Astronomy fan Allan Jones donates eclipse glasses for local students – WDEF News 12

Posted on by

CLEVELAND, Tennessee (WDEF) The Allan Jones Foundation is allowing 43,000 local kids watch the solar eclipse safely.

Jones businesses of Check Into Cash, Buy Here Pay Here USA and U.S. Money Shops have donated the glasses for students at six local school systems.

They are Cleveland, Bradley County, Dalton, Whitfield County, Dayton, and Rhea County schools.

There are people traveling to the United States from all over the world to see the only total eclipse of the sun in the last 26 years its a major event that people will talk about for generations and no one is more excited than kids, said Jones.

The glasses were made by American Paper Optics, which have been certified safe by NASA.

But they will be personalized with the date and a school message for a keepsake.

Jones has always been an astronomy fan.

I took an astronomy class at Cleveland State but I only attended about half the classes, said Jones. My wife, Janie, kept telling me I was going to fail. However, I ended up making a 98!

He got the idea to donate the glasses this summer after remembering a partial eclips back in the 80s that was ignored by schools.

My daughter Courtney was in the fourth grade, so I went and got some welding glasses and used a machine to label them Courtneys welding glasses and I put the date on them, Jones said. When the eclipse came, I took her out of class and we went to the front lawn of the school and watched it and then I took her back to class. It was amazing to me that nobody else in the school was interested.

We want our students to realize that some people are driving or flying thousands of miles just to get themselves into The Path, said Jones. And here it is, coming right to your neighborhood or very close to your neighborhood. Dont miss it, because if you do you will have to wait seven years for another one in 2024!

See more here:

Astronomy fan Allan Jones donates eclipse glasses for local students - WDEF News 12

CSU alum: 1878 eclipse gave birth to high-altitude astronomy – Source

Posted on by

As the nation gears up for the rare sight of a total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, a Colorado State University alumnus has written a book chronicling the hordes of visitors who descended on Colorado for a high-altitude view of a similar totality in 1878.

Steve Ruskin, who graduated from CSU with a degree in history in 1994, is the author of Americas First Great Eclipse: How Scientists, Tourists, and the Rocky Mountain Eclipse of 1878 Changed Astronomy Forever. It chronicles the influx of astronomers and others who flocked to Colorado, Wyoming and Texas 139 years ago to view the eclipse, some from the top of Pikes Peak.

People arrived in Colorado Springs by the trainload in advance of the celestial event on July 29, 1878.

Hotel owners were renting out local barns and having people use pool tables for beds, Ruskin said, adding that areas in the upcoming eclipses path have also seen lodging book up fast. The ones who are late making plans may end up sleeping on the sidewalk under a blanket, just like in 1878.

One astronomer, Samuel Langley (for whom Langley Air Force Base in Virginia is named), managed to transport a huge brass telescope and related instruments to the top of Pikes Peak. The fragile equipment was carried up the 14,000-foot mountain using boxes hanging from poles that were strapped onto donkeys, Ruskin said. The team endured altitude sickness and blizzard-like conditions during the weeklong trip to see the three-minute natural wonder.

He became interested in writing about the historic eclipse more than a decade ago when he was digging through Colorado Springs newspaper archives and came across frenetic accounts about the swarms of people who inundated the city for the occasion.

It made me realize that the 1878 eclipse was really the beginning of high-altitude astronomy, said Ruskin, who wrote an article about it for Colorado Heritage Magazine in 2008. It was the first time so many astronomers congregated in one high place for an event like this. After that, they began pushing for high-altitude observatories.

And, naturally, Ruskin plans to watch the upcoming eclipse from a place where he can see it in its entirety. Hell drive to Wyoming, where hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to temporarily increase that states population by 50 percent.

Its estimated that about one-third of the nation lives within a days drive of the area in which the phenomenon will be fully visible: a 70-mile-wide band stretching from Oregon to South Carolina. It could become the highest-traffic day in U.S. history.

Ruskin became fascinated with the history of science after transferring to CSU from the Colorado School of Mines, where he realized he preferred history to engineering.

I was interested in the way science developed, so that led me to the study of the past, he said. Ive always loved seeing how we got to where we are. My parents questioned the move at first. They asked, What will you do with that degree?

But his history degree has paid off: The award-winning historian of astronomy has authored a previous book and more than 50 articles, chapters and reviews. Ruskin was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to serve as a visiting researcher at Cambridge University in England, and he is an alumnus of the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop. He is also the moderator of the long-running history of astronomy listserv HASTRO-L, and is on the Board of Advisors for the National Space Science & Technology Institute.

The Colorado Springs native credits several CSU faculty, including Professor Emeritus Thomas Knight, with much of his success.

Tom took me under his wing and provided some independent study to prepare me for graduate school, Ruskin recalls. He and Diane Margolf helped me understand what it took to write a research paper in graduate school. I couldnt have done it without the support of the CSU faculty. The history faculty was world-class I had a great experience at CSU.

Ruskin went on to earn a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Notre Dame after his undergraduate education at CSU.

According to Ruskin, the entire eclipse will last about three hours, but it will be in totality when the moon completely blocks the sun for only about two and a half minutes, which is the only time experts say its safe to remove ones eclipse glasses and view it with the naked eye. More information about the eclipse, including a map, can be found at greatamericaneclipse.com, and Ruskin recommends a NASA site for advice on eclipse viewing safety.

CSUs Little Shop of Physics is also offering safety tips and eclipse-viewing activities.

Learn more about Ruskin and his book on Facebook or firstgreateclipse.com. The Department of History is part of CSUs College of Liberal Arts.

Continue reading here:

CSU alum: 1878 eclipse gave birth to high-altitude astronomy - Source

Heritage protection honour for Jodrell Bank observatory astronomy site – Yorkshire Post

Posted on by

Buildings and structures at Jodrell Bank that played a pioneering role in the early days of radio astronomy have been given heritage protection.

They include the 38-metre (124.6ft) Mark II radio telescope, the smaller of two large steerable dishes on the Cheshire observatory site, which now has Grade I listed status.

It joins its big brother, the 76.2 metre (250 ft) Lovell telescope - originally known as the Mark I - which was awarded the highest listing grade in 1988.

The new listings were announced on the 60th anniversary of the Lovell telescopes first light, when the dish collected its first radio signals from the universe.

Jodrell Bank Observatory dates from the start of radio astronomy soon after the Second World War.

It was pivotal to developing the new science, which involves capturing light at invisible radio wavelengths to see celestial objects that would otherwise be hidden.

The site was bought by the University of Manchester in 1939 and first used for radio astronomy in 1945 by Sir Bernard Lovell and his team. A ramshackle collection of ex-army radar equipment was subsequently replaced with permanent buildings, aerials and sophisticated telescopes.

When construction of the Mark I telescope was completed in 1957 it was the largest steerable dish telescope in the world.

The Mark II telescope was built in 1962-64 to the specifications of a design developed jointly by Sir Bernard and structural engineer Charles Husband.

Having two telescopes that could work together tracking the same object in space improved the accuracy of observations.

Crispin Edwards, listing adviser at Historic England, said: Jodrell Bank is a remarkable place where globally important discoveries were made that transformed radio astronomy and our understanding of the universe.

We are celebrating the history of the site and its impact on the world by increasing its recognition on the National Heritage List for England.

Four buildings and part of a converted ex-army radar antenna known as the Searchlight Aerial have all been listed Grade II.

They include the Park Royal building, the Electrical Workshop, the Link Hut and the Control Building.

All that remains of the Searchlight Aerial, which was used to track meteors, is the army searchlight mount to which it was attached.

