Latest news with #POC
Buzz Feed
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
One Day's Ambika Mod On Leo Woodall Career Comparison
Last week, actor Ambika Mod was questioned about her and Leo Woodall's contrasting career trajectories post-One Day. If you watched the heartbreaking Netflix series, you'll know that Ambika delivered an excellent performance as Emma Morley alongside Leo, who played Dexter Mayhew. However, while Leo has been pretty booked and busy since One Day aired in February, Ambika hasn't had as much time in the limelight. Post-One Day, Leo starred in the latest Bridget Jones film, and played the protagonist in the Apple TV+ thriller series Prime Target. He is also set to star in an upcoming crime film called Tuner alongside Dustin Hoffman, and true-life thriller Burning Rainbow Farm with Sebastian Stan. When asked about the difference between her and Leo's careers at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Ambika heartbreakingly said, 'I think we're going to have very different careers. If I compare myself to someone like Leo, I'm always going to come up short, because there's a privilege there that I don't have access to.' Ambika, who is of Indian heritage, continued: 'Being brown is not particularly easy in this industry. You don't get the same opportunities. You don't get the same ascension. I've been the lead of two very successful, critically-acclaimed TV shows and I still feel like I have to keep on proving myself. A lot of my white peers don't really have to tackle that.' Ambika's raw comments have since sparked an important discussion online, with several fans looking back on other times POC actors faced more difficulty in gaining equal recognition and opportunities compared with their white costars. For example, one person pointed out that Parminder Nagra's career was 'overshadowed' by Keira Knightley's after the pair starred together in the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham — despite 'the movie being about a young Indian woman.' And after pop culture reporter @stells_press perfectly broke down Ambika's comments on TikTok, another fan noted that since playing Eddie Munson in Season 4 of Stranger Things, Joseph Quinn has starred in numerous acclaimed projects — including the leading role in A Quiet Place: Day One alongside Lupita Nyong'o. However, some members of the main cast from the first season, like Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo, haven't signed on to many renowned projects outside of the Netflix hit. Highlighting the difference in Lana Condor and Noah Centineo's careers post-To All The Boys I've Loved Before, someone wrote, 'lana has been in barely anything since but noah has been in about 500 different films.' Other fans mentioned Bridgerton, pointing out that Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey's careers have taken different turns despite the fact that they delivered equally powerful performances as the leads of Season 2. Jonathan has starred in hits like Wicked and Fellow Travelers, while Simone recently bagged her first leading role in years in the Prime Video movie Picture This, which she co-produced. And on the contrary, some fans highlighted white actors who have had 'more similar' career trajectories after starring in the same breakout role, citing Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones' similar success after starring in Normal People. If you can think of any more examples, feel free to share them in the comments.
New Straits Times
7 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Penang Rapid On-Demand expands van-bus service in seven zones
GEORGE TOWN: Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd (Rapid Bus) will expand its Rapid Penang On-Demand service through a three-month Proof of Concept (POC) phase starting May 31, involving seven zones. Prasarana Malaysia Bhd group chief operating officer (operations) Amir Hamdan said his party identified the seven zones based on local demand, population density and the need to improve connectivity with existing bus route service coverage. He said the first zone, the Alma zone, will be equipped with four vans to connect passengers with existing bus routes such as (No.) 708 (Bukit Mertajam – Junjung), 801 (Penang Sentral – Nibong Tebal) and 802 (Bukit Mertajam – Nibong Tebal). "Next, the BM (Bukit Mertajam) City zone will operate with three vans in the Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) town centre, which provides a solution for first and last mile access as well as through better interconnection with the existing bus network. "This involves routes 606 (Bukit Mertajam – Kepala Batas), 701 (Bukit Mertajam – Penang Sentral), 702 (Bukit Mertajam – Penang Sentral), 707 (Bukit Mertajam – Taman Pelangi), 708 (Bukit Mertajam – Junjung), 709 (Penang Sentral – Machang Bubuk), 802 (Bukit Mertajam – Nibong Tebal) and CT14 (Bukit Mertajam – Komtar)," he said in a statement today. Amir said the Bayan Baru zone would involve three vans to provide access to existing bus services including routes 301 (Weld Quay – Relau), 302 (Weld Quay – Batu Maung), 303 (Weld Quay – Bukit Gedung), 304 (Gurney Promenade – Bukit Gedung), 306 (Hospital – Penang International Airport), 308 (Sungai Nibong – Gertak Sanggul), 401 (Weld Quay – Teluk Kumbar), 401E (Weld Quay – Balik Pulau) and CT13 (Bayan Baru – Seberang Jaya). In addition, he said two vans for the Bertam zone