Chicago Fire Department issues reminders on summer water safety
Beach season has arrived in Chicago, and city leaders want to remind residents how to stay safe in the water.
The Chicago Fire Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other local agencies teamed up Thursday to give a live demonstration of a water rescue at Navy Pier.
The goal was to show swimmers what to do if things go wrong.
Officials say it is most important to avoid putting oneself in dangerous situations in the first place.
"We're going to keep it real simple—respect the water, respect everybody around you, know what your swimming capabilities are," said Chicago Fire Department Dive Chief Jason Lach.
A few other safety tips include wearing a life jacket on a boat, never swimming alone or at night, and only swimming if a lifeguard is present.
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Medscape
19 minutes ago
- Medscape
Once-Weekly Efsitora Noninferior to Daily Insulin in T2D
CHICAGO — The investigational once-weekly basal insulin analog efsitora alfa lowered A1c as effectively as daily basal insulins in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who require insulin, showed three trials from the QWINT global phase 3 clinical trial program. However, two of the trials showed increased mild hypoglycemia in patients treated with efsitora, which some experts say is a concern. The QWINT-1 trial compared the efficacy and safety of a fixed-dose regimen of efsitora with once-daily glargine for 52 weeks in insulin-naive people with T2D; QWINT-3 compared efsitora with daily degludec for 78 weeks in adults already taking basal insulin; and QWINT-4 compared efsitora with daily glargine for 26 weeks in adults with T2D taking both basal and pre-meal bolus insulin. Results from the three trials were presented on June 22 during a single symposium here at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 85th Scientific Sessions and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine (QWINT-1) and The Lancet (QWINT-3 and QWINT-4). QWINT-1: Fixed-Dose Efsitora QWINT-1 was an open-label trial of 795 adults with T2D who had not previously taken insulin. Participants were randomized to weekly efsitora delivered by a single-use auto-injector or daily injected insulin glargine. Efsitora was titrated to four fixed doses at 4-week intervals, as needed for blood glucose control. At week 52, efsitora had reduced A1c from 8.20% at baseline to 7.05% (–1.19 percentage points), compared with 8.28% to 7.08% with glargine (–1.16 percentage points), confirming noninferiority. "The novel fixed-dose regimen used in QWINT-1 for once-weekly efsitora, with titration options of only four different doses, can facilitate and substantially simplify initiating and escalating insulin therapy, potentially changing the insulin management paradigm in type 2 diabetes," lead investigator Julio Rosenstock, MD, senior scientific advisor for Velocity Clinical Research and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, said during a press briefing held at the meeting. In addition, the rate of combined clinically significant hypoglycemia (< 54 mg/dL) or severe hypoglycemia (requiring assistance for treatment) was significantly lower with efsitora than glargine (0.50 vs 0.88 events per participant-year of exposure with glargine [estimated rate ratio, 0.57]). In an editorial accompanying QWINT-1, NEJM Deputy Editor Julie R. Ingelfinger, MD, and Clifford J. Rosen, MD, director of clinical and translational research and a senior scientist at Maine Medical Center's Research Institute, Scarborough, write: "The present trial of efsitora potentially offers a ready-made and possibly straightforward algorithm for dose escalation. If packaged at a widely affordable price, efsitora would most likely simplify glycemic control for many persons with type 2 diabetes." However, limitations of QWINT-1 include the open-label design and lack of use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), Ingelfinger and Rosen note. QWINT-3 and QWINT-4 In both QWINT-3 and QWINT-4, efsitora was administered using traditional insulin dosing with adjustments based on each patient's glucose level. In QWINT-3, 986 adults with T2D who had already been treated with basal insulin and other noninsulin glucose-lowering medications, were randomized 2:1 to weekly efsitora or daily degludec. At week 26, A1c decreased by 0.81 percentage points with efsitora versus 0.72 with degludec, also meeting the noninferiority margin. Combined level 2 and 3 hypoglycemia from baseline to week 78 was similar in the efsitora and degludec groups, at 0.84 versus 0.74 events per patient-year, respectively. However, level 1 (mild) hypoglycemia was significantly more common with efsitora (8.34 vs 6.05; P = .0005). Nine deaths occurred during the trial but none were related to study treatment. In QWINT-4, 730 participants with T2D who had been treated with both basal and prandial insulin and up to three