Day: September 30, 2021

Mapping How Mutated Proteins Interact Reveals Previously Unseen Cancer Targets

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Researchers at UC San Francisco and UC San Diego have mapped out how hundreds of mutations involved in two types of cancer affect the activity of proteins that are the ultimate actors behind the disease. The work points the way to identifying new precision treatments that may skirt side effects common with much current chemotherapy.

The effort, dubbed Cancer Cell Mapping Initiative (CCMI), is led by Nevan Krogan, PhD, director of UCSF’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute and Trey Ideker, PhD, professor at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, who are also co-senior authors on a set of three related studies that describe the map. The papers appear September 30 in Science.

“This is an entirely new way to do cancer research,” said Nevan Krogan. Krogan noted that targeted treatments based simply on DNA sequencing of tumors haven’t been as effective as hoped. “We realized we need another way to look at cancer that takes it a step beyond DNA.”

“The bottom line is that we’re elevating the conversation about cancer from individual genes to whole protein complexes,” Ideker said. “For years different groups have been discovering more and more gene mutations that are involved in cancers. But now we’re able to explain these mutations at the next level — by looking at how the different gene mutations in different patients actually have the same downstream effects on the same protein machines. This is the first map of cancer from the protein complex lens.”

Looking Beyond Gene Mutations to the Protein Disruptions They Cause

The team looked at proteins, which carry out the vast majority of functions in the body—and which take on a collection of forms that far outnumber our genes, providing a much more expansive view of the activity underlying cancer.

DNA contains the instructions for building proteins, which then interact with other proteins, almost always in large groups called complexes. These protein complexes regulate an activity or turn a function on or off. If the underlying DNA has a mutation, the resulting protein complexes will as well.

These gene mutations can affect how well the resulting protein complexes do their jobs. For example, a particular interaction between two proteins might be crucial to repairing damaged DNA. If the mutated version of one of those proteins is shaped differently than normal, it may not interact correctly with the other protein, and the DNA might not get repaired, leading to cancer.

Mapping Protein Mutations

There is a subset of genes that are commonly mutated in cancer, Krogan said, and each of these genes can be mutated in hundreds of different ways. In addition, the function of a particular protein may be different in different types of cells, so a mutation in a breast cancer cell might have different effects on protein complexes than that same mutation’s effect in a cell in the throat.

CCMI’s goal was to map the constellation of protein complexes formed by approximately 60 proteins commonly involved in either breast cancer and cancers of the head and neck, and to see what each looked like in healthy cells. Alongside that effort, they created maps of how protein complexes are affected by hundreds of different gene mutations in two cancerous cell lines.

Doing so presented a formidable computational challenge. But the CCMI collaboration allowed the team to use advanced and novel data analyses to reveal not only whether the mutation affected interactions between proteins, but to what extent.

“That kind of detail shows us how well an existing drug might work, or explains why it doesn’t,” Ideker said.

The most powerful aspect of these extensive protein interaction maps is that they can shed the same light on many other conditions, Krogan said. For example, the team is also at work on similar studies of protein interactions in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, as well as infectious disease.

Collaboration is Key

Krogan and Ideker see the CCMI collaboration as the real source of strength behind the approach.

“We’re not only making connections between different genes and proteins but between different people and different disciplines,” Krogan said. “Those collaborations have built up an infrastructure that allows them to integrate an array of types of information and push the boundaries of what’s possible in applying data science to complex diseases.”

“We’re in the perfect position to take advantage of this revolution on every level. I couldn’t be more excited than I am right now. We can do such damage to cancer.”

Funding: This research was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute (U54 CA209891, U54 CA209988, 5F30CA236404-02) and the National institutes of Health (F32 CA239336, R50 CA243885, S10 OD026929) as well as other public and philanthropic sources.

About QBI: The Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) fosters collaborations across the biomedical and the physical sciences, seeking quantitative methods to address pressing problems in biology and biomedicine. Motivated by problems of human disease, QBI is committed to investigating fundamental biological mechanisms, because ultimately solutions to many diseases have been revealed by unexpected discoveries in the basic sciences.

Follow UCSF
qbi.ucsf.edu | Facebook.com/qbiucsf | Twitter.com/qbi_ucsf | YouTube.com/qbitvucsf

About UCSF: The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF’s primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. UCSF School of Medicine also has a regional campus in Fresno. Learn more at ucsf.edu or see our Fact Sheet.

