text:
Luzern Stop-Motion Video
- Jeanette said...
This is awesome!
- August 20, 2010 at 11:38 AM
- kirstyb said...
thanks fir sharing xxxx
- August 20, 2010 at 12:01 PM
- Missy Cheeks said...
Cool video i liked the views :=)
about the music its good
- August 20, 2010 at 12:18 PM
- heidi adnum said...
Love it! Love Luzern!
- August 20, 2010 at 12:30 PM
- Signe said...
Very nice, and it also looks very Swiss :)
- August 20, 2010 at 12:40 PM
- shari @ little blue deer said...
Oh, gorgeous! First of all, the video is really cool, like, the techniques, she is talented! And yes, the sights are gorgeous, how lucky are you?? XX!
- August 20, 2010 at 1:05 PM
- Chic 'n Cheap Living said...
Love it! It's like we walked through the city too!
- August 20, 2010 at 1:07 PM
- Diana Mieczan said...
Totally AWESOME...!!!...I adore the little streets and the view is amazing:)
Great city to live in!
Kisses and have a sunny and fun weekend:)
Ps: do you guys hike a lot?
- August 20, 2010 at 1:31 PM
- size too small said...
so fun! what a great little city and so beautiful!
- August 20, 2010 at 2:18 PM
- style'n said...
how cool is that video and all the scenery...you live in a gorgeous city! and the song is so sweet too.
- August 20, 2010 at 2:34 PM
- FASHION BUTTER said...
That is so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!
- August 20, 2010 at 2:38 PM
- Melissa said...
Love it! And love your enthusiasm, too!
- August 20, 2010 at 3:26 PM
- Purses Pastries Etc... said...
Wow! You have every right to love it so much! Now, why aren't I living in Luzern??
- August 20, 2010 at 3:38 PM
- Connie @ SogniESorrisi said...
How great! Happy Weekend!
- August 20, 2010 at 3:47 PM
- Stacey said...
That's one of my favourite songs! Awesome sights too.
- August 20, 2010 at 3:51 PM
- katie said...
that was really awesome! the sights were so beautiful, especially the clouds rolling over the hills! i lived in Vienna for a year, and some of shots reminded me of it, wish i was still there!
- August 20, 2010 at 3:55 PM
- daisymay aka Chantele said...
OMG that film was awesome, I also love that song. Your town looks beautiful. Daisy Dayz Home
- August 20, 2010 at 3:58 PM
- its simple love said...
Neat! Love the music in it, gotta love owl city. And I love the story and concept behind it. Beautiful scenery! You live in such a beautiful place.
- August 20, 2010 at 4:00 PM
- Ms. Emily Ann said...
What a cool video! It is just gorgeous there!!
- August 20, 2010 at 4:08 PM
- christa said...
First, that video is awesome.
Second, that city is awesome. Love it.
- August 20, 2010 at 4:42 PM
OMG, your city is amazing. That part on the train is so funny.
Now I really want to visit your city (one day maybe, but not now)
Mia Bbook
- August 20, 2010 at 4:49 PM
- Krysten @ After 'I Do' said...
Love this!
- August 20, 2010 at 4:50 PM
- very married said...
you may judge me for this but i actually like this song... my husband definitely judges me for it :)
- August 20, 2010 at 4:55 PM
- Hollie said...
I had to mute the computer for this one. haha. I can't stand that song!!:\ But what a lovely place in which you reside.
- August 20, 2010 at 4:57 PM
- Heather {A Measure Of...} said...
Yay! so fun to see your city in stop motion! It is such a lovely place. I'm having so much fun being able to watch videos today! (Normally they just take way too long to download at home...). Also, thank you for the little pep talk :)
- August 20, 2010 at 5:09 PM
- L and T said...
Very nice, thank you for sharing!
- August 20, 2010 at 5:11 PM
- Nikki said...
Swiss Sundays. You are too cute, I can't stand it.
- August 20, 2010 at 5:37 PM
- Katie said...
Wow, I can't believe you get to live there! So pretty!
- August 20, 2010 at 5:57 PM
- Valerie said...
I love this! So pretty! Have a wonderful weekend.
- August 20, 2010 at 6:08 PM
- Ashley said...
That's really a beautiful city...and I think I'll have to visit :)
- August 20, 2010 at 6:16 PM
- Charlotte said...
The shots of the clouds over the mountains were all kinds of beautiful.
- August 20, 2010 at 6:19 PM
- THE ALTERNATIVE WIFE said...
WOW! I couldn't even imagine living in a place so beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing your lovely city with us!
Have a great weekend!
- August 20, 2010 at 6:34 PM
- Catita said...
you are lucky to live in such a nice city! I am jealous ;)
- August 20, 2010 at 6:38 PM
- Julie said...
Amazing...I want to go...NOW!!
Enjoy your weekend!
- August 20, 2010 at 7:20 PM
- ~*~ saskia ~*~ said...
Thinking here, I've never been to Luzern, must get it to the top of my list... have a great weekend, Krystal, filled with lots of FUN and SUN! xx
- August 20, 2010 at 7:25 PM
- Marie said...
What a cool video!:D Thanks for posting!:D
***** Marie *****
- August 20, 2010 at 7:50 PM
- Sarah Tucker said...
JB and I just really enjoyed this!!
thanks for posting.
we love your city!!
- August 20, 2010 at 8:04 PM
- Kristin said...
WOW, how cool!
- August 20, 2010 at 8:31 PM
I love it!
- August 20, 2010 at 9:25 PM
- April said...
Beautiful! I really want to make a stop-motion film of my own!
- August 20, 2010 at 9:36 PM
- Reina said...
thats so cool that it was in your city!!! wow that must be a lot of eye paintings. And hahah i love the eye's reaction to the couple making out on the bus.
ANd your city its SOOOO gorgeous! i love the mountains and the lake and the buildings and everything!
wouldnt it be hilarious if you were watching it andall of a sudden, BOOM there goes Krystal!haha
every been to any of those places?
in response to your question about what degree i want to get in college. well, its freaking up in the air. i have NO IDEA. can definatly say im not going to be a surgeon or rocket scientist though. the one thing i do know is that i will probably continue to take french in college so perhaps i'll minor in french?
- August 20, 2010 at 9:58 PM
- this free bird said...
So awesome!! I wanna visit! I need a full wallet!!
Oh Krystal - I loved when you said "this is my city". That was the BEST.
Have a great weekend, my dear. Aren't you running off to more fantastic places on a little trip?
- August 20, 2010 at 10:04 PM
- Liz said...
That is so creative!
- August 20, 2010 at 10:54 PM
- Paislea Elyse said...
this is so lovely! and so unique! thanks for sharing Krystal!
i hope that you have a fabulous weekend!
♥ allisterbee.blogspot.com
- August 20, 2010 at 11:02 PM
- jen said...
Hey Krystal, just wanted to thank you for sharing that custom world map collection in your previous post! I LOVE it and think it would be such a cute idea for a newly married couple to mark all of their travels in their new journey together... so I'm totally keeping it in mind for my future... hehee.
have a great weekend girl!
- August 20, 2010 at 11:57 PM
The video is awesome and the city is beautiful. I seriously need to get out of America and go see the world!
- August 21, 2010 at 2:58 AM
- Jammer said...
Very cool video...I need to start broadening my horizons asap.
- August 21, 2010 at 4:07 AM
- Kelly Leigh said...
oh man oh man thats adorable.
- August 21, 2010 at 4:16 AM
- Joanne Faith said...
Wow that is so cool, your city looks gorgeous too!
- August 21, 2010 at 10:47 AM
- jamie-lee said...
Cool video - I loved Lucerne when I was there last year, it is such a beautiful city!
- August 21, 2010 at 11:03 AM
- Metropolitan Mum said...
Gosh, I love this. Rivella, Ricola, Ragusa. I miss Switzerland! xx
- August 21, 2010 at 2:29 PM
- Audrey Allure said...
I love stop motion videos, and it looks like such a beautiful city you live in!
- August 21, 2010 at 3:47 PM
- Sasha B. said...
that is awesome! do u feel like a celeb? haha beautiful little town. :)
- August 21, 2010 at 5:26 PM
- S and O said...
That is so cool, I can't imagine how exciting it must be!!
P.s I love the song too :D
- August 21, 2010 at 6:37 PM
- bronwyn said...
Wow! It looks like you live in a very beautiful city. I love stop motion!
- August 21, 2010 at 7:02 PM
- Molly said...
You live in such a gorgeous place. So cool that you found that!!
- August 21, 2010 at 7:26 PM
- nookie said...
omg, it's gorgeous in Luzern, would love to visit it some day!
- August 21, 2010 at 7:40 PM
- Leia said...
What an amazing video!
♥ Leia
- August 21, 2010 at 8:45 PM
- Selma said...
I just love this! :) Yay Luzern!
- August 21, 2010 at 8:48 PM
- The girl of many sorts. said...
Thats one great video.and you are a lucky girl:)
Living there must be great:)
Have a nice evening:)
- August 21, 2010 at 9:15 PM
- Dressing Up For Me said...
Cute! The sights area wesome. Wish I´m there. :)
- August 21, 2010 at 11:11 PM
- Jess said...
What an amazing city you live in! You are so lucky, I had no idea it was that gorgeous. Makes me want to travel so badly!
- August 21, 2010 at 11:46 PM
- Kelly said...
That's fantatic, you are very lucky to live in such a wonderful city!
- August 22, 2010 at 1:47 AM
- MarchMusings said...
Amazing! I half expected you to make an appearance. Lovely Luzern
- August 22, 2010 at 2:10 AM
- Pop Champagne said...
sweet video. the idea is super neat with the eye. and OWL CITY!!! I love fireflies :D awwwwww
- August 22, 2010 at 2:24 AM
- Under Urooba's Umbrella! said...
This video is stupendously amazing!
Very creative and talented, the makers of these videos are!
Luzern seems like a BEAUTIFUL city--all the more reason to visit the Swiss!
- August 22, 2010 at 3:10 AM
- LyddieGal said...
stop motion is such a time intensive endeavor, I always have a bit of awe for it. This was very cool way to see your city, it looks beautiful!
Chic on the Cheap
- August 22, 2010 at 6:48 AM
- Kristina said...
how cool is this????
viele grüsse aus bern
- August 22, 2010 at 1:35 PM
- Lisa Lisa Lisa said...
This is so COOL!!! Loved seeing the sights!
And as for your comment; I'd love for you to introduce me to some European boys =) A trip to Switzerland would be INCREDIBLE!!! A gal can dream. Maybe after I finish my masters... a little reward trip? =)
- August 22, 2010 at 5:28 PM
- Nathalie said...
Oh My Gosh... I didn't realize you were from Luzern... My grandparents have a house there, so I go there almost every winter and I love it so much. It is a wonderful city and the video is fantastic. Thanks for sharing. You made my day :)
- August 22, 2010 at 9:40 PM
So cool! I love videos like this - and wow, your town is beautiful!
- August 22, 2010 at 11:51 PM
- The Zhush said...
Beautiful! Really takes me back to 1991...when I was there! :)
- August 23, 2010 at 2:20 AM
- Vampire said...
hey u have 2 awesome blogs , i love both and Sunday Photo is really inspiring
- August 23, 2010 at 2:55 AM
- Naoko Takagi said...
- August 23, 2010 at 6:56 AM
- Amy said...
that is so cool...so glad i watched! makes me want to go there asap! love the song too! it's not you in the video, is it?
- August 30, 2010 at 4:29 PM


