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Researchers have identified a virus that could serve as a vector for a "self-spreading" bat rabies vaccine. South American vampire bats are susceptible to the virus known as Desmodus rotundus betaherpesvirus. Credit: Josh More. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Scientists in Scotland recently penned the latest installment in the literature about the quest for self-spreading vaccines, inoculations that could move through animal populations like a disease, but instead of illness, spread immunity. In a new article, University of Glasgow researcher Megan Griffiths and her colleagues identified a herpes virus that might be turned into a vehicle known as a viral vector to spread a rabies vaccine among South American vampire bats. The herpes virus Griffiths highlighted could potentially help researchers overcome a big hurdle for self-spreading vaccine development: Pre-existing immunity to a viral vector used for a vaccine, induced by previous infection with the virus or a related strain, may block the vaccine from spreading. Griffithss team studied a herpes virus that can infect bats even if they were previously infected by related strains and therefore could still be an effective viral vector.

Its a development that Scott Nuismer, a biologist and leading figure in self-spreading vaccine research, said moved us closer to the point where these challenges in deploying a vaccine can be solved. But self-spreading vaccine technology is inherently risky. Once let loose, the vaccine could recombine with human pathogens. Also, it could help malicious actors create viruses capable of causing pandemics. Despite these risks, self-spreading vaccine research appears to be moving forward. Behind the scenes, however, a promising trend is emerging: In journal articles, biosecurity experts and other scientists in the field are grappling with each others ideas and potentially paving the way for discussions that could offer a roadmap for mitigating risks from emerging biotechnologies.

Benefits and risks of self-spreading vaccines. The story of self-spreading vaccines began more than 20 years ago with the study of a vaccine for rabbit haemorrhagic disease that spread from initially inoculated animals to other rabbits, imparting immunity to a large share of the rabbit herd. Until recently, however, few in the media and the general public paid attention to the niche area of study. This changed when, at the height of the first COVID-19 peak, Nuismer and biologist James Bull published an article in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. The piece precipitated a raft of media coverage of self-spreading vaccines and sparked expressions of concern from biosecurity experts.

In a primer accompanying Griffithss new study, Nuismer (who wasnt part of the University of Glasgow research) highlighted the most direct potential application of self-spreading vaccines: reducing the risk of human infections with animal pathogens. Self-spreading vaccines could provide a cost-effective way to vaccinate animal populations and reduce the incidence of pathogens capable of infecting humans, in contrast to resource intensive wildlife vaccination drives. Cost-effective animal vaccination could also be used for wildlife conservation and, according to proponents, may even allow the preemptive elimination of pathogens capable of causing pandemicseven if the feasibility of the latter is highly uncertain.

On the other hand, critics have highlighted that the release of a self-spreading virus may have unanticipated and potentially harmful consequences. In their most commonly advocated form, self-spreading vaccines are based on the insertion of a non-pathogenic genetic element of the vaccine target, say the rabies virus, into a transmissible but generally harmless virus. Like traditional inoculations, the self-spreading vaccine could prime a recipients immune system to recognize and fight harmful pathogens.

It is most likely that a self-spreading vaccine will turn back into a harmless virus, as the foreign genetic element (in the case of a rabies vaccine, a non-pathogenic part of rabies virus) is evolutionarily burdensome to the viral vector. Nevertheless, a self-spreading vaccine virus could transfer the foreign genetic element or other genetic modifications to other viruses, including human ones. Such genetic recombination may have unexpected consequences many years later and across borders. A recombined version of a virus released in 1952 for rabbit pest control in France was recently found to kill wild hares in Spain.

Dangerous insights on viral engineering. History shows the risk that a malicious group would use a biological agent as a weapon isnt just a hypothetical concern. In the 1990s, the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo sought to engineer biological weapons and almost succeeded. Similar groups gaining access to modern synthetic biology is a source of grave concernespecially the capability to engineer transmissible pathogens capable of causing a pandemic.

As the point of self-spreading vaccines is to transmit autonomously, it seems likely that researchers will be tempted to manipulate the transmissibility of their vaccine viruses. If research on engineering viral transmissibility were successful, the result could be increased capabilities to create pandemic-capable viruses and lowered barriers to their misuse.

Importantly, a focus on optimizing only non-pathogenic vaccine viruses does not protect against the possibility that others might misuse these optimized capabilities. Insights on transmissibility and other genetic modifications may be generalizable and transferable to more pathogenic viruses: The historical biological weapons program of the Soviet Union studied genetic modifications in a related non-pathogenic virus for eventual transfer to the deadly virus that causes smallpox. The frightening bottom line: Scientists optimizing self-spreading vaccines may inadvertently recreate efforts to develop biological weapons.

Research into fine-tuning viral transmissibility, while a particularly concerning case, is only one instance of an accelerating flood of transferable insights applicable to the enhancement of pathogens. The source of these transferable insights are efforts to engineer viruses for an increasing range of therapeutic applications. These include not just vaccine development but also gene and cancer therapy. For instance, cancer researchers are engineering viruses to target specific parts of the body and modulating interactions with the immune system. These fields have not classically featured consideration of dual-use risks, and researchers and funding bodies are frequently not aware of the misuse potential of their work.

This unawareness is troubling as platform approaches and general-purpose methods from these areas of science increasingly drive viral engineering capabilities.

An opportunity for actionable progress. In 1975, leading experts came together at the Asilomar Conference to lay the path for the safe and ethical use of genetic engineering. The resulting guidelines have had long-lasting effects on the field. A recent twist of the self-spreading vaccine saga provides an opportunity for similar multi-disciplinary discussions on safety and ethics. In March, concerned biosecurity experts and advocates came head-to-head in dueling pieces in the journal Science over the regulation of self-spreading vaccines. Advocates and concerned experts have stepped forward, articulated the benefits and risks of self-spreading vaccines, and engaged with each other in writing. Now, there is momentum for actionable progress which could be realized through in-person discussions.

