Monthly Archives: March 2017

Progress Buys DataRPM for $30M to Build Cognitive Business … – Xconomy

Posted: March 31, 2017 at 7:00 am

Progress Software, a 36-year-old software company, is pushing into machine learning and connected device technologies with its $30 million acquisition of DataRPM, a privately held firm based in Redwood City, CA.

The deal is the first acquisition made by new Progress CEO Yogesh Gupta, who took the helm in October.

Bedford, MA-based Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS) offers a variety of software products and services designed to simplify the development, deployment, and management of business applications.

One of Progresss strengths has been software that connects and integrates data from various programs, Gupta told Xconomy in an interview last fall. But the emergence of the Internet of Things is bringing an explosion of data from a variety of new sources.

To me, thats sort of an interesting thing for us to take a look at and say, Hey, how do you deal with the new data sources needed to build the business applications of tomorrow? Gupta (pictured above) said in November. The amount of data increases so much that human beings cant keep up with it. The only way to deal with it is to have machines deal with it through machine learning and data analytics technologies, he said.

Thats where DataRPM comes in. The company provides machine learning tools that aim to predict when industrial machines will fail, which can help businesses save money. DataRPMs customers include Jaguar, Samsung, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, according to a Progress press release.

Under Gupta, Progress is now positioning itself as a provider of technologies for building cognitive-first business applications.

Our customers and partners already use many of the key product capabilities from Progress necessary for this approachfront-end application development tooling, mobility, back-end application services, and data connectivity, Gupta said in a prepared statement. With the acquisition of DataRPM, we now have leading predictive analytics capabilities to round out our cognitive apps platform.

The deal includes $28.3 million in cash, and DataRPMs founders will receive $1.7 million worth of restricted Progress stock, the company said.

DataRPM was founded in 2012 and had raised at least $6 million from investors, according to SEC filings.

Jeff Engel is a senior editor at Xconomy. Email: jengel@xconomy.com

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GOP revival of healthcare repeal makes little progress – The Hill

Posted: at 7:00 am

House Republicans insist they arent leaving for dead their effort to repeal ObamaCare.

But days after failing to move the American Health Care Act forward, there are no discernible signs of progress in bridging the differences within the Republican conference that led to an embarrassing retreat last week.

Some say they want to begin working with Democrats to reform the healthcare law instead of trying to find votes from conservatives who want to see a repeal of ObamaCares insurer regulations and requirements.

I want to get this right. I am all for negotiating with people who want to get to a solution that can get signed into law, but engaging in a partisan-only exercise, I think we just demonstrated, is not going to work to make this reform sustainable and durable, Rep. Charlie Dent (Pa.), a co-chairman of the centrist Tuesday Group, told CNN Wednesday.

Rep. Mark AmodeiMark AmodeiGOP revival of healthcare repeal makes little progress Sharron Angle to challenge GOP rep in Nevada House GOP group calls for action on climate change MORE (R-Nev.), another centrist no vote on last weeks bill, said he does not oppose revisiting repeal of former President Obamas healthcare law, but not if its just kind of the same thing warmed up.

Just, hey, weve all had a come-to-Jesus thing, and were going to try it again? he said. There needs to be some substantive change.

Amodei says he wants a real hearing process with witnesses, which was missing from the speedy path of the bill from introduction to the planned vote last week.

Conservatives, however, are showing little interest in moving toward the Tuesday Group.

Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), a Freedom Caucus member, said he is happy to revisit healthcare but only if the same changes demanded by conservatives last week are added to the bill.

The Freedom Caucus wants repeal of ObamaCare insurance regulations that they say drive up premiums. But moderates are wary of repealing those protections, and it is in doubt whether they even could be repealed under Senate rules.

Those regulations include ObamaCares essential health benefits, which require insurance plans to cover services like mental health and prescription drugs, and community rating, which prevents insurers from charging sick people higher rates.

We all want to get to yes. Once we get a package that reduces prices and premiums, thats it, Brat said. Theres no mystery to what weve got to get done. The current bill has prices going up, and weve got to get prices to go down, and its that simple.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said Wednesday there are no plans for a full-scale meeting between his conservative caucus and the centrist Tuesday Group.

Meadows said he has been having one-on-one conversations with lawmakers, including Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), another co-chairman of the Tuesday Group.

