Latest news with #Crane
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
New programme with AI tools to improve heart health among elderly set to reach 60,000 a year
Mr Teo Yong Choon, who had a heart attack in 2017, will now be assessed using two AI tools as part of the new programme when he goes for check-ups at the National Heart Centre Singapore. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO New programme with AI tools to improve heart health among elderly set to reach 60,000 a year SINGAPORE – When former engineer Teo Yong Choon woke up in the middle of the night in 2017 , breaking out in cold sweat with intermittent chest pains, he tried to sleep it off. But when the pain hit with increasing frequency the next morning, his wife persuaded him to go to the emergency department. It turned out that he was having a heart attack. Almost immediately, he was wheeled into emergency surgery and had three stents put in his heart. 'I think it was because I did not take any cholesterol medication even though my readings were high back then,' said Mr Teo. It took him six months to return to his original fitness level of being able to jog slowly for 20 minutes. Eight years on, the 71-year-old retiree has changed his diet of greasy local favourites to low-carb and higher-protein meals. He is also on medication to prevent a second heart attack. When he goes back for check-ups at the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS), he will now be assessed using two artificial intelligence (AI) tools. These tools will help doctors in identifying any early signs of deterioration in Mr Teo's condition and assessing whether he is at increased risk of experiencing another heart attack. The new tools are rolled out as part of a new programme launched to prevent and detect cardiovascular disease earlier in older adults at NHCS. Called Cardiovascular Ageing and Longevity Programme, or Crane, the initiative was announced at a media briefing on May 28 at the centre. It is expected to reach about 60,000 patients a year over the next three to five years. In 2023, cardiovascular disease accounted for almost one in three deaths in Singapore. The initiative encompasses three broad areas of improving clinical care, expanding its clinical research programme, and educating healthcare professionals and patients on geriatric cardiology. Associate Professor Angela Koh, director of Crane, said the AI tools can provide clinicians with more insights that enable them to intervene earlier. One tool, 3DGait, can help spot early signs of fragility by analysing the way a person stands up and then walks from a sitting position. 'If you are pre-frail, your risk of having heart disease may actually be higher,' said Prof Koh, referring to a risk state where a person is likely to actually become frail. 'If you have had a heart disease, you really want to detect pre-frailty because by doing so, you avoid the next deterioration,' said Prof Koh, who is also a senior consultant at NHCS' department of cardiology. Another tool that will help doctors make more accurate assessments is Medi-Kiosk, which can obtain not just basic health metrics such as body mass index and blood pressure but also detailed body composition data including skeletal muscle mass, visceral fat and fluid levels. 'Information like fluid status is important because water retention is an important manifestation of heart failure,' added Prof Koh. Under Crane, NHCS will also advance research in areas such as the fundamental mechanisms of cardiovascular ageing and investigate the gender differences in these mechanisms. The team will also conduct research focusing on specific groups, including geriatric cardio-oncology, regenerative cardiovascular medicine and population health strategies. Professor Yeo Khung Keong, the centre's chief executive, said: 'With our extensive expertise in cardiovascular care and research, NHCS is well poised to spearhead this transformative programme that will not only benefit our local population but also contribute to valuable insights on cardiovascular ageing to the broader medical community across Asia-Pacific.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Glowing streaks of light and warped arcs: Nasa gives glimpse at ‘distant past' through new Webb picture
Galaxy cluster Abell S1063 (Nasa) As part of the 'picture of the month' series, Nasa has revealed a new image taken by the James Webb telescope that gives a look into the distant past. This picture of the galaxy cluster Abell S1063 is a gigantic collection of galaxies lying 4.5 billion light years from Earth as part of the constellation Grus, also known as the Crane. The picture showcases galaxies surrounded by glowing streaks of light and warped arcs, which are of particular interest to scientists, as they represent faint galaxies from the distant past of this universe. Captured after 120 hours of observation, this image represents Webb's deepest look at a single celestial target. This image is a deep field image , capable of capturing pictures of galaxies that have existed as early as 200 million years after the Big Bang. Deep field technology comprises of long exposure photography, focusing on a singular area in the sky, capable of collecting as much light as possible to draw out images of the most distant and faraway galaxies. The Abell cluster was initially observed by the Nasa/ESA Hubble Telescope, a strong gravitational lens, with an aim to use the cluster's image to study the early Universe . by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Upon studying, the image reveals a plethora of lensing arcs around the Abell S1063, providing a peek at previously unseen features and a multitude of faint galaxies. This observation is part of the GLIMPSE programme, which has a mission to study a period called the ' Cosmic Dawn ' when the universe was only a few million years old. Studying images captured through gravitational lensing has the power to enrich our understanding of the universe and the emergence of the very first galaxies.