text:
Gallery Weekend Berlin
Gallery Weekend Berlin begins today. A full weekend of art – the 12th Gallery Weekend Berlin, from 29 April to 1 May, will present established artists and promising newcomers, spanning historical and contemporary exhibitions of around 50 participating galleries from allover Berlin.
For more information visit the following sites:
– facebook.com/
– instagram.com/
– www.gallery-weekend-berlin
– twitter.com/GalleryWeekend

subset: commoncrawl


text:
As part of a WIPO program to unify the look and feel of its products, PATENTSCOPE is changing.
Try the new PATENTSCOPE look and feel. You can switch back from the Help > More menu
The following relates generally to the radiation therapy arts, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) arts, volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) arts, oncology treatment arts, and related arts.
In a typical intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) implementation, a beam of high energy particles (e.g. electrons, photons, protons, ions) is generated by a linear particle accelerator (linac). The target volume (e.g. malignant tumor) of an oncology patient is disposed in the path of the radiation beam. To more precisely irradiate the target volume while limiting radiation exposure of neighboring organs at risk (OARs), a multi-leaf collimator (MLC) is used to block designed portions of the radiation beam to provide a radiation beam of a desired shape. The MLC segments the radiation beam into "beamlets" that can be turned on or off by pre-programmed movement of leaves of the MLC. For additional dosage control, multiple beam pulses can be applied, with each beam pulse at a chosen energy and beam shape obtained by adjusting the beam energy and suitably configuring the MLC.
In conventional IMRT, the radiation beam produced by the linac is at a fixed spatial position and orientation, and the patient is also held in a fixed position to ensure precise conformance of the radiation distribution with the target volume. Accordingly, once the IMRT geometry is determined (i.e. the position of the target volume and OARs relative to the beam), dosage distribution is obtained by modulation of the beam energy over successive beam pulses in conjunction with MLC beam shaping. Some newer IMRT techniques provide further degrees of freedom, such as Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) which further incorporates rotation of the radiation beam to provide successive beam pulses at different beam angles or over a continuous arc. This provides further flexibility in tailoring the dose conformance to the target volume while limiting exposure of OARs and decreases delivery time.
The planning process for IMRT is complex, and is performed by specialized medical professionals such as an oncologist, physicist, and/or dosimetrist. Initially, the patient is imaged by a technique such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance
(MR) imaging. The CT or MR image constitutes a large three-dimensional (3D) image dataset capturing the target volume, OARs, and any radiation absorbing structures that may intersect the radiation beam path. The target volume and neighboring OARs are delineated in the 3D image data set, usually by contouring individual image slices. Automated or semi-automated contouring may be used to assist this process, but the final contours must be approved by appropriate medical personnel. The target radiation dose distribution is also defined, for example in terms of desired radiation dosage in the target volume (or at specific locations in that volume) and permissible radiation dosage tolerances in each OAR. These dose distribution parameters are commonly referred to as the objective, or objectives, of the radiation therapy plan.
Computerized IMRT planning is then performed to determine a program of beam pulses and their beam energies and MLC configurations in order to achieve the desired dose distribution objectives. MLCs used in clinical radiation therapy can modulate hundreds or even thousands of beamlets, and additional adjustments can be made in the number of beam pulses and the beam energy of each pulse. Consequently, the number of variables to be optimized is very large (e.g. N beamlets where N may be greater than 1000, times the number of pulses). In some commonly used inverse planning approaches, a fluence map for each beam pulse is calculated such that the fluence maps computed for the beam pulses combine to produce the desired radiation dose distribution in the patient. In determining the dose distribution from the fluence maps, the spatially varying radiation absorption of different tissues of the patient must be accounted for - this is usually done using the 3D CT or MR image, with suitable transformation, as a radiation attenuation map. Each optimized fluence map is then discretized into a map of beamlets, and finally the MLC configuration to obtain each such map is determined. This is merely an illustrative example and other IMRT planning algorithms may be employed, e.g. working directly with the beamlets without computing intervening fluence maps, but it will be appreciated that any such planning algorithm is computationally intensive. In practice, several hours of computing time may be required to perform an IMRT plan optimization operating on the patient-specific dosage targets, contours, and attenuation map and outputting optimized MLC configurations.
The final optimized IMRT plan is usually not unique, even for a preselected radiation beam orientation, patient position, and number of beam pulses. Conversely, in some cases the desired dose distribution may be unobtainable, or may be unobtainable for given preselected settings (e.g. beam/patient orientation, number of pulses). In this case the plan optimization will fail to converge to an ideal solution. The dosimetrist may then try different initial conditions or modify the existing parameters and repeat the optimization process, and this cycle may be repeated several times before arriving at a realizable IMRT plan that satisfies the plan objectives specified by the patient's doctor. If the dosimetrist is unable to generate a realizable plan that satisfies these objectives after several such attempts, further consultation with the patient's doctor may be required in order to adjust the optimization objectives to be physically realizable while providing the intended therapeutic value.
The following discloses a new and improved systems and methods that address the above referenced issues, and others.
In one disclosed aspect, a radiation therapy planning device comprises a computer including a display device, and at least one non-transitory storage medium that stores instructions readable and executable by the computer to perform operations including computing an achievability estimate for an intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) geometry including a target volume to be irradiated, an organ at risk (OAR), and at least one radiation beam based on relative spatial arrangement of the target region, the OAR, and the at least one radiation beam, and displaying the achievability estimate or information generated based on the achievability estimate on the display device.
In another disclosed aspect, a non-transitory storage medium stores instructions readable and executable by a computer to perform a radiation therapy planning method comprising: computing an achievability estimate for an intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) geometry including a target volume to be irradiated, an organ at risk (OAR), and at least one radiation beam based on comparison of a number NT of available beamlets of the at least one radiation beam that intersect the target volume and a number n of available beamlets of the at least one radiation beam that intersect both the target volume and the OAR; and displaying the achievability estimate or information generated based on the achievability estimate on a display of or operatively connected with the computer.
In another aspect, a radiation therapy planning method is disclosed. Using a computer, an achievability estimate is computed for an intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) geometry including a target volume to be irradiated, an organ at risk (OAR), and at least one radiation beam. To this end, a geometric complexity (GC) metric is computed for the IMRT geometry that compares a number NT of beamlets of the at least one radiation beam available in the IMRT geometry for irradiating the target volume and a number n of the NT beamlets that also pass through the OAR. A GC metric ratio is then computed of (i) the GC metric for the IMRT geometry and (ii) the GC metric for a reference IMRT geometry for which an IMRT plan is known to be achievable. The achievability estimate is displayed on a computer display.
One advantage resides in reduction in wasted computing time due to failed IMRT plan optimization attempts.
Another advantage resides in providing faster IMRT planning.
Another advantage resides in providing semi-automated guidance for selecting parameters of an IMRT plan prior to initiating IMRT plan optimization.
A given embodiment may provide none, one, two, more, or all of the foregoing advantages, and/or may provide other advantages as will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the present disclosure.
The invention may take form in various components and arrangements of components, and in various steps and arrangements of steps. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.
FIGURE 1 diagrammatically shows an illustrative intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning device in context with the imaging and radiation therapy delivery apparatuses.
FIGURES 2-6 diagrammatically illustrate examples of disclosed achievability estimation approaches disclosed herein.
FIGURES 7 and 8 diagrammatically show two illustrative IMRT planning methods that may be suitably implemented using the IMRT planning device of FIGURE 1.
In approaches disclosed herein, prior to performing the computationally intensive intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plan optimization, the clinician (e.g. oncologist, dosimetrist, etc) is given an efficiently computed achievability estimate, which provides an estimate of the likelihood that an IMRT plan can be generated for the IMRT geometry chosen by the clinician.
More particularly, the achievability estimate is determined for an IMRT geometry that includes a target volume to be irradiated (typically a cancerous tumor but possibly some other malignant volume such as a highly metastasized region of an organ), an organ at risk (OAR) of damage due to undesired radiation exposure, and at least one radiation beam. The achievability estimate is computed based on relative spatial arrangement of the target region, the OAR, and the at least one radiation beam. In the illustrative embodiments, the achievability estimate is not based on any dose objectives for either the target volume or the OAR (the latter being typically a maximum permissible dose).
The disclosed approaches for providing an efficiently computed achievability estimate are founded on several observations made herein. One observation is that the inability to achieve an IMRT plan for a particular IMRT geometry is due to situations in which the radiation beam intersects both the target volume (as desired) and also the OAR (which is undesired). More particularly, in IMRT the multileaf collimator (MLC) defines available beamlets, and any beamlet that does not intersect the OAR does not contribute to inability to achieve a workable IMRT plan for the IMRT geometry. On the other hand, any beamlet that intersects both the target volume and the OAR can contribute to inability to achieve a workable IMRT plan for the IMRT geometry, because applying that beamlet during IMRT delivery contributes to irradiating the target volume, but also contributes to undesired irradiation of the OAR. If this undesired irradiation of the OAR is too high (above the maximum permissible dose as defined by the therapy dose objectives) for any possible MLC configuration, then it is not possible to optimize a workable IMRT plan using that IMRT geometry. Hence, the disclosed achievability estimate is computed based on comparison of a number NT of available beamlets of the (at least one) radiation beam that intersect the target volume and a number n of available beamlets of the (at least one) radiation beam that intersect both the target volume and the OAR. The number n is less than or equal to NT, and in general the closer n becomes to NT the less likely it becomes that an IMRT plan can be optimized for the given IMRT geometry.
As used herein, the term "available beamlet" in the context of a given IMRT geometry refers to a beamlet of the radiation beam that, if not blocked by the MLC, will irradiate the target volume. In other words, "available beamlets" are those beamlets of the radiation beam modulated by the MLC that, if not blocked by the MLC, will intersect the target volume. Accordingly, the number of available beamlets is NT. Note that if the radiation beam area is large enough that peripheral portions of the radiation beam do not intersect the target volume, than any beamlets in those peripheral portions are not "available" beamlets, because they cannot contribute to irradiating the target volume even if unblocked by the MLC.
The actual dose objectives also impact achievability of an IMRT plan for a given IMRT geometry. However, it is recognized herein that this impact can be approximated, for the purpose of providing an estimate of the likelihood of achieving an IMRT plan, without actually performing the IMRT plan optimization (which, as discussed previously, is computationally intensive). In illustrative achievability estimates disclosed herein, the impact of the dose objectives is accounted for in approximate fashion by comparing a "geometric complexity" or GC metric computed for the IMRT geometry based on relative spatial arrangement of the target region, the OAR, and the at least one radiation beam with the same GC metric computed for a reference IMRT geometry. The reference IMRT geometry is preferably chosen to be an IMRT geometry for an IMRT plan with dose objectives similar to those desired for the current therapy. The maximum permissible dose for an OAR is typically related to known damage thresholds for various organs, while the dose objective for the target volume is similarly related to known dosage levels for clinical efficacy for treating a given type of cancer.
In view of the foregoing, the illustrative achievability estimates are computed based on relative spatial arrangement of the target region, the OAR, and the at least one radiation beam, and not based on any dose objective. In illustrative example, the achievability estimate is computed using a "geometric complexity" or GC metric that compares (i) the number NT of available beamlets (i.e. those that intersect the target volume) and (ii) the number n of those available beamlets that also intersect the OAR. In some embodiments, the GC metric for the IMRT geometry is compared with the GC metric for a reference IMRT geometry known to enable at least one achievable IMRT plan (preferably with similar dose objectives compared with the IMRT plan under current development), so as to approximately account for the impact of the dose objectives.
With reference now to FIGURE 1 , an illustrative intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning device is illustrated in context with the imaging and radiation therapy delivery apparatuses. The IMRT planning process begins with the patient being imaged at a radiology laboratory 10 using a suitable imaging device such as an illustrative computed tompography (CT) imaging device 12, a magnetic resonance (MR) imaging scanner, or so forth. The radiology laboratory 10 delivers a three-dimensional (3D) image 14 of the patient, or at least of the tumor or other IMRT target volume and neighboring organs at risk (OAR's). Commonly, the 3D image 14 is processed to generate an attenuation map 16 (or μ-map, sometimes also called an absorption map) which is used in the IMRT plan optimization to account for radiation absorption by various tissues of the oncology patient undergoing IMRT. For the illustrative 3D image 14 acquired by CT imaging, the attenuation map 16 is readily generated by converting the CT Hounsfield numbers to account for different absorption characteristics of the therapeutic radiation beam compared with the x-rays used for the CT imaging. Generating the attenuation map 16 from an MR image may be done, for example, by segmenting the image and assigning attenuation values to different segments of the segmented image.
The 3D image 14 serves as a planning image for planning the IMRT. To this end, the planning image 14 is contoured by a clinician (e.g. oncologist or dosimetrist) to define the target volume and any neighboring organs at risk (OARs) that may receive undesired radiation during the irradiation of the target volume. The contouring is typically a manual or semi-manual process performed by a clinician operating a user interfacing computer 20 having (or operatively connected with) a display 22 and one or more user input devices (e.g. a keyboard 24, mouse or other pointing device 26, touch-sensitive overlay of the display 22, and/or so forth). The computer 20 is programmed to provide a contouring graphical user interface (GUI) 28 via which the user can draw contours in slices of the 3D planning image 14 delineating the target volume and OARs. Additionally or alternatively, automated or semi-automated contouring may be provided, e.g. defining a contour as meshes surrounding the target volume and OARs with each mesh defined to include the points identified by the clinician during manual contouring and possibly also delineated by fitting the mesh to edges of objects identified by image gradients or the like.
The output of the contouring performed via the contouring GUI 28 (optionally with the assistance of semi-automated contouring; fully automated contouring is also contemplated, with review/approval of the clinician) is a set of contours 30 delineating the target volume and any OAR whose (undesired) irradiation is to be controlled. The clinician completes the IMRT geometry 32, which includes the target volume and OAR defined by the contours 30, by also choosing the orientation of the radiation beam (or radiation beams, if the IMRT delivery device can output multiple radiation beams simultaneously and/or at different times). The spatial location of the radiation beam respective to the target volume and the OARs is determined based on practical constraints (e.g., the patient is usually lying in a prone, i.e. face-down, or supine, i.e. face up, position), the need to position the target volume at or near the center of the radiation beam, and the desire to limit exposure of OARs. Thus, the IMRT geometry 32 includes the target volume to be irradiated, at least one organ at risk (OAR), and at least one radiation beam. A further input from the clinician for designing the IMRT plan is the dose objectives 34. Typically, these may include a minimum (and/or target) radiation dose to be delivered to the target volume, and a maximum permissible dose for each OAR. Each OAR may, in general, have a different maximum permissible dose depending upon radiation sensitivity of the particular organ. Some of the dose objectives 34 may be formulated as hard or soft constraints; e.g. the maximum permissible dose for a life-critical OAR may be a hard constraint to ensure safety of the patient.
Conventionally, with the IMRT geometry 32 and dose objectives 34 set, the IMRT planning would proceed to IMRT plan optimization performed by an IMRT plan optimizer 38, implemented on a suitably powerful computer 40 such as a network server computer, a cloud computing resource or other distributed computing system, or so forth. The IMRT plan optimization computer 40 may optionally employ specialized components (e.g. an ASIC) to perform some optimization operations. By way of non-limiting illustration, the IMRT plan optimizer 38 may employ an inverse planning approach in which a fluence map for the radiation beam is optimized to produce the desired dose objectives, using the attenuation map 16 to determine the radiation profile, and the resulting fluence map then discretized to generate the MLC configuration. The resulting IMRT plan 42 is stored in a non-transitory data storage and, at the scheduled time, the patient undergoes IMRT delivery performed using a radiation therapy delivery apparatus 44, e.g. comprising a linac to generate the radiation beam and an MLC to modulate the beam in accord with the IMRT plan 42.
It may be noted that in illustrative FIGURE 1 , the computer 20 implementing the contouring GUI 28 and the user interfacing for selection of the overall IMRT geometry 32 and the dose objectives 34 is separate from the computer 40 that is programmed to implement the IMRT plan optimizer 38. This is a common arrangement since the user interfacing computer 20 requires user interfacing components 22, 24, 26 and preferably includes features supporting the contouring such as an optional graphical processing unit (GPU) or other graphics acceleration hardware and so forth; whereas, the IMRT plan optimizer 38 is preferably implemented on a high-capacity computer or computing network or cloud computing resource providing sufficient computing power. However, it is contemplated for a single computer to implement or support both the user interfacing aspects 28, 30, 32, 34 and the IMRT plan optimizer 38. For example, another suitable implementation is a network server computer or computer cluster (e.g., a server or servers on a hospital electronic network) and one or more "dumb" terminals or personal computers connected with the network server computer(s) - in this implementation, the user interfacing components of the terminal or personal computer provide for the contouring and so forth, while the optimization is performed on the network server computer(s) with the results displayed on the terminal or personal computer.
As previously noted, the IMRT plan optimization entails hundreds or thousands of parameters to be optimized, and may take several hours of computing time. Depending upon the choice of IMRT geometry 32 and dose objectives 34, the IMRT plan optimization may fail to converge to a physically realizable solution - in this case the clinician must return to the planning stage by updating the IMRT geometry 32 and/or the dose objectives 34, or in some cases may even need to go back to the contouring GUI 28 to update the target volume and/or OAR contours. Such a circumstance wastes valuable computing resources and clinician time, and may delay time-critical delivery of radiation therapy to the patient.
