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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Markers of immune activation and inflammation in individuals with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
BACKGROUND: The biological processes associated with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) are unknown. METHODS: We measured soluble markers of inflammation in a SARS-CoV-2 recovery cohort at early (&lt;90 days) and late (&gt;90 days) timepoints. We defined PASC as the presence of one or more COVID-19-attributed symptoms beyond 90 days. We compared fold-changes in marker values between those with and without PASC using mixed effects models with terms for PASC and early and late recovery time periods. RESULTS: During early recovery, those who went on to develop PASC generally had higher levels of cytokine biomarkers including TNF-alpha (1.14-fold higher mean ratio, 95%CI 1.01-1.28, p=0.028) and IP-10 (1.28-fold higher mean ratio, 95%CI 1.01-1.62, p=0.038). Among those with PASC, there was a trend toward higher IL-6 levels during early recovery (1.28-fold higher mean ratio, 95%CI 0.98-1.70, p=0.07) which became more pronounced in late recovery (1.44-fold higher mean ratio, 95%CI: 1.11-1.86, p&lt;0.001). These differences were more pronounced among those with a greater number of PASC symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent immune activation may be associated with ongoing symptoms following COVID-19. Further characterization of these processes might identify therapeutic targets for those experiencing PASC.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article- html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.09.21260287v1" target="_blank">Markers of immune activation and inflammation in individuals with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Protective Immunity against COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
Tuberculosis and Covid-19 infection measure two quite different diseases- TB is caused by a sort of bacterium whereas Covid-19 is caused by a virus. However, the BCG immunizing agent would possibly facilitate individuals build immune responses to things aside from TB, inflicting “off-target effects,” In different words, in run format, individuals started learning positive in obtaining the immunizing agent that had nothing to try and do with TB, several studies showed however the BCG immunizing agent affects individuals with kind one although the precise mechanism for these off-target effects of the BCG immunizing agent is not clear, it’s believed that the immunizing agent will cause a nonspecific boost of the reaction. There is presently no immunizing agent or treatments approved by the United States of America Food and Drug Administration for the novel coronavirus. BCG is usually innocuous with the most facet impact the event of inflammation at the positioning of injection. Supported by these observations BCG so emerges as a possible candidate for the development of innate and adjustive reactions which can be non-specifically taking care of mycobacterium and different infectious agents against that vaccine remains not on the market.
</div>
<div class="article- link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/bdkg8/" target="_blank">Protective Immunity against COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Using big data analytics to explore the relationship between government stringency and preventative social behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
We evaluated the association between preventative social behaviour and government stringency. Additionally, we sought to evaluate the influence of additional factors including time, need to protect others (using the reported number of COVID-19 deaths as a surrogate measure) and reported confidence in government handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used repeated national cross-sectional surveys the UK over the course of 41 weeks from 1st April 2020 to January 28th, 2021, including a total of 38,092 participants. Preventative social behaviour and government stringency index scores were significantly associated on linear regression analyses (R2 =0.6468, p&lt;0.001, and remained significant after controlling for the effect of reported COVID-19 deaths, confidence in government handling of the pandemic, and time (R2=0.898, p&lt;0.001). Longitudinal data suggest that government stringency is an effective tool in promoting preventative social behaviour in the fight against COVID-19.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.09.21260246v1" target="_blank">Using big data analytics to explore the relationship between government stringency and preventative social behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>WHY SOME HESITATE MORE: CROSS-CULTURAL VARIATION IN CONSPIRACY BELIEFS, BELIEF IN SCIENCE, AND VACCINE ATTITUDES</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Countries differ in their levels of vaccine hesitancy (a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines), trust in vaccines, and acceptance of new vaccines. In this paper, we examine the factors contributing to the cross-cultural variation in vaccine attitudes, measured by levels of 1) general vaccine hesitancy, 2) trust in vaccines, and 3) COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Methods: We examined the relative effect of conspiracy mentality, belief in COVID-19 conspiracies, and belief in science on the above-mentioned vaccine attitudes in the UK (n= 1533), US (n= 1550), and Turkey (n= 1567) through a quota-sampled online survey to match the population for age, gender, ethnicity, and education level. Results: We found that belief in COVID-19 conspiracies and conspiracy mentality were the strongest predictors of general vaccine hesitancy across all three countries. Belief in science had the largest positive effect on general vaccine trust and COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Although participants in Turkey demonstrated the lowest level of vaccine trust, their belief in science score was significantly higher than participants in the US, suggesting that belief in science cannot explain the cross-cultural variation in vaccine trust. The mean levels of conspiracy mentality and agreement with COVID-19 conspiracies were consistent with the country-level differences in general and COVID-19 vaccine attitudes. Demographic variables did not predict vaccine attitudes as much as belief in conspiracies and science. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that cross-cultural variation in vaccine hesitancy, vaccine trust, and COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates are mainly driven by differences in the prevalence of conspiratorial thinking across countries.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.09.21260228v1" target="_blank">WHY SOME HESITATE MORE: CROSS- CULTURAL VARIATION IN CONSPIRACY BELIEFS, BELIEF IN SCIENCE, AND VACCINE ATTITUDES</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Pandemic trends in health care use: From the hospital bed to the general practitioner with COVID-19</strong> -
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Aim: To explore whether the acute 30-day burden of COVID-19 on health care use has changed from the beginning to the end of the pandemic. Methods: In all Norwegians (N=122 699) who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in three pandemic waves (March 1st-July 31st 2020 (1st wave), August 1st-December 31st 2020 (2nd wave), and January 1st-May 31st 2021 (3rd wave)), we studied the age- and sex-specific share of patients (by age groups 1-19, 20-67, and 68 or more) who had: 1) Relied on self-care, 2) used primary care, and 3) used specialist care. Results: We find that a remarkably high and stable share (70-80%) of patients with COVID-19 exclusively had contact with primary care in the acute phase, both in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd wave. The mean number of primary care visits ranged between 2 and 4. We also show that the use of specialist care in the acute 30-day phase of COVID-19 has decreased, from 14% being hospitalized at least once during spring 2020, to 4% during spring 2021. The mean number of hospital bed-days decreased significantly for men from the 1st to the 2nd wave (from 13 days, 95% CI=11.5-14.5 to 10 days (9-11) for men aged ≥68 years, and from 11 days (10-12) to 9 days (8-10) for men aged 20-67 years), but not for women. Conclusion: COVID-19 places a continued high demand on the primary care services, and a decreasing demand on the specialist care services.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.09.21260249v1" target="_blank">Pandemic trends in health care use: From the hospital bed to the general practitioner with COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The Lived Experience of Implementing Infection Control Measures in Care Homes during two waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic. A mixed-methods study</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
CONTEXT During COVID-19 care-homes had to implement strict Infection Control Measures (ICMs), impacting on care and staff morale. OBJECTIVES To explore the lived experiences of care-home staff in implementing ICMs. METHODS Mixed- methods study comprising 238 online survey responses and 15 in-depth interviews with care-home staff, November 2020-January 2021 in England. RESULTS Three themes were identified: Integrating COVID-19 ICMs with caring, Conveying knowledge and information, Professional and personal impacts of care-work during the pandemic. Reported adherence to ICMs was high but fatalistic attitudes towards COVID-19 infection were present. Challenges of providing care using personal protective equipment (PPE), especially for residents with dementia, were highlighted. Interviewees reported dilemmas between strictly implementing ICMs and conflicts with providing best care to residents and preserving personal space. Nine months into COVID-19, official guidance was reported as confusing, constantly changing and poorly suited to care-homes. Care-home staff appreciated opportunities to work with other care-homes and experts to interpret and implement guidance. ICM training was undertaken using multiple techniques but with little evaluation of these or how to sustain behaviour change. Limitations Results may not be generalizable to other countries. Implications COVID-19 has had a profound effect on well-being of care-home staff. Despite challenges, participants reported broadly good morale, potentially a consequence of supportive colleagues and management. Nevertheless, clear, concise and care-home focussed ICM guidance is still needed. This should include evidence-based assessments on implementing and sustaining adherence. Groups of care-home staff and ICM experts working together to co-create, interpret and implement guidance were viewed positively.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.08.21260181v1" target="_blank">The Lived Experience of Implementing Infection Control Measures in Care Homes during two waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic. A mixed-methods study</a>
</div></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Direct detection of humoral marker corelates of COVID-19, glycated HSA and hyperglycosylated IgG3, by MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry.</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The prefusion Spike protein of SARS-CoV2 binds advanced glycation end product (AGE) glycated human serum albumin (HSA) and a higher mass, hyperglycosylated/glycated, IgG3, as determined by matrix assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS). We set out to investigate if the total blood plasma of patients who had recovered from acute respiratory distress as a result of COVID-19, contained more glycated HSA and higher mass (glycosylated/glycated) IgG3 than those with only clinically mild or asymptomatic infections. A direct dilution and disulphide bond reduction method was development and applied to plasma samples from SARS-CoV2 seronegative (N = 30) and seropositive (N =</p></div></li>
</ul>
<ol start="31" type="1">
<li>healthcare workers and 38 convalescent plasma samples from patients who had been admitted with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) associated with COVID-19. Patients recovering from COVID-19 ARDS had significantly higher mass, AGE-glycated HSA and higher mass IgG3 levels. This would indicate that increased levels and/or ratios of hyper- glycosylation (probably terminal sialic acid) IgG3 and AGE glycated HSA may be predisposition markers for development of ARDS as a result of COVID-19 infection. Furthermore, rapid direct analysis of plasma samples by MALDI-ToF MS for such humoral immune correlates of COVID-19 presents a feasible screening technology for the most at risk; regardless of age or known health conditions.