A goal that unifies both advocates and critics should lie at the heart of such discussion: mitigating disease and improving health outcomes. Outside of contributing to this goal, the development of self-spreading vaccines does not feature intrinsic value. For a given challenge of mitigating disease, different solutions with associated benefits and risks need to be compared. For instance, to reduce the recurring spillover of rabies, vaccines transferred through animal behavior, such as a vaccine paste that inoculates bats as they groom one another, feature most of the benefits of self-spreading vaccines but comparatively little risk. For preventing future pandemics, self-spreading vaccines need to be compared against investments in healthcare systems, fast response vaccine platforms, or the detection of pathogen spillover at the animal-human interface. Where funding bodies and researchers are exploring self-spreading vaccines, comparative risk-benefit assessment could guide decisions on what virus to base the vaccine on and what engineering approaches to explore. For instance, a strong commitment by self-spreading vaccine researchers to never optimize transmissibility could significantly cut risks while retaining the vast majority of benefits.

In a time where risks are associated with an ever-greater fraction of life sciences research, the crucial point for considering risks is not after a project has been funded but before. In the absence of clear benefits of one project over another, the lowest risk avenue should be pursued. For instance, certain viral engineering approaches feature less risks of being transferable to pathogens and should be explored preferentially for vaccines or cancer therapy. Comparative risk-benefit assessment can mitigate the misuse potential of our research portfolio without sacrificing benefits.

A productive discussion of self-spreading vaccines would be an important step on the road to addressing one of the greatest challenges of the coming decades: how to manage the proliferation of the ability to create pandemic viruses.

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As self-spreading vaccine technology moves forward, dialogue on its risks should follow - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

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17 Education & Technology Group Inc.(YQ -21.31%)Q12022 Earnings CallJun 09, 2022, 9:00 p.m. ET

Operator

Good evening, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by for 17EdTech's first quarter 2022 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the management's prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator instructions] As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the meeting over to your host for today's call, Ms. Lara Zhao, 17EdTech's investor relations manager. Please proceed, Lara.

Lara Zhao -- Investor Relations Manager

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Our new earnings release was distributed earlier today and is available on our IR website. Joining us today are Mr.

Andy Chang Liu, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer; and Mr. Michael Chao Du, director and chief financial officer. Andy will go through our latest business performance and strategies followed by Michael, who will discuss our financial performance and guidance. They will be available to answer your questions during the Q&A session after the prepared remarks.

Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that this conference call contains forward-looking statements as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the company's control. These risks may cause the company's actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially.

Further information regarding these or other risks, uncertainties, or factors is included in the company's filings with the U.S. SEC. The company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required under applicable law. I will now turn the call over to our chairman and chief executive officer, to review some of our business development and strategic direction.

Andy, please go ahead.

Andy Chang Liu -- Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Lara. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us on our first quarter 2022 earnings call. We are pleased to report solid performance in the first quarter.

But before we dive into the details, let me provide some quick highlights. First, net revenue was 233.4 million, 11.1% higher than the top end of the estimates provided in March. Second, our operational efficiency continued to improve at the same time resulting in a substantially narrowed GAAP business net loss compared with the same period in 2021, and this allowed us to achieve a positive adjusted net income for the second quarter in a row. Third, our new business strategies continue to gain momentum.

We saw new opportunities as the COVID-19 pandemic and favorable government policy helped evolve market needs and drove new demand for our service. Now let me go into some details. We delivered solid operational and financial results. Net revenue reached RMB 233.4 million, which were 11.1% higher than the high end of our guidance provided in the last quarter.

Again, it is worth mentioning that this was achieved without any legacy online K-12 after-school tutoring services revenues. Our profitability continues to improve as we continue to enhance our cost structures and operational efficiency. For the first quarter, operating expenses decreased by 82.1% year over year. And as a percentage of the revenue as well, although we recorded a net loss of RMB 24.8 million on a GAAP business in the first quarter of 2022, we achieved RMB 9.9 million of adjusted net income compared with an adjusted net loss of RMB 588.8 million in the first quarter of 2021.

For our teaching and learning SaaS business, we continue to see positive trends and demand for our offerings. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education clearly put forward the need to speed up the implementation of digitalizing the education industry on March 1, and national public service platform for Smart Education in primary and secondary schools was officially launched. All of these signaled that the digital transformation in Chinese Education has entered a new area where its focus is centered around teaching and learning scenarios and emphasized services and data application. In May, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission issued the document called Opinions on further purchasing quality external education resources for compulsory education explicitly supporting the procurement of third-party services to enrich the education resources for public schools, including curriculum resources, management services and family education, and guidance services.

During the last few months, China has experienced a number of regional COVID outbreaks. During these outbreaks, we have seen additional demands and opportunities for education bureaus and schools for our teaching and learning SaaS offerings, especially online homework modules, to talk with peers where physical offline schooling was not possible. A number of districts and cities in economically developed regions has already in detailed discussions with us on the procurement of our online homework SaaS component. Specifically, all elementary and secondary schools in Shanghai moved to online learning starting in March.

We have developed a multichannel integrated online education platform, which combined with the aerial classroom, live broadcast interactive platform, and Minhang Smart Homework feature based on our existing modules for Minhang District, Shanghai, delivering a well stock solution that solves multiple problems. Recently, the National Education Resources and Public Services System Alliance also officially announced the results of the three classrooms' application case collection. Among them, the attempt made by [Inaudible] attack using technology to enhance balanced education was successfully selected as a National Education three classrooms' innovative application case. Our pilot product of model, school, and district continue to progress in the generous data insights that brought recognition by schools and educational authorities.