To alleviate these potential problems, the illustrative IMRT planning device of FIGURE 1 further includes an IMRT plan achievability estimator 50, which may be variously implemented on the user interfacing computer 20, or the IMRT optimization computer 40, or on a combined computer performing both functions, or so forth. The IMRT plan achievability estimator 50 estimates likelihood that a physically realizable IMRT plan can be generated by the IMRT plan optimizer 38 for the chosen IMRT geometry 32. This estimation is done based on the IMRT geometry 32 (including the target volume and OAR definitions and the chosen radiation beam(s)), but in the illustrative embodiments does not rely upon the dose objectives 34. Rather, in illustrative embodiments the user selects, from a reference IMRT plans database 52, an IMRT plan with a similar IMRT geometry and (preferably) similar dose objectives, and a geometric complexity (GC) metric is computed for the chosen IMRT geometry 32 and for the IMRT geometry of the reference IMRT plan. Based on comparison of the GC metric and the reference GC metric, the achievability is estimated. In general, if the GC metric of the chosen IMRT geometry 32 is significantly higher than the reference GC metric, this indicates that chosen IMRT geometry 32 presents a significantly more geometrically complex situation making it less likely that an IMRT plan can be successfully optimized for the geometrically complex IMRT geometry. The resulting IMRT plan achievability estimate is suitably displayed on the display 22. The display may be a numeric value, or may be translated to a textual achievability estimate value such as "Achievable", "Possibly achievable", "Probably not achievable", or "Not achievable" by binning the numerical achievability estimate and selecting the textual achievability estimate value based on the binned numerical estimate.
It should be noted that the achievability estimate is intended as guidance for the clinician as to whether it is advisable to proceed with the IMRT plan optimization for the chosen IMRT geometry 32. Because of this, the achievability estimate can have a significant level of error, i.e. in some cases the achievability estimate may indicate an IMRT plan optimization is achievable when in actuality it turns out the IMRT plan optimizer 38 is unable to generate a physically realizable plan; or vice versa. The IMRT plan achievability estimator 50 serves a useful purpose if it is usually accurate, i.e. if usually when it predicts an IMRT plan is achievable it is correct, and if usually when it predicts an IMRT plan is not achievable this is correct. This is sufficient for the IMRT plan achievability estimator 50 to significantly reduce wasted optimization computing time and clinician time.
Having provided an overview of the IMRT planning device, which includes the IMRT plan achievability estimator 50, with reference to FIGURE 1 , in the following some illustrative examples of some suitable IMRT plan achievability estimations are provided. The illustrative IMRT plan achievability estimators in general operate based on comparison of (i) a number NT of available beamlets of the at least one radiation beam that intersect the target volume and (ii) a number n of available beamlets of the at least one radiation beam that intersect both the target volume and the OAR. More particularly, a geometric complexity (GC) metric is defined as follows:
n + 1 n + 1
where V is the volume of the target volume (e.g. the volume of the tumor to be irradiated) and N = NT/V is the number of available beamlets per unit volume of the target volume. It will be appreciated that other similar GC metrics could be used, e.g. in some embodiments no normalization is employed (yielding GC = (n + 1)/NT). The in Equation (1) reduces certain possible division-by-zero scenarios, but is in general optional (e.g., GC = n/N is contemplated).
With reference to FIGURES 2 and 3, two illustrative examples of the efficacy of Equation (1) for estimating achievability are shown. FIGURES 2 and 3 diagrammatically illustrate two examples of a target volume and an OAR being irradiated by a single radiation beam. In this example, the number NT of available beamlets is four. (This is diagrammatic: as already noted, in practical IMRT implementations NT is typically on the order of hundreds or thousands). In the example of FIGURE 2, all four available beamlets pass that intersect the
target volume also intersect the OAR, so that n = 4. This results in a high value for the GC metric of Equation (1), indicating high geometrical complexity and a low likelihood of achieving a successful IMRT plan optimization. By comparison, FIGURE 3 shows a different IMRT geometry in which only one of the beamlets that intersect the target volume also intersects the OAR, leading to n = 1. This results in a low value for the GC metric of Equation (1), indicating low geometrical complexity and a high likelihood of achieving successful IMRT plan optimization. (For example, that single beamlet intersecting the OAR could be shuttered off by the optimized MLC configuration).
With reference to FIGURES 4 and 5, an example with three radiation beams is shown. In general, the three radiation beams may be applied simultaneously, or at successive time intervals, e.g. in accord with a volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) approach. (Since it is typically the time-integrated dose delivered in a single radiation therapy session to the target volume and OARs that is of importance, the time interval between successive radiation beam pulses is not relevant and the successive radiation beam pulses can be viewed as separate radiation beams). In this example, each radiation beam is modulated into four beamlets (again, a simplistic diagrammatic example), so that for the three radiation beams NT = 4 x 3 = 12. In the example of FIGURE 4, one beamlet of the leftmost radiation beam also intersects the OAR, one beamlet of the middle radiation beam also intersects the OAR, and three beamlets of the rightmost radiation beam also intersect the OAR. Thus, n = 1 + 1 + 3 = 5, and from Equation (1) the GC metric is (^j V. In the example of FIGURE 5, two beamlets of the leftmost radiation beam also intersects the OAR, two beamlets of the middle radiation beam also intersects the OAR, and all four beamlets of the rightmost radiation beam also intersect the OAR. Thus, n = 2 + 2 + 4 = 8, and from Equation (1) the GC metric is V. It follows that the IMRT geometry of FIGURE 4 is more likely to yield an achievable IMRT plan optimization (because of its lower GC) as compared with the IMRT geometry of FIGURE 5 (because of its higher GC).
With reference to FIGURE 6, if there are two or more OARs this can be handled in various ways. Illustrative FIGURE 6 shows two OARs denoted as "OAR #1" and "OAR #2", respectively, along with two radiation beams. The horizontal radiation beam has four beamlets intersecting OAR #2 with none intersecting OAR #1. The vertical radiation beam has three beamlets intersecting OAR #1 and one beamlet intersecting OAR #2. In one approach, the two OARs are treated as a single OAR, i.e. there is a single OAR which is the union of the individual OARS (e.g. here the single OAR is {OAR #1 U OAR #2} . In this
case, n = 8 (since every beamlet intersects at least one of the constituent OARs) and NT = 8, so that the GC metric is V. The very high value of the GC metric indicates low likelihood of achieving an optimized IMRT plan with this IMRT geometry. This is useful information, but does not inform the clinician as to which OAR is most significantly lowering the likelihood of successful plan optimization.
In another approach, each OAR is treated separately: in this case, the GC metric for OAR #1 is V and the GC metric for OAR #2 is (^ V. The clinician is thus informed that OAR #2 is more significantly lowering the likelihood of successful plan optimization as compared with OAR #1. However, in this approach the individual GC metric values may strongly overestimate the likelihood of achieving an optimized IMRT plan - in the example of FIGURE 6, each individual GC metric is significantly lower than the GC metric when considering both OARs, thus overestimating the likelihood of achieving an optimized IMRT plan. In one approach, the "total" GC metric treating both OARs together and having value in this instance of V is displayed (thus indicating a very low achievability likelihood), and additionally the GC metric for each OAR is also displayed to provide assistance in determining which OAR(s) adversely impact achievability. (In similar fashion, the GC metric for each individual radiation beam could be displayed to indicate which beam or beams is adversely impacting achievability of an optimized IMRT plan).
In some contemplated embodiments, the GC metric of Equation (1), or a variant such as one of the variants described herein which omits the term and/or omits the volume (V) normalization, is used as the achievability estimate. It can be seen from the examples of FIGURES 2-5 that as GC increases, the number n of beamlets that intersect both the target volume and the OAR increases, reflecting greater geometric complexity and consequent lower likelihood of successful IMRT plan optimization. However, relying upon GC directly as the achievability estimate does not provide any mechanism for considering the impact of the dose objectives 34, as Equation (1) is a purely geometrical analysis. In practice, the dose objectives 34 will also impact whether an IMRT plan can be successfully optimized. For example, as the maximum permissible dose to the OAR is reduced (as compared with the intended dose for the target volume), it becomes more difficult to achieve an optimized IMRT plan satisfying that lowered maximum permissible OAR dose. Conversely, as the maximum permissible dose to the OAR is increased it becomes easier to achieve an optimized IMRT plan since more radiation dose can be absorbed by the OAR. But computing the doses delivered to the target volume and the OAR would entail performing the IMRT
plan optimization, which would defeat the goal of performing an initial achievability estimate before performing the computationally complex IMRT plan optimization.
In illustrative embodiments, instead of basing the achievability estimate on any of the dose objectives 34, this information is semi-quantitatively taken into account by comparing the GC metric computed via Equation (1) for the IMRT geometry 32 under consideration with a reference GC metric computed, again via Equation (1), for a reference IMRT geometry of an IMRT plan that was actually optimized. Hence, the reference IMRT geometry is known to enable successful optimization of an IMRT plan (since this has been done for the reference IMRT geometry in the past). The reference IMRT plan chosen from the reference IMRT plans database 52 is preferably chosen to be as close as possible to the IMRT plan to be developed - in particular, the reference IMRT plan should have the same or similar IMRT geometry to the chosen IMRT geometry 32, and the dose objectives of the reference IMRT plan should be close to the dose objectives 34 of the IMRT plan to be developed. The reference IMRT plan may be selected manually, e.g. by having the clinician browse past IMRT plans stored in the database 52, or may be selected automatically, e.g. by closest match of the IMRT geometry and dose objectives, or by a combination thereof, e.g. automatically selecting those past IMRT plans for the same OAR and the same type of radiation therapy (e.g. same type of cancerous tumor) and having the clinician browse this sub-set of past IMRT plans for the closest plan. Moreover, in embodiments in which the achievability estimate is computed for each OAR separately, as discussed with reference to FIGURE 6, it is contemplated to employ a different reference IMRT plan for estimating the achievability for each OAR. (This could also be extended to the case in which two or more target volumes are to be irradiated; achievability of each OAR/target volume combination can be estimated separately using a reference IMRT plan chosen for the OAR target volume combination). The GC metric for the chosen reference IMRT plan is suitably computed as:
Nr,ref /Vref
where Equation (2) is identical with Equation (1) except for use of the subscript-re/ to indicate values for the reference IMRT plan geometry. The achievability estimation is then based on the GC-ratio:
In the achievability estimate formulation of Equation (3), the volume normalization (N = NT/V) is useful to approximately account for differences in tumor size when comparing the IMRT plan to be developed with the reference IMRT plan. Again, this is optional, especially if the database 52 is large enough that the clinician can usually select a reference IMRT plan for a similarly sized tumor. The optional factor is also seen to avoid the possibility of division-by-zero in the case of nref = 0. The GCrati0 of Equation (3) approximately takes into account the dose objectives since a GCrati0 of about unity corresponds to the reference IMRT geometry which was known to be achievable. However, the achievability estimation of Equation (3) is not based on any dose objective (and hence does not require performing the computationally intensive dose optimization), but rather is based on the IMRT geometry 32 and the reference IMRT plan and its GCref value.
In some embodiments, the achievability estimate is the quantitative value, e.g. the GC metric of Equation (1) if no reference is used, or the GCrati0 of Equation (3) if the reference IMRT plan is used. However, these numerical values may not be intuitive for the clinician, especially since in both cases a higher value corresponds to lower likelihood of achievability which might be seen as counterintuitive. In illustrative embodiments, the GCratio is binned and a look-up table, shown as Table 1 herein, is used to convert the numerical value to a textual achievability estimate value that has manifest semantic meaning. It is to be understood that the quantitative values in illustrative Table 1 are representative, and that specific values for the GCrati0 bins may be chosen for specific types of IMRT planning and for the general IMRT geometric layout. It should also be noted that due to the achievability estimate being an estimate, the category of "Achievable" does not imply certainty that an IMRT plan can be optimized for a geometry having an "Achievable" estimate, but rather indicates a high likelihood that such a plan will be achievable; likewise, "Not achievable" does not conclusively mean that an IMRT plan cannot be optimized with the geometry, but only that such optimization is highly unlikely.
Table 1 - Interpretation of GC ratio
>1.3 "Not achievable" NA
1.2 to 1.3 "Probably not achievable" PNA
1.0 to 1.2 "Possibly achievable" PA
<1.0 "Achievable" A
The achievability estimation of Equation (3) with the interpretation of Table 1 was applied to estimate achievability with respect to an OAR consisting of the right parotid duct in the context of head-and-neck IMRT planning. The experiments were carried out as follows. A reference Head and Neck plan was first created in which all the clinical objectives have been met through optimization. The GCref metric associated with each segmented clinical structure (OAR) was extracted for the reference plan. The GC metric was computed for the right parotid duct OAR for other Head and Neck cases and these GC metric values were compared against the respective reference GCref values obtained in the reference case. The geometric complexity ratio (GCrati0) of Equation (3) was then computed, and the value converted to a textual achievability estimate value using Table 1. In the IMRT geometries, seven equiangular beams at: 0°, 50°, 100°, 150°, 200°, 250°, and 300°, were used in all cases. The achievability estimate of Equation (3) and Table 1 correctly predicted the IMRT plan optimization result about 85% of the time. This is sufficient for the disclosed achievability estimator to significantly reduce wasted computational and clinician time by avoiding performing IMRT plan optimizations that are likely to fail to succeed.
With reference to FIGURE 7, an IMRT plan optimization achievability estimation method suitably performed using the IMRT planning device of FIGURE 1 is shown. In an operation 60 the reference IMRT plan is selected from the reference IMRT plans database 52. This may be done manually by the clinician by browsing the past IMRT plans to find a plan that is similar in terms of the IMRT geometry 32 and the dose objectives 34, or may be done automatically or semi-automatically by a computer search of the database 52. In an operation 62 the GC metric is computed for the IMRT geometry 32, for example in accord with Equation (1). In an operation 64 the GCref metric is computed for the IMRT geometry of the reference IMRT plan, for example in accord with Equation (2). In some embodiments the operation 64 is performed offline for all past IMRT plans in the database 52 and stored as {IMRT plan, GCref} data pairs. In an operation 66, the GCrati0 is computed, for example in accord with Equation (3). Optionally, this is converted to a textual achievability estimate value, for example using Table 1. In an operation 70 the clinician reviews the achievability estimate and decides whether an IMRT plan optimization is likely to be
achievable. This decision may take into account factors other than the achievability prediction, such as availability of computer time (e.g., if the workload on the computer 40 is low then a lower-likelihood IMRT geometry may be pursued). If the decision 70 is affirmative then in an operation 72 the IMRT plan optimizer 38 is invoked to attempt to generate an optimized IMRT plan. If the decision 70 is negative then in an operation 74 the clinician adjusts the IMRT geometry (e.g., modifies the radiation beam angle, and if necessary may adjust the contours) and may try again.
In another aspect, the disclosed approach can be used to optimize the IMRT geometry prior to performing the IMRT plan optimization. One can infer from the GC metric that an IMRT geometry (e.g. the beam angle or position) suitable for a particular case may not be suitable for a different case. Since the GC metric is based on the IMRT geometry including the beam configuration respective to the target volume and the OAR(s), it is possible to formulate a radiation beam configuration selection problem using the GC metric, which can be solved using an iterative solver. In the following illustrative example, the beam configuration is chosen based on a combination beam angle, collimator angle and couch angle. Consider, for instance, the GCratio obtained for different OARs, treating each OAR separately as previously discussed with reference to FIGURE 6. The optimization may be formulated as:
+ ψ(¾(ι - ίΓ'°)2
where F is the objective function to be minimized, GC^atio is the GCrati0 from Equation (3) for each OAR where k = 1, ... , K, and Wk , k = 1, ... , K is a weight for each OAR indicating the importance assigned to the kth OAR. In general, a larger value for Wk indicates greater importance for keeping the irradiation of OAR #k below its maximum permissible dose. The function 0(1 ^) is a binary selection function:
> i
An iterative solver can be used to minimize F, which will iterative ly fine-tune the radiation beam configuration such that the cumulative GCrati0 (i.e. the sum of ratios for all OARs in the IMRT plan) is as low as possible. By minimizing F, it is ensured that the radiation beam configuration is optimal to a given IMRT task with respect to the reference IMRT plan used to compute the GCrati0 values.
In the foregoing examples, the reference IMRT plan is chosen by the clinician based on similarity with the IMRT plan (geometry and dose objective) currently under development. In other embodiments, the GC metric is computed for the IMRT plan under development, and this GC metric is used to automatically search the reference IMRT plans database 52 to identify a reference IMRT plan (or two, three, or several reference IMRT plans) with similar GC (i.e., having GCref close to the GC computed for the IMRT plan under development). In this approach, only the geometry 32 of the IMRT plan under development is needed as an input in order to compute GC, and the dose objectives of the identified reference IMRT plans can then be used as guidance to the clinician in designing dose objectives 34 that are likely to be achievable.
With reference to FIGURE 8, an IMRT plan optimization achievability estimation method employing this alternative approach is is shown. In an operation 80 the GC metric 82 is computed for the IMRT geometry 32, for example in accord with Equation (1). In an operation 84 the reference IMRT plans database 52 is searched to identify one or more references IMRT plans whose GCref metric is most similar to the GC metric 82 computed for the IMRT plan geometry 32 intended for the IMRT plan under development. This search 84 is preferably automated, and is fast since it merely compares GC 84 against each GCref stored in the database 52. (This assumes that the GCref values are pre-calculated offline and stored in the database 52, which is preferred in this embodiment; alternatively, the GCref metrics could be computed for each potential reference IMRT plan in the database 52, but this would then need to be re-done each time the method of FIGURE 8 is executed for a new IMRT plan under development). Various criteria can be used for selecting the reference IMRT plan(s), such as selecting up to N plans whose GCref is sufficiently close to GC 82 as measured by a suitable closeness metric, e.g. percent difference. The value of N could be as low as one (in which case a single closest reference IMRT plan is select) or could be higher, e.g. if N=5 then up to five closest reference IMRT plans are chosen. In an operation 86, information on the closest reference IMRT plans is displayed. This information may include, for example, the geometry, the dose objectives, information on patient outcome (if available), and/or so forth. The clinician is thus provided with salient information for a set of one or more similar reference IMRT plans, which may, for example, be referenced by the clinician in a manual operation 88 in which the clinician chooses the dose objectives 34 for the IMRT plan under development.
As previously discussed, the disclosed IMRT planning operations are suitably implemented by one or more computers 20, 40 executing instructions (e.g. a program) stored on at least one non-transitory storage medium. The at least one non-transitory storage medium may, for example, include one or more of: a hard drive or other magnetic storage medium; an optical disk or other optical storage medium; a flash memory or other solid-state electronic memory; various combinations thereof, or so forth.
The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Modifications and alterations may occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.


