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Acid ! | Mark Foreman's Blog
Posted on June 19, 2010 by Mark Foreman
We all know that a puddle of water will slowly evaporate, the spill of water on the floor will become smaller and then disappear. I was working recently with some concentrated sulphuric acid and I recalled that sulphuric acid has a very high affinity for water. I have always thought that the classic mineral acids can be defined in the following table.
Acid name Acid formula True character
Nitric acid HNO3 Oxidant
Sulphuric acid H2SO4 Dehydration agent
Phosphoric acid H3PO4 Dehydration agent
Hydrochloric acid HCl Source of chloride anions
Perchloric acid HClO4 Kinetically inert oxidant (The sleeping dragon)
Note that the addition of a little nitrous acid to nitric acid will convert the oxidant to the rampant oxidant. I know that nitric acid without a catalyst can be slow to react at first. For instance the oxidation of cyclohexanones with nitric acid always needs a little V2O5 to get it going. Once it gets going it is a very vigorous reaction.
But lets get back to sulphuric acid, now I know that you all like to see those dramatic chemical reactions. The jets of flame, reactions which belch sparks and thunderous explosions etc etc etc. Here is one which is rather less dramatic, but it still teaches an important point.
Take a beaker, weigh it and pour in a little concentrated sulphuric acid. Weight it again, leave it to stand and keep weighing it now and then. What you will soon discover is that the mass (weight) of the sulphuric acid will increase with time. Here is a graph of the results of the experiment. I will add the graph soon
This proves that sulphuric acid absorbs something from the air. We now need to think at length about sulphuric acid. It is a strong dehydration agent which is able to react with water, it also happens to be an acid. It is important that we understand that chemicals do not just react in one way.
Nitric acid for example can act as a base. When nitric and sulphuric acids are mixed the sulphuric acid protonates the nitric acid.
H2SO4 + HNO3 goes to HSO4– + H2NO3+
The protonated nitric acid then loses water, the concentrated sulphuric acid helps with this by combining with the water to give us the NO2 cation which is responsible for most nitration reactions.
H2NO3+ goes to H2O + NO2+
Filed under: acid, Chemistry, experiment |
« How to off the bugs, or maybe how not to off the bugs ! Acid ! part 2 »

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David Schauer, Hanson Mcclain Inc: Profile & Biography - Bloomberg
Fund Manager Pathway Advisors Growth and Income Fund, 6/2011-PRESENT
Chief Investment Officer Hanson Mcclain LLC, 3/2010-PRESENT
Fund Manager Pathway Financial Advisors LLC, PRESENT
Fund Manager Pathway Advisors Aggressive Growth Fund, 4/2015-7/2016
Fund Manager Pathway Advisors Conservative Fund, 6/2011-7/2016
Hanson Mcclain LLC, 1998-UNKNOWN
University of San Francisco Master's Degree, 2005
University of California Bachelor's Degree, 1992-1997

