Monthly Archives: August 2020

Health care workers of color nearly twice as likely as whites to get COVID – The CT Mirror

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Cloe Poisson :: CTMirror.org

Health care workers at St. Francis Hospital who are on the front lines caring for patients with COVID-19 cheer and wave as a parade of first responders passes by to pay tribute to them.

Health care workers of color were more likely to care for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, more likely to report using inadequate or reused protective gear, and nearly twice as likely as white colleagues to test positive for the coronavirus, a new study from Harvard Medical School researchers found.

The study also showed that health care workers are at least three times more likely than the general public to report a positive COVID test, with risks rising for workers treating COVID patients.

Dr. Andrew Chan, a senior author and an epidemiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the study further highlights the problem of structural racism, this time reflected in the front-line roles and personal protective equipment provided to people of color.

If you think to yourself, Health care workers should be on equal footing in the workplace, our study really showed thats definitely not the case, said Chan, who is also a professor at Harvard Medical School.

The study was based on data from more than 2 million COVID Symptom Study app users in the U.S. and the United Kingdom from March 24 through April 23. The study, done with researchers from Kings College London, was published in the journal The Lancet Public Health.

Lost on the Frontline, a project by KHN and The Guardian, has published profiles of 164 health care workers who died of COVID-19 and identified more than 900 who reportedly fell victim to the disease. An analysis of the stories showed that 62% of the health care workers who died were people of color.

They include Roger Liddell, 64, a Black hospital supply manager in Michigan, who sought but was denied an N95 respirator when his work required him to go into COVID-positive patients rooms, according to his labor union. Sandra Oldfield, 53, a Latina, worked at a California hospital where workers sought N95s as well. She was wearing a less-protective surgical mask when she cared for a COVID-positive patient before she got the virus and died.

The study findings follow other research showing that minority health care workers are likely to care for minority patients in their own communities, often in facilities with fewer resources, said Dr. Utibe Essien, a physician and assistant professor of medicine with the University of Pittsburgh.

Those workers may also see a higher share of sick patients, as federal data shows minority patients were disproportionately testing positive and being hospitalized with the virus, Essien said.

Im not surprised by these findings, he said, but Im disappointed by the result.

Dr. Fola May, a UCLA physician and researcher, said the study also reflects the fact that Black and Latino health care workers may live or visit family in minority communities that are hardest-hit by the pandemic because so many work on the front lines of all industries.

The study showed that health care workers of color were five times more likely than the general population to test positive for COVID-19.

Their workplace experience also diverged from that of whites alone. The study found that workers of color were 20% more likely than white workers to care for suspected or confirmed-positive COVID patients. The rate went up to 30% for Black workers specifically.

Black and Latino people overall have been three times as likely as whites to get the virus, a New York Times analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. (Latinos can be of any race or combination of races.)

Health care workers of color were also more likely to report inadequate or reused PPE, at a rate 50% higher than what white workers reported. For Latinos, the rate was double that of white workers.

Its upsetting, said Fiana Tulip, the daughter of a Texas respiratory therapist who died of COVID-19 on July 4. Tulip said her mother, Isabelle Papadimitriou, a Latina, told her stories of facing discrimination over the years.

Jim Mangia, chief executive of St. Johns Well Child and Family Center in south Los Angeles, said his clinics care for low-income people, mostly of color. They were testing about 600 people a day and seeing a 30% positive test rate in June and July. He said they saw high positive rates at nursing homes where a mobile clinic did testing.

He said seven full-time workers scoured the U.S. and globe to secure PPE for his staff, at one point getting a shipment of N95 respirators two days before they would have run out. It was literally touch-and-go, he said.

All health care workers who reported inadequate or reused PPE saw higher risks of infection. Those with inadequate or reused gear who saw COVID patients were more than five times as likely to get the virus as workers with adequate PPE who did not see COVID patients.

The study said reuse could pose a risk of self-contamination or breakdown of materials, but noted that the findings are from March and April, before widespread efforts to decontaminate used PPE.

Chan said even health care workers reporting adequate PPE and seeing COVID patients were far more likely to get the virus than workers not seeing COVID patients nearly five times as likely. That finding suggests a need for more training in putting on and taking off protective gear safely and additional research into how health care workers are getting sick.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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Health care workers of color nearly twice as likely as whites to get COVID - The CT Mirror

Shippensburg University and WellSpan Health join forces to provide health care to students – Waynesboro Record Herald

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FridayAug7,2020at10:45AM

SHIPPENSBURG Shippensburg University is pleased to announce a partnership with regional health care leader, WellSpan Health, to provide on-campus health care services to Shippensburg University students.

WellSpan will operate comprehensive primary care services from the universitys Etter Health Center.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Shippensburg University to provide quality health services to their campus. Ensuring access to quality health care is our mission and by working together, we are doing just that for their students," said Niki Hinckle, Vice President of Operations for WellSpan Health in Adams, Cumberland and Franklin counties.

In addition to primary health care, students will benefit from WellSpans vast network of resources and expertise in wellness programming such as nutrition, physical fitness, and disease prevention. Services include point-of-care testing (including COVID-19 testing when necessary), medications, and immunizations. Students who cannot see staff in person have access to WellSpans telemedicine services.

The partnership strengthens the universitys commitment to wellness, which is supported by a campus-wide initiative launched last fall. "We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with our community partner, WellSpan, to deepen Shippensburg Universitys commitment to wellness. Now more than ever, I encourage students to make their wellness a priority and use the extensive services offered under this new partnership," said Shippensburg University President Laurie A. Carter.

The center is open to all Shippensburg University students and will operate during the regular semester from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

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Shippensburg University and WellSpan Health join forces to provide health care to students - Waynesboro Record Herald

Psoriasis is a debilitating condition: Try Ayurveda to deal with symptoms – TheHealthSite

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Psoriasis is a relatively common skin disorder where skin cells multiply almost 10 times faster than normal. This results in the build-up of bumpy red patches covered with white scales. Though they can grow anywhere, such patches are usually seen on the scalp, elbows, knees, and lower back. In severe cases, it can cover almost the entire body. It is not a contagious condition. It can cause severe itching, bleeding and cracking of skin. Sometimes, it also affects the fingernails and toenails, including discoloration and pitting of the nails. Psoriatic arthritis is also common among people with this condition. It causes pain and swelling in the joints. This is usually a hereditary condition. But stress, allergies and some medications can also trigger this condition. Also Read - Ayurvedic treatment for Psoriasis: Can Panchakarma therapy really help?

Treatment for this condition includes topical application of steroid creams, moisturizers, creams and ointments. Retinoid creams also help deal with the symptoms as can light therapy. This is a log-lasting condition interspersed with flare-ups and long periods of remission. Other than Allopathy, sometimes, alternative healing therapies may also help you deal with the symptoms. Ayurveda, the ancient healing therapy from India, can help you here. Also Read - Turmeric, apple cider vinegar and other home remedies for psoriasis

This healing therapy, which was developed more than 3,000 years ago, uses a combination of diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and some Ayurvedic medicines. Though some experts say that there is no proof that Ayurveda can help, advocates say that it really does help in the treatment of psoriasis. It goes without saying that some Ayurvedic practices, like eating veggies and drinking plenty of water, are healthy for everyone including psoriasis patients. But practices like bloodletting may be unsafe in the wrong hands. So, you must always go to a certified Ayurveda doctor for treatment. Also Read - 5 effective home remedies to treat psoriasis

Ayurveda believes that everyone is made up of five basic elements: Air, earth, fire, ether and water. Together, these elements form life forces called doshas. The three doshas are vata, which is ether and air, pitta, which is fire and water, and Kapha, which is water and earth. According to this healing therapy, psoriasis results from unbalanced vata and kapha doshas. Toxins, stress, and certain foods, like yogurt, seafood, and salty food, can also cause this condition.

In Ayurveda, your treatment will depend on your symptoms and lifestyle. It may include diet changes, specific herbs, massage with specially formulated oils, enemas or laxatives and controlled vomiting. Sometimes, treatment may also involve blood cleansing using herbs or bloodletting, which involves draining blood from your body.

