Water Contact Closure Lifted for South County Beaches | NBC 7 San … – NBC 7 San Diego

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The Department of Environmental Health (DEH) has lifted the water contact closure for the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge and Border Field State Park shorelines. This includes the beach-line from the International Border to the south end of Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach.

Water quality testing conducted by DEH confirms that recent Tijuana River flows are no longer impacting these beaches. This area was closed to water contact due to sewage-contaminated flows from the Tijuana River entering the United States.

A rainy winter in San Diego had a domino effect on Tijuanas aging sewage system.

According to the U.S. International Boundary & Water Commission (IBWC), nearly 30 million gallons of sewage flowed into the Tijuana River in early February due to the collapse of a 48-inch diameter pipe.

A huge sinkhole developed, and more pipes that couldnt handle the volume fell apart or were blocked as emergency repairs got under way.

Three dozen pipelines in several other areas were found to be in critical condition.

An emergency notification process has been put into effect; both countries, Mexico and the United States, will now notify each other as soon as the water reaches a certain level of contamination. This new system is to make sure they can work together to fix future problems faster, states members of the federal agency IBWC.

The Tijuana sewage facilities will be making major upgrades that will cost $400 million to fix.

For more information on the Tijuana River, please call the U.S. International Boundary & Water Commission (IBWC) at 619-662-7600.

For updates on beach closure information please visit http://www.sdbeachinfo.com or call the 24-hr. hotline at 619-338-2073.

Published at 11:56 AM PDT on Jun 8, 2017

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Water Contact Closure Lifted for South County Beaches | NBC 7 San ... - NBC 7 San Diego

Beaches residents fed up with city’s poor maintenance of the alleyways – First Coast News

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Jacksonville Beach residents are complaining about City Hall's poor service.

Kenneth Amaro, WTLV 7:56 PM. EDT June 08, 2017

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. - Six years ago, Ashley Kelm moved into her Jacksonville Beach home and has enjoyed it, except for the condition of the alleyway between the homes.

"It has been a problem for four years," Kelm said.

She said that is how long she has been complaining: Four years of asking the City of Jacksonville Beach to do what it is supposed to do.

"I call at least once every two three months to see if anyone coming out," she said.

She calls to see if they're coming out to mow the city's right of way. Right now, it is so overgrown,Kelm said they're seeing vermin creep into their backyard.

"We've had rats," she said, "We found a very massive snake that doesn't belong in the area. We've had bugs and recently poison ivy coming over the fence."

The area in question is behind the homes located on 15th Avenue and 14th Avenue South in Jacksonville Beach. But she said it is bigger than that.

"If you look at the alleys on all of these streets, if it is city maintained, it is in the same situation as ours, it doesn't change," Kelm said. "It isn't street specific, this is a problem."

She wrote an email to Mayor Charlie Latham and her city councilman. Kelm wants to see her tax dollars at work.

"If we're paying to have this done, and it is not happening, lets get another company in there to fix it," she said.

We reached out to William Edwards, who is Jacksonville Beach Public Works. He was not available for comment.

"Why am I driving this? This isn't my job, I have a job," Kelm said. "I would like to be able to do my job while they do theirs and not have to help them see a problem that is very apparent throughout Jacksonville Beach."

We reached out tothe Jacksonville Beach City Hall and they sent the following response:

"In response to your inquiry about the maintenance of an alleyway along 15th Avenue South in Jacksonville Beach, we received a complaint about this alley from a resident just this morning. A staff member from our Public Works Department contacted the complainant and explained the delay in mowing alleys has been from drainage/flooding issues, crosswalks and protecting the dunes during restoration. Public Works is working on a plan to start mowing the alleys on the south end and work their way north. The complainant was thanked for her patience and she was thankful for the response. "

City Managers Office

2017 WTLV-TV

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3 St. Pete Beaches Close Temporarily – Patch.com

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3 St. Pete Beaches Close Temporarily
Patch.com
The affected beaches are Northshore, Maximo and Lassing Park, according to a Thursday evening email from the city. The beaches will remain off limits until water samples show acceptable bacterial levels. It is unclear when retesting will take place.
Fecal pollution advisory issued for Fort De Soto's north beachTampabay.com

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3 St. Pete Beaches Close Temporarily - Patch.com

Bacteria fades in Long Branch, all beaches open – Asbury Park Press

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The Kushner family owns a number of properties throughout Long Branch making a first family visit a possibility. Doug Hood

Bathers leave the water in Asbury Park with a thunderstom looming in this 2016 file photo.(Photo: PETER ACKERMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Buy Photo

With a sunny, warm weekend on tap, all beaches on the Jersey Shore are safe for swimming.

Test results released this morning show unhealthy levels of bacteria at two Long Branch beaches have dissipated, allowing officials to re-open both beaches today.

SUMMER: 9 Shore spots for great outdoor dining

A third beach on the Bayshorebehind the Highlands recreation center was also cleared by testing performed on Wednesday.

The tests are part of a weekly monitoring program thatis on the lookout forenterococcus, a bacteria that grows inside the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals and can be found alongside their feces.

This kind of bacteria is considered a warning sign of dangerous pathogens.

EARLIER: Two Long Branch beaches closed by bacteria

The standard for safe swimming is less than 104 colony forming units, or cfu, per 100 milliliters of water.

BARNEGAT BAY: Clean-up draws thousands of volunteers

Per NJbeaches.org, here are the beaches that tested above the safe swimming threshold on Tuesday, followed by Wednesday's test results and then this morning's in bold

Every Tuesday online,the Press and app.com will post water-quality test results from every Jersey Shore beach that exceeds federal safe swimming standards for fecal bacteria.