would connect commuters with routes 601 (Penang Sentral – Kepala Batas), 606 (Bukit Mertajam – Kepala Batas) and 610 (Kepala Batas – Tasek Gelugor) to reduce waiting times for these routes. "The Balik Pulau zone will also have two vans for the first and last mile access with existing bus routes, namely routes 401E (Balik Pulau – Weld Quay), 403 (Balik Pulau – Pulau Betong), 404 (Balik Pulau – Pantai Acheh) and 502 (Genting Town, Balik Pulau – Weld Quay). "The Transkrian or Nibong Tebal zone also involves two vans that will operate specifically in the Transkrian area to connect communities with the Rapid Penang bus service network, while three vans will be for the Batu Kawan zone, which is an industrial, commercial and new residential hub that does not yet have a public transport network around it," he said. Amir said throughout the POC period, Rapid Bus will monitor demand and usage patterns to ensure that the service is relevant to meet needs while implementing improvements based on evaluation results and passenger feedback. As of mid-May, the service had been operating in six zones involving 31 vans with an average daily rate of 1,828 people, thus showing good acceptance among commuters. – Bernama
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Point-Of-Care Health Technologies Make A Difference When Deployed At Point-Of-Needjob
Vaccines (sitting on a shelf) do not save lives, but vaccination does. Only when people can access vaccines and get vaccinated in a people-centred manner, can we yield desired public health outcomes. Same goes for medicines or diagnostics or other disease prevention tools. 'Unless best of health technologies reach those who are most underserved and need them most, how will we reduce human suffering and avert untimely deaths? Technologies must be made to serve those who need them most. If health technologies cannot be deployed in resource-constrained settings, then they would remain inaccessible to those in acute need. Point-of-care technologies are not enough, we need to deploy them too at point-of-need,' said Tariro Kutadza, a noted community rights activist and defender from Zimbabwe. Tariro Kutadza leads TB People (Zimbabwe) and also supports Zimbabwe Network of People living with HIV. 'Yes, we can end TB by bringing diagnostics and other lifesaving services at people's doorsteps!' She was speaking with CNS ahead of 2nd Asia Pacific Conference on Point of Care Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases (POC 2025), Thailand; 10th Asia-Pacific AIDS & Co-Infections Conference (APACC 2025); and 13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2025), Rwanda. Follow the science to serve the people 'Recent studies show that up to 50% of new TB cases would not have been diagnosed with TB symptom screening as they had no symptoms at the time of TB screening and diagnosis. These were diagnosed when an X-Ray was done and upfront molecular confirmatory test was offered,' said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Principal Advisor of National TB Elimination Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Dr Soumya earlier served as Chief Scientist of World Health Organization (WHO) and Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). India's National TB Prevalence Survey (2019-2021) showed that 43% of those diagnosed with TB would have been missed if X-Ray was not done, as they were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. Similar findings came from several other TB prevalence surveys at sub-national level such as those in the states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. If we can find people with active TB lung disease early on (such as when they are asymptomatic) then we can offer them the best of TB treatments. This will not only save lives but also prevent transmission of the disease as TB stops spreading within days of initiation of effective treatment therapy. So, finding TB early on remains critical if we want to stop the spread of infection and reduce human suffering and risk of TB death. 'We will not pick TB cases earlier with TB symptom screening alone. As till recently, our TB programme was based entirely on symptom screening, so straight away we were missing ~50% of active TB in the population,' said Dr Swaminathan. Vietnam had done a study over a decade back which showed that when a TB molecular test was offered population-wide (regardless of symptoms) consistently and those found with active TB disease were linked to TB care pathway, TB rates dropped by over 70% in a 4-years period. Almost 50 years back, Australia and other richer nations could test everyone (regardless of TB symptoms) and link those with TB to care pathway and bring TB rates down to elimination levels within a span of few years. Based on scientific evidence, World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of 2021 endorsed the use of AI-CAD based TB screening (without immediate need of a radiologist's interpretation) and offering upfront molecular testing to all those with presumptive TB. This was game-changing because now trained healthcare workers with handheld, ultraportable, battery-operated and AI-CAD enabled tools can go to far and remote areas – closer to the communities or even literally at their doorsteps, and screen people for TB. Foundational shift based on science to find more TB in India Based on growing scientific evidence, Indian government made a foundational shift on how it finds TB. From TB symptomatic screening, India moved to science-backed approach of screening everyone in high-risk populations (regardless of symptoms), offer upfront molecular testing (as far as possible) and linkage to care pathway, said Professor (Dr) Urvashi B Singh, Deputy Director General of Central TB Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. She is a widely recognised TB scientist and microbiologist and has served at India's most prestigious and highest ranked public tertiary care hospital and medical college: All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi. She stressed upon research. 