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Category Archives: Life Extension

Postharvest quality solution for tomatoes-on-the-vine – hortidaily.com

Posted: October 19, 2022 at 2:36 pm

Windset Farms and Verdant Technologies announce a partnership for the use of Verdants postharvest shelf-life extension solution, HarvestHold Fresh. The companies will partner on a retail pilot for tomatoes-on-the-vine supplied from Mexico into select retailers in the U.S. with the intent to expand into additional locations. "Windset Farms uses technology and sustainable growing practices to supply consistent, high-quality produce to the marketplace," a company release states.

Growers worldwide have experienced pressure to meet demand while combating increasing consumer expectations, higher input costs, and supply chain troubles. HarvestHold Fresh is another avenue to explore that and addresses the shelf life of fresh produce, said Jeff Madu, Windset Farms vice president of sales. The decision to move forward with this initiative aligns with our commitment to continuously look for ways to improve the customer experience through innovation and sustainability practices. We are very pleased to partner with Verdant for this retail pilot. Left: HarvestHold Fresh-treated box of tomatoes; right: untreated box of tomatoes.

In a previous trial with HarvestHold Fresh, Windset Farms, tomatoes were treated and shipped from Central Mexico to British Columbia, Canada. At the end of the 22-day trial, results showed significant benefits in firmness, reduction in decay, improved visual appearance, and longer shelf life.

For consumers, this means less money wasted on produce gone bad, and for the supply chain, it means enhanced value, less food waste, and end-to-end quality improvement. These results also contribute to a more resilient and sustainable food supply chain.

Were very excited about what weve seen in previous trials with Windset Farms, and were happy to move forward to bring the benefits of HarvestHold Fresh to Windsets customers and end consumers, said Paul Oklesh, sales director at Verdant Technologies. Windset Farms is an ideal partner for us because they see demand is changing, theyre on the forefront of embracing technology, and theyre proactive about addressing the challenges of tomorrow.

Windset Farms plans to launch the retail pilot with HarvestHold Fresh this month.

For more information:Peyton MerriamVerdant TechnologiesTel: +1 (720) 369-2972Peyton.Merriam@verdant-tech.comhttps://verdant-tech.com/

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JZZ Technologies, Inc. and Subsidiary LION Development Group, Enter into JV Agreement with affiliate of Hospitality Development Group, Inc. of Florida…

Posted: at 2:36 pm

Anderson, South Carolina--(Newsfile Corp. - October 18, 2022) - JZZ Technologies Inc., (OTC Pink: JZZI) ("JZZ" or the "Company"), a diversified company focused on digital media, biotechnology acquisitions related to human life extension longevity and active lifestyle real estate development, and its subsidiary LION Development Group, have entered a non-exclusive Joint Venture agreement with AJ Developments Group, LLC an affiliate of Hospitality Development Group, Inc. ("HDG"), a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida-based real estate development company.

The JV has been formed to develop multiple residential and commercial real estate projects, initially in South Carolina and Florida, and then expanding to surrounding regions in the south eastern United States.

Hospitality Development Group is a development company specializing in hotel, resort, and residential developments. HDG also provides advisory and consulting services for all various real estate development needs. In addition, HDG may also assist securing commercial debt and equity financing for projects it pursues.

The driving force behind HDG is developer Jerrold R. Krystoff whose development experience includes hospitality, high-rise residential, commercial, and retail and healthcare, with over $2 billion dollars in various development projects. Mr. Krystoff is a seasoned real estate entrepreneur and developer in Florida and has been participating in various real estate investments and developments since 1979. He is the Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder and Principal of Hospitality Development Group, Inc., established in 1998. Mr. Krystoff was also a co-founder and Principal of Colonial Development Group LLC, the developer of various prestigious projects including the W Fort Lauderdale Hotel and Residences, Infinity at Brickell, and Europa by The Sea.

Commenting on the JV, Charles Cardona, CEO of JZZ Technologies, Inc., stated, "Joining with Hospitality Development Group and Jerry Krystoff is a major step forward for our Company's young real estate development division. It immediately elevates us to a whole new level of capacity and brings impressive credentials to our projects that can only be gained from decades of successful development projects, in many cases on a massive scale."

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"We look forward to launching new projects as we consummate our plans with HDG. We expect to begin the rollout of several premiere projects over the next four quarters. Ultimately, this Joint Venture is expected to add significant revenues from small-to-large scale projects that will offer solid profits aimed at delivering excellent shareholder value," Cardona adds.

About Hospitality Development Group, Inc.Hospitality Development Group is a Florida development company with a successful history of hotel, resort, and residential projects. HDG's principals' involvement spans a wide range of prestigious projects including the W Fort Lauderdale Hotel and Residences, Infinity at Brickell, Palazzo Del Lago Resort, Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores, and Europa by The Sea. HDG also provides advisory and consulting services and assists in securing commercial debt and equity financing for select projects.

