• 2018 flu season could cost U.S. businesses $15 billion in lost productivity
• Winter Olympics hit with norovirus, sickening 128 Olympic workers
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urging public to wash hands, use hand sanitizer in battle against infection
• DermSafe® antimicrobial hand sanitizer is 99.9 percent effective against a list of deadly bacteria and viruses

It’s a simple phrase: “Wash your hands and use a hand sanitizer,” but doing it correctly and with the right product can make the difference when it comes to protection against a nasty bacteria or virus. Using an antiseptic hand sanitizer lotion such as DermSafe®, which incorporates Skinvisible’s (OTCQB: SKVI) proprietary Invisicare® drug delivery technology, is another vital tool offering a barrier against potentially serious illnesses. Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals, Inc., developer of over 40 topical prescription, over-the-counter and cosmeceutical products using its patented Invisicare® polymer delivery systems, donated over 1,000 bottles of DermSafe® to the Canadian Olympic team for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio (http://ibn.fm/mPqaA), the company has now sent the same supply for the Olympic team in South Korea for the 2018 Winter Games. It’s a timely donation and one that could make a significant difference to the welfare of the team.

In fact, every athlete at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, is taking extra precautions to stay healthy, especially after an outbreak of the highly contagious norovirus sickened more than 120 security staff and others, prompting organizers to deploy 900 military personnel to assist at the games (http://ibn.fm/FWqJV). Even more alarming is the continuing number of deaths resulting from an aggressive influenza strain – H3N2 – affecting children and adults living in the continental United States (http://ibn.fm/6wsot). The common thread running throughout all of these stories is an admonition from health care professionals urging the public to religiously “wash your hands” and use hand sanitizers. Germs can live on any surface, so washing hands and wearing an antimicrobial hand lotion like DermSafe® is one of the best ways to stop germs from hitching a ride (http://ibn.fm/EITwq).

One application of DermSafe provides a four-hour protective barrier that binds to the skin and actively combats the spread of germs between people and hard surfaces. The active ingredient is four percent chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), the same active ingredient found in soaps used in hospital operating rooms. DermSafe offers long-term protection and destroys both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and viruses (http://ibn.fm/okWGq). It has been tested and proven effective against a host of infectious germs, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and salmonella. Sales of DermSafe have already taken off in China, and the product will be marketed throughout the country.

This year’s flu outbreak could conceivably cost U.S. businesses anywhere from $15 billion to $21 billion in lost productivity, Andrew Challenger, vice president of global employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., said in a 2017-2018 Flu Season report (http://ibn.fm/ZPzeY). The agency raised itd earlier estimates by 64 percent, stating the 2018 flu virus could cause more than 18 million U.S. employees to miss at least four 8-hour shifts.

“Sick workers may think they are doing the right thing by ‘toughing it out’ and coming into work when they feel ill,” Challenger said in a news article (http://ibn.fm/HGm9C). However, “they are only likely to spread their illness, potentially further interrupting optimum business operations.”

Prevention and protection is the key when it comes to avoiding infectious germs. Although this season’s flu strain is particularly vicious, experts continue to remind the public that washing hands often and applying a long-term, antimicrobial hand sanitizer such as Skinvisible’s DermSafe® offers scientifically-proven protection against bacteria and viruses.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: Skinvisible, Inc. Message Board

• Jon Fortune joins AV1 as strategic corporate advisor
• LED lighting is cost- and energy-efficient for companies, homes and grow houses
• X-Fire Smart Systems™ is an innovative solution for smart cities and homes

AV1 Group, Inc. (OTC: AVOP) recently announced the addition of Jon Fortune to its team. In a news release, AV1 Group CEO Bryen Beglinger stated, “We welcome Jon to our team. He has a wealth of experience and with his expertise in renewable energy, he will be a significant asset. He has a number of contacts in the industry that he is already working with on co-development opportunities, solutions and building customer relationships for our LED division and Smart City projects. Jon will also be working with our wholly-owned subsidiary, X-Fire, Inc., to incorporate block chain technology to the current product offering.”

