When it comes to harvesting electricity and second-generation ethanol sugarcane leaves have been found to be very useful. At harvest time, the leaves are stripped and the stalks chopped. While the stalks are removed for use in the processing of sugar and ethanol, the leaves are often left behind on the ground. Eventually, the leaves form a nutrient-rich layer of straw which contributes to the fertilization of the soil.    

There are roughly around 10 million hectares of sugarcane land in Brazil, accounting for some 40% of the whole world’s production. Removing straw after harvest, opposed to leaving it be, could actually double the amount of fertilizer needed to sustain Brazilian sugarcane plantations by 2050. This dire warning was discovered by a group of researchers connected with both the University of Sao Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture and the National Biorenewables Laboratory located within the National Energy and Materials Research Center.

In the study, the researchers calculated just how much of the nutrients were retained by sugarcane straw and how much fertilizer would be needed if there were no leaves left behind. “We converted the value of the nutrients in straw into fertilizer equivalent (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, NPK). Growers who remove this biomass will have to buy NPK and use it to replenish soil nutrients,” confirmed researcher and first author of the study, Mauricio Cherubin.

Leaving the straw to naturally degrade helps in the cycling of nutrients. Removing the straw disrupts this cycle. It also results in less efficient pest control, lower crop yields, less biological activity in the soil, and more compacted soil. 

Results from the study confirm that total straw removal requires an annual fertilizer amount of 195kg per hectare, costing approximately $90. But this is around twice the amount of fertilizer used currently in Brazil’s most abundant sugarcane regions. If farmers and land workers were to remove all the dry straw but leave the green leaves on the ground, this would reduce the amount of fertilizer needed to just 27kg per hectare, costing around $27. 

“As can be seen, the decision whether or not to leave straw on the ground has a significant impact on the crop and the entire industry,” says Cherubin. Currently, each individual mill determines how much of the straw to leave and where. But this is inefficient. According to Cherubin, “we need a collective effort to define criteria for this practice, with all the associated benefits in terms of bioenergy production, soil quality, and productivity.”

The acreage under sugarcane in Brazil has expanded dramatically in the last three decades. If it continues to grow at this rate then the amount of NPK fertilizer consumed by sugarcane growers will rise 80% by 2050. 

So, as you can see, the use of sugarcane straw provides us with great opportunities when it comes to creating bioenergy. But it does come at a cost and both the pros and cons should be considered. 

Photo by Anastasia Zhenina on Unsplash

As an employer, you naturally want to ensure that you are hiring people of a trustworthy nature. Peace of mind has a lot of value when it comes to bringing new staff on board. Whether you’re the human resources department at a large company or just a sole proprietor getting some help for your start-up, you’ll inevitably be better off vetting your hires for reputation.

First Steps

The first thing you have to do is be advised of the local laws and regulations in your area regarding background checks. These are matters of civil liberty, sometimes even with a constitutional motivation, and they vary from state to state or even county to county. Anti-discrimination laws apply to this process, so you must be careful to be even-handed in screening candidates, and to not make decisions based on aspects such as religion or marital status.

One typical requirement is that you have the subject’s permission to run a background check. Obviously, everybody understands that refusing a background check can cost them the job, but their consent is still required as a formality, typically with a signed form. In the event of a credit check, for instance, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires not only signed permission from the subject but to notify the subject as to the usage of the credit check and supply them with the results as well.

You will need a verified ID of the subject. Usually this will require, at the minimum, a photo ID, a social security number, and a date-of-birth. Some location data may be helpful, since you may wish to screen only in your immediate state, every state your subject has resided, or screen on a national level. Be sure to also have the subject’s resume or application at hand, depending on your policy.

You may want to consult with an attorney when going through this process, as an employer can be open to legal issues cropping up form the misapplication of background check information.

Parts Of A Background Check

Social security and identification validation is the first step. Be sure to watch for aliases and other variants of the subject’s name. A switch from, say, a maiden name is nothing to worry about, but multiple aliases popping up under one number could be a red flag.

Verify address history and employment and education history where applicable. In some cases, a former employer who is now out of business or merged with another company will be a dead end, but you’ll just have to take that record in good faith.

The next step is a criminal record check. Most locations adhere to a policy of not reporting minor misdemeanors, infractions, or civil citations. You’re looking for major offenses: Fraud, embezzlement, felonies, violent acts, and other serious offenses, with convictions. Remember that in the eyes of the law, “innocent until proven guilty” applies, so even if arrests come up, they should be disregarded as long as none of them led to a conviction.

