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Implementation of innovative, resource-efficient urban water systems depends on wide-ranging cooperation

New technology that makes energy capture from waste water and re-use of grey water possible can contribute to energy- and resource efficiency — but the widespread application of such technology requires a new, collaborative approach, shows a new study. Taking radical innovation in urban water systems beyond the pilot stage will require cooperation between a variety of stakeholders, suggest the findings of expert interviews and workshops.




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Sustainable urban drainage systems: green roofs and permeable paving compared in southern Italy

A new study has looked at the potential of green infrastructure to compensate for the effects of soil sealing generated by urban development. It investigates how green roofs and permeable paving could contribute to flood mitigation in southern Italy. Using a hydraulic model technique, the researchers found that, in this particular urban case, green roofs were more effective than permeable paving. Policies to promote the adoption of sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) by the private sector could thus prove more effective under certain circumstances, and policymakers should look at ways to promote SUDS where suitable.




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Sewage treatment plants can do better to close the circular economy loop: resources recovered by only 40% of Italian plants

Scientists have published findings from the largest and broadest survey on sewage resource recovery conducted in Europe to date. Researchers surveyed more than 600 waste-water treatment plants (WWTPs) in Italy, which represent approximately 25% of the country’s total load of treated sewage. The findings provide a comprehensive picture of the current state of sewage resource recovery in WWTPs, revealing that just 40% of plants perform some form of material or energy recovery, and identifying several of the important driving forces behind implementation. This research provides valuable information and insights for policymakers and WWTP managers aiming to improve WWTP sustainability and close the sewage resource-recovery loop.




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Soil moisture stress on plants leads to uncertainty in carbon cycle estimates

This study paves the way for better projections of the impact of climate change on plants, including agricultural crops and carbon drawdown. The research shows how an equation used in climate models to represent soil moisture levels is responsible for major variations in estimates of the carbon cycle.




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Online tool enables quick comparison of strategies to control eutrophication

Researchers have developed an online tool to help water managers find effective ways of tackling eutrophication, an excess growth of weeds and algae that suffocates life in rivers, lakes and seas. They describe the tool as quick and easy to use and understand. Users can compare the likely effects of different strategies for cutting nutrient pollution in surface waters via an interactive map-based system; this is currently available for Sweden and Europe as a whole.




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As Amazon rises, so does the opposition

One of Athena’s larger goals is to end what it describes as a system in which Amazon competes with other companies to make and sell goods and then dictates the terms by which those competitors find their customers on Amazon’s platform and controls how they ship their wares to market.




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Fake ransom seeking email scam prowling in Indian cyberspace

The Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In), in a latest advisory, has said while there is "nothing to worry" about such emails, users should update or change their passwords, used to login any of their social media or other online platforms, if they find them compromised.




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Fake ransom seeking email scam prowling in Indian cyberspace

The Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In), in a latest advisory, has said while there is "nothing to worry" about such emails, users should update or change their passwords, used to login any of their social media or other online platforms, if they find them compromised.




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4 in 5 users removing private information from social media apps globally

The Internet consumers are becoming more aware of their personal data and 82 per cent users have tried to remove private information from websites or social media channels, according to a report by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.




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Covid-19 has wiped out the goodnight sleep of a CISO

The stratospheric rise in phishing and identity attacks since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic is give sleepless nights to CISOs across the world making them the Digital Security Warriors




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Don’t forward work emails to a personal a/c, separate work & life: Centre

“Create a separate user profile with minimal privileges for work-only use. Close all work-related windows, applications, files, and documents when not in use. Do not use work email addresses to sign up for unauthorised, free tools. Grant access to your employees to corporate network only though a company-approved VPN with multi-factor authentication,” the advisory states.




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New clause added to IT Act: Onus of content not generated by users on social media platforms

‘Safe harbour protection’ only if intermediaries facilitate and not modify such content, including ads




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400 million social media users are set to lose their anonymity in India

The advent of new rules for social media applications - like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp - could spell the end for privacy in the Indian internet space. Despite push back from major internet companies, the Indian government is all set to go ahead with the new regulations. The rules are a bid to quell the spread of fake news and trace anti-social elements in the Indian internet ecosystem faster.




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Social media to join hands to fight fake news, hate speech

The proposed alliance — to be named the Information Trust Alliance (ITA) — will be a grouping of digital platforms and publishers, fact checkers, civil society and academia that will aim to control the spread of harmful content, including fake news and hate speech. So far, discussions have taken place among Facebook, Google, Twitter, Byte-Dance, ShareChat and YY Inc.




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India Inc tiptoes through CAA social media minefield

​​Companies are seeking to balance freedom of expression with the potential for damage to their business, not for the first time, but more gingerly perhaps, given the level of polarisation. ​​




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PM Narendra Modi mulls giving up social media on March 8

Government officials remained tightlipped on the reasons and said the PM would reveal more in a day or two. It was also not clear whether Modi, who has used social media to communicate directly with the masses, would be giving up the platforms for a long time or only for a day on Sunday — which also happens to be the International Women’s Day.




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Social media giants warn of AI moderation errors as coronavirus empties offices

The Silicon Valley tech giants have asked employees and contractors to work from home if possible, to slow the fast-spreading respiratory disease




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Indian government asks social media firms to curb Covid-19 fake news

The government asked social media platforms to start awareness campaigns, remove misinformation from the platform and promote authentic information




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Living in the golden age of social distancing

Working from home was never so good. Five tips from a pro for social distancers and the social distanced on not just how to survive self-quarantine but thrive in it.




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Government of Rajasthan selects Teradata big data solutions to improve citizen services & engagement

Rajasthan to create a common data and analytics platform for all government departments across the State to collate and utilize data more effectively and efficiently, improving the delivery of citizen services with the help of Teradata solutions.




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Big data analytics: No big money needed as most solutions go 'freemium'

Big infrastructure and cost requirements have long kept data analytics a fiefdom of large enterprises; however, the advent of cloud tech has made it possible for SMEs to use data analytics with a fraction of a cost.




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Microsoft joins tech race to clean up shipping with big data

Maritime ships, which transport around 90 percent of the world’s goods across the seas, generate about 3 percent of global carbon emissions.




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Smartphone makers plan sops, aggressive prices to push sales

Organic growth will be difficult and consumers will only buy a phone out of necessity or maybe settle for a refurbished one depending on their spending ability




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Covid-19 to bring India software market growth down to 4.1%

The decline in growth rate is likely because enterprises relook at their buying decisions owing to increased focus on profitability, said IDC's report.




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Jharkhand's coal mine to get Zyfra 'intelligent' solution

The collaboration with Zyfra was to ensure availability of the latest technology intelligence, like IIOT and AI capabilities




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Post lockdown prep: A manufacturing CIO’s message to vendors on IoT solutions

Maitrey Modha of CNH Industrial says IoT companies would need to come up with customized solutions based on each type of manufacturing process.




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Amdocs launches SI capabilities, to upskill 5,000 Indian employees to cloud-based solutions

The company on Wednesday announced systems integration (SI) capabilities including consulting, agile devOps, cloud migration, cloud capacity optimization and the Future Mode of Operation aimed at taking the communications industry to the cloud at an accelerated pace.




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Microsoft Cloud services witness massive 775% jump

Microsoft has seen a huge 775 per cent increase in its Cloud services in regions that have enforced social distancing or 'shelter-in-place orders.




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Cloud solutions for tax compliance gaining popularity

​​The current lockdown has prompted even fence-sitters to begin using these tools, as they face constraints in accessing critical information that resides on systems in company premises




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Amazon, Microsoft offer little relief to small cloud clients

While Amazon Web Services, or AWS, and Microsoft are restructuring some large contracts on a case-by-case basis, according to people familiar with the decisions, smaller companies aren’t receiving the same flexibility.




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Google may acquire enterprise cloud software firm D2iQ: Report

Google is reportedly in negotiation to acquire enterprise cloud software company D2iQ for over $250 million, the media reported.




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For cloud giants, usage soars but tech investment delays hobble revenue growth

The cloud giants have seen a drop-off in new contracts from big clients for server storage and to overhaul tech.




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Microsoft to invest $1.5 billion in Italian cloud business

Microsoft Corp. said on Friday it would create its first datacentre region in Italy under a $1.5 billion investment plan as the U.S. company expands its cloud computing services to more locations across the world.




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Microsoft to invest $1.5 billion in Italian cloud business

Microsoft Corp. said on Friday it would create its first datacentre region in Italy under a $1.5 billion investment plan as the U.S. company expands its cloud computing services to more locations across the world.




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Human Resource Aide

Would you like to work in a helping profession, interacting with a variety of people?  Do you enjoy driving and have an excellent driving record?  Catawba County Social Services is a full-time Human Resource Aide to provide safe, prompt, and courteous transportation services for Medicaid eligible clients. Transportation is provided to medical appointments within and outside the county using County vehicles




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Success Coaches (Social Worker III)

Catawba County is recruiting for two engaging social workers with considerable knowledge in child welfare to fill the role of a Success Coach (Social Worker III). Success Coaches provide enhanced case management services to families.  In this role, you will provide on-going supportive services including assessment, crisis intervention, and skill reinforcement to families.   You will carry a caseload of 8-15 families requiring varying levels of service intensity. 
 
These Success Coaches will provide these voluntary services to post adoptive families in the Region 4 which includes Mecklenburg, Gaston, Lincoln, Stanly, Cabarrus, Union and Cleveland counties.  Position involves heavy regular travel within the communities where services are provided.  For convenience to and knowledge of community resources, it is preferred that the applicant live in one of the counties served.   If not, applicant must be willing/able to travel within the counties served on a daily basis. 
 
These positions are time-limited and will end June 30, 2021. 




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Hyper-personalization to emerge a true winner in AI in 2020

As more businesses yield the benefits of NLP-powered analytics and conversational interfaces, demand for single-vendor solutions will increase.




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The importance of social and political context for classifying ecosystem services

It is important to have a single definition of 'ecosystem services', but a single classification scheme for services is not appropriate, according to researchers. There are many contexts in which ecosystem services can be used and the context should help to determine which classification scheme is the most appropriate for decision making.




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Restoring European grasslands takes more than just sowing seeds

Using commercial seed mixtures to replant European grasslands tends to produce a smaller range of species than originally grew on the land. New research has identified several methods that successfully reproduce the original range of species, such as transferring of fresh hay or soil that contains seeds.




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Reducing the potential 'ecological trap' of solar panels

Solar panels are attractive to aquatic insects because they reflect light in a similar way to water, indicates recent research. This has ecological implications, especially if insects lay eggs on the panels. However, if panels are surrounded by white borders and divided by white grids, they are considerably less attractive to the insects.




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Lower diversity of soil organisms in new farmland

Converting grassland to arable land can reduce the diversity of nematodes, predatory mites, earthworms and enchytraeid worms in the soil, according to a study by Dutch researchers. However, they found that restoring arable land to grassland did not fully restore the diversity of these four groups during the course of the four-year study.




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Areas surrounding tropical forest nature reserves also need protection

To preserve rich biodiversity in protected areas of tropical forests, safeguarding the surrounding area can be just as important as safeguarding the park or reserve itself. This is according to a new study, which assessed the ecological health of 60 protected areas across the tropics.




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'Soft' flood defences to protect riverside biodiversity

Riversides that are unprotected by flood defences are home to more diverse plant communities, according to a new study. According to the researchers of the study, 'soft' approaches to flood management, which work in harmony with natural processes, could help promote biodiversity in flood-prone regions.




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A new method for evaluating threats to soil biodiversity

Little is known about the organisms that live within soil, although they play a vital role in the biological processes that support life on Earth. In a recent study, researchers calculated the relative risk of pressures caused by human activity on soil biodiversity in the EU, showing that intensive land use has the greatest impact.




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Increasing aridity will disrupt soil nutrient cycles in global drylands

The drying of soils under global warming could disrupt the balance of nutrients in large areas of the Earth's land surface, according to new research. The study focused on ‘drylands' – arid areas with low levels of rainfall – which support over 38%% of the world's population. Such nutrient imbalances could diminish the provision of ecosystem services, such as food production and carbon storage, the researchers say.




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Loss of wild pollinators could substantially reduce soybean yields

Pollination by wild insects and honey bees improves soybean yield by 18%, new research has indicated. This equates to an extra 331.6 kg of seeds per hectare, boosting the value of the global crop by €12.74 billion. Encouraging insect pollination could therefore reduce the destruction of natural ecosystems to make way for soybean cultivation, the researchers say.




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Which seeds to sow for bees?

Farmers could help to maintain populations of bees and other pollinators by sowing inexpensive seed mixes on their land, a new study suggests. Researchers surveyed pollinators visiting study plots in Berkshire, UK, and explored how sowing different seed mixes and using different management techniques affected the flowers produced and the pollinators visiting them.




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Soil nitrogen increased through greater plant biodiversity

Increased plant biodiversity improves grassland soil quality by boosting its nitrogen levels, even in the absence of nitrogen-fixing plants, recent research has found. Previous research has shown that grasslands with higher biodiversity had higher levels of carbon and nitrogen. However, in the case of nitrogen it has been suggested that this was purely a result of increased numbers of nitrogen-fixing legumes, such as clover. This study was the first to show that, even without legumes, increased numbers of grassland species increased both carbon and nitrogen soil stocks.




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Soil biodiversity reduces nitrogen pollution and improves crops’ nutrient uptake

Increased soil biodiversity can reduce nitrogen pollution, improve nutrient uptake by plants and even increase crop yields, new research suggests. The two-year study found that levels of nitrogen leaching from soil with an abundant soil life were nearly 25% lower than for soil with a reduced level of soil life. Practices which enhance soil biodiversity such as reduced tilling, crop rotation and organic farming may therefore help reduce the environmental impacts of fertilisers and improve agricultural sustainability, the researchers say.




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Drones can be used to study birds without affecting their behaviour — with some precautions

Drones — unmanned aerial vehicles — may be used in close proximity to bird populations without causing disturbance, finds a new study. Drones hold the potential to monitor species and areas that are difficult to reach. The authors advise that, when used with caution, drones could become a valuable tool in the monitoring of species, particularly in protected areas.