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The Oxford handbook of deliberative democracy (Book, 2018) [WorldCat.org]
I thought you might be interested in this item at http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1047870897 Title: The Oxford handbook of deliberative democracy Author: Andre Bachtiger Publisher: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2018 ISBN/ISSN: 9780198747369 0198747365 9780191064562 0191064564 9780191064579 0191064572 9780191809699 0191809691 OCLC:1047870897
The Oxford Handbook of Deliberative Democracy is the authoritative guide to deliberative democracy, mapping the field and exploring its links to other research fields, spanning social sciences, law, and philosophy. Read more...
Find more information about: Andre Bachtiger
9780198747369 0198747365 9780191064562 0191064564 9780191064579 0191064572 9780191809699 0191809691
1047870897
Preface1: Andre Bachtiger, John Dryzek, Jane Mansbridge, and Mark Warren: IntroductionPart I: Roots of the Deliberative Approach2: Antonio Floridia: The Origins of the Deliberative Turn3: Simone Chambers: The Philosophical Origins of Deliberative Ideals4: Francesca Polletta and Beth Gardner: The Forms of Deliberative Communication5: Jensen Sass: Deliberative Ideals Across Diverse Cultures6: Martin Hebert: Indigenous Sphere of DeliberationPart II: Theory of Deliberative Democracy7: David Estlund and Helene Landemore: The Epistemic Value of Democratic Deliberation8: Stephan Rummens: Deliberation and Justice9: Edana Beauvais: Deliberation and Equality10: Monique Deveaux: Deliberative Democracy and Multiculturalism11: Mark Brown: Deliberation and Representation12: Stephen Elstub: Deliberation and Participatory Democracy13: Andrew March and Alicia Steinmetz: Religious Reasons in Public Deliberation14: Gerry Mackie: Deliberation and Voting Entwined15: Michael Morrell: Listening and Deliberation16: Michael McKenzie: Deliberation and Long-Term Decisions: Representing Future GenerationsPart III: Deliberation within Political Systems: Forums, Publics, and Systems17: Paul Quirk, William Bendix, and Andre Bachtiger: Institutional Deliberation18: Graham Smith and Maija Setala: Minipublics and Deliberative Democracy19: James Fishkin: Deliberative Polling20: Simon Niemeyer and Julia Jennstal: Scaling Up Deliberative Effects - Applying Lessons of Minipublics21: Rousiley Maia: Deliberative Media22: Kim Strandberg and Kimmo Groenlund: Online Deliberation23: Pamela Johnston Conover and Patrick Miller: Taking Everyday Political Talk Seriously24: Donatella della Porta and Nicole Doerr: Deliberation in Protests and Social Movements25: Carolyn Hendriks and John Boswell: Governance Networks26: John Ferejohn: Deliberation and Citizen Interests27: John Parkinson: Deliberative Systems28: Michael Neblo and Avery White: Politics in Translation: Communication Between Sites of the Deliberative SystemPart IV: Deliberative Approaches within Disciplines and Fields29: Christian List: Democratic Deliberation and Social Choice: A Review30: Nicole Curato and Jurg Steiner: Deliberative Democracy and Comparative Democratization Studies31: John Gastil and Laura Black: Deliberation in Communication Studies32: Thomas Risse: Arguing and Deliberation in International Relations33: Christopher Karpowitz and Tali Mendelberg: The Political Psychology of Deliberation34: Thomas Leeper and Rune Slothuus: Deliberation and Framing35: Erik Schneiderhan and Shamus Khan: Deliberation in Sociology36: Frank Fischer and Piyapong Boossabong: Deliberative Policy Analysis37: John Forester: Deliberative Planning Practices Without Smothering Invention: A Practical Aesthetic View38: David Ponet and Ethan Leib: Deliberative Law39: Hoi Kong and Ron Levy: Deliberative Constitutionalism40: Alfred Moore: Deliberative Democracy and ScienceMethods41: Andre Bachtiger: Preface to Studying Deliberation Empirically42: David Esterling: Deliberation and Experimental Design43: Mark Bevir and Quinlan Bowman: Qualitative Assessment of DeliberationPart V: Practical Applications44: Janette Hartz-Karp, Lyn Carson, and Michael Briand: Deliberative Democracy as a Reform Movement45: Lawrence Susskind, Jessica Gordon, and Yasmin Zaerpoor: Deliberative Democracy and Public Dispute Resolution46: Daniel Naurin and Christine Reh: Deliberative Negotiation47: Ian O'Flynn and Didier Caluwaerts: Deliberation in Deeply Divided Societies48: Walter Baber and Robert Bartlett: Deliberative Democracy and the Environment49: Ryan Gunderson and Thomas Dietz: Deliberation and Catastrophic RisksPart VI: Deliberative Democracy Around the World50: Beibei Tang, Tetsuki Tamura, and Baogang He: Deliberative Democracy in East Asia: Japan and China51: Ramya Parthasarathy and Vijayendra Rao: Deliberative Democracy in India52: Emmanuel Ani: Africa and Deliberative Politics53: Thamy Pogrebinschi: Deliberative Democracy in Latin America54: Erik Eriksen and John Erik Fossum: Deliberation Constrained: an Increasingly Segmented European Union55: William Smith: Transnational and Global DeliberationPart VII: Reflections56: Interview with Jurgen Habermas57: Robert Goodin: If Deliberation Is Everything, Maybe It's Nothing58: Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson: Reflections on Deliberative Democracy: When Theory Meets Practice
Andre Bachtiger; [edited by] John S. Dryzek, Jane Mansbridge, Mark E. Warren.
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Patent US7289678 - Image transformation method and apparatus, and storage medium - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsImage data is separated into two components having elements arranged in a checkered pattern. A dummy setting component is obtained of the signal value occurring at the hole position of the first component, which is dummy-set corresponding to the direction of signal change of the first component. The...http://www.google.com/patents/US7289678?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7289678 - Image transformation method and apparatus, and storage mediumAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS7289678 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/008,969Publication dateOct 30, 2007Filing dateDec 13, 2004Priority dateMay 12, 2000Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS6868187, US20020039448, US20050089236Publication number008969, 11008969, US 7289678 B2, US 7289678B2, US-B2-7289678, US7289678 B2, US7289678B2InventorsWataru ItoOriginal AssigneeFujifilm CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (10), Non-Patent Citations (3), Classifications (9), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetImage transformation method and apparatus, and storage medium
US 7289678 B2Abstract
Image data is separated into two components having elements arranged in a checkered pattern. A dummy setting component is obtained of the signal value occurring at the hole position of the first component, which is dummy-set corresponding to the direction of signal change of the first component. The dummy setting component is subtracted from the second component to obtain a difference component, which is the high-frequency component. By performing weighted addition on the signal value occurring at the hole position of component 1 and the signal value of the difference component, an addition dummy setting is obtained, and is then added to component 2 to obtain the low-frequency component. By repeatedly subjecting the low frequency-component to this processing, the image data can be transformed into the high-frequency components and the low-frequency components of a plurality of frequency bands.
1. A method, which is applied to an image signal, comprising:
separating the image signal into first and second component signals, each of the first and second component signals comprising a plurality of elements;
assigning dummy set values to the second component signal elements, wherein the dummy set value assigned to each second component signal element is based on signal values of surrounding first component signal elements;
obtaining a high frequency component signal using the dummy set values;
utilizing the high frequency component signal to obtain a compressed version of the image signal; and
storing the compressed image signal.
the first and second component signals are obtained as a checkered pattern of elements in the image signal, and
determining the dummy set value of each second component signal element includes:
choosing a direction in relation to the second component signal element based on an associated change in signal values of the surrounding first component, wherein the change in signal values associated with the chosen direction is smaller than the change in signal values associated with another direction; and
calculating the dummy set value based on the signal values of the surrounding first component signal elements along the chosen direction.
the second component signal element is surrounded by two first component signal elements (a, d) along a lust direction, and two first component signals (b, c) along a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, and
the dummy set value is calculated according to:
if |(Sa−Sd)|<|(Sb−Sc)|,Sx=(Sa+Sc)/2, and
if |(Sa−Sd)|≧|(Sb−Sc)|,Sx=(Sb+Sc)/2;
Sx is the dummy set value,
Sa and Sd are signal values for the first component signal elements a and d, respectively, and
Sb and Sd are signal values for the first component signal elements b and c, respectively.
determining whether a change in signal values of the first component elements, which surround the second component signal along a particular direction, is below a threshold; and
if the change in signal values is below the threshold, calculating the dummy set value based on the signal values of the surrounding first component signal elements along the particular direction.
the second component signal element is surrounded by two first component signal elements (a, d) along a first direction, and two first component signals (b, c) along a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, and
the dummy set value is calculated according to at least one of:
if |(Sa−Sd)|<Th1,Sx=(Sa+Sd)/2,
if |(Sb−Sc)|<Th2,Sx=(Sb+Sc)/2, and
if |(Sa−Sd)|≧Th1 and |(Sb−Sc)|≧Th2,Sx=(Sa+Sb+Sc+Sd)/8;
Sn and Sd are signal values for the first component signal elements a and d, respectively, and
Sb and Sd are signal values for the first component signal elements b and c, respectively, and
Th1 and Th2 are the corresponding threshold values for the first and second directions, respectively.
obtaining a vector representing a direction and amount of change in the signal values of first component signal elements surrounding the second component signal; and
calculating the dummy set value based on the obtained vector if the change in the signal values meets a threshold.
if P<Th,Sx=(Sa+Sb+Sc+Sd)/4, and
if P≧Th,Sx=(Sa·cosθ+Sb·sinθ+Sc·cosθ+Sd·sinθ)/(2sinθ+2cosθ);
Sa and Sd are signal values for the fast component signal elements a and d, respectively, and
Sb and Sd are signal values for the first component signal elements b and c, respectively,
P and θ are the magnitude and the direction, respectively, of the obtained vector, and
Th is a threshold value for the magnitude of the obtained vector.
the high frequency component signal includes an element corresponding to each second component signal element, and
a signal value is obtained for each high frequency component signal element by calculating a difference between a signal value and the assigned dummy set value of the corresponding second component signal element.
obtaining a low frequency component signal using the first component signal and the high frequency component signal.
the low frequency component signal includes an element corresponding to each element of the first component signal, and
a signal value is obtained for each low frequency component signal element by:
assigning an additive dummy set value to the corresponding first component signal element based on signal values of surrounding high frequency component signal elements; and
calculating a sum of a signal value and the assigned additive dummy set value of the corresponding first component signal element.
the corresponding first component signal element is surrounded by four second component signal elements (e, f, g, h), and
the additive dummy set value, which is assigned to the corresponding first component signal, is calculated according to:
Sy=(Se+Sf+Sg+Sh)/8;
Sy is the additive dummy set value, and
Se, Sf Sg, and Sh are signal values of the high frequency component signal elements correspond jug to the second component signal elements e, f, g, and h, respectively.
12. The method of claim 9, the method being iteratively performed by:
rotating the low frequency component signal obtained during a previous iteration at substantially 45 degrees;
using the rotated low frequency component signal as the image signal of the subsequent iteration; and
performing iterations until a low frequency component signal of a desired frequency band is obtained.
subjecting the low frequency component signal of the desired frequency band, and the high frequency component signals obtained during the iterations, to image compression processing in order to generate the compressed image signal.
14. A method of iteratively composing an image from the compressed image signal obtained and stored from the method of claim 12, the compressed image signal including the obtained high frequency component signals and the low frequency component signal of the desired frequency band, the method comprising:
performing N iterations, wherein the nth iteration (n being 1. . . N) comprises:
assigning an additive dummy set value to each element in an nth low frequency component signal based on surrounding elements of an nth high frequency component signal;
calculating, for each of the nth low frequency component signal elements, a difference between a corresponding signal value and the assigned additive dummy set value, thereby obtaining an nth first component signal;
assigning dummy set values to each element of the nth high frequency component signal based on surrounding elements in the nth first component signal; and
calculating, for each of the nth high frequency component signal elements, a sum of a corresponding signal value and the assigned dummy set value, thereby obtaining an nth second component signal; and
arranging the nth first and second component signals to obtain an (n+1)th low frequency component signal,
wherein the low frequency component signal of the desired frequency band is set as the 1st low frequency component signal.
15. An apparatus for iteratively composing an image from the compressed image signal obtained and stored from the method of claim 12, the compressed image signal including the obtained high frequency component signals and the low frequency component signal of the desired frequency band, the apparatus being configured to:
perform N iterations, wherein the nth iteration (n being 1. . . N) comprises:
16. An apparatus for transforming an image signal, configured to:
separate the image signal into first and second component signals, each of the first and second component signals comprising a plurality of elements;
assign dummy set values to the second component signal elements, wherein the dummy set value assigned each second component signal element is based on signal values of surrounding first component signal elements;
obtain a high frequency component signal using the dummy set values;
utilize the high frequency component signal to obtain a compressed version of the image signal; and
store the compressed image signal.
the apparatus obtains the first and second component signals as a checkered pattern of elements in the image signal, and
the apparatus is configured to calculate the dummy set value of each second component signal element by:
choosing a direction in relation to the second component signal element based on an associated change in signal values of the surrounding first component elements, wherein the change in signal values associated with the chosen direction is smaller than the change in signal values associated with another direction; and
the second component signal element is surrounded by two first component signal elements (a, d) along a fist direction, and two first component signals (b, c) along a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, and
the apparatus calculates the dummy set value according to:
the apparatus calculates the dummy set value according to at least one of:
if |(Sa−Sd)|≧Th1 and |(Sb+Sc)|≧Th2,Sx=(Sa+Sb+Sc+Sd)/8;
the apparatus is configured to calculate the dummy set value of each second component signal element includes:
calculating the dummy set value based on the obtained vector if the change in signal values meets a threshold.
if P≧Th,Sx=(Sa·cosθ+SbsinθSc·cosθ+Sdsinθ)/(2sinθ+2cosθ);
the apparatus is configured to obtain a signal value for each high frequency component signal element by calculating a difference between a signal value and the assigned dummy set value of the corresponding second component signal element.
the apparatus is configured to obtain a low frequency component signal, which includes an element corresponding to each element of the first component signal, by:
the apparatus calculates the additive dummy set value, which is assigned to the corresponding first component signal, according to:
Sy=(Se+St+Sg+Sh)/8;
Se, Sf, Sg, and Sh are signal values of the high frequency component signal elements corresponding to the second component signal elements e, f, g, and h, respectively.
26. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatus is configured to perform iterative processing by:
27. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein
the apparatus is configured to subject the low frequency component signal of the desired frequency band, and the high frequency component signals obtained during the iterations to image compression processing in order to generate the compressed image singal.
This application is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 09/852,801, filed on May 11, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,868,187 the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference and for which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 120.
The present invention relates in general to an image transformation-method and apparatus, and a storage medium, and more particularly to: a method of converting image data into high frequency components and low frequency components of a plurality of frequency bands and apparatus therefor; an image composition method of reconstructing the image data from the high frequency components and low frequency components and method therefor, an image data compression method of obtaining compressed data by compressing the high frequency components and low frequency components and apparatus therefor, an image decompression method of decompressing the compressed data and apparatus therefor, an image processing method of and apparatus for performing image processing employing an image transformation method and apparatus therefor and an image composition method of and apparatus therefor, as well as a computer readable storage medium for recording a program causing a computer to execute an image transformation method, an image composition method, an image compression method and an image decompression method.
In addition, wavelet transform, Laplacian Pyramid transform, and Fourier transform are known methods of performing multiple-resolution transformation. In particular, although wavelet transform is one method of analyzing//breaking down the frequencies of a signal, compared to the widely used Fourier transform, which is similar method of breaking down frequencies, because of the point that the ease with which locally changed data is detected is superior, wavelet transform has been in the limelight in recent years in just about every signal processing field (refer to: Oliver Rioul and Martin Vetterli, “Wavelets and Signal Processing”, IEEE SP Magazine, pp. 14-38, October 1991; Stephane Mallat, “Zero-Crossings of a Wavelet Transform, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 1019-1033, July 1991; Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 6(1994)-274614, 6(1994)-350989, 6(1994)-350990, 7(1995)-23228, 7(1995)-23229 and 7(1995)-79350.
According to the wavelet transforms disclosed in aforementioned Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6(1994)-274614, etc., by repeatedly performing a one-dimensional wavelet transform while sub-sampling vertically and horizontally is carried out, a multiple-resolution image such as that shown in FIG. 18 is obtained; this is called a tensor multiplied type two-dimensional wavelet transform. On the other hand, a method in which a wavelet transform is performed while sub-sampling is carried out in a checkered pattern (refer to The Red-Black Wavelet Transform, Greet Uytterhoeven, Adhemar Bultheel, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Report TW271, December 1997). This type of method, in which “lifting” is utilized, is called an unseparated-type wavelet transform, and for cases in which as shown in FIG. 19, pixels are disposed at vertical and horizontal, etc., intervals (hereinafter referred as square-patterned disposition), and a wavelet transform is repeatedly performed while the image is separated into an image formed of pixels disposed only at the positions indicated by an ‘O’ or ‘X’ mark. Hereinafter, this unseparated-type wavelet transform utilizing lifting will be explained. Note that when pixels are disposed only at positions indicated by the O and X marks as in FIG. 19, this is called checkered disposition.
FIG. 20 is provided for explanation of wavelet transform dependent on lifting. Note that for the sake of simplicity in explanation, a case in which a wavelet transform is performed on one-dimensional data is explained. First, one-dimensional data λj, i (here, the frequency band becomes a low frequency band corresponding to the high-low represented by j, and i is the element number) are separated into an odd-number component λj, 2 i+1 formed of the pixels of the odd-number positions, and an even-number component λj, 2 i formed of the pixels of the even-number positions. Then, the even-number component λj, 2 i is subjected to low-pass filtering by low-pass filter LP1, and the resultant is subtracted from the odd-number component λj, 2 i+1; the component obtained by the subtraction operation is the high-frequency component λj+1. On the other hand, high-frequency component λj+1 is subjected to low-pass filtering by low-pass filter LP2, and the resultant is added to even-number component λj, 2 i; the component obtained from the addition operation is the low-frequency component λj+1. Then, by repeatedly subjecting the obtained low-frequency component λj+1 to the same type of processing, data λj, I can be wavelet transformed.
On the other hand, reverse transformation of the data obtained by wavelet transform dependent on lifting is performed as described below. FIG. 21 is provided for explanation of reverse transformation of data obtained by a wavelet transform dependent on lifting. Note that, here, an explanation for a case in which is data λj, i is obtained from high-frequency component λj+1 and low-frequency component λj+1 will be given. Reverse transformation comprises performing processing completely the reverse of the wavelet transform shown in FIG. 20: high-frequency component λj+1 is subjected to low-pass filtering by low-pass filter LP2, and the resultant is subtracted from low-frequency component λj+1, whereby even-number component λj, 2 i is obtained; on the other hand, even-number component λj, 2 i is subjected to low-pass filtering by low pass filter LP1, and the resultant is added to high-frequency component λj+1, whereby odd-number component λj, 2 i+1 is obtained; then even-number component λj, 2 i and odd-number component λj, 2 i+1 are combined to obtain data.
By repeatedly performing this type of lifting-dependent wavelet transform on a two-dimensional image, as that shown in FIG. 22, a multiple-resolution image is obtained. Note that in FIG. 22, the wavelet transform is repeated four times, and the low frequency component is shown as Li and the frequency component is shown as Hi (i=1−4). Note that by subjecting two-dimensional data to a lifting-dependent wavelet transform and carrying out the data sub-sampling in a checkered pattern, an unseparated-type wavelet transform can be realized, and by this unseparated-type wavelet transform, the high-frequency component Hi and the low-frequency component Li obtained in each step of the wavelet transform become arranged as elements (because it is not image data and cannot be called a pixel, it is hereinafter called an element) in a checkered pattern. In FIG. 22, because the high-frequency component Hi and the low-frequency component Li obtained in each step of the wavelet transform are shown arranged as elements in a square-pattern, high-frequency components H1, H3 and low-frequency components L1, L3 are shown rotated by 45°.
Here, the comparative effect on the high-frequency component for tensor-multiplied type wavelet transforms and unseparated-type wavelet transforms utilizing lifting are shown in Chart 1 below. Note that, here, for both aforementioned types of wavelet transforms, when the low-frequency components have become 1/16 the size of those of the original image, the ratio of the high-frequency components whose absolute value have become less than a predetermined value (1, 2, 3) has been obtained, and the comparison of this ratio is shown.
The present invention has been developed in consideration of the circumstances described above, and it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a an image transformation method of and apparatus for obtaining high-frequency components having a value of 0 or close to zero, regardless of whether or not an image has anisotropy.
The image transformation method according to the present invention comprises subjecting image data to separation processing to separate the high frequency component and low frequency component thereof, obtaining the high-frequency and low frequency component of a low-frequency band one step lower, by subjecting said low-frequency component to aforementioned derecomposing process, and by repeatedly subjecting the low frequency component of said one-step lower low frequency band to aforementioned derecomposing process until the low-frequency component and high-frequency component of a predetermined frequency band is obtained, aforementioned image data is transformed into the high-frequency components and low frequency components of a plurality of frequency bands, wherein aforementioned derecomposing process separates aforementioned image data or low-frequency component into checkered pattern component 1 and component 2, and dummy-setting the signal value occurring at the position of the hole of aforementioned component 1, corresponding to the direction of the signal change of aforementioned component 1, and obtaining a dummy setting component, obtaining the difference component between aforementioned component 2 and aforementioned dummy setting component as the high-frequency component, dummy-setting and obtaining an addition dummy setting component by performing weighted addition on the signal occurring at the position of said high-frequency component with the signal of the surrounding vicinity thereof, and obtaining aforementioned low frequency component by adding said addition dummy setting component to aforementioned component 1.
The expression “component 1 and component 2 are separated into a checkered pattern” refers to, for cases in which, as shown in FIG. 19, the elements composing the image data or the low frequency component are arranged in a square pattern, separating the image data or low-frequency component into a component formed of elements of the positions indicated by an O mark and a component formed of elements of the positions indicated by an X mark. Note that according to the separation processing according to the present invention, a low-frequency component is obtained as elements having a checkered pattern, however, to again separate component 1 and component 2 into checkered pattern from here, by rotating by 45° the low frequency component having elements disposed in a checkered pattern or by rotating the sampling direction by 45°, the elements composing the low-frequency component can be arranged so as to be considered as arranged in a square pattern. In addition, when the elements composing image data are arranged in a checkered pattern, by rotating by 45° the image data having elements disposed in a checkered pattern or by rotating the sampling direction by 45°, the elements composing the image data can be arranged so as to be considered as arranged in a square pattern, and component 1 and component 2 can be separated.
The expression “the position of the hole of component 1” refers to, as shown in FIG. 19, for cases in which the component indicated by the O mark is component 1, the position indicated by the X mark.
The expression “the position of the hole of component” refers to, as shown in FIG. 19, for cases in which the component indicated by the X mark is component 2, the position indicated by the O mark.
Conventionally, the signal value occurring at the hole of component 1 constitutes component 2, and the signal value occurring at the hole of component 2 constitutes component 1, however, the expression “dummy setting component” refers to the signal value occurring at the hole of component 1 obtained without using component 2 whatsoever. Note that there are cases for which the value of the dummy setting component and the value of component 2 differ. Therefore, according to the present invention, by obtaining the difference component of the dummy setting component and component 2, a component closer to the conventional value is obtained as a high-frequency component.
Although the high-frequency component of the signal value occurring at the position of the hole of component 2 is the high-frequency component of component 1, the expression “addition dummy setting component” refers to the signal value of the high-frequency component occurring at the hole position of the high-frequency component (that is, the hole position of component 2) obtained without using component 1 whatsoever.
The image composition method according to the present invention comprises the steps of obtaining high-frequency components of all the frequency bands and a low-frequency component of the lowest frequency band using the image transformation method of the present invention, recomposing a high-frequency component of the lowest frequency band and the low-frequency component of the lowest frequency band into a low-frequency component of a 1-step high frequency band, repeating the step of recomposing now for a high-frequency component of the 1-step high frequency band and the low-frequency component of the 1-step high frequency band until desired recomposed image data is obtained; wherein the recomposing process sets and obtains an addition dummy setting component by performing weighted addition on the signal value occurring at the position of the hole of the high-frequency component of a frequency band subjected to said recomposing process and the signal value occurring in the vicinity surrounding said hole position, and obtains a component 1 as the difference component of the low-frequency component of a frequency band subjected to the recomposing process and aforementioned addition dummy setting component, and obtains the signal value occurring at the hole position of aforementioned component 1 according to the direction of the signal change of said component 1, and obtains a component 2 by adding the high-frequency component of a frequency subjected to the recomposing process to said dummy setting component, and obtains the low-frequency component of a 1-step high frequency band one step higher than the low-frequency component of a frequency band of component 1 and component 2 arranged in a checkered pattern that has been subjected to the recomposing process.
Here, because the low-frequency component and the high-frequency component are obtained as components having elements arranged in a checkered pattern, the component 1 and the component 2 are also components having elements of a checkered pattern. Accordingly, the expression “component 1 and component 2 are arranged in a square shape” refers to obtaining a low-frequency component in which the positions indicated by an O mark and the positions indicated by an X mark both have elements by making the hole positions of each of the elements of the component 1 and the component 2, which have elements arranged in a checkered pattern, the elements of their respective counterpart. Note that according to the recomposing process of the present invention, although a low-frequency component is obtained as a component having elements arranged in a square shape, to combine this with a high-frequency component having elements disposed in a checkered pattern, by rotating the low-frequency component composed of elements disposed in a square shape 45° or the by rotating the sampling direction 45°, the elements composing the low-frequency component can be considered to be disposed in a checkered pattern.
For cases in which image data has been subjected to irreversible compression processing, the decompression processing consists of subjecting the compressed data to entropy decoding, and then obtaining the high-frequency components of all the frequency bands and the low-frequency component of the lowest frequency band by reverse quantification. In this case, the obtained high-frequency components of all the frequency bands and the low-frequency component of the lowest frequency band are of an more inferior quality, corresponding to the degree of quantification, than the high-frequency components of all the frequency bands and the low-frequency component of the lowest frequency band before subjection thereof to compression processing. On the other hand, for cases in which the image data has been subjected to reversible compression, the decompression processing consists of subjecting the compressed data to entropy decoding and obtaining the high-frequency components of all the frequency bands and the low-frequency component of the lowest frequency band.
The expression “the value of all elements is subjected to compression processing against a component of 0” refers to the arranging of elements having the same arrangement as in the image data into a checkered pattern of elements having a value of 0.
The expression “predetermined image processing” can refer any of various image processing processes, such as blurring-mask processing, step processing, enhancement processing, changing the value of elements processing, and so on, which has been determined in advance. The image transforming apparatus according to the present invention comprises a separation processing means for subjecting image data to separation processing and separating said image data into a high-frequency component and low frequency component, wherein aforementioned low-frequency component obtained by said separation processing is further subjected to separation processing and a high-frequency component and a low-frequency component of a 1-step low frequency band, which is one step lower than said low-frequency component, and by repeatedly subjecting the high-frequency component and the low-frequency component of said 1-step low-frequency band obtained by said separation processing to separation processing until the high-frequency component and the low-frequency component of a predetermined frequency band are obtained, aforementioned image data can be transformed into the high-frequency components of a plurality of frequency bands and the low-frequency component of the lowest frequency band, and which further comprises a checkered pattern for separating aforementioned image data or aforementioned low-frequency component into a component 1 and a component 2 arranged in a checkered pattern, a dummy setting means for dummy setting the signal value occurring at the hole position of aforementioned component 1, according to the direction of the signal change of component 1, and obtaining a dummy setting component, a difference obtaining means for obtaining the difference component of aforementioned component 2 and aforementioned dummy setting component as aforementioned high-frequency component, a weighted-addition performing means for obtaining an addition dummy setting component by performing weighted-addition on the signal value occurring at the hole position of said high-frequency component and the signal value occurring in the vicinity surrounding said hole position, and an adding means for adding said addition dummy setting component to aforementioned component 1 and obtaining aforementioned low-frequency component.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block drawing of the configuration of an embodiment of an image transforming apparatus according to the present invention,
Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained, with reference to the drawings.
The dummy setting means 3 obtains the dummy setting component C1 as described below. FIG. 3 is a drawing provided for explanation of the obtaining of dummy setting component C1. Note that in FIG. 3, the white circles indicate the element positions first component B1, which have a signal value, and the black circles indicate the hole positions corresponding to the second component B2. As shown in FIG. 3, the dummy setting means 3 dummy sets the four signal values Sa, Sb, Sc and Sd of the four element positions a, b, c and d, which are the element positions of the vicinity surrounding the hole positions of the first component B1, that is the signal value Sx of the element position x corresponding to the element positions of the second component B2. More specifically, the signal value Sx is obtained as shown in formula 1 below:
When |(Sa−Sd)|<|(Sb−Sc)|,Sx=(Sa+Sd)/2;
When |(Sa−Sd)|≧|(Sb−Sc)|,Sx=(Sa+Sc)/2 <1>
When (Sa−Sd)<Th1,Sx=(Sa+Sd)/2
When (Sb−Sc)<Th2,Sx=(Sb+Sc)/2
(u,v)=((Sc+Sd)−(Sa+Sb),(Sa+Sc)−(Sb−Sd)) <3>
P=√{square root over ( )}(u 2 +v 2) <4>
θ=tan−1(u/v)−π/4 <5>
When P<Th,Sx=Sx=(Sa+Sb+Sc+Sd)/4
When P≧Th,Sx=(Sa×cosθ+Sb×sinθ+Sc×cosθ+Sd×sinθ)/(2 sinθ+2 cosθ) <6>
C2=B2−C1 <7>
Here, the sum of the signal values Se, Sf, Sg and Sg in formula 8 is ½, however, by setting signal value Sy in this way, aliasing can be effectively removed from the addition dummy setting component C3. Then, the signal value Sy of all the hole positions are obtained as addition dummy setting component C3.
Li=B1+C3 <9>
By first subjecting image data S0 to the above described processing, the low-frequency component Li and the high-frequency component Hi thereof are obtained. Then, by again subjecting the low-frequency component Li obtained in this way to the same processing by checkered-pattern separating means 2, dummy setting means 3, difference obtaining means 4, weighted addition performing means 5, and adding means 6 as described above, the low-frequency component L2 and the high-frequency component H2 of a 1-step low frequency band are obtained. By again subjecting the low-frequency component Li obtained of each frequency band to this processing repeatedly, as shown in FIG. 5, the image data S0 can be transformed into the low-frequency components Li and the high-frequency components Hi (where i=1˜n) of a plurality of frequency bands. Note that what are saved from among the low-frequency components Li and the high-frequency components Hi obtained thereby are the low-frequency component Ln and the high-frequency component Hn of the lowest frequency band.
Note that because the elements are arranged in a checkered pattern in the low-frequency component Li, from here, in again separating the first component B1 and the second component B2 into a checkered pattern, by rotating the low-frequency component Li by 45° or by rotating the sampling direction by 45°, the processing can be carried out so that the elements composing the low-frequency component Li can be recognized as being arranged in a square pattern.
Next, the operation of the image transforming apparatus 1 according to the current embodiment will be explained. FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the operation of the image transforming apparatus 1 according to the current embodiment. First, the image data S0 is separated into the first and second components, B1 and B2, by the checkered-pattern separating means 2 (step S1). Then, the signal value occurring at the hole position of the first component B1 is dummy-set and dummy setting component C1 is obtained by dummy setting means 3 (step S2). Dummy setting component C1 is subtracted from the second component B2 and the difference component C2, that is, the high-frequency component Hi is obtained by difference obtaining means 4 (step S3). The difference component C2 is input to the weighted addition performing means 5, wherein the signal value of hole positions of the difference component C2 are dummy-set by performing weighted addition thereon, and addition dummy setting component C3 is obtained (step S4). The addition dummy setting component C3 is added to the first component B1 by the adding means 6 and the low-frequency component Li is obtained (step S5). Then, whether or not the low-frequency components Li and the high-frequency components Hi up to a predetermined frequency band have been obtained or not is determined (step S6), and if a negative result is obtained in step S6, step S1 is returned to, and the processing from step S1 to step S6 is repeated. When a positive result is obtained in step S6, having obtained the low-frequency component Li and the high-frequency component Hi of the predetermined frequency band, the processing is complete.
Here, a comparison of the high-frequency components obtained as a result of using aforementioned tensor-multiplied wavelet transform and the unseparated-type wavelet transform utilizing lifting, and the high-frequency component obtained as a result of using the image transforming apparatus according to the current embodiment is shown in chart 2 below. Note that here, the same as in Chart 1 the ratio of the elements, of the high-frequency component when the low-frequency component has become 1/16 the size of that of the original image, having an absolute value below a predetermined value is obtained for both sides, and the comparative result thereof is shown. Further, the images 1 and 2 are the same as those used for Chart 1.
In addition, when a certain image is subjected to multiple-resolution transformation, if comparatively strong edges occur within the image, because high-frequency components and low frequency components across a wide range of frequency bands are contained in the edge data, the correlation between each frequency component becomes higher. If the correlation between each frequency component becomes higher in a case, for example, in which only the high-frequency component of a certain frequency band is subjected to image processing, because the frequency components of other frequency bands in the same data are not subjected to image processing, artifacts may occur in the reconstructed image as a result of a reduced matchibility of the components of each frequency band when they are later combined. Further, because the same data is included within the high-frequency components spanning a plurality of frequency bands, the compressibility thereof becomes poor.
Note that according to the embodiment described above, although the processing has been performed on an image data S0 formed of elements arranged in a square shape, the processing can be performed in the same way on an image data S0 formed of elements arranged in a checkered shape. In this case, in the same way as performed on the low-frequency component Li in the description of the current embodiment provided above, by rotating the elements arranged in a checkered shape by 45° or by rotating the sampling direction by 45°, the elements composing the image data S0 can be considered as being arranged in a square pattern, and the first and second components can be separated. Note that after the image data S0 has been separated once, because the first and second components become arranged in a checkered pattern, the processing subsequent thereto is performed in the same way as in the embodiment described above.
Next, an embodiment of an image composing apparatus according to the present invention will be explained. FIG. 7 is a schematic block drawing of the configuration of an embodiment of an image composing apparatus according to the present invention. The image composing apparatus 10 according to the current embodiment is an image composing apparatus for reconstructing the image data S0 transformed by the image transforming apparatus 1 according to the current embodiment by combining the low-frequency component Li and the high-frequency component Hi of the lowest frequency band obtained by said transformation processing, and comprises a weighted addition performing means 5, which is the same as that of the image transforming apparatus 1 according to the current embodiment, for dummy-setting and obtaining an addition dummy setting component C3 by performing weighted addition on the signal value occurring at the hole positions of the high-frequency component Hi of a frequency band to be subjected to recomposing process, a difference obtaining means 7 for obtaining a difference component C4 of the low-frequency component Li of a frequency band to be subjected to recomposing process to the addition dummy setting component C3 as the first component B1, a dummy setting means 3, which is the same as that of the image transforming apparatus 1 according to the current embodiment, for dummy-setting the difference component C4, that is, the signal value occurring at the hole positions of the first component B1 and obtaining a dummy setting component C1, an adding means 8 for adding the dummy setting component C1 to the high-frequency component Hi and obtaining an addition component C5, and a checkered-pattern composing means 9 for combining the first component B1 and the second component B2 and obtaining the low-frequency components Li−1 of a 1-step high-frequency band.
C4=Li−C3 <10>
C5=Hi+C1 <11>
Here, the first component B1 and the second component B2 are formed of elements arranged in a checkered pattern. Therefore, the checkered pattern composing means 9 combines the first component B1, which is composed of only the elements of the round white positions, and the second component B2, which is composed of only the elements of the black round positions, as shown in FIG. 9, and obtains a low-frequency component Li−1, which has elements arranged in a square pattern, of a 1-step high-frequency band. Note that although a low-frequency component Li−1, which has elements arranged in a square pattern, of a 1-step high-frequency band is obtained by this composing processing, to arrange the elements thereof in a checkered pattern in order to match said low-frequency component Li−1 with a high-frequency component of a 1-step high-frequency band, the elements of the low-frequency component Li−1 can be made to be made to be considered as being arranged in a checkered pattern by rotating the low-frequency component Li−1 by 45° or by rotating the sampling direction by 45°.
Then by again subjecting the low-frequency component Li−1 obtained in this way and the high-frequency component Hi−1, which has been saved, to processing by the difference obtaining means 7, the weighted addition performing means 5, the dummy setting means 3, the adding means 8 and the checkered-pattern composing means 9 in the same manner as described above, a low-frequency component Li−2 of a 1-step high frequency band is obtained. Then, by repeatedly performing this processing from the combining of the low-frequency component Ln of the lowest frequency band and the high frequency component Hn of the lowest frequency band to the composing of the low-frequency component of the highest frequency band, that is, the composing of the image data S0, as shown in FIG. 8, the image data S0 can be reconstructed from the low-frequency component Ln and the high-frequency component Hi.
Next, the operation of the image composing means 10 according to the current embodiment will be explained. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the operation of the image composing apparatus 10 according to the current embodiment. First, the high-frequency component Hn is input to the weighted addition performing means 5, wherein the signal value occurring at the hole position of the high-frequency component Hn dummy-set by performing weighted addition thereon, and the addition dummy setting component C3 is obtained (step S11). Then, the addition dummy setting component C3 is subtracted from the low-frequency component Ln of the lowest frequency band and the difference component C4, that is, the first component B1 is obtained by the difference obtaining means 7 (step S12). The first component B1 is input to the dummy setting means 3, wherein the signal value occurring at the hole position of the first component B1 is dummy-set and dummy setting component C1 is obtained (step S13). The dummy setting component C1 is added to the high-frequency component Hn and the addition component C5, that is, the second component B2 is obtained by the adding means 8 (step S14). The first component B1 and the second component B2 are combined by the checkered-pattern composing means 9, and the low-frequency component Li−1, which is formed of elements arranged in a square pattern, of a 1-step high-frequency band is obtained (step S15). Then, it is determined whether or not the low-frequency component of the highest frequency band, that is, the image data S0, has been obtained (step S16), and if a negative result is obtained in step 16, step 11 is returned to and the processing from step 11 through step 16 is repeated. If a positive result is obtained in step 16, the image data S0 has been reconstructed and the processing is complete.
Next, the image compression apparatus 20 according to the current embodiment will be explained. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the operation of the image compression apparatus 20 according to the current embodiment. First, the image data S0 is input to the image transforming means 1, wherein, in the same way as described above the low-frequency component Ln and the high-frequency component Hi are obtained (step S21). The low-frequency component Ln and the high-frequency component Hi are quantified by quantifying means 21 and the quantified signal R0 is obtained (step S22). The quantified signal R0 is encoded by the entropy encoding means and compressed data S1 is obtained (step S23), and the processing is complete.
FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of the configuration of the embodiment of an image decompression apparatus according to the current embodiment. As show in FIG. 10, the image decompression apparatus 25 according to the current embodiment comprises an entropy decoding means 26 for subjecting the compressed data obtained by the image compression apparatus 20 according to the current embodiment to entropy decoding and obtaining restored data F0, a reverse quantifying means 27 for reverse quantifying the restored data F0 and restoring the high-frequency components Hi′ of all the frequency bands and the low-frequency component Ln′ of the lowest frequency band, and an image composing means 10 according to the current embodiment. Note that according ton the current embodiment, because the compressed data S1 has been irreversibly compressed, the low-frequency component and the high-frequency component obtained by reverse quantifying means 27 are inferior to the low-frequency component Ln and the high-frequency component Hi. Because of this, a “′” reference mark has been attached to the Ln, Hi and the image data S0.
Next, the operation of the image decompression apparatus 25 according to the current embodiment will be explained. FIG. 134 is a flowchart of the operation of the image decompression apparatus 25 according to the current embodiment. First, the compressed data S1 is input to the entropy decoding means 26, is entropy decoded and restored data F0 is obtained (step S31). The restored data F0 is reverse quantified by the reverse quantifying means 27 and the low-frequency component Ln′ and the high-frequency component Hi′ are obtained (step S32). The low-frequency component Ln′and the high-frequency component Hi′ are input to the image composing apparatus 10, wherein they are combined and the image data S0′ is obtained, and the processing complete (step S33).
Note that according to the current embodiment, because the compressed data has been irreversible compressed, the component composed of all elements having a value of 0, the low-frequency component and the high-frequency component obtained by reverse quantifying means 27 are inferior to the low-frequency component Ln, the high-frequency component Hi and the component M. Therefore, a “′” mark is attached to the Ln, Hi and M.
In addition, the component M′, the low-frequency component Ln′ and the high-frequency component Hi′ are input to the image composing apparatus 10 and combined. Here, at first, the low-frequency component Ln′ and the high-frequency component Hi′ are combined, and the image data S0′ (the “′” mark is attached because the image data S0 has been irreversibly compressed) formed of elements arranged in a checkered pattern is obtained. Then, the image data So′ formed of elements arranged in a checkered pattern is again combined with the component M′ composed of all elements having a value of 0 (this component M′ is also formed of elements arranged in a checkered pattern), and finally, reconstructed image data S3 formed of elements arranged in a square pattern is obtained.
According to the image processing means 31, the high-frequency component Hi of a desired frequency band and/or the low-frequency component Ln of the lowest frequency band from among the low-frequency component of the lowest frequency band and the high-frequency components of all the frequency bands obtained by the image transforming apparatus 1 are subjected to image processing such as blurring-mask processing, step processing, enhancement processing, changing the value of elements processing, and so on, as described, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6(1994)-274614, and obtaining a processed low-frequency component Ln1 and a processed high-frequency component Hi1. Note that although according to the current embodiment, the components of a desired frequency band are subjected to image processing, that called the processed low-frequency component Ln1 and the processed high-frequency component Hi1 include components that have been subjected to image processing and components that have not been subjected to image processing.
Next, the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the current embodiment will be explained. FIG. 17 is a flowchart of the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the current embodiment. First, the image data SS0 is input to the image transforming apparatus 1 and in the same way as described above a low-frequency component Ln and a high-frequency component Hi are obtained (step S41). The low-frequency component Ln and the high-frequency component Hi are input to the image processing apparatus 31, wherein the components of a desired frequency band are subjected to image processing and processed low-frequency component Ln1 and a processed high-frequency component Hi1 are obtained (step S42). The processed low-frequency component Ln1 and a processed high-frequency component Hi1 are input to the image composing means 10, wherein they are combined and processed image data S1 is obtained (step S43), and the processing is complete.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS5831586Apr 12, 1995Nov 3, 1998Asahi Glass Company Ltd.Method of driving a picture display deviceUS5901249Jun 3, 1994May 4, 1999Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.Method for compressing image signalsUS6236684 *Jun 27, 1997May 22, 2001Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.Wavelet transform method and apparatusUS6307968Dec 14, 1998Oct 23, 2001Vincenzo Arturo Luca LiguoriDirect manipulation of compressed geometryJPH0723228A Title not availableJPH0723229A Title not availableJPH0779350A Title not availableJPH04242028A Title not availableJPH06274614A Title not availableJPH06350990A Title not available* Cited by examinerNon-Patent CitationsReference1Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Department of Computer Science, Celestijnenlaan 200A-B-3001 "The Red-Black Wavelet Transform.", Report TW 271, Dec. 1997, pp. 1-16.2Olivier Rioul and Martin Vetterli: "Wavelets and Signal Processing", Oct. 1991, pp. 14-38.3Stephane Mallat: "Zero-Crossings of a Wavelet Transform.", IEEE Transanctions on information theory, vol. 37, No. 4, Jul. 1991, pp. 1019-1033.Classifications U.S. Classification382/240, 382/232, 382/248International ClassificationG06T5/10, G06K9/36Cooperative ClassificationG06T5/10, G06T5/001, G06T2207/20064European ClassificationG06T5/10Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionFeb 15, 2007ASAssignmentOwner name: FUJIFILM HOLDINGS CORPORATION, JAPANFree format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:FUJI PHOTO FILM CO., LTD.;REEL/FRAME:018898/0872Effective date: 20061001Owner name: FUJIFILM HOLDINGS CORPORATION,JAPANFree format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:FUJI PHOTO FILM CO., LTD.;REEL/FRAME:018898/0872Effective date: 20061001Feb 26, 2007ASAssignmentOwner name: FUJIFILM CORPORATION, JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:FUJIFILM HOLDINGS CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:018934/0001Effective date: 20070130Owner name: FUJIFILM CORPORATION,JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:FUJIFILM HOLDINGS CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:018934/0001Effective date: 20070130Mar 30, 2011FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Apr 15, 2015FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services

