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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>COVID-19 pandemic dynamics in India and impact of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta (B.1.617.2) variant</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant has spread quickly since first being identified. To better understand its epidemiological characteristics and impact, we utilize multiple datasets and comprehensive model-inference methods to reconstruct COVID-19 pandemic dynamics in India, where Delta first emerged. Using model-inference estimates from March 2020 to May 2021, we estimate the Delta variant can escape adaptive immunity induced by prior wildtype infection roughly half of the time and is around 60% more infectious than wildtype SARS-CoV-2. In addition, our analysis suggests that the recent case decline in India was likely due to implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions and weather conditions less conducive for SARS-CoV-2 transmission during March - May, rather than high population immunity. Model projections show infections could resurge as India enters its monsoon season, beginning June, if intervention measures are lifted prematurely.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.21.21259268v1" target="_blank">COVID-19 pandemic dynamics in India and impact of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta (B.1.617.2) variant</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections in Fully Vaccinated Individuals</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Importance: While COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against disease, breakthrough infections may occur in the context of rising variants of concern. Objective: We paired random and passive surveillance nucleic acid testing with analysis of viral whole genomic sequences to detect and describe breakthrough infections, focusing in a university community. Design: Anterior nasal swabs were collected from individuals for a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) for detection of SARS-CoV-2. A subset of NAAT positive samples was sequenced to determine variants associated with infections. Included in the testing and sequencing protocol were individuals that were fully vaccinated. Setting: This study was performed as part of a surveillance program for SARS-CoV-2 on a university campus with 49,700 students and employees. Participants: Surveillance testing was random and included approximately 10% of the population each week. Additionally, individuals self-identified with COVID-19 related symptoms or those that had close contact with SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals were also tested.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.21.21258990v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections in Fully Vaccinated Individuals</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Digital contact tracing contributes little to COVID-19 outbreak containment</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Digital contact tracing applications have been introduced in many countries to aid in the containment of COVID-19 outbreaks. Initially, enthusiasm was high regarding their implementation as a non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI). Yet, no country was able to prevent larger outbreaks without falling back to harsher NPIs, and the total effect of digital contact tracing remains elusive. Based on the results of empirical studies and modeling efforts, we show that digital contact tracing apps might have prevented cases on the order of single-digit percentages up until now, at best. We show that this poor impact can be attributed to a combination of low participation rates, a non-flexible reliance on symptom-based testing, low engagement of participants, and delays between testing and test result upload. We find that contact tracing does not change the epidemic threshold and exclusively prevents more cases during the supercritical phase of an epidemic, making it unfit as a tool to prevent outbreaks. Locally clustered contact structures may increase the intervention9s efficacy, but only if the number of contacts per individual is homogeneously distributed, a condition usually not found in contact networks. Our results suggest that policy makers cannot rely on digital contact tracing to contain outbreaks of COVID-19 or similar diseases.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.21.21259258v1" target="_blank">Digital contact tracing contributes little to COVID-19 outbreak containment</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Variants are Selecting for Spike Protein Mutations that Increase Protein Stability</strong> -
<div>
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in 2019 has caused severe disruption and a huge number of human deaths across the globe. As the pandemic spreads, a natural result is the emergence of variants with a variety of amino acid mutations. Variants of SARS-CoV-2 with mutations in their spike protein may result in an increased infectivity, increased lethality, or immune escape, and whilst many of these properties can be explained through changes to binding affinity or changes to post-translational modification, many mutations have no known biophysical impact on the structure of protein. The Gibbs free energy of a protein represents a measure of protein stability, with an increased stability resulting in a protein that is more thermodynamically stable, and more robust to changes in external environment. Here we show that mutations in the spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 are selecting for amino acid changes that result in a more stable protein than expected by chance. We calculate all possible mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and show that many variants are more stable than expected when compared to the background, indicating that protein stability is an important consideration for the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 evolution. Variants exhibit a range of stabilities, and we further suggest that some stabilising mutations may be acting as a ‘counterbalance’ to destabilising mutations that have other properties, such as increasing binding site affinity for the human ACE2 receptor. We suggest that protein folding calculations offer a useful tool for early identification of advantageous mutations.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.25.449882v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 Variants are Selecting for Spike Protein Mutations that Increase Protein Stability</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Engineered chimeric T cell receptor fusion construct (TRuC)-expressing T cells prevent translational shutdown in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19, is known to evade the immune system by several mechanisms. This includes the shutdown of the host cellular protein synthesis, which abrogates the induction of antiviral interferon responses. The virus initiates the infection of susceptible cells by binding with its spike protein (S) to the host angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Here we applied the T cell receptor fusion construct (TRuC) technology to engineer T cells against such infected cells. In our TRuCs an S-binding domain is fused to the CD3{varepsilon} component of the T cell receptor (TCR) complex, enabling recognition of S-containing cells in an HLA independent manner. This domain either consists of the S-binding part of ACE2 or a single-chain variable fragment of an anti-S antibody. We show that the TRuC T cells are activated by and kill cells that express S of SARS-CoV-2 and its alpha (B.1.1.7) and beta (B.1.351) variants at the cell surface. Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infected cells with our engineered T cells did not lead to massive cytotoxicity towards the infected cells, but resulted in a complete rescue of the translational shutdown despite ongoing viral replication. Our data show that engineered TRuC T cell products might be used against SARS-CoV-2 by exposing infected cells to the host innate immune system.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.25.449871v1" target="_blank">Engineered chimeric T cell receptor fusion construct (TRuC)-expressing T cells prevent translational shutdown in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The Pandemic as a Portal: Reimagining Psychological Science as Truly Open and Inclusive</strong> -
<div>
Psychological science is at an inflection point: The COVID-19 pandemic has already begun to exacerbate inequalities that stem from our historically closed and exclusive culture. Meanwhile, reform efforts to change the future of our science are too narrow in focus to fully succeed. In this paper, we call on psychological scientists—focusing specifically on those who use quantitative methods in the United States as one context in which such a conversation can begin—to reimagine our discipline as fundamentally open and inclusive. First, we discuss who our discipline was designed to serve and how this history produced the inequitable reward and support systems we see today. Second, we highlight how current institutional responses to address worsening inequalities are inadequate, as well as how our disciplinary perspective may both help and hinder our ability to craft effective solutions. Third, we take a hard look in the mirror at the disconnect between what we ostensibly value as a field and what we actually practice. Fourth and finally, we lead readers through a roadmap for reimagining psychological science in whatever roles and spaces they occupy, from an informal discussion group in a department to a formal strategic planning retreat at a scientific society.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/gdzue/" target="_blank">The Pandemic as a Portal: Reimagining Psychological Science as Truly Open and Inclusive</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Phylogenetic network analysis revealed the recombinant origin of the SARS-CoV-2 VOC202012/01 (B.1.1.7) variant first discovered in U.K.</strong> -
<div>
The emergence of new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus poses serious problems to the control of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding how the variants originate is critical for effective control of the spread of the virus and the global pandemic. The study of the virus evolution so far has been dominated by phylogenetic tree analysis, which however is inappropriate for a few important reasons. Here we used phylogenetic network approach to study the origin of the VOC202012/01 (alpha) or so-called UK variant (PANGO Lineage B.1.1.7). The multiple network analyses using different methods consistently revealed that the VOC202012/01 variant was a result of recombination, in contrast to the common assumption that the variant evolved from step-wise mutations in a linear order. The study provides an example for the power and application of phylogenetic network analysis in studying virus evolution, which can be applied to study the evolutionary processes leading to the emergence of other variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as many other viruses.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.24.449840v1" target="_blank">Phylogenetic network analysis revealed the recombinant origin of the SARS-CoV-2 VOC202012/01 (B.1.1.7) variant first discovered in U.K.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A random priming amplification method for whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 influenza A virus.</strong> -
<div>
Background: Non-targeted whole genome sequencing is a powerful tool to comprehensively identify constituents of microbial communities in a sample. There is no need to direct the analysis to any identification before sequencing which can decrease the introduction of bias and false negatives results. It also allows the assessment of genetic aberrations in the genome (e.g., single nucleotide variants, deletions, insertions and copy number variants) including in noncoding protein regions. Methods: The performance of four different random priming amplification methods to recover RNA viral genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 were compared in this study. In method 1 (H-P) the reverse transcriptase (RT) step was performed with random hexamers whereas in methods 2-4 RT incorporating an octamer primer with a known tag. In methods 1 and 2 (K-P) sequencing was applied on material derived from the RT-PCR step, whereas in methods 3 (SISPA) and 4 (S-P) an additional amplification was incorporated before sequencing. Results: The SISPA method was the most effective and efficient method for non-targeted/random priming whole genome sequencing of COVID that we tested. The SISPA method described in this study allowed for whole genome assembly of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in mixed samples. We determined the limit of detection and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 virus which was 103 pfu/ml (Ct, 22.4) for whole genome assembly and 101 pfu/ml (Ct, 30) for metagenomics detection. Conclusions: The SISPA method is predominantly useful for obtaining genome sequences from RNA viruses or investigating complex clinical samples as no prior sequence information is needed. It might be applied to monitor genomic virus changes, virus evolution and can be used for fast metagenomics detection or to assess the general picture of different pathogens within the sample.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.25.449750v1" target="_blank">A random priming amplification method for whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 influenza A virus.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Risk factors for long COVID: analyses of 10 longitudinal studies and electronic health records in the UK</strong> -
<div>
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The impact of long COVID is increasingly recognised, but risk factors are poorly characterised. We analysed questionnaire data on symptom duration from 10 longitudinal study (LS) samples and electronic healthcare records (EHR) to investigate sociodemographic and health risk factors associated with long COVID, as part of the UK National Core Study for Longitudinal Health and Wellbeing. Methods Analysis was conducted on 6,899 adults self-reporting COVID-19 from 45,096 participants of the UK LS, and on 3,327 cases assigned a long COVID code in primary care EHR out of 1,199,812 adults diagnosed with acute COVID-19. In LS, we derived two outcomes: symptoms lasting 4+ weeks and symptoms lasting 12+ weeks. Associations of potential risk factors (age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, smoking, general and mental health, overweight/obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, and asthma) with these two outcomes were assessed, using logistic regression, with meta-analyses of findings presented alongside equivalent results from EHR analyses. Results Functionally limiting long COVID for 12+ weeks affected between 1.2% (age 20), and 4.8% (age 63) of people reporting COVID-19 in LS. The proportion reporting symptoms overall for 12+ weeks ranged from 7.8 (mean age 28) to 17% (mean age 58) and for 4+ weeks 4.2% (age 20) to 33.1% (age 56). Age was associated with a linear increase in long COVID between age 20-70. Being female (LS: OR=1.49; 95%CI:1.24-1.79; EHR: OR=1.51 [1.41-1.61]), poor pre-pandemic mental health (LS: OR=1.46 [1.17-1.83]; EHR: OR=1.57 [1.47-1.68]) and poor general health (LS: OR=1.62 [1.25-2.09]; EHR: OR=1.26; [1.18-1.35]) were associated with higher risk of long COVID. Individuals with asthma also had higher risk (LS: OR=1.32 [1.07-1.62]; EHR: OR=1.56 [1.46-1.67]), as did those categorised as overweight or obese (LS: OR=1.25 [1.01-1.55]; EHR: OR=1.31 [1.21-1.42]) though associations for symptoms lasting 12+ weeks were less pronounced. Non-white ethnic minority groups had lower 4+ week symptom risk (LS: OR=0.32 [0.22-0.47]), a finding consistent in EHR. Associations were not observed for other risk factors. Few participants in the studies had been admitted to hospital (0.8-5.2%). Conclusions Long COVID is clearly distributed differentially according to several sociodemographic and pre-existing health factors. Establishing which of these risk factors are causal and predisposing is necessary to further inform strategies for preventing and treating long COVID.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.24.21259277v1" target="_blank">Risk factors for long COVID: analyses of 10 longitudinal studies and electronic health records in the UK</a>
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<li><strong>Averting an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a university residence hall through wastewater surveillance</strong> -
<div>
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A wastewater surveillance program targeting a university residence hall was implemented during the spring semester 2021 as a proactive measure to avoid an outbreak of COVID-19 on campus. Over a period of 7 weeks from early February through late March 2021, wastewater originating from the residence hall was collected as grab samples 3 times per week. During this time, there was no detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR in the residence hall wastewater stream. Aiming to obtain a sample more representative of the residence hall community, a decision was made to use passive samplers beginning in late March onwards. Adopting a Moore Swab approach, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in wastewater samples on just two days after passive samplers were activated. These samples were also positive for the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) Variant of Concern (VOC) by RT-qPCR. The positive result triggered a public health case finding response including a mobile testing unit deployed to the residence hall the following day with testing of nearly 200 students and staff, which identified two laboratory-confirmed cases of B.1.1.7 variant COVID-19. These individuals were re-located to a separate quarantine facility averting an outbreak on campus. Aggregating wastewater and clinical data, the campus wastewater surveillance program has yielded the first estimates of fecal shedding rates of the B.1.1.7 VOC of SARS-CoV-2 in individuals from a non-clinical setting.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.23.21259176v1" target="_blank">Averting an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a university residence hall through wastewater surveillance</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Meta-Analytic Evidence of Depression and Anxiety in Eastern Europe during the COVID-19 Pandemic</strong> -
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Objective: To perform a systematic and meta-analysis on the prevalence rates of mental health symptoms including anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population in Eastern Europe, as well as three select sub-populations: students, general healthcare workers, and frontline healthcare workers. Data sources: Studies in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Psycinfo, and medRxiv up to February 6, 2021. Eligibility criteria and data analysis: Prevalence rates of mental health symptoms in the general population and key sub-populations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Eastern Europe. Data were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence rates of anxiety and depression. Results: The meta-analysis identifies and includes 21 studies and 26 independent samples in Eastern Europe. Poland (n=4), Serbia (n=4), Russia (n=3), and Croatia (n=3) had the greatest number of studies. To our knowledge, no studies have been conducted in eleven Eastern European countries including Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The pooled prevalence of anxiety in 18 studies with 22 samples was 30% (95% CI: 24%-37%) and pooled prevalence of depression in 18 studies with 23 samples was 27% (95% CI: 21%-34%). Implications: The cumulative evidence from the meta-analysis reveals high prevalence rates of clinically significant symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Eastern Europe. The findings suggest evidence of a potential mental health crisis in Eastern Europe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Our synthesis also reveals a relative lack of studies in certain Eastern European countries as well as high heterogeneities among the existing studies, calling for more effort to achieve evidence-based mental healthcare in Eastern Europe. Keywords: COVID-19; Epidemic; General Population; Healthcare Workers; Frontline Healthcare Workers; Psychiatry Highlights: The pooled prevalence of anxiety and depression were 30% and 27% in Eastern Europe, respectively.
</p>
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.21.21259227v1" target="_blank">Meta-Analytic Evidence of Depression and Anxiety in Eastern Europe during the COVID-19 Pandemic</a>
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<li><strong>COVID-19 Susceptibility, Mortality, and Length of hospitalization based on age-sex composition: Evidence from Davao Region Philippines</strong> -
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The coronavirus disease is spreading continuously worldwide with an unprecedented amount of impact on every human society. In order to reduce the risks of infections and mortality, several interventions such as mobility restrictions for different age groups and vaccination prioritization programs are implemented in the Philippines. Identifying age-sex composition with greater susceptibility, longer hospitalization, and higher fatality is useful to guide the targeted intervention and establish risk stratification for patients infected with COVID-19 within communities and localities. Furthermore, it is also helpful in the allocation of medical resources and assessment of vaccination priority. We analyzed the COVID-19 data provided by the Davao Center for Health Development of the Department of Health Davao Region in the Philippines. The dataset contains records of COVID-19 cases reported from March 2020 to April 2021. Methods that were used include descriptive statistics, graphical presentations, and nonparametric statistical methods. The study reveals that male children and female senior citizens are the most susceptible age-sex composition while male senior citizen is the subgroup with the highest case fatality and mortality. Furthermore, regardless of sex groups, the senior citizen is the subgroup with the longest hospitalization. Susceptibility due to exposure should be included as a criterion in determining the age-sex compositions for vaccination priority against COVID-19 and other potentially deadly viruses. Further, Proper planning and allocation of medical resources for the elderly should be prioritized in the provincial levels.
</p>
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.20.21259222v1" target="_blank">COVID-19 Susceptibility, Mortality, and Length of hospitalization based on age-sex composition: Evidence from Davao Region Philippines</a>
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<li><strong>Viral detection and identification in 20 minutes by rapid single-particle fluorescence in-situ hybridization of viral RNA</strong> -
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The increasing risk from viral outbreaks such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates the need for rapid, affordable and sensitive methods for virus detection, identification and quantification; however, existing methods for detecting virus particles in biological samples usually depend on multistep protocols that take considerable time to yield a result. Here, we introduce a rapid fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) protocol capable of detecting influenza virus, avian infectious bronchitis virus and SARS-CoV-2 specifically and quantitatively in approximately 20 minutes, in both virus cultures and combined throat and nasal swabs without previous purification. This fast and facile workflow is applicable to a wide range of enveloped viruses and can be adapted both as a lab technique and a future diagnostic tool.
</p>
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.24.21257174v1" target="_blank">Viral detection and identification in 20 minutes by rapid single-particle fluorescence in-situ hybridization of viral RNA</a>
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<li><strong>Use of HFNC in COVID-19 patients in non-ICU setting: Experience from a tertiary referral centre of north India and a systematic review of literature</strong> -
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Introduction The rapid surge of cases and insufficient numbers of intensive care unit (ICU) beds have forced hospitals to utilise their general wards for administration of non-invasive respiratory support including HFNC(High Flow Nasal Cannula) in severe COVID-19. However, there is a dearth of data on the success of such advanced levels of care outside the ICU setting. Therefore, we conducted an observational study at our centre, and systematically reviewed the literature, to assess the success of HFNC in managing severe COVID–19 cases outside the ICU. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a tertiary referral centre where records of all adult COVID–19 patients (over 18 years) requiring HFNC support were between September and December 2020 were analysed. HFNC support was adjusted to target SpO2 over 90% and respiratory rate less than 30 per min. The clinical, demographic, laboratory, and treatment details of these patients were retrieved from the medical records and entered in predesigned proforma. Outcome parameters included duration of oxygen during hospital stay, duration of HFNC therapy, length of hospital stay and death or discharge. HFNC success was denoted when a patient did not require escalation of therapy to NIV or invasive mechanical ventilation, or shifting to the ICU, and was eventually discharged from the hospital without oxygen therapy; otherwise, the outcome was denoted as HFNC failure. Systematic review was also performed on the available literature on the experience with HFNC in COVID–19 patients outside of ICU settings using the MEDLINE, Web of Science and Embase databases. Statistical analyses were performed with the use of STATA software, version 12, OpenMeta[Analyst], and visualization of the risk of bias plot using robvis. Results Thirty-one patients receiving HFNC in the ward setting, had a median age of 62 (50 – 69) years including 24 (77%) males. Twenty-one (68%) patients successfully tolerated HFNC and were subsequently discharged from the wards, while 10 (32%) patients had to be shifted to ICU for non–invasive or invasive ventilation, implying HFNC failure. Patients with HFNC failure had higher median D–dimer values at baseline (2.2 mcg/ml vs 0.6 mcg/ml, p=0.001) and lower initial SpO2 on room air at admission (70% vs 80%, p=0.026) as compared to those in whom HFNC was successful .A cut–off value of 1.7 mg/L carried a high specificity (90.5%) and moderate sensitivity (80%) for the occurrence of HFNC failure. Radiographic severity scoring as per the BRIXIA score was comparable in both the groups(11 vs 10.5 out of 18, p=0.78 ). After screening 98 articles, total of seven studies were included for synthesis in the systematic review with a total of 820 patients, with mean age of the studies ranging from 44 to 83 years and including 62% males. After excluding 2 studies from the analysis, the pooled rates of HFNC failure were 36.3% (95% CI 31.1% – 41.5%) with no significant heterogeneity (<i>I</i>2 =0%, p=0.55). Conclusions Our study demonstrated successful outcomes with use of HFNC in an outside of ICU setting among two-thirds of patients with severe COVID–19 pneumonia. Lower room air SpO2 and higher D–dimer levels at presentation were associated with failure of HFNC therapy leading to ICU transfer for endotracheal intubation or death. Also, the results from the systematic review demonstrated similar rates of successful outcomes concluding that HFNC is a viable option with failure rates similar to those of ICU settings in such patients.
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.23.21259045v1" target="_blank">Use of HFNC in COVID-19 patients in non-ICU setting: Experience from a tertiary referral centre of north India and a systematic review of literature</a>
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<li><strong>Diet quality and risk and severity of COVID-19: a prospective cohort study</strong> -
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Objective: Poor metabolic health and certain lifestyle factors have been associated with risk and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but data for diet are lacking. We aimed to investigate the association of diet quality with risk and severity of COVID-19 and its intersection with socioeconomic deprivation. Design: We used data from 592,571 participants of the smartphone-based COVID Symptom Study. Diet quality was assessed using a healthful plant-based diet score, which emphasizes healthy plant foods such as fruits or vegetables. Multivariable Cox models were fitted to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for COVID-19 risk and severity defined using a validated symptom-based algorithm or hospitalization with oxygen support, respectively. Results: Over 3,886,274 person-months of follow-up, 31,815 COVID-19 cases were documented. Compared with individuals in the lowest quartile of the diet score, high diet quality was associated with lower risk of COVID-19 (HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.88-0.94) and severe COVID-19 (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.47-0.74). The joint association of low diet quality and increased deprivation on COVID-19 risk was higher than the sum of the risk associated with each factor alone (Pinteraction=0.005). The corresponding absolute excess rate for lowest vs highest quartile of diet score was 22.5 (95% CI, 18.8-26.3) and 40.8 (95% CI, 31.7-49.8; 10,000 person-months) among persons living in areas with low and high deprivation, respectively. Conclusions: A dietary pattern characterized by healthy plant-based foods was associated with lower risk and severity of COVID-19. These association may be particularly evident among individuals living in areas with higher socioeconomic deprivation.
</p>
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.24.21259283v1" target="_blank">Diet quality and risk and severity of COVID-19: a prospective cohort study</a>
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<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>Cognitive and Psychological Disorders After Severe COVID-19 Infection</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID 19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Diagnostic Test: Cognitive assessment;   Diagnostic Test: Imaging;   Diagnostic Test: Routine care;   Other: Psychiatric evaluation<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Central Hospital, Nancy, France;   Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Besancon;   University Hospital, Strasbourg, France;   Centre Hospitalier Régional Metz-Thionville;   Centre hospitalier Epinal;   Hopitaux Civils de Colmar<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>MP1032 Treatment in Patients With Moderate to Severe COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: MP1032;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   MetrioPharm AG;   Syneos Health, LLC<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy and Safety of XAV-19 for the Treatment of Moderate-to-severe COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: XAV-19;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Xenothera SAS<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>Study of Codivir in Patients With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Covidir injections;   Diagnostic Test: One Step Test;   Diagnostic Test: IgM and IgG dosage;   Diagnostic Test: RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2;   Diagnostic Test: Screening blood test;   Diagnostic Test: ECG;   Diagnostic Test: Medical evaluation;   Diagnostic Test: NEWS-2 score;   Diagnostic Test: WHO score<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Code Pharma;   Zion Medical<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 to Evaluate the Safety and Concentrations of Monoclonal Antibody Against Virus That Causes COVID-19 Disease.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Virus Disease<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: MAD0004J08;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Toscana Life Sciences Sviluppo s.r.l.;   Cross Research S.A.<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>Clinical Trial With N-acetylcysteine and Bromhexine for COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Vitamin C;   Drug: N-acetylcysteine (NAC);   Drug: NAC + Bromhexine (BMX)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Universidade Federal do Ceara;   Paulista School of Medicine-EPM, UNIFESP;   Health Surveillance Secretariat - SVS;   Central Laboratory of Public Health of Ceara - LACEN-CE;   Leonardo da Vinci Hospital - HLV;   São José Hospital for Infectious Diseases - HSJ;   Ceará Health Secretariat - SESA;   Municipal Health Secretary - SMS-Fortaleza<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>Augmentation of Immune Response to COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination Through OMT With Lymphatic Pumps</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Western University of Health Sciences;   American College of Osteopathic Physicians;   American Osteopathic Foundation;   Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of California;   Xavier-Nichols Foundation<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>Safety and Immunogenicity of LNP-nCOV saRNA-02 Vaccine Against SARS-CoV-2, the Causative Agent of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: LNP-nCOV saRNA-02 Vaccine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of Inhaled Therapies in the Treatment of Acute Symptoms Associated With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: inhaled beclametasone;   Drug: Inahaled beclomethasone / formoterol / glycopyrronium<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   UPECLIN HC FM Botucatu Unesp;   Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A.<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>Dapsone Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Trial (DAP-CORONA) COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Dapsone 85 mg PO BID;   Drug: Placebo 85 mg PO BID<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   McGill University Health Centre/Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre;   Pulmonem Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Clinical Investigation for 2019-nCoV Antigen Saliva Rapid Test Kit and V-CHEK SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Detection Kit to Detect COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Device: V-CHECK SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Detection Kit and 2019-nCoV Antigen Saliva Rapid Test Kit<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Medical College of Wisconsin;   Reliable, LLC.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ivermectin Versus Standard Treatment in Mild COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Ivermectin Tablets<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Assiut University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Tolerability,Safety of JS016 in SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Combination Product: JS016 (anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Peking Union Medical College Hospital<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>Open Label, Single-Center Study Utilizing BIOZEK COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid-19 Testing<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: Biozek Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test (Saliva)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Mach-E B.V.<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>SCALE-UP Utah: Community-Academic Partnership to Address COVID-19 Testing Among Utah Community Health Centers</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Text-Messaging (TM);   Behavioral: Patient Navigation (PN)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   University of Utah;   Association for Utah Community Health;   Utah Department of Health;   National Institutes of Health (NIH)<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Identification of known drugs as potential SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors using ligand- and structure-based virtual screening</strong> - Background: The new coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact worldwide, and therapeutic treatment for this viral infection is being strongly pursued. Efforts have been undertaken by medicinal chemists to discover molecules or known drugs that may be effective in COVID-19 treatment - in particular, targeting the main protease (Mpro) of the virus. Materials &amp; methods: We have employed an innovative strategy - application of ligand- and structure-based virtual screening - using a special…</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>Rationale, study design and implementation of the LUCINDA Trial: Leuprolide plus cholinesterase inhibition to reduce neurologic decline in Alzheimer’s</strong> - The LUCINDA Trial (Leuprolide plus Cholinesterase Inhibition to reduce Neurologic Decline in Alzheimer’s) is a 52 week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of leuprolide acetate (Eligard) in women with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Leuprolide acetate is a gonadotropin analogue commonly used for hormone-sensitive conditions such as prostate cancer and endometriosis. This repurposed drug demonstrated efficacy in a previous Phase II clinical trial in those women with AD who also received a stable dose…</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>Rapid, reliable, and reproducible cell fusion assay to quantify SARS-Cov-2 spike interaction with hACE2</strong> - COVID-19 is a global crisis of unimagined dimensions. Currently, Remedesivir is only fully licensed FDA therapeutic. A major target of the vaccine effort is the SARS-CoV-2 spike-hACE2 interaction, and assessment of efficacy relies on time consuming neutralization assay. Here, we developed a cell fusion assay based upon spike-hACE2 interaction. The system was tested by transient co-transfection of 293T cells, which demonstrated good correlation with standard spike pseudotyping for inhibition by…</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>SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins NSP1 and NSP13 inhibit interferon activation through distinct mechanisms</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a devastating global pandemic, infecting over 43 million people and claiming over 1 million lives, with these numbers increasing daily. Therefore, there is urgent need to understand the molecular mechanisms governing SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, immune evasion, and disease progression. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 can block IRF3 and NF-κB activation early during virus infection. We also identify that the SARS-CoV-2 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>Mechanism of inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 M(pro) by N3 peptidyl Michael acceptor explained by QM/MM simulations and design of new derivatives with tunable chemical reactivity</strong> - The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M^(pro)) is essential for replication of the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the main targets for drug design. Here, we simulate the inhibition process of SARS-CoV-2 M^(pro) with a known Michael acceptor (peptidyl) inhibitor, N3. The free energy landscape for the mechanism of the formation of the covalent enzyme-inhibitor product is computed with QM/MM molecular dynamics methods. The simulations show a two-step mechanism, and give structures…</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>Inhibitors of thiol-mediated uptake</strong> - Ellman’s reagent has caused substantial confusion and concern as a probe for thiol-mediated uptake because it is the only established inhibitor available but works neither efficiently nor reliably. Here we use fluorescent cyclic oligochalcogenides that enter cells by thiol-mediated uptake to systematically screen for more potent inhibitors, including epidithiodiketopiperazines, benzopolysulfanes, disulfide-bridged γ-turned peptides, heteroaromatic sulfones and cyclic thiosulfonates,…</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 microscopic description of SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibition with Michael acceptors. Strategies for improving inhibitor design</strong> - The irreversible inhibition of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 by a Michael acceptor known as N3 has been investigated using multiscale methods. The noncovalent enzyme-inhibitor complex was simulated using classical molecular dynamics techniques and the pose of the inhibitor in the active site was compared to that of the natural substrate, a peptide containing the Gln-Ser scissile bond. The formation of the covalent enzyme-inhibitor complex was then simulated using hybrid QM/MM free energy…</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>Hyper-Enriched Anti-RSV Immunoglobulins Nasally Administered: A Promising Approach for Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prophylaxis</strong> - Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a public health concern that causes acute lower respiratory tract infection. So far, no vaccine candidate under development has reached the market and the only licensed product to prevent RSV infection in at-risk infants and young children is a monoclonal antibody (Synagis^(®)). Polyclonal human anti-RSV hyper-immune immunoglobulins (Igs) have also been used but were superseded by Synagis^(®) owing to their low titer and large infused volume. Here we report a…</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>Therapeutic Targeting of Transcription Factors to Control the Cytokine Release Syndrome in COVID-19</strong> - Treatment of the cytokine release syndrome (CRS) has become an important part of rescuing hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Here, we systematically explored the transcriptional regulators of inflammatory cytokines involved in the COVID-19 CRS to identify candidate transcription factors (TFs) for therapeutic targeting using approved drugs. We integrated a resource of TF-cytokine gene interactions with single-cell RNA-seq expression data from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cells of 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>Clinical, Biochemical and Molecular Evaluations of Ivermectin Mucoadhesive Nanosuspension Nasal Spray in Reducing Upper Respiratory Symptoms of Mild COVID-19</strong> - CONCLUSION: Local use of ivermectin mucoadhesive nanosuspension nasal spray is safe and effective in treatment of patients with mild COVID-19 with rapid viral clearance and shortening the anosmia duration.</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>Structure-guided design of a perampanel-derived pharmacophore targeting the SARS-CoV-2 main protease</strong> - There is a clinical need for direct-acting antivirals targeting SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, to complement current therapeutic strategies. The main protease (M^(pro)) is an attractive target for antiviral therapy. However, the vast majority of protease inhibitors described thus far are peptidomimetic and bind to the active-site cysteine via a covalent adduct, which is generally pharmacokinetically unfavorable. We have reported the optimization of an existing…</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>It</strong> - ObjectiveMindStep™ is an Australian low-intensity cognitive behaviour therapy (LICBT) program for individuals with mild-to-moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression. UK-produced LICBT guided self-help (GSH) materials were originally used in the MindStep™ program. In 2017, Australian LICBT GSH materials were developed to better suit Australian users. This study explored whether the Australian-produced materials continued to achieve the benchmark recovery rates established in the UK and…</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>Structural basis of covalent inhibitory mechanism of TMPRSS2-related serine proteases by camostat</strong> - SARS-CoV-2 is the viral pathogen causing the COVID19 global pandemic. No effective treatment for COVID-19 has been established yet. TMPRSS2 is essential for viral spread and pathogenicity by facilitating the entry of SARS-CoV-2 onto host cells. The protease inhibitor camostat, an anticoagulant used in the clinic, has potential anti-inflammatory and anti-viral activities against COVID-19. However, the potential mechanisms of viral resistance and antiviral activity of camostat are unclear. Herein,…</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>SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induces paracrine senescence and leukocyte adhesionin endothelial cells</strong> - Increased mortality in COVID-19 often associates with microvascular complications. We have recently shown that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein promotes an inflammatory cytokine IL-6/IL-6R induced trans-signaling response and alarmin secretion. Virus infected or spike transfected human epithelial cells exhibited an increase in senescence state with the release of senescence associated secretory proteins (SASP) related inflammatory molecules. Introduction of BRD4 inhibitor AZD5153 to senescent epithelial…</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>Structure-based virtual screening of bioactive compounds from Indonesian medical plants against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a virus that causes the infectious disease coronavirus disease-2019. Currently, there is no effective drug for the prevention and treatment of this virus. This study aimed to identify secondary metabolites that potentially inhibit the key proteins of SARS-CoV-2. This was an in silico molecular docking study of several secondary metabolites of Indonesian herbal plant compounds and other metabolites with antiviral testing history….</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 anti-viral therapeutic</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU327160071">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>폐마스크 밀봉 회수기</strong> - 본 발명은 마스크 착용 후 버려지는 일회용 폐마스크를 비닐봉지에 넣은 후 밀봉하여 배출함으로써, 2차 감염을 예방하고 일반 생활폐기물과 선별 분리 배출하여 환경오염을 방지하는 데 그 목적이 있다. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=KR325788342">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>백신 냉각 및 해동 기능을 갖는 백신 보관장치</strong> - 본 발명은 백신 냉각 및 해동 기능을 갖는 백신 보관장치에 관한 것으로, 상, 하부하우징의 제1상, 하부누출방지공간에 냉각물질이 충입된 냉각파이프를 설치하되, 제2상, 하부누출방지공간에 가열물질이 충입된 가열파이프를 설치하여, 구획판부에 의해 구획된 백신냉각공간 및 백신해동공간 각각을 냉각 및 가열하고, 보조도어를 통해 백신냉각공간 내에 수용된 백신을 구획판부의 백신출구도어를 통해 백신해동공간으로 이동시켜, 백신해동공간 내에서 백신을 해동함으로써, 즉시 사용이 가능한 백신을 인출도어를 통해 인출할 수 있다. 본 발명에 따르면, 냉각파이프에 저장된 냉매에 의해 백신냉각공간 내의 온도가 극저온 상태로 변화되고, 극저온 상태를 유지하는 백신냉각공간 내에 백신을 저장하여, 안전하게 보관 할 수 있으며, 백신냉각공간 내의 백신을 백신해동공간 내로 이동시켜, 백신해동공간 내에서 백신을 해동할 수 있고, 이 해동된 백신을 인출도어를 통해 인출한 후 즉시 사용할 수 있어 백신을 해동하는 시간이 단축되며, 보조도어를 통해 백신냉각공간 내의 백신을 백신해동공간으로 이동시켜, 백신이 외기에 노출될 우려가 없으며, 백신냉각공간 내의 백신을 백신해동공간으로 이동시키거나 또는 인출도어를 통해 백신 인출시 정렬장치가 백신을 보조도어 및 인출도어 직하방에 자동 위치시킨다. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=KR327274025">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>COST EFFECTIVE PORTABLE OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR FOR COVID-19</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU324964715">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>백신 인출용 보조도어를 갖는 백신 저온 보관장치</strong> - 본 발명은 백신정렬 기능을 갖는 백신 저온 보관장치에 관한 것으로, 상, 하부하우징의 이중 격벽 안에 냉매가 충입된 냉매파이프를 설치하여, 이 냉매파이프에 의해 상, 하부하우징의 백신 보관 공간이 극저온 상태를 유지하도록 하고, 하부하우징의 가이드벽 사이에 수용된 백신을 정렬장치로 가압하여, 상부하우징의 보조도어 직하방에 백신이 위치되도록 하되, 이때, 보조도어를 개방하여 하부하우징 내에 수용된 백신을 인출하면, 정렬장치가 가이드벽 사이에 수용된 백신을 보조도어 방향으로 밀어내어, 보조도어 직하방에 백신이 순차적으로 자동 위치된다. 본 발명에 따르면, 상, 하부하우징의 이중 격벽 내에 냉매 파이프가 설치되어, 이 냉매 파이프에 저장된 냉매에 의해 백신 보관공간 내의 온도가 극저온 상태로 변화되고, 이 극저온 상태를 유지하는 백신 보관공간 내에 백신을 저장하여, 안전하게 보관 할 수 있으며, 수분이나 외부 공기 유입이 차단되어 백신을 안전하게 보관되고, 온도계와 압력계를 이용하여 백신 보관공간과 냉매 압력을 실시간으로 감지할 수 있고, 보조도어를 통해 백신 보관공간 내의 백신을 독립적으로 인출할 수 있으며, 보조도어를 통해 백신 인출시 정렬장치가 백신을 보조도어 방향으로 밀어내어, 보조도어 직하방에 백신이 자동 위치되고, 외기 유입 방지로 백신 보관공간 내의 온도가 극저온 상태로 유지된다. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=KR327274024">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SAFE TOUCH ANTI VIRAL LUGGAGE TROLLEY HANDLE</strong> - The invention is directed to a safe-touch, anti-viral luggage trolley handle, comprising PVC plastic with the addition of a silver-based antimicrobial additive. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU324956574">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>METHOD OF IDENTIFYING SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONA VIRUS 2 (SARS-COV-2) RIBONUCLEIC ACID (RNA)</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU323956811">link</a></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Erweiterbare Desinfektionsvorrichtung</strong> -
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
</p><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Erweiterbare Desinfektionsvorrichtung, umfassend: einen Hauptkörper, der eine umgekehrt U-förmige Basisplatte aufweist, wobei die umgekehrt U-förmige Basisplatte mit einer Öffnung versehen ist und jeweils eine Seitenplatte sich von zwei Seiten der umgekehrt U-förmigen Basisplatte nach außen erstreckt; und mindestens eine Desinfektionslampe, die in den auf zwei Seiten des Hauptkörpers befindlichen Seitenplatten angeordnet ist und eine Lichtemissionseinheit, eine Erfassungseinheit, eine Steuereinheit und eine Stromversorgungseinheit umfasst.</p></li>
</ul>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"></p>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=DE326402480">link</a></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Einfache Sterilisationsvorrichtung</strong> -
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
</p><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Einfache Sterilisationsvorrichtung, mit einem Hauptkörper (11), der in Längsrichtung einen ersten Plattenabschnitt (111) und in Querrichtung einen zweiten Plattenabschnitt (112) aufweist, wobei der erste Plattenabschnitt (111) und der zweite Plattenabschnitt (112) L-förmig miteinander verbunden sind; und einer Sterilisationslampe (12), die an dem Hauptkörper (11) angeordnet ist und eine Lichtemissionseinheit (121), eine Sensoreinheit (122), eine Steuereinheit (123) und eine Stromeinheit (124) aufweist.</p></li>
</ul>
<img alt="embedded image" id="EMI-D00000"/>
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<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=DE326402479">link</a></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Klemmarme aufweisende Desinfektionsvorrichtung</strong> -
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
</p><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Klemmarme aufweisende Desinfektionsvorrichtung, umfassend: einen Hauptkörper; eine Desinfektionslampe, die im Hauptkörper angeordnet ist und eine Lichtemissionseinheit, eine Erfassungseinheit, eine Steuereinheit und eine Stromversorgungseinheit umfasst; einen Klemmabschnitt, der auf einer Seite des Hauptkörpers angeordnet ist, wobei der Klemmabschnitt zwei gegenüberliegende Greifbacken umfasst, wobei mindestens eine der beiden Greifbacken mit einer Schwenkachse versehen ist, wobei ein Klemmraum durch passgenaues Schließen der beiden Greifbacken entsteht und die beiden Greifbacken jeweils mit einem Durchgangsloch versehen sind; einen Befestigungsabschnitt, der durch die Durchgangslöcher der beiden Greifbacken hindurchgeführt ist;und ein Schild, das auf einer Seite des Klemmabschnitts angeordnet und mit einem Aufnahmeloch versehen ist.</p></li>
</ul>
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<li><a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=DE326402478">link</a></li>
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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>Bipartisanship Lives, and Biden Takes a Bow</strong> - Finally, Infrastructure Week is for real. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/bipartisanship-lives-and-biden-takes-a-bow">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>After the Lost Cause</strong> - Why are politics so consumed with the past? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/after-the-lost-cause">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Can Congress Insure Fair Elections?</strong> - The legal scholar Rick Hasen discusses the dangers of election subversion and voter suppression. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/can-congress-insure-fair-elections">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>It’s Not the Heat—It’s the Humanity</strong> - Rising air temperatures remind us that our bodies have real limits. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/its-not-the-heat-its-the-humanity">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>New York City’s Mayoral Election Didn’t Meet the Moment</strong> - The field was too big, the campaigning was too weird, and none of the candidates took the full measure of the city that they hoped to govern. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/new-york-citys-mayoral-election-didnt-meet-the-moment">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Why some biologists and ecologists think social media is a risk to humanity</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Earth, as seen from space." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wjX9onP39SoB-B_JgCQHaoLVdsY=/480x0:3360x2160/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69507567/GettyImages_1304845476.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A group of 17 researchers across disciplines from biology to philosophy published a paper arguing that the impacts of social media should be treated as a “crisis discipline.” | Thamrongpat Theerathammakorn/EyeEm via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
One of the real challenges that we’re facing is that we don’t have a lot of information
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="evZePV">
Social media has drastically restructured the way we communicate in an incredibly short period of time. We can discover, “Like,” click on, and share information faster than ever before, guided by <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/2/18/21121286/algorithms-bias-discrimination-facial-recognition-transparency">algorithms</a> most of us don’t quite understand.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WLA0Yc">
And while some social scientists, journalists, and activists have been raising concerns about how this is affecting our democracy, mental health, and relationships, we haven’t seen biologists and ecologists weighing in as much.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qcwqnG">
That’s changed <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/27/e2025764118">with a new paper</a> published in the prestigious science journal <em>PNAS</em> earlier this month, titled “Stewardship of global collective behavior.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dbKsca">
Seventeen researchers who specialize in widely different fields, from climate science to philosophy, make the case that academics should treat the study of technology’s large-scale impact on society as a “crisis discipline.” A crisis discipline is a field in which scientists across different fields work quickly to address an urgent societal problem — like how conservation biology tries to protect endangered species or climate science research aims to stop global warming.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wKkFSC">
The paper argues that our lack of understanding about the collective behavioral effects of new technology is a danger to democracy and scientific progress. For example, the paper says that tech companies have “fumbled their way through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, unable to stem the ‘infodemic’ of misinformation” that has hindered widespread acceptance of masks and vaccines. The authors warn that if left misunderstood and unchecked, we could see unintended consequences of new technology contributing to phenomena such as “election tampering, disease, violent extremism, famine, racism, and war.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pYslFv">
It’s a grave warning and call to action by an unusually diverse swath of scholars across disciplines — and their collaboration indicates how concerned they are.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nJoJ6M">
Recode spoke with the lead author of the paper, Joe Bak-Coleman, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington Center for an Informed Public
, as well as co-author Carl Bergstrom, a biology professor at the University of Washington, to better understand this call for a paradigm shift in how scientists study the technology we use every day.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YrORYX">
The two interviews have been combined and lightly edited for length and clarity.
</p>
<h4 id="FcW41t">
Shirin Ghaffary
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xK6eSy">
You tweeted that this paper is one of the most important ones you’ve published yet. Why?
</p>
<h4 id="qJA1s8">
Carl Bergstrom
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1CgwOO">
My original background is in infectious disease epidemiology, respiratory viruses. And so I was able to do some stuff that’s reasonably important during Covid. What I’m doing there is really filling in the details in a well-established framework. So it’s more, you know, dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FwNNTR">
And I think what’s really important about this paper is that it’s not doing that at all. It’s saying, “Here’s a massive problem, and the way to conceptualize it, that is critically important for the future. “
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kfMEDe">
And, you know, it’s suggesting an alarm going off upstairs. It’s a call to arms. It’s saying, “Hey, we’ve got to solve this problem, and we don’t have a lot of time.”
</p>
<h4 id="wqPhrJ">
Shirin Ghaffary
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T60pdR">
And what is that problem? What are you sounding the alarm bell on?
</p>
<h4 id="bG1x2A">
Carl Bergstrom
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qJ656L">
My sense is that social media in particular — as well as a broader range of internet technologies, including algorithmically driven search and click-based advertising — have changed the way that people get information and form opinions about the world.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="HChC3j">
<q>“There’s no reason why good information will rise to the top of any ecosystem we’ve designed” —Carl Bergstrom</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qQYKK6">
And they seem to have done so in a manner that makes people particularly vulnerable to the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p4Pdf8">
Just as one example: A paper — a poorly done research paper — can come out suggesting that hydroxychloroquine might be a treatment for Covid. And in a matter of days, you have world leaders promoting it, and people struggling to get [this medicine], and it being no longer available to people who need it for treatment of other conditions. Which is actually a serious health problem.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KfIy8P">
So you can have these bits of misinformation that explode at unprecedented velocity in ways that they wouldn’t have prior to this information ecosystem.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OQxFAY">
[Now], you can create large communities of people that hold constellations of beliefs that are not grounded in reality, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/8/1/17253444/qanon-trump-conspiracy-theory-4chan-explainer">such as [the conspiracy theory] QAnon</a>. You can have ideas like anti-vaccination ideas spread in new ways. You can create polarization in new ways.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1qNSBV">
And [you can] create an information environment where misinformation seems to spread organically. And also [these communities can] be extremely vulnerable to targeted disinformation. We don’t even know the scope of that yet.
</p>
<h4 id="Vy67R2">
Joe Bak-Coleman
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="M46PS0">
The question we were trying to answer was, “What can we infer about the course of society at scale, given what we know about complex systems?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="v2DHEC">
It’s kind of how we use mice models or flies to understand neuroscience. Part of this came back to animal societies — namely groups — to understand what they tell us about collective behavior in general, but also complex systems more broadly.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2xwz6m">
So our goal is to take that perspective and then look at human society with that. And one of the things about complex systems is they have a finite limit to perturbation. If you disturb them too much, they change. And they often tend to fail catastrophically, unexpectedly, without warning.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZOfXPM">
We see this in financial markets — all of a sudden, they crash out of nowhere.
</p>
<h4 id="VVBKsE">
Carl Bergstrom
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eikpVM">
My hope is very much that this [paper] will sort of galvanize people. The issues that are in this paper are ones that people have been thinking about from many, many different fields. It’s not like these are new issues entirely.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gaxgD7">
It’s rather that I think this paper will hopefully really highlight the magnitude of what’s happened and the urgency of fixing it. Hopefully, it’ll galvanize some kind of transdisciplinary collaborations.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="H1lopN">
So it’s important because it says this needs to be a crisis discipline, this is something that we don’t understand. We don’t have a theory for how all of these changes are affecting the way that people come to form their beliefs and opinions, and then use those to make decisions. And yet, that’s all changing. It’s happening. …
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JkaWZv">
There’s a misperception that we’re saying, “Exposure to ads is bad — that’s causing the harm.” That’s not what we’re saying. Exposure to ads may or may not be bad. What we’re concerned about is the fact that this information ecosystem has developed to optimize something orthogonal to things that we think are extremely important, like being concerned about the veracity of information or the effect of information on human well-being, on democracy, on health, on the ecosystem.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6g4Gcf">
Those issues are just being left to sort themselves out, without a whole lot of thought or guidance around them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9eBEfo">
That puts it in this crisis discipline space. It’s like climate science where you don’t have time to sit down and work out everything definitively. This paper is essentially saying something quite similar — that we don’t have time to wait. We need to start addressing these problems now.
</p>
<h4 id="ak0xew">
Shirin Ghaffary
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tAQLxU">
What do you say to the people who think this is not really a crisis and argue that people had similar concerns when the printing press came out that now seem alarmist?
</p>
<h4 id="yVLzqs">
Carl Bergstrom
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wlXhqK">
Well, with the printing press, I would push back. The printing press came out and upended history. We’re still recovering from the capacity that the printing press gave to Martin Luther. The printing press radically changed the political landscape in Europe. And, you know, depending on whose histories you go by, you had decades if not centuries of war [after it was introduced].
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n8jCG6">
So, did we somehow recover? Sure we did. Would it have been better to do it in a stewarded way? I don’t know. Maybe. These major transitions in information technology often cause collateral damage. We tend to hope that they also bring about a tremendous amount of good as we move toward human knowledge and all of that. But even the fact that you’ve survived doesn’t mean that it’s not worth thinking about how to get through it smoothly.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Cnu5Aj">
It reminds me of one of the least intelligent critiques of the [Covid-19] vaccines that we’re using now: “We didn’t have vaccines during the Black Death plague. And we’re still here.” We are, but it took out a third of the population of Europe.
</p>
<h4 id="JC64yz">
Shirin Ghaffary
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eKSo7A">
Right, so there is pain and suffering that happened with all those transformational technologies as well.
</p>
<h4 id="fVrCc6">
Carl Bergstrom
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nM1w7m">
Yeah. So I think it’s important to recognize that. It’s still possible to mitigate harm as you go through a transformation, even if you know you’re going to be fine. I also don’t think it’s completely obvious that we are going to be fine on the other end.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eHxoVz">
One of the really key messages of the paper is that there tends to be this general trust that everything will work out, that people will eventually learn to screen sources of information, that the market will take care of it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LAETzy">
And I think one of the things that the paper is saying is that we’ve got no particular reason to think that that’s right. There’s no reason why good information will rise to the top of any ecosystem we’ve designed. So we’re very concerned about that.
</p>
<h4 id="KuwBt1">
Shirin Ghaffary
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p72Su7">
One important defense of social media is that Facebook and Twitter can be places where people share new ideas that are not mainstream that end up being right. Sometimes media gatekeepers can get things wrong and social media can allow better information to come out. For example, some people like <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/13/21214114/media-coronavirus-pandemic-coverage-cdc-should-you-wear-masks">Zeynep Tufekci were sounding the alarm</a> on the pandemic early, largely on Twitter, back in February 2020, far ahead of the CDC and most journalists.
</p>
<h4 id="E41coS">
Carl Bergstrom
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="esrvXg">
Yeah, to look at the net, you have to look at the net influence of the system, right? If somebody on social media has things right but if the net influence on social media is to promote anti-vaccination sentiment in the United States to the point that we’re not going to be able to reach herd immunity, it doesn’t let social media off the hook. …
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eh7llI">
I was enormously optimistic about the internet in the ’90s. [I thought] this really was going to remove the gatekeepers and allow people who did not have financial, social, and political capital to get their stories out there.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zJDlgj">
And it’s certainly possible for all that to be true and for the concerns that we express in our paper to also be correct.
</p>
<h4 id="1HzBQx">
Joe Bak-Coleman
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jrwwif">
Democratizing information has had profound effects, especially for marginalized, underrepresented communities. It gives them the ability to rally online, have a platform, and have a voice. And that is fantastic. At the same time, we have things like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebook-genocide.html">genocide of Rohingya Muslims</a> and an <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22221285/trump-online-capitol-riot-far-right-parler-twitter-facebook">insurrection at the Capitol</a> happening as well. And I hope that it’s a false statement to say we have to have those growing pains to have the benefits.
</p>
<h4 id="3r903G">
Shirin Ghaffary
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7nvreI">
How much do we know about whether [misinformation] has increased in the past year or five years, 10 years, and by how much?
</p>
<h4 id="pL0CqH">
Carl Bergstrom
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oCid6N">
That’s one of the real challenges that we’re facing, actually, is that we don’t have a lot of information. We need to figure out how, to what degree, people have been exposed to misinformation, to what degree is that influencing subsequent online behavior. All of this information is held exclusively by the tech companies that are running these platforms.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="emWEJx">
[Editor’s note: Most major social media companies work with academics who research their platforms’ effects on society, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/02/facebook-to-launch-a-researcher-api-for-the-academic-community/">but the companies restrict and control how much information researchers can use</a>.]
</p>
<h4 id="HMkUKU">
Shirin Ghaffary
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QEoGjf">
What does treating the impact of social media as a crisis discipline mean?
</p>
<h4 id="WUsF1l">
Carl Bergstrom
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XEBXpH">
For me, a crisis discipline is a situation where you don’t have all of the information that you need to know exactly what to do, but you don’t have time to wait to figure it out.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SIcRwr">
This was the situation with Covid in February or March 2020. We’re definitely in that position with global climate change. We’ve got better models than we did 20 years ago, but we still don’t have a complete description of how that system works. And yet, we certainly don’t have time to wait around and figure all that out.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eiDTrU">
And here, I think that the speed with which social media, combined with a whole number of other things, has led to very widespread disinformation — [that] here in the United States [is] causing major political upheaval — is striking. How many more elections do you think we have before things get substantially worse?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y0SnFX">
So there are these super-hard problems that take radical transdisciplinary work. We need to figure out how to come together and talk about all that. But at the same time, we have to be taking actions.
</p>
<h4 id="xAH7xJ">
Shirin Ghaffary
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CApSqL">
How do you respond to the chicken-and-egg argument? You hear defenders of technology say, “We’re just seeing real-world polarization reflected online,” but there’s no proof that the internet is causing polarization.
</p>
<h4 id="6tTkgZ">
Carl Bergstrom
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KZetCW">
This should be a familiar argument. This is what Big Tobacco used, right? This is <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/3/21/8267049/merchants-of-doubt">Merchants of Doubt stuff</a>. They said, “Well, you know, yeah, sure, lung cancer rates are going up, especially among smokers — but there’s no proof it’s been caused by that.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EHn5Wj">
And now we’re hearing the same thing about misinformation: “Yeah, sure, there’s a lot of misinformation online, but it doesn’t change anyone’s behavior.” But then all of a sudden you got a guy in a loincloth with buffalo horns running around the Capitol building.
</p>
<h4 id="MgR3y2">
Shirin Ghaffary
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zpuMWU">
The paper calls for people to more urgently understand the impacts of these new rapid advancements in communication technology in the past 15 years. Do you think that this isn’t being addressed enough by academic scientists, government leaders, or companies?
</p>
<h4 id="A8uLeg">
Joe Bak-Coleman
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mUsfPt">
There’s been a lot of work that’s been done here, and I don’t think we’re trying to reinvent that wheel at all. But I think what we’re really trying to do is just highlight the need for urgent action and draw these parallels to climate change and to conservation biology, where they’ve been dealing with really similar problems. And the way they’ve structured themselves, like climate change now involves everything from chemists to ecologists. And I think social science tends to be fairly fragmented in subdisciplines, without a lot of connection between them. And trying to bring that together was a major goal of this paper.
</p>
<h4 id="fidr8h">
Shirin Ghaffary
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9Fgf63">
I’m biased to be very aware of this problem because my job is to report on social media, but it feels like there is a lot of fear and concern about social media’s impact. Misinformation, phone addiction — these seem to be issues that everyday people worry about. Why do you think there still isn’t enough attention on this?
</p>
<h4 id="9PwUY7">
Carl Bergstrom
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wGk08L">
When I talk to people about social media, yes, there’s a lot of concern, there’s a lot of negativity, and then there’s bias by being a parent as well. But the focus is often on the individual-level effects. So it’s, “My kids are developing negative issues around self-esteem because of the way that Instagram is structured to get ‘Likes’ for being perfect and showing more of your body.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cfrABo">
But there’s less talk about the entire large-scale structural changes that this is inducing. So what we’re saying is, we really want people to look at the large-scale structural changes that these technologies are driving in society.
</p></li>
<li><strong>6 crucial climate actions the Senate left out of its infrastructure deal</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-oRjlBGdxYO2xm7gB6S0vv3Ju_c=/0x0:2667x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69504888/GettyImages_1233641711_copy.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
President Biden announced the broad outlines of an infrastructure deal reached with a bipartisan group of senators outside the White House on June 24. | Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The bipartisan deal is a disappointment on climate change, but it’s only part one. Here’s what could come next.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MwD5BC">
This is not the transformative climate deal that activists have been pushing for.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="66rvAz">
Many of the promises President Joe Biden made on the campaign trail and early in his presidency — to slash rising greenhouse gas emissions and prepare America’s aging infrastructure for a changed climate — were missing from his <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/24/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-support-for-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-framework/">announcement</a> Thursday that 21 senators had reached a bipartisan $973 billion infrastructure deal.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UwAQh9">
“It is in no way, shape, or form a substitute for a comprehensive climate bill,” <a href="https://www.polsci.ucsb.edu/people/leah-stokes">Leah Stokes</a>, a UC Santa Barbara political scientist and adviser to the climate advocacy group Evergreen Action, told Vox. On its own, “it could even have some emissions increases, potentially.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kex0Fw">
But Stokes added that the infrastructure deal should not be considered on its own, because Democrats have a plan for passing more ambitious climate action.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GCm1XH">
Facing Republican opposition, the slim Democratic majority in Congress is pursuing its climate agenda on two tracks. Now that they have an initial bipartisan deal, they will try the once-obscure parliamentary procedure known as <a href="https://www.vox.com/22242476/senate-filibuster-budget-reconciliation-process">reconciliation</a>, which allows Congress to pass budget-related matters through a simple Senate majority — which Democrats have. Top Democrats, from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to President Biden, say there will be no infrastructure package without a reconciliation<strong> </strong>bill that includes many of their priorities that were left out of the Senate deal, including those dealing with climate change.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="chHCPP">
Getting both done will be tricky — already some Republicans who had signed on to the bipartisan deal are <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/06/25/graham-biden-made-gop-look-like-fing-idiots-493371?nname=huddle&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b4be0000&amp;nrid=00000164-3836-d6c5-aded-fcfe5ae90000&amp;nlid=630309">backing away from it</a> after Biden announced the two-pronged approach, and Democrats will face tense internal debates about how big the reconciliation bill should be.<strong> </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hzQb5O">
The compromise announced Thursday included a scaled-down version of Biden’s original $2 trillion <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/">American Jobs Plan</a>. A large portion of the bipartisan deal, $109 billion, injects funding into repairing and building roads, bridges, and other major projects. There’s $66 billion set aside for passenger and freight rail, $49 billion for public transit, and $55 billion for water infrastructure. Climate actions to lower emissions are among the least ambitious parts of this deal.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eVU83y">
While it’s not clear which climate policies are on the table now, what’s missing from the infrastructure deal tells us a great deal about what could be coming next. And it’s possible to identify top Democratic priorities by looking closely at everything that dropped out of Biden’s original American Jobs Plan.
</p>
<h3 id="GnszxF">
What’s missing from the deal
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p51BdI">
The bipartisan infrastructure package comes nowhere close to meeting Biden’s goal of cutting US climate pollution 50 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. In some sectors, the funding is a small fraction of what Biden proposed in his American Jobs Plan, and an even smaller fraction of what experts have modeled to transform the economy. But in most cases, there’s no funding at all for cleaning up the power sector and building pollution and addressing racial injustices.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hizutb">
Here are key areas that are missing compared to the original American Jobs Plan:
</p>
<ul>
<li id="rW8O0x">
<strong>The first federal clean electricity standard:</strong> This power sector has gotten a lot cleaner the past decade, as natural gas and renewables have become more cost-competitive than coal-fired power plants, but that change is uneven across the country. To go further, the original American Jobs Plan proposed that Congress set a standard for utilities to ratchet up their renewable commitments to reach 80 percent clean energy by 2030. <a href="https://loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=21-P13-00022&amp;segmentID=1">Economists</a> and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bidens-climate-bet-rests-on-enacting-a-clean-electricity-standard/">environmentalists</a> consider it one of the<a href="https://www.vox.com/22265119/biden-climate-change-renewable-energy-clean-electricity-standard-congress"> most critical policies</a> to address climate pollution quickly.
</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ra4Paa">
<strong>Federal investments and tax credits for clean energy: </strong>Congress would have to follow up with serious cash to transform the grid into a clean power sector. Spending could take a few different forms, from direct federal investment to expanding tax credits for renewables.
</li>
<li id="SzZ3Mq">
<strong>A phaseout of fossil fuel subsidies: </strong>The federal government actively helps keep fossil fuels artificially cheap through almost $15 billion annually in subsidies for oil, gas, and coal, according to an <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2017/10/03/dirty-energy-dominance-us-subsidies/">analysis</a> by the environmental group Oil Change International. That’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/10/6/16428458/us-energy-coal-oil-subsidies">far more</a> than the government spends on clean energy subsidies. Every Democratic president in recent memory has pledged to cut these subsidies, including Biden, but budgetary action requires Congress.
</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KiUs3M">
<strong>Cleaning up transportation pollution: </strong>The investments for electric vehicle infrastructure like charging stations and tax credits are much smaller in the bipartisan deal, at $15 billion compared to $174 billion in the American Jobs Plan. Likewise, the deal allots $28.5 billion less for public transit than the original proposal.
</li>
<li id="chqv7c">
<strong>Investing in communities disproportionately affected by climate change: </strong>Biden pledged that the lion’s share of any federal funding — <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/reports/2021/06/22/500618/implementing-bidens-justice40-commitment-combat-environmental-racism/">40 percent</a> — would go to places that are hit hardest by pollution and climate impacts, often communities of color. There were many other commitments to these frontline communities throughout the American Jobs Plan, including <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/highway-removal-infrastructure/2021/03/31/effd6a26-9234-11eb-a74e-1f4cf89fd948_story.html">$20 billion</a> to reconnect neighborhoods cut off by highways. The bipartisan deal only allots $1 billion for that effort.
</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IRJlxn">
<strong>Research and development for climate solutions:</strong> Biden previously called for $35 billion in clean energy research, development, and deployment, which didn’t make it into the bipartisan proposal.
</li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0e8ABw">
“Whether you’re looking at public transit or clean energy, or retrofitting buildings, the economic modeling shows that to meet Biden’s goal of cutting climate pollution in half by 2030, while delivering full employment and advancing racial economic and environmental justice, Congress needs to go much bigger and bolder,” <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/other/authors/ben-beachy">Ben Beachy</a>, director of A Living Economy for<strong> </strong>Sierra Club, said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Zu0Zjt">
The chart below, based on data gathered by the Sierra Club, compares the two plans. One key piece of the Biden plan that’s missing entirely from the bipartisan deal is $400 billion in energy spending dedicated to clean energy tax credits.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Chart comparing the bipartisan Senate deal and the American Jobs Plan" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KpZ-Aek2GnezbT-6LiTQYKO6bZ8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22682182/D8LI9_the_senate_infrastructure_deal_leaves_out_br_a_lot_of_climate_friendly_policies.png"/> <cite>Tim Ryan Williams/Vox</cite>
</figure>
<h3 id="cvhd56">
What this deal does do for climate
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R6twBC">
It’s hard to gauge exactly how much the bill would curb greenhouse gas emissions at this point, but parts of the bipartisan Senate deal would help shrink the US’s carbon footprint.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lUwk33">
Funding for public transit, electric school buses, and half a million electric vehicle chargers would help cut carbon dioxide emissions from driving. Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gases in the US, and cars and light trucks account for <a href="https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions">60 percent</a> of emissions in the sector.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bAd7OL">
The second-largest source of greenhouse gases in the US is electricity production. The framework doesn’t specifically call for more clean energy on the power grid, but it includes $73 billion for power infrastructure, like transmission. Transmission lines can link areas that need energy with places where wind and solar power are cheap, which can be separated by thousands of miles. This would help boost the business case for wind and solar power. The proposal calls for a new grid authority to facilitate clean energy transmission, and an infrastructure financing authority to help come up with the money to pay for it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2j02au">
Another key climate provision is what the White House called the “largest investment in addressing legacy pollution in American history” — $21 billion allocated to environmental remediation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="67BZfJ">
There are more than <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drilling-abandoned-specialreport/special-report-millions-of-abandoned-oil-wells-are-leaking-methane-a-climate-menace-idUSKBN23N1NL">3.2 million abandoned oil and gas wells</a> across the US leaking methane, a potent greenhouse gas, to take just one example. These leaks emit the equivalent emissions of burning 16 million barrels of crude oil per year — and the Environmental Protection Agency says that may be a drastic undercount.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VCgccD">
Plugging these wells would therefore go a long way toward reducing the US greenhouse gas emissions. And since many of these wells are in rural areas or places with fossil fuel development, stopping leaks could also be a jobs strategy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hsHDxZ">
“It can really help with the transition for oil and gas production workers into remediation, and similarly for some of the coal communities, they could employ a lot of people remediating coal mining,” said <a href="https://www.wri.org/profile/dan-lashof">Dan Lashof</a>, the US director of the World Resources Institute. “That may not be called out as an economic transition strategy, but I think it should be seen as part of that.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9htQYy">
The proposal also calls for $47 billion in spending on resilience, which includes bolstering infrastructure against “the impacts of climate change, cyber attacks, and extreme weather events.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ONDj8J">
However, the deal also contains elements that observers worry could undermine progress on climate change. The new construction of roads, bridges, and power lines in the proposal is likely to be resource- and energy-intensive. While the White House calls for these investments to be made with “a focus on climate change mitigation,” it’s not clear yet how this would be enforced.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6o6m5G">
“If you put a condition on the federal funding for some of these projects that require using low-carbon concrete and steel, that would improve that aspect of it,” Lashof said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="svk5SD">
In addition, some of the new infrastructure will go to benefit cars, shipping, and airplanes that use fossil fuels. The proposal calls for $25 billion for airports and $16 billion for ports and waterways, for example.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gDv8dw">
Whether the emissions reductions from the electric vehicles and other environmental line items in the proposal will outweigh the emissions increases from construction and infrastructure for the fossil-fuel-dependent sectors of the economy remains to be seen. That’s why many Democrats also want a separate climate-focused bill to pass alongside the Senate deal.
</p>
<h3 id="X9Pblx">
Will there be a climate deal?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zn9HhT">
Many Democrats have rallied around the promise “<a href="https://www.vox.com/22537509/democrats-climate-bill-biden-waxman-markey">no climate, no deal</a>.” Biden reinforced the message Thursday, saying he will <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/560103-biden-says-he-wont-sign-bipartisan-bill-without-reconciliation-bill">not sign</a> an infrastructure bill without another bill on his desk addressing climate change, a point echoed by both <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/560051-pelosi-vows-no-vote-on-bipartisan-deal-without-senate-action-on-reconciliation">Pelosi </a>and <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/17/senate-democrats-infrastructure-reconciliation-494977">Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer</a>.
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That means Democrats are publicly betting the farm on advancing the second track of their climate strategy: reconciliation.
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“In effect, that means no reconciliation package, no bipartisan deal,” Beachy told Vox. “Congress must move a big, bold infrastructure package that tackles the climate crisis, curbs injustice and creates millions of good jobs before moving any bipartisan deal.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6ippyB">
There are two major caveats to Democrats’ promise: First, the announcement this week was just the broad brushstrokes of a bill, so it’s not a done deal yet. There’s also the mystery about the contents of the reconciliation package — much of which will depend on moderate Democrats such as West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.
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But the possibilities open under reconciliation give climate experts hope that Congress may still meet the gravity of the climate crisis.
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“I’m very optimistic, to be honest,” Stokes said. “I think that President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Leader Schumer are all deeply committed to climate action and we need to make sure they stay committed. The lines have been drawn, and we will be passing a climate bill this summer. I feel pretty certain about that.”
</p></li>
<li><strong>Chauvin’s prison sentence is still not justice</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A group of people each raise a fist while one holds up a picture of George Floyd’s face." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VbXY8GHDkyb8thFKLmC9dFcWJ2s=/444x0:4000x2667/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69504154/GettyImages_1232428116.0.jpg"/>
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People gather at an Atlanta rally after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder on April 20, 2021. | Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Though Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years, police violence continues to plague America.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Uv6iqg">
In April, people around the country awaited <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/20/22387556/derek-chauvin-verdict-guilty-murder-manslaughter">the verdict in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin</a>. The video of George Floyd, pinned to the ground by Chauvin’s knee for nine minutes and pleading to breathe, had gone viral the summer prior, setting off a wave of protests around the world. After just 10 hours of deliberation, jurors returned with a conviction of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/20/22394618/derek-chauvin-murder-verdict">People took the streets to cry, hug, and gather</a>, the verdict bringing both a sense of relief that an officer was going to face consequences for enacting violence — <a href="https://www.vox.com/21497089/derek-chauvin-george-floyd-trial-police-prosecutions-black-lives-matter"><strong>a rarity in the criminal justice system</strong></a> —<strong> </strong>and anger,<strong> </strong>since any outcome wouldn’t bring Floyd back.
</p>
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On Friday, Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison, out of a possible 40. This being one of the highest-profile trials of police violence that America has ever known, there was great pressure wrapped up in this moment — as well as the promise of closure. “This is a unique case with an enormous amount of visibility and attention from the entire globe, and if we are honest, it has an impact,” said Christopher Brown, principal attorney at the Brown Firm, which <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/family-of-man-fatally-shot-by-police-reaches-35-million-settlement/2020/07/21/da918e9a-cb6c-11ea-bc6a-6841b28d9093_story.html">has sued police officers in excessive force cases</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vGQEXM">
But while Chauvin’s punishment will likely<strong> </strong>send ripples through police departments across the country, Chauvin’s time behind bars still won’t exactly represent justice, activists say. Just hours before the Chauvin verdict was announced on April 20, a police officer shot and <a href="https://www.vox.com/22406055/makhia-bryant-police-shooting-columbus-ohio">killed</a> 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant in Ohio. This was after an officer <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/12/22379984/daunte-wright-minnesota-police-killing-traffic-stop-brooklyn-center">shot and killed </a>Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, just 10 miles from the courthouse where the Chauvin trial was underway on April 13. At least 181 Black people were killed at the hands of police between the time of Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, and the end of the trial, according to the Mapping Police Violence <a href="https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/">database</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2AGZ1y">
Activists say that the fight for justice will continue long after Chauvin’s sentencing, until police stop killing Black people indiscriminately.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ABRt3v">
“The length of a prison sentence has never been the definition of ‘justice’ for us. Justice would have meant that George Floyd would still be alive today. Justice would mean that our systems seek to address the issues of violence systemically, not be showcasing a bad apple here or there to take the fall,” said Amara Enyia, the policy research coordinator for the Movement for Black Lives. “Justice requires true commitment to changing the systems that have harmed so many communities. We cannot lose sight of that vision — even in the face of a long prison sentence for Chauvin.”
</p>
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Police violence has remained unchanged, and support for Black Lives Matter has waned overall
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On June 3, 44<strong> </strong>days after the Chauvin verdict was announced,<strong> </strong>members of the US Marshals Service task force <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/15/22533202/winston-smith-deona-knajdek-uptown-minneapolis">shot and killed</a> Winston Boogie Smith Jr., a 32-year-old Black man living in Minneapolis. For weeks, Smith’s family’s demanded answers after officials said there was no video evidence of how law enforcement killed him. His death set off protests in the city; during one of them, Deona Knajdek, a 31-year-old mother of two, was killed when someone drove a vehicle into the crowd of protesters.
</p>
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The deaths kept national attention on Minneapolis ahead of Chauvin’s sentencing, strengthening distrust in law enforcement and demonstrating how one conviction does not solve police violence. In the past 10 years, Minneapolis has tried many police reforms, including adopting body cameras, rolling out racial bias training, and changing use of force guidelines, with little success in eliminating police violence, as Vox’s Sean Collins <a href="https://www.vox.com/22360315/minneapolis-defund-police-chauvin-trial-george-floyd">reported</a>. After Floyd’s death, the city’s officers had new protocols to follow, like having to explain why they drew their weapons, banning chokeholds, limiting no-knock warrants, and barring firing at moving vehicles. But activists say the reforms didn’t address the root causes of police violence.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vnhiLD">
Instead, activists continue to work to inform the community about police violence and are taking steps to amend the city charter to cut the police budget and redirect funds to mental health services, violence prevention, and education, after the city council failed to do so after Floyd’s death. A <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/08/15/poll-mpls-residents-dont-like-police-department-but-still-want-to-fund-it">poll</a> conducted in August 2020, two months after the height of the protests, found that the majority of Minneapolis residents (73 percent) were in support of defunding the police.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yPnIpV">
But the permanence of police violence is not just present in Minneapolis. It continues in North Carolina, where <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/lawyers-black-man-killed-by-ncarolina-officers-release-autopsy-2021-04-27/">police shot and killed</a> Andrew Brown Jr. in late April; and in Hawaii, where <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/mass-protests-honolulu-police-shoot-kill-black-man-78116555">police shot and killed</a> Lindani Myeni in early June.<strong> </strong>And while <a href="https://www.vox.com/21562565/ballot-measures-policing-first-step">voters passed police reforms</a> in cities and states across the country in November — from redirecting police funding to housing and other services in Los Angeles to an expansion of a police oversight board in San Francisco — there’s more work to be done to create meaningful legislation and a lasting shift in public opinion, activists say.<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/16/support-for-black-lives-matter-has-decreased-since-june-but-remains-strong-among-black-americans/">Polls have shown</a> that support for Black Lives Matter, which reached a record high during protests after Floyd’s death, had dropped from 67 percent last June to 55 percent in September.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1oWSRX">
Lasting change will mean more Americans remaining engaged in anti-racism efforts, in the work of fighting to reimagine an America that lifts all communities, activists say.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="POd8hy">
“This will be George Floyd’s indelible mark on the country’s longstanding need to address police violence against African Americans: promoting important and necessary dialogue on the issue of excessive force by officers who are tasked with protecting and serving,” Brown said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f0E2c5">
If there is one sign that there has been a significant cultural shift in how Americans think about the racist practices embedded in the county’s institutions, it’s that there’s been pushback to any semblance of a reckoning. This has manifested in bills to <a href="https://www.vox.com/22443822/critical-race-theory-controversy">ban anti-racist education</a> and limit voting rights in communities of color. “The escalated attacks on Black people have spread not just through police killings, but in the increased attempts to criminalize protest through anti-protest legislation sweeping the country, the voter suppression laws that have been sweeping the country, and even the latest hysteria over critical race theory,” Enyia said. “Those increased attacks only show that we are being effective in our organizing and that we must keep persisting.”
</p>
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</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hockey India nominates Sreejesh, Deepika for Khel Ratna; Harmanpreet for Arjuna</strong> - Sreejesh has received the Arjuna award in 2015 and the prestigious Padma Shri recognition in 2017.</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>Kyle Jamieson will become one of the leading all-rounders in world cricket: Sachin Tendulkar</strong> - In New Zealand’s emphatic title triumph, Jamieson played a major role with match figures of 7 for 61 in 44 overs along with 21 valuable runs in his team’s first essay</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>St. Petersburg to host Russian Grand Prix from 2023</strong> - The race, first held in 2014 in Sochi, will switch to the Igora Drive circuit located 54km from the Baltic Sea port city of St Petersburg</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>England women vs India women ODI: Shafali set for debut as India seeks white-ball course correction</strong> - It would be interesting to check out India’s team composition which came under a lot of scanner during the series against the Proteas.</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>Rijiju announces ‘Cheer Up’ campaign, urges people to extend support to Olympic-bound athletes</strong> - The Sports Minister said over 6000 selfie points will be set up in the country for people to show their support</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>Over 870 cell phones involved in cybercrimes seized from F2P gang</strong> - The action against the cyber crime network has been initiated by the Union Home Ministry’s cyber safety wing FCORD.</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>HC dismisses case against deportation of Sri Lankan national</strong> - The court further refrained from imposing costs on the present petitioner after stating that it does want to be harsh on him.</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>HKCCI demands withdrawal of lockdown cases against traders</strong> - They are in bad shape already, punishment will add to their woes, say trade body office-bearers</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>Petrol price hits century in State capital</strong> - The fuel sold at ₹100.16 following the 14th price hike this month</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>HCs have assured action to fill vacancies, CJI tells Centre</strong> - CJI Ramana writes to Law Minister, stresses need for better IT infrastructure</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>Czech Republic: Deadly tornado sweeps through villages</strong> - Five people are killed and at least 150 injured, with the worst-hit areas looking like a war zone.</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>Valérie Bacot: Freedom for abused French woman who killed husband</strong> - Valérie Bacot’s story of abuse shocked France, but she still served a year in jail.</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>German knife attack: Three dead and five wounded in Würzburg</strong> - A Somali man arrested after the attack had been mentally unstable recently, police say.</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>Russia’s Euro 2020 Covid dilemma</strong> - Russia is hosting Euro 2020 matches but the alarm is being sounded about a new wave of coronavirus.</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>Roman Protasevich: House arrest for man seized in Ryanair Belarus jet drama</strong> - Belarus opposition journalist Roman Protasevich was taken from a plane with his girlfriend.</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>Circling—or cycling—the track at F1’s famous Circuit of the Americas</strong> - Be warned: Calves needed to climb all 133 feet of Turn 1 if you’re using a road bike. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1775718">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A well-meaning feature leaves millions of Dell PCs vulnerable</strong> - Firmware security tool flaws affect as many as 30m desktops, laptops, and tablets. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1776495">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Even mild COVID in young people often leads to long-term symptoms, study finds</strong> - Common symptoms among young adults included fatigue and cognitive problems. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1776542">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>We have our best look yet at supervillain Mandarin in new Shang-Chi trailer</strong> - “Throughout my life, the Ten Rings gave my family power.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1776441">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Here’s how Android apps on Windows 11 are going to work</strong> - Microsoft is building an Android framework on top of the Windows Subsystem for Linux. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1776088">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>What weighs more? A gallon of water or a gallon of butane?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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Water. Butane is a lighter fluid.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Aiden_LeBoeuf"> /u/Aiden_LeBoeuf </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/o81vri/what_weighs_more_a_gallon_of_water_or_a_gallon_of/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/o81vri/what_weighs_more_a_gallon_of_water_or_a_gallon_of/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>How much does a rainbow weigh?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Not much, they’re actually pretty light.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Raevix"> /u/Raevix </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/o8310d/how_much_does_a_rainbow_weigh/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/o8310d/how_much_does_a_rainbow_weigh/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Why are women and children evacuated first in disasters?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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So the men can think of a solution in silence.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Organic-Connection-4"> /u/Organic-Connection-4 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/o828ml/why_are_women_and_children_evacuated_first_in/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/o828ml/why_are_women_and_children_evacuated_first_in/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Pilgrims
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/PaolaBean43"> /u/PaolaBean43 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/o812kt/if_april_showers_bring_may_flowers_what_do_may/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/o812kt/if_april_showers_bring_may_flowers_what_do_may/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A family is at the dinner table. The son asks the father, “Dad, how many kinds of boobs are there?”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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The father, surprised, answers, “Well son, a woman goes through three phases. In her 20s, a woman’s breasts are like melons, round and firm. In her 30s and 40s, they are like pears, still nice, hanging a bit. After 50 they are like onions.” “Onions?” the son asks. “Yes, you see them and they make you cry.” This infuriated his wife and daughter. The daughter asks, “Mum, how many different kinds of willies are there?” The mother smiles, and says, “Well dear, a man goes through three phases also. In his 20s, his willy is like an oak tree, mighty and hard. In his 30s and 40s it’s like a birch, flexible but reliable. After 50 it’s like a Christmas tree.” “A Christmas tree?” the daughter asks. “Yes,” the mother replies, “dead from the root up, the balls are just for decoration and it only goes up once a year.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/R_K_Emon"> /u/R_K_Emon </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/o7swxe/a_family_is_at_the_dinner_table_the_son_asks_the/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/o7swxe/a_family_is_at_the_dinner_table_the_son_asks_the/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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