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<title>15 October, 2022</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>TECHNOLOGY BASED LEARNING MODEL DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC</strong> -
<div>
The Covid-19 pandemic has not been completely handled in almost every country in the world up until the end of 2020, its impact was felt by Indonesia. The major changes that continue to occur in all aspects of human life are also targeting the education system. Changes in the education system in Indonesia have a very significant effect on learning and students, where students experience difficulties in following the learning process, especially students at the elementary level. It can be ascertained that the cause is due to the fact that learning is usually carried out conventionally, dominance is still centralized on the educators, and the models used do not vary much. Within a short time period and without preparation, learning must be adapted to the needs, situations and conditions, so that learning can still be carried out. Distance learning process (Pembelajaran Jarak Jauh) using online modes is expected to bridge the relationship and communication between educators and students so that the learning process does not experience obstacles. To make Distance Education implemented optimally, Distance Education cannot be separated from the utilization of Information Technology. This article aims to examine further how the implementation of Distance Education relies on technology, as well as the use of appropriate learning models for students during the Covid-19 pandemic, using descriptive-analytical literature methods. The results and conclusions in this paper indicate that technology-based learning has an important role in the implementation of learning, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. The management and implementation of technology-based learning is very dependent on Information Technology, facilitating educators so that the continuity of interaction between educators and students does not face any problems. It is hoped that the competence of educators in managing Distance Education using online modes is expected to be continually developed by utilizing various learning models, so that the learning process can be optimized. Although in its implementation there are still several obstacles related to academic culture, including values, attitudes, knowledge, skills, and readiness of technology-related facilities and infrastructure, education management by utilizing various learning models and supporting technology can be one of the solutions in facing challenges of Distance Education during the current Covid-19 pandemic.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/kwe59/" target="_blank">TECHNOLOGY BASED LEARNING MODEL DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Examining the influence of user engagement on tourist virtual reality behavioral response from the human-computer interaction perspective: A PLSSEM-IMP-NN hybrid machine learning approach</strong> -
<div>
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, new attraction ways are tended to be adapted by compelling sites to provide tours product and services, such as virtual reality (VR) to visitors. Based on human-computer interaction (HCI) user engagement and domain segmentation innovativeness theory, we develop and test a theoretical framework using a hybrid partial least squares structural equation model (PLSSEM) with Importance Performance Matrix (IMP) and neural network machine learning approach (PLSSEM-IMP-NN) that examines key user engagement drivers of visitors’ attitude toward VR (ATT) and in-person tour intentions (ITI) during COVID-19. According to a sample of visitors’ response, the results demonstrate that a) user engagement including aesthetic appeal, focused attention, perceived usability, and reward experience, raise attitude toward VR; b) product-possessing innovativeness positively moderates the relationships between ATT and ITI; c) information-possessing innovativeness negatively moderates the relationships between ATT and ITI; d) ATT exert the mediating effect between user engagement and ITI. The proposed new PLSSEM-IMP-NN approach has been examined and denotes its efficient and effective in HCI and behavioral response assessment. Other contributions to theories and practical implications are discussed accordingly.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/hp259/" target="_blank">Examining the influence of user engagement on tourist virtual reality behavioral response from the human-computer interaction perspective: A PLSSEM-IMP-NN hybrid machine learning approach</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Private sector involvement in social and affordable housing</strong> -
<div>
This research investigates models for engaging private sector investors and developers in financing or delivering social and affordable housing, across different market segments and tenures in Australia and internationally. It also identifies key existing and potential players, and financial, regulatory, or development barriers to wider participation. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, around 3,000 social and affordable dwellings were being produced per year, against an estimated annual need of around 36,000 homes. To meet the forecast demand, it is clear ‘hybridity’ of the housing system is essential, whereby social and affordable housing is increasingly financed, developed and managed by a combination of government, community-based and market providers, and cross-sector partnerships; no one sector can address the need alone. This study highlighted that a range of established and emerging affordable housing product types can be supported through collaboration with private not-for-profit and for-profit partners. These strategies include public private partnerships, mixed tenure developments, tax subsidies for affordable supply, home ownership schemes, build to rent and inclusionary planning mechanisms. These depend on different combinations of government subsidy, policy settings, and regulation, and are suitable for delivery across a variety of different development contexts.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/9h6qj/" target="_blank">Private sector involvement in social and affordable housing</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Misleading Beyond Visual Tricks: How People Actually Lie with Charts</strong> -
