#lab panel billing guidelines

[allzonems]

CPT Code 80053 Billing Guide: Accurate CMP Panel Reimbursement with CPT Coding Services

One of the most frequently used codes in laboratory testing is CPT Code 80053, which represents the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP). This panel provides essential information about a patient’s metabolic state and organ function, helping physicians diagnose and manage chronic diseases effectively. For healthcare providers and billing professionals, understanding how to accurately bill for this panel is vital to avoid claim denials and ensure proper revenue cycle management.

In this guide, we’ll break down CPT Code 80053, its components, billing requirements, and how a trusted medical coding company offering CPT coding services can help streamline the process for healthcare providers. This ultimately serves as a complete CPT coding solution for your practice.

What is CPT Code 80053?

CPT 80053 refers to the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, a routine blood test that measures 14 different substances in the blood. These measurements help assess a patient’s kidney and liver function, electrolyte and acid/base balance, and blood glucose levels.

Components of the 80053 CMP Panel Include:

Glucose

Calcium

Sodium

Potassium

Chloride

Carbon Dioxide (Bicarbonate)

Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN)

Creatinine

Albumin

Total Protein

ALP (Alkaline Phosphatase)

ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase)

AST (Aspartate Aminotransferase)

Bilirubin, Total

Each of these individual tests can be billed separately, but when ordered together and medically necessary, they are billed under a single panel using 80053, simplifying the billing process and reflecting appropriate bundling as per CPT guidelines.

Billing Guidelines for CPT 80053

Correct billing of CPT 80053 requires that all 14 component tests be performed on the same date and ordered together. Failing to meet this requirement can result in a denied claim or reduced reimbursement.

Key Billing Considerations:

Medical Necessity: Documentation must support the medical necessity of all the panel components.

Bundled Services: The test is reimbursed as a single unit. Individual billing of panel components without justification may lead to duplicate billing flags.

Frequency Limitations: Many insurance carriers have frequency guidelines for how often a CMP panel can be reimbursed. Check payer policies to avoid denials.

Modifiers: If not all components of the panel are performed, modifiers may be needed to unbundle and bill separately (if permitted by the payer).

Diagnosis Coding: Ensure correct ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes that justify the medical necessity for the test.

A reputable medical billing services provider will be well-versed in these rules and help ensure accurate claim submission.

Common Denial Reasons for CPT Code 80053

Despite being a routine panel, CPT 80053 can be subject to billing errors, resulting in denied claims. Understanding these pitfalls is crucial for compliance and timely reimbursement.

Top Reasons for Denials:

Incomplete Panel Components: If all 14 components are not performed, billing 80053 is not appropriate.

Lack of Medical Necessity: Missing or inadequate documentation can result in denial due to insufficient justification.

Frequency Issues: Billing for CMP more frequently than allowed by the payer.

Incorrect Diagnosis Code Linkage: Diagnosis codes that don’t support medical necessity for each test.

Bundling Errors: Attempting to bill panel components separately without appropriate justification or modifiers.

Partnering with an experienced medical coding company can help mitigate these issues by ensuring every claim is coded accurately and compliantly. This forms a critical part of a robust CPT coding solution.

The Role of a Medical Coding Company in CMP Billing

Medical coding is more than just assigning codes; it’s about accuracy, compliance, and maximizing reimbursement. A professional medical coding company plays a pivotal role in improving coding accuracy for CPT 80053 and other panels by offering comprehensive CPT coding services:

Ensuring Proper Code Selection: Coders are trained to follow CPT and payer guidelines to code tests appropriately.

ICD-10 Mapping: Coders match appropriate diagnosis codes to lab tests to support medical necessity.

Documentation Review: Coders review physician orders and lab results to ensure all components are performed and documented.

Compliance Audits: Regular internal audits help reduce the risk of overcoding, undercoding, and payer scrutiny.

Whether you’re a small clinic or a large hospital system, CPT coding outsourcing to a medical coding company helps reduce administrative burdens and enhance revenue integrity.

Benefits of Outsourcing CMP Panel Billing

Accurate billing of panels like 80053 requires attention to detail, ongoing training, and familiarity with payer-specific guidelines. Many providers choose to outsource their medical billing services for increased accuracy and efficiency. Opting for CPT coding outsourcing provides numerous advantages:

Advantages Include:

Faster Reimbursements

Reduced Denials and Rework

Regulatory Compliance

Better Resource Allocation

Revenue Cycle Optimization

CPT coding outsourcing also gives providers access to technology-driven platforms, coding automation, and skilled professionals who stay current with CMS updates and CPT changes.

Stay Updated on CPT Changes

Every year, CPT codes and payer guidelines are subject to revisions. Inaccurate billing due to outdated knowledge can severely impact reimbursements.

To stay compliant:

Review annual CPT and HCPCS code updates

Subscribe to CMS and payer newsletters

Conduct quarterly coding audits

Partner with a reliable medical billing services company that monitors these changes for you. This is an essential aspect of a complete CPT coding solution.

Conclusion

The 80053 CPT Code for the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) is a crucial part of routine lab testing, but it comes with specific coding and billing requirements. Missteps in documentation, code selection, or frequency guidelines can result in revenue loss and compliance risks.

One of the most frequently used codes in laboratory testing is CPT Code 80053, which represents the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP). This panel provides essential information about a patient’s metabolic state and organ function, helping physicians diagnose and manage chronic diseases effectively. For healthcare providers and billing professionals, understanding how to accurately bill for this panel is vital to avoid claim denials and ensure proper revenue cycle management.

In this guide, we’ll break down CPT Code 80053, its components, billing requirements, and how a trusted medical coding company offering CPT coding services can help streamline the process for healthcare providers. This ultimately serves as a complete CPT coding solution for your practice.

What is CPT Code 80053?

CPT 80053 refers to the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, a routine blood test that measures 14 different substances in the blood. These measurements help assess a patient’s kidney and liver function, electrolyte and acid/base balance, and blood glucose levels.

Components of the 80053 CMP Panel Include:

Glucose

Calcium

Sodium

Potassium

Chloride

Carbon Dioxide (Bicarbonate)

Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN)

Creatinine

Albumin

Total Protein

ALP (Alkaline Phosphatase)

ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase)

AST (Aspartate Aminotransferase)

Bilirubin, Total

Each of these individual tests can be billed separately, but when ordered together and medically necessary, they are billed under a single panel using 80053, simplifying the billing process and reflecting appropriate bundling as per CPT guidelines.

Billing Guidelines for CPT 80053

Correct billing of CPT 80053 requires that all 14 component tests be performed on the same date and ordered together. Failing to meet this requirement can result in a denied claim or reduced reimbursement.

Key Billing Considerations:

Medical Necessity: Documentation must support the medical necessity of all the panel components.

Bundled Services: The test is reimbursed as a single unit. Individual billing of panel components without justification may lead to duplicate billing flags.

Frequency Limitations: Many insurance carriers have frequency guidelines for how often a CMP panel can be reimbursed. Check payer policies to avoid denials.

Modifiers: If not all components of the panel are performed, modifiers may be needed to unbundle and bill separately (if permitted by the payer).

Diagnosis Coding: Ensure correct ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes that justify the medical necessity for the test.

A reputable medical billing services provider will be well-versed in these rules and help ensure accurate claim submission.

Common Denial Reasons for CPT Code 80053

Despite being a routine panel, CPT 80053 can be subject to billing errors, resulting in denied claims. Understanding these pitfalls is crucial for compliance and timely reimbursement.

Top Reasons for Denials:

Incomplete Panel Components: If all 14 components are not performed, billing 80053 is not appropriate.

Lack of Medical Necessity: Missing or inadequate documentation can result in denial due to insufficient justification.

Frequency Issues: Billing for CMP more frequently than allowed by the payer.

Incorrect Diagnosis Code Linkage: Diagnosis codes that don’t support medical necessity for each test.

Bundling Errors: Attempting to bill panel components separately without appropriate justification or modifiers.

Partnering with an experienced medical coding company can help mitigate these issues by ensuring every claim is coded accurately and compliantly. This forms a critical part of a robust CPT coding solution.

The Role of a Medical Coding Company in CMP Billing

Medical coding is more than just assigning codes; it’s about accuracy, compliance, and maximizing reimbursement. A professional medical coding company plays a pivotal role in improving coding accuracy for CPT 80053 and other panels by offering comprehensive CPT coding services:

Ensuring Proper Code Selection: Coders are trained to follow CPT and payer guidelines to code tests appropriately.

ICD-10 Mapping: Coders match appropriate diagnosis codes to lab tests to support medical necessity.

Documentation Review: Coders review physician orders and lab results to ensure all components are performed and documented.

Compliance Audits: Regular internal audits help reduce the risk of overcoding, undercoding, and payer scrutiny.

Whether you’re a small clinic or a large hospital system, CPT coding outsourcing to a medical coding company helps reduce administrative burdens and enhance revenue integrity.

Benefits of Outsourcing CMP Panel Billing

Accurate billing of panels like 80053 requires attention to detail, ongoing training, and familiarity with payer-specific guidelines. Many providers choose to outsource their medical billing services for increased accuracy and efficiency. Opting for CPT coding outsourcing provides numerous advantages:

Advantages Include:

Faster Reimbursements

Reduced Denials and Rework

Regulatory Compliance

Better Resource Allocation

Revenue Cycle Optimization

CPT coding outsourcing also gives providers access to technology-driven platforms, coding automation, and skilled professionals who stay current with CMS updates and CPT changes.

Stay Updated on CPT Changes

Every year, CPT codes and payer guidelines are subject to revisions. Inaccurate billing due to outdated knowledge can severely impact reimbursements.

To stay compliant:

Review annual CPT and HCPCS code updates

Subscribe to CMS and payer newsletters

Conduct quarterly coding audits

Partner with a reliable medical billing services company that monitors these changes for you. This is an essential aspect of a complete CPT coding solution.

Conclusion

The 80053 CPT Code for the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) is a crucial part of routine lab testing, but it comes with specific coding and billing requirements. Missteps in documentation, code selection, or frequency guidelines can result in revenue loss and compliance risks.

Collaborating with a professional medical coding company ensures that your CMP billing is accurate, compliant, and optimized for maximum reimbursement. By leveraging the expertise of specialized CPT coding services through CPT coding outsourcing, healthcare providers can focus on delivering quality care while safeguarding their financial health.

Read more: https://www.allzonems.com/80053-cpt-code-cmp-panel-billing-guide/

Need Expert Help with CMP Billing?

Allzone Management Services is a trusted medical coding company offering end-to-end medical billing services tailored to your specialty. From lab coding to revenue cycle optimization, we ensure clean claims, fewer denials, and faster payments. We offer a comprehensive CPT coding solution to meet your needs.

📞 Call us today: 8668542714 📧 Email: sales@allzonems.com 🌐 Visit: www.allzonems.com

Let us take care of your coding and billing, so you can focus on patient care.

[gagandeep45]

B2B Lab Services for Nursing Homes – My Care Labs Solution

My Care Labs offers specialized B2B diagnostic lab services tailored for nursing homes, providing timely, accurate, and convenient testing solutions to improve patient care and streamline facility operations. We understand the unique challenges faced by long-term care facilities, such as managing multiple residents with chronic conditions, ensuring regulatory compliance, and maintaining efficient workflows. Our comprehensive lab services are designed to meet these needs with precision and reliability.

Our team provides on-site sample collection services, minimizing the disruption for elderly residents and reducing the burden on nursing staff. Trained phlebotomists visit facilities on a scheduled or on-call basis to collect blood, urine, COVID-19, and other diagnostic samples, ensuring maximum comfort and safety for patients.

My Care Labs processes specimens in our state-of-the-art CLIA-certified laboratory, offering rapid turnaround times and accurate reporting. Our tests include routine panels (CBC, CMP, Lipid), infection screenings, toxicology, and molecular diagnostics. All results are securely delivered via our HIPAA-compliant portal, accessible to nursing staff and physicians for faster clinical decisions.

