‘Hearts for Healthcare Workers’ raises thousands of dollars for hospitals – WAND

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Two Springfield companies found a way to give back to those who put their lives on the line every day.

The Executive Director for Memorial Medical Centers Foundation, Melissa Hansen-Schmadeke, said a meaningful message directed at the Springfield community's health care workers took the community by storm.

"You can drive down any subdivision and see [the signs] in many yards," Schmadeke said. "Many cars are displaying the 'Hearts for Heath Care Workers' decals in their cars and of course the T-shirts. You can see those about anywhere walking down the streets of Springfield."

"Hearts for Healthcare Workers" - it's a simple, but powerful, message.

"This really started as a simple pink heart,"Schmadeke said. "It was originally on a sheet of paper and people were printing it out and putting it in their windows."

Months later, that message expanded to so much more than just paper in people's windows. Ace Sign Company and Primo Designs joined together to support front line workers in their community.

Manager of Primo Designs, Jay Capriotti, said he wanted to give back to those who were at the forefront of the pandemic.

"When many people were nervous and scared to go out in the community, the health care workers were front and center," Capriotti said.

Todd Bringuet of Ace Sign Company said the company created and sold the signs for about $9 each and thousands of them were distributed throughout the community.

"There were over 6,000 signs produced and distributed," Bringuet said.

According to Capriotti, Primo Designs created and sold more than 1,000 T-shirts.

"Going out there to see something you produced and see how well it took off, it really made me feel special," Capriotti said. "It really made me and our company feel like we were able to do something to help."

On Friday, money collected from the sales was given to both Memorial Medical Center and the HSHS. St. John's Foundation.

"We had about $15,000 raised from the signs that were sold, and Ace Sign Company decided to add another $5,000 to that," Bringuet said.

All together, the two companies donated $24,000.

Schmadeke said it means the world to have so much support from the community.

"We are thrilled and humbled by the support we have received from our communities throughout the global pandemic," Schmadeke said.

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'Hearts for Healthcare Workers' raises thousands of dollars for hospitals - WAND

Advanced analytics align nursing resources more accurately – Healthcare IT News

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Like many hospitals, MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, typically found itself in crisis mode when it came to staffing. It constantly was understaffed because of regional nursing shortages.

THE PROBLEM

In response, a culture of unit-level staff protection had developed, where units held back on sharing staff because of the uncertainty of unexpected changes. The organization often was forced to float core staff to meet patient care needs. All of these factors led to a high level of premium pay to ensure appropriate coverage.

We knew we had to take an entirely new approach to staffing as a business process, said Shawna Gunn, RN, manager of operations at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. The old ways simply didnt work. It was chaotic and exhausting for staff and costly for our organization.

MercyOne Des Moines relied on manual processes to manage nursing resources across the acute care units. Each week, managers built staffing plans in Excel. It was a time-consuming process, and despite best effortsthe daily staffing plan ultimately was only a best guess of what was thought would be true for a given day.

Staffing is a lot like trying to assemble a puzzle, Gunn explained. Who is on duty? What are their skills? To which unit are they assigned? What is our flex pool? What is the patient demand and staff level for each unit? Where can we put people? There are a lot of different pieces that come together to create a single picture. What we lacked was the ability to see all of those pieces at any given point in time in order to match our nursing staff to our patients.

This is problematic because hospital environments are fluid. Change is expected. However, without a consolidated view of nursing resources, the healthcare organization struggled to adjust staff plans to in-the-moment changes.

Shawna Gunn, RN, MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center

Hours were spent each day refining the plan based on actual patient need. Staffing managers spent a large part of their day rounding units, constantly updating numbers, exchanging close to 100 texts. Charge nurses were pulled from patient care activities to address staffing issues.

Our staffing situation had evolved into a 24/7 process, Gunn said. Our goal was to get out of crisis mode by finding a tool that would improve the efficiency and accuracy of how we deployed nursing resources. We wanted a solution that would allow us to collaborate in real time to evaluate our staffing needs and available resources. We also wanted a solution that allowed us the ability to plan ahead, and to work beyond the moment.

Finally, the organization wanted to create a better work/life balance for nurses. Gunn began her career as a resource pool nurse. It wasnt uncommon to find her on three different floors with three different patients during a 12-hour shift.

On a national level, nurses feel the burden of being asked to stay longer to cover staffing gaps. It was important that MercyOne Des Moines improve efficiency to allow staff to have a better work/life balance.

PROPOSAL

MercyOne Des Moines opted for health IT-vendor Hospital IQs predictive analytics and workflow system, Workforce, to automate and streamline the allocation of telemetry, med-surg and float pool nurses to ensure appropriate patient coverage each day.

Hospital IQ would integrate with the healthcare organizations existing systems and provide a single source of truth to help adjust nursing resources in line with forecasted patient census. The system would automate the manual processes that staff had been relying on to help coordinate and validate staffing needs in real time.

Beyond the automation, the solution would give us the insight to adjust staffing levels for both day-of activities and up to seven days in advance, Gunn explained. The system would notify staffing managers of potential issues, giving us the opportunity to proactively staff up units that needed support, while avoiding overstaffing on other floors.

MEETING THE CHALLENGE

Staffing coordinators and managers, unit directors, charge nursesand department secretaries all use the Workforce system. Each user can access the system from anywhere inside or outside of the hospital via desktop or mobile device.

Each morning, our teams meet for 15 minutes, Gunn said. During that meeting, we pull up Hospital IQ and make sure that everything is accurate. We can see updates from the units, evaluate where we are at, and make any necessary adjustments. Staff members use Hospital IQ to see the plan for each floor. All the confusion and ambiguity, all the back and forth, is gone.

Managers also use the system to communicate why changes are made. For example, perhaps one unit received three staff, while another did not receive additional staff. Managers can communicate about the specific unit needs so that staff members understand why a particular decision was made.

This transparency enables every unit to work collaboratively on staffing. Everyone can see the resources that are available each day and understand how and why those nurses were deployed.

After the daily plan is in place, we plan for the next 24 hours, Gunn noted. And from there we can look at the next week, up to seven days out. Hospital IQ lets us look at forecasted census, capacity, staffing plans, scheduled paid time off by unit all of those puzzle pieces that we bring together to create our single source of truth.

We can see the numbers overall for each unit and across the hospital, she added. We can make recommendations about switching someone from a day shift to night shift or from one unit to another.

Staffing coordinators can look at a problem area one week in advance, communicate with unit leaders, and determine ways to resolve the problem with next Thursday by applying or shifting the appropriate resources, she added.

We can look at real-time numbers how many staff on hand, who is where, who is staying late, Gunn said. Its all there. When staff demands shift or when we experience call-offs, its all in the system. We can see where everyone is at any time of the day.

MercyOne Des Moines has removed the back and forth in real time. For example, if a nurse calls in sick, or another nurse is added to the resource pool, charge nurses and department secretaries simply update the system. Staffing coordinators then receive real-time updates and use the system to communicate with charge nurses about the staff allocation for that shift.

The Workforce system integrates data from MercyOne Des Moiness Cerner EHR, Kronos scheduling system and TeleTracking bed management IT, and gives staff a complete picture about patients, census and capacity so managers can align nursing resources accurately.

RESULTS

The system gives MercyOne Des Moines a consolidated view of staffing resources that it could not get before. It has become the organizations source of truth across the hospital, Gunn said. It has broken down all of the silos data, processes andpeople that stopped the organization from working collaboratively, she said.

MercyOne Des Moiness entire staffing process has become more efficient, she noted. We know exactly which resources we have on hand and where they are located, and this saves a tremendous amount of time. The automation and efficiency has reduced the time spent aligning daily staffing by 70 hours per week.

Our staffing coordinators have re-focused their time looking for ways to improve the patient experience, she explained. Unit directors have re-focused their time on patient care-related activities at the bedside since they are no longer being pulled away by text or phone to address staffing issues.

When needed, staffing coordinators now can serve as a second set of hands in the units. In nursing, there can be periods when the floor is very busy, such as when staff coordinate discharges, Gunn explained. Those busy times only last for a short period of time, but nowstaffing coordinators can jump in and assist.They do not need to bring in another nurse for an 8-hour shift.

Hospital IQ has enabled our teams to work collaboratively to create a balanced staffing plan for all units, she said. In the past, it felt as though we were working against one another at times. Now, we know if we have staff to give and if we can assist other units by letting those resources go to another unit.

The system also allows managers to look beyond immediate bedside needs. For example, MercyOne Des Moines has a lot of open-heart surgery patients. If, in using the system, a manager is able to see that she will have three patients ready for discharge in two days, she can begin to align resources to facilitate those discharges in a timely manner. That, in turn, opens up a bed for a surgery patient.

The system has enabled us to improve patient care and staff satisfaction, Gunn said. Because we can shift schedules to meet patient demand days in advance, weve significantly reduced the frequency with which we ask nurses to either come in on a day off or stay late. As such, we are now using shift-based incentive pay programs and overtime pay in a more strategic way rather than as a last-minute solution to staffing gaps.

While there is surely a financial impact, she added, the main impact is a less chaotic environment and a more predictable schedule for nurses, which reduces exhaustion and ultimately leads to better patient care.

And finally, the technology has improved how the organization manages and deploys its resource pool. Shifts are divided into four-hour increments. With the system, resource pool nurses receive a notification informing them of where they will spend the next segment of their shift. They can begin patient care earlier, rather than waiting to find out where theyve been assigned. The improved efficiency also means that they are moving between units less often.

ADVICE FOR OTHERS

To meet the rising demands of healthcare, we are all challenged to continually improve efficiency, Gunn stated. Our ability to improve processes each and every day is what our patients and communities truly need and deserve. If a healthcare organization can identify an area for improvement, that should become a priority focus.