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September 2011 – Spurts of Thought
Written by Varadaraja V. Raman 30 Sep 2011
(New York, NY) Metanexus Institute announced today the publication of Indic Visions in an Age of Science as part of its continuing series of publications. Indic Visions is the tenth book by the scientist and humanist Varadaraja V. Raman. The book provides a detailed introduction to India’s religions with thoroughly contemporary interpretations thereof consistent with […]
Written by Varadaraja V. Raman 14 Sep 2011
It came like a brutal bolt from the blue and changed the heartbeat of history. It was like a stray asteroid striking the two towers that stood like symbols of a nation, within sight of the Statue of Liberty. The structures were brimming with business like the nation’s market-places, facilitating finance, providing jobs for […]
Written by Varadaraja V. Raman 13 Sep 2011 24 May 2016
Chand Bardai (1149 – 1200 CE)’s Epic Poem
Ask any student of Indian history about Prithvi Raj, and you will be told that this was a great king who lived and ruled in Delhi and Ajmer in the twelfth century. He was a generous king and patron of arts and poetry. The legend of his taking away princess Padmavati, daughter of an opposing king […]
Written by Varadaraja V. Raman 6 Sep 2011
Religion’s Nature: Depends on Your Emphasis
In January 2010 Sam Harris and Karen Armstrong had a debate on Religion. Here are my comments on it: As often happens when two intelligent people debate both are right from their respective understandings/convictions/definitions of the issue they are debating, each impervious to the other’s perspective. To Sam Harris the word religion evokes witchcraft, cannibalism, […]