<div>
Data visualizations can empower an audience to make informed decisions. At the same time, deceptive representations of data can lead to inaccurate interpretations while still providing an illusion of data-driven insights. Existing research on misleading visualizations primarily focuses on examples of charts and techniques previously reported to be deceptive. These approaches do not necessarily describe how charts mislead the general population in practice. We instead present an analysis of data visualizations found in a real-world discourse of a significant global event—Twitter posts with visualizations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our work shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, violations of visualization design guidelines are not the dominant way people mislead with charts. Specifically, they do not disproportionately lead to reasoning errors in posters’ arguments. Through a series of examples, we present common reasoning errors and discuss how even faithfully plotted data visualizations can be used to support misinformation online.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/ky6th/" target="_blank">Misleading Beyond Visual Tricks: How People Actually Lie with Charts</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Joko Widodo Views on Women’s Interests Before and During the Pandemic Based on Social-Media</strong> -
<div>
The COVID-19 Pandemic has had many impacts on Indonesian women. As one of the pilot countries for the HeForShe project campaigned by UN Women, it is interesting to analyze how the President of Indonesia responds to this phenomenon. Many studies focus on the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on women. But, there is a lack of research on how the government responds to women’s interests during the Pandemic compared to the situation before the Pandemic. Using a qualitative approach, this study analyses how the President of Indonesia views women’s interests before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Two official social-media of the President of Republic Indonesia Joko Widodo: The Official Twitter Account of the President of Indonesia @jokowi and The Official Facebook Account of The President of Indonesia @Jokowi · Minat are used as the primary data sources. The findings indicate that before the COVID-19 Pandemic, President Joko Widodo gave significant attention to strategic women’s interests such as subordination and gender equality. But the situation changed during the Pandemic. The President views the fulfillment of daily needs such as food and health as more urgent for women in the COVID-19 Pandemic than strategic interests. This study highlights that in a crisis, the focus of the government policy is safe for the people first (women and men) to fulfill their basic needs. The gender equality agenda is becoming marginalized.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/p5kfu/" target="_blank">Joko Widodo Views on Women’s Interests Before and During the Pandemic Based on Social-Media</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The Effect of Chairobic Dance Program on Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Faculty of Education Staff, Thaksin University</strong> -
<div>
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of daily life, especially exercise, where restrictions on location, time, and work can make exercise even more difficult. Hence, this study aims to create a Chairobic dance program dancing with a chair that uses few spaces, able to sit and dance in your chair. It was developed from the aerobics dance. In addition, to compare the effect of the Chairobic dance program on Cardiorespiratory endurance before and after training. The target group is 24 staff of the Faculty of Education at Thaksin University. The participants were trained through a Chairobic dance program created by the researcher for eight weeks (3 days/week, i.e., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). They have to practice 45 minutes a day after work. The Cardiorespiratory endurance was tested using a 3-minute knee-up and down test and compared before and after eight weeks of training by the Pair t-test statistics. The results showed that in the Chairobic dance program created by the researcher, there is an IOC (Index of Item-Objective Congruence) in the range of 0.6 -1.00, which is acceptable and usable. In addition, the target group had better Cardiorespiratory endurance than before training. Therefore, It will be helpful for anyone interested in an alternative to exercise. This is because it takes up less space, is convenient to exercise, fun, and can develop Cardiorespiratory endurance.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/5g8wu/" target="_blank">The Effect of Chairobic Dance Program on Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Faculty of Education Staff, Thaksin University</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Did the pandemic increase social media-induced appearance pressures? A longitudinal analysis of social media caused appearance-related pressures before and during the Covid-19 pandemic</strong> -
<div>