Follow UCSF
ucsf.edu | Facebook.com/ucsf | Twitter.com/ucsf | YouTube.com/ucsf

Media contacts:

Gina Nguyen, 646-326-8936
GinaT.Nguyen@ucsf.edu | @QBI_UCSF

Robin Marks, 415-663-6768
Robin.Marks@ucsf.edu | @UCSF

Heather Buschman, 858-249-0456
hbuschman@health.ucsd.edu | @UCSDMedSchool

Videos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ff38e633-ed60-481f-8b22-a0f73929a7a9

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/20119a6f-0bbc-42aa-aa8f-adc435b88697

Former Daimler Trucks CEO and autonomy pioneer brings nearly 40 years of experience in the commercial vehicle industry to SafeAI

MILPITAS, Calif., Sept. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SafeAI, a global leader in autonomous heavy equipment, today announced that Roger Nielsen has joined its Board of Directors. Nielsen, the former President and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America and member of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG, brings nearly forty years of experience in the commercial vehicle industry to SafeAI’s growing company.

Nielsen spent 35 years at Daimler, the world’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, including four years as President and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America. During his tenure, he was involved in 40 acquisitions, mergers and divestitures across the automotive industry, including companies developing buses, telematics, electric vehicles and autonomous driving systems.

During Nielsen’s time at Daimler, electric and autonomous vehicles began rapidly gaining steam. As CEO, he spearheaded significant advancements in Daimler’s autonomous technology to meet rising demand across the trucking industry, including through the acquisition of vehicle automation company Torc Robotics. Under his leadership, Daimler’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) won Best Transportation Technology at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) for its Level 2 automated driving system. The company went on to become the first to deliver SAE level 2 (partially automated driving features) into series production and today, continues to forge a safer, more efficient standard for logistics.

“Roger was at the helm of one of the world’s top automotive companies as the tides began turning toward autonomous vehicles. He quickly recognized the opportunity and dove in headfirst to unlock the benefits of autonomy for the trucking industry,” said Bibhrajit Halder, founder and CEO of SafeAI. “His experience as a trailblazer in autonomous development and deployment is an invaluable asset to our board as we reimagine heavy industry through increased adoption of self-driving heavy equipment.”

“At Daimler, I had the opportunity to lead a team rethinking a more traditional industry, logistics, through autonomous technology. As a member of SafeAI’s board, I’m fortunate to have that opportunity again,” said Nielsen. “I firmly believe autonomy is the future, and SafeAI will be the company to deliver this future to heavy industry. I’m honored to be part of this team as they chart a new path forward for industries like construction and mining, powered by autonomy.”

Nielsen received his BS in Industrial Engineering from Oregon State University. He is also on the board of NODAR, a company that develops 3D vision for autonomous vehicles.

For more news from SafeAI, visit www.safeai.ai.

About SafeAI
SafeAI is a global autonomous heavy equipment leader focused on advancing modern industry. SafeAI retrofits heavy equipment for autonomous applications in mining and construction to serve a massive ecosystem of industry players with complex needs. By building a software platform with the most advanced, industry-specific AI, SafeAI enables equipment owners to transform existing machines, including skid steers, F-150s and articulated dump trucks, into self-operating robotic assets. SafeAI is based in Milpitas, CA.

Contact
LaunchSquad for SafeAI
safeai@launchsquad.com

vLife™ 6.0 Application Marketplace for Healthcare and Life Sciences

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass., Sept. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Virtusa Corporation, a global provider of digital strategy, digital engineering, and IT services and solutions, today announced vLife™ 6.0, a cloud-based marketplace designed to improve and personalize patient care.

vLife™ 6.0 brings together previously inaccessible data with artificial intelligence (AI) applications, machine learning (ML) models, and industry-specific solutions – accessed via a self-service portal. vLife™ was developed in collaboration with leading universities and healthcare providers and has proven to accelerate the personalization of patient care.

The U.S. healthcare system alone generates approximately one trillion gigabytes of data annually. vLife™ 6.0 gives payers, providers, and medical device and life sciences companies the ability to capture, share and deliver data in a more unified way, which can increase productivity by approximately 30 percent.

Automating everything from data entry to medicine distribution and research analysis gives doctors and nurses the resources and the additional time needed to provide the best-personalized, quality care to each patient. By using AI tools and applications available in the vLife™ marketplace, healthcare providers can reduce diagnostic errors and provide the most up-to-date research and resources to support decision-making.

According to Business Insider Intelligence, 30 percent of healthcare costs are associated with administrative tasks. With the right solutions in place, organizations can automate administrative tasks, ease workflows, and analyze large data sets to deliver better healthcare faster, and at a lower cost. Among the key new features in vLife™ 6.0 is vNet, an enterprise AI application for building faster, smarter, and better ML models for harnessing all data.

