[International] :
A high-level U.S. government official reportedly confirmed that many North Korean troops deployed to Russia have been killed in combat against Ukraine. On Tuesday, the New York Times quoted the official as saying “a significant number” were killed in action, with the exact time of the armed conflict ...

[more...]

[International] :
Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, reportedly said that his country has numerous reports of North Korean soldiers preparing to participate in combat operations alongside Russian forces. Reuters said on Sunday that Syrskyi made the remarks in a Facebook post on Saturday. In the ...

[more...]

[International] :
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has picked Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to co-lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency along with former Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. In a statement on Wednesday, Trump said the nominees will pave the way for his government ...

[more...]

The most dangerous cities in the world are a major concern for residents, visitors, law enforcement and policymakers. While crime exists everywhere, some cities statistically experience consistently high crime levels. We turned to Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform, to find the hard numbers on the murder rate per capita in cities worldwide.

In Christian tradition, an archangel is among of the most revered and powerful spiritual beings in the celestial hierarchy. Mentioned directly in both the Old and New Testaments, these angels serve as messengers, protectors and agents of God's divine will.

A route planner app takes the guesswork out of your commute and helps you navigate through the chaos with ease. No more sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, feeling frustrated and stressed.

[Culture] :
Considering the growing popularity of the Korean language around the world, the government plans to double the number of internet-based Test of Proficiency in Korean(TOPIK) sessions and offer the test in more countries next year. According to the education ministry on Thursday, the online test, designed to ...

[more...]

[Culture] :
BLACKPINK member Rosé's latest collab with American pop star Bruno Mars, "APT.," has reached number two on the United Kingdom's Official Singles Chart, the highest ranking on the chart by a female K-pop artist. After debuting at number four on October 25, "APT." jumped two spots to number two in the ...

[more...]

The rotating substrate method of crystallite deposition is modeled, allowing computation of effective material coefficients of the layers resulting from the averaging. A worked numerical example particularized to 6mm ZnO is provided.

In the realm of X-ray ptychography experiments, a considerable amount of ptychography scans are typically performed within a field of view encompassing the target sample. While it is crucial to obtain overlapping scans in small increments over the region of interest for achieving high-resolution sample reconstruction, a significant number of these scans often redundantly measure the empty background within the wide field of view. To address this inefficiency, an innovative algorithm is proposed that introduces automatic guidance for data acquisition. The algorithm first directs the scan point to actively search for the object of interest within the field of view. Subsequently, it intelligently scans along the perimeter of the sample, strategically acquiring measurements exclusively within the boundary of the region of interest. By employing this approach, a reduction in the number of measurements required to obtain high-resolution reconstruction images is demonstrated, as compared with conventional raster scanning methods. Furthermore, the automatic guidance provided by the algorithm offers the added advantage of saving valuable time during the reconstruction process. Through practical implementation on real experiments, these findings showcase the efficacy of the proposed algorithm in enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of X-ray ptychography experiments. This novel approach holds immense potential for advancing sample analysis and imaging techniques in various scientific disciplines.

This work investigates the performance of the electrospray aerosol generator at the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (EuXFEL). This generator is, together with an aerodynamic lens stack that transports the particles into the X-ray interaction vacuum chamber, the method of choice to deliver particles for single-particle coherent diffractive imaging (SPI) experiments at the EuXFEL. For these experiments to be successful, it is necessary to achieve high transmission of particles from solution into the vacuum interaction region. Particle transmission is highly dependent on efficient neutralization of the charged aerosol generated by the electrospray mechanism as well as the geometry in the vicinity of the Taylor cone. We report absolute particle transmission values for different neutralizers and geometries while keeping the conditions suitable for SPI experiments. Our findings reveal that a vacuum ultraviolet ionizer demonstrates a transmission efficiency approximately seven times greater than the soft X-ray ionizer used previously. Combined with an optimized orifice size on the counter electrode, we achieve >40% particle transmission from solution into the X-ray interaction region. These findings offer valuable insights for optimizing electrospray aerosol generator configurations and data rates for SPI experiments.

Physical optics simulations for beamlines and experiments allow users to test experiment feasibility and optimize beamline settings ahead of beam time in order to optimize valuable beam time at synchrotron light sources like NSLS-II. Further, such simulations also help to develop and test experimental data processing methods and software in advance. The Synchrotron Radiation Workshop (SRW) software package supports such complex simulations. We demonstrate how recent developments in SRW significantly improve the efficiency of physical optics simulations, such as end-to-end simulations of time-dependent X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy experiments with partially coherent undulator radiation (UR). The molecular dynamics simulation code LAMMPS was chosen to model the sample: a solution of silica nanoparticles in water at room temperature. Real-space distributions of nanoparticles produced by LAMMPS were imported into SRW and used to simulate scattering patterns of partially coherent hard X-ray UR from such a sample at the detector. The partially coherent UR illuminating the sample can be represented by a set of orthogonal coherent modes obtained by simulation of emission and propagation of this radiation through the coherent hard X-ray (CHX) scattering beamline followed by a coherent-mode decomposition. GPU acceleration is added for several key functions of SRW used in propagation from sample to detector, further improving the speed of the calculations. The accuracy of this simulation is benchmarked by comparison with experimental data.

Structural biology experiments benefit significantly from state-of-the-art synchrotron data collection. One can acquire macromolecular crystallography (MX) diffraction data on large-area photon-counting pixel-array detectors at framing rates exceeding 1000 frames per second, using 200 Gbps network connectivity, or higher when available. In extreme cases this represents a raw data throughput of about 25 GB s−1, which is nearly impossible to deliver at reasonable cost without compression. Our field has used lossless compression for decades to make such data collection manageable. Many MX beamlines are now fitted with DECTRIS Eiger detectors, all of which are delivered with optimized compression algorithms by default, and they perform well with current framing rates and typical diffraction data. However, better lossless compression algorithms have been developed and are now available to the research community. Here one of the latest and most promising lossless compression algorithms is investigated on a variety of diffraction data like those routinely acquired at state-of-the-art MX beamlines.

Geminal and vicinal bis­(tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonate) esters are highly reactive alkyl­ene synthons used as potent electrophiles in the macrocyclization of imid­azoles and the transformation of bypyridines to diquat derivatives via nucleophilic substitution reactions. Herein we report the crystal structures of methyl­ene (C3H2F6O6S2) and ethyl­ene bis­(tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonate) (C4H4F6O6S2), the first examples of a geminal and vicinal bis­(tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonate) ester characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD). With melting points slightly below ambient temperature, both reported bis­(tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonate)s are air- and moisture-sensitive oils and were crys­tallized at 277 K to afford two-com­ponent non-merohedrally twinned crystals. The dominant inter­actions present in both com­pounds are non-classical C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and inter­molecular C—F⋯F—C inter­actions between tri­fluoro­methyl groups. Mol­ecular electrostatic potential (MEP) cal­culations by DFT-D3 helped to qu­antify the polarity between O⋯H and F⋯F contacts to rationalize the self-sorting of both bis­(tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonate) esters in polar (non-fluorous) and non-polar (fluorous) domains within the crystal structure.

