Chicago Stars FC today announced that interim head coach, Masaki Hemmi, will be departing the club to pursue other opportunities, effective July 3. Assistant coach, Ella Masar, will serve as interim head coach while the Chicago Stars secure a new head coach.
“I’m incredibly grateful for my time with the Chicago Stars and the opportunity to work alongside such talented players and staff,” said Masaki Hemmi. “While it’s bittersweet to be leaving, the club has a bright future ahead. I’ll forever be thankful for the time I had with Chicago Stars FC.”
“We thank Masaki Hemmi for stepping up as interim head coach and working tirelessly to bring out the best in our players,” said Chicago Stars general manager, Richard Feuz. “While we are grateful for his time and dedication to the club, we fully support him taking the next step in his coaching career. We wish him much success as he pursues this exciting opportunity.”
Chicago Stars FC has been carrying out an extensive head coach search since parting ways with Lorne Donaldson in May.
“We are well underway in our thorough head coaching search,” said Chicago Stars FC president, Karen Leetzow. “We have narrowed down the candidate pool and expect to appoint a new head coach soon. While we have a lot of building ahead, we look forward to turning the page to the second half of our season and starting a new chapter for the team.”
Hemmi joined the club in 2024 as first assistant coach, helping lead the Chicago Stars’ return to the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) playoffs after the club finished at the bottom of the NWSL table in 2023. After a 1-5-0 start to the 2025 NWSL regular season landing the Chicago Stars back at the bottom of the table, Hemmi stepped in as interim head coach April 30. Under Hemmi, the Stars maintained a 0-4-3 record, improving to 13th place in the table with a 1-9-3 overall record heading into the NWSL midseason break. Prior to becoming the first Japanese head coach in the NWSL, acting or otherwise, Hemmi served as director of player personnel and first assistant coach at United Soccer League club, New Mexico United, from 2022-2023. Hemmi also spent time as an associate head coach preparing players for the Tokyo Olympics at Japanese side, INAC Kobe of the WE League, in 2021.
A former Chicago Star herself, Ella Masar begins her second stint as interim head coach for the club, previously serving as acting head coach at the end of the 2023 season. Masar will continue working closely with assistant coaches, Karina Báez and Brenton Saylor, as the trio remains focused on leadership and stability prior to a permanent head coach being named. Masar has spent more than two decades in professional soccer as a player and coach, joining the Chicago Stars as an assistant coach in January 2023. Most recently, Masar was selected to join the United States Women’s National Team coaching staff for the April international window.
The Chicago Stars would like to thank Masaki Hemmi for devotion to the club and the players throughout his time as both assistant and interim head coach, and wish him all best in his future endeavors.
LONDON (Reuters) -Trading of derivatives contracts that provide investors with protection against UK company defaults jumped almost 50% in the first quarter of 2025 to more than $2 trillion, an International Swaps and Derivatives Association report showed on Tuesday.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Credit default swaps trading reported in the UK rose by 47% to $2.3 trillion, from $1.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, trade body ISDA reported.
The volume of insurance protection investors took out on UK corporate bonds in the first quarter illustrates the scale of unease ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping import tariffs on April 2.
While a UK/U.S. trade deal has since been signed, tariff uncertainty is a headwind for corporates globally as a July 9 U.S. deadline for other countries to strike deals looms.
The effective U.S. tariff rate based on announced policies has climbed to 13% from 3% at the start of the year, Goldman Sachs analysts said last week.
Even if some of the harshest levies are rolled back, higher effective tariffs this year could still drive up inflation and cut into company profits and consumer spending.
KEY QUOTE
“Single-name CDS activity was particularly prevalent in the UK, making up 98% of European traded notional, compared to 2% in the EU,” the ISDA report said.
This week, trade tensions topped a list of investor concerns alongside deepening worries over a potential global recession, a Bank of America investor survey showed on Monday.
BY THE NUMBERS
Notional European CDS trading rose 28% to $3 trillion in the first quarter compared to $2.3 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, driven by heightened activity in index CDS, ISDA said.
UK-reported trades represented roughly 75% of total European CDS notional trading, and almost 82% of the total trade count, while the EU accounted for around 25% and 18%, respectively, the report said.
