Philips introduces first at-home, 12-lead ECG integrated solution for decentralized clinical trials

January 26, 2022

Philips expands remote cardiac monitoring portfolio with patch-based, clinical-grade ECG designed to improve patient recruitment, compliance and retention by reducing need for site visits during clinical trials

Amsterdam, the Netherlands Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced the introduction of the industry’s first full-service, at-home, 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) solution for use in decentralized clinical trials. The clinical-grade solution is the most advanced patient-centric ECG offering within the company’s cardiac monitoring portfolio, pairing data readings comparable to clinical, site-based ECGs with Philips leading cloud-based data collection and analysis services. This latest addition to Philips’ digitally enabled suite of monitoring solutions helps to drive innovation across the care continuum and support the decentralized clinical trial space.

Patient attrition is one of the biggest issues faced by clinical trial sponsors seeking regulatory approval for new therapies. Attrition over the course of a study can reduce the quality of its findings and can lead to longer, more expensive trials that require higher than optimal recruiting rates to compensate. Voluntary patient withdrawal is often tied to disease progression or the prolonged inconvenience of adhering to protocol regimens and repetitive site visits [1]. By offering the consistent and reliable standards of a 12-lead ECG in the comfort and convenience of a patient’s home, Philips at-home ECG solution aims to improve trial recruitment, compliance and patient retention by reducing the need for and burden of site visits.

“Our customers are seeking solutions that will help them to address key challenges that can stand in the way of extracting meaningful insights from their clinical trials,” said Andy Broadway, General Manager of Ambulatory Monitoring and Diagnostics at Philips. “Our growing portfolio of remote monitoring solutions help to curb patient attrition by reducing the amount of site visits required during the trial period, helping to improve both the quality of the outcome and the patient experience overall.”

Leveraging PCA 500 ECG patch data recording technology, the at-home solution allows clinical trial participants to record data with quality comparable to site-based ECGs at home. The solution’s innovative body-worn patch ensures compliant 12-lead ECG placement and near real-time, highly secure data transmission without the need for recurring site visits, onsite technician, or home nurses.

Philips offers a complete range of clinically validated ambulatory cardiac diagnostics and monitoring services and associated expertise to its cardiac care portfolio, including its BioTel Research capabilities that have already supported more than 2,000 clinical trials in 72 countries. These comprehensive offerings provide industry-leading technology and data management that streamlines the clinical trials process and ensures optimal performance. The at-home, 12-lead ECG solution is now available in select markets across North America, Europe and Asia.

[1] Hui D, Glitza I, Chisholm G, Yennu S, Bruera E. Attrition rates, reasons, and predictive factors in supportive care and palliative oncology clinical trials. Cancer. 2013;119(5):1098-1105. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3568443/

For further information, please contact:

Meredith Amoroso
Philips Global Press Office
Tel: +1 724-584-8991
E-mail: meredith.amoroso@philips.com

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and well-being, and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum – from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2021 sales of EUR 17.2 billion and employs approximately 78,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

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Service Management Platform 4me Adds Lansweeper Integration to Its Ever-Growing App Store

Featured Image for 4me, Inc.

Featured Image for 4me, Inc.

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Another new integration has been added to the flourishing 4me® App Store, ready to use by all 4me customers. The 4me Lansweeper app is a one-directional, out-of-the-box integration between Lansweeper Enterprise Cloud and 4me that synchronizes IT asset data with the 4me configuration management database (CMDB).

Cor Winkler Prins, CEO at 4me: “It is great news that we can now offer our customers this integration between Lansweeper and 4me in the form of an easy-to-use app. With our complete service management platform, we strive to provide seamless cross-enterprise visibility and collaboration and connecting and centralizing IT Asset Data is essential to help companies achieve this.”

Cassandra Lloyd, Partner Alliance Manager at Lansweeper: “At Lansweeper, we believe in connecting knowledge, technology, and new ideas to improve the way we all work together. Our customers do too, and we find that more and more of them use 4me to manage their service management. Being able to offer them this integration as an App will make the integration between 4me and Lansweeper even easier to implement.”

4me as a Single Source of Truth
Keeping asset data up to date can be challenging for larger organizations. Lansweeper is an IT Asset Management (ITAM) solution that automatically gathers hardware and software information of computers and other devices on a computer network.

