text:
I came to graduate school a virgin as I really wanted to excel in high school and college to make my life easier. Due to the fact that I studied so much, I had almost no sexual contact other than masturbation (which I love) and an occasional date wh
JACKPOT, Part I
JACKPOT Part I by Cupidshot
Ricky had sworn off gambling, scores of times, though no resolution had ever stuck. With a marriage and a mortgage already in the wind because of his addiction to slot machines, you'd think this young man wou
Recently divorced man gets royally fucked
I have worked in a small office of 12 people for the last 10 years and recently got divorced. It was a good thing as my wife and I parted friends but realized we weren't in love anymore so I was looking forward to dating again. There had been som
Amy's Dream
This is my first attempt. Comments are welcome and appreciated!
Just like most weeknights when I am on the truck, I called at about 8:30pm. The girls were finished with their showers and were getting ready for bed. You were telling me about your
Bored at Home
I had been home alone for most of the day. I had spent most of the morning running errands and cleaning the house. I wasn't preparing for anything special. I had a a somewhat busy morning and I guess I had forgotten to eat. It was early in the aftern
In the Bookstore, Part 1
The moment I saw her, I wanted her. She was not such a great beauty, but she had fascinating eyes and a way of looking at a man that appealed directly to his manhood. By that I mean there was nothing cutesy about her. No simpering little-girlishne
"In the Stacks"
I was new in this town, and had been coming to their library to unwind after work, researching the geography and history of the strange city I would be calling home. I've always found a mild euphoria and great relaxation among the clean, paper-and-in
Passing me by
This is my first sex story on here, please bear with me. For purposes of anonymity, I'm going to call myself Erica.
On a warm, summer Friday evening in the small town where I live at, I was sitting at the park, patiently, a little sad. Quite
Come as you are
It had been 10 years since Eric had seen Anna. He knew that since the last time that they were together all those years ago, they had both gotten married and divorced. Both had spent these years thinking about the nights they spent together in the
My Cousin and me
My Cousin and me
Part One
It all started on a sunny afternoon with the family. Me my Dad Mom Two cousins and my Aunt. The sun was beating down and there was nothing we could do to
Lab Partners
I can't wait to get to work. I have a great boss – and very sexy. I spend my days at work thinking about him (and about him and me). I work for a research lab, but more specifically, I work for Dr. Neal. He is awesomely sexy, just thi
Hot secretary gets fucked by hot roommate plus
I had been wondering if other men in our law office jerked off thinking of our new receptionist as often as I did. She was professional with a touch of sexuality whenever I was around and the thought of fucking her had me hard constantly. She wasn
Our First Time
A crisp white cotton sheet is all that separates us…
I breathe in deeply as your lips touch the nape of my neck your right hand slowly begins to trace down my body, your finger teases gently through the fabric, around my nipple before ru
Delilah's Summer of Sex Part 3
For a whole two days after her encounter with her employers, Delilah's pussy felt satisfied. It wasn't until the third day that she awoke with that familiar ache in her cunt that told her she needed tending to. That morning, as she ate breakfast al
My Time at the Porn Store
My Time at the Porn Store
By Joker500
Hi my name real name is Mike and this is my first story for fantasies.com I hope you enjoy yourselves and much as I did writing it.
Chris was a tall guy with average looks but he had
Midnight Mystery
Angel had just stepped out of the shower and was preparing for bed, when she felt a warm wind blow across her naked body. Still wet, it cooled her and her nipples grew taut and puckered into little hard nubs.
She went to her window in her bedroom
June Walker fidgeted nervously in her seat while waiting for Dr. Sherman. "How do I get myself into these things?" she thought to herself while staring at the sweeping second hand of the clock on the wall. She was lost in thought, until she was rip
Overseas Encounter
This day had been a long time in coming. We have been talking to each other over the internet for almost three years. Finally, I am going to meet him in person. Finally, I get to meet Riley, the man who had spent so many nights talking me off the
well i was horny, what can i say? i had rubbed my pussy until it was raw and read everything kinky i could-i knew jimmy wanted sex with me-hhe never did believe i was a lesbian.
well i just had to have someone munch on me-i was so desperate for it


text:
C & W Deck Restoration - New Stanton, PA - Phone: (724) 925-1488
Patio builders are people in New Stanton who design a paved recreation area that are usually found to the rear of the home. It may or may not join to the house. Patios are great for outdoor entertaining but they can also be used as an exercise area, for family meetings or just for relaxation.
Patio builders in New Stanton,includes roofing choices, flooring choices, but the most important thing to consider is what will be the use of the patio for, like patio builder install comforts such as patio blinds, lighting, and even fans or heating. They are fully trained and qualified people that hold the correct licenses and are appropriately insured.
NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli Addresses Clean Energy Leadership Task Force
Audits Confirm Savings from Energy Efficiency Improvements at Long Island School Districts (Long Island, NY) On Friday, February 19th, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli spoke before the Clean Energy Leadership Task Force which is a project directed by the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College located at Republic Airport in Farmingdale NY. Mr. DiNapoli discussed the results of audits..

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Community Service Advisory Council
The Community Service Advisory Council insures that CET's mission and goals are being properly and consistently addressed through the broadcast and non-broadcast services. The group meets at least twice per year and reviews services and programs in the areas of:
- The General Public
- Children
- Minorities and Women
- People with Disabilities
- Education and Instructional Services
The meetings are open to the public. For more information and a schedule of meetings contact Kitty Lensman, Chief Operating Officer (firstname.lastname@example.com).
Members (2016-2017)
Margaret Alf
Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co.
Carol N. Aquino
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Kimber L. Fender
Public Library of Cincinnati
& Hamilton County
Robert Harris
The Robert Lee Harris Institute International
Lynnette Heard
The University of Cincinnati Foundation
Rabbi Abie Ingber
Xavier University
Ed Marks
Community Arts Volunteer
Maria Molina
P&G Global Consumer Relations
Lorena Mora-Mowry
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Dr. John Owens
Abdullah Powell
Regina Carswell Russo
Cincinnati Art Museum
Catherine L. Smith
SITUS, Inc.
Alice Sparks
Community Volunteer


text:
Working With Allied Forces
"It has been a real pleasure working with you on our employment needs. Your firm has been both professional and extremely efficient in providing us with excellent employees. The level of service and communication we have received is immeasurable."— Haven F., Human Resource Director More
Allied Forces owes its success to the quick-thinking and steadfast individuals that make up our team. To maintain our community standing, we go to great lengths to attract dependable people of high character who are inspired by our mission and will go above and beyond in its pursuit.
If you are interested in joining our team as a staff employee or have questions, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
If you are looking for temporary employment, please visit any of our branch locations to apply.


text:
"When you get into the larger aircraft it becomes like a hotel, with dozens of staff supporting the plane based in a galley area down below. You have very comprehensive cooking facilities, and on larger aircraft we have looked at theatres, with spiral staircases and a Steinway grand piano. The limitations for what you can put inside a plane are pretty much the limits of physics, and even money cannot always overcome that. Even so, people are still always trying to push [the limits]. "
The world's coolest hotel
One of the most unusual hotels anywhere exists for only part of the year.
Located more than 100 miles above the Arctic Circle in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, just seven miles from Kiruna Airport, the Icehotel is exactly what its name suggests. It is a frozen fantasyland decorated with ice artwork imported from around the world that has opened each winter for the past 20 years. Guests in its 80 or so rooms spend the night on an ice bed, tucked snugly in a thermal sleeping bag that rests on layers of reindeer hides.
Construction begins in November, when workers blast metal frames with snow guns to create an icy shell. Once it is frozen solid, the supports are removed. The interior structures are then formed from blocks of ice cut the previous spring and stored during the summer. Construction of the hotel, which opens bit by bit as sections are completed, concludes by the end of December.
The Icehotel (www.icehotel.com) closes in late April as the roof starts to melt, but the operators offer traditional accommodations nearby in warmer months, when visitors can take a three-day ice-sculpting class.
Add your comment:
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text:
H. Saleem
- Total Points:
- 29,986
- Rank:
- Sounds like Hamburgers
- Last Visit:
- 03/16/2006
- Currently:
- Offline
- Sex:
- Location:
- queens, NY
- XBox Live: hsaleem80
- AIM Name: haneefsaleem
My Favorites
Favorite Music:
Mostly hip-hop,
but I like rock,
r/b (current and old school),
anything besides country music.
Favorite Books:
Any book by Ray Bradbury,
Michael Crichton
Favorite TV Shows:
Star Gate-sg1,
Star Gate: Atlantis,
BattleStar Galactica,
Scare Tactics,
CSI: Vegas,
My Wife & Kids,
George Lopez Show,
Chapelle Show
Favorite Movies:
terminator 2,
matrix series,
a lot of sci-fi movies,
taining day,
man on fire
Favorite TV Shows:
Star Gate-sg1,
Star Gate: Atlantis,
BattleStar Galactica,
Scare Tactics,
CSI: Vegas,
My Wife & Kids,
George Lopez Show,
Chapelle Show
Favorite Movies:
terminator 2,
matrix series,
a lot of sci-fi movies,
taining day,
man on fire
My Interests
Interests:video games (duh), playing basketball and football, sorry but baseball is a bit SLOW. I design websites in my spare time and definitely like to edit my own site - FASTBREAK NY UNLTD. look out for it
Where I work:manhattan (midtown)
What I like to do:work on computers, play basketball/football
My Tastes:a true gentleman never tells
My Clubs
2436 members
The official PSP club! Talk about the PSP and see all new info on...