During the quarter, we officially released the data reports for pilot schools and districts in two districts in Shanghai and several cities in Jiangsu province. They were well recognized by [Inaudible] local education authorities and we believe to be a high value of facilities, personalized teaching, and learning process. Xinsong Middle School in Minhang District, Shanghai School serviced by us has been recommended by local authorities as an excellent online teaching case for its innovative automatic homework review functions. Another key component of our teaching and learning SaaS offering.

Our proprietary SmartPen [Inaudible] has won the highest honor of the 2022 German Red Dot Award for its humanized design and excellent quality. The Red Dot Award is one of the world's three major design awards and an international recognition of creativity and design. The [Inaudible] SmartPen realizes pen and paper injection through dot-metric technology helping teachers to complete accurate learning data collection and learning diagnosis to facilitate personalized teaching and learning process for teachers and students. It is a combination of online and offline that creates a closed loop for the high-quality homework with personalized homework [Inaudible].

We're also building a nationwide agent network to help reach wider areas to distribute our teaching and learning SaaS offerings. Official partnership agreements were signed with over 50 distribution agents. Among them, they were Intel, Bank of China and CETC, Bank of China, Intel, and [Inaudible]. In the meantime, we are continuously improving our self-directed learning products based on additional students and paper feedback, as well as latest regulatory requirements.

We have also launched an accompanying hardware and enhanced the study experience with our self-directed learning product and the mobile app, leveraging our experiences, technical services, technical reserves, content, and data insights over the year. We are confident and determined to continue to creating value with our new business strategies in the education technology sector. We have a clear strategy to continue to invest into our teaching and learning SaaS business to facilitate education authorities and schools to implement the digital transformation and upgrading of the public Chinese education sector. We will continue to develop digital applications and resources to help improve teaching and learning efficiencies.

For our self-directed learning products, we believe it has captured the needs of a wide range of groups of families in the post double reduction area and has agreed protection. We will continue to improve and adapt our enhanced effectiveness and user experience of our self-directed learning products with more targeted personalization and content enrichment. We will continue our efforts to build our business into a healthy and sustainably growing business. Now I will turn the call over to Michael, our CFO, to walk you through our latest financial performance.

Thank you.

Michael Chao Du -- Director and Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Andy, and thank you, everyone, for joining the call. I will now walk you through our financial and operating results. Please note that all financial data I talk about will be presented in RMB terms. I would like to remind everyone that the quarterly results we present here should be taken with care and references to potential future performance are subject to impacts from seasonality, one-off event as a result of the series of regulations introduced in 2021, and corresponding adjustment to our business model, organization and workforces among others.

The first quarter of 2022 is the first quarter of operations after we officially received our online K-12 school tutoring services and generate revenue purely from our ongoing businesses. We are delighted to report the second consecutive profitable quarter on an adjusted basis, delivering our guidance that we provided earlier. From a top-line perspective, we reported a net revenue of RMB 233.4 million, 11.1% higher than the top end of our estimate provided earlier, and it presented almost 20 times gross from the K-12 after-school tutoring revenue of RMB 11.2 million in the first quarter of 2021. Gross margin was 60.7% this quarter, improving from 60.4% in the first quarter of 2021.

Our operational efficiency continued to improve. Total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2022 decreased to RMB 170.8 million from RMB 953.2 million in the first quarter 2021, representing a year-over-year decrease of 82.1%. Net loss decreased significantly to RMB 24.8 million for the first quarter of 2022 from RMB 659.7 million in the same period of 2021. Net loss as a percentage of revenue was negative 10.6% in the first quarter of 2022, narrowing from negative 139% in the first quarter of 2021.

On an adjusted basis, our adjusted net income, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, was positive RMB 9.9 million for the first quarter of 2022 compared with an adjusted net loss of RMB 659.7 million in the same period of 2021. We continue to see our business progressing toward the right direction with continuous improvement in operational efficiency and profitability. Next, I'll go through our first quarter financials in greater detail. Net revenue were RMB 233.4 million.

If looking from the whole, this represented a year-over-year decrease of 50.8% from RMB 474.2 million in the first quarter of 2021. The decrease was mainly due to the cessation of our online K-12 tutoring services by the end of 2021 to be in compliance with the latest TRC regulations, which prohibit the provision of tutoring services related to academic subjects for K-12 students. However, when compared with the net revenues, excluding those from online K-12 tutoring services of the same period last year, our revenue actually increased significantly from RMB 11.2 million last year to RMB 233.4 million during the same period this year. This represented a growth of nearly 20 times.

The majority of net revenues for the first quarter of 2022 was from the company's personalized self-directed learning products and to a less extent, from our teaching and learning services. The latter has a longer cycle to finish the bidding process and to deliver so that the revenue can be recognized as the majority of the clients were education authorities and public schools. Cost of revenue for the first quarter of 2022 was RMB 91.8 million representing a year-over-year decrease of 51.1% from RMB 187.6 million in the first quarter of 2021, which was largely in line with the cessation of our online K-12 tutoring services under the new regulatory and business environment. Gross profit was RMB 141.7 million, representing a year-over-year decrease of 50.6% from RMB 286.6 million in the first quarter of 2021.

Gross margin for the first quarter of 2022 was 60.7%, improving from 60.4% in the first quarter of 2021. Moving over to the expense side. Total operating expenses were RMB 170.8 million, representing a year-over-year decrease of 82.1% from RMB 953.2 million in the first quarter of 2021. The total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2022 included RMB 34.6 million of share-based compensation expenses.