By taking advantage of vLife™ 6.0, users can quickly start using pre-trained ML models, snippets of code, and accelerators to address specific healthcare-related tasks or functions.

“Healthcare and life sciences organizations need to access previously untapped patient data to drive operational efficiency, enhance the patient/provider experience, and ultimately provide more effective patient care,” said Anthony Lange, Senior Vice President, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Virtusa. “With vLife™ 6.0, we’re making it possible to quickly assemble and roll out pre-built models, applications and solutions designed by and with industry experts and digital engineers.”

ML applications can potentially improve the accuracy of treatment protocols and health outcomes through algorithmic processes. For example, deep learning, a type of complex ML that mimics how the human brain functions, is increasingly being used in radiology and medical imaging. Using neural networks that can learn from data without any supervision, deep learning applications can detect, recognize and analyze cancerous lesions from images.

Today physicians spend too much time using EHR—According to a 2020 Annals of Internal Medicine study, Physicians spent an average of 16 minutes and 14 seconds per encounter using EHRs. vLife™ 6.0 has applications to identify documentation gaps and prepopulate problem lists, enabling physicians to spend more valuable time with patients and less time at the computer.

Built on Amazon Web Services (AWS), vLife™ 6.0 provides access to the following:

• One billion rows of clinical, claims, genomic and IBM MarketScan research data as well as simulated data for the full U.S. population across 34 disease conditions.
• One thousand AI artifacts for partners to build ML models based on their organizational priorities and project budget.
• Industry solutions designed to address specific challenges, functions or tasks.

vLife™ includes specialized offerings for key segments, including:

• Biopharma: Clinical trials, Commercial analytics, Patient engagement, Bioinformatics-as-a-Service (BaaS)
• MedTech: Commercial solutions, Connected solutions, Patient engagement, Provider and patient engagement
• Payer services: Member journey, Claims processing, Care management, Provider journey
• Provider services: Population Health Management (PHM), Patient engagement, Ancillaries, Virtual care, Advanced analytics

Key features and benefits of vNet:

• Faster AI: An intuitive AI tool that enables users with no AI coding skills to easily build, train, and deploy ML models, all in one place, without writing a single line of code. Faster AI empowers teams to operationalize AI and drive business value.
• Computer Vision: No-code/low-code image analytics platform that allows beginners to get started quickly and AI experts to develop faster and leverage custom code with a fully managed infrastructure for computer vision.
• Synthetic Data: Uses algorithms to create artificial data by mirroring the statistical properties of the original data while allowing business to maintain user privacy, successfully carry out product testing, and train ML algorithms
• Innovation as a Service (IaaS): Connects every step of the domain journey and hosts several solutions to help customers efficiently improve the cognitive system of the domain systems across various AI-driven innovations.

With personalization at the center of a new age of healthcare, patients will be able to reach new levels of health and wellness, while allowing providers to operate more efficiently and effectively. vLife™ 6.0 paves the way for the future of healthcare and patient care.

To learn more about vLife™, visit www.virtusa.com/vlife

About Virtusa

Virtusa Corporation is a global provider of digital business strategy, digital engineering, and information technology (IT) services and solutions that help clients change, disrupt, and unlock new value through innovation engineering. Virtusa serves Global 2000 companies in the Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, Healthcare, Communications, Media, Entertainment, Travel, Manufacturing, and Technology industries.

Virtusa helps clients grow their business with innovative products and services that create operational efficiency using digital labor, future-proof operational and IT platforms, and rationalization and modernization of IT applications infrastructure. This is achieved through a unique approach blending deep contextual expertise, empowered agile teams, and measurably better engineering to create holistic solutions that drive business forward at unparalleled velocity enabled by a culture of cooperative disruption.

Virtusa is registered trademark of Virtusa Corporation. All other company and brand names may be trademarks or service marks of their respective holders.

Contact:

Matt Berry
Conversion Marketing
(201) 370-9133
matt@conversionam.com

The Unlockzie, a beer can cooler with image recognition technology, will offer fans the chance to unlock entries for prizes throughout the season

CHICAGO, Sept. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — College football is back in full swing and Modelo, the beer brewed for those with The Fighting Spirit™, is rewarding passionate fans across the country with a brand-new offering. To ensure all fans have a cold beer for game day Saturdays, Modelo is unveiling the Unlockzie, a free beer can cooler with technology that allows fans to unlock entries for prizes throughout the college football season.

The Unlockzie features a specially-designed seal and a unique cutout that completes a scannable image when a 12 oz. can of Modelo Especial is placed inside the beer can cooler. Fans will be able to scan this completed image on their mobile device using image recognition technology, giving them the opportunity to unlock entries for prizes each week.

The grand prize for one lucky fan is any college football lover’s dream—two tickets to the College Football Playoff National Championship on January 10, 2022. Each week, fans will be able to enter for a chance to win a weekly prize including a year’s worth of Modelo beer (awarded in the form of a $300 Sponsor-specified gift card) and Modelo swag.

This season, Modelo has entered a multi-year partnership as the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. As part of the sponsorship, Modelo will have rights to the College Football Playoff (CFP) marks/IP and marketing exclusivity on-site within CFP National Championship weekend events and New Year’s Six games.

“The Modelo Unlockzie provides an engaging way for fans to amplify their football experience while supporting their team with a cold Modelo in hand,” said Greg Gallagher, Vice President of Brand Marketing, Modelo. “Joining the roster as Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff is an opportunity to build our football fanbase and create a lasting Modelo connection with drinkers who bring their unique fighting spirt to each and every game day.”

The Unlockzie is available for free while supplies last at ModeloUnlockzie.com, and fans should follow @ModeloUSA on Instagram and Twitter throughout the regular college football season for news on when more Unlockzies will be released. See here for assets.

How it works:

• Simply slide a 12 oz. can of Modelo Especial into the Unlockzie and line up the Modelo seal on the can with the opening.
• Visit ModeloUnlockzie.com and scan the completed Unlockzie image to enter for a chance to win weekly a prize and to be entered into the grand prize drawing.
• The Unlockzie can be scanned with a Modelo can every week during the Promotion Period to enter for a chance to win.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Modelo Beverage Can Holder Giveaway is open only to legal residents of the 50 U.S. and D.C., 21 or older, with a web-enabled mobile device; the Giveaway starts 10:00 AM ET on 9/30/21 and ends 11:59 PM ET on 12/4/21, or when the last fifteen thousand (15,000) entrants have been confirmed for the last Entry Period (as described in the Official Giveaway Rules, whichever occurs first). The Modelo Unlockzie Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 U.S. and D.C., 21 or older; the Sweepstakes starts 10:00 AM ET on 9/30/21 and ends 11:59 PM ET on 12/4/21. No alcohol awarded with prizes. Void where prohibited. For complete details, see Official Rules at ModeloUnlockzie.com.

ABOUT MODELO^®
Born in 1925 in the small town of Tacuba, Mexico, Modelo has been bringing distinctive high-quality beer to people ever since, including Modelo Especial^®, Modelo Negra^®, and a flavorful lineup of Modelo Cheladas. Modelo Especial is a golden, full-flavored Pilsner-style Lager with a clean, crisp finish. As the #1 imported beer in the U.S., Modelo Especial recently surpassed 150MM cases sold in 2021. The Modelo family of beers are exclusively brewed, imported and marketed for the U.S. by Constellation Brands.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game. This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Friday, December 31, 2021, at the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Contact:
Kevin Hyde
kevin.hyde@ketchum.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/451183d3-3683-4ace-ba52-cea677d97496

September 30, 2021

Unique five-year agreement will help Philadelphia-based health leader integrate and standardize innovative cardiovascular care, helping to deliver on the quadruple aim

Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Philadelphia, PA – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and Lankenau Heart Institute part of Main Line Health, today announced they have entered a five-year strategic partnership focused on integrated cardiovascular solutions. Working together, Philips and Main Line Health will develop an ecosystem of clinically-enabled cardiovascular solutions that will allow Main Line Health to standardize and integrate technology across its network, helping to unlock patient data for better clinical decisions, while optimizing workflows for a better patient and staff experience. In addition, the partnership aims to help Main Line Health drive predictability and consistency in costs, as well as focus on clinical and technical training.

Providing care to the Philadelphia region and its western suburbs, Main Line Health is committed to delivering advanced medicine to treat and cure disease, while also playing an important role in prevention strategies and disease management. At its core are four of the region’s most respected acute care hospitals – Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital. Moreover, Main Line Health conducts clinical research in the latest health care innovations and trains physicians and other health care providers to ensure its staff can provide the best, most advanced care to the communities they serve.

“Through this innovative business model, we will have a technology partner who can help us adopt the solutions that will not only help us drive operational efficiency, they will allow us to expand the type of quality care our patients have come to expect,” said Trudy Mazzone, MS, BSRT, (R), System Director, Main Line Health Cardiovascular Services and Co-director, Lankenau Heart Institute.

“By partnering with Philips, we will be able to continue our world-class cardiovascular care system-wide, including fully renovating and installing state-of-the-art Philips equipment to provide advanced cardiovascular and neuro care at Bryn Mawr Hospital and Paoli Hospital,” said William Gray, MD, System Chief, Cardiovascular Diseases, Main Line Health and Co-director, Lankenau Heart Institute. “This will allow us to define a strategy for the future, adopting novel technology as it evolves.”

This long-term strategic partnership will uniquely focus on integrated cardiovascular solutions. As part of the partnership, a dedicated team of Philips solutions architects will work collaboratively with Main Line Health to understand their challenges and develop technology plans around the cardiovascular service line. These technology plans are tailored to their needs with three objectives in mind: clinical, operational and business model innovation.

Philips brings over a century of experience in healthcare, providing best practices in world class facility planning and design, intelligent technology implementation, data analytics and IT integration, and education management, as well as workflow and performance optimization.

“Healthcare technology is evolving at a rapid rate and partnering with Main Line Health will allow us to understand patient needs and workflows, map them to the right solutions and help them to deliver on the quadruple aim,” said Vitor Rocha, Market Leader for Philips North America. “Together we can help them keep pace with technology, allowing them to focus on what is most important: providing high quality care, positive patient outcomes and a superior patient experience for their community.”

William Gray has a consulting relationship with Philips.

For further information, please contact:

Philips
Silvie Casanova
Philips North America
Tel: +1 781 879 0692
silvie.casanova@philips.com

Joost Maltha
Philips Global Press Office
Tel: +31 610 558 116
Email: joost.maltha@philips.com

Main Line Health
Samantha Krouse
Manager, Communications
Tel: +1 484 580 1059
Krouses@mlhs.org

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 2020 sales of EUR 17.3 billion and employs approximately 77,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

About Lankenau Heart Institute
The Lankenau Heart Institute is Main Line Health’s premier, comprehensive cardiovascular medicine and surgery program. The Lankenau Heart Institute brings together the clinical expertise of all four Main Line Health acute care hospitals and community cardiology practices to ensure that patients receive a level of quality, service, and experience that is unprecedented in the region. Through the system-wide coordination of services, the Lankenau Heart Institute delivers preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative cardiovascular services at each of our locations including Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital.

Lankenau Heart Institute continues to be a pioneer in the use of beating-heart techniques and robotic-assisted procedures for coronary artery revascularization, minimally invasive and transcatheter approaches for valve repair and replacement, and complex aortic surgeries. With our growing experience and focus on minimally invasive techniques, Lankenau Heart Institute has expanded participation in clinical trials year over year. Our physicians are frequently invited to participate in clinical/medical device trials, many of these designed to facilitate minimally invasive procedures/approaches.

With a collaborative team of expert consultative cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and specially trained nurses and technologists, the Lankenau Heart Institute is dedicated to managing and treating patients with heart failure, aortic disease, coronary and peripheral vascular disease, heart rhythm disorders and valve disease. Our team of cardiologists and cardiac specialists provide patients and their families with expert cardiac care, close to home.

About Main Line Health
Founded in 1985, Main Line Health is a not-for-profit health system serving portions of Philadelphia and its western suburbs. Main Line Health’s commitment—to deliver advanced medicine to treat and cure disease while also playing an important role in prevention and disease management as well as training physicians and other health care providers—reflects our intent to keep our community and ourselves well ahead. A team of more than 10,000 employees and 2,000 physicians care for patients throughout the Main Line Health system.

At Main Line Health’s core are four of the region’s most respected acute care hospitals—Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital—as well as one of the nation’s recognized facilities for rehabilitative medicine, Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital.

Main Line Health also includes Mirmont Treatment Center for drug and alcohol recovery; Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice, which includes skilled home health care, hospice and home infusion services; Main Line Health Centers, primary and specialty care, lab and radiology, and other outpatient services located in Broomall, Collegeville, Concordville, Exton, King of Prussia and Newtown Square; Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, a biomedical research organization; and Main Line HealthCare, one of the region’s largest multispecialty physician networks.

Main Line Health is the recipient of numerous awards for quality care and service, including System Magnet® designation, the nation’s highest distinction for nursing excellence and the Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Performance Excellence (MAAPE) Excellence Award. Main Line Health is committed to creating an environment of diversity, respect and inclusion and has proudly embraced the American Hospital Association’s #123forEquity Pledge to Act to eliminate disparities in care. We are dedicated to advancing patient-centered care, education and research to help our community stay healthy.

Attachments

• Lankenau Heart Institute, part of Main Line Health
• Case review at Lankenau Heart Institute

New data from Sphera reveals that, despite promises to the contrary, companies struggle with implementing and disclosing progress on their sustainability efforts

CHICAGO, Sept. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Though pressure is growing from all corners—from investors, to governments, to boards of directors—companies worldwide struggle to report progress on their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals. Indeed, just 38% of businesses publicly communicate their sustainability performance, according to a new survey from Sphera^®, a leading global provider of ESG performance and risk management software, data and consulting services.

It’s not just a matter of disclosing progress on their objectives, however; companies are also behind the curve when it comes to clearly setting their ESG goals in the first place. Less than one-third (29%) of the respondents said they have set and communicated their sustainability targets, and even fewer—16%—have set emissions targets in accordance with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) framework.

This marked lack of ESG transparency highlights the persistently wide chasm between ESG promises and action in the private sector. In the absence of significant, enforceable regulations worldwide, companies have largely been left to voluntarily make commitments, but with no meaningful mechanisms to either measure their progress or hold themselves accountable to them. About half (51%) of companies surveyed affirm that their senior management has made sustainability commitments, but only 21% say they have a clear roadmap to implementation, and just 26% say they have fully integrated sustainability into their business strategy.

“It’s easy to ‘talk the talk’ when it comes to corporate ESG initiatives, but much harder to ‘walk the walk’,” says Paul Marushka, Sphera’s CEO. “Businesses have largely been left to their own devices to establish and measure their sustainability performance, leading to a constellation of voluntary frameworks that ultimately disincentivize meaningful action. But with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent report providing its strongest warning yet – indicating that half-measures will no longer cut it – and the upcoming COP26 conference promising to hold the business community to account, organizations need to start making good on their promises and show tangible progress.”

These findings are from Sphera’s Sustainability Survey 2021, a survey of 218 global business leaders evaluating their sustainability metrics, measurement and progress.

Additional findings from the survey include:

Scope 3 is missing from the menu. Though reducing emissions across the value chain is essential to meeting decarbonization targets and—for those businesses who have committed to them—achieving net zero emissions, very few companies have accounted for Scope 3 emissions in their sustainability plans. Only 13% of businesses surveyed said they have identified all relevant Scope 3 categories and completed a corresponding hotspot analysis; 29% say they consider the entire value chain when calculating their corporate emissions baseline or carbon footprint.

“Scope 3 emissions can make up the vast majority of a company’s overall carbon footprint,” Marushka added, “which means any sound sustainability strategy must involve an assessment of the supply chain and a commitment to working with suppliers who are also taking measurable steps to reduce their emissions. The end result ultimately creates a multiplier effect for both companies’ sustainability efforts.”

Poor data quality can stymie even the best efforts. Only a minority of respondents (16%) use data from established commercial databases to quantify their corporate carbon footprint; another 14% say they use high-quality, industry-based data for baseline assessment at the product level. In practice, this means many more organizations are using suboptimal datasets, such as spend-based, input-output databases, to measure their emissions. These types of top-down, nonspecific data sources can lead to inaccurate assessments, further exacerbating the gap between sustainability promises and outcomes.

The middle market struggles the most. Perhaps unsurprisingly, large organizations with more than $1 billion in revenue are more likely to be rated as optimized (34%) in terms of sustainability maturity.¹ At the same time, 39% of small businesses with less than $100 million in revenue are considered optimized. Midsize businesses trail both, with an optimization rate of just 30%. In fact, midsize businesses are more likely than their larger or smaller counterparts to not exceed basic compliance requirements (25% vs.13% for smaller organizations and 6% for larger organizations).

About the Sustainability Maturity Survey 2021
Sphera partnered with the University of Esslingen in Germany to design and field a survey of companies throughout Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Respondents represented businesses in a wide range of industries, including automotive, construction, education, health care, oil and gas, manufacturing and technology. The survey was conducted between April 7 and May 3.

About Sphera
Sphera creates a safer, more sustainable and productive world. We are a leading global provider of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance and risk management software, data and consulting services with a focus on Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S), Operational Risk Management and Product Stewardship.

Press Contact
Kylie Souder
kylie.souder@aspectusgroup.com
+1 513-304-5776

__________________
¹ According to Sphera’s Sustainability Maturity rubric, an “optimized” business leverages ESG software and data resources to go above and beyond meeting compliance requirements to help find efficiencies, increase productivity and innovation, reduce costs and mitigate risks. A “leader” is at the head of the competitive pack and is shaping the future of its sector through its sustainability initiatives.

WM’s ICLM and TUV online payments capacities provide Online Businesses worldwide with free and instant integration, and zero-cost multicurrency transactions and wallets

NEW YORK and ST PETER PORT, Guernsey, Sept. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Payments Facilities of Global Telephony Provider Webtel.mobi (“WM”) are not limited to Offline Payments. Its ICLM and TUV Facilities also have full Online Payments capacity, and can be used in the Online Payments or Payment Gateway role – for making or accepting payments – by all WM Members worldwide.

