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<title>20 July, 2023</title>
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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>Activated interstitial macrophages are a predominant target of viral takeover and focus of inflammation in COVID-19 initiation in human lung</strong> -
<div>
Early stages of deadly respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 have been challenging to elucidate due to lack of an experimental system that recapitulates the cellular and structural complexity of the human lung while allowing precise control over disease initiation and systematic interrogation of molecular events at cellular resolution. Here we show healthy human lung slices cultured ex vivo can be productively infected with SARS-CoV-2, and the cellular tropism of the virus and its distinct and dynamic effects on host cell gene expression can be determined by single cell RNA sequencing and reconstruction of “infection pseudotime” for individual lung cell types. This revealed that the prominent SARS-CoV-2 target is a population of activated interstitial macrophages (IMs), which as infection proceeds accumulate thousands of viral RNA molecules per cell, comprising up to 60% of the cellular transcriptome and including canonical and novel subgenomic RNAs. During viral takeover of IMs, there is cell-autonomous induction of a pro-fibrotic program (TGFB1, SPP1), and an inflammatory program characterized by the early interferon response, chemokines (CCL2, 7, 8, 13, CXCL10) and cytokines (IL6, IL10), along with destruction of cellular architecture and formation of dense viral genomic RNA bodies revealed by super-resolution microscopy. In contrast, alveolar macrophages (AMs) showed neither viral takeover nor induction of a substantial inflammatory response, although both purified AMs and IMs supported production of infectious virions. Spike-dependent viral entry into AMs was neutralized by blockade of ACE2 or Sialoadhesin/CD169, whereas IM entry was neutralized only by DC-SIGN/CD209 blockade. These results provide a molecular characterization of the initiation of COVID-19 in human lung tissue, identify activated IMs as a prominent site of viral takeover and focus of inflammation and fibrosis, and suggest therapeutic targeting of the DC-SIGN/CD209 entry mechanism to prevent IM infection, destruction and early pathology in COVID-19 pneumonia. Our approach can be generalized to define the initiation program and evaluate therapeutics for any human lung infection at cellular resolution.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.10.491266v2" target="_blank">Activated interstitial macrophages are a predominant target of viral takeover and focus of inflammation in COVID-19 initiation in human lung</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Compartmental mixing models for vaccination-status-based societal separation regarding viral respiratory diseases</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Societal separation of unvaccinated people from public spaces has been a novel and controversial COVID-era public health practice in many countries. Models exploring potential consequences of vaccination-status-based separation have not considered how separation influences the contact frequencies in the separated groups; we systematically investigate implementing effects of separation on population-specific contact frequencies and show this critically determines the predicted epidemiological outcomes, focusing on the attack rates in the vaccinated and unvaccinated populations and the share of infections among vaccinated people that were due to contacts with infectious unvaccinated people. Methods: We describe a susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR) two-population model for vaccinated and unvaccinated groups of individuals that transmit an infectious disease by person-to-person contact. The degree of separation between the two groups, ranging from zero to complete separation, is implemented using the like-to-like mixing approach developed for sexually-transmitted diseases [1-3], adapted for presumed SARS-CoV-2 transmission. We allow the contact frequencies for individuals in the two groups to be different and depend, with variable strength, on the degree of separation. Results: Separation can either increase or decrease the attack rate among the vaccinated, depending on the type of separation (isolating or compounding), and the contagiousness of the disease. For diseases with low contagiousness, separation can cause an attack rate in the vaccinated, which does not occur without separation. Interpretation: There is no blanket epidemiological advantage to separation, either for the vaccinated or the unvaccinated. Negative epidemiological consequences can occur for both groups.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.08.21.22279035v4" target="_blank">Compartmental mixing models for vaccination-status-based societal separation regarding viral respiratory diseases</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Power users: Technology and Canadian sex workers during COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
The transition from physical to online advertising by sex workers in Canada has been well documented. However, few studies use rigorous sampling methods. This study considers how a technically sophisticated group of advertisers from a large Canadian sex work classifieds site used multiple online resources to promote or provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advertisers qualified for the study if they used a URL as part of their contact information and were actively advertising between August 23 and September 22, 2022. A random sample of 1000 qualifying advertisers were selected of which 783 had accessible contact URLs. Themes were identified in downloaded website texts using grounded theory analysis. Ad metadata was used to identify demographic and behavioral distinctions between the sample and other advertisers. Almost all sampled advertisers (99%) provided in person services and most (70%) provided online services. The sample advertised more frequently, were more affluent and were more likely to be Anglophone, White, trans-female, or provide BDSM services. Themes of security, health, identity, and social networks were identified. Advertisers emphasized physical, emotional, and financial security. Most workers did not work in isolation and many participated in extensive social networks.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/u5kd2/" target="_blank">Power users: Technology and Canadian sex workers during COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Epigenetic Age Acceleration in Surviving versus Deceased COVID-19 Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome following Hospitalization</strong> -
<div>
Aging has been reported as a major risk factor for severe symptoms and higher mortality rates in COVID-19 patients. Molecular hallmarks such as epigenetic alterations and telomere attenuation reflect the biological process of aging. Epigenetic clocks have been shown to be valuable tools for measuring biological age in a variety of tissues and samples. As such, these epigenetic clocks can determine accelerated biological aging and time-to-mortality across various tissues. Previous reports have shown accelerated biological aging and telomere attrition acceleration following SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the effect of accelerated epigenetic aging on outcome (death/recovery) in COVID-19 patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) has not been well investigated. In this study, we measured DNA methylation age and telomere attrition in 87 severe COVID-19 cases with ARDS under mechanical ventilation. Furthermore, we compared dynamic changes in epigenetic aging across multiples time-points until recovery or death. Epigenetic age was measured using the Horvath, Hannum, DNAm skin and blood, GrimAge, and PhenoAge clocks, whereas telomere length was calculated using the surrogate marker DNAmTL. Our analysis revealed significant accelerated epigenetic aging but no telomere attrition acceleration in severe COVID-19 cases. In addition, we observed epigenetic age deceleration at inclusion vs end of follow-up in recovered but not in deceased COVID-19 cases using certain clocks. When comparing dynamic changes in epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), we detected higher EAA using both the Horvath and PhenoAge clocks in deceased vs recovered patients. The DNAmTL measurements revealed telomere attrition acceleration in deceased COVID19 patients between inclusion and end of follow-up as well as a significant change in dynamic telomere attrition acceleration when comparing patients who recovered vs those who died. In conclusion, EAA and telomere attrition acceleration was associated with treatment outcome in hospitalized COVID-19 Patients with ARDS. A better understanding of the long-term effects of EAA in COVID19 patients and how they might contribute to Long COVID symptoms in recovered individuals is urgently needed.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.18.549478v1" target="_blank">Epigenetic Age Acceleration in Surviving versus Deceased COVID-19 Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome following Hospitalization</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Deep mutational scanning of whole SARS-CoV-2 spike in an inverted infection system</strong> -
<div>
In order to investigate SARS-CoV-2 mutations and their impact on immune evasion and infectivity, we developed a Deep Mutational Scanning (DMS) platform utilizing an inverted infection assay to measure spike expression, ACE2 affinity, and viral infectivity in human cells. Surprisingly, our analysis reveals that spike protein expression, rather than ACE2 affinity, is the primary factor affecting viral infectivity and correlated with SARS-CoV-2 evolution. Notably, within the N-terminal domain (NTD), spike expression and infectivity-enhancing mutations are concentrated in flexible loops. We also observed that Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 exhibit immune evasion through receptor binding domain (RBD) mutations, although these mutations reduce structural stability. Interestingly, the NTD has evolved to increase stability, compensating for the RBD instability and resulting in heightened overall infectivity. Our findings, available in SpikeScanDB, emphasize the importance of spike expression levels and compensatory mutations in both the NTD and RBD domains for shaping Omicron variant infectivity.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.17.549430v1" target="_blank">Deep mutational scanning of whole SARS-CoV-2 spike in an inverted infection system</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Breakthrough infection elicits hypermutated IGHV3-53/3-66 public antibodies with broad and potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants including BQ and XBB lineages</strong> -
<div>
The rapid emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) calls for efforts to study broadly neutralizing antibodies elicited by infection or vaccination so as to inform the development of vaccines and antibody therapeutics with broad protection. Here, we identified two convalescents of breakthrough infection with relatively high neutralizing titers against all tested viruses including BQ and XBB lineages. Among 50 spike-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) cloned from their B cells, the top 6 neutralizing mAbs (KXD01-06) belong to previously defined IGHV3-53/3-66 public antibodies. Although most antibodies in this class are dramatically escaped by VOCs, KXD01-06 exhibit broad neutralizing capacity with the IC50s of KXD01 ranging from 0.011~0.059ug/ml. Deep mutational scanning reveals that KXD01-06 target highly conserved sites on RBD including D420, Y421, L455, F456, A475 and N487. Genetic and functional analysis further indicates that the extent of somatic hypermutation is critical for the breadth of IGHV3-53/3-66 public antibodies. Overall, we discovered and characterized IGHV3-53/3-66 public antibodies with broad and potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2, which provides rationale for novel vaccines and antibody therapeutics based on this class of antibodies.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.18.549524v1" target="_blank">Breakthrough infection elicits hypermutated IGHV3-53/3-66 public antibodies with broad and potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants including BQ and XBB lineages</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>ACE2 mimetic antibody potently neutralizes all SARS-CoV-2 variants and fully protects in XBB.1.5 challenged monkeys</strong> -
<div>
The rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 to variants with improved transmission efficiency and reduced sensitivity to vaccine-induced humoral immunity has abolished the protective effect of licensed therapeutic human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). To fill this unmet medical need and protect vulnerable patient populations, we isolated the P4J15 mAb from a previously infected, vaccinated donor, with &lt;20 ng/ml neutralizing activity against all Omicron variants including the latest XBB.2.3 and EG.1 sub-lineages. Structural studies of P4J15 in complex with Omicron XBB.1 Spike show that the P4J15 epitope shares ~93% of its buried surface area with the ACE2 contact region, consistent with an ACE2 mimetic antibody. Although SARS-CoV-2 mutants escaping neutralization by P4J15 were selected in vitro, these displayed lower infectivity, poor binding to ACE2, and the corresponding "escape" mutations are accordingly rare in public sequence databases. Using a SARS-CoV-2 XBB.1.5 monkey challenge model, we show that P4J15 confers complete prophylactic protection. We conclude that the P4J15 mAb has potential as a broad-spectrum anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.18.549530v1" target="_blank">ACE2 mimetic antibody potently neutralizes all SARS-CoV-2 variants and fully protects in XBB.1.5 challenged monkeys</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A high-throughput multiplex array for antigen-specific serology with automated analysis.</strong> -
<div>
The utility of high-throughput systems to evaluate antigen-specific Ab has been highlighted by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Pathogen specific antibody levels are often used to assess protection following vaccination and, in the case of novel pathogens, an indication of prior exposure. Several platforms exist to visualize antigen-specific Ab, however most are not quantitative and difficult to scale for population levels studies. Additionally, the sensitivity across platforms differs making direct comparisons between studies difficult. Cytometric Bead Arrays are an attractive platform for antigen-specific Ab measurements as they allow antibodies reactive against several antigens and of several isotypes to be performed simultaneously. Additionally, cytometric arrays exhibit a high sensitivity and can be designed to provide quantitative measurements. Using commercially available particles, a biotin-Streptavidin loading strategy, and the inclusion of indirect standards, we describe here a flexible system that can be modified to include a variety of antigens. We generated two arrays, one focused on b-Coronavirus antigens and one focused on Influenza. To support the high throughput capacity of this system, we developed a suit of automated tools to process raw data into antigen-reactive IgM, IgA, and IgG. We describe quality control requirements, assay performance, and normalizations to accurately quantitate antigen specific Ig.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.03.29.534777v2" target="_blank">A high-throughput multiplex array for antigen-specific serology with automated analysis.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The impact of frailty on the outcomes of COVID-19 patients with persistent critical illness: A population-based cohort study.</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Objectives: Persistent critical illness (PerCI, &gt; or equal to 10 days in Intensive Care Unit [ICU]) is defined as the time from ICU admission when patients antecedent characteristics define their mortality rather than the admission aetiology. Patients with frailty and without COVID-19 have a higher risk of developing and dying from PerCI. We aimed to investigate the impact of frailty on critically ill patients with COVID-19 experiencing PerCI. Methods: We conducted a retrospective multicentre cohort study including 103 Australian and New Zealand ICUs over two years, investigating the impact of frailty, measured with Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), in patients with COVID-19, between patients with and without PerCI. Results: The prevalence of PerCI was similar between patients with and without frailty (25.4% vs. 27.9%; p=0.44). Hospital mortality was higher in patients with PerCI than without (28.8% vs. 9.3%; p&lt;0.001), with mortality rising with increasing CFS (p&lt;0.001). Frailty independently predicted hospital mortality, but when adjusted for ANZROD and sex, its impact was no different in patients with and without PerCI (odds ratio [OR]=1.30 [95%-CI: 1.14-1.49] vs. OR=1.46 [95%-CI: 1.29-1.64]). Conclusions: The presence of frailty independently predicted hospital mortality in patients with PerCI, but frailty did not have a different impact on patients with and without PerCI.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.17.23292714v1" target="_blank">The impact of frailty on the outcomes of COVID-19 patients with persistent critical illness: A population-based cohort study.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The scientific chaos phase of the Great Pandemic: A longitudinal analysis and systematic review of the first surge of clinical research concerning COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Abstract Background Early stages of catastrophes like COVID-19 are often led by chaos and panic. To characterize the initial chaos phase of clinical research in such situations, we analyzed the first surge of more than 1000 clinical trials about the new disease at baseline and after two years follow-up. Our 3 main objectives were: (1) Assessment of spatial and temporal evolution of clinical research of COVID-19 across the globe, (2) Assessment of transparency and quality - trial registration, (3) Assessment of research waste and redundancies. Methods By entering the keyword “COVID-19” we screened the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform of the WHO and downloaded the search output when our goal of 1000 trials was reached on the 1st of April. Additionally, we verified the integrity of the downloaded data from the meta registry by comparing the data with each individual registration record on their source register. Also, we conducted a follow-up after two years to track their progress. Results (1) The spatial evolution followed the geographical spread of the disease as expected, however, the temporal development suggested that panic was the main driver for clinical research activities. (2) Trial registrations and registers showed a huge lack of transparency by allowing retrospective registrations and not keeping their registration records up to date. Quality of trial registration seems to have improved over the last decade, yet crucial information still was missing. (3) Research waste and redundancies were present as suggested by discontinuation of trials, preventable flaws in study design, and similar but uncoordinated research topics operationally fragmented in isolated silo-structures. Conclusion The scientific response mechanism across the globe was intact during the chaos phase. However, supervision, leadership, and accountability are urgently needed to prevent research waste, to ensure effective structure, quality, and validity to ultimately break the “panic-then-forget” cycle in future catastrophes.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.14.23292667v1" target="_blank">The scientific chaos phase of the Great Pandemic: A longitudinal analysis and systematic review of the first surge of clinical research concerning COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Community-onset urinary tract infection in females in the context of COVID-19: a longitudinal population cohort study exploring case presentation, management, and outcomes</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background COVID-19 affected the epidemiology of other infectious diseases and how they were managed. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common infections treated in the community in England. We investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on UTI primary care consultations and outcomes in female patients. Methods and findings We analysed General Practice (GP) consultation and hospital admission records using the Whole Systems Integrated Care (WSIC) data in North West London between 2016 and 2021. We quantified the changes in UTI GP consultation rates using time series analysis before and during the pandemic. We assessed the outcomes of UTI, measured by subsequent bacteraemia and sepsis within 60 days, for consultations delivered face-to-face or remotely, with or without diagnostic tests recommended by the national guidelines, and with or without antibiotic treatment. Between January 2016 and December 2021, we identified 375,859 UTI episodes in 233,450 female patients. Before the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2016-February 2020), the UTI GP consultation rate stayed level at 522.8 cases per 100,000 population per month, with a seasonal pattern of peaking in October. Since COVID-19, (March 2020-December 2021), monthly UTI GP consultations declined when COVID-19 cases surged and rose when COVID-19 case fell. During the pandemic, the UTI consultations delivered face-to-face reduced from 72.0% to 29.4%, the UTI consultations with appropriate diagnostic tests, including urine culture and urinalysis, reduced from 17.3% to 10.4%, and the UTI cases treated with antibiotics reduced from 52.0% to 47.8%. The likelihood of antibiotics being prescribed was not affected by whether the consultation was delivered face-to-face or remotely but associated with whether there was a diagnostic test. Regardless of whether the UTI consultation occurred before or during the pandemic, the absence of antibiotic treatment for UTI is associated with a 10-fold increase in the risk of having bacteraemia or sepsis within 60 days, though the patients who consulted GPs for UTI during the pandemic were older and more co-morbid. Across the study period (January 2016-December 2021), nitrofurantoin remained the first-line antibiotic option for UTI. The percentage of non-prophylactic acute UTI antibiotic prescriptions with durations that exceeded the guideline recommendations was 58.7% before the pandemic, and 49.4% since. This led to 830,522 total excess days of treatment, account for 63.3% of all non-prophylactic acute antibiotics prescribed for UTI. Before the pandemic, excess antibiotic days of UTI drugs had been reducing consistently. However, this decline slowed down during the pandemic. Having a diagnostic test was associated with 0.6 less excess days of antibiotic treatment. Conclusions This analysis provides a comprehensive examination of management and outcomes of community-onset UTI in female patients, considering the changes in GP consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings highlighted the importance of appropriate urine testing to support UTI diagnosis in symptomatic patients and initiation of antibiotic treatment with appropriate course duration. Continued monitoring is required to assess the overall impact on patients and health systems from the changed landscape of primary care delivery.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.16.23292705v1" target="_blank">Community-onset urinary tract infection in females in the context of COVID-19: a longitudinal population cohort study exploring case presentation, management, and outcomes</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>COVFlow: performing virus phylodynamics analyses from selected SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences</strong> -
<div>
Phylodynamic analyses generate important and timely data to optimise public health response to SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks and epidemics. However, their implementation is hampered by the massive amount of sequence data and the difficulty to parameterise dedicated software packages. We introduce the COVFlow pipeline, accessible at https://gitlab.in2p3.fr/ete/CoV-flow, which allows a user to select sequences from the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) database according to user-specified criteria, to perform basic phylogenetic analyses, and to produce an XML file to be run in the Beast2 software package. We illustrate the potential of this tool by studying two sets of sequences from the Delta variant in two French regions. This pipeline can facilitate the use of virus sequence data at the local level, for instance, to track the dynamics of a particular lineage or variant in a region of interest.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.17.496544v6" target="_blank">COVFlow: performing virus phylodynamics analyses from selected SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Revising Home Advantage in Sport – Home Advantage Mediation (HAM) Model</strong> -
<div>
Home Advantage (HA) is a robust phenomenon in which sport teams or individuals are more successful when they play in front of their fans. There are a number of causes of HA, but most theories assume that the crowd support spurs home players to better performance and biases referees, and that these two factors in turn influence the result. The interest in HA has grown during the Covid-19 pandemic as most competitions were taking place behind closed doors, a perfect control condition for disentangling the causal effects behind HA. Despite the presence of useful conceptual frameworks, most previous research has focused on investigating isolated individual factors. Here we review our newly developed Home Advantage Mediated (HAM) model, which considers all individual factors and their interrelations simultaneously. HAM assumes that the crowd effects are mediated through other relevant factors, such as referee bias and team performance. Most importantly, HAM can be formally expressed as a mediation model, a technique widely employed in social sciences for investigating causal pathways. We demonstrate how researchers can use HAM to model the HA in European football and how moderating variables, such as Covid-19 and absence of fans, can be incorporated in the model to disentangle the processes behind the HA phenomenon. Besides throwing new (modeling) light on one of the most robust phenomena in sport, we also provide information about practical implementation of mediation and moderated mediation models in the Bayesian framework. Similar implementations can be adapted for use in other sport science domains.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/c8tu3/" target="_blank">Revising Home Advantage in Sport – Home Advantage Mediation (HAM) Model</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Identification of predictive patient characteristics for assessing the probability of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an urgent need to understand patient factors that may be used to predict the occurrence of severe cases and patient mortality. Approximately 20% of SARS-CoV-2 infections lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by the harmful actions of inflammatory mediators. Patients with severe COVID-19 are often afflicted with neurologic symptoms, and individuals with pre-existing neurodegenerative disease have an increased risk of severe COVID-19. Although collectively, these observations point to a bidirectional relationship between severe COVID-19 and neurologic disorders, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Here, we analyzed the electronic health records of 471 patients with severe COVID-19 to identify clinical characteristics most predictive of mortality. Feature discovery was conducted by training a regularized logistic regression classifier that serves as a machine-learning model with an embedded feature selection capability. SHAP analysis using the trained classifier revealed that a small ensemble of readily observable clinical features, including characteristics associated with cognitive impairment, could predict in-hospital mortality with an accuracy greater than 0.85 (expressed as the area under the ROC curve of the classifier). These findings have important implications for the prioritization of clinical measures used to identify patients with COVID-19 (and, potentially, other forms of acute respiratory distress syndrome) having an elevated risk of death.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.16.23292738v1" target="_blank">Identification of predictive patient characteristics for assessing the probability of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on hospital admission related to common infections</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a multifaceted global challenge, partly driven by inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted antibiotic prescribing for common bacterial infections. This highlights the need to examine risk of hospital admissions related to common infections, excluding COVID-19 infections during the pandemic. Methods: With the approval of NHS England, we accessed electronic health records from The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) through OpenSAFELY platform. We included patients with primary care diagnosis of common infections, including lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), and lower urinary tract infection (UTI), from January 2019 to August 2022. We excluded patients with a COVID-19 record 90 days before to 30 days after the infection diagnosis. Using Cox proportional-hazard regression models, we predicted risk of infection-related hospital admission in 30 days follow-up period after the diagnosis. Results: We found 12,745,165 infection diagnoses from January 2019 to August 2022. Of them, 80,395 (2.05%) cases were admitted to hospital in the follow-up period. Counts of hospital admission for infections dropped during COVID-19, e.g., LRTI from 3,950 in December 2019 to 520 in April 2020. Comparing those prescribed an antibiotic to those without, reduction in risk of hospital admission were largest with LRTI (adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 0.35; 95% CI, 0.35-0.36) and UTI (adjusted OR 0.45; 95% CI, 0.44-0.46), compared to URTI (adjusted OR 1.04; 95% CI, 1.03-1.06). Conclusion: Large effectiveness of antibiotics in preventing complications related to LRTI and UTI can support better targeting of antibiotics to patients with higher complication risks.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.16.23292723v1" target="_blank">Evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on hospital admission related to common infections</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>Homologous Booster Study of COVID-19 Protein Subunit Recombinant Vaccine</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 Subunit Recombinant Protein Vaccine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   PT Bio Farma<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate the Immunogenicity and Safety of A Recombinant Protein COVID-19 Vaccine as Booster Vaccines</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: SCTV01E-2;   Biological: SCTV01E<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sinocelltech Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Smell in COVID-19 and Efficacy of Nasal Theophylline (SCENT 3)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: theophylline;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Washington University School of Medicine<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>Developing an Effective Intervention to Address Post-Corona-Virus-Disease-2019 Balance Disorders, Weakness and Muscle Fatigue in Individuals Aged 65+</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Device: Resistance Training<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education<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>Lymph Node Aspiration to Decipher the Immune Response of Beta-variant Recombinant Protein Booster Vaccine (VidPrevtyn Beta, Sanofi) Compared to a Bivalent mRNA Vaccine (Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.4-5, BioNTech-Pfizer) in Adults Previously Vaccinated With at Least 3 Doses of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Procedure: Lymph node aspiration / Blood sampling<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris<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>Multimodal Long Covid19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Long COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: Multimodal intervention in Long Covid19<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Universidad de Magallanes;   Teaching Assistance and Research Center of the University of Magallanes CADI-UMAG;   Clinical Hospital Dr. Lautaro Navarro Avaria<br/><b>Active, not recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>COVID-19 Trial of the Candidate Vaccine MVA-SARS-2-S in Adults</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: MVA-SARS-2-S;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf;   German Center for Infection Research;   Philipps University Marburg Medical Center;   Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich;   University Hospital Tuebingen;   CTC-NORTH<br/><b>Withdrawn</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>Treatment of Long COVID (TLC) Feasibility Trial</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Low-dose Naltrexone (LDN);   Drug: Cetirizine;   Drug: Famotidine;   Drug: LDN Placebo;   Drug: Cetirizine Placebo;   Drug: Famotidine Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Emory University;   CURE Drug Repurposing Collaboratory (CDRC)<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>Efficiency and Safety of Paxlovid for COVID-19 Patients With Severe Chronic Kidney Disease</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   Renal Insufficiency, Chronic<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Chinese PLA General Hospital<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety, Efficacy, and Dosing of VIX001 in Patients With Neurological Symptoms of Post Acute COVID-19 Syndrome (PACS).</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome;   Cognitive Impairment;   Neurological Complication<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: VIX001<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Neobiosis, LLC<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Clinical Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Randomized Placebo Versus the 8-aminoquinoline Tafenoquine for Early Symptom Resolution in Patients With Mild to Moderate COVID 19 Disease and Low Risk of Disease Progression</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID 19 Disease;   Mild to Moderate COVID 19 Disease;   SARS-CoV-2;   Infectious Disease;   Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Tafenoquine Oral Tablet;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   60P Australia Pty Ltd<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, Tolerability and PK of SNS812 in Mild to Moderate COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Disease Caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (Disorder)<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: MBS-COV;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Oneness Biotech Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of the Therapy With BRAINMAX® Using fMRI for the Treatment of Patients With Asthenia After COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Asthenia;   COVID-19;   Functional MRI;   Cognitive Impairment<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: Structural and functional MRI;   Drug: Ethyl methyl hydroxypyridine succinate + Meldonium;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Promomed, LLC<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>NDV-HXP-S Vaccine Clinical Trial (COVIVAC)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: COVIVAC vaccine<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, Vietnam;   National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), Vietnam;   Center for Disease Control of Thai Binh Province, Vietnam<br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study of AZD3152 Intramuscular Injection or Intravenous Infusion in Healthy Japanese Adult Participants</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: AZD3152 (Cohort 1);   Biological: Placebo (Cohort 1);   Biological: AZD3152 (Cohort 2);   Biological: Placebo (Cohort 2);   Biological: AZD3152 (Cohort 3);   Biological: Placebo (Cohort 3)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   AstraZeneca<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Modulation of NRF2: biological dualism in cancer, targets and possible therapeutic applications</strong> - SIGNIFICANCE: The NRF2-KEAP1 system is a master regulator of redox homeostasis and cell adaptation to a variety of exogenous and endogenous stressors. Accumulating evidence from the last decade indicates that the impairment of the redox balance leads to oxidative stress (OS), a common alteration occurring in many human acute and chronic inflammatory diseases,, such as cancer, diabetes, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disorders, and aging.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound in the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia</strong> - Purpose As a public health emergency of international concern, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still lacks specific antiviral drugs, and symptomatic treatment is currently the mainstay. The overactivated inflammatory response in COVID-19 patients is associated with a high risk of critical illness or even death. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) can mitigate inflammation and inhibit edema formation. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of LIPUS therapy for COVID-19 pneumonia….</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>Research Progress of Immunomodulation on Anti-COVID-19 and the Effective Components from Traditional Chinese Medicine</strong> - SARS-CoV-2 has posed a threat to the health of people around the world because of its strong transmission and high virulence. Currently, there is no specific medicine for the treatment of COVID-19. However, for a wide variety of medicines used to treat COVID-19, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays a major role. In this paper, the effective treatment of COVID-19 using TCM was consulted first, and several Chinese medicines that were frequently used apart from their huge role in treating it…</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 Phase 2 randomised study to establish efficacy, safety and dosing of a novel oral cathepsin C inhibitor, BI 1291583, in adults with bronchiectasis: Airleaf</strong> - New therapies are needed to prevent exacerbations, improve quality of life and slow disease progression in bronchiectasis. Inhibition of cathepsin C (CatC) activity has the potential to decrease activation of neutrophil-derived serine proteases in patients with bronchiectasis, thereby reducing airway inflammation, improving symptoms, reducing exacerbations and preventing further airway damage. Here we present the design of a phase 2 trial (Airleaf™; NCT05238675) assessing the efficacy and safety…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Immunogenicity and safety of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in haemodialysis patients: a prospective cohort study</strong> - End-stage renal disease patients on haemodialysis (HD) have been largely excluded from SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trials due to safety reasons and shown to mount lower responses to vaccination. This study aims to evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine among HD patients compared to healthy controls. All subjects who received the primary inactivated COVID-19 vaccination had their blood samples tested 21 days after the second dose. We report the immunogenicity based 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>Effective SARS-CoV-2 replication of monolayers of intestinal epithelial cells differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes severe acute respiratory symptoms in humans. Controlling the coronavirus disease pandemic is a worldwide priority. The number of SARS-CoV-2 studies has dramatically increased, and the requirement for analytical tools is higher than ever. Here, we propose monolayered-intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) instead of three-dimensional cultured intestinal organoids as a suitable…</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>Picolinic acid is a broad-spectrum inhibitor of enveloped virus entry that restricts SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus in vivo</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic highlights an urgent need for effective antivirals. Targeting host processes co-opted by viruses is an attractive antiviral strategy with a high resistance barrier. Picolinic acid (PA) is a tryptophan metabolite endogenously produced in mammals. Here, we report the broad-spectrum antiviral activity of PA against enveloped viruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza A virus (IAV), flaviviruses, herpes simplex virus, 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>Federal telehealth policy changes during the COVID-19 public health emergency: Associations with telemental health use among rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: TMH mitigated PHE-related barriers to MHS access for rural and urban beneficiaries, but urban residents benefited disproportionately. Among rural beneficiaries, older age was related to lower TMH use. To avoid reinforcing existing MHS access disparities, policies must address factors limiting TMH use among rural beneficiaries, especially those over 75 and those from historically underserved communities.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Nsp1 regulates translation start site fidelity to promote infection</strong> - A better mechanistic understanding of virus-host interactions can help reveal vulnerabilities and identify opportunities for therapeutic interventions. Of particular interest are essential interactions that enable production of viral proteins, as those could target an early step in the virus lifecycle. Here, we use subcellular proteomics, ribosome profiling analyses and reporter assays to detect changes in polysome composition and protein synthesis during SARS-CoV-2 (CoV2) infection. We identify…</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>Seasonal coronavirus infections trigger NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages but is therapeutically targetable</strong> - Seasonal coronaviruses widely circulate in the global population, and severe complications can occur in specific vulnerable populations. Little is known on their pathogenic mechanisms and no approved treatment is available. Here, we present anecdotal evidence that the level of IL-1β, a hallmark of inflammasome activation, appears elevated in a subset of seasonal coronavirus infected patients. We found that cultured human macrophages support the full life cycle of three cultivatable seasonal…</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>Proxalutamide reduces SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated inflammatory response</strong> - Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, data suggested that males had a higher risk of developing severe disease and that androgen deprivation therapy might be associated with protection. Combined with the fact that TMPRSS2 (transmembrane serine protease 2), a host entry factor for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was a well-known androgen-regulated gene, this led to an upsurge of research investigating androgen receptor (AR)-targeting drugs. Proxalutamide, an AR antagonist, was shown in initial clinical studies…</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>Exploring epigenetic drugs as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: a docking and MD simulation study</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic has caused havoc around the globe since 2019 and is considered the largest global epidemic of the twentieth century. Although the first antiviral drug, Remdesivir, was initially introduced against COVID‑19, virtually no tangible therapeutic drugs exist to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection. FDA-approved Paxlovid (Nirmatrelvir supplemented by Ritonavir) was recently announced as a promising drug against the SARS-CoV-2 major protease (M^(pro)). Here we report for the first time the…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Inhibition of Cysteine Proteases via Thiol-Michael Addition Explains the Anti-SARS-CoV-2 and Bioactive Properties of Arteannuin B</strong> - Artemisia annua is the plant that produces artemisinin, an endoperoxide-containing sesquiterpenoid used for the treatment of malaria. A. annua extracts, which contain other bioactive compounds, have been used to treat other diseases, including cancer and COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. In this study, a methyl ester derivative of arteannuin B was isolated when A. annua leaves were extracted with a 1:1 mixture of methanol and dichloromethane. This methyl ester was thought to…</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>M<sup>pro</sup>-targeted anti-SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor-based drugs</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a global health emergency. The main protease is an important drug target in coronaviruses. It plays an important role in the processing of viral RNA-translated polyproteins and is highly conserved in the amino acid sequence and three-dimensional structure, making it a good drug target for which several small molecule inhibitors are available. This paper describes the various anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>New perspective on the immunomodulatory activity of ginsenosides: Focus on effective therapies for post-COVID-19</strong> - More than 700 million confirmed cases of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) have been reported globally, and 10-60% of patients are expected to exhibit “post-COVID-19 symptoms,” which will continue to affect human life and health. In the absence of safer, more specific drugs, current multiple immunotherapies have failed to achieve satisfactory efficacy. Ginseng, a traditional Chinese medicine, is often used as an immunomodulator and has been used in COVID-19 treatment as a tonic to increase…</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>Donald Trump’s Plan to Make the Presidency More Like a Kingship</strong> - For a potential second term, the former President is devising the greatest reshaping of the federal bureaucracy in recent American history. Would the changes stand up to legal scrutiny? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/donald-trumps-plan-to-make-the-presidency-more-like-a-kingship">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Lure of Urban Fishing</strong> - A day at Prospect Park Lake with Esther Wang, a local journalist who takes readers into the polluted rivers and murky ponds of New York City, which are home to a surprising number of fish. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-lure-of-urban-fishing">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why the Fall in Inflation Is a Big Deal for the 2024 Election</strong> - The positive economic news might give President Biden the political space to make the case for his legislative record without being constantly assailed with cries of “Did you see the price of X?” - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/why-the-fall-in-inflation-is-a-big-deal-for-the-2024-election">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Day in the Life of Congress’s “Traffic Cop”</strong> - The House Committee on Rules decides which bills go forward. Jim McGovern, the ranking Democrat, has watched a decades-long erosion of the process. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/a-day-in-the-life-of-jim-mcgovern-us-congress">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Puzzling, Increasingly Rightward Turn of Mario Vargas Llosa</strong> - The writer has shocked many by endorsing Latin America and Spain’s rising authoritarian movements. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-puzzling-increasingly-rightward-turn-of-mario-vargas-llosa">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>On the Money: Should you combine finances with your partner?</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A bright illustration on a black background shows a man and a woman in silhouette looking in opposite directions, with symbols like a dollar sign and an eye surrounding them." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KMIUhbFpmm2J61EVSBXvk55l5RQ=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72468048/PaigeVickers_OnTheMoney__1_.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Paige Vickers for Vox
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Plus, how to think about your money after a divorce.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KPhL4o">
On the Money<em> is a new monthly advice column written by Nicole Dieker, a </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/personal-finance"><em>personal finance</em></a><em> expert who’s been writing about money for over a decade. For Vox’s Money Talks interview column, she’s written stories about couples who run </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/even-better/23569412/money-talk-small-business-six-kids"><em>small businesses</em></a><em>, navigate </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22722672/money-talks-couple-different-backgrounds"><em>different relationships with spending</em></a><em>, handle </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/12/10/21003110/money-talks-health-insurance-self-employment"><em>health insurance</em></a><em>, and more. If you want advice on spending, saving, or investing — or any of the complicated emotions that may come up as you prepare to make big financial decisions — you can </em><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXuTsmpi2VQ6ZoRVEeHrgBSpkPkWSRWDH4zeY_TMBtPAhc4w/viewform"><em>submit your question here</em></a><em>. Here, we answer two questions asked by Vox readers, which have been edited and condensed. </em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WgVAQN">
<strong>How do you deal with income when you marry late in life? Do you combine it, or keep things separate?</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bORJ8d">
When my partner and I set up house together, we also set up a joint checking account for shared household expenses. This allowed both of us to contribute to the costs of maintaining our home — the weekly groceries, the monthly utility bills, the upgraded HVAC system that our technician assured us would last a good 15 years — while maintaining separate checking accounts for the kinds of purchases that we would prefer to make without consulting the other. (He just ordered a hummingbird feeder shaped like a double helix. I bought a pair of dangly ceramic earrings. That kind of thing.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oUGuvY">
He and I are both self-employed, and although we do not make the same amount of money at present, we both contribute the same amount of money to our shared account. I’m in my prime earning years, which means that much of what I don’t contribute to our household goes into high-yield savings accounts and various retirement funds. He’s a bit older, so he’s already built up his savings to the point where he can ease up on the freelance work and begin the process of covering the daily costs of living through long-term asset management. We talked about doing proportional contributions, but transferring the same amount of money to the shared account every month made more sense mathematically.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RHU2jB">
It also felt better emotionally, which is the real point of my telling you this story. We dealt with our income by discussing it — and we continue to have these kinds of financial discussions, including near-term budgeting and longer-term forecasting, at least once a month.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oO62Yj">
How you and your spouse deal with income could look much the same, but it isn’t really about whether you set up an arrangement that matches ours. It’s about whether you have the kinds of conversations that allow you to create a financial partnership that feels right for both of you. This means talking about the tough stuff, from prenups to last wills. If you have financial responsibilities toward aging parents or growing children, you’ll also need to discuss how you’ll handle end-of-life care, college costs, and so on — and decide whether that money will come out of a shared household account or whether it will be something you pay for out of a personal account. It’s also worthwhile to become familiar with any state laws regarding community property, as that could change how you and your spouse decide to manage your shared assets.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EjVi7o">
That said, I predict that as you and your spouse continue to build your lives together, you’ll begin to think of nearly everything you earn, spend, and save as “ours.” It’s a natural trajectory, and one that I’ve experienced personally. Despite my occasional splurges on handcrafted jewelry and hardcover books, nearly all of my assets — including the money in my personal checking account — are meant to support the long-term financial stability of our household. My partner feels the same way, which is one of the reasons why our partnership continues to work.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cmFGk2">
<strong>I’m a newly divorced woman who is no longer combining her income with her partner’s — and it feels overwhelming and embarrassing to admit that I don’t know how to manage my own money. How do I get started with budgeting, saving, and investing?</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="12uq84">
There are all kinds of resources out there to help you budget, save, and invest. In most cases, I’d advise people to set up an account with <a href="https://www.ynab.com/">You Need a Budget</a> or check <a href="https://yourmoneyoryourlife.com/book-summary/"><em>Your Money or Your Life</em></a> out of the public library. (I can vouch for both the app and the book, by the way. When I was getting started with personal finance, YNAB and YMOYL showed me how to earn more money, get out of debt, and build long-term financial stability.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UGcii2">
However, I’m going to give you the same advice I gave the previous writer. It’s time to have a series of conversations with yourself about what you want this next stage of your life to look like — and how you can use your income, your assets, and your skills to help you achieve your goals.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="py4aOo">
Your first conversation might begin as follows: “I feel embarrassed. Why do I feel embarrassed? Is it simply because I feel like I should have learned how to manage money by now, or am I also embarrassed because there were times in my marriage that I allowed my former spouse to make financial decisions that I didn’t necessarily agree with?”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="M7LwT4">
This is going to be a tough conversation, by the way. Get a journal, get a box of tissues, and consider getting a therapist if you don’t already have one. The more you learn about why you feel the way you do and how your choices might have affected your current situation, the less likely you are to find yourself in a similar situation in the future — and right now, understanding your emotions around money is even more important than understanding budgeting, saving, and investing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rSfk4f">
That said, it’s also important to ensure that this process does not put you at the risk of increasing your debt burden. As you begin your difficult conversations with yourself, see if you can set up a simple system that allows you to track your purchases and make basic decisions about discretionary expenses. I’d recommend a budgeting app for this, except most budgeting apps are going to nudge you toward long-term financial planning and you are still dealing with a short-term emotional emergency. Try pen and paper instead. Write down everything you earn, write down everything you spend, and do the math. As you learn more about where your money goes, start asking yourself whether you like where it’s going. Ask yourself which purchases make you feel embarrassed and which purchases make you feel happy. Ask yourself what it feels like to save for the future, even when you don’t know what that future is going to look like.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="74nNKt">
You’re overwhelmed because of the idea that you have to have this entire financial problem solved, budgeting-saving-investing, every dollar going into the right place right now. It takes most people about a year to figure out how to create the kind of household budget that allows them to accurately predict their expenses. I’ve been tracking my finances since I graduated from college, and it still took me a full decade to clear out my debt, set up my savings and retirement accounts, and prepare to invest with confidence.
</p>
<p class="c-end-para" data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zKzf8M">
So start with the pen and paper, the journal and tissues and honest conversations. That’ll give you the confidence you need to make your next money move. A month from now, read <em>Your Money or Your Life</em>. Six months from now, download YNAB.
</p></li>
<li><strong>The long history of kids decapitating their Barbies and making them kiss, explained</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A Barbie doll in a magenta dress is spotlit in a Toronto Star studio,&amp;nbsp;July 10, 2023." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/whZGvXsd_C_UbW93i3Aze79Y3kg=/191x0:5164x3730/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72468015/1519294657.0.jpg"/>
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With the new <em>Barbie</em> movie about to debut, Mattel’s Barbie doll is having a massive cultural resurgence. | Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Why Barbie inspires some of childhood’s weirdest games.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dqcHgi">
The earliest Barbie commercial ever on TV is instructive. It tells you exactly what Mattel thought you were supposed to do with your Barbie doll when the ad aired in 1959: You were supposed to aspire to be her.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U3TcnZ">
“Someday I’m gonna be exactly like you,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8-avPUxyno">sings a girl’s voice</a> in the ad, as Barbie cradles a bouquet of flowers like a pageant queen. “Till then, I know just what I’ll do: Barbie, beautiful Barbie, I’ll make believe that I am you.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JtG4kt">
It’s an odd ad, mostly because no one I know who played with Barbies was ever willing to admit to aspiring to be like Barbie. That was not what Barbie was for.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jyskHz">
Barbie was for ripping apart and putting inexpertly back together. She was for removing heads and limbs. She was for microwaving. She was for chopping off her doll hair. She was for doll orgies. She was an ersatz body whose purpose was to allow her owner room for experimentation. <a href="https://jezebel.com/growing-up-everyone-did-dirty-things-with-their-barbie-299195">As Jezebel put it in 2007</a>, “Growing Up, Everyone Did Dirty Things With Their Barbies.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c8KWh3">
The cast of Greta Gerwig’s buzzy new <em>Barbie</em> movie knows exactly how kids play with these toys.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kQjD4A">
“I witnessed my sister and her friends do some stuff with those Barbies, and I think we all did,” said Kate McKinnon in <a href="https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/barbie-tickets-are-on-sale-now-watch-the-big-ticket-interview-754838?cmp=SocialOrganic~Fandango~BarbieBigTicketInterview">a June interview with Fandango</a>, widening her eyes at the camera in a way that suggested that the “stuff” was probably pretty dirty. Which isn’t a bad thing, McKinnon insisted: “It’s imagination, it’s a way of expressing your innermost desires, and things that you’re exploring about yourself and about the world. It’s a very good tool for children to have.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oKtUd3">
“It was a tool of aggression, too,” added Issa Rae in the same interview. “My sister had a <a href="https://www.fashion-doll-guide.com/questions-about-my-size-barbie-dolls.html">My Size Barbie</a>, and I don’t know what it was, maybe because it was close to our size, but we fucked that Barbie up.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sN0z7t">
Nearly everyone who plays with Barbie fucks her up in one way or another. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/57335140/The_Simpsons_are_Cool_but_Barbies_a_Minger_The_Role_of_Brands_in_the_Everyday_Lives_of_Junior_School_Children">A 2005 study from the University of Bath led by Agnes Nairn</a> found that children from the ages of 7 up will almost universally describe getting violent with their Barbie dolls with glee and pride. “They’re not particularly cool unless you torture them,” explains one child to an interviewer.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0N2KAf">
With <em>Barbie</em> now set to become one of the summer’s biggest <a href="https://www.vox.com/movies">movies</a>, the time is ripe to look back to murky childhood memories. Let’s remember exactly what it means to play with Barbie.
</p>
<h3 id="4f3CvQ">
The origins of Barbie
</h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iR39pKmsjbDzXTLaGYwbj5cBKPU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24796952/headshots_1689780558444.jpg"/> <cite>Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Left, Mattel’s original 1959 Barbie. Right, a Lilli doll from 1955.
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</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MO7nb3">
Barbie was invented by Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler. <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/cultural-history-barbie-180982115/">She was inspired</a> (the story goes) by watching her young daughter, Barbara “Barbie” Handler, play with paper dolls of adult women, daydreaming out loud about the kind of woman she would grow up to be. Small Barbara would have loved to play with a fully fledged plastic adult woman doll, Handler realized, but the only three-dimensional dolls available at the time were baby dolls. The market had a gap, and by 1959, Barbie was there to fill it: a doll for girls that would let them practice being grown-up.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g5ATmq">
That’s the official creation myth, but there’s another, less wholesome version of the story. Mattel’s first Barbie <a href="https://time.com/3731483/barbie-history/">bears a startling resemblance</a> to a German doll named Lilli, known for her prodigious bosom, platinum blonde hair, and painted-on eyeshadow. Lilli was a character from comic strips, a call girl with a penchant for double entendres. Her spinoff doll line was decidedly for adults. Like the German equivalent of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudflap_girl">mudflap girl</a>, Lilli’s idealized figure made her a popular item to buy at tobacco shops or distribute as a gag gift at bachelor parties. Lillis dangled from the rearview mirrors of men’s cars across the country.
</p>
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<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=6934821&amp;page=1">According to some historians</a>, Handler noticed Lilli when 15-year-old Barbara became interested in the dolls during a family trip to Switzerland in 1956. Handler took three of the dolls back home with her, and three years later, Barbie was born, blonde and buxom and spackled with cosmetics.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2stSUH">
Regardless of whether the story was true or not, in 1961, Lilli’s parent company G&amp;H sued Mattel for patent infringement. The case was dismissed, and in 1964, Mattel bought G&amp;H’s Lilli copyrights <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-9th-circuit/1061319.html">for $21,600</a>, or about $200,000 in today’s dollars. Forever after, Lilli would be one of the buried secrets of Barbie: The plastic body little girls are given to practice being grown-up with is the same as the plastic body grown men hang from the rearview mirrors of their cars as a dirty joke.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zQUV62">
At the same time, Barbie’s wholesome all-American image remains the key to her US marketability.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zjxJcu">
“My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be,” <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/cultural-history-barbie-180982115/">wrote Handler in her 1994 autobiography</a>. “Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.” Hence Barbie’s dozens upon dozens of careers: astronaut, ballerina, doctor, president, architect, baseball player, and on and on and on.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qgnqMV">
Yet what people get up to with their Barbies tends to be a little weirder than using them to pretend to be president. Frequently, Barbie games are about sex and violence.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5ZqVha">
“Plenty of us have admitted to dismantling our Barbies in one way or another,” <a href="https://jezebel.com/why-do-we-destroy-our-barbie-dolls-31023463">wrote Jezebel after surveying its commentariat in 2009</a>. “Chewing her delicious feet is the most popular admission, though chopping off her hair, seeing if she can ‘fly’ from the car window, and letting her get ‘a tan’ in the microwave are also on the list.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x5zeDY">
“How did I — the daughter of a feminist and working woman, myself a future feminist and a generally liberal, Prius-driving recycling lady — play with my Barbie?” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/06/AR2009030602038.html">mused Sarah Haskins in the Washington Post the same year</a>. “I took off all her clothes and sent her looking for love. My Barbie got <em>around</em>.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6pT7da">
“I think I <em>mainly</em> did normal stuff like have them go shopping, go to school, go for a drive, etc.,” <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/10r9trs/howd_you_play_with_your_barbies/">said a Reddit commenter in 2023</a>. “But I always had to do some weird sexual stuff every once in a while. In fact, I was super vindicated when I was playing Barbies for the first time with one of my elementary school friends and it devolved into a lesbian orgy and I was like, ‘omg, I’m not the only weirdo!’”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TXDTZJ">
Other commenters on the thread chimed in with agreement.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QDWxXh">
One who owned the Barbie safe recalled staging robberies and, since she also had a Barbie-sized gun, “staged some murders too.” Of course, in addition, “Ken humped Barbie.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6GOCTI">
“Locked ken in the barbie dreamhouse shower and made my barbies [scissor emoji],” said another.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gicjdm">
Not every toy gets this kind of treatment. When Nairn ran her 2005 study on how kids react to different toys, she found that they described being more violent with Barbie than with anything else, even the 7-year-old girls. “The most striking thing about the discourse which surrounded the forty year old iconic Barbie was the rejection, hatred and violence which the doll provoked,” Nairn wrote. (Anecdotally, kids also seem to <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/games/2019/01/we-need-talk-about-sims-diary-teenage-psychopath">get weird with Sims</a>, another highly manipulatable representation of adult life, but they don’t feature in Nairn’s study.)
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qXMpac">
Something about Barbie seems to spark more sadism than all the other contents of the toy box. Yet at the same time, Barbie is beloved to the point of ubiquity. <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/fashion-and-shopping/barbie-collectors-long-island-nscv34kq">Mattel estimates</a> that more than 100 Barbies are purchased in 150 countries every minute.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UqwQdr">
So why do we use Barbie like this?
</p>
<h3 id="DhUQCe">
The semiotics of Barbie
</h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/r4SbAMOLBDVNsqy3oOO_vC0qve4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24796939/179187268.jpg"/> <cite>Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images</cite>
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Girls playing with “Totally Hair” Barbies are photographed in 1992 in New York City.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="39goZN">
In their study, Nairn et al repeatedly ask the children they’re talking to why they hate Barbie in particular. They tend to give fairly consistent responses: Barbie, the children declare, is for babies and girly girls, and this is what makes her uncool, revolting, in need of mutilation. The children know, after all, what Barbie is for. She exists to teach young girls how to be feminine women.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pjnwFC">
In his 1977 book <em>The Uses of Enchantment</em>, child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim theorizes that children need to use symbols and story tellings — often darkly violent and sexual ones — in order to process their emotions about ideas they don’t yet fully understand. That, he writes, is why it’s so important for children to hear fairy tales in their dark and bloody pre-<a href="https://www.vox.com/disney">Disney</a> forms.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="br9duB">
It’s for this reason that children tend to find the vengeful elements of old fairy tales gratifying rather than disturbing, as they often are for adults. A child nursing a grudge against a parent can be satisfied by hearing about how Snow White’s evil stepmother was forced to dance in red-hot iron slippers until she burned to death. A child who feels ashamed of their own misbehavior can comfort themselves by hearing about how Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters were justly punished for their own bad deeds.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GkhAxk">
For Bettelheim, toys are central to this kind of unconscious processing, because they are physical objects that can become symbols of whatever problem the child is facing.
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“The child must somehow distance himself from the content of his unconscious and see it as something external to him, to have any sort of mastery over it,” Bettelheim writes. “In normal play, objects such as dolls and toy animals are used to embody various aspects of the child’s personality which are too complex, unacceptable, and contradictory for him to handle. This permits a child’s ego to gain some mastery over these elements.” Barbie, with her small scale and her many tiny accessories, is an ideal object for a child to have mastery over: so small and cute <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2018/12/cute-aggression-why-i-want-to-smoosh-this-sweet-baby-seal.html">you just want to rip her to pieces</a>.
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For little girls, Barbie is one of the most potent symbols there is of the problem of being an adult woman. Her impossible body is a three-dimensional dirty joke. Grown-ups tell you that all her careers make her beautiful and empowering, but all your peers know that her femininity makes her humiliating. You’re supposed to want to be her; you’re supposed to think she’s stupid. You’re supposed to want to be a woman who men think is attractive; you’re supposed to think that women men find attractive are stupid.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2ZTOGw">
You rip her apart; you make her have sex; what else can you do with her? What else can you do with the problem of what you’re going to grow up to face?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1iO19b">
So in the end, Mattel was right back in 1959. Barbie, beautiful Barbie, we made believe that we were you.
</p></li>
<li><strong>Traveling with a baby? Here’s what you need.</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sAYmU9a7QjN2fTp_XrRg05SGzck=/480x0:3360x2160/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72467970/vox_baby.0.jpg"/>
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Naomi Elliott
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
12 products that’ll make your trip so much easier.
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For expecting parents, travel can seem like one of those parts of life that’s off the table after having a baby. The ability to be spontaneous, to just pack a carry-on bag and head to some far-off destination for a few days, to run around exploring new cities, restaurants, beaches — all of it seems impossible. It doesn’t help that many parents and grandparents who have been there before will warn you to travel now, “while you still can!”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fwDuEc">
But as the parent of a now-16-month-old, I can say from experience that this is categorically false. I’ve now taken my daughter on many trips, including flights to the Midwest and Canada, and road trips to upstate New York and Washington, DC. The first trips we took were nerve-wracking: Did we pack all the right things for her? Would she sleep okay in the new place, thus allowing us, her parents, to sleep okay? Did we remember every possible item we might need to have at arm’s reach in the event of catastrophe while in transit?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y9i1vO">
With each successive trip, though, we got more and more confident. Each time, we learned a little bit more about how to optimize our travel routine. We learned what items we needed and what we would be fine without. We learned that you should definitely pack a lot of wet wipes, and that navigating the airport is a lot easier with a lightweight travel stroller than with your big everyday stroller.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZTqX63">
You can absolutely travel with a baby, as long as you accept that it will look a little bit different from the way you traveled before. And one of the ways it looks different — besides having to juggle your vacation plans around the baby’s nap schedule — is that you need a lot of gear.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q9eBjF">
Specifically, there are a number of things that can make traveling with a baby or toddler much, much easier. There is a wide world of products out there, some of which are for making plane travel smoother, while others make vacation at your eventual destination more enjoyable. Wading through the options can be overwhelming, and it’s hard to know which products are worth the money and/or packing space.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="plMZry">
The recommendations we’ve put together — by talking to travel experts, <a href="https://www.vox.com/parenting">parenting</a> specialists, and seasoned moms and dads on the Vox staff — are not meant to be one-size-fits-all. Pick and choose what feels most useful and valuable to you based on your travel style and budget. You might, for instance, be totally fine skipping a travel high chair if you don’t mind having your baby sit on your lap for meals. You might feel your regular stroller works well enough for vacation and you don’t need a travel stroller.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dSdSQQ">
And remember: You don’t always have to spend money to get these products. A secret of modern parenting is there is a whole economy of parents swapping baby and kid stuff they’re done with. Ask friends and family who have kids older than yours if they have what you need, or source from a neighborhood parent group or local <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/21427525/buy-nothing-gifting-facebook-groups-community-money-borrow-lend-trade">Buy Nothing group</a>. If you’re able to get (or borrow!) something for free, that can be more valuable than having the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/12/11/18134598/best-of-everything">“best” brand</a>.
</p>
<h3 id="qy3SqI">
<strong>Things to pack that are genuinely useful </strong>
</h3>
<h4 id="PL9fEv">
<strong>Travel stroller</strong>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iUexCs">
That perfect stroller that you spent months researching and selecting before the baby was born? It may not be very well-suited to traveling, particularly if it’s a big, heavy model. When traveling, you want something that’s lightweight and compact, since you’ll need to fold up the stroller when going through TSA checkpoints and when gate-checking it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OLN6XI">
All of this means traveling will be easier if you get a second stroller specifically designed for travel. There are two kinds: <strong>travel strollers</strong>, which generally fold up into thirds in a little compact rectangle, and <strong>umbrella strollers</strong>, which tend to be cheaper than travel strollers and fold up more like a long stick or umbrella shape.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FegkkH">
I have the Summer Infant 3DLite stroller, which is a relatively inexpensive, light umbrella stroller. This thing has gotten us through trips big and small.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iKM5ww">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Lite-Convenience-Stroller/dp/B00O20OCVC"><em>Summer Infant 3DLite stroller</em></a>,<em> $79</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h6u61U">
For a travel stroller, Vox audio producer Victoria Chamberlin recommends the GB Pockit+ All-Terrain stroller: “We took this to Germany, Scotland, and Italy. It folds to half the size of a rolly suitcase and can go under most seats and in all overhead compartments,” Chamberlin said. “Highly recommend if you have an international flight connection because if you gate check a stroller, you will not get it back until your final destination. When we got stranded in London overnight, I was very happy I had this in my hot hands.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="96ZeF6">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gb-Pockit-All-Terrain-Velvet-Black/dp/B07RGLBX41"><em>GB Pockit+ All-Terrain Stroller</em></a><em>, $280</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HNFrnY">
And Corinne McDermott, author of the travel website <a href="https://havebabywilltravel.com/">Have Baby Will Travel</a>, recommends just bringing your regular stroller on trips, provided it can play double duty. “It’s not necessary to purchase a second stroller specifically for travel if your main one works well,” McDermott says. “A stroller is not just a stroller when it comes to travel with babies and little kids. It is a bed, a high chair, a buggy for all of your stuff, and a baby jail for when you need to know your baby is in a secure spot while your hands are full and attention is elsewhere. Our beloved stroller was the UPPAbaby Vista, which was our everyday stroller that worked great for travel. It is easy to maneuver, the basket holds a lot, it’s high enough to push up to a table for mealtimes, and the deep recline was great for naps.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xcz0wP">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/UPPAbaby-Vista-V2-Stroller-0320-VIS-US-BRY/dp/B07Z6YPZYJ/"><em>UppaBaby Vista V2 Stroller</em></a><em>, $969</em>
</p>
<h4 id="uquQcT">
<strong>Travel car seat</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mqAzEr">
One of the most annoying things about traveling with a baby is that you need to lug your car seat around everywhere if you plan to take a taxi or ride in any car at all. You could try bringing your regular car seat if it’s small, like an infant car seat — but otherwise, most parents I know recommend leaving the heavy convertible car seat in your car and getting a much lighter travel version.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pDMg8T">
Vox video managing producer Val Lapinski recommends the Cosco Scenera Next, a travel car seat that weighs just 10 pounds. Says Val: “It’s ubiquitous for a reason — it weighs nothing.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pKVipV">
After having a miserable time dragging our bulky convertible car seat through Newark Airport and around our destination of Toronto, my husband and I bought the Cosco car seat upon Val’s recommendation to use for our future travels. Just a month later, we took it on a trip to Chicago and immediately knew it had been worth it. It was much lighter and easier to carry around; my husband’s shoulders were grateful.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nqCdwz">
<a href="https://goto.walmart.com/c/482924/1749763/9383?subId1=VoxBabyTravel071723&amp;sourceid=imp_000011112222333344&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.walmart.com%2Fip%2FCosco-Scenera-NEXT-Convertible-Car-Seat-Otto%2F41126739&amp;tid=0&amp;returnUrl=%2F&amp;veh=aff"><em>Cosco Scenera Next car seat</em></a><em>, $60</em>
</p>
<h4 id="BTtHA2">
<strong>Travel bags for both the car seat and stroller</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Rx1VRN">
If you’re flying, most <a href="https://www.vox.com/travel">airlines</a> allow you to gate-check a stroller and a car seat for free. But items can be damaged during the gate-check process, so it’s a good idea to invest in travel bags to protect them from scratches and other wear and tear. I have these simple red bags from J.L. Childress.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="onakIu">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Childress-Gate-Check-Bag-Seats/dp/B000RRD7UG/ref=sr_1_3?crid=NNL49701W86A&amp;keywords=jl+childress+bag&amp;qid=1688321662&amp;s=baby-products&amp;sprefix=jl+childress+bag%2Cbaby-products%2C75&amp;sr=1-3"><em>J.L. Childress Car Seat Gate Check Bag</em></a><em>, $20</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GX605p">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003554H9M/ref=twister_B08HWM9YP8?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1"><em>J.L. Childress Stroller Gate Check Bag</em></a><em>, $23</em>
</p>
<h4 id="BuJ4lu">
<strong>A lightweight baby carrier</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yCi3ei">
If your baby is still small enough for <a href="https://www.webmd.com/baby/what-is-baby-wearing">babywearing</a>, bring a carrier — it’s nice for carrying the baby around the airport once you check or gate-check your stroller, and it’ll be helpful when you want to do short outings where a stroller might feel cumbersome, like going to a restaurant.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PB40HA">
Emily Oster, an economist and author of the parenting books<em> </em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Expecting-Better-Conventional-Pregnancy-Wrong/dp/0143125702"><em>Expecting Better</em>,</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cribsheet-Data-Driven-Relaxed-Parenting-Preschool/dp/0525559256/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1689365336&amp;sr=1-1"><em>Cribsheet</em></a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Family-Firm-Data-Driven-Decision-ParentData-ebook/dp/B08NY5MG5P?ref_=ast_author_dp"><em>The Family Firm</em></a>, recommends the BityBean carrier: “It’s a very lightweight baby carrier that goes front or back and can range from a very small baby up through a 2-year-old. I spent many an hour in the back of an airplane flight bouncing a kid in this thing. Generally, in my view, the less gear the better, so this was a big win when we discovered it.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uSTyUg">
<a href="https://goto.walmart.com/c/482924/1749763/9383?subId1=VoxBabyTravel071723&amp;sourceid=imp_000011112222333344&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.walmart.com%2Fip%2FBityBean-UltraCompact-Baby-Carrier-Lime-Green%2F41051687&amp;tid=0&amp;returnUrl=%2F&amp;veh=aff"><em>BityBean Ultra Compact Baby Carrier</em></a><em>, $70</em>
</p>
<h4 id="dENROd">
<strong>Travel crib </strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Tjn5EJ">
Unless you’re staying somewhere that offers a crib, you will need a travel crib that folds up compactly and is easy to carry around to provide a safe sleep space for your baby.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZwS9Us">
The Graco Pack ’n Play is beloved by many parents (including myself). It’s easy to assemble, fold up, carry, and store, and comes with a bassinet attachment for younger babies.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6OCano">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Graco-Pack-Play-Playard-Stratus/dp/B00PTL3TOO/ref=sr_1_3?crid=JVW72MXRDHG7&amp;keywords=graco+pack+n+play&amp;qid=1688322126&amp;sprefix=graco+%2Caps%2C96&amp;sr=8-3&amp;ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840"><em>Graco Pack ’n Play Playard</em></a><em>, $80</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I7ldHL">
Chamberlin recommends the Guava Lotus travel crib: “This is way lighter and easier to put together than a pack and play, and takes up less space as a backpack than similar models. Also, it has a bassinet insert you can get if your baby is that little.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VfgePf">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lotus-Travel-Crib-Lightweight-Comfortable/dp/B00AKKDSNG"><em>Guava Lotus Travel Crib</em></a><em>, $249</em>
</p>
<h4 id="76ju8W">
<strong>Travel high chair</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EBhgPE">
You most likely already have a high chair at home, but when traveling, you might want one that’s easy to collapse and carry.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xnsxfv">
Says Chamberlin: “This is our go-to travel high chair. It is good for the floor, and also attaches to a dining chair. And if you take the tray off, it’s a camp chair. We have used it for travel to visit family, camping, and hotels.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lcw0lS">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Portable-Booster-Chair/dp/B08N6C7M5Q/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3DGJJBEAZG9W5&amp;keywords=hiccapop%2Btravel%2Bchair&amp;qid=1684854571&amp;sprefix=hiccapop%2Btravel%2Bchair%2Caps%2C91&amp;sr=8-3&amp;th=1"><em>Summer Infant Portable Booster Chair</em></a><em>, $30 </em>
</p>
<h4 id="bhXvV2">
<strong>Baby headphones, if you’re into screen time</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UdkEMG">
Screen time can be a godsend on vacation when you want to have a nice dinner at a restaurant and need your toddler to sit still and be quiet for a little while. Bring your iPad with preloaded shows, but don’t forget baby headphones so the rest of the restaurant’s patrons don’t have to listen to Ms. Rachel. I use these.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aI9Ya0">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09D3RH18B?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_J32HMQP7CXGRVQ59SENK"><em>BuddyPhones Explore+ Headphones</em></a><em>, $30 </em>
</p>
<h4 id="mclDtg">
<strong>Portable white noise machine</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R5vUt6">
One of the most important keys to a successful vacation with your baby is sleep. Maintaining a baby’s sleep schedule and making sure they get adequate naps and good sleep at night, even in a new setting, is crucial. If you use a white noise machine at home as many parents do, then you likely want a small portable one to pack on vacation. I use this one, which is chargeable and has a little hook that makes it easy to strap onto your stroller or car seat for naps on the go, too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kUMnpU">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Yogasleep-Portable-Soothing-Rechargeable-Baby-Safe/dp/B01D50RYSC/ref=sr_1_5?crid=G6U0H1PA45D&amp;keywords=portable+white+noise+machine&amp;qid=1688322590&amp;sprefix=portable+white+%2Caps%2C91&amp;sr=8-5"><em>Yogasleep Hushh Portable White Noise Machine</em></a><em>, $27 </em>
</p>
<h4 id="TY2pRA">
<strong>Portable blackout curtains</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mhlkBz">
Many kids need total darkness to be able to sleep, and the varying light situation in hotels and Airbnbs can wreak havoc on daytime naps. Many Vox parents recommend portable blackout curtains to create that perfect darkness — everyone will be happier if the baby has had a solid nap.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kamffM">
Catherine Spangler, a supervising producer on Vox’s video team, says: “These blackout curtains with suction cups have been lifesavers across three continents for us.” The suction cups make them easy to attach to any window, and they’re lightweight and easy to fold up and throw into your carry-on bag.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fwcdXB">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tommee-Tippee-Sleeptime-Portable-591075/dp/B08GFWXPPH/?th=1"><em>Tommee Tippee Portable Blackout Curtains</em></a><em>, $19</em>
</p>
<h4 id="q1QSQR">
<strong>A diaper bag that holds everything you need for the flight</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wT4ux2">
A diaper bag that holds and organizes all the essentials you might need in flight — from diapers and wipes to snacks and bottles and the iPad and headphones and an extra change of clothes — is important to a less stressful flight.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Fj702Z">
Your everyday bag might work, but Jessica Darrington, who runs the baby travel <a href="https://whereisbriggs.com/">website</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/whereisbriggs/">Instagram</a> Where Is Briggs, also recommends the ultra-structured travel diaper bag from No Reception Club. Says Darrington: “This diaper bag has been a game changer when traveling with a baby because it has kept all of our gear organized. I’m amazed at everything I can fit inside and love that this bag counts as a personal item and can go under the seat in front of me on the airplane.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nYET91">
<a href="https://noreceptionclub.com/products/backpack-getaway"><em>No Reception Club “The Getaway” Bag</em></a><em>, $235</em>
</p>
<h3 id="CyL0mV">
<strong>Things you can probably skip bringing</strong>
</h3>
<h4 id="QbRvmq">
<strong>Tons of diapers</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wL91hG">
Save your suitcase space and bring only enough diapers to get you through the trip — you can always buy more diapers when you arrive at your destination.
</p>
<h4 id="SrrUv2">
<strong>The SlumberPod</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PMFmd1">
As far as I can tell, this is basically <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B7PBRZX5/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2C95I5AB4CX49&amp;psc=1">a tent for babies to sleep in</a>, but the entire $180 tent is made of blackout shades. Some parents I know love it, but we’ve never invested in one — portable blackout shades have worked just fine for us and are much cheaper.
</p>
<h4 id="ysH3CK">
<strong>Travel baby monitor</strong>
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WAqsZ4">
Travel baby monitors are things that exist, but there are also a million baby monitor apps that turn devices like iPads, with cameras and microphones, into monitors that stream to your phone. Save your money and skip buying a travel-specific device.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<div id="ESXH1a">
<div>
</div>
</div>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Will the Indian Supercross Racing League take off in October?</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>Hyderabad Race Club postpones opening day’s races</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>Chillilady, Win My Luv, Accumulate, Acaster and Spectacular catch the eye</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>Indian Supercross Racing League opens rider registration for auction</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>Kohli is real inspiration for so many players: Dravid</strong> - Kohli will join Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid himself and MS Dhoni as the fourth Indian to play 500 international matches in the second and final Test against the West Indies</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>Sri Chithira Thirunal’s death anniversary observed</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>Godavari continues to rise all along its river course from Basar to Bhadrachalam</strong> - Water close to first flood warning level in Bhadrachalam</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>SC refers Delhi ordinance case to Constitution Bench</strong> - Reference coincides with a new Parliament session where the ordinance will be introduced; SC refuses hearing before Article 370 case; Delhi carrying out witch hunt against bureaucrats, says Home Ministry</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>Ahmedabad court rejects Teesta Setalvad’s discharge plea in 2002 riots evidence fabrication case</strong> - The Supreme Court on July 19 set aside an order of the Gujarat High Court on July 1 directing Teesta Setalvad to surrender immediately in the case</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>Aavin to tie up with IIM-Tiruchi, Anna University to improve overall functioning: T.N. Dairy Minister</strong> - Minister Mano Thangaraj said MoUs would be signed with the premier academic institutions to help the milk major improve its financial, HR, transportation, energy consumption and product enhancement systems, among other aspects</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Wheat prices soar after Russia threatens ships</strong> - Russia announces it will treat ships heading for Ukrainian ports as potential military targets.</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>Police search for suspected lion roaming Berlin area</strong> - Residents in the south-western outskirts of Berlin are being told to stay indoors.</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>Spain’s snap election revives issue of national unity</strong> - Catalans weigh up possible outcomes of Sunday’s poll and its impact on the independence movement.</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: Protesters set fire to Swedish embassy in Baghdad</strong> - Hundreds of people have stormed Sweden’s embassy in Iraq to protest a planned burning of the Quran.</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>European outcry forces US economist to drop top job</strong> - Fiona Scott Morton pulls out of the EU role of Chief Competition Economist amid a storm of criticism.</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>Unity’s visionOS support has started to roll out—here’s how it works</strong> - A closed beta will admit developers gradually over the coming weeks. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1955171">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study claims ChatGPT is losing capability, but some experts aren’t convinced</strong> - Either way, experts think OpenAI should be less opaque about its AI model architecture. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1954989">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Google’s new security pilot program will ban employee Internet access</strong> - You can’t get hacked if you aren’t on the Internet. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1955186">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Florida malaria outbreak still going with local cases now at 7</strong> - Local officials are still working to apply insecticide by air, trucks, and crews. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1955210">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>FTC rewrites rules on Big Tech mergers with aim to ease monopoly-busting</strong> - Merger rules currently stacked in favor of monopolists, critics say. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1955103">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What do woman call men with huge cocks?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I knew you had to click to check
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/gruenesmaenchen"> /u/gruenesmaenchen </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154ermd/what_do_woman_call_men_with_huge_cocks/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154ermd/what_do_woman_call_men_with_huge_cocks/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A husband and wife were having dinner</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
They were at a very fine restaurant when this absolutely stunning young woman comes over to their table, gives the husband a big kiss, says she’ll see him later and walks away.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
His wife glares at him and says, “Who the hell was that?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Oh,” replies the husband, “she’s my mistress.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well, that’s the last straw,” says the wife. “I’ve had enough, I want a divorce.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“I can understand that,” replies her husband, “but remember, if we get a divorce it will mean no more shopping trips to Paris, no more wintering in Barbados, no more summers in Tuscany, no more Infinities and Lexuses in the garage and no more yacht club. But the decision is yours.”
</p>
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Just then, a mutual friend enters the restaurant with a gorgeous babe on his arm.
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“Who’s that woman with Jim?” asks the wife.
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“That’s his mistress,” says her husband.
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“Ours is prettier,” she replies.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/CrimsonAvenger_ZA"> /u/CrimsonAvenger_ZA </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154gv8q/a_husband_and_wife_were_having_dinner/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154gv8q/a_husband_and_wife_were_having_dinner/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>[NSFW] Recently, I asked a woman what she’d like to see in a man and she said “honesty”. She asked me what I’d like to see in a woman and I said…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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My penis
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/chopselmcity"> /u/chopselmcity </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154bx9o/nsfw_recently_i_asked_a_woman_what_shed_like_to/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154bx9o/nsfw_recently_i_asked_a_woman_what_shed_like_to/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why do the French eat snails?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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Because they don’t like fast food.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MercyReign"> /u/MercyReign </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154d3zm/why_do_the_french_eat_snails/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154d3zm/why_do_the_french_eat_snails/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I just finished the book “101 mating positions”, and I was really disappointed.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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Turns out—-it’s a book about chess.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/porichoygupto"> /u/porichoygupto </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154807w/i_just_finished_the_book_101_mating_positions_and/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154807w/i_just_finished_the_book_101_mating_positions_and/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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