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``The distant tundra
The tundra is a weird place on earth where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short seasons for growing. There are 3 types of tundras, arctic tundra, alpine tundra, and Antarctic tundra. There are several animals and plants that can either be exclusivly found here or is at least known for being here. Such as...
And what would a habitat be without its abiotic factors...
^ example of snow affecting the trees in the tundra
There are many, many more than those, so here is a list of the main biotic and abiotic factors:
Air Artic wolf
Water Artic hare
Sunlight Gyrfalcon
But you're probably asking: "laaaandon, what about carrying capacity? What am I paying you for?!"
Well... The carrying capacity of a species in an environment is the maximum population size of the species that the environment can sustain, given the food, habitat, water, and other recources available in the environment. Some of the resources needed are. A population needs: food, water, cover, and space.
If snowy owls don't have enough resources for the amount of owls in the environment, they will die. If they don't, the population will stay around.
Limiting factors are things that limit the growth of a population. Most of the limiting factors in the tundra are for the plants.
- growing seasons are short
-temperature is very low
- poor soil
This affects the consumers that eat the plants (artic hare), which then affects the predators of those consumers (artic wolves) by not having enough food.
But we're only gettin started...
Energy rolls are the transformations between consumers in an ecosystem. Some of the organisms that have energy rolls to other consumers are:
The bearberry plant.
Artic foxes
The plant gets it's energy from the sun and from water. This energy goes to the consumer of that plant, and that energy goes to the consumer of that consumer (aka the predator).
Which leads me to...
Food webs are similar to food chains, but webs are more realistic. You see, a food web presents energy going to multiple predators and plants giving energy to multiple consumers, while a food chain shows energy going to just one consumer after another.
If one organism was removed from this web, then the web would become chaos. Sure, some organisms can survive without, but a lot of consumers rely on a specific species of organism.
Energy pyramids and trophic levels
An energy pyramid is like a food chain, but has a big difference. Ya see, the reason that an energy pyramid is shaped like a pyramid (its really more of a triangle) because the energy being passed to the different trophic levels keeps getting less and less. This leads to the bottom part being big, and then getting smaller as it goes up.


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We spent 2 lovely nights in Bologna in mid June with our 2 college-aged kids. We loved our stay and came away thinking that Bologna is quite an under-rated gem of a city. The streets are beautiful, and the food is delicious!
We had two rooms in a lovely B and B -- Antica Casa Zucchini. We really enjoyed it and found it to be an excellent value! I posted a review on Tripadvisor for this if you're interested in the details.
HIGHLIGHTS of our STAY:
Just walking.... the city streets are gorgeous, with lovely and unique porticos and charming piazzas.
Piazza Galvani and ZANARI cafe - a very picturesque place to sit and have a cocktail, a glass of wine, or a coffee.
Lunch at A. F. Tamburini -- buffet style and DELICIOUS!
Our Le Guide d'Art half-day walking tour - which included a historical and cultural tour of the city. We loved the whole experience and highly recommend it. Highlights of the tour included our walk through the food market streets, our tour of Basilica di Santo Stefano (which is made up of seven churches built over 1,000 years), and the tour of the original site of the University of Bologna, the Archiginnasio.
EATALY -- we enjoyed a glass of wine and some cheese and salumi here one afternoon-- quite delicious!!
OUR TWO DINNERS: so many incredible restaurants made it nearly impossible to decide. i don't even remember how or why we narrowed it down to these two, but both were fantastic choices.
Trattoria Gianni (Via Claveture, 18) just off of Piazza Maggiore. fabulous dinner, filled with Italians.
al Pappagalo -- famous restaurant that my husband really wanted to try. food was delicious!
- - - - - - - - - -
While we felt two nights (basically one full day and an afternoon) barely scratched the surface of this beautiful city, we were quite content with our "taste" of Bologna and are confident we'll be back for more!
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A Short Weekend in Bologna (Short Trip Report)
We spent 2 lovely nights in Bologna in mid June with our 2 college-aged kids. We loved our stay and came away thinking that Bologna is quite an under-rated gem of a city. The streets are beautiful, and the food is delicious!
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Dina, thanks for your quick report. We had hoped to get to Bologna this autumn but will not be there until 2012 for a week in May so your notes are keeping us excited. Great to hear that you and your family had a great time!
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We stayed in Bologna for 5 nights, in an apartment. So food shopping was part of the ritual, and Tamburini's fresh pasta displays just blew me away! The ravioli di zucca we bought was superb: the pasta was so thin you could see the filling through it, it cooked in a flash, and was delicious. I also stopped at a little produce shop nearby to get fresh sage for brown butter-sage sauce, and bought a little plant that stayed with us all the way through our three weeks of staying in apartments.
We also had dinner twice at Cesario's (I think) near our apartment, and had the regional special pasta called gramigna, which was excellent. Then we had a wonderful lunch at Meloncello, and the gnocchi were superb! Like little clouds!
Bologna is known as the culinary capital of Italy, and we agreed.
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Glad to hear beautiful Bo is acquiring so many fans. Hope nobody minds a few spelling corrections to help pinpoint recommendations made here for future travelers
The caffe/bar in the piazza Galvani is Zanarini
The famous restaurant is Il Pappagallo
Charnees most likely ate at Ristorante Da Cesari on the via de' Carbonesi
The Bolognese most often call their pumpkin-stuffed pasta tortelii di zucca, rather than ravioli -- and here is my only point of opinion: While it is true that Bologna is hailed by some as their favorite eating destination in Italy, especially for handmade pasta, the concept of a "culinary capital" has no currency within Italy. There are other regional cuisines that are equally admired and often even supersede Bologna when it comes to international admiration and applause. I quite like eating in Bologna and food shopping in Bologna and encourage every foodie to go. But a "culinary capital" doesn't exist inside Italy.
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This article is a disambiguation page for Anthony
The following is a list of links to pages that might share the same title.
Please follow one of the disambiguation links below or search to find the page you were looking for if it is not listed. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.
Anthony, or Tony (also spelt Toni), may refer to the following:
- Anthony - A character in Grand Theft Auto IV.
- Anthony Corrado - A character in Grand Theft Auto IV.
- Anthony Spoleto - A character in Grand Theft Auto IV.
- Anthony Prince ("Gay Tony") - The deuteragonist of The Ballad of Gay Tony.
- Tony (GSF) - A deceased member of the Grove Street Families in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
- Tony (GTA 1) - A character in Grand Theft Auto 1 working for Robert Seragliano.
- Tony (GTA IV) - One of Gracie Ancelotti's guards in Grand Theft Auto IV.
- Tony - A talking parrot in GTA San Andreas.
- Tony Arms - A DJ working at Bahama Mamas in The Ballad of Gay Tony.
- Tony McTony - A young internet multi-millionaire in GTA IV.
- Tony Mirrcandani - The voice actor of Abdul Amir in TBOGT.
- Tony Mountebank - The editor of the On Liberty tourist guide in GTA IV.
- Tony Patellis - The voice actor of Jimmy Pegorino in GTA IV.
- Tony Posada - A character stalking on Lifeinvader in GTA V.
- Tony Smith - A Liberty Tree journalist in GTA IV.
- Toni - DJ of Flashback FM in Grand Theft Auto III and Flash FM in both Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Vice City Stories.
- Toni C. - Unseen character in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.
- Toni Cipriani - The protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, and Leone Family Capo and a major character in GTA III.
GTA Wiki Staff
- Tony 1998 - Patroller.


