Earlier today, OurPet’s Company (OTCQX: OPCO) announced that it has licensed its U.S. patent number 8,973,529 B1 to a major stainless steel pet bowl manufacturer based in India. This agreement marks OPCO’s third licensing deal related to the ‘529 patent since the company announced its intent to license the IP on June 9, 2016. According to this morning’s news release, OPCO is currently in ongoing negotiations with several other manufacturers regarding additional licensing agreements related to the polymer bonded patent, which was originally issued March 10, 2015.

Under the terms of the newly-announced, non-exclusive deal, the licensee will now be permitted to sell stainless steel pet bowls with polymer materials applied to any portion of the bottom, as described in the ‘529 patent. In exchange, OPCO will receive a royalty for each unit sold in the United States.

“The polymer bonding on stainless steel technology has proven very popular and has attracted many domestic and foreign competitors who have not always appreciated US patent regulations, thus necessitating legal action,” Dr. Steven Tsengas, chief executive officer of OPCO, stated in a recent news release.

In June, the company highlighted its successful defense of the ‘529 patent against a range of competitors, both international and domestic. However, as a result of the considerable time and expense related to these suits, OPCO’s management team instituted general licensing of the patent to qualified manufacturers in an effort to both expand usage of the related technology and bolster the company’s financial growth.

Since its founding in 1995, OPCO has remained committed to enhancing the bond between pets and pet parents through the development of high quality, innovative products. Today, the company boasts an intellectual property portfolio featuring more than 160 individual patents spanning the entirety of the roughly $77 billion U.S. pet industry. OPCO continued to build on its position at the forefront of the pet market earlier this year through the presentation of its new Intelligent Pet Care Bluetooth® product line and Switchgrass Natural Cat Litter™ at the SuperZoo National trade show in Las Vegas. Leaning on the marketability of these new products, as well as a sizable portfolio of proven favorites, OPCO’s management team is looking forward to a strong finish to 2016, as noted by Tsengas in a recent news release.

“Due to the seasonal nature of the pet industry, we typically experience our strongest sales in the second half of the year. We have no reason to believe this year will be any different,” he added.

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

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The announcement by Star Mountain Resources, Inc. (OTC: SMRS) of the Sully discovery validates the company’s decision to reactivate the Balmat mine. The company’s recently completed district-wide review and evaluation, which targeted zinc mineralization in the Balmat-Edwards Mining District of St. Lawrence County, New York, yielded encouraging results. The review identified significant potential zinc mineralization, labeled the ‘Sully discovery’, in the Upper Marble unit at a location approximately one mile southwest of the historic Hyatt Mine and four miles northeast of the Balmat mine. The Upper Marble unit contains the rock within which the ore deposit occurs, known as host rock in the industry. Star Mountain’s Sully discovery is important because it increases the possibility that the company is sitting on reserves greater that those indicated by already completed feasibility studies.

Out of 12 drill holes executed on the Sully target in 2007 and 2008, seven intersected massive sulfide zinc mineralization. The drilling operations revealed significant thicknesses of zinc mineralization that can be correlated over approximately 1,500 feet along strike and up to 500 feet across strike. The strike of a bed is the direction of a straight line that connects two points of equal elevation on the bed.

The richness of the results was particularly promising. The seven drill holes yielded nine readings. The percentage of zinc assayed ranged from 1.4% to 24.7%. The average of the nine readings was 11.6%; the standard deviation was 7.4%.

On the release of the findings, Star Mountain Resources President Mark Osterberg pointed out that the Balmat-Edwards District has been in near continuous production for 100 years and that, on average, every 17 years a new mine has been discovered. The company, he said, will advance its exploration efforts and is confident it can “add to the record of discovery.”

Although further studies are required to confirm the economic viability of the mineralized material, the Sully discovery, naturally, raises the chances that further significant deposits of zinc are present in the Balmat-Edwards area. The area has historically proven to be rich in zinc. Star Mountain’s mining properties there consist of four mines: Balmat, Edwards, Hyatt and Pierrepont. Edwards was in operation from 1915 to 1980; Pierrepont produced from 1982 to 2001; and Hyatt operated from 1974 to 1998. The Balmat mine operated continuously from 1930 to 2001, when production ceased due to depressed zinc metal prices. Production then resumed in 2006 until falling prices caused it to be shuttered again in the fall of 2008.

