Monthly Archives: August 2022

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Children's Wisconsin is celebrating the new emergency department and trauma center that is underway at the hospital. You can see construction taking place with a lot of metal beams, but a very special metal beam was placed on Friday, Aug. 26.

This beam was signed by patients, their families and staff. It's a symbol of the need and importance of a new, modern emergency and trauma department.

That same family and staff was there when the beam was lifted in to place. To celebrate, Children's Wisconsin had construction toys and robots for kids to play with.

The new building will be called the Skywalk Building. It will have 16 more rooms than the current space and it will have features the current hospital doesn't have.

"Weve been working out of a space thats been in place since 1988 and were ready to move into a bigger brighter more accessible space that allows to serve the children and families of Wisconsin," said Amy Drendel the medical director of the emergency department.

Construction is expected to be done by late 2023. Children's Wisconsin is the leading pediatric hospital in the state.

"We serve hundreds of children every day. Yesterday we saw 200 kids in our emergency department," said Drendel.

You can spot the new beam by the tree attached to the top of it.

Originally posted here:

Children's Wisconsin beams with pride as progress is made on new emergency and trauma center - WDJT

Globally, new reported cases declined 21% in the last week, though the World Health Organization says that numbers are still steeply climbing in the Americas. Officials in San Francisco and Los Angeles are also seeing signs that the outbreak is slowing in those areas.

AP:WHO: Monkeypox Cases Drop 21%, Reversing Month-Long IncreaseThe number of monkeypox cases reported globally dropped 21% in the last week, reversing a month-long trend of rising infections and signaling that Europes outbreak may be starting to decline, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The U.N. health agency reported 5,907 new weekly cases and said two countries, Iran and Indonesia, reported their first cases. To date, more than 45,000 monkeypox cases have been reported in 98 countries since late April. (8/25)

San Francisco Chronicle:Monkeypox: SF Cautiously Optimistic Outbreak Is Slowing DownAfter about two months of rapid spread, San Francisco appears to be turning a corner on monkeypox, with early data showing the local epidemic may be slowing down. The number of new cases reported each week hit a high of 143 the week of July 24 and has tapered each week since, first to 87 cases, then 54 and then, last week, to fewer than five, according to figures provided by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. (Ho, 8/24)

Los Angeles Times:Monkeypox Cases Begin To Slow In L.A. CountyAlthough a month ago we were seeing a doubling of monkeypox cases in as few as nine days, we are now seeing a leveling in the number of new cases per week. And our doubling time has increased to 16 days, said Dr. Rita Singhal, chief medical officer for the L.A. County Department of Public Health. (Toohey, Lin II and Money, 8/25)

More on the spread of monkeypox

CIDRAP:Monkeypox Epicenter Moves From Europe To AmericasToday World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said monkeypox transmission has dropped in Europe, which was the initial epicenter of the current outbreak, but now rising cases are rising in the Americas, making the region the main hot spot. ... Following the United States, Spain, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, the Netherlands, and Peru have the most cases, accounting for 88.9% of the global case count. (Soucheray, 8/25)

Bloomberg:Monkeypox Virus Mushrooms Into Global Contagion In Just Four MonthsFrom just a handful of infections in early May, monkeypox has escalated into a global public health emergency, with more than 45,000 cases scattered across 100 or more countries, mostly in Europe and North America. (Gale and Pong, 8/26)

Columbus Dispatch:Ohio Launches Monkeypox Case DashboardThe Ohio Department of Health launched an online monkeypox dashboard on Thursday showing where cases are around the state. The map and data is at odh.ohio.gov (Wu, 8/25)

Richmond Times-Dispatch:Women, Heterosexual Men Now Eligible For Monkeypox Vaccines In VirginiaThe Virginia Department of Health announced Thursday that it would expand eligibility for the Jynneos shot to women and heterosexual men, aligning its policy with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Kolenich, 8/25)

Dr. Fauci weighs in on the monkeypox epidemic

The Hill:Fauci Compares Monkeypox Outbreak To HIV Epidemic, Advises Against Making The Same AssumptionsThe White Houses chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci advised against making the same assumptions about the current monkeypox outbreak that were made during the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Fauci and H. Clifford Lane, deputy director for clinical research and special projects at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), published a piece in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday in which they reflected on the similarities between the monkeypox outbreak and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which both men spent much of their careers studying. (Choi, 8/25)