Along with standard criminal records, it’s a good idea to scan sex offender registries and terrorist watchlists. These are easily accessible to the public.

For a credit check, you should be sure the credit agency reporting is FCRA compliant. Some state laws forbid the usage of a credit screening for purposes of employment, so be sure you’re within boundaries to do so.

If all of the above seems to be a lot of steps to go through, you can always opt for a one-stop online check at sites such as CheckPeople.com. While your needs might be more demanding, online background check sites are at least a good starting point to conduct your own further investigations.

Should You Use Social Media In A Background Check?

Most employers find it hard to ignore a candidate’s online activity, just because it is so easily accessible. However, it’s not always the best idea. For one thing, you are exposing yourself to a record of the subject’s personal beliefs and lifestyle, a red zone for employment consideration. On top of that, online identities are too easily hidden or faked. You never know if an offensive post was by your subject or an impostor who had a vendetta against your subject. The public Internet, at the civilian level, is not a reliable resource for important decisions in general.

After The Check Is Complete

You should have a sit-down with the subject to go over your findings and give them the chance to tell their side of the story. There are always cases where one or more credit bureaus or courthouses made a mistake, or where a subject just encountered some unfortunate circumstances.

The results must be kept private and confidential, excluding sharing them with the subject. You could be liable for negligent handling of a person’s sensitive data, particularly if it leaks out to the public. At no point should you share the results with your other employees after the subject has left.

The last task that’s up to you is to make a decision. Does the candidate meet your standards? You may be restricted by regulations or policies on your own industry, in some cases even liable for hiring an at-risk individual into a sensitive position. On the other hand, if a person has a few blemishes on their record which don’t happen to impact their professional rank, it’s up to you to make a judgment call. The overall aspect you should be considering is an individual’s character.

Photo by Philipp Katzenberger on Unsplash

Without realizing it, almost all businesses are collecting data every day. The internet has opened up a universe of data that tells us more about consumers than ever before. We know when they open emails, which websites they visit, what they buy and, thanks to review platforms and social media, what they think and feel about a brand or product. If collected and analyzed correctly, this information can be a game-changer for the modern business. It can inform product development, sales, marketing, customer service and so much more. So, if your business is not using the data at your disposal, you are likely to be missing opportunities for growth. 

Employee Performance and Efficiency Analysis

Statistics can tell a manager or business owner a huge amount about employee performance and efficiency. By collecting data about how many tasks an employee completes or products they produce, they can identify potential areas for improvement, whether that’s via employee training or improving internal processes. Streamlining a business’ efficiency can be one of the most effective ways to increase productivity and profitability. Many business people invest in Six Sigma training, which provides an advanced and focused approach to projects and statistical methods, the highest level being the Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

It’s also now common for business owners to gather data and feedback from their employees to gauge their level of engagement and satisfaction in their role, which has a direct impact on productivity. 

Informing Key Business Decisions

Running a business involves making important decisions that can impact the future of the company significantly. By using statistics in the decision-making process, they can better evaluate all of the options and estimate the likely outcome of each. They may be able to analyze which products or services have been most successful for competitors, or which have brought in the most business in the past. For example, comparing marketing campaigns can tell a business which marketing platforms resulted in the most sales and where to invest more of their marketing budget. 

Data Collection and Ethics

There are strict rules about data collection, and as a business owner you are legally obliged to ensure all customer data is managed securely and ethically. In most cases, the data is still just as useful to a business when it is anonymized so that no identifiable information is present. For example, if a company wants to determine the best-selling product, or when sales are at their lowest, they can do this without the need for the names or addresses of each customer. All data must be stored securely and in accordance with privacy and data protection legislation. 

Research and Development

Market research is another key area where businesses might use statistics to inform their strategy, such as during new product development. For example, surveys and competitor analysis can be used to determine whether or not there is a demand for a new product and could even be used to inform the design, pricing, launch date, and marketing strategies.

Photo by Nik MacMillan on Unsplash

The world is a big place, and as much as we like to think we’ve gotten to the deepest depths of the Earth, we’ve only just scratched the surface. 

Deep down in the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California, a group of scientists from The University of Texas at Austin’s Marine Science Institute has uncovered nearly two dozen new kinds of microbes that have never been seen before. And it appears that these microbes have some pretty strong pollutant-eating powers.

“Beneath the ocean floor huge reservoirs of hydrocarbon gases — including methane, propane, butane, and others — exist now, and these microbes prevent greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere,” explains Brett Baker, assistant professor of marine science and primary investigator on the study.

Upon analyzing the deep-sea sediment gathered from 2,000 meters below the surface, the researchers recovered more than 500 genomes, 22 of which were completely new additions to the tree of life. “The tree of life is something that people have been trying to understand since Darwin came up with the concept over 150 years ago, and it’s still this moving target at the moment,” says Baker. “Trying to map the tree is really kind of crucial to understanding all aspects of biology.”

Part of Baker’s team’s work involves investigating interactions that occur between microbial communities and available nutrients taken from the environment. The way in which they do this is by taking sediment and microbe samples and extracting the DNA from them. They then sequence the DNA in such a way that pieces together the individual genomes and gather from the data how these microbes consume various nutrients. 

The same submersible that found the Titanic, the Alvin, was employed to collect the microbe samples. “We think this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of diversity in the Guaymas Basin,” says Baker. “So, we’re doing a lot more DNA sequencing to try and get a handle on how much more there is. This paper is really just our first hint at what these things are and what they are doing.”

Article Source; The University of Texas at Austin – Photo by Jens Rademacher on Unsplash

Trawling through masses of legal documentation isn’t exactly conducive to high productivity, especially when mundane tasks have a tendency to consume significant time.

But these tasks are highly important, mandatory for invested parties to execute their respective duties to full effect. But with modern technology contract management becomes significantly easier, in fact, machines can be leveraged to take the legwork out of things.

One company that’s pioneering within the field of AI is Evisort, a contract management company that raised an impressive $4.5 million in seed funding in 2018. The company has gone from strength to strength, offering unique business solutions for representatives of the legal profession.

But how exactly is Evisort addressing common business bottlenecks? Let’s take a look at some of the company’s core principles:

How is Evisort Addressing Business Bottlenecks?

Let’s paint a picture that is relatively common within the legal profession: You have a 10k contract in multiple repositories and little insight into what’s what. Conventionally this situation would call for considerable manpower, but with Evisort contract management is an effortless process.

This AI-powered Contract Management System is centered on the following principles, features which propel the software to new heights:

Custom Reporting and Tracking

Data is a gold mine that can be tapped into using AI, where considerable volumes of data can be transferred using machine technology. The data within your repository can offer a gold mine of insights, however it must be actionable to be of use.

Fortunately, Evisort activates critical data so it can be used effectively, preventing you from having to dig through the bedrock. With the ideal CMS you can easily track information and query your contracts, across critical areas like key provisions, expiration dates, contract value and more, with the ability to take action.

3rd Party Paper Accessible 

Though it doesn’t come standard with all CMS solutions, Evisort is 3rd party paper accessible. This differs from systems that only allow you to access insight on contracts created in the provider’s system, where there’s no accessibility for documents created by 3rd parties. This is a flawed approach, because what good is data if you can’t compare and contrast it among contracts? 

Fortunately, Evisort overcomes this obstacle because it’s 3rd party paper accessible.

Centralized Repository

Evisort uses a Central Management System (CMS) approach to provide a single source for managing multiple contracts, uniting contracts from different locations and organizing them sufficiently. This is crucial for companies who face problems when it comes to storing contracts effectively.

Establishing a single source of truth makes life significantly easier, enabling access to insights from many contracts across your organization, when and where you need it most. Evisort preferences a single repository for ease of use and functionality.

Accurate Data

Accuracy is a preconceived industry standard but isn’t guaranteed when human error is factored in. Evisort helps companies overcome discrepancies, reducing errors that can have unintended consequences. 

Evisort offers an automated way to extract data from contracts; however, not all AI is created equally. In fact some systems are limited because they’re only as potent as the human who developed them, something referred to as rule-based AI or RPA.

AI can be trained to track information in a single location, but if and when information moves results are inaccurate. Evisort uses Machine Learning AI to intuitively locate data within your contracts, regardless of where the page is located.

Contract Risk Mitigation Review

A centralized repository enables you to identify risks surrounding non-compliance for your organization contracts. This is pertinent among the agreements you’ve made within your contracts, and systems like Evisort even enable you to cross-reference your standardized language with other languages in 3rd party documents. You can consequently identify where languages are non-compliant.

SUZOHAPP is a leading supplier of components and solutions to the casino industry. Within the company a new name emerged, Sim Bielak who was the Chief Marketing Officer and now he is the new President of Global Gaming & Amusement business. Sim Bielak has been with SUZOHAPP for 6 years and this has tapped his experience in this gaming sector. 

Managing Director of SUZOHAPP, Ken Brotman said that Sim knows his business well and he will bring the knowledge and the needed energy to serve their partners well and he will deliver strong results for the company. SUZOHAPP wants to maintain its status as a one-stop shop for the casino industry, with products from LCDs to hardware that will be on display at the impending trade shows. 

New Leader & New Products

Sim Bielak feels honored to be the leader of Gaming and Amusement division at SUZOHAPP. Gaming is their core business, their roots are in gaming and they are extremely focused on supporting and growing their business. Sim also added that their gaming sector has a combination of their own brands that they develop and manufacture and there are other leading brands that they exclusively distribute in the global gaming market. 

For example, VisionPRO is their main monitor range and their new VisionPRO 4K 43” LED-Framed monitor has a new frame of colour which surrounds the display and is available in Edge-Lit and Front designs. The new monitor features a 4K UHD panel with a brightness pf 500 cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 4000:1. 

The Edge-Lit design is meant for external use where the monitor is floating outside the cabinet. The design has an integrated VESA mount, where the LEDs are visible from the sides and front. The Front version of the monitor is designer for flush integration within the machine. All the VisionPRO LED-Framed models from 21.5” to 43” are available in touch or non-touch screens and either of them have addressable or RGB LEDs. This product portfolio has more than 50 models.  

ELO is the leading supplier of touchscreens and monitors. SUZOHAPP have been exclusively distributed ELO products for many years. Other major distribution partners include NEWLAND, which are scanners, and NANOPTIX, which are printers. In total, SUZOHAPP offers products like readers and recyclers, slot machine toppers, push buttons, controllers and power supplies. In total there are over 50.000 different products. Some of these products may be found on casino floors, where games similar to Diamond Link: Mighty Elephant are rolling on new installed screens and such.  

Company’s Motto: Simplify Your Sourcing

The company’s motto is about taking away the complexity of choosing a product. Sim Bielak said that they have amassed a great amount of knowledge and they combined it with the industry’s largest component range. They provide the best advice in order to correspond with their partners’ needs. This will bring a great value for them, because they are rest assured that they can find the right solutions. 

Another thing that fits well with the motto is that SUZOHAPP partners save precious time, because they don’t have to talk with multiple vendors. They can have one contact at SUZOHAPP who can cover all their requirements. In addition, the company also has a team that is multilingual. It happened more often than their partners can deal with them in their own language.

Sim also added that they take pride in their business relations and devote in visiting their partners. This helps them understand their partners’ wants in order to create a true business relationship. As the casino industry develops, working with a global supplier that has a local presence will simplify operations while maintaining the local connections for support and service. SUZOHAPP has a wide range of components and technologies for gaming machines and gaming terminals where manufacturers can find products at a one-stop-shop for all their needs which significantly simplifies sourcing.

Last Words

The current developments within the industry indicate a solid growth in the casino sector. At the same time, the industry is building up and players become more global. And also, partners want the simplicity and efficiency that comes from working with global suppliers, rather than having to manage with local or regional suppliers. A global operation is able to deliver that kind of efficiency, while it maintains a local approach to customer relationship development and service.

For example, SUZOHAPP is a global team, similar to Amazon. The company knows each other, they communicate and share information. In addition, the company also simplified their organisation, by bringing individual subsidiaries closer together. 

SUZOHAPP is also a big supplier on the OEMs sector, where they provide practically every component that an OEM needs. They can also understand that manufacturers and operators value innovation, but they also need simplicity and efficiency. In addition, major exhibits such as G2E Las Vegas, BEGE Sofia and ICE London are a critical factor for a supplier to be present at. Because here they are able to present their demonstration of the latest innovation and at a major exhibition a supplier can show how passionate can be about gaming business.

There is an abundance of security systems on the market today that all claim to be the best solution to cyber threats, but it can be difficult to discern which ones are telling the truth and will actually provide you with effective security and protection. 

Endpoint Detection and Response is an excellent technological solution that will provide you with the high-quality cybersecurity that you have been looking for. 

What is Endpoint Detection and Response?

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is an endpoint security solution that operates by combining the real-time screening and collection of data with analysis of that data. 

EDR works as a cohesive to gather, correlate and analyze endpoint data. Instead of operating a collection of smaller data protection systems, EDR allows you to have all of your data protection and threat detection all in one place. 

Endpoint Detection and Response is comprised of three basic mechanisms which work in communication with each other to provide you with the best data security possible:

1. Endpoint Data Collection Agents

These software agents monitor and accumulate data in the database, bringing together all the information about connections, processes and the volume of activity to one place. 

