NewzIntel.com

Blog

  • MIL-OSI Video: UK Airports and Economic Growth – Transport Committee

    Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)

    Will airports expansion drive regional economic growth?

    Whether expanding airports in the south east of England can benefit the rest of the UK economy will be the focus of a Transport Committee evidence session.

    MPs will question Aviation Minister Mike Kane MP and a senior Department for Transport official, following a panel with economists and industry experts.

    It comes after the Government recently announced support for a third runway at Heathrow and proposed expansions at Gatwick, Luton and other airports.

    Witnesses may be asked to consider economic factors linked to airport expansion such as: the tourism industry, tax revenues generated, the UK’s large aircraft manufacturing sector, increased capacity for air freight, and catalytic effects on other businesses.

    The New Economics Foundation, which is represented among witnesses in this session, has said it has been “some time” since the Government has assessed the “marginal economic impact” that airports expansion may have. The think tank has also pointed to varying methods of calculating the net economic impact that increased air travel has on the UK economy. For example, whether greater outbound travel by Brits could see a larger proportion of consumer spending happen abroad rather than at home, and to what extent that is offset by money spent in the UK from international tourists.

    Heathrow has itself previously said that expansion would mean growing its workforce of 28,600 people to over 100,000. The cross-party Committee will question a representative of Frontier Economics, a think tank commissioned by Heathrow Airport to look into the potential economic benefits of building a third runway.

    There will also be questions about the capacity of airports around the UK, whether they are surpassing or failing to meet demand, forecasts on future demand, and the role that larger ‘hub’ airports could play with smaller regional ones – a ‘hub and spoke’ model.

    The Minister and DfT will be asked to explain how airport expansion will fit into a wider national strategy for the aviation sector, and how air travel strategically links with other transport networks such as roads and railways.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8EHcgHCdkI

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wisconsin Universities Share Dire Consequences of Illegal Funding Cuts for Lifesaving Research

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is highlighting the dire consequences for lifesaving research at Wisconsin’s Universities after President Donald Trump and Elon Musk announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be making significant, illegal cuts to critical funding used to discover medical breakthroughs. The NIH announced that it is arbitrarily capping indirect cost rates at 15%, which will slash funding that helps research institutions, like the University of Wisconsin, conduct research, operate their facilities and labs, pay staff, and buy equipment needed for groundbreaking work to find cures for diseases and treatments for patients.

    “Cutting funding for lifesaving cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and cancer will hurt Wisconsin families. Period. These illegal cuts will not only mean fewer treatment options for Americans down the road, but it also will cost Wisconsinites their jobs across our state,” said Senator Baldwin. “Elon Musk and Donald Trump are stripping away investments that help Wisconsin families to make room for their tax cut for billionaires and the biggest corporations. I’m standing up for Wisconsin and doing everything I can to push back on this illegal funding cut that will cost American lives and livelihoods.”

    “For decades, the federal government and research universities have had a deep and extremely successful partnership to produce important research for the good of the nation.?UW–Madison has long been a research powerhouse, and this effort is central to our purpose. Federal funding has contributed to a wide variety of critical innovations and discoveries at UW–Madison, from weather satellites that save lives during natural disasters to the ‘UW Solution’ that advanced the practice of organ transplantation by extending the viability of human organs,” said the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Today, campus researchers are leading a major national NIH grant to unlock the mysteries surrounding Alzheimer’s disease in a quest for better treatments, and ultimately, a cure. Work done here saves lives with innovations like cell therapies to treat cancer and heart attacks, improvements in medical imaging, and new treatments for diabetes. Our research enterprise is at the heart of the Wisconsin Idea, our commitment to innovating for the public good and doing work that makes a difference for Wisconsin and the world.”

    “As we continue to assess the situation and its potential impact on our university, we recognize the significant role of NIH-funded research at UW-Milwaukee, totaling $7.9 million from 2019 to 2027. These projects support critical research that enhance quality of life by improving physical and mental health interventions, disease prevention strategies and public health policies. Examples of these projects include studies on genetic mutations linked to birth defects in children, the neuroscience of aging and the effects of wheelchair use on shoulder pain,” said University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone.

    Indirect costs are necessary expenses for universities that support research, including paying key support staff, maintaining equipment, and operating labs, among other activities. Slashing this funding will shift billions of dollars in burdens to states and their taxpayers, who cannot afford to pay the difference. According to a lawsuit filed by 22 states including Wisconsin to block the Trump Administrative directive, this cut to NIH funding at UW-Madison would eliminate approximately $65 million in funding – which would mean layoffs and immediately halting research programs including potentially terminating clinical trials. UW-Madison could be forced to not only stop admitting new patients to some clinical trials, but to scale back ongoing clinical trials. This means slower and fewer treatments for adult and pediatric cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, degenerative neurologic diseases, and more. A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the NIH funding cuts from going into effect, issuing a temporary restraining order, and setting a hearing for February 21.

    Implementing the Trump Administration’s 15% cap on indirect costs would mean an immediate loss of billions of dollars that have already been committed at research institutions across the country to employ tens of thousands of researchers and other workers. It would mean an immediate halt of life-saving health research and cutting-edge biomedical innovations that produce vaccines and cures for diseases like cancer and addiction. It would have a ripple effect across the private sector as it disrupts partnerships with private institutions, causing some of them to go bankrupt. Business communities, mayors, governors, and Chambers of Commerce across the country have all expressed concerns about the devastating impact imposing this illegal, arbitrary policy would have on local and state economies.

    Research institutions in Wisconsin, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, among other University of Wisconsin System schools, will be impacted by these funding cuts.

    As Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Related Agencies, Senator Baldwin is responsible for writing the bill that funds the NIH, which explicitly prohibits NIH from taking this arbitrary action.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two women sentenced for attempting to smuggle Mexican child into U.S.

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LAREDO, Texas – Two U.S. citizens have been ordered to federal prison for attempting to bring a 7-year-old Mexican minor into the United States for personal financial gain, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

    Sisters Naidelyn Yuliana Vielma Jimenez, 22, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and Bianca Jackeline Vielma Jimenez, 23, Laredo, pleaded guilty Sept. 17 and Oct. 17, 2024, respectively. 

    U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña has now imposed a 36-month-term of imprisonment for both sisters to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. 

    On July 9, 2024, both women arrived at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge at Laredo along with their 16-year-old sister and a 7-year-old male. At that time, they all purported to be one family unit and that the male was their 15-year-old brother.  

    They showed authorities a video and photograph allegedly depicting the boy with their family. They also presented a copy of their 15-year-old brother’s documents as additional proof to convince them the child was their brother. 

    However, law enforcement did not believe the boy was the same one depicted and that the child in the vehicle was much younger. Further investigation revealed that the child was not related to the women.

    The two older sisters ultimately admitted they had made an agreement to smuggle the Mexican child into the United States and transport him to San Antonio for a fee of $3,000. 

    “Prior open border policies have inflicted an incalculable human toll, much of which has unfortunately fallen upon innocent children,” said Ganjei. “The Department of Justice, and, in particular, the Southern District of Texas, will do whatever it takes to destroy the market for the trafficking and smuggling of children. For those who profit off this misery, you will be found and prosecuted.”

    Both women were permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future

    Customs and Border Protection conducted this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose Homero Ramirez prosecuted this case. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican Citizen Indicted for Illegal Re-entry into U.S.

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A citizen of Mexico has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of illegal re-entry of a removed alien, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    The one-count Indictment named Juan Antonio Lopez Mauricio, 25, as the sole defendant.

    According to the Indictment, on January 30, 2025, Mauricio was found in this District after having been removed from the United States four times between 2012 and 2015.

    The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to two years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.

    Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment.

    An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Guatemala Resident Charged with Illegal Re-entry of a Removed Alien

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A citizen of Guatemala has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of illegal re-entry of a removed alien, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    The one-count Indictment named Eric Estuardo Hernandez-Ramos, 19, as the sole defendant.

    According to the Indictment, on January 25, 2025, Hernandez-Ramos was found in the Western District of Pennsylvania after having been removed from the United States on or about December 18, 2023.

    The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to two years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.

    Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment.

    An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper, Capito, Peters, Moran Reintroduce Bill to Boost Broadband Supply Chain

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
    NET Act will ensure broadband projects, like those from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, remain on track by identifying supply chain gaps early
    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Shelley Moore Capito, Gary Peters, and Jerry Moran reintroduced their bipartisan Network Equipment Transparency (NET) Act to increase broadband supply chain transparency through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make sure federal broadband programs stay on track.
    Previous supply chain disruptions have delayed broadband infrastructure projects. A lack of transparency into the health of the telecommunications supply chain may contribute to future equipment shortages as federal broadband programs prioritize high-speed, reliable, and accessible networks.
    The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invested billions to jumpstart broadband projects nationwide. This bill would help to identify supply chain issues earlier so they can be addressed with less impact on these ongoing projects.
    “Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will connect every Coloradan to reliable high-speed internet,” said Hickenlooper. “Supply chain disruptions delay the rollout of these projects. We have no time to waste.”
    “In order to effectively connect our communities, it’s critical that our federal agencies work to address any potential problems that would slow or hinder this process of deployment. I’m proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing the NET Act, which will provide us with another tool to monitor the supply chain so these crucial projects can be executed in a timely manner,” Capito said.
    “Resilient, efficient supply chains are essential to keeping prices low and ensuring Americans can get the products they need, and that includes broadband internet,” said Peters. “This bipartisan bill would fortify the investments we made in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand high-speed, affordable internet by identifying issues in the broadband supply chain early, before they impact American businesses, workers, and consumers. I’ll continue to fight for high-speed internet access for all Michiganders.”
    “In this digital age, access to reliable internet can determine the success of farms, businesses and even health care in rural communities,” said Moran. “Adding transparency to the supply chains that support broadband infrastructure projects will help speed up the rollout of programs designed to increase internet activity for rural America.”
    Specifically, the bill would require the FCC’s Communications Marketplace Report to describe to Congress the impact of supply chain disruptions on the timely completion or deployment of broadband infrastructure projects.
    The senators previously introduced the NET Act in the 118th Congress.
    Full text of the bill is available HERE.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Klobuchar, Smith Call on the New Administration to Reconsider Decision to Deactivate Federal Prison Camp Duluth

