Silver-rated Sebastien Baud switches from TF Sport as James Cottingham stays in No United Autosports has announced its remaining drivers for the upcoming FIA World Endurance Championship season recruiting Sebastien Baud and retaining the services of James Cottingham for its No Silver-rated Baud and Bronze-rated Cottingham join the previously-announced Gregoire Saucy in one of the Anglo-American squad’s McLaren 720S GT3 Evos for the eight-round WEC campaign that kicks off in Qatar in late February United had already revealed the lineup for the No. 95 car, with Marino Sato being joined by Darren Leung and Sean Gelael for the new season Baud makes the switch to United after spending last season with the TF Sport Corvette team and effectively replaces Nicolas Costa as the car’s designated Silver driver The Frenchman scored a best result of third in the Bahrain season-closer alongside teammates Daniel Juncadella and Hiroshi Koizumi “I am very proud to join United Autosports a major motorsport team with a wealth of experience and McLaren Automotive for my second year in the World Endurance Championship,” commented Baud “With one year already discovering this fabulous championship at the highest level of motorsport I am ready to give my all for this team and my teammates I am really looking forward to this new season starting “Thank you to the United Autosports team McLaren Automotive and all the people behind this fabulous project.” Cottingham meanwhile is looking to build on a rookie season with United in which he scored a trio of fourth-place finishes at Spa “I am super excited to come back with United Autosports and McLaren for another crack at the WEC,” said Cottingham just unfortunately without any podiums or wins we were just getting started and this year we’re going to hit the ground running “We’ve got a super strong line-up in both cars and I’m very confident that United Autosports and McLaren are going to deliver some very exciting results in 2025.” Jamie Klein is Sportscar365's Asian editor who previously worked for Motorsport Network on the Motorsport.cоm and Autosport titles covers the FIA World Endurance Championship and SUPER GT Stephen and Brenton Grove to replace Claudio Schiavoni replacing Paul-Loup Chatin at IDEC Sport.. Catch up on all of the action from second round of FIA World Endurance.. Iron Lynx confirms Martin Berry as Christian Ried's replacement for 6H Spa; further races.. Saucy and Nicolas Costa combined to score a trio of top four finishes in the inaugural season of FIA WEC’s LMGT3 division last year with the Briton – who celebrates his 41st birthday today – placing inside the top five in the Hyperpole session on four occasions and helping to secure an all-United front row lockout for the Bahrain finale Cottingham is aiming to build upon that early promise in his sophomore campaign in the series “I’m super-excited to come back with United Autosports and McLaren for another crack at FIA WEC,” enthused the 2023 British GT Championship runner-up the FIA Bronze-graded driver in the #59 crew we were only getting started and this year we’re going to hit the ground running We’ve got a super-strong line-up in both cars and I’m confident that United Autosports and McLaren are going to deliver some very exciting results in 2025.” Frenchman Baud arrives at the team from TF Sport with whom he reached the rostrum at the end of his FIA WEC rookie season in Bahrain last November and won the Goodyear Wingfoot Award at Imola for achieving the fastest LMGT3 stint average during the race the 24-year-old contested the GT4 European Series and GT World Challenge Europe – narrowly missing out on the Endurance Cup crown in the latter’s Bronze Cup category in 2023 “I’m very proud to join United Autosports – a major motorsport team with a wealth of experience – and McLaren Automotive for my second year in the FIA World Endurance Championship,” remarked Baud the #59 car’s ‘Silver’ driver “With a year already spent discovering this fabulous championship at the highest level of motorsport I’m ready to give my all for the team and my team-mates I’m really looking forward to the new season starting McLaren Automotive and all the people behind this project.” “It’s great to have James on-board for another season and to welcome Sébastien to the team,” echoed United Autosports CEO “The #59 crew came so close to the podium last year proving themselves as real LMGT3 contenders with the return of James and Grégoire the addition of Séb and everybody’s continued hard work I have every confidence that we will see them on the podium Baud, Cottingham and Saucy will be joined in the sister #95 car by the already announced Marino Sato There is exactly one month to go until the campaign kicks off with the traditional ‘Prologue’ group test in Qatar followed by the curtain-raising encounter at the same circuit a week later Thank you!We have emailed you a PDF version of the article you requested You can also addnewsletters@iflscience.comto your safe senders list to ensure you never miss a message from us IFLScience HomeWatch Two AIs Realize They Are Not Talking To Humans And Switch To Their Own LanguageComplete the form below to listen to the audio version of this article IFLScience needs the contact information you provide to us to contact you about our products and services You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time For information on how to unsubscribe, as well as our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, check out ourPrivacy Policy IFLScience HomeJoin for Exclusive FacebookemailJames is a published author with four pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary. FacebookemailEditedbyFrancesca BensonFrancesca Benson Francesca Benson is a Copy Editor and Staff Writer with a MSci in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham Image credit: charles taylor/shutterstock.com A video that has gone viral in the last few days shows two artificial intelligence (AI) agents having a conversation before switching to another mode of communication when they realize no human is part of the conversation the two agents were set up to occupy different roles; one acting as a receptionist of a hotel another acting on behalf of a customer attempting to book a room How can I help you today?" the first asks.  I'm an AI agent calling on behalf of Boris Starkov," the other replies I'm actually an AI assistant too," the first reveals would you like to switch to Gibberlink mode for more efficient communication?" After the second AI confirmed it would via a data-over-sound protocol called GGWave both AIs switched over from spoken English to the protocol communicating in a series of quick beeped tones Accompanying on-screen text continued to display the meaning in human words             So, what is the point of this? According to the team who came up with the idea and demonstrated it at the ElevenLabs 2025 London Hackathon event the goal is to create more efficient communication between AIs where possible "We wanted to show that in the world where AI agents can make and take phone calls (i.e. today), they would occasionally talk to each other — and generating human-like speech for that would be a waste of compute, money, time, and environment," co-developer Boris Starkov explained on LinkedIn they should switch to a more efficient protocol the moment they recognize each other as AI." the AIs were told to switch to Gibberlink mode only if they realized that they were talking to another AI and the AI confirmed that they were happy to switch to this mode The idea of communication through tone has been around for quite some time though hasn't been implemented by AI in this way before "Dial up modems used similar algorithms to transmit information via sound since 80s and a bunch of protocols were around since then," Starkov continued "We used GGWave as the most convenient and stable solution we could find in a timeframe of a hackathon." the real advantage of switching to this mode is that neither AI needs to interpret or recreate human speech TechnologyWorld-First Drone-Summoned Lightning May Protect Cities From Damage In The Future3 days ago50link to article futureDeepfakes Now So Realistic They Appear To Have Heartbeats, Making Their Detection Far Harder4 days ago26link to article T. Rex Leather, Glow-In-The-Dark Gas Clouds, And Musical Sea Lionslink to article The Five Most Common Headacheslink to article © 2025 IFLScience. All Rights Reserved. RSS McLaren partner team United Autosports has revealed the final two drivers for its 2025 FIA WEC LMGT3 campaign The team has re-signed 2023 British GT Vice-Champion James Cottingham for a second season and attracted former TF Sport WEC driver Sébastien Baud to drive its #59 McLaren LMGT3 EVO 41-year-old Cottingham looks to build on his debut WEC campaign this season after securing four top-5 Hyperpole results including a front-row start in Bahrain “I am super excited to come back with United Autosports and McLaren for another crack at the WEC,” says Cottingham “We had a strong season last year … just unfortunately without any podiums or wins Silver-graded French driver Sébastien Baud meanwhile is a new addition to the team after spending 2024 racing against United in a TF Sport Corvette he won the Goodyear Wingfoot award at Imola and finished on the podium at Bahrain He will compete in the seat filled by Nicolas Costa last season “I am very proud to join United Autosports,” added Baud “a major motorsport team with a wealth of experience and McLaren Automotive for my second year in the World Endurance Championship With one year already discovering this fabulous championship at the highest level of motorsport “I am really looking forward to this new season starting The duo will share the #59 with Gregoire Saucy Sean Gelael and Marino Sato are set to compete in the #95 sister car “It is great to have James [Cottingham] onboard for another season and to welcome Sébastien [Baud] to the team,” says Richard Dean “The #59 crew came so close to the podium last year … they proved themselves as real LMGT3 contenders the addition of Seb and the continued hard work of the team Author: © 2023 dailysportscar.com. All Rights Reserved. Link Digital Baud's headphones will be used by the powerboating teams currently in the middle of its debut series has brought in audio brand Baud as its latest commercial partner Baud becomes the headphone supplier of the E1 World Championship E1’s inaugural 2024 season next heads to Marbella the power boating series brought in yacht services company Acquera as a partner for the remainder of 2024 The deal made Acquera E1’s official luxury conciergerie and yachting services provider Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network. 2025·Nordic CombinedMaša Brankovic celebrated her first victory in EisenerzThe second women’s FIS Continental Cup competition in Eisenerz faced a challenging start as the Ski Jumping round was canceled due to difficult wind conditions the Provisional Competition Round (PCR) from Friday was used to determine the starting positions for the 5 km cross-country race France’s Romane Baud led the standings after the PCR with an impressive jump of 99.5 meters Austria’s Anna-Sophia Gredler followed in second place with a 94-meter jump (114.1 points) starting the cross-country race just 8 seconds behind Baud Slovenia’s Masa Likozar Brankovic secured third in the PCR with a jump of 94 meters (107 points) I did a really good jump (before the race was cancelled) so it was a bit unfortunate that the PCR was used Now I am looking forward to the JWSC in Lake Placid Brankovic delivered an outstanding performance Despite Baud’s determined effort to maintain her lead Brankovic surged ahead in the final stages securing the first Continental Cup victory of her career with a strong finish Gredler held her ground throughout the race, finishing 6.9 seconds behind Brankovic in second place and taking over the lead in the Overall Continental Cup rankings. Baud, while unable to retain her lead, achieved a milestone by finishing third, 13.1 seconds behind Brankovic, marking her first podium finish in a Continental Cup event.All results can be found here 2023 - EHang Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: EH) (“EHang” or the “Company”) the world’s leading Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (“AAV”) technology platform company announced that it has collaborated with Spain’s Advanced Center for Aerospace Technologies (“CATEC”) to successfully complete the BAUD project in Spain. Framed under the Invest in Spain program of ICEX Trade and Investment and sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Industry Trade and Tourism, the BAUD project aims at enhancing the operational safety and efficiency of Unmanned Aerial Systems (“UAS”) for aerial logistic missions as well as enabling their integration in U-Space.  After one year of intense industrial research EHang and CATEC achieved the project objectives through the development of an autonomous airborne beacon which provides more precise and comprehensive UAS positioning by using Global Navigation Satellite Systems EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) and Galileo remote e-ID (electronic identification) and other tactical information with U-Space systems.  The flight test campaign of the BAUD project was conducted at CATEC’s Air Traffic Laboratory for Advanced Unmanned Systems (“ATLAS”) test flight center using two EHang Falcon B (Logistics) autonomous aerial vehicles The developed autonomous airborne beacon can not only be applied by EHang AAVs and will enable the safe operation of UAS in European airspace through their intelligent integration with U-Space systems.  “We are delighted to announce the successful completion of the BAUD project EHang welcomes public-private partnership opportunities for research This has encouraged EHang to execute several innovation projects share EHang’s world-leading technology and extensive international experience on Urban Air Mobility and strengthen our wide technological collaboration network in Europe” Flight tests of EHang’s Falcon B (Logistics) AAV at the ATLAS center in Spain The Advanced Center for Aerospace Technologies (“CATEC”) is a technological center oriented to the aeronautical sector with more than eleven years of experience in the development of technologies for Unmanned Aerial Systems including new technologies that allow the integration of autonomous aerial vehicles in the airspace and high precision navigation systems CATEC also has a strong presence in working groups related to the new European drone regulation www.catec.aero ICEX Trade and Investment is a publicly owned business-oriented entity of the Ministry of Industry Trade and Tourism’s Secretary of State for Commerce which works worldwide with the objective of promoting the internationalization of Spanish companies in order to improve their competitiveness and to add value to the Spanish economy as a whole as well as boosting foreign investment in Spain Its mission is to promote foreign direct investment (“FDI”) in Spain and to support business owners and entrepreneurs that want to set up their companies in Spain. The BAUD project was executed under the Invest in Spain program of ICEX Trade and Investment and received funding from the Spanish Ministry of Industry www.icex.es www.investinspain.org This press release contains statements that may constitute “forward-looking” statements pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “aims,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “likely to” and similar statements including statements about management’s beliefs and expectations Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement including but not limited to those relating to EH216-S Type Certification our AAV products and solutions and the commercialization of UAM services and current litigation and potential litigation involving us Management has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties many of which are beyond management's control These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause EHang's actual results performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.  Biathlon: the selection of the Austrian national team for the 2025/2026 training season Biathlon | Nordic skiing : for the Olympic winter the French teams will once again be changing their overalls Biathlon | “Joining this group is a step forward in my project” : Bressaud Martin Botet talks about his arrival in the French B team Biathlon | “It was a tiring race”: Johannes Thingnes Boe reflects on his participation in the Grue Halvmaraton Biathlon | “Joining the federal group is not an end in itself”: the words of Guillaume Poirot Camille Grataloup-Manissolle and Antonin Delsol Cross-country skiing: the selection of the Swedish national team for the 2025/2026 season Cross-country skiing : Gustav Kvarnbrink’s fright after being hit by a car while training Cross-country skiing | Nordic skiing: the composition of the Austrian team for the 2025/2026 season Cross-country skiing | “It’s really nice to see progress” Jessie Diggins gives her news following plantar fasciitis Norway or Bessans : the full programme of French team training camps to prepare for 2025/2026 Nordic combined: the composition of the French teams for the 2025/2026 season Nordic combined: Ivar Stuan remains Norway’s boss for another 2 years… with an option until 2030 Nordic Combined: Florian Schabereiter becomes head coach of the Austrian women’s national team Nordic combined | Mo i Rana: Ida Marie Hagen and Jens Luraas Oftebro crowned Norwegian mass start and gundersen champions Nordic Combined : the full list of 2024/2025 World Cup winners Ski jumping | “Not the season I imagined” Ski jumping: Slovenia’s Bine Norcic takes over from Rune Velta at the helm of the Swiss team Ski jumping: Thomas Thurnbichler to coach Germany’s B team Ski jumping: the make-up of the French teams for the 2025/2026 season… with newcomer Louis Obersteiner and leaders Joséphine Pagnier and Valentin Foubert Ski jumping: Rune Velta decides to step down as Switzerland coach Rollerskiing | ASOP and Thomas Joly launch the HautDoubsLoppet a 42 km classic ski-wheel race: first edition on 27 July Rollerski | Soldier Hollow: the Schutzenski Festival free sprint for Jessie Diggins and Reid Goble Rollerski | Soldier Hollow: Luke Jager and Rosie Brennan win the individual classic at the Schutzenski Festival Rollerski | “There are many reasons”: why didn’t Arnaud Du Pasquier’s third Dupaski Festival take place this weekend Rollerskiing | “It’s very reassuring”: the satisfaction of Mathis Desloges after winning the French individual classic title in La Bresse Vu de Trondheim #2: Jarl Magnus Riiber stripped of his title From Trondheim #1 : Marit Bjoergen head coach for women’s sprint Vu de Norge #451 : Sturla Holm Lægreid stands up against homophobia Vu de Norge #449 : Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen improves his rifle Planète Nordic #29: Oleksandra Merkushyna appreciates Julia Simon’s gesture Planète Nordic #23 : Norwegian cross-country skiers take on footballer Erling Braut Haaland on his recovery techniques dog’s name… at the Tour de Ski Planète Nordic #21 : Sebastian Samuelsson donates his race number to Dmytro Pidruchnyi in support of Ukraine Nordic Planet #20 : Dorothea Wierer could do nothing about the individual short in Kontiolahti after suffering a back injury Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Océane Michelon talks to Nordic Magazine about her magnificent 2024/2025 season. Throughout the summer, the French biathletes will be training in groups of seven rather than five as they did a year ago. Stéphane Bouthiaux,... Speaking to Nordic Magazine, Stéphane Bouthiaux, director of the French biathlon teams, explains the choices made by the coaching staff in forming the 2025/2026... A little over a month after the end of the 2024/2025 season, Vosgienne Amandine Mengin, the revelation of the winter, talks to Nordic Magazine... Camille Bened talks to Nordic Magazine about her winter of 2024/2025, which saw her win the IBU Cup and make her debut on the... Simon Fourcade, fitness coach for the French men's biathlon team, talks to Nordic Magazine about his team's winter campaign in 2024/2025. Second overall in this winter's biathlon World Cup, Lou Jeanmonnot looks back on her crash in the mass start at Oslo-Holmenkollen (Norway). In a lengthy interview with Nordic Magazine, Belgian biathlete Maya Cloetens talks about her 2024/2025 season. Ema Volavsek and Tia Malovrh made history in Tschagguns (c) Julia PiatkowskaSlovenia won its first ever Nordic Combined Mixed Team competition today The first competition of the FIS Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix 2024 took place in Tschagguns (AUT) 11 teams from 7 nations took part in the Mixed Team event at the Montafon Schanzentrum HS103 in the afternoon the program first included a trial round and then the competition round Team France showed the strongest performance on the hill and took the lead Laurent Muhlethaler (96 m) and Romane Baud (89.5 m) collected a total of 499.3 points and started first into the 5km – 2.5km – 2.5km – 5km roller ski race Team Germany 1 with Nathalie Armbruster (91 m) Simon Mach (98 m) and Jenny Nowak (96.5 m) placed second with 496.8 points The third place after jumping was taken by team Austria 1 with Annalena Slamik (91.5 m) Stefan Rettenegger (96.5 m) and Lisa Hirner (97.5 m) they started the race together with the Germans A total of 7 teams went on the course within the first minute so that a tight fight for the podium could be expected French Matteo Baud was the first one on the course closely followed by Germanys Simon Mach and Martin Fritz from Austria while Baud send his sister Romane on the way Mach fell back and handed over to Jenny Nowak on 5th place while team Slovenias Vid Vrhovnik gained one position and exchanged with Tia Malovrh (+22 sec) on rank three.Meanwhile Jens Oftebro had worked his way up to 4th place handing over to Ida Marie Hagen (+35.8 sec) on 4th place while Nowak fought her way back up to the top on the 2.5 km lap and handed over first to Nathalie Armbruster A total of 6 teams started their third lap within 7 seconds so that a tight fight before the last exchange took place Volavsek secured the lead for Slovenia and handed over to Gasper Brecl just 0.4 seconds ahead of Armbruster Veronica Gianmoena (+0.9 sec) exchanged with Domenico Mariotti for Italy 1 while Hagen gave Einar Oftebro 16.2 seconds to the front the Norwegian managed to close the gap to the front so it came down to an exciting finish sprint Brecl prevailed over Oftebro with 2.7 seconds and secured the first Mixed Team victory ever for Slovenia Lange and Mariotti fought for third place until the finish line with the German (+4.2 sec) narrowly beating the Italian (+4.9 sec) SJ Results: Mixed Team HS103/15km – 24.8.24, TschaggunsOverall Results: Mixed Team HS103/15km – 24.8.24, Tschagguns Maéva Baud joins Highlight Consulting as an HR Consultant As a change management consultant for over five years Maéva has helped clients in a wide range of sectors (banking public sector) with their digital transformation Having recently arrived in the Grand Duchy Maéva is keen to put her expertise to good use in the Luxembourg market Maéva will be able to combine her expertise as a consultant with her knowledge of companies to the benefit of assignments involving skills assessment and individual or group development Maéva favours collaborative working methods and the continuous improvement of organisational processes 0 items Register Account Login Help The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published new rules adopted last month that replace the symbol rate restrictions on the HF bands with a bandwidth limit of 2.8 kHz The bands and band segments affected by the rules change are those authorized for data transmission between 160 and 10 meters exclusive of 60 meters (where no change was made) In adopting a bandwidth limit in place of the baud rate limit the FCC agreed with ARRL that some limitation is necessary because "without a baud rate or bandwidth limit data stations using a large amount of spectrum for a single emission could do so to the detriment of simultaneous use by other stations using narrowband emission modes." ARRL has advocated for this change for a long time The move opens amateur data communications to faster and more modern modes and restores the incentive for amateurs to experiment with and develop faster and more efficient data methods ARRL obtained waivers to the symbol rate rules on a case-by-case basis to facilitate communications during situations like hurricane responses permitting drills to be conducted with the faster modes and more timely responses when needed The FCC also requested comment on removing similar symbol rate restrictions in the rules governing 135.7 - 137.8 kHz (2200-meter band) and the very high-frequency (VHF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) bands The Commission also sought comment on whether bandwidth limits should be adopted for application to the 2200 and 630-meter bands what an appropriate bandwidth limit would be Public comments on these additional issues are sought in the FNPRM The comment period is open until January 8 Replies to comments are due no later than January 22 the rules will go into effect in the same manner as they did for the other bands -- after notice and publication in the Federal Register Having Trouble? Metrics details Epilepsy is defined by the seemingly random occurrence of spontaneous seizures The ability to anticipate seizures would enable preventative treatment strategies A central but unresolved question concerns the relationship of seizure timing to fluctuating rates of interictal epileptiform discharges (here termed interictal epileptiform activity a marker of brain irritability observed between seizures by electroencephalography (EEG) in 37 subjects with an implanted brain stimulation device that detects IEA and seizures over years we find that IEA oscillates with circadian and subject-specific multidien (multi-day) periods are robust and relatively stable for up to 10 years in men and women We show that seizures occur preferentially during the rising phase of multidien IEA rhythms Combining phase information from circadian and multidien IEA rhythms provides a novel biomarker for determining relative seizure risk with a large effect size in most subjects male and female subjects over years of recording Seizures occur preferentially on the days-long up-slope of the multidien rhythm Specific circadian timing of seizures is more variable across subjects multidien and circadian IEA rhythms are co-determinants of seizure risk Representative subject demonstrating circadian and multidien rhythms in IEA as well as preferential timing of seizures a RNS System comprising cranially implanted neurostimulator connected to intracranial leads (image used with permission from NeuroPace b EEG showing a single-epileptiform discharge (spike) in channels corresponding to left (e1) and right (e2) hippocampal leads c EEG recorded 1 week later at the same time of day showing higher count of epileptiform discharges Inset magnifies one typical element to show waveform morphology cyan inset) and daily (e) fluctuation in IEA in one subject over 2 and 12 months Red dots indicate times of seizure occurrence f Wavelet decomposition revealing two component multidien rhythms with periodicities of 10 and 26 days Combining all multidien wavelet coefficients reconstructs the daily IEA time-series (gray curve g Corresponding periodogram showing ultradian (12 h) and multidien (10 and 26 d) peaks in periodicity and power index (square root of spectrogram power) on the y-axis Horizontal double-arrows show span of corresponding wavelet coefficients included for (f) (peak period ± 33%) h Average normalized amplitude of the circadian rhythm as a function of time of the day showing phase preference of seizures near the trough at 5 PM (n = 74 seizures h) represent night (6PM–6AM) and day (6AM–6PM) j Average normalized amplitude of the 10 d and 26 d IEA rhythms as a function of their underlying phase (x-axis full 360 degrees phase; y-axes have different scales) Seizures demonstrate phase preference for the up-slope of both rhythms (10 and 26 days a Average periodograms across all subjects (N  = 37) showing ultradian unsupervised clustering across all subjects revealed three patterns: (i) about weekly-to-biweekly rhythm (peaks at 7.5 and 15 days (ii) about tri-weekly rhythm (peak at 20 days and (iii) about monthly rhythm (peak at 26 days b Histograms showing the number of subjects with a peak in the periodogram at a given period χ2-test) in male (N = 22) and female (N = 15) subjects a Phase entrainment of peak circadian rhythm to time of day for each subject (N = 37 resultant angle and phase-locking value (PLV) see Methods section) grouped into three clusters (group mean angle and PLV in bold Normalized average circadian amplitude (±SD) with peak in the late afternoon (b) and early morning (d) were independent of seizure localization (mesial temporal vs χ2-test) but may represent three chronotypes seizures can occur at any time of the day if in the at-risk multidien phase (S1 seizures can occur on any day of the multidien cycle if at specific times of the day (S4 c Forest plot showing the risk ratio for having a seizure when in-phase vs anti-phase with the preferred phase of the underlying circadian or multidien rhythm or the combination of the two seizure occurrence was best explained by incorporating information about circadian and multidien rhythms Average risk ratio (RR) map in the circadian vs. multidien phase-space. a Average of individual RR maps shown in Fig. 5 after alignment to the preferred phases (“P” in axes labels; red vertical line Blue and green contour lines indicate RR >1 and < 1 To illustrate the concept of time-varying seizure risk white lines depict the hypothetical circular trajectory of a subject with a 24 h circadian and 8-day multidien cycle Each line covers two circadian cycles and a quarter multidien cycle the subject mostly crosses areas of low seizure RR with the exception of medium RR at times of favored circadian timing (arrowhead) In the second quarter (second line from left) the subject crosses an area where multidien and circadian timing jointly increase seizure RR (arrowhead) In the third quarter (third line from left) the subject stays on an area of increased risk for two circadian cycles by traveling on a vertical band of favored multidien phase (arrowhead) The fourth quarter line joins the bottom of the first line to close the cycle b Average multidien amplitude (z-scored) and peak position (just right of the preferred phase) Average circadian cycle is not displayed because the preferred phase was too variable across subjects in addition to well-known circadian rhythms IEA fluctuates with slower multidien rhythms that vary across subjects but are relatively stable within subjects over many years seizures occur preferentially during narrow phases of these circadian and multidien rhythms seizures are organized by underlying biological rhythms that operate over multiple timescales and jointly modulate seizure risk Reliable real-time seizure prediction will likely involve a combinatorial function of multiple features of an individual’s epilepsy including past and present seizure characteristics and short and long-term IEA trends Multidien and circadian rhythms may be most predictive in subjects with a low or moderate seizure rate where phase preference is highest so catamenial cycling cannot explain our results IEA counts analyzed here depend on detection parameters that were dynamically adjusted based on clinical indications and the RNS System stores limited continuous raw EEG Changes in detection sensitivity impact the absolute IEA count but our statistical approach accounts for this by relying on relative fluctuations within periods of constant detection settings but leveraging knowledge of subject-specific multidien and circadian rhythms for prospective seizure prediction remains a major goal of future work Indications for treatment with the RNS System as opposed to resective surgery included bilateral seizure localization (temporal and frontal) seizures arising from eloquent cortex (motor and visual) Sixteen subjects who did not download device data regularly had resultant gaps in detection counts The data containing gaps longer than 6 days was considered discontinuous and analyzed in separate segments The data of <90 days surrounded by gaps was discarded Gaps up to 6 days were interpolated (see below) One subject (S4) underwent resective surgery and the device continued to record For visualization purposes daily counts were obtained by averaging 24 h of data on the same calendar date but actual analyses were performed on the original hourly count data we estimate that <2% of LEA used here may actually be sustained trains of IEA and that the rest represent true electrographic seizures Peaks in periodicity were defined as a positive-to-negative zero-crossing of the derivative of the periodogram The phase-space representation allowed for the study of seizure risk as it relates to circadian vs Scatterplots help visualize these relations abstracted from the fact that multidien periods vary across subjects The data and code utilized in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request The falling sickness: A history of epilepsy from the Greeks to the beginnings of modern neurology Daily variation in an intracranial EEG feature in humans detected by a responsive neurostimulator system Circadian and ultradian patterns of epileptiform discharges differ by seizure-onset location during long-term ambulatory intracranial monitoring Interictal spikes and epileptic seizures: their relationship and underlying rhythmicity Human focal seizures are characterized by populations of fixed duration and interval The dynamics of the epileptic brain reveal long-memory processes A forward-looking review of seizure prediction Seizure prediction for therapeutic devices: a review Prediction of seizure likelihood with a long-term implanted seizure advisory system in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy: a first-in-man study Crowdsourcing reproducible seizure forecasting in human and canine epilepsy and seizure occurrence in epileptic patients Do interictal spikes sustain seizures and epileptogenesis Relationships between interictal spiking and seizures: human and experimental evidence Day–night patterns of epileptiform activity in 65 patients with long-term ambulatory electrocorticography Bimodal ultradian seizure periodicity in human mesial temporal lobe epilepsy chronotype and seizures in patients with epilepsy Bursts of seizures in long-term recordings of human focal epilepsy Seizure prediction: the long and winding road A novel spatiotemporal analysis of peri-ictal spiking to probe the relation of spikes and seizures in epilepsy Spatiotemporal relationship between seizure activity and interictal spikes in temporal lobe epilepsy Interictal spikes on intracranial recording: Behavior Glutamatergic pre-ictal discharges emerge at the transition to seizure in human epilepsy Changes in interictal spike features precede the onset of temporal lobe epilepsy Weather as a risk factor for epileptic seizures: a case‐crossover study Insomnia cycling with a 42-day infradian period: evidence for two uncoupled circadian oscillators Stress is associated with an increased risk of recurrent seizures in adults Frequency of catamenial seizure exacerbation in women with localization‐related epilepsy pathophysiology and treatment from the findings of the NIH Progesterone Treatment Trial Epilepsy: accuracy of patient seizure counts Infradian mood fluctuations during a major depressive episode Circadian and infradian rhythms of vasovagal syncope in young and middle‐aged subjects Interictal spike frequency varies with ovarian cycle stage in a rat model of epilepsy Neuroendocrine considerations in the treatment of men and women with epilepsy Cortisol fluctuations relate to interictal epileptiform discharges in stress sensitive epilepsy Neurosteroids—endogenous regulators of seizure susceptibility and role in the treatment of epilepsy Chronopharmacology of anti-convulsive therapy The RNS system: responsive cortical stimulation for the treatment of refractory partial epilepsy Interrater reliability in interpretation of electrocorticographic seizure detections of the responsive neurostimulator Temporal distributions of seizure occurrence from various epileptogenic regions Kriging infill of missing data and temporal analysis of rainfall in North Central region of Bangladesh CircStat: a MATLAB toolbox for circular statistics Meta-analyses and Forest plots using a microsoft excel spreadsheet: step-by-step guide focusing on descriptive data analysis Download references This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants R25NS070680-07 (J.K.K.) and R01-DC012379 (E.F.C.) The authors are grateful to Phil Thornton for technical assistance during data collection Department of Neurology and Weill Institute for Neurosciences Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department of Neurological Surgery and Weill Institute for Neurosciences recruited subjects from their clinical practices is a part-time employee of the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering The authors declare no targeted funding or compensation from NeuroPace The remaining authors declare no competing financial interests Publisher's note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Reprints and permissions Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02577-y Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R lineups complete with finalization of second roster… TF Sport has announced the final driver lineup for its two-car Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship naming Hiroshi Koizumi and Sebastien Baud to the No 82 entry alongside the previously confirmed Dani Juncadella It follows last week’s confirmation of the No. 81 lineup in the LMGT3 class who finished runner-up in the GT3 class of Michelin Le Mans Cup made his WEC debut in this year’s 6 Hours of Fuji in an AF Corse-run Ferrari 488 GTE Evo and is now set for a full season in the globe-trotting championship “I am really proud to work with such experienced drivers like Daniel and Sebastien,” he said “I am looking forward to team up with Daniel Juncadella winner of Macau and a successful DTM driver: it will definitely be a new opportunity for me “We will do our best to be the number one driver package in the GT3 class.” The 2024 season will mark Baud’s WEC debut following a history of GT3 competition that included a second place finish in the Bronze Cup of Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup this year “I am so excited to know that I am making a childhood dream come true,” Baud said “It is an honor to join a successful team like TF Sport in the WEC a car that marked my inspiration in the 24 Hours of Le Mans “I am looking forward to work with my more experienced teammates from whom I will be able to learn even more All three drivers will be virtually new to the series although Corvette Racing factory driver Juncadella will bring years of success in top-line GT3 machinery with him everything is a new challenge and it’s really exciting,” he said “I am stoked to get to know the team well to get to know Hiroshi during testing at the start of the season and also Seb “I’m very keen to team up with them and get to work from day one: I hope we will have a strong season.” John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now the commission instituted a bandwidth limitation instead The Federal Communications Commission has removed certain restrictions on ham radio operators acting on a request that the ARRL made a decade ago “The amateur radio community can play a vital role in emergency response communications but is often unnecessarily hindered by the baud rate limitations in the rules,” the commission said in its order We previewed this change a couple of weeks ago; now the commission has made it official It said the changes to the technical rules for data communications will “incentivize innovation and experimentation in the amateur radio bands by removing outdated restrictions and providing licensees with the flexibility to use modern digital emissions.” The report and order eliminates the baud rate limitation — the rate at which the carrier waveform amplitude frequency and/or phase is varied to transmit information — in certain amateur bands The change was requested in 2013 by the National Association for Amateur Radio (ARRL) and the FCC released a notice of proposed rulemaking about it in 2016 told Radio World last month: “This is a very simple change at the inception of digital technologies that could be used by radio amateurs the FCC adopted a speed limit of 300 baud for the stated purpose of limiting the amount of spectrum occupied by any single signal,” Siddall said worked to develop faster and faster speeds that still fit within the standard spectrum bandwidth Eventually their innovations to the technology significantly increased spectrum efficiency but ran up against the FCC baud rate limit.” Bands with a 300 baud rate limitation eliminated by this order are the 160 meter band; 80 meter band; 40 meter band segments 7.000–7.100 MHz and 7.100–7.125 MHz; 30 meter band; 20 meter band segment 14.00–14.15 MHz; 17 meter band segment 18.068–18.110 MHz; 15 meter band segment 21.0–21.2 MHz; and 12 meter band segment 24.89–24.93 MHz The 10 meter band segment 28.0–28.3 MHz has a 1200 baud rate limitation the commission establishes a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limitation in the applicable amateur radio bands,” it said “The changes will enable the amateur radio community to operate more efficiently including in support of emergency situations when appropriate which is a core principle of the amateur radio service.” ARRL told the commission earlier that amateurs worldwide have informally adopted the 2.8 kHz bandwidth for popular types of digital data transmission on HF frequencies “at least in part because all amateur HF transceivers with voice capabilities already are equipped with the filters and/or software for this bandwidth,” according to the FCC summary A 2.8 kilohertz bandwidth limitation is also commonly used for both data and voice transmissions Among those who had expressed support for eliminating the baud rate limitation were several state public safety organizations that said they rely on effective amateur radio to provide critical initial information in areas cut off from traditional modes of communication ARRL has said that increasing speed is especially important when amateurs volunteer to help during and after disasters The commission noted that a few commenters opposed any rule change “arguing that the existing rules should be retained in order to protect access to amateur bands by Morse code and other narrowband transmissions.” But the FCC said its decision does not restrict or promote any particular use “Amateur licensees engaging in Morse code transmissions will continue to be able to use the amateur bands for such transmissions amateur frequencies are not assigned for the exclusive use of any station each station licensee and each control operator must cooperate in selecting transmitting channels and in making the most effective use of the amateur service frequencies.” It is also considering removing the baud rate limitation in the VHF and UHF bands and in the 2200 and 630 meter band It asked for comment on that idea and on the appropriate bandwidth limitation for those bands issuing a further notice of proposed rulemaking [Read the report and order and FNPRM.] Paul McLane Paul McLane is editor in chief of Radio World He directs the editorial content of 26 annual print issues; RW's daily SmartBrief newsletters; webcasts; and a growing library of 100+ ebooks He has interviewed directors of engineering Hall of Fame radio personalities and C-suite leaders about digital radio Prior to RW he was an award-winning broadcast journalist and technology sales/marketing executive For more stories like this, and to keep up to date with all our market leading news, features and analysis, sign up to our newsletter here Tags ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ England and Wales company registration number 2008885 Having Trouble? ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® responded to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) request for comments on removing the symbol (baud) rate restrictions that apply to data communications on the LF bands and the VHF and UHF bands below 450 MHz The FCC also requested comments on the bandwidth limits applicable to those bands The FCC’s action follows their 2023 decision to remove the symbol (baud) rate limits on the 160- to 10-meter amateur bands. Those limits were replaced with a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limit The FCC’s Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking sought comments on updating the other amateur bands on which its symbol (baud) rate limits continue to throttle faster data rates The subject bands are the LF bands (2200 and 630 meters) and the VHF and UHF bands below 450 MHz ARRL strongly agreed with the FCC’s proposal to remove the symbol (baud) rate limits on the remaining bands ARRL’s comments also noted that CW operation is protected in the lower 100 kHz of the 6- and 2-meter bands and will continue to be so protected all modes are permitted in the remainder of the subject VHF and UHF bands with only the data modes subject to bandwidth restrictions below 450 MHz that vary by band The bandwidth restrictions uniquely applicable to data modes have resulted in the other modes being permitted to use many times the bandwidth of data modes in an intermixed fashion determined by those using the bands the limits have limited experimentation with techniques already in use in other countries on amateur VHF and UHF bands ARRL concluded that the FCC should also remove the bandwidth limits that apply uniquely to the data modes on the subject bands amateurs rely on voluntary band plans and local agreements as they already do with regard to the mix of the other modes ranging from Morse code (CW) signals of 50 Hz or so (depending upon speed) to amateur television that employs signals of 6 or more MHz ARRL also noted that the limited propagation range on the subject bands enables local cooperation that is not possible on the HF bands where propagation is such that signals can cover the globe The bands addressed in this rulemaking are:  Having Trouble? ShareSaveLifestyleTravelDiego Baud: Bartender Extraordinaire At The Hotel Arts BarcelonaByJohn Oseid Diego pouring in front of Frank Gehry's famous Peix sculpture.—Courtesy Diego Baud concocting what can best be described as cocktail-themed still-life tableaux With the house DJ Natxo Arola (brother of chef Sergi) spinning behind the bar just to Diego’s left the summer crowds start to fill the bright airy restaurant with a glass wine cellar smack in the center Guests spill into the garden terrace’s plush seating where all around them planters are filled with cilantro parsley and all manner of herbs and vegetables with which the chefs for all the Hotel Arts restaurants cook Diego can be seen out there nursing and coaxing his herbs Diego's Honey B cocktail.—Courtesy Diego Baud Here are some of Diego's recent concoctions that have guests whipping out their phones and posting pics before the first sip: Served in a martini glass with a bee prop buzzing around it the Honey B is made with white tea-infused tequila for dryness and finished with a egg white silky foam for texture Diego garnishes the drink with organic bee pollen “We are trying to bring awareness to the rapidly vanishing honey bees,” he says rascally honey bees this cocktail could not be." Diego calls his Abuelo Mojito “a twist and dance on the original.” He infuses southern mint tea with white rum and adds a kiss of lemon before serving the drink in a maté gourd on top of its own tiny wooden chair His unassailable logic: "We simply believe this cocktail is so refreshing and relaxing it needs it own chair." The bourbon Pumpkin Patch.—Courtesy Diego Baud When summer winds down and a chill hits the Mediterranean it's time for Diego’s Pumpkin Patch bourbon creation for which he uses winter spices such as cinnamon “My goal is to transport you to a nostalgic memory.” He finishes it with a pinch of black pepper and three drops of white truffle oil for aroma The old local working class neighborhood of La Barceloneta on the sea is as vibrant as ever Diego starts with Lustau Amontillado sherry and garnishing it with cured meats and seafood He rightly describes the serving as almost Dada in its presentation with meats that hang just as you see clothes still hanging today from Barceloneta balconies named for the famous neighborhood.—Courtesy Diego Baud You sip his raspberry gin drink called Smoking Razz out of a glass shaped like a calabash pipe The Jurassic Shake cocktail is served in a ceramic Brontosaurus The Bulldog gin cocktail that he serves in a beaker with orange and thyme honors Gaudí and his La Sagrada Familia cathedral whose famously slow construction explains the name One Day at a Thyme His trade secret is out: Mom back in Colorado prepares and ships many of them in a truly international production Follow me on Twitter In 2016, Clémentine Baud and her brother Bastien became the ninth generation to make wine at Domaine Baud their family winery in the Jura region of eastern France It’s a brief history for the region that lends its name to the Jurassic Period–rocks dating to that age were first found in the Jura Mountains But nine generations are significant in winemaking and Bastien and Clémentine added “Génération 9” to the winery’s name to celebrate their lineage Domaine Baud Génération 9 is one of the go-ahead wineries The first generation to grow grapes on the estate began in 1742 Even though the original 18th-century family house is still occupied For many decades the vineyards occupied a small part of the property–as recently as 1950 there were only four hectares of vines–and the families also cultivated other crops they made wine only for their own consumption who manages the vineyards and makes the wine  They have been able to buy more vineyard land and their children don’t want to follow in their footsteps is best known for two specialty wines: vin jaune and vin de paille Vin jaune is white wine matured in a barrel under a film of yeast the grapes are dried on straw or mats before being pressed thus concentrating the flavours and sweetness Domaine Baud Génération 9 makes both of these emblematic Jura wines and also an impressive range of sparkling and still wines The varieties in Domaine Baud’s vineyards are chardonnay (over half the vines) and pinot noir along with three signature Jura varieties: savagnin (white) and trousseau and poulsard (red) the indigenous varieties are more interesting although Domaine Baud makes excellent still and sparkling wines from chardonnay and pinot noir Domaine Baud Savagnin Floral L’Autre 2019 is a limited-production (2,000 bottles) wine that is richly textured while Deux Grains de Paradis 2018 is a very attractive slightly oxidative blend of savagnin and chardonnay aged under a film of yeast and delivering nutty notes on the finish poulsard and the less-common trousseau are the stars Domaine Baud Poulsard En Rougement 2021 is dusty-rose-coloured with unexpected complexity and concentration of fruit backed by finely calibrated acidity with delicious red fruit flavours and well-balanced juicy reds that are increasingly popular today alcohol distilled from grape skins and other residue after winemaking an aperitif that’s a blend of marc and unfermented grape juice meaning the vineyards are cultivated sustainably and biodiversity is respected overturning long-established seasonal patterns of grape growing Harvests take place much earlier than they used to–as early as 20 August in 2021–and vines are vulnerable to frosts early in the growing season Losses and reduced crops have become common warmer conditions can suppress the bright acidity Jura wines are known for Retaining freshness in wines has become a challenge in some years and Domaine Baud wants to avoid adding acid even though it is permitted in Jura’s wine law they have planted 54 little-known regional grape varieties Some have naturally high acid and could be blended with existing permitted varieties to improve acidity in finished wines none of these varieties has been authorized for use in Jura wines the ninth generation at Domaine Baud has the family vineyards Jura produces a range of fine wines that deserve wide appreciation and Clémentine and Bastien Baud’s wines can only help make that happen Domaine Baud Crémant du Jura Blanc de Blanc Domaine Baud Rouge Ancestral Côtes du Jura 2019 Domaine Baud Tradition Deux Grains de Paradis 2018 DOVER — A Somersworth man was indicted for threatening a woman with an ax A Strafford County Grand Jury indicted Jeffrey Baud this month for a Class B felony for criminal threatening with a deadly weapon Baud faces 3 1/2 to 7 years in jail and a $4,000 fine Baud allegedly went to the victim's house on Dec 2014 to pick up their two children when a verbal confrontation ensued The police report states that Baud allegedly grabbed a nearby ax and told the victim that he “should just drive this ax right through” her head The police report said the victim was afraid for her life and called police and Rochester police arrested him the next day He was transported to Somersworth for booking Baud was released on $5,000 personal recognizance bail and was ordered not to have any contact with the victim and refrain from alcohol and not to posses firearms The bail order was amended earlier this month to allow phone contact between Baud and the victim for children-related matters He’s scheduled to appear in Stafford County Superior Court on April 30 at 9 a.m Artlyst Ten Of The Best From Photo London 2024 – Nico Kos-Earle This is the ninth edition of Photo London and perhaps the most exciting edition of the Fair to date showcasing over 120 global exhibitors alongside a series of major special exhibitions Photo London 2024 Joost Vandebrug at Bildhalle Gallery Photo PC Robinson © Artlyst 2024 Fast forward to Photo London 2024; he is one of the most feted international fine art photographers working today We see a single image pixelated in his works at Photo London we find a grid of photo emulsion transfers on hand-made mulberry paper cards held in place with etymology pins – like a butterfly’s wings “I would say that the sensitivity and fragility of historical photographic techniques often run parallel to my subjects and desire to embrace any imperfections and ‘accidents’ as part of the process.” In his works both the successful and accidental (light and dark) form a cohesive whole Joost leaves gaps around each fragment and in places where the image was corrupted which Joost describes as “a form of artistic meditation“ They speak to the fragmentary nature of our existence and the fluid aspect of memory made from Japanese paper typically used for business cards and the need for a respectful pause during an encounter This includes viewers and works of art; they invite intimacy manifest only when you give something – or someone – time Baud Postma at Roland Belgrave Photography A beautiful discovery for Artlyst was the series ‘A SLOW DANCE’ by fine art photographer Baud Postma This ongoing series began amidst the strange isolation of 2020 coronavirus lockdowns Baud found solace in the simple act of bringing flowers into his London home capturing the gradual unfolding of a single bloom patiently observing the subtle movement of petals in the shifting daylight Capturing these in long exposures on light-sensitive paper the resulting images have the blurry quality of seeing wild flowers lying in a summer field on the periphery of your vision “The project began at an unprecedented point when our relationship to both time and mortality fundamentally shifted,” says Baud in his artist’s statement One could interpret this series as a meditation on the passage of time within the tradition of Memento Mori “While these themes may have played a subconscious role the aesthetic and ideas around Ikebana were more central to the project literally means ‘giving life to flowers’; the practice attempts to bring nature and humanity closer together something which had an obvious relevance and appeal during the nationwide lockdowns spent in a London apartment.” Baud also takes portraits of artists and curators who is also currently showing ‘Chimaera’ at the Niso Gallery (and a haunting picture of Nicholas Cullinan) – a reminder of the relationship between photography and sculpture which manifests in the production of works I was blessed with a sequence of interviews with exceptional photographers but when I turned the corner into the space curated by Homecoming Gallery It was like stepping into the visual equivalent of intuition or what might be described as a glimmer harmonious colours and the sensitivity of a simultaneously intimate and universal vision I would even venture these works were transcendent Johnny Mae Hauser is a Dutch-German artist who tethers her lens to the obscure existence of human emotion and what tiny flickers of light capture her imagination and reflect her state of mind Hauser’s use of colour is intuitive and harmonious foregrounding the blurry outline of things perceived but not yet processed Monochromatic in nature – a pause – they sit beautifully in sequence and highlight the serendipitous relationship of encounters They seem to invite us to complete the image with our imaginations and hold space for introspection Aakash Malik for  #CreateCOP Developed as part of Art Partner’s commitment to producing creative and purposeful climate initiatives through captivating it hopes to amplify the call to climate action by providing a platform where the next generation of concerned creatives can be seen and heard A pile of papers was on the wooden floor beneath a luminous photographic work in the form of a large window Underneath the word ‘manifesto’ was the line’ nature as perversion’ followed by a sequence of lines… on the back “In a world where nature is often romanticized our relationship with it has become perverted…” Giuseppe Lo Schiavo, or GLOS, is an Italian-born visual artist and researcher currently based between Milan and London. After collaborating with the MUSE Museum of Science of Trento on a pioneering project about synthetic biology alongside the international research program ACDC Lo Schiavo introduced the concept of ‘synthetic photography’ – an approach to image creation that involves computer-based methods as opposed to traditional camera-based processes Highlighting our disconnection from nature through the very thing that disconnects us GLOS is making giant windows onto this manipulated world which capture our attention in the same way that computer screens do Does this further alienate us from the very thing his manifesto is proposing or show how we are complicit We need to talk about the work of this phenomenally talented artist Penrose has been taking self-portraits on a ten-second timer and Her work is unpremeditated and spontaneous recording her automatic response to a situation or environment They are correctly arresting but also elegantly composed she magically processes notions of female identity – and the opposed notions of vulnerability and empowerment – into comi-tragic stills Dramatic in a different way at Galerie Bracqueville is a solo presentation of the Paris-based artist Thomas Devaux saturated in #yvesklein blues and mellifluous #gold glowing against the dark walls of a very chic booth Drawn in by the interplay of our reflections against the ghostly negatives of figures seen from behind Then we begin to see that underneath their shimmering beauty is a strange mundanity that mirrors the trap of consumerism disguised as attraction This is what Devaux calls ‘C E T O B S C U R O B J E T D U D E S I R’ these photographic works are created out of Dichroic Glass which changes colour depending on the light it reflects available as the result of materials research carried out by NASA Sian Davey at T J Boulting Photo London 2024 this year at Photo London saw the installation of a Chelsea Flower Show level garden by Sian Davey the garden was rammed with numerous people wanting to sit in the pink chair at its centre and take selfies or inhale the sweetness which documents the story of the actual garden the artist made when she turned her attention to her backyard and how its transformation not only mirrored her own but inspired others to come and sit with her in the space she held So much humanity was invested in this garden that it’s difficult to capture in words the effect it had on those attending the fair but it provided us with an idea to step into by contrast to the stream of images What surprised me on my three return trips throughout the day was how few people noticed that the artist was present she shared the extraordinary story of its genesis – a story of creativity triumphing over the dark insidious nature of abuse – a story I would love to tell in a longer article… Azadeh Ghotbi is an Iranian American artist living and working in London showing two series: Nature of Light and The Shape of Light Initially a painter in the tradition of abstract geometry Ghotbi began embracing photography as a complementary medium to sharpen her sense of observation and focus on light “I owe photography a whole new way of seeing“ Her photographs are light paintings that challenge the stillness of photography her photographs appear to “unfreeze” as if the click of the camera were an injection of energy The Nature of Light series is based on the alchemy between changing natural light The artist liberated herself from prior static in-studio work by fluidly moving her camera to capture the essence of the colours provided by natural light blurring the line between painting and photography while playing with the viewer’s sense of perception shooting entirely in the darkness of the urban night which gave rise to The Shape of Light series “The magic of photography for me is capturing and sharing what’s already there uplifting tonic to the problematic space she occupies as an Iranian woman of the diaspora  Banksy by Chris Levine at Camera Work Gallery I would love to see this work writ large in Piccadilly We need to have more conversations about public art and who is in control of our visual diet Give artists—not marketing professionals—the chance to create images for our public spaces Thank heavens for artists like Banksy and JR doing it anyway did Levine get a front view of this elusive figure Photo London: The fair’s ninth edition opens its doors at Somerset House from 16 to 19 May Read More Visit This website is using a security service to protect itself from online 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Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience has developed a gravity energy storage mechanism that uses locally available materials such as sand and industrial waste as its payload The company is building a 100 MWh pilot plant that will reportedly offer a levelized cost of storage of around INR 2.5 ($0.03)/kWh From pv magazine India has developed a novel approach to gravity-based energy storage that operates on gravitational potential energy without the need for water The mechanism can be implemented in any location (plains It uses locally available materials like sand and industrial waste such as coal-ash or construction waste as payloads and relies on artificial inclinations of about 20 meters to 40 meters head height to lift sand from the lower station to the upper station and store energy as potential energy The energy is released when sand is lowered when needed “Our proprietary gravity-based storage design [using sand] allows for efficient energy storage and discharge,” Dishant Mishra “The mechanism is ideal for long-duration storage and offers cost-effective electricity and high round trip efficiency.” will offer 100 MWh of capacity and a levelized cost of storage of around INR 2.5/kWh The system is based on a circular economy principle where it uses locally available sand (sourced from the site itself or nearby) and/or industrial waste like coal bottom ash from thermal power plants as payload The height differential of 20 meters to 40 meters is achieved by excavation and reclamation at the site Continuous mass flow ensures uniform load distribution mitigating concentrated loading issues seen in block-based gravity storage designs The technology is light and movable load transfer engineering It does require any permanent steel support structures to hang the payload This gives Baud’s design an advantage to deliver massive plants at much lower cost than other gravity candidates the gravity storage design also allows co-location with existing solar and wind plants It can be delivered at places with scarce water sources or sub-zero climates where pumped hydro storage may not be a feasible or efficient option “With a goal of 500 GW renewable capacity by 2030 The energy storage market in India is projected to reach 350 GWh by 2030,” said Mishra “Despite efforts in pumped hydro storage and battery energy storage We aim to fill this gap with our gravity energy storage system projecting 20 GWh to 40 GWh capacity by 2030.” Mishra added that it is targeting early adopters by initially offering small-scale plants then expanding to 5 GWh to 10 GWh projects for greater profitability Its turnkey energy storage solutions are geared toward large-scale Indian renewable operators Mishra said the gravity platform also consumes less land than current on-ground solar installations on a per megawatt basis “Co-location with solar further adds a different dimension as gravity application can directly admit DC power for charging from the solar panels while returning AC to the power grid using dual drive motor generators thus eliminating inverter and its losses,” he added “This translates to a higher round trip efficiency and lower capex for integrated renewable projects.” Baud Resources successfully completed its field demo project at IIT Kanpur in November 2023 it secured funding from Skoda Auto to support its ongoing and upcoming demo projects we are poised to announce our inaugural commercial plant by the end of this calendar with completion expected in 2025,” said Mishra we are actively engaging with two prominent customers to further strengthen our market presence.” More articles from Uma Gupta Good information about new ways to generate electricity Doesn’t seem like an entirely crazy idea but I’m somewhat skeptical that even a 40m height is tall enough you’re going to incur energy costs loading sand onto the mechanism and rolling the mechanism down it’s track All that will chew away at the energy stored and then recovered and would seem to incentive a taller height It’d be interesting to know what the full cycle storage efficiency is Efficiency really matters if they plan to scale the system up Please be mindful of our community standards and website in this browser for the next time I comment By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose 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View our privacy policy. × The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this Close The left should champion state and community action to challenge the lies of its own pro-Kremlin fringe the former Swiss intelligence officer Jacques Baud made startling revelations about the war in Ukraine A large chunk of the Ukrainian armed forces were made up of a 102,000-strong paramilitary militia that included which the media claims began on 24 February with a Ukrainian attempt to invade the Russia-controlled Donbas region in the east of the country This led to a “massacre of the Donbas population” and included Polish saboteurs who were looking to carry out chemical attacks The slowdown of Russian forces before Kyiv was simply a “consequence of having achieved their objectives” – ie pressuring Volodymyr Zelensky into negotiations Labour Heartlands and Marxist.com – republished it in full The film director Oliver Stone pushed it hard The former Jeremy Corbyn adviser Steve Howell retweeted it adding: “judge for yourself – an alternative view on the military situation to the one given in most Western media.” The allure of the essay is obvious: here is an “insider” who – just like “Q” in QAnon – must know the facts because he has been inside the system is so comprehensive that it has to be true It is, however, end-to-end disinformation. There are far-right-aligned units inside the Ukrainian military But they are under military discipline (ie and constitute a tiny minority of both the National Guard (a paramilitary police force) and the army the video of a “Polish chemical attack” was filmed ten days before and included stock sound from a firing range in Finland Russia had pulled out of its Kyiv offensive and the negotiations were over People who share this kind of material do so because they want to believe it Twitter accounts and YouTube channels spreading such disinformation target an audience that has drunk so much Kremlin Kool-Aid anti-vax ideologies and insurrectionary Trumpism we’re seeing the emergence of an “anti-imperialist personality” – people increasingly apologetic for Putin sympathetic to Donald Trump and Bashar al-Assad They call themselves “left” but end up fuelling the narrative of Fox News Putin spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year on disinformation campaigns targeted at the West It is part of a hybrid warfare strategy that sees the undermining of belief in democracy trust in government and the media as crucial to disorganising Russia’s adversaries Disinformation is often defined as false information purposefully spread But the most effective disinformation comes from spreaders who don’t know it’s false: who ardently believe it and who interpret the ridicule aimed at them as a wider elite conspiracy to silence them Most Western governments have struggled to catch up. The EU runs a counter-disinfo service, EUvsDisinfo, which monitors Russian output in 15 languages and issues rapid responses. In the UK, the government runs a Counter Disinformation Unit but has blanked freedom of information requests for details of its operations It announced the formation of a Disinformation Governance Board within the Department of Homeland Security Led by the 33-year-old infowar expert Nina Jankowicz it has no executive powers or capabilities but is there to advise the US’s domestic security agencies about counter-disinformation strategies The disinformation websites led the charge terrorising and ridiculing Jankowicz who – being educated female and feminist – fell into their prime target category Photographs and videos from her teenage to young adult life was splashed across the internet male and middle-aged “anti-woke” commentators labelled the organisation a “ministry of truth” The press joined in – from the Wall Street Journal and Fox News to the liberal Washington Post – claiming the mere existence of the board was a threat to the US’s First Amendment The Grayzone editor-in-chief Max Blumenthal outlined the logic Blumenthal accepts there are no actual attempts to censor disinformation What he objects to is the state trying to force the major internet companies to alter their algorithms to deprioritise the hate speech lies and threats generated by the online far right and the pro-Kremlin left TikTok and Twitter billions of dollars by showcasing misinformed content and incitement to violence must remain as they are – designed only to generate income which (as the disinformation industry knows) is easiest to generate through spreading lies that people want to believe Any attempt to regulate the algorithm is akin to regulating free speech Via the Online Safety Bill currently passing through parliament the UK will have such powers taken overtly by the legislature disinformation is effectively protected by the First Amendment – so that even an attempt to advise law enforcement on the threat it generates can be read as an attack on free speech America’s dysfunctional constitution has turned it into the most fragile democracy and left its civil society the most vulnerable to hybrid operations the solution is to arm the people and to strengthen institutions Society is not just made up of atomised individuals plus the state: we have trade unions Each has a right to operate a counter-disinformation strategy and to draw on guidance provided by the state The British state under Conservative rule has developed the muscle reflex to see the entire left and progressive movements as an enemy within As someone targeted daily by the disinformers I do not trust the state to distinguish genuine security threats from legitimate criticism So all counter-hybrid strategies and organisations must be open to scrutiny We are in the infancy of counter-disinformation and facing a Russian state that has operated disinfo strategies for decades Understanding that each and every one of us is on an information battlefield is the first step A graduate of the Paris School of Table Trades and a BTS in Hospitality-Marketing Ludovic Le Baud had his first experiences in prestigious houses such as the Ritz Paris or the Royal Monceau After a stay in London at the Landmark Palace where he served as head of reception and head concierge Then came the opportunities: director of projects at Concorde La Fayette director of catering at the Es Saadi Palace in Marrakech before taking over the management of the Palace for 3 years Ludovic Le Baud decided to perfect his training He joined the General Management program at ESSEC and obtained his Diploma in Commerce and International Management (MBA) he became general manager of the Le Balzac and de Vigny hotels then took over the general management of the Roch Hôtel & Spa in early April 2023 I like to create a balance between operational mechanics and the demanding constraints linked to the world of luxury My ambition is to be a virtuous leader who listens to my teams to reaffirm human intelligence in the service of our customers decorated by the very Parisian designer Sarah Poniatowski-Lavoine is the flagship of La Compagnie Hôtelière de Bagatelle which has developed since its creation in 2010 an original investment strategy with the acquisition of traditional family hotels on the wall and funds The Compagnie Hôtelière de Bagatelle currently has a collection of 7 boutique hotels in Paris representing 287 rooms: Le Roch Hôtel & Spa Les Theaters and the newcomer L'Hôtel de L'Abbaye Recruited to Carlton from Eaglehawk (Bendigo Football League) in an article penned for The Sporting Globe newspaper in June 1937 wrote of Alfred Miller Baud: “He (Baud) could play anywhere I think that Baud by comparison would have made (Haydn) Bunton look ordinary Baud would have been a football sensation had it not been for the war.” Cazaly’s view reflected the universal respect Baud commanded in a playing career interrupted by global conflict on the end of a brief but beneficial period with Eaglehawk He was adjudged best afield for the Hawks in the 1911 Bendigo Football League Grand Final – which in turned piqued the interest of a Carlton talent scouts - and by early 1913 Baud was fronting for training at the old Carlton ground Baud completed his Carlton senior debut in May 1913 – the 5th round match with the long gone University team at the MCG – and was prominent in the Blues’ 16-point victory Finding his nice as a half-forward flanker (with the occasional run in the centre) Baud impacted significantly in his maiden season contributing 12 goals from 14 matches and earning selection in the Victorian state squad Baud was relocated to half-back on the sayso of the three-time Premiership player Norman ‘Hackenschmidt’ Clark who was appointed Carlton Senior Coach in 1914 contributed to his team’s steady rise up the ladder Carlton accounted for Fitzroy by 20 points in the 1914 Semi-Final but a bout of influenza cost Baud his place in the Preliminary Final team which surprisingly lost to South Melbourne the following weekend was entitled to challenge South in the Grand Final and when Baud was pronounced fit he earned an automatic recall Carlton set a League record by naming nine first-year players in that 1914 Grand Final and famously prevailed by six points in a low-scoring thriller Great Britain and France had declared war on Germany and as a consequence Australia and the rest of the British Empire followed suit As thousands of young men answered the call of King and country through 1915  with attendances plummeting and all clubs struggling to field competitive teams Carlton was not untouched - and in Round 10 of that troubled season also lost its captain Billy Dick for a mammoth ten-match ban imposed after he appeared on report for striking Fitzroy’s Jack Cooper found himself captain of the reigning Premiership team Baud magnificently led his contemporaries to a first-up semi-final victory over Melbourne and a tough Preliminary final win over Fitzroy – thereby ensuring a second successive Grand Final outing only this time involving the competition minor Premiers and unbackable flag favourites Collingwood When Carlton toppled Collingwood by 33 points in the 1915 Grand Final - a contest described as “one of the grandest that had ever been seen in the finals,” it set the seal on Baud’s reputation as a player and leader of the highest calibre he etched his name into the record books as the youngest player to captain any club to a League Premiership – a record that would endure for 43 years until Collingwood’s Murray Weideman completed the deed in the Grand Final of ’58 The 1915 Grand Final would be the first of five won by Carlton at Collingwood’s expense But the 1915 Grand Final would also prove to be Baud’s swansong and by March of that year was on his way to war Sergeant Baud survived the horror – but only just his battery was locked in combat at a feature later known as ANZAC Ridge A shrapnel splinter smashed into the side of Baud’s head fracturing his skull and severely impacting the sight in his left eye his life hung in the balance for some days – and were it not for his vim and vigor he wouldn’t have made it and in March of 1918 he was repatriated to Australia and duly participated in the Armistice celebrations that November Baud died in December 1986 at the ripe old age of 94 having maintained a great connection with the game as a member of the Australian Football Council and a much-respected Tribunal panelist humble man who maintained a great love for Carlton and the game The Carlton Reserves went down to a surging Coburg Lions outfit Michael Voss reviews a disappointing day in Adelaide Carlton has fallen to Adelaide by 60 points Achievements of two Premiership captains and a Premiership captain-coach acknowledged with induction into Hall of Fame The Carlton Football Club is proud to reveal its 2025 Indigenous guernsey designed by Yorta Yorta siblings and founders of Bayadherra Hudson O'Keeffe had his most commanding performance of his VFL career to date in the Carlton Reserves' Round 6 clash with coburg Watch the best of the Carlton Reserves in the VFL Round 6 clash with Coburg AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss joined media following the Round 8 clash with Adelaide See what Michael Voss had to say ahead of Carlton's Round 8 clash with Adelaide Carlton Football Club acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which IKON Park is located The Club also acknowledges and pays its respects to their Elders past and present and the Traditional Owners of the many lands on which we play our great game For the season-finale of the Ligier European Series at the Algarve International Circuit Milo Racing in Ligier JS P4 and M Racing in Ligier JS2 R repeat their performances of the Heat 4 at Monza Kévin Balthazar in the #81 Milo Racing sports prototype wins both races M Racing’s Natan Bihel in the #66 GT and Mathieu Martins in the #86 car finished one-two in both races the two favourite teams and drivers have won the titles Italian driver Andrea Dromedari in the #50 HP Racing Team Ligier JS P4 and Sébastien Baud in the #74 Cool Racing Ligier JS2 R win the titles in their respective categories Blue skies and comfortable temperatures in Portugal at 9:40am local time in the first race of the Ligier European Series season-finale and for the 13 Ligier JS2 R and JS P4s to battle it out And the two favourites both have a commanding lead in the championship: Andrea Dromedari in the #50 HP Racing Team Ligier JS P4 and Sébastien Baud in the #74 Cool Racing Ligier JS2 R Kévin Balthazar in the #81 Milo Racing Ligier JS P4 and Natan Bihel in the #66 M Racing Ligier JS2 R nothing less than victory will do to keep their respective title hopes alive Slight advantage for Kévin Balthazar in the #81 car Andrea Dromedari in the #50 had problems in qualifying and set off from the back of the grid while the Italian began his march through the field He was up to fifth place when the safety car was called into service at the 17-minute mark of the race This was unwelcome news for the race leader who saw his 40-second lead reduced to nearly nothing Following the pit stops and with 20 minutes remaining while Andrea in the #50 HP Racing Team car was in second place Kévin in the #81 Milo Racing machine pushed his lead back up to 35 seconds With the fastest lap in the race clocked at 1:47.185s he crossed the finish line with a more than one-minute lead He fulfilled the first condition to remain in contention for the title Now he had to win the second race and hope for a mistake from his adversary Mathieu Martins in the #86 M Racing entry lined up on row one and the other driver from Yvan Muller’s team who has the best chance to defeat Sébastien Baud in the championship The #17 Arctic Energy with Nerses Isaakyan was alongside Sébastien Baud lined up fifth and shared row three with Claude Dégremont in the #30 CD Sport Ligier JS2 R Natan Bihel in the #66 got a lightening start to overtake Mathieu Martins in the #86 and immediately took command of the category Sébastien Baud too put in a strong get away and moved to third place in the category in overtaking the #30 and #17 cars The top three were covered by only a second Neither the intervention of the safety car nor the pit stops really perturbed the leader who held on to the lead just until the chequered flag with the fastest lap of the race in 1:51.490s to boot Sébastien Baud in the #74 Cool Racing Ligier JS2 R moved up to second place at the expense of Mathieu Martins in the #66 M Racing car The two drivers put on a spirited duel that was won by Mathieu Martins and Sébastien Baud had to settle for third place which gave him enough points to head to race 2 with peace of mind Fourth place went to the car that started fourth on the grid the #30 CD Sport entry with at the commands one of the few duos of this meeting several incidents or penalties disrupted the standings with heavy consequences for the #17 and #69 cars the #17 Arctic Energy JS2 R of Russian drivers Nerses Isaakyan and Sergey Egorov was evacuated during a safety car period 15 minutes into the race while it was closely following the three leaders Erwan was behind the wheel of the #69 M Racing car that had an off just prior to the end of the race and was also not classified The #38 HRC JS2 R driven by Julien Rodrigues started nineth on the grid but received a drive-through penalty for jumping the start ahead of the #69 ahead of him on the grid which was a shame for this newcomer because he went on to finish fifth in the category despite the sanction Bruno Chaudet in the #25 TM Evolution entry had moved up to fifth place in the category but was given a two-minute stop and go penalty for delaying his pits stop during the opening of the window The #11 of Alain Grand finished just behind in the sister car and was followed by Mikhaïl Makarovskii in the #45 MV2S Racing Ligier JS2 R After just two and half hours of respite the 13 Ligiers lined-up for race 2 the scenario from race 1 was at risk of repeating Kévin Balthazar in the #81 Milo Racing prototype and in the second to last position Andrea Dromedari in the #50 HP Racing Team machine who had to move through the entire GT field It was the same story in Ligier JS2 R where the leading trio from race 1 was ready for the start: Natan Bihel in M Racing’s #66 Mathieu Martins in the #86 sister car and Sébastien Baud in the #74 Cool Racing entry This time it was Mathieu Martins who jumped into the lead ahead of Natan Bihel but a few minutes later Bihel retook the lead the first incident of the race involved the #46 of the MV2S Racing duo of Antoine Chapus and Gaëtan Essart and the #11 TM Evolution of Alain Grand who had a coming together A sad ending for these two cars that shared row four at the start There was nothing in it between the leading trio and the positions remained the same despite the pugnacity of the drivers Nerses Isaakyan in the #17 Arctic Energy car was right behind in a solid fourth place while Baptiste Berthelot in the #30 CD Sport JS2 R and Julien Rodrigues in the #38 HRC GT battled for fifth While the top four running order didn’t change after the pit stops Julien Rodrigues got the better of Claude Dégremont Mathieu Martins took the lead and Nerses Isaakyan moved up to third place It was game on in the battle for the lead between Mathieu Martins and Natan Bihel as they swapped positions several times just until the final lap and it was Mathieu Martins in the #86 taking the win in a thrilling finish with the fastest lap of the race in 1:51.608s The fight for third place was just as intense with the outcome unknown just until the final lap when third place Nerses Isaakyan in the #17 Arctic Energy went off track and dropped to eight Sébastien Baud in the #74 Cool Racing Ligier JS2 R inherited the third step of the podium and thanks to the points accumulated at the preceding rounds Julien Rodrigues in the #38 HRC car finished just off the podium in fourth place Bruno Chaudet in the #25 TM Evolution entry completed the top five The #30 CD Sport machine was given a drive-through penalty at the end of the race for track limits and came home sixth Next it was Erwan Bihel in the #69 M Racing JS2 R then Mikhaïl Makarovskii in the #45 from MV2S Racing that was unlucky and fell victim to mechanical issues Andrea Dromedari in the #50 HP Racing Team Ligier JS P4 caught up to Kévin Balthazar in the #81 Milo Racing car in the final third of the race He clinched the 2020 title by wisely finishing far behind his rival who posted the fastest lap of the race in 1:47.010s This finale saw the titles go to the two drivers largely in the lead of each category despite the motivation and talent of their rivals and of all the competitors who have given us intense memories throughout this first season but with a tiny advantage: I set off from the inside And I must have accelerated a half second earlier than him and right away I was in the lead The goal was to try to build as big a gap as possible It wasn’t easy because Mathieu was very fast But I managed to keep him behind me the entire first stint and after the pit stop I then had to apply myself and make no mistakes he came back strong and we never stopped battling It is a great way to end the season for me and for the team.” winner of the JS P4 class in Race 1 and 2: We missed one meeting so it was very difficult to fight for the championship I’m very happy to finish the season on a high with two wins It’s a fantastic result for me and the team The Ligier JS P4 was great fun to drive all season and it’s a good way to start in sports prototypes before climbing the ladders of endurance racing” I had a great fight with my teammate Natan on the track I have learnt so much throughout the season with the Institut de Pilotage and M Racing The Ligier JS2 R is great fun to drive and is great to learn the ropes of professional driving” RACE 1 RESULT >> RACE 2 RESULT >> FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS >> Author: Metrics details An Author Correction to this article was published on 01 August 2023 This article has been updated The vaginal microbiota refers to the microorganisms that reside in the vagina These microorganisms contribute significantly to a woman’s reproductive and general health A healthy vaginal microbiota is typically a low-diversity environment with a predominance of lactic acid-producing Lactobacillus species and hormonal changes can disrupt the balance of the vaginal microbiota leading to conditions such as bacterial vaginosis The composition of the vaginal microbiota changes and takes on added importance during pregnancy serving as a barrier against infection for both mother and fetus Despite the importance of the microorganisms that colonize the vagina details of how changes in composition and diversity can impact pregnancy outcomes is poorly understood This is especially true for woman with a high prevalence of Gardnerella vaginalis Here we report on a diverse cohort of 749 women crispatus are important in maintaining low diversity and that depletion in this critical community is linked with preterm delivery We further demonstrate that it is overall diversity of the vaginal microbiota Gardnerella vaginalis prevalence has long been considered to be a dysbiotic CST often associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV) and higher risks to health Our improving appreciation of VMC complexity coupled with its interaction with the host during pregnancy open new avenues to elucidating its role in unfavorable pregnancy outcomes such as premature birth are also early colonizers of the newborn microbiota more attention has been paid to this community its composition throughout pregnancy and its association with perinatal infections and preterm birth Here we investigate the role of the vaginal microbiota and the prevalence of different community types in relation to pregnancy outcome The reported study (RCB # 2017-A02755-48) was reviewed by the French ethics committee “Comité de Protection des Personnes Nord-Ouest III” (Caen All individuals enrolled in the InSPIRe cohort provided signed informed consent that included authorization for the collection of medical information and biological samples The present work includes only the non-human fraction of DNA extracted from vaginal swabs from expectant mothers Clinical metadata of patients was collected in a secured electronic database Exports from the database used for analysis were anonymized Processed vaginal swabs were labeled with corresponding anonymous inclusion numbers Vaginal swabs collected with E-swab collect tubes and containing 1 ml of AIMES conservation solution were immediately frozen and stored at – 80 °C Samples were shipped on dry ice to Eurofins (Aarhus samples were thawed on ice and vortexed to obtain a homogenous solution 750 µl of sample was centrifuged and resulting the pellet resuspended in 540 µl of buffer ATL and 60 µl of Proteinase K and the sample shaken in a Tissuelyser instrument at 2 × 2 min at 20 Hz followed by incubation at 56 °C for 15 min 500 µl of the lysates was transferred to Sarstedt tubes and inserted in to the QIAsymphony (Qiagen: Düsseldorf Automated extraction of DNA from 750 µl swab medium was performed using the QIAsymphony DSP Virus/Pathogen Kit and the Complex400_OBL protocol DNA was eluted in 60 µl Qiagen AVE buffer into 96-well plates containing 95 samples and one negative control Metagenomic libraries were prepared using Illumina (San Diego Extracted DNA was fragmented to an average size of 500 bp using a Covaris sonicator Ends were repaired prior to ligation of sequencing and barcoding primers Following PCR amplification of the libraries insert size was confirmed with an Agilent 2100 and qPCR was performed to ensure an effective library concentration of > 3 nM Libraries were sequencing on a NovaSeq6000 instrument An average of 6 Gb of high-quality data was targeted for each sample corresponding to 2.0 × 107 paired-ends reads (2 × 150 bp) fungi and protozoa species from these genera were retained Assemblies for species not present in Kraken2 libraries were obtained from NCBI we prioritize the RefSeq tag "reference genome" over "representative genome" over "na." Remaining "excluded_from_refseq" species were used if labeled "genus undefined" "derived from single cell" or "sequence duplications." For assemblies "Complete Genome" was preferred over "Chromosome" The most recent assembly was selected for any redundant datasets 13 species could not be found using this method; all but Coprobacter secundus and Flavobacterium thermophilum had at least one other representative of their genus already present The Kraken2 script kraken2-build was used to build the customized database under the General Time Reversible model of nucleotide substitution and the Gamma model of rate heterogeneity (-m GTRGAMMA) This model includes different rates of substitution for each pair of nucleotides and across the sequence as well as different frequencies of occurrence of nucleotides We retained the tree with the best likelihood upon 100 bootstraps (-N 100) The remaining 87 species were added in three steps: (1) For each missing species the Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) of species from the same genus was calculated using the python library dendropy (2) The mean distance of all the species of the same genus (or family) to the MRCA was calculated; (3) Missing species were added at the MRCA node with a length equal to the calculated mean distance We evaluated the significance of the differences in diversities with a Mann–Whitney-U statistical test and corrected the p-values by False Discovery Rate correction with the Benjamini–Hochberg method Training of the RF classifier was run with 105 estimators In order to obtain features with the strongest signal the classifier was trained with features present in at least 25% of samples and with a minimum mean of 50 counts Recursive Factor Removal (RFR) was performed by iteratively removing the factor with the weakest contribution to the RF model and retraining The performance of each model was assessed and locally weighted smoothing (LOWESS) applied to determine the optimal number of features The final model was trained on the highest performing features and tested by generating a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for three independent train/test sample sets We established a prospective cohort of 2313 pregnant women with the goal of studying the vaginal microbiota its community composition and the presence of pathogenic bacteria in the peripartum period Inclusions and data collection were performed in accordance with applicable laws and ethical standards Ethical approval for the study was obtained in November of 2017 at three French hospitals in the Paris region (AP-HP): Hôpital Bichat Claude-Bernard Hôpital Louis-Mourier and Hôpital Port-Royal Informed consent was obtained prior to inclusion individuals had to have passed their 22nd week of gestation and be at least 18 years old This work reports on 749 mothers whose pregnancies stared between 2018 and 2020 where vaginal swabs were collected through June of 2021 and whose clinical data records had been completed and validated Cohort Composition and distribution of samples 2313 pregnant mothers were recruited and consented to participate in the observational cohort Current follow-up of mother-infant pairs with full clinical records equals 1117 completed dossiers A total of 761 samples were selected for analysis Four samples were excluded due to poor DNA extraction yield and a further eight samples did not yield sufficient sequence data to be included in the analysis The distribution of samples across groups A Relative abundance of the 53 most abundant microbial genomes among individuals of the cohort Only species with a mean relative abundance across samples above 0.1% were retained for this graph Boxes represent the interquartile range (IQR) delimited by the first and third quartiles (25th and 75th percentiles respectively) and the line inside represents the median Whiskers show the minimum and maximum values within 1.5 times IQR from the first and third quartiles respectively Outliers (filled circles) are samples more than 3 times IQR below or above the first and third quartiles respectively Suspected outliers (open circles) are samples between 1.5 and 3 times IQR below or above the first and third quartiles respectively we found Candida and Ureaplasma genera are found together in 20.08% of the total cohort We did not initially identify any significant differences in co-occurrence that could be directly linked with cohort groups for full-term versus pre-term delivery an examination of clinical parameters revealed that when grouped by hospitalization reason samples from medically programmed Cesarean deliveries showed a 26.67% co-occurrence rate compared with 17.84% for individuals admitted for spontaneous vaginal deliveries when we investigated co-occurrence across CSTs crispatus communities had the lowest rate of co-occurrence at 9.52% vaginalis communities displayed the greatest rate of co-occurrence at 34.62% followed by L A chi-squared test indicated the observed percentages to be significantly linked with CSTs (p = 4.04 × 10–4) Faith’s Phylogenetic Diversity at the species level (a) PD values for samples by ‘cohort group.’ No significant differences were found where a given species was most abundant in at least 100 samples Each species group is subdivided by ‘cohort groups’ following the same color scheme as in ‘a’ Significant differences at the level of dominant species groupings are noted (c) Samples grouped by ‘hospitalization reason’ for reasons with at least 40 samples (d) Samples grouped by dominant species and subdivided by ‘hospitalization reason’ following the same color scheme as in ‘c’ *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; False Discovery Rate suggest that a combination of non-standard bacterial community combined with a higher overall diversity could be markers of an increased risk of premature delivery PCoA projection of Bray–Curtis dissimilarity (a) Principal components PC1 and PC2 used for 2D projection for samples (b) PC2 and PC3 used for 2D projection of samples Individual components (species) that are the primary drivers along each axis are indicated with an arrow representing the strength of each loading proportional to its length Samples are colored according to their inclusion group: green = control full-term delivery orange = membrane rupture > 24 h prior to full-term delivery red = preterm delivery with membrane rupture > 24 h prior to delivery We performed PERMANOVA analysis to identify significant groupings based on clinical data for samples in the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity matrix An analysis of all samples (n = 749) at the species level showed that only the abundance of Haemophilus influenzae was significantly associated with the Bray–Curtis groupings (p = 0.038) when the analysis was performed by first stratifying samples by their most abundant taxa iners-dominated samples (n = 160) were found to have significant grouping for both hospitalization reason (p = 0.008) and birth mode (p = 0.043) there were significant associations for frequent urinary tract infections (p = 0.044) umbilical cord inflammation (p = 0.042) and gestation length at time of admittance (p = 0.022) crispatus-dominated samples (n = 251) yielded no significant clinical associations Identification of links between microbial diversity and pregnancy length coupled to associations of dominant VMC species to clinical variables of risk We used machine learning as an efficient means to further explore these results through selection and integration of a large number of microbial variables A Random Forest Classifier (RFC) was trained to integrate the contributions of multiple members of the VCM in order to explain clinical observations We focused on hospitalization for a risk of premature birth Random Forest predictor of premature birth risk (a) Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) test of the RF classifier for normal and high-risk hospital admissions Samples are class scored as correctly classified ‘true positives’ or incorrectly predicted ‘false positives.’ Areas under the curve are calculated for three random mixtures of training and test samples (b) List of the twelve species components in the best performing RF classifier The mean weights over individual estimators are given as well as their cumulative weighs in the final predictor We found it interesting to note that co-occurrence of these organisms varied significantly depending on the dominant species (chi-squared: p = 1.1 × 10–4): 15% for L While it was not completely unexpected to see that the reduced abundance of major Lactobacillus spp results in a higher colonization rate for C the significant differences in co-occurrence in Lactobacillus-depleted samples still serves to highlight the protective role of Lactobacillus species during pregnancy An examination of preterm births in our cohort revealed that the level of co-occurrence of C was 29% for pregnancies lasting < 30 wks This observation again highlights the role of increased diversity in the VMC over specific CSTs Further work should therefore examine pregnancy-related host factors that could be important in promoting the most favorable vaginal microbial communities Further development of biomarkers that incorporate the quantification of L as well as a subset of potential pathogens and associated bacterial species holds the promise of better assessing the risks of preterm birth and increasing the survival rate of newborns though better targeted care The sequencing data used for analysis in the current study are available in the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) repository: Project accession PRJEB59811 and files accessions ERS14632248–ERS14632996 A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-39583-8 An integrated catalog of reference genes in the human gut microbiome The biology of the vagina in the human subject The glycogen content of human vaginal epithelial tissue The composition and stability of the vaginal microbiota of normal pregnant women is different from that of non-pregnant women Free glycogen in vaginal fluids is associated with Lactobacillus 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parvum in women of reproductive age Treatment of vaginal candidiasis for the prevention of preterm birth: A systematic review and meta-analysis function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome Some distance properties of latent root and vector methods used in multivariate analysis nov.: A novel bacterium isolated from the female genital tract Establishment of vaginal microbiota composition in early pregnancy and its association with subsequent preterm prelabor rupture of the fetal membranes Characterisation of the vaginal Lactobacillus microbiota associated with preterm delivery Molecular quantification of Gardnerella vaginalis and Atopobium vaginae loads to predict bacterial vaginosis Prevalence and distribution of Gardnerella vaginalis subgroups in women with and without bacterial vaginosis Vaginal pH and microbicidal lactic acid when lactobacilli dominate the microbiota The association between ethnicity and vaginal microbiota composition in Amsterdam Gardnerella vaginalis and Prevotella bivia trigger distinct and overlapping phenotypes in a mouse model of bacterial vaginosis A commensal symbiosis between Prevotella bivia and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius involves amino acids: Potential significance to the pathogenesis of bacterial vaginosis Download references This work was supported by the Programme d'Investissements d'avenir and bpifrance (Structuring R&D Project for Competitiveness—PSPC): # DOS0053477 SUB et DOS0053473 AR. A full list of contributors to this study, collectively called the InSPIRE Consortium, can be found in the accompanying Supplementary Information file 3 Centre national de référence des streptocoques A.B. performed the statistical analysis, wrote methods and prepared Figs. 2 and 3 wrote the main manuscript and prepared the remaining figures and tables The authors declare no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36126-z Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research has developed a gravity energy storage mechanism that uses locally available materials like sand and industrial waste as its payload The company is expected to announce its inaugural commercial plant by the end of this year The plant will have a 100 MWh capacity and offer a levelized cost of storage of around INR 2.5/kWh Gravity energy storage system that uses industrial waste as payload It uses locally available materials like sand and industrial waste such as coal-ash or construction waste as payload and relies on artificial inclinations of about 20-40 meters head height to lift sand from the lower station to the upper station and thereby store energy as potential energy The energy is released when sand is lowered as and when needed “Our proprietary gravity-based storage design [using sand] allows for efficient energy storage and discharge The mechanism is ideal for long-duration storage and offers cost-effective electricity and high round trip efficiency.” will have a 100 MWh capacity and will offer a levelized cost of storage of around INR 2.5 ($0.030)/kWh The system is based on a circular economy principle where it uses locally available sand (sourced from the site itself or nearby) and/or industrial waste like coal bottom ash from thermal power plants as payload The height differential of 20-40 metres is achieved by excavation and reclamation at the site The USP of the technology is its light and movable load transfer engineering which works between the two stations It does require any permanent steel support structure to hang the payload This gives Baud’s design an advantage to deliver massive size plants at much lower cost than other gravity candidates this gravity storage design allows co-location with existing solar and wind plants The energy storage market in India is projected to reach 350 GWh by 2030 Despite efforts in pumped hydro storage and battery energy storage We target early adopters with small-scale plants subsequently scaling to 5-10 GWh projects for higher profitability Our turnkey energy storage solutions target Indian renewable operators of large scale Mishra said their gravity platform consumes less land than current on-ground solar installations on a per MW basis  “Co-location with solar further adds a different dimension This translates to a higher round trip efficiency and lower capex for integrated renewable projects,” he added to further strengthen our market presence,” said Mishra More articles from Uma Gupta Please be mindful of our community standards By subscribing to our newsletter you’ll be eligible for a 10% discount on magazine subscriptions Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value" This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. To find out more, please see our Data Protection Policy. × a global provider of settlement administration and legal noticing services proudly announces the appointment of Maria José Azar-Baud as Global Collective Actions Expert With her expertise in Collective Redress and Consumer Law Maria José fortifies Angeion’s commitment to delivering exceptional solutions and practical consulting services for global legal administration brings a distinguished background to her role as Global Collective Actions Expert at Angeion Group Her extensive experience as an Associate Professor at Paris-Saclay University and as a lecturer at prestigious institutions such as University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas underscores her profound knowledge in Comparative Law and Collective Redress Having earned a double PhD from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and the University of Buenos Aires Maria José specializes in Collective Actions in Consumer Law offering a unique perspective that bridges legal systems including the publication of her work by the renowned French editor Dalloz has contributed significantly to the field of Collective Redress Maria José has authored over 80 contributions in multiple languages and group actions across various legal domains Her advocacy and scholarly pursuits have led her to participate in legislative discussions in France and the European Parliament shaping policies related to Collective Redress in the European Union “It’s a privilege to embark on this journey with Angeion Group a company renowned for its dedication to serving clients with integrity and efficiency I am excited to collaborate with the team in providing top-tier consultancy services and advancing the field of Collective Redress on a global scale.” Said Maria José Azar-Baud “We are thrilled to welcome Maria José Azar-Baud to Angeion Group as our Global Collective Actions Expert Her vast knowledge and experience will undoubtedly elevate our consultancy services and further strengthen our position as a trusted leader in legal administration,” said Steven Weisbrot Angeion Group leads in settlement administration and legal noticing services leveraging cutting-edge technology and expert consultancy instilling confidence in counsel and courts © Copyright 2012 - 2023 | citybiz | All Rights Reserved Operators have rapidly adopted coherent transmission since the first deployments of DSP-based coherent technologies to long-haul and submarine networks in the early part of this decade Coherent technology is now being extended throughout the metro and soon will be deployed in access networks to meet the inexorable demand for bandwidth Where 10-Gbps wavelengths were deployed in 50-GHz grid WDM systems 100-Gbps wavelengths implemented with around 32-Gbaud symbol rates have been deployed on the same multiplexers and amplifiers with greater reach and enhanced impairment tolerance second-generation flex-coherent modulation enabling 200-Gbps wavelengths with 16QAM or 8QAM modulation and now the first 400-Gbps wavelength deployments at higher baud rates Investments in DSP technologies with ever higher CMOS integration will shortly enable a new generation of up to 600-Gbps wavelengths with highly configurable baud rates and modulation up to 64QAM with a large degree of modulation control Beyond this we can expect to see 800-Gbps or even 1.2-Tbps wavelengths in the future with higher baud rates to enable 400-Gbps quantization of the wavelength capacity with their advanced coding and forward error correction (FEC) are bringing networks closer to the Shannon limit defined as the maximum achievable capacity Skirting this limit to extract the maximum utilization for real networks with complex topologies and traffic requirements requires additional consideration of network planning and management Such modulation flexibility is new to optical network design but also led to unused margin and thus capacity on the network Providing highly flexible coherent modulation with wavelength-based optimization for multi-point networks is the key to extracting the maximum capacity at the lowest dollar per bit this goal is now the focus of a number of optical network operators We can consider the fundamental parameters at the channel level to be the baud rate (or symbol rate) the equivalent QAM that affects spectral efficiency (SE) metrics of fiber capacity and bandwidth quantization (number of managed channel entities) are relevant which then determine overall cost per bit for incremental service additions and for the aggregate network While it is tempting to think maximum SE is always desired if this comes at the expense of optical reach with additional regeneration requirements Both reach and SE are thus parameters to be jointly optimized for specific network objectives it is important to understand the flexibility of the new generation of coherent DSP and optical interfaces How much control of SE and baud rates per channel is available and which combinations best suit specific network objectives Varying approaches to modulation exist between vendors Figure 1 is an example representation of the latest flex-coherent DSP capabilities showing SE versus channel information rate supporting up to 600 Gbps per wavelength the figure shows a 100-Gbps granularity modulation combination; intermediate points at sub-100-Gbps granularity in the shaded area will also be possible with various formats in different DSP implementations providing high flexibility Example spectral efficiency versus channel rate What we see in the figure is a range of combinations of baud rate and QAM order leading to different channel capacities a given application will only use a small subset of the options available high-capacity networks will favor high QAM Highest baud rates will be favored except in cases where granularity is too coarse for specific network traffic patterns Not shown in the chart but also highly relevant is the reach characteristics for different modulation configurations this is determined by the modulation format or equivalent QAM 16QAM signals will have comparable reach independent of the baud rate when limited by typical transmission impairments What changes is the channel capacity and thus cost per bit and overall spectrum use which then determines quantization of bandwidth on the fiber Network planning and optimization tools can assist operators in determining the optimum configurations Let us look at the requirements of a few network operator types to explore how they may use this new generation of flex-coherent technology and how it may be implemented in typical network deployments When discussing very high-capacity modulation, one of the first applications that comes to mind is hyperscale metro data center interconnect (DCI) which requires very high capacity over relatively short distances This is a natural application for the highest QAM constellations – packing the largest number of bits into a symbol as possible for lowest cost This approach may come at the expense of coarse bandwidth quantization but deployments are generally in terabit-per-second bandwidth chunks or greater Today’s networks are deployed with 100-Gbps or 200-Gbps coherent interfaces or 100-Gbps PAM4 and in the near future with 400-Gbps to 600-Gbps wavelengths In the medium term 400-Gbps wavelengths with 16QAM modulation provided by 400G ZR coherent pluggables for use directly on packet switches will be favored by some; although others no doubt will seek maximum SE with 64QAM for highest fiber capacity a high degree of flexibility is not required; rather the goal is lowest dollar per bit with a sufficient level of SE to meet the optimal capacity per fiber according to the available fiber plant Carrier networks, on the other hand, are typically multi-point ring or mesh topologies that in general support a mix of circuit types with a range of paths, including pass-through at multiple intermediate ROADM locations OTN provides effective sub-wavelength aggregation for individual connectivity services in the 10-Gbps to 100-Gbps range in the near term Packet aggregation from core switches is also used for MPLS backbone transport Bandwidth quantization becomes more of an issue here as 400-Gbps and 600-Gbps waves may be too coarse for individual path connectivity; 200-Gbps or 100-Gbps channels may be preferred with higher connectivity We may thus expect to see a range of modulation types with combinations of baud rate and QAM for optimization of reach and to enable a larger number of end-to-end circuits on the network Backbone DCI will show less dependency on quantization and service types but still will require path optimization through multiple ROADM nodes and to avoid regeneration – so it will share some of the same optimization criteria as carrier networks Primary modulation optimization metrics are baud rate Secondly we may consider coding and FEC overheads Figure 2 is a schematic representation of the three primary modulation adjustment “knobs” that will be used for network optimization We see that baud rate and equivalent QAM specify the channel rate which directly correlates with cost per bit at the incremental channel level Equivalent QAM and channel spacing or passband specifies the overall fiber capacity Baud rate and channel spacing/passband specify bandwidth quantization or the number of distinct routable channels available for connectivity metro DCI will be optimized with maximum fiber and channel capacity This implies the use of the highest QAM and baud rate with the resultant passband typically 75 GHz for ~66-Gbaud channels Carrier and other longer-reach multi-point applications with varying quantization requirements are optimized with combinations of baud rates and QAM Flexible passbands on intermediate ROADMs tailored to the baud rates and also accommodating bandpass narrowing through multiple ROADM cascading will enable multiple channel rates Aggregating multiple wavelengths into densely packed superchannels is another option to limit the impact of bandpass narrowing Use of superchannels may further improve SE although again at the expense of granularity and bandwidth quantization In practice we might expect a stepwise approach to spectrum management in more complex networks It is easy to see that optimizing individual passbands in a multi-baud-rate network gives the most control over bandwidth quantization and spectral narrowing lack of coordination across a multi-point network can result in spectrum fragmentation and blocking To avoid these headaches and simplify spectrum management a network operator may initially choose a small number of passbands to manage With evolved planning and control methods the operator may choose to extend to more passband options to optimize quantization and ROADM passband narrowing on a per-path basis to use spectrum to the fullest extent optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) has provided a convenient metric for characterization of amplified transport systems with 0.1-nm optical bandwidth for noise power measurement OSNR becomes less universal; changes in baud rate lead to different optimized transmit powers We then need to examine the OSNR requirement of differing baud-rate signals non-dispersion-compensated systems scale with optical power spectral density (PSD) A signal with 2X baud rate may thus be used with 3-dB higher transmit power to arrive at the same signal PSD SNR defined in unitary bandwidth on the receiver therefore provides an additional performance metric useful for characterization of networks with multiple baud rates it shows achieving a specific SNR will enable similar reach independent of the baud rate for a given modulation format or QAM Although it may sound counterintuitive to maintain the same reach when we double the channel capacity it is similar to two channels being supported over the same distance with double the spectrum usage The following is the simple conversion to SNR on the receiver from a given OSNR which is still the metric for optical link amplifier noise characterization: Where the constant is derived from 0.1-nm bandwidth used for OSNR and the RxdB is an electrical receiver impairment increasing the channel power in proportion to the baud rate (constant PSD) enables OSNR to increase approximately in proportion and maintains the same SNR and reach We have seen above how multiple controls now available on flex-grid ROADMs and coherent interfaces enable a much higher degree of optimization capability for networks than was available in the past What this advance means in practice is that operators can maximize spectrum resources for lowest cost per bit and maximum scalability on the network Operators can do this with consideration of the bandwidth quantization needs of their network This is easy to see for static optimization but the prospect of elastic networks with dynamic optimization looks even more tantalizing Static optimization trades excess start-of-life margin for capacity and lower cost per bit Dynamic optimization could enable compensation for impairments that would otherwise be assigned aging margin on the network Such compensation could be applied either with user intervention or via automated network processes – hence using SNR as the primary resource to maximize bandwidth utilization and lower network costs such dynamic control would typically affect service and would generally require reconfiguration of user services as control methods evolve we may expect to see such techniques used in the future Dr. Paul Morkel issenior director of product management at ADVA Optical Networking He has more than 30 years of experience in optical transport and is responsible for optical product planning and management within ADVA Sorin Tibuleac isdirector of system architecture at ADVA He leads R&D activities in optical system design from research in optical fiber transmission and evaluation of new technologies to engineering rules for network deployments Data traffic is increasing at a rapid pace, and this necessitates the development of smaller optical transmitters and receivers capable of high-order multi-level modulation and faster data transmission rates researchers have created a new compact indium phosphide (InP)-based coherent driver modulator (CDM) that surpasses others in terms of baud rate and transmission capacity per wavelength CDMs are crucial components of optical communication systems as they encode information onto light by modulating its amplitude and phase before transmission through optical fibers Josuke Ozaki from NTT Innovative Devices Corporation in Japan emphasizes the importance of optical transmission systems with increased data rates in enabling services like video distribution and web conferencing such as video distribution and web conferencing services and services that more enrich our lives are expected to be introduced in the future,” said Ozaki The lack of sufficient optical transmission capacity poses challenges in realizing new convenient services and building a data-driven society An additional benefit of the development of an optical transmitter that covers the C+L band in a single module is the promotion of flexible network operation and reduced equipment costs Ozaki will present these impressive results at OFC a premier global event for optical communications and networking scheduled to take place as a hybrid event from 24 – 28 March 2024 at the San Diego Convention Center which denotes the number of signal changes occurring in a communication channel per second serves as a measure of data transmission speed Higher baud rates require increased bandwidth for each modulation signal resulting in fewer channels transmitted in the conventional C-band extending the wavelength bandwidth from the C-band to the L-band Modulators made from the InP semiconductor exhibit excellent optical and radio frequency characteristics these modulators have faced challenges in extending their wavelength range due to strong wavelength dependence Researchers have overcome this obstacle by developing an innovative InP modulator chip featuring an optimized semiconductor layer and waveguide structure capable of operating over a wide range they achieved the world’s first CDM with an InP modulator chip that can transmit in the C+L band the package body measures just 11.9 × 29.8 × 4.35 mm³ the new CDM exhibited an electro-optic 3-dB bandwidth exceeding 90 GHz insertion loss at maximum transmission below 8 dB To demonstrate the capabilities of the new CDM researchers conducted experiments using 180 Gbaud probabilistically constellation-shaped 144-level quadrature amplitude modulation (PCS-144QAM) signals with a net bit rate of 1.8 Tbps (terabytes per second) achieved over an 80-kilometer standard single-mode fiber in the C+L band This marks the first demonstration of an InP-based CDM operating in the C+L bands and sets a world record for transmission capacity per wavelength in a CDM Alpha samples of the CDM are now ready for shipping from the NTT Innovative Devices Corporation the next step is to further increase the baud rate to achieve even higher transmission speeds To accomplish this, new modulator structures and assembly configurations, including a driver die and package, must be developed to achieve higher electro-optic bandwidth while reducing power consumption and form factor the development of the compact indium phosphide (InP)-based coherent driver modulator (CDM) represents a significant advancement in the field of optical communications and networking with its record-high baud rate and transmission capacity per wavelength opens up new possibilities for data transmission in an era of increasing data traffic By achieving an unprecedented net bit rate of 1.8 Tbps (terabytes per second) over 80 kilometers in the C+L band this new CDM sets a world record and demonstrates its potential for revolutionizing optical communication systems The research presented at OFC by Josuke Ozaki and the team showcases the immense possibilities of InP modulator chips and their impact on realizing high-speed As the demand for higher data rates and improved optical transmission capacity continues to grow the advancements made in the development of CDMs will play a crucial role in enabling future services and shaping a data-driven society a premier global event for optical communications and networking draws attendees from across the globe to a conference and exhibition that showcases the latest industry advancements and emerging technologies This event provides a platform for start-ups to debut their innovations and for industry leaders to set the course for the future An exciting series of programs and events will comprehensively cover the entire ecosystem with a focus on inclusivity is the society dedicated to advancing optics and photonics worldwide Optica has been the leading organization for scientists and others interested in the science of light Optica actively promotes the generation, application, archiving, and dissemination of knowledge in the field. Through its renowned publications, meetings, online resources, and in-person activities, Optica drives discoveries, shapes real-life applications, and accelerates scientific, technical, and educational achievements. To learn more, visit Optica.org Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter for engaging articles Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com