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"></p>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.08.21260186v1" target="_blank">Direct detection of humoral marker corelates of COVID-19, glycated HSA and hyperglycosylated IgG3, by MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry.</a>
</div></li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li><strong>Immunogenicity of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Vietnamese healthcare workers</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
We studied the immunogenicity of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in 554 Vietnamese healthcare workers who were naive to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Neutralizing antibodies increased after each dose. The sero-conversion rate reached 98.1% after dose 2. Btu at month 3, neutralizing antibodies decreased. The requirement for a third dose warrants further research.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.08.21260162v1" target="_blank">Immunogenicity of Oxford- AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Vietnamese healthcare workers</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 strain replicating in standard laboratory mice.</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2 has infected almost 200 million humans and caused over 4 million deaths worldwide. Evaluating countermeasures and improving our understanding of COVID-19 pathophysiology require access to animal models that replicate the hallmarks of human disease. Mouse infection with SARS-CoV-2 is limited by poor affinity between the virus spike protein and its cellular receptor ACE2. We have developed by serial passages the MACo3 virus strain which efficiently replicates in the lungs of standard mouse strains and induces age-dependent lung lesions. Compared to other mouse-adapted strains and severe mouse models, infection with MACo3 results in mild to moderate disease and will be useful to investigate the role of host genetics and other factors modulating COVID-19 severity.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.10.451880v1" target="_blank">A mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 strain replicating in standard laboratory mice.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>NSUN2-mediated m5C methylation of IRF3 mRNA negatively regulates type I interferon responses</strong> -
<div>
5-Methylcytosine (m5C) is a widespread post-transcriptional RNA modification and is reported to be involved in manifold cellular responses and biological processes through regulating RNA metabolism. However, its regulatory role in antiviral innate immunity has not yet been elucidated. Here, we report that NSUN2, a typical m5C methyltransferase, can negatively regulate type I interferon responses during viral infection. NSUN2 specifically mediates m5C methylation of IRF3 mRNA and accelerates its degradation, resulting in low levels of IRF3 and downstream IFN-{beta} production. Knockout or knockdown of NSUN2 could enhance type I interferon responses and downstream ISG expression after viral infection in vitro. And in vivo, the antiviral innate responses is more dramatically enhanced in Nsun2+/- mice than in Nsun2+/+ mice. Four highly m5C methylated cytosines in IRF3 mRNA were identified, and their mutation could enhance the cellular IRF3 mRNA levels. Moreover, infection with Sendai virus (SeV), vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), Zika virus (ZIKV), or especially SARS-CoV-2 resulted in a reduction in endogenous levels of NSUN2. Together, our findings reveal that NSUN2 serves as a negative regulator of interferon response by accelerating the fast turnover of IRF3 mRNA, while endogenous NSUN2 levels decrease after viral infection to boost antiviral responses for the effective elimination of viruses. Our results suggest a paradigm of innate antiviral immune responses ingeniously involving NSUN2-mediated m5C modification.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.09.451748v1" target="_blank">NSUN2-mediated m5C methylation of IRF3 mRNA negatively regulates type I interferon responses</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Endothelial dysfunction determines severe COVID-19 in combination with dysregulated lymphocyte responses and cytokine networks</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The systemic processes involved in the manifestation of life-threatening COVID-19 and in disease recovery are still incompletely understood, despite investigations focusing on the dysregulation of immune responses after SARS-CoV-2 infection. To define hallmarks of severe COVID-19 and disease recovery in convalescent patients, we combined analyses of immune cells and cytokine/chemokine networks with endothelial activation and injury. ICU patients displayed an altered immune signature with prolonged lymphopenia but expansion of granulocytes and plasmablasts along with activated and terminally differentiated T and NK cells and high levels of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. Core signature of seven plasma proteins revealed a highly inflammatory microenvironment in addition to endothelial injury in severe COVID-19. Changes within this signature were associated with either disease progression or recovery. In summary, our data suggest that besides a strong inflammatory response, severe COVID-19 is driven by endothelial activation and barrier disruption, whereby recovery depends on the regeneration of the endothelial integrity.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article- html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.08.21260169v1" target="_blank">Endothelial dysfunction determines severe COVID-19 in combination with dysregulated lymphocyte responses and cytokine networks</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Confidence in government and rumors amongst international migrant workers involved in dormitory outbreaks of COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<b>Background:</b> In the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, confidence in the government and access to accurate information have been critical to the control of outbreaks. Although outbreaks have emerged amongst communities of international migrant workers worldwide, little is known about how they perceive the government9s response or their exposure to rumors. <b>Methods:</b> Between 22 June to 11 October 2020, we surveyed 1011 low-waged migrant workers involved in dormitory outbreaks within Singapore. Participants reported their confidence in the government; whether they had heard, shared, or believed widely-disseminated COVID-19 rumors; and their socio-demographics. Logistic regression models were fitted to identify factors associated with confidence and rumor exposure. <b>Results:</b> 1 in 2 participants (54.2%, 95% CI: 51.1-57.3%) reported that they believed at least one COVID-19 rumor. This incidence was higher than that observed in the general population for the host country (Singapore). Nonetheless, most participants (90.0%, 95% CI: 87.6-91.5%) reported being confident that the government could control the spread of COVID-19. Age was significantly associated with belief in rumors, while educational level was associated with confidence in government. <b>Conclusions:</b> Our findings suggest that language and cultural differences may limit the access that migrant workers have to official COVID-19 updates. Correspondingly, public health agencies should use targeted messaging strategies to promote health knowledge within migrant worker communities.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article- html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.08.21260237v1" target="_blank">Confidence in government and rumors amongst international migrant workers involved in dormitory outbreaks of COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Aspirin Use is Associated with Decreased Mortality in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta- analysis</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Novel Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in more than three and half million deaths worldwide as of June 6, 2021. The role of aspirin in prevention of COVID-19 mortality has not been much studied. We aimed to study the relationship between aspirin use and covid-19 mortality. Methods: We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane database for studies from January 2019 till June 6, 2021 with inclusion criteria of RCT, Cohort study, studies reporting mortality, and comparison studies on aspirin versus non-aspirin. Statistical analysis was done with Review Manager 5.4 statistical software using the inverse variance method. We assessed the pooled hazard ratio (HR), and 95% confidence interval using the random effect model and I-squared test was used to determine statistical heterogeneity. Results: We included five retrospective cohort studies which met our inclusion criteria with total of 14065 participants in both groups. There were 6797 participants in the aspirin group and 7268 participants in the non- aspirin group. Our results show that the use of aspirin was associated with 53% decrease in mortality compared to non- aspirin in patients with COVID-19 (adjusted HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.35-0.63, P&lt; 0.001, I2= 47%). In the analysis restricted to patients hospitalized for COVID-19, the use of aspirin was associated with a 49% reduction in the risk for in-hospital mortality (adjusted HR 0.51, 95% CI 0.33-0.80, P = 0.004, I2= 39%). Conclusions: Our results show that aspirin is associated with decrease in both overall mortality and in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.08.21260236v1" target="_blank">Aspirin Use is Associated with Decreased Mortality in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis</a>
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<li><strong>COVID-19 and Black Fungus: Analysis of the Public Perception through Machine Learning</strong> -
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
While COVID-19 is ravaging the lives of millions of people across the globe, a second pandemic 9black fungus9 has surfaced robbing people of their lives especially people who are recovering from coronavirus. Again, the public perceptions regarding such pandemics can be investigated through sentiment analysis of social media data. Thus the objective of this study is to analyze public perceptions through sentiment analysis regarding black fungus during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. To attain the objective, first, a Support Vector Machine model, with an average AUC of 82.75%, was developed to classify user sentiments in terms of anger, fear, joy, and sad. Next, this Support Vector Machine is used to supervise the class labels of the public tweets (n = 6477) related to COVID-19 and black fungus. As outcome, this study found that public perceptions belong to sad (n = 2370, 36.59 %), followed by joy ( n = 2095, 32.34%), fear ( n = 1914, 29.55 %) and anger ( n = 98, 1.51%) towards black fungus during COVID-19 pandemic. This study also investigated public perceptions of some critical concerns (e.g., education, lockdown, hospital, oxygen, quarantine, and vaccine) and it was found that public perceptions of these issues varied. For example, for the most part, people exhibited fear in social media about education, hospital, vaccine while some people expressed joy about education, hospital, vaccine, and oxygen.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.08.21260188v1" target="_blank">COVID-19 and Black Fungus: Analysis of the Public Perception through Machine Learning</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Analysis of Feature Influence on Covid-19 Death Rate Per Country Using a Novel Orthogonalization Technique</strong> -
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We have developed a new technique of Feature Importance, a topic of machine learning, to analyze the possible causes of the Covid-19 pandemic based on country data. This new approach works well even when there are many more features than countries and is not affected by high correlation of features. It is inspired by the Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization procedure from linear algebra. We study the number of deaths, which is more reliable than the number of cases at the onset of the pandemic, during Apr/May 2020. This is while countries started taking measures, so more light will be shed on the root causes of the pandemic rather than on its handling. The analysis is done against a comprehensive list of roughly 3,200 features. We find that globalization is the main contributing cause, followed by calcium intake, economic factors, environmental factors, preventative measures, and others. This analysis was done for 20 different dates and shows that some factors, like calcium, phase in or out over time. We also compute row explainability, i.e. for every country, how much each feature explains the death rate. Finally we also study a series of conditions, e.g. comorbidities, immunization, etc. which have been proposed to explain the pandemic and place them in their proper context. While there are many caveats to this analysis, we believe it sheds light on the possible causes of the Covid-19 pandemic.
