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Human Metapneumovirus: What is it? What You Should Know About the Virus that Slipped through Everyone’s Notice

Posted on June 1, 2023June 4, 2023 by Admin

Discover the elusive Human Metapneumovirus: Learn about this unnoticed respiratory virus and stay informed about its risks and symptoms.

Everyone was focused on diseases like flu and RSV during the winter months However, Americans may have missed a vital pathogen called Human metapneumovirus, also known as hMPV.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week announced an increase in the number of cases of hMPV across the country during the season of winter and spring experts believe this could be due to an increase in people’s capacity to detect different viruses.

Dr. Rick Malley, an infectious disease expert at Boston Children’s Hospital, stated that “there is a much greater focus on identifying the cause of (infections) than we’ve ever had.”

He attributes that focus to the COVID-19 epidemic.

I think that you’re hearing more about this particular virus because the importance of other viruses and the diseases they cause have diminished, the speaker continued.

This article will provide all the information you need regarding the virus-causing respiratory illness that was through the air this year with regard to symptoms and transmission and treatment.

What is Human Metapneumovirus, also known as hMPV?

Human metapneumovirus, also known as hMPV, is an infection that is affecting those with the respiratory and respiratory tract in the words of the CDC. While it can affect anyone of all ages, the agency declares that young children, elderly adults, and those with weak immune systems are more at risk.

According to the CDC, HMPV is a member of the Pneumoviridae family, which also includes breathing syncytial viruses, and was first discovered in 2001.

Human Metapneumovirus is just the Result of a Cold? What are the Symptoms of hMPV?

The American Lung Association states that mild symptoms resembling a cold are the norm for people with hMPV. For healthy people, symptoms typically last two to five days and disappear on their own.

The CDC suggests that the most common symptoms are:

Cough
Fever
Nasal congestion
Breathlessness

Young children, elderly adults, and those who have weak immune systems are at a higher risk of getting more severe illnesses and can suffer from asthmatic wheezing, breathing difficulties, and the occurrence of asthma-related flare-ups.

The American Lung Association reported that secondary illnesses, such as bronchiolitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia, can also be present and may require medical attention.

Read, FDA Approves Paxlovid for High-Risk Adult Covid Treatment

What is the Human Metapneumovirus Spread?

As with other respiratory viruses, hMPV is typically spread from person to person via:

Contact with an infected person
Coughing
Sneezing
In the event of touching objects, you’ll get the virus

The CDC states that this virus is most likely to spread in the winter and spring, just like RSV, the flu RSV and cold-related viruses.

Do you require Antibiotics to Treat Human Metapneumovirus?

There is no treatment for antiviral for hMPV or a vaccine to stop the infection according to the CDC.

Because symptoms of hMPV typically resolve without treatment, however, they are not a cause for concern. American Lung Association says treatment generally consists of medications available over-the-counter to manage fever, pain, and congestion.

Medical attention is recommended for patients who experience more severe symptoms, such as wheezing. A doctor can prescribe an inhaler for a short period and steroids as per the American Lung Association.

Malley explained that antibiotics are used to treat infections caused by bacteria, but not viral ones. However, HMPV is associated with an increased risk of developing pneumonia caused by bacterial bacteria, which doctors typically treat with antibiotics.

“This virus may be a very important co-conspirator in causing pneumonia, particularly pneumococcal pneumonia,” the physician stated. “Just because a person has a virus doesn’t necessarily mean that there isn’t a bacterium nearby.”

Read, AstraZeneca’s COVID Antibody Protects Immune-Compromised

ABI Research: 220M NLC Units to Illuminate Smart Buildings by 2030

Posted on May 19, 2023June 11, 2023 by Admin

Network Lighting Control (NLC) predicts to play an important role in the design of smart buildings. This is particularly relevant when stakeholders, such as energy companies, building owners, and regulators, aim to enhance building performance. Additionally, it holds significance in improving the overall appeal of buildings, making it an important consideration for these stakeholders.

