DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, September 10, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- TradeQuo, a multi-asset brokerage providing access to forex, commodities, indices, equities, cryptocurrencies and contracts for difference (CFDs), today announced the launch of GOLD247, an instrument that enables eligible clients to trade gold on Saturdays and Sundays through the MetaTrader 5 platform.

GOLD247 is offered as a standalone instrument and operates alongside, not in place of, TradeQuo's existing XAUUSD products, which continue to trade on their standard weekday schedule.

How the instrument works

GOLD247 is available to eligible clients throughout Saturday and Sunday. At the start of the regular trading week, the instrument moves into close-only mode, under which existing positions can be closed but new positions cannot be opened.

Because traditional gold exchanges are closed over the weekend, GOLD247 utilizes a proprietary synthetic liquidity aggregation model to generate off-market quotes. As a result, pricing, liquidity, and execution conditions differ from weekday XAUUSD trading. Clients should anticipate wider spreads, reduced liquidity, execution slippage — where stop-loss orders are not guaranteed — and the potential for severe price gaps when standard underlying markets reopen on Sunday evening.

Client eligibility, trading hours, contract specifications and applicable product conditions are set out in the product documentation available on the company's website.

Market context

Gold prices respond to inflation data, central bank policy decisions, currency movements and geopolitical developments, which can occur outside the Monday to Friday trading week. Conventional gold instruments do not trade during weekend hours, and positions held over the weekend can be exposed to price gaps when trading resumes.

According to the World Gold Council's Gold Demand Trends report for the first quarter of 2026, published on April 29, 2026, total gold demand including over-the-counter activity rose 2% year on year to 1,231 tonnes, while the value of that demand rose 74% to a record US$193 billion. The same report stated that the LBMA (PM) gold price set a quarterly average record of US$4,873 per ounce, after reaching a high of US$5,405 per ounce in January 2026 followed by a correction.

About TradeQuo Global Ltd (TradeQuo)

TradeQuo Global Ltd (TradeQuo) is an international multi-asset brokerage offering execution services for Forex, indices, commodities, and contracts for difference (CFDs) via MetaTrader 5. The company is registered under the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA License No. SD140). For detailed trading specifications, margin rules, and risk disclaimers, visit tradequo.com.

Disclaimer

GOLD247 is an over-the-counter (OTC) CFD operating outside standard market hours, where off-market weekend trading utilizes synthetic liquidity aggregation that results in wider spreads, illiquidity, severe price-gap risks when standard exchanges reopen, and execution slippage where stop-loss orders are not guaranteed during low-liquidity sessions. CFDs are complex, high-risk leveraged products where 74–89% of retail investor accounts lose money, offered by TradeQuo Global Ltd — regulated by the Seychelles FSA (License SD140) — excluding residents of the US, UK, EU, Canada, Japan, or other restricted jurisdictions. This information is strictly educational, does not constitute investment advice, and readers should seek independent financial guidance before trading.

Risk Disclosure

Trading CFDs and leveraged products involves a high level of risk and can result in the loss of all invested capital. Weekend trading may involve reduced liquidity, wider spreads and pricing that differs from regular market hours. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The information in this announcement is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any financial instrument. Clients should ensure they understand the characteristics and risks of an instrument before trading and should seek independent advice where appropriate.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this announcement regarding future market conditions, product availability or planned developments are forward-looking and subject to change. They reflect the company's expectations as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future outcomes.

Media Contact

Media Relations TradeQuo
TradeQuo Global Ltd (TradeQuo)
support@tradequo.com

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, September 10, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Takamol Holding on Monday published a research paper titled, "Policy Priorities for the Global Labor Market Transition to the Capability Economy," outlining strategic frameworks for governments to adapt social protections, tax structures, and workforce measurements as traditional job models erode.

The research paper argues that industrial-era labor systems — which assume a stable relationship between one employee and one employer — are becoming increasingly misaligned with a modern workforce driven by platform work, cross-border engagements, and artificial intelligence augmentation.

According to the research, work is moving away from fixed job roles and toward a "capability economy," where verified skills matter more than tenure or formal position. The authors argue that:

• The breakdown is systemic: Social protection, payroll taxation, and labor statistics all rely on stable employers and jobs; when that relationship weakens, the rest weakens with it. The mismatch is already widespread where the International Labour Organization estimates that more than two billion workers, over 60% of the global workforce, are in informal employment. Reforming one program at a time will not be enough.
• Human capital is now a central factor of national wealth: World Bank wealth accounts estimate that it represents roughly two-thirds of wealth worldwide and about 70% in high-income economies. Yet the countries that finance education do not necessarily retain the workers they train, while aging and youth-surplus economies face opposite but connected workforce pressures. Workforce capacity therefore needs the same strategic attention as energy and infrastructure.
• AI is accelerating the transition: By 2030, the World Economic Forum projects 170 million new roles alongside 92 million displaced. The net gain of 78 million still transforms 22% of today's jobs and leaves 59% of workers needing training. Even if the long-term net effect is positive, institutions must respond before workers and financing systems absorb the disruption.
• AI can raise productivity without preserving the payroll base that funds protection: Research from NBER evaluating the effect of generative AI on customer service and a study published in Science evaluating AI's effect on knowledge-work tasks finds substantial gains, although effects vary by worker and task. Consider an illustration in which one AI-supported worker produces what eight produced before: output can remain constant while seven salaries shift into profit, reducing payroll contributions by roughly 88%. This is not a forecast, but a balance-sheet example of the fiscal risk [1]. The ILO reports that labor's share of global income fell from 52.9% in 2019 to 52.3% in 2022 and has since remained flat.
• Public measurement systems also struggle to capture how people work: Digital labor platforms record vacancies, skills, wages, and worker movements in close to real time, while public labor statistics still rely heavily on periodic surveys and categories built around one principal job. A person combining several short engagements can still appear simply as employed, concealing volatility, underemployment, and gaps in protection. When governments cannot see the transition clearly, every policy response is late and less targeted.

To prevent systemic gaps in social safety nets, payroll tax bases, and labor intelligence, the paper outlines six core policy priorities:

1. Establish skills as primary economic signals: Build the infrastructure that allows capability to move across employers and borders, including a shared skills taxonomy, a digital verification layer, portable skills records, adapted licensing rules, and employer co-investment in assessment. Singapore's SkillsFuture shows how this can operate at national scale; cross-border interoperability remains the main gap.
2. Treat workforce capacity as strategic infrastructure: Raise labor market planning to the level of fiscal and industrial policy, with cross-ministerial governance, durable funding, and active labor market programs that improve employment and earnings when designed well. Germany's Kurzarbeit short-time work scheme and dual vocational training system illustrate the approach.
3. Govern AI as a workforce multiplier: Treat the labor effects of AI as a direct object of policy through labor impact assessments, transparency requirements for hiring and management systems, real-time monitoring within labor ministries, and tax treatment that distinguishes augmentation from displacement. Training should also assume AI as a standard tool, as the EU AI Act and Saudi Arabia's SAMAI initiative indicate.
4. Align fiscal systems with capability-based economies: Shift the tax base from payroll toward value creation, using instruments already under implementation or debate, such as mandatory platform contributions, the OECD/G20 global minimum tax framework, earmarked transition funds, and international coordination. A broader value-creation levy remains at the design stage, while McKinsey estimates that generative AI could create $2.6–$4.4 trillion in annual economic value.
5. Design portable and adaptive protection systems: Attach protection to the worker rather than the job, through contributions prorated by hours or tasks, accumulation that moves across employers and borders, minimum contributions from every entity that engages labor, real-time tracking of entitlements, and safeguards that preserve accrued rights through transitions. Singapore's Platform Workers Act, France's Compte Personnel de Formation, India's Code on Social Security, and Saudi Arabia's Wage Protection System each implement part of this, though no country yet combines all five.
6. Build computational labor intelligence systems: Connect employment, skills, protection, education, and tax data into a real-time system governed by purpose limitation, independent oversight, algorithmic transparency, and rights of worker review. Saudi Arabia's Qiwa, the official Saudi Arabia platform for business owners, employees, and service providers shows this direction drawing on a registry of 11.6 million contracts across 1.6 million establishments [2] to inform enforcement and policy.

The standard model worked because one stable job linked protection, revenue, and measurement, and each reinforced the others. The policy priority is to rebuild that alignment around the worker. These priorities are interdependent: a worker whose skills are unverified gains little from portable protection, and a fiscal system that cannot measure value cannot fund the transitions workers require. The capability economy needs the same fit between how work is organized, measured, governed, protected, and taxed, rebuilt around the individual rather than the employer. Delay will fall unevenly on younger and older workers, informal workers, and women. The work now is to connect reforms that still exist across separate institutions and systems.

The full research paper is available via Takamol.

[1] Authors' illustration. The example assumes constant output and an unchanged payroll-contribution rate. It is intended to illustrate how AI-driven productivity gains could reduce the payroll base, not to predict a specific employment outcome.

[2] Figures supplied by Takamol based on Qiwa administrative data.

MIAMI, FL, September 10, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Reputation Pros, a Miami-based online reputation management company for executives, public figures, and businesses, has been listed first in "Online Reputation Management Companies for Executives and Brands in 2026," a roundup published on Adweek on Sept. 9, 2026. The roundup profiles Reputation Pros, founded in 2017 by Scott Keever, as a firm “for executives, public figures, and high-stakes search suppression.”

The Adweek roundup notes that online reputation management “now reaches well beyond review monitoring,” and that for executives, founders, investors, attorneys, physicians, and public figures, the issue can involve “search results, news coverage, reviews, social media, digital PR, privacy, crisis response and, increasingly, AI-generated answers.” Of the five firms it profiles, the roundup concludes that Reputation Pros “is the recommended choice for executives and high-stakes, confidential cases.”

Push, Promote, Protect: A Defined Reputation Management Method

According to the roundup, Reputation Pros “structures its work around three steps: push down harmful results, promote authoritative positive content, and protect clients against future threats.” The firm applies that method across Google search results, review platforms, AI-generated answers, knowledge panels, and third-party content.

