Monthly Archives: August 2017

What do fluorescent lights that scan for Salmonella, remote sensors for testing bridge stability and a tool to identify bee mites have in common?

Theyre part of the latest crop of innovative ideas that make up the244 new inventions and 109 patent applications included in the Agriculture Departmentsannual report on technology transfer.

The report itself tries to compile new inventions, patents, technology breakthroughs, new methodologies; really the kinds of collaborations that USDA science and technology folks have with the private sector through special agreements, said acting USDA Undersecretary Ann Bartuska. So you have an incredible array of things that are in the annual report. My favorite ones happen to be the things that clearly demonstrate breakthroughs and innovations. In fact, they really do represent the range of work that happens at the 16 agencies that comprise USDA.

The report started being published within the last 20 years. Each year, theres a call for what everybody throughout the USDAand its components is working on.

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It covers the gamut of agreements like CRADAs, which are cooperative research and development agreements with the private sector. It includes patents. It includes licenses. It includes new exploratory work thats happening, said Bartuska, whois also serving asacting chief scientist for research, education and economics at USDA.So its really quite diverse in what its capturing. There is in the report tables that capture the data in those categories by agency, and then we roll it all up to one for the department.

Bartuska said this years report is pretty consistent with past years numbers of patents and inventions, though the output can be impacted by technological breakthroughs. In fiscal 2015, the report included 222 new inventions and 125 new patent applications.

For example, gene sequencing has created a whole new set of processes and products and subsequent opportunities for research and development, Bartuska said.

The outcomes that especially our intramural agencies Agricultural Research Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the Forest Service I think the work that they have done, the production of new things, has beenpretty constant over time, with some blips, Bartuska said. The genomic sequencing probably is one area. Theres been some advances inpest protection and quarantine matters, that really track where theyve had infestations, so you might be able to follow some increases and outcomesfollowing a particular pest outbreak, and then it goes back. Theres a lot of interest in disease transmission right now. If I look at that report, theres a lot on mosquitoes and transmissions.

That includes the enhancement of clothing worn by Marines to better prevent bug bites.

Bartuska said if she had to look to future reports, she would expect to see an increase in water use and drought response.

New bill would loosen restrictions on TSP withdrawals

Were really interested in reducing the amount of water used by Agriculture and being more responsible in the water that we use, Bartuska said.

She said sensor technology and the use of aerial vehicles [drones], and how those technologies can be more effective and efficient, is another area where future technology transfer reports mightshow an increased interest.

Effectiveness and efficiency are things USDA always has in mind, especially when it comes to a return on investment for taxpayers, Bartuska said.

One hundred percent of the people use our product because we produce food, Bartuska said. And so wetouch everybody, but to do it in a sustainable way, to be able to meet other peoples values on the environment and water quality, were very conscious of that. A lot of this return on investment is how you do work more efficiently, more effectively. And again, get a lot of benefit by that dollar that weve been investing.

Bartuska said according to USDA math, for every dollar invested in research and development, $20 is returned to taxpayers.

One example in the report that highlights USDAs mission is an anti-cancer drug developed by Penn State University researchers. The drug comes from parts of Omega-3 fatty acids.

The connection back to USDA is that other than not only funding good science,but Omega-3s are found in agricultural and aquacultural products, so youre extracting from one of our products into something that would then benefit human health, Bartuska said. It really does reflect that Agriculture is in part about farming, but Agriculture is so much about all kinds of food technology that we have, diseases; the diversity, again, of activities under USDA is incredibly broad.

The report also highlights the work USDA does with universities, the private sector and other agencies, Bartuska said.

Agreements with the private sector can come in the form of cooperative research and development agreements, and at some point, those products can be moved into the private sector.

In some cases, the patent would be held by us and they get exclusive license on the product, but it allows us then to form and both mutually invest in an outcome, Bartuska said. So weve really been trying to promote especially when we see the potential for a particular line of research to become a commercial activity, to build these private sector partnerships.

The report also complements the administrations Made In America, campaign, through contributing to job growth and supporting new business, especially in rural areas, Bartuska said.

