LAGOS AND THE POULTRY VALUE CHAIN.

The poultry industry is well grounded in Nigeria with an estimated worth of over 100 billion Naira. There are a large number of commercial players and also small holder farmers in the sector most of which are located in the south-western part of the country,with close proximity to Lagos state. There is a large market for poultry products in the country as evidenced by the 1.2 million tonnes of products smuggled into the country annually,the recent ban on imported poultry products has opened up more markets for home-grown products. Lagos with a population of about 21 million people with majority in middle and upper class who show preference for poultry products,the state is a ready market for poultry business. The state itself has commercial farmers and small holder farmers in the poultry sector churning out large numbers of chicken and eggs .The state with a vision to be Africa's mega city and global economic financial hub has dedicated zones and areas where poultry farms are domiciled. The state has invested heavily in the poultry sector with poultry estates in Ikorodu,Ojo ,farm settlements in Badagry and a training school in Epe. The state with a policy thrust to eradicate poverty through infrastructural renewal and development recently embarked on an empowerment programme where cages,poultry equipment,eggs and suitable land was allocated to poultry farmers to upscale their level of production . The federal government with the Agricultural transformation agenda to increase crop production and also to create value added food processing industries as a means to reduce food imports and create jobs, has given the state a platform to call for private sector participation in the poultry value chain alongside other 22 agricultural chains. Investments into the poultry industry in the country recently got a boost with a Multi-Net group leading with plans to establish a farm and also the African development bank injecting 34.5 billion naira to boost the agricultural sector. A partnership between the government and a Portuguese company to establish a feed mill in the country is on going.( pls check earlier posts for details of these investments.) Investors in the poultry value chain can look into these areas; 1) Processing plant; many of the smuggled products are processed ,indicating the preference for more processed poultry. A processing plant can process poultry as chicken sausages, canned chicken, processed frozen, stewed or fried. The introduction of new processed products will not only be very profitable but more jobs will be available as more chicken will be in demand. 2) Egg powder plant; investors can look into this area, egg powder is very important in so many industries and establishment of such will also increase egg sales. The state is embarking on a school feeding programme, where eggs will be part of the menu. This programme itself demands more eggs to be produced ,and also the eggplant will compliment this effort to ensure that eggs are always available,by extending the shelf-life. There are seasons where there is egg glut,the egg powder plant will solve this problem and add more economic value to it. 3) Production is another point of investment, we are calling for investors to revamp the industry in terms of more production. This will be traced to the onset of production. There are partnerships with various hatcheries with various breeds in the country,however new and well established breeds can be introduced into the country, to add to what is on ground and also create a platform for breeding. Breeding centers can be established to fashion- out how to get our own highly productive and hardy breed. 4) Waste management; investors can look into the biogas plant to generate electricity and gas or to process as fertilizers which can benefit farmers. The feathers can also be processed and sold as fashion accessories.The blood and fat can also be processed and incorporated into animal feed. 5)Transportation ; investors can look into cooling vans,trucks and buses. This is to ensure that the products get to the market in good condition.The transportation of live birds to markets is another area of investment.

Nestlé Health Science partners with DBV to develop milk allergy detection tool

Nestlé Health Science partners with DBV to develop milk allergy detection tool: Nestlé Health Science has announced it has entered into a strategic collaboration with DBV Technologies to develop and bring to market a patch-test tool, MAG1C, for the diagnosis of Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy (CMPA) in infants.

SAP Ariba For Small Business Provides Technology to Connect With Customers.

One of the biggest challenges small businesses face is access to resources. Whether it is getting funded, acquiring the best talent or developing the necessary networks to help their company thrive and grow, they have to work that much harder compared to large enterprises. Digital technology has made this much easier, and one of the solutions making this possible is SAP Ariba for small business. The SAP Ariba Network has a clear objective in adding value on all the shared aspects of business commerce with proposals, contracts, orders, invoices, and payments to save you time, money and resources. And as a small business, being able to access these features with a real-world proven solution can be the catalyst to get your company to the next level of growth. In an exclusive interview with Small Business Trends, Eric Self, Global Vice President, Seller Account Management, SAP Ariba, highlighted many of the benefits this technology solution provides small businesses as they navigate today’s digital ecosystem. First thing first. Let’s get down to brass tacks; why should a small business use SAP Ariba? The answer Self gave was compelling for any business, large or small. He said, every hour, more than $434,000 in new business is posted to Ariba Discovery. And in 2015, alone, more than 33.1 million leads were matched through the service. This type of lead is what gave Ergo Works, a small, woman-owned business in Palo Alto that sells ergonomic products access to more customers. According to the company’s president, Anne Kramer: “SAP gives us direct access to large corporations and provides a vehicle through which they can purchase specialty products from us while staying compliant within their procurement guidelines.” Small businesses that connected to the Ariba Network were able to increase the efficiency of their sales and marketing activities by 20 percent, increase sales from new customers by 15 percent, boost wallet share with existing customers by 30 percent, and realize customer retention rates of 99 percent or more while getting paid 15-20 percent faster. The Ariba Network is a place where a small business can go beyond simply listing their products and services and create profitable connections with buyers who are ready to buy and efficiently manage both their sales cycle and cash flow. This is the largest, most global B2B network where more than two million buyers and sellers — including over two thirds the Global 2000 — in 190 countries connect and collaborate. The amount of money SAP Ariba transacts annually in commerce is higher than Amazon, eBay and Alibaba combined at more than $1 trillion. read more at SmallBusinessTrends.

Rufus Labs Focuses on Wearables for Businesses.

The wearables market has been gaining a lot of attention lately. But the majority of the products are aimed at individual consumers who just want to own even more cool mobile gadgets. But Rufus Labs decided to focus its wearable product, the Rufus Cuff on a different type of consumer — businesses. Rufus Lab Provides wearable computing devices for businesses. The Rufus Cuff allows workers to operate hands-free with voice control, audio and video and a full keyboard for messaging, allowing workers to do their job more safely and efficiently. Connecting to smartphones via Bluetooth as well as working as a standalone device using built-in WiFi, workers will never be out of touch no matter what environment they are working in. The Rufus Cuff incorporates technology allowing location based alerts and task assignment using WiFi and BT. Grifoni CEO and co-founder of Rufus Labs,says Wearables needed to evolve into a different form factor that made them relevant — they didn’t have enough of a “why” to exist. I have my mobile phone and my smartwatch, which has notifications and some fitness elements on it, which is great for the consumer but for me, and the company, the longer vision of wearables is to replace everything in our pockets. Why do we need a wallet, keys and smartphone in our bag or pants when wearable technology is becoming so seamless and small? Properly designed wearables would not only eliminate the need for so many devices but could help up disconnect in a way and become more human as wearables can tell us things without being locked into a screen. That allows us to be a little more present and focus on the world around us. Wearables started the migration of everything out of the pocket. Wearables should be the only device you need. Read more at smallbusinesstrends

Pathogen Detection Tool Could Change Infectious Diseases Diagnoses.

