Type-defying Type II Supernova ASASSN-13co: Holoien et al. (2014c) OSU Astronomy Coffee Brief – Video

Posted on by


Type-defying Type II Supernova ASASSN-13co: Holoien et al. (2014c) OSU Astronomy Coffee Brief
This is an OSU astronomy Coffee Brief video for the Holoien et al. (2014c) paper "Discovery and Observations of the Type-Defying II-P/II-L Supernovae ASASSN-13co" posted to astro-ph and MNRAS...

By: OSUAstronomy

See more here:

Type-defying Type II Supernova ASASSN-13co: Holoien et al. (2014c) OSU Astronomy Coffee Brief - Video

Microwave amplifier noise limited by quantum particles of heat

Posted on by

November 13, 2014 // Jean-Pierre Joosting

Physics and astronomy depend on being able to register a barely detectable electrical signal in the microwave regime to learn and make discoveries. A typical example of this was the discovery of cosmic background radiation that helped confirm the Big Bang theory. Another example is the detection of data from scientific instruments in space missions on their way to distant planets, asteroids or comets.

Page 1 of 2

Faint microwave signals are detected by transistor-based low-noise amplifiers. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have optimised indium phosphide transistors using a special process for this purpose. A spin-off company from Chalmers, Low Noise Factory, designs and packages amplifier circuits.

This is an electron microscope image of an indium phosphide high electron mobility transistor (InP HEMT). The region affected by the self-heating process is highlighted in the cross section of the InP HEMT. Credit: Chalmers University of Technology

"Cooling the amplifier modules to -260 degrees Celsius enables them to operate with the highest signal-to-noise ratio possible today," says Jan Grahn, Professor of microwave technology at Chalmers. "These advanced cryogenic amplifiers are of tremendous significance for signal detection in many areas of science, ranging from quantum computers to radio astronomy."

Using a combination of measurements and simulations, the researchers investigated what happens when a microwave transistor is cooled to one tenth of a degree above absolute zero (-273 degrees Celsius). It was thought that noise in the transistor was limited by so-called hot electrons at such extreme temperatures. However, the new study shows that the noise is actually limited by self-heating in the transistor.

Physics and astronomy depend on being able to register a barely detectable electrical signal in the microwave regime to learn and make discoveries. A typical example of this was the discovery of cosmic background radiation that helped confirm the Big Bang theory. Another example is the detection of data from scientific instruments in space missions on their way to distant planets, asteroids or comets.

Faint microwave signals are detected by transistor-based low-noise amplifiers. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have optimised indium phosphide transistors using a special process for this purpose. A spin-off company from Chalmers, Low Noise Factory, designs and packages amplifier circuits.

Here is the original post:

Microwave amplifier noise limited by quantum particles of heat

ASTRO Commends Medicare's Decision to Cover Annual, Low-Dose CT Screening for High-Risk Lung Cancer Patients Ages 55 …

Posted on by

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise Fairfax, Va., November 14, 2014 The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) praises the November 11, 2014, decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide coverage for annual lung cancer screening via low-dose CT screening for those at highest-risk for lung cancer.

The Proposed Decision Memo for Screening for Lung Cancer with Low Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) (CAG-00439N) confirms that there is sufficient evidence to warrant annual lung cancer screening for patients most at-risk for developing lung cancer. The Memo details the patient criteria for eligibility as follows: aged 55 to 74; asymptomatic (no signs or symptoms of lung disease); a smoking history of at least 30 pack-years (one pack-year = smoking one pack per day for one year; 1 pack = 20 cigarettes); a current smoker or someone who has quit smoking within the last 15 years. CMS is accepting comments on the rule until December 10, 2014, and an effective date is expected in the final coverage decision.

ASTRO is pleased that CMS has weighed the evidence and decided in favor of annual screening for patients at highest risk for lung cancer, potentially reducing their lung cancer mortality by nearly 20 percent, said ASTRO Chair Bruce G. Haffty, MD, FASTRO. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the United States, causing the death of more than 160,000 people each year, surpassing the number of deaths from breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. Data also indicate that nearly 60 percent of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among those who have never smoked or who have already quit smoking. With this highly effective, annual screening in place, we will be able to diagnose patients earlier when treatment can be most successful, which will save thousands of lives.

CMSs decision follows the United States Preventive Task Forces (USPSTFs) December 2013 recommendation that LDCT is a Grade B screening, and which reviewed the results of four randomized clinical trials, including the National Cancer Institutes National Lung Screening Trial, which included more than 50,000 asymptomatic adults aged 55 to 75 who had at least a 30 pack-year history and found a 16 percent reduction in lung cancer mortality for those who received annual screening and thus, earlier treatment.

ABOUT ASTRO ASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with nearly 11,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologists, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals that specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training, support for clinical practice and health policy standards, advancement of science and research, and advocacy. ASTRO publishes two medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (www.redjournal.org) and Practical Radiation Oncology (www.practicalradonc.org); developed and maintains an extensive patient website, http://www.rtanswers.org; and created the Radiation Oncology Institute (www.roinstitute.org), a non-profit foundation to support research and education efforts around the world that enhance and confirm the critical role of radiation therapy in improving cancer treatment. To learn more about ASTRO, visit http://www.astro.org. ###

More here:

ASTRO Commends Medicare's Decision to Cover Annual, Low-Dose CT Screening for High-Risk Lung Cancer Patients Ages 55 ...

Mission to discover hundreds of black holes could unlock secrets of the universe

Posted on by

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

14-Nov-2014

Contact: Heath Jeffries jeffrieshv1@cardiff.ac.uk 44-292-087-0917 Cardiff University @cardiffuni

A team of Cardiff University researchers have made a breakthrough in helping scientists discover hundreds of black holes throughout the universe.

When two detectors are switched on in the US next year, the Cardiff team hope their research will help scientists pick up the faint ripples of black hole collisions millions of years ago, known as gravitational waves.

Black holes cannot be seen, but scientists hope the revamped detectors - which act like giant microphones - will find remnants of black hole collisions.

Led by Dr Mark Hannam from the School of Physics and Astronomy, the researchers have built a theoretical model which aims to predict all potential gravitational-wave signals that might be found by the detectors.

The Cardiff researchers hope it will act as a 'spotters' guide' to help scientists working with the giant LIGO detectors recognise the right waveforms and reveal the secrets of how black holes orbit into each other and collide.

Dr Hannam said: "The rapid spinning of black holes will cause the orbits to wobble, just like the last wobbles of a spinning top before it falls over. These wobbles can make the black holes trace out wild paths around each other, leading to extremely complicated gravitational-wave signals. Our model aims to predict this behaviour and help scientists find the signals in the detector data."

The Cardiff team, which includes postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and collaborators from universities in Europe and the United States, will work with scientists across the world as they attempt to unravel the origins of the Universe.

Visit link:

Mission to discover hundreds of black holes could unlock secrets of the universe

A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Game of Life program walkthru, in C++, OLDSCHOOL CONSOLE based. ACE – Video

Posted on by


A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Game of Life program walkthru, in C++, OLDSCHOOL CONSOLE based. ACE
A.I. - Artificial Intelligence, Game of Life program walkthru, in C++, CONSOLE based (i.e. OLDSCHOOL) - ACE Appetite Control Energy - MORE ENERGY, LESS WEI...

By: superbee1970

See the article here:

A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Game of Life program walkthru, in C++, OLDSCHOOL CONSOLE based. ACE - Video

University of Toronto startup searches for Ebola cure

Posted on by

A team of University of Toronto researchers is using artificial intelligence to hunt for a potential Ebola cure.

Software from U of T startup Chematria Inc. has the ability to think like a human chemist, analyzing the effectiveness of existing and hypothetical drugs against disease. Unlike a human, the program can complete this process in days instead of years, saving time and millions of dollars. Now, scientists are hoping the advanced technology can tackle the global Ebola crisis.

What we are attempting would have been considered science fiction, until now, said Chematria CEO, Abraham Heifets.

The testing of pharmaceuticals is normally a physical science we still have to build every prototype we test, said Heifets, resulting in hundreds of thousands of failed experiments for each success. Chematria can do that research virtually, making it 150 times faster than conventional methods, said Heifets. The tech has been applied to malaria, leukemia and Multiple Sclerosis, but in the face of a growing pandemic, creators last week launched an Ebola project.

If there is a drug out there for (Ebola), theres a very good chance well find it, Heifets told the Star.

Operating on the largest supercomputer in Canada, made by IBM, Chematria is programmed with millions of data points that look at things like drug patents and how different drugs work. The Ebola project is targeting a claw-like mechanism the virus uses to latch onto cells.

What our search then does is takes this target and imagines millions of hypothetical medicines that would fit in that claw and stop it from working, said Heifets. Theres also a chance it will discover existing medicines that can accomplish that task. There have been no hits so far.

In a few weeks, the software will provide scientists with a list of compounds ranked from 1 to 10 million in order of how well they work against Ebola. Previous projects have produced promising results, according to Heifets. The search for a drug used to combat the progression of MS, for example, resulted in nine strong candidates and is now in the animal testing phase, he said.

Even if the program cant find a cure for Ebola, Heifets said the technology has positive implications for responding to pandemics.

Humanity as a whole has better options now than hoping and praying well find something in 10 years.

Read more from the original source:

University of Toronto startup searches for Ebola cure

David International Aerospace & Defence Industries at Defence & Aerosupply India-Hybiz.tv – Video

Posted on by


David International Aerospace Defence Industries at Defence Aerosupply India-Hybiz.tv
David International Aerospace Defence Industries at Defence Aerosupply India-Hybiz.tv Watch More Business Videos at Indias Leading online business channel Hybiz TV Like us on ...

By: hybiztv

Excerpt from:

David International Aerospace & Defence Industries at Defence & Aerosupply India-Hybiz.tv - Video

Textron AirLand picks Honeywell Aerospace engines for Scorpion

Posted on by

PHOENIX, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Joint venture company Textron AirLand LLC has chosen Honeywell Aerospace to supply engines for its production Scorpion aircraft.

Scorpion is a new light attack and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance jet that first took flight in December of last year.

Honeywell's TFE731-40AR-3S engine powers the prototype and will now power production Scorpions.

"Selection of Honeywell's TFE731-40 engine for the Scorpion continues the strong partnership we've had with Textron for over two decades," said Mike Madsen, president, Defense and Space, Honeywell Aerospace. "Honeywell's ability to provide a proven, reliable and high-performance engine for this platform helped Textron AirLand bring this innovative aircraft to market in a shorter timeframe and cost-effective manner."

Honeywell, in announcing the contract, said the TFE731-40 engine provides lower operator expenses due to its longer inspection intervals, low parts count and low thrust specific fuel consumption.

The value of the contract and its terms were not disclosed.

Textron AirLand, LLC is a joint venture between Textron Inc. and AirLand Enterprises LLC.

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Go here to see the original:

Textron AirLand picks Honeywell Aerospace engines for Scorpion

Patel over Nehru is like Gadkari over Modi

Posted on by

There is some irony, and a lot of hypocrisy, when a person like Modi chooses to disdain Nehrus popularity. Does this man, who is considered Indias most popular leader as of today, believe that popularity is of little concern when it comes to choosing leaders, asks Amberish K Diwanji.

It is fashionable of late to abuse and accuse Jawaharlal Nehru for everything that ails India, real or imaginary. Thus, right-wing nationalists blame him for Indias 1962 humiliation at the hands of China, taking Kashmir to the United Nations and not pushing Pakistan out, appeasement of Muslims, curbing the private sector (and thereby Indias industrial growth), and so forth.

The left wing blames him for Indias still abysmal human development indices, such as the lack of universal healthcare and primary education, incomplete land reforms, inability to eliminate poverty, and so forth.

But of all the criticism, none is more odious than the latest Nehru versus VallabhbhaiPatel comparisons, which has taken on a life of its own ever since Narendra Modi became prime minister. To believe that if and only if Patel had become prime minister, would India have become a land of milk and honey isnt just pure naivety but downright stupidity.

The first criticism that Mahatma Gandhi erred in anointing Nehru as his heir over Patel misses the most crucial point of Nehrus immense popularity. Nehru had that X factor called charisma. He was popular and ages to come will wonder why. Here was a man who preferred to speak in English, whose breakfast comprised eggs and bacon (while others in jail with him like Gandhi had Indian food); he was an aristocrat who despised all that was wrong with India (excessive religion, superstitions, traditions, feudalism, communalism), and did not hesitate to say it. So why did the people love him so much?

Actually, that very same question should be asked of Gandhi. As some historians have remarked, when civilised Europe turned towards murderous dictators (Franco, Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler), the awesome genius of India saw millions turn towards a certain Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose fads and contradictions were enough to exasperate the calmest individual.

Why do some men emerge as leaders is a question that no historian or philosopher has been able to answer. But what is clear is that the best leaders are those who capture the imagination of their people at a given time. Gandhi did that. As did Nehru.

Perhaps it was Nehrus very disdain for religion, his agnosticism (rather than atheism), his dream that India was too great a nation to play a middling role in the world that made so many religious Indians hail him as their greatest leader after the Mahatma. Nehru was Indias second most popular leader from the 1930s, and post-Gandhis assassination, the most popular leader. That cannot be denied.

It was the genius of India, the brilliance of our grandfathers, that they chose Gandhi and Nehru.

So when Gandhi anointed Nehru as his political heir, he was merely blessing the person chosen by the people of India. Even Sardar Patel acknowledged this when, at a huge public rally, he once grudgingly remarked that the people have come to hear Nehru!

See the rest here:
Patel over Nehru is like Gadkari over Modi

SDN and Cloud Connectivity in Distributed Data Environments

Posted on by

It seems that the farther along we get toward the software defined network, and by extension the software defined data center, the more we confront the issue of connectivity.

This is somewhat surprising, because it has been a steady assumption in IT circles that once SDN moves network architectures to the virtual layer, issues like connectivity will take care of themselves. With no hardware to worry about, applications will be able to forge their own pathways to and through cyberspace and the cloud, often more efficiently than their human overseers ever could.

But it turns out things aren't quite so simple, at least when it comes to building the functionality that supports such dynamic networking. As I pointed out a few weeks ago, connectivity from the data center to the cloud will be a crucial component of the software defined data center, but this is by no means the only way in which connectivity will be implemented. Even a dedicated, high-speed link to a cloud provider is only one facet of what is likely to become a broadly distributed data environment.

In all likelihood, the data environment of the future will be even more distributed than it is now, covering multiple sites either in the cloud or within a wide-area virtual private network. If that is the case, organizations will need some fairly sophisticated software to keep the bits flowing smoothly. Fortunately, a number of start-ups are already addressing this issue, including CPLAN Networks, which recently released the Dynamic Virtual Networks Interconnect (DVNi), which utilizes advanced traffic engineering software to build Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPNs over MPLS networks. The system is OpenStack-compatible and employs label-switch traffic optimization and modeling, as well as automatic discovery and acquisition for all major switch platforms, enabling network environments to be established quickly and easily. It also supports VRFs, MP-BGP, PE-CE and other transactional interfaces to ensure end-to-end service configuration integrity.

In order to keep tabs on all this distributed data, network managers will have to shift their focus from underlying infrastructure to the application programming interface (API), according to MTM Technologies Bill Kleyman. At the moment, there seem to be four major connection points between clouds and data center infrastructure that require API compatibility: SaaS, PaaS, IaaS and cross-platform services. But the number of APIs that service these points is growing, with CloudStack and OpenStack contending with solutions from Google, Nimbus, VMware and others. And both Amazon and Eucalyptus are touting the concept of cloud agnosticism in their latest releases through tools like auto-scaling and elastic load balancing.

Indeed, if enterprise networks are to keep up with the dynamism of SDN and the cloud, some long-standing approaches to management and design need to be rethought, says Plexxis Mike Bushong. One of the most fundamental is the Shortest Path First algorithm that has guided the industry for more than 50 years. In the future, pathing decisions will need to be based more on resource load, not the number of interconnects between points. By pushing load onto resources that have the greatest amount of available capacity using techniques like Equal Cost Multi Pathing (ECMP), data wont necessarily follow the shortest route through the network, but it should be the least congested.

The point of all this is that connectivity in the software-defined age will not be based solely on wires or bandwidth or throughput. These will still be important, but full connectivity will also have to accommodate things like traffic management, data and application interfacing, policy management and governance.

As I mentioned above, building connectivity within and between software-based architectures is the hard part. Once the foundations for advanced connectivity are in place, however, the enterprise should find that maintaining a robust networking environment in software is a lot less time-consuming than in hardware.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Arthur Cole covers networking and the data center for IT Business Edge. He has served as editor of numerous publications covering everything from audio/video production and distribution, multimedia and the Internet to video gaming.

See more here:
SDN and Cloud Connectivity in Distributed Data Environments

NATO Confirms Russian Army Buildup in East Ukraine: Russia accused of sending tanks across border – Video

Posted on by


NATO Confirms Russian Army Buildup in East Ukraine: Russia accused of sending tanks across border
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has said it is has been nformed about recent reports from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and ...

By: UKRAINE TODAY

Go here to read the rest:

NATO Confirms Russian Army Buildup in East Ukraine: Russia accused of sending tanks across border - Video