• Pacific Software begins development of blockchain-based B2B/B2C e-commerce platform
• Product tracking from farm to fare
• System will gather data from devices linked to Internet of Things

With the development of its blockchain ecommerce trade platform, Pacific Software, Inc. (OTC: PFSF) offers the prospect of supply chains with a level of transparency and integrity that is sorely lacking in current systems. By its immutability, which makes it impossible to game, and its capacity to track products, the technology will identify origins; speed up the removal of contaminated food in agricultural channels; and flag fraud. Undertaken using IBM’s Hyperledger Blockchain ‘Backend as a Service’ (BaaS) infrastructure, the PFSF platform will have the capability to record, store and track digital product information, such as farm origination details, batch numbers, factory and processing data, expiration dates, storage temperatures and shipping details. In addition, PFSF is working to incorporate data from devices, such as barcode and RFID readers, connected to the internet. By linking to the ‘Internet of Things’, the PFSF platform will make complex supply chains safer and a great deal more manageable.

Managed by the Linux Foundation, the Hyperledger Project is an undertaking meant to facilitate collaboration among developers aiming to apply the blockchain concept to transactional markets other than cryptocurrencies. The initiative was launched in 2015 with 30 participants. By the middle of this year, 235 organizations had joined. They represent a range of industries, including aeronautics, credit card services, finance, health care, manufacturing and logistics.

The Hyperledger technology offers a number of advantages. Its consensus algorithm is Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT), not the Proof-of-Work (PoW) widely employed by cryptocurrencies. This eliminates the need for the large amounts of power needed to solve cryptographic hash functions and also reduces the time it takes for transactions to be validated, to seconds. In contrast, a transaction with bitcoin, which uses PoW, will only be confirmed after 10 minutes. Hyperledger also allows permissioned systems to be built, which increases the privacy and security of the network. In a permissioned blockchain, an issuing authority grants identities to transactors on the network and assigns the appropriate level of access. The permissioned network can provide privacy by granting different levels of access and provide accountability with a record of all the transactions for an identity. This differs from the bitcoin network, which is publicly accessible.

Initially, PFSF’s ecommerce platform will focus on the agricultural supply chain between Brazil and China. PFSF’s Agri-Blockchain platform will improve transparency and trust with regard to origin, product quality, product safety and other factors. Additionally, in the event of food contamination, the technology will allow the exact source of the failure to be traced, reducing costs tremendously.

The drug supply chain is another system set to benefit from the PFSF platform, particularly as it relates to preventing or reducing the diversion of opioids fueling the present epidemic. The scourge of opioid addiction continues to plague the nation. A 2017 study by the non-profit Altarum (http://ibn.fm/ezdFq) estimates that, since the turn of the century, “the opioid epidemic has cost the U.S. more than a trillion dollars… and may exceed another $500 billion over the next three years.” The main components of economic activity are affected, placing a drag on economic growth. Reduced productivity is lowering business investment; earnings lost from illness and absenteeism are decreasing consumption expenditure; and shrinking tax revenues are curtailing government expenditure. The toll on human lives is equally costly. In the U.S., overdose deaths now run at a rate of roughly five persons per hour.

However, PFSF’s Hyperledger system may turn the tide, since it is a sophisticated method of recordkeeping. There is hope that better bookkeeping, which is possible with blockchain systems, may augment efforts to rein in drug abuse by identifying drug diversion and the bad actors (medical professionals and patients) responsible for it. The present system is flawed in several ways. It allows “double doctoring,” for instance, which occurs when a patient takes out more than one prescription from many physicians. This problem is compounded since tracking prescriptions is typically done on a state-by-state basis, and the silo nature of these systems can be easily exploited by patients who travel across state lines to repeat prescriptions.

Hyperledger Blockchain from Pacific Software may stop this corruption and chicanery. By tracking drugs from production to final use, the system will identify “pill mills” that over-prescribe painkillers or patients who “doctor shop” for extra prescriptions. The platform will be able to detect exactly where the opioids are sidetracked for abuse or illegal use. Moreover, it can overcome the lack of communicability between silo systems. Generally, blockchain has the capability to interconnect systems that don’t readily speak to each other, so several entities – state regulators, manufacturers, pharmacies – could potentially be on the same system. And, of course, unlike traditional databases, blockchains are immutable, i.e., records cannot be changed unless consensus is agreed by a majority of members. Also, a blockchain built to track pharmaceuticals would, very likely, be “permissioned” and accessible only by manufacturers, health care professionals and regulators.