Herein we report the crystal structures of two ben­zo­di­az­e­pines obtained by reacting N,N'-(4,5-di­amino-1,2-phenyl­ene)bis­(4-methyl­ben­zene­sul­fon­am­ide) (1) or 4,5-(4-methyl­ben­zene­sul­fon­am­ido)­ben­zene-1,2-diaminium dichloride (1·2HCl) with acetone, giving 2,2,4-trimethyl-8,9-bis­(4-methyl­ben­zene­sul­fon­am­ido)-2,3-di­hydro-5H-1,5-ben­zo­di­az­e­pine, C26H30N4O4S2 (2), and 2,2,4-tri­methyl-8,9-bis­(4-methyl­ben­zene­sul­fon­am­ido)-2,3-di­hydro-5H-1,5-ben­zo­di­az­e­pin-1-ium chloride 0.3-hydrate, C26H31N4O4S2+·Cl−·0.3H2O (3). Compounds 2 and 3 were first obtained in attempts to recrystallize 1 and 1·2HCl using acetone as solvent. This solvent reacted with the vicinal di­amines present in the mol­ecular structures, forming a 5H-1,5-ben­zo­di­az­e­pine ring. In the crystal structure of 2, the seven-membered ring of ben­zo­di­az­e­pine adopts a boat-like conformation, while upon protonation, observed in the crystal structure of 3, it adopts an envelope-like conformation. In both crystalline com­pounds, the tosyl­amide N atoms are not in resonance with the arene ring, mainly due to hy­dro­gen bonds and steric hindrance caused by the large vicinal groups in the aromatic ring. At a supra­molecular level, the crystal structure is maintained by a combination of hy­dro­gen bonds and hydro­phobic inter­actions. In 2, amine-to-tosyl N—H⋯O and amide-to-imine N—H⋯N hy­dro­gen bonds can be observed. In contrast, in 3, the chloride counter-ion and water mol­ecule result in most of the hy­dro­gen bonds being of the amide-to-chloride and ammonium-to-chloride N—H⋯Cl types, while the amine inter­acts with the tosyl group, as seen in 2. In conclusion, we report the synthesis of 1, 1·2HCl and 2, as well as their chemical characterization. For 2, two synthetic methods are described, i.e. solvent-mediated crystallization and synthesis via a more efficient and cleaner route as a polycrystalline material. Salt 3 was only obtained as presented, with only a few crystals being formed.

A considerable bottleneck in serial crystallography at XFEL and synchrotron sources is the efficient production of large quantities of homogenous, well diffracting microcrystals. Efficient high-throughput screening of batch-grown microcrystals and the determination of ground-state structures from different conditions is thus of considerable value in the early stages of a project. Here, a highly sample-efficient methodology to measure serial crystallography data from microcrystals by raster scanning within standard in situ 96-well crystallization plates is described. Structures were determined from very small quantities of microcrystal suspension and the results were compared with those from other sample-delivery methods. The analysis of a two-dimensional batch crystallization screen using this method is also described as a useful guide for further optimization and the selection of appropriate conditions for scaling up microcrystallization.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected parasitic tropical disease with numerous clinical manifestations. One of the causative agents of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is Leishmania tropica (L. tropica) known for causing ulcerative lesions on the skin. The adverse effects of the recommended available drugs, such as amphotericin B and pentavalent antimonial, and the emergence of drug resistance in parasites, mean the search for new safe and effective anti-leishmanial agents is crucial. Miltefosine (MIL) was the first recommended oral medication, but its use is now limited because of the rapid emergence of resistance. Pharmaceutical cocrystallization is an effective method to improve the physicochemical and biological properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Herein, we describe the cocrystallization of coumarin-3-carb­oxy­lic acid (CU, 1a; 2-oxobenzo­pyrane-3-carb­oxy­lic acid, C10H6O4) with five coformers [2-amino-3-bromo­pyridine (1b), 2-amino-5-(tri­fluoro­methyl)-pyridine (1c), 2-amino-6-methyl­pyridine (1d), p-amino­benzoic acid (1e) and amitrole (1f)] in a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio via the neat grinding method. The cocrystals 2–6 obtained were characterized via single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, as well as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Non-covalent interactions, such as van der Waals, hydrogen bonding, C—H⋯π and π⋯π interactions contribute significantly towards the packing of a crystal structure and alter the physicochemical and biological activity of CU. In this research, newly synthesized cocrystals were evaluated for their anti-leishmanial activity against the MIL-resistant L. tropica and cytotoxicity against the 3T3 (normal fibroblast) cell line. Among the non-cytotoxic cocrystals synthesized (2–6), CU:1b (2, IC50 = 61.83 ± 0.59 µM), CU:1c (3, 125.7 ± 1.15 µM) and CU:1d (4, 48.71 ± 0.75 µM) appeared to be potent anti-leishmanial agents and showed several-fold more anti-leishmanial potential than the tested standard drug (MIL, IC50 = 169.55 ± 0.078 µM). The results indicate that cocrystals 2–4 are promising anti-leishmanial agents which require further exploration.

MltG, a membrane-bound lytic transglycosyl­ase, has roles in terminating glycan polymerization in peptidoglycan and incorporating glycan chains into the cell wall, making it significant in bacterial cell-wall biosynthesis and remodeling. This study provides the first reported MltG structure from Mycobacterium abscessus (maMltG), a superbug that has high antibiotic resistance. Our structural and biochemical analyses revealed that MltG has a flexible peptidoglycan-binding domain and exists as a monomer in solution. Further, the putative active site of maMltG was disclosed using structural analysis and sequence comparison. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of the transglycosyl­ation reaction of the MltG family, aiding the design of next-generation antibiotics targeting M. abscessus.

The crystal structure of the sodium salt of mesotrione, namely, catena-poly[[sodium-μ3-2-[(4-methane­sulfonyl-2-nitro­phen­yl)carbon­yl]-3-oxo­cyclo­hex-1-en-1-olato] ethanol monosolvate], {[Na(C14H12NO7S)]C2H5OH}n, is described. The X-ray structural analysis results reveal that the coordination sphere is established by two chelating O atoms, the O atom of the coordinated ethanol mol­ecule, and an O atom from the methyl­sulfonyl group of a neighboring mol­ecule. Simultaneously, an O atom of the cyclo­hexane fragment serves as a bridge to a neighboring sodium ion, forming a flat Na–O–Na–O quadrangle, thereby forming a mono-periodic polymer. The structure displays O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and C—H⋯O short contacts. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data indicate that the sodium salt of mesotrione decomposes in four stages.