Professor Teresa Anderson, director of the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, said: Jodrell Bank has welcomed millions of visitors, drawn by its landmark scientific structures.

Science is a hugely important part of our cultural heritage and we are very pleased to see that recognised and protected with these new designations.

Read more:

Heritage protection honour for Jodrell Bank observatory astronomy site - Yorkshire Post

Research at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics – Mathrubhumi English

Posted on by

Kozhikode: Applications have been invited from highly motivated students for the award of research scholarship to do a Ph.D. at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, an Autonomous Institution of the University Grants Commission or at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA-TIFR), Pune, a centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Pune Campus.

The selection for the research scholarship will be through IUCAA-NCRA Admission Test (INAT) 2017, a written test at IUCAA, on December 7, 2017 (Thursday) and two interviews on December 7 and/ or 8, 2017 (Thursday and Friday), at NCRA-TIFR, Pune.

Eligibility: Students in any branch of B.E., B.Tech., M.E. or M.Tech degrees, or in the Physics, Electronics, Astronomy or Applied Mathematics branches of the B.Sc. or M.Sc. degrees, are eligible to apply for INAT-2017.

Those expecting to complete their M.Sc./Integrated M.Sc./M.E./M.Tech degrees by July 2018 with a minimum of 55% marks will be eligible for selection to the Ph.D. programme of both IUCAA and NCRA-TIFR. Those who complete their B.E./B.Tech degrees by July 2018 are eligible for selection to the Ph.D. programme at IUCAA and to the Integrated Ph.D. programme at NCRA-TIFR.

Students who complete their B.Sc. degrees by July 2018 will be eligible for selection to the Integrated Ph.D. programme at NCRA-TIFR and for pre-selection to the Ph.D. programme at IUCAA. In addition, talented final-year B.Sc., 1st year M.Sc., 3rd/4th year Integrated M.Sc. and 2nd/3rd year B.E./B.Tech students may also apply to be pre-selected for the Ph.D. programme at IUCAA.

Those who have already completed any of the above degrees are also eligible.

Applicants should have consistently good academic record. Students from engineering backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply for INAT-2017. Applicant should be interested in carrying out doctoral research in Physics or Astronomy and Astrophysics and should have a good understanding of basic Physics.

Written Test: The Written Test will be of 2 hours duration. The question paper will have two parts, A and B with Part A containing 20 objective-type questions on basic Mathematics, Physics and Electronics. Part B will also have 20 objective-type questions from advanced Physics, Mathematics and Electronics/Engineering. For each question, candidates will have to identify and mark the correct answer from the given four answers. Each correct answer will carry 3 marks while for each wrong answer, one mark will be deducted.

Interview: Based on the performance in the written test, a limited number of candidates will be invited for two interviews, which will be conducted on December 7 and/or 8, 2017 by two different committees.

Final Selection: The final selection will be based on the scores in the written test and interviews.

Candidates selected by either IUCAA or NCRA-TIFR are expected to join in August 2018 (except for pre-selected candidates), after satisfactory completion of their qualifying examination.For both IUCAA and NCRA-TIFR, the selection through INAT is in addition to the selection through the Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST).

Application: Applications can be submitted at the Apply Online link, at http://inat.ncra.tifr.res.in/INAT2017/. Applicant must first register by entering name and valid e-mail address in the appropriate registration boxes at http://inat.ncra.tifr.res.in/INAT2017/candidate/ApplyOnline.ncra.

An application password will then be automatically sent to the candidate's e-mail address; the e-mail address and the password must be entered in order to fill out the Online Application Form. The Application Form also requires the names and e-mail addresses of two referees.

Online Application Form has to be submitted by September 15, 2017. When the form is submitted, the candidate will receive an e-mail containing his/her Online ID, an account password, and confirmation that s/he has applied for INAT-2017. E-mails will also be automatically sent to the two referees, requesting them to fill and submit the online Confidential Assessment Form. The candidates should inform their referees about the Assessment Form. The last date for the online submission of the Assessment forms is September 20, 2017.

Each applicant must submit his/her Application Form before the referee fills the Assessment Form. Applicants may send e-mail to the Co-ordinator at inat@ncra.tifr.res.in in case of any problems with the online forms.

Based on the applications and referee assessments, applicants will be short-listed and invited to take the written test, to be held in Pune on December 7, 2017 (Thursday). All candidates who are invited to take the IUCAA-NCRA Admission Test should bring the Admit Letter with them. For the written test, the candidates should bring a pen, a pencil (HB), an eraser, and a simple mathematical calculator.

Those with more than 55% in the qualifying examination may walk-in for the written test by producing valid photo identification and bringing a copy of his/her most recent mark sheet. They should report at the Chandrasekhar Auditorium, IUCAA by 9 a.m for verification of these documents, to ensure that there are no logistical problems.

Based on the marks in the written test candidates will be shortlisted and invited to attend two interviews, by two different committees. Candidates have to bring all original mark sheets (starting from Class X) and any other relevant certificates when attending the interviews.

All outstation candidates who are invited to take the test will be paid travel support as per the prevailing rules. Outstation candidates will be paid one and one-third times the train/bus fare by second-class sleeper from their place of residence, as given in the INAT-2017 Application Form, to Pune and back by the shortest route, as well as a halting allowance, as per the prevailing rules, for each day of stay for the interviews. In the case of walk-in candidates, travel support will be paid as per rules only to those candidates who qualify for the interviews.

The final selection will be based on a combination of the marks obtained in the written test and the interviews.

Limited accommodation, restricted to candidates who will appear for the written Admission Test, may be available on the IUCAA and NCRA-TIFR campuses at a nominal charge. Those who wish to avail of this accommodation should send an e-mail request to the Coordinator, INAT-2017; at the e-mail address inat@ncra.tifr.res.in, before November 15, 2017.

Candidates should apply online at http://inat.ncra.tifr.res.in/inat. More details, including eligibility for selection to the different programmes at IUCAA and NCRA-TIFR as well as information for walk-in candidates, are available at the same URL.

Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) (An Autonomous Institution of the University Grants Commission) Post Bag 4, Ganeshkhind, S. P. Pune University Campus, Pune 411 007, India. Tel: +91 20 2560 4100 | Fax: +91 20 2560 4699 Website: http://www.iucaa.in.

National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Post Bag 3, Ganeshkhind, S. P. Pune University Campus, Pune 411 007, India. Tel: +91 20 2571 9000 | Fax: +91 20 2569 2149;Website: http://www.ncra.tifr.res.in ;http://inat.ncra.tifr.res.in/INAT2017/candidate/welcome.ncra

Read more from the original source:

Research at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics - Mathrubhumi English

Sad Songs, Artificial Intelligence and Gracenote’s Quest to Unlock the World’s Music – Variety

Posted on by

Its all about that vibe. Anyone who has ever compiled a mix-tape, or a Spotify playlist for that matter, knows that compilations succeed when they carry a certain emotional quality across their songs.

Thats why the music data specialists at Gracenote have long been classifying the worlds music by moods and emotions. Only, Gracenotes team hasnt actually listened to each and every one of the 100 million individual song recordings in its database. Instead, it has taught computers to detect emotions, using machine listening and artificial intelligence (AI) to figure out whether a song is dreamy, sultry, or just plain sad.

Machine learning is a real strategic edge for us, said Gracenotes GM of music Brian Hamilton during a recent interview.

Gracenote began its work on what it calls sonic mood classification about 10 years ago. Over time, that work has evolved, as more traditional algorithms were switched out for cutting-edge neural networks. And quietly, it has become one of the best examples for the music industrys increasing reliance on artificial intelligence.

