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Soul Purpose: Seniors With Strong Reasons To Live Often Live Stronger
 After making it through the maelstrom of middle age, many adults find themselves approaching older age wondering “what will give purpose to my life?” now that the kids have flown the nest and retirement is in the cards.

How they answer the question can have significant implications for their health.

Over the past two decades, dozens of studies have shown that seniors with a sense of purpose in life are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, disabilities, heart attacks or strokes, and more likely to live longer than people without this kind of underlying motivation.

Now, a new report in JAMA Psychiatry adds to this body of evidence by showing that older adults with a solid sense of purpose tend to retain strong hand grips and walking speeds — key indicators of how rapidly people are aging.

Why would a psychological construct (“I feel that I have goals and something to live for”) have this kind of impact? Seniors with a sense of purpose may be more physically active and take better care of their health, some research suggests. Also, they may be less susceptible to stress, which can fuel dangerous inflammation.

NAVIGATING AGING Navigating Aging focuses on medical issues and advice associated with aging and end-of-life care, helping America’s 45 million seniors and their families navigate the health care system. To contact Judith with a question or comment, click here. For more KHN coverage of aging, click here.

“Purposeful individuals tend to be less reactive to stressors and more engaged, generally, in their daily lives, which can promote cognitive and physical health,” said Patrick Hill, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University in St. Louis who wasn’t associated with the study.

But what is purpose, really? And how can it be cultivated?

Anne Newman, a 69-year-old who splits her time between Hartsdale, north of New York City, and Delray Beach, Fla., said she’s been asking herself this “on a minute-by-minute basis” since closing her psychotherapy practice late last year.

Building and maintaining a career became a primary driver in her life after Newman raised two daughters and went back to work at age 48. As a therapist, “I really loved helping people make changes in their lives that put them in a different, better position,” she said.

Things became difficult when Newman’s husband, Joseph, moved to Florida and she started commuting back and forth from New York. Over time, the travel took a toll, and Newman decided she didn’t want a long-distance marriage. So, she began winding down her practice and thinking about her next chapter.

Experts advise that people seeking a sense of purpose consider spending more time on activities they enjoy or using work skills in a new way. Newman loves drawing and photography. She has investigated work and volunteer opportunities in Florida, but nothing has grabbed her just yet.

“Not knowing what’s going to take the place of work in my life — it feels horrible, like I’m floundering,” she admitted, in a phone interview.

I didn’t ask myself did I have a larger purpose in life — I asked myself what gives meaning to my life. Barry Dym

Many people go through a period of trial and error after retirement and don’t find what they’re looking for right away, said Dr. Dilip Jeste, senior associate dean for healthy aging and senior care at the University of California-San Diego. “This doesn’t happen overnight.”

“People don’t like to talk about their discomfort because they think it’s unusual. And yet, everybody thinks about this existential question at this time of life: ‘What are we here for?’” he noted.

Newman’s focus has been on getting “involved in something other than personal satisfaction — something larger than myself.” But that may be overreaching.

“I think people can get a sense of purpose from very simple things: from taking care of a pet, working in the garden or being kind to a neighbor,” said Patricia Boyle, a leading researcher in this field and professor of behavioral sciences at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

“Even small goals can help motivate someone to keep going,” she continued. “Purpose can involve a larger goal, but it’s not a requirement.”

Older adults often discover a sense of purpose from taking care of grandchildren, volunteering, becoming involved in community service work or religion, she said. “A purpose in life can arise from learning a new thing, accomplishing a new goal, working together with other people or making new social connections when others are lost,” she said.

Tara Gruenewald’s research highlights how important it is for older adults to feel they play a valuable role in the life of others.

“I think what we often lose as we age into older adulthood is not a desire to contribute meaningfully to others but the opportunity to do so,” said Gruenewald, chair of the department of psychology at California’s Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences at Chapman University. Her research has found that people who perceive themselves as being useful had a stronger feeling of well-being and were less likely to become disabled and die than those who didn’t see themselves this way.

Use Our Content This KHN story can be republished for free ( details ).

“In midlife, we contribute to others partly because it’s demanded of us in work and in our social relationships,” Gruenewald said. “As we grow older, we have to seek out opportunities to contribute and give to others.”

Some researchers try to tease out distinctions between having a sense of purpose and finding meaning in life; others don’t. “Practically, I think there’s a lot of overlap,” Boyle said.

After Barry Dym, 75, retired a year ago from a long career as an organizational consultant and a marriage and family therapist, he said, “I didn’t ask myself did I have a larger purpose in life — I asked myself what gives meaning to my life.”

Answering that question wasn’t difficult; certain themes had defined choices he’d made throughout his life. “What gives meaning to me is helping people. Trying to have an impact. Working with people very closely and helping them become much better at what they do,” Dym said in a phone conversation from his home in Lexington, Mass.

In retirement, he’s carrying that forward by mentoring several people with whom he has a professional and personal relationship, bringing together groups of people to talk about aging, and starting a blog. Recently, he said, he wrote about discovering that he feels freer now to “explore who I am, where I came from and what meaning things have to me than at any other point of my life.”

And therein lies a dilemma. “I feel of two minds about purpose in older age,” Dym said. “In some ways, I’d like to just shuck off that sense of having to do something to be a good person, and just relax. And in other ways, I feel deeply fulfilled by the things I do.”

We’re eager to hear from readers about questions you’d like answered, problems you’ve been having with your care and advice you need in dealing with the health care system. Visit kffhealthnews.org/columnists to submit your requests or tips.

KHN’s coverage related to aging & improving care of older adults is supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation.

KFF Health News' coverage of aging and long-term care issues is supported in part by The SCAN Foundation.

Output: After making it through the maelstrom of middle age, many adults find themselves approaching older age wondering “what will give purpose to my life?” now that the kids have flown the nest and retirement is in the cards.


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GetInsured takes over ACAExpress in insurtech merger
 GetInsured, a Mountain View, California-based company that makes web tools for easy insurance enrollment, has acquired ACAExpress (and its sister brand Benefit Geek) which work with insurance brokers to facilitate enrollments under the Affordable Care Act. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"ACAExpress has proven technology with astounding traction in the marketplace,” Chini Krishnan, GetInsured’s CEO and cofounder, said in a statement. “Its ability to scale to support seasonal annual enrollment periods is impressive and its reputation among brokers is second to none. Acquiring ACAExpress enables us to extend our technology to the broker community and bring greater efficiencies to Medicare shopping and enrollment, continuing our evolution in the health insurance market.”

The acquisition will expand GetInsured's business: ACAExpress works with 8,000 brokers and has enrolled more than 500,000 members in insurance plans. It also bolster's GetInsured's expertise in particular areas, including Medicare enrollment.

Building on the acquisition, the company plans to release a comprehensive quoting and enrollment platform that will include individual health insurance, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, life and ancillary insurance plans.

“Much like ACAExpress, GetInsured has a solid track record of innovation,” Chris Linville, ACAExpress’s CMO and cofounder, said in a statement. “Together we are well poised to provide agents and brokers the tools they need to be successful, while pushing through current technological barriers.”

ACAExpress will continue to operate out of its Dallas, Texas headquarters. Linville will serve as senior vice president and general manager of Broker Business at GetInsured. Fellow cofounders Don Archer and Kenny West will take on the roles of engineering director and vice president of Broker Engagement, respectively.

Output: California insurtech firm GetInsured has acquired ACAExpress, a specialist company that provides insurance brokers with a streamlined way of processing enrolments under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The deal increases GetInsured's expertise in medical insurance, allowing it to benefit from the systems developed by ACAExpress, which works with 8,000 brokers and has enrolled more than 500,000 members in insurance plans. The company now plans to launch a comprehensive quoting platform covering individual health, life and ancillary insurance plans. ACAExpress will retain its Dallas base after the merger.


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EU scientists create self-repairing machines
 Self-repairing dispenser for engine production developed within the EU-funded SelSus research project by project partner Manufacturing Technology. Credit: Fraunhofer IPA

In the EU-funded project SelSus, Fraunhofer scientists are collaborating in a consortium with partners from research and industry to develop maintenance technology capable of forecasting machine downtimes in production before they occur. This allows plant managers to rectify faults before the machine breaks down. The system even corrects some defects automatically.

Unforeseen machine failures during ongoing production – plant managers dread them, technicians detest them and managers just sigh and factor them in. Such incidents prompt frantic repairs, drive up costs, adversely affect delivery reliability and ultimately weaken companies' competitiveness. Yet often the problem is only a small defect or normal wear and tear. However, if left undetected, these can lead to major disruptions and production downtimes.

What would be helpful is a diagnostic procedure capable of monitoring the status of all components in the production line, identifying problems and weak points and informing the responsible employee in a timely manner. Based on what's known as a decision-support system, maintenance personnel can then reach a decision and take targeted action to repair the defect. Ideally without having to interrupt production.