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An Indian's Makeup Blog!: Freida Pinto's Makeup Essentials
Freida Pinto's Makeup Essentials
[3/04/2009 08:33:00 AM | 7 comments ]
Okay, I know everybody's a little tired of seeing her everywhere but I know you'll love to hear about her make up essentials. I just found this and thought I'd share.
This is what she says about her Makeup Essentials :“Times are hard but I believe less is more. Concealer is the essential element. I swear by Vichy’s Dermablend. It’s very skin friendly. If I want to add to this I use mascara (Chanel) and lip gloss. My favorite color is Tangerine Jet by Dior.”
I agree with her , concealer is the best tool - ever ! Got to try that one out. The girl is also rumored to be the next new face of Estee Lauder !! Wow, it will be great to have an Indian representing such a huge brand but I also hope she gets them to make some more shades of concealers & foundations...
Rupa said... @ March 4, 2009 at 2:41 PM
whats this concealor called? I checked their website but there are too many.
Since Vichy is available in India I am waiting for your review on it. maybe i'll get lucky . :)
An Indian's Makeup Blog ! said... @ March 4, 2009 at 10:49 PM
Really we get Vichy in India ? That's great ! I think its a UK based brand. I haven't seen it around here, but if I do I'll pick it up and review for sure :)
desipolitan said... @ March 5, 2009 at 9:43 AM
First Aishwarya, now Freida. Here's hoping that we get to see more of Freida for Estee. Did you notice Padma Lakshmi is now promoting Pantene?
Shefali said... @ March 5, 2009 at 9:40 PM
Wow this is really exciting! I'm glad Estee is going with an Indian model. I don't buy their products much because I feel the tones in their colors are too cool. Plus I'm just excited that an Indian will get such wide modeling exposure! Awesome!
Also forgot to mention that Vichy products are available here in California at CVS stores.
Rima Kaur said... @ May 1, 2009 at 2:17 PM
hey, we do get vichy in india. its a loreal brand; just like garnier, maybelline, shu umera, lancome, biotherm, ralph lauren, giorgio armani etc.
Anonymous said... @ July 15, 2012 at 8:02 PM
what shade does she use for vichy concealer?

