Previous frame data is "overlaid" to the present frame data in software to define those "new" portions which require transmission.
Following frame segmentation and differencing, the "new" portions of the present video frame data is compressed, in a transform block 48, in accordance with any one of a number of lossy compression techniques, such as the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), as implemented in the JPEG compression standard, wavelet transform coding, and the like. Whether lossy compression is performed using Discrete Cosine Transforms or wavelet transform coding, the techniques result in the video image being represented as a set of coefficients representing the contributions of various frequency components of the signal. Once decomposed into their various frequency components, frequency component coefficients are "packetized" and inserted into a number of transmission queues 50 which, in a manner to be described in greater detail, are assigned to transmission priority levels based on the level of detail which each packet additively contributes to the resultant composite image. In the case of the Discrete Cosine Transform or a wavelet transform, the lower frequency components represent the least amount of image detail and packets which define lower frequency component coefficients are, accordingly, assigned the highest transmission priority. As detail, and thus, frequency, increases, packets containing higher frequency component coefficients are assigned correspondingly lower transmission priorities until, in the limit, the highest levels of detail (the highest frequency components) are assigned the lowest transmission priority.
Packetization and prioritization of transform encoded frequency data is an important aspect of the present invention, since it allows transmission bandwidth to be adaptively varied in order to accommodate the subjective, perceptual aspects of a moving image system. For example, when sample stage motion is being executed quickly, i.e., relatively large amounts of X and/or Y translational movements, only those coefficient packets representing the lowest frequency components of the image, are transmitted to the client system for display. It will be understood that if stage movement is rapid, a viewer is unable to perceive fine detail making it unnecessary to bum bandwidth or channel capacity attempting to transmit volume data relating to imperceptible detail. It is understandably more important to service the client system with faster overall frame updates which might be detail deficient than it is to service the client with specimen detail at considerably slower intervals.
As stage movement is slowed down, i.e., as X and/or Y translational movements become less, additional transmission queues are flagged for transmission and bandwidth that is not being used to send new fields of view is available for transmission of additional packets comprising higher frequency component coefficients for the current view. Adding the information from additional transmission queues necessarily enhances the detail of the current image being displayed by the client system. Necessarily, as translational movement of the sample stage ceases, all that remains is for the final transmission queues, comprising the highest detail level component coefficients, to be flagged for transmission to the client system.
The information contained in these final transmission queues may make use of all of the available transmission bandwidth since lower frequency information (higher priority packets) have been previously transmitted. It will be understood by those having skill in the art that image detail is accordingly inversely proportional to stage translational movement speed, with higher speed movement resulting in lower image resolution. Thus, the compression encoding procedure in accordance with the invention is able to inherently deliver image resolution or detail in proportion to the resolution level that is able to be perceived by a viewer. Compression encoding and adaptive prioritization of image resolution packets defines an image system that is able to efficiently build upon previously transmitted data in order to minimize transmission time (maximize bandwidth) for a full resolution image.
Returning now to
Compressed video image data is then moved through the server system whence it is transmitted to the client application over a broad band telecommunications architecture via an ATM-based communication channel 56 using, for example, IP-over ATM LAN emulation. While transmission queues are forwarding various components of the video image data to the client system, the server application is able to receive telemicroscope stage translational motion commands and/or focus commands from a pathologist at the client, through translation command circuitry 58 and focus command circuitry 60. If a particular stage translational movement is requested that moves a portion of the current image out of the field of view, coefficient packets that correspond to those blocks comprising that portion of the image are flagged with an identification tag which indicates that these packets are no longer in the field of view and, accordingly, need not be transmitted.
It will be understood, of course, that in the case of Discrete Cosine Transform compression, block sizes will be in the familiar 8×8 form. In the case of wavelet transform compression, wavelet blocks are variably sized, and typically larger than the 8×8 DCT standard. It will be understood by those knowledgeable in the art, that common practice would normally be to apply the wavelet across the entire new image portion strip, thereby defining the block size as the new image portion. While this practice maximizes compression efficiency, it does so at the expense of packetization and prioritization efficiency. It should be further understood that the new image portion can be subdivided into subimages with each of the subimages wavelet transformed in order to improve efficiency of the flagging process (packetization and prioritization). Necessarily, this will be at the expense of some compression efficiency. Ideally, wavelet blocks are sized variably in accordance with a design choice that achieves a desired balance between out-of-view flagging and wavelet transform performance efficiency.
In the case of changes to specimen focus, i.e., stage motion in the Z direction, large portions of the currently displayed image undergo substantial modification. The new image, resulting from a focus change or a change illumination intensity, is subtracted from the previously transmitted image represented by the previous frame data in the frame segmentation and differencing engine, resulting in an image comprised of the difference between the previous frame and present frame as seen by the video camera. The difference image is then transform coded by the transform engine and the resulting lossy compression packaged data is then optionally quantized and/or entropy or arithmetically coded for transmission.
As is shown in the semi-schematic block diagram of
It has been determined that the multi-tiered compression packaged image transmission system in accordance with the invention is able to deliver video image data at an effective compression rate of approximately 1:400. Given a raw video input signal comprising a 1024×1024 pel×frame produced at a frame rate of approximately 30 frames per second, with each pel represented by a 24 bit (true color) digital value, the raw data stream would be operative at approximately 755 Mbps. Assuming a ⅔ screen width pan taking place in 0.25 seconds, the multi-tiered compression system according to the invention would be providing video data to the client system at an effective rate of about 1.65 Mbps when all of its component portions are considered.
The necessary image transmission portion of the novel compression system accounts for at least an order of magnitude reduction in the effective bit rate; 755 Mbps reduced to 66 Mbps. Transform coding and prioritization queuing of the resultant output stream results a further 40 to 1 reduction in the effective bit rate; from 66 Mbps to about 1.65 Mbps, with progressive encoding accounting for a 4:1 reduction in the bitstream (from 66 Mbps to about 16.5 Mbps). It should be noted that this last value represents a two-fold improvement over the generally accepted standard JPEG capabilities. Without being bound by theory, it is thought that the major portion of the improvement results from the ability of the novel system to adaptively deliver image detail in inverse proportionality to sample stage movement speed and in direct proportionality to the degree of detail that can be perceived, while at the same time, building detail upon previously transmitted data for transmission bandwidth utilization efficiency.
The necessary image transmission portion of the novel compression system accounts for at least an order of magnitude reduction in the effective bit rate; 755 Mbps reduced to 66 Mbps. Transform coding and prioritization queuing of the resultant output stream results a further 40 to 1 reduction in the effective bit rate; from 66 Mbps to about 1.65 Mbps, with progressive encoding accounting for a 4:1 reduction in the bitstream (from 66 Mbps to about 16.5 Mbps). It should be noted that this last value represents a two-fold improvement over the generally accepted standard JPEG capabilities. Without being bound by theory, it is thought that the major portion of the improvement results from the ability of the novel system to adaptively deliver image detail in inverse proportionality to sample stage movement speed and in direct proportionality to the degree of detail that can be perceived, while at the same time, building detail upon previously transmitted data for transmission bandwidth utilization efficiency.
While the foregoing has included a description of the present invention in connection with an exemplary telemicroscopy application, it should be understood that principles of the invention are equally applicable to image transmission methodologies that encompass various combinations of lossy and lossless image compression, particularly when adapted for image transmission and archiving purposes. Taking the principles of the invention into account, i.e., image transmission and display is predicated upon the ability of a viewer to perceive the degree of detail present in a particular image, image compression is subdivided into lossy and lossless image compression stages, with image portions being transmitted from various queues in accordance with viewer perceptualability. In the present context, lossless image compression is commonly understood to refer to compression techniques that allow a particular image, when decompressed, to be replicated precisely, at a bit-by-bit comparison level, in the same form as the original image. Particular types of lossless image compression algorithms might include run length encoding (RLE), Huffman coding, dynamic Huffman coding, Lempell-Ziv-Welch encoding, and the like. While many lossless compression techniques do afford some degree of compression, i.e., some degree of bandwidth recovery, lossless compression techniques do not typically afford sufficient bandwidth recovery for rapid image transmission over commonly implemented transmission channels. Thus, lossless image compression, while accurate, is slow.
Lossy compression techniques result in a recovered image that is not precisely the same, at a bit-by-bit comparison level, as the original image. Lossy compression techniques result in a significantly higher degree of bandwidth recovery than lossless techniques, but the amount of precision detail available in the resultant image is often insufficient for high magnification applications such as telemicroscopy, and the like.
With the advent of Internet-type wide area networking, many applications that were previously limited to local use, i.e., direct high-speed access to a local memory storage area such as a local hard drive, are now being implemented by systems separated by great distances geographically. Many of these applications, such as fluorescent imaging, CAT imaging, and the like, involve quantitative analysis of the image. Accordingly, it is necessary that the final image remain "lossless" upon compression without unduly interfering with bandwidth constraints of remote viewing and data archiving.
Turning now to
As was the case with the embodiment of
