Latest news with #STOMP
Straits Times
26-05-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Yishun resident finds tiny bat lying motionless in her kitchen balcony: 'Is it dead already?'
Yishun resident finds tiny bat lying motionless in her kitchen balcony: 'Is it dead already?' A woman was shocked to find a tiny motionless bat lying on the kitchen balcony railing of her Housing Board flat at Yishun Avenue 6. Fearful and unsure what to do, Stomper Susan contacted Nee Soon Town Council for help. "Scary," she said. When the town council staff member arrived and saw the grounded bat, he asked: "Is it dead already?" Susan explained that it was alive and had crawled across the railing. PHOTOS: STOMP This was the first time Susan had ever encountered a bat, and although she was afraid, she couldn't help but feel bad for it as she thought it was a baby. She told Stomp on May 21: "I hope the bat's mother can find it and get it back." According to Wildlife Rescue Centre Acres, there were more bat groundings reported in areas like Punggol, Sembawang, and Yishun in 2024. Stomp asked Ms Nicole Dorville, a PhD student from the Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and co-founder of NTU Grounded Bat Surveys study. She confirmed that the bat was a Javan Pipistrelle, a common, small bat species. So although it looked like a baby, like Susan thought it was, it could have been an adult. The town council staff member used a plastic bag and a towel to pick it up gently. PHOTO: STOMP Ms Dorville explained that the towel helps avoid bites, and the plastic prevents exposure to germs. She advised the public against touching bats, even when encountering one that is grounded, and to call Acres' Wildlife Rescue Hotline (9783 7782) or NParks' Animal Response Centre (1800 476 1600) when encountering a grounded bat. She said: "It's not that the bat is angry or aggressive, it's more that people are not usually very careful." If you encounter a bat in your home, Acres' bat advisory notice advises turning off the lights and ceiling fans, and open windows and doors so it can exit safely. Click here to contribute a story or submit it to our WhatsApp Get more of Stomp's latest updates by following us on:
Associated Press
12-03-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
ACTG Presents Data from Mpox Study STOMP at CROI
LOS ANGELES, March 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ACTG, a global clinical trials network focused on HIV and other infectious diseases, recently presented data demonstrating that tecovirimat did not improve mpox resolution. The results from STOMP (Study of Tecovirimat for Mpox, also known as A5418) were shared as the oral abstracts, 'Tecovirimat is Safe but not Efficacious in People with Clade II Mpox' and 'Host and Disease Factors Were Not Associated with the Resolution of Mpox in Participants Receiving Tecovirimat' at the 2025 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco, California. STOMP stopped enrolling participants in December 2024 after an interim analysis showed that the treatment did not reduce the time to lesion resolution or have an effect on pain among adults with mild to moderate clade II mpox and a low risk of developing severe disease. 'The results from STOMP reinforce the value of randomized clinical trials during outbreaks of infectious diseases, like mpox,' said Past ACTG Chair Judith Currier M.D., 'There was considerable hope that tecovirimat would be an effective mpox treatment and it was only through this rigorously designed trial that we were able to conclusively demonstrate that tecovirimat alone did not speed time to resolution of mpox.' STOMP was a phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of tecovirimat for the treatment of mpox. Tecovirimat (SIGA Technologies, Inc.) is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat smallpox, but prior to STOMP it was not yet known if it could effectively or safely treat mpox. STOMP was initiated in September 2022 in response to a global outbreak of mpox that was characterized by increased person-to-person transmission. Mpox continues to circulate in the United States and around the world and there are no therapies that have been shown to be effective. STOMP enrolled participants who had had symptoms of mpox for less than 14 days and randomized them to receive either tecovirimat (600 mg) or a placebo twice daily for 14 days. Participants with or at risk for severe disease, pregnant women, and children were enrolled in an open-label arm in which everyone received tecovirimat. Tecovirimat is Safe but Not Efficacious in People with Clade II Mpox Today's presentation, which was highlighted in a CROI press conference, found that tecovirimat did not reduce the time to clinical resolution of mpox lesions or improve pain control among adults with clade II mpox. There were no safety concerns and no deaths in either arm. STOMP randomized 412 eligible participants to tecovirimat (275) and placebo (137) at 50 sites in seven countries. Among those participants, 24 percent were enrolled remotely, 98 percent were male, 53 percent were White, 11 percent were Black, and 45 percent were Hispanic. 