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A computer built to mimic the brain's neural networks produces similar results to that of the best brain-simulation supercomputer software currently used for neural-signaling research, finds a new study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Neuroscience. Tested for accuracy, speed and energy efficiency, this custom-built computer named SpiNNaker, has the potential to overcome the speed and power consumption problems of conventional supercomputers. The aim is to advance our knowledge of neural processing in the brain, to include learning and disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. "SpiNNaker can support detailed biological models of the cortex -- the outer layer of the brain that receives and processes information from the senses -- delivering results very similar to those from an equivalent supercomputer software simulation," says Dr. Sacha van Albada, lead author of this study and leader of the Theoretical Neuroanatomy group at the Jülich Research Centre, Germany. "The ability to run large-scale detailed neural networks quickly and at low power consumption will advance robotics research and facilitate studies on learning and brain disorders." The human brain is extremely complex, comprising 100 billion interconnected brain cells. We understand how individual neurons and their components behave and communicate with each other and on the larger scale, which areas of the brain are used for sensory perception, action and cognition. However, we know less about the translation of neural activity into behavior, such as turning thought into muscle movement. Supercomputer software has helped by simulating the exchange of signals between neurons, but even the best software run on the fastest supercomputers to date can only simulate 1% of the human brain. "It is presently unclear which computer architecture is best suited to study whole-brain networks efficiently. The European Human Brain Project and Jülich Research Centre have performed extensive research to identify the best strategy for this highly complex problem. Today's supercomputers require several minutes to simulate one second of real time, so studies on processes like learning, which take hours and days in real time are currently out of reach." explains Professor Markus Diesmann, co-author, head of the Computational and Systems Neuroscience department at the Jülich Research Centre. He continues, "There is a huge gap between the energy consumption of the brain and today's supercomputers. Neuromorphic (brain-inspired) computing allows us to investigate how close we can get to the energy efficiency of the brain using electronics." Developed over the past 15 years and based on the structure and function of the human brain, SpiNNaker -- part of the Neuromorphic Computing Platform of the Human Brain Project -- is a custom-built computer composed of half a million of simple computing elements controlled by its own software. The researchers compared the accuracy, speed and energy efficiency of SpiNNaker with that of NEST -- a specialist supercomputer software currently in use for brain neuron-signaling research. "The simulations run on NEST and SpiNNaker showed very similar results," reports Steve Furber, co-author and Professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Manchester, UK. "This is the first time such a detailed simulation of the cortex has been run on SpiNNaker, or on any neuromorphic platform. SpiNNaker comprises 600 circuit boards incorporating over 500,000 small processors in total. The simulation described in this study used just six boards -- 1% of the total capability of the machine. The findings from our research will improve the software to reduce this to a single board." Van Albada shares her future aspirations for SpiNNaker, "We hope for increasingly large real-time simulations with these neuromorphic computing systems. In the Human Brain Project, we already work with neuroroboticists who hope to use them for robotic control." Story Source: Materials provided by Frontiers. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Journal Reference: Sacha J. van Albada, Andrew G. Rowley, Johanna Senk, Michael Hopkins, Maximilian Schmidt, Alan B. Stokes, David R. Lester, Markus Diesmann, Steve B. Furber. Performance Comparison of the Digital Neuromorphic Hardware SpiNNaker and the Neural Network Simulation Software NEST for a Full-Scale Cortical Microcircuit Model. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2018; 12 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00291

