Category Archives: Evolution

Last March, at Enterprise Connect, three keynotes highlighted a new take on UCaaS Mobility. Thats not particularly newsworthy in itself, as mobility has been a reliable unified communications (UC) and unified communications as a service (UCaaS) feature since the beginning. However, this year the messaging changed from two complementary solutions to a single, all-in-one solution with significant implications.

Theres a common misperception that organizations no longer need an enterprise phone system. Its not uncommon for someone to wave a smartphone at me, declaring this is the only phone they need. However, the market for enterprise UC and UCaaS solutions remains strong because they offer advanced calling features for individuals and departments. As a result, most organizations have two separate comms solutions and strategies, and thats whats changing.

While the mobile app is central to every UC and UCaaS offering, few providers openly admit that those apps dont work particularly well. The problem isnt within the app itself but with the network.

The modern smartphone connects to the world over two different provider services. Native smartphone services, such as voice and SMS, run over a different network than Internet applications. The native services receive a higher quality of service on the providers wireless and wired portions of the service. Internet services are subject to more contention and latency.

Applications such as UC and UCaaS run over-the-top (OTT) of the Internet connection, resulting with a reduced quality of experience compared to the native apps. Thats why low-quality UC/UCaaS conversations on a mobile device can sound better if you reconnect using the native dialer. Most OTT apps (such as email, social, and messaging) arent as sensitive to network performance as voice and video.

For simplicity, Ive grouped the evolution of UC/UCaaS and mobility into three stages. The first stage was largely accomplished with creative call forwarding. This worked best on incoming calls and was known as Find Me/Follow Me, Simultaneous Ring, and other names. Incoming calls would forward sequentially or simultaneously to multiple devices (and/or locations). Outbound solutions usually involved calling an intermediary station that could place a call with a modified outbound caller-ID.

The second -- and current -- generation of UC/UCaaS mobility relies on smartphone apps. The smartphone, like a PC, runs a softphone client that connects to the UC/UCaaS servers over a wireless Internet connection. It works well when the location and connection receive a strong signal, but thats not a safe assumption in mobile use cases. Also, the UC/UCaaS app isnt as intuitive to many users as the native dialer. Smartphones are phones, and UC/UCaaS apps provide inherent secondary and overlapping services.

UCaaS mobile apps are popular, but not necessarily for calling. The apps provide access to organizational content such as messaging and a directory. They can allow a user to make and receive calls from their work number, but its not uncommon for users to prefer to reveal their direct number for better service.

In the preceding generation and the current one, the UC/UCaaS solution works together with the separate mobility service. In this upcoming next generation, the UC/UCaaS solution will combine with the mobility service into one solution. It is not a single vendor solution, the UCaaS providers and cellular providers are integrating their services. Today, Cisco and RingCentral (via AT&T) offer users the ability to create a UCaaS implementation with any mixture of desktop phones, desktop softphones, and cellular extensions. A single service for calling, messaging, meetings, and mobility.

The services can be combined with dual SIM phones which means that a single wireless endpoint can be used for personal and business calling both with high quality, native wireless services. Neither requires an app to be installed on the smartphone, but the app completes the UCaaS experience with a full suite of services including calling, messaging, meetings, and directory.

This isnt a technical breakthrough. For example, Verizon and BroadSoft (now Cisco) introduced Verizon OneTalk in 2016 with a similar capability. Whats new is the maturation of the concept into the mainstream. Verizon OneTalk was never particularly popular. Suddenly we have Cisco and RingCentral, two industry UCaaS leaders, working with a AT&T, a top-tier wireless provider in North America. Microsoft is working with Verizon to launch a similar capability. T-Mobile remains on the bench, but it has a strong go-to-market partnership (and equity stake) in Dialpad.

Cisco, Microsoft, and RingCentral shared a similar vision but are taking different routes to get there. Microsofts approach, as described, is built around Teams. Carrier services are obtained, managed, and assigned through the Teams administrative portal. It requires each carrier to become certified and approved to integrate with Teams.

Ciscos approach is channel agnostic in that you can obtain Webex Go from value-added resellers and providers. However, Webex essentially becomes the carrier itself. Cisco is aggregating wired and wireless services under the Webex brand. This approach allows, for example, Cisco to become a multinational organizations global communications provider for calling, meetings, messaging, and mobility.

This next generation of UCaaS and mobility will be compelling. For the cellular providers, it represents a significant expansion of their total available market. For the UCaaS providers, it delivers a seamless, mobile, work-from-anywhere experience. Organizations can receive a highly flexible, single solution for all enterprise communications.

Were heading toward a single, consolidated communications service. Thats a single service for calling, messaging, meetings, and mobility. The disruptive aspects of this convergence arent insignificant. There will be disruptive impacts providers and channels.