Pacific met recently with representatives from the African Chamber of Commerce and is in the process now of developing a partnership with them for building trade with struggling African countries. This will include helping in areas where, for example, people are selling into counterfeit drugs and medications. Blockchain is already at work in the health care industry. Humanity.co has launched its My31 Mobile App, incorporating the IBM Blockchain design, which is designed to help users manage their health data (http://ibn.fm/8dlsI).

In August, Pacific Software announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to begin construction of its proprietary e-commerce trade platform (http://ibn.fm/KzZLA). The accord gives Cobalt 47 Technologies Ltd., a spin-off of KBQuest Group, the greenlight to begin construction of the multi-lingual e-commerce B2B and B2C trade platform.  The platform is expected to be in production by November 2018 and will integrate blockchain technology solutions.

KBQuest Group, Inc. is the leading Microsoft distributor in China and was named “Microsoft SQL Partner of the Year 2017.” Its founder and chairman, Dr. Wang-Chan Wong, advises Pacific Software on technical issues.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.PacificSoftwareInc.com

• BLOCKStrain Technology investing in technological means to provide businesses, consumers with cannabis pipeline transparency amid lab testing concerns
• Company has obtained agreements with a number of other enterprises to build security in cannabis market
• Global cannabis market expected to grow to $146.4 billion by 2025, with CAGR of 24.9 percent in United States

The nascent industries serving state-by-state cannabis legalization in the United States are feeling growing pains as they deal with the costs of delivering safe and quality-tested products to consumers. In this new age of plant-drug liberalization, BLOCKStrain Technology Corp. (TSX.V: DNAX) (OTC: BKKSF) is offering hope of some ground-level security to the product pipeline, so consumers can distinguish between potentially healthful cannabis and potentially low-quality products.

The black market for marijuana has always been beset by quality consistency concerns, particularly as sellers lace their products with other drugs to “bulk up” the item (http://ibn.fm/7nWqk) or growers experiment with ways to enhance marijuana’s potency (http://ibn.fm/Rlebm). In states where cannabis is now legal for medicinal or recreational use, laboratory testing is becoming a requirement for ensuring public safety, but those laboratories may not be consistent in the results they deliver and may even be willing to alter their findings in order to satisfy the growers paying for their services (http://ibn.fm/Z5t4D).

California’s move to become one of the world’s largest pot-friendly economies this year introduced new laboratory standards for testing cannabis, but media reports note that the testing has found many products falling short of those standards since the July 1 deadline for pot shops to clear out any pre-existing, untested inventory. The Associated Press recently reported that nearly 20 percent of marijuana products in California have failed potency and purity tests since the deadline (http://ibn.fm/FX9sT), although some industry players are complaining that the standards are unreasonably strict. In Massachusetts, testing labs note that their already slim profit margins for testing cannabis are further compromised by onerous profiteering by community regulatory agencies (http://ibn.fm/drSzi).

BLOCKStrain Technology is a full-service software company headquartered in British Columbia, Canada, that developed the first integrated blockchain platform for registering and tracking cannabis intellectual property from genome to sale. Canada expects to grant full recreational and medicinal use rights to cannabis next month, creating an emerging national market for numerous cannabis-related products. While the United States is not following Canada’s lead, the federal government is expecting to reschedule the non-psychotropic cannabidiol (CBD) extract this month following the legalization of a cannabis-infused medication (http://ibn.fm/g0g50) and potentially advance CBD-rich hemp legalization to the President (http://ibn.fm/9UHKz).

BLOCKStrain’s proprietary technology will serve clients at both ends of the production pipeline and those in between. Growers want to know that their product is making it to market in good condition. Consumers want to know that the product they buy was manufactured by a company invested in good practices. Distributors, shipping companies and government agencies also have a stake in ensuring the wellbeing of a product, and BLOCKStrain’s technology will provide a transparency that meets all parties’ concerns.