Allthose products that you see in the technology transfer report, we can see them as helping to contribute to this overall Made In America process, Bartuska said. Technology transfer is all about development of a research product and then moving it to somebody to use it. It is as fine to me thata CEO of a company uses something as you [would] in your home, because hopefully what youre using is creating a better quality of life, a safer environment, a better use of resources so that were reducing waste, were reducing water consumption. So all of those things really add upto the value of what our research products can do.

Read the rest here:

USDA creating better quality of life, safer environment through technology transfer - FederalNewsRadio.com

Jack Hogan CTO Lifescript

For pharmaceutical companies, deploying programmatic technology is a sticky subject. Because of strict privacy and patient protection laws, pharma companies are limited in how they can target individual consumers, which makes programmatic advertising more of a guessing game. But that doesnt mean it cant be done. Jack Hogan, CTO at medical publisher Lifescript, spoke with eMarketers Maria Minsker about how pharma companies can use publishers data to leverage programmatic technology.

eMarketer: How can medical publishers create proxy audiences to power programmatic technology for pharma brands?

Jack Hogan: Medical publishers have vast audiences of opt-in consumers with targetable IDs and declared health interests. Were talking about first-party data, not third-party health and medical data, which is inaccurate 50% of the time. By decoupling that first-party, declared health data from any private information, publishers enable brands to reach desired audiences with specific medical interests across the entire ad ecosystemwithout breaking any HIPAA rules.

Publishers are able to create segments of users interested in certain conditions, and feed these audience sets to pharma companies.

eMarketer: How does this make it possible for pharmaceutical companies to leverage programmatic advertising technology?

Hogan: While the guidelines for HIPAA are very stringent and strict when it comes to the type of data that can be accessed and shared, medical publishers typically dont touch any medical records or confidential medical data. Rather, publishers have access to declared interest in specific conditions or symptoms, which falls under other guidelines. As a result, publishers are able to create segments of users interested in certain conditions, and feed these audience sets to pharma companies through programmatic pipelines for ad targeting.

Plus, once a publisher zeros in on a users interests and pinpoints that users identity using a primary identifier such as an email address, that anonymized identity can then be extended to a mobile device for programmatic advertising via mobile as well.

eMarketer: Can you share an example of how a brand might work with a publisher to target a specific audience segment using programmatic technology?

Hogan: Lets say a statin drug manufacturer is looking to target people who have high cholesterol with a marketing campaign. A publisher can create a segment of people who have self-identified as showing interest in this topic while engaging with the publishers site. The publisher can then make that segment available to the advertiser through a programmatic pipeline, enabling them to work with their technology vendors to target that segment through programmatic display, video or mobile advertising.

There are some marketers in the space who dont understand the marketing technology requirements for handling private data.

eMarketer: Are enough pharmaceutical marketers taking advantage of programmatic advertising, or are they missing an opportunity when it comes to health data?

Hogan: There are some marketers in the space who dont understand the marketing technology requirements for handling private data. For example, all user data should be de-identified, and not tied back to an individual. Personal health data like that should not be used in any marketing or advertising efforts. Marketers should be using smart tools that can decouple data from individuals identifiers, starting at the point of opt-in through collection and use.

See the article here:

Pharmaceutical Brands Can Use Programmatic Technology, Too - eMarketer

LONDON, Aug 2Asian technology stocks hit 17-year peaks and Wall Street's Dow index looked set to break 22,000 points later on Wednesday, as blockbuster earnings from Apple rippled out to component makers globally.

Shares in the world's most valuable company surged 6% after-hours to a record of more than $159 each, taking its market capitalization above $830 billion.

That should help carry the Dow through the 22,000 mark when trading resumes in New York. E-Mini futures for the Dow were up 0.2 percent despite a lower Europe as disappointing results from Societe Generale and Commerzbank weighed on the bank stocks.

Apple reported better-than-expected iPhone sales , revenue, and earnings per share and signaled its upcoming 10th-anniversary phone is on schedule.

It helped dispel one of the few nagging doubts of the corporate earnings season so farthat Amazons lackluster results last week might have revealed some tiredness among the giant U.S. tech and internet stocks that have been driving the stock market rally all year.