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Soft Machines: Nanotechnology and Life book by Richard A L Jones | 2 available editions | Alibris Books
Enthusiasts look forward to a time when tiny machines reassemble matter and process information with unparalleled power and precision. But is their vision realistic? Where is the science heading? As nanotechnology (a new technology that many believe will transform society in the next on hundred years) rises higher in the news agenda and popular consciousness, there is a real need for a book which discusses clearly the science on which this technology will be based. While it is most easy to simply imagine these tiny machines ... Read More
Enthusiasts look forward to a time when tiny machines reassemble matter and process information with unparalleled power and precision. But is their vision realistic? Where is the science heading? As nanotechnology (a new technology that many believe will transform society in the next on hundred years) rises higher in the news agenda and popular consciousness, there is a real need for a book which discusses clearly the science on which this technology will be based. While it is most easy to simply imagine these tiny machines as scaled-down versions of the macroscopic machines we are all familiar with, the way things behave on small scales is quite different to the way they behave on large scales. Engineering on the nanoscale will use very different principles to those we are used to in our everyday lives, and the materials used in nanotehnology will be soft and mutable, rather than hard and unyielding. Soft Machines explains in a lively and very accessible manner why the nanoworld is so different to the macro-world which we are all familiar with. Why does nature engineer things in the way it does, and how can we learn to use these unfamiliar principles to create valuable new materials and artefacts which will have a profound effect on medicine, electronics, energy and the environment in the twenty-first century. With a firmer understanding of the likely relationship between nanotechnology and nature itself, we can gain a much clearer notion of what dangers this powerful technology may potentially pose, as well as come to realize that nanotechnology will have more in common with biology than with conventional engineering. Read Less
ISBN 0199226628
ISBN-13 9780199226627
Alibris ID 13865110003
Alibris ID 14390788612
Alibris ID 14390695113
Alibris ID 13637211099
Alibris ID 13509142410
Alibris ID 12218194602
Alibris ID 14355462413
Alibris ID 14428984987
Alibris ID 14421913416
Alibris ID 14253702516
New. 0199226628.
All Editions of Soft Machines: Nanotechnology and Life