Sales and marketing expenses for the first quarter of 2022 were RMB 22 million, which included RMB 4 million of share-based compensation expenses. This represented a year-over-year decrease of 96.4% from RMB 613.5 million in the first quarter of 2021. This was mainly due to decrease in promotional cost expenses and advertising expenditure as a result of the changing regulatory environment, as well as staff optimization since the regulatory change to be in line with the business adjustments. R&D expenses were RMB 97.5 million including RMB 7.2 million of share-based compensation expenses.

This represented a year-over-year decrease of 53.6% from RMB 209.9 million in the first quarter of 2021. The decrease was again primarily attributable to staff optimization and expense saving measures in line with the business adjustments. G&A expenses were RMB 51.3 million. This included RMB 23.5 million of share-based compensation expenses, represented a year-over-year decrease of 60.5% from RMB 129.7 million in the first quarter 2021.

The decrease was primarily attributed to staff optimization and expense-saving measures in line with the business adjustment. Loss from operations was RMB 29.1 million compared with RMB 666.6 million in the first quarter of 2021. Loss from operations as a percentage of net revenues for the first quarter of 2022 was negative 12.5%, improving from a negative 140.5% in the first quarter of 2021. Net loss was RMB 24.8 million compared with a net loss of RMB 659.7 million in the first quarter of 2021.

Net loss as a percentage of revenue was negative 10.6% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with negative 139.1% in the first quarter of 2021. Adjusted net income on a GAAP basis was positive RMB 9.9 million compared with an adjusted net loss of RMB 588.8 million in the first quarter of 2021. Adjusted net income as a percentage of net revenue was positive 4.2% in the first quarter of 2022, which substantially improved from negative 124.2% in the first quarter of 2021. With that, I will now provide our business outlook.

Based on our current estimates, total revenues for the second quarter of 2022 are expected to be between RMB 100 million and RMB 120 million. This estimated net revenues for the second quarter of 2022 is expected to be derived entirely from our ongoing businesses after our business transformation and will not include revenues from the legacy online K-12 tutoring services. This estimated range represents a significant increase year over year as compared with the relatively small base of the net revenue generated from online K-12 tutoring services for the second quarter of 2021. The above forecasts reflect 17EdTech's current and preliminary view and is therefore subject to change.

Please refer to the safe harbor statement below for the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. With that, that concludes our prepared remarks. Thank you. Operator, we are now ready to begin the Q&A session.

Operator

Thanks. Totally. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator instructions] As there are no more questions on the line, I would like to hand the call back to the management for closing.

Lara Zhao -- Investor Relations Manager

Thank you, operator. In closing, on behalf of 17EdTech's management team, we'd like to thank you for your participation on today's call. If you require any further information, please feel free to reach out to us directly. Thank you for joining us today.

This concludes the call.

Operator

[Operator signoff]

Duration: 24 minutes

Lara Zhao -- Investor Relations Manager

Andy Chang Liu -- Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer

Michael Chao Du -- Director and Chief Financial Officer

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17 Education & Technology Group Inc. (YQ) Q1 2022 Earnings Call Transcript - The Motley Fool

With increasing pressure on supply chain leadersto implement technological responses to disruptions, supply shortages and security incidents, Gartner, Inc. has selected the themes for their potential to deliver automation, intelligence and resiliency.

According to a Gartner survey among 211 supply chain professionals in December 2021, 34% of respondents said that adapting to new technology is the most important strategic change supply chain organizations will face five years from now, said Dwight Klappich, vice president analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain practice, said in a statement. Supply chain leaders must take multidisciplined approaches for identifying innovative technologies and orchestrate the right technology investments at the right place and the right time.

Some themes the group has identified include:

Hyperautomation 2.0

Hyperautomation is a business-driven approach that organizations use to rapidly identify, vet and automate as many business and IT processes as possible through the orchestrated use of multiple technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Hyperautomation 2.0 goes past this initial focus on AI and ML and integrates other technologies and tools of the technology portfolio.

During the next five years, hyperautomation 2.0 will be part of initiatives in warehousing, transport, production and others. Solutions will include intelligent remote fulfillment networks in warehouse or yard management domains and personalized e-commerce applications.

Next Generation Robots

Enterprise-centric next-generation robotsare rapidly moving from the science fiction space to real-life production platforms, transforming a wide range of industries. These robots are more flexible and adaptive and now can be applied to a variety of tasks. In the future, companies will have heterogeneous fleets of robots where work will have to be orchestrated across different robots meaning that robots have to interact with each other and need to communicate with other types of automated equipment like elevators and doors.

Autonomous Things

Autonomous things, such as robots, vehicles or drones can augment traditional manually intensive physical tasks with greater efficiency, clarity and safety. Working independently or in networks they also enhance a new generation of immersive work and customer experiences through enhanced service efficiency and transparency. Autonomous things support safer, more efficient and optimized processes and operations across supply chains.

Digital Supply Chain Twin

The digital supply chain twin (DSCT) is a digital representation of the physical - often multienterprise - supply chain. It is the basis for local and end-to-end (E2E) decision making that ensures that all decisions are aligned horizontally and vertically throughout the supply chain. Through its connection to the real world, situational awareness is greatly enhanced, and decisions can be made faster and more accurate.

Analytics Everywhere

Analytics are capabilities that deliver reporting, interactive data visualization, advanced analytics and intelligence including ML and predictive and prescriptive analytics. With the ever-growing availability of data, AI can now be applied to transform datainto information and deeper insights as part of a DSCT.

Security Mesh

Security mesh is a structured framework of governance, collaboration and applied technology applications that are orchestrated from within supply chains with the aim of ensuring supply chain systems, tools, applications and people are safe and secure at all times.

Security in supply chains is only as strong as its weakest link, Klappich said. Security mesh embraces the reality of dynamic, interconnected and increasingly digitalized supply chains by addressing an evolving nexus of threats posed by cyber, digital and data.

