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Psychology Around the Net: May 9, 2020

From the benefits of living a joyful life alongside sadness and tips to practice letting go of unhelpful ideals to how employers can better support workers during COVID-19 and the...





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A camera that can see around corners | David Lindell

To work safely, self-driving cars must avoid obstacles -- including those just out of sight. And for this to happen, we need technology that sees better than humans can, says electrical engineer David Lindell. Buckle up for a quick, groundbreaking tech demo as Lindell explains the significant and versatile potential of a high-speed camera that can detect objects hidden around corners.




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Questions surround governor's proposal to open schools early




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Here's Why a Maryland School Finance Overhaul Could Prove Groundbreaking

Maryland's legislature has proposed a unique way to fund schools and also wants to hold school districts more accountable for how they spend their money as part of a new funding formula.




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Questions surround governor's proposal to open schools early




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I look around.




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Lingua cosmica : science fiction from around the world / edited by Dale Knickerbocker.

Science fiction -- History and criticism.




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A photographic memory : George S. Hutton, Port Adelaide and surrounds, 1924-1984 / Erina S. Hutton.

Hutton, George Stewart, 1906-1984.





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Finding Common Ground Through Data to Improve Idaho's Teacher Pipeline

A superintendent outlines the importance of various groups coming together to address teacher recruitment and retention challenges in Idaho.




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Cybele, accompanied by Bacchus and Ceres, is carried on a chariot drawn by lions, surrounded by ancillary deities and followers; representing the element earth. Engraving by C. Dupuis, 1721, after Louis de Boullogne the younger.

Paris (rue de la Vannerie a l'image St. Michel) : Dupuis graveur du Roy, [1721]




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A new orchard, and garden: or, the best way for planting, grafting, and to make any ground good, for a rich orchard: : particularly in the north and generally for the whole common-wealth as in nature, reason, situation, and all probability, may and doth a

London : printed by W. Wilson, for E. Brewster, and George Sawbridge, at the Bible on Ludgate-Hill, neere Fleet-bridge, 1653.




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The device of the Emperor Charles V surrounding initials of the artist Pieter Coecke van Aelst. Process print, 1873.




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A nymph seated on a rock and holding a lyre, surrounded by water and fish; representing a Rhinemaiden (Die Lorelei, nymph of the Rhine). Stipple engraving by J.H. Baker after F.R. Roffe after L.M. von Schwanthaler.

London : Published for the proprietors, [between 1800 and 1899]




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A shepherd supporting himself with a staff points down to something on the ground. Etching after S. Rosa.




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Europa (right), grieving after her rape by Jupiter, is consoled by Venus and Cupid (centre); Jupiter disguised as a bull looks on from the left background. Engraving by T. Cook and R. Pollard, 1797, after B. West, 1772.

London (Braynes-Row, Spa-Fields) : Publish'd ... by R. Pollard printseller, Jany: 30th; 1797.




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A pool surrounded by a rocky embankment thickly wooded with trees, in which a monk reads from a book and another monk stands in front of him. Engraving by W. Woollett, 1778, after R. Wilson.

London (Charlotte Street, Rathbone Place) : Published as the Act directs ... by Wm. Woollett, engraver to His Majesty, 4 June, 1778.




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The Catholic powers gather around the infant James Francis Edward Stuart. Etching by R. de Hooghe, 1688, with letterpress.

[The Netherlands] : [publisher not identified], [1688]




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King Charles I at the battle of Naseby: the Earl of Carnwath leads the king's horse around and back from danger, causing confusion among the Royalist troops. Engraving by N.G. Dupuis after C. Parrocel.

[London] : [Thomas. Bowles] : [John Bowles], [1728]




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Here's What Year-Round Schooling Looks Like (Video)

The traditional school calendar, with its long summer break, is outdated, say supporters of year-round schooling. Nearly 4,000 schools, including those in Holt, Mich., are trying something different.




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Roundtable: What is your favorite hockey photo of all-time?

There have been so many great hockey images taken by photographers. We choose our top three shots ranging from Stanley Cup celebations to iconic moments.




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Mixed feelings around hockey about holding NHL draft early

The NFL's successful virtual draft and uncertainty surrounding the resumption of hockey this season have raised the possibility of an NHL draft held before the Stanley Cup Final. After postponing its draft scheduled for June 26-27 in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the NHL is considering having it earlier in June with the season in an indefinite suspension. Unlike the NFL, which held its draft as usual in the middle of its offseason, the NHL would face several wrinkles going forward with a draft held before the season is complete: Teams would not be able to trade players, there would be a lack of clarity over next year's salary cap and the draft order could be determined before all games are played.




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Earthing | Grounding | Nature | Zine

2019




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Simultaneous transformation and rounding (STAR) models for integer-valued data

Daniel R. Kowal, Antonio Canale.

Source: Electronic Journal of Statistics, Volume 14, Number 1, 1744--1772.

Abstract:
We propose a simple yet powerful framework for modeling integer-valued data, such as counts, scores, and rounded data. The data-generating process is defined by Simultaneously Transforming and Rounding (STAR) a continuous-valued process, which produces a flexible family of integer-valued distributions capable of modeling zero-inflation, bounded or censored data, and over- or underdispersion. The transformation is modeled as unknown for greater distributional flexibility, while the rounding operation ensures a coherent integer-valued data-generating process. An efficient MCMC algorithm is developed for posterior inference and provides a mechanism for adaptation of successful Bayesian models and algorithms for continuous data to the integer-valued data setting. Using the STAR framework, we design a new Bayesian Additive Regression Tree model for integer-valued data, which demonstrates impressive predictive distribution accuracy for both synthetic data and a large healthcare utilization dataset. For interpretable regression-based inference, we develop a STAR additive model, which offers greater flexibility and scalability than existing integer-valued models. The STAR additive model is applied to study the recent decline in Amazon river dolphins.




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Deep Learning Framework for Detecting Ground Deformation in the Built Environment using Satellite InSAR data. (arXiv:2005.03221v1 [cs.CV])

The large volumes of Sentinel-1 data produced over Europe are being used to develop pan-national ground motion services. However, simple analysis techniques like thresholding cannot detect and classify complex deformation signals reliably making providing usable information to a broad range of non-expert stakeholders a challenge. Here we explore the applicability of deep learning approaches by adapting a pre-trained convolutional neural network (CNN) to detect deformation in a national-scale velocity field. For our proof-of-concept, we focus on the UK where previously identified deformation is associated with coal-mining, ground water withdrawal, landslides and tunnelling. The sparsity of measurement points and the presence of spike noise make this a challenging application for deep learning networks, which involve calculations of the spatial convolution between images. Moreover, insufficient ground truth data exists to construct a balanced training data set, and the deformation signals are slower and more localised than in previous applications. We propose three enhancement methods to tackle these problems: i) spatial interpolation with modified matrix completion, ii) a synthetic training dataset based on the characteristics of real UK velocity map, and iii) enhanced over-wrapping techniques. Using velocity maps spanning 2015-2019, our framework detects several areas of coal mining subsidence, uplift due to dewatering, slate quarries, landslides and tunnel engineering works. The results demonstrate the potential applicability of the proposed framework to the development of automated ground motion analysis systems.




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Around the entropic Talagrand inequality

Giovanni Conforti, Luigia Ripani.

Source: Bernoulli, Volume 26, Number 2, 1431--1452.

Abstract:
In this article, we study generalization of the classical Talagrand transport-entropy inequality in which the Wasserstein distance is replaced by the entropic transportation cost. This class of inequalities has been introduced in the recent work ( Probab. Theory Related Fields 174 (2019) 1–47), in connection with the study of Schrödinger bridges. We provide several equivalent characterizations in terms of reverse hypercontractivity for the heat semigroup, contractivity of the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman semigroup and dimension-free concentration of measure. Properties such as tensorization and relations to other functional inequalities are also investigated. In particular, we show that the inequalities studied in this article are implied by a Logarithmic Sobolev inequality and imply Talagrand inequality.




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Calif. Ed-Tech Consortium Seeks Media Repository Solutions; Saint Paul District Needs Background Check Services

Saint Paul schools are in the market for a vendor to provide background checks, while the Education Technology Joint Powers Authority is seeking media repositories. A Texas district wants quotes on technology for new campuses.

The post Calif. Ed-Tech Consortium Seeks Media Repository Solutions; Saint Paul District Needs Background Check Services appeared first on Market Brief.




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Art Around the Library - Drawing Perspective

Investigate perspective in some fabulous photographs and discover tips and tricks.




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Art Around the Library - Illuminated letter

Examine some examples of font and decoration used in beautiful medieval manuscripts as inspiration for creating your own illuminated letter design.




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Art Around the Library - Zine to Artist's Book

Find out how easy it is to make a ‘zine’ and you’re well on your way to producing your own mini books.




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Art Around the Library - Zentangles

Discover the enjoyment of a meandering line with decoration and zentangle your way into the holidays!




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Federal watchdog finds 'reasonable grounds to believe' vaccine doctor's ouster was retaliation, lawyers say

The Office of Special Counsel is recommending that ousted vaccine official Dr. Rick Bright be reinstated while it investigates his case, his lawyers announced Friday.Bright while leading coronavirus vaccine development was recently removed from his position as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and he alleges it was because he insisted congressional funding not go toward "drugs, vaccines, and other technologies that lack scientific merit" and limited the "broad use" of hydroxychloroquine after it was touted by President Trump. In a whistleblower complaint, he alleged "cronyism" at HHS. He has also alleged he was "pressured to ignore or dismiss expert scientific recommendations and instead to award lucrative contracts based on political connections."On Friday, Bright's lawyers said that the Office of Special Counsel has determined there are "reasonable grounds to believe" his firing was retaliation, The New York Times reports. The federal watchdog also recommended he be reinstated for 45 days to give the office "sufficient time to complete its investigation of Bright's allegations," CNN reports. The decision on whether to do so falls on Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and Office of Special Counsel recommendations are "not binding," the Times notes. More stories from theweek.com Outed CIA agent Valerie Plame is running for Congress, and her launch video looks like a spy movie trailer 7 scathing cartoons about America's rush to reopen Trump says he couldn't have exposed WWII vets to COVID-19 because the wind was blowing the wrong way





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Somatostatin-Expressing Interneurons in the Auditory Cortex Mediate Sustained Suppression by Spectral Surround

Sensory systems integrate multiple stimulus features to generate coherent percepts. Spectral surround suppression, the phenomenon by which sound-evoked responses of auditory neurons are suppressed by stimuli outside their receptive field, is an example of this integration taking place in the auditory system. While this form of global integration is commonly observed in auditory cortical neurons, and potentially used by the nervous system to separate signals from noise, the mechanisms that underlie this suppression of activity are not well understood. We evaluated the contributions to spectral surround suppression of the two most common inhibitory cell types in the cortex, parvalbumin-expressing (PV+) and somatostatin-expressing (SOM+) interneurons, in mice of both sexes. We found that inactivating SOM+ cells, but not PV+ cells, significantly reduces sustained spectral surround suppression in excitatory cells, indicating a dominant causal role for SOM+ cells in the integration of information across multiple frequencies. The similarity of these results to those from other sensory cortices provides evidence of common mechanisms across the cerebral cortex for generating global percepts from separate features.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT To generate coherent percepts, sensory systems integrate simultaneously occurring features of a stimulus, yet the mechanisms by which this integration occurs are not fully understood. Our results show that neurochemically distinct neuronal subtypes in the primary auditory cortex have different contributions to the integration of different frequency components of an acoustic stimulus. Together with findings from other sensory cortices, our results provide evidence of a common mechanism for cortical computations used for global integration of stimulus features.




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Forests and people from around the globe – in pictures

The photos below were entries in the XIV World Forestry Congress ‘Forests and People’ photo contest. Take a tour with us around the world and learn interesting facts on forests and the socioeconomic benefits they provide to people around the world. 




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FAO helps tighten the net around illegal fishing

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing, also known as IUU, robs the world’s oceans of 26 million tonnes of seafood annually, bringing financial losses to a staggering US$ 23 billion a year. Illegal fishing severely affects the livelihoods of fishers and other fisher-sector stakeholders and exacerbates poverty and food insecurity. It undermines the accuracy of fisheries’ stock assessments and threatens the [...]




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Cherishing the ground we walk on

Soil is where it all begins. Few people know that soils are a non-renewable resource. It takes over 1000 years to make 1 cm of soil. This means that in our lifetime, all the soil we see is all there is.




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On the ground before, during and after crises

Hassan Al-Hassan, a Syrian farmer known to locals as Abu Hasan, remembers how difficult it had been in the past few years in the village of al-Rabeha in the southern governorate of Homs. “Due to lack of water, we could hardly produce anything,” said Abu Hasan. FAO is helping to restore access to water for over 40 000 families – about [...]




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Biodiversity reveals the treasures all around us

Biodiversity may sound complicated, but it’s a fairly simple concept: the existence of many different types of plants and animals makes the world a healthier and more productive place. A mix of genetics, species and habitats allows Earth’s ecosystems to keep up with challenges like population growth and climate change. Biodiversity is important to us because it plays a crucial [...]




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Resource partners round table calls for investment in better data for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Four years into the 2030 Agenda, there is still a large gap in data to understand where the world stands in achieving its shared goals, the SDGs. To support [...]




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A Buffer Zone Around Saturn May Have Kept It From Swallowing Its Biggest Moon

A new simulation points to a previously untold chapter in Titan’s history




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A Dinosaur 'Stomping Ground' Surfaces on the Isle of Skye

Two sites preserve around 50 footprints, a discovery that highlights the richness of prehistoric life on the island




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Distilleries Around the U.S. Shift Production to Hand Sanitizer

Some distilleries are donating their new product to local communities in need




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Despite Their Differences, Dogs and Horses Find Common Ground in Play

Canine-equid pairs can mimic each other’s facial expressions during play, which has never been seen between animals of different species




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Groundbreaking Fossil Suggests Spinosaurus Is First Known Swimming Dinosaur

Its paddle-like tail, unearthed in Morocco, suggests the Cretaceous carnivore ventured into the water to hunt




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How Street Artists Around the World Are Reacting to Life With COVID-19

Graffiti artists and muralists are sending messages of hope and despair with coronavirus public art




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Guanaco at Sunset, With Torres Del Paine in the Background

A Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) surveys its surroundings from a vantage point at sunset, with the imposing Torres del Paine (Chile) in the background. Scouts like this individual keep an eye out for predators.




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Yukon campgrounds to open in June — but only to Yukoners

Yukon officials say the territory's campgrounds will open to campers on June 4, but the territory's borders will remain closed. They also issued guidelines for some health care services to reopen.



  • News/Canada/North

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N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Teachers see hundreds of hours of work ahead to prepare for fall

Schools were closed March 13 to reduce the risk of spread of the coronavirus, and there is no plan to reopen them by the end of the current school year in June.



  • News/Canada/New Brunswick