2. Automatic Responses

When the EDR detects a threat or a security breach, it will automatically conduct the appropriate response to that threat, whether this is to notify you or block the threat from entering the network further. Speed is imperative when countering threats, and EDR is of the top security techniques for speed. 

3. Real-time Analytics

When analyzing and scanning for threats, McAfee EDR may come across a threat that it has not encountered before. Most other security solutions would not succeed in this situation, but EDR can evaluate the cyber attack and look for patterns within it to deduct how best to tackle it, in record time.  

How Does EDR Protect My Data Against Threats?

As new methods of data security and threat detection develop, EDR’s ability to protect your data from threats grows more powerful. 

Threat intelligence services provide a great service and are a beneficial asset to EDR. Using this massive wealth of information on the patterns, behaviors and techniques used by hackers to conduct cyber-attacks on your data, EDR can draw on this and analyze the best method to counterattack these threats. EDR takes into account previous cyber attacks and statistics to logically reach the most effective solution to prevent future threats and resolve current ones. 

Unlike other protection services, EDR is constantly developing and learning new and better techniques to protect your data against threats. Hackers and their cyber-attacks are always coming up with new ways to infringe upon your data and your security, so it is imperative that you employ security solutions that actively combat their drive and are able to counter it effectively. 

EDR is at the top of the security and data protection game when it comes to technique and speed. The combination of these two factors is what makes EDR solutions stand out to IT professionals. 

Often, the hardest part of building an online business isn’t starting – it’s marketing your business once you’ve launched it. To help you grow your online business from a small start-up to a successful company, below are five quick tips to optimize your business model. 

1. Make Use of your Support Team

It’s very easy for business owners to become so involved in the nuts and bolts of their business that they end up doing the majority of the work. This is great in the beginning, but if your business is going to grow, you need to take a step back from the day-to-day operations and start thinking about strategies to expand. This is good advice for all businesses, but it’s especially true for online companies, as it’s a lot easier to forget to delegate when your team isn’t physically around you. While your business is growing, you also don’t want to be relying on it as your main source of income. While this might sound counterintuitive, having to take a large portion of the business’ earnings in order to support yourself means that you have less money to put toward the business itself. While your site is growing, find another way to support yourself, and make the business your full-time once it’s gotten off the ground.  

2. Website Design

Maybe you’re happy with your host and CMS, but if your website doesn’t look clean and professional, that can turn customers away too. You don’t need to pay a professional designer to build your website, but you do need to think about how to make your site enticing to customers without adding so much flash that people feel confused. Navigation is another important thing to think about. If people feel like they can’t easily find what they’re looking for, they’ll go elsewhere to shop. 

3. Be Easily Accessible

You want it to be easy for customers to contact you if they have any questions, concerns, or feedback. Not only will this give you valuable insight into how customers are experiencing your business from the other end, but it will help you to quickly address any problems or concerns that customers may have. The easiest way to make yourself accessible to customers without giving out your email address is to set up a contact form on your website. This is a standard part of most business websites, so it’s something most customers will be familiar with using, and it will help streamline your mail so that you know which of your communications are coming from customers. 

4. Entice New Customers

In order to grow your business, you need to give people a reason to work with you. In the beginning, this will usually translate to a “sales funnel,” or an up-front offer that will entice people to enter your site. That can take on a number of different strategies, depending on what kind of business you run. But free offers are usually your best bet – things like free-plus-shipping offers, bonus ebooks, checklists, cheat sheets, and even webinars. 

Another strategy is to create an email list. This is an easy way to communicate with one-time visitors to your site, which will increase the chances of them coming back. You don’t want your business to be built on one-time purchases; you want to establish a loyal customer base. There are a few email marketing service providers that can help you to engage your customers and turn a one-time purchase into a consistent source of income. 

5. Optimize your SEO

If your site isn’t coming up in Google searches, it’s going to dramatically decrease the likelihood that someone will find your site without being directly recommended through an ad. The first thing to check is your site’s visibility. Many website building platforms have settings place for you to hide your website from search engines. This is intended to give you time to work on your site without disturbing visitors. However, if this setting has been accidentally tripped, then that means your business isn’t appearing in related searches. 

URLs can also hurt your search engine visibility. Make sure that, as much as possible, your URLs are easy to read and structured with keywords that clearly explain the function of the page. That being said, if your site has been running for more than 6 months, changing your permalinks can actually hurt your SEO. 

Google Console is a set of tools powered by Google to help website owners monitor their search engine visibility. If you haven’t already, add your site to Google Console. This will provide you with all kinds of data, including how your pages appear in search results, what keywords people are actually using to find your site, and how often your pages are clicked.