Spencer Edward

People with knowledge of the situation claimed that once PhonePe begins its separate from the Flipkart group, the e-commerce company’s current stake will be reflected in the new payments section as part of the separation process. This means that US-based Walmart will have majority ownership in PhonePe, while other Flipkart investors will receive a pro-rata share of the new India entity of the payments company. According to the persons described above, the procedure is presently in progress, and officials at PhonePe hope to formally close it in a month or two. However, they issued a warning that it might take longer due to the complexity of the restructure, which includes tax compliance in Singapore and India.

According to the sources, the mirroring of stockholders in PhonePe would be comparable to how Paytm six years ago created a distinct unit for its e-commerce arm Paytm Mall and went on to seek separate funds for the firm.

The Singapore branch of PhonePe would be liquidated, and Flipkart stockholders would receive the appropriate interests in the Indian branch. According to them, some of the current shareholders may look into partially selling their stake in PhonePe’s India division. One of the aforementioned sources stated, “It’s complicated restructure, but Flipkart shareholders will still get allocations in PhonePe India. “They (PhonePe) intend to raise money and have spoken with potential investors. It is also about unlocking value for Walmart, which at the point of the Flipkart transaction dictated a valuation of about $1 billion.

After the Flipkart board approved a partial hive-off in 2019, PhonePe had an independent board that reported to Walmart. Walmart contributed $700 million to PhonePe later in December 2020, raising its valuation to $5.5 billion. People briefed on the situation claimed that while PhonePe’s restructuring is in progress, the company has been in contact with late-stage financiers for a fresh funding round at a value that is much higher than its previous round. while the discussions are ongoing

PhonePe has stated it is aiming for a valuation of further than $12 billion for those that have not yet been organized into a deal, they claimed.

According to the most recent shareholding information at Tracxn, Walmart, which purchased Flipkart in 2018, owns 72 percent of the Bengaluru-based eCommerce company. Tencent, Tiger Global, and Accel, among the other current investors in the company, are and others. Following the partial split, PhonePe established a new board that includes Binny Bansal, the co-founder of Flipkart, who was instrumental in the company’s acquisition by Flipkart in 2016. Bansal still owns 1.8 percent of the business despite leaving the e-commerce company in 2018. He sold a portion of his stake to Tencent, according to an ET story from a year ago, when Flipkart raised $3.6 billion in funding, valuing the online retailer at $37.6 billion.

One of the aforementioned individuals stated, “Walmart is expected to have a bigger investment in PhonePe India subsidiary as negotiations are underway that certain investors may sell it to them.” Up until Tuesday afternoon, emails forwarded to PhonePe and Flipkart spokespersons went unanswered. The co-founders of PhonePe, Rahul Chari and Sameer Nigam intend to eventually float the business in India. It is currently one of the top competitors to Google Pay in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) digital payments network. The payments corporation is trying harder than ever to establish itself as a provider of financial services, attempting to market to its current clientele services like asset management and insurance. The corporation claims that it has 380 million registered users overall and over 170 million active users per month. It records around $3 billion in transactions on a monthly average.

Russia and Ukraine will sign a deal that will allow grain exports to be allowed to resume from the Black Sea port. Russia and Ukraine, which are the two largest exporters worldwide, didn’t immediately confirm the statement of Turkish President Tayyip Turkey. But Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s leader suggested that ports would be opened in the region late last evening. Friday’s U.N.-backed deal to resume shipments of Ukrainian grain would help address the global food shortage caused by the conflict between Eastern Europe and Russia. Russian compliance to the agreement will be closely watched by international observers.

The State Department denounced Russian attacks on Ukrainian agriculture facilities and a prolonged blockade in food exports. “To date, Russia’s weaponization of food has taken place during this conflict,” Ned Price (a spokesperson for State Department) stated during a daily update. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, suggested Thursday night that an agreement might be reached in Istanbul. He added, “Tomorrow will also see news from Turkey concerning the unblocking of our ports.” Millions of tonnes remain unopened in Ukraine. Ukraine is the largest global exporter. Russian forces have blocked the Black Sea from which grain silos are located at key ports within Ukraine. U.N. could make a deal for Ukraine to resume exports of grain on Friday. This would alleviate the global food shortage that has been caused mainly by conflict in Eastern Europe. According to reports, the signing is scheduled for Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace. Turkish President Recep Tyyip Erdogan spoke out Thursday to say that Russia and Ukraine had reached an agreement. International observers will monitor Russia closely to make sure it sticks to the agreement.