New England Journal of Medicine:Monkeypox Past As PrologueIf one compares the situations at the start of the AIDS, Covid-19, and current global monkeypox outbreaks, certain interesting similarities and differences are apparent. (H. Clifford Lane, MD, and Anthony S. Fauci, MD, 8/25)

Also, a virus with blisters that resemble monkeypox is spreading in India

The Washington Post:What Is Tomato Flu, The New Viral Infection Spreading In India?A new, highly contagious viral infection that has been dubbed tomato flu is spreading among children in India, the countrys Health Ministry said this week. ... The infection gets its name from the eruption of red and painful blisters throughout the body that gradually enlarge to the size of a tomato, according to an article published last week in the British medical journal Lancet. The blisters resemble those seen on young monkeypox patients. The disease which appears to spread through close contact and is not considered life-threatening could be an aftereffect of chikungunya or dengue rather than a viral infection, according to the article. (Jeong, 8/25)

CNBC:Tomato Flu: Indian Health Advisory For Rare Virus Infecting ChildrenThe emergence of a rare, new viral infection afflicting young children has prompted health authorities in India to issue a health advisory after more than 100 cases were discovered in the country. (Gilchrist, 8/26)

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Monkeypox Case Trends Hint At Progress In Curbing Spread - Kaiser Health News

Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, held its annual convocation on Saturday, with over 2,000 students getting their degrees.

In his address, Vijay Kumar Saraswat, member, NITI Aayog, focused largely on science and technology and the countrys relationship with this field. He mentioned 10 problems that India, at 75, had overcome, such as hunger, defence and vaccination. As the youth of today, you all have an important role to play in the countrys progress as entrepreneurs, sportspersons, politicians or civil servants, he said.

VIT founder and chancellor G. Viswanathan spoke at length on inequality in education, and urged the State and Union governments to allocate more funds for higher education. He expressed his desire for India to compete with China and South Korea and reach their standard of education. We are spending only a fraction of our GDP on education, and this needs to change in order to provide education to the poor, he said.

Mahesh Babu, CEO, Switch Mobility, India, who was the guest of honour, gave the graduands a perspective of the industry sector. He pointed to three things that would help them create the future - passion, innovation and aspiration - and stressed the importance of practical experience and theoretical knowledge.

VIT vice-presidents Sankar Viswanathan and Sekar Viswanathan, executive director Sandhya Pentareddy and assistant vice-president Kadhambari S. Viswanathan participated in the event. The graduating students took an oath and received their degrees. The gold medallists and rank-holders from various schools were awarded their certificates on the stage.

More:

Youth have a key role in nations progress: Saraswat - The Hindu

The US and India have made some progress on a plan to cap the price of Russian oil, according to US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.

G7 leaders aim to have a price cap in place by December 5, when Europe's ban on seaborne Russian oil imports takes hold. But a price cap's effectiveness would be limited unlessIndia, which has emerged as one of Russia's largest oil customers, also participates.

"I had a very constructive conversation with my Indian counterparts about the price cap proposal, but also talked extensively with private sector participants in India as well," Adeyemo told reporters on Friday, shortly after arriving in New Delhi, according to Reuters.

The comments come after Indian officials have privately expressed reluctance about joining the price cap, fearing that Russia would chose to sell its discounted oil to other countries instead. New Delhi has said a consensus among Russia's other allies is necessary in order to fully back the proposal, according a report from Bloomberg.

The price cap plan has grown more urgent as the European ban looms. The G7 is trying to avoid another supply shock and price surge by allowing exemptions to the ban if countries agree to the cap. The aim is to keep oil supplies flowing on global markets while limiting the revenue Russia gets.

"We are very concerned that come December 5... we will be in a place where access to Russian crude will diminish for the world and would potentially lead to higher prices," Adeyemo said.

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The US and India have made progress on a plan to cap the price of Russian oil as G7 countries aim for December to implement proposal, says Treasury...

1/5

Aug. 25 (UPI) -- NASA and Boeing Thursday updated the Starliner Crew Flight Test progress ahead of a mission planned for February 2023.

While planning is going well, a CFT mission to the International Space Station planned to be the first flight with astronauts on Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, originally scheduled for this fall, has been pushed back to February.