He insisted it is too early to tell if there has been any progress.

To suggest that the healthcare debate is over is premature, he said Wednesday.

Yet the lack of meetings between the two groups that would need to bridge the GOPs divide and the different messages from its various members suggests little hope of progress.

The White House also does not appear overly interested in returning to the healthcare fight.

While Meadows said he has spoken to White House officials, he said its more a House-driven initiative than a White House-driven initiative.

Theyve taken the position that this is ... theyve finished their negotiations; its incumbent upon us, he said.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a longtime lawmaker close to leadership, suggested that if Republicans really have a chance at a quick turnaround on ObamaCare repeal, the Easter recess will be shortened. He said that is a real possibility.

To me, the tell-tale sign will be if either we see something next week or all the sudden they reduce the Easter break, which I think is a real possibility because I think people want to get something done if its at all possible, he said.

Aside from Coles comments, however, there was little talk of reducing or eliminating the Easter recess.

Members of both wings of the party said there is a widespread reluctance on the part of lawmakers to give up on Republican promises to repeal ObamaCare that have existed since the dawn of the law itself. But some also acknowledged the difficulty in getting anything done.

Rep. Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.), a moderate who opposed last weeks bill, said he does not want to give up on the healthcare issue.

We cant just ignore the fact that our healthcare system needs to be repaired and we made a promise to the American people wed repair it, he said. I was just a believer that the proposal last week wasnt the solution.

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Steady progress – Youngstown Vindicator

Posted: at 7:00 am

Published: Thu, March 30, 2017 @ 12:05 a.m.

Pelini pleased with growth on both sides

By Charles Grove

cgrove@vindy.com

youngstown

There are three practices left before Youngstown States football team showcases itself at their Spring Game on April 7. Wednesday, head coach Bo Pelini said he was pleased with how both sides of the ball have progressed.

The offense and defense have had their moments during drills. A shovel pass from quarterback Hunter Wells to running back Tevin McCaster fooled linebacker Lee Wright while defensive end Fazson Chapman feasted on an offensive line that still hasnt quite found their positions.

Neverthess, each side is pretty deep in their playbooks now.

Most of our stuff is in, offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery said. Theres always some things we want to look at these last three or four days but the biggest thing is consistency.

If consistency is priority one, filling out the depth chart is priority two.

We also need to find our depth. Were not really deep at a few positions, Montgomery said. We still need to find out who our top three or four running backs are. We need to find that next receiver to step in and then the offensive line.

One of those consistent positions on the field has been tight end. Kevin Rader, last seasons hero at Eastern Washington, said the playbook has been opening up for tight ends.

A couple of years ago, tight ends didnt get many catches around here and its really changed, Rader said. I feel like weve really opened the playbook for the tight ends and weve put a little more on top of the plays that we have in there that will disguise things better. Weve also added some deeper passes and I think thats helped.

If the tight ends get the ball, more the receivers will be more open too.

Defensively, Chapman took advantage of inexperience on the offensive line and made life difficult much of the afternoon by taking up residency in the backfield. Chapman said its the defenses job to bring that fun and intensity to practice.

Very intense today, Chapman said. The offense won the last two days so we gave it to them today, and now weve got to respond to them and show the coaches were leaders out there.

Coach Bo has very high expectations of the defense with all the installs out there. Everyone just has to do their job.

While quarterback turned wide receiver Ricky Davis is still competing for a job catching instead of throwing, Wells has shown a new-found ability to tuck the ball away. He torched the defense on a few occasions on Wednesdays practice with his legs.

Theres been some instances where they bring a blitz and I see a crease and just take off for an easy play, Wells said. Our defense isnt used to me taking off so they dont have anyone spying me.

Montgomery said Wells legs wont be a large part of the offense, but its been good for wells to become more comfortable with running.

He knows hes just got to play within the system, Montgomery said. Not that were going to ask him to run the ball a lot but if something is there he can pull the ball down and be effective. The biggest thing is getting confidence and knowing he can do it.

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WATCH LIVE: Zookeepers say April the giraffe continues to progress – fox6now.com

Posted: at 7:00 am

CLICK HERE to WATCH Animal Adventure Parks Giraffe Cam LIVE!

NEW YORK April the giraffe isSTILL PREGNANT!Zookeepers atAnimal Adventure Park said Thursday, March 30th that they spent the evening watching April and that she continues to progress.