In May, WeedMD Inc. (TSX.V: WMD) (OTC: WDDMF) (FSE: 4WE) became the first Canadian Licensed Producer (LP) to begin utilizing the BLOCKStrain technology to track plant genetics (http://ibn.fm/BTwd7) and, most recently, BLOCKStrain announced a partnership with advisory firm Spire Secure Logistics Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Friday Night Inc. (CSE: TGIF), as part of an effort to provide security programs and infrastructure for the legal distribution and sale of cannabis to governments throughout Canada in light of next month’s legalization deadline (http://ibn.fm/llVfn). The company also reached an intent agreement with life sciences company Abattis Bioceuticals (OTCQB: ATTBF) to let Abbatis use BLOCKStrain’s technology to provide transparency to consumers as products are sold, shipped and tested.

Market analysts at Grand View Research, Inc. issued a forecast earlier this year that anticipates the global legal marijuana market will reach $146.4 billion by the end of 2025, illustrating the excitement surrounding related industries, even in their early stages (http://ibn.fm/4fvA0). In the United States alone, the market was estimated at $7.06 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24.9 percent amid the political developments transforming the industry.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.BLOCKStrain.io

• GreenBox has developed the fastest and safest way to send and process money through blockchain technology
• The company’s flagship products, services and custom hardware include QuickCard, point-of-sale solutions and LOOPZ
• GreenBox has now acquired Sky Mids Technologies

Hardware/software technology company GreenBox POS, LLC (OTC: GRBX) offers individual disruptive applications integrated into an end-to-end set of financial products. Based in San Diego, California, the company builds customized payment solutions for a variety of industries, with a focus on blockchain-secured ledger technology. Its blockchain orientation ensures that vital elements, including security, privacy, reliability and extendibility, are always part of the package.

Fundamentally, the company has developed the quickest and safest way to send and process money utilizing blockchain technology. The design of GreenBox’s technology aims to lessen transaction costs, decrease fraud and strengthen regulatory compliance. All data and information are securely hosted on a blockchain platform. The company has a suite of flagship products, services and custom hardware. These include QuickCard, point-of-sale solutions, and LOOPZ delivery infrastructure.

QuickCard offers a blockchain technology powered E-Wallet. The QuickCard Kiosk performs direct and immediate deposits from cash to blockchain. It confirms bank account availability immediately, and it accepts cash, debit/credit card or ACH directly to most banks.

The company’s TrustGateway blockchain technology is integrated with QuickCard, with an emphasis on fraud protection. Being integrated systems, TrustGateway and QuickCard provide the security of an owned blockchain gateway. The design of TrustGateway technology aims to facilitate the largest platform in existence.

Regarding point-of-sale solutions, GreenBox’s POS software features compliance, financial audit preparation, expense tracking, tax payments, register-specific features and data fidelity controls. All records are stored on blockchain with no data backup or recovery needed. Point-of-sale solutions are completely integrated with delivery and payment systems.

LOOPZ is the company’s delivery software solution. It provides service dispatcher back-end technology with manual and automatic modes. LOOPZ features direct reporting to point-of-sale inventory and enables instant settlements. LOOPZ also features two mobile applications (driver and consumer) that run on Android and iOS.

GreenBox recently acquired Sky Mids Technologies and its book of transactional business capable of processing more than $1 billion annually (http://ibn.fm/iwyRb). It has already started taking Sky Mids’ book of business onto its infrastructure. GreenBox will integrate into its operations the staff (mainly engineers) and technology developed by Sky. Sky’s transactional platform specializes in strong and secure payments processing. For some time, Sky has been using GreenBox’s QuickCard payments system as its primary payments infrastructure.

In a news release, Ben Errez, executive vice president of GreenBox, said, “This is a great opportunity for both GreenBox and Sky. We have been working with Sky for a while now and are thoroughly impressed with their technology and capabilities. Their engineers are top notch and I am confident the synergy will continue to add to the plethora of new technologies we have brought, and will continue to bring, to market.”

GreenBox, with its end-to-end POS technology, is delivering advanced solutions to a society that is going increasingly cashless (http://ibn.fm/OHunc). With its customized payment solutions for diverse market sectors, it is leading the way concerning blockchain-secured ledger technology. It is building shareholder value by owning all parts of the blockchain payment system and operating over its own blockchain space.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.GreenBoxPOS.com

• OTC Markets Group Inc. announced that Sharing Services, Inc. is approved for trading on the OTCQB Venture Market
• Growth has been 100 percent organic, with 10,000 new “Elepreneurs” in the last several months and record-breaking sales
• Dedicated to corporate and individual entrepreneurial success as the company continues to see growth

OTC Markets Group Inc. announced on September 11, 2018, that Sharing Services, Inc. (OTCQB: SHRV), a diversified holding company specializing in the direct selling industry, has been approved for trading on the OTCQB Venture Market. Current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for SHRV can be found at www.OTCMarkets.com.