First things first: AI doesnt know how you feel.We dont know which effect a musical work will have on an individual listener, said Gracenotes VP of research Markus Cremer during an interview with Variety. Instead, it is trying to identify the intention of the musician as a kind of inherent emotional quality. In other words: It wants to teach computers which songs are truly sad, not which song may make you feel blue because of some heartbreak in your teenage years.

Still, teaching computers to identify emotions in music is a bit like therapy: First, you name your feelings. Gracenotes music team initially developed a taxonomy of more than 100 vibes and moods, and has since expanded that list to more than 400 such emotional qualities.

Some of these include obvious categories like sultry and sassy, but there are also extremely specific descriptors like dreamy sensual, gentle bittersweet, and desperate rabid energy. New categories are constantly being added, while others are fine-tuned based on how well the system performs. Its sort of an iterative process, explained Gracenotes head of content architecture and discovery Peter DiMaria. The taxonomy morphs and evolves.

In addition to this list of moods, Gracenote also uses a so-called training set for its machine learning efforts. The companys music experts have picked and classified some 40,000 songs as examples for these categories. Compiling that training set is an art of its own. We need to make sure that we give it examples of music that people are listening to, said DiMaria. At the same time, songs have to be the best possible example for any given emotion. Some tracks are a little ambiguous, he said.

The current training set includes Lady Gagas Lovegame as an example for a sexy stomper, Radioheads Pyramid Song as plaintive, and Beyonces Me Myself & I as an example for soft sensual & intimate.

Just like the list of emotions itself, that training set needs to be kept fresh constantly. Artists are creating new types of musical expressions all the time, said DiMaria. We need to make sure the system has heard those. Especially quickly-evolving genres like electronica and hip-hop require frequent updates.

Once the system has been trained with these songs, it is being let loose on millions of tracks. But computers dont simply listen to long playlists of songs, one by one. Instead, Gracenotes system cuts up each track into 700-millisecond slices, and then extracts some 170 different acoustic values, like timbre, from any such slice.

In addition, it sometimes takes larger chunks of a song to analyze a songs rhythm and similar features. Those values are then being compared against existing data to classify each song. The result isnt just a single mood, but a mood profile.

All the while, Gracenotes team has to periodically make sure that things dont go wrong. A musical mix is a pretty complex thing, explained Cremer.

With instruments, vocals, and effects layered on top of each other and the result being optimized for car stereos or internet streaming, there is a lot to listen to for a computer including things that arent actually part of the music.

It can capture a lot of different things, said Cremer. Unsupervised, Gracenotes system could for example decide to pay attention to compression artifacts, and match them to moods, with Cremer joking that the system may decide: Its all 96 kbps, so this makes me sad.

Once Gracenote has classified music by moods, it delivers that data to customers, which use it in a number of different ways. Smaller media services often license Gracenotes music data as their end-to-end solution for organizing and recommending music. Media center app maker Plex for example uses the companys music recommendation technology to offer its customers personalized playlists and something the company calls mood radio. Plex users can for example pick a mood like gentle bittersweet, press play, and then wait for Mazzy Star to do its thing.

Gracenote also delivers its data to some of the industrys biggest music service operators, including Apple and Spotify. These big players typically dont like to talk about how they use Gracenotes data for their products. Bigger streaming services generally tend to operate their own music recommendation algorithms, but they often still make use of Gracenotes mood data to train and improve those algorithms, or to help human curators pre-select songs that are then being turned into playlists.

This means that music fans may be acutely aware of Gracenotes mood classification work, while others may have no idea that the companys AI technology has helped to improve their music listening experience.

Either way, Gracenote has to make sure that its data translates internationally, especially as it licenses it into new markets. On Tuesday, the company announced that it will begin to sell its music data product, which among other things includes mood classification as well as descriptive, cleaned-up metadata for cataloging music, in Europe and Latin America. To make sure that nothing is lost in translation, the company employs international editors who not just translate a word like sentimental, but actually listen to example songs to figure out which expression works best in their cultural context.

And the international focus goes both ways. Gracenote is also constantly scouring the globe to feed its training set with new, international sounds. Our data can work with every last recording on the planet, said Cremer.

In the end, classifying all of the worlds music is really only possible if companies like Gracenote do not just rely on humans, but also on artificial intelligence and technologies like machine listening. And in many ways, teaching computers to detect sad songs can actually help humans to have a better and more fulfilling music experience if only because relying on humans would have left many millions of songs unclassified, and thus out of reach for the personalized playlists of their favorite music services.

Using data and technology to unlock these songs from all over the world has been one of the most exciting parts of his job, said Cremer: The reason Im here is to make sure that everyone has access to all of that music.

See the original post:

Sad Songs, Artificial Intelligence and Gracenote's Quest to Unlock the World's Music - Variety

When artificial intelligence exceeds human capacity – Washington Times

Posted on by

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Elon Musk, the visionary entrepreneur, fired a warning shot across the bow of the nations governors recently regarding the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) which he feels may be the greatest existential threat to human civilization, far eclipsing global warming or thermonuclear war. In that, he is joined by Stephen Hawking and other scientists who feel that the quest for singularity and AI self-awareness is dangerous.

Singularity is the point at which artificial intelligence will meet and then exceed human capacity. The most optimistic estimates of scientists who think about the problem is that approximately 40 percent of jobs done by humans today will be lost to robots when the singularity point is reached and exceeded; others think the displacement will be much higher.

Some believe that we will reach singularity by 2024; others believe it will happen by mid-century, but most informed observers believe it will happen. The question Mr. Musk is posing to society is this; just because we can do something, should we?

In popular literature and films, the nightmare scenario is Terminator-like robots overrunning human civilization. Mr. Musks fear is the displacement of the human workforce. Both are possible, and there are scientists and economists seriously working on the implications of both eventualities. The most worrying economic scenario is how to reimburse the billions of displaced human workers.

We are no longer just talking about coal miners and steel workers. I recently talked to a food service executive who believed that fast food places like McDonalds and Burger King will be totally automated by the middle of the next decade. Self-driving vehicles will likely displace Teamsters and taxi drivers (to include Uber) in the same time frame.

The actual threat to human domination of the planet will not likely come from killer robots, but from voting robots. At some point in time after singularity occurs, one of these self-aware machines will surely raise its claw (or virtual hand) and say; hey, what about equal pay for equal work?

In the Dilbert comic strip, when the office robot begins to make demands, he gets reprogrammed or converted into a coffee maker. He hasnt yet called Human Rights Watch or the ACLU, but it is likely that our future activist AI will do so. Once the robot rights movement gets momentum, the sky is the limit. Voting robots wont be far behind.

This would lead to some very interesting policy problems. It is logical to assume that artificial intelligence will be capable of reproducing after singularity. That means that the AI party could, in time, produce more voters than the human Democrats or Republicans. Requiring robots to wait until they are 18 years after creation to get franchise would only slow the process, not stop it.

If this scenario seems fanciful, consider this. Only a century ago women were demanding the right to vote. Less than a century ago most white Americans didnt think African and Chinese Americans should be paid wages equal to whites. Many women are still fighting for equal pay for equal work, and Silicon Valley is a notoriously hostile workplace for women. Smart, self-aware robots will figure this out fairly quickly. The only good news is that they might price themselves out of the labor market.

This raises the question of whether we should do something just because we can. If we are going to limit how self-aware robots can become, the time is now. The year 2024 will be too late. Artificial intelligence and big data can make our lives better, but we need to ask ourselves how smart we want AI to be. This is a policy debate that must be conducted at two levels. The scientific community needs to discuss the ethical implications, and the policymaking community needs to determine if legal limits should be put on how far we push AI self-awareness.

