Today, for the first time in more than half a century, President Biden is hosting the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to catalyze action for the millions of Americans struggling with food insecurity and diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. The Conference will lay out a transformational vision for ending hunger and reducing diet-related disease by 2030 all while closing disparities among the communities that are impacted most.

Achieving our goals will require more than just the resources of the federal government. Thats why, this summer, the White House launched a nationwide call to action to meet the ambitious goals laid out by the President. Across the whole of society, Americans responded and advanced more than $8 billion in private- and public-sector commitments. These range from bold philanthropic contributions and in-kind donations to community-based organizations, to catalytic investments in new businesses and new ways of screening for and integrating nutrition into health care delivery. At least $2.5 billion will be invested in start-up companies that are pioneering solutions to hunger and food insecurity. Over $4 billion will be dedicated toward philanthropy that improves access to nutritious food, promotes healthy choices, and increases physical activity.

Today, the White House announces a historic package of new actions that business, civic, academic, and philanthropic leaders will take to end hunger and to reduce diet-related disease.

Pillar 1 Improve Food Access and Affordability

Pillar 2 Integrate Nutrition and Health

Pillar 3 Empower Consumers to Make and Have Access to Healthy Choices

Pillar 4 Support Physical Activity for All

Pillar 5 Enhance Nutrition and Food Security Research

Each of these commitments demonstrates the tremendous impact that is possible when all sectors of society come together in service of a common goal. The Biden-Harris Administration looks forward to working with all of these extraordinary leaders and to the many more that will come forward to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease by 2030.

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FACT SHEET: The Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $8 Billion in New Commitments as Part of Call to Action for White House Conference on...

Security News Jay Fitzgerald September 28, 2022, 02:37 PM EDT

One of the most important things that we can help our customers with is just bringing them the right intelligence, the right content, says CEO Bryan Palma.

Introducing a new partner program and product initiatives arent the only things Trellix has been unveiling of late.

The cybersecurity giant announced just prior to this weeks Trellix Expand 2022 conference that it was creating a new advanced research center within the company to enhance its global threat intelligence capabilities.

One of the most important things that we can help our customers with is just bringing them the right intelligence, the right content, said Bryan Palma, chief executive of the San Jose, Calif.-based Trellix, the major provider of XDR offerings.

[RELATED STORY: Trellix Channel Chief Shares How to Build a Services Practice with XDR]

Palma told CRN that creating the new center entailed pulling together units from the old FireEye and McAfee Enterprise entities that were combined earlier this year to create Trellix, which is owned by private equity firm Symphony Technology Group.

Weve got some of the most talented researchers and investigators in the business, Palma said. With the amount of installed technology we have, we see a lot of telemetry which helps us create the necessary intelligence to power our systems and specifically to power our XDR platform.

The Advanced Research Center is the coming together of multiple research and product research capabilities within Trellix, Aparna Rayasan, chief products officer at Trellix, told CRN.

She said the new center, which employs nearly 300 employees, is built on five pillars of focus: product research and development, threat intelligence, adversarial resilience and advocacy, research engineering, and data science.

Each pillar contributes to better intelligence gathering and analysis, as well as better products and services in general, she said.

It is creating efficiencies, she said. Its creating the differentiator in our products. And its also helping us mine vast data. Its definitely covering much more surface areas than we would have otherwise.

Rayasan, who is currently conducting a search for a permanent director of the new center, said she absolutely sees the center expanding in the future.

In particular, she praised the threat-intelligence unit and said its actively hiring highly experienced personnel. She noted that many of Trellixs threat-intel employees hail from previous positions within the U.S. military and government agencies.

The center has already identified one cybersecurity threat thats garnered some attention over the past week a 15-year-old vulnerability in the open source Python programming language thats still lurking in existing codes and that theoretically puts at risk 350,000 open-source coding projects.

