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Educapital launches $45m fund for European edtech startups
 EDUCAPITAL, an investment group based in France, has launched a €45 million fund (approximately US $53 million) for K-12 and corporate education companies. Led by a female duo—Marie-Christine Levet and Litzie Maarek— the fund aims to invest in 15 European and Israeli edtech companies. The team claims to be “modeled similarly to successful US funds Learn Capital and Rethink Education,” according to the announcement.

Backers for Educapital include French investment bank Bpifrance, the publisher Hachette Livre, and Education for the Many, the education investment arm of the Leclercq family (best known for its sports retail chain, Decathlon).

Output: French investment group Educapital has launched a €45m ($53m) fund aimed at investing in 15 European and Israeli K12 corporate edtech companies. Educapital's leaders, Marie-Christine Levet and Litzie Maarek, said the fund would be modelled on US equivalents Learn Capital and Rethink Education.


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In New Test for Obamacare, Iowa Seeks to Abandon Marketplace
 Neither C.M.S. nor the White House would comment on whether Mr. Trump had pushed for the application to be denied. A spokeswoman for C.M.S. said only that the plan remains under review.

In Des Moines on Tuesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters that her team was in constant contact with the White House and C.M.S. about the plan, including a call with Ms. Verma this week, trying “to get to yes.” She said the administration has been “very receptive” to the plan as a solution to the “unaffordable,” “unworkable” health law until it can be repealed.

Iowa calls its request a stopgap plan that would allow the state to opt out of the federal health insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov, for 2018 and create a state-run system that its insurance commissioner says would lower premiums for the 72,000 Iowans who currently have Obamacare health plans, including 28,000 who earn too much to get subsidies to help with the cost.

But the cheaper premiums would come with a big trade-off: higher out-of-pocket costs. The only option for customers would be a plan with deductibles of $7,350 for a single person and $14,700 for a family. The proposal would also reallocate millions of federal dollars that the health law dedicates to lowering costs for people with modest incomes and use the money for premium assistance to those with higher incomes, no matter how much money they make.

The individual insurance market is particularly fragile in Iowa, partly because the state has allowed tens of thousands of people to keep old plans that do not meet the health law’s standards. Aetna and Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield, the state’s most popular insurer, are both withdrawing at the end of the year. The only insurer planning to remain, Medica, is seeking premium increases that average 56 percent, blaming Mr. Trump’s ongoing threats to stop paying subsidies known as cost-sharing reductions that lower many people’s deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. Wellmark has said it will stay if the stopgap plan is approved.

Output: With efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act dead in Congress for now, a critical test for the law’s future is playing out in one small, conservative-leaning state.


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If you miss this Medicare deadline, it could hurt your health
 It's likely you've started hearing chatter about Medicare's open enrollment period, which begins Sunday and runs through early December.

If you're like many older Americans, the question is whether you need to do anything.

Put simply, it depends.

"A lot of people won't need to do a darn thing," said certified financial planner Hans "John" Scheil, CEO and owner of Cardinal Retirement Planning in Cary, North Carolina.

In basic terms, the enrollment period, which lasts until Dec. 7, is for adding or changing coverage related to Medicare Part C (also known as an Advantage Plan) and Part D (prescription drug coverage).

WHAT ARE ALL THOSE MEDICARE PARTS? Part A. This covers inpatient stays at hospitals, skilled-nursing facilities and the like. As long as you've paid into the system by working the equivalent of about 10 years, you won't pay any premiums. If not, you'll have to pay for it. Part B. Everyone pays premiums for this coverage, which generally includes outpatient services and supplies. Higher incomes generate higher premiums: If you're single and have an income of more than $85,000 or are married with a joint income of at least $170,000, you will pay more. Part C. Also called Medicare Advantage, the program lets people choose from a Medicare-approved private insurance plan instead of Parts A and B. Each plan comes with differing variables, ranging from coverage to deductibles and co-pays. Part D. This is prescription-drug coverage. A voluntary option, it often ends up being included with an Advantage Plan. If you have Parts A and B instead of an Advantage Plan, you can purchase Part D coverage separately.

Here's a quick checklist to help you decide. (All changes take effect Jan. 1.)

1. You have a Medicare Advantage plan and want to change plans (or revert back to just Parts A and B).

2. You received a notice that your Advantage plan coverage is changing and you want to comparison shop.

3. You have Original Medicare (Parts A and B), and possibly a Medigap policy and want to switch to an Advantage Plan.

4. You want to join a Medicare prescription drug plan (Part D), switch to another, or drop this kind of coverage altogether.

If you're happy with your coverage or OK with any upcoming changes, there's no action needed.

Output: It's likely you've started hearing chatter about Medicare's open enrollment period, which begins Sunday and runs through early December. If you're like many older Americans, the question is whether you need to do anything. Put simply, it depends."


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Aging slows perception of falls
 Seniors need twice as long as young adults to realize they are falling, a delay that puts them at increased risk for serious injury, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo.

The findings will help shape the development of wearable fall prevention technology and allow clinicians to more accurately identify at-risk individuals. Falls are the leading cause of death and hospitalization in Canada.

"Falling threatens one's survival," said Michael Barnett-Cowan, a kinesiology professor at Waterloo and senior author on the study. "When the nervous system's ability to detect a fall and compensate with protective reflexes diminishes, the risk of injury or death increases significantly.

"Age and associated delays will need to be seriously considered when designing any aids to help seniors mitigate this risk."

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada between 20 and 30 per cent of seniors fall each year. Seniors also make up the fastest growing segment of the global population. By 2040, more than one billion people will be over the age of 65.

"Measuring fall perception not only is important in prevention efforts, but also provides information about how the brain processes sensory information and how this changes with age," said Julian Lupo, a graduate student and the study's lead author.

To measure fall perception, researchers presented study participants with a sound at different times relative to a supervised fall. They found that young adults required the fall to happen about 44 milliseconds before the sound in order for both cues to be perceived as occurring simultaneously. But adults over 60 years old required fall onset to occur about 88 milliseconds before the sound.

"This lag means that by the time older adults realize they are falling, it's often too late for for them to consciously do anything about it," said Barnett Cowan. "Given that falls are often the catalyst for a transition to long-term care, these findings highlight both the importance of adequate assessement for older adults and the need to expediete new prevention technology."

Falls are a leading cause of overall injury costs in Canada, with a total economic burden of falls estimated to be $6 billion annually. Seniors who are hospitalized for a fall remain in hospital an average of nine days longer than those hospitalized for any other cause.

The study appears in the journal Gait & Posture.

###

Output: Seniors need twice as long as young adults to realize they are falling, a delay that puts them at increased risk for serious injury, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo.


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Virgin Galactic space tourism could begin next year: Branson
 A Different Focus

Last week, veteran entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson was among the guest speakers at the 2017 Nordic Business Forum (NBF) held in Helsinki, Finland. On stage, Branson spoke about how he started his record label some 50 years ago, and went on to explain how he ended up opening his own airline company, Virgin Atlantic. Since then, Branson has been in the business of flight and he hopes to bring his passengers to space soon.

For some time now, Branson's Virgin Galactic has been testing the capabilities of their ship, the VSS Unity, a commercial suborbital spaceplane developed in tandem with The Spaceship Company. Earlier this year, they tested the ship's re-entry system after successfully completing a couple of solo-glide flights in 2016.

Branson said back in May that he was confident the company would be able to send their first batch of tourists into space by 2018 — a goal he reiterated during his talk. “We are hopefully about three months before we are in space, maybe six months before I’m in space," he said, according to Business Insider.

Image credit: Nordic Business Forum/Business Insider Point-to-Point Orbital Travel Virgin Galactic, Branson told an audience of about 7,500 people, isn't like Elon Musk's SpaceX. Branson's commercial space venture, unlike Musk's, isn't aiming for Mars, which the British entrepreneur said "is an incredible challenge." Branson, however, added that he wants to do more than just send people into space for sightseeing. He's looking at using Virgin Galactic's spacecrafts for point to point travel at roughly 483 k/h (300 mph), an idea that seems similar to Musk's BFR Earth-to-Earth travel. “That is something we are going to be in the best position in the world to do," Branson said. As for Mars, Branson's leaving that to SpaceX. "I suspect Elon [Musk] will get there first. He’s more interested in big rockets going big distances,” Branson explained. “My love for space is about how much it can do for people back here on Earth."