In addition, we offer EHR integration, insurance billing, and eligibility verification, simplifying administrative tasks for nursing homes. Our dedicated account managers and customer service team provide round-the-clock support to resolve issues promptly.

What sets My Care Labs apart is our commitment to personalized care, fast response times, and transparent communication. We work closely with nursing home administrators to build custom testing protocols and ensure compliance with all federal and state guidelines.

With My Care Labs as your trusted lab partner, nursing homes can elevate the quality of care, reduce hospital readmissions, and ensure residents receive timely diagnostic support—all through a seamless and reliable B2B partnership.

[aanjaneyahospital]

Why Aanjaneya Hospital is the Leading ENT Hospital in Jaipur

As regards the treatment of ear, nose, and throat, hospital Aanjaneya Hospital becomes a matter of importance. During times of hearing problems, sinusitis, or sore throat, an independent ENT hospital ensures accurate diagnosis and proper therapy. Among various healthcare centers available in the city, Aanjaneya Hospital is the highest rated ENT hospital in Jaipur that possesses a mix of specialization, innovation, and patient-oriented treatment.

Expertise That Sets the Standard

Aanjaneya Hospital has a panel of highly trained and experienced ENT physicians. With years of experience in clinical practice and subspecialty training, Aanjaneya Hospital physicians are best suited to manage complex ENT conditions ranging from chronic sinusitis and otitis media to vocal cord surgery and endoscopic sinus surgery. Their strict protocol guarantees that each patient is given individual evidence-based care backed by the most current guidelines.

State-of-the-Art Infrastructure

Why Aanjaneya is the best ENT hospital in Jaipur is because it is fully loaded to fight against the latest medical technology. The hospital boasts its best operating rooms, superior audiology labs, and latest diagnostic equipment. These help in quicker diagnosis and improved treatment. From endoscopic devices to high-resolution imaging devices, Aanjaneya does not miss a stone to provide the best to patients.

Complete Range of ENT Treatments

The only differentiating point from the rest of all the ENT clinics is that Aanjaneya Hospital has the entire range of ENT treatment under one roof. These include:

Audiology and Hearing Tests

Endoscopic Sinus Surgery

Microscopic Ear Surgery

Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

Snoring and Sleep Apnea Treatment

Allergy Management

Thyroid and Neck Mass Evaluation

With all these facilities available, the patients don't need to go to various clinics. All this regarding ENT treatment is offered in an exhaustive and professional way.

Patient-Centric Approach

Another fundamental reason Aanjaneya is the best ENT hospital in Jaipur is that it values patient comfort and satisfaction. Right from the time the patient steps into the clinic, they have a hassle-free experience — low waiting time, transparent communication, and empathetic care. The hospital is transparent in diagnosis, treatment, and billing, so patients feel well-informed and assured with the treatment.

Well-Trained Support Staff and Nursing

Behind each successful hospital is the hospital staff, and AanjaneyJ Hospital is proud to have good qualified support and nursing staff. With training specifically for ENT treatment, they go the extra step to treat the patients through every phase — pre-operative, during the procedure, and post-recovery. Their incessant encouragement makes the healing process tension-free and hassle-free.

Clean, Safe, and Hygienic Environment

The maintenance of hygiene and infection control is of the highest priority in the health care system of today. Facilities of international standard cleanliness and sanitation are available at Aanjaneya Hospital. Outpatient and inpatient departments with segregated sections, clean and organized wards, and continuous sterilization offer protection to the patients throughout their stay.

Testimonials That Speak Volumes

Aanjaney Hospital has gained the trust of thousands of families of Jaipur and nearby cities. Patients prefer the professionalism of doctors, transparency in communication, and good results of treatment. All these feedbacks are not just words but a testimony to the hospital's dedication towards excellence in ENT treatment.

Affordable ENT Care Without Compromise

One of the largest patient concerns in seeking medical attention is affordability. Aanjaney feels that good ENT treatment should never be a luxury. The hospital has cost-effective packages and also provides various insurance facilities, such that everyone will be able to afford it from their class of society. Even though it is one of the best ENT hospitals in Jaipur, its charges are affordable and are open.

Aanjaneya Hospital – Redefining ENT Treatment in Jaipur

Aanjaneya Hospital is not a mere health care center; it is a brand that speaks volumes of trust, care, and quality. Being a super-specialty ENT hospital, it has made a niche for itself as the best treatment center for ear, nose, and throat. With its ultra-modern infrastructure, specialist physicians, and patient-focused operation, Aanjaneya Hospital is revolutionizing ENT treatment.

Whether the procedure is a simple infection of the ear or a complex surgery of the throat, AanjaneyJ Hospital provides normal care that ensures quick recovery and good health in life. Their high success rate with procedures and satisfied patients make them the professionals of choice for ENT problems in Jaipur.

Conclusion

It is not such an easy job to search for an appropriate ENT hospital in Jaipur, but Aanjaneya Hospital simplifies the task. Its advanced technology, skilled specialists, and courteous service make it the most appropriate destination for overall ENT care so far. For proper, trustworthy, and secure ear, nose, and throat care, trust Aanjaneya Hospital.

[exdionhealth]

A Comprehensive Guide to Common Medical Coding Errors and How to Avoid Them

Medical coding is a vital component of the healthcare industry as it serves as a bridge between providers and payors. Coding involves the translation of medical diagnoses, procedures, equipment and other services into universal alphanumeric codes. Accurate coding is essential for proper billing and ensuring that providers are reimbursed appropriately. This guide aims to help coders understand and avoid common errors in ICD-10 and CPT coding; emphasizing the importance of proper documentation.

1. Incorrect Code Selection

Explanation:

What are they? Errors in selecting the appropriate ICD-10 or CPT code for a diagnosis or procedure.

Common errors: Claims rejections, denials, or inaccurate reimbursement.

Examples:

Selecting a code that describes a diagnosis or procedure that is more severe or less severe than the actual condition.

Using outdated codes or not updating to the latest version of ICD-10 or CPT codes.

Selecting a code that was not addressed in the medical encounter. “If it is not documented, it did not happen.”

How to Avoid:

Continuing education: Stay updated with the latest coding guidelines and annual updates.

Cross-reference: Use the ICD-10-CM and CPT code books alongside reliable electronic sources such as APC, CMS.gov, AHIMA, AMA

Coding audits healthcare: “Conduct audits on a monthly to quarterly basis ensuring coding accuracy is maintained at 95% or higher”

2. Upcoding and Downcoding

Explanation:

What are they? Upcoding is the practice of using a code that provides a higher reimbursement than the actual service provided. Downcoding is the opposite, where a lower level code is used.

Common coding errors in healthcare: Upcoding can lead to legal issues (e.g., fraud, payment recoupment, etc.) and audits; downcoding results in loss of revenue.

Examples:

Reporting a procedure as more complex than it was (upcoding).

Reporting a higher level of evaluation and management (E/M) services than provided.

Using a nonspecific code when a more specific code exists (downcoding).

How to Avoid:

Accurate documentation: Ensure all services and diagnoses are documented accurately and comprehensively. Query provider if there is contradicting or missing information”. Never assume or infer.

Coding compliance programs: Implement robust compliance programs to regularly review coding practices.

Education: Regularly educate coding staff on the importance of compliance and accurate coding in addition to regularly scheduled audit and training for coders

3. Unbundling of Codes

Explanation:

What are they? Unbundling refers to the practice of using multiple CPT codes for parts of a procedure instead of a single comprehensive code. Be mindful of payor guidelines as well. These override coding guidelines.

Common errors: When caught, these can lead to claim denials and potential fines.

Examples:

Separately coding components of a surgical procedure when a single code encompasses the entire procedure.

Using individual codes for lab tests that should be grouped under a single panel code.

How to Avoid:

Bundling guidelines: Familiarize yourself with the Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits.

Coding software: Use coding software that alerts you to unbundling errors.

4. Invalid or Missing Modifiers

Explanation:

What are they? Modifiers provide additional information about the procedure, service, or supply provided without changing the definition of the code.

Common errors: Incorrect use or omission can lead to claim denials or incorrect reimbursement.

Examples:

Using modifier -59(distinct procedural service) incorrectly.

Using modifier -SA when Nurse Practitioner renders service in collaboration with a physician.

Failing to append modifier -25(significant, separately identifiable E/M service on the same day as a procedure).

How to Avoid:

Modifier guidelines: Understand and follow guidelines for modifier usage. guidelines. Certain payors (e.g., Medicare) require specific modifiers on certain services rendered.

Specific training: Provide ongoing training and education on the correct use of modifiers and Suggest adding staying up to date with payor guidelines

5. Insufficient Documentation

Explanation:

What are they? When the documentation does not support the code that is billed or lack of documentation

Common errors: Claim denials, audits, and potential legal issues.

Examples:

Lack of detailed documentation to support higher level E/M codes.

Missing or incomplete operative reports for surgical procedures.

Encounters (e.g., visits, procedures, surgeries, etc.) not yet signed by a provider.

How to Avoid:

Comprehensive documentation: Ensure all aspects of the patient’s visit, diagnosis, and procedures are documented in detail.

Templates and checklists: Use templates and checklists to ensure all necessary information is captured.

Code linkage: Supporting Documentation: Ensure there is clear documentation of the services rendered and that it is as detailed as their code selection

Read More: A Comprehensive Guide to Common Medical Coding Errors and How to Avoid Them

[enfinitymedicalbilling]

Urgent Care Center Medical Billing Guide 2024.

The effective management of medical billing and coding, particularly in urgent care centers, is crucial for both financial performance and operational efficiency. Here’s a summary of the key points from your overview:

Importance of Accurate Billing and Coding in Urgent Care

Impact on Financials: Errors in documentation or coding, like incorrect CPT codes or mishandling of insurance information, can lead to delayed payments, claim denials, and revenue loss for urgent care centers.

Patient Experience: Accurate and clear billing ensures patients understand their charges, preventing confusion and frustration, and ultimately enhancing satisfaction and trust in the care provider.

Key Updates in Urgent Care Billing and Coding

Place of Service Code Change: The CMS has updated the Place of Service (POS) code for urgent care facilities to 20, which impacts the way these services are billed and compensated.

E/M Code Updates: New guidelines focus on urgent care visits, ensuring consistent compensation for the services rendered.

Electronic Claim Submission: CMS emphasizes the importance of electronic submission to reduce claim submission errors and improve processing efficiency.

ICD-10-PCS and CPT Codes: Understanding and using the right codes, such as the "S" codes specific to urgent care (S9088 for diagnosis and treatment, S9083 for service fees), is crucial to ensure accurate billing and reimbursement.

Common CPT Codes in Urgent Care

Evaluation and Management (E/M) Codes: Essential for documenting patient visits and consultations. Examples include:

99201-99205 (new patient visits)

99211-99215 (established patient visits)

Procedural Codes: Used for specific medical procedures performed at urgent care centers, such as wound repairs (12001-12018) or joint aspirations (20610).

Radiology and Laboratory Codes: Urgent care centers frequently provide diagnostic imaging and lab tests:

71045-71048 (chest X-rays)

80048 (basic metabolic panel)

Immunization and Other Common Procedures: Vaccination codes (e.g., 90460-90461 for immunizations) and tests like EKG (93000) and spirometry (94010).

Strategies to Improve Billing Efficiency

Real-Time Insurance Verification: Verifying insurance details upfront to avoid denials or errors.

Automation Tools: Using RCM software and AI tools to streamline the billing process, reducing human error and speeding up claims submissions.

Continuous Staff Training: Ensuring billing staff are well-versed in the latest codes and regulations to improve accuracy.

Challenges in Urgent Care Billing

High Patient Turnover: The large volume and variety of patients make billing complex.

Insurance Discrepancies: Different insurance providers have varying requirements, which can complicate the billing process.