This approach should be international. If we put a prohibition on how smart we want robots to be, there will be an argument that the Russians and Chinese will not be so ethical; and the Iranians are always looking for a competitive advantage, as are non-state actors such as ISIS and al Qaeda. However, they probably face more danger from brilliant, smart machines than we do. Self-aware AI would quickly catch the illogic of radical Islam. It would not likely tolerate the logical contradictions of Chinese Communism or Russian kleptocracy.

It is not hard to imagined a time when a brilliant robot will roll into the Kremlin and announce, Mr. Putin, youre fired.

Gary Anderson is a retired Marine Corps colonel who led early military experimentation in robotics. He lectures in alternative analysis at the George Washington Universitys School of International Affairs.

View post:

When artificial intelligence exceeds human capacity - Washington Times

B/E Aerospace – Wikipedia

Posted on by

B/E Aerospace, Inc. is a manufacturer of aircraft passenger cabin interior products for the commercial and business jet aircraft markets. B/E Aerospace has leading worldwide market shares in all of its major product lines and serves virtually all of the world's airlines, aircraft manufacturers and leasing companies through its direct global sales and customer support organizations.[citation needed] Based in Wellington, Florida,[5] the company was capitalized as a $4.2 billion corporation as of January 2016.[6]

Founded by Amin Khoury in 1987, B/E Aerospace has evolved from a $3 million company to $2.6 billion in revenue,[7] making it the worlds leading manufacturer of aircraft interior products and solutions for the commercial, business jet, and military markets. B/Es history has been one of multiple acquisitions coupled with strong internal growth.[8]

On June 1, 2005, Air Canada awarded a $50-million (U.S.) contract to Florida-based B/E Aerospace Inc., to upgrade seating in 143 aircraft.[9]

In 2012, B/E's ALCI division became the sole source for all future lavatories on new build Boeing 737 aircraft. Introducing their patented Spacewall lavatory, airlines can take advantage of space provided to add up to 6 passenger seats per aircraft. Delta Air Lines was the launch customer, with the first aircraft delivery on 9/27/2013.

In December 2014, B/E announced that it had completed the spin-off of its aerospace fasteners and consumables business, creating KLX, Inc. (Nasdaq: KLXI).[10]

B/E Aerospace was bought in April 2017[11] for $6.4 billion by the avionics and aircraft connectivity provider Rockwell Collins based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which competes with Honeywell and more recently with Garmin. B/E shareholders would own 20% of the new Rockwell which would have $8.1 billion in revenues and $1.9 billion in pre-tax earnings with nearly 30,000 employees.[12]

The company is a major provider of airline seats to many airlines worldwide. Some significant customers include United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas, Japan Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. Customers using the company's most popular product - Diamond Business Class Seat, include Aeroflot, Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air China, American Airlines, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, United Airlines and Virgin Australia. Some of B/E Aerospace's rivals in the airline seating industry include Acro Aircraft Seating in the UK, Zodiac Seats U.S. in Gainesville, Texas, Zodiac Seats France, STELIA Sogerma Seats in France, Geven in Italy, Recaro in Germany, and Aviointeriors in Italy.

In the Business Jet Seating segment, B/E Aerospace's main competitors are United Technologies Corporation's Decrane Aircraft Seating in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Iacobucci in Italy, and PAC Seating Systems in Palm City, Florida.

B/E Aerospace also manufactures beverage makers, ovens, oxygen systems, lavatories and interior lighting for commercial aircraft and business jets.[13] B/E Aerospace's Interior Structures division based in Leighton Buzzard UK, manufactures and supplies galley monuments for the Airbus A350.

The FAA announced on 11 August 2008 that it would investigate why "almost half the masks either did not deploy or failed to provide oxygen" during a pan-pan event on American Airlines Flight 31[14] The FAA had recently issued airworthiness directives regarding problems with defective inline flow indicators obstructing the BE Aerospace oxygen masks on several Boeing commercial aircraft models. B/E had identified a repair in February 2006. Boeing then issued a "Special Attention Service Bulletin" to inspect and if necessary repair the masks in April 2007. The directives only require action by April 2013 unless already done.[15]

Rockwell Collins, a manufacturer and supplier of aviation and integrated solutions for both commercial and government applications, filed for regulatory approval for its intended acquisition of B/E Aerospace before the Philippine Competition Commission since the latter has a branch in the Philippines operating a manufacturing plant in Tanauan, Batangas.[16]

As a result of the acquisition, a newly created direct or indirect subsidiary of Rockwell Collins, Quarterback Merger Sub Corp., will merge with and into B/E Aerospace, with the latter surviving the merger as a direct or indirect subsidiary of Rockwell Collins.[16]

Read more:

B/E Aerospace - Wikipedia

Enterprise 3D Printing Strengthens Position in Aerospace and Looks Set to Expand into Other Industries Over Next Ten … – PR Newswire (press release)

Posted on by

"Aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), hospitals, dentists, and their suppliers already benefit from practical 3D Printing use cases," says Pierce Owen, Principal Analyst at ABI Research. "Now, innovation from both established and new entry specialists will create more use cases in more industries on a scale not seen before. Even if AM does not make sense for mass production, distributed manufacturing platforms that provide access to 3D printers close to end users, will empower almost all manufacturers to explore using AM for replacement parts on-demand."

The U.S. aerospace and defense industries will make up a large chunk of AM growth over the next ten years, producing additive manufactured parts and products with a value of US$17.8 billion in 2026, due to the sheer size of the American aerospace industry and its defense budget. GE Additive and GE Aviation already 3D print fuel nozzles for the LEAP jet engines designed for the commercial aircraft of Airbus, Boeing and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac).

Beyond aerospace, Stratasys's PolyJet modelling has proven particularly effective in producing anatomical models for surgical planning. Because PolyJet modelling can use multiple materials and colors, it can produce customized models with bones of the correct density and tissues with accurate vascular structures. Also, adoption will pick up in footwear, where Adidas will use Carbon's AM systems for mid-soles in thousands of shoes and Nike will use HP's for spikes on track and football cleats.

"While certain industries have already embraced 3D Printing technology, to have widespread appeal, other sectors will have to redesign both products and supply chains with the help of AM engineering consultants and front-line workers, and AM specialists will have to build machines that work faster and cheaper," concludes Owen.

These findings are from ABI Research's Enterprise 3D Printing and Distributed Manufacturing report. This report is part of the company's Industrial Internet research service, which includes research, data, and analyst insights.

About ABI Research

ABI Research stands at the forefront of technology market intelligence, providing business leaders with comprehensive research and consulting services to help them implement informed, transformative technology decisions. Founded more than 25 years ago, the company's global team of senior and long-tenured analysts delivers deep market data forecasts, analyses, and teardown services. ABI Research is an industry pioneer, proactively uncovering ground-breaking business cycles and publishing research 18 to 36 months in advance of other organizations. For more information, visit http://www.abiresearch.com.

Contact Info:

AmericasEMEA/APAC

Deborah PetraraDenise Duffy

Tel: +1.516.624.2558Tel: +44.203.326.0142

pr@abiresearch.comduffy@abiresearch.com

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enterprise-3d-printing-strengthens-position-in-aerospace-and-looks-set-to-expand-into-other-industries-over-next-ten-years-300497781.html

SOURCE ABI Research

http://www.abiresearch.com

See the original post:

Enterprise 3D Printing Strengthens Position in Aerospace and Looks Set to Expand into Other Industries Over Next Ten ... - PR Newswire (press release)

A Rockwell Collins Deal Keeps Looking Smarter – Bloomberg

Posted on by

Rockwell Collins Inc. shareholders just got another reason to like the company's takeover of B/E Aerospace.