</p>
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.02.21259929v3" target="_blank">Analysis of Feature Influence on Covid-19 Death Rate Per Country Using a Novel Orthogonalization Technique</a>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Phase 1 Study to Assess Safety, Tolerability, PD, PK, Immunogenicity of IV NTR-441 Solution in Healthy Volunteers and COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: NTR-441;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Neutrolis<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>COVID-19 Vaccinations With a Sweepstakes</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Philly Vax Sweepstakes<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:  <br/>
University of Pennsylvania;   Philadelphia Department of Public Health<br/><b>Active, not recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Covid-19 Virtual Recovery Study</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Strength RMT;   Behavioral: Strength RMT and nasal breathing;   Behavioral: Endurance RMT;   Behavioral: Endurance RMT and nasal breathing;   Behavioral: Low dose RMT<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Mayo Clinic<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate MVC-COV1901 Vaccine Against COVID-19 in Adolescents</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19 Vaccine<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: MVC-COV1901(S protein with adjuvant);   Biological: MVC-COV1901(Saline)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study on Sequential Immunization of Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine and Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Ad5 Vector)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Ad5 vectored vaccine;   Biological: Inactive SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (Vero cell)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Jiangsu Province Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;   CanSino Biologics Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of Amantadine Treatment in COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Patients With Moderate or Severe COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Amantadine<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Noblewell;   Medical Research Agency (ABM);   Leszek Giec Upper-Silesian Medical Centre of the Silesian Medical University in Katowice<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Covid-19 Patients Management During Home Isolation</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Procedure: Oxygen therapy and physical therapy;   Device: Oxygen therapy<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Cairo University<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Different Use of The Aerosol Box in COVID-19 Patients; Internal Jugular Vein Cannulation</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pneumonia<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Procedure: Internal jugular vein cannulation<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Bakirkoy Dr. Sadi Konuk Research and Training Hospital<br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Remdesivir- Ivermectin Combination Therapy in Severe Covid-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Ivermectin<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Assiut University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Short Term, High Dose Vitamin D Supplementation in Moderate to Severe COVID-19 Disease</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: cholecalciferol 6 lakh IU<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Immunogenicity and Safety of an Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine;   Biological: 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine;   Biological: Inactivated Hepatitis A Vaccine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Sinovac Research and Development Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Role of Chlorhexidine in Minimizing the Viral Load Among COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Chlorhexidine digluconate, povidone iodine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   King Abdulaziz University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Phase 1 Intranasal Parainfluenza Virus Type 5-SARS CoV-2 S Vaccine in Healthy Adults</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: CVXGA1 low dose;   Biological: CVXGA1 high dose<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   CyanVac LLC<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>“CHANGE COVID-19 Severity”</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Infection<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Magnesium Citrate plus probiotic<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Vanderbilt University Medical Center<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy, Immunogenicity, and Safety of the Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine (TURKOVAC) Versus the CoronaVac Vaccine</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: TURCOVAC;   Biological: CoronaVac<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Health Institutes of Turkey<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>High-throughput analysis of the interactions between viral proteins and host cell RNAs</strong> - RNA-protein interactions of a virus play a major role in the replication of RNA viruses. The replication and transcription of these viruses take place in the cytoplasm of the host cell; hence, there is a probability for the host RNA-viral protein and viral RNA-host protein interactions. The current study applies a high-throughput computational approach, including feature extraction and machine learning methods, to predict the affinity of protein sequences of ten viruses to three categories of…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Molnupiravir inhibits the replication of the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoCs) in a hamster infection model</strong> - The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoCs) has exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently available monoclonal antibodies and vaccines appear to have reduced efficacy against some of these VoCs. Antivirals targeting conserved proteins of SARS-CoV-2 are unlikely to be affected by mutations arising in VoCs, and should therefore be effective against emerging variants. We here investigate the efficacy of Molnupiravir, currently in phase II clinical trials, in hamsters infected with…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>In silico investigation on the inhibitory effect of fungal secondary metabolites on RNA dependent RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-II: A docking and molecular dynamic simulation study</strong> - The newly emerged Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly outspread worldwide and now is one of the biggest infectious pandemics in human society. In this study, the inhibitory potential of 99 secondary metabolites obtained from endophytic fungi was investigated against the new coronavirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) using computational methods. A sequence of blind and targeted molecular dockings was performed to predict the more potent compounds on the viral enzyme. In the next…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Plitidepsin for the management of a cancer patient infected with SARS-CoV-2 while receiving chemotherapy</strong> - Plitidepsin is a cyclic peptide that inhibits the host protein elongation factor alpha 1, thus blocking viral replication. A hospitalized patient with stage IIIB gastric signet ring cell carcinoma and multiple comorbidities developed Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) shortly after receiving his first chemotherapy course. He was treated with plitidepsin on a compassionate use basis. The patient showed a substantial acute reduction in viral load 4 days after initiating plitidepsin treatment and was…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>MPI8 is Potent Against SARS-CoV-2 by Inhibiting Dually and Selectively the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease and the Host Cathepsin L</strong> - A number of inhibitors have been developed for the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (MPro) as potential COVID-19 medications but little is known about their selectivity. Using enzymatic assays, we characterized inhibition of TMPRSS2, furin, and cathepsins B/K/L by more than a dozen of previously developed MPro inhibitors including MPI1-9, GC376, 11a, 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3. MPI1-9, GC376 and 11a all contain an aldehyde for the formation of a reversible covalent hemiacetal adduct with the MPro active site…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Peptidomimetic alpha-Acyloxymethylketone Warheads with Six-Membered Lactam P1 Glutamine Mimic: SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease Inhibition, Coronavirus Antiviral Activity, and in Vitro Biological Stability</strong> - Recurring coronavirus outbreaks, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, establish a necessity to develop direct-acting antivirals that can be readily administered and are active against a broad spectrum of coronaviruses. Described in this Article are novel α-acyloxymethylketone warhead peptidomimetic compounds with a six-membered lactam glutamine mimic in P1. Compounds with potent SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease and in vitro viral replication inhibition were identified with low cytotoxicity and good…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Poor humoral and T-cell response to two-dose SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA vaccine BNT162b2 in cardiothoracic transplant recipients</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: The findings of poor immune responses to a two-dose BNT162b2 vaccination in cardiothoracic transplant patients have a significant impact for organ transplant recipients specifically and possibly for immunocompromised patients in general. It urges for a review of future vaccine strategies in these patients.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Targeting autophagy in disease: established and new strategies</strong> - Macroautophagy/autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved pathway responsible for clearing cytosolic aggregated proteins, damaged organelles or invading microorganisms. Dysfunctional autophagy leads to pathological accumulation of the cargo, which has been linked to a range of human diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, infectious and autoimmune diseases and various forms of cancer. Cumulative work in animal models, application of genetic tools and pharmacologically active compounds, has…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>In Vitro Models for Studying Entry, Tissue Tropism, and Therapeutic Approaches of Highly Pathogenic Coronaviruses</strong> - Coronaviruses (CoVs) are enveloped nonsegmented positive-sense RNA viruses belonging to the family Coronaviridae that contain the largest genome among RNA viruses. Their genome encodes 4 major structural proteins, and among them, the Spike (S) protein plays a crucial role in determining the viral tropism. It mediates viral attachment to the host cell, fusion to the membranes, and cell entry using cellular proteases as activators. Several in vitro models have been developed to study the CoVs…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Targeting liquid-liquid phase separation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein promotes innate antiviral immunity by elevating MAVS activity</strong> - Patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 exhibit low expression of interferon-stimulated genes, contributing to a limited antiviral response. Uncovering the underlying mechanism of innate immune suppression and rescuing the innate antiviral response remain urgent issues in the current pandemic. Here we identified that the dimerization domain of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (SARS2-NP) is required for SARS2-NP to undergo liquid-liquid phase separation with RNA, which inhibits Lys63-linked…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A bivalent protein targeting glycans and HR1 domain in spike protein potently inhibited infection of SARS-CoV-2 and other human coronaviruses</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Since GL25E showed highly potent and broad-spectrum inhibitory activity against infection of SARS-CoV-2 and its mutants, as well as other HCoVs, it is a promising candidate for further development as a broad-spectrum anti-HCoV therapeutic and prophylactic to treat and prevent COVID-19 and other emerging HCoV diseases.