Zoo officials said Thursday that mammary development stays remains as filled udders, and will likely not get much larger. Discharge continues to be present. Appetite is so-so this morning.

Below are some things to know about April, courtesy Animal Adventure Park:

April is 15. This will be her fourth calf. April has never lost a calf nor had a stillborn. Oliver, Aprils partner is five. This will be his first calf.

The giraffes have some of the biggest pens in the nation (square foot per animal). Animal Adventure Park takes pride in their indoor housing and the level of enrichment and care to keep the giraffes happy and healthy.

The calf will weigh around 150 pounds and will be about 6 feet tall at birth. The front hooves will come out first followed by the snout.

Mom will naturally raise the calf. Weaning could take between 6-10 months, maybe longer. Animal Adventure Park officials will not rush this process. It is just a documented range of captive weaning.

Once the calf is born, there will be a contest to name it.

The keepers will go in with April occasionally to clean her pen and give her treats (but not Oliver). He is a bull and a bull is a bull is a bull, officials said.

Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months.

Upon naturally weaning, the calf will move on to another facility to start a breeding program there. Animal Adventure Park officials cannot retain offspring, as it would lead to incestuous mating and undermine the genetics of the program and species.

Those things on their heads are called ossicones.

Bulls (male giraffes) only really care about two things fighting and the unmentionable. Oliver may share space with April, but for short periods. Bulls take no part in rearing young.

The giraffes eat hay and a specialized giraffe diet, but love romaine lettuce and carrot treats.

Aprils water source, enrichment, and solo hay feeder are out of sight of the camera view.

This will be Animal Adventure Parks first giraffe calf.

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India, Russia make progress toward Ka-226T helicopter production – DefenseNews.com

Posted: at 7:00 am

NEW DELHIIndia and Russia have drawn the road mapfor the joint production of Kamov Ka-226T light utility helicopters in the South Asian country, kick-startingthe $1 billion program.

"With the road mapnow in place, the production of Kamov 226T helicopters has formally taken off," said a top executive of the state enterprise Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which was the production agency nominated by the two nations.

Gopal Sutar, the chief of media communications at HAL, said: "The helicopters are to be produced through a joint venture company as per the intergovernment agreement between the two countries in October 2016, and theroad mapfor the acquisition is finalized."

The joint production of the helicopters in India now awaits formal approval by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which will lead to the new production entityIndo-Russian Helicopters Private Limited.

Russian government-owned Rostec Corp. will own a 49.5 percent stake in the new entity, and India's HAL will own the remaining 50.5 percent. Thereafter, the Indian Ministry of Defence will issue a single-vendor tender to Indo-Russian Helicopters Private Limited, which will then submit its technical and commercial proposalwithin six months.

While some analysts say the price of the helicopter remains an concern, the top HAL executive said the issue will be sorted out in the technical and commercial proposal.

Bharat Kumar, a defense analyst and retired Indian Air Force air marshal, said the intergovernmental agreement would have already provided a time frame for the delivery of 40 helicopters by Russia and the supply of kits, subassemblies and so on."I am more than sure that the agreement would also have indicated the price and other financial details, including share holdings in the joint venture," he added.

The manufacturing will take place at a new complex in Tumkur near HAL's Bangalore helicopter complex.

"Apart from production, the plan also includes setting up repair and maintenance facilities to provide faster support to the armed forces," the HAL executive said.

However, the overall composition of the Ka-226T helicopter in regard to components and systems remains a concern, according toBaldev Singh Pawar, aretired Indian Armylieutenant general and former director general of Army aviation.

Pawar said the engine and some "key systems and avionics have been sourced by the Russian company from the global market," adding that Russia continues to be under U.S. sanctions.

An Indian MoD official insisted "all the obstacles will be cleared," but did not provide details

India needs a light utility helicopter to replace its aging Cheetah and Chetak helicopters produced under license from France.

"The Cheetah and Chetak continue to be reliable and heavily used helicopters despite their age. The imperative to procure a replacement has as much to do with the growing requirement for light helicopters as creeping obsolescence of the existing light helicopter fleet," offeredVijainder K Thakur, a defense analyst and retired Indian Air Force squadronleader.