Has the use of social media intensified and increased appearance-related pressures during the Covid-19 pandemic? A growing body of research has suggested that body image concerns and disordered eating have increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the potential pathways includes an increase in social media use. However, examinations of this pathway have been limited because of the lack of longitudinal data. Drawing on a four-wave population-based survey, we demonstrate that social media-based appearance pressures did not increase at the beginning of the pandemic, but rather at the later stage, and among women only. However, the changes in social media use do not explain this subtle increase. These findings suggest that other pathways than intensified use of social media might be more useful in explaining increased appearance-related pressures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/9q7xj/" target="_blank">Did the pandemic increase social media-induced appearance pressures? A longitudinal analysis of social media caused appearance-related pressures before and during the Covid-19 pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Coping with Covid 19 lockdown: Optimism and Intolerance of Uncertainty in India</strong> -
<div>
Background: Kerala state in India has been hailed as an exceptional model in containing the Covid 19 pandemic within a low resource setting Insights from such a setting are valuable for mental health research during an epidemic situation, especially for resource poor countries. Aims:The study examined the relationship between optimism intolerance of uncertainty (IU), and socio- demographic factors among participants from Kerala, India. Methods: An observational design was used and data was collected using online survey. Snowball sampling method was employed. Sample consisted of 121 adults belonging to Kerala. Standardised tools and customised questionnaire were used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed. Results: A strong relationship existed between inhibitory anxiety and optimism. Socio-demographic factors did not determine either intolerance of uncertainty or optimism. The unprecedented uncertainty brought about by the pandemic needs further exploration. Conclusions: The present pandemic has presented an unprecedented situation regarding well being of individuals. Further studies on anxiety and related issues, and protective factors during situations of uncertainty are needed for policy and practice related to community level disaster preparedness.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/bzfp7/" target="_blank">Coping with Covid 19 lockdown: Optimism and Intolerance of Uncertainty in India</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Laboratory evaluation of a quaternary ammonium compound (QAC)-based antimicrobial coating used in public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic</strong> -
<div>
The virucidal activity of a quaternary ammonium compound (QAC)-based antimicrobial coating used by the UK rail industry during the COVID-19 pandemic was evaluated using the bacteriophage {Phi}6 as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. Immediately after application and in the absence of interfering substance, the product showed efficacy (&gt;3 log10 reduction) on some materials typically used in rail carriages (stainless steel, high pressure laminate and plastic), variable efficacy on glass and no efficacy (&lt;3 log10 reduction) on a train armrest made of Terluran 22. If, after application of the product, the surfaces remained undisturbed, the antimicrobial coating retained its efficacy for at least 28 days on all materials where it was effective immediately after application. However, regardless of the material coated or time since application, the presence of organic debris (fetal bovine serum) significantly reduced the viricidal activity of the coating. Wiping the surface with a wetted cloth after organic debris deposition was not sufficient to restore efficacy. We conclude that the product is likely to be of limited effectiveness in a busy multi-user environment such as public transport.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.12.512011v1" target="_blank">Laboratory evaluation of a quaternary ammonium compound (QAC)-based antimicrobial coating used in public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 infection in domestic rats after transmission from their infected owner</strong> -
<div>
We report the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant from a COVID-19 symptomatic individual to two domestic rats, one of which developed severe symptoms. Omicron carries several mutations which permit rodent infection. This report demonstrates that pet, and likely wild, rodents could therefore contribute to SARS-CoV-2 spread and evolution.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.13.512053v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 infection in domestic rats after transmission from their infected owner</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Combination of the parent analogue of Remdesivir (GS-441524) and Molnupiravir results in a markedly potent antiviral effect in SARS-CoV-2 infected Syrian hamsters</strong> -
<div>