'Research for validating new tools, designing new tools and relying on Made-in-India tools for screening and diagnosing TB and not depending on the outside, has made a phenomenal difference.' 'This was a global first where India offered WHO recommended X-Ray screening for TB to key and other vulnerable populations, not only to those who were TB symptomatic, but also to those who were asymptomatic,' said Dr Singh. When point-of-care tools are deployed at point-of-need, impact happens India launched a massive 100-days campaign (7 December 2024 to 24 March 2025) to screen everyone among high-risk populations of 347 districts with ultraportable and handheld X-Rays which were powered with artificial intelligence (AI) computer-aided detection (CAD) of TB capacities (as far as possible). The concept note of this campaign on a government website states that those with presumptive TB should be offered an upfront WHO recommended molecular test Truenat. Truenat is a point-of-care, decentralised, battery-operated, and laboratory independent molecular test for TB. The concept note of 100 days campaign states that point-of-care screening tool (X-Ray) and diagnostic test (Truenat) should be taken in a 'Nikshay Vahan' van to point-of-need where high-risk populations reside. In a span of 100 days, India could screen over 120 million people across the country from high-risk groups. More importantly, India found 285,000 people with active TB disease who had no symptoms (asymptomatic or sub-clinical TB). These people would not have been found with TB disease if an X-Ray was not done. Imagine the public health impact of finding 285,000 asymptomatic people with TB disease early on, and putting them on effective treatment – so that not only infection stops spreading to others but also they get on the path of healing and recovery. Now, after 24 March 2025, India has expanded this campaign nationwide. 'We were the first country to actually position Indian indigenous technology (Truenat) to support the Gene Xpert molecular test. The investment and support by the government and agencies like Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) was important in the initial days when the test (Truenat) was being standardised and undergoing multicentric validations, and then it was poised for the programme to adopt it. Based on evidence, Indian government's National TB Elimination Programme adopted Truenat in 2018. Today India has a network of over 9000 NAAT systems across the country – deployed at the level of primary health centres, community health centres and even at the block levels,' said Dr Singh. Developing, standardising and validating made-in-India health technologies and deploying them 'is about making the country self-reliant,' said Dr Singh. 'Today, Truenat is in fact, getting exported to 82 countries. So, that is where our Indian indigenous technology, which was supported by ICMR, has reached.' Truenat is made by Molbio Diagnostics. Develop health technologies that are user friendly and deployable for most in need Sriram Natarajan is credited for developing the first point-of-care malaria rapid test over three decades ago. Sriram co-founded Molbio Diagnostics, whose flagship molecular test, Truenat, is already making a big difference in reaching the unreached populations in several low- and middle-countries worldwide. 'We wanted to create a technology which can go down to the grassroots. At the time when we began working on this technology, most of the molecular testing was very heavily centralised. So, it never became a clinically relevant tool because the turnaround time for the results used to be anywhere from 3 days to 1 week and no doctor physician would wait that long to start treating a patient,' said Natarajan. Also, such centralised technologies were accessible to only a few, and from a public health point of view longer turnaround time for the reports was undesirable. When Natarajan and team began working on developing Truenat (almost 20-25 years ago), there were less than a dozen bio-safely level 3 laboratories with centralised molecular test facilities available in India. In 2025, ~9000 Truenat molecular tests are deployed at primary healthcare or block level across the country (and in 82 other nations globally). Truenat is not only deployable in remote settings but the test report too comes in around an hour. 'That is why we worked hard to decentralise molecular testing with a test that can be taken to the community or primary healthcare level. Development of Truenat was completely a grassroot-up kind of an innovation. We had to see the real problems on the ground to build a product that can help bridge the gap. It took us about almost 14 years to come up with a final solution. It is a long grinding story as it requires a lot of grit, conviction and money,' says Natarajan while reflecting on Truenat's journey over the past two decades. 'We did everything we could because we believed deep within that the end was going to be very important and impactful.' 'Scaling up Truenat's deployment was also not that easy. We got a lot of support from the Indian government. Scientist and microbiologist Dr Urvashi B Singh supported us from a very early stage when she helped us with all the validations. ICMR came forward and did a very large study for us (completely paid by the government of India) to further generate the scientific evidence. Gates Foundation funded the global validation process for Truenat. This support was very crucial without which probably we would not be where we are today,' he shared. Point-of-care tool at point-of-need for multiple disease testing 'We developed Truenat as a multi-disease testing platform. We started focussing on TB testing because that is where we saw an immediate need and because every country was committed to end TB by 2030. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, we had supplied about 1,500 Truenat machines to the Indian government's national TB elimination programme. So, when COVID-19 pandemic happened, and ICMR validated Truenat for COVID-19 testing, all Truenat machines of TB programme were deployed for COVID-19 testing. This speaks volumes for the impact technologies like Truenat can have in terms of pandemic preparedness,' said Sriram Natarajan. As of April 2025, Truenat can test 26 different pathogens on the same machine. 'As a company, Molbio Diagnostics is committed to health for all and trying to make sure everybody has access to essential health services with equity. Our full-time commitment is to ensure that our platforms become more user-friendly, deployable for the most in need, and also more affordable,' said Natarajan. Point-of-care health technologies must be fully utilised too While countries in the Global South deploy point-of-care health technologies at point-of-need, it is also important to ensure that these are optimally and fully utilised. 'If you look at any resource constraint country, it is sad to see that it is not a problem of less, it is a problem of more. We have a lot of tools and equipment available but when we do a capacity utilisation exercise, we find that most of these tools are hardly 10% to 30% utilised. So, why are these not utilised 100% when resources are constrained?' said Dr Sarabjit Chadha, FIND's Director for Asian region. Dr Singh also referred to this: 'When we did a diagnostic network optimisation, we found we have more than 3000 surplus NAAT tests available in Delhi alone.' All experts quoted above were addressing sessions of World Health Summit Regional Meeting in Delhi, India. All governments have promised to end TB by 2030. With only 66 months left to deliver on the target, the urgency must drive science-based health responses to keep the promise and end TB. Shobha Shukla – CNS (Citizen News Service) (Shobha Shukla is the award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service) and is a feminist, health and development justice advocate. She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College and current Coordinator of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024). She also coordinates SHE & Rights initiative (Sexual health with equity & rights). Follow her on Twitter @shobha1shukla or read her writings here
Geek Feed
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Feed
Intergalactic Star Tati Gabrielle has been ‘Coached' about Online Gamer Backlash
Tati Gabrielle may have played Nora in the latest episode of The Last of Us , but online gamer fans know that she's going to be starring in Neil Druckmann's next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet . With The Last of Us Part II getting so much backlash online and actresses like Laura Bailey (Abby) getting harassed on social media, Gabrielle confirms that she has been 'coached' by Druckmann about what to expect, starring as a POC lead in a AAA video game. She tells Entertainment Weekly: 'Neil's been bootcamp-ing me… I know Troy's experience, I know Ashley's experience…I know Laura Bailey's experience. 'I got a lot of love, but there was a lot of hate over me being a woman, me being a woman of color, me having my head shaved, all these things that I didn't even actually initially see — I'm out of the social media zeitgeist for that reason — but once I did, Neil was like, 'Ignore it. No matter what, me and you, we're going to make something beautiful. We're going to make something that we're proud of.'' We don't know exactly what Gabrielle's character Jordan is going to be like in Intergalactic yet, but we know that anyone who isn't a straight, white, male protagonist is sure to draw online grifters like a moth to a flame. You bet they're going to be sicking thousands of 'anti-woke' people at anyone who makes games that 'isn't for them.' If anything, it does look like Druckmann has learned from the experience of TLOU Part II and is ready to protect Gabrielle from any backlash she may receive. Let's just hope that Naughty Dog—heck the entire PlayStation and Sony team—have more systems in place to fight off any possible toxic backlash. No release date has been set for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet , but fans are expecting it to come to PS5 in the next few years.
Business Upturn
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Upturn
Foresight Collaborates with a Leading Global Tier-One Automotive Supplier to Enhance Bus Safety with Advanced 3D Perception Technology
The parties will engage in a POC project to improve urban transit safety through precision curb detection system Ness Ziona, Israel, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq and TASE: FRSX) ('Foresight' or the 'Company'), an innovator in three-dimensional ('3D') perception systems, announced today the signing of an agreement for proof of concept (POC) project with a global Tier One automotive supplier to evaluate the effectiveness of its cutting-edge 3D perception system in measuring curb heights and distances in urban environments. The system will be used as an aftermarket Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) on a select fleet of city buses. The collaboration will evaluate Foresight's advanced 3D perception system, based on stereovision technology, in real-world transit applications, specifically focusing on the system's ability to accurately detect and measure curbstones at various distances. Foresight's system is designed to provide drivers with enhanced situational awareness. This capability is crucial for improving safety during bus approach and departure from stops, potentially reducing accidents and enhancing accessibility for all passengers. According to the October 2024 'Commercial Vehicle ADAS Market by Offering, Technology, Autonomous Driving Level, Application – Global Forecast 2025–2030' report by Research and Markets, the commercial vehicle ADAS market is expanding rapidly from $17.66 billion in 2023 to a projected $43.24 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.64%. According to the report, ADAS for buses represents a key segment within this market, as public transportation providers increasingly prioritize safety, efficiency, and regulatory compliance. These technologies play a vital role in reducing accidents and operational costs. Market growth is driven by smart city initiatives and advancements in AI and sensor integration, creating substantial market opportunities for OEMs, fleet operators, and technology innovators. The POC project is expected to begin in the second half of 2025. Upon successful completion, the parties intend to commercialize Foresight's 3D perception system by 2028. About Foresight Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq and TASE: FRSX) is a technology company developing advanced three-dimensional (3D) perception and cellular-based applications. Through the Company's controlled subsidiaries, Foresight Automotive Ltd., Foresight Changzhou Automotive Ltd. and Eye-Net Mobile Ltd., Foresight develops both 'in-line-of-sight' vision systems and 'beyond-line-of-sight' accident-prevention solutions. Foresight's 3D perception systems include modules of automatic calibration and dense 3D point cloud that can be applied to different markets such as automotive, defense, autonomous driving, agriculture, heavy industrial equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Eye-Net Mobile develops next-generation vehicle-to-everything (V2X) collision prevention solutions and smart automotive systems to enhance road safety and situational awareness for all road users in the urban mobility environment. By leveraging cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology, advanced analytics, and existing cellular networks, Eye-Net's innovative solution suite delivers real-time pre-collision alerts to all road users using smartphones and other smart devices within vehicles. For more information about Foresight and its wholly owned subsidiary, Foresight Automotive, visit follow @ForesightAuto1 on 'X' (formerly Twitter), or join Foresight Automotive on LinkedIn. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the 'safe harbor' provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Words such as 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' 'estimates' and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, Foresight is using forward-looking statements in this press release when it discusses the advantages and benefits of Foresight's system, market size, the timing of the POC project and the parties' intent to commercialize the system by 2028. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on Foresight's current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results, performance or achievements of Foresight could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. The forward-looking statements contained or implied in this press release are subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those discussed under the heading 'Risk Factors' in Foresight's annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC') on March 24, 2025, and in any subsequent filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise required by law, Foresight undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. References and links to websites have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release. Foresight is not responsible for the contents of third-party websites. Investor Relations Contact: Miri Segal-SchariaCEOMS-IR LLC [email protected] 917-607-8654