Although the Ka-226T program is making progress, the MoD has not quashed its requests for information that it floated separately in 2014 for the joint development of light utility helicopters for the Indian Navy and Air Force; and in this India may keep its options open for the procurement of light utility helos from other sources.

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Wisconsin panel sees progress, problems at Lincoln Hills youth prison – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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The sweeping criminal probe is examining allegations of prisoner abuse, child neglect, sexual assault, intimidation of witnesses and victims, strangulation and tampering with public records.

Lincoln Hills School for Boys in Irma has been the subject of a federal investigation for more than two years.(Photo: Dan Young / Daily Herald Media)

MADISON - After doing a private tour of the state's troubled youth prison, a panel of lawmakers said Thursday they see both progress and lingering problems there.

The Assembly Committee on Correctionschairman, Rep. Michael Schraa (R-Oshkosh),denied a request from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to have a reporter accompany the visit after state attorneys said the law allowed that. In a statehouse meeting Thursday, Schraa recapped the visit, sayingthat lawmakers were able to get wide access to the facility and at times were able to talk to staff without having state Department ofCorrections officials hovering nearby.

"I really felt that we were getting the true story from these individuals becausewe were one on one with them," Schraa told lawmakers on the panel. "I was extremely and pleasantly surprised by what I saw up there."

The Journal Sentinel has reported extensively on problems at Lincoln Hills School for Boys, which has been under criminal investigation formore than two years for allegations of inmate abuse.

RELATED:Crisis at Lincoln Hills juvenile prison years in making RELATED:Lawsuit alleges horrific conditions at Lincoln Hills

The tour of the prisonabout 30 miles north of Wausauis a sign that Republicans who control the Legislature are becoming more interested in digging into theproblems there.

Schraa detailed the extensive questions that he put to prison staff and inmates about the conditions there. He asked about the schedules of the employees, the presence ofyouth gangs operating among the inmates, the mealsand what it felt like to wear cuff belts that inmates sometimes have onwhile being moved.

Schraa said he was willing to work with Democrats on recommendations for improving the prison, such as greater training for staff, and he also told Democrats that he was also willing to take unannounced visits to the prison with them in the future.

Both Schraa andRep. EvanGoyke (D-Milwaukee) described a daytime conversation with a staff member who had worked through the night and who cried when describing the way staff often had to work forced overtime in16-hour shifts to fill vacant posts.

Schraa said he believed staff morale was largely good. But Goyke said their conversation showed that more needed to be done, particularly on the forced overtime.

"When we put people in that situation, the tensions flare, it would happen to anyone," Goyke said.

Schraa and Corrections spokesman Tristan Cook separately pointed out positive changes at the prison, including the use of body cameras, pay raises for the staff, new rules for using pepper spray and improved procedures for inmates who want to report an allegation of abuse.

"We are continuing to move forward on additional changes to minimize the use of (pepper spray), confinement, and restraints while maintaining safety and security for youth and staff," Cook said in an email. "DOC is also making additional changes to further enrich opportunities for youth to access quality education, treatment, and programming that will give them tools to be successful in the community."

RELATED:Wisconsin gives cash to Lincoln Hills guards fired for excessive force RELATED:Teen who received $300,000 settlement in Lincoln Hills abuse case charged with new offenses

Lincoln Hillshas often been criticized for being a four-hour drive from offenders' homes in urban areas like Milwaukee, but Schraa said he saw some benefit to the setting.

"Being in a rural setting I feel like you get an individual out of the environment where they broke the law," Schraa said.

Rep. David Bowen (D-Milwaukee) said he disagreed. He noted that the northern Wisconsin facility has just one African-American staff member, even though the majority of its inmates are minorities. He and Goyke have argued for keeping offenders closer to southeastern Wisconsin in smaller facilities, an approach modeled after the one used by Missouri.

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Brexit: EU says no to free-trade talks until ‘progress’ on final terms – The Guardian

Posted: at 7:00 am

The draft circulated by Donald Tusk said Britain would need to accept EU rules during a transition period after Brexit Photograph: Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters

EU leaders have said there will be no talks on Britains future relationship with the bloc until the UK government makes enough progress on the Brexit divorce including settling its bills and citizens rights.

Donald Tusk, the European council president, said: Once, and only once we have achieved sufficient progress on the withdrawal, can we discuss the framework for our future relationship. Starting parallel talks will not happen.