Grains exporters from Odesa (Ukraine) are unable to ship outside due to the violence. Global shortages have caused food prices to rise. According to reports the agreement will allow Ukrainian ships navigation in mined waters. Russia will also be subjected to a ceasefire in order not to allow an attack. Turkish officials will inspect this package to make sure there aren’t illegal weapons. Moscow, which accuses Ukraine to having placed the mines, will resume its grain exports from the Black Sea as a part of the agreement. The State Department has criticised Russia’s ban on food imports since the 1970s, as well as its attack on Ukrainian agricultural plants.

Russian warships are blocking Ukrainian ports at Black Sea, Sea of Azov and Sea of Azov since several months. Russia has thus far used food weapons in this conflict. They have destroyed Ukrainian farms and prevented millions tonnes of Ukrainian grain from reaching the people who need it,” Ned Price spoke at a daily news briefing. He stated that Russia’s disregard for people’s lives and livelihoods was not limited to the area. Price’s remarks were made after the United Nations announced Turkey and Russia would soon sign an arrangement to create a maritime corridor that will allow for grain exports to Ukraine. “We shouldn’t find ourselves in this circumstance in the first. Price stated that it was deliberate Russian Federation’s decision to weaponize foods. Olena Zelenska is Ukraine’s first Lady. She met representatives of HP as well as the Global Business Coalition for Education. They accepted a donation for computers for Ukrainian students and children.

Zelenska stated in a statement that she is grateful for the support by HP and the Global Business Coalition for Education for the $30 million HP initiative. She also stated that contributions and efforts from HP and the Global Business Alliance for Education would be of benefit to students from Ukraine and around the world. Enrique Lores, the CEO of HP, stated that Palo Alto’s firm would continue mobilizing technology resources for Ukraine. Lores stated, in a statement, that “Through our partnership for The Global Business Coalition for Education (GBC for Education), we will place personal computers into students or families who are forced from the homes or classrooms.”

Kelvin Pang, a Singaporean working from a small office in China, is willing to accept $23 million to ensure that China’s chip shortage doesn’t worsen. The microcontrollers are chips that regulate many operations. This includes both the charging and power system of electric cars, as well as the transmissions or engines of automobiles. Pang purchased 62,000 microcontrollers for $23.80 each from a German buyer. Pang now wants them to be sold to Shenzhen’s automobile makers for $375 each.

He claimed that he rejected offers of $100 per piece and $6.2 million for the whole bundle. It is stored in a Hong Kong warehouse and is small enough to fit into your car’s trunk. He was 58 years of age and didn’t disclose the cost of the microcontrollers (MCUs). His business connects Chinese buyers to sellers with surplus electronic inventory that could be recycled. Two years ago, the global chip crisis, which was caused by supply disruptions and surge demand, transformed this business from one of low volume and low margin to one that can offer lucrative deals. Although there are still delays in placing orders for automotive chips, brokers such as Pang and others are now focusing their attention on China as the epicentre of a crisis that is gradually being overcome by the rest. According to Reuters, new orders for automotive chips from the five largest manufacturers have a typical global lead time of about a year. To address the shortage, major automakers like General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. entered into direct negotiations with chipmakers. They raised part prices and bought more inventory. Interviews with more than 20 industry participants, including brokers, manufacturers, suppliers, and CATARC experts, a government-affiliated auto research group in China, paint a less hopeful image for China. China is the world’s largest automaker and almost all its production comes from chips made in America, Europe, or Taiwan. Supply constraints have been exacerbated by the end of Shanghai’s zero COVID shutdown. China Automotive Technology and Research Centre assert that China’s shortage is worse than anywhere else in China and could hamper EV development. According to the report, a new Chinese chip-making industry will not be able to meet demand in the next two- to three years. Pang predicts that China will continue to face serious shortages of supply through 2023. It would be dangerous to continue in that state, he believes.