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Mildred Clark Cusey was a whore, a madam, an entrepreneur, and above all, a survivor. The story of Silver City Millie, as she referred to herself, is the story of one woman's personal tragedies and triumphs as an orphan, a Harvey Girl waitress on the Santa Fe railroad, a prostitute with innumerable paramours, and a highly successful bordello businesswoman. Millie broke the mold in so many ways, and yet her life's story of survival was not unlike that of thousands of women who went west only to find that their most valuable assets were their physical beauty and their personality. Petite at five feet tall with piercing blue eyes, Millie captured men's attention by her very essence and her unmistakable joie de vivre.
Born to Italian immigrant parents near Kansas City, she and her sister were orphaned early and separated from each other. Millie learned hard lessons on the streets, but she never gave up and she vowed to protect and support her ailing older sister. Caught in a domestic squabble in her foster home, Millie wound up in juvenile court with Harry Truman as her judge. This would be only the first of many brushes in her life with prominent politicians.
When physicians diagnosed her sister with tuberculosis and recommended she move west to a Catholic home in Deming, New Mexico, Millie moved with her. Expenses ran high and after a brief stint waiting tables as a Harvey Girl, Millie found that her meager tips could easily be augmented by turning tricks. Thus, out of financial need and devotion to her sister, Mildred Cusey turned to a life of prostitution and a career at which she soon excelled and became both rich and famous.
"The story of Mildred Fantetti Cusey sells itself -- a memoir about a strong, resourceful survivor in an age of self-made entrepreneurs. " (El Paso Times)
"Local color is an ever-present element in this story, from crooked cops to belligerent johns, and Millie herself stands larger than life as the prime source of energy, humor, and business acumen that made her efforts successful." (The Bloomsbury Review)
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Read wonderfully
- Lvillalba
Biography Story
I would rank this in my list of biographies as one of the higher ones due to the story feel of it rather than someone reading off dates and events.
The scene I enjoyed the most was how she handled her second husband.
This book makes me want to find more history on the era.
- M. Gobet


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Amacerto Prague to Budapest May 2012: AmaCerto Cruise Review by Verna Chang
Overall Member Rating
Amacerto Prague to Budapest May 2012
Destination: Europe - River Cruise
Embarkation: Other
We booked our flight and 4 day pre cruise in Prague on our own. However, AMA let us purchase the transfer from Prague to Vilshofen where we boarded the brand new Amacerto. This was easily done, all we had to do was meet the bus at the Intercontinental in Prague where we joined the other cruisers.
The ship was beautiful. Our 170 sq. ft. cabin with French balcony was luxurious and more than comfortable. We enjoyed sitting by the balcony to view the passing scenery and certainly did not see the need for a double balcony. A small refrigerator was a welcome surprise. The closet with shelves held all our clothes and had ample hangers. The bed was very comfortable, and the bathroom More though small accommodated all our toiletries etc. The clothesline in the shower was very useful.
The lounge was the venue for beautiful music provided by our pianist Mathias, who had us dancing on a few nights. The local entertainers brought on board were top notch and we enjoyed them all. There was always something to snack on any time of day, sandwiches, cookies, small cakes and refreshing ice tea and lemonade. We used the 24 hour tea and coffee stati, to our cabin steward Toro, who always left us a little treat at nighton several times a day. The library behind reception was a quiet spot with books, games and puzzles.
The breakfast and lunch buffet provided soup, salads, hot and cold dishes, fruit and desserts. There were only two choices of entrees at dinner but what we had was excellent and the free flowing wines were all very good. One night we dined in the Erlebnis restaurant in the back of the ship where the view was beautiful, and a nice change from the crowded dining room.
For the daily excursions we appreciated that we could choose our level of walking, which was the "gentle walking" group. The guides were all very knowledgeable and informative, and the vox boxes allowed us to hear everything even if we wandered off to take pictures. After a full day of walking I was glad there was an elevator on board.
The entire staff really took care of us, from Captain Jan with whom we dined on
Captain's night, to our cabin steward Toro who left us a treat every night, Lazlo our funny and friendly waiter, and the lovely receptionist who helped me with my Ipad. Everyone was friendly and helpful and AMA should be proud of them. Last but certainly not least, our tireless, lovable cruise director Cheri Coll. Everything she arranged was perfection. She made us feel so special when she woke up at 3 a.m. to see us off when we disembarked to catch our early morning flight.
Folks, you can't go wrong with AMA - 5 stars in my opinion. Less
Published 06/20/12
Cabin review: c325
Cabin 325 quiet location with easy access to the sundeck through the Erlebnis restaurant.
Read Cruise Critic's AmaCerto Review >>
Wonderful voyage to the Douro ...
OK Experience
First time river cruiser would...
Beautiful and memorable cruise...
Superior Service Still Possibl...
Wonderful voyage to the Douro ...
Feel Misled and Disappointed
Beautiful and memorable cruise...
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David Coogle
Co-Chairman at Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions, LLC
About David Coogle
After decades in the business, David Coogle has developed a reputation among professional philatelists as one of the most knowledgeable stamp experts in the United States. An avid stamp collector since he was 13, David Coogle excelled in U.N. and U.S. stamp brokering even before attending college at University of Pittsburgh. He now serves as co-chairman at Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions.
Coogle's reputation for philately extends to international arenas as he also works with Dynasty Auctions Company, a fully staffed subsidiary of Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions based in Hong Kong. He also conducts business with another subsidiary, Danbury Stamp Sales, a company that holds weekly online sales.
In addition to his professional endeavors, David Coogle is also an active supporter of the Boy Scouts of America and serves as committee chairman for Troop 8 out of Brookfield, Connecticut. He also is an avid golfer who enjoys playing on courses throughout the northeastern United States.


text: Our gross profit margin was 26.4%, an improvement over the 25.9% last year and up 70 basis points over last year, excluding restructuring charges. SG&A was $281 million or 19.1% of sales. We held dollars flat to last year, with emphasis on cost control placed across all of our businesses. We're focusing on reviewing all functions to apply Lean principles throughout the business to continue to control cost.Restructuring charges were $8 million. They included $7 million in the Mohawk segment and $1 million in the Unilin segment. We closed a yarn plant and consolidated other operations in our carpet segment, and then we've also announced an additional carpet plant closure for the third quarter. Operating income was $116 million with a margin of 7.9%, excluding charges. Operating income improved 7% over last year as a result of our many efforts over the business. Interest expense was $19 million and improved $7 million over last year. These results was -- the improved results were from rating agency upgrades, as well as lower rates realized when our 2012 bonds were rolled over into the revolver. We expect similar results in the second half for our interest expense. Other expense was down, primarily due to foreign exchange. Our income tax rate, excluding charges, was 18%. We expect a rate of 19% to 20% in the second half. Earnings per share, excluding charges, was $1.14 per share, which was a 20% improvement over last year. If we jump to the segments, the Mohawk segment sales were $734 million, down 3% from last year. Carpet price increases implemented in the first quarter are holding up well, mix improving with more activity, and premium products also benefited our sales. Rug continues to be impacted by lower retail activity. Operating income, excluding charges, was $45 million or 6.1% of sales and improved 110 basis points from higher pricing, better mix and productivity. In the Dal-Tile segment, sales were $404 million or up 7% over last year, 8% up if you look at it from a constant exchange rate basis. All categories and geographies performed well. Read the rest of this transcript for free on seekingalpha.com