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SEO Attack
Google's Matt Cutts on SEO: A Retrospective (2011-2014)
Panda. Google vs. Bing. Penguin. Guest blogging. The years of 2011 to 2014 were nothing short of tumultuous for the search industry. And as the voice and face of Google, Matt Cutts felt the wrath of angry webmasters and marketers.
Scaling SEO Across Your Enterprise Business – The Human Element
Scaling SEO at your company is not just about SEO - success is also dependent on leadership, project management, and efficient process.
What's the Deal With Links From M.Biz? Should You Disavow?
Do links from m.biz have a negative SEO impact on your site? Do you need to disavow them to be safe?
Competitive Analysis for Panda Using SEMrush [Tutorial]
There's a lot you can learn from analyzing websites in your niche that have been impacted by Panda. This post explains how to use SEMrush to drill into organic and paid search data in order to surface problematic content, keyword targeting issues, usability problems and more.
Is SEO Dead? NOOOOOOO!
Enough! The authors and publishers of "SEO is dead" articles must stop trying to pass off mythical and erroneous statements as facts and stop talking negatively about the industry with only a surface knowledge of what it takes to succeed at SEO now.
Fake Googlebot Activity up 61% [Report]
One in every 24 visits is a fake Googlebot. Identifying bad bots can be tricky; some are very sophisticated, especially the ones mimicking Google. Here are some steps you can take to verify whether you're getting faked visits.
Panda 4.0 Help: Google Clarifies Tremors, 3 Analogies for Diagnosing Hits
Panda is a confusing topic for many webmasters. This post covers new learnings from Panda 4.0 and provides three analogies that can help ailing webmasters better diagnose Panda attacks.
4 Ways to Avoid Getting Hit by Negative SEO or New Unnatural Links
When it comes to unnatural links, companies need to remain vigilant. This post explains four actionable methods for tracking new unnatural links, so businesses can avoid negative SEO attacks, future Penguin hits, and manual actions.
Matt Cutts Says 'Stop' Guest Blogging for SEO: Here's Everything You Need to Know
Google's Matt Cutts, in a personal blog post, declared that "guest blogging is done" as an SEO tactic, setting off a firestorm. Here's a full recap of why this happened, how the industry reacted, and what it means for future of guest blogging.
Google Penguin 2.1: Who Got Hit?
Penguin is back, and link spam cannot run and hide. With the 2.1 data refresh, G-Squared Interactive looked at factors that triggered 2.1,and said culprits included forum spam, blogroll spam and spammy directories, to name a few.


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Full card announced for ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS on 10/26
ONE Championship™ has just announced the complete card for ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS, set for Friday, 26 October, at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar. In the main event, reigning ONE Middleweight World Champion "The Burmese Python" Aung La N Sang of Myanmar will defend his title against Mohammad Karaki of Lebanon.
Aung La N Sang is Myanmar's most successful athlete in history, whose impressive submission skills have earned him the moniker of "The Burmese Python." Born in Myitkyina in the mountainous Kachin State, he belongs to an ethnic minority known as the Kachin. Aung La N Sang captured the ONE Middleweight World Championship with a unanimous decision victory over Vitaly Bigdash in June 2017. In February 2018, he defeated Brazil's Alexandre Machado to be crowned the ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion. Next up, the 33-year-old is set to defend his middleweight title against Mohammad Karaki.
Undefeated Lebanese mixed martial arts star Mohammad "O Lutador" Karaki is a 27-year-old athlete with an unblemished professional record of 9-0. The Phoenix Middleweight Champion, Karaki is considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists from the Middle East. He also formerly held the Desert Force Light Heavyweight and Middleweight titles. Of his nine victories, only one bout reached the final bell. With five submissions and three captivating knockouts to his name, Karaki is a feared finisher who is expected to bring the firepower when he meets "The Burmese Python" Aung La N Sang for the ONE Middleweight World Championship.
Friday, 26 October
Thuwunna Indoor Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar
Main Event
ONE Middleweight World Championship
Aung La N Sang (C) vs Mohmmad Karaki
Mixed Martial Arts: 93.0kg
Rafael Nunes vs Movlid Khaibulaev
Mixed Martial Arts: 70.3kg
Phoe Thaw vs Keanu Subba
Mixed Martial Arts: 70.3kg
Ibrahim El Bouni vs Tarik Khbabez
ONE Super Series Kickboxing: 102.1kg
Emilio Urrutia vs Kazuki Tokudome
Mixed Martial Arts: 70.3kg
Han Zi Hao vs Ryan Jakiri
ONE Super Series Kickboxing: 65.8kg
Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke vs Himanshu Kaushik
Mixed Martial Arts: 56.7kg
Luis Santos vs Daichi Abe
Mixed Martial Arts: 83.9kg
Ye Thway Ne vs Mite Yine
Mixed Martial Arts: 56.7kg
Ma Xu Dong vs Ahmad Qais Jasoor
Mixed Martial Arts: 65.8kg
Joseph Lasiri vs Josh Tonna
ONE Super Series Kickboxing: 61.2kg
Rudy Agustian vs Asraful Islam
Mixed Martial Arts: 61.2kg
All ONE events stream live and free on the SUPER APP - Download here: http://bit.ly/ONEApp
Ticket information is available at www.onefc.com.
For more updates on ONE Championship please:
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text:
Building 1: "Step-Fret" Designs
The Geometric designs above Building 1 on the west side of the Church Group. The designs are called "step=fret" motifs and are common across the Americas – north, central and south. They are also not dissimilar to the ziggurat and pyramid designs of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
These designs were created by slotting pieces together like a jigsaw without any mortar. The tightness and complexity without mortar means that the pieces can flex during seismic activity which has prevented them from breaking apart over the past 700 years.
© Robin Heyworth, taken on 29th December 2001