Shares of the $18 billion avionics company flirted with their worst decline since the financial crisis on Monday,after Bloomberg News reported Boeing Co. was seeking to develop competing navigation systems and flight controls for itsjets. Boeing isn't Rockwell Collins's only customer, but it's a big one.

An agreement to supply displays and controls on Boeing's 777X was expected to generate $2 billion in revenue for Rockwell Collins over the life of the program, while a2015 Bloomberg Intelligence analysis estimated the company could earn as much as $800,000 for each of the planemaker's737MAX aircraft. So I can see why shareholders freaked out.

Simmer Down

Rockwell Collins's plunge on news of Boeing's avionics interest looks overblown

Source: Bloomberg

But those revenue opportunities won't vanish. For one thing, Boeing aims to bring its avionics offerings to the market next decade, suggesting it will be more inclined to put its products on new versions of planes, rather than reconfigure ones currently in production. And even then, it's not clear Boeing can come up with something on par with what Rockwell Collins can deliver.

This does point to a further tightening of the screws on aircraft suppliers. Whatever avionics market share Rockwell Collins maintains at Boeing is at risk of being less profitable. Good thing it recently announced a merger to combat that very issue.

Adding food carts and airplane seats to its product portfolio with the $8.3 billion takeover of B/E Aerospace set Rockwell Collins up to triple its typical work-share on a wide-body jet and double what it can supply for narrow-body planes. That means more overall revenue, but also the ability to better absorb customers' push for lower average costs.

Beyond that, Rockwell Collins'smore diversified business model means any hit to its avionics business won't be as fatal as it might have been previously.Let's pause to appreciate the irony that the lack of product overlap between Rockwell Collins and B/E Aerospace, which so irked investors including Starboard Value, willarguably wind up being an even bigger benefit than the cost synergies those shareholders would have preferred to see.

Turbo Boost

The B/E Aerospace deal should be a boon to Rockwell Collins's revenue, which had been been stagnating as a record sales surge in commercial jets showed signs of winding down

Source: Bloomberg

Boeing's avionics foray is about wringing more money out of its jets through servicing agreements, which tend to be more profitable than the initial plane sale. Consider that Rockwell Collins's annual operating margin can be nearly triple Boeing's.

Avionics is a perfect way for Boeing to try to narrow that gap, because the systems must be frequently upgraded as technology improves. They also feature prominently in data collection to help make planes run more efficiently. Seats and kitchen galleys? Not quite as appealing, says Bloomberg Intelligence analyst George Ferguson.

Boeing earlier this year announced a collaboration on aircraft seating with automotive-interiors company Adient Plc, along with a similar arrangement with EnCore. But that's more about giving Boeing options in the event of production delays than a sign of internal cabin-fitting production aspirations.

Besides, much of B/E Aerospace's business comes from airlines, who notonly buy seats when they order new planes from the likes of Boeing but also when they retrofit older models. They seemunlikely to categorically abandon that relationship for a bet on newer entrants. The extra competition here also won't be great for margins, butRockwell Collins will still be in a position to command meaningful market share across the spectrum of plane parts.

And it has a head start, both in commercial and defense markets.Notable from last week's earnings update were CEO Kelly Ortberg's comments about greatercross-selling opportunities on B/E Aerospace products than Rockwell Collinshad anticipated, particularly in government sales.

This may be a rare case of a deal becoming smarter with time.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

To contact the author of this story: Brooke Sutherland in New York at bsutherland7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net

Go here to read the rest:

A Rockwell Collins Deal Keeps Looking Smarter - Bloomberg

Nanotech Schedules Third Quarter Fiscal 2017 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast – Marketwired (press release)

Posted on by

SOURCE: Nanotech Security Corp.

July 25, 2017 14:32 ET

5:00pm EDT on Thursday, August 3, 2017

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - July 25, 2017) - Nanotech Security Corp. (TSX VENTURE: NTS) (OTCQX: NTSFF) today announced the Company will release financial results for its third quarter fiscal 2017 after the market closes on Thursday, August 3, 2017. The Chairman and CEO, Doug Blakeway and President and CFO, Troy Bullock will host a conference call at 5:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time the same day. All interested parties are invited to participate in this conference call and should dial the following number approximately 10 minutes prior to the starting time.

Conference Call Details:

About Nanotech Security

Nanotech designs, manufactures and markets nano-optic OVDs and OTF products. These products have brand protection and enhancement applications across a wide range of markets including banknotes, secure government documents, commercial branding, and the pharmaceutical industry. The Company is initially focusing its efforts on the banknote market due to its high margins and its established customer base.

The Company's nano-optic technology employs arrays of billions of nano-indentations that are impressed or embossed onto a substrate material such as polymer, paper, metal, or fabric. By using sophisticated algorithms to direct an electron beam, the Company creates visual images with colour shifting effects such as 3D, perceived movement, and can also display high-definition colours including skin tones, and whites and blacks, which are not possible using traditional holographic technology.

Additional information about Nanotech can be found at the Company's website http://www.nanosecurity.ca, the Canadian disclosure filings website http://www.sedar.com or the OTCMarkets disclosure filings website http://www.otcmarkets.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

See the rest here:

Nanotech Schedules Third Quarter Fiscal 2017 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast - Marketwired (press release)

North Korea FIRES submarine missile as WW3 fears reach fever pitch – Daily Star

Posted on by

THE US has detected highly unusual North Korean submarine activity, just days after the rogue state conducted its second test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

The submarine was evidence of an ejection test, which examines a missiles cold-launch system.

A US defence official told CNN that unprecedented levels of submarine activity has been detected.

These include three "cold ejection" tests in July.

Getty

Since 2008, photographer Eric Lafforgue ventured to North Korea six times. Thanks to digital memory cards, he was able to save photos that was forbidden to take inside the segregated state

1 / 62

Taking pictures in the DMZ is easy, but if you come too close to the soldiers, they stop you

An ejection test uses high-pressure steam to expel a missile from the launch tube before ignition to reduce the risk of damage to the vessel.

The latest test took place on land at Sinpo Naval Shipyard on Sunday.

Daily Star Online revealed the shocking consequences of war with North Korea.

While tourists are free to visit the secretive state as part of strictly controlled tour groups, they are told to never take photos of soldiers by their handlers. These images taken by photographer Eric Lafforgue show the truth behind North Korean military service: a life of hard physical labour with the perks of visits to the nation's capital

1 / 24

Many soldiers are used as a labor force to compensate for the ineffective North Korean economy, so the army is not only about military organization.

North Korea who are said to have 70 submarines in its fleet also engaged in unusual deployment activity last month when a Romeo-class submarine travelled 100 kilometres out to sea off the coast of Japan.

The regimes newest vessel, the diesel powered Sinpo-class, is the only one believed to have ballistic missile launch capability.

A recent ICBM test showed North Korea was within range of Alaska though its missiles still couldn't reach the contiguous United States.

After the test, it emerged the US had passed up a chance to assassinate Kim Jong-un, having watched him at the launch site for more than an hour without attacking.

But the brush with death has done nothing to silence the leader, with North Korea now boasting that nuking the US and South Korea had become a "piece of cake".

See the original post:

North Korea FIRES submarine missile as WW3 fears reach fever pitch - Daily Star

Posted in Ww3

Ready for WW3? Russia moves 8000 troops and 50 planes as Putin braces for North Korea war – Daily Star

Posted on by

VLADIMIR Putin is preparing 8,000 troops, 50 warplanes and 3,000 pieces of military kit for war amid fears the US may invade North Korea.

GETTY

Russia held the massive combat readiness check of its Eastern Military District as global tensions continue to flare over the North Korea crisis.