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Don't Lose Out On InvestmentsPosted on: 08 April 2008 by Gareth Hargreaves
Volatile markets should not scare investors into selling shares or not investing new money, says Graham Kerner.
This week mortgage lenders continued to withdraw deals and increase rates as they sought to reduce lending risk and improve their margins, our expert explains.
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meets this week, and expectations are for a quarter point cut although higher inflationary pressures are causing a dilemma for the Bank.
Cautious Optimism
Global financial markets finished on a strong note last week, despite what might have been perceived as very bad news from the banking sector, thus well and truly confounding the pessimists.
On Tuesday, Swiss banking giant UBS calmly announced that it was writing down a massive $19 billion on its US real estate and structured credit products as a result of the credit crunch. The latest news brings its total write downs to $37 billion but, as The Independent noted, in an attempt to draw a line under its disastrous excursion into structured credit the bank also announced a SFr15 billion (£7.5 billion) rights issue. The scale of the loss meant it was inevitable that heads would roll and the bank's chairman, Marcel Ospel, duly resigned after weeks of mounting pressure, as it became clear that the blue-chip bank was suffering 'reputational' damage.
In reaction to the news, the company's share price promptly rallied 12% as investors saw the moves as evidence that banks were finally facing up to their challenges and as The Financial Times commented, the markets welcomed the write downs as a benchmark for sizing up problems across the rest of the sector.
So a mood of cautious optimism crept back into financial markets as equities rallied, credit spreads tightened - meaning slightly cheaper money - and the US dollar halted its recent slide.
However investors' nerves were kept taut following a downbeat assessment from US Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, and another poor employment report. The Times reported that US employers cut more than 80,000 jobs last month, triggering the sharpest fall in the number of Americans in work for five years. The worse than expected figures fuelled predictions on Wall Street that the Fed will now cut interest rates by a further half-point at the end of this month as the evidence mounts that the economy is already in recession.
Summing up sentiment, analysts at ING Markets said, "Substantial rate cuts remain very likely in this environment." So unsurprisingly, the money markets moved to price in cuts, with interest rate futures rating the chance of a 50 basis point (half percent) cut at 38%.
In the commodity markets it was quiet, although oil edged ahead marginally as petrol prices hit a record high on supply concerns prior to the US driving season. Gold and silver continued their correction, with the precious metals' prices settling some 10% or so below their highs seen a few weeks ago.
With the markets embracing the constructive efforts of UBS, news that Hank Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, is planning the most far-reaching overhaul of the regulatory system since the Great Depression was only partially well-received, as banking and consumer groups threw in a litany of caveats that potentially could see reform bogged down in argument.
However, by the end of the week, investors had good reasons to feel more positive about the outlook, with this new-found confidence being reflected in global equity indices. Along with Tokyo, Wall Street ended up over 3% higher and in London the FTSE100 advanced almost 4%, with other major bourses mirroring similarly large gains.
Golden Age Closes
Here at home it was impossible not to have noticed the fact that getting a mortgage these days is proving more problematical.
As The Times highlighted, one by one the country's largest lenders have tightened the screws on borrowers by raising mortgage rates or withdrawing deals. Last week, Lloyds TSB, NatWest and then HSBC joined the ranks, illustrating the fact that lenders are becoming more choosy - rejecting riskier borrowers and turning away those with blemished credit records.
As The Financial Times commented, for consumers the golden age of low-cost mortgages financed by a combination of cheap money, low interest rates and intense competition is well and truly over. So it was really no surprise when the paper reported that around a third of housing deals are falling through as buyers discover that bank finance has dried up. Apparently, a shortage of mortgage deals is also being exacerbated by downward valuations by the banks - anything between 5%-10% is common it seems -causing the sharp increase in the fall-through rate, according to estate agents such as Savills and Connells.
To give a feel for the sea change in the market there are now 4,720 different mortgage deals in the market compared with 15,599 last July, before the credit crunch started.
It's unlikely to get any easier according to the Bank of England (BoE). In its latest Credit Conditions Survey, the Bank found that lenders expected the squeeze to intensify in the next three months and, although demand for mortgages has been flat, it is expected to decline in the months ahead.
On the point of UK price falls, anecdotal evidence suggests that new-build flats may have been hard hit, but that Acacia Avenue is weathering the downturn relatively well.
However as The Financial Times also noted, in the US the housing slump has migrated beyond the trailer parks and rust-belt cities, having finally arrived at the Hamptons - summer playground of the Manhattan elite. The Long Island resort towns have seen prices fall by 19% in the last quarter, with holiday homes hit hardest. Mind you the falls need to be seen in context: prices quadrupled between 1998 and 2007.
Tighter credit conditions and signs that the UK economy is slowing is creating a cacophony of calls for interest rate cuts when the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets this week.
However the real problem for the MPC is inflation - the Bank is charged with keeping it - as measured by the CPI - below 2% - which is rising too quickly. There was more evidence last week, with inflation in the UK's manufacturing sector rising to a 13-year high as a result of higher input (raw material) costs. Again last week, the Bank's governor Mervyn King warned that inflation will sharply exceed target, stressing that the MPC faced a "delicate balancing act" on deciding whether to cut rates from 5.25%.
However in the City the majority of economists expect a quarter point cut following data showing the economy is growing at its slowest rate for five years and, according to The Sunday Times, the CBI is also pressing for not one, but two cuts over the coming months as business confidence takes a battering.
The Waiting Game
Investors are often cautioned to do nothing when markets are difficult or volatile, but the behavioural psychology of investing again often leads us to feel we should be doing something: the trouble is we can end up ruing the decision.
The voice of experience in the form of Warren Buffet observes, "You do better to make a few large bets and sit back and wait . . . there are huge mathematical advantages to doing nothing."
There is plenty of statistical evidence to support Buffet's maxim because history tells us that trying to second-guess and time the markets is expensive.
During the dotcom crash of September 2000 to March 2003 the UK All-Share lost 51.5% of its value, but in the five years to March this year it gained 86.2%. But if you missed the first 12 months of the rally your gain would be just 32.7%. Similarly, in the 1987 Crash, the index fell 36.6%, but rallied 53.9% over the next five years and had you again missed the first 12 months your gain would have been halved to 26.6%.
There are even more spectacular figures, but the point is a simple one: private investors should sit tight during falling markets and better still, think about investing new money at lower prices - then as Warren Buffet would say, do nothing.
Of course there is nothing like the 'bottom-line' to crystallise the mind and potentially galvanise one into action.
As The Sunday Telegraph pointed out to its readers, many investors will shortly be receiving their Individual Savings Account statements and these are unlikely to make good reading following the sharp falls in world markets during the first quarter of this year. The paper sensibly shared a few suggestions along similar lines, by advising people not to panic, make sure your portfolio is diversified and lastly to take advantage of lower prices.
Being with a good fund manager helps of course, and topping the UK Equity Income sector is Neil Woodford of Invesco Perpetual, who has an AAA Citywire rating and manages funds for St. James's Place.
Investing in high-income equities has often proved to be a good, more defensive strategy to ride out the type of short-term volatility we are seeing. The reason for this, according to fund manager Nick Purves of Schroders, who also manages funds for St. James's Place, is simple.
"Over a hundred years of data has shown that investing in lowly valued, higher yielding stocks ultimately produces better returns than investing in low yielding, highly valued shares. Obviously you have to be careful in stock selection, but buying a quality stock that is lowly rated can often lead to strong share price growth as well as good dividend income.
"I currently have around 30 stocks in my portfolio, which are solid, blue-chip companies with a strong track record of paying rising dividends. But it is only recently that the market is beginning to seek out these lower risk areas, although I am confident that over the coming months my strategy will be fruitful as institutional investors de-risk their portfolios.
"Companies such as Vodafone, Unilever and Pearson have huge potential for growth, yet are trading on low values and there are others like them which I own. Of course, one does need to be patient, but I am sure that in three years time investors will have been well-rewarded in terms of not just income, but also capital appreciation too."
7th April 2008
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When you stay at The Royal Oak - Inn in Loughborough, you'll be close to University of Nottingham Sutton Bonington Campus. This 4-star inn is within the vicinity of Loughborough University and Charnwood Museum.
Make yourself at home in one of the 7 guestrooms featuring refrigerators. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available to keep you connected. Conveniences include desks and coffee/tea makers, and you can also request rollaway/extra beds.
Make use of convenient amenities, which include complimentary wireless Internet access and wedding services.
Enjoy a satisfying meal at a restaurant serving guests of The Royal Oak - Inn. Quench your thirst with your favorite drink at a bar/lounge. A complimentary continental breakfast is included.
The front desk is staffed during limited hours. Free self parking is available onsite.


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The Third Annual Arnold Indoor Rowing Challenge will take place Sunday, March 5, 2017 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Eisenman & Trott Rooms.
The event is hosted by the Greater Columbus Rowing Association.
There are Adaptive, Youth, Collegiate, Masters and Open events with lightweight and heavyweight divisions for men and women. The indoor regatta will feature 500m, 1000m and 2000m events, with relays at the end of the day.
Registration deadline is Feb. 26, 2017. The entry fee is $25. Relays events are $80. Medals will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and pint glasses for first place in relays.


text: WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says his next Fed chairman should take ordinary people into account when setting monetary policy. Obama tells The New York Times in an interview on the paper's website Saturday that he wants someone who won't just work abstractly to keep inflation in check and maintain stability in the markets. He says he wants the next Fed chairman to also promote policies that will help make ordinary people's lives better. "The idea is to promote those things in service of the lives of ordinary Americans getting better," The Times quoted Obama as saying. "I want a Fed chairman that can step back and look at that objectively and say, Let's make sure that we're growing the economy." The president began a series of speeches this week promoting ideas for easing the burdens on the middle class. Obama is considering replacements for Ben Bernanke, whose term as Fed chairman expires early next year. The president said he had reduced the field to "some extraordinary candidates," The Times said. Former Obama economic adviser Larry Summers and Janet Yellen, the Fed's current vice chair, are among the leading candidates for the job. A senior White House official told The Associated Press on Friday that Obama was not expected to announce a replacement for Bernanke before the fall. The official was not authorized to speak by name about internal White House deliberations over personnel decisions.