Remdesivir was the first drug to be approved for the treatment of severe COVID-19; followed by molnupiravir (another prodrug of a nucleoside analogue) and the protease inhibitor nirmatrelvir. Combination of antiviral drugs may result in improved potency and help to avoid or delay the development of resistant variants. We set out to explore the combined antiviral potency of GS-441524 (the parent nucleoside of remdesivir) and molnupiravir against SARS-CoV-2. In SARS-CoV-2 (BA.5) infected A549-Dual hACE2-TMPRSS2 cells, the combination resulted in an overall additive antiviral effect with a synergism at certain concentrations. Next, the combined effect was explored in Syrian hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2 (Beta, B.1.351); treatment was started at the time of infection and continued twice daily for four consecutive days. At 4 day 4 post-infection, GS-441524 (50 mg/kg, oral BID) and molnupiravir (150 mg/kg, oral BID) as monotherapy reduced infectious viral loads by 0.5 and 1.6 log10, respectively, compared to the vehicle control. When GS-441524 (50 mg/kg, BID) and molnupiravir (150 mg/kg, BID) were combined, infectious virus was no longer detectable in the lungs of 7 out of 10 of the treated hamsters (4.0 log10 reduction) and titers in the other animals were reduced by ~2 log10. The combined antiviral activity of molnupiravir which acts by inducing lethal mutagenesis and GS-441524, which acts as a chain termination appears to be highly effective in reducing SARS-CoV-2 replication/infectivity. The unexpected potent antiviral effect of the combination warrants further exploration as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.13.512054v1" target="_blank">Combination of the parent analogue of Remdesivir (GS-441524) and Molnupiravir results in a markedly potent antiviral effect in SARS-CoV-2 infected Syrian hamsters</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Reduction of RBD Binding Affinity to Glycosylated ACE2 is Entropic in Origin</strong> -
<div>
The spike protein in the virus SARS-CoV-2 (the causative agent of COVID-19) recognizes the host cell by binding to the peptidase domain (PD) of the extracellular enzyme Angiotensin-converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2). A variety of carbohydrates could be attached to the six asparagines in the PD, resulting in a heterogeneous population of ACE2 glycoforms. Experiments have shown that the binding affinity of glycosylated and deglycosylated ACE2 to the virus is virtually identical. In most cases, the reduction in glycan size correlates with stronger binding, which suggests that volume exclusion, and hence entropic forces, determine the binding affinity. Here, we quantitatively test the entropy-based hypothesis by developing a lattice model for the complex between ACE2 and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein Receptor-binding Domain (RBD). Glycans are treated as branched polymers with only volume exclusion, which we justify using all atom molecular dynamics simulations in explicit water. We show that the experimentally measured changes in the ACE2-RBD dissociation constants for a variety of engineered ACE2 glycoforms are well accounted for by our theory, thus affirming that ACE2 glycans have only a weak, entropic effect on RBD binding.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.12.511994v1" target="_blank">Reduction of RBD Binding Affinity to Glycosylated ACE2 is Entropic in Origin</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A pseudovirus system enables deep mutational scanning of the full SARS-CoV-2 spike</strong> -
<div>
A major challenge in understanding SARS-CoV-2 evolution is interpreting the antigenic and functional effects of emerging mutations in the viral spike protein. Here we describe a new deep mutational scanning platform based on non-replicative pseudotyped lentiviruses that directly quantifies how large numbers of spike mutations impact antibody neutralization and pseudovirus infection. We demonstrate this new platform by making libraries of the Omicron BA.1 and Delta spikes. These libraries each contain ~7000 distinct amino-acid mutations in the context of up to ~135,000 unique mutation combinations. We use these libraries to map escape mutations from neutralizing antibodies targeting the receptor binding domain, N-terminal domain, and S2 subunit of spike. Overall, this work establishes a high-throughput and safe approach to measure how ~‘10 to the 5’ combinations of mutations affect antibody neutralization and spike-mediated infection. Notably, the platform described here can be extended to the entry proteins of many other viruses.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.13.512056v1" target="_blank">A pseudovirus system enables deep mutational scanning of the full SARS-CoV-2 spike</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Utility of human judgment ensembles during times of pandemic uncertainty: A case study during the COVID-19 Omicron BA.1 wave in the USA</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Responding to a rapidly evolving pandemic like COVID-19 is challenging, and involves anticipating novel variants, vaccine uptake, and behavioral adaptations. Human judgment systems can complement computational models by providing valuable real-time forecasts. We report findings from a study conducted on Metaculus, a community forecasting platform, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health, involving six rounds of forecasting during the Omicron BA.1 wave in the United States from November 2021 to March 2022. We received 8355 probabilistic predictions from 129 unique users across 60 questions pertaining to cases, hospitalizations, vaccine uptake, and peak/trough activity. We observed that the case forecasts performed on par with national multi-model ensembles and the vaccine uptake forecasts were more robust and accurate compared to baseline models. We also identified qualitative shifts in Omicron BA.1 wave prognosis during the surge phase, demonstrating rapid adaptation of such systems. Finally, we found that community estimates of variant characteristics such as growth rate and timing of dominance were in line with the scientific consensus. The observed accuracy, timeliness, and scope of such systems demonstrates the value of incorporating them into pandemic policymaking workflows.