1010 members
Welcome folks to this unofficial Halo 2 Pregame Lobby . we are...
266 members
An open forum for Positive and Negative hype of the Shaodw the...
343 members
This is the place to talk about one of the bestshows on...
560 members
PSP Nation is a group of hardcore gamers who share a tight bond,...
Battlefron 2 (PSP)
Battlefron 2 (PSP)
Nov 07, 2005 2:48PM PST
Comments (0)
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text:
Handheld radio static. My other sounds.
A more dramatic glass crash using a composite of freesounds:Alcove Audio's "BobKessler-Break Glass", schluppipuppie's "tsch - 02", "Glass Break" 1 ...
Barrel organ of a carousel, very old, with merry-go-round-bell in the beginning. Beautiful sound. A field recording with birds and ...
Polite applause.
Hey, a doorbell!
Crowd applauding. This sound sample is under Attribution license. By using this sound you are obliged by law to credit ...
It's a recording of audience applauding during a gig. You can hear around 50 people clapping their hands, sometimes shouting. ...
A remix of Fonogeno's "old telephone bell" - timing adjusted to sound like a British phone ring. ORIGINAL: http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=19425 soundforge8
Old Style Phone Ringing -- Rings Three Times
faucet drip
Slow ambient sound
Applause after a dance performance at the James A. Little Theatre in Santa Fe.
A door bell made using a tubular bell sample.
Ringing the doorbell
Recorded with Rode NT1a 44.1 kHz 16 Bit


text:
Drug Take Back Day allows people to safely dispose of any unused prescription drugs. Proper disposal keeps medication from contaminating waterways and prevents drugs from falling into the hands of children and others who may be tempted to steal them.
The collected drugs will be destroyed periodically at an incinerator in Spokane used by Idaho State Police and the Idaho Board of Pharmacy. Items such as syringes, liquids, bio-hazards and inhalers are not accepted.
Citizens wanting to participate in the Nationwide Drug Turn-in can bring any unused drugs to the LPD lobby from 10a.m. to 2 p.m. or from 2p.m. to 4p.m.at The Asotin County Health District.


text:
Gillian Conoley's new book of poetry seems to aim at a kind of reconciliation: with the self, with family, with lovers, with the digital world, and with larger abstractions such as death.
Death like a shadow of black silk unraveling/after an atomic blast, your arms outstretched/in the background a curtain surrenders in the wind
There is a freshly-made bed next to mine/that I don't touch/There is a hum in the room, a hymn/in the sky/That evening two animal gods stood mountaintop/and I sat below in the sunset, my body rooted.
The narrative is fragmental, and drifts like movements which possess their own immediate merits. The symphonic quality is evident. Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" is not a piece which moves in a deft pattern, and neither is Hartigan's collection.
Forth from the intersecting origin
Each number is newly born/and ages as it goes/this is the realm of the rich/and the shallow, an empty quadrant/where they think they exist
The people who I love are growing infections. They florally reconstitute. I am wishing their stamens. I am unconscious. What lips these flowers will vaunt.
we never stay in the ground long/and you will come when we call/only we come back wrong/only we come back/with the foreign gods hanging on
What are her threats but testimonies of love?
Sonnet 3, 10, 15
CALLED BACK BOOKS—a new press run out of Oakland, CA and crafted by the poets Sharon Zetter and Lucas M. Rivera—stresses the import of THE BOOK and will be focusing on small volumes from emerging writers, highlighting the discourse of POETRY and a range of mediums germane to the question of ART, METAPHYSICS, LANGUAGE, ETHICS, ETC.
Usage else makeup without pretty retweeted without personal notes retweeted without notes without personnel retweeting personal doubt is else bulling me typing retweeted. I can't speak for myself i can't tweet. I cannot speak of an illness I cannot speak a chance dogging the title unwoken else used i make Bully negated retweeted. He slows things down, catches the vulture Circling above our clearing in the woods. He Focuses on lichen, close up to mimic Coral. His body dances on the rusting can. I built a garden in the game And spent my labor In that garden, to make it dissimilar. _________________________________ cris cheek is a transdisciplinary poet. He is currently Director of Creative Writing at Miami University in southwest Ohio, where he was the Altman Fellow in [...]
whatever holy something / might want / even me / a teenage symphony / a pure system of spasms / wrecked with sex /
Swallowed Whole Recently, on vacation, I saw a blue heron catch and eat a fish. In its middle, the fish was a good deal larger than the heron's slender neck. Looking out subway windows, sparks fly, light up graffiti tags in this dark, rat-infested tunnel I am hurtling through. Ideas leap to mind: violence, poverty, being born with very little real opportunity. I've been taught these ideas. The heron brought the fish on land, pecked into it repeatedly until it was good and dead, then somehow managed to swallow it whole. Can I have an original idea? It all feels collaborative, this living of life. My original ideas are the smallest of perceptions. I've been taught, too, the importance of graffiti as urban art, street culture expressed. I've rounded many [...]
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text:
Product Description
Our newest style in organic cotton now comes in a racerback style tank. An easy fit and wonderful feel, this casual piece looks worn in the summer, or layer in the colder months with our cotton cardi. Slim fit. Falls at the hip. Organic Supima Cotton. Made ethically in Peru. Hand wash. Learn more about our GOTS approved organic cotton collection and guidelines.


text:
Ditches, dams & tunnels
SMART Thesaurus
The SMART Thesaurus shows synonyms, related words and phrases that make up this topic.
Create and share your own word lists and quizzes for free!
- Bridges
- Building materials
- Building: carpentry & joinery
- Buildng: construction work & workers
- Building: interior decoration
- Building: locks & locksmithing
- Building: plastering
- Building: plumbing & pipes & sewage
- Civil engineering in general
- Road junctions
- Road surfaces & features
- Roads & routes in general
- Roads: lights, signs & markings on roads
- Roads: motorways
- Roads: pedestrian routes
- Roads: rural & suburban
- Roads: urban & residential streets
Word of the Day
a group of people, especially within a political party, who try to encourage other people to follow a new, more interesting, or more active way of doing things
New Words


text:
Major League Baseball is the American pastime, but foreign-born players have played a big role in the sport's history.
Foreign-born players now make up 29 percent of 2011 MLB Opening Day rosters.
International stars used to be restricted in baseball, but now they are becoming more prominent, and they are becoming even better. There are only 10 foreign-born stars in the Hall of Fame right now, and I'm sure you can come up with 10 more who will be in there soon off the top of your head.
The players on this list have combined for more awards than I care to list, and they have all proven their worth as the best foreign-born stars in US baseball history.


text:
David and Goliath
Humans are storytellers. One could argue that journalists are even more like storytellers than other forms of humans, but then, you could also make the case that we just echo what is out there in the world.
The English professors inform us that there are no new plots – only the same few stories recycling through our literature (and all too often, through our news). One of the stories that pops up a lot in our culture is the David and Goliath narrative, a classic biblical story in which a poorly armed but self-assured little guy takes down a gigantic warrior. John Henry against the steam hammer and Luke Skywalker against the Galactic Empire are notable examples of this myth in our culture.
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Nextcloud Announces Raspberry Pi-Powered Home Cloud Box
Innovative system adds a hard drive and Ubuntu Core to the RPi for an IoT hub.
Linus Torvalds Confirms the Date of the First Linux Release
Linux is two weeks younger than we thought!
End of OpenOffice?
The Apache Software Foundation considers retiring OpenOffice
Adobe Gives New Life to NPAPI Plugin for Linux
Adobe won't kill the plugin in 2017
LinuxCon North America Convenes in Toronto, Canada
Linux Foundation's big event celebrates the 25th anniversary of Linux
Linux Turns 25
Linux has evolved from "won't be a professional" project to one of the most professional software projects in the history of computers.
Mirantis Joins Hands with SUSE To Offer RHEL Support; Red Hat Not Happy
Competitors get in the game with RHEL without Red Hat
Linux on Windows 10 Poses a Security Risk
Security researchers have already notified Microsoft; some fixes are available
Mirantis to Refactor OpenStack Fuel for Kubernetes
The company is collaborating with Google and Intel to use Kubernetes as an engine for Fuel
Canonical Joins Document Foundation Advisory Board
The upcoming release of LibreOffice will be available as a snap package


text:
The semi-popular Cinema mod for Max Payne 2. Cinema features quite a few changes to Max Payne 2, and to the way it's played. It's hard to describe most of what Cinema offers in words without sounding generic and bland, so it's definitely recommended that you check it out yourself! Cinema aims to provide the player with more of a movie feel, and pulls the task off quite nicely. Miniguns, cinematic feeling scenes -- it's all there!
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text:
Victor Davis Hanson // Tribune Media Services
World War II broke out when Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. A once preventable war had become inevitable — and would soon become global — due to three fatal decisions. Most infamously, the Western European democracies had appeased Hitler during the late 1930s in hopes that he would quit gobbling up his neighbors. Unfortunately, the Nazis considered Western appeasement as weakness to be manipulated rather than magnanimity to be reciprocated.After the bloodless annexation of Austria and the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, Hitler assumed that Britain and France would not go to war at all if he went into Poland. Or, if they did, that they would not fight very seriously.Yet Western appeasement did not alone guarantee the outbreak of World War II.
Read more →


text:
Most Cited Medical Image Analysis Articles
The most cited articles published since 2011, extracted from Scopus.
A review of segmentation methods in short axis cardiac MR imagesCaroline Petitjean | Jean Nicolas Dacher
Volume 15, Issue 2, April 2011, Pages 169-184
For the last 15 years, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has become a reference examination for cardiac morphology, function and perfusion in humans. Yet, due to the characteristics of cardiac MR images and to the great variability of the images among patients, the problem of heart cavities segmentation in MRI is still open. This paper is a review of fully and semi-automated methods performing segmentation in short axis images using a cardiac cine MRI sequence. Medical background and specific segmentation difficulties associated to these images are presented. For this particularly complex segmentation task, prior knowledge is required. We thus propose an original categorization for cardiac segmentation methods, with a special emphasis on what level of external information is required (weak or strong) and how it is used to constrain segmentation. After reviewing method principles and analyzing segmentation results, we conclude with a discussion and future trends in this field regarding methodological and medical issues. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.
A review of 3D/2D registration methods for image-guided interventionsP. Markelj | D. Tomaževič | B. Likar | F. Pernuš
Volume 16, Issue 3, April 2012, Pages 642-661
Registration of pre- and intra-interventional data is one of the key technologies for image-guided radiation therapy, radiosurgery, minimally invasive surgery, endoscopy, and interventional radiology. In this paper, we survey those 3D/2D data registration methods that utilize 3D computer tomography or magnetic resonance images as the pre-interventional data and 2D X-ray projection images as the intra-interventional data. The 3D/2D registration methods are reviewed with respect to image modality, image dimensionality, registration basis, geometric transformation, user interaction, optimization procedure, subject, and object of registration. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.
Towards robust and effective shape modeling: Sparse shape compositionShaoting Zhang | Yiqiang Zhan | Maneesh Dewan | Junzhou Huang | Dimitris N. Metaxas | Xiang Sean Zhou
Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 265-277
Organ shape plays an important role in various clinical practices, e.g., diagnosis, surgical planning and treatment evaluation. It is usually derived from low level appearance cues in medical images. However, due to diseases and imaging artifacts, low level appearance cues might be weak or misleading. In this situation, shape priors become critical to infer and refine the shape derived by image appearances. Effective modeling of shape priors is challenging because: (1) shape variation is complex and cannot always be modeled by a parametric probability distribution; (2) a shape instance derived from image appearance cues (input shape) may have gross errors; and (3) local details of the input shape are difficult to preserve if they are not statistically significant in the training data. In this paper we propose a novel Sparse Shape Composition model (SSC) to deal with these three challenges in a unified framework. In our method, a sparse set of shapes in the shape repository is selected and composed together to infer/refine an input shape. The a priori information is thus implicitly incorporated on-the-fly. Our model leverages two sparsity observations of the input shape instance: (1) the input shape can be approximately represented by a sparse linear combination of shapes in the shape repository; (2) parts of the input shape may contain gross errors but such errors are sparse. Our model is formulated as a sparse learning problem. Using L1 norm relaxation, it can be solved by an efficient expectation-maximization (EM) type of framework. Our method is extensively validated on two medical applications, 2D lung localization in X-ray images and 3D liver segmentation in low-dose CT scans. Compared to state-of-the-art methods, our model exhibits better performance in both studies. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
Efficient MR image reconstruction for compressed MR imagingJunzhou Huang | Shaoting Zhang | Dimitris Metaxas
Volume 15, Issue 5, October 2011, Pages 670-679
In this paper, we propose an efficient algorithm for MR image reconstruction. The algorithm minimizes a linear combination of three terms corresponding to a least square data fitting, total variation (TV) and L1 norm regularization. This has been shown to be very powerful for the MR image reconstruction. First, we decompose the original problem into L1 and TV norm regularization subproblems respectively. Then, these two subproblems are efficiently solved by existing techniques. Finally, the reconstructed image is obtained from the weighted average of solutions from two subproblems in an iterative framework. We compare the proposed algorithm with previous methods in term of the reconstruction accuracy and computation complexity. Numerous experiments demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed algorithm for compressed MR image reconstruction. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
DRAMMS: Deformable registration via attribute matching and mutual-saliency weightingYangming Ou | Aristeidis Sotiras | Nikos Paragios | Christos Davatzikos
Volume 15, Issue 4, August 2011, Pages 622-639
A general-purpose deformable registration algorithm referred to as " DRAMMS" is presented in this paper. DRAMMS bridges the gap between the traditional voxel-wise methods and landmark/feature-based methods with primarily two contributions. First, DRAMMS renders each voxel relatively distinctively identifiable by a rich set of attributes, therefore largely reducing matching ambiguities. In particular, a set of multi-scale and multi-orientation Gabor attributes are extracted and the optimal components are selected, so that they form a highly distinctive morphological signature reflecting the anatomical and geometric context around each voxel. Moreover, the way in which the optimal Gabor attributes are constructed is independent of the underlying image modalities or contents, which renders DRAMMS generally applicable to diverse registration tasks. A second contribution of DRAMMS is that it modulates the registration by assigning higher weights to those voxels having higher ability to establish unique (hence reliable) correspondences across images, therefore reducing the negative impact of those regions that are less capable of finding correspondences (such as outlier regions). A continuously-valued weighting function named " mutual-saliency" is developed to reflect the matching uniqueness between a pair of voxels implied by the tentative transformation. As a result, voxels do not contribute equally as in most voxel-wise methods, nor in isolation as in landmark/feature-based methods. Instead, they contribute according to the continuously-valued mutual-saliency map, which dynamically evolves during the registration process. Experiments in simulated images, inter-subject images, single-/multi-modality images, from brain, heart, and prostate have demonstrated the general applicability and the accuracy of DRAMMS. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.
MIND: Modality independent neighbourhood descriptor for multi-modal deformable registrationMattias P. Heinrich | Mark Jenkinson | Manav Bhushan | Tahreema Matin | Fergus V. Gleeson | Sir Michael Brady | Julia A. Schnabel
Volume 16, Issue 7, October 2012, Pages 1423-1435
Deformable registration of images obtained from different modalities remains a challenging task in medical image analysis. This paper addresses this important problem and proposes a modality independent neighbourhood descriptor (MIND) for both linear and deformable multi-modal registration. Based on the similarity of small image patches within one image, it aims to extract the distinctive structure in a local neighbourhood, which is preserved across modalities. The descriptor is based on the concept of image self-similarity, which has been introduced for non-local means filtering for image denoising. It is able to distinguish between different types of features such as corners, edges and homogeneously textured regions. MIND is robust to the most considerable differences between modalities: non-functional intensity relations, image noise and non-uniform bias fields. The multi-dimensional descriptor can be efficiently computed in a dense fashion across the whole image and provides point-wise local similarity across modalities based on the absolute or squared difference between descriptors, making it applicable for a wide range of transformation models and optimisation algorithms. We use the sum of squared differences of the MIND representations of the images as a similarity metric within a symmetric non-parametric Gauss-Newton registration framework. In principle, MIND would be applicable to the registration of arbitrary modalities. In this work, we apply and validate it for the registration of clinical 3D thoracic CT scans between inhale and exhale as well as the alignment of 3D CT and MRI scans. Experimental results show the advantages of MIND over state-of-the-art techniques such as conditional mutual information and entropy images, with respect to clinically annotated landmark locations. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
Respiratory motion models: A reviewJ. R. McClelland | D. J. Hawkes | T. Schaeffter | A. P. King
Volume 17, Issue 1, January 2013, Pages 19-42
The problem of respiratory motion has proved a serious obstacle in developing techniques to acquire images or guide interventions in abdominal and thoracic organs. Motion models offer a possible solution to these problems, and as a result the field of respiratory motion modelling has become an active one over the past 15. years. A motion model can be defined as a process that takes some surrogate data as input and produces a motion estimate as output. Many techniques have been proposed in the literature, differing in the data used to form the models, the type of model employed, how this model is computed, the type of surrogate data used as input to the model in order to make motion estimates and what form this output should take. In addition, a wide range of different application areas have been proposed. In this paper we summarise the state of the art in this important field and in the process highlight the key papers that have driven its advance. The intention is that this will serve as a timely review and comparison of the different techniques proposed to date and as a basis to inform future research in this area. © 2012.