The cyclic peptide cyclo(Val-Leu-Leu-d-Phe-Pro)2 (peptide 1) was specifically designed for structural chemistry investigations, drawing inspiration from Gramicidin S (GS). Previous studies have shown that Pro residues within 1 adopt a down-puckering conformation of the pyrrolidine ring. By incorporating fluoride-Pro with 4-trans/cis-isomers into 1, an up-puckering conformation was successfully induced. In the current investigation, introducing hy­droxy­prolines with 4-trans/cis-isomer configurations (tHyp/cHyp) into 1 gave cyclo(Val-Leu-Leu-d-Phe-tHyp)2 methanol disolvate monohydrate, C62H94N10O12·2CH4O·H2O (4), and cyclo(Val-Leu-Leu-d-Phe-cHyp)2 monohydrate, C62H94N10O12·H2O (5), respectively. However, the puckering of 4 and 5 remained in the down conformation, regardless of the geometric position of the hydroxyl group. Although the backbone structure of 4 with trans-substitution was asymmetric, the asymmetric backbone of 5 with cis-substitution was unexpected. It is speculated that the anti­cipated influence of stress from the geometric positioning, which was expected to affect the puckering, may have been mitigated by inter­actions between the hydroxyl groups of hy­droxy­proline, the solvent mol­ecules, and peptides.

Lopinavir is a potent protease inhibitor that is used as a first-line pharmaceutical drug for the treatment of HIV. The multi-component solvated Lopinavir crystal, systematic name (2S)-N-[(2S,4S,5S)-5-[2-(2,6-di­methyl­phen­oxy)acetamido]-4-hy­droxy-1,6-di­phenyl­hexan-2-yl]-3-methyl-2-(2-oxo-1,3-diazinan-1-yl)butanamide–ethane-1,2-diol–water (8/3/7) 8C37H48N4O5·3C2H6O2·7H2O, was prepared using evaporative methods. The crystalline material obtained from this experimental synthesis was characterized and elucidated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD). The crystal structure is unusual in that the unit cell contains 18 mol­ecules. The stoichiometric ratio of this crystal is eight Lopinavir mol­ecules [8(C37H48N4O5)], three ethane-1,2-diol mol­ecules [3(C2H6O2)] and seven water mol­ecules [7(H2O)]. The crystal packing features both bi- and trifurcated hydrogen bonds between atoms.

A slit-less wavelength-dispersive spectrometer design using a single-bounce monocapillary that aligns the sample on the Rowland circle, enhancing photon throughput and maintaining resolution. The compact design supports flexibility and reconfiguration in facilities without complex beamline infrastructure, significantly improving detection efficiency.

INSIGHT is a Python-based software tool for processing and reducing 2D grazing-incidence wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS/GISAXS) data. It offers the geometric transformation of the 2D GIWAXS/GISAXS detector image to reciprocal space, including vectorized and parallelized pixel-wise intensity correction calculations. An explicit focus on efficient data management and batch processing enables full control of large time-resolved synchrotron and laboratory data sets for a detailed analysis of kinetic GIWAXS/GISAXS studies of thin films. It processes data acquired with arbitrarily rotated detectors and performs vertical, horizontal, azimuthal and radial cuts in reciprocal space. It further allows crystallographic indexing and GIWAXS pattern simulation, and provides various plotting and export functionalities. Customized scripting offers a one-step solution to reduce, process, analyze and export findings of large in situ and operando data sets.

Scintillator-based ZnS:Ag/6LiF neutron detectors have been under development at ISIS for more than three decades. Continuous research and development aim to improve detector capabilities, achieve better performance and meet the increasingly demanding requirements set by neutron instruments. As part of this program, a high-efficiency 2D position-sensitive scintillator detector with wavelength-shifting fibres has been developed for neutron-diffraction applications. The detector consists of a double scintillator-fibre layer to improve detection efficiency. Each layer is made up of two orthogonal fibre planes placed between two ZnS:Ag/6LiF scintillator screens. Thin reflective foils are attached to the front and back scintillators of each layer to minimize light cross-talk between layers. The detector has an active area of 192 × 192 mm with a square pixel size of 3 × 3 mm. As part of the development process of the double-layer detector, a single-layer detector was built, together with a prototype detector in which the two layers of the detector could be read out separately. Efficiency calculations and measurements of all three detectors are discussed. The novel double-layer detector has been installed and tested on the SXD diffractometer at ISIS. The detector performance is compared with the current scintillator detectors employed on SXD by studying reference crystal samples. More than a factor of 3 improvement in efficiency is achieved with the double-layer wavelength-shifting-fibre detector. Software routines for further optimizations in spatial resolution and uniformity of response have been implemented and tested for 2D detectors. The methods and results are discussed in this manuscript.

Source: Streetwise Reports 11/06/2024

Terawulf Inc. (WULF:NASDAQ) has reported its October 2024 production and operations. The report included significant advancements in self-mining with an operational capacity reaching 8.1 exahash per second (EH/s). This marks a 62% increase from the prior year. The company mined a total of 150 bitcoins during the month, averaging approximately 4.8 bitcoins per day, at a power cost of US$36,789 per bitcoin mined or about US$0.048 per kWh (kilowatt-hour). To improve efficiency, TeraWulf continued its miner refresh program at its Lake Mariner facility, replacing older models with upgraded S19 XP miners following its sale of interest in the Nautilus Cryptomine facility, which enabled additional hardware acquisitions.

Focusing on high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, TeraWulf's aim is to establish 72.5 MW HPC hosting capacity at Lake Mariner by Q2 2025. October's operational hash rate averaged 6.8 EH/s, with adjustments made for demand response events and performance optimization measures to enhance profitability. Construction on the company's 20 MW HPC hosting facility, CB-1, remains on schedule for Q1 2025, and a larger 50 MW HPC facility, CB-2, is expected by Q2 2025. The recent sale of TeraWulf's equity interest in Nautilus and new financing through convertible notes are anticipated to support these growth initiatives.

Sean Farrell, Senior Vice President of Operations at TeraWulf, explained in the press release, "October marked another productive month, with TeraWulf mining 150 bitcoin and sustaining an average daily production of around 5 bitcoin . . . In line with our previously outlined plans, we are accelerating the transition to more efficient mining hardware by replacing older miners at Lake Mariner with S19 XP models. We are also working closely with Bitmain's warranty department on a recovery plan to repair and replace 1.5 EH of mining equipment with a target completion by the end of the year. Furthermore, we have established a dedicated Business Development and Performance Optimization team focused on integrating advanced IT and software solutions to improve our operational hash rate and overall efficiency. Building 5, which has been designed to handle higher heat exhaust of the latest generation miners, remains on track to be operational in Q1 2025."

Why Crypto Mining?

The cryptocurrency mining sector has seen recent momentum, bolstered by the U.S. election results and the evolving landscape for Bitcoin. As Benzinga reported on November 6, bitcoin mining stocks experienced notable gains following the U.S. presidential election, which led to Bitcoin reaching record highs. The outcome was anticipated to benefit U.S.-focused mining companies as pro-crypto policies, including a preference for domestic bitcoin production, gained prominence. Benzinga noted that Trump had previously expressed support for more bitcoin mining within the U.S., a stance that influenced broader market optimism in the days following his election.