Precisely this is one of the underlying ideas, albeit not the only one, behind the ambitious SelSus project within which the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA is currently researching. "The aim is not just to monitor the status of the machines and components. Using intelligent software and sensor networks, the plan is to detect potential weak points or signs of wear and tear early enough for the system to be able to predict potential malfunctions," explains Martin Kasperczyk from Fraunhofer IPA. The developed diagnostic models also directly provide suggestions or recommendations on how to rectify the problem. Project partner Electrolux in Pordenone, Italy, uses such a decision-support system. The system is capable of predicting with a certain probability potential failures on a press for washing machine facings and of diagnosing actually occurring malfunctions. The data needed to monitor the machine status is partially provided by sensors. They measure values such as energy consumption, temperature, oil pressure, particles in the oil or vibrations. Fraunhofer IPA and the participating consortium have also proved that the technology functions reliably in practice.

The system repairs itself

The system is even capable of sending control impulses to individual machines. A welding control on which a sensor has failed, for instance, can continue to work almost seamlessly in a secure mode, without any serious disruptions. The capability for self-repair and sustaining production has also given the project its name. The full project title of SelSus is "Health Monitoring and Life-Long Capability Management for Self-Sustaining Manufacturing Systems."

However, first a number of technological hurdles had to be overcome. Martin Kasperczyk says: "One of the biggest challenges was analyzing the flood of data. After all, we're talking here about predicting malfunctions or breakdowns of machines with a high degree of reliability. You don't get there just by programming a couple of algorithms."

Bayesian networks and sensor data

The experts are putting their faith in Bayesian networks. A Bayesian network is a mathematical model that can be used to compute the probabilities of a certain event or state occurring. The model represents a set of variables and their conditional dependencies. With the help of the data collected by the sensors, the software for example computes the probabilities of a specific high-stress cable breaking in the near future and, where applicable, signals that it should be replaced.

But the SelSus software relies not only on sensors. It also takes the technical characteristics of the machine and its performance parameters into account. This data has to be captured during installation and configuration of the system. Moreover, an extensive test run tells the system how the machine and its components behave in continuous operation and under load. Only then is it ready for use. The software also registers new data, for instance as a result of machine upgrades or deterioration in performance due to wear, enabling the system to learn.

The complexity of the SelSus concept is also evident from the fact that the software even interacts with operators by analyzing the causes of potential or existing mal-

functions and proposing an appropriate course of action.

A system with self-healing capabilities from Coventry

Project partner The Manufacturing Technology Centre from Coventry, UK, has created a system with self-healing capabilities. In an engine production plant, a dispenser is attached to a robotic arm by means of vacuum. If the dispenser encounters resistance, rather than snapping off, it reacts flexibly. It loses the grip produced under vacuum and drops a few centimeters until it is stopped by springs. The springs then draw the dispenser back to its original position. Subsequent calibration ensures the tool is in the correct position – and after the brief interruption, the work process continues.

Politicians have long recognized the potential offered by the technology. SelSus has received nearly 5.4 million euros in funding from the European Commission. In addition to Fraunhofer IPA, the project consortium includes renowned industry partners such as automaker Ford, household appliance manufacturer Electrolux, welding technology provider HWH Hamburg and automation specialist IEF-Werner. Other participants are universities, such as Loughborough University and the Instituto de sistemas e Robotica, or ICT providers including HUGIN EXPERT, Advanced Data Processing or Inotec, to list but a few.

Output: Researchers are developing software which enables machinery to detect potential weak points and, in some cases, make ongoing repairs to prevent expensive shut-downs. Under the Health Monitoring and Life-Long Capability Management for Self-Sustaining Manufacturing Systems (SelSus) project, teams at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, alongside partners including Ford and Electrolux, have used Bayesian networks to analyse data collected from sensors, as well as the machine's technical characteristics and performance parameters, to calculate the probability of a malfunction occurring.


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Falcon adds cryptocurrencies to bitcoin asset management services
 This year several countries have declared Bitcoin as a legal method of payment, including Japan and Russia. This trend suggests that different stock markets will start to substitute some cryptocurrencies for the stock certificate. In addition, some companies have held their initial coin offerings (ICOs) as an alternative to IPOs for funding. Such ICOs are digital platforms with management rights of the digital asset and venture funds. This disruption to the traditional financial system appears to be starting to change the behavior of banks.

This is signaled by the bank Falcon adding Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash to its blockchain asset management services. This is enabled through a joint venture with Bitcoin Suisse AG. Falcon Private Bank is a Swiss private banking set-up, established over 50 years ago. The bank is based in Zurich, with additional locations in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London and Luxembourg.

The reason that Falcon has taken this decision reflects a strategic repositioning. The move means that Falcon banking clients can be provided with blockchain asset management solutions; meaning that customers can exchange and hold Bitcoins via Falcon by using their cash holdings. The need to reposition in the financial market is being considered by some institutions because it presents a threat to the traditional model of banking. Banks are traditionally seen as ‘buildings’ of storage, requiring considerable infrastructure and centralized operations. In contrast, blockchain disrupts the bank’s centralized nature.

In contrast to the traditional models, Bitcoin relies on blockchain technology, which comprises three main components. These are: a network of computers, a network protocol and a consensus mechanism. With the application of the technology there is no central authority that ensures the validity of the transaction, and, in most cases, the process is not subject to regulatory oversight.

Commenting on the transformative step, Arthur Vayloyan, who is the Global Head Products & Services, Falcon Private Bank stated: “We are pleased to add Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash to our services just a month after introducing blockchain asset management solutions with Bitcoin”

The financier adds: “The first reactions to our Bitcoin services have been very encouraging and we are convinced that by adding three new blockchain assets we will fulfil our clients’ future needs.”

Given that, in some sectors, Blockchain technology is directly threatening bank clearing houses and depositary institutions, this is giving some established banking arms pause for thought. The move by Falcon towards embracing digital currency may be the first of many.

Output: Swiss private bank Falcon has added ether, litecoin and bitcoin cash to its offering of bitcoin asset management services. The move was enabled through a partnership with Bitcoin Suisse and will allow banking clients to use their cash holdings to manage their cryptocurrency assets. Falcon’s bitcoin asset management services have been on offer for the past month, with the latest addition part of the institution’s attempt to meet future customer needs.


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XL Catlin adds to its professional liability products
 XL Group Ltd.XL recently introduced two new enhancements in its professional liability insurance services, in its efforts to provide better insurance for professionals. This not only implies an expansion in professional insurance services but also includes Principal Protector Coverage for large design firms.

Technological advancements in the present have paved new ways of service delivery by architectural and engineering firms. Hence, the design sector is always on the verge of being exposed to evolving risks. Given the dependence of design professionals on technology in the day-to-day project management and client relationship activities, XL Catlin's (the global brand name used by XL Group) Design Professional team is expected to be better armed to serve such customers with this newly added enhancement.

The professional services provided by the design professional team are inclusive of existing and new evolving technologies that provide various services such as development of software programs, system and applications, database design and maintenance, warehousing data, digital tools etc. It is also involved in website designing as well as hosting various data and application sites. The company would thus cater to such risks by expanding its insurance coverage.

XL Catlin has also introduced Principal Protector Coverage for large design firms, in order to support its clients' corporate social responsibilities. This particular policy offers supplemental services beyond the firm's policy limits for any present, former or retired employees of the firm for claims arising out of laxity by participating in non-profit entities.

XL Catlin has always been proactive in meeting its customers' varying needs through several product upgrades, new product launches etc. Recently, XL Catlin introduced a new Safety Optimization and Aviation Resource Program or SOAR, for its select general aviation insurance clients. This professional insurance coverage is accompanied by a variety of loss-prevention assistance and risk-management assistance inclusive of educational courses and XL Catlin's Contract eGuide.

The property and casualty (P&C) insurer has been improving its organic profile through strategic initiatives that will boost its client base and enhance its revenues at the same time.

Zacks Rank and Share Price Movement

XL Group, Ltd carries Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares of XL Group have outperformed the industry in a year's time. While XL Group's shares have gained 27.06%, the industry has registered an increase of 15.64%. Diversified product offerings that are fueling Premiums should continue to drive its shares higher.

Stocks to Consider

Stocks from the insurance industry worth considering are Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. AFH , Markel Corporation MKL and Mercury General Corporation MCY . Each of these stocks sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here .

Atlas Financial Holdings engages in underwriting commercial automobile insurance policies in the United States. The company delivered positive surprises two out of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 57.94%.

Markel Corporation markets and underwrites specialty insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company delivered positive surprises two out of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 21.06%.

Mercury General Corporation engages in writing personal automobile insurance in the United States. The company delivered positive surprises in three of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 1.06%.

More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Output: Insurance group XL Catlin has introduced improvements to its professional liability insurance services to better cater to the needs of design companies, such as architectural and engineering firms. The insurer is enhancing the services provided by its design professional team to cover risks in areas including software development, website design and data storage. It has also introduced principal protector coverage for design firms to cover them for risks arising from involvement with non-profit entities.


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Low-paid workers penalised for caring for sick children: TUC
 Bosses are punishing parents for taking their sick children to hospital, according to a “shocking” TUC study that finds many low-paid workers are disciplined for taking time off for childcare.