For all of the dazzle of its rapidly evolving software portfolio, which includes a self-monitoring and self-patching database that also configures itself, as well as numerous cloud applications, Oracle has begun showing its credibility as a hardware vendor. Hardware has commoditized and will not return to the prominence it had in the early days of the tech era. However, commoditization brings new opportunities simply because price-performance numbers work better. Under Oracle's tutelage, hardware has found a disciplined and important niche supporting software's expanding demands. All of this started well before Oracle became involved in hardware with its purchase of Sun Microsystems. In the very earliest days of computing, the central computer did everything including controlling peripherals, which took up a lot of expensive cycles. Then slowly the box housing the CPU became crowded with processor and memory-based controllers for everything from disk drives to displays. In the process, computing got faster and more versatile, in part because the CPU was doing less and could stick to its knitting. Risk Reduction What Oracle introduced at OpenWorld 2018 is in some ways akin to installing a controller or a graphics engine, but this time the added processing power is outside the box in multiple racks. Just as with those earlier refinements, new requirements have been driving new approaches to IT. In this case, it's all about security. One of the problems that keeps system architects up at night is maintaining the security of what's going on in memory. Memory operations are the easiest place to disrupt a system's operations because it's only in memory that data is active and changeable. In conventional storage it just sits there. So meeting the security challenges in the market today requires insulating customer data in memory from the outside world. Oracle has developed a two-tier strategy in its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure of having one computer -- or set of them -- interfacing with the Internet, and another set running customer data. In OCI, the IT perimeter is patrolled by bare metal servers that separate the Internet from operational computers holding and performing operations on customer data. Outsiders can't access customer data to corrupt it. This ensures that customer data never is exposed on the machine that faces a hostile world. Other aspects of Oracle's autonomous database and its security functions more easily can patrol the control environment as well as the processing environment, while reducing exposure to a variety of risks. New Form of Enterprise Computing? Oracle introduced the Gen2 Cloud with these features and the name should be taken seriously; it's not simply marketing hype. Now the real question becomes whether or how fast the industry will adopt this strategy. On the plus side, OCI is an oasis in a time of drought, but on the minus side it comes from a vendor that makes no bones about wanting to integrate solutions vertically, thus locking out competition. How comfortable do you feel with all your eggs in that basket? The answers to these issues are several and admittedly idiosyncratic. Oracle loves standards and is involved in more than 200 standards-setting bodies. Standards involve multiple vendors and their products and provide an amount of openness. At first blush, much of the strategy for Gen2 Cloud looks to come from an assemblage of off-the-shelf parts. Of course, it also involves Oracle's standards-based, but still proprietary, autonomous database. That database runs on proprietary hardware such as Exadata -- a specialized device that keeps databases in memory for optimum performance. Controller board makers all built to the standards of the greater architecture -- the CPU instruction set, bus, and operating system, for instance. If the analogy holds, there's no reason we can't expect that a new form of enterprise computing can't support a similar approach with OCI or some variant of it. My Two Bits For much of IT's history, compute power was expensive and users went to great lengths to optimize its use. However, expense has ceased being an issue with Moore's Law playing out over the last half-century, and the question of adding a layer of computing simply to protect the system, or adding a layer of computing to support in-memory database activities, should not be much of an issue any more. Significantly, cloud computing can make this approach to security affordable to smaller businesses, and Oracle announced an offering that can place OCI on premises in more well-heeled organizations. As with any disruptive innovation, which is what OCI really is, there will be a lag phase as organizations come up to speed. My general observation is that as the cost of a new disruption increases, so does the time to full deployment. However, Oracle's two-pronged approach -- delivering OCI to big firms and placing OCI in the hands of most cloud users as part of a recurring charge -- could accelerate adoption and leave us with a vastly different IT landscape in the next five years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPx4vaq6pRk

When Nissan first came to India, it brought in two cars into a segment which had become hugely po[CENSORED]r - sedan and hatchback. In fact, the Japanese car maker had the first mover advantage over Renault. However, with the launch of the Duster Compact SUV, Renault raced ahead of its alliance partner and well, frankly, Nissan has been playing catch up ever since. However, now, things are looking up and that's because the company is all set to bring in an SUV into the Indian market; one that will sit above the Terrano and compete with the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Renault Captur and even the Jeep Compass. Nissan calls it the Kicks and the company will be bringing it to India in January 2019. It's a global product as far as Nissan is concerned but the one coming to India will cater to the need of the market and will be more upscale than the one that's sold globally. We got a chance to drive the global spec version of the Nissan Kicks in Dubai recently and it's surprisingly good. Now, let me state at the very beginning that the Nissan Kicks that we got our hands on, is not the one that's coming to India. So everything from the size of the vehicle to the engine it has, will not be the same as the India model. This of course means that the Kicks coming to our country will be India- specific but in terms of looks, it will borrow a lot from the global spec variant. The Kicks was essentially introduced as a replacement to the Juke and for those who were looking for an upgrade well, it was an ideal pick. Sadly, the Juke never made its way to India, so for Nissan customers, looking for a car beyond the Terrano, the Kicks would fit in ideally in this spot. On the design front, it might not be as funky looking as the Juke, but it's pretty handsome. A short wheelbase is capped by a sloping roof, heading into the taillights that can only be described as asymmetrical. Of course, you have a dual-tone roof, which actually looks pretty good and the silver with the option of the orange roof is something that will make its way to India. The V-Motion grille and the floating roofline suit the silhouette of the compact crossover. The tail lamps are angular and that adds to the drama of the SUV. The plastic cladding on side bring out the rugged looks of the SUV. This one is 4295 mm long, 1760 mm wide and the wheelbase stands at 2619 mm. Now, these dimensions differ in comparison to the India-specific model. The one coming to India is longer by 84 mm, wider by 53 mm, while wheelbase has gone up by almost 54 mm, which means there will be more space between the wheels and that also translates into more legroom for the rear passengers. It is taller too and expect the ground clearance to be around 200 mm which then qualifies it as a soft roader. Mind you, in global markets, it is a compact crossover. One might think that Nissan would want to go the subcompact way with the Kicks but that seems When it comes to interior features though, there's a lot that the global spec model and the India version will have in common. The cabin is a nice place to be in. The Kicks that we drove came with a flat-bottom steering wheel which also comes with steering mounted controls. Now, the car that we drove in Dubai was a base variant and so in terms of an infotainment system, there was just a single DIN system with radio and Bluetooth functionality, so yes unimpressive. But we are told that the one we'll get will come with a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system which will come with Apple Carplay and Android Auto. We expect navigation to be a part of it too but we'll wait for Nissan to reveal it. There's good amount of space up front but at the rear, there's a bit of constraint when it comes to space. With the driver's seat set to my preference, there's not enough knee room at the rear, but with the wheelbase being more in the India-spec version, expect that difficulty to crease itself out. However, there's good headroom and decent shoulder room too. As far as the engine line-up is concerned, well the one I drove came with the 1.6-litre petrol engine which churned out 116 bhp and that's more than the 1.5-litre that we're going to get in India. The 1.6-litre engine is extremely smooth and Nissan's X-Tronic CVT adds to you feeling engaged with the car. The company has paid special attention to the gear changes and they're smoother than what you expect. At high speeds, the CVT keeps up with your throttle inputs and it's smooth sailing. There's a bit of tyre noise, but nowhere is the Kicks unsure of its footing at high speeds. On smooth tarmac, that's fun, but find some roads off the beaten path and this is where the Kicks struggles. The suspension kicks back and it's not a great feeling inside the car. Mind you, the Kicks that I drove, was the global-spec version and based on an entirely different platform. So, the one that we will get will probably not have these issues as it's higher off the ground and is it uses the same setup as in the Captur, then well, it's smooth sailing. This one came with 16-inch tyres and the one that India will get comes with 17-inchers and that might make a bit of difference because when you try to chuck this one into a corner, it really is disinterested but the rubber sticks and the lighter steering makes it easier to get the car back on track. Body roll is minimal and that's a big thumbs up for Nissan. There's a lot to look forward to then as the Kicks holds a lot of potential, not only for Nissan but also for the SUV segment. The design works in Nissan's favour as it's futuristic, compact and elegant and it could help the Japanese carmaker carve out a niche in that SUV segment, something that will help it put its India plans in place and we would get more cars from the company in the bargain. It's crucial for Nissan that the Kicks hits the mark in terms of looks, drivability and even pricing. We expect it to be priced competitively and I won't be surprised if it undercuts both the Captur and the Creta in the form of introductory pricing. Come January 2019, all will be revealed and we'll get to drive the Made-for-India, in-India car too.

After rival Christie’s ended its live auctions in India after four annual events, auction house Sotheby’s is set to test the Indian market with its first sale in Mumbai on November 29. With a total of 60 pieces up for grabs, the auction house expects to make Rs 43-Rs 62.9 crore ($6-8.7 million) in its first attempt here. Christie’s had raked in $15.4 million in its first auction in Mumbai in 2013, doubling its pre-sale estimates. Of particular interest among the 31 paintings, 12 posters and photographs, 11 sculptures and six pieces of furniture up for auction by Sotheby’s is a work by Amrita Sher-Gil ,The Little Girl in Blue, which has not been seen in public for around 80 years. Expected to fetch around $2 million, the painting is the artist’s third ever to be auctioned in India and the seventh offered anywhere in the world. The headline work leading the ‘Boundless: India’ auction is a work by Tyeb Mehta titled Durga Mahishasura. Talking about the sale, Gaurav Bhatia, managing director, Sotheby’s India, says, “Interest and excitement surrounding the sale has been building up. We’ll hear more feedback after public exhibitions in Delhi and Mumbai in the coming days.” [Ad]Earning above 30000? Apply for a LIFETIME FREE Credit Card! Get upto Rs 1000 AMAZON voucher. Apply now on BankBazaar. Yamini Mehta, Sotheby’s international head of department, Indian, Himalayan and south-east Asian art/modern and contemporary south Asian art, had told us earlier about the sale in India: “We believe that India is a very important market. Our auction in Mumbai is part of our commitment to India, and we hope the market also responds.” She added, “We are seeing that Indian buyers are now bidding and buying not only from Indian sales, but also from international sales. We hope this auction will be a turning point, and believe we will plant our flag here for a long time.” She added that the Indian market is unique in its own way, because it’s just not India itself, but the whole global India diaspora that drives this market, which sets it apart from, say, China or other Asian countries. “There is a modern, inherent stability in the market, which is actually a strength.” About the artworks, she had said: “We will have works with a range starting anywhere from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 20 crore, making it an exciting auction, where there will be something for everybody.” She had added that a combination of both Indian art and Indian customers influenced their decision for a sale in India. “We think the rise in wealth and India’s status in the world just means that the time is right for Indian clients, customers, collectors and consumers to participate in our global auctions. We think that by having a much stronger presence within India also allows us to engage with our Indian collectors on a day-to-day level. And, what can be better than having an auction that brings the best of international art to India, and the best of Indian art to the world?” Get live Stock Prices from BSE and NSE and latest NAV, portfolio of Mutual Funds, calculate your tax by Income Tax Calculator, know market’s Top Gainers, Top Losers & Best Equity Funds. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron's meeting in Paris had a frosty air after the French president said the EU needed its own army. The US president tweeted on Friday to say the suggestion was "very insulting" and the continent should "pay its fair share to NATO". He had arrived in the French capital earlier that day for a weekend of events commemorating 100 years since the end of the First World War. Tensions were strained as Mr Trump and Mr Macron sat down in front of cameras at the Elysee Palace Saturday morning. The US president reiterated his complaint about Europe's NATO contribution, and said: "Different countries have to also help and it's only fair... and the president (Mr Macron) and I very much agree on that." While Mr Trump looked straight ahead, seemingly angry, Mr Macron responded: "I do agree... But it's unfair to have the European security today being assured just by the United States... I do believe that we need more European capacities - more European defence - in order to take this part of the burden." A smiling Mr Macron finished by patting the US president on the knee. Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly! 136K 2:40 AM - Nov 10, 2018 Twitter Ads info and privacy 75.1K people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy The row has soured relations between the two world leaders, who were said to have enjoyed a "bromance" when Mr Macron visited Washington DC in April. Mr Trump toasted what he called a "great relationship" after hosting the French president at the first state dinner of his administration. The two leaders are holding wide-ranging talks in Paris expected to delve deeper into European security, Syria and Iran. It comes as Mr Trump cancelled his visit to a US war cemetery due "to bad weather" as world leaders mark Armistice Day. Mr Macron's suggestion of a European army was pitched during an interview with radio station Europe 1 before a meeting of defence ministers from nine European countries to discuss how such a force would operate. He told the station that Europe needed to be less reliant on the US, especially in light of Mr Trump's decision to pull out of a Cold War-era nuclear treaty with Russia. "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the US," Mr Macron said. "When I see President Trump announcing that he's quitting a major disarmament treaty which was formed after the 1980s Euromissile crisis that hit Europe, who is the main victim? Europe and its security. "We will not protect the Europeans unless we decide to have a true European army. "We need a Europe which defends itself better alone, without just depending on the US."

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As make-up artist Kodo Nishimura sashays into a room in Tokyo balanced on pin-thin heels, he could hardly look less like a practising Buddhist monk. Immaculately made-up, sporting smoky eyeshadow, false lashes and winged eyeliner, he changes outfits three times during a presentation to starry-eyed fans. But at the Tokyo temple where his father is head monk and he assists in rituals, he appears transformed. His face is bare, and he wears the plain robes of a Buddhist cleric. It might seem like an unusual double act, but that doesn't bother 29-year-old Nishimura. "This is who I am," he said. "I am not going to try to be something else." Nishimura is primarily a make-up artist, beautifying clients ranging from popstars to pageant contestants. He spends most of the year in the United States, where he first openly indulged a passion for make-up that he kept secret as a child in Japan, hiding in the bathroom to experiment. "I would open my mum's Chanel eyeshadow palette and I would try to put it on my face. But I looked crazy, I looked like a clown," he laughs. Studying in the US, he found things were different. He discovered drag queens working at make-up stores who were happy to answer his questions. At 18, he made his first purchase: mascara and eyeliner. An internship with a make-up artist led to a job. Back home, his parents surprised him by being supportive of his career choice. A LIBERATION But he felt that something was missing. He had grown up in a Buddhist temple, playing behind its elaborate golden altar and knew one day he would have to decide whether to follow in his father's footsteps. "I wanted to know the occupation, what we do, enough to make the decision." So at 24, he enrolled in a training programme in his Buddhist Pure Land sect. It involved five sessions, each several weeks long, spread over a period of around two years. Homesick for Japan, he was excited at first, but his enthusiasm quickly faded. "The moment the doors shut, the trainers started screaming," he said. "I was like 'oh my God, what did I sign up for'?" But he persevered, returning to the United States between courses, only to have a crisis of confidence near the end. In New York, he wore make-up and jewellery, worked as a make-up artist and was open about his attraction to men. Would all that "offend the community of Buddhist monks?" he wondered. "Is it going to degrade the value of other monks?" But a senior monk brushed aside his concerns, pointing out that Japanese monks often wear non-religious clothing outside the temple and have second jobs. And he was uninterested in his sexuality. "That was like a liberation for me," Nishimura said. "That's when I felt: 'now I can be myself and be a monk as well.'" 'THERE'S NO ONE LIKE KODO' He acknowledges that his work as a make-up artist, with its focus on outward appearance, might seem at odds with a religion that prioritises the inner self. "I think in Buddhism the core message is to feel happiness, feel balanced within our hearts and to share the happiness," he said. Feeling beautiful, he believes, makes people "more generous, more attentive to helping others." Nishimura returns to Japan twice a year, helping his father at religious events like funerals. For now he can balance his two lives, but eventually he will have to decide whether to inherit his father's temple -- a prospect he admits doesn't appeal at the moment. "I don't think that being in this temple is the best way necessarily to help more people." "Make-up and heels (are)... like a bridge for me to spread my thoughts to others." He has also become an advocate for LGBT rights, and has a sideline teaching transgender women make-up tricks to amplify their feminine features. "He helps you look your best with the facial features you already have... (and) encourages transgender people to accept the way we are," said Mio Aoki, a 27-year-old transgender woman who lined up early for a front-row seat at Nishimura's make-up demonstration. "There are many make-up artists who teach people make-up, but I think there's no one like Kodo."