The Impact of OJK Regulation No. 48/POJK.03/2020 on the Quality of Credit and Risk Management of Banking Credit -
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+The COVID-19 pandemic, which is spreading rapidly throughout the world, has seriously harmed many countries, including Indonesia. Many things have been detrimental due to COVID-19, one of which is the economic aspect. This pandemic made it difficult for many debtors to fulfil their credit obligations that led the government to issue a countercyclical policy to provide a stimulus to the national economy. This study aims to determine the impact of OJK Regulation No.48 of 2020 on credit quality and control of banking credit risk in Indonesia. The research method used is descriptive qualitative with a literature approach using secondary data. This OJK regulation regulates economic stimulus through credit restructuring and regulates the implementation of credit risk management in banks. The existence of this regulation can maintain the stability of banking performance by keeping the Non-Performing Loan (NPL) number below 5% and providing a reference for banks in risk management with a model that is relevant to economic conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Empty streets, busy Internet. A time series analysis of cybercrime and fraud trends during COVID-19 -
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+There have been many warnings about the rising threat of cybercrime and fraud resulting from the COVID-19 lockdown measures and the associated increase in Internet use. However, there is still relatively little data with which to support the alerts and any changes may be nuanced. The present paper applies time series analysis methods to historical data on cybercrime and fraud reported to Action Fraud in the UK to examine whether any potential increases are beyond normal crime variability. Furthermore, the discrepancies between fraud types and individual and organisation victims are also analysed. The results show that while both total cybercrime and total fraud did increase beyond predicted levels, the changes in victimisation were not homogenous across fraud types and victims. The implications of these findings on how changes in routine activities in the UK have influenced cybercrime and fraud opportunities are discussed in relation to policy, practice and academic debate.
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Comparative analysis of codon usage patterns in SARS-CoV-2, its mutants and other respiratory viruses -
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+The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2) poses a worldwide human health crisis, causing respiratory illness with a high mortality rate. To investigate the factors governing codon usage bias in all the respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 isolates from different geographical locations (~62K) including two recently emerging strains from the United Kingdom (UK), i.e.,VUI202012/01 and South Africa (SA), i.e., 501.Y.V2 codon usage bias (CUBs) analysis was performed. The analysis includes RSCU analysis, GC content calculation, ENC analysis, di-nucleotide frequency and neutrality plot analysis. We were motivated to conduct the study to fulfil two primary aims: first, to identify the difference in codon usage bias amongst all SARS-CoV-2 genomes and secondly, to compare their CUBs properties with other respiratory viruses. A biased nucleotide composition was found as most of the highly preferred codons were A/U-ending in all the respiratory viruses studied here. When compared with human host, the RSCU analysis led to the identification of 11 over-represented codons and 9 under-represented codons in SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Correlation analysis of ENC and GC3s revealed that mutational pressure is the leading force determining the CUBs. The present study results yields a better understanding of codon usage preferences for SARS-CoV-2 genomes and discover the possible evolutionary determinants responsible for the biases found among the respiratory viruses, thus unveils a unique feature of the SARS-CoV-2 evolution and adaptation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt at comparative CUBs analysis on the worldwide genomes of SARS-CoV-2, including novel emerged strains and other respiratory viruses.
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Maturation signatures of conventional dendritic cells in COVID-19 reflect direct viral sensing -
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+Growing evidence suggests that conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) undergo aberrant maturation in COVID-19, and this adversely affects T cell activation. Here, we find that cDC2 subtypes show similar infection-induced gene signatures with an increasing gradient of expression of interferon-stimulated genes from mild to severe patients and a down-regulation of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC class II) molecules and some inflammatory cytokines compared to the baseline level of healthy donors. In vitro, the direct exposure of cDC2s to the virus recapitulates the type of activation observed in vivo. Our findings provide evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can directly interact with cDC2s and, by down-regulating crucial molecules required for T cell activation, implements an efficient immune escape mechanism.
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Identification and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 leader subgenomic mRNA gene junctions in nasopharyngeal samples shows phasic transcription in animal models of COVID-19 and aberrant pattens in humans -
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+Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 has a complex strategy for the transcription of viral subgenomic mRNAs (sgmRNAs), which are targets for nucleic acid diagnostics. Each of these sgRNAs has a unique 5 sequence, the leader-transcriptional regulatory sequence gene junction (leader-TRS-junction), that can be identified using sequencing. Results: High resolution sequencing has been used to investigate the biology of SARS-CoV-2 and the host response in cell culture models and from clinical samples. LeTRS, a bioinformatics tool, was developed to identify leader-TRS-junctions and be used as a proxy to quantify sgmRNAs for understanding virus biology. This was tested on published datasets and clinical samples from patients and longitudinal samples from animal models with COVID-19. Discussion: LeTRS identified known leader-TRS-junctions and identified novel species that were common across different species. The data indicated multi-phasic abundance of sgmRNAs in two different animal models, with spikes in sgmRNA abundance reflected in human samples, and therefore has implications for transmission models and nucleic acid-based diagnostics.
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Optimizing vaccine allocation for COVID-19 vaccines: potential role of single-dose vaccination. -
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+Most of the COVID-19 vaccines require two doses, at least 3 weeks apart. In the first few months of vaccine deployment, vaccine shortages will be inevitable. Current vaccine prioritization guidelines for COVID-19 vaccines all assume two-dose vaccine deployment. However, vaccinating twice as many people with a single dose of vaccine might be a better use of resources. Utilizing an age-stratified mathematical model combined with optimization algorithms, we determined the optimal vaccine allocation with one and two doses of vaccine to minimize five key metrics of disease burden (total infections, symptomatic infections, deaths, peak non-ICU and ICU hospitalizations) under a variety of assumptions (different levels of social distancing, vaccine availability, mode of action of vaccines, vaccination rate). Our results suggest that maintaining current social distancing interventions and speedy vaccine deployment are key for successful vaccination campaigns. Further, we show that the optimal allocation of vaccine critically depends on the single-dose efficacy (SDE). If the SDE is high, then under the majority of scenarios considered, single-dose vaccination is the optimal use of vaccine, preventing up to 48% more deaths than a strategy allocating vaccine to the high-risk (older age groups in our model) first. If the SDE is low or medium, then our results suggest that mixed vaccination campaigns with one and two doses of vaccine are best. Our work suggests that it is an absolute imperative to quickly and fully determine the efficacy of single-dose vaccines, as single-dose vaccinations can put an end to this pandemic much more quickly.
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Altered Sub-Genomic RNA Expression in SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 Infections -
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+SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 viruses are more transmissible, may lead to greater clinical severity, and result in modest reductions in antibody neutralization. subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) is produced by discontinuous transcription of the SARS-CoV-2 genome and is a crucial step in the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle. Applying our tool (periscope) to ARTIC Network Oxford Nanopore genomic sequencing data from 4400 SARS-CoV-2 positive clinical samples, we show that normalised sgRNA expression profiles are significantly increased in B.1.1.7 infections (n=879). This increase is seen over the previous dominant circulating lineage in the UK, B.1.177 (n=943), which is independent of genomic reads, E gene cycle threshold and day of illness when sampling occurred. A noncanonical subgenomic RNA which could represent ORF9b is significantly enriched in B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 infections, potentially as a result of a triple nucleotide mutation leading to amino acid substitution D3L in nucleocapsid in this lineage which increases complementarity with the genomic leader sequence. These findings provide a unique insight into the biology of B.1.1.7 and support monitoring of sgRNA profiles in sequence data to evaluate emerging potential variants of concern.
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Recombinant protein subunit SARS-CoV-2 vaccines formulated with CoVaccine HT adjuvant induce broad, Th1 biased, humoral and cellular immune responses in mice -
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+The speed at which several COVID-19 vaccines went from conception to receiving FDA and EMA approval for emergency use is an achievement unrivaled in the history of vaccine development. Mass vaccination efforts using the highly effective vaccines are currently underway to generate sufficient herd immunity and reduce transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Despite the most advanced vaccine technology, global recipient coverage, especially in resource-poor areas remains a challenge as genetic drift in naive population pockets threatens overall vaccine efficacy. In this study, we described the production of insect-cell expressed SARS-CoV-2 spike protein ectodomain and examined its immunogenicity in mice. We demonstrated that, when formulated with CoVaccine HTTM adjuvant, an oil-in-water nanoemulsion compatible with lyophilization, our vaccine candidates elicit a broad spectrum IgG response, high neutralizing antibody titers, and a robust, antigen-specific IFN-{gamma}; secreting response from immune splenocytes in outbred mice. Our findings lay the foundation for the development of a dry-thermostabilized vaccine that is deployable without refrigeration.
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Covid-19 lockdown: Ethnic differences in childrens self-reported physical activity and the importance of leaving the home environment. A longitudinal and cross-sectional study from the Born in Bradford birth cohort study. -
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+Background In England, the onset of COVID-19 and a rapidly increasing infection rate resulted in a lockdown (March-June 2020) which placed strict restrictions on movement of the public, including children. Using data collected from children living in a multi-ethnic city with high levels of deprivation, this study aimed to: (1) report childrens self-reported physical activity (PA) during the first COVID-19 UK lockdown and identify associated factors; (2) examine changes of childrens self-reported PA prior to and during the first UK lockdown. Methods This study is part of the Born in Bradford (BiB) COVID-19 Research Study. PA (amended Youth Activity Profile), sleep, sedentary behaviours, daily frequency/time/destination/activity when leaving the home, were self-reported by 949 children (9-13 years). A sub-sample (n=634) also self-reported PA (Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children) pre-pandemic (2017-February 2020). Univariate analysis assessed differences in PA between sex and ethnicity groups; multivariable logistic regression identified factors associated with childrens PA. Differences in childrens levels of being sufficiently active were examined using the McNemar test examined change in PA prior to and during the lockdown, and multivariable logistic regression to identify factors explaining change. Results During the pandemic, White British (WB) children were more sufficiently active (34.1%) compared to Pakistani Heritage children (PH) (22.8%) or Other ethnicity children (O) (22.8%). WB children reported leaving the home more frequently and for longer periods than PH and O children. Modifiable variables related to being sufficiently active were frequency, duration, type of activity, and destination away from the home environment. There was a large reduction in children being sufficiently active during the first COVID-19 lockdown (28.9%) compared to pre-pandemic (69.4%). Conclusions Promoting safe extended periods of PA everyday outdoors is important for all children, in particular for children from ethnic minority groups. Childrens PA during the first COVID-19 UK lockdown has drastically reduced from before. Policy and decision makers, and practitioners should consider the findings in order to begin to understand the impact and consequences that COVID-19 has had upon childrens PA which is a key and vital behaviour for health and development.
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Blockade of SARS-CoV-2 infection in-vitro by highly potent PI3K-α/mTOR/BRD4 inhibitor -
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+Pathogenic viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and HIV hijack the host molecular machinery to establish infection and survival in infected cells. This has led the scientific community to explore the molecular mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 infects host cells, establishes productive infection, and causes life-threatening pathophysiology. Very few targeted therapeutics for COVID-19 currently exist, such as remdesivir. Recently, a proteomic approach explored the interactions of 26 of 29 SARS-CoV-2 proteins with cellular targets in human cells and identified 67 interactions as potential targets for drug development. Two of the critical targets, the bromodomain and extra-terminal domain proteins (BETs): BRD2/BRD4 and mTOR, are inhibited by the dual inhibitory small molecule SF2523 at nanomolar potency. SF2523 is the only known mTOR PI3K-/(BRD2/BRD4) inhibitor with potential to block two orthogonal pathways necessary for SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis in human cells. Our results demonstrate that SF2523 effectively blocks SARS-CoV-2 replication in lung bronchial epithelial cells in vitro, showing an IC50 value of 1.5 uM, comparable to IC50 value of remdesivir (1.1 uM). Further, we demonstrated that the combination of doses of SF2523 and remdesivir is highly synergistic: it allows for the reduction of doses of SF2523 and remdesivir by 25-fold and 4-fold, respectively, to achieve the same potency observed for a single inhibitor. Because SF2523 inhibits two SARS-CoV-2 driven pathogenesis mechanisms involving BRD2/BRD4 and mTOR signaling, our data suggest that SF2523 alone or in combination with remdesivir could be a novel and efficient therapeutic strategy to block SARS-CoV-2 infection and hence be beneficial in preventing severe COVID-19 disease evolution.
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Neutralizing IFNL3 Autoantibodies in Severe COVID-19 Identified Using Molecular Indexing of Proteins by Self-Assembly -
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+Unbiased antibody profiling can identify the targets of an immune reaction. A number of likely pathogenic autoreactive antibodies have been associated with life-threatening SARS-CoV-2 infection; yet, many additional autoantibodies likely remain unknown. Here we present Molecular Indexing of Proteins by Self Assembly (MIPSA), a technique that produces ORFeome-scale libraries of proteins covalently coupled to uniquely identifying DNA barcodes for analysis by sequencing. We used MIPSA to profile circulating autoantibodies from 55 patients with severe COVID-19 against 11,076 DNA-barcoded proteins of the human ORFeome library. MIPSA identified previously known autoreactivities, and also detected undescribed neutralizing interferon lambda 3 (IFNL3) autoantibodies. At-risk individuals with anti-IFNL3 antibodies may benefit from interferon supplementation therapies, such as those currently undergoing clinical evaluation.
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Low-dose lung radiotherapy for COVID-19 lung disease: a pre-clinical efficacy study in a bleomycin model of pneumonitis. -
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+Purpose: Low-dose whole lung radiotherapy (LDLR) has been proposed as a treatment for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and clinical trials are underway. There is an urgent need for preclinical evidence to justify this approach and inform dose, scheduling and mechanisms of action. Materials and methods: Female C57BL/6 mice were treated with intranasal bleomycin sulphate (7.5 or 11.25 units/kg, day 0) then exposed to whole lung radiation therapy (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 Gy or sham, day 3). Bodyweight was measured daily and lung tissue harvested for histology and flow cytometry on day 10. Computed tomography (CT) lung imaging was performed pre-radiation (day 3) and pre-endpoint (day 10). Results: Bleomycin caused pneumonitis of variable severity which correlated with weight loss. LDLR at 1.0 Gy was associated with a significant increase in the proportion of mice recovering to 98% of initial bodyweight; many of these mice exhibited less severe histopathological lung changes. Mice experiencing moderate initial weight loss were more likely to respond to LDLR than those experiencing severe initial weight loss. LDLR (1.0 Gy) significantly reduced bleomycin induced increases in interstitial macrophages, CD103+ dendritic cells and neutrophil-DC hybrids. Pre-radiation, bleomycin treated mice exhibited significantly higher percentages of non-aerated lung in left than right lungs; LDLR (1.0 Gy) prevented further reductions in aerated lung volume in right but not left lungs. LDLR doses of 0.5 and 1.5 Gy did not modulate bodyweight or flow cytometric readouts of bleomycin pneumonitis. Conclusions: Our data support the concept that LDLR can ameliorate acute inflammatory lung injury, identify 1.0 Gy as the most effective dose and provide preliminary evidence that it is more effective in the context of moderate than severe pneumonitis. Mechanistically, LDLR significantly suppressed bleomycin induced accumulation of interstitial macrophages, CD103+ dendritic cells and neutrophil-DC hybrids in the lung.
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A pharmacophore model for SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro small molecule inhibitors and in vitro experimental validation of computationally screened inhibitors -
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+Among the biomedical efforts in response to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, pharmacological strategies to reduce viral load in patients with severe forms of the disease are being studied intensively. One of the main drug target proteins proposed so far is the SARS-CoV-2 viral protease 3CLpro (also called Mpro), an essential component for viral replication. Ongoing ligand- and receptor-based computational screening efforts would be facilitated by an improved understanding of the electrostatic, hydrophobic and steric features that characterize small molecule inhibitors binding stably to 3CLpro, as well as by an extended collection of known binders. Here, we present combined virtual screening, molecular dynamics simulation, machine learning and in vitro experimental validation analyses which have led to the identification of small molecule inhibitors of 3CLpro with micromolar activity, and to a pharmacophore model that describes functional chemical groups associated with the molecular recognition of ligands by the 3CLpro binding pocket. Experimentally validated inhibitors using a ligand activity assay include natural compounds with available prior knowledge on safety and bioavailability properties, such as the natural compound rottlerin (IC50 = 37 mcM), and synthetic compounds previously not characterized (e.g. compound CID 46897844, IC50 = 31 mcM). In combination with the developed pharmacophore model, these and other confirmed 3CLpro inhibitors may provide a basis for further similarity-based screening in independent compound databases and structural design optimization efforts, to identify 3CLpro ligands with improved potency and selectivity. Overall, this study suggests that the integration of virtual screening, molecular dynamics simulations and machine learning can facilitate 3CLpro-targeted small molecule screening investigations. Different receptor-, ligand- and machine learning-based screening strategies provided complementary information, helping to increase the number and diversity of identified active compounds. Finally, the resulting pharmacophore model and experimentally validated small molecule inhibitors for 3CLpro provide resources to support follow-up computational screening efforts for this drug target.
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Optimal, near-optimal, and robust epidemic control -
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+The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for control measures that reduce the epidemic peak (“flattening the curve”). Here we derive the optimal time-limited intervention for reducing peak epidemic prevalence in the standard Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) model. We show that alternative, more practical interventions can perform nearly as well as the provably optimal strategy. However, none of these strategies are robust to implementation errors: mistiming the start of the intervention by even a single week can be enormously costly, for realistic epidemic parameters. Sustained control measures, though less efficient than optimal and near-optimal time-limited interventions, can be used in combination with time-limited strategies to mitigate the catastrophic risks of mistiming.
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Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities: a qualitative study on the perspectives of BAME community leaders -
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+Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of BAME community leaders in relation to - the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their communities; and BAME community perceptions, understanding and adherence to Government guidelines on COVID-19 public health measures. Design: A phenomenological approach was adopted using qualitative semi-structured interviews. Settings: Community organisations and places of worships in the West Midlands region of England. Participants: Community leaders were recruited through organisations representing BAME communities and religious places of worship. Results: A total of 19 participants took part. Participants alluded to historical and structural differences for the observed disparities in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Many struggled with lockdown measures which impeded cultural and religious gatherings that were deemed to be integral to the community. Cultural and social practices led to many suffering on their own as discussion of mental health was still deemed a taboo within many communities. Many expressed their community reluctance to report symptoms for the fear of financial and physical health implications. They reported increase in hate crime which was deemed to be exacerbated due to perceived insensitive messaging from authority officials and historical structural biases. Access and adherence to government guidelines was an issue for many due to language and digital barriers. Reinforcement from trusted community and religious leaders encouraged adherence. Points of support such as food banks were vital in ensuring essential supplies during the pandemic. Many could not afford masks and sanitisers. Conclusion: The study highlights the perceived impact of COVID-19 pandemic on BAME communities. Government agencies and public health agencies need to integrate with the community, and community leaders to penetrate the key messages and deliver targeted yet sensitive public health advice which incorporates cultural and religious practices. Addressing route cause of disparities is imperative to mitigate current and future pandemics.
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Study to Evaluate a Single Dose of STI-2020 (COVI-AMG™) in Hospitalized Adults With COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Biological: COVI-AMG; Drug: Placebo Sponsor: Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. Not yet recruiting
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Safety & Efficacy of Low Dose Aspirin / Ivermectin Combination Therapy for Treatment of Covid-19 Patients - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Drug: 3-dayIVM 200 mcg/kg/day/14-day 75mgASA/day + standard of care (intervention 1) Sponsors: Makerere University; Ministry of Health, Uganda; Mbarara University of Science and Technology; Joint Clinical Research Center Not yet recruiting
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Clinical Study in the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Drug: Molixan; Drug: Placebo Sponsor: Pharma VAM Not yet recruiting
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The Safety and Efficacy of FB2001 in Healthy Subjects and Patients With COVID-19 Infection - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Drug: FB2001; Drug: FB2001 Placebo Sponsor: Frontier Biotechnologies Inc. Not yet recruiting
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A Safety and Efficacy Study of Human Monoclonal Antibodies, BRII-196 and BRII-198 for the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Drug: BRII-196 and BRII-198; Drug: Placebo Sponsor: Brii Biosciences, Inc. Not yet recruiting
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Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of Second Generation VIR-7831 Material in Non-hospitalized Participants With Mild to Moderate COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Biological: VIR-7831 (Gen1); Biological: VIR-7831 (Gen2) Sponsors: Vir Biotechnology, Inc.; GlaxoSmithKline Recruiting
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Protecting Native Families From COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing; Behavioral: COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring System; Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing and COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring System; Other: Supportive Services Sponsor: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Not yet recruiting
DCI COVID-19 Surveillance Project - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Diagnostic Test: SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay for Detection of COVID-19 Infection Sponsors: Temple University; Dialysis Clinic, Inc. Recruiting
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Safety and Efficacy of Thymic Peptides in the Treatment of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in Honduras - Condition: COVID-19 Intervention: Biological: Thymic peptides Sponsors: Universidad Católica de Honduras; Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile Recruiting
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Safety and Immunogenicity Study in Adults of AZD1222 and rAd26-S Administered as Heterologous Prime Boost Regimen for the Prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Biological: AZD1222; Biological: rAd26-S Sponsors: R-Pharm; AstraZeneca Not yet recruiting
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Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of the COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate (VBI-2902a) - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Biological: VBI-2902a; Biological: Placebo Sponsor: VBI Vaccines Inc. Not yet recruiting
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Breathing Exercise After COVID-19 Pneumonia - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Other: Breathing exercise with the phone application; Other: Breathing exercise Sponsor: Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University Not yet recruiting
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Trial Efficacy of Saisei Pharma Dietary Supplements MAF Capsules, 148 mg and M Capsules, 148 mg in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Dietary Supplement: MAF capsules 148 mg; Dietary Supplement: M capsules 148 mg; Other: Standard of care Sponsor: Saisei Pharma Active, not recruiting
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(CBDRA60) to Prevent or Reduce Symptoms of COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Dietary Supplement: CBDRA60 supplement; Dietary Supplement: Placebo Sponsors: Anewsha Therapeutics Inc.; University of Michigan; Biologics Consulting Not yet recruiting
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From PubMed
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Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Lung Diseases: Current Status and Perspectives - Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as a potential therapy for several diseases. These plasma membrane-derived fragments are released constitutively by virtually all cell types-including mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs)-under stimulation or following cell-to-cell interaction, which leads to activation or inhibition of distinct signaling pathways. Based on their size, intracellular origin, and secretion pathway, EVs have been grouped into three main populations: exosomes, microvesicles (or…
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THE PECULIARITY OF COVID- 19 GENOME AND THE CORONAVIRUS RNA TRANSLATION PROCESS AS APOTENTIAL TARGET FOR ETIOTROPIC MEDICATIONSWITH ADENINE AND OTHER NUCLEOTIDE ANALOGUES (REVIEW) - Despite the multifaceted effects of the medicines provided for COVID-19treatment, the number of the infected and mortality of patients increases which demonstrates the insufficient effectiveness of drugs used to fight coronavirus infections in medical practice, and clearly shows the need to develop new treatment tactics.In this review article are summarized and analyzed the literature data concerning specific features of COVID 19. Particular attention is given to genetic characteristic of this…
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Sialoglycan recognition is a common connection linking acidosis, zinc, and HMGB1 in sepsis - Blood pH is tightly maintained between 7.35 and 7.45, and acidosis (pH <7.3) indicates poor prognosis in sepsis, wherein lactic acid from anoxic tissues overwhelms the buffering capacity of blood. Poor sepsis prognosis is also associated with low zinc levels and the release of High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) from activated and/or necrotic cells. HMGB1 added to whole blood at physiological pH did not bind leukocyte receptors, but lowering pH with lactic acid to mimic sepsis conditions allowed…
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Evaluating the Antimicrobial Properties of Commercial Hand Sanitizers - Hand sanitizers have been developed as a convenient means to decontaminate an individual’s hands of bacterial pathogens in situations in which soap and water are not available. Yet to our knowledge, no study has compared the antibacterial efficacy of a large collection of hand sanitizers. Using zone of growth inhibition and kill curve assays, we assessed the performance of 46 commercially available hand sanitizers that were obtained from national chain big-box stores, gasoline stations,…
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Robust SARS-CoV-2 infection in nasal turbinates after treatment with systemic neutralizing antibodies - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is characterized by a burst in the upper respiratory portal for high transmissibility. To determine human neutralizing antibodies (HuNAbs) for entry protection, we tested three potent HuNAbs (IC(50) range, 0.0007-0.35 μg/mL) against live SARS-CoV-2 infection in the golden Syrian hamster model. These HuNAbs inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection by competing with human angiotensin converting enzyme-2 for binding to the viral receptor binding…
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Targeting the Main Protease of SARS-CoV-2: From the Establishment of High Throughput Screening to the Design of Tailored Inhibitors - The main protease of SARS-CoV-2 (Mpro), the causative agent of COVID-19, constitutes a significant drug target. A new fluorogenic substrate was kinetically compared to an internally quenched fluorescent peptide and shown to be ideally suitable for high throughput screening with recombinantly expressed Mpro. Two classes of protease inhibitors, azanitriles and pyridyl esters, were identified, optimized and subjected to in-depth biochemical characterization. Tailored peptides equipped with the…
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Targeting the Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Protein through GSK-3 Inhibition - The coronaviruses responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV), COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV), and other coronavirus infections express a nucleocapsid protein (N) that is essential for viral replication, transcription, and virion assembly. Phosphorylation of N from SARS-CoV by glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) is required for its function and inhibition of GSK-3 with lithium impairs N phosphorylation, viral transcription, and replication….
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The type 2 asthma mediator IL-13 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection of bronchial epithelium - CONCLUSIONS: IL-13 markedly reduces susceptibility of HBECs to SARS-CoV-2 infection through mechanisms that likely differ from those activated by type I interferons. Our findings may help explain reports of relatively low prevalence of asthma in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and could lead to new strategies for reducing SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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The proximal proteome of 17 SARS-CoV-2 proteins links to disrupted antiviral signaling and host translation - Viral proteins localize within subcellular compartments to subvert host machinery and promote pathogenesis. To study SARS-CoV-2 biology, we generated an atlas of 2422 human proteins vicinal to 17 SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins using proximity proteomics. This identified viral proteins at specific intracellular locations, such as association of accessary proteins with intracellular membranes, and projected SARS-CoV-2 impacts on innate immune signaling, ER-Golgi transport, and protein translation. It…
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Interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 inhibition compared with standard management in patients with COVID-19 and hyperinflammation: a cohort study - BACKGROUND: Patients with severe COVID-19 develop a life-threatening hyperinflammatory response to the virus. Interleukin (IL)-1 or IL-6 inhibitors have been used to treat this patient population, but the comparative effectiveness of these different strategies remains undetermined. We aimed to compare IL-1 and IL-6 inhibition in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, respiratory insufficiency, and hyperinflammation.
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Antiviral and immunomodulatory activity of curcumin: A case for prophylactic therapy for COVID-19 - Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), a devastating respiratory illness caused by SARS-associated coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has already affected over 64 million people and caused 1.48 million deaths, just 12 months from the first diagnosis. COVID-19 patients develop serious complications, including severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and or multiorgan failure due to exaggerated host immune response following infection. Currently, drugs that were effective against…
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Exploring existing drugs: proposing potential compounds in the treatment of COVID-19 - The COVID-19 situation had escalated into an unprecedented global crisis in just a few weeks. On the 30^(th) of January 2020, World Health Organization officially declared the COVID-19 epidemic as a public health emergency of international concern. The confirmed cases were reported to exceed 105,856,046 globally, with the death toll of above 2,311,048, according to the dashboard from Johns Hopkins University on the 7^(th) of February, 2021, though the actual figures may be much higher. Conserved…
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In-silico nucleotide and protein analyses of S-gene region in selected zoonotic coronaviruses reveal conserved domains and evolutionary emergence with trajectory course of viral entry from SARS-CoV-2 genomic data - CONCLUSION: phylogeny of SARS-CoV-2 genomic data suggests profiling in diverse populations with and without the outbreak alongside migration history and racial background for mutation tracking and dating of viral subtype divergence which is essential for effective management of present and future zoonotic coronavirus outbreaks.
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Needleless electrospun phytochemicals encapsulated nanofibre based 3-ply biodegradable mask for combating COVID-19 pandemic - The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected human health and world economies. According to WHO guidelines, continuous use of face mask is mandatory for personal protection for restricting the spread of bacteria and virus. Here, we report a 3-ply cotton-PLA-cotton layered biodegradable face-mask containing encapsulated phytochemicals in the inner-filtration layer. The nano-fibrous PLA filtration layer was fabricated using needleless electrospinning of PLA & phytochemical-based…
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Repurposing of Sitagliptin- Melittin Optimized Nanoformula against SARS-CoV-2: Antiviral Screening and Molecular Docking Studies - The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in China has become an urgent health and economic challenge. The objective of the current work was to evaluate the efficacy of the combined complex of Sitagliptin (SIT) with melittin (MEL) against SARS-CoV-2 virus. SIT-MEL nano-conjugates were optimized by a full three-factor bi-level (2³) factorial design. In addition, SIT concentration (mM, X1), MEL concentration (mM, X2), and pH (X3) were selected as the critical factors. Particle size (nm, Y1) and zeta…
Compositions and methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein - - link
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一种3-羟基丁酰化修饰蛋白质药物及其制备方法和应用 - 本发明涉及医药技术领域，公开了一种3‑羟基丁酰化修饰蛋白质药物（例如抗体）及其制备方法和应用，特别是一种3‑羟基丁酰化修饰抗体及其制备方法和应用。发明人经过大量实验发现，3‑羟基丁酸及其类似物修饰蛋白质药物（例如抗体）后，可以显著提高蛋白质药物的热稳定性、对蛋白酶水解的抗性，降低蛋白质药物的等电点，并显著延长其在受试者体内的半衰期，进而提高其药效。修饰后所得蛋白质药物在科研和临床方面具有广阔的应用前景和较高的商业价值。 - link
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新冠病毒重组融合蛋白、其制备方法和应用 - 本发明提供一种新冠病毒重组融合蛋白、其制备方法和应用。本发明通过对新冠病毒S和N重组融合蛋白的基因序列进行设计，选择最优的片段进行整合，再通过人源HEK293细胞系统重组表达融合蛋白，经过纯化后对融合蛋白的分子量、纯度进行检测，最后利用融合蛋白制成新冠病毒抗体胶体金检测试纸条/试剂盒。与单独使用S蛋白或N蛋白制备的胶体金检测试纸条相比，该重组融合蛋白制备的胶体金检测试纸条具有更高的灵敏度和更低的漏检率。此外，本发明提供的新冠病毒重组融合蛋白可广泛应用于不同平台技术的新冠抗体检测试剂盒开发，如胶体金、荧光免疫层析、化学发光和酶联免疫等。 - link
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稳定的冠状病毒重组蛋白二聚体及其表达载体 - 本发明公开了稳定的冠状病毒重组蛋白二聚体及其表达载体，冠状病毒重组蛋白，由冠状病毒S蛋白S‑RBD、冠状病毒N蛋白的CTD区N‑CTD和将二者偶联的连接子构成。本发明一些实例的冠状病毒重组蛋白，可以形成并维持稳定的二聚体结构，避免单体S‑RBD降解，有利于提高冠状病毒重组蛋白的免疫原性，有望用于制备检测试剂原料、疫苗、抗体、预防或治疗性药物。本发明一些实例的冠状病毒重组蛋白二聚体，具有很好的免疫原性。在疫苗开发领域具有广阔的应用前景。本发明一些实例的表达载体，易于表达冠状病毒重组蛋白二聚体且表达量高。 - link
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SELF-CLEANING AND GERM-KILLING REVOLVING PUBLIC TOILET FOR COVID 19 - - link
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一种新冠病毒S1蛋白的灌流生产系统及方法 - 本发明涉及细胞生物学技术领域，提供了一种新冠病毒S1蛋白的灌流生产系统及方法，包括：细胞反应器，用于培养表达S1蛋白的细胞株；灌流系统，包括过滤装置、出液管、回液管和第一循环泵，所述过滤装置的主体内设有孔径为0.1‑0.2μm的中空纤维柱，用于过滤透出液，截留细胞培养液中的S1蛋白；所述出液管的两端分别与所述细胞反应器和所述中空纤维柱的下端相连通；所述回液管的两端分别与所述细胞反应器和所述中空纤维柱的上端相连通；所述第一循环泵设置于所述出液管与所述中空纤维柱相连的管路中。本发明系统投入成本低且S1蛋白产量高。 - link
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检测新冠病毒的方法及试剂盒 - 本发明公开了一种检测新冠病毒的方法及试剂盒。其中，该方法包括以下步骤：1）采集样本；2）采用核酸释放剂提取核酸；3）采用LAMP扩增进行检测，其中，核酸释放剂包括：热敏蛋白酶1000U/L~10000U/L、Tris‑HCl 5~50 mmol/L、曲拉通X‑100体积百分比0.05%0.5%和金属离子螯合剂0.10.5mmol/L，其余为无菌水，热敏蛋白酶为≥55℃加热5~10分钟会完全失活的蛋白酶。应用本发明的检测新冠病毒的方法及试剂盒，检测新冠病毒，检测周期短，操作简单方便，检测结果通俗易懂，检测特异性高，检测成本低。 - link
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一种新型冠状病毒拉曼光谱数据中心的构建方法 - 本发明公开了一种新型冠状病毒拉曼光谱数据中心的构建方法，该方法包括以下步骤：S1.构建新冠病毒结构蛋白拉曼光谱数据库；S2.构建新冠病毒核酸拉曼光谱数据库；S3.构建新冠病毒颗粒拉曼光谱数据库；S4.构建新冠病毒临床检测样本拉曼光谱数据库；将各新型冠状病毒拉曼光谱数据库存入新型冠状病毒拉曼光谱检测服务器构成新型冠状病毒拉曼光谱数据中心。本发明有效建立了一套完整的新型冠状病毒拉曼光谱数据库，为新冠病毒拉曼检测技术提供可靠的标准数据支撑，有效提高检测结果的准确性及置信度。 - link
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+Daily-Dose
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The Cuomo Accusations and the Next Wave of #MeToo - The writer Tanya Selvaratnam discusses her abusive relationship with a former state attorney general and the harassment allegations against the current governor. - link
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When the Kids Started Getting Sick - After pressure from families, Pennsylvania has launched studies into whether fracking can be linked to local illnesses. - link
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Trump’s Strategy for Returning to Power Is Already Clear - The former President is positioning himself and his audience as the only true Americans. - link
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The Russians Protesting Putin in Their Personal Lives - Since Alexey Navalny’s arrest, some Russians are reëvaluating their compromises, questioning whether the price of success—or merely getting by—has become untenable. - link
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The Shift to Renewable Energy Can Give More Power to the People - We shouldn’t give up on the idea of democratizing energy ownership as much as possible. - link
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From Vox
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The problem for Paramount+ (and every other streamer)? Everyone already has Netflix. -
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+Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell on the set of Mission Impossible 7, which will arrive on Paramount+ 45 days after the movie debuts in theaters later in 2021. | Marco Ravagli/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
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+Three charts that explain the streaming wars.
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+Paramount+, the latest entrant in the streaming wars, launches today, promising a mix of classic TV shows and movies, sort-of-early access to some Hollywood blockbusters, and some reboots of stuff you didn’t know you wanted rebooted: Welcome back, Frasier Crane.
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+But in some ways, the stuff that ViacomCBS’s new service offers may be less important than the timing of its launch. It comes after every other big media company has rolled out its own streaming service. Which means Paramount+ is entering a very crowded marketplace.
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+And that means, most likely, that ViacomCBS isn’t just trying to get someone to pay $10 a month for Paramount+ — it also probably needs them to drop something else. Antenna, a subscription analytics startup, says US consumers subscribed to just 1.5 streaming services in January 2021.
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+Two years ago, when streaming services still pretty much meant Netflix and Hulu, that number was at 1.25. Which means that even though we’ve seen a slew of services debut recently, most people still aren’t paying for them — and even if they do take out their credit card to sign up, they’re likely to stop paying for them after sampling.
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+Antenna, which says it uses data sampled from online bill payment services to assess what people are actually spending money on, has laid out the challenge facing ViacomCBS pretty clearly in the data sets below. But the easiest way of summing it up may be this way: (Just about) everyone already has Netflix.
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+This chart, for instance, tells us that 75 percent of people who newly got Netflix in the first half of 2020 are still paying for the service — a higher survival rate than all of its major streaming competitors. Meanwhile, only 34 percent of new 2020 Apple TV+ subscribers are still paying for the service now. (Antenna data does not include streamers who are getting free services from promotions like Disney’s Verizon bundle, or the free Apple TV+ trial Apple offers customers who buy some Apple hardware, like new iPhones.)
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+And yes, some people — maybe the people reading this article — really do subscribe to lots of different streaming TV services. But it’s a very small minority.
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+Meanwhile, Netflix customers were less likely than other streaming subscribers to pay for anything else — which presumably has something to do with the fact that (almost) everyone has Netflix. It’s the streaming starter package: You get it first and then maybe think about adding something else.
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+The good news for ViacomCBS, in a way, is that people who subscribed to its existing services — CBS All Access, which is getting repurposed into Paramount+, and Showtime — are already more likely to subscribe to something else too.
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House Democrats just passed their massive voting rights bill HR 1 -
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+House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a weekly press conference on Capitol Hill on February 25, 2021, in Washington, DC. | Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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+The bill still faces a steep climb in the US Senate.
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+House Democrats have passed HR 1, their signature anti-corruption and voting rights reform bill, for the second time in two years. But even though their party now holds the majority in the Senate, the bill has a tough road ahead of it.
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+As the numeral suggests, HR 1 and its Senate component S 1 — also known as the For the People Act — are Democrats’ first legislative priority. The sweeping democracy reform bill has been top of the list since House Democrats first took back the majority in the 2018 midterms and immediately set about expanding voting rights and getting money out of politics.
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+There’s a lot of ground covered in its nearly 800 pages, but some of its key points are creating a national system for automatic voter registration, putting in transparency requirements for political advertising, and instituting nonpartisan redistricting commissions to end partisan gerrymandering.
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+Polling back in 2019 and now shows the bill is broadly popular with the public, but it went nowhere in the Republican-led Senate in 2019. Even with the current slim Democratic control (a 50-50 Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker), it will be incredibly difficult to pass with the required 60 votes to skirt the Senate filibuster. The politics are even tighter this time; some moderate House Democrats who voted for the bill last time, for instance, pushed more aggressively for changes this time around.
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+The bill’s future in the Senate is also untested, as then-Majority Leader McConnell never allowed it to come to the floor in 2019.
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+“If Mitch McConnell is not willing to provide 10 Republicans to support this landmark reform, I think Democrats are going to step back and reevaluate the situation,” Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD), the author of HR 1, told Vox in a recent interview. “There’s all manner of ways you could redesign the filibuster so [the bill] would have a path forward.”
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+One path that’s being discussed is partially amending Senate filibuster rules to allow democracy reform legislation like HR 1 to advance on a simple majority vote and therefore potentially be able to pass on a party-line vote. That would be different from fully blowing up the filibuster, but it still could get pushback from Senate institutionalists even in the Democratic Party like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a staunch advocate of keeping the filibuster in place.
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+Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chair of the Senate Rules Committee, which will mark up the bill and move it forward, said she wants to bring the bill to the floor and see what the support for it is before she moves on to potential filibuster reform.
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+“We’ll go to the floor; that’s when we see where we are,” Klobuchar told Vox in an interview, saying her committee will look to see, “is there filibuster reform that could be done generally or specifically?”
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+Democrats are arguing that voting and democracy reforms are popular — and long overdue
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+Democrats are hoping the 2020 election gives them an argument for this bill. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Americans in many states were given more options and flexibility to vote through the mail or with in-person early voting. The results were a record 158.4 million ballots cast; 2020 presidential election turnout was about 7 percentage points higher than in 2016, according to Pew Research Center.
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+“We had more people vote in the November election than ever before,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told reporters on Tuesday.
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+HR 1, among other initiatives, would cement many of those temporary expansions. And recent polling from the progressive firm Data for Progress showed the bill more broadly is popular across parties and supported by a majority of Democratic, independent, and Republican voters. The poll found that 67 percent of national likely voters supported HR 1, including 56 percent of Republicans, 68 percent of independents, and 77 percent of Democrats.
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+Republican legislatures in multiple states, however, are moving in the opposite direction.Per the Brennan Center, at least 33 states have already introduced, prefiled, or carried over 165 restrictive bills to re-tighten voting requirements, including Georgia — the state that gave Democrats narrow control of the Senate. The US Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments in an Arizona case that couldfurther weaken the Voting Rights Act, limiting protections for minority voters around the country.
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+Klobuchar told Vox that in past years when parties lost national elections, they’d assess where they went wrong. Republicans, she added, are doubling down on restricting voting access.
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+“These guys, instead of doing that, are saying let’s just make it so less people vote, that’s how we do this,” Klobuchar said.
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+Newly proposed voting restrictions, taken with the fact that 30 state legislatures are controlled by Republicans — compared to 18 controlled by Democrats — mean that Republicans have more power to redraw congressional maps in the 2021 redistricting process. Absent nonpartisan redistricting commissions (which HR 1 contains), Republicans can once again redraw maps to give themselves the edge in the 2022 midterms and beyond.
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+“If we can get this done and into law in the next few months, there will be enough time to implement many of these things in time for the 2022 midterm election, including how reforming how this redistricting is done,” Sarbanes said.
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+What’s in the bill
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+The For the People Act weighs in at close to 800 pages. Broadly, it can be broken down into three buckets: expanding voting rights, implementing campaign finance reform, and beefing up ethics laws for members of Congress.
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+Here are some major points in the bill, broken down by category:
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+Voting rights
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+Creates new national automatic voter registration that asks voters to opt out rather than opt in, ensuring more people will be signed up to vote. Requires chief state election officials to automatically register eligible unregistered citizens.
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+Requires each state to put online options for voter registration, correction, cancellation, or designating party affiliation.
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+Requires at least 15 consecutive days of early voting for federal elections; early voting sites would be open for at least 10 hours per day. The bill also prohibits states from restricting a person’s ability to vote by mail, and requires states to prepay postage on return envelopes for mail-in voting.
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+Establish independent redistricting commissions in states as a way to draw new congressional districts and end partisan gerrymandering in federal elections.
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+Prohibits voter roll purging and bans the use of non-forwardable mail being used as a way to remove voters from rolls.
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+Restores voting rights to people convicted of felonies who have completed their sentences; however, the bill doesn’t restore rights to felons currently serving sentences in a correctional facility.
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+Campaign finance
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+Establishes public financing of campaigns, powered by small donations. This has long been Sarbanes’s vision: The federal government would provide a voluntary 6-1 match for candidates for president and Congress, which means for every dollar a candidate raises from small donations, the federal government would match it six times over. The maximum small donation that could be matched would be capped at $200.This program isn’t funded by taxpayer dollars; instead, the money would come from adding a 2.75 percent fee on criminal and civil fines, fees, penalties, or settlements with banks and corporations that commit corporate malfeasance (think Wells Fargo).
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+Supports a constitutional amendment to end Citizens United.
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+Passes the DISCLOSE Act, pushed by Rep. David Cicilline and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, both Democrats from Rhode Island. This wouldrequire super PACs and “dark money” political organizations to make their donors public.
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+Passes the Honest Ads Act, championed by Sens. Klobuchar and Mark Warner (VA), which would require Facebook and Twitter to disclose the source of money for political ads on their platforms and share how much money was spent.
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+Discloses any political spending by government contractors and slows the flow of foreign money into the elections by targeting shell companies.
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+Restructures the Federal Election Commission to have five commissioners instead of six, in order to break political gridlock at the organization.
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+Prohibits any coordination between candidates and super PACs.
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+Ethics
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+Requires the president and vice president to disclose 10 years of his or her tax returns. Candidates for president and vice president must also do the same.
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+Stops members of Congress from using taxpayer money to settle sexual harassment or discrimination cases.
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+Gives the Office of Government Ethics the power to do more oversight and enforcement and implement stricter lobbying registration requirements. These include more oversight of foreign agents by the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
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+Creates a new ethics code for the US Supreme Court, ensuring all branches of government are impacted by the new law.
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+Democrats have a very narrow window to pass the bill
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+HR 1 could be a last-ditch effort for Democrats to be competitive in House races, if they can get it through Congress and to Biden’s desk.
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+“The president remains committed to protecting the fundamental right to vote and making it easy for all eligible Americans to vote,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday, responding to a question from Vox. “That’s why we need to pass reforms like HR 1 and restore the Voting Rights Act. It’s a priority for the president, something he’ll be working with members of Congress to move forward.”
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+Senate Democrats aren’t ready to blow up the Senate filibuster yet, but they’re also finding ways to skirt it to pass major pieces of legislation.
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+This week, Democrats are using budget reconciliation to pass President Joe Biden’s current Covid-19 stimulus bill through the Senate with just 51 votes. There’s a good chance they’ll do the same thing for Biden’s forthcoming infrastructure plan, depending on how big that package is and how many Republicans will support it.
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+But Democrats can only use budget reconciliation twice, and it can only be used for things that directly impact the federal budget. Voting rights and anti-corruption measures don’t fall into that category, and HR 1’s authors are under no impression it could get through via budget reconciliation. That leaves them with a narrower set of options for HR 1, and even fewer options for other priorities like passing universal background checks or immigration reform.
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+Even though Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have repeatedly said they won’t get rid of the Senate filibuster, some of their Democratic are hopeful they might change their minds if the party’s agenda meets repeated opposition from Republicans.
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+“You bring it to the floor a few times and you let them obstruct it and you see what effect bad-faith obstruction has on some members’ views about the filibuster,” Sen. Whitehouse told reporters recently. “It’s one thing to say, ‘I don’t want to get rid of the filibuster’; it’s another thing after you’ve met repeated bad-faith obstruction to say, ‘Okay, this is getting out of hand.’”
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+That might be too optimistic. When asked by reporters again this week if there was a point where he’d change his mind about the filibuster, Manchin yelled, “Never!” according to the Hill’s Jordain Carney.
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+“Jesus Christ! What don’t you understand about never?” Manchin added.
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+Short of blowing up the filibuster, Senate Democrats will need to keep finding loopholes to pass their agenda.
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The House just passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act -
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+Protesters stand outside a memorial to George Floyd, erected at the site of his death in Minneapolis, Minnesota. | Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty Images
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+The bill bans chokeholds, and would end qualified immunity for police officers.
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+The House of Representatives has passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Bill of 2021 — legislation Democratic lawmakers believe will reduce police violence against people of color, particularly Black Americans, while also improving policing for everyone.
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+“At some point, we have to ask ourselves, how many more people have to die? How many more people have to be brutalized on videotape?” Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), who led the bill, said ahead of its passage. “We must act now to transform policing in the United States.”
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+The bill, which has been passed once before, succeeded on partisan lines: 219 to 213, with no Republicans voting with the Democratic majority.
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+In June 2020, House Democrats crafted identical legislation in response to the worldwide demonstrations against police brutality that were sparked by the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota policeman Derek Chauvin, and that were sustained by the deaths of dozens of other Black Americans, including Breonna Taylor, Daniel Prude, and Rayshard Brooks.
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+Since then, police violence against Black Americans has not waned. In the first few months of 2021, police have killed at least 23 Black Americans; prominent incidents of violence include an officer in Rochester, New York pepper spraying a handcuffed 9-year-old girl, and police killing 52-year-old Patrick Lynn Warren following a mental health 911 call placed on his behalf.
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+One provision in the bill addresses qualified immunity, a legal precedent that gives government officials, including police officers, broad protections against lawsuits. Among other things, the bill would also create a national database of police misconduct, and require federal law enforcement officials to use body and dash cameras. To curtail deaths, the legislation bans federal law enforcement from using chokeholds like the one that ended Floyd’s life, and from using no-knock warrants in drug cases — Taylor was killed when police burst into her home using such a warrant in in March 2020.
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+Police reformers critical of the bill have questioned whether it would be effective, noting that most of its provisions make changes only at the federal level — the federal government has very little control over how state and local governments choose to police their populations.
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+“This legislation, while vitally important, is not perfect,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which backs the bill. “No legislation is. But it represents meaningful progress, and we intend to continue working with lawmakers to strengthen and build upon it.”
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+Before the bill can be expanded upon, though, it has to pass the Senate — and its success there is uncertain.
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+Now Democrats are in charge of the Senate. There, Virginia Democrats Sen. Tim Kaine and Rep. Don Beyer are proposing an amendment to the George Floyd bill that would track the costs of police misconduct settlements. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is “committed” to the bill, Kaine said, and Schumer recently told reporters, “I’m putting bills on the floor. People are going to be forced to vote on them, yes or no.”
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+Bass told reporters that Democrats have been in conversation with Scott, but whether the Democratic caucus can find the 10 Republican votes it needs to get the bill through the Senate remains to be seen. Given the difficulty Democrats have had so far in this Congress winning Republican support for nominees and Covid-19 relief, winning over 10 GOP senators may be a tall order.
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+What’s in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021
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+Broadly, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 tries to do four things at the federal level: make the prosecution of police misconduct easier, expand federal oversight into local police units, limit bias among officers, and change policing tactics.
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+The bill works to encourage state and local governments to adopt its federal reforms through penalties — those that don’t make changes, or that refuse to comply with the bill’s data submission requirements, would lose access to federal policing funding, and in some cases, that funding would be redistributed to those departments that do cooperate.
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+It is unclear whether those penalties would be enough to incentivize compliance. Some reformers critical of the bill say they would not, as most police funding comes from state and local sources: State and local governments spent about $120 billion on policing in 2018, according to the US Census Bureau, to which the federal government contributed about $5 billion.
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+Here’s how the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 works:
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+Rewriting misconduct law and ending qualified immunity
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+The bill attempts to make it easier to hold individual law enforcement officers accountable through changes to both existing law and practice.
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+For one, it rewrites the federal law on abuse of power, US Code Title 18, Section 242. Currently, prosecutors who want to convict an officer of misconduct must generally prove they deprived someone “of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution,” and that officer did so “willfully” — “voluntarily and intentionally and with the specific intent to do something the law forbids.”
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+This is very hard to prove.
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+So the Justice in Policing Act changes the word “willfully” in Section 242 to “knowingly or recklessly,” essentially requiring a prosecutor prove misconduct was not done accidentally or without the understanding that it could cause some harm.
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+“Knowingly or recklessly sounds like legal jargon, but it’s frankly a well-established, intense standard and criminal law throughout the country,” Damon Hewitt, the executive vice president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said. “It will be game changing.”
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+Hewitt cited the killings of Tamir Rice, Sean Bell, and Amadou Diallo as examples of the effect changing Section 242’s language might have.
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+“In each case, federal prosecutors declined prosecution because they felt they could not satisfy the so called willfulness standard,” Hewitt said. “It’s so rare for federal prosecutors to feel that they have sufficient evidence to satisfy this willfulness standard, beyond a reasonable doubt, that on average, only about 40 or so defendants every year are prosecuted in the United States.”
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+However, Philip Matthew Stinson — a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University and former police office — cautioned that changing the standard won’t necessarily change legal outcomes, pointing to how often officers are cleared in jury trials: “As soon as the officer testifies in their own defense, it’s game over for the prosecution, and you just can’t get a conviction, even in these cases where we’ve got video that just is damning.”
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+The other major change the bill makes is barring officers from being eligible for qualified immunity — a concept established by the courts that shields public officials from being sued. As Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains, qualified immunity “only protects government employees whose conduct ‘does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.’”
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+This “test set up by the courts for its application has proven to be entirely unworkable,” Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said. “Its application has been so distorted by courts that it’s operated to virtually ensure that police officers are held civilly responsible for even the most monstrous acts of misconduct.”
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+Collecting data on police misconduct
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+The federal government doesn’t have a much data on police misconduct; most databases — like Mapping Police Violence or Stinson’s Henry A. Wallace Police Crime Database — have been compiled by private groups. There’s bipartisan agreement that this should change; the 2020 GOP policing bill called for data collection on use of force incidents.
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+The Justice in Policing Act hopes to expand access to policing data by establishing publicly accessible databases run by the Department of Justice on police use of force and misconduct allegations. The use of force database would have details on whether the victim was armed; what the officer was trying to accomplish; and what efforts the officer took to deescalate the situation before using violence, while the misconduct registry would include active and dismissed allegations as well as ones that were sustained. Beyer and Kaine’s amendment would add to these databases one that tracks the cost of police settlements.
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+Grants would be made available to smaller departments struggling needing infrastructure assistance to meet these requirements, and any department failing to submit this data would lose access to federal funding.
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+The success of this part of the bill hinges on departments complying with these new mandates — and reformers have been mixed on whether they will.
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+Henderson suggested state and local governments will give the federal government this data: “States should not rely on federal prodding, trying to withhold funding as the basis of their decision on whether to provide data. We think moral suasion, pressure, encouraging them to offer data, which we know they have at their disposal, is the better way to encourage them to take action.”
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+He also questioned the purity of any data that is collected, saying, “Lying is a normal part of policing in many places across the country. Police officers lie in in their reports. They write narratives up to justify the actions that they wanted to take or did take.”
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+Strengthening oversight
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+Beyond collecting data, the Justice in Policing Act works to strengthen federal oversight over state and local law departments.
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+For instance, it gives new subpoena powers to the US attorney general to investigate law enforcement groups that have been accused of having engaged in a “pattern or practice” of unconstitutional conduct. It also bestows those same subpoena abilities on state attorneys general, and empowers them to fix pattern or practice constitutional violations at the state and local level. The DOJ would also be required to begin publicly reporting how many of these investigations have been launched, are active, or closed.
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+The bill would also charge the US attorney general with:
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+Developing and recommending a set of uniform standards for all state and local departments
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+Reviewing departments’ accreditation standards
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+Ensuring only departments that meet accreditation standards receive grant money
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+Giving Congress reports on laws that impede investigations into police misconduct and racial bias in policing
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+Creating a task force that would uncover allegations of misconduct, and refer them to the proper authorities
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+Also, the bill would create pilot programs to study how the implementation of new standards and adoption of new techniques (like deescalation practices, for instance) improve policing. And new grants would be established to help fund community organizations that work on policing; to study and promote hiring, training, and oversight; and to assist departments in developing new policing techniques and public safety protocols.
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+Making racial profiling illegal
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+The bill would make racial profiling in law enforcement illegal, would mandate that federal law enforcement officers undergo racial bias training, and tasks the DOJ with creating a racial profiling and racial bias training program.
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+Ideally, mandating racial bias training would change the disproportionate number of people of color killed by police, but as Vox’s Julia Belluz whether they work is a subject of great debate.
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+For instance, a 2020 report on the New York Police Department’s implicit bias program found it had little effect on police interactions with people of color; in fact, stops and frisks of Black residents went up slightly following the sessions — 1 percentage point for stops, and 2 percentage points for frisks. It’s a result that underscores the fears some researchers have about these trainings.
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+“Training can bring bias to the surface,” Harvard sociologist Frank Dobbin told Belluz. “It can activate stereotypes.”
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+Limiting the violence police are allowed to use
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+No-knock warrants, which allow police to enter private property without announcing themselves, would be banned at the federal level in drug cases under the bill; the warrants would still be allowed in other types of cases.
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+These warrants became the subject of national attention following the death of Breonna Taylor, who police killed in her own bed after they forced their way into her apartment unannounced, looking for someone who did not live there. Arguably, this would also make police officers safer; unsure who was breaking into the apartment, Taylor’s partner — who was a licensed gun owner — fired a warning shot that police say injured an officer on the scene.
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+The act also attempts to directly address the cause of George Floyd’s death — officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds — by banning chokeholds and carotid holds (that pinch the carotid artery responsible for feeding blood to the brain) at the federal level, and classify the use of either technique by law enforcement at all levels of government as a civil rights violation.
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+To curb other types of police violence, the bill prohibits federal officers from using deadly force unless all “reasonable” alternatives have been exhausted, including deescalation techniques, nonlethal force, and at least one verbal warning. Officers would also have to ensure there’s no risk of bystanders being injured, and be positive deadly force is the only way to avoid “serious bodily injury or death,” either of the officer or someone else on the scene before using deadly force.
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+Federal officers would similarly be barred from using nonlethal force unless it was deemed completely necessary to apprehend a suspect, and all other avenues had been exhausted.
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+The bill asks that state and local governments pass laws requiring their officers to meet these same standards. As is the case with other provisions, those governments that fail to do so would lose access to federal funding.
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+Limiting military equipment
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+The George Floyd Act would limit — but not end — transfers of military goods, like drones and body armor, to state and local police departments and require any request not made by a federal agency be made public. It would prohibit the transfer of a number of weapons and vehicles, including bayonets, grenades, and drones, although it would be possible to grant waivers for banned vehicles.
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+The transfers would have to be used for counterterrorism or general law enforcement work — they could no longer be used for anti-drug or border security activities. Any item once allowed, but banned by the bill would need to be given back to the federal government, as would any equipment given to a department found to have committed a civil rights violation.
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+Mandating body cameras
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+All federal officers would be required to wear body cameras, and the bill spells out how they are to be worn, as well as when they are to be used — making clear that they must be on for virtually all interactions with the public, unless an official is on private property without a warrant, is speaking to the victim of a crime, or to an anonymous source and is asked to switch the camera off. Officers who do not comply will be subject to disciplinary action that their superiors believe is “appropriate.”
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+The bill also requires agencies to maintain video files from the cameras for at least six months, and at least three years in certain cases, including when a recording features use of force or an interaction that a complaint is filed about. And the bill would create paths by which a member of the public featured in a given video — as well as members of their family and their legal representation — could access the footage.
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+Cameras will also be required in cars; and the act would ban the use of facial recognition technology in either the cameras or on the footage. Any state and local departments willing to comply with the federal rules would be eligible for grants to expand their camera programs.
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+Research on whether body cameras improve outcomes is mixed, and the Justice in Policing Act hopes to make its body camera program a platform for further study of the issue: The Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management would be responsible for undertaking research on the technology’s effectiveness, and would be required to submit its findings to Congress.
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+Criminalizing sexual misconduct
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+The Justice in Policing Act works to decrease sexual assaults by making any sexual contact between a federal officer and someone they are detaining illegal, and punishable by a fine, as well as up to 15 years imprisonment.
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+It asks state and local governments to ban the practice as well, and prohibits any government that fails to do so — and that does not submit reports on the number of officers who do have sexual contact with those in their custody — from receiving money from the COPS program. The attorney general would be required to collect the information state and local governments submit, and turn it over to the Government Accountability Office, which would analyze it and submit a report to Congress.
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+The full scope of police sexual misconduct is unknown — many police sexual assaults aren’t reported — but a 2015 Associated Press study found 990 officers lost their licenses due to sexual violence allegations between 2009 and 2014.
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+Reformers are divided on whether the Justice in Policing Act goes far enough
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+A number of activists, including those with the NAACP, National Urban League, and the National Action Network support the Justice in Policing Act; other reformers, however, argue that it does not go far enough.
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+“It’s not a few rotten apples,” Stinson said. “To some extent, I think policing is rotten to the core. And I don’t see how these bills, in some respects, are anything more than political crime control rhetoric.”
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+And activists like Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, believe the Justice in Policing Act is far too narrow in scope to achieve needed change.
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+“What if we made big moves?” Simpson said. “I’m not saying it’s bad legislation: Everything that’s in there makes sense for the most part, it’s things that people want. But is it the biggest, boldest move that we can make?”
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+Simpson cited the Movement for Black Lives’ BREATHE Act, as a proposal better suited to the the policing problem.
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+That plan would defund many federal law enforcement groups, and use the savings to fund community programs, public safety initiatives, as well as policies attacking the root causes of inequity and over policing, as a better alternative. The BREATHE Act also uses a more complex strategy to push state and local reforms at the federal level that relies more on grants and incentives than on restricting access to federal funding.
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+Other reformers, like a coalition of 38 groups backing proposals by the Center for Disability Rights, have called for the framework of the Justice in Policing Act to be kept, but for its policies to be taken further — that, for instance, qualified immunity be abolished for all government officials rather than only officers, or that quick-knock raids be barred alongside no-knock warrants.
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+Many of the activists who support the Justice in Policing Act do see it as a bold step; Henderson this bill “transformative police accountability legislation.”
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+“I will tell you this, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is certainly no worse than current law,” Hewitt said. “It’s far better.”
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From The Hindu: Sports
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+
Ind vs Eng fourth Test | Archer benched due to elbow injury - All rounder Ben Stokes suffering from upset stomach but will play.
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Srikanth, Satwik-Ashwini enter quarterfinals of Swiss Open - Srikanth will face either Thai Kantaphon Wangcharoen or Mark Caljouw.
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PCB postpones Pakistan Super League after three more cricketers test positive for COVID-19 - The ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) was on Thursday postponed with immediate effect after three more cricketers tested positive for COVID-19, tak
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India vs England, 4th Test, Day 1 | Ashwin, Axar bundle out England for 205 as India take control - India are leading the series 2-1 and need just a draw to qualify for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand to be held in June
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Saina makes first-round exit from Swiss Open - Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Swiss Open Super 300 tournament after a hard-fought first-round loss to Phittayaporn Chaiwan
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From The Hindu: National News
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The demands of pedal power - Cycling enthusiasts have drawn up a series of recommendations to be included in manifestos
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Content on Demand service in trains to be launched this month: official - The service will be rolled out onboard 8,731 trains including 5,723 suburban trains and more than 5,952 wi-fi-enabled railway stations
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Kerala High Court orders deferring all actions on regularisation of temporary employees in government undertakings - Justice Devan Ramachandran orders maintenance of status quo in regularisation of temporary/contract staff till March 12
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Pay MSP to farmers, Navjot Sidhu tells Punjab govt. - Congress legislator tells him own government to ‘honour aspirations of 3 crore Punjabis’
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JNU, IISc break into top 100 tier in humanities, natural sciences: QS Rankings by Subject - Only IITs Bombay, Delhi and Madras figure in top 100 in engineering and technology category. IITs Kharagpur, Kanpur drop out.
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From BBC: Europe
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Karachi affair: French ex-PM Édouard Balladur acquitted - Édouard Balladur is acquitted but a former defence minister is given a two-year suspended sentence.
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Covid: Germany approves AstraZeneca vaccine for over-65s - The decision comes after Chancellor Merkel said data showed the jab was effective for the elderly too.
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Brexit: EU negotiating ‘with partner it can’t trust’, says Coveney - Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney says the EU is being driven towards legal action by the UK.
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Sweden attack: Man injures seven in stabbing attack - Police are treating the case as attempted murder but investigating potential terror motives.
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Louvre reunited with ‘exceptional’ armour stolen in 1983 - The helmet and breastplate were discovered by an antiquities expert in Bordeaux.
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+
From Ars Technica
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Starship goes up. Starship goes down. But is the program moving forward? - “One day, the true measure of success will be that Starship flights are commonplace.” - link
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New Nintendo Switch production to begin in June, will be 4K when docked - Bloomberg report locks down details about new OLED panel supply chain. - link
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Researchers build a swimming robot that works in the Mariana Trench - New muscles and electronics setup were needed for the crushing pressures. - link
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Facebook lifts ban on US political advertising - Social media behemoth had been under pressure to rescind post-election moratorium. - link
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Google claims it will stop tracking individual users for ads - Google says anonymized, group-based interest tracking will be good enough. - link
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