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.12.22280997v1" target="_blank">Utility of human judgment ensembles during times of pandemic uncertainty: A case study during the COVID-19 Omicron BA.1 wave in the USA</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody containing plasma improves outcome in patients with hematologic or solid cancer and severe COVID-19 via increased neutralizing antibody activity. A randomized clinical trial</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Cancer patients are at high risk of severe COVID-19 with high morbidity and mortality. Further, impaired humoral response renders SARS-CoV-2 vaccines less effective and treatment options are scarce. Randomized trials using convalescent plasma are missing for high-risk patients. Here, we performed a multicenter trial (https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/trial/2020-001632-10/DE) in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 within four risk groups (1, cancer; 2, immunosuppression; 3, lab-based risk factors; 4, advanced age) randomized to standard of care (CONTROL) or standard of care plus convalescent/vaccinated anti-SARS-CoV-2 plasma (PLASMA). For the four groups combined, PLASMA did not improve clinically compared to CONTROL (HR 1.29; p=0.205). However, cancer patients experienced shortened median time to improvement (HR 2.50, p=0.003) and superior survival in PLASMA vs. CONTROL (HR 0.28; p=0.042). Neutralizing antibody activity increased in PLASMA but not in CONTROL cancer patients (p=0.001). Taken together, convalescent/vaccinated plasma may improve COVID-19 outcome in cancer patients unable to intrinsically generate an adequate immune response.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.10.22280850v1" target="_blank">Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody containing plasma improves outcome in patients with hematologic or solid cancer and severe COVID-19 via increased neutralizing antibody activity. A randomized clinical trial</a>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Learn About a Repeat 5-Day Treatment With the Study Medicines (Called Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir) in People 12 Years Old or Older With Return of COVID-19 Symptoms and SARS-CoV-2 Positivity After Finishing Treatment With Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: nirmatrelvir;   Drug: ritonavir;   Drug: placebo for nirmatrelvir<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Pfizer<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Recombinant Omicron-Delta COVID-19 Vaccine (CHO Cell)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Recombinant Omicron-Delta COVID-19 Vaccine (CHO Cell);   Biological: Inactivated COVID-19 vaccine (Vero Cell)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biologic Pharmacy Co., Ltd.;   First Affiliated Hospital Bengbu Medical College<br/><b>Active, not recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Phase III Study to Evaluate Immunogenicity and Safety of COVID-19 Vaccine EuCorVac-19 in Healthy Adults</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: EuCorVac-19;   Biological: ChAdOx1<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   EuBiologics Co.,Ltd<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study Evaluating Diltiazem in Combination With Standard Treatment in the Management of Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 Pneumonia</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: DILTIAZEM TEVA 60 mg or placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Hospices Civils de Lyon;   Signia Therapeutics<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>VAX-MOM COVID-19: Increasing Maternal COVID-19 Vaccination</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Immunization; Infection;   Pregnancy Related;   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: VAX-MOM COVID-19 Intervention;   Other: Standard of Care<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   University of Rochester;   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;   University of California, Los Angeles<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>COVID-19 Simulation Education on Nursing Students</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19 Pandemic;   Simulation of Physical Illness<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Simulation training;   Other: Control Group<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Mehmet Akif Ersoy University<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>COVID-19 Booster Dose Reminder/Recall for Adolescents</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Vaccines<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Reminder/Recall Sent Via Preferred Method of Communication<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation<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>Safety and Immunogenicity of AdCLD-CoV19-1 OMI as a Booster: A SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Preventive Vaccine</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   Vaccines<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: AdCLD-CoV19-1 OMI (Part A);   Biological: AdCLD-CoV19-1 OMI (Part B);   Other: Placebo (Part B)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Cellid Co., Ltd.