Scientists at the University of Utah, ARUP Laboratories, and IDbyDNA, Inc., have developed ultra-fast, meta-genomics analysis software called Taxonomer that dramatically improves the accuracy and speed of pathogen detection. In a paper published today in Genome Biology, the collaborators demonstrated the ability of Taxonomer to analyze the sequences of all nucleic acids in a clinical specimen (DNA and RNA) and to detect pathogens, as well as profile the patient's gene expression, in a matter of minutes. Infectious diseases are one of the biggest killers in the world. Almost 5 million children under age 5 die each year from infectious diseases worldwide, yet many infections are treatable if the pathogen culprit can be quickly and accurately identified. "In the realm of infectious diseases, this type of technology could be as significant as sequencing the human genome," says co-author Mark Yandell, PhD, professor of human genetics at the University of Utah (U of U), H.A. & Edna Benning Presidential Endowed Chair holder, co-director of the USTAR Center for Genetic Discovery, and co-founder of IDbyDNA. "Very few people have inherited genetic disease. But at some point, everyone gets sick from infections." It is difficult for infectious pathogens to hide when their genetic material is laid bare. Taxonomer opens up an entirely new approach for infectious disease diagnosis, driven by sophisticated genomic analysis and computational technologies. After a patient's sample is sequenced, the data are uploaded via the internet to Taxonomer. In less than one minute, the tool displays a thumbnail inventory of all pathogens in the sample, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi. The interactive, real-time user interface of Taxonomer is powered by the IOBIO system developed by the laboratory of Gabor Marth, DSc, professor of human genetics at the U of U and co-Director of the USTAR Center for Genetic Discovery. Schlaberg explains that Taxonomer can identify an infection without the physician having to decide what to test for, something a PCR-based test cannot do. In other words, a doctor doesn't have to suspect the cause of a patient's infection, but can instead simply ask, "What does my patient have?" and Taxonomer will identify the pathogens. In the new study, Taxonomer was put to the test with real-world cases using data published by others and samples provided by ARUP Laboratories and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Taxonomer determined that some patients who exhibited Ebola-like symptoms in the recent African outbreak did not have Ebola but severe bacterial infections that likely caused their symptoms. "This technology can be applied whenever we don't know the cause of the disease, including the detection of sudden outbreaks of disease. It is very clear we urgently need more accurate diagnostics to greatly enhance the ability of public health response and clinical care," says Seema Jain, MD, medical epidemiologist at the CDC. Another unique feature of Taxonomer is its ability to delve into human gene expression profiling, which provides information on how or if the patient's body is reacting to an infection. "As a clinician, this gives you a better idea, when we identify a pathogen whether it is really the cause of the disease," says Carrie L. Byington, MD, professor of pediatrics of the U of U and co-director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science. The tool will also show if the patient is responding to a bacterial or viral infection when we don't find a pathogen or when we find multiple potential causes.She states that she sees the exceptional value of this tool for treating children, who experience more life-threatening infections early in life. "Seeing how a host [patient] reacts is extremely valuable; I believe this is a paradigm shift in how we diagnose people. culled from R&D Magazine.

ANIMAL PROTECTION RIGHTS AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.

A At the start of 2016, the FBI announced that it would start tracking animal cruelty in the same way it tracks felonies, such as arson, burglary, assault, and homicide. Oftentimes, the agency said, crimes against animals are indicators of further criminal activity. But how does one know if a pet’s injuries are naturally occurring or caused intentionally by a human? Tufts University and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are attempting to define the differences between the two. In a study slated for publication in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, the researchers performed a comparative analysis between animal injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents (MVA) and those from non-accidental injuries (NAI). “Clinicians still face many difficulties in identifying animal abuse,” the researchers wrote in their study. “Animals are unable to speak for themselves, and some animals’ innate personality and trust will even belie the cruelty they have suffered. Additionally, the actual cause of the injury often differs from the description provided by the client.” In the study, 426 dogs and cats with MVA injuries were compared against 50 dogs and cats with NAI. The 426 cases were provided by the Foster Hospital for Small Animals, which operates at the university’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The 50 other cases, deemed criminal cases of abuse, were provided by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Humane Law Enforcement Division. “Injuries significantly associated with MVA were pelvic fractures, pneumothorax, pulmonary contusion, abrasions, and degloving wounds,” according to the researchers. “Injuries associated with NAI were fractures of the skull, teeth, vertebrae, and ribs, scleral hemorrhage, damage to claws, and evidence of older fractures.” Additionally, abused animals tended to have rib fractures on both sides of the body, whereas rib fractures from MVAs usually appeared on one side of the body. Establishing these patterns, according to the researchers, will help clinicians differentiate between causes of trauma. “This study contributes to the expanding body of research in the growing field of veterinary forensic medicine and will help forensic veterinarians continue to give a voice to the voiceless,” said Robert Reisman, of the American Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty to Animals. culled from R&D magazine.

eBay Virtual Reality Department Store Shows Futureworld Shopping.

For some time, small business owners have been pondering how virtual reality might change the way they serve customers. Now one of the world’s largest online retailers may be pointing the way. Sure, shopping from a mobile gadget is already convenient enough, but eBay thinks the shopping experience can be improved further with the use of virtual reality. Say hello to what the Internet-based retailer is calling the world’s first Virtual Reality Department Store. The store allows customers to browse through collections like home goods, clothes and electronics as though they were actually in the store. The new store is the product of a partnership with Australian retailer Myer and you can now catch a glimpse of the store by downloading the app. eBay Virtual Reality Department Store The Android and iOS eBay Virtual Reality Department Store app works with headsets like Google Cardboard or Samsung’s Gear.To celebrate the launch of the eBay Virtual Reality Department Store, eBay and Myer are giving away 20,000 “shopticals” to shoppers, but if you don’t get to snag these for free, don’t worry as the headset only costs around $5.95. The brand new VR store boasts more than 12,500 products from Myer, which shoppers can checkout using eBay’s Sight Search technology. Instead of getting inundated by all of the store’s goods all at once, you can create your own unique shopping experience by choosing only categories of products that you are interested in. The shopping experience also gets better as you continue using the service. Sight Search also learns consumers’ shopping preferences and this might in the near future make it possible for business owners to know their customers’ spending habits. “It’s been important to us that we don’t just replicate the ecommerce experience in a virtual environment,” Managing Director of eBay Australia and New Zealand Jooman Park said in a post. “We are taking the best elements of traditional retail and expanding on them to improve browsing, selection, personalization and efficiency.” The eBay Virtual Reality Department Store allows customers to place items that they like in a virtual shopping basket, but in order to make a payment, users have to step out of the virtual reality world and head back to their eBay app. The online retailing giant might be the first eCommerce company to open a VR store, but this technology might soon take off as more shopping tools become available. culled from Small Business Trends.

How To Create a QR Code For Your Small Business.