You ma be asked to drink lots of water and eat green, leafy vegetables. Turmeric, which reduces inflammation and has antioxidant properties is an important of treatment here. You may also be asked to apply a paste made from a botanical powder made from the andira araroba tree, mixed with vinegar or lemon juice to psoriasis patches. Olive oil is also used for topical application as is cayenne pepper and aloe vera. Moreover, your therapist may ask you to avoid foods and drinks like alcohol, red meat, spicy food, junk food and acidic foods.

Published : August 8, 2020 6:12 pm | Updated:August 8, 2020 6:20 pm

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Psoriasis is a debilitating condition: Try Ayurveda to deal with symptoms - TheHealthSite

Fourteen small molecule and biological agents for psoriatic arthritis: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials – DocWire News

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Background:The comparative efficacy and safety of small molecule and biological agents in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) remain unknown.

Objectives:To compare the efficacy and safety of 14 small molecule and biological agents by network meta-analysis (NMA).

Methods:Relevant randomized controlled trials involving biological treatments for PsA were identified by searching PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Clinicaltrials.gov and by manual retrieval, up to June 2018. NMA was conducted with Stata 14.0 based on the frequentist method. Effect measures were odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Intervention efficacy and safety were ranked according to the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA).

Results:A total of 30 studies involving 10,191 adult subjects were included. According to NMA, 20% improvement in modifed American College of Rheumatology response criteria (ACR20) response, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index 75 (PASI75) response, and serious adverse events rate (SAEs) were observed. In direct comparisons, most of the biologics performed better than placebo in terms of ACR20 response rate and PASI75 response rate. Additionally, all medicines were comparable to placebo in terms of SAEs except secukinumab. In terms of mixed comparisons, with regard to the ACR20 response, etanercept (ETN) and infliximab (IFX) were more effective than golimumab (GOL), with ORs of 3.33 (95% CI: 1.17-9.48) and 1.24 (95% CI: 0.61-2.52), respectively. For PASI75 response, IFX was superior to certolizumab pegol (OR = 10.08, 95% CI: 1.54-75.48). In addition, these medicines were comparable to each other in terms of SAEs. ETN and IFX were shown to have the most favorable SUCRA for achieving improved ACR20 and PASI75 responses, respectively, while ABT-122 exhibited the best safety according to the SUCRA for SAEs. Considering both the efficacy (ACR20, PASI75) and safety (SAEs), GOL, ETN, and IFX are the top 3 treatments.

Conclusions and implications:Direct and indirect comparisons and integrated results suggested that the 3 anti- tumor necrosis factor - biologics (GOL, ETN, and IFX) can be considered the best treatments for PsA after comprehensive consideration of efficacy and safety.

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Fourteen small molecule and biological agents for psoriatic arthritis: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials - DocWire News

‘Pessimistic’ Remainer farmers SILENCED as benefits of Brexit on their industry outlined – Daily Express

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Nick Von Westenholz of the National Farmers' Union arguedBrexit could be very beneficial for farmers in the UK. While speaking to Stephen Cole on CGTN, Mr Westenholz highlighted the changes Boris Johnson's Government would need to implement to ensure British farmers could thrive. He added the benefits of Brexit for farmers are there but there are important steps the Government needs to take after leaving the European Union.

Mr Cole said: "Farmers are also notorious for being pessimists.

"You are a farm owner, are you looking forward to anything good coming out of Brexit?"

Mr Westernholz detailed what benefits UK farmers could expect if the correct policies are introduced by Boris Johnson's Government.

He said: "I have always said that if this is handled correctly, Brexit can work.

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"It is probably a narrow pathway, however.

"But you need to have a good deal with the EU that maintains tariff-free trade and maintains that hugely important market for UK farmers.

"You need to make sure you have got an immigration system that continues to provide the labour that farmers need.

"Often that has been supplied from overseas rather than the domestic market.

"We need a future agricultural support system that supports farmers and helps them become more productive."

Mr Westenholtz also warned of the potential dangers of not making the correct decisions soon after cutting ties with the European Union.

He said: "We need to be really careful not to be rushing into trade deals with other countries that throw farming under the bus.

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"Instead, over a period of time, we need to be making deals that begin to open up some of the export markets for us.

"All of that is possible and within the gift of Government policy.

"Whether we get it or not is a different question."

Both the EU and UK have admitted current trade deal talks have been inconclusive but both sides remain determined to agree a trade deal by the end of the year.

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'Pessimistic' Remainer farmers SILENCED as benefits of Brexit on their industry outlined - Daily Express

Brexit row: Joe Biden poised to favour Ireland over UK after election – Express

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Democratic candidate Joe Biden is climbing up the polls to take the lead over the incumbent President, Donald Trump, who is running again this year for the Republican Party. The Government under both Theresa May and Boris Johnson has attempted to strengthen the special relationship between the UK and the US during Mr Trumps time in office. Talks of a trade deal with the US after Brexit have been mentioned regularly, as Britain looks to build up its global commerce.

However, Mr Biden has been vocal in his opposition to Brexit in the past so his potential election is reportedly leaving Westminster unsettled.

London correspondent Mark Landler explained at the end of July that Mr Trumps full-throated endorsement of Brexit has made the US a safe harbour.

He continued: His promise of a lucrative trade deal gave Mr Johnson a selling point with his voters.

However, his rival Mr Biden would look out for the interests of Ireland in a post-Brexit Europe, and would have little motive to prioritise an Anglo-American trade deal, according to the commentator.

The senator is a keen Irish-American and has allies in the Democratic Partys Irish lobby.

While the Democratic candidate does have English heritage too, he is more likely to focus on maintaining the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Trumps predecessor Barack Obama once said that the UK would be at the back of the queue in any trade talks with the US, if it voted to leave the EU.

As the former vice president to President Barack Obama, Mr Biden is likely to follow a similar line.

A former British ambassador to the US, Peter Westmacott, also told the New York Times: It will not be lost on Biden that the last two British prime ministers [Theresa May and Boris Johnson] went out of their way to be nice to and about Trump.

READ MORE:How fisheries have more than just monetary value to Britons

He is instinctively comfortable with Brits, but London will have to work on the relationship.

He added: If the UK ends up with a no deal or other Brexit outcome which is bad news for Ireland he will not be impressed.

Ireland has been an area of concern for many during the Brexit negotiations.

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Any hard border between Northern Ireland, which is set to officially leave the EU, and the Republic of Ireland, set to remain in the bloc, caused concern violence could return to the area.

Yet, Mr Johnson addressed the problems head on last year with the then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and came up with the Northern Ireland Protocol, where a border would be placed down the Irish Sea instead.

Others suggest that Mr Biden could be a better partner for the UK post-Brexit than Trump, because he is a believer in alliances.

Indeed, according to Tim Shipman in The Sunday Times last month, a Government minister admitted that a Trump defeat would make things much easier for Westminster.

The New York Times also suggested that it is not a sudden rupture but a gradual slide into irrelevance that could pose a problem for the UK if relations with the US deteriorate.

The danger would come if Mr Bidens focus fell on the rest of Europe rather than the special relationship with the UK.

Mr Biden said during a visit to the UK in 2018: Had I been a Member of Parliament, had I been a British citizen, I would have voted against leaving.

US interests are diminished with Great Britain not an integral part of Europe.

Mr Johnson has not commented on the US presidential race so far even though Mr Trump gave his vocal support to the Conservatives when he called into a radio show during the general election in December.

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Brexit row: Joe Biden poised to favour Ireland over UK after election - Express

Young professionals looking to exit before Brexit – Property Wire

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Theres been a surge in young professionals looking to work remotely for UK companies from abroad before Brexit is completed.

Some young professionals are looking to move before the transition period of Brexit potentially makes it harder to sort out things like healthcare and visas.

Many have enjoyed the freedom of working from home, and have demonstrated to their bosses that their location is irrelevant to the continuing success of the business.

Simon Conn, an expert in overseas property, said: I have been getting enquiries each day from people looking for a mortgage to buy their dream home in sunnier climes.

There is an increasing number of people planning to continue working for their existing UK employer, but basing themselves in their dream destination.

Some 66% of Brits living abroad in the EU are of working age (16-64 years old) and there are currently over five million Britons living overseas.

Conn added: Property costs are often much lower, the standard of living is good, and the stress levels of the daily commute are banished forever.

Meyrick Green, account manager for strategic partnerships for Moneycorp, a foreign exchange company, said: One thing that does need to be considered is the question of healthcare, visas (if needed), right to work and so on.

