A teacher has been dismissed from a kindergarten in Houaphanh Province after a video was released showing her mistreating students.
Cordlife launches OptiQ: A first-of-its-kind corneal lenticule banking service in Singapore
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 3 March 2021 – Cordlife Group Limited, a consumer healthcare company announced today that the Ministry of Health has issued a license permitting the Company to launch OptiQ, a corneal lenticule banking service in Singapore. Cordlife is the first company in Asia to let patients undergoing refractive eye surgery using lenticule extraction method (e.g. SMILE) for myopia or astigmatism to cryopreserve their corneal lenticules for potential treatment of presbyopia and other ocular conditions in the future.
The technology behind OptiQ was invented by Professors Donald Tan and Jodhbir Mehta from Singapore Eye Research Institute (“SERI”), the research arm of Singapore National Eye Centre (“SNEC”).
Ms Tan Poh Lan, Cordlife’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, said: “Cordlife has accumulated 20 years of experience in the banking of biological materials so offering the storage of corneal lenticules is a natural extension of our services.”
Myopia is an extremely common refractive error in Singapore with 82 percent of the 20-year-olds suffering from this condition — one of the highest in East Asia.
Newer flapless refractive surgical procedures, such as SMILE can correct myopia or astigmatism by extracting a tiny lenticule from each eye of the patient using a femtosecond laser. Presently, corneal lenticules extracted during such surgeries are routinely thrown away. Early animal and human studies have shown that corneal lenticules may help to correct presbyopia and hyperopia (longsightedness) as well as certain ocular conditions.
Presbyopia is an age-related condition in which the eyes gradually lose the ability to focus on objects clearly at close range. Currently, patients treat presbyopia using reading glasses, contact lenses, or artificial inlay implantation but this last method carries risks such as corneal inflammation, scarring and haze. By implanting corneal lenticules, such risks can be reduced and the rate of rejection will also be marginal due to inherent superior biocompatibility. Once lenticule implantation is approved as a standard of care, patients who have stored their own lenticules will have additional vision correction options.
“Almost everyone will have presbyopia after the age of 40. We believe this advancement in ophthalmology can help a lot of people and even bring healthcare in Singapore to the next level,” Professor Mehta of SERI added.
OptiQ is now available at SNEC and some eye clinics offering refractive eye surgery using lenticule extraction method in Singapore.
AXA extends holistic wellness platform “AXA BetterMe” to all Employee Benefits customers Leveraging technology and thoughtful services to raise competitiveness of corporates
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 3 March 2021 – With COVID vaccination becoming available in Hong Kong, many corporates are getting ready to accelerate their business activities again. As a leading Employee Benefits insurer in Hong Kong, AXA Hong Kong and Macau has already taken the lead to support its Employees Benefits customers by launching a series of free benefits upgrade in January. Today, AXA Hong Kong and Macau announced that it is taking a further step by extending “AXA BetterMe”, a holistic wellness platform for body and mind, to all its Employee Benefits customers in Hong Kong and Macau. All members can enjoy the BetterMe service automatically, free of charge and no registration is required.
Insured employees and dependents[1] can enjoy a comprehensive suite of “AXA BetterMe” services covering physical wellness, mental wellbeing and chronic disease management services anytime, anywhere simply by accessing the “Emma by AXA” app. With thoughtful services and technology, AXA Hong Kong and Macau wishes to leverage “AXA BetterMe” to support corporates and their employees to become a better we.
In addition, AXA is committed to providing all-in-one self-services through “Emma by AXA”. From registration to claims submissions and even medication orders, all services related to Employee Benefits policies can be completed conveniently. AXA understands digitalisation is essential especially under the new normal, hence new features and services to enhance insured employees and dependents’ digital experience have been introduced:
- (New function) Online Registration for Member Exclusive Events
Event schedules and registration are now available on “Emma by AXA”. Expert guest speakers will be invited to share hot topics on employee wellness and latest health information.
- Outpatient E-claims[2]
Insured employees and dependents can now submit an outpatient claim (covers both general practitioner and specialist services) up to HKD3,800 via “Emma by AXA”.