Tusk said the EU was united behind this principle and wanted to see progress on settling the status of EU nationals and Britains share of EU liabilities.

Making clear that it is the EU27 who will define sufficient progress, draft negotiating guidelines published as Tusk spoke, also say the UK must accept EU rules, including budget contributions and the judicial oversight of the European court of justice in a transition period likely to follow departure in 2019 and before a free-trade pact can be finalised.

The European council will monitor progress closely and determine when sufficient progress has been achieved to allow negotiations to proceed to the next phase, the draft says.

If Britain remains a part of the EU single market for a time after Brexit, it would also have to respect all four freedoms, which would mean accepting free immigration from the continent, it says. There can be no cherrypicking nor any separate negotiations between individual states and the UK.

Tusk rejected the description Brexit bill and said it was only fair that the UK paid what successive governments had signed up to. It is only fair towards all those people, communities, scientists, farmers and so on to whom we, all the 28, promised and owe this money.

The talks will be difficult, complex and sometimes confrontational, Tusk added. But he stressed the EU will not pursue a punitive approach Brexit itself is already punitive enough.

Speaking alongside him, Joseph Muscat, the prime minister of Malta, said the negotiations would be tough, but it will not be a war and the two sides needed to remain friends.

On the future trade deal, the draft also makes clear the blocs objective will be to preserve the integrity of the single market. This excludes participation based on a sector-by-sector approach. A non-member of the union cannot have the same rights and enjoy the same benefits as a member, the draft says.

Theresa May and Brexit ministers have said Britain aims to leave the single market and most of the European customs union in favour of agreeing a bespoke free-trade deal for individual industrial sectors, such as the automotive and pharmaceuticals industries.

Tusks message about an orderly withdrawal was repeated in a nine-page negotiating principles document sent to national capitals on Friday morning. A copy of the guidelines makes clear that the EU will oppose any attempts by the British government to start bilateral talks. There will be no separate negotiations between individual member states and the United Kingdom, it states.

One senior diplomat warned that any attempt to divide and rule was likely to backfire on the British. It is not in the UKs interest to have the 27 divided because then there might be no deal at all.

A No 10 spokesman said: These are draft guidelines and we look forward to beginning negotiations once they have been formally agreed by the 27 member states.

It is clear both sides wish to approach these talks constructively, and as the prime minister said this week, wish to ensure a deep and special partnership between the UK and the European Union.

Owen Smith, the former Labour leadership candidate, said Tusks statement already shows how Mays lofty rhetoric is colliding with hard reality.

The prime ministers plan for Britain is a pipedream, he said. The European councils draft guidelines underline the difficulty the government will have in keeping its Brexit promises. The prime minister promised the exact same benefits on trade, but this has been explicitly ruled out today.

Ministers and leave campaigners have presented Brexit as a cost-free option. It is not. There will be a cost to Brexit, we just do not know how deep it will be. It is time for the government to start levelling with the British people.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, said the guidelines show the strength of the EU in these negotiations, and the carelessness of the UK government in isolating themselves from our European allies.

The terms are clear: no sector by sector deals, no bilateral negotiations and no new trade deal until the withdrawal terms are agreed. This leaves no doubt that Davis comments about special arrangements for the car industry or financial sector are worthless.

It is still possible for the British people to stop a hard Brexit and keep us in the single market. And if they want, it is still possible for the British people to choose to remain in the EU.

Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, said: We really are moving forward now, and theres a lot of goodwill, a lot of willingness to achieve what the prime minister has said she wants to achieve, which is an orderly transition and then a deep and special partnership between a strong EU and a strong UK.

The guidelines states the UK will remain subject to EU institutions during any transitional period but hint at a face-saving solution for May, who has vowed the UK will leave the jurisdiction of the European court of justice, an institution that has long attracted the ire of Tory backbenchers.

Britains withdrawal agreement should be governed by appropriate dispute settlement mechanisms bearing in mind the role of the European court of justice the draft states. The EU negotiating team, led by Michel Barnier, are looking at alternatives to the ECJ to govern any future trade deal, but are clear the UK will not escape the oversight of an independent judicial body.

The draft guidelines may well be revised over the next month. Tusk will chair a summit of the EUs 27 prime ministers and presidents at the end of April to finalise the blocs negotiating position before talks with the UK begin.