GRAPHIC
(Reporting by Nell Mackenzie. Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Mark Potter)
Using real-time DNA sequencing, scientists can now detect bacterial pathogens in corneal ulcers without the need for traditional corneal scraping. (Image credit: AdobeStock/Vitalii Vodolazskyi)
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have identified in a new study a novel, noninvasive method for diagnosing bacterial corneal ulcers, a serious ophthalmologic condition that can lead to vision loss.1
Corneal ulcers, primarily caused by microbial keratitis, represent a global health challenge, contributing to up to 2 million cases of blindness annually. Current diagnostic methods rely on corneal scraping and culturing, which are invasive, time-consuming, and often yield false-negative results.1
“This work has the potential to redefine the diagnostic standard of care for corneal ulcers,” said Mathieu Bakhoum, MD, PhD, assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual science and senior author of the study. “Timely and targeted treatment prevents ulcer progression, reduces broad-spectrum antibiotic use, and diminishes the downstream need for surgical interventions.”
In a study published in Translational Vision Science and Technology, the Yale team used samples from 10 patients with bacterial corneal ulcers to compare traditional scrape-based culture diagnostics with nanopore-based DNA sequencing performed on tear samples using Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ portable MinION sequencer.1
“We were able to show that we can amplify the 16S rRNA bacterial gene directly from tears—bypassing both corneal scraping and nucleic-acid extraction—and obtain real-time, species-level identification using a handheld sequencer,” Backhoum said.
Researchers report the nanopore sequencing matched traditional cultures in all cases where the culture identified bacterial pathogens, and even detected bacteria in 2 cases where cultures were inconclusive. The Yale team said the sequencing of tears provided results in hours, compared with days for traditional culture-based methods.
Further research is needed to validate the technique across diverse pathogens and populations. Researchers said faster turnaround times in corneal ulcer diagnosis could reduce delays in treatment and result in better outcomes and less vision loss worldwide.
The research was supported by a grant from the Connecticut Lions Eye Research Foundation.
Reference
Dibbs M, Matesva M, Theotoka D, et al. A tear-based approach for rapid identification of bacterial pathogens in corneal ulcers using nanopore sequencing. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2025;14(4):19. doi:10.1167/tvst.14.4.19
14th over: England 109-4 (Jones 32, Capsey 5) Jones is moving through the gears. She punishes two low full tosses from Deepti, carting both between deep square and deep midwicket for four.
Thirteen runs from the over, which is pretty much what Ehgland need from hereon in.
13th over: England 96-4 (Jones 21, Capsey 4) Jones turns a poor over for England into an okay one, swiping Reedy’s final ball over wide mid-on for four. That’s a really classy shot. But England still need 86 from 42 balls to win.
12th over: England 89-4 (Jones 16, Capsey 1) It was an outstanding piece of fielding from Sneh Rana to get rid of Beaumont. First she made an excellent sprawling stop at backward point; then she had the awareness and strength to fire the throw into Yadav despite being off balance. Great frielding.
WICKET! England 87-4 (Beaumont run out 54)
Gone! Beaumont hesitates for a split-second over a single to point, and that proves fatal when Rana’s throw is well taken on the bounce by the bowler Yadav. She breaks the stumps with Beaumont short of her ground despite a desperate dive.
Fifty from Tammy Beaumont
11th over: England 82-3 (Beaumont 50, Jones 14) Urgh, apologies, we are having more technical problems. Beaumont has just worked Charani for a single to bring up a highly skilful half-century, her first in a T2o international for four years, from 33 balls.
Drinks: England need 106 from 60 balls
10th over: England 76-3 (Beaumont 45, Jones 13) Tammy Beaumont is dragging England back into this game. She lashes three successive boundaries off Rana, the best a beautiful ping over cover point. Rana’s first over cost 1; the second has gone for 16. Time for drinks.
9th over: England 60-3 (Beaumont 30, Jones 13) Beaumont is dropped, a very tough return chance to the bowler Amanjot. That looked extremely painful, and Amanjot needs to take a moment before finishing her over.
Beaumont skips down to chip stylishly down the ground for four. She looks in excellent touch. Jones, who has taken a bit longer to get going, pulls firmly for her first boundary with the aid of a misfield on the boundary sponge.