WM’s ICLM Payment and TUV Payments are de-facto Payment Gateway equivalents, and are able to be used for accepting Online Payments instantly when a Merchant joins WM as a Member. The only equipment required is a person’s existing Mobile Phone – whether a Smart Phone or Pre-Smart Mobile Phone.

All a Member needs to do to utilize these systems as de facto Payment Gateways is display his/her ITAN Number (Inter-Tel.mobi Account Number) and Mobile Number on the website, and the currencies that they will accept for payment. The identifying names or references for the good or services being sold act as the payment reference.

Merchants can then instantly accept Payments in all Currencies available on the WM Platform from any WM Member anywhere in the world – and receive immediate settlement, 24/7/365 –without the possibility of chargebacks.

		We Accept ICLM and TUV Payments Our ITAN:    WM1234567891234567891234 Our Mobile: +XX 1234 567 890					We Accept ICLM and TUV Payments Our ITAN:    WM9876543219876543219876 Our Mobile: +XX 9876 543 210
		Payment Currencies Accepted: All Currencies Instant Confirmation by Text:     Yes					Payment Currencies Accepted:  USD only  Instant Confirmation by Text:      Yes

There is zero cost to Merchants accepting Payments if using the TUV Payment Gateway equivalent, or an ultra-low cost to Merchants of 0.25% to 0.1% if using the ICLM Payment Gateway equivalent. With the ICLM Payment Gateway Equivalent, Merchants can choose if they pay this ultra-low cost, whether the Purchaser should pay the cost, or whether the cost is split between Merchant and Purchaser.

For Purchasers who are Members of WM, Payments are free and instant 24/7/365, with instant transaction history and confirmation of payment by email and text. Payments can be made in any WM Currency from any of the free multicurrency wallets provided by WM.

Generally, standard Payment Gateways charge Merchants high fees for integration into websites, charge high transaction fee, provide unfavorable and forced FX Conversion rates, do not easily provide many multicurrency accounts for settlement, take days or weeks to provide full settlement and hold back funds in retentions.

In comparison to WM’s Payment Gateway equivalents, which provide free, instant, global and multicurrency services – it will be difficult for them to compete or even to survive.

ONLINE PAYMENTS CHARACTERISTIC	STANDARD PAYMENT GATEWAY	ICLM PAYMENT GATEWAY	TUV PAYMENT GATEWAY
Make Online Payments	Yes	Yes	Yes
Functions 24/7/365	Yes	Yes	Yes
Make & Receive Payments to & from all Countries	No	Yes	Yes
Free Instant integration into Website / Platform	No	Yes	Yes
Instant Acceptance of Payments by Merchants	No	Yes	Yes
Free Multicurrency Wallets for Merchants (41)	No	Yes	Yes
Instant Email and Text Notification of Payments	No	Yes	Yes
Instant Detailed Payment Transaction History	No	Yes	Yes
Pure Peer 2 Peer Transactions (PP2P)	No	Yes	Yes
Impossible to Carry Out Fraudulent Transactions	No	Yes	Yes
Impossible for Merchants to Incur Chargebacks	No	Yes	Yes
Impossible for Cloned / Stolen Card Transactions	No	Yes	Yes
Instant No-Retention Settlement to Merchants	No	Yes	Yes
Payment Process without Intermediaries	No	Yes	Yes
Payment Process without Intermediary Fees	No	Yes	Yes
Functions Alone Without Any Other Entities	No	Yes	Yes
Functions in all Countries and Territories	No	Yes	Yes
Self-Contained Unitary Global System	No	Yes	Yes
Uniform Global Security and Standards	No	Yes	Yes
Total Access from Any Smart Phone	No	Yes	Yes
Total Access from Any Pre-Smart Mobile Phone	No	Yes	Yes
Clients can Pay in Multiple Currencies Globally	No	Yes	Yes
Clients Control Own FX Conversions	No	Yes	Yes
Merchants can Accept Multicurrency Payments	No	Yes	Yes
Merchants Control Own FX Conversions	No	Yes	Yes
Merchant and Payer can Split Payment Fees	No	Yes	Yes
Totally Free to Make and Receive Payments	No	0.25% to 1%	Yes

Resources:

Media Contact:
Nick Lambert: wm@thoburns.com

Video on the Capacities of the WM System:
https://youtu.be/XYBrCikUhn8

Video on WM’s Regulatory Compliance:
https://youtu.be/u522lVsGIJI

Research Reports on the Capacities of the WM System:
https://tinyurl.com/TUVresearch

WM’s urls:
https://webtel.mobi/pc (Tablets / Laptops / Desktops)
https://webtel.mobi (Smart Phones)
https://webtel.mobi/wap (Pre-Smart Mobile Phones)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. & LONDON, U.K., Sept. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — USPA Global Licensing Inc. (USPAGL) today announced that U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), has won Global Retailer of the Year at the prestigious 2021 Global Retail & Leisure International (RLI) Awards. The RLI Awards honor the most visionary and innovative retail and leisure concepts from around the world.

Winners in 12 categories were selected by a voting entity of industry leaders, with U.S. Polo Assn.’s recognition being for its overall global growth and achievements. These include continuing its brick-and-mortar growth trajectory, maintaining a footprint of nearly 190 countries across e-commerce and more than 1,100 U.S. Polo Assn. retail stores worldwide, and projections for expansion to more than 1,500 stores over the next several years. Also in 2021, the brand cultivated and activated a network of more than 6 million social media followers and built out the brand’s websites to more than 30 countries in 16 different languages to clinch the win. All of this came to fruition despite the global economic challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.

Other big winners of the night included NIKE House of Innovation, Paris for RLI Interior Excellence; New York-based Brookfield Properties for Developer of the Year; Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok, Thailand, for International Outlet Centre New Build; and Grandscape, Texas, for Most Innovative Retail & Entertainment Project.

Attending the event this year were members of the U.S. Polo Assn. executive and leadership team and the brand’s U.K. partner, Brand Machine. Accepting the award on U.S. Polo Assn.’s behalf was J. Michael Prince, President and CEO of USPA Global Licensing, the company that oversees the multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand.

“On behalf of our global team, and our licensing and retail partners around the world, we are honored that U.S. Polo Assn. was selected by our peers, among other leading retailers, as Retail & Leisure’s Global Retailer of the Year,” said Prince. “We will continue to build on our long-term growth strategy by pushing boundaries and innovating our authentic, sport-inspired, lifestyle brand as a global leader across the fashion and sport industries.”

This year’s gala event was at the newly opened, ultra-chic Londoner Hotel in the heart of London’s West End. Committed to ensuring all its participants and winners were properly celebrated during this time of global caution, RLI created a hybrid event with two experiences by merging the power of face-to-face with a virtual element for the worldwide winners and attendees.

“It’s our goal every year to bring together the most groundbreaking players in the retail and leisure industries to recognize them for their exceptional projects and contributions, and this year was no exception,” said Jayne Rafter, Founder of Retail and Leisure International and host of the glamorous, black-tie gala. “A deserving winner, U.S. Polo Assn.’s growth, resilience and innovation in the retail industry ultimately won them the 2021 Global Retailer of the Year category and this outstanding global recognition.”

U.S. Polo Assn. won two Highly Commended Honors for Global Retailer of the Year and Emerging Market Retailer at the Global RLI Awards in 2020.

The Global RLI Awards, presented by Retail & Leisure International, recognize global achievement and impact throughout the industry and are selected by a panel of highly respected business leaders from around the globe. The RLI Awards pay tribute to those companies that continue to push boundaries, who are not afraid of the challenges that they are presented with, and who refuse to settle for anything but the very best.

About U.S. Polo Assn. and USPA Global Licensing Inc. (USPAGL)

U.S. Polo Assn. is the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), the nonprofit governing body for the sport of polo in the United States and one of the oldest sports governing bodies, having been founded in 1890. With a multi-billion-dollar global footprint and worldwide distribution through more than 1,100 U.S. Polo Assn. retail stores, department stores, sporting goods channels, independent retailers and e-commerce, U.S. Polo Assn. offers apparel for men, women and children, as well as accessories, footwear, travel and home goods in 190 countries worldwide. Recently ranked the fifth largest sports licensor in License Global magazine’s 2020 list of “Top 150 Global Licensors,” U.S. Polo Assn. is named alongside such iconic sports brands as the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Visit uspoloassnglobal.com.

USPA Global Licensing Inc. (USPAGL) is the for-profit subsidiary of the USPA and its exclusive worldwide licensor. USPAGL manages the global, multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand and is the steward of the USPA’s intellectual properties, providing the sport with a long-term source of revenue. Through its subsidiary, Global Polo Entertainment (GPE), USPAGL also manages Global Polo TV the world’s leading production entity for global polo broadcasts and polo lifestyle content. Learn more at globalpolo.com.

For further information contact:
Stacey Kovalsky – Senior Director, Global Communications
Phone +001.561.790.8036 – Email: skovalsky@uspagl.com

Related Images

Image 1: U.S. Polo Assn.

U.S. Polo Assn.

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• U.S. Polo Assn.