Ecosystem Collaboration

Ecosystem collaboration tools are digital technologies and services that create a collaborative work environment for people and generates new and continuous shared value opportunities. The pandemic has revealed to supply chain leaders that many supply chains dont have basic communications or digital connectivity in place with key stakeholders, such as multi-tier supply networks or packaging networks which has ramifications on decision making.

Ecosystem collaboration solutions and services establish foundational network visualization and mapping tools to support continuous maturity in advancing to real-time digital connections across people, data, machines, systems, processes and things.

Sustainability Tools

Sustainability tools are an evolving spectrum of applications, services and capabilities that support events associated with directives for sustainability, environmental and circular economy impacts and mandates. They enhance levels of digitalization, collaboration and visibility, which is often crucial to formalize the processes and management disciplines needed for a progressive evolution of sustainability programs.

Sustainability has impacts that span the entire value chain from plan, to source, to make, to deliver, to the service domain. Supply chain leaders who dont invest in tools that support a wide range of sustainability goals and metrics risk a significant impact on brand, company image and consumer value perception. Theres also a risk of stranded assets, vulnerability to carbon tax, unpreparedness for climate-related supply chain disruptions and accordingly shareholder value, Klappich concluded.

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Top Supply Chain Technology Themes: Are You Ready for Hyperautomation? - Material Handling & Logistics

Vislink Technologies Inc. VISL is a live video communications technology company serving the media and surveillance industries.

Vislink says it specializes in the collection, delivery and management of high-quality, live video and associated data from the scene of the action to the viewing screen. If youve ever looked at the NFL Draft, the NHL All-Star game, or the Grammy Awards, youve probably witnessed Vislinks technology in action.

Vislinks technology and expertise have made it to some of the worlds top news gathering and broadcasting organizations, including Caledonian Trust PLCs CNN CNN Network and Fox Corp.s FOXA Fox News.

Vislink reports that its latest innovations in artificial intelligence (AI)-boosted and bonded cellular and 5G video technologies put audiences at the heart of the action while solving business challenges across a number of markets.

Vislink tells Benzinga that its seeing exciting potential growth opportunities in event production and military-government surveillance for its products.

Commenting on the latter, a Vislink correspondent said, We are combining our AI innovations with our ability to meet all air-marine-ground mil-gov video requirements in order to expand the use cases we support in these verticals. This is allowing us to craft solutions that power cutting-edge surveillance and observation capabilities that are in demand from local, national, and international law enforcement and military.

Click here to learn more about the Vislink story.

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.

Feature Photo by Kal Visuals on Unsplash

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Catching Dunks And Criminals An Introduction To Video Technology Specialist Vislink - Benzinga - Benzinga

Internet of Things (IoT) describes the use of connected sensors and actuators to control and monitor the environment, the things that move within it, and the people that act within it.

It is anumbrella term referring to the ability of everyday physical objects (such as fridges, watches or cars) to connect with other devices over the internet, enabling them to send and receive data.

Use cases include the automated home, the connected car, wearable technology, smart cities and many more.

For IoT companies in mining, four key technologies are enabling todays IoT ecosystems: AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and 5G.

GlobalData forecasts the global IoT market to reach $1.1 trillion in revenue by 2024.

While pervasive IoT is still some years away, GlobalData is keeping a close eye on the use of IoT in mining, as well as its evolution.

Improved data collection and analysis via sensors and the internet will enable mining companies to operate mines more safely, as well as increase productivity and reduce costs.

Examples include autonomous drilling, driverless haultrucks and predictive maintenance.

Our leader and disruptor lists for each theme are based on our analysts in-depth knowledge of the theme and the players involved in that theme.

These are based on subjective opinions supported by research and analysis.

Leader lists consider global market share, position in the value chain and ability to react to emerging, disruptive trends.

Disruptor lists consider funding, strategic partnerships and the track record of the management team.

The global IoT market was worth $622bn in 2020, up from $586bn in 2019, and will grow to reach $1,077bn by 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% over the period, according to GlobalData forecasts.

The enterprise IoT dominates the overall IoT market, generating 76% of total revenue in 2020.

This dominance of the enterprise IoT will continue for the foreseeable future.

GlobalData expects this segment to still occupy 73% of the overall IoT market in 2024.

The enterprise IoT market will grow at a CAGR of 12.4%, and consumer IoT revenue will increase at a CAGR of 14.6% between 2019 and 2024.

Industrial Internet revenues reached $247bn in 2020, up from $231bn in 2019. We forecast they will hit $555bn by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 19.1% between 2019 and 2024.

The market consists of various applications such as advanced automation, asset tracking, conditional monitoring, environmental monitoring, health tech, people and animal tracking, and telematics.

Conditional monitoring applications occupied the biggest market share in 2020 and are expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.7% from 2019 to 2024 to reach $293bn by 2024.

Due to an increasing focus on environmental sustainability, environmental monitoring applications are expected to grow at a CAGR of 54.3% to reach $170bn by 2024.

Concerns over the supply of key commodities such as nickel, palladium, and aluminium have led to sharp price increases, with nickel prices on the LME briefly topping $100,000/t on March 8 before trading was suspended.

Russia accounts for approximately 8% of global nickel, though 17% of the high-grade nickel used in EV batteries. It is also a major producer of palladium, accounting for an estimated 43% of production in 2021.

While Nonnickel has stated operations are continuing and Polymetal reported on March 9 that all its operations in Russia and Kazakhstan continue undisrupted, Canadian miner Kinross first announced that it was suspending all activities in Russia.

Thisincludes its Udinsk development project in Khabarovsk Krai.

In 2020, the overall IoT market saw sluggish growth as Covid-19 interrupted IoT deployments, slowing progress for IoT technology companies in mining.

In the consumer IoT domain, the connected car market declined by 10%, and the automated home segment saw just 1% growth in 2020.

The top performer during the year was the wearables market, which saw a 16% revenue growth.

Within enterprise IoT, smart cities and Industrial Internet saw moderate yearly increases of 8% and 7%, respectively.

The global IoT market will generate a staggering $1,077bn in revenue by 2024, up from $622bn in 2020.

The Industrial Internet dominates the global IoT market, accounting for 40% of the IoT market in 2020.

We split the value chain for IoT into five layers: devices, connectivity, data, apps, and services.

While these layers are logically discrete, large-scale IoT solutions will see a considerable degree of blurring of these logical boundaries.

For example, while there will continue to be a clearly identifiable data layer towards the top of the stack, a growing proportion of the data processing will take place within and at the edge of the network.

From the point of view of IoT adopters, it is also crucial to note that value is only realised by IoT adopters in the application layer.

All the data that an IoT network collects is ultimately worthless until action is taken as a result of it, whetherin the form of an instruction to an irrigation unit, an alarm sent to a maintenance engineer, or an emergency callto a doctor.

To best track the emergence and use of IoT in mining, GlobalData tracks patents filings and grants as well as companies that hold most patents in the field.

The main trends shaping the IoT theme over the next 12 to 24 months are shown in this table.

In this, we classify these trends into three categories: technology trends, macroeconomic trends, and regulatory trends.

Within the mining industry and beyond, IoT technology is interrelated to many other technology themes.

Thought leaders in the IoT domain are discussing AI, machine learning (ML), big data, and data science. These are themost talked-about areas in relation to IoT by thought leaders on Twitter.

GlobalData also highlights publicly listed and private companies making their mark as IoT technology companies in mining, as detailed here.

GlobalDatas mining jobs tracker lists mining companies with Internet of Things (IoT) jobs posted in the recent months.

GlobalData exists to help businesses decode the future to profit from faster, more informed decisions.

Flexible Containers for Lubricants, Greases and Liquids

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Top IoT Companies in the Mining Industry - Mining Technology

Dr. Byron Oberst began his career during one of the darkest periods for pediatric medicine in recent history: the polio epidemic.

The Omaha native had just completed his studies and military service when he returned to the city in 1951 to start his own practice. There, he was greeted with horrific scenes of gravely ill children.

It was a literal nightmare, Oberst told The World-Herald last year.

Oberst, a nationally recognized trailblazer in pediatric medicine, died Tuesday at age 99. He was the very first medical resident at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and a pioneer in the creation of electronic medical records systems, according to an obituary penned by Oberst nearly five years before his death.

After graduating from Omaha North High School, Oberst completed his education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and UNMC. He served as a hospital intern before leaving to serve in the U.S. Army Medical Corps between 1948 and 1950. He served as a pediatrician at Fort Dix in New Jersey and was later stationed in Japan, according to the obituary.

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Upon leaving the service, Oberst moved to Detroit to finish his pediatric training at the Henry Ford Hospital. He returned to Omaha in 1951 and became the director of Childrens Memorial Hospital now Childrens Hospital while establishing his own practice.

Obersts career began as polio ravaged Nebraska. The hospital saw over 300 children with the disease during summer 1952.

He said that even 60 years later he would wake up in a cold sweat just because of how awful it was, said Byron Oberst, one of Dr. Obersts sons.

As his career progressed, the elder Oberst took a particular interest in treating children and young adults with attention deficit disorders and other school learning problems. In his own words, his practice was a way of life more than it was a job.

As technology evolved later in his career, Oberst took an interest in developing computer programs to assist with clinical work. He was the author and developer of the American Academy of Pediatrics section on computers and other technologies, and he served as an adviser to various medical software companies as they worked to create electronic medical records systems, according to his self-written obituary.

The AAP named an award after Oberst in 1989, which is still awarded annually to pediatricians who make significant contributions to pediatric clinical information systems.

He was truly a pioneer in using technology to communicate, said son Matthew Oberst. I mean, he started doing this stuff in the 70s.

Oberst held multiple positions within the AAP on the local, regional and national levels. He was also a founding member of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Byron and Matt said that the two awards that meant the most to their father were the Viking of Distinction award from North High School and Childrens Hospitals Legend in Pediatrics award.

Outside of work, Oberst made time for just about everything. He published seven books, including multiple autobiographical accounts of his medical experience and a childrens book about health. He penned nearly 50 articles and clinical papers while giving hundreds of lectures locally and nationally. He dabbled in photography and had a darkroom in his basement.

He was also a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America, and was incredibly proud of the 38 boys in his troop who became Eagle Scouts.

Somehow he managed to do all of these things, Byron said of his father. I think it boils down to three attributes: an inquisitive mind with an appetite to learn, an ability to outwork almost everyone, and the ability to multitask.

He is survived by sons Byron, Terrance and Matthew Oberst, two grandsons and four great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Mary Oberst, sisters Annabelle Sorensen and Virginia Noriego and grandson Matthew Ryan.

A wake will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at the John A. Gentleman Mortuary chapel at 1010 N. 72nd St. Funeral services will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church at 10 a.m. Monday.

Bianchi, Ronald J.December 17, 1954 - June 7, 2022VISITATION: Sunday, June 12th from 6pm to 7pm at the West Center Chapel, followed by VIGIL S

Carmichael, Maurice AlanAge 86Maurice Alan Carmichael died peacefully in his sleep on May 28, 2022, at Beaver Lake, NE. He is survived by his

Frady, Randle David "Randy"January 13, 1958 - June 7, 2022Age 64. Preceded in death by parents, John and Sharon Frady; cousin, David Holbrook.