Nonrigid registration of dynamic medical imaging data using nD+t B-splines and a groupwise optimization approachC. T. Metz | S. Klein | M. Schaap | T. van Walsum | W. J. Niessen
Volume 15, Issue 2, April 2011, Pages 238-249
A registration method for motion estimation in dynamic medical imaging data is proposed. Registration is performed directly on the dynamic image, thus avoiding a bias towards a specifically chosen reference time point. Both spatial and temporal smoothness of the transformations are taken into account. Optionally, cyclic motion can be imposed, which can be useful for visualization (viewing the segmentation sequentially) or model building purposes. The method is based on a 3D (2D. +. time) or 4D (3D. +. time) free-form B-spline deformation model, a similarity metric that minimizes the intensity variances over time and constrained optimization using a stochastic gradient descent method with adaptive step size estimation. The method was quantitatively compared with existing registration techniques on synthetic data and 3D. +. t computed tomography data of the lungs. This showed subvoxel accuracy while delivering smooth transformations, and high consistency of the registration results. Furthermore, the accuracy of semi-automatic derivation of left ventricular volume curves from 3D. +. t computed tomography angiography data of the heart was evaluated. On average, the deviation from the curves derived from the manual annotations was approximately 3%. The potential of the method for other imaging modalities was shown on 2D. +. t ultrasound and 2D. +. t magnetic resonance images. The software is publicly available as an extension to the registration package elastix. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.
Review of automatic segmentation methods of multiple sclerosis white matter lesions on conventional magnetic resonance imagingDaniel García-Lorenzo | Simon Francis | Sridar Narayanan | Douglas L. Arnold | D. Louis Collins
Volume 17, Issue 1, January 2013, Pages 1-18
Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is often used to characterize and quantify multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions in the brain and spinal cord. The number and volume of lesions have been used to evaluate MS disease burden, to track the progression of the disease and to evaluate the effect of new pharmaceuticals in clinical trials. Accurate identification of MS lesions in MR images is extremely difficult due to variability in lesion location, size and shape in addition to anatomical variability between subjects. Since manual segmentation requires expert knowledge, is time consuming and is subject to intra- and inter-expert variability, many methods have been proposed to automatically segment lesions.The objective of this study was to carry out a systematic review of the literature to evaluate the state of the art in automated multiple sclerosis lesion segmentation. From 1240. hits found initially with PubMed and Google scholar, our selection criteria identified 80 papers that described an automatic lesion segmentation procedure applied to MS. Only 47 of these included quantitative validation with at least one realistic image. In this paper, we describe the complexity of lesion segmentation, classify the automatic MS lesion segmentation methods found, and review the validation methods applied in each of the papers reviewed. Although many segmentation solutions have been proposed, including some with promising results using MRI data obtained on small groups of patients, no single method is widely employed due to performance issues related to the high variability of MS lesion appearance and differences in image acquisition. The challenge remains to provide segmentation techniques that work in all cases regardless of the type of MS, duration of the disease, or MRI protocol, and this within a comprehensive, standardized validation framework. MS lesion segmentation remains an open problem. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
New methods for MRI denoising based on sparseness and self-similarityJosé V. Manjón | Pierrick Coupé | Antonio Buades | D. Louis Collins | Montserrat Robles
Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 18-27
This paper proposes two new methods for the three-dimensional denoising of magnetic resonance images that exploit the sparseness and self-similarity properties of the images. The proposed methods are based on a three-dimensional moving-window discrete cosine transform hard thresholding and a three-dimensional rotationally invariant version of the well-known nonlocal means filter. The proposed approaches were compared with related state-of-the-art methods and produced very competitive results. Both methods run in less than a minute, making them usable in most clinical and research settings. © 2011 Elsevier B.V..
MR to ultrasound registration for image-guided prostate interventionsYipeng Hu | Hashim Uddin Ahmed | Zeike Taylor | Clare Allen | Mark Emberton | David Hawkes | Dean Barratt
Volume 16, Issue 3, April 2012, Pages 687-703
A deformable registration method is described that enables automatic alignment of magnetic resonance (MR) and 3D transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) images of the prostate gland. The method employs a novel " model-to-image" registration approach in which a deformable model of the gland surface, derived from an MR image, is registered automatically to a TRUS volume by maximising the likelihood of a particular model shape given a voxel-intensity-based feature that represents an estimate of surface normal vectors at the boundary of the gland. The deformation of the surface model is constrained by a patient-specific statistical model of gland deformation, which is trained using data provided by biomechanical simulations. Each simulation predicts the motion of a volumetric finite element mesh due to the random placement of a TRUS probe in the rectum. The use of biomechanical modelling in this way also allows a dense displacement field to be calculated within the prostate, which is then used to non-rigidly warp the MR image to match the TRUS image. Using data acquired from eight patients, and anatomical landmarks to quantify the registration accuracy, the median final RMS target registration error after performing 100 MR-TRUS registrations for each patient was 2.40. mm. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.
Deformable segmentation via sparse representation and dictionary learningShaoting Zhang | Yiqiang Zhan | Dimitris N. Metaxas
Volume 16, Issue 7, October 2012, Pages 1385-1396
"Shape" and "appearance", the two pillars of a deformable model, complement each other in object segmentation. In many medical imaging applications, while the low-level appearance information is weak or mis-leading, shape priors play a more important role to guide a correct segmentation, thanks to the strong shape characteristics of biological structures. Recently a novel shape prior modeling method has been proposed based on sparse learning theory. Instead of learning a generative shape model, shape priors are incorporated on-the-fly through the sparse shape composition (SSC). SSC is robust to non-Gaussian errors and still preserves individual shape characteristics even when such characteristics is not statistically significant. Although it seems straightforward to incorporate SSC into a deformable segmentation framework as shape priors, the large-scale sparse optimization of SSC has low runtime efficiency, which cannot satisfy clinical requirements. In this paper, we design two strategies to decrease the computational complexity of SSC, making a robust, accurate and efficient deformable segmentation system. (1) When the shape repository contains a large number of instances, which is often the case in 2D problems, K-SVD is used to learn a more compact but still informative shape dictionary. (2) If the derived shape instance has a large number of vertices, which often appears in 3D problems, an affinity propagation method is used to partition the surface into small sub-regions, on which the sparse shape composition is performed locally. Both strategies dramatically decrease the scale of the sparse optimization problem and hence speed up the algorithm. Our method is applied on a diverse set of biomedical image analysis problems. Compared to the original SSC, these two newly-proposed modules not only significant reduce the computational complexity, but also improve the overall accuracy. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
Exudate-based diabetic macular edema detection in fundus images using publicly available datasetsLuca Giancardo | Fabrice Meriaudeau | Thomas P. Karnowski | Yaqin Li | Seema Garg | Kenneth W. Tobin | Edward Chaum
Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 216-226
Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a common vision threatening complication of diabetic retinopathy. In a large scale screening environment DME can be assessed by detecting exudates (a type of bright lesions) in fundus images. In this work, we introduce a new methodology for diagnosis of DME using a novel set of features based on colour, wavelet decomposition and automatic lesion segmentation. These features are employed to train a classifier able to automatically diagnose DME through the presence of exudation. We present a new publicly available dataset with ground-truth data containing 169 patients from various ethnic groups and levels of DME. This and other two publicly available datasets are employed to evaluate our algorithm. We are able to achieve diagnosis performance comparable to retina experts on the MESSIDOR (an independently labelled dataset with 1200 images) with cross-dataset testing (e.g., the classifier was trained on an independent dataset and tested on MESSIDOR). Our algorithm obtained an AUC between 0.88 and 0.94 depending on the dataset/features used. Additionally, it does not need ground truth at lesion level to reject false positives and is computationally efficient, as it generates a diagnosis on an average of 4.4. s (9.3. s, considering the optic nerve localisation) per image on an 2.6. GHz platform with an unoptimised Matlab implementation. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
STEPS: Similarity and Truth Estimation for Propagated Segmentations and its application to hippocampal segmentation and brain parcelationM. Jorge Cardoso | Kelvin Leung | Marc Modat | Shiva Keihaninejad | David Cash | Josephine Barnes | Nick C. Fox | Sebastien Ourselin
Volume 17, Issue 6, August 2013, Pages 671-684
Anatomical segmentation of structures of interest is critical to quantitative analysis in medical imaging. Several automated multi-atlas based segmentation propagation methods that utilise manual delineations from multiple templates appear promising. However, high levels of accuracy and reliability are needed for use in diagnosis or in clinical trials. We propose a new local ranking strategy for template selection based on the locally normalised cross correlation (LNCC) and an extension to the classical STAPLE algorithm by Warfield et al. (2004), which we refer to as STEPS for Similarity and Truth Estimation for Propagated Segmentations. It addresses the well-known problems of local vs. global image matching and the bias introduced in the performance estimation due to structure size. We assessed the method on hippocampal segmentation using a leave-one-out cross validation with optimised model parameters; STEPS achieved a mean Dice score of 0.925 when compared with manual segmentation. This was significantly better in terms of segmentation accuracy when compared to other state-of-the-art fusion techniques. Furthermore, due to the finer anatomical scale, STEPS also obtains more accurate segmentations even when using only a third of the templates, reducing the dependence on large template databases. Using a subset of Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) scans from different MRI imaging systems and protocols, STEPS yielded similarly accurate segmentations (Dice=0.903). A cross-sectional and longitudinal hippocampal volumetric study was performed on the ADNI database. Mean±SD hippocampal volume (mm3) was 5195±656 for controls; 4786±781 for MCI; and 4427±903 for Alzheimer's disease patients and hippocampal atrophy rates (%/year) of 1.09±3.0, 2.74±3.5 and 4.04±3.6 respectively. Statistically significant (p < 10 - 3) differences were found between disease groups for both hippocampal volume and volume change rates. Finally, STEPS was also applied in a multi-label segmentation propagation scenario using a leave-one-out cross validation, in order to parcellate 83 separate structures of the brain. Comparisons of STEPS with state-of-the-art multi-label fusion algorithms showed statistically significant segmentation accuracy improvements (p < 10 - 4) in several key structures. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.
