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  • USA Track & Field Championships 2025: Sha’Carri Richardson races 100m and 200m

    USA Track & Field Championships 2025: Sha’Carri Richardson races 100m and 200m

    Sha’Carri Richardson is aiming to be back at her dominant best this weekend, after a slow start to the season.

    The American track star competes in the women’s 100m and 200m races at the USA Track & Field Championships 2025 in the coming days**.**

    “I will always get back up!!!” the Olympic 100m champ posted on her social media, four days before she takes on the best in the US in her first event at Hayward Field stadium in Eugene.

    Richardson, who has only raced twice this year, will be out to hold off Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the fastest woman this year, plus Twanisha Terry and Aleia Hobbs in the 100m.

    She and Jefferson-Wooden will return for the 200m, where the top contender is the reigning Olympic gold medallist Gabby Thomas.

    Find out the women’s sprint schedule and how the action, from Thursday, 31 July to Sunday, 3 August.

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  • Protests incoming at King’s Barcelona office as 75 staff face redundancy – Mobilegamer.biz

    Protests incoming at King’s Barcelona office as 75 staff face redundancy – Mobilegamer.biz

     

    King workers in Barcelona will gather outside their office tomorrow to protest the 75 layoffs slated at the studio.

    The cuts are part of the 200 or more layoffs taking place across King this summer. Some of those staff will be effectively replaced by the AI tools they created and built, we’re told.

    The protest is being organised by Spanish game workers union CSVI. A statement on the organisation’s website, translated from Spanish, reads:

    “King’s Barcelona workforce will gather outside the company’s headquarters to protest the layoffs announced by management. This is expected to affect up to 12% of the workforce at a time when the company is recording multi-million-dollar profits ‘with more players and hours played than ever,’ according to executive Phil Spencer.”

    The union says the proposed layoffs are due to the “projection of unattainable profits and the desire to replace part of the workforce with artificial intelligence tools.” It adds that some staff are also considering relocating from King’s Barcelona office.

    From earlier this month: ‘Laid off King staff set to be replaced by the AI tools they helped build, say sources’.

    The protest will take place at King Barcelona, 150 Carrer Ciutat de Granada, on July 31st at 11am, said the CSVI on X. “We support the workers facing this unfair process, which is being used solely and exclusively to increase the company’s already multi-million-dollar profits,” it said.

    The CSVI added that this summer’s ~75 layoffs follow on from 47 redundancies at King Barcelona in September and October 2024. There has been a “steady stream” of cuts since King’s acquisition by Microsoft, it said.

    The union also implied that King is not fulfilling the severance pay agreements it had negotiated from that previous round of layoffs in 2024: “These events demonstrate bad faith on the part of the company, which we cannot accept,” it added.

    As we reported earlier this month, King sources told us that around 200, perhaps more, staff will be made redundant this summer. Many of the staff cut will effectively be replaced by the AI tools they built and trained, we were told, and the London-based Farm Heroes Saga team is being ‘cut in half’ with about 50 people leaving.

    One staffer also claimed employees are being targeted by HR for loudly expressing dissatisfaction internally, and a recent internal survey showed morale at an all-time low. It’s now “in the gutter”, said another source.

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  • India Forfeit Match Against Pakistan, Withdraw From Tournament Due To Ongoing Tensions

    India Forfeit Match Against Pakistan, Withdraw From Tournament Due To Ongoing Tensions

    India Forfeit Match Against Pakistan, Withdraw From Tournament Due To Ongoing Tensions

    The Indian legends team has forfeited their semi-final game against Pakistan in the ongoing World Championship of Legends 2025. As a result, they have also withdrawn from the tournament, citing recent tensions post the Pahalgam terrorist attacks. Pakistan will now straightaway play the final as India walked out of the contest. 

    Earlier in the tournament, several top Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, and the Pathan brothers, had withdrawn from the group stage game against Pakistan, which led to the game being cancelled. 

    The semifinal was supposed to be held on July 31 at Edgbaston; however, one of the main sponsors of the Indian team, EaseMyTrip, also backed out of the game, citing ongoing political tensions. 

    “We applaud Team India @India_Champions for their outstanding performance in the World Championship of Legends, you’ve made the nation proud. However, the upcoming semi-final against Pakistan is not just another game. Terror and cricket cannot go hand in hand,” Nishant Patti, the founder of EaseMyTrip, wrote on X.

    “We stand with India. We cannot support any event that attempts to normalise relations with a country that promotes terrorism. The people of India have spoken and we hear them. EaseMyTrip will not be associated with the India vs Pakistan match in WCL. Some things are bigger than sport. Nation first, business later. Always. Jai Hind.”