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|Apr 12, 2005
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|Nov 30, 2000
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|Nov 30, 1999
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|Li Rong, Andrew K. C. Wong
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|Pattern Discovery Software Systems Ltd.
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This patent application is related to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/168,020 filed on Nov. 30, 1999 entitled INTELLIGENT MODELING, TRANSFORMATION AND MANIPULATION (IMTM) SYSTEM.
The present invention relates to a method of intelligent 2D and 3D object and scene modeling, transformation and manipulation and more particularly this invention relates to the field of computer modeling, virtual reality, animation and 3D Web streaming.
Studies of the human vision system show that the analysis of dynamic scene involves both low-level processing at the retina and high-level knowledge processing in the brain, see P. Buser and M. Imbert, Vision, translated by R. H. Kay, pp. 137-151, The MIT Press, 1992, Su-Shing Chen, Structure form Motion without the Rigidity Assumption, Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on Computer. For motion analysis, it has been shown that the human vision system captures both high-level structures and low-level motions of a dynamic scene, see D. Burr and J. Ross, Visual Analysis during Motion, Vision, Brian, and Cooperative Computation, pp. 187-207, edited by M. A. Arbib and A. R. Hanson, The MIT Press, 1987. Unfortunately, current vision and graphics systems do not satisfy this requirement. Popular representations such as those taught by M. Kass, A. Witkin and D. Terzopoulos, Snakes: Active Contour Models, International Journal of Computer Vision, pp.321-331, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, 1988, and D. N. Lee, The Optical Flow Field: The Foundation of Vision, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B290, pp 169-179, 1980, do not enable symbolic or knowledge manipulation. These systems generally lack the capability of automated learning unknown types of motion and movements of modeled objects.
In the fast growing virtual reality society, realistic visual modeling for virtual objects has never been so eagerly needed in its history. Previous modeling techniques mainly look after geometrical appearance or physical features. However, as pointed out in J. Bates, Deep Structure for Virtual Reality, Technical Report, CMU-CS-91-133, Carnegie Mellon University, May, 1991, and G. Burdea and P. Coiffet, Virtual Reality Technology, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1994, an ideal object modeling has at least the following requirements: appearance modeling for geometric shapes; kinematics modeling for the rotations and translations of objects; physical modeling of various properties such as the mass, inertia, deformation factors of objects to mention just a few; and behavioral features such as intelligence and emotions.
Similar requirements arise from many Internet applications where there is a fast growing interest in 3D Web contents. Current 3D Web methodologies (such as VRML, see D. Brutzman, M. Pesce, G. Bell, A. Dam and S. Abiezzi, VRML, Prelude and Future, ACM SIGGRAPH '96. pp. 489-490, New Orleans, August 1996) heavily depend on Internet bandwidth to transmit 3D data. Therefore, an efficient 3D representation is required to "compress" the complex and multi-aspect 3D data.
To satisfy all these requirements, there is needed a generic structure to enable symbolic operations for the modeling and manipulation of real and virtual world data with different types of information. The representation of visual object has preoccupied computer vision and graphics researches for several decades. Before the emergence of computer animation, research mainly focused on the modeling of rigid shapes. Despite the large body of work, most techniques lacked the flexibility to model non-rigid motions. Only after the mid 1980's were a few modeling methodologies for solving deformation problems.
An effective object modeling methodology should characterize the object's features under different circumstances in the application scope. In the early research, focus was placed on appearance modeling since the objects involved in vision and graphics applications were mostly simple and stationary. Currently, simple unilateral modeling can no longer satisfy the requirement in dynamic vision and computer animation. As discussed in G. Burdea and P. Coiffet, Virtual Reality Technology, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1994, a complete 3D object modeling should ideally comprise at least the following components.
Hereinafter, current modeling methodologies are reviewed and classified into three categories: continuous modeling, discrete modeling and graph-based modeling.
Continuous Modeling
This type of modeling approximates either the whole or a functional part of the 3D object by a variation of geometrical primitives, such as blocks, polyhedrons, spheres, generalized cylinders or superquadrics. These geometrical primitives can be expressed as continuous or piecewise continuous functions in 3D space. Kinematic and physical features can be easily combined with the geometrical shapes. Among the large body of the geometrical primitives, generalized cylinders and superquadrics are the popular ones since they could easily handle deformations. Barr is considered as one of the first to borrow the techniques from linear mechanical analysis to approximate visual 3D objects, see A. Barr, Superquadrics and Angle-preserving Transformations, IEEE Computer Graphics Applications, 18:21-30, 1981, and A. Barr and A. Witkin, Topics in Physically Based Modeling, ACM SIGGRAPH '89, Course Note 30, New York, 1989. He defined the angle-preserving transformations on superquadrics. Although the original approach is only for computer graphics, it is also useful in vision tasks with fruitful results. As a dynamic extension of superquadrics, the deformable superquadrics proposed by D. Terzopoulos and D. Metaxas, Dynamic 3D models with local and global deformations: Deformable Superquadrics, IEEE Transactions on PAMI, 13(7):703-714, 1991, is a physical feature-based approach. It fits complex 3D shapes with a class of dynamic models that can deform both globally and locally. The model incorporates the global shape parameters of a conventional superellipsoid with the local degrees of freedom of a spline. The local/global representation simultaneously satisfies the requirements of 3D shape reconstruction and 3D recognition. In animation, the behaviors of the deformable superquadrics are governed by motion equations based on physics. In 3D model construction, the model is fitted with 3D visual information by transforming the data into forces and simulating the motion equations through time.
In animation tasks, it is easy to detect, attach and apply geometrical, kinematic and physical parameters to continuously modeled objects. However, it is difficult for behavioral features since the model lacks a symbolic structure as the base to fit in behavioral languages. Furthermore, to form any real world objects, approximation by those pre-defined primitives such as generalized cylinders or superquadrics is impossible.
Discrete Modeling
A wide variety of computer vision applications involve highly irregular, unstructured and dynamic scenes. They are characterized by rapid and non-uniform variations in spatially irregular feature density and physical properties. It is difficult to model such objects from any of the four aspects mentioned before with continuous elements. Such difficulty arises from the unpredictable behaviors of the objects. Discrete modeling is able to approximate the surfaces or volumes of this kind of objects by vast patches of very simple primitives, such as polygons or tetrahedrons.
Since most graphics applications use polygons as the fundamental building block for object description, a polygonal mesh representation of curved surfaces is a natural choice for surface modeling as disclosed in G. Turk, Re-Tiling Polygonal Surfaces, Computer Graphics (SIGGRAPH '92), 26(2):55-64, 1992. Polygonal approximation of sensory data is relatively simple and sampled surfaces can be approximated to the desired precision, see M. A. Khan and J. M. Vance, A Mesh Reduction Approach to Parametric Surface Polygonization, 1995 ASME Design Automation Conference Proceedings, Boston, Mass., September 1995. Physical and kinematic features can be associated more flexibly with either a single element (a polygon) or a group of elements (a patch of polygons).
Triangular mesh is a special case of polygonal mesh. It has been recognized as a powerful tool for surface modeling due to its simplicity and flexibility and abundance of manipulation algorithms. They are used in many general vision and graphics applications, which provide fast preprocessing, data abstraction and mesh refinement techniques, see see for example R. E. Fayek, 3D Surface Modeling Using Topographic Hierarchical Triangular Meshes, Ph.D Thesis, Systems Design Eng., University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, April 1996, L. De Floriani and E. Puppo, Constrained Delaunay Triangulation for Multi-resolution Surface Description, Pattern Recognition, pp. 566-569, 1988, and S. Rippa, Adaptive Approximation by Piecewise Linear Polynomials on Triangulations of Subsets of Scattered Data, SIAM Journal on Scientific and Statistical Computing, pp. 1123-1141, 1992.
Based on the triangular mesh, Terzopoulos and Waters had successfully attached physical constraints on the human facial model as disclosed in D. Terzopoulos and K. Waters, Analysis and Synthesis of Facial Image Sequences Using Physical and Anatomical Models, IEEE Transactions on PAMI, 15(6):569-579, 1993. From sequences of facial images, they built mesh models with anatomical constraints. An impressive advance of the methodology is that it has the capability to model the behavioral features. With the support of anatomical data, different emotions can be modeled and applied to arbitrary human faces.
The main drawback of discrete methodologies is that it lacks the high level structure to control the modeling or to perform symbolic operations. Furthermore, the discrete primitives are unstructured and only contain information about local features. When applied to dynamical cases, even though the geometrical modeling can be highly precise, abstracting high level information from the data is still problematic.
Graph-Based Symbolic Modeling
In graph-based approaches, a complex object is usually represented explicitly by a set of primitives and the relations among them in the form of a graph. If the primitives are regular blocks such as cylinders, cubes or superquadrics, such model can be viewed as a clone of continuous modeling. If the model consists of vast number of primitives that are discrete polygons or polygonal meshes, it is an extension of discrete model.
The graph representation was first put forward in 1970 neither for computer vision nor for graphics applications, but for the script description of a scene in artificial intelligence, see A. C. Shaw, Parsing of Graph-Representation Pictures, Journal of ACM, 17:453-481, 1970. In the early 1980's, Shapiro (L. G. Shapiro, Matching Three-dimensional Objects using a Relational Paradigm, Pattern Recognition, 17(4):385405, 1984) applied relational graphs for object representation where the quadtree (for surface) and octree (for solid) encoding algorithm given by Meagher (D. J. Meagher, Octree encoding: a new technique for the representation, manipulation, and display of arbitrary three-dimensional objects by computer, Technical Report, IPL-TR-80, 111, Image Processing Laboratory, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., Apr. 1982). It can be viewed as a special case since they form trees (directed graphs) as the hierarchical structure for representation. In the same period, Wong et al. introduced the attributed hypergraph representation for 3D objects see A. K. C. Wong and S. W. Lu, Representation of 3D Objects by Attributed Hypergraph for Computer Vision, Proceedings of IEEE S.M.C International Conference, pp.49-53, 1983. Later, random graph (A. K. C. Wong and M. You, Entropy and Distance of Random Graphs with Applications to Structural Pattern Recognition, IEEE Transactions on PAMI, 7(5):599-609, 1985) and more sophisticated attributed hypergraphs are presented as geometry and knowledge representation for general computer vision tasks (A. K. C. Wong and R. Salay, An Algorithm for Constellation Matching, Proceedings on of 8th International Conf. on Pattern Recognition, pp.546-554, Oct. 1986 and A. K. C. Wong, M. Rioux and S. W. Lu, Recognition and Shape Synthesis of 3-D Objects Based on Attributed Hypergraphs, IEEE Transactions on PAMI, 11(3):279-290, 1989.
In 3D model synthesis, random graphs were applied to describe the uncertainties brought by sensors and image processing, see A. K. C. Wong and B. A, McArthur, Random Graph Representation for 3-D Object Models, SPIE Milestone Series, MS72:229-238, edited by H. Nasr, in Model-Based Vision, 1991. In Wong et al., an attributed hypergraph model was constructed based on model features (A. K. C. Wong and W. Liu, Hypergraph Representation for 3D Object Model Synthesis and Scene Interpretation, Proceedings on 2nd Workshop on Sensor Fusion and Environment Modeling (ICAR), Oxford, U.K., 1991). The representation had a four-level hierarchy that characterizes: a) the geometrical model features; b) the characteristic views induced by local image/model features, each of which contains a subset of the model features visible from a common viewpoint; c) a set of topological equivalent classes of the characteristic views; and d) a set of local image features wherein domain knowledge could be incorporated into the representation for various forms of decision making and reasoning.
Since graph-based modeling approaches introduce the concepts of primitives and their relations, it is straightforward for constructing a hierarchical representation. At lower levels, geometrical, kinematic and physical features can be encoded as the primitives and their associated attributes. At higher levels, entities such as edges and hyperedges can be used to represent symbolic information. In a graph structure, it is handy to perform symbolic operations. With the aid of machine intelligence, domain knowledge can be learned and later recalled and processed together with other data. However, traditional graph-based methods lack the representational power for dynamic objects. Although they have the potential to handle deformations/transformations, yet up to now, they are applied only to rigid object modeling, due to their rigid structure and the lack of transformation operators on graphs.
The fast paced developments in computer vision, computer graphics and Internet motivate the need for a new modeling methodology using a unified data structure and manipulation processes directed by machine intelligence.
An object of the present invention is to provide a generic and unified object modeling for computer vision, computer graphics, animation and 3D Internet using machine intelligence.
In one aspect of the invention there is provided a computerized method of modeling a three dimensional object, comprising:
extracting selected topological features from captured imaging data or other surface data of a three dimensional object;
constructing a triangular mesh representation of said three dimensional object from said topological features;
mapping vertices and edges of said triangular mesh to vertices and edges respectively of a representative attributed graph; and
constructing an attributed hypergraph representation from said representative attributed graphs.
In another aspect of the invention there is provided a computerized method of intelligent model transformation, comprising the steps of:
computing an optimal subgraph isomorphism for attributed hypergraph between a source attributed hypergraph and a target attributed hypergraph, wherein said source attributed hypergraph is to be transformed into said target attributed hypergraph;
computing a sequence of transformation operators from said optimal subgraph isomorphism for attributed hypergraph;
computing a transformation path from said sequence of transformation operators; and
generating a sequence of attributed hypergraphs along said transformation path from said sequence of transformation operators.
In another aspect of the invention there is provided a computerized method of intelligent model augmentation of a real scene with a virtual scene into an augmented scene, comprising the steps of:
constructing an attributed hypergraph representation of said real scene;
constructing an attributed hypergraph representation of said virtual scene;
computing a sequence of transformation operators between said two attributed hypergraphs;
integrating said two attributed hypergraph representations into a unified attributed hypergraph representation using said sequence of transformation operators;
constructing an augmented scene from said unified attributed hypergraph representation.
The invention will now be described, by way of example only, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which;
The present invention provides a new form of attributed hypergraph representation (AHR), which when coupled with triangular mesh surface approximation, provides a highly efficient method for both 2D and 3D modeling. For 3D objects, surface modeling is preferred to solid modeling since it fits both computer vision and computer graphics applications as common vision sensors provide surface data only. A net-like data structure is designed to handle the dynamic changes of the representation corresponding to the object's movements and deformations so as to overcome the inflexibility of graph structure.
For any scientific study on the representation, in particular, for general object modeling, the fundamental problem is; given a collection of instances of a certain entity, a set of transformations that can be applied on the entity, and an isomorphism or equivalent relation with respect to the transformations, find the general description of the entity and the associated transformations in a mathematical language. In this invention, categorical formalism is brought upon to generalize the above problem, since it provides a mathematical language to address objects, transformations, invariance and equivalence which is essential for a general pattern representation and manipulation.
The universality of the categorical language enables formal definitions of notions and procedures which, in the past, were empirically defined in the computer vision and computer graphics settings. Many concepts in category theory can play predominant roles in the formalization of most general representation problems. It also helps to establish links between apparently very different notions (such as projections and transformations), or between different aspects of a same problem (such as geometrical modeling and physical modeling).
I. Definitions and Notations
[Definition 1] A category C is given if a class of elements, called objects, are given such that:
With the concept of functor defined within the scope of computer vision and graphics applications, the geometrical, physical and graph representations can be viewed as different categories. In 3D case, their relations are shown in FIG. 2. The graph-based representation can be viewed as the result of structural abstractions from geometrical and physical representations, by applying the functors that map Geo and Phy to Gph respectively.
[Definition 7] A hypergraph is an ordered pair G=(X, Y), where X={vi|1≦i≦n} is a finite set of vertices and Y={(Hj|1≦j≦m} is a finite set of hyperedges; each Hj is a subset of X such that H1∪H2∪ . . . ∪Hm=X.
[Definition 8] An attributed hypergraph (AH) G is a hypergraph defined as an ordered pair G=(X, Y) associated with AX and AY, where G=(X, Y) is a hypergraph, AX is a finite set of vertex attribute values and AY is a finite set of hyperedge attribute values. vi in X may be assigned values of attribute from AX, and Hj in Y may be assigned values of attribute from AY.
In the present invention, the hypergraph is implemented with a net-like dynamic data structure (an example in FIG. 4). The term "dynamic" signifies that the data structure supports structural operations such as join and subdivision on hypergraphs on the fly, which, in the view of category theory, are related to certain changes of the object via functors.
In a dynamic structured hypergraph, the basic element is called a node shown as a rectangle. The nodes at the bottom level represent the vertices; the nodes at the intermediate layers are the hyperedges which are supersets of the nodes at their lower levels; and the node at the top layer (called the root) represent the entire hypergraph.
With such a data structure, the structural changes on hypergraphs can be handled efficiently. For example, the join of two hyperedges is simply the combination of the two corresponding nodes and the re-organization of the associated links. Graph-based computations such as the re-organization of a hyperedge based on certain criteria can be performed by reshuffling the links between the nodes. However, in traditional hypergraph data representations such as the incidence matrix or adjacency matrix, any topological change could initiate a re-organization over many entities. Data elements with or without relations to the nodes to be operated on may have to be accessed.