33 percent were living with HIV and 22 percent had received at least one dose of an mpox vaccine. 'Importantly, STOMP showed that we can quickly design and execute international clinical trials in the face of an ongoing pandemic,' said Protocol Chair Timothy Wilkin, M.D., M.P.H., University of California San Diego. 'It will be necessary, based on today's results, to pursue alternative treatments for mpox and other orthopoxviruses.' Host and Disease Factors Were Not Associated with the Resolution of Mpox in Participants Receiving Tecovirimat This presentation analyzed a number of host and disease-related factors, including age, HIV status, vaccination status, and duration of symptoms, that might be associated with clinical mpox resolution and when mpox DNA was no longer detectable in skin lesions among the study participants who were enrolled in the open-label arm of STOMP. This analysis did not identify predictors of clinical mpox resolution and researchers suggested further investigation of this topic. While there were trends between younger age and lower levels of mpox DNA with faster clinical resolution, researchers found no significant associations in multivariate modeling (a statistical technique that determines the contributions of a number of factors to a singular outcome) with either clinical resolution or clearance of mpox DNA. 'In the setting of public health emergencies, clinical trials like STOMP play an important role in not only evaluating treatments for safety and efficacy, but also potentially identifying key risk factors associated with worse outcomes,' said STOMP Vice Chair and Lead Author William Fischer, M.D., University of North Carolina. 'The data presented here represent an important step forward in the evaluation of tecovirimat and in our understanding of mpox.' STOMP was led by Dr. Wilkin, Dr. Fischer, Jason Zucker, M.D., Columbia University (Vice Chair), and Dr. Currier. ACTG is led by Joseph J. Eron, M.D., UNC (ACTG Chair) and Rajesh T. Gandhi, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (ACTG Vice Chair). It is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, which also funds ACTG) under award numbers UM1 AI068636, UM1 AI107716, and UM1 AI068634. ACTG is the world's largest and longest running clinical trials network focused on HIV and other infectious diseases and the people living with them. It is funded by NIAID and collaborating NIH Institutes. Founded in 1987, ACTG conducts research to improve the management of HIV and its comorbidities; develop a cure for HIV; and innovate treatments for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and emerging infectious diseases. It comprises thousands of dedicated researchers, staff, and community members who are pursuing research into novel treatments and cures for infectious diseases at 65 locations across four continents, with the ultimate goal of advancing science that meaningfully impacts the lives of the people we serve.
What's On
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- What's On
Internationally acclaimed theatrical experience STOMP is heading to Dubai
The performance where rhythm, movement, and comedy collide… Did you know that there are over 1,500 musical instruments in the world? But you won't have these at this beat-driven performance when it STOMPs its way to Dubai this May. The production is being held in Dubai for the very first time, and it's one you don't want to miss. Why? Well, the high-energy performance has managed to captivate audiences worldwide by using everyday sounds to create an electrifying, percussion-driven experience. Expect a fusion of theater, dance, and music with no storyline – just pure energy. It will be held at the Dubai Opera for just four performances over three days from May 29 to 31, 2025. What to expect? The eight performers at STOMP will use unconventional instruments from bin lids to brooms, lighters, and even the kitchen sink to create a pulsating, feel-good rhythm Have a look at the video below to see what we're talking about… It's something truly unusual and something you haven't really seen before. But it's sure to get you tapping (or maybe even stomping) your feet. The performance was created back in 1991 by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas and has since become an international phenomenon. It has multiple touring productions and a record-breaking 23-year run on Broadway. It has been witnessed by over 15 million people across 53 countries and has even won awards. *All the upcoming performances in Dubai in 2025 you need to know* You can even bring your little ones, and don't shush them if they giggle at the madness—that's exactly what this show is all about. Tickets for the show start from Dhs290. You can purchase your tickets here. STOMP at Dubai Opera, Downtown Dubai, Dubai, May 29 to 31, prices from Dhs290. Tel: (0)4 440 8888. Images: STOMP Instagram > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