In order to retain fidelity with the original image, a lossless portion 102 is provided for containing image data that, when combined with lossy layer information, results in a lossless image. The lossless portion 102 contains data difference information which is constructed by subtracting the original image representation from the assembled image information comprising lossy layers 1 to N-1. This difference data is compressed by a lossless compression technique such as Huffman coding, dynamic Huffman coding, or Lempel-Ziv-Welch coding in order to minimize its particular transmission bandwidth requirements.
As was the case with the lossy layer portion 100, the lossless portion 102 may also be implemented as a plurality of layers, each layer representing perhaps a frequency code, in the case of Huffman coding, or some other statistical weighting in the case of the various other substitutional or statistical compression coding methodologies. Similarly, the lossless information is directed to a respective transmit queue 106, which is flagged as the final queue, i.e., transmitted after all the lossy queues 104 have been streamed out. As was also the case in the embodiment of
As depicted in
It should be understood from the time graph of
When applied to an application such as pathology slide evaluation, principles of the present invention might be used in combination with an image "tiling" or mosaic creation technique such as described previously. In this particular exemplary embodiment, very large images are segmented into a mosaic of tiles, i.e., a 16×16 pattern, for example, each of which are processed in accordance with the transform, quantization, coding and queueing methodology of the invention. Specifically, compression might be lossless, lossy or the particular combination of the two described above in order to minimize bandwidth utilization and improve download and viewing speed. The lossless/lossy transmission methodology described above, is particularly useful in this particular application. When a large, overall image is being initially constructed, it is only necessary to create the mosaic tiles with an intermediate degree of detail, since a user's perceptual ability cannot discern fine structure at such low magnifications. Thus, each tile's image information need only be processed by the lossy techniques described above and only the higher priority transmission queues (lower frequency data) need be transmitted.
An image mosiac constructed in such fashion might then support image detail sufficient to represent 2×, 5× and even 10× magnifications, such that rapid identification of areas of interest in the slide might be made at lower magnification levels, while fine structure for those areas of interest remain untransmitted until such time as a user requires the additional image information.
In this particular instance, image detail delivery is again proportional to a user's perception level, but rather than being an function of frame translation speed, it is a function of magnification level. At low magnifications (the entire image for example) sufficient detail for user perception is provided by the lossy compressed data contained in the higher priority transmission queues. There is no need to provide fine structure in such circumstances, because the user is unable to provide it. Bandwidth is thereby conserved. As magnification increases, image size necessarily decreases. Accordingly, fine structure detail need only be provided for a small portion of an image at any particular time. Thus, fine structure detail is not required for the entire image, again conserving transmission bandwidth while not degrading the image.
A further advantage of the present invention can be understood when it is realized that it need not be limited to transmitting real-time videographic images captured over a telemicroscopy system. Specifically, the system and method of the present invention has equal utility in transmitting and viewing "virtual specimen" videographic information which has been previously captured by a computer controlled telemicroscope and which has been stored in a server database as a sequence of high-resolution images. When the digital nature of information captured by a telemicroscope's video camera is considered, it will be understood that this information can be used to define a multi-dimensional mosaic of a sample specimen which may be "navigated" in precisely the same fashion as an actual sample. Virtual specimens can be evaluated in detail by traversing the video file's virtual dimensions in a manner quite similar to issuing X, Y and Z motion commands to a telemicroscope. When it is understood that the systems described are easily capable of incorporating real-time video conferencing applications suitable for connection to the described telecommunications interfaces, one having skill in the art will immediately appreciate the utility of this system as a means for archiving rare or unusual tissue samples, either for further review or future comparison purposes, consultations and educational presentations.
Although the present invention has been described in connection with a particular illustrated embodiment, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In particular, the novel system has been described in connection with a telemicroscopy apparatus that incorporates a conventional optical microscope. It should be realized that future instruments adapted to image microscopic specimens may not be configured as microscopes in the traditional sense but function rather more like desktop scanners having compound optical systems. Digital signals representing a microscopic image might not conform to the NTSC standard nor even be video signals as that term is currently contemplated. It should be understood by those having skill in the art that the form and arrangement of digital signals representing a microscopic image is not the primary concern of the invention, but rather represents an information package which is operated on by a novel compression system and method.
There has now been brought to the field of telemicroscopy an improved system and method for compression packaging video image data in a manner which overcomes channel capacity limitations and allows almost real-time evaluation of tissue samples. A flexible, variable and self-adapting methodology is used to compress and reduce the image datastream according to the observation activity of a user.
Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
Referenced by
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The Educational Services Department is committed to serving the children, families, and community of Newark. Our goal is to attain equally high levels of achievement for all children enrolled in Newark schools.
Educational Services is also committed to collaborative decision-making by District Leadership (Educational Services and Site Principals), compliance with state and federal regulations, and the development of professional learning communities.
We value equity and inclusivity, and strive for clear communication, data-informed and collaborative decision-making, continuous improvement, accessibility, and responsiveness to all of our stakeholders.
About our Staff
Soleste Hilberg, Ph.D., Assistant Superintendent
(510) 818-4201
Soleste Hilberg is committed to equity and opportunity for children through rigorous, research-based instruction. She supports the transition to the Common Core State Standards and the integration of standards, standards-based curriculum, research-based instruction, professional development, assessment, and accountability. She oversees Educational Services departments and programs: Curriculum, Instruction & Accountability; Pupil Services; and Special Education. She is also responsible for auxiliary services including research, staff development, categorical compliance, special projects, the instructional materials center, the local BTSA, the District English Learner Program Advisory Committee, and the East Bay BTSA Consortium.
Christine Herrera, Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Superintendent
(510) 818-4201
Christine Herrera is the administrative assistant to the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services. She also supports Williams site visits, professional development, budgets, contracts, and District Leadership meetings, as well as manages the district calendar, guest teachers, and curriculum sufficiency.
Debbie Ashmore, Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Accountability
(510) 818-4113
Debbie Ashmore supports Newark schools in ongoing improvement through cycles of inquiry focused on effective instruction, student learning, and professional development. She directs the administration, analysis and reporting of state and local testing programs, including the Smarter Balanced Assessments, STAR, CELDT, CAHSEE, District Benchmarks, and the Physical Fitness Test. She coordinates the selection and implementation of new curriculum, School Accountability Report Cards (SARC's), the English Learner Program, report cards, grading, Single Plans for Student Achievement (SPSAs), and instructional interventions.
Miranda Dinsmore, Assessment Technician
(510) 818-4147
Miranda Dinsmore is committed to supporting parents and students, all school sites, and Educational Services. She provides technical support for state mandated and district assessment programs including elementary district assessments, CA High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), CA Assessment of Student Progress and Performance (CAASPP) including Smarter Balanced, CST, CMA, CAPA, CA English Language Development Test (CELDT), and Physical Fitness Testing (PFT). She maintains the Online Assessment and Reporting System (OARS), and coordinates ELA and Math district benchmarks assessments. Additionally, she supports the preparation and maintenance of a variety of data reports, records, presentations, and files related to state and federal assessments and accountability.
Bill Whitton, Coordinator of Student Development and Pupil Services
(510) 818-4226
Bill Whitton administers various student and family programs, including the School Attendance Review board (SARB), suspensions and expulsions, foster youth and homeless programs, enrollment, school safety, home teaching, and student health. He also supports district programs and services for students and families such as dental programs, emotional and mental health programs, parent partners, and attendance support initiatives.
Sarah Keiser, Student Development Technician
(510) 818-4202
The Student Development Technician reports to and supports the Student Development and Pupil Services Coordinator, as well as provides support for Categorical Compliance. This includes the School Attendance Review Board (SARB), suspensions and expulsions, foster youth and homeless programs, enrollment, school safety, home teaching, and student health, as well as district programs and services for students and families.
Janet Handley, Director of Special Projects
(510) 818-4196
Janet Handley coordinates English Language Learner programs; intervention and prevention services; Program Improvement; LCFF, FPM, and federal, and special projects. Plans and manages programs and services that support school and district improvement including: professional development for administrators and teachers, school assistance and intervention, and school support. Provides technical assistance for identified schools to support school district improvement efforts.
Eileen Weeks, Science and Academic Achievement
(510) 818-4203
Eileen Weeks supports district and school improvement efforts to increase student achievement. She supports the implementation of the BaySci effort in the Newark Unified School District by coordinating and promoting BaySci activities, and serving as a point of contact between the district and the Lawrence Hall of Science.
Department Directory
|Soleste Hilberg, Ph.D.
|Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services
|(510) 818-4201
|Christine Herrera
|Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Superintendent
|(510) 818-4201
|Debbie Ashmore
|Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Accountability
|(510) 818-4113
|Miranda Dinsmore
|Assessment Technician
|(510) 818-4147
|Bill Whitton
|Coordinator of Student Development and Pupil Services
|(510) 818-4226
|Sarah Keiser
|Student Development Technician
|(510) 818-4202
|Janet Handley
|Director of Special Projects
|(510) 818-4196