In a hypergraph, information represented by nodes at higher layers is abstracted from those at lower layers. The nodes at higher layers are important for intelligent manipulation and knowledge processing, while those at lower layers are crucial for complete and accurate modeling. The nodes at the bottom layer construct an elementary graph.
[Definition 9] In a dynamic structured attributed hypergraph, the nodes at the bottom layer are called the elementary nodes, the links among the elementary nodes are called the elementary edges. The attributed graph, which consists of the elementary nodes and the elementary edges, is called the elementary graph.
If a hypergraph has n layers, and the node set at layer i is Xi, then hypergraph G=(X, Y) can be written in the form of G=(X1, X2, . . . , Xn) where X=X1 and Y={X2, . . . , Xn}. The meanings of the nodes at the hyperedge layers normally depend on the applications. In most applications, we prefer that there is a layer of hyperedges that characterizes the object's higher level properties. For example, in the task of environment modeling for indoor navigation, we can have the hyperedge layers on top of the elementary graph:
The bottom layer of an attributed hypergraph should simultaneously satisfy the following two requirements:
The use of the mesh-based representation is ideal due to the unstructured nature of general 3D shapes. Compared with other mesh-based methodologies such as NURBS, the triangular mesh has the advantages that it is simple and flexible. In the vertex-edge structure, a triangular mesh can be written in the form of T=(Vt, Et) where Vt is the vertex set and Et is the edge set of the mesh.
[Definition 10] A representative attributed graph (RAG) G=(V, E) of a triangular mesh T is an attributed graph constructed in the following manner:
The AHR of a triangular mesh, which represents a 3D shape, is based on such a RAG. The elementary nodes of an attributed hypergraph (i.e., the nodes at the bottom level) consist of the vertices in the RAG, and the elementary edges are copied from the edges in the RAG. The properties of the surface attached to the triangular mesh, such as location, orientation, area, color, texture, mass density and elasticity, are mapped to the attributes associated with the vertices or edges. Thus, the RAG of the mesh directly constructs the elementary graph of the AHR.
[Definition 11] Suppose that X={x1, x2, . . . , xn} is the vertex set of attributed hypergraph H=(X, Y), E={xe1, xe2, . . . , xem} (E⊂X, ek<n; k=1, 2, . . . , m), and ae1, ae2, . . . , aem are the vertex attributes associating with vertices xe1, xe2, . . . , xem respectively. We say that E is a hyperedge induced by attribute value a, if for a selected attribute value a, we have:
If op1 and op2 are two primary operators given in Definitions 12 to 18, the compound operator {circle around (c)} of op1 and op2 is defined as applying op2 on the result of applying op1, denoted as {circle around (c)}=op2*op1.
In the view of category theory, the primary operators and their compositions constitute the morphisms between different AH's in the AH category (Ahp). Through the mapping of functors, they correspond to the motions of the 3D patterns.
II. Detailed Description of the Methods of Model Construction, Transformation and Manipulation
A. Intelligent 3D Model Construction
The input data of this model construction algorithm can be from CGD cameras, laser range finders, radar ranger finders, sonar, or any other devices that generate images. All mentioned imaging devices produce images that typically contain thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of image pixels. It is neither practical nor productive to carry on object modeling directly at the pixel level. Thus, the first step of the model construction is to extract the topological features from captured imaging data of the three dimensional object shown in the image(s).
The feature extraction process applied in this patent is from the research result of Q Gao and A. K. C. Wong ("A Curve Detection Approach on Based on Perceptual Organization", Pattern Recognition, Vol 26, No. 7, pp. 1039-1046, August 1993), which is based on the relaxation edge-tracing method ("An Applications of Relaxation Labeling to Line and Curve Enhancement", S. W. Zuker, R. A. Hummel and A. Rosenfeld, IEEE Transactions on Computers, Vol 26, pp. 394-403, 1977). It has four steps: 1) feature detection, 2) feature segmentation; 3) feature classification; and 4) feature grouping. The first step of the method detects the salient features such as, for example, points, lines and contours from the pixel image, and the second steps finds the topological relations among them. In the case of using radar or laser range finders, these topological features already have the range information (the distance of the feature to the image projection plane). In the case of using conventional camera, to recover the range information, at least two cameras are required for each view. Then the range information can be calculated using the method given by T. S. Huang ("Determining Three-Dimensional Motion and Structure from Two Perspective Views", in Handbook of Pattern Recognition and Image Processing, Chapter 14, Academic Press, 1986) or by H. C. Longuet-Higgins ("A Computer Algorithm for Reconstructing a Scene from Two Projections", Nature, Vol 293, pp. 133-135, 1981).
The process to create the triangular meshes can be run directly on the extracted topological features. However, it is desirable to organize them into a geometrical model to represent the shape of the object first, which can simplify the process of triangular meshes generation, especially when the features extracted are sparse.
The most straightforward method to represent a shape is the use of wire-frames consisting of the surface discontinuity of the object. The two types of elements in a wire-frame model are lines and nodes. The lines correspond to the straight or curves, and the nodes are point features such as corners or points of abrupt curvature change. We consider the face modeling as a more generic dual of the wire-frame model. In a face model, the elements are the faces (surfaces) bounded by closed circuits of wire-frame edges. Using faces to model an object has several advantages over modeling with the wire-frames:
The procedure to extract faces is illustrated in FIG. 11. First, a procedure called Tablet_Point_Line( ) handles the points, lines and contours. An incidence table is generated as shown in Table 1, where Pi (i=1, 2 . . . , k) are the point features, and Lj (j=1, 2, . . . m) are the line or contour features. Empty columns, i.e., the lonely points, are considered as noise and are removed from the table.
TABLE 1 The incidence table of lines/contours and points. P1 P2 . . . Pk L1 1 0 . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lm 0 0 . . . 1
Merge_Points( ) and Merge_Lines( ) are the procedures to eliminate duplicated features resulting from potentially noisy input data (e.g., the reflections around a sharp edge). Merge_Points( ) scans through the set of corners. The Euclidean distance between pairs of neighboring corners is evaluated. If its value is less than a preset threshold (normally the distance threshold is about 2-3 pixels in length), the two points are merged into one. Merge_Lines( ) scans through the set of lines and contours. If two lines or contours are close to each other and the angle between them is very close to 0 or π, they are merged into one. According to the merging result, the incidence table is adjusted. Then the faces are extracted by procedure Extract_Faces( ). Each face is represented by:
The incidence matrix shown in Table 1 is actually a presentation of a connected graph. Each face of the object corresponds to a closed circuit. Searching for a closed cycle in a graph is a common task in linear graph theory. Here a depth-first search algorithm is applied. Different from the conventional cycle searching algorithm, in the face searching, there is an constraint to judge if a cycle consists of a face or not; in the cycle, all features have to be approximately on the same plane. The search algorithm begins with a set of three connected corners, from which an approximated normal vector of the possible face can be calculated. During the expansion of the cycle, this normal vector is consistently updated according to the new topological features added. The face grouping procedure includes the following steps:
Building a triangular mesh is straightforward from the face model. The faces are first converted into the forms of polygons or polygonalized circles. The following recursive procedure decomposes a polygon P0 with n edges and n corners into n−2 triangles:
Since the triangles generated by the above processes are directly from the face models, they automatically satisfy the conditions required for a triangular mesh. If the topological features extracted from the imaging data are dense, then triangular meshes can be generated using an improved version of the well-known Delaunay triangulation method given by R. E. Fayek and A. K. Wong ("Triangular Mesh Model for Natural Terrain", Processings on SPIE: Intelligent Robots and Computer Vision, October 1994). However, to apply such method, a transformation of the features is required since Delaunay triangulation only works on data that lay approximately on the same plane. The topological features of an object are transformed from the conventional Cartesian coordinate system, where location is defined by (x, y, z), into a spherical coordinate system centered within the object, where location is defined by (α, β, r) (refer to FIG. 10). The entire process of applying Delaunay triangulation is:
After a set of triangular meshes are obtained, they can be directly mapped to the representative attributed graph (RAG) according to the procedures given in Definition 10. Hyperedges are then induced from the elementary graph in hypergraph, which is a dual of RAG. Different from an edge in an attributed graph, a hyperedge in an attributed hypergraph represents the n-ary relation among a number of (at least two) vertices, groups of vertices or other hyperedges in the attributed hypergraph. In this invention, the hyperedges are induced from the triangles in the RAG. The steps are:
The hyperedge grouping criteria depend on the types of attributes selected for the hyperedges. Such attributes can be kinematic attributes, geometrical attributes, physical attributes, and/or behavioral attributes.
In a typical application, there will be more image views. For example, for a complete camera-based 3D object model, at least four views are preferably taken, one for the front, one for the back, and two for the left and the right sides of the object. For each view, following the procedure of attributed hypergraph construction given above, we can obtain one attributed hypergraph. Therefore, a method to synthesize all these attributed hypergraphs is required to compute a complete attributed hypergraph representation (AHR) of the object. The procedure comprises the following steps:
During the synthesis process described above, a more complete AHR is constructed. The possible redundant information in the input AHR's obtained from different views enables one to perform the following improvements on the recovered 3D data:
The same model construction concept can be easily applied to 2D objects. If the topological features extracted for AHR construction are in 2D domain instead of 3D domain, we can easily construct the AHR in the same way.
B. Intelligent 3D Model Transformation
One of the most important applications of attributed hypergraph representation (AHR) based object modeling is automatic transformation of 3D objects. A general transformation is basically the metamorphosis of an object from one state (the source) to another (the target) via continuous transitions (morphing). AHR provides an ideal tool for 3D transformation on object's shapes, colors, textures and many other properties. Given two AHR's representing the two states of an object, a set of operators defined for attributed hypergraph can be extracted. Moreover, a sequence of intermediate 3D objects under continuous deformation or transformation can be reconstructed via the construction of the intermediate AHR's.
When two states of the same object are represented by AHR's, the transformation corresponds to a sequence of operations applied on the source AHR such that it finally changes itself into an AHR that is isomorphic to the target AHR. The AHR-based transformation disclosed herein is able to:
To produce the metamorphosis of an object from one state to another one, there may exist many paths. There are usually certain constraints controlling the transformation thus making one path more preferable than others. The volume preserving and the surface preserving constraints are the popular ones in many applications. These methods usually use Minkowski sums or a merged topology to control the time-varying object. An AHR-based transformation is different in that it uses feature preserving constraints.
In an AHR-based transformation, given the initial AHR G1 and the final AHR G2, an optimal subgraph isomorphism algorithm first finds the optimal common sub-hypergraph of the two AHR's. Since the distance measure applied in the optimal subgraph isomorphism algorithm is confined by the type of selected features, the transformation path generated follows the path with the minimal cost subject to the feature type. In other words, the algorithm attempts to find the path that minimizes the cost of subgraph isomorphism associated with the selected feature type. Thus, it is called feature preserving transformation.
The operator sequence that performs the transformations between the two AHR's can be similarly determined. The operator extraction begins with the global motion parameters rotation matrix R and translation vector T from all the matched elements of the two AHR's, which are vertices, edges or hyperedges. The least squares method used in estimating R and T minimizes the total displacement for the matched elements. Since there are only quantitative changes for those matched ones, the qualitative information associated with them is well preserved. Meanwhile, the optimal subgraph isomorphism algorithm minimizes the number of unmatched elements since they will introduce penalties that have the highest cost in matching. Hence, during the process of deforming G1 into G2 by applying the operator sequence, the qualitative features in the source AHR are maximally preserved.
If the two AHR's used for transformation are constructed through the procedures described in Section A above, they should have four layers each, one for root, one for hyperedges, one for edges and one for vertices. If one or both have more than one layer of hyperedges, these layers have to be combined into one using the hyperedge join operator given by Definition 17. The procedures of AHR-based object transformation are.
With the sequence of operators extracted, the transformation path is well defined by applying the operators one by one. The automatic transformation frame generation is based on the definition of distance between attributed hypergraphs given by A. K. C. Wong, M. L. You and S. C. Chan ("An Algorithm for Graph Optimal Monomorphism", IEEE Transctions on S. M. C. Vol. 20(3), pp. 628-636, 1990). If d(G1, G2) is the distance between two AHR's G1 and G2, we can use linear interpolation to generate continuous frames between G1 and G2. Suppose that in the transformation, the total time from pattern G1 to G2 is T. Given any time t such that 0≦t≦T, the corresponding transformed AHR at t, denoted as G(t) can be expressed as:
G(t)=G 1+[(t/T)�(G 2 −G 1)] (1)
Where G2−G1 signifies the difference between G1 and G2 measured by the AH operator set, and "�" means using its left-hand-side as the arithmetic operator to quantify its right-hand-side operator set.
The connotation of Equation (1) is that G(t) can be built by applying a proper set of AH operators that varies with t. Suppose that the set of operators to transform G1 to G2 is Op={op1, op2, . . . , opn}, where opi(1≦i≦n) can be any one of the primary attributed hypergraph operators defined previously (Definitions 12 to 18), and the set of operators that transform G1 to G(t) is expressed as Op(t)=(op1(t), op2(t), . . . , opn(t)}. Referring to Equation (1), opi(t) is derived from opi by:
This invention provides an efficient and practical methodology for vision-based object modeling (Section A) and transformation (Section B) which has broad applications in computer vision, graphics and virtual reality. One useful application is to create augmented reality (AR) by Intelligent model manipulation.
Augmented reality is a technology that first employs computer vision methodologies to estimate the 3D geometry of real world scenes, and then facilitates computer graphics technologies to augment the synthesized models and to present them in a way similar to that of virtual reality (VR).
To build an augmented scene, virtual objects/scenes have to be combined with the real objects/scenes constructed by the process described in Section A. With this invention, imaging data from the real world can be sensed and modeled by AHR. Similarly, virtual scenes are also modeled by AHR. The AHR's from both the real scene and the virtual scene are then integrated into a unified AHR, which represents the augmented scenes.
The term augmentation used herein means not only integrating different AHR's, but also supplementing the AHR's with elements that may appear neither in the real scenes nor in the virtual scenes. With AHR, object properties such as surface colors and textures are represented as attributes, which makes it easy for us to perform the integrating and supplementing tasks required by most AR applications.
The procedure of constructing augmented reality from a real scene and a virtual scene is:
The core of this procedure is performing the augmentation by AHR integration (step 4), which is achieved by applying a proper set of AH operators.
Typical Augmentations Include:
The alignment of the attributes of two AHR's depends upon the application context. Normally, it only involves translations and/or rotations on the AHFR's to properly position the objects in the AR scene and thus is handled by one or more attribute transitions. However, in some cases, there may be qualitative changes of the AHR's associated with the integration. In the task of object fusion which may be required by AR tasks, the integration of the two AHR's that represent the two objects, denoted as Gr and Gv, has to be followed by eliminating all redundancies (e.g., inner surfaces or inner vertices) to ensure a fully integrated shape. The following steps will remove the inner vertices and surfaces:
Another important procedure in performing the augmentation is object reconstruction from AHR. Since the AHR has the geometrical information stored on its elementary graph, which is constructed from the triangular mesh model through RAG's, the reconstruction of the object shape resembles the reconstruction of an object's shape by triangular mesh approximations. Other properties of the object, such as surface color and texture can be extracted from the attributes associated with the AHR and applied to the reconstructed triangular mesh.
Natural looking surface textures (or surface colors when texture is not considered) are of great importance to the construction of augmented reality. To meet this requirement, a texture or color or color binding algorithm is adopted to estimate the surface appearance for each triangle from the available image views.
The problem of shape deformation arises when the objects/scenes are modeled in AHR with physical parameters as attribute values. Physical features as attributes in AHR describe deformable objects by (1) the physical properties of the objects; (2) the physical state transitions; (3) the initial states; and (4) external factors such as the external forces.
In an augmented scene, the augmentation may include the changes of the physical states for the existing objects or the virtual objects, and possibly with additional external forces. In the above cases, due to the physical interactions among the objects, there may be deformations. Therefore, a recalculation on the physical states of the objects is required. Further detail of the calculations on shape deformations by AHR operators has been given in Section B.
D. 3D Web Streaming Based on AHR
Referring again to
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented to illustrate the principles of the invention and not to limit the invention to the particular embodiment illustrated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by all of the embodiments encompassed within the following claims and their equivalents.
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|U.S. Classification
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|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Jan 17, 2001
Owner name: PATTERN DISCOVERY SOFTWARE SYSTEMS LTD., CANADA
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Effective date: 20170412