value: Alibris is an online store that sells new books, used books, out-of-print books, rare books, and other media through an online network of independent booksellers.


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Blue Angel Creations: Is there really life before coffee?
Created by Cheri at 9:40 PM
~amy~ August 4, 2009 at 9:44 PM
adorable take on the sunday sketch...gotta check out those hangers...and no, there isn't life before coffee :)


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Koscheck, Part II: Trash talk, family and Fitch | Maggie Hendricks - Yahoo Sports
Buzzing on Yahoo Sports: After crash-filled race, is Talladega entertaining or too dangerous? Koscheck, Part II: Trash talk, family and Fitch
View gallery.Josh Koscheck will make his debut as a coach on season twelve of "The Ultimate Fighter" on Wednesday evening, airing after Ultimate Fight Night 22 on Spike. Read part I of Cagewriter's interview with Koscheck here.
Josh Koscheck is known as one of the bigger trash talkers in MMA. He has a brash side, but immediately softens when you bring up his friends and family.
Koscheck and Jon Fitch, teammates at American Kickboxing Academy, are two of the UFC's best welterweights. However, they refuse to face off because their friendship means more than the belt.
Koscheck says that if he wins the title from Georges St. Pierre on Dec. 11, and he is forced to face Fitch, he'll vacate the title.
"When I win the title, I'd vacate it and let Fitch win it. They can't make us fight. I would vacate the title and say, Fitch, you fight. You win the title."
Though he does not have any children of his own, Koscheck is close with his four nieces and nephews, and says that a family of his own is the one thing missing.
"I'm happy with my success. 99.9 percent of my life is complete. I just need that one percent. That one little thing, and that's a family."
"It's everything. One of the things I've learned over the last two years is that money isn't important and winning the title isn't as important as family. Money, winning the title, that's icing on the cake. What I want is a family and kids."
'You're so slow. That's all you have Paul?'
But that soft side doesn't show up in the Octagon, where he has developed a reputation as a trash talker. He even admits that he talks throughout his fights, including his bout with Paul Daley. Koscheck won the unanimous decision, but Daley sucker punched Koscheck after the fight had ended. View gallery."He was talking [profane]. He said, 'Let me up, you [profane.] All you want to do is hold me down.' I said, 'This isn't [profane] kickboxing, this is MMA.' He started eye-gouging me. I could feel his finger in the back of my head. I couldn't see out of that eye for a month.We were talking [profane] the whole fight. The first round, he threw a jab, and I said, 'Oh my God. You're so slow. That's all you have Paul?'"
He does admit that the mid-fight talk doesn't always pay off.
"When I fought Georges, when Georges got the last takedown, I was talking the entire time. I said, 'You got lucky today, Georges,' and he cracked me with a big elbow."
After the fight, Koscheck taunted the crowd in Montreal, saying that his Pittsburgh Penguins would beat the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup playoffs. (The Canadiens went on to win the series, but were knocked out by another Pennsylvania team, the Flyers.)
Even after the crowd booed, spat and threw things at Koscheck, he said he regrets nothing.
"Why would I regret anything I say? I don't live my life with regrets. I try to do what I feel is right at the time. If it's the wrong thing to say, it's the wrong thing to say. I can't change the past."
But he wasn't afraid that night, and he's not concerned about going to Montreal again to fight GSP.
"The UFC already has plans to hide me this time around, and I'll have security with me 24x7. Dana White gets death threats every day. I get death threats every day. I see the messages, but, it's life. What am I going to be? A [profane] and hide forever? If some one wants me, they're going to come get me."
He has a message for anyone who wants to go after him: Come and get me.
"If they want to fight me, come to the gym. We'll sign a waiver and throw down. I'll fight everyone who wants to."
Josh KoscheckJon Fitch

value: Yahoo (, styled as yahoo!) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake Yahoo!