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  • OpenAI’s IMO Team on Finally Solving Elite-Level Math

    OpenAI’s IMO Team on Finally Solving Elite-Level Math

    OpenAI researchers Alex Wei, Sheryl Hsu and Noam Brown took a different approach than other AI Labs and achieved gold medal-performance on this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad. They prioritized general-purpose AI reasoning techniques over specialized mathematical tools. Their breakthrough demonstrates how test-time compute scaling and reinforcement learning can tackle hard-to-verify tasks, representing a significant leap in AI’s mathematical reasoning capabilities.

    Build with general techniques, not specialized solutions: Alex emphasized that their team “really prioritized general purpose techniques” rather than developing specialized systems for mathematical competition. Unlike previous AI projects that required years of domain-specific engineering, this approach focused on scalable reinforcement learning methods that could improve reasoning across multiple domains, not just mathematics.

    Small teams can achieve breakthrough results: The core team consisted of just three researchers working for only two months on the final sprint, though they built on broader OpenAI infrastructure. They leveraged existing work from inference, scaling, and training teams—demonstrating how focused execution can amplify organizational capabilities.

    Self-awareness prevents hallucination in difficult problems: When the model encountered the most difficult problem, it acknowledged its inability rather than generating a plausible-sounding but incorrect solution. Training a model to give “no answer” represents a crucial advancement for AI reliability.

    Test-time compute scaling enables deeper reasoning: The breakthrough came from scaling inference compute from seconds to hours, allowing models to think longer about complex problems. However, with longer-running problems, evaluation becomes a bottleneck requiring longer evals.

    Competitions represent stepping stones, not the destinations: The IMO competition is emblematic of AI progress generally but there remains a large gap between it and real research breakthroughs. Ultimately, real-world utility is the standard by which AI systems are judged.

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  • Flow cytometry for screening and prioritisation of urine samples: a retrospective comparison with culture | BMC Infectious Diseases

    Flow cytometry for screening and prioritisation of urine samples: a retrospective comparison with culture | BMC Infectious Diseases

    Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections, and while urine culture remains a frequently used diagnostic method in clinical microbiology laboratories, there is a growing need for rapid and accurate testing to ensure timely treatment [24]. This study evaluated the performance of urine flow cytometric screening using the UF-5000 and proposed an optimised workflow to efficiently differentiate between negative and likely positive urine samples while maintaining high diagnostic accuracy.

    We analysed 4005 samples, comparing UFC results with culture results. Diagnostic cut-offs vary across laboratories due to differences in patient populations and different definitions used to classify significant bacteriuria. In our study, a UFC cut-off of < 30 cells/µl provided a balance between high sensitivity and reduced culture workload. Introduction of this method would decrease the need for urine cultures by > 30%, which is consistent with previous studies [12, 23, 25]. This reduction has substantial benefits, including lower costs, improved turnaround times, and decreased laboratory workload. Faster reporting of negative results allows > 30% of patients to receive same-day results. The rapid turnaround benefits both clinicians and patients by facilitating timely decision-making and improving antimicrobial stewardship. Despite these advantages, certain patient groups posed challenges. We observed lower agreement between flow cytometry and culture results in pregnant women, necessitating their exclusion from this workflow. Similarly, children showed reduced sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV), leading to their exclusion as well. This aligns with Swedish UTI guidelines, which emphasise different diagnostic approaches for children and pregnant women [15]. Pregnant women are particularly at risk of complications, such as preterm birth and maternal hypertension, when bacteriuria remains untreated. Therefore, their urine samples should be cultured to detect uropathogens and group B streptococci [26]. Our data reinforce the recommendation that urine culture should remain the gold standard for these populations. Minimising false negatives is critical, as missing relevant infections can delay treatment.