Sharing Services, Inc. is headquartered in Plano, Texas and owns, operates or controls a variety of companies specializing in the direct selling industry. The 10,000 square foot facility offers room for expansion, as the company is on track for significant growth. The facility houses a growing customer service department, product fulfillment, opportunity and training rooms, and a video production suite. In the last several months, the company has grown by 10,000 independent sales representatives, which it coins “Elepreneurs.”

Not far from its headquarters, the first-ever “Elepreneur Happiness Convention” was held on March 2-3, 2018, in Dallas, Texas. Close to 1,000 people from several countries attended to hear from internationally known motivational leaders and learn about product lines. In a news release, Robert Oblon, chairman of SHRV, stated, “The enthusiasm of our attendees and the early success that we are experiencing is incredible considering our growth has been 100 percent organic, with almost no marketing from the company.”

In addition to growth in the U.S. market, the company is seeing growth in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. SHRV recently signed a joint venture agreement with Health Wealth & Happiness Limited to market its products throughout Asia. The new company will be named Elepreneurs Asia Limited and will deliver consumers the best products and services to improve their well-being. The soft launch is planned for later this year. In addition, wholly owned subsidiary Elevacity Global, LLC is completing the process to launch its product line in Australia and New Zealand.

In May 2018, SHRV reported its third consecutive record gross sales month, reaching more than $4 million. This followed March’s high of $2.4 million and April’s high of $3.5 million. The company credits these record sales to quality products, satisfied customers and the ability of independent sales representatives to effectively execute the company’s “Blue Ocean Strategy” to a global market.

The “Blue Ocean Strategy” is a combination of elevating “Elepreneurs” through direct selling channels that generate 100 percent organic growth while simultaneously creating as many successful independent leaders as possible.  Sharing Services, Inc. is revolutionizing the direct selling industry, creating a brand that establishes creative interaction toward corporate and individual entrepreneurial success.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.SharingServicesInc.com

• First Cobalt anticipates completion of maiden resource estimate imminently at Idaho site
• Company completed 100 percent acquisition of Idaho site earlier this month, is underway on updated mineral resource report including additional drilling that’s already commenced
• Cobalt market demand expected to double on electric vehicle production needs alone, with larger industry driving additional demand

As geopolitical forces put new pressure on the emerging electric vehicle market, vertically oriented pure-play cobalt company First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF) (ASX: FCC) is feeling excitement about the pending issuance of a maiden resource estimate on the Idaho cobalt project that it only recently acquired full ownership of, which company president and CEO Trent Mell has described (http://ibn.fm/5sHja) as “one of the most prospective and advanced projects in North America.”

Cobalt and lithium are critical components in relatively short supply for the low-heat, high-efficiency batteries that power a list of computer tech products, most significantly the electric vehicles whose star is rising worldwide amid heightened concerns about pollution and its contribution to planetary climate change. Electric vehicles are generally regarded as much more environmentally friendly than petroleum-burning automobiles, but the large majority of the world’s supply originates in the mine fields of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC has historically been troubled by human rights violation claims amid its workforce, and it is now expected to declare cobalt as one of its strategic resources (http://ibn.fm/gXvmw), which would lead to increased taxes and royalties for the metal. Similarly, Chile is contemplating raising taxes on lithium and copper (http://ibn.fm/y3Krb) in the heart of the world-renowned “Lithium Triangle” in response to the rising demand for those metals for use in EVs.

First Cobalt’s efforts to find a domestic solution to the production of one of those metals has led it to focus much of its attention on the Iron Creek property that it obtained last year through the acquisition of explorer US Cobalt, Inc., although the Canada-based company also owns more than 50 past-producing mines in Canada’s renowned Cobalt Camp and the only permitted cobalt refinery (currently shuttered) in North America capable of producing battery materials, giving it three significant North American assets. The Iron Creek project is located in Idaho’s prolific Cobalt Belt, and drilling from 2017 and 2018 is now being calculated into a mineral resource estimate that’s expected shortly.