About JZZ Technologies, Inc.JZZ Technologies, Inc. is a diversified company engaged in several business sectors. Its Active Lifestyle Digital media business includes online media and apps (www.activelifestylemedia.com), content creation, and digital marketing, targeted to active adults 55+. Its strategic biotechnology and bioscience related to Human Life Extension seeks opportunities in quality of life businesses that support the aging population, and its Active Lifestyle Real Estate Development division is engaged in acquiring, managing, and operating commercial and residential real estate and housing development projects. For more information, please visit http://www.jzztechnologies.com.

Press Contacts:JZZ Technologies, Inc.Charles Cardona, CEOceo@jzztechnologies.com

DISCLAIMER and FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such Forward-Looking Statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the viability of the Company's business plans, the effect of acquisitions on our profitability, the effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of the Company's products; the Company's ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business conditions; and the volatility of the Company's operating results and financial condition. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the Company and the industry. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, management cannot assure the public that their expectations will turn out to be correct. Investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/140916

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JZZ Technologies, Inc. and Subsidiary LION Development Group, Enter into JV Agreement with affiliate of Hospitality Development Group, Inc. of Florida...

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‘I love the city’: QB Zach Collaros inks 3-year contract extension to stay with Blue Bombers through 2025 – CBC.ca

Posted: at 2:36 pm

The Winnipeg Blue Bombershave signed all-star quarterback Zach Collarostoa three-year contract extension to keep him in blue and gold through the 2025 season.

The CFL's reigning most outstanding player, Collaroswas scheduled to become a free agent in February.

"I don't think it was a hard negotiation by any means," Collaros said Tuesday, telling reportersthe contract had been in talksfor about a month.

Bombers general managerKyle Walters had reached out to Collaros's agent "to see if we wanted to start talking the future and I said yeah, for sure. That's pretty much it," the quarterback said.

"I love the environment.I love the city, the community."

Collaros,34, joined first the Bombers late in the2019 season and had an immediate impact after then-starting QB Matt Nichols as well as backup QB Chris Streveler went down with injuries.

Collaros won four straight games to help the team capture its first Grey Cup championship in 29 years witha 33-12 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

He led the Bombers to a second consecutive Grey Cup in 2021 the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic also against theTiger-Cats.

Collaros was namedMVP of the championship game andbecame the first Bombers quarterback to lead the club to consecutive Grey Cup wins since Ken Ploen in 1961-62.

His win-loss record as a starterfor the Bombers is now 31-4.

Theleading candidate for the most outstanding player award again in 2022, hehas posted career-high passing totals this season, with 4,115 yards, and launchedthe Bombers to top spot in the CFL with a 14-3 record.

That performance has propelled himup 15 places on the CFL's all-time passing yardage to 23rdoverall at 24,279.

Collaros has also thrown 35 touchdowns this season to lead the league and tiehim with Tom Clements for third most in a single season in Bombers history.

It's the second straight year he has led the league inTD tosses after throwing20 last season.

Collaros first signed in the CFL with the Toronto Argonautsin 2012 and has since appeared in 122 regular season games with Toronto, Hamilton, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg.

The Bombers acquired him in a trade with the Argos on Oct. 9, 2019.

At the time, Collaros was seen as a risky venture and there were concerns for his long-term health because of a history of concussions.

He had started the 2019 season with Saskatchewan but suffered a concussion during the first drive of the first game and was later traded to the Argos in late July butnever got into a game.

Three years and zero concussions later, Collaros was asked Tuesdayto describe how he feels.

"Blessed. Lucky. Very fortunateto be part of the organization, to be part of the community, the city, the province and the locker room, most importantly," he said.

"Every time I see Wade [Miller, Bomberspresident and CEO], I shake his hand and give him a hug and thank him for bringing me in and allowing me to be a part of this. I say the same to Osh[coach Michael O'Shea] and Kyle quite often as well."

A three-year dealadds a lot of stability and certainty, knowing he can settle in and not worry about renewing a contract yearly, Collaros said.

"There's a lot of volatility in our profession. Being able to plan out a year, two years, three years in advance is cool something I don't think I've ever hadthe opportunity to do."

A recent changeto the collective bargaining agreement, which guarantees a certain amount of money in the final year of his contract, was also a bonus in signing the contract extension, Collaros said.

But ultimately, he needed to get the OK from his wife.

"That was really the only approval I needed," he said.

"I wanted to be here, she knew that. But she's from Toronto, so it's tough for both of us to be gone for six months not to say that potentially this will never be home to us."

For now, he and his wife pack up their lives and two kids every year for the football season, leaving extended family behind in Ontario.

"I've lived this crazy life of travelling aroundpretty much my entire adult life, and it's still a little new for her. It isn't easy but she loves the community, she loves the team, she loves the [wives of other players] and everybody here."

