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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>The use and acceptability of preprints in health and social care settings: a scoping review</strong> -
<div>
Background: Preprints are open and accessible scientific manuscript or report that is shared publicly, through a preprint server, before being submitted to a journal. The value and importance of preprints has grown since its contribution during the public health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic. Funders and publishers are establishing their position on the use of preprints, in grant applications and publishing models. However, the evidence supporting the use and acceptability of preprints varies across funders, publishers, and researchers. The scoping review explored the current evidence on the use and acceptability of preprints in health and social care settings by publishers, funders, and the research community throughout the research lifecycle. Methods: A scoping review was undertaken with no study or language limits. The search strategy was limited to the last five years (2017-2022) to capture changes influenced by COVID-19 (e.g., accelerated use and role of preprints in research). The review included international literature, including grey literature, and two databases were searched: Scopus and Web of Science (24 August 2022). Results: 379 titles and abstracts and 193 full text articles were assessed for eligibility. Ninety-eight articles met eligibility criteria and were included for full extraction. For barriers and challenges, 26 statements were grouped under four main themes (e.g., volume/growth of publications, quality assurance/trustworthiness, risks associated to credibility, and validation). For benefits and value, 34 statements were grouped under six themes (e.g., openness/transparency, increased visibility/credibility, open review process, open research, democratic process/systems, increased productivity/opportunities). Conclusions: Preprints provide opportunities for rapid dissemination but there is a need for clear policies and guidance from journals, publishers, and funders. Cautionary measures are needed to maintain the quality and value of preprints, paying particular attention to how findings are translated to the public. More research is needed to address some of the uncertainties addressed in this review.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/nug4p/" target="_blank">The use and acceptability of preprints in health and social care settings: a scoping review</a>
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<li><strong>The global and specific cardiovascular burden of spike-based Covid-19 1 Vaccination</strong> -
<div>
Aims: The aim of this investigation was to determine whether the global and cardiovascular 10 burden associated with spike-based Covid-19 vaccination has continued to increase. 11 Methods and results: An updated analysis of spontaneously reported individual cases with 12 ADRs and their fatal outcomes associated with Covid-19 vaccines, as well as adverse 13 cardiovascular events caused by the spike-inducing vaccine Tozinameran, was performed. 14 Data were retrieved from the EudraVigilance web reports of the European Medicines Agency 15 (EMA). All evaluated adverse events correspond to the search terms of the EudraVigilance 16 based on clinical characterisation. 17 The total number of individual cases (n=2256506; i.e. 2338/day) with adverse effects that were 18 fatal in 2.3% (n=51740; i.e. 54 deaths/day), as well as the wide range of reports of 19 cardiovascular adverse effects, have revealed the unusual magnitude and specificity of these 20 events. 21 Tachycardia, arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation/flatter, bradyarrhythmia and impaired stimulus 22 formation and conduction (n=57438 combined) dominated the cardiovascular side effect profile 23 of Tozinameran, followed by blood pressure increase (n=25907), myo-/pericarditis (n=23775), 24 heart failure, cardiomyopathy, cardiac flatter/fibrillation, cardiac arrest, circulatory collaps 25 (n=16778 combined) and coronary artery disease/myocardial infarction (n=9912). The 26 importance of acute cardiovascular reactions is underlined by the fact that deaths caused by 27 them accounted for at least one third (35%) of all deaths associated with Tozinamerans side 28 effects 29 Based on individual assessment, ARBs are currently recommended in the treatment of spike-30 induced symptoms. 31 Conclusions: The spectrum of side effects of spike-based Covid-19 vaccines is more extensive 32 and severe than is generally known, Adverse cardiovascular events convincingly reflect the 33 mode of spike action, namely down-regulating of the cardiovascular protective enzyme ACE2 34 resulting in increasing Ang II concentrations. A fundamental re-evaluation of the benefit-risk 35 assessment of these novel vaccines is mandatory. Health professionals should be educated about 36 the consequences of spike-induced ACE2 downregulation, the resulting symptoms and 37 therapeutic options.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/we5cx/" target="_blank">The global and specific cardiovascular burden of spike-based Covid-19 1 Vaccination</a>
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<li><strong>XBB.1.5 Spike Protein COVID-19 Vaccine Induces Broadly Neutralizing and Cellular Immune Responses Against EG.5.1 and Emerging XBB Variants</strong> -
<div>
Monovalent SARS-CoV-2 Prototype (Wuhan-Hu-1) and bivalent (Prototype + BA.4/5) COVID-19 vaccines have demonstrated a waning of vaccine-mediated immunity highlighted by lower neutralizing antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB sub-variants. The reduction of humoral immunity due to the rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has signaled the need for an update to vaccine composition. A strain change for all authorized/approved vaccines to a monovalent composition with Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 has been supported by the WHO, EMA, and FDA. Here, we demonstrate that immunization with a monovalent recombinant spike protein COVID-19 vaccine (Novavax, Inc.) based on the subvariant XBB.1.5 induces cross-neutralizing antibodies against XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, XBB.2.3, EG.5.1, and XBB.1.16.6 subvariants, promotes higher pseudovirus neutralizing antibody titers than bivalent (Prototype + XBB.1.5) vaccine, induces SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific Th1-biased CD4+ T-cell responses against XBB subvariants, and robustly boosts antibody responses in mice and nonhuman primates primed with a variety of monovalent and bivalent vaccines. Together, these data support updating the Novavax vaccine to a monovalent XBB.1.5 formulation for the 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.30.554497v1" target="_blank">XBB.1.5 Spike Protein COVID-19 Vaccine Induces Broadly Neutralizing and Cellular Immune Responses Against EG.5.1 and Emerging XBB Variants</a>
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<li><strong>Convergent evolution of SARS-CoV-2 XBB lineages on receptor-binding domain 455-456 enhances antibody evasion and ACE2 binding</strong> -
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) XBB lineages have achieved dominance worldwide and keep on evolving. Convergent evolution of XBB lineages on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) L455F and F456L is observed, resulting in variants like EG.5, FL.1.5.1, XBB.1.5.70, and HK.3. Here, we show that neutralizing antibody (NAb) evasion drives the convergent evolution of F456L, while the epistatic shift caused by F456L enables the subsequent convergence of L455F through ACE2 binding enhancement and further immune evasion. Specifically, L455F and F456L evades Class 1 NAbs, which could reduce the neutralization efficacy of XBB breakthrough infection (BTI) and reinfection convalescent plasma. Importantly, L455F single substitution significantly dampens receptor binding; however, the combination of L455F and F456L forms an adjacent residue flipping, which leads to enhanced NAbs resistance and ACE2 binding affinity. Our results indicate the evolution flexibility contributed by epistasis cannot be underestimated, and the evolution potential of SARS-CoV-2 RBD remains high.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.30.555211v1" target="_blank">Convergent evolution of SARS-CoV-2 XBB lineages on receptor-binding domain 455-456 enhances antibody evasion and ACE2 binding</a>
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<li><strong>How much should we sequence? An analysis of the Swiss SARS- CoV-2 surveillance effort</strong> -
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Background During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many countries directed substantial resources towards genomic surveillance to detect and track viral variants. There is a debate over how much sequencing effort is necessary in national surveillance programs for SARS-CoV-2 and future pandemic threats. Aim We aimed to investigate the effect of reduced sequencing on surveillance outcomes in a large genomic dataset from Switzerland, comprising more than 143k sequences. Methods We employed a uniform downsampling strategy using 100 iterations each to investigate the effects of fewer available sequences on the surveillance outcomes: (i) first detection of variants of concern (VOCs), (ii) speed of introduction of VOCs, (iii) diversity of lineages, (iv) first cluster detection of VOCs, (v) density of active clusters, and (vi) geographic spread of clusters. Results The impact of downsampling on VOC detection is disparate for the three VOC lineages , but many outcomes including introduction and cluster detection could be recapitulated even with only 35% of the original sequencing effort. The effect on the observed speed of introduction and first detection of clusters was more sensitive to reduced sequencing effort for some VOCs, in particular Omicron and Delta, respectively. Conclusion A genomic surveillance program needs a balance between societal benefits and costs. While the overall national dynamics of the pandemic could be recapitulated by a reduced sequencing effort, the effect is strongly lineage dependent - something that is unknown at the time of sequencing - and comes at the cost of accuracy, in particular for tracking the emergence of potential VOCs.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.28.23294715v1" target="_blank">How much should we sequence? An analysis of the Swiss SARS- CoV-2 surveillance effort</a>
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<li><strong>Association between pre-existing conditions and hospitalization, intensive care services and mortality from COVID-19, a cross sectional analysis of an international global health data repository</strong> -
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Objective To investigate the association between pre-existing conditions and hospitalization, need for intensive care services (ICU) and mortality due to COVID-19. Methods We used data on all cases recorded in the Global Health Data repository up to the 10th of March 2021 to carry out a cross-sectional analysis of associations between cardiovascular diseases (CVD), hypertension, diabetes, obesity, lung diseases and kidney disease and hospitalization, ICU admission and mortality due to COVID-19. The Global Health repository reported data from 137 countries, but only Brazil, Mexico and Cuba reported more than 10 COVID-19 cases in participants with preexisting conditions. We used multivariable logistic regression to compute adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of the three outcomes for each pre-existing condition in ten-year age groups from 0-9 years and up to 110-120 years. Results The Global Health repository held 25 900 000 records of confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which 2 900 000 cases were from Brazil, Mexico and Cuba. The overall adjusted odds of hospitalization for the selected pre-existing condition were; CVD (OR 1.7, 95%CI 1.7-1.7), hypertension (OR 1.5, 95%CI 1.4-1.5), diabetes (OR 2.2, 95%CI 2.1-2.2), obesity (OR 1.7, 95%CI 1.6-1.7), kidney disease (OR 5.5, 95%CI 5.2-5.7) and lung disease (OR 1.9, 95%CI 1.8-1.9). The overall adjusted odds of ICU admission for each pre-existing condition were; CVD (OR 2.1, 95%CI 1.8-2.4), hypertension (OR 1.3, 95%CI 1.2-1.4), diabetes (OR 1.7, 95%CI 1.5-1.8), obesity (OR 2.2, 95%%CI 2.1-2.4), kidney disease (OR 1.4, 95%CI 1.2-1.7) and lung disease (OR 1.1, 95%CI 0.9-1.3). The overall adjusted odds of mortality for each pre-existing condition were; CVD (OR 1.7, 95%CI 1.6-1.7), hypertension (OR 1.3, 95%CI 1.3-1.4), diabetes (OR 2.0, 95%CI 1.9-2.0), obesity (OR 1.9, 95%CI 1.8-2.0), kidney disease (OR 2.7, 95%CI 2.6-2.9) and lung disease (OR 1.6, 95%CI 1.5-1.7). The odds of each outcome were considerably larger in children and young adults with these preexisting conditions than for adults, especially for kidney disease, CVD, and diabetes. Conclusion This analysis of a global health repository confirms associations between pre-existing diseases and clinical outcomes of COVID-19. The odds of these outcomes are especially elevated in children and young adults with these preexisting conditions.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.31.23294901v1" target="_blank">Association between pre-existing conditions and hospitalization, intensive care services and mortality from COVID-19, a cross sectional analysis of an international global health data repository</a>
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<li><strong>Vaccination status and re-infection among COVID patients admitted in COVID High Dependency Unit (HDU) of a tertiary hospital in Eastern Nepal: A cross-sectional study</strong> -