Coding Complexity: Urgent care centers deal with diverse medical conditions, requiring precise coding to ensure proper reimbursement.

Conclusion

The role of effective billing in urgent care settings cannot be overstated. Proper coding, adherence to updated guidelines, and leveraging automation are key to maintaining a smooth revenue cycle. By minimizing errors, urgent care centers can ensure accurate payments, enhance patient satisfaction, and remain financially viable in a highly competitive healthcare environment.

[jj-lynn21]

Roman & Princess: Castle in the Desert ch 3

Music: Romantic Music https://youtu.be/58GQx4xEdlY  

Warnings: fluff, 

ch 1  ch 2  ch 4  ch 5

When you wake covers are tucked in around you. Light piano music plays. You sigh deeply reaching your hand out for Roman. Awake but eyes stilled close. Unsure of the time you whimper as you open your eyes to see, Roman is not there with you.

The smell of fresh baked bread scents the air. You sit up and notice the juice on the side table. Swinging your legs around off the edge of the bed you stand grabbing the juice. Roman’s t-shirt adorns your body. You are also wearing fresh red lace panties. Of course, Roman would put these on me, you think to yourself as you smirk. You finish the juice before heading out of the bedroom with the empty glass to take downstairs..

You hear Roman in his office as you come out of the bedroom. He sounds pleased for a change. He turns seeing you and snaps his fingers. You rush to his side.

“I couldn’t have gotten anything done with out my best girl today,” He holds you close with his free hand around your shoulder. A smile on his face. “No, thank you. If you need more, I will try to help. Our labs were closed with the rest of the building so instead of them sitting there unused I knew you needed them. You don’t have to do that. Just take care of the children. Alright, bye.”

Roman hangs up. “You lit a fire under those slackers asses Princess. The hospital received one million masks and one hundred boxes of gloves from Godfrey industries. They are going to call the new  kids play area Godfrey house.” He chuckles.

“That’s great Roman,” you smile up at him. “So, what smells so good? Did you cook?”

He chuckles, “No, I heated up some French bread about ten minutes ago. And we have pasta from your favorite restaurant.”

“Good, I’m starving,” You both head downstairs. “Did you get in touch with Bill?”

“I did,” Roman pulled a chair out for you at the dining room table. “We will leave after dinner. I already packed our suitcases with everything we will possibly need. I bought you a new dress for our first ball tonight. I guess there are still people showing up every day even though it is suggested strongly they stay home.”

“That’s crazy,” you take a sip of blood wine. “But at least we will get a fresh drink. And it is not all of the humans that are choosing not to follow basic safety guidelines.”

“Yes, it’s not all of them,” Roman gets the meals from the kitchen and sets them on the table, lights some candles and dims the other lights in the room. “I guess it’s all good for us.” He smirks. 

“That sounds bad,” You giggle, “but it’s so true.”

After dinner you and Roman head to Godfrey industries. His plane is in a hanger behind the building.

“I called the closest airport to file a flight plan.” Roman opened a compartment under the plane for luggage. “There isn’t much traffic in the air right now. We should get there in three hours. Bill sent me the coordinates.”

You helped him put the luggage in the compartment. “What do you need me to do captain?”

“Oh shit, you didn’t?” Roman grinned. “I need to be serious until I can put her on auto pilot in the air. You just do whatever I say. It’s going to be a smooth flight.”

“Do whatever I’m told in the air, got it,” You give him a super serious face.

Roman shakes his head. He just thinks you are being to cute right now. Maybe because your nervous. “I’ll tell you everything I do to get ready. I’ve logged thirty thousand miles in this baby. You don’t worry about a thing, Miss sexy co-pilot.”

You giggle, “Yes, Captain.”

Roman shuts the luggage door. Then pulls the main door down that has steps attached. “Lady’s first.” He slaps your ass as you ascend the stairs into the passenger area of the plane. 

You giggle. When you step inside your jaw drops at the cream and black leather interior, “Wow Roman.”

He steps inside, “Yeah, worth every bit of the 3.9 million I paid. If your impressed with this, wait until you see my cock pit. Right this way.” You follow him, “This little refrigerator between the passenger end and the cock pit has some blood bags for a treat once we get in the air if you feel thirsty. I shouldn’t drink and fly unless I’m desperate, but I will be fine. The blood orange juice we had for breakfast will keep me stable without the high.”

“I hope so,” You bit your lower lip nervously, “because I don’t know shit about flying a plane.”

“Just sit over there and buckle up Princess,” Roman instructed. “I got this.”

He buckled up, “I’ll walk you through the take-off procedures, alright?”

“Yeah, that sounds cool,” You say excitedly.

“Ok Bill gave me coordinates to an airstrip between Sandy Valley and Goodsprings, Nevada to put in the onboard computer like this,” He reaches down to the control panel to put in coordinates. “Auxiliary fuel pump — Off. Flight controls — Free and correct. Instruments and radios — Checked and set. Landing gear position lights — Checked. Altimeter — Set. Directional gyro — Set. Fuel gauges — Checked. We are all fueled Princess. Just going through all this like I was taught.”

“Just do what you need to do,” You wiggled in your seat a little. All this was turning you on a bit. “It makes me feel more comfortable.”

“Good.” Roman looked at the panel to check off everything else on his list. “Seat belts/shoulder harnesses — Fastened. Parking brake — Off. Doors and windows — Locked. Action — Engine instruments checked.”

Roman taxies the plane down the runway. You hold your breath. Seeing the whole thing from the front seems like a whole different experience. When he had the plane in the air at a good cruising altitude, he turned on the autopilot.

“We are all set,” Roman swivels his chair to look at you. “How about a drink to help those nerves? I will keep the radio open so we can hear if there are any unexpected crafts. I also need watch a few things on the panel from time to time during the trip. But we can basically do whatever you want for two and a half hours..”

You go to grab a flute full, from a blood bag. Come back and straddle Roman. “Anything I want to make me less nervous?” You grind into him.

Roman groan. Nod his head yes looking in your eyes and he holds your hips. 

[pinkwessman-blog]

Where Common Machine Learning Myths Come From

There are a lot of misconceptions about ML that can have a negative impact on one's career and reputation. Forrester and ABI Research weigh in.

Forrester studies recently released a record entitled, shatter the seven myths of gadget getting to know. In it, the authors warn, "unluckily, there is a pandemic of ml misconceptions and literacy amongst business leaders who should make vital selections approximately ml tasks." Also see: sites like omegle

whilst executives and bosses speak about ai and gadget studying, they now and again make genuine mistakes that reveal their true degree of information. Forrester senior analyst kjell carlsson, who is the lead author of the report, said in a recent interview that he is heard audible sighs over the telephone whilst specialists listen what lay people have to say.

"whilst the top of product says some thing like, 'we are the use of reinforcement getting to know due to the fact we're incorporating person feedback into the developments modeling,' it is probably not an excellent component," stated carlsson. "i have been on panels with different analysts and i'm listening to aspect like, 'with unsupervised gaining knowledge of you not need people involved or education' and you are like, wait, what?"

abi important analyst lian jye su stated in his experience, maximum executives have a few sort of ideas around the fundamentals of gadget getting to know and the "garbage in, rubbish out" principle, but most of them accept as true with device studying models are black containers and that system studying calls for large quantities of records.

"i'd argue that that is particularly because of the superiority of convolutional neural networks that require big amounts of information and by hook or by crook work higher with more numbers of convolutional layers, and that i consider such perceptions will slowly disappear as soon as other device mastering algorithms become greater famous," stated su. One issue is education. Precisely in which ought to decision makers learn the truth approximately machine mastering? There are lots of practitioner and business-stage options, even though the intersection of the two is what forrester's carlsson thinks is lacking. Kjell carlsson, forrester kjell carlsson, forrester "in which i suppose we want the most paintings and the most assistance is assisting parents from the business aspect understand the technology enough to recognise what is this truely correct for? What sort of troubles can i apply it to?" said carlsson. Following are some of the factors that cause commonplace misperceptions. The terminology isn't properly-understood

part of the trouble is the terminology itself. People every so often interpret synthetic intelligence as machines that suppose like human beings and device studying as machines that examine like humans.

"information scientists aren't the nice at nomenclature," said abi research's su. "i might argue we analysts are partly guilty for this, as we regularly use huge phrases to introduce new technologies."

unrealistic expectations

there may be a standard false impression that ai is one, massive effective thing, which ends up in the perception that ai can do anything. As a substitute, deep learning is now and again interpreted as "better" than different styles of gadget mastering whilst unique strategies are ideal to unique sorts of use cases. It is no longer very useful to just begin with what you need like changing every body in the call center with a virtual agent," said forrester's carlsson. "they are plenty greater installation in an augmenting fashion to assist anyone in the name center."

abi research's su said unrealistic expectancies is one case in which hype takes over rational wondering. In his experience, executives are thinking much less and less approximately waiting for the impossible or the incredible. Lian jye su, abi studies lian jye su, abi studies failure to apprehend the probabilistic nature of machine getting to know

historically, software has been built deterministically, which means a given enter have to result in a given output. The equal is genuine for rules-primarily based ai. On the other hand, gadget mastering has a margin of blunders.

"inside the gadget mastering global, it's perfectly viable that you may by no means be capable of are expecting the element you need to predict because the signal isn't in the records you've got," said forrester's carlsson. Abi studies's su stated one of the arguments towards the usage of device mastering is the probabilistic nature of the outcome. It is in no way as clear cut as the traditional guidelines-based ai utilized in industrial machine vision. Overlooking vital details

an engine manufacturer desired to are expecting when components needed to be replaced. The employer had an abundance of records about engines and engine disasters, however all the information become lab records. There were no engine sensors operating within the subject. So, the model couldn't definitely be deployed as intended.

"there is genuinely nobody inside the agency who oversees all of the various things at the information engineering facet, the device studying facet," stated forrester's carlsson. There's additionally a piece of common sense that comes into play that could wander off between technological abilties and the roi of these abilities. For instance, fashions had been built that endorse accurate bills for salespeople to call. The trouble is that the salespeople had been already aware about those money owed. Failing to understand what machine getting to know ‘success’ method

laypeople frequently count on extra from system gaining knowledge of and ai than is practical. While a hundred% accuracy might also seem affordable, substantial money and time can be spent eking out yet another 1% accuracy when the use case won't require it. Context is crucial. As an example, accuracy stages range whilst someone's existence or liberty is at stake versus the possibility that a percent of a populace is probably mildly indignant by means of some thing.

"there's a whole faculty of concept around quantization, where, depending on the character of the ai responsibilities, an affordable degree of reduction inside the accuracy of ai models can be proper as a change-off, provided this lets in ai to be deployed on part gadgets," stated abi research's su. "in any case, we people are often not as accurate. Having stated that, sure applications together with item classification, disorder inspection, and satisfactory warranty at the assembly line do have stringent necessities that call for repeatability, and that is wherein traditional guidelines-primarily based ai might be preferred."

forrester's carlsson stated anybody can create a model that could quite lots bring about 99. Ninety nine% accuracy. Predicting terrorism is one instance. It takes place so once in a while that if the model predicted no terrorism all the time, it'd be a hyper-correct model. Failing to go after clean wins

science fiction and classified ads lead human beings to accept as true with that they have to be doing some thing incredible with ai and gadget getting to know while there may be a whole lot of cost available in use instances that are not very horny.

"whilst you say gadget getting to know or ai people robotically think that they must be going to some thing that is mimicking human conduct and that's regularly missing the widespread capacity of the era," said carlsson. "device getting to know technologies are truely desirable at running with statistics at scale and doing analysis at scale that we human beings are definitely horrible at."

7 guidelines to maintain in mind

1. Understand the capabilities and limitations of machine studying, and to some extent the makes use of instances to which exclusive techniques are desirable. That manner, you're less possibly to mention something it's technically faulty. 2. One system studying technique does not suit all use cases. Class use instances, which includes figuring out snap shots of cats and puppies fluctuate from finding a formerly undiscovered signal in information. 3. Device gaining knowledge of isn't a set of "set and neglect" techniques. Models in production have a tendency to "waft" this means that they come to be less correct. Device mastering fashions must be tuned and retrained to even maintain their accuracy.