NASA completed an uncrewed flight test to the ISS in May.

The CFT flight, now scheduled for February, will carry two test pilots -- Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams -- on a flight to the ISS, where they will work for about two weeks.

NASA says a successful CFT will demonstrate the ability of Starliner and the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket to safely carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

"Our onboard operations are really going well. We're really happy with what's going on with the crews," said NASA International Space Station Program Manager Joel Montalbano. "The teams are doing well. We're looking forward to seeing another Starliner docked back at the international space station."

Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, said, "We're very happy with the observed performance of all our hardware, software and our team. Integrated systems performed extremely well."

During the uncrewed orbital test in May, Nappi said there was an issue with thrusters being "deselected" by sensors. He said some minimal tweaks were done to correct that issue, and NASA believes some debris caused the sensor issue but it's unknown what the debris was.

NASA said it will begin the final process of certifying the Starliner spacecraft and systems for regular crew rotation flights to the space station set to launch in February 2023.

Nappi said mission operations planning, simulation and training is underway and "we're in good shape to execute that flight in February."

Steve Stich, NASA Commercial Crew Program Director, said the first 6 months of next year will be a very busy time for NASA with a Soyuz handover in early March and then another ISS crew handover along with other missions.

"First 6 months are going to be runnin', runnin', runnin'," Stich said.

Continue reading here:

NASA, Boeing announce Starliner crewed test mission pushed to February - UPI News

Students have begun to narrow pandemic-era learning gaps, but the delays in learning are significant and in many cases, the recorded progress is disproportionate, several data points from the 2021-22 school year show.

State assessment data from Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia, for example, reveal hopeful signs of academic rebounding when comparing the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. Yet student progress overall is still below 2018-19 achievement levels, according to announcements by those states.

Separately, a Center on Reinventing Public Education analysis of 23 independent studies conducted since July 2021 shows learning delays are seen at all grade levels. The CRPE analysis also reveals students who spent more time absent or in remote learning had greater learning delays compared to students with more in-person instruction.

The new data on students' academic status highlights the need for schools to stay focused on learning recovery efforts, said student achievement experts.

"This is not the time to stop asking questions about who's losing and under what circumstances. It's time to invest in getting pretty good representative data and drilling down on it," said Paul Hill, founder of CRPE and a professor of practice at Arizona State University.

A key conclusion of the CRPE analysis, Hill said, is that in-person learning makes a positive difference in academic outcomes.

For example, the CRPE analysis, which builds upon reviews conducted in 2021, found math test score passing rates dropped 14.2% on average in the 2020-21 school year. Districts that had mostly remote learning saw another 10 percentage point drop. One study reviewed by CRPE researchers showed that in Ohio, each additional week of remote learning had "measurable costs" in student test scores in certain subjects and grade levels.

Where students went to school mattered as well. CRPE's review of the studies found Black students who attended racially mixed schools lost the fewest days worth of instruction, while Black students who attended racially isolated schools generally lost the most days of instruction.

"The kids that had the greatest losses are also the ones from schools opened the least and were disrupted the most this last year," Hill said.

CRPE's analysis is part of a series of papers focusing on the academic and mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the K-12 educational system. Hill said there's a lot to learn from the past, but future years will be pivotal to recovery efforts, too.

"Urgently tracking individual kids' progress and identifying unmet needs" will be vital, as will supporting in-person instruction, Hill said.

At the state level, assessment data shows some bright spots. In Mississippi, for instance, the percentage of students scoring at proficient or advanced in math was 47.3% in 2021-22, up from 35.1% in 2020-21 and just under the 2018-19 result of 47.4%, according to a summary from the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program.

Due to the emergency closure of schools in spring 2020 during the emergence of COVID-19, assessment results for the 2019-20 school year are not available for some locations across the nation.

Mississippi students made strong progress on English language arts assessments as well. In 2021-22, 42.2% of students scored proficient or higher. That's up from 34.9% in 2020-21 and 41.6% in 2018-19.

Nearby, in Louisiana, students in grades 3-8 taking the state's LEAP assessments improved mastery rates by 3 percentage points in both math and English language arts last school year compared to the year before. Overall, 80% of school districts improved their mastery rates over the 2020-21 school year.

In Virginia, all student subgroups including Black students, economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities had stronger math and reading assessment passing rates in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21, according to results on the Standards of Learning and other assessments. But for all student subgroups, passing rates for 2021-22 fell below 2018-19 results. For example, the percentage of English learners passing the math assessment hit 59% in 2018-19 and only 21% in 2020-21, and then 36% in 2021-22.

All student subgroups showed gains from 2020-21 to 2021-22 but were below the 2018-19 results.

The bottom line is that in-person instruction matters. When we compare the 2021-2022 data with achievement in 2020-2021 when the majority of our students were learning remotely or on hybrid schedules we can see the difference our teachers made once they were reunited with their students in their classrooms, said Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow in a statement.

While educators and education advocates say there's a lot to do to raise students above pre-pandemic levels, many are pausing to celebrate these early glimpses of academic rebounds in the last school year and to credit those working to help students achieve.

"Students are responding to teachers who believe they can learn at high levels and providing them with a renewed sense of belonging and safety with just enough support," said Susan Pimentel, the lead writer of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts/Literacy and founding partner of the nonprofits StandardsWork and Student Achievement Partners, in an email.

"Teachers should continue to radically prioritize learning on what matters most what sparks joy and a sense of accomplishment in children and strip away the rest," Pimentel said.

Continue reading here:

Academic progress rebounds but more recovery needed - K-12 Dive

Football:

2022 is definitely a prove-it year for Mike Norvells Seminoles and theyre eager to show it.

Take a look at Line of Scrimmage TNs new week-by-week opponent preview; often featuring media of the opposing team.

Congratulations to Jordan Travis:

Congratulations to @jordantrav13, who has been named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List!

: https://t.co/y5weoknMAA#NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/HDSIY2bDRE

CBSSports believes FSU will finish fourth in the ACC Atlantic.

Kedon Slovis is the new starting QB of the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Nate SIlver of 538 wrote an excellent an article on why Notre Dame and Florida State are the best non-membered fits left for the Big Ten.

Florida State isnt in the AAU, but it has a pretty good academic ranking and a huge enrollment. Id put it like this: if you think Notre Dame is a good enough fit for the Big Ten because of its other attributes, then Florida State has to qualify as well; it has a better fit rating than Notre Dame, in fact. And it has the second-best market rating after Notre Dame.

Week zero is finally here; Go Noles.

Womens Hoops nonconference schedule is here:

Mark your calendars Our 2022-23 non-conference schedule is set https://t.co/gbXvzzq8Xm#NoleFAM | #OneTribe pic.twitter.com/22xeHrsGpD

The 2022-2023 edition of the Mens Golf team is finalized:

Your 2022-23 mens golf team #OneTribe pic.twitter.com/MOoF9FtTTg

Brian Pensky spoke with Packer and Durham about maintaining the standards of excellence that FSU Soccer has become known for:

"We're not going to change just to change. ... We've got to try and do this together." @FSUSoccer is ready to maintain the standard pic.twitter.com/uhTKEjdEDc

Read the original here:

Noles News: FSU Football is ready to show its progress on the field - Tomahawk Nation

By: Josh RowntreeThursday, August 25, 2022 | 12:01 PM

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Northgate running back Darius Fields goes through drills during practice Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022 at Northgate High School.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Northgates Sonteon Layne throws during practice Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022 at Northgate High School.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Northgate coach Chris Lucas urges on his players during practice Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022 at Northgate High School.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Northgate coach Chris Lucas urges on his players during practice Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022 at Northgate High School.

A year ago, Northgate entered the 2021 season carrying the weight of the WPIALs longest losing streak 32 games played, 32 straight losses.

But the Flames wasted no time snapping the skid, topping Carlynton, 22-6, in Week Zero.

To get that first win, and see the look on those guys faces when they won that game, was priceless, said Chris Lucas, a Northgate grad who took over as head coach in the spring following the retirement of Mike Fulmore.

Northgate went on to finish the season 3-7, with a 2-5 mark in Class As Big Seven Conference.

Looking at three wins, thats not exciting for us, said Lucas, a former head coach at Bishop Canevin and West Allegheny who served as defensive coordinator under Fulmore. But when Mike took over the program, he had like 15 or 16 kids that year.