<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>The Effect of Different Masks Used by Pregnant Women on Vital Signs and Non Stress Test During The COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Covid-19;   Pregnant;   Fetus;   Mask<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Single surgical mask group, Double surgical mask group, N95 mask group<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Bozok University<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>Personalized Computerized Training Program for Cognitive Dysfunction After COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Post-Acute COVID-19;   Long COVID<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Device: CogniFit’s CCT Post COVID-19<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Universidad Antonio de Nebrija<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>Understanding the Impact of Death Conditions Linked to the COVID-19 Crisis on the Grieving Process in Bereaved Families</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Psychological Disorder<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: Qualitative research interview<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>Efficacy of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) in People With Post Covid-19 Condition.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Emotional Disorder;   Post COVID-19 Condition;   Anxiety Disorders;   Depressive Disorder<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón<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>Sequential Enhanced Safety Study of a Novel Coronavirus Messenger RNA (mRNA) Vaccine in Adults Aged 18 Years and Older.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19)<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: 0.3ml of mRNA vaccine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Yu Qin<br/><b>Enrolling by invitation</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>Impact of Teeth Brushing in Ventilated COVID-19 Patients.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Microbial Colonization;   COVID-19 Respiratory Infection;   Dysbiosis;   VAP - Ventilator Associated Pneumonia;   HAI<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Procedure: Oral Procedure<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   University Hospital in Krakow<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>Physiology of Long COVID and the Impact of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation on Quality-of-Life and Functional Capacity</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Exercise<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   University of Colorado, Denver<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>Bioactive compounds of Jingfang Granules against SARS-CoV-2 virus proteases 3CL<sup>pro</sup> and PL<sup>pro</sup></strong> - CONCLUSION: Prim-O-glucosylcimifugin, neohesperidin, and naringin as the major compounds from Jingfang Granules could inhibit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus proteases 3CL^(pro) and PL^(pro). The results are valuable for rational clinical use of Jingfang Granules.</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>Synergistic action of organophosphates and COVID-19 on inflammation, oxidative stress, and renin-angiotensin system can amplify the risk of cardiovascular maladies</strong> - Organophosphates (OPs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants, widely used as pesticides in agricultural fields. In addition, they serve as flame-retardants, plasticizers, antifoaming or antiwear agents in lacquers, hydraulic fluids, and floor polishing agents. Therefore, world-wide and massive applications of these compounds have increased the risk of unintentional exposure to non-targets including the human beings. OPs are neurotoxic agents as they inhibit the activity of acetylcholine…</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>Immune-Related Adverse Events Among COVID-19-Vaccinated Patients With Cancer Receiving Immune Checkpoint Blockade</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: These findings should reassure providers that COVID-19 vaccination during ICI therapy is safe and efficacious.</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>Computational molecular interaction between SARS-CoV-2 main protease and theaflavin digallate using free energy perturbation and molecular dynamics</strong> - Our objective was to identify the molecule which can inhibit SARS-CoV-2 main protease and can be easily procured. Natural products may provide such molecules and can supplement the current custom chemical synthesis-based drug discovery for this objective. A combination of docking approaches, scoring functions, classical molecular dynamic simulation, binding pose metadynamics, and free energy perturbation calculations have been employed in this study. Theaflavin digallate has been observed in…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Acriflavine and proflavine hemisulfate as potential antivirals by targeting M<sup>pro</sup></strong> - The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic buffets the world, and the concerted efforts are needed to explore effective drugs. M^(pro) is an intriguing antiviral target for interfering with viral RNA replication and transcription. In order to get potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents, we established an enzymatic assay using a fluorogenic substrate to screen the inhibitors of M^(pro). Fortunately, Acriflavine (ACF) and Proflavine Hemisulfate (PRF) with the same acridine scaffold were picked out for their good…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Intradermal Testing With COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines Predicts Tolerance</strong> - CONCLUSION: Sensitization to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines can be detected with intradermal testing. Significantly more individuals were sensitized to mRNA vaccines in the post-vaccination cohort. A two-step 10-90%-vaccination protocol can be safely administered upon negative skin testing.