- Benefits Entitlement at a Glance[3]
Insured employees and dependents can view the details of their benefits entitlement simply by logging in “Emma by AXA” to efficiently take care of their medical service needs.
The above information is for reference only. For details on product features, content, terms and exclusions, please refer to the relevant product leaflets.
Click here or scan the QR code to download “Emma by AXA”
[1] Applicable for insured dependents aged 18 or above only
[2] Settlement is subject to relevant policy terms and conditions and benefit schedule
[3] Applicable for designated Employee Benefits policies only
Habitap Accelerates Growth with Expansion into Philippines
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 3 March 2021 – Habitap, Asia’s first fully integrated smart living management system, has officially launched in the Philippines with a regional development centre. This move is part of Habitap’s efforts to amplify the future of smart living and smart building management in the region. Philippines is the first Asia market outside of Habitap’s headquarters in Singapore.
Helmed by Country Manager, Rona Chua, the regional development centre in Manila extends the capabilities of Habitap’s customer support team and technological innovation by leveraging on Philippines’ vibrant economy and technology know-how. Together with a dedicated team who will serve the Asia Pacific region, Habitap is poised to introduce their smart offering to other markets while improving their operational efficiency and competitiveness to advance the concept of smart living.
Franklin Tang, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Habitap, said, “We are thrilled to announce that Habitap has officially launched in the Philippines. This decision has been part of our business growth plan as one of Asia’s emerging markets with great potential for us to achieve long-term growth. Reaffirming our commitment to drive greater convenience and efficiency for residential and commercial spaces, the new regional development centre is a significant milestone for the company and this is one of many other expansion projects you will see this year.”
Commenting on Philippines as a key market for their strategic plans in Asia, he added, “Since 2015, the country has experienced a housing market boom, primarily driven by the increase in migrant investments. This demand for housing has transformed the country’s landscape through the years, with purveyors of the ultra-modern lifestyle fuelling sustainable growth in smart living platforms. We hope to support the needs of the country’s rapid urbanisation with our smart living and building management system.”
Rona Chua, Country Head of Philippines, commented, “Habitap is well-poised for accelerated growth in Asia Pacific as the smart home market continues to experience a strong demand fuelled by the desire for quality living. I am excited to lead the Philippines operations and be part of a team that seeks to shape the future of home living and building management. With AI and the adoption of technology to revolutionise the way people interact with common spaces, I am confident that Habitap will change the way people work, live and play.”
For more information, please visit:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/grxywrwerw56mwc/AABr8bZfy0mqQQ3581gHfmOEa?dl=0
Teledyne SP Devices Announces 12-bit Digitizers with 7 Gbyte/s Sustained Data Transfer Rate
Flexible platform for acquisition and custom digital signal processing
Linköping, Sweden – Media OutReach – 9 February 2021 – Teledyne SP Devices, a business unit of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE: TDY), today announced the release of ADQ32 and ADQ33 — a fourth-generation modular data acquisition boards optimized for high-throughput applications. The combination of on-board open field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and high-speed data streaming makes them ideal even for the most computationally demanding applications.
The dual-channel 12-bit digitizers support synchronous sampling at 2.5 gigasamples per second (GS/s) per channel for ADQ32 and 1 GS/s per channel for ADQ33 and feature an open Xilinx Kintex Ultrascale KU040 field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The digitizers are streamlined for high-volume applications and are therefore suitable for integration by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in areas such as swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ToF MS), and distributed optical fiber sensing (DOFS). ADQ33 is not export-controlled and therefore does not require any license.
Custom application-specific digital signal processing (DSP) can be performed in real-time in the on-board FPGA to characterize signals and extract valuable information. It can also be used to perform data reduction so that the output rate matches the 7 Gbyte/s sustained transfer capacity of the PCI Express interface. The data can then be post-processed either on the central processing unit (CPU) of the host PC, or transferred via peer-to-peer to a graphics processing unit (GPU).
This architecture offers great flexibility and allows the designer to use the most suitable type of processing resource for a given task. Examples of application-specific DSP include fast-Fourier transform (FFT) and k-space remapping for SS-OCT, and waveform averaging and zero suppression for ToF MS.