The three wins included a marquee victory in the Flames penultimate game, a 21-19 upset of eventual WPIAL runner-up OLSH.

The Flames also played tough with Class A champion Bishop Canevin and scored a win over Union. They lost three more games by a touchdown or less, an obvious improvement for a team that was outscored by four touchdowns per game in 2020.

The growth on the field has now translated to a different kind of expansion.

We have 37 kids on the roster now, Lucas said. A lot of that is due to those three wins. Last season was hugely successful in bringing this program back.

Much of the interest in joining the football team has come from underclassmen. Of the 37 on the roster, only four are seniors and four are juniors, allowing Northgate to field a junior varsity team for the first time in a decade.

Under center, Lucas will turn to Sonteon Layne, who did not play football as a freshman in 2021.

Hes busted his butt and bought all into what were trying to accomplish here, Lucas said of the 6-foot-2, 180 pound quarterback. He has a big arm. There will be some growing pains with a young guy, but he wants to learn as much as he can.

Wide receiver Lewis Clark will be a prominent part of the passing game and a key defensive back.

We expect big things from him, Lucas said. Hes so explosive. He gets north and south so fast, and his routes are very good.

Darius Fields will serve as the primary running back behind an offensive line that will have to replace all five starters from a year ago.

Senior Emanuel McGrail will anchor both the offensive and defensive lines and junior Aidan Gross will be a three-year starter at H-back and inside linebacker.

(Gross) works extremely hard, Lucas said. Hes so physical that we have to pull him back sometimes. Hes built on his experience and is a leader on this team.

Lucas feels that the teams commitment to defense last season and ability to match up with pass-heavy offenses will be a strength again this year, but that it will need to improve against power running teams.

A surge in participation should help with that and could not only add depth but make things a bit uncomfortable for Northgate players unwilling to consistently bring maximum effort to the field.

Its tough when you only have so many kids and dont have a lot of competition, Lucas said. Kids dont have to do a lot of work. Now we have competition and are holding kids accountable.

Were trying to build a good program. Not just a season. And were getting that. These kids are working their tails off.

Northgate

Coach: Chris Lucas

2021 record: 3-7, 2-5 in Class A Big Seven Conference

All-time record: 208-240-7

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.26 at Fort Cherry, 7

9.2 Springdale, 7

9.10 at Riverview, noon

9.16 at South Side*, 7

9.23 Summit Academy*, 7

9.30 at Shenango*, 7

10.7 Laurel*, 7

10.14 at Union*, 7

10.21 Rochester*, 7

10.28 Frazier, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Austin Mitchell

114-205, 1,405 yards, 12 TDs

Rushing: Mitchell

126-528, 5 TDs

Receiving: Davonte Christie*

42-537, 2 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

Northgate won more games in 2021 (3) than it did in the previous four seasons combined (2).

Lucas has promoted Lewis Clark, whose son is a standout on both sides of the ball, to serve as defensive coordinator. They played together at Northgate.

Despite recent struggles, Northgate was in the WPIAL semifinals not long ago, going 10-2 and falling to Clairton in 2016.

Northgate has never won a WPIAL title or appeared in a championship game.

Tags: Northgate

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With losing streak in rearview mirror, Northgate excited about progress | Trib HSSN - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Chinese state media voice strident views on respective U.S. and Chinese crewed lunar exploration plans.

HELSINKI China is progressing with the development of two super heavy-lift rockets for crewed missions and infrastructure launches to the moon, according to officials.

The new launchers are designed to allow China to conduct short-term lunar landings before 2030 and send large pieces of infrastructure to the moon in the 2030s respectively.

Though Chinas government has not formally approved a crewed lunar landing, work on the necessary elements of such a program is underway and the countrys space actors and state media are openly talking of its lunar ambitions.

Progress on the rocketsa new generation crew launch vehicle and a super heavy-lift launcher known as the Long March 9has been moving ahead in an orderly manner, according to Chen Xiaofei, of the general design department at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), a major institute under Chinas main space contractor, talking with state media China Central Television.

The new crew launcher is also referred to unofficially as the CZ5DY, taking the CZ initials for the Chinese for Long March, and DY meaning dengyue or moon landing. The rocket is based on technology and tooling developed for the Long March 5 heavy rocket variants that have launched Chinas space station modules, Mars mission and a lunar sample-return.

A two-stage version of the rocket, for sending a new generation crew spacecraft into low Earth orbit, is envisioned for a test flight in 2026. The three-core, three-stage variant capable of sending 27 metric tons into trans-lunar injection is expected to launch later in the decade.

The kerosene-fueled rocket will use clusters of uprated versions of the existing YF-100 engine and the launcher is also intended to be made reusable. Last year other CALT officials stated that two launches of the rocket would be able to facilitate a six-hour stay on the lunar surface.

The Long March 9 will boast a payload capacity of around 140 tons to LEO and will launch elements for the planned International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) jointly planned by China and Russia.

CCTV did not provide details of the progress made. However, CALT earlier this month announced completion of structural tests related to the CZ5DY, and in April tested titanium engine components for the launcher.

The update on progress was provided after China marked 103 consecutive successful launches with its Long March rocket family, eclipsing its previous record of 102 set between 1996 and 2011.

Chen also stated that CALTs first reusable rocketthought to be the Long March 8would complete relevant flight tests within the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

Global Times, a Beijing tabloid, published Aug. 21 strident views on the respective progress, approaches and motives of U.S. and Chinese crewed lunar exploration plans.

Space observers also pointed out that as NASA is trying hard to relive its Apollo glories, China is working on innovative plans to carry out its own crewed moon landing missions, the article read.

The piece also criticized recent comments made by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in which he claimed China would occupy the moon and claimed China focuses more on technology readiness in a rather broad time frame, going forward steadily and surely, rather than the U.S. practice of setting specific year deadlines.

Global Times quoted Wang Yanan, chief editor of the Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, as saying, Chinas crewed moon landing is more in line with scientific principles, but NASA might grow more hostile against China in the space domain given the huge pressure it is facing to maintain its global leadership in moon exploration, in response to a question on the possibility of a new space race.

Both the U.S. and China are planning robotic and crewed landings at the lunar south pole in the coming years under respective Artemis and ILRS programs.

Read more from the original source:

China claims progress on rockets for crewed lunar landings and moon base - SpaceNews

Microsoft is still committed to ensuring that they transition all their Microsoft 365 services to Azure. Despite not having achieved this in 10 years plus, Microsoft published a case study that details the progress they have made thus far and the measures that they are taking to ensure that it does become a reality in the near future and further indicated that it is a "multiyear effort that's still underway" as spotted by Mary Jo Foley over at ZDNet.

As per the case study, the Microsoft Experiences and Devices (E+D) team, which spearheads operations for both Windows and Office highlighted that transitioning from Windows containers to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) would help them get a step closer to achieving this long-term goal not to mention the significant impact it has on infrastructure cost, thus modernizing the service and at the same time cutting down on cost.

The E+D groups experience reflects a broader industry trend, as Windows and .NET developers look to update and scale their existing code bases, reduce costs, and gain cloud-native benefits of a Kubernetes ecosystem, like resiliency, scalability, and automation. This platform-first, best-practices approach to modernization is a model that other organizations can follow.

Further in the post, Microsoft explains how the shift to hybrid work impacted Microsoft 365 services and the efforts put in place to ensure that they are able to run it better ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Hence the inception of AKS despite Windows Containers providing a lightweight, isolated environment that promotes consistent development and deployment. AKS provides developers with container-based isolation, Kubernetes-based agility, monitoring, load-balancing, and auto-scaling. It also retains access to IIS, .NET Framework, and all the Windows OS features.

AKS is a hosted Kubernetes service, which is in place to make it easier to deploy and manage clusters thanks to Azure's inception. "As the new computing power behind Microsoft 365, AKS provides a security-optimized, hardened host operating system with weekly patches, node image auto upgrade, and planned maintenance schedules. AKS also makes it easy to interoperate with Azure security, identity, cost management, and migration services". The move has been deemed to have " a deep, positive impact across Microsoft 365 development teams" according to Microsoft E+D Principal Product Manager Anasua Banerjee.

Microsoft has indicated that they are still committed to this cause and are making the necessary strides to ensure that this long-term goal comes to pass. Be sure to also check out their blog post where they highlight more details regarding their efforts.

See original here:

Microsoft updates progress on its efforts to bring M365 to Azure - OnMSFT.com