noninsulin glucose-lowering agents were randomized to efsitora or glargine U100, both with premeal insulin lispro. Mean baseline A1c was 8.18%. At 26 weeks, mean A1c was 7.17% in the efsitora group and 7.18% in the glargine group, meeting noninferiority criteria. As in QWINT-3, rates of moderate/severe hypoglycemia in QWINT-4 did not differ between the efsitora and glargine groups (6.6 vs 5.9 events per patient-year; P = .44), but mild hypoglycemia was more common with efsitora (25.3 vs 19.0; P < .0004). Other adverse event rates were similar. Is Hypoglycemia a Problem With Weekly Insulin? These three new studies round out the QWINT program, as results from QWINT-5, in type 1 diabetes (T1D), and from QWINT-2, in insulin-naive adults with T2D, were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2024 Annual Meeting. Hypoglycemia emerged as a significant issue with efsitora compared with insulin degludec in adults with T1D in the QWINT-5 trial. Another once-weekly insulin analog, Novo-Nordisk's insulin Icodec, has been approved under the brand name Awiqli in the European Union, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Switzerland for T1D and T2D, and in China for T2D. However, the US Food and Drug Administration requested more data to address the concern about hypoglycemia in T1D. "The risk of hypoglycemia remains a crucial factor when evaluating the safety of novel insulin preparations with a long half-life, such as efsitora, which has a half-life of 17 days," wrote Edith WK Chow, MD, and Elaine Chow, MD, PhD, both of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, in an editorial accompanying QWINT-3 and QWINT-4. "In both trials, the efsitora group had higher rates of overall level 1 hypoglycemia. When stratified by study timeline, higher rates of hypoglycemia were observed within the first 12 weeks of the study in both trials," they point out. In addition, they note that because CGM use was only intermittent and masked for participants, "the actual rate of hypoglycemic events might be underestimated, especially in the presence of hypoglycemia unawareness, which has been reported to be as high as 40% of people with type 2 diabetes using continuous glucose monitoring. Even asymptomatic episodes might be associated with increased cardiovascular risk." Asked about this at the press briefing, Rosenstock said that the increased mild hypoglycemia was "just little numerical imbalances. And the most important thing is that the number of events per patient per year are very low. It's less than one event per patient per year. I think that is something that we can take." Asked to comment on all three new QWINT studies, independent industry consultant Charles Alexander, MD, told Medscape Medical News : "Whether once-weekly insulin will be an advantage compared to once-daily insulin will depend upon factors like cost, convenience, and individual preference." Ingelfinger and Rosen agree with Alexander that the use of efsitora may depend on coverage, cost, and availability. "Long-term, formal government approval for efsitora is awaited, and uptake by patients is not yet known," they write. "The advent of newer or more effective noninsulin hypoglycemic drugs such as the GLP-1 receptor agonists, which simultaneously also produce weight loss, might ultimately be a more appealing option than efsitora and allow greater patient adherence than weekly insulin in some patients with type 2 diabetes." Despite these unknowns and caveats, the development of even longer-acting insulins now offers promising options for better glucose control in this disease," Ingelfinger and Rosen conclude. Rosenstock has reported receiving research grant support from, serving on advisory boards for, and/or receiving consulting fees honoraria from Applied Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Biomea Fusion, Boehringer Ingelheim, Corcept, Eli Lilly, Hanmi, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Oramed, Pfizer, Regeneron, Regor Therapeutics, Roche, Sanofi, Structure Therapeutics, and Terns Pharmaceuticals. Ingelfinger is a licensee of St. Martin's Press. Edith WK Chow has reported receiving travel sponsorship from Boehringer Ingelheim. Elaine Chow has reported receiving speaker honoraria from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Sinocare and institutional research grant support from Hua Medicine, Merck KGaA, and Medtronic Diabetes. All proceeds were donated to The Chinese University of Hong Kong for research purposes. Rosen and Alexander had no disclosures.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
New Data Show Delve Bio's Metagenomic Testing Delivers Broader, Deeper Pathogen Identification Compared to Traditional Testing