AV1 Group explores every opportunity to help each sector exceed revenue goals. Each division is prepared to be a strong competitor in its given market. Engaging strong contenders, like Fortune, is a strategic move toward the success of AVOP, as multiple subsidiaries are created under one umbrella.

The LED Division provides cost- and energy-efficient lighting solutions for companies, homes and grow houses. The long-lasting LED lighting is attractive to lighting designers and property managers and is sold under the subsidiary Intelligent Lighting Corp. Growth Spectrum™ is a product line marketed to the cannabis industry. A strategic partnership with the LED manufacturer allows the company entry into a fast-growing market with minimal overhead. CannaLighting™ is actively building strategic relationships in the LED sector to potentially provide solutions to a rapidly increasing number of grow houses and cultivation centers. LED lighting solutions are an important factor for these indoor agricultural environments.

X-Fire Smart Systems™ is part of AVOP’s innovative solutions for city smart grids, home and business lighting and ecommerce. Through this subsidiary, the company offers a range of smart technology. The Apollo LED Series is an intelligent lighting solution with the ability to provide street-wide wireless access. It is an all-in-one housing that incorporates a wireless MESH radio for secure remote access and monitoring of infrastructure. It allows for programmable diming schedules and motion or light sensors. Smart parking meters allow for the use of credit cards instead of quarters. Charging stations integrate to allow authorization of credit cards and report usage to power providers. Digital utility meters provide time and cost savings and better customer service, and the Apollo Picocell extends cellular coverage to places where there is no signal. Picocells provide coverage, capacity and cost savings in areas that can be difficult to reach.

Fortune promises to be a significant asset as AVOP continues to seek out existing hardware, software designers and manufacturers in the LED and smart city industries.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.AV1Group.com

Let us hear your thoughts: AV1 Group, Inc. Message Board

• CIIX diversifies methods of reaching its global Chinese-speaking audience, with projects ranging from a daily video broadcast from the NYSE on cryptocurrencies to the development of a new social media mobile app for the cannabis industry
• Company’s new mobile app expected to be the first Chinese-language app offering reviews and discussion of cannabis products
• ‘Bitcoin MultiMillionaire’ is the company’s daily video broadcast from the NYSE prepared for its unique and expansive audience

ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) is reaching out to the global Chinese-speaking community through both daily video broadcasts on cryptocurrencies and, soon, a new mobile app focused on reviews and discussion of cannabis products. CIIX is involved in both product areas. The company is a diverse educational and consulting firm targeting the Chinese-speaking community in both China and the U.S.

In cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, the company is active in educational activities, produces a daily video broadcast from the NYSE titled ‘Bitcoin MultiMillionaire’ and hosts a Bitcoin ATM in the lobby of its San Gabriel, California, headquarters.

In cannabis, CIIX has ChineseHempOil.com, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary. That company markets, both online and through traditional retail, a line of hemp-based health products. The line consists of premium private label oil made from non-industrial hemp, manufactured using a CO2 extraction process.

The company’s new cannabis mobile app, focused on marijuana reaching social media, was noted in the January editions of both the Tiny Gems Newsletter (http://ibn.fm/MViH4) and the Serious Traders Newsletter (http://ibn.fm/BoAXL).

While the company reaches out to its audience in new ways, its subsidiary, CBD Biotechnology Co., Ltd., is also expanding its line of luxury skincare products (http://ibn.fm/iuxkC). Its products have been approved for sale in China by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). CIIX has scheduled the launch of four new hemp-infused products and a breakthrough magnetic mask. Additionally, as part of its strategic plan to boost revenues, it has aligned with China GuiZhou HanTai Wine, Inc. (http://ibn.fm/TFnlw) to begin baijiu liquor sales. Baijiu is a grain-based Chinese alcoholic beverage.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. Message Board

• Lexaria has developed an oral digestion technology that may translate into lower dosages and shorter treatment regimens
• Company is expanding its edible product offerings through a licensing agreement with a Canadian cannabis chocolate manufacturer
• Lexaria continues to develop products for demonstration, testing and sales

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP) has developed DehydraTECH™, an oral digestion technology believed to improve the absorption rates of nicotine, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), vitamins and cannabinoids by as much as five to ten times the normal rate. The time of onset is also reduced, and effects are felt within 15 to 20 minutes versus the normal 60 to 120 minutes. This proprietary technology also eliminates the undesired taste of cannabinoid edibles. By changing the way active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) enter the body, the user can benefit from lower dosages and quicker effects. The bioavailability of the APIs is improved, while side effects are tempered. As a result, this technology promotes far healthier ingestion methods than smoking or vaping.

