The history of anaesthesiology is filled with amazing breakthroughs and incredible discoveries. Since its discovery in the early 1800s, anaesthesia has gone through numerous transformations and changes, slowly but surely becoming the life-saving medical practice, it is today.

The first scientists to develop anaesthesia were a group of dedicated and pioneering individuals who forever changed the course of medical history. Their use of anaesthetics has revolutionized the practice of medicine, allowing doctors and surgeons to carry out their work with less pain and more precision than ever before.

The story of the first scientists to develop anaesthesia begins in 1842, with the work of two Scottish scientists, Dr James Young Simpson and Dr John Snow. Simpson was the first to use ether as an anaesthetic, and it quickly became the standard anaesthetic used in surgery and childbirth. But he was soon joined by Snow, who developed a more effective anaesthetic solution: chloroform.

Before anaesthesia, medical procedures were often extremely painful and lengthy. With the introduction of ether and chloroform, however, doctors were able to perform complicated surgeries and other medical treatments with much less pain and with greater accuracy. It took some time for anaesthesia to be accepted in the medical community. Many doctors were initially sceptical of the use of anaesthesia and argued that it could be dangerous and even deadly. But as the success of Simpson’s and Snow’s methods became more widely known, doctors began to see the potential of anaesthesia, and they began to use it more and more.

Also, among the first scientists to develop anaesthesia were a trio of British physicians – Henry Hill Hickman, Robert Liston, and James Robinson – in the 1820s. All three were highly respected surgeons and pioneers in their fields. Hickman was among the first to develop anaesthesia in its modern form. He was a medical student at the time and had been experimenting with the use of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to reduce pain during operations. In 1823, Hickman successfully managed to administer the gas to a patient undergoing an amputation, making it the first recorded use of anaesthesia in a medical setting.

Joseph Liston was the first to use ether as an anaesthetic, which he did in 1846 at the University College Hospital in London. He was also the first to perform a limb amputation in under 30 seconds, thanks to his use of ether. Robinson was the last of the trio and the first to discover chloroform as an anaesthetic in 1847. He believed that the gas was superior to ether and proved it by administering it to a patient during a major operation. The trio's work revolutionized the medical field and paved the way for future anesthesiologists. Their discoveries allowed medical practitioners to perform major operations with minimal pain and saved countless lives in the process.

Also ranking among the first scientists to develop anaesthesia were two British scientists, Sir Humphry Davy and James Simpson. They worked separately, but together, they revolutionized the practice of surgery, making it a much less painful experience. Sir Humphry Davy was a renowned chemist who was largely responsible for developing the first anaesthetic, nitrous oxide. This gas has been known to alleviate pain since the early 1800s when it was used in laughing gas parties. Davy went a step further, experimenting on himself with nitrous oxide and concluding that it was effective when inhaled in large amounts. He published his findings in a paper, "On the Inhalation of the Nitrous Oxide", which was the first scientific work on the subject.

James Simpson was a Scottish obstetrician and gynaecologist who was instrumental in the development of chloroform as an anaesthetic. He had received a chemical sample of chloroform from a manufacturer and, after experimenting with it, concluded that it was a safe and effective anaesthetic. He presented his discovery to the Edinburgh Obstetrical Society in 1847, where it was met with great enthusiasm. Together, Davy and Simpson had unlocked a new realm of possibilities in the medical field, allowing for painless surgery and treatments to become a reality. In the years that followed, anaesthetics have become even more advanced, and today, anaesthesia is a common and widely accepted practice in the medical field.

The scholars' achievements made painless surgery a reality, and for that, we owe them both a great debt of gratitude. They also paved the way for modern medicine. By the early 1900s, anaesthesia had become an accepted medical practice, and its use had spread throughout the world. Today, anaesthesia is an important part of medical care -it has saved countless lives. We owe gratitude to the first scientists to develop anaesthesia, who made it possible for us to enjoy a more comfortable and safer medical experience.

As highly expected at the annual Consumer Electronic Show 2023: CES 2023, the 2022-2023 Global Top Brands were revealed, honoring TECNO as "2022-2023 GLOBAL SMART PHONE BRANDS TOP 10". With its consistently accelerating strategy in technology innovation and design excellence to build a modern stylish brand since 2013, TECNO has built itself as an innovative global brand with operations in over 70 markets, while this award serves as another firm proof of its competitive power against global giants.