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Reduced sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 variant Delta to antibody neutralization</strong> - The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617 lineage was identified in October 2020 in India^(1-5). It has since then become dominant in some indian regions and UK and further spread to many countries⁶. The lineage includes three main subtypes (B1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3), harbouring diverse Spike mutations in the N-terminal domain (NTD) and the receptor binding domain (RBD) which may increase their immune evasion potential. B.1.617.2, also termed variant Delta, is believed to spread faster than other…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Multifunctional inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 by MM/PBSA, essential dynamics, and molecular dynamic investigations</strong> - The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic demands a novel approach to combat and identify potential therapeutic targets. The SARS- CoV-2 infection causes a hyperimmune response followed by a spectrum of diseases. Limonoids are a class of triterpenoids known to prevent the release of IL-6, IL-15, IL-1α, IL-1β via TNF and are also known to modulate PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β, JNK1/2, MAPKp38, ERK1/2, and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways and could help to avoid viral infection, persistence, and pathogenesis. The present…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>AIEgen-loaded nanofibrous membrane as photodynamic/photothermal antimicrobial surface for sunlight-triggered bioprotection</strong> - The outbreak of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 causes an urgent need for abundant personal protective equipment (PPE) which leads to a huge shortage of raw materials. Additionally, the inappropriate disposal and sterilization of PPE may result in a high risk of cross-contamination. Therefore, the exploration of antimicrobial materials possessing both microbe interception and self-decontamination effects to develop reusable and easy-to-sterilize PPE is of great importance. Herein, an…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>PROTECTIVE ROLE OF CORTISTATIN IN PULMONARY INFLAMMATION AND FIBROSIS</strong> - CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: We identify to cortistatin as an endogenous break of pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis. Deficiency in cortistatin could be a marker of poor-prognosis in inflammatory/fibrotic pulmonary disorders. Cortistatin- based therapies emerge as attractive candidates to treat severe ALI/ARDS, including SARS-Cov-2-associated ARDS.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Advanced Machine Learning System combating COVID-19 virus Detection, Spread, Prevention and Medical Assistance.</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU329799475">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Differential detection kit for common SARS-CoV-2 variants in COVID-19 patients</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU328840861">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 anti-viral therapeutic</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU327160071">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A POLYHERBAL ALCOHOL FREE FORMULATION FOR ORAL CAVITY</strong> - The present invention generally relates to a herbal composition. Specifically, the present invention relates to a polyherbal alcohol free composition comprising of Glycyrrhiza glabra root extract, Ocimum sanctum leaf extract, Elettaria cardamomum fruit extract, Mentha spicata (Spearmint) oil and Tween 80 and method of preparation thereof. The polyherbal alcohol free composition of the present invention possesses excellent antimicrobial properties and useful for oral cavity. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN325690740">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>新型冠状病毒B.1.351南非突变株RBD的基因及其应用</strong> - 本发明属于生物技术领域，具体涉及新型冠状病毒B.1.351南非突变株RBD的基因及其应用。本发明的新型冠状病毒B.1.351南非突变株RBD的基因，其核苷酸序列如SEQIDNO.1或SEQIDNO.6所示。本发明通过优化野生型新型冠状病毒南非B.1.351南非突变株RBD的基因序列，并结合筛选确定了相对最佳序列，优化后序列产生的克隆表达效率比野生型新型冠状病毒B.1.351南非突变株RBD序列表达效率大幅提高，从而，本发明的新型冠状病毒B.1.351南非突变株RBD的基因可以用于制备新型冠状病毒疫苗。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN328990628">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>检测新型冠状病毒中和抗体的试剂盒及其应用</strong> - 本发明涉及生物技术领域，具体而言，提供了一种检测新型冠状病毒中和抗体的试剂盒及其应用。本发明提供的检测新型冠状病毒中和抗体试剂盒，具体包括（a）或（b）两种方案：（a）示踪物标记的RBD三聚体抗原，包被在固体支持物上的ACE2，以及，含有0.2‑10mg/mL十二烷基二甲基甜菜碱的工作液；（b）示踪物标记的ACE2，包被在固体支持物上的RBD三聚体抗原，以及，含有0.2‑10mg/mL十二烷基二甲基甜菜碱的工作液；其中，RBD三聚体抗原利用二硫键将刺突蛋白的RBD与S2亚基完全交联得到。十二烷基二甲基甜菜碱会显著提高RBD三聚体抗原与新冠中和性抗体结合速度，提升阳性样本平均发光强度，缩短检测时间。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN328990376">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>一种检测SARS-CoV-2的引物组合物及其应用</strong> - 本发明涉及一种检测SARS‑CoV‑2的引物组合物及其应用。所述引物组合物包括SEQ ID NO:1~SEQ ID NO:12所示的核酸序列。本发明利用所述引物组合物进行逆转录巢式PCR，并结合Sanger测序，能够快速、准确地获取SARS‑CoV‑2基因信息，从而能够实现快速检测SARS‑CoV‑2以及判断SARS‑CoV‑2突变株，且具备良好的准确性、灵敏度、特异性以及重复性。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN328990422">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>一种新冠病毒肺炎重症化预测系统及方法</strong> - 本发明涉及疾病预测技术领域，公开了一种新冠病毒肺炎重症化预测系统及方法，包括以下步骤：步骤一，采集患者血常规信息和用户信息；步骤二，将患者血常规信息按照用户信息进行等级分类；步骤三，将已经等级分类的患者血常规信息与对应等级的标准信息进行比较；步骤四，当患者血常规信息在标准信息范围内则判定患者为轻症患者，当患者血常规信息在标准信息范围外则判定患者为重症患者。本发明能够准确快速地区分轻症和重症。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN328308318">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>MEDIDOR DE SATURACION</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=ES325874099">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>폐마스크 밀봉 회수기</strong> - 본 발명은 마스크 착용 후 버려지는 일회용 폐마스크를 비닐봉지에 넣은 후 밀봉하여 배출함으로써, 2차 감염을 예방하고 일반 생활폐기물과 선별 분리 배출하여 환경오염을 방지하는 데 그 목적이 있다. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=KR325788342">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why Did the Police Shoot Matthew Zadok Williams?</strong> - Outside Atlanta, a mother and five sisters look for answers. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/why-did-the-police-shoot-matthew-zadok-williams">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What’s Next for the Campaign to Break Up Big Tech?</strong> - A judge recently dismissed two antitrust cases against Facebook. But what appeared to be a setback for the effort may actually provide a road map for how it can succeed. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/whats-next-for-the-campaign-to-break-up-big-tech">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What We Need to Learn from the Tragedy in Surfside</strong> - It is possible that South Florida, where climate change is a particularly acute problem, is nearing a point at which even the best-constructed buildings are under threat. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/12/what-we-need-to-learn-from-the-tragedy-in-surfside">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Biden’s Invisible Ideology</strong> - The President has deployed an exasperating but effective strategy to counter Trumpism. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/bidens-invisible-ideology">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Richard Branson’s Plan to Beat Jeff Bezos to Outer Space</strong> - The two billionaires have been duelling for years to make commercial space flights a reality. Now, on Sunday, Branson is going himself. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/richard-bransons-plan-to-beat-jeff-bezos-to-outer-space">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>How American parents became obsessed with gender</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Two people hold a balloon that reads, “Boy or girl?”" src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/97sgn3r4u2_gHfmNx73rrA6QMMk=/1131x0:4351x2415/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69567023/GettyImages_1187374107.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
oksana_nazarchuk/Getty Images/iStockphoto
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I’m not the type to throw a gender-reveal party. But like many parents, I still got sucked into the spectacle of the ultrasound.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BjHRVN">
When I was pregnant with my first child, I agonized over my decision to find out the sex. I knew that anatomy does not indicate gender identity, but I was also impatient, ready for some forecast, however unreliable, of what the future might hold for me as a mother. Having grown up as a girl in America, I knew what gendered wars I might be up against if I were to have a daughter. I wanted to prepare myself for the fight. At my second-trimester ultrasound, I decided to find out.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="o3Qrpn">
But then things got weird. Nancy, the bubbly<strong> </strong>sonogram technician, projected the inside of me on a screen that covered an entire wall, dimming the lights, like we were in a movie theater. She kept saying, “That’s a cute baby!” I had no idea what she was looking at as she furiously clicked and numbered and measured different parts of the fuzzy gray blob on the screen. With much excitement, she proclaimed the fetus was a girl. She then printed a three-foot ream of black-and-white pictures, each with an unidentifiable area circled, which she folded and tucked into a white envelope with gold writing that reminded me, again, <em>It’s a Girl!</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x0dAeQ">
It felt like I was supposed to do something<strong> </strong>with this information. I had never entertained the idea of throwing a gender reveal party, but I still surfed ideas on Pinterest. In one image I found, a<strong> </strong>couple stood, hands interlocked. Their white clothing, faces, and arms were splattered with pink from a staged paint fight, just one shade away from looking like they committed a murder together. But as I shared the news, there was a lot of excitement that did not line up with how I felt: After receiving one too many frilly infant dresses with animal prints, I quickly prohibited family and friends from giving me gendered clothing. I wondered how I had been sucked into such a clear affirmation of the gender binary.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KFZe4x">
American parents love fetal genitalia. This has become more evident with the number of gender reveal parties <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-gender-reveals-became-such-a-
thing_n_5b4fa97be4b0b15aba8b3e46">increasing steadily</a> over the past decade.<strong> </strong>Usually, it’s more extreme ones that<strong> </strong>make<strong> </strong>the news: Such parties have already caused <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/gender-reveal-parties-four-dead-1580477">at least four deaths</a> this year, and one burned over 7,000 acres of my home state of California in 2020. Many more go off with less of a bang, like the <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/176133035413911098/">couple I found</a> on Pinterest<em> </em>getting silly-stringed by friends as the parents kissed, tangled in their boy kid bliss.<strong> </strong>There are more than 500,000 videos on YouTube like these. It’s safe to say these parents are a little less conflicted about their sonograms than I was.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GBDwvr">
Some parents revel in knowing their child’s gender because many still believe prenatal sex is an early indicator of a child’s character. Pregnancy is such a strange state of suspension, any scrutable glimpse of the future is attractive. As Christy Olezeski, director of the <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/departments/pediatric-
gender-program">Yale Gender Program</a> told me, finding out a child’s prenatal sex can feel like “solving a mystery, a piece of comfort and a way to have an answer about a being [parents] have yet to know and learn about.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WX6TQV">
Ultrasounds satiate that parental curiosity, but they also stoke it.<strong> </strong>Maybe this is why even parents like myself, who don’t identify as the type to photograph themselves on a deserted road consumed by a bubblegum-pink smoke grenade, cannot help but hem and haw over the decision of whether to find out the fetus’s sex before birth. For pregnant people, the politics of navigating the ultrasound, and the insight it promises, has become its own rite of passage, and it comes with some coercion.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9Q3emp">
“There is so much pressure from society,” Olezeski said, “to know the sex of the fetus.”