Output: Richard Branson's company, Virgin Galactic, could start making tourist trips to space as early as next year, according to the veteran businessman. Speaking at the recent Nordic Business Forum in Helsinki, Branson said the company is "about three months before we are in space, maybe six months before I’m in space". The UK tycoon brushed off comparisons with SpaceX boss Elon Musk, saying he’s "more interested in big rockets going big distances". Branson aims to develop high-speed, point-to-point travel using Virgin Galactic suborbital spaceplanes.


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Start planning now to care for elderly parents
 NEW YORK (Reuters) - If you have an aging parent and want a glimpse of what the future holds, look no further than Leslie Glutzer.

The 66-year-old from Chicago has a mom who is 92, dealing with dementia, now living in a local nursing home. Those costs are not covered by Medicaid, so Glutzer and her husband are spending more than $5,000 a month from their savings.

"It really starts to add up," Glutzer says.

This financial struggle is one that is shared by many.

For nursing homes, in particular, the costs can be astronomical. A new study from insurance giant Genworth Financial found that a private room in a nursing home averages out to $267 per day or $8,121 a month, up 5.5 percent from the year before. Semi-private rooms are not far behind, at $7,148 a month on average.

Overall, long-term care costs rose by 4.5 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to Genworth's "Cost of Care" survey. That is the second-highest annual increase since the yearly survey began back in 2004.

Experts agree that it is important to start thinking about caregiving costs now. Waiting too long means you cannot stockpile resources, take out affordable insurance policies or plan ahead for a thoughtful drawdown of assets.

"At that point, your choices become very limited," says David O'Leary, president and CEO of Genworth's U.S. Life Insurance division.

So exactly how can you provide compassionate care for your parents without bankrupting yourself and sabotaging your own retirement? The following are five tips:

TAKE FINANCIAL INVENTORY

Have a family meeting and take stock of the financial resources available. Folks in their 70s or 80s may have a pension, as well as Social Security and personal investments, which could help soften the financial blow for adult children.

Figure out if all siblings are going to share eldercare costs equally, or if some who may not have the means can contribute in other ways, like arranging hospital appointments.

Be sure to find out what your parents envision for their future.

"As the child, we want to make the decision we think is right," O'Leary says. "But we really have to look at everything through the eyes of our parents."

HOME EQUITY

If your parents own a home, consider tapping it to pay for caregiving expenses.

"Think of it as an investment that can be used to pay for care," says Joy Loverde, an eldercare expert and author of the new book "Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old?"

That might mean selling it, downsizing elderly parents into a smaller space, and using those funds for long-term care. It might also mean that adult children buy the place, lease it back to the parents and potentially tap the home equity.

Or it might mean a reverse mortgage, which allows homeowners to borrow money against the value of their homes, receiving proceeds as a line of credit, fixed monthly payment or lump sum.

MEDICAID QUALIFICATION

Medicaid can cover long-term care costs like nursing-home admission, but only for those under a certain level of personal wealth. That might require shifting assets in a thoughtful (and legal) way.

"One of the most effective planning strategies has been to encourage our clients and their elderly parents to consider gifting their assets into irrevocable trusts, including their primary residence," says Ian Weinberg, a financial planner in Woodbury, New York.

GET COVERED

Long-term care policies can definitely help with eldercare costs, but only 8 percent of the population is currently covered by them, according to Genworth. The trick is to secure them while you are healthy and early enough - say, in your 50s - so that they are still relatively affordable.

"I have at least one client dealing with these costs for his parents, and thank God we had the good sense to buy LTC insurance," says Kashif Ahmed, a financial planner in Woburn, Massachusetts. "Otherwise, their assets would be depleted in no time."

CONSIDER LESS EXPENSIVE OPTIONS

Nursing homes are not the only option. These days it is more like a "continuum" of care. For instance, parents might move in with their adult children. Or they might prefer to stay right where they are, perhaps with a home health aide coming in occasionally.

The next level up might be an assisted-living facility, which should offer an array of services for independent living, and even different levels of care within the same facility. Those will not cost as much as nursing homes, at $123 per day or $3,750 a month on average, according to Genworth.

(Editing by Lauren Young and G Crosse)

Output: If you have an aging parent and want a glimpse of what the future holds, look no further than Leslie Glutzer. The 66-year-old from Chicago has a mom who is 92, dealing with dementia, now living in a local nursing home. Those costs are not covered by Medicaid, so Glutzer and her husband are spending more than $5,000 a month from their savings.


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Older Americans Commonly Use Sleep Aids, Generally Unaware of Risks
 Ann Arbor, MI—Sleep problems are epidemic in older Americans, and even though clinical guidelines warn against prescription sleep medications in patients aged older than age 65 years, a substantial percentage of them often use drugs to help nod off.

The poll was sponsored by AARP and Michigan Medicine and conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

That’s according to results of the National Poll on Healthy Aging, which also found that many of respondents had never discussed sleep issues with their physicians. A third of respondents reported sleep problems, yet half said they thought trouble dozing off was just a natural consequence of aging.The survey also identified a lack of understanding of the risks of prescription, OTC, and so-called “natural” sleep aids, finding that 8% use prescription sleep medicine regularly or occasionally.Nearly one quarter of those reporting interrupted sleep three or more nights a week said they used a sleep aid, and many of them had been doing so for years—even though the drugs usually only have FDA approval for short-term use.“Although sleep problems can happen at any age and for many reasons, they can’t be cured by taking a pill, either prescription, over-the-counter or herbal, no matter what the ads on TV say,” explained poll director Preeti Malani, MD. “Some of these medications can create big concerns for older adults, from falls and memory issues to confusion and constipation,” even if they’re sold without a prescription.“The first step for anyone having trouble sleeping on a regular basis should be to talk to a doctor about it,” Malani added. “Our poll shows that nearly two-thirds of those who did so got helpful advice—but a large percentage of those with sleep problems simply weren’t talking about it.”Almost half, 46%, of the older Americans polled reported that they had trouble falling asleep one or more nights a week, with 15% saying that sleeplessness plagued them three or more nights a week.Reasons provided for sleep problems included:• Pain, noted by 23%• Overall health being only fair or poor, 40%• Frequent bathroom visits, worry, and stress also were cited.Researchers warned that lack of sleep may worsen memory issues and depression, while increasing the risk of falls and accidents.“We know that sleep is a critical factor for overall health as we age, and this new research highlights sleep problems as both a significant health issue for older adults and an underacknowledged one both by patients and their providers,” said Alison Bryant, PhD, senior vice president of research for AARP. “We need to help people understand that lack of sleep is not just a natural part of aging.”The researchers polled a nationally representative online sample of 1,065 people ages 65 to 80 years, who answered a range of questions online. Laptops and Internet access were provided to poll respondents who did not already have it.

Output: Sleep problems are epidemic in older Americans, and even though clinical guidelines warn against prescription sleep medications in patients aged older than age 65 years, a substantial percentage of them often use drugs to help nod off.


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A Look Into Older Adults’ State of Mind
 Contrary to conventional wisdom, an increase in age can lead to an increase in happiness. In fact, older adults tend to be more satisfied with their lives than their younger peers. But, for those who need it, limited supply of and access to proper geriatric psychiatric treatment leave many older adults' mental health issues underdiagnosed and thus undertreated.

One in four adults ages 65 and older experiences a mental health problem such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia or dementia, according to the American Psychological Association . And people 85 and older have the highest suicide rate of any age group, especially among older white males who have a suicide rate almost six times that of the general population, according to the National Council on Aging .

The issue of access to mental health care treatment will be further compounded as baby boomers – who carry a higher predisposition to suicide than earlier generations – enter the older adult stage of life. The number of Americans between the ages of 65 and older is projected to double from 46 million to more than 98 million by 2060, according to the American Psychological Association.

But there's a positive side to this ledger.

More health systems across the country are merging mental health care into primary care visits, which older people are more likely to take advantage of, says Dr. Yeates Conwell, director of the geriatric psychiatry program at the University of Rochester .

"Older people ... are not going to go to a mental health center or a mental health provider, but they will more likely accept treatment from their primary care practitioner," Conwell says.

Yet access to proper mental health care for older adults is hindered by modern culture perpetuating the stigmas and misconceptions of ageism and mental health issues; social isolation; high health care costs; and a dwindling supply of geriatric caregivers for America's growing older population.

"The way we treat and take care of people, especially older people, with mental health illnesses is certainly an embarrassment and a shame to society," says Dr. Dilip Jeste, director of the Stein Institute for Research on Aging at University of California–San Diego School of Medicine . "This is one of the most disenfranchised segments of our society."

Addressing the Stigmas of Ageism and Mental Health

Modern culture in America values the new and, in the process, pushes the old aside.

"Ours is a culture that values innovation, which is new knowledge, and devalues wisdom, which is old knowledge or eternal knowledge – knowledge that doesn't change every five years when a new iPhone comes out," says Dr. Renee Garfinkel, a clinical psychologist, author and radio host.

"But something's lost and something's gained in every choice that society makes," Garfinkel adds. "When you're in a society where speed is highly valued, then an old person will not be."

By adapting this mindset, experts say society could be contributing to social isolation and misconceptions surrounding older adults' mental health.

"When older people incorporate the view that they are 'over the hill,' that they are a burden on their families or on their communities, then that's a very dangerous situation," Conwell says, as social isolation has been proven to be as bad for one's health as smoking or lack of exercise.

The stigma of ageism includes negative attitudes, stereotypes and behaviors directed toward older adults based solely on their perceived age. In other words, as people get older, others assume that they have or are increasingly susceptible to mental or physical impairments that make them no longer able to contribute in a way they once were, decreasing their value to the community.

"People with mental illnesses in general get really poor care. There is a considerable amount of stigma against mental illness, and when you talk about aging, there is considerable stigma against aging," Jeste says. "So older people with mental illness have this double whammy: They are stigmatized because of mental illness and stigmatized because they're older."

(Deidre McPhillips for USN&WR)

Further, mental health services may be underutilized by older patients as they may be in denial, may not have adequate insurance coverage, or their other physical chronic conditions may take precedence during a primary care visit, leaving their mental health unchecked.

"I think that time is an issue for practitioners," says Eric Weakly, chief of state and community programs for the western branch of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services.

"If you're coming and you only have maybe 15 minutes, and you have a person who has multiple chronic conditions – they may be presented with cardiac conditions or diabetes or other things – of the list of conditions, depression, anxiety or another mental illness may not be first on the list when they're doing their screens," Weakly, a social worker, continues.

And, while the number of older adults with mental health disorders is expected to nearly double by 2030, the number of geriatric psychiatrists and psychologists is projected to continue its decline, resulting in less than one geriatric specialist per 6,000 patients with mental health and substance use disorders, according to a 2013 Dartmouth University study.

More than 20 percent of adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental or neurological disorder, and the most common neuropsychiatric disorders in this age group are dementia and depression, according to the World Health Organization .

Dementia – including Alzheimer's disease, its most common form – affects about 5 percent of individuals between 71 and 79 and 37 percent of the population above the age of 90, according to the American Psychological Association.

But, as Garfinkel explains, growing older doesn't mean you will suffer from a mental health issue. Rather, a longer lifespan exposes a person more, both in terms of mental and physical conditions, which may affect a person's overall psyche.

"The longer you live, the more chance there is for illness to target you, and depression is a risk factor for people who have chronic illness, especially when it's chronic pain," Garfinkel says. "Pain and depression are very highly associated, and a lot of the disorders that strike more often in older age – but not exclusively in old age – are painful."

While depression is not a consequence of getting older, the misconception that it is – either due to bereavement over lost loved ones or the physical pains tied to aging – leads to underdiagnosis and undertreatment by health care professionals and older adults themselves who may not recognize the associated physical symptoms.

A combination of the individual and the people around him or her making incorrect assumptions about depression as a normal part of aging further complicates diagnoses, Conwell says.

"Older people tend in general to be more satisfied with their lives than middle-aged people, and have lower rates of syndromal depression, even though depressive symptoms may be present. But when they are, clinical depression is a syndrome that's made up of a bunch of different symptoms – sadness is only one of them," Conwell continues.

Senior patients may not bring up emotional symptoms, though, opting instead to describe physical ones such as loss of energy, poor sleeping habits, loss of appetite and trouble concentrating, Conwell says, all of which are common with other chronic medical conditions in later life.

Yet mental health correlates with physical health, according to the World Health Organization .

"Older adults with physical health conditions such as heart disease have higher rates of depression than those who are medically well," the organization reported in April 2016 . "Conversely, untreated depression in an older person with heart disease can negatively affect the outcome of the physical disease."

Noticing the Spectrum of Mental Health – and Opportunities – for Older Adults

A 2016 study evaluating successful aging from ages 21 to 100 showed that mental health improved with increased age, contrary to the perceived stigma of ageism.

"What we found was that with age the physical health declined, as expected, the cognitive function declines in later life, but the mental health improved with aging in the sense that people seem to get happier, more satisfied, less depressed, less stressed out, in later life than when they were younger," Jeste, co-senior author of the study, says.

"Even people with mental illnesses can do better in later life if society helps them," Jeste says. "The problem is not so much biology; the problem is more what we provide as a society."

As a whole, the 65 and older age group tends to be happier than their younger peers , with reportedly fewer mental health disorders except for dementia as they age.

Like all generations, older adults experience positive mental health when they perceive that they have social support and that they add value to their communities, says Helen Kivnick, a professor of social work at the University of Minnesota.

Yet, she continues, there are fewer social supports and opportunities available for this older generation than for any other stage of the life cycle.

"We would never think about trying to grow a society of healthy kids without families or schools or playgrounds or friendship groups or things like that," Kivnick says. "It shouldn't really surprise us that older people show the ill effects of the absence of these supports, and the supports that we provide we think of as remedial supports rather than ordinary supports for psychosocial health."

Community and family support decline later in life, and loneliness is one of the biggest concerns for older people.

"People get old, and they get isolated, and depending on their social network or their history going into aging – they may have always been a very solo person to begin with – they may want to have control over who they interact with, who they don't interact with," says Dr. Brenda Reiss-Brennan, head of the mental health integration program at Intermountain Healthcare. "So you really have to understand what is their baseline, and where are they now, and what would be acceptable to them to have social contact because social contact is the key to aging well."

But living alone does not mean that a person of any age is lonely, says Dr. John Cacioppo, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago.

Every day, 10,000 Americans turn 65 years of age or older, Cacioppo says, so it should be no surprise that more are living alone as getting older increases the likelihood that one spouse will pass away before the other. As of 2015, there were nearly 16 million adults ages 60 and above living alone in the U.S., according to the Administration for Community Living's AGing Integrated Database .

"When it's perceived isolation instead of objective isolation, that's called loneliness," says Cacioppo, who is also the director of the university's Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience. Perceived isolation accounts for a 26 percent increase in mortality through biological and behavioral processes.

Living alone could lead to autonomy or independence with the right social support system. Maybe you're ready to form new relationships in new groups apart from the family, neighbors or community you spent years growing up with, or dependency forces you into assisted living as isolation is not going to work, Cacioppo says. On the other hand, it could lead an individual to feel uprooted.

"It isn't about objective isolation, moving or not, it's about the psychological impact of that to the individual," Cacioppo says. "One of the worst things you can do is give up all meaning for an older retired adult."

Trying to Fix a Broken System

The costs of health care – especially mental health care – prevent people from all age groups from receiving the treatment they need when they need it.

For older adults, though, the uncertainty of finances to cover health care costs is an enormous stressor, Garfinkel says.

"It is for younger people, but the older you get the fewer options for maneuvering and figuring out your way around it that you have," she says.

In 2016, Congress passed the $6.3 billion 21st Century Cures Act, which included the first major mental health care and substance-abuse legislation to be passed in 20 years. While the mental health portion of the bill did not include much extra funding compared to existing levels, it laid the groundwork to address mental health and requires health insurance companies to cover more mental health treatments.

Still, Jeste says, private insurance companies have found loopholes to avoid covering mental illness, making it less affordable even for patients that have Medicaid or Medicare insurance. Because of this restrictive coverage, physicians may not prescribe a patient the psychotherapy they need because it does not come with the same reimbursement as prescription drugs.

"It becomes a vicious circle," Jeste says. People who need mental health care don't receive it, their condition gets worse, and, as they get older, their access to care declines further as there aren't enough physicians in the geriatric field to provide that care.

"One problem with the health care system is that it is split, and it is very disorganized," Jeste says. "If you provided a unified, integrative, qualitative care, again the prognosis would improve a lot."

Some primary care health systems are attempting to tackle the stigma of mental health by integrating mental health care with physical checkups.

Intermountain Healthcare, with hospitals and clinics throughout Utah and southeast Idaho, is trying to normalize team-based primary care in which a primary care physician has a team of experts to call upon to check on a patient depending on both physical and mental screenings during a regular doctor's appointment.

Integrating the two establishes the connection between physical and mental health, says Dr. Brenda Reiss-Brennan, head of the health system's mental health integration program.

"People like to go to where they are comfortable, and they're comfortable in primary care," Reiss-Brennan says. "Mental health is normalized as a routine part of care, so the staff's more comfortable and confident in dealing with mental health."

Doing so has saved each patient $115 a year, Reiss-Brennan says, from more efficient use of specialists, earlier detection and treatment, and follow-up care plans to more efficiently use all available resources.

And the federal government, under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Health Resources and Services Administration, is working to bring mental health care information into the primary care setting, says Weakly of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

"We know that most older adults are going to go to primary care physicians first," Weakly says, so fusing behavioral health into primary care will get necessary information to physicians.

Practitioners need to also look at care in different ways, Weakly says, such as going to where people are instead of expecting them to come into the office for therapy or treatment.

"As people in their 50s and 60s are more open about talking about their depression or their bipolar disorder, their schizophrenia, I think things are beginning to change," Weakly says. "People didn't talk about cancer 50 years ago. I think maybe we're getting to a place where people are more comfortable talking about their mental health diagnosis."

Output: Contrary to conventional wisdom, an increase in age can lead to an increase in happiness. In fact, older adults tend to be more satisfied with their lives than their younger peers. But, for those who need it, limited supply of and access to proper geriatric psychiatric treatment leave many older adults' mental health issues underdiagnosed and thus undertreated.


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38% of small UK businesses spent nothing on cybersecurity in 2017
 The Government has surveyed UK businesses to find out they approach cyber security and help them learn more about the cyber security issues faced by industry. The research informs Government policy on cyber security and how Government works with industry to make Britain one of the most secure places to do business online.

Released

19 April 2017

Period covered

Respondents were asked about their approach to cyber security and any breaches or attacks over the 12 months before the interview. Main survey interviews took place between 24 October 2016 and 11 January 2017. Qualitative follow up interviews took place in January and February 2017.

Geographic coverage

UK

Further Information

The survey is part of the Government’s National Cyber Security Programme.

Cyber security guidance and information for businesses, including details of free training and support, can be found on the National Cyber Security Centre website and GOV.UK at: www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance and www.gov.uk.

The survey was carried out by Ipsos MORI and its partner, the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies (ICJS) at the University of Portsmouth.

The UK Statistics Authority

This release is published in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics (2009), as produced by the UK Statistics Authority. The UKSA has the overall objective of promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good. It monitors and reports on all official statistics, and promotes good practice in this area.

Pre-release access

The document above contains a list of ministers and officials who have received privileged early access to this release. In line with best practice, the list has been kept to a minimum and those given access for briefing purposes had a maximum of 24 hours.

The responsible statistician for this release is Olivia Christophersen. For any queries please contact 020 7211 2377 or evidence@culture.gov.uk.

Output: 38% of 10 UK businesses spent nothing on cybersecurity this financial year, while 45% believe they do not require protection, according to a survey of 1,009 small business decision makers by Duo Security and YouGov. The study also revealed that 36% could not afford to effectively protect their businesses from cyber threats, putting them below the security poverty line. Analysts said more needed to be done to raise awareness of government initiatives, such as Cyber Risk Aware and Cyber Essentials.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Robot masseuse takes first patients in Singapore
 Emma massaging a patient autonomously on the left while physician Calista Lim treats another patient on the right. Emma improves the productivity of the clinic as it can do the job of two massage therapists. Credit: Nanyang Technological University

A robot masseuse has started work in Singapore today. Named Emma, short for Expert Manipulative Massage Automation, it specialises in back and knee massages as it mimics the human palm and thumb to replicate therapeutic massages such as shiatsu and physiotherapy.

Emma started work on her first patients today at the NovaHealth Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) clinic, working alongside her human colleagues – a physician and a massage therapist.

Emma 3.0 – the first to go into public service – is a third more compact than the first prototype unveiled last year, offers a wider range of massage programmes and provides a massage that is described by patients as almost indistinguishable from a professional masseuse.

Emma uses advanced sensors to measure tendon and muscle stiffness, together with Artificial Intelligence and cloud-based computing to calculate the optimal massage and to track a patient's recovery over a course of treatments.

Emma is developed by AiTreat, a technology start-up company incubated at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore).

Just two years old, AiTreat has a valuation of SGD$10 million (USD $7.3 million) after it recently completed its seed round funding, supported by venture capitalists from Singapore, China and the United States, including Brain Robotics Capital LP from Boston.

Founder of AiTreat and NovaHealth, Mr Albert Zhang, an alumnus of NTU Singapore who led the development of Emma, said the company's technology aims to address workforce shortages and quality consistency challenges in the healthcare industry.

Using Emma in chronic pain management has the potential of creating low-cost treatment alternatives in countries where healthcare costs are high, and where aging populations have a growing demand for such treatment.

Mr Zhang said that Emma was designed to deliver a clinically precise massage according to the prescription of a qualified traditional Chinese medicine physician or physiotherapist, without the fatigue faced by a human therapist.

"By using Emma to do the labour intensive massages, we can now offer a longer therapy session for patients while reducing the cost of treatment. The human therapist is then free to focus on other areas such as the neck and limb joints which Emma can't massage at the moment," said Mr Zhang, who graduated from NTU's Double Degree programme in Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine.

Credit: Nanyang Technological University

In Singapore, a conventional treatment package for lower back pain consisting of a consultation, acupuncture and a 20-minute massage, would typically range from SGD$60 to SGD$100 (USD$44 to USD$73).

At NovaHealth TCM clinic, a patient could receive the same consultation, acupuncture but with a 40-minute massage from Emma and a human therapist for SGD$68 (USD$50).

Emma is housed in a customised room with two massage beds. Located in between both beds, Emma can massage one patient while the physician provides treatments for the second patient, before switching over.

This arrangement ensures Emma is always working on a patient, maximising the productivity of the clinic. It is estimated that staffing requirements to run a clinic can be reduced from five people to three, as Emma does the job of two masseuses.

How Emma works

Emma has a touch screen with a fully articulated robotic limb with six degrees of freedom. Mounted at the end of the limb are two soft massage tips made from silicon, which can be warmed for comfort.

Emma also has advanced sensors and diagnostic functions which can measure the exact stiffness of a particular muscle or tendon.

The data collected of each patient is then sent to a server in a cloud, where an Artificial Intelligence (AI) computes the exact pressure to be delivered during the massage procedure.

The AI can also track and analyse the progress of the patient, generating a performance report that will allow a physician to measure a patient's recovery using precise empirical data.

This proprietary cloud intelligence is supported by Microsoft, after Mr Zhang and his teammates won the Microsoft Developer Day Start-up Challenge last year. Credit: Nanyang Technological University

Once it has proved that Emma can improve the productivity and effectiveness of TCM treatments, Mr Zhang hopes it could be a business model for other clinics to follow in future.

AiTreat is currently incubated at NTUitive, the university's innovation and commercialisation arm.

The start-up is supported by the StartupSG-Tech grant, which funds up to SGD$500,000, as well as SPRING Singapore's ACE start-up grant and the Technology for Enterprise Capability Upgrading (T-Up) grant.

The development of Emma is also on the TAG.PASS accelerator programme by SGInnovate, which will see Mr Zhang tie up with overseas teams to target multiple markets such as in US and China.

Chief Executive Officer of NTU Innovation and NTUitive Dr Lim Jui said harnessing disruptive technologies such as robotics and AI to improve everyday life is what Singapore needs to keep its innovative edge.

"To remain competitive in the global arena, start-ups will need to tap on emerging technologies to create a unique product that can tackle current challenges, similar to what AiTreat has done," Dr Lim explained.

"We are proud to have guided Mr Albert Zhang in his vision to bring affordable healthcare solutions to the market for Singapore, which can alleviate some of the chronic pain problems which our elderly faces."

The official launch of Emma and the NovaHealth clinic today was attended by fellow entrepreneurs and industry leaders, including Mr Inderjit Singh, Chairman of NTUitive, NTU's innovation and enterprise arm, and a member of NTU Board of Trustees.

Mr Inderjit Singh said, "There is great potential for Emma to be of service to society, especially as the population ages. The massage techniques of experienced and renowned TCM physicians can be reproduced in Emma, giving the public easier access to quality treatment. I look forward to future studies which could improve the efficacy of such massages, using herbal ointments containing modern ingredients that improve wear and tear, such as glucosamine.

Running in parallel to Emma's work schedule is a research project to measure and benchmark Emma's efficacy, comparing it to those of a human masseur.

Output: Patients requiring a massage at the NovaHealth Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic in Singapore can be treated by a robot, the first of its kind to be used on the public. Developed by local start-up AiTreat, the Expert Manipulative Massage Automation (Emma) uses sensors to establish muscle stiffness or tension and artificial intelligence to deliver the appropriate massage. Albert Zhang, the founder of NovaHealth, said Emma allows staff to focus on neck and limb joints, which the robot can't manage, and could provide a response to a shortage of masseurs, who are needed to treat Singapore's growing population of older people.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Insurtech Root looks to gather data via automaker partnerships
 Telematics insurer Root is in talks with auto manufacturers in search of alternative driver data from connected cars for claims and underwriting.

Company CEO Alex Timm says that together, vehicle and insurance data can better inform carriers about driving frequency in real time—taking the speculation of how much policyholders drive away from carriers.

Agreements with original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, will also ensure Root benefits from autonomous technology as it continues to mature, Timm says. The insurer currently sports a partnership with Tesla covering drivers when they turn on semi-autonomic features on the luxury vehicles.

“If you don’t have partnerships with OEM’s, you should,” says Timm, who was in Detroit discussing terms with automakers last week. “In traditional insurance, you don’t know how much people are driving until you see your losses.”

Despite its investment in the technology, Root believes full autonomy is far in the future as driverless has been approached with data science and is difficult to get right 100% of the time. Timm believes the auto industry is only 10% to 20% there. However he predicts as more autonomous features are churned out, “We will see fewer accidents. Semi-autonomous vehicles tend to drive safer.”

Focused on expansion

Root, launched in 2015, underwrites auto insurance based on 200 driver risk characteristics. Upon signing up, Customers drive for three weeks while the insurtech measures personal driving habits to conjure up quotes using its mobile app. Hard braking, speeding and turning are among the key metrics observed by the company.

This week the startup will announce Oklahoma as the sixth state in its distribution network joining Arizona, Indiana, Illinois, Utah and its home state of Ohio as states where policies are available to drivers.

Root’s growing team of 60 employees, consisting of mostly engineers and data scientists, has also been busy on the tech front. The company recently rolled out its texting and driving model, which uses the micro-vibrations of a phone to determine whether policyholders are looking at mobile devices while operating their vehicle. Root can now measure the duration of distraction and is implementing the data in its underwriting Timm says. The company will soon factor distracted driving data into pricing for premium discounts as well.

Additionally, Root has added a mobile option for customers filing first notice of loss reports. Drivers can now fill out accident information and send it directly to an adjuster via Root’s smartphone app. The insurtech however finds many of its policyholders still prefer to speak with customer service representatives at the time of a claim.

“There’s a lot of R&D around claims launching next year,” said Timm. “Including how to detect accidents with phone and decipher damage and close the claim without human interaction.”

Output: Root, an insurtech focused on using telematics for auto coverage, is looking to forge more partnerships with automakers to glean more data around driver behaviour and habits. Such arrangements would allow the insurtech to better determine how much drivers use their cars. It would also see the start-up take advantage of autonomous vehicle data when the technology proliferates further. Root already has a partnership with Tesla, which sees it provide coverage when drivers make use of the manufacturer's semi-autonomous driving features.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
WSU scientists convert algal biofuel waste into useful products
 By Maegan Murray, WSU Tri-Cities

RICHLAND, Wash. – A method of converting a biofuel waste product into a usable and valuable commodity has been discovered by researchers at Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Converting algae to biofuels is a two-step process. The first, developed by PNNL, applies high pressure and high temperature to algae to create bio oil. The second converts that bio oil into biofuel, which can replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

It’s that first step, called hydrothermal liquefaction, that produces waste — approximately 25 to 40 percent of carbon and 80 percent of nutrients from the algae are left behind in wastewater streams.

Bionatural gas and fertilizer

The wastewater is generally hard to process because it contains a variety of different chemicals in small concentrations, said Birgitte K. Ahring, professor at WSU Tri-Cities’ Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory. But Ahring and her team have found that adapting anaerobic microbes — microbes that live without oxygen — to break down the remaining residue is a viable option. Through this process, the material becomes degradable and gets transformed into a bionatural gas without the use of harsh chemicals. The solid material that remains can also be applied as a fertilizer or recycled back into the hydrothermal liquefaction process for further use.

The results of the team’s research are published this month in Bioresource Technology. The team also consists of:

Keerthi Srinivas, WSU postdoctoral research associate

Sebastian Fernandez, WSU research assistant

Andrew Schmidt, of PNNL’s chemical and biological processes development group

Marie Swita, of PNNL’s chemical and biological processes development group

Don’t waste waste

“It has always been my mantra that we shouldn’t waste waste,” Ahring said. “We had an idea that we could turn this waste product into something useful, such as a fertilizer. Our findings revealed that we could use this waste product as something much more.”

The ability to convert a waste product into a usable commodity provides algal biorefineries with a solution to a large problem, Ahring said.

“After removing the solids, about 10 percent of the output is bio oil, with the remaining 90 percent being a waste byproduct,” Schmidt said. “The fact that we’ve developed an alternative method to recycle or treat the leftover material means it’s more economical to produce the bio oil, making the potential for commercial use of the process more likely.”

Sewage sludge and wastewater

Ahring said the team’s results were so promising that they are now partnering with PNNL on its conversion of sewage sludge to fuel using a similar strategy for the wastewater.

“Today, sewage sludge is found throughout the world,” Ahring said. “Creating a process to produce biofuels, bio-natural gas, and nutrients from this material would be of major importance. The current study has demonstrated that nothing should ever be regarded as a waste, but instead as a resource.”

Contacts:

Output: Researchers at Washington State University have developed a way to turn waste products from the process of converting algae into biofuel into a usable commodity. Hydrothermal liquefaction, in which algae is exposed to high temperatures and pressure to produce bio oil, creates a significant amount of waste, resulting in roughly 25-40% of carbon, and 80% of nutrients from the algae  being left to wastewater streams. The researchers discovered that using anaerobic microbes, the waste could be broken down and would become a bionatural gas without the use of harsh chemicals. The remaining solid substance can be used as a fertilizer.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
WSU scientists convert algal biofuel waste into useful products
 In Washington, researchers at Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory discovered a method of converting algae biofuel waste product into a usable and valuable commodity. Waste is produced during the first step of converting algae to biofuels via hydrothermal liquefaction. The wastewater is usually hard to process because it has so many different chemicals in tiny amounts, but researchers found that anaerobic microbes can break down the residue and converts it into a degradable bionatural gas. The remaining solid material can be used as a fertilizer.

“After removing the solids, about 10 percent of the output is bio oil, with the remaining 90 percent being a waste byproduct,” Andrew Schmidt of PNNL’s chemical and biological processes development group said in the WSU press release. “The fact that we’ve developed an alternative method to recycle or treat the leftover material means it’s more economical to produce the bio oil, making the potential for commercial use of the process more likely.”

Output: Researchers at Washington State University have developed a way to turn waste products from the process of converting algae into biofuel into a usable commodity. Hydrothermal liquefaction, in which algae is exposed to high temperatures and pressure to produce bio oil, creates a significant amount of waste, resulting in roughly 25-40% of carbon, and 80% of nutrients from the algae  being left to wastewater streams. The researchers discovered that using anaerobic microbes, the waste could be broken down and would become a bionatural gas without the use of harsh chemicals. The remaining solid substance can be used as a fertilizer.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Bill.com raises $100m for cloud-based payments platform
 Join top executives in San Francisco on July 11-12, to hear how leaders are integrating and optimizing AI investments for success. Learn More

Bill.com, a cloud-based payments platform for U.S. businesses, announced today that it has raised an additional $100 million to digitize payments. JP Morgan Chase and Temasek co-led the round, with participation from returning investors August Capital, Scale Ventures, Napier Park, DCM, Icon Ventures, and Emergence Capital.

Founded in 2006, the Palo Alto, California-based startup works with businesses, accounting firms, and banks to reduce the time spent on financial back-office operations.

According to Bill.com founder and CEO René Lacerte, many more solutions have been rolled out for consumers in the digital payments space. “They can choose from Apple Pay, PayPal, and many others to make payments digitally,” he said in an interview with VentureBeat. “Businesses, however, are more complex, and the payments system hasn’t evolved much since the 19th century.”

For now, Bill.com claims to serve about 1 percent of U.S. businesses that are employers, which amounts to about 100,000 customers. When asked why the adoption of digital payments is taking so long, Lacerte stressed that there is a reassuring element to the manual process, as businesses feel like they understand the payments before committing to them.

Event Transform 2023 Join us in San Francisco on July 11-12, where top executives will share how they have integrated and optimized AI investments for success and avoided common pitfalls. Register Now

Prior to founding Bill.com, Lacerte founded online payroll services provider PayCycle, which he sold to Intuit in 2009.

Businesses use Bill.com to pay their bills but also to pay independent contractors who are not employees. Users can log on to Bill.com or use the app, which is available on both iOS and Android. A dashboard indicates which bills have been received, approved, and paid, and also highlights any payments that are overdue.

Bill.com charges customers a monthly subscription fee for its software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering, which ranges between $29 and $100. The startup also monetizes through transaction fees. Customers include Mozilla, Merchant e-Solutions, Tapingo, Gigya, and Highfive.

Partnerships with accounting firms and banks have also enabled Bill.com to expand its network of 2.5 million users. The startup recently announced a partnership with JP Morgan Chase — the bank will be white-labelling Bill.com’s product as a B2B payments solution, which will be rolled out next year.

Other startups competing in the online payments space include Intuit QuickBooks and Viewpost.

To date, Bill.com has raised approximately $200 million. It will use the new money to further develop its platform, increase its sales and marketing efforts, and grow its team of 250.

Disclaimer: VentureBeat uses Bill.com. Our coverage remains objective.

Output: California-based start-up Bill.com has raised $100m in a funding round co-led by recent partner JPMorgan Chase and Temasek, with participation from existing investors including August Capital and Scale Ventures. Bill.com's cloud-based payments software helps businesses reduce time spent on processing transactions, and its product will be white-labelled as a B2B offering by JPMorgan Chase next year. The new funds will be used to employ additional staff, develop the platform and invest in sales and marketing. Bill.com's software provides a dashboard that logs where bills are in the payment process, and the firm said it has about 100,000 customers.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
MIT AI lab develops camera that can see around corners
 Many of today's self-driving cars use automated systems that work in tandem with a collection of sensors and cameras. For example, Tesla's Autopilot relies on radar and other sensors as well as a suite of eight cameras. However, none of these cameras can tell the driverless car what's around a corner — an ability that researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed with a new camera system they call CornerCameras.

In a study published online, these researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) described the algorithm behind CornerCameras. Where regular vision, whether it be biological or mechanical, relies on light, CornerCameras captures subtle changes in lighting. Specifically, they spot what the researchers called "penumbra" — a shadow created by a small amount of light that's reflected on the ground directly at the camera's line of sight from objects obscured around a corner.

CornerCameras is able to piece together the subtle changes from these shadows into some sort of image, which it uses to tell the location of the object. “Even though those objects aren’t actually visible to the camera, we can look at how their movements affect the penumbra to determine where they are and where they’re going,” lead author Katherine Bouman said in a press release.

It's fairly obvious how such a system could improve the ability of autonomous vehicles to see on the road. “If a little kid darts into the street, a driver might not be able to react in time,” Bouman added. However, currently, CornerCameras needs to make some improvements. For one, the technology doesn't work in extremely low light conditions and the algorithm gets confused by changes in lighting. “While we’re not there yet, a technology like this could one day be used to give drivers a few seconds of warning time and help in a lot of life-or-death situations."

Output: Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed CornerCameras, which can see around corners. The camera uses an algorithm to pick up on subtle changes in the penumbra – a shadow cast by a small amount of light – to detect movement, and could form part of an early warning system in autonomous vehicles. The team said the technology still has a way to go before hitting the road as it struggles to work in low lighting conditions.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Express Scripts' purchase of EviCore seen as response to Amazon
 Express Scripts plans to shell out $3.6 billion to buy eviCore Healthcare from a group of investors. It’s a deal that will see the company break free from the prescription drug benefits manager and expand into the wider realm of medical benefit management for insurers, media reports noted.

EviCore Healthcare pre-approves scans and other pricey tests for health plans covering 100 million people, according to Bloomberg. Of course, there is the flipside of saving health plans money, as Saurabh Jha, a radiologist with the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, noted on Twitter:

Imagine if you can make money for denying care with zero liability. No, this is not Disney. This is healthcare https://t.co/YgkTI91EMn — Saurabh Jha (@RogueRad) October 10, 2017

Pharmacy benefit managers, among other things, negotiate prices of covered drugs with pharma companies, use financial incentives to steer patients to lower-cost generics and manage high-cost specialty medications.

The deal could be a way for Express Scripts to protect itself against the intimidating competition Amazon could offer if it would move into the PBM sector, as CNBC reported earlier this year. But in a statement from Express Scripts CEO Tim Wentworth, it wasn’t clear that the move by the PBM was a reaction to Amazon, although he did suggest the deal would consolidate its power in the patient benefit management market.

“By further strengthening our independent model and creating numerous opportunities for growth, the acquisition of eviCore will deliver value for our clients, patients, providers, and shareholders,” he said in the statement.

In support of its medical benefits management business, eviCore acquired QPID Health last year. The business, which functions as a subsidiary of eviCore, produced a clinical decision support tool that works on top of providers’ electronic medical record systems. Its Q-Guide is designed to be used before high-cost, high-volume medical procedures to give physicians a better way to assess the need for a procedure with the patient’s risk factors.

The acquisition is expected to close by the end of year.

Photo: StockFinland, Getty Images

Output: US medical company Express Scripts is set to acquire EviCore Healthcare in a deal worth $3.6bn. South Carolina-based EviCore Health pre-approves costly tests and scans for health plans. Industry insiders have speculated the deal is a signal Express Scripts is bracing itself for Amazon to enter the healthcare marketplace by expanding beyond the pharmacy benefit manager market into medical benefit management. Express Scripts CEO Tim Wentworth did not comment on Amazon's suspected interest in the sector but said the acquisition would "deliver value for our clients, patients, providers, and shareholders".


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
GiveMeSport sees yields surge after rebuilding its ad technology
 When most of a publisher’s revenue comes from programmatic advertising, the margin for error is razor thin. That’s why digital sports publisher GiveMeSport, which relies on programmatic for 95 percent of its revenue, rebuilt its ad tech stack from scratch and shed seven vendor partners four months ago.

The result: Ad yields jumped 35 percent in September, compared to the previous month, equating to hundreds of thousands of pounds in additional revenue, according to the publisher. A bigger surprise was the timing of the increase: August is typically a slower month for traffic because it’s the offseason for football — its core area of coverage — and there are no major sporting events. GiveMeSport’s site had 5.2 million monthly visitors in the U.K. in August, according to comScore. Naturally, its Facebook audience is far higher, particularly for video; it had 190 million views on the social platform in August, according to Tubular Labs.

Before the publisher took the wrapping off its new ad stack in June, the publisher relied on the open marketplace for 85 percent of its revenue, with two people manning all ad trading. The programmatic team has since increased to nine people, headed up by gm of programmatic Ryan Skeggs, who joined in the summer from Bauer Media, where he was head of programmatic, and was a programmatic director at MailOnline before that.

After Skeggs’ arrival, the former waterfall model was replaced with a unified auction model, with Amazon and Google as the two server-to-server partners and three other header bidding vendors. The publisher has also cut seven former partners plugged into its ad stack that weren’t contributing much revenue and were slowing page-load speed.

Some ad tech partners were dropped because they didn’t have unique enough demand — often visible if the revenue other demand sources contribute starts to erode, showing both vendors have the same demand. Others had strange terms and conditions around their fees. “One told us that their revenue share would be between 5 and 20 percent. We can’t work like that if we don’t know what our net revenue will be in a month,” said Skeggs. “It needs to be a static figure.”

Like many publishers that have been burned previously, GiveMeSport now has a strict checklist it uses for choosing ad tech partners, each of which are scored out of 1,200 points across five categories: unique demand, tech capabilities, support services, data output and future-proofing. For example, Skeggs asks potential vendor partners if they’re close to an IPO, and if they can’t instill confidence that they will exist in six months, the publisher isn’t interested in working with them. GiveMeSport requests full bid-stream visibility or logins as well so it can monitor the bid requests itself. Vendors must get a perfect score of 1,200 to become a partner.

The new ad stack also makes more of GiveMeSport’s video inventory, which now makes up 55 percent of its revenue, compared to 40 percent before June. Those are a mix of programmatic guaranteed and PMP deals, with the occasional direct deal. Open marketplace versus programmatic guaranteed and PMP deals are now at a 50-50 split, according to Skeggs.

Naturally, it’s easier for a digital native than a legacy publisher to implement changes quickly. GiveMeSport uses a pilot site that is an exact replica of its main site, rather than a single test page, for assessing new deployments, whether it’s integrating a new ad tech partner or testing new products. Ten percent of its traffic is directed to the pilot site at random on a daily basis. That means the publisher can test changes in a live environment that faces all the typical content and ad-loading burdens its main site does. The theory is that it can maintain a daily deployment strategy without risking major revenue drops that could occur if something goes wrong.

During tests, the team monitors 130 different data variables such as viewablity, video completion rates, page-load speed and eCPMs for fluctuations. If, for example, GiveMeSport adds another header bidding vendor partner on its replica test site, it can see within 24 hours whether the outcome is positive or negative to revenues, and react accordingly. If it sees anything more than a single percentage-point dip, the team will change course. This week, GiveMeSport rolled out Amazon’s server-to-server A9 product to its main site after testing it for a week, allowing more testing time than usual as some of the variables weren’t matching, according to Skeggs.

Output: GiveMeSport, owned by Canadian firm Breaking Data, saw monthly ad yields rise more than a third in September after it rebuilt its ad technology from scratch. The digital sport publisher transformed its sales model and jettisoned vendors who brought in little revenue or who had complicated demands. The changes have also seen GiveMeSport's video inventory rise to 55% from 40% before June.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
50% of Sweden's retailers don't expect to take cash after 2025
 Is Cash Dead?

Have you noticed that, over the years, you've begun to use your cards or mobile pay apps much more frequently than cash? You're not alone in this, and this trend has been on the rise in other countries around the world. In China, for example, cash is quickly on its way out, with mobile payments doubling in the last year. Sweden has also been forgoing cash an at increasing rate over the last several years, and experts predict that it's only a short matter of time before the country is entirely cashless.

In fact, Sweden may be completely digital in just a few years, if researchers Niklas Arvidsson of KTH and Jonas Hedman of Copenhagen School of Economics are to be believed. The pair estimate that cash will no longer be used or accepted by Swedish retailers by 2023, at the earliest.

Polling various Swedish retailers revealed that about half expect to stop accepting cash by 2025. Currently, 97 percent of all retailers accept cash payments, but only 18 percent of all transactions actually involve cash.

Card or Smartphone?

Interestingly, mobile payments are performing rather poorly. Credit and Debit cards are the primary way people pay, with mobile pay apps accounting for only 0.4 percent. It's unclear why only a small amount of people seem to use them; it could be a matter of convenience, trust, or simply knowing how. According to Arvidsson, people are generally comfortable with paying digitally in some way, even if they never see the money leave their hands.

"We are a small country that has had a very stable democracy for a long time," Arvidsson said. "For us, it's no problem that the money is only visible on an internet site - we trust it."

Consumers are largely facilitating the change, though banks have also done their part to push people away from cash, as they want to reduce the risk of robbery. Retailers share this sentiment.

"We wanted to minimise the risk of robberies and it's quicker with the customers when they pay by card," says bakery manager Victoria Nilsson, speaking with the BBC in September. "It's been mainly positive reactions."

Output: Half of Swedish retailers expect to stop accepting cash by 2025, according to a survey carried out by Niklas Arvidsson at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and Jonas Hedman of the Copenhagen School of Economics. The researchers predicted that cash, which currently makes up 18% of transactions, would no longer be used or accepted by 2023 at the earliest. However, the pair also found that, while the switch to cashless payments was consumer led, credit and debit cards were more popular than digital, with mobile apps making up 0.4% of payments.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Robot revolution makes universal basic income a must: Branson
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Richard Branson has backed the introduction of a universal basic income and said it is crucial to tackling the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

The billionaire said it could help protect people whose jobs will be lost as a result of new technology.

Support for a universal basic income has grown in recent months and a number of countries have launched trials of the idea.

Among them is Finland, where Mr Branson was speaking at the Nordic Business Forum.

Asked about the policy, which involves the state giving citizens a minimum amount of money each month regardless of their employment status, the Virgin founder said he thought it was an important element in preparing for increased automation in many industries.

He told the Business Insider website: “Basic income is going to be all the more important. If a lot more wealth is created by AI, the least that the country should be able to do is that a lot of that wealth that is created by AI goes back into making sure that everybody has a safety net.”

“Obviously AI is a challenge to the world in that there’s a possibility that it will take a lot of jobs away… It’s up to all of us to be entrepreneurially minded enough to create those new jobs.”

What is Finland's universal basic income scheme?

Mr Branson has previously joined other entrepreneurs, including Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, in backing calls for a universal basic income.

In August he said he had discussed the idea with global figures leaders including Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter.

At the time he said: “What I took away from the talks was the sense of self-esteem that universal basic income could provide to people. The hope is that policies like these can help people struggling just to survive and allow them to get on their feet, be entrepreneurial and be more creative.”

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 / 50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Finland is currently trialling a scheme in which it is giving 2,000 citizens €560 (£473) every month for two years.

Initial research suggests the people receiving the money report reduced stress, a greater incentive to find work and more time to pursue business ideas.

However, some trade unions in the country have said the policy is too expensive.

Recommended Half of Britons back plan to pay all UK citizens basic income

“We think it takes social policy in the wrong direction,” said Ilkka Kaukoranta, chief economist of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), which represents almost 1 million workers.

Germany is also in the process of trialling a universal basic income, as is the US state of Hawaii and the Canadian province of Ontario, among others.

Output: The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its effects on employment mean a universal basic income is "going to be all the more important", Sir Richard Branson has said. The billionaire founder of Virgin was speaking at an event in Finland, which has already introduced the policy, under which all citizens receive a minimum sum worth $660 a month from the government. He said AI could create more wealth, but also risked taking away jobs, making basic income important as a "safety net". The idea has previously been backed by tech entrepreneurs Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, among others.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Smartphones replacing cards for withdrawals from Wells Fargo ATMs
 People can now withdraw money from ATMs using payment apps: A new beginning News oi -Samden Sherpa A customer can initiate an ATM transaction by signing into leading mobile wallet features, such as Wells Fargo Wallet for Android, Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay, found on mobile phones.

With the proliferation of technology, we have seen huge advances in the smartphone domain as well as app development. On the other hand, smartphones have in fact become an integral part of our lives and we use it to do a lot of things today.

Having said that, now Apple Pay users amongst others can actually withdraw money without even making use of their actual credit or debit card. The money can be withdrawn at over 5,000 Wells Fargo ATMs across the U.S. People living in U.S. might as well leave their wallets at home now.

However, if you are wondering how this can be done then users will basically have to activate the phone's wallet feature by using the Apple Pay app and the transactions will then be carried out via near-field communications (NFC) chips installed in those ATMs.

"This spring's launch of one-time access code technology at all Wells Fargo ATMs has resulted in nearly three million card-free ATM access code transactions. Card-free ATM use will take another leap as we introduce NFC functionality," said Jonathan Velline, Head of Strategy and Administration for Community Bank. "The NFC functionality is the second form of card-free access and is an extension of our promise to reach our customers wherever they are and provide value using the mobile option with which they are so comfortable."

As per the company, a customer can initiate an ATM transaction by signing into leading mobile wallet features, such as Wells Fargo Wallet for Android, Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay, found on mobile phones. They simply hold their phone or wearable device with mobile payment functionality near an NFC-enabled ATM terminal. Wells Fargo ATMs enabled for this feature will display a "contactless symbol" decal on the front of the ATM. The customer will then input their Wells Fargo Debit or EasyPay Card Personal Identification Number (PIN) and complete their transaction.

In any case, while the revolution in terms of mobile payments and transaction seems to have begun in the U.S. we see that the technology will likely come to other countries as well in future. Many people today are already using mobile to manage their finances and make payments all over the world. Moreover, financial institutions are also ever introducing new methods of payment and other services.

And basing our assumptions on the fact that mobile phones have actually become very smart, it further looks like mobile payments volume will only grow immensely in the coming days.

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Output: US consumers are using their mobile phones and wearables to withdraw money from Wells Fargo ATMs, following the spring launch of the bank's one-time access code technology. Users with digital wallets including Wells Fargo Wallet for Android, Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay, sign into the relevant wallet app, and hold their phone or device in front of an appropriate ATM scanner, input their PIN and near-field communications technology carries out the withdrawal. Almost three million card-free ATM transactions have been carried out since the launch.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Regus Regus subsidiary Spaces negotiate 19,300 sq ft lease in Chase Tower
 Transwestern Represents Building Owner JBG SMITH in Transaction

Transwestern today announces it has negotiated a 19,300-square-foot lease with Spaces, which provides offices, co-working spaces and meeting rooms, at Chase Tower, located at 4445 Willard Ave. in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Transwestern’s Phil McCarthy, Keith Foery and Mark Boyce represented property owner JBG SMITH in the transaction.

“Chase Tower is a vibrant mixed-use environment with ample restaurant and retail options at its doorstep,” said McCarthy. “Chevy Chase is an excellent location for Spaces, as it boasts one of the highest concentrations of professional and financial service firms in the Washington metro area and attracts a highly educated and diverse workforce.”

The building is one block from the Friendship Heights Metro Station, on the Red Line, and it is surrounded by a variety of retail amenities including Whole Foods Market, Lia’s, Starbucks, Sushiko, Capital Grille, J. Crew, Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus.

This will be Spaces’ third location in the Washington, D.C., metro area, with operations in the District’s NoMa neighborhood and another location slated to open in Arlington, Virginia’s Rosslyn neighborhood in November 2017. Spaces, which was represented by Mia Eglinton from JLL in the transaction, originated in Amsterdam and is a subsidiary of Regus.

ABOUT TRANSWESTERN

Transwestern is a privately held real estate firm of collaborative entrepreneurs who deliver a higher level of personalized service – the Transwestern Experience. Specializing in Agency Leasing, Tenant Advisory, Capital Markets, Asset Services and Research, our fully integrated global enterprise adds value for investors, owners and occupiers of all commercial property types. We leverage market insights and operational expertise from members of the Transwestern family of companies specializing in development, real estate investment management and research. Based in Houston, Transwestern has 35 U.S. offices and assists clients through more than 180 offices in 37 countries as part of a strategic alliance with BNP Paribas Real Estate. Experience Extraordinary at transwestern.com and @Transwestern. For updates from the Mid-Atlantic region, follow @TranswesternDC.

Output: Office-sharing company Spaces has secured a deal to take over a 19,300 sq ft lease at Chase Tower, in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The Dutch firm, which was acquired by Regus in 2015, has already acquired two other sites in the Washington DC area, with its office in Arlington, Virginia due to open in November. The Chase Tower is owned by property firm JBG Smith, and the deal with Spaces was negotiated by real estate firm Transwestern.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Publishers turn to Twitter for live video as Facebook disappoints
 Some publishers have been disappointed with Facebook Live video, but they are hopeful as Twitter embraces the format.

Twitter has been getting into live video in a big way. It’s already live streamed events and announced a streaming video service with Bloomberg Media, in addition to other live news, sports and entertainment programs from content creators including BuzzFeed, Vox Media’s The Verge and the WNBA.

The Verge has done a lot of live video and just launched a new live show, “Circuit Breaker,” on Twitter. The focus on Twitter comes as The Verge has dramatically scaled back the number of live videos it does on Facebook, where it used to do as many as four a week.

“It definitely seems like Twitter’s putting a ton of focus on it this year,” said Helen Havlak, editorial director at The Verge.

Havlak ticked off a number of benefits of Twitter’s live show approach. After each episode of “Circuit Breaker,” which run 60 to 90 minutes, The Verge can use a Twitter tool to cut the episode into several clips and publish them independently on Twitter, “things you can’t do easily on Facebook Live,” she said. Those shorter videos can get monetized with pre-roll ads, a format that’s absent from Facebook. Because live video on Twitter hasn’t reached a saturation point, these new shows are getting a lot of promotion from Twitter, while Facebook seems to have de-emphasized live video.

The only metric that really matters is revenue, though. Twitter is scoring points here, too. The revenue share for Twitter’s live shows varies by content creator. But Twitter’s monetization approach is far more favorable than other platforms, said Scott Havens, global head of digital at Bloomberg Media. Twitter is giving Bloomberg the option to do the selling as well as co-selling, which gives the creators more control over the sales process and revenue outcome. (He didn’t explicitly mention Facebook, but that approach is in contrast to Facebook, which is writing checks to just cover the costs and sharing ad sales revenue with publishers, but not much has materialized.)

“Twitter has the scale and the platform; the publisher has the content and brand trust,” Havens said. “It’s a nice marriage.”

Twitter’s live experiment is young; it’s too early to say how big the audience is for live video on the platform, so it’s too soon to tell what the effective ad rates will be. BuzzFeed has said its new Twitter live show, “AM to DM,” which started on Sept. 25, has averaged about 1 million unique viewers each day, with clips being viewed a total of 10 million times.

All platforms are looking for high-quality video content to attract TV-like dollars. Twitter, because it’s much smaller in audience than Facebook and Google and its user base has stagnated, has to make itself that much more appealing to creators than other platforms. “Facebook’s attitude has been much more, ‘We’re going to do it our way,’” said Bernard Gershon, president of GershonMedia, which consults to publishers. Twitter, meanwhile, threw publishers a big bone in 2016 when it agreed to let them keep 70 percent of the revenue from their video ads posted through Twitter’s Amplify program, in contrast with YouTube and Facebook, which share 55 percent.

One criticism of Amplify is the unpredictability. “We love syndicating our original video content across Twitter audiences and being able to monetize via Amplify ads, but publishers have a lack of insight into Twitter’s pipeline, which means we cannot predict ad fill or revenue against this syndication opportunity,” said Chris Pirrone, gm of sports digital properties at USA Today’s Sports Media Group.

“We are always in listening mode with our Amplify partners, and it is our goal to help them drive meaningful and consistent revenue,” Mike Park, vp of emerging content products at Twitter, said in a statement. “A healthy publisher ecosystem is an essential part of the equation as we continue to develop our video products and scale advertiser demand.”

Output: Twitter's promotion of its live video service appears to be paying off as publishers flock to it amid some disappointment with rival Facebook Live. Insiders said Twitter is flexible, allowing shows to be cut into several clips and monetised with pre-roll ads -- a service not offered by Facebook. In addition, Twitter's decision to allow brands to have a say in selling and co-selling has been greeted warmly by publishers. "Twitter has the scale and the platform: the publisher has the content and brand trust. It's a nice marriage," said Scott Havens at Bloomberg Media, which has announced a streaming service with the platform.