According to a report from ABI Research, the deployment of connected equipment in smart buildings is expected to reach nearly 20 million by the year 2030. This represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.6 percent, highlighting the significant growth potential in this sector.

NLC allows for intelligent control and control of lighting systems in buildings and provides additional benefits when paired with LED light.

Integrating lighting control and sensors to monitor light levels and occupancy levels increases the efficiency of energy. This integration also brings advantages in terms of occupant comfort and safety. Additionally, it enables efficient use of space and enhances the overall aesthetics of the building.

The growing use of wireless connectivity also facilitates the acceptance of NLC in buildings of all sizes and shapes.

Jonathan Collins, Research Director for Smart Homes and Buildings at ABI Research, emphasizes the importance of smart lighting to be a first purchase in the smart building market noting its widespread use for commercial buildings.

With a range of dynamic offerings and simplified installation and maintenance processes, NLC is expanding the capabilities of smart buildings. Collins adds, “This expansion goes beyond large-scale or high-profile projects, making NLC accessible to a wider range of building types and sizes.”

Different market players, such as established lighting companies like Signify as well as Acuity Brands — as additionally NLC providers such as Casambi, Enlighted, INGY, Silvair, and Wirepas and Wirepas — are harnessing wireless technology to accelerate the use of NLC in construction and retrofitting projects.

The installation, configuration, and reconfiguration of NLC systems are now performed by engineers using smartphones. This eliminates the need for dedicated network cabling and complicated topologies traditionally associated with such installations.

However, there is a problem with the NLC market. It is currently a split landscape that includes multiple methods and ecosystems of vendors. The fragmented nature of the market poses challenges in terms of standardization and compatibility among different NLC systems and providers.

Despite the ongoing efforts to build unifying ecosystems for NLC clients, they still face the challenge. This challenge involves evaluating various techniques, methods, and solutions to determine the most suitable options.

Their objective is to determine the optimal solution that meets their current and future smart building needs. This process involves carefully assessing and comparing different options to make an informed decision.

This study (paywall) from ABI Research provides valuable insights into the NLC market and outlines the new opportunities for intelligent lighting for buildings.

Over 2M Websites at Risk: New Cyber Threat in Popular WordPress Plugin

Posted on May 10, 2023June 11, 2023 by Admin

“According to the latest event, researchers have discovered that certain cyber attacks can exploit the latest version of WordPress. Authorities have asked users of the Advanced Custom Fields plugin for WordPress to update. They urged to make the update to version 6.1.6 of WordPress.”

WordPress, a widely used CMS is a free and open-source CMS written in hypertext preprocessor language and coupled with a MySQL or MariaDB database. WordPress, which powers 43% of the web, updates itself yearly as a content management system (CMS).

Also Read, Halcyon Gets $50M Fund for Anti-Ransomware Tool Development

According to the latest event, researchers have discovered that certain cyber attacks can exploit the latest version of WordPress. Authorities have asked users of the Advanced Custom Fields plugin for WordPress to update. They urged to make the update to version 6.1.6 of WordPress.

The vulnerability, known as CVE-2023-30777, represents a case of reflected cross-site scripting (XSS). Malicious actors can exploit this vulnerability to inject absurd executable scripts into otherwise benign websites.

Users have installed the Advanced Custom Fields plugin, available in both pro and free versions, more than two million times. Security researchers discovered and reported the vulnerability to the WordPress team on May 2, 2023.

Patchstack researcher Rafie Muhammad said, “This vulnerability allows any unauthenticated user to steal sensitive information. In this case, the vulnerability enables privilege escalation on the WordPress site by tricking a privileged user into visiting the crafted URL path.”

Users can experience reflected XSS cyber attacks when they unknowingly click on a fake link sent through email or other means, such as messages. This action allows malicious code to infiltrate the vulnerable website, which then reflects the attack back to the user’s browser.