The greater Balmat-Edwards-Pierrepont district has produced in excess of 43 million tons of 9.4% zinc during its 76 years of operation, while the Balmat mine has produced 33.8 million tons of 8.6% zinc ore since operations began in 1930. It’s beginning to look as if Balmat may be just the tip of the Star Mountain iceberg.

Star Mountain Resources, Inc. is a junior exploration and mining company focused on acquiring and consolidating mining claims, mineral leases, producing mines, and historic mines with production and future growth potential. Its operations are currently focused on base metal and precious metal mining acquisitions in North America, and on re-commencing mining activities at the Balmat Zinc mine in upstate New York.

For more information, visit www.starmountainresources.com

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When it comes to social media advertising, there are a number of insights into the best way of reaching the right audience. Most experts will start by establishing a budget, choosing the right channels through which to advertise, and creating ads that they hope will kick off the process of converting viewers to customers.

Smart ads are not just posted to random audiences, but rather are tailored to reach the person that fits the criteria specified for that particular ad. WordStream (http://nnw.fm/9jAUu) emphasizes that “Targeting all of your fans isn’t precise. It’s lazy and you’ll waste a lot of money. Your fans aren’t a homogenous blob. They all have different incomes, interests, values, and preferences… Keyword targeting and other audience targeting methods help turn average ads into unicorns.” Today, social media platforms offer paid advertising that enables merchants to target specific groups with their ads. Moreover, once an ad is up and running, businesses should be looking to track and measure results.

Social media advertising is not just about the number of people clicking on an ad, but also exactly which people are doing the clicking. There are many criteria available to distinguish the target of each ad, including such factors as demographics, behavior, interest, follower stats, and keyword targeting. When it comes to social media platforms, there are a multitude of metrics that enable businesses to measure the success of their advertising, including ways to monitor click through rates, costs per click, likes, shares, frequency, and relevance. Not all of these are relevant to every ad a business posts, and it is essential to focus on the metrics that are most pertinent to a specific ad.

Moxian, Inc. (OTCQB: MOXC) is an organization that provides social media marketing and promotion platforms that help merchants accelerate and advertise their business growth through social media. The company has two apps: Moxian+ User and Moxian+ Business. Moxian’s online platform allows merchants with brick and mortar facilities to extend their marketing reach. To do this, the company has equipped its business app with tool kits to convert customers into fans.

Moxian allows small- to medium-sized organizations to conduct targeted marketing campaigns to members of the Moxian community in the form of ads. Aside from providing an advertising platform, the company also offers a range of business tools enabling merchants to know their audiences, get more customers and keep them, with intelligent data analytics tools to help businesses capture data with greater ease.

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

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Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) are one of the most frequently encountered types of infections contracted in hospital units, resulting in billions of dollars in additional expenses for the U.S. healthcare system every year. It is estimated that there are roughly 250,000 CRBSIs every year, a third of them reported in ICUs. These infections lead to increased hospital stays and higher care costs ranging from approximately $4,000 to $56,000. Additionally, CRBSI cases have an attributable mortality rate of 12% to 25%.

CorMedix Inc. (NYSE: CRMD), a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing treatments for infections and inflammatory diseases, is developing a solution to CRBSIs through its innovative lead product, Neutrolin®. The product is an innovative formulation designed to prevent the development of CRBSI, with a focus on patients with central venous catheters. Launched in Germany in 2013 as a Class III drug-device combination to prevent bloodstream infections in hemodialysis patients, Neutrolin® is currently available throughout the European Union, with European Commission approval, but has not yet been approved for use in the United States.