Originally designed for the automotive industry in Japan, a QR code uses numeric, alphanumeric and byte/binary encoding modes to store data that can be easily accessed with your smartphone, tablet or PC. Unlike a traditional barcode which stores limited data, a QR code has a lot more information. This odd looking image has now evolved to provide a wide range of services, and many countries in Asia it is the go to technology for quickly connecting users to information and services. In China QR codes are used to make payments offline, sharing a password protected Wi-Fi network, transferring money, sharing contact information, logging in to a website and much more. One of the greatest selling points of QR codes is the ease in which it quickly engages users. How to generate your code; the process is so easy, you will be wondering why you didn’t use it sooner. After you create your first code, you will be looking for new and innovative ways to deploy the QR codes so you can connect with your customers in the physical and digital world. The first step is to find a QR code Generator. Here are five you can use right away. You can use the traditional links, as well as the QR codes. The common generators include 1)QR Code Generator 2)Goqr 3) Webqr 4)Visualead and 5) QRstuff . The next step is Create, design and link the code. It can be linked to any URL, including Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and other social media outlets for immediate access to the content you want your customers to see. There are two types of QR codes, static and dynamic. A static code is fixed, meaning the data that is stored in it cannot be changed, while a dynamic QR code can be edited any time. You can get really creative when you create a QR code and add color, your company logo and even animation. Test the QR code. You want to make sure the code is working, and it sends you to the right destination. This is especially important if you use a static code, because you cannot edit it. Track how your QR code is performing. You can now analyze the performance of the codes you create by monitoring how much traffic is coming from them, as well as what actions users are taking once they arrive at your website or other destination. Make your QR code accessible to everyone. If you require a special scanner or app, you will greatly limit the number of people that will follow through. Make it app-agnostic so anyone can scan your QR code with their mobile device. After all access is the ultimate goal, and you don’t want to drive people away by making it unnecessarily complicated. Once you create a QR code, you can get very creative with them. A South Korean grocery store placed a stand in a subway station with QR codes of the items it sells. All customers had to do is scan the code and purchase their groceries, which according to the company makes the deliveries the same day. This is just one example, here are some additional ways you can use it: 1)Direct customers to your digital presence 2) A discount code 3)Link to Google Maps 4) Link it to your app 5) Place in a takeout menu so customers can place an order right away. 6) Act like a URL on a direct response advertisement 7)Add it to business cards so the contact information can be downloaded instantly The ubiquity of mobile devices has made product information one of the most important factors for consumers looking to purchase an item. QR codes, can offer information on any product or service you provide and make it accessible right away. It is easy, cheap and worth trying if you are a small business. read more at small business trends.

Heriot-Watt University Researchers Win $3.3 Million Grant to 3D Print Smart Rocks to Capture Data on Underground Oil and CO2.

In order to secure our water, food and energy supplies while being able to maintain the safe extraction of oil and gas from underground oilfields, we need to have a better understanding of the layer of porous rocks in the subsurface. Specifically, the way that liquids and gases manage to travel through them, and how captured carbon dioxide (CO2) could be stored underground. Unfortunately the conditions of this subsurface material vary widely depending on the type of rock, the temperatures and the pressures that occur deep under the ground. Beyond the complexity of replicating specific environmental conditions, direct dynamic observations at the pore level are virtually impossible in a lab setting. According to Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer, holder of the Robert M Buchan Chair in Sustainable Energy Engineering at Heriot-Watt University , the problem is that the rocks are unable to tell us what’s happening to them. However Maroto-Valer and her team of researchers think that they have come up with a way to communicate with these subsurface rocks, the team wants to make their own rocks that are capable of communicating with us. Their research was promising enough that the team received a prestigious European Research Council Advanced Award so they can continue to pursue their research into developing 3D printed “smart rocks” capable of giving the team an inside look of what’s happening deep underground. Maroto-Valer and her team will use a 3D printing process to produce their own porous rocks that will include multiple micro sensors embedded inside of them. The sensors will be able to transmit data directly to the research team, including detailed information about what actually happens to liquids and gases deep underground. The 3D printed smart rocks will be capable of providing information on the subsurface conditions and environment at a microscopic level, which is simply not possible to reproduce using traditional laboratory methods. This fundamental knowledge at such a tiny scale will feed hugely into our understanding of such processes at the large scale and enable us to maximize the success of industries from oil extraction to water safety and the storage of captured CO2. The grant that Maroto-Valer and her team won was awarded by the “Excellent Science” pillar of Horizon 2020, the European Union’s research and innovation program focusing on enabling senior researchers to pursue their most promising ideas. read more at 3dprint.com

AfDB Earmarks N34.5billion for Nigeria’s Agricultural Sector Development.

The African Development Bank, AfDB, has disclosed that it marked down $175 million, about N34.5 billion to improve Nigeria’s agricultural sector. AfDB Country Director, Ousmane Dore, who made this known when he visited some Northern governors in Kaduna, said the initiative was part of the Bank’s intervention strategy to boost the all-important sector in the country. Dore said, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme, ATASP-I, of $175 million would consolidate the AfDB’s investments in the country’s agricultural sector Under this scheme, the bank will establish four Staple Crops Processing Zones, SCPZs, to cover four, out of the seven northwest states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano and Jigawa. He listed two upcoming projects in the country, totaling $500 million to include a youth programme, otherwise known as ENABLE, meaning Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment, which would gulp $300 million as well as the Phase II of the ATASP-$200 million. The Country Director said these projects are in addition to the Bank’s financial supports to SMEs through lines of credit to several commercial banks as well as the Bank of Industry, BOI and NEXIM. Culled from BizWatchNigeria.

Step inside a rat's brain with this VR reconstruction.

This virtual-reality reconstruction allows you to step inside the brain of a rat. The 3D brain is projected by 12 eight-megapixel streams across the six walls of a three-metre-sided cubic room known as the CAVE (cave automatic virtual environment). It was developed by the visualisation lab at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. "Through our application of electron microscopy, we are able to develop new ways of analysing microscopic cellular structures of the brain," explains Corrado Calì, a lead researcher on the project. The above image is of the hippocampus, an area involved in memory formation. KAUST scientists process extracted brain tissue through ilastik, a program created by Fred Hamprecht and his team at the Heidelberg Collaboratory for Image Processing in Germany, which is mainly directed toward interactive image classification, segmentation and analysis. Once the hippocampus has been digitally logged, its data is fed into 3D-modelling program Blender, with NeuroMorph plug-ins. This converts it into something a bit more compelling - a visualization which grants the ability to dive deep into the brain. for example," says Cali. "The use of CAVE was key to the observation of a non-random distribution of glycogen. This led us to develop tools for measuring glycogen clustering and proximity to other subcellular features." And if you don't have access to a CAVE? KAUST has created an Oculus Rift version, so other scientists can have rats on the brain. read more at wired.co.uk

How thousands of gamers are helping to decode the human body.

EVE Online isn't just a game about internet spaceships and sci-fi politics. Since March, developer CCP Games has been running Project Discovery – an initiative to help improve scientific understanding of the human body at the tiniest levels. Run in conjunction with the Human Protein Atlas and Massively Multiplayer Online Science, the project taps into EVE Online's greatest resource – its player base – to help categorize millions of proteins. "We show them an image, and they can change the color of it, putting green or red dyes on it to help them analyse it a little bit better," Linzi Campbell, game designer on Project Discovery, tells WIRED. "Then we also show them examples – cytoplasm is their favourite one! We show them what each of the different images should look like, and just get them to pick a few that they identify within the image. The identifications are scrambled each time, so it's not as simple as going 'ok, every time I just pick the one on the right' – they have to really think about it." The analysis project is worked into EVE Online as a minigame, and works within the context of the game's lore. "We have this NPC organisation called the Drifters – they're like a mysterious entity in New Eden [EVE's interplanetary setting]," Campbell explains. "The players don't know an awful lot about the Drifters at the minute, so we disguised it within the universe as Drifter DNA that they were analysing. I think it just fit perfectly. We branded this as [research being done by] the Sisters of Eve, and they're analyzing this Drifter DNA." The response has been tremendous. "We've had an amazing number of classifications, way over our greatest expectations," says Emma Lundberg, associate professor at the Human Protein Atlas. "Right now, after six weeks, we've had almost eight million classifications, and the players spent 16.2 million minutes playing the minigame. When we did the math, that translated – in Swedish measures – to 163 working years. It's crazy." "We had a little guess, internally. We said if we get 40,000+ classifications a day, we're happy. If we get 100,000 per day, then we're amazed," Lundberg adds. "But when it peaked in the beginning, we had 900,000 classifications in one day. Now it's stabilised, but we're still getting around 200,000 a day, so everyone is mind-blown. We never expected it." Currently, EVE players are going through images from Lundberg's domain, who serves as director for the sub-cellular chapter of the atlas. It took players just three weeks to get through the entire workload, and are now engaging in a second pass for veracity, with no signs of interest dropping. "Part of the problem with the gamification of science is that participation rapidly drops and that's what we hoped we could prevent by doing it in an existing game, with rewards," says Lundberg. "I think that's the biggest difference, that it's integrated into the game." The Human Protein Atlas itself is expanding on the mapping of the human genome, but at a much smaller level. "We have about 20,000 genes and right now we haven't even proven that more than 70 per cent even exist. So there's a big gap between protein research and DNA research, and there are several reasons for that," says Lundberg. "DNA you can amplify so it's easy to study, but you can't amplify proteins. Also, as all cells have the same DNA, you can [just] take a blood sample [to look at]. But proteins, that's the genes that are expressed, vary through the body. You have to cover the whole body and so it's a lot more difficult, from a technological point of view, to study proteins," she continues. "From my point of view, that's the interesting part – proteins are the molecules that perform the function, and drugs act by targeting proteins. So if you want to develop better drugs, understand how humans work, or understand biology, you have to know what the proteins are doing." Players' efforts will soon be felt in the wider scientific field too. After verifying their categorisations and analyses – a process involving control images that researchers know are correct, used to measure performance of the EVE hivemind – their findings are incorporated into the HPA's database. All data is publicly available, and the atlas has around 100,000 monthly users. Already, an average of two peer-reviewed scientific papers are published every day, and when the next version of the atlas is published in December, future papers will incorporate the EVE players' data. culled from wired.co.uk