In addition to the high streaming rate and computational flexibility, the ADQ32 also offers excellent analog performance in terms of the effective number of bits (ENOB), spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR), and more. Hardware trigger, selection of internal/external clock, and general-purpose input/output (GPIO) simplify system-level integration. Please refer to the datasheet for full specifications.
Visit https://spdevices.com/products/hardware/12-bit-digitizers/ADQ32 – to find out more.
About Teledyne SP Devices
Teledyne SP Devices designs and manufactures world-leading modular data acquisition and signal generation instruments. The company’s products utilize patented calibration logic, the latest data converters, and state-of-the-art FPGA technology resulting in an unrivaled combination of high sampling rate and resolution.
Products are available with a range of application-specific features and embedded, real-time signal processing. This helps our customers to overcome performance bottlenecks, shortens time-to-market, and provides system-level advantages within a wide range of application areas. SP Devices’ products are deployed across a wide variety of industries, including analytical instruments, remote sensing, scientific instrumentation, medical imaging, and more.
© 2021 by Teledyne Signal Processing Devices Sweden AB. All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without notice.
Covid-19 Vaccinations Rolled Out This Week In Laos
Laos will launch another round of Covid-19 vaccinations for medical personnel and at-risk groups across the country this week.
Cityneon to Tour Egyptian National Treasures Globally – Ramses The Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs
The largest collection of Ramses II original artefacts from Ancient Egypt approved to be exhibited outside Egypt for the first time for a new generation after 32 years
- Titled “ Ramses The Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs”, this spectacular exhibition will feature 183 rare Egyptian artefacts; the largest collection of artefacts on Ramses II to ever leave Egypt
- The exhibition was approved by the Egyptian Cabinet and the decree was signed by Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in December 2020
- Supported by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the world-class Houston Museum of Natural Science will launch the exhibition with the support of World Heritage Exhibitions this November in Houston, followed by 4 other major cities
- Strong historical track record with the previous Ramses II exhibition held in 1986 that sold a record of about 5 million tickets
- This exhibition follows the recent announcement of Cityneon’s latest addition to its experiences — “Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru”
- Positions the Group as one of the world’s largest experience entertainment companies that continues to grow despite Covid-19; setting sights on meeting the global demands for experiences post Covid-19
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 3 March 2021 – Cityneon Holdings (“Cityneon”, the “Company”/collectively with its subsidiaries, the “Group”) today announced another major historical artefacts exhibition, just weeks after revealing its foray into the artefacts space with Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru. Come November this year, Houston Museum of Natural Science and Cityneon will debut an exhibition of 183 pieces of rare artefacts from ancient Egypt that focuses on the almighty pharaoh, Ramses The Great.
Ramses The Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs here
In December 2020, the exhibition was approved by the Egyptian Cabinet and the decree was signed by Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. The news had been widely received by the Egyptian public, with Egyptian media proclaiming that the exhibition will showcase “the most prominent and unique historical Pharaonic holdings”.
These 183 pieces of rare artefacts will be featured in the inaugural exhibition titled Ramses The Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs and the exhibition will open in Texas, United States at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Ramses II, also known as Ramses The Great, ruled for 66 years, which was the second longest reign in ancient Egyptian history. Because of his long rule, Ramses II is thought to have amassed one of the largest and richest burial chambers and is regarded as the most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom, the most celebrated period of ancient Egypt.
The exhibition is expected to attract large crowds as evidenced by previous showcases of Egyptian treasures worldwide. In 1986, a touring exhibition on Ramses II sold a record of about 5 million tickets. As recent as in 2019, when Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh was exhibited in Paris, it broke the French visitor record with about 1.5 million visitors. Egyptian expert Gamal El-Din Mokhtar once said that the Ramses II exhibition had exceeded the experience from the Tutankhamun exhibition by being “more exemplary archeologically, historically and culturally than the treasures of Tutankhamun”.