subset: commoncrawl


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Impact By promoting spontaneous peer collaboration in unique learning environments, students develop lifelong, independent learning skills.
WisCEL strives to reach success for all students by creating learning environments in spaces where students live and learn on their own initiative. These new spaces provide individualized learning experiences for large populations of students through a comprehensive offering of formal instruction, self-paced independent and group study, tutoring, and social events which, in combination, lead to confident, independent, lifelong learners.
In a WisCEL class, emphasis is placed on collaboration and the application of knowledge. Instructors spend less time lecturing, and more time assisting students with problem solving. Students are encouraged to work together to understand course content. With most WisCEL courses still in their first semester, pilot data from Fall 2010 to the present shows encouraging results in subject competency and final grades.
WisCEL Centers combine deliberate choices of physical environment including multi-use spaces, inviting and functional furnishings, and mobile whiteboards with innovative classroom technologies to create a learning commons of the future. A critical design principle was to envision a space that students would embrace as "their own" place to engage in informal learning, and marry it with an infrastructure that enables 21st-century, best practices for formal classroom instruction. WisCEL supports pedagogies which include spontaneous peer collaboration, instructor-as-coach models, self-pacing opportunities, frequent and immediate learning progress feedback, increased instructor time with students, and international connectivity.
For more information about WisCEL, visit our website.


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James Marsden or James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer and former Versace model. He is best known for playing the superhero Cyclops in the first three X-Men films and for his roles in other commercially successful films such as Hop, Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, The Box, and 27 Dresses.
Marsden got his first job on a series of episodes of The Nanny as Eddie, Margaret Sheffield's boyfriend. He then went on to star in the Canadian television series Boogies Diner, which aired for one season. With the end of that series, he guest starred on other television shows such as Saved by the Bell and Party of Five. He later starred in the ABC show Second Noah. He lost out to Edward Norton for a role in Primal Fear and turned down the lead role in 54, which later went to Ryan Phillippe. He then went on to star in Disturbing Behavior opposite Katie Holmes and Gossip opposite Kate Hudson. He also appeared in the television series Ally McBeal, as one of the main cast members during the first half of season 5, where he also showcased his singing abilities.
In 2007, James Marsden played Corny Collins in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical based on the 1988 John Waters movie Hairspray, There he also made his musical debut by singing two of the film's songs, "The Nicest Kids In Town" and "(It's) Hairspray." Both "Hairspray" and the film's soundtrack were critically acclaimed. The soundtrack has sold over 1,200,000 copies to date in the United States, and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. His next role was in the Disney hybrid animated/live action film Enchanted, playing Prince Edward, He sang one song as a duet with Amy Adams at the beginning of the film and a duet with Idina Menzel that was cut from the film. Enchanted was well received critically and proved to be a commercial success, earning more than $340 million worldwide at the box office.
Following his successes in 2007's Hairspray and Enchanted, Marsden played the male lead in the 2008 romantic comedy 27 Dresses opposite star Katherine Heigl, which grossed $160 million worldwide. He also starred in the teen comedy Sex Drive along side Josh Zuckerman and Seth Green. Though the film was a moderate success, Marsden's performance was heavily praised. Marsden also received a Teen Choice Awards nomination for Choice Movie Actor in a Comedy for his roles in Enchanted and 27 Dresses.
In 2009, Marsden also played the male lead in the film The Box, based on the 1970 short story "Button, Button" by author Richard Matheson, which was earlier made into an episode of The Twilight Zone. He starred opposite Cameron Diaz and re-united with Superman Returns co-star Frank Langella. In 2010, Marsden was cast in the comedy Death at a Funeral, which was a remake of the 2007 British film of the same name. Marsden was then cast as Cyclops in the X-Men films, Marsden also appeared in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, Marsden was cast as Lois Lane's fiancé, Richard White.
Marsden made an appearance on ABC's Modern Family in January 2011, playing a homeless squatter of Cam and Mitchell. In April, Marsden appeared as the male (live-action) lead in Hop, a Easter-themed comedy co-starring Russell Brand as the Easter Bunny. The film was an instant success, opening at the top of the weekend box office with $38.1 million.


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In an age when there are many ways to talk to your customers, Email Marketing is one of the most powerful and effective ways to talk directly to your targeted audience and still more effective than Social Media, not everyone has a Twitter account, but most are likely to have an email address. Email Marketing is a large and detailed subject, so this article aims to be just a short overview.
When used correctly Email Marketing can really drive business and within this I don't consider blanket bombarding of random email addresses as driving or engaging, this is just spam. When emailing your audience, only do so to those who have 'opted in' or requested to receive your information, this is one step to ensuring the recipient is more likely to read your email and is happy to receive it. Sign up can be via your website or other marketing activity. There are legal implications when Email Marketing, so make sure you are up to date with the latest requirements.
Once you have your permission based email list or database, you need to plan your campaign and set goals. Key to this is frequency and timing. Regular interval emails could be newsletters, press releases or click-throughs to new information on your website. Sent out at specific intervals as reminders to your customers, the aim being to strengthen customer loyalty and brand awareness. Additional campaigns can include special offers, announcements, product launches or exclusive email offers, sent out when appropriate. Planning is essential and should offer value to both the recipient and the sender.
Email Marketing formats are either plain text or html which includes images and graphics. Ideally use both formats. Use a reliable email delivery service, there are many available with a variety of pricing structures and free services.
A few seconds, that is how long you have your readers attention. So make it work.
In their crowded inbox your email needs to stand out. Creating content requires careful planning and must be relevant, identify your audience and talk in their language. Crafting an appealing and effective email is a essential to get them to open and read. Subject line being the most important. Avoid common spam phrases such as 'free', 'win' or 'prize' in your subject line. Similar to an eye catching advert strap line, your subject line should be short, snappy and enticing. When using graphical html make sure it is well branded and reflects your website design to give continuity. Content should include the permission reminder, which confirms to the reader that they did sign up to receive it, clear 'sender' details and unsubscribe or opt out buttons.
The design should have a good balance between text and images and have a strong call to action at the top, above the imaginary fold, try to keep the email short with site links for more detailed information. A good idea is to have an alternate version available on your website via a link, just incase a reader has problems viewing the email.
Finally track your results. Most delivery services offering statistical data so you can see opening and click through rates. Within your email have specific links to custom landing pages on your website and set up Google Goal tracking to measure results.
Email marketing is a great way to reach out and build your business. Although technical limitations are a consideration email campaigns can be fun, creative and engaging. Why not reach out today.


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Date: date unknown
Description: "This field is located south of Theresa."
Date: 1961-05-05
Description: Portrait of Ray Murphy, alcoholism counselor at Mendota State Hospital.
Date: 1951-11-27
Description: Constructive Workshops for Older Adults, created by the Vocational School , offers many leisure time activities for newly-retired men and women. Pictured l...
Description: Two women and a man sit in a wagon, while another man and woman stand on the outside of the wagon.
Date: 1954-12-12
Description: Committee members make arrangements for the Christmas Charity Ball, an event for college students and young married couples in Madison. Seated left to righ...
Date: 1865 ca.
Description: The remains of President Lincoln lying in state in Monument Square and Pavilion. Lincoln's body was on its way from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, Illino...
Date: 1961-05-24
Description: View across plowed field towards barn and farm buildings along CTH KP in the early morning. In the background are rolling hills and a ridge covered with tr...
Description: A view of Cook Street looking east.
Description: Interior view of the Mabel Tainter Memorial Library. The library opened in 1891 and was funded by a $95,000 gift from Captain & Mrs. A. Tainter. Dominating...
Date: 1917
Description: Marguerite Clark looks through the viewfinder of a Pathé motion picture camera in a publicity still.
Description: An unidentified farming family sitting in a wagon, with a dog in the shadow of the wheel and a horse's legs visible in front.
Date: 1930 after
Description: Holiday card with two Boston Terriers as radio announcers in front of microphones. The call letters on the microphones are "WLW" and "WSAI". On the inside...
Description: A dirt road leads through a wooded area to a clubhouse. A flag flies from the top of the two-story building and both stories have wrap-around porches.
Date: 1966 before
Description: View from the Madison County Courthouse of people gathered on the sidewalk in the foreground and also on the sidewalk in front of storefronts across the st...
Date: 1949-04-21
Description: Group portrait of two east side men's croquet teams, holding their mallets. Standing, left to right: Tommy Olson, referee; Wally Hoffman; Ole Olson; Marvin...
Date: 2008
Description: In the early 1920s, Prussian immigrant John Bosch constructed a simple, rectangular brick service garage with a canted corner at a prime location: the inte...
Date: 1944-01-21
Description: Corporal Andrew Starkie of Chicago, Illinois, stands next to the flagpole on a LCV (Landing Craft, Vehicle) off of the coast of Saidor, New Guinea (present...
Date: 1929 ca.
Description: A production still for the Fox Hearst film "Romance of a Reaper". The film was produced by International Harvester to celebrate the Reaper Centennial. One...
Date: 1972
Description: Campaign poster to Re-elect President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon is seated on steps with a young boy. A banner above the image reads "For the first time in 20...
Date: 1880 ca.
Description: The Union Congregational Church, built in 1862.
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Stillwater, Okla. – Oklahoma Sate University fans say they are having a hard time believing Sports Illustrated's Thayer Evans interview responding to critics.
"The solid proof would be nice," says Alex Goldberg.
The OSU student says the article claiming past football players took part in illegal money exchanges, grade altering and sex and drug deals has made fans more passionate about supporting the school.
"Whenever something like this goes on, you feel more motivated to support them," said Goldberg.
Other students agree.
"When someone attacks something you love, you support it even more," said John Dunn.
Evans told critics he doesn't have an axe to grind with Oklahoma State. He says he has recorded interviews as evidence that he did not misquote interviewees.
"I really wish he would come forward with evidence," says Goldberg.
OSU ticket manager says tickets sales are coming close to beating the record number set in 2011.
Crowds are expected to continue cheering on the Cowboys.


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Home | US Fairs | Wildflowers | Wildlife Areas | Historical Sites
Welcome! Food Festivals are listed in chronological order. Just click on the name of the fair to find out all the details.
Thanks and enjoy!
Vendors can purchase a list with vendor contact information for festivals in California including dates, phone numbers, email and URLs for all events by the month or quarterly by visiting our store.
If you can't find it on our site, use Google to help you find an event.
Return to Home page
Learn about Food Festivals throughout the US at US Fairs and Festivals.com
Find out about Wildlife Areas in California at CA Wildlife Area.com
January Food Festivals
Santa Cruz Fungus Fair
Sonoma Valley Olive Festival
Napa Valley Mustard Festival
February Food Festivals
Cloverdale Citrus Fair
Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival
Spam Festival
Almond Blossom Festival
Clam Chowder Cook-off
March Food Festivals
A Taste of Yountville
April Food Festivals
Strawberry Festival
Asparagus Festival
Cherry Blossom Festival
Apple Blossom Festival
Butter and Egg Days
Great Petaluma Chili Cook-off, Salsa, and Beer Tasting
May Food Festivals
The Annual Castroville Artichoke Festival
The California Strawberry Festival
The Cajun, Creole Music Festival (Simi Valley)
June Food Festivals
Patterson Apricot Festival
Arcata Bay Oyster Festival
July Food Festivals
Cornfest in Brentwood
Annual Citrus Festival
California Wine Festival
California Peach Festival
Tomato and Salsa Festival
Gilroy Garlic Festival
Oxnard Salsa Festival
Lambtown, USA
Courtland Pear Fair
Mammoth Lakes Bluesaplooza and Beer Festival
August Food Festivals
Woodland Tomato Festival
Long Beach Crawfish Festival
La Habra Corn Festival
Cabrillo Art, Music, Food, and Wine Festival
Japanese Food & Cultural Bazaar
Fig Fest
Bodega Seafood, Art, and Wine Festival
California Dry Bean Festival
Monterey Bay Strawberry Festival!
Fairfield Annual Tomato Festival/West Coast BBQ Championship
Blackberry Festival
Hayward Zucchini
Festival Corning Olive Festival
Lemon Festival


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(2013) 1:48:06 minutes
Ends 12/31/15. The epic rise and life-changing fall of snowboarder Kevin Pearce are viewed through 20 years of astounding action and verite footage in this documentary. This moving, dramatic film delivers an exhilarating ride through the life of the U.S. snowboarding champion as he endures a near-fatal accident and later as he longs to compete again despite suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury.


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Chaotic Mixing & Chemical Reactions
"Predicting the progress of diffusively limited chemical reactions in the presence of chaotic advection" P.E. Arratia & J.P. Gollub (to appear in PRL 2006). For a pre-print of the manuscript, please click here (Adobe PDF).
*Also, please read a commentary on this work to appear in Physics Today (2006). For a pre-print of the commentary, please click here. (Adobe PDF)
ABSTRACT: In these experiments, we investigate the effects of chaotic advection and diffusion on fast chemical reactions in two-dimensional fluid flows. We do so by using experimentally measured stretching fields and fluorescent monitoring of the local concentration. Flow symmetry, Reynolds number, and mean path length affect the spatial distribution and time dependence of the reaction product. A single parameter , lN where l is the mean Lyapunov exponent and N is the number of mixing cycles, can be used to predict the time-dependent total product for flows having different dynamical features.
Below are 2 sample movies that use distinct magnetic array configurations. Note that we are tracking the product concentration. Regions in red and blue represent high and low product concentration, respectively.
Movie 1 displays a regular array configuration (see below) at Re=56.
Movie 2 displays a random array configuration (see below) at Re=56.
Movies of the progress of the chemical reaction, in a regular array, is shown below.


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Thank you. If a matching email exists we will send you an email in a few minutes with instructions on how to reset your password.
Don't forget to check your spam folder if you cannot find the email. For further assistance please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com .Okay
Massoud Furniture
Despite its compact size, this square ottoman makes quite a glamorous statement. Upholstered in blue top-grain leather with nail-head trim in a Greek key motif on each side, it can serve as a footrest, as extra seating, or even an occasional table. Handcrafted in Dallas, Texas.


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Sm{art}: The Reality of a Performance Artist
This is what reality television should be like. Made Here is a new web documentary series about work and life as a performance artist as told by a variety of artists living in New York City. Broken up into easily digestible video segments, the series goes beyond "Making It In The Big City" to explore the real-world challenges of space, family, and the impediments to creativity an artist faces.
The series is split up into "Issues," each of which have three short episodes. The first episode, "Creative Real Estate" covers an artist's search for space in New York City, whether it's for rehearsal, performance, or in the case of CAVE, an experimental and residential space for artists. The "Day & Night Jobs" Issue focuses on how artists make ends meet outside of their artist work, whether it's waiting tables or teaching classes. The episode"Creating Opportunities," focuses on members of Chinese Theater Works, including Ying Zhang, a member of the Peking Opera Company who now juggles her performances with owning a nail salon. She came up with the idea of a company-owned nail salon so that the job could be more flexible and understanding to the schedule of performers...although it's easier said than done.
They've also got a discussion component for site visitors, which asks questions like "How does real estate impact your ability to create?" and "What is the oddest job you've worked to make ends meet?"
The series has a diverse group of artists and draws from all sorts of performing arts, from puppeteers to DJs to acrobatics. Although it's focused on New York City, anyone in a creative field can relate to the sacrifices and risks one takes as an artist and finding a balance between following your calling and paying the bills, and this series is not only informative, but inspiring in how it shows it's possible. Check back in July and August for the "Family Balance" and "Activism" issues.
Made Here: Performing Artists on Work and Life
A big hat tip to @goddesjaz, @biancalaureano, and @Prov_Sez, whose tweet about Made Here put the project on my radar in the first place.
If you don't have a subscription to award-winning 80-page quarterly Bitch magazine, it's definitely time to start one.
Comments6 comments have been made. Post a comment.
Very interesting documentary, these day by day artists really face a hard way to promote their works. The frozen people at the train station are awesome, very surreal in the middle of a lot of people in transit.
Loved it!!
What a great short doco...a pleasure to watch. Wonderful open graphics and I wanted more at the end...well done to all involved.
Josh Rockman
Video Production Melbourne
Josh Rockman
Video Production Melbourne
Great post and video there!! Need to check out the rest of your site!!
video production philadelphia l wedding videography philadelphia
Very cool. PFM Melbourne
One definitely has to make a
One definitely has to make a lot of sacrifices to be an artist!
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MMA News
UFC NEWS – Watch The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale Weigh-Ins Live Today on BJPENN.COM (7 p.m. ET)
The UFC will be holding the TUF 14 Finale weigh-in ceremony live today from Key West Ballroom at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
The festivities are set to kick off at 4 p.m. local time / 7 p.m. ET.
Below is the free broadcast player that will be showing the event live.
6 Responses to "UFC NEWS – Watch The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale Weigh-Ins Live Today on BJPENN.COM (7 p.m. ET)"
Bisping, what a cocky fuck. The guy can't even make weight, and then he tells the crowd to fuck off. Class act. This guy makes Koscheck look like Brian Gumbel.
Let's hope for a Dan Henderson finish.
wow Bisping telling the fans to f@#$ off. That is a shame because it cheapens the sport. I took my son for the first time to Philadelphia and we saw a great card. I was excited and proud of the UFC because I didn't think they condoned acting that way. I remember when Dana White chastised Brock Lesnar for flipping someone the bird and disrespecting Bud Light. Now it seems Dana White condones it from some but not from others. In the end if they don't get control of that stuff it's going to be like every other cheapened sport. Bisping didn't make weight, flipped off the crowd, flinged the fbomb. Get rid of this idiot! Bisping is classless I hope he get's knocked out again. Oh Yeah Dana was hard on Alves about his weight too let's see what happens to this guy.
Alves missed weight loads of times. This is the first time I can recall Bisping missing weight so stop getting your panties in a twist. And the crowd were booing Bisping and being abusive to him…so he played up to them and gave them the finger whoopy doo this is a fight sport!!
You act like your a fighter your probably some goober who never competed in your life. Go watch WWE or some other event for xbox hero's. The way you talk it's obvious you never did anything at any level. Alves didn't spit on anyone or talk trash on the sponsors. It's also obvious you don't realize that the fans make the fighters their money…….Your as stupid as he is.
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Just to update the Republican governors and the Medicaid expansion issue, which I think will be the big fight in the states through 2014 and potentially beyond:
• Keep in mind that under the law, any state could start their Medicaid expansion right now if they chose. And this would still be free for the first three years, gradually sliding down to the federal government picking up 90% of the costs. How many states have taken it up? Seven and the District of Columbia. It's not that high-profile an issue right now, but this shows that Republican governors can, and in fact will, look a gift horse in the mouth.
The seven states, by the way, are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey and Washington. All of them but New Jersey have Democratic governors (that Chris Christie is such a traitor! Actually his legislature forced him into it.)
• Digby perceptively writes that John Roberts achieved what Ben Nelson could not achieve, a state opt-out from the Medicaid expansion. That's precisely what necessitated the "Cornhusker kickback," where Nelson got Nebraska a full ride on the expansion forever, rather than the other states, which have it for only three years.
• Added to the fact that states would pick up a minimal cost of expanding Medicaid, Sarah Kliff explains how states could wind up incurring more costs in the functioning of the program:
States could incur significant costs from the expansion. The federal government won't cover all bills for Medicaid enrollees who were already eligible for the program but never signed up. States worry about those people showing up to enroll, because of all the publicity around the health-care expansion, and having to accept them at the regular match rate.
Meanwhile, the 100 percent match rate doesn't last forever. After those first three years, the federal government's match rate starts dropping: It will pay 95 percent of the cost beginning in 2017 and then, in 2020, foot 90 percent of the bill.
States fear that the federal government might decide to ratchet back that number, Salo says. The White House has already shown a willingness to reduce Medicaid spending. Why wouldn't it rejigger a program that pays for Medicaid at a rate much higher than it has traditionally spent?
There's no question that this is the fig leaf Republican governors will use in rejecting the program. They will say that the expansion puts them "on the hook" for future costs. And they're not entirely wrong. For example, Texas wouldn't only pay $2.6 billion in the years 2014-2019 to accommodate the expansion, which is trivial in the grand scheme of things. They would also see Medicaid costs rise by 3%. And as Kliff writes, "This is all to implement a law that the Texas government sued to overturn." You really think Rick Perry will go quietly? Texas Health and Human Services Commission chairman Tom Suehs has already said, in reaction to the Supreme Court ruling, "I'm pleased that it gives states more ability to push back against a forced expansion of Medicaid."
• Austin Frakt is probably right here that, at the least, states will use the opt-out as a bargaining chip to extract concessions in how they handle Medicaid. They may want to privatize certain services, or force more costs onto beneficiaries. That's what the Roberts ruling can help them do. "It'd be an ugly game, threatening the affordability of coverage of low-income individuals, but that doesn't mean some states won't play it," Frakt writes. Yes, in fact, given the race-based politics at work in many of these states, the fact that it deals with the affordability of coverage of low-income individuals GUARANTEES that this game will be played.
• I checked New Mexico off the list of recalcitrant states this morning, and you may be able to do the same with Michigan:
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Thursday urged lawmakers to work with him to set up an online site where individuals and small businesses can comparison shop for private health insurance now that the U.S. Supreme Court has largely upheld President Barack Obama's federal health care law.
The Republican governor said in a statement that he didn't agree with everything in the law, which he says doesn't focus enough on promoting wellness and restraining health care costs. But he wants to work quickly to set up Michigan's online marketplace so the state "can make decisions regarding what will be covered as opposed to Washington, D.C., making those decisions for us."
Snyder said nothing about Medicaid, but going ahead with the exchanges is a leading indicator, IMO.
TPM has a story about several other GOP governors and their early reactions. Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, Wisconsin's Scott Walker and Virginia's Bob McDonnell seem reluctant to move forward.
This is one of the major stories I'll be tracking for the next couple years.