Agric Firm Plans to Build N7billion Poultry Farm in Nigeria.

An agricultural company, Multi-Net Group Nigeria, has disclosed plans to build a large poultry farm at a cost of N7 billion in the country. The company’s Chairman, Uzoma Obiyo, who revealed this, said the company would also invest in the full value chain of animal husbandry including breeding of animals and processing, up to abattoir development, declaring that the project was currently on board. According to Obiyo, the company had an interest in developing world class poultry in Nigeria, which was assumed to be very expensive to build. He added that after their visibility reports, Abuja, Niger and Imo States have been chosen as pilot states and about N7 billion would be needed to establish the poultry farms in those states. Obiyo, who pointed out that 14 Federal Government’-owned breeding centres had been abandoned due largely to lack of maintenance and government’s insensitivity to the company’s needs, urged the government to privatize the centres for optimal performance. He maintained that without giving those centres to the private entrepreneurs, their potentials to generate revenues for the government would be jeopardized, which would be a big loss to the economic development of the country. Culled from BizwatchNigeria.

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Feed mill aims to resolve land disputes in Nigeria.

A new feed mill set up by Portuguese and Nigerian partners looks to ease tensions between livestock and arable farmers, and manufacture high-quality feeds. As well as manufacturing quality feeds for local poultry and livestock farmers and offering employment for local people, a feed mill can also help to resolve conflicts over land use, according to the former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar. Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony in Abuja recently, he said the establishment of feed mills can help defuse the conflicts between herders and farmers that are costing lives and livelihoods in his country, reports All Africa. Its located in the Idu Industrial District in the Federal Capital Territory, the feed mill is being set up by Rico Gado Nutrition Nigeria, a private limited liability company formed in 2013 as a joint venture between Rico Gado Nutracao S.A. of Portugal and GeseDerdirabe Holdings of Yola in Adamawa State, which is owned by Abubakar. Rico Gardo’s first factory in Nigeria was commissioned last year in Yola. According to Abubakar, the feed produced there has already helped reduce the land area required to raise cattle. “The Yola mill produces 20 metric tons per hour of carefully balanced and locally sourced quality feed for a wide range of livestock, including poultry, cattle, goats, and horses,” he said. “We are also contributing to job creation, technology transfer and progressive change in farming culture. We believe there is a future in farming.” The new feed mill in Abuja is expected to be completed by early 2017 and to have a capacity of 50 metric tons per hour. Representing the Portuguese partner, Rico Gado, Joaquin Da Silva said the new mill has great potential to change the face of livestock production and make a positive impact on socio-economic development in Nigeria. read more at wattagnet.com

Dubai Inaugurates First 3D Printed Office Building, Constructed in 17 Days

While the concept of 3D printed buildings may not sound so far-fetched for the future at all as the technology has been earmarked for great potential in construction and architecture, many may be surprised to hear that Dubai is indeed home to the first 3D printed and fully functional office building, just inaugurated today in Dubai by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. This building represents part of the first major initiative of the Dubai 3D Printing Strategy in the UAE, which we’ve been reporting on repeatedly since plans were initially announced and outlined.In only 17 days the building was 3D printed. One top and bottom unit were fabricated, showing off an incredible feat in new office trends. The Emirates Towers premises will house this temporary office of the Dubai Future Foundation which has all the usual conveniences integrated into the design such as electricity, water, telecommunications and air-conditioning. This is to act as a testimony not just to Dubai’s superiority, but also to 3D printing and all of its benefits, this office is to be 2,000 square feet with space to allow teams to meet and work, as well as offering room for meetings with consultants and industry experts from around the globe. The design, also offering sufficient space for a variety of exhibitions and workshops, is primarily meant to offer an atmosphere that is happy, healthy, and allows those working there to thrive in their environment. The offices, including all interior furniture, detailing, and structural components, were fabricated using a 3D printer measuring 20 feet high, 120 feet long and 40 feet wide, and included an automated robot arm—something we are beginning to see integrated into this technology more and more on larger and smaller scales, with 3D Systems Figure 4 technology coming straight to mind. Materials for this building construction included a mixture of special reinforced concrete, glass fiber reinforced gypsum, and fiber reinforced plastic—all tested in both the UK and China for reliability. The team also built in an arc shape for additional safety and structural integrity. This project reflects the vision of our leadership here in Dubai. We are keen to use the latest technologies to simplify people’s lives and to serve them better. This project is part of our overall innovation strategy to create new designs and new solutions in education, healthcare and cities. Our goal is to increase the happiness and wellbeing of our residents and to pioneer new solutions for the world,” said Mohammed Al Gergawi, Chairman of the UAE National Innovation Committee. “We implement what we plan, and we pursue actions, not theories. The rapidly changing world requires us to accelerate our pace of development for history does not recognize our plans but our achievements,” said Shaikh Mohammad, regarding this very historical office. read more at 3Dprint.com

Brian May launches Owl VR viewer that works with any smartphone.

Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May has designed and launched his own VR smartphone viewer. The plastic Owl VR kit allows users to view 3D images and footage from any smartphone while also giving them full access to their handset's controls at all times. May's £25 viewer consists of a flat-packed plastic frame that snaps into shape, with a pair of optical lenses at one end and a cardboard-backed magnetic strip at the other. A sticky magnetic card allows any smartphone to be mounted into the viewer while leaving the phone's audio output free for connection with headphones or a home stereo to complement the 3D visuals.This magnetic card can also be removed and used with other devices. The high-grade polypropylene frame is fully collapsible and a slider allows users to adjust the focus to suit their preferred viewing angle. May said: "The reason I created the Owl was to recreate Victorian stereoscopy. People get fatigued very quickly with [other] VR devices, they get frustrated that they can't reach their phone to get to their controls and they get sweaty with the eyepieces so I quickly realised that, in some ways, this was a better way of viewing virtual reality. "The great thing is that any smartphone will work in Owl. Most devices on the market only accept certain types of smartphone, so this is unique." read more @ wired.co.uk

The Dubai 3D Printing Strategy: Will Print Teeth in Minutes, Make Prosthetics for $110 by 2025.

Dubai wants to lead the world in 3D printing. And boy, do they have a plan. While many have vague goals and hopes as they see a bright future for the technology in their countries, states, and universities, the powers that be in the UAE have a multi-tiered plan focusing on construction, medical products, and consumer products. Both their plans—and accelerated pace—have caught the attention of the world as they’ve proclaimed that 25 percent of their buildings will be based on 3D printing technology by 2030, along with a substantial rise in the 3D printing of household goods, jewelry—and even fast food. Dubai has recently announced a new 3D printed lab space to be added to a huge solar park, and just yesterday inaugurated the first 3D printed office building. Regarding plans for the medical sector, however, they are now becoming most specific, and it looks as if the patients of the future in the UAE will certainly have new—and affordable—options to look forward to, as the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has just announced that they plan to be offering 3D printed artificial limbs by 2025, at a cost of Dh400, which is impressive indeed when translated to $108.90 USD. They also plan to produce ceramic teeth in less than 20 minutes, use 3D printing in orthopedic surgeries and create 3D printed casts, which will speed the healing process of patients by 40 to 80 per cent. The strategy ultimately aims to make Dubai excel in different medical surgeries, the value of 3D printed medical products in Dubai is expected to exceed Dh1.3 billion by 2025. The use of 3D printing in medical printing is important as it is considered to be one of the most important fields given its direct link to human life,” said Saif Al Aleeli, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation. “Through these initiatives, we plan on using the latest technologies as well as partnering with organizations who have experience in the field of 3D printing to find solutions for medical challenges.” read more at 3Dprint.com

FOOD SUMMIT.

A food summit is underway and investors are expected to storm the event,and contribute to the food security scheme. A large number of value chains are on the platform,but my area is the poultry value chain. 

This discussion will be elaborate with various dimensions and most of all exciting interviews with key players in the industry and prospective investors,so hop in ,the train has left the station. 

 AN EXPOSE ON THE POULTRY VALUE CHAIN. Its my duty to break the myth about the poultry value chain, this is an industry where you can profit on various level if you harness the opportunities. 

 

Welcome to the poultry business:look at the diagram, it shows several areas for investment.to  make profit. These stages also have subsets,giving opportunities for investment based on various financial capacity and target market.

FOOD-NIGERIA.

A food exhibition and conference, a great platform to interact with manufacturers and distributors of food.It also proved to be a good ground for networking with establishment of trade relations and business opportunities.

Building 3D printed tanks by hand ..

Michael Sng is a one-man tank factory. The Singapore-based designer hand-built the walking mecha toy Codename: Colossus from 435 3D-printed parts. A former graphic designer, Sng previously sold Stikfas, a stick-figure toy he co-created, to Hasbro. Colossus started out as a way to learn new skills. "I didn't know a lot of electronics," Sng, 38, says. "I learned from scratch."He designed the toy as a 3D CAD file, printing each part on a small UP Plus 2 printer. "It's 60cm tall, but none of the parts is larger than 12cm long," he explains. "They're put together with hundreds of screws." Sng also hand-wired the working legs, guns and lights, and hand-painted each part, including the interior and tiny characters. (The tank's shell conceals a cannon that fires table tennis balls.) The process took 18 months and cost Sng more than $3,000 (£2,070). Colossus was part passion project, part audition: under the Machination Studios moniker, Sng's conceived a fictional universe for the toys, set after the first world war "where air power never happened, and tanks just got bigger and bigger." read more @wired.co.uk

ROBO -BEES; THE FUTURE OF RESCUE MISSIONS.

This tiny robot, developed by team at Harvard University, is "inspired by the biology of a bee and the insect's hive behavior".This 'Robo-bee' can land on ceilings, perch on precarious objects and help out in search and rescue missions. The team aim to push advances in miniature robotics and the design of compact high-energy power sources, spur innovations in ultra-low-power computing and electronic smart sensors and refine coordination algorithms to manage independent machines. Robots such as the Robo-bee have a number of uses – pollinating a field of crops, for example, or in search and rescue missions. The tiny size and ability to land and perch on ceilings and walls, it could potentially be used for reconnaissance missions during natural disasters, as well as "hazardous environment exploration", military surveillance or climate mapping. Harvard team said that by modelling a robot's "physical and behavioral robustness" on insects, they could carry out complex tasks "faster, more reliably and more efficiently". The robot perches on ceilings and walls using "electrostatic adhesion" – the same kind of energy that makes a "static sock stick to a pants leg or a balloon to the wall". The structure is also incredibly light – around 100mg, the same weight as a real bee. The team will now work on improving their model by changing the mechanical design so the robot can "perch on any surface", not just ceilings. read more @wired.co.uk

POLLUTION IN THE OCEAN AND EFFECT ON ANIMALS.

via GIPHY

The indiscriminate dumping of trash in the sea is not only hazardous to animals but man as well. A large number of plastic bags,wires,hooks all end up in bellies of animals causing death and also degradation of the environment. Most of these products are plastics which dont decompose easily thus releasing chemicals in the sea and on land gradually leading to various forms of poisoning. Pollution is a silent killer.

 When next you want to throw trash in the sea,remember its coming back to you somehow. Use the trash can always!!! Wait ! There is a floating trash can .see how it works.

How to stop environmental pollution using automated floating rubbish bins .

via GIPHY

The Seabin is a dock-based automated rubbish bin that catches floating plastic, oil and fuels. Australian surfers Andrew Turton, 40, and Peter Ceglinski, 37, developed the bin after witnessing growing pollution in marinas. Oceans need trash cans . 

 Ceglinski's invention offers a 24/7 alternative to the expensive "trash boats" traditionally used by harbors and marinas, which clean by scooping up rubbish in nets.

 The Seabin is most efficient in the marina's problem spots, where predominant currents amass heavy pollution. It's estimated to catch up to 1.5kg of rubbish per day - removing around half a tonne per year from the 250,000 tonnes the oceans are believed to hold. The Seabin is fixed to a floating dock, above the water surface. 

A pump creates a flow that sucks rubbish inside a recycled polyethylene bin and into a natural-fibre bag. The water is then pumped back into the marina. And don't worry about fish getting trapped: in four years, the Seabins haven't caught a single one. 

"Fish simply stay away from the surface and the current that the Seabin produces," says Ceglinski. If any did get caught, they would be freed by marina staff while emptying the bin. 

 French manufacturer Poralu Marine is making and distributing the first Seabins, which are scheduled to be ready to ship in late 2016. 

 Read more @ wired.co.uk

VIRTUAL FASHION.

Welcome to this event, be comfortable and enjoy the show. This is the maiden edition and its a platform to showcase our beautiful designs,educate about animals and explore a beautiful way to reach our animals,love them and change the paradigm on animal health. I am your pilot,seat back and enjoy the flight. Welcome to my world, where vet meets fashion and help humanity. #fashion #runway #virtual

3D PRINTING HELPS THE BLIND TO SEE.