Data Presented at the 2025 American Society for Microbiology Microbe Conference BOSTON, June 22, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Delve Bio, a pioneer in metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) for infectious diseases, today announced data presented at the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Microbe conference in Los Angeles showing the impact of metagenomic sequencing for transforming infectious disease diagnostics by offering advances compared to traditional microbiological testing. Among the data presented at the meeting is a comparison of Delve's metagenomic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) test, Delve Detect CSF, compared to a traditional PCR-based meningitis/encephalitis (ME) panel. The study reanalyzed samples from a diverse patient cohort previously tested using the ME panel. The data showed that mNGS can be used in conjunction with microbiological testing to increase diagnostic yield by identifying pathogens that are not detectable with traditional, pathogen-specific panel testing. The inclusion of mNGS tests like Delve Detect, which has a 48-hour turnaround time, can shorten time to diagnosis, enabling clinicians to initiate targeted therapies sooner. "This study showed substantial agreement between Delve Detect and a syndromic PCR panel. But importantly, Delve Detect also identified pathogens that were not included on the PCR panel and would have been missed as causes of a patient's infection if mNGS were not included in the diagnostic workup," said Benjamin Bradley, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of virology and molecular infectious diseases at ARUP Laboratories. "This study supports including mNGS in the diagnostic workup for patients with complex central nervous system infections." The study included 122 samples — 47 positive and 75 negative. Analysis showed that in comparison with the ME panel, Delve Detect CSF demonstrated approximately 10% higher positivity rate (48% vs. 38%), with an additive diagnostic yield of 24%. This added yield included detection of multiple co-infections, 16 unique organisms not included in the ME panel, and positive detections in 19 samples (25%) that were negative by the ME panel. Additionally, in samples that were negative by both tests, Delve Detect CSF showed high agreement (95%) with the ME panel, supporting the negative predictive value of mNGS. The company's full presence at ASM Microbe 2025 includes: Delve's chief medical officer Steve Miller, M.D., Ph.D. hosted A New Era: Metagenomic Sequencing for Comprehensive Pathogen Detection, exploring real world evidence, clinical cases and considerations for laboratory teams implementing mNGS. Presentation of a case report in a feature poster, Using Metagenomic Sequencing to Diagnose a Novel Moraxella CNS Shunt Infection in a Culture-Negative Case Presentation of data comparing the company's mNGS CSF test, Delve Detect, to a widely used, PCR meningitis/encephalitis panel as part of the session Assessing the Clinical Impact of Next-Generation Sequencing: Where Are We Now? "These presentations at ASM highlight the transformation underway in infectious disease diagnostics. Delve Bio's metagenomic sequencing technology enables clinicians to identify the cause of serious central nervous system infections when existing methods do not deliver a diagnosis and speed is critical," said Brad Murray, chief executive officer of Delve Bio. "We're working to make this technology more widely available to neurologists, infectious disease physicians and laboratory teams so they can get patients the answers they need." Conference attendees are also invited to visit Delve Bio at booth #1440 to learn more about the company's metagenomic platform, including Delve Detect and its proprietary bioinformatics platform Delve Decide. Delve Detect is Delve Bio's flagship metagenomic testing service, providing comprehensive pathogen detection with a 48-hour turnaround time after sample receipt and including access to Delve's Clinical Microbial Sequencing Board, an on-call team of infectious disease experts who review results in clinical context. About Delve Bio, Inc. Delve Bio is a metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) company that empowers laboratories and clinicians with the insights they need to confidently diagnose routine and rare infectious diseases, thereby minimizing the impact of harmful pathogens on humanity. By leveraging its unbiased, pathogen-agnostic mNGS platform, Delve Bio is able to identify a wide range of pathogens with a single test. Founded by world leaders in genomics and infectious disease Drs. Charles Chiu, Joe DeRisi, Michael Wilson, Pardis Sabeti, and Matthew Meyerson, the company is backed by top institutional investors including Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund II, Section 32, and GV, along with leading individual investors. For more information, visit View source version on Contacts Company Contact Amy WongSenior Director of Marketing and Business Development, Delve BioEmail: media@ Media Contact Julie McKeough42 North for Delve BioEmail: julie@ Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
5 Ways To Increase Happiness With Small Talk
