Four Russian and Chinese security ships were tracked by the Coast Guard in a sign of increased activity by key U.S. adversaries in the Arctic, the Alaska office of the Coast Guard said on Tuesday.

Not long after Edwin Moses figured out how to attack the solution to track's ultimate math problem, he transformed himself into the best hurdler in history.

USA Track and Field is bringing the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field program in-house beginning Jan. 1 as part of a partnership that will unite all of its athletes under one roof.

Paris's Notre Dame cathedral, whose historic bells were silenced following 2019's devastating fire, will soon echo again with fresh chimes.

The two biggest events in world sports are coming to America. And if President-elect Donald Trump is not thinking about them yet, organizers of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics certainly are.

Temperature is a main driver for most ecological processes, and temperature time series provide key environmental indicators for various applications and research fields. High spatial and temporal resolutions are crucial for detailed analyses in various fields of research. A disadvantage of temperature data obtained by satellites is the occurrence of gaps that must be reconstructed. Here, we present a new method to reconstruct high-resolution land surface temperature (LST) time series at the continental scale gaining 250-m spatial resolution and four daily values per pixel. Our method constitutes a unique new combination of weighted temporal averaging with statistical modeling and spatial interpolation. This newly developed reconstruction method has been applied to greater Europe, resulting in complete daily coverage for eleven years. To our knowledge, this new reconstructed LST time series exceeds the level of detail of comparable reconstructed LST datasets by several orders of magnitude. Studies on emerging diseases, parasite risk assessment and temperature anomalies can now be performed on the continental scale, maintaining high spatial and temporal detail. We illustrate a series of applications in this paper. Our dataset is available online for download as time aggregated derivatives for direct usage in GIS-based applications (Reconstructed MODIS Land Surface Temperature Dataset - http://gis.cri.fmach.it/eurolst/).

Source: Metz M, Rocchini D, Neteler M. (2014) Surface Temperatures at the Continental Scale: Tracking Changes with Remote Sensing at Unprecedented Detail.Remote Sensing 6(5): 3822-3840. doi: 10.3390/rs6053822

A new EU BON derived open access paper looking into Earth Observations (EO) and the Aichi Targets was recently published  in the journal Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation.

The paper reviews the ABTs and EBVs against direct and indirect, operational and emerging, EO data products. The review was conducted by consulting expert opinion and categorically rating the Targets based on the adequacy of currently available EO technology to build indicators per target. The potential RS-EBVs were also matched with their respective EO data products.

To summarize this information a monitoring framework is proposed where RS-EBVs are used to harmonize observations prior to the indicator stage. Potential obstacles to implementing this framework and challenges to its adoption by the wider science and policy community are discussed. Finally, upcoming satellite missions which could offer potential for assessing global biodiversity status and trends beyond the 2020 timeframe of the CBD's current Strategic Plan for Biodiversity are discussed.

Original Source: 

O'Connor B. et. al. (2015) Earth observation as a tool for tracking progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. DOI: 10.1002/rse2.4

Global biodiversity loss is intensifying. But it is hard to assess progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets for 2011–20 set by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Target 5, for instance, aims to halve global deforestation rates by 2020; but reliable indicators for deforestation that can be monitored remotely have not been developed or agreed on. National biodiversity monitoring programmes differ widely, most data sets are inconsistent, and few data are shared openly.

Read more on the topic in the original commentary article.

A new special issue titled "Connecting the Dots: Integrating Biodiversity Observations to Better Track the CBD 2020 Targets" looks at Biodiversity Observatios and the ways that can be integrated into the CBD 2020 targers, for better results in biodiversity conservation.

The issue, where a number of GEO BON partners are authors, explores a wide variety of aspects of Biodiveristy Observations, including data management, integration of in-stiu data, the roles and contricutions of BONs, contextualization with the UN's Sustainable Developmen Goals, and many more.

For more information and to see what is included in the Special Issue, click here.

Apple Music has introduced a feature on one of its recent updates to allow users to sort their music by composer. While it is not ... Read more

The post Apple Music introduces option to sort tracks by composer appeared first on CMUSE.

Let’s face it, there are many ways a contractor can get off track during the preconstruction process. 

Durham, NC — Researchers at Duke University have identified a new tool they say can help doctors and public health officials track firefighters’ exposures to cancer-causing chemicals, as well as determine when and where the risks may be greatest.

Washington — A map showing emergency medical services responses to heat-related illnesses nationwide is part of a new online information portal from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The video surveillance market grew significantly from 2020 to 2021

The security industry has had to be resilient to withstand the supply chain crisis.

Arlington – The Mine Safety and Health Administration on Aug. 14 issued a new online tool to help mine operators track their record of correcting violations.

Washington – The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration should better track the incidence rate of spills from cargo tank truck “wetlines” – the series of pipes used to load and unload liquids – to help identify risks, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration is offering two online tools intended to help mine operators and workers review violations of safety standards.

Washington — The Federal Transit Administration is accepting comment on a proposed rule that would establish mandatory minimum safety standards for rail transit employees who work on or near tracks.

Tumwater, WA — In an effort to better identify, develop and evaluate effective efforts to prevent amputations, Washington state has created a surveillance system intended to augment employer-reported data.

Watertown, SD — A new video from the National Association of Tower Erectors highlights the proper operation of snow-tracked vehicles when accessing remote tower locations.

“Setbacks can test our mettle and often cause us to give up on something positive we were doing before the reversal. Here’s what I’ve done and thought about to help me get back on track.”

Richmond, British Columbia – Agricultural employers can keep track of confined spaces on their properties with a new mobile application from WorkSafeBC.

Washington — In an effort to help protect workers from wildfire smoke, the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Forest Service have updated their AirNow Fire and Smoke Map mobile app.

The Inverted-L Anchor Track System provides the perfect fall protection solution for vehicle and railcar applications.

Washington — Legislation that would direct OSHA to establish – “on a much faster track” – a permanent federal standard that protects indoor and outdoor workers from excessive heat is back before Congress.

New York — Legislation recently introduced in New York City would establish a database on workplace deaths, and employers could be fined up to $2,500 per violation for not reporting data.

Washington — A new Federal Transit Administration final rule establishes mandatory minimum safety standards for rail transit employees who work on or near tracks.

The expansion into prebiotic fiber ingredients had expanded fiber use from its traditional home within grain foods to a broader range of categories, including soft drinks and confectionery. Innova Market Insights actively monitors a broad range of trends—including global macro trends, lifestyle forces, consumer insights, ingredient trends, and new food and beverage product launches—that all show the impact of fiber use on various levels.

As we look toward 2025, the focus on sugar reduction will only intensify. Consumer demand for healthier, lower-sugar options is driving innovation at an unprecedented pace, and ingredient suppliers are responding with increasingly sophisticated solutions. From new plant-based sweeteners to advanced blended systems, the future of sugar reduction is bright—and product developers have more tools than ever to meet these evolving needs.

Food and beverage intelligence company Datassential enhanced its limited-time offer (LTO) and item launches solution, allowing users to seamlessly track new menu items and LTOs at nearly 300 top chains through an easy-to-use user interface (UI), enhanced analytics, and ability to overlay consumer ratings.

does anybody use Eufy SmartTrack devices? are they any good?! Image: Business Traveller magazine

Current supply chain woes have made nearly every aspect of processing an ongoing guessing game, from forecasting ingredient availability to ensuring finished foods arrive at their destinations on time. One way to help make sense of the situation is to invest in track-and-trace technology that can monitor every step of a product’s journey.

The Africa Mission Association is on a mission to help churches in Africa establish mission associations in all 54 countries from the current seven in the continent.

It’s a gloomy, rainy Sunday in downtown Portsmouth. I’m hanging out in a dark basement beneath a bookstore waiting to see a creepy Halloween music show for kids. Dozens of children dressed in their Halloween finest crowd the room. There are princesses and superheroes. An elephant finds a seat next to a dinosaur as the show is about to begin. (Editor's note: we highly recommend listening to this story.) Doctor Gasp is dressed in a long black cape with a white skeleton mask covering his face. Jack-o-lanterns cast orange light across a makeshift stage. He gives a lively performance, jumping and dancing while playing his guitar. The kids get up to dance along with him. Monster Mash is a crowd favorite of course. I sat down with Doctor Gasp after the show to find out who he is behind the mask. Dan Blakeslee is actually a folk singer for most of the year. When he first started writing Halloween music, he would play under his own name at his regular shows. “But then it got to be at the point

PervasID, provider of passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader systems for automating inventory and asset tracking, has launched a new advanced version of TrackMaster, claimed to provide greatly enhanced return on investment performance.

A recently discovered β polymorph of 1,3-diacetylpyrene has turned out to be a prominent negative thermal expansion material. Its unique properties can be linked to anharmonic oscillations in the crystal structure. The onset and development of anharmonic behavior have been successfully tracked over a wide temperature range by single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments. Sufficient diffraction data quality combined with modern quantum crystallography tools allowed a thorough analysis of the elusive anharmonic effects for a moderate-scattering purely organic compound.

Two-directional beam-tracking (2DBT) is a method for phase-contrast imaging and tomography that uses an intensity modulator to structure the X-ray beam into an array of independent circular beamlets that are resolved by a high-resolution detector. It features isotropic spatial resolution, provides two-dimensional phase sensitivity, and enables the three-dimensional reconstructions of the refractive index decrement, δ, and the attenuation coefficient, μ. In this work, the angular sensitivity and the spatial resolution of 2DBT images in a synchrotron-based implementation is reported. In its best configuration, angular sensitivities of ∼20 nrad and spatial resolution of at least 6.25 µm in phase-contrast images were obtained. Exemplar application to the three-dimensional imaging of soft tissue samples, including a mouse liver and a decellularized porcine dermis, is also demonstrated.

Speckle-tracking X-ray imaging is an attractive candidate for dynamic X-ray imaging owing to its flexible setup and simultaneous yields of phase, transmission and scattering images. However, traditional speckle-tracking imaging methods suffer from phase distortion at locations with abrupt changes in density, which is always the case for real samples, limiting the applications of the speckle-tracking X-ray imaging method. In this paper, we report a deep-learning based method which can achieve dynamic X-ray speckle-tracking imaging with high-accuracy phase retrieval. The calibration results of a phantom show that the profile of the retrieved phase is highly consistent with the theoretical one. Experiments of polyurethane foaming demonstrated that the proposed method revealed the evolution of the complicated microstructure of the bubbles accurately. The proposed method is a promising solution for dynamic X-ray imaging with high-accuracy phase retrieval, and has extensive applications in metrology and quantitative analysis of dynamics in material science, physics, chemistry and biomedicine.

This review focuses on low-dose near-field X-ray speckle phase imaging in the differential mode introducing the existing algorithms with their specifications and comparing their performances under various experimental conditions.

Polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) remain at the forefront of research for a variety of applications including ultra-high-temperature ceramics, energy storage and functional coatings. Despite their wide use, questions remain about the complex structural transition from polymer to ceramic and how local structure influences the final microstructure and resulting properties. This is further complicated when nanofillers are introduced to tailor structural and functional properties, as nanoparticle surfaces can interact with the matrix and influence the resulting structure. The inclusion of crystalline nanofiller produces a mixed crystalline–amorphous composite, which poses characterization challenges. With this study, we aim to address these challenges with a local-scale structural study that probes changes in a polysiloxane matrix with incorporated copper nanofiller. Composites were processed at three unique temperatures to capture mixing, pyrolysis and initial crystallization stages for the pre-ceramic polymer. We observed the evolution of the nanofiller with electron microscopy and applied synchrotron X-ray diffraction with differential pair distribution function (d-PDF) analysis to monitor changes in the matrix's local structure and interactions with the nanofiller. The application of the d-PDF to PDC materials is novel and informs future studies to understand interfacial interactions between nanofiller and matrix throughout PDC processing.

Soft X-ray spectroscopy is an important technique for measuring the fundamental properties of materials. However, for measurements of samples in the sub-millimetre range, many experimental setups show limitations. Position drifts on the order of hundreds of micrometres during thermal stabilization of the system can last for hours of expensive beam time. To compensate for drifts, sample tracking and feedback systems must be used. However, in complex sample environments where sample access is very limited, many existing solutions cannot be applied. In this work, we apply a robust computer vision algorithm to automatically track and readjust the sample position in the dozens of micrometres range. Our approach is applied in a complex sample environment, where the sample is in an ultra-high vacuum chamber, surrounded by cooled thermal shields to reach sample temperatures down to 2.5 K and in the center of a superconducting split coil. Our implementation allows sample-position tracking and adjustment in the vertical direction since this is the dimension where drifts occur during sample temperature change in our setup. The approach can be easily extended to 2D. The algorithm enables a factor of ten improvement in the overlap of a series of X-ray absorption spectra in a sample with a vertical size down to 70 µm. This solution can be used in a variety of experimental stations, where optical access is available and sample access by other means is reduced.

Healthy People 2030 (HP2030) – which will set national objectives for improving the health of all Americans from 2020 to 2030 – should include in its Leading Health Indicators (LHIs) voting as a measure of civic engagement, the health effects of climate change, and indicators of racial and ethnic residential segregation, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A new rapid expert consultation from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines methods to better track and evaluate deaths and mental health consequences among health care workers (HCWs) due to COVID-19.

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced it has redesigned its Early-Career Research Fellowship (ECRF) to include three tracks - Human Health and Community Resilience, Environmental Protection and Stewardship, and Offshore Energy Safety.