text:
We allow users to use citrix to check there email from home computers, usually people bring in there laptops and we can set them up, but in this case we have to give instructions to the user and have him set up the connection.
Is there an easier quicker way than me having to take screenshots and writing out the instructions? we use xenapp on the clients.
Thanks for your help
5 Replies
Apr 25, 2009 at 7:32 UTC
You need to get the Web Interface going. Users will then simply be able to access a web site, enter their username/password and it will allow them access. If the user doesn't have the client installed, the site detects this and prompts the user to install (with download link & instructions).
Apr 27, 2009 at 2:44 UTC
We use Citrix Access Gateway in combination with Vasco Digipass.
Access Gateway: http://www.citrix.com/English/PS2/products/product.asp?contentID=15005
Vasco Digipass: http://www.vasco.com/products/Digipass.html
The Access Gateway can be installed as an icon on the desktop. Users can also connect true a secure website if you prefer not installing something.
To prevent users just using passwords you can add the Vasco digipass for extra security. Installation of Vasco is simple. It's just an extra Add-on in Active Directory where you can assign Vasco devices to users
With Access Gateway you can also setup different policy's (Ex. computer must have antiv-virus installed, computer has to be part of the Domain, etc...
Good Luck
May 6, 2009 at 6:32 UTC
thanks for the suggestions but we have everything set up on the citrix server i just wondered if there was an easier way to create the shortcut like just copy paste that onto the users desktop rather than having to go through all of the citrix setup every time.
May 6, 2009 at 6:53 UTC
If this is what you want, simply create an .ICA file of your application. I however do not recommend this as if your server names changes, etc the file will need to be updated on every users desktop.
Web Interface combined with PNAgent is definately the way to go.
May 7, 2009 at 2:28 UTC
If you use the Citrix Access Gateway you can setup a public website (like thier is OWA for mail). You can create a website with Citrix Access Gateway like https://vpn.yourdomain.com . Then users see a login and password field. You can setup if users logon true this website that necessary software is installed.
Think this is also what Brad2008 wants to say: "Web Interface combined with PNAgent is definately the way to go."
Must be possible. Maybe someone else can help you to figure out the best way to install this.
This discussion has been inactive for over a year.
You may get a better answer to your question by starting a new discussion.