For one couple in Italy, finding a way to share photos became a challenge—and ultimately, a gift. Many of us have had that desire to see what our partner or spouse looked like as a child. As you grow to love someone, it’s easy to become curious about every part of their life—and being able to go back decades and take a look at their face before it became etched with a few wrinkles, or before the hair began to salt and pepper, has a certain degree of romantic fascination about it. Domenico lives in Como, Italy, where his girlfriend Miki is also located. Miki has been blind since birth, but she became very interested in the idea of seeing what Domenico looked like as a boy. That might seem like a simple request to honor in most cases, but for his girlfriend, Domenico had to get resourceful. Domenico got in touch with an Italian artist and digital sculptor, Simone Rasetti. He was able to use his considerable talents just by using a 40-year-old photo presented by Domenico, showing himself at five months old (cue in one big collective awwwww right here). He made a reconstruction of the face digitally in Z-Brush, and then uploaded it to Z-Suite software so that it could be 3D printed on a Zortrax 3D printer. Miki was included in the whole process, including being able to understand how the 3D printing process works by gently feeling the inside of the machine as the sculpture was being fabricated, letting her hand move back and forth for a moment as the layers were formed. It wasn’t long before the sculpture was finished and in her possession for good. Miki learnt about how Domenico appeared in the past, but she was also able to learn about a very helpful technology of the present and future—and she certainly had more of an education regarding 3D printing in a very short time than most do. With the help of Zortrax software and hardware, Miki is able to ‘see’ her boyfriend and indeed this type of printing should become more and more common. The sculpture of Domenico as a baby can be described with one word: adorable! 3D printing being used in many ways to enhance the lives of the blind, from delighting children with yearbooks that let them see their friends faces, and tactile books that allow them to experience stories more enjoyably, to offering 3D printed musical notation, maps, and much more. As the list grows, the blind have much greater insight into some parts of life that we of course take for granted. culled from 3Dprint.com

POWDERED EGGS. #egg powder.

 

 The importance of eggs in the poultry value chain can not be ignored,both the health benefits and financial implication show that eggs are very important in the value chain. Eggs can be sold in crates ,and the distribution can be quite cumbersome at peak of traffic, but the worst aspect in the distribution is the period of egg glut. The period where farmers have more eggs that out ways demand,leading to severe losses to the farmers.

This singular reason is why producers are looking for ways to protect their investments and also ensure the health benefits of eggs are not ignored. 

 EGG POWDER !!!! is the way out. Powdered eggs are replacements for fresh eggs:this could be powdered egg white or powdered whole eggs .The advantages of powdered eggs are 1) easy storage 2) longer shelf-life 3) easy transportation 4) non perishable. 

 Powdered eggs are very useful in the food industry, camping arena,school feeding programmes, and catering institutes.The extension of the poultry value chain to accommodate egg powder production is a viable project that need more players. The attachment of the egg powder production plant to the poultry can be a small scale or large scale production. 

The small scale will require minimal investment and it can be sited within a local government to cater for the farmers within and also generate revenue from this venture. The large scale will be capital intensive,but will cater for a large number of farmers and the revenue from this venture will be very high and will cater for a wide variety of farmers, local and international.

 Call today for your egg powder.

EGGS,EGGS AND MORE EGGS.

The egg contains all the nutrient to produce a chick,hence its a power packed meal that promotes growth and development. Eggs are nutrient packed and plays immense roles in various systems in the body.The protein requirement is 0.8g/kg on the average: with the requirement for man is 56g,and woman 46g. The FAO has cautioned that the dietary intake is below the required levels in developing countries hence more protein especially animal protein should be included in diet. One medium egg contains 70-85 calories of which 6.5g is protein. Eggs are nutrient rich and if incorporated in diet on a regular basis will make up for the deficit in protein in the developing countries; hence the truth an egg a day keeps the doctor away. EGG-VALUES; 1) its an health boost,with high level of nutrients it contains it contributes to the general well being of the individual, 2)vitamin source; vitamin B2 which is important for break down of food to energy. vitamin B12 essential for red blood cell production. vitamin A responsible for great vision; eye sight integrity. vitamin E responsible for fighting off free radicals that cause tissue and cellular damage. Vitamin B2 responsible for proper growth. 3) mineral source..iron for blood cells,and maintenance of circulatory integrity. zinc....ensures proper functioning of immune system. phosphorus.......responsible for healthy bones and teeth. iodine...essential for thyroid hormones. selenium.....its an antioxidant that helps reduce cancer risk. Eggs are also used as a weight management tool; a study by Rochester center for obesity stated that eating eggs for breakfast helps limit your calorie intake all day by 400 calories.The mode of action here is that it gives a satiety signal while releasing the nutrients into body,thus maintaining energy level.The cholesterol in eggs are dietary cholesterol not blood cholesterol,the dietary cholesterol are high density lipo proteins which are essential for proper functioning of the body systems. Eggs also linked to intelligence quotient because of choline content in the egg which is responsible for production of cell membrane and also produce signal molecules in brain thus coordinating activities at that level. Eggs also contains lutem and zeaxanthin that are antioxidants with maintain cellular integrity in the retinal thus preventing eye disorders such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

THE EGG STORY!!!

Eggs are nutritious and an egg daily keeps you fit and healthy.Eggs are beneficial to young ,growing children and adults.Eggs contains vitamin A, folate,vitamin B5,B2,B12,phosphorus and selenium.Eggs also contain vitamin D,E,K, B6,calcium and zinc. It has 77 calories,has 6 grams of protein and 5g of healthy fats. Eggs are enriched with omega-3 which are good for the body. Eggs contain choline which are used to build cell membrane,with a major role in producing signal molecules in the brain. The egg yolk contains lutein and zeaxanthin,,these nutrients reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. Eggs are highly nutritious,they are power packed and its advisable to incorporate eggs into our everyday diet. Children fed early on eggs are healthy and very intelligent,eggs contribute to brain health.

Nintendo wants to get into healthcare and restaurants.

Nintendo is best known as a gaming company, but you could soon be seeing the familiar logo on everything from restaurants to healthcare devices.The Japanese company plans to update its Articles of Incorporation at a shareholder meeting to be held on June 29, with a view to diversify its business interests. If approved, Nintendo will expand the "purpose of the company" into new fields, including: 1)Development, manufacturing and sale of medical devices and health devices. 2) Development, manufacturing and sale of computer software. 3)management of and investment in eating establishments, stores and entertainment sites.4) Licensing of intellectual property rights. Medical and health devices, meanwhile, could be Nintendo's long-rumoured 'Quality of Life' initiatives coming to fruition. Announced in 2014, Nintendo had plans for sleep monitors and, before that, vitality sensors that promised an array of potential health and lifestyle benefits. The sleep tracker was put to bed in February, but the proposed additions to the Articles of Incorporation could indicate there are still related plans. Don't expect much, if any, connection to gaming though. That leaves "eating establishments" and IP rights. The latter is no surprise - Nintendo has been planning a wider use of its characters and properties for a while now, and we're already starting to see the results. Nintendo itself has rarely defined itself as a games company; rather, it's a company that happens to make games. It was founded in 1889, making Hanafuda cards, and over the decades has had its fingers in everything from toys and arcade machines to Japan's infamous love hotels. Whether Nintendo follows through on its new business categories or if it's simply adding them to cover bases for loose plans remains to be seen. However, with the still-secretive Nintendo NX to be revealed later this year and launch in March 2017, it's shaping up to be an interesting time for the House of Mario. Culled from wired.co.uk

Gator hijacks watermelon.

Florida alligators are known for eating many things: turtles, birds, the occasional human limb. But one large gator with an apparent sweet tooth was recently photographed sliding into a canal with a whole watermelon clamped in its jaws. Gator caught stealing watermelon out of watermelon field in Hendry County," a Florida Agricultural Crimes Intelligence Unit officer wrote May 13 on the group's Facebook page.The photo stunned Steve Stiegler, a wildlife biologist in the alligator management program at the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Um," he said, chuckling. "This would be unusual. Watermelons are not generally part of an alligator's diet." He added that the gator in the photo appears to be about 10 feet long. Alligators are predatory carnivores that eat fish and frogs when they're small. "As an alligator gets larger, it will eat larger fish, larger vertebrates such as snakes, birds, land mammals that get too close to the water or attempt to swim across the body of water," Stiegler said. He said that for an unknown reason, people who illegally feed alligators often give them marshmallows. Indeed, on the Facebook post of the gator watermelon thief, several people reminisced about tossing marshmallows to gators in Florida. That's a no-no, Stiegler said. "That alligator probably has a sweet tooth, and one of the more popular treats for people who illegally feed alligators are marshmallows. Alligators can taste sweet, and somehow this alligator got a taste of a watermelon and he's gone back for more." Culled CBS NEWS.

Rabbits, skunks can pass bird-flu virus to ducks..

A government wildlife researcher has found that rabbits and skunks can become infected with the bird flu virus and shed it enough to infect ducks — offering scientists one more clue about how bird flu may move in the environment and spread between farms, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. Experiments done last year demonstrated that striped skunks and cottontail rabbits in a laboratory transmitted a strain of bird flu to mallard ducks after they shared food and water sources, National Wildlife Research Center biologist Jeff Root said in a statement. "When wildlife and poultry interact and both can carry and spread a potentially damaging agricultural pathogen, it’s cause for concern,” he said. Last year bird flu resulted in the death of 48 million birds in 15 states, sending egg prices soaring to record highs, increasing turkey meat prices and hurting exports of poultry products. Scientists hope to find how the virus gets from wild birds to farms and spreads, and Root said it’s now important to figure out how likely it is that such transmission across species happens in the wild. The study results offer the first significant confirmation that mammals can transmit the virus to birds. Skunks and rabbits are common visitors to farms across the country. They also are frequently found at the riverbanks and wetlands where waterfowl gather. Scientists studying bird flu who weren’t involved in the research said it’s a noteworthy finding, but more study is needed about how transmission is occurring. “These viruses, we’ve always known that they get very eagerly into turkeys. Turkeys and ducks exchange viruses but skunks and rabbits? Who knew? So this is really exciting that way,” said Carol Cardona, an avian health professor at the University of Minnesota who studies domestic poultry viral disease. “It tells us little bit more about an ecosystem we weren’t fully understanding.” Iowa State University veterinary microbiology professor James A. Roth said it’s an unexpected development, but it’s not clear whether these animals can spread bird flu virus into commercial turkey and chicken barns. culled from Columbus Dispatch.

AIO ROBOTICS EXPANDS CHINESE PRESENCES THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH SHENYANG MACHINE TOOL CO.

< When it comes to simplicity and ease, it’s hard to beat AIO Robotics. Using their Zeus 3D printer is as easy as plugging it in and pressing a button, which has made it an obvious favorite of schools, libraries, and consumers who want to avail themselves of 3D printing for prototyping or other purposes but don’t necessarily have the time or expertise for high-maintenance precision machines. 

 The Los Angeles-based AIO Robotics launched their flagship printer a couple years ago after a successful Kickstarter campaign, and has since spread across the globe with resellers all over the US and in Canada, Asia, Australia and Europe.  

 One market the company hasn’t significantly tapped thus far has been China, but that should soon be changing thanks to a partnership with Shenyang Machine Tool Co, Ltd (SMTCL). The Chinese company is the largest machine and tool manufacturer in the world, but they haven’t ventured into 3D printing until now, though they are a champion of technologically advanced manufacturing. In 2014, SMTCL introduced the i5, an intelligent CNC control and “Smart Factory” platform, which has accounted for a significant portion of the company’s business. 

 In addition to being an easy-to-use 3D printer, the Zeus is also a 3D scanner, copier and fax machine, and recently AIO Robotics further enhanced the machine’s capabilities by integrating it directly with the MyMiniFactory printing platform. 

 Users can now access the site’s expansive 3D model library and download and print files directly from their printers with the push of a button, making the Zeus even more ideal for educational settings. 

The classroom-friendly attributes of the printer are certainly a big selling point for the community-focused SMTCL, which shares many of AIO’s future-thinking values. SMTCL is the fourth Asian reseller to pick up the Zeus, joining Taiwan’s Smartec Scientific Corp, Japan’s Santec, and the also-China-based Trustworthy Technology Co.  

 Read more at 3Dprint.com

DOG PARKER.

On-demand neighborhood doghouses provide-1) Clean and comfortable places for dogs to hang out. 2) Peace of mind and freedom for loving pet parents.3) An easy way for any store to be immediately dog-friendly 4) More time together for you and your pup! Welcome the dog parker. The Co-founders Chelsea Brownridge and Todd Schechter of Brooklyn-based Dog Parker introduced a new concept on-demand dog houses Presenting “dog parking by the minute,” these dog houses are intended to be, effectively, parking spots for “urban pet parents” to safely leave their dogs for a few minutes while running errands, in a more secure alternative to tying a leash around a tree or bike rack. A membership card opens the house, the dog can be guided in, and no one else can gain access until the dog’s owner returns a few minutes later, using the same membership card or the Dog Parker app to unlock the house. Similar to a Zipcar model of business, a membership would run $25 annually per dog — leading, they say, to a $1.7 billion business opportunity that could benefit up to 2.4 million urban dogs. With Boyce Technologies as their tech partner, Dog Parker tested three different sizes for their dog houses, now using a one-size-fits-most model that fits about 97% of dogs (sorry, no mastiffs). The parker needs regular maintenance similar to a vending machine, the Dog Parker houses also function as their own advertising, as they would be placed right on the streets in urban areas, starting with New York City. read more at dogparker.com

3D PRINT RECYCLING.

One of the downsides of 3D printing is trash. This does in fact occur mainly by way of plastic—and even just one home workshop can produce surprising volumes of it, by way of big blobby print failures, discarded prototypes, and other materials as well. Upon the advent of this technology, most were caught up in the euphoria of discovering something new that allows for such empowerment in making things, verging on that of magic. It wasn’t too long, however, before the question of what to do with piles of plastic in the trash emerged. Lately, we discover and discuss numerous ways of recycling, as well as using recycled products in filament that can then be recycled again—and even for solvents. Companies like Voodoo Manufacturing and Filabot are concerned about trash pileup too, and rather than just setting that worry aside, they have taken action in creating a partnership for recycling. This is where the fun comes in—well, maybe it’s just me—but the idea of chucking all that plastic into a great big grinder and sending it back full circle seems very fulfilling. Plus, let’s consider the savings on the bottom line here. Filament, while varying in price, can begin to take a toll on the budget if you are a major 3D printing enthusiast. Voodoo and Filabot have discovered quite a symbiotic relationship. Voodoo has bunches of plastic that needs to go out the door and Filabot has the means to recycle and re-use. This is a real rags to riches story for trashed items that are turned back into what is often quite an expensive commodity. The Filabot machinery can recycle practically any plastic, grinding it, and sending it right back where it came from, also coming full circle in some of the most wonderful 3D printing benefits—self-sustainability, innovation, and affordability. Have you been worried about what to do with plastic from 3D printing? recycle is the answer. read more at 3Dprint.com

JOHNSON & JOHNSON ANNOUNCES COLLABORATION WITH HP TO CREATE PERSONALIZED 3D PRINTED HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS.

