NewzIntel.com

Category: Science

  • MIL-OSI Global: How to argue without falling out – an expert guide

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jessica Robles, Lecturer in Social Psychology, Loughborough University

    Pormezz / Shutterstock

    To disagree is an inescapable part of being human. We simply are not all the same. But whereas a small disagreement may remain amiable, particularly over text or online where we can edit our responses, a face-to-face row over a sensitive topic can develop into a more antagonistic form of argument.

    You may have experienced this over the recent festive season, when many of us spend more time in close contact with our relatives than usual. This can sometimes bring simmering tensions to the surface.

    An argument can start over a lot of things, from politics to each other’s behaviour – something anyone who spends much time on social media will be familiar with. But the stronger the view, the more intense and complex an argument can become.

    So, what can you do to avoid a minor argument becoming a major row – whether online or face-to-face? As an expert in social interactions, I think paying attention to what someone says – and how they say it – is crucial, along with learning how to avoid responding in ways that might blow up in your face.

    Remember, disagreements are a normal part of life and relationships. But here are three key tips for how to avoid them escalating into something more serious.

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    1. Manage escalation

    If you disagree with someone, stay in the conversation in a productive way by avoiding using direct insults. Also, take care to avoid actions that may put the other person on the back foot, such as accusing, complaining or mocking them.

    We tend to put a lot of emphasis on the content of an argument, and also on our assumptions about what the other person “really thinks”. What is the argument about? Is it just a misunderstanding – or is it a matter of personality, where one party is biased or has some ulterior motive?

    The rise of social media has created an age of endless conflict.
    pathdoc / Shutterstock

    We care very much whether the person actually believes what they are saying. Research suggests we often resent people playing “devil’s advocate” outside of certain settings.

    But you cannot truly know someone’s intentions, so it’s a good idea to avoid thinking the worst about the person you are arguing with. Otherwise, you might unfairly talk to them as if they’re being manipulative, unfair, damaging or thoughtless.

    2. Be open-minded

    Sometimes, what someone has said may sound (and feel) pretty awful. When this happens, keep two things in mind.

    First, nothing we say has just one meaning. There are often multiple interpretations, and you cannot always trust the first one that leaps to mind when you’re in the heat of the moment.

    During an argument, it’s worth slowing down and thinking through all possible interpretations. Consider asking for a moment to think, or getting a cup of tea to distract both of you from an escalation.

    Second, if what the person is saying still sounds negative no matter how charitable you try to be, ask them to explain more. This may not be easy to do, but people will often reveal what they meant if they have to elaborate. And helping them feel as if they are being carefully listened to might defuse a possible escalation.

    3. Stay on track

    There is another side to this coin: choosing carefully what you say, and keeping in mind how you will come across. Anyone can get caught up in an argument and say something they regret, including you.

    Something to balance carefully is “going meta” – pausing to talk about the argument you’re having and the way you’re having it. This can be productive if, for instance, you ask to keep the conversation focused on something specific. However, it can easily come across as an implicit criticism of the other person.

    If you do choose to discuss the quarrel you’re having, you may have to include an apology or speak in a quieter tone to keep the other person from thinking you are going to accuse them of arguing “wrongly” in some way. It’s challenging, so don’t feel bad if you don’t get it right the first time you try this technique.

    Anyone can get caught up in an argument, including you.
    fizkes / Shutterstock

    Do we have the same values?

    People don’t just argue for the sake of arguing. One of the main reasons for engaging in an argument is to position ourselves in relation to other people. Are we on the same side, and do we have the same values?

    Arguments are also tied to identity. The most contentious arguments generate strong feelings. We’re aware that we might be judged for our opinions, and others will assume that we might judge them in return.

    Mutual judgment can easily escalate not just during a disagreement but in the relationship as a whole, causing a temporary falling-out or even loss of friendship. People who want to avoid this often assume the answer is to simply put their feelings aside and “focus on facts”.

    But denying an emotional response might feel like denying one’s commitment to a valued cause. Recognising that someone feels this way is an important step to knowing what you might be able to change their mind about – and what is best left alone, at least for now.

    Jessica Robles 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. How to argue without falling out – an expert guide – https://theconversation.com/how-to-argue-without-falling-out-an-expert-guide-236812

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Will multinational companies flock to Syria? Maybe, if foreign aid arrives first

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ana Carolina Garriga, Professor of Political Science, University of Essex

    hanohiki / Shutterstock

    Syria’s new foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, recently appeared at the World Economic Forum’s annual conference in the Swiss resort of Davos. He announced that his country is open for business and seeking foreign investment.

    After more than 13 years of civil war and decades of dictatorship that saw Syria become a pariah state, the country needs all the financial support it can get. But will foreign firms set up shop in Syria?

    Countries like Syria, emerging from conflict, face the challenge of convincing investors they are a safe environment for investment. Our research suggests companies look at what governments are doing in terms of aid when considering whether to invest. In general, post-war countries that receive more foreign aid subsequently receive more foreign investment.

    Foreign direct investment (FDI) typically involves multinational companies building factories, opening stores or investing capital in businesses abroad. It can be highly beneficial for developing countries.

    FDI is the most stable source of international financing, and generally has positive long-term effects on economic growth and poverty reduction. More importantly for incumbent governments, FDI has positive short-term effects on domestic employment, government financing and spending, and foreign exchange reserves.

    It also has a potential positive effect on government approval ratings, as attracting inward FDI signifies political competence to voters. These reasons are why almost all governments compete to receive these financial flows.

    FDI is especially important in post-conflict countries. Civil wars typically destroy or seriously harm the productive capacity of countries. In Syria, the conflict destroyed tens of billions of US dollars worth of infrastructure, and incapacitated more than half its electrical grid.

    After 13 years of civil war, Syria needs all the financial support it can get.
    Vagabjorn / Shutterstock

    War often disrupts a country’s access to the international economic exchanges that help economic growth. Since the beginning of its conflict in March 2011, Syria’s annual exports have dropped from US$8.8 billion (£7.1 billion) to US$1 billion, due to the war and war-related sanctions. Its economy has shrunk by 54%.

    Foreign investment can contribute substantially to rebuilding the economy. But post-conflict countries might seem risky to investors.

    Foreign firms sometimes avoid countries plagued by violence, political instability, or political risk. Conflict could reemerge in Syria, and multinational corporations probably do not want their business in a place where factories could be bombed or customers killed.

    Post-conflict situations are also relatively information-poor environments. Conflict often hampers data collection efforts, and governments, in desperate need of capital, may be incentivised to misrepresent the actual state of the economy or strength of the political system.

    In the case of Syria, foreign observers do not know what to make of the new ruling coalition, which is led by a designated terrorist organisation in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. While the international community seems to want to support Syria – the UK, for example, has been clear about its intention to help the country – observers are unsure about the environment and how it might change in the coming years.

    In these kinds of situation, international investors look at a variety of signals. In our research, we show that one key signal is whether other governments have sent official development aid to post-conflict countries.

    Following the aid

    We argue that the decision to send aid to a country signals the donors’ trust of local authorities. What matters is this presence of aid, whether or not the aid achieves its intended purpose.

    Examining decades of global data, we have found a robust relationship between foreign aid and subsequent investment in post-conflict countries – with one striking exception.

    There does not seem to be a relationship between aid from the US and foreign investment. Because so much of US foreign aid is geostrategic – to shore up alliances or secure access to particular areas – investors do not seem to view it as a valuable signal about the recipient country.

    So, Syria should perhaps not worry too much about the new US president Donald Trump’s plan to cut American foreign aid. If aid from other government donors can still flow in, this could encourage investment to follow.

    Fortunately for Syria, some countries and international organisations have already pledged aid – including the UK, which has announced £50 million in humanitarian aid for the country and its refugees. This seems like a good sign for Syria’s future – even more so because of the signal it sends to foreign investors.

    Specific domestic policies that encourage FDI and build stronger institutions will be necessary to secure investment in the longer term. Syria will need to demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law and property rights, while creating a stable environment for investment.

    However, if the pledged aid materialises – and if more countries chip in – this could lead to substantial economic benefits for Syria.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Will multinational companies flock to Syria? Maybe, if foreign aid arrives first – https://theconversation.com/will-multinational-companies-flock-to-syria-maybe-if-foreign-aid-arrives-first-248406

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Education Secretary speech on new era of school standards

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speaking at the Centre for Social Justice, Bridget Phillipson laid out plans for a new era of school standards delivering on the Plan for Change.

    Good morning, everyone.

    Thanks so much for being here. And thanks to the Centre for Social Justice for hosting us. And thanks to Andy.

    It’s great to be back here, this time as Education Secretary, six months into delivering our Plan for Change.

    I know CSJ shares this government’s commitment to ensuring that, whoever you are, wherever you come from, ours should be a country where hard work means you don’t just get by but you get on.

    Some of you were here last year, when I started my speech with a story. And today I want to start with a story too:

    A story about how and why the change I am bringing to the education system matters to me.

    It’s my story.

    I grew up in the late ’80s and early ’90s, a shy little girl, from a tough street in the northeast of England, [political content removed]

    I never met my dad. It was just me and my mum – and my grandparents who lived nearby.

    We didn’t have much. One winter, a neighbour, who himself, he didn’t have very much, found out I’d been playing outside wearing only a jumper.

    He put money through the letterbox in an envelope marked “for Bridget’s coat”.

    Now, not everyone turned to kindness. Crime was a big problem. Our house was burgled time and again.

    And when my mum reported it to the police, our windows were put out, a man turned up with a baseball bat.

    It didn’t seem like that big a deal at the time. These were just things that happened, and frankly not just to us.

    I think often of the children I knew then, held back by who they were, by where they were born.

    So many on my street were denied the opportunity to get on and to succeed.

    Not because they were lazy, they weren’t. 

    They were no less talented than I was, no less ambitious, no less deserving of success.

    But I was given the opportunities that they were denied. I went to great schools, I was taught by wonderful teachers, I had a family that prized learning.

    I was in the very first full cohort to sit SATs tests at Key Stage 1, 2 and 3. I benefited from the national curriculum brought in by a [political content removed] government.

    My school took up that challenge to push kids like me to achieve.

    I worked hard, of course I did.

    But I had the good luck to go to a great school, to have a family who cared deeply about education, a grandfather who read to me week in, week out.

    And like so many stories, this one has a moral lesson at its core.

    I am proof that the system can work, that a great education can be a transformational force, that background doesn’t have to be destiny.

    That belief formed then, is the core of my politics now.

    That the promise our children deserve, that hard work is what counts, no matter your background.

    I believe in that promise, in making that dream real.

    But I saw so many of my friends from my area let down, let down by a system that lacked a restless ambition for their futures, content, too often, to deliver a mediocre education, middling, in schools that drifted, an education that was seen as ‘just fine’ for ‘these kids’.

    For kids like me.

    Michael Gove used to call this ‘the soft bigotry of low expectations’ and with good reason: he was right.

    But I don’t need to be told about that. I grew up with it all around me, in my community, holding back my friends.

    I don’t forget. Not now. Not ever.

    It’s these memories of those injustices, the doors closed, the dreams stifled, the futures denied, that’s what drives me forward in this job.

    I get up every morning to right those wrongs.

    To break down the barriers to opportunity for each and every child.

    Background wasn’t my destiny.

    And I won’t rest until that is true for all children.

    That is my vision for education.

    Opportunity, for those children, for all children. That is our mission, driven by the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.

    An excellent teacher for every child, a high-quality curriculum for every school, a core offer of excellence for every parent.

    Raising a floor of high standards, below which schools must not slip, above which schools can and must innovate, with no ceiling.

    Now, those memories are from a long time ago. And in the decades since, standards in England’s schools have risen, and millions of children have benefited.

    Our system now has many strengths, to build into that core. The greater use of evidence in classrooms across the country.

    No more flying blind, guided only by tradition.

    Now, what matters is what works [political content removed] reformed exams – more rigour, more challenge.

    Our national curriculum, a national strength, one from which we will build.

    Raising the floor, removing the ceiling.

    Take one example, one that matters immensely.

    Every child learns about the Holocaust, thanks to the national curriculum. That’s the floor we need.

    But teachers can then innovate in how they teach it.

    Stories from newspaper archives of troops finding concentration camps or hearing the testimonies of Holocaust survivors who have been immortalised using recordings and virtual reality technology.

    And now the Curriculum and Assessment Review will take us onward, delivering a core curriculum for all children that is deep and rigorous, knowledge-rich down to its bones.

    And that matters so much, knowledge is foundational, the building blocks of learning.

    It’s no use developing skills if children lack the knowledge to back it up and that curriculum must be taught by the very best teachers.

    As a profession as well as a calling, teaching has come on leaps and bounds, far ahead of when I was at school.

    The use of phonics is just one example where this has delivered for millions of children. Over 100,000 more children every year are securing the phonic foundations of reading since 2012.

    And we will continue down this proud path, for future generations.

    But now, right now, we need more teachers.

    That’s why we are committed to recruiting an additional six and a half thousand new expert teachers over the course of this parliament, ensuring we have more teachers where they are most needed across our colleges and our secondary schools, both mainstream and specialist.

    Because more teachers in our classrooms means more attention for our children. And that attention makes it easier to learn, and drives better attainment.

    More teaching, better learning.

    But more alone is not enough.

    I want to drive up the quality of teaching too.

    Building on the advances in teaching as a profession, and in teacher training.

    That’s why we are requiring all teachers to work towards qualified teacher status – and doubling down on evidence-based training.

    We’ll back our teachers with the very best AI, part of an exciting new wave of technology to modernise our education system.

    These changes are critical for all of our children. But nowhere are they more important than for our children with SEND.

    It’s hard to say about a system that today is failing so many, that there has been progress. The recognition of additional needs, the debate around how we support children with SEND is a sign of progress.

    But there is much, much more to do.

    We must set high expectations for all, spread pockets of excellence right throughout the system. 

    Focus on need and not diagnosis. With children able to access the right support more often in mainstream so that they can learn and thrive.

    Empower schools to intervene earlier, equipping them not just to support, but to excel for children with a range of different needs. Advances in the use of evidence, in the curriculum, in teaching.

    We’ll take that forward, delivering a new for generations of children.

    But perhaps the key driver of rising standards across our schools has been strong multi academy trusts.

    Take an example. Tanfield is a school that sits on the edge of Stanley, just ten miles west of where I grew up.

    Over the decades, tens of thousands of kids with backgrounds just like mine have walked through those school gates.

    And for a long time, the school meandered along, performing poorly, requiring improvement that never quite appeared, delivering outcomes never quite what they could be.

    A reality that year after year, kids were being denied the opportunity to achieve.

    Until Tanfield joined Eden Learning Trust in May 2020. And with a strong head teacher at the helm. That’s when the spark of progress finally arrived.

    The school is now rated as good on some measures, outstanding on others.

    Exam performance rising, above the national average.

    That story fills me with hope, because I know the difference a great school makes to so many children with backgrounds like mine, to severing the tie between background and destiny.

    Academy schools were a part of a great age of reform, from the mid-90s to 2015, a wave of changes that lifted standards for schools and life chances for children.

    Driven forward by a succession of great education reformers – from David Blunkett to Michael Gove, and a generation of dedicated and determined teachers.

    I recognise the focus on tackling low standards in inadequate schools, which previous governments of all parties shared.

    I celebrate the enormous effort by parents and school staff, to haul our entire system into a much better place.

    Strong academy trusts, top teachers, a core curriculum – these are our foundations.

    But sometimes I get the sense that people want to stop there.

    As if we can celebrate progress, but stop pushing for better.

    As if the drive for change, the impatience with failure – that these are the proud tales of yesterday, not the agenda for tomorrow.

    Because I tell you, this government is very clear.

    The journey isn’t over, the mission is never complete.

    It’s almost fifty years since James Callaghan gave a major speech about the purpose of our education system in our country.

    Elements of his challenge, to the established wisdom of his day, are sadly all too familiar.

    He spoke of a system that too often left young people neither ready for work, nor ready for life, the need for more young women to study science, the immense importance of numeracy for the next generation.

    And he spoke of his sympathy with the principle of a national curriculum, a principle that would fall to the next government to deliver.

    But today it is not simply the wisdom of that speech I have in mind.

    Callaghan knew the greatest truth about the determination that governments [political content removed] should have to drive change, for it was he who told us:

    “You never reach the promised land. You can march towards it.”

    So I tell you again, for me, for this government, we know that this march never ends.

    And yet today, the barriers to opportunity have grown only higher, and the stakes for our children are just as high.

    Stuck schools.

    Too many schools coasting.

    Delivering an education that, is just not the standard all children deserve.

    There are more than 600 schools in this country that are stuck, receiving consecutive poor Ofsted judgements.

    More than 300,000 children go to these schools. And what happens to these children?

    They leave primary school with results 14 percentage points worse.

    They leave secondary school with results one grade per subject worse.

    Their life chances, limited by the bad luck of going to a poor school.

    That is our inheritance.  And that is not good enough.

    Stuck schools are the new front in the fight against low expectations.

    I will not accept a system that is content for some to sink, even while others soar.

    These schools must improve, and with the right help, I know they can.

    Our proposals provide a response that is tailored, bespoke, effective – drawing on the insights of new Ofsted report cards.

    Improvement driven by new RISE teams, groups of leading experts who have been there and done it, with a track record of driving up standards.

    Turning around not just schools, but children’s lives.

    The best of the best when it comes to school improvement.

    They will work with schools to get to grips quickly with the problems Ofsted spots, backed with an initial £20m of funding.

    Up to £100,000 per school, dwarfing the basic £6,000 per school that was made available for these very schools by the last government, before being cancelled altogether with structural intervention as a necessary backstop if change does not come quickly enough.

    We now have our first 20 expert advisers in place – and teams are beginning their work with schools up and down the country.

    Trust leaders right at the centre.

    To work with us as partners in the push for better.

    Excellence – for every child.

    High and rising standards – for every child.

    Success – for every child.

    No more stuck schools drifting along.

    Tackling drift by reforming accountability and intervention.

    Now is the time for reform, for renewal, for modernisation.

    To take the whole school system forward.

    The way we hold schools accountable underpins it all.

    How we identify poor performance and drive change,

    To lift the life chances of children.

    We have a strong starting place. The improvements in inspection and accountability starting in the 90s have been instrumental for raising standards in our schools.

    With Ofsted’s role right at its heart.

    And to those who call for the abolition of a strong, independent, effective inspectorate, I have said before and I will say again: never.

    Never will we go back to those dark days of weak accountability.

    Because it was children from disadvantaged backgrounds who suffered the most.

    And because despite those improvements, there is still so far to go.

    So today I am taking us into a new era on school standards.

    Single headline grades were the right innovation at the right time. They brought proper scrutiny to all schools.

    But the time for change has come.

    They had become high stakes for schools but low information for parents.

    And for the challenges we now face, too blunt, too rough, too vague.

    How can it be right that so many critical decisions parents – choices that shape whole lives rest on a single word?

    It simply isn’t enough. Not for schools, not for families, and not for children.

    Our searchlight on poor performance must now become brighter

    to see the problems of today and tomorrow quickly and clearly.

    So a more rigorous system, raising the bar on expectations, on what good really looks like when it comes to the futures of our children.

    Because when we hear that 90% of schools are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, it’s a reflection of millions of hours of hard work from teachers and leaders.

    But it’s a statistic, I’m afraid, that just no longer paints the full picture.

    Good as a judgement has become too vague to serve its purpose,

    When there are schools rated as “good” in both the top and bottom 1% for attainment.

    So just like we guard against grade inflation, to make sure that results really reflect the achievement of students, we must protect standards here too, because when almost 8 in 10 schools are graded as good, it’s time we bank that progress and take good to another level.

    The imprecision has left too many struggling schools without the support they need to improve.

    If the diagnosis isn’t clear, how can we be confident that the treatment will be right?

    And the change this government brings is one the public know is needed.

    Only 13% of those asked by Ofsted think that the notion that 90% of our schools are Good or Outstanding is truly reflective of the overall quality of schools.

    We need a more diagnostic approach – an approach that is restless and rigorous.

    Our proposals will swap single headline grades for the rich, granular insight of school report cards.

    Raising the bar on what we expect from schools. Shining a light on the areas that matter, each given their own grade.

    Identifying excellence and rooting out performance that falls short of expectations, so that parents have clearer, better information about their local schools.

    And that extra information will underpin changes in how we tackle poor performance.

    The worst performing schools, whether local authority maintained or academies – will be moved to a strong trust.

    That means new leadership brought in to boost the life chances of pupils.

    Children only get one chance: we won’t wait around while schools fail around them.

    And if school report cards identify even one area for improvement for a school, Ofsted will monitor progress, looking out for warning signals, government primed to step in for children, if required.

    The schools and trusts too, able to take swifter action from the more granular school report.

    Because being hands off, for school after school, for year after year, simply cannot be an option when the life chances of our children are at stake.

    And because we know that there is so much brilliance within our schools, so much to learn from and share.

    A new proposed top grade of ‘Exemplary’, for best-in-class practice in a specific area, when Ofsted judge that a school is doing something that is simply too good to be kept inside the school gates.

    Because this is a government that is never content, never complacent, never satisfied, when it comes to standards in schools.

    We want to spread that excellence

    To promote innovation,

    And it’s important we recognise that the best people to do that, the people who so often, will be doing that, are already standing in front of us.

    The best trusts, the best schools, the best leaders.

    Our RISE teams in time providing a universal service, will draw on them, their practice, their knowledge, their experience, helping good schools to become great and the great schools to become even better – spreading their excellence as they go.

    This is a new era in accountability for schools, a new era of relentless improvement. To drive up standards and open up opportunity for all.

    But a new spirit too – including with schools.

    A relationship to improve, not punish, to challenge, not to scold, based on shared aims, not shared hostility.

    An approach that recognises, that when all’s said and done, we all want the same thing.

    Better outcomes for children.

    When I first started in this job, I said I wanted to put education at the forefront of national life.

    So I am delighted to see the debate raging over our reforms – particularly since we introduced our Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

    I have to say, I welcome it.

    It is a sign that under this government, once again, education is coming back to the centre of national debate.

    I welcome spirited engagement, I welcome robust challenge, I welcome different views – and I will listen to them.

    That is how we shape the very best education system that our children deserve.

    And that’s why the changes we are making to accountability will draw on the wisdom of the entire sector.

    So I am pleased to announce a public consultation on our proposals for school accountability reform.

    Alongside that, Ofsted are consulting on their proposals for report cards and inspection structures.

    I want – we want – to hear the views of teachers and parents, schools and trusts – all those who care about our children’s futures.

    All parents worry about their children and that’s because they want so much for them.

    There were times when I was small when my mum worried about me.

    People would tell her that I had speech issues, because I talked so little.

    Well, I’m talking now.

    And to the young people, the families, who feel like they don’t have a voice, don’t have a future.

    I say this,

    Under this government, [Political content removed] no longer will where you’re from decide what you go on to do.

    Opportunity, for every child, in every school, in every part of the country.

    Everything I do as Secretary of State, I do for all children.

    The ones who grow up on streets like mine, who don’t – not yet – have a great school to go to, who are weighed down by their background.

    I am asking more of schools, of trusts, of parents, of Ofsted, of myself, and of this government.

    And I make no apologies for that,

    We need change, to turn the drift and delay of today, into the restless progress of tomorrow.

    Because I believe that background shouldn’t be destiny.

    I believe in the power of education to take us to a brighter future.

    And I believe each and every child in our country deserves nothing less.

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Plant Power: A New Method to Model How Plants Move Water Globally

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Earth systems models are an important tool for studying complex processes occurring around the planet, such as those in and between the atmosphere and biosphere, and they help researchers and policymakers better understand phenomena like climate change. Incorporating more data into these simulations can improve modeling accuracy; however, sometimes, this requires the arduous task of gathering millions of data points.

    Researchers, including UConn Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Assistant Professor James Knighton, Pablo Sanchez-Martinez from the University of Edinburgh, and Leander Anderegg from the University of California Santa Barbara, have developed a method to bypass the need for gathering data for over 55,000 tree species to better account for how plants influence the flow of water around the planet. Their findings are published in Nature Scientific Data.

    Plants play essential roles in Earth’s processes, from capturing carbon and making oxygen available for other life forms like humans. Plants are also responsible for the movement of water, says Knighton, where an estimated 60% of all rain is returned to the atmosphere through transpiration. This huge global-scale movement of water through plants is complex and currently represented by Earth system models (ESMs) in a simplified way says Knighton, where all plants in a region may be considered as a single entity (i.e., a plant functional type),

    “Plant Functional Types (PFTs) are used because we don’t know a lot about the details of individual plant species,” says Knighton, a faculty member in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Sciences. “It would be harder to take a detailed map of vegetation over a continent and put in all the right values for each individual species so it’s easier just to consider one generic PFT.”

    The problem with PFTs is that different plant species vary in their hydrologic traits – or how water moves through plants — and this oversimplification of such systemically influential traits could limit the effectiveness of available models to predict the future. Scientists have moved towards accounting for these differences by creating databases, like the TRY Plant Trait Database, where this information is collected. However, Knighton points out that only about 5,000 to 15,000 plant species have had their traits well-cataloged after several centuries of plant science.

    “There are around 60,000 to 70,000 tree species on Earth, meaning that after 200 years, we know maybe 5 to 10% of what’s happening,” he says. “If that were the way we would do things, it would take us another 2,000 years or so to learn about all the plants that we needed to, and at that point, climate change has set in, and it’s too late. We can’t do that. We can’t just wait for field researchers to go out and do their studies and populate this global database. It’s still incredibly useful to conduct field studies, but those alone will not get us where we need to be fast enough.”

    Knighton and his colleagues decided to address this problem and expedite the process by looking at the data for traits that are available, information like how tall a tree grows, how deep the roots descend, or how fast water flows within the plant. They then compared the history of that species and its relatedness to other species in what is called a phylogenetic test for those traits.

    “We looked to see how similar trait values are between closely related species, and the idea behind that is, if these traits are critical for their survival, evolution will have preserved the trait values, they won’t be randomly dispersed,” Knighton says. “For example, if growing deep roots was critical for a certain type of plant to survive, the species that branch off from that one will probably also have deep roots, and everything that’s in that family or that genus will have a similar root structure.”

    Graduate students Caroline Stanton (left) and Kevin Li (right) collecting samples from trees in the UConn Forest. (Contributed photo)

    The researchers performed the test for all the traits, and Knighton says they found high levels of conservation across the phylogenetic tree, which means closely related species tend to have closer trait values.

    “Then we took the phylogeny where you can take all of the plant species on Earth and map them onto each other, and show exactly how closely related each plant is to every other plant,” he says.

    Knighton says they can impute the trait data if they have the information for closely related species, meaning that this data can be inferred without having to take millions of field measurements.

    “We used different numerical machine learning techniques, and in doing that, we were able to come up with a database of these very critical tree values for 55,000 tree species on Earth,” he says. “If you want to do global modeling that includes more detail in the vegetation, which is important, you now have a starting point. You don’t have to use this generic, one plant species per continent approach, you could, in theory, try something more detailed, but putting in all the different species and seeing what happens.”

    Knighton says they consider this work to be a low-order approximation, but it is an important starting point. As more data is collected from field researchers, the data can be used to update and refine the interpolated data to improve the accuracy of this approach.

    This work is the next step in a larger project, the first step of which was a proof-of-concept experiment at a smaller, more local level. That project established this method of imputing hydrologic traits as a viable approach, and Knighton says the next step is to compare the imputed data with observational data that they are collecting in UConn Forest and from other sites around the United States.

    Knighton explains there are 10 sites across the U.S. where ample data is collected, which will serve as test cases. Knighton says master’s student Caroline Stanton ’26 is currently building ecosystem models of each site, and they are calibrating high-resolution models to estimate the traits which they will compare with data that scientists have collected over the last 20 years. Then, they will compare the estimated plant trait results with the observational data collected from the site to see how the quality of the model is impacted by each approach.

    Eventually, the researchers hope to apply the method to forested sites across the globe to study aspects of what drives traits to vary. Understanding the variation in traits across different plant species has the potential to strengthen the accuracy of models, but these data can also give insights into what drives the different traits to vary.

    Knighton says he and his colleagues hope climate modelers will find this information helpful, but they also hope it can improve our understanding of the Earth system overall, and more about the vital roles plants play,

    “Plants control our environment to an incredible degree.”

    This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant numbers 2243263, 2003205, 20230833 and 2216855), Renewable Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment: Agroecosystem Management (GRANT13398847 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA:  UConn Hosts Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Cameron Brady was the only woman in her undergraduate class to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in physics. While Brady found it easy to work alongside her predominantly male peers at Rowan University, it wasn’t until she attended a conference for undergraduate women in the field that she gained the confidence to pursue the study further. 

    On Jan. 24, Brady, now a UConn Ph.D. candidate in physics, served on a graduate panel at the first UConn Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics (CU*iP)—the same conference that helped launch her career. 

    “The higher-level classes in physics, I was the only woman,” Brady says. “At first, it was hard to have confidence and maybe answer questions or speak out. But eventually, over time, I just learned.” 

    UConn was one of 14 universities selected by the American Physical Society (APS) to host a CU*iP conference. The event was organized by a committee of UConn faculty and graduate students, led by Nora Berrah, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of physics. 

    Berrah says physics has historically been a male-dominated field, but while men’s attitudes toward accepting women into the profession have become more positive, women may still wonder if it’s a supportive, friendly environment. 

    “We want to give them a chance and provide a place for them to ask any questions that they have on their minds, because we want them to stay in physics,” Berrah says. 

    Brady hopes this conference will provide attendees with the same opportunities it did for her. After attending a virtual CU*iP conference, Brady said she was inspired by women who continued their careers in physics. That experience propelled her to apply for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), a competitive program that provides funding for undergraduates to conduct research at universities across the country. 

    “The graduate students on the panel had done that and talked about it, so it made me want to apply,” says Brady, who went on to complete two REU internships. 

    To support another cohort of women and gender minorities in the field, Brady was one of the many graduate students who helped host about 100 undergraduates from across New England for UConn’s first CU*iP conference, held in Gant West from Jan. 24 to 26. 

    “I want to give back to the community,” says Kaley Wilcox, another physics Ph.D. candidate and conference volunteer. “I know I’m only here because of all the support from my female friends and various underrepresented genders in physics.” 

    Wilcox says her participation in the conference is a way to acknowledge the contributions of other women in the field and to be a mentor and beacon for others so more women can pursue the field. 

    UConn’s Department of Physics hosts the Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics in the Gant Science Complex on Jan. 24, 2025. (Bri Diaz/UConn Photo)

    Berrah spent nearly two years putting the conference together. She and her organizing committee studied previous conferences to gather insight into what students needed, made a conference program featuring presentations from professors and industry leaders, and raised funds to sponsor all the participants’ attendance. 

    For three days, students attended panels and lectures on a variety of topics, including technical knowledge, career paths in the industry, gaining research experience, and navigating mental health in the field. They also had a very important opportunity to meet with students from other institutions and network with their peers and professionals. 

    Josephine Singleton, a junior astronomy major at Mount Holyoke College, says that while her university may be a women’s liberal arts school, there are still very few women who share her major. She says the conference is an opportunity to connect with other women and gender minorities in the field. 

     “Most of us are women or in the LGBTQ community so many of us do support each other in this sphere,” Singleton says. “There’s still a large gap for anyone other than cis men in the field of physics, but I think it is getting better now because I know a lot of Mount Holyoke’s graduates who are now working at places like NASA. It’s good to see that.”   

    Brady hopes the attendees come away with the same confidence she did to pursue her interests. 

    “I didn’t always think I could go to grad school for physics. I didn’t know if I would be good enough to get in,” she says. “I hope from this conference they can see women who have already achieved that and know they can do it themselves.” 

    The conference was funded by APS, NSF, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional support was provided by the UConn Department of Physics; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Office of the Provost; the Vice President for Research; College of Engineering; Institute of Materials Science; Ed Eyler and Karen Greer Fund; Mark Miller Fund; City College of New York Physicists William Miller and Myriam Sarachik Memorial Fund; Mirion Technologies; Del Boca family gift; American Astronomical Society; New England Section of APS; and Startorialist Science and Fashion Shop. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: LANCASTER CO. – Shapiro Administration to Announce Recipients of $10 Million Investments Through Nation’s First Agricultural Innovation Grant Program

    Source: US State of Pennsylvania

    January 03, 2025 – Mount Joy, PA

    ADVISORY – LANCASTER CO. – Shapiro Administration to Announce Recipients of $10 Million Investments Through Nation’s First Agricultural Innovation Grant Program

    Brubaker Farms in Mt. Joy, Lancaster County, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding will announce the recipients of Governor Josh Shapiro’s $10 million Agricultural Innovation Grant Program. Grants will fund cutting-edge solutions and technologies that will shape the future of Pennsylvania agriculture and keep Pennsylvania a national leader.

    The Agricultural Innovation Grant Program was proposed as part of Governor Shapiro’s 2024-2025 budget and passed with broad bipartisan support. The Agricultural Innovation Grant Program is a key element of Governor Shapiro’s Economic Development Strategy, which positions agriculture alongside life sciences, manufacturing, robotics, technology, and energy as vital drivers of Pennsylvania’s long-term economic success.

    WHO:
    Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding
    PA Department of Agriculture Director of Innovation Mike Roth
    State Representative Paul Takac
    PA Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman

    WHEN:
    Monday, February 3, 2025, 11 a.m.

    WHERE:
    Brubaker Farms
    492 Musser Road
    Mount Joy, PA 17552

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Power of female entrepreneurship set to be celebrated at GoSucceed event

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    Power of female entrepreneurship set to be celebrated at GoSucceed event

    3 February 2025

    Celebrating the power of female entrepreneurship and transformation is at the core of an exciting event planned by Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Go Succeed Team to celebrate International Women’s Day.

    Empower Her: Transforming Experiences into Enterprises will take place on Friday, 7th March in the Everglades Hotel from 12-2pm.

    The event will be led by Emer Maguire, whose own journey from science commentator through to musical comedy success is just one of the empowering stories which will feature at the event.

    Throughout the afternoon the audience will hear from amazing female entrepreneurs who’ve turned adversity into success, they will share their journeys of resilience, innovation, and growth.

    The keynote speaker for the event will be the inspirational Patricia Breslin. She will offer the audience invaluable insights on how to transform their experiences into thriving enterprises.

    A single mother of six children, Patricia is also a transformational speaker, counsellor, and the creator of the Who Am I? program, a 12-week journey designed to help individuals rediscover their identity, build resilience, and create a purposeful future.

    With a powerful combination of lived experience and professional expertise, Patricia specialises in guiding individuals who have faced domestic violence, trauma, or life transitions toward healing and empowerment.

    Having overcome her own challenges, including domestic violence, addiction recovery, trauma, bulimia and her personal transformation, Patricia now dedicates her life to helping others break free from limiting beliefs, reclaim their self-worth, and step into their full potential. She is also a TedX speaker, hypnotherapist, and NLP practitioner, using a blend of therapeutic and coaching techniques to inspire lasting change.

    This is a free event, but places are limited. Encouraging people to sign up early, Rachel Gallagher, Business Officer with Derry City and Strabane District Council said: “This is an unmissable opportunity to connect with like-minded women, get inspired, and celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship – just in time for International Women’s Day.

    “We are delighted to have such strong and inspiring women as Emer and Patricia joining us for the event, and I know their personal stories will give our audience members lots of great tips and ideas which they can use to help boost their business, take the next step forward in their own career or make an important change in their personal life.

    “As well as hearing these powerful testimonies, the Empower Her event will also allow lots of time for networking and making those important connections which we know are so beneficial to small and growing businesses.”

    Tickets for the Empower Her: Transforming Experiences into Enterprises are now available on glistrr. Tickets are free, but please register as soon as possible to secure your place.

    Go Succeed (www.go-succeed.com) is funded by the UK Government and delivered by Northern Ireland’s 11 councils. The service supports entrepreneurs, new starts and existing businesses with easy-to-access advice and support including mentoring, master classes, peer networks, access to grant funding and a business plan, at every stage of their growth journey.

    For further information on the support programmes available to set up and grow your business through Derry City and Strabane District Council visit derrystrabane.com/business.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Eight new members appointed to the Council for Science and Technology

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Eight new members have been appointed to the Council that advises the Prime Minister and Cabinet on science and technology.

    Images of the eight new Council members.

    Eight new members have been appointed to the Council for Science and Technology (CST). The Council advises the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on strategic science and technology policy issues that cut across the responsibilities of individual government departments. 

    Professor Dame Angela McLean, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser and Co-Chair of  CST,  said: 

    The eight new members bring extraordinary breadth and depth of experience: from AI and data to chemical engineering and venture capital. I am confident that new members will further invigorate the Council and its ability to provide robust advice on the government’s high-level priorities for science and technology. I look forward to collaborating across a wide range of topics to further embed specialist knowledge of the UK’s strength in science and technology into the heart of government decision-making.

    New members: 

    • Mark Enzer OBE is a Strategic Advisor at Mott MacDonald. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. 

    • Professor Dame Lynn Gladden DBE is Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge, and former Executive-Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. 

    • Priya Lakhani OBE is Founder CEO of CENTURY Tech. She co-founded the Institute for Ethical AI in education. 

    • Avid Larizadeh Duggan OBE is a Senior Managing Director, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Teachers’ Venture Growth. She is a Non-Executive Director on the board of Barclays Bank UK.

    • Professor (Emeritus) Nick McKeown is Senior Fellow at Intel Corporation, Professor (Emeritus) of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University and Visiting Professor of Engineering and Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University. 

    • Professor Sir Nigel Richard Shadbolt is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and Principal of Jesus College, Oxford. He is Co-Founder and Chair of the Open Data Institute. 

    • Richard Slater is Chief R&D Officer for Unilever. He was previously Senior Vice President R&D, GSK Consumer Healthcare. He is a Non-Executive Director at Future Origins. 

    • Paul Taylor CBE is Director of Morgan Stanley International, Chair of Interrupt Labs Ltd and Chair of Beyond Blue. He is a Non-Executive Director on the Defence Technology and Innovation Board at the Ministry of Defence.  

    See more details on CST and its members.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Ethics Rules for Federal Advisory Committee Members

    Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)

    Federal Advisory Committees provide important recommendations concerning science, international trade, farming, nutrition, and other significant matters. If you are serving on a Federal Advisory Committee, you need to know the applicable ethics rules to maintain the public’s trust in the important work of your committee. To assist advisory committee members across the Executive Branch, the USDA Office of Ethics is making this video publicly available on YouTube. If you are a USDA employee or are a member of a USDA Advisory Committee and you have any ethics questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the USDA Office of Ethics at: https://www.ethics.usda.gov. Also, be sure to download the innovative, and free, USDA Ethics App by searching “USDA Ethics” on any smart phone, and play the new inter-active USDA-NASA Lunar Greenhouse Ethics Learning Game (available on USDA’s Ethics webpage at www.usda.gov/ethics).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xzJWhVByMs

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to news that AstraZeneca has scrapped plans for a £450m expansion of a vaccine factory in Merseyside

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Scientists comment on AstraZeneca scrapping plans for a UK based vaccine plant. 

    Sharon Todd, Chief Executive, Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), said:

    “Today’s news regarding AstraZeneca’s vaccine factory is a real concern for industry, sending out the wrong message at a time government is shaping its new industrial strategy, Invest 2035. 

    “Since 2013 inward FDI in life sciences has grown at a CAGR of 6% (2013-2023) across 18 major countries, however the UK growth in FDI was only 3%, falling way short of most of the other countries, which include France, Germany, Ireland and Singapore. 

    “If life sciences are going to be a major pillar of the UK’s new industrial strategy, then the UK needs to make some bold steps forward to ensure it is competitive for life sciences investments.”

    Declared interests

    The nature of this story means everyone quoted above could be perceived to have a stake in it. As such, our policy is not to ask for interests to be declared – instead, they are implicit in each person’s affiliation.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: MHRA asks for views on proposed guidance to support the safe regulation of new personalised cancer therapies  

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The draft MHRA guidance aims to clarify and streamline pathways for bringing these therapies through to patients, without compromising on robust safety principles

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has today launched a consultation on regulatory guidance for individualised mRNA cancer immunotherapies (colloquially referred to as cancer vaccines). This is an important step in bringing these promising therapies closer to clinical practice.

    The eight-week consultation was launched today and will run until 31 March 2025. The MHRA is asking all stakeholders, including developers of these medicines, to provide comments, after which the guidance will be updated. The UK regulator also welcomes comments from members of the public including people affected by cancer. 

    The guidance aims to streamline pathways for bringing these therapies through to patients, without compromising on robust safety principles.

    Julian Beach, MHRA Executive Director of Healthcare Quality and Access said:

    “Individualised cancer immunotherapies, while still being tested in clinical trials, are a very exciting development in our hunt to find new and better ways to treat cancer, which is a leading cause of death worldwide.

    “Because these treatments are tailored to an individual’s tumour, they pose unique scientific questions on how they should be regulated.”

    June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive said:

    “As an enabling regulator, we do not wish to keep patients waiting unnecessarily for important new medicines such as personalised immunotherapies.

    “We are asking all stakeholders to comment on draft guidance that addresses the questions this new regulatory pathway raises.”

    Minister for Public Health, Andrew Gwynne, said:

    “More people than ever are being diagnosed with cancer so it’s vital that we push the boundaries of science to develop the treatments of the future.

    “Personalised immunotherapies could revolutionise our approach by helping patients fight cancer cells in their bodies.

    “As government ramps up the use of groundbreaking technologies and medicines across the board, this guidance will be fundamental to achieving our goal of moving from sickness to prevention. And it is yet another example of Britain leading the way on cancer research, transforming cancer care to save lives and support the NHS.”

    Individualised mRNA cancer immunotherapies are a new type of cancer treatment that use mRNA technology.  mRNA acts as a messenger in the body and tells cells how to make a specific protein. When used in medicines, specific mRNA molecules can teach the body how to fight diseases.  

    Unlike conventional cancer therapies, for these medicines each patient receives a version of the mRNA therapy that has been matched to their unique tumour fingerprint using artificial intelligence (AI). In this way, the therapy aims to teach the patient’s immune system to target and destroy their specific tumour cells. 

    These highly innovative therapies are currently in clinical trials. They pose unique questions on how they should be safely regulated.  With this guidance, the MHRA aims to facilitate patient access to these novel individualised cancer therapies by outlining a clear and streamlined regulatory pathway to approval.

    The guidance covers product design and manufacture, evidence needed show safety and effectiveness, and post-approval safety monitoring. The MHRA aims to expand the guidance in due course to cover other types of highly personalised therapies, including for rare diseases. 

    This guidance has been developed with independent scientific advice from the Highly Personalised Medicines Expert Working Group of the Commission on Human Medicines, including patient experts.

    Notes to editors

    1. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe.  All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits justify any risks. 
    2. The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care. 
    3. For media enquiries, please contact the newscentre@mhra.gov.uk, or call on 020 3080 7651.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic students reach semi-finals of XI All-Russian engineering competition

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    The selection round of the XI All-Russian Engineering Competition has ended. Experts evaluated over 12,000 projects and scientific research. 751 graduates from universities across the country, including SPbPU, reached the semi-finals. The All-Russian Engineering Competition is an annual intellectual competition that has been held since 2014. The organizer is the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. The operator of the competition is the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI.

    The objectives of the competition are to develop the human resources potential of high-tech industries, to attract young people to solve promising production, technical, and economic problems of strategic importance for the development of Russian industry, and to improve the quality of engineering education by creating tools for interaction between engineering educational organizations and high-tech enterprises in the real sector of the economy.

    Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University will be represented in the semi-final of VIK 24/25 by 11 students, including 5 master’s students from the Advanced Engineering School of SPbPU “Digital Engineering”:

    Alena Aquentieva, student of the Higher Engineering and Economic School of IPMEIT SPBPU. The theme of the project “Financial pyramids, modern methods of fraud: analysis and measures to reduce them”, the direction of the competition “Countering technogenic, biogenic, sociocultural threats, terrorism and extremist ideology, destructive foreign information and psychological impact, as well as cyberosis and other danger to society , economics and state ”;
    Anna Gaina, student of the Higher School of Management of Cyber-Physical Systems of the ICNK SPBPU. The theme of the project “Universal system of temperature control of laser radiation parameters during hardening steel”, the direction of the competition “Intellectual transport, energy and telecommunication systems”;
    Iona Gesin, student of the advanced engineering school of SPBPU “Digital Engineering”. The theme of the project “Study of the behavior of through cracks in elastic-high bodies”, the direction of the contest “Advanced digital technologies for designing and creating high-tech products”;
    Natalia Grozova, student of the advanced engineering school of SPBPU “Digital Engineering”. The theme of the project “Development of radiation -resistant polymer composite materials to protect solar elements”, the direction of the competition “New materials, chemical compounds and design methods;
    Ilya Ermilov, student of the advanced engineering school of St. Petersburg State University “Digital Engineering”. The theme of the project “Development of a virtual test stand for validation of the model of compositional material under the action of centrifugal force”, the direction of the contest “Advanced digital technologies for designing and creating high -tech products”;
    Ekaterina Isupova, student of the Higher School of Applied Physics and Space Technologies IEIT SPBPU. The theme of the project “Universal temperature control system for high -precision measurements in frequency standards”, the direction of the competition “Advanced digital design and creation of high -tech products”;
    Julia Kolesnikova, student of the Higher Engineering and Economic School of IPMEIT SPBPU. The theme of the project “Using new technologies for illegal purposes”, the direction of the competition “Combating technogenic, biogenic, sociocultural threats, terrorism and extremist ideology, destructive foreign information and psychological impact, as well as cyberosis and other danger to society, economy and state”;
    Nikita Piskun, a student of the advanced engineering school of St. Petersburg State University “Digital Engineering”. The theme of the project “Synthesis of non -linear models of reduced order based on the method of final elements in the tasks of rotary dynamics”, the direction of the contest “Advanced digital design technologies and the creation of high -tech products”;
    Elena Porfiryeva, student of the Higher School of Management of Cyber-Physical Systems of the ICNK SPBPU. The theme of the project “A new non -invasive method for determining the coefficients in ESCCO technology for the reliable diagnosis of the patient’s heart release in real time”, the direction of the “High -tech healthcare contest and health technology, including the rational use of drugs (primarily antibacterial) and the use of genetic data and technologies” ;
    Yana Sprygina, student of the advanced engineering school of SPBPU “Digital Engineering”. The theme of the project “Development and training of a prototype of the language model to adapt the requirements in the machine-readable IDS format (Information Delivery Specification)”, the direction of the “Tim-modeling in construction” contest;
    Lina Sycheva, student of the Higher School of Management of Cyber-Physical Systems of the ICNK SPBPU. The theme of the project “Automatic management system of a special climatic camera”, the direction of the contest “Advanced digital technologies for designing and creating high -tech products”.

    The development of modern protective coatings for solar cells used in the space industry is an important problem in the field of materials science. Glass coatings currently used have significant drawbacks. A promising direction is the use of polymer and composite materials that are highly flexible, low density and have excellent optical characteristics. The key challenge remains increasing the resistance of such materials to radiation, which requires the creation of fundamentally new composite materials. This is the task that was set during the project. Thanks to the equipment laboratories “Polymer composite materials”, as well as the competencies of the project curator, research fellow of the laboratory “Modeling of technological processes and design of power equipment” of the SPbPU PISh “Digital Engineering” Elizaveta Bobrynina, I managed to develop and test the technology for obtaining optically transparent composite materials based on thermoplastic polyurethane and glass flakes to protect solar cells, – shared 2nd year master’s student of the SPbPU PISh Natalia Grozova.

    I submitted a project for the All-Russian engineering competition, “Development of a virtual test bench for validation of a composite material model under centrifugal force”, prepared in the interests of the industrial partner of the SPbPU PIS “Digital Engineering”, CentroTech-Engineering LLC, under the supervision of the curator, associate professor of the Higher School of Advanced Digital Technologies of the SPbPU PIS Ilya Keresten and scientific consultant, engineer of the power engineering department of the SPbPU PIS “Digital Engineering” Daria Ozhgibesova. The goal of the work is to create a VIS for conducting virtual tests, which will allow obtaining a degradation curve of the mechanical properties of the material based on experimental data of structurally similar samples. The result of the work is necessary to obtain a highly accurate digital model of the material required for the calculation justification of the design elements of high-speed rotor systems, and the modeling technique will reduce the number of tests of prototypes of new design solutions, said Ilya Ermilov, a second-year master’s student at the Digital Engineering School.

    On February 1, an extensive business program started for the participants: in-person events for the semi-finalists will be organized together with the competition’s partner employers, including career consultations, trainings and master classes aimed at developing professional skills, as well as effective planning of work on engineering projects. The semi-final will include a “Job Auction” – a competition in which participants will be able to compete for the best offers from leading employers.

    The final of the competition will be held in the format of defending final and scientific qualification works before state examination (expert) commissions headed by the top officials of high-tech corporations. Based on the results of the defenses, the winners and prize-winners of VIK 24/25 will be determined.

    The best participants will be able to receive exclusive job offers, cash prizes from Rosatom State Corporation, a trip to the cosmodrome from Roscosmos State Corporation and advantages when entering the next level of education. Winners and prize winners will be included in the state information resource about individuals who have demonstrated outstanding abilities of the Talent and Success educational foundation.

    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 Canada: Backgrounder: PacifiCan invests $17 million to support business growth across B.C.

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Today, the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan), announced over $17 million in PacifiCan funding for 10 organizations to help businesses in key sectors, such as life sciences, clean technology, and construction, scale up their operations.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic University’s AI Seminars Are Trending on the Information Agenda

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    Another seminar on artificial intelligence was held at the Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University.

    Opening the meeting, SPbPU Vice-Rector for Research Yuri Fomin reminded the participants of the resonance in the global community caused by the neural network of the Chinese company DeepSeek.

    This reaction to artificial intelligence technologies once again confirms that they are trending today. And this adds new colors to our seminars, which we organized to talk about the research that is being conducted in our laboratories as popularly as possible. Because we, of course, will be active participants and authors of new technological solutions, – noted Yuri Vladimirovich.

    The fourth Polytechnic University seminar on AI attracted the attention of not only the university audience, but also external participants — representatives of the university’s industrial partners. The report of the Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation, Head of the Advanced Engineering School of SPbPU “Digital Engineering” Alexey Borovkov and Senior Researcher of the Engineering Center “Computer Engineering Center” of the SPbPU PISh Alexey Novokshenov on the topic “Artificial Intelligence in Industry on the CML-Bench® Digital Platform. Experience of Applying AI/ML in High-Tech Industry Tasks” was listened to with great interest. The scientists spoke about the digital platform for the development and application of CML-Bench® digital twins and the successful implementation of projects in the interests of the high-tech industry.

    According to Alexey Borovkov, the digital twin market is one of the fastest growing, and today it is being integrated by the largest market for artificial intelligence technologies. In addition, he noted that the CML-Bench® digital platform received a certificate of compliance with the software security requirements of the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control (FSTEC of Russia) at the sixth level of trust at the end of 2024.

    Today, our country faces an important task – achieving technological leadership, and domestic technologies, especially advanced digital and production technologies, play an important role here. Also, we should not forget about digital standardization. In 2022, the National Standard “Computer Models and Simulation. DIGITAL DOUBLES OF PRODUCTS. General Provisions” came into effect, which was developed by specialists of the NTI Center “New Production Technologies” of SPbPU together with specialists of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “RFNC-VNIIEF” and with the participation of 25 more high-tech organizations and industry institutes. And whoever creates the standards dictates the rules, – Alexey Ivanovich emphasized and then spoke in detail about some developments using digital engineering for the fuel and energy complex and the aviation industry.

    During the discussion of the report, the seminar participants also identified a number of problems: lack of funds for testing; difficulties in introducing new developments into production; insufficient preparation of applicants entering engineering specialties.

    Alexey Gintsyak, head of the Digital Modeling of Industrial Systems laboratory of the Advanced Engineering School Digital Engineering, spoke about the study of approaches to creating intelligent multi-agent systems for predictive and prescriptive analytics in industry. The laboratory is part of the Scientific and Educational Center and the Association Artificial Intelligence in Industry and conducts a range of studies on forecasting and optimizing the activities of industrial enterprises. The report presented the results of fundamental projects carried out within the framework of a state assignment and with the support of the Russian Science Foundation, as well as the results of applied projects in various industries and economics: mechanical engineering, metallurgy, transport, and the oil and gas industry. In conclusion, the head of the laboratory shared plans for the further development of current research areas.

    Summing up the results of the seminar, Vice-Rector for Research Yuri Fomin suggested inviting speakers from other scientific organizations and universities to the seminars, and also announced the next meeting, which will be held on February 12 in the Kapitsa Hall of the Technopolis Polytech Research Building at 2 p.m.

    Photo archive

    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-Evening Report: Labor’s dumping of Australia’s new nature laws means the environment is shaping as a key 2025 election issue

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University

    Controversy over land clearing at the Lee Point (Binybara) housing development site, near Darwin, highlights the urgent need for environmental law reform. Euan Ritchie

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has shelved the proposed reforms to Australia’s 25-year-old environment laws, citing a lack of parliamentary support for the changes.

    The decision breaks Labor’s 2022 election commitment to overhaul the protections. The Albanese government is now the latest in a string of governments that have tried and failed to reform the law known formally as the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

    This is despite two major independent reviews calling for wholesale change.

    Labor’s capitulation does not, however, change the facts. Australia’s natural environment is deteriorating rapidly. Laws are urgently needed to protect our nation’s valuable natural assets.

    Establishing effective laws is an investment that will benefit Australia’s biodiversity, economy, cultural values, health and wellbeing. Nature is now a key 2025 election issue.

    How did we get here?

    An independent review of the EPBC Act, known as the Samuel Review, was completed in 2020 under the former Coalition government. It found that without urgent changes, most of Australia’s threatened plants, animals and ecosystems will become extinct.

    Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek promised to act on the review’s recommendations, via a plan Labor badged as “Nature Positive”.

    The centrepiece of reform is to set national environmental standards that would be overseen by an independent regulator and watchdog called Environmental Protection Australia (EPA). But reform was split into three stages.

    Stage one legislated for national markets in nature repair and expanded the requirement to assess potential impacts on water resources under the EPBC Act. The so-called “water trigger” now captures “unconventional gas” projects such as shale gas recovery in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin. The law passed in December 2023, but the markets are not yet functioning.

    Stage two of the reforms, including establishing a federal EPA, came before the Senate in late 2024. Plibersek had reportedly made a deal with the crossbench to secure passage. But this deal was scuttled by Albanese at the eleventh hour.

    Stage two was relisted for discussion in the upcoming first parliamentary sitting week of 2025, this week. But on Saturday, Albanese told The Conversation the government would, again, not be proceeding with the reform this term.

    The reforms have been delayed for so long that we are now closer to the next statutory review of the laws, due in 2029, than to the last one.

    Stage three, which covers the bulk of substantive reform recommended in the Samuel Review, is yet to be seen publicly.

    What will happen after the next election?

    Albanese must go to the polls by May 17, but there is speculation the election may be as early as March. So what is the likely fate of these environmental reforms in the next term?

    A Roy Morgan poll on Monday found if a federal election were held now, the result would be a hung parliament. So the result is looking tight.

    Government control of the Senate is rare. So whoever is in power after the election is very likely to rely on crossbench support for any reforms.

    Albanese has ruled out forming a coalition with the Greens or crossbenchers in the event of a hung parliament. However, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he would negotiate with independents to form government.

    A returned Albanese majority government would probably revisit the scuttled deal on stage two. With elections in the rear-view mirror, Albanese may be prepared to wear some political pain early in the next term to secure a deal. He would also still need to roll out the bulk of the Nature Positive reforms, the detail of which remains hidden behind a vague “stage three” banner.

    A minority Albanese government may face a tougher ask: demands from an environmentally progressive crossbench for major commitments to environmental reform in return for promises of support on budget and confidence.

    A Coalition government would be coming from a very different angle. Dutton has painted Nature Positive as a
    “disaster” for the economy, expressing particular concern about impacts on the mining sector.

    The Coalition’s environmental agenda is increasingly focused on “cutting green tape” – in other words, reducing bureaucratic hurdles for developers – and repealing bans on nuclear power stations. Finding crossbench support in the Senate for this agenda could be challenging.

    The Greens have vowed to make environmental protection a key election issue, urging voters to cast their ballot for nature this election.

    A recent poll published by the Biodiversity Council shows 75% of Australians support strengthening national environmental law to protect nature. Only 4% are opposed and the rest are undecided.

    But converting a high level of broad support into votes is another thing altogether – especially during a cost-of-living crisis.

    Crystal clear consequences

    The political crystal ball remains cloudy. But when it comes to the state of Australia’s environment, the picture is clear.

    The environment continues to decline and the consequences are increasingly serious. These consequences extend beyond further irreversible loss and the increasing cost of environmental repair, to include the economic and social consequences of losing more of the natural assets on which our quality of life depends.

    The building blocks of successful reform are all on the table, where the Samuel Review put them in 2020.

    When will governments accept that kicking the can down the road is selling us all down the drain?

    Peter Burnett is affiliated with the Biodiversity Council, an independent expert group founded by 11 Australian universities to promote evidence-based solutions to Australia’s biodiversity crisis.

    Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society, and President of the Australian Mammal Society.

    Jaana Dielenberg was employed by the now-ended Threatened Species Recovery Hub of the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program, which led an earlier stage of this research. She is a Charles Darwin University Fellow and is employed by the University of Melbourne and the Biodiversity Council.

    – ref. Labor’s dumping of Australia’s new nature laws means the environment is shaping as a key 2025 election issue – https://theconversation.com/labors-dumping-of-australias-new-nature-laws-means-the-environment-is-shaping-as-a-key-2025-election-issue-248872

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Supersonic jets are making a comeback – but despite the hype, don’t expect to book yet

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris James, UQ Amplify Senior Lecturer, Centre for Hypersonics, School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland

    Rendering of Boom Supersonic’s proposed Overture supersonic airliner. Boom Supersonic

    Late last week, American company Boom Supersonic flew faster than the speed of sound with its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator aircraft. It’s now the first piloted non-military aircraft to break the sound barrier since the Concorde was retired from service in 2003.

    It’s the first step in Boom’s ambitious goal to have supersonic airliners carry passengers by 2029.

    But what exactly is supersonic travel? There are good reasons why it’s not more common, despite the hype.

    Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 supersonic demonstrator aircraft during its 11th test flight where it became the first civilian aircraft to fly supersonically since the Concorde.
    Boom Supersonic

    What is supersonic flight?

    The Mach number is defined as a plane’s speed divided by the speed that sound waves move through the air. To “break the sound barrier” means to fly faster than the speed of sound, with Mach numbers greater than 1.

    The Mach number is an important ratio: as a plane flies, it disturbs the air in front of it. These disturbances move at the speed of sound. In supersonic flight these disturbances combine to form shock waves around the vehicle.

    When people say you can see a fighter jet before you hear it, they’re referring to supersonic flight: fighter jets can travel at around Mach 2.

    The sound from the fighter jet is trapped inside its shock wave; until the shock wave moves to your position on the ground, you won’t hear the plane.

    Illustration of how disturbances propagate in subsonic, Mach 1, and supersonic flow.
    Chabacano/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    The allure of supersonic travel

    For efficiency reasons, most passenger jets cruise slightly slower than the speed of sound, at around Mach 0.8 (this is subsonic flight).

    Boom plans to build an airliner called Overture that can fly at Mach 1.7. Flying supersonically can drastically decrease flight times. The company claims a trip from New York to Rome on Overture could take just four hours and 40 minutes, instead of eight hours.

    Boom isn’t the only company working on this lofty goal. American firm Spike Aerospace is also developing a supersonic business jet, with the tagline “delivering the world in half the time”.

    This is the value proposition of supersonic passenger travel.

    In limited ways, it did already exist in the 20th century. However, due to timing, bad luck and the laws of physics, it didn’t continue.

    Remember the Concorde?

    Designs for supersonic airliners began in the mid-20th century, and by the 1970s we had supersonic passenger flight.

    There was the little-known Russian Tupolev-144 and Concorde, a Franco-British supersonic airliner operated by British Airways and Air France from 1976 to 2003.

    Concorde had a capacity of up to 128 passengers and cruised at Mach 2. It regularly travelled from London to New York in around three hours. The flights were expensive, mainly shuttling business people and the rich and famous.

    British Airways Concorde in flight.
    Wikimedia Commons/Eduard Marmet, CC BY-SA

    Why supersonic passenger flight didn’t take off

    Concorde was designed in the 1960s when it seemed like supersonic passenger transport was going to be the next big thing.

    Instead, the Boeing 747 entered commercial service in 1970. Cheap, large and efficient airliners like it blew Concorde out of the water.

    Designed to cruise efficiently at supersonic speeds, Concorde was extremely fuel inefficient when taking off and accelerating. Concorde’s expensive, “gas guzzling” nature was a complaint levelled against it for most of its lifetime.

    A catastrophic 1973 Paris air show crash of the competing Russian airliner, Tupolev Tu-144, also shifted public perception on supersonic flight safety at a time when many airlines were considering whether or not to purchase Concordes.

    Only 20 Concordes were manufactured out of the planned 100. It is still disputed today whether Concorde ever made money for the airlines who operated it.

    Illustration of a shock wave propagating from a supersonic aeroplane and hitting the ground to produce a sonic boom.
    Cmglee/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    Noise is a real problem for supersonic flight

    Remember the fighter jets? When a plane travels supersonically, its shock waves propagate to the ground, causing loud disturbances called sonic booms. In extreme cases they can shatter windows and damage buildings.

    In the early 1970s, sonic boom concerns led the United States government to ban supersonic passenger flight over land in the US. This hurt the Concorde’s potential market, hence its only two regular routes were trans-Atlantic flights principally over the water.

    The Concorde was also a very loud plane at take off, since it needed a lot of thrust to leave the ground.

    Video footage of the final Concorde takeoff from New York’s JFK airport.

    The future of supersonic travel

    A future for supersonic travel relies on solving some or all of the issues Concorde faced.

    NASA and Lockheed Martin’s Quesst project aims to show sonic boom can be dissipated to manageable levels. They plan to fly their X-59 supersonic aircraft over US cities and gauge responses from citizens.

    Quesst aims to use the geometry of the X-59, with a long elongated nose, to dissipate sonic booms to a weak “thump”, hopefully allowing supersonic airliners to travel over land in the future.

    NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft.
    NASA/Steve Freeman

    Spike Aerospace’s Spike S-512 Diplomat concept also aims to be a “quiet” supersonic aircraft with a less disruptive sonic boom.

    Can Boom surpass Concorde?

    Boom Supersonic don’t plan to fly supersonically over land. Their plan is to fly over land at Mach 0.94, which they claim will allow 20% faster overland travel than standard passenger airliners, even subsonically.

    They also claim the design of their engines will ensure Overture is no louder than modern subsonic airliners when it takes off.

    Rendering of Boom Supersonic’s Overture supersonic airliner on the runway.
    Boom Supersonic

    In terms of gas guzzling, they plan to use up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel to reduce emissions and their carbon footprint.

    Concorde was made of aluminium using design tools available in the 1960s. Modern design methods and modern aerospace materials such as titanium and carbon fibre should also allow Overture and similar craft to weigh much less than Concorde, improving efficiency.

    While Boom are currently receiving a lot of interest, with orders from many airlines, Concorde did have similar commitment before it become available. Most of it didn’t eventuate.

    Additionally, Concorde was the product of an analogue era when the idea of flying to London or New York for the day for an important business meeting seemed like a necessary thing. In a world of remote work and video meetings, is there still a need for a supersonic airliner in the 2020s?

    For now, supersonic airliners like Overture are likely to remain in the realm of the rich and famous, like Concorde did. But with modern technological advances, it will be interesting to see whether supersonic passenger travel once again becomes reality – or even goes mainstream. Only time will tell.

    Chris James receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Commonwealth Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), and the US Office of Naval Research.

    – ref. Supersonic jets are making a comeback – but despite the hype, don’t expect to book yet – https://theconversation.com/supersonic-jets-are-making-a-comeback-but-despite-the-hype-dont-expect-to-book-yet-248656

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Poison baits were used on 1,400 feral cats, foxes and dingoes. We studied their fate to see what works

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pat Taggart, Adjunct Fellow in Ecology, University of Adelaide

    Bee Stephens, CC BY

    Poisoned baits are the main way land managers control foxes, feral cats and dingoes. Baiting is done to reduce livestock and economic losses, or pressure on endangered wildlife.

    Millions of baits are laid annually. But we still don’t understand how effective baiting actually is. Current evidence paints a mixed picture. That’s a problem, because baiting can have unintended consequences, such as killing native animals we don’t want to target. Some research suggests baiting can actually increase attacks on livestock, or that poisoning dingoes can increase feral cat and fox numbers and worsen the damage to native wildlife.

    We need better evidence on what baiting does and doesn’t do. Our new research draws on data from 34 previous studies assessing baiting effectiveness. In total, these largely Australian studies summarised the fate of more than 1,400 cats, foxes and dingoes. We used these data sets to conduct the most comprehensive analysis of baiting effectiveness to date.

    Biosecurity officers drying meat baits for a baiting program in Broken Hill in 2019.
    NSW Government, Local Land Services, Western Region, CC BY

    Baiting is ubiquitous

    Baits can be purchased commercially or produced in-house. In some states, land managers can bring meat baits to government authorities to have poison added free of charge. They are then distributed by vehicle along tracks and roads or dropped from aircraft across vast areas of Australia, New Zealand and islands worldwide.

    Single baiting programs can sometimes cover areas larger than 9,000 square kilometres – a land area similar to Puerto Rico or Cyprus.

    So how can we best undertake these baiting programs?

    1. Baiting does work

    Across the 34 studies, baiting cut predator survival in half (51.7%) – substantially higher than the death rate in unbaited areas (16%).

    This finding was broadly consistent regardless of whether baits were placed along tracks and roads or scattered over broader areas.

    In some cases, predator numbers can recover rapidly following baiting. Under favourable conditions, feral cat and fox populations can double in a year, while dingo populations can grow 50% annually. But, under average conditions, such high rates of population increase are likely uncommon.

    Predators from outside the control area can rapidly repopulate areas after a baiting program. For example, multiple studies have found no change in fox numbers even when baiting was conducted at monthly intervals. Similar results have been found after intensive fox shooting.

    But there are also examples where prolonged, broad-scale baiting has worked well. To protect the threatened yellow footed rock wallaby, researchers baited around wallaby populations in New South Wales and South Australia and largely eliminated foxes from large areas. Wallaby numbers then increased.

    2. Feral cats take baits too

    Feral cats are opportunistic ambush predators and hunt a wide range of prey. They’re visually driven and prefer fresh meat. For these reasons, it’s long been thought they are less likely to eat poisoned bait than foxes and dingoes.

    Feral cats are silent, stealthy hunters who prefer to hunt rather than scavenge.
    Vanessa Westcott, CC BY

    But our analysis doesn’t support this – feral cats appeared to be just as susceptible to baits as foxes and dingoes. That’s good news for wildlife.

    Significant and ongoing work has been put into designing better baits for feral cats to increase consumption rates. The most widely known of these baits is Eradicat, a sausage-style bait.

    While this bait is aimed at feral cats, our analysis didn’t provide strong evidence showing Eradicat actually killed more feral cats than other poison bait recipes. This suggests any bait is more effective than no bait when it comes to cat control.

    Eradicat baits have to be sweated to bring out the oils and make them more appealing.
    Luke Bayley, CC BY

    3. Blanket coverage works better

    In land manager circles, there’s a long-running debate over how best to bait. Some advocate putting out more baits over the same area, while others suggest more frequent baiting is better.

    So which is it? Our analysis shows more baits in an area is likely to equate to better control of predators, while distributing baits more frequently may not have the same effect.

    Why is this? Like people, animals are individuals, with their own behavioural tendencies. Wary animals may never take baits. Some foxes are known to store baits to eat later, by which time the baits may be less toxic, sickening rather than killing the animal.

    This is believed to lead to bait aversion, where foxes avoid baits in the future due to previous bad experiences – just as we might avoid foods which made us sick.

    A single, more intensive application of bait is likely to work better because susceptible predators eat the bait and die, and there is limited opportunity for bait aversion to develop. In contrast, more frequent baiting in a short period of time are of limited benefit because animals learn to avoid them.

    Dingoes have been routinely baited for decades.
    Ian Mayo, CC BY

    Fresh baits have long been believed to be eaten more readily than dry baits.

    But our analysis shows this may not always be true. Overall, the type of bait had little impact on whether or not it led to reduced predator survival.

    Optimising baiting

    More efficient control of predators will mean fewer baits are needed to achieve the same result. That, in turn, means less risk of harming other native animals, as well as reducing how much work and money it costs to control feral cats, foxes and dingoes.

    Our research shows baiting does indeed cut the number of predators prowling an area. But it also shows many factors we thought were important in making a baiting program effective may only have a limited effect.

    The goal of poison baiting is to reduce the damage predators do to livestock and wildlife. Baiting is an important and effective tool in reducing predator pressure on threatened species. But its efficacy – and the risk other animals could take the bait – means we have a responsibility to continually optimise its use and ensure its application is targeted.

    Pat Taggart receives funding from the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

    Daniel Noble receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

    Yong Zhi Foo receives funding from the the Australian Research Council.

    – ref. Poison baits were used on 1,400 feral cats, foxes and dingoes. We studied their fate to see what works – https://theconversation.com/poison-baits-were-used-on-1-400-feral-cats-foxes-and-dingoes-we-studied-their-fate-to-see-what-works-246324

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Can you get sunburnt or UV skin damage through car or home windows?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Theresa Larkin, Associate Professor of Medical Sciences, University of Wollongong

    Zac Harris/Unsplash

    When you’re in a car, train or bus, do you choose a seat to avoid being in the sun or do you like the sunny side?

    You can definitely feel the sun’s heat through a window. But can you get sunburn or skin damage when in your car or inside with the windows closed?

    Let’s look at how much UV (ultraviolet) radiation passes through different types of glass, how tinting can help block UV, and whether we need sunscreen when driving or indoors.

    What’s the difference between UVA and UVB?

    Of the total UV radiation that reaches Earth, about 95% is UVA and 5% is UVB.

    UVB only reaches the upper layers of our skin but is the major cause of sunburn, cataracts and skin cancer.

    UVA penetrates deeper into our skin and causes cell damage that leads to skin cancer.

    UVA penetrates deeper than UVB.
    Shutterstock/solar22

    Glass blocks UVA and UVB radiation differently

    All glass used in house, office and car windows completely blocks UVB from passing through.

    But only laminated glass can completely block UVA. UVA can pass through other glass used in car, house and office windows and cause skin damage, increasing the risk of cancer.

    Car windscreens block UVA, but the side and rear windows don’t

    A car’s front windscreen lets in lots of sunshine and light. Luckily it blocks 98% of UVA radiation because it is made of two layers of laminated glass.

    But the side and rear car windows are made of tempered glass, which doesn’t completely block UVA. A study of 29 cars found a range from 4% to almost 56% of UVA passed through the side and rear windows.

    The UVA protection was not related to the car’s age or cost, but to the type of glass, its colour and whether it has been tinted or coated in a protective film. Grey or bronze coloured glass, and window tinting, all increase UVA protection. Window tinting blocks around 95% of UVA radiation.

    In a separate study from Saudi Arabia, researchers fitted drivers with a wearable radiation monitor. They found drivers were exposed to UV index ratings up to 3.5. (In Australia, sun protection is generally recommended when the UV index is 3 or above – at this level it takes pale skin about 20 minutes to burn.)

    So if you have your windows tinted, you should not have to wear sunscreen in the car. But without tinted windows, you can accumulate skin damage.

    UV exposure while driving increases skin cancer risk

    Many people spend a lot of time in the car – for work, commuting, holiday travel and general transport. Repeated UVA radiation exposure through car side windows might go unnoticed, but it can affect our skin.

    Indeed, skin cancer is more common on the driver’s side of the body. A study in the United States (where drivers sit on the left side) found more skin cancers on the left than the right side for the face, scalp, arm and leg, including 20 times more for the arm.

    Another US study found this effect was higher in men. For melanoma in situ, an early form of melanoma, 74% of these cancers were on the on the left versus 26% on the right.

    Earlier Australian studies reported more skin damage and more skin cancer on the right side.

    Cataracts and other eye damage are also more common on the driver’s side of the body.

    What about UV exposure through home or office windows?

    We see UV damage from sunlight through our home windows in faded materials, furniture or plastics.

    Most glass used in residential windows lets a lot of UVA pass through, between 45 and 75%.

    Residential windows can let varied amounts of UVA through.
    Sherman Trotz/Pexels

    Single-pane glass lets through the most UVA, while thicker, tinted or coated glass blocks more UVA.

    The best options are laminated glass, or double-glazed, tinted windows that allow less than 1% of UVA through.

    Skylights are made from laminated glass, which completely stops UVA from passing through.

    Most office and commercial window glass has better UVA protection than residential windows, allowing less than 25% of UVA transmission. These windows are usually double-glazed and tinted, with reflective properties or UV-absorbent chemicals.

    Some smart windows that reduce heat using chemical treatments to darken the glass can also block UVA.

    So when should you wear sunscreen and sunglasses?

    The biggest risk with skin damage while driving is having the windows down or your arm out the window in direct sun. Even untinted windows will reduce UVA exposure to some extent, so it’s better to have the car window up.

    For home windows, window films or tint can increase UVA protection of single pane glass. UVA blocking by glass is similar to protection by sunscreen.

    When you need to use sunscreen depends on your skin type, latitude and time of the year. In a car without tinted windows, you could burn after one hour in the middle of the day in summer, and two hours in the middle of a winter’s day.

    But in the middle of the day next to a home window that allows more UVA to pass through, it could take only 30 minutes to burn in summer and one hour in winter.

    When the UV index is above three, it is recommended you wear protective sunglasses while driving or next to a sunny window to avoid eye damage.

    Theresa Larkin 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. Can you get sunburnt or UV skin damage through car or home windows? – https://theconversation.com/can-you-get-sunburnt-or-uv-skin-damage-through-car-or-home-windows-246599

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Political donations data show who’s funding whom in Australia – but they are coming out far too late

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute

    As federal parliament reconvenes this week, the pre-election buzz is palpable. When will the election be called? Which policies are on the table? And who’s backing whom in this election campaign?

    While the first two questions are yet to be answered, we ought to have a better sense of the third with the release of the annual political donations data.

    There’s plenty to unpick in the new data but there’s one glaring problem: we are only just now learning about donations made in 2023–24. Australians are left in the dark about who is donating right now.

    Here’s what happened in 2023–24

    In 2023–24, Australia’s political parties collectively raised $166 million, with most of the money (85%) flowing to the major parties. In federal election years the totals can be more than double this, and donations at the past two federal elections have been heavily dominated by Clive Palmer giving to his own party (in 2019 and 2022).

    The Coalition raised $74 million in 2023–24, with Labor not far behind on $68 million. The Greens were a distant third, with $17 million. Independents collectively declared just $2 million. In the lead-up to the last federal election, Labor raised $124 million, and the Coalition raised $115 million, so we would expect the major parties are raising much more right now.

    The big donors

    A few big donors dominate the $12 million in donations to political parties that are on the public record.

    Billionaire Anthony Pratt donated $1 million to Labor (through Pratt Holdings), while the Coalition was supported by billionaires Harry Triguboff (through Meriton Property Services) and Gina Rinehart (Hancock Prospecting), to the tune of around half a million dollars each. Both Labor and the Coalition also received major donations from their investment arms (Labor Holdings and Cormack Foundation, respectively).

    Other major donations included $575,000 to the Greens from Duncan Turpie, a longtime backer of the party; $474,000 from Climate 200 backing several independents (mainly Zoe Daniel and Monique Ryan); and $360,000 to the Greens from Lisa Barlow’s conservation trust.

    The big donor missing here is Clive Palmer. The size of his donations – $117 million in 2022 and $84 million in 2019 – blow everyone else out of the water, but he tends only to donate in election years. We won’t know how much he’s spending on the current election campaign until February 2026.

    What needs to change

    Money matters because it helps spread political messages far and wide. But when political parties are highly dependent on a small number of powerful individuals, businesses, and unions, to fund their campaigns, this dependence creates enormous risks of private influence over decision-making in the public interest.

    That’s why Australians need to know – in real time – who’s funding election campaigns.

    Under the current rules, it takes at least seven months and sometimes up to 19 months for a large federal donation to be made public. Yet at state level, donations must be made public within a month during election campaigns, and within six months at other times.

    Introducing quicker disclosure requirements at the federal level would mean Australians would know who’s donating while policy issues – and elections – are still “live”.

    The donations disclosure threshold should also be lowered to give Australians better visibility of substantial donors. In 2023–24, declared donations made up only 7% of political parties’ total income. There are other sources of income on the public record (including public funding), but about 45% of party income remains hidden because the disclosure threshold is so high.

    There is no exact science to choosing a threshold, but the current level of $16,900 is well above the amount an ordinary Australian could afford to contribute to a political cause.

    This high threshold is made much worse by the fact that political parties are not required to aggregate multiple donations from the same donor. That means, for example, one donor could make many donations of $15,000, but because each is below the threshold, the party doesn’t need to declare them. The donor is expected to declare themselves to the Australian Electoral Commission, but this is almost impossible to police.

    The federal government has a bill before the Senate that would reduce the donations disclosure threshold to $1,000, and make release of donations data more timely. These changes would substantially improve transparency around money in politics. But the bill also includes more complex reforms that may stall the progress of these transparency measures.

    Better and more timely information on political donations is urgently needed as a public check on the influence of money in politics.

    Let’s hope this is the last election Australians are left in the dark on who funds our political parties.

    The Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments, $4 million from BHP Billiton, and $1 million from NAB. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and contribute to funding Grattan Institute’s activities. Grattan Institute also receives funding from corporates, foundations, and individuals to support its general activities as disclosed on its website.

    Jessica Geraghty 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. Political donations data show who’s funding whom in Australia – but they are coming out far too late – https://theconversation.com/political-donations-data-show-whos-funding-whom-in-australia-but-they-are-coming-out-far-too-late-248662

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kaptur, Murray Demand Answers on Trump Administration Freezing Energy Department Investments to Lower Americans’ Energy Costs

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)

    Washington, DC — Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair and Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Ranking Member wrote a letter to the Acting Secretary of the Department of Energy demanding answers about the Trump administration withholding critical investments to lower energy costs for American families and businesses, spur innovation, and strengthen our energy security. 

    In the letter, Kaptur and Murray state: “We write expressing deep concerns regarding the Department of Energy’s recent unlawful actions to halt programs that are imperative to the Department’s mission of ensuring America’s security and prosperity by addressing the nation’s energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.”

    “The Department’s actions to halt these programs will immediately contribute to rising energy costs for families and businesses, and they are a dereliction of the Department’s responsibility to carry out duly enacted spending laws,” Murray and Kaptur continued.  

    Kaptur and Murray note that President Trump’s executive order illegally freezing Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding is creating unacceptable chaos, confusion, and harm. 

    In particular, they note that the order and a variety of other actions the administration has taken will hurt American families and businesses: “Stopping these programs is taking money from the pockets of Americans. For example, the Home Energy Rebates programs, funded by the IRA, has been putting money directly back in the hands of American households. The rebates help consumers save money on select home improvement projects that can lower energy bills by providing up to $14,000 per household in rebates. It is estimated that these programs will save households up to $1 billion per year on energy bills and support over 50,000 U.S. jobs. The President’s attempt to freeze the Home Energy Rebates Program means these costs will fall back on American consumers..” 

    Kaptur and Murray press the Department for answers about what funding it is currently freezing and other actions it is taking to halt critical programs, and concluded: “We hope you will work with us—not against us—to lower energy costs and help create good-paying jobs, but we demand that you follow the law as intended.” 

    A timeline of President Trump’s actions to freeze critical federal funding is available HERE. Fact sheets detailing how presidents lack power to unilaterally override spending laws and deny enacted funding to communities through impoundment can be found HERE and HERE.

    Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:

    January 31, 2025

     

     

    Ingrid C. Kolb

    Acting Secretary

    U.S. Department of Energy

    1000 Independence Ave., SW

    Washington, DC 20585

    Acting Secretary Kolb:

    We write expressing deep concerns regarding the Department of Energy’s (DOE) recent unlawful actions to halt programs that are imperative to the Department’s mission of ensuring America’s security and prosperity by addressing the nation’s energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. The Department’s actions to halt these programs will immediately contribute to rising energy costs for families and businesses, and they are a dereliction of the Department’s responsibility to carry out duly enacted spending laws.

    President Trump’s January 20, 2025, Executive Order 14154 seems to direct all agencies to immediately pause the disbursement of any funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) or the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The President’s Executive Order has abruptly frozen funding for an extremely broad array of investments in American communities, causing widespread chaos and confusion for American businesses and communities and threatening to raise energy costs for American families. The Trump administration’s memo freezing vast swaths of federal funds, its failed attempt to clarify the scope of the memo, and its subsequent rescission of the memo have created mass chaos and added to the confusion about what investments are currently being blocked. Today, our understanding is that much of the Departmental funding is still frozen. Moreover, the attached Department of Energy’s Secretarial Order on January 20, 2025, and the attached follow-up January 27, 2025, memorandum, paused all personnel actions; procurement announcements and actions; funding actions; release of reports, studies, congressional correspondence, and public announcements; Federal Register notices; and actions under the National Environmental Policy Act. Together, these actions halt a vast array of the Department’s essential programs—programs American families and businesses are counting on. 

    These actions will devastate programs that reduce energy consumption and increase affordability. Your administration will be raising energy costs for families and businesses and threatening to kill thousands of jobs. Continuing to freeze these investments—or permanently blocking them—will unravel critical progress the Department has made and cost American households and businesses dearly. Since 1980, energy efficiency technologies and improvements—made possible by programs like those currently halted by this administration—have saved Americans approximately $800 billion in energy costs. 

    Stopping these programs is taking money from the pockets of Americans. For example, the Home Energy Rebates programs, funded by the IRA, has been putting money directly back in the hands of American households. The rebates help consumers save money on select home improvement projects that can lower energy bills by providing up to $14,000 per household in rebates. It is estimated that these programs will save households up to $1 billion per year on energy bills and support over 50,000 U.S. jobs. The President’s attempt to freeze the Home Energy Rebates Program means these costs will fall back on American consumers. 

    In addition to raising energy costs for American families, the President’s Executive Order is illegal. The President may not unilaterally decide to ignore the laws passed by Congress and stop funding for programs just because he disagrees with their goals. The Government Accountability Office, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (including in an opinion written by future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court William H. Rehnquist), and the Supreme Court of the United States have all disavowed the notion of some “inherent Presidential power to impound,” as some in the Administration, as well as pending Administration nominees, have tried to argue without legal or textual basis.

    Not only does the Constitution vest the power of the purse with Congress and provide no power to the President to impound funds, but there have been several bedrock fiscal statutes enacted to protect Congress’ constitutional power of the purse and prevent unlawful executive overreach, including the Antideficiency Act and the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA). The ICA prohibits any action or inaction that precludes Federal funds from being obligated or spent, either temporarily or permanently, without following the strictly circumscribed requirements of that law. 

    Given the importance of these programs, the unlawful actions ordered by this Administration, and the dubious actions that have been undertaken by the Department, we request additional information about the Department’s implementation of Executive Order 14154, the referenced Secretarial Order, and other related actions.

     

    Regarding Executive Order 14154, please provide answers to the following questions:

    Regarding the Secretarial Order dated January 20, 2025, please provide answers to the following questions:

    • Is ongoing work for operations at the National Labs, facilities, and other DOE sites permitted at this time or are these facilities under review as well? If so, how long will this review last? Will these labs, facilities, and sites be notified of the scope of the review?
    • Please provide a list of obligations already incurred by DOE for which the Secretarial Order now prohibits liquidating legal liabilities already incurred by the Federal government.
    • Will DOE reimburse non-Federal recipients for invoices submitted for work already performed that predates the Secretarial Order? What about for ongoing or halted work that has not yet been invoiced? If reimbursements will not be provided in either case, please provide the legal justification for failing to meet the obligations of contracts with non-Federal recipients.
    • What is the status and scope of the reviews of studies, reports, and announcements?
    • What is the guidance on processing internal and external reprogramming actions?
    • What is the status of reviewing routine reauthorizations of existing contracts and cooperative agreements?

    Additionally, please provide answers to the following questions:

    • Have any federal employees been terminated since January 20, 2025? If so, how many and in which organizations?
    • Have any federal employees been furloughed since January 20, 2025? If so, how many and in which organizations?
    • Have any federal employees been put on administrative leave since January 20, 2025? If so, how many and in which organizations?
    • Have any federal employees received notices of future required administrative leave, furloughs, or reductions in force since January 20, 2025? If so, how many and in which organizations?

    We ask for your response to our questions no later than February 7, 2025.

    Finally, we want to remind you of your oversight obligations under appropriations law.  Members of Congress of both parties have worked together to craft provisions instituting common-sense transparency and accountability measures. All executive branch agencies must proactively alert the Appropriations and other appropriate House and Senate Committees when apportionments are not made in required time periods, are approved only with conditions, or may hinder the prudent obligation of apportionments or the execution of a program, project, or activity. Agencies are also required to report all violations of the ICA to Congress. Finally, agencies may not prohibit or prevent any federal employee from having direct communication with any Member, committee, or subcommittee of Congress. All federal employees must be free to communicate directly with Congress, whether Congress has requested that communication or not.

    We hope you will work with us—not against us—to lower energy costs and help create good-paying jobs, but we demand that you follow the law as intended.

    Sincerely,

    Marcy Kaptur

    Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development House Committee on Appropriations

    Patty Murray

    Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Senate Committee on Appropriations

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Weber Named to Key Committees & Chairman for the 119th Congress

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Randy Weber (14th District of Texas)

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14) announced that he will continue to serve on the House Energy and Commerce (E&C)  and the Science, Space, and Technology (SST) Committees. Additionally, he has been named Chairman of the SST Energy Subcommittee and the Vice Chairman of the E&C Energy Subcommittee, where the committee focuses on advancing policies to secure America’s energy future and foster innovation. Rep. Weber was also named the Vice Chair of the House Energy Action Team (HEAT) under the Republican Study Committee, where he’ll champion energy policies that empower domestic producers, leverage an all-of-the-above energy strategy, and restore America’s energy dominance on the global stage.

    “It’s an honor to continue to serve as a member on the influential Energy and Commerce Committee and to support the growth of our space exploration and energy distribution efforts—both are critical to the future of Southeast Texas,” said Rep. Weber. “My Gulf Coast district is an energy powerhouse with seven ports, seven of America’s largest petroleum refineries, three LNG plants, and 60% of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Texas’ 14th Congressional District will provide a crucial voice as I take on these roles. Our mission is clear: to reverse the damaging policies left behind by the Biden administration and rebuild what has been broken for Southeast Texas and our nation.”

    “I am excited to name Congressman Randy Weber as the Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy. Congressman Weber is a friend, a trusted colleague, and a strong conservative who is dedicated to serving our nation and protecting our values,” said Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (KY-2). “As Vice Chairman, Congressman Weber will help to strengthen our domestic energy production while addressing the high costs of gas and electricity that have impacted families over the past four years. I look forward to working together on behalf of the American people.”

    “I am thrilled to have fellow Texan Rep. Randy Weber as the Vice-Chair of the House Energy Action Team,” said RSC Chairman August Pfluger (TX-11), who led the Task Force in the 118th Congress. “Randy’s proven track record of fighting for American energy dominance makes him an invaluable addition to the HEAT team. I look forward to working with him in the 119th Congress.”  

    “Congressman Weber’s energy expertise and values could not be more critical to the success of the SST Committee,” said Chairman Brian Babin (TX-36). “He’s a great friend, fellow Southeast Texan, and staunch ally in the fight to ensure America leads from the front. I’m looking forward to working alongside him this Congress.”

    Rep. Weber will serve on the following subcommittees:

    • Chairman of the Energy Subcommittee on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee
    • Vice Chair of the Energy Subcommittee on the Energy and Commerce Committee
    • Environment on the Energy and Commerce Committee
    • Oversight & Investigations on the Energy and Commerce Committee

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DelBene, Moore, McCaul, Matsui, Moolenaar, and Krishnamoorthi Reintroduce Legislation to Bolster American Semiconductor R&D

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (1st District of Washington)

    Today, Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Blake Moore (UT-01), Michael McCaul (TX-10), Doris Matsui (CA-07), John Moolenaar (MI-02), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) introduced the Semiconductor Technology Advancement and Research (STAR) Act, legislation that would establish an investment tax credit for semiconductor design expenses to support and advance the United States’ semiconductor research and development initiatives.  

    Semiconductor design is a research and development activity that works to improve how chips process information and enable increasingly complex modern technologies. The STAR Act would allow for a 25% tax credit for semiconductor design research and development expenditures and extends the 48D manufacturing tax credit for the next 10 years. Semiconductors are key to maintaining America’s technological leadership, playing a vital role across industries like defense, health care, energy, agriculture, and transportation. As countries around the world continue to out-invest the United States in semiconductor research and development, the STAR Act will ensure semiconductor intellectual property is developed and secured in the United States. 

    “Semiconductors are critical to our economy, powering everything from cars to cellphones. Congress made great strides with the passage of the Chips & Science Act, but we need to continue investing in domestic chip production to ensure that America remains a global leader in this critical economic and national security technology,” said DelBene. “The bipartisan legislation we’re introducing today will support further semiconductor research and workforce development, strengthen our economic security, reduce reliance on foreign supply chains, all while creating good-paying jobs in our communities.” 

    “Semiconductors are the linchpin to the technologies of the future in countless sectors, from health care to defense to energy, and they are critical to U.S. national security and global competitiveness,” said Moore. “I thank my colleagues for their partnership in reintroducing the STAR Act, and I look forward to the investment incentives this bill will bring to enhance U.S. leadership in chip design and maintain a secure value chain for these innovations.” 

    “U.S. production of semiconductor chips is an economic and national security imperative, which is why I authored the CHIPS for America Act — to decrease our reliance on other countries for these critical assets,” said McCaul. “I am proud to co-sponsor the bipartisan STAR Act to build on that success, further bolstering our national security and bringing high-paying jobs to our communities. The chip revolution is the greatest technological advancement since the Manhattan Project, and I look forward to cementing the United States as the global leader in semiconductor research and design.” 

    “As we roll out the transformative investments of the CHIPS Act, we have a unique opportunity to lay the groundwork for generational leadership in semiconductor innovation and job creation,” said Matsui. “We must continue to build upon the investments that the CHIPS Act jumpstarted and continue to ensure that the U.S. leads the entire supply chain for semiconductor technologies, from design through manufacturing, for generations to come. This legislation will supercharge high-wage jobs in semiconductor design which are vital for the California economy. In tandem with CHIPS Act investments, these tools will continue to secure American’s position as the global pacesetter for innovation.” 

    “This bipartisan legislation cuts taxes, protect jobs, and levels the playing field for American chipmakers,” said Moolenaar. “The STAR Act fuels innovation, ensuring America stays ahead of the curve. We’re proud to empower US chipmakers to outpace Chinese competitors that steal American intellectual property and benefit from massive state subsidies.” 

    “At a time when semiconductors increasingly drive the future of technology, the United States must strengthen its domestic semiconductor industry, including our development and research capacity,” said Krishnamoorthi. “Our bipartisan legislation meets this need by providing incentives for investments in domestic semiconductor R&D to help ensure continued American leadership in chip design that will safeguard our national and economic security.” 

    DelBene, Moore, McCaul, Matsui, Moolenaar, and Krishnamoorthi are also joined by Representatives Vern Buchanan (FL-16), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Joe Morelle (NY-25), André Carson (IN-07), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Sewell (AL-07), and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) in reintroducing this bill. 

    A copy of the bill can be found here.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Bennie G. Thompson Honors Innovative Minds in the 2024 Congressional App Challenge

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Bennie G Thompson (D-MS)

    Washington, D.C. – Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02) proudly announces the 2024 Congressional App Challenge winners for Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District.  Two brilliant minds, Summer Boatman and Bryson Flowers, students at Grenada High School, clinched first place with their groundbreaking digital application creation, “FITTERFLY.”  The app is designed to promote a healthy lifestyle for teenagers while incorporating familiar elements of social media (user profiles, badges, activity streams, etc.) to keep users engaged.  To view the 2024 winners, including FITTERFLY, click here.

    “At a very young age, we’ve had a passion for fitness, and through the app, we hope to inspire others.  We are both in NJROTC [Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps], and we understand fitness and the importance of a healthy lifestyle… There is a lack of physical engagement and education with teens, and we want to make a change.  We use multiple fitness apps ourselves and wanted to make an app that combines our favorite features into one,” said Summer and Bryson.

    Congressman Thompson expressed his pride in hosting the annual Congressional App Challenge, urging students to pursue STEM careers.   “I commend the outstanding efforts of Summer and Bryson, and all participating students.  I look forward to a greater influx of innovative applicants in the future.” 

    2025 Congressional App Challenge

    The Congressional App Challenge, a revered national event, beckons middle and high school students keen on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) to conceptualize and design applications for computers, tablets, or phones. The call for submissions for the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District will open in May 2025.  For more information and to participate, visit the Congressional App Challenge website.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Gregory W. Meeks Statement on Black History Month

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

    QUEENS, NY – Today, Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05) released the following statement on Black History Month: 

    “It is critical that we continue recognizing the profound contributions that African Americans have made to our country. We honor all of those trailblazers who persevered through the horrors of slavery and the Jim Crow era to pave the way for major achievements in every segment of this country including science, engineering, mathematics, entertainment, technology, culture, public service, business, the military and much more. Black innovation, entrepreneurship, resilience, and perseverance are woven into the very fabric of this nation. We continue to make remarkable strides in breaking barriers by entering fields such as artificial intelligence where our accomplishments reshape the tech landscape. This Black History Month, we must choose to educate and challenge narratives that perpetuate the marginalization of African Americans. Although we have made so much progress, we cannot neglect the work that lies ahead to deliver on the promise of our great nation for all Americans.  

    “While the Trump Administration wrongly pursues an anti-DEI agenda that ignores our country’s past of historical, systematic exclusion of African Americans, we as Americans must remember that diversity is the foundation of our country. It strengthens democracy by embracing unique perspectives that serve our society. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are American values that must not be dismantled. 

    “After all, Black history is American history.”

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: October 28, 2024 In Response to Rising Pedestrian Fatalities, Rep. Mullin Introduces Driver Technology and Pedestrian Safety Act Washington, D.C. – In response to an increase in the rate of pedestrian fatalities across the United States, Congressman Kevin Mullin (CA-15), introduced federal legislation that aims to address the impacts of driver-controlled technology in vehicles. October is National Pedestrian… Read More

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Kevin Mullin California (15th District)

    [embedded content]

    Washington, D.C. – In response to an increase in the rate of pedestrian fatalities across the United States, Congressman Kevin Mullin (CA-15), introduced federal legislation that aims to address the impacts of driver-controlled technology in vehicles.

    October is National Pedestrian Safety Month, and Rep. Mullin announced his Driver Technology and Pedestrian Safety Act, H.R. 10051.  

    According to the most recent data available, in just one year 7,522 pedestrians were killed in traffic collisions in the United States and 67,000 pedestrians were injured. This reflects an alarming trend of increasing fatalities over the past several years. One of the biggest recent changes is the proliferation of driver-controlled technology in vehicles, such as touch screens that have replaced traditional knobs and switches, which require an increased amount of drivers’ attention. This, combined with other changes in the environment and traffic patterns, may be leading to increasingly dangerous road conditions. However, there have not been significant national studies on this topic that could inform policymakers on how to better protect pedestrians and other road users.

    “However you move around – whether you take public transit, drive a car, or ride a bike – at some point all of us are a pedestrian. Safety on our roads is everyone’s responsibility, and Congress should take a leading role in helping us understand what we can do to protect our most vulnerable populations,” said Rep. Mullin. “The Driver Technology and Pedestrian Safety Act would help us understand how technology in vehicles, such as touch-screen displays, may be distracting drivers and contributing to America’s increasing rates of pedestrian deaths and injuries.”

    The bill would direct the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the effects of driver technology, including touch screen-based systems and user interface design, as they relate to pedestrian collisions. It would also evaluate the impact of time of day and changes in traffic, weather and the volume of commercial or “hired” vehicles on the road whose drivers rely heavily on screens. It would also require the DOT to provide recommendations on actions Congress or agencies can take, such as updating standards, to address the study’s findings.

    The bill is endorsed by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and Truck Safety Coalition.

    “The increase in pedestrian fatalities in the United States during the past decade is a disturbing trend that’s been well-documented by national statistics. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety believes Rep. Kevin Mullin’s legislation to examine the correlation between driver interactions with vehicle technology and pedestrian safety can help to update design recommendations to better protect vulnerable road users,” said Dr. David Yang, President and Executive Director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

    Watch a video of a press conference Rep. Mullin hosted with San Mateo Police Chief Ed Barberini to discuss the bill and provide safety tips. Learn more about the Driver Technology and Pedestrian Safety Act.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Strickland Statement on Trump Nominees and Taking Credit for Democratic Policies

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10)

    Washington, DC –Today, Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) issued the following statement on the President-Elect’s administration:

    “Regardless of who is in charge, I will continue to do my job and deliver for the people of the 10th Congressional District.

    The President-Elect, however, has nominated some of the most unserious and clearly unqualified people to join his cabinet. Anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a public health crisis waiting to happen. Matt Gaetz is a Trump loyalist with no regard for the rule of law and will bend the knee to fulfill every revenge directive of Donald Trump. Both are already raising questions of whether they can pass Senate confirmation.

    In 2025 and beyond, the American people will continue to see the positive outcomes of laws and investments made in 2021 and 2022 when Democrats controlled Congress and the White House. Insulin is capped at $35 a month, prices will come down for more prescription drugs, and lower healthcare costs. The infrastructure bill will continue to create jobs and deliver more projects such as roads, bridges, transit, clean water, and internet access. We will see more manufacturing jobs return, and investment in small businesses through the CHIPS and Science Act.

    The Trump Administration and MAGA extremists will lie and attempt to take credit for these strong Democratic policies that help the American people – that they voted against while also killing the bipartisan Senate border bill in 2024.

    Project 2025 was a roadmap. The President-Elect has made it clear that he intends to follow through on his plans to strip away our rights, weaken our Democracy, and put extremism above the American people.”

    U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. She is whip for the Congressional Black Caucus, a member of the New Democrat Coalition, and one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Sykes Celebrates $7.86 Billion Dollar CHIPS Grant For Intel

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Emilia Strong Sykes (OH-13)

    November 26, 2024

    Ohio set to receive billions for New Albany plants, creating thousands of good-paying, union jobs

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) celebrated the news that the U.S. Department of Commerce is set to award $7,865,000,000 in funding from the CHIPS and Science Act to Intel to strengthen the U.S. supply chain and reestablish American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing. This includes billions coming back to Ohio where Intel is investing more than $28 billion to build two new chip factories in Ohio, creating 3,000 manufacturing jobs and 7,000 construction jobs.  

    “Once again, the CHIPS and Science Act is providing our communities with the resources needed to ensure Ohio remains the heart of America’s manufacturing industry. This major, multi-billion dollar investment will boost our entire state’s economy and create thousands of good-paying, union jobs right here at home,” said Rep. Sykes. “As a member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, which oversees the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act, I will continue fighting to bring federal dollars back to our state, so that every community has economic opportunities and we are working to lower costs by onshoring jobs back to the United States.”

    Leading-edge chips power the most sophisticated technology on the planet, including developing AI and building critical military capabilities. Intel’s process technologies such as Intel 18A and advanced packaging technologies, combined with its foundry services, would strengthen U.S. domestic supply of these advanced chips. This federal investment in Intel will support both the creation and advanced packaging of leading-edge chips through projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon. Intel’s overall expansion plan is estimated to support approximately 10,000 manufacturing jobs and 20,000 construction jobs across all four states, and more than 50,000 indirect jobs from suppliers and supporting industries.

    The award will directly support Intel’s expected U.S. investment of nearly $90 billion by the end of the decade, which is part of the company’s overall $100+ billion expansion plan. The Department of Commerce will disburse the funds based on Intel’s completion of project milestones. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: ADB Appoints Emma Veve as Director General for Pacific

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    MANILA, PHILIPPINES (3 February 2025) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Emma Veve as Director General of its Pacific Department (PARD), where she will be responsible for the department’s vision and strategy in the subregion.

    Beginning her new role today, Ms. Veve will lead the delivery of the forthcoming Pacific Approach 2026–2030, which will serve as ADB’s overall country partnership strategy for 12 of its 14 Pacific developing members: Cook Islands, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. She will also lead the implementation of ADB’s individual country partnership strategies for Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

    “I am delighted to be back working in the Pacific, and I’m deeply committed to helping shape the new Pacific Approach, which will serve as ADB’s guide to assisting the Pacific developing members achieve their development goals,” said Ms. Veve. “In keeping with ADB’s role as Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank, we will remain focused on combatting climate change and its impacts using innovation, knowledge, and collaboration.”

    Prior to her appointment as Director General for the Pacific, Emma was Deputy Director General with ADB’s Southeast Asia Department. She also served as the Deputy Director General of the Pacific Department where she supported the Director General in the delivery of ADB operations across the 14 Pacific developing member countries. Ms. Veve has also held other senior roles within ADB’s economic, social, and urban sectors in the Pacific Department. 

    Before joining ADB in 2005, Emma was the Economic Advisor with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, Fiji and held various positions in the Australian commonwealth public service. She is a national of Australia, holds a double degree in agricultural science and economics from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; and holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of New England, Armidale, Australia.

    ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LAUNCH OF 9th AMMUNITION CUM TORPEDO CUM MISSILE (ACTCM) BARGE, LSAM 23 (YARD 133)

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 11:52AM by PIB Delhi

    Launching ceremony of 9th ACTCM Barge, LSAM 23 (Yard 133) was held on 31 Jan 25 at M/s Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd, Thane. Chief Guest for the launching Ceremony was Cmde R Anand, AGM (COM)/ ND (Mbi).

    The contract for construction of eleven (11) Ammunition Cum Torpedo Cum Missile Barge was concluded with MSME Shipyard, M/s Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd, Thane on 05 Mar 21. These Barges have been indigenously designed and built by the Shipyard in collaboration with an Indian Ship Designing firm and Indian Register of Shipping (IRS). Model testing was undertaken at Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam to ensure seaworthiness. The Shipyard has successfully delivered eight of these Barges till date and are being utilised by Indian Navy for its operation evolutions by facilitating Transportation, Embarkation and Disembarkation of articles/ ammunition to IN platforms both alongside jetties and at outer harbours.

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU Master’s student studies new materials for spin-polarized electron sources

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    2nd year Master’s student Faculty of Physics, Novosibirsk State University Nadezhda Solovyova studies the conditions for the formation of monocrystalline films of multi-alkali compounds of antimony and bismuth. These materials are used as photocathodes – effective sources of free electrons and important elements of various photoelectron converters, allowing the registration of weak light signals, down to single photons.

    Photocathodes are devices that operate on the principle of external photoelectric effect. They allow to obtain a beam of electrons with the necessary characteristics for various applications: in electron microscopes, for accelerators, colliders, night vision systems, etc.

    GaAs, GaN, and various alkali metal composites combined with antimony (Sb) are used as photocathode materials. Today, photocathode materials have a natural surface disorder, which affects their quantum efficiency, electron beam brightness, and other characteristics. Multialkali compounds (Cs3Sb, Na2KSb, K2CsSb) have been used as electron sources since the 1930s. In 2022, the Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS discovered the possibility of emitting spin-polarized electrons from a multialkali Na2KSb/Cs3Sb photocathode. This discovery sparked a surge of interest in this and other multialkali materials. And at the moment, one of the important issues is the possibility of obtaining crystalline ordered films of these compounds. The answer to this question requires the development of epitaxial growth technology for multialkali materials.

    — Despite the fact that multi-alkali materials have long been used to manufacture photocathodes, single-crystal films of multi-alkali compounds have not been obtained before, so it was not possible to study their electronic structure using experimental methods; only calculations existed. Currently, we have a method that will allow us to study the electronic structure, and now our task is to obtain crystalline ordered compounds. They are needed to control the characteristics of photocathode materials. For example, the growth of photocathode materials on a crystalline ordered substrate can allow us to change the ratios of lattice constants and temperature expansion coefficients, which can increase the spin polarization of photosimulated electrons, as well as affect other characteristics. For example, the diffusion length can change or the quantum efficiency of photocathode materials can increase. And, what is important, we will have the opportunity to control their properties during the growth process, — explained Nadezhda Solovyova.

    At present, a method for growing epitaxial Cs3Sb films on the 3C-SiC(001) surface has been proposed in the literature. Experiments on epitaxial growth of multi-alkali antimony compounds (Na2KSb, K2CsSb, etc.) on various substrates have not been described in the literature.

    The study of such materials should improve the characteristics of photocathodes, but in addition to the practical task, this study also sets a fundamental one: obtaining crystalline ordered films in order to experimentally study their electronic structure.

    Nadezhda Solova’s project “Study of the conditions for the formation of single-crystal films of multi-alkali compounds of Sb and Bi” was among the winners of the youth competition of scientific research projects “X-ray, synchrotron, neutron methods of interdisciplinary research” last year.

    As part of the project, the young researcher is tasked with obtaining such films and determining how replacing antimony with bismuth will affect their properties. It is assumed that the use of single-crystal films of solid solutions of Cs3BixSb1-x will shift the working range of photocathodes to the infrared region and affect the spin polarization of photoemitted electrons (?). At the moment, Nadezhda Solovyova, under the supervision of Vladimir Golyashov, PhD, research fellow at the Institute of Physical Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has obtained quite interesting results: for the first time, it was possible to obtain single-crystal films of Na2KSb.

    — We were able not only to obtain crystalline ordered films, but also to obtain the first experimental measurement of the electronic structure using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. We did not find any publications about such work in scientific journals. Now we have extensive work ahead of us to decipher the obtained structure, perform the necessary calculations and publish our results, but the first steps have already been taken, and they have proven to be quite productive, — said Nadezhda Solovyova.

    The films were grown using two methods. First, in collaboration with the Novosibirsk enterprise ZAO Ekran-FEP, the scientists followed the method used in the production of electron-optical converters and obtained the first crystalline-ordered films. However, they were not satisfied with the fact that under such conditions the growth of photocathodes was difficult to control due to the excess pressure of alkali metals.

    Another growth technique was fully implemented in the laboratory of the A.V. Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS, and was closer to molecular beam epitaxy:

    — Our laboratory has conditions that allow us to create molecular sources from which film growth will be determined by the ratio of several flows, and there will be no excess of a certain chemical element and the stoichiometric composition of the film will be determined by the ratio of these flows. Having tested both methods, we came to the conclusion that new sources for the growth of such materials need to be created. The laboratory setup is currently being improved, — said Nadezhda Solovyova.

    All compounds studied by Nadezhda Solova are extremely unstable in the atmosphere, so their study requires the development of in-situ ultrahigh-vacuum photoelectron spectroscopy methods. Preparation of atomically clean substrate surfaces, synthesis and epitaxial growth of (Na,K,Cs)3(Sb,Bi), as well as their subsequent analysis are carried out directly in the ultrahigh-vacuum chambers of the SPECS Proven-X ARPES photoelectron spectroscopy facility at the ISP SB RAS. It implements such methods for analyzing the surface of solids as angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XRD), and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). LEED allows one to quickly determine whether the structure of the grown films is crystalline, polycrystalline, or amorphous. XPS is used to study the stoichiometric composition of films, their thickness and the chemical state of atoms on the surface.

    — The electronic structure of the grown monocrystalline films is studied using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPS). However, XPS, ARPES and RFD can be fully realized only when using monochromatic ultraviolet and soft X-ray radiation sources based on synchrotrons. Therefore, if our project shows high potential for further research, we will continue working at the SKIF synchrotron under construction in Novosibirsk. One of the suitable stations where similar measurements can be implemented will be station 1-6-2 “Electronic Structure”, — explained Nadezhda Solovyova.

    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 –