“Our outlook for the Iron Creek Project was instrumental in the decision to eliminate the outstanding royalty and acquire 100% ownership of the project at this time,” Mell stated in a news release earlier this month (http://ibn.fm/J9PcZ).

The maiden resource estimate is expected by October, and work is already underway to inform an updated mineral resource report that’s expected in the first half of next year. The company has already stated that it expects the maiden report due within the next week and a half to show wider true thickness of mineralization than was reported during prior exploration.

The company has been drilling at the site with the expectation of extending the strike length in two zones and potentially opening a third zone between drill holes along the strike. First Cobalt found one of the two existing zones to be noticeably copper-rich along the extended exploration line, and some of the lower-grade cobalt-copper finds have high enough mineralization to potentially merit bulk mining there.

Revenue forecasts for cobalt have been mixed this year, and uncertainty after Metal Bulletin reduced low-grade cobalt price assessments by 24 percent last month after a multi-year high in April led some consumers to lower their purchase volumes of cobalt tetroxide compounds (http://ibn.fm/8DzyM), according to FastMarkets. However, the launch of new electronic products ahead of the holiday season is expected to bring an upswing in demand, and, for the long-term international metals, minerals research agency Roskill expects that demand from the battery sector alone will increase the size of the entire cobalt market by more than double by 2027 (http://ibn.fm/8VBXG).

Cobalt comprises about 60 percent of the lithium cobaltate in the positive electrodes of lithium-ion batteries. High cobalt prices have driven some electronic product manufacturers to begin using nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) lithium-ion batteries as substitutes for the more prevalent lithium cobaltate batteries, but even the NCM batteries contain about 20 percent cobalt.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/FTSSF

• Custom drilling equipment and service provider to global oil and gas industry
• Recently acquired Five Star Rig and Supply, Inc., an Oklahoma-based drilling rig and supply parts company, in an all stock transaction
• The new unified company will have a 2017 combined revenue of $12.6 million with gross profits of $6.2 million, more than twice the size of the original company
• Expansion plans include moving into the oil drilling rig acquisition, refurbishment and resale business
• Global oil and gas equipment industry is projected to be worth nearly USD$205 billion by 2020

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, 665 Energy (OTC: SSOF), formerly Sixty Six Oilfield Services, has been a leading industry expert in the drilling equipment sector of the oil and gas industry for nearly six decades. The company’s sales and rental department provides solutions for domestic and international markets with core offerings that include a wide variety of customized drilling rigs and other select equipment.

665 Energy recently completed the acquisition of Fluid End Sales, doing business as Five Star Rig and Supply, which was established as a family owned business in 1984. The company’s focus continues to be on supplying the oil industry with custom drilling rigs, heavy-weight drill pipe, drill collars, pup joints, pony collars, handling tools, tubing, casing, blow-out preventers, engines, compressors and other select equipment to customers worldwide through its facilities in Oklahoma, Germany and Dubai. The company’s services include the sale of new equipment, sale of refurbished and certified used equipment, as well as rental of oilfield equipment.

Immediate expansion plans include partnering with a rig debt financing company to fund the $40 million purchase of 11 identified oil drilling rigs that have already been appraised. This action represents an incredible opportunity to jumpstart the next phase of growth and expansion.

Company president and CEO Jason Clayton, who started at Five Star in 1993, has worked in and managed all areas of the company including customer growth and sales. Clayton will also remain as president of the subsidiary, Five Star Rig and Supply, and is supported by longtime key staff members including Jimmy Joslin, who has been with Five Star Rig since 1984 and will be responsible for orders processing, inventory control, delivery, logistics and supervision of custom projects such as rig and rig equipment refurbishment, testing and certification. Jim Frazier will assume the role of CFO as the company prepares for further growth and expansion.