One mother who works in retail said: “My baby stopped breathing and I had to go to hospital – I got threatened with a disciplinary.”

Another mother working in social care said that when she had to rush her son to A&E because he was having difficulty breathing, she received a call from her manager asking when she would be back at work. “Some managers have no sympathy,” she said.

The report found 42% of parents felt penalised at work if they asked for flexible hours, with some fearing they might lose their job.

A further 47% said they struggled to balance work with parenting, despite legal changes in the past decade intended to make it easier for parents to spend time with their children.

The TUC based its findings on a survey of more than 1,000 people with combined household incomes of £28,000 or less. Respondents were on a variety of contracts, including some on permanent contracts who also had irregular hours and were only told about shifts at short notice.

The study found 29% of parents had to use annual leave in the last year when their child was sick. Many workers were unaware of their right to 18 weeks unpaid parental leave if they have held their job for a year.

Kirsty Arthur, 27, from Cornwall, works part-time in retail and is on maternity leave. She said: “When my son was ill I would take time off work but if you have an absence percentage higher than 3% then you have to go through a disciplinary process. I was only working four shifts a week, so if I missed a few shifts to look after my son then that really pushed my percentage up.

“So every time I came back I had to go through that process which was a bit demoralising. And the more times I had to go through that disciplinary process, then the more upset the bosses got with me.”

Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, said: “Many parents fear losing shifts, taking unpaid leave or being viewed badly at work if they need time off to look after their kids. And it is shocking that some mums and dads are being stopped from taking their children to hospital when they are sick.

“It’s time the government changed the law so everyone gets at least a month’s notice of their shifts. They need to make sure everyone at work can get the same parents’ rights from day one – and that everyone knows about those rights.

Prof Nicole Busby, the acting head of the law school at Strathclyde University, described the findings as shocking, but said they would come as no surprise to low-paid workers.

“There is a right to request flexible work but this is of no practical use to those on zero-hours contracts who often don’t even know their working hours in advance ... Even where it does apply, it is merely a ‘right’ to ask for a particular arrangement and your employer can refuse on a range of different business grounds.”

Sarah Jackson, the chief executive of the charity Working Families, said: “Parental rights are meaningless if parents can’t use them for fear of being seen as ‘unreliable’, or of getting ‘special treatment’.”

Workers blamed an irregular hours culture, with many saying their employer could change their shift on a whim. One in four (26%) parents said they had their shifts changed at short notice.

The TUC is calling for all workers to have the right to be notified of their shifts one month in advance. It is campaigning for all working parents – including those on zero-hours contracts – to have the same parents’ rights.

The union said these rights were only available to workers with “employee” status – meaning 1.5 million will not have these rights if they become parents.

Busby said: “To give working parents real choice about how they balance paid work with family commitments, the government needs to ensure that workers are provided with guaranteed working hours and that individuals feel able to ask for suitable adjustments as and when family circumstances require them without fear of repercussions.

“There is also a real need for affordable good quality childcare which is accessible for all working parents as this would go some way to removing the daily anxiety experienced by lots of parents.”

A Department for Business spokesperson said: “The continued strength of our economy is built on the flexibility of our labour market. More than 20 million people in the UK are eligible to request flexible working and businesses must have a legitimate reason to refuse a request.

“We commissioned Matthew Taylor to review modern working practices to ensure our employment rules and rights keep up to date to reflect new ways of working. We are considering his report carefully and will respond in due course.”

Output: Low-paid workers in the UK fear punishment for taking time off to care for sick children, according to a report by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The study of over 1,000 people with maximum combined household incomes of £28,000 ($36,000) found that 42% of parents felt punished for requesting flexible hours. An additional 47% found it difficult to balance work and parenting, while 29% had used annual leave to care for a child. The TUC called for all workers, including those without “employee” status, to have equal parental rights and for workers to receive one month’s notice of shifts.


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Ad exchange MoPub adds viewability support via measurement firms
 MoPub, which helps mobile publishers manage their ad inventory, has released a new version of its software development kit (SDK) with added viewability support from ad measurement providers Integral Ad Science (IAS) and Moat.

The Twitter-owned mobile ad exchange boasts more than 49,000 apps on its platform, all of which will have the IAS and Moat integration enabled as default.

The integration was made due the growing importance of viewability amongst marketers and the fact that supporting multiple SDKs can eat up resources, according to a blog post from MoPub’s head of commercial partnerships Meridith Miller. Furthermore, publishers can enable the viewability measurement for their direct campaigns or mediated network partners through the SDK.

“Unlike on the buy-side, viewability is relatively new for in-app publishers,” said Miller. “Yet we know from the maturity of the metric on desktop that this data is just as valuable to a publisher as it is to a marketer.”

The IAS and Moat integration is available to MoPub publishers in the latest version of the MoPub SDK, while buyers can access the platform’s measurable inventory by contacting their account team or DSP partner.

“This partnership will enable publishers to drive greater revenue potential while providing brands with trusted metrics and actionable insights to improve their in-app buying decisions,” said Jason Cooper, general manager of mobile at IAS. “We are excited to partner with MoPub to improve transparency in the programmatic in-app market with a scalable solution that benefits both in-app publishers and marketers alike.”

Output: Mobile ad exchange MoPub has launched a new version of its software development kit (SDK), featuring viewability support from ad measurement firms Integral Ad Science and Moat. MoPub, which is owned by Twitter, offers more than 49,000 apps through its platform, which will all feature the new integration. The move was made to offer greater viewability for customers, particularly as the support of multiple SDKs can use up significant resources.


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UK lags behind Europe in anti-obesity surgery, claim surgeons
 Thousands more stomach-shrinking operations need to be carried out in the UK, say surgeons, who warn the country is lagging behind the rest of Europe despite the toll being taken on people’s health and warnings that the obesity crisis could bankrupt the NHS.

Reducing stomach size prevents people eating more than small amounts at a time, leading to dramatic weight loss. It can also reverse type 2 diabetes, which carries the risk of amputations, blindness, heart attacks and strokes.

France, with a population similar to that of Britain, carries out 37,000 obesity operations a year, compared with just 5,000 in the UK. Two countries with far smaller populations – Belgium and Sweden – perform 12,000 and 7,000 respectively, while Italy does 8,000.

It is a safe and cost-effective therapy for a deadly disease, according to bariatric surgeons speaking at an international conference in London. Yet the NHS is dragging its feet, they say.

“The UK data is overwhelming – surgery makes a difference to people’s health and we want commissioners to acknowledge this and act accordingly,” said Marco Adamo, a consultant surgeon at University College hospital and the chair of the National Bariatric Surgery Register, which records operations. “Severe and complex obesity is a serious, lifelong condition associated with many major medical conditions, the cost of which threatens to bankrupt the NHS.”

Bariatric surgery costs about £6,000 to £7,000 – only about a third of the cost of a knee replacement, a procedure which itself is often made necessary by obesity.

Prof Francesco Rubino, the chair of metabolic and bariatric surgery at King’s College London, said he used to think it was about cost. “But more recently I started to grow concerned that this may actually not be the real problem. The cost of bariatric surgery is very often offset by the health benefits, especially in diabetes, within a couple of years. Bariatric surgery is one of the most cost-effective interventions we have in modern medicine,” he said.

Instead, said Rubino, he thought it was about stigma and the judgments passed on obese people. “Looking at the science of obesity today, it is inconsistent with the evidence to conceive of obesity as a lifestyle choice,” he said. “It is not true that all patients who are obese are basically overeating.

“I would also submit that even if it were all about overeating – and I don’t believe it is the case – we don’t forgive obese patients for their poor lifestyle choices although we forgive those, such as smoking, that lead to cancer and transplant surgery.

“If we start taking the approach that disease associated with lifestyle choice should not be treated by surgical intervention, where are we going to draw the line? Pretty much every disease would have to be associated with lifestyle. I don’t think we should be here to judge.”

Results of a freedom of information request by the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society and the Royal College of Surgeons revealed in March that weight loss surgery was being rationed in parts of the NHS. Some clinical commissioning groups will not operate on a patient with a body mass index below 50, which is twice the safest weight for their height.

The surgeons, speaking at the world congress of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders, said they were operating on patients who had become sicker because they were having to wait so long for the operation.

Data collected for the register on 18,528 operations that took place between 2015 and 2017 shows that patients’ average BMI was 47.2. The normal range is 18.5 to 24.9. Two-thirds were not able to climb three flights of stairs without resting.

A year after surgery, more than half had no problem with the stairs. Half of those with type 2 diabetes had seen it disappear and had come off their drugs.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says the NHS should offer surgery to tackle the diabetes epidemic and there is international agreement among professional organisations that it works. When people are still not getting the treatment they need “then it becomes clear that misconceptions and the stigma of obesity are the main barriers”, said Rubino.

Output: The UK is performing fewer stomach-shrinking operations, which can combat obesity and reverse type 2 diabetes, than the rest of Europe, according to specialist surgeons. France, which has a similar population to the UK, carries out 37,000 such operations each year compared to the UK’s 5,000. Belgium and Sweden, which have smaller populations than the UK, carry out 12,000 and 7,000 operations respectively. Bariatric surgery costs between £6,000 ($7,764) and £7,000, a third of the cost of the knee replacements frequently required due to obesity. Some analysts fear that the UK’s growing obesity crisis could bankrupt the NHS.


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Most shippers forsake cargo insurance
 More than 90% of import cargo moves to the US do not have any insurance, according to Steve Fodor, Director at Association For Trade Compliance. Writing in a recent blog, Fodor said that, while cargo insurance costs about 0.5% of a shipment’s value, most importers do not purchase this coverage.

He reported many reasons why this was the case. The widespread assumption that business insurance covers shipments was usually wrong, Fodor said. “Most insurance policies do not cover cargo in transit, or if they do they place strict limitations on that coverage.”

Similarly, the assumption that the supplier will have covered the cargo insurance was usually wrong. “The terms of sale for products purchased determine whether or not the supplier provides insurance coverage. Since most products are

purchased on an FOB basis the supplier is not required to provide insurance coverage. Even shipments purchased under CIF terms are often only insured to the first US port and any damages or losses incurred after that point are not covered”, said Fodor.

Finally, the excuse that “nothing bad has ever happened to any of my shipments” might be true, but just because an importer has not had any past problems was no guarantee that there would not be a loss in future. “Do you want to risk losing tens of thousands of dollars just to avoid paying a small insurance premium? Seems risky to me”, concluded Fodor. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cargo-insurance-who-needs-steve-fodor

Output: Over 90% of cargo imported to the US is uninsured, according to Steve Fodor, Director at the Association For Trade Compliance. Despite cargo insurance costing around 0.5% of a shipment’s value, most importers do not purchase the coverage due to the assumption that business insurance covers shipments or that suppliers would already have coverage. In a recent blog post, Fodor questioned the logic of importers who risked “losing tens of thousands of dollars just to avoid paying a small insurance premium”.


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Spotify’s head of video and podcasts exits amid shift in strategy
 Spotify’s global head of content partnerships Tom Calerdone is out, and the music streaming service is getting ready to refocus its video ambitions around its most popular playlists. Calderone, who previously served as VH1’s president, was in charge of building out the company’s video strategy.

A Spotify spokesperson confirmed Calderone’s departure, explaining that he had been transitioning out of his role for the past month.

Bloomberg was first to report the departure Thursday, suggesting that the service was “narrowing” its video ambitions. Spotify’s spokesperson tried to put a different spin on the development, writing:

“We are focusing our expanding video offerings on RapCaviar, Rock This and other popular Spotify owned and operated playlists. Building out our video and podcast content remains a priority for Spotify and we will have more information to share on our future plans soon.”

Last year, Spotify announced the launch of 12 original shows, including a “Carpool Karaoke”-like show called “Traffic Jams” produced by Russel Simmons’ All Def Digital. However, it doesn’t look like any of these shows ever really caught on with Spotify’s users.

In a way, Spotify’s decision to refocus its video production around popular music playlists mirrors YouTube’s early forays into original content. Back in 2012, YouTube spent $100 million on getting outside media partners to produce content for the platform, only to find out that YouTube viewers heavily gravitated to videos produced by people already active on the platform.

Output: The global head of content partnerships at Spotify, Tom Calderone, has left the company. Calderone had been in charge of video strategy, but his departure has left many speculating that the company is moving away from its prior video ambitions. Spotify has said it will focus on video for its owned and operated playlist offerings in future. Calderone was formerly the president of VH1.


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Perkins Coie signs with EEA legal group
 Perkins Coie LLP, a US-based international law firm, has announced its inclusion in the Enterprise Ethereum Ethereum Ethereum is an open source, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality. Created in 2014, Ethereum now stands as the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap at the time of writing.As a decentralized cryptocurrency network and software platform, Ethereum represents the most prominent altcoin. Ethereum also enables the creation Distributed Applications, or dapps. Understanding EthereumEthereum boasts its own programming language, Ethereum is an open source, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality. Created in 2014, Ethereum now stands as the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap at the time of writing.As a decentralized cryptocurrency network and software platform, Ethereum represents the most prominent altcoin. Ethereum also enables the creation Distributed Applications, or dapps. Understanding EthereumEthereum boasts its own programming language, Read this Term Alliance (EEA) Legal Industry Working Group. The collaboration focuses on educating the legal industry about the benefits of Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term technology and the development and standardization of core Ethereum-enabled technology.

Learn how to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum safely with our simple guide!

“Perkins Coie, a legal adviser to the EEA since its launch, has been at the forefront supporting evolving blockchain technology,” said Dax Hansen, Chair of the firm's Electronic Financial Services and Blockchain Technology & Digital Currency industry groups. “With many innovative firms and institutions as partners in this effort, connecting and working with Fortune 500 corporations, startups and experts in the space will expand overall legal industry knowledge on the unique advantages that blockchain technology provides. We are honored to be a member of the EEA Legal Industry Working Group.”

“The focus of the EEA Legal Industry Working Group dovetails with Perkins Coie’s efforts in advising our financial services clients on the diverse uses of blockchain technology,” said Rick Howell, Perkins Coie’s Chief Information Officer. “Blockchain technology’s potential for changing the legal, financial, regulatory and technological landscape is enormous, and we look forward to collaborating with our partners in this group to implement blockchain technology into business operations and turn blockchain into a mainstream tool.”

The EEA is an industry-supported, not-for-profit organization established to support Ethereum-based technology best practices, open standards and open source reference architectures. It is meant to help Ethereum evolve into an enterprise-grade technology, providing research and development in a range of areas, including privacy, confidentiality, scalability and security.

Output: Law firm Perkins Coie has joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) Legal Industry Working Group. The group aims to educate the legal sector on the potential benefits of blockchain, as well as the development of standardised Ethereum technology. Perkins Coie will advise its financial service clients on the possible uses of blockchain tech, which has potential to change the legal, financial and regulatory sectors. The EEA is a non-profit organisation designed to encourage best practices for Ethereum.


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Airbags could protect humans working with robots
 Making robots that can work safely alongside humans is an important and unavoidable challenge for the manufacturing industry. If something goes wrong with a robot and it confuses a squishy human body with open air, the result might not just be delayed production, but broken bones and torn flesh. In the most straightforward way possible, robots just don’t know their own strength.

But in order to guard against this sort of mishap, researchers at Germany’s DLR Robotics and Mechatronics Center have been working a reassuringly familiar safety measure: airbags for robots. The scientists came up with this idea back in 2016, but last week published a new video showing how the technology works in a collaborative task — in their example, assembling a heater pump.

As the video above shows, the airbag surrounds the robot’s manipulator tool and its sharp edges, automatically inflating when the arm is moving to protect any nearby humans. When the robot needs to use the manipulator, the airbag deflates in less than a second. Lights built into the ‘bag let nearby humans know when the machine is safe, and built-in pressure sensors detect if it bumps into anyone. A video of an earlier prototype from March shows a researcher testing the efficacy of the system in the most straightforward way possible: by letting it ram into his head.

Output: German researchers have developed a system of airbags to protect people working with robots from injury. The scientists from the DLR Robotics and Mechatronics Centre came up with the idea in 2016, and have now released a video explaining the system. The airbag inflates automatically around sharp edges when the manipulator arm moves, before deflating to allow the arm to work. The new safety measure complements existing methods such as cameras and sensors which can detect human workers, and force-limited joints that shut down the robot if resistance is encountered.


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Monthly podcast audiences grow in the US
 When the IAB kicks off its third annual podcast upfront next week on Sept. 7, it should look and feel very different from previous years.

Before last year’s event, attendees anticipated the debut of IAB guidelines for the format. This year, attendees have had months to think about market leader Apple’s launch of analytics for podcasts, sample from the bumper crop of branded podcasts that market leaders like Gimlet Media have produced and process the flurry of funding rounds podcasting companies have announced this summer: $7.5 million for Art19, $15 million for Gimlet and another $15 million for HowStuffWorks.

Here is a look at the state of podcasting in five charts.

Nearly a quarter of all Americans listen to podcasts regularly

After a brief period of slowing user growth, podcasting experienced a small uptick in 2017, rising from 21 percent in 2016 to 24 percent in 2017, according to a report produced by Edison Research and Triton Digital.

New listeners are highly likely to become regular listeners

Podcasting’s proponents often call it an addictive format. Research released last month by Bridge Ratings Media Research suggests those claims are true. Bridge Ratings found that year over year, light podcast listeners (those who listen to about one show per week) are more likely to increase their consumption than they are to drop off or even to remain the same. A survey of light podcast listeners found that nearly half of them upped their consumption to two to three shows per week.

A separate survey of a group of even lighter listeners, which Bridge Ratings labels “grazers” (those who listen to one to three shows per month), found 45 percent of them turned into weekly listeners year over year.

Stars are emerging

Breakout hits such as “Serial” and pioneering hosts including Marc Maron and Bill Simmons are go-to reference points when discussing podcasting’s popularity. But the reality is that in 2017, the constellation of stars and shows that consistently drive large audiences is growing. The 10 most popular podcasts each average over 1 million downloads per episode, and nearly one quarter of the 100 most popular podcasts gather at least 500,000 downloads per episode, according to a report podcast analytics firm Podtrac published in June.

Platforms are investing in original content

Because podcast listeners tend to listen to shows frequently, a growing number of platforms have invested in original programming as a way to attract listeners. 2017 saw Google, Spotify and Tidal all unveil original U.S. programming for their platforms, joining Amazon, Pandora, Scripps-owned Stitcher and Slacker.

Output: Monthly podcast listenership in the US is up from 21% in 2016 to 24% this year, according to figures produced by Edison Research and Triton Digital. Separate research showed that those who listen to an average of one podcast a week were more likely to increase their consumption than to reduce or maintain it. The ten most popular podcasts each average over a million downloads per episode, and platforms including Google, Spotify and Tidal are now investing in original content.


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Conde Nast scales back digital-only Ars Technica
 Condé Nast Britain is winding down its digital-only brand Ars Technica in the U.K. The magazine publisher, which debuted the technology-focused site in the U.K. two years ago, has all but ceased its U.K. operations — a stark reminder that nothing is certain in digital.

The site’s U.K. URL will remain for now, but it will be staffed by just one person — Ars Technica UK consumer editor Mark Walton — and a mix of freelancers. The publisher confirmed four editorial staffers were laid off. Previously, there were six full-time editorial staffers and a deep bank of freelancers. U.K. editor Sebastian Anthony, who oversaw the site’s British debut, and news editor Kelly Fiveash are among those who have left.

A Condé Nast Britain spokeswoman said Ars Technica will continue in the U.K. and that the cuts are part of an ongoing restructuring. But with just one permanent staffer, it’s unclear how long the site will last. For now, Walton will report directly to U.S.-based Ars Technica founder and editor-in-chief Ken Fisher and Wired Media Group editor Greg Williams.

Launching a digital-only media brand is tough, and Condé Nast Britain isn’t the only publisher to find that brands successful in their original markets — like Ars Technica in the U.S. — aren’t guaranteed longevity in foreign markets. In the last six months, major titles like the Guardian were forced to scale back U.S. operations.

Technology is a highly saturated market, with specialist titles including Dennis Publishing’s Alphr and other digital native sites like Engadget, The Verge and others all jostling for space. Ars Technica has the additional challenge of having to differentiate from fellow Condé Nast-owned title Wired — a far more well-established title in the U.K., with 943,000 monthly visitors, according to comScore. That overlap in editorial mandate was never fully resolved, according to people close to the situation.

“Ars Technica is online-only in an increasingly challenging digital marketplace for magazine brands,” said Alice Pickthall, media analyst at Enders Analysis. “Condé Nast may seek to reshuffle investment toward their stronger consumer brands, such as Wired, which is a similar proposition.”

That said, traffic on Ars Technica rose steadily for a time. A year in, Ars Technica UK was faring relatively well, claiming 1.5 million monthly users last May. ComScore put the figure at around 652,000, excluding mobile devices during the same month. The editorial team aimed to differentiate by focusing on tech and gaming for high-brow IT and tech specialists when other tech sites were trying to become more mainstream.

The U.K. site ran separately from its U.S. counterpart, in line with how Condé Nast operates autonomously in different markets, but it shared U.S. stories about generic technology and science that were of interest to both audiences to free up U.K. editorial resources to go deeper on local stories and cover areas like European policy.

“Ars Technica had some very good content, which was interesting and often quirky. When they went in depth, they did so very well, probably in a less glossy way than Wired would,” said David Carr, strategy director at DigitasLBi. “But that wasn’t enough to distinguish them against the bigger brands like Tech Insider, which is like a fire hose on Facebook and other channels. Ars Technica wasn’t playing the clickbait game on social platforms.”

First-year shine can only last so long, especially in an area as crowded as digital publishing. After that, the brand didn’t get much sales traction, according to sources close to the situation. Commercial operations have always been lean at the technology title in the U.K., with one core sales director, Ciara Byrne, who left a few months ago to join Condé Nast International’s Vogue Digital team. She wasn’t replaced. After she left, commercial operations were rolled into Wired Media Group, with the idea of having more collaboration between Ars Technica and Wired. Editorial operations remained separate until now.

Ars Technica’s U.K. revenue is a combination of programmatic, creative solutions and direct ad sales, according to the publisher. Often, publishers grow ad revenue for smaller international outfits by pushing programmatic sales, but with a niche audience, that was never going to be the core revenue driver for Ars Technica UK. The majority of the U.K. outfit’s revenue was direct ad sales, including deep strategic partnerships with the likes of Microsoft, Google and HP.

Brand awareness was always an issue with local agencies, and some said the offering was overpriced. Offering a global sell was also not appealing to agencies with local U.K. budgets that are always looking to compare titles to local competitors, said Charlotte Tice, head of Affinity at Mindshare. “I remember thinking we would never do anything with them at those prices,” she said. “They priced themselves like an FT-type brand. That might work if the brand is well-known, but that’s not the case in the U.K. That was their biggest issue; no one knew who they were.”

Output: Magazine publisher Condé Nast's British operation is cutting back resources at its online-only Arts Technica title, with four editorial staff losing their jobs. The site will now be staffed by just one employee, consumer editor Mark Walton, supported by a number of freelancers. The company says the cutbacks are part of an ongoing restructuring, but doubts have been expressed about the future viability of the title, which launched in 2015 and initially saw readership rise to 1.5 million monthly users. It is reported to have struggled against tech media competitors, including fellow Condé Nast brand Wired.


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Another hurricane may hit the US putting Gulf of Mexico at risk
 Forecasters are monitoring the storm as it makes its way across the Atlantic, but it's too early to tell where it might strike.

As Harvey moves on from southeastern Texas and floodwaters start to recede, meteorologists are tracking another storm brewing in the eastern Atlantic Ocean that they say could potentially approach the United States in the coming weeks.

Irma became a Category 3 hurricane late Thursday afternoon, making it the season’s second major hurricane. The hurricane now packs maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour, with stronger gusts.

Irma had already quickly transformed from a tropical storm Wednesday morning into a Category 2 hurricane Thursday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. It exhibits an unusual—but not unprecedented—rate of growth, according to meteorologists.

Like Harvey and other Atlantic hurricanes, Irma started as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa and began a slow, westward churn across the Atlantic. Irma will spend the next few days traveling toward the eastern Caribbean region. Beyond that, it’s still too early to predict exactly where the hurricane will go, meteorologists say.

“We have plenty of time to watch this,” said Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist at NOAA’s National Hurricane Center in Miami.

“There’s no certainty. It has to go somewhere.”

Irma has met favorable conditions for picking up strength as it moves across the Atlantic. The hurricane is feeding off warm waters, which are typical during this time of year. “There’s practically no vertical wind shear, which is what would really prohibit storms from forming or strengthening, because it kind of keeps the top separate from the bottom, and they need to be stacked to really strengthen,” said Brian McNoldy, who studies cyclones at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

Irma also hasn’t run into much dry air, which usually chokes off the flow of humid air to storm clouds. “For a tropical cyclone, you want to ingest as wet and humid conditions as you can find,” McNoldy said.

Irma currently poses no threat to land areas. The hurricane is located about 600 miles west of the Cabo Verde islands, off the northwest coast of Africa. It should reach the Lesser Antilles, a collection of islands in the Caribbean, in the next four or five days, meteorologists say. It’s being steered along by a subtropical high-pressure system that remains parked over the north-central Atlantic all season long. “If it’s a really strong system up there, it tends to keep hurricanes more toward the west,” McNoldy said. “If there’s a weakness in it somewhere ... hurricane tracks will find their way north a little bit quicker.”

The high-pressure system could launch Irma toward any number of targets, including the Bahamas and Bermuda and U.S. states like Florida, North Carolina, and Texas, McNoldy said.

“There’s no certainty. It has to go somewhere,” he said. “We just don’t know where.”

Harvey, now designated as a tropical depression, was, as far as hurricane predictions go, a well-forecasted event; meteorologists warned of the storm’s catastrophic effects several days before it made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. Harvey met their dire expectations, causing unprecedented flooding, the displacement of thousands, and nearly 40 deaths. Harvey and Irma both formed during peak hurricane season, which runs from mid-August to late October. But Harvey’s devastating aftermath has put any other storm coming down the pike this season under more scrutiny than usual.

Output: Another hurricane is developing off the US called Hurricane Irma. At present it is a Category 3 hurricane which meteorologists say grew unusually quickly and is still intensifying in the Atlantic with its path as yet unknown. There is the possibility it could be a threat in the Gulf of Mexico or the Eastern Seaboard.


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China's live streaming to surge to $15bn in 2020: Goldman Sachs
 An investor looks at an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai on March 16, 2017.

Goldman Sachs predicts two U.S.-listed Chinese stocks, Momo and YY , will surge double-digits on the rapid growth of the video livestream market there.

"China is leading the world in live streaming – where individuals broadcast themselves singing, chatting or even eating," equity research analyst Fan Liu and a team of other analysts said in a Thursday report.

The analysts forecast the livestreaming market to grow to $15 billion in 2020, more than seven times what it was just two years ago, and are initiating buy on the two leaders of the market "after a flurry of startups in the space last year."

Messaging app Momo has a strong existing social network, while YY has "solid content generation capability," the analysts said.

Shares of Momo closed nearly 7 percent higher Thursday at $38.53 a share, leaving about 45 percent upside to Goldman's $56 12-month price target. Shares of YY gained 5 percent to $74.72, about 35 percent below the analysts' $101 price target.

Livestreaming enjoyed the highest revenue per hour in 2016 (US $)

Source: Goldman Sachs

Momo reached a record 91.3 million monthly active users in the second quarter, according to the Goldman report, while YY had 66 monthly active users for mobile livestreaming and 5.7 million paying users in the second quarter.

To be sure, both stocks tend to be volatile and are based on business models sensitive to consumer sentiment.

The Goldman analysts also noted pressure from Chinese regulators could also quickly turn sentiment around.

Among other major Chinese stocks, Goldman Sachs has a conviction buy rating on Alibaba and buy ratings on Baidu , Ctrip , JD.com , NetEase , Tencent and Vipshop .

Output: Analysts from Goldman Sachs have predicted that China's video livestream market will grow to $15bn by 2020, more than seven times what it was two years ago. "China is leading the world in live streaming," commented equity research analyst Fan Liu. The analysts are initiating buy on the two leaders of the market - US listed Chinese stocks Momo and YY - which they predict will surge to 45% and 35% respectively due to the rapid growth of the video livestream market. Analysts warned of the potential pressures of Chinese regulators however, and that social media stocks tend to be volatile.


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EU task force looks to use blockchain for refugee identification
 The European Union is joining the United Nations in using the Ethereum Blockchain to provide transparent help to refugees.

Details of the latest meeting of the European Parliament this week show its dedicated distributed ledger (DLT) taskforce set up earlier this year has already spent half its €850,000 ($1 mln) budget.

Dubbed the ‘Horizontal Task Force on Distributed Ledger Technology,’ a use case defined in the EU’s latest documentation relates to refugee aid in addition to DLT research.

“One specific use case that ought to be explored is the potential of DLT based solutions for the 10 management of the situation of refugees,” the amendment states.

“Many refugees, and people in refugee-like situations, are unable to prove their identity or access essential services.”

Blockchain, powered by Ethereum, could thus ease the integration process by providing new, more efficient ways of identifying undocumented persons arriving in the EU.

“[...] EU governments in partnerships with other countries and organizations (e.g. NGOs) need innovative solutions to manage increasing flows of migrants and their temporary stay in different countries,” the European Parliament continues.

“DLT applications could lend themselves to such applications on account of their distributed and resilient architecture.”

In June, the United Nations released plans to use Ethereum to distribute aid to refugees in crisis-hit Syria.

Blockchain Refugees’ Several-Year Journey To Government

Ethereum is progressing at breakneck speed with state-sponsored integrations also coming from Russia this week.

Members of the Ethereum Foundation signed a deal with government-owned bank VEB with an eye to increasing knowledge and propagation of Ethereum Blockchain solutions.

Registering refugees on the Blockchain meanwhile has been a focus of industry startups for several years. In 2015, BitNation succeeded in documenting the first such arrivals, at a time when government responses were far from set in stone.

“The refugee crisis in Europe is massive, and will last for years to come with millions of stateless people who can’t open bank accounts, or even take a job, legally,” founder Susanne Tarkowski-Tempelhof told Cointelegraph at the time.

“There’s a huge, and urgent vacuum to fill. The governments won’t do it, because they’re in a political deadlock when it comes to immigration.”

Output: An EU task force is exploring ways of using blockchain technology in the distribution of aid to refugees, to assist with maintaining accurate records. The body was set up earlier this year to look at how dedicated distribution ledger technology could be applied to the management of refugees, and has already spent half of its €850,000 ($1m) budget. In June, the United Nations announced plans to use blockchain technology to distribute aid to refugees in Syria.


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Samsung secures permit to test autonomous vehicles in California
 Electronics giant Samsung is the latest company to get the go-ahead to test self-driving cars on California’s public roads.

That’s according to the list of companies who’ve agreed to the terms of the Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which was updated Wednesday. Samsung joins companies such as Apple, Bosch, Delphi, NVIDIA and Waymo, as well as automakers like BMW, General Motors, and Volkswagen.

Samsung already got the OK to test self-driving cars in South Korea

In May, Samsung received approval to test cars in its home country of South Korea, using software adapted to Hyundai vehicles. That sounds odd because Samsung owns nearly 20 percent of Renault Samsung Motors, which is part of the Renault-Nissan alliance that’s the world’s fourth-largest auto producer. Nissan also has approval to test self-driving cars in California.

But in 2015, Samsung announced a new division that would focus on self-driving vehicle software, rather than the creation of the entire vehicle.

Output: Samsung has been given a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California, raising further speculation about its future self-driving vehicle plans. The company already has approval to test autonomous vehicles in its home country of South Korea. In 2015 it announced a new division focusing on self-drive software, rather than creating its own vehicle, despite owning nearly 20% of Renault Samsung motors. Nissan also has approval to test in California, as do Apple, Bosch, BMW, General Motors and Volkswagen.


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Samsung secures permit to test autonomous vehicles in California
 The California DMV has just updated the list of companies that can test self-driving technologies in the state, and there's one notable addition: Samsung Electronics. In a statement, a company spokesperson confirmed that it's participating in California's Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program. However, he clarified that the Korean conglomerate still has "no plans to enter the car-manufacturing business." Samsung will instead continue to develop sensors that use its AI and deep learning software, as well as other components for autonomous vehicles.

Samsung first got a permit to test self-driving technologies in its home country earlier this year. The chaebol revealed then that it was planning to test the sensors and parts it's developing aboard a Hyundai car. It unfortunately didn't elaborate on what those components can do, but we might find out more details when the company starts testing them in California.

The number of companies testing on California roads is only bound to grow, especially now that the government is mulling on giving tech titans and automakers exceptions to federal safety rules. Next week, lawmakers are slated to vote on the SELF DRIVE Act that would prevent states from regulating autonomous vehicle designs. If it passes, companies like Waymo will be able to test 100,000 autonomous vehicles, though, in exchange they have to turn in more data to the feds.

Output: Samsung has been given a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California, raising further speculation about its future self-driving vehicle plans. The company already has approval to test autonomous vehicles in its home country of South Korea. In 2015 it announced a new division focusing on self-drive software, rather than creating its own vehicle, despite owning nearly 20% of Renault Samsung motors. Nissan also has approval to test in California, as do Apple, Bosch, BMW, General Motors and Volkswagen.


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Hurricane Harvey puts those in supply chains at legal risk
 Dive Brief:

Dive Insight:

Harvey is not only disrupting supply chains, transport companies and manufacturers — it's fully shutting them down and exposing them to not only physical and financial harm but also legal risk.

Suzanne Trigg, a partner with Haynes and Boone, said in an interview with Supply Chain Dive that many manufacturers in the Texas Gulf Coast area are initiating force majeure protocols in their contracts, fearing they won't be able to get operations back online in time to meet deadlines.

A force majeure clause permits a supplier to justify failure to meet deadlines, reach production goals, make deliveries or uphold its end of a contract with another company as a result of a natural disaster, "act of man," or "act of God." It is usually a safeguard against litigation, should some unanticipated outside force prevent a company from operating and delivering on its promises.

"The other thing we’re seeing legally is out right disruption," Trigg told Supply Chain Dive.

She explained that many of the suppliers who have completely shut down operations may not have force majeure conditions clearly outlined in their contracts with buyers, which can lead to litigation after the crisis has passed, as these contracts are sure to be broken when suppliers halt or delay production to accommodate Harvey. Furthermore, the extraordinary amount of pollutants released by local refineries may cause legal problems for supply chains as well.

"Pollutants [are] being released, more than usual, so the supply chain angle is where the oil and gas were stored and how it was handled and whose fault it was," Trigg said. "What was released in a week is what was expected to have been released over a series of months."

Josh Brogan, a vice president at consulting firm A.T. Kearney, told Supply Chain Dive in an interview that he spoke with several manufacturing companies in the Texas Gulf Coast area.

"From a supply chain perspective, generally speaking there’s not much change that’s happened in terms of planning," he said. "I think manufacturing in the Houston area are kind of in a 'wait and see' position, and are more concerned with the well being of their employees."

As the hurricane begins to wane, however, Brogan believes trucking rates will spike nationwide, but especially in the Houston area as aid is shipped in.

"There’s going to be heavy pressure on freight lines to keep product moving — Houston is a pretty well balanced port when it comes to volumes going in and out — so there’s going to be a heavy reliance on rail and road to move product and a heavy reliance on infrastructure," Brogan told Supply Chain Dive.