Medical image processing on the GPU - Past, present and futureAnders Eklund | Paul Dufort | Daniel Forsberg | Stephen M. LaConte
Volume 17, Issue 8, December 2013, Pages 1073-1094
Graphics processing units (GPUs) are used today in a wide range of applications, mainly because they can dramatically accelerate parallel computing, are affordable and energy efficient. In the field of medical imaging, GPUs are in some cases crucial for enabling practical use of computationally demanding algorithms. This review presents the past and present work on GPU accelerated medical image processing, and is meant to serve as an overview and introduction to existing GPU implementations. The review covers GPU acceleration of basic image processing operations (filtering, interpolation, histogram estimation and distance transforms), the most commonly used algorithms in medical imaging (image registration, image segmentation and image denoising) and algorithms that are specific to individual modalities (CT, PET, SPECT, MRI, fMRI, DTI, ultrasound, optical imaging and microscopy). The review ends by highlighting some future possibilities and challenges. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.
A Hough transform global probabilistic approach to multiple-subject diffusion MRI tractographyIman Aganj | Christophe Lenglet | Neda Jahanshad | Essa Yacoub | Noam Harel | Paul M. Thompson | Guillermo Sapiro
Volume 15, Issue 4, August 2011, Pages 414-425
A global probabilistic fiber tracking approach based on the voting process provided by the Hough transform is introduced in this work. The proposed framework tests candidate 3D curves in the volume, assigning to each one a score computed from the diffusion images, and then selects the curves with the highest scores as the potential anatomical connections. The algorithm avoids local minima by performing an exhaustive search at the desired resolution. The technique is easily extended to multiple subjects, considering a single representative volume where the registered high-angular resolution diffusion images (HARDI) from all the subjects are non-linearly combined, thereby obtaining population-representative tracts. The tractography algorithm is run only once for the multiple subjects, and no tract alignment is necessary. We present experimental results on HARDI volumes, ranging from simulated and 1.5T physical phantoms to 7T and 4T human brain and 7T monkey brain datasets. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
Regression forests for efficient anatomy detection and localization in computed tomography scansA. Criminisi | D. Robertson | E. Konukoglu | J. Shotton | S. Pathak | S. White | K. Siddiqui
Volume 17, Issue 8, December 2013, Pages 1293-1303
This paper proposes a new algorithm for the efficient, automatic detection and localization of multiple anatomical structures within three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) scans. Applications include selective retrieval of patients images from PACS systems, semantic visual navigation and tracking radiation dose over time.The main contribution of this work is a new, continuous parametrization of the anatomy localization problem, which allows it to be addressed effectively by multi-class random regression forests. Regression forests are similar to the more popular classification forests, but trained to predict continuous, multi-variate outputs, where the training focuses on maximizing the confidence of output predictions. A single pass of our probabilistic algorithm enables the direct mapping from voxels to organ location and size.Quantitative validation is performed on a database of 400 highly variable CT scans. We show that the proposed method is more accurate and robust than techniques based on efficient multi-atlas registration and template-based nearest-neighbor detection. Due to the simplicity of the regressor's context-rich visual features and the algorithm's parallelism, these results are achieved in typical run-times of only ~4. s on a conventional single-core machine. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.
Patient-specific electromechanical models of the heart for the prediction of pacing acute effects in CRT: A preliminary clinical validationM. Sermesant | R. Chabiniok | P. Chinchapatnam | T. Mansi | F. Billet | P. Moireau | J. M. Peyrat | K. Wong | J. Relan | K. Rhode | M. Ginks | P. Lambiase | H. Delingette | M. Sorine | C. A. Rinaldi | D. Chapelle | R. Razavi | N. Ayache
Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 201-215
Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is an effective treatment for patients with congestive heart failure and a wide QRS complex. However, up to 30% of patients are non-responders to therapy in terms of exercise capacity or left ventricular reverse remodelling. A number of controversies still remain surrounding patient selection, targeted lead implantation and optimisation of this important treatment. The development of biophysical models to predict the response to CRT represents a potential strategy to address these issues. In this article, we present how the personalisation of an electromechanical model of the myocardium can predict the acute haemodynamic changes associated with CRT. In order to introduce such an approach as a clinical application, we needed to design models that can be individualised from images and electrophysiological mapping of the left ventricle. In this paper the personalisation of the anatomy, the electrophysiology, the kinematics and the mechanics are described. The acute effects of pacing on pressure development were predicted with the in silico model for several pacing conditions on two patients, achieving good agreement with invasive haemodynamic measurements: the mean error on dP/dt max is 47.5±35mmHgs -1, less than 5% error. These promising results demonstrate the potential of physiological models personalised from images and electrophysiology signals to improve patient selection and plan CRT. © 2011 Elsevier B.V..
Multiple q-shell diffusion propagator imagingMaxime Descoteaux | Rachid Deriche | Denis Le Bihan | Jean François Mangin | Cyril Poupon
Volume 15, Issue 4, August 2011, Pages 603-621
Many recent high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) reconstruction techniques have been introduced to infer an orientation distribution function (ODF) of the underlying tissue structure. These methods are more often based on a single-shell (one b-value) acquisition and can only recover angular structure information contained in the ensemble average propagator (EAP) describing the three-dimensional (3D) average diffusion process of water molecules. The EAP can thus provide richer information about complex tissue microstructure properties than the ODF by also considering the radial part of the diffusion signal. In this paper, we present a novel technique for analytical EAP reconstruction from multiple q-shell acquisitions. The solution is based on a Laplace equation by part estimation between the diffusion signal for each shell acquisition. This simplifies greatly the Fourier integral relating diffusion signal and EAP, which leads to an analytical, linear and compact EAP reconstruction. An important part of the paper is dedicated to validate the diffusion signal estimation and EAP reconstruction on real datasets from ex vivo phantoms. We also illustrate multiple q-shell diffusion propagator imaging (mq-DPI) on a real in vivo human brain and perform a qualitative comparison against state-of-the-art diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) on the same subject. mq-DPI is shown to reconstruct robust EAP from only several different b-value shells and less diffusion measurements than DSI. This opens interesting perspectives for new q-space sampling schemes and tissue microstructure investigation. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.