For Europe this was always relatively easy, but with the transition period of Brexit looming, this might change hence why we are seeing a surge in people wanting to do things now.

Alistair Lockhart, director at French Entre Property, said: We dont ask the age of our prospective buyers as unless they are applying for a mortgage it isnt relevant.

However, it certainly feels like a lot of the enquiries are coming from a slightly younger demographic than the usual band of 30-40-year-old buyers with families.

The appeal of being able to potentially work remotely from a country they have been dreaming about, whilst maintaining their UK salaries, must be hugely appealing.

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Young professionals looking to exit before Brexit - Property Wire

VLT Measures Main-Belt Asteroid Euphrosyne and Its Moon | Astronomy – Sci-News.com

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Using the high-angular resolution observations from ESOs Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have determined the 3D shape, diameter and density of the asteroid (31) Euphrosyne and the diameter of its moon.

This image, taken with the ZIMPOL instrument on ESOs Very Large Telescope (VLT), shows the asteroid Euphrosyne and its moon S/2019 (31) 1 (right). Image credit: Yang et al, arXiv: 2007.08059.

Euphrosyne, one of the biggest objects in the Solar Systrems main asteroid belt, was discovered by James Ferguson on September 1, 1854, the first asteroid found from North America.

This asteroid is the namesake of an asteroid family that occupies a highly inclined region in the outer main belt and contains a remarkably large number of members.

Euphrosyne orbits the Sun every 5.61 years and has a small satellite, S/2019 (31) 1, discovered in 2019.

It is a C-type asteroid with a primitive surface possibly covered by ejection blanket in the same collision which created its moon and other Euphrosyne asteroids.

The main asteroid belt is a dynamically living relic, with the shapes, sizes, and surfaces of most asteroids being altered by ongoing collisional fragmentation and cratering events, said ESO astronomer Bin Yang and her colleagues.

Space probes and ground-based observations revealed a fascinating variety among asteroid shapes, where large asteroids are nearly spherical and small asteroids are irregularly shaped.

Most asteroids with diameters greater than 100 km (62 miles) have likely kept their internal structure intact since their time of formation because the dynamical lifetime of those asteroids is estimated to be comparable to the age of the Solar System.

Full set of VLT/SPHERE/ZIMPOL images of (31) Euphrosyne. Image credit: Yang et al, arXiv: 2007.08059.

Dr. Yang and co-authors used the SPHERE (Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research) and the ZIMPOL (Zurich Imaging Polarimeter) instruments on VLT to observe Euphrosyne and its tiny moon.

Their observations show that the asteroid has a nearly spherical shape with the sphericity index of 0.9888 and its surface lacks large impact craters.

Euphrosyne is the third most spherical body among the main belt asteroids with known shapes after Ceres and Hygiea, they said.

Its round shape is consistent with a re-accumulation event following the giant impact at the origin of the Euphrosyne family.

According to the astronomers, Euphrosynes diameter is 268 km (166.5 miles), making it one of the top ten largest main belt asteroids.

The bulk density of Euphrosyne is 1,665 kg/m3, which is the first high precision density measurement via ground-based observations for a Cb-type asteroid, they said.

Such density implies that a large amount of water (at least 50% in volume) must be present in Euphrosyne.

The surface of Euphrosyne is nearly featureless with no large craters detected, which is consistent with its young age and ice-rich composition.

The researchers also estimated the diameter of Euphrosynes satellite to be 4 km (2.5 miles).

The orbit of S/2019 (31) 1 is circular, prograde, and equatorial, similar to most known satellites around large main belt asteroids, they said.

The findings will be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

_____

B. Yang et al. 2020. Binary asteroid (31) Euphrosyne: Ice-rich and nearly spherical. A&A, in press; arXiv: 2007.08059

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VLT Measures Main-Belt Asteroid Euphrosyne and Its Moon | Astronomy - Sci-News.com

View On Astronomy: Perseids meteor shower an annual attraction – The Independent

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By David A. Huestis

Special to the Independent

After more than 45 years of enjoying the splendor of the heavens, I still look forward to a simple yet rewarding observing experience watching burning rocks falling from the sky. Im referring to a meteor shower. There are about a dozen major meteor showers and hundreds of minor ones. During August we are fortunate to encounter the second most productive (the December Geminids are better) meteor display of the year the Perseids. These meteors are a stream of particles stripped off Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttles surface by the solar wind and left in orbit around the Sun. Annually the Earth passes through this stream and we experience a display of shooting stars.

For 2020 the Perseids peak on the night of Aug. 11-12, with the best time to observe as many meteors as possible between midnight and dawn. This shooting star display is the northern hemispheres most widely observed meteor shower because people spend more time with outdoor activities during late summer. Unfortunately, a last quarter Moon rises around midnight not far from the radiant point in the constellation Perseus from where the meteors appear to emanate. The Moons brightness will somewhat reduce the number of meteors to be seen. While the Perseid shower can produce between 60 and 90 meteors per hour, around southern New England we can usually expect to see no more than 60 shooting stars per hour. Moonlight will further reduce that number this year.

The Perseids, no larger than a thumbnail, blaze across the heavens at 134,222 miles per hour and completely disintegrate as they plunge through our atmosphere. In fact, J. Kelly Beatty, senior editor of Sky and Telescope Magazine, makes this analogy. The little nuggets in Grape-Nuts cereal (see accompanying photo) are a close match to the size of particles that typically create meteors in our atmosphere

The Perseids are usually green, red or orange in color. And some members of this shower are bright and often produce exploding fireballs. Also, fireballs may be more prevalent as we approach morning twilight. Why? At that time, we are hitting the meteor stream head-on! Maximize your viewing opportunity by finding a dark sky location well away any from light pollution.

The best way to observe any meteor shower is to get comfortable on a chaise lounge or blanket. During the Perseids you must protect yourself from the hungry mosquitoes. (Last summer the EEE virus prevented many of us from observing the Perseids. I prefer the cold December Geminids any day!) Perseus is well up in the northeast sky after midnight. Use the accompanying sky map to locate this star pattern above the northeast horizon. If you can identify the constellation of Cassiopeia, which looks like an M or W tipped sideways, then youre close enough. As Perseus rises higher the number of meteors will increase. Dont simply concentrate your gaze in that direction. The meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, so constantly scan as much of the heavens as possible without straining your neck. If the weather cooperates and you have the time, continue your observing session until dawns early light overwhelms the stars.

If the weather does not cooperate or you are unable to observe on peak night, try your luck on the nights before and after. You wont see 60 meteors per hour, but you may catch a couple of dozen or so. And if you happen to see a stationary meteor (think about itits headed directly at you), dont forget to duck!

And finally, while you are out there under the stars please take notice of Jupiter and Saturn. They will be located to the east (left) of the teapot asterism that is the constellation Sagittarius. Next month I will provide a brief observers guide to these beautiful distant worlds.

Keep your eyes to the skies.

The author has been involved in the field of observational astronomy in Rhode Island for more than 35 years. He serves as historian of Skyscrapers Inc., the second oldest continuously operating amateur astronomical society in the United States.

The author has been involved in the field of observational astronomy in Rhode Island for more than 35 years. He serves as historian of Skyscrapers Inc., the second oldest continuously operating amateur astronomical society in the United States.

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View On Astronomy: Perseids meteor shower an annual attraction - The Independent

A Globular Cluster was Completely Dismantled and Turned Into a Ring Around the Milky Way – Universe Today

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According to predominant theories of galaxy formation, the earliest galaxies in the Universe were born from the merger of globular clusters, which were in turn created by the first stars coming together. Today, these spherical clusters of stars are found orbiting around the a galactic core of every observable galaxy and are a boon for astronomers seeking to study galaxy formation and some of the oldest stars in the Universe.

Interestingly enough, it appears that some of these globular clusters may not have survived the merger process. According to a new study by an international team of astronomers, a cluster was torn apart by our very own galaxy about two billion years ago. This is evidenced by the presence of a metal-poor debris ring that they observed wrapped around the entire Milky Way, a remnant from this ancient collision.

The study, which recently appeared in the journal Nature, was led by Zhen Wan and Geraint Lewis (a Ph.D. astrophysics student and his professor at the University of Sydney, respectively) and included members from the Macquarie University Research Centre for Astronomy, the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, the ASTRO 3D center, the McWilliams Center for Cosmology, and multiple universities.

