Sustainable solution for wastewater polluted by dyes used in many industries

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

 

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THE NOVEL PROCESS INVOLVES CREATING METALLIC ‘CLUSTERS’ OF JUST NINE GOLD (AU) ATOMS CHEMICALLY ‘ANCHORED’ TO TITANIUM DIOXIDE WHICH IN TURN DRIVES THE REACTION BY CONVERTING THE ENERGY OF ABSORBED UV LIGHT.

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CREDIT: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

Water pollution from dyes used in textile, food, cosmetic and other manufacturing is a major ecological concern with industry and scientists seeking biocompatible and more sustainable alternatives to protect the environment.

A new study led by Flinders University has discovered a novel way to degrade and potentially remove toxic organic chemicals including azo dyes from wastewater, using a chemical photocatalysis process powered by ultraviolet light.

Professor Gunther Andersson, from the Flinders Institute for NanoScale Science and Technology, says the process involves creating metallic ‘clusters’ of just nine gold (Au) atoms chemically ‘anchored’ to titanium dioxide which in turn drives the reaction by converting the energy of absorbed UV light.

The gold nanocluster cocatalysts enhance the photocatalytic work of the titanium dioxide and reduce the time required to complete the reaction by a factor of six, according to a new journal article in Solar RRR.

“These types of heterogeneous semiconductor-mediated photocatalysis systems provide a significant advantage over other advanced chemical processes,” says Professor Andersson, from the College of Science and Engineering.

“It can facilitate the mineralisation of a large range of organic pollutants, like azo dyes, into water and carbon dioxide molecules with a high degradation efficiency.”

A variety of physical, chemical and biological processes are currently used to remove carcinogenic and recalcitrant organic compounds from water.”

A wide range of chemical industries, including dye manufacture, textile and cosmetics production, release toxic and non-biodegradable dyes into the environment. Nearly half of the dyes used in the textile and dye industry are azo dyes. Methyl orange is widely used as a water-soluble azo dye.

With this in mind, the Flinders University nanotech researchers have also demonstrated the usefulness of this gold cluster cocatalyst and modified semiconductors for synthesis of the novel photocatalysis systems for degradation of methyl orange.

This study, just published in Applied Surface Science, tested the photocatalysis in a vortex fluidic device developed at Flinders University in Professor Colin Raston’s nanotechnology laboratory.

Co-author Flinders PhD Dr Anahita Motamedisade says traditional wastewater treatment methods often do not effectively remove dangerous contaminants from wastewater.

“The reason for this is that some chemicals, especially those with aromatic rings, are resistant to chemical, photochemical and biological degradation, says Dr Motamedisade, who is now a research fellow at the Centre for Catalysis and Clean Energy at Grifffith University.

“In addition, they generate dangerous by-products by oxidizing, hydrolysing, or undergoing other chemical reactions of synthetic dyes containing wastewater, which are detectable wherever they are disposed of.

“We hope to build onto these more sustainable and thorough photocatalytic degradation processes to help completely remove the toxins and tackle this global problem.” 

The research was inspired by Dr Motamedisade’s PhD research, part funded by Wine Australia, which includes better ways to treat winery wastewater.

The article, Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange Using Nitrogen-Functionalized MesoporousTiO2 Decorated with Au9 Nanoclusters (2024) by Anahita Motamedisade, Amir Heydari, Yanting Yin, Abdulrahman S Alotabi and Gunther G Andersson, has been published in Solar RRL (Wiley) DOI: 10.1002/solr.202300943

and

Au9 clusters deposited as co-catalysts on S-modified mesoporous TiO2 for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (2024) by A Motamedisade, A Heydari, DJ Osborn, AS Alotabi and GG Andersson in Applied Surface Science DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2024.159475

For more information about story of how surface modification can efficiently control the agglomeration (size) and adsorption of Au clusters as co-catalysts check out the published work in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2024, DOI: 10.1039/D3CP05353A).

Acknowledgements: This study was supported by the Australian Government and Wine Australia as well as Microscopy Australia (formerly known as AMMRF) and the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) and Flinders Microscopy and Microanalysis and Microscopy Australia at Adelaide Microscopy.