text:
Car Wash $12.00
I am completely mobile and can come to you. Over 30 years at my craft, I have the local references to attest to my high quality standards and excellent client service. My offerings begin at $12 for a Wash/Polish ranging all the way to complete comprehensive Details including Prep for Show/Sale.
Call for info/appointments.


text:
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/6/2013 (1518 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Saving Hope
Alex and Charlie are on their way back to Hope Zion when they find themselves caught in the crossfire of a shooting in the season premiere. While Alex struggles with her emotions, Charlie discovers he can still communicate with spirits. CTV, 9 p.m.
Neutral Zone
This half-hour documentary, produced for TSN, examines a unique sports-education program. Filmed in northern Israel, Neutral Zone examines the Canada-Israel Hockey School, and considers whether teaching hockey to Jewish and Arab children can help promote tolerance off the ice. TSN, 7 p.m.
Betty White's Off Their Rockers
Betty's troublemaking senior citizens have all kinds of fun as they play tricks on unsuspecting bystanders in this new episode. Not only do they direct traffic within a grocery store, they also cut loose at an arcade on a dance machine. NBC, 7:30 p.m.
Talk Shows
George Stroumboulopoulos: Javier Bardem
Jay Leno: Sandra Bullock, Bob Saget
David Letterman: Channing Tatum, Tim DeChristopher
Jimmy Kimmel: Miley Cyrus, Marlon Wayans
Craig Ferguson: Breckin Meyer, Wendie Malick
Jimmy Fallon: Glenn Close, Dolph Lundgren
The Daily Show: Questlove


