Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, smartphone-based proximity tracing systems became of utmost interest. Many of these systems use BLE signals to estimate the distance between two persons. The quality of this method depends on many factors and, therefore, does not always deliver accurate results. In this paper, we present a multi-channel approach to improve proximity classification, and a novel, publicly available data set that contains matched IEEE 802.11 (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) and BLE signal strength data, measured in four different environments. We have developed and evaluated a combined classification model based on BLE and IEEE 802.11 signals. Our approach significantly improves the distance classification and consequently also the contact tracing accuracy. We are able to achieve good results with our approach in everyday public transport scenarios. However, in our implementation based on IEEE 802.11 probe requests, we also encountered privacy problems and limitations due to the consistency and interval at which such probes are sent. We discuss these limitations and sketch how our approach could be improved to make it suitable for real-world deployment.

Johannesburg, the sprawling megacity once home to Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, is now birthing a uniquely South African surveillance model. In the last five years, the city has become host to a centralized, coordinated, entirely privatized mass surveillance operation. Vumacam, the company building the nationwide CCTV network, already has over 6,600 cameras and counting, more than 5,000 of which are concentrated in Johannesburg. The video footage it takes feeds into security rooms around the country, which then use all manner of AI tools like license plate recognition to track population movement and trace individuals. These tools have been enthusiastically adopted by the local security industry, grappling with the pressures of a high-crime environment.

Five years ago, this wouldn't have been possible. Neither the city's infrastructure nor existing video analytics could support sending and processing footage at the necessary scale. But then fiber coverage expanded, AI capabilities advanced, and companies abroad, seeing an opportunity, began dumping the latest surveillance technologies into the country. The local security industry, forged under the pressures of a high-crime environment, embraced the menu of options. The effect has been the rapid creation of a centralized, coordinated, entirely privatized mass surveillance operation.

It has been estimated that 1.7 million people die from Tuberculosis (TB), and more than 10.4 million new cases are reported every year worldwide. The global'End TB' strategy aims to eliminate the disease by 2030. However, realizing this goal would be challenging if there were to be a gap in treatment adherence to prescribed medication. In the context of TB and HIV coinfection, non-adherence to the medication has been associated with the incidence of drug resistance, prolonged infection, unsuccessful treatments, and death. Africa experiences a severe shortage of healthcare workers, making delivering proper healthcare difficult.

South Africa has a big problem with corruption in government supply chains. The most salient recent example would be the looting of funds during the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically the procurement of personal protective equipment in the Gauteng health department. Mark Heywood correctly asserted in the Daily Maverick that unless we introduce the certainty of punishment for corrupt public officials, we will lose the fight against corruption . The July looting and riots taught us that these events affect our daily lives. They cause job losses and food price increases and are especially hard on the youth sector.

New Jersey (United States) – A2Z Market Research published new research on Global Artificial Intelligence Drug R&D covering the micro-level of analysis by competitors and key business segments (2022-2029). The Global Artificial Intelligence Drug R&D explores a comprehensive study on various segments like opportunities, size, development, innovation, sales, and overall growth of major players. The research is carried out on primary and secondary statistics sources and it consists of both qualitative and quantitative detailing. Various factors are responsible for the market's growth trajectory, which are studied at length in the report. In addition, the report lists down the restraints that are posing threat to the global Artificial Intelligence Drug R&D market.

Rapid urbanisation in Nairobi, Kenya's capital city, has meant there's been huge growth in the number of vehicles on roads. Today, Nairobi is one of the world's most congested cities. Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) Director General Silas Kinoti has said intelligent infrastructure is helping transport networks to become more connected in an attempt to identify ways of improving experience for everyone on the road. Bird's eye view tech aims to unlock Nairobi traffic jams according to @KURAroads Director General @MuriraKinoti who believes that construction of many roads is a milestone yes but not a solution to nerve-racking snarl ups pic.twitter.com/WGHhRk9N3X He said Kenya will be seeking to emulate on their foreign counterparts like Germany to initiate usage of Artificial Intelligence(AI) to optimise traffic light control and reduce the waiting time at an intersection. "There are real world projects around the globe and the applications are continuously expanding. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be key to help us with the data which would identify patterns that would not have been seen without AI. Through continuous learning, we're able to constantly update the traffic patterns and thus traffic flow. Road Traffic monitoring involves the collection of data describing the characteristic of vehicles and their movement through road networks. Such data may be used for one of these purposes such as law enforcement, congestion and incident detection and increasing road capacity. The roads in Nairobi carry more than 60 per cent of more than two million registered vehicles, resulting in tangles of traffic stretching for miles. Earlier today, KURA top management team inspected the dualling of the Eastern Bypass Project and appreciated the progress achieved. Once the road is complete, traffic jams will be reduced and improve connectivity.@PDUDelivery "KURA being an expert in Intelligent Traffic System (ITS) with an example being Yaya Centre,we will have cameras, signals and censors in all arms of the junctions.

The ongoing Russian-Ukraine war and the unprecedented sanctions the United States and its allies have imposed on Russia could bring the world economy back to 1914, which signaled the end of early globalization and the revival of national and regional conflicts. "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes," Mark Twain is rightly or wrongly quoted as saying, which is as timely today as it was in his time. At the turn of the 20th century, capitalism was on track to conquer the global economy, creating a global market without borders, a trade regime where commodities and resources could flow freely within and across borders. But unfortunately for the world community, it didn't happen. By the beginning of the second decade, this trend of early globalization stalled and, in some cases, forestalled by the rise of nationalism and trade protectionism, not to mention the destruction of the two World Wars. For instance, increased trade protectionism limited the flow of resources and commodities across national borders.

It is better to launch products off a leaner base and, should a bank seek an acquirer, a lower cost base would also help strengthen valuations. While the jury is still out on whether the current market uncertainty will result in an imminent recession or a prolonged period of slow growth, the fact is that growth has slowed. As growth is unlikely to quicken in the medium term, we have, without question, entered the late cycle. Compounding this situation is the continued threat posed by fintechs and big technology companies, as they take stakes in banking businesses. The call to action is urgent: whether a bank is a leader and seeks to "protect" returns or is one of the underperformers looking to turn the business around and push returns above the cost of equity, the time for bold and critical moves is now.

My name is Dima and here I want to share my small project. It is about implementation of deep-learning tool in protein structure prediction. In the late December 2021 I was lucky to find online internship in the field of Bioinformatics. That was NyBerMan Merit Internship from LLBio-IT School and the main focus was, surprisingly (not), Covid investigation. After some technical interviews and huge competition (near 1000 participants for 20 places) I was planning next weeks of learning and doing.