</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 the SARS-CoV-2 helicase at single-nucleotide resolution</strong> - The genome of SARS-CoV-2 encodes for a helicase called nsp13 that is essential for viral replication and highly conserved across related viruses, making it an attractive antiviral target. Here we use nanopore tweezers, a high-resolution single-molecule technique, to gain detailed insight into how nsp13 turns ATP-hydrolysis into directed motion along nucleic acid strands. We measured nsp13 both as it translocates along single-stranded DNA or unwinds short DNA duplexes. Our data confirm that nsp13…</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>Prophylactic treatment of <em>Glycyrrhiza glabra</em> mitigates COVID-19 pathology through inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the hamster model and NETosis</strong> - Severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is accompanied by acute respiratory distress syndrome and pulmonary pathology, and is presented mostly with an inflammatory cytokine release, a dysregulated immune response, a skewed neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, and a hypercoagulable state. Though vaccinations have proved effective in reducing the COVID-19-related mortality, the limitation of the use of vaccine against immunocompromised individuals, those with comorbidity, and emerging variants remains a…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>3’UTR of SARS-CoV-2 spike gene hijack host miR-296 or miR-520h to disturb cell proliferation and cytokine signaling</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has becoming globally public health threat. Recently studies were focus on SARS-CoV-2 RNA to design vaccine and drugs. It was demonstrated that virus RNA could play as sponge to host noncoding RNAs to regulate cellular processes. Bioinformatic research predicted a series of motif on SARS-CoV-2 genome where are targets of human miRNAs. In this study, we used dual-luciferase reporter assays to validate the interaction between 3’UTR of…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Synthesis and Evaluation of a Silver Nanoparticle/Polyurethane Composite That Exhibits Antiviral Activity against SARS-CoV-2</strong> - In this proof-of-concept study, we aim to produce a polyurethane (PU)-based composite that can reduce the amount of viable SARS-CoV-2 virus in contact with the surface of the polymeric film without further interventions such as manual cleaning. Current protocols for maintaining the hygiene of commonly used touchpoints (door handles, light switches, shop counters) typically rely on repeated washing with antimicrobial products. Since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, frequent and costly…</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>Antibacterial, Antifungal and Antiviral Polymeric Food Packaging in Post-COVID-19 Era</strong> - Consumers are now more concerned about food safety and hygiene following the COVID-19 pandemic. Antimicrobial packaging has attracted increased interest by reducing contamination of food surfaces to deliver quality and safe food while maintaining shelf life. Active packaging materials to reduce contamination or inhibit viral activity in packaged foods and on packaging surfaces are mostly prepared using solvent casting, but very few materials demonstrate antiviral activity on foods of animal…</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>Mulberrofuran G, a Mulberry Component, Prevents SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Blocking the Interaction between SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein S1 Receptor-Binding Domain and Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Receptor</strong> - Despite the recent development of RNA replication-targeted COVID-19 drugs by global pharmaceutical companies, their prescription in clinical practice is limited by certain factors, including drug interaction, reproductive toxicity, and drug resistance. COVID-19 drugs with multiple targets for the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle may lead to a successful reduction in drug resistance as well as enhanced therapeutic efficacy, and natural products are a potential source of molecules with therapeutic effects…</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><em>Garcinia cambogia</em> Phenolics as Potent Anti-COVID-19 Agents: Phytochemical Profiling, Biological Activities, and Molecular Docking</strong> - COVID-19 is a disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and became a pandemic in a critically short time. Phenolic secondary metabolites attracted much attention from the pharmaceutical industries for their easily accessible natural sources and proven antiviral activity. In our mission, a metabolomics study of the Garcinia cambogia Roxb. fruit rind was performed using LC-HRESIMS to investigate its chemical profile, especially the polar aspects, followed by a detailed phytochemical analysis,…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Discovery of Small Allosteric and Active Site Inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease via Structure-Based Virtual Screening and Biological Evaluation</strong> - The main protease enzyme (M^(pro)) of SARS-CoV-2 is one of the most promising targets for COVID-19 treatment. Accordingly, in this work, a structure-based virtual screening of 3.8 million ligand libraries was carried out. After rigorous filtering, docking, and post screening assessments, 78 compounds were selected for biological evaluation, 3 of which showed promising inhibition of the M^(pro) enzyme. The obtained hits (CB03, GR04, and GR20) had reasonable potencies with K(i) values in 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>In Silico Evaluation of Natural Flavonoids as a Potential Inhibitor of Coronavirus Disease</strong> - The recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China, has led to millions of infections and the death of approximately one million people. No targeted therapeutics are currently available, and only a few efficient treatment options are accessible. Many researchers are investigating active compounds from natural plant sources that may inhibit COVID-19 proliferation. Flavonoids are generally present in our diet, as well as traditional medicines and are effective against various…</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, January 6th, and the Elusive Search for Accountability</strong> - Susan B. Glasser writes about the final hearing of the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, and asks whether all of the panel’s work will result in Donald Trump facing any accountability. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/donald-trump-january-6th-and-the-elusive-search-for-accountability">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why Is High Inflation Proving So Persistent?</strong> - The final Consumer Price Index before the midterms came in higher than expected, but price rises are likely to moderate in the months ahead. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/why-is-high-inflation-proving-so-persistent">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>North Carolina’s Overlooked Senate Race</strong> - Democrats have a chance to flip a Republican seat. Meanwhile, the state legislature is fighting to reduce judicial oversight in federal elections. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/north-carolinas-overlooked-senate-race">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Extreme Economic Pain of Running a Restaurant in the U.K.</strong> - In a country where eating out is seen as more of a luxury than a necessity, it is one of the first expenses that people forgo in hard times. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-extreme-economic-pain-of-running-a-restaurant-in-the-uk">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Supreme Court, for Now, Is Playing a Central Role in Discrediting Donald Trump</strong> - But the former President will continue to search relentlessly for friendly judges nationwide between now and 2024. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-supreme-court-for-now-is-playing-a-central-role-in-discrediting-donald-trump">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>3 events that shaped Xi Jinping’s worldview</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZZ-UCN3gGduLQ2nS24LpfIwe_Og=/243x0:2618x1781/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71498565/GettyImages_156435467a.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, in 2012. | Feng Li/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
What Xi learned from the Soviet Union, the US, and the Arab Spring.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ejyXjf">
When Xi Jinping was elected general secretary of the Chinese Community Party in 2012, one of the first things he did was take his senior colleagues to the <a href="https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-11/30/content_15972687.htm">National Museum</a> in Tiananmen Square.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iSf90d">
The seven new top leaders of China walked through the “<a href="https://origins.osu.edu/article/china-dreams-and-road-revival?language_content_entity=en">Road to Revival</a>” exhibition, a fairly straightforward nationalist history of the country, from the first Opium War in 1840 through the present.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hq3cxs">
There, Xi delivered a <a href="https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/media/chinese-dream-means-one-thing-its-leaders-and-another-its-people">speech</a> about the Chinese dream in which he set forward the goal of “achieving the great revival of the Chinese nation.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="REZebZ">
As Xi is poised to take on a third term as China’s president this week at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the highly symbolic museum stroll is worth recalling: it shows how much Xi is shaped by history.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EG76z6">
Xi has become <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/14/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-communist-party.html">increasingly authoritarian</a> — consolidating power, imprisoning dissenters, and now taking a third term, unprecedented since Mao Zedong.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dG7Xa9">
Many of the most aggressive voices about China in the US have painted Xi as inflexible. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called him a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/secretary-of-state-pompeo-to-urge-chinese-people-to-change-the-communist-party-11595517729">totalitarian</a>, and Trump’s National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien likened Xi to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/24/robert-obrien-xi-jinping-china-stalin-338338">Stalin</a>. Even those who have worked closely with Xi have come to see him driven by ideology. This week, former Australian prime minister and China expert Kevin Rudd described Xi as a “<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/world-according-xi-jinping-china-ideologue-kevin-rudd?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">true believer</a>.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nHOAqK">
We may risk misunderstanding Xi, however, if we don’t consider the evidence that he is a pragmatist, who is drawing on the centralized power of the state to apply clear lessons from home and abroad. China’s own modern history and Xi’s experiences living through it likely present the major referents of Xi’s worldview and his priorities, but there are three other moments that have come to inform his worldview as president.
</p>
<h3 id="qqqSkH">
Three historical moments
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LNqUQJ">
No historical event haunts Xi and the Chinese leadