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Octane Appoints Steven Fernald as the Company’s First President

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Experienced Executive to Oversee Octane’s Successful Powersports and OPE Business

NEW YORK, July 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Octane® (Octane Lending, Inc.®), the fintech revolutionizing the buying experience for major recreational purchases, announced that it has appointed Steven Fernald as President. In this newly-created-role, Fernald will take over the day-to-day management of the company’s successful Powersports and Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE) business in addition to his current responsibilities as Chief Financial Officer. He will continue to report to Jason Guss, CEO and Co-Founder of Octane.

Fernald is a talented executive with almost thirty years of leadership experience in the financial sector. Since joining Octane in 2019, Fernald established the company’s highly-successful  securitization program, which has produced eleven asset-backed securitizations in excess of $3B and AAA ratings from Standard & Poor’s (S&P)* and Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA)**. He also launched Octane’s forward-flow program in December 2023, beginning with an innovative transaction that was shortly followed by two more transactions this year. Additionally, under Fernald’s leadership, the company first became operating cash flow positive in 2020 and GAAP net income profitable in 2021. Previously, Fernald served as Managing Director at both Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank, and as the Chief Financial Officer of a privately held, SaaS-based financial technology company. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Utah and is a lifelong powersports enthusiast.

“Given our considerable success in Powersports, we are establishing the position of President to lead the business into its next phase of growth, and Steve is the ideal executive to take on this role,” said Guss. “By transitioning our core business into Steve’s capable hands, I can spend more time helping Octane to launch even more innovative products, enter new markets, and deliver on our long-term ambitions.”

“It’s been an honor to help Octane achieve such significant milestones during my tenure with the company and I’m excited to build on our momentum in the Powersports space,” said Fernald. “As I take on this new role, I’m especially looking forward to helping our dealer and OEM partners to grow their businesses with our fast, easy financing experience.”

Since its founding in 2014, Octane has originated over $4B in loans and expanded into Recreational Vehicles (RVs), tractors, trailers, and electric vehicles.

*The full analysis for S&P’s ratings, including any updates, which you should review and understand, is available on spglobal.com and can be accessed here.

**KBRA’s ratings are subject to all of the terms and conditions set forth in the related report and KBRA’s website, which you should review and understand, and can be accessed here.

About Octane:
Octane® is revolutionizing recreational purchases by delivering a seamless, end-to-end digital buying experience. We connect people with their passions by combining cutting-edge technology and innovative risk strategies to make lifestyle purchases–like powersports vehicles, RVs, and outdoor power equipment–fast, easy, and accessible.

Octane adds value throughout the customer journey: inspiring enthusiasts with the Octane Media™ editorial brands, including Cycle World® and UTV Driver®, instantly prequalifying consumers for financing online, routing customers to dealerships for an easy closing, and supporting customers throughout their loan with superior loan servicing.

Founded in 2014, we’re a remote-first company with over 30 OEM and 4,000 dealer partners.

Visit www.octane.co.

Octane® and Roadrunner Financial® are registered service marks of Octane Lending, Inc.

Media Relations: Shannon O’Hara
VP of Communications & Brand at Octane
Press@octane.co                                                                  

Investor Relations: Kartik Kothari
SVP of Corporate Development and Investor Relations at Octane
IR@octane.co 

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SOURCE Octane

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Earth’s pulse monitored: a review highlights remote sensing time series progress

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As urbanization accelerates and environmental dynamics shift, the need for accurate and timely terrestrial monitoring has never been more urgent. A review has introduced a novel approach to remote sensing time series analysis, integrating multi-source data to enable near real-time monitoring. This innovative methodology promises to transform environmental conservation and urban planning by providing unprecedented insights into terrestrial changes and offering a more precise understanding of environmental dynamics.

GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — An international team of researchers from South China Normal University, the University of Connecticut, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has made a significant breakthrough in remote sensing. Their review, published (DOI: 10.34133/remotesensing.0285) in the Journal of Remote Sensing on December 11, 2024, addresses key challenges in remote sensing, such as incomplete data and noise interference. The team’s new time series analysis technique leverages advanced data reconstruction and fusion methods, significantly enhancing the precision and efficiency of remote sensing for monitoring environmental changes.

The research team has developed an advanced time series analysis technique that combines deep learning algorithms with traditional remote sensing methods to integrate data from various remote sensing sources. This innovative approach allows for the extraction of subtle patterns from large, complex datasets, which is crucial for monitoring critical environmental parameters such as land use and vegetation health. Unlike conventional techniques that struggle with incomplete or noisy data, this new methodology offers enhanced accuracy and more reliable insights into terrestrial dynamics, paving the way for more effective environmental monitoring.

Central to the study’s success is the integration of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) to address the challenges posed by missing or noisy data. The LSTM networks capture temporal trends over time, while the GANs generate synthetic data that mimics real-world observations to fill gaps and correct for atmospheric distortions. This dual approach has resulted in a cleaner, more accurate time series dataset, which was validated against independent ground truth measurements. The researchers demonstrated significant improvements in key vegetation indices, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), setting a new benchmark in the field of remote sensing.

Experts in the field have lauded the study’s potential to revolutionize remote sensing applications. They see the method as a transformative tool for enhancing high-resolution monitoring and extending its coverage, particularly in agricultural surveillance, urban planning, and environmental management. “This method represents a crucial advancement in our ability to monitor environmental changes,” says Professor Fu. “As it evolves, it could play a key role in addressing climate change and other global challenges.”

The methodology’s future applications are vast, especially in global environmental monitoring and supporting sustainable development goals. By integrating multi-temporal data from Landsat and Sentinel-2 satellites, the team has created a framework for accurate and continuous terrestrial analysis. As computational power advances and algorithms improve, this technology is expected to become a vital tool for natural resource management, disaster response, and climate change mitigation. In the years to come, it could provide critical data to help policymakers address pressing environmental issues on a global scale.

References

DOI

10.34133/remotesensing.0285

Oiginal Source URL

https://doi.org/10.34133/remotesensing.0285

Funding information

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 42425001 and 42071399).

About Journal of Remote Sensing

The Journal of Remote Sensing, an online-only Open Access journal published in association with AIR-CAS, promotes the theory, science, and technology of remote sensing, as well as interdisciplinary research within earth and information science.

Media Contact

George Hua, Chuanlink Innovations, 1 8656606278, TranSpread1@gmail.com, http://chuanlink-innovations.com/

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SOURCE Journal of Remote Sensing

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ZINZINO AB (PUBL.): ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE DIP FINANCING TO ZURVITA INITIATING CHAPTER 11 PROCESS

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GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Dec. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Zinzino has in a press release dated 20240617 announced that a letter of intent to acquire 100% of the shares in the North American direct selling company Zurvita Inc. “Zurvita or the Company” was signed. Since then, Zinzino has negotiated with the owners of Zurvita Inc. and instead concluded that the purchase of Zurvita’s assets in a Chapter 11 proceeding for the Company is in Zinzino’s best interest.

Zinzino is providing a debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to Zurvita, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on the 20th December 2024. By entering as a financier in Zurvita’s Chapter 11 with loans totaling USD 4.5 million, Zinzino simultaneously makes an offer to acquire the company’s assets via a so-called stalking horse bid. If the bid is accepted, the DIP loan will be converted into part of a debt-settled purchase price, which will be determined after Zurvita has completed the sale process that is subject to higher and better offers in accordance with the applicable terms of Chapter 11. Other bidders have the right to submit bids for Zurvita during the process and if another bid is accepted, Zinzino’s loan will be repaid and certain of its costs associated with the process will be reimbursed. 

Zurvita is a direct selling health company with operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The brand portfolio offers a range of innovative health and wellness products. The business has total annual sales of approximately USD 30 million with good gross margins. A potential transaction with Zinzino is expected to add growth through the synergies arising from the joint networks, combined with Zinzino’s test-based product concept. The profitability of the Company will thus be able to develop well by utilizing Zinzino’s existing technical platform and organization.

A visionary mindset, tech first perspective, test-based nutrition at the cellular level and a strong position to capitalize on current trends will form the basis of the new partnership. Following the acquisitions of VMA Life in 2020, Enhanzz in 2022, the strategic partnership with ACN and the recently completed asset acquisition of Xelliss, Zinzino has been looking for further strong investments to maintain its sustainable, profitable growth, strengthen its distribution power, expand into new markets and leverage the product portfolio in new consumer areas.

– “Individualized advice and tailored solutions are the future, and not just in health and wellness,” says Dag Bergheim Pettersen, CEO of Zinzino. “Together, we have years of combined industry experience and everything it takes to drive the modern, personalized shopping experience through direct sales”. Jay Shafer, CEO and co-founder of Zurvita, states “After considering multiple options for the company and under the guidance of our attorneys and third-party advisors, we feel this presents the best opportunity to continue Zurvita’s mission, deliver the highest quality products, and provide continuity for our staff and consultants. We are excited to see what the future holds for Zurvita.” 

For more information:
Dag Bergheim Pettersen CEO Zinzino +47 (0) 932 25 700, www.zinzino.com

Pictures for publication free of charge:
marketing@zinzino.com

Certified Adviser:
Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ.)

Zinzino AB (publ.) is obliged to publish this information in compliance with current EU regulations governing market abuse. The information was provided by the above contact person for publication at 20.00 on the 21st of December 2024.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/zinzino/r/zinzino-ab–publ–enters-into-agreement-to-provide-dip-financing-to-zurvita-initiating-chapter-11-pr,c4086040

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Meet With Culture: Exquisite Craftsmanship of Traditional Chinese Architecture

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BEIJING, Dec. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Temple of Agriculture in Beijing played a significant role during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Over nearly 600 years, 25 emperors personally visited or sent ministers to perform spring farming ceremonies and offer sacrifices to Shennong, the god of agriculture.

 

Built in 1420 during the Yongle reign, the temple’s predecessor was the Temple of Mountains and Rivers in Nanjing. When Emperor Zhu Di moved the Ming capital to Beijing, he constructed a larger temple inspired by the Nanjing temple, which gradually evolved into the Temple of Agriculture.

The Taisui Hall, the largest building complex in the temple, now serves as a major exhibition hall of the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum, showcasing models of classical Chinese buildings and demonstrating the solemnity of royal architecture.

Ancient Chinese architecture is predominantly wooden-structured, chosen for its availability, versatility, and earthquake resistance. Artisans developed sophisticated techniques in material selection and construction. The wooden framework consists of columns, beams, girders, and purlins, with innovative structural forms like lifting-beam and piercing-bracket structures.

A unique architectural element is the dougong (bracket sets), which supports weight and connects beam frames with column walls. Mortise-tenon joints were invented to create elastic frameworks by connecting different components.

While discussing the Temple of Agriculture, it’s worth noting another remarkable example of architectural hierarchy which could be found in the Temple of Heaven. The hierarchy of architectural designs reflected social stratification, with eave structures like the triple-layered eaves of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest representing the highest-level architectural design.

Over centuries, the Temple of Agriculture has transformed from an imperial garden to a public park and a museum for historical architecture, now standing as a significant cultural landmark that symbolizes China’s agricultural civilization and architectural heritage along Beijing’s Central Axis.

Quickly join Alexandre to study and explore the traditional Chinese architecture.
https://youtu.be/YpA03WiZ9Wc

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SOURCE China International Communications Group

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