Nonlinear registration of longitudinal images and measurement of change in regions of interestDominic Holland | Anders M. Dale
Volume 15, Issue 4, August 2011, Pages 489-497
We describe here a method, Quarc, for accurately quantifying structural changes in organs, based on serial MRI scans. The procedure can be used to measure deformations globally or in regions of interest (ROIs), including large-scale changes in the whole organ, and subtle changes in small-scale structures. We validate the method with model studies, and provide an illustrative analysis using the brain. We apply the method to the large, publicly available ADNI database of serial brain scans, and calculate Cohen's d effect sizes for several ROIs. Using publicly available derived-data, we directly compare effect sizes from Quarc with those from four existing methods that quantify cerebral structural change. Quarc produced a slightly improved, though not significantly different, whole brain effect size compared with the standard KN-BSI method, but in all other cases it produced significantly larger effect sizes. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
Thoracic respiratory motion estimation from MRI using a statistical model and a 2-D image navigatorA. P. King | C. Buerger | C. Tsoumpas | P. K. Marsden | T. Schaeffter
Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 252-264
Respiratory motion models have potential application for estimating and correcting the effects of motion in a wide range of applications, for example in PET-MR imaging. Given that motion cycles caused by breathing are only approximately repeatable, an important quality of such models is their ability to capture and estimate the intra- and inter-cycle variability of the motion. In this paper we propose and describe a technique for free-form nonrigid respiratory motion correction in the thorax. Our model is based on a principal component analysis of the motion states encountered during different breathing patterns, and is formed from motion estimates made from dynamic 3-D MRI data. We apply our model using a data-driven technique based on a 2-D MRI image navigator. Unlike most previously reported work in the literature, our approach is able to capture both intra- and inter-cycle motion variability. In addition, the 2-D image navigator can be used to estimate how applicable the current motion model is, and hence report when more imaging data is required to update the model. We also use the motion model to decide on the best positioning for the image navigator. We validate our approach using MRI data acquired from 10 volunteers and demonstrate improvements of up to 40.5% over other reported motion modelling approaches, which corresponds to 61% of the overall respiratory motion present. Finally we demonstrate one potential application of our technique: MRI-based motion correction of real-time PET data for simultaneous PET-MRI acquisition. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
Non-local statistical label fusion for multi-atlas segmentationAndrew J. Asman | Bennett A. Landman
Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2013, Pages 194-208
Multi-atlas segmentation provides a general purpose, fully-automated approach for transferring spatial information from an existing dataset (" atlases") to a previously unseen context (" target") through image registration. The method to resolve voxelwise label conflicts between the registered atlases (" label fusion") has a substantial impact on segmentation quality. Ideally, statistical fusion algorithms (e.g., STAPLE) would result in accurate segmentations as they provide a framework to elegantly integrate models of rater performance. The accuracy of statistical fusion hinges upon accurately modeling the underlying process of how raters err. Despite success on human raters, current approaches inaccurately model multi-atlas behavior as they fail to seamlessly incorporate exogenous intensity information into the estimation process. As a result, locally weighted voting algorithms represent the de facto standard fusion approach in clinical applications. Moreover, regardless of the approach, fusion algorithms are generally dependent upon large atlas sets and highly accurate registration as they implicitly assume that the registered atlases form a collectively unbiased representation of the target. Herein, we propose a novel statistical fusion algorithm, Non-Local STAPLE (NLS). NLS reformulates the STAPLE framework from a non-local means perspective in order to learn what label an atlas would have observed, given perfect correspondence. Through this reformulation, NLS (1) seamlessly integrates intensity into the estimation process, (2) provides a theoretically consistent model of multi-atlas observation error, and (3) largely diminishes the need for large atlas sets and very high-quality registrations. We assess the sensitivity and optimality of the approach and demonstrate significant improvement in two empirical multi-atlas experiments. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
Temporal diffeomorphic free-form deformation: Application to motion and strain estimation from 3D echocardiographyMathieu De Craene | Gemma Piella | Oscar Camara | Nicolas Duchateau | Etelvino Silva | Adelina Doltra | Jan D'hooge | Josep Brugada | Marta Sitges | Alejandro F. Frangi
Volume 16, Issue 2, February 2012, Pages 427-450
This paper presents a new registration algorithm, called Temporal Diffeomorphic Free Form Deformation (TDFFD), and its application to motion and strain quantification from a sequence of 3D ultrasound (US) images. The originality of our approach resides in enforcing time consistency by representing the 4D velocity field as the sum of continuous spatiotemporal B-Spline kernels. The spatiotemporal displacement field is then recovered through forward Eulerian integration of the non-stationary velocity field. The strain tensor is computed locally using the spatial derivatives of the reconstructed displacement field. The energy functional considered in this paper weighs two terms: the image similarity and a regularization term. The image similarity metric is the sum of squared differences between the intensities of each frame and a reference one. Any frame in the sequence can be chosen as reference. The regularization term is based on the incompressibility of myocardial tissue. TDFFD was compared to pairwise 3D FFD and 3D+t FFD, both on displacement and velocity fields, on a set of synthetic 3D US images with different noise levels. TDFFD showed increased robustness to noise compared to these two state-of-the-art algorithms. TDFFD also proved to be more resistant to a reduced temporal resolution when decimating this synthetic sequence. Finally, this synthetic dataset was used to determine optimal settings of the TDFFD algorithm. Subsequently, TDFFD was applied to a database of cardiac 3D US images of the left ventricle acquired from 9 healthy volunteers and 13 patients treated by Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT). On healthy cases, uniform strain patterns were observed over all myocardial segments, as physiologically expected. On all CRT patients, the improvement in synchrony of regional longitudinal strain correlated with CRT clinical outcome as quantified by the reduction of end-systolic left ventricular volume at follow-up (6 and 12. months), showing the potential of the proposed algorithm for the assessment of CRT. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
Hierarchical adaptive local affine registration for fast and robust respiratory motion estimationChristian Buerger | Tobias Schaeffter | Andrew P. King
Volume 15, Issue 4, August 2011, Pages 551-564
Non-rigid image registration techniques are commonly used to estimate complex tissue deformations in medical imaging. A range of non-rigid registration algorithms have been proposed, but they typically have high computational complexity. To reduce this complexity, combinations of multiple less complex deformations have been proposed such as hierarchical techniques which successively split the non-rigid registration problem into multiple locally rigid or affine components. However, to date the splitting has been regular and the underlying image content has not been considered in the splitting process. This can lead to errors and artefacts in the resulting motion fields. In this paper, we propose three novel adaptive splitting techniques, an image-based, a similarity-based, and a motion-based technique within a hierarchical framework which attempt to process regions of similar motion and/or image structure in single registration components. We evaluate our technique on free-breathing whole-chest 3D MRI data from 10 volunteers and two publicly available CT datasets. We demonstrate a reduction in registration error of up to 49.1% over a non-adaptive technique and compare our results with a commonly used free-form registration algorithm. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
Coupled minimum-cost flow cell tracking for high-throughput quantitative analysisDirk Padfield | Jens Rittscher | Badrinath Roysam
Volume 15, Issue 4, August 2011, Pages 650-668
A growing number of screening applications require the automated monitoring of cell populations in a high-throughput, high-content environment. These applications depend on accurate cell tracking of individual cells that display various behaviors including mitosis, merging, rapid movement, and entering and leaving the field of view. Many approaches to cell tracking have been developed in the past, but most are quite complex, require extensive post-processing, and are parameter intensive. To overcome such issues, we present a general, consistent, and extensible tracking approach that explicitly models cell behaviors in a graph-theoretic framework. We introduce a way of extending the standard minimum-cost flow algorithm to account for mitosis and merging events through a coupling operation on particular edges. We then show how the resulting graph can be efficiently solved using algorithms such as linear programming to choose the edges of the graph that observe the constraints while leading to the lowest overall cost. This tracking algorithm relies on accurate denoising and segmentation steps for which we use a wavelet-based approach that is able to accurately segment cells even in images with very low contrast-to-noise. In addition, the framework is able to measure and correct for microscope defocusing and stage shift. We applied the algorithms on nearly 6000 images of 400,000 cells representing 32,000 tracks taken from five separate datasets, each composed of multiple wells. Our algorithm was able to segment and track cells and detect different cell behaviors with an accuracy of over 99%. This overall framework enables accurate quantitative analysis of cell events and provides a valuable tool for high-throughput biological studies. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.


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Ref Josh Rosenthal Acknowledges Late Stoppage in Mark Munoz TKO Loss
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Ref Josh Rosenthal Acknowledges Late Stoppage in Mark Munoz TKO Loss
Jul 13, 2012 - Referees are often the brunt of criticism for their split-second decisions, but rarely do they publicly voice any post-fight opinion on their own performances. Even rarer is the situation when one admits a mistake. Usually, they simply leave their work as its own argument, leaving us to form our own conclusions.
That makes what Josh Rosenthal did this week all the more respectable. Less than one day after refereeing the Chris Weidman vs. Mark Munoz main event at UFC on FUEL 4, Rosenthal admitted what many had said: that he let the fight go on too long, and let Munoz take too many unnecessary blows.
Just about a minute and a half into the second round, Weidman dropped Munoz with a standing elbow strike and then rode him to the mat where he unloaded with a barrage of 17 punches. The entire sequence from start to finish took only about eight seconds, but many felt Rosenthal could have stepped in much earlier to save Munoz from taking unanswered strikes. Count him among his own critics.
"I came home and I watched it, and I was kind of like you know, if I was sitting here, watching this on the couch, I probably would have been talking smack about myself," he said on SiriusXM's Tapout Radio show.
Rosenthal went on to say he was "slow on the trigger" and let the fight go on a few punches too long.
That mirrors the complaints about the stoppage that flooded in right upon the bout's conclusion. On the FUEL TV post-fight show, UFC president Dana White was clearly angered, asking, "How can you be standing like this, looking down at a guy getting hammered like that and not think the fight needs to be stopped?"
It's a question we all wondered at the time, and Rosenthal says it's a fair one. He noted that given the potential stakes involved in a bout between two top 10 contenders and all the time the fighters put into preparing, he tries to offer each man every opportunity to continue. And in that particular mind set, he elected to give Munoz a bit longer than normal to defend himself. In hindsight, he admitted, it was simply too long.
Rosenthal was memorably the referee when Dan Henderson and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua fought at UFC 139, a fight which won him acclaim for allowing it continue to the final horn despite dominant stretches by both men at various stages of the fight. So he does have first-hand experience watching fighters rebound from seemingly disastrous situations, but this time, he says, he waited a little too long in seeing if the same kind of situation materialized. And in a refreshing move, he's standing up to take responsibility for it.
"I always say accountability is a huge part of the sport, and you are accountable for your actions," he said. "I feel like I was just a little slow on the trigger [Wednesday]. I don't want to see guys take unnecessary punishment. It's a rough sport. Everyone knows what they sign in for, but it's a millisecond-basis game. You're making choices right there on the spot, and in the heat of the moment, I felt like I was seeing some stuff. In hindsight, I have to step my game up and make sure I'm on point for the next guys."
This guy means well, everyone makes mistakes.
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License & Identifications
A medical license is required for a doctor to practice medicine in a particular state. Requirements vary by state but most require, at a minimum, post-graduate training in the doctor's specific specialty. An NPI number is a national identifier unique to an individual health care provider and is managed by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
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7 posts tagged with bacevich.
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Democracy -- We Deliver
"Still, I'm willing to bet that future generations will look back on the period between 2006 and 2008 as the real turning point. Here was the moment when what remained of the American Century ran out of steam and ground to a halt. More specifically, when Bush gave up on victory in Iraq (thereby abandoning expectations of U.S. military power transforming the Greater Middle East) and when the Great Recession brought the U.S. economy to its knees (the consequences of habitual profligacy coming home to roost), Luce's formulation lost any resemblance to reality."--Andrew Bacevich on how "The American Century Is Over—Good Riddance"
Andrew Bacevich on the war: "So what tentative judgments can we offer regarding the ongoing [war formerly known as the global war on terrorism]? Operationally, a war launched by the conventionally minded has progressively fallen under the purview of those who inhabit what Dick Cheney once called "the dark side," with implications that few seem willing to explore. Strategically, a war informed at the outset by utopian expectations continues today with no concretely stated expectations whatsoever, the forward momentum of events displacing serious consideration of purpose. Politically, a war that once occupied center stage in national politics has now slipped to the periphery, the American people moving on to other concerns and entertainments, with legal and moral questions raised by the war left dangling in midair."
Is it worth it?
Should the United States and Nato stay in Afghanistan? Andrew Bacevich wrote an article in commonweal saying that it is not and that the question has been insufficiently debated. Andrew Exum (A former US Army Captain, now researcher who blogs as Abu Muqawama out of the Center for a New American Security) quickly responded to Bacevich saying that the issue has been carefully debated, pointing to a Stephen Biddle article entitled Is It Worth It? as an example. As MeFi's may appreciate, the comments section of that post vigorously debated the point and an Exum has started an ongoing dialog at the abu Muqawama site. Resolved, day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5.
Bacevich speaks to Moyer about the American Empire
Ret. Col. Andrew Bacevich speaks to Bill Moyers (transcript) about the American empire and his new book "The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism."
I Lost My Son to a War I Oppose.
Memorial Day orators will say that a G.I.'s life is priceless. Don't believe it. I know what value the U.S. government assigns to a soldier's life: I've been handed the check. It's roughly what the Yankees will pay Roger Clemens per inning once he starts pitching next month.
Coup D'Etat
American Coup D'Etat. Will the most powerful and well-funded institution on the planet remain under civilian command indefinitely? As the domestic spying saga unfolds and militarism rises, Harper's brought four experts - both academics and brass - to discuss the possibilities.
"To subdue America entirely, the only route remaining would be to seize the machinery of state itself, to steer it toward malign ends—to carry out, that is, a coup d'état."(See also The Origins of the Military Coup of 2012 [previous])
On The New American Militarism - How Americans Are Seduced By War
The argument I make in my book is that what I describe as the new American militarism arises as an unintended consequence of the reaction to the Vietnam War and more broadly, to the sixties... If some people think that the sixties constituted a revolution, that revolution produced a counterrevolution, launched by a variety of groups that had one thing in common: they saw revival of American military power, institutions, and values as the antidote to everything that in their minds had gone wrong. None of these groups — the neoconservatives, large numbers of Protestant evangelicals, politicians like Ronald Reagan, the so-called defense intellectuals, and the officer corps — set out saying, "Militarism is a good idea." But I argue that this is what we've ended up with: a sense of what military power can do, a sort of deference to the military, and an attribution of virtue to the men and women who serve in uniform. Together this constitutes such a pernicious and distorted attitude toward military affairs that it qualifies as militarism.
An interview with Andrew Bacevich, international relations professor and former Army colonel, and author of The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War--and here is a review. Recently by Bacevich: We Aren't Fighting to Win Anymore - U.S. troops in Iraq are only trying to buy time.
An interview with Andrew Bacevich, international relations professor and former Army colonel, and author of The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War--and here is a review. Recently by Bacevich: We Aren't Fighting to Win Anymore - U.S. troops in Iraq are only trying to buy time.
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Tracking Matthew
Power grid fight divides Volusia Co. cityUPDATED 5:07 PM EST Nov 05, 2012
A power grid fight that's divided the small community of South Daytona is on the ballot Tuesday.
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42 years of experience
Clearlake, CA 95422 Phone number & directions
A medical license is required for a doctor to practice medicine in a particular state. Requirements vary by state but most require, at a minimum, post-graduate training in the doctor's specific specialty. An NPI number is a national identifier unique to an individual health care provider and is managed by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Learn more about Dr. Rouben Mirbegian:
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The overall average patient rating of Dr. Rouben Mirbegian is Average.
|Patient Ratings
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Skin Cancer Patient Education Read about Melanoma, basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma types in our skin cancer patient education guide.Before Visiting Dr. Mirbegian Learn More
Specialties & Research
Dr. Rouben Mirbegian, MD is board certified in Orthopaedic Surgery.
- He has special expertise in 3 areas:
- Hip Osteoarthritis
- Knee Osteoarthritis
- Osteoarthritis (Hand and Wrist)
Education & Awards
Dr. Mirbegian graduated from Tehran School Of Medical Sciences.
Dr. Mirbegian has 2 hospital affiliations:
- Adventist Health/Redbud Community Hospital
- St Helena Hospital Clearlake
- Persian
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- Additional Information
- Dr. Rouben Mirbegian MD is a male Orthopaedic Surgeon, has 42 years of experience and practices in Orthopaedic Surgery.
- Where does Dr. Rouben Mirbegian practice?
- Dr. Rouben Mirbegian has 1 office location.
Dr. Rouben Mirbegian practices Orthopaedic Surgery near Clearlake, CA.
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34 years of experience
34 years of experience
105 W Lubbock St
Slaton, TX 79364 Phone number & directions
Slaton, TX 79364 Phone number & directions
License & Identifications
A medical license is required for a doctor to practice medicine in a particular state. Requirements vary by state but most require, at a minimum, post-graduate training in the doctor's specific specialty. An NPI number is a national identifier unique to an individual health care provider and is managed by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
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Patient comments (0)
The overall average patient rating of Dr. Donna Winchester is Excellent.
Education & Awards
Dr. Winchester graduated from The University of Texas at Houston.
Home > Find a Dentist > TX > Slaton Dentists > Dr. Donna Winchester, DDS
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- Additional Information
- Dr. Donna Sue Winchester DDS is a female dentist, has 34 years of experience and practices in Family Dentistry.
- Where does Dr. Donna S. Winchester practice?
- Dr. Donna Winchester has 1 office location.
Dr. Donna Winchester practices Family Dentistry near Slaton, TX.
See Slaton Dentists.


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Fixed PriceBudget: $15
Start DateAugust 9, 2014
You know those printable measuring charts? You download a PDF and print it on a regular sheet of paper, and cut out the included measuring tape. That way you can get a way to measure centimeter length of any object as long as you have a printer!
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The Overnight Wine Collector
Facing Empty Cellars, Homeowners Try Buying Bottles 'By the Foot'
See Corrections & Amplifications item below.
Planning a custom home in Los Angeles County, Alan Bursteen plotted a spread with a nine-hole putting green, a screening room and a glassed-in cellar big enough for 800 bottles of wine. When he moved his family there this spring, just one thing was missing: the wine.
The 49-year-old television producer has done the occasional winery tour and charity tasting, but he calls his wine knowledge limited. So he hired a consultant who charged $50,000 to put together a 420-bottle collection ranging from Antinori (Italy, 1997 Ornellaia, eight bottles) to Zinfandel (California, one 1998 Turley Wine Cellars' Hayne Vineyard).
"A wine cellar looks better filled up," Mr. Bursteen says. "It's kind of like having a Ferrari parked in the middle of your dining room."
Some wine-smitten homeowners are skipping the collecting and going straight for the collection. With many expensive new houses and condominiums including dedicated space for wine, owners are often finding themselves a few cases short of a cellar. Many, of course, will fill them the old-fashioned way, accumulating a case here or there over the years. But in one emerging solution, others are seeking instant cellars -- paying consultants to add hundreds or even thousands of bottles within a month or two, or asking wine stores to fill overnight orders for a decade's worth of wine.