Collaros said he intends to celebrate the contract by taking his offensive linemen out for a treat.

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'I love the city': QB Zach Collaros inks 3-year contract extension to stay with Blue Bombers through 2025 - CBC.ca

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MSU-led team studying expansion of controlled environment culinary herb production across US – Michigan State University

Posted: at 2:36 pm

A new $3.4M USDA grant is supporting research and outreach.

EAST LANSING, Mich. A Michigan State University-led team has received a $3.4 million U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to evaluate the profitability and environmental sustainability of fresh-cut and potted culinary herbs produced in controlled environments. The funding is part of the Specialty Crop Research Initiative of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The U.S. market for fresh culinary herbs leafy plants such as basil, cilantro and parsley that add flavor, aroma or garnish is a burgeoning one. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, popularity of the specialty crop increased 10% to 12% annually from 2004 to 2014 and has continued to climb. At this point, domestic field production and imports have been used to keep pace with demand.

Culinary herbs are divided into two market segments: fresh cut for the leaves and stems, and potted plants. Roughly 69% of domestic fresh-cut herbs are field grown in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii and Texas, and nearly $300 million worth are imported each year. But both field production and imports face mounting challenges, such as diseases, droughts and floods, foodborne illnesses, environmental impact and supply chain disruptions.

Researchers will work to demonstrate how controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) can create a more sustainable and economically fruitful future for the industry. The multi-institutional research and outreach collaboration, called CEA HERB, includes investigators from MSU, Iowa State University, North Carolina State University, Texas Tech University, the University of Tennessee, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

The project is led by Roberto Lopez, an associate professor and controlled environment extension specialist in the MSU Department of Horticulture. Other participating MSU researchers are Bridget Behe and Erik Runkle, professors in the Department of Horticulture, and Mary Hausbeck, a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences. Like Lopez, each have AgBioResearch and MSU Extension appointments.

Michigan is home to the nations third-largest greenhouse industry, making it a natural location for growers to expand into culinary herb production.

Growing fresh culinary herbs in controlled environments offers a multitude of benefits, including less environmental impact by reducing inputs, the ability for year-round production, and offering high-quality, flavorful and nutritious foods, Lopez said. But there are still impediments to the industry reaching its full potential, which heightens the need to educate growers on cost-effective production techniques, boosting yields, improving flavor and post-harvest shelf life, increasing food safety and much more.

Consumer demand for locally grown, pesticide-free, safe produce drives our team to provide growers and distributors with information to fuel their growth and profitability.

Commercialization and use of high-intensity, energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) gives growers control over plant architecture, height, flavor and aroma by simply adjusting light colors and intensities.

Lopez said that a lack of dedicated research and uncertainties of the return on investment have prevented many potential growers from taking the plunge to controlled-environment agriculture. The goal of the 4-year project is to show current and prospective growers that there are production and sustainability benefits that cannot be replicated in the field.

Fresh culinary herbs are a small specialty crop with little financial backing for research, he said. That makes projects such as this even more essential.

Project GREEEN, Michigans plant agriculture initiative hosted at MSU, provided the initial funding, and findings from this work were leveraged to obtain USDA support and scale up the project.

Right now, production is localized to a relatively small geographic area domestically, and theres a reliance on imported herbs, Lopez said. Controlled-environment agriculture provides a unique opportunity to distribute production across the U.S. by taking seasonal climate variability largely out of the equation.

The team will first conduct a survey that touches on varying production methods, sensory experiences and marketing strategies. The questionnaire will capture feedback from participants around the country, assessing their perceptions of the product and their willingness to buy fresh culinary herbs at premium prices if the product is of high quality.

Participants will taste test an assortment of culinary herbs and provide input on which sensory characteristics they value. A product choice experiment using eye-tracking technology will also provide insight into the traits gravitated to by customers.

Secondly, researchers will perform controlled-environment studies to identify practices that increase growth, quality, shelf-life, disease management and food safety.

Finally, the group will use the results from the survey and lab to create effective marketing, production, plant protection, technology adoption, post-harvest and food safety resources for growers. Print and electronic publications will be developed, in addition to webinars, videos and in-person presentations with growers and industry stakeholders.

We need to perform research trials to test and validate, of course, but to truly understand what may help grow the industry, we also need to better understand consumers, Lopez said. Consumer profile development will allow for the identification of new markets and aid in increasing demand for U.S. controlled environment-grown, fresh culinary herbs. Its important that this project is a holistic research and outreach effort.

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60 seconds with…Wayne Dunn, Babcock International – Professional Engineering

Posted: at 2:36 pm

Nuclear Lifting 2022

As part of Babcock's presentations covering lessons learned from their Devonport site, Wayne Dunn explains what he's looking forward to discussing at this year's Nuclear Lifting seminar.

Please can you briefly explain your current role and involvement in Nuclear Lifting?

Wayne Dunn (WD): As part of the Facilities Design Authority at Devonport Royal Dockyard, I manage the Mechanical Handling Technical Authority. Our growing team of approximately 30 engineers provide support to mechanical handling assets across the entire dockyard, both within the Licenced Site and the general dockyard. The team includes engineers with mechanical engineering and electrical, control and instrumentation backgrounds.

Our role is to ensure that the design intent of the mechanical handling assets within the operational facilities are maintained through life. As part of this our team provide the engineering support for new or upgraded assets ranging from design, prescribing the maintenance regime, and reporting on asset condition.

What is the number one challenge facing lifting engineers working in nuclear environments at the moment?

WD: I see multiple challenges facing the industry. However, if I were to focus on a single item then it would be ageing infrastructure. While there is significant new investment in the development of new facilities within Devonport, there remains a large number of strategic assets that will be coming to the end of their operational life in the next ten years. Replacement and/or life extension of some of these high integrity cranes will be a significant challenge in the coming years.

Where do you see there being significant developments in lifting technologies over the next 5 years?

WD: The use of technologies with embedded software or programmable elements will become more common in systems that have a claim made on them in the Safety Cases. At Devonport we are formalising our arrangements for the substantiation of computer-based safety systems in-line with guidance contained in the Office for Nuclear Regulation Technical Assessment Guide (NS-TAST-GD-046).

What can engineers expect from your presentation at the event?

WD: I hope that my presentation will give an overview of nuclear lifting at the Devonport site, the complexities and variety of the lifting operations that are undertaken and some of the challenges that we face.

What are you most looking forward to by attending and presenting at Nuclear Lifting 2022?

WD: Being located in the Southwest of the country, Devonport can both appear and feel isolated (the M5 stops at Exeter!). With this in mind, I am looking forward to giving an overview of what is an interesting and complex site with some unique operating challenges.Additionally, I enjoy both meeting and listening to the presentations from engineers working at other sites.

Why is it important for engineers to join this event?

WD: Events such as this give us an opportunity to share knowledge and experience. There are various challenges across the industry, and it is events such as this that provide a conduit for the sharing of knowledge and good practice.

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Wind energy operators must address these 5 areas to exploit the full value of monitoring – Windpower Engineering

Posted: at 2:36 pm

By Evgenia Golysheva, VP of strategy and operations, ONYX Insight

Most operators in the wind industry rely on some form of condition monitoring system (CMS) to preserve the operational longevity and high performance of their assets. And it seems to be doing the trick the implementation of such systems in wind energy has been transformative. Where installed, it has virtually eradicated catastrophic failures and made viable the remoteness inherent to offshore wind.

Credit: Rich Crowder/GE

Alongside the adoption of predictive maintenance, this trend has already saved the global wind industry more than $550 million annually in potential lost revenue and lowered the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) by 1.5%, retaining its pull on investors despite rising costs elsewhere along the value chain.

But this is not enough if operators are to maximize the potential of the turbines in their portfolio and drive the energy transition in the most profitable way possible. A surface-level, tick-box style of condition monitoring, as well as a continued adherence to decisions made years ago about the monitoring strategies and technologies deployed on wind farms today, are slowing the large-scale adoption of sophisticated digitalization. This slowdown risks exposing wind farm owners and operators to greater inflationary pressures.

Wind asset operation is a fast-moving space encompassing a variety of ever more complex financial, mechanical and data-analytical needs, and static long-term approaches do not gel with rapidly evolving business priorities and market conditions. To ensure that condition monitoring continues to deliver optimal value in such a dynamic environment, operators must act now to scrutinize their monitoring strategies during these five key project lifecycle events:

The end of warranty (EoW) period typically comes at two to five years into a projects life. At this point, operators must make critical decisions about how to service their turbines post-warranty. Full scope service agreements, which are comprehensive packages arranged with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of the turbines in question, have traditionally been viewed as a safe option by operators, due to the formers assumed understanding of best practices to maintain their own technology.

However, EoW inspections conducted in-house by operators typically do not provide the deep understanding of asset health necessary to negotiate the terms of these servicing packages successfully with OEMs. Inspections have a limited coverage of turbine components, and collecting two years of prior data to prove an assets level of performance and estimate its remaining useful life is difficult in the best of cases. OEMs will also tend to dismiss EoW claims as normal wear and tear, further obfuscating negotiations.

However, squeezed project margins and growing confidence in turbine technology have led more asset owners to consider alternatives, such as independent vibration-based CMS technologies, and implement them from Day 1. This enables operators to conduct more targeted EoW inspections, bring the most thorough data possible to the negotiating table and catch any looming maintenance issues along the way.

Photo by Werner Slocum/NREL

OEM service agreements might seem attractive due to short-term cost savings, but they can prove a false economy. OEMs and operations and maintenance (O&M) service providers may not be adequately incentivized to inform customers about impending failures in a timely manner, leading to much higher maintenance fees at the point of eventual breakdown.

Contrast this with third-party independent service providers (ISPs), who must consistently demonstrate value via digital oversight of faults to enable predictive maintenance. During the main operational stage, independent condition monitoring is key for managing asset health. While some owners build in-house monitoring teams, others are increasingly looking to third-party providers with extensive track records and broader data pools. In either case, vibration-based condition monitoring is a proven tool for reducing major component failures.

The wind sector is growing fast, which means larger, more complex portfolios for most operators. Companies with portfolios over 1.5 GW are set to increase the capacity they own from 45% to 60% by 2030, with 60% of operators set to manage mixed portfolios of wind and solar assets by 2025.

However, larger global portfolios can overwhelm in-house data analysis teams, to the extent that in-house strategies cease to be cost-effective for large multi-brand portfolios. Partnering with established third-party providers can overcome this bottleneck while enabling in-house teams to focus on delivering high-end value instead of routine daily monitoring.

Larger portfolios also mean operators are more likely to have multiple turbine technologies and CMS within a single fleet. Digital platforms that combine analytics from these varied sources and convert them into unified data sets and actionable maintenance plans unlock untold efficiencies: from the simple IT burden of integrating different technologies, to training staff on different software, to coordinating servicing trips to maximize their effectiveness. The last point is especially true in offshore wind, where turbines are larger and maintenance is more expensive due to marine logistics.

With full scope service agreements beginning to seem less attractive for increasing numbers of asset owners and operators, many are looking to manage costly major component replacements in-house. Condition monitoring is critical to de-risk this transition with O&M costs cut by up to 30% in the meantime.

Another consideration is mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. From 2020 to 2021, the total value of M&A deals almost doubled, showing the volume of assets changing hands. A wind fleet with an established CMS, and all the data to show for it, is like a car with a full-service history it enables owners to justify valuations and gives buyers confidence. Crucially, it can shorten lengthy due diligence processes. Retaining flexibility when contracts change is paramount and frees up capital for the seller.

As assets start to age, reliability issues increase, and the business case for monitoring changes again. Owners and operators must not only have a thorough understanding of the condition of towers, foundations and blades but also the remaining useful life of the drivetrain and other replaceable components.

As the wind industry begins to look inward, evaluating its own carbon contribution, there is a clear need to use data to support the recycling of parts, which can save up to 90% of energy during manufacturing compared to using a new part. Monitoring is key to understanding when to take components out of an asset for refurbishment to enable re-use.

Finally, condition monitoring can inform repowering decisions. For example, partial repowering adding larger generators and blades without replacing structures and other parts such as yaw gears is popular with operators in the U.S. market, but this can lead to uneven part lives throughout the turbine. Monitoring shows operators the bigger picture to make informed life extension decisions: which parts of the turbine need replacing, and which can run for longer.

Failures to exploit the advantages monitoring brings in these five areas are leaving many owners and operators on the back foot, unable to leverage advances in sensing and analytics that promise huge strides. Condition monitoring is one of the most powerful technologies operators have for transforming asset profitability, removing uncertainty and improving confidence and control over budgeting decisions from beginning to end of the project lifecycle.

Coupled with multiple data streams and an engineering approach, they will be given overarching visibility to make better servicing decisions, contractual negotiations, and scale with greater confidence. There is also technological innovation happening now that will continue over the next ten years, bringing in additional data sources, including blades, pitch bearings, towers and foundations, enabling a more complete picture of asset health.

The key to a successful monitoring strategy is thinking long-term and continuing to invest in comprehensive, proven solutions which deal not just with the challenges wind operators face today, but also those of tomorrow. Future-proofing assets is key to driving profitability and enabling wind to play its critical role in a low-carbon future.

Evgenia has been supporting wind farm owners for over 10 years, focusing on using data to increase the efficiency of wind farm operation, improve asset reliability, and de-risk major maintenance activities. As VP of Strategy and Operations at ONYX Insight, Evgenia looks at changes in the renewables sector driven by global energy transformation, analyses challenges faced by industry players, and supports ONYX in defining future-proof technology solutions for renewables owner-operators worldwide.

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Extension shares tips for practicing fire safety in the fall – The Hartselle Enquirer – Hartselle Enquirer

Posted: at 2:36 pm

By Cole Sikes

Alabama Cooperative Extension Service

Fall is a popular season for bonfires, campfires and prescribed burning in Alabama. To spread the word on practicing fire safety, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System regional agent informs everyone about responsibly enjoying autumns beautiful weather.

Ryan Mitchell said a thoughtful planning and careful execution are key to safe burning.

The Fire Triangle

Fire needs three components to thrive: oxygen, fuel and heat. This trio is referred to as the fire triangle. Without the existence of all three elements, fire will not thrive. Removing only one of these items will cause any flame to slowly burn out or disappear completely.

The term fuel refers to any materialliving or notthat fire can use to spread. This can include anything from light, flashy fuels such as grasses or shrubs, to larger materials like stumps and piled storm debris that take longer to extinguish. Of course, in dry conditions, the ignition rate for these fuels is exacerbated by the lack of moisture in the air and the material itself.

Prescribed Burning

When driving through Alabama in the fall and winter months, large clouds of smoke rising into the blue sky may be alarming. However, these clouds are likely prescribed burns the intentional burning of forest or agricultural land.

The use of prescribed fire has proven to be a very beneficial tool in agriculture and forest management. In crop fields it removes debris prior to the next planting, controls weeds and reduces pests/diseases. In forestry, running a low-intensity fire through a forest floor reduces hazardous fuel loads, decreases natural competition for timber, allows sunlight to reach the forest floor, improves wildlife habitat and nourishes the soil.

Before intentionally setting a fire, experienced practitioners conduct hours of planning to create a prescription of conditions needed to meet specific objectives. Prescribed fire is a safe way to apply a natural process, ensuring ecosystem health and reducing future wildfire risk.

If you choose to conduct a prescribed burn, safety is of the utmost importance, Mitchell said. Under the wrong conditions, fire can easily get out of hand and affect property and life.

Mitchell said everyone should contact the Alabama Forestry Commission for a free burn permit before initiating a burn more than one quarter of an acre in size. Also, check the agencys website for any potential burn restrictions in the area.

There is also a training course for those who aspire to become a certified prescribed burn manager. The Certified Prescribed Burn Manager course covers 32 hours of discussion, planning and study of Alabama fire laws. Any individual who is interested in the use of prescribed fire as a management tool is encouraged to participate in the program.

Bonfires, Campfires and Burn Piles

Most Alabamians enjoy sitting around a good campfire or bonfire. These events are a popular way to bring people together during this time of the year. However, they can become dangerous if not executed responsibly.

Before grabbing those marshmallows, ensure the proper handling of fire especially when starting it. Remove all flammable materials around a fire site including loose debris, brush, fuel cans, etc. before lighting a flame. This will mitigate the opportunity for fire to spread to undesirable places, such as vehicles or structures.

Never walk on top of a large pile to ignite it, Mitchell said. This action can potentially lead to falling or becoming stuck while fuel is rapidly burning.

Mitchell adds that it is not a good idea to use gasoline or other accelerants that may give off explosive vapors. Using this method has the potential to cause severe injuries.

Feeling the Burn

Now that fall has come to stay, continue to practice responsibility when managing property or huddling around the fire.

For more information on burning techniques and safety tips, visit the Alabama Extension website, http://www.aces.edu.

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FIRST Robotics Prepares to Extend Its Reach to More Vermont Students – Seven Days

Posted: at 2:36 pm

A glass case in the lobby of Westford School displays shinystatuettes that celebrate its students' wins in basketball and soccer competitions. On the top shelf, though, stands a row of more unusual-looking trophies, fashioned from bright yellow LEGO pieces.

Elementary and middle schoolers earned these blocky honors in FIRST LEGO League robotics tournaments, which require the same hard work, cooperation and determination as traditional athletics.

Over the past decade, robotics has been woven into the fabric of the small Chittenden County public school, thanks to a group of devoted volunteers, most of them parents, who run an afterschool club and occasionally teach tech-themed lessons in classrooms. One of the volunteers, Mark Drapa a father of three and an electrical engineer at the semiconductor company GlobalFoundries said he's proud of the techy culture that's taken root in the community.

As many Westford students participate in robotics as play soccer, Drapa said. Not to mention, "It's totally cool to wear your robotics shirt to school."

Westford's enthusiasm for robotics sets it apart. Many Vermont schools especially in less-populated, under-resourced parts of the state don't even offer the activity. But that's likely to change, thanks to a three-year, $375,000 grant from the Argosy Foundation, which was founded by John Abele, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who lives in Shelburne.

The money is meant to help eliminate some of the barriers to starting robotics programs by providing financial support and technical assistance to new teams. And it will enable FIRST in Vermont, a nonprofit started last year to support robotics programming for youth, to hire a state coordinator to increase awareness about FIRST programs, recruit and train coaches, and foster collaboration among robotics teams.

FIRST, which stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," has three strands: a FIRST LEGO League for elementary and middle school students, and FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition, both for high schoolers. The program was started 25 years ago in Manchester, N.H., by engineer and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, who is best known for inventing the Segway and an electric wheelchair called the iBOT.

Kamen and his collaborator Woodie Flowers, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, wanted to bring the excitement of sports competitions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. So, they designed a program with a gamelike atmosphere that features robots competing in a ring, along with human referees in black-and-white-striped jerseys and cheering real-life spectators. FIRST calls itself a "coopertition" rather than a competition, because teams work in alliances and must help each other in order to succeed. More than 600,000 students in 110 countries now participate.

Vermont's first team formed in 2002, and the program has grown slowly but steadily since, with around 30 FIRST LEGO League teams, 18 FIRST Tech Challenge teams and a handful of FIRST Robotics Competition teams now around the state. Not all are based in schools; some are run through 4-H clubs, homeschool groups, churches and makerspaces. The University of Vermont's College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences and extension programs help organize FIRST Tech Challenge's competitions, while Norwich University hosts the FIRST LEGO League state championship each year.

But Vermont still lags behind much of the country, including New Hampshire and Massachusetts, said John Cohn, a FIRST in Vermont board member and IBM Fellow emeritus. The goal of the Argosy grant is to raise the participation rate of Vermont students above the national average and keep it there.

Cohn who has been known to dress up in light-up glasses, silly head gear and tie-dye garb for competitions thinks Vermont's "funkiness" makes it ripe for an expansion of robotics programming. "There's this long tradition of Yankee ingenuity and open-ended, practical problem solving," he said.

On a Tuesday evening in early October, that ingenuity was on display in Westford. Eight fifth graders members of one of the school's five FIRST LEGO League teams gathered around a long tabletop game board dotted with 15 colorful LEGO contraptions. The team members, who call themselves the Interplanetary Pizza Pandas, meet twice weekly from September to January to build and create code for a robot that can complete a series of tasks that involve pushing, pulling, lifting, dragging and flipping the LEGO structures. Each successfully completed task is worth a specific number of points.

In February, the Westford teams will go to the statewide competition, where they'll put their bot to the test alongside teams from around Vermont. The team that takes top honors will move on to the World Championship in Houston, a Super Bowl-like event where competitors don costumes and throngs of supporters typically turn out to cheer players on.

Westford students are encouraged to try out different tasks throughout the season. At this practice, fifth grader Owen Mellion used Scratch, a drag-and-drop coding language, to program a robot to carry out a series of actions, while teammates Davide McElvany and Keith Collins tended to the machine which LEGO calls an "intelligent brick" with a motor and wheels. The students had fastened a square attachment that they'd built to the front of the robot to enable it to carry out some of the tasks. But when they attempted to get the robot to perform, it veered in the wrong direction. The students went back to their laptop to troubleshoot.

Learning from missteps is a key part of FIRST Robotics, Drapa said as he watched. "If it doesn't work, move on and find out what does work," he said. "Any type of experimentation is a win."

Across the table, Inez Medick and Maeve LaBossiere, fresh from soccer practice, worked to program a separate robot.

"It's really fun to make models and to code," Medick said. When her older brother participated in FIRST LEGO League years ago, she went along to his competitions.

"I saw the [game] board and the projects and stuff, and ... I wanted to do it," she said.

Both Medick and LaBossiere hope to continue to participate in robotics when they're older. And because of the continuum of programming in their school district, they'll have that opportunity.

At Essex High School, science teacher Joseph Chase started one of the FIRST Tech Challenge teams in the state 15 years ago. This year, close to 20 students members of the high school's HiveMind Robotics team meet three times a week at the school to build and code robots using CAD software and 3D-printed parts.

At this point in the season, the Essex students are still in the prototyping phase, trying to figure out the best design for this year's particular challenge, which involves having a robot place cones on poles of different heights. Challenges change from year to year, but the game always takes place on a 12-foot square game board bordered by foot-high walls.

Sophomores Max Drapa (son of the Westford coach), Mason Meirs, Cheru Berhanu and junior Matthew Corneau are all in their second year of FIRST Tech Challenge. In early September, their team gathered at U-32 Middle & High School in Montpelier with three other high school groups including last year's state champs, the Champlain Valley Union High School RoboHawks to watch the video reveal of this year's challenge, the cones-on-poles drill. Then, over pizza, the teams brainstormed ideas for how to approach the task. Collaborating with other teams is part of the "gracious professionalism" that FIRST Robotics says is a centerpiece of its programs. "When you're in a competition, it's not like, 'Oh, you lost,'" Max Drapa said. "You actually learn from it and meet other teams and see what they've done."

"You end up making really good connections with competitors," Berhanu added.

Their coach also sees the program as a workforce development initiative.

Chase connects his students with local businesses during the season, in the hope that they'll forge connections that may lead to internships or jobs.

"One of the finest exports from the state of Vermont is our children. They get a great education here, and then they leave," Chase said. But, he added, local companies such as Beta Technologies and GlobalFoundries are looking for young people who have the tech skills that FIRST develops.

Cohn, who now works for Beta, can back that up. He recently took an informal poll of fellow staffers and found that 17 of them had taken part in FIRST programs growing up.

Students can unlock higher ed opportunities by participating, as well. Colleges, including MIT and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, offer more than $80 million in scholarships to high school students who've participated in FIRST programs, according to the organization.

Abele, cofounder of Boston Scientific a medical device company that makes coronary stents, defibrillators and pacemakers is an enthusiastic booster of FIRST. He learned about the program from Kamen decades ago and served as chair of the organization from 2002 to 2010.

"I think it's really important for all people to be technically literate," Abele said. "This is a fun way to do the learning. You sort of do it without even knowing you're doing it."

Just as importantly, the program cultivates social and emotional skills needed to work well with others, he said.

To Max Drapa, that teamwork is one of the best things about FIRST.

"In class, you have maybe a couple of group projects," he said. But FIRST Tech Challenge is "one big group project."

Added teammate Corneau, "I think we've become pretty good friends from this."

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FIRST Robotics Prepares to Extend Its Reach to More Vermont Students - Seven Days

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Plant Life Cycles – Penn State Extension

Posted: October 2, 2022 at 4:10 pm

Plants are classified by the number of growing seasons required to complete their life cycle. Generally, these groups are annuals, biennials, and perennials. Annuals will provide continuous blooms throughout the growing season, while biennials provide blooms during their second year of growth. Perennials will bloom for 2 to 8 weeks or longer, however, bloom time will vary and can occur during the beginning, middle, or end of the growing season.

Annuals take a single year to complete a full life cycle. Most are planted in the spring, bloom in the summer, and die in the fall. A few, known as winter annuals, germinate in the later summer and autumn, are dormant during the winter, and grow during the next spring and summer. Many plants treated as annuals in northern climates such as Pennsylvania are actually perennials when grown in southern climates. These plants are not cold hardy and are not able to withstand winter temperatures in our hardiness zones (zones 4b to 6b, average annual minimum temperature between -25 F and 0 F). Except for those that reseed themselves, annuals will not grow a second year unless they are replanted. Annuals are frequently grouped as "hardy," "half-hardy," or "tender." This refers to:

A plant might grow as a hardy annual, or even be treated as a hardy biennial or perennial, in the lower Delaware Valley area of southeastern Pennsylvania. Yet these same plants may be considered a half-hardy or tender annual in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Biennials take twice as long to complete a full life cycle as annuals. They require a dormant period, induced by cold temperatures, between plant growth and blooming. Biennials are usually sown in the spring, vegetative during the summer, dormant that fall, live in this inactive state through the winter, flower the second summer, set seed, and die during the following fall. If biennials are grown in regions where winter temperatures are colder than the plants hardiness, a cold frame can be used as a temporary shelter for plants.

Some biennials can be treated as annuals by sowing seed in the summer that will germinate and be exposed to chilling temperatures to induce flowering in the fall and over winter, and resume growth and flower the next spring.

Perennials used in Pennsylvania landscapes are cold hardy enough to survive winter temperatures, hence they live longer than both annuals and biennials. Perennials are classified as either herbaceous or woody.

Herbaceous perennials that are not cold hardy or cannot tolerate really cold climates usually die when the soil freezes. These perennials are often treated as annuals.

Bulbous plants are often referred to as bulbs, tubers, corms, or rhizomes. True bulbs are actually fleshy food storage centers for underground stems from which the next season's plants will grow. Corms are also food storage centers but are more scaly and solid. Rhizomes and tubers are actually thick underground stems. To be classified correctly, this group belongs with perennial flowers because bulbous plants come back and flower year after year.

Characteristics of woody perennials include:

Prepared by Phyllis Lamont, consumer horticulture center library coordinator and Kathleen M. Kelley, assistant professor of consumer horticulture.

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FDA Authorizes Shelf Life Extension for Certain Lots of Paxlovid

Posted: at 4:10 pm

September 6, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly evolving, and new updates are issued frequently. To view a full list of HHS/ASPRs updates related to COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapeutics, please see our full list of updates.

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces the authorization of an extension to the shelf life from 12 months to 18 months for certain lots of the Pfizer antiviral therapy, Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets co-packaged for oral use), which is currently authorized for emergency use for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in certain adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40kg).

As a result of this extension, lots of Paxlovid with dates of expiry from July 2022 to May 2023 may be stored for an additional six months from the labeled date of expiry (see Table 1 below). As required by the emergency use authorization, unopened cartons of Paxlovid (300 mg nirmatrelvir and 100 mg ritonavir, or 150 mg nirmatrelvir and 100 mg ritonavir), must be appropriately held in accordance with storage conditions detailed in the authorized Fact Sheet for Health Care Providers. FDA granted this extension following a thorough review of data submitted by Pfizer.

Please contact COVID19Therapeutics@hhs.gov with any questions.

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