Looking for something to cool off this weekend? Try out these cocktail recipes:

The words summer and cocktail go hand in hand: Sipping a cold drink on a hot day is about as good as it gets. Here are five recipes to try. Sarah Griesemer | Wochit

LAST WEEK: 6 Monmouth beaches test high for bacteria

WATCH OUT: Clinging jellyfish reappear in the Shrewsbury

IN OUR SCHOOLS: NJ considers to ban on Styrofoam food containers in schools

Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com

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Most Cape beaches off limits to ORVs – Cape Cod Times (subscription)

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Doug Fraser @dougfrasercct

ORLEANS The chicks are back, and many off-road vehicle trails across Cape Cod have been either fully closed or dramatically shortened.

The gate swung shut on summer at 6 a.m. Wednesday, well before it officially started, on the sandy trails leading south from Orleans' Nauset Beach.It's a rite of the start to the Cape's busiest season that many off-road enthusiasts would prefer was unnecessary.

But Orleans Natural Resources manager Nathan Sears said he hopes his staff can start escorting vehicles past plover nesting areas by July 15 under a statewide habitat conservation plan approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last year.

The plan provides protection for piping plovers, listed as a species threatened with extinction under both the federal and state endangered species laws, while allowing conditional vehicle access to beach areas.

The habitat plan option used by Orleans allows escorted convoys to proceed past up to two plover broods or nests and past up 20 unfledged least tern chicks, considered a species of special concern by the state. Sears was hoping the trail system might reopen without the need for escorts by Aug. 5.

The northern trail system, which serves only Orleans residents and taxpayers, and gives them access to the Nauset Spit, will not close until June 30, when a chick is expected to hatch near the access road. It takes 26 to 30 days for the chick to learn to fly and better be able to avoid oncoming vehicles.

Before the drive to create the statewide habitat conservation plan program, Nauset Beach was closing down for almost the entire summer year after year.

Photo Gallery: Plovers in peril

Sandy Neck Beach Park manager Nina Coleman worked out a different option under the habitat plan.

Concerned that the entirety of the trail system could be shut down with birds nesting at trail chokepoints, Coleman opted to be able to use methods to discourage nesting in certain areas, like a towed rake, allowing vehicles to carve out a wider trail, and sections of plywood placed over the sand, if necessary.

In doing so, Coleman and her staff were able to keep 1.1 miles open, after which the nesting sites were too concentrated, she said. Under the conditions of the habitat plan for Sandy Neck, her staff cannot escort vehicles except for camp owners who need to access their homes.

They were always allowed to be escorted,Coleman said.

Dennis officials said all their town's trails remain open for the time being.

All of the Cape Cod National Seashore over-sand trails are closed due to unfledged plover chicks, with the exception of two-tenths of a mile at what is known as the Pole Line ORV Access trail,North District Chief Ranger Craig Thatcher said.

Follow Doug Fraser on Twitter:@dougfrasercct.

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Most Cape beaches off limits to ORVs - Cape Cod Times (subscription)

Grand Cayman getaway: Beautiful beaches, spectacular diving in the Caribbean – CultureMap Houston

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Theres something about Seven Mile Beachthat makes you want to book a flight, stat. Maybe because it is regularly ranked as one of the most beautiful beaches in all of the Caribbean.

The water has a kind of blue that most beaches could only dream of after about 25 photo-editing filters, but this beach, situated on Grand Cayman Island is the stuff dreams (and glorious Instagram accounts) were made of. (Also, did we mention that the average winter water temperate is 80 degrees?)

Another thing that makes Grand Cayman such a unique travel destination is the genuine authenticity and culture that can be seen and felt in every crevice of the island. The island has a population of about 55,000 and more than half are from Caymanian descent, which helps create the authentic culture adding to the overall experience.

What to do in Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman is one of the most sought-after diving destinations, no matter what skill level you are.

The nightlife in Grand Cayman is a tad tamer than your typical Cancun Spring Break, so plan to go all out during the day, taking advantage of the beautiful water and white sandy beaches, and opt for a more low-key night. The accessible and shallow reefs make this a great spot to take in an afternoon of snorkeling at Stingray City, so be sure to check out theWaverunner Snorkel Safari so you can get fast adventures and a snorkelers paradise in the translucent waters all in one day.

Camana Bay is also a great option for entertainment while on the island complete with shopping, dining, adventures, a movie theater and even a wine bar with state-of-the-art Napa Technology WineStations.Pretty much all of the hotels in the area offer a free shuttle to Camana Bay, so it's easy to get to.

You should also make a point to stop by Calico Jacks Bar and Grill for happy hour and hang out with a sun-kissed mix of tourists and locals.

Travel pro tip for carry-on items: The TSA folks at Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM) are painfully tough. They are major sticklers on one small Ziploc bag and you will be stopped, so pack cautiously. Even if you got into the country with it in your carry-on, odds are you wont be able to leave with it.

A $50 million panoramic view

The newly renovatedWestin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spais the biggest and most expansive beachfront hotel, with a $50 million panoramic view from the newlobby and the largest fresh water pool in Grand Cayman, with an energized swim up bar to keep the vacation vibes going. Check out the resorts fresh new look and indulge yourself in the islands culture in a beach side cabana, awaverunneradventure, snorkeling expedition, a diving tour or something more.

Crystal clear waters aside, it also offers great dining at The Beach House, a AAA Four Diamond restaurant, as well as classic and unique cocktails at the resorts Catboat lobby bar, perfectly setup with a beachfront view. While youre at the resort, don't miss the Beach Side BBQ on Friday nights. Its an intimate yet casual dining experienceyou guessed it on the beach. No need for shoes, but you will need reservations.

The bartenders are about as friendly and inventive as one could hope for, and make the perfect resource for all things related to the island, whether you are on the hunt for nightlife entertainment (like atCamanaBay), diving tips or other beach activities.