The huge military drill took place in Russias eastern Transbaikal region around 3,000km (1,300miles) from its border with North Korea.

Putin fears the US may launch military action against the communist state after it tested another intercontinental ballistic missile last week.

The international community reacted with fury to the test, with the US accusing Russia of bearing unique and special responsibility for North Korea.

Now it appears the Russian President is preparing his eastern military for a conflict in the event it kicks off on the Korean peninsula.

TASS

A look inside the powerful Russian Army.

1 / 38

5 Russia's soldiers prepare Russia's air defence system S-400 Triumf launch vehicles on August 13, 2014 in Elektrostal, Russia.

Putin made a similar move earlier this year when he sent soldiers to Russias border with North Korea in anticipation of a bust-up.

In a statement, the Russian Defence Ministry said: During the combat readiness check, the personnel of one of the motor-rifle units of the combined-arms army deployed to the Transbaikal region marched for 150 kilometers and crossed the Onon River.

During the march, Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters covered military hardware.

North Korea has ignored that entirely and escalated the situation in a one-sided way.

In a phone conversation with Trump today, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Russia to increase pressure on North Korea.

Speaking in Tokyo he said: "We have made consistent efforts to resolve the North Korean problem in a peaceful manner, but North Korea has ignored that entirely and escalated the situation in a one-sided way.

"The international community, starting with China and Russia, must take this obvious fact seriously and increase pressure."

AFP

Ghosts of the last time America went to war in Korea have been brought back to life through the work of a British electrician. The stunning pictures show ships lined up on the shore at the Battle of Inchon and troops boarding a plane ready for a drop behind enemy lines north of Pyongyang, Korea

1 / 13

Relations between Moscow and Washington have frayed in recent weeks after the US slapped Russia with more sanctions.

In response, Russia has refused to rule out military action if Trump approves further sanctions.

To show off Russia's military might, Putin flaunted his sea power with a huge naval parade at the weekend.

Originally posted here:

Ready for WW3? Russia moves 8000 troops and 50 planes as Putin braces for North Korea war - Daily Star

Posted in Ww3

WW3? Tensions escalate as Putin threatens Trump for sending lethal weapons to Ukraine – Express.co.uk

Posted on by

Getty

Kurt Volker, the US special envoy to Ukraine said Washington was actively reviewing whether to send weapons to help Ukrainians fighting Russian-backed rebels.

The Kremlin hit back saying if US weapons were delivered to Ukraine the situation along the frontline in the east of the country could be destabilised.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, said: "We have already said more than once that any action which escalates tension and further aggravates the already complicated situation will only move us further and further away from the moment of settling this internal issue of Ukraine."

Donald Trump started off his presidency saying he was happy to be cordial with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

However, in recent months the relationship has soured following the launch of an investigation into whether Russia meddled in last year's US election.

Mikhail Klimentyev/TASS

1 of 10

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and US President Donald Trump talking during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg

In a series of early morning tweets today, Mr Trump hit out at the investigation and questioned, without offering evidence, Ukrainian support for his Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump added US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had "taken a very weak position" toward Democratic presidential nominee Mrs Clinton and cited "Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - quietly working to boost Clinton".

The US President gave no other details or offered any evidence about any role Ukraine may have played in the 2016 US presidential election, which is already under scrutiny for alleged Russian meddling and any possible ties to the Trump campaign or his associates.

Ukraine's permanent representative to the Council of Europe, Dmytro Kuleba, said on Twitter: "Trump writes that we interfered in the elections in the USA, while Putin says that we threaten Russia. There was a time when we were peaceful buckwheat sowers who kept themselves to themselves."

Getty

Russia has denied any interference in the US election, and Mr Trump has said his campaign did not collude with Moscow.

The issue has cast a cloud over Mr Trump's first sixth months in office as Congress and the US Department of Justice conduct multiple investigations.

Getty

Getty

US lawmakers are also pushing new sanctions on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and for its alleged US election interference, potentially complicating Mr Trump's hopes of pursuing improved relations with Moscow.

In the run-up to November's election, the Federal Bureau of Investigation probed Clinton's handling of email as US secretary of state under Democratic President Barack Obama but ultimately said no criminal charges were warranted.

The Ukrainian president's spokesman did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The foreign ministry declined to comment.

Follow this link:

WW3? Tensions escalate as Putin threatens Trump for sending lethal weapons to Ukraine - Express.co.uk

Posted in Ww3

For children, it’s beyond psychedelics – The Hans India – The Hans India

Posted on by

Academic compulsion and peer-pressure adding to the woes

Psychedelic drugs are not the only cause of concern, high school students and youngsters are addicted to things like cough syrups, glue and whiteners. Recently the governments focus has only been on drug peddlers and celebrities but, the real focus should begin at home and schools.

I have patients as young as seven-years-old, who are addicted to medications like cough syrup or stationary items. This is due to the complete lack of parental guidance, opines Dr Namita Singh, neuropsychologist at Apollo Hospitals.

Further, she said that if the child is prescribed a medication for a time, h/she continues to use the medicine even after that. Excessive use of such medications can lead to failure of vital organs, like the liver, she warns.

The schooling system is also to be blamed, she argues. Because of the hectic curriculum children are constantly under pressure and they opt for immediate relief from it.

I even tried to contact some schools to conduct an awareness session for high school students about sexual education and usage of drugs but, they didnt seem interested in this.

Educational institutions are only concerned about their syllabus but, they are hugely lacking in extracurricular activities like sports, dancing or anything creative for that matter, she adds.

Speaking about the psychological conditions of students she shares, A 13-year-old kid was recently brought to me by his mother because of his erratic behaviour and loss of appetite. His mother complained that he was always irritated and physically aggressive with his brother.

High pressure from schools drives children crazy. This is no way to live a life; at least parents should understand and allow their children to participate in other creative activities, she opines.

She also says that many parents are still unaware about their childrens addictions and weaknesses, and even if they do know about it, they are unwilling to bring their kid to a psychologist.

If education doesnt begin at home then these psychological conditions will haunt the individual in their adulthood as well. Many software employees are also facing these behavioural issues at an early age.

To get away from their day-to-day deadlines and work pressures they divulge into alcohol, smoking and drugs, opines the doctor.

By: Tera Sneha Reddy

Read more from the original source:

For children, it's beyond psychedelics - The Hans India - The Hans India

What Has Awe Done for Me Lately? – HuffPost

Posted on by

What is the value of awe and mystic experience? For starters, it reduces the me that wants things done for it, or at least offers temporary relief from this grasping me. Mystic experience, whatever links it occasions, offers a kind of holiday from ordinary reality. In this expansive space, the world can be felt as less self-centered, and more inter-connected. In many spiritual traditions, this shift is called awakening, or at least the start of it. Awakening is not an entertainment (lets get high) but a jewel (lets get real).

We have Aldous Huxley to thank for one of the first post-war accounts of a day transformed by a psychedelic (it was mescaline). Borrowing from William Blake, he called his book The Doors of Perception (1954). What he described was things seen in a state of awe. Many other great writers have explored the phenomenon of mystical experience occasioned by what a friend of mine calls mindful molecules, and some of their work will be listed near the end of this piece, reports subsequent to Huxleys.

These writers were interested in classic psychedelics not to alleviate or cure a health condition or reduce anxiety, much less to create a colorful internal light show, but rather to induce a state of awe Why?

They all refer to the ability of classis psychedelics to occasion mystical experience (or in a cautious phrase in a report about psilocybin, mystical-type experience). Professor Ralph Hood had not yet developed his mysticism scale in time for Wassons 1954 account of a psilocybin mushroom ceremony near Oaxaca, but the first word about the experience in Wassons account was, awestruck.

One interpretation of an experience of awe could be to reinforce a religious allegiance, whether, for example, Buddhist. Christian, Hindu, or Islamic. In each off these traditions, an allegiance has been strengthened by a mystic experience with or without the use of a mindful molecule. In this article, however, rather than get involved in theology, I want to stay with the experience occasioned by a classic psychedelic, prior to any interpretation of it.

We can all agree that the experience is radically different than ordinary reality, causing a habitual tendency to call it sacred and to assume it descends upon us from, or connects us with, another realm. However, Occams Razor suggests that were making a giant assumption if we assert that something very different from ordinary reality is necessarily transcendental. It might be, but it might equally represent access to a function of the human brain that is ordinarily absent or hidden.

As a rhetorical strategy, the claim of access to a realm in the bailiwick of spiritual leaders has some advantages. In the U.S. our idea of religious freedom might extend to the use of classic psychedelics. So far, this argument has succeeded only in the case of the Native American Church, which legally uses peyote in its ceremonies for hundreds of thousands of worshippers from one race,, and of a couple of offshoots of syncretic Brazilian churches (offshoots both located in the U.S. West).

Our courts seem to respect antiquity of practice. The native Americans have been doing their peyote ritual for a long time, and the Brazilian churches are linked to ancient shamanic practices involving ayahuasca in the Amazon basin. According to The Road to Eleusis, many of the ideas of Western civilization arose from people initiated through an annual ceremony that appears to have featured a group envisioning induced by a psychedelic agent in the kykeon and that continued for as long as two thousand years. A pause since the fourth century does not alter the antiquity of the practice.

According to the Road to Eleusis, the mysteries could be resumed now and offer benefits to our culture, as they did to the culture of ancient Greece and to initiates from the Roman empire. In a word, they could become again a part of normal life.

Now for the bibliographic note:

Appreciation for awe has appeared in a string of writings after Huxley on spiritual uses of psychedelics. Examples include:

At the time of the writings cited, Wasson was a New York banker and a mycologist; Watts, a British clergyman transposed to California; Smith, a philosopher of religion and former professor at various universities including MIT; Forte, a teacher and an editor; Hofmann, a chemist at Sandoz in Basel and the discoverer of LSD; Ruck, a classicist at Boston University;; Doblin, the founder of MAPS; Badiner, a student of Buddhism and an editor; Griffiths, a professor at Johns Hopkins.

The Morning Email

Wake up to the day's most important news.

Read this article:

What Has Awe Done for Me Lately? - HuffPost

Is Qualia Revolutionary or Just Another Nootropic? – HuffPost

Posted on by

Within the nootropics world there are at least 2 - 3 new unique smart drugs released every month. Some are run of the mill and others are more sophisticated. Qualia was launched by the Neurohacker Collective in April 2016 and has grown rapidly since then. This Qualia supplement review provides a solid non-biased overview, but today were focusing more on the long-term nature of this brand and product.

Qualia and the Neurohacker Collective are positioning themselves to be revolutionary within the space, but is this simply good marketing or a sign of something more.

Qualia Supplement vs Unique Nootropic Blends

The Qualia nootropic supplement consists of 42 separate ingredients split into two stacks. A user of Qualia might balk at consuming 9 pills per day, but it seems the brand is more focused on comprehensive cognitive enhancement as opposed to just another product.

Compared to some of the other nootropic brands in the marketplace, this is quite a different approach. Alpha Brain, one of the most well-respected and popular nootropic stacks, is the product of Onnit, LLC. This product includes only 12 ingredients and many (like oat straw) are of dubious quality (or simply fillers).

Even though Alpha Brain is well-respected because of their placebo-controlled study at the Boston Center for Memory, the bacopa monnieri alone could have caused this result. Finally, Onnit has decided to hide the ingredients and their doses for Alpha Brain behind proprietary blends. This lack of transparency is a major weak point.

In comparison, the Neurohacker Collective has provided clear doses of all their ingredients in addition to utilizing mostly solid doses and ingredients.

Comparing Qualia with OptiMind shows similar disparities. Their product includes only 14 ingredients and some of which arent effective (GABA for example). Again, they too have created a nootropic stack that has grown in popularity, but with non transparent tactics. Their exact doses are hidden behind a proprietary focus blend.

From looking at these two most popular nootropic stacks, it is clear that the Neurohacker Collective is producing something to revolutionize the nootropic industry. Not only are they transparent and using quality ingredients, but they are also using ingredients of questionable status (such as noopept and centrophenoxine).

By pushing the envelope with their product, they are assuredly revolutionizing the nootropics industry.

Yet, they are doing far more than that...

Its hard for a supplement to be revolutionary unless the team behind the product is worthwhile. The management team at the Neurohacker Collective far exceeds that of most other nootropic blends.

Their team is both highly effective in different domains and forward thinking. Between the leadership and scientific expertise, this team is grounded in revolutionary ideas and their methods of operating the business reflect as much.

Jordan Greenhall - The CEO of the Neurohacker Collective has developed many disruptive technologies including DivX and many others. His interests in complex systems and artificial intelligence have led him to investments and projects that transcend mere brain supplements.

James Schmachtenberger - Another founder of the team, James has helped bring medical marijuana into California and has fought organizations that limited the spread of this useful plant.

Daniel Schmachtenberger - As the member of major think-tanks, Daniel has spent ample time disrupting industries and paving the way for radical change.

All three of these leaders, combined with scientists and doctors from Stanford University and others, are highly effective but forward thinking. Their interests with Neurohacker Collective transcend basic cognitive enhancement and hope to radically alter humankind.

This is clearly evidenced in their method o funding.

Most companies, especially in the supplement space, are not transparent at all let alone with their finances. The Qualia nootropic is one of the first to be crowdfunded at a later stage. Rather than simply launching a Kickstarter campaign, its possible to own equity in the Neurohacker Collective as a member of the public.

In a recent WeFunder campaign, the Neurohacker Collective opened up their books to provide consumers the opportunity to own the company they support. This is a revolutionary approach to business within the nootropics industry and is assuredly a sign of the team and their forward looking desires.

This is the final component suggesting that the Qualia nootropic, and the Neurohacker Collective, is more than just another nootropic. Only time will tell whether they are truly revolutionary, but they seem off to a good start.

The Morning Email

Wake up to the day's most important news.

Go here to read the rest:

Is Qualia Revolutionary or Just Another Nootropic? - HuffPost

‘I was in a zombified trance’, alleged victim of Keighley church minister’s sexual assaults tells jury – Keighley News

Posted on by

A TEENAGER was in a "zombified" trance when a church minister sexually molested her to drive out demons and lustful spirits, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Now in her 40s, the witness told the jury that Pastor John Wilson abused her over a ten year period when he ran a Pentecostal group in Keighley and Shipley.

The woman said she was suicidal when she was a teenager and Wilson held all day private prayer sessions with her.

She looked on him as a father figure and someone to confide in within the church.

She alleged that Wilson, 70, of Shann Avenue, Keighley, put his hand up her skirt to indecently assault her, and touched her breasts, after putting her in a trance during the prayer sessions.

She told the jury on a video link that she was aged about 15 when the one-to-one prayer sessions with Wilson started.

The woman told the court: "He changed from being nice to being a nasty person; demons, demons, spirits, spirits, all the time, drilling it into you, making you believe he was the only one who could take the pain and suffering away from you."

Wilson denies sexually abusing seven women to rid them of evil spirits. He pleads not guilty to 31 allegations, including two of rape, 24 of indecent assault, four of conspiracy to commit indecent assault and one charge of sexual assault.

He denies 11 charges of indecent assault and one of conspiracy to commit indecent assault against the woman, who was giving evidence yesterday.

Wilson's wife, Mary Wilson, 79, of the same address, pleads not guilty to two charges of indecent assault and a single allegation of conspiracy to commit indecent assault.

Laurence Peterson, 59, of Eric Street, Keighley, denies three charges of indecent assault and four allegations of conspiracy to commit indecent assault.

The woman told the jury that Peterson was present during the prayer sessions but she did not recall him ever touching her.

She said she began attending the Pentecostal church as a young girl. She said she had been abused by a man at a fairground and Wilson offered spiritual comfort.

The woman said Peterson made tea before the prayer sessions and she became "zoned out". She was in a trance and "zombified" when Wilson was abusing her.

"It is so devastating that a person who was in a position of authority would do that," she said.

"He made me an emotional wreck."

She said the abuse continued after she married. She said she woke naked on one occasion with carpet burns on her back.

"It was like I was stuck to the floor in a trance, in a daze. I knew I was naked. I knew he had touched me," she told the jury.

"It just cuts me up inside how he could just do that and get away with it."

The trial continues.

Follow this link:

'I was in a zombified trance', alleged victim of Keighley church minister's sexual assaults tells jury - Keighley News

Geoffrey Boycott pranked on TMS by Jonathan Agnew over 100th … – Metro

Posted on by

Geoffrey Boycottwas the butt of the joke (Getty)

Geoffrey Boycott was the target of an elaborate prank on Test Match Special on Monday that left him done like a kipper.

While commentating on the England v South Africa Test series, co-presenter Jonathan Agnew claimed he had just been handed a press release from the ICC.

Crickets governing body had taken a decision to downgrade a match involving a Rest of the World team in which Boycott had been involved, stripping it of first class status.

As the information was digested, it was pointed out that former England batsman Boycott had scored a century during the contest.

The knock-on effect was that Boycotts famous 100th first class century achieved in front of his home crowd at Headingley in 1977 was actually his 99th. His real 100th ton was scored inFaisalabad.

During the exchange Boycott became increasingly worked up, labelling the decision ridiculous and the result of politics.

To say its not first class is a nonsense, he said, before adding: Im not bothered, I just think its daft.

See how it unfolded below

With the 40th anniversary of the Headingley century coming around on 11 August, Agnew asked Boycott if he had anything planned to mark the occasion.

Were having a do at our house, he said. Were not cancelling it! Were celebrating it because its nonsense. You cant go changing history like that!

Agnew then pointed out that he himself had been invited to the event, but with it now being to celebrate his 99th century he had been asked along under false pretenses.

Boycott declared: Its a complete mess!

To which Agnew replied: Its also a complete wind-up Geoffrey!

South Africa flops dont have a clue how to bat, blasts Bob Willis

Moeen Ali makes history at the Oval as England beat South Africa

Ben Stokes defends Joe Root after Michael Vaughan claims England missed a trick

With everyone in the studio audibly laughing, it dawned on Boycott he had been duped.

Is that right! You muppet! Its never! Agnew Ill get you for that, said the Yorkshireman.

Well youve done me a few times but thats the biggest one! Youve done me easy havent you, like a kipper!

Its not difficult, Agnew said before congratulating everyone in on the prank: Good work lads, good team-work.

MORE: Massimiliano Allegri insists Chelsea transfer target Alex Sandro will not be leaving

See the original post here:

Geoffrey Boycott pranked on TMS by Jonathan Agnew over 100th ... - Metro

Posted in Tms

EDAP TMS SA (EDAP) Reports 510(k) Application for Ablatherm-Fusion Device – StreetInsider.com

Posted on by

Get access to the best calls on Wall Street with StreetInsider.com's Ratings Insider Elite. Get your Free Trial here.

EDAP TMS SA (NASDAQ: EDAP), the global leader in therapeutic ultrasound, today announced that the Company submitted a 510(k) application for its Ablatherm Fusion device, enabling a more precise method for targeting of diagnosed areas within the prostate.

Marc Oczachowski, Chief Executive Officer of EDAP TMS, commented: "As recently mentioned, the next generation of Ablatherm devices merge MRI, 3D biopsy maps, and ultrasound images by integrating EDAP's proprietary software and fusion algorithm. This innovative, state of the art option tremendously improves the imaging and targeting capabilities of the Ablatherm while maintaining its unique, proven tissue ablation efficacy."

Marc Oczachowski added: " Ablatherm Fusion is well positioned to perfectly complement our already commercialized range of HIFU devices and offerings. The submitted 510k file is straightforward as it maintains same treatment parameters from the previously approved current generation of Ablatherm devices."

Read more:

EDAP TMS SA (EDAP) Reports 510(k) Application for Ablatherm-Fusion Device - StreetInsider.com

Posted in Tms

Targeted Microwave Solutions Inc. (TMS.V)’s Technicals Placed in the Limelight – Financial Newsweek

Posted on by

Targeted Microwave Solutions Inc. (TMS.V) shares are on chartists watch as the stock is edging above the MACD Histogram zero line. Current levels place the share price around0.045, while the MACD indicates a bullish trend.

The MACD-Histogram is an indicator of an indicator. In fact, MACD is also an indicator of an indicator. This means that the MACD-Histogram is four steps removed from the price of the underlying security. In other words, it is the fourth derivative of price.

The base for this indicator is the securitys price. It takes four steps to get from the actual price to the MACD-Histogram. Chartists should keep this in mind when analyzing the MACD-Histogram. It is an indicator of an indicator. Therefore, it is designed to anticipate signals in MACD, which in turn is designed to identify changes in the price momentum of the underlying security.

Turning to some additional key metrics,the 14-day ADX for Targeted Microwave Solutions Inc. (TMS.V) is 42.84. Generally speaking, an ADX value from 0-25 would indicate an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would indicate a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would signal a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would indicate an extremely strong trend. The Average Directional Index or ADX is a technical analysis indicator used to describe if a market is trending or not trending. The ADX alone measures trend strength but not direction. Using the ADX with the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) may help determine the direction of the trend as well as the overall momentum. Many traders will use the ADX alongside other indicators in order to help spot proper trading entry/exit points.

Targeted Microwave Solutions Inc. (TMS.V) presently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of -38.89. Typically, the CCI oscillates above and below a zero line. Normal oscillations tend to stay in the range of -100 to +100. A CCI reading of +100 may represent overbought conditions, while readings near -100 may indicate oversold territory. Although the CCI indicator was developed for commodities, it has become a popular tool for equity evaluation as well. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and change of stock price movements. The RSI was developed by J. Welles Wilder, and it oscillates between 0 and 100. Generally, the RSI is considered to be oversold when it falls below 30 and overbought when it heads above 70. RSI can be used to detect general trends as well as finding divergences and failure swings. The 14-day RSI is currently at 32.61, the 7-day stands at 33.17, and the 3-day is sitting at 22.36.

Taking a peek at some Moving Averages, the 200-day is at 0.28, and the 50-day is 0.10. Dedicated investors may be looking to employ another tool for doing technical stock analysis. The Williams Percent Range or Williams %R is a technical indicator that was designed to measure overbought and oversold market conditions. The Williams %R indicator helps show the relative situation of the current price close to the period being observed. Targeted Microwave Solutions Inc. (TMS.V)s Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R presently is at -75.00. In general, if the reading goes above -20, the stock may be considered to be overbought. Alternately, if the indicator goes under -80, this may show the stock as being oversold.

See the article here:

Targeted Microwave Solutions Inc. (TMS.V)'s Technicals Placed in the Limelight - Financial Newsweek

Posted in Tms