According to a research report by Statista, the world’s oil and gas equipment industry is projected to be worth nearly USD$205 billion by 2020 (http://ibn.fm/KniJn), and as the energy sector continues strong growth in 2018, 665 Energy is well positioned to capitalize on the global trend and will continue to be aggressive in the marketplace.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.SixtySixOilfield.com

• Sol-gel nose-to-brain system offers superior drug delivery
• New extraction protocol makes accurate and precise quantification of cannabinoids possible
• Establishment of cannabis division to commercialize research developments

A recent release from PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (CSE: PREV) (OTCQB: PRVCF) (FSE: 18H) shows that, in cannabinoid extraction technology, the health sciences company is getting it right. The company announced that, during its soluble gel drug delivery research and development program – the Sol-gel Program – it had successfully optimized the conditions for extracting cannabinoids from one of its cannabis strains and developed a proprietary method – the Extraction Protocol – for the accurate and precise quantification of cannabinoids present in the extract (http://ibn.fm/iKOST). This technological triumph will allow PRVCF to generate a range of cannabinoid-based Sol-gel formulations, each with a distinct, well-defined composition profile, based on specifications from clinical trial data that determine efficacy and safety. PRVCF is expecting that its drug delivery Sol-gel system will be employed in a range of therapeutic applications that target, initially, anxiety, cachexia, chemotherapy-induced nausea and pain.

The accuracy and precision of PreveCeutical’s Extraction Protocol has been checked against eight commercial cannabinoid standards over a broad concentration range. Its validation means that it can now be directly applied to the four other cannabis strains used in the Sol-gel program. The Extraction Protocol will expedite the creation of a library of chemically fingerprinted cannabinoid extracts, each with a complementary cannabinoid composition. These unique extracts will be optimized and integrated with the Sol-gel technology for use in a variety of therapeutic applications.

To complement the sophistication of its extraction and formulation methodologies, PreveCeutical is in search of hardware for its cannabinoid Sol-gel technology. As Dr. Harry Parekh explained in a recent interview, CBD Sol-gel is a nose-to-brain delivery system and so optimizing the “spray profile” is just as important as getting the formulation right (http://ibn.fm/nsv1l). Formulation and spray profiles go “hand in hand.” PRVCF has been working very closely with the global leader in spray device manufacture, a company based in Europe, in a quest for the optimal applicator. PreveCeutical has now narrowed its choice to two devices that appear to be “optimal for the delivery of the cannabinoid sol-gels into the nasal cavity.”

Most nasal application methods require “upwards of one or two dozen sprays, every twenty-hour hours, which is effectively the patient drinking it, post-nasally.” However, PRVCF believes that its approach will have the edge, because its spray will gel as soon as it hits the nasal mucosa, avoiding any post-nasal swallowing, and, therefore, one-to-three applications per week may be all that is required.

The Sol-gel system is an innovative nose-to-brain drug delivery platform that holds the promise of making medication regimens more effective. When therapeutic compounds are taken orally (many are), they travel through the stomach and intestines and are metabolized, which reduces their effectiveness. However, the Sol-gel system works by nasal administration and delivers the therapeutic agent to the mucosal tissue lining the nostrils, where it is transmitted rapidly to the brain, increasing bioavailability. Additionally, the gel stays in the nasal passages, slowly releasing the CBD while keeping it active for up to seven days. This ease of application and its long-lasting effects may be attractive for patients when compared to other delivery systems.

PreveCeutical has established a cannabis division to commercialize its advances with the cannabinoid Sol-gel technology (http://ibn.fm/5SRGc).

“Given the progress we have made with the extractions and the refined formulations… we believe they can now be channeled into multiple different dosage forms – wafers, tablets, or sprays – so there’s a whole range of different applications that we can put the base technology into for a range of different clinical applications,” Parekh stated in a news release.

For the millions who suffer from anxiety, cachexia, chemotherapy-induced nausea and pain, this is good news. Clinical trials are expected to begin by the end of 2019.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.PreveCeutical.com

• The first products resulting from the joint venture between Cannabis Strategic Ventures and True Promise Beauty are scheduled to be launched by the end of 2018
• The CBD-based luxury cosmetics line will feature face, skin and hair care products
• These products feature innovative formulations that aren’t currently available; the two companies hope to achieve strategic success in a constantly expanding luxury skin care market

Cannabis Strategic Ventures, Inc. (OTC: NUGS) and True Promise Beauty have announced the development of LYXR – a new line of cannabidiol (CBD)-based luxury skin and hair care products. The entire LYXR line will be developed from ingredients like hemp-derived phytocannabinoids and other natural components, according to a company announcement on September 20, 2018 (http://ibn.fm/KSKKD).