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Aug. 29th, 2008 04:49 pm (UTC)
I have seen the blank page thing being used good in one book, Laura Palmers Diary. (Yes, the chick from Twin Peaks...) But not that many pages. That is just silly. :-P *sigh* It is getting worse, and worse, and worse, isn't it?
Most creppy picture here? The underwear... When I saw them, I was... WTF?

value: LiveJournal (Russian: Живой Журнал), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary.American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, as a way of keeping his high school friends updated on his activities. In January 2005, American blogging software company Six Apart purchased Danga Interactive, the company that operated LiveJournal, from Fitzpatrick.


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Rennie expecting big things from Wallabies
Rejecting notions of a rebuild following a post-World Cup exodus of talent, Rennie has already forecast a "no excuses" policy as he bids to revive the Wallabies' flagging fortunes.
"I think the Australian public expect the results and probably expect them immediately and I don't want to give the guys any excuses that we're building and all that sort of stuff," the two-time Super Rugby-winning mentor said on Thursday.
"So the expectation is they're going to work really hard and we're going out to win footy.
"I feel if you use excuses you give players an out to maybe underperform."
But Rennis is unconcerned.
"That excites me, to be honest," he said.
"When I went to the Chiefs in 2012 there was a heap of very experienced players leaving for offshore.
"That actually encouraged me to apply for the job because I thought it was going to be easier to change the culture with a chance to bring in some fresh blood."
It remains to be seen whether the likes of Foley, Genia and Kepu - who all meet the 60-Test eligibility criteria - are picked for the Wallabies again with the new coach preferring his Test aspirants playing in Australia.
"The advantage of having guys playing Super Rugby means that we've got access to them, we've got an influence," Rennie said.
"And players from overseas - maybe it works alright in a World Cup year - but it's good to have them in the set-up.
"For example, if we're looking at a prop who is playing in France and we want him to be athletic and skilful because of the game we want to play, as well as scrum well, his French club doesn't care whether he can catch and pass.
"They just want him to scrummage. Maybe he's not conditioned well and you've got to get him back a week earlier, which is difficult."


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DaugMan's Chronicles: 18 November 2012
University of Georgia, Basketball, Life
Can Fox Get it Done?
UGA's hoops season has started off with a bang. We're 1 and 4 and in last place in the SEC.
The circumstances are obviously different, but it bears mentioning that Dennis Felton took a team on NCAA probation, one that was down to seven scholarship players, and managed a 48 percent winning record (84 and 91) overall and 30 percent in the SEC (26 and 59).
Mark Fox now has a record of 51 and 50 overall (50 percent), and 19 and 29 (39 percent) in the SEC. If UGA performs no worse than it did last year, Fox will have produced losing records in 3 out of 4 seasons, an overall record about the same as Felton's, and an SEC record in which Fox loses 7 out of every 10 games.
Unfortunately for UGA hoops fans, it looks like the Dawgs will in fact be worse than last year. I had a lot of hope for this year and it is frustrating to see the team so poorly out of the gate, given that we had the extra practices and the Italy trip.
Fox has more good will than Felton, and UGA's athletic director McGarity seems to want to stay the course. However, I'm not sure that basketball boosters will still be behind Fox if the team continues to lose as it has so far. We desperately need to win tomorrow night, facing a bad East Tennessee State team, and find a way to bring in early commitments from big-time recruits for the 2014 class.
Can Fox get it done? I'd like to see us run off a string of ten wins or so. As for right now, however, things don't look good for Fox and UGA hoops.
Posted by DaugMan at 11:06 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Mark Fox
Dawgs Lose to UCLA
We're now 1 and 4 for the season.
We did show a few flashes in keeping the game close. We had an 11 point lead in the first half. John Cannon seems to be our answer at the center position. He had 8 points on 4 of 8 shooting, with 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. 0 turnovers.
Kentavious scored 16 points on 5 of 13 shooting. Not great, but not bad either, considering the defense focuses so much on him. He did pad his shooting percentage somewhat with two lay-ups in the final minute when UCLA knew they were going to win. Although KCP is not an efficient scorer, Fox has to be pleased with Caldwell-Pope's other stats-- 9 rebounds and 3 assists.
Donte had an effective game with 8 points and 5 rebounds. Marcus Thornton got a block and 9 rebounds, but he's just not a factor offensively. 0 points on 0 for 2 from the field and 0 of 2 from the line.
Brantley continues to bomb away from behind the arc. That's a coaching issue. I would not let him shoot only three-pointers. He doesn't make enough of them to be taking 8 three-pointers during the game. He hit 2 at the beginning of the game, but missed the other 6.
Said it before, but I'll say it again. I don't see why Brandon Morris does not get more minutes. There must be something else going on behind the scenes.
I guess my main take-away from this game is that if our big men, who are getting healthy amounts of playing time, can all develop about the same time, we'll have a nice rotation in the front court. We know what KCP can do. Nemi is a known quantity, pretty much. Gaines has yet to score a basket, but he will score a bunch of them in his UGA career. Mann is coming along and Donte is staring to look like his old self.
The potential is there with this team, but when will it be realized? When will we see some real progress in terms of wins and losses?
Posted by DaugMan at 11:02 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Brandon Morris, John Cannon, Kenny Gaines, Marcus Thornton, Mark Fox, Recaps, Tony Parker, UCLA
Hoosiers Over Dawgs
The final score was somewhat like I expected. Indiana was up by a comfortable margin at the end and beat us by 13. Final score: 66 to 53. We made it respectable, but we're not very talented and we basically have no inside game. Half of our shots were three-pointers. That's not how a good team plays.
I'm proud of the Dawgs for their performance in the first half. Great defense. We targeted their big man and kept him from going off. That kid Oladipo picked up the slack, though. Shot 6 of 8 from the floor and had a couple of key plays when they caught up and passed us.
We had a nice lead there for a couple of minutes. We couldn't sustain it over time. The bottom line is that if KCP doesn't shoot well, Georgia will not win. In time, he will get more help. Kenny Gaines is a tremendous athlete. When he gets more experience out there, he will be a force on the offensive end. Vincent Williams shot 5 of 8 and scored 14 points for his career high. Don't know if Brandon Morris played. Since Thornton went 1 of 4 from the floor and had just 1 rebound, it's time to go with Morris taking more of Thornton's minutes.
We're 1 and 3. I'm still a Georgia basketball supporter. I still hate losing. We still have a long way to go.
Posted by DaugMan at 7:43 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Indiana, Mark Fox, Recaps, Tom Crean
Dawgs vs. Indiana
Wish I could in good faith predict a Dawgs victory, but I can't. There is a reason why they're ranked #1 and we are not. I haven't looked it up to see, but after two losses to mid-majors, we must be near the bottom of the rankings for Division I schools.
Any-hoo, let's be realistic. The Dawgs have a chance. Not much of one, but there's still a chance. If Donte plays big and we get production from our bench, maybe we can stay in this thing. Have to hit our free throws and avoid unforced errors.
It's in a neutral site. Who knows? They could have an off night. If we could somehow escape with a victory, it would be the signature win of the Mark Fox era.
My honest assessment? Dawgs lose by 18. Indiana 78, Georgia 60.
Posted by DaugMan at 5:11 PM No comments: Links to this post
DaugMan
Wonder if we'll ever see a post move
like this one from our bigs? JP Guess that's why I wanted Fox to recruit this guy. Baby JP So disappointing to hear him say that...
Posting Again.
Thanks for those that checked in while I was out of pocket due to a work commitment. I am posting again and will have a number of updates t...
When Tech's Line Outplays Ours,
we're in a heap of trouble. Even if their line plays us even, with the option trickery, they may one day blow us out. Won't be to...
Great, Great Win for The Dawgs
I gave up. Shouldn't have. Maybe I should stick to basketball. Great win for Mark Richt! How about Grantham's D? Did they st...
Other UGA Sports Links
http://www.thedawgbone.com
http://www.dawgpost.com
http://www.uga.rivals.com


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zevatech | Dr Terrible's House of Bloggable
Automotive CNC Electronics Software Uncategorized Visual Studio Tagged: zevatech	Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts


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Discussion on Mantras | Mantra Healing
← Be an All-Time Winner
Special Mantras for Internal Organs →
Posted on December 19, 2009, in Mantra and tagged Acu-Reiki, Animal Spirit Guides, Bach, Balakumar, Body, Chennai, composure, Concentration, Connection, cook, curse, divine energy, effective, EFT, experience, Flower, Gem, IEIT, India, Intelligence, Mantra, mantra water, Master, Meditation, Mind, Mudra, Naran, NLP, Reiki, relationship with mantra, Remedies, Remedy, Shy, Switch Word, Tapping, Therapist, Trust, vocalize mantras, Yoga. Bookmark the permalink.	Leave a comment.