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Astronomers weigh a white dwarf using gravitational lensing – Astronomy Magazine

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Einsteins theory of general relatively changed the way scientists look at the universe. The presence of mass bends spacetime like a bowling ball depressing a mattress, causing light to curve as it travels through these depressions on its way to Earth. In 1919, Sir Arthur Eddington confirmed this effect by measuring the deflection of background stars caused by our Sun during a total solar eclipse. Nearly a century later, astronomers have used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to measure this effect caused by a star outside our solar system for the first time.

This groundbreaking result was announced today at the 230th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society by Kailash Sahu of the Space Telescope Science Institute. Sahus team used HST to capture the deflection of light from a background star as a white dwarf, the remnant core of a star once like our Sun, passed in front of it as seen from Earth. Although this deflection was tiny about 1,000 times smaller than the deflection measured by Eddington in 1919 the precision achievable with Hubble allowed astronomers to see it clearly. From the deflection, they were able to measure the mass of the white dwarf, called Stein 2051B, in a new way that independently confirms the theoretical mass-radius relationship for white dwarfs. This is good news, because the mass-radius relationship is the foundation for astronomers use of these objects as standard distance indicators in cosmology. The work will appear this month in the journal Science.

To find a suitable pair of stars to accomplish this task, Sahus team first combed through a catalog of 10,000 stars with large proper motions, or movements on the sky as seen from Earth. Based on the motions of these stars, the team projected the stars positions forward in time to find a pair that would pass close enough to each other (when projected on the sky, not in physical space) to produce a bend in starlight measurable with HST.

Their choice: Stein 2051B, a white dwarf 17 light-years from Earth. According to the teams calculations, Stein 2051B would pass in front of a distant background star, about 5,000 light-years away, causing the background starlight to bend by 2 milliarcseconds. In more understandable terms, seeing that bend would be like trying to watch an insect crawl across the face of a quarter from a distance of about 1,500 miles (2,400km).

The team enlisted Hubble to observe the stars over eight epochs, or points in time, with observations taken in the time leading up to, during, and after the event, which occurred in March 2014. And, indeed, they did observe a deflection of the background light as the white dwarf passed in front of the distant source.

This work represents two firsts in astronomy. One, its the first time a deflection due to general relativity has been measured using a star other than our Sun. And two, as Sahu explained during the press conference, measuring the mass of Stein 2051B is the first clean test for [the] mass-radius relationship.

The mass-radius relationship for white dwarfs leads to a limit called the Chandrasekhar limit. If a white dwarf accumulates mass past this limit (by stealing it off a binary companion), it will explode as a supernova, which can be seen from vast distances and can be used by astronomers to measure very large distances accurately. But if this relationship is different than we currently understand it, it would affect distance measurements based on white dwarf supernovae.

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Astronomers explain the formation of seven exoplanets around Trappist-1 – Phys.Org

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June 8, 2017 Astronomers from the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands) explain with a model how seven earth-sized planets could have been formed in the planetary system Trappist-1 (here an artistic impression). The crux is on the line where ice changes in water. Credit: NASA/R. Hurt/T. Pyle

Astronomers from the University of Amsterdam have offered an explanation for the formation of the Trappist-1 planetary system. The system has seven planets as big as the Earth that orbit close to their star. The crux, according to the researchers from the Netherlands, is the line where ice changes in water. Near that ice line, pebbles that drifted from outer regions to the star receive an additional portion of water and clot together to form proto-planets. The article with the model has been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

In February 2017, an international team of astronomers announced the discovery of a system of seven exoplanets around a small star, Trappist-1 (see report on eso.org). It was against the prevailing theories of planet formation that so many relatively large planets orbited so close around a small star. Researchers from the University of Amsterdam now come up with a model that explains how the planetary system could have originated.

Until now, there were two prevailing theories for the formation of planets. The first theory assumes that planets are formed more or less on the spot where they are now. With Trappist-1, that is unlikely because the disk from which the planets had originated should have been very dense. The second theory assumes that a planet forms much further out in the disk and migrates inward afterwards. This theory also causes problems with Trappist-1 because it does not explain why the planets are all about the same size as the Earth.

Now, the Amsterdam researchers come up with a model where pebbles migrate instead of complete planets. The model begins with pebbles that are floating from outside regions to the star. Such pebbles consist largely of ice. When the pebbles arrive near the so-called ice line, the point where it is warm enough for liquid water, they get an additional portion of water vapor to process. As a result, they clot together into a proto-planet. Then the proto-planet moves a little closer to the star. On its way it sweeps up more pebbles like a vacuum cleaner, until it reaches the size of the Earth. The planet then moves in a little further and makes room for the formation of the next planet.

The crux, according to the researchers, is in the clotting of pebbles near the ice line. By crossing the ice line, pebbles lose their water ice. But that water is re-used by the following load of pebbles that is drifting from the outer regions of the dust disk. At Trappist-1, this process repeated until seven planets were formed.

Research leader Chris Ormel (University of Amsterdam): "For us, Trappist-1 with its seven planets, came as a welcome surprise. We have been working on pebble aggregation and sweepup by planets for a long time and were also developing a new ice-line model. Thanks to the discovery of Trappist-1 we can compare our model with reality."

In the near future, the Amsterdam researchers want to refine their model. They will run computer simulations to see how their model withstands different initial conditions.

The researchers still expect some discussion among fellow astronomers. The model is quite revolutionary because the pebbles travel from the outer part of the disk to the ice line without much activity in between. Ormel: "I hope that our model will help answer the question about how unique our own solar system is compared to other planetary systems."

Explore further: Temperate earth-sized worlds found in extraordinarily rich planetary system (Update)

More information: "Formation of TRAPPIST-1 and other compact systems." Chris W. Ormel, Beibei Liu & Djoeke Schoonenberg. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201730826 . Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/1703.06924

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We’ve just found the hottest planet ever – Astronomy Magazine

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Astronomers with the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope(s) (KELT) survey have just announced an amazing find: the hottest gas giant ever discovered. In fact, the planet is so hot that its hotter than most stars, and its only a few thousand degrees cooler than our own Sun.