San Francisco Chronicle
24-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Sonoma developer to remain jailed as details of alleged massive Ponzi scheme emerge
Kenneth Mattson stood impassive Friday as prosecutors urged a federal judge to keep the real estate developer behind bars at least through the Memorial Day weekend. He was on the 15th floor of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, but he'd fallen far. Mattson, 63, spent years running a seemingly prosperous real estate investment business centered in his Wine Country town of Sonoma, where he snapped up dozens of properties. Along the way, he purchased a multimillion-dollar mansion in Piedmont and a luxury car business. Now, prosecutors were arguing that Mattson had funded a lavish lifestyle by orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme involving scores of people who entrusted him with their life savings. He pleaded not guilty to nine counts of wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice. 'Objectively he has every reason to flee,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Lee told Magistrate Judge Alex Tse, arguing that Mattson had access to ample cash and property he had hidden since his alleged crimes were discovered. Defense attorneys sought Mattson's release, disputing some of the government's assertions — including that their client was a flight risk. Judge Tse pushed back on the government's argument several times, but as the hearing drew to a close acknowledged he was 'deeply troubled' by the 'egregious facts' of the case and the files allegedly deleted from Mattson's laptop. 'The government is entitled to a detention hearing,' the judge said, ordering Mattson to remain jailed until arguments can be made Wednesday. This was the moment that Maria Crane and hundreds of other victims had been waiting for since last year when they learned that savings they'd handed to Mattson had likely vanished. Tens of millions of dollars lost, prosecutors said, in a Bernie Madoff-style scam. Before last year, Crane and her husband believed themselves to be on solid financial footing. Then she discovered their nest egg was gone. She and her husband took in a renter, the retired teacher went back to work, and her husband reactivated his medical license. Once-routine expenses became sources of worry — even Friday's court hearing: the gas to drive to San Francisco; ten dollars for the Golden Gate bridge fare; another $28 for parking. 'I haven't seen him experience any consequences for his choices,' Crane said. 'The least he can do is sit in jail six nights to contemplate his fraud and greed.' She had once admired the defendant. The soft-spoken, Rolls Royce-driving Mattson met Crane and other investors with a pitch and a promise: Forgo the stock market. Your money will grow even faster in my California real estate companies. Mattson and his longtime friend Timothy LeFever had been on a stunning, decades-long buying spree. Apartment buildings, commercial strips, homes and businesses bought by a web of their limited liability companies, according to a Chronicle review of public records, were worth at least $413 million in 14 counties across California, mostly in Sonoma, Solano, Sacramento and Placer counties. Their investors came from working-class cities like Vacaville and Santa Rosa. They met Mattson or LeFever in church or were introduced through acquaintances. They liquidated savings and retirement accounts. The full extent of their losses is yet unknown. In addition to the criminal charges, Mattson could face civil penalties imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has been sued by numerous former investors and forced into bankruptcy proceedings. According to an SEC filing supporting the criminal charges, Mattson 'fraudulently raised more than $46 million from approximately 200 investors' in the last five years alone. Most of his investors 'were retired senior citizens that Mattson met through his church community.' Some investors said they received steady returns for many years — until 2024, when many deposits suddenly stopped. That April, LeFever stunned investors in a widely distributed email accusing Mattson of engaging in a 'secretive scheme' to siphon investors' money into his own accounts. LeFever told them he'd alerted the SEC and the U.S. Attorney's Office. 'I still don't know the extent of the mess that has been created,' wrote LeFever, who has to date not been accused of any crimes. But inklings that something was amiss had been growing for about a decade, especially in Wine Country. Around 2005, Mattson and LeFever began grabbing dozens of properties on and around Sonoma's historic square. They would in time purchase an estimated $146 million worth of real estate in a town of 10,000 people. Mattson and LeFever formed a hospitality company and set up office in the back of a charming clapboard deli with a sommelier. Their holdings would come to include Cornerstone Sonoma, a major Wine Country event center and wedding venue complete with tasting rooms and a restaurant. But their business activities drew growing suspicion from locals. Rumors flew about rocky relationships and strange financial dealings. And, many asked, why were their properties and businesses falling into disrepair? Residents formed a group, Wake Up Sonoma, to seek answers. Skeptics became amateur public records sleuths, tracking Mattson's dealings, and boycotted his businesses. Ratcheting up tensions, Mattson and LeFever had brought a conservative, evangelical Christian ethos to a mostly left-leaning, LGTBQ-friendly community. They removed Pride flags that once hung from businesses. Mattson's wife, Stacy Mattson, once wrote on Facebook about her "disgust" that the 2013 Rose Bowl had been 'high-jacked by the gay agenda.' Sonoma resident Lisa Storment, who helped found Wake Up Sonoma, recalled that some people thought their members were 'just conspiracy theorists.' 'We always felt like there was some sort of financial crime going on,' Storment said. In the end, nothing seemed to thrive under the investors' ownership. They deserted Sonoma's Ravenswood Winery, once a premier producer of California Zinfandel where Mattson and LeFever announced a new winery venture they called Harrow Cellars. Workers boarded up doors and windows as weeds took over the manicured landscape. Storefronts at Cornerstone gradually went dark as tenant businesses fled. Several Bay Areaclassic car dealerships — which Mattson bought and stocked with coveted vintage models of Corvettes, Cadillacs and Mustangs — faltered badly. When the showrooms shuttered last year, they left a string of disgruntled customers and employees, lawsuits and Better Business Bureau complaints. Even so, Mattson's spending seemed to have few limits. Until the money stopped coming in. Now investigators say it was all a 'shell game.' According to a prosecution memo, Mattson used at least $11 million from a bank account he shared with his business partner to make personal mortgage payments on properties he owned in Sonoma and Piedmont as well as Del Mar in San Diego County. Mattson created false records to conceal 'from investors the fact that he was orchestrating a scheme by, among other things, using some new investor funds to make payments to deceive existing investors,' according to the federal complaint. The government said it didn't yet have a full picture of Mattson's current finances, claiming he 'has access to significant amounts of cash and property and has taken steps to secret those assets from creditors and law enforcement since his scheme was initially discovered.' Mattson's ability to access that cash was central to Friday's hearing. Prosecutors said investigators found $9,000 inside envelopes in his car when he was arrested along with keys to safes. Mattson's attorneys said the cash was from rent payments he'd picked up recently. 'His financial shenanigans suggest a means of flight,' a prosecutor said. Mattson had apparently purchased a pair of GMC luxury vehicles worth $200,000 in the name of a relative, prosecutors said. They also said they were concerned by actions they believe Mattson took to thwart the pending prosecution, alleging the destruction of thousands of digital files from Mattson's laptop days after he received a subpoena ordering him to keep documents related to his companies and investors. Mattson's attorneys argued that the prosecution failed to prove Mattson had destroyed any files, and that the alleged deletion occurred at his lawyer's office, when they were conducting a forensic imaging of his laptop. After Friday's court hearing, dozens of victims filed out of the courtroom. Many had met Mattson through their faith community, invited him into their homes, even prayed with him. They declined to speak on the record to the Chronicle, with some saying they were ashamed of having entrusted their money to a man now accused of betraying them and leaving them with virtually nothing. They chatted quietly amongst themselves as they waited for an elevator. All were relieved to learn Mattson wouldn't be able to leave custody. One uttered: 'No Memorial Day for him.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
President Trump says Indiana will have role in 'Golden Dome' missile defense project
Indiana defense organizations are expected to play a role in building President Donald Trump's multibillion-dollar missile defense shield dubbed the "Golden Dome." The project stems from an executive order Trump signed in January directing construction of a defense shield similar to Israel's "Iron Dome." The defense system would protect the U.S. from ballistic, hypersonic and advanced cruise missiles along with "other next-generation aerial attacks." During an Oval Office announcement on May 20, Trump and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, said Indiana would be involved in building the Golden Dome. Banks, during remarks, specifically named defense contractor L3Harris, which has a space manufacturing site in Fort Wayne, and the Crane naval base in southern Indiana, which helps research and develop war technologies. "Indiana is going to help you make it," Banks told Trump about the Hoosier State's role with the Golden Dome. "The space satellites that are made in Fort Wayne, Indiana, by L3Harris, all the work done at Crane Navy base in southern Indiana, is going to be a big part of it. And Hoosiers are very proud of that." Trump responded, saying that Indiana's input in the project would be "a big factor." Banks, a strong Trump supporter, was one of three Republican senators in the Oval Office for the announcement. IndyStar reached out to L3Harris and Crane about their involvement in the Golden Dome project but did not immediately receive a response. No Trump at the Indy 500: Despite Roger Penske's invitation. What we know About $25 billion for the Golden Dome is set aside in Trump's budget, which is working its way through Congress. Trump said the total cost of the project would be $175 billion and would be completed by the end of his term in 2029. But an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office puts the high end of the cost for such a project at more than $500 billion over 20 years. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany. Sign up for our free weekly politics newsletter, Checks & Balances, curated by IndyStar politics and government reporters. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Trump says Indiana to have role building 'Golden Dome' missile shield
Indianapolis Star
20-05-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
President Trump says Indiana will have role in 'Golden Dome' missile defense project
Indiana defense organizations are expected to play a role in building President Donald Trump's multibillion-dollar missile defense shield dubbed the "Golden Dome." The project stems from an executive order Trump signed in January directing construction of a defense shield similar to Israel's "Iron Dome." The defense system would protect the U.S. from ballistic, hypersonic and advanced cruise missiles along with "other next-generation aerial attacks." During an Oval Office announcement on May 20, Trump and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, said Indiana would be involved in building the Golden Dome. Banks, during remarks, specifically named defense contractor L3Harris, which has a space manufacturing site in Fort Wayne, and the Crane naval base in southern Indiana, which helps research and develop war technologies. "Indiana is going to help you make it," Banks told Trump about the Hoosier State's role with the Golden Dome. "The space satellites that are made in Fort Wayne, Indiana, by L3Harris, all the work done at Crane Navy base in southern Indiana, is going to be a big part of it. And Hoosiers are very proud of that." Trump responded, saying that Indiana's input in the project would be "a big factor." Banks, a strong Trump supporter, was one of three Republican senators in the Oval Office for the announcement. IndyStar reached out to L3Harris and Crane about their involvement in the Golden Dome project but did not immediately receive a response. No Trump at the Indy 500: Despite Roger Penske's invitation. What we know About $25 billion for the Golden Dome is set aside in Trump's budget, which is working its way through Congress. Trump said the total cost of the project would be $175 billion and would be completed by the end of his term in 2029. But an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office puts the high end of the cost for such a project at more than $500 billion over 20 years. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.