The annual Global Top Brands Award, hosted by Asia Digital Group, and European Digital Group, and supported by TWICE and International Data Corporation (IDC), is aimed to honor global consumer electronic brands at frontier innovations for global consumers and promote the entire industry's development.

"We are impressed with the accomplishments TECNO has reached this year," said Dongfang Zhu, President of Asia Digital Group. "TECNO has built a long-term reputation across global markets and dedicated to technology innovations for frontier markets globally. Remarkably TECNO keeps innovating at the forefront and truly embodies the spirit we are looking for in a top consumer electronic brand."

As CES is the ground to technologies and global innovators, the Global Top Brands Award this year also carried the theme of CES 2023: how technology is addressing the world's biggest challenges, and focused on recognizing inspiring innovations and effective global strategy of brands to encourage them to upgrade technological innovations and create newer and better products. In the fast-moving digital age, brands can only embrace global challenges by keeping innovating constantly and unlocking more and more unknown areas. Hence, innovation capabilities as well as brand services from a global perspective are considered as the hardcore in Global Top Brands Award selection criteria.

The candidate brands were also evaluated from multiple perspectives including the candidates' internationalization, overseas competitiveness, consumer experience, technological innovation and patents, overseas brand awareness, and brand management in internationalization to assess the overall technology innovation capabilities as well as the brand globalization achievements.

Adhering to the principles of authority, science, professionalism, objectivity and impartiality, the Global Top Brands has been one of the most authoritative, professional, and credible selection events in the global consumer electronics industry and has released the most influential list to the world since 2006.

This year's selection evaluates the participating brands from four dimensions, industry popularity, global strategic layout, influence on international market, and product innovation. Winning this prestigious global award and being listed as the TOP10 Global Smartphone Brands just precisely endorsed TECNO's breakthroughs and strengths in those regards.

Embracing the latest trends in cutting-edge technology innovations and stylish modern design to craft the perfect products for a new generation of consumers, TECNO has been revolutionizing the digital experience in emerging global markets, relentlessly pushing for the perfect integration of contemporary, aesthetic design with the latest technologies. Thanks to its continuous innovation, TECNO won popularity among global young consumers who are aspiring to build a digitally connected life and realize better self.

"It is with great humility and excitement to receive this prestigious Global Top Brands Award at the CES 2023. It's an amazing recognition for our continuous efforts in developing a distinguished brand and make TECNO a best choice among global consumers," said Jack Guo, General Manager of TECNO. "With this precious recognition and our consistent commitment to frontier markets and consumers, we will keep driving forward our innovation strategy, pushing new boundaries between technology and design, and enable our consumers to build a beautiful life that is digitally connected and forward-looking."

As an innovative technology brand, TECNO has set many new standards in technology innovation and stylish modern design to provide premium smart devices for forward-looking individuals in global markets. Especially in 2022, TECNO has made many leapfrogging breakthroughs in premium technology innovations, including PHANTOM X2 Pro as the world's first smartphone to feature a retractable portrait lens comparable to a professional camera to create "studio-like" portrait photography, PHANTOM X2 Pro 5G as an Eco-Friendly Edition with a back cover made using recycled materials from ocean plastics, as well as TECNO CAMON 19 Pro Mondrian Edition as the world's first smart device that uses "sunlight drawing" technology to allow the phone to change colors in sunlight, and to name a few.

TECNO is an innovative technology brand with operations in over 70 countries and regions across five continents. Since its launch, TECNO has been revolutionizing the digital experience in emerging global markets, relentlessly pushing for the perfect integration of contemporary, aesthetic design with the latest technologies. Today, TECNO has developed into a recognized leader in its target markets, delivering state-of-the-art innovation through a wide range of smartphones, smart wearables, laptops and tablets, HiOS operating systems and smart home products. Guided by its brand essence of "Stop At Nothing", TECNO is committed to unlocking the best and newest technologies for forward-looking individuals. By creating stylish, intelligent products, TECNO inspires consumers worldwide to never stop pursuing their best selves and their best futures.

American Express (NYSE: AXP) today announced it has opened a new Decision Science Center of Excellence (CoE) in Singapore that will deliver global data-driven solutions. The CoE will focus on data science applications in the areas of credit and fraud risk model development and production using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP).

"Singapore is a recognized world-leading financial and technology hub," said Changbin Wang, Managing Director for the American Express Singapore Decision Science Center of Excellence, "Setting up a global innovation center in Singapore reflects our commitment to continue investing in this country, and we are confident the country's exceptional and diverse talent will help fuel American Express' next wave of innovation to better service our global Card Member base."