4me’s service management platform is built to enable seamless collaboration between multiple service providers with complete cross-enterprise visibility and control. Many 4me customers use Lansweeper to stay in control of their asset data. Maintaining these assets in the service management solution allows them to be related to assignments. This makes it easier for support specialists to find hardware items or find out what other issues have affected a CI in the past.

The 4me Lansweeper App
Organizations that use both 4me and Lansweeper can now easily integrate both platforms by activating the 4me Lansweeper app in the 4me App Store. The first time the app is used, all physical assets from the Lansweeper inventory are swiftly imported into 4me. From then on, administrators can decide exactly which data to import on a daily basis to maintain the asset data up to date in the service management application.

Emile Fourie, Specialist: Service Process Optimisation at Dimension Data: “We have already tested the integration and were greatly impressed with the results. Connecting and centralizing our IT asset data in 4me in this way will be of great value to us and increase visibility and efficiency.”

The installation process is straightforward and explained step by step in a 4me knowledge article.

The 4me App Store
As the number of standard integrations with 4me continues to grow, the 4me App Store is also rapidly growing. It offers more and more standard 4me integrations and presents them in a way that makes them easy to manage by administrators.

About 4me – The Complete Service Management Platform
4me® combines ITSM with ESM and SIAM capabilities, enabling all internal departments, such as IT, HR, and Facilities, as well as external managed service providers, to work seamlessly with each other. At the same time, 4me provides complete visibility and control of service cost and quality.

About Lansweeper
Lansweeper is an IT asset management software provider helping businesses better understand, manage and protect their IT devices and network. Lansweeper helps customers minimize risks and optimize their IT assets by providing actionable insight into their IT infrastructure at all times, offering trustworthy, valuable, and accurate insights about the state of users, devices, and software.

Press contact: gertje.bosma@4me.com

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MRM Health to Present at the 6th Microbiome Movement Drug Development Europe Summit

GHENT, Belgium, Jan. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MRM Health, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation live microbiome consortia therapeutics, announced that it will present scientific data from its portfolio at the 6th Microbiome Movement Drug Development Europe Summit, resulting from its proprietary and unique CORAL™ platform technology.

CEO Sam Possemiers will present MRM Health’s Microbiome Consortia Therapeutic MH002 as a first translation-into practice of its proprietary CORAL™ platform. CSO Nigel Horscroft will also present preclinical data from MRM Health’s portfolio in the areas of NAFLD/NASH, Type 2 Diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease. The presentations will be given by the CEO on January 26th and by the CSO on January 27th per the following, Microbiome Europe Digital Event.

Regarding the ongoing Phase 1b/2a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial with MH002 in Ulcerative Colitis, enrollment is progressing well and all trial sites in Belgium, Poland and Czech Republic are being initiated. A clinical trial application in a specific orphan indication is planned to be submitted in H1 2022.

Furthermore on future indications, scaling of the proprietary CORAL™ platform is ongoing across various therapeutic indications, with data from such programs confirming the differentiating potential of the platform in terms of manufacturability and optimized potency of MRM Health’s therapeutic consortia. Selected preclinical data from the ongoing programs in metabolic diseases (partnered with IFF, formerly DuPont) and neurodegenerative diseases will also be presented at the 6th Microbiome Movement Drug Development Europe Summit by the company CSO. These include recent promising disease model data in the area of NAFLD/NASH, linked to reduced portal hypertension and delayed onset of fibrosis induction, as well as data on prevention of neuroinflammation and neuronal cell death in a preclinical Parkinson’s Disease model.

About MRM Health

MRM Health NV, Ghent, Belgium, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of next-generation optimized consortium therapeutics based on the human microbiome. The company has built a diversified pipeline with its proprietary CORAL™ platform to design, optimize, and manufacture bacterial consortia as single drug substance. Its most advanced program MH002 is an optimized consortium of six (6) rationally-selected and well-characterized commensal strains. MH002 is currently being studied in an ongoing Phase 1b/2a study in patients with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis. Additional pipeline development initiatives include a preclinical program in Parkinson’s disease, two preclinical programs in metabolic disease (targeting Type 2 Diabetes and NAFLD/NASH, partnered with IFF Nutrition Biosciences, previously DuPont), and a discovery program in autoimmune disease, including spondyloarthritis.

About CORAL™

MRM Health’s differentiating CORAL™ platform utilizes a bioinformatics-guided in-human discovery engine combined with a breakthrough in optimization and manufacturing of consortia as single drug substance. The proprietary consortia optimization technology allows to develop next-generation consortia therapeutics with faster onset-of-action and increased potency and robustness. The breakthrough scalable, robust, and standardized cGMP-compliant consortia manufacturing technology allows to manufacture complete therapeutic consortia as a single drug substance in a single manufacturing process which strongly surpasses existing approaches in speed, reduced complexity, increased robustness and lower cost.

For further information please contact:

Dr Sam Possemiers – CEO

Christiane Verhaegen – CFO

Phone: +32.9.241.11.88

info@mrmhealth.com

Kevin Shelly ได้รับเลือกให้เป็นนักยุทธศาสตร์การขาย – Americas’ for Nikkiso ACD

เตเมคูลา แคลิฟอร์เนีย, Jan. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nikkiso Cryogenic Industries’ Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group (Group) ซึ่งเป็นบริษัทในเครือ Nikkiso Co., Ltd (Japan) ยินดีที่จะประกาศว่า Kevin Shelly ได้รับแต่งตั้งให้เป็นนักยุทธศาสตร์การขายของ the Nikkiso Cryogenic Pumps Unit – Americas

ตำแหน่งใหม่ที่มีสำคัญสำหรับทีมผู้บริหารนี้สนับสนุนวัตถุประสงค์ของกลุ่มเพื่อขยายการมีอยู่และอิทธิพลภายในตลาดก๊าซอุตสาหกรรมทั่วอเมริกาเหนือและใต้

Kevin มีประวัติที่น่าประทับใจในด้านการพัฒนาการขาย การพัฒนาความสัมพันธ์กับลูกค้า การบริหารความสัมพันธ์ลูกค้ารายสำคัญและการบริหารจัดการพื้นที่การขายด้วยประสบการณ์ในอุตสาหกรรมมากกว่า 20 ปีของเขา เขาจะเน้นไปที่การขายอุปกรณ์ชั้นเยี่ยมตลอดจนบริการทั้งก่อนและหลังการขายในกลุ่มเครื่องปั๊ม นอกจากนี้ Kevin จะมีบทบาทสำคัญในกลยุทธ์ของกลุ่มด้วยการส่งเสริมโอกาสต่าง ๆ ให้กับกลุ่มบริษัท Nikkiso และปูทางสู่การเป็นหุ้นส่วนเชิงยุทธศาสตร์ที่แข็งแกร่งขึ้นเพื่อลูกค้าของเรา

Daryl Lamy ประธานและซีอีโอของหน่วยปั๊มของกลุ่มบริษัทกล่าวว่า “Pumps Unit รู้สึกตื่นเต้นที่ได้ Kevin เข้ามารับตำแหน่งใหม่ในการบริหารเชิงกลยุทธ์นี้” “ประสบการณ์หลายปีของเขาจะเพิ่มความสามารถของเราในการนำเสนอผลิตภัณฑ์ปั๊มไครโอเจนิค (cryogenic pump) ระดับโลก การบริการลูกค้า และโซลูชั่นการสร้างมูลค่าเพิ่มให้กับสินค้าหรือบริการเพื่อลูกค้าของเรา”

Nikkiso Cryogenic Pumps Unit ซึ่งรวมถึง Nikkiso ACD และ Nikkiso Cryo เป็นผู้ผลิตชั้นนำในกลุ่มผลิตภัณฑ์ปั๊มไครโอเจนิคที่หลากหลาย ตั้งแต่ขนาดเล็กไปจนถึงขนาดใหญ่

ข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับ CRYOGENIC INDUSTRIES
บริษัทสมาชิก Cryogenic Industries, Inc. (ปัจจุบันเป็นสมาชิกของ Nikkiso Co., Ltd.) ผลิตอุปกรณ์แปรรูปก๊าซไครโอเจนทางวิศวกรรมและโรงงานขนาดเล็กสำหรับแปรรูปก๊าซธรรมชาติเหลว (LNG) บริการจัดการหลุมปิโตรเลียมหลังการขุดเจาะ และอุตสาหกรรมก๊าซสำหรับอุตสาหกรรม Cryogenic Industries ก่อตั้งขึ้นเมื่อ 50 ปีที่แล้ว โดยเป็นบริษัทแม่ของ ACD, Cosmodyne และ Cryoquip และเป็นกลุ่มที่ควบคุมโดยทั่วไปซึ่งมีหน่วยงานปฏิบัติการประมาณ 20 แห่ง

สำหรับข้อมูลเพิ่มเติม โปรดไปที่ www.nikkisoCEIG.com และ www.nikkiso.com.

การติดต่อสำหรับสื่อ:
Anna Quigley
+1.951.383.3314
aquigley@cryoind.com

Amlan is Sowing Seeds of Progress With Next-Generation Natural Feed Additives for Poultry and Livestock Production

  • Amlan’s growing global investment in R&D and technical expertise in key global regions delivers next-generation mineral-based feed additive technologies.
  • Already offering proven feed additives for global poultry and livestock production, Amlan introduces new natural, mineral-based feed additives for the US market to meet growing consumer demands for higher-quality animal protein raised without antibiotics.
  • Emerging technologies for poultry and swine production optimize gut health in animals, support intestinal strength and encourage an animal’s innate response to disease pressures in a natural way.

ATLANTA, Jan. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Advancements in natural feed additives are transforming animal protein production by providing proven and reliable products to improve the sustainability of poultry and livestock production and meet growing consumer demand for cleaner food. This week at the International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE), an annual international event showcasing the latest technology used in the production and processing of poultry, Amlan International introduced next-generation natural mineral-based feed additives for producers and vertical integrators in the United States while showcasing its growing investment in R&D and technical support in key global markets.

“As the use of antibiotics in livestock production comes under increased scrutiny, the poultry industry has to act. More producers are under pressure to reduce the use of antibiotics in animal feed, which makes gut health in animals more important than ever,” says Dan Jaffee, President & General Manager of Amlan, President & CEO of Oil-Dri Corporation of America, a global leader in sorbent technologies.

“At IPPE this week, we’re showcasing our investment in next-generation technology of natural mineral-based feed additives that are supportive of normal animal gut health and immunity, without the use of antibiotics or harsh chemical additives. These attributes meet consumer’s demand for cleaner food while reducing the inputs needed to raise production animals. These factors work together synergistically to decrease the cost and environmental impact of poultry and livestock production,” says Dr. Wade Robey, Amlan Vice President, Marketing and Product Development.

Amlan already has a strong track record with its natural feed additives such as Varium® for poultry and NeoPrime® for swine in key international markets, including Latin America, Southeast Asia and China. New Amlan products launched in the United States and showcased this week at IPPE are helping to address the sustainability of animal production with natural feed additives that support intestinal health, animal welfare and economic performance in poultry and swine. They include Sorbiam, a single ingredient feed additive for optimizing gut health; Ambio-P and Ambio-S, naturally formulated to support intestinal strength in poultry and swine, respectively; AmSure, for supporting optimal intestinal health, animal welfare and economic performance; and Enterotec,a formulation based on natural phytochemicals that supports normal intestinal integrity and function as chemical and ionophore compounds are removed from animal diets.

The natural feed additives are formulated to have strong synergy with each other without the use of in-feed antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs). The synergistic blends of the mineral with other feed additives further support normal gut function and digestive processes.

Designed and Made with the World in Mind
As the animal health business of Oil-Dri® Corporation of America, a leader in sorbent mineral technology, Amlan leverages Oil-Dri’s mineral science expertise to develop proprietary, mineral-based feed additives. Amlan products are based on its natural mineral ingredient that undergoes thermal processing, without the use of harmful chemicals, specifically tailored for each of its products.

“Because Amlan and Oil-Dri are vertically integrated, the company controls the quality, reliability and safety of the mineral — from mine to feed,” says Fred Kao, Vice President of Global Sales for Amlan. “This is accomplished by following sustainable mining practices and using natural ingredients in our feed additive products.”

Investing in the Future
Looking to 2022, Amlan is poised for tremendous growth opportunities with its mineral-based animal health solutions. At Amlan’s Innovation Center in Vernon Hills, Illinois, USA, which houses the Richard M. Jaffee Laboratory for Applied Microbiology, the company’s Life Sciences team is focused on delivering the next evolution in natural, non-pharmaceutical feed additives for supporting normal intestinal function in poultry and livestock. The research facility was expanded in 2019 to support the recent growth of the company’s Life Sciences initiatives.

Amlan has also invested in expanding capabilities in key markets to support livestock producers and integrators. One example is in China, where Amlan recently expanded capabilities of its three logistics and supply centers, located strategically within the country, to quickly adjust to shifting product demands.

“Technology is only as good as the people who bring and support the solutions with our customers, ensuring long-term value and productivity,” says Kao. “Over the past two years, we have significantly grown our team of technical, sales and marketing professionals in key markets in Southeast Asia, China, Latin America and the United States to help customers succeed with our natural, mineral-based feed additives. An integral part of our commitment to our customers is to provide a professional staff with expertise to help them maximize their operations while meeting the high standards throughout the food chain.”

At IPPE this week, TECHTalks and oral abstract educational presentations by renowned poultry industry and Amlan experts are outlining new research and solutions for tackling poultry industry challenges. Following IPPE, information shared will be available at www.amlan.com.

Company Information
Amlan is the animal health business of Oil-Dri Corporation of America, leading global manufacturer and marketer of sorbent minerals. Oil-Dri leverages over 80 years of expertise in mineral science to selectively mine and process their unique mineral for consumer and business-to-business markets. Oil-Dri Corporation of America doing business as “Amlan International” is a publicly traded stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ODC). Amlan International sells feed additives across the world. Product availability may vary by country, associated claims do not constitute medical claims and may differ based on government requirements.

Reagan Culbertson
Media Contact
press@amlan.com

MyCointainer Raises $6 Million in Seed Round to Develop Its Yield Earning Platform

Raised

Raised

TALLINN, Estonia, Jan. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  MyCointainer, a platform for easy yield staking, announced it has raised $6 million in a Seed Round. The event was led by Maple Block and co-led by Shima Capital & ByBit – one of the dominant cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide.

Numerous high-profile angel investors also participated in the round. Among them are entities with rich portfolios comprising some of the most renowned industry brands like CoinList, Circle, and Polygon. ConsenSys, Near, 1inch, Algorand, Polkadot, dY/dX, Casper Labs, Mina, Ankr, and Enjin are also there. Most importantly, their support enhances MyCointainer’s potential and pinpoints a tight-knit collaboration for future projects.

The company will use the funds to develop its yield-earning platform. This way, it will improve its current B2B products and expand its reach in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the rest of the world. Lastly, MyCointainer seeks to increase its expert team by hiring more professionals.

Yield Earning on MyCointainer

MyCointainer is a platform that enables customers to stake cryptocurrencies and tokens without any hassle. Users can start with as little as 1 EUR and have their pick from more than 100 digital assets, including Polkadot, Cardano, and Elrond.

Anyone can use MyCointainer to generate passive income through staking. The platform allows users to buy specific tokens or transfer them into their wallets. Then, it utilizes the power of blockchain protocols to generate more coins in the users’ balances as daily rewards.

Furthermore, participants can earn directly from their wallets through delegations. In other words, MyCointainer works like a digital piggy bank enabling people to enjoy their lives while their money works for them.

Some assets generating the best profits on MyCointainer are Cartesi, Polygon, NEM, Synthetic, and Cardano. On average, the yearly rewards are close to 15%.

Polygon is one of the most prestigious projects on MyCointainer, with almost 8,000 active participants at the time of writing. Furthermore, these users’ annual earnings are close to 12% on the platform.

Many consider Polygon as one of the potential payment forms of tomorrow. For instance, the project revolutionizes the blockchain community and creates a hub where users can interact with decentralized products. Above all, its presence on the platform enhances MyCointainer’s reliability and potential.

MyCointainer’s Rise in the Crypto World

Bartosz Pozniak, an entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in shaping global digital products, founded and launched MyCointainer in 2018. Previously, he has worked in various industries, including investment banks, and in product teams for Barclays & Deutsche Bank in London.

Pozniak built MyCointainer in its early years through self-funding and company-generated revenue. So far, the platform has generated over $3 million in rewards for its over 110,000 users. The company has a financial institution license in Estonia. Also, its most important markets include the UK, the USA, France, and Italy.