On November 4, Yahoo! Finance highlighted the growing trend among Bitcoin miners to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) to power a "new industrial revolution." As described by Rob Nelson, who emphasized the impact of cryptocurrency mining as a vehicle for both economic and technological change. This trend has driven miners to secure deals within the AI sector, given the synergies in computational power required for both cryptocurrency and AI initiatives. Nelson projected that this cross-industry expansion could have far-reaching effects, creating value for both miners and AI-focused enterprises.

Additionally, a November 6 report from Time explored the significance of the recent Presidential election outcome for the crypto industry's future regulatory environment. According to Time, Trump's support for the industry included ambitions to boost the country's bitcoin mining footprint, which aligned with crypto PACs' efforts to secure pro-crypto candidates. The article reported that these advocacy groups saw the election as an opportunity to reshape crypto regulation and encourage growth in U.S.-based bitcoin mining.

TeraWulf's Catalysts

TeraWulf's recent initiatives set a foundation for further growth and operational efficiency. According to the company's investor presentation, the sale of its 25% equity interest in the Nautilus facility enhances liquidity. This enables TeraWulf to reinvest in its flagship Lake Mariner site for both HPC and AI expansion.

The transaction also reduces exposure to the expiring Nautilus 2¢ power contract by 2027, positioning the company to benefit from projected power price increases at Lake Mariner. This strategic realignment is anticipated to improve fleet efficiency, with an upgraded mining fleet targeting 13 EH/s by Q1 2025, supported by the deployment of next-gen S21 Pro miners.

What Experts Are Saying...

On November 5, 2024, Roth MKM analyst Darren Aftahi assigned TeraWulf a "Buy" rating and set a price target of US$7.50. Roth highlighted optimism around the company's expansion and potential in high-performance computing (HPC) and bitcoin mining. Roth noted that TeraWulf's planned 72.5 MW of HPC capacity by Q2 2025 could generate annualized revenue of approximately US$90 million, with over US$60 million in profit. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-11184]

The report highlighted the completion of TeraWulf's initial 2.5 MW HPC project and its upcoming 20 MW facility, which remains on track for Q1 2025. Roth analysts pointed to the operational progress at TeraWulf's Lake Mariner facility, emphasizing the company's improvements in mining efficiency with new S19 XP models, which brought its machine efficiency to 22 J/TH.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Refinitiv, management and insiders hold 6.67% of TeraWulf. Of them, Co-founder, COO, and CTO Nazar M. Khan holds the most, with 4.43%.

Strategic investors hold 21.37%. Of them, Riesling Power LLC holds the most at 5.23%, Baryshore Capital LLC holds 4.77%, Revolve Capital LLC has 4.67%, Opportunity Four of Parabolic Ventures owns 2.46%, and Lake Harriet Holdings LLC has 1.90%.

Institutions have 45.11%. The largest holders there are The Vanguard Group at 6.12%, BlackRock Instituional Trust with 4.22%, Two Sigma Investments LP at 2.28%, Beryl Capital Management LLC holds 1.74%, and Geode Capital Management LLC has 1.66%. The rest is retail.

TeraWulf has a market cap of US$2,375.93 million and 275.29 million free float shares. Their 52-week range is US$ 0.8911 - 7.28.
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Keyshia Cole performs during the 4th annual BET Honors at the Warner Theatre on Jan. 15, 2011 in Washington, DC.; Credit: Kris Connor/Getty Images

Police say Grammy-nominated R&B singer Keyshia Cole has been arrested on suspicion of battery after an altercation early Friday morning in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles police officer Nuria Vanegas says Cole was arrested around 5 a.m. after someone initiated a private person's arrest. The 32-year-old was booked on suspicion of battery and released from custody Friday afternoon.

Police did not release any further details about the incident.

An email message sent to Cole's publicist was not immediately returned.

Cole's second album, 2007's "Just Like You," produced the songs "Let It Go," ''I Remember" and "Heaven Sent."

Source: Streetwise Reports 10/18/2024

American Salars Lithium Inc. (USLI:CSE; USLIF:OTC; Z3P:FWB; A3E2NY:WKN) announced it is strategically reviewing multiple Canadian mineral properties prospective for lithium close to recent pegmatite, or hard-rock, lithium discoveries.

The first project under review is about 150 kilometers north of Matagami, where there is a small town with a rail link to much of James Bay, and has the Billy Diamond Highway running through it.

American Salars said it's close to Q2 Metals Corp. (QTWOTSX-V; OTCQB:QUEXF) Cisco Lithium Project, which reported drill intercepts of 215.6 meters at 1.69% Li2O, including 64.6 meters at 2.29%. Also nearby are multiple projects owned by Sayona Mining Ltd (SYA:ASX), which is currently Canada's only lithium producer.

"Our primary objective remains the acquisition of low-cost lithium brine assets in Argentina while expanding our existing NI 43-101 lithium brine resources," said Chief Executive Officer and Director R. Nick Horsley. "We believe that Quebec-based hard rock lithium assets can now be acquired at deeply discounted prices and advanced with critical mineral flow through financing incentives in anticipation of the next lithium rally."

American Salars said it is reviewing additional projects close to Sayona, which will be subject to disclosure "once due diligence is completed and a deal is completed." The company stressed that its "intent to acquire property and current strategic review does not necessarily mean that a transaction will occur."

Current Assets Also in Argentina, Nevada

The company's existing portfolio of lithium deposits includes two NI 43-101-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource Estimates (MREs) consisting of 457,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at the Candela 2 Lithium Brine Project and a shared MRE at the Pocitos 1 Lithium Brine Project consisting of 760,000 tonnes LCE. The Pocitos MRE is shared with the neighboring Pocitos 2 property, which is not under contract or owned by American Salars, but the company noted that none of the drilling that makes up a partial basis for the MRE took place on the Pocitos 2 block. Both brine projects are located in Salta Province, Argentina.

Major mining company Rio Tino recently invested in Argentina by acquiring Argentina lithium producer Arcadium Lithium for US$6.7 billion, making the company the world's third-largest lithium producer.

American Salars recently released assay results from soil samples collected during its Phase 1 exploration program at its 100%-owned Black Rock South lithium project close to Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada.

Technical Analyst Clive Maund wrote that the entire "San Emidio Desert basin is a highly prospective lithium exploration zone and is about 38 kilometers long and up to 11 kilometers wide at the widest point, with the central playa measuring about 8.5 kilometers north-south and 4.5 kilometers east-west."

Out of 38 samples, 33 recorded lithium concentration of more than 100 parts per million (ppm) or higher, the company said. The highest grade was 180.5 ppm with an average grade of 131 ppm across the 33 samples of the surface of the property.

Technical Analyst Clive Maund wrote that the entire "San Emidio Desert basin is a highly prospective lithium exploration zone and is about 38 kilometers long and up to 11 kilometers wide at the widest point, with the central playa measuring about 8.5 kilometers north-south and 4.5 kilometers east-west."*

"After a massive speculative runup in 2020 and especially in 2021, the lithium price fell victim to a severe bear market that ran from mid-2022 through the end of 2023," Maund continued. "By the end of last year, this bear market had exhausted itself, and a basing process began that has continued up to the present."

In addition to its location near the Gigafactory, Black Rock South is 93 miles southwest of Thacker and 215 miles northwest of the United States' only producing lithium mine, the Silver Peak lithium brine mine owned by Albermarle.

The Catalyst: More Growth Coming

Lithium is critical in the energy transition for its use in batteries for EVs and other applications. It also is used in electronics, medicine and other industries.

According to a report by Grand View Research, market size for the metal was estimated at US$31.75 billion last year and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.7% from this year through 2030.

"The automotive application segment is expected to witness substantial growth, driven by stringent regulations imposed by government bodies on ICE automakers to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles," researchers at Grand View said. "This has shifted the interest of automakers toward producing EVs, which is anticipated to benefit the demand for lithium and related products."

EVs and battery storage primarily will fuel future growth of the lithium market, Marin Katusa of Katusa Research wrote recently. He pointed out that all major electric vehicle batteries require lithium, about 1.55 pounds per kilowatt hour of battery capacity, on average.

"I think the data speaks for itself that there's more growth and opportunity on the horizon," Katusa wrote.

According to FastMarkets, prices for the metal have fallen over the past 18 months as weaker demand improved availability. However, this "has done little to deter the appetite for expansion," raw battery materials analyst Jordan Roberts told the publication.[OWNERSHIP_CHART-11095]

The consensus among market analysts points to a recovery in lithium prices in the fourth quarter of 2024, Fastmarkets reported.

"This optimism is grounded in expectations of increased activity . . . to meet end of year targets, strong battery production seen in March and April finally filtering through upstream and low inventory levels necessitating restocking," the website noted.

Ownership and Share Structure

American Salars said it has 28.8 million shares outstanding and 5.5 million warrants, according to the company.

As for insiders, the CEO Horsley owns about 1.83 million, or about 7.37%, with 4666,666 warrants. Strategic investor Hillcrest Merchant Partners owns 1 million shares or 4.03%. There are no institutional investors, and the rest is retail.

Its market cap is CA$4.79 million. It trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.45 and CA$0.08.

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Important Disclosures:

1. American Salars Lithium Inc. has a consulting relationship with Street Smart an affiliate of Streetwise Reports. Street Smart Clients pay a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of American Salars Lithium Inc.
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
4. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.

For additional disclosures, please click here.

* Disclosure for the quote from the Clive Maund source June 17, 2024

1. For the quote (sourced on June 17, 2024), the Company has paid Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, US$1,500.
2. Author Certification and Compensation: [Clive Maund of clivemaund.com] is being compensated as an independent contractor by Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, for writing the article quoted. Maund received his UK Technical Analysts’ Diploma in 1989. The recommendations and opinions expressed in the article accurately reflect the personal, independent, and objective views of the author regarding any and all of the designated securities discussed. No part of the compensation received by the author was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed.

Clivemaund.com Disclosures

The quoted article represents the opinion and analysis of Mr. Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund's opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund's opinions on the market and stocks cannot be only be construed as a recommendation or solicitation to buy and sell securities.

( Companies Mentioned: USLI:CSE; USLIF:OTC; Z3P:FWB; A3E2NY:WKN, )

; Credit: /Rose Wong for NPR/KHN

Claire Lang-Ree was in a lab coat taking a college chemistry class remotely in the kitchen of her Colorado Springs, Colo., home, when a profound pain twisted into her lower abdomen. She called her mom, Jen Lang-Ree, a nurse practitioner who worried it was appendicitis and found a nearby hospital in the family's health insurance network.

After a long wait in the emergency room of Penrose Hospital, Claire received morphine and an anti-nausea medication delivered through an IV. She also underwent a CT scan of her abdomen and a series of tests.

Hospital staffers ruled out appendicitis and surmised Claire was suffering from a ruptured ovarian cyst, which can be a harmless part of the menstrual cycle but can also be problematic and painful. After a few days — and a chemistry exam taken through gritted teeth — the pain went away.

Then the bill came.

Patient: Claire Lang-Ree, a 21-year-old Stanford University student who was living in Colorado for a few months while taking classes remotely. She's insured by Anthem Blue Cross through her mom's work as a pediatric nurse practitioner in Northern California.

Total Bill: $18,735.93, including two $722.50 fees for a nurse to "push" drugs into her IV, a process that takes seconds. Anthem's negotiated charges were $6,999 for the total treatment. Anthem paid $5,578.30, and the Lang-Rees owed $1,270.45 to the hospital, plus additional bills for radiologists and other care. (Claire also anted up a $150 copay at the ER.)

Service Provider: Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, part of the regional health care network Centura Health.

What Gives: As hospitals disaggregate charges for services once included in an ER visit, a hospitalization or a surgical procedure, there has been a proliferation of newfangled fees to increase billing. In the health field, this is called "unbundling." It's analogous to the airlines now charging extra for each checked bag or for an exit row seat. Over time, in the medical industry, this has led to separate fees for ever-smaller components of care. A charge to put medicine into a patient's IV line — a "push fee" — is one of them.

Though the biggest charge on Claire's bill, $9,885.73, was for a CT scan, in many ways Claire and her mom found the push fees most galling. (Note to readers: Scans are frequently many times more expensive when ordered in an ER than in other settings.)

"That was so ridiculous," says Claire, who adds she had previously taken the anti-nausea drug they gave her; it's available in tablet form for the price of a cup of coffee, no IV necessary. "It works really well. Why wasn't that an option?"

In Colorado, the average charge for the code corresponding to Claire's first IV push has nearly tripled since 2014, and the dollars hospitals actually get for the procedure has doubled. In Colorado Springs specifically, the cost for IV pushes rose even more sharply than it did statewide.

A typical nurse in Colorado Springs makes about $35 an hour. At that rate, it would take nearly 21 hours to earn the amount of money Penrose charged for a push of plunger that likely took seconds or at most minutes.

The hospital's charge for just one "IV push" was more than Claire's portion of the monthly rent in the home she shared with roommates. In the end, Anthem did not pay the push fees in its negotiated payment. But claims data shows that in 2020 Penrose typically received upward of $1,000 for the first IV push. And patients who didn't have an insurer to dismiss such charges would be stuck with them. Colorado hospitals on average received $723 for the same code, according to the claims database.

"It's insane the variation that we see in prices, and there's no rhyme or reason," says Cari Frank with the Center for Improving Value in Health Care, a Colorado nonprofit that runs a statewide health care claims database. "It's just that they've been able to negotiate those prices with the insurance company and the insurance company has decided to pay it."

To put the total cost in context, Penrose initially charged more money for Claire's visit than the typical Colorado hospital would have charged for helping someone give birth, according to data published by the Colorado Division of Insurance.

Even with the negotiated rate, "it was only $1,000 less than an average payment for having a baby," Frank says.