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Introduction The relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and Coronavirus disease severity and outcomes remain topics of significant interest. This cross-sectional study done among COVID-19 patients admitted to the High-dependency unit of a tertiary hospital in Eastern Nepal aimed to assess the association between vaccination status, prior infection, and disease outcomes, and the modification of these associations by the presence or absence of comorbidities. Methodology Demographic and clinical data were collected from 102 COVID-19 patients admitted to the High-Dependency Unit of Mechi Zonal Hospital, including information on vaccination status, comorbidities, disease severity, and outcomes. Statistical analysis, including chi-square tests and Fisher9s exact tests, was performed to examine the associations. Results Among the study participants, 49% had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccinated individuals had a significantly lower rate of severe disease compared to non-vaccinated individuals (χ2=10.05, p=0.002). Recovery and mortality rates did not differ significantly between the two groups (χ2=1.008, p=0.315). However, when stratified by comorbidities, vaccinated individuals with comorbidities had higher recovery rates compared to non-vaccinated individuals (85.29% vaccinated vs. 25.00% non-vaccinated, Fisher9s exact test p=0.024). Vaccinated individuals, both with and without comorbidities, had lower rates of severe disease compared to non-vaccinated individuals. However, the association was found to be significant only in individuals with comorbidities (12.50% vaccinated without comorbidities vs. 47.92% non-vaccinated, p=0.017; 23.53% vaccinated with comorbidities vs. 75.00% non-vaccinated, p=0.065). Conclusion Our findings suggest that COVID-19 vaccination is associated with a reduced risk of severe disease among individuals with or without comorbidities and decreased risk of mortality among those with comorbidities. However, larger studies are needed to validate these findings and further explore the impact of vaccination on disease outcomes. These findings support the ongoing efforts to promote COVID-19 vaccination as a crucial public health intervention.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.30.23294839v1" target="_blank">Vaccination status and re-infection among COVID patients admitted in COVID High Dependency Unit (HDU) of a tertiary hospital in Eastern Nepal: A cross-sectional study</a>
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<li><strong>A retrospective longitudinal study of adenovirus group F, norovirus GI and GII, rotavirus, and enterovirus nucleic-acids in wastewater solids at two wastewater treatment plants: Solid-liquid partitioning and relation to clinical testing data</strong> -
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Background: Enteric infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality, yet clinical surveillance is limited. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been used to study community circulation of individual enteric viruses and panels of respiratory diseases, but there is limited work studying concurrent circulation of a suite of important enteric viruses. Methods: A retrospective WBE study was carried out at two wastewater treatment plants located in California, United States. Using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we measured concentrations of human adenovirus group F, enteroviruses, norovirus genogroups I and II, and rotavirus nucleic-acids in wastewater solids two times per week for 26 months (n=459 samples) between 2/1/21 and 4/14/23. A novel probe-based PCR assay was developed and validated for adenovirus. We compared viral nucleic-acid concentrations to positivity rates for viral infections from clinical specimens submitted to a local clinical laboratory to assess concordance between the data sets. Findings: We detected all viral targets in wastewater solids. At both wastewater treatment plants, human adenovirus group F and norovirus GII nucleic-acids were detected at the highest concentrations (median concentrations greater than 105 cp/g), while rotavirus RNA was detected at the lowest concentrations (median on the order of 103 cp/g). Rotavirus, adenovirus group F, and norovirus nucleic-acid concentrations were positivity associated with clinical specimen positivity rates. Concentrations of tested viral nucleic-acids exhibited complex associations with SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viral nucleic-acids in wastewater, suggesting divergent transmission patterns. Interpretation: This study provides evidence for the use of wastewater solids for the sensitive detection of enteric virus targets in WBE programs aimed to better understand the spread of enteric disease at a localized, community level without limitations associated with testing many individuals. Wastewater data can inform clinical, public health, and individual decision making aimed to reduce transmission of enteric disease.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.29.23294748v1" target="_blank">A retrospective longitudinal study of adenovirus group F, norovirus GI and GII, rotavirus, and enterovirus nucleic-acids in wastewater solids at two wastewater treatment plants: Solid-liquid partitioning and relation to clinical testing data</a>
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<li><strong>Outpatient treatment with concomitant vaccine-boosted convalescent plasma for patients with immunosuppression and COVID-19</strong> -
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Although severe coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and hospitalization associated with COVID-19 are generally preventable among healthy vaccine recipients, patients with immunosuppression have poor immunogenic responses to COVID-19 vaccines and remain at high risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 and hospitalization. Additionally, monoclonal antibody therapy is limited by the emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants that have serially escaped neutralization. In this context, there is interest in understanding the clinical benefit associated with COVID-19 convalescent plasma collected from persons who have been both naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2 and vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (vax-plasma). Thus, we report the clinical outcome of 208 immunocompromised outpatients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and who received contemporary COVID-19 specific therapeutics (standard of care group) and a subgroup who also received concomitant treatment with very high titer COVID-19 convalescent plasma (vax-plasma group) with a specific focus on hospitalization rates. The overall hospitalization rate was 1% (1 of 123 patients) in the vax-plasma group and 6% (5 of 85 patients) in the standard of care group, which corresponded to a relative risk reduction of 83%. Evidence of efficacy in nonvaccinated patients cannot be inferred from these data because 94% (196 of 208 patients) of patients were vaccinated. In vaccinated patients with immunosuppression and COVID-19, the addition of vax-plasma or very high titer COVID-19 convalescent plasma to COVID-19 specific therapies reduced the risk of disease progression leading to hospitalization.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.29.23293790v1" target="_blank">Outpatient treatment with concomitant vaccine-boosted convalescent plasma for patients with immunosuppression and COVID-19</a>
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<li><strong>Clinical pattern and diagnostic of comorbidity of respiratory tuberculosis and viral pneumonia caused by Herpesvirus Simplex, Human Cytomegalovirus and SARS-CoV-2 in patients with late-stage HIV infection with immunodeficiency</strong> -
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Aim. To study features of social status, clinical pattern and diagnosis in cases of comorbidity of respiratory tuberculosis and viral pneumonia caused by Herpesvirus Simplex of type 1, Human Cytomegalovirus and SARS-CoV-2 in patients with late-stage HIV infection with immunodeficiency. Materials and methods. The prospective study included 25 patients with comorbid condition of respiratory tuberculosis with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in excreta, herpesvirus and coronavirus pneumonia, and 21 patients with respiratory tuberculosis as well as cytomegalovirus and coronavirus pneumonia (1a and 2a main groups) and, respectively, 25 and 21 similar patients, but without coronavirus pneumonia (1b and 2b comparison group) in the late stages of HIV infection with immunodeficiency. For the etiological diagnosis of herpesvirus and cytomegalovirus pneumonia, the PCR test was used for recognition of DNA of Herpesvirus Simplex of type 1 and Human Cytomegalovirus in the diagnostic material of respiratory tract and for the etiological diagnosis of coronavirus pneumonia, the PCR for recognition of RNA was used to reveal SARS-CoV-2. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by the use of the Microsoft Office Excel 2019 software for calculation of group mean, standard error of mean and confidence interval. Results. The comorbidity of respiratory tuberculosis, herpes-, cytomegalo- and coronavirus pneumonia in patients with late-stage HIV infection in the phase of progression and in the absence of ART was characterized by severe immunodeficiency and generalization of tuberculosis with multiple extrapulmonary lesions. The results displayed similarity of clinical manifestations and visualization of changes in CT-picture in cases of comorbidity the diseases which hampers their recognition due to simultaneous combination of several pathologies with similar clinical manifestations that requires a complex etiological diagnosis of the specific diseases to prescribe a timely comprehensive treatment and reduce lethality in this severe contingent of patients. Conclusion. Patients with respiratory tuberculosis and HIV infection registered in the office of tuberculosis care for HIV-infected individuals in the antituberculosis dispensary represent a group of high risk from COVID-19 infection and CVP disease, and, in cases of combination with severe immunodeficiency, HVP and CMVP, the patients should be regularly subjected to preventive studies for timely detection of COVID-19 for the purpose of their emergency isolation and treatment.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.30.23294716v1" target="_blank">Clinical pattern and diagnostic of comorbidity of respiratory tuberculosis and viral pneumonia caused by Herpesvirus Simplex, Human Cytomegalovirus and SARS-CoV-2 in patients with late-stage HIV infection with immunodeficiency</a>
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<li><strong>Validation of neutralizing antibody titers for estimating vaccine effectiveness for the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant, BA.1</strong> -
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Background: The emergence of new virus variants, including the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) of SARS-CoV-2, can lead to immune escape and reduced vaccine effectiveness. Neutralizing antibody titers could be used to quickly estimate vaccine effectiveness (VE), because they can be easily measured following the emergence of a new virus variant and have been shown to be a correlate of protection for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens. However, few studies have examined VE-neutralizing antibody titer relationships with multiple virus variants, and none have validated relationships for immune evasive variants. Methods: We leveraged variation among vaccines and virus variants to estimate VE-neutralizing antibody titer relationships across a 54-fold range of neutralizing antibody titers for two endpoints for COVID-19: symptomatic disease, and hospitalization. We predicted VEs for Omicron three days after the first neutralizing antibody titer became available. We tested these predictions using subsequently collected observational VE data. Findings: For two mRNA vaccines (mRNA-1273, BNT162b2), fitted models predicted that infection with the BA.1 Omicron variant would increase the risk of hospitalization 2.8-4.4-fold and increase the risk of symptomatic disease 1.7-4.2-fold compared to the Delta variant. However, a third vaccine dose was predicted to restore protection. Out-of-sample validation data indicated that model predictions were quite accurate, with all predictions being within 10% of observed VE estimates, and all empirical estimates fell within the model prediction intervals. Interpretation: These analyses demonstrate that models using neutralizing antibody titers can provide rapid VE estimates which can inform vaccine design and selection.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.10.21267594v3" target="_blank">Validation of neutralizing antibody titers for estimating vaccine effectiveness for the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant, BA.1</a>
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<li><strong>Nebulised dornase alfa reduces inflammation and improves clinical outcomes in severe COVID-19: a randomised clinical trial</strong> -
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Background: Cell-free (cf)-DNA, from cellular sources, including Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs), is found in the circulation of COVID-19 patients and may contribute to immune dysregulation. This study determined whether pulmonary administration of the endonuclease, dornase alfa, reduced systemic inflammation by degrading local and systemic cf-DNA. Methods: Eligible patients were randomized (3:1) to receive twice-daily nebulised dornase alfa in addition to best available care (BAC) or BAC alone for seven days or until discharge. A 2:1 ratio of matched contemporary controls (CC) provided additional comparators. The primary endpoint was improvement in C-reactive protein (CRP) over time, analysed using a repeated-measures mixed model, adjusted for baseline factors. Results: Between June 2020-October 2021 we recruited 39 evaluable patients: 30 randomised to dornase alfa; 9 randomised to BAC; with 60 CC. Dornase alfa reduced CRP by 33% compared to BAC. Least squares (LS) mean post-dexamethasone CRP fell from 101.9mg/L to 23.23 mg/L in the BAC+ dornase alfa group versus a fall from 99.5mg/L to 34.82 mg/L in the BAC group at 7 days; P=0.01. This effect of dornase alfa on CRP was confirmed with subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Dornase alfa increased the chance of live discharge by 63% (HR 1.63, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.61, P=0.03), increased lymphocyte counts (LSmean 1.08 vs 0.87, P=0.02) and reduced circulating cf-DNA and the coagulopathy marker D-dimer (LS mean: 570.78 vs 1656.96 μg/mL, P=0.004). Dornase alfa was well-tolerated. Conclusions: We provide proof-of-concept evidence that dornase alfa can reduce pathogenic inflammation in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.04.14.22272888v3" target="_blank">Nebulised dornase alfa reduces inflammation and improves clinical outcomes in severe COVID-19: a randomised clinical trial</a>