Ive been using the Cisco Webex solution for the past several months. My phone is configured with two SIMs, so it prompts me to select the preferred provider when placing a call. I can initiate calls from either the native dialer or the Webex app. Ive used it in the U.S. and Europe with no discernible difference in quality. My only complaint is that phone service is bound to one device, so I have to manually designate the preferred device for calling.

View post:

The Convergence and Evolution of Enterprise Calling - No Jitter

In the first year and with only one electric car, the city of Boulder, Colo., saved $250 a month in electric charges thanks to a bidirectional car charger.

The pilot project was an attempt to explore the concept of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) car charging, which generally follows the idea of using the EVs battery to charge when energy is less expensive and then discharge that energy either directly onto the electric grid, or into the building the charger is connected to, as a way to reduce the building's electric needs from the grid.

V2X often interchanged with vehicle to grid (V2G) is being explored as another value proposition for EV owners, who are always interested in the long-term cost savings that come with electric cars, as well as a mechanism for designing resiliency and management into the electric grid.

The idea of using EVs as battery storage for other outside uses may sound simple, but its a concept still in its infancy and is one that will require the coordination of car makers, technology providers, utilities and regulators to work together to make bidirectional charging and discharging a common feature of owning and operating EVs.

No one can go it alone; not the utility, not the technology provider and not the customer, said Jeni Reynolds, director for clean transportation at San Diego Gas and Electric (SDGE) in some of her comments on the Veloz panel. SDGE is involved in a pilot project to use electric school buses to discharge power when they are not in use.

And thats when they can provide, back to the grid, that power, she added. Really finding the vehicles that have that operational cycle is helpful.

Another project in New York City will use EVs operated by Revel a ride-share company. The project will use vehicle-to-everything technology from Fermata Energy and clean energy developer NineDot to deploy a bidirectional charging system that moves energy from vehicles back to the grid.

They have a bunch of vehicles, and they realized they could make money off of their vehicles, David Slutzky, founder of Fermata Energy, told Government Technology.

Fleet vehicles, said Slutzky, are an obvious use case for bidirectional charging arrangements.

I fully expect this project will scale pretty quickly, said Slutzky.

We take a commercial fleet, and we can help them manage their electric bill discharging the vehicle onto the building load when the building load peaks, he explained. The building is not really involved. Its just that they have fewer electrons passing through their meter, and so they have a lower bill.

Yes, fleet customers are a key market application for bidirectional charging, said Slutzky. But I want to be clear, so are a bunch of others.

Industry watchers expect more EVs to support bidirectional charging in the coming model years. Today, the Nissan Leaf is perhaps most widely available. However, a key marketing message around the new Ford F-150 Lightning is its ability to serve as an emergency home power source.

When the power is not available from the grid, were able to provide that from the vehicle, through an inverter, a transfer switch, said Jacob Mathews, manager for EV standards at Ford, in some of his comments on the Veloz panel, adding Ford sees vehicle to grid as a critical element of getting the value that EVs can bring.

Skip Descant writes about smart cities, the Internet of Things, transportation and other areas. He spent more than 12 years reporting for daily newspapers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and California. He lives in downtown Yreka, Calif.

Go here to read the rest:

Bidirectional Charging Could Be the Next Evolution of EVs - Government Technology

As early as in 2014, strategic thinker Anthony H Cordesman stressed the need to understand rival views of grand strategy and military developments or, to quote a British military expert, the other side of the hill. Cordesman was writing in the immediate aftermath of Russias annexation of Crimea as he observed a range of Russian and Belorussian military and civil experts present a very different view of global security and the forces behind it from that of the Wests at the Russian Ministry of Defences Third Moscow Conference on International Security in May 2014. The standout point of his published paper was the laser sharp focus he brought to bear on the role of what Russian analysts termed the Colour Revolution in the evolving security situation.

The Kremlin saw a clear link between the Rose Revolution in Georgia (2003), Orange Revolution in Ukraine (2004), and the Tulip Revolution that took place in Kyrgyzstan (2005). The regime changes that followed these protest movements in the erstwhile Soviet republics caused considerable consternation, and even alarm, in Moscow. Russia tied the term Colour Revolution to what it saw as a new American-European approach to warfare that focused on creating destabilising revolutions in other nation-states as a means of serving their security interests at low cost and with minimal casualties. It was seen as posing a potential threat to Russia (in its near abroad), to China, and to Asian states not aligned with the USA. Understanding this context is key to making sense of President Vladimir Putins decision to invade Ukraine in February this year.

