2 . If your friend says she feels relaxed, but you see that she closes her hands into fists, you may doubt her words. Robots, however, might believe her. Body language says a lot, but robots have great difficulty in observing tiny body movements and can miss important social signals as a result.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a body-tracking system that might help solve this problem. The system called OpenPose can track body movement in real time. One important quality of the OpenPose system is that it can track not only a person's head, body, arms and legs but also his fingers. To do that, the researchers used a dome （圆顶状物）lined with 500 cameras, where they recorded body movements at different angles and then used those pictures to build a data set.

They then passed those pictures through a keypoint detector to identify and label specific body parts. The software also learns to connect the body parts with different people, so it knows, for example, that a particular person's hand will always be close to his or her upper arm. This makes it possible to track multiple people at once.

The pictures from the dome were recorded in 2D. But the researchers used 3D technology to help the system understand how each movement appears from different angles. With all of this data processed, the system can determine how the whole hand looks even if some fingers cannot be seen.

Now that the system has this data set to draw from, it can run with just one camera and one computer. It no longer requires the camera-lined dome to determine body poses, making the technology mobile and accessible.

The researchers say this technology could be used for interactions between humans and machines. It could play a huge role in VR （虚拟现实）experiences, allowing finer detection of the user's physical movement without any added hardware. It could also help with more natural interactions with a home robot. You could tell your robot to “pick that up"， and it could easily understand what you're pointing at. By interpreting your physical gestures, the robot may even learn to read emotions by tracking body language. So when you' re silently crying with your face in your hands because a robot has taken your job, it might offer you a tissue.

3 . 1. Scenic landscapes on stamps: A nine-day tour in the cities of Xuzhou,Suqian and Huai'an in northern Jiangsu province.

This route is associated with local culture, characteristics, and creativity. It offers a taste of the famous canal cities.

2.Life on the Grand Canal: A seven-day Jiangsu tour through the cities of Nanjing, Suqian, Huai'an,Yangzhou and Suzhou.

This route presents the most authentic, economic, cultural and entertainment-focused activities along the canal from both ancient and modern times.I allows visitors to ride in boats and observe local fishermen fishing.

3.Food,culture,leisure and health;Seven-day experience of local life in Zhenjiang Changzhou,Wuxi and Suzhou

To increase tourists’ interest in the traditional culture and crafts of Jiangsu, the route will include pottery,embroidery(刺绣), paper-cutting, cooking and other hands-on experiences. It includes scenic spots along the Beijing-Hangzhou Gran Canal, ancient water towns, historical streets and ancient fishing villages.Visitors can join in the recreational farmhouse experience and pick up both fruits and vegetables

4．A walk into history: Six-day tour in Xuzhou, Suqian,Huai’an,Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Changzhou and Wuxi

The Beiing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs through the entire province and has been a part of Jiangsu's culture for thousands of years. Inspired by the canal, the route includes historical cities Xuzhou, Suqian, Huai'an,Yangzhou along with Zheniang Changzhou and Wuxi.

4 . About 12 million tons of plastic wastes are entering the oceans every year. This garbage pollutes the water, kills wildlife and breaks down into small pieces that fish and other creatures eat.

Now a group of Spanish fishermen will receive economic support to catch plastics. It is part of a new project. Carlos Martin is one of the fishermen taking part in the project. He and his partners collect the plastic in the ocean and bring it back to land every week. Martin thinks rivers carry a lot of plastics to the sea. He says his most concern is no more than that the plastics often get caught in the nets, which makes nets not work properly. They take on mud（泥）, causing the nets to break because they weigh so much.

Under the new programs, one million pounds will support ocean cleanup efforts for fishermen like Martin. The money is coming from the European Union and the Catalan government. Sergi Tudela, the General Director of Catalonia Fisheries, is responsible for the cleanup project. He said, "We are hopeful that if we are successful in this project, we can apply it to other areas in the Mediterranean（地中海）."

Government reports show that the amount of plastic wastes washing up along the Spanish coastline has grown by 65 percent in just six years. Fishing equipment makes up a large part of the about 8 to 12 million tons of plastics left in the world's oceans every year.

Martin says the fishing community now understands how big the problem is. He says, "In the past we didn't see it that way. We took the plastic garbage and threw it back into the water. I think that after a few year here we have realized the problem. Nothing is thrown into the water; we collect everything and bring it to shore.

5 . Upskilling is the future—but it must work for everyone

Automation and job replacement will be one of the most significant challenges for the global economy of the coming decades. A 2017 Mckinsey report established that 375 million workers will need to switch occupational categories by 2030. The World Economic Forum suggests that by 2022, automation will replace 75 million jobs globally—but create 133 million new ones.

Research into the likelihood that a job will be impacted by digitization has largely focused on the “automatability” of the role and the following economic regional and political effects of this. What this research doesn’t take into account is something more important for the millions of taxi drivers and retail workers across the globe: their likelihood of being able to change to another job that isn’t automatable. Recent research suggests that the answer to this may be that the skills that enable workers to move up the ladder to more complex roles within their current areas might be less important than broader skills that will enable workers to change across divisions.

In July, Amazon announced that it would spend $700 million retraining around 30% of its 300,000 US workforce. While praiseworthy, it will be interesting to see the outcome. In the UK, the National Retraining Scheme has largely been led by employers, meaning that those on zero-hours contracts and part-time workers—often low-skilled—will miss out. Governance will be a crucial element of ensuring that such schemes focus on individuals and life-long learning, rather than upskilling workers into roles that will soon also face automation.

According to the Mckinsey report, “growing awareness of the scale of the task ahead has yet to translate into action. Public spending on labour-force training and support has fallen for years in most member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development,” which impacts more than just the low-skilled and poorly compensated.

The global impact of automation is also put into relief by research demonstrating that, between 1988 and 2015, income inequality increased throughout the world. Billions of people do not have the essentials of life as defined by the UN Sustainable Development goals.

Alongside climate change, automation is arguably tech’s biggest challenge. As with globalization, governments and employers—and us workers—ignore its potential consequences at risk to ourselves.

6 . Extra fingers are not that rare. About one or two in every 1, 000 babies are born with extra fingers. If the extras are just small nubs(肿块), they may be surgically removed at birth. But some extra fingers can prove helpful, a new study shows.

An extra finger can be incredibly handy. People born with six fingers per hand can tie their shoes, flexibly manage phones and play a complicated video game---all with a single hand. What's more, their brains had no trouble controlling the more complex movement of their extra fingers, the new study finds. Its results also highlight how flexible the human brain can be. That information can guide people who design brain-controlled robots.

Researchers worked with a 52-year-old woman and her 17-year-old son, both of whom were born with six fingers on each hand. Their extra fingers grew between the thumb and index finger. And they resemble thumbs in how they can move. The researchers studied the subjects' hands with MRI(核磁共振成像), which can map body structures. They also looked at activity in the parts of the brain that control the hands. Those scans showed a dedicated brain system that controls the extra fingers. The sixth fingers had their own muscles and tendons That means they don't' just depend on the muscles that move the other fingers as some doctors had thought. The brain had no trouble directing the extra fingers, the researchers showed. It suggests someone's mind would be able to control robotic fingers or limbs. However, it might be harder for a person not born with extra fingers.

Living in a world designed for people with five fingers has led the mom and son to adapt in interesting ways. For instance, eating tools are too simple for them, so they constantly change the posture on the eating tools and use them in different way. Still, not everyone with extra fingers may show improved flexibility. In some cases, extra fingers may be less well developed.

7 . We've all experienced it. We invite a friend to dinner, only to learn that she is the dreaded "V-word". Vegan is someone who allows a diet that contains no animal meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, or any other food that comes from animals. They differ from vegetarians, who generally still eat dairy and eggs as part of their diets. Vegans also typically abstain from using any other products that come from animals, such as honey and leather jackets.

Back in 2008, vegans only accounted for around 0.5 percent of the U. S. population, or about one million people. As of polls taken in 2014, vegans now make up roughly 2.5 percent of the population. At least in the United States, women seem to be far bigger fans of veganism, making up around 79 percent of vegans.

People on a vegan diet tend to be leaner. In a cross-sectional study of nearly 40,000 adults, meat eaters had the highest mean body mass index, or BMI. Vegetarians were in the middle, and vegans had the lowest. Based on several studies from Finland, some scientists have suggested that vegan diets may be helpful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(类风湿性关节炎). Vegans also appear to have lower rates of hypertension(高血压) than both meat eaters and vegetarians. Vegans also typically have lower cardio metabolic(心脏代谢) risks for conditions like heart disease or strokes.

While there certainly may be some health advantages in going vegan, there seems to be some common deficiencies in the diet. One of these deficiencies is with the vitamin B-12. The ADA states that there are no natural plant foods that contain any significant amount of the vitamin. Vegans can still get it, but they need to take a vitamin or consume fortified foods like soy milk and certain breakfast cereals. Omega-3 fatty acids(欧米珈-3 脂肪酸) are also very difficult to come by on a vegan diet, but this can be overcome through the consumption of algae(海藻) supplements. With vegans requiring supplementation to meet their nutritional needs, it supports the claim that veganism is unnatural, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's unhealthy.

Many health organizations, including the ADA, state that well-planned vegan diets are healthy and nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. It seems like no matter what your dietary preferences are, a healthy lifestyle can be achieved on or off a vegan diet.

8 . Join us for an exciting day of music at the UNI Dome with the Panther Marching Band!

Band Day is perfect for high school band students in grades 9—12. Come and join us for an outstanding, positive and friendly musical and social experience for high school band students! We hope you'll enjoy the fellowship with other band students throughout the state and the fantastic performances of bands!

Directors who wish to bring their full bands or a smaller group of band students should find this to be an easy and fun event to organize and attend! Individual（个体的）students who wish to participate as single performers are strongly encouraged to attend! You'll have a chance to meet our fantastic students and perform in a friendly, welcoming environment!

Date： November 9

Music： A link to download music will be included in your confirmation email after you register. Music will be available at that link no later than September 1.

Registration:

●Band directors registering full bands or groups of students from the same band should register here： https: //bands, uni. edu/band-day-group-registration

●Individual students registering independently may register here： https：//bands. uni. edu/panther-band- day-individual-registration

Cost： $ 10. 00 per student includes： admission to the game, pizza dinner, music and a Band Day T-Shirt.

Notes：

●We've changed our payment method to improve the registration process. Individual students must pay using a credit card at the time of registration. Band directors may either pay with credit card or mail a check made out to Panther Marching Band.

●Final deadline for registration submissions is Monday, October 14.

●Due to space limitations, band/individual students may be limited to a first-reply basis.