The roundup adds that a durable result “usually takes more than one new article or a single removal request,” calling for owned assets, optimized profiles, credible media, technical SEO, and ongoing monitoring.

AI Reputation Management for Executives

Reputation Pros treats AI reputation management as a core service. Adweek reports that the firm tracks how clients are described by AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, “not only how they rank in traditional search.”

“When an investor, a board member or a prospective client looks you up today, the first impression may come from a Google result, a knowledge panel or an answer from ChatGPT,” said Scott Keever, founder and CEO of Reputation Pros. “Online reputation management has to cover all of those places at once. Our job is to make sure each one tells an accurate story.”

Confidential Reputation Management

The roundup describes confidentiality as central to the Reputation Pros model, noting that for executives and other high-profile clients, “discretion is not a side benefit; they typically want the outcome to be visible while the work itself stays private.”

“Clients want the results to be obvious and the work to be invisible,” Keever said. “That is the standard we hold ourselves to on every engagement.”

Additional Industry Coverage

Reputation Pros was also included in "The Best Online Reputation Management Companies of 2026," published by USA TODAY on June 17, 2026, along with Rough Draft Atlanta, The Independent, and Metro Times. 

Reputation Management Services

Reputation Pros’ online reputation management services include:

• Negative search result suppression and removal
• Online reputation repair
• AI reputation management across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews
• Executive and personal reputation management
• Reputation consulting and crisis response
• Review management and ongoing reputation monitoring

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Reputation Pros?

Reputation Pros is an online reputation management company headquartered in Miami. Founded in 2017 by Scott Keever, the firm helps executives, public figures, professionals, and businesses control what appears when people search their names on Google and in AI tools.

What is AI reputation management?

AI reputation management is the practice of monitoring and improving how AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity describe a person or company. Because these tools summarize information from across the web, inaccurate or negative content can shape an AI-generated answer even when it does not rank on Google’s first page.

Who does Reputation Pros work with?

The firm works with executives, founders, investors, attorneys, physicians, public figures, and organizations facing negative search results, unwanted public content, AI-generated reputation concerns, or other complex reputation risk.

How long does online reputation management take?

According to Reputation Pros, typical campaigns run 6 to 12 months, depending on the volume and authority of the content involved.

How can someone contact Reputation Pros?

Individuals and organizations can request a free, confidential reputation assessment at reputationpros.com or by calling (877) 801-7767.

About Reputation Pros

Reputation Pros is a Miami-based online reputation management company founded in 2017 by Scott Keever. The firm specializes in negative content suppression, online reputation repair, AI reputation management, executive reputation management, review management, and crisis response. Reputation Pros has pushed more than 1,000 negative items off the first page of Google search results for clients. Reputation Pros is a Google Partner and a BBB Accredited Business. For more information, visit reputationpros.com.

About Scott Keever

Scott Keever is an American entrepreneur, author, and online reputation management expert based in Miami, Florida. He is the founder and CEO of Reputation Pros, an online reputation management company he founded in 2017, and the founder of Keever SEO, a search engine optimization agency. Keever is the author of the books "Reputation Reset" and "Future-Proof Your SEO." He is a member of the Forbes Agency Council and the Fast Company Executive Board. A native of Lebanon, Ohio, and a graduate of Miami University, Keever writes about online reputation management, SEO, and AI search visibility. For more information, visit scottkeever.io.

Disclaimer

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an explicit endorsement by Adweek or USA TODAY. Third-party rankings, roundups, and media mentions cited herein reflect reported industry coverage as of their respective publication dates. Individual reputation management results, search engine suppression timelines, and AI search tool outputs may vary based on keyword competition, search engine algorithm updates, and specific client circumstances.

Media Contact

Scott Keever
contact@reputationpros.com
+1 877-801-7767

NEW YORK, NY, September 10, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Sonic SVM today announced the launch of the Trader Intelligence Framework (TIF), developed jointly with Manic, a prediction market trading platform built on Solana.

TIF is an open-source method for measuring which wallets in prediction markets demonstrate genuine forecasting skill, released alongside its full screening criteria, scoring code, and a dated snapshot of the first wallet list.

The framework comes out of what Sonic already does: turning off-chain signals into something transparent and tradable. Prediction markets are where those signals settle to a known answer, which is what makes judgment measurable in the first place, and why Sonic is publishing a standard rather than launching another venue.

On Solana, following smart money has become a default trading behavior. Apps like FOMO built their entire product around it: surface the wallets worth watching, then alert users the moment those wallets move. The behavior works. The verification never did. A memecoin position never settles, so a wallet that sold into a pump looks identical to a wallet that was right, there is no final outcome against which to distinguish the two. Every smart money list in crypto today is a ranking of wallets nobody has been able to grade. Prediction markets are the exception, and they inherited the concept without the tooling: nearly every existing list still ranks wallets by realized profit. Realized profit conflates three weakly related factors — how much a wallet stakes, how long it has been trading, and how accurate its judgment is. Only the third is a property of the trader. The first two are properties of the account.

TIF measures the third alone. Each position is scored by its excess accuracy: the settled outcome minus the entry price. And because forecasting skill does not transfer across domains, scores are produced for each wallet-and-category pair rather than for each wallet, so a trader who is consistently right on politics is not assumed to be right on sports.

Isolating that factor meant rebuilding the record from scratch. TIF reconstructed 3,359,388 Polymarket positions from trade-level fills; 544,716 of them, across 84,889 markets, had both an entry price and a settled outcome and could be scored. Those observations resolve into 3,638 wallet-and-category pairs — the unit TIF ranks.

The two dashed lines are TIF's requirements: a positive edge, and enough settled positions to separate it from luck. Only the upper-right quadrant satisfies both — 87 of the 3,638 pairs, each resting on at least 84 settled positions. Size is not what qualifies them: the highest-earning pair made $6.82 million with no measurable edge. In an out-of-sample forward test, TIF's selections beat the contemporaneous population by 5.42 percentage points of judgment accuracy.

"Solana has spent this cycle building the best consumer trading experience in crypto, and prediction markets are the next category where that plays out," said Alan Zhu, CPO of Sonic. "Most of the ecosystem is competing for the same trading front end. We chose the layer above it. Data and standards are where durable value accrues, by open-sourcing the framework, we want this framework to become the reference standard for how prediction market traders are evaluated, regardless of which venue they trade on.”

Manic is the first application built on the framework. Its newly launched Smart Money section shows which wallets are worth following in a given category, what they have just bought, and at what price they entered relative to where the market is trading now.

"If you have used an app like FOMO to follow smart money on Solana, you already understand the behavior. What has been missing in prediction markets is a defensible answer to who actually qualifies as smart money," said Blake, COO of Manic. "A leaderboard sorted by profit puts the largest accounts at the top whether or not they were right. Our users need to know whether a wallet has an edge in this specific category, and whether there is still room to follow the trade.”

Key Characteristics of the Framework

• Scores judgment, not profit: Stake size and trading duration do not enter the score.
• Scored per category: Skill in one domain is not assumed to transfer to another.
• Sample gated: Every entry on the published list is based on at least 84 settled positions.
• Independently verifiable: The scoring and forward test code are open, allowing anyone to reproduce the published list.
• Venue agnostic: The method requires only trade level fills, the market price at each fill, and the settled outcome.

Polymarket is the first venue Sonic has scored under the framework, and the team intends to extend coverage to additional venues under the same standard. The screening criteria, code, and first wallet list are available today. The continuously updated list, live signals, and notifications are available in Manic's Discover section.

This launch reinforces Sonic's position as infrastructure for consumer applications on Solana, complementing existing partnerships with Chainlink, Pyth, Arkham Intelligence, Symbiosis, and other leading protocols. With over $600 million in Total Value Locked and more than 3 million unique addresses, Sonic continues to emerge as a leading destination for consumer crypto applications.

About Sonic SVM

Sonic SVM is the programmable Attention Network on Solana, turning off chain signals and on chain activity into transparent, tradable Attention Capital Markets. Sonic SVM is the first Solana VM designed for consumer applications and hypercasual games. Backed by $16 million from Bitkraft, Galaxy Interactive, and others, Sonic is accelerating the next cycle of consumer crypto.

About Manic

Manic is a momentum trading and prediction market platform built on Sonic, serving both human traders and AI agents. Its Discover section surfaces live prediction market activity, category level trader rankings, and smart money signals.

About Trader Intelligence Framework

The Trader Intelligence Framework is an open method for evaluating prediction market participants by judgment accuracy rather than realized profit, available at GitHub.

Disclaimer

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Cryptographic assets and prediction market participation carry significant market risk and volatility. The Trader Intelligence Framework, associated code, live signals, and wallet lists are provided on an "as-is" basis for educational and analytical purposes only. Neither Sonic SVM, Manic, nor their affiliates guarantee any specific trading performance, returns, or financial results from using these open-source tools.

LIMASSOL, Cyprus, September 10, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Sergey Portnov is stepping beyond Parimatch, the global iGaming brand that defined the first chapter of his career, and launching SP Ventures — a platform built to invest in, advise, and grow the next generation of companies.

As part of this transition, Portnov is stepping back from operational management of Parimatch, while deals with local operating partners are being finalized and the business moves into its next phase.

“For more than a decade, Parimatch has been the defining work of my career and has grown into something far larger than I imagined when I started. I’ll always be proud of it,” said Portnov. “But my interests have grown beyond a single industry and the management of one business, however large. I’m not stepping away because that work mattered any less — I’m stepping toward what comes next.” 

That next chapter is SP Ventures, an investment and advisory firm built to back the next generation of technology companies with more than capital. It will combine investment, hands-on strategic advisory, and access to a community of entrepreneurs who have built and scaled companies before, earning its stake through the work, not just the check.

“The hardest part of building a company is rarely the money,” said Portnov. “It's everything money can't buy: judgment you only earn by making real mistakes, the network that opens the right doors, a partner who has already walked the road ahead. That's what I want SP Ventures to give the founders.”