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Extending Data Center Efficiency with Advanced SSDs Visit
Featured Speaker: Ryan Smith - Sr. Product Marketing Manager, SSD Marketing at Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.
- Schedule : Jan. 23. 2013
- Location : Webcast (PM 2:00)
Webcast overview
Social media, video streaming, mobile data, cloud applications and online transaction processing are taxing data centers today. Advanced solid state drives (SSDs) can not only keep pace with these growing demands but provide the best in ever-evolving storage innovation. This informative webcast explores how new-generation enterprise SSDs deliver faster data access, greater reliability, higher density and better TCO for any data center manager. It will also discuss how you can determine if you have the best SSD for your server environment since SSDs can vary widely in performance.


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Thanks for your interest in becoming a volunteer for the Sacramento SPCA. You must be at least 18 years of age to volunteer and attend a new volunteer orientation dates.
Choose a date that works for you, call (916) 383-7387, ext. 9133 and leave a message with your name, phone number, and date you will be attending. You will not receive a confirmation call, but please show up on the date you've chosen with your completed volunteer application.


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Thursday, June 30, 2011
Lighter Brioche Hamburger Buns...with Caramelized Onions and Sesame
11 comments:
- Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...
Ellie these buns look amazing! I am in love with the onion topping, what a great idea to keep caramelized onions in the freezer - you never know when you'll need those amber beauties! I'm bookmarking this one - as I do with all your recipes! - homemade buns make boring old burgers so special :) Thanks for posting this one. I love your blog and your recipes, every single one I've tried (and that's more than a few!) have been perfect in technique as well as flavor. Keep up the great work!
- June 30, 2011 at 6:37 AM
- Mihaela said...
Ellie, I like the idea of keeping caramelized onions in the freezer, they are so good, and lately I use them in salads. The brioche buns looks so fluffy and tasty, I wish I'll be in making bread mood, but that mood will come soon :)
- June 30, 2011 at 7:01 AM
- Ellie said...
Andrea, Awwww... THANK YOU so much for your very, very sweet comment! Your encouragement means a TON! You simply made my day...I am thrilled that you love the blog.
There's no turning back to buying hamburger buns:)! As these brioche buns will make any hamburger special:)....and yes, the caramelized onions do add an extra touch. Thanks for stopping by...I really appreciate it.
Mihaela, I've made caramelized onions in bigger batches before( using a crockpot)...and sometimes I l don't necessarily use it all. I thought of freezing them and I like to use it for breads and soups. Though I would probably prefer making them fresh if I would use it on salads. But in any case, it added a bunch of flavor to the brioche buns. Have a great weekend...and thanks for stopping by:).
- June 30, 2011 at 8:01 AM
This dough looks sticky, do you think it would be difficult to knead with your hands. I don't have a mixer.
- July 1, 2011 at 2:41 PM
- Speranta said...
Ellie,ce frumos arata ,sunt impresionata .Imi plac tare mult retetele tale!
Iti doresc multa sanatate si toate cele bune !
- July 1, 2011 at 7:53 PM
- Georgie said...
Wow, Ellie those are beautiful and sounds so delicious. Is there anything that caramelized onions don't elevate to a whole new level?
I think not!
Heehee NICE BUNS ELLIE!
- July 2, 2011 at 7:23 AM
- Ellie said...
Katie, You know, I haven't made it without the mixer. But having said, I think it is still doable. Sure, it can stick to your hands, but maybe you can probably oil your hands and counter or simply add a bit more flour as you work with it. Also, maybe you can add less of the flour( half of the amount or so)...beat the "batter" with a mixer for a few minutes and then use your hands and add the rest of the flour and knead it some more. These are just some thoughts and ideas....but in the olden days mixers weren't an option and everything was done by hand:). It's worth giving it a shot... just remember that you may need to knead it more than 10 minutes. Hope that helps.
Speranta, Multumesc foarte mult! Iti doresc o zi minunata:)!
Georgie, It is good to hear from you:)! Thanks for stopping by...am so glad you like the buns...but you are so right, when you add caramelized onions to anything, it totally brings it up a notch.
We LOVED these rolls!
Have a great day!
- July 2, 2011 at 1:37 PM
- Shaheen said...
Your brioche buns are fab. I'm not a good baker, so will just have to admire them from afar.
- July 6, 2011 at 4:21 AM
- Ellie said...
Shaheen, Thank you! Sweet of you to stop by and take the time to write. I really appreciate it. But you know, I too felt the same way as you ...never thought I could bake...let alone bread. With practice and determination it really does get better over time. I am hoping you will try it one day:)
- July 6, 2011 at 7:02 AM
- Christy said...
Just found your blog and I love....looooove...loooooove it! It's been awhile since Iv'e run across something I'm determined to go back and read every single post...and now...I'm off...just as soon as I add this recipe to my to do list (just tried out your cheese crackers...amazing).
- July 13, 2011 at 1:25 PM
- Ellie said...
Christy Aww... so very sweet of you! Thank you for your kind comment. It means a TON! And welcome to my bIog:)...I am hoping you will enjoy at least one or two of the recipes I posted. Lots of them can be tweaked to your liking...
But I am so glad you liked the cheese crackers... am hoping you will like the brioche as well.
Have a great day...and thanks for stopping by!
- July 13, 2011 at 2:30 PM