The planet, KELT-9b, is about three times the mass of Jupiter and twice its size. Its discovery was announced by B. Scott Gaudi of The Ohio State University and Karen Collins of Vanderbilt University at a press conference Monday afternoon at the 230th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas. We are very excited today to announce the discovery of KELT-9b a gas giant planet hotter than most stars. And I want to emphasize thats not a typo, Collins said during the press conference. She went on to explain that KELT-9b is so hot because of its sun, the brightest, hottest, most massive known transiting gas giant planet host star. Concurrent with the announcement, the work was also published online as a letter in Nature.

That host star is roughly 2.5 times the mass of our Sun, and is rotating so quickly (about once a day) that its more of a flattened egg shape than a sphere, like the planet Saturn. Every time KELT-9b transits across the face of its sun, the light coming from the star drops by only one half of one percent. The star, which is a hot, blue star, radiates not only in the optical, but also puts out huge amounts of ultraviolet (UV) light. Its massive output, coupled with KELT-9bs close proximity, boosts the temperature on the planets day side to about 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit (4,300 Celsius). Because the planet is tidally locked, the same side always faces its parent star; astronomers currently think that the night side is much cooler, due to the atmospheres poor ability to transfer heat from the broiling day side to the rest of the planet. But even still, that cool side is hot: The night side would probably look like a red dwarf to our eyes, Gaudi said at the press conference.

Furthermore, KELT-9b is orbiting its star perpendicular to the hosts axis of rotation. That means rather than circling in the same plane as the stars equator, as our planets circle the Sun, KELT-9b flies over its parent stars north and south poles with every 1.5-day orbit it completes. This odd orbit, Gaudi said, likely precesses as well, which means the planet may stop transiting its sun as seen from Earth within about 150 years, depending on the rate of this precession. Astronomers would then have to wait several thousand years before transits could be seen again.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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We've just found the hottest planet ever - Astronomy Magazine

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, by Neil deGrasse Tyson – Times Higher Education (THE)

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Plato had it right when he said that astronomy compels the soul to look upwards. The universe makes for beautiful images and stories littered with superlatives. Astronomers draw on most of modern physics, from gravitation to quantum mechanics, and drive new discoveries in regimes that we could never reach in the laboratory. We develop cutting-edge instrumentation for telescopes on Earth and in space. And our field has a history spanning thousands of years, ever since those first souls looked up and marvelled at the view.

Neil deGrasse Tysons aim is, on the face of it, daunting to convey something of all of this to a level of foundational fluency in only 200 pages. But the presenter of the radio programme StarTalk and the television documentary series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, one of the most experienced science communicators around, is up to the challenge.

The book is adapted from a series of essays originally written in 1998-2007, and this shows in the format: theres some repetition, and the flow between chapters feels rather random. The upside is that each chapter stands alone, perfect for the busy reader who wants to dip in and out. The breadth of topics is excellent, and includes the Big Bang, dark matter, dark energy, the formation of the elements and the search for life elsewhere in the universe. There is no stinting on physics, and astronomers get some stick for the century-long gap between the discovery of radiation beyond the visible and the development of telescopes in these wavebands. The style is vintage Tyson engaging, chatty and littered with historical and linguistic anecdotes (including a lovely reference to petunias, in a nod to the late, great Douglas Adams).

There are some surprising omissions. There is relatively little on the birth, life and death of stars. The stars dominate our night sky, and Im still amazed by the fact that we understand the processes that differentiate our Sun from the red supergiant Betelgeuse and the white dwarf Sirius B. Supermassive black holes, such as the monster in the centre of our galaxy, get barely a mention, and the chapter on telescopes does not do justice to the full range of new technology at our disposal. However, this is understandable in a slim volume.

Although many scientists are namechecked, I was disappointed that only three women made the cut: Vera Rubin (dark matter pioneer), Jocelyn Bell (discoverer of pulsars) and Carolyn Shoemaker (of comet fame). Stellar physics without Annie Jump Cannon or Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, the cosmic distance scale without Henrietta Swan Leavitt, radio astronomy without Ruby Payne-Scott? This is a book that aims to inspire the next generation of scientists, and women have played, and continue to play, a major role in our field.

Tyson opens the book by discussing the allure of astronomy in popular culture. He takes a more sombre view at the end, with a sober assessment of our place in the cosmos and a plea to embrace this cosmic perspective. In an era where it feels that we have to defend science, it is the right way to finish: marvel at the universe, enjoy puzzling it out, and do your utmost to protect our neighbourhood even if youre busy.

Anna Watts is associate professor of astrophysics, University of Amsterdam. She works on neutron stars and the next generation of X-ray space telescopes.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry By Neil deGrasse Tyson W. W. Norton, 224pp, 14.99 ISBN 9780393609394 Published 2 June 2017

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Facebook’s AI training models can now process 40000 images a second – GeekWire

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Artificial intelligence researchers at Facebook have figured out how to train their AI models for image recognition at eye-popping speeds.

The company announced the results of the effort to speed up training time at the Data@Scale event in Seattle this morning. Using Facebooks custom GPU (graphics processing unit) hardware and some new algorithms, researchers were able to train their models on 40,000 images a second, making it possible to get through the ImageNet dataset in under an hour with no loss of accuracy, said Pieter Noordhuis, a software engineer at Facebook.

You dont need a proper supercomputer to replicate these results, Noordhuis said.

The system works to associate images with words, which is called supervised learning, he said. Thousands of images from a training set are assigned a description (say, a cat) and the system is shown all of the images with an associated classification. Then, researchers present the system with images of the same object (say, a cat) but without the description attached. If the system knows its looking at a cat, its learning how to associate imagery with descriptive words.

