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Category: economics – Page 66

Prevalence of ‘meth’ heart failure now seen in a wide range of socioeconomic and racial groups

Rates of heart failure associated with the growing illicit use of the stimulant drug methamphetamine, or meth for short, are rising worldwide and now affect a wide range of socio-economic and racial groups, finds a review of the available evidence, published online in the journal Heart.

Meth heart failure is also more severe than that experienced by those who don’t use the drug, and warrants increased public awareness and availability of treatment for addiction to stem the rising tide of those affected, urge the researchers.

Previously published research shows that use of the drug, also popularly known as “crystal meth,” “ice” and “speed,” is associated with serious health problems, including high blood pressure, , stroke, and even sudden death. But there are no comprehensive systematic reviews of published research on meth use and heart failure, and this prompted a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers to try to bridge this knowledge gap.

Light-Powered Nanomaterial Catalyst Could Be Key for Hydrogen Economy

A key light-activated nanomaterial for the hydrogen economy has been engineered by researchers at Rice University. Using only inexpensive raw materials, scientists created a scalable catalyst that needs only the power of light to convert ammonia into clean-burning hydrogen fuel.

“This discovery paves the way for sustainable, low-cost hydrogen that could be produced locally rather than in massive centralized plants.” —

The research, which was published on November 24 in the journal Science, was conducted by a team from Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics, Syzygy Plasmonics Inc., and Princeton University.

End Game

https://youtube.com/watch?v=-ZeeuDrknYc&feature=share

Technology — An investigation into the advancements in digital technology unique to the gaming industry. They can either enhance our lives and make the world a better place to live, or we may find ourselves in a dystopian future where we are ruled and controlled by the very technologies we rely on.

End Game — Technology (2021)
Director: J. Michael Long.
Writers: O.H. Krill.
Stars: Paul Jamison, Razor Keeves.
Genre: Documentary.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Release Date: 2021 (USA)

Synopsis:
The technology we rely on for everyday communication, entertainment and medicine could one day be used against us. With facial recognition, drone surveillance, human chipping, and nano viruses, the possibility is no longer just science-fiction. Could artificial intelligence become the dominant life form?

Reviews:
“Shocking insight into the possibilities that lie ahead.” — Philip Gardiner, best selling author.

“Well researched and highly captivating.” — Phenomenon Magazine.

MORE DOCS!

Continue reading “End Game” | >

Can an AI-powered insect trap solve a $220 billion pest problem?

Pests destroy up to 40% of the world’s crops each year, causing $220 billion in economic losses, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Trapview is harnessing the power of AI to help tackle the problem.

The Slovenian company has developed a device that traps and identifies pests, and acts as an advance warning system by predicting how they will spread.

“We’ve built the biggest database of pictures of insects in the world, which allows us to really use modern AI-based computing vision in the most optimal way,” says Matej Štefančič, CEO of Trapview and parent company EFOS.

Black Friday 2022 e-commerce reaches record $9.12B, Thanksgiving $5.3B; BNPL and mobile are big hits

Analysts and e-commerce leaders have been predicting a muted online holiday shopping season this year, with sales in the first three weeks of November essentially flat over a year ago due to a weaker economy, inflation, and more people returning to shopping in stores again in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. But on the face of it, the Thanksgiving long weekend appears to be more buoyant than expected — albeit growth has definitely slowed down this year after the pandemic-period boom.

Black Friday broke $9 billion in sales for the first time yesterday, with online sales of $9.12 billion, according to figures from Adobe Analytics. This is a record figure for the day, and up 2.3% on sales figures a year ago, and slightly higher than Adobe had estimated leading up to the day. Adobe doesn’t break out volumes in its report, so it’s hard to know if those figures are due to items simply costing more this year because of inflation, or if the higher numbers are a result of more buying.

Black Friday is a key focus for those gauging how the e-commerce market, and consumer confidence, are both faring in what is the most important and biggest period for shopping in the year.

New research supports creating integrated waste collection systems

Every year, the EU generates over 2.5 billion tonnes of waste – that’s 5 tonnes per person. The good news is that much of this waste can be recycled and reused. The bad news, however, is that doing so requires proper collection processes, which is often easier said than done.

“The challenge with waste collection is that it is a widely dispersed process,” says Tjerk Wardenaar, a consultant at EGEN, part of the PNO Group, the project’s lead partner. “Individual consumers discard small amounts of waste, local and regional authorities implement collection systems, waste management companies do the actual collecting, recycling companies recover materials, and so on.”

With the support of the EU-funded COLLECTORS project, Wardenaar aims to increase our understanding of how these various steps relate to one another. “Waste collection depends on a combination of social and technical factors,” he explains. “Our goal is to identify best practices that decision makers can use to implement an integrated waste collection system that supports Europe’s transition to a waste-free, circular economy.”

How to fix insecure operational tech that threatens the global economy

Check out the on-demand sessions from the Low-Code/No-Code Summit to learn how to successfully innovate and achieve efficiency by upskilling and scaling citizen developers. Watch now.

Today, with the rampant spread of cybercrime, there is a tremendous amount of work being done to protect our computer networks — to secure our bits and bytes. At the same time, however, there is not nearly enough work being done to secure our atoms — namely, the hard physical infrastructure that runs the world economy.

Nations are now teeming with operational technology (OT) platforms that have essentially computerized their entire physical infrastructures, whether it’s buildings and bridges, trains and automobiles or the industrial equipment and assembly lines that keep economies humming. But the notion that a hospital bed can be hacked — or a plane or a bridge — is still a very new concept. We need to start taking such threats very seriously because they can cause catastrophic damage.

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