In November 2021, MyCointainer joined forces with the industry-leading blockchain project Elrond and the Maiar Team. The partnership enables the trade of BTC/EGLD, EUR/EGLD pairs, and a simple proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism. Also, it covers the patronage over the Maiar application. As a result, users can complete specific tasks and receive exclusive rewards from a total prize pool of $6,000 in EGLD.

Besides Elrond, MyCointainer has partnered with other important names in the industry, like Avalanche Labs, Waves & Cosmos. Also, the company worked closely with Crypto.com and many other fast and open blockchains for decentralized applications. These collaborations helped MyCointainer scale and grow its platform much further.

Lastly, the MyCointainer team is growing at a remarkable speed. Today, the company employs more than 42 people and plans to expand even more with several new positions opening. Anyone interested in the available roles can visit their Careers page.

About MyCointainer

MyCointainer has taken the ambitious mission of providing easy access to various rewarding crypto mechanisms for everyone. This way, everyone can benefit equally from a changing financial landscape and accelerate global crypto adoption.

The MyCointainer team is available on FacebookTelegram, and Discord, among other social media channels.

Contact:

admin@vp-services.org

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CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan reports 92 COVID-19 cases, including 46 domestic

Taiwan reported 92 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, half of them domestically transmitted and half originating from abroad, with zero deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Of the new domestic cases, 14 were linked to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Taoyuan and 12 were related to a cluster at the Port of Kaohsiung.

Another 19 cases in total were recorded in clusters of unknown origin in the cities of Taoyuan, Taipei, and New Taipei (including two at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital), and in Yilan County.

Update: Taipei, Yilan COVID-19 clusters confirmed as Omicron

The remaining case involved a woman in Taoyuan whose source of infection was also unknown, the CECC said.

Of the 46 people reported to have contracted COVID-19 domestically, 15 were fully vaccinated, seven had received one vaccine dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or AstraZeneca brands, and four had not received any vaccine jabs.

Another person received his second vaccine dose less than two weeks before being infected, and the vaccination status of the remaining 19 people were still under investigation, according to the CECC.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan shares close down 0.15%

Tai Tzu-ying (???), Taiwan’s queen of badminton, has become the first women’s singles player to spend 200 weeks ranked as the top player in the world, after the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings were released Tuesday.

Tai, who won the women’s singles silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, continued to lead the world rankings with 108,800 ranking points, just ahead of world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, who had 105,149 points.

Yamaguchi defeated Tai in the women’s singles final at the most recent World Championships held in Spain last month.

The ranking points are usually points from a player’s 10 best performances in the previous 52 weeks, but because of the disruption to international badminton events caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the current rankings account for the best 10 events dating back to week 14 of 2019.

Of Tai’s best 10 performances, six have come since late 2020, and the other four are from 2019.

The 27-year-old Tai first powered into the top spot in December 2016 to become Taiwan’s first-ever women’s badminton player to secure the world No. 1 ranking.

Over the past five years, she has dropped out of the No. 1 spot four times: between April 21 and May 1, 2018, between July 30 and Sept. 23, 2019, between Oct. 28 and Nov. 12, 2019, and between Dec. 17, 2019 and March 16, 2020.

Her lowest ranking during that time was fourth in the world in September 2019.

The Taiwanese badminton sensation’s 200-week reign at No. 1 is the longest-ever in women’s singles, far ahead of the player with the second longest stint, Li Xuerui (???) of China, who was the top-ranked player for 123 weeks from late 2012 to mid-2015.

2021 was an excellent year for Tai, who achieved the first two podium finishes of her career at an Olympic Games or World Championships.

She also won the BWF Female Player of the Year award in December 2021 in recognition of her achievements in 2020 and 2021.

Tai’s first tournament this year will likely be the German Open, held March 8-13, followed by the All England Open, held March 16-20.

Tai won the All England Open in 2017, 2018, and 2020.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Vice president arrives in California, meets with U.S. congressmen

Vice President Lai Ching-te (???) began his stopover in Los Angeles on his way to Honduras with a virtual meeting with American congressmen that touched on bilateral trade and China.

Lai, whose delegation is headed to Honduras to attend the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Xiomara Castro on Jan. 27, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at around 6:35 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Presidential Office.