When formal talks get underway - most likely in late May or early June - the EU plans to focus on three areas: the UKs bills, EU citizens rights and the Irish border. In the draft text on what will be the UKs only land border with the EU, the EU call for flexible and imaginative solutions... with the aim of avoiding a hard border

As the Guardian reported, Barnier hopes the main outlines of an agreement on these three areas will be clear by autumn, enabling the UK and the EU to reach a broad agreement at an EU summit in December. He has pencilled in January 2018 as the point where he hopes to start talks with the British on a future relationship.

But there are lingering fears the talks could collapse. The EU wants an agreement, the draft text says, but it will prepare itself to be able to handle the situation also if the negotiations were to fail.

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FDA Unveils Regulatory Science Progress Report – Regulatory Focus

Posted: at 7:00 am

Posted 30 March 2017 By Zachary Brennan

The report, covering fiscal years 2015 and 2016, notes significant US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) progress in refining non-clinical and clinical tools to better evaluate medical products, advancing manufacturing and quality, and enhancing internal IT tools to support the scientific review of regulatory applications.

In terms of the non-clinical predictive models, the report notes that FDA researchers developed a wide variety of computational tools that now support nonclinical evaluation of medical products.

These tools include sophisticated models to predict the carcinogenic effects of certain drug ingredients based on their structural attributes, mathematical representations of the human body (computational phantoms) that can be used to predict the effects of medical devices, such as exposure to radiation, and mechanistically informed pharmacokinetic models to help predict drug exposures in populations where clinical data are difficult to obtain, the report says.

FDA also has developed in vitro methods and tools to better understand the properties of drugs and biologics, including vaccines, and new tools to support the evaluation and development of medical imaging technologies.

Genetic and transplantation approaches were also used to create animal models that seek to more closely predict human response to medical products, and novel physical methods and procedures were developed to support the evaluation of generic drug bioequivalence.

To better support the clinical evaluation of medical products, FDA is engaged in efforts to advance the development and evaluation of biomarkers to better predict long-term treatment outcomes or to assign certain patients to treatments more likely to succeed.

As an example, FDA notes that its statisticians have helped design trials of antibiotics that could evaluate factors related to the development of resistant organisms.

In addition, the agency has qualified new biomarkers to guide treatment decisions and to predict disease progression.

A long-term research effort to improve prediction of cardiovascular risks contributed to the recommendation by the International Conference on Harmonisation that the costly and resource-intensive thorough QT clinical study (required to evaluate most drug candidates) could be replaced with electrocardiogram-based measurements performed during early-phase clinical studies, the report notes.

It also mentions FDAs efforts around the use of real-world evidence, which staffers have expressed qualms with in the past.

And through initiatives such as the Patient-Focused Drug Development Initiative, the Patient Engagement Advisory Committee for medical devices and the Patient Preference Initiative, FDA is further incorporating the patient viewpoint into medical product development and evaluation.

FDA medical product centers also address scientific issues related to new technologies critical for product manufacturing to improve the reliability of the drug supply, the characterization of complex products, quality standards, post-approval monitoring of product quality and understanding the interactions of regulated products with biological systems.

We have developed in-house laboratory and computational capability for studying continuous manufacturing with an advanced process control system, the report adds. We collaborated with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to leverage continuous manufacturing to minimize domestic vulnerability to chemical, biologic, and radiologic threats, and we spearheaded creation of a 3-D printing facility to understand factors contributing to the quality and performance of implantable medical devices, drugs, and combination products made with this new technology.

In addition, FDA has developed automated approaches for predicting critical properties of human stem cell preparations, such as their ability to contribute to bone growth.

The agency has implemented its JumpStart service, which allows reviewers to organize, manage and verify the quality of the clinical data in product applications, and initiated Kickstart, a service that delivers individual training and user-driven support and analysis for non-clinical data.

To make possible the secure deposition, retrieval, and analysis of the vast next generation sequencing data that will support personalized medicine, we continued to enhance our high performance scientific computing environments. We extended our laboratory capabilities and facilities for mission-critical areas, including advanced manufacturing, analytical methodology, and emerging infectious diseases, the report says.

FY 2015-2016: Regulatory Science Progress Report

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‘Just who do you think you are? Holloway asks in annual Maston Lectures – Baptist Standard

Posted: at 6:59 am

March 30, 2017 By Marv Knox / Editor

ABILENEJust who do you think you are? is a more important question than people often realize, theologian Jeph Holloway insisted during the annual T.B. Maston Lectures at Hardin-Simmons Universitys Logsdon Seminary.

Holloway, professor of theology, philosophy and Christian ethics at East Texas Baptist University, delivered the lectures named for the late Maston, a leading Baptist ethicist who taught generations of pastors and missionaries to apply the Christian faith to everyday living.

How people answer who they think they arethe core of human identityis increasingly vital, Holloway said. Thats because escalating advances in technology tempt some people to think in terms of posthuman existence, he explained.

What if technology set its sights on erasing all vestiges of human limitation, even to the point of slaying death itself? he asked. Perhaps it sounds too sci-fi to entertain the notion that we will through our advancing technologies discover the holy grail of eternal life , but that is precisely the agenda of what goes by the name posthumanism.

Young Maston Scholars from across Texas gathered at Hardin-Simmons University for Logsdon Seminarys annual T.B. Maston Lectures. The scholars are (top row, from left) Nathan Rogers, East Texas Baptist University; Adam Jones, Howard Payne University; Jeffrey Vera, Wayland Baptist University; Casey Easterwood, Wayland Baptist University; Rafael Cardoza, East Texas Baptist University; Evan Horne, Houston Baptist University; Andrew Wittmeier, Houston Baptist University; (middle row) Andrew Tague, Dallas Baptist University; Kyle Backhus, Dallas Baptist University; Hogan Herritage, Baylor University; Leah Reed, Baylor University; Masyn Evans, Hardin-Simmons University; (front row) Katie Earles, Hardin-Simmons University; Caitlin Alexander, Howard Payne University; Maddie Rarick, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor; and Laura Ellis, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Not pictured: Jhon Mora, Baptist University of the Amricas, and Edith Franco Baptist University of the Amricas. (HSU photo by Kimber Beam)In the first of two lectures, Holloway traced the technological journey toward posthumanism.

Ultimate prize

Posthumanists are on a quest for limitless intellectual power, indefinite youth and vitality, and absolute control over emotions and consciousness, he said. Those goals are theoretically attainable through increasingly sophisticated and powerful bio- and computer technologies.

The ultimate prize is the transformation of humans from our present frail, risky and mortal condition into something beyond the limitation of death, he noted.

Posthumanists who take their philosophy to its logical conclusioncalled Humanity-plus or H+see death as the primary enemy and offer several proposals to defeat death, he said.

Biological immortality seeks to protect the human body by editing genes to enable people to live longer and healthier. However, even genetically engineered bodies can fall to hazards and wounds and injuries.

Cybernetic immortality would replace defective or damaged flesh and blood with artificial components, such as synthetic blood vessels, skin and body parts. Tiny robots, nanobots, would be injected to repair or replace diseased organs. But parts can wear out, and accidents or malicious acts can interfere.

The ultimate proposal, then, is virtual immortality, in which the essential self of the mind is up-loaded into an environment made suitable through developments in artificial intelligence, Holloway said.

Common enchantment

Evaluating the benefits and perils of technology is difficult for Christians because the religion of technology has become our common enchantment, and Christians join others in society in expecting ultimate salvation through technology, he said, citing historian David Noble.

Christian critique of the H+ agenda will have to admit to our own eager and sometimes uncritical reliance on technology, and evaluation of posthumanism technologies might expose our own idolatry, he admitted.

In his follow-up lecture, Holloway acknowledged, We do need to ask, though, if our awe and wonder at innovative technologies might breed an allegiance and loyalty, a set of expectations and hopes that none of our (technological) devices deserve.

The Apostle Pauls letter to the Ephesians offers several resources for resistance to the claims and assumptions of the H+ agenda, he suggested.

First, posthumanism assumes there is no fixed or given human nature, but only the malleable and subject, to be defined or redefined as inclination directs or technology permits, he said.

Genuine transformation

While Christian faith shares with posthumanism the insistence that the current state of the human condition is less than ideal, Ephesians clearly assumes the necessity of and the possibility for genuine transformation, he said.

That transformation does not generate from human imagination or technical possibility, but rather comes about through a renewal of your mind by the Holy Spirit, he noted.