Their study was part of the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey (S5), an international collaboration dedicated to observing stellar streams in the Milky Way. Using the Anglo-Australian Telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia, the collaboration measured the speeds of the Phoenix Stream (a stream of stars in the Phoenix constellation) that appeared to be the remnants of a globular cluster.

Once we knew which stars belonged to the stream, we measured their abundance of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium; something astronomers refer to as metallicity, explained Wan in a recent Lowell Observatory press release.

To break it down, the oldest stars in the Universe are metal-poor because heavier elements like calcium, oxygen, phosphorous, iron, etc did not exist in abundance. Unlike hydrogen and helium (which were extremely plentiful in the early Universe) these elements formed in the interiors of stars sand were dispersed only after the earliest generation of stars collapsed and dispersed these elements when they exploded in supernovae.

In this respect, astronomers are able to discern the age of stars based on how metal-rich they are. Previous observations of globular clusters have found that their stars are enriched with heavier elements, which they obtained from previous generations of stars. As a result, astronomers have established a metallicity floor for globular clusters, a value that none of them can theoretically fall below.

However, the S5 collaboration noted that the metallicity of the Phoenix Stream (specifically, its iron-to-hydrogen content) sits well below this floor. In short, the Phoenix Stream represents the debris of the most metal-poor globular clusters discovered to date, making it distinct from the roughly 150 globular clusters that form a tenuous halo envelop the Milky Way today.

As Lowell Observatory astronomer Kyler Kuehn, one of the founders of the S5 collaboration and a co-author of the article, remarked:

We can trace the lineage of stars by measuring the different types of chemical elements we detect in them, much like we can trace a persons connection to their ancestors through their DNA. The most interesting thing about the remains of this cluster is that its stars have much lower abundance of these elements than any others we have seen. Its almost like finding someone with DNA that doesnt match any other person, living or dead. That leads to some very interesting questions about the clusters history that were missing.

We were really surprised to find that the Phoenix Stream is distinctly different to all of the other globular clusters in the Milky Way, added Wan. Even though the cluster was destroyed billions of years ago, we can still tell it formed in the early universe.

In short, the Phoenix Streams very existence indicates the existence of globular clusters that were below the metallicity floor. As to why none have been discovered so far, the answer may lie in the debris disk itself: they were destroyed in the early Universe as they were still merging with galaxies and galaxies merged with each other.

Of course, this is not yet a conclusive explanation for the origins of the Phoenix Streams progenitor cluster or where it sits in the evolutionary timeline of galaxies. Whats needed at this point is more observations and more evidence gathering to see if other progenitor clusters show the same levels of low metallicity.

There is plenty of theoretical work left to do, said co-author Geraint Lewis of the University of Sydney (and a co-author on the study). There are now many new questions for us to explore about how galaxies and globular clusters form, which is incredibly exciting.

Further Reading: Lowell Observatory, Nature

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A Globular Cluster was Completely Dismantled and Turned Into a Ring Around the Milky Way - Universe Today

Here’s How Exploding Stars Forged The Calcium in Your Teeth And Bones – ScienceAlert

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Up to half the calcium in the Universe and that includes our bones and teeth is thought to come from exploding supernova stars, and researchers have now been able to get unprecedented insight at how these ultra-rare, calcium-rich supernovae reach the end of their lives.

The never-before-seen look at how these stellar explosions throw out so much calcium was carried out using deep space X-ray and infrared imaging, and fills in quite a few of the gaps in our scientific knowledge about the process.

Drawing together contributions from 67 authors across 15 countries, the resulting study suggests that the calcium-rich supernovae start off as compact stars that quickly lose mass at the end of their lives, giving off an outer layer of gas that exploding materials then collide with.

(Aaron M. Geller, Northwestern University)

"These events are so few in number that we have never known what produced calcium-rich supernovae," says astrophysicist Wynn Jacobson-Galan, from Northwestern University.

"By observing what this star did in its final month before it reached its critical, tumultuous end, we peered into a place previously unexplored, opening new avenues of study within transient science."

The supernova in question, SN 2019ehk, was first spotted by amateur astronomer Joel Shepherd in the Messier 100 (M100) spiral galaxy about 55 million light-years away from Earth. Very soon after the discovery was made, most of Earth's major telescopes were following it with transient events like this, speed is crucial.

What astronomers weren't expecting was the luminosity of the X-ray light that SN 2019ehk was giving off. Scientists quickly realised they were looking at a flood of high-energy X-rays flowing from the star and hitting the outer shell of gas, providing key clues to the materials that it was shedding and how much of the material there was.

The readings from the dying star helped scientists to work out what was happening: the reactions between the expelled materials and the outer gas ring were producing intensely hot temperatures and high pressures, leading to a calcium-producing nuclear reaction as the star tries to shed its heat and energy as quickly as possible.

"Most massive stars create small amounts of calcium during their lifetimes, but events like SN 2019ehk appear to be responsible for producing vast quantities of calcium and in the process of exploding disperse it through interstellar space within galaxies," says astronomer Rgis Cartier, from the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) in the US.

"Ultimately this calcium makes its way into forming planetary systems, and into our bodies in the case of our Earth!"

It's because these stars are so important in calcium production that scientists have been so keen to take a look at them something that has proved difficult (even Hubble missed SN 2019ehk). The explosion at the centre of the new study is responsible for the most calcium ever seen emitted in a singular observed astrophysical event.

Being able to see the inner workings of this type of supernova will open up new areas of research and give us a better idea of how the calcium in our bones and teeth and everywhere else in the Universe came to be.

It's also a great example of the international scientific community working together to capture and record something of great importance. Just 10 hours after the initial bright burst was spotted in the sky by Joel Shepherd, some of the best telescopes we have were ready to record what happened next.

"Before this event, we had indirect information about what calcium-rich supernovae might or might not be," says astrophysicist Raffaella Margutti, from Northwestern University. "Now, we can confidently rule out several possibilities."

The research has been published in The Astrophysical Journal.

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Could JWST Discover the Largest Object in the Universe? Now. Powered by – Now. Powered by Northrop Grumman.

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Soon, the James Webb Space Telescope (also known as JWST or Webb) will expand our views of the sky. Astronomers will use the new telescope to observe previously unseen regions of space, ranging from the galaxies that formed right after the Big Bang to the youngest star systems that are forming today.

Earth is minuscule in the scale of the universe. So far, astronomers have discovered giant planets, supermassive black holes, hypergiant stars, superclusters of galaxies and other large objects in between. And thats while observing just a small sliver of the universe with the Hubble Space Telescope. It is hard to predict what Webb will ultimately discover.

Its a new instrument, the largest telescope ever built for space, says Jon Arenberg, chief engineer for Space Science Missions at Northrop Grumman. Well be able to collect data that we have not gotten our hands on before, including observing the early universe, in particular.

Astronomers have already discovered some humongous objects, and JWST could soon uncover even more giants in space.

By having this new instrument that that can observe even more galaxies than weve seen before, we will be able to look for structures and groups of these galaxies in places weve never looked, Arenberg explains.

Contemplating the size of objects in space compared to our tiny home on Earth could make your head spin, but Arenberg finds comfort and pride in JWSTs mission of discovery.

I feel empowered, enlightened, illuminated not tiny, Arenberg says. He adds, The scale of the universe is huge. But so is our planet compared to me, and I dont feel small or insignificant here on Earth.

Its a straightforward question with a nebulous answer. First, it depends on how you define size by mass or volume. A giant cloud of gas, for example, is enormous in volume but relatively small in mass (it doesnt contain much matter). Black holes, on the other hand, are defined by infinitely small volume with infinite density, according to Sky and Telescope.

Secondly, well have to consider what counts as an object. If a group of particles is an object, what about a group of galaxies?

One thing is certain, the largest objects in space are much, much larger than Earth. They just appear small because they are so far away from us. Here are some of the largest known objects in the universe.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Its a giant ball of gas that could fit all the other planets in the solar system inside it. According to NASA, more than 1,300 Earths would fit inside Jupiter.

But Jupiter is tiny compared to HAT-P-67 b, an exoplanet (orbiting a different star than our sun) that astronomers first observed in 2017. Astronomy.com reported that this newly discovered planet is 2.08 times the size of Jupiter, although it isnt as dense, weighing in at 60% less than Jupiters mass. Its the biggest, fluffiest planet we know of so far.