Russia-watcher Timothy Fryes recently released book, Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putins Russia, examines the roots of Mr Putins power and its implications for the countrys foreign policy. He underlines that Moscows more assertive foreign policy and the trade-offs being made ~ and largely being accepted by the Russian people ~ between security and economic growth seem here to stay. Scholar Andrew Monaghan iterates in his review of the book that the Russian leaderships longstanding concerns about a Colour Revolution have not only been a dominant feature of the security debate in Moscow but also relate to the direction of its personalist autocracy.

The Kremlins understanding of the evolving international affairs landscape ~ how it envisages a post-West world including a Pacific 21st century, its prioritisation of the Arctic, its worries about growing competition over the global commons, and the geoeconomic competition that Moscow sees as intensifying and driving conflict over the coming decade ~ will dictate not just the Wests relationship with Russia but also impact how the new cold war thesis plays out globally. As Monaghan writes, a discussion on Russias calculus behind its measures of war is now unavoidable. An honest engagement with the issue, however, could throw up uncomfortable questions for the West.

A version of this story appears in the print edition of the August 29, 2022, issue.

See the article here:

Russian evolution - The Statesman

The Benefits of Telesitting for Clinicians and Patients

Prior to the pandemic, many healthcare organizations pursued telesitting as an operational efficiency and cost-cutting measure. A PCT can simultaneously monitor around 12 patients remotely. They can talk to patients if needed, deploy automated responses in different languages and ring an alarm if a patient needs immediate help. An organization no longer needs to hire a sitter for each patient room.

As the pandemic took hold, resources for healthcare organizations became scarce, including staff. Existing staff also had to be protected from exposure. Health IT teams began deploying telesitting not only to cut costs but out of necessity. Post-implementation, and with nursing support teams back on the floor, nurses again can focus on key clinical activities and caregiving. They can perform med-reconciliation instead of tech support for pillow speaker issues. Having nurses operate at the top of their licenses means more quality patient care in addition to clinician well-being.

Implementing telesitting programs benefits patient outcomes. In addition to saving money, organizations that use this technology also can track quality metrics, like the number of falls and falls with injury within a facility. However, healthcare providers should listen for anecdotes about successes. I remember a telesitting implementation some time ago during which one of our remote sitters, having watched a patient for a long while, noticed that he had stopped behaving as he normally did. The patient was decompensating and was moments from crashing. That observation potentially saved the patient, which is an immeasurable win.

READ MORE:The future of smart hospital strategy brings care to the home.

Telesitting technology isnt and shouldnt be just about throwing technology at a problem. Organizations will need to write job descriptions for sitters; weigh the benefits of nursing or physician-led protocols for remotely monitoring patients; and develop procedures for intervention, program discharge and equipment recycling. Implementation teams should include representation from legal and privacy teams to ensure policies and consents for facilities cover the use of 24/7 audio and video monitoring. Perhaps most important, healthcare organizations must clearly identify protocols for noncompliance for example, how many patient redirects will be allowed before someone needs to transition to a one-to-one safety sit.

From an IT perspective, before implementing the technology, health IT teams must ensure their organizations networks can handle the bandwidth for streaming video of that magnitude. Some organizations may not be able to implement telesitting until a network upgrade is complete, or they may have to deploy on a smaller scale at first. A network assessment by technology partners such as CDW can help healthcare organizations determine whether their networks can handle the addition of telesitting programs. Telesitting platforms also should have the ability to integrate directly with an organizations electronic health record.

DISCOVER:Howpartner-delivered IT services help mitigate the effects of staff shortages.

Telesitting, which seemed revolutionary prior the pandemic, will continue to evolve over the coming years. Organizations have already started overlaying AI algorithms onto video feeds to detect patient movement and probability of getting up. LIDAR technology, used to great effect in autonomous vehicles, can autonomously scan rooms for patient obstacles.

This technology can be implemented under Patient Room Next strategies to advance patient care. Part of that overall strategy is getting away from having several point solutions and moving toward platforms with applications in other use cases across the system, thereby maximizing the investment. Examples of this include Artisights clinical automation capabilities and Caregilitys virtual nursing platform.

Telesitting has proved to be an excellent foray into using remote technology to ease the clinician burden. The evolution toward autonomous monitoring holds great promise for the future of care.

This article is part of HealthTechs MonITor blog series. Please join the discussion on Twitter by using #WellnessIT.

Continued here:

The Evolution of Telesitting in Healthcare - HealthTech Magazine

Image source: Getty Images

Its been an awful start to the trading week for the Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price this Monday. At the time of writing, Evolution shares are down a nasty 4.4% at $2.39 each.

Thats a far worse performance than that of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has lost a less severe but still depressing 2.07% at present.

This drop for gold miner Evolution Mining comes despite some positive conditions for gold, which my Fool colleague went through this morning.

Earlier this month, we covered Evolutions full-year earnings for FY2022.

As we went through at the time, these earnings saw Evolution post total revenues of $2.06 billion, up 11% year on year.

But a 6% slide in statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) to $323.3 million and a 2% drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to $898.814 million didnt exactly inspire investors.

Evolution shares dropped 1.56% on the day the earnings were posted, and the company is now down around 7% since.

But lets talk about Evolutions upcoming dividend. So the gold miner declared a final and fully franked dividend of 3 cents per share for FY22.

That was consistent with the companys last interim dividend. But a 40% drop from FY21s final dividend of 5 cents per share.

Evolution shares will trade ex-dividend for this payment on 30 August (tomorrow). This means that any investor wishing to receive this dividend must own Evolution shares by the end of this trading day.

When the shares trade ex-div tomorrow, it will lock any new investors out of this dividend. As such, we can expect the typical ex-dividend share price drop during tomorrows trading session.

Investors will then have to wait until 30 September to receive the dividend in their bank accounts. Evolution shares are not currently operating a dividend reinvestment plan (DRP), so Evolution shareholders have no choice but to receive this payment in cash.

The Evolution Mining share price today has a fully franked dividend yield of 2.51%, which includes this upcoming payment.

Excerpt from:

Hoping to bag the next Evolution Mining dividend? Here's what to do - The Motley Fool Australia

One area thats going to be talked about a lot regarding Clemson football is the offensive line that struggled so much in 2021.

Weve already heard almost daily stories of good coming out of camp with very little negative sprinkled in about the 2022 version of the line.

This clip from Gramlich and Mac Lain could be viewed as more of that type of hype. A former Clemson offensive lineman praising what hes seeing from the line in camp.

Except that I interviewed Eric Mac Lain a few years back and it seemed to me he was very forthright and honest about his assessment of programs (not just Clemson), people that hed met along the way (this was before his ACC Network days) and even himself.

He didnt strike me then, nor does he now, as someone whos going to be hyperbolic about an offensive line thats not very good, because his credibility is at stake.

Would he add a little extra because its Clemson and he played line at Clemson? Sure, maybe subconsciously, Im not nave to that notion.

Still, come Labor Day Night they have to go out there and do it. Go out there and erase the memories of last season when Clemson totaled 286 total yards. Not against the 2nd ranked Georgia defense, but against what turned out to be the 117th ranked Georgia Tech defense.

First impressions can be a tricky thing and sometimes they stay with you forever, or at least a long time.

Is anyone expecting perfection? Not in this corner of Clemson fandom, were not.

That said, we also dont want to hear the same excuses that weve heard before and we want to see progress and competent play up front under the leadership of new offensive line coach Thomas Austin, himself a former Clemson offensive lineman.

As I generally am this time of year, Im cautiously optimistic and realize that what happens on September 5th, doesnt necessarily mean that will happen all season, but its going to be a difficult sell if the fans see something similar to last season to start this season, especially given the opponent.

Very soon its going to be time to prove that the assessments are correct and its not just hyperbole, but real improvement up front.

Read the original here:

Clemson Football: The evolution of the offensive line - Rubbing the Rock

Donoghue, P. C. & Keating, J. N. Early vertebrate evolution. Palaeontology 57, 879893 (2014).

Article Google Scholar

Marltaz, F. et al. Amphioxus functional genomics and the origins of vertebrate gene regulation. Nature 564, 6470 (2018).

PubMed PubMed Central Article CAS Google Scholar

Heimberg, A. M., Cowper-Sal, R., Smon, M., Donoghue, P. C. & Peterson, K. J. microRNAs reveal the interrelationships of hagfish, lampreys, and gnathostomes and the nature of the ancestral vertebrate. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107, 1937919383 (2010).

CAS PubMed PubMed Central Article Google Scholar

Donoghue, P. C., Graham, A. & Kelsh, R. N. The origin and evolution of the neural crest. Bioessays 30, 530541 (2008).

PubMed PubMed Central Article Google Scholar

Northcutt, R. G. & Gans, C. The genesis of neural crest and epidermal placodes: a reinterpretation of vertebrate origins. Q. Rev. Biol. 58, 128 (1983).

CAS PubMed Article Google Scholar

Gans, C. & Northcutt, R. G. Neural crest and the origin of vertebrates: a new head. Science 220, 268273 (1983).

CAS PubMed Article Google Scholar

Gans, C. Stages in the origin of vertebrates: analysis by means of scenarios. Biol. Rev. 64, 221268 (1989).

CAS PubMed Article Google Scholar

Gans, C. Evolutionary origin of the vertebrate skull. in The Skull: Patterns of Structural and Systematic Diversity vol. 2 135 (University of Chicago Press, 1993).

Northcutt, R. G. The origin of craniates: neural crest, neurogenic placodes, and homeobox genes. Isr. J. Zool. 42, S273S313 (1996).

Google Scholar

Northcutt, R. G. The new head hypothesis revisited. J. Exp. Zool. B Mol. Dev. Evol. 304, 274297 (2005).

Article Google Scholar

Denison, R. H. Feeding mechanisms of Agnatha and early gnathostomes. Am. Zool. 1, 177181 (1961).

Article Google Scholar

Miles, R. S. VI.features of placoderm diversification and the evolution of the arthrodire feeding mechanism*. Earth Environ. Sci. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb. 68, 123170 (1969).

Article Google Scholar

Carr, R. K. Placoderm diversity and evolution. Bull. Mus. Natl Hist. Nat., 4C 17, 85125 (1995).

Google Scholar

Anderson, P. S., Friedman, M., Brazeau, M. D. & Rayfield, E. J. Initial radiation of jaws demonstrated stability despite faunal and environmental change. Nature 476, 206209 (2011).

CAS PubMed Article Google Scholar

Friedman, M. & Sallan, L. C. Five hundred million years of extinction and recovery: a Phanerozoic survey of largescale diversity patterns in fishes. Palaeontology 55, 707742 (2012).

Article Google Scholar

Mallatt, J. Early vertebrate evolution: pharyngeal structure and the origin of gnathostomes. J. Zool. 204, 169183 (1984).

Article Google Scholar

Mallatt, J. Feeding ecology of the earliest vertebrates. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 82, 261272 (1984).

Article Google Scholar

Mallatt, J. Reconstructing the life cycle and the feeding of ancestral vertebrates. in Evolutionary Biology of Primitive Fishes 5968 (Plenum Press, 1985).

Mallatt, J. Ventilation and the origin of jawed vertebrates: a new mouth. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 117, 329404 (1996).

Article Google Scholar

Janvier, P. Early vertebrates. (Clarendon Press, 1996).

Purnell, M. A. Microwear on conodont elements and macrophagy in the first vertebrates. Nature 374, 798800 (1995).

CAS Article Google Scholar

Purnell, M. A. Feeding in conodonts and other early vertebrates. in Palaeobiology II 401404 (Blackwell Publishing, 2001).

Purnell, M. A. Scenarios, selection, and the ecology of early vertebrates. in Major events in early vertebrate evolution 188208 (Taylor & Francis, 2001).

Purnell, M. A. Feeding in extinct jawless heterostracan fishes and testing scenarios of early vertebrate evolution. Proc. R. Soc. B 269, 8388 (2002).

PubMed PubMed Central Article Google Scholar

Ferrn, H. G. & Botella, H. Squamation and ecology of thelodonts. PloS One 12, e0172781 (2017).

PubMed PubMed Central Article CAS Google Scholar

Ferrn, H. G., MartnezPrez, C., Turner, S., Manzanares, E. & Botella, H. Patterns of ecological diversification in thelodonts. Palaeontology 61, 303315 (2018).

Article Google Scholar

Ferrn, H. G. et al. Computational fluid dynamics suggests ecological diversification among stem-gnathostomes. Curr. Biol. 30, 16 (2020).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Ferrn, H. G. et al. Functional assessment of morphological homoplasy in stem-gnathostomes. Proc. R. Soc. B 288, 20202719 (2021).

PubMed PubMed Central Article Google Scholar

Miyashita, T., Gess, R. W., Tietjen, K. & Coates, M. I. Non-ammocoete larvae of Palaeozoic stem lampreys. Nature 591, 408412 (2021).

CAS PubMed Article Google Scholar

Sambilay, V. C. Jr Interrelationships between swimming speed, caudal fin aspect ratio and body length of fishes. Fishbyte 8, 1620 (1990).

Google Scholar

Fisher, R. & Hogan, J. D. Morphological predictors of swimming speed: a case study of pre-settlement juvenile coral reef fishes. J. Exp. Biol. 210, 24362443 (2007).

PubMed Article Google Scholar

Giammona, F. F. Form and function of the caudal fin throughout the phylogeny of fishes. Integr. Comp. Biol. 61, 550572 (2021).

PubMed Article Google Scholar

Witmer, L. M. & Thomason, J. J. The extant phylogenetic bracket and the importance of reconstructing soft tissues in fossils. in Functional morphology in vertebrate paleontology 1933 (Cambridge University Press, 1995).

Larouche, O., Zelditch, M. L. & Cloutier, R. A critical appraisal of appendage disparity and homology in fishes. Fish Fish 20, 11381175 (2019).

Article Google Scholar

Ferrn, H. G., Holgado, B., Liston, J. J., Martnez-Prez, C. & Botella, H. Assessing metabolic constraints on the maximum body size of actinopterygians: locomotion energetics of Leedsichthys problematicus (Actinopterygii, Pachycormiformes). Palaeontology 61, 775783 (2018).

Article Google Scholar

Ferrn, H. G. Regional endothermy as a trigger for gigantism in some extinct macropredatory sharks. PloS one 12, e0185185 (2017).

PubMed PubMed Central Article CAS Google Scholar

Ferrn, H. G., Martnez-Prez, C. & Botella, H. The evolution of gigantism in active marine predators. Hist. Biol. 30, 712716 (2017).

Article Google Scholar

Ferrn, H. G. Evidence of endothermy in the extinct macropredatory osteichthyan Xiphactinus audax (Teleostei, Ichthyodectiformes). J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 39, e1724123 (2019).

Article Google Scholar

Watanabe, Y. Y., Goldman, K. J., Caselle, J. E., Chapman, D. D. & Papastamatiou, Y. P. Comparative analyses of animal-tracking data reveal ecological significance of endothermy in fishes. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA. 112, 61046109 (2015).

CAS PubMed PubMed Central Article Google Scholar

Jacoby, D. M., Siriwat, P., Freeman, R. & Carbone, C. Is the scaling of swim speed in sharks driven by metabolism? Biol. Lett. 11, 20150781 (2015).

PubMed PubMed Central Article Google Scholar

Videler, J. J. Fish swimming. (Springer Science & Business Media, 1993).

Sallan, L., Friedman, M., Sansom, R. S., Bird, C. M. & Sansom, I. J. The nearshore cradle of early vertebrate diversification. Science 362, 460464 (2018).

CAS PubMed Article Google Scholar

Blieck, A. & Turner, S. Global Ordovician vertebrate biogeography. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 195, 3754 (2003).

Article Google Scholar

Sansom, R. S. Endemicity and palaeobiogeography of the Osteostraci and Galeaspida: a test of scenarios of gnathostome evolution. Palaeontology 52, 12571273 (2009).

Article Google Scholar

Young, G. C. Biogeography of Devonian vertebrates. Alcheringa 5, 225243 (1981).

Article Google Scholar

Zhao, W.-J. & Zhu, M. Siluro-Devonian vertebrate biostratigraphy and biogeography of China. Palaeoworld 19, 426 (2010).

Article Google Scholar

igait, . & Blieck, A. Palaeobiogeography of Early Palaeozoic vertebrates. Geol. Soc. Lond. Mem. 38, 449460 (2013).

Article Google Scholar

Smith, M. P., Donoghue, P. C. & Sansom, I. J. The spatial and temporal diversification of Early Palaeozoic vertebrates. Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. 194, 6983 (2002).

Article Google Scholar

Sallan, L. C., Friedman, M., Sansom, R. S. & Sansom, I. J. The Silurian nekton revolution: Paleozoic jawless fishes exhibited modern form-dependent modes of habitat use. Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Prog. 47, 632 (2015).

Google Scholar

Whalen, C. D. & Briggs, D. E. The Palaeozoic colonization of the water column and the rise of global nekton. Proc. R. Soc. B 285, 20180883 (2018).

PubMed PubMed Central Article Google Scholar

Klug, C. et al. The Devonian nekton revolution. Lethaia 43, 465477 (2010).

Article Google Scholar

Webb, P. W. Hydrodynamics and energetics of fish propulsion. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 190, 1158 (1975).

Google Scholar

Schneider, C. A., Rasband, W. S. & Eliceiri, K. W. NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis. Nat. methods 9, 671675 (2012).

CAS PubMed PubMed Central Article Google Scholar

Froese, R. & Pauly, D. FishBase. http://www.fishbase.org (2020).

View post:

Evolutionary analysis of swimming speed in early vertebrates challenges the 'New Head Hypothesis' | Communications Biology - Nature.com

In the waning minutes of Anonymous Club, Courtney Barnetts new feature-length documentary, the Australian singer-songwriter arrives at a seemingly significant conclusion.

Ive figured out that my eternal goal is to empower people who need empowering, the Grammy nominee states matter-of-factly over slow-motion shots of adoring fans. I want to give someone in the audience the energy or power to feel something. To forget something. To remember something. To be inspired. To feel happiness or to feel an emotion that allows them to transcend life and you know, helps them in their journey.

For a notoriously shy artist whose breakthrough was a song about panic attacks while gardening, the films send-off earmarks a radical shift in the way Barnett communicates beyond her music.

But without a random suggestion from a friend, Anonymous Club, and all of its tidy bits of insight, would not exist.

Preparing to hit the road following the release of 2018s Tell Me How You Really Feel, Barnett was asked by longtime collaborator Danny Cohen to keep an audio diary. He provided her with a dictaphone and joined his colleague on tour to shoot some footage as planned. Other than hoping that theyd inform one another, there were no immediate plans for either the audio recordings or the footage.

Over the course of three years, Barnett quietly confessed and confided to the dictaphone in hotel rooms, driving between gigs, and whenever she felt compelled to get something off her chest. Cohen sporadically joined Barnett on tour and shot footage. The pairing of the two archives ultimately became Anonymous Club, but Barnett never imagined her audio entries would serve as narration to the film.

I didnt intend for it to be the film it became, she explained recently from her half-the-year home in Joshua Tree. I had no expectations and just thought, Lets document the tour. I struggle with social media sometimes because I feel like I cant think straight, and Im trying to present myself in a way that has an intention. But I was just moving through the world, talking about what I was thinking and feeling. I assumed some of it would feed toward the narrative, but never thought it would be the narration. I didnt have any of those expectations, and in turn, that gave it this weird honesty.

That weird honesty is an essential feature of the film that Cohen wrote and directed. But more importantly, the three years of footage that incorporates Anonymous Club seems to document something even bigger.

Barnetts latest album, last years Things Take Time, Take Time, represents a stark tonal shift from Tell Me How You Really Feel. Cohen captured the making of Barnetts most recent offering, as she worked with Warpaint drummer, friend and fellow Aussie Stella Mozgawa, in what looked like an easy-going and enjoyable manner.

While its obvious when listening to the two albums side by side, Barnett explained their stark differences through the overarching themes of each project.

The last album you could hear a lot of tension in there, she said, a lot of defensiveness, frustration and anger. This album is a lot more gentle and open. These songs focus on love. But not just love of a person, the love of being a loving person.

Could that shift also be the result of successfully purging thoughts and concerns over an extended period of time? Probably. Either way, Barnett appears far more comfortable both personally and professionally.

Take her current Here and There festival. Tucked neatly into the middle of her world tour, Barnett has organized her own stand-alone, 12-date run featuring a different lineup of headline-worthy guests each night.

Inspired by her curation of the 2019 Belgian Sonic City festival and a Newport Folk Foundation event in 2020, Barnett brought Here and There to life this year.

Featuring the likes of Fred Armisen, Japanese Breakfast, Snail Mail, Wet Leg, Lucy Dacus and Sleater-Kinney joining Barnett in different cities over the next few weeks, this initial run will dictate how the festival evolves in coming years.

COVID replacement dates and general scheduling issues dictated that Here and There make its debut in the middle of an already scheduled world tour, but Barnett is actually glad it happened that way.

Itll definitely be a different energy, she said. Were partnering with lots of local community organizations and LGBTQIA+ organizations through the Allied Coalition. And we do that at a lot of my American shows anyway, encouraging people to vote and enroll to vote. It just feels like having all of those groups together at this festival is a little bit more of a community vibe than a normal show. Were just that little extra bit more connected. And thats nice.

San Diegos version of Here and There will feature a pair of Southern singer-songwriters in North Carolinas Indigo De Souza and Florida-born, current Alabamian Ethel Cain. And the festival itself has spawned a limited run compilation to raise funds for reproductive rights.

As for whats next, Barnett is reluctant to say. But shes at peace with the unprecedented vulnerability the film has brought and that makes the future look just a little bit brighter.

Im at ease with it, Barnett said. It exists and is what it is. I just hope that somebody finds something useful within it. That will make it all worthwhile.

When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28

Where: Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 2214 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego

Tickets: $41 (standing-room only)

Online: ticketmaster.com

McDonald is a freelance writer.

Original post:

Courtney Barnett and the evolution of an artist - The San Diego Union-Tribune

In 2019, the Phillies held the 14th pick in a loaded MLB Draft. Some of the top players pickedAdley Rutschman, Bobby Witt Jr., Andrew Vaughn, and Alex Manoahare currently viewed as a future face of their respective franchises. With their first selection, the Phillies opted to take SS Bryson Stott out of UNLV in hopes he, too, would become part of a nucleus that would bring World Series baseball back to South Philly. The shortstop was viewed as a safe picka prospect who grades out as average in most skill categories with the chance to develop multiple above average tools. He had quick hands and feet up the middle, could run well, and carried an advanced approach at the plate with elite bat-to-ball skills. He showcased all of these talents throughout his time in the minor leagues, the 2021 Arizona Fall League, and this past spring training, earning him a spot on the Phillies Opening Day Roster.

However, Stott didnt last on the major league roster very long. He was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on April 25th only to be recalled on May 7 when Didi Gregorious was placed on the injured list due to a knee sprain. Over the course of April and May, Stott received inconsistent playing time while slashing an abysmal .123/.180/.151. Stotts swing was long and loopy, his timing was poor, and, alarmingly, appeared to be uncomfortable in the batters boxsomething that was very unusual for a player whos never been overmatched. The rigidness of Joe Girardi, the clubs manager at the time, did nothing to help the rookie who would find himself on the bench at the first sign of struggle. But, when Girardi was relieved of his managerial duties on June 3, a little bit of weight was lifted from top prospects shoulders.

Given a fresh start with a new skipper, the first-year shortstop could relax knowing that he would find his name in the lineup every day. There would be growing painsas there usually is with young athletesbut he would play through the failure and learn how to be better because of it. Any athlete will tell you that it is impossible to better themselves while cemented on a pine bench. For a young hitter especially, it is vital to continue getting game reps against difficult competition to learn how the best pitchers will try to get you out. Once that is understood and the hitter can either lay off a specific pitch or do damage with it, confidence can be built from within. This is what happened with Stott, who now knows he can compete at the highest level of baseball.

Since June 1, Stott is hitting .261/.322/.424 while playing a stellar shortstop and coming up with a few clutch hits, including this one from Tuesday night. His play since the beginning of June was enough for the Phillies front office to believe in him as the shortstop of the futureand right now. On August 4th, the Phillies released their Opening Day shortstop, Didi Gregorious, which gave Stott an additional boost in confidence. In his last 15 games, Stott has slashed .339/.383/.518.

The Vegas products scorching hot bat has been a result of cleaning up his loopy swing path with a shorter, more direct angle of attack towards the baseball. This has helped him adjust to how big league pitchers attempt to get him out. Earlier in the season, when Stotts swing dipped under the plane of the ball, he was vulnerable to high fastballs as he had the appearance of not being able to catch up to the pitch. However, with an approach focused on hard contact, his swing became shorter, reducing the loop and preventing his back shoulder from dipping too much prior to contact. Now, hes able to put those pitches in play while also staying on pitches low and in, where his natural swing path is prone to barreling the ball. But, the rookies two strike approach, which has become his all-the-time approach, may be the key to his hot streak.

Throughout his professional career, Stott has stood tall at the plate before moving into a toe-tap stride as the pitch is thrown. But now, the rookie doesnt stride at all. When the pitcher winds up, he simply rocks back and allows his hands to attack the baseball. Its a simple approachone that some of the best hitters in the game use when they have two strikes in any given at bat. Bryce Harper began using this during his MVP campaign last season and has continued it this year while Juan Soto uses a modified version of the approach where he spreads his legs out extremely wide and lifts up on his front toe before the pitch is thrown. Some may think, though, that hitters lose power when using this approach since they arent utilizing any sort of leg kick. However, this theory is a fallacy because a hitters leg kick, more than anything, is a timing mechanism. As long as a hitter uses their body correctlymeaning, their hips, legs, and hands move in unison towards the ball with the legs using the ground to drive to impactvery minimal, if any, power is lost. For a hitter like Stott, this approach works tremendously, and is a big reason why the Phillies have placed so much faith in him.

With the in-season adjustments the rookie has made, its evident Stott has all the makings to be penciled in as the Phillies shortstop for the next decade. At his peak, it wouldnt be surprising to see him become a five tool player that can do anything to help the team win. But right now, the rookie is just scratching the surface of his potential. Its no longer a matter of if the top prospect can play at the major league level, but a matter of how good he can be. And who knows, maybe he and his two paper cups will have a special moment in October.

Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA Today Sports

View post:

The Evolution of Bryson Stott - Philadelphia Sports Nation

Matthew A. Lunning, DO, FACP, discusses the evolution of BTK inhibitors in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Matthew A. Lunning, DO, FACP, assistant vice chair of research, the Department of Medicine, assistant vice chancellor of Clinical Research, associate professor of Internal Medicine, the Division of Hematology and Oncology, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, discusses the evolution of BTK inhibitors in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Though BTK inhibitors have remained in the relapsed/refractory setting in mantle cell lymphoma, the agents have become a mainstay of the frontline treatment of CLL, either as a single agent or in combination with a monoclonal antibody, Lunning says.

Investigators are beginning to see data on the combination of BTK Inhibitors and BCL2 inhibitors in the treatment-nave setting of CLL, Lunning continues. Further studies of BTK inhibitors in the frontline setting will continue to inform treatment decisions for their use as a single agent or as the backbone of a doublet or triplet combination, Lunning concludes.

Read more:

Dr. Lunning on the Evolution of BTK Inhibitors in CLL - OncLive