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Blastcar™ 8-Gram Fuel Canister—10-PackOriginal Price:$8.99 Current Price: $7.99Used to power the Blastcar™ Racer, each canister contains eight grams of food-grade CO2. Steel CO2 cylinders are filled with compressed CO2 gas. In a clean environmental exchange, the CO2 is removed from air at the factory and released at the race—no new CO2 is created or added to the atmosphere. Steel canisters are recyclable material. Cannot be shipped outside of the Continental United States. Must be 16 years or older to purchase. Use only with the BSA® Blastcar™ Launcher and the Blastcar™ Racer Car Kit For Blastcar guidelines and instructions please click here. Learn More
Blastcar™ Axle Replacement KitOriginal Price:$1.99 Current Price: $1.38Get it perfect by race day when you use these replacement axles to engineer and test various results from the position of your wheels. Kit contains four official BSA® Blastcar™ Axles, one hex key, and two eyelets. Designed exclusively for BSA®, axles are made with self-tapping ends that allow the Scout to place the axles anywhere on the block. Without the restriction of pre-drilled grooves, axles can be positioned wherever you need them to be. Axles adapt to your custom design, from a wide-body truck style to an aerodynamic dragster! Use only with official BSA® Blastcar™ Racer. Only official BSA® axles are allowed in an Blastcar™ event. For Blastcar guidelines and instructions please click here. Learn More
Blastcar™ Flat TiresOriginal Price:$4.99 Current Price: $3.98Swap your standard racing wheels for these unique sled-like tires and just watch what happens! Constructed of durable ABS plastic, they're suitable for use on all terrains but are perfect for snow and ice. Learn More
Blastcar™ Racer Car KitOriginal Price:$7.99 Current Price: $6.99The new Blastcar™ racing activity is a merit-badge-driven activity intended for Boy Scouts. Scouts can use their knowledge to experience the engineering design process through sketching an idea for their racer, laying out a design, constructing the car, conducting trial tests, modifying their design, and adding finishing details. Scouts design their racers for optimum performance on the course(s) they've engineered as a team. For Blastcar guidelines and instructions please click here. Learn More


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Ben Douglass, an orthodox Catholic of the "traditionalist" variety, has written a meaty critique of the footnotes of the New American Bible. I wouldn't necessarily agree with every jot and tittle of it, upon closer inspection, and it cites Catholic popes and scholarship from nearly exclusively 50 years ago or more (Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II are never mentioned), but overall, the amount of study and research that he has put into this is highly commendable, and it deserves considerable respect and attention.See:
Wolf in Calfskin: The Rampant Liberalism of the NAB (+ Part Two)
I have used RSV myself for many years now, and always do in my own books (excepting Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths, which is almost all Scripture, so I used KJV due to copyright restrictions).
For related reading, see:
The New American Bible, Jimmy Akin


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Return to the Index | The Configuration File
The energy model provides an organism with a metabolic rate, which is proportional to its stored energy (shown below). An organism with a higher metabolic rate will pay more energy to execute instructions than one with a lower rate. An organism must pay both virtual CPU cycle and energy costs to execute instructions. As instructions are executed the organism's stored energy level is reduced. Energy can be taken up by the organism when it completes a task, among others.
The settings below are defults from
### ENERGY_GROUP ### # Energy Settings ENERGY_ENABLED 0 # Enable Energy Model. 0/1 (off/on) ENERGY_GIVEN_ON_INJECT 0 # Energy given to organism upon injection. ENERGY_GIVEN_AT_BIRTH 0 # Energy given to offspring upon birth. FRAC_PARENT_ENERGY_GIVEN_AT_BIRTH 0.5 # Fraction of perent's energy given to offspring. FRAC_ENERGY_DECAY_AT_BIRTH 0.0 # Fraction of energy lost due to decay during reproduction. NUM_INST_EXC_BEFORE_0_ENERGY 0 # Number of instructions executed before energy is exhausted. ENERGY_CAP -1 # Maximum amount of energy that can be stored in an organism. # -1 means the cap is set to Max Int APPLY_ENERGY_METHOD 0 # When should rewarded energy be applied to current energy? # 0 = on divide # 1 = on completion of task # 2 = on sleep FRAC_ENERGY_TRANSFER 0.0 # Fraction of replaced organism's energy take by new resident LOG_SLEEP_TIMES 0 # Log sleep start and end times. 0/1 (off/on) # WARNING: may use lots of memory.
Flag that disables/enables the us of the energy model. 0 = off, 1 = onENERGY_GIVEN_ON_INJECT
How much energy is given to an injected organism. This number should be large enough to sustain the population until it can gather its own energy through tasks, etc..ENERGY_GIVEN_AT_BIRTH
How much energy is given to an organism when it is born.FRAC_PARENT_ENERGY_GIVEN_AT_BIRTH
Fraction of the parent(s) energy which is taken from the parent and given to the offspring at birth.FRAC_ENERGY_DECAY_AT_BIRTH
Fraction of energy that decays on birth.NUM_INST_EXC_BEFORE_0_ENERGY
Number of instructions an organism can execute before it runs out of energy assuming no new energy. Note: if instructions have energy costs > 0 then this options needs to be altered accordingly.ENERGY_CAP
Maximum amount of energy that can be stored in an organism.APPLY_ENERGY_METHOD
Specifies when newly received energy is applied to the organism energy store and metabolic rate.
Note: the
sleep instruction can also be used as an eat instructions if needed.
Fraction of a replaced organism's energy transfered to the replacing organism.LOG_SLEEP_TIMES
Logs start and end times, in updates, of all executions of the
sleep instruction.
Note: can use a lot of memory.
Return to the Index | The Configuration File


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Welcome to the
2015 Tour de Bowness
This year marks our 14th Anniversary of our three race omnium event! On Saturday, watch the cyclists from many great viewing points along the road course just outside of Cochrane. On Sunday evening, come to Canada Olympic Park and see who is the fastest up the hill. On Monday, visit beautiful Bowness to see the racers tackle the challenging 7 turn Criterium course!
Stick around on Monday to enjoy the Street Festival put on by the Bowness BRZ!
Check our volunteer page on ways to save a little money!