When it comes to staffing, where time and resources are already stretched to the limit, tackling one more project may feel overwhelming, she continued. Its tempting to put off investing in a new process or technology. The catch, however, is that innovation is the only way to achieve process improvements. We already know that manual methods arent working well.

In taking the step to embrace technology, MercyOne Des Moines has transformed its staffing processes, Gunn said.

In less than one month, we saw process improvements and eliminated a chaotic, manual workflow, she said. The technology helps us automate the cumbersome processes: phone calls, endless texts, staffing rounds and daily meetings. Our staffing coordinators and unit directors can quickly convey staffing changes and requests through the system in a matter of minutes. This comprehensive view of resources breaks down staffing silos and lets you work collectively to align nursing resources to the right patients and units at the right time.

The efficiency improvements gained through the technology those successes will allow for more time at the bedside, and even more time to focus on driving greater levels of care, she concluded; and thats always the end goal.

Twitter:@SiwickiHealthITEmail the writer:bill.siwicki@himss.orgHealthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

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Brewers, Aurora Health Care give Brewers onesies to newborn babies – WTMJ-TV

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WISCONSIN The Milwaukee Brewers are welcoming new fans into the world by joining forces with Aurora Health Care to provide special Brewers onesies to newborn babies.

That's right, Brewers' onesies! Whatever you're imagining in your head, we guarantee it's even cuter than that.

The new onesies are in celebration of the Brewers home opener which is scheduled for Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

On that day, Aurora Health Care birthing centers across Wisconsin will begin giving these onesies to all newborns. However, here's a sneak peek:

Families at the centers have waited nine months for their bundles of joy and an additional four months for baseball, so what better way to celebrate both arrivals than with a new onesie?

The onesies will be available while supplies last.

Also while supplies last, Aurora Health Care will be sharing photos of newborn babies in the onesies on their social media pages. So, if you need a pick me up this week, that's where you can find it.

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Laurel Braitman: From Healthcare Workers To The Rest Of Us How Can We Better Cope? – NPR

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Dr. Laurel Braitman speaks from the TED stage. Ryan Lash/TED hide caption

Dr. Laurel Braitman speaks from the TED stage.

About The Episode

Healthcare jobs are already stressful. Add a pandemic... and ongoing police brutality? And it's a lot. We hear from physicians of color and TED Fellow Laurel Braitman about taking care of ourselves.

About Laurel Braitman

Senior TED fellow Laurel Braitman is a writer, grief counselor, and anthropologist. She is a professor and the director of writing and storytelling at the Stanford School of Medicine, where she teaches free writing workshops to medical students and physicians.

Braitman's writing about science, nature, beauty, and loss has appeared in the New York Times, Guardian, National Geographic and more. Her forthcoming book, House of the Heart, is about "growing up, mortality and how we might live with the perspective of a terminal disease without the dire prognosis."

She has a PhD from MIT in History, Anthropology, Science, Technology and Society, and a BA from Cornell University.

Featured Speakers

Bren Brown: The Power Of Vulnerability

Vulnerability is a key part of being human. Social worker and researcher Bren Brown explores the role of vulnerabilityand connectionin processing difficult moments and managing our mental health.

Hailey Hardcastle: Why Students Should Have Mental Health Days

Teen activist Hailey Hardcastle fought for Oregon students to have mental health days in schools, just like sick days. She talks about how we all need to look after our mental health.

Andrew Solomon: Depression, The Secret We Share

Depression, grief, and sadness are each emotions that can take us by surprise. As a writer and psychology professor, Andrew Solomon knows how important it is to understand their differences.

Resources

If you or someone you know needs to talk to someone, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Treatment Referral Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. And the National Suicide Prevention Hotline number is 1-800-273-8255.

This month the FCC approved 988 to be the national three-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, similar to 911 for emergency services. As of this date of publish, the 988 is not currently active nationally but will be soon. In the meantime, please use 1-800-273-8255.

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Laurel Braitman: From Healthcare Workers To The Rest Of Us How Can We Better Cope? - NPR

Discrimination and Disparities in Health: Examination of racial inequality in Nashville | Opinion – Tennessean

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Bill Frist, M.D. and Andre L. Churchwell, M.D., Guest Columnists Published 10:00 a.m. CT July 31, 2020

While to some, Confederate monuments are memorials to the dead, to many others they are glorifications of slavery, racism and oppression. Nashville Tennessean

No one should feel discriminated against when seeking care, and quality healthcare should be available to everyone.

As city and community leaders across the country wrestle with their own roles and responsibilities in addressing racial inequality, we believe specific attention to health equity and health disparities will lead to dismantling structural racism and a roadmap for a healthier future for all.

An example of how we are beginning that focus and journey can be found inNashville, Tennessee. But it could just as well be any town or city in the nation.

Weve known for years that minorities face health disparities nationally, and in our own experiences as physicians, weve seen first-hand how health inequities unfairly persist in communities of color when it comes to access and quality.

In Nashville, the simple zip code of your residence could lead to a six-year decrement to life expectancy, twice the rate of unemployment and five times difference in poverty.

The challenges of unconscious bias and racism that enable health inequities must be addressed to improve health outcomes.

Thanks to the recent Nashville Community Health and Well-Being Survey, we have a clearer picture of the challenges facing vulnerable populations, especially African Americans here in Davidson County, for the first time in 20 years.

Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist(Photo: Submitted)

The personal, pervasive stories of discrimination that have captured our nations attention are keenly present in our survey data.African American respondents were nearly five times more likely (14.6%) to report feeling discrimination when seeking healthcare in Metro Nashville compared to white respondents (3.1%). And nearly one in three (31.5%) African Americans felt discriminated against at work in the past year, compared to only 6% of white respondents.

Moreover, one third of African American respondents reported feeling emotionally upsetangry, sad, or frustratedin response to treatment based on race. Only 7% of white survey-takers reported similar emotions. For African Americans, such treatment was more likely to have physical manifestations: nearly 18% experienced headache or stomach ache, a pounding heart or muscle tension. Those symptoms were only felt by 3% of white respondents.

The chronic stress of being an African American has a clear, compounding effect on the chronic medical conditions they face and are part of the answer for the life-expectancy discrepancies seen between people of different races.

For example, white American males live on average 77 years while African Americans live on average 72 years. White females live on average 81 years compared to 78 years for African American women.

Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.

Tennessean Opinion Editor David Plazas spoke to Dr. Bill Frist, former U.S. Senate majority leader Nashville Tennessean

Our region is a national leader in health care services, with Middle Tennessee often referred to as the Silicon Valley of Health Services. We now need to do the hard work of figuring out how to lead the nation in health equity. And it starts by gathering data and understanding where inequities exist.

The Nashville Community Health and Well-being Survey was developed and implemented by NashvilleHealth and the Metro Public Health Department. It explored specific health conditions, access to care, and health behaviors across Davidson County residents between October 2018 and April 2019.

More than 1,800 responses were gathered online and by mail. The assessment was extensive, and while findings were not limited to comparisons between Black and white populations, we highlight thedata to emphasize the work we have ahead of us to ensure health equity for African American Nashvillians.

The survey found chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, respiratory conditions, and obesity were all much more common in African American than white residents. Of survey takers who self-identified as African American, 22.1% have diabetes. Only 8.3% of survey takers who self-identified as white, non-Hispanic have the condition.

Whereas 47.8% of the African American respondents are obese, 24% of white respondents are obese. 47.6% of African Americans reported hypertension; only 27% of white respondents reported hypertension. And 24.7% of African American registered respiratory conditions; 17.4% of white respondents reported the same.

Dr. Andre L. Churchwell, (Photo: Mary Donaldson)

No physician or nurse wakes up each day with the intention to treat patients differently the overwhelming majority of us called to healthcare genuinely want to help all people.

But unintentional, unconscious implicit bias in delivering clinical care has been demonstrated in numerous studies, with minorities more likely to receive lower quality care, regardless of income or insurance.

And when it comes to social supports, our Nashville communities of color disproportionately feel unsupported. In responding to the survey, 15% of African Americans reported that they rarely or never get needed social support, and a startling 23.1% of Hispanic respondents shared the same sentiment. Only 7.8% of white respondents said the same.

As physicians we know that to achieve true health equity we must also address systemic racism in our criminal justice system and create paths to improve public education, transportation, and many non-medical society challenges.

The change needs to start with us.In Nashville, but indeed in every community in America.

We want to add our voices to the collective call-to-action to city leaders across America and those of us in medicine and healthcare, to fully engage, and honestly and openly address the issues that continually lead to disparate health outcomes for so many.

Accountability in these matters, like free speech, is to be shared amongst allof us.

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Senator Bill Frist, M.D. is a heart transplant surgeon, founder of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader.

Andre L. Churchwell, M.D. is the Vice Chancellor of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at Vanderbilt University. He also serves as a Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and the Chief Diversity Officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

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Mars 2020 spacecraft resumes normal operations after post-launch safe mode – Spaceflight Now

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This illustration from NASAs Eyes on the Solar System app shows the Mars 2020 spacecraft outbound from planet Earth. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASAs Mars 2020 Perseverance mission resumed normal operations Friday after cold temperatures forced the spacecraft into safe mode soon after a successful launch from Cape Canaveral.

With safe mode exit, the team is getting down to the business of interplanetary cruise, said Matt Wallace, the Mars 2020 missions deputy project manager at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Next stop, Jezero Crater, he added, referring to the Perseverance rovers landing site on Mars.

The $2.7 billion Mars 2020 mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral aboard a United Launch Atlas 5 rocket at 7:50 a.m. EDT (1150 GMT) Thursday. Less than an hour later, the rockets Centaur upper stage deployed the Mars 2020 spacecraft right on target on a trajectory to break free of Earths gravitational grasp and head into the solar system.

But the spacecraft, containing NASAs Perseverance rover, detected colder temperatures than expected as it flew in Earths shadow, a phase of the mission known as an eclipse. After flying back into sunlight, the spacecraft powered up its radio transmitter and began sending signals to ground teams through NASAs Deep Space Network.

The DSN antennas are tuned to listen for faint radio signals from spacecraft in distant parts of the solar system, and the powerful transmissions from the Mars 2020 spacecraft while it was still near Earth saturated the networks receivers. That has happened on previous missions, NASA officials said, and ground teams soon resolved the minor issue to establish a stable lock on Mars 2020.

Separately, the Mars 2020 spacecraft autonomously went into a standby operating state known as safe mode soon after deploying from the Atlas 5 rocket. Wallace said Thursday the temperature on part of the spacecraft dipped below a preset limit, triggering the safe mode.

In safe mode, the spacecraft reverts to a basic operating mode and turns of all but essential systems until it receives new commands from ground controllers, according to NASA.

NASA said in a statement after Thursdays launch that the temperature disparity was in the Mars 2020 spacecrafts liquid freon coolant loop, which dissipates heat from the center of the spacecraft through radiators on the carrier module carrying the rover to Mars.

Chances are we may have just tightened down on that limit a little too much, and it triggered a safe mode, Wallace told Spaceflight Now.

NASAs Curiosity rover, upon which Perseverance was designed, did not enter the Earths shadow after its launch in 2011. So engineers relied on analytical modeling to predict the temperatures during the eclipse.

We set the limits for the temperature differential conservatively tight for triggering a safe mode, Wallace said. The philosophy is that it is far better to trigger a safe mode event when not required, than miss one that is.

In the coming weeks, ground teams at JPL will begin activating the spacecrafts systems and instruments for post-launch checkouts. The testing will ensure all systems are ready for the missions make-or-break landing attempt on Mars planned for Feb. 18, 2021.

The one-ton Perseverance rover carries seven instruments to explore the geology and climate at the missions landing site inside Jezero Crater, an impact basin that once contained a lake roughly the size of Lake Tahoe. There is also evidence that an ancient river flowed into the lake more than 3.5 billion years ago, leaving behind a dried-up river delta, where sedimentary rock deposits may contains signs of past life.

The six-wheeled robot will drive across the delta, and scientists will use data from the rover to select rocks for the crafts sample collection drill. The drill will extract core samples for storage inside small tubes carried to Mars aboard the rover.

A future mission will retrieve the sample tubes and return the Martian rock specimens to Earth for detailed analysis.

The Perseverance rover also carries NASAs Ingenuity helicopter, a tiny rotorcraft that will attempt to become the first vehicle of its kind to fly in the atmosphere of another planet.

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Crew Dragon astronauts ready for re-entry, splashdown – Spaceflight Now

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STORY WRITTEN FORCBS NEWS& USED WITH PERMISSION

With Hurricane Isaias threatening Floridas East Coast, astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken are awaiting a go-ahead on plans to undock from the International Space Station Saturday, setting up a fiery plunge to splashdown Sunday, presumably in the Gulf of Mexico, to close out a 64-day flight.

Given the track of the hurricane, a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean at one of three approved sites off Floridas east coast is effectively ruled out, focusing landing plans on the Gulf where four sites are available off Panama City, Pensacola, Tallahassee and Tampa.

Assuming NASA and SpaceX press ahead, a final decision on prime and backup landing sites is not expected until Saturday, based on the latest forecasts and assessments of the Crew Dragons health. The preferred splashdown zone is just south of Panama City.

We look forward to the weather forecasts that are coming out daily at this point, and theyll even get more frequent as we get closer to the actual splashdown, Behnken told reporters in an orbital news conference Friday.

We have confidence that the teams on the ground are, of course, watching that much more closely than we are, and we wont leave the space station without some good splashdown weather in front of us.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft is certified for around 114 days in space and if the weather or some other problem crops up that might rule out undocking for a Sunday landing, we know we can stay up here longer, Behnken said. Theres more chow, and I know the space station programs got more work that we can do for the folks that have sent science up here to the space station.

Said Hurley: We have some of the best people in the business working on this for us and if the weather is not good, we wont try to leave tomorrow, well leave on a different day when it is.

But assuming the weather cooperates and no technical issues crop up, Behnken and Hurley would undock from the stations forward port around 7:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, spend the night aboard the Crew Dragon and then fire their braking rockets around 1:50 p.m. EDT Sunday for a splashdown in the Gulf around 2:42 p.m. EDT.

A SpaceX recovery ship, staffed by engineers, medical personnel and fast-response support crews with jet skis and other gear, will be stationed nearby to recover the capsule, pull it on board, help the crew get out and render any medical assistance that might be necessary.

It will be NASAs first ocean splashdown in 45 years and the first piloted re-entry of a Crew Dragon capsule. But Hurley and Behnken, both space shuttle veterans and former test pilots, said Friday they are confident the SpaceX capsule will bring them safely back to Earth.

That said, bobbing about in the sea awaiting recovery while re-adjusting to gravity after an extended stay in weightlessness raises the prospect of post-splashdown nausea and seasickness.

One effect of (a long-duration stay in) space is youre very conditioned to microgravity, and youre not so conditioned to gravity, Hurley told James Corden, host of the CBS Late Late Show, in an earlier interview. And then your vestibular system, your inner ears, play tricks with you.

As you can imagine, even if you decided to go deep sea fishing one day, and youve lived on Earth your whole life, people get seasick. Were going to do it from space and end up in the water. So theres a pretty good likelihood that we may see breakfast twice on that particular day.

Just in case, Hurley said Friday, there are bags if (we) need them and well have those handy, well probably have some towels handy as well.

The ground teams are fully aware of the challenges of the water landing and what it does to the human body, Hurley said. Weve got the the flight surgeons on board that will be able to help us as well. So all those things are in place and other than that, its just time to go give it a give it a try and and see how it goes.

The Crew Dragon was designed and built by SpaceX under contracts with NASAs Commercial Crew Program, an initiative aimed at ending the agencys sole reliance on Russian Soyuz ferry ships for transportation to and from the space station.

A successful unpiloted test flight was carried out last year, helping clear the way for Hurley and Behnken to blast off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket May 30, the first orbital launch of astronauts aboard an American spacecraft from U.S. soil since the shuttle programs final flight.

NASA managers say the Crew Dragon has chalked up a near flawless flight, setting the stage for re-entry and splashdown.

Were really excited to see our families, Behnken said. My son is six years old, and I can tell from the videos that I get, talking to him on the phone, that hes changed a lot, even in the couple of months that weve been up here. And so thats the thing Im most looking forward to, seeing my family, my wife and my son.

Hurley and Behnken are both married to astronauts. Hurleys wife, Karen Nyberg, is retired from the astronaut corps, but Behnkens wife, Megan McArthur, is in training for launch to the space station aboard her husbands Crew Dragon next year.

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Perseverance rover launches on its journey to explore Mars – SpaceFlight Insider

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Matt Haskell

July 30th, 2020

The NASA Mars 2020 mission, including the rover Perseverance and test helicopter Ingenuity, departed Earth at 7:50 a.m. EDT, aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket. Photo: Matt Haskell, SpaceFlight Insider

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL At 7:50 a.m. EDT, the ULA Atlas V rocket lifted off on its journey to Mars with NASAs Perseverance rover, and Ingenuity helicopter. The payload was placed into a hyperbolic escape orbit, and ultimately separated from the Atlas Vs Centaur Upper Stage at 57 minutes and 42 seconds into flight.

NASAs Mars 2020 mission payload leapt off the pad aboard its United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, flying from Cape Canaveral Air Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41 on July 30, and beginning its almost 7 month journey to Mars. Photo: Matt Haskell, SpaceFlight Insider

Following the swift but nominal launch, the Mars 2020 spacecraft appeared to encounter some issues with its communications and software. Initially, while the spacecraft was sending a signal to the ground, the antenna systems were not able to fully receive the telemetry data. For interplanetary spacecraft, NASA utilizes the Deep Space Network, a large system of large antennas designed for communicating in deep space. Because the spacecraft was still in close proximity to the Earth, the data signal data was too strong for the antenna network and telemetry data was not being received properly.

During the post launch briefing it was confirmed to be resolved and the antennas had been reconfigured for the data stream. Matt Wallace, Deputy Project Manager for Mars 2020 at JPL stated, Just as the Administrator was speaking, I did just get a text that we were able to lock up on that telemetry. All indications that we have, and we have quite a few, are that the spacecraft is fine. Wallace later stated that it was not an unusual occurrence, and that something similar had happened before with other Mars missions, such as Curiosity in 2011.

The second hiccup for the mission was the result of a software issue. Early on in its flight, the spacecraft entered a safe mode due to lower than allowable temperatures. NASA stated in a press release that this had occurred during its time in Earths shadow, and that the spacecraft has since been within allowable temperature ranges. The spacecraft will remain in safe mode until it receives new commands from mission control. As of writing, NASA is working to perform full health assessments on the spacecraft and is working to return it to a nominal configuration.

Full-scale models of the Mars 2020 rover Perseverance and the experimental helicopter Ingenuity were each on display at NASAs Kennedy Space Center press site, ahead of Thursdays mission launch. 7th grader, Alexander Mather, left, won an essay contest to name the rover, Perseverance, while 11th grader, Vaneeza Rupani submitted the name Ingenuity as her suggestion for the experimental helicopter. Photo: Matt Haskell, SpaceFlight Insider

With the successful launch and release, the Mars 2020 spacecraft, which consists of the Perseverance rover (with attached Ingenuity helicopter), the cruise stage, which is used to contain and protect the components during their flight to the red planet, and the Entry, Descent, and Landing System, which is used to safely land the payload on the Martian surface via an Aeroshell, parachute descent vehicle, and sky crane, has begun its nearly 7 month journey to Mars.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine also commented on the launch, stating With the launch of Perseverance, we begin another historic mission of exploration. This amazing explorers journey has already required the very best from all of us to get it to launch through these challenging times. Now we can look forward to its incredible science and to bringing samples of Mars home even as we advance human missions to the Red Planet. As a mission, as an agency, and as a country, we will persevere.