Second, H+ assumes no difference between human and non-human, blurring any lines of distinction between human existence and any technological substrate into which we might transfer ourselvesa receiver for an up-loadable mind, Holloway observed.

In Ephesians, Pauls account of Gods ultimate purpose places humanity with a plan for all things to be united in Christ, he said. But Paul also alludes to Psalm 8, which reflects on the role God has given to humans as agents of divine rule.

Pauls gospel offers the fulfillment of humanitys purpose for the sake of creation, neither the abolition of man nor the disparagement of creation, he said.

Also, posthumanism assumes a loss of telos or human purpose and assertion of the sovereignty of the individual will. In Ephesians, however, Paul presents a clarified emphasis, Holloway said.

Regarding purpose, it is hard to go through any paragraph in Ephesians without noting something of what God intends for those who are called to walk worthy of the calling, he contended. He cited seven examples as a partial list that illustrates Paul insists our lives are to be embraced within a will other than our own and a purpose larger than personal inclination.

Basic problem

Focusing on sovereign will, Holloway noted, We need to understand that what H+ offers as the solution to the human condition, an absolute autonomy that sheds the limits of creaturely existence, Paul describes as its basic problem.

Ephesians also offers a strong alternative to posthumanism because Christianitys tenor and tone is thanksgiving, he said.

This prison letter written by an ambassador in chains overflows with the language of praise, blessing and thanksgiving for the riches of Gods mercy, he noted. This stands in fundamental contrast to the dystopic tone of Humanity +.

While the embodied Paul in prison is able to see a wider reality beyond that which appears to hold over us the power of death, posthumanism can only see the prison of our bodies and is held captive by its fear of death.

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'Just who do you think you are? Holloway asks in annual Maston Lectures - Baptist Standard

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5 Things You Got Wrong About Modern Witchcraft And Those Who … – PopWrapped Entertainment Group (blog)

Posted: at 6:55 am

We're onthe home stretch to the endof 2016, and there are still people out there who have countless misconceptions about witchcraft and what it does, or doesn't, include.

Of course, we also live in a country where people need directions printed on the back of a shampoo bottle on how to wash their hair, with HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED written in big letters across the back. Do people have a shampoo drinking fetish that I don't know about?

Anyway, to enlighten the masses, I've decided to put together this list -- in the spirit of Halloween -- to tell you the five things you got wrong about witchcraft. Perhaps you might see fit to change your mind?

Five Things You Got Wrong About Witchcraft

5. We Worship Satan

Whether you're a practitioner of witchcraft because you practice Celtic neopaganism, Egyptian polytheism, Italian stregheria, or Latino/Hispanic brujeria, there is one common misconception that people have of you: you worship Satan or the Devil. But, on its face, these people could not be more wrong: while some neopagan religions honor Jesus Christ as an avatar of a deity -- but not a deity himself -- Satanism and all its tenets have nothing to do with modern witchcraft. This is not to say Satanists cannot practice witchcraft, but it is to say that, amongst the neopagan community, Satan holds no truck with any of us.

4. We're All Wiccan

Wiccan has become the catch-all phrase to encompass everyone who practices the so-called "good" witchcraft, but the reality of it is many of us practitioners of the Old Religion adhere to tenets that have nothing to do with Wicca. For example, in the Egyptian polytheistic world, they adhere to the 42 Laws of Ma'at, the basis for the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments.

3. We Practice Black Magic

Again, while there are some practitioners of witchcraft who practice "black magic" (that is, magic that is meant to be harmful to others), many practitioners of witchcraft are followers of the Three-Fold Law (sometimes called the law of Karma). Many are too afraid of the repercussions that the so-called "black magic" will visit upon them, and therefore avoid doing magic that would cause harm to another.

2. We Have Absolute Dominion Over All Things

Though that would be nice (no, really, it would), the reality is, when witches perform witchcraft, they do so to have cooperation with all things both on the physical and astral planes. There is nowhere in the witchcraft tenets that allow for dominion over all things.

1. We're Possessed by Demons

A common misconception that's a hold-over from the Burning Times. While witches are capable of many things, having a Demon embody their physical being is not one of them. Sorry to disappoint you!

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5 Things You Got Wrong About Modern Witchcraft And Those Who ... - PopWrapped Entertainment Group (blog)

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