The breakthrough allows Facebook AI researchers to start working on even bigger datasets; like, say, the billions of things posted to its website every day. Its also a display of Facebooks hardware expertise; the company made sure to note that its hardware is open-source, this means that for others to reap these benefits, theres no need for incredibly advanced TPUs, it said in a statement throwing some shade at Googles recent TPU announcement at Google I/O.

Facebook plans to release more details about its AI training work in a research paper published to its Facebook Research page.

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Facebook's AI training models can now process 40000 images a second - GeekWire

Sports Betting: The Next Big Thing for Artificial Intelligence – Investopedia

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Quantitative analytical procedures are some of the most successful in the financial world, with an increasing number of money managers turning the grunt work of data processing over to computer algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI). One argument in favor of quantitative methods like these is that they remove the human element from the analytical process, thereby ensuring faster processing times, more thorough analysis, and the effective removal of emotions and potential bias from the process. Now, at least one company is looking to capitalize on the advantages that quantitative methods have over old-fashioned human ones, but in a new area: sports betting.

The new company, Stratagem, is based in London and was set up by an ex-hedge funder, Andreas Koukorinis. In an interview with Business Insider, Koukorinis described his initial efforts at harnessing the powers of quantitative analysis for the purposes of sports betting as "building these robots to let them run around on the floor." He and his team have been developing predictive analytics programs for sports betting procedures, using machine learning and AI to process vast data fields. With these computer systems in place, Koukorinis believes that he will gain an edge in the competitive and often-arbitrary world of sports betting.

Koukorinis has been developing Stratagem for several years, and the company now appears to be taking off. The fund has seen some success with its machine learning models, and Stratagem now has an internal syndicate which allows it to bet its own money and bring in a return. One of the next steps for the fund is to raise around 25 million in the next few months to allow for further growth. Investors will essentially be buying into a sports betting-focused hedge fund.

Charles McGarraugh, CEO of the fledgling company, believes that the model is a straightforward sell to potential investors. "Sports lend themselves well to this kind of predictive analytics because it's a large number of repeated events. And it's uncorrelated to the rest of the market. And the duration of the asset class is short."

Stratagem focuses on both data collection and processing. For the former, the company uses both public sources as well as its own data generation system. Once the data has been gathered, Stratagem uses its analytical tools to crunch the numbers in search of mispriced odds. The results so far have been promising.

Could this be the future of quant methods? Koukorinis and others with Stratagem believe so, seeing a strong connection between the world of sports betting and the hard data analysis that quant is specially designed for. Whether the company will beat the odds remains to be seen.

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Artificial intelligence’s potential impacts raise promising possibilities, societal challenges – Phys.Org

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June 8, 2017 by Joe Kullman ASU Professor Subbarao Kambhampati with one of the robots used in his lab teams research aimed at enabling effective collaboration between humans and intelligent robots. The wooden blocks spell out the name of the lab, Yochan, meaning thought or plan in the Sanskrit language. Credit: Marco-Alexis Chaira/ASU

Interest in artificial intelligence has exploded, with some predicting that machines will take over and others optimistically hoping that people will be freed up to explore creative pursuits.

According to Arizona State University Professor Subbarao Kambhampati, the reality will be more in the middlebut the technology will certainly bring about a restructuring of our society.

AI will accomplish a lot of good things, Kambhampati said, but we must also be vigilant about possible ramifications of the technology. And yes, some jobs will be lostbut maybe not the ones people most often think of.

The professor of computer science and engineering in ASU's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering is well qualified to enter the debate. He has been doing work in the areacommonly called "AI"for more than three decades, and he is at the midpoint of a two-year term as president of the international Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), the largest organization of scientists, engineers and others in the field.

Kambhampati, whose current research focuses on developing "human-aware" AI systems to enable people and intelligent machines to work collaboratively, is also on the board of trustees of the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society (PAI), which aims to help establish industry-wide best practices and ethics guidelines.

The following interview is edited from a recent conversation with him.

Question: You became president of the AI association at a time when public awareness of these technologies and the issues they raise has exploded. What's sparking the widespread interest?

Answer: AI as a scientific field has actually been around since the 1950s and has made amazing, if fitful, progress in getting machines to show hallmarks of intelligence. The Deep Blue computer's win over the world chess champion in 1997 was a watershed moment, but even after that, AI remained a staid academic field. Most people didn't come into direct contact with AI technology until relatively recently.

With the recent advances of AI in perceptual intelligence, we all now have smartphones that can hear and talk back to us and recognize images. AI is now a very ubiquitous part of our everyday lives, so there's a visceral understanding of its impact.

Q: Plus, it's a big driver of major industries, right?

A: In 2008, for instance, few if any tech companies were mentioning investments and involvement in AI in their annual reports or quarterly earnings reports. Today you'll find about 300 major companies emphasizing their AI projects or ventures in those reports.

The members of the Partnership for Artificial Intelligence, which I am involved with, include Amazon, Facebook, Google's Deep Mind, IBM and Microsoft. So, yes, AI is now a very big deal.

Q: The big question about AI is what it means for not only business and the economy, but what it portends for society when AI machines are doing more jobs that people used to do. What's your perspective on that?

A: Elon Musk (the prominent engineer, inventor and tech entrepreneur) started this trend of AI fears by remarking that what keeps him up at night is the idea of super-intelligent machines that will become more powerful than humans. Then Stephen Hawking (renowned physicist and cosmologist) chimed in. Statements like that, coming from influential people, of course make the public worry.

I don't take such a pessimistic view. I think AI is going to do a lot of good things. But it is also going to be a very powerful technology that will shape and change our world. So we should remain vigilant of all the ramifications of this powerful technology and work to mitigate unintended consequences. Fortunately, this is a goal shared by both AAAI and PAI.