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DOI

10.1002/solr.202300943 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange Using Nitrogen-Functionalized MesoporousTiO2 Decorated with Au9 Nanocluster

 

New technique measures psilocybin potency of mushrooms

Identifying dosages for psilocybin and psilocin key as medical uses grow

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON

 

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AS MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS IDENTIFY MORE SAFE AND EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS USING MUSHROOMS, IT WILL BE IMPORTANT TO ENSURE PRODUCT SAFETY, IDENTIFY REGULATORY BENCHMARKS AND DETERMINE APPROPRIATE DOSING. 

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CREDIT: PHOTO COURTESY UT ARLINGTON

Since the 1970s, the federal government has listed the active ingredients in mushrooms—psilocybin and psilocin—as illegal and having no accepted medical use.

However, in recent years, medical professionals have found that these substances are safe and effective for treating stubborn conditions such as treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some jurisdictions now allow for the medical use of mushrooms, while others are considering permitting or at least decriminalizing their recreational use.

Clinicians now find themselves needing to carefully measure the doses of mushrooms to ensure patients receive the proper amount during treatment. To solve this problem, University of Texas at Arlington researchers have created a method to determine the clinical potency of psilocybin and psilocin in the hallucinogenic mushroom species psilocybe cubensis.

“These legislative changes are expected to facilitate further research and potential clinical applications,” said Kevin Schug, the Shimadzu Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, Schug and colleagues were able to extract and measure the strength of the mushrooms, according to findings published in the February issue of Analytica Chimica Acta. Co-authors included colleagues at Scottsdale Research Institute in Phoenix; Shimadzu Scientific Instruments in Maryland; and Millipore-Sigma in Round Rock, Texas. The results were then compared with two separate labs to ensure accuracy.

“As medical professionals identify more safe and effective treatments using mushrooms, it will be important to ensure product safety, identify regulatory benchmarks and determine appropriate dosing,” Schug said. “Established and reliable analytical methods like the one we describe will be essential to these efforts to use mushrooms in clinical settings.”

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JOURNAL

Analytica Chimica Acta

DOI

10.1016/j.aca.2023.342161 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Determination of psilocybin and psilocin content in multiple Psilocybe cubensis mushroom strains using liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry

COI STATEMENT

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: JF and SK are employees of Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, the manufacturer of the instrumentation used in this study. SB, ABK, and US are employees of Millipore-Sigma. They performed the secondary potency study and provided chemical standards for this research. The authors wish to thank Fritsch Industries-US for the placement and use of the blade mill apparatus used in this research.

THIRD WORLD U$A

Study estimates nearly 70 percent of children under six in Chicago may be exposed to lead-contaminated tap water

Researchers analyzed results from nearly 40,000 households participating in a voluntary tap-water test program run by the city

JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

A new analysis led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimates that 68 percent of Chicago children under age six live in households with tap water containing detectable levels of lead. 

For their analysis, the researchers used machine learning, an artificial intelligence technique, to gauge likely levels of lead in tap water in households across Chicago, based on an existing dataset that includes results from 38,385 tap water tests taken from 2016 to 2023. The tests were from households that had registered for a free self-administered testing service for lead exposure. 

The threshold the researchers used was the lowest detectable level of lead in the water tests, one part per billion—roughly the equivalent of a half teaspoon of water in an Olympic-size swimming pool. More than two-thirds—69 percent—of the tests exceeded this level. From this, the machine learning model predicted lead-contaminated water in 75 percent of residential city blocks, covering 68 percent of Chicago children under 6. The Environmental Protection Agency’s current “action” level for lead in drinking water—the point at which a municipality must take additional steps—is 15 ppb. The analysis found that 9 percent of tests had lead levels over 15 ppb. The analysis also found racial inequities in exposure levels and testing rates.

The findings were published online March 18 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Lead is considered a serious environmental toxin, especially for children, with no “safe” exposure level. Lead pipes were used and often required before they were banned in the U.S. in 1986. Many cities still use lead water pipes that were installed prior to their ban. Chicago has more than any other U.S. city, an estimated 400,000 lead pipes that supply water to as many as 2.7 million people. Across the U.S., more than 9.2 million households get water through lead pipes and service lines, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA has proposed that U.S. cities replace all lead water service lines within 10 years. Under the proposal, Chicago would get 40 years to comply, given the disproportionate burden its water infrastructure poses.