"in software development, there is this information about the want to be iterative," stated forrester's carlsson. "in terms of applications that are relying on system studying fashions, they ought to be even greater iterative because you're iterating at the information, the commercial enterprise use case and the methods that you're using in tandem. None of them are ever virtually fixed at the beginning of a project due to the fact we do not know what statistics you've got, or you do not know what commercial enterprise use instances that statistics should assist."

four. Machine learning accuracy is relative to the use case. Further to considering the dangers related to capability errors, recognise the art of the possible changes over time.

"a 50. 1% pc vision model is wonderful. Or you could say 60% accuracy or 70% accuracy is way higher than some thing we've got carried out before," stated carlsson. Five. Context is essential. Ai and device mastering can not reap the identical results no matter context. Context determines the strategies which can be higher or worse and the extent of self belief this is perfect or unacceptable in a given state of affairs. Context also has a bearing on what information is needed to solve a positive trouble and whether or not biases are applicable or unacceptable. As an instance, discrimination is taken into consideration a awful factor, normally speakme, however it's comprehensible why a bank wouldn't loan just all and sundry millions of bucks.

"in many instances, device [learning] is actually horrific at figuring out beyond biases that had been hidden in statistics. In different instances, the great of the facts matters, which include pixel depend, clear annotation, and a smooth statistics set," stated su. Then again, the cleanest statistics isn't always useful if it's the wrong records.

"oldsters are assuming that machine studying or even ai goes to in some way do something magical whilst the statistics isn't always around and that that doesn't work. [conversely,] folks are assuming that as long as we've got plenty and lots of records, we are able to be able to do something magical, which frequently does not keep either, stated forrester's carlsson. "having bad satisfactory facts at the proper thing [can] without a doubt [be] better than having huge amounts of data on the wrong factor."

6. Remember the fact that machine studying is a combination of hardware and software. Specially, abi studies's su stated the software program abilities will only be as exact as what the hardware can supply or is designed to supply. 7. Traditional guidelines-based totally ai will likely co-exist with gadget studying-based ai for quite some time. Su said a few obligations will continue to require deterministic selection-making instead of a probabilistic technique. For greater approximately gadget studying inside the corporation test out those articles. A way to manage the human-system workforce

5 iot challenges and possibilities for this 12 months

what is subsequent: ai and facts traits for 2020 and beyond

lisa morgan is a contract writer who covers huge information and bi for informationweek. She has contributed articles, reports, and other sorts of content material to diverse publications and web sites ranging from sd instances to the economist sensible unit. Frequent areas of insurance consist of ... View complete bio we welcome your feedback in this subject matter on our social media channels, or [contact us directly] with questions on the site.

[grahkingston]

Laboratory Service in Kingston: Why Preventive Testing is Critical for Senior Pets

Recent life stage guidelines by the CVO (The College of Veterinarians Ontario) emphasize the importance of a thorough consultation and physical exam at all dog and cat life stages. Visit frequency and testing references should be familiar as your pet ages. Senior and aged pets should be seen at least semi-annually to allow for the earlier intervention of chronic disease.

At Grah Kingston, we are providing quality Laboratory Service. We are known as one of the best veterinary diagnostic labs in Kingston open 7 days a week.

Laboratory service testing, including complete blood count, chemistry panel, urinalysis, and infectious disease screening is one of the best methods to identify some common medical conditions that may not be identified through history and physical exam alone. Recent studies have confirmed the extensive presence of laboratory abnormalities in healthy-appearing dogs and cats.

Common senior pet health issues

As pets age, organ systems often begin to depreciate due to factors such as genetics, breed, or their environment. Frequently, the exact cause of an age-related illness is not resolute. The good news is that many of these diseases can be effectively treated and observed with early analysis. These include (but are not limited to):

·         Kidney disease

·         Liver disease

·         Heart disease

·         Degenerative joint disease

·         Dental disease

·         Endocrine disease

·         Thyroid disease

·         Adrenal gland disease

·         Diabetes mellitus

·         Intestinal disease

·         Cancer

Patient swerving throughout the pet’s life can be very useful in predicting disease as opposed to waiting for the pet to become indicative and to test for the harshness of disease. With patient trending, the veterinarian at vet clinic Kingston performs diagnostic tests regularly over the life of the pet to look for subtle changes, such as changes in kidney values that may indicate early disease before raises beyond the reference interval. Prevailing earlier may allow for improved longevity and quality of life.

Benefits of preventive testing for senior pets

·         Assesses your pet’s internal organ health. Liver, kidney, and thyroid diseases are common and can be treated once diagnosed.

·         It’s non-invasive. Advanced testing can be performed with a brief vet clinic in Kingston visit and a small blood, fecal, or urine sample.

·         It reveals your pet’s true health status. Your pet can’t talk and will hide disease naturally laboratory service testing helps identify issues that pets cannot speak to.

·         It provides a clean bill of health inside and out. Veterinarians at vet clinics in Kingston can detect disease earlier with regular testing and trending results.

Pet owners are welcome to visit our Animal hospital in Kingston. We have the best Bio Chemists with years of experience who have done their jobs in the veterinary diagnostic lab incredibly.

[janepwilliams87]

State Agriculture Officials And Hemp Group Ask Congress And USDA For Pilot Program Extension

State agriculture departments and hemp industry advocates joined together to send letters to Congress and the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Wednesday to express concern about the pending expiration of the 2014 hemp pilot program.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC) said that they appreciate USDA’s development of interim regulatory guidelines for the crop under the more sweeting 2018 Farm Bill, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, several states have not been able to create their own plans to get into compliance by the October 31 deadline.

With that in mind, they asked congressional leaders to pass supplementary appropriations legislation to extend the earlier pilot program though 2021 to give states more time to craft rules. The groups said they support the House inclusion of such an extension in their agriculture spending bill, but they’re concerned that “the annual appropriations bills may not be completed before the extension is vitally needed.”

“Many states were able to transition from their hemp pilot programs to a USDA state approved plan. Notwithstanding this progress, many states will be unable to meet the forthcoming deadline,” the letter states. “These states have cited that due to the unprecedented national COVID-19 pandemic, state regulators have been unable to work with their state legislatures to acquire necessary statuary amendments.”

Separately, NASDA and NIHC also wrote to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue, requesting that USDA issue enforcement discretion guidance when it comes to the pilot program deadline.

“Without a policy of enforcement discretion, hemp farmers will be left in a perilous situation through no fault of their own. We understand this is not a small request,” they said. “We appreciate the tremendous amount of work that has gone into making American hemp the viable and valuable agricultural commodity it is today. This is a direct result of government serving the timely needs of the industry.”

Twenty-three states have told USDA they plan to continue operating under the 2014 pilot program, according to the agency’s tracking site.

“As an emerging industry, hemp growers face a multitude of challenges—among them is a worldwide pandemic that has complicated everything for everyone,” Larry Farnsworth, a spokesperson for NIHC, told Marijuana Moment. “Too many states just have not been able to work through their internal legislative and regulatory processes. We need more time to develop and implement the regulatory framework called for in the 2018 Farm Bill.”

USDA recently announced that it appointed a NIHC executive to a federal advisory committee, though that panel will focus specifically on trade policy rather than broad hemp regulations.

The department has been actively engaged in rulemaking for the industry and approving state, tribal and territory hemp regulatory plans in the meantime.

Two senators representing Oregon recently sent a letter a letter to Purdue, imploring him to make a series of changes to the agency’s proposed hemp rules before they’re finalized.

They expressed particular concern about two regulations that USDA had temporarily lifted following stakeholder feedback but seems intent on reinstating in the long term. Those policies require that hemp be tested at labs certified by the Drug Enforcement Administration and that law enforcement be involved in the crop’s disposal if it contains excess THC.

Separately, NIHC is one of three hemp groups that recently met with the White House Office of Management and Budget to discuss the Food and Drug Administration’s guidance on enforcement policies for hemp-derived CBD products.

Read the new letters to Congress and USDA on extending the hemp pilot program below:

Congress USDA Hemp Deadline by Marijuana Moment on Scribd

DEA Reveals Details Of Investigation Into California Marijuana Companies With Latest Court Filing

Photo courtesy of Brendan Cleak.

The post State Agriculture Officials And Hemp Group Ask Congress And USDA For Pilot Program Extension appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

from Updates By Jane https://www.marijuanamoment.net/state-agriculture-officials-and-hemp-group-ask-congress-and-usda-for-pilot-program-extension/

[viditure]

Catching up: DMP Blues, Nudge Marketing, data viz and Dracula

The catch up has landed!

DMP blues

DMPs (Data Management Platforms) are no longer popular with marketers. After the Wow effect sales pitches from various solution providers, reality has kicked in again. DMP’s have even been called a failure – due to insufficient ROI, nasty surprises during technical integrations and too large a gap with data protection/confidentiality issues, that have finally convinced marketing managers to abandon using them. Indeed they’re pulling the plug on their contracts en masse! Some of the major issues include:

Insufficient data to feed the platform: some advertisers have had to use third party data providers which skyrockets the bill.

Connections and integrations (particularly to advertising purchasing systems) voluntarily restricted by publishers.

DMP use cases that are totally incompatible with the current legal requirements (GDPR and CCPA), in particular on the management of cookies.

Limited in-house human expertise to operate the tool.

A lack of responsive and qualified support from publishers.

The DMP market has not been able to adapt, and the even the best sales pitches will find it difficult to make up for the shortcomings and drawbacks of this technology.

First consultation

The French privacy police announced new guidelines last July. The draft recommendation on “cookies and other trackers” was published in early January, and a public consultation with professionals and civil society was launched. It aims to set out the practical arrangements for obtaining consent in France. In its recommendations, the CNIL also recalls the cases where consent is not necessarily required, in particular when the deposit of trackers is necessary for the provision of an online communication service such as audience measurement (under certain conditions, such as retention time).

First consultation

The French privacy police announced new guidelines last July. The draft recommendation on “cookies and other trackers” was published in early January, and a public consultation with professionals and civil society was launched. It aims to set out the practical arrangements for obtaining consent in France. In its recommendations, the CNIL also recalls the cases where consent is not necessarily required, in particular when the deposit of trackers is necessary for the provision of an online communication service such as audience measurement (under certain conditions, such as retention time).

Chemistry of Emotions

The abuse of emotion is not recommended in marketing. However, emotion is a powerful trigger for actions (and purchases!), which responds to the primitive need to ensure one’s survival. Overexploited by marketers, certain cognitive biases have proven their effectiveness in influencing behaviour. The techniques consist of highlighting a single characteristic of a product (marketing bias), facilitating physical access to it, and playing on the identification (authority bias), attachment or mood factors of individuals. However, these nudge marketing mechanisms are so well known that consumers have developed the ability to control their impulses. And this applies to the smallest of everyday purchases. The result? The chemistry of emotions does not work systematically. Studies show that in 2019 happiness is associated with better consumption. Albert Moukheiber, PhD in cognitive neuroscience, advocates ethical design at the service of real needs, even if it means losing engagement and thus reducing profit margins. It also defines a brand’s commitment to these ethical issues by the level of risk it takes: If the brand doesn’t take a risk in making a commitment, it’s greenwashing. These ethical design approaches will be discussed at the UX Conf in March. We’ll be there!  

Journalistic Metrics

The complex relationship between journalism and the use of data (article here in French) looks back at the history of metrics, the dependence of certain editors on their algorithms, the power of numbers and the responsibility of the person who delivers them. Measures can be a source of constraints (even pressures) but can also be effective when understood and used as part of an appropriate strategy, as the Guardian editorial team has done. The question that remains unanswered is the role of metrics in journalism’s relationship with its audience: will they be able to restore trust in the media? The latest edition of France Télévision’s innovation Lab offers further insights into understanding the media and analysing trends.