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<li><strong>Epidemiological modeling of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) reveals conditions for introduction and widespread transmission</strong> -
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Emerging infectious diseases with zoonotic potential often have complex socioecological dynamics and limited ecological data, requiring integration of epidemiological modeling with surveillance. Although our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 has advanced considerably since its detection in late 2019, the factors influencing its introduction and transmission in wildlife hosts, particularly white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), remain poorly understood. We use a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Susceptible epidemiological model to investigate the spillover risk and transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in wild and captive white-tailed deer populations across various simulated scenarios. We found that captive scenarios pose a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 introduction from humans into deer herds and subsequent transmission among deer, compared to wild herds. However, even in wild herds, the transmission risk is often substantial enough to sustain infections. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the strength of introduction from humans influences outbreak characteristics only to a certain extent. Transmission among deer was frequently sufficient for widespread outbreaks in deer populations, regardless of the initial level of introduction. We also explore the potential for fence line interactions between captive and wild deer to elevate outbreak metrics in wild herds that have the lowest risk of introduction and sustained transmission. Our results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 could be introduced and maintained in deer herds across a range of circumstances based on testing a range of introduction and transmission risks in various captive and wild scenarios. Our approach and findings will aid One Health strategies that mitigate persistent SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in white-tailed deer populations and potential spillback to humans.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.30.555493v1" target="_blank">Epidemiological modeling of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) reveals conditions for introduction and widespread transmission</a>
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<li><strong>Altered DNA methylation underlies monocyte dysregulation and innate exhaustion memory in sepsis</strong> -
<div>
Innate immune memory is the process by which pathogen exposure elicits cell-intrinsic states to alter the strength of future immune challenges. Such altered memory states drive monocyte dysregulation during sepsis, promoting pathogenic behavior characterized by pro-inflammatory, immunosuppressive gene expression in concert with emergency hematopoiesis. Epigenetic changes, notably in the form of histone modifications, have been shown to underlie innate immune memory, but the contribution of DNA methylation to this process remains poorly understood. Using an ex vivo sepsis model, we discovered broad changes in DNA methylation throughout the genome of exhausted monocytes, including at several genes previously implicated as major drivers of immune dysregulation during sepsis and Covid-19 infection (e.g. Plac8). Methylome alterations are driven in part by Wnt signaling inhibition in exhausted monocytes, and can be reversed through treatment with DNA methyltransferase inhibitors, Wnt agonists, or immune training molecules. Importantly, these changes are recapitulated in septic mice following cecal slurry injection, resulting in stable changes at critical immune genes that support the involvement of DNA methylation in acute and long-term monocyte dysregulation during sepsis.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.30.555580v1" target="_blank">Altered DNA methylation underlies monocyte dysregulation and innate exhaustion memory in sepsis</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SenePy: Unveiling the Cell-Type Specific Landscape of Cellular Senescence through Single-Cell Analysis in Living Organisms</strong> -
<div>
Senescent cells accumulate in tissues with organismal age and contribute causally to multiple chronic diseases. In vivo senescent cell phenotypes are heterogeneous because cellular context and stressors vary by cell type and tissue. Due to the variability of senescence programs, there is no universal method to identify senescent cells and even widely used markers, such as CDKN2A, are not ubiquitous. Therefore, we interrogated the Tabula Muris Senis mouse single-cell aging atlas and an array of single-cell datasets from human donors that spanned many ages to find cell-specific signatures of cellular senescence. We derived 75 mouse and 65 human senescence signatures from individual cell populations. CDKN2A and other markers of senescence were overrepresented in these signatures but there were many novel senescence genes present at higher rates. Within individual cell populations, we observed multiple programs of senescence with distinct temporal and transcriptional characteristics. We packaged the signatures along with a single-cell scoring method into an open-source package: SenePy. SenePy signatures better recapitulate cellular senescence than available methods when tested on multiple in vivo RNA-seq datasets and a p16ink4a reporter single-cell dataset. We used SenePy to map the kinetics of senescent cell accumulation across 97 cell types from humans and mice. SenePy also generalizes to disease-associate senescence and we used it to identify an increased burden of senescent cells in COVID-19 and myocardial infarction. This work provides a significant advancement towards our ability to identify and characterize in vivo cellular senescence.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.30.555644v1" target="_blank">SenePy: Unveiling the Cell-Type Specific Landscape of Cellular Senescence through Single-Cell Analysis in Living Organisms</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>THE EFFECT OF ARGININE AND GLUTAMINE ON COVID-19 PATIENTS OUTCOME: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Dietary Supplement: Neomune<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Universitas Sriwijaya;   M. Djamil General 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>Study of Obeldesivir in Children and Adolescents With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Obeldesivir<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Gilead Sciences<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>KAND567 Versus Placebo in Subjects Hospitalized With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: KAND567;   Drug: Microcrystalline cellulose<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Kancera AB<br/><b>Terminated</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>Aerobic Training for Rehabilitation of Patients With Post Covid-19 Syndrome</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome;   Long-COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Aerobic Exercise Training<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   University of Witten/Herdecke;   Verein und Institut für Rehabilitationsforschung Norderney<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>Digital Health Literacy on COVID-19 for All: Co-creation and Evaluation of Interventions for Ethnic Minorities and Chinese People With Chronic Illnesses in Hong Kong</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Digital Health Literacy;   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Digital health literacy intervention<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   The Hong Kong Polytechnic 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>A Pilot Clinical Evaluation of Astepro® Nasal Spray for Management of Early SARS-CoV-2 Infection</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Experimental: Primary Cohort;   Other: Placebo Comparator: Primary Cohort - Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   University of Chicago<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 Vaccination Hesitancy in Adults With Sickle Cell Disease</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Sickle Cell Disease;   COVID-19 Vaccine;   Vaccine Hesitancy<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: SCD-specific COVID-19 vaccination information (SCVI) video<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Duke University;   American Society of Hematology<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>Comparative Immunogenicity of Concomitant vs Sequential mRNA COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccinations</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Influenza;   COVID-19;   Influenza Immunogencity;   COVID-19 Immunogenicity<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Simultaneous Vaccination (Influenza Vaccine and mRNA COVID booster);   Biological: Sequential Vaccination (Influenza vaccine then mRNA COVID booster);   Biological: Sequential Vaccination (mRNA COVID booster then Influenza vaccine)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Duke University;   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;   Arizona State University;   University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center;   University of Pittsburgh;   Washington University School of Medicine;   Valleywise Health;   VA Northeast Ohio Health Care;   Senders Pediatrics<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>Leveraging Community Health Workers to Combat COVID-19 and Mental Health Misinformation in Haiti, Malawi, and Rwanda</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Mental Health;   COVID-19;   Misinformation<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Card-Sorting Activity (Pre-intervention design);   Behavioral: SMS Crafting (Pre-intervention design);   Behavioral: SMS Messaging<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM);   Partners in 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>Effect of Pulmonary Rehabilitation Among Post-COVID-19 Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangladesh</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Pulmonary Pathology<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Pulmonary Rehabilitation<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh<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>A Study to Learn About New COVD-19 RNA Vaccine Candidates for New Varients in Healthy Individuals</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection;   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: BNT162b2 (Omi XBB.1.5)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   BioNTech SE;   Pfizer<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>Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial of the Efficacy and Safety of Tianeptine in the Treatment of Covid Fog Symptoms in Patients After COVID-19.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Nervous System Diseases<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Tianeptine;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Military Institute od Medicine National Research Institute;   ABM Industries<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>Effects of Cognitive-behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Nurses With Post Covid-19 Condition</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Cognitive Behavioral Therapy<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: cognitive behavioral therapy<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Tri-Service General Hospital<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 Effectiveness of Natural Resources for Reducing Stress</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Distress, Emotional;   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Combination Product: Balneotherapy plus complex;   Combination Product: Combined nature resources treatment;   Other: Nature therapy procedure<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Klaipėda University;   Research Council of Lithuania<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>Study of LAU-7b for the Treatment of Long COVID in Adults</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Long COVID<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: LAU-7b for 3 cycles;   Drug: LAU-7b for 1 cycle, then placebo;   Other: Placebo for 3 cycles<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Laurent Pharmaceuticals Inc.<br/><b>Not yet 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>The use of <em>Ephedra</em> herbs in the treatment of COVID-19</strong> - CONCLUSION: Some plants used in traditional medicine, including the Ephedra herbs, with their active compounds, can be considered a candidate with high potential for the control and prevention of COVID-19.</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>Integrated network pharmacology analysis and in vitro validation revealed the underlying mechanism of Xiyanping injection in treating coronavirus disease 2019</strong> - CONCLUSION: Through effective network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking, this study suggests that XYP contains many effective compounds that may target COVID-19 related signaling pathways. Moreover, the in vitro experiment confirmed that XYP could inhibit the cytokine storm by regulating genes or proteins related to immune and inflammatory responses.</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>Engineered clinical-grade mesenchymal stromal cells combating SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants by secreting effective neutralizing antibodies</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggested that engineered clinical-grade MSCs secreting effective neutralizing antibodies as cellular production machines had the potential to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection, which provided a new avenue for effectively treating the older and immunocompromised COVID-19 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>CircMIB2 therapy can effectively treat pathogenic infection by encoding a novel protein</strong> - The mRNA therapy is widely used in the treatment of diseases due to its efficient characteristics, and the COVID-19 vaccine is the application of mRNA therapy. However, due to the instability of mRNA, mRNA vaccines often need lots of modifications to ensure its stability. Recent research shows that circRNA with stable RNA structure can encode protein, which provides a new direction for mRNA therapy. Here, we discovered a novel circRNA (circMIB2) derived from E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase MIB2…</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>Social network, political climate, income inequality, and Americans uptake of monovalent COVID-19 booster</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented impact on Americans for over three years. To control the damage, a booster shot becomes increasingly necessary because the efficacy of the initial vaccine is waning and new variants of the virus are emerging. This study aims to understand factors at both individual and state levels that influence ones decision to take the monovalent booster. We merged data from a national survey administered in the Spring of 2022 with state-level indicators 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>Reduced concentration performance and heartbeat-evoked potential in individuals with a history of a SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> - The goal of characterizing long-term psychological and neural consequences of a SARS-CoV-2 infection has recently gained importance. Here, we examined the effect of a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on neural markers of exteroceptive (P300) and interoceptive (heartbeat-evoked potential; HEP) signal processing, as well as on neuropsychological tests of attention, inhibition and episodic memory, in 23 adults with a self-reported history of SARS-CoV-2 infection versus 23 healthy controls. We found that…</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>Posttranslational ISGylation of NLRP3 by HERCs enzymes facilitates inflammasome activation in models of inflammation</strong> - The NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a crucial component of the innate immune system that initiates inflammatory responses. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of NLRP3, including ubiquitination and phosphorylation, control inflammasome activation and determine the intensity of inflammation. However, the role of other PTMs in controlling NLRP3 inflammasome activation remains unclear. This study founded that toll-like receptor (TLR) priming induced…</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>We Cannot Put This Genie Back in the Bottle: Qualitative Interview Study Among Family Medicine Providers About Their Experiences With Virtual Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the transition from in-person to virtual visits during the pandemic from the perspective of family medicine providers. Generally, family medicine providers perceptions of the shift to virtual visits were positive, especially regarding team-based care. Challenges involved virtual inhibition, particularly for providers. Providers described ways they integrated virtual care with aspects of in-person care, creating a hybrid environment. The genie is out of the…</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 Behavioral Inhibition System and Engagement With, and Influence By, COVID-19 and Election-Based Misinformation</strong> - The negative impact of misinformation on public discourse and public safety is increasingly a focus of attention. From the COVID-19 pandemic to national elections, exposure to misinformation has been linked to conflicting perceptions of social, economic, and political issues, which has been found to lead to polarization, radicalization, and acts of violence at the individual and group level. While a large body of research has emerged examining the development and spread of misinformation, little…</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>Arbidol increases the survival rate by mitigating inflammation in suckling mice infected with human coronavirus OC43 virus</strong> - Human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) often causes common cold and is able to neuroinvasive, but it can also induce lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) especially in children and the elderly adults with underlying diseases. HCoV-OC43 infections currently have no approved antiviral treatment. Arbidol (ARB) is a broad-spectrum antiviral and is an antiviral medication for the treatment of influenza used in Russia and China. Due to its multiple mechanisms of action, such as inhibition of viral…</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 assessment of a SARS-CoV-2 recombinant spike RBD protein vaccine (Abdala) in paediatric ages 3-18 years old: a double-blinded, multicentre, randomised, phase 1/2 clinical trial (ISMAELILLO study)</strong> - BACKGROUND: COVID-19 in paediatric ages could result in hospitalizations and death. In addition, excluding children from vaccination could turn them into reservoirs of the SARS-COV-2. Safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are urgently needed for large-scale paediatric vaccination. ISMAELILLO study aimed to evaluate safety and immunogenicity of two strengths of a new recombinant receptor-binding domain (RBD) protein vaccine (Abdala) in paediatric population.</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>Growth hormone-releasing hormone antagonist MIA-602 inhibits inflammation induced by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and bacterial lipopolysaccharide synergism in macrophages and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells</strong> - COVID-19 is characterized by an excessive inflammatory response and macrophage hyperactivation, leading, in severe cases, to alveolar epithelial injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Recent studies have reported that SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein interacts with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to boost inflammatory responses in vitro, in macrophages and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and in vivo. The hypothalamic hormone growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), in…</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>Retrospective observational study of changes in serum cytokines and adiponectin with continuous plasma exchange with dialysis therapy for severe COVID-19</strong> - CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that cPED therapy is an effective treatment for COVID-19.</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 nucleotide-sensing Toll-Like Receptor 9/Toll-Like Receptor 7 system is a potential therapeutic target for IgA nephropathy</strong> - The progression determinants of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) are still not fully elucidated. We have previously demonstrated that the mucosal activation of toll-like receptor (TLR) 9, which senses microbial unmethylated CpG DNA, influences progression by producing aberrantly-glycosylated IgA. However, numerous recent reports of patients with IgAN presenting with gross hematuria after the mRNA vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 suggest that the RNA-sensing system also exacerbates IgAN. Here, we…</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>Peptide delivery of a multivalent mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine</strong> - Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) have been instrumental in the success of mRNA vaccines and have opened up the field to a new wave of therapeutics. However, what is ahead beyond the LNP? The approach herein used a nanoparticle containing a blend of Spike, Membrane and Envelope antigens complexed for the first time with the RALA peptide (RALA-SME). The physicochemical characteristics and functionality of RALA-SME were assessed. With &gt;99% encapsulation, RALA-SME was administered via intradermal injection…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
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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>Hurricane Idalias Explosive Power Comes from Abnormally Hot Oceans</strong> - By burning fossil fuels, humans force the oceans to soak up the heat equivalent of a Hiroshima-size bomb, over and over again. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/hurricane-idalias-explosive-power-comes-from-abnormally-hot-oceans">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Case for Negotiating with Russia</strong> - Samuel Charap is asking Ukraine and its allies to consider how much worse the war could get. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/the-case-for-negotiating-with-russia">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Texass Dying Swimming Holes</strong> - Taking a dip in the summer was as central to the states identity as barbecue and Willie Nelson. Then came a population boom and climate change. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/texass-dying-swimming-holes">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Virtual-Reality School as the Ultimate School Choice</strong> - The conservative education activist Erika Donalds envisions a world where parents unsatisfied with their public schools can opt out by putting their kids in a headset. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-education/virtual-reality-school-as-the-ultimate-school-choice">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Twilight of Mitch McConnell and the Spectre of 2024</strong> - On the dangerous reign of the octogenarians. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/the-twilight-of-mitch-mcconnell-and-the-spectre-of-2024">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>The secret to better sex? Have it with yourself.</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A woman stands, hugging an oversized flower with one arm and holding a small heart in the opposite hand." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4wIX3DgZDH2DyZ3mz6BfFvt31Us=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72601764/Vox_8_31.0.png"/>
<figcaption>
Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
In a sex recession, consider the benefits of a DIY approach.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="esAkns">
Many of us grew up reading glossy instruction manuals full of increasingly eccentric tips for pleasing a partner. A few memorable ones from my own tween reading years: Eat a doughnut off their genitals. Run an ice cube down their abs. Prior to sex, perform a chair-based dance routine. Moisten your mouth by imagining that it is full of Skittles. There were fewer instructions, of course, on how to help your partner please you.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pZQCtG">
If you have the kind of social media feed prone to churning up sex-positive <a href="https://www.vox.com/instagram-news">Instagram</a> infographics — or if youve ever masturbated — you are likely aware of the benefits of self-pleasure. Masturbation, wrote radical sex educator Betty Dodson in her 1987 classic<a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/sex-for-one-the-joy-of-selfloving-revised-betty-dodson/6556861"><em> Sex for One</em></a>, is “the ongoing love affair that each of us has with ourselves throughout our lifetime.” Dodson, who later schooled Gwyneth Paltrow on vaginas <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/goop-lab-sex-netflix">for her <em>Goop</em> Netflix show</a>, saw in masturbation nothing short of a path to world peace.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bbgKH2">
Sex educators rightly extol the endless upsides of masturbation: physical pleasure, relaxation, absolute safety from sexually transmitted infection, the powerful feeling of meeting your own needs. But telling people to masturbate for <a href="https://www.vox.com/health">wellness</a> reasons can begin to feel a bit like telling someone with depression to take a walk and drink a glass of water: Its probably a good idea, but its annoying to hear.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="H1eN7q">
For some people, this pervasive messaging has the opposite of its intended effect. “I have, over the years, also heard from many young women, especially, who feel pressured to masturbate—and some young men,” sex researcher Debby Herbenick tells Vox. Instead of masturbation as an act of personal discovery, it can feel like another tedious opportunity for self-optimization.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UcNNOM">
What the pro-self-service discourse sometimes neglects is this: Addressing your erotic needs through masturbation is a key strategy to bringing those same impulses to partnered sex, and for people with vaginas, its worth getting some reps in. And, of course, most of the research included in this space is on cis, straight people, so I recognize that these experiences wont be universal — but everyone can benefit from a reminder that our bodies are worthy of pleasure.