In the meeting with congressmen, Lai, joined by Taiwan’s Representative to the U.S. Hsiao Bi-khim (???), brought up bilateral trade relations and the threats posed by China, said Lee Chun-yi (???), the office’s deputy secretary-general who is traveling with Lai’s delegation.

Lee did not provide any further details on what was discussed, but said Edward Markey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Asia-Pacific, and Mark Takano, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, were among the lawmakers present.

Following the meeting, John Curtis, a House member who represents a district in Utah, posted on social media that he “was honored to lead the first meeting with the VP of Taiwan on his trip to the U.S.”

“Utah and Taiwan have many ties, ties I have worked to strengthen during my time in Congress,” he said.

The discussion was one of seven virtual meetings that Lai is scheduled to have with American politicians and the Taiwanese community during his 24-hour stopover in Los Angeles, the office said, noting that Lai spoke with 17 congressmen on Tuesday morning.

Earlier in the day, James Moriarty, the chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, boarded the plane to greet the Taiwanese delegation shortly after Lai’s charter flight touched down.

The institute represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Lai was also welcomed by Maria Fernanda Rivera Fiallos, consul general of Honduras in Los Angeles before heading to his hotel, the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City Hotel, where he was welcomed by dozens of Taiwanese expatriates.

Speaking to reporters outside the hotel, Lai thanked the Taiwanese community in the U.S. for its efforts and contributions related to increasing Taiwan’s participation in international society.

Lai’s delegation will depart for Honduras early Wednesday morning.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Gogoro teams up with Electrum for EV development in Indonesia

Taiwan-based e-scooter brand Gogoro Inc. announced on Wednesday that it has teamed up with Electrum of Indonesia to develop infrastructure for electric vehicle use in the Southeast Asian country.

Gogoro has signed a memorandum of understanding with Electrum in a bid to build an EV ecosystem in Indonesia, the third largest two-wheel vehicle market in the world, by focusing on two-wheel vehicles and highly efficient battery development.

Electrum is a joint venture between Indonesian ride hailing Gojek and energy firm TBS Energi Utama, formed last year to promote EV development in the Southeast Asian country which has about 111 million two-wheel vehicles.

The Taiwanese e-scooter brand said the company is also looking to introduce a battery swap platform in Indonesia.

“Gogoro is committed to accelerating the growth and adoption of electric vehicles in Indonesia, and we are taking a proactive approach to supporting the development of an open mobility ecosystem that establishes a foundation for the EV industry,” Gogoro Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Horace Luke (???) said in a statement.

“Our new partnerships and memorandum of understanding (MOUs) further demonstrate Gogoro’s commitment to Indonesia and our vision for working with a variety of domestic and global industry leaders to introduce a new era of transportation in the world’s third largest two-wheel market,” Luke said.

Under the MOU, Gogoro and Electrum will take advantage of their respective areas of expertise and integrate resources, setting their sights on achieving the goal set by Gojek and TBS to cut greenhouse emissions to zero by 2030.

By 2030, Gogoro said, Gojek’s ride hailing fleet will be comprised of 100 percent electric-powered vehicles. In addition, TBS will pour more funds into clean and renewable energy development.

Ahead of the deal with Electrum, Gogoro has worked with Gojek to deploy smart e-scooters and build battery exchange stations in southern Jakarta on a trial basis, according to the Taiwanese e-scooter supplier.

Kevin Aluwi, a director at Electrum and Gojek CEO, said the partnership between Gogoro and Gojek to deploy a smart e-scooter fleet and battery swap stations in Jakarta has been well received by the market.

Through the MOU signed by Gogoro and Electrum, Gojek and Gogoro are expected to enhance the capability for e-scooter development in Indonesia, Aluwi said.

Last week, Gogoro and Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. signed an MOU with Indonesia’s Ministry of Investment, battery supplier PT Industri Beterai Indonesia (IBC), and energy developer BT Indika Energy for EV development.

These partners are seeking to forge a battery supply chain in Indonesia that could help support a sustainable energy ecosystem, with an initial focus on the development of platforms in Indonesia for the production of lithium iron phosphate (LPF) EV batteries and solid state premium quality EV batteries.

They emphasized the need to develop systems that support the EV industry, such as energy storage systems (ESS), battery exchange stations and battery recycling.

iPhone assembler Hon Hai has intensified its efforts in EV development in recent years in a bid to diversify its product portfolio and strengthen its bottom line.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel