From tumultuous love affairs to violent betrayals, the six wives of Henry VIII all left marks on the Tudor dynasty – and shaped the course of history. READ MORE about these women here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-true-history-behind-six-the-musical-about-henry-viiis-wives-180978781/ --- For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Video Editor: Sierra Theobald

Think blockbuster movie and you’ve got an idea of how this story ends

Obviously it's a bad idea to go out into space without a trusty spacesuit, but what exactly happens?

Have you ever wondered why Yellowstone is full of hot springs, bubbling mudpots and geysers like Old Faithful? In this one-minute video, Ask Smithsonian host Eric Schulze explains the supervolcano that lies beneath this national park and answers the life-or-death question: Will it erupt in a fiery inferno anytime soon?

What happens when one of the nation's largest rivers dries up? Photojournalist Pete McBride tells us about the consequences of a prolonged drought in the Colorado River, which provides drinking water and electricity to millions of Americans, and shares his experience walking the river from end to end. What can we learn from the landscape revealed by the historically low water levels, and will they become the new normal? Read “The Breathtaking Glen Canyon Reveals Its Secrets (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/glen-canyon-reveals-its-secrets-180980754/) ,” photographs & text by Pete McBride, Smithsonian, October 2022. Learn more about Pete and his work at his site (https://petemcbride.com/) . There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Terence Bernardo, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Music by APM Music.

Four decades ago, Pablo Escobar brought to his Medellín hideaway four hippopotamuses, the centerpieces of a menagerie that included llamas, cheetahs, lions, tigers, ostriches and other exotic fauna. After Colombian police shot Escobar dead in December 1993, veterinarians removed the animals—except the hippos, which were deemed too dangerous to approach. The hippos fled to the nearby Magdalena River and multiplied.  Today, the descendants of Escobar’s hippos are believed to number nearly 200. Their uncontrolled growth threatens the region’s fragile waterways. Smithsonian contributor Joshua Hammer joins us to recount this strange history and explain why Colombian conservationists have embarked upon an unusual program to sterilize these hippos in the wild via “invasive surgical castration,” a procedure that is, as he has written (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/pablo-escobar-abandoned-hippos-wreaking-havoc-colombian-jungle-180984494/) for Smithsonian magazine, “medically complicated, expensive and sometimes dangerous for hippos as well as for the people performing it.” Then, ecologist Rebecca Lewison tells us how her long-term study of hippo populations in Africa offers hints of how these creatures will continue to alter the Colombian ecosystem—and what authorities can do about it. Let us know what you think of our show, and how we can make it better, by completing our There's More to That listener survey here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfS90zjBZ2oGa9JxVa-R5affKcOHaR2-ib1_KZeWm3HDQXJIA/viewform) . Read Josh Hammer's Smithsonian story about Escobar's hippos and their descendants here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/pablo-escobar-abandoned-hippos-wreaking-havoc-colombian-jungle-180984494/) . Learn more about Rebecca Lewison and her work here (https://cmi.sdsu.edu/rebecca-lewison/) . Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Rye Dorsey, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz  Music by APM Music.

Two titans of the era went head-to-head in a heated race for the presidency. The stakes were high. The very future of a young nation hung in the balance. Join us as we explore the revolutionary ideas that shaped this critical moment in American democracy. --- For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Video Editor: Sierra Theobald

A local fisherman talks about the uncertain future facing locals when the new bridge connecting Peru and Brazil is completed

If the structures look familiar, it's probably because nature has been using them for a long time in places like nautilus shells, zebra stripes and onions

Paraglider Ben Lewis remembers spinning around wildly as he got pulled up higher and higher into the violent storm. That was when he realized, about 6,700 metres up in the sky and still rising, that he was not likely to see his family again.

The British explorer named dozens of geographical features and sites in the region, ignoring the traditions of the Indigenous peoples who’d lived there for millennia

Several firearms, body armour, diamonds and fentanyl shaped like dog treats were among the items seized in a recent bust, say Metro Vancouver Transit Police.

New rebuilding regulations in Jasper have been approved, but roadblocks — including the sheer number of people that are needed for construction — are popping up.

Cometal builds on successful investment in COSMOS design analysis software

High costs could hamper diversification of supply lines in a post-pandemic era.

A newly-discovered iPhone 14 Pro prototype features one of the earliest known incarnations of Apple's scrapped haptic button project.

OM Guatemala distributes more than 1,000 pairs of shoes at local primary schools.

The world’s largest floating book fair welcomes its five millionth visitor as the tour of Asia comes to a conclusion.

John W. Myres, a retired teacher and superintendent, shares five hard realities educators must face as they try to improve their schools.

Three national educational funders explain a new program that is highlighting innovative practices in schools around the country.

Emily Weider, a third-year student at Penn State Schuylkill, has always been drawn to business, growing up involved in her family's trucking company. Her Co-Op experience at Northeast Pennsylvania Manufacturers and Employers Association provided valuable hands-on learning, from managing databases to enhancing marketing efforts with Canva. The welcoming environment and the skills she gained have solidified her confidence in pursuing a future in business.

Penn State Schuylkill’s Alpha Epsilon Lambda chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the national communication honor society, inducted eight new members in a ceremony held at the Michael C. Fryer Conference Center on Oct. 16. Lambda Pi Eta, founded in 1985, recognizes academic excellence in communication students and promotes professional development.

Complaints about denied claims often concern the treatment the scheme will cover for a prescribed minimum benefit.

Spanish and accounting student Jessica Krieger completed an internship with KPMG as one of 28 Liberal Arts students in the Chapel Executive Internship Program this summer.

Sabrina Knox completed an internship with Westinghouse Nuclear as one of 28 Liberal Arts students in the Chapel Executive Internship Program this summer.

Alumnus Pablo Lopez works to give back to Penn State and State College through his role as film production manager for the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau.

Investors holding more than a quarter of Shoprite shares opposed its executive pay, requiring SA's largest retailer to address dissenting shareholders' concerns.

“As I watched the ending scene (that lasted about three minutes) I thought about the “happy ending” notion,” says Ava. “Is it real or is it a fairy tale? A utopia created by Hollywood to give their viewers a false sense of hope in the reality of a broken world? And so, I said to myself: I believe in happy endings.”

15 Community Organizations To Aid Delawareans In Need Of Rent And Utility Assistance  DOVER, Del., March 24, 2022 – Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) has awarded $2.5 million in Community Navigation Program grants to 15 community partner organizations throughout the state. Each organization will have dedicated staff who will aid Delawareans seeking rent or utility assistance […]

In response to recent federal U.S. Treasury policy changes, the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) will temporarily pause accepting new applications for the Delaware Housing Assistance Program (DEHAP) at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 9. 

Program Pause Ends and Sets Agency Up to Assist Delaware Renters at High Risk of Eviction Dover, Del., October 12, 2022 – The Delaware State Housing Authority announced today the reopening of the DEHAP Rental Assistance Program, in addition to its new program guidelines. New applications and recertifications, which were unavailable during the pause, are now […]

This closure will allow DSHA to process existing applications submitted up to that point. Tenants and landlords with open or in-progress applications submitted before 8:00 a.m. on January 2, 2023, are encouraged to monitor their emails, text messages, and voicemails for status updates.

Her YouTube video explains exactly what happens to the human body after death, to try and demystify the experience.

Amjad Khan worked in over 132 films in a career spanning nearly two decades

Rakul Preet Singh gave fans a glimpse of her Diwali celebrations, filled with traditions and a grand food offering known as chappan bhog.

October is National Italian American Heritage Month, a month dedicated to celebrating the distinguished cultural contributions of Americans with Italian lineage. According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2019, more than 16 million Americans of Italian descent reside in the United States, making up the seventh largest ethnic group in the country. “Italian […]

"Generative AI (GenAI) initiatives should support broader public goals and needs," says SAS' Ensley Tan. While governments recognize GenAI's potential to improve operational efficiency and citizen experience, there is more to it than setting up projects and expecting them to work. Tan, SAS Asia-Pacific Lead for Public Sector Consulting, said public [...]

From data to delivery: How GenAI will shape the future of public service was published on SAS Voices by Lucy Chan

More than 100 Delawareans, from newborns to seniors, attended story time at the Dover Public Library to wish Smokey Bear a happy 80th birthday on August 9, which marks Smokey’s official birthday.

As vehicles transition into interconnected ecosystems, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies become increasingly crucial. Infotainment systems have evolved beyond mere music players to become central hubs for connectivity, entertainment, and navigation. With global demand for comfort, convenience, and safety rising, the automotive infotainment market is experiencing significant growth. Valued at USD14.99 billion in 2023, it is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9% from 2024 to 2030.

To keep pace with this evolution, infotainment systems must accommodate a range of workloads, including audio, voice, AI, and vision technologies. This requires a flexible, scalable Digital Signal Processor (DSP) solution that acts as an offload engine for the main application processor. Integrating a single DSP for varied functions offers a cost-effective solution for high-performance, low-power processing, which aligns well with the needs of Electric Vehicles (EVs).

If you missed the detailed presentation by Casey Ng, Product Marketing Director at Cadence at CadenceLIVE 2024, register at the CadenceLIVE On-Demand site to access it and other insightful presentations. Stay ahead of the curve and explore the future of innovative electronics with us.

Cadence Infotainment Solution: Leading the Charge

Cadence Tensilica HiFi DSPs play a crucial role in enhancing audio capabilities in vehicle infotainment systems. They support applications like voice recognition, hands-free calling, and deliver immersive audio experiences. This technology is also paramount for features such as active noise control, which reduces road and cabin noise, and acoustic event detection for identifying unusual sounds like broken glass. One notable innovation is the "audio bubble," enabling personalized audio zones within the vehicle, ensuring passengers enjoy distinct audio settings.

Cadence HiFi DSP technology enriches the driving experience for electric vehicles by mimicking traditional engine sounds, while its advanced audio processing ensures optimal performance across various digital radio standards. It significantly contributes to noise reduction, hence improving the cabin experience. Integrating a Double Precision Floating Point Unit (FPU) stands out, as it upgrades audio performance and Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) through efficient 64-bit processing, allowing control over numerous speakers without hitches.

These advancements distinguish the DSP as an essential tool in evolving infotainment systems, offering unmatched performance and adaptability. Tensilica HiFi processors, crucial to advanced infotainment SoCs, serve as efficient offload processors, augmenting real-time execution and energy efficiency. Cadence’s ecosystem, with over 200 codecs and software partnerships, propels the evolution of innovative infotainment systems. Introducing the HiFi 5s DSP marks a new era in connected car experiences, setting the stage for groundbreaking advancements.

Exploring Tomorrow with HiFi 5s DSP Technology

The HiFi 5s represents the apex of audio and AI digital signal processing performance. Built on the Xtensa LX8 platform, it introduces capabilities like auto-vectorization, which allows standard C code to be automatically optimized for performance. This synergy of hardware and software co-design marks a significant step forward in DSP technology. By leveraging its extended Single Instruction, Multiple Data (SIMD) capabilities alongside features like a double-precision floating-point unit (DP_FPU), the HiFi 5s delivers unparalleled precision and speed improvements in signal and audio processing tasks. Equally notable are its branch prediction and L2 cache enhancements, which optimize system performance by refining the control code execution and recognizing codec efficiency. The application of such enhancements are particularly beneficial in real-world scenarios.

AI-Powered Audio

Cadence's focus on AI integration with the HiFi 5s demonstrates significant improvements in audio clarity through AI-powered solutions.

• AI models learn from real-world data and adapt dynamically, while classic DSP algorithms rely on fixed rules.
• AI can be fine-tuned for specific scenarios, whereas classic DSP lacks flexibility.
• AI handles extreme and marginal noise patterns better, generalizes well across different environments, and is robust against varying noise characteristics.

Cadence's dedication to artificial intelligence marks a pivotal shift in audio processing. Traditional DSP algorithms, bound by rigid rules, are eclipsed by AI's ability to learn dynamically from real-world data. This adaptability equips AI models to tackle challenging noise patterns and offer unmatched clarity even in noisy environments, making them ideal for automotive and consumer audio applications.

Realtime AI-Optimized Speech Enhancements by OmniSpeech and ai|coustics

OmniSpeech

Our partner, OmniSpeech, has advanced AI-based audio processing that enhances the performance of audio software, specifically for omnidirectional and dipole microphones. Impressively, their technology operates with less than 32MHz and requires only 418kB of memory.

Test results show that background noise is significantly reduced when AI employs a single omnidirectional microphone, outperforming non-AI solutions. Additionally, when using a dipole microphone with AI, there is a 3.5X improvement in the weighted Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and more than a 28% increase in the Global Mean Opinion Score (GMOS) across various background noise.

ai|coustics

ai|coustics, a Cadence partner specializing in advanced audio technologies, utilizes real-time AI-optimized speech enhancement algorithms. They leverage an extensive speech-quality dataset containing thousands of hours and 100 languages to transform low-quality audio into studio-grade audio. Their process includes:

• De-reverb, which eliminates room resonances, echoes, and reflections

• Removing artifacts from downsampling and codec compression

• Dynamic and adaptive background noise removal

• Reviving audio materials with analog and digital distortions

• Providing support for all languages, accents, and a variety of speakers

Applications include:

• Automotive: Enhances clarity of navigation commands and communication for driver safety

• Consumer audio: Improves voice clarity for better dialogue understanding in TV programs. Optimizes speech intelligibility in communication for both uplink and downlink audio streams

• Smart IoT: Boosts voice command detection and response quality

Performance Enhancements

The advancements in branch prediction and L2 cache integration have significantly boosted performance metrics across various systems. With HiFi 5s, branch prediction increases codec efficiency by an average of 5%, reaching up to 16% in optimal conditions. L2 cache improvements have drastically enhanced system-level performance, evidenced by a 2.3X boost in EVS decoder efficiency. Adding MACs and imaging ISA in imaging use cases has led to substantial advancements. When comparing HiFi 5s to HiFi 5, imaging ISA performance improvements range with >60% average performance improvements.

The Crescendo of the Future

As Cadence continues to blaze trails in DSP technology, the HiFi 5s emerges as the quintessential solution for consumer and automotive audio use cases. With a robust framework for auto-vectorization, an unmatched double-precision FPU, AI-driven audio solutions, and comprehensive system enhancements, Cadence is orchestrating the next era of audio processing, where every note is clearer, every sound richer, and every experience more engaging. It is not just the future of audio—it's the future of how we experience the world around us.

 Discover how Cadence Automotive Solutions can transform your business today!

LEF allows the same port with multiple shape definitions. Does anybody know if innovus can create multiple duplicate shapes associated with the same port? Assume they are connected outside the block with perfect timing synchronization. Thank you!

Hello Community,

Is there any simple way how i can get the coordinates of all the shapes in a layout view?

Currently i'm flattening the layout, getting all the lpps from CV and using setof to get all the shapes of a layer and looping through them to get the coordinates.

Is there a way to do it without having to flatten the layout view and shapes merged or any other elegant way to do it if we flatten it?

Also, dbWriteSkill doesn't give output how i desired

Thanks,

Shankar

In a package design, designers often need to perform degassing. This is typically done at the end of the design process before sending the design to the manufacturer.

Degassing is a process where you perforate power planes, voltage planes, and filled shapes in your design. Degassing holes let the gas escape from beneath the metal during manufacturing of the substrate. The perforations or holes for degassing are generally small, having a specified size and shape, and are spaced regularly across the surface of the plane. If the degassing process is not done, it may result in the formation of gas bubbles under the metal, which may cause the surface of the metal to become uneven. After you degas the design, it is recommended to perform electrical verification.

Allegro X APD has degassing features that allow users to automate the process and place holes in the entire shape.

In today’s topic, we will talk about how to avoid adding  degassing holes on a particular shape.

Sometimes, a designer may need to avoid adding degassing holes to a particular shape on a layer. All other shapes on the layer can have degassing holes but not this shape. Using the Layer Based Degassing Parameters option, the designer can set the degassing parameters for all shapes on the layer. Now, the designer would like to defer adding degassing holes for this particular shape.

You may wonder if there is an easy way to achieve this. We will now see how this can be done with the tool.

Once the degassing parameters are set, performing Display > Element on any of the shapes on that layer will show the degassing parameters set.

You can apply the Degas_Not_Allowed property to a shape to specify that degassing should not be performed on this shape, even if the degassing requirements are met. Select the shape and add the property as shown below.

Switch to Shape Edit application mode (Setup > Application mode > Shape Edit) and window-select all shapes on the layer. Then, right-click and select Deferred Degassing > All Off.

Now, all shapes on the layer will have degassing holes except for the shape which has the Degas_Not_Allowed property attached to it.

When using Shape > Create Bounding Shape on an arc, the outer side works well, but on the inner side it just draws a straight line from the begging to the end of the curve.  Is anyone aware of a fix for this?

I'm attaching  a picture as an example, it works great on lines.

hello

is there a way to update one dynamic shape instead of updating all dynamic shapes?

i have over 6000 dynamic shapes on my design and it takes over 10 mins to update them all.

i just would like to update only one dynamic shape sometimes to find out if placing vias and lines in a shape has enough space or not.

regards

masa

I have a small shape for connecting three SMD pads, but it won't connect to one of the pads (0.2x0.6 mm). Thermal relief connects are set to Full contact for SMD pin in Shape parameters, but that doesn't help.

However, if I decrease the Minimum aperture for gap width in Void controls in Shape parameters to something below 0.2 mm the shape connects to the pad. But it is a little contracted at the pad entrance. Just 0.002 mm. What is going on here? 

Tried to attach some pictures, but I get: "An error occurred. Please try again or contact your administrator.". Will try later again.

/F

Any tips or SKIL files to help create a thermal shaped openings for paste masks for a donut shaped pin for mics or stand-offs like below?

Australian urban planning and design and economics consultancy Cistri is using its evidence-based insights to help Asian developers design and plan urban communities that enhance quality of life.

The Philippines’ mining-friendly policies have opened up opportunities for Australian mining equipment, technology and services (METS) providers.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.