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn)
    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) called on the Trump Administration’s Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Acting Director William W. Lothrop to reconsider the decision to deactivate Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Duluth and ensure that BOP employees can continue to serve in Duluth.
    “The employees of FPC Duluth and their families strengthen the local economy and have deep roots in the Duluth area,” wrote the Senators. “They have expressed their frustration that the deactivation of FPC Duluth will mean either commuting to Federal Correctional Institution Sandstone — approximately 90 minutes away — relocating to a new state or leaving BOP altogether.”
    “We urge you to direct the Bureau of Prisons to reconsider its decision to deactivate FPC Duluth, and engage with the employees and community in Duluth,” the Senators continued.
    This letter is a follow-up to an earlier oversight letter that Senators Klobuchar and Smith sent to former Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Colette Peters on December 23, 2024, expressing their concern regarding the deactivation.
    The full text of the letter is available here and below:
    Dear Acting Director Lothrop:
    This is a follow up to a letter we sent to former Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Colette Peters on December 23, 2024, expressing our frustration and concern regarding the deactivation of Federal Prison Camp Duluth (FPC Duluth).  
    We renew our questions below:

    On what basis did the BOP determine that the facilities at FPC Duluth are dilapidated, and did the BOP do an assessment of how FPC Duluth’s facilities compare to other minimum-security facilities?

    Did the BOP solicit any input from the employees at FPC Duluth, local community leaders, or other stakeholders when making the decision to deactivate FPC Duluth?

    What steps is the BOP taking to ensure that employees whose livelihoods are impacted by FPC Duluth’s deactivation can remain in the Duluth area? 

    The employees of FPC Duluth and their families strengthen the local economy and have deep roots in the Duluth area. They have expressed their frustration that the deactivation of FPC Duluth will mean either commuting to Federal Correctional Institution Sandstone — approximately 90 minutes away — relocating to a new state or leaving BOP altogether. 
    We are disappointed that the BOP has not kept our offices briefed on its progress to ensure our constituents can find other employment and that the inmates are being transferred in accordance with the law. 
    We urge you to direct the Bureau of Prisons to reconsider its decision to deactivate FPC Duluth, and engage with the employees and community in Duluth.  
    Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: California Teenager Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Nationwide Swatting Spree

    Source: US State of Vermont

    Alan W. Filion, 18, of Lancaster, California, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for making interstate threats to injure the person of another.

    According to the plea agreement, from approximately August 2022 to January 2024, Filion made over 375 swatting and threat calls, including calls in which he claimed to have planted bombs in the targeted locations or threatened to detonate bombs and/or conduct mass shootings at those locations. Filion targeted religious institutions, high schools, colleges and universities, government officials, and numerous individuals across the United States.

    Filion intended his calls to cause large-scale deployment of police and emergency services units to the targeted locations. During these calls, he provided information to law enforcement and emergency services agencies that he knew to be false, such as false names, false claims that he and others had placed explosives in particular locations, false claims that he and others possessed dangerous weapons, including firearms and explosives, and false claims that he and other individuals had committed, or intended to imminently commit, violent crimes.

    In some instances, armed law enforcement officers approached and entered a targeted residence with their weapons drawn and detained individuals that occupied the residence. Indeed, Filion claimed in a post on Jan. 20, 2023, that when he swats someone, he “usually get[s] the cops to drag the victim and their families out of the house cuff them and search the house for dead bodies.” Additionally, Filion’s calls caused law enforcement officers and dispatchers to respond, and to be unavailable in response to other emergencies.

    Filion became a serial swatter for both profit and recreation. He claimed in a Jan. 19, 2023, online post that his “first” swatting was like “2 to 3 years ago” and that “6-9 months ago [he] decided to turn it into a business. . .” On several occasions, Filion placed posts on social media channels advertising his services and swatting-for-a-fee structure.

    On Jan.18, 2024, Filion was arrested in California on Florida state charges arising from a May 2023 threat he made to a religious institution in Sanford, Florida. In that threat, he claimed to have an illegally modified AR-15, a Glock 17 pistol, pipe bombs, and Molotov cocktails. He said that he was going to imminently “commit a mass shooting” and “kill everyone” he saw. He pleaded guilty in federal court to making that threat.

    Filion also pleaded guilty to making three other threatening calls: an October 2022 call to a public high school in the Western District of Washington, in which he threatened to commit a mass shooting and claimed to have planted bombs throughout the school; a May 2023 call to a Historically Black College or University in the Northern District of Florida, in which he claimed to have placed bombs in the walls and ceilings of campus housing that would detonate in about an hour; and a July 2023 call to a local police department dispatch number in the Western District of Texas, in which he falsely identified himself as a senior federal law enforcement officer, provided the federal law-enforcement officer’s residential address to the dispatcher, claimed to have killed the federal officer’s mother, and threatened to kill any responding police officers.

    The FBI and U.S. Secret Service investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the Seminole County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office; the Anacortes (Washington) Police Department; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; the California Department of Justice; the Los Angeles County (California) Sheriff’s Office; and the Volusia County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Kara Wick for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case, with valuable assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section; the State Attorney’s Office for Seminole County, Florida, 18th Judicial Circuit; and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Western District of Washington, Northern District of Florida, Western District of Texas, and District of Columbia. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: New York Man Indicted for Role in Estranged Husband’s Murder in Brazil

    Source: US State of California

    A New York man was arrested and charged in a superseding indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of New York for hiring someone to kill his estranged husband, who was murdered in Rio de Janeiro in January 2024. Sikkema made his initial court appearance on the superseding indictment today in the Southern District of New York.

    According to court documents, beginning in 2023, Daniel Sikkema, 54, of New York City, offered another individual (CC-1) money in exchange for CC-1 killing Sikkema’s estranged husband, with whom Sikkema was involved in contentious divorce proceedings. The victim, who was a U.S. citizen, had amassed a multi-million-dollar estate and often traveled to Rio de Janeiro where he maintained property. In advance of the victim’s murder, Sikkema sent CC-1 money using a stolen identity and intermediaries in an effort to conceal the source of the payments.

    The victim was murdered by CC-1 on Jan. 14, 2024.

    Sikkema is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a murder-for-hire, one count of murder-for-hire, one count of conspiracy to murder a person in a foreign county, and one count of passport fraud. If convicted, he faces a mandatory penalty of life in prison or death. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon for the Southern District of New York, and Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI New York Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI investigated the case.

    Trial Attorney Chelsea Schinnour of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith Foster and Remy Grosbard for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New York Man Indicted for Role in Estranged Husband’s Murder in Brazil

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    A New York man was arrested and charged in a superseding indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of New York for hiring someone to kill his estranged husband, who was murdered in Rio de Janeiro in January 2024. Sikkema made his initial court appearance on the superseding indictment today in the Southern District of New York.

    According to court documents, beginning in 2023, Daniel Sikkema, 54, of New York City, offered another individual (CC-1) money in exchange for CC-1 killing Sikkema’s estranged husband, with whom Sikkema was involved in contentious divorce proceedings. The victim, who was a U.S. citizen, had amassed a multi-million-dollar estate and often traveled to Rio de Janeiro where he maintained property. In advance of the victim’s murder, Sikkema sent CC-1 money using a stolen identity and intermediaries in an effort to conceal the source of the payments.

    The victim was murdered by CC-1 on Jan. 14, 2024.

    Sikkema is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a murder-for-hire, one count of murder-for-hire, one count of conspiracy to murder a person in a foreign county, and one count of passport fraud. If convicted, he faces a mandatory penalty of life in prison or death. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon for the Southern District of New York, and Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI New York Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI investigated the case.

    Trial Attorney Chelsea Schinnour of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith Foster and Remy Grosbard for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Azure for mission-critical workloads in healthcare: EHR and beyond

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Azure for mission-critical workloads in healthcare: EHR and beyond

    In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, digital transformation is no longer a luxury but a necessity. One of the most critical components of this transformation is the electronic health record (EHR) system, which plays a pivotal role in healthcare operations and care delivery. Organizations are actively exploring alternatives for their traditional on-premises infrastructures to overcome significant challenges, including high capital expenditure, frequent expensive hardware refresh cycles, outdated security protocols, and most importantly, managing the data web of siloed systems. By leveraging connected EHR systems in the cloud, providers can also unlock the full potential of their data and further deliver data-driven AI innovations.

    Epic® on Azure

    Azure for mission-critical workloads

    Migrating EHR systems to Microsoft Azure provides healthcare organizations with a robust platform for mission-critical workloads, ensuring optimized performance, fast data access, built-in disaster recovery, and enhanced security features, such as AI-powered threat detection and automated compliance monitoring. On top of that, Azure maximizes cloud investments, offering new possibilities to harness data to springboard AI innovations.

    Data is at the heart of healthcare. Hospitals produce more than 50 petabytes of data across more than 10 siloed systems every year. As the healthcare industry faces the dual challenges of managing vast amounts of unstructured data and a shortage of workforce, up to 97% of healthcare data goes unused, highlighting a significant missed opportunity for operational excellence and better patient insights.1 One of the biggest benefits for healthcare customers on Azure is the ability to unify their multi-modal healthcare data for analytics and AI with healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric that lets them ingest, store, and analyze data from various sources and modalities. While Fabric unifies your data, Microsoft Purview delivers the data governance service that helps you classify the data across your data estate, including identification for sensitive data. Integrating Microsoft Purview with healthcare data solutions in Fabric not only strengthens security but also help you ensure compliance, enabling healthcare organizations to govern their data with confidence. We are acutely aware of the industry expectations in which our technology is utilized, and this is one of the many reasons why our healthcare customers trust Azure for mission-critical workloads.