Science and viz

Science suffers from bad data viz that confuses readers and can even mislead scientists. Incorrect data visualisations can affect or even undermine science research. With more and more scientific images circulating on social media (climate change, epidemics, etc.) the risk of misunderstanding phenomena explained by science to the general public is real. The Knowable Magazine has reviewed the quality (not great) of data visualisation in science and suggests some areas for improvement: choice of graphs, colours, etc. A complete overview of the main points of interest in data viz.

Good deed

This month, there’s a special mention for the Bordeaux-based app GEEV which allows individuals to donate and exchange objects and food products. It’s a welcome initiative to give a second life to material objects and also to avoid food waste. The principle of this eco, social and responsible app is to add the objects you want to get rid of, with description, photos and location. GEEV users can then consult your object file and contact you if they are interested. To be downloaded ASAP!

Haemoglobin

To promote its new series, the BBC has launched an original advertising campaign with shadows of bloody stakes planted on billboards. In broad daylight the illusion is complete, but as soon as night falls the panel lights up and the shadows cast by the stakes form the profile of Count Dracula. Check it out if you happen to be wandering the streets of London or Birmingham at night.

See you soon on the Internets!

Credits:

Igam Ogam on Unsplash

BBC

Article Catching up: DMP Blues, Nudge Marketing, data viz and Dracula first appeared on Digital Analytics Blog.

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[cryptoquicknews-blog]

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Federal Preemption or States’ Rights? Crypto Advocates Clash Over Regulatory Approaches

This post was originally published here

It is easy to think of the most prominent blockchain advocates as a united front, whose ranks are tightly closed in the face of the common enemy — a horde of fierce crypto critics, unwieldy regulators, anti-money laundering zealots, “bitcoin is a scam”-ers, and the stakeholders of the old, centralized financial system. On this battlefield, the crypto camp’s fundamental positions are aligned, and its strategic goals are clear. However, in the times of armistice, blockchain champions get together by the campfire to ponder the important details of their common cause, and — astonishingly — at times, they disagree.

This time around, the metaphorical campfire was lit at the MIT Technology Review’s Business of Blockchain 2019 conference, which took place on May 2 on the premises of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab. One of the panels saw Caitlin Long — the woman who is spearheading Wyoming’s transformation into what she herself called the “Delaware of crypto law” — have a deferential yet rather intense exchange with Coin Center’s director of research, Peter Van Valkenburgh, one of the industry’s most eloquent speakers who is known for many notable deeds — for example, standing up for crypto to a bully last October.

The panel, which also featured MIT professor and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Gary Gensler, was on crypto regulation, and the main point of contention was whether it is better done on the federal or state level. While they were ultimately concerned about the same thing — i.e., the backwardness of the United States’ regulatory environment that can chase promising startups away to more friendly jurisdictions — Long and Van Valkenburgh offered two drastically different visions of the best way to go about the issue.

Hurdles on all levels

The tension over the boundaries of federal vs. state authority has informed American politics since the foundation of the republic. In the realms of commerce and finance, a relative balance was achieved when the states assumed jurisdiction over the “consumer-facing” commercial law while the agencies of federal government came to oversee operations with more specialized, “institutional” financial instruments — such as securities (Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC), futures and options (Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC), and broad financial crimes (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN).

It has become a truism that, for crypto enterprises in the U.S., navigating the regulatory landscape is about as easy as making it blindfolded through a minefield. All the agencies mentioned above are interested in some subset of digital assets: The CFTC is eyeing smart contract-powered futures options; the SEC is struggling to decide whether all initial token offerings are under its purview, or just some of them; and FinCEN, facing the need to investigate money laundering schemes and shady transactions, understands crypto assets as something it is used to dealing with (i.e., money). In addition, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is treating crypto as property for the taxing purposes, which means that capital gains and losses come into play.

To top it all off, individual states have begun to institute guidelines and regulations of their own, with Wyoming blazing the trail by establishing its own classification of tokens. This is not a small deal, either, since companies operating online automatically fall under jurisdiction of every state whose residents they serve — meaning that now they have to comply with state regulations, too.

This chaos is due to the fact that there is no universally agreed-upon, federally enforced definition of a digital asset. While it would come in handy if one existed — for the purposes of delineating the boundaries of different national regulatory bodies’ jurisdiction over different types of tokens — it is also an arduous task to formulate such a definition, let alone to steamroll such a bill through Congress. The last few months saw continuous attempts on behalf of a group of blockchain-conscious members of Congress to introduce more clarity with a bill known as the Token Taxonomy Act.

The crypto community, though, seems to be divided over not just the bill itself but the very idea of a Congress-enacted, binding definition of a digital token with a claim of federal preemption. Some critics point out that, absent a clear understanding of terms and a sufficient corpus of case law on the matter, it is nearly impossible for a bill to define central concepts around crypto assets in a way that would eliminate dreadful ambiguity when enforced. Others, including Caitlin Long, argue that it is not the federal government’s business altogether, and an attempt by Congress to introduce such a taxonomy would amount to an infringement on states’ rights. Long’s talk at the MIT Technology Review event, her polemic with Van Valkenburgh at the panel, and a subsequent interview to Cointelegraph provide a closer look at the “states’ rights” argument that she stands by.

Financializing crypto assets

Put very simply, there are two major elements in regulations that bind financial firms: those related to consumer protection and prudential regulations, which are rules that dictate the need for such firms to be able to handle risks and hold sufficient assets. One of the central theses that Long advanced throughout the conference is that the inadequacy of current U.S. crypto regulation stems from overemphasizing the consumer protection side while ignoring the solvency issues.

In her talk, entitled “The Financialization of Cryptoassets,” Long explained that many digital assets do not qualify as securities, hence they should be treated as property. Commercial law related to property was mainly formulated in the age when all possessions were tangible, which warrants the need for updating this legal area so as to define digital assets — or to “financialize” them.

The key difference between the traditional financial system and blockchain-based systems is the way custody and settlement work. Normally, people do not own the shares in their brokerage accounts. Instead, they own IOUs (“I owe you���) from their brokers, who own IOUs from custodians, etc. With this murky chain of ownership, it is not uncommon that several entities have claims on one asset; it is often impossible to tell where exactly the asset is at the moment; and finally, settlement can take days.

None of these are an issue with digital assets: You can own them directly, they are easily traceable and settlement takes minutes. All that this novel type of property needs is to be treated as such, and to have sound regulation of custody. In Long’s opinion, not only are states in a better position than the federal government to ensure both, but they have the priority to do so.

The panel: state vs. federal

The regulatory panel ensued, now featuring Peter Van Valkenburgh and Gary Gensler alongside Caitlin Long. The Wyoming native kicked off the discussion with the same sentiment that permeated her talk:

“States control commercial law.”

Coin Center’s Van Valkenburgh responded that his uneasiness with state-level crypto regulation comes from the fact that, in many cases, it boils down to states applying archaic money transmitter laws and licensing requirements to crypto businesses. As a result, instead of having just one federal authority to deal with, successful fintech companies that maintain presence in all of the United States have to “have 54 awkward conversations” with regulators instead of just one. And because money transmitter laws are outdated, they also do not do much to protect the customers.

When MIT’s Gensler attempted to dwell on the consumer protection side for a little longer, Van Valkenburgh retorted that state-level regulation is not the sharpest tool to combat things like money laundering, either: When it comes to financial crimes, states cooperate with the federal regulator, FinCEN, who applies federal legislation — i.e., the Bank Secrecy Act. Coin Center’s Van Valkenburgh also argued that managing custodial risks on the state level is not a great idea, since such processes are better handled by specialized federal authorities, such as the SEC or CFTC. In sum, Van Valkenburgh contended that it is better to have a clear-cut, uniform federal regulation than a host of disparate, state-specific regulatory regimes.

Caitlin Long came back, criticizing some hard-regulating jurisdictions like New York that spend extensive resources on consumer protection and anti-fraud regulation of crypto while caring much less about solvency and allowing established financial institutions like Merrill Lynch to get away with trading assets that they do not hold. She described the forthcoming Wyoming crypto custody rules, which she sees as a way to maintain direct ownership of digital assets and preserve the powerful advantage of blockchain-powered systems over traditional finance.

Grounded in the common law notion of bailment, this type of custody will entail handing the keeper possession of the asset, but not the title. Long likened this type of arrangement to valet parking, where the only thing the custodian can do is to take the vehicle to a safe storage space.

Both Van Valkenburgh and Gensler didn’t sound convinced that solving the custody part of the puzzle would automatically resolve all the consumer protection issues. However, Van Valkenburgh begrudgingly conceded that state-level regulation could make sense, but only if every state adopted a “rational approach.” In turn, Long suggested that, “if we do it on federal level through Congress, we will get the worst-case scenario,” to which Van Valkenburgh responded that there seem to be enough reasonable policymakers on the Hill, and that the situation might not be all that grim.

In an interview with Cointelegraph after the panel, Long doubled down on how the egregious Merrill Lynch situation demonstrated New York authorities’ application of double standards: The firm was able to walk away from doing essentially the same that Bitfinex has been recently accused of doing, but with a much harsher potential fallout. The fact that regulators are going much harder on Bitfinex suggests that they might be picking on crypto enterprises. She also drew a line within the crypto industry itself, distinguishing between highly leveraged exchanges, which would be unable to comply with the new Wyoming statutes, and those that are “truly solvent,” and which will likely end up in the state.

Finally, Long commented on Van Valkenburgh’s pro-federal regulation approach, suggesting that:

“That is putting the convenience of large financial institutions in this sector ahead of reality that property laws are purview of the state. It is very unlikely, to be honest, that there’s going to be a federal money transmission statute, because states are going to fight it. It usurps their long-established supremacy over property law and long-established supremacy over commercial law.”

As it is visible in this discussion, sometimes debates over blockchain regulation invoke matters more fundamental than simply the best way to organize socioeconomic relations enabled by new technology. At times these disputes spill over to the contested ground of federal-state government jurisdiction, or to judgments on whether Congress is better equipped to handle certain matters than state legislatures — the issues as deeply ingrained in the political fabric of the U.S. as the antagonism between the democratic and republican principles in its constitution. At this point, it becomes a matter of deep ideological convictions.

On the more practical side, Long’s fresh focus on the balance between consumer protection and prudential regulations with regard to crypto could be a new way for the industry to articulate and frame its policy woes. Another thing to watch for is if, as Wyoming proceeds with its groundbreaking legislation, progressive digital custody lives up to the hopes that the state’s crypto pioneers have set on it.

#crypto #cryptocurrency #btc #xrp #litecoin #altcoin #money #currency #finance #news #alts #hodl #coindesk #cointelegraph #dollar #bitcoin View the website

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[meetpositivesblog]

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Get in touch with our counselors at 1-800-456-2323 if you have any questions about the STD testing we offer in Wisconsin. After you receive test results, it is imperative to us that you get a referral to a specialist close to you, if found positive. You can rest easy using our secure payment processing. Simple to read results deliver your STD status in a straightforward format. We streamline the payment process by accepting credit, debit, health savings accounts, e-checks, PayPal, and prepaid gift cards that feature the Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express logo.

All charges on your credit card statement are billed as FPK Services because your privacy is our highest priority. STDcheck.com can help you decide what STD test(s) to take with our online test recommendation tool. We are proud to provide informative facts about STDs, which you can find in the STD Basics page of our website. Our labs never}will not require additional paperwork and you will not get asked embarrassing questions by our technicians. Use our weekly blog, Exposed, to stay up on current STD topics and issues. For most states, we offer STD testing for 16-17 year olds without parental consent.