Imperva, a cyber security leader notes, “[A reflected XSS attack] is typically a result of incoming requests not being sufficiently sanitized, which allows for the manipulation of a web application’s functions and the activation of malicious scripts,”

It is worth noting that the vulnerability CVE-2023-30777 can start on the configuration of Advanced Custom Fields or on a default installation. However, only logged-in accounts with plugin access can perform this task.

US Manufacturing Sector Drops for 6th Month in a Row – April Report

Posted on May 10, 2023June 11, 2023 by Admin

“US Manufacturing Sector fell to a three-year low in April, as new orders increased slightly and employment recovered, The Institute for Supply Management, Arizona, USA, said on Monday that its manufacturing PMI reading was 47.1 in April which was 46.3 in March, though it was the lowest reading since May 2020.

US Manufacturing Sector fell to a three-year low in April, as new orders increased slightly and employment recovered, but activity remained weak during higher borrowing costs and rigid credit, raising the risk of a recession in 2023.

Also Read, General Motors Halts Bolt Production to Accelerate Latest EV Models

The Institute for Supply Management, Arizona, USA, said on Monday that its manufacturing PMI reading was 47.1 in April which was 46.3 in March, though it was the lowest reading since May 2020. Reuters polled economists, who predicted the index would rise to 46.8.

The Federal Reserve’s fastest interest rate hike campaign since the 1980s is weighing on the sector, which accounts for 11.3% of the economy.

The PMI stayed below the 50-point threshold for the sixth straight month, showing manufacturing contraction.

Following the recent financial market turmoil, banks have tightened lending. Additionally, spending has shifted away from goods, typically purchased on credit, and towards services.

Businesses are reducing restocking in preparation for lower demand later this year. According to government data released last week, private inventory investment dropped in the first quarter. This decline marks the first time since the third quarter of 2021. Corporate spending on equipment fell for the second quarter in a row. This decline played a role in limiting economic growth to 1.1% last quarter.

Despite easing inflation, underlying pressures on prices persist at levels that are not in line with the Fed’s 2% target. One major contributor to this is the tightness in the labor market.

The index of factory employment in the survey rose to 50.2 the previous month from 46.9 in March. Manufacturing payrolls have essentially stalled in the government’s closely monitored employment report, posting modest decreases in February and March.

Torpago Launches ‘Powered By’ Program to Empower Financial Institutions

Posted on May 8, 2023June 11, 2023 by Admin

“Torpago, a California-based business credit card and expense management platform provider, has unveiled a private-label credit card program named Powered By empowering credit unions and community banks to launch their custom, branded, end-to-end corporate credit card product.”

Credit cards have been a successful financial instrument for financial institutions worldwide. There are multiple players in the business of credit cards offering economic benefits whether you use them nationwide or globally.

Also Read, US-based BCU Bank Unveils Mymo Financial Empowerment Tool

Seeking a vast opportunity in this niche, Torpago, a California-based business credit card and expense management platform provider, has unveiled a private-label credit card program named Powered By empowering credit unions and community banks to launch their custom, branded, end-to-end corporate credit card product.

Brent Jackson, Founder and CEO of Torpago said, “We are constantly listening to our customers and quickly recognized that this was a huge need in the banking industry. The core of everything we do is identifying big problems and creating smart solutions. We initially built Torpago for two purposes. First, we designed it to address the widespread lack of modern accounting solutions for medium and small businesses. Second, it aimed to tackle the absence of efficient expense management solutions for the same businesses. Launching Powered By was the next evolution in doing what we do best.”

Torpago has brought its program to solve the challenges credit unions and local banks often face with current third-party cards. It achieves this by offering three key features. The first feature is customer service support. The second feature is a modern platform that follows the card. The third feature is visibility into the organization’s spending data.

We have efficiently designed the program for two purposes. First, it aims to aid local banks and credit unions. Second, it helps them in keeping their business customers served as their operations grow.

Powered By seeks to level the playing field in the banking industry by enabling community banks and credit unions to provide innovative options to customers, including small businesses and enterprise-level corporations.

It also reaches small businesses and customers of banks in more traditional industries, which FinTech firms frequently overlook.

Google’s Motion to Disprove Advertising Antitrust Case Denied by US Judge

Posted on May 4, 2023June 11, 2023 by Admin

“The US government filed the ad tech lawsuit in January and has argued that Google should sell its ad manager suite, taking the route of the court. The tech company has refused any wrongdoing.”

On Friday, a federal judge in the USA rejected Google’s motion to dismiss a Department of Justice antitrust case. The judge claimed that the government’s case was strong enough to proceed.

Also Read, VMware Merges Aria and Tanzu Kubernetes, Updates Guardrails and ESG Visibility

The US government filed the ad tech lawsuit in January and has argued that Google should sell its ad manager suite, taking the route of the court. The tech company has refused any wrongdoing.

The company Google has made the latest attempt to end time-consuming and costly antitrust lawsuits by filing a motion. Additionally, Google has requested Washington’s federal court to dismiss the claims made in a 2020 lawsuit filed by the government.

Eric Mahr argued for Google. Mahr stated that the Justice Department failed to allege a high enough market share, specifically 70% of the hard market power of Google.

Judge Leonie Brinkema said in a federal court in Virginia, “I’m going to deny the defendant’s motion to dismiss,”. Google is a unit of Alphabet Inc. Mahr argued that the government had reviewed Google’s deals to buy DoubleClick and Admeld, both more than 10 years ago, to increase its clout in ad tech. However, there were factors beyond market share to consider, such as whether a company engaged in “rapacious conduct”. Mahr’s argument was countered by the government, which admitted it had made a mistake.”

Eric Mahr argued for the company. He argued that the Justice Department could not present evidence that advertisers suffered any financial damage due to Google’s action. He mentioned that the government erroneously excluded Facebook and others from its definition of the market. Eric Mahr referred to Facebook and others as “obvious substitutes.”

General Motors Halts Bolt Production to Accelerate Latest EV Models

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Admin

“General Motors aims to produce 70,000 Bolt models in 2023. The company plans to sell over 400,000 EVs in North America from early 2022 through mid-next year.”

In an announcement, General Motors CEO Mar Barra said the company plans to stop production of its electric Chevrolet Bolt models by the end of 2023.

Also Read, Explorer EV – Ford New Electric Vehicle in European Market

The CEO announced that they would refurbish a suburban Detroit plant. The plant has been producing Chevy Bolts since 2016. The company will prepare it for the production of electric Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks scheduled for next year.

General Motors aims to produce 70,000 Bolt models in 2023. The company plans to sell over 400,000 EVs in North America from early 2022 through mid-next year.

General Motors pushed the production of Bolt ahead of the Tesla Model 3 in 2016. Bolt and Tesla were thought to be the first long-range electric vehicles (EVs) for mainstream drivers. Their prices start at around $35,000.

But Bolt models never stood on sales expectations of the company, as EV sales remained very low against Tesla. The Bolt also had a hitch recently, as General Motors recalled all of the bolts ever produced because of an issue with a supplier-related battery that used to catch several fires.

“When the Chevrolet Bolt EV launched, it was a huge technical achievement and the first affordable EV, which set in motion GM’s all-electric future,” Chevy spokesman Cody Williams said in a statement. Chevrolet will launch several new EVs later this year based on the Ultium platform in key segments, including the Silverado EV, Blazer EV, and Equinox EV.”

GM anticipates launching its upcoming electric vehicles more quickly than it has Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq models. The Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq models have been rolling out at a slow pace compared to their traditional vehicles.

US-based BCU Bank Unveils Mymo Financial Empowerment Tool

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Admin

“Using mymo, BCU will enable its customers to have access to a wide array of powerful money management tools. Customers will also have access to financial wellness tools. This will allow users to keep real-time track of their spending and budgeting all in one place. This leads to better financial empowerment.”

BCU Bank, a banking organization based in Illinois, US has unrolled a new personal financial tool named “mymo” by BCU. Frollo built the new financial empowerment tool for individuals, which was unveiled under the Consumer Data Right (CDR) Scheme of the Australian Government as part of Open Banking.

Also Read, VeUP Acquires M3 Payments in Latest Fund Series

Using mymo, BCU will enable its customers to have access to a wide array of powerful money management tools. Customers will also have access to financial wellness tools. This will allow users to keep real-time track of their spending and budgeting all in one place. This leads to better financial empowerment.

BCU Bank, General Manager, Mark Smyth said, “Through our research, we know most of our customers give themselves a pass mark for financial literacy; but they don’t have the intimate knowledge around what they should and shouldn’t be looking for. Using mymo by BCU, our customers will be able to keep a better track of their spending, goals, and budgeting to achieve financial empowerment.”

The financial tool comprises features that will help consumers make their money more worthwhile for them. The tool links a consumer’s account throughout all financial institutions safely and securely in one place. Mymo also provides consumers with a complete scenario of their finances intrigued with personalized insights and reminders. This helps them take control of their budget and achieve their financial goals faster.

Frollo CEO, Tony Thrassis said, “We recognize that financial well-being tools are an essential component of the modern digital banking experience. We believe that Open Banking is the key to providing customers with a comprehensive view of their finances.”

“We are thrilled to collaborate with BCU and deliver even more value to its customers by leveraging Open Banking’s potential.”

Halcyon Gets $50M Fund for Anti-Ransomware Tool Development

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Admin

“The startup said the Series A funding was led by SYN Ventures, a renowned investment company that gives early-stage funding to cybersecurity companies. Halcyon also took on equity investments from Corner Capital and Dell Technologies Capital.”

Halcyon, a startup based in Texas, US, developing an anti-ransomware engine powered by AI that will help companies ward off data extortion attacks, has got $50 million in funding from known venture capital investors.

Also Read, CISA Launch Open-Source Tool to Detect Microsoft Cloud Hacking

The startup said the Series A funding was led by SYN Ventures, a renowned investment company that gives early-stage funding to cybersecurity companies. Halcyon also took on equity investments from Corner Capital and Dell Technologies Capital.

The new funding gives a boost to Halcyon to accelerate the development and adoption of what it is calling a “cyber resilience platform” built to defeat extortion and ransomware campaigns.

Halcyon is marketing a platform that ensures a multi-layered approach to defeat ransomware and it is developed using a lightweight engine that merges prevention engines with AI models trained solely on ransomware.

Pre-execution ransomware prevention is a feature that uses AI/ML engines to identify and avoid any known bad executables such as off-the-shelf commodity ransomware and forwards unknown but skeptical executables to the extra security layers for further analysis.

Jon Miller, the Co-Founder, of Halcyon, said, “We engineered to embrace failure as a core concept of protection. Stopping ransomware requires multiple prevention and detection techniques, all trained extensively on years of actual ransomware attacks.”

Halcyon has also provided features to trick ransomware into revealing or aborting the attack by exploiting features hardcoded in the ransomware itself.

VMware Merges Aria and Tanzu Kubernetes, Updates Guardrails and ESG Visibility

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Admin

“The company’s updates to its medley of modern apps comprise the Tanzu Application Platform (TAP) 1.5 and modified Aria multi-cloud management suite. Significant updates in the assortment of apps include Aria Guardrails and a social, environmental, and governance (ESG) dashboard.”

VMware, the California-based cloud computing and virtualization company is merging its Tanzu Kubernetes and Aria multi-cloud management portfolios to speed up application development, optimize these applications and operate them at scale.

Also Read, How Artificial Intelligence Can Transform PR Industry

The company’s updates to its medley of modern apps comprise the Tanzu Application Platform (TAP) 1.5 and the modified Aria multi-cloud management suite.

Significant updates in the assortment of apps include Aria Guardrails and a social, environmental, and governance (ESG) dashboard. The company is looking forward to accelerating and optimizing the application lifecycle.

The Tanzu Application Platform 1.5 brings an application acceleration tool that offers predefined templates. These templates are for developers who look for free application support. This allows them to concentrate on building and monitoring code.