"American Express' Decision Science CoE is an exciting addition to Singapore's digital industry, presenting more opportunities for talent to apply cutting-edge research methods to solve global-scale and complex issues faced by the industry. We look forward to the exciting outcomes from the CoE which will in turn attract and groom global experts from Singapore," said Philbert Gomez, Vice President and Head, Digital Industry Singapore (DISG).

Over time, American Express is expected to expand the focus of the Center of Excellence to include cutting-edge research leading to the development of other AI, ML and NLP technology use cases to support the company's growth aspirations.

Hiring for the Decision Science Center of Excellence

Hiring for the Innovation Lab will begin immediately. The Company is seeking candidates with master's degrees or PhDs in the areas of mathematics, engineering, finance, computer science, or other equivalent technical programs for data scientist and AI/ML researcher roles.

American Express is a globally integrated payments company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success.

In a study recently published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, researchers from Kanazawa University use high-speed microscopy to capture the dynamics of nanosized sacs released from cells. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are tiny sacs released by cells to deliver chemical messengers to other cells. Since sEVs are compatible with biological tissue they are being investigated as carriers for nanodrugs. However, the impact of physiological stress—such as changes in temperature—on the structure of sEVs is obscure. A research team led by Richard Wong and Keesiang Lim at Kanazawa University has now used an advanced form of microscopy to elucidate these changes in real time.

The temperature, acid, and salt levels in our bodies can fluctuate with factors such as disease. Thus, research on sEVs for drug development requires a deeper understanding of how stressful environments affect the vesicles' structure. For their study, the team first isolated sEVs from cells. Next, using a technique known as high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) the structure of sEVs was revealed to be either spherical or ellipsoidal in shape. HS-AFM also enabled the researchers to accurately measure the sizes of sEVs without rupturing or damaging the vesicular membranes.

The effect of varying temperatures on sEVs was the first parameter assessed. At temperatures higher than normal (37°C) body temperature the vesicles showed deformations in shape coupled with a loss of elasticity of their membranes. On the other hand, sEVs in cold conditions (4°C) had a reduced ability to release any internal material effectively.

The researchers then studied the effects of pH (acid levels) on sEVs. The physiological pH of the bloodstream is 7.4. A pH less than 7 indicates acidic conditions and anything more than that is termed alkaline. The sEVs seemed to maintain their shape in acidic conditions (pH 4) but in alkaline conditions (pH 10) they were deformed. However, at a pH of 4 the sEVs were smaller in size suggesting their internal contents had been lost.

Now, salt levels (known as osmotic pressure) at a concentration of 0.15 M are healthy. However, changes in osmotic pressure can have detrimental effects on cells. As conditions were gradually changed it was found that the spherical nature of sEVs decreased at high salt concentrations (1.8 M) but seemed to remain intact at low concentrations (0 M). After a while, vesicles in high osmotic conditions showed ruptured membranes.

An understanding of these dynamics is imperative to formulating sEVs as pharmaceutical aids in different disease conditions. This study established HS-AFM as a useful tool to depict changes in sEVs under various physiological conditions in real time. "In summary, our study demonstrates the feasibility of HS-AFM for structural characterization and assessment of nanoparticles," concludes the team.

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs): sEVs are sacs containing chemicals such as proteins, DNA, or metabolites released by cells. Usually playing the role of messengers, sEVs then deliver these chemicals to neighboring or distant cells. Hence, their shape, size, and elasticity are important for sEVs to function properly. For example, sEVs with reduced membrane elasticity might not be able to release their contents effectively.

sEVs are typically less than 200 nm in size and ferry around very small molecules. They are, therefore, under investigation for their potential role in delivering nanosized drugs/vaccines or chemicals used for diagnosis. The physical properties of sEVs in under varying physiological stress are, thus, important for understanding their behavior in different tissues and disease conditions.

High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM): Traditional AFM is a form of microscopy that utilizes a pointed lever grazing on the surface of molecules to depict their topography. As the lever moves about, it transmits signals that help create an image of the molecule's structure. However, the rate at which signals are emitted in AFM are too low to capture any dynamic changes. HS-AFM, on the other hand, enables a faster scanning of molecules such that images can be acquired in real-time. Even minor changes to a molecule's structure can be accurately captured.