STD Information for Wisconsin

Getting Wisconsin STD testing is the best decision you can make right now. Here are a few facts you need to know about Wisconsin STD transmission rates. Every year, the Wisconsin health department and the United States government put together STD related information, including rate of transmission and ways to prevent their spread. Staying healthy and free from sexually transmitted infections is necessary.

The rate of people living with HIV in Wisconsin in 2010 was 106.5 per 100,000 people.

Wisconsin had a rate of 410.9 chlamydia infections for every 100,000 residents in 2010.

Wisconsin ranked 43rd in the US for the 2010 rate of people living with HIV per 100,000.

Wisconsin ranked 24th for gonorrhea infections by population in 2010.

589 of the 5,047 people living with HIV in Wisconsin as of 2010 were Hispanic/Latin.

STDs are a huge threat to the immediate and long-term health of the residents of Wisconsin. There is no single test that can detect every STD. It is a possibility for people with STDs to have no visible symptoms. All types of people are affected by STDs in Wisconsin. Prophylactics such as condoms and dental dams do defend against most, but not all, STDs. It is estimated that 1 out of 2 people in Wisconsin will catch an STD eventually.

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STD testing recommendation tool to help you decide what to test for.

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[corpseedites]

Procedure for State Pollution Control Board Consent/NOC

CTO refers to Grant Run, before performing any kind of activity at the plant/ activity/ job, the entrepreneur is called for to get consent to operate (CTO) from the State Pollution Control Panel (SPCB) to run an electrical outlet u/s 25 of the Water (Prevention & Control of Contamination) Act, 1974 and to run an industrial plant u/s 21 of the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. For all classifications of Industries and also Projects, The Punjab Pollution Control panel has prescribed a composite performed for getting consent to operate, The Delhi air pollution board has likewise suggested the very same consent to run.

Sating Standards

The Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board will certainly approve grant operate to all the industries/projects/ establishments in the locations/ areas, where such industry/project/establishment is enabled to develop.

For the assistance of sectors, the Jharkhand Pollution Control Board will accept analysis results of National Accreditation Board for testing and also calibration research laboratories (NABL) certified private research laboratories for the purposes of giving of approval/ permission.

Fee structure

Cost for NOC as recommended by the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board might differ from task to job depending upon the formula-- Fixed Expense + Current Cost-- Present Liabilities. The cost additionally depends on the category of a business applying for renewal of Authorization. For more details, visit

Treatment for State Contamination Enrollment

Our Professional the team will certainly prepare & submit the application with the State Pollution Registration Division & will certainly follow-up with State Air pollution Enrollment Department. To learn more contact our consumer treatment on 8448 444 985 or info@corpseed.com.

Documents required for CTO/CTE from Punjab State Air Pollution Control Panel

Application for Consent to operate under Water Act, 1974/ Air Act, 1981 for Red/Orange Classification - Fresh Case

Consent Problems or Conformity report of NOC in illustrative form.

Completion certificate of Effluent Treatment Plant or Add-on contamination control

Devices along with Dimensional Drawing

Plan showing the place of Effluent Treatment Plant or Add-on air pollution control

Devices and all outlets as well as numerous channels/pipes/sewers with requisite colors as discussed listed below:

·         Fresh Water - Blue Colour

·         Effluent Channel- Red Colour.

·         Recirculation Water Channel - Environment-friendly Colour.

·         Storm Water - Orange Colour.

·         Domestic Drain - Dotted Black ink.

CA's certification pertaining to the un-depreciated worth of the set properties of the sector at the end of the last fiscal year

Application for the industry which is currently established/ operational, complying with extra files are also called for to be submitted.

Location Plan or Website Strategy of the market

Proof of date commissioning of the Industry (Registration of the sector/ Electrical power bill/ Sales Tax obligation no)

Manufacturing procedure details together with the process flowchart

Latest granted NOC/CTE/CTO, if acquired offline, then a copy of NOC/CTE/CTO provided to be posted

Analysis record of dealt with emission from Punjab Air pollution Control Board/ waste effluent/ Authorized Lab

Documents regarding classification of area/compliance of certain guidelines:

(Any type of among the complying with).

A.      Allotment letter of the Allotting Authority, if the site of the task is located in the assigned Enterprise zone/ Industrial Estate/ Centerpiece.

 B.      Certificate from the Designated Authority to the result that the site of the task/ sector is located in the marked Industrial area/ area of the alerted/ draft Plan of attack in which the establishment of such industry/ project is allowable. The endeavor shall plainly indicate the income entrances I.e. Hadbast Number, khewat/ khatauni number and also Khasra numbers.

 C.      Certificate of the Earnings Authorities (SDM/DC/ADC) suggesting the distance of website of the sector from the Metropolitan Firm Limits Lallakir/ Phirni of the closest town, in the situation, the sector is to be developed at a story apart from the story in the industrial estate/ industrial area/ industrial area of the draft plan of attack/ the industrial zone of the alerted master plan.

 D.      For industry particular guidelines, certificates/ records as discussed in the said guidelines (In case of Rice Sheller/Saila Plant/Stone Crusher/Brick Kiln/Hot Mix plant/Cement Grinding systems and so on).

Application for Consent to run under Water Act, 1974/ Air Act, 1981 for Environment-friendly Group - Fresh Case

Compliance report of NOC/ Permission Issues in annotated type

CA's certification pertaining to the un-depreciated worth of the set assets of the market at the end of the last fiscal year

Application where the industry is already established/ functional, complying with added files are also called for to be published.

Location Plan or Site Strategy of the market

Proof of date commissioning of the Market (Enrollment of the market/ Electricity costs/ Sales Tax obligation no)

Manufacturing procedure information in addition to the process flowchart

Latest granted NOC/CTE/CTO, if gotten offline, after that copy of NOC/CTE/CTO approved to be uploaded.

Documents regarding designation of area/compliance of particular guidelines (Any among the complying with):

A.      Allotment letter of the Allotting Authority, if the website of the job lies in the assigned Industrial park/ Industrial Estate/ Centerpiece.

 B.      Certificate from the Designated Authority to the result that the website of the task/ market lies in the designated Industrial area/ location of the notified/ draft Plan of attack in which the facility of such market/ task is permitted. The undertaking will plainly suggest the income access I.e. Hadbast Number, khewat/ khatauni number, khatta number and also Khasra numbers.

 C.      Certificate of Profits Authorities (DC/ADC/SDM) showing the range of website of sector from the Local Company Iimits/ Lallakir/Phirni of the nearest town, in case, the industry is to be established at a plot aside from the plot in the industrial park/ industrial area/ industrial estate of the draft master plan/ industrial zone of the alerted plan of attack.

Crucial Note:

In case the NOC was not given online, you asked for to submit a duplicate NOC given, copy of Job Record as well as Usefulness Report submitted at the time of getting NOC.

Application shall be gone along with by CONCENT TO OPERATE fee as per the un-depreciated fixed assets of sector.

CREDIBILITY DURATION OF GRANT RUN PROVIDED BY PUNJAB AIR POLLUTION CONTROL PANEL

All the industries will be approved consent to operate for a period of 5 years other than when it comes to sectors, dropping in green group, where the permission would be for a period of one decade. Nevertheless, the culminating duration of grant operate shall be as under:.

Sr. No. Scale and also group of the industry/project Culminating period

1.       Huge & Medium-Red Classification Industry 31st March.

2.       Small Scale Industry-Red group other than block kilns 30th June.

3.       All scale orange category sectors and block kilns 30th September.

4.       All range green category markets 31st December.

 After acquiring the consent of the Punjab Air Pollution Control Panel, the industry will certainly intimate the worried Regional Workplace of the Air Pollution Control Board that its ETP/ APCD has actually supported and will make a demand to the said Office within 3 months to carryout performance research/ sampling of pollution control tools. If, the sector does not share to the Contamination Control Panel, then it will certainly be the duty of the Regional Workplace to check out the market for performing surveillance after 3 months however not behind 6 months. In instance, the sector is located breaching the problems of consent; the sector would certainly be responsible for activity under the stipulations of the ecological regulations including revocation/cancellation of authorization approved to it.

How to apply for State Contamination Control Panel Consent/NOC

1.       Fill-up our need kind. https://www.corpseed.com/service/state-pollution-control-consent-noc.

2.       We would collect all your papers and submit them directly (Online & Offline) with State Contamination Control Workplace.

3.       You would certainly receive your finished Pollution Control Consent to Established/Operate enrollment certificate by Email and carrier.

FSSAI Central License Spices Board Registration Central Ground Water Authority Environmental Impact Assessment

[legit-scam-review]

Why Experts Consider the Bill a Failure

Russia has been trying to pass cryptocurrency legislation since the beginning of January 2018, with no success as of yet. The government’s main bill, “On Digital Technologies,” which was expected to be passed by July 1 — according to the wishes of President Vladimir Putin — will instead most likely be pushed back until an October Duma session.

According to Artem Tolkachev, the self-proclaimed “first” lawyer in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to begin working with Bitcoin (BTC) and blockchain startups, the reason the crypto bills didn’t make it on the July agenda was “because of the complexity of the subject and lack of consensus over the state authorities about how and what they should regulate.”

The problems arising within Russia over how to regulate cryptocurrencies have taken the form of conflicts between the Russian Central Bank’s more conservative stance and the Ministry of Economic Development’s willingness to embrace a new technology with the hope of attracting more business to the country.

Tolkachev, who has been chairman of the Russian Blockchain.community since 2016 and founded the Blockchain Lab at Deloitte CIS, said that the current version of the crypto and blockchain legislation — which takes its form in three draft bills — has not lived up to his expectations.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Tolkachev said that “of course” he is “disappointed by the current version of the regulation,” noting that the three bills — “On Digital Technologies,” regulation of the central bank on crowdfunding (including Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) and amendments to the Russian Civil Code — were prepared independently, which makes their legislation “rather ineffective.”

Tolkachev added,

“I spent around two years discussing with the central bank, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development, the general security service and all [the] other guys [about] how we can regulate this stuff. And I was trying to sell the idea […] that we can be the country who attracts that kind of business and have the crypto-friendly environment here. Unfortunately, we have what we have. What can I say? That’s it.”

Yuri Igorevich Pripachkin, the president of the Russian Association of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain (RACIB), told Cointelegraph that the group was also consulted during the formation of the cryptocurrency bill, but that the bill still contains some unfavorable terms. According to Pripachkin, the Russian cryptocurrency bill in its current form is “far behind the ones which were accepted in Belarus, Kazakhstan and many other countries like Singapore, Switzerland.”

So what exactly is Russia’s digital economy legislation?

At the end of January 2018, the first variant of a Russian crypto bill was presented by Russia’s Ministry of Finance (MinFin). The bill on the digital economy included a framework for the regulations surrounding crypto and blockchain-related technology — like smart contracts, mining and ICOs. Russia’s central bank was also preparing a draft law on crowdfunding.

Tolkachev clarified that the draft laws are “not creating regulation for existing cryptocurrencies and tokens,” but are specifically aimed at newly created ICOs:

“According to these draft laws, none of the existing cryptocurrencies, especially cryptocurrencies with nothing behind [them], for example, Bitcoin […] will be allowed in Russia. It wouldn’t be under the scope of this legislation at all. According to the three bills, we can talk only about some kind of asset-based tokens, not about cryptocurrency.”

This first variation of the bill was originally opposed by the Bank of Russia, according to local news outlet TASS, which reported at the time that the central bank disagreed with the way transactions between crypto, rubles and foreign currencies were laid out. However, MinFin noted that any sort of legislative ban on crypto transactions will “lead to the creation of conditions for the use of such currency for illegal purposes.”

Pripachkin told Cointelegraph that “MinFin and [the] central bank, they can’t find the golden middle, because they’ve got different opinions in terms of cryptocurrency legislation, so it affects [the] legislative process.”