“The extent of lead contamination of tap water in Chicago is disheartening—it’s not something we should be seeing in 2024,” says study lead author Benjamin Huynh, PhD, an assistant professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. 

For their study, Huynh and colleagues set out to quantify the exposure faced by Chicago children under six.

The researchers began with a publicly available dataset from the Chicago Department of Water Management that contained 38,385 tap water test results for lead that participating Chicago households had taken from January 2016 to September 2023. The results covered about 36 percent of residential blocks in the city. 

The researchers then combined these data with U.S. Census and other official data on block-by-block demographics and used machine learning techniques to extrapolate—from the partial coverage of the tap water test results—the likely block-by-block risk of having lead-contaminated water.

The analysis also used the city’s self-reported household survey data to estimate that 19 percent of exposed children—about 129,000 across the city—used unfiltered tap water for drinking. Using modeling, the researchers estimate that exposed children have approximately twice the amount of lead in their blood as unexposed children do.

The analysis suggested there are racial disparities in lead exposure in Chicago. For example, a 10 percentage-point increase in the Hispanic population was associated with an 11.2 percent increase in the chance of lead contamination. The analysis also suggests that Hispanic residents of the city were the least likely to drink unfiltered tap water, with 12 percent responding that they did. By contrast, 32 percent of white residents reported using unfiltered tap water as their primary drinking water source.

As for testing rates, Black and Hispanic populations were less likely to be tested for lead exposure, suggesting gaps in outreach. Ten percentage-point increases in Black and Hispanic populations were associated with 3- and 6-percent decreases respectively in chances of being tested for lead.

The authors note that the study has several limitations. The data on lead testing were anonymized at the block level, so the researchers were not able use household-specific data. The researchers did not have access to city-wide pediatric health records, and so had to model the health impacts of lead exposure instead of directly estimating them from data.

“Estimated Childhood Lead Exposure from Drinking Water in Chicago” was written by Benjamin Huynh, Elizabeth Chin, and Mathew Kiang.

# # #

Estimated childhood lead exposure from drinking water in Chicago

JAMA Pediatrics

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JAMA NETWORK

About The Study: The findings of this study indicate that childhood lead exposure from drinking water is widespread in Chicago, and racial inequities are present in both testing rates and exposure levels. Machine learning may assist in preliminary screening for lead exposure, and efforts to remediate the effects of environmental racism should involve improving outreach for and access to lead testing services. 

Authors: Benjamin Q. Huynh, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, is the corresponding author.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.0133)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article This link will be live at the embargo time https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.0133?guestAccessKey=18a727ba-8a63-4b17-892b-cb6f00980ffd&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=031824

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JOURNAL

JAMA Pediatrics

 

Food companies’ sponsorship of children’s sports encourages children to buy their products, Canadian research suggests

Countries urged to consider including sports sponsorship in regulations on the marketing of unhealthy food to children

Reports and Proceedings

EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF OBESITY

Food companies’ sponsorship of children’s sports may encourage children to buy their products, new research to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2024) (Venice 12-15 May), has found.

The Canadian research also found that many children view food companies that sponsor or give money to children’s sports as being “generous” or “cool”.  Many also believe these companies do so to help the teams out.

“Many children in Canada have poor diets,” says lead researcher Elise Pauzé, of the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. “They don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables and they get more than half of their calories on average from ultra-processed foods which are typically high in nutrients of public health concern like free sugars, salt and saturated fats.

“While there are a lot of factors that shape children’s diet, exposure to unhealthy food marketing has been identified as a particularly influential driver of children’s preferences for, and intake of, unhealthy foods.

“Despite this, few studies have looked at the impact of sponsorship of children’s sports. We wanted to examine the association between children’s exposure to sponsorship-related food marketing and their perception of companies and their desire to purchase their products.

“Such research could help inform policies aimed at protecting children from the influence of unhealthy food marketing.”

For the study, 1,020 children aged 10-17 years living in two Canadian provinces (Ontario and Quebec) completed an online survey in Feb-April 2023.

Those who reported playing on a sports team outside of school in the last year (439/1,020) were asked whether they had been exposed to (seen or directly received) five types of sponsorship-related food marketing in this setting: branded awards; branded uniforms, equipment or other items provided by their teams; signs; free food; coupons/gift certificates.

Most (71%) of the 439 children reported exposure to at least one type of food marketing when playing sports.

Around half of the 439 children who played sports in the last year reported exposure to branded uniforms/equipment (56%) and signs (54%), a third reported exposure to branded prizes (35%) and the receipt of free food (30%) and a quarter reported receiving coupons/gift certificates (26%).

The children were also asked if they agreed with a range of statements about the sponsorship of children’s sports by food companies and could indicate whether they agreed, disagreed or didn’t know.

Most of the children agreed that food companies sponsor or give money to children’s sports teams to help them out (79%) or to encourage people to buy their products (79%).

Exposure to each of the five types of food marketing was associated with higher odds of agreeing that food companies sponsor children’s sports to help them out. For example, children who reported being exposed to branded uniforms, equipment or other items provided by their team were 1.9 times more likely to agree that food companies sponsor children sports to help them out than children who did not report this exposure. However, exposure was not associated with the view that food companies sponsor children’s sports to encourage purchasing.

Most children agreed that food companies who sponsor or give money to children’s sports teams are generous (72%) and cool (68%) and children who reported being exposed to branded prizes, branded uniforms/equipment and signs and the receipt of free food were more likely to agree with these statements. For example, children reporting exposure to branded uniforms, equipment and other items were 2.1 times more likely to agree that sponsoring companies are cool, while those who reported exposure to branded prizes were 2.6 times more likely to agree with this.

58% of the children agreed that they would want to buy a product from a food company if they sponsored or gave money to their sports team.  Those who said they were exposed to branded prizes and uniforms/equipment and received free food and coupons/gift certificates were 1.6 to 1.8 times more likely to agree with this statement.

The results were adjusted for children’s age, race, sex and socio-economic status (as measured by parents’ perception of how easy or difficult it is for them to make ends meet).

Ms Pauzé says: “We found that children who viewed sponsorship-related food marketing when playing sports in the last year were more likely to view food companies who sponsor children’s sports and their intentions favourably. They were also more likely to express a desire to buy products from these companies.

“This is concerning as companies who sponsor children’s sports in Canada and other countries are often associated with unhealthy food (e.g. fast-food restaurants).

“Although our study cannot establish a causal relationship between exposure to sponsorship-related food marketing and children’s views, it has been well-established that food marketing shapes the food preferences and intake of children. Countries developing regulations to protect children from unhealthy food marketing should consider the inclusion of sports sponsorship in their restrictions.”

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ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

18-Mar-2024

COI STATEMENT

Elise Pauzé has received an honorarium from the Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition (2018) and Heart & Stroke (2023) for doing policy and advocacy work related to food marketing to children in Canada. She is currently employed by Heart & Stroke on a part-time basis and works on this topic area. This work and compensation are not related to the current research. This research was funded by a project grant awarded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIRH).

Jack the Ripper police file made public after 136 years


AN ENGRAVING SHOWING 'JACK THE RIPPER', THE EAST END MURDERER IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, BEING CAUGHT RED-HANDED BY POLICE
GETTY IMAGES

DANIEL KEANE

3 DAYS AGO

A lost police file on the Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper has been found after 136 years by the great-grandson of a detective who worked on the case.

The archive also includes two photographs of Michael Ostrog, an early suspect.

Ostrog, a Russian immigrant, was a petty thief who spent long periods in prison and a mental asylum.

But he was later ruled out as the Ripper after it emerged that he was in a French prison when the murders took place.

The archive also contains of the “Saucy Jack” postcard that was purportedly sent to police to taunt them.

There is also a copy of the “Dear Boss” letter, a note sent to police which was signed off as “Jack the Ripper” – the first time that the name was referenced.

In the letter, the murderer boasted about killing his victims and warned police that his knife was “still nice and sharp”.

Jack the Ripper infamously murdered at least five women in the Whitechapel area in 1888 and was never caught.

The police file was kept by Inspector Joseph Henry Helson, who was working in the Met Police at the time of the killings.

The killer’s archive is now being sold by Helson’s great-grandson at Whitton & Laing Auctioneers of Exeter, in Devon.

A Whitton & Laing spokesperson said: "For nearly 140 years the Jack the Ripper murders have held an enduring fascination and items directly connected to the crimes very rarely come up for sale.

"There is also a facsimile copy of both the infamous 'Dear Boss' letter and 'Saucy Jack' postcard which appears to be cut from the broadside printed in 1888 and used by the police in the hope that someone would recognise the handwriting.

"The original letter and postcard both disappeared, the letter being returned in 1988 and is now in the National Archives at Kew, but the postcard has never been seen again."

The auctioneers added that "people should not forget that the victims were real people with real stories and we wouldn't want to think of this murderer as an anti-hero, but for the monstrous villain that he was".

1,800-Year-Old Roman Statue Unearthed from Parking Lot at Historic U.K. Estate: 'Complete Mystery'


Abigail Adams
Sat, 16 March 2024

A construction worker first discovered the marble head of the statue during work on a new visitor parking lot for Burghley House in the spring of 2023

Burghley House1,800-Year-Old Roman Statue.

A “mysterious” Roman statue, believed to be 1,800 years old, will soon be on display nearly a year after it was unearthed from the parking lot of an estate in England.

Greg Crawley, an excavator driver, discovered the marble head of a Roman woman in the spring of 2023 during the construction of a new visitor parking lot for Burghley House in Stamford, according to a news release. Two weeks later, a marble bust was also found not far from the location of the head.

Crawley said it was “a real shock” when he first spotted the item, according to ABC News. He also “couldn’t believe it” when he was told exactly what he had stumbled upon that day.


Burghley House1,800-Year-Old Roman Statue.

“It was an amazing feeling to have found something so old and special,” Crawley said, calling it his “best ever discovery.”

The British Museum was informed of the discovery, according to the estate.

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Experts believe the sculpture was brought back to the estate from one of Brownlow, the ninth Earl of Exeter's two tours of Italy in the 1760s, “when he purchased many antiquities” according to Wednesday’s press release.

The head and bust “were immediately taken to Burghley’s curator” after they were found. They were later sent to a professional conservator, who cleared up the items “before reassembling both pieces as they had been intended.”

An iron dowel was added to the statue after it was cleaned “allowing it to be attached to a bust or pedestal,” according to the estate.

Burghley House1,800-Year-Old Roman Statue.


The bust will be on display along the Hell Staircase at the historical Tudor-era mansion — which dates back to the 16th century — “alongside other sculptures that were purchased by the ninth Earl," when the estate opens for its spring season on March 16.

How the sculpture became buried in the parking lot remains “a complete mystery,” according to the estate.

"It remains a complete mystery how the head and bust ended up buried in the park, with explanations ranging from a bungled burglary to someone simply discarding the statue and it later being covered by soil," a representative from the estate told ABC News.

Canadian government served notice that it has 21 days to end complicity in genocide in Gaza – issued on behalf of Canadians with family in Gaza

MARCH 13, 2024

LATEST

Ottawa, ON, Canada, March 13, 2024 – The Canadian government has been served a notice of their failure to prevent genocide by a coalition of Canadian legal organisations. The notice was issued on behalf of three Canadian citizens of Palestinian origin, all of whom have family members in Gaza. The legal notice sets out nine key actions that the Canadian government must take to ensure an end to Canadian complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Legal proceedings are expected to commence if appropriate actions are not taken by April 3, 2024.

The rights groups, collaboratively operating as the Coalition for Canadian Accountability in Gaza, have accused the government of failing to fulfil its preventative duties under the Genocide Convention (1948). The Coalition has also accused the government of violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in relation to its treatment of Palestinian-Canadians who are in Gaza or who have family in Gaza.

The letter identifies several examples of Canada ‘flouting’ their obligations to Palestinian-Canadians. These include the suspension of Canadian funds to UNRWA, the increase of Canadian arms exports to Israel, the procurement of arms for Canada from Israel’s state-owned arms industry, the maintenance of the Canada-Israel Strategic Partnership, and the presence of Canadian Special Forces in Israel. These actions show a disregard for the rights and safety of Palestinian-Canadians in Gaza, and for the stipulations and obligations of international law, the groups say.

The legal notice sets out nine key demands that the Canadian government must take to ensure an end to Canadian complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. These include: the imposition of a two-way arms embargo on Israel, suspension of military co-operation with Israel, and imposition of sanctions on Israeli cabinet ministers and military officials. 

According to Article 1 of the Genocide Convention, a State party to the Convention is obliged to take all means available to it to prevent a genocide, regardless of whether any one state’s actions alone are sufficient to prevent genocide. This duty is activated when the State is made aware of the risk of genocide. The letter includes a section entitled ‘Unequivocal evidence of genocidal intent’, which explicitly sets out examples of genocidal intent by Israeli politicians and military figures.

This is not the first time that the Canadian government has been warned of its failure to prevent genocide in Gaza. Ministers were notified of intention to seek prosecution of Canadian politicians for complicity in war crimes by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) – Canada on November 16, 2023, and by Hameed Law (in cooperation with the Legal Centre for Palestine) on November 23, 2023.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an Order on January 26, 2024, in which it found that there is a plausible risk that genocide is being committed in Gaza. Canada has been given well-sufficient notice of its Third State responsibility. Continued inaction against the demands of today’s letter will demonstrate a wilful decision to not prevent the commission of genocide in Gaza. 

ENDS

Full letter available below:

CCAG-Letter-to-Government-of-Canada-13MAR2024Download

1. The Coalition for Canadian Accountability in Gaza is comprised of four firms & organisations-Legal Centre for Palestine;International Centre of Justice for Palestinians Canada (ICJP-C);Hameed Law; and Dimitri Lascaris Law Professional Corporation.
2. International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, November 16, 2023, ‘Canadian government issued with notice of intention to seek prosecution of Canadian politicians for complicity in war crimes in Gaza’
3. Hameed Law (in cooperation with the Legal Centre for Palestine), November 23,      2023, ‘Canadians with Families in Gaza Serve Canadian Government with Notice of Intention to Prosecute’
4. International Court of Justice, January 26, 2024, ‘Summary of the Order of 26 January 2024’
5. International Commission of Jurists, November 17, 2023, ‘Gaza/Palestine: States have a Duty to Prevent Genocide’
6. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, October 19,      2023, ‘Gaza: UN experts decry bombing of hospitals and schools as crimes against humanity, call for prevention of genocide’

ALMOST CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
B. Riley Fails to File Audited Results as Grace Period Ends

Rick Green
Fri, March 15, 2024 



The company said it continues to work with its auditors as it seeks to complete and file its annual report “as soon as reasonably practicable,” it said in a statement.

Shares in the bank were down about 6% as of 5:30 p.m. in New York, after falling about 16% year to date.

A representative for the bank declined to comment beyond the statement.

The delay has added to pressure on B. Riley, whose stock has been battered by concerns about its relationship with Brian Kahn, the founder of Franchise Group Inc. B. Riley helped Kahn arrange a buyout of Franchise Group, lent money to Kahn and used some of his assets to help back a loan that B. Riley obtained from Nomura Holdings Inc.

B. Riley missed the initial deadline for filing its annual report and attributed the delay in a Feb. 29 disclosure to the board’s review of the firm’s transactions with Kahn. He was labeled as an unidentified co-conspirator in a US Department of Justice criminal case prompted by the 2020 collapse of the Prophecy Asset Management hedge fund, Bloomberg News previously reported.

Kahn has categorically denied any wrongdoing and said he was among those who lost money when Prophecy collapsed. Riley has said it had no knowledge of what happened at Prophecy and wasn’t involved with the hedge fund.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission gives companies a customary 15-day extension to file overdue reports. B. Riley missed last year’s initial deadline too, citing recent acquisitions, but was able to finish the job within the grace period. The firm said in its Feb. 29 filing that it didn’t expect significant changes to the financial results it had posted for the fourth quarter and full-year of 2023.

B. Riley, founded by Chief Executive Officer Bryant Riley, traces its roots to 1997 as a boutique stock-picking firm focused on smaller companies. It now offers a birth-to-death business model for smaller publicly traded clients, including stock and bond offerings.

Arcadium Lithium says Argentina operation not affected by court ban

Reuters
Fri, March 15, 2024 

BUENOS AIRES, March 15 (Reuters) - Global lithium mining firm Arcadium Lithium Plc said on Friday that its operations in the northern Argentina region of Catamarca would not be impacted by a ruling by a provincial court blocking the issuance of new permits.

The ruling, which came after a petition by local indigenous communities, temporarily halts the issuance of new permits and authorizations in a lithium rich basin in Catamarca, where Arcadium operates, until the local government carries out environmental impact studies.

"The court ruling does not impact Arcadium Lithium's existing mining operations and expansion activities at its Fenix and Sal de Vida projects," the firm said in a statement.

"All of the company's existing permits and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) remain valid."

Arcadium already produces lithium from brine at the Salar del Hombre Muerto and the firm has expansion plans underway.

The case underscores wider tensions between companies and local communities over water use and the environmental impact of extracting ultra-light battery metal lithium, which is key for the electric vehicle revolution.

Argentina, inside South America's so-called "lithium triangle", is one of the world's top producers of the metal with a strong pipeline of regional projects under development. (Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru and Lucila Sigal in Buenos Aires; Editing by Alan Barona, Kirsten Donovan)

Lordstown Motors comes out of bankruptcy with a new name to fight Foxconn

Sean O'Kane
Fri, March 15, 2024 

Image Credits: Lordstown Motors

Lordstown Motors has emerged from bankruptcy with a new name and a nearly singular focus: continuing its lawsuit against iPhone-maker Foxconn for allegedly "destroying the business of an American startup."

The company announced in a late Thursday regulatory filing that it has put into effect a Chapter 11 restructuring plan that was recently approved by the Delaware Bankruptcy court. That makes it one of the first EV startups to survive the bankruptcy process in some form, albeit extremely diminished. Electric Last Mile Solutions liquidated in a Chapter 7 proceeding in 2022, while IndiEV's Chapter 11 proceeding is still playing out in California. A decade ago, both Fisker Automotive and Coda sold themselves off to other buyers in their Chapter 11 restructurings.

Now known as Nu Ride Inc., the reconstituted version of Lordstown Motors will also pursue "potential business combinations," though it did not say what kinds of mergers it is seeking. The company has little left to its name. It sold the former General Motors factory it once owned to Foxconn; the assets related to its electric pickup truck were snapped up by Lordstown founder Steve Burns.

With the restructuring plan in effect, Nu Ride is now being led by an entirely new board of directors and slate of executives. It will now trade on the over-the-counter markets as "NRDE."

The newly named company has two federal investigations and other lawsuits that it needs to resolve beyond its beef with Foxconn. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged the company with misleading investors about the potential success of its defunct electric pickup truck, forcing Lordstown to set aside $25.5 million to help settle some of the ongoing shareholder lawsuits. That investigation is still active, according to the agency, as is one from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

Lordstown Motors sued Foxconn in June 2023 when it initially filed for bankruptcy protection. It claimed the Taiwanese conglomerate misled the startup about its plans to collaborate on a lineup of electric vehicles. Lordstown's lawsuit has more or less been on hold while the Chapter 11 proceedings played out.

Foxconn now operates the factory Lordstown once owned, and even built a few dozen of the startup's electric pickup trucks before they had to be recalled. Foxconn's effort to become a contract manufacturer for American EVs has mostly failed to date. Two of its four prospective customers -- Lordstown and IndiEV -- filed for bankruptcy, while Fisker (which is reportedly weighing its own bankruptcy filing) has recently distanced itself from the conglomerate, saying it would rather partner with an established automaker. The only thing Foxconn has been making in its Ohio factory are tractors for California-based Monarch.