Small talk contributes to happiness and wellbeing You may dislike small talk, or you may wonder how to make small talk less awkward when you're in mix-and-mingle situations. But small talk is bigger than you might think. Surprising new data suggests that having brief exchanges or superficial conversations can contribute to your happiness and wellbeing. Loneliness is at epidemic levels today, with 50% of people reporting they are lonely. In addition, large proportions of people say they don't have enough friends or don't have friends at all. Importantly, loneliness and a lack of friends are both associated with negative outcomes emotionally, cognitively and physically. With this reality, small talk is a great strategy to feel more connected with those around you. How to Make Small Talk So how to make small talk? And how can you build both your skills and your comfort with small talk? One way to make small talk effectively is to be ready when the opportunity presents itself. People report that small talk is most likely to occur at social events (69% expect small talk here), waiting in line (64%), at work (63%), shopping (49%), at restaurants (39%), at coffee shops (31%), at salons or spas (28%), in elevators (25%), during air travel (24%), during rideshare or taxi drives (23%), at gyms or fitness venues (17%) or on trains or buses (12%). This is according to a survey by Preply. Watch for opportunities no matter where you are, and lean in when you see moments to engage with others. Another surefire way to get better at small talk is to have a range of topics you can bring up. According to the Preply data, the most common topics were the weather (62% of people), work (38%), family (29%), social situations (28%), sports (23%), living situations (20%) and traffic (14%). But you'll also want to exercise caution, because while these are the most popular topics for small talk, the issues that people most want to avoid talking about are sports, current events and family. Another primary way to make small talk effectively is to use nonverbals. Lean forward, make eye contact and smile as you're making brief conversation. These are effective ways to demonstrate engagement, according to a study in Social Psychological and Personality Science. Another way to get better at small talk is to start with it. From there, be ready to shift to more substantive discussion when you can. In a substantive conversation, there is more meaningful information exchanged, and this allows you to learn more about someone and build a relationship. A deeper conversation can be about any topic, the key is that you're exchanging more than just trivial information. For example, if you're chatting with a colleague after a meeting, you may start with the weather, and then get into a more consequential topic such as how their project is going or how they are working through a stressful project. Research in in Psychological Science found that while small talk is better than not talking, substantive conversations are better than small talk for happiness. So, if it's appropriate to move the conversation to deeper levels, there will be payoffs for doing so. You can consider a number of questions to deepen a friendship and to get people talking about something that's more substantive and create strong bonds. These include questions about the future, accomplishments, regrets, relationships, memories or humorous situations. Another way to get better at small talk is to engage in it more often. In fact, 39% of people engage in small talk on a daily basis, according to Preply data. You can also be confident that if you reach out to others, they are likely to welcome your conversation starters. We tend to think others don't want to make small talk, but this is a myth. Instead, research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that most people welcomed interaction and felt positively about having engaged with strangers. Proof that Small Talk Has Big Benefits There is proof that small talk is a good thing. For research purposes, it's defined as polite conversation focused on trivial, unimportant topics and non-controversial topics. It's talk that that doesn't deepen a relationship, and in which you walk away from the exchange without really knowing any more about a person. One study asked people to have casual exchanges with a barista when they were buying coffee. In these cases, people reported greater levels of happiness and wellbeing, even based on the brief conversations they had. This was published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. In another study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, people were asked to interact with strangers on the subway. This too resulted in greater levels of happiness and wellbeing. Make small talk effectively by looking for opportunities and being intentional about it. The more you engage, the easier it will be and the more it will contribute to your happiness and wellbeing