    As we continue to deliver data innovations, we see our customers use their connected data on a wide spectrum of AI capabilities. With Azure AI, healthcare organizations can accelerate innovation through predictive analytics, automate clinical tasks, and improve patient interactions with the help of ambient AI solutions like DAX Copilot (directly embedded in EHR systems), as well as take advantage of Microsoft healthcare AI models in Azure AI Foundry and GitHub, a collection of cutting-edge multi-modal generative AI models that benefit imaging and radiology workflows.

    Enhanced support for mission-critical

    Mission-critical workloads demand comprehensive support. In 2024, Microsoft Unified enhanced its support for mission-critical workloads in healthcare through its Mission Critical Offerings. This initiative provides proactive support to improve the health, resiliency, and performance of healthcare systems via regular assessments, guidance, and optimization recommendations, ensuring business continuity and addressing unique healthcare challenges.

    Collaborating for technology excellence: A strategic partnership that stands out

    Our commitment to mission-critical is reflected in our collaborations with leading EHR providers such as Epic®. This long-standing relationship of more than 20 years has yielded an optimized solution for Epic® on Azure, offering a robust, purpose-built platform backed by joint-reference architecture. Recently, Microsoft announced expanded scalability on Azure for healthcare organizations, specifically for running Epic®’s Chronicles* Operational Database (ODB), increasing its capacity to 65 million global references per second (GRefs/s), a 171% enhancement from 2023 on the new Mbv3 VM series.

    The collaboration with Epic® extends well beyond the cloud infrastructure—to several products and capabilities part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. Epic® and Microsoft have expanded their collaboration to integrate advanced AI technologies such as Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and the DAX Copilot into Epic®’s EHR system. The integration helps provide AI-powered clinical insights, streamline administrative processes, and improve clinician productivity through features like note summarization and automated coding suggestions.

    Delivering value beyond infrastructure: The Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare promise

    Microsoft’s well-rounded partnership with Epic® is one of the many reasons why Azure is the cloud of choice for many of our healthcare customers.

    The decision to move mission-critical workloads to the cloud is often not just about infrastructure. Customers like Mercy chose Azure to not only modernize their infrastructure but also extract value from sizeable data archives. Mercy’s digital transformation on Azure enabled it to connect previously siloed data and use several Microsoft services such as Azure Data Lake to result in positive business outcomes. For example, by empowering care teams with smart dashboards and insights into factors that determine patient discharge, Mercy has been able to reduce patient stay durations significantly. Mercy employs Azure AI Document Intelligence to scan and recognize information on patient’s insurance cards which then gets updated on their EHR records automatically.

    We recognize our customer’s desire to have a complete digital transformation in the cloud that transcends every layer of the stack, and Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare lets us deliver to that promise. It encapsulates a broad spectrum of innovative data and AI innovations from Microsoft, purpose-built for the healthcare industry, enabling our customers to achieve their cloud-first goals faster and easier. Recently, Microsoft announced several innovations as part of the portfolio, including new healthcare AI models in Azure AI Foundry, capabilities for healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric, the healthcare agent service in Copilot Studio, and an AI-powered nursing workflow solution.

    As customers realize the value of consolidating their IT investments around a single vendor, Azure is increasingly being adopted for mission-critical workloads. By seamlessly connecting and delivering value across all layers of the stack, Azure for mission-critical extends a customer’s return on cloud investments. Customers like St. Luke’s University Health System are reaping the benefits of their Epic® on Azure migration by taking advantage of several synergies in the Microsoft portfolio, like the interoperability of Microsoft Teams with Epic®. Security is of paramount importance when dealing with patient records, and customers like Jefferson Health migrate their Epic® environments to Azure with high confidence with Microsoft Defender for end-point detection and response.

    Next steps

    As we continue to transform mission-critical workloads in the cloud, we are making it easier for our partners and customers to create connected experiences at every point of care, empower their healthcare workforce, and unlock the value from their data, all with uncompromised privacy and security. Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is supporting healthcare organizations on every step of their journey toward shaping a healthier future.

    *Epic® and Chronicles are trademarks of Epic Systems Corporation.

    1World Economic Forum, 4 ways data is improving healthcare, December 2019.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-Evening Report: With a ‘tradwife’ starring in Married at First Sight, a nostalgic vision of womanhood takes centre stage

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina Vogels, Senior Lecturer, School of Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology

    Da Antipina/Shutterstock

    When Married at First Sight Australia bride Lauren Hall said her main goal was to “serve” her man, the reality show contestant was reflecting a growing trend in western culture – the so-called tradwife lifestyle.

    Tradwives are women who choose to take up traditional gendered roles within the home, centred around serving their husband and children. This version of wifehood is underpinned by a deference to one’s husband.

    Because of this, tradwives tend to be financially dependent on their husbands and many also give over decision-making rights to their husbands. In essence, the tradwife lifestyle rejects the past seven decades of feminism.

    But why is being a tradwife growing in popularity in 2025, and how has it become so marketable?

    The rise (or return) of tradwives

    Social media is partly to blame. The tradwife trend has risen in visibility across platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

    Influencer Hannah Neeleman from Ballerina Farm is one of the most prolific tradwife influencers, topping ten-million followers on her Instagram page.

    Other Instagram accounts such as Ekaterina Anderson and Aria Lewis are popular in their own right, with followers ranging from 100,000 to 200,000.

    All promote a joy of domesticity. They post about their daily tasks of baking, preparing meals, raising children and, for many, connecting to the land and living sustainably.

    However, underneath this joy of domesticity is often an advocation of subservience. Many tradwives openly promote the daily pleasure they get from serving their husbands, who they argue are the “natural” head of the household.

    Marketing a romanticised lifestyle

    Why, then, is this version of femininity so desirable?

    For one, tradwives market a romanticised lifestyle. Theirs is reminiscent of the 1950s: a golden age economically, where employment was high, consumables were affordable and the male breadwinner was supported at home by a subservient wife.

    The tradwife lifestyle also promotes a pioneering domesticity. Tradwife influencers often post about baking their own bread, make their own preserves and mending their family’s clothes.

    Many also wear pioneering-type clothing – blouses and long skirts with the signature tradwife apron. A number of tradwives such as Aria Lewis also have their own clothing and merchandise lines for their followers to buy.

    People’s need for “ontological security” (security of the self) – a term coined in 1984 by sociologist Anthony Giddens – is another reason why the tradwife lifestyle is followed by so many women today.

    Broadly speaking, ontological security denotes a desire for a stable identity. Academics Catarina Kinnvall and Jennifer Mitzen offer this explanation:

    As the world is becoming more fragile, contentious, and conflictual, we are, Giddens argues, prone to seek a sense of security, a “protective cocoon”, in established norms and routines and in beliefs about particular narratives of home and secure pasts.

    The tradwife identity offers women this security: a stable, strictly defined and seemingly uncomplicated identity that is predicated solely on serving one’s husband and children. The nostalgia for the 1950s and the pioneering “return to basics” life feeds this sense of security.

    A double entanglement

    It also seems women are desiring the tradwife lifestyle due to the damaging effects of “double entanglement”.

    Society constantly tells women they can “have it all”: sexual freedom, any career they desire and an ability to choose whether or not to become mothers.

    In reality, however, this is an empty promise. Sexually assertive women, women who appear overly dominant in the workplace, and women who choose not to mother are often heavily shamed in society.

    Herein lies the double-entanglement. Women are told they can choose how to live their lives but are then shamed for choosing ways of living that are actually seen as unfeminine.

    It is possible the tradwife identity offers women a version of femininity that provides safe haven from being shamed as “pariahs” in society.

    Sadly, though, there is no safe haven. When you strip away the romanticism of domesticity, the tradwife lifestyle only furthers the difficulties women face today by breeding a deep misogyny that is based on an intense subjugation of women.

    The new female right

    This misogyny is further entrenched by many tradwives’ association with the far-right women’s movement, which is gaining popularity within the United States.

    The BBC’s America’s New Female Right documentary explores the rise of this movement and how it further feeds into narratives that femininity ought to be based on submission to men.

    It seems this version of womanhood will only gain momentum as the world veers even farther to the far right. The uncertainty of today – with frequent economic crises, climate emergencies and other crises of humanity – will only fuel the need for a nostalgic, seemingly simpler life.

    On the surface, this is what many feel a traditional return to womanhood offers. But the costs of giving up the gains of feminism are not clear.

    Christina Vogels does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. With a ‘tradwife’ starring in Married at First Sight, a nostalgic vision of womanhood takes centre stage – https://theconversation.com/with-a-tradwife-starring-in-married-at-first-sight-a-nostalgic-vision-of-womanhood-takes-centre-stage-248861

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How smarter greenhouses could improve the UK’s food security

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sven Batke, Associate Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange – Reader in Plant Science, Edge Hill University

    A tomato greenhouse in north-west England. Sven Batke, CC BY-NC-ND

    When was the last time you walked into a supermarket and marvelled at the abundance of exotic fruits and vegetables, even in the dead of winter? This luxury, now an expectation, only became common in the mid-20th century, reaching the UK some decades later.

    Not long ago, winter produce in UK supermarkets was limited; root vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and parsnips, alongside hardy greens such as kale and cabbage. Fruits were even scarcer, mostly apples and pears. Today’s variety owes much to advances in global trade and smarter greenhouses, which help extend growing seasons and bring once seasonal produce to shelves all year round.

    Fast forward just one generation, and now supermarket shelves are stocked with dragon fruit, bananas, coconuts, avocados, and a variety of exotic nuts and vegetables. These items not only hail from the farthest reaches of the globe, but have also been bred to offer consumers unique sensory experiences or health benefits, such as higher concentrations of antioxidants. It’s no surprise that most of these exotic foods are often not grown locally or even within Europe.