According to NASA, our sun is a million times the size of the Earth. But to put this in context, if our entire solar system was the size of a quarter, the sun would be a microscopic speck of dust on that quarter.

As big as a million times Earth sounds, Space.com points out that our sun is only an average-sized star. Scientists have discovered hypergiant stars such as UY Scuti, which could fit more than 1,700 of our suns in its radius.

Unlike stars, black holes dont take up space, but they are dense. The largest black hole in our neighborhood, Sagittarius A*, is 4 million times more massive than the sun, according to MIT Technology Review. Meanwhile, 700 million light-years away from Earth, a galaxy called Holm 15A contains the largest known black hole in the observable universe. Astronomers used data gathered by the Very Large Telescope in Chiles Atacama Desert to run simulations that map out this distant galaxy. Their models suggest that Holm 15A has a supermassive black hole that is at least 40 billion times more massive than the sun.

Although structures might not technically count as objects according to astrophysics terminology, from a logical perspective, a structure is the largest object in the universe.

Gravity can make galaxies clump together in space. Multiple galaxies form clusters, which can form superclusters, and even long lines of galaxies called walls, according to New Scientist. The largest known structure is the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Great Wall. This superstructure is made of 830 galaxies bound by gravity that swirl together in a wall that is a billion light-years across.

JWST could help astronomers discover even larger superstructures.

We will be able to collect images and spectra from hundreds or tens of thousands of galaxies. This will help astronomers identify groups of galaxies, says Arenberg.

Great societies have always pursued the unknown, explains Arenberg. He says, Increasing our scientific knowledge is not only good in and of itself, but its the basis of our economy and our security.

All these records for the largest objects in space could soon be broken as new, powerful telescopes reveal hidden spots in the universe.

Peering into deep space with JWST is the next step in a long legacy of exploration.

Arenberg says, Americans have always prided themselves on discovery and the frontier since the beginning of the country. And this is just carrying on that legacy from our ancestors. We should dare to do these amazing things and inspire ourselves and inspire the next generation.

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Astronomers find the largest impact crater in the solar system – FREE NEWS

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The researchers said they had found the largest crater in the solar system. It was formed due to the impact of a huge asteroid, which was moving at a speed of 20 km/s.

Scientists have discovered the largest impact crater in the entire solar system. Astronomers found it on Jupiters largest moon, Ganymede. Most of the celestial body is covered with scars from impacts, so it was difficult for researchers to find this crater.

Astronomers have relied on observational data from many past NASA missions. They studied the massive Moon, which is larger than Mercury, the smallest planet. In particular, they concentrated on the grooves that appear on the surface of celestial bodies.

Researchers have learned that these grooves indicate powerful blows from all sides of Ganymede. But upon re-examining the structures, the scientists behind the new research suggested that the structure was an impact crater.

The researchers also carried out complex simulations on a very powerful computer at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. These data indicate that, most likely, a celestial body collided with a huge asteroid. Its diameter is about 15 km., It moved at a speed of 20 kilometers per second. The researchers suggest that particles of a celestial body can be found in the crater.

They want to confirm this theory scientists can do it when the European Space Agencys JUICE probe reaches the moon in 2029. Its launch is scheduled for 2022.

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Astronomers find the largest impact crater in the solar system - FREE NEWS

Stryker’s Neuroform Atlas Stent System granted an expanded indication – DOTmed HealthCare Business News

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KALAMAZOO, Michigan, USA, Aug. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Stryker announced today that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for an expanded indication of its Neuroform Atlas Stent System, becoming the first and only adjunctive stent approved for use in the posterior (back of the brain) circulation. Aneurysms in the posterior circulation rupture more frequently and are generally more difficult to treat. With the approval of the Neuroform Atlas adjunctive stent for the posterior circulation, long term treatment is more feasible.

Strykers Neuroform Atlas Stent System, which was granted an expanded indication, providing a new option for patients with aneurysms in the back of the brain.Already approved for use in the anterior circulation, the expanded indication was granted based on robust clinical trial evidence proving the safety and efficacy of the device. The combined patients from both the anterior and posterior cohorts totaled 298 patients, making it the largest study of its kind.

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An estimated 6.5 million people in the United States have unruptured brain aneurysms with an average rupture rate of 1 every 18 minutes. Ruptured brain aneurysms are fatal in roughly 50% of cases.1

"Complete occlusion, or complete blocking of blood flow, is the gold standard in determining long term aneurysm healing," said Dr Brian Jankowitz, Director, Cerebrovascular Surgery at the Cooper Neurological Institute in Camden, New Jersey. "With the additional challenges that come with treating posterior circulation aneurysms, we never would have anticipated reaching occlusion rates that rival those found in the anterior circulation. Now with Neuroform Atlas, those same high rates are achievable."

"The results from the Atlas Posterior PMA trial demonstrate that physicians can now address the more difficult posterior circulation aneurysms, offering hope for better outcomes in that patient population," said Mark Paul, president of Stryker's Neurovascular division. "This expanded indication of Neuroform Atlas, as the first and only adjunctive stent for use in the posterior circulation, reflects our ongoing commitment to advancing stroke care for patients with cerebrovascular disease."

About Neuroform Atlas Stent SystemStryker's Neuroform Atlas Stent System is a self-expanding nitinol stent used in conjunction with metal coils to pack weakened blood vessel sacs called aneurysms within the brain. The stent is positioned across the aneurysm neck to hold metal coils in place and occlude the aneurysm.

The Neuroform Atlas Stent System is indicated for use with neurovascular embolization coils in the anterior and posterior circulation of the neurovasculature for the endovascular treatment of patients 18 years of age with saccular wide-necked (neck width 4 mm or a dome-to-neck ratio of < 2) intracranial aneurysms arising from a parent vessel with a diameter of 2.0 mm and 4.5 mm.

About StrykerStryker is one of the world's leading medical technology companies and, together with its customers, is driven to make healthcare better. The company offers innovative products and services in Orthopaedics, Medical and Surgical, and Neurotechnology and Spine that help improve patient and hospital outcomes.

SOURCE Stryker

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Google’s AI thinks women wearing masks have mouths covered with duct tape – ZDNet

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AI may not know what's going on here.

Artificial intelligence is a work in progress.

Or, as some critics might say , a work in abject regress that will wreck humanity's remaining faith in itself.

Even some tech companies seem a touch unsure about their own AI systems. Why, not too long ago IBM announced it was withdrawing from the facial recognition business altogether.

We'll come back to IBM in a moment. You see, I've just been handed the results of a study that leaves a lot to consider.

Performed by marketing company Wunderman Thompson's Data group, the study examined whether well-known visual AI systems look at men wearing PPE masks in the same way as they do women.

The researchers took 256 images of each gender -- of varying qualities and taken in varying locations -- and then used generic models trained by some of the larger names in tech: Google Cloud Vision, Microsoft Azure's Cognitive Services Computer Vision, and IBM's Watson Visual Recognition.

The results were a little chilling.

Though none of the systems were particularly stellar at spotting masks, they were twice as likely to identify male mask-wearers as female mask-wearers.

So what did they think the women were wearing? Well, Google's AI identified 28% of the images as being women with their mouths covered by duct tape. In 8% of cases, the AI thought these were women with facial hair. Quite a lot of facial hair, it seems.

IBM's Watson took things a little further. In 23% of cases, it saw a woman wearing a gag. In another 23% of cases, it was sure this was a woman wearing a restraint or chains.

Microsoft's Computer Vision may need a little more accurate coding too. It suggested that 40% of the women were wearing a fashion accessory, while 14% were wearing lipstick.

Such results may make many wonder where these AIs get their ideas from. A simple answer might be "men."

The researchers, however, suggested the machines were looking for inspiration in "a darker corner of the web where women are perceived as victims of violence or silenced."

It's hard not to imagine that's true and it's something that potentially has awful consequences as we disappear ever more readily into AI's odiferous armpit.

The researchers say they're not trying to demonize AI. (AI is quite good at doing that for itself.)

Instead, as Wunderman Thompson's director of data science Ilinca Barsan put it: "If we want our machines to do work that accurately and responsibly reflects society, we need to help them understand the social dynamics that we live in to stop them from reinforcing existing inequalities through automation and put them to work for good instead."