8th over: England 48-3 (Beaumont 24, Jones 8) The offspinner Sneh Rana becomes the sixth bowler of the innings in just the eighth over. We’re having a few technical problems but the bald numbers suggest a superb start – only one run from the over. England need 134 from 72 balls.
7th over: England 47-3 (Beaumont 23, Jones 8) On comes Radha Yadav, another left-arm spinner, and Beaumont drags a sweep round the corner for four. It’s a no-ball, too, which means a free hit. Beaumont takes advantage, wiping the first six of the innings into the crowd at long-on.
It’s rare for a bowler to end an over strongly and concede 15, but that’s what happens here: 12 from the first two (legal) deliveries, three from the last four.
6th over: England 32-3 (Beaumont 11, Jones 6) Deepti Sharma completes a triumphant Powerplay – for her and India – with an over that yields six singles.
At the same stage India were 35 for 3 so it’s pretty much neck and neck. Right?
5th over: England 26-3 (Beaumont 8, Jones 3) Heather Knight, who has been as good as you’d expect in the Sky commentary box, says England will be encouraged by the pattern of India’s innings and that a required rate of 10 per over won’t concern them, even with so many overs left.
Tammy Beaumont wipes four off the requirement with her first boundary, panned through the covers off the new bowler Arundhati Reddy.
4th over: England 19-3 (Beaumont 2, Jones 2) England need – gulp – 163 from 16 overs.
WICKET! England 17-3 (Sciver-Brunt c Harmanpreet b Amanjot 13)
And it’s goodnight from England. Amanjot Kaur, who is having a wonderful night, gets some extra bounce to Sciver-Brunt, who flat-bats the ball to Harmanpreet at mid-on. That feels like the killer blow, even with more than 16 overs remaining.
Amanjot Kaur celebrates after taking the wicket of Nat Sciver-Brunt. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/Reuters
3rd over: England 16-2 (Sciver-Brunt 13, Beaumont 1) Shree Charani, the left-arm spinner who took four for 12 on debut at Trent Bridge, comes into the attack. Sciver-Brunt, who is so good at staying in her bubble regardless of the match situation, gets England up and running with three boundaries in the over: a lofted drive, a flick-pull and a dragged sweep through mid-on. She’s a genius, the end.
2nd over: England 4-2 (Sciver-Brunt 1, Beaumont 1) A very full ball from Deepti leads to an LBW appeal against Sciver-Brunt, but it was going down and Deepti was signalling as much almost before the umpire said not out.
WICKET! England 2-2 (Wyatt-Hodge c Harmanpreet b Deepti 1)
It is happening again. Wyatt-Hodge whirls Deepti Sharma’s first ball straight to mid-off, and England are two for two after losing two wickets in two balls. I doubt even Richie Benaud could make a virtue of that position.
What a start from India! Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/Reuters
1st over: England 2-1 (Wyatt-Hodge 1, Sciver-Brunt 0) That was the last ball of the over.
WICKET! England 2-1 (Dunkley run out 1)
A nightmare start for England. Dunkley sets off for a tight single to mid-off and is rightly sent back. But by then it’s already too late: Ghosh collects Deepti’s fast throw and breaks the stumps to give India a perfect start.
Sophia Dunkley is run out! Photograph: Nigel French/PA
It’s a very short turnaround between innings, so short that England’s runchase is about to begin.
England need 182 to win
20th over: India 181-4 (Amanjot 63, Ghosh 32) Amanjot and Ghosh completes a stunning fightback with three boundaries between them in Em Arlott’s final over of the innings. My word, that was devastating stuff: India scored 117 from the last 10 overs and 143 from the last 13.
19th over: India 168-4 (Amanjot 58, Ghosh 24) Despite another boundary from Amanjot, Bell’s penultimate over is a good one for England – eight from it, and she finishes with outstanding figures of 4-0-17-2.
18th over: India 160-4 (Amanjot 52, Ghosh 22) Ghosh thrases successive boundaries off Ecclestone, the second a savage blow through backward point. Nine from the over, which isn’t too bad in the circumstances, and Ecclestone finishes with 4-0-30-0.
Fifty for Amanjot Kaur
17th over: India 151-4 (Amanjot 52, Ghosh 13) This is starting to get very messy for England. Ghosh reverse sweeps for four, then top-edges a sweep straight to Beaumont… who drops a pretty simple catch.
