Rosette Wins Loebner Prize 2011

mikejuk writes "Bruce Wilcox won the First Prize of $4000 and the Bronze Annual Medal in the 21st Loebner Prize Competition held in the UK at the University of Exeter on October 19, 2011 with his new chatbot, Rosette. If you would like to chat to Rosette you can at TellTaleGames. If you have been following the run up to this year's competition you may be surprised at how poorly CleverBot performed given its track record. This chatbot, which searches through earlier conversations for its answers, had received a score of 59.3% in a test that took place in India in September in which humans were rated 63.3%, only 4 percentage points higher and was also featured in a video that went viral. However its developer entered a cutdown version of CleverBot into the Loebner prize selection round and it didn't get the chance to show off its prowess in the final. So we will have to wait for another year to see if it really is as good as it claims." Depending on your bent, you may agree with Unknown Lamer that this sounds less impressive when phrased as "fooling a person ~18 percent of the time." I think that's a pretty high number, myself!

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/Lwz2hDj2wpQ/rosette-wins-loebner-prize-2011

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Prototype passenger spaceship poised for launch (Reuters)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) ? A prototype passenger spaceship developed by privately owned Space Exploration Technologies arrived in Florida on Sunday for launch on a practice cargo run to the International Space Station, officials said on Monday.

Liftoff of the Dragon capsule aboard the company's Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for as early as December 19, although the final launch date will be set by NASA, which is sponsoring the flight, said Bobby Block, vice president for communications for Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX.

The mission will mark the third flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and the second for a Dragon capsule, which is designed to fly first cargo and later crew to the space station, among other missions.

With the retirement of the space shuttles this summer, NASA is dependent on partner countries to deliver cargo and to ferry astronauts to the orbital outpost, a $100 billion project of 16 nations that orbits about 225 miles above the planet.

SpaceX, founded, owned and operated by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk and based in Hawthorne, California, is one of two companies hired by NASA to deliver cargo to the station. Orbital Sciences Corp plans to debut its Taurus 2 rocket and Cygnus space station cargo capsule on a test flight next year.

SpaceX, along with Boeing Co, privately held Sierra Nevada Corp. and Blue Origin, also hold NASA contracts to develop spaceships that can carry people.

RUSSIAN SOYUZ CAPSULES

Flying astronauts on Russian Soyuz capsules -- currently the only vehicles taking crews to the space station -- costs the U.S. space agency more than $50 million per person.

For its trial run to the station, SpaceX plans to put Dragon into orbit to test its maneuvering, communications and other systems as part of its $278 million contract with NASA.

If all goes well, the capsule would be cleared to approach the station, where astronauts would use the station's robotic crane to pluck Dragon from orbit and attach it to a berthing port on the station.

The capsule will carry food, water and other station supplies. Unlike other cargo vessels, which incinerate in the atmosphere after leaving the station, Dragon returns via parachute and splashes down in the ocean so it can return cargo from the station as well.

Pending NASA's approval, SpaceX plans to bring Dragon back to Earth 22 days after launch.

"It's important that we're successful and we're doing a lot of work with our NASA partners to make sure that we've done all the necessary cross checks, verify all the requirements to make sure this vehicle is ready to go," SpaceX Vice President Ken Bowersox said at the Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight in New Mexico last week.

Initially, SpaceX's contract called for three test flights before the company would start delivering cargo to the station under a separate $1.6 billion contract. Following Dragon's successful debut mission in December 2010, SpaceX petitioned NASA to combine the objectives of the next two flights.

The final decision about whether to let Dragon dock at the station, however, will not come until the flight is under way.

"We'll be prepared to go all the way to the station," Block told reporters on Monday at the company's Cape Canaveral launch site, where Dragon is being prepared for flight.

SpaceX has spent about $800 million developing Falcon 9 and Dragon. A similar system developed under traditional government contracts would have been between $2.4 billion and $7.2 billion, Bowersox said.

"It was very useful for both NASA and SpaceX to have this relationship," he said.

(Editing by Jane Sutton and Will Dunham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111024/sc_nm/us_usa_spaceship

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Residency program focuses on overlooked mental health needs

Public release date: 24-Oct-2011
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Contact: Jason Cody
codyja@msu.edu
517-432-0924
Michigan State University

Unchecked problems hurting patients, Michigan State University physician says

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Despite the fact mental health problems are more common than high blood pressure and diabetes combined, about two-thirds of mental health patients are cared for entirely by primary care providers without proper training.

Additionally, even larger numbers of other patients regularly have their psychosocial and emotional needs overlooked.

A new five-year, $1 million grant allows Michigan State University to develop an intensive three-year residency curriculum focused on primary care mental health, the result of which means better-trained physicians meeting patients' needs.

Led by Robert Smith of the College of Human Medicine's Division of General Internal Medicine, the program will use a "train the trainer" model to produce skilled faculty to train residents in mental health care.

"Most mental health patients are cared for entirely by primary care providers, since there no longer is sufficient numbers of mental health professionals," Smith said. "But, through no fault of their own, most primary care providers have not been trained for this. The result is that most patients with mental health problems receive very marginal care."

Compounding the problem is that patients with organic diseases such as diabetes and heart failure do worse in the presence of unchecked mental illness. Also, mental health problems are more common in underserved/high risk groups such as minorities, the poor, homeless, and those battling substance abuse and suffering from domestic violence.

The new MSU program, funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, will develop and test a curriculum for primary care residents with increased amounts of mental health training, Smith said. About 40 residents will be trained each year for five years.

"Our goal is that graduating residents be as skilled with treating major depression or stress, for example, as they are with diabetes or hypertension," he said. "Given the dearth of available mental health professionals, the limiting factor in achieving and sustaining such a new curriculum is faculty development of general internal medicine teachers and other primary care teachers."

Smith said the program addresses that by using a "train the trainer" model to produce skilled faculty to train residents. Each resident will undergo 100 hours of training each year. The goal is once started, the residencies will become self-sufficient and training will be offered throughout other sites in the MSU health care education system. Also, there will be high rate of placement of resident graduates in medically underserved communities, he added.

The College of Human Medicine's community-based linkages will be vital in expanding the program statewide, Smith said.

"With campuses across Michigan, the college's standing in local communities provides the foundation to develop and expand a new residency," he said.

###

Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 24-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jason Cody
codyja@msu.edu
517-432-0924
Michigan State University

Unchecked problems hurting patients, Michigan State University physician says

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Despite the fact mental health problems are more common than high blood pressure and diabetes combined, about two-thirds of mental health patients are cared for entirely by primary care providers without proper training.

Additionally, even larger numbers of other patients regularly have their psychosocial and emotional needs overlooked.

A new five-year, $1 million grant allows Michigan State University to develop an intensive three-year residency curriculum focused on primary care mental health, the result of which means better-trained physicians meeting patients' needs.

Led by Robert Smith of the College of Human Medicine's Division of General Internal Medicine, the program will use a "train the trainer" model to produce skilled faculty to train residents in mental health care.

"Most mental health patients are cared for entirely by primary care providers, since there no longer is sufficient numbers of mental health professionals," Smith said. "But, through no fault of their own, most primary care providers have not been trained for this. The result is that most patients with mental health problems receive very marginal care."

Compounding the problem is that patients with organic diseases such as diabetes and heart failure do worse in the presence of unchecked mental illness. Also, mental health problems are more common in underserved/high risk groups such as minorities, the poor, homeless, and those battling substance abuse and suffering from domestic violence.

The new MSU program, funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, will develop and test a curriculum for primary care residents with increased amounts of mental health training, Smith said. About 40 residents will be trained each year for five years.

"Our goal is that graduating residents be as skilled with treating major depression or stress, for example, as they are with diabetes or hypertension," he said. "Given the dearth of available mental health professionals, the limiting factor in achieving and sustaining such a new curriculum is faculty development of general internal medicine teachers and other primary care teachers."

Smith said the program addresses that by using a "train the trainer" model to produce skilled faculty to train residents. Each resident will undergo 100 hours of training each year. The goal is once started, the residencies will become self-sufficient and training will be offered throughout other sites in the MSU health care education system. Also, there will be high rate of placement of resident graduates in medically underserved communities, he added.

The College of Human Medicine's community-based linkages will be vital in expanding the program statewide, Smith said.

"With campuses across Michigan, the college's standing in local communities provides the foundation to develop and expand a new residency," he said.

###

Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/msu-rpf102411.php

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EU seeks to break deadlock over bolstering banks (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? EU finance ministers sought to break a deadlock over shoring up European banks on Saturday, after euro zone countries called for steeper losses for holders of Greek bonds to help resolve a debt crisis that threatens to damage the global economy.

With France and Germany deeply divided over how to bolster the rescue fund that underpins the euro zone, leaders have scheduled a string of meetings in the next days to tackle Greece's debt and limit its impact on the banking system.

Euro zone finance ministers made some progress on Friday, agreeing that holders of Greek government bonds would need to take far more than the 21 percent haircut brokered in July.

"We have agreed yesterday that we have to have a significant increase in the banks' contribution," Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the euro group of finance ministers, said on Saturday morning.

On Saturday, EU finance ministers -- including those from countries not in the euro zone -- were trying to decide ways to bolster the capital of European banks to cope with any Greek default and wider contagion across the continent.

EU officials say almost 100 billion euros is required to reinforce the region's banking system. Banks that cannot raise money on the markets will have to turn to national governments, and finally to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).

European banks will be required to increase their core tier one capital ratio to 9 percent to help them withstand losses on sovereign debt, officials have said.

However, the European Commission will urge ministers not to announce a plan on bank recapitalization before they have settled other issues, said one EU official.

These issues included the size of losses for holders of Greek bonds and how to boost the firepower of the euro zone's rescue fund, the EFSF.

"You cannot just progress on recapitalizing banks," said the official. "You also need to see progress on those other issues. They are interlinked."

Three of the EU executive's top officials -- Olli Rehn, monetary affairs head, Michel Barnier, the commissioner in charge of financial regulation, and antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia -- will deliver this message at the meeting of EU finance ministers on Saturday, the official said.

DEEP DIVISIONS

There is also disagreement over how to recapitalize banks, in particular the extent to which taxpayers' money should be used.

"I think we should not use taxpayers' money," Sweden's Finance Minister Anders Borg told reporters on Saturday. "The guarantee system alone cannot solve the problems. We have to restore credibility with capital."

Deep divisions remain between France and Germany over the best way to scale up the EFSF.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, were due to meet late on Saturday to try to break the deadlock before Sunday's summit of leaders.

France is keen to rely on the EFSF and fears its credit rating could come under threat if the wrong method is chosen to scale up the fund to prevent contagion spreading to Italy and Spain, the euro zone's third and fourth largest economies.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on Friday it was likely to downgrade France and four other states if Europe slips into recession. It was the second agency this week to cast doubt on France's rating after Moody's on Tuesday.

But Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann said in a newspaper interview released on Saturday that repeatedly expanding the euro zone rescue fund won't resolve the euro zone crisis.

"We've had enough short term measures, sticking plasters that just get us through the next few weeks," British finance minister George Osborne told reporters on Saturday. "We need to address the root causes of the problem."

Discussions over the weekend are expected to include ways to make Greece's debt mountain more manageable.

A bleak analysis by the EU and the International Monetary Fund showed on Friday that private holders of Greek debt may need to accept losses of up to 60 percent on their investments.

Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter told reporters Italian Treasury official Vittorio Grilli would negotiate heavier debt writedowns with private investors as part of a second Greek aid package.

Greece's finance minister welcomed a decision late on Friday to approve an 8 billion euro loan tranche that Athens needs next month to pay its bills.

"The disbursement of the sixth tranche is an important and productive step," Evangelos Venizelos told reporters on Saturday.

"Greece is not the central problem, now the point is to take more general and more constructive decisions for the euro zone as a whole."

(Additional reporting by Matthew Falloon; Writing by Sebastian Moffett; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111022/bs_nm/us_eurozone

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Top-ranked Tseng shoots 67 to reclaim Taiwan lead (AP)

YANG MEI, Taiwan ? Top-ranked Yani Tseng shot a 5-under 67 Saturday for a two-shot lead going into the final round of the LPGA Taiwan Championship.

Tseng's third round included seven birdies and two bogeys in windy conditions for a 10-under 206 total. The Taiwanese player returned to the top of the leaderboard ahead of Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, who had a 71 at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club.

Tseng gave up the lead Friday and was two shots back of Nordqvist and Azahara Munoz of Spain, who finished Saturday's round in 72 to trail by three strokes.

Amy Yang of South Korea was undone by two late bogeys in her round of 70 that left her trailing Tseng by four alongside South Korean Hee-Won Han (70).

The 22-year-old Tseng leads the LPGA with six wins this season and won player of the year honors this week.

"Today my new goal (was) just to be patient all day, especially if you see the wind like it is, going 20 or 30 miles per hour," Tseng said. "I was going to miss a couple of shots, because with the wind like this it's hard to shoot a low score."

Katie Futcher of the United States shot 71 to trail by five shots, while American Alison Walshe (71) was a shot further behind at 4-under overall.

Morgan Pressel (70) finished eight shots back, while Cristie Kerr (73) and Wendy Ward (73) also need to make up considerable ground in the final round. Suzann Pettersen shot a 75 and trails Tseng by 10 strokes.

Still shadowed by thousands of exuberant fans, Tseng didn't let the crowd break her concentration. On Friday, she shot a 71 and had to tell fans not to take pictures during her swing.

It's the first time the LPGA has held a tournament in Taiwan.

"It would be very, very special to win in this tournament tomorrow, because this is the first time and first time so many people is coming to watch us," Tseng said, "and I think it just, you know, it is my honor."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111022/ap_on_sp_go_su/glf_lpga_taiwan_championship

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Cyclist receives 8-year ban for 2nd doping offense

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (AP) ? Cyclist Joseph Papp has accepted an eight-year ban for his second doping offense, a reduced penalty for assisting the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

The 36-year-old American was a USADA witness in the 2007 arbitration case that eventually stripped Floyd Landis of his Tour de France title.

Landis later admitted that he doped and has accused Lance Armstrong and others of cheating, as well. The Landis allegations helped set in motion a federal investigation into cycling, with Armstrong and his teams at the center of the probe.

Papp was one of the key figures in a case stemming from an investigation into EPO and human-growth hormone trafficking from China, involving nearly 200 athletes in 2006 and 2007.

Papp last year pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to sell performance-enhancing drugs over the Internet.

He also tested positive for a banned substance in May 2006.

Papp won't be allowed to compete until Aug. 31, 2015.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-10-21-Doping-Papp/id-3f1d0b4feb754be3b6390869f3958b51

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Ohio escape renews call for exotic-animal crackdown

The case of an Ohio man who set loose his collection of wild bears, lions, tigers and other beasts before apparently killing himself has animal-welfare organizations renewing their call for a clampdown on ownership of exotic animals.

?Exotic, dangerous animals simply do not belong in private hands. It?s not worth the risk,? said Adam Roberts, executive vice president of Born Free USA.

Authorities believe Terry Thompson, owner of a 73-acre exotic-animal farm near rural Zaneville, Ohio, opened the cages to free his collection of animals before shooting himself Tuesday. Muskingum County sheriff?s deputies frantically raced to track down the 50-plus animals that escaped before they could harm anyone.

Deputies fatally shot 49 of the animals ? including 18 rare Bengal tigers. Six were recaptured. The last, a monkey thought to be carrying a herpes virus, was found to have been eaten by one of the large cats, the sheriff said late Wednesday.

1. Only on msnbc.com

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By late Wednesday afternoon, authorities said only one animal remained missing ? a monkey carrying potentially deadly herpes B virus.

Thompson, 62, had a criminal record. He was released from federal prison just last month, after serving a one-year term for weapons violations stemming from the discovery of more than 100 guns on his property in 2008, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Story: Sheriff defends order to shoot bears, tigers

He was also convicted in municipal court in 2005 of cruelty to animals, having an animal at large and two counts of rendering animal waste without a license, according to the Dispatch. His preserve was home to a menagerie of lions, tigers, bears, wolves, giraffes, monkeys and other animals, many bought at auctions.

Video: Authorities hunt down escaped wild animals (on this page)

Animal-welfare groups say Ohio is notoriously lax when it comes to wild-animal ownership. It's one of fewer than 10 states that have no rules regulating the sale and ownership of exotic animals.

Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, said Thompson would have been barred from owning exotic animals had a state emergency rule on keeping dangerous exotics animals been in effect.

An executive order issued by former Gov. Ted Strickland just days before he left office in January prohibited people convicted of animal cruelty from owning exotic animals. The administration of current Gov. John Kasich allowed the order to expire in April, noting concerns about its enforceability and its impact on small businesses.

Story: Animal advocates defend shootings on Ohio farm

Kasich has convened a stakeholder group to develop standards, but Pacelle said immediate action is needed until the Ohio Department of Natural Resources or the Legislature can adopt a permanent legal solution.

?Every month brings a new, bizarre, almost surreal incident involving privately held dangerous wild animals,? Pacelle said in a statement. ?In recent years, Ohioans have died and suffered injuries because the state hasn?t stopped private citizens from keeping dangerous wild animals as pets or as roadside attractions. Owners of large, exotic animals are a menace to society, and it?s time for the delaying on the rulemaking to end.?

The Humane Society says it has documented 22 "incidents" with dangerous exotic animals in Ohio since 2003, including the widely reported killing last year in Lorain County of a 24-year-old man, Brent Kendra, by a captive black bear he reportedly was feeding.

Animal-welfare activists wanted the bear's owner, Sam Mazzola, charged with reckless homicide, but Kendra's death was ruled a workplace accident. The bear was later euthanized.

Mazzola was found dead in July, face-down on a water bed and restrained with handcuffs and chains, in his Columbia Station home. Authorities said he apparently choked on a sex toy.

Video: Woman survives kangaroo attack

Born Free says it has tracked more than 1,598 reported attacks and incidents since 1990 across the United States, including 86 in Ohio. The most recent incident prior to this week was on Sept. 22, when an 80-year-old man was injured after reportedly being attacked by his 6-foot-tall, 200-pound kangaroo at an exotic animal farm near Green Camp.

Laura Jones, director of comminations for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said a stakeholders group hopes to have a wild-animal proposal completed by the end of the year for the state Legislature to consider early next year.

"We?ve been working aggressively on having this proposal in place. I?m sure yesterday?s situation will be uppermost in their (lawmakers') minds as they consider this legislation," Jones told msnbc.com.

Roberts said the mass-escape of wild animals from Thompson's compound is particularly troubling because animal-welfare groups have been trying for years to get Ohio to strengthen its exotic-animal laws. Thompson had been warned about animals wandering off his property.

"The bottom line is, because Ohio like many other states didn?t have necessary laws in place to prevent this kind of exotic animal ownership, it really sets the stage for a potential catastrophic incident," Roberts told msnbc.com.

According to Born Free, Ohio is one of eight states that have no or extremely lax regulations on exotic-animal ownership. Twenty-one states ban private ownership, eight have partial bans and 13 have permitting or licensing regulations, the animal-welfare group says.

"The biggest lesson is, when groups like Born Free and others advocate against keeping of exotic animals as pets and the general reaction is we?re nothing more than Chicken Little going around saying the sky is falling, that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," Roberts said.

? 2011 msnbc.com Reprints

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44961202/ns/us_news-life/

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