See also:2084: What happens when artificial intelligence meets Big Brother |No matter how sophisticated, AI systems still need human oversight |AI's big problem: Lazy humans just trust the algorithms too much |What is AI? Everything you need to know about Artificial Intelligence

Still, when I asked the researchers what they thought about IBM withdrawing from the facial recognition business, they replied: "Our research focused on visual label recognition rather than facial recognition, but if it's this easy for an (admittedly general) AI model to confuse someone wearing a mask with someone being gagged or restrained, then withdrawing from a business that is so prone to misuse, privacy violation, and training bias seems to be the right (and smart) thing to do for IBM."

Humanity hasn't done too good a job of helping machines understand vital elements. Humanity itself, for example. Partly because machines just don't have that instinct. And partly because humans struggle to understand themselves.

How often have you been driven toward head-butting walls during even the briefest encounter with customer service AI?

I fear, though, that too many AI systems have already been dragged into a painfully biased view of the world, one from which they may never entirely return.

How much more darkness does that risk propagating?

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AI Experts Rank Deepfakes and 19 Other AI-Based Crimes By Danger Level – Unite.AI

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Sarah Tatsis, is the Vice President of Advanced Technology Development Labs at BlackBerry.

BlackBerry already secures more than 500M endpoints including 150M cars on the road. BlackBerry is leading the way with a single platform for securing, managing and optimizing how intelligent endpoints are deployed in the enterprise, enabling customers to stay ahead of the technology curve that will reshape every industry.

BlackBerry launched the Advanced Technology Development Lab (Blackberry Labs) in late 2019. What was the strategic importance of creating an entire new business division for BlackBerry?

As an innovation accelerator, BlackBerry Advanced Technology Development Labs is an intentional investment of 120 team members into the future of the company. The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) alongside a dynamic threat landscape has fostered a climate where organizations have to guard against new threats and breaches at all times. Weve handpicked the team to include experts in the embedded IoT space with diverse capabilities, including strong data science expertise, whose innovation funnel investigates, incubates and develops technologies to keep BlackBerry at the forefront of security innovation. ATD Labs works in strong partnership with the other BlackBerry business units, such as QNX, to further the companys commitment to safety, security and data privacy for its customers. BlackBerry Labs is also partnering with universities on active research and development. Were quite proud of these initiatives and think they will greatly benefit our future roadmap.

Last year, BlackBerry Labs successfully integrated Cylances machine learning technology into BlackBerrys product pipeline. BlackBerry Labs is currently focused on incubating and developing new concepts to accelerate the innovation roadmaps for our Spark and IoT business units. My role is primarily helping to drive the innovation funnel and partner with our business units to deliver valuable solutions for our customers.

What type of products are being developed at BlackBerry Labs?

BlackBerry Labs is facilitating applied research and using insights gained to innovate in the lines of business where were already developing market-leading solutions. For instance, were applying machine learning and data science to our existing areas of application, including automotive, mobile security, etc. This is possible in large part due to the influx of BlackBerry Cylance technology and expertise, which allows us to combine our ML pipeline and market knowledge to create solutions that are securing information and devices in a really comprehensive way. As new technologies and threats emerge, BlackBerry Labs will allow us to take a proactive approach to cybersecurity, not only updating our existing solutions, but evaluating how we can branch out and provide a more comprehensive, data-based, and diverse portfolio to secure the Internet of Things.

At CES, for instance, we unveiled an AI-based transportation solution geared towards OEMs and commercial fleets. This solution provides a holistic view of the security and health of a vehicle and provides control over that security for a manufacturer or fleet manager. It also uses machine learning based continuous authentication to identify a driver of a vehicle based on past driving behavior. Born in BlackBerry Labs, this concept marked the first time BlackBerry Cylances AI and ML technologies have been integrated with BlackBerry QNX solutions, which are currently powering upwards of 150 million vehicles on the road today.

For additional insights into how we envision AI and ML shaping the world of mobility in the years to come, I would encourage you to read Security Confidence Through Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Smart Mobility from our recently released Road to Mobility guide. Also released at this years CES, The Road to Mobility: The 2020 Guide to Trends and Technology for Smart Cities and Transportation, is a comprehensive resource that government regulators, automotive executives and technology innovators can turn to for forward-thinking considerations for making safe and secure autonomous and connected vehicles a reality, delivering a transportation future that drivers, passengers and pedestrians alike can trust.

Featuring a mix of insights from both our own internal experts and recognized voices from across the transportation industry, the guide provides practical strategies for anyone whos interested in playing a vital role in shaping what the vehicles and infrastructure of our shared autonomous future will look like.

How important is artificial intelligence to the future of BlackBerry?

As both IoT and cybersecurity risk explodes, traditional methods of keeping organizations, things, and people safe and secure are becoming unscalable and ineffective. Preventing, detecting, and responding to potential threats needs to account for large amounts of data and intelligent automation of appropriate responses. AI and data science include tools that address these challenges and are therefore critical to the roadmap of BlackBerry. These tools allow BlackBerry to provide even greater value to our customers by reducing risk in efficient ways. BlackBerry leverages AI to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy as part of our strategy to connect, secure, and manage every endpoint in the Internet of Things.

For instance, BlackBerry trains our end point protection AI model against billions of files, good and bad, so that it learns to autonomously convict, or not convict files, pre-execution. The result of this massive, ongoing training effort is a proven track record of blocking payloads attempting to exploit zero-days for up to two years into the future.

The ability to protect organizations from zero-day payloads, well before they are developed and deployed, means that when other IT teams are scrambling to recover from the next major outbreak, it will be business as usual for BlackBerry customers. For example, WannaCry, which rendered millions of computers across the globe useless, was prevented by a BlackBerry (Cylance) machine learning model developed, trained, and deployed 24 months before the malware was first reported.

BlackBerrys QNX software is embedded in more than 150 million cars. Can you discuss what this software does?

Our software provides the safe and secure software foundation for many of the systems within the vehicle. We have a broad portfolio of functional safety-certified software including our QNX operating system, development tools and middleware for autonomous and connected vehicles. In the automotive segment, the companys software is deployed across the vehicle in systems such as ADAS and Safety Systems, Digital Cockpits, Digital Instrument Clusters, Infotainment, Telematics, Gateways, V2X and increasingly is being selected for chassis control and battery management systems that are advancing in complexity.

QNX software includes cybersecurity which protects autonomous vehicles from various cyber-attacks. Can you discuss some of the potential vulnerabilities that autonomous vehicles have to cyberattacks?

I think there is still a misconception out there that when you get into your car to drive home from work later today you might fall prey to a massive and coordinated vehicle cyberattack in which a rogue state threatens to hold you and your vehicle ransom unless you meet their demands. Hollywood movies are good at exaggerating what is possible, for example, instant and entire compromise of fleets that undermines all safety systems in cars. Whilst there are and always will be vulnerabilities within any system, to exploit a vulnerability and on scale with unprecedented reliability presents all kinds of hurdles that must be overcome, and would also require a significant investment of time, energy and resources. I think the general public needs to be reminded of this and the fact that hacking, if and when they do occur, are undesirable but not as movies would have you believe.

With a modern connected vehicle now containing well over 100 million lines of code and some of the most complex software ever deployed by automakers, the need for robust security has never been more important. As the software in a car grows so does the attack surface, which makes it more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Each poorly constructed piece of software represents a potential vulnerability that can be exploited by attackers.

BlackBerry is perfectly positioned to address these challenges as we have the solutions, the expertise and pedigree to be the safety certified and secure foundational software for autonomous and connected vehicles.

How does QNX software protect vehicles from these potential cyberattacks?

BlackBerry has a broad portfolio of products and services to protect vehicles against cybersecurity attacks. Our software has been deployed in critical embedded systems for over three decades and its worth pointing out, has also been certified to the highest level of automotive certification for functional safety with ISO 26262 ASIL D. As a company, we are investing significantly to broaden our safety and security product and services portfolio. Simply put, this is what our customers demand and rely on from us a safe, secure and reliable software platform.

As it pertains to security, we firmly believe that security cannot be an afterthought. For automakers and the entire automotive supply chain, security should be inherent in the entire product lifecycle. As part of our ongoing commitment to security, we published a 7-Pillar Cybersecurity Recommendation to share our insight and expertise on this topic. In addition to our safety-certified and secure operating system and hypervisor, BlackBerry provides a host of security products such as managed PKI, FIPS 140-2 certified toolkits, key inject tools, binary code static analysis tools, security credential management systems (SCMS), and secure Over-The-Air (OTA) software update technology. The worlds leading automakers, tier ones, and chip manufacturers continue to seek out BlackBerrys safety-certified and highly-secure software for their next-generation vehicles. Together with our customers we will help to ensure that the future of mobility is safe, secure and built on trust.

Can you elaborate on what is the QNX Hypervisor?

The QNX Hypervisor enables developers to partition, separate, and isolate safety-critical environments from non-safety critical environments reliably and securely; and to do so with the precision needed in an embedded production system. The QNX Hypervisor is also the worlds first ASIL D safety-certified commercial hypervisor.

What are some of the auto manufacturers using QNX software?

BlackBerrys pedigree in safety, security, and continued innovation has led to its QNX technology being embedded in more than 150 million vehicles on the road today. It is used by the top seven automotive Tier 1s, and by 45+ OEMs including Audi, BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, KIA, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

Is there anything else that you would like to share about Blackberry Labs?

BlackBerry is committed to constant and consistent innovation its at the forefront of everything we do but we also have a unique legacy of being one of the pioneers of mobile based security, and further the idea of a truly secure devices, endpoints, and communications. The lessons we learned over the past decades, as well as the technology we developed, will be instrumental for helping us to create a new standard for privacy and security as the tsunami of connected devices enter the IoT. Much of what BlackBerry has done in the past is re-emerging in front of us, and were one of the only companies prioritizing a fundamental belief that all users deserve solutions that allow them to own their data and secure communications its baked into our entire development pipeline and is one of our key differentiators. BlackBerry Labs is combining this history with new technology innovations to address the rapidly expanding landscape of mobile and connected endpoints, including vehicles, and increased security threats. Through our strong partnerships with BlackBerry business units we are creating new features, products, and services to deliver value to both new and existing customers.

Thank you for the wonderful interview and for your extensive responses. Its clear to me that Blackberry is at the forefront of technology and its best days are still ahead. Readers who wish to learn more should visit the Blackberry website.

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AI Experts Rank Deepfakes and 19 Other AI-Based Crimes By Danger Level - Unite.AI

How the Army Is Really Using AI – AI Daily

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It has always been controversial for the army to implement artificial Intelligence within their task force (particularly with the use of drones) because ethics of it, however artificial intelligence is being implemented within the army in other less controversial ways forget the movie Terminator, artificial intelligence is performing many tedious and manual tasks that would use a lot of time and resources and providing assistance to recognition and conversation systems to predictive analytics pattern matching and autonomous systems.

The army leverage artificial intelligence by (for a more detail example) predicting when vehicle parts may need to be replaced which saves a lot of time, money and increase operational safety. Some programs that leverage data using machine learning include Project Maven that retrieves data from drones and aids to automate some of the work that analysts do again saving time and money. As you can see artificial intelligence is being used to improve the armys efficiency.

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How the Army Is Really Using AI - AI Daily

Why human-like is a low bar for most AI projects – The Next Web

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Show me a human-like machine and Ill show you a faulty piece of tech. The AI market is expected to eclipse $300 billion by 2025. And the vast majority of the companies trying to cash in on that bonanza are marketing some form of human-like AI. Maybe its time to reconsider that approach.

The big idea is that human-like AI is an upgrade. Computers compute, but AI can learn. Unfortunately, humans arent very good at the kinds of tasks a computer makes sense for and AI isnt very good at the kinds of tasks that humans are. Thats why researchers are moving away from development paradigms that focus on imitating human cognition.

A pair of NYU researchers recently took a deep dive into how humans and AI process words and word meaning. Through the study of psychological semantics, the duo hoped to explain the shortcomings held by machine learning systems in the natural language processing (NLP) domain. According to a study they published to arXiv:

Many AI researchers do not dwell on whether their models are human-like. If someone could develop a highly accurate machine translation system, few would complain that it doesnt do things the way human translators do.

In the field of translation, humans have various techniques for keeping multiple languages in their heads and fluidly interfacing between them. Machines, on the other hand, dont need to understand what a word means in order assign the appropriate translation to it.

This gets tricky when you get closer to human-level accuracy. Translating one, two, and three into Spanish is relatively simple. The machine learns that they are exactly equivalent to uno, dos, and tres, and is likely to get those right 100 percent of the time. But when you add complex concepts, words with more than one meaning, and slang or colloquial speech things can get complex.

We start getting into AIs uncanny valley when developers try to create translation algorithms that can handle anything and everything. Much like taking a few Spanish classes wont teach a human all the slang they might encounter in Mexico City, AI struggles to keep up with an ever-changing human lexicon.

NLP simply isnt capable of human-like cognition yet and making it exhibit human-like behavior would be ludicrous imagine if Google Translate balked at a request because it found the word moist distasteful, for example.

This line of thinking isnt just reserved for NLP. Making AI appear more human-like is merely a design decision for most machine learning projects. As the NYU researchers put it in their study:

One way to think about such progress is merely in terms of engineering: There is a job to be done, and if the system does it well enough, it is successful. Engineering is important, and it can result in better and faster performance and relieve humans of dull labor such as keying in answers or making airline itineraries or buying socks.

From a pure engineering point of view, most human jobs can be broken down into individual tasks that would be better suited for automation than AI, and in cases where neural networks would be necessary directing traffic in a shipping port, for example its hard to imagine a use-case where a general AI would outperform several narrow, task-specific systems.

Consider self-driving cars. It makes more sense to build a vehicle made up of several systems that work together instead of designing a humanoid robot that can walk up to, unlock, enter, start, and drive a traditional automobile.

Most of the time, when developers claim theyve created a human-like AI, what they mean is that theyve automated a task that humans are often employed for. Facial recognition software, for example, can replace a human gate guard but it cannot tell you how good the pizza is at the local restaurant down the road.

That means the bar is pretty low for AI when it comes to being human-like. Alexa and Siri do a fairly good human imitation. They have names and voices and have been programmed to seem helpful, funny, friendly, and polite.

But theres no function a smart speaker performs than couldnt be better handled by a button. If you had infinite space and an infinite attention span, you could use buttons for anything and everything a smart speaker could do. One might say Play Mariah Carey, while another says Tell me a joke. The point is, Alexas about as human-like as a giant remote control.

AI isnt like humans. We may be decades or more away from a general AI that can intuit and function at human-level in any domain. Robot butlers are a long way off. For now, the best AI developers can do is imitate human effort, and thats seldom as useful as simplifying a process to something easily automated.

Published August 6, 2020 22:35 UTC

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Why human-like is a low bar for most AI projects - The Next Web

Top Voice AI Stories in the First Half of 2020 with Lau, Prescott and Knig – Voicebot Podcast Ep 162 – Voicebot.ai

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on August 9, 2020 at 4:25 pm

This weeks roundtable discussion focuses on the top voice AI news from the first half of 2020. We, of course, talk about COVID-19 and how that is changing adoption patterns or the industry. Plus we discuss smart speaker adoption figures, the voice app ecosystems and whether there is a voice app winter underway, the rise of custom assistants, a shift to mobile, and more.

Guests this week include Theo Lau, founder of Unconventional Ventures, Katherine Prescott, founder of Voicebrew, and Jan Knig, co-founder of Jovo. Unconventional Ventures is a firm that focuses on banking and has a lot of crossover with voice and AI among other financial services technologies. Theo is also an advisor to Bond.ai and is the former director for market innovation at AARP. Earlier in her career, she worked with voice and data products and services at Nextel and Teligent. Theo earned a degree in Chemical Engineering from RPI and an MS from George Washington University.

VoiceBrew is a daily newsletter that teaches consumers how to get more out of their Alexa-enabled devices. Previously, Katherine was a senior vice president of corporate strategy at Highbridge Capital Management and an analyst to Morgan Stanley focusing on M&A. She earned a BS in economics at Harvard.

Jovo provides a cross-platform development framework for voice apps and technologies. Jan is also an entrepreneur partner at Etribes and was a product manager at Blue Yonder. He earned both Bachelors and Masters degrees in Industrial Engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

You can listen to the podcast interview above, on Google or Apple Podcasts or most of the leading podcast players.

2019 Voice Year in Review with Jargon, Voxly, and Voicebot Voicebot Podcast Ep 128

2020 Voice AI Predictions Part 1 with Ware, Bass, and Lens-FitzGerald Voicebot Podcast Ep 130

2020 Voice AI Predictions Part 2 on Voice App Architecture with Kelvie, McElreath and Ream Voicebot Podcast Ep 131

Harjinder Sandhu Founder and CEO of Saykara a Voice Assistant for Doctors Voicebot Podcast Ep 161

Bret is founder, CEO, and research director of Voicebot.ai. He was named commentator of the year by the Alexa Conference in 2019 and is widely cited in media and academic research as an authority on voice assistants and AI. He is also the host of the Voicebot Podcast and editor of the Voice Insider newsletter.

Originally posted here:

Top Voice AI Stories in the First Half of 2020 with Lau, Prescott and Knig - Voicebot Podcast Ep 162 - Voicebot.ai

Global AI in Manufacturing Market 2020-2026: COVID-19’s Impact on the Industry and Future Projections – PRNewswire

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DUBLIN, Aug. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market by Offering (Hardware, Software, and Services), Technology (Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Context-Aware Computing, and NLP), Application, End-user Industry and Region - Global Forecast to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The AI in the manufacturing market is expected to be valued at USD 1.1 billion in 2020 and is likely to reach USD 16.7 billion by 2026; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 57.2% during the forecast period.

The major drivers for the market are the increasing number of large and complex datasets (often known as big data), evolving Industrial IoT and automation, improving computing power, and increasing venture capital investments. The major restraint for the market is the reluctance among manufacturers to adopt AI-based technologies. The critical challenges facing the AI in the manufacturing market include limited skilled workforce, concerns regarding data privacy, and significant financial and operational impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on manufacturing.

The machine learning technology is expected to account for the largest size of the AI in manufacturing market during the forecast period.

Machine learning's ability to collect and handle big data and its applications in real-time speech translation, robotics, and facial analysis is fuelling its growth in the manufacturing market. AI constitutes various technologies that play a vital role in developing its ecosystem. As AI enables machines to perform activities similar to those performed by human beings, enormous market opportunities have opened.

The predictive maintenance and machinery inspection application of the AI in manufacturing market is projected to hold the largest share during the forecast period.

The predictive maintenance and machinery inspection application held the largest share of the AI in the manufacturing market in 2019. Extensive use of computer vision cameras in machinery inspection, adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and use of big data in the manufacturing industry are the factors driving the growth of the AI in the manufacturing market for predictive maintenance and machinery inspection application. The increasing demand for reducing the operational costs and machine downtime is also supplementing the growth of predictive maintenance and machinery inspection application in industries.

The automobile industry held the largest size of the AI in manufacturing market in 2019.

The extensive use of computer vision cameras in machinery inspection and adoption industrial IoT are the factors driving the growth of the AI in the manufacturing market for the automobile industry. The application of AI to boost employee productivity, improve quality control, and gain better control over business support functions is supporting the growth of AI in the automobile industry.

Impact of COVID-19 on the AI in the manufacturing market

The market is likely to witness a slight plunge in terms of year-on-year growth in 2020. This is largely attributed to the affected supply chains and limited adoption of AI in manufacturing in 2020 due to the lockdowns and shifting priorities of different industries. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions in economies. It is likely to cause supply chain mayhem and eventually force companies and entire industries to rethink and adapt to the global supply chain model.

Many manufacturing companies have halted their production, which has collaterally damaged the supply chain and the industry. This disruption has caused a delay in the adoption of AI-based software and hardware products in the manufacturing sector. The industries have started to restructure their business model for 2020, and many SMEs and large manufacturing plants have halted/postponed any new technology upgrade in their factories in order to recover from the losses caused by the lockdown and economic slowdown.

Research Coverage

The AI in the manufacturing market has been segmented based on offering, technology, application, industry and region. It also provides a detailed view of the market across 4 main regions: North America, Europe, APAC, and RoW.

Key Topics Covered1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary3.1 COVID-19 Impact Analysis: AI in Manufacturing Market3.1.1 Pre-COVID-19 Scenario3.1.2 Post-COVID-19 Scenario

4 Premium Insights4.1 Attractive Opportunities in AI in Manufacturing Market4.2 AI in Manufacturing Market, by Offering4.3 AI in Manufacturing Market, by Technology4.4 APAC: AI in Manufacturing Market, by Industry and Country4.5 AI in Manufacturing Market, by Country

5 Market Overview5.1 Introduction5.2 Market Dynamics5.2.1 Drivers5.2.1.1 Increasingly Large and Complex Dataset5.2.1.2 Evolving Industrial IoT and Automation5.2.1.3 Improving Computing Power5.2.1.4 Increasing Venture Capital Investments5.2.2 Restraints5.2.2.1 Reluctance Among Manufacturers to Adopt AI-Based Technologies5.2.3 Opportunities5.2.3.1 Growth in Operational Efficiency of Manufacturing Plants5.2.3.2 Application of AI for Intelligent Business Process5.2.3.3 Adoption of Automation Technologies to Curb Effects of COVID-195.2.4 Challenges5.2.4.1 Limited Skilled Workforce5.2.4.2 Concerns Regarding Data Privacy5.2.4.3 Significant Financial and Operational Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on Manufacturing5.3 Value Chain Analysis5.4 Case Studies5.4.1 Siemens Gamesa Uses Fujitsu's AI Solution to Accelerate Inspection of Turbine Blades5.4.2 Volvo Uses Machine Learning-Driven Data Analytics for Predicting Breakdown and Failures5.4.3 Rolls-Royce Using Microsoft Cortana Intelligence for Predictive Maintenance5.4.4 Paper Packaging Firm Used Sight Machine's Enterprise Manufacturing Analytics to Improve Production5.5 Adjacent and Related Markets

6 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market, by Offering6.1 Introduction6.2 Hardware6.3 Software6.4 Services6.5 Impact of COVID-19 on Various Offering of AI Technology for Manufacturing

7 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market, by Technology7.1 Introduction7.2 Machine Learning7.3 Natural Language Processing7.4 Context-Aware Computing7.5 Computer Vision7.6 Impact of COVID-19 on Various Technologies of AI in Manufacturing

8 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market, by Application8.1 Introduction8.2 Predictive Maintenance and Machinery Inspection8.3 Material Movement8.4 Production Planning8.5 Field Services8.6 Quality Control8.7 Cybersecurity8.8 Industrial Robots8.9 Reclamation

9 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market, by Industry9.1 Introduction9.2 Automobile9.3 Energy and Power9.4 Pharmaceuticals9.5 Heavy Metals and Machine Manufacturing9.6 Semiconductors and Electronics9.7 Food & Beverages9.8 Others

10 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market, by Region10.1 Introduction10.2 North America10.3 Europe10.4 APAC10.5 RoW

11 Competitive Landscape11.1 Overview11.2 Ranking of Players, 201911.3 Competitive Leadership Mapping11.3.1 Visionary Leaders11.3.2 Dynamic Differentiators11.3.3 Innovators11.3.4 Emerging Companies11.4 Competitive Scenario11.4.1 Product Launches and Developments11.4.2 Collaborations, Partnerships, and Agreements11.4.3 Acquisitions & Joint Ventures

12 Company Profiles12.1 Key Players12.1.1 Nvidia12.1.2 Intel12.1.3 IBM12.1.4 Siemens12.1.5 General Electric (GE) Company12.1.6 Google12.1.7 Microsoft12.1.8 Micron Technology12.1.9 Amazon Web Services (AWS)12.1.10 Sight Machine12.2 Other Companies12.2.1 Progress Software Corporation (DataRPM)12.2.2 AIbrain12.2.3 General Vision12.2.4 Rockwell Automation12.2.5 Cisco Systems12.2.6 Mitsubishi Electric12.2.7 Oracle12.2.8 SAP12.2.9 Vicarious12.2.10 Ubtech Robotics12.2.11 Aquant12.2.12 Bright Machines12.2.13 Rethink Robotics GmbH12.2.14 Sparkcognition12.2.15 Flutura

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/erpy1o

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Global AI in Manufacturing Market 2020-2026: COVID-19's Impact on the Industry and Future Projections - PRNewswire