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  <title>04 February, 2024</title>
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 <title>Covid-19 Sentry</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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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>Viral interference between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and influenza A viruses</strong> -
 <div>
 Some respiratory viruses can cause a viral interference through the activation of the interferon (IFN) pathway that reduces the replication of another virus. Epidemiological studies of coinfections between SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses have been hampered by non-pharmaceutical measures applied to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the ease of these interventions, SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A viruses can now co-circulate. It is thus of prime importance to characterize their interactions. In this work, we investigated viral interference effects between an Omicron variant and a contemporary influenza A/H3N2 strain, in comparison with an ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain and the 2009 pandemic influenza A/H1N1 virus. We infected nasal human airway epitheliums with SARS-CoV-2 and influenza, either simultaneously or 24 h apart. Viral load was measured by RT-qPCR and IFN-/{beta}/{lambda}1/{lambda}2 proteins were quantified by immunoassay. Expression of four interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs; OAS1/IFITM3/ISG15/MxA) was also measured by RT-droplet digital PCR. Additionally, susceptibility of each virus to IFN-/{beta}/{lambda}2 recombinant proteins was determined. Our results showed that influenza A, and especially A/H3N2, interfered with both SARS-CoV-2 viruses, but that SARS-CoV-2 only interfered with A/H1N1. Consistently with these results, influenza, and particularly the A/H3N2 strain, caused a higher production of IFN proteins and expression of ISGs than SARS-CoV-2. The IFN production induced by SARS-CoV-2 was marginal and its presence during coinfections with influenza was associated with a reduced IFN response. All viruses were susceptible to exogenous IFNs, with the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron being less susceptible to type I and type III IFNs, respectively. Thus, influenza A causes a viral interference towards SARS-CoV-2 most likely through an IFN response. The opposite is not necessarily true, and a concurrent infection with both viruses leads to a lower IFN response. Taken together, these results help us to understand how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with another major respiratory pathogen.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.02.02.578538v1" target="_blank">Viral interference between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and influenza A viruses</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>Development of a cell-based DIFF-rGFP assay system for generalized discovery of viral protease Inhibitors</strong> -
 <div>
 Viral protease is an attractive target for antiviral therapeutics, but current viral protease inhibitor screening methods still need to be improved. Here, we systematically investigated the sites that may accommodate exogenous short peptides within Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP)and constructed a series of recombinant green fluorescent proteins (rGFPs). Meanwhile, a cell-based, simple and reliable assay system named DIFF-rGFP was developed relying on the co-expression of rGFP and the protease for protease inhibitor screening with the example of 3CLpro, in which the fluorescence intensity increases with the action of the inhibitor. The DIFF-rGFP assay avoided the requirement of a higher biosafety lab and can be performed in a high-throughput manner. For proof of concept, we demonstrated this method to discover novel inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2. We believe the proposed method, in combination with available drug libraries, may accelerate the identification of novel antivirals.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.02.01.577684v1" target="_blank">Development of a cell-based DIFF-rGFP assay system for generalized discovery of viral protease Inhibitors</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>OpenSAFELY: a platform for analysing electronic health records designed for reproducible research</strong> -
 <div>
 Electronic health records (EHRs) and other administrative health data are increasingly used in research to generate evidence on the effectiveness, safety, and utilisation of medical products and services, and to inform public health guidance and policy. Reproducibility is a fundamental step for research credibility and promotes trust in evidence generated from EHRs. At present, ensuring research using EHRs is reproducible can be challenging for researchers. Research software platforms can provide technical solutions to enhance the reproducibility of research conducted using EHRs. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed the secure, transparent, analytic open-source software platform OpenSAFELY designed with reproducible research in mind. OpenSAFELY mitigates common barriers to reproducible research by: standardising key workflows around data preparation; removing barriers to code-sharing in secure analysis environments; enforcing public sharing of programming code and codelists; ensuring the same computational environment is used everywhere; integrating new and existing tools that encourage and enable the use of reproducible working practices; and providing an audit trail for all code that is run against the real data to increase transparency. This paper describes OpenSAFELY’s reproducibility-by-design approach in detail.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/hj2sg/" target="_blank">OpenSAFELY: a platform for analysing electronic health records designed for reproducible research</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>Recapitulating memory B cell responses in a Lymphoid Organ-Chip to evaluate mRNA vaccine boosting strategies</strong> -
 <div>
 Predicting the immunogenicity of candidate vaccines in humans remains a challenge. To address this issue, we developed a Lymphoid Organ-Chip (LO chip) model based on a microfluidic chip seeded with human PBMC at high density within a 3D collagen matrix. Perfusion of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein mimicked a vaccine boost by inducing a massive amplification of Spike-specific memory B cells, plasmablast differentiation, and Spike-specific antibody secretion. Features of lymphoid tissue, including the formation of activated CD4+ T cell/B cell clusters and the emigration of matured plasmablasts, were recapitulated in the LO chip. Importantly, myeloid cells were competent at capturing and expressing mRNA vectored by lipid nanoparticles, enabling the assessment of responses to mRNA vaccines. Comparison of on-chip responses to Wuhan monovalent and Wuhan/Omicron bivalent mRNA vaccine boosts showed equivalent induction of Omicron neutralizing antibodies, pointing at immune imprinting as reported in vivo. The LO chip thus represents a versatile platform suited to the preclinical evaluation of vaccine boosting strategies.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.02.02.578553v1" target="_blank">Recapitulating memory B cell responses in a Lymphoid Organ-Chip to evaluate mRNA vaccine boosting strategies</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>Stratification of viral shedding patterns in saliva of COVID-19 patients</strong> -
 <div>
 Living with COVID-19 requires continued vigilance against the spread and emergence of variants of concern (VOCs). Rapid and accurate saliva diagnostic testing, alongside basic public health responses, is a viable option contributing to effective transmission control. Nevertheless, our knowledge regarding the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection in saliva is not as advanced as our understanding of the respiratory tract. Here we analyzed longitudinal viral load data of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva samples from 144 patients with mild COVID-19 (a combination of our collected data and published data). Using a mathematical model, we successfully stratified infection dynamics into three distinct groups with clear patterns of viral shedding: viral shedding durations in the three groups were 11.5 days (95% CI: 10.6 to 12.4), 17.4 days (16.6 to 18.2), and 30.0 days (28.1 to 31.8), respectively. Surprisingly, this stratified grouping remained unexplained despite our analysis of 47 types of clinical data, including basic demographic information, clinical symptoms, results of blood tests, and vital signs. Additionally, we quantified the expression levels of 92 micro-RNAs in a subset of saliva samples, but these also failed to explain the observed stratification, although the mir-1846 level may have been weakly correlated with peak viral load. Our study provides insights into SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics in saliva, highlighting the challenges in predicting the duration of viral shedding without indicators that directly reflect an individual's immune response, such as antibody induction. Given the significant individual heterogeneity in the kinetics of saliva viral shedding, identifying biomarker(s) for viral shedding patterns will be crucial for improving public health interventions in the era of living with COVID-19.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.30.578034v1" target="_blank">Stratification of viral shedding patterns in saliva of COVID-19 patients</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>Adaptive Regularized Tri-Factor Non-Negative Matrix Factorization for Cell Type Deconvolution</strong> -
 <div>
 Motivation: Accurate deconvolution of cell types from bulk gene ex- pression is crucial for understanding cellular compositions and uncovering cell-type specific differential expression and physiological states of diseased tissues. Existing deconvolution methods have limitations, such as requiring complete cellular gene expression signatures or neglecting partial biological information. Moreover, these methods often overlook varying cell-type mRNA amounts, leading to biased proportion estimates. Additionally, they do not effectively utilize valuable reference information from external studies, such as means and ranges of population cell-type proportions. Results: To address these challenges, we introduce an Adaptive Regular- ized Tri-factor non-negative matrix factorization approach for deconvolution (ARTdeConv). We rigorously establish the numerical convergence of our algorithm. Through benchmark simulations, we demonstrate the superior per- formance of ARTdeConv compared to state-of-the-art reference-free methods. In a real-world application, our method accurately estimates cell proportions, as evidenced by the nearly perfect Pearson’s correlation between ARTdeConv estimates and flow cytometry measurements in a dataset from a trivalent influenza vaccine study. Moreover, our analysis of ARTdeConv estimates in COVID-19 patients reveals patterns consistent with important immunological phenomena observed in other studies. Availability and implementation: The proposed method, ARTdeConv, is implemented as an R package and can be accessed on GitHub for researchers and practitioners at https://github.com/gr8lawrence/ARTDeConv. Keywords: Cell-type deconvolution, Convergence analysis, Multiplicative update algorithm, Non-negative matrix factorization, RNA sequencing, Single cell data
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.07.570631v2" target="_blank">Adaptive Regularized Tri-Factor Non-Negative Matrix Factorization for Cell Type Deconvolution</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>The pandemic’s comparative impact on constitutional checks and balances within the EU</strong> -
 <div>
 COVID-19 has changed public and private live significantly. Some changes remain permanently. Although COVID-19 is no longer an immediate global health crisis, which has brought healthcare systems in particular close to collapse, the impact on social and economic systems is still being felt. Despite government subsidies, many companies have not survived the effects of the crisis. In addition, many people’s working lives and education have changed. Digital tools, such as online meetings and the option to work from home, are now part of everyday life, unlike before the pandemic. During the pandemic, short-term and fast-acting measures were necessary, which had to be issued by the various powers in special procedures. In most countries, the executive branch took on a central role in order to ensure the ability to act. At the same time, the legislative powers were restricted in their mode of operation. Plenary sessions of the parliaments could only be held to a very limited extent. The measures taken must be reviewed in terms of their effectiveness, but also in terms of their impact on constitutional checks and balances, in order to be able to take more effective, proportionate and constitutional measures for future pandemics. This research paper thus analyses and discusses the consequences of pandemic crisis measures on constitutional democracy in a number of European countries—in particular Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Sweden—, by examining the effects of Covid-19 measures on constitutional checks and balances, and the relations between the executives and legislatures. With a glimpse over the Atlantic some actions will be compared to those on US federal as well as state level.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/2pme7/" target="_blank">The pandemic’s comparative impact on constitutional checks and balances within the EU</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>Simultaneous Identification of Changepoints and Model Parameters in Switching Dynamical Systems</strong> -
 <div>
 Many complex natural systems undergo shifts in dynamics at particular points in time. Examples include phase transitions in gene expression during the cell cycle, introduced species affecting predator-prey interactions, and disease outbreaks responding to intervention measures. Such changepoints partition timeseries into different dynamical regimes characterized by distinct parameter sets, and inference on both the changepoints and regime-specific dynamical parameters is of primary interest. Conventional approaches to analyzing switching dynamical systems first estimate changepoints, and then estimate dynamical parameters assuming the changepoints are fixed and known. Such two-stage approaches are ad-hoc, can introduce biases in the analysis, and do not fully account for uncertainty. Here, we introduce a rigorous, simulation-based inference framework that simultaneously estimates changepoints and model parameters from noisy data while admitting full uncertainty. We use simulation studies of oscillatory predator-prey dynamics and stochastic gene expression to demonstrate that our method yields accurate estimates of changepoints and model parameters together with appropriate uncertainty bounds. We then apply our approach to a real-world case study of COVID-19 intervention effects, and show that our inferred changepoints aligned closely with the actual dates of intervention implementation. Taken together, these results suggest that our framework will have broad utility in diverse scientific domains.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.30.577909v1" target="_blank">Simultaneous Identification of Changepoints and Model Parameters in Switching Dynamical Systems</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>The Effect of COVID-19 on Home Advantage in High- and Low-Stake Situations: Evidence from the European National Football Competitions</strong> -
 <div>
 The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly altered the way sporting events are observed. With the absence or limited presence of spectators in stadiums, the traditional advantage enjoyed by home teams has diminished considerably. This underscores the notion that the support of home fans can often be considered a key factor of the home advantage (HA) phenomenon, wherein teams perform better in front of their own supporters. However, the impact of reduced attendance on games with higher stakes, as opposed to low-stakes friendly matches, remains uncertain. In this study, we investigate the recently concluded European football championship (EURO 20), wherein several teams had the advantage of playing at home in high-stakes games with only one-third of the stadium capacity filled. Firstly, we demonstrate that the Covid-19 restrictions, leading to reduced fan attendance, resulted in a nearly 50% decrease in HA compared to the HA exhibited by the same teams during the qualification stage preceding EURO 20, even after accounting for team strength. Secondly, we show that while low-stakes friendly matches generally exhibit a smaller overall HA compared to high-stakes games, the absence of fans led to a similar reduction in HA during the low-stakes matches. Utilizing the recently developed Home Advantage Mediated (HAM) model (Bilalić et al., 2021, Scientific Reports, 21558), we were able to attribute the reduction in both high- and low-stakes games to poorer team performance, with no significant contribution from referee bias.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/d3xat/" target="_blank">The Effect of COVID-19 on Home Advantage in High- and Low-Stake Situations: Evidence from the European National Football Competitions</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>Young people’s condom use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-cultural differences and what predict them</strong> -
 <div>
 According to the Behavioural Immune System (BIS) theory, humans are motivated to avoid exposure to harmful pathogens. However, most sources of infection are impossible to avoid completely, leading to the development of tools to reduce pathogen threat. Condoms are one example of an effective tool that can be used to avoid exposure to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Within this framework, it would be expected that condom use would increase after the spread of a novel coronavirus (i.e., COVID-19), but the evidence to date is inconsistent. The present study aimed to clarify these inconsistencies by examining changes in condom use cross-culturally. First, Study 1 aimed to uncover whether condom use after the initial outbreak period was consistent with the BIS theory among an Australian sample (N1 = 129). Contrary to the BIS, but inline with other findings in Australia, there was a general decline of condom use. Second, Study 2 aimed to examine whether cross-cultural condom use was consistent with the BIS. Sexually active participants (N2 = 3843) across 17 countries were asked about their condom use. Results revealed a significant decline in Canada, Portugal, Vietnam, Uganda, and Taiwan. Vaccination percentage and lockdown stringency were associated with this decline cross-culturally. In sum, there was no evidence supporting the BIS theory, and these findings continue to add concerns about the spread of STIs among young people during the pandemic.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/arn5m/" target="_blank">Young people’s condom use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-cultural differences and what predict them</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>Multiple crises in mind, biodiversity out of sight? Insights from a behavioral study in Germany</strong> -
 <div>
 Biodiversity loss is one of the key challenges of our time. This paper explores how negative information due to other societal challenges influences attention toward biodiversity loss. With the help of an information provision experiment, we remind experimental participants recruited from the general population of Germany of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine. We find less priority given to biodiversity loss after being reminded of these societal crises. However, this effect is both low in magnitude and not statistically significant at any conventional level. In contrast, personal importance of biodiversity to individuals is a much stronger behavioral predictor.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/q4upd/" target="_blank">Multiple crises in mind, biodiversity out of sight? Insights from a behavioral study in Germany</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>A novel microporous biomaterial vaccine platform for long-lasting antibody mediated immunity against viral infection.</strong> -
 <div>
 Current antigen delivery platforms, such as alum and nanoparticles, are not readily tunable, thus may not generate optimal adaptive immune responses. We created an antigen delivery platform by loading lyophilized Microporous Annealed Particle (MAP) with aqueous solution containing target antigens. Upon administration of antigen loaded MAP (VaxMAP), the biomaterial reconstitution forms an instant antigen-loaded porous scaffold area with a sustained release profile to maximize humoral immunity. VaxMAP induced CD4+ T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and germinal center (GC) B cell responses in the lymph nodes similar to Alum. VaxMAP loaded with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein improved the magnitude and duration of anti-receptor binding domain antibodies compared to Alum and mRNA-vaccinated mice. A single injection of Influenza specific HA1-loaded-VaxMAP enhanced neutralizing antibodies and elicited greater protection against influenza virus challenge than HA1-loaded-Alum. Thus, VaxMAP is a platform that can be used to promote adaptive immune cell responses to generate more robust neutralizing antibodies, and better protection upon pathogen challenge.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.30.578038v1" target="_blank">A novel microporous biomaterial vaccine platform for long-lasting antibody mediated immunity against viral infection.</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>An isothermal calorimetry assay for determining steady state kinetic and enzyme inhibition parameters for SARS-CoV-2 3CL-protease</strong> -
 <div>
 This manuscript describes the application of Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) to characterize the kinetics of 3CLpro from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its inhibition by Ensitrelvir, a known non-covalent inhibitor. 3CLpro is the main protease that plays a crucial role of producing the whole array of proteins necessary for the viral infection that caused the spread of COVID-19, responsible for millions of deaths worldwide as well as global economic and healthcare crises in recent years. The proposed calorimetric method proved to have several advantages over the two types of enzymatic assays so far applied to this system, namely Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS). The developed ITC-based assay provided a rapid response to 3CLpro activity, which was used to directly derive the kinetic enzymatic constants KM and kcat reliably and reproducibly, as well as their temperature dependence, from which the activation energy of the reaction was obtained for the first time. The assay further revealed the existence of two modes of inhibition of 3CLpro by Ensitrelvir, namely a competitive mode as previously inferred by crystallography as well as an unprecedented uncompetitive mode, further yielding the respective inhibition constants with high precision. The calorimetric method described in this paper is thus proposed to be generally and widely used in the discovery and development of drugs targeting 3CLpro.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.31.578159v1" target="_blank">An isothermal calorimetry assay for determining steady state kinetic and enzyme inhibition parameters for SARS-CoV-2 3CL-protease</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>Spike N354 glycosylation augments SARS-CoV-2 fitness for human adaptation through multiple mechanisms</strong> -
 <div>
 Selective pressures have given rise to a number of SARS-CoV-2 variants during the prolonged course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently evolved variants differ from ancestors in additional glycosylation within the spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD). Details of how the acquisition of glycosylation impacts viral fitness and human adaptation are not clearly understood. Here, we dissected the role of N354-linked glycosylation, acquired by BA.2.86 sub-lineages, as a RBD conformational control element in attenuating viral infectivity. The reduced infectivity could be recovered in the presence of heparin sulfate, which targets the N354 pocket to ease restrictions of conformational transition resulting in a RBD-up state, thereby conferring an adjustable infectivity. Furthermore, N354 glycosylation improved spike cleavage and cell-cell fusion, and in particular escaped one subset of ADCC antibodies. Together with reduced immunogenicity in hybrid immunity background, these indicate a single spike amino acid glycosylation event provides selective advantage in humans through multiple mechanisms.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.29.577677v1" target="_blank">Spike N354 glycosylation augments SARS-CoV-2 fitness for human adaptation through multiple mechanisms</a>
 </div></li>
 <li><strong>A general platform for targeting MHC-II antigens via a single loop</strong> -
 <div>
 Class-II major histocompatibility complexes (MHC-IIs) are central to the communications between CD4+ T cells and antigen presenting cells (APCs), but intrinsic structural features associated with MHC-II make it difficult to develop a general targeting system with high affinity and antigen specificity. Here, we introduce a protein platform, Targeted Recognition of Antigen-MHC Complex Reporter for MHC-II (TRACeR-II), to enable the rapid development of peptide-specific MHC-II binders. TRACeR-II has a small helical bundle scaffold and uses an unconventional mechanism to recognize antigens via a single loop. This unique antigen-recognition mechanism renders this platform highly versatile and amenable to direct structural modeling of the interactions with the antigen. We demonstrate that TRACeR-II binders can be rapidly evolved across multiple alleles, while computational protein design can produce specific binding sequences for a SARS-CoV-2 peptide of unknown complex structure. TRACeR-II sheds light on a simple and straightforward approach to address the MHC peptide targeting challenge, without relying on combinatorial selection on complementarity determining region (CDR) loops. It presents a promising basis for further exploration in immune response modulation as well as a broad range of theragnostic applications.
 </div>
 <div class="article-link article-html-link">
 🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.26.577489v1" target="_blank">A general platform for targeting MHC-II antigens via a single loop</a>
 </div></li>
 </ul>
 <h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
 <ul>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Learn About a Combined COVID-19 and Influenza Shot in Healthy Adults</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Influenza, Human, SARS-CoV-2 Infection, COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: BNT162b2 (Omi XBB.1.5)/RIV; Biological: BNT162b2 (Omi XBB.1.5); Biological: RIV; Other: Normal saline placebo <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Pfizer <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Effects of Nutritional Intervention on Health Parameters in Participants With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Diabetes Mellitus Type 2; Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 in Obese; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus Non-insulin-dependent; Hypertension; Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Nutritional Intervention <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Sao Jose do Rio Preto Medical School; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo <br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Orthopedic Trauma Management</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Trauma; COVID-19 Pandemic <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: epidemyolojical <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Bakirkoy Dr. Sadi Konuk Research and Training Hospital <br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Open-label, Multi-centre, Non-Inferiority Study of Safety and Immunogenicity of BIMERVAX for the Prevention of COVID-19 in Adolescents From 12 Years to Less Than 18 Years of Age.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: SARS CoV 2 Infection <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: BIMERVAX <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Hipra Scientific, S.L.U; Veristat, Inc.; VHIR; Asphalion <br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study of Amantadine for Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients With Long-Covid</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Amantadine; Other: Physical, Occupational, Speech Therapy; Other: Provider Counseling; Other: Medications for symptoms management <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study on the Effect of Incentive Spirometer-based Respiratory Training on the Long COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 Pandemic; Diabetes; Hypertension; Cardiac Disease; Long COVID <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Incentive Spirometer respiratory training <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences; Tri-Service General Hospital <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Balance Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Long COVID</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Post-COVID-19 Syndrome; Long COVID <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Balance Acceptance and Commitment Therapy <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: King’s College London <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>Predict + Protect Study: Exploring the Effectiveness of a Predictive Health Education Intervention on the Adoption of Protective Behaviors Related to ILI</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Influenza; Influenza A; Influenza B; COVID-19; Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: ILI Predictive Alerts, Reactive Content, and Proactive Content; Behavioral: ILI Predictive Alerts, Reactive Content; Behavioral: Proactive Content; Behavioral: No Intervention <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Evidation Health; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority <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>Thrombohemorrhagic Complications of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Diagnostic Test: Prevention algorithm <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Volgograd State Medical University <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>Long COVID-19 [11C]CPPC Study</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID Long-Haul <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: [11C]CPPC Injection; Drug: [11C]CPPC Injection <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Johns Hopkins University; Radiological Society of North America <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>Combined Use of Immunoglobulin and Pulse Steroid Therapies in Severe Covid-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Pulse Steroid and Immunoglobulins Drugs in Covid 19 Patients <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: pulse steroid and nanogam <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Konya City Hospital <br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Beneficial Effects of Natural Products on Management of Xerostomia</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Xerostomia; Diabetes Mellitus; Hypertension; Post COVID-19 Condition <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: (Manuka honey-green tea- ginger) <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: British University In Egypt <br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Eficacia Ventilatoria y Remolacha</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: SARS CoV 2 Infection; Muscle Disorder; Fatigue <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Dietary Supplement: Remolacha <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Hospital de Mataró <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>In vitro broad-spectrum antiviral activity of MIT-001, a mitochondria-targeted reactive oxygen species scavenger, against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and multiple zoonotic viruses</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 becomes a serious threat to global health and requires the development of effective antiviral therapies. Current therapies that target viral proteins have limited efficacy with side effects. In this study, we investigated the antiviral activity of MIT-001, a small molecule reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger targeting mitochondria, against SARS-CoV-2 and other zoonotic viruses in vitro. The antiviral activity of MIT-001 was quantified by RT-qPCR 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>Exploration of the P1 residue in 3CL protease inhibitors leading to the discovery of a 2-tetrahydrofuran P1 replacement</strong> - The virally encoded 3C-like protease (3CL^(pro)) is a well-validated drug target for the inhibition of coronaviruses including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most inhibitors of 3CL^(pro) are peptidomimetic, with a γ-lactam in place of Gln at the P1 position of the pseudopeptide chain. An effort was pursued to identify a viable alternative to the γ-lactam P1 mimetic which would improve physicochemical properties while retaining affinity for the target. Discovery of…</p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>In-situ synthesized and induced vertical growth of cobalt vanadium layered double hydroxide on few-layered V<sub>2</sub>CT<sub>x</sub> MXene for high energy density supercapacitors</strong> - Two-dimensional (2D) MXene nanomaterials display great potential for green energy storage. However, as a result of self-stacking of MXene nanosheets and the presence of conventional binders, MXene-based nanomaterials are significantly hindered in their rate capability and cycling stability. We successfully constructed a self-supported stereo-structured composite (TMA-V(2)CT(x)/CoV-LDH/NF) by in-situ growing 2D cobalt vanadium layered double hydroxide (CoV-LDH) vertically on 2D few-layered…</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>Possible pharmacological targets and mechanisms of sivelestat in protecting acute lung injury</strong> - Acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) is a life-threatening syndrome induced by various diseases, including COVID-19. In the progression of ALI/ARDS, activated neutrophils play a central role by releasing various inflammatory mediators, including elastase. Sivelestat is a selective and competitive inhibitor of neutrophil elastase. Although its protective effects on attenuating ALI/ARDS have been confirmed in several models of lung injury, clinical trials have presented…</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>Natural products from Streptomyces spp. as potential inhibitors of the major factors (holoRdRp and nsp13) for SARS-CoV-2 replication: an in silico approach</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented damage to humanity, and while vaccines have been developed, they are not fully effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Limited targeted drugs, such as Remdesivir and Paxlovid, are available against the virus. Hence, there is an urgent need to explore and develop new drugs to combat COVID-19. This study focuses on exploring microbial natural products from soil-isolated bacteria Streptomyces sp. strain 196 and RI.24 as a potential source of new targeted…</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>NSP6 inhibits the production of ACE2-containing exosomes to promote SARS-CoV-2 infectivity</strong> - The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has triggered a global pandemic, which severely endangers public health. Our and others’ works have shown that the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-containing exosomes (ACE2-exos) have superior antiviral efficacies, especially in response to emerging variants. However, the mechanisms of how the virus counteracts the host and regulates ACE2-exos remain unclear. Here, we identified that SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural…</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>Activity and inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron nsp13 R392C variant using RNA duplex unwinding assays</strong> - SARS-CoV-2 nsp13 helicase is an essential enzyme for viral replication and a promising target for antiviral drug development. This study compares the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) unwinding activity of nsp13 and the Omicron nsp13^(R392C) variant, which is predominant in currently circulating lineages. Using in vitro gel- and fluorescence-based assays, we found that both nsp13 and nsp13^(R392C) have dsRNA unwinding activity with equivalent kinetics. Furthermore, the R392C mutation had no effect on…</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>Phospho-eIF4E stimulation regulates coronavirus entry by selective expression of cell membrane-residential factors</strong> - The eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E can regulate cellular translation via phosphorylation on serine 209. In a recent study, by two rounds of TMT relative quantitative proteomics, we found that phosphorylated eIF4E (p-eIF4E) favors the translation of selected mRNAs, and the encoded proteins are mainly involved in ECM-receptor, focal adhesion, and PI3K-Akt signaling. The current paper is focused on the relationship between p-eIF4E and the downstream host cell proteins, and their…</p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Comparative immunogenicity and neutralizing antibody responses post heterologous vaccination with CoronaVac (Sinovac) and Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) in HIV-infected patients with varying CD4+ T lymphocyte counts</strong> - The immune response to heterologous coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination in people living with HIV (PLWH) is still unclear. Herein, our prospective cohort study aimed to compare the immune response of heterologous vaccination with CoronaVac (Sinovac) and Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) between PLWH having CD4 counts ≤ 200 cells/µL (low CD4+) and &gt; 200 cells/µL (high CD4+). Anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels and the percentage inhibition of neutralizing antibodies…</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>Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial</strong> - Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual…</p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Effects of antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents on postvaccination SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections, antibody response, and serological cytokine profile</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Antineoplastic and immunomodulating medications associate with an elevated risk of postimmunization SARS-CoV-2 infection in a drug-specific manner. This comprehensive, unbiased analysis of all WHO ATC classified antineoplastic and immunomodulating medications identifies medications associated with greatest risk. These findings are crucial in guiding and refining vaccination strategies for patients prescribed these treatments, ensuring optimized protection for this susceptible…</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>G3BP1-dependent condensation of translationally inactive viral RNAs antagonizes infection</strong> - G3BP1 is an RNA binding protein that condenses untranslating messenger RNAs into stress granules (SGs). G3BP1 is inactivated by multiple viruses and is thought to antagonize viral replication by SG-enhanced antiviral signaling. Here, we show that neither G3BP1 nor SGs generally alter the activation of innate immune pathways. Instead, we show that the RNAs encoded by West Nile virus, Zika virus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 are prone to G3BP1-dependent RNA condensation,…</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>Triple <em>in silico</em> targeting of IMPDH enzyme and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of both SARS-CoV-2 and <em>Rhizopus oryzae</em></strong> - Aim: Mucormycosis has been associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections during the last year. The aim of this study was to triple-hit viral and fungal RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRps) and human inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH). Materials &amp; methods: Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation were used to test nucleotide inhibitors (NIs) against the RdRps of SARS-CoV-2 and Rhizopus oryzae RdRp. These same inhibitors targeted IMPDH. Results: Four NIs revealed a comparable binding…</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>High-throughput screening for a SARS-CoV-2 frameshifting inhibitor using a cell-free protein synthesis system</strong> - Programmed-1 ribosomal frameshifting (-1 PRF) is a translational mechanism adopted by some viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. To find a compound that can inhibit -1 PRF in SARS-CoV-2, we set up a high-throughput screening system using a HeLa cell extract-derived cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) system. A total of 32,000 compounds were individually incubated with the CFPS system programmed with a -1 PRF-EGFP template. Several compounds were observed to decrease the -1 PRF-driven fluorescence, 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>Prevention of lipid droplet accumulation by DGAT1 inhibition ameliorates sepsis-induced liver injury and inflammation</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that sepsis triggers lipid metabolism alterations that culminate in increased liver LD accumulation. Increased LDs are associated with disease severity and liver injury. Moreover, inhibition of LD accumulation decreased the production of inflammatory mediators and lipid peroxidation while improving tissue function, suggesting that LDs contribute to the pathogenesis of liver injury triggered by sepsis.</p></li>
 </ul>
 <h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
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 <h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
 <h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
 <ul>
 <li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
 <li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
 <li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
 <li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
 <li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
 <li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
 <li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
 </ul>
 <h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
 <ul>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>An Impressive Jobs Report Shows the U.S. Economy Powering Into an Election Year</strong> - Strong employment growth and improving consumer sentiment are good news for any Presidential incumbent seeking reëlection. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/an-impressive-jobs-report-shows-the-us-economy-powering-into-an-election-year">link</a></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Rural Ski Slope Caught Up in an International Scam</strong> - A federal program promised to bring foreign investment to remote parts of the country. It soon became rife with fraud. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/05/the-rural-ski-slope-caught-up-in-an-international-scam">link</a></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Inside the Music Industry’s High-Stakes A.I. Experiments</strong> - Lucian Grainge, the chairman of UMG, has helped record labels rake in billions of dollars from streaming. Can he do the same with generative artificial intelligence? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/05/inside-the-music-industrys-high-stakes-ai-experiments">link</a></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Perverse Policies That Fuel Wildfires</strong> - We thought we could master nature, but we were playing with fire. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/05/the-perverse-policies-that-fuel-wildfires">link</a></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine’s Democracy in Darkness</strong> - With elections postponed and no end to the war with Russia in sight, Volodymyr Zelensky and his political allies are becoming like the officials they once promised to root out: entrenched. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/05/ukraines-democracy-in-darkness">link</a></p></li>
 </ul>
 <h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
 <ul>
 <li><strong>What does the EGOT even mean, anyway?</strong> -
 <figure>
 <img alt="Common performs onstage on November 8, 2023, in Inglewood, California, wearing an oversized, bright yellow button-up shirt and holding a microphone. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/b-KKAKsRr8Uag3precSfNGaqe1k=/0x0:5000x3750/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73110567/1817409548.0.jpg"/>
 <figcaption>
 Hip-hop artist Common could be the next person to EGOT — all he needs is a Tony Award. | Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
 What the quest for four major awards tells us about Hollywood, celebrity egos, and ourselves.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bnPpsr">
 Humans are funny little creatures. We love making lists, participating in oddball competitions, and creating weirdly specific metrics to be proud of — all quirks that join together in the annual EGOT watch, when fans and record keepers alike obsess over who will be the next creator to snag not one, not two, but all four of the entertainment industry’s most prestigious awards: the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, and the Tony.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YysWgy">
 To EGOT (because this acronym can be both a noun and a verb) is a genuinely rare accomplishment and also a curious one. After all, plenty of folks have the Emmy and the Oscar, but including the Grammy and the Tony makes things truly interesting. It’s the unique entertainer who’s booked and busy, not just on screens big and small, but in the music studio and onstage. In other words, it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8Z2fi4cEr4">really is</a>, as <em>30 Rock</em> put it, “a good goal for a talented crazy person!”
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vb3oiU">
 Despite the long odds, no fewer than <a href="https://ew.com/awards/egot-winners/">19 talented creators</a> have pulled it off — 25 if you count “honorary” awards (though whether those should count is a subject of heated debate). The most recent entry into the clubhouse? Elton John, who snagged the EGOT title in January after <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2024/01/elton-john-egot.html">garnering an Emmy</a> for his glitzy farewell concert. Talk about going out on top!
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sBlW5V">
 EGOT watchers and betting rings are already <a href="https://www.goldderby.com/feature/who-will-be-20th-egot-winner-1205714016/">paying detailed attention</a> to who’s up next in the EGOT lineup. 2024’s best shot probably goes to the songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who could nab a couple of <a href="https://www.vox.com/emmy-awards">Emmys</a> this fall. The upcoming Grammy awards won’t see any winners crossing the EGOT threshold, but the <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/11/14588062/grammy-categories-so-many-record-song-album-performance">infamously long list</a> of nominees could push several entertainers one award closer to the coup.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dhcOty">
 The next real shot anyone has at snagging the EGOT arrives in June, when hip-hop artist Common could win a producer Tony for this season’s revival of <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/12/4/9848168/nbc-the-wiz-live-review-best"><em>The Wiz</em></a> — though if that happens, it won’t be without ruffling the feathers of those who think producer credits shouldn’t count toward the EGOT.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LfGMeV">
 Why so much drama over an acronym? Can we really attach objective meaning and value to winning four fairly disparate awards? And why is the EGOT field so crowded with musical theater composers?
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1chh9I">
 We’re glad you asked! Read on — we’ve got answers to all this and more.
 </p>
 <h3 id="5PsmpT">
 How do you pronounce “EGOT”?
 </h3>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1ll5iu">
 This isn’t the most pressing concern, but the general consensus is that it’s “E-Got.” That’s also the pronunciation used in the <em>30 Rock</em> episodes that popularized the whole notion.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="78k5wh">
 However, we’d be remiss not to point out the alternate and far more correct pronunciation, “ego,” with the appropriately pretentious silent “T.” That’s “ego,” as in the thing that expands proportionately with each ticked item on the EGOT checklist. Clearly, this is the truest pronunciation, and we will not be taking questions at this time.
 </p>
 <h3 id="0tdAy6">
 Who came up with the idea of the EGOT?
 </h3>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dtwnWp">
 <em>Miami Vice</em> star Philip Michael Thomas gets credited with the original idea, thanks to his <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/06/the-strange-tragicomic-history-of-egot/486182/">determination</a> to win all four awards, manifested in a gold necklace he wore, engraved with the letters “EGOT.”
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CDL8HX">
 But it’s really Tracy Morgan’s <em>30 Rock</em> character Tracy Jordan, and his hilarious quest to score the EGOT for himself throughout the fourth and fifth seasons of the show, that put the concept on the cultural landscape starting in 2009. Tracy sees Thomas’s necklace one day in a jewelry store, and when he learns what the acronym means, he makes it his mission to pull off the feat. His quest leads him to do everything from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw30UQoN8uI">juicing up a script for <em>Garfield</em></a> to starring in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OseQk_JbVjE">North Korean propaganda movie</a> opposite Kim Jong-Il.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DGWC2v">
 As for Thomas, while he snagged a Golden Globe nomination for <em>Miami Vice</em>, he never achieved any of the four coveted wins. He <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081011021345/https://people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20092415,00.html">once told People</a> that the acronym really stood for “energy, growth, opportunity, and talent,” and much later <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/egot-philip-michael-thomas-interview">told</a> Vox sister site Thrillist, “There’s things so much more fascinating than this, what you’re talking about,” when questioned about his reaction to the term’s legacy.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dJLiT1">
 And he’s not wrong!
 </p>
 <h3 id="Qb3u9v">
 Who are some famous EGOT winners?
 </h3>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vbjPg8">
 One interesting thing about the EGOT sweep is that while the acronym appears skewed toward actors over musicians, more EGOTs have gone to musical theater composers than to anyone else. A look at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_EGOT_winners">lists of names</a> among the EGOT and “EGOT-minus-one” winners offers one a broad swath of musical theater history, from Rodgers and Hammerstein to <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/28/14754040/city-of-stars-la-la-land-best-song-oscar">Pasek and Paul</a>.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lZCCxM">
 That’s undoubtedly because musical composers so often get tapped to do scores for other mediums. Musical composers also gain Grammy wins more easily than, say, actors — usually for Best Musical Theater Album, an award that’s changed names several times but which has been a Grammy mainstay since 1959.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ociln7">
 In fact, Richard Rodgers, composer of <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/7/2/20021081/sexy-oklahoma-2019-explained-review"><em>Oklahoma</em></a><em>!</em>, <em>The Sound of Music,</em> and many other beloved musicals, was the first person to achieve all four EGOT awards. And of all EGOT winners, only Rodgers and another musical composer, Marvin Hamlisch, have won the coveted Pulitzer “PEGOT” extension. Rodgers won for <em>South Pacific</em>; Hamlisch for <em>A Chorus Line</em>.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DhsRJW">
 The list of other EGOT winners includes acting legends like Audrey Hepburn, Rita Moreno, and Viola Davis, who exclaimed, “<a href="https://youtu.be/E1FfCHeDsY8?t=26">I just E-GOT!</a>” upon winning the Grammy in 2023. Mel Brooks is the only EGOT winner thus far who won at least one of his awards for writing.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8XH2Et">
 The number of people who are just one award away from an EGOT makes for an equally interesting list. <a href="https://www.vox.com/22805681/stephen-sondheim-obituary">Stephen Sondheim</a> sadly missed out on the EGOT by an Oscar (though he also won a Pulitzer); Kate Winslet’s son <a href="https://ew.com/article/2016/02/17/kate-winslet-son-egot/">wants her to win an EGOT</a>, but she’ll have to come to <a href="https://www.vox.com/theater">Broadway</a> to get it. Other one-aways like Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese aren’t likely to make it to Broadway to get that final trophy, but producing could give them a way in — though some people, who take the EGOT game very seriously indeed, argue that taking such “shortcuts” taints the whole game.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7tQ13w">
 And people take the EGOT game very seriously, indeed.
 </p>
 <h3 id="TG54qN">
 People take very seriously the question of what does and doesn’t count in an EGOT
 </h3>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1rN5ka">
 Although the EGOT gained pop culture cred as a running sitcom joke, people were truly intrigued by the idea — enough so that they fight over what “counts” as an EGOT win, what shouldn’t count, and what does count but shouldn’t.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XHPAsG">
 For example, many people have observed that the quickest way to an EGOT is for a Hollywood type otherwise uninvolved with theater to sign on as last-minute producer of a Broadway musical with big Tony prospects — not unlike the aforementioned Common with <em>The Wiz</em>. Many EGOT watchers consider this move “cheating.” TheatreMania’s Zachary Stewart <a href="https://www.theatermania.com/news/story-of-the-week-your-egot-shouldnt-count-if-you-signed-on-late-as-a-producer_1705814/">opined last year</a> over “brazen EGOT-hunters” who’ve crowded the Broadway producer field in the hope of scoring an award; after all, if anyone can win a Tony for producing, does the Tony itself mean as much as it used to?
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1XsXG9">
 “If your talent is the ability to write a large check, it shouldn’t really be considered in the same league,” Stewart lamented, as a win by someone whose cultural contributions are arguably much larger, like many of the musical theater composers who’ve EGOT’d over the years. Still, if EGOT chasers help get more shows to the Great White Way in a <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/24010951/sondheim-broadway-musical-theatre-future-jukebox-musicals-mean-girls-hamilton-rent">beleaguered theater landscape</a>, I say: Here’s your carrot, go chase it, live your dream.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F7j0Q7">
 It also bears noting that cultural impact varies wildly; one person’s Richard Rodgers may well be another person’s Common. Not only that, but sometimes cheating your way to an EGOT might be considered a perfectly valid move depending on who’s doing the cheating. Prime case in point: Barbra Streisand, who despite being inarguably the greatest musical theater diva of the 20th century, has never actually won a performance Tony. (She was nominated twice but lost both times; her 1964 nomination for <em>Funny Girl</em>, a role for which she later won the Oscar, lost out to Carol Channing in <em>Hello, Dolly!.</em>)
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9D7Abf">
 Streisand was eventually given a special Tony Award in 1970 for Star of the Decade, which immediately sealed her EGOT, since by that point she’d already won an Oscar, an Emmy, and multiple Grammy awards. Yet she’s not generally included as an “official” EGOT winner, but rather as a side note “non-competitive EGOT winner,” along with six other performers and producers who won special awards.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="k8skAv">
 As Billboard’s Paul Grein <a href="https://www.billboard.com/lists/egot-winners-complete-list-analysis/richard-rodgers/">puts it</a>, that’s because “the whole point is to have won the awards in competition.” Is that the point, though? Who’s gonna tell Babs she didn’t really earn an EGOT? Who’s out there gatekeeping living legend Quincy Jones, another “honorary” EGOT winner, just because his 29 Grammy wins don’t stack up to one missing competitive Oscar?
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LFfPLS">
 All of this nitpicking really underscores how arbitrary much of this is, how much the EGOT is biased toward stage and screen performers, and how much of it seems to be about gatekeeping what is and isn’t a “valid” award.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HrwBtp">
 Take the Emmys. Another path widely derided as a “shortcut” was the short-lived Emmy honor for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program, a slot that allowed a slew of Broadway performers to pick up nominations and awards just for stopping by a talk show and singing a song or two.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lePAnc">
 The list of people who could soon EGOT just from this trick alone includes musical stars Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, and Katrina Lenk, who, as Grein <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/three-quarters-egot-quickest-way-8526077/">pointed out</a>, all got their Emmys just for promoting their hit musicals. Should that count? The Emmys ultimately decided the answer was no; the award lasted just three years before it was <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/daytime-emmys-rule-change-ends-controversial-egot-shortcut-8542030/">eliminated</a> in 2019. (Noting that Platt et al. get to keep their awards, Grein added, “It’s not their fault that the Daytime Emmys made it too easy for them.” Too easy! You try performing a Broadway show eight times a week and then serving a side performance so good it gets Emmy attention, sir!)
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HblUsz">
 Then again, many people believe that the Daytime Emmys themselves shouldn’t “count” toward an EGOT. This was also an idea <em>30 Rock</em> floated, in a famous episode where Tracy Jordan tells Whoopi Goldberg her EGOT isn’t legitimate because she only won her Emmy — twice — for her work in daytime <a href="https://www.vox.com/tv">television</a>.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EAB103">
 Of course, when<em> 30 Rock </em>did it, it was a joke. The more <a href="https://people.com/celebrity/let-me-go-from-frozen-could-make-robert-lopez-egot/">serious attention</a> given to the question seems to be based on the feeling that the Daytime Emmys are less prestigious or even less demanding of the creatives and journalists who do daytime TV work.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="C1iW1N">
 Perhaps there is a kernel of truth to that; after all, Eminem, who only has one letter to go, the “T,” won his Daytime Emmy <a href="https://hiphopwired.com/114362/eminems-chrysler-commercial-wins-daytime-emmy/">for a Chrysler commercial</a>. Still, that sort of win would seem to indict the awards system, rather than the pursuit of an EGOT itself.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EBLRc5">
 That brings us to the fuzziest EGOT-related question of all: What else can we stack onto it?
 </p>
 <h3 id="MwfYXy">
 What’s a PEGOT?
 </h3>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JO8uaJ">
 A “PEGOT” is an EGOT with either a Pulitzer or a Peabody award tacked on to it.
 </p>
 <h3 id="VrUEhL">
 What? Nobody is sure which it is?
 </h3>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YPORCN">
 The people who believe the “P” stands for “Peabody” include Rita Moreno fans, who note she became the first Latina EGOT-plus-Peabody winner in 2017, and the Peabody Awards themselves, which <a href="https://peabodyawards.com/stories/peabody-awards-celebrate-stories-that-matter-at-78th-ceremony/">congratulated</a> Moreno on her PEGOT win and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200204010445/http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/the-ultimate-show-biz-coup-pegot">at one time</a> declared the sweep “the ultimate showbiz coup.”
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CCqnzr">
 Identifying Peabody winners as “PEGOT” contenders seems to have caught on in recent years, perhaps in part because the Peabody Awards are given to a broad variety of media and creative works. Still, it ain’t exactly easy to pull off a PEGOT via the Peabody: If <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/6/6/21277256/for-now-avenue-q-everyones-little-bit-racist-south-park-george-bush-donald-trump-book-of-mormon"><em>South Park</em></a>’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone ever win an Oscar, they’ll be just the fourth and fifth people to have done it.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V56hXW">
 That said, most people seem to lean toward the idea that the “P” stands for the much more prestigious Pulitzer Prize. Winning a Pulitzer alongside the EGOT is a far rarer distinction because the Pulitzer rewards literary and journalistic merit — hence why so far only two musical theater composers have PEGOT’d in this direction. Once Lin-Manuel Miranda finally wins an Oscar, he’ll become the third Pulitzer PEGOT winner.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="poMc0u">
 Miranda, despite not having actually EGOT’d yet, also has the distinction of having another EGOT hybrid coined around him: the “<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lin-manuel-miranda-macpegot_n_584ea41de4b04c8e2bb0769a">MacPEGOT</a>,” which includes winning a renowned MacArthur <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/big-thinkers/macarthur-genius-fellowship.htm">Genius Grant</a>. Miranda even has some fans going for the “<a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/does-lin-manuel-miranda-have-an-egot-hamilton-writer-emmy-grammy-oscar-tony">MacPEGOTO</a>” — the MacArthur fellowship, the Pulitzer, the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, the Tony, and London’s Olivier Award, which Miranda has also won. Twice.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ys9D5B">
 One needn’t let the absence of a Peabody or a Pulitzer stop their acronymic ascendence, either. Mel Brooks declared himself an “<a href="https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/andy-warhols-interview-interview-interview-mel-brooks">EGOTAK</a>” winner after he won recognition from both the American Film Institute and the Kennedy Center Honors. Some EGOT-lytes have proposed <a href="https://goldenglobes.com/vertical-gallery/12-golden-globe-winning-members-egot-circle/">tacking on the Golden Globes</a> to create the “EGGOT.”
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ufl8Tl">
 Plus, there are always other prestigious meta-awards you can track. There’s the <a href="https://collider.com/best-actors-won-oscar-emmy-tony-awards/">Acting Triple Crown</a>, or books and authors that have won <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/books-won-hugo-and-nebula-awards">both the Hugo and the Nebula</a>, or my personal favorite, <a href="https://www.criterionchannel.com/sight-sound-s-greatest-films-of-all-time">the decennial Sight and Sound Top 10 list</a>, which polls critics for their top 10 films, then compiles and ranks the votes. Sure, it may be less action-packed than the yearly EGOT watch, but nothing says commitment like waiting decades for any other movie to unseat <em>Citizen Kane</em>. (That finally happened in 2012, first with <em>Vertigo</em>, and then again in 2022 with <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23488576/jeanne-dielman-sight-sound-best-2022"><em>Jeanne Dielman</em></a>.)
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1CeiSO">
 See? Everyone needs a gratuitous list of totally arbitrary criteria to feel passionately about. The EGOTs may have only ascended in the pop culture landscape 15 years ago, but spiritually, they’ve always been with us.
 </p></li>
 <li><strong>The French farmers’ protests are more complex than they seem</strong> -
 <figure>
 <img alt="Farmers in agricultural machinery blockade a highway" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YK3BaJ_QvfBCUd-Hu2GB_QTxdVw=/330x0:7538x5406/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73108919/1969447975.0.jpg"/>
 <figcaption>
 Protesting farmers blockade the A6 autoroute on February 1, 2024, in Chilly-Mazarin, France. | Christian Liewig—Corbis/Getty Images
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
 Farmers’ frustration over French and EU regulations are a new dimension in a longstanding problem.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zQNcah">
 French farmers’ <a href="https://www.vox.com/unions">unions</a> on Thursday called a halt to protests in which they’ve blocked traffic with their tractors and dumped <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-farmer-protest-manure-toulouse/">manure and rotting produce</a> in front of government buildings to make their point. The message: They can no longer earn a living due to cheap imports, a lack of subsidies, and increased production costs.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZjaU5A">
 French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-write-principle-food-sovereignty-into-law-pm-attal-2024-02-01/">announced a series of concessions</a>, including an agreement not to import agricultural products that use pesticides banned in the <a href="https://www.vox.com/european-union">EU</a> as well as new financial subsidies and tax breaks. The new <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy">policies</a> have — for now — appeased France’s two largest agricultural unions, the Young Farmers and the FNSEA (the French acronym for the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions).
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FpC0Pw">
 While farmers throughout Europe have been protesting poor wages and bureaucratic policy within their own countries and the EU, the French context is slightly different from other countries. It’s partly because of France’s self-conception and the place of agriculture within its national consciousness, but also because of France’s politics, specifically President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopularity.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8DSlek">
 France’s farmers seem to have won a victory, but <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-29/french-farmers-threaten-to-blockade-paris-as-appeasement-fails?sref=qYiz2hd0">agriculture workers in Germany, Belgium</a>, and other European countries have taken their frustration to the European Union headquarters in Brussels, where the European Commission held a summit Thursday. Some experts have linked the movement with Euroskepticism, a political movement that questions the usefulness of the European Union and often pushes individual countries to leave it. But while there are some shades of that philosophy in the protest movement, there’s more nuance and complexity to farmers’ frustrations — and more of a desire for French influence in the EU.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O0I2gp">
 French farmers’ concerns are somewhat specific to their own agricultural and political tradition, and they reflect a wide range of interests. Some farmers, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/31/world/europe/spark-french-farmer-protests.html">like a small, un-unionized group in Toulouse</a> credited with starting the highway blockades, claimed their victory last week when the government announced a slate of reforms, including easing regulations around building water reservoirs, compensating farmers for crops lost due to disease, and backpedaling on a proposed diesel fuel price hike.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vgRt5U">
 But <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-27/france-seeks-to-appease-farmers-as-calls-for-paris-blockade-grow?sref=qYiz2hd0">other groups</a>, including the FNSEA, the Young Farmers, and the Confédération Paysanne, a leftist union that represents small and rural farmers, weren’t satisfied and vowed to continue their actions through this week, progressing from areas around the country toward Paris. Meanwhile, Belgian farmers moved on Brussels to express their dissatisfaction with EU policies, including <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2024/01/30/macron-says-blaming-eu-for-farming-problems-too-easy_6478822_5.html">a major trade deal with Mercosur</a>, the Latin American economic bloc, and cheap imports from Ukraine. French farmers have <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-rejects-french-view-that-mercosur-trade-talks-have-stopped-2024-01-30/">concerns about the deal</a> as well.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9Qp1tB">
 There is an especially strong culture of protest and labor power in France, and farmers there have been able to press their demands and secure at least some of the changes they want. But what effect they’ll have on EU politics and policy remains to be seen — and they are unlikely to have a major effect on European Parliament elections this summer.
 </p>
 <h3 id="y1CnQW">
 French farmers have been struggling for years, and for many different reasons
 </h3>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EAYywN">
 There are two major — and interconnected — overarching concerns in France.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="65YPwc">
 The first is income. French farmers, especially smaller and independent farmers, say they aren’t making enough and that their livelihoods will vanish in the near future. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27409004/">Suicide</a> has plagued the agricultural industry in recent years as the sector has shrunk and farmers find themselves unable to earn a living. But French agriculture — wine and cheese, of course, as well as livestock and produce — is a distinct part of French cultural heritage, and France is <a href="https://agriculture.gouv.fr/infographics-european-union-worlds-largest-agricultural-producer">the EU’s largest agricultural producer</a>.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VRTVON">
 During Macron’s tenure, tougher environmental standards both in the EU and in France have required French farmers to invest in new production methods. But because of global inflation following the <a href="https://www.vox.com/coronavirus-covid19">Covid-19 pandemic</a>, consumers are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/14/france-pushes-for-more-factory-farming-in-food-u-turn">searching for cheaper products</a>. Enter competition from outside the EU, forcing French farmers to sell their products for little profit — or none at all.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WqcsXj">
 Those concerns speak directly to the second problem, which many farmers see as exacerbating the first: competition and free trade agreements.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="w7PHDu">
 The EU has a pending trade agreement with <a href="https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/countries-and-regions/mercosur/eu-mercosur-agreement_en">Mercosur</a>, the economic bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, that would reduce tariffs on imports from the bloc — especially agricultural products. “In France, many people see it as opening the gates of Europe to foreign products, which is to the competitive advantage of those countries,” Patrick Chamorel, senior resident scholar at the Stanford Center in Washington, told Vox. Because France is the largest agricultural producer in the EU, he said, “the French will take the brunt of the competition.”
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oZrtfM">
 The farmers argue this trade agreement and others the EU has with <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/france/20240131-unfair-competition-french-farmers-up-in-arms-over-eu-free-trade-agreements">Chile, New Zealand, Kenya, and Ukraine</a> — nations that don’t have the same strict agricultural production standards as the EU — increase unfair competition due to low prices.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BSIPn4">
 Those low prices mean small if any profits, bringing us back to the first problem of income drying up.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IKL4fA">
 Within France, matters are complicated by the fact that the farmers’ unions aren’t all on the same page. There are more radical unions, like the leftist Confédération Paysanne, and unions like the Coordination Rurale, which represents more right-wing interests.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XS2tyG">
 “The FNSEA is the union of the big farmers in France, so they don’t defend the interests of the majority of the medium-scale and small-scale farmers in France,” Morgan Ody, a farmer member of Confédération Paysanne and coordinator for the international farmers’ movement La Via Campesina International, told the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct4zfh">BBC’s World Business Report</a>. “They defend the interests of the people who want to export … so they are not asking for fair prices, they are not asking for a redistribution of the payments linked to the [Common Agricultural Policy], they are just defending their interests, which are the interests of very wealthy men.”
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qcojOm">
 France is dealing with a multifaceted dilemma, then, one that it has to solve within its borders but that significantly depends on EU policy. That will include changes to the aforementioned Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP, that went into effect in 2023 and placing further environmental regulations on farmers in order for them to earn the subsidies the policy promises.
 </p>
 <h3 id="vPRAAx">
 Farmers are revealing political frustration throughout Europe
 </h3>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hr5nRi">
 Given that the Mercosur agreement includes import quotas and that negotiations could be concluded before June, just ahead of this year’s EU Parliament elections, European farmers are now protesting in earnest, leading to this month’s mass demonstrations in France, Brussels, and elsewhere.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IhZJQa">
 French President Emmanuel Macron has struggled to please French farmers, particularly small rural farmers whose livelihood is most affected by globalization and the growth of large agribusiness concerns. Since his first term, starting in 2017, Macron <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a59c2cd9-3607-420f-a978-8feb503698ab">has had to balance environmental concerns</a> within French politics and the EU with the needs of rural farmers — whose cause far-right politicians have been all too willing to capitalize upon — as well as the interests of powerful agribusiness tied to the FNSEA.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GO4v2v">
 <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-king-of-the-farmers/">Early in his mandate</a>, Macron pushed farming practices that aligned more closely with the environmental standards of the Left, Socialist, and Green parties, but he adjusted many of them in the face of protest. And as he geared up for a reelection run in 2021, Macron sought to push back on his image as an elitist out of touch with the needs of France’s rural population.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KfpuhK">
 Attal, who only recently became prime minister, has been the face of the current crisis, working to appease farmers’ demands. With his promises to enshrine the principle of food sovereignty into French law and impose stricter import controls, as well as loosen bans on certain pesticides, he seems to have passed his first major political test.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9yZMbh">
 “I think that the farmers are ready to give Attal a chance,” Chamorel said. “Attal is probably cushioning the blow to Macron — that remains to be seen, but I think right now he is an asset, he is a shield for Macron.”
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YrbYap">
 French farmers’ unions have also demonstrated their power. Though farmers make up <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS?locations=FR">only around 3 percent</a> of the labor force, January’s protests — and Macron’s responses to the agricultural sector throughout his years in power — indicate the power of France’s agricultural sector, or at least parts of it, as well as Macron’s utter political weakness. But it’s not going to be the main driver of change within the European Parliament this summer — that’s going to be immigration policy, Chamorel told Vox.
 </p>
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="k4nLG1">
 Still, the French protests, and the similar actions by Belgian and German protesters, have been enough to put agricultural issues on the EU summit’s agenda — although <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/angry-farmers-descend-brussels-take-protest-eu-summit-2024-02-01/">it may have taken a trash fire and the destruction of a statue</a> to get there.
 </p></li>
 <li><strong>Are you catastrophizing? Here’s how to stop assuming the worst.</strong> -
 <figure>
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 Nine experts weigh in on curbing and diffusing your overly negative thoughts.
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 If you’re a person who spends even a minuscule amount of time consuming news of any kind, you may find yourself in a doom spiral: ongoing <a href="https://www.vox.com/world-politics/2024/1/25/24049551/war-increasing-ukraine-gaza-sudan-ethiopia">war</a>, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2024-elections">upcoming presidential election</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/climate">climate change</a>, the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/25/media/news-industry-future/index.html">withering of the media</a>. It isn’t just news that can inspire despair. Life is full of anxiety-inducing interactions, high-stakes scenarios, and unavoidable conflicts that can lead to overthinking, hopelessness, and catastrophic thinking.
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 <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/catastrophizing">Catastrophizing</a> is a common thought pattern where you assume the worst possible scenario. If you fail a test, you might believe you’ll never get a job in the future. When the group chat is silent after you initiate plans, you jump to conclusions and take it to mean everyone hates you. Your boss says she wants to talk and you assume you’re getting fired. Catastrophic thinking escalates the most benign interactions into crises. Very often, though, these predictions do not come to fruition.
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 People catastrophize in order to prepare for these worst-case scenarios. Catastrophic thinking, however, can lead to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175287/">heightened anxiety, prolonged feelings of physical pain</a>, risk aversion, and less confidence in problem-solving when big issues do arise. “If you find that you are constantly looking for what could go drastically wrong in your life, this could reflect deeper concerns about safety, security, or self-protection,” says <a href="https://www.pcom.edu/academics/faculty/scottgl.html">Scott Glassman</a>, director of the master of applied positive <a href="https://www.vox.com/psychology">psychology</a> program at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. “This style of thinking can emerge if you’ve experienced an unexpected traumatic event, like a loss or serious injury, or if you grew up in an environment where fears were often amplified and responded to with panic or overprotection.”
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 Climbing out of the spiral that is catastrophic thinking requires both in-the-moment grounding techniques and big-picture reframing. Focusing on the reality of a situation — and not the story you’re telling yourself — can help blunt the anxiety of catastrophizing, experts say. Here are more therapist-approved tactics to help you avoid catastrophic thinking.
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 Responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.
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 Catch yourself in the act
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 “Instead of viewing the [catastrophic] thought as a prediction of the future, you can simply say, ‘This is a catastrophic thought. I’ve had these thoughts before and things have turned out fine.’ Remind yourself of the times that you’ve engaged in catastrophic thinking and survived it. You will survive this one, too.”
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 —<a href="https://www.alyssamariewellness.com/alyssa-lia-mancao">Alyssa Mancao</a>, licensed therapist and owner of <a href="https://www.alyssamariewellness.com/">Alyssa Marie Wellness</a>
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 Ask yourself pointed questions
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 “One of my favorite tips for catastrophizing is asking clients, ‘What is the worst thing that could possibly happen?’ and following it up with the powerful question of, ‘Could I survive that?’ Most of the time, we can survive those worst-case scenarios, but our anxiety gets in the way and makes us believe we can’t get through it. When we can slow ourselves down to examine the evidence, I find that we are often in a better place to reason with ourselves and realize that we can get through hard things.”
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 —<a href="https://www.samanthaspeed.com/">Samantha Speed,</a> licensed professional counselor
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 Follow the negative thoughts to see where they lead
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 “In the midst of catastrophic thinking, there are two options. One is to create a positive thought (change ‘no one likes me’ to ‘some people like me’) and repeat it. The other is to follow the negative thinking train to the end and see where the illogical thinking takes you. For example, thinking that no one likes me leads to ‘I will die alone,’ which leads to ‘I need to buy a dog because it will bark when I stop responding and the barking will annoy the neighbors and they will call 911.’ When one begins to plan for these negative events, the reality is that these worries are possibilities, not probabilities.”
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 —<a href="https://real-matters.com/?page_id=14">Diane Urban</a>, licensed psychologist and adjunct professor at Manhattan College and Southern New Hampshire University
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 Remind yourself that you are not your thoughts
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 “Clients who struggle with catastrophizing tend to internalize their thought processes. For example, they may say things like, ‘I am a horrible person,’ ‘Nothing will ever work out for me,’ ‘I am a failure.’ By using these ‘I’ statements, we are allowing our anxious thoughts to become our personality and who we are. One subtle yet effective strategy is creating separation from your thoughts. ‘I am a horrible person’ changes to ‘I am having the thought that I am a horrible person,’ ‘I am a failure’ changes to ‘My brain is telling me that I am a failure.’ This helps to externalize our thoughts so that they do not feel as consuming.”
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 —Courtney Morgan, licensed professional clinical counselor and founder of <a href="https://counselingunconditionally.com/">Counseling Unconditionally</a>
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 Practice grounding techniques
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 “One approach that has proven particularly beneficial is grounding techniques. These are simple exercises to help bring your focus back to the present moment when your thoughts start spiraling. For instance, you might engage your senses by naming five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste. This technique can interrupt the cycle of negative thinking and bring you back to reality.”
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 —<a href="https://alignsonoma.com/dvteam/elvis-rosales/">Elvis Rosales</a>, licensed clinical social worker and the clinical director at Align Recovery Centers
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 Pay attention when things go well
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 “We understandably pay more attention to bad things happening in our lives because, let’s face it, they are upsetting. Catastrophizers, however, have a habit of devoting large amounts of time, attention, and energy to thinking about the worst-case what-ifs, in addition to any bad things that might be happening each day. To neutralize or reverse this tendency, we often need to start taking notice of when things turn out okay or go well. Keeping a daily list can be a reminder of the real rates of good versus upsetting events.
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 “At the same time, we want to make notes about when our catastrophic predictions don’t come true. The more we see the errors of our predictions, the more likely we will treat them with doubt when they arise. We’ll start to quickly notice when our mind is crying wolf and be better able to stop the ruminative cycle before it has revved up. A core belief that can drive catastrophic thinking is, ‘I can’t handle this.’ It’s important to explore that underlying belief and challenge it with contradictory evidence. Keeping a record of big problems you’ve been able to solve could help weaken that belief.”
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 —<a href="https://www.pcom.edu/academics/faculty/scottgl.html">Scott Glassman</a>, director of the master of applied positive psychology program at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
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 Accept bad things when they happen
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 “This may sound strange, but I talk with patients about the idea of getting better at suffering. It always elicits a joke: ‘Oh, I’m already great at that<em>.’</em> But there’s a difference between obsessing about bad things versus accepting them. Catastrophizing seems like an effort [toward] acceptance but it’s actually a strategy for avoidance. The work here is to move toward the very real sadness and stress of uncertainty rather than trying to bargain with it. The world comes with uncertainty, bad things happen, someday we’ll die.”
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 —<a href="https://tribecatherapy.com/our-therapists/about/">Matt Lundquist</a>, founder and clinical director of Tribeca Therapy
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 Try to problem-solve instead of searching for problems
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 “If you are engaged in catastrophic thinking, you may have thought about how daunting the situation is and ways you are unable to fix it. Problem-solving may be helpful. Try breaking down the situation into more manageable parts instead of focusing on options that are overwhelming and frustrating.
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 “For example, if you have the belief that you have no friends, you would first identify the problem. The second step would be to check the facts by finding evidence that supports these thoughts to determine if you are indeed assuming the worst without reason. The third step would be to establish your goal. If your goal is to <a href="https://www.vox.com/friendship">make friends</a>, engage in more social interaction, or find a sense of community or belonging, then you would establish that goal and brainstorm possible solutions to achieve that goal by breaking down your goal into actionable steps. You would then select your solution and, if necessary, it would be helpful to develop a pros and cons list to help put that thought into action. Most of all, have self-compassion and give yourself grace because breaking negative thought patterns can be very challenging.”
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 —<a href="https://eymtherapy.com/about/peta-gaye-sandiford/">Peta-Gaye Sandiford</a>, licensed <a href="https://www.vox.com/mental-health">mental health</a> counselor at Empower Your Mind Therapy
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 Focus on what you can control
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 “The minute your train of thought starts to get off the rails, force yourself to think that you are not the master. You do not have control over the future. But you do have the power to either fight it or accept it. So think about all the positive ways you will deal with that catastrophic event.”
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 —Jessica Plonchak, executive clinical director at <a href="https://www.choicepointhealth.com/">ChoicePoint Health</a>
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 </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>Davis Cup: India blanks Pakistan 4-0, seals place in World Group I</strong> - Bhambri and Myneni subdued the home team of Muzammil Murtaza and Aqeel Khan 6-2 7-6(5) in the doubles rubber to extend India’s dominance over Pakistan</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>Scaramanga excels</strong> -</p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>IND vs ENG second Test | England 67-1 at stumps on Day 3 against India, chase record 399 to win</strong> - India had scored 396 in their first innings, while England were dismissed for 253 with Jasprit Bumrah claiming six wickets.</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>NZ vs SA first Test | Williamson, Ravindra centuries lift New Zealand against a spirited South Africa</strong> - Kane Williamson has scored his 30th test century and Rachin Ravindra his first as New Zealand reached 258-2 by stumps on the first day of the first test against South Africa</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>Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma expecting ‘second child’, reveals AB de Villiers</strong> - “Yes, his second child is on the way. Yes, it’s family time and things are important to him,” De Villiers said on his YouTube channel</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>Congress dismisses any rift with TMC over seat sharing in West Bengal</strong> - Rahul Gandhi reaches Dhanbad to listens the problems of villagers surviving around coal and its smoke</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>Establishment of cancer hospital sought in Vizianagaram of Andhra Pradesh</strong> - Thousands of patients are being forced to go to Visakhapatnam for treatment, says samithi</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>Stage set for ‘Yadava Sankharavam’ in Vizianagaram on February 6</strong> -</p></li>
 <li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Watch | Hemant Soren arrested by ED | All you need to know</strong> - In this episode of Talking politics, we will discuss the events that led to the Hemant Soren’s arrest and the elevation of JMM vice-president Champai Soren to the post of Chief Minister</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>Telangana won’t hand over projects on Krishna, Godavari till water share is finalised: CM Revanth</strong> - Asserts that the Congress govt. is committed to protect Telangana’s interests</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>Does Germany’s economy need more than a cup of coffee?</strong> - Germany’s growth is being held back by the twin shocks of expensive energy and higher interest rates.</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>Three wounded in Paris train station knife attack</strong> - One suspect is arrested following the attack at Gare de Lyon, which wounded three people.</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>UN top court can rule on Ukraine case against Russia</strong> - Ukraine brought the case in 2022, accusing Russia of falsely using genocide law to justify its invasion.</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>Thunberg cleared after unlawful protest arrest</strong> - Greta Thunberg was arrested at a protest in October, with the judge ruling the law was unclear.</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>Mafia boss who fled jail using bed sheets captured</strong> - Marco Raduano had been on the run for a year before he was tracked down in Corsica, France.</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>Hermit crabs find new homes in plastic waste: Shell shortage or clever choice?</strong> - The crustaceans are making the most of what they find on the seafloor. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2000814">link</a></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona put on very close racing for a record crowd</strong> - The around-the-clock race marked the start of the North American racing calendar. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2000564">link</a></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Google will no longer back up the Internet: Cached webpages are dead</strong> - Google Search will no longer make site backups while crawling the web. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2000802">link</a></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Our oldest microbial ancestors were way ahead of their time</strong> - Specialized internal structures were present over 1.5 billion years ago. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2000903">link</a></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>“Rasti Computer” is a detailed GRiD Compass tribute made from Framework innards</strong> - It’s a custom keyboard, an artfully dinged-up case, and a wonderful throwback. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2000774">link</a></p></li>
 </ul>
 <h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
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 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Paddy was coming back from his holiday in America.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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 As he came through Customs, he had two sacks over his shoulder. The Customs officer asked him what he had in the sacks? Paddy replied Mobile phones.
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 The customs officer didn’t believe him and asked to be shown. Paddy opened each sack and sure enough both sacks contained quite a few phones. "What are you going to do with all these mobile phones asked the officer?
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 "Oh, they are not for me. My mate Mick, who is in a band, knew I was going over to America asked me to bring him back Two saxophones.
 </p>
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 <!-- SC_ON -->
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">  submitted by   <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Buddy2269"> /u/Buddy2269 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1aib4i7/paddy_was_coming_back_from_his_holiday_in_america/">[link]</a></span>   <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1aib4i7/paddy_was_coming_back_from_his_holiday_in_america/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I asked my wife if I was the only one she’s been with.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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 She said, “Yes, the others were at least sevens or eights”.
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 <!-- SC_ON -->
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">  submitted by   <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/As_Serj"> /u/As_Serj </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1aib0yg/i_asked_my_wife_if_i_was_the_only_one_shes_been/">[link]</a></span>   <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1aib0yg/i_asked_my_wife_if_i_was_the_only_one_shes_been/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Herpes, gonorrhea, HIV, timeshare. Which one doesn’t belong?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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 Gonorrhea. It’s the only one you can get rid of.
 </p>
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 <!-- SC_ON -->
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">  submitted by   <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Jack_Mackerel"> /u/Jack_Mackerel </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1aigpgw/herpes_gonorrhea_hiv_timeshare_which_one_doesnt/">[link]</a></span>   <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1aigpgw/herpes_gonorrhea_hiv_timeshare_which_one_doesnt/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why is EA the worst gaming company in America?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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 Because Ubisoft is in France.
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 <!-- SC_ON -->
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">  submitted by   <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/LiquidSaloon"> /u/LiquidSaloon </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1aid3de/why_is_ea_the_worst_gaming_company_in_america/">[link]</a></span>   <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1aid3de/why_is_ea_the_worst_gaming_company_in_america/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
 <li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Boss has a new Porsche.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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 During my lunch break, I noticed my boss stepping out of his brand-new Porsche. I complimented him on the cool car, and he told me that if I put in more effort, work harder, and achieve all my targets: He might be able to buy another one.
 </p>
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 <!-- SC_ON -->
 <p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">  submitted by   <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/OzBeyondHorizon"> /u/OzBeyondHorizon </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1ailuab/boss_has_a_new_porsche/">[link]</a></span>   <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1ailuab/boss_has_a_new_porsche/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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