Recently, the company announced its entry into a licensing agreement with Cannfections Group Inc. This agreement offers Lexaria the ability to provide commercial clients with high quality chocolate edibles. Cannfections is an infused chocolate and gummies contract manufacturer that was recently established by one of Canada’s oldest and most recognized chocolatiers. The owners of Cannfections have 85 years of experience in the chocolate-making industry that will lend to Lexaria’s long-term strategy of partnering with the world’s best to deliver best-in-class products.

Lexaria has developed various products for demonstration, testing and sales, showing wide applicability. These non-psychoactive cannabinoid products have a high-absorption hemp oil formula, are an excellent source of omegas and essential fatty acids and are engineered for physiological performance and recovery. APIs within Lexaria’s products have been shown to reduce anxiety and stress while promoting focus, offsetting pain and inflammation and supporting circulation.

The company’s sports nutrition focus resulted in its Protein Energy Bars, which are a high source of energy, fiber and protein. ViPova™ branded premium teas deliver cannabidiol in several flavors and are high in anti-oxidants. TurboCBD™ hemp oil capsules are formulated with American ginseng and ginkgo biloba for enhanced focus and memory, and reduced stress and fatigue. Mouth-melt tablets are zero-sugar, rapidly dissolve, and combine the antioxidant properties of pterostilbene with hemp oil. Finally, Lexaria’s beverages are sparkling-clear with no hint of hemp oil flavors. With a continued focus on high quality and cutting edge technology, Lexaria is investigating and will continue to pursue additional technologies.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: Lexaria Bioscience Corp. Message Board

• Producing cannabinoids through biosynthesis
• CANNSYNTHESIS® platform has capacity to scale up
• Revenues from out-licensing technology

For the half a billion or so who suffer from one type or another of diabetes, biosynthesis offers a lifeline. For it is through biosynthesis that much of the world’s insulin is produced. Insulin regulates the metamorphosis of fats and protein and, importantly, allows the cells in the muscles, fat and liver to absorb glucose from the blood. When the body does not produce enough insulin nor use the insulin it produces efficiently, blood sugar levels may rise dangerously. However, biosynthesis, a mid-twentieth century technology, is not employed solely in producing insulin but finds application in many other fields. For example, Teewinot Life Sciences Corporation uses biosynthesis to produce cannabinoids, a method of manufacture that is much less costly than growing cannabis plants and extracting the cannabinoids. With biosynthesis, Teewinot Life Sciences is able to produce cannabinoids without touching the cannabis plant.

Despite changing attitudes, cannabis remains a prohibited or controlled substance in many jurisdictions worldwide. In the U.S., for example, it is regulated pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, under which authorities have classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. By so doing, all cannabinoids risk being tainted with illegality if they are extracted from the marijuana plant. However, most cannabinoids produced biosynthetically may escape the prohibitions of the CSA, since only THC is specifically mentioned in Schedule I.

Teewinot manufactures cannabinoids that have the same chemical structure as naturally-occurring phytocannabinoids by means of its patent-protected methods. These proprietary methods of manufacturing cannabinoids are less expensive than growing cannabis plants and extracting the cannabinoids. Moreover, the technology can be used to cost-effectively manufacture cannabinoid pro-drugs and cannabinoid analogs that do not naturally occur in the cannabis plant. A pro-drug is a substance that is metabolized by the body into a pharmacologically-active agent. Perhaps the best known pro-drug is paracetamol (acetaminophen), which is now thought to exert its analgesic (and probably anti-pyretic) effects by metamorphosizing into an anandamide, an endocannabinoid. In very general terms, this means that in the human body, paracetamol degrades to a cannabimimetic, or a substance that mimics a cannabinoid.

Developed by its labs in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Steinbach, Manitoba, this groundbreaking biosynthesis technology has long outgrown its micro environment. Teewinot Life Sciences has developed CannSynthesis™ to be employed for the large-scale manufacture of pharmaceutically pure cannabinoids. The technology has been licensed for the commercial production of the first analytical standard of CBCA (cannabichromenic acid) and for the manufacture of a patent-protected pro-drug of a cannabinoid. Teewinot’s cannabinoid pro-drugs are designed to be more bioavailable and stable in the human body, thereby increasing their efficacy.

Apart from THC and CBD, many of the 111 or so cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant are produced in minute quantities. Production by extraction is thus prohibitively costly, meaning that most cannabinoids have not been available for research and therapeutic applications. The CANNSYNTHESIS® platform has changed that paradigm, however, since it allows for the efficient production of cannabinoids in kilogram quantities. Teewinot’s CANNSYNTHESIS® has taken the production of cannabinoids from the lab to clinical settings, since the technology can deliver consistent and controlled dosages. Buoyed by its successes, the company continues to work with leading universities and pharmaceutical companies to provide novel patient therapies.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: Teewinot Life Sciences Message Board

• Tapinator has more than 300 mobile gaming titles
• Company’s games have attracted more than 450 million player downloads
• Company in position to be early leader in emerging decentralized apps market

The advent of smartphones and tablets has given rise to a generation that is constantly looking down—a fact that has profitability going up for mobile gaming innovators like Tapinator, Inc. (OTCQB: TAPM). With a portfolio of more than 300 mobile games and counting, Tapinator has attracted more than 450 million player downloads of its titles, which include hit games like ROCKY™, Solitaire Dash, Video Poker Classic and Dice Mage.

TAPM began as a social/desktop games developer and successfully transitioned into the mobile gaming space when mobile apps became the gaming world’s new frontier. Striving to stay at the cutting edge of innovation within the gaming market, TAPM is now foraying into distributed applications and games that leverage blockchain technology, as discussed in a recent article (http://ibn.fm/QRx9T).

At the commencement of 2018, Tapinator announced the formation of a new subsidiary, Revolution Blockchain LLC, which was created to focus on the development and publication of these blockchain-driven distributed apps and games (http://ibn.fm/AsKxa). Revolution Blockchain’s first product, slated for launch during the second quarter of 2018, will employ blockchain technology for the storage of game payments and assets through fungible tokens on the blockchain.

Blockchain-based gaming apps have the potential to help resolve issues related to the security of players’ in-game assets. Though players may invest years in a mobile game, rising through achievement levels and amassing in-game assets, they don’t “own” those assets, and they also have no way to safeguard them. It is believed that blockchain-based apps can help resolve these types of problems.

Tapinator is now positioned to be an early leader in the emerging decentralized apps market. In contrast with apps that run backend code on a centralized server or computer, decentralized applications, or DApps, run their backend codes on a P2P network, which eradicates the problem of having a single failure point and makes the apps more stable. Scalability potential is also greater for these apps.

Tapinator is very excited about its in-development crypto gaming products. More information will be released by the company as launch of the first Revolution Blockchain product draws nearer.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: Tapinator, Inc. Message Board

• Unique branded, custom-made, authenticated, conflict-free, sapphire jewelry sold direct-to-consumer
• Strategic marketing initiatives target millennials with four niche brands, each with rapidly growing social media followings
• Global gems and jewelry industry is estimated to reach $443 billion by 2022
• Launch of blockchain-based loyalty rewards program in 2018 to feature ReignCoin cryptocurrency

Reign Sapphire Corp. (OTCQB: RGNP) is a direct-to-consumer, custom and branded jewelry company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Reign’s mission is to provide ethical and sustainable jewelry direct to the modern consumer, marketed through sophisticated digital initiatives that speak directly to individuals through social media channels and personalized promotions. The company’s lean operating model ensures expenses are linked to order flow with flexible production schedules targeting just-in-time delivery, which in turn reduces or eliminates commodity risk. Reign is a member of the American Gem Trading Association, which is committed to fair trade and processing of gemstones.

Reign Sapphire Corp. owns and operates three divisions: Reign Brands, Reign Ventures and Reign Blockchain. Reign Brands features four unique, niche jewelry brands with separate social media followings:

• Reign Sapphires: Ethically produced, millennial-targeted sapphire jewelry sourced from Australia.
• Coordinates Collection: Custom jewelry inscribed with location coordinates commemorating life’s special moments.
• Le Bloc: Classic, customized jewelry.
• ION Collection by Jen Selter: Athleisure jewelry brand.

Reign Ventures is the company’s joint venture platform for investment and development of jewelry technology-related products.

Reign Blockchain authenticates its sapphires as conflict-free, allowing customers to wear products created by a company that shares their beliefs in human dignity and environmental stewardship. In 2018, Reign Blockchain is preparing to conduct an initial coin offering (ICO) for ReignCoin, subject to regulatory approval. ReignCoin will serve as Reign’s cryptocurrency as part of a blockchain-based loyalty reward program.

The company’s products are sold through a commission-based affiliate program that is supported by personalized email campaigns and promotions, celebrity promotion and gifting, digital advertising based on keyword purchases and sponsored ads, and creative publicity events and media outreach to attract maximum exposure. The successful launch of a company-wide social media influencer campaign across all its retail brands boosted Reign’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook followings by double digits within the first three weeks of going live.

Reign continues to seek out international partnerships, adding to the success it has already achieved in the Middle East, where its flagship store is in the Dubai Mall. The company recently teamed up with the original founder of its Coordinates Collection brand, Owen de Vries, who will lead its Europe and United Kingdom sales efforts. The Netherlands-based operation will proliferate Reign point-of-sales that are adapted for local language, digital marketing and customer service.

Reign Sapphire Corp. is led by president and CEO Joseph Segelman, who has also served on the board of directors since December 2014. Segelman earlier served as the Chief Executive Officer and managing director of Australian Sapphire Corporation, Shefa Mining Corporation and Spencer Lloyd & Associates. He is an experienced marketing and operations professional with over 20 years of experience in logistics and marketing, and extensive experience in the Australian mining and gem industry. He is also a director and board member of OBK (a Sydney, Australia, based charity) and a Captain (Chaplain) in the Australian Army reserves. Segelman is the author of “Take Action: Successful Australians Share their Secrets.” (Lothian Books, 2004).

The company’s board of advisors includes Andrea Hansen, jewelry marketing veteran and former president of the Women’s Jewelry Association; Jeremy Avitan, CPA and compliance executive; Michael Lawrence corporate lawyer and litigator, Doug Cole, corporate financier and entrepreneur, Thierry Chaunu, a luxury goods executive with prior senior management roles at Chopard, Christofle and Cartier, and Pinny Gwinisch, founder of Ice.com and adjunct professor at McGill and Rutgers University.

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

• New financial cryptocurrency tech space remains volatile, with impending regulatory moves on horizon
• Melding of new acquisitions – iOS app Bitcoin Charts and CryptoFolio – expected to create ultimate live cryptocurrency trading data app
• Combined app expected to be available on the App Store and Google Play with translations in 10 unique languages

Epazz, Inc. (OTC: EPAZ), a leading provider of blockchain cryptocurrency mobile apps and cloud-based business software solutions, is preparing to combine two of its newest acquisitions to create the ultimate live cryptocurrency trading app. Epazz intends to combine the best of its recently-acquired Android app, CryptoFolio, which securely tracks and manages bitcoin and altcoin portfolios, with its latest acquisition, the iOS app Bitcoin Charts, which provides live trading data on cryptocurrencies. The combined app is expected to be available on both the App Store and Google Play, with translations in 10 languages.

The two apps already have over 3,000 downloads, while the company’s primary blockchain app, Zenapay, was downloaded more than 17,000 times in January alone. Zenapay, now available on both the App Store and Google Play, offers a cutting-edge payment solution that gives consumers a way to buy items online or in stores using bitcoin (http://ibn.fm/atbai). Zenapay Bitcoin Wallet has been downloaded more than 10,000 times since its launch on the Android Play Store. The second version of Zenapay is scheduled for release on February 10.

As active cryptocurrency holders the world over know by now, volatility is part of the daily ebb and flow of this new financial tech space. Business Insider reported that nearly every major cryptocurrency dropped more than 15 percent on Friday, February 2, as concerns over regulation, an advertising ban from Facebook and investigations into altcoins spooked cryptocurrency traders (http://ibn.fm/v0Oho). One thing that didn’t diminish, however, was the level of interest in the cryptocurrency markets. An easy way to keep abreast of cryptocurrency prices is exactly what Epazz plans to deliver with its “ultimate live cryptocurrency trading app,” Shaun Passley, PhD, CEO of Epazz, said in a news release.

“We are purchasing the rights to blockchain apps to speed up our market entry into the blockchain industry. CryptoFolio and Zenapay users will benefit from the live data on Bitcoin Charts,” Passley said. “We will add mobile apps through acquisition or internal development over the next few months. We believe blockchain is a very large industry, and we will use our skills to expand into this market.”

All users of Zenapay will have the option to use a company discount for making in-app purchases of the CryptoFolio app. Similarly, Epazz’s acquisition of the Bitcoin Charts iOS app will provide live trading data to CryptoFolio users. The CryptoFolio business model provides free features to attract users and then allows users to purchase additional features ranging in price from $1.99 to $5.99 each. The CryptoFolio app is also one of the few block trading apps with chatrooms, bringing like-minded cryptocurrency holders together in a centralized virtual hangout. Epazz will be expanding the chatrooms in future versions of the app, and it expects to release the next version of CryptoFolio on both iOS and Android in the next few months.

The blistering pace of the cryptocurrency markets and advances in blockchain technology will keep anyone on their toes (http://ibn.fm/krfxD), as nonstop news reports on this week’s volatility proves. For cryptocurrency traders or just the seriously curious wannabe’s, having access to real-time, accurate information provided through a secure, trusted app such as those provided by Epazz could mean the difference between riding the crypto-wave and being run over by it.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: Epazz, Inc. Message Board

• PetroBLOQ promises to play vital role in improving efficiency, transparency and security of oil and gas sector
• Increases in oil shale production, rising Brent prices fueled by rising demands worldwide
• Complex transactions, supply chain management issues cement need for PetroBLOQ’s disruptive technology

Petroteq Energy Inc. (TSX.V: PQE) (OTCQX: PQEFF), a company focused on the development and implementation of proprietary technologies for the energy industry, is uniquely positioned to develop a disruptive blockchain technology platform for the oil and gas industry through its subsidiary, PetroBLOQ. In a recent letter to shareholders (http://ibn.fm/r4LtG), Jerry Bailey, director and president of Petroteq, said blockchain “holds the promise of unlocking billions of dollars in profits for the Energy Industry by reducing the friction inherent in the business processes we need to control.”

Worldwide demand for efficiency in the oil and gas sector continues to grow as geopolitical and economic instabilities fluctuate, affecting supply and resources. Implementation of blockchain technology, which utilizes a distributed, encrypted ledger and smart contracts, would move this massive industry away from the inherent problems of paper trails or outdated trading platforms, as noted in an article on OilPrice.com (http://ibn.fm/zdyrv). These hugely complicated global contracts are often rife for lawsuits and lengthy legal processes that pump up prices and create numerous obstacles for those involved in oil and gas supply chain management.

“Few people outside of the energy industry understand the complexity of the transactions that need to happen between getting crude oil from the ground to ultimately ending up as gasoline in your automobile,” Bailey said in discussing the benefits of PetroBLOQ’s technology.

Petroteq recently forged a partnership with First Bitcoin Capital (OTC: BITCF) to bring the benefits of cryptocurrency to the oil and gas industry (http://ibn.fm/t4KvY). The companies are collaboratively working to develop and operate PetroBLOQ – the first blockchain-based platform developed exclusively for the supply chain needs of the oil and gas sector (www.PetroBLOQ.com). As demand for energy continues its never-ending upward spiral, PetroBLOQ is building a stabilizing, distributed digital ledger through blockchain technology that will give all the players in the energy industry crucial production, transportation and accounting information in real-time, potentially saving billions in cost.

In its ‘2018 Oil and Gas Industry Outlook’ report (http://ibn.fm/KAbys), Deloitte points out “the proliferation of increasingly lower-cost digital technology is already unleashing innovative ideas across the oil and gas value chain. From how we develop a field, procure goods and services, and move product to all the HR and back-office services to support the core businesses, digital technologies could change everything, resulting in radical efficiency gains and improvements of both top and bottom lines.”

Goldman Sachs said in a recent report (http://ibn.fm/pqFFi) that it has raised its 2018 oil price forecasts, projecting that Brent crude will soon top $80, fueled by blockbuster oil demand, a deal among big producers to limit output and U.S. drillers’ inability to meet the world’s growing energy appetite. Notably, the investment bank said that many U.S. drillers and oil majors have vowed to focus on efficiency and fiscal discipline at the expense of runaway production growth – underscoring the disruptive potential of PetroBLOQ’s visionary technology.

Pemex, the Mexican state-owned petroleum company and one of the world’s top petroleum producers, recently became the first member of the PetroBLOQ Global Blockchain Industry Consortium. Pemex also made headlines on December 1, 2017, by becoming the first petroleum company to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment.

“We believe this new opportunity with Pemex serves as a testament to the success of our vision as we continue to make progress in our most recent venture, to develop and operate an enterprise-grade, blockchain-based platform,” Alex Blyumkin, CEO and chairman of Petroteq, stated in a news release announcing the agreement. “As part of our strategy to build advanced oil processing and refining facilities, we discovered inefficiencies and bottlenecks associated with the industry’s supply chain, and proposed blockchain solution is being designed to enable oil and gas companies globally to conduct transactions.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Petroteq.energy

Let us hear your thoughts: Petroteq Energy Inc. Message Board

• Goal is to raise $4 million to help company finance its planned projects
• Expansion into Canada eyed, attorney retained to help seek Canadian licenses to import ETST’s CBD-rich hemp oil into country
• ETST would also use funding for MSN-2, its home kit for the detection of sexually transmitted diseases

Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTC: ETST) is working toward an uplisting to the OTCQB Venture Market in early 2018. It has also retained counsel for a planned Regulation A+ Tier 2 round of financing, which the company hopes will raise an aggregate of $4 million (http://ibn.fm/v2gKV). The funds would be used to finance its planned projects in the new year and for general working capital (http://ibn.fm/bbx4q), with share cancellation by company founders counteracting dilution.

ETST is also eyeing expansion into Canada in 2018, and it has appointed an attorney who will serve as consultant for ETST’s activities in that country, Avi Levi, Esq. (http://ibn.fm/LmBS1). He will help the company apply for licenses to import its CBD-rich hemp oil into Canada. It will then be exported to various countries as raw hemp oil or in individual ready-to-consume bottles, the company said.

Dr. Michel Aube, CEO and chief scientific officer of the company, said, “With the funds being raised through the Regulation A+ offering, we will be in a position to begin finalizing all of our projects while we pursue grants from the Canadian government to cover our MSN-2 medical device, CBD patent pending formulas and CBD based generic pharmaceutical drugs.”

The MSN-2 device is prepared for third-party evaluation ahead of manufacture and commercialization. The MSN-2 device is a home kit designed for the detection of sexually transmitted diseases.

ETST is a biotechnology company operating in the fields of hemp cannabinoid pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and medical device R&D. Its hemp CBD is made using the liquid extraction process. As a result, its CBD oil is 100 percent natural and organic, as noted by the company.

ETST has three wholly owned subsidiaries. First, Earth Science Pharma, Inc. specializes in the development of medical devices for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Second, Cannabis Therapeutics, Inc. works to explore the medicinal powers of CBD. Cannabis Therapeutics holds a provisional application patent for a CBD product which develops treatments for ovarian and breast cancers. Third, KannaBidioid, Inc. focuses on the recreational cannabis space.

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