Forecasts “not possible”

Each vehicle, electric or conventional, has thousands to thousands of semiconductor-type computer chips. These chips manage everything, from navigation and entertainment systems to automatic emergency brakes and airbag deployment. The June poll included chips from Infineon and Texas Instruments as well as NXP. This report gives an overview of the global shortfall but does not break it down by region. It also shows that new orders placed through distributors often get delayed for an average of 49 weeks, or even into 2023. The average lead time is 52 weeks. They can vary between 6 weeks and 198 weeks. Infineon, a German chipmaker said to Reuters it has been investing in manufacturing facilities all over the world and “rigorously growing its production capabilities.” There may be a shortage in chips made by foundries up to 2023. Infineon said that it was difficult to assess the extent of the current shortage at this time, given the changing geopolitical and macroeconomic environments. United Microelectronics Corp. is a Taiwanese chipmaker that stated to Reuters it was able to shift some capacity to automotive chips due to decreased demand from other markets. The corporation stated that it is still difficult to meet client demand.

TrendForce analyst Galen Tseng told Reuters that current auto suppliers only receive around 80 PMIC chip – which regulates the voltage from the battery up to over 100 applications in an average vehicle – if they required 100. Due to the poor supply situation in China and better prospects for global carmakers, chip supplies are critical. Volkswagen stated in June that the chip shortage will improve in the second half. Chairman of Chinese EV manufacturer Nio William Li stated last month that it was hard to predict when certain chips would be in short supply. Nio has updated its “risky” list to ensure that it doesn’t run out of any of the 1,000 chips needed to make EVs. Xpeng Motors (a Chinese EV manufacturer) appealed in May for chips. A video online featured a Pokemon toy. It was also sold out in China. The duck-like bobbing character waved the two signs “urgently looking” and “chips”. The video was posted by He Xiaopeng (CEO of Xpeng Motors) on Weibo. He said that his company had difficulty getting “cheap chips” to build cars.

Shenzhen is accessible via all roads

Two people who are familiar with the trade at a Chinese EV manufacturer and an auto supplier claim that automakers have come to Shenzhen in search of solutions. This is China’s biggest chip trading centre and the “grey market,” which brokered legal supplies but was not authorized to do so by the original manufacturer. Grey markets are a place where chips may be recycled, mislabelled, or improperly handled. Masamune Yamaji, Gartner’s research director, stated that brokers can pose a risk and that their costs could be ten- to twentyfold more. Many chip buyers depend on brokers to satisfy their needs, particularly small clients in the automotive or industrial electronics industries. Pang stated that Shenzhen’s brokers were often newcomers who were attracted by rising prices but had no knowledge of the technology they were selling and buying. Only part numbers are available. I want to know what this means for your car. They don’t know what they are doing. Analysts believe there aren’t enough brokers to meet the demand, despite it being difficult to estimate the number of brokers. Ondrej Burkacky at McKinsey is a senior associate. He said that it’s not like all the chips are on the market, and you only need to get them there. Analysts and traders warned that Shenzhen’s unsold semiconductor stocks could cause an asset bubble. Pang stated that this was not possible.

Chinese self-sufficiency

China is looking to reduce its dependence on imported chips as its advanced chip design, manufacture and manufacturing still lag behind its counterparts abroad. It won’t be easy, especially considering the stringent specifications for automotive-grade semiconductors. Li Xudong is a senior manager at CATARC. MCUs account for 30% of total chip costs in a car, but they are also the most difficult category in which China can achieve self-sufficiency. Li stated that domestic players have only entered the lower market with chips for air conditioning and seat controls. Huang Yonghe (head engineer at CATARC) stated in May that “I don’t believe the problem can be solved in two or three years.” We are dependent on foreign countries for 95 % of wafers. Li of CATARC says that a domestic alternative has emerged in the form of Chinese EV manufacturer BYD. It has started to produce IGBT transistor chip designs. Victor Shih, a professor of political science at the University of California in San Diego, said that China has always considered its inability to completely rely on chip manufacturing as a security threat. China may eventually create a strong local sector, Shih said. “It led to a lot of waste and failure but it also produced two or 3 giants that now dominate the world market.”

In Singapore, After a strong start to this week, Asian stock markets mainly declined on Tuesday as investors reviewed the meeting minutes of Australia’s central bank. Losses were driven by the 1.15% decline in the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong and the 1.64% decline in the Hang Seng Tech index. Markets on China’s mainland were down. Shenzhen Component fell 0.64%, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.29%.

The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6% in Australia. Tuesday saw the release of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s meeting minutes, which revealed that the board considered current rates to be “far below” the neutral rate, indicating that future rises will be required to bring inflation back to the target over time. Earlier this month, the RBA increased interest rates by 50 basis points. According to the minutes, “the level of interest rates was still extraordinarily low for an economy confronting a period of increased inflation and a tight labor market.” To $0.6838, the Australian dollar grew.

The South Korean indexes had a range. While the Kosdaq rose 0.28%, the Kospi lost 0.29%.

After a vacation on Monday, Japanese markets resumed trading on Tuesday and defied the regional trend. The Topix index increased by 0.55%, while the Nikkei 225 increased by 0.76%.

The largest Asia-Pacific share index outside of Japan, according to MSCI, is down 0.69%.

On Monday, all of the major indices in the area saw increases of at least 1%, with Hong Kong stocks leading the way by finishing 2.7% higher.

According to senior investment strategist at Credit Suisse, Suresh Tantia there is still uncertainty over the direction of inflation and the actions that the Fed will take. On Tuesday, he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that it was “very likely” that markets would stay volatile.

The Financial Times stated that due to the unpredictability of British politics, SoftBank has postponed plans to list chip creator Arm in London. Shares of SoftBank Group increased by 1.36%. When approached by CNBC, the company declined to comment. Meanwhile, Swire Pacific, a multinational with headquarters in Hong Kong, announced the acquisition of Coca-Cola divisions with bottling operations in Vietnam and Cambodia. Shares of the business that were listed in Hong Kong decreased by almost 2%. Major U.S. market indices reversed previous gains and ended the session down. To 31,072.61, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 215.65 points or 0.69%. To 3,830.85, the S&P 500 dropped 0.84%. To 11,360.05., the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.81%.

Currencies and oil :

The U.S. dollar index, which compares the dollar to a basket of its competitors, was last at 107.502, declining from levels from the previous week. Because of the dismal forecast for global growth, Carol Kong, senior associate of currency strategy and international economics at Commonwealth Bank, wrote in a note on Tuesday, “In our opinion, the path of least resistance for the US$ is to continue trending greater.” The Japanese yen traded at 137.98 to the dollar, which is still higher than last week values. After rising by about 5% on Monday, oil futures dipped somewhat in Asian trading. West Texas Intermediate crude for the United States fell by 0.19% to $102.41 per barrel, while benchmark Brent crude for the rest of the world fell by 0.39% to $105.86 per barrel.

The corporation announced losing 700,000 users as a result of shutting down its service in Russia, despite having gained millions of subscribers during Covid lockdowns. It also cited consumers who shared their Netflix password with others as a cause of the rivalry from rivals. The leading company in streaming states that the service will be an “addition” to its existing subscription, which are free of advertisements.

How much the business intends to charge customers for the new service is still a secret.

After reporting its first subscriber decline in over ten years and making hundreds of job cuts earlier this year, Netflix made the announcement.

Between January and March, it lost 200,000 users as opposed to the 2.5 million analysts had predicted the company would gain during that time. Additionally, Netflix now anticipates losing an additional two million subscriber between April and June.

The business announced that it had chosen Microsoft as its exclusive global sales and advertising technology partner to launch a “cheaper price ad-supported membership plan.”

In a statement, Netflix’s chief operating officer Greg Peters stated, “It’s really early, and we have a lot to work through.

“Microsoft does have the verified capacity to serve all business marketing demands as we work together to establish a new ad-supported product,” said Greg Peters, COO of Netflix.

Netflix’s unexpected decision to finally join competitors like HBO Max, Hulu, and Paramount+ by introducing an ad-supported package for the year is anticipated to come before the announcement next week that the company lost an additional 2 million subscribers globally in the 3 months leading up to the end of June.

It’s still extremely early, and there are many issues to resolve, according to Peters. But our long-term objective is obvious. Consumers have more options, and advertisers enjoy a superior, non-linear television brand experience.

Netflix has consistently opposed adding advertising for years, despite the fact that plans with both a cheaper price element and ad revenue are frequently more profitable than a more expensive ad-free subscription. Reed Hastings, a co-founder of the business, claimed they will “exploit” and alter the viewing experience.

Netflix has never desired advertisements. The foundation of its entire business strategy was a monthly subscription.

However, Netflix officials were forced to disregard their own policies.

It follows horrendous data that revealed the corporation was losing subscribers.

Additionally, as a result of the high cost of living, households have had to tighten their budgets and have begun to consider their Netflix subscription as a potential saving. Investors have become uneasy.

In addition, Netflix faces stiff competition from services like Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime.

There aren’t enough paying subscribers to go around, and there are too many possibilities.

In order to react, Netflix is developing a less expensive version that will include advertisements and will launch later this year.

A similar business strategy is used by Spotify, which offers free music in exchange for watching ads.

It is hoped that by accepting commercials, Netflix can attract more customers.

However, the decision also demonstrates that advertisements, which were considered by high-end streaming firms to be so passé just a few years ago, are still very much alive and well.

The Report Stated on Tuesday that Netflix is trying to restructure its contracts with significant entertainment companies so that it can include advertisements in its service.

As per reports, the firm has talked with Sony Pictures Television, Universal, and Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. opted not to respond. A BBC request for comment was not immediately answered by Universal or Sony.

Netflix’s market value dropped by $50 billion in April after the firm revealed the unexpected decline in subscribers, just since October 2011.

The business reported losing 700,000 users as a result of shutting down its service in Russia, despite having gained millions of subscribers during Covid lockdowns. It also cited consumers who shared their Netflix password with others as a cause of the rivalry from rivals.

The business announced 300 job losses last month as it struggled with the decline in consumer volume.

Also in the past month, Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos stated that the company was in discussions with several businesses to identify ways to appeal to price-conscious customers.

“Netflix as it currently exists won’t get any more advertisements. For those who say, “Hey, I want a lower price and I’ll watch advertisements,” we are adding an ad tier “At a conference in Cannes, Mr. Sarandos informed the audience.

However, there hasn’t been any formal announcement of the launch date for these more affordable options. Alongside the current alternatives, a new ad-enabled subscription plan will be available that will give users inexpensive access to premium content. According to the business, there is still a lot of work to be done and the new move is still in its very early phases.

Expanding these ultrasensitive nanoscale detectors’ capabilities could help with quantum computing and biological sensing, according to MIT experts. Quantum sensors are capable of detecting even minute variations in electrical or magnetic fields. This has enabled precise measurements to be done in the areas of physics, and basic physics. These sensors are only marginally functional because they can only recognize a few frequencies of these fields. Researchers at MIT have succeeded in making such sensors capable of detecting any frequency without impairing their ability to analyze properties at the nanoscale scale. The new technique was published in a publication in Physical Review X by Paola Cappellaro from MIT and Guoqing Wang, a doctoral student in nuclear science and engineering. At MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, he also teaches nuclear science and physics.

The team has submitted an application for patent protection. Although quantum sensors can take many different forms, their fundamental property is that some particles are so perfectly balanced that even slight changes in fields can have an impact on them. These sensors can be used to find trapped ions and neutral atoms. Research involving these sensors is expanding quickly. While physicists use them to study unusual states of matter like topological phases and time crystals, scientists utilize them to characterize practical technologies like experimental quantum memory or computation. Quantum sensors can also pick up on a variety of other fascinating events. Graduate student Guoqing Wang works with nuclear science engineering and physics professor Paola Capepellaro. In a report that was published in Physical Review X, she and four other researchers from MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory describe the new technique. The team has already filed a patent application for this novel method. Quantum sensors can be created in a variety of methods, but at their core, they consist of a system where some particles are in such a perfect state that even slight changes in the fields they are susceptible to can affect how they behave. These can be neutral atoms, trapped ions, solid-state spins, or neutral atoms. Research using these sensors has grown quickly. They are used by physicists to characterize helpful tools like experimental quantum memory and to examine unique states of matter like so-called time crystals and topological phases of computation systems. However, over a far wider frequency range than what is currently detectable by quantum sensors, many more intriguing occurrences take place. Even if there are other ways to modify the frequency sensitivity of particular quantum sensors. However, this requires a substantial apparatus and a potent magnetic field. These could remove minuscule details, preventing the new technology from offering the highest resolution. Wang claims that in order to be tuned, such devices require a strong magnetic field. However, that magnetic field can alter the behavior you’re trying to study and damage the quantum materials’ properties. Cappellaro believes that the system’s capacity to access a range of electromagnetic or electrical activity frequencies at the level of a single cell may open up new opportunities in the biomedical field. She said that the resolution of such signals by current quantum sensing technology would be difficult.

This technology may be able to identify a neuron’s output signals as it responds to a stimulus. However, it could be difficult to detect such signals because this system is typically surrounded by a lot of noise. This technology may be used to thoroughly examine exotic materials, such as 2D materials, which are currently the subject of in-depth research into their electromagnetic and optical properties. The team is still considering the possibility of expanding the system’s capabilities so that it may examine more than one frequency at once in addition to the current one. The researchers will continue to enhance the system’s capabilities by utilizing more potent quantum sensing equipment at Lincoln Laboratory, where some of the study team members are situated.

Global attention has been drawn to the multiple ways artificial intelligence (AI), affects society. A growing area of interest is the role of AI procurement in addressing the impacts of this technology within both the public and private sectors.

Analyzing the text of soft-law programs is one way to evaluate developments in AI procurement. Soft law is an initiative that sets out substantive expectations about AI’s design and deployment, but which is not enforced directly by the government. They are not as strict as hard law, which takes the form of legislation or regulation.

These programs are soft law and reflect the views of many entities, including government, private sector and non-profits. They include strategies, recommendations and principles as well as best practices.

We collaborated with Gary Marchant, Arizona State University. This database contains AI soft-law programs from 2001 through 2019. This database includes all AI-related text for 634 programs in 64 different geographic areas. This corpus contains the word “procurement” 84 times across 44 programs.

The 86 statements that were relevant to AI procurement were then identified and compiled into a new database. The figure below shows that the majority of statements regarding AI procurement were issued by governmental entities (48%), or jointly with other organizations (40%). It is interesting that most procurement mentions are from soft law initiatives, which were released in the average year of 2018.

Two dimensions were used to analyze each procurement-related statement. The first dimension determined the directionality and influence. Statements can be used to direct stakeholders in the entity’s sphere of influence (internal), guide individuals or groups (external), and target both internal stakeholders (both)

The largest group was the internal statements, accounting for 72% of the total. These statements are only found in government-led organizations or alliances of governments such as national governments, states or provincial institutions, or multilateral institutions like the EU. Surprisingly local government is represented by guidance created by New York City’s Automated Decision Systems Task Force.

22% of programs contained external statements. These could be governmental pronouncements that target the private sector, associations, or private sector entities providing guidelines for the AI stakeholder community or non-profits offering advice to government agencies. A small number of statements (6%) are directed at both internal and outside stakeholders.

The second dimension is about the substance of the soft-law text. The relevant statements were divided into four categories: protection of rights, acceleration of technology advancement, creation of soft laws, and improvement of processes. Each statement could have up to two purposes.

Sixty-six percent of the statements reflected an improvement of processes as the most common purpose of soft law procurement programs. A statement must suggest ways to improve a procurement process in order to qualify. The guidelines, which were created by the United Kingdom’s government in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF), were a great example for government agencies. The UK and WEF gave concrete guidance to government agencies regarding their AI procurement practices in this document. They direct government agencies to “consider when purchasing a tool that contains AI; testing the application over its lifetime is crucial” and to “ensure interoperability and require open licensing terms in order to avoid vendor lock-in.”

Similar advice can be provided by people outside the government. Microsoft, for example, provides a list with regional procurement standards and guidelines developers should consider when developing AI-based technologies.

The creation of soft laws, which is present at 30% of the statements, was second in popularity after improving processes. Organizations urged the improvement or creation of soft law mechanisms to help guide AI procurement. New York City’s task force on ADS recommended advancing a set of “best practices” in ADS to assist agencies. This included data retention and sharing, ADS procurement and data sharing.

Nonprofit organizations also made statements urging governments to act in the area of procurement. C-Minds was one such organization. It requested Mexico to “develop guidelines for smart AI procurement.” They explained that government must embrace technology in order to provide citizens with high-quality services.

In 27% of the samples, the purpose was to ensure and protect rights. The need for society’s use of procurement to ensure that individuals and organizations have their rights protected was a common theme across all statements.

The Council of Europe, for example, dedicated an entire paper to algorithmic impacts on human rights. It urged countries to ” encourage the creation of algorithmic systems, technologies that enhance equality access to, and enjoyment, human rights through procurement.” UNESCO, however, has recommended that governments “use government procurement and funding to drive gender equality in AI.”

In 17 % of the statements, the purpose to accelerate technological development was identified. These statements included ideas on the role procurement plays in creating and deploying AI technology in the market, mostly from the private sector. For example, the French government stated that it would support European industries with its procurement policies. Korea, on the other hand, issued a statement in which it said that it would “enable businesses to take early advantage of intelligent IT ecosystems.”

Many trade associations worldwide support public procurement for funding AI development. A regional association representing the medical technology industry said that public procurement should be used to both build “innovation” and provide trustworthy AI.

This research shows how much conversation there is about procurement in the world of AI governance soft law. These discussions are dominated by the government as the primary participant and target.

This protagonism is well-deserved. The best marketplace conditions for AI are set by public entities. They can create incentives to encourage responsible AI usage by large companies as they are big customers. They can advocate for soft laws to improve the quality of life in the rest of the country by being arbiters of social norms. They can also improve their operations by deploying AI as stewards of public resources.

This article’s bespoke procurement section reflects the increasing interest in AI and this field. As AI technology improves its ability to serve humanity, the importance of this relationship will increase.

Russian forces attacked especially in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk to prepare for an armored thrust that will attempt to seize more territory. This was the new phase of the five-month-old war.

According to the Russian military and the local governor, the strikes were in response to Moscow’s capture on Sunday of Lysychansk, Ukraine’s city. This gave Moscow complete control over the Luhansk region. It was one of its main war goals.

Moscow’s “special military operation” also aims to take Donetsk under its control, which is the other Donbas region. This industrialized eastern part of Ukraine has been the scene of the largest battle in Europe for generations.

According to Serhiy Gadai, the Ukrainian governor in Luhansk, Ukrainian forces that retreated from Lysychansk over the weekend, took up new defensive lines at Donetsk on Tuesday.

The Russian defense ministry, which claims it doesn’t target residential areas, replied that it used high-precision weapons against command centers and artillery in Donetsk where Ukraine still controls large cities. Also states that President Vladimir Putin instructed troops in Luhansk to rest and recover military readiness, while other units continue fighting.

On Monday, a Reuters reporter visited Lysychansk to find widespread destruction and few people in a city once home to almost 100,000 people. Oleksiy Arestovych (an adviser to President Volodymyr Zeleskiy) said that “This is Russia’s last victory on Ukrainian territory.” He made these remarks in an online video. He also stated that, in addition to the battle for Donetsk and the launch of counter-offensives by Ukraine.

Military experts believed that the Russian forces had not gained any strategic advantages from the hard-fought victory, which was why the outcome of what is being called the “battle for the Donbas” was still in doubt.

Neil Melvin, RUSI think-tank in London, said that “I believe it’s a tactical victory for Russia but with an enormous cost.” He compared the battle with the massive territorial gains and the fights for them that marked World War One.

He said that while the Russians might declare victory, the crucial war battle was still to come.

Melvin stated that the decisive battle against Ukraine would not be in the east, where Russia is mounting its main attack, but in the south, where Ukraine has launched a counter-offensive to retake territory around Kherson.

He stated that “counter-attacks are starting there” and that it was most likely that the momentum would swing to Ukraine as it attempts to mount a large-scale counter-offensive in reply to Russia’s attack.

Zelenskyy stated Monday that, despite Ukraine withdrawing from Lysychansk’s territory, its troops continued fighting. He also stated in a video message that “The Armed Forces of Ukraine Respond and push back opposition forces with period of time.” We must break them. It’s a hard task. It takes time and requires superhuman effort. We have no other choice.

The molecular processes that underlie learning and memory were discovered

Researchers have now discovered the intracellular signal mechanism through which ACh controls aversive Learning, an important screening procedure for AD medication.

Research has shown that donepezil activates the signal cascade to prevent unfavorable learning. These findings suggest that the signaling cascade could contain pharmacological targets.

Unpleasant learning is possible with the help of acetylcholine, a neuromodulator. It is possible to quickly train the senses to become more comfortable with unpleasant smells, tastes, and touches. These learning-related tasks are performed by cells known as D2R+MSNs (D2R+MSNs), found in the NAC. After negative learning experiences, ACh levels in the NAc rise.

Research has shown that ACh stimulates D2R/MSNs via the muscarinic receptor M1R (M1R). This activates the protein kinase C signaling mole, which is then stimulated in response to earlier research.

However, it is not clear how ACh influences aversive learning. This has hampered the development of AD treatments that target ACh intracellular signaling.

Researchers from Fujita Health University’s Prof. Kozo Kaibuchi published a study that explains the molecular mechanisms behind ACh learning, memory and learning.

This has not been done since the discovery of the cholinergic hypothesis in AD 45 years ago. Our research also revealed the intracellular mechanism and effects donepezil had on learning and memory. Yukie Yamashi (assistant professor and principal author of the study), says that this discovery opens up new AD treatments.

Phosphorylation is a process that facilitates molecular signaling cascades. This is where cellular kinases attach phosphate groups to specific substrate molecules. Professor Kozo Kaibuchi developed and disseminated a method called Kinase-oriented Proteomic Analysis that was used by the research team.

The study team was able to confirm ACh’s ability to stimulate PKC through the observation of phosphorylation events following ACh binding ex vivo to M1Rs in animals with striatal/NAc cut. Next came the phosphoproteomic research. It identified 116 possible PKC substrates, which included “bPIX,” which activates small GTPase Rac.

“We discovered that PKC activated bPIX after ACh. This activated a downstream target of Rac, PAK, and made it active. Using passive avoidance tests in mice, we next investigated the role of the discovered ACh-M1R-PKC-Rac-b-PIX-PAK cascade in aversive learning and aversion memory “Dr. Yamahashi explains. The researchers also discovered that donepezil triggers this cascade in order to increase negative learning.

Dr. Yamahashi says this is the first study to show intracellular donepezil processes that control learning and memory.

These results are consistent with a study published by Prof. Kaibuchi in the Journal of Neurochemistry. Dr. Md. published the study for the first time. Omar Faruk has received the Mark A. Smith Award from the International Society for Neurochemistry.

According to a study, KCNQ2, a voltage-gated sodium channel, was implicated in unfavorable learning. PKC phosphorylates KCNQ2’s threonine 217 directly. This phosphorylation site was thought to modulate its channel activity. The NAc phosphorylation event was also increased by the administration of donepezil.

Scientists discovered that M1R–PKC–b-PIX–PAK was involved in associative learning and recognition memory. This is significant because it provides a platform to screen for new AD medicines.

Our phosphoproteomic data revealed many other PKC substrates including postsynaptic scaffold protein and presynaptic protein, which are registered in a database called KinaseAssociated Neural PHOsphossignaling. We remained focused on bPIX and elucidating the M1RPKC-PAK pathway (KANPHOS).

Dr. Yamahashi says that they are only looking at the tip end of an iceberg when it comes to the future prospects for their research.

The latest news about memory, learning

Acetylcholine is essential for memory and learning. Donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor, increases brain acetylcholine. This lowers the chance of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-associated learning disabilities.

Acetylcholine (M1R) activates the D2-expressing medium spiny neuron (D2R -MSNs) of the striatal/nucleus incumbents dopamine receptor D2-expressing dopamine receiver. These neurons control unpleasant learning via the muscarinic receptors. It is not clear how acetylcholine promotes learning beyond the M1Rs.

We discovered that mouse striatal/nucleus PKC (acetylcholine-stimulated protein kinase C) was activated. Our initial kinaseoriented phosphoproteomic investigation identified 116 potential PKC substrates. This included b–PIX, a Rac1 activater. Acetylcholine activated Rac1-activated kinase p21 through activating bPIX phosphorylation. (PAK).

In mice, D2R/MSNs triggered the M1R/PKC/PAK pathway by activating aversive stimuli. Cre-Flex controlled PAK mutations in D2R/MSNs. This controlled aversive learning, as well as dendritic structure and plasticity. Donepezil promoted PAK activity in the CA1 and accumbal areas of the D2R–MSNs of the hippocampus. This increased D2R–MSN-mediated learning.

These results show that acetylcholine activates M1R-PKC-b-PIX-Rac1-PAK signalling for unpleasant learning in D2R-MSNs and suggest the cascade’s therapeutic potential for AD since aversive learning is utilised to assess prospective AD treatments.