Fast forward to 2021, Ramses The Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs would be even more exciting than the past showcases. The exhibition boasts the FIRST virtual walkthrough of Ramses II’s famous temples and will include a FIRST full-length documentary ever produced on Ramses II’s tomb for this tour. Details of the documentary will be released in due course.
Mr. Ron Tan, Executive Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Cityneon, said: ” The priceless artefacts in our care, as well as being given exclusive access to Ramses’ tomb allow Cityneon to stage an authentic and exhilarating recount of his life. This is the first time after 32 long years that people all over the world will have a chance to get up close to the life of the greatest pharaoh of all times. From the record-breaking sales of about 5 million tickets from the Ramses II exhibition in 1986 to the recently achieved visitorship for the King Tutankhamun exhibition in Paris in 2019, we are confident that Ramses The Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs will be another record-breaking feat .”
“Cityneon is thankful to work with partners as established as the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the World Heritage Exhibitions, and we are also honoured to have the support of the Egyptian government. I am very excited for the Cityneon team to showcase these remarkable pieces of artefacts to the world,” Mr Tan continued.
Mr. Joel A. Bartsch, President and Chief Executive Officer at Houston Museum of Natural Science, said they were honoured to be launching the exhibition with Cityneon and World Heritage Exhibitions and they believe the Groups’ extensive experience in exhibitions would lead to an engaging showcase. “All three teams have great track records and we are confident that the 183 pieces of Egyptian artefacts will captivate visitors from around the world. We look forward to hosting visitors from Houston, the nation and beyond at this historical, educational and immersive exhibition,” said Bartsch.
Mr. Anthony Tann, President of World Heritage Exhibitions, said: “We are extremely honoured to partner Cityneon for yet another artefacts exhibition. I am confident Cityneon will bring their incomparable expertise to the table and bring alive the treasures of Ramses II to cities across the world, welcoming the many millions of visitors globally.”
Cityneon has assembled an experienced team who would be able to handle these precious historical treasures and launch the exhibition across the globe. The Group is also riding on its expertise in the curation of intellectual property experiences to build up their capabilities in the artefact exhibitions arena.
Cityneon now has two global and major artefact-related intellectual property and has plans to acquire more historical artefacts IPs, with one from Asia expected in 2021.
Cityneon Holdings
With its global reach and international partnerships, Cityneon has the capability to serve its clients anywhere in the world. Cityneon was listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Stock Exchange since 2005, and was privatized on February 2019 by West Knighton Limited, a company wholly owned by Cityneon’s Executive Chairman and Group CEO, Ron Tan, together with Hong Kong veteran entrepreneur and investor, Johnson Ko Chun Shun. Johnson is a capital markets veteran and has held controlling interests and directorships in many listed companies. In May 2019, Cityneon welcomed CITIC Capital as a new shareholder, who holds approximately 10% shares in Cityneon. CITIC Capital is part of CITIC Group, one of China’s largest conglomerates, and has over US$29b of assets under its management across 100 funds and investment products globally. Other institutional shareholders of the Group include EDBI – a Singapore government-linked global investor, and Pavilion Capital – a Singapore-based investment institution which focuses on private equity investments, that made strategic investments in August and October 2019 respectively, to support the Group’s further expansion globally. For more information, please visit www.cityneongroup.com.
World Heritage Exhibitions
Founded in 2020, the World Heritage Exhibitions team has a combined 50 years of experience producing, promoting, and designing the biggest blockbuster exhibitions in the world. Our mission is to be the world leader in cultural experiences, producing the finest quality experiences that captivate, educate, and inspire people throughout the world.
Houston Museum of Natural Science
The Houston Museum of Natural Science – one of the nation’s most heavily attended museums – is a centerpiece of the Houston Museum District. With four floors of permanent exhibit halls, and the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center, Burke Baker Planetarium and George Observatory and as host to world-class and ever-changing touring exhibitions, the Museum has something to delight every age group. With such diverse and extraordinary offerings, a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, located at 5555 Hermann Park Drive in the heart of the Museum District, is always an adventure.
ASEAN Ministers Meet to Discuss Regional Stability
Foreign ministers from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations held an informal meeting by video conference yesterday to discuss regional stability.