A gorgeous drive through extra cover brings up Amanjot’s fifty, a high-class, perfectly paced innings: 35 balls, seven fours.
Linsey Smith is having another tough day: her figures are 3-0-37-0 in this game and 6-0-78-0 in the series.
Amanjot Kaur brings up her fifty. Photograph: Nigel French/PA
16th over: India 138-4 (Amanjot 45, Ghosh 7) Ghosh tries to pull Filer, is beaten for pace and top-edges a boundary over the head of Beaumont at short third. That could be a big moment because Ghosh can be devastating at the death.
Amanjot struck a more deliberate boundary earlier in the over, pulling meatily through backward square. She’s played beautifully.
15th over: India 126-4 (Amanjot 39, Ghosh 1) The new batter is the very dangerous Richa Ghosh. Nat Sciver-Brunt has just returned to the field; I must confess, amid the carnage I didn’t realise she’d gone off. No word yet as to why she did so.
WICKET! India 124-4 (Rodrigues c Dunkley b Bell 63)
Girl did England need that. Rodrigues cuffs a very wide slower ball into the covers, where Dunkley makes ground and swoops to her left to take an excellent two-handed catch.
Rodrigues gets a fine hand after a blistering knock: 63 from 41 balls, including 33 from the last 14. It was an excellent piece of bowling from Bell, who saw her Rodrigues moving across her stumps and changed her line accordingly.
Lauren Bell celebrates the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues. Photograph: Harry Trump/Getty Images
14th over: India 123-3 (Rodrigues 63, Amanjot 38) Amanjot guides Linsey Smith’s first ball carefully past backward point for four. Smith does well to make that the only boundary of the over – yet it still costs 10 in total. India, who were 38 for 3 after seven overs, have hit 85 for 0 in the last seven.
13th over: India 113-3 (Rodrigues 59, Amanjot 32) Amanjot continues a dramatic assault from India by hitting Ecclestone’s first two deliveries for four. The first was sliced uppishly and just cleared the diving backward point; the second was a firm sweep past short fine leg.
Amanjot and Rodrigues exchange singles before Amanjot slams a cut stroke for yet another boundary. This is remarkable stuff: India, who were behind the game at drinks, have hit 49 in three overs.
Jemimah Rodrigues strums a brilliant fifty
12th over: India 98-3 (Rodrigues 58, Amanjot 18) Rodrigues ramps Filer to move to 49, then takes two to reach a superb half-century from 33 balls. Never mind ramps, Rodrigues is rampant. She lofts four more over the solitary slip, then slashes the third boundary of the over.
Rodrigues has hit 28 off her last seven deliveries.
Jemimah Rodrigues reaches a phenomenal fifty runs. Photograph: Nigel French/PA
11th over: India 80-3 (Rodrigues 45, Amanjot 15) Rodrigues is hit on the helmet by Arlott, which leads to a break in play while she undergoes a concussion check. Rodrigues passes that, and proves she’s absolutely fine by smashing 14 off the last three balls of the over. What glorious batting: a drive over long-on for six, another over mid-off for four and then a sweep over backward square.
10th over: India 64-3 (Rodrigues 30, Amanjot 14) Another good, thrifty over from Ecclestone ends with a big-spinning delivery that beats Amanjot’s attempted sweep.
Time for drinks. England are on top at the quarter-way mark of the game, though not by that much.
9th over: India 61-3 (Rodrigues 28, Amanjot 13) Rodrigues had a bit of difficult against Filer’s short stuff, but that aside she has played beautifully. She hits her fourth four, making room to clobber Em Arlott back over her head.
The counter-attack has started; India have scored 23 from the last two overs.
8th over: India 52-3 (Rodrigues 21, Amanjot 11) Not such a good start for Linsey Smith, who is targeted from ball one. Rodrigues drives her classily over extra cover for four; Amanjot lofts an even better boundary over mid-off. Three singles and a three make it 14 from the over.
7th over: India 38-3 (Rodrigues 15, Amanjot 3) Sophie Ecclestone comes into the attack. Plenty of focus on here given recent events, and a difficult afternoon at Trent Bridge. She starts nicely, conceding three and having an appeal for LBW turned down against Rodrigues. Bat and pad were fairly close together but replays showed it came straight off the bat.
6th over: India 35-3 (Rodrigues 14, Amanjot 1) The new batter Amanjot Kaur tries to pull a short ball from Bell that zips past the top edge. England’s intensity in the field has been impressive, especially after such a flat performance on Saturday.
WICKET! India 31-3 (Harmanpreet c Filer b Bell 1)
The captain Harmanpreet is now the old batter. She has gone second ball, caught at short fine leg by Lauren Filer. It wasn’t the greatest piece of cricket: a poor ball from Lauren Bell, who celebrated sheepishly, a pull round the corner from Harmanpreet and an untidy catch from Filer. Untidy but clean: Harmanpreet has gone and England have taken three big wickets in the Powerplay.
Lauren Filer catches out Harmanpreet Kaur. Photograph: Nigel French/PA
5th over: India 31-2 (Rodrigues 12, Harmanpreet 1) The captain Harmanpreet is the new batter.
WICKET! India 30-2 (Mandhana c Bell b Arlott 13)
Never mind the ground fielding, England’s catching is much sharper as well! Mandhana clothed the new bowler Arlott towards mid-on, where Bell leapt backwards to take a brilliant two-handed catch.
Lauren Bell takes the catch to dismiss Smriti Mandhana. Photograph: Nigel French/PA
4th over: India 24-1 (Mandhana 13, Rodrigues 7) Rodrigues square-drives Filer with a flourish to score her first boundary. That was a rare full delivery in another aggressive over from Filer, who twice beat Rodrigues with short balls outside off stump.
This has been a good start from England, whose ground fielding has also looked much sharper than it did on Saturday.
3rd over: India 19-1 (Mandhana 13, Rodrigues 2) Lauren Bell, England’s best bowler by a distance at Trent Bridge, replaces Capsey. There’s some gentle inswing to the left-handed Mandhana, who punches a couple of drives without beating the infield. A good start from Bell, just two from the over.
2nd over: India 17-1 (Mandhana 12, Rodrigues 1) Jemima Rodridgues gets off the mark with a mistimed shot that lands safely on the leg side. Terrific start from Filer, who gave both Verma and Rodrigues the hurry-up.
WICKET! India 14-1 (Verma c Jones b Filer 3)
This is seriously good fast bowling from Lauren Filer. She beat the edge with a beauty, then rammed in a superb short ball that followed Verma, took the glove and was comfortably caught by Amy Jones.
Verma was on the walk, which only made life difficult as the ball roared towards her, but it would have been very tough to deal even if she’d stayed in her crease.
Lauren Filer celebrates taking the wicket of Shafali Verma. Photograph: Alex Davidson/ECB/Getty Images
1st over: India 11-0 (Mandhana 10, Verma 1) Smriti Mandhana picks up where she left off at Trent Bridge, hitting two elegant boundaries – one through the covers, one through point – in Alice Capsey’s first over. Eleven from the over, which makes Mandhana and Shafali Verma the most productive opening partnership in Women’s T20I history.
Time for the action. It’s a gorgeous evening in Bristol, warm without being oppressive. The TV commentators are discussing their surprise at England’s decision to bowl first.
Team news: England unchanged
England are unchanged, which gives their XI the chance to right Saturday’s wrongs.
India do change a winning side, but only to bring back their captain Harmanpreet Kaur in place of Harleen Deol.
England Dunkley, Wyatt-Hodge, Sciver-Brunt (c), Beaumont, Jones (wk), Capsey, Arlott, Ecclestone, Filer, Smith, Bell.
Bristol is cooler than much of the country, around 25 degrees, so England are happy to field first. The pitch looks very dry so there was a decent case for batting first, but most teams prefer to chase these days.
Harmanpreet back for India
The word is that Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who missed Saturday’s game because of a head injury, has been passed fit to return tonight.
Preamble
The road to success is never a straight line, but nobody expected England to veer so dramatically off course at the start of their T20 series against India. Nat Sciver-Brunt’s side were pulverised by 97 runs at Trent Bridge on Saturday, their heaviest T20 defeat, with the peerless Smriti Mandhana striking a glorious 112.
Adversity is usually a window into the soul of a person or a team. How England respond tonight, and for the rest of this five-match series, will increase our understanding of the journey that faces them: how far they have to travel, and how long it might take them.
Afro House titan, Black Coffee, has returned to Hï Ibiza for the 8th year, reaffirming his status as one of the island’s most powerful musical forces. We went along to investigate the magic behind the world’s number-one club’s very first resident – a title he’s carried with consistent class, curation, and cultural influence since the club opened its doors – to find out what tunes are burning up his dancefloor this summer.
Paying homage to Lazarus in the club room next door, Black Coffee announced his arrival in a blizzard of gold confetti, unleashing this hypnotic blend of tribal percussion, floaty melodic lines, and ethereal vocals. Meera’s remix transforms Lazarus’s original into a shamanic groove — cinematic, immersive, and deeply transportive.
Like Dat (Ape Drums Remix) | MAAURA & Danidane | Klub Record
Ape Drums injects this one with a pulsing buzz-saw lead and a high-octane swagger. The hook, “like dat, like dat” — loops like a mantra while razor-sharp percussion keeps the momentum. It’s stripped back, percussive, and built for late-night chaos, it absolutely lit up the crowd!
Innerbloom (Imad & Denis Louvra Remix) | Rufus Du Sol | Sweat It Out!
A personal favourite, and easily one of the most recognisable moments of the night. The Imad & Dennis Louvra remix delivered a delicate yet driving rework, lush pads, stripped-back grooves, and just the right emotional pull. Familiar, hands in the air, yet refreshing, it gave the dancefloor a collective goosebump-inducing and euphoric moment as the iconic lead synth swept the room.
Riviera | OBESTÄLLT| Sven Records
A slice of feel-good euphoria, Riviera rolls in with bouncy piano chords, a punchy kick, and irresistible groove. Strings glide in and build up with perfect timing, adding a lift without losing the track’s dancefloor focus. It’s crisp, confident, and got bodies moving, a no-frills, feel-good house cut with serious replay value.
Trippy Yeah | Jimi Jules & Black Coffee| Innervisions
Another late-night groover with a hypnotic edge. Trippy Yeah moves with intent, led by a gritty sawtooth synth and stripped-back percussion. A staple of many of Black Coffee’s sets, the drop doesn’t explode, but subtly distorts and deepens, pulling you further into the track’s atmosphere.
Yamore (FNX Omar Remix) | MoBlack, Salif Keïta, Cesária Évora, Benja (NL), Franc Fala | MoBlack Records
FNX Omar’s remix transforms the original into a spacious and immersive soundscape, blending shimmering textures with evolving melodies and precise, rhythmic loops. The track balances a bittersweet mood with reflective tones, inviting listeners into a deeply emotional and meditative experience. Pulsing basslines and dynamic shifts carry the mix forward, creating a powerful yet intimate journey for those of us knee-deep in the groove.
If you need your annual fix of Black Coffee’s magic, scroll down to find out who will be joining him for the remainder of this season.
Epilepsy is among the most common neurological conditions, marked by unpredictable seizures, accidents and injuries, reduced quality of life, stigma and-in the worst case-premature death.
But a program-developed over several years by a Case Western Reserve University-led research team-that teaches people with epilepsy how to “self-manage” their disorder is showing positive results.
The program has been found to help people with epilepsy reduce related health complications and improve their mood and quality of life, according to a new study recently published in the peer-reviewed journal, Epilepsy & Behavior.
Results of this study provide a model for broad and practical expansion of the program to people with epilepsy.”
Martha Sajatovic, the L. Douglas Lenkoski MD Professor in Psychiatry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Sajatovic, who co-led the study funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is also the Willard Brown Chair in Neurological Outcomes Research and director of the Neurological and Behavioral Outcomes Center at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. The study was also co-led by Gena Ghearing, formerly at the University of Iowa and now a professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Collaborators also included researchers at the University of Cincinnati.
Self-managing the disorder
Epilepsy is a chronic health condition triggered by abnormal electrical activity in the brain
in which individuals experience recurrent-and usually unpredictable-seizures. According to the CDC:
1.2% of the United States population has active epilepsy. That’s about 3 million adults and 470,000 children nationally.
Epilepsy can last a lifetime and may be triggered by events like stroke and traumatic brain injury.
Given that people with chronic health conditions often have limited contact with their healthcare providers, self-management interventions have gained increasing attention for their potential benefit.
In particular, how well epilepsy patients manage the condition depends on their daily behavior, such as consistently taking medication, proper nutrition, exercise, stress management and avoiding activities or triggers that can make it more likely for seizures to occur, such as being sleep-deprived.
With that in mind, the CDC’s Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) network has led the development, testing and growth of various successful epilepsy self-management approaches over the last dozen years.
Among them is a program Sajatovic and the Case Western Reserve team developed, called SMART, to support people with epilepsy who have experienced health complications, including poorly controlled seizures.
How it works
SMART features remote self-management training sessions for groups of six to 10 people with epilepsy. They meet by video conferencing for about an hour weekly for eight to 10 weeks.
The sessions are led by a nurse and “peer educator”-a person with epilepsy trained to deliver the detailed curriculum designed to help people learn to better manage and cope with their epilepsy and improve their overall well-being. Participants also get written resource materials to help them continue to practice refining their epilepsy self-management skills.
“Many people who participate in our SMART program have never been in a group with other people with epilepsy and find this a particularly valuable and rewarding part of the program,” Sajatovic said.
The study
SMART’s effectiveness was measured in two independent research studies. The published report summarizes the results of a clinical research study of 160 people with epilepsy. Half used the SMART program; half did not.
Compared to the control group, people with epilepsy who participated in the SMART program demonstrated reduced complications of the condition as well as improved mood and quality of life and an increase in the ability to manage their epilepsy.
“This new clinical trial confirms the positive effects of SMART and also demonstrates how effective a simple and relatively inexpensive telehealth delivery can be,” Sajatovic said.
What’s ahead
The study team at Case Western Reserve has made substantial progress to refine, implement and expand the SMART program in community settings by collaborating with the Epilepsy Association in Cleveland, the Epilepsy Alliance of Ohio and the Epilepsy Association of Western and Central Pennsylvania, as well as with epilepsy treatment centers in Ohio and in Iowa.
“I am most excited about the possibility of establishing successful models of delivering SMART that can be used by clinical-care teams and by epilepsy-focused social services agencies,” Sajatovic said. “I am hopeful that we can make the SMART program available to as many people with epilepsy as possible.”
Source:
Case Western Reserve University
Journal reference:
Sajatovic, M., et al. (2025). Development and feasibility testing of an implementation evaluation tool: Recommendations from the managing epilepsy well (MEW) network research collaborative. Epilepsy & Behavior. doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2025.110488.
Pakistan’s Anas Ali Shah (right) in action during his 32nd Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships match against Indonesia’s Muhammad Razka Idhmi Sulaeman in Gimcheon, South Korea on July 1, 2025. — Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan’s junior squash contingent kicked off their campaign at the 32nd Asian Junior Individual Championships on a high note Tuesday, clinching wins in nine out of 11 matches across multiple age divisions.
In the Boys Under-19 category, Abdullah Nawaz cruised past Sri Lanka’s Tharul Pinwatta 11-5, 11-4, 11-7, while Anas Ali Shah dispatched Indonesia’s Muhammad Razka Idhmi Sulaeman 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 to advance to the pre-quarterfinals.
Top-seeded Nauman Khan delivered a dominant performance in the Boys Under-15 event, outclassing Thailand’s Aisoon Jadkham 11-0, 11-0, 11-3. His compatriot Ahmad Rayyan Khalil also impressed with an 11-4, 11-0, 11-0 win over Sri Lanka’s Lonitha Bimsandu.
In the Boys Under-17 category, Muhammad Umair Arif overcame Hong Kong’s Lau Pak To 11-3, 11-8, 11-9. However, Yahya Khan squandered a two-game lead to fall 8-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-6 against Malaysia’s Ivan Chang Jia Yu.
Pakistan’s girls also made their mark, with Mahnoor Ali (Girls Under-13) dropping just two points in her 11-0, 11-1, 11-1 demolition of Thailand’s Prinprapha Palapipat.
Her elder sister Sehrish Ali (Girls Under-15) edged Macau’s Cao Chi Ian 13-11, 11-5, 11-7, while the eldest of “Ali Sisters” Mehwish Ali (Girls Under-17) routed South Korea’s Yeona Kang 11-0, 11-2, 11-1.
A setback for Pakistan came in the Boys Under-13 category, where Muhammad Mustafa Khan lost 13-11, 11-8, 11-9 to Malaysia’s Muhammad Sharhan bin Mohd Saiful. Top-seeded Sohail Adnan received a first-round bye and will kick off his campaign on Wednesday.
Mayo Clinic researchers have developed an artificial intelligence–based clinical decision support system (CDSS) that could help clinicians identify patterns of brain activity associated with 9 types of dementia, including Alzheimer disease, from a single FDG-PET brain scan.1 The tool, called StateViewer, was trained and validated on more than 3,600 brain scans and in a new study achieved a sensitivity of 0.89 ± 0.03 and an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.93 ± 0.02 in distinguishing neurodegenerative phenotypes.1
T: David T Jones, MD
B: Leland Barnard, PhD
In the radiologic reader study, which compared the tool’s integration into standard workflow, clinical readers using StateViewer had 3.3 ± 1.1 times greater odds of making a correct diagnosis than those using standard-of-care practices. It also enabled nearly twice the speed of interpretation. The research was published June 27, 2025, in Neurology.1
StateViewer has the potential to remedy a core challenge in dementia care: identifying the disease early and precisely, even when multiple conditions are present, the Mayo team said in a statement.2 “Every patient who walks into my clinic carries a unique story shaped by the brain’s complexity,” lead author David Jones, MD, neurologist and director of the Mayo Clinic Neurology Artificial Intelligence Program, said in the Mayo statement. The intricacy of the brain drew Jones to neuroscience in the first place, he added, and supports his deep “commitment to clearer answers. StateViewerreflects that commitment — a step toward earlier understanding, more precise treatment and, one day, changing the course of these diseases.”2
The system uses a neighbor-matching algorithm to compare an individual patient’s FDG-PET scan with a large reference dataset of confirmed dementia cases. It then produces color-coded brain activity maps highlighting regions that match specific disease patterns. Among the 9 syndrome the tool is designed to detect are Alzheimer disease, Lewy body dementia, posterior cortical atrophy, and frontotemporal dementia.1
The discovery cohort consisted of 3,671 individuals (mean age 68 years, 49% women), drawn from 3 research studies and clinical patient populations. All patients had FDG-PET imaging within 2.5 years of diagnosis. The system’s classification performance was externally validated in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative dataset. While promising, the authors noted that the discovery cohort may not fully represent broader clinical populations.1
Mayo Clinic researchers plan further evaluation of StateViewer across a range of clinical environments. The tool’s use of a widely available imaging modality and its visual interpretability could help expand access to specialist-level insights in clinics that lack neurology expertise.2 Access to neurologists is extremely limited, particularly in low income and rural areas where financial, time, and travel restrictions put specialist appointments out of reach or where wait times can be extreme. The broader goal for StateViewer is to expand the technology beyond the Mayo Clinic where it could be “transformative on a global scale in the near future and expand access to these data-driven insights.”3
Dr. Jones partnered with Mayo Clinic data scientist Leland Barnard, PhD to build the system. “As we were designing StateViewer, we never lost sight of the fact that behind every data point and brain scan was a person facing a difficult diagnosis and urgent questions,” he said in a statement. “Seeing how this tool could assist physicians with real-time, precise insights and guidance highlights the potential of machine learning for clinical medicine.”2
References
Barnard L, Botha H, Corriveau-Lecavalier N, et al. An FDG-PET-based machine learning framework to support neurologic decision making in Alzheimer disease and related disorders. Neurology. 2025;105(2). doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000213831
Murphy S. Mayo Clinic’s AI tool identifies 9 dementia types, including Alzheimer’s, with one scan. News release. Mayo Clinic. June 27, 2025. Accessed July 1, 2025. https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinics-ai-tool-identifies-9-dementia-types-including-alzheimers-with-one-scan/
Lindquist SB. Mayo Clinic neurology AI program tests platform to detect brain diseases. News release. Mayo Clinic. December 17, 2024. Accessed July 1, 2025. https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-neurology-ai-program-tests-platform-to-detect-brain-diseases/
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