Jorgensen, John C.Age 84, of Elkhorn, passed away June 7, 2022.Complete notice later.REICHMUTH FUNERAL HOME21901 West Maple | (402) 289-2222ww

Kros, Catherine "Kaye" January 19, 1936 - May 31, 2022Preceded in death by parents, Beatrice and Francis Stas; infant sister, Agnes Stas; brot

Oberst, Byron B. M.D. F.A.P.P.March 15, 1923 - June 7, 2022Age 99. Preceded in death by his beloved wife of 66 years, Mary Catherine; sisters

Shay, David B.September 14, 1968 - June 8, 2022COMPLETE NOTICE LATERJOHN A. GENTLEMAN MORTUARIES AND CREMATORY72nd STREET CHAPEL, 1010 N 72nd

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Omaha doctor pioneered the use of technology in clinical work - Omaha World-Herald

The Saudi royal family has started a not-for-profit organization called the Hevolution Foundation that plans to spend up to $1 billion a year of its oil wealth supporting basic research on the biology of aging and finding ways to extend the number of years people live in good health, a concept known as health span.

The sum, if the Saudis can spend it, could make the Gulf state the largest single sponsor of researchers attempting to understand the underlying causes of agingand how it might be slowed down with drugs.

The foundation hasnt yet made a formal announcement, but the scope of its effort has been outlined at scientific meetings and is the subject of excited chatter among aging researchers, who hope it will underwrite large human studies of potential anti-aging drugs.

The fund is managed by Mehmood Khan, a former Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and the onetime chief scientist at PespsiCo, who was recruited to the CEO job in 2020. Our primary goal is to extend the period of healthy lifespan, Khan said in an interview. "There is not a bigger medical problem on the planet than this one.

MS TECH | GETTY

The idea, popular among some longevity scientists, is that if you can slow the body's aging process, you can delay the onset of multiple diseases and extend the healthy years people are able to enjoy as they grow older. Khan says the fund is going to give grants for basic scientific research on what causes aging, just as others have done, but it also plans to go a step further by supporting drug studies, including trials of treatments that are patent expired or never got commercialized.

We need to translate that biology to progress towards human clinical research. Ultimately, it wont make a difference until something appears in the market that actually benefits patients, Khan says.

Khan says the fund is authorized to spend up to $1 billion per year indefinitely, and will be able to take financial stakes in biotech companies. By comparison, the division of the US National Institute on Aging that supports basic research on the biology of aging spends about $325 million a year.

Hevolution hasnt announced what projects it will back, but people familiar with the group say it looked at funding a $100 million X Prize for age reversal technology and has reached a preliminary agreement to fund a test of the diabetes drug metformin in several thousand elderly people.

Excerpt from:

Saudi Arabia plans to spend $1 billion a year discovering treatments to slow aging - MIT Technology Review

Reaching the increasingly lofty clean energy targets required to save the worlds climate involves a slew of obstacles at the best of times, but what of regions where energy infrastructure is not at its peak? Decades of corruption and mismanagement in Lebanon have left the country barely able to meet its own power needs, and what few demands are met often rely on oil to make ends meet.

With just 2% of the countrys energy demands met by renewables, and no state support for new energy infrastructure projects in two decades, dramatic change could be needed to secure Lebanons long-term power security. Could Lebanon see a revolution not just in the sources of its power, but its entire power apparatus?

Elsewhere, we consider the role of renewable power in Wales, and the potential challenges facing wind and hydropower as the world looks to decarbonise its energy mix. We also profile the latest report from the IPCC, and ask what will it take to meet its climate ambitions.

Whether you are on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone, you canread the magazinefor free online, and join the conversation onTwitter.

Will renewables bring light to a particularly dark situation in Lebanon?

Decades of mismanagement and corruption have left Lebanon with an unreliable energy system. Nour Ghantous and Isabeau van Halm argue that a shift to renewables could help, but only if it comes with complete energy market reform.

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Can we, with hydropower? Growing the hydro pipeline

The International Hydropower Associations latest project, We can, with hydropower, aims to deliver future investments and pipeline growth in the technology. Giles Crosse asks whether the body can truly deliver tangible change?

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A breeze, not a storm: inside wind power investments

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Immediate, rapid, deep: the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and the future of power

The third instalment of the IPCC report shows the path to efficient energy transition and keeping Earth liveable, writes Matthew Farmer.

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The black sky: solar activitys threat to power grids

Covid-19 was a black swan event. For power companies, a black sky event will mean pushing back against disaster, writes Matthew Farmer.

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A Welsh wonder: the future of Welsh renewable power

The Morlais tidal energy project could provide Wales with 240MW of power, and establish the state as an attractive destination for future renewable investment. Dominic Hale investigates the future of Welsh renewables.

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Closing the data gap with Elsevier

Scarlett Evans speaks to academic publishing company Elsevier about the importance of data in the power industry.

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AI, drones and digitisation have long been buzzwords in the power industry, but have now started to be adopted at facilities around the world, bringing with them their much-ballyhooed benefits. Yet none of these technologies have been comprehensively integrated into a large-scale project, raising the question of how bleeding-edge technology can overcome this final hurdle to universal deployment.

Successful worldwide. At home in Germany.

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Light and darkness: the new issue of Future Power Technology is out now - Power Technology

Ask any two individuals to define a smart city, and youre likely to get two wildly different responses. For such a ubiquitous term, we seem to have a difficult time nailing down a clear definition, let alone the specifics that make up such an initiative.

Take these two definitions for example, both pulled from a November 2021 Smart Cities Dive article:

Despite a lack of clarity regarding the term, cities have spent billions of dollars in resources attempting to make their cities smart. In fact, according to Statista: Technology spending on smart city initiatives worldwide is forecast to more than double between 2018 and 2023, increasing from 81 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 to 189.5 billion in 2023.