Updates of TAP 1.5 have empowered IT professionals to manage K8s environments at scale. Interoperability between Aria and Tanzu improves the view of developers for apps and data as well. In the beta version, the developers have unrolled AriaGuardrails and have given positive feedback on its capabilities.

The ESG dashboard provides significant support to teams in identifying areas where shareholder investments and environmental impact can directly connect. Aria Operations, the cloud computing company, has been updated. The update includes the addition of a “green score” feature that helps companies track their decarbonization and sustainability efforts and development over time. This helps executives find a better view of their company’s ESG efforts.

AstraZeneca’s COVID Antibody Protects Immune-Compromised

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Admin

“AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnological company based at Cambridge Biomedical Campus in England, is confident that its new version of COVID-19 antibody treatment is capable of protecting immunocompromised patients against all marked virus variants.”

During the first wave of COVID, many companies proposed their own version of COVID vaccines and AstraZeneca is one of them. It is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnological company based at Cambridge Biomedical Campus in England.

Also Read, Insomnia and Sleep Apnea like Sleep Disorders Increase in Women with MS

The pharma company has developed a new version of COVID-19 antibody treatment. The company is confident that this new treatment is capable of protecting immunocompromised patients against all marked virus variants.

According to reports, the company plans to make its antibody available by the end of 2023. This is because of pending regulatory approval and the need for more positive data.

Iskra Reic, Executive Vice President, said, “Laboratory studies show the antibody, called AZD3152, neutralizes all known variants of COVID-19 and AstraZeneca has support from regulators to make the treatment available by the end of this year”

Antibody therapies have become a must for people whose immune systems are compromised. This can be due to undergoing immunosuppressive treatments or having underlying health conditions. These people account for approx 2 percent of the global population.

January 2023, the U.S. health regulator revoked the emergency use authorization of the pharma company’s original COVID-19 antibody cocktail, Evusheld. The reason cited for the revocation was the emergence of new dominant variants of the virus.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration‘s (FDA) decision matched the concerns which were raised by the health regulator of Europe.

The multinational pharma company developed a new COVID-19 antibody called AZD3152. Last year, the British biotech startup RQ Bio acquired AZD3152 in a deal worth $157 million.

Iskra Reic also said, “Iskra Reic also said, “The British drugmaker will likely make future investments like its current partnerships with RQ Bio. However, the company did not have any deals to announce at present.”

Amazon Launches New AI Tools to Compete with Tech Giants

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Admin

“Amazon Web Service brings Bedrock, a service that will enable firms to customize their foundation models- the core AI technologies that perform things like answering queries with human-like text or generate images instantly with their own data to develop a unique model.”

AWS, the cloud computing division of Amazon Inc on Thursday unveiled a suite of technologies focused on helping other organizations launch their own chatbots and image-generation services powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Also Read, NBA Warns Fans of Cyber Attack and Data Breach

Alphabet aka Google and Microsoft are adding AI-powered chatbots to consumer products similar to search engines, but these companies are also looking forward to building another huge market by selling the underlying technology to other organizations and firms through their cloud operations.

AWS, the world’s largest cloud computing service provider, joined the big fat competition by introducing its own proprietary AI technologies, but with a different approach.

Amazon Web Service brings Bedrock, a service that will enable firms to customize their foundation models- the core AI technologies that perform things like answering queries with human-like text or generating images instantly with their own data to develop a unique model.

For instance, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT offers a similar type of service in which it allows its customers to improve the models behind ChatGPT to build a custom chatbot.

Vasi Philomin, Vice President of Generative AI at AWS, said, “It’s unneeded complexity from the perspective of the user. Behind the scenes, we can abstract that away.”

The Bedrock service from AWS will allow its customers to use its own proprietary foundation models named Amazon Titan, but it will also provide a comprehensive list of models provided by other companies. Along with Amazon-owned models, the first third-party offer will come from Anthropic, AI21 Labs, and Stability AI.

The Bedrock service from Amazon Web Service will empower its consumers to test those technologies without interacting with the underlying data center servers.

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