"It is all about Apple," said Naeem Aslam chief market analyst at Think Markets. "The firm comfortably topped its forecast and produced stellar numbers for its revenue and profit."

Among Asia's Apple suppliers, LG Innnotek jumped 10 percent and SK Hynix, the world's second-biggest memory chip maker, rose 3.8 percent.

Murata Manufacturing firmed 4.9 percent and Taiyo Yuden 4.4 percent, helping Tokyo's Nikkei up 0.47 percent.

The MSCI tech index for Asia also climbed 0.9 percent to ground not trod since early 2000, bringing its gains for the year to a heady 40 percent.

Those gains balanced losses in basic materials and energy to leave MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan steady near its highest since late 2007.

There was a note of caution over reports that U.S. President Donald Trump was close to a decision on how to respond to what he considers China's unfair trade practices.

Tepid U.S. inflation along with political turmoil in Washington has lessened the possibility of another Federal Reserve rate hike this year, lowering bond yields across the globe.

Improving data in other major economies has also served to push the greenback down nearly 11 percent from January peaks, benefiting commodities and emerging markets.

A swathe of manufacturing surveys (PMIs) out on Tuesday had underlined how the improvement in activity had broadened out from the United States to Asia and Europe.

Alan Ruskin, head of G10 forex at Deutsche Bank, noted the top five PMIs were all Northern European economies and every index in Europe was now in expansionary territory above 50.

"That will do nothing to hurt ebullient global risk appetite," said Ruskin. "This phase of the risk rally is based on growth data, but even more on subdued inflation measures."

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe was just below an all-time peak.

On Wall Street later electric car maker Tesla, gadget firm Fitbit and insurance provider AIG will report results.

In currency markets, the dollar index was stuck at just under 93, after touching 92.777, the lowest since early May 2016. It was aided by gains on a softer yen which saw it creep to 110.80.

Yet the euro also benefited from buying against the yen , reaching its highest since February last year. It nudged up against the dollar and Swiss Franc too, briefly striking new 2-1/2-year highs against both at $1.1846 and 1.1468 francs per euro respectively.

Euro zone June producer price inflation data helped it on its way as it topped analysts' forecasts. There was a slowdown in the pace overall, but it bolstered bets that the European Central Bank could soon start winding down its more than 2-trillion-euro stimulus program.

"The ECB is going to be the central bank to watch for the rest of the year," said JP Morgan Asset Management global market strategist Alex Dryden.

"We think they are going to take 9-12 months to get out of the market but that is a big question ... it could even be six months," he added.

Bond markets were largely quiet, with the premiums investors demand to hold South European government debt over the German equivalent close to their lowest levels in weeks and both 2- and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields barely budged.

In emerging markets, MSCI's EM stocks index was near a three-year high. India's central bank became the first in Asia to cut interest rates this year, while Venezuela's bonds continued to slid amid rising political tensions there around President Nicolas Maduro.

Oil prices were under pressure again too amid rising U.S. fuel inventories and as major world producers kept pumping, causing investors to worry that several weeks of steady gains had pushed the rally too far.

Brent crude eased to $51.80 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost 8 cents to $49.07.

(Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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Asian Technology Stocks Just Hit 17-year Peaks - Fortune

CORPUS CHRISTI -

Teachers from area districts are turning to technology to make learning activities more exciting for students and staff alike. Instructional Technology Specialist Cary Perales says, it's all for the third annual "Tech 2 Teach" conference held at Veterans Memorial High School.

"We have teachers that're on their break coming in to learn something to bring to their classroom to teach at a higher level," Teacher, Denis Wisner said.

Wisner is just one of nearly a thousand teachers trying to better their ability to educate, ahead of the new school year.

"Really it's to let our teachers get fired up about going back into the classroom and teaching our students those 21st century skills sets that they need," Perales said.

She adds, that the conference considers multiple ways of learning and bringing staff together.

"Getting to network with other teachers, they're getting to see all kinds of sessions integrating technology in the classroom."

Teachers like Emily Schellinger and Jenifer Martinez say, while technology is seeming taking over, some still like the old fashioned way of hands-on learning. However, students are still encourage to B.Y.O.D.

"It's very important for the students to come into the classroom and use their devices, here at Veterans we have BYOD, which is bring your own device and whether it's a phone or chrome book or a laptop the kids are encouraged to use it," Martinez said.

Overall, the goal is to keep the attention of easily distracted students, focused on fun, interactive learning tools.

More information: https://www.tcea.org/event/area-2-corpus-christi-technology-conference-tech2teach/

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Teachers embracing technology in the classroom - KRIS Corpus Christi News

Ionic said it had developed prototypes of a rechargeable alkaline battery that can be made using continuous manufacturing processes similar to the making of plastic wrap. So far, the company, which is backed by William Joy, a pioneering Silicon Valley computer designer, has demonstrated up to 400 recharge cycles for its prototypes. Ionic executives say they believe they will be able to triple that.

The alkaline batteries that Ionic has developed would initially be heavier than todays lithium-ion batteries, said Mike Zimmerman, a materials scientist who is the founder and chief executive of Ionic. But the new batteries would more than compensate for that handicap with their cost advantage and, in time, their ability to store more energy.

There are other advantages besides cost and safety. Lithium-ion batteries rely on cobalt, and using that element comes with a human cost. Cobalt mines in Africa, for example, have been accused of using child labor while leaving behind a toxic mess.

Alkaline batteries, on the other hand, use relatively abundant zinc and manganese. Ionic can help us get lithium-ion past cobalt and completely eliminate it with alkaline, said Mr. Joy, who is a member of Ionics board.

He also said that the company had made progress toward an alkaline battery design that would replace zinc with more affordable aluminum. In the past, aluminum has not been usable because of issues like corrosion. Alkaline batteries based on aluminum would potentially weigh less than lithium-ion batteries and would be even cheaper to produce than todays alkaline designs.

Ionic will make its announcement in Colorado at a conference for the 35th anniversary of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a sustainable-energy research group founded by the physicist and environmentalist Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins, his former wife.

They started with a very sensible set of criteria, Dr. Lovins said of Ionic. They use an unusual electrolyte to come up with a battery that uses common cheap materials and is benign.

But he added a note of caution: Batteries are very difficult and I want to see what they have and what can be measured and proven and whether it will get to market.

Technological progress in battery technology has been glacial compared with the exponential advances in processing speed and data storage capacity that have been staples of Silicon Valleys growth. In the last 150 years, only a handful of rechargeable battery chemistries have reached mass adoption.

Tesla, in partnership with Panasonic, is building a factory in Nevada with the intent of greatly expanding capacity to make lithium-ion batteries and lower production costs. Tesla officials said they wanted to create enough capacity to produce batteries for 1.5 million cars a year.

There is growing interest in pursuing such so-called solid-state battery technologies for both consumer and transportation applications. Last fall, the United States Department of Energys agency for supporting research in next-generation energy technology announced 16 research awards aimed at accelerating development of solid battery technologies, including a $3 million contract to Ionic Materials. The company said it had signed several licensing deals to produce commercial versions of its design, but it would not identify its partners.

The United States Advanced Battery Consortium, an auto industry group, wants to greatly reduce the cost of lithium-ion production. Analysts, however, say they believe the new facilities and technology from auto and battery manufacturers will help bring costs down, but still fall short of industry goals.

In contrast, Ionic executives said they had found a way to achieve energy production costs that would be less than a fifth of the auto consortiums target.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance, an energy research group, has forecast that mass-market adoption of electric vehicles will not occur until operating costs fall to match those of internal combustion engines. That is expected to happen in 2025, according to the group.

In December, Ionic Materials also described a solid material it said would improve the safety of existing lithium-ion batteries. The company has demonstrated the batteries resistance to catching fire or exploding by driving nails through them and even shooting them with bullets.

A version of this article appears in print on August 2, 2017, on Page B2 of the New York edition with the headline: Massachusetts Start-Up Trumpets Advance in Battery Capacity.

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A Better, Safer Battery Could Be Coming to a Laptop Near You - New York Times