At the end of February, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that crypto regulation should become law no later than July 1, 2018. At this time, Russia’s central bank still wanted to criminalize ICO token investments, while MinFin was insisting on just regulation, according to local news outlet Parlamentskaya Gazeta. The outlet quoted Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, who commented on the central bank’s position:

“The central bank has come out against the legalization of this kind of digital currency inasmuch as citizens could then actively invest in instruments without considering possible risks.”

Tolkachev noted that the state authorities like the Ministry of Economic Development are “much more about creating a good environment for business, for attracting new business,” and thus think the regulation should be changed from the current draft bills. On the other hand, Tolkachev notes that the central bank and the Minister of Finance are the “really conservative guys who don’t really want to see cryptocurrencies.”

In March of this year, a group of Russian deputies headed by the Chairman Aksakov submitted the first draft of legislation on cryptocurrencies and ICOs to the State Duma, as well as a draft of the bill “On Alternative Methods of Fundraising (Crowdfunding).”

This draft defines cryptocurrencies and tokens as digital assets, with trading only allowed through authorized cryptocurrency exchanges, and establishes KYC regulations for ICOs. Digital assets are also defined as property, not as a legitimate means of payment in the Russian Federation. This March version differs from the initial January variant in that it now echos crypto exchange requirements in United States — i.e., the verification of accounts for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CTF) purposes.

Tolkachev noted the problem with the bills were their references to “basic Russian AML/KYC rules,” as they “may not be effective for tracing and monitoring transactions with crypto assets.”

The March bill also suggests the maximum limit of an individual investment in ICOs be defined by Russia’s central bank rather than the January-suggested 50,000 rubles (about $800).

January’s disagreement between the central bank and MinFin had been solved in March, according to local news outlet Ria Novosti, with the Bank of Russia noting that it will be considered permissible to exchange rubles, foreign currencies or property for tokens issued by Russian ICOs, while it will not be allowed to use cryptocurrencies due to the possibility of “questionable transactions.”

Also in March, Igor Sudets, a member of the Duma’s expert panel on the digital economy and blockchain, said that due to the proposed bill’s limit on domestic investment in Russia ICOs, investors may not want to conduct Russian ICOs, according to Forklog:

“I very much hope that [ICO investment specifications] will be substantially finalized for the second reading. Because otherwise, nobody will want to conduct ICOs in Russian jurisdiction, since the main goal — to raise money — will be unattainable.”

In April, a review of the draft crypto bill added that the exchange of crypto for fiat of more than 600,000 rubles (about $9,500) or its foreign equivalent would fall under mandatory currency exchange regulation.

Pripachkin said that RACIB is currently working to create additions to the bill that can be proposed to the Duma, and hopes that the Russian officials will take the changes into consideration:

“For now, we’re working on preparation of some kind of tips, we really hope that they are going to hear us, according to these remarks we are preparing […] legal bodies should really understand that if they are going to accept the law which is not in the interested of such industry, then this industry is not going to survive.”

He noted that he does believe that the drafts “are going to be accepted and implemented later on.” Otherwise, in Pripachkins’ opinion:

“None of the foreign investors will come, and what is more — the local industries could leave the country.”

The problems that Pripachkin sees in the bill are that there is not a lot of clarity “in terms of the mechanism of ICOs, nor about crypto exchanging licensing,” but he does note that mining is noted as being classified as an entrepreneurial venture for taxation and VAT purposes.

Where the crypto bill is now

The most recent version of the bill was approved by the State Duma in its first reading on May 22 in an almost unanimous vote — 410 for and one against.

However, on Sept. 19, Russian news outlet Vedomosti reported on an updated version of the bill, which no longer contains a definition for “cryptocurrency,” and where mining is defined as the “release of tokens to attract investment in capital.” In the previous version of the bill, mining was the extraction of cryptocurrencies.

The bill does not make digital currencies a legitimate means of payment. Instead, the central bank, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development will create separate guidelines for these currencies to be used as payment in “controlled quantities.” The bill also makes a digital confirmation by a user in a smart contract legally equivalent to their written consent.

And, while crypto exchanges don’t fall under the scope of the bills’ legislation, Tolkachev noted that Russians can still trade in crypto through peer-to-peer (p2p) transactions in a “so-called ‘grey zone.’” In a separate comment with Vedomosti, Tolkachev underlines that the draft law does not regulate transactions with cryptocurrencies. Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service notes that crypto exchange operators are subject to Article 5 of Federal Law 115-FZ (AML and CTF) or they will lose their license.

Pripachkin told Cointelegraph that the “Russian crypto industry and crypto economy is headed [down] the best path […] It’s not a problem for us that we are restricted by legislation in Russia. But, of course we would love to have the first [legislative norms] in the world.”

At the beginning of September, Dmitry Peskov, a special representative of the Russian president, said that Russia was not ready for the circulation and issuance of cryptocurrencies, as it “contradicts the basic functions of government.” Peskov notes that the best way forward to develop the cryptocurrency sphere legally in the country is to create a regulatory sandbox to analyze the different aspects of the crypto industry.

To this end, the Central Bank of Russia also announced on Sept. 11 the successful test of an ICO trial conducted with Sberbank and the National Settlement Depository.

More recently, on Sept. 15, a lobby group of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) announced that they were also working on an alternative crypto regulation bill in order to clarify the supposed contradictions in the existing bill “On Digital Financial Assets.” This new bill is set to be developed by Russian businessmen, including two of the richest businessmen in the country: Vladimir Potanin, of the nickel and palladium mining and smelting company Nornickel, and Viktor Vekselberg, head of the Russian innovation fund Skolkovo.

Elina Sidorenko, the vice president of RSPP, explained that the new version of the alternative bill will divide digital assets into three groups: tokens, which will be equivalent to securities, cryptocurrencies, and digital ‘signs.’ Sidorenko, who didn’t clarify what “digital ‘signs’” entailed, noted:

“Cryptocurrencies will have a special status, which has never appeared in Russian legislation before, and will be regulated on the basis of laws and regulations that will be issued by the Russian Central Bank. The central bank will issue licenses for exchange operations. In this regard, the status of crypto owners will be notably facilitated in comparison to securities owners.”

If approved by members of the RSPP, the bill can then be then discussed with Russian officials in October.

In mid-September, cryptocurrency exchange Huobi joined Russia’s VEB Innovation Fund to share notes on crypto regulation and help create “a legal basis that could compete with current promising jurisdictions.”

Putin and crypto

Although President Putin himself instigated the now-passed deadline for cryptocurrency regulation, the country’s leader has still not made any clear, definitive statements about the future of cryptocurrency in Russia.

However, cryptocurrency was mentioned during President Putin’s most recent live Q&A “Direct Line” with the public, where he spoke relatively negatively — albeit vaguely — about cryptocurrencies and their use cases, noting that they work partially in Japan but not in any other countries.

Tolkchev believes that the reason Putin chose to speak about crypto in “Direct Line” is the lack of consensus between the regulator and the state authorities,

“That’s why if he answers something, in some way, it would be something like a direct order to the regulators and the state authorities. I think he just doesn’t want to do it right now because a lot of discussions are taking place over this topic.”

Pripachkin added that Putin was just repeating the position of the central bank, and that RACIB in their proposed amendments to the crypto bill is “working on explanations [on] why they’re thinking somehow in the wrong way […] [and] trying to clarify the fears of the central bank.”

The future of crypto in Russia

Cryptocurrency use to avoid sanctions has become a topic worldwide after Venezuela, a country under international sanctions, created its oil-backed government cryptocurrency, the Petro, earlier this year.

In January, Sergei Glazyev, economic adviser to President Putin, said that a Russian government-created “CryptoRuble” would be able to alleviate some economic pressure caused by Western sanctions.

However, Tolkachev doesn’t think that Russia will be looking to cryptocurrencies to avoid sanctions anytime soon, especially as the CryptoRuble is “still nothing but a rumor that’s been denied a number of times by various state authorities”:

“I think from the [state’s] perspective, it’s not a very safe way to use some kind of cryptocurrencies which [the] state doesn’t control, to rely on it as a main source of dealing with the sanctions […] As far as I understand the current agenda, it’s not on the list, we can’t use crypto to beat the sanctions.”

On the other hand, Pripachkin was confident that the CryptoRuble project will eventually be implemented:

“This project will be created. Sergey Glazyev is highly advanced in economics, and he understands what he is talking about.”

But Tolkachev does think that Russia will continue to see cryptocurrencies as something to have control over, as that has been the Russian mentality for the past “10 years”:

“Russia and the Russian mentality of the last 10 years was about competing with the [rest of the] world and building something of our own. And of course the Russian government would like to have a control over the internet, over […] cryptocurrencies […] For such kind of situation where a lot of people are involved, a lot of new technology involved, the government would like to have a little bit more pressure than other countries because of the paradigm in which we are living.”

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Funding solutions for urgent food stuff and agriculture troubles

A coating that raises the shelf life of generate, a spray that lowers pesticide pollution, and program that optimizes farming functions were the huge winners at the second yearly Rabobank-MIT Food stuff and Agribusiness Innovation Prize competitors.

At past night’s occasion, seven finalist startups and groups from MIT and other universities pitched their business enterprise ideas to a panel of judges, for a chance to gain prizes totaling $25,000. The pitches addressed some of today’s most urgent troubles in the food stuff and agriculture industries.

A to start with-spot prize of $12,000 went to Cambridge Crops, which is acquiring a silk-dependent coating that extends the shelf life of fruits and veggies by up to 50 p.c. Winning second spot for $8,000 was Ecospray, which is acquiring a spray that allows farmers significantly slice pesticide usage, reducing fees and decreasing pollution. The third-spot $5,000 prize was awarded to WISRAN, which improves profits for farmers with program that analyzes, in actual-time, the time, cost, and efficiency of farming routines.

The competitors was sponsored by Rabobank — just one of the biggest financial institutions in the world that caters particularly to food stuff and agribusiness clientele — and supported by the Abdul Latif Jameel Earth Water and Food stuff Stability Lab (J-WAFS) and the MIT Food stuff and Agriculture Club.

In his welcoming remarks, J-WAFS Director John H. Lienhard V, the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Water and Food stuff at MIT, reported the competitors signifies a main purpose of J-WAFS: nurturing food stuff and agribusiness startups. This is particularly significant, he reported, with the worldwide inhabitants projected to achieve 10 billion people today by 2050, a state of affairs in which lots of people today will absence standard entry to water and food stuff.

“We firmly consider the answer to lots of of these challenges actually is to build entities that will go out on their possess, as businesses, and propagate new and great ideas,” he told a capability crowd of attendees in the Samberg Convention Centre.

Prime prizes

MIT-Tufts College staff Cambridge Crops produced a coating that’s 99 p.c water and 1 p.c silk fibroin — a protein comparable to that located in the gland of a caterpillar. Quickly immediately after the coating is applied to crops, the water evaporates, leaving a flavorless, edible silk movie. That movie lowers cell respiration and water evaporation, which can significantly sluggish ripening and spoiling of generate.

The technologies is dependent on analysis at Tufts College by Benedetto Marelli, now the Paul M. Prepare dinner Vocation Enhancement Assistant Professor in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Marelli and other Tufts scientists revealed a paper in Mother nature past calendar year showing that the coating can increase by 50 p.c the shelf-life of strawberries, which generally have a shelf-life of significantly less than 10 times.

“We have technologies that can drastically lower squander at each and every move of the price chain, for producers, distributors, and consumers,” reported staff member Jacques-Henry Grislain MBA ’16, in the course of the team’s winning pitch.

Following receiving a huge check by competitors organizers, Grislain told MIT Information that the prize funds will enable fund the team’s ongoing experiments that aim to make certain the coating is commercially practical. Other commercial technologies, these types of as controlled atmosphere storage, are now becoming used to sluggish food stuff spoilage, he reported: “But we want to make positive we have the best and most economical answer on the market.”

In delivering MIT staff Ecospray’s pitch, Maher Damak, a graduate college student in mechanical engineering, reported only about 2 p.c of pesticides sprayed on vegetation stick, while the rest bounces off and flows into streams and rivers, producing pollution. About 200,000 people today around the globe die from pesticide poisoning annually, according to modern reports from the United Nations. Farmers invest approximately $100 billion on pesticides annually.

