Latest news with #VincentHo
SBS Australia
24-05-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
Suffering in silence: the rapidly rising disease impacting Australians
In her first year of university, when Natasha Jiwani should have been revelling in her new-found independence, she started to experience constant abdominal pain. "I straight after finishing high school, first year of university would get severe abdominal pain to the point where I would wake up with it and go to sleep with it. No one could diagnose what it was." Eventually, Natasha was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. "The overall experience was quite different. So, walking into a gastroenterologist waiting room, I'd look around and I was the only one that was in my close to 20's. Everybody else, the average age was 60 onwards, so there was a lot of confusion." Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis both fall under the umbrella term of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, or IBD — an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system attacks the gut. Crohn's disease can cause inflammation anywhere in the digestive system, though it usually affects the bowels. Ulcerative colitis, often referred to simply as "colitis", can cause inflammation and ulcers in the colon and rectum. Vincent Ho, a gastroenterologist at Western Sydney University, says both conditions cause multiple symptoms including diarrhea and abdominal pain, though to others they remain invisible. "People with inflammatory bowel disease may look perfectly fine but are actually suffering from the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease, which can be quite severe in many cases and affect their daily life." The number of Australians living with I-B-D is rapidly on the rise, increasing from 100,000 a decade or so ago to around 180,000 today, according to a recent State of the Nation Report. That number is expected to rise to 200,000 in the next 10 years. Doctor Ho says the rates of IBD in Australia are among the highest in the world. "Over 65, we're seeing more cases, but we're also seeing cases of inflammatory bowel disease in young children as well. And there are a number of cases of what we call very early onset in inflammatory bowel disease where children can get it a younger than six years of age." Dr Ho say, while it's largely unknown how this inflammation arises, we are starting to learn more about its causes. "Some risk factors in the environment include exposure to tobacco smoke, the use of antibiotics, the use of certain drugs like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, for example Nurofen, Voltaren, those sorts of drugs. We know that some types of infections can increase the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease." Another risk factor is diet. One recent world-first pre clinical study, by the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, shows how eating just a few meals high in saturated fats, can cause inflammation in the body. Those foods can also weaken the production of a crucial protein called IL-22, which helps fight this inflammation. Mice were used in this research, which also reveals something that excited researchers: while saturated fats suppress IL-22 production, unsaturated fats, found in nuts and avocados, actually boost the protein's production. Dr Ho says this provides immense hope for people living with chronic inflammatory diseases like IBD. "We know that certain types of foods, a high-quality diet, for example, reaching fruit, vegetables, fish, and other fibre sources is considered to be a protective factor when it comes to inflammatory bowel disease." Natasha has found eating well has had a huge impact on her symptoms. "I know that if I'm living off fast food for a week as opposed to making healthy at home meals, my Crohn's is a lot better in that latter thing because my body's healthier and it's ensuring that my body's not flaring up with what I'm eating." While IBD is a chronic condition with no cure, it can be managed with treatment. Early diagnosis is important, with symptoms including abnormal bowel movements and the presence of mucus or blood in stools, as well as abdominal discomfort, bloating and flatulence. Leanne Raven, CEO of Crohns and Colitis Australia, says greater awareness around I-B-D will also help when it comes to diagnosis, support and treatment. "Because it's below the belly button, people don't necessarily talk about it. So, a lot of people become quite isolated in trying to manage their conditions. So, we're trying to shatter the IBD silence through raising awareness of and encouraging people to have conversations." Natasha says while there is less stigma and embarrassment around I-B-D than ever before, more people need to talk about it. "I think what's really also important is clarifying the support that's available. I definitely do think awareness, raising funds, raising funds to help with finding a cure potentially for this disease as well would be amazing."
RTHK
22-05-2025
- Climate
- RTHK
Extreme heat brings amber warning for workers
Extreme heat brings amber warning for workers Deputy labour commissioner Vincent Ho said outdoor workers should take appropriate breaks, no matter whether a heat stress warning is in effect or not. Photo: RTHK Authorities issued the amber heat stress warning for outdoor workers on Thursday, the lowest of the three-level system. According to the Observatory, an anticyclone has made it very hot over the coast of Guangdong, as local temperatures over many places rose to 33 degrees Celsius or above around noon. At around 2pm, the mercury at weather stations in Kowloon City and Cheung Chau even reached 35 and 36 degrees, respectively. The warning was withdrawn at 4.30 pm after being in force for a few hours. The Labour Department said as the heat stress warning is in effect, employers should take measures to lower heat stroke risks for workers, such as giving water breaks and re-scheduling work periods. It expressed sorrow over the death of a 42-year-old worker on Wednesday after fainting in a construction site at the Prince of Wales Hospital. Deputy labour commissioner Vincent Ho said an initial probe showed the worker's employers had taken heat stress preventive measures and that he had been going about his duties in a shaded area. Regardless of the fact that no heat stress warning was issued on Wednesday, Ho stressed that the safety of workers should always come first. "With or without a heat stress warning, our guidelines states that all workers should take a break after working for a certain period," he said. "Even when it's cooler during the autumn, workers should have a 10 to 15 minute break after two hours of work. "If it's hot, then everyone should be even more cautious." Meanwhile, the department and the Occupational Safety and Health Council are sponsoring firms and unions to buy products such as cooling vests and fans at discounted prices.
Business Wire
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Arrcus and UfiSpace Expand Strategic Partnership to Advance Open Infrastructure for AI and Cloud
TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arrcus, the hyperscale networking software company and a leader in core, edge, and multi-cloud routing and switching infrastructure, and UfiSpace, a leading provider of open disaggregated networking hardware, today announced a strategic partnership to deliver tightly integrated, best-of-breed networking solutions purpose-built for the demands of AI infrastructure. As enterprises and service providers race to support AI-driven applications and services, they face the challenge of building a network fabric that is highly scalable, cost-effective, and optimized for distributed AI workloads. From inferencing at the edge to training clusters in hyperscale data centers, the demands on network infrastructure continue to rise. The collaboration between Arrcus and UfiSpace addresses these needs with a disaggregated, high-performance architecture powered by Arrcus' ACE-AI platform and UfiSpace's open hardware portfolio, leveraging the latest merchant silicon, including Broadcom's Tomahawk 5, Trident 4, and Jericho 3-AI chipsets. 'AI infrastructure demands a fundamentally new approach to networking—one that's open, composable, and built for extreme scale,' said Shekar Ayyar, CEO and Chairman at Arrcus. 'Our partnership with UfiSpace brings together the best of software and hardware innovation to deliver powerful, agile, and cost-efficient solutions for distributed AI networking.' The joint solution suite is designed for: AI inferencing at the edge, with low-latency performance High-throughput data pipelines in metro and transport networks Scalable AI training clusters in private and hyperscale data centers Multitenant AI fabrics with deterministic segmentation and isolation Advanced application and network monitoring capabilities At the core of this collaboration is ACE-AI, Arrcus' intelligent networking stack built specifically for AI workloads. With its modular architecture and deep silicon programmability, ACE-AI enables: Two architectures to build highly scalable modern GPU clusters: IP CLOS fabric for horizontal scale and latency and Virtualized Distributed Routing (VDR) architecture for a fabric based load balancing and congestion control High-bandwidth, low-latency networking for large-scale model training Build a lossless Ethernet fabric with RoCEv2, PFC, ECN, and Load Balancing Dynamic routing and congestion control across GPU clusters Real time telemetry and monitoring of the hardware such as watchdog, buffers, counters and integration to orchestration frameworks In addition, the solution includes ArcIQ, Arrcus' real-time network visibility and analytics platform, providing end-to-end observability, intent-based telemetry, and closed-loop automation across the entire AI infrastructure—from edge to core. "UfiSpace is committed to enabling the next generation of open, scalable infrastructure," said Vincent Ho, CEO at UfiSpace. "By working closely with Arrcus, we're delivering AI-optimized solutions that empower cloud providers, enterprises, and telecoms to deploy intelligent networking fabrics tailored to AI workloads.' The Arrcus and UfiSpace partnership reflects a shared vision for disaggregated, cloud-native networking that is agile, secure, and optimized for high-performance solutions. The companies will continue to expand their joint solution portfolio to support evolving customer needs in areas such as AI networking fabrics, cloud edge services, and multicloud routing. The Arrcus and UfiSpace partnership delivers unprecedented flexibility, performance, and control—ushering in a new era of AI networking at global scale. Arrcus is a leading provider of networking software solutions that empower businesses to achieve unparalleled scalability, performance, and reliability in their infrastructure. Arrcus is disrupting the industry with disaggregated solutions that deliver innovative, agile, and cost-effective networking, allowing enterprises to break free from traditional, monolithic systems and embrace a more flexible, efficient, and scalable approach to modern networking. The Arrcus team consists of world-class technologists who have an unparalleled record in shipping industry-leading networking products, complemented by industry thought leaders, operating executives, strategic partners, and top-tier VCs. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. For more information, go to or follow Arrcus on LinkedIn and Twitter/X.