Douglas McKee, director of vulnerability research at Trellix, said his team found no recent malicious use of the Python vulnerability. But the vulnerability, if left unpatched, could still be used to launch supply-side attacks, even if it was created in 2007, he said.

McKee, whose team is now part of Trellixs new advanced research center, said hes hoping and expecting further intelligence

Im really excited to see Trellix put together this advanced threat center, he said. (It) helps combine a bunch of elite researchers towards a common goal. I think its really going to be a positive impact for the company and the industry moving forward.

Jay Fitzgerald is a senior editor covering cybersecurity for CRN.Jay previously freelanced for the Boston Globe, Boston Business Journal, Boston magazine, Banker & Tradesman, MassterList.com, Harvard Business Schools Working Knowledge, the National Bureau of Economic Research and other entities. He can be reached at jfitzgerald@thechannelcompany.com.

Read more:
Trellix Forms Advanced Research Center To Boost Intelligence And Product Capabilities - CRN

The following section describes a series of morphological measurements of B. subtilis macrocolonies response to one-sided CHX exposure. The first subsection details changes related to macrocolony growth and expansion, followed by a second subsection which focuses on GFP signal intensity and additional phenomena.

Macrocolony growth and expansion. (a) Fluorescent images of B. subtilis macrocolony development over a period of 3days. CHX droplet is located horizontally to the right of the macrocolonies in each image, at a distance of 1cm from the macrocolony center. (b) Total coverage area ((upmu)m(^2)) of macrocolonies.

Figure1a shows the original macrocolony images, as obtained by fluorescent microscopy 24, 48 and 72h after initial seeding. On a macro-scale, Fig.1b demonstrates that there is an inverse relationship between the distance of CHX from the seeding point to the expansion rate of the macrocolony. Macrocolonies that were seeded with CHX at 1cm (closest) distance exhibited statistically significant reductions in expansion over all 3days. In contrast, macrocolonies with CHX at 1.5cm were smaller in a statistically significant manner only on day 3, while 2cm macrocolonies did not differ from control on any of the days. Table1 summarizes the relevant p-values (two-sided t-Test).

The morphological changes that occur as a result of CHX proximity can be seen on day 2 and 3-colony periphery on the exposed (i.e., right-hand) side of the macrocolony is notably thinner than that on the unexposed (i.e., left-hand) side (Fig.1a). In order to quantify the morphological changes that occur in B. subtilis macrocolonies as a result of proximity to CHX source during maturation, a series of computational measurements were applied to the images (Fig.2a): firstly, the macrocolony was segmented into an exposed and unexposed sides by a vertical cut through the macrocolony that directly passes through the colony center (i.e., seeding point)the separating line is shown in yellow. For each macrocolony, a binary image was obtained using Otsus thresholding method. For each macrocolony, an outer contour surrounding the entire macrocolony was determined using a border following algorithm applied on binary images from the previous stepthe resulting contour is shown in red. For both the exposed and unexposed sides, a half-contour was mirrored around the separating line. The resulting mirrored contours can be seen in Fig.2a, middle column-top image shows the unexposed side contour, as it was mirrored onto the exposed side, while the bottom image does the same for the contour of the exposed side. Each one of the two contours is then fitted to an ellipse, shown in whiteFig.2a, rightmost column. The semi-major and semi-minor axes of the fitted ellipses were measured.

Illustration of inhibition measurement at the periphery. (a) The macrocolony is divided vertically into unexposed (left) and exposed (right) halves. The CHX spot is horizontal to the right of the macrocolony in each image. Each macrocolony half is separately mirrored and the resulting contour fitted to an ellipse. Red background in leftmost image reflects the Euclidean distance of each pixel from the CHX source. Outer contours are shown in bright red. (b) Colony periphery deformation analysis. At each distance from CHX source (control and 1/1.5/2cm) the ratio between horizontal (left) and vertical (right) radii between the unexposed and exposed halves is shown.

Figure2b demonstrates the differences in morphology that occur between the exposed and unexposed sides, both in the horizontal (left) and vertical (right) planes. The loss of symmetry that occurs in macrocolonies as a result of CHX proximity on day 3 is statistically significant in the horizontal and vertical planes only in macrocolonies with CHX placed at a distance of 1cm. Thus, changes in morphology are directly correlated to the distance from the CHX source. Table2 summarizes the relevant p-values (two-sided t-Test).

Illustration of inhibition measurement at the core. (a) Illustration of inner core segmentation with mirroring and fitting to ellipse. (b) Colony core deformation analysis. At each distance from CHX source (control and 1/1.5/2cm) the ratio between horizontal (left) and vertical (right) radii between the unexposed and exposed halves is shown.

Figure3a illustrates the same image processing pipeline, applied to the colony core, rather than the periphery. Figure3b demonstrates that no comparable changes in morphology occur at the colony core, whether in the horizontal (left) or vertical (right) planes. Indeed, no statistically significant loss of symmetry was observed at the colony core, regardless of distance from CHX source.

Figure3b shows that on day 3, macrocolony core did not differ in a statistically significant manner from the control, regardless of CHX proximity. The colony core is therefore more preserved in structure than colony periphery (or more resistant to CHX). Table3 summarizes the relevant p-values (two-sided t-Test).

Figure 4a illustrates the relevant regions of the macrocolony - the exposed and unexposed (control) periphery and core. Figure4b demonstrates how pixel intensity is affected by proximity to CHX source: average pixel intensity at the exposed/control areas is shown for both periphery (orange) and core (blue) regions on day 3. In other words, for each macrocolony, the ratio between average pixel intensity of the exposed and unexposed halves was calculated and compared at the periphery and core regions. Statistically significant differences in values were found in periphery of macrocolonies that were grown at distance 1cm from CHX, as well as core of macrocolonies that were grown at distance 1.5cm from CHX. Thus, at these distances, the macrocolony is affected both by morphological deformation as well as changes in GFP intensity.

Pixel intensity calculation. (a) Image illustrating the different areas within the macrocolony. CHX source lies directly horizontally to the right. (b) Ratio of intensity average between unexposed and exposed sides of the macrocolony is shown separately for the periphery (orange) and the core (blue). For control images, unexposed and exposed sides were determined via data augmentation as average ratio of left vs. right halves, top vs. bottom halves and a combination of upper left and bottom right quadrants vs. upper right and bottom left quadrants. The shorthand ns indicates non-significant p-value (>0.05).

Figure5a illustrates how distance from CHX is determined for each pixel in the macrocolony. Euclidean distance was used for the calculations. In Fig. 5b, bacterial cells at the leading edge of the macrocolonies are those that are located at the outermost layer of the macrocolony periphery. Due to the curvature of the macrocolony, points along the leading edge are located at varying distances from the CHX source (Fig.5b). In order to characterize the nature of relationship between pixel intensity and distance to CHX, pixel intensities along the leading edge were plotted in Fig.5b: red dots represent pixels along the leading edge of the exposed side of a macrocolony grown at 1cm from CHX, while blue dots represent pixels along the leading edge of the exposed side of a macrocolony grown at 2cm from CHX. Given both sets of pixel intensity values, a linear regression model was applied to bothas can be seen in Fig.5b, there is a linear correlative relationship between Euclidean distances and pixel intensities. This relationship is stronger when CHX is located closer to the macrocolony centerfor example, in the images that are shown in Fig.5b, linear approximation revealed that 1cm macrocolonies are characterized by a slope that is significantly higher (red) than that of the 2cm macrocolonies (blue). This finding signifies the linear relationship between GFP signal intensity of cells located at the leading edge of the macrocolony to their distance from the CHX source.

Linear regression model for pixel intensity at the leading edge as function of Euclidean distance from CHX source. (a) Illustration demonstrating the distance calculation between the CHX source (red dot) to each pixel within the macrocolony. (b) (Top) B. subtilis macrocolonies on day 3 at 1cm (left) and 2cm (right) distances from CHX source. (bottom) Intensities of pixels located at the leading edge (highlighted 20 pixels-wide section from the outer rim) of the exposed half of the macrocolony: red pixels originate from 1cm macrocolony, blue pixels originate from 2cm macrocolony. Linear regression lines demonstrate that at 1cm, pixel intensity is correlated to the distance from CHX source, while no such effect is seen at 2cm macrocolony.

Crescent-shaped morphology occurring at CHX distances of 0.5cm. (a) Top row illustrates the macrocolony morphology over a period of 3daysthe change in morphology appears in the form of crescent-shaped colonies. (b) Expansion comparison with control macrocolonies. (c) Illustration depicting several relevant distances when CHX is placed at 0.5cm-average radius of a mature B. subtilis macrocolony on day 1, average radius of a CHX droplet. (d) Representative image of macrocolony on day 1, with CHX (color corrected for visual clarity) shown to the right.

Bright field images of expanding macrocolonies. (a) Bright field images of expanding B. subtilis macrocolonies grown in proximity to CHX at 1/1.5/2cm. CHX droplet is seen to the right of the macrocolonies. (b) Cross-section of agar substrate seeded with a macrocolony and CHX droplet.

As CHX is placed closer to the macrocolony, it exerts greater inhibitory effect, resulting in increasing deformation of the macrocolony on the side closer to the antimicrobial source. However, in the case when CHX is placed at 0.5cm from the initial point of seeding the macrocolony only develops towards the unexposed sideFig.6a shows the growth of a sample macrocolony over a period of 3days (left-to-right). Starting from day 1, the macrocolony appears to grow only on the side opposite CHX location. On average, control macrocolonies expand on day 1 to a radius of 0.3cm. CHX droplet is on average 0.2cm in radius. Hence, even when CHX is placed at a distance of 0.5cm, the macrocolonies have enough potential space to expand to 0.3cm. However, Fig.6d demonstrates that despite the fact that there is sufficient unoccupied space in front of the macrocolony to expand into (indeed, equal to that required by control macrocolonies which are uninhibited by CHX), the macrocolony does not expand towards the exposed side at all. Rather, it expands towards the opposite side and consequently assumes a unique crescent shape starting from day 1 onwards.

Figure7a shows bright field images of B. subtilis macrocolonies, with CHX droplets seen to their right. This visualization reveals a bright formation in the agar substrate, between macrocolony and CHX, undetected in the fluorescent images. This structure is embedded into the agar throughout its entire width, as seen in Fig.7b. Over a period of 3days, its shape changes from concave to convex, with it seemingly engulfing the CHX droplet. More interestingly, the appearance of the agar at both sides of the formation is uneven, best visualized in Fig.7b, where the agar on the CHX side appears muddy , unlike the one on the macrocolony side.

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An open-source computational tool for measuring bacterial biofilm morphology and growth kinetics upon one-sided exposure to an antimicrobial source |...

Originally created by Guido van Rossum in 1991, Python is a versatile programming language used by makers on the Raspberry Pi, system administrators in the data center, and even by Industrial Light and Magic to bring our movies to life.

Python is a great language to learn, and thanks to the Raspberry Pi for the past decade there have been countless tutorials covering the gamut of programming projects.

Whether you are a Python veteran, a pythonista or a complete newcomer to the language, installing Python on Windows is an easy task. In this how to we will walk you through installing Python 3 on Windows and show two editors, one for beginners and the other for intermediate and advanced users, and how you can get coding with this fantastic language.

The installation process for Python 3 on Windows is simple, with only a couple of extra steps that we have to follow. These steps enable us to access Python from anywhere on our system and install software using its built-in package manager. Installing Python in this manner enables the creation of projects that work with the operating system, for example notifications and automated system tasks.

1. Open a browser to the Python website and download the Windows installer.

2. Double click on the downloaded file and install Python for all users, and ensure that Python is added to your path. Click on Install now to begin. Adding Python to the path will enable us to use the Python interpreter from any part of the filesystem.

3. After the installation is complete, click Disable path length limit and then Close. Disabling the path length limit means we can use more than 260 characters in a file path.

4. Click Close to end the installation.

1. Open a Command Prompt and type python then press Enter.

2. Create a short Python script that uses a for loop to print a message to the Python shell ten times. Press space four times to indent the second line, otherwise Python will produce an error. Press Enter to run the code.

Python comes with its own package manager, pip, that is used to install, update and remove modules of pre-written Python code. These modules provide us with extra functionality. To demonstrate we will use pip to install the pyjokes module, a collection of programmer jokes.

1. Open a Command Prompt and use pip to install pyjokes then press Enter.

2. Open the Python interpreter.

3. Import the pyjokes module and then print a joke from the module. In our case, we got a hip hip hurray take on an array containing two hips.

4. More modules can be found using the PyPi Package Index.

If you have never written a line of Python code, then Mu is for you. Created by Nicholas Tollervey, Mu is designed with beginners in mind. The simple interface means we can focus on our code. But dont underestimate Mu as under the hood we have tools to validate our code and to work with a diverse range of boards such as Raspberry Pi Pico, Adafruit CircuitPython and many MicroPython boards, including those from Lego.

1. Open a browser to the Mu website and download the Windows installer.

2. Go to the Downloads folder and double click the Mu file to begin installation.

3. Accept the license agreement and click Install. The install process will take a few moments to complete.

4. Click on Launch Mu Editor and then click Finish. This will close the installer and start Mu.

5. Wait for Mu to start. Mus first launch can take some time to complete, subsequent boots will be much faster.

Mu was designed with beginners in mind and this is reflected in the user interface. It is uncluttered and easy to understand.

The user interface is broken down into three areas.

We can easily write Python code in Mu. The default is to write Python 3 code, to be run on our machine. This is where the ease of Mu works against it, as there is no means to install Python modules. Modules are libraries of code that can be used to add new features, for example RPi.GPIO and GPIO Zero are modules that enable Python to talk to the Raspberry Pi GPIO.

If you are starting out with Python, Mu is an excellent choice to introduce the language.

Mu has one feature that elevates it above other beginner editors. Mu has a Mode button which can be used to write Python, MicroPython and CircuitPython.

2. Select the Mode from the list. Mu comes with a plethora of modes. We can write Python 3, make games using PyGame Zero or build websites/apps using Flask. Write MicroPython for the Raspberry Pi Pico, micro:bit. ESP, Pyboard and Lego Spike. Or we can use Adafruits CircuitPython to create physical computing projects.

Connecting a Raspberry Pi Pico, MicroPython or CircuitPython board will trigger Mu to ask if we would like to change the mode to match the board. To demonstrate this well write a short project to blink the Pcios onboard LED.

To follow this part of the how to you will need a Raspberry Pi Pico.

1. With Mu open, connect a Raspberry Pi Pico to your computer.

2. Using the pop-up, change the mode for the Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040).

3. The Mu editor is now in RP2040 mode, so click on REPL to open the MicroPython shell (REPL) on the Pico.

4. In the editor import two modules, first to enable access to the GPIO, the second to add pauses to the code.

5. Create an object, led and use it to set the onboard LED as an output. For the Raspberry Pi Pico W use the line of code with LED, for the original Pico use the line of code with 25. The Pico has the LED connected to GPIO 25, but the Pico W does not.

Raspberry Pi Pico W

Raspberry Pi Pico

6. Create a for loop that iterates 10 times, each time the loop runs it will toggle the LED on / off, print a message to the REPL and sleep for 0.1 seconds.

7. Click Save and save the file as blink.py to your computer.

8. Click Run to start the code on the Pico. The LED on the Pico will blink on and off and the REPL will show the BLINK message.

You know your stuff, and you need a lightweight editor to get your Python code done. Sure you can install Visual Studio Code, PyCharm etc. But if you just need to edit a few project files, Notepad++ is for you. Notepad++ is a Swiss Army Knife of an editor, and it works exceptionally well with Python. Here we will install Notepad++ and set it up to run our Python code at the press of a button.

Note that you will need to install the Python 3 interpreter, the steps for which are at the start of this how to.

1. Open a browser to the Notepad++ website and download the latest Windows installer.

2. In the your Downloads folder, double click on the file to start the installer.

3. Set your preferred language and click OK.

4. Select Next.

5. Select I Agree.

6. Click Next.

7. Click Next.

8. Click Install to begin the process.

9. Check Run Notepad++ and click Finish to end the installation and open Notepad++.

Notepad++ has a more involved user interface than Mu, and this reflects the flexibility of the editor. Notepad++ is much more than a Python editor, we can use it to write PHP, Perl, JSON etc.

1. Create a simple Python project that uses a for loop to print a message to the Python shell.

2. Save the code as for_loop.py.

3. Click on Run >> Run..

4. Click on and navigate to the Python executable file. Select the file and the path will be added to the dialog box. At the end of the path, add -i "$(FULL_CURRENT_PATH)" to force Notepad++ to open the file. Click Save.

5. Create a shortcut called Python3.10 to launch the Python interpreter then click OK. We chose ALT + SHIFT + P as it didnt conflict with other shortcuts on our system.

6. Use your shortcut to run the Python code.

See the rest here:
How To Install Python on Windows 10 and 11 - Tom's Hardware

Sabin Hashmi is currently working on Building Machine Learning based Trigger System for LHCb, CERN.

He works on Machine Learning and Deep Learning applications in High Energy Particle Physics.

INDIAai interviewed Sabin to get his perspective on AI.

It's admirable to see a physics student become an AI researcher. What inspired you to pursue a career in AI?

My passion for science and technology is my main motivation to become an AI researcher. It's always interesting to be in a domain that is advancing at a fast pace. The AI community includes people across different domains, where everyone is curious and passionate about advancements in technology and research. Physics helped me with critical thinking, and AI-based research helped in providing flexibility in research. Moving forward in the field of AI, it started getting more exciting, and I decided to pick AI as my primary research domain.

Instead of sliding away from Physics, my current research uses AI as the key-supporting tool in solving a problem that was initially done using traditional methods and transforming it into a more efficient solution using computational physics and AI.

Tell us about your PhD research in particle physics and machine learning. What are the main areas of concern?

In the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, two proton beams are accelerated to the speed of light(99.99%) and collide at the experiment sites designed to study subatomic physics. When particles collide at a very high velocity, there will be a shower of many subatomic particles within. My PhD research is primarily focused on particle reconstruction of rare decays resulting from the collision of protons at the experiment. It advances in developing a trigger system using Machine Learning that cherry-picks the particle tracks of rare decays in real-time.

The primary concern is the massive volume of data generated at each collision and designing a decision-making system that works in real time. In addition, due to the physics behind the rare decays, finding the decays of interest is challenging, and ML helps identify and characterise rare-decay tracks from other signals.

What are your current responsibilities and activities at CERN's LHCb?

The Large Hadron Collider Beauty(LHCb) Experiment primarily studies the CP violations and rare decays of particles. My area of research is focused mainly on developing a Machine Learning based pipeline for a software-based trigger system. As a developer, the responsibility includes being up-to-date on the changes happening in the detectors and software codebases, presenting progress on the research work with the collaboration of experts, and taking data-taking shifts at the experiment site.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing research in Poland as an Indian scholar?

It's great to work in a dynamic environment with a peer group of researchers who are curious to see the developments in research. Doing research abroad can open more opportunities in front of you, including working closely with the pioneers and domain experts. This approach would give great global exposure that could lead the researcher to decide how to proceed further in their research. In addition, the research space that global research institutions provide will inspire you to develop yourself as a researcher.

There are fewer disadvantages, apart from leaving the home country and the people. But it is very promising to see the research and development in India in the past few years, leading to more opportunities within the country.

What are the three most pressing societal issues you hope to address with machine learning? Or if you want to make a unique appeal for any of them?

Machine Learning is still in its early phase. I understand the developments in AI are significant, but if we consider the potential of AI for a good cause, we are still yet to be there. There is a wide range of issues we can solve using AI. It is where the multi-domain expertise makes AI more prominent. For instance, AI-based advancements in healthcare are novel cases that pique our interest. We had developments in healthcare in the past, but AI gave a different approach to solving the problems we have had for decades. Some of the latest developments in AI-based drug delivery, target identification for cancer cure, etc., are on the top of the list. In addition, AI shows promises to predict weather and natural calamities with more accuracy than the traditional methods we had in the past.

In a nutshell, the potential of AI is vast. Rather than considering it a different domain altogether, I'd like to consider it a supporting tool that helps researchers look at the problem from a different angle. We are gradually transforming the existing technology into a novel system embedded with ML and AI.

What do you think about India's AI education system? How does it measure up to the global situation?

The developments in India's AI are on a global scale. There're long-term and short-term courses that you can enrol in from prestigious colleges and other institutions in India. Depending on the career path, with some research, it is easy to decide on the course. In addition, there are many more opportunities to study courses online from experts.

What, in your opinion, should be upgraded at Indian universities to advance AI? What should their course of action be?

AI research is a vast domain, so the course can be as broad as the domain would be. Some courses revolve around the same concepts and how these are developed in the programming side of research. But, AI is based on solid fundamentals of Mathematics and Statistics. Universities focused on advanced AI should be a place for students interested in learning and developing their problems and finding solutions using advanced computational tools.

Apart from that, the Universities can develop associated research labs where the experts can design short-term courses and support the AI researchers who are really into AI. Note that it would be best to get to the domain of computational skills and novel tools like AI in a different environment than that of traditional classes.

What advice do you give Indian students working in or aspiring to enter the ML field?

There are a lot of research opportunities out there. AI is in the early phase of development, and it is growing and developing quickly. It is one of the most exciting fields in which I have worked. The job prospects are open, and so is the competition. We are on the road where we have a long way to go, and we need more people interested in keeping the journey going. The question is, is it something you'd like to do? If yes, I'd suggest you start with getting a good grip on Mathematics, Probability, Calculus, and Statistics. Then, get a quick guide on what AI research is all about, try out small projects closely aligned with your current project, and how you can solve the problem using ML or even Simple Data Analysis using Programming.

Above all, Learn coding not by reading books but by coding!

Which books and resources would you recommend to ML aspirants?

There are a lot of resources available. The beauty of the community is that most of the research is open-source, where you can see the codebase and even contribute to the project.

To get started, pick up miniature introductory courses you can do for free, work on projects and slowly increase the challenges on the projects, learn git and build a git portfolio. In addition, participate in ML competitions and hackathons, where you can cross-check different approaches by other participants. Out of all this, try different methods and projects and keep curious.

Read more here:
Learn to code not by reading books but by coding - Sabin Hashmi, Project Associate, CERN, Switzerland - INDIAai

Inside the nonprofit giving a 'new life for girls'

New Life For Girls is celebrating 50 years in York County this year.

Tina Locurto, York Dispatch

Tabitha Pacheco was certain if she could just move away from her toxic life in New Jersey, that things would get better.

She would stop using heroin. She would seek the help she needed. Moving to Pennsylvania was her answer.

Unfortunately, the things she strived for didn't happen.

I got myself into trouble here, Pacheco said. I got a DUI with my kids in the car, and I wound up in Cumberland County Prison.

Thats where she first heard about New Life For Girls but Pacheco initially didnt want anything to do with it.

The 12-month-long Christian-taught rehabilitation program provides housing for women struggling with addiction. Strict rules like no phone use and limited time off the property make it challenging for those first entering.

But, after Pacheco messed up over and over again she finally gave the program a try.

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New Life For Girls is celebrating 50 years in York County this year. Rehabilitation comes in the form of counseling, GED prep courses, self-discipline and academic, vocational and work ethics training.

The program requires students to live in dorm-style rooms with multiple roommates. Women with children are welcome, too, and are offered private living accommodations.

When Pacheco first got to New Life For Girls, it was just herself and her two daughters.

It's me and my two little broken girls, because I was a mess, Pacheco said. I'd be in the chapel at night crying out, God, please help me to be a better mother.

Depending on the severity of substance abuse, many women will first complete programming at an introduction center to wean off drugs or alcohol before even coming to New Life For Girls.

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They will then be required to complete the 12-month course before moving to graduation into the Reentry and Observation Program.

This program offers more luxuries for women who finish the 12 months. Though Reentry and Observation is not mandatory, many women chose to stay at New Life For Girls in order to find housing, secure a job and figure out their life plan.

While women are not allowed to leave the property on their own, staff members organize group shopping trips and accompany women to visit family members. Program students are also able to use recreation facilities like the basketball courts or stroll around the property, Pacheco said.

In addition, New Life For Girls has a nursery for young children. Faculty members take care of children while their mothers attend classes and complete chores until 4 p.m., when the mothers take over to be with their kids.

Children who are school-aged get picked up by a bus to attend Northeastern School District. Currently, there are children as young as five months and as old as eight years living at the facility.

New Life For Girls was founded in 1972 by Cookie Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was addicted to drugs while living in New York City. She eventually sought help from Teen Challenge Ministry a program at the time offered primarily to men.

After getting clean, Rodriguez felt compelled to open a program specifically for women, according to New Life For Girls Executive Director Jos Pacheco.

"She saw that there was a need to be able to get these women out of the city of New York, out of their environment, and bring them somewhere," he said. "They ended up in York County."

Jos Pacheco started working at New Life For Girls 49 years ago. He is retiring Oct. 1 and will be replaced by current assistant director Kathy Kelly Brown.

There is a $140 one-time processing fee for women who first join. If a woman is unable to pay, however, the fee is waived.

Financial support for New Life For Girls primarily comes from donations from individuals, groups and churches.

Tabitha Pacheco, who first came to New Life For Girls out of prison, now works for the organization overseeing the prison ministry.

She found a new life within the program and, ultimately, a life partner as well. After she graduated, she returned and married the program's director.

"I get to work in the prisons where I came from," Pacheco said. "I get to speak at the same prison New Life From Girls got me from. They let me in and out of the doors freely and so it's just really cool and like a complete turnaround for me."

Many faculty working at New Life For Girls at one point were involved in the program themselves Like Pacheco and Brown.

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"I was a functioning, dysfunctional person. Just broken and empty on the inside until I found out about the program," Brown said. "New Life For Girls gave me a sense of purpose and a passion for other people and there was no looking back."

Some say New Life For Girls is like a "fishbowl" environment, Brown said.

She referenced a common expression said at the nonprofit "sandpaper sisters."

"We kind of rub up against each other the good, the bad and the ugly," Brown said. "I always tell the ladies, you make me better and I make you better."

On the 27-acre property sits a Christian cross-shaped building where all students in the program eat, sleep and learn.

Sounds of nature and the soft rustle of trees mix with lectures being taught and lives reshaping.

"This is a mountain where miracles take place," Brown said. "Lives are transformed."

Read more:
'Lives are transformed': Addiction recovery program celebrates 50 years - York Dispatch