In an email statement, Centura said it "conducted a thorough review and determined all charges were accurate" and went on to explain that "an Emergency Room (ER) must be prepared for anything and everything that comes through the doors," requiring highly trained staff, plus equipment and supplies. "All of this adds up to large operating costs and can translate into patient responsibility."

As researchers have found, little stands in the way of hospitals charging through the roof, especially in a place like an emergency room, where a patient has few choices. A report from National Nurses United found that hospital markups have more than doubled since 1999, according to data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. In an email, Anthem called the trend of increasing hospital prices "alarming" and "unsustainable."

But Ge Bai, an associate professor of accounting and health policy at Johns Hopkins University, says when patients see big bills it isn't only the hospital's doing — a lot depends on the insurer, too. For one, the negotiated price depends on the negotiating power of the payer, in this case, Anthem.

"Most insurance companies don't have comparable negotiating or bargaining power with the hospital," said Bai. Prices in a state like Michigan, where Bai said the UAW union covers a big proportion of Michigan patients, will look very different from those in Colorado.

Also, insurers are not the wallet defenders patients might assume them to be.

"In many cases, insurance companies don't negotiate as aggressively as they can, because they earn profit from the percentage of the claims," she says. The more expensive the actual payment is, the more money they get to extract.

Though Anthem negotiated away the push fees, it paid the hospital 30% more than the average Level IV emergency department visit in Colorado that year, and it paid quadruple what Medicare would allow for her CT scan.

Resolution: Claire and her mom decided to fight the bill, writing letters to the hospital and searching for information on what the procedures should have cost. The cost of the IV pushes and CT scan infuriated them — the hospital wanted more than double for a CT than what top-rated hospitals typically charged in 2019.

But the threat of collections wore them out and ultimately they paid their assigned share of the bill — $1,420.45, which was mostly coinsurance.

"Eventually it got to the point where I was like, 'I don't really want to go to collections, because this might ruin my credit score,'" says Claire, who didn't want to graduate from college with dinged credit.

Bai and Frank say the state of Maryland can provide a useful benchmark for medical bills, since it sets the prices that hospitals can charge for each procedure. Data provided by the Maryland Health Care Commission shows that Anthem and Claire paid seven times what she likely would have paid for the CT scan there, and nearly 10 times what they likely would have paid for the emergency department Level IV visit. In Maryland, intravenous pushes typically cost about $200 apiece in 2019. A typical Maryland hospital would have received only about $1,350 from a visit like Claire's, and the Lang-Rees would have been on the hook for about $270.

Claire's pain has come back a few times, but never as bad as that night in Colorado. She has avoided reentering an emergency room since then. After visiting multiple specialists back home in California, she learned she might have had a condition called ovarian torsion.

The Takeaway: Even at an in-network facility and with good insurance, patients can get hurt financially by visiting the ER. A few helpful documents can help guide the way to fighting such charges. The first is an itemized bill.

"I just think it's wrong in the U.S. to charge so much," says Jen Lang-Ree. "It's just a little side passion of mine to look at those and make sure I'm not being scammed."

Bai, of Johns Hopkins, suggests asking for an itemized explanation of benefits from the insurance company, too. That will show what the hospital actually received for each procedure.

Find out if the hospital massively overcharged. The Medicare price lookup tool can be useful for getting a benchmark. And publicly available data on health claims in Colorado and at least 17 other states can help, too.

Vincent Plymell with the Colorado Division of Insurance encourages patients to reach out if something on a bill looks sketchy. "Even if it's not a plan we regulate," he wrote in an email, departments such as his "can always arm the consumer with info."

Finally, make scrutinizing such charges fun. Claire and Jen made bill-fighting their mother-daughter hobby for the winter. They recommend pretzel chips and cocktails to boost the mood.

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by KHN and NPR that dissects and explains medical bills. Do you have an interesting medical bill you want to share with us? Tell us about it!

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Western Fisheries Research Center scientists are studying the impacts of increased artificial light at night (ALAN) on aquatic ecosystems.  Here's an overview with recent pictures from the field!

President Biden listens as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida.; Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden landed in Florida on Thursday to visit privately with families whose loved ones were in the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo when it collapsed.

Biden also met with first responders to thank them for their rescue work. Search and rescue efforts paused on Thursday because of structural concerns. So far, 145 people are still unaccounted for while 18 people have been confirmed dead.

During a briefing with local and state officials, Biden said the federal government would pick up 100% of the costs associated with the response to the building collapse. I think I have the power and will know shortly to be able to pick up 100% of the costs of the county and the state. I'm quite sure I can do that," Biden said.

Biden sat beside Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who thanked the president for his support, saying "we've had no bureaucracy" from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"You recognize in each individual unit, there's an amazing story, and lives have been shattered irrevocably, as a result of this," DeSantis said. "We have families with kids missing. And we even have young newlyweds who hadn't even been married a year who were in the tower when it collapsed," he said.

"What we just need now is we need a little bit of luck. We need a little bit of prayers. And you know, we would like to be able to, you know, to see some miracles happen," DeSantis said.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Edgar Wright attends the 55th Annual International Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 2, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.; Credit: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

The joke about Sparks — if you’ve even heard of them — is that it’s the best British band to come out of America. That confusion is why Edgar Wright, the director of “Baby Driver” and “Shaun of the Dead,” wanted to make his first documentary about the group, headed by brothers Ron and Russell Mael. Quite simply, Wright was tired of explaining who the band was and why he loves them. His documentary, called “The Sparks Brothers,” premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. John Horn talked with Wright after its January premiere about his personal connection to the band, how he connected with the brother, the editing process of the documentary and more. The film is in theaters now.

With guest host John Horn

Guest: 

Edgar Wright, director of the new documentary “The Sparks Brothers;” he tweets @edgarwright

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Source: Streetwise Reports 10/28/2024

Sernova Corp. (SVA:TSX.V; SEOVF:OTCQB; PSH:XERTA) and its Cell Pouch technology could be the solution to existing challenges involving the delivery of medical treatments to patients, such as the ones described here.

Diabetic patients in resource-limited settings are having to revert back to one of the less favored, alternative ways to take insulin, via syringes or glass vials, because Danish pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO:NYSE), will stop making its insulin pens, The Guardian reported. Patients generally prefer this method for dosing themselves with insulin, as shown in a 2024 survey, because it is more convenient and more accurate.

Type 1 diabetic patients already are being impacted as Novo stopped supplying its insulin pens to certain regions, South Africa for instance. Patients there have switched back to using glass vials.

In a second situation, Novo Nordisk is working to bring stem cell-based therapies to patients more efficiently and, in seeking a solution, formed a partnership with Evotec SE (EVO:NASDAQ) to develop technologies that will achieve this, noted Evotec is a Germany-based global biotech firm with its own cell therapy and partnered cell types all in preclinical development for various indications, including diabetes, oncology, cardiology, and ophthalmology.

Per the agreement, Novo Nordisk is to provide research and development funding and potentially monetary incentives to Evotec, and Evotec is to develop the desired new technologies. Novo has the option to obtain exclusive rights to use, in a predefined medical indication, the product(s) born out of this collaboration agreement. Novo's areas of focus, along with diabetes, are cardiovascular diseases, rare diseases, growth hormone-related diseases, hemophilia, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and weight management.

Safe, Effective Therapeutic Cell Delivery

Sernova Corp.'s Cell Pouch is a vehicle for delivering various types of therapeutic cells to patients, such as donor islet cells to insulin-dependent diabetics.

When used, the Cell Pouch's containment channels are filled with the appropriate therapeutic cells, and then the device is implanted in the patient. In situ, the cells release therapeutic proteins or hormones the patient's body completely or partially lacks. The device creates a vascularized, organ-like environment that protects the therapeutic cells from immune system attacks, keeping them alive and functioning.

"The Cell Pouch is the most advanced encapsulation device in development," Ventum Capital Markets Analyst Stefan Quenneville wrote in a Sept. 12 research report.

Sernova is testing its Cell Pouch in the clinic, specifically in Type 1 diabetes. In its ongoing Phase 1/2 study, the Canadian company is evaluating the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes with donor islets implanted via the Cell Pouch, with added immunosuppression therapy. Study data so far have shown the Cell Pouch to be safe and well tolerated and the treatment, effective, reported Dr. Joseph Pantginis, analyst at H.C. Wainwright & Co., in a Sept. 12 research report.

Seven patients, all six of Cohort A and one in Cohort B, achieved sustained insulin independence, between 5.5 and 50 months in duration, free of hypoglycemic episodes. Their blood sugar levels were controlled in the nondiabetic range (i.e.,) HbA1c less than 6.5%.

"The Cell Pouch is the most advanced encapsulation device in development," Ventum Capital Markets Analyst Stefan Quenneville wrote.

A Cell Pouch removed from one of the study patients showed it still contained functioning insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin-producing cells. No evidence was seen of detrimental fibrotic tissue, too many T-cells, material degradation, or changes in the device architecture.

"We believe the impressive response rates and observed durability support Sernova's strategy and justify further investigation while positioning the technology for potential commercial success," noted Pantginis.

The results add to an expanding collection of evidence that the Cell Pouch is functioning as it should. The data also support the "impressive" results already reported from this study and help derisk future related trials.

"If Sernova is successful in bringing its functional cure for insulin-dependent diabetes to the stage where it can go into commercial production, the global market for it will be massive," wrote Technical Analyst Clive Maund in a Sept. 16 note.

In another of its programs, Sernova, in collaboration with Evotec, is developing an implantable off-the-shelf, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based islet replacement therapy, Maund reported.

"This partnership provides Sernova a potentially unlimited supply of insulin-producing cells to treat millions of patients with insulin-dependent diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2)," he added.

This partnership was announced on May 17, 2022. You can read more about it in the press release here.

Market Growth Predicted to 2030

The global live cell encapsulation market, encompassing drug delivery, regenerative medicine and cell transplantation, is expected to continue growing through at least 2030, according to Grand View Research. The market's value, US$210.7 million in 2022, is forecasted to increase at a 3.97% compound annual growth rate between that year and 2030.

"If Sernova is successful in bringing its functional cure for insulin-dependent diabetes to the stage where it can go into commercial production, the global market for it will be massive," wrote Technical Analyst Clive Maund.

Along with diabetes, live cell encapsulation is being used to treat neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease, The market research firm noted. Further, it has been proven to be a suitable way to deliver treatment for other types of diseases, including cancer, anemia, heart failure and more.

Several factors are expected to keep driving market growth during the forecast period, Grand View noted. A significant one is the increasing use of live cell encapsulation in regenerative medicine to replace disease or damaged tissues. A related contributor is rising public and private funding and investments in cell and gene therapies.

The advantages of live cell encapsulation in controlled drug delivery are boosting the market, too. They include enhanced therapeutic effects, lowered drug dose, reduced cytotoxicity, improved patient convenience and better patient compliance.

Novel new products and technological advancements are expected to add value to the market as well.

The Catalysts: Progress With Programs

Various potential stock-moving events are slated for Sernova, according to its September 2024 Corporate Presentation.

Two catalysts are expected by Sernova in 2025, related to the company's ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial in Type 1 diabetes. One is results for the remaining Cohort B patients. The other is commencement of Cohort C, who will receive, along with the islet cells, an optimized immune suppression regimen.

Several analysts are bullish on Sernova. One of them is Loe, who rates it as a Speculative Buy. His price target on the life sciences firm implies a 455% return from its current share price.

Next year, Sernova plans to start a Phase 1/2 trial of the regeneratively produced islet cells to result from its partnership with Evotec, delivered via the Cell Pouch to Type 1 diabetes patients.

Other catalysts are expected to come as a result of Sernova advancing its preclinical programs. One is a personalized treatment with patient corrected cells via Cell Pouch for hypothyroidism. Another is a Cell Pouch-delivered, ex vivo lentiviral factor VIII gene therapy for hemophilia, being developed in partnership with the European Haemacure Consortium.

Also, through partnerships, Sernova is developing technologies that would eliminate the need for concurrent immunosuppression during Cell Pouch-delivered cell treatment, a "blue sky objective," Douglas Loe, a Leede Financial Inc. analyst, noted in a Sept. 12 research report.

"Any advances in this regard could be incorporated into future Cell Pouch studies," he wrote. "We do not consider the need for such therapy to be relevant to Cell Pouch function itself."

Analyst: Company is "Very Undervalued"

Several analysts are bullish on Sernova. One of them is Loe, who rates it as a Speculative Buy. His price target on the life sciences firm implies a 455% return from its current share price.

According to H.C. Wainwright's Pantginis, the deepening responses of Type 1 diabetes patients in its Phase 1/2 trial continue to "crystallize Sernova stock's possible upside." The upside reflected in Pantginis' price target is 2,122%. The analyst recommends the company as a Buy.

Ventum's Quenneville also has a Buy on Sernova, and his target price reflects an 826% return on investment. In his report, the analyst highlighted the impressive efficacy and tolerability of the Cell Pouch up to five years post-implantation, as shown in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial data.

"This represents the longest-lasting implanted encapsulation device containing functioning islets without fibrosis," Quenneville wrote.

According to Technical Analyst Maund, Sernova is "very undervalued here given its huge potential" in the Type 1 diabetes market, as indicated on the stock charts. The fundamental outlook for the company is improving, and evidence is strong that a reversal to the upside may be happening. SVA may appreciate significantly soon. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-4790]

"Sernova is therefore viewed as a good stock to accumulate in this area, between the current price and recent lows," Maund wrote on Sept. 16. At that time, Sernova's share price was about the same as it is now.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Refinitiv, about 12.96% of the company is held by insiders and management, and 0.05% by institutions. The rest is retail.

Top shareholders include Tomas Angel with 4.91%, Director Steven Sangha with 4.27%, Betty Anne Millar with 1.32%, Brett Alexander Whalen with 0.87%, and Garry Deol with 0.77%.

Its market cap is CA$83 M. Its 52-week range is CA$0.20−0.82 per share.

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Important Disclosures:

1. Sernova Corp. has a consulting relationship with Street Smart an affiliate of Streetwise Reports. Street Smart Clients pay a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Sernova Corp.
3. Doresa Banning wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor.
4. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.
5. This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.

For additional disclosures, please click here.

( Companies Mentioned: SVA:TSX.V;SEOVF:OTCQB;PSH:XERTA, )

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American Salars Lithium Inc. (USLI:CSE; USLIF:OTC; Z3P:FWB; A3E2NY:WKN) says it is strategically reviewing multiple Canadian mineral properties prospective for lithium. Prices for the metal important to the energy transition have fallen, but many analysts say they will recover.

An American flag flies from a crane on July 4th next to the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of victims remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed.; Credit: Lynne Sladky/AP

Preparations continue in Surfside, Fla. for the demolition of a portion of the Champlain Towers South still standing after much of the building collapsed in the early morning hours on June 24.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters on Sunday that bringing down the remainder of the collapsed condominium in a controlled fashion is crucial to the safety of search and rescue teams.

Those teams have paused their work so demolition can take place. Levine Cava said officials are still unsure of a specific time that the demolition will occur.

"Our top priority is that the building can come down as soon as possible — no matter what time that occurs — and safely as possible," Levine Cava said at a morning news conference.

The number of confirmed dead from the collapse remains at 24. The number of people unaccounted for remains at 121.

Preparations for the demolition come as Tropical Storm Elsa is tracking towards southern Florida. The storm is expected to hit the area Monday and Tuesday.

The instability of the building could be made worse by the storm, which is expected to bring strong winds and rain at the beginning of the week. Mayor Levine Cava said that as soon as the demolition has occurred, search and rescue efforts are expected to resume.

Ahead of Elsa's arrival in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency Saturday for 15 counties, including Miami-Dade.

On Sunday, he expressed optimism that the Surfside area may be spared from the worst of the storm.

"We could see some gusts, but it has tracked west over the last day and a half — more so than the initial forecast," he said. "So, we'll just keep watching that."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Bill Cosby gestures outside his home in Elkins Park, Pa., on June 30, 2021, after being released from prison when the Pennsylvania's supreme court overturned his sexual assault conviction. Cosby expressed support for former TV co-star Phylicia Rashad's freedom of speech after she defended him in a tweet.; Credit: Matt Rourke/AP

Bill Cosby called on Howard University to support former co-star Phylicia Rashad's freedom of speech after she expressed support for him when his sexual assault conviction was overturned.

In a statement, Cosby also lashed out at the media, comparing journalists to the rioters who stormed the Capitol in January.

"Howard University you must support ones Freedom of Speech (Ms. Rashad), which is taught or suppose to be taught everyday at that renowned law school, which resides on your campus," Cosby said in a statement provided to NPR by his spokesman Andrew Wyatt.

"This mainstream media has become the Insurrectionists, who stormed the Capitol," Cosby continued in his statement. "Those same Media Insurrectionists are trying to demolish the Constitution of these United State of America on this Independence Day."

Cosby concluded by saying, "WE THE PEOPLE STAND IN SUPPORT OF MS. PHYLICIA RASHAD" in all caps.

Cosby's support of Rashad comes after the actress, who played his TV wife in The Cosby Show, defended the comedian in a tweet. Cosby was released from prison last week when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated his sexual assault conviction on the grounds that his due process rights were violated.

"FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" Rashad said last week.

The tweet has since been removed and Rashad later backpedaled, writing that she "fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward." She also sent a letter of apology to Howard students

Many Howard alumni had expressed disappointment at the remarks. Howard University responded with its own tweet, stating that Dean Rashad's "initial tweet lacked sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault."

Rashad was recently named Dean of Howard University's Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts.

Rashad, an acclaimed stage and screen artist, graduated from Howard magna cum laude in 1970 with a bachelor's in fine arts. She returned as a guest lecturer and adjunct faculty member.

In a statement announcing her appointment in May, Provost Anthony K. Wutoh said Rashad's "passion for the arts and student success makes her a perfect fit for this role."

One of the students Rashad mentored at Howard was the late actor Chadwick Boseman, for whom the school's College of Fine Arts is named.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Crews searching the building collapse site in Surfside, Fla., have discovered four more victims since Monday, bringing the death toll to 32. Authorities have identified 26 of the bodies.

Another 113 people were unaccounted for, though local officials said they had only been able to confirm that about 70 of those people were in the building at the time of the collapse nearly two weeks ago.

Detectives are continuing to follow up on reports submitted about possible victims in the partial collapse, but in some cases they have been unable to reach those who submitted the tips in the first place.

"People call anonymously. People call and don't leave return phone numbers. People call with partial information, not enough to really secure whether that person may or may not have been in the building," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters on Tuesday.

Some of the reports of possible victims are also incomplete, she said, including a name but no apartment number or no date of birth.

Levine Cava urged people who are missing loved ones to communicate with local authorities. She said there may also be victims of the collapse who have not been reported missing.

The rescue effort stopped briefly overnight due to lightning from a passing storm. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said high winds were hampering the cranes moving heavy debris from the collapse site.

Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez said Florida has declared a state of emergency ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa, which is expected to reach hurricane strength before making landfall Wednesday morning on the state's west coast.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The facility is now testing biodiesel fuel being produced by several companies in the region and from the harvest of crops growing around the landfill to test which ones grow best in the local climate while producing the best oils for biodiesel.

Catawba County Board of Commissioners adopts resolution supporting citizen participation in government through elections in Catawba County.

Evidence exists linking three cancers and two other health problems with chemicals used in herbicides in the Vietnam War, a committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has concluded.

Marijuanas active components are potentially effective in treating pain, nausea, the anorexia of AIDS wasting, and other symptoms, and should be tested rigorously in clinical trials.

Good morning and welcome. There has been unprecedented interest in recent years about whether marijuana or its constituent compounds should be used as medicine. Since 1996, voters in seven states have approved the medical use of marijuana.

No justification currently exists for completely abandoning chemical pesticides, says a new report from the National Academies National Research Council.

Police officers are perhaps the most visible faces of the law, and one of the few groups authorized to use force when dealing with the public. But despite the pivotal role that officers play in preventing and controlling crime, and in promoting justice, the science base is often inadequate regarding the value, fairness, and legitimacy of police practices and policies.

A new data network that integrates emerging research on the molecular makeup of diseases with clinical data on individual patients could drive the development of a more accurate classification of disease and ultimately enhance diagnosis and treatment, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Research to date on the effect of capital punishment on homicide rates is not useful in determining whether the death penalty increases, decreases, or has no effect on these rates, says a new report from the National Research Council.

The Institute of Medicine today presented the 2012 Gustav O. Lienhard Award to Donald M. Berwick, a physician whose work has catalyzed a national movement to improve health care quality and safety.

A new report from the National Research Council has upheld the listing of styrene as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” in the National Toxicology Program’s 12th Report on Carcinogens (RoC).