Cannabis Strategic Ventures and True Promise Beauty will first launch a face mask that is made from a CBD isolate. The applications of CBD in the cosmetic industry are numerous. Cannabidiol is believed to have anti-aging hydrating properties, as well as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Upon the full development of the LYXR range, the line will feature face, hair and skin care products. According to an official announcement, LYXR products will become available for purchase in early winter 2018.

The news came as a week earlier, on September 13, 2018, Cannabis Strategic Ventures and True Promise Beauty announced a strategic partnership aimed at the development of innovative skincare products. Under the terms and conditions of the agreement, Cannabis Strategic Venture acquired access to a proprietary hemp-derived CBD-infused formula developed by True Promise Beauty. In addition, the company gained access to well-established distribution channels (http://ibn.fm/i0Ywi).

Cannabis Strategic Ventures CEO Simon Yu said in a news release that LYXR provides an amazing opportunity for the introduction of cannabis science in the world of luxury cosmetic products. According to True Promise Beauty President Gail Johnson, the partnership will create a product line that’s brand new to the marketplace. CBD, combined with viable cosmetic formulas developed by experienced chemists, could potentially revolutionize the topical approach to skincare, haircare and body care, Johnson said.

A 2017 report suggests that the global personal care product market is bound to grow to $650.1 billion by 2024 (http://ibn.fm/QYIwv). The face mask market alone is forecast to register an increase of $8 billion by 2020.

LYXR’s initial distribution will target existing distribution networks in the U.S. Product developers believe that the scientifically-proven benefits of CBD will enable cosmetics developers to enter a new era marked by innovative proprietary formulas.

Based in Los Angeles, California, Cannabis Strategic Ventures focuses on supporting entrepreneurial growth within the legal cannabis industry. The company has a selective portfolio of subsidiaries aimed at offering outsourced personnel solutions that are tailor-made to address the needs of various companies specializing in the sector, including cultivators, dispensaries, manufacturers and other cannabis market areas.

True Promise Beauty was founded by Gail Johnson, an Emmy-nominated makeup artist. Johnson’s primary aim was to develop high quality products that even actors and actresses could use to get instantaneous skin rejuvenation. The company has well-established distribution channels with companies such as L’Oréal (OTC: LRLCY), Beauty Systems Group and Salon Centric.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.CannabisStrategic.com

• The spread of digital devices is promoting omni-channel marketing
• Customers want the convenience of paying any which way
• NETE platforms handle over 100 different payment options in over 40 currencies
• Company intends to launch subscription-based payment processing with Payment Club, Inc.

The days when retailers waited hopefully for customers to visit their High Street locations are long gone. In this digital age, consumers are pursued and wooed wherever they congregate, which could be a news site, an online forum or a social media platform. They may be using a desktop, a tablet, or, very likely, a smartphone – different devices that require different configurations for accepting payments. As a result, the retailer whose shopping cart can only accept orders from one of these will be missing out, while his savvy competitor, using a service from Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE), offers a smooth, seamless shopping experience to customers. Net Element is a global fintech provider with technology that facilitates acceptance of electronic payments in an omni-channel environment.

Our shopping expeditions are decidedly different from those undertaken by Mom and Pop. Research by Google (http://ibn.fm/6bIu4) reveals “that consumers want more information and customized experiences during their shopping journey: Two in three shoppers who tried to find information within a store say they didn’t find what they needed, and 43% of them left frustrated. And 71% of in-store shoppers who use smartphones for online research say their device has become more important to their in-store experience.”

The evolution and spread of digital devices has fundamentally altered our approach to commerce. Importantly, consumers now rely on their PCs and smartphones to “window shop” products. After this initial research, actual sales may be realized in a variety of ways.

Regardless of the channel, Net Element has a platform to handle it. The solutions offered by the company enable merchants of all sizes to accept and process over 100 different payment options in more than 40 currencies, including credit, debit and prepaid payments. Net Element also provides merchants with value-added services and technologies, including integrated payment technologies, point-of-sale solutions, security solutions, fraud management, information solutions and analytical tools.