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="iYSdE0"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XguyWA">
I spoke with nearly 30 parents about their choice to learn their baby’s sex in pregnancy or wait. Some simply wanted to know the sex of their child before birth for practical reasons, like Jenny who identifies as an Ashkenazi Jew. She needed time to prepare for circumcision. She also felt waiting would make the final reveal a bigger deal in the minds of family members, something she wanted to avoid.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VcHlnf">
Those who had previously experienced reproductive losses or complications, meanwhile, thought finding out the sex of their baby could provide something beyond medical data, that knowing might lend some certainty to their budding story.<strong> </strong>Bronwen, a writer then living in the Bay Area, told me she created a whole “pro-con matrix,” analyzing the benefits and downsides of waiting or not. Ultimately, she found out at her ultrasound, hoping it would relieve some of the anxiety she felt after multiple miscarriages. Learning the sex represented “a kind of investment” rather than the “self-protective ‘this is a science experiment’” approach she had taken previously.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="H0RFUQ">
Co-founder of <a href="https://mothernation.com/?utm_source=googleads&amp;utm_medium=ppc&amp;utm_campaign=rtx&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw2tCGBhCLARIsABJGmZ7kAV3FOLYs4ddFh7HaA027h0fOC1pI1L8LHpf1TbbFN6cw7bXYCkoaAjZLEALw_wcB">MotherNation</a> Cait Zogby said she and her wife planned <em>not</em> to find out the sex before birth, but when Zogby learned she was pregnant with twins, she and her partner “very comically regressed to the reptilian part of the brain that needed to be reassured of survival. Knowing everything we could about who was in there gave us a sense of control,” however false, she said. She and her wife knew that sex did not correlate to gender, but Zogby was struggling with perinatal depression and felt naming — using family names that happened to be very gendered — was “an added avenue for connection.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="woJeNe">
This idea that the revelation of a baby’s sex can feel like a surprise — welcome or not — is something I heard from many mothers, including those who waited for the big reveal until their baby was born. A Christian mother of four whose husband works in the church told me, “I think it just feels more special waiting longer,” that feeling of “holding your child with the news” is better “than simply being told.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iRQM9m">
When I was pregnant, other women who opted to “wait” to find out the “gender” often repeated to me a similar line as a way to encourage me to do the same:<em> “</em>It is one of the last great surprises in life!” I was troubled by this rationale, which implies there are only two choices: early gratification or delayed. And what exactly is the revelation here? This logic seems to assume that to know the biological sex is to crown the baby as a person<em>. </em>But what does it say about our understanding of personhood that we feel the urge to assign a baby a gender before we can imagine them as human? And why are we so desperate for connection this early in the long game of parenting?
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="yf7nvn"/></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ThQjmw">
Our cultural obsession with attempting to identify sex and gender in pregnancy all goes back to the ultrasound, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/01/ultrasound-woman-pregnancy/514109/">itself born</a> of the sonar technology used to surveil U-boats in World War I and developed further in the next World War. By the 1980s, the surveillance of pregnant people’s bodies had become routine medical practice, as the technology allowed doctors to check for congenital and placental issues. But it also nurtured another embryonic idea: the new vision of the fetus as child.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2lKZN0">
The ultrasound eventually commingled with capitalism and mainstream psychology to create the color-coded gendered consumerism that has likewise become routine in America. For centuries, white dresses and long hair <a href="https://jezebel.com/the-history-of-pink-for-girls-blue-for-boys-5790638">were the norm</a> for kids under 6 in most Western countries; white clothes were easy to bleach. In the early 20th century, American clothing companies pushed pastels — debating blue for blue-eyed babies, pink for brown-eyed ones, among other arrangements — and by the 1940s, manufacturers and retailers had<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-
culture/when-did-girls-start-wearing-pink-1370097/"><strong>arbitrarily</strong></a><strong> </strong>settled on pink for girls and blue for boys. In the 1980s, clothing corporations saw the information parents gleaned from the sonogram as a chance to expand into<strong> </strong>a catalog of not just apparel but matching baby gear. Late capitalism took it from there.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lQC75J">
The ultrasound also forever transformed the way we think about maternal bonding. In her book <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fbookshop.org%2Fbooks%2Fthe-public-
life-of-the-fetal-sonogram-technology-consumption-and-the-politics-of-
reproduction%2F9780813543642&amp;referrer=vox.com&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Ffirst-
person%2F22569143%2Fparents-gender-ultrasound-sonogram" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>The Public Life of the Fetal Sonogram</em></a><em>, </em>Janelle Taylor says the idea that the sonogram could help pregnant women learn to love their babies was initially based on a 1982 study led by ultrasound advocate Stuart Campbell, even though the word “bonding” never appears in his study. The study instead examined how the sonogram “influences compliance with health-care recommendations” and how it might change women’s “ambivalent attitudes” about pregnancy.<strong> </strong>(Interestingly, the study excluded women who were considered high risk, which Taylor suggests shows that the medical community had other interests besides improving maternal health.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KKwEUp">
The Campbell study came on the heels of a decade of heated abortion debate. A year later, an unsupported opinion letter written to the editor of the <em>New England Journal of Medicine </em>— which suggested that ultrasounds might help women bond with their babies and therefore decide not to abort — further shifted the frame of maternal health, inadvertently spoon-feeding anti- abortionists a new tactic. The wider medical community also began referencing the <em>NEJM</em> letter as a “study” that provided proof of the ultrasound’s magic, investigating how women bond with their babies<em> </em>in pregnancy rather than during childbirth or in the postpartum period.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cOmkz7">
While 1970s theories of maternal-infant bonding were embraced by the natural birthing movement, maternal-fetal bonding theories rested on the assumption that women — in the era of legalized abortion — couldn’t be trusted to love their babies without the assistance of technology and medical professionals. As Taylor writes, the more radical suggestion was “that emotional and social ties between a mother and child might form in an altogether new manner — not through physical and social interaction, but through spectatorship.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5eFa9m">
Anti-abortion legislation, like that in effect in <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/requirements-ultrasound">Tennessee and Kentucky</a>, which mandate abortion providers both “display” and “describe” fetal imaging, still use the hyperreality<strong> </strong>of the ultrasound to strong-arm women into reconsidering their medical decisions. As the late cultural theorist Lauren Berlant <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/303603">argued</a>, the ultrasound elevated the<strong> </strong>fetus to the level of “supercitizen” — a celebrity whose rights conservatives often argue override the rights of pregnant people.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aXS60i">
Today, the 18- to 20-week anatomy scan is recommended for most pregnant people, but all the gender talk is optional. For those with cash to burn (advanced ultrasounds are generally not covered by insurance and can cost up to several hundred dollars), <a href="https://www.fairwarning.org/2020/05/ultrasound-businesses-peddle-fetal-photos/">3D and 4D ultrasound</a> packages promise keepsake images of your fetus in what is obviously pretty dismal lighting. These advanced ultrasounds are considered <a href="https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/avoid-fetal-keepsake-images-
heartbeat-monitors">unsafe by the Food and Drug Administration</a> but are still paired with in-office or out-of-office purchases like <a href="https://www.anewconception.com/pages/3d-4d-ultrasound-packages-starting-at">DVDs set to music</a>, plush toys that <a href="https://www.amazon.com/My-Babys-Heartbeat-Bear-Ultrasound/dp/B077XNTPG5">play the fetal heartbeat</a>, custom <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.0730-7659.2004.00319.x?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&amp;userIsAuthenticated=false">photo albums</a>, and “<a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fsneakpeektest.com%2Fearly-at-home-
baby-gender-blood-test%2F&amp;referrer=vox.com&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Ffirst-person%2F22569143%2Fparents-
gender-ultrasound-sonogram" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">sneak peek</a>” blood tests that determine sex as early as nine weeks.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="24Qe89">
Conversely, there has been some resistance to ultrasounds within the <a href="https://www.mamanatural.com/baby-ultrasound/">natural birthing movement</a>, primarily framed as a response to unnecessary medical intervention in pregnancy and childbirth. Others just cannot be bothered with the gender spectacle: A woman who asked to be called Anne, a researcher on military and security issues, said she waited to know the sex, hoping to avoid being inundated with pink or blue stuff. She had complications in pregnancy and “had to work hard to remain ignorant.” When her daughter was born, the pink stuff came rolling in anyway.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lPKKQB">
For Dani McClain — who in her book <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fbookshop.org%2Fbooks%2Fwe-live-for-
the-we-the-political-power-of-black-
motherhood%2F9781568588544&amp;referrer=vox.com&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Ffirst-person%2F22569143%2Fparents-
gender-ultrasound-sonogram" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>We Live for the We</em></a> writes about her experience navigating <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/10260">racial disparities in health care</a> — decisions like whether to trust the white doctor who told her she needed a Caesarean were complex. But the choice to find out her baby’s sex before birth was straightforward, she told me: “I asked the doctors and nurses to not tell me what they were seeing on the ultrasound. I didn’t want to know and didn’t want to deal with other people’s projections about what a baby’s sex means.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JZ1XK5">
Lillian Rivera, director of family programming at <a href="https://genderspectrum.org/">Gender Spectrum</a>, told me many of us engage with cultural norms, like finding out the prenatal sex of our baby, unconsciously. It is often easier to just fall in line — buying into the idea of what is “male” or “female” is comfortable for many, even if we understand the world is not black and white and gender is not assigned at birth or during a sonogram. Even when we know we’re playing out roles that don’t fit us, and that may never fit our children, the ultrasound is now so intricately woven into other cultural practices — like baby showers, decorating the nursery, and gender reveals — we feel compelled by these rites of passage.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fIL3Yb">
In his memoir of nonbinary parenthood, <a href="https://www.counterpointpress.com/dd-product/the-natural-mother-of-the-
child/"><em>The Natural Mother of the Child</em></a>, Krys Malcolm Belc writes about his “shame of wanting to know the baby’s sex.” Belc documents his experience finding out his child’s sex in a 4D/HD ultrasound facility that carried “pink and blue frames and souvenirs” — a place that did not reflect his and his partner’s beliefs. As he writes, “The machine told us we could know something this way.” In the end, however, Belc found, “The ultrasound pictures didn’t matter, those words — I’M A BOY — didn’t matter. My mother had a single ultrasound when pregnant with me, and she did not find out whether I was a boy or a girl. What difference would it have made if she did? The image would have been as wrong as the doctor who delivered me.”
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="cOd8Hx"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HebhGt">
We are far from living in a “gender neutral” world, and maybe that is why the “to wait or not to wait” decision to find out the baby’s sex is fraught for so many parents: We sense the ongoing struggle on the horizon. Ultimately, though, as parents, it matters less what we do in the ultrasound appointment or with the “surprise” at birth than what we do with the information we are offered there. Technology cannot teach us to love any more than the first meeting with our baby can. Only moving through the world with our child can do that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1UBi0F">
When I was pregnant with my second child, I asked for the morphological details, yet again. I had acquiesced to a lot of mainstream aspects of parenting by then, including those gendered gifts, each of which filled my daughter’s world with suppositions about who she could or could not be. Friends and family had also stopped worrying about my approval: They simply mailed pink clothes, pink dolls, pink clothes for the doll, pink strollers for the well-dressed dolls. I was not untroubled by that, but I had thrown up my hands in some ways, especially as my daughter started to express an interest in feminized things, including dolls. She relished the pretend-play work of care, tending to a filthy, never-clothed baby doll. She covered the baby’s little mythical cuts (which were apparently all over her body) with Band-Aids, wearing a Doc McStuffins coat as doctor. But she soothed her baby’s silent cries dressed plainly, lugging bags filled with indiscriminate collections of stuff, as Mom.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EwwjXa">
As she began the hard work of identifying with the world of gender, my daughter also discounted some gendered norms all on her own. For years, she was totally uninterested in pink. And when, at the grocery store, strangers said, “Hi, princess,”<em> </em>she gripped me. “Mommy,” she would say. “I’m <em>not </em>a princess. Why do they always call me that?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DfXJ6f">
“I don’t know,” I would say. But I did.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Pm2XJs">
My daughter came with me to my second ultrasound appointment, her body tumbling on my face as the technician studied what she saw. The aesthetics of this ultrasound were more subdued; the room was cold, small, and dimly lit so we could see the television-size screen next to the table. My daughter had brought a dirty, yellow stuffed duck, which she now waved around for her sibling to see. “Look my ducky,” she said, imagining her sibling as baby, as friend. Neither of us knew that child yet, but my daughter was sure that we would.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hK0mvI">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bqHl7L">
</p>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Richard Branson’s trip to space is about convincing others to come along</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="The wing of an orbiting spaceship with Earth and black space behind it." src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/dYkZfmYpfQJ4NCeLVisVXzqs_Fo=/200x0:1400x900/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69566860/Unity21___VSS_Unity_in_space_over_New_Mexico.0.jpeg"/></figure></li>
</ul>
<figcaption>
Virgin Galactic’s flight will get to the border of space, with help from a mothership. | Virgin Galactic
</figcaption>
<pre><code>&lt;/figure&gt;</code></pre>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The Virgin Group founder is taking another step toward making space tourism a reality.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QCQAJ0">
British businessman and billionaire Richard Branson has tried a lot of things in his life, from crossing the Atlantic by powerboat in <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/04/25/business/richard-branson-virgin-
atlantic-challenger-ii/index.html">record time</a> to attempting to travel the world via hot air balloon (before <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-23-sp-638-story.html">crash landing)</a>. But his upcoming feat might be his most notable yet: traveling to space — and possibly beating fellow billionaire<strong> </strong>and space startup founder Jeff Bezos in the process.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yEFoMm">
This Sunday morning, Branson will join <a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/articles/virgin-galactic-announces-first-fully-crewed-spaceflight/">five other people</a> on Virgin Galactic’s first full-crewed flight to space. If all goes according to plan, they’ll travel <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/richard-bransons-virgin-galactic-flight-kick-starts-space-tourism-11625832000">more than 50 miles above</a> the Earth’s surface<strong> </strong>on the VSS Unity spaceplane, an airplane-like vehicle that will be carried by a mothership before reaching what NASA <a href="https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1413521627116032001">considers</a> to be the border between outer space and Earth. The goal is to demonstrate that <a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/articles/virgin-galactic-announces-first-
fully-crewed-spaceflight/">space tourism</a> really is possible, and during<strong> </strong>the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-09/branson-revives-daredevil-persona-at-70-with-historic-space-
shot">estimated 90-minute trip</a>, riders will experience weightlessness and see stunning views of Earth.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yHO1QK">
The company is planning to livestream the flight on its <a href="http://virgingalactic.com/">website</a>, as well as on <a href="https://twitter.com/virgingalactic?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClcvOr7LV8tlJwJvkNMmnKg">YouTube</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/VirginGalactic/">Facebook</a>, beginning at 9 am ET.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vOUFcR">
Space tourism has long been an aspiration of Branson’s. The British businessman, whose terrestrial ventures through the Virgin Group include everything from a record company to air travel, founded Virgin Galactic back in 2004, just as the private space industry was starting to become competitive. In 2000, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22522644/jeff-bezos-astronaut-blue-origin-spacex">founded</a> Blue Origin, and two years later, Elon Musk founded SpaceX. For more than a decade, these private companies have been racing each other, launching test flights and preparing to send humans — including civilians — to space. At the same time, NASA has increasingly turned to these private space firms for its own work, including help with <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/nasa_supported_payloads_to_get_lift_from_blue_origin">delivering payloads</a>, <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/06/22/1004291/virgin-galactic-nasa-launched-new-program-
train-private-astronauts-iss/">training astronauts</a>, and even <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/as-artemis-
moves-forward-nasa-picks-spacex-to-land-next-americans-on-moon/">returning to the moon</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="btpz1b">
“If you’re going to get people to pay to do this, most people aren’t going to pay to do that if there’s a relatively good chance that they’re going to die,” Janet Bednarek, an aviation historian at the University of Dayton, told Recode. “I think that’s in part why Branson is going on this flight. It’s signaling that this is now safe.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Mvml9k">
If Branson successfully launches on Sunday, it will be a new milestone for Virgin Galactic, and one that will move humanity even closer to the age of commercial space tourism.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l7Z125">
While SpaceX and Blue Origin have a range of other goals, including <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/5/26/21267533/elon-musk-spacex-demo-2-falcon-9-iss-
manned-launch">delivering payloads</a> to the International Space Station, Virgin Galactic has stood out for its long- time focus on space tourism: the idea that people will be willing to dole out a lot of money for the opportunity to travel to space. “We hope to create thousands of astronauts over the next few years and bring alive their dream of seeing the majestic beauty of our planet from above, the stars in all their glory, and the amazing sensation of weightlessness,” Branson <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/09/27/branson.space/">proclaimed back</a> in 2004.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="loG7CQ">
At the time, Branson <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/09/27/branson.space/">predicted</a> the company could send five-person trips to space for just $200,000, and that thousands of astronauts could be sent to space in the coming years. In 2019, Virgin Galactic became the first space tourism <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2019/10/28/taking-flight-virgin-
galactic-goes-public-in-space-tourism-first">firm to go public</a>, and in June, the company received the first-ever operator license from the Federal Aviation Administration, meaning that it now has permission to <a href="https://www.space.com/virgin-galactic-faa-operator-license-passengers">fly paying customers</a>. Branson has also launched Virgin Orbit, a parallel company that launches <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/9/26/21457530/elon-
musk-spacex-starlink-satellite-broadband-amazon-project-kuiper-viasat">satellites, where SpaceX</a> is also competing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sBHLIL">
Sunday’s launch will mean Branson and Virgin Galactic have come out ahead of Bezos and Musk in the private space race. While Branson has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-virgin-galactic-with-
blue-origins-jeff-bezos-2021-7">insisted</a> he’s not trying to beat Bezos and Blue Origin to get to space first,<strong> </strong>he did announce his July 11 flight just hours after the Amazon CEO <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/richard-bransons-plan-to-beat-jeff-bezos-to-outer-space">said he would take off</a> on July 20. Bezos seems at least slightly piqued by Branson changing his launch date: On Friday, Blue Origin <a href="https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1413521627116032001">questioned</a> whether Sunday’s Virgin Galactic flight will <em>really</em> make it to space, since the flight isn’t technically crossing the internationally recognized border, the Kármán line, about <a href="https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/content/where-space">12 miles higher</a> than the NASA-recognized border.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WCMxEI">
Virgin Galactic’s journey to commercial space tourism has had its share of serious setbacks. In 2014, a test flight of the company’s SpaceShipTwo <a href="https://www.space.com/27629-virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-crash-full-coverage.html">crashed</a>, killing one co- pilot and leaving the other seriously injured. (The National Transportation Safety Board later attributed the crash to a co-pilot error and “failure to consider and protect against the possibility that a single human error could result in a catastrophic hazard.”) The Virgin Group, the broader conglomerate that includes the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/richard-branson-races-jeff-bezos-to-space-as-covid-19-hits-business-back-on-
earth-11625753740">airline Virgin Atlantic and the gym Virgin Active</a>, have also had to overcome the financial challenges of the pandemic.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vKqbUR">
The space flight effort faces the question of profitability too. “There’s a limited number of people who can actually afford to do this,” Bednarek told Recode. “If you’re going to go to scale, you also have to figure out how to bring the cost down, and that’s very difficult to do.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7HgRZy">
Earlier this month, Branson <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/03/richard-branson-space-tourism-market-
has-room-for-20-companies.html">said</a> he thinks there’s enough demand for space travel for at least 20 different companies to compete in the industry. Thus far, the company says <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/bransons-
virgin-galactic-gets-faa-approval-fly-people-space-2021-06-25/">at least 600 people</a> have made reservations for future Virgin Galactic flights, at a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/600-people-have-
reserved-250000-tickets-to-fly-to-space-with-virgin-galactic-including-celebrities-like-tom-hanks-leonardo-dicaprio-
justin-bieber-and-lady-gaga/articleshow/84281007.cms">ticket price estimated to cost as much as $250,000</a>. Last year, Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said he thought the company could eventually bring in $1 billion a year in revenue and make spaceflight happen regularly, though he noted that the company would need more <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/06/virgin-galactic-each-spaceport-is-1-billion-annual-revenue-opportunity.html">space planes and motherships</a> to reach that goal.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="i3c4jq">
And even if we’re still a ways off from widespread space tourism, Branson will soon have company: In just a few days, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22522644/jeff-bezos-astronaut-blue-origin-spacex">scheduled to journey to space</a> for about <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard/">11 minutes</a> in a BlueOrigin rocket, alongside other riders, including his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-mark-bezos-jeff-bezos-brother-space-flight-2021-6">brother Mark Bezos</a> and a still-unnamed auction winner who bid <a href="https://gizmodo.com/a-mysterious-bidder-just-
paid-28-million-to-fly-to-spa-1847088584">$28 million</a> for a seat on the flight.
</p>
<div id="222sN3">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
From the beginning, New Shepard was designed to fly above the Kármán line so none of our astronauts have an asterisk next to their name. For 96% of the world’s population, space begins 100 km up at the internationally recognized Kármán line. <a href="https://t.co/QRoufBIrUJ">pic.twitter.com/QRoufBIrUJ</a>
</p>
— Blue Origin (<span class="citation" data-cites="blueorigin">@blueorigin</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1413521627116032001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2021</a>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jeSro4">
SpaceX, meanwhile, is scheduled to launch its first “<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210201005905/en/World%E2%80%99s-First-All-Civilian-Mission-to-Space-Will-
Usher-in-New-Era-of-Commercial-Space-Exploration">all-civilian</a>” flight later this year. On board will be pilot and billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who founded the payments processor company Shift4Payments.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U5RxAB">
Only a few hundred humans have been to space, but that number seems to be accelerating pretty quickly.
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>What the assassination of Haiti’s president means for US foreign policy</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="TOPSHOT-Haiti-politics-assassination-Moise" src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/SiynuJ2tYXqwpxixDorGlYWPzZY=/0x0:1408x1056/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69565795/1233890654.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Police patrol outside the Embassy of Taiwan in Port-au-Price on July 9, 2021, after 11 suspected assassins of Haitian President Jovenel Moise broke into its embassy in an attempt to flee but were later apprehended by police. | Valerie Baeriswyl/AFP via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
America and Haiti’s complex relationship, explained
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b10OnO">
The assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise has sent the country into shock and turmoil, sparking discussions in the international community on how to help bring stability. But Haiti’s long history of foreign involvement can’t be ignored, nor can the fact that often, aid was provided whether or not Haiti itself benefitted.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EqyHfQ">
On Wednesday, July 7, President Moise was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/07/americas/haiti-explainer-jovenel-moise-
assassination-cmd-intl/index.html">shot 16 times</a> when<strong> </strong>Hatian officials allege a group of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/09/americas/haiti-moise-assassination-july-9-intl-hnk/index.html">“professional killers’’</a> stormed his home in a suburb located near Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city. Prime Minister Claude Joseph assumed leadership and promptly declared a <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8012065/haiti-future-uncertain-
president-assassination/">two-week state of siege</a> in the country in an attempt to control backlash. However Joseph’s authority is being questioned by some as President Moise had declared Ariel Henry <a href="https://twitter.com/moisejovenel/status/1412148439564029953">the new Prime Minister</a> only two days before his assassination. Henry was meant to be sworn in this past week. Complicating the issue is the fact that Haiti currently has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/08/world/americas/haiti-prime-minister.html">two conflicting constitutions</a> that give different instructions on what to do when the president is no longer in power.
</p>
<h3 id="guPM8K">
Moise’s hunger for power defined his presidency
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JN13tM">
Moise himself had a tumultuous presidency beginning in 2017, highlighted by his authoritarian tactics and inability to gain the Haitain people’s trust. Soon after he was elected, Moise <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-military/haitian-army-set-to-make-
controversial-return-after-two-decades-idUSKBN1DJ01M">revived the nation’s army</a> which had been disbanded two decades before. This was a controversial decision in a country still dealing with the aftermath of its catastrophic<strong> </strong>2010<strong> </strong>earthquake, stoking fears that the army<strong> </strong>would drain already limited resources. Further skepticism came from the army’s history of human rights abuses and the multiple coups it carried out. The decision to bring the army<strong> </strong>back set the tone for Moise’s presidency as he continuously prioritized his interests and power over those of the people. In the absence of a functioning legislature, Haitian law allows the President to rule by decree, and in January 2020, Moise <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-
americas/2020/01/18/jovenel-moise-tries-to-govern-haiti-without-a-parliament">refused to hold Parliamentary elections</a> and dismissed all of the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-
world/world/americas/haiti/article249251975.html">country’s elected mayors</a>, consolidating his<strong> </strong>power.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="G4mxoW">
Further exacerbating problems, in<strong> </strong>February Moise refused to leave office despite legal experts and members of an opposition coalition claiming that his term ended <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/07/americas/haiti-explainer-jovenel-moise-assassination-cmd-intl/index.html">on February 7th</a>. Moise claimed that his presidency was meant to last until 2022, due to a delay in the 2017 election, and his refusal to step down led to mass anger and frustration culminating in public protests and chants of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/haitis-turbulent-political-history-a-timeline">“no to dictatorship”</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AyoFSE">
While the identity of the killers has not been confirmed, speculation seems to be determined by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/10/doubts-raised-about-who-was-behind-the-
assassination-of-haitis-president">party alignment</a>. Moise supporters have stated that he was shot by a predominantly Colombian group of hitmen while some opposition politicians claim that he was killed by his own guards. Others have said that the Colombians were <a href="https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/exclusivo-fueron-enganados-yo-estaria-
muerto-o-embalado-alla-el-testimonio-de-exmilitar-que-no-quiso-ir-a-operacion-en-haiti/202142/">hired as personal guards</a> to protect Moise from external threats. Fifteen<strong> </strong>Colombian suspects are currently in custody along with two Hatian-American suspects, and others still believed to be<strong> </strong>at large.