The product has, however, received Fast Track and Qualified Infectious Disease Product designations from the Food and Drug Administration and, as CorMedix recently announced, is currently in phase 3 clinical studies. The company is running one main phase 3 LOCK-IT 100 study analyzing the effects of Neutrolin® on hemodialysis patients, with the goal of completing enrollment by the first quarter of next year and drafting the final data report by the end of the third quarter 2017. A second phase 3 study is being conducted in oncology patients that receive IV parenteral nutrition, hydration and chemotherapy via central venous catheter.

The company is confident that Neutrolin® has the potential to be a game changing product for the prevention of CRBSIs, according to CEO Randy Milby, who stressed the importance of reducing infection rates for all hospitals and dialysis centers both in terms of patient health and the associated economic burden.

He also explained that completing the phase 3 program for the treatment is CorMedix’s top priority and that in anticipates meeting with the FDA to finalize the Neutrolin® protocol before the end of the year.

“Reducing infection rates is a major priority for hospitals and dialysis centers because of the impact infections have on patients as their health is already compromised and cannot risk additional complications. … By reducing infections, Neutrolin is designed to protect both patients and hospitals from catheter-related infections,” he stated in a news release. “Executing on our Neutrolin Phase 3 program, as designed with input from the FDA, is our top priority. LOCK-IT-100 in hemodialysis patients is the first of our two phase 3 clinical studies to support filing for Neutrolin marketing approval. We remain on track with this study and anticipate the DSMB will conduct a safety review in 2016, and with continued progress, we anticipate reporting top-line data in the third quarter of 2017. … We continue our discussions with the FDA to finalize the protocol, at which point we will have achieved an important milestone in our pathway to potential Neutrolin approval.”

In addition, CorMedix announced that it began feasibility testing on a new therapy for pediatric oncology patients with neuroblastoma. CorMedix is working with biopharmaceutical company NanoProteagen Inc. to determine how the latter’s nanoparticle technology, called NanoPro^TM, will work in combination with CRMD-005, a proprietary formulation designed to target pediatric neuroblastoma.

CorMedix also released its financial data for Q2 2016, reporting a net loss of $4.8 million, or $0.13 per share, primarily attributed to the development and management of the Neutrolin® phase 3 program.

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

ADDvantage Technologies Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEY) has earned a reputation as a one-stop-shop in the cable TV (CATV) industry. The company, based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, has made a name for itself selling and servicing new, surplus and refurbished cable television equipment to CATV operators. Many of its customers are multiple system operators (MSOs) of CATV franchises and other large outfits that sell to these customers. And although mainly concentrated in the domestic market, the company has customers in Canada, Central America, South America and throughout the world.

However, current trends in CATV are like the fare to be seen on Chiller TV, which specializes in horror. A recent story on Ars Technica (http://nnw.fm/wiN7d) relates the tale that every major cable TV company lost subscribers last quarter. Citing a report from industry analysts Leichtman Research Group, “the 11 biggest pay-TV providers in the U.S., representing 95 percent of the market, lost 665,000 net video subscribers in Q2 2016.” This appears to be an accelerating trend. In the second quarter of 2013, these very same operators lost 350,000 subscribers while the comparable figures for 2014 and 2015 were 300,000 and 545,000, respectively.

However, CATV and its cousins are far from dead. The Pay-TV business, as a whole, according to Leichtman, counted 93.7 million subscribers as of June 30, 2016. There were still almost 49 million Americans with CATV accounts, and satellite TV companies like DirecTV and DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) are beaming their channels to about 34 million subscribers and phone companies like AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) had close to 11 million on the line.

Various reasons have surfaced to explain the demise of the cable TV industry. There are indications that less than half of those in the age group 18 to 36 have cable, just slightly more than the number who subscribe to Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX). For older folk, five times as many have CATV accounts as watch Netflix. However, although some users drop traditional cable TV packages because they use Netflix or other streaming services, those customers still need a good Internet connection. Consequently, CATV operators are fighting a rearguard action as ISP providers.

The sunny outlook in the telecommunications market is in direct contrast to the dismal picture in the CATV market. A glowing report (http://nnw.fm/9v1eQ) from industry consultants Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu narrates that:

“The telecom sector continues to be at the epicenter for growth, innovation and disruption for virtually any industry. Mobile devices and related broadband connectivity continue to be more and more embedded in the fabric of society today and they are key in driving the momentum around some key trends such as video streaming, Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile payments.”

These developments bode well for ADDvantage Technologies. The company aims to repeat in telecommunications the success it has had in the CATV industry. It has a strong balance sheet, a history of profits, positive free cash flow and management that has been forthcoming on all issues, even when negative.

Seeking to pivot away from reliance on CATV, ADDvantage Technologies acquired Nave Communications in February 2014. Now the company is poised to establish itself as a leading provider of telecommunications equipment. Its Telco division is already making a positive impact, contributing about 40 percent of revenues for the last reported quarter ended June 30, 2016.

As the Internet of Things (IoT) takes off, it’s likely that ADDvantage Technologies won’t be too far behind.

For more information, visit their website at www.AddvantageTechnologies.com.

According to “Global Lithium Market Outlook” a report put together by Goldman Sachs HCID Conference (http://nnw.fm/M0wCq), there are a number of trends driving lithium growth. One of the key reasons lithium has not plummeted like some commodities is the continued growth of electrical devices across the world and the high power they require from lithium-based power units. Lithium is, of course, increasingly used in a number of mobile energy systems, including EVs, producing greater energy with less weight and fewer chemicals. But lithium is also an active pharmaceutical and agro ingredient, and in other applications.

According to the report, the demand for lithium is expected to grow 50% by the year 2020. Some of the reasons driving its market growth include the use of glass and ceramics, grease and lubricants, and chemical synthesis, along with its well-known use in mobile devices, hybrids, electric vehicles, and other grid and power storage applications.

Geographically, the United States is one of the countries benefiting from lithium’s popularity thanks to its mining activities and other reserves. But the U.S. is not the only country making the most of this growing demand. Nemaska Lithium, (OTCXQ: NMKEF) a lithium company based in Quebec, Canada, is in the process of developing an important spodumene hard rock lithium deposit expected to grow to be one of the richest in the world. Production from the mine will be shipped to a plant in Shawinigan, Quebec, before being transformed into one of the purest forms of lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. This will then be sold to the expanding lithium battery market and other growing markets.

The initial mine life is expected to be 26 years, and the company has received confirmation for a main patent application on its proprietary process. Nemaska Lithium’s main goal is to become a leading lithium supplier. Phase 1 of the plant should have a combined capacity in the neighborhood of 610 tonnes annually. Since 2015, cash and cash flow for Nemaska Lithium, Inc. has multiplied by over 400% and total assets are up by more than $15 million, while expenses are down from the previous year.

For more information, visit www.nemaskalithium.com

For nearly five decades, ADM Tronics Unlimited (OTCQB: ADMT) has maintained a progressive focus on development, manufacture and sale of a range of electronic and environmentally friendly chemical products. Utilizing a highly qualified team and cutting-edge technology, ADM Tronics is a profitable company achieving 10 consecutive quarters of increasing revenues and the ability to internally fund its engineering and development efforts.

ADM Tronics operates in three primary areas: Proprietary Electronic Medical Devices; Eco-Friendly, Safe, Water-Based Formulations; and Design, Engineering, Regulatory and Manufacturing Services. Within these areas of expertise, the company splits into Electronic and Chemical categories.

On the electronic side, the company’s Sonotron Medical Systems, Inc. subsidiary is engaged in non-invasive electronic therapy technology and converting industries.

Chemically speaking, ADM Tronics’ Aqua-Based Technologies produces environmentally safe water-based primers, adhesives, coatings and additives used in the food and medical packaging, graphic arts, wall covering and converting industries. The Pros-Aid® division offers products for use in medical prosthetics applications, special effects makeup and other areas of professional makeup, while Antistatic Industries™ provides specialty conductive paints, coatings and products serving the computer, pharmaceutical and chemical fields for the prevention of static electricity damage.

As a technology-based manufacturer, ADM Tronics produces a diverse range of components, assemblies and complete systems for customers in a variety of industries. Manufacturing takes place in an FDA-inspected, registered medical device manufacturing facility that is cGMP compliant and produces products that are ETL-registered, CE-marked, and that meet or exceed most regulatory and quality requirements.

This caliber of quality dates back to the company’s origins in 1969. According to the company’s website, ADM Tronics’ founder, the late Dr. Alfonso DiMinio (2001), was an award-winning, “scientific genius,” responsible for inventions and patents including a magnetic reader for bank checks, a better computer ribbon, and an early application for a copier machine.

Today, ADM Tronics’ operates with a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, researchers and technologists who utilize advanced technology infrastructure, such as 3-D solid prototyping, precision instrumentation, and specialized software and peripherals to research, develop and commercialize its technologies.

The diversity of offerings, stringent manufacturing details, and historical innovation appear to bode well for the company’s books. For the first quarter ended June 30, 2016, ADM Tronics recently reported revenues of $1.3 million, up 31 percent compared to $1.0 million reported for the comparable quarter of 2015.  Net profit for the first quarter increased 20 percent to $521,230, or $0.01 per share, as compared to $434,228, or $0.01, per share for the same period last year.

Commenting on the company’s first-quarter 2016 performance, ADM Tronics President Andre’ DiMino in a news release stated that, “We expect to see our medical device engineering revenues continue, and we are now devoting more of our resources and efforts towards advancing our own proprietary medical technologies.”

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

Dominovas Energy (OTCQB: DNRG) this week provided additional details of its recent visit to the University of Johannesburg, the company’s second visit to the site as it continues to work toward delivery of its RUBICON™ Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology in Africa.

With this second trip, Dominovas Energy was able to get specific measurements for the site on which the RUBICON™ showcase will be deployed. The delegation was led by Dominovas Energy’s chairman and CEO, Neal Allen, who is personally managing the installation of the technology. Allen was joined by Professor Tien Chien Jen, the University’s director of Manufacturing Research Centre in the Department of Mechanical Engineering Science, as well as Dr. Pat Naidoo, associate professor of electrical power engineering at the Durban University of Technology (http://nnw.fm/qZ1Cv), non-executive member of ESKOM’s board of directors (http://nnw.fm/ykW11), and senior member of IEEE. This leadership team was assisted by members of Dominovas Energy’s staff, along with key staff members of the University of Johannesburg.

Other initiatives for the trip included the inspection of existing infrastructure at the University to determine if and what other resources are needed to support the installation; and discussion of steps needed to develop the Institute for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology, a collaborative venture between Dominovas Energy and the University of Johannesburg expected to enable advancement of the study of fuel cell technology in and for the entire sub-Saharan region.

“This is a very exciting time for the Company and for me personally to realize the physical, on the ground steps for the ‘showcase’ installation. With boots on the ground, I have a deep appreciation for the amount of logistics in this entire undertaking. It has been quite an exercise, but I am thrilled seeing it take shape,” says Dominovas Energy’s managing director for Africa, Kreneshen Moodley.

The RUBICON™ “Showcase” is a first step in Dominovas Energy’s ultimate goal to deliver its one-of-a-kind multi-megawatt system to the region, as the engineering effort continues for the presentation of the first system in 2017.

Dominovas Energy employs its proprietary RUBICON™ technology for deployment in multi-megawatt power generation units worldwide. Unlike wind and solar solutions, the RUBICON™ provides baseload power 24/7/365 days a year. By manufacturing and deploying the RUBICON™ throughout of the world, Dominovas Energy is committed to creating shareholder value by not only generating guaranteed revenue streams, but also by increasing the value of “human and community capital.” The company strongly believes in the impact this singularly advanced technology will make on the world and is resolute in its mission to provide electricity where and when economically viable.

For more information on Dominovas Energy, as well as pictures of the second site visit, go to www.dominovasenergy.com

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Lucas Energy, Inc. (NYSE MKT: LEI) earlier today announced that it successfully acquired working interests in producing properties and undeveloped acreage in Texas and Oklahoma, including varied interests in two contiguous acreage blocks in the liquids-rich Mid-Continent region of the U.S., from Segundo Resources LLC (“Segundo”) and other sellers.  The assets are currently producing over one thousand net barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d), of which 53% are liquids and which are being produced primarily from the Hunton formation.  Notably, the company has identified further offset development drilling opportunities and it is planning specific development activities.

The day after closing, Lucas Energy added three new members to its board of directors:  Richard N. Azar II, Robert D. Tips and Alan W. Dreeben, with Azar appointed as chairman of the board.  Azar brings three decades of experience in the oil and gas exploration and production industry.  Over the last 20 years, he served in a key role developing the Hunton Dewatering Resource play in central Oklahoma through his ownership/partnership in Altex Resources, Inc., which was sold to a Canadian Energy Trust in March 2006.  Tips is well recognized as a business leader who oversees a family-owned organization and engages in various volunteer activities, and Dreeben is an owner and director of Republic National Distributing Company, LLC, currently serves on two other boards, and engages in various philanthropic activities.  Anthony C. Schnur, Lucas’ chief executive officer, will continue to serve as a member of the board in addition to existing members Fred Zeidman and Fred Hofheinz.

In exchange for the assets, Lucas assumed approximately $30.6 million of commercial bank debt and issued the sellers 552,000 shares of Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and approximately 13 million shares of restricted common stock in addition to a cash payment of $4,975,000. Lucas also entered into a $40 million loan agreement with the International Bank of Commerce (“IBC”), the majority of which funds were used for the debt assumption and closing payment discussed above, which is due on August 25, 2019, and a promissory note pursuant to which $1.5 million was borrowed from RAD2 Minerals, Ltd., one of the sellers owned and controlled by Azar, payable on or before the earlier of (a) October 31, 2016 and (b) the date that Lucas receives at least $1.5 million in proceeds from the April 2016 Stock Purchase Agreement.

Additional information regarding the transactions and related financings are included in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 31, 2016.

“We are very pleased to have closed the acquisition of properties in Texas and Oklahoma,” stated CEO Schnur.  “We now have a foundation of producing and undeveloped assets on which to grow the Company.  Not only are we diversifying our production profile to include natural gas liquids, but the conventional nature of the long-lived Hunton reserves are lower-risk and lower-cost to develop than our Eagle Ford assets.

“This has been an eventful month for the Company.  Last week, we entered into an agreement to fund the development of our Eagle Ford shale assets with a successful operator in the area, and with the closing of the Segundo transaction, we have completed a significant step toward our strategy of expanding the Company into proven reservoirs outside of the Eagle Ford, while improving our financial stability.  We want to thank IBC for having confidence in our team and being an integral part of the financing transaction and look forward to working with them in the future as we continue to execute on our acquisition strategy.”

For more information on the company, visit www.lucasenergy.com

Monaker Group (OTCQB: MKGI), a technology-driven travel company focused on the alternative lodging rental (ALR) market, this morning announced that it has expanded its initial, previously announced agreement with Recruiter.com.

Under the new agreement, Monaker is now the exclusive provider of travel services to Recruiter.com. The new agreement includes weekly marketing access for select Monaker travel products and services to Recruiter’s customer base of more than 3 million customers, many of which are senior corporate executives. The company said that the approved members, followers, and their respective companies should give Monaker and all its travel related products and inventory meaningful exposure to the decision makers at over 1 million companies worldwide.

Monaker will offer travel products and services, including ALR rentals for short-term business travel, along with temporary relocation needs, concierge services for executives, convention travel assistance, and vacation travel needs.

“This agreement and partnership will allow us to distinguish ourselves in the industry by supporting our clients and followers with needed travel products like premium home rentals and concierge services assisting them in business travel,” Miles Jennings, chief executive officer at Recruiter.com, stated in the news release.

Monaker chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Kerby added that the extended agreement opens doors for enhanced communication with industry decision makers.

“Broadening the agreement with Recruiter.com provides Monaker a great marketing tool for awareness of our platforms, inventory and travel products. This allows us a means to communicate and access key decision makers with our relevant and real-time alternative lodging solutions and services for business and vacation travel,” he said.

For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com

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