Q: Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion who was defeated by the Deep Blue computer, writes that we should embrace AI, that it will free people from work so that they can develop their intellectual and creative capabilities. Others are saying the same. Do you agree?

A: I think Kasparov and others who say this are maybe too optimistic. We see from the past that new technology has taken away certain jobs but also created new kinds of jobs. But it's not certain that will always be the case with the proliferation of AI.

It seems clear that some professions are going to disappear, and not just blue-collar jobs like trucking, but also high-paying white-collar jobs. There are going to be many fewer radiologists, because machines are already doing a better job of reading X-rays. Machines can also be much faster and better at doing the kind of information gathering and research now done by paralegals, for instance.

This is why we have to start thinking about how society is going to be restructured if AI technologies and systems are doing much of the work that people once did.

Q: What would such a restructuring look like?

A: This is quite an open question, and organizations like AAAI and PAI are trying to get ahead of the curve in answering it.

I do want to emphasize that I don't think it is solely the job of AI experts, or of industry, to think about these issues of long-term restructuring. This is something that society at large has to contend with. We also have to realize that AI consequences play into already existing social ills such as societal biases, wealth concentration and social alienation. We have to work to make sure that AI moderates rather than amplifies these trends.

Q: What can those in the AI field do proactively to produce the most positive outcomes from the expansion of the technology?

A: We can take potential impacts into consideration when deciding in what directions we want to take our research and development. Much research now, like mine, is focusing on systems that are not intended to replace humans but to augment and enhance what humans are doing. We want to enable humans and machines to work together to do things better than what humans can do alone.

For AI systems to work with humans, they need to acquire emotional and social intelligence, something humans expect from their co-workers. That's where human-aware AI comes into play.

Q: What keeps you excited about your research?

A: I've always thought that the biggest questions facing our age are about three fundamental things: the origin of the universe, the origin of life and the nature of intelligence.

AI research takes you to the heart of one of them. In developing AI systems, I get a window into the basic nature of intelligence. That's why I tell my students that it takes a particularly bad teacher to make AI uninteresting.

That is what hooked me into this work. And now I'm getting the opportunity to go beyond the technical aspects of the field and have a voice on issues of ethics and practices and societal outcomes. That is energizing me even more.

Explore further: AI 'good for the world'... says ultra-lifelike robot

Sophia smiles mischievously, bats her eyelids and tells a joke. Without the mess of cables that make up the back of her head, you could almost mistake her for a human.

Major technology firms have joined forces in a partnership on artificial intelligence, aiming to cooperate on "best practices" on using the technology "to benefit people and society."

Advances in artificial intelligence will soon lead to robots that are capable of nearly everything humans do, threatening tens of millions of jobs in the coming 30 years, experts warned Saturday.

A technology industry alliance devoted to making sure smart machines don't turn against humanity said Friday that Apple has signed on and will have a seat on the board.

The phrase "artificial intelligence" saturates Hollywood dramas from computers taking over spaceships, to sentient robots overpowering humans. Though the real world is perhaps more boring than Hollywood, artificial intelligence ...

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said Wednesday tech developers have a responsibility to prevent a dystopian "1984" future as the US technology titan unveiled a fresh initiative to bring artificial intelligence into ...

An AI machine has taken the maths section of China's annual university entrance exam, finishing it faster than students but with a below average grade.

Globally, from China and Germany to the United States, electric vehicle (EV) subsidies have been championed as an effective strategy to boost production of renewable technology and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

As global automakers compete to bring the first flying car to market, Czech pilot Pavel Brezina is trying a different tack: instead of creating a car that flies, he has made a "GyroDrive"a mini helicopter you can drive.

Apple's new HomePod speaker may be music to the ears of its loyal fans, but how much it can crank up volume in the smart speaker market remains to be heard.

Autonomous vehicles with no human backup will be put to the test on publicly traveled roads as early as next year in what may be the first attempt at unassisted autonomous piloting.

Using Earth-abundant materials, EPFL scientists have built the first low-cost system for splitting CO2 into CO, a reaction necessary for turning renewable energy into fuel.

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Artificial intelligence's potential impacts raise promising possibilities, societal challenges - Phys.Org

Artificial Intelligence gets below average grade in Chinese university entrance exam – Economic Times

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BEIJING: An artificial intelligence (AI) machine has taken the maths section of China's annual university entrance exam, finishing it faster than students but with a below average grade.

The artificial intelligence machine -- a tall black box containing 11 servers placed in the centre of a test room -- took two versions of the exam on Wednesday in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

The machine, called AI-MATHS, scored 105 out of 150 in 22 minutes. Students have two hours to complete the test, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

It then spent 10 minutes on another version and scored 100.

Beijing liberal art students who took the maths exam last year scored an average of 109.

Exam questions and the AI machine's answers were both shown on a big screen while three people kept score.

The AI was developed in 2014 by a Chengdu-based company, Zhunxingyunxue Technology, using big data, artificial intelligence and natural language recognition technologies from Tsinghua University.

"I hope next year the machine can improve its performance on logical reasoning and computer algorithms and score over 130," Lin Hui, the company's CEO, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

"This is not a make-or-break test for a robot. The aim is to train artificial intelligence to learn the way humans reason and deal with numbers," Lin said.

The machine took only one of the four subjects in the crucially important entrance examination, the other three being Chinese, a foreign language and one comprehensive test in either liberal arts or science.

While AI is faster with numbers than humans, it struggles with language.

"For example, the robot had a hard time understanding the words 'students' and 'teachers' on the test and failed to understand the question, so it scored zero for that question," Lin said.

The test was the latest attempt to show how AI technology can perform in comparison to the human brain.

Last year, the Google-owned computer algorithm AlphaGo became the first computer programme to beat an elite player in a full match of the ancient Chinese game of Go.

AlphaGo won again last month, crushing the world's top player, Ke Jie of China, in a three-game sweep.

AlphaGo's feats have fuelled visions of AI that can not only perform pre-programmed tasks, but help humanity look at complex scientific, technical and medical mysteries in new ways.

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Artificial Intelligence gets below average grade in Chinese university entrance exam - Economic Times

Artificial intelligence can now predict if someone will die in the next 5 years – Fox News

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This AI will tell people when theyre likely to die -- and thats a good thing. Thats because scientists from the University of Adelaide in Australia have used deep learning technology to analyze the computerized tomography (CT) scans of patient organs, in what could one day serve as an early warning system to catch heart disease, cancer, and other diseases early so that intervention can take place.

Using a dataset of historical CT scans, and excluding other predictive factors like age, the system developed by the team was able to predict whether patients would die within five years around 70 percent of the time. The work was described in an article published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The goal of the research isn't really to predict death, but to produce a more accurate measurement of health, Dr. Luke Oakden-Rayner, a researcher on the project, told Digital Trends. A patient's risk of death is directly related to the health of their organs and tissues, but the changes of chronic diseases build up for decades before we get symptoms. By the time we recognize a disease is present it is often quite advanced. So we can take a known outcome, like death, and look back in time at the patient's medical scans to find patterns that relate to undetected disease. Our goal is to identify these changes earlier and more accurately so we can tailor our treatment to individuals.

The AI analyzes CT scans to make its decisions.

At present, this is still a proof-of-concept experiment, however, and Oakden-Rayner points out that theres a lot more work to be done before this becomes the transformative clinical tool it could be. For one thing, the AIs 70-percent predictive accuracy when looking at scans is in line with the manual predictions made by experts. That makes it a potential time-saving tool, or a good means of double-checking, but the hope is that it can be much more than that.

Our next major step is to expand our dataset, Oakden-Rayner continued. We used a very small cohort of 48 patients in this study to show that our approach can work, but in general deep learning works better if you can give it much more data. We are collecting and analyzing a dataset of tens of thousands of cases in the next stage of our project.

The team also aims to expand what the AI is looking for, to help spot things like strokes before they strike.

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Artificial intelligence can now predict if someone will die in the next 5 years - Fox News

The Paris Air Show Will Showcase America’s Aerospace Industrial Might – The National Interest Online (blog)

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On June 19th, one of the world largest and most prestigious air shows will open at the Le Bourget airfield outside Paris. This is an event that the aerospace world attends, one which private companies and governments both employ as a stage to showcase some of their best products and impressive capabilities. European companies, in particular, are fond of using the Paris Air Show to launch major new platforms. In addition, it has become quite common for aircraft manufacturers to announce major sales during the show.

Historically, the biennial Paris Air Show has provided a snapshot of the state of aerospace industries around the world. Particularly during the Cold War but even afterwards in times of increased international tensions, the major military powers used this venue to send messages regarding their abilities in the air and space domains. This year is likely to be no different.

It is noteworthy, therefore, that the U.S. Air Force, after some initial hesitancy, decided to allow two F-35A Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) to conduct a flight demonstration at the show. This is not the first time that U.S. F-35s have appeared in European air space. The Marine Corp F-35B, the short takeoff and vertical landing variant, participated in the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow. Earlier this year, eight F-35As conducted the first joint training deployment in the United Kingdom. These aircraft also made politically-important visits to both Estonia and Bulgaria.

Nevertheless, this planned F-35A flight demonstration is important on several levels. It is part of a concerted effort by the U.S. government to underscore its commitment to the security of Europe. It sends a message to friends and foes that the U.S. military leads the world in the development and deployment of fifth-generation aircraft. Visits to the United Kingdom and France also serve as reminders that the JSF is an international fighter and that seven NATO members invested their money in the program. In fact, these allies are planning to acquire several hundred F-35s. Finally, the flight demonstration will underscore the fact that virtually all of the JSFs teething problems are behind it.

The F-35 will not be going to Le Bourget alone. The Department of Defense will send many of its top-of-the-line aircraft and helicopters to Paris including the P-8A anti-submarine aircraft, the C-130J transport, the V-22 Osprey, AH-64 Apache and the CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter. These are among the best military aircraft in the world which is reflected in the continuing demand for them by friends and allies. In addition, the Textron/Airland team is sending its Scorpion, a light attack/intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance jet aircraft, to Le Bourget.

On the commercial side, Boeing is sending both its 737 MAX 9 and 787-10 Dreamliner flight test airplanes along with enhanced versions of its popular aircraft to the air show. Other U.S. companies that will provide display versions of their products include Gulfstream and Bell Helicopters.

Even the appearance at Le Bourget of non-U.S. commercial aircraft can say something important about the state of this countrys aerospace industry. The Canadian Company Bombardier, which debuts its C Series passenger jet at the 2015 air show, will be back looking for additional sales. Embraer, Brazils major aircraft producer, used the last air show to unveil its E-Jet E2 family of narrow-body, medium range commercial aircraft. It is reported that this year Airbus will publically fly for the first time its new A321neo, one of several variants in the family.

What these aircraft programs have in common is that they all are powered by Pratt & Whitneys advanced geared turbofan engine (GTF). The GTF also is on A320neos operated by numerous airlines and will power hundreds more that are on order. This engine provides a substantial improvement over those presently in service in terms of fuel use, noise level, emissions and operating costs.

The GTF has experienced some problems with respect to the reliability of specific components. Pratt & Whitney is taking steps to deal with these issues, which are not uncommon for new aviation products. Given the companys past successes in troubleshooting its products, including its development of a rapid solution to a fan blade rubbing problem with the F-35s engine, it is likely that GTFs problems will be solved.

Like the 51 air shows that have come before, the 2017 event will be a testament to the technological progress that continues to be made in the aerospace sector. It also will speak to the importance of the U.S. and its allies continuing to invest in aerospace capabilities that will ensure its military superiority over any potential adversaries.

Daniel Gour, Ph.D., is a Vice President of the Lexington Institute. He served in the Pentagon during the George H.W. Administration and has taught at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities and the National War College. You can follow him on twitter @dgoure and you can follow the Lexington Institute @LexNextDC

Image: U.S. Air Force

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Russia’s Aerospace Force takes Briz-M booster to dump orbit – TASS

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MOSCOW, June 8. /TASS/. The Titov Center of Russias Aerospace Force has taken the Briz booster from the designated orbit of the Echostar-21 satellite to a dump orbit, the Defense Ministry has told the media.

The US telecommunication satellite Echostar-21 was put in space on Thursday morning from the Baikonur space site in Kazakhstan with a Proton-M rocket, which blasted off at 06:45 Moscow time. The satellite entered the designated orbit nine hours and 13 minutes later.

"To remove the Briz-M booster from Echostar-21s orbit the engines were turned on twice. The booster was pushed into an orbit of about 2,000 kilometers at perigee and about 35,000 kilometers at apogee," the Defense Ministry said.

"Once the Briz-M booster was taken to a dump orbit the Aerospace Forces Space Control Center started analyzing and processing information concerning other space objects.

The booster and the satellite will be monitored by the chief center for space situation reconnaissance of Russias Aerospace Force.

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Russia's Aerospace Force takes Briz-M booster to dump orbit - TASS

LMI Aerospace Shareholders Approve Merger Agreement for Acquisition by Sonaca Group – Advanced Manufacturing

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Shareholders of LMI Aerospace Inc. (St. Louis), at a special meeting held June 8, approved the merger agreement for the Sonaca Groups acquisition of LMI. Under the terms of the agreement, LMI shareholders will be entitled to receive $14 per share in cash at the closing of the transaction.

LMI is supplier of structural assemblies, kits and components and provider of engineering services to the commercial, business and regional, and military aerospace markets. Sonaca Group is a global Belgian company active in the development, manufacturing and assembly of advanced structures for civil, military and space markets.

Shareholder approval is an essential milestone toward closing this transaction, said Dan Korte, LMI Aerospace CEO. With the strong support our shareholders gave today, we are one step closer to building a bright future together with the Sonaca Group.

We look forward to welcoming LMI Aerospace to the Sonaca Group, said Bernard Delvaux, Sonaca CEO. As complementary businesses with different core customers, we see opportunities to combine our strengths to better serve our customers and expand our market access globally.

Approximately 76.7 percent of outstanding shares voted, with more than 99.4 percent of votes cast in favor of the merger agreement and related transactions. LMI shareholders also approved, on an advisory (non-binding) basis, certain compensation that may be paid or become payable to LMIs named executive officers in connection with the transaction. LMI will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission Form 8-K with the final voting results on all agenda items. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including required regulatory approvals. Closing is expected by the end of June 2017.

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LMI Aerospace Shareholders Approve Merger Agreement for Acquisition by Sonaca Group - Advanced Manufacturing

Fred From's secret to longevity: don't worry, be happy – Gatton Star

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BUARABA'S Fred From says the secret to a long and happy life is to keep active, be happy and to not worry.

Mr From was living proof of his own advice as he celebrated his 100th birthday on May 30. And in a display of his full and fortunate life more than 150 people turned out to celebrate his milestone birthday at Forest Hill Hall.

The ex-farmer, army officer, environmentalist and academic revealed he had always tried to lead a healthy life.

"I always played sports - like football and never smoked - if anything helped me that would have been the thing, he said.

"I don't feel any different turning 100.

Born in a military hospital in Brisbane, Mr From grew up and attended school in Lowood.

"I've lived in the Lockyer practically all my life - except when I joined the army for four years in the Second World War, Mr From said.

"I was 23 years old.

"I served in Cyprus, New Guinea, Egypt and later in Korea - after Korea I came back and went to the university to study agriculture.

"I studied there for six months, then I married Lola Brimblecombe.

Over many years, Mr From farmed cattle, grapes, watermelon and sweet potato on his Burarbra farm.

Later on, Mr From became heavily involved in agriculture and the environment and helped to set up an environmental reserve with some friends when Atkinson Dam was constructed in the early 1970s.

In the year 2000 he was awarded an Order of Australia for his extensive work in agriculture.

Mr From said he had been blessed with a fortunate life.

"I've had a happy family and social life, he said.

"I recieved a letter from the Queen and several other dignitaries, it was wonderful.

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Fred From's secret to longevity: don't worry, be happy - Gatton Star

How genetic engineering helped reduce cotton’s environmental footprint – Genetic Literacy Project

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Cottons environmental footprint is much less noticeable today than was the case in the early 1960s, thanks largely to science and technology.

Ryan Kurtz, director of agricultural research, Cotton Incorporated, says the highly successful Boll Weevil Eradication Program, genetic engineering, innovations in tillage, and changes in farm size and efficiency combined to reduce cottons impact on the environment over the past 35 years.

[Kurtz] said cotton farming has evolved from horses to robots and drones. Weve seen great strides in reduced soil loss, water use, and pesticide use.

Biotechnology now protects plants from insect damage, Kurtz said. Herbicide tolerant varieties also allow a more efficient weed management system. Cotton farmers also reduce energy consumption because of biotech, he added.

Genetic engineering has improved varieties in other ways. We have more water efficient varieties, which improves on a plant already known for drought tolerance.

[T]he success of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program and the introduction of Bt cotton revolutionized insect control in cotton. At one time, cotton farmers in some areas were spraying as many as 15 times in a season. The average was seven. Following boll weevil eradication, the average dropped to five, and after Bt cotton was introduced the average dipped to two.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Cottons effect on the environment continues to diminish

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