text:
What is JotForm?
JotForm is a free online form builder which helps you create online forms without writing a single line of code. No sign-up required.
At JotForm, we want to make sure that you're getting the online form builder help that you need. Our friendly customer support team is available 24/7.
We believe that if one user has a question, there could be more users who may have the same question. This is why many of our support forum threads are public and available to be searched and viewed. If you'd like help immediately, feel free to search for a similar question, or submit your question or concern.
How can I print my form to look exactly the same as my live form?Asked by truenorthhotels on April 21, 2015 at 01:21 PM
When I print a submitted form it doesn't look like the form I brought over from adobe. How do I print a form that looks EXACTLY like the form I designed...but with all the submitted information.
Please help!!! I am running out of time!
I have attached the form as I can print it from Jotform...
To my understanding you would like to have your printed submissions resemble something closer to how your actual form looks.
By default the initial print of your jotform will only print out your submission data along with its questions which is what you are currently seeing happen on your end.
If you wish to have something that closer resembles your jotform one way would be to enable your headers and texts. A second way would be to add a print button to it and print after the form is filled which appears to the right of the submit button on the right.
Aside from those above the only other option that may work is if you used our Fillable PDF Creator to make a PDF Version of your form and printed that out which should be even closer but the final results might vary some depending on your form.


text:
A View from Inside Eddie Long's Sunday Service
At 7 AM, the parking lot was already filling up for the first service of the day, which would start promptly at 8 at New Birth Missionary Baptist, home of embattled pastor Bishop Eddie Long. Inside, the atmosphere was cheerful. People bustled around talking about the usual Sunday things; what they would do after church, where they might have lunch. No one seemed to be talking about the elephant in the room: what Bishop Long might say about the lawsuits alleging that he coerced young men in his congregation to have sex with him...
Read More
Latest News


text:
Here is the audio from a 30 minute talk I gave in NYC on "meeting women in your daily life."
I go over 10 simple tactics to make meeting women on a regular basis easier and smoother.
The key lesson here is that approaching and having conversations with women is something you need to integrate into your daily existence.
This is different from what most guys think: that they can do nothing the whole week and then suddenly "turn on" their seductive powers Friday and Saturday.
The most effective way to bring more women and dates into your life is to make it a part of your normal routine.
Listen below for more:


text:
If you are looking for a really delicious and easy recipe to take to parties this summer, then this is the one for you. I made these yesterday to take to a pool party and they were yummy! My hubby actually asked me if I made them or just heated them up!? LOL!
Tray is from Ikea. It's my new fave. It's long enough to hold lots of goodies. :)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1 small zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 3-inch matchstick-thin strips
1 small red pepper, cut into 3-inch matchstick-thin strips
Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice and black pepper in a medium bowl.
Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 10x12-inch rectangle. Cut off a 2-inch strip crosswise to make a 10-inch square, reserving the strip. Cut the pastry square into 25 (2-inch) squares. Cut the reserved pastry strip crosswise into 25 strips.
Place about 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese mixture in the center of each pastry square. Arrange the vegetables diagonally on the pastry squares on top of the cheese mixture. Fold 2 opposite corners to the center over the filling and press to seal. Place the pastry strips crosswise across the center of the filled pastries. Wrap the ends of the strips around the pastries to meet in the back and press to seal. Place the pastries, vegetable-side up, onto 2 baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.


text:
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Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Oversee.net Goes North
Los Angeles-based Oversee.net announced this morning that the company has opened up a San Mateo office as part of an expansion into Northern California. the firm said that it's looking to attract additional talent for its services, and has plans to open other offices in major cities throughout the U.S. Oversee operates an online advertising and network of web sites, and specializes in search engine optimization (SEO) to drive web traffic. The firm said that it now employs over 130 in its Los Angeles offices.


text:
- Trending Now: More Trending:
- Svengali syzygy hegemon repugnant white nationalist, white supremacist
Definition of magico–religious
: of, belonging to, or having the character of a body of magical practices intended to cause a supernatural being to produce or prevent a specific result (as an increase of the crops)
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Origin and Etymology of magico–religious
2magic + -o- + religious
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