The collective, full-throttle approach to digital transformation (and all its perceived glory) has created a sort of tunnel vision, wherein the focus has been placed squarely on the technology, leaving out the most critical aspect the citizen.

By focusing smart city projects on citizens and local governments, residents stand to gain from efforts to create a better, smarter community with or without the aid of technology. Because after all, shouldnt every initiative, project and city be smart?

What makes a city smart?

Despite leading a software company thats served the public sector for over two decades, my personal definition of a smart city doesnt rely on technology. To me, a smart city is a city that makes its citizens lives better in a responsible manner.

Is technology often a part of that effort? Yes. But is it the whole definition? Certainly not.

In my view, smart cities and smart projects can be classified as technology-driven, technology-void, and anywhere in between.

When local governments narrow the scope of what is considered smart to only include those projects backed by technology, they fail to recognize how limited of a view that really is. And in fact, in my work, Ive encountered plenty of smart initiatives that werent so smart after all.

For instance, government officials using resources to visit and replicate other smart cities when some of their local communities still lacked reliable access to water. Or the now infamous Sidewalk Labs venture, a high-tech futuristic city proposed for Torontos waterfront.

What cities have learned is that just because another city has seen success with certain initiatives, does not make it a good fit for every community. Deciding between adapting from anothers success story or creating something entirely new requires a keen understanding of citizens needs and how theyre currently being met (or not).

So, how does a city become smart?

Without a doubt, technology has created an explosion of new capabilities providing governments and local citizens with the ability to engage and connect in ways that werent possible even five years ago. And while these new digital capabilities have created a path for cities to become smarter and faster, to really be successful and see improvement from smart projects, cities must understand a few things.

A truly smart initiative requires a city to address:

When the definition of smart is limited to specifically digitally enabled projects, it can be almost too easy to jump past the why and the what to get to the how. And weve seen these efforts fizzle out because, although the projects may be considered smart in a sense, they dont truly address citizen needs in a responsible and effective manner. With that, the key tenets for growing into a smart city are:

To effectively define the why and the what of a change, cities need to look inward -- at their processes, current programs and solutions as well as the technology -- asking questions about what is currently being done and why.

Its critical to start with data. Data-driven decisions bring clarity on the current state of a city and light the path to the future solution everyone is seeking. By defining these parameters and then evaluating citizen needs, leaders can determine how best to use resources and create value for the community. And in many cases, this sort of self-reflection can help identify and benchmark a citys efforts in comparison to other similar communities.

Often, after defining why a change is needed and what that change will be, finding the right technology can help to accelerate the how. Acting in a supporting role, instead of as the main focus, technology arms cities with the means to truly serve citizens.

Smart cities of the future

The public sector is seeing a rush of innovation as we strive to define and become our smartest selves. But like any period of great transformation, activity will ebb and flow, yielding to the most successful outcomes or solution sets.

In fact, weve already seen distinct progress and transition as smart city efforts begin to emphasize urban infrastructure efforts and the manner in which local governments can use their resources to make communities more livable. But as always, the focus of tomorrows efforts has yet to be discovered.

To truly be a smart city is to continually evolve, focusing efforts and resources on smart, responsible initiatives that make citizens' lives better and the community more engaged.

Rajiv Desai is the co-founder and CEO of 3Di where he oversees the companys strategic vision, operational management, and positioning in the marketplace.

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Is it really technology that makes a city smart? - GCN.com

Singapore, May 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Co2Zero has leveraged Alibaba Clouds technology to promote individual low-carbon actions through science and technology. Through the technical features of blockchain such as decentralization, tamper-proof, and traceability, Co2Zero supports the trusted record of the whole life cycle of the carbon footprint and the trusted circulation of all elements of carbon emissions.

In recent years we humans are profoundly aware thatclimate change is a security issue related to the survival and sustainable development ofthe whole ecosystem. According to the authoritative survey data of many international organizations, the carbon emissions of each person in human society are about 5-12 tons a year, and there are billions of people around the world, which is a huge data and carbon emission burden.

To cope with climate change,global high-tech firms pioneer inthe road of high-quality development and adhere to green, low-carbon and circular development.Under the cooperation from both sides,Alibaba Cloud provides technical support for Co2Zero's products, and assists Co2Zero through low-carbon behavior algorithms, carbon reduction methodologies, artificial intelligence, online calculation among other cloud-native technologies.

Co2Zero is further strengthening the advocacy of climate communication and individual participation, establishing and improving the mechanism of carbon neutrality for individuals, accelerating low-carbon awareness into practical action, vigorously promoting individual low-carbon habits, and advocating low carbon consumption, the green low-carbon life new trend of the whole society. According to a recent research report released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the carbon emissions generated by household consumption account for 53% of the total social carbon emissions, and the carbon emissions generated by cars account for more than 80% of the carbon emissions in the transport sector, which is a huge scene. Co2Zero has leveraged Alibaba Clouds technology and expertise in the field of low carbon, help individual carbon-neutral market, the first scenario chosen is the carbon reduction of new energy vehicles. In the scenario of new energy vehicles, how to scientifically and effectively track carbon emission reduction information, and carbon emission reduction conversion accounting to finally form an effective carbon emission reduction asset.

In the concept of encouraging individuals to participate in carbon neutrality, Co2Zero obtains different equity incentives through low-carbon behavior in daily life and new energy vehicle consumption scenarios through equity incentives. If each person saves 3-5 tons of carbon emissions and each car saves 3-5 tons of carbon emissions, multiplied by a large user base, this will drive the global carbon neutrality cause forward a big step.

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Co2Zero is using cloud technology to drive individual low-carbon action through technology on a global scale. - GlobeNewswire