Fast-track cellars are rooted, in part, in the real-estate business. Developers are offering storage racks or rooms, hoping buyers will equate wine with the good life. At La Vita, a new 32-home development by KB Home KBH 2.36 % in Henderson, Nev., four of six house plans include cellars (capacities range from 850 to 1,440 bottles). At John Laing Homes' new Roubion development in Los Altos Hills, Calif., where home prices start at about $2 million, glass-enclosed cellars are a standard option. A new luxury tower in Manhattan, 15 Central Park West, offers 30 private climate-controlled wine rooms facing a shared tasting area. Every apartment at The Manhattan, a 221-unit condo tower in Kansas City, Mo., where studios start at $85,000, comes with wooden wine racks.
'Just Send It'
For vendors, those empty shelves spell opportunity. In Los Angeles, retailer Wally's Wine & Spirits began providing prefab collections as props for Hollywood studio shoots more than a decade ago, and now it fills a couple instant-collection requests a month, from $5,000 apiece to more than $1 million. The Wine Club, a warehouse-style store in Orange County, Calif., says overnight-collection buyers accounted for about 2.5% of its $40 million in revenue in 2006. At New York's Sherry-Lehmann four years ago, a client fresh from a remodeling job asked for help filling his new wine room. "I put together a proposal for 400 cases of wine, anticipating him to say, 'I'll take this or that,'" says company chairman Michael Aaron. "Instead, he says, 'I got the list. It looks good. Just send it." The $700,000 tab remains the retailer's largest instant-collection sale, Mr. Aaron says, but now the company says it fills about three turnkey-cellar orders each month.
Michael Lorber, a 27-year-old principal of a real estate agency, likes to buy wines gradually for the 400-bottle cellar in his New York apartment. But he took the express track for his new one-bedroom pied-à-terre in Boston, where he plans to entertain friends and business associates in a wine-bar area off his open kitchen. "Considering I'm only there two days a week, I can't keep on top of it," says Mr. Lorber. He spent a couple hours with a personal shopper at Gordon's Fine Wines & Liquors, a chain in the Boston suburbs, spending $3,000 for 40 bottles, including Caymus from California, Bollinger champagne, Montrachet from Burgundy and some sweet French Chateau d'Yquem. "I completely stocked up," he says.
Instant stashes have their detractors. Wine experts say the collections tend to be less diverse than those gathered over time because buyers are limited by what's in stores or at auctions. Thanks to a recent collecting boom, the most desirable bottles have become pricier at retailers and auctions, while many bottles in stores now either won't improve markedly with age or won't be ready to drink for years. Simon Lambert, a senior sales manager at The Chicago Wine Company, a retailer that holds a monthly auction, says overnight buyers are practically guaranteed a sub-par mix. "At a one-stop shop," he says, "it's virtually impossible to get a good, well-balanced collection."
Long-time oenophiles also don't relish extra competition for already-pricey bottles, particularly from collectors who might not know their Domaine de la Romanée-Conti from a Beaujolais Nouveau. It's also, some say, an example of people buying the trappings of wealth. "It's not that these people want to be considered rich, they want to be considered connoisseurs," says Sharon Zukin, a sociologist at City University of New York who studies consumer culture. "It's similar to buying books by the foot."
Not all the new owners are depleting global stocks of Chateau Latour. Two months ago, Kurt Manley, 44 and his wife, Sara, 30, issued a challenge to wine store co-owner Kristen Kowalski: Their new house has a cellar with a vaulted ceiling and 18th-century French monastery floor tiles, and they had a week to fill it with 700 bottles, in time to host a fund-raiser for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. "He was really complimentary," says Mr. Manley, a real estate developer in Eagan, Minn.
Voila! Wine
|A look at some of the consultants and vendors who promise to build wine cellars from scratch in short order:
|Carte du Vin
Beverly Hills, Calif.
|"Wine cellar concierge" picks, buys and organizes collections.
|Owner Jeff Smith began organizing and appraising messy cellars in the Los Angeles area in 2002. Now, he says, one-third of his business is buying and selling wine.
|Italian Wine Merchants
New York City
|Cellar-management unit assembles collections of specialty wines.
|Merchant specializes in older Italian wines but began buying more broadly last year for investment-minded clients. Owner Sergio Esposito says top clients get access to rare wines like a '41 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva ($995).
|Manhattan Wine Company
West Orange, N.J.
|In "instant cellar package," company picks and stores wine, then sends it to you.
|New online-only storage company offers packages of three-, six- or 10-case collections from $1,000 annually. To drink a bottle, local clients must request delivery no later than 10 a.m. from the storage facility in New Jersey.
|Wally's Wine & Spirits
Los Angeles
|Sells wine from its inventory, color-codes bottles by taste or price.
|Some of Wally's "instant cellars" go to real-estate agents who use the wine to "stage" vacant houses, including a $29 million home in Brentwood, Calif. (pictured above), with a 500-bottle collection that sells separately for $30,000.
The Manleys' new collection, averaging $14 a bottle, includes about half white and sparkling wine. Now, instead of going to the grocery store for bottles to drink with dinner, the Manleys pick a Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc or Torbreck Woodcutter's Shiraz from the right side of the cellar, where Ms. Kowalski put the everyday wines. Mr. Manley says he hasn't touched the "collectibles" at the far left. "We have some," he says. "I don't really know what kind they are."
To serve customers with modest wine knowledge, Wally's began offering cellar guides on spreadsheets and organizing shelves with color-coded labels, says Chairman Steve Wallace. The company even promises to help customers match wines to their guests' stature. "We'll organize it so that the east wall is for cheap wines for the B-guest list," Mr. Wallace says. "The A-guest-list wines will be elsewhere."
Jeff Smith, author of "The Best Cellar" and owner of Carte du Vin, a wine-organizing company in Beverly Hills, Calif., says that rather than analyze his potential clients tasting preferences, he tries to figure out their collecting style. He outlines 13 collector types, including "Bargain Hunters," "Bankers" (who hope to sell the wine for a profit later), and "Point Men," whose focus on ratings leads them to churn their collections to get rid of low-scoring bottles. Mr. Smith says he'll assemble cellars for all types. The inventory spreadsheets he includes with each one has price data, ratings from Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator, and when to drink each bottle.
'Go to Column 12'
Not all clients heed Mr. Smith's advice. Mr. Bursteen and his wife have drunk only a few of the 420 bottles Mr. Smith chose for them, despite the consultant's email reminders. "For a good time, go to column 12, row M," Mr. Smith wrote recently, nudging them toward a 1994 Joseph Phelps Insignia. Instead, Mr. Bursteen says he lets dinner-party guests pick their own bottles. "I don't pay much attention until afterwards," he says. "Then I go look it up in the chart."
Other turnkey collectors may find their pricey new wine hard to swallow. Ralph Eads, who has been collecting wine since 1984 and has a 6,500-bottle cellar, recently visited a friend who he figures spent well over $100,000 for 1,000 bottles -- mostly 1985 and 1989 Bordeaux -- for his new tasting room. The Houston oil & gas executive was impressed. But as the two friends and their wives shared an '88 Mouton-Rothschild, Mr. Eads noticed that his friend seemed uncomfortable drinking wine that had cost him hundreds of dollars. Mr. Eads says he thinks little of opening a 1985 or 1982 Chateau Latour that could fetch $300 and $700, respectively, in part because he bought the bottles decades ago. "It only cost me about $75 a bottle."
Charmaine Weeks has her own shelf-stocking strategy. The 47-year-old real estate agent and her husband have about 50 bottles. But they recently bought a home at Roubion, which has a 1,000-bottle cellar. To bridge the gap, she's already started saving empty bottles that she'll use to fill the upper rows of the floor-to-ceiling cellar. She'll also ask her friends to pitch in. "Our plan is to immediately host a 'cork-it' party and have everyone bring a bottle," she says. Still, Ms. Weeks sees no incongruity in buying a cellar she'll struggle to fill. "It's mainly the look of it. What word can I use?" she says. "It's just so fabulous."
Corrections & Amplifications
John Laing Homes' Roubion development is in San Ramon, Calif. This article incorrectly placed the development in Los Altos Hills, Calif.
Write to Christina S.N. Lewis at firstname.lastname@example.com


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REX 2015 main task- contribute to the recovery of the advertising market in Ukraine!
REX - largest event of Ukraine in the field of advertising and marketing. The main advantage of the trade show - high attendance by experts from all over Ukraine. REX annually attracts more than 11,000 visitors.
In crisis period advertising market has undergone significant changes that have affected not only the volume of orders and the provisions of the companies, but the approach to doing business . Industry experienced difficult times before and now market participants task is to take your business to a new level and catch up.
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irish word for being drunk, has been being used for decades
"lucy was winged last weekend, she sat on my knee"
by purewingedman November 04, 2011
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
Top Definition
Old western term for being shot and killed and sent to the afterlife.
"Who's that stumbling around in the dark? State your business, or prepare to get winged!" - Django Unchained
by Django Foxx March 07, 2013
When you realize the girl your talking to isnt really interested in you and only talking to you to be a winggirl for her friend.
Bro you just got winged, shes just acting like shes interested in you so her friend gets it in with your friend.
by Ryan the great October 15, 2012
To be high, smoke weed
*smokes weed*
Alex: I'm winged
Alex: I'm winged
by silentixxy July 03, 2016