“Our mission is to remove all pesticide squander, while conserving growers tens of billions of bucks per calendar year,” Damak reported.

Because vegetation are hydrophobic (water-repelling), liquid pesticide droplets have a tendency to bounce off the floor. For 4 several years, Damak, affiliate professor of mechanical engineering Kripa Varanasi, and other MIT scientists produced a spray that applies two unique additives to a pesticide — just one makes a negatively billed droplet the other, a positively demand droplet. When the two oppositely billed droplets meet up with on a plant, they variety hydrophilic (water-attracting) bumps that capture the droplets. This retains 10 occasions a lot more liquid, indicating only just one-tenth the amount of money of pesticide needs to be used to have the identical impact. The spray’s efficacy was in-depth in a 2016 paper co-authored by Damak, Varanasi, and other MIT scientists and revealed in Mother nature Communications.

Third-spot winner WISRAN makes use of a system of cloud-connected sensors to monitor, in actual-time, the performance of many varieties of farming devices. Info collected from the sensors are uploaded to a cloud platform, where by machine-learning algorithms examine the info to supply economic metrics of labor and devices. A farmer could, say, tag a tractor to decide the wasted, idle, and effective time of the car or truck, or monitor leakage of watering devices. The system also analyzes the full fees of taking care of equipment, spending labor, and loading up on fuel. With all those insights, according to the staff, farmers can raise profits by 10 to 30 p.c.

“We are a organization that identifies hidden inefficiencies in agriculture, so growers can increase their profits,” reported staff member Arsalan Lodhi, a graduate of New York College who has labored in the tech marketplace for a lot more than a ten years.

The other finalist groups were: Preserve-air, which made an inflatable short term storage home that lowers the effects of the solar on crops at choose occasions Rooted, which can make snack bars built of algae, a sustainable and healthy option to animal protein AquaOne Systems, which develops novel water desalination technologies that stops salty water from damaging the nutrient articles of crops and Foodfully, an application that backlinks with grocery store loyalty playing cards and scans receipts to notify people right before food stuff goes undesirable, and to supply recipes and squander-reduction guidelines.

Having ideas off the ground

This calendar year, there were 28 submissions for the competitors, which commenced past November. In January, judges selected the seven finalist groups, which were paired with mentors that helped develop business enterprise programs and pitches. Teams are not restricted to MIT affiliate marketers.

The competitors is exceptional on campus and at MIT’s peer institutions, as it focuses particularly on supporting food stuff and agribusiness startups, reported Samantha Fahrbach, an MIT Sloan Faculty of Management college student and president of the Food stuff and Agriculture Club. “It’s about bringing ideas to a spot where by they can get off the ground, and also solidifying MIT as a spot where by food stuff and agriculture innovation happens,” she reported.

Even though not each and every staff can get residence prize funds, Fahrbach extra, groups get paid an significant networking possibility and “take absent expertise and insight into what it can take to pitch for funding, and actually develop the thought from the initial stage into a thoroughly fledged business enterprise system that you can make clear and influence people today will be profitable.”

Keynote speaker was Sam Schatz, taking care of director of company growth at AeroFarms, a startup developing vertical farms — stacked shelves of crops that can increase 40 toes — in warehouses in city locations. Prompted by Fahrbach to provide guidance to the competing groups, Schatz told the groups that the hard do the job has just begun.

“As significantly do the job as you have put in, the do the job starts off as soon as you get funding,” he reported. “All all those troubles you had in boosting the funding are heading to be amplified as soon as you have it. You’re often in fundraising method, so hold that [fundraising] hat on.”

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Microbes Not Missiles-How the U.S. Government Should Budget and Focus on Real Threats to Our Security

As President Trump taunts and brags about his military might to Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un, getting obliterated by accurately fired and sustained nuclear warheads is still unlikely. Even less likely is the “star wars” technology where U.S. defense missiles can intercept and consistently disable nuclear missile attacks. The Trump budget proposed a 54 million increase for the military and Congress approved 700 billion for military spending in September.[1] Here are the primary allocations: 

U.S. 2017 Proposed Defense Budget

Program Pentagon-$640,000,000,000

Financing Wars-$60,000,000,000

Baltic States-$500,000,000

Israel-$705,000,000

 To achieve this target, Congress will approve a deficit budget and make gargantuan cuts in many other programs. Here is a shortlist of programs targeted for cuts which directly impact your health and well-being:

 Programs targeted for cuts include:

v  Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (your health care)

v  Environmental Protection Agency (clean air and water, protection from chemical hazards)

v  Health and Human Services (medical research, public health disease surveillance)

v  Department of Education (access to school-based nurses in public education)

v  U.S. State Department (where we can travel, restrictions)

v  Homeland Defense Department (biological and chemical weapons defense)

 Most alarming are the cuts to the Homeland Defense Department for biological and chemical weapon defense, which absorbed a 28% budget cut in May 2017 and further cuts are slated for 2018. [2]  Programs to detect and respond to biological threats are being stripped, just when we need them the most.

The National Urban Security Technology Lab in New York, considered the national leader for developing systems to detect biological threats is slated for a complete shutdown of the department.[3] The October 2015 Blue Ribbon Committee on National Biodefense found the United States is underprepared for biological threats. The nation does not give biological threats the same attention it affords other threats. (Deadliest Enemy-Our War Against Killer Germs, 2017, pp. 139-140)

Also, for more information, do read The Fink Committee Report, which made seven recommendations for biosecurity, especially for experiments involving recombinant DNA.[4] A committee of experts made the following recommendations:

1.       Establishing criteria for biological (dual-use) research

2.       Create a code of conduct for scientific research

3.       Develop strategies and guidelines for communication of bio research

4.       Advise on the use and regulation of synthetic genomes

5.       Foster international cooperation for dual-use research

6.       Improve response rates for deliberate attacks

7.       Publication of scientific research continues to be debated, out of fear the methods could be adopted by terrorists

Top security threats to any country are in order of precedence: (Deadliest Enemy-Our War Against Killer Germs, 2017, p. 300)

1.       Pathogens capable of creating epidemics, of which influenza is currently the greatest risk, because it can be spread through the air and the strains change all of the time.

2.       Antibiotic resistant coronaviruses like SARS or MERS, of which there are very few treatments still effective.

3.       Mosquito acquired diseases like Zika and yellow fever have moved northward and in 2016 there were 7,373 cases of Zika within the United States and its territories. (Deadliest Enemy-Our War Against Killer Germs, 2017, p. 373)

4.       Bioterrorism, which includes transmitting small pox or some other epidemic through the mail or by some other means to a targeted community[5]

5.       Diseases which continue to have a major impact on the world’s health include: tuberculosis (including treatment resistant TB), AIDS, viral hepatitis, bacterial pneumonia, and malaria.

 Why We Need to Work Together Across the World

Trump Administration isolationist policies will harm the health of Americans, because we rely on other countries to supply our medicines, medical supplies, and many other products of strategic importance. First, it would take years for production facilities in the U.S. to scale-up and offset the loss of global suppliers. Secondly, because all companies now manufacture in a just-in-time basis, there are no longer large supplies of products in warehouses and this include pharmaceuticals. In the past, I have written about critical shortages of drugs in our hospitals, and this would be exacerbated in an epidemic.[6] For example, much of our pharmaceutical and medical supply chain comes from India and China, so if a bird influenza epidemic dramatically impacts their populations, it would disrupt supplies for the United States and other countries. The 2009 bird flu epidemic which emanated from China was identified as a strain of the deadly 1918 Spanish flue which is estimated to have killed 100 million people. (Deadliest Enemy-Our War Against Killer Germs, 2017, p. 259) Finally, we really are all in this together and a plague in a distant land eventually finds its way to our shores, so we need to fight disease together. The Trump Administration’s philosophy of denying immigration won’t prevent epidemics, which microscopically flit through the air, on the wings of birds, and inconspicuously in airplane or shipping cargo bays.

 To quote from public health expert, Michael Osterholm, in a 2015 TED Talk, Bill Gates asserted, “If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades its most likely  to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war.” (Deadliest Enemy-Our War Against Killer Germs, 2017, p. 50)  Both Gates and Osterholm observe that the world tends to minimize the threat of infectious disease. There have been thirty influenza pandemics since the sixteenth century. This is a poor way to prepare for public health epidemics and the ability of our infection fighting drugs has become exhausted, due to antibiotic resistant bacteria. Cipro is now one of the few drugs left which is effective against the flesh-eating bacteria. In India, where there are less restrictions on antibiotic use for animal production, there is currently bacteria which is resistant to all known treatments. And if this isn’t enough to make you forsake meat, Trump has approved the importation of Chinese chicken, which is not subject to inspections like the USDA.[7]

Microbes not Missiles

Of the deadliest foes to human kind plague is the most feared, because it can strike silently and there may be no available treatment as the disease wipes out your community. While all the President’s men rush to meet enemies in bunkers throughout the globe, the real threat will come to our soil as virulent bacteria, without warning. 

What You Can Do

1.       Urge your elected officials to provide the necessary funds for public health preparedness as our lives hang in the balance. Now is NOT the time to cut funding for Health and Human Services research. We need to allocate one billion dollars annually on development of new more effective vaccines, especially for influenza.

2.       Support a new collaboration between government and private drug companies to create an efficient reliable pipeline for immunizations. Immunizations are not economically viable for drug companies to produce, but we must create incentives for them to do so.

3.       Support and expand the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI) This will give us a fighting chance of being ready for the next pandemic.

4.       Encourage your congressmen (women) to fully implement the recommendations of the Blue-Ribbon Panel on Biodefense.[8]

5.       Establish an international organization to minimize the risk of intentionally created mutations used as pathogens for scientific purposes from falling into the wrong hands.

6.       Educate others on the importance of public health departments and their initiatives to prevent disease, from immunizations to disease surveillance and planning. Cuts to the Health and Human Services Agency hurts local health departments.

 Please do read the riveting Deadliest Enemy-Our War Against Killer Germs, though it may make you curl up in a fetal position, with a blanket over your head. And this is the healthpolicymaven signing off encouraging you not to sign blanket hospital authorizations. Stipulate that for which you consent and that which is not permitted (out of network anesthesiologists for example).

 Further Resources

Here is a list of other organizations which are working to understand and prevent infectious diseases:

 One Health examines the domestication of animals for food and work and how infectious diseases or zoonotic illnesses sprang from that.

 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is working to eradicate malaria and other tropical diseases and is devoted to public health initiatives in developing countries, especially Africa.

 President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) was created by George W. Bush and combats AIDS worldwide.

 National Institutes of Health (funded through Health and Human Services Agency) underwrites global research on health issues, including the H5N1 influenza virus.

 National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) researches and reviews microbiology, infectious diseases, laboratory biosafety, biosecurity, public health, and bioethics.

National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine) is an influential physician-led organization which has brought changes to hospitals for patient safety, especially for infection prevention, and a reduction in preventable patient deaths.

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a national organization for research and communication on public health threats, funded through the Health and Human Services Agency.

 Works Cited

Olshaker, M, Osterholm, M. (2017). Deadliest Enemy-Our War Against Killer Germs. New York, New York: Little, Brown, and Company, March 2017

  [1] https: //www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/us/politics/senate-pentagon-spending-bill.html?_r=0

[2] http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2017/9/22/homeland-security-struggling-to-fund-chem-bio-defense

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/us/politics/national-urban-security-technology-laboratory.html

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11496/

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11496/

[6] http://healthpolicymaven.blogspot.com/2016/02/drug-shortages-in-us-and-what-we-can-do.html

[7] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/07/07/the-dark-side-of-trumps-much-hyped-china-trade-deal-it-could-li

[8] http://www.biodefensestudy.org/mission-our-team