text: What to read next Play What we talk about when we hate on 'Wall Street' ESPN ends exclusive advertising deal with DraftKings Sponsored Yahoo Finance  Play The world and 'crazy circular logic' weigh on the Fed's next rate move Play 5 reasons to love the stock-market selloff Play The good (and not-so-good) with Obama's latest retirement proposals Oil bears beware, downside risk in crude may be limited Sponsored Yahoo Finance  Play Bond yields could fall further – but not because of China or oil Bitcoin group scores funds from biggest names in industry Sidekick More Market News 01:16 Play 01:16 Clarida: Can’t React on Market Sentiment Over Data Sponsored Bloomberg Video  06:03 Play Bloomberg Brief Weekly Video 02/11 06:03 01:27 Play Ugandans get the taste for coffee 01:27 01:16 Play Fed's Yellen: Exploring Factors Affecting Liquidity 01:16 Fed's Yellen: 'Quite Surprised' by Oil Price Movements Sponsored Bloomberg Video  04:33 Play Clarida: Positive Story in Cheap Oil Is Yet to Play Out 04:33 03:03 Play Smaller Oil and Gas Companies Face Uncertainty 03:03 Sidekick FP Today 00:00 Play The secrets to having a good day at work 00:00 Burberry sues J.C. Penney over knockoffs Sponsored  Simpler way to find college scholarships Why so many people aren't buying homes Sidekick top story Global shares plunge on global growth, bank fears; U.S. yields fall Morgan Stanley Reaches $3.2 Billion Pact Over Mortgage Bonds Sponsored Bloomberg  As market rout continues, Yellen sticks to her guns Short interest in the energy sector hasn't been this high in more than … Treasury's Lew slams EU tax investigations CIO: Gold trusted more than banks, paper money Sponsored CNBC  Applications for US jobless aid fell sharply last week Fantasy sports companies defend embattled industry Copyright 2013 The Exchange


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I'm a Man of Faith, You're a Crackpot | The Huffington Post
01/24/2008 06:43 am ET
A major Hollywood star appears devoid of all common sense when it comes to matters of religion, and the same malady is on display in the life of a leading presidential contender. First, there's Tom Cruise. According to the just-out unauthorized biography of Cruise by Andrew Morton, one of filmdom's biggest stars is now an enlightened leader of the sect whose members believe that deceased founder L. Ron Hubbard will soon re-emerge. Hubbard died in 1986, but Morton writes that Scientologists have detailed preparations for his return that include maintaining apartments around the world complete with some of his personal property.
Which is why when Tom Cruise's wife, Katie Holmes, became pregnant, "True believers were convinced that Tom's spawn would be the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard," Morton writes. Scientology issued a statement calling the book a "bigoted, defamatory assault." But, of course, these are the same people who believe that 75 million years ago an intergalactic warlord injected millions of alien souls into earth's atmosphere, that those aliens, called Thetans, continue attaching to human bodies today, and that these Thetans harbor the "false ideas" of organized religion and are the root of all the world's problems. At least Tom Cruise is just a celluloid leader, and not, say, the chief executive of the free world.
That role is being sought by a man who adheres to a religion founded in 1830 by a farmboy named Joseph Smith. Smith told his followers that he had been visited by Jesus and charged -- at age 14 -- with restoring the purity of the church. One of his religion's primary texts, the Book of Mormon, was drawn from gold plates buried in the ground. Today, participants wear special undergarments to remind them of the tenets of their faith, and refrain from drinking anything with caffeine in it. No wonder some Americans are reluctant to support Mitt Romney for president. A Gallup poll conducted in the days after Romney delivered his "Faith in America" speech found that 17 percent of voters said they wouldn't vote for a Mormon presidential candidate. That's the same result Gallup got when asking a similar question about Romney's father, Michigan Gov. George Romney, when he was running for president. No doubt these people are largely Christians (like me) and Jews. We're clearly aided by an ability to spot a whopper when we hear one, a skill obviously lacking in Scientologists and Mormons. Maybe it's our grounding in the Old and New Testament that enables us to easily size up the preposterous nature of the customs that guys like Cruise and Romney follow.
If only the Mormons and Scientologists would take the time to read those stories -- and with them learn about the great flood that Noah survived by building an ark and loading two of each animal onboard, or the drowning of Pharaoh's army after Moses parted the Red Sea -- they'd surely come to their senses over the obviously fictitious lore surrounding L. Ron Hubbard and Joseph Smith. Heck, say what you will in this time of war with radical Islam, but not even Muslims would fall for the trappings of faith that Cruise and Romney have.
Islam, too, is founded on the sound perspective of the Koran, including the idea of 72 virgins standing ready in heaven to greet those who've achieved martyrdom. Truly, one man's faith is another man's bunkum.
Katie Holmes Tom Cruise Biography Mitt Romney Mitt Romney Mormonism Joseph Smith

value: HuffPost, formerly The Huffington Post until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated HuffPo, is an American news aggregator and blog, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs and original content, and covers politics, business, entertainment, environment, technology, popular media, lifestyle, culture, comedy, healthy living, women's interests and local news featuring columnists.


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mrmaow Says:	18 febbraio 2016 alle 15:03 | Rispondi L’ha ribloggato su Quattro chiacchiere in compagniae ha commentato:


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Awakenings: Day of the Blue Jeans
How many pairs of jeans do you have in your wardrobe? Have they become a common every day item of clothing or just an occasional TGIF and weekend relaxer? No way around the popularity of the jean with blue jeans at the top of the list. They have become so versatile a sport jacket adds a bit of classiness to a casual style.
The Levi’s brand symbolizes the USA!
Founded by two immigrants, Levi Strauss (Löeb Strauss), a merchant from Bavaria, and Jacob Davis (né Jacob Youphes), a tailor from Latvia, who came to America in mid 50s of the 19th century in search of the American dream.
So, how many pairs of jeans do you have in your wardrobe?
About 450 million jeans are sold in USA alone each year. On an average, every American owns at least about 7 pairs of jeans.
Today you are 143 and still fit as ever!
Let's celebrate a legend… the father of causal cool and the mastermind behind blue jeans… Of course, I’m talking about Mr Levi Strauss!
In 1873, together with tailor Jacob Davis, Levi Strauss created the original and very first blue jean… the iconic Levi’s® 501!
Posted by Sharla Shults at 8:32 AM


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EU hits Ukraine with sanctions, threatens more over bloodshed
Fri Feb 21, 2014 | 2:51am IST
| BRUSSELS BRUSSELS The European Union agreed on Thursday to impose sanctions on those responsible for deadly violence in Ukraine and warned it would ratchet up the pressure if the situation there got worse.As Ukraine suffered its bloodiest day since Soviet times, EU foreign ministers meeting in emergency session in Brussels decided on measures against Kiev including visa bans, asset freezes and a suspension of the export of riot control equipment like water cannon, body armour and helmets.Although the EU cited no names, officials said those targeted for sanctions may include ministers but not President Viktor Yanukovich himself, at least for now. Protest leaders found responsible for violence could also go on the sanctions list.At the same time, the 28-nation EU pushed on with its attempt to broker a peaceful solution to a conflict that has left dozens dead, including at least 39 on Thursday.The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland did not come to the Brussels meeting, as planned, after deciding to stay on in the Ukrainian capital Kiev to continue contacts with the government and opposition."I think (ministers) were truly alarmed, shocked by the scale of violence that has taken place, and that will drive the agenda as it drove the agenda today," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said."The work of the three ministers is crucial on the ground and we will be in constant touch with them to seek their advice and to see what efforts they are able to make, what progress they're able to make," she told a news conference.The EU decided "as a matter of urgency to introduce targeted sanctions" against people responsible for human rights violations, violence and use of excessive force in Ukraine, the foreign ministers said in a statement.
"The scale of implementation will be taken forward in the light of developments in Ukraine," they said.The EU will start work immediately on drawing up an initial list of people affected by sanctions but it could be several days before it is published, officials said.Ministers called for an immediate end to the violence, full respect for human rights and urgent independent investigations into human rights violations.EU governments also agreed to "reassess export licences" for a wide range of military equipment but did not endorse a blanket arms embargo mentioned in an earlier draft seen by Reuters.
The EU could add more names to its sanctions list if the bloodshed persists, in a policy intended to give it leverage to push for a political solution, diplomats said.HORROR
Decisions on who to put on the list would be made very quickly, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said. "We've all stressed the need for swift and effective action."There is widespread horror in the EU ... at the scale of the loss of innocent life," he said as he left the meeting.
Hague said there could be "quite a bit of overlap" between the EU and U.S. sanctions lists.The United States on Wednesday imposed visa bans on 20 senior Ukrainian government officials believed to be responsible for the violence against protesters, but it did not give their names.Just three months ago, EU officials had hoped Ukraine would sign a far-reaching trade and cooperation deal with Brussels, provided certain conditions were met. Those included the release of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.But Yanukovich stunned the EU in late November by spurning the EU pact and instead winning a $15 billion bailout deal from Russia. His move sparked weeks of street unrest in Ukraine that escalated this week, causing alarm in world capitals.Until now, the EU has sought to promote dialogue between the government and opposition and a peaceful settlement to the crisis.The bloody assault on protesters in Kiev's Independence Square spurred a dramatic change of heart by EU governments. Until then, they had been largely sceptical about the effectiveness of sanctions on Ukraine, saying they had achieved little in Belarus, Ukraine's northern neighbour.(Additional reporting by Robin Emmott, Martin Santa, Justyna Pawlak, Francesco Guarascio, and Luke Baker; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

value: Reuters ( (listen)) is an international news organisation now owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide.