Renewable energy forecasting is attaining greater importance due to its constant increase in contribution to the electrical power grids. Solar energy is one of the most significant contributors to renewable energy and is dependent on solar irradiation. For the effective management of electrical power grids, forecasting models that predict solar irradiation, with high accuracy, are needed. In the current study, Machine Learning techniques such as Linear Regression, Extreme Gradient Boosting and Genetic Algorithm Optimization are used to forecast solar irradiation. The data used for training and validation is recorded from across three different geographical stations in the United States that are part of the SURFRAD network. A Global Horizontal Index (GHI) is predicted for the models built and compared. Genetic Algorithm Optimization is applied to XGB to further improve the accuracy of solar irradiation prediction.

Digital health products played a prominent role in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and in helping caregivers and patients navigate their care in the past year. Going into 2022, remote monitoring, wearables, sensors, and other mobile health (mHealth) products are taking center stage in defining the future of medicine. "One of the clearest areas of excitement now and into the future is the sector of healthcare products referred to as wearables. These are devices like fitness trackers, heart monitors, and other devices that record in real time and communicate biometric data either directly to the user or to a connected platform for a variety of purposes, including coaching, intervention, analysis and even within clinical trials administration," notes a recent report from contract manufacturer Jabil, St. Petersburg, FL. The report, "Digital Health Technology Trends," finds that "the top three solution categories providers are developing or plan to develop are in patient monitoring, diagnostic equipment, and on-body or wearable devices (see Figure 1). As digital and mHealth capabilities have become an integral part of many medical devices and diagnostics, they have enabled a more agile and flexible healthcare system to emerge in the face of COVID-19. These products will continue to improve access to patient care. Digital transformation of healthcare is not just about adopting new digital technology, notes a recent position paper from medtech giant Philips. It's about reimagining healthcare for the digital age -- using the power of data, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud-based platforms, and new business models to improve health outcomes, lower the cost of care, and improve the human care experience for patients and staff alike."

The agreement with Germany-based Traton marks TuSimple's first move into Europe. It follows a similar agreement TuSimple struck in July with Navistar International Corp. to jointly develop self-driving trucks, with the U.S. truck manufacturer also taking a minority stake in the startup. Traton, whose truck brands include Scania AB and MAN SE, holds about 17% of the shares in Navistar and is seeking to acquire the Lisle, Ill.-based manufacturer. Top news and in-depth analysis on the world of logistics, from supply chain to transport and technology. Traton and TuSimple didn't disclose the size of the stake the European manufacturer is taking in the company.

Dr. Julia Han Ding and Dr. Henry Fong were married June 29 at Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden in Pasadena, Calif. Dr. Ding, 30, recently completed an anesthesiology residency at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York, where she was selected as a chief resident. In August, she is to begin a fellowship in pain medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. She graduated with highest honors from the University of Texas and received a medical degree with distinction from the Chicago Medical School. The bride's father works in Beijing as a business development executive at SenseTime, a computer vision and artificial intelligence technology company based in Hong Kong.

Don Monroe is a science and technology writer based in Boston, MA.