3D printing technology offers a wide range of personalization and customization options that are impossible with traditionally manufactured products. We’re already seeing some of the first custom 3D printed consumer products making their way to market, including shoes, sports equipment, eyeglasses and even earbuds. All of these products can be made for a specific user’s body, optimizing the technology to work for an individual, not an average user as with most mass produced products. A more exciting, and potentially world-changing application of customized 3D printed products is the ability to manufacture life-saving medical devices and assistive technology to suit an individual user’s needs. As one of the largest pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in the world, the products that Johnson & Johnson develops will be made available in more than 175 different countries all over the globe. So when they decide to develop ways to integrate 3D printing technology into their business, it isn’t just their own company that will be changed, but as their competitors try to keep up with them, their entire industry will change. This week Johnson & Johnson is announcing a broad and wide-reaching collaboration with a 3D printing subsidiary of HP Inc. The goal of the partnership between Johnson & Johnson and HP is to find ways to implement new 3D printing technology that will help them develop better healthcare outcomes for patients, consumers and health care providers while reducing costs. The two companies plan to combine their scientific, clinical, material science and technological know-how to develop a series of consumer products, medical solutions and medical devices that can be manufactured fast. 3D printing will allow them to develop products that have been customized for individual patients and consumers based on their specific needs. “Advances in 3D printing technology have the potential to break historical paradigms of health care delivery in ways that are not feasible in traditional manufacturing processes. Together with Johnson & Johnson we have the potential to create opportunities and innovations in health care to improve patients’ lives that neither company could develop alone,” explained Stephen Nigro, president of HP’s 3D printing business. While the collaboration was just announced yesterday, the partnership has actually already begun, and teams of experts brought together from both companies are working together on new medical products and solutions. In the early stages of the partnership they will focus on the personalization of instrumentation and software used to operate patient-specific medical devices. However they expect that their collaboration will lead to 3D printing applications that will innovate solutions and devices in orthopedics and eye health, not to mention new, cutting edge consumer products. culled from 3Dprint.com

Pet jerky treats linked to hundreds of dog deaths.

Jerky treats imported from China are still being linked to hundreds of dog deaths, according to the FDA. Between September 2014 and December 2015 the FDA investigated 200 more reports of animals becoming sick after eating the chicken, duck and sweet potato treats imported from China. The number is lower than previous years but investigators still caution owners to be on the lookout for vomiting or other symptoms. Since 2007, the FDA has investigated the illnesses of 6,200 dogs – including more than 1,100 deaths. Culled from WIRC

AGRIBUSINESS: HOW TO START AQUARIUM BUSINESS AND MAKE MONEY.

AGRIBUSINESS: HOW TO START AQUARIUM BUSINESS AND MAKE MONEY. Learn all about how to take the ocean to your home

Dark chocolate could prevent heart problems in high-risk people.

A study published in the British Medical Journal, shows that daily consumption of dark chocolate can reduce cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, in people with metabolic syndrome (a cluster of factors that increases the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes). Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Dark chocolate (containing at least 60% cocoa solids) is rich in flavonoids -- known to have heart protecting effects -- but this has only been examined in short term studies. A team of researchers from Melbourne, Australia used a mathematical model to predict the long-term health effects and cost effectiveness of daily dark chocolate consumption in 2,013 people already at high risk of heart disease. All participants had high blood pressure and met the criteria for metabolic syndrome, but had no history of heart disease or diabetes and were not on blood pressure lowering therapy. A 100% compliance (best case scenario), the researchers show that daily dark chocolate consumption could potentially avert 70 non-fatal and 15 fatal cardiovascular events per 10,000 people treated over 10 years. Even when compliance levels were reduced to 80%, the number of non-fatal and fatal events potentially averted was 55 and 10 per 10,000 people treated over 10 years, and could still be considered an effective intervention strategy The authors stress that only non-fatal stroke and non-fatal heart attack were assessed in their analysis, and that the potential effects on other cardiovascular events, such as heart failure, are yet to be tested. Also important, they say, is that these protective effects have only been shown for dark chocolate (at least 60-70% cocoa), rather than for milk or white chocolate, probably due to the higher levels of flavonoids found in dark chocolate. The blood pressure and cholesterol lowering effects of plain dark chocolate could represent an effective and cost effective strategy for people with metabolic syndrome (and no diabetes).

RESEARCH: WHY YOU SHOULD EAT DARK CHOCOLATE.

Dark chocolate is good for you and scientists now know why. Dark chocolate helps restore flexibility to arteries while also preventing white blood cells from sticking to the walls of blood vessels. Both arterial stiffness and white blood cell adhesion are known factors that play a significant role in atherosclerosis. What's more, the scientists also found that increasing the flavanol content of dark chocolate did not change this effect. A study published in the March 2014 issue of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal.(FASEB) Diederik Esser, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Top Institute Food and Nutrition and Wageningen University, Division of Human Nutrition in Wageningen, says the impact of chocolate consumption on vascular health and that increasing flavanol content has no added beneficial effect on vascular health. Diederik Esser noted however, the increased flavanol content clearly affected taste and thereby the motivation to eat these chocolates. So the dark side of chocolate is a healthy one. Esser and colleagues analyzed 44 middle-aged overweight men over two periods of four weeks as they consumed 70 grams of chocolate per day. Study participants received either specially produced dark chocolate with high flavanol content or chocolate that was regularly produced. Both chocolates had a similar cocoa mass content. Before and after both intervention periods, researchers performed a variety of measurements that are important indicators of vascular health. During the study, participants were advised to refrain from certain energy dense food products to prevent weight gain. Scientists also evaluated the sensory properties of the high flavanol chocolate and the regular chocolate and collected the motivation scores of the participants to eat these chocolates during the intervention. This discovery could lead the way to therapies that do the same thing as dark chocolate but with better and more consistent results, but until the 'dark chocolate drug' is developed, however just o make do with what nature has given . Go ahead eat dark chocolate.

Design and print your own 3-D chocolate objects.

3-D printing is a technology where a three dimensional object is created by building up successive layers of material. The technology is already used in industry to produce plastic and metal products but this is the first time the principles have been applied to chocolate. This new digital technology printer allows you to create your own designs on a computer and reproduce them physically in three dimensional form in chocolate. The project is funded as part of the Research Council UK Cross-Research Council Programme -- Digital Economy and is managed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of ESRC, AHRC and MRC. It is being led by the University of Exeter in collaboration with the University of Brunel and software developer Delcam Chocolate is not an easy material to work with because it requires accurate heating and cooling cycles. These variables then have to be integrated with the correct flow rates for the 3-D printing process. Researchers overcame these difficulties with the development of new temperature and heating control systems. Research leader Dr Liang Hao, at the University of Exeter, states that what makes this technology special is that users will be able to design and make their own products. In the long term it could be developed to help consumers custom- design many products from different materials but we've started with chocolate as it is readily available, low cost and non-hazardous. There is also no wastage as any unused or spoiled material can be eaten of course! From reproducing the shape of a child's favorite toy to a friend's face, the possibilities are endless and only limited by our creativity. Researchers hope that an online retail business will host a website for users to upload their chocolate designs for 3-D printing and delivery. Dr Hao added: "In future this kind of technology will allow people to produce and design many other products such as jewellery or household goods. Eventually we may see many mass produced products replaced by unique designs created by the customer." EPSRC Chief Executive Professor Dave Delpy said: "This is an imaginative application of two developing technologies and a good example of how creative research can be applied to create new manufacturing and retail ideas. By combining developments in engineering with the commercial potential of the digital economy we can see a glimpse into the future of new markets -- creating new jobs and, in this case, sweet business opportunities." source;Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). "Design and print your own 3-D chocolate objects.