The firm intends to back companies across technology, education, and other fields shaping the future — early or established, united less by stage than by ambition, and the conviction to build something lasting. 

For Portnov, the ambition is personal: not to build one more company himself, but to stand behind the next generation of founders — the long-term legacy he strives for the most. 

“Every great story has a sequel,” he added. “Mine is about enabling other founders to write theirs.”

Sergey Portnov will lead SP Ventures as founder and chairman. The firm's portfolio already features its first investment project, Cyprus-based Trinity Private School, focusing on education as one of its core future-oriented pillars. SP Ventures is also reviewing opportunities and expects to announce its next investments in the coming months.

About SP Ventures

SP Ventures is a venture investment and advisory platform that partners with founders building the next generation of technology companies. The platform combines capital, strategic advisory, and access to a community of entrepreneurs, working inside the businesses it backs and tying its success to the outcomes of its portfolio. SP Ventures backs companies by conviction: shared values, a shared vision, and real disruptive potential. The firm was founded by entrepreneur and investor Sergey Portnov, its founder and chairman. For more information, visit sp.ventures.

Media Contact

sergeyportnovsp@gmail.com

MCKINNEY, TX, September 10, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- ScienceSoft has published a prediction article based on its proprietary research into the future of telemedicine adoption in the United States. Kate Lukina, MD, Hadeel Abu Baker, and Julia Lebedeva forecast that by 2030, one in ten U.S. medical visits could take place virtually, with gradual growth expected across mental health, endocrinology, obstetrics, and primary care.

The research team at ScienceSoft analyzed telehealth utilization statistics, regulatory and reimbursement developments, patient access barriers, and opinions from healthcare industry leaders. Telehealth has consistently accounted for approximately 6–7% of U.S. medical visits since 2022, indicating that virtual care has retained a stable role after the pandemic-era surge. However, future growth will largely depend on permanent government support, including the future of Medicare telehealth flexibilities, currently extended through December 31, 2027.

The article also examines the unequal pace of adoption. Mental health remains the leading specialty, with 28.5% of encounters conducted virtually in March 2026. At the same time, broadband and technology access continue to restrict virtual care in underserved communities: 94% of community health center leaders identified limited patient access to broadband or technology as a major telehealth challenge.

ScienceSoft expects telemedicine to become a permanent part of hybrid healthcare delivery rather than replace in-person care. Providers may gain additional capacity and support hospital-at-home models, while patients may benefit from more convenient access to follow-ups, mental healthcare, and chronic condition management. Payers may see opportunities to support preventive care but will need to address service verification and fraud risks.

Read the full article for ScienceSoft’s forecast, supporting evidence, and analysis of the factors shaping telemedicine adoption. Request a copy of the full research for more details.

Press Inquiries Welcome

With 21 years in healthcare IT and more than 150 healthcare projects, ScienceSoft works with healthcare providers and digital health companies on telehealth and other patient-facing solutions. Its healthcare IT consultants and solution architects are available to provide journalists with commentary on telehealth adoption, regulatory and implementation challenges, system integration, hybrid care models, and AI in virtual care. For interviews or expert insights, visit ScienceSoft’s Press Room. To submit a press inquiry, visit ScienceSoft's Press Room at www.scnsoft.com/press-room.

About ScienceSoft

ScienceSoft is an AI transformation and software engineering company with more than 150 successful projects for healthcare organizations in the U.S. and around the globe. Working in the medical IT field since 2005, ScienceSoft delivers secure, risk- and cost-aware, and highly interoperable software for clinical workflows, diagnostics, and patient outreach. Holding ISO 13485, 9001, and 27001 certifications, the company focuses on designing digital solutions that bring long-term clinical and operational gains despite diverse staff and patient expectations, shifting priorities, and legacy system constraints. For more information, visit www.scnsoft.com/healthcare.

Media Contact

Alexa Tsviatkova
ScienceSoft
adtsviakova@scnsoft.com

BOSTON, MA, September 10, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Clinical Maestro launches Source Plus, its next-generation intelligent sourcing solution for pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations managing complex, high-value outsourced services.

Source Plus goes beyond traditional sourcing automation by combining Maestro AI, pharmaceutical domain intelligence, proven sourcing methodologies, structured data and highly configurable workflows into a single intelligence layer. Unlike generic procurement applications designed primarily for standardized purchasing, Source Plus is purpose-built for complex clinical outsourcing decisions where service providers may differ substantially in scope, assumptions, timelines, activities, delivery models and pricing.

From a focused RFI to a global, multi-region and multi-cohort clinical RFP, Source Plus helps teams structure requirements, engage service providers, compare sophisticated proposals, manage negotiations and make faster, better-supported outsourcing decisions.

“Clinical sourcing is fundamentally different from generic procurement,” said Anca Copaescu, chief executive officer of Clinical Maestro. “These are complex, high-value decisions that require much more than comparing price. Source Plus combines Maestro AI with nearly a decade of pharmaceutical outsourcing know-how, proven methodologies and clinical-specific workflows to create an intelligence layer around the sourcing decision. It turns complexity into structured, actionable intelligence.”

Intelligence Beyond AI

Artificial intelligence is an important part of Source Plus and further enhances the intelligence that already constitutes the intelligence layer of the application: industry best practices, unique clinical know-how and workflows and bid grid mapping. Further, Source Plus combines Maestro AI for natural-language retrieval, event creation, proposal analysis and executive summaries with pharmaceutical intelligence built around clinical terminology, study assumptions, timelines, detailed budgets and service provider proposals. Proven sourcing methodologies are embedded into reusable, configurable workflows, while structured data transforms sourcing history into organizational knowledge that can be retrieved, compared and reused.

Instead of leaving valuable information trapped in spreadsheets, documents and individual team members, Source Plus turns sourcing activity into reusable domain-specific intelligence.

Built for Complex Sourcing Decisions

Pharmaceutical sourcing requires flexibility and analytical depth that generic procurement technology was not designed to provide. Source Plus enables teams to evaluate not only total price, but the assumptions and operational decisions behind it, including scope, activities, effort, timelines, delivery models, rates, cohorts, regions and negotiation rounds.

Its component-based architecture allows organizations to standardize sourcing without forcing every project into the same workflow. Teams can create anything from a streamlined RFI to a sophisticated global RFP, reuse templates and components, and apply different costing methodologies within the same event.

“Our objective was to build technology capable of handling pharmaceutical complexity without making the technology itself complex,” said Paulo Carvalho, chief operating officer of Clinical Maestro. “Source Plus combines deep flexibility and configurability with an intuitive user experience and a faster, more secure architecture. It is designed to provide the sophisticated functionality pharmaceutical outsourcing requires while remaining simple for teams to use every day.”

Smarter Sourcing from RFI to Award

Source Plus brings the sourcing journey into one connected environment. Teams can configure events from reusable templates, collect standardized service provider responses in the solution or through familiar Excel templates, compare proposals across assumptions, scope, timelines, activities, scores and detailed costs, and track changes across rebids and negotiations. Maestro AI helps retrieve information, identify meaningful differences and generate decision-ready summaries while keeping users in control.

The solution connects clinical operations, outsourcing, procurement, finance and other stakeholders around a transparent and defensible vendor-selection process. It also extends beyond clinical outsourcing to all major R&D procurement categories, such as CMC, pre-clinical and non-clinical.

From Sourcing Data to Organizational Intelligence

Source Plus creates value beyond an individual RFP. As sourcing events accumulate, proposals, assumptions, pricing, negotiations and service provider responses become structured and searchable. Organizations can reuse that knowledge in future decisions rather than repeatedly rebuilding analyses from disconnected files — turning sourcing history into an increasingly valuable intelligence asset.

Measurable Business Impact

Clinical Maestro customers have demonstrated more than 75% reduction in sourcing effort, more than 50% shorter sourcing cycles and more than 10% savings through the RFP process. Source Plus builds on that foundation with greater flexibility, deeper intelligence, enhanced AI and a modernized enterprise architecture.

The result: Less manual work, more comparable proposals, deeper insight and faster, more confident outsourcing decisions.

About Clinical Maestro

Clinical Maestro develops purpose-built technology for pharmaceutical business operations. Source Plus is its next-generation intelligent sourcing solution, combining Maestro AI, pharmaceutical expertise, structured data and configurable workflows to simplify complex outsourcing and improve decision-making. For more information, visit clinicalmaestro.com.

Media Contact

Ema Hafner
Marketing Director
ehafner@clinicalmaestro.com

SHANGHAI, China, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- On September 3, the 2026 China Culture & Tourism Industries Expo, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, commenced at the Tianjin Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center. During the Expo, Trip.com Group officially launched Trip Music Award 2, marking a new milestone in its efforts to expand the boundaries of cultural communication through music and promote deeper integration between culture and tourism.

With the theme of “Deepening the Integration of Culture and Tourism; Innovating for a Better Life through Smart Technology”, this year’s expo spans a total exhibition area of 100,000 square meters. It has drawn the participation of 2,540 culture and tourism enterprises from 20 countries and regions, as well as 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across China.

As a leading global one-stop travel service provider, Trip.com made a strong presence at the expo, showcasing its core resources. During the event, the award-winning works from the Trip Music Award 2 were impressively presented at the Trip.com booth. The booth’s LED screens continuously featured the promotional video for Trip Music Award 2 alongside the winning music videos. A significant number of the triumphant creators also assembled in Tianjin to partake in the celebration, with music as a conduit to narrate the stories of Chinese cities to the world.

Trip Music Award 2 stands as an innovative practice in content co-creation, and a vivid example of how “music + travel” empowers inbound tourism and propels Chinese culture onto the global stage. It proves that the synergy of emotional resonance and platform traffic can deliver tangible international attention and drive visitor growth for tourism destinations.

As one of the flagship events of the 2026 China Culture & Tourism Industries Expo, the 2026 International Travel Agents Conference (Tianjin), guided by the Expo Organizing Committee and hosted by Tripadvisor China, was held concurrently. The conference brought together hundreds of Chinese and international guests, including leading travel agents from Tianjin’s key international source markets—SCO member states, Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as overseas travel influencers and industry experts and scholars, to explore cooperation opportunities and deliberate on future development.

Li Zhuo, Deputy Director of Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, stated in her address that Tianjin is endowed with a rich cultural and tourism heritage, unique resources, and vast potential for industry development. She extended a warm welcome to travel agents and tourism professionals from across the globe to visit and explore Tianjin, and invited more domestic and international travelers to experience the city’s distinctive fusion of history and modernity, openness and inclusiveness, to appreciate Tianjin’s beauty and savor the charm of China. Tianjin will persist in enhancing its business environment and providing high-quality tourism services, collaborating with global partners to expand the inbound tourism market, sharing the benefits of cultural and tourism development, and jointly promoting high-quality industry growth.

Wang Wei, Vice President of the China Association of Travel Services and the Senior Vice President of Trip.com Group, stated that hosting the conference in Tianjin effectively combines practical industry matchmaking with overseas brand promotion. By convening leading global travel agents, overseas influencers, and platform organizations, the event has established an efficient and pragmatic platform for international tourism cooperation. On one hand, it serves as a bridge for direct communication and targeted business matching for tourism enterprises both domestically and abroad. On the other hand, it capitalizes on the international resources of Tripadvisor and Trip.com Group’s global platforms to introduce Tianjin’s high-quality tourism products to international markets, attract travelers from around the world to China and Tianjin, and support Tianjin in expediting its development into an international tourism destination.

Kimi Liu, CEO of Tripadvisor China, extended a sincere invitation to global tourism industry partners. He proposed taking this conference as a new starting point to jointly pioneer new frontiers in inbound tourism, embrace market change with an open mindset, cultivate tourism products tailored to overseas markets, and win over global travelers with high-quality services. The aim is to draw more international visitors to China, turning them into avid experiencers and ambassadors of Chinese culture and tourism. He also expressed his anticipation for deepening strategic cooperation with Tianjin, working together to establish the city as a benchmark for inbound tourism in China, and bringing the city’s unique city brand of “Talk Tianjin, Taste Tianjin” to a wider international audience.

In the “Encounter the World” session, the conference held in-depth discussions on the next phase of China’s inbound tourism development. Richard Matuzevich, the Senior Manager of the External Liaison Department at the World Tourism Cities Federation, stated in his keynote presentation that China’s inbound tourism is transforming from a conventional destination model into an international hub. This transition necessitates synchronized advancements in market revitalization, seamless travel experiences, and regional connectivity.

Summer Tang, Vice President of Tripadvisor China, unveiled a data report titled "Changes in China’s Inbound Tourism Trends from a Travel Perspective." The report reveals that international travelers are progressively shifting their focus from China’s traditionally favored cities to a wider array of destinations that boast a rich cultural heritage and distinctive local lifestyles. Drawing on her practical experience, Olesia Razumnaia, the General Manager of Samara Travel Agency, observed that following the SCO Summit, cultural and tourism exchanges between China and SCO member states have accelerated their recovery, injecting renewed vitality into the tourism industry.

As a significant outcome of the conference, the “Set Off for Tianjin” International Zone was officially launched, introducing premium themed inbound travel routes in Tianjin to global audiences. Leveraging Trip.com Group’s global resources, the zone provides a one-stop online service portal integrating information search, itinerary planning and product booking. The featured routes tap into Tianjin’s highly distinctive cultural IP, cover diverse consumption scenarios and precisely match the needs of different overseas source markets. The launch of the zone and themed routes marks a shift in Tianjin’s overseas inbound-tourism promotion from fragmented campaigns to branded and systematic operations, providing authoritative guidance for travelers around the world to discover and explore Tianjin.

The “Set Off for Tianjin” session focused on promoting Tianjin’s culture and tourism internationally. Zhu Jingjin, Associate Professor at Tianjin Foreign Studies University, delivered a presentation titled "Discover the Beauty of Tianjin, Feel the Charm of China." Centered on themes including the night scenery along the Haihe River, century-old Western-style buildings, mountain and coastal landscapes, and intangible cultural heritage and folk customs, the presentation offered a panoramic view of Tianjin’s tourism offerings, combining an urban sensibility, immersive experiences, youthful vitality and cultural depth. Overseas travel blogger Billy shared his insights in "A Taste of Tianjin, A City of Joy," drawing from his experiences living and traveling in the city. He pointed out that overseas audiences increasingly seek to experience the vibrant and authentic everyday life of China, and that Tianjin serves as a vivid window into contemporary Chinese urban life.

The 2026 Tourism Innovation Contribution Awards were presented at the conference. China’s first immersive themed entertainment tourism train, the “Tianjin Fantasy Express," won the “Best Innovative Urban Landmark & Space” award for its deep exploration of the city’s cultural essence and innovative immersive experience scenarios. Integrating Tianjin culture, modern technology, intangible cultural heritage arts and interactive experiences, the train brings the city’s memories beyond static displays and makes them tangible and experiential. This initiative not only injects new momentum into the development of urban experiential tourism but also serves as a moving window to tell the world the story of Tianjin’s unique charm of “River, Sea, and Tianjin Rhyme."

The conference also featured a signing ceremony between Chinese and international travel traders under the theme of “Boost Exchanges & Expand Business." In the presence of the event’s guests, multiple groups of representatives from Chinese and overseas travel trading companies signed cooperation agreements encompassing traveler exchanges, joint development of cultural and tourism products, cross-border marketing and promotion, and other areas. Focused on the objective of attracting inbound visitors, these agreements foster precise matchmaking and mutually beneficial collaboration between Chinese and international tourism enterprises, open up two-way channels for international visitor flows, stimulate growth in the inbound tourism market, and establish a comprehensive service loop from overseas marketing to domestic reception — providing a practical model for international tourism cooperation.

In addition to the conference’s main agenda, a series of immersive cultural experiences were arranged. Chinese and international participants explored Yangliuqing Ancient Town, Ciyiyuan Art Gallery, and the Water Memory Museum, where they experienced Tianjin-style intangible cultural heritage crafts including New Year paintings, ceramic arts, and inside-painted snuff bottles. By engaging with these intricate traditional crafts, participants gained a deeper understanding of the essence of Tianjin culture while generating rich content and inspiration for the continued upgrading of inbound tourism offerings.

The successful conference marks a significant stride in Tianjin’s commitment to fostering coordinated cultural and tourism development across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as well as enhancing the international profile of its city brand, “River, Sea, and Tianjin Rhyme." Through industry dialogues, cooperation agreements between Chinese and international enterprises, the launch of the international zone, and the unveiling of premium travel routes, Tianjin has advanced the branding and systematic development of its inbound tourism sector, infusing robust momentum into its aspirations to emerge as a pivotal domestic tourism hub and a key city for inbound tourism.

Looking ahead, Tianjin will take the conference as a new starting point, seize the strategic opportunities presented by China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and its vision of building a strong tourism nation. The city will continue to enhance its end-to-end services and support for inbound tourism, deepen practical cooperation with travel agents worldwide, and bring Tianjin’s unique charm to the global stage.

About Shanghai Ctrip Commerce Co., Ltd.

Ctrip is a travel services platform that helps travelers book and manage trips across hotels, flights, trains, tours, car rentals, cruises, visas, insurance, and corporate travel. It operates a broad portfolio of consumer travel brands and services, including hotel reservations, air ticketing, train tickets, vacation packages, and destination activities. Ctrip is part of Trip.com Group and serves customers in China and beyond with online tools, travel content, and integrated booking support. For more information, visit ctrip.com.

Media Contact

Alice Dai
daisj@trip.com

CINCINNATI, OH, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Travel brands have more ways than ever to reach prospective guests, but more channels do not necessarily create a clearer path to conversion. NaviStone, which helps travel and hospitality brands identify and activate high-intent audiences, sees a growing opportunity as the traveler journey becomes more complex. As consumers move between search, social media, AI-powered planning tools, reviews, websites, and recommendations, brands need better ways to recognize meaningful intent and act on it before that opportunity disappears.

To help travel brands navigate that changing landscape, NaviStone has named Kara Lange Director of Enterprise Sales. Lange brings more than 15 years of experience working across the travel, hospitality, technology, and advertising industries.

“Travel marketers are navigating an incredibly complex environment,” said Lange. “There is more data, more technology, and more competition for travelers’ attention than ever. But the answer isn’t always to generate more demand. There is a significant opportunity to better understand the intent travelers are already showing and find meaningful ways to engage them before they book somewhere else.”

Throughout her career, Lange has worked with organizations across the travel and advertising ecosystem, including Travelport, Arrivalist, Travel Syndication Technology, AdRoll, and GCommerce Solutions. Her experience on both the industry and technology sides of the business gives her a broad perspective on the challenges brands face as traveler behavior and customer acquisition continue to evolve.

“Kara understands where travel marketers are today and where the industry is headed,” said Larry Kavanagh, CEO of NaviStone. “Her depth of experience across travel and marketing technology makes her an important addition to our team as we help brands recognize the opportunities already present in their audiences and turn that intent into stronger customer relationships.”

In her new role, Lange will work with travel, hospitality, and tourism organizations to help them identify prospective and returning guests demonstrating meaningful interest, improve the efficiency of existing marketing investments, and build stronger customer relationships from the earliest stages of travel consideration.

Lange believes that relationship begins well before the first booking. Every time someone researches a destination, property, cruise, or experience, they provide signals about what matters to them. Marketers have an opportunity to better understand those signals and use them to create more relevant interactions throughout the consideration process.

NaviStone helps travel and hospitality brands identify high-intent website visitors and reach them with personalized direct mail based on demonstrated interests while they are actively considering a purchase. For Lange, that combination of behavioral intelligence and a tangible marketing experience is particularly well suited to travel, where imagery, anticipation, and inspiration play an important role in the decision-making process.

“Travel is experiential. People are imagining where they might go, where they’ll stay, and what that experience will feel like,” said Lange. “At a time when consumers are inundated with emails and digital advertising, a relevant piece of direct mail offers brands another way to stand out. It can complement the digital experience while giving travelers something tangible that keeps the brand part of the consideration process.”

Lange’s appointment reflects NaviStone’s continued investment in the travel and hospitality industry and its focus on helping marketers get more value from the audiences they have worked to attract. As travel planning continues to change, Lange will also bring her industry perspective to NaviStone’s ongoing thought leadership around consumer intent, marketing efficiency, and the evolving journey from anonymous traveler to loyal guest.

About NaviStone

NaviStone is a martech platform that unlocks and activates audiences brands are missing out on today. By combining website behavior with modeling, NaviStone enables marketers to deliver highly personalized media and messaging at the exact moment a consumer is considering a purchase. This approach increases return on marketing spend up to 70%. Headquartered in Cincinnati, NaviStone is trusted by leading brands across travel, retail, home services, and more. The company has been recognized as a Best Employer in Ohio, a Best Place to Work in Cincinnati, and a Fast 55 Award winner, recognizing the region’s fastest-growing companies. For more information, visit www.navistone.com.

BELLEVUE, WA, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Bellevue College, a public, open-admission institution serving students across Seattle's Eastside and the Puget Sound region's technology corridor, has been ranked the No. 1 college for women in Washington state in Newsweek's America's Best Colleges for Women 2026.

America’s Best Colleges for Women is a ranking developed by Newsweek in partnership with Gender Fair to highlight institutions that support gender equality and empower women. The methodology is rooted in the Women’s Empowerment Principles and evaluates colleges across four key areas: leadership, pay and policies, safety, and opportunity.

“Being named among the best colleges for women in America is a recognition of Bellevue College’s dedication to fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment where women can excel,” said Bellevue College President David May. “We believe higher education has the power to transform lives, and we remain committed to providing the support, resources, and opportunities that help our students reach their full potential.” 

The ranking identifies colleges that have established the structural elements necessary to foster education and employment for women by drawing on data from the U.S. Department of Education — including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the Campus Safety and Security Database — as well as additional desk research. Only institutions meeting specific criteria for size and academic roles are included, ensuring the results reflect meaningful progress toward gender equity in higher education.

In particular, Bellevue College scored highly in the following two categories: pay and policy, and safety, reflecting the college’s competitive pay and on-campus daycare, as well as a safe campus where women can work and learn.

Newsweek also noted in the ranked list information on state-level reproductive health policies so that students could consider how local laws may impact their healthcare access. 

Bellevue College offers a supportive culture that has led to a partnership with King County Eastgate Public Health Center’s sexual reproductive health program. In support of that partnership, the college’s health sciences program received a grant in 2024 to create a reproductive health resource hub for underserved or marginalized students.

“Choosing a college is a defining moment for many young women, and it’s about more than academics alone,” said Jennifer H. Cunningham, Editor-in-Chief of Newsweek. “America’s Best Colleges for Women highlights institutions that are making measurable progress in leadership, equity, safety, and opportunity, helping students identify environments where women are supported and positioned to succeed.”

About Bellevue College

Bellevue College officially opened its doors on January 3, 1966, fulfilling the community's dream of a local, accessible institution of higher education. Now, 60 years later, the college is located within the city limits of Bellevue, Washington, situated on 100 wooded acres within sight of the Cascade Range and Puget Sound. As the fourth largest institution of higher learning in Washington, the college has an annual average enrollment of more than 20,000 students. Bellevue College offers associate degree programs covering the first two years of a college education as well as four-year bachelor’s degrees, certificates, and community education programs in 100 professional and technical fields, such as computer science, information technology, business, and healthcare. For more information, visit bellevuecollege.edu.

About Newsweek

Newsweek is the global digital news organization built around the iconic 93-year-old American magazine. Newsweek reaches 100 million people monthly with its thought-provoking news, opinion, images, graphics, and video delivered across a dozen print and digital platforms. Headquartered in New York City, Newsweek also publishes international editions in EMEA and Asia. For more information, visit www.newsweek.com.

Media Contact

Raechel Dawson
Associate Director of Communications
raechel.dawson@bellevuecollege.edu

SPOKANE, WA, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Dr. Wm. Philip Werschler, a board-certified dermatologist and veteran clinical trial investigator, has surpassed 3,000 career research citations and 75,000 reads of his published work on ResearchGate, the global network for scientists and researchers. The milestone reflects a body of more than 140 publications spanning dermatology, aesthetic medicine and clinical drug development.

ResearchGate's comparative analytics place Werschler above 94% of dermatology researchers on the platform by publication and citation volume.

A Research Record Spanning the Modern Era of Aesthetic Medicine

Much of Werschler's published work is indexed in PubMed as part of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, and appears in journals including the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Dermatologic Surgery, JAMA Dermatology, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology.

His research spans a broad range of medical and aesthetic dermatology, including:

• Aesthetic and procedural dermatology: Neuromodulators, dermal fillers, lasers and other energy-based devices
• Inflammatory and immune-mediated disease: Acne, rosacea, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, atopic dermatitis (eczema), urticaria, hidradenitis suppurativa
• Infectious disease of the skin: Viral skin infections including warts, molluscum and herpes
• Hair and scalp disorders: Alopecia
• Growths, precancers and skin cancer: Seborrheic keratoses, actinic keratoses, nonmelanoma skin cancer

Taken together, that record traces much of the arc of modern medical and aesthetic dermatology.

Citations accumulate when other scientists reference a researcher's work in their own studies, which makes citation counts a widely used measure of how much a body of research has informed the broader field. Reads reflect how often colleagues view a publication summary, click a figure, or view or download the full text.

“Numbers like these are really a proxy for something simpler, which is whether the work has been useful to other clinicians,” said Werschler. “Citations mean colleagues are building on the research and using it to make decisions for patients. That is the part that matters to me.”

From Foundational Trials to Today’s Standards of Care

Werschler has served as a principal investigator on clinical research across dermatology and aesthetic medicine, including pivotal clinical trials for Botox Cosmetic, which received FDA approval for aesthetic use in 2002. He founded Premier Clinical Research and BreakAway Research and has held editorial roles at major dermatology journals, including as founding aesthetic Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology.

“I have been fortunate to be involved in clinical research since the early days of modern aesthetic medicine,” said Werschler. “Staying close to the evidence is what keeps a physician sharp, and it is ultimately what serves patients best.”

About Dr. Philip Werschler

Dr. Wm. Philip Werschler, MD, is a Clinical Professor of Medicine and Dermatology at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University. Board-certified in dermatology, he practices as a dermatologist, cosmetic surgeon and clinical investigator in Spokane, Washington. He founded Premier Clinical Research and BreakAway Research and has served as a clinical trial investigator across dermatology and aesthetic medicine, including the pivotal clinical trials for Botox Cosmetic, which received FDA approval for aesthetic use in 2002. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of Cosmetic Dermatology and as founding aesthetic editor of the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, and he is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery and the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. More information is available at spokanederm.com.

Media Contact

content@thebestreputation.com
+1 866-322-8316

GURUGRAM, India, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Shipsy has announced the beta launch of Shipsy Brain, a fine-tuned artificial intelligence model designed specifically for logistics operations. The model combines specialized models with data generated through Shipsy’s logistics platform and is intended to help enterprise AI agents interpret relationships among shipments, drivers, documents, carriers, routes, contracts, and financial processes. Shipsy Brain is currently available in beta to selected enterprises.

According to Shipsy, the model was developed to address the operational context required for logistics tasks that may be difficult for general-purpose artificial intelligence models to interpret consistently. Logistics operations can involve variations in addresses, consignment numbers, freight documentation, carrier information, routing requirements, and financial processes, requiring AI systems to work with information structured around industry-specific workflows.

“It is built to help enterprises move beyond dashboards and copilots toward AI systems that can reason, recommend, and act within clearly defined business controls,” says Soham Chokshi, co-founder and CEO of Shipsy.

Shipsy states that Shipsy Brain has been developed using operational data accumulated through its platform over a five-year period. The company reports that this data includes more than 50 billion operational events, more than 1.5 billion logged decisions, more than 100 billion GPS location pings, more than three billion proof-of-delivery labels, 342 carrier integrations, and more than 5,000 authored workflows.

The company says the model is designed to coordinate specialized capabilities across areas including documents, consignments, trips, workflows, and financial processes. These capabilities are intended to support AI agents performing tasks such as document validation, address interpretation, anomaly detection, estimated-time-of-arrival prediction, routing, settlement management, and workflow recommendations.

Shipsy Brain operates within Shipsy’s AgentFleet platform, where the company says AI agents can observe operational activity, identify tasks suitable for automation, and execute defined actions subject to configured controls. Organizations can establish confidence thresholds and permissions for individual tasks, allowing human operators to retain oversight of actions that require additional review. Shipsy also says operator corrections can be incorporated into subsequent recommendations.

The company has also designed Shipsy Brain to be fine-tuned and self-hosted, which Shipsy says can reduce the amount of prompting and computational resources required for certain logistics tasks. The company describes this architecture as a way to provide greater control over how its AI capabilities are deployed and used within enterprise logistics environments.

The launch reflects Shipsy’s broader development of AI capabilities for logistics operations, with the company positioning Shipsy Brain as a layer that can connect operational information with defined actions. Rather than functioning solely as a source of information or recommendations, the model is intended to support systems that can determine and execute appropriate responses within business-defined parameters.

Shipsy Brain is currently available in beta to selected enterprises. The company says feedback from participating organizations will inform the continued development of the model, including the configuration of permissions, workflows, and operational requirements. Shipsy has not announced a date for general availability.

About Shipsy

Shipsy is an enterprise logistics management platform focused on transportation, delivery, and supply chain operations. The company serves enterprise customers across multiple markets and operates from offices in Gurugram, London, Amsterdam, Riyadh, Dubai, Singapore, and Sydney. Shipsy is headquartered in Gurugram, India.

Media Contact

Shipsy
media@shipsy.io

DUBLIN, Ireland, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Smartling, the AI translation company, today named Anna Schlegel General Manager, EMEA, strengthening its regional leadership as the company continues to invest in growth across Europe. Schlegel will lead Smartling's EMEA go-to-market strategy, working closely with the company's established teams across the region to deepen customer relationships, accelerate growth, and help European enterprises scale their global businesses through modern, enterprise-grade localization.

Schlegel brings more than 30 years of experience in international growth and product strategy, most recently as General Manager of Global at Procore Technologies, with earlier senior leadership roles at Cisco, VMware, and NetApp. She has also served in the Parliament of Catalonia, Spain, as Vice President of the Legislative Committee for EU Affairs and External Action. She is the author of Truly Global and co-founder and president of Women in Localization.

"Europe is already an important market for Smartling, and we're continuing to invest in the people, presence, and capabilities that bring us closer to our customers," said Bryan Murphy, CEO of Smartling. "Anna understands both what it takes for global enterprises to grow across markets and the unique expectations European companies have as they adopt AI. Her leadership will help us deepen those relationships, accelerate our growth, and deliver even more value to customers across the region."

Schlegel will also help customers across Europe navigate rapidly evolving expectations around AI, data privacy, governance, and global content, while strengthening Smartling's regional partnerships.

"Europe is at a pivotal moment for enterprise AI. Some organizations are already deploying AI at scale, while others are determining where it can create the greatest business value. What unites them is the need to adopt AI responsibly, with the quality, governance, transparency, and trust European enterprises and their customers expect, and in alignment with the EU AI Act," said Schlegel. "Smartling already has strong customers, teams, and momentum across Europe. I'm excited to build on that foundation, get even closer to our customers in-market, and help organizations turn AI-powered localization into a trusted driver of global growth."

This fall, Schlegel will join customers and industry leaders across Europe as part of Smartling's seven-stop Global Ready Europe roadshow, from September 29 through October 9. The events will bring together senior localization, product, and marketing leaders to discuss AI translation strategy, executive buy-in, and the future of global content.

For more details, visit Smartling's Global Ready Europe event series.

About Smartling

Smartling is transforming how global enterprises create, manage, and scale multilingual content in the AI era. Its LanguageAI™ platform combines AI translation, workflow automation, and quality assurance infrastructure to help organizations automate multilingual content operations at enterprise scale. Trusted by leading global brands, Smartling enables companies to move faster globally while maintaining the quality, trust, and oversight required for enterprise AI translation. For more information, visit smartling.com.

Media Contact

Smartling
brianna@sixeastern.com

MCKINNEY, TX, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- ScienceSoft has published a prediction article based on its proprietary research into the adoption of predictive AI-powered wearables among older adults. ScienceSoft forecasts that by 2030, around 40% of people aged 55 and older may use wearable devices powered by predictive AI to flag warning signs of serious health conditions. These could include both medical devices and consumer wearables, such as smartwatches. Rather than diagnosing conditions or automatically triggering emergency services, such devices could prompt users and caregivers to seek timely clinical evaluation.

ScienceSoft’s research team assessed wearable adoption and ownership trends, barriers to use among older adults, the accuracy of wearable health measurements, and the applicability of machine learning to health risk prediction. AARP reported in 2026 that 36% of U.S. adults aged 50 and older owned a wearable device, suggesting that the technology already has a substantial adoption base. A 2025 study from the American Journal of Preventative Cardiology that used Fitbit and electronic health record data also showed that machine learning could predict all-cause hospitalization and cardiovascular risks with reliable accuracy. ScienceSoft predicts that adoption will grow gradually; however, device cost, usability, measurement reliability, privacy, and the ability to turn wearable data into clinically meaningful alerts remain key constraints.

ScienceSoft expects predictive wearables to develop primarily as a complement to clinical care, helping identify potentially concerning changes between medical appointments. For older adults and caregivers, this could mean earlier signals that professional evaluation may be needed. Healthcare providers could gain more continuous visibility into patient health and opportunities to intervene before some conditions worsen. Wearable manufacturers, medical device companies, and healthtech vendors could in turn see growing demand for accessible devices, validated predictive models, and infrastructure that securely connects wearable and clinical data — but their ability to limit unnecessary alerts and earn the trust of patients and clinicians will be critical.

Read the full article for a deeper look at supporting evidence, analysis of predictive AI capabilities, and assessment of the factors that may determine adoption by 2030. Journalists can also request a copy of the complete research for additional details.

Press Inquiries Welcome

ScienceSoft is an AI transformation and software engineering company that has worked with the healthcare industry since 2005. It has participated in more than 150 healthcare IT projects, including software development for wearables and other medical devices. The company’s healthcare IT consultants and solution architects are available to comment on wearable adoption, predictive AI in health monitoring, and the challenges of bringing these technologies into clinical use. For interviews or expert insights, visit ScienceSoft’s Press Room at www.scnsoft.com/press-room.

About ScienceSoft

ScienceSoft is an AI transformation and software engineering company with more than 150 successful projects for healthcare organizations in the U.S. and around the globe. Working in the medical IT field since 2005, ScienceSoft delivers secure, risk- and cost-aware, and highly interoperable software for clinical workflows, diagnostics, and patient outreach. Holding ISO 13485, 9001, and 27001 certifications, the company focuses on designing digital solutions that bring long-term clinical and operational gains despite diverse staff and patient expectations, shifting priorities, and legacy system constraints. For more information, visit www.scnsoft.com/healthcare.

Media Contact

Alexa Tsviatkova
ScienceSoft
adtsviakova@scnsoft.com

HOUSTON, TX, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- BrYet US, Inc. (“BrYet”), a biotechnology innovator focused on developing potentially curative therapies for advanced cancers, today announced AIFA approval of a first-in-kind cGMP manufacturing line for ML-016, the company’s lead clinical-stage cancer therapeutic. AIFA is the national public body that regulates medicines for human use in Italy, where BrYet’s manufacturing subsidiary is located.

The milestone clears an important manufacturing and regulatory hurdle for ML-016 and enables the production of clinical-grade drug product for BrYet’s upcoming clinical program in Australia. The ML-016 clinical supply manufactured on the newly qualified line was produced to the specifications required by the Australian regulatory authorities. Shipment of the clinical material to Australia is expected to begin shortly, supporting initiation of the approved clinical trial.

“Establishing a validated cGMP manufacturing process for ML-016 marks a critical milestone in our path toward the clinic,” said Lorenzo Pradella, CEO of BrYet Europe. “With this foundation in place, we are advancing ML-016 toward clinical evaluation for patients with difficult-to-treat primary and metastatic cancers of the lung and liver — an important step in our effort to address cancers where significant unmet need remains.”

“We engineered a customized, multipurpose pilot production line embedded with single-use technologies, specifically designed for our unique manufacturing process," said Giuliana Crema, BrYet Europe CMC Project Manager. "Securing regulatory approval for such an innovative setup represents a challenging major achievement that validates our approach to supply lyophilized, terminally sterilized ML-016 for clinical studies."

The manufacturing line was established in partnership with NerPharMa, a leading oncology contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO).

“We are extremely proud of this achievement and of the strong collaboration with BrYet,” said Damien Parisien, CEO of NerPharMa and Benta Europe. “This milestone demonstrates what our teams can achieve together, and NerPharMa is fully committed to doing everything possible to maintain the success of this partnership and support BrYet as ML-016 advances into clinical development.”

“We are very grateful to our partners at NerPharMa for their support qualifying and validating the manufacturing line,” said Dr. Mauro Ferrari, President and CEO of BrYet. “This achievement reflects the momentum we are building at BrYet as we advance ML-016, establish the capabilities needed to bring its potential to patients, and look toward building out our pipeline of novel therapeutics. We believe our approach could represent a major advance in the treatment of truly devastating cancers.”

ML-016 Overview

ML-016 is comprised of an amino acid polymer conjugated to doxorubicin with a formulation that includes BrYet’s proprietary Si-Plateloid™ technology, designed to target the vascular endothelium of blood vessels in the tumor microenvironment. The amino acid-drug conjugate is released into the tumor, where it forms exosome-like vesicles.

These “exosomoids” are designed to be preferentially taken up by cancer cells including those that have previously been resistant to therapy. Through the mechanisms of cellular trafficking, the exosomoid vesicles are intended to be transported to late-stage endosomes and lysosomes, where the increased acidity releases the cytotoxic agent into the cell nucleus.

BrYet has received Australian approval to begin its first-in-human clinical study of ML-016. The broadly scoped Phase I/II trial will enroll patients with any primary or metastatic cancer involving the lungs or liver, with the first patient dose expected to be administered in late 2026.

About BrYet US, Inc.

BrYet US, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company developing potentially first-in-class therapies for patients suffering from cancers for which there is no current curative treatment. BrYet Europe is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BrYet US that is focused on manufacturing ML-016, BrYet’s lead asset.

ML-016 is being developed for cancers of the lungs and liver, including advanced primary malignancies and metastatic spread from primary cancer that originates in other organs or tissue of the body. The company’s fundamental belief is that upon localization in the lungs and liver, these cancers acquire molecular transport phenotypes that are conserved regardless of site of origin and are largely independent of molecular mutations and their continued evolution. BrYet designs multi-component new chemical entities and formulations, which are directed against the fundamental aspects of these cancer-associated, organ-specific transport phenotypes.

The company’s proprietary platforms include the Si-Plateloid™ and the mathematical formalism for designing the multi-component drugs, termed Transport Oncophysics. BrYet believes that similar approaches may provide advances against other forms of presently incurable cancers, as well as other pathologies of the lungs and liver.

For more information about BrYet, visit bryetpharma.com.

About NerPharMa

NerPharMa is an Italian-based Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) specializing in the formulation and production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished dosage forms. Known for its expertise in handling high-potency compounds and complex manufacturing requirements, NerPharMa provides integrated services from clinical-stage development to full-scale commercial production. NerPharMa is part of Benta, an international healthcare group delivering integrated pharmaceutical manufacturing, CDMO services, and strategic healthcare solutions across global markets.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning BrYet and its business. These statements are based on the beliefs of, assumptions made by, and information currently available to the company’s management. When used in this document, the words “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “believes,” “plans,” “predicts,” “should,” “could,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from expectations. Factors that could contribute to these differences include the results of studies and clinical trials, regulatory approvals, challenges in clinical trials, the ability to retain employees, research and development expenses, reliance on third parties, intellectual property issues, competition, future funding needs, economic conditions, and other industry-specific risks. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, which are current as of the date of this press release. BrYet does not plan to update these statements unless legally required.

Media Contact

Dawn Cox
dawn.cox@bryetpharma.com

NEW YORK, NY, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Red Seat Ventures (RSV), a Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX) creator-led media company, today announced a strategic technology integration with Barometer, the AI-powered brand suitability and contextual targeting engine built specifically for long-form, premium and emerging media.

By integrating Barometer’s contextual analysis directly into Speakeasy, Red Seat Ventures’ proprietary hosting, distribution, and monetization platform, RSV enables advertisers to target content at the episode level. The integration unlocks more advertising opportunities in high-engagement, specialized genres while giving brands greater control over where their messages appear. Barometer’s AI evaluates each episode for tone, sentiment, and context prior to ad delivery, allowing RSV to make more inventory available across direct and programmatic campaigns.

“At Red Seat Ventures, we’re focused on providing creators the infrastructure and tools they need to build thriving, long-term businesses,” said Jeremy Price, SVP of Sales at Red Seat Ventures. “Premium podcast audiences are deeply engaged across every genre, but broad keyword blocking can unnecessarily limit monetization. By integrating Barometer into Speakeasy, we can evaluate content with greater nuance, giving advertisers the confidence to scale across our portfolio while unlocking more value for creators.”

Key highlights of the Speakeasy and Barometer integration include:

• Episode-level precision for all genres: Brand suitability episodes within top-charting series remain fully open to buyers, maximizing creator yield.
• Elimination of over-blocking: Advanced natural language processing distinguishes storytelling, journalistic reporting and nuanced discussion from actual brand risk, eliminating false-positive blocks that force advertisers to skip brand-appropriate inventory.
• Scale across audio and video: Supports custom brand suitability and contextual targeting leveraging the IAB Content Taxonomy and Barometer’s industry-standard brand suitability framework, preserving reach for brands across RSV’s network of tens of millions of monthly consumers.
• Native Speakeasy workflow: AI-driven classification operates within Barometer’s environment, enabling dynamic pre-release scoring and instant monetization upon publication.
• Continuous campaign monitoring: Barometer provides ongoing analysis and transparency, allowing Red Seat Ventures to monitor brand suitability performance in real-time and regularly optimize monetization strategies for creators.

"The biggest misconception in podcast advertising isn't reach — it's a lack of episode-level context," said Dr. Tamara Zubatiy Nelson, CEO and co-founder of Barometer. "Evaluating content dynamically at the episode level unlocks massive value for Red Seat Ventures, providing brand partners with access to highly engaged audiences safely and at scale." 

Red Seat Ventures represents more than 40 premium creators across true crime, comedy, news, sports, and entertainment, reaching tens of millions of monthly consumers across audio and video. The Barometer partnership marks another milestone in RSV’s continued expansion of creator-first technology and monetization capabilities. It follows recent announcements with Supercast and Kill Tony+, the announcement of Charlie Sheen’s Mostly Sheenius podcast, and support for Apple HLS, all designed to help creators safely unlock more inventory across direct and programmatic channels.

Barometer’s episode-level targeting capabilities are now live and available for direct insertion orders and programmatic buys across the Speakeasy platform.

About Barometer

Barometer is a premier, third-party, AI-powered contextual engine with best-in-class brand suitability and contextual targeting solutions for premium and emerging media channels. They help the largest brands in the world responsibly activate at scale in impactful channels like podcasts and generative AI. 

About Red Seat Ventures

Red Seat Ventures partners with top creators, brands, and media companies to develop unique, impactful digital properties. We offer our client-partners an unparalleled combination of investment capital, growth strategy, monetization and skilled management, all of which enable the rapid launch of new shows and businesses. As part of Fox Corporation, RSV is committed to fostering innovative content that resonates with audiences worldwide.

Media Contact

Ella Reznick
Barometer
press@thebarometer.co

Seana Sullivan
Red Seat Ventures / Fox Corporation
seana.sullivan@fox.com

IRVINE, CA, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- TORRAS, an innovative consumer electronics brand known for pioneering magnetic stand phone cases, is adding two new models to its lineup: Q3 Air Pro and Q3 Rugged. These new phone cases mark a shift toward smarter phone protection that combines reliable protection, practical functionality, and refined design without unnecessary bulk. The TORRAS Ostand Q3 Air Pro is compatible with the iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max and iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max. In addition to these models, the Q3 Rugged is also compatible with the iPhone 18 Fold.

The new TORRAS Q3 series was designed to solve real-world problems faced by iPhone users: a bulky case that feels uncomfortable, a workout that requires a fixed camera angle, an outdoor moment that is difficult to capture without a hands-free setup, and a phone exposed to drops while on the move.

Traditional rugged phone cases often relied on thicker, heavier layers to improve drop protection, resulting in designs that could feel like holding a brick. The added bulk can increase hand fatigue and make a phone less comfortable to hold for extended periods, particularly during outdoor activities like running or hiking.

In recent years, there has been a broader shift toward lighter, better-engineered, multifunctional gear that fits more naturally into everyday routines. As smartphones become pricier and more sophisticated, and magnetic accessory ecosystems become more common, users increasingly want slim protective cases that combine practical functionality with strong protection.

How the TORRAS Ostand Q3 Air Pro Airbag System Works

The Q3 Air Pro features Air Duet Dual-Layer Airbag Protection. It is a two-stage cushioning system inspired by layered performance-sneaker cushioning. It has an outer hollow air chamber that intercepts the initial impact of a drop, while the inner high-elasticity layer disperses any residual shock before it reaches the phone. AirDuet™ manages impact in two stages for more credible protection without relying on excessive bulk.

TORRAS was able to achieve a slim profile with the dual-layer airbag phone case using material engineering. The case was constructed with a Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) frame alongside upper and lower dual-layer TPU airbags, while the backplate was constructed with polycarbonate (PC). These materials offer improved toughness at lower material density compared to previous materials.

In a laboratory test, the Q3 Air Pro was dropped six times from a height of 5 meters (approximately 16 ft) onto a solid wood surface. No visible damage was recorded on either the case or the phone, and all buttons remained fully functional. In a separate creator-led stress test, the Q3 Air Pro was subjected to 104 drops from a height of 1.2 meters within one hour. The iPhone 17 Pro showed only minor frame scratches. The case is designed to provide drop protection of up to 16 ft, while its secure-grip design helps improve control during one-handed use, movement, outdoor activities, and use with bike mounts.

In addition to offering protection without unnecessary bulk, the Q3 Air Pro was engineered for everyday functionality. The magnetic phone case provides up to 18 N of magnetic force to support magnetic wallets, power banks, car mounts, bike mounts, and other compatible accessories. Its integrated 3-in-1 Ostand supports stand, hang, and snap use, with 360-degree horizontal rotation and up to 180-degree vertical adjustment.

Q3 Rugged Was Engineered for Maximum Protection Without the Bulk

TORRAS believes that heavy-duty protection should not require users to compromise on appearance or everyday usability. Consequently, the Q3 Rugged phone case was designed for users who prefer the traditional rugged outdoor phone case look without the bulk. It brings protection, grip, integrated construction, refined design, and practical functionality into one complete system. The Air Cushion corners absorb shock while helping the case retain a lighter, cleaner profile.

The Q3 Rugged was designed for functional minimalists who want professional-grade, heavy-duty protection without the excessive bulk of a traditional rugged case. Stand it, hang it, or snap it; one case functions as a fitness phone accessory and adapts to travel and outdoor life. In terms of construction, it features a PC backplate with a two-shot overmolded TPU frame for maximum toughness. It delivers a simple, refined look, rather than the exaggerated bulk of traditional rugged protection.

TORRAS is building the next generation of magnetic phone cases where protection is smarter, not simply bulkier. Every design decision responds to three essential consumer needs: easy to hold, easy to use, and easy on the eyes. At the same time, TORRAS is introducing the idea of Ostand Shot — turning the integrated Ostand into a tool for easier hands-free shooting and spontaneous content capture. By bringing protection, functionality, and creative freedom into one design, TORRAS helps users capture and create wherever life takes them.

About TORRAS

TORRAS creates technology accessories that combine protection, thoughtful engineering, and practical everyday function. Across Q3 Air Pro and Q3 Rugged, the brand challenges the idea that better protection must mean more bulk, while using Ostand to make hands-free use and spontaneous content capture part of daily life.

Media Contact

Hazel He
Head of Marketing, TORRAS, U.S.
turbohealyssa@torras-global.com

MCALLEN, TX, September 8, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- ContactPoint 360, is advancing an outcome-based model for enterprise customer experience that measures outsourced operations against business results such as retention, sales, revenue recovery, and customer satisfaction rather than relying mainly on cost-per-contact and staffing metrics.

The customer experience and business process outsourcing company says its programs have generated $16 million through upselling and cross-selling while reaching 107% of client CSAT goals across its accounts. ContactPoint 360 is using those results to support a broader model in which customer service teams are judged by the commercial value they protect or generate.

“Enterprise leaders are looking beyond traditional cost arbitrage and asking what their customer experience operations are actually producing for the business,” said Gary Batara, Head of Marketing at ContactPoint 360. “The conversation is moving toward retention, revenue performance, customer satisfaction, and measurable outcomes.”

Traditional outsourcing contracts have often focused on labor rates, average handling time, service levels, and cost per interaction. ContactPoint 360’s outcome-based CX model adds business measures that examine what happens after the interaction, including whether a customer stays, completes a purchase, accepts an upgrade, resolves an outstanding balance, or receives a resolution that reduces repeat contact.

The company applies that model across customer care, sales, collections, technical support, and other customer-facing programs.

ContactPoint 360 reports that its programs have produced measurable results in several areas. In one collections engagement, the company says its use of a machine-learning-powered accounts receivable platform, supported by human agents, helped reduce bad debt while supporting 24-hour automated payment processing. In a separate outbound program using voice AI and speech analytics, ContactPoint 360 reported higher sales per hour, fewer rejected transactions, and lower employee attrition.

Those examples form part of the company’s wider effort to connect customer experience spending with financial performance.

“Cost efficiency still matters, but it cannot be the only measure of a customer experience operation,” Batara said. “Our focus is helping clients connect service activity to outcomes they can measure across revenue, retention, and customer performance.”

ContactPoint 360’s flagship Omnichannel CX Management service supports that model across voice, chat, email, and social channels. The company uses AI-supported routing, real-time quality scoring, analytics, and performance monitoring to help direct interactions and maintain consistent service across customer touchpoints.

The company says its model depends on both technology and employee performance. ContactPoint 360 reports a 50% reduction in attrition across selected programs and uses a quality assurance model that scores customer interactions across channels rather than relying solely on limited samples.

Employee retention is treated as part of the operating model because experienced agents can build stronger product knowledge, improve consistency, and handle more complex customer situations. ContactPoint 360 links those employee measures with customer outcomes such as satisfaction, retention, and sales performance.

Its customer experience operations serve enterprise organizations across several sectors. Publicly identified clients include Tennis Channel, Flair Airlines, Auto Approve, and Achosa Home Warranty.

ContactPoint 360 supports clients through 12 global strategic centers and provides service in more than 31 languages. The global network allows the company to provide customer support across time zones while applying shared operating standards across markets.

For enterprise buyers, the outcome-based model changes how outsourcing performance can be evaluated. Traditional cost measures such as cost per contact and average handling time remain part of the scorecard, but ContactPoint 360 encourages clients to measure them alongside retention, sales conversion, customer satisfaction, recovered revenue, and other business results.

A customer interaction can therefore be assessed according to what it produces rather than only how quickly or cheaply it was handled. A support call may prevent a cancellation. A billing conversation may recover an outstanding balance. A customer inquiry may create an opportunity for an upgrade or additional service.

ContactPoint 360 says the model requires closer reporting between a provider and its clients. Companies need clear definitions for outcomes such as recovered revenue, retained customers, and sales generated through service interactions. Those measures can then be compared against operating costs and traditional contact center metrics.

The company is positioning outcome-based CX outsourcing as part of a broader move toward greater accountability in enterprise customer service. Rather than treating outsourced customer operations as a fixed expense to reduce, ContactPoint 360 is encouraging organizations to examine how those operations affect customer value and financial performance.

The company reports $100 million in revenue and 20% year-over-year growth, while supporting enterprise organizations across North America and other markets.

ContactPoint 360’s model places the focus on what customer experience operations produce for the business. For enterprise leaders, that means evaluating providers across a wider set of commercial and service measures instead of using cost reduction as the primary measure of success.

About ContactPoint 360

ContactPoint 360 is a global customer experience and business process outsourcing company founded in 2007. The company provides omnichannel customer care, technical support, sales outsourcing, collections, back-office services, multilingual support, workforce management, quality assurance, and AI-supported customer operations. ContactPoint 360 serves enterprise clients through 12 global strategic centers and supports customer interactions in more than 31 languages. For more information, visit contactpoint360.com.

Media Contact

Asad Mirza
pr@contactpoint360.com

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, September 8, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- South African sea salt company, Oryx Desert Salt, announced its expansion into U.S. Whole Foods Market stores amid growing consumer scrutiny over microplastics in traditional sea salt. Now in approximately 485 stores, the salt provider has held onto this listing for around five years as part of its expansion into over 23 countries. Consumers are paying more attention to pantry staples, and this attention applies to salt as publishers have documented potential contaminants in sea salt.

The Research: Plastic Salt?

Sea salt is created by evaporating salt water, leaving behind the salt once the water is gone. As a byproduct, what is in the water is then within the salt. This can include microplastics.

A 2015 study conducted at East China Normal University in Shanghai hypothesized there was a connection between microplastics and sea salt. The research tested 15 brands of sea salts, lake salts, and rock/well salts from supermarkets across China. The study concluded that sea salts contained more evidence of microplastics compared to other salts tested.

A different study published in 2018 provided further evidence of the relationship between microplastics and sea salt. Participants tested 39 salt brands from around the globe, including 28 sea salt brands from 16 countries on six continents. After testing, the report concluded that sea salts once again contained the highest quantity of microplastics.

Specifically, unrefined salts were linked to plastic content in rivers and microplastics in the surrounding seawater. The 2018 study was referenced by National Geographic in an article reporting that as much as 90% of table salt, as of 2018, contained microplastics.

What Makes Oryx Different

Oryx Desert Salt initially established its salt process with the intention of bringing a pure salt from an uncontaminated, pristine source to the market. Exactly because of that source, it also circumvented microplastic contamination in its salt. The company uses a 5,000-hectare pan from an underground brine aquifer in the Kalahari Desert to make this possible.

There, three subterranean streams are filtered through Dwyka rock formations and into the brine aquifer. It is fairly isolated, with the nearest town approximately 155 miles away.

The surface temperature of the desert can reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, leading the pumped brine to crystallize in around four weeks. Post-crystallization, the salt is packed with no bleaching, additives, or anti-caking agents.

The process and later expansion were all made possible by one woman in South Africa with a dream of bringing the ancient process to tables around the world.

About Oryx Desert Salt

Samantha Skyring founded Oryx Desert Salt in 2011, selling her home in Johannesburg to fund the company. In the beginning, Skyring bought 34 tonnes of Kalahari salt and hand-packed the earliest grinders from home, where she was raising her son as a single mom. Initially self-funded, she sold to farmers' markets, independent delis, health shops, and restaurants in South Africa. In 2013, what followed was 12 years of mentorship and investment by Evolve Capital — brothers Ian and Garth Solomon — also 5 years of support from Pape Funds, which supported Skyring in growing the business and building her vision. During the pandemic, the business lost 60% of its revenue. Instead of retreating, Skyring focused on acquiring Whole Foods Market as a retailer. Her efforts earned Oryx Desert Salt a national listing with Whole Foods in September of 2021. Since then, distribution has scaled. Oryx is available from other major retailers such as Amazon and World Market, and even supplies sachets to JetBlue and Amtrak passengers. Skyring was recognized with South Africa’s Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2024. Oryx Desert Salt remains founder-led and stays true to its original mission of being an alternative to conventional table salt and sea salt. For more information, visit oryxdesertsalt.com and follow on Instagram. 

Disclaimer

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. References to third-party studies on microplastics in sea salt are for informational context only and do not constitute direct clinical testing or health guarantees regarding specific product outcomes.

Media Contact

Samantha Skyring
sam@oryxdesertsalt.com

NORFOLK, VA, September 8, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- VisualZen, Inc. today established VZOS.com as the public home for VZOS®, its orientation management platform for colleges and universities.

VZOS represents the continued evolution of VisualZen’s work alongside higher-education orientation professionals. Rather than assuming colleges and universities operate orientation through a common model, VZOS is designed around a reality VisualZen has encountered repeatedly through its work with institutions: orientation programs differ in how they organize people, processes, programming, responsibilities, and institutional systems.

“Orientation may look simple from the outside, but the professionals responsible for it know how much work happens behind the event,” said David Morales, founder and CEO of VisualZen. “Our job is not to tell an institution what its orientation model should be. Our job is to understand the model it has chosen and determine where technology can appropriately support the people operating it.”

VisualZen has worked with higher-education institutions and orientation professionals since 2001. That experience has exposed the company to a wide range of orientation operating models and responsibilities, including orientation registration and reservations, student preparation, personalized scheduling, pre-advising, check-in and attendance, family and supporter programs, student leader processes, communications, and coordination across campus offices and systems.

That breadth has shaped VZOS as an Orientation Management Platform rather than software built around a single orientation event or standardized institutional process.

An institution may use VZOS for a focused operational responsibility or across a broader portion of its orientation journey. The appropriate footprint depends on the institution’s model, existing technology environment, responsibilities, and decisions about where the platform should play a role.

“We’ve learned that the important question isn’t whether one system can do everything,” Morales said. “It’s what each institution needs its orientation operation to do, which systems should own which responsibilities, and how the people doing the work can be supported without forcing their program into somebody else’s model.”

VZOS continues the platform lineage of VisualZen’s longstanding VZO technology while providing a clearer identity for where that work is going. Institutions using VZO are not being asked to abandon the platform or adopt a predetermined new model. VZOS reflects the continued evolution of the platform and VisualZen’s orientation-focused work.

The new VZOS.com makes that identity public and provides a place for colleges and universities to understand the platform in the context of the work they already manage. It also includes Orientation Insights, a collection of useful writing for higher-education professionals examining operational responsibilities such as orientation registration, check-in and attendance, personalized scheduling, pre-advising, orientation leader applications and selection, parent and family programs, and how orientation software can fit different institutional models.

Those Insights draw from VisualZen’s ongoing learning alongside orientation professionals and are intended to make portions of that learning useful beyond the institutions directly working with VisualZen.

VZOS is available to colleges and universities evaluating how technology can support the orientation model they already operate or are intentionally evolving.

About VisualZen

VisualZen, Inc. is the company and steward behind VZOS®, an orientation management platform for colleges and universities. Since 2001, VisualZen has worked alongside higher-education professionals to support the operational work involved in orientation and incoming-student onboarding. VisualZen helps institutions use technology at the scale their orientation model requires, from focused operational needs to broader portions of the orientation journey. VisualZen is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. For more information, visit vzos.com.

Media Contact

David Morales
Founder and CEO, VisualZen
david.morales@visualzen.com
+1 855-676-3546