The mission is expected to arrive on the surface of Mars on February 18th, 2021, and will then begin its mission of 1 Martian year, or 687 Earth days, searching for signs of ancient life within the Jezero Crater.

A momentary transonic condensation cloud can be seen around the payload fairing of the Mars 2020 Atlas V rocket following todays launch, caught just as the vehicle accelerated through and beyond the speed of sound. Photo: Theresa Cross, SpaceFlight Insider

Destination: Mars, as Atlas V carries Mars Perseverance rover aloft from SLC 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, July 30, 2020. Photo: Matt Haskell, SpaceFlight Insider

Tagged: Atlas V 541 Lead Stories Mars Mars 2020 Perseverance

Matt Haskell is a published aviation and spaceflight photographer and writer based in Merritt Island Florida. Born and raised outside Edwards Air Force Base and NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center, he moved to Floridas Space Coast and began photographing and reporting spaceflight professionally full time in 2018.

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Perseverance rover launches on its journey to explore Mars - SpaceFlight Insider

Floridas status as gateway to the stars grounded in enhanced bonding capacities, tax incentives – The Center Square

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(The Center Square) With Hurricane Isaias forecast to menace Floridas east coast, NASA and SpaceX have moved Sundays splashdown of two astronauts returning from the international Space Station from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico.

The return of Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who became the first two NASA astronauts to launch into space from U.S. soil in a decade and the first to do so in a privately owned spaceship when they lifted off on May 30 from Cape Canaveral, will also mark the first splashdown of space voyagers in 45 years, according to NASA.

Space Xs Dragon capsule containing the two is scheduled to drop into the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida Panhandle near Panama City, halfway between Tallahassee and Pensacola.

A successful splashdown would be boons for Elon Musk-owned Space X and, especially if done safely in a hurricane, for Floridas burgeoning $20 billion aerospace industry.

After watching NASA launch its Perseverance Mars rover from Cape Canaveral Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ceremonially signed a bill adopted by lawmakers during the 2020 session that gives the states space agency, Space Florida, the capacity to issue bonds and, he said, make the Sunshine State the silicon valley of commercial aerospace innovation.

This new tool in the toolkit will greatly enhance the states ability to access private capital market, to finance new infrastructure for both commercial aerospace industry needs and the expansion of the state spaceport system for future growth, DeSantis said.

House Bill 717, filed by Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, was adopted with bipartisan support. The new law streamlines the agencys flexibility in securing the best bond rates and trims bond timelines from 40 to 30 years.

The agency has a $16.5 million fiscal 2021 budget, including $11.5 in state general revenue funds, and has drawn more $1 billion in non-federal investment to modernize its infrastructure in the last 15 years.

In 2019, Space Florida received a $90 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which it used to position Cape Canaveral Spaceport as a global leader in launches and private sector investment.

SpaceX is among a mushrooming number of aerospace corporations setting up shop in Florida. Others include Blue Origin, Boeing, Relativity Space, Firefly Aerospace, Lockheed, OneWeb Satellites and, relocating recently from California, Made In Space, Inc.

According to Space Florida, 17,144 commercial space companies now employ more than 130,000 residents in high-tech, high-wage jobs in Florida.

This has been an area weve seen tremendous growth in, DeSantis said. Weve got some of the best companies in the world here. We have reinvigorated NASA and theres a great mission with public and private working together to be able to expand our horizon into space.

Florida already offers an array of tax incentives for aerospace development companies.

The states Qualified Defense Contractor Tax Refund (QDC), granted to companies that pay at least 115 percent of the states average wage, was expanded by the states Spaceflight Contractors Tax Refunds Act of 2008 to include spaceflight businesses.

The QDC offers an exemption from the state business rental sales tax for space flight businesses that include manufacturing, processing, assembly of a space facility, space propulsion system, space vehicle, satellite or station of any kind possessing capacity of space flight.

The state also offers a Targeted Industry Tax Refund of up to $5,000 per new job. That stipend increases to $7,500 in Enterprise Zones, which includes all five spaceports.

Floridas Quick Action Closing Fund provides cash grants to companies that agree to create a significant amount of high-value jobs in targeted industries; space qualifies as a subset of the overall aerospace sector.

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Floridas status as gateway to the stars grounded in enhanced bonding capacities, tax incentives - The Center Square

Unpacking DHS’s Troubling Explanation of the Portland Van Video – Lawfare

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Over the past few days, millions of people have seen a now-viral video in which two federal agents dressed in full combat gear removed an apparently peaceful protester from the streets of Portland, Oregon, and carried him away in an unmarked van. Stories have emerged of other people being taken or pursued by federal agents in a similar fashion. Meanwhile, troubling videos show federal agents in Portland beating a peacefully resolute U.S. Navy veteran and, on a separate occasion, shooting a man in the face with a nonlethal munition, which broke his skull.

As criticism of these events rolled inincluding from virtually every relevant state and local official in Oregonthe Department of Homeland Security scheduled a press conference earlier this week to try to reclaim the narrative. If the point of that press conference was to reassure an anxious nation that this unfamiliar and recently constituted federal police force is following the law, it likely achieved the opposite effect.

In particular, there is a two-minute segment of the press conference that is both revealing and highly disturbing. It shows that one of the top commanders of this new paramilitary federal police forceKris Cline, deputy director of the Federal Protective Serviceapparently does not know what the word arrest means. To say as much might seem like harping on semantics or, worse, like picking on Cline for speaking inartfully. But it is absolutely critical to unpack and examine Clines wordsbecause the word arrest is one of the most important words in the constitutional law of policing.

Simply put, for an arrest to be constitutional, it must be supported by probable cause. This means that the arresting officer must be able to point to specific facts that would cause a reasonable officer to believe that the person being arrested has committed a specific crime. If, by contrast, the police have not arrested someone but have instead conducted only a brief investigatory stop, they need substantially less proof that the target of their attention is engaged in criminal activity. And if the police initiate instead what is often termed a consensual contactas would occur if, say, a uniformed officer walked up to you and said, Hey, I want to ask you some questionswell, in that case the Fourth Amendment simply does not apply, which means the officer does not need to have any reason to approach you.

Arrests, stops and contacts carve up the universe of police-civilian interactions in the United States. So, when I say that Deputy Director Cline does not appear to know what the word arrest means, what I am really saying is that he does not know where the basic and essential legal lines are that mark the bounds of his agencys lawful authority. That is a problem.

This post expands on a Twitter thread I wrote earlier this week. It is a deep dive into the critical two minutes of the Department of Homeland Security press conference, during which Cline made a series of comments that lead to only one of two possible conclusions: Cline does not know what the word arrest means. Or, if he does, he thinks no one will call him out for saying something that is patently untrue. Either way, he is wrong.

What Exactly Is the Standard of Probable Cause That You Are Getting?

Lets start at the beginning, when a reporter asked Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf what is arguably the most critical question concerning the federal police presence in Portland: What exactly is the standard of probable cause that you are getting when your officers seize civilians?

For an answer, Wolf turned things over to Richard Kris Cline, the deputy director of the Federal Protective Service. Until recently, the Federal Protective Service was a relatively small and unknown federal law enforcement agency tasked with protecting federal buildings, like the federal courthouse in downtown Portland. That courthouse is adjacent to the Multnomah County Justice Center, a building that has been the focal point of racial- and criminal-justice-related protests in Portland stretching back nearly two months. In the course of those protests, both the Justice Center and the adjacent federal courthouse have been vandalized.

The Federal Protective Service is in charge of ensuring the security of that federal courthouse. And over the past few weeks, it has become a less obscure and considerably less small agency as Acting Secretary Wolf has supplemented its ranks with special-operation tactical units from Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other federal law enforcement entities. These federal tactical units typically conduct immigration raids or patrol the border. But in their new mission in Portland, they are deputized Federal Protective Service agents. And as a result, they report to Cline.

Youre Probably Talking About the Van

When Cline stepped up to the microphone, he started to address the reporters question about probable cause by saying, [Y]oure probably talking about the van. This is a reference to the now-viral video, viewed nearly 13 million times, in which two camo-clad federal agents remove a peaceful protester from the street by placing him in an unmarked van. If you have not seen the video, it is worth watching now. (Its 39 seconds long.)

Cline proceeded to offer the governments account of the facts leading up to and following this encounter. With respect to what happened before the video begins, Cline explains that earlier in the night the agents in the video had seen the man in the video in a crowd and in an area from which someone was aiming a laser at the eyes of officers. The agents, Cline said, followed the man because they wanted to ask him some questions.

Crucially, it is clear from Clines statements that the agents never had any reason to believe that the man was the person pointing the laser. Cline says the individual that they were questioning was in a crowd and in an area where an individual was aiming a laser at the eyes of officers (emphasis added). Cline later adds that the agents wanted to question this individual to find out what their [sic] role was in this laser pointing.

The video speaks for itself regarding the manner in which the agents grabbed the man and put him in the van. Cline, however, gave important additional context for why the officers behaved the way they did. As they approached the man, Cline explained, they noticed that coming in their direction were violent demonstrators. Fearing for their own safety, the agents decided to leave the sceneand to take the man with them.

Note again that Cline did not suggest the man in the video ever did anything himself to alarm the agents or to give them grounds to believe he was engaged in criminal activity. The agents wanted to get off the street to get away from the crowdand they wanted the man to come with them. So, they grabbed him; put him in a van; and took him, in Clines words, to an area that was safe for both the officers and the individual to do the questioning.

Cline never explicitly says where the agents took the man. But we know that in a separate incident federal agents who wanted to question a man named Mark Pettibone similarly grabbed him off the street, put him in an unmarked van, and took him into the nearby federal courthouse itself for interrogation. It seems safe to conclude that when the agents in the video relocated the man they grabbed to an area that was safe for them to do the questioning, they took him into the courthouse as well. That conclusion is bolstered by Clines statement that the amount of time that transpired while [the agents] did the questioning was roughly twenty minutes, as the agents surely would not have questioned the man for that long out on the street, given their apparent fear of the surrounding crowds.

They Didnt Have What They Need

Those are the basic facts of the incident, according to Cline, speaking on behalf of Homeland Security. They raise a number of questions. Perhaps most notably: Was this constitutional?

The basic legal framework here is not particularly complex. As noted at the outset, arresting someone without probable cause is unconstitutional. One important question to consider when assessing the legality of the viral van encounter is thus whether the agents had probable cause.

As Ive described at length in an article recently published in the Yale Law Journal, probable cause can sometimes be an elusive concept. But in some cases, like this one, its application is straightforward: The police do not have probable cause to arrest you just because you are standing in the vicinity of someone who may have committed a crime. As the Supreme Court explained in Ybarra v. Illinois, a persons mere propinquity to others independently suspected of criminal activity does not, without more, give rise to probable cause. Rather, a seizure of a person must be supported by probable cause particularized with respect to that person. There is no such thing as probable cause by mere association.

Cline seems to understand this. He acknowledges that the agents did not have probable cause for an arrest. As he explains, when the officers ultimately released the man from custody they did soafter consulting with government lawyersbecause they concluded they did not have what they needed to detain him. In other words, they did not have probable cause. Not when they spoke to the lawyers. Not when they put the man in the van. Not ever.

It Was Not a Custodial Arrest

And yet, Cline insists that the agents conduct was lawful. His explanation for why he thinks that to be true is the crux of the matterand the most disturbing part of his statement.

According to Cline, the agents conduct was lawful because what they did was a simple engagement. It was not, Cline says, a custodial arrest. The argument, in other words, is that these agents complied with the Fourth Amendment because they did not need probable cause to put the man in the van in the first place.

This assertion is glaringly wrong. It has been glaringly wrong for at least forty years, ever since the Supreme Courts opinion in Dunaway v. New York. The question there was whether the ... police violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments when, without probable cause to arrest, they took petitioner into custody, transported him to the police station, and detained him there for questioning. The answer, the Court said, was unequivocally yes: Such a detention is indistinguishable from a traditional arrest.

As the court went on to explain, The mere facts that petitioner was not told he was under arrest, was not booked, and would not have had an arrest record if the interrogation had proved fruitless, while not insignificant for all purposes, obviously do not make [the] seizure even roughly analogous to a mere investigatory stop, let alone a consensual contact. Rather, Dunaway holds that, at a minimum, a person who is taken from where he was found, placed in a police car, transported to a police station and placed in an interrogation room has been arrested.

It is worth noting that Dunaway does not stand alone in the courts Fourth Amendment canon. On the contrary, it builds on an earlier case, Davis v. Mississippi, and has been reaffirmed in later ones, including Hayes v. Florida. In the former case, the police, without warrants, took at least 24 Negro youths to police headquarters where they were questioned briefly, fingerprinted, and then released without charge. The government conceded this was done without probable cause. And while the detentions were all brief, the court nonetheless concluded that they were unconstitutional arrests.

As for Hayes, the Court in that opinion reaffirmed Davis and Dunaway, describing the core holdings of those cases as follows:

None of our later cases have undercut the holding in Davis that transportation to and investigative detention at the station house without probable cause or judicial authorization together violate the Fourth Amendment. Indeed, some 10 years later, in Dunaway v. New York, we refused to extend Terry v. Ohio, to authorize investigative interrogations at police stations on less than probable cause.

Any one of these cases, standing alone, resolves the question at hand. Taken together, the conclusion is inescapable: When the agents put the man in the van, took him off the street, and brought him inside for questioning, they arrested him. Cline says they did so without probable cause. That means they violated the Constitution.

Unfortunately It Got Kinda Spun Out of Control With the Rhetoric About What Happened

There is an odd, disorienting quality to Clines two-minute statement. I have no reason to question Clines integrity or motives. But on its face, his statement feels like a kind of criminal procedure version of gaslighting. With an earnest, just the facts style, Cline is clearly trying to convince the public that what happened in Portland is not a big deal.

The agents were peaceful, he said. There was no tackle to the ground. This was just a simple engagement. It is unfortunate, Cline tells us, that this all got kinda spun out of control with the rhetoric about what happened, as if the people questioning the legality of the arrest are the ones blowing this all out of proportion. After all, Cline reminds us, it was not a custodial arrest.

Except it was.

And So Thats How That Came About

Shortly after I wrote my Twitter thread, a producer at NPR asked me to read it aloud for a radio diary. Professor Timothy Snyder of Yale University was interviewed in the same segment. After listening to my reading of the thread, he offered a striking diagnosis of Clines statement:

Its very troubling. To say that the man was not arrested is simply lying. This is what authoritarian propaganda sounds like. A man has been arrested and you find some other way to describe it, for example, as a simple engagement, which is false but it sounds like a technical term. So you stop and think about it. Thats how authoritarian propaganda works.

I do not know if Cline is trying to gaslight America. But I do know that, if he is not, there is only one other possible conclusion: He does not know what an arrest is. And that, too, is extremely problematic. If the person in command of a newly beefed-up federal paramilitary police force does not know whether his agents are arresting people, he cannot possibly know whether they are doing so constitutionallyon the streets of Portland, or wherever President Trump deploys these federal agents next.

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Unpacking DHS's Troubling Explanation of the Portland Van Video - Lawfare

R Sikoryaks latest project is a word-for-word adaptation of the U.S. Constitution – Boing Boing

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Cartoonist R. Sikoryak's talent for mimicking other cartoonists, from Krazy Kat's George Herriman to Nancy's Ernie Bushmiiler, is uncanny. He has a new book out, called Constitution Illustrated, published by Drawn & Quarterly and I have been marveling at the illustrations. The publisher kindly gave me permission to run some samples so you can see the versatility of Sikoryak's work.

A gifted pastiche and parody artist as well as a New Yorker cartoonist, R. Sikoryaks perhaps best known for his widely lauded graphic novel adaptation of the iTunes Terms and Conditions agreement, where each page referenced a different classic comic. It is a triumph of cartooning, one that demonstrated the power of the comics medium to make the unreadable into a text the average reader could engage with. While the Constitution is hardly so dense, Sikoryak transforms it by interpreting it within 100 years of American pop culture icons, all dressed in period attire, naturally!

The 13th Amendment is brought to life by Billy Grahams classic 1973 comic book cover for Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, drawn by one of the few Black cartoonists in the Marvel bullpen. The Boondocks explain the Fourth Amendment preventing seizure. Earlier on, Cathy reminds us that money drawn from the treasury must be appropriately accounted for publically. And its pretty satisfying to see the cast of Alison Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For assemble in Section 4, as the Constitution lays out what meetings of Congress look like.

Most of us have a love-hate relationship with banks. Okay, its actually probably more like a tolerate-hate relationship. We understand their role in holding and securing our money so we dont have to stuff it in a mattress somewhere. But we dont trust the bank not to gouge us on fees whenever they can. And []

WATCH THE SPLASHDOWN EVENT LIVE HERE, the SpaceX video embed in this post will go live with pre-event content sometime before 7pm EDT on Saturday August 1.

Grace, the Black teen girl in Michigan who was detained because the school said she was not doing her online coursework, is to be released from detention IMMEDIATELY.

Most of us have a love-hate relationship with banks. Okay, its actually probably more like a tolerate-hate relationship. We understand their role in holding and securing our money so we dont have to stuff it in a mattress somewhere. But we dont trust the bank not to gouge us on fees whenever they can. And []

If youve ever worked on a video project or engineered a podcast and thought youd make your own sound effects howd that go for ya? We assume it was a bigger undertaking than youd probably bargained for. From using stalks of celery to replicate breaking tree limbs to frying bacon to reproduce the sound of []

Always looking to put a new spin on a cup of joe, infusing your coffee with a blast of nitrogen produces a thicker, more full-bodied, naturally creamy, frothy variation on java that has been picking up steam with fans for the past decade. Of course, most of us dont have nitrogen injectors just lying around, []

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R Sikoryaks latest project is a word-for-word adaptation of the U.S. Constitution - Boing Boing

Capitol Hill grilling of tech CEOs highlights expansion of ‘geofence warrants’ – WRAL.com

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By Tyler Dukes, WRAL investigative reporter

Raleigh, N.C. A North Dakota congressman Wednesday challenged a controversial investigative tactic used by law enforcement nationally including in North Carolina to demand location data from Google users who appear near the scene of a crime.

With so-called "geofence" or "reverse search" warrants, investigators can force Google to turn over detailed location history for any device that entered into a geographic area during a specific time. WRAL News first reported the Raleigh Police Department's use of the warrants in March 2018 in several high-profile cases, including murder and suspected arson. The practice has continued locally since then, and subsequent reporting by The New York Times and other news organizations have identified the spread the technique across the country.

The Raleigh Police Department says it balances constitutional privacy protections by requesting anonymized data in the early stages of the warrant request process, which detectives use only sparingly.

But privacy advocates have expressed serious concerns over the warrants, which are now facing challenges in criminal courts nationwide.

"The Fourth Amendment requires probable cause and specificity and that's not what these are," Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-North Dakota, told a U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee Wednesday. "These warrants are essentially for any person in an area at a particular time."

Armstrong's comments came near the second hour of the subcommittee's grilling of the powerful tech CEOs from Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple as U.S. lawmakers wrap up a yearlong antitrust investigation into the digital giants.

Unless they include specific information identifying a subject, he said, "geowarrants are essentially general warrants."

"I think people would be terrified to know that law enforcement could grab general warrants and get everybody's information anywhere," Armstrong said. "So it requires Congress to act. It requires everybody that is a witness in this hearing to be willing to work too, because it is the single most important issue I think we are going to face."

In a question directed at Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Armstrong asked if he agreed that location information falls under the protections of the federal Stored Communications Act (such a designation would not exempt location data from search warrants).

Pichai didn't answer directly, but noted it was an issue "we deeply care about."

"This is why we issue transparency reports, because we think it's an important area for Congress to have oversight," Pichai said.

Pichai noted that the company now automatically deletes certain location activity after 18 months by default for new users, a change announced just last month.

CORRECTION: A previously version of this story inaccurately reported that Rep. Kelly Armstrong's comments came in the fourth hour of the hearing. They came near the second hour.

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Capitol Hill grilling of tech CEOs highlights expansion of 'geofence warrants' - WRAL.com

FBI bulletin exposes another crack in ELD mandate – Land Line – Land Line Media

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The FBIs Cyber Division released last week an unsettling bulletin that called out the vulnerabilities in electronic logging devices and exposed the lack of cybersecurity or quality assurance requirements for ELD suppliers.

Cyber criminals could exploit vulnerabilities in electronic logging devices. Although the mandate seeks to provide safety and efficiency benefits, it does not contain cybersecurity requirements for manufacturers or suppliers of ELDs, and there is no requirement for third-party validation or testing prior to the ELD self-certification process, the FBI bulletin stated.

This poses a risk to businesses because ELDs created a bridge between previously unconnected systems critical to trucking operations.

These vulnerabilities could create a variety of problems, the FBI said. Cyber criminals could use an insecure ELD to move laterally into a larger company business network, to steal such personal information as business and financial records, or to install malware that could prevent the vehicle from operating until a ransom is paid.

The bulletin paints a frightening picture that makes you wonder why these concerns werent mentioned before the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration began enforcing an ELD mandate on commercial motor vehicles in December 2017.

Oh wait, they were.

In its fight against the ELD mandate, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, mentioning privacy concerns and saying that it violated truckers Fourth Amendment rights.

In September 2017, an OOIDA-led coalition of 31 organizations, said there were significant technological and real-world concerns that hadnt been addressed by FMCSA.

At the time, the coalition was backing a bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, that would delay the ELD mandate for two years. The coalition said the delay was needed in order to address these concerns.

But you know the rest. The bill didnt pass and the $2 billion ELD mandate began its first phase in December 2017 and entered its third and final phase in December 2019.

Why were lawmakers so determined to push this mandate forward, you might ask. They said it was all in the name of safety. The ELDs would force truckers to rigidly follow the hours-of-service regulations, which, in theory, would reduce crashes. OOIDA has contended that compliance doesnt equal safety and that there have been no studies proving that ELDs increase safety on the highways.

Soon after the mandate was put in place, truckers began to complain that the hours of service were too rigid and that the ELDs were forcing them to beat the clock and speed in order to get parked in time. Those cries led to the FMCSA reforming the hours-of-service rules, which are set to go into effect on Sept. 29.

While the official numbers havent been released, preliminary stats dont do much to support the justification for the ELD mandate. A preliminary study released in 2019 said ELDs have not reduced crashes and may cause an increase in unsafe driving habits. According to numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fatalities involving large trucks reached a 30-year high during the first full year of the ELD mandate.

So more than two-and-a-half years into the ELD mandate, heres what we know:

All of this even though there is still no proof that ELDs do anything to benefit highway safety.The FBI bulletin is the latest proof that the ELD mandate was an unnecessary and hastily enacted regulation.

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FBI bulletin exposes another crack in ELD mandate - Land Line - Land Line Media

Technology key to 30 Israeli medical innovations to fight COVID-19 – Cleveland Jewish News

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The coronavirus crisis is first and foremost about people.

People stuck at home, people out of work. People sick with the virus, people caring for them. People canceling dream weddings and vacations, people deciding public-health policies.

Technology is also about people.

In Israel, a powerhouse of innovative technology, people are busy inventing and adapting technologies to ease the virus burden.

Technology has a great role to play in solving and helping us get through this crisis, from diagnosis, mitigation, patient tracking, contamination prevention and protecting medical staff, to education and exercise for the homebound, OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved said.

The economic and logistic limitations of current assessment and testing methods have motivated many Israelis to find better solutions.

BATM is scaling up production of a rapid-diagnostic kit that detects coronavirus infection from saliva samples within 50 minutes. The kit is compatible with equipment used to do the current PCR test for diagnosing COVID-19 in a matter of hours.

Diagnostics.ai is working toward complete automation of PCR testing for COVID-19 using artificial intelligence. Now being tested at Kings College Hospital NHS London and soon at CLIA labs in the United States, the pcr.ai method would enable doubling the number of samples tested per day without additional staffing needs.

The Defense Ministrys Directorate for Defense Research and Development is working with Vocalis Health to identify a unique vocal fingerprint of virus carriers based on voice samples from confirmed coronavirus patients and a control group from the general population. The remote technology also could help monitor recovery of COVID-19 patients.

Researchers from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Rambam Health Care Campus say they can dramatically increase COVID-19 testing capacity by pooling multiple samples in a single test tube.

MyEleanor, a voice bot and virtual care manager from MyndYou, can call individuals or act as a hotline to assess risk, manage symptoms and provide guidance. On each call, AI-driven voice analytics can detect subtle changes in health and trigger proactive interventions.

An app from K Health uses AI to give free COVID-19 risk assessment and primary care advice based on U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Symptomatic or high-risk users may be connected to a physician for a free 14-day chat-based consultation.

Geneyx is working with hospitals in Israel, China and Italy to determine whether certain genetic mutations may lessen or worsen individual COVID-19 infections. The company intends to create a database to help predict the severity of each patients case.

VocalZoom autonomous sensors for Industry 4.0 applications may be repurposed for noninvasive skin scans to detect possible COVID-19 symptoms in hospitals and mass transit hubs.

RADLogics has adapted its AI-powered medical-image analysis solution to automatically and accurately detect and classify COVID-19 infection in chest CT images of patients believed to be infected. The solution has been deployed in China, Russia and Italy to measure the percentage of affected lung volume.

Air Doctor, an app connecting travelers with local doctors, now offers a constantly updated list of COVID-19 testing sites and regional rules in 42 countries across five continents.

TytoCares unique modular device and telehealth platform is allowing health care organizations in the U.S., Europe and Israel to remotely examine and monitor potential and actual COVID-19 patients at home and in hospitals. TytoCare exams of lungs, heart and temperature fully replicate an in-person checkup

Several hospitals are using software and hardware from Mittwoch to enable remote exams and diagnosis of COVID-19 patients using technologies such as TytoCare devices and digital stethoscopes.

Datos Health introduced a Coronavirus Telemedicine Program for hospitals and HMOs to provide online symptom-checking and video consultations to COVID-19 patients who dont need hospitalization.

The Wearable Vital Sign Monitor from Biobeat is providing continuous, noninvasive medical-grade monitoring of blood pressure, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, heart rate, temperature and other vitals in COVID-19 patients at several Israeli hospitals and at home.

An under-mattress contact-free monitoring solution from EarlySense allows hospitals to monitor and analyze COVID-19 patients breathing patterns for subtle changes and signs of respiratory distress.

The OLO blood analyzer from Sight Diagnostics performs rapid automated testing of COVID-19 patients samples using a self-contained cartridge to collect two drops of blood from a venous or finger prick sample. The cartridge is inserted in the OLO unit, which provides full blood count results in minutes via computer vision and AI. (OLO has point-of-care regulatory approval in Europe and Israel, but not yet in the United States.)

A TeleICU technology from Clew Medical now being deployed in two Israeli hospitals and tested in two U.S. facilities uses AI-based predictive analytics to expand ICU capacity and resources while protecting frontline care workers. It includes AI-based algorithms to identify respiratory deterioration in advance, and machine learning models for proactively managing disease severity and workload.

Sweetch AI-powered mobile health platform, developed for diabetes patients, is enabling remote monitoring, management and intervention for COVID-19 patients with chronic diseases.

Hospitals are using the RenalSense Clarity RMS platform to monitor critical COVID-19 patients urine flow remotely and continuously.

A robotic process automation solution from Kryon allows for automated reporting of COVID-19 testing results to the Israeli Ministry of Health from Maccabi Healthcare Services, one of Israels national HMOs. Manual uploading was causing huge backlogs and human errors. The streamlined process is available free of charge to health care providers anywhere.

We have no reliable clinical data about any drug useful in reducing severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients, said Dr. Eyal Leshem, director of geographic medicine at Sheba Medical Center. Perhaps in several weeks or months we will know what drugs may be useful.

In Israel, about a dozen existing drugs are being tested for their effectiveness alone or combined. Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is donating millions of its hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets to U.S. hospitals for testing as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

As for vaccine candidates, Studies are in various stages and well have to wait patiently for safety and efficacy trials to be completed within one to one and a half years, Leshem said.

Antibody therapy, immunotherapy and immunization options are being investigated in many Israeli companies, universities and research institutions.

Kamada is developing a polyclonal immunoglobulin treatment for severely ill COVID-19 patients, using purified blood and plasma samples from recovered patients. Kamada previously developed serums for treating rabies and Zika.

The Israel Institute of Biological Research is working toward a coronavirus vaccine as well as an antibody-based treatment for COVID-19 using plasma from recovered patients. The treatment is expected to take less time to develop than the vaccine, said chief innovation coordinator Eran Zehavy, who is actively pursuing collaborations with startups.

A poultry coronavirus vaccine under development at MIGAL Galilee Research Institute is being reformulated as an oral vaccine against human COVID-19 that could be adapted to future forms of the virus.

CEO David Zigdon said animal trials of MIGALs human formulation may begin soon.

We are raising money and looking for a GMP (good manufacturing practices) facility to produce our vaccine, he said.

TransAlgae has opened an investment round to support development of an oral algae-based coronavirus vaccine in pill form.

The patented PLX cell product from Pluristem Therapeutics is being evaluated at the BIH Center for Regenerative Therapy and the Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies as a potential treatment for respiratory and inflammatory complications associated with COVID-19.

Pepticom is seeking partners to validate and develop peptide drug candidates to inhibit proteins in the novel coronavirus.

Intubation and mechanical ventilation of critically ill COVID-19 patients is invasive, expensive and can damage the lungs.

Inspira is developing a disposable alternative for direct blood oxygenation via a catheter placed into a central vein. Another solution comes from Dr. Ishay Benuri, a pediatric gastroenterologist and medical device inventor. His unique laryngoscope, enabling easier, more accurate and faster intubation of critical COVID-19 patients, is patented in Israel and soon to be patented in Europe and the U.S.

Enlivex has developed a medication that could help treat severe symptoms of COVID-19 including catastrophic organ failure.

XRHealth provides specialized therapeutic apps delivered through virtual reality headsets for quarantined coronavirus patients. Options include stress and anxiety treatments, cognitive and physical exercises, support groups and two-way interactions with healthcare providers. XRHealth recently set up virtual reality telehealth clinics in the U.S.

This story first appeared in Israel 21c and is reprinted with permission.

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Technology key to 30 Israeli medical innovations to fight COVID-19 - Cleveland Jewish News

How does technology impact teenagers brains? We still dont have enough research to know. – Vox.com

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As the US continues to struggle to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and social distancing recommendations remain in place, millions of US children and adolescents arent expected to attend school in-person in the fall meaning theyll often be stuck inside their homes and using the internet as a primary means of human connection. The situation has resurfaced a long-standing, difficult-to-answer question: Is technology going to ruin my teenagers brain?

For years, some have blamed the growing rate of teenagers suffering from mental health issues in the US on the drastic increase in how much theyre engaging with digital devices compared to previous generations but there isnt much hard evidence to back up those claims.

Its true that were seeing unprecedented levels of teenagers using digital devices some 95 percent of US teens have access to a smartphone, and 45 percent say they are online almost constantly, according to a 2018 Pew poll. And during the same period of time that internet and smartphone use has increased for a generation of young people, the suicide rate in the US has also steadily increased (across all ages overall), with a disproportionate increase in the rate of tween girls aged 10 to 14 in particular.

But the rise of teenagers use of social media at the same time that depression rates have been going up shows correlation, not causation. Meaning, theres no evidence to prove that teenagers use of social media is why were seeing this increase in depression instead of any number of other confounding factors like their family life, economic conditions, or anything else. To know if thats the case or not, we need a lot more comprehensive research that isolates these other factors.

Considering how high the stakes are, answering this question is important and pressing.

A new report from the nonprofit Common Sense Media, a national advocacy group focused on digital access and safety for children and families, reflects the urgency and state of the conversation. The report, written by UC Irvine child psychology professor Candice Odgers and Common Sense research director Michael Robb, attempted to review the existing research about the effects of tech use on teens, draw conclusions about the overall risks and benefits, and suggest recommendations for parents, educators, and the public. But one of the biggest conclusions from Common Senses report is that the existing research doesnt tell us enough, and we need more refined scientific evidence to know anything conclusive about the effects of social media on teenagers mental health.

In the meantime, its important to understand what the concerns around the impact of social media on teenage mental health are and what to consider when it comes to figuring out how to help teens have a balanced relationship with technology, especially while living through a pandemic.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, first partner to Californias Governor Gavin Newsom, who contributed an essay to the report, wrote that she understands digital devices like tablets and laptops are necessary tools for getting an education during Covid-19 school shutdowns. But she says shes also worried about the effects of these devices on children and teens mental health.

[A]s a mom, I cant ignore the reality in my home. Distance learning for my four kids this spring opened the floodgates to media and its adverse effects. What started with using Zoom and Gmail for homework assignments became internet searches bringing up age-inappropriate information and misinformation, wrote Siebel Newsom. All of a sudden my eldest were sneaking off to their rooms, or hiding devices under their beds at night.

Both Siebel Newsom and others who contributed to the report, like former Democratic presidential candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, want to see technology and media companies accept more responsibility for their impact on children, even if we dont yet have research showing exactly what that impact is. Yang, in particular, called for the government to drastically fund more research and step in, if needed, to incentivize tech companies to educate children, rather than entertain them, to collect ad dollars. (The childrens digital advertising market is expected to be worth $1.7 billion by 2021, according to a report from PwC.)

Right now, the interests of parents are directly at odds with the interests of the technology companies, wrote Yang. Theyre monetizing our attention and profiting off of our time. As they say, the addictive nature of smartphones is a feature, not a bug. We parents are outgunned and at a total loss.

Newsoms and Yangs comments draw on much larger anxieties in the American public about what kids are doing with their time online and how this will impact their development.

So, while theres no shortage of concern about how much time adolescents are spending on their phones, what does the research actually say?

Unfortunately, not enough for us to draw any quantitative, evidence-based conclusions and thats why we should start doing more research in earnest now. The reports meta-analysis of the most up-to-date research on social media and depression revealed a mix of small positive, negative, and mostly neutral links between adolescents use of technology like social media and their mental health.

Authors of the report looked at two large-scale reviews of existing research on the topic published earlier this year and found results associating adolescents mental health and use of digital technology inconsistent even when an association was present, it accounted for less than 1 percent of the variation.

This failure to find a stronger link between teen depression and technology use is not surprising, Odgers and Robb write, given that mental health disorders emerge from a complex set of social, genetic, and experiential factors, which have varying influence across development and situations. Still, small effects can be meaningful, the report states, but with existing evidence we have no way to separate cause from effect in social media research with adolescents.

If researchers wanted to actually separate cause from effect, we would need research that asks more specific questions and is backed by harder data, as my Vox colleague Brian Resnick has previously explained. Self-reported surveys on teens well-being can be biased so another option would be for scientists to use brain scans showing neurological development over time to track the tangible effects of social media on childrens well-being.

While there is at least one large study like this underway, funded by the National Institutes of Health, it will be several years before we see its results. Until then, researchers are asking for more granular data from companies like Apple and Google to help them understand exactly how kids are using their devices. Are they bingeing on Fortnite or watching educational YouTube videos? So far, tech companies like Apple largely havent given researchers the option to see peoples screen-time data that shows how much they use different apps on their phones even with their consent.

With all this in mind, the report calls for the government and other groups to fund more research on this topic.

While the jurys still out on exactly how social media impacts teens, the report does offer some child psychologist-backed recommendations for teen tech use.

An important one: Its not how much teens use apps that matters but how theyre using those apps. In essence, its quality over quantity. Examples of quality use include a teen using multiplayer video games to socialize with their peers and build stronger friendships, the report argues. Another example of positive tech use is when first-year college students use their smartphones to maintain close contact with their parents. One study cited in the report showed these students were better at bouncing back from outside stress than their peers who stayed in touch with their families less often.

The report stressed that while many families have instituted rules about how much their kids use technology, the fights parents are having with their children over this are actually making things worse. In fact, conflict over screens is likely to be more harmful to adolescents mental health than screen time itself, Common Senses report states.

While theres a lot we still dont know about technology and its impact on teens mental health, its an important issue thats only become more serious during the pandemic. Thats why we need better research before jumping to any conclusions.

You can read the report in full here.

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Every day at Vox, we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you, and our audience around the world, with information that has the power to save lives. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower you through understanding. Voxs work is reaching more people than ever, but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles, videos, and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today.

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How does technology impact teenagers brains? We still dont have enough research to know. - Vox.com

$13.92 Bn Cancer/Tumor Profiling Market by Technology, Cancer Type, Biomarker Type, Application and Region – Global Forecast to 2025 -…

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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Cancer/Tumor Profiling Market by (Technology (Immunoassay, NGS, PCR, In-Situ Hybridization, Microarray), Cancer Type (Breast, Lung, Colorectal, Prostate, Melanoma)), Biomarker Type (Genomic, Protein), Application, Region - Global Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global cancer/tumor profiling market is projected to reach USD 13.92 billion by 2025 from USD 8.3 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 10.9% during the forecast period.

Factors such as the increasing incidence of cancer, increasing demand for personalized medicine, increasing the use of biomarkers in cancer profiling, increasing cancer research and funding, and technological advancements in the field are expected to drive the growth of the cancer/tumor profiling market. However, poor regulatory and reimbursement scenario serves as a major challenge for the industry.

By technology, the next-generation sequencing segment holds the highest market share during the forecast period.

Based on technology, the cancer/tumor profiling market is segmented into immunoassays, in situ hybridization, next-generation sequencing (NGS), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), mass spectrometry, microarrays, and others. The immunoassays segment held the highest market share in 2019. The high market share of this segment can be attributed to the wide adoption of these assays as it is the gold standard to measure the presence and concentration of analytes in a sample.

Based on cancer type, the lung cancer segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on cancer type, the cancer/tumor profiling market is segmented into breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, and others. The lung cancer segment is projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The significant growth in lung cancer is attributed to the high incidence rate of lung cancer and the increasing need for early diagnosis.

By biomarker type, the genetic biomarker segment holds the highest market share during the forecast period.

Based on biomarker type, the cancer/tumor profiling market is segmented genetic biomarkers, protein biomarkers, and other biomarkers. The genetic segment held the highest market share in 2019. The high market share of this segment can be attributed to the high adoption of these biomarkers during cancer diagnosis and prognosis and in the biomarker discovery process.

By application type, the research application segment holds the highest market share during the forecast period.

Based on cancer type, the cancer/tumor profiling market is segmented research and clinical applications. The research application segment held the highest market share in 2019. The high market share of this segment can be attributed to the increasing focus on biomarker discovery for drug development along with the rapidly growing field of personalized medicine. Additionally, the increased funding for cancer research is propelling the growth of the market.

By Region, The Asia Pacific region holds the highest market share during the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific holds the highest market share during the forecast period (2020 to 2025). Rapidly incidence of cancer, growing proteomics and genomics research, increasing research funding, rising investments by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and growing awareness about personalized therapeutics in several APAC countries, are supporting the growth of the cancer/tumor market in the Asia Pacific region.

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Restraints

Opportunities

Challenges

Trends

COVID-19's Impact on the Cancer/Tumor Profiling Market

Companies Profiled

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

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$13.92 Bn Cancer/Tumor Profiling Market by Technology, Cancer Type, Biomarker Type, Application and Region - Global Forecast to 2025 -...

Elastic Interface gets hands-on with new EIT Palm Technology – endurancebusiness.com

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Originally revealed at Eurobike 2019, the new EIT Palm Technology from Elastic Interface is now available on the market. Elastic Interface, a specialist in high-end, high-performance cycling pads, argues that, with the new product offering, it has transformed how we experience in-saddle comfort with its products.

EIT Palm Technology delivers the first ever three-dimensional palm to be developed for cycling gloves, and claims to take the protection and comfort of a riders hands on the handlebars to a whole new level.

The construction of the Elastic Interface palm is a patented technology. Its three-dimensional design has been developed with anthropometric parameters, and help from the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Padua.

The seamless, three-dimensional stretch palm adapts to the shape of the hand. It is claimed to improve blood flow and dramatically reduce soreness in the ulnar nerve in the wrist and fingers so no more tingling fingers. In addition, the padding between the bar and hand helps to absorb the energy that comes from a firm grip on the handlebars.

Alessandro Piccoli, engineer at Elastic Interface, saidAs we pursued our strategy of improving the contact points between rider and bike to increase comfort and in turn enhance performance, we thought about how we could take our past 20 years of experience in the world of cycling pads and apply it to the hand-bike interface.

We adapted our pad technology to the palm of the hand so that cyclists can now also find that level of comfort normally associated with our products in their favourite brands gloves.

Denis Bertoldo, head of R&D at the company added, Firstly, analysing the anthropometric parameters of the hand was essential to deciding the design.

The comfort comes from the fact that this product is primarily designed to protect the rider. With protection comes comfort. And all this benefits performance. If a product performs well, the rider forgets its even there. The same applies to our pads, which are prized the world over for their quality.

The EIT Palm Technology project aims to bring the same degree of comfort to cycling gloves too. Once wed confirmed the design, we chose materials that enabled us to develop a product which would be extremely breathable with padding featuring a high capacity of elastic recovery. And finally, the grip fabrics ensure the rider has a firm grip on the handlebars.

Elastic Interface Palm Technology can currently be found in the Unique Gloves by Q36.5 and in the Revo Gloves by De Marchi. The company notes that many more will follow.

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AIoT applications prove the technology’s adaptability – TechTarget

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The relatively recent combination of AI and IoT into the artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) has added a level of actionable insight to the traditional IoT.

The internet of things, a system of interrelated computing devices and machines that can transfer data over a network without human interaction, has been used to enable new features, better functionality, and real-time status monitoring for consumers. Combining this with ever-developing AI advancements is allowing organizations to predict changes and optimize their devices. AIoT allows an algorithm to improve communication and apply predictive capabilities to give companies advantages over their competition.

AIoT is the addition of artificial intelligence to the devices within the internet of things your organization deploys. The addition of AI and machine learning allows for machines to make a variety of decisions.

"AI is utilized to deliver more capabilities for the connected device, by moving from purely programmed/algorithmic responses to dynamic decisions, empowered by machine learning," said Tolga Tarhan, CTO at Rackspace Technology, an information technology and services company based in Texas.

Replacing programmed responses with the adaptability and flexibility of machine learning allows for more organizational readiness, since a combination of AI and IoT allows an organization to improve their decision-making and reduce latency by having their interconnected devices gather data and better understand their needs and weaknesses.

Oftentimes the intersection between the two, where AI systems use sensor data from IoT devices, occurs at the edge of the network where AI processes the data at each device. Therefore, its use cases are more likely to be found in individual devices spread throughout a home or factory.

The applications of augmented AIoT cuts across end-user computers and personal devices to enterprise machinery. In the customer space, the combination of AI and IoT has found a home in smart appliances, security cameras and home management systems like the thermostat. By connecting these devices together and adding a level of intelligence, product users can better understand what their homes need.

Not only is AI leveraging computer vision, but the next stage is using the AI to help make decisions that drive the IoT. Justin RichieData science director, Nerdery

Smart home surveillance cameras apply AI to decide what is worthy of being sent to the cloud. Image detection software can identify a normal setting, and only send, alert and store video that introduces something new, i.e., aperson or a tree falling, that is out of the normal scope of the picture. Video streams require large bandwidth and having cameras decipher what is significant can reduce the drag on the system as well as save time for the viewer. Smart appliances can understand when supplies (certain food or drink products) are low and alert the user via connected devices.

AIoT has also enabled the advancement of self-driving technology. By increasing the communication and intelligence within a vehicle, AIoT allows for better decision-making by the vehicle itself.

"Tesla is a great example -- where self-driving technology is dependent on this type of AIoT," Justin Richie, data science director at the digital consultancy Nerdery said. "Not only is AI leveraging computer vision, but the next stage is using the AI to help make decisions that drive the IoT."

AIoT applications also reach over to the industrial side of the economy. Factories need numerous technical devices that require IoT in order to function properly, but the addition of predictive analytics technology means that companies can avert -- or at least plan for -- outages, system failures or maintenance shutdowns -- something that becomes pivotal for system maintenance.

"In the industrial space, we're seeing a reliance on predictive maintenance and predictive failure in industrial factories," Tarhan said.

In industrial high-pressure situations, algorithms can assess when a pump is likely to fail and alert workers beforehand, giving the factory time to get ahead of a failure and apply maintenance to prevent a shutdown.

Combining AI and IoT also allows organizations to collect data from millions of IoT devices in a more organized and efficient manner. AI-based algorithms sort out and eliminate useless data for your organization and save time and costs.

This variety of applications and flexibility is what comes from the combination of two powerful technologies. The advantage of AIoT is in its ability to promote and provide actionable options. The internet of things can give you information on your devices but with the addition of machine learning algorithms, organizations can predict decisions and outcomes, potentially allowing IoT to make decisions for itself in the future.

The impact of this technology can be measured through its wide-ranging use case examples. Experts note that the technology's ability to span enterprises and personal use marks it as longstanding.

"Thirty years ago, it would be inconceivable to have the same technology in your home as is used in industrial applications," Tarhan said.

And AIoT will continue to spread into industries and expand its use case portfolio.

"Robotics will greatly benefit from this as the IoT device management grows into more AI concepts," Richie said. "As devices begin to interact with humans and the experience grows in sophistication, AIoT will be much more involved."

Devices have become more prominent and the demands on them continue to grow. AI and IoT are natural allies with complementary skills and their cooperative application will continue into the future.

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3D Printing Material Market Research Report by Type, by Form, by Technology, by Application, by End User – Global Forecast to 2025 – Cumulative Impact…

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New York, July 31, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "3D Printing Material Market Research Report by Type, by Form, by Technology, by Application, by End User - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05939283/?utm_source=GNW

The Global 3D Printing Material Market is expected to grow from USD 1,385.69 Million in 2019 to USD 4,652.36 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.36%.

Market Segmentation & Coverage:This research report categorizes the 3D Printing Material to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:

Based on Type, the 3D Printing Material Market studied across Ceramic, Metal, Plastic, Laywood, Paper, Bioinks, and Wax.

Based on Form, the 3D Printing Material Market studied across Filament, Liquid, and Powder.

Based on Technology, the 3D Printing Material Market studied across DMLS, FDM, SLA, SLS, Binder Jetting, MJF, and Polyjet.

Based on Application, the 3D Printing Material Market studied across Manufacturing, Prototyping, and Research & Development.

Based on End User, the 3D Printing Material Market studied across Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Construction, Consumer Goods & Electronics, Healthcare, and Education.

Based on Geography, the 3D Printing Material Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

Company Usability Profiles:The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global 3D Printing Material Market including 3D Systems Corp., Advanc3d Materials, Advanced Powders and Coatings, Arkema S.A., Cookson Precious Metals, CRP Group, Envisiontec GmbH, EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems, Exceltec, Exone GmbH, Formlabs, GE Additive, Legor Group, LPW Technology Ltd., Maker Juice, Royal DSM N.V., Stratasys Ltd., Taulman 3D, TLC Korea, and Toner Plastic.

FPNV Positioning Matrix:The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the 3D Printing Material Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.

Competitive Strategic Window:The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.

Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments

The report answers questions such as:1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global 3D Printing Material Market?2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global 3D Printing Material Market during the forecast period?3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global 3D Printing Material Market?4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global 3D Printing Material Market?5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global 3D Printing Material Market?6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global 3D Printing Material Market?Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05939283/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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Side cameras to replace rear view mirrors on trucks a technology soon to arrive on cars. – 2GB

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Weve all followed trucks and many have issues with visibility and Im sure youve seen the very practical signage If you cant see my mirrors then I cant see you. And of course the more standard safety signage and symbol to be careful when trucks are turning. Its a big issue frankly and I quite often witness cars moving around trucks with iittle or no feel for the ability of the truck driver to see a car below him when hes attempting to turn. All is about to improve however with cameras replacing side mirrors on trucks Mercedes-Benz latest generation Actros truck the first to offer this $3,000 MirrorCam option and its being quickly snapped up the technology expected to become available on passenger cars in the not too distant future. It also means the truck drivers forward three-quarter vision is not impeded by large side mirrors. And of course large mirrors create drag so theres real benefits in fuel saving.

Im David Berthon

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Side cameras to replace rear view mirrors on trucks a technology soon to arrive on cars. - 2GB