</p>
<h3 id="GLUXmk">
<strong>Taking time to figure out what feels good </strong>
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AlCzgE">
If youre having meh sex with casual partners, pleasure-phobic pundits and well-intentioned friends might urge you to seek deeper emotional connection and monogamous commitment. Which, sure! If thats what youre into. Theres another option, though: Getting better at getting yourself off, so that you can give clearer instructions in the future.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gEflIh">
“A lot of us are having unsatisfying sex. And they want that to change, but they want it to just change overnight,” says Dominique Oster, a sex and relationships therapist. “They want their partner to just suddenly get it. They want them to just suddenly <em>know</em>, but they dont want to do the work that it takes to get there.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jFNTmV">
When clients come to her sharing that they are unable to orgasm, or that they want sex but are simply unable to enjoy it in the moment, she, like many sex therapists, encourages them to practice masturbation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uP8r5X">
“We owe it to ourselves to give ourselves and our nervous system a chance to re-regulate and create some new neural pathways,” Oster says. “This is not like a Cosmo Five Tips to Better Orgasm. This is: How do I have better <a href="https://www.vox.com/mental-health">mental health</a> around my body and my sexuality?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rVaRPb">
Betty Dodson, in her 80s <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/sex-for-one-the-joy-of-selfloving-revised-betty-dodson/6556861">masturbation manifesto</a>, called it “the best way to gain sexual self-knowledge and to let go of old sexual fears and inhibitions.” She added, “For women especially, its a way to build confidence so we can communicate clearly with our lovers.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ge5KfB">
A 2019 <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31759932/#full-view-affiliation-3">study</a> of over 2,000 women found a stark contrast in the ways women were bringing themselves to orgasm through masturbation and the ways they attempted to orgasm with a partner. On their own, women “tend to use less conventional techniques for arousal during masturbation compared with partnered sex,” the researchers found. Those who were able to align their solo style with the way they had sex with a partner — conjuring fantasies, using vibrators, positioning their bodies in their preferred ways — had more orgasms, and better ones.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="sxahWY">
<q>Everyone can benefit from a reminder that our bodies are worthy of pleasure</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zzSYAX">
Of course, orgasm is not the only marker of a positive sexual experience, but it is a significant one. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886919304106#:~:text=Orgasm%20rate,compared%20to%2081.8%25%20of%20men.">study</a> of young adults in 2019 found that people who orgasmed in casual sexual encounters were more likely to have positive emotions about those encounters. <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2021/07/regret-distress-low-self-esteem-why-today-s-hook-culture-terrible-deal">Critics of casual sex</a> argue that it can lead participants, particularly women, to feel empty and worthless afterward. The reason could be a sense of loneliness or shame, but it could also be that sex didnt feel that good physically. If thats the case, the answer might not be to give up on sex, but to try to figure out what would actually feel good.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="46uuJF">
Thats what Maria Yagoda did. Yagoda is a sex writer who spent years recounting her sexual exploits online, writing articles with headlines like <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/ne9337/what-its-like-to-ride-cowgirl-sex-machine">“What Its Like to Ride a $2,000 Vibrating Sex Machine.’”</a> At 28, she finally admitted that she wasnt enjoying sex — she was simply “enduring” it. She faked orgasms, approximating moans while thinking about the IRS. Even though she was technically a sex expert, she found it hard to acknowledge that, as she writes in her new book <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/laid-and-confused-why-we-still-tolerate-bad-sex-and-how-to-stop-maria-yagoda/18738061?ean=9781250277732&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw_5unBhCMARIsACZyzS3Fr-EFQRarVpa5yzCAnxawJtjGaTZbC-dFTuBJQKy9CG-7SNnv-SEaAtt2EALw_wcB"><em>Laid and Confused: Why We Tolerate Bad Sex and How to Stop</em></a>, that “sex is meant to be pleasurable, not a method-acted performance of pleasure so gripping even the actor believes it.”
</p>
<h3 id="mtvRrf">
<strong>A pathway to better sex — including casual sex </strong>
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="u3zbuW">
Its easy to read an account like Yagodas and conclude that casual sex is simply unfulfilling, and ought to be abandoned. Anti-hookup culture screeds, which often marry puritanism to the language of progressivism, argue that the answer is to contain sex <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2021/07/regret-distress-low-self-esteem-why-today-s-hook-culture-terrible-deal">within the framework of committed monogamy</a>. Amid the often troubling critiques of hooking up is genuine concern for womens sexual satisfaction and sense of erotic self-worth. In 2006, then-Washington Post reporter Laura Sessions Stepp <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/unhooked-how-young-women-pursue-sex-delay-love-and-lose-at-both-laura-sessions-stepp/15279285?ean=9781594482847">fretted</a> about the implications of hookup culture for girls futures as “mothers, workers, and members of a community.” She also worried, rightly, about whether the girls and womens partners were treating them with care.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IK1Mre">
In a 2022 <a href="https://www.vox.com/tiktok">TikTok</a> viewed nearly a million times, “very much pro-ho” creator Cindy Noir echoed these concerns, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thecindynoir/video/7059549627183582510">urging</a> women to ask of their casual sex partners, “Does he value you and consider you and your pleasure? Is he trustworthy and safe for you and your body?” Hookup culture can sometimes be a “scam” for women, said Cindy. This is statistically true, at least as far as orgasms go — in heterosexual partnerships, men are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886919304106">vastly more likely</a> than women to orgasm during casual sex.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GjvXIl">
Lack of pleasure is an excellent reason to avoid any kind of sex, casual or committed. But as Yagoda argues, “Pleasure is a practice.” Instead of renouncing casual sex, she set about discovering how to make sex more pleasurable for herself. She took up a period of celibacy to figure out, on her own, what she wanted. She practiced meditation and tried out various sex toys and lubes, enacting what Dodson called “the ongoing love affair” with herself. “I had never touched myself like this before, like a person I loved,” Yagoda wrote of her new approach to masturbation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MltkyR">
“The age-old difference between how men and women approach sex and sexuality is that men tend to be self-focused in their sexual experience or their exploration, and women tend to be more focused on the other person,” says Oster. “And that really gets in the way of us being able to experience whats actually physically happening in our bodies.”
</p>
<h3 id="hvGrtu">
<strong>Getting your reps in </strong>
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JMSGmE">
With self-pleasure, intentionality is key. “I dont shy away from turning it into a chore,” says Oster of encouraging her clients to masturbate. “I really do like to remove some of the mysticism and some of the romance from this as a practice.” Lighting a scented candle is nice, she says. A clearer way to get in touch with the sensations might be to ask yourself, “What does this physically feel like? What thoughts are coming into my head? Can I return my body to the physical sensation when they do? Can I move through that and breathe through that and stay in my body?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LsZC84">
In 2022, researchers led by Herbenick published the first nationally representative <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9794105/">survey</a> on American masturbation habits in 10 years. Asked to share their primary motivation for masturbating, a significant number of women participants said they wanted to explore their sexuality. The study looked into a question that is debated by sex researchers: Does masturbating, in general, make people want to have more sex? Or less?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0d9pJN">
There is some evidence for both theories, Herbenick told me in an interview, but the 2022 study found more evidence for the “complementary model” among women, meaning that women who had more partnered sex also had more solo sex. “You might be somebody who really enjoys your own fantasy and desire and arousal and orgasm through masturbation,” says Herbenick. “Doing so may help you to kind of feel enlivened and desirous, and sometimes the focus of that may be a partner.”
</p>
<div>
<aside id="0B8F99">
<q>As Yagoda argues, “Pleasure is a practice”</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tkK3H9">
Couldnt it be that women who have more frequent sex with men are actually masturbating more because they are unsatisfied?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7mNnxM">
“For some portion? For sure,” says Herbenick. But there is data, she says, that “certainly some people actually masturbate right then and there, right? Like they didnt get an orgasm through their sex with their partner. So they will say, Well, I just sort of rolled over and finished myself off.’” Practicing by yourself is good for that, too.
</p>
<h3 id="8RCflr">
<strong>Practice makes pleasure </strong>
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XLIqRV">
Two decades before Dodsons masturbation manifesto, in 1966, sex researchers Virginia E. Johnson and William H. Masters published a groundbreaking <a href="https://kinseyinstitute.org/collections/archival/masters-and-johnson.php">report</a> that included the following bombshell: “If there is no psychosocial distraction to repress sexual tensions, many well-adjusted women enjoy a minimum of three or four orgasmic experiences before they reach apparent satiation,” they wrote. After a decade of observing individuals masturbating and couples having sex, they had seen the truth with their own eyes:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RlLM9k">
Masturbating women concentrating only on their own sexual demands, without the psychic distractions of a coital partner, may enjoy many sequential orgasmic experiences without allowing their sexual tensions to resolve below plateau-phase levels.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eCq1VO">
Writing in crisp, clinical terms that nevertheless <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/books/26book.html">thrilled the reading public</a>, they added: “Usually physical exhaustion alone terminates such an active masturbatory session.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wyYo6l">
Masters and Johnson advised men to pay attention to their partners wants and stop guessing, applicable advice to people of all genders. “Rather than following any preconceived plan for stimulating his sexual partner, the male will be infinitely more effective if he encourages vocalization on her part,” they concluded. “The individual woman knows best the areas of her strongest sensual focus and the rapidity and intensity of manipulative technique that provides her with the greatest degree of sexual stimulation.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NCfOHB">
Unfortunately, the average layperson has not read Masters and Johnsons 1966 findings — so with that in mind, one must communicate ones sexual desires directly. Doing so, instead of hoping that a sex partner somehow figures it out, involves “rejecting the idea of sexual chemistry as a rigid, fixed thing,” writes Yagoda. She cites the work of therapist <a href="https://www.downtothere.com">Pamela Joy</a>, who argues that people who want to get better at talking about their needs during sex should start with a much smaller step: just getting comfortable talking about sex outside of the actual act. You can take tiny sex talk steps by talking more honestly with friends, listening to sex education podcasts, and following sex and kink educators on Instagram.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="42J4JZ">
Yagoda also recommends frontloading the communication — “Do you mind if we go slow tonight?” is a great thing to say to a hookup partner while the night is young and the Netflix original is still playing in the background. And when in doubt, she says, there are a few words to keep in your toolbox: “Faster. Slower. Harder. Softer. Yes. No. Ouch. Wrong hole.’”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="20Xmjw">
Oster adds that if you have a consistent partner, telling them about your self-pleasure practice will help them keep up with what you like. “If we can encourage our partners to see that we are changing, that we are exploring, that can kind of reduce some of the charge of, Well, she used to like this. Now she just must not like sex anymore.’” Its not always obvious that people have evolving sexual tastes and desires, but those things can be framed as “dynamic,” Oster says, rather than a dead end.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dd9S9k">
Masturbation, like other sex-related things, is increasingly celebrated in the mainstream, while stigma is continually reinforced everywhere else. Mentioning masturbation in a sex ed class is still enough to garner a teacher <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-teacher-defiant-death-threat-kids-sex-ed-lessons-2021-7#:~:text=Fonte%20said%20that%20she%20received,to%20the%20abuse%20she%20received.">death threats</a>, but you can stand in a Target aisle and compare the Rabbit, the LELO, and the Dame vibrators. Jane Fonda recently <a href="https://ew.com/tv/jane-fonda-gives-drew-barrymore-vibrator-drew-barrymore-show/">gave</a> Drew Barrymore a sex toy on daytime TV, but shame and fear still <a href="https://www.glamour.com/story/how-to-talk-about-sex-with-your-partner">prevent people</a> from being direct with their partners about pleasure.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ufxEAc">
“There is no specific technique that can turn bad sex into pleasurable sex,” Yagoda writes. “There is no new angle or position that can rehabilitate your relationship with pleasure. But there are so many little practices, little shifts in perspectives that can open our bodies up to pleasure.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GyVr11">
Its true that masturbation has not yet brought about world peace, as Dodson once dreamed. Still, well keep practicing until we get there.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EXqB0j">
</p></li>
<li><strong>Dealing With Dragons is the kind of book a kid builds their personality around</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A dragon soars over a ruined castle surrounded by trees, with a murky rainbow in the sky." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UrN7tuQlDIaLce4ay2u4mba2_T0=/149x0:4522x3280/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72601695/GettyImages_471286911.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Stock image of a fantasy world. | Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Patricia C. Wrede just published her first book in a decade. Heres how she enchanted a generation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AGAzjw">
When I heard that Patricia C. Wrede was publishing a new book for the first time in 10 years, I gasped. Then I forwarded the news to multiple people with a screaming emoji appended.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IK06D9">
Patricia C. Wredes middle-grade novels are the kind of books that I can best describe as<em> </em>“formative.” You encounter them when youre 8 or 9 or 10, fall madly in love with their no-nonsense wit and warm charm, and then use them as the basis of your personality for months after reading them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="L4yqUO">
Wredes new book, <a href="https://go.skimresources.com?id=1025X1701643&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fbookshop.org%2Fp%2Fbooks%2Fthe-dark-lord-s-daughter-patricia-c-wrede%2F19535519%3Fean%3D9780553536201"><em>The Dark Lords Daughter</em></a>, deals with a thoroughly normal 14-year-old girl who finds herself abruptly transported to a magical kingdom, where everyone expects her to reign in splendor and terror as their Dark Lady. It will surely find favors with the children of today. But for me, and for the rest of the Wrede addicts who first met her in the 1990s, her greatest achievement will always be <a href="https://go.skimresources.com?id=1025X1701643&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fbookshop.org%2Fp%2Fbooks%2Fthe-enchanted-forest-chronicles-boxed-set-patricia-c-wrede%2F19638955%3Fean%3D9780544542648">The Enchanted Forest Chronicles</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fHICv3">
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles are a quartet Wrede wrote from 1985 to 1993. It features a group of unconventional fairy tale characters (a princess, a king, a witch, and an adventuring boy) who face the whimsy and chaos of their magical land with determined practicality. In the Enchanted Forest, talking squirrels hand out advice to questing heroes, and you can bet every single one of Wredes protagonists knows better than to ignore it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="by6yZW">
The final volume of the series, <em>Talking to Dragons</em>, was originally the first volume, with the others intended to serve as its prequels. Once the whole quartet was out, Wredes publishers shuffled the series around to follow the events of the story so that Book One is now <a href="https://go.skimresources.com?id=1025X1701643&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fbookshop.org%2Fp%2Fbooks%2Fdealing-with-dragons-the-enchanted-forest-chronicles-book-one-patricia-c-wrede%2F7084531%3Fean%3D9780544541221"><em>Dealing With Dragons</em></a>, which is where I started. I still think its the best place for anyone new to Wrede to begin, if only because <em>Dealing With Dragons</em> is the book built around Wredes best character, Princess Cimorene.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gqQvNM">
Princess Cimorene hails from the kingdom of Linderwall, “where philosophers were highly respected and the number five was fashionable.” (Isnt there always a magic number in a fairy tale?) Thoroughly bored with the schooling her parents offer her, she runs away and volunteers to be the princess of a dragon, on the grounds that such a vocation is both “perfectly respectable” and also “much more interesting than embroidery or dancing lessons.” The dragon Kazul, in the meantime, is intrigued by the prospect of a princess who can make cherries jubilee and conjugate Latin verbs. (Kazuls library needs organizing.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dEiD6y">
Cimorene embodies the spirit of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which are at their heart novels about process and procedure. Much of the action of <em>Dealing With Dragons</em> consists of Cimorene researching a fireproofing spell, sourcing its most obscure ingredients, and then experimenting with its nuances. The result is charming rather than tedious, mostly because Cimorene takes such obvious nerdy joy in the process. Wredes characters are tech geeks in a magical world, obsessed with technicalities and efficiency.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qsCtup">
In part, thats because the characters of this world know they have to follow the tropes of their fairy tales, and as such they place great store by understanding the rules of the world they live in. One young hero is unwise enough to volunteer for a kings quest <em>after</em> the two eldest princes have tried and failed but before the youngest has succeeded. He berates himself thoroughly. “Anyone with sense would have seen that the youngest son was the one who would succeed,” he laments. “It sticks out all over.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DAY3K5">
Cimorene is a rule-breaker in a way that was still refreshingly subversive when she first appeared in 1987. (Two decades of sprightly and rule-hating YA heroines have since done a number on this trope.) Yet even rebellious Cimorene knows she has to understand the rules in order to convince them to bend. She likes the idea of working for a dragon in part because she knows its a respectable thing for princesses to do. She has a lawyerly flair when it comes to negotiating her way around a tricky rule. When a djinn tells her he has to kill her but hell allow her to choose her method of death, Cimorene convinces him that the best method would be to have her die of old age.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zTq5mX">
The other way in which Cimorene is the archetypal Wrede character is that she is unfailingly practical. She researches a fireproofing spell because of course shell need one if shes living with dragons. When the djinn offers to grant her a single wish, she asks for powdered hens teeth, which is one of the ingredients she needs to do her spell. Wrede writes, always, in celebration of practicality, of common sense, of everyday domestic virtues like having good manners and keeping a clean house. (One particularly meddlesome villain is dispatched by being doused with soapy water spiked with lemon juice.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d6ArgG">
Cimorenes only competition when it comes to practicality is one of Wredes other most enduring characters, Morwen the witch. Morwen lives in a cottage in the woods surrounded by cats, with a sign above her door instructing visitors that shell have “none of this nonsense, please,” and an apple tree which she has arranged to always be in fruit. She and Cimorene become friends immediately and start swapping recipes both magical and mundane.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VAtcCp">
Since Wrede first wrote <em>Dealing With Dragons</em>, fairy tale spoofs have become fashionable to the point of cliché. Wredes successors could learn from her light touch. She handles her material delicately, always with affection and never too literally. Her magic feels magical, not like science fiction by another name.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RVK7a3">
Wrede also wrote before the standard rebuttal to 1990s girl power fantasy was to pour scorn on the <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotLikeOtherGirls">Not Like Other Girls</a> heroines of the era. Cimorene, it must be said, is assuredly Not Like Other Girls. She is constantly compared to other, lesser princesses: Cimorene is tall and black-haired where they are little and blonde, and she is smart and bold where they are timid and empty-headed.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5PbuJr">
Still, Cimorene does develop a friendship with her fellow princess Alianora, who meets the little and blonde requirements of conventional princessery but has failed at most of the others. While Alianora is accomplished at needlework and dancing, she never manages to get herself cursed in a way that will allow a prince to rescue her. Her plotline pokes sly fun at the problem of conventional femininity: Alianora fits the mold in a way Cimorene chooses not to, but her family still wont consider her a proper woman because they dont think shes suffered enough.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UU30rI">
Between the two of them, Alianora and Cimorene make the case for <em>Dealing With Dragons</em> as a celebration of anyone who finds themselves unwilling or unable to meet the expectations the world sets for them — which is, after all, pretty much all of us. It is certainly most characters in a Wrede book. Even Morwen, who wears long black robes because they are comfortable and practical rather than because they are expected, finds herself on the wrong side of the witchs counsel from time to time.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iIJJGI">
The joy of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles is that they argue for us to make our own ways forward with grace and dignity and common sense, plus copious warnings to always be polite when youre talking to dragons. There are worse stories to build your personality around.
</p></li>
<li><strong>No, that public charger wont hack your phone … probably</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Two blue, leafless, and mangled trees surround a cellphone in a spotlight being (safely) plugged in and charged." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AoamtSsD-k7_zU3LLJbmPxT14oA=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72601580/JuiceJacking_1.0.gif"/>
<figcaption>
Ben Hickey for Vox
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
But “juice jacking” is the decade-old cybersecurity urban legend that just wont die.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lJIbLa">
Whats worse, your phone running out of power or someone stealing all your data?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oXXhke">
For years now, youve been told that this is a choice you may face, thanks to something called “juice jacking.” Juice jacking is when someone tampers with a charging station or USB port, allowing it to leach data from your phone or install malware on it while you top off your battery. Starting in April and continuing through the summer, everyone from <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDenver/status/1643947117650538498">the FBI</a> to the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CrMmM9jPJKE/">Huntley, Illinois, police department</a> has been warning the public about juice jacking. It seems like a new, active threat.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IsgHqH">
Theres just one problem: Its not. The chances that a phone charge will ruin your life arent zero, but they are exceedingly slim. There are no known instances of juice jacking happening beyond proof-of-concept demonstrations. The wave of warnings were getting now arent from actual attacks, but from previous warnings. Juice jacking is a cybersecurity ouroboros that wont die.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nI1YAS">
“Given how many other serious and active security threats there are out there for people to legitimately worry about, it seems to me that the average user should not be worried about this at all,” Brian Krebs, the cybersecurity expert who <a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/08/beware-of-juice-jacking/">coined the term</a> “juice jacking,” told Vox.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VcgwAT">
The world was first introduced to juice jacking in 2011 when a demonstration at the hacking and cybersecurity conference DEF CON showed that it was possible. Brian Markus, co-founder of Aries Security, and another researcher named Robert Rowley, saw that USB charging was a potential vulnerability and built a charging station to prove it. They put the kiosk out on the floor and waited to see who would be lured in by its promises of a free and easy battery charge. More than 360 people, many of them experienced hackers and cybersecurity professionals, plugged their dying phones in without thinking twice. When they did, they were greeted with a notice on the kiosks screen warning them not to trust random public charging stations.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eOMiG0">
“If I can make it happen, and I can dupe hundreds and hundreds of the top professionals around the world into using it, then I think the average citizen around the block is going to fall for it,” Markus said in an interview with Vox.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nKbzC0">
Juice jacking is possible because of what Universal Serial Bus, or USB, technology was designed to do. One port serves multiple purposes: You can charge or power a device, or transfer data to and from it. If you remember the days of each peripheral needing its own proprietary cord and port, you know how much more convenient this made things. But this also introduced a new attack vector, as Markus identified: Data can be exchanged when you only intend to get power. And, back in 2011, phones automatically opened themselves up to both purposes as soon as they were connected.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FOMv38">
Most phone manufacturers have since added a prompt asking the user if theyll allow data to be exchanged. Thats what that “trust this device” message you get when you plug your phone into a computer is for. (If you plug your phone into something thats just a power source, you shouldnt get that message.) If you tap that you dont trust the device, it cant exchange data while the phone gets charged. This is, by the way, exactly how these things are supposed to work: Someone points out a vulnerability in technology and its manufacturers or developers figure out a way to fix it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Zt6l1P">
In the years since that DEF CON demonstration, juice jacking warnings occasionally bubble up, often worded in ways that make it seem as though these nefarious chargers arent just a theoretical threat but one that is out in the wild now, with a trail of hacked phones in its wake. Here are <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/13/4726486/usbcondom-protects-charging-devices-from-hackers-juice-jacking">several</a> <a href="https://www.csoonline.com/article/544591/mobile-security-usbcondoms-guard-against-juice-jacking-attacks.html">reports</a> <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/technolog/usb-condom-prevents-device-hijackings-rogue-ports-8c11150147">from</a> 2013, when USB “condoms” — little dongles that block data from being transferred on USB cords — went on sale. Here are <a href="https://www.berrydunn.com/news-detail/juice-jacking-free-cell-phone-charging-stations-may-give-you-a-lot-more-than-a-power-boost">a few</a> <a href="https://qz.com/829530/portapow-syncstop-usb-condoms-people-are-buying-them-after-a-tweet-went-viral">alerts</a> in 2016. Another <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/12/01/784005860/troll-watch-juice-jacking">crop</a> of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airport-phone-charging-stations-cables-not-safe-la-district-attorney-2019-11">warnings</a> in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/technology/personaltech/usb-warning-juice-jacking.html">2019</a>. And <a href="https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/fbi-warns-of-juice-jacking-charging-your-phone-at-public-usb-ports-with-malware/283-411a717b-301f-4c16-b16d-87fa7d62f56f">heres</a> a wave in <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/portland/news/press-releases/oregon-fbi-tech-tuesday-building-a-digital-defense-against-juice-jacking">2020</a>. These scares are typically accompanied by a lot of media coverage, which rarely (with <a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/04/why-is-juice-jacking-suddenly-back-in-the-news/">a few</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/05/fearmongering-over-public-charging-stations-needs-to-stop-heres-why/">notable</a> <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2023/04/free-public-phone-chargers-fbi-warning-bad-actors-threat-bogus-debunked.html">exceptions</a>) notes that there are no known reports of these tampered charging stations being found in the world, nor of anyones data being stolen or malware put on their devices through them. And yet, the warnings persist.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A woman charging her phone at the airport. She wears an army green sweatshirt and large black headphones." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/A8-FY-QPsl0k-97pLi7w7DlKCAc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24882168/GettyImages_1463529712.jpg"/> <cite>Su Arslanoglu/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Is this woman getting hacked while she tops up her battery before her flight? (Probably not.)
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iEeaAm">
The latest juice jacking scare cycle began on April 6 with <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDenver/status/1643947117650538498">a tweet</a> from the FBI Denver offices account. “Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers,” it said. “Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wd57b4">
A <a href="https://www.macomptroller.org/announcement/fbi-warns-about-juice-jacking-from-infected-usb-ports/">bunch</a> of <a href="https://dos.ny.gov/news/consumer-alert-new-york-department-states-division-consumer-protection-warns-new-yorkers-juice">states</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WestUPolice/posts/pfbid02o3BLQ464TkckCS9oWSKbEe5VxXQ7jqzUuCh9BgKvZ8im2YmvWY4rmzsyUYvwugDfl">localities</a>, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/04/10/fbi-warning-charging-stations-juice-jacking">and</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/10/fbi-says-you-shouldnt-use-public-phone-charging-stations.html">the</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/04/11/fbi-public-phone-charging-stations-juice-jacking/">media</a> then put out their own warnings. When the FBI — or just one of its field offices — says something is a threat, people tend to take it seriously. Some of them even described this as a “new” thing, despite it first being identified 12 years ago. For example, the attorney general of Michigan, Dana Nessel, <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2023/04/17/ag-nessel-warns-consumers-to-beware-of-juice-jacking-when-using-public-charging-stations">issued a warning</a> that said “hackers will install and hide a skimming device inside the USB ports of the kiosk.” The attorney generals office told Vox that the warning was prompted by the FBIs tweet.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UjrOg2">
“We have not received any complaints specific to juice jacking here in Michigan, though a victim may not know how their phone was compromised,” Danny Wimmer, spokesperson for the office, told Vox. That warning set off <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/michigan-ag-warns-of-juice-jacking-at-public-usb-charging-stations/">another</a> <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/04/17/juice-jacking-warning-iphone-news/70122007007/">flurry</a> of <a href="https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/michigan/michigan-attorney-general-dana-nessel-warns-about-hacking-method-called-juice-jacking">media</a> <a href="https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/04/charging-your-phone-in-public-beware-of-juice-jacking.html">coverage</a> from <a href="https://www.wkar.org/wkar-news/2023-04-18/nessel-juice-jacking-a-threat-to-devices">local</a> <a href="https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/juice-jacking-five-ways-to-keep-your-phone-safe-at-public-charging-stations">outlets</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6ZAD8k">
And what prompted the FBI Denver offices tweet? Not a cyberattack, it turns out, but an old warning from the FCC.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ytz4IK">
“That FBI Denver tweet was a standard PSA-type post, nothing new. It stemmed from <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20191225200515/https://www.fcc.gov/juice-jacking-dangers-public-usb-charging-stations">this FCC warning</a>,” said Dana M. Plumhoff, spokesperson for the FBIs Denver office. “This was a general reminder for the American public to stay safe and diligent, especially while traveling.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FolwOm">
You wouldnt know this if you looked at the FCCs <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/juice-jacking-tips-to-avoid-it">juice jacking warning</a> now. The agency updated it at the end of April to reflect the increased attention it indirectly caused. But with an updated 2023 timestamp and a new URL, the webpage appears to be an entirely new warning. The FCC was careful to say in this iteration that its not aware of any instances of juice jacking, just that its theoretically possible.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xm4nto">
The FCC didnt respond to a request for comment on what prompted the 2019 warning, but it appears to be <a href="https://da.lacounty.gov/community/fraud-alerts/juice-jacking-criminals-use-public-usb-chargers-steal-data">an alert</a> from the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office. That office <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/15/los-angeles-juice-jacking-usb/">told TechCrunch</a> that it didnt have any cases of juice jacking, and the warning was part of a consumer education campaign. The spokesperson did say they knew of cases of this happening on “the east coast,” but was unable to provide any more details than that when pressed.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PkIAWp">
So, why does this keep coming up? Well, its about something most of us have done — charged our phones in a public place — and never thought twice about. It sounds plausible because it is, especially if youre thinking about other, similar, very real and active examples of criminals using public devices to steal from you, like <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/safety-resources/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/skimming">credit card skimmers</a>. It feels like something anyone could fall for, and the consequences can be devastating.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bHrAFE">
Heres the good news: Most — though not all — phones out there have that trust warning. Phone <a href="https://www.vox.com/batteries">batteries</a> have also gotten better over the years, increasing the length of time you need between charges. But maybe you have an old phone, or your phones operating system doesnt have this warning. Maybe you dont trust yourself not to tap the “trust” button by mistake when it pops up.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="naDN63">
Or maybe you just arent comfortable with even the theoretical possibility that this could happen. After all, just because it doesnt seem to have happened yet in the 12 years since it first came to the publics attention doesnt mean it never will. Markus says its relatively simple to create a seemingly legitimate charging station and place it in a high-traffic area where a lot of people are likely to be trying to charge their phones. Then, all a hacker would have to do is sit back and wait for victims.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vsBp0G">
“It is still an active risk,” Markus said. “I personally believe that charging ports at the airports are susceptible.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F55dat">
With that in mind, if youre inclined to be extra cautious, there are a few easy things you can do to protect yourself.
</p>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GZbSun">
<strong>Dont use a charging station: </strong>Obviously. But when your battery is running low and youre not getting back to a trusted charger any time soon, thats not a big help. So …
</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="W6fbXE">
<strong>Bring an external battery with you: </strong>You wont have to plug your phone in for a charge if youve got your own supply.
</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yjmV0t">
<strong>Dont charge through a USB port: </strong>The USB ports are the threat here. Old-fashioned electrical sockets are secure. Bring your own cord that plugs into the wall for power without worry.
</li>
<li id="fBpdzB">
<strong>Use a charging cord you trust: </strong>Hackers have <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/k789me/omg-cables-keylogger-usbc-lightning">also figured out</a> how to steal your data through certain USB charging cables, although this threat appears to be as theoretical as juice jacking. Still, if youve come this far and youre this worried about insecure USBs, you might as well go all the way.
</li>
<li id="JN8e9L">
<strong>Buy a condom for your USB cord:</strong> Yes, <a href="https://lifehacker.com/use-a-usb-condom-to-prevent-juice-jacking-1850356163">these exist</a>. They make it technologically impossible to transfer data, and theyre pretty small and easy to carry around. Just make sure youre buying a known brand from a reputable place.
</li>
</ul></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>Seasoned Rohit leads strongest Indian team since 2011 but Pakistan have narrowed gap, says Ravi Shastri</strong> - India and Pakistan will be meeting in an ODI game after four years when they face-off on September 2.</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>My endeavour is to defend my Olympic gold in Paris next year: Neeraj Chopra</strong> - The 25-year-old Chopra on Sunday became only the third javelin thrower in history to hold both the Olympic and World Championships crowns after winning the worlds title in Budapest.</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>Kings Love and Metzinger show out</strong> -</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>Haaland wins UEFA mens player of the year award; Aitana Bonmati bags womens prize</strong> - Erling Haaland beat his Manchester City team mate Kevin De Bruyne and 2022 World Cup champion Lionel Messi after helping City win the treble</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>Champions League draw | PSG, Dortmund, Milan, Newcastle in tough group</strong> - Bayern Munich drawn with Manchester United; Holders Manchester City have RB Leipzig in their group</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>Here are the big stories from Karnataka today</strong> - Welcome to the Karnataka Today newsletter, your guide from The Hindu on the major news stories to follow today. Curated by Nalme Nachiyar.</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>Karnataka government preparing framework for fact-check body: Minister Priyank Kharge</strong> - According to RDPR and IT Minister Priyank Kharge, the first framework drafted by the Department of IT and the Home Ministry was vetted by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who offered some suggestions</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>Inclusive and comprehensive development policies made TS a role model for the country, says Chief Minister</strong> - Telangana Model of equitable distribution of fruits of development will continue in the coming days, he said</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>Five women break tradition to pay tribute to their mother by performing her last rites</strong> - Videos of the funeral procession led by the five sisters in Badlapur have gone viral on social media.</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>OPS condemns hike in user charges on national highways and increase in toll plazas</strong> -</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>Ukraine war: Drone attack on Pskov airbase from inside Russia - Kyiv</strong> - Ukraines military intelligence chief says two planes were damaged and two destroyed in Tuesdays attack.</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>Ukraine war: Back to school under Russian attacks</strong> - Ukrainians defy Russian air strikes and occupation to start the new school term.</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>Paris says au revoir to rental e-scooters</strong> - The ban comes after a vote in the French capital - but is it democracy in action?</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>Shock after popular bear shot dead in Italian town</strong> - A bear named Amarena is killed in central Italy and a man has claimed he opened fire out of fear.</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>Jet ski tourists shot dead off coast of Algeria</strong> - The Algerian coastguard reportedly shot at four French-Moroccan tourists who strayed into Algerian waters.</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>2025 Minis feature new EV powertrains and wild interiors</strong> - Minis going almost all-in on electrification. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1965027">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Are self-driving cars already safer than human drivers?</strong> - I learned a lot by reading dozens of Waymo and Cruise crash reports. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1964427">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rocket Report: Firefly enters “hot standby phase”; SpaceXs superfluity of fairings</strong> - “What we found out is that fairings float pretty well.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1964624">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Indias accomplishments in space are getting more impressive</strong> - These images from the Moon are a crowning achievement for Indias space program. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1964791">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Right to repairs unlikely new adversary: Scientologists</strong> - “A totally unreasonable proposal.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1964973">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I started my new job as a bingo caller last night and halfway through calling the numbers I farted loudly. My boss immediately came over and whispered in my ear, “Dont do that again.”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Sorry,” I said, “It must be the nerves.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Fair enough,” he replied, “But there was no need to hold the microphone directly on your asshole.”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Make_the_music_stop"> /u/Make_the_music_stop </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1670qg4/i_started_my_new_job_as_a_bingo_caller_last_night/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1670qg4/i_started_my_new_job_as_a_bingo_caller_last_night/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A man meets a beautiful, really sexy girl.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
</p><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">He really wants her. So he invites her to a movie, and she tells him:</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"></p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
</p><ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Listen, if its sex youre after, then there is no need to get me dinners, movie evenings and all that. Just buy me a good Swiss Army knife.
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"></p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The guy thinks. Its true, hes not interested in something long-term, so he buys her a good genuine Victorinox.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
They come to her home, she opens a big chest standing in a closet, and puts his knife there. The guy sees that the chest is half-filled with such knives already. Then she takes him to her bedroom for a wonderful night together.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The next morning, theyre sitting at her kitchen, drinking tea, and he asks her:
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
</p><ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Can I ask you a question? What would you need so many knives for?
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"></p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
</p><ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">You see, - she explains. - Im young now. Im beautiful. I have no trouble finding guys; in fact, theyre the ones chasing me. But I know it doesnt last forever. One day, Ill be older, gray-haired, Ill be the one looking everywhere for a piece of love, and then… do you have any idea what a boy of eighteen would be willing to do for a good Swiss Army knife?
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submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Omeganian"> /u/Omeganian </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/166h317/a_man_meets_a_beautiful_really_sexy_girl/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/166h317/a_man_meets_a_beautiful_really_sexy_girl/">[comments]</a></span></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are on a camping trip</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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After a hearty meal and a good bottle of wine, they lay down to sleep.<br/> Suddenly, in the middle of the night, Holmes wakes his trusted companion and asks “Watson, what do you see?” Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Watson answers: “I see millions and millions of stars.”<br/> “Correct, Watson, and what do you conclude from that?”<br/> Watson thinks for a moment and then answers: “Well, temporally I conclude it is about 03:30 AM, astrologically I conclude that Venus is showing in the sign of Aquarius, astronomically I conclude that we are on a planet, orbiting the sun in a spiral arm of our galaxy, and religiously I conclude that God wants to show us with this splendour that we are but a small, insignificant speck of dust in the infinite grace of His creation. Why, Holmes? What do you mean?”
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“Watson… somebody stole our tent.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/KasreynGyre"> /u/KasreynGyre </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1674e4n/sherlock_holmes_and_dr_watson_are_on_a_camping/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1674e4n/sherlock_holmes_and_dr_watson_are_on_a_camping/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A priest and a businessman were playing golf.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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The businessman tried to putt the ball, but the ball rolled past the hole.
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“Fucking hell, God!” swore the businessman. “Do not take the name of the Lord in anger, my son,” the priest cautioned. At the same time, clouds started to form in the sky, which they didnt notice.
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Three times again the businessman tried to sink the shot, but missed each time, and swore each time with the priest advising him not to swear. Unbeknownst to them, the skies turned from grey to black with tiny droplets of rain, and finally lightning and low rumbles of thunder.
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As the businessman attempted a fourth time and missed, he swore again with two middle fingers, and before the priest could complete his usual sentence, a bolt of lightning came down and struck the priest, frying him.
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As the businessman stared in shock at the smoldering heap that was moments ago the priest, he heard an angry swear coming from the clouds: “FUCK ME! I MISSED!”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Poopstorm_Creator"> /u/Poopstorm_Creator </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1672nwq/a_priest_and_a_businessman_were_playing_golf/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1672nwq/a_priest_and_a_businessman_were_playing_golf/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Two Belgians walk into a police station</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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Two Belgians walk into a police station and say: “Our Dutch friend is missing. Please help us.”
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Officer: “Can you describe him to me?”
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Belgians: “Hes tall, has blue eyes and blonde hair”
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Officer: “You described half the Netherlands with this. You got anything more specific?”
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Belgians: “Yeah, he has an extra penis.”
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Officer: “Are you sure?”
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Belgians: “Yes, whenever we go to our favorite bar, the barman always says:”Look there is the Dutchman with the two dicks again."
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Infamous_Alpaca"> /u/Infamous_Alpaca </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/166ftx8/two_belgians_walk_into_a_police_station/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/166ftx8/two_belgians_walk_into_a_police_station/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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