Trucking rates are likely to stay elevated in the Houston area for a while, as building materials are shipped to repair damaged homes and personal property, according to Brogan, but the ports are unlikely to see as much traffic, as they will equalize fairly quickly once the floodwaters settle.

"It’s going to take flexibility and ingenuity on everyone’s side to get things up and running," Brogan said.

The likelihood of higher gas prices, combined with higher trucking rates, may be good for the trucking industry, but may stress Houston area supply chains trying to get back on their feet. For local supply chains, checking with suppliers about force majeure contract stipulations is a good way to plan for the next few weeks and avoid misunderstandings and complications that lead to litigation.

Output: Manufacturers in Texas who have been forced to shut down operations due to Hurricane Harvey are initiating force majeure protocols protecting them against litigation should they fail to meet production deadlines. A force majeure clause permits a supplier to justify failure to uphold its end of a contract with another company as a result of a natural disaster. Many suppliers however may not have force majeure conditions outlined in their contracts. Furthermore, at least two million pounds of pollutants have been released from oil refineries and chemical plants as a result of the damage, which may cause additional legal problems.


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China looks to outpace Musk's Hyperloop
 The Hyperloop is getting some Chinese competition.

The country’s state-run space contractor, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), announced yesterday (Aug. 30) that it has started research on a “high-speed flying train” that it says will be able to reach top speeds of 4,000 km per hour (2,485 miles per hour). That is 10 times faster than the world’s fastest bullet train (which is also in China), four times faster than commercial flights, and over three times the speed of sound (1,225 km/h).

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The “flying train” is in essence a passenger pod that uses magnetic levitation and travels through a near-vacuum tube, as CASIC manager Liu Shiquan explained to Chinese media (link in Chinese). The concept is similar to that of the Hyperloop, a futuristic high-speed transportation system envisioned by Elon Musk in 2013. Western startups are now competing to reach the proposed 1,200 km/h speed of the Hyperloop.

Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based startup Hyperloop One, which Musk is not involved with, said its pod reached the speed of 310 km/h during a test. That set a record for a Hyperloop test, which was broken recently when a German team’s version hit 323 km/h.

CASIC claims that its own version of the tube-enclosed system will be the first in the world designed for supersonic speed, though the first step will be hitting top speeds of 1,000 km/h. Musk has suggested that future versions of the Hyperloop would travel faster than the speed of sound.

CASIC says it owns over 200 patents for the project. Eventually it plans to export the “flying train” to countries that are part of China’s “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure spending spree. It didn’t provide a timetable.

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Of course, reaching supersonic speed too quickly could get uncomfortable. Mao Kai, chief designer of the system, said in an interview (link in Chinese) yesterday with a state newspaper that the train will ensure safety by allowing for acceleration that’s slower than civil aircraft. He dismissed concerns that the tickets will be too expensive for ordinary passengers.

Output: China's state-run space contractor, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), has announced plans to develop a “high-speed flying train”, which it claims will eventually be capable of speeds of 2,485 mph (4,000 km/h). The "flying train" concept is similar to Elon Musk's Hyperloop, essentially a passenger pod that uses maglev technology to travel through a near-vacuum tube. Western companies are targeting top speeds of 746 mph. CASIC said it owns over 200 patents for the technology, and will look to export the transport to One Belt, One Road countries.


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China's State Grid to buy remaining shares of Brazil's CPFL
 A State Grid employee works on an ultra-high-voltage transmission construction in Huainan, Anhui province. [Photo by Song Weixing / China Daily ]

State Grid Corp of China, the country's biggest utility, plans to buy the remaining shares it does not own in Brazilian power group CPFL Energia SA, Sina Finance reported.

If the deal is successful, State Grid will obtain 100 percent ownership in CPFL, the largest power distributor in Brazil, making a major stride towards its overseas layout.

In January, the Chinese company acquired a controlling 54.64 percent stake in CPFL and its subsidiary, CPFL Energias Renovaveis SA, for 17.36 billion reais ($5.68 billion).

State Grid is expanding its business globally with acquisitions across the world. Currently, it has invested in Italy, the Philippines, Brazil, Portugal and Australia.

Brazil has been the main battlefield for State Grid's "going out" plan. The company purchased 100 percent stakes in Brazil's 12 power transmission firms in December 2010 and December 2012, with a total investment of $1.68 billion.

State Grid runs nearly 7,000 kilometers of transmission line in Brazil, according to Brazil's local media. In addition, another 6,600 kilometers are under construction.

State Grid, which distributes electricity to 1.1 billion people, had a profit of 86.6 billion yuan ($13.1 billion) on revenue of 2.09 trillion yuan in 2016, according to its website.

Output: The State Grid of China, the country's largest utility, is to purchase the remaining shares in Brazilian power group CPFL Energia that it does not yet own (roughly 45%), giving it 100% ownership if the deal is successful. State Grid acquired 52.64% of CPFL and its subsidiary CPFL Energias Renovaveis in January for $5.68bn. The firm also owns Brazil's 12 transmission firms, covering 7,000 km with a further 6,000 km being built, and has made separate acquisitions in Italy, the Philippines, Portugal, and Australia


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FuchsRohr releases lightweight AluDrill for improved drilling
 Innovative, aluminium alloy FuchsRohr AluDrill drill pipe opens up new possibilities for demanding oil and gas drilling operations. Brought to market by OTTO FUCHS Drilling Solutions (OFDS), the pipe is up to 50% lighter than similarly-sized steel pipe. This low weight translates into increased drilling efficiency while making transportation and handling both easier and less expensive.

During a series of shale drilling tests, FuchsRohr Alu Drill has proven its durability and reliability, demonstrating an improved ROP in sliding mode of up to 30% (versus standard steel pipe) through more efficient weight-to-bit transfer. The aluminium alloy’s high yield strength also showed that it can more than handle the demanding shale drilling environment. Its strength-to-weight ratio exceeds that of X80 steel and approaches the range of titanium.

With a view to the upcoming SPE, the leading trade fair for the offshore sector, Peter Kaufmann, President of OFDS, pointed to another advantage of the light-weight aluminum pipe: “Especially in offshore operations, the weight advantage reduces freight costs and facilitates transport and handling. At the end of the day, this, in addition to the increase in drilling effectiveness and a reduction in drilling time, can contribute to reduced costs and higher profit margins in the oil and gas industry.”

Output: FuchsRohr has released its aluminium alloy AluDrill, which is up to 50% lighter than similarly sized steel pipe, making transport easier and cutting freight costs. It has a strength-to-weight ratio approaching that of titanium. In tests, the AluDrill demonstrated an improved rate of penetration in sliding mode of up to 30% compared with standard steel pipe.


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 Ciel et Terre to install 2.5 MW of floating PV in Japan
 China’s JinkoSolar will supply the PV modules, while Spanish manufacturer Power Electronics Espana SL has been tapped to provide inverters.

The French floating PV specialist — known for its proprietary Hydrelio floating platforms — is developing the project on a pond in Tsu, Mie prefecture. China’s JinkoSolar will supply the PV modules, while Spanish manufacturer Power Electronics Espana SL has been tapped to provide inverters. Osaka-based Super Tool ECO will handle EPC duties.

All electricity will be sold to Nagoya-based utility Chubu Electric Power for a period of 20 years at a feed-in tariff (FIT) rate of JPY 24 ($0.22)/kWh. Upon completion in November, the installation is expected to generate 2.27 GWh of electricity per year, according to Ciel et Terre’s website.

Separately, the company — which is based just outside of the French city of Lille — completed a 973 kW floating PV array in Tenri, Nara prefecture. REC Solar supplied the PV modules, while Power Electronics Espana SL provided inverters. Tokyo-based Eco Holdings served as EPC contractor.

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All electricity from the project will be sold to regional utility Kansai Electric Power over a period of 20 years at a FIT rate of JPY 27/kWh. The installation is expected to generate roughly 1.07 GWh of electricity per year.

Ciel et Terre has worked on numerous floating solar projects, including several installations built in cooperation with Kyocera. Last October, it announced plans to develop Taiwan’s first floating PV project, in cooperation with GermanSolar Asia. The 5 MW array was built on a reservoir near the southern city of Kaohsiung.

Output: Ciel et Terre has begun work on installing a 2.55 MW floating solar array in Japan. The work is taking place on a pond in Tsu, Mie prefecture, with PV modules coming from China's JinkoSolar, inverters from Spanish specialists Power Electronics Espana and EPC operations looked after by Oska-based Super Tool Eco. The electricity produced will be sold to Nagoya utility Chubu Electric Power at a feed-in tariff of $0.22/kWh, for 20 years. The project is expected to reach completion in November, and should generate 2.27 GWh of electricity annually.


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UK's solar energy capacity grows by 900 MW in H1 of 2017
 Official preliminary data from the U.K.’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has revealed that the country added 900 MW of solar capacity in the first six months of the year.

Cumulative installed PV capacity stood at 11,872 MW at the end of 2016, the BEIS data shows, rising to 12,720 MW by June 30. This is preliminary data and is expected to rise, BEIS stressed.

The main surge of solar installations arrived prior to March 31, which was the cut-off date for the remaining renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) for large-scale solar farms not larger than 5 MW that qualified for a grace period. Between February and March, the data shows, the U.K.’s solar sector added 670 MW, of which 530 MW was added in March alone. Of that figure, two-thirds were built in the 50 kW to 5 MW range.

However, since March 31, solar installations have slowed significantly, with less than 100 MW installed in the second quarter.

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Overall, the U.K. now has 922,509 installations of solar PV, of which 46% – or 5,890 MW – is derived from solar farms larger than 5 MW.

Residential rooftop solar PV (systems below 4 kW in size) represent 20%, or 2,502 MW, of the entire U.K. fleet.

These record levels of cumulative solar capacity are having an impact on the country’s energy mix. Data from Imperial College London found that coal supplied just 2% of the U.K.’s power in the first half of 2017, down from around 40% as recently as 2012. On a handful of days in June, solar, nuclear and wind power met 70% of the country’s energy needs, bringing the U.K.’s carbon intensity of power production below 100g of CO2 per kWh for the first time ever.

Output: The UK added 900 MW of solar capacity during H1 2107, according to preliminary data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which said the final figure is likely to be higher. The study showed that 530 MW was added in March alone, but also revealed solar installations have slowed significantly since that date. The study also showed that coal supplied 2% of the UK's power during the first six months of 2017 compared with 40% in 2012. On a few days in June, solar, nuclear and wind power met 70% of the UK's energy needs.


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Hurricane Harvey highlights the case for distributed microgrids
 Harvey, the hurricane-turned-tropical depression that’s devastated the Texas Gulf Coast, has also driven home the value of off-grid energy systems, from backup generators to microgrids -- and the dire results of failing to have them ready to prevent disasters.

The floodwaters have killed dozens of people and left tens of thousands homeless, and the storm has also knocked out power for more than 200,000 utility customers from Beaumont to Corpus Christi. While many residents have had power restored, many others are stuck in flooded areas where utility crews can’t even get to, let alone repair the damage.

That’s left many homes, businesses and industrial facilities no choice but to ride out the outage -- or, if they’ve got them, to turn on their own generators. Most of these distributed energy resources (DERs) are just diesel generators in the garage. In a handful of cases, they’re built into a building’s everyday operations, but can also kick on to keep the power in stores and hospitals running through blackouts.

But for facilities like oil refineries or chemical plants, on-site power generation and controls are not just convenient, they’re critical -- and their failure could spell catastrophe. That’s the unfortunate situation at the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, where floods knocked out grid power and two separate backup power systems on Sunday. That’s left a storage site for volatile peroxides without the refrigeration they need to keep from breaking down, emitting noxious fumes, and eventually catching on fire or exploding.

The 11 Arkema employees left as a skeleton crew at the closed-down plant dealt with the breakdown by transferring the chemicals to nine diesel-powered refrigerated trailers, but eight of those have failed as well, the New York Times reported. Then the employees were forced to abandon their efforts, as the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office requested the evacuation of all people within a 1.5-mile radius of the plant.

Since then, the storage site has been emitting noxious fumes that sent a dozen sheriff’s deputies to the hospital with reports of respiratory irritation, though all have since been released. The EPA estimates that 4,000 people live within a 3-mile radius of the site. Arkema has 66,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide, a highly toxic chemical, and another substance, methylpropene, in large enough quantities to require an EPA risk management plan, the Wall Street Journal reported.

On Thursday morning came reports of explosions at the site, although county officials and Arkema executives downplayed the threat in a press conference later in the morning, saying that the loud sounds were more likely to be the “popping” of the vapor release valves on the containers holding the chemicals.

Still, "When they decompose, they will generate heat; and when they generate heat, there's a possibility of a fire and an explosion," company executive Richard Rennard told reporters. "This is a very serious issue, and we know that.” Houston-area Republican Congressman Ted Poe told CNBC that the site could be without power for up to six days.

It’s unclear how the plant’s multiple, redundant backup power systems failed. Arkema executives have cited the “unprecedented” nature of this week’s storm, with record-breaking rains and flooding that inundated the site, including its backup generators, in 6 feet of water.

Flooding has also lead to the closure of 16 hospitals across Texas, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,000 patients to facilities that remain open, according to the Department of State Health Services. But some of the state’s biggest hospitals remained open, thanks to multimillion-dollar investments designed to keep floodwaters out and power humming.

The Texas Medical Center in downtown Houston, for example, has invested $50 million in a network of floodgates that have kept its 50 million square feet of facilities dry and operating through Harvey. It’s also supplied by a combined heat and power and district energy system from Thermal Energy Corp.

That’s a significant investment, but it pales in comparison to the $2 billion in losses the hospital suffered when it was flooded during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, the hospital’s president Bill McKeon told PBS.

Not all businesses face such a stark financial incentive to invest in backup power and storm resiliency. But there may be a broader market for distributed backup power systems that earn money and cut costs for customers when the majority of the time the grid isn’t down.

That’s the business model behind the natural-gas generators running at 63 H-E-B supermarkets across the greater Houston area. Installed and operated for a small fee by microgrid-as-a-service provider Enchanted Rock, these systems provide reduced utility bills for their stores, and offer opportunities for bidding their energy into markets run by Texas grid operator ERCOT.

But they’re also installed for the express purpose of being able to run in “island mode," disconnected from the grid. Since Friday, 18 of H-E-B’s stores have successfully kept themselves up and running in this mode, feeding their generators from underground natural gas pipelines that haven’t been destroyed by winds or floods.

This feature has made natural gas the fuel of choice for most of Texas’ microgrid systems, as compared to the diesel fuel that powers most backup generators. Enchanted Rock has built up a fleet of about 130 megawatts of these on-site generators, and has been able to run them in a way that makes them cost-competitive without subsidies, Thomas McAndrew, the company’s founding partner and managing director, said at Greentech Media’s Grid Edge World Forum 2017 conference in June.

Meanwhile, Texas has a few more advanced microgrids, designed to use on-site solar power, energy storage, and building energy controls in a way that reduces their reliance on fossil fuels. Dallas-area utility Oncor has built a showcase microgrid at its operating facility in Lancaster, and a Department of Energy-funded project at Group NIRE’s facility in Lubbock is seeking to control up to 100 devices, including batteries, electric vehicles, controllable HVAC systems, and binary-switched devices such as water heaters and LED lighting controls. These sites are well out of the way of Harvey’s fury, however.

As the response to Harvey continues, members of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities highlighted the recent approval of Middletown Township’s application for a microgrid feasibility study.

“Superstorm Sandy and the incredible devastation that continues in the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Harvey should serve as solemn reminders that while we have advanced distribution automation, hardened...distribution systems and improved preparedness, we still need to address local energy resiliency systems like advanced microgrids to complete the resiliency circle to help us prepare for the next emergency,” said Board President Richard Mroz.

Output: Widespread power cuts across Texas as a result of Hurricane Harvey have highlighted the value of distributed microgrids, which can provide continuity of energy supply in the event of grid failures. A number of companies, such as Enchanted Rock in the Houston area, have installed microgrid systems that run on natural gas and feed power into the grid, but can also operate in "island mode" in the event of an outage. Options being trialled elsewhere use combinations of on-site solar, energy storage and building controls to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.


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Tata Steel offers graphene-coated product for use in construction
 Tata Steel's first graphene-based product is in the market - the company has announced the launch of ready-made graphene-coated stirrups, named Tiscon Superlinks+. Tata Steel's vice-president (steel & marketing), said when four columns are built, the support link is normally supplied by a local mason, which is made of steel. "But, it usually rusts. We have changed that by coating it with graphene."

Superlink+ reportedly has enhanced corrosion resistance and better bonding strength than other stirrups in the market. Tata Steel has filed seven patent applications in this area of work.

A graphene development cell has been set up by the Company to identify applications and establish new businesses (production units, supply chain and markets). Two advanced material research centers have been established. One is at Chennai, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology there. The other is at Bengaluru, with the Center for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences.

The Company commented that as long as graphene is used as a value-add in steel, Tata Steel could work on it. For other applications, it would have to approach other companies.

In April 2014, Tata Steel signed a strategic partnership with the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to co-develop graphene-coated steel and other innovations. In November 2015, Tata and Talga Resources signed a collaboration agreement to explore opportunities in graphene supply, processing and applications. In May 2016, TS announced its intention to start manufacturing graphene, moving away from a steel company to a materials production company.

Output: Tata Steel has launched readymade graphene-coated stirrups for use in construction, known as Tiscon Superlinks+, which are the company's first graphene product. Tiscon Superlinks+ offers enhanced corrosion resistance and better bonding strength than rival stirrup products, according to Tata, which has filed seven patent applications and established advanced material research centres in Chennai and Bengaluru. The centres will identify more applications for graphene and set up production units.