</p>
<h3 id="Ljp6XP">
Haiti’s current call for intervention is reminiscent of its past
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WmdHw4">
Moise’s assassination leaves Haiti with an unstable government and an increasingly frustrated population. In addition to the current state of siege implemented by Prime Minister Joseph, Haiti’s interim government has formally requested the US to send <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/09/world/jovenel-moise-assassinated/the-legitimacy-of-haitis-interim-leader-
is-questioned-on-several-fronts?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share">security assistance to protect infrastructure</a> including Haiti’s seaport, airport, and gasoline reserves as a precautionary measure. During a briefing Friday, Press Secretary <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/07/09/press-briefing-by-press-
secretary-jen-psaki-july-9-2021/">Jen Psaki</a> offered measured support from the White House, saying, “we will be sending senior FBI and DHS officials to Port-au-Prince as soon as possible to assess the situation and how we may be able to assist.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="a7J4G5">
It remains to be seen how the Biden administration will react but if US troops are sent to Haiti it could begin to<strong> </strong>feel like political deja vu. Haiti has a long history of American military intervention.<strong> </strong>
</p>
<h3 id="iN9Vfv">
Foreign intervention in Haiti has often worsened the situation
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vbCdWo">
The United States’ involvement began as early as the 1790s, when it <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/haitian-rev">provided support</a> to French colonists in an effort to subdue revolting<strong> </strong>groups of enslaved Haitians. As the revolution grew, so did US hostility toward Haiti, fearing that the revolutionary discourse would <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-
politics/2018/1/12/16883224/trump-shithole-foreign-policy-haiti">spread to the enslaved population</a> in the US. And although Haiti gained independence in 1804, the United States did not recognize it as an independent nation until 1862.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="slCOLC">
This attitude towards Haiti drastically changed in 1915, after President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/haitis-turbulent-political-history-a-timeline">was assassinated</a> a few months after he entered office due to his authoritarian rule and repressive actions. In the face of heightened turmoil, President Woodrow Wilson sent US Marines into Haiti to build the nation back up and <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/haiti">restore political and economic stability</a>. However the military occupation lasted for nearly 20 years during which time the US controlled parts of the country’s government and finances. In 1917 the Wilson administration tried to <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/haiti">force a new constitution</a> onto the Hatian government that would allow foreign land ownership which had been prohibited as a way to protect domestic resources and prevent foreign powers from taking control.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jeuOpj">
A more recent intervention occurred<strong> </strong>in 1994 when the <a href="https://time.com/5682135/haiti-military-anniversary/">US sent troops</a> to restore Jean-Bertrand Aristide to presidency and neutralize the militant group that had overthrown him and taken power. Known as Operation Restore Democracy, the intervention was ultimately successful since Aristide returned to the presidency but questions about the longevity of the operation and if US involvement was necessary linger to this day.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5xCYdp">
“The intervention in Haiti was a short-lived success,” James Dobbins, a US Special Envoy during the operation told <a href="https://time.com/5682135/haiti-military-anniversary/">Time Magazine</a>. “Haiti illustrated that these things take a long time — they don’t transform a society overnight.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="q2mfGq">
In fact, foreign interventions have a record of transforming Haitian society<strong> </strong>but not necessarily in a good way. In the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake that struck Haiti and killed over 200,000 people, the<strong> </strong>United Nations deployed peacekeepers to assist with rebuilding efforts. However, that<strong> </strong>following October, sewage from a peacekeeping base contaminated a major water supply causing a cholera outbreak. In an economy already weakened by the earthquake, and with health and sanitation facilities severely underfunded, the outbreak was disastrous, affecting almost <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/world/americas/united-nations-haiti-cholera.html">800,000 Haitians</a> and killing approximately <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/world/americas/united-nations-haiti-
cholera.html">10,000 people</a>. It took the UN <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/world/americas/united-
nations-haiti-cholera.html">six years</a> to admit to its responsibility.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TwGl5J">
In the wake of Moise’s assassination, many questions remain about the role of the US, including how to successfully effect long-lasting change.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RUaDd5">
Robert Fatton, a Haitian-born historian and political science professor at the University of Virginia <a href="https://time.com/5682135/haiti-military-anniversary/">spoke to Time Magazine</a> about the harm that international involvement in Haiti has caused. “[After the intervention], Haiti became a country dependent on international financial organizations for its funding, its budget — it was and still is at the mercy of what the international community is willing to give,” he said.
</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Queen pens letter to England football team ahead of big Euro Cup final</strong> - The 95-year-old monarch recalls the country’s last big win in the game 55 years ago when England won the World Cup under Bobby Moore as captain.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Missed natural feeling of being in world-class event but staying positive for Tokyo, says Neeraj Chopra</strong> - “I did not get good international competitions when I wanted and there had to be several changes in training and competition schedule.”</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Messi played Copa America final with injury, says coach</strong> - Coach Lionel Scaloni did not say what the injury was but he showered Messi with praise on his first victory with the national side.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How a Yoga trainer from Kerala helped resurgence of former world No. 1 tennis player Angelique Kerber</strong> - A yoga trainer from Kerala had something to cheer about when German Tennis Player Angelique Kerber made a comeback after three years to play semi-fina</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Argentina beats Brazil to win Copa America</strong> - Argentina’s win was a particular triumph for Barcelona striker Lionel Messi, who picked up his first ever title in a blue and white shirt after more than a decade of club and individual honours.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Four abandoned children rescued in Bhubaneswar</strong> - Hit by the pandemic, Childline surveyed 3,000 street children in urgent need of food in central Bhubaneswar alone</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>New population policy drafted keeping in mind all sections society: Adityanath</strong> - The provisions would come into force one year after the date of publication of the gazette, the draft says.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Maoists demand release of new job calendar by State government</strong> - ‘During padayatra Jagan had promised to fill 2.3 lakh jobs to solve unemployment problem’</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Two injured as celebrations over Argentina’s win spill over to roads in Kerala’s Malappuram</strong> - Youngsters suffer severe burns from crackers</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>PDF extends support to relay fast by steel plant employees against privatisation</strong> - ‘A resolution passed in the Assembly on the issue was not sent to Council’</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Football-mad Italians gear up for big night</strong> - Italy’s success in the Euro competition has lifted spirits after the pandemic, Mark Lowen reports.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pope Francis leads prayers from hospital balcony after colon surgery</strong> - Francis thanks well-wishers from his hospital balcony following treatment for a colon problem.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Portugal orders house arrest for Benfica football club president</strong> - Luís Filipe Vieira is being investigated in Portugal for suspected tax fraud and money laundering.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Cannes: Actress Lea Seydoux tests positive for Covid-19</strong> - The James Bond star may miss the French film festival after contracting the virus.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Esther Bejarano: Auschwitz orchestra member dies</strong> - Esther Bejarano survived in Auschwitz by playing in the death camp’s orchestra.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The weekend’s best tech deals: Nintendo Switch Lite, MacBook Air, and more</strong> - Dealmaster also has deals on Dell monitors, good board games, and portable SSDs. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1779054">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>When science breaks bad: A rogues’ gallery of history’s worst scientists</strong> - A new book catalogs some of the greatest ethical lapses done in the name of science. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1779135">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Quest for “green” cement draws big name investors to $300B industry</strong> - Startups and venture capitalists are joining concrete makers against a hard problem. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1779027">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Feds indict “The Bull” for allegedly selling insider stock info on the dark web</strong> - Data allegedly sold individually or through weekly or monthly subscriptions. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1779281">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Cheat-maker brags of computer-vision auto-aim that works on “any game”</strong> - Capture cards, input hardware, and machine learning get around system-level lockdowns. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1779166">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
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<li><strong>Mother superior tells two new nuns that they have to paint their room without getting any paint on their clothes. One nun suggests to the other, “Hey, let’s take all our clothes off, fold them up, and lock the door.”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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So they do this, and begin painting their room. Soon they hear a knock at the door. They ask, “Who is it?” “Blind man!” The nuns look at each other and one nun says, “He’s blind, so he can’t see. What could it hurt?” They let him in. The blind man walks in and says, “Hey, nice tits. Where do you want me to hang the blinds?”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/littleboy_xxxx"> /u/littleboy_xxxx </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ohv13v/mother_superior_tells_two_new_nuns_that_they_have/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ohv13v/mother_superior_tells_two_new_nuns_that_they_have/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>This priest decided to skip church one sunday morning and go play golf</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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He told his assistant that he wasn’t feeling well. He drove to a golf course in another city, so nobody would know him.
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He teed off on the first hole. A huge gust of wind caught his ball, carried is an extra hundred yards and dropped it right in the hole, for a 450 yard hole in one.
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An angel looked at God and said “What’d you do that for?” God smiled and said “Who’s he going to tell?”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MichaelK24"> /u/MichaelK24 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ohqdfc/this_priest_decided_to_skip_church_one_sunday/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ohqdfc/this_priest_decided_to_skip_church_one_sunday/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>How to fall down the stairs</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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Step 1.
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Step 2.
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Step 3.
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Step 6.
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Step 11.
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Step 16.
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Floor.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Plague001"> /u/Plague001 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ohwpql/how_to_fall_down_the_stairs/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ohwpql/how_to_fall_down_the_stairs/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A blind man’s big penis</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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A blind man was always turned down by women because of his disability. He knew one thing though, that he had an abnormally large erection. Knowing he couldn’t successfully have a relationship, and use his hammer properly, he asked one of his dear friends to bring him to “pleasure palace”, a local sex facility.
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They go to the place and his friend says to the woman behind the desk, without his blind friend hearing, “my friend here is blind, but he claims you will not be disappointed.” So the woman agrees and brings him into a room. She pulls his pants down and wows about his erection. She knew she couldn’t handle it so she brought in another woman. She couldn’t handle it and told the boss. The boss comes in to take a look at it and tells the blind mans friend to take him somewhere else. He only knew one other place to find a vagina big enough to fulfill his wishes. So he took him to your mothers house.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/VaJohnny"> /u/VaJohnny </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ohotfd/a_blind_mans_big_penis/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ohotfd/a_blind_mans_big_penis/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A boss said to his secretary, "I want to have sex with you, but I will make it very fast.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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I’ll throw $1,000 on the floor and by the time you bend down to pick it up, I’ll be done."
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She thought for a moment then called her boyfriend and told him the story. Her boyfriend said, “Do it but ask him for $2,000. Then pick up the money so fast, he won’t even have enough time to undress himself.” She agrees.
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After half an hour passes, the boyfriend calls the girlfriend and asks, “So what happened?” She responds, “The …bastard…..used …..coins”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/littleboy_xxxx"> /u/littleboy_xxxx </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ohibg0/a_boss_said_to_his_secretary_i_want_to_have_sex/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ohibg0/a_boss_said_to_his_secretary_i_want_to_have_sex/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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