Net Element owns and operates the following subsidiaries:

• Digital Provider – A leading provider of SMS messaging and mobile billing solutions
• Aptito – A next-generation, all-in-one, cloud-based restaurant management and point-of-sale payments platform using wireless technology
• PayOnline – A fully integrated, processor-agnostic electronic commerce platform
• Unified Payments – An award-winning, customized mobile billing and payments solution, recognized by Inc. Magazine as the No. 1 Fastest Growing Company in America in 2012

Recently, Net Element announced that its Unified Payments division had, through its partnership with an institutional investor, arranged a $5 million credit facility for Payment Club to drive its growth initiatives (http://ibn.fm/5N6JC). Unified Payments will soon be launching subscription-based payment processing services through the alliance with Payment Club, Inc., expanding its services in cashless payment acceptance.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.NetElement.com

• Company’s MIDS Cardiac device aims to help ER personnel perform quick, high-sensitivity analysis of heart events
• MIDS device’s handheld portability is being developed to allow quick-response resource to minimally trained ambulance personnel
• Final device could ultimately help save patients, health insurers from unnecessary evaluation expenses

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in men and women within the United States (http://ibn.fm/iTWKf), accounting for one out of every four deaths, and, as such, is fertile ground for research that is published regularly in professional periodicals such as the Journal of the American Heart Association (http://ibn.fm/xrAJK). The ailment is also the inspiration for a variety of business enterprises aiming to help the public reduce heart disease risks, and among those companies is health care technology company Zenosense, Inc. (OTCQB: ZENO), a co-owner of the United Kingdom’s MIDS Medical Limited (MML) and its innovative handheld MIDS technology, as implemented in the ongoing development of its MIDS Cardiac device.

MIDS Cardiac aims is to deliver true laboratory accuracy, performing high-sensitivity troponin tests in the emergency room or out in the field to better identify if a patient with chest pain or shortness of breath is experiencing a myocardial infarction. Troponin is a heart protein generally searched for by emergency room physicians as a quick indicator if damaged cardiac cells have entered the blood stream, and new age high-sensitivity troponin tests are delivering critical information to doctors more rapidly than before.

The majority of patients presenting themselves with chest pain or shortness of breath are ultimately found to not be experiencing acute heart attacks, but the critical concern associated with their symptoms can lead to unnecessary hospital admissions and tests that increase the medical expenses borne largely by patients and their insurance providers.

Best-practice diagnostics not only minimize the risk of unnecessary medical expenses; they pave the way for patients to receive the appropriate medical treatment for their conditions. The in-development MIDS device has particular importance in establishing the proper treatment of such events.

“Chest discomfort is one of the most commonly-encountered complaints in outpatient medicine, and represents a major diagnostic challenge as patients often present with a broad range of non-specific symptoms or signs,” Dr. James Januzzi Jr. of Massachusetts General Hospital wrote in a report on one heart diagnostics study (http://ibn.fm/GZ3kA).

Zenosense is developing the MIDS Cardiac device to help ER doctors rapidly conduct high-sensitivity troponin tests and also to make the technology portably available to ambulance first responders as they are treating patients in the first moments of an incident at a distance from the hospital. MIDS Cardiac aims to provide laboratory standard results within three minutes and additional cardiac biomarker testing within eight minutes utilizing a single pinprick of blood.

High-sensitivity troponin testing has been in clinical use in other parts of the world, including Europe, Canada and Australia, for over seven years, but the United States only approved the first such analyses last year (http://ibn.fm/l8bsK). As a result, no point of care tools are available to conduct true high-sensitivity testing, making the need for portable devices such as the MIDS product apparent. The technology is being developed to enable automated operation of the final device, suitable for use by minimally trained personnel, even in an ambulatory setting.

In July, the company posted quantitative testing results indicating that the MIDS technology had successfully detected a number of assay beads approximately four times lower than the maximum threshold required as suitable for a high-sensitivity troponin assay.

“The results of this second round of testing are quite extraordinary, as magnetic detection at this level for this application is unheard of,” Managing Director and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Nasser Djennati stated in a news release (http://ibn.fm/aVNAE). “We can now move forward and apply the MIDS detection to established assay techniques used in conventional analyzers as we seek to deliver state-of-the-art laboratory standard, high sensitivity cardiac troponin testing at the Point of Care.”

Planning is now underway for the next key phase of development to test microfluidic detection on the revised electronics platform and to embody a high sensitivity assay on a test strip.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Zenosense.com