    False negatives are a known limitation of any screening approach. While false negatives do occur, they can be reduced through careful interpretation of the results and consideration of clinical factors. In our study, a total of 49 samples (1.5%) were negative by flow cytometry but positive by culture, of which three samples (0.09%) showed clinically significant bacteriuria (≥ 104 CFU/mL), representing the most relevant false negatives in our cohort (Tables 4 and S5). The remaining 46 samples either contained yeast (2/46), mixed flora (2/46) or had low bacterial counts (102–104 CFU/mL) (42/46). This highlights that most false negatives in urine screening involve low concentration uropathogens, which are more challenging to detect but may still be clinically relevant. Importantly, clinical context plays a critical role in interpretation. Our findings further highlight the importance of clear clinical communication. In many cases with low bacterial concentrations (102–104 CFU/mL), the absence of detailed clinical information led to uncertainty regarding the clinical significance and the need for AST. In 57% of these FN samples, the laboratory noted the clinical relevance as unclear, and in some cases, the indication for AST was not evident. This supports the need for improved dialogue between clinicians and the microbiology laboratory to ensure accurate interpretation and appropriate testing decisions, particularly in borderline or diagnostically complex cases. When available patient symptoms were taken into account (if provided to the laboratory), the number of potential false negatives dropped from 42 to 29 (0.89%), illustrating how combining clinical and laboratory information enhances diagnostic safety. This highlights the importance of clinicians providing accurate clinical information to support laboratory decision-making. Nevertheless, in specific high-risk populations, such as immunocompromised patients and those in intensive care, urine culture remains indispensable, even if screening results are negative. These groups may present with lower bacterial loads that are clinically important but harder to detect through screening alone. Therefore, while UFC offers substantial benefits in reducing unnecessary cultures and streamlining diagnostics, careful consideration of patient population and clinical presentation remains essential to avoid underdiagnosis. Tailored sensitivity thresholds or complementary testing may be appropriate in high-risk settings to ensure optimal patient care [27, 28]. To further reduce the risk of false negatives, especially in samples with low bacterial counts, laboratories may consider implementing a structured decision-making protocol that combines flow cytometry results with relevant available clinical information such as symptoms, history of recurrent infections, or other risk factors. Such a workflow can guide targeted antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) in borderline cases, ensuring that clinically relevant infections are not missed. This approach emphasises the importance of ongoing communication between clinicians and laboratory personnel to enhance diagnostic accuracy and patient care.

    While elevated leukocyte counts are commonly associated with infection, our findings confirm that such parameters must be interpreted in the context of clinical information. In several cases (3), elevated leukocytes were observed in samples for which no AST was performed, as the clinical data did not indicate the need for further workup. This illustrates the inherent limitation of using UFC as a standalone tool and reinforces the essential role of clinical context in guiding appropriate diagnostics. A reliable screening algorithm must therefore be supported by accurate and accessible clinical information to optimise diagnostic decision-making. Each laboratory must carefully assess the risks and benefits of screening methods compared to urine culture to ensure appropriate diagnostic decisions.

    UFC has long been recognised as an effective tool for identifying bacteriuria [13]. However, its predictive performance varies across patient subpopulations. Our study found that the positive predictive value (PPV) for pregnant women was only 62.2%, whereas in children, it was notably high at 96.9%, suggesting that flow cytometry could be useful for paediatric patients as previously shown [29]. In the subgroup analysis excluding pregnant women (n = 3574), a bacterial cut-off value of > 4000 cells/µl demonstrated strong diagnostic performance (96.4% sensitivity, 95.3% PPV). This is in line with previous studies and highlights the methods’ potential to accurately identify relevant bacteriuria across a broad patient population [4, 9, 14]. The 40 (1.1%) false positive samples were mostly due to mixed flora, indicating contamination or polymicrobial infections that are difficult to distinguish using flow cytometry alone. Given that all screening-positive samples proceed to culture, these cases can be clarified through confirmatory urine culture, ensuring accurate reporting and minimising the risk of misclassification.

    Identification of the UTI-causing bacteria as soon as possible is important, especially in cases of UTI complicated by bacteraemia or sepsis, where targeted therapy could improve patient outcomes. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the Bact Info-flag “Gram Neg?” in a subpopulation excluding pregnant women. Our findings demonstrate that the flag was activated in 61% of samples classified as positive based on bacterial count (> 4000/µl). Notably, all flagged samples were culture-positive, underscoring the high specificity of this indicator for detecting true bacterial infections. A key observation was the strong concordance between the Gram classification provided by the flag and the culture results. In 96% of cases, there was full agreement between the flag and the Gram-negative species identified in culture. Additionally, partial agreement, where both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria were detected, occurred in 3.3% of samples. Discrepancies were observed in only two cases (0.37%), suggesting a minimal rate of misclassification. The high specificity of the “Gram Neg?” flag highlights its potential use in laboratory workflows, particularly in rapidly distinguishing Gram-negative infections. This aligns with previous findings, where the “Gram Neg?” flag demonstrated good sensitivity and optimal specificity for predicting Gram-negative bacteria in culture, with an overall agreement of 99.8% when Gram negatives were present alone or together with Gram positives, and a very low discordance rate of 0.2% [4]. Given that Gram-negative bacteria often are associated with more severe UTIs and may require specific antibiotic treatments, early identification can support timely clinical decision-making. In urgent cases where immediate treatment is necessary, the ‘Gram Neg?’ flag may support early, targeted antibiotic initiation prior to culture confirmation. This could be particularly valuable in emergency settings or for vulnerable patient groups where treatment delays may have serious consequences. While further validation is needed, the flag may serve as a useful adjunct to guide empiric therapy decisions in appropriate clinical contexts. This could be particularly valuable in emergency settings or for vulnerable patient groups where treatment delays may have serious consequences. While further validation is needed, the flag may serve as a useful adjunct to guide empiric therapy decisions in appropriate clinical contexts.

    Our proposed workflow for sorting urine samples based on screening results aims to optimise the laboratory workflow by reducing unnecessary cultures while maintaining diagnostic accuracy. The application of a < 30 BACT/µl rule for negative samples led to a 32% reduction in cultures, with a 55% decrease among negative samples in a population were pregnant women and children are excluded. This supports previous findings where a similar strategy was proposed highlighting the potential of such an approach in reducing laboratory workload while maintaining diagnostic safety [14]. The ability to confidently exclude a significant proportion of negative samples without additional testing is crucial for improving laboratory efficiency and resource allocation. For ruling in relevant bacteriuria, we established a cut-off of > 4000 cells/µl, providing a reliable indicator of clinically significant bacterial presence. The intermediate group with bacterial counts between 30 and 4000 cells/µl (51%) represents a diagnostic grey zone where culture remains necessary. Clinical context and additional diagnostic information are essential for safe decision-making until further refinements or supporting tools become available. The overall performance of our algorithm, as summarised in Table 8, supports its feasibility in routine laboratory practice, both for in- and out-patient samples. By implementing a structured decision-making process based on screening results, we can streamline urine diagnostics, minimising unnecessary cultures while ensuring that clinically significant cases are properly identified. Future studies should further validate these cut-offs in larger and more diverse populations, particularly in settings with different patient demographics or clinical guidelines. Additionally, integrating this algorithm with automated reporting systems could further enhance its practical application in high-throughput laboratories. Carryover and cross-contamination were minimal, which is crucial for microbiology screening, as the same tube is used for urine culture when the screening result is positive.

    Limitations of the study: This study has several limitations. Its retrospective design may introduce selection bias and limits the control over sample handling and data collection. According to the manufacturer’s protocol, Sysmex UF-5000 analysis should ideally be performed on fresh urine samples within 4 h without preservatives. However, some outpatient samples required longer transport times and these could not be separately identified or excluded. This may affect the generalisability of our results to other settings where sample transport and processing times differ. Additionally, diagnostic cut-offs and bacteriological significance thresholds vary between laboratories and countries, which may limit direct applicability of our proposed cut-offs beyond our local context. European guidelines also highlight the importance of considering local epidemiology and clinical context when implementing new screening protocols [16, 22]. Future prospective studies in diverse clinical settings would help confirm the robustness and transferability of our findings.

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  • ‘Alien: Earth’ Red Carpet Premiere: Lily Gladstone, Essie Davis and More Celebrity Style, Photos – WWD

    ‘Alien: Earth’ Red Carpet Premiere: Lily Gladstone, Essie Davis and More Celebrity Style, Photos – WWD

    1. ‘Alien: Earth’ Red Carpet Premiere: Lily Gladstone, Essie Davis and More Celebrity Style, Photos  WWD
    2. Lily Gladstone’s Dolce & Gabbana Heels Bloom With 3D Roses From the Archives at ‘Alien: Earth’ London Premiere  WWD
    3. Lily Newmark’s Gothic Sci-Fi Moment at the ‘Alien: Earth’ Premiere  Red Carpet Fashion Awards
    4. Lily Gladstone and More Serve Statement Looks With Butterflies, Brocade and Boldness at ‘Alien: Earth’ Premiere  Yahoo Home

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  • Home Glow-Up Deal Incoming: Save 33% on Samsung’s Stylish Frame TV – PCMag

    1. Home Glow-Up Deal Incoming: Save 33% on Samsung’s Stylish Frame TV  PCMag
    2. This 55-Inch Samsung OLED TV Is Nearly $500 Off Right Now at Woot  Lifehacker
    3. Samsung’s best 4K TV just got a huge discount in the UK  SamMobile
    4. Shopping for a big screen? Samsung’s stunning 85-inch Mini-LED TV is $1,200 off right now  Tom’s Guide
    5. Score a massive $500 discount on Samsung’s Frame TV — don’t miss this limited-time deal on Amazon  Mashable

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  • Jules Kounde delighted at Barça

    Jules Kounde delighted at Barça

    The story between Jules Kounde and FC Barcelona is a love affair that looks set to continue. Speaking to the media on Wednesday evening after the first team’s training session in Seoul, the French defender confirmed that his contract renewal with Barça until 2030 is very, very close.

    “I’m very happy” said the defender. “I feel comfortable with the team and its ambition, and I’m also grateful to be at a club that competes for every title each season.”

    Full or centre back?

    Having established himself as a right-back, one of the most common questions Kounde gets asked is about his preferred position: right-back or centre-back? “I’m 26 and I feel comfortable playing as a right-back” he explains. “I’m improving, and this year I want to take a step forward, but I’m available to the coach, who knows I can play in both positions … But given my roots, I will always feel more of a centre-back than a full-back.”

    Unforgettable moment

    Kounde also revealed that this summer, several people have spoken about the goal he scored in last season’s Copa del Rey final, the one that tipped the balance in Barça’s favour against Real Madrid in the second half of extra time. “It’s a goal that moved the Barça fans, and it’s a great memory” he smiles. “I don’t mind people reminding me of it!”

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  • Cancer Immunotherapy Tied to Rare Liver Risk: Study

    Cancer Immunotherapy Tied to Rare Liver Risk: Study

    A global study reveals that cutting-edge cancer immunotherapies, while lifesaving, carry a hidden risk: they may trigger cholestasis, a serious liver condition where bile flow stalls. Analyzing 634 patient reports from global drug-safety databases (FAERS and VigiBase), scientists found immunotherapy patients had a significantly higher risk of cholestasis than chemotherapy recipients. Those under 65 faced greater danger, and women developed symptoms weeks earlier than men (Median 1.17 vs. 1.90 months).

    Anti-PD-1 drugs (e.g., pembrolizumab) and combination therapies posed the highest risk. In mice, combined anti-CTLA-4/anti-PD-L1 drugs caused severe bile duct injury. Molecular analysis linked the condition to disrupted bile acid metabolism and inflammation pathways.

    “This isn’t about abandoning immunotherapies—they save lives,” stresses senior author Peng Luo, PhD, of Southern Medical University. “But we must monitor liver function aggressively, especially in the first month for women and young adults. Catching cholestasis early prevents irreversible damage.”

    Surprisingly, cholestasis often occurred without classic hepatitis symptoms, suggesting routine liver tests alone may miss it. The team urges adding bile acid level checks to standard monitoring.

    /Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.

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  • Filipina sensation Eala out of Cincinnati Open with shoulder injury

    Filipina sensation Eala out of Cincinnati Open with shoulder injury

    Alexandra Eala has withdrawn from next month’s Cincinnati Open with a shoulder injury.

    The rising Filipina star, just 20 years old, started the season playing WTA125 and ITF W75/W100 tournaments before completely taking the tennis world by storm in March. At the WTA 1000 Miami Open presented by Itaú, she stormed through to the semifinals without dropping a set — picking up wins over Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek, as well as Paula Badosa — before falling to Jessica Pegula in a highly competitive three-set thriller.

    “I’m in complete disbelief right now,” a breathless Eala, who had graduated from the Rafa Nadal Academy less than two years earlier, said in her on-court interview after stunning Swiatek in straight sets to reach the semifinals. “I’m on cloud nine.”

    After her breakthrough in South Florida, the former US Open girls’ singles champion proved her all-surface prowess by coming through qualifying to reach the final in Eastbourne, which she lost to Maya Joint in another heartbreaking three-setter.

    It’s been a historic season for the fan favorite, who earlier in the year became the first Filipino to reach the Top 100 in the PIF WTA Rankings. Currently No. 65 in the world, Eala reached a career high of No. 56 at the end of June.

    It was a disappointing showing for Eala earlier this week at the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal. After taking the first set from Marketa Vondrousova in her first-round match, she dropped the next two fairly uncompetitively to bow out of the tournament.

    Mexico’s Renata Zarazua will replace Eala in the main draw.

    The Cincinnati Open, the final WTA 1000 event before the final Grand Slam of the season in New York, kicks off on August 7 and will run through August 18. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Coco Gauff lead the loaded field of the world’s top players, and 45-year-old Venus Williams has received a wild card into the main draw.

     

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