    According to the latest government figures from 2023, 53% of the vegetables consumed in the UK are imported, and only 17% of fruits are grown locally. The contrast is stark when you look at exports, which remain relatively small (about 100,000 tonnes in 2023).

    UK food security could be improved by growing more produce inside smart greenhouses.
    Sven Batke, CC BY-NC-ND

    How often do you eat a UK-grown strawberry or tomato outside summer? Many such vegetables come from the Netherlands, Morocco and Spain, while most fruit comes from Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil. No surprise, given their warmer climates. The UK averages 9-12°C annually, compared to Morocco’s 18-20°C.

    Increasing demand for exotic foods available year-round has made the UK’s food system vulnerable to external market fluctuations. Disruptions, such as trade barriers following Brexit or global hikes in energy prices due to the Ukraine war have placed supply chains under strain.

    Empty supermarket shelves could become more common if we see disruptions in supply chains, putting further pressure on the undervalued domestic growing sector. But could the UK grow more of its own food and reduce reliance on volatile global markets?

    Hi-tech solutions

    Protected horticulture (specifically in the food sector, as opposed to ornamental plants) involves growing fruits and vegetables year-round in controlled environments, such as polytunnels, greenhouses and indoor vertical farms.

    These facilities regulate temperature, humidity and light, and in some cases, even atmospheric gases like CO₂. Water and nutrient inputs are also tightly controlled, reducing waste by up to 95% compared to traditional field-grown methods. This allows year-around protection from the elements. They are often overlooked despite holding the key to solving some of the current food security challenges.



    Read more:
    Four myths about vertical farming debunked by an expert

    As part of the Greenhouse Innovation Consortium, my team of biologists, geographers and I recently mapped over 12,000 greenhouses in Britain. Estimates suggest that around 70% of these structures are more than 40 years old.

    So why haven’t we seen more UK-grown fruits and vegetables on supermarket shelves if we have the technology to produce them? One major reason is the high energy demand of indoor growing, especially in cold and cloudy weather – something we are all too familiar with in the UK. For example, 2024 has seen one of the worse years in total recorded sun hours.

    The UK’s horticulture sector has also received very little government support over the years. There are few incentives for growers to adopt new technology or upgrade infrastructure. Many UK growers still have not adopted technologies like automatic harvest robots or AI-controlled systems, and even simple upgrades like LED growing lights could boost yield by over 50%. However, resource management in this sector requires experience and making these changes is a fine balancing act.

    Most British greenhouses are more than 40 years old so investment is needed to upgrade them.
    Sven Batke, CC BY-NC-ND

    But the future can be bright – if we choose to make it so. To grow more produce all year round without compromising on flavour, the sector needs more investment in local expertise and cutting-edge facilities.

    From precision horticulture to advanced AI-controlled greenhouses, with the right drive and investment, the UK could move towards a more sustainable food production system. Sweden for example is currently investing over £700 million into horticulture.

    While achieving 100% self-sufficiency may not be feasible due to other demands on land, such as housing, conservation, and industry, creating a more resilient and less dependent food sector would benefit everyone (not to mention reducing food miles).

    The UK’s food future doesn’t have to rely on global markets. With investment and innovation, the country can build a resilient, sustainable food system. Year-round demand for exotic produce has exposed supply chain fragility, but fostering domestic growth and technology can change the narrative.

    It’s not about turning back the clock, but about making the most of what the UK has while driving forward the solutions that make sense for the country’s future. The answer is not just more local food. It’s smarter, more resilient food systems that can weather whatever challenges lie ahead.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Sven Batke works together with industry growers and manufactures in the horticulture industry. The work we are doing is part of the Greenhouse Innovation Consortium, which aims to support local growers in the UK.

    – ref. How smarter greenhouses could improve the UK’s food security – https://theconversation.com/how-smarter-greenhouses-could-improve-the-uks-food-security-248719

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why is there an increase in lung cancer among women who have never smoked?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Pinar Uysal-Onganer, Reader in Molecular Biology, University of Westminster

    Lung cancer cases are increasing in people who have never smoked, especially in women, a new study by the World Health Organization’s cancer agency has found.

    The findings, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, reveal that lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer among non-smokers, accounts for nearly 60% of lung cancer cases in women compared to 45% in men.

    About 2.5 million new lung cancer cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2022 – an increase of 300,000 since 2020. The study suggests that environmental factors, particularly air pollution, along with genetic predisposition and immune responses, may be driving this rise in non-smoking-related lung cancer.

    One of the most significant risk factors for lung cancer in non-smokers is genetic mutations, especially mutations in the EGFR gene. This gene provides instructions for producing a protein on the surface of cells involved in growth and division.

    Mutations in this gene drive uncontrolled cell division and tumour growth. They are found in 50% of lung adenocarcinomas in non-smoking Asian women and 19% in non-smoking western women – compared with 10–20% in non-smoking men.

    Advances in genetic testing have made it easier to detect these mutations. However, rising exposure to air pollution, which is known to trigger EGFR mutations – may also be contributing to their increasing prevalence.

    Other genetic changes that drive tumour growth include mutations in the genes ALK and ROS1, which are found in about 5% of lung cancer cases in non-smokers. These mutations are more often seen in younger non-smoking women, particularly in Asia. Thankfully, improved screening programmes, especially in east Asian countries, have helped detect these mutations more frequently.

    Mutations in TP53, a crucial tumour-suppressing gene, also appear to be more commonly found in non-smoking women than in men. This gene prevents cells from becoming cancerous, and its mutation leads to out-of-control cell growth. The hormone oestrogen can interact with TP53 mutations, making lung cancer more likely to develop in women over time.

    Another gene that is worth mentioning is KRAS. Mutations in this gene are usually associated with smoking-related lung cancer, however, they are increasingly being found in non-smokers – particularly women.

    Recent studies suggest that exposure to tiny particles in the air, or PM2.5 (so-called because they are 2.5 micrometres or smaller) may be responsible for these mutations in non-smoker women.

    Since PM2.5 levels continue to rise in many towns and cities, exposure to these particles could be another factor not only in lung cancer but also in other types of cancers in women.

    In addition to genetic predisposition, hormone fluctuations may influence tumour growth in women. Oestrogen receptors are found in lung tissue, and experimental studies suggest that oestrogen promotes tumour growth. Studies have shown.) that women who receive hormone-replacement therapy (HRT), have a lower risk of lung cancer compared with women not on HRT, suggesting that natural oestrogen cycles may provide some level of protection.

    Chronic inflammation

    Beyond genetics and hormones, chronic inflammation could also explain why lung cancer is rising among non-smoking women.

    Women are more likely to develop autoimmune diseases than men, and problems with the immune system can play a role in cancer. Persistent inflammation can cause repeated damage to tissues, leading to changes in DNA and promote abnormal cell growth, all of which raise the risk of cancer.

    Women with autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus have a higher chance of getting lung cancer, possibly because of long-lasting inflammation in the lungs. Inflammatory molecules – like interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha – can exacerbate the cancer by helping tumour cells survive and spread.

    Autoimmune diseases have been increasing globally, probably because of environmental changes, changes in diet and shifts in gut microbiomes (the constellation of microorganisms that live in our guts and play an important role in our health). Because women are disproportionately affected by autoimmune conditions, they may be more vulnerable to chronic inflammation-driven cancer.

    As life expectancy increases, more women are accumulating years of immune system activation, leading to a higher risk of developing inflammation-related lung cancer. In addition, things like pollution, household chemicals and work-related exposures can make immune system problems worse, increasing the risk of cancer even more.

    Air pollution has long been recognised as a significant factor in lung cancer risk, but emerging evidence suggests that women may be particularly vulnerable. Studies show that women’s lung anatomy and function make them more susceptible to the harmful effects of pollutants. Women’s lungs are smaller than men’s, with narrower airways, which might cause more fine particles, like PM2.5, to get trapped in their lungs.

    Additionally, oestrogen has been shown to amplify inflammatory responses when exposed to pollutants, potentially making lung tissue more prone to damage that can lead to lung cancer.

    Women are more exposed to air pollution than men, but in a different way. While men often face pollution from factory work, women spend more time indoors where toxic fumes from cooking and heating are more common.

    Air pollution in the home, especially from things like wood, coal and kerosene, can raise the risk of lung cancer. Women working in places such as textile factories, beauty salons and hospitals are also more exposed to harmful chemicals that can damage the lungs. In rapidly growing cities, women are often in areas with high traffic and factory pollution.

    More significant

    Women are biologically more likely than men to develop certain genetic mutations that increase the risk of lung cancer. However, factors like rising pollution, changes in hormone levels, immune system imbalances and longer life expectancy are making these risks even more significant.

    Recent research suggests that HPV, a virus, may also contribute to lung cancer in women, underscoring the need for further study and preventative measures.

    Understanding the roles of immune, hormonal, genetic and viral factors is key to spotting lung cancer early, creating more effective treatments and developing better ways to prevent it.

    Pinar Uysal-Onganer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Why is there an increase in lung cancer among women who have never smoked? – https://theconversation.com/why-is-there-an-increase-in-lung-cancer-among-women-who-have-never-smoked-249406

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Most animals have their own version of tree rings – here’s how we biologists use them to help species thrive

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anna Sturrock, Senior Lecturer, School of Life Sciences, University of Essex

    Narwhal tusks reveal how they’re affected by declining Arctic ice. Saifullahphtographer

    We have a natural fascination with time – how landscapes have been carved over millennia, how our bodies grow and sag with age, how the stars traverse the sky each night. Scientists probe the layers beneath our feet to understand the secrets of our past. Geologists and palaeontologists sample ice, rock and fossils to reconstruct past climates and species and archaeologists pick through ancient “dustbins” (middens) in excavation sites to reimagine our historical dinner time.

    Similarly, most living things produce records of their own existence in layered body tissues – often in the form of daily or yearly growth bands. The most familiar of these so-called biochronologies are tree rings, which form every year in response to seasonal cycles in temperature and rainfall.