text:
Current Newswire:
Linux vendors rush to patch privilege escalation flaw after root exploits emergeJan 25, 2012, 17:00 (4 Talkback[s])
[ Thanks to Amy Bennett for this link. ]
Linux vendors are rushing to patch a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Linux kernel that can be exploited by local attackers to gain root access on the system.
Related Stories:


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Date: Nov 28, 2019
Location: Aliso Viejo, CA, US
Company: Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Job Description:
Under the direction of the Site Supervisor or Site Manager, the Medical Assistant and Lead for the Hoag Medical Group - HMTS performs a variety of back-office and clerical duties in support of the patient care activities, ensuring even patient flow and continuous communication within HMG-HMTS, referring physician offices, and Organizational staff. The Medical Assistant and Lead displays and practices a work-style that reflects the mission, vision, and values of the Hoag Medical Foundation as well as Hoag Hospital. Participates in the continuous quality improvement process. Maintains a working knowledge of departmental standard operating procedures, including the use of specialized instrumentation, Quality Control requirements, and preventive maintenance.
Essential Functions
- Greets and assists multiple patients, ensuring the promptness of their service:
- Utilizes positive verbal tone while speaking with patients/customers in person or on the telephone.
- Answers telephones, schedules appointments, and handles front-office responsibilities as needed.
- Under the guidance of the Site Supervisor or Site Manager the Medical Assistant will:
- Escorts patients to the exam room.
- Assists the RN by collecting recording and reporting patient-specific data that includes: TPR, BP, RR and HR
- Collects and handles lab specimens as directed, according to protocol.
- Clarifies all directions so patient care is completed without delay or confusion.
- Promptly reports unusual observations or changes in patient condition/behavior.
- Assists physicians with examinations and procedures and carries out orders as directed.
- Ensures patient care is delivered and the unit is maintained in accordance with professional regulatory standards.
- Coordinates patient flow and ensures care in a timely manner.
- Completes unit tasks such as cleaning exam areas, cleaning exam tables, instruments, emptying trash, and running errands.
- Restocks supplies in each treatment room, maintaining an appropriate par level. Notifies appropriate staff members when supplies are needed to be ordered.
- Prioritizes workload and completes all assignments in a timely manner.
- Demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate population as outlined in the job description and competencies.
- Position may require local travel between various Organization locations. (Mileage compensation will be provided)
- Position may require participating in meetings outside of normal business hours including occasional evenings and/or weekends. (Compensation will be awarded per hours worked according to the wage and hour laws).
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Education, Training, and Experience
Medical Assistant
- High school graduate or equivalent
- Graduate of Medical Assistant program or equivalent work experience
- Minimum one (1) year previous medical back-office experience, preferably within an acute healthcare system environment
Skills or Other Qualifications
- Excellent communication skills; customer focused; excellent attention to detail; able to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines; strong interpersonal skills; able to work in a team environment.
- Basic keyboarding skills at 35 WPM.
- Basic knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word and Excel.
- Proven ability to interface with all customer levels (physicians, Organizational staff, insurance companies, patients and family members).
- Basic knowledge of medical terminology
Qualified bilingual or multilingual candidates
License and Certifications
BLS certification
A Certified Medical Assistant or a valid current Limited Phlebotomy Certification
Nearest Major Market: Orange County
Nearest Secondary Market: Los Angeles
Job Segment: Medical, Medical Technologist, Medical Assistant, Clerical, Law, Healthcare, Administrative, Legal
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Did you follow @wayofgray when I used to post 5 times a day?
It's crazy to think that I've posted less in this last year than I used to in a month.
Oh how things have changed.
I feel like I haven't stopped talking about it, but if you missed it, let me fill you in. Over a year ago I had a panic attack on a flight home from New York. The panic attack resulted in a 38 hour drive home. You can see the full story here, but long story short: I was forced to look at my life and the real me.
The real me wasn't stoked about being the fitness personality I was known as. She also wasn't stoked that I was putting my physical health over my mental wellbeing.
With this transition, there has been a lot of confusion to the message behind Way of Gray. While I have touched on what Way of Gray is about multiple times (with this article here) it's not only my social media channels that have evolved. I have, too.
I'd attached my entire identity to what Way of Gray was, so it's taken me some time to land on what the real Sophie Gray is into.
So, here it is…. Here's how I'm spending my time these days…
Crying With My Girlfriends In Moon Ceremonies
I put this first because it's the thing I'm most excited about. I've never had a group of girlfriends. I always would laugh at the fact that I had thousands of women following me when all of the ones I went to high school with didn't like me.
Reflecting back, I totally get it. During school I was in a dark place, and people don't love hanging around super blunt, sarcastic and angry people.
SO YAH, the biggest change in my life has been my new found group of girlfriends. We're all in similar paths in our life and have bonded through our love for crystals, the moon and talking about our feelings. Fuck, I seriously love these girls.
Moon ceremonies are something I have gotten into recently, and to put it simply: you gather on/around the full and/or new moon, sit in a circle, burn incense, pull tarot cards, journal, meditate and most importantly, you cry. Crying isn't a prerequisite, but it is encouraged.
I never truly understood the importance of girlfriends until I found these women.
Going years without close friends, I understand how difficult it can be to form these relationships. I created our Way of Gray Facebook Community Group exactly for that reason. If you're in need of love and support from your fellow sisters, add yourself into the group here!
Reading Self Help Books
I always would claim to be a slow reader. I used this excuse to get me out of reading, but forget that. I am alllll about those self help books. I've also found that it's been a beautiful way for me to take time for myself. I am also all about phone-free time right now, and reading is a perfect substitute.
Some of my favourites include You Can Heal Your Life, The Universe Has Your Back and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.
Eating Delicious Food
I have always loved food. When I was young, my mum would have to bribe me with lunch to get me to leave the house.
My love for delicious food took a turn when I got into clean eating. I went to school for nutrition and it completely changed the way I felt about food. I started viewing it as the thing keeping me from looking a certain way.
Clean eating is still a huge part of my life. And no, I don't have any exact percentages or care to discuss the concept of cheat meals. But, enjoying food is now a priority for me.
If I want a cookie, I have a cookie. If I want a green smoothie, I have a green smoothie. If I want delicious pizza, I'm eating delicious pizza.
The only thing my diet doesn't have room for these days is a shitty relationship with food.
This isn't about disrespecting my body or telling you to eat like shit. For me, I have formed a relationship with my body and through this I have found MY balance. I've learned what my body likes and doesn't like. I've learned what it can tolerate in small amounts whilst ensuring that it's still taken care of.
The best piece of advice I can give when it comes to finding this balance is to start a conversation with yourself. Become your own best friend. Get to know yourself and your body.
Guilt Free Living
I cannot begin to explain the relief I have felt over this past year not having to worry about getting the perfect six pack selfies for @wayofgray.
I know no one ever directly put this pressure on me, but it was still there.
This last year has been filled with delicious food, a lighter workout schedule, massages, millions of hours at the dog park, family dinners, new niece cuddles and simply living.
My obsession with Way of Gray's image before had me miss out on all of these things. They may sound simple to you, but for me it's been an absolute life changer.
It feels like I can breathe again.
My friends (omgggggg, I can say I have these now!) know I'm the journaling obsessed one in the group.
My advice always sounds something like:
"Tune in. Ask yourself."
I don't say this because I don't care to offer up advice, but because I stand strongly in the belief that we know the answers to our questions.
Journaling has been the one tool that has radically changed my life. I turn to it day in and day out to work through my experiences and get to know myself.
[I even put together 5 questions you can journal about that will help jump start your self acceptance journey. You can get them here.]
Before signing off here, I just want to thank you.
I want to thank you for being here throughout this transition. It's been incredibly hard for me to step away from what @wayofgray once was, and I am so grateful for your presence and patience throughout this change.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.


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Interesting… A handy-cam that fits perfectly in your hand. Sanyo's Xacti HD2000 appears small and simple (not much to the design) but this baby is a decent leap for compact video recording.
The HD2000 has image quality of 8 megapixels for still photos and 5.3 megapixels for video recording (supports SD and SDHD cards up to 32gb). A much more impressive edition than its predecessor, the HD1000, it shoots in beautiful high definition quality at 60 fps.
Its 10X zoom and 50-3200 ISO range (INSANE!) makes it a small but heavily impressive camera.
Don't judge a book by its cover (or do… it doesn't look THAT bad).
Sanyo's Xacti HD2000 Is Much More Than Meets The Eye
Andrew Robichaud — May 30, 2009 — Tech
References: sanyo & akihabaranews


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_AK_ wrote:We will be the uncrowned king there
_AK_ wrote:BTW I am just watching the scores online so don't what exactly happened.
_AK_ wrote:we don't deserve to win
Sandeep Mewara wrote:they will get a direct entry to 'dumb & useless' teams group... where India stands alone right now!
Sandeep Mewara wrote:I pity our team for not having any good upcoming/old spin bowler.
Abhinav S wrote:Or batsman, or fast bowlder, or fielder, or slip catcher, or silly point specialist, or.....
come on yaar, the list is endless.
Abhinav S wrote:Aur Dinda ****** unki taraf se khel raha hai.
General News Suggestion Question Bug Answer Joke Praise Rant Admin
Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.


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The Breaking Of The Corporate Media Monopolyhttp://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/2017/850-the-breaking-of-the-corporate-media-monopoly.html
Publisher: Media Lens
Date Written: 15/06/2017
Year Published: 2017
Resource Type: Article
Cx Number: CX21004
Alternative articles are being shared more widely online than the views of mainstream newspaper commentators. Discussed in relation to 2017 UK election.
It is obvious that the right-wing press the Daily Mail, the Sun, The Times and Telegraph play a toxic role in manipulating the public to favour elite interests. But many people are now realising that the liberal press is actually the most potent opponent of progressive change. Journalist Matt Kennard commented:
'The Guardian didn't get it "wrong". It is the mouthpiece of a liberal elite that is financially endangered by a socialist program.'
In truth, the Guardian sought to destroy Corbyn long before he became Labour leader (see here and here). This means that it did not target him because he was an ineffective leader imperilling Labour. And this hostility was no aberration, not a well-intentioned mistake that they got 'wrong'. To this day, the Guardian remains Blair's great cheerleader, despite his awesome crimes, just as it was Hillary Clinton and Obama's cheerleader, and just as it was Bill Clinton's before them.


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2012 29th Annual Carl A. Warns, Jr. Labor & Employment Law Institute
Phil Eschels will be presenting: "Ethics & Professionalism: Exploring the Boundary Between Zealous Advocacy and Lawyer Misconduct" on Friday, June 22, 2012 at the 29th Annual Carl A. Warns, Jr. Labor & Employment Law Institute.
CLE Credit: The Institute will provide 13.5 hours of CLE credit from the Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana Bar Associations, including two (2) hours satisfying the Kentucky ethics requirement. This program has also been approved for 13.5 (General) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute. Participants wishing certification of their attendance for other states should submit all required forms and instructions.
Registration Fee: The registration fee is $395. A ten percent discount will be granted to all law firms or organizations registering two or more persons before May 1, 2012. This fee includes presentation materials, continental breakfast, lunch, refreshment breaks and a list of all participants.
Cancellations and Refunds: Fees cannot be refunded for registrations cancelled after June 15, 2012.
For additional information and to register for this event, please click here.
Louisville Marriott Downtown Hotel
280 W. Jefferson Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40202


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|06 Sep 2012
Windows Virtual PC: "Cannot attach the virtual hard disk ..." error
Got a new Win7 Enterprise 64 bit machine, found that it did not come with virtual PC. Downloaded the critical patch Windows6.1-KB958559-x64-RefreshPkg.msu and installed it. Windows Virtual PC shows up in my Start Menu. Good so far. I go through the steps to create a virtual machine and use the option to 'use an existing vhd file' and when I click 'Create' I get the above pop-up message "Cannot attach the virtual hard disk to the virtual machine. Check values and try again". A factual message but completely useless as with all error messages from Microsoft. I have tried the following:
1. When I attach that vhd using Disk Management, it mounts in drive E:, I can see the files and browse the dirs in E:. In the Disk Management View, the drive shows up as 127 Gigs but 107 is unallocated space. The physical size of the vhd is only 25 Gigs
2. Others in my company were able to create the virtual machine with the same vhd, checked the byte size and timing, so nothing is wrong with the vhd file itself.
3. Tried to create after shutting down all virus protection including the Micorsoft antimalware protection service. No luck
4. Tried Vhd resize to resize the vhd to a smaller size (since it showed up in disk management as 127 Gigs, I thought maybe it was that size), but VHDResizer could not open the input file, gave an errors "Can only load fixed or dynamic drives"
What else can I do? Help!!! I have been at this for three days now. Thanks in advance.
|My System Specs
|07 Sep 2012
I found out that I needed Windows XP Mode, So I installed that on my Win 7. That ones installs a VM during its install process which comes up looking good. Now when I try to connect my VHD to another hard disk, it gives me this error "One of the parent hard disks of c:\blah\blah .. appears to have been modified without using differencing disk."
Am I missing the base disk and the VHD I am trying to attach is just a differencing disk? Could that be my problem?
Thanks in advance,
|My System Specs
|07 Sep 2012
MS Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit
Got a new Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit machine,
|My System Specs
|07 Sep 2012
IT Dept. questions?
Hey Karl, Thanks for the reply.
Do you know what I can ask the IT administrator? The strange thing is that other developers who followed the same steps were successful in creating a VM from the same VHD and I believe that they also have Win-7 Enterprise edition. I will however double check that.
thanks again,
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Its first appearance since being acquired by Paradox Sideshows was the Kustom Kulture Forever festival in Herten, Germany.
The show being set up
Kustom Kulture Forever is an rock-a-billy/classic car/low-brow themed event that demanded an edgier show than would be presented at at kermis/funfair. Although there was a family program in the daytime the festival went long into the night and after the sun went down burlesque dancer Marlene Dúebois was added to the line-up.
People line up for the night show
The show featured classic fairground illusions the headless lady, the bottomless lady, the floating princess as well as real and shocking fakir show from classic sideshow performer Zamora The Torture King .
The show in action.
Although the show is on the road it needs upkeep and repair as well as a new truck that can pass the current European environmental standards. There is a crowd-funding web-site set up to help keep the show alive and on the road for future generations to enjoy. Take a look at GoFundMe.com/EuropeanSideshow.


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Commercial Lease
- $24 price
- 1024025 mls id
- Square Feet: 20,839 sqft
- Status: Active
Tarragona Shoppes - NEW Retail/Office Center For Lease on InternationalSpeedway Boulevard.Pylon Signage available.Across the street from Daytona State College.Westbound turn lane into center.Terrific lines of sight and visibility on International Speedway Boulevard.Rare opportunity for Banks, Retail or Offices.Just minutes to Halifax Health Medical Center, Daytona Beach InternationalAirport, Daytona International Speedway and Interstate 95.114 parking spaces.Join Dunkin' Donuts w/ drive-thru, Valencia Nail & Spa, Marco's Pizza,iFixScreens, State Farm, and Affordable Dentures.
Related Listings
Commercial Lease
11 Pictures
Class A Office located on the Intracoastal Waterway. Adjacent to restaurants and marinas. 1,200 to 5,400 sf available for lease. TI allowance negotiable. Building is in heart of Daytona. Plenty of parking. 24 hour security.
825 Ballough Road Daytona Beach, FL
Listing Agent: Richard McNerney
Courtesy of: Adams, Cameron & Co., Realtors (Commercial)
Courtesy of: SVN Alliance Commercial Real Estate Advisors
Office Phone: (386) 310-7900
Listing Agent: Carl Lentz
Updated: 2nd December, 2019 4:22 PM.
1173 W Intl Speedway Boulevard Daytona Beach, FL


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Updated at 6:15 p.m. ET
CYPRESS, TEXAS More than a dozen people were wounded when a suspect went building-to-building in an apparent stabbing attack at a Texas college campus Tuesday, authorities said.
The attack about 11:20 a.m. on the Lone Star Community College System's campus in Cypress sent at least 12 people to area hospitals, including four people taken by helicopter, according Sheriff Adrian Garcia of Harris County. Of the 12 people hospitalized, two people were in critical condition, three people were upgraded from fair to good condition and one was soon released. Two people had refused treatment.
Garcia confirmed that one white 21-year-old male was in custody, which CBS Houston affiliate KHOU identified as Dylan Quick. Witnesses told the police department a man was "on the loose" and attacking people. After reviewing video evidence, police have determined the rest of the student body is safe and that there are no other suspects.
Lone Star officials initially urged people on campus, about 25 miles northwest of downtown Houston, to take shelter and be on alert for a second suspect. But Gilliland said a short time later that authorities believed just one person was responsible. He did not say whether the suspect is a student.
"It was the same suspect going from building to building," Gilliland said.
Gilliland said the attacker is believed to have had some type of knife or a pencil, but authorities could not immediately confirm the weapon used.
Student Teaundrae Perryman said he was in class when he received a text message from a friend and went outside to see a young woman being loaded into an ambulance with what appeared to be stab wounds to either her neck or head. He said he didn't receive an email alert from the college until 11:56 a.m.
"I was concerned but I wasn't afraid because I was with a large group of people," the 21-year-old said, later adding, "The police got to the scene very quickly."
The four people flown by helicopter and two others with moderate injuries were taken to Memorial Hermann Texas Trauma Institute.
One student said she learned one of her classmates was stabbed after leaving the school's Health Science Center building.
"I called to check on another classmate who was still inside the building and she said the classroom was on lockdown and she said one of the classmates had been stabbed," said Margo Shimfarr-Evans told CBS Houston. "It happened in the hallway."
Courtland Sedlachek, 18, was in class when his phone started buzzing along with the phones of everyone else in class. The room was temporarily locked down, but students were let out and off campus a short time later, in what Sedlachek described as an orderly evacuation.
He described his reaction as a "little bit of nervousness."
The attack came three months after a different Lone Star campus was the site of a shooting in which two people were hurt. The suspected gunman in that incident is charged with aggravated assault.
© 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Lots of Roku channels and apps available. Easy to set up and conceal on Roku Ready HDTVs.
Requires an MHL HDMI port for power. Compatibility with non-Roku-Ready HDTVs is spotty. Roku boxes aren't that large, so the space saving is negligible.
Bottom Line
The tiny Roku Stick can turn your HDTV into a connected media hub without taking up any shelf space, but its finicky requirements keep it from being useful to all but a handful of users. You're better off with a Roku box.
If your HDTV doesn't already have integrated Wi-Fi and online services, you need to get a media hub or a Blu-ray player for access to services like Netflix and Hulu Plus. Roku has been one of the biggest brands for watching streaming content on your HDTV for years, and it's always needed a bit of room on the shelf for its small box. The Roku Stick changes that. Instead of a box you have to plug into the wall and the HDTV, the tiny USB-drive-like Roku Stick ($99.99 direct) plugs directly into an MHL-equipped HDMI port, and offers the same features as the Roku 2 XS box including support for 1080p video. It's a smart idea, but the MHL port requirement and spotty compatibility makes it a tough sell for most.
Similar Products
The purple Roku Stick is the size of a large USB flash drive, measuring just 2.7 by 1 by 0.4 inches (HWD). It has a single HDMI plug and a power light, with no buttons or other indicators on the device. Functionality is controlled through the included remote, which is larger than the stick and is nearly identical to the motion-sensing game controller remote that comes with the Roku 2 XS.
The bundled remote is rounded and simple, with a four-way direction pad, basic playback controls, Back and Home buttons, and multi-use A and B buttons that let the remote double as a game controller when turned sideways. There are Volume buttons on the right side of the remote, and can adjust your HDTV's volume directly through HDMI-CEC if yout TV supports it. The remote is motion-sensing, and can play games like Angry Birds through the Roku Stick. You can also control the Roku Stick with your HDTV's remote via HDMI-CEC, and free iOS and Android apps let you use your smartphone or tablet to navigate the menus and control playback.
To set up the Roku Stick, just plug it into an MHL-equipped HDMI port and it will start up, registering as a Roku device you can select like any other video source. MHL is commonly used to connect smartphones and other devices to HDTVs and keep them powered, and is relatively uncommon in today's TVs. Roku recommends using the device with "Roku Ready" devices that are confirmed as compatible, including a few Hitachi and Insignia HDTV models and a single projector from 3M. A standard HDMI port won't work, but the Roku Stick worked fairly well with the MHL-equipped HDMI input on the Oppo BDP-103 Blu-ray player, but I noticed some input lag and freezing when the Roku Stick was connected to the Oppo that didn't appear when it was connected to a Roku Ready Hitachi HDTV.
Channels and Conclusions
Once plugged in and booted (a process that can take a few minutes), the Roku Stick acts just like a Roku box. For a more detailed look at Roku services, check out our Roku 2 XS review. The stick wirelessly connects to the Internet with its dual-band 802.11 b/g/n radio and can access the several hundred "channels" offered through Roku's services. The typical online services are all here, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, and Vudu, along with niche and cult movie services like Kung-Fu Theater, Midnight Pulp, and FrightPIX. There are also news and weather channels like NBC News and Weather Underground, sports channels, including NBA Game Time and MLB.TV, photo and video services like Picasa and Flickr, and games like Angry Birds and video poker. These channels can vary from free to premium, with some services like HBO Go requiring separate subscriptions. If you don't want to spend any additional money, though, there are still plenty of channels to watch.
The Roku Stick is a unique and very compact way to equip your HDTV with Web services and apps, but its dependence on an MHL HDMI port and emphasis on "Roku Ready" devices makes it useful for only a handful of people. A stick that gets power from a USB port would be much more versatile and better justify a $100 price. You're better off with another Roku product. The Editors' Choice Roku LT offers very similar features, albeit with 720p video output, for $50. And the same-price Roku 2 XS outputs in 1080p and offers identical features. And the Roku boxes aren't much larger than hockey pucks. The space savings aren't worth the limitations that come with the Roku Stick.
More Media Hub Reviews:
Facebook Portal TV
Roku Ultra (2019)
Sony PlayStation Vue
Nvidia Shield TV (2019)


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My buddy has a 1937 scout. The forks though I believe are off a vertical twin. The spokes are failing and need to be replaced but, the rim says: Made in England. W.M.2.19 Jones and then I think it says NFF.
The hub says 1239002 2, then an N with a circle around it.
I attached a couple phots. Trying to get spokes for it. Any ideas? It was a race bike. The spokes that are in it now, look like someone used a washer around the spoke at the hub.


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Tracy Morgan is said to be recovering well from his life-threatening accident over the weekend, but that does not mean that the actor and comedian is in the clear just yet.
With Morgan recovering from surgery to help heal his many broken bones, there are now reports that his leg may be in danger of needing to be amputated. A hospital source has told Media Takeout:
"[Morgan] suffered a number of traumatic injuries, the most serious is his leg. It was crushed during the accident. [Doctors] are working hard to save his leg, but it looks like they may have to amputate."
This is hearsay at best, so by no means does this mean Morgan's leg will be amputated. However, it does hammer home the seriousness of the crash and how lucky the comedian is to be alive at all.
We'll provide updates as we receive them.
UPDATE: THR is reporting that the Wal-Mart truck driver who hit Morgan's limo bus had not slept in over 24 hours at the time of the crash. A criminal complaint has been filed in Trenton, NJ district court citing the driver's sleep deprivation as one of the causes of the accident. He'll have his initial court appearance on Wednesday morning, where will be charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto.
UPDATE #2: Morgan's rep has issued the following statement:
"Tracy remains in critical but stable condition. His fiancée Megan is by his side. The concern for his well-being has been overwhelming, but Megan is respectfully asking that the media await official word through these channels before speculating (mostly inaccurately) on his condition. Rumors about amputating his leg are completely fabricated. As we shared yesterday, Tracy had surgery on his broken leg. We are working closely with the incredible staff at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital to share information when it is available. This recovery will be arduous and we hope that you can be patient during this difficult time. Thank you."
[via UPROXX]


text: Hi, I have an application where I need to convert RGBA images(png) to P images (gif or png). I use im.convert("P") to do the conversion. The problem comes with alpha channel. The resulting P mode image does not contain any tranparency information. Transparency is set to none and transparent pixels are set to black (in my test). I tried to add an alpha channel after the conversion with im.putalpha(alpha). This converts the image back to RGBA mode. Is there a smart way to do the convertion ? Nicolas Pinault


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Mass Effect, the space drama that spawned one of the best trilogies of last generation, may be coming to the current generation according to the boss of Bioware. The popular trilogy, confirmed to have a fourth on the way, already has a laundry list of requested specifications for Bioware to follow from fans to bring the titles up to the level of quality the players believe each deserve. This trilogy could probably use a possibility such as this with the lasting controversy behind Mass Effect 3's ending still fresh in many fans' minds.
On the gaming forum NeoGAF, Aaryn Flynn, head of Bioware Montreal and Edmonton, took to fans and sifted through their various requests for this Mass Effect remaster possibility. He told the group that there are some requests that repeatedly pop up such as achieving 1080p and 60 frames per second, the inclusion of all downloadable content and the proper integration of those pieces into the proper gameplay section. On the content front, Flynn explained that it all "should just be there," revealing his goal to have as little intrusive downloads to reach this extra content as possible.
This Mass Effect trilogy remaster possibility seems to focus highly on Bioware's first entry in the series and bringing that one, as well as the other two, up to this generation's par. The original Mass Effect is, in many ways, a completely different game than the two follow-ups, bringing role-playing game elements into the spotlight to place a backing on the gunplay. Two and three moved further into an action territory for a lot of fans, and Flynn highlights that the same will probably not be happening to the original in this collection. "It would be a helluva lot of work," was Flynn's first reason, followed by a second—the dislike of "retconning" that entry—and third that pointed out the wide fan base of that first title when compared to the third.
Flynn also makes it clear that while his cohorts are preparing for their "N7" holiday discussion, the company had nothing to announce in regards to Mass Effect quite yet. Some of those that offered their insight in the forum speculated that such a reveal was saved for the developer talk, but that will not be the case according to Flynn. Their developer roundtable is today (Nov. 7) at 10 AM Pacific Standard Time and can be viewed on the official Bioware Twitch page below.
The Mass Effect trilogy left many fans with a bitter taste after what was, for most, an exceedingly engrossing and different form of storytelling. The ending of the third entry turned many fans on Bioware themselves, prompting everything from angry emails to an entire campaign that prompted a piece of free content for "further clarification" on their ending. That was not enough for some, but did little to slow the sales of the series as a whole. Overall, the Mass Effect trilogy has sold over 14 million copies with the second entry selling the most (4.8 million) and the third entry close behind at a little over 4 million units sold to date.
By Myles Gann


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The University of Trento is partner of the Invest your talent in Italy programme which offers the opportunity to students from Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mexico, People's Republic of China, Tunisia, Turkey and Vietnam to attend selected Master's courses in English in prestigious Italian universities.
The programme combines university lectures with practical on-the-job training with an Italian company.
Once selected, students will have access to scholarships, fee exemption, Italian language courses, internship in an Italian company and cultural activities.
More information on the programme: http://www.postgradinitaly.esteri.it/postgradinitaly
Deadline: January 31, 2019 until 12.00 (Midday, Italian Time) for applications for academic year 2019/2020
Master's courses offered by the University of Trento included in the programme:
The Invest your talent in Italy program is promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Uni-Italia (Centre for the academic promotion and orientation of study in Italy) and Italian Trade Agency (ICE) in collaboration with Unioncamere (Italian Chambers of Commerce) and Confindustria (Confederation of Italian Industry).