    Dendrochronology – the art of tree-ring counting – allows us to precisely date trees. Based on the rings in its trunk, a bristlecone pine in eastern California known as Methuselah is said to be the world’s oldest living thing at 4,856 years old.

    Methuselah, the world’s oldest living tree.
    Xiaoling Sun

    It’s not just the number of rings, either – their width tells us whether the tree was thriving in a particular year, or suffering due to drought. Chemical compounds locked into the wood offer clues about atmospheric changes, including those produced by volcanic eruptions.

    Tree rings are famously detailed life records.
    Veroja

    Let’s not not stop at trees – your own tooth cement, nails and hair are forming chemical and visual records of your own life experience right now, storing traces of food, drink and drugs you have consumed. They can also produce “stress marks” during trauma or pregnancy, when a mother literally breaks her own body tissues to grow and nourish her baby.

    Elsewhere in the natural world, some of the more surprising examples of biochronologies include whale earwax, narwhal tusks, bird feathers and the bony plates (scutes) on turtle shells.

    Turtle power.
    VLADIMIR VK

    Recent studies, for instance, have applied forensic analyses of whale earwax to explore their stress levels during historic whaling days. Narwhal tusks, meanwhile, have helped explain how declining Arctic sea ice has affected their diet and exposure to pollution.

    The importance of otoliths

    In my lab, we work with aquatic animals – from fish scales and ear bones to squid eyes and beaks. Like decoding a biological black box, we analyse chemical constituents in the growth layers to reconstruct a detailed picture of the individual’s prior health, diet and movements.

    Some biochronologies are more “fickle”, forming layers at unpredictable rates, including the eye lenses of fish and turtle scutes. Others, such as bird feathers, are shorter lived due to periodic moulting. Yet they all share the important feature of serial growth, producing valuable archives that we can probe to build a picture of the animal’s life.

    Probably the best known biochronometer in the animal world – and my own personal obsession – is the fish otolith, or ear bone (Ancient Greek: oto is ear and líthos is stone). We humans have tiny ear stones (otoconia), whose primary function is to maintain balance, but fish otoliths are also crucial for hearing, as well as featuring specific properties that make them particularly valuable markers of biochronology.

    Unlike “normal” bones, fish otoliths are composed of calcium carbonate crystals and are metabolically inert, meaning they never get broken down and rebuilt. Instead they keep growing – even during periods of starvation – producing daily and annual growth bands.

    These beautiful crystalline structures are also highly resistant to degradation and vary in shape between species. This enables scientists to use a combination of “otolith atlases” and artificial intelligence to identify popular choices of fish from otoliths left behind in ancient human middens, as well as in the contemporary stomach contents or poop of predators such as seals, albatrosses and squid.

    Otoliths have driven my research for almost two decades. I’ve been fascinated by animal migration and the ecological and evolutionary processes underpinning these long and dangerous journeys ever since taking a “movement ecology” class at the University of Edinburgh with the brilliant Professor Victoria Braithwaite in 2003.

    I decided I wanted to track marine animals myself, and my lab now primarily uses otolith and eye lens chemistry to reconstruct fish habitat use and growth rates, and the temperatures they experienced through their lives. We are now also investigating how well these same structures track reproductive events, chronic stress and exposure to pollution.

    And we are working with international teams to understand how hypoxia (low oxygen zones or “dead zones”) affect fish growth and reproduction. Ultimately, this data allows us to connect stressful events in a fish’s past to its lifetime health and survival, which is important for predicting a species’ persistence.

    For example, a recent study used otolith-derived metabolic rates of Atlantic bluefin tuna to show their vulnerability to future climate change. Meanwhile in California, we used otolith chemistry to understand the impact of dams on salmon migration and survival, revealing that – on many rivers – dams have made it impossible for salmon to escape into the mountains during summer, which is essential for enabling them to resist the increasingly severe droughts afflicting the region.

    Conservation

    Fisheries managers read the rings on millions of otoliths each year to track individual cohorts and look for warning signs of overfishing, but I would argue that biochronologies are still underused in this field. For example, fisheries managers could use otoliths to track the movements of juveniles too small to be tagged (those under 4cm long), since chemical markers make it possible to identify where they grew up. This would allow these managers to earmark productive or struggling “nursery habitats” for protection or improvement, respectively.

    We consistently find that rivers and estuaries play a critical role in the survival and growth of valuable species such as salmon, sea bass and anchovies. Juvenile fish often have such high natural mortality rates – often only 1% survive to their first birthday – that even small improvements to their survival can result in large boosts in abundance and make wild fisheries more sustainable.

    Small improvements to survival of wild salmon could make a huge difference to their sustainability.
    Jakub Rutkiewicz

    As such, let’s keep up the momentum to clean and restore our rivers and beaches, and to embrace monitoring tools such as biochronologies to learn which actions produce the biggest benefits. Next time you think about banging the glass at an aquarium, just remember that the fish inside are listening – and recording you too.

    Anna Sturrock receives funding from a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship

    – ref. Most animals have their own version of tree rings – here’s how we biologists use them to help species thrive – https://theconversation.com/most-animals-have-their-own-version-of-tree-rings-heres-how-we-biologists-use-them-to-help-species-thrive-249507

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What is Sudan virus and how similar is it to Ebola?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton

    The Ugandan government and the World Health Organization recently confirmed an outbreak of Sudan virus disease. The index (first-known) case of this outbreak is thought to be a 32-year-old male nurse from a hospital in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

    The WHO reported two main clusters, related to the patient’s family and a hospital cluster. At the time of writing, the index case is the sole recorded death. The second case was the patient’s wife, and as of February 11, there were nine confirmed cases.

    Outbreaks of this virus are relatively rare. This new outbreak is the ninth to have been recorded since 1976 when the virus was first identified and – as was practice at the time – named after the location where this first outbreak took place, southern Sudan.

    A 2022 Sudan virus outbreak also in Uganda resulted in 164 cases and 77 deaths (a fatality rate of 47%). There are no treatments or vaccines against the Sudan virus.

    Sudan virus disease is essentially a disease very similar to Ebola. The Ebola virus has caused several high-profile outbreaks. The west Africa 2014-16 outbreak was the largest with 28,600 cases and 11,325 deaths.

    The Sudan and Ebola viruses both come from the orthoebolavirus family, but they have different proteins and genetic components, so the immune response to each virus is different. As such, it’s thought that the Ebola vaccines will not be effective against the Sudan virus.

    For the current Sudan virus outbreak, there are efforts to deploy vaccine candidates and also monoclonal antibody medicines. These medicines create antibodies that aim to stop the virus from replicating.

    In 2022, the WHO recommended two monoclonal antibodies for use against Ebola. There is enthusiasm for similar research related to treatments for the Sudan virus.

    A phase 1 vaccine trial, the earliest phase of testing in humans, is underway.

    The similarities in structure between these two types of orthoebolavirus mean that the symptoms in patients are similar. The illness for both viruses may typically begin with fever, aches and fatigue with potential progression onto diarrhoea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding.

    Laboratory testing is needed to differentiate between the diseases, though the urgent need for isolation remains.

    Early supportive treatment has been shown to reduce mortality rates of Sudan and Ebola virus disease, giving the patient time for their body to recover. This usually involves replacing fluids and treating pain, fever and other possible infections, such as malaria.

    The reporting of the 2022 Sudan virus disease outbreak described how patients would first visit care facilities that were outside of the mainstream health service. There were many new infections across late August 2022 from within private health facilities that drove transmission early on in the outbreak. This suggested a low level of infection prevention and control, and quite possibly a lack of equipment and good practice to contain serious infections.

    When cases were confirmed, most known contacts who developed symptoms were referred to specialist units for testing and hospital care. These referrals typically happened in October, and the outbreak was declared over by the end of November 2022. Although we lack vital tools such as effective vaccines and drugs, contact tracing and appropriate infection control can contain serious outbreaks such as these.

    Climate change driving distribution

    Climate change will have an effect on the geographical distribution of new and emerging infections, such as Ebola and Sudan virus disease and the Crimean-Congo virus. Mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and yellow fever, will find new habitats while dengue and West Nile virus are already becoming more common in Europe and North America.

    International cooperation for addressing global health threats is vital. However, these efforts will be hindered by the volatility and lack of coherence from key stakeholders such as the US government. The world faces uncertain times, and these are ideal circumstances for the Sudan virus and other infectious diseases to thrive.

    Michael Head has previously received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Research England and the UK Department for International Development, and currently receives funding from the UK Medical Research Foundation.

    – ref. What is Sudan virus and how similar is it to Ebola? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-sudan-virus-and-how-similar-is-it-to-ebola-249312

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘When you’ve got nothing in your belly, you can’t concentrate’: teachers on the food banks they run in schools

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sharon Vince, Lecturer in Education and Early Years, University of West London

    Anna Kuzmenko/Shutterstock

    Across England, schools are running food banks to help the children and their families. Research suggests that 21% of schools in England now offer some form of food charity.

    In our recently published book, we carried out research at 12 schools and nurseries with food banks across England, interviewing 30 teachers, headteachers and school staff who ran the food banks. We wanted to explore why there has been such considerable growth in the education sector offering food to families, and the impact it has on children, parents and school staff.

    Many of the schools and nurseries that we visited as part of our research initially set up the food bank in response to the COVID pandemic. This is in keeping with findings from previous research, although the cost-of-living crisis was the stimulus for others.

    Learning better

    Staff in the schools we visited told us that children could not learn if they were hungry. “You know what it’s like when you have nothing to eat and you’ve got nothing in your belly, you can’t concentrate,” one teacher said.

    Through addressing children’s hunger, the school staff we spoke to believed, schools can improve children’s concentration and motivation to learn.

    This echoed the views of almost 18,000 teachers in a 2023 National Education Union survey: 87% of school staff in the survey said that pupils they taught were unable to concentrate as a result of poverty, and over half said that they or their school were providing extra food for children during the school day.

    One headteacher in our study talked about the impact of the food bank on one of the children in their school:

    So he came in all full of beans. ‘I’ve got all gold. Look at my work. Can I have a sticker? ’ And I was like, ‘Someone’s had their Weetabix,’ and they’re like, ‘Yeah, I did. I had that special Weetabix’, … And then it turned out the dad had been into the food bank … that’s why, that’s why I’m doing this.

    The teachers believed that having a food bank at school also led to an improvement in learning and wellbeing through other means, such as reduced family stress. “If you meet the need of the parent, they’re then available to meet the need of the child,” one school staff member said.

    The food banks also helped build closer relationships between families and the school. Teachers told us that families appreciated the support and became more willing to approach the school for help with other issues.

    The caring role of schools

    Beyond the need to improve learning outcomes, however, the main justification for running a food bank was the moral imperative to support families who needed it and could not access help anywhere else. In the words of one teacher: “We’re humans and our natural instinct is to care. That’s why I came into this profession. It’s a caring profession.”

    The teachers felt a moral imperative to care for their pupils and their families.
    Irina Gutyryak/Shutterstock

    The school staff told us about the work that went into running the foodbanks. They sourced food from local food redistribution charities, companies and other families at the school. Often, food was delivered, but sometimes it required collection. In some cases, parent volunteers helped pick up donations. A headteacher told us about how she collected food from a distribution centre:

    I would have literally had to go and root around and find what I needed … At least I am not teaching all day every day. So actually, I can take an hour and a half out – even though it’s only in term – to go and drive there, park up, open my boot, get the two pallets. And it was all heavy stuff – tins – [to] get here.

    We asked the people in our research whether schools should run food banks. Most replied positively, restating the impact that the food bank had upon the learning and wellbeing of children. Others were pragmatic, accepting that right now, there is no alternative support. However, some were critical, suggesting that the government should find alternative solutions to the issue of child poverty.

    While the provision of food for children and families in education settings may be having a beneficial effect, it is not sustainable.

    The burden of child poverty does not fall evenly on schools. Those that provide food banks are disproportionately located in areas with more pupils from deprived backgrounds, and schools with more pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to receive poor Ofsted grades. Operating a food bank requires significant time, energy and funding, none of which are recognised in education policy, or by Ofsted, the schools inspectorate.

    The work that education staff are doing to support children in this way should be celebrated and rewarded, although it is not currently recognised in measures of a school’s effectiveness. But this also risks normalising the presence of food banks in schools. One teacher argued: “Our job is to look after them and educate them and care for them while they’re at school, not to feed them at the weekends or holidays, but we can’t help but be concerned about that.”

    The government should recognise the work that schools and early years settings are doing in this area and ensure that they have the resources needed. Government action to abolish the two-child benefit cap would also support families, lifting 300,000 children out of poverty.

    The government is currently developing a child poverty strategy. These measures would be welcome inclusions.

    Sharon Vince received funding from the British Education Research Association and the Monday Charitable Trust for the projects on food banks.

    Alice Bradbury receives funding from the Helen Hamlyn Trust which funds the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy at UCL. She has also received research funding from the British Education Research Association and the Monday Charitable Trust for the projects on food banks. She is a member of the Labour Party and the Universities and College Union.

    – ref. ‘When you’ve got nothing in your belly, you can’t concentrate’: teachers on the food banks they run in schools – https://theconversation.com/when-youve-got-nothing-in-your-belly-you-cant-concentrate-teachers-on-the-food-banks-they-run-in-schools-248507

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Angola vaccinates over 1 million people as it bolsters cholera outbreak control efforts

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    LUANDA, Angola, February 11, 2025/APO Group/ —

    Antonio Morais, from Paraíso neighborhood in Cacuaco, one of Luanda’s nine municipalities, has witnessed friends and neighbours succumb to cholera. So, when Morais heard about an oral cholera vaccination campaign as part of Angola’s efforts to step up outbreak control, he was first in line to receive a vaccine. “I feel relieved, as I know that vaccines save lives,” he says.

    More than 1 million people have been vaccinated in the three hardest-hit provinces in a five-day campaign to complement the ongoing public health measures to halt the spread of the infectious disease.

    Health facilities and other public places such as markets, churches and schools were used as vaccination posts, while mobile teams visited communities to ensure widespread reach during the 3–7 February campaign. At least 99.5% of the targeted population received the vaccine in a drive led by the Ministry of Health, with support from World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank.

    Around 2000 teams were deployed, including health professionals and community volunteers, under the supervision of around 500 coordinators. In total, more than 6400 staff were involved in the operation, to ensure wide coverage and the success of the campaign. As they conducted vaccinations, health workers provided information on preventive measures, such good hygiene practices and promoted access to safe drinking water, which are fundamental to preventing new cases.  

    Together with key partners such as UNICEF, World Bank, Red Cross, and the private sector, WHO supported the Government in procuring 978 000 vaccine doses through the International Coordinating Group for Vaccine Provision, microplanning, ensuring efficient resource allocation and vaccination coverage. The joint efforts also supported training almost 2000 vaccinators to enhance their capacity to administer the vaccine safely and effectively and provided supportive supervision during the campaign.

    “In this fight against cholera, we acknowledge the role of our development partners and thank them for their unwavering cooperation and support, including WHO and other partners and friends, who have been strong allies in the fight to control this disease,” says Minister of Health Dr Silvia Lutucuta.

    Oral cholera vaccines are an additional tool for cholera control, complementing others such as use of safe water, good hygiene, surveillance, and early treatment. As of 11 February 2025, 3047 cases and 180 deaths had been reported in eight provinces, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 3.4%. During cholera outbreaks, a CFR lower than 1% is commonly considered as acceptable threshold.

    “WHO congratulates the government leadership and reiterates its commitment to continue supporting Angola in its response to the cholera outbreak,” says Dr Zabulon Yoti, WHO Representative in Angola. “We will continue to collaborate with other UN agencies and partners, including the private sector, to support the government in developing sustainable initiatives that guarantee prevention, response, and protection of the population against cholera and other preventable diseases.”

    WHO and key partners have also supported other aspects of the cholera response in Angola, facilitating the drafting of a National Cholera Response Plan, procuring medical supplies, strengthening the capacity of health professionals, distributing water treatment solutions, implementing basic sanitation measures and community mobilization.

    Back in Paraíso, Morais has encouraged everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. “With this vaccine, I know we’ll be better protected. With the availability of drinking water and if we all comply with basic sanitation measures, our community can resume activities and live without fear,” he says. 

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Partners Sports Africa Investment Summit (SAIS2025), to Champion Infrastructure Investment and Grassroots Sports Development

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    LAGOS, Nigeria, February 11, 2025/APO Group/ —“Grassroots sports represent the foundation of our nation’s sporting future. Investing in inclusive and accessible facilities is not just about playing the game; it is about fostering talent, strengthening communities, and fueling the economic potential of sports. SAIS2025 provides a vital platform to drive these conversations and unlock new opportunities for grassroots sports development in Nigeria and across Africa.”

    As Nigeria continues to position sports as a driver of economic diversification, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports remains committed to policies that expand access, promote participation, and harness sports’ transformative power to create opportunities for all.

    Join Prince Anthony Adeyinka Adeboye and other leading voices at SAIS2025 as they discuss actionable pathways to sustainable and inclusive sports development.

    Event Details

    • Dates: February 17–18, 2025
    • Venue: Lagos Continental Hotel, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos
    • Time: 9:00 AM Daily

    For tickets and registration, visit www.SportNigeria.ng/SAIS, email sais@sportnigeria.ng, or contact 0706 203 8705 (Call/WhatsApp).

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: February 11th, 2025 Heinrich Cosponsors American Beef Labeling Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) cosponsored the American Beef Labeling Act, legislation that would reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef. The bill is led by U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

    The legislation would require the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), in consultation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to develop a World Trade Organization-compliant means of reinstating MCOOL for beef within one year of enactment. USTR would have six months to develop a reinstatement plan followed by a six-month window to implement it. If USTR fails to reinstate MCOOL for beef within one year of enactment, it would automatically be reinstated for beef only.

    “American consumers deserve to know where their food comes from,” said Chad Franke president of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU). “American ranchers produce the highest quality beef and they deserve to benefit from that. On behalf of RMFU members and our communities, we thank Senators Lummis and Heinrich for cosponsoring this important legislation.”

    Alongside Heinrich, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and John Hoeven (R-N.D.).

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko spoke in the State Duma during government hour

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko spoke in the State Duma as part of a government hour dedicated to the development of the Education Development Strategy for the period up to 2036 with a perspective up to 2040.

    Dmitry Chernyshenko thanked the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin and the entire deputy corps for the productive dialogue and noted the effectiveness of the government hour format.

    As part of the development of the Strategy for the Development of Education for the Period up to 2036 with a Prospect up to 2040, more than 1.5 thousand experts analyzed over 600 documents from the times of the Russian Empire to the present day.

    In preparing the draft strategy, the systemic instructions of President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin are taken into account.

    For the first time, strategies for leading engineering universities are being developed at the Government level, and an institute of chief designers is being created.

    The content of educational programs is synchronized with the tasks for the OGE and the USE. The child must receive all the knowledge to pass these exams at school.

    A comprehensive plan of measures to improve the quality of mathematical and natural science education for the period up to 2030 has been approved.

    A system of initial vocational education will be introduced in a pilot mode in a number of regions.

    The strategy will state that artificial intelligence and digitalization will not replace live contact between student and teacher.

    “It is important for us to increase the influx of young specialists, this is influenced by the reduction of the bureaucratic burden, and the number of children in the class, and the protection of teachers – their honor and dignity, wages, housing. We have already begun to fight the bureaucratic burden at the legislative level,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

    The strategy should provide opportunities for the participants of the SVO: obtaining a sought-after profession, employment and involving veterans in educational work in educational organizations.

    The Deputy Prime Minister proposed:

    • together with deputies, within the framework of the Education Development Strategy, consider the issue of transferring schools from the municipal to the regional level;

    • The Ministry of Education should work out the issue of teachers completing additional professional education programs at state universities, regional institutes for advanced training, and leading educational centers (Sirius and Innopolis);

    • Rosobrnadzor must ensure monitoring and quality of implementation of these programs.

    In addition, the Ministry of Education and the Russian Academy of Education have been instructed to work on the issue of balancing the workload of students.

    “On the instructions of President Vladimir Putin, the development of the strategy will continue throughout this year. The draft of this fundamental document should be considered by the Council for Science and Education under the President in the second half of the year,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    The event was also attended by the Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov, the Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov, the head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov, the head of Rosobrnadzor Anzor Muzaev, the president of the All-Russian public organization “Russian Union of Rectors” Viktor Sadovnichy, and the president of the Russian Academy of Education Olga Vasilyeva.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General, at Action Summit, Urges Working Together so Artificial Intelligence Expedites Sustainable Development, Not Creates World of ‘Haves and Have-Nots’

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit, in Paris today: 

    Let me begin by thanking President Macron and Prime Minister Modi for convening this AI Action Summit.  Let’s get straight to the point.  Let’s look at the world around us beyond those who are in this room.

    This meeting poses a fundamental question about our relationship with artificial intelligence:  Are we ready for the future?  The answer is easy.  No.  We may not even be ready for the present.

    In what seems like the blink of an eye, AI has gone from the stuff of science fiction to a powerful force that is transforming our world. Reshaping the way we live, work and interact.  Fuelling breakthroughs in education, healthcare, agriculture, but also testing our shared values and rights.

    The power of AI carries immense responsibilities.  Today, that power sits in the hands of a few.  While some companies and some countries are racing ahead with record investments, most developing nations find themselves left out in the cold.  This growing concentration of AI capabilities risks deepening geopolitical divides.

    We must prevent a world of AI “haves” and “have-nots”.  We must all work together so that artificial intelligence can bridge the gap between developed and developing countries — not widen it. It must accelerate sustainable development — not entrench inequalities.

    The United Nations offers an inclusive, transparent and effective platform for AI solidarity.  And we are working to strengthen that platform.  The Global Digital Compact, adopted at the Summit of the Future, established the first universal agreement on the governance of AI.

    It brings the world together around a shared vision:  One where technology serves humanity, not the other way around.  The creation of an Independent International Scientific Panel on AI will be central to translating this vision into reality.

    By pooling global expertise, this Scientific Panel will promote a common understanding of AI risks, benefits, opportunities and capabilities, and help bridge knowledge gaps.  I urge everyone to support its creation without delay.

    Member States also agreed to establish a Global Dialogue on AI Governance — within the United Nations — to ensure that all countries have a voice in shaping the future of AI.  Through the Global Dialogue, we can align governance efforts around the world and reinforce their interoperability, uphold human rights in AI applications and prevent misuse.

    The UN provides an inclusive forum for cooperation, complementing existing mechanisms such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) AI Principles, Group of 7 (G7) and the Global Partnership on AI — as well as regional efforts by the African Union, European Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Council of Europe.  And I am confident that discussions at this Summit will help enrich this Dialogue.

    The Compact also calls for building AI capacity in developing nations.  This is not only about technology diffusion.  We need concerted efforts to build sustainable digital infrastructure at an unprecedented scale; foster talent and train workforces to develop, deploy and maintain AI systems; and ultimately, empower peoples and nations to become not just users, but active participants in the AI revolution.

    A global AI capacity-building network, as proposed by my High-Level Advisory Body on AI, is an economic necessity and a moral imperative. Today’s launch of the AI Foundation for Public Interest is an important contribution.

    I will soon present a report on innovative voluntary financing models and capacity-building initiatives to help all countries harness AI as a force for good.

    Finally, we know that AI can be a force for climate action and energy efficiency.  But, we also know AI power-intensive systems are already placing an unsustainable strain on our planet.  So, it is crucial to design AI algorithms and infrastructures that consume less energy and integrate AI into smart grids to optimize power use.  From data centres to training models, AI must run on sustainable energy so that it fuels a more sustainable future.

    I began with a question.  Let me end with a few more.  Who decides what problems AI should or should not solve?  Who benefits most from its deployment?  Who bears the cost of its mistakes?  These questions affect everyone — so the answers must also involve everyone.

    It is in all our interests for Governments and technology leaders to commit to global guardrails, share best practices and shape fair policy and business models.  The whole world benefits when development banks and the philanthropic community provide catalytic funding to jumpstart capacity-building worldwide.  And we all stand to gain when academia and thought leaders help us navigate through this complex landscape.

    AI is not standing still.  Neither can we.  Let us move for an AI that is shaped by all of humanity, for all of humanity.  In other words, let’s make sure we are ready for the future.  Right now.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI: Auer Growth Fund [AUERX] Earns 5-Star Overall Morningstar Rating™

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SBAuer Funds, LLC, announced its Auer Growth Fund [AUERX] has earned an overall Morningstar Rating™ of 5 stars among 464 Small Value funds based upon risk-adjusted returns as of 12/31/2024.

    As of 12/31/2024, AUERX showed a 1-year return of 11.31% while its benchmark, the S&P 500, posted 25.02%; a 3-year return of 14.08% as the S&P 500 returned 8.94%; a 5-year return of 16.16% versus 14.53% by the S&P 500; and a 10-year return of 9.08% while the S&P 500 posted a 13.10% return during that same period. Within the Small Value category of funds based upon total returns, the Auer Growth Fund ranked in the 27th percentile out of 488 funds at the 1-year mark, in the 2nd percentile out of 464 funds at the 3-year mark, the 4th percentile out of 441 funds at the 5-year mark, and the 12th percentile out of 349 funds at 10 years.

    Morningstar’s 5-star rating system assigns a one- to five-star ranking to each fund based on past performance of risk-adjusted returns relative to peer funds, according to Investopedia. Graded on a curve, star ratings give the top 10% of funds 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive four stars, the middle 35% get three stars, followed by 22.5% percent receiving two stars and the bottom 10% only getting one star.

    “I have always liked the following quote from Muriel Siebert, ‘You create opportunities by performing, not complaining,’” says AUERX fund manager Bob Auer. “And I believe it’s the perfect summation of our performance rating with Morningstar, which we’re extremely excited about.”

    SBAuer was established in 2008 when, after twenty years of investing with the strategy, father and son team Bryan and Bob Auer converted their portfolio into a retail mutual fund—the Auer Growth Fund. Currently, lead manager Bob Auer and managers Eric McKenzie and Auer’s brother Paul oversee the Fund’s investment picks.

    Maintaining a disciplined investment strategy, the Auer Growth Fund selects stocks of companies whose quarterly year-over-year profit growth is 25% with quarterly year-over-year revenue growth of at least 20%; stocks must also have a price-to-earnings ratio of less than 12 times earnings. Any stock that doesn’t meet the firm’s demanding criteria on a quarterly basis is removed from the portfolio, plus a stock is sold if it doubles in value.

    About SB Auer, LLC:
    SB Auer Funds, LLC, is an SEC-registered, registered investment advisor with $59.8 million AUM as of 12/31/2024.
    All of its assets are in the Auer Growth Fund, with the sole objective being capital appreciation. Visit sbauerfunds.com for information.

    Disclosures: 
    AUERX (12/31/2024) – 1 Year: 11.31%, 3 Year: 14.08%, 5 Year: 16.16%, 10 Year: 9.09%, Total Gross Expense Ratio: 2.07% as of March 29, 2024.

    You should carefully consider the investment objectives, potential risks, management fees, and charges and expenses of the Fund before investing. The Fund’s prospectus contains this and other information about the Fund, and should be read carefully before investing. You may obtain a current copy of the Fund’s prospectus by calling 888-711-2837.

    Performance quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than what is stated. Investment return and principal value will vary with market conditions so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. For current to most recent month-end performance, please visit sbauerfunds.com/performance or call us at 888-711-2837. The Fund imposes a 1% redemption fee on proceeds redeemed or exchanged within 7 days of purchase. The performance illustrated does not include the effect of the redemption charge. If it did, performance would have been lower.

    Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. You could lose money by investing in the Fund. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved. Small-cap and mid-cap investing involves greater risk not associated with investing in more established companies, such as greater price volatility, business risk, less liquidity and increased competitive threat. Stocks of micro-capitalization companies are more volatile, less liquid, involve substantial risks, and are subject to more abrupt or erratic movements than small, mid or large capitalization companies. The Fund invests in companies that appear to be growth-oriented companies. If the Adviser’s perceptions of a company’s growth potential are wrong, the securities purchased may not perform as expected, causing losses that will reduce the Fund’s return. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

    The S&P 500 Index is a widely recognized unmanaged index of equity prices and are representative of a broader market and range of securities than is found in the Fund’s portfolio. The Index returns do not reflect the deduction of expenses, which have been deducted from the Fund’s returns. The Index return assumes reinvestment of all distributions and does not reflect the deduction of taxes and fees.

    © 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

    The Morningstar Rating TM for funds, or “star rating,” is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. As of 12/31/24, the Auer Growth (AUERX) fund received a ten-year rating of 4 stars out of 349 Small Value funds, a five-year rating of 5 stars out of 441 funds, and three-year rating of 5 stars out of 464 funds. The Auer Growth Fund inception is December 28, 2007.

    Morningstar classifies funds into categories based on similar investment objective and strategy. Morningstar percentile rankings are based on a fund’s total return compared to its Morningstar Category of exchange-traded and open-end mutual funds. The highest percentile rank is 1 and the lowest percentile rank is 100. Rankings are relative to a peer group and do not necessarily mean the fund had high or positive total returns. Morningstar updates its fund rankings daily. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

    Auer Growth Fund is distributed by Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC, 225 Pictoria Dr., Suite 450 , Cincinnati, OH 45246 United States. (Member FINRA). Ultimus Fund Solutions and Auer Growth Fund are not affiliated entities.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Get future ready with the employability and skills conference!

    Source: Northern Ireland City of Armagh

    (L-R) Tracy Rice (Southern Regional College & ABC LMP Chairperson); Councillor Sarah Duffy (Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon) and Alderman Paul Greenfield (Economic Development and Regeneration Committee Chair) at the launch of the Employability and Skills Conference.

    The annual Employability and Skills Conference returns to Armagh City Hotel on Thursday 13 March! The event will focus on helping businesses to ‘get future ready’ by recruiting, retaining and reskilling a resilient and talented workforce to help secure the future growth of the local economy.

    The ‘Get Future Ready: Employability and Skills’ series is part of the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Labour Market Partnership. Funded by the Department for Communities, Labour Market Partnerships create targeted employment action plans for council areas, allowing for collaboration at local and regional level to support people towards and into work.

    Hosted by Mark Simpson, this event is open to all local employers, residents and community representatives as well as education and training providers and employment support agencies.

    A host of keynote speakers will share their experience and insights, including Dr Eoin Magennis from Ulster University (‘The Future is Now – Setting the Scene’); Ann Watt from Pivotal (‘Tackling Economic Inactivity with Innovative Workforce Strategies’) and Kathleen O’Hare from Northern Ireland Skills Council (‘Crafting Tomorrow’s Talent: How NI is Shaping the Skills of the Future’). Elaine Leonard from The Appleby Trust will discuss the subject of Embracing Neurodiversity and Unlocking unique strengths for a Thriving Workforce.

    Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Sarah Duffy commented:

    “The Employability and Skills Conference is a key event for local employers and job seekers to explore the economic developments and challenges and to address the skills and abilities that will be needed in the workplace going forward.

    “I look forward to welcoming our keynote speakers and business representatives who will be encouraging businesses to adapt and evolve to remain competitive, be open to new ideas, take calculated risks, experiment with different approaches and capitalise on the business support available.

    “Council is committed to working together with stakeholders to create a talented and motivated workforce to meet future challenges and to ensure everyone can benefit from a growing and vibrant economy.”

    The conference will also feature an insightful panel discussion on the evolving landscape of recruitment and training. Leading employers will share their perspectives on rethinking traditional hiring practices and upskilling strategies, highlighting innovative approaches that foster diversity, efficiency, and future-ready talent in the workplace.

    Attendees will have the chance to connect with a diverse range of exhibitors, fostering opportunities to advance recruitment, retention and reskilling options for their business.

    More information can be found at www.bit.ly/ABCconference2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General – on the passing of His Excellency Dr. Sam Nujoma

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    The Secretary-General joins the people of Namibia in mourning the passing of His Excellency Dr. Sam Nujoma.
     
    An architect of Namibia’s liberation struggle and recognized as its founding father, Dr. Nujoma led the nation’s transition to independence in 1990, when he was elected as the country’s first President. The United Nations stood alongside Dr. Nujoma and all Namibians, as the world witnessed the raising of the flag of the newly free and sovereign nation on 21 March of that year.
     
    As President, Dr. Nujoma demonstrated steadfast leadership in the face of immense challenges, leaving an indelible mark on his country, Africa and the world. 

    The Secretary-General extends his heartfelt condolences to Dr. Nujoma’s family and to the Government and people of Namibia.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Avoid ‘at All Costs’ Resumption of Hostilities in Gaza, Secretary-General Urges, Stressing Both Sides Must Fully Abide by Ceasefire Agreement, Resume Talks

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    Press Release

    SG/SM/22549

    Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ statement on the situation in Gaza, in Paris today: 

    We must avoid at all costs the resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to an immense tragedy.

    I appeal to Hamas to proceed with the planned liberation of hostages next Saturday.

    Both sides must fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement and resume serious negotiations in Doha for the second phase.

    Middle East
    Palestinian issues

    For information media. Not an official record.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: EIA revises forecast for 2025 U.S. natural gas prices, leaves other forecasts largely unchanged

    Source: US Energy Information Administration

    U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
    WASHINGTON DC 20585

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    February 11, 2025

    The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its February Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), revising its forecast for 2025 average U.S. benchmark Henry Hub natural gas spot prices upward following a cold end to January.

    U.S. energy market indicators 2024 2025 2026
    Brent crude oil spot price (dollars per barrel) $81 $74 $66
    Retail gasoline price (dollars per gallon) $3.30 $3.20 $3.10
    U.S. crude oil production (million barrels per day) 13.2 13.6 13.7
    Natural gas price at Henry Hub (dollars per million British thermal units) $2.20 $3.80 $4.20
    U.S. liquefied natural gas gross exports (billion cubic feet per day) 12 14 16
    Shares of U.S. electricity generation       
    Natural gas 43% 40% 39%
    Coal 16% 16% 15%
    Renewables 23% 25% 27%
    Nuclear 19% 19% 19%
    U.S. GDP (percentage change) 2.8% 2.1% 2.0%
    U.S. CO2 emissions (billion metric tons) 4.8 4.8 4.8
    Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, February 2025

    Some key highlights from the February STEO include:

    • Natural gas prices: Cold weather at the end of January increased demand for space heating and contributed to a 12% increase in U.S. natural gas consumption over the previous five-year average for the month. Higher natural gas consumption led to above-average inventory withdrawals, and EIA now expects the benchmark Henry Hub spot price to average $3.80 per million British thermal units in 2025, about 20% higher than previously forecast.
    • Crude oil production and prices: EIA continues to expect growth in global oil production and significant decreases in crude oil prices through 2026. EIA completed its January forecasts before additional sanctions against Russia’s oil and shipping sectors were announced, which created additional uncertainty in outlooks for crude oil supply. EIA does not expect the sanctions to have significant impact on global oil production or prices, although trade flows could be affected.
    • U.S. refinery operations: EIA expects U.S. production of refined petroleum products to decrease by about 190,000 barrels per day in 2025 and by 180,000 barrels per day in 2026 as two refineries close operations. LyondellBasell began closing its Houston refinery on January 27 and Phillips 66 plans to close its Los Angeles refinery at the end of the year. EIA expects that in 2026, the United States will begin importing more gasoline and jet fuel than it exports while remaining a net exporter of distillate fuel oil.
    • Residential electricity prices: EIA forecasts that retail electricity prices for the U.S. residential sector will grow by 2% in 2025, which would be the smallest annual increase in residential electricity prices since 2020. The modest price increase, similar to the expected rate of inflation growth, reflects relatively low natural gas prices over the past year offset by continuing expenses for improvements in grid infrastructure.
    • U.S. coal exports: EIA expects the United States to export about 100 million short tons of coal in both 2025 and 2026, about 2% less than EIA’s January forecast. EIA expects that China’s tariffs against the United States will affect U.S. coal exports, but exporters are likely to find customers in other markets, limiting the tariff’s impact.

    The full February 2025 Short-Term Energy Outlook is available on the EIA website.

    The product described in this press release was prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. By law, EIA’s data, analysis, and forecasts are independent of approval by any other officer or employee of the U.S. government. The views in the product and this press release therefore should not be construed as representing those of the U.S. Department of Energy or other federal agencies.

    EIA Program Contact: Tim Hess, STEO@eia.gov
    EIA Press Contact: Chris Higginbotham, EIAMedia@eia.gov

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Renames Fort Liberty to Fort Bragg

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    While flying aboard a C-17 from Joint Base Andrews to Stuttgart on February 10, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum renaming Fort Liberty in North Carolina to Fort Bragg. The new name pays tribute to Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II hero who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his exceptional courage during the Battle of the Bulge. This change underscores the installation’s legacy of recognizing those who have demonstrated extraordinary service and sacrifice for the nation.

    Attributed to DOD Press Secretary John Ullyot.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Enfield Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for Producing and Possessing Child Sex Abuse Material

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KATRELL JOHNSON, 35, of Enfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 25 years of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for producing and possessing child sex abuse images and videos.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, in April and May 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”) received CyberTipline reports from Google and WhatsApp that accounts, which were subsequently connected to Johnson, had been used to upload images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.  A court-authorized search of two of Johnson’s Google accounts revealed approximately 1,500 child sex abuse images and videos, including images and videos of prepubescent children, and images that Johnson created of two minor victims he had abused.

    Johnson has been detained since his arrest on July 13, 2023.  On February 14, 2024, he pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.

    This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Enfield Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan J. Guevremont.

    This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

    To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three Charged For Their Role In Major Theft Organization Targeting Luxury Vehicles

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the  return of an indictment charging Michel Serrano (34, Lehigh Acres) with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles and the sale and possession of stolen motor vehicles, as well as two counts of interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles. If convicted on all counts, Serrano faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. Julio Sanchez (35, Redwood City, California) and Angel Mares (56, San Jose, California) were also charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles and the sale and possession of stolen motor vehicles. If convicted on this count, Sanchez and Mares each face a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Serrano, Sanchez, and Mares that the United States is seeking an order of forfeiture for any property, real or personal, which is traceable to the proceeds of the crimes, and an order of forfeiture in the amount of the proceeds of the crimes.

    According to the indictment, beginning at least as early as June 2020 and continuing through May 2021, Serrano, Sanchez, Mares, and their co-conspirators stole high-end vehicles from throughout the state of Florida. Vehicles were stolen from car dealerships, residences and residential parking garages, and other businesses. The conspirators altered the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) on the stolen motor vehicles, then transported the stolen vehicles on semi-trucks across state lines with the intent to sell them. The conspirators then sold the stolen motor vehicles to purchasers. For an additional fee, the conspirators would provide the purchaser a full vehicle registration and title within the state of California. The conspirators were paid by the purchasers through cash and checks for the stolen vehicles. 

    An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Highway Patrol, with assistance from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Tampa Police Department, Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, Pasco Sheriff’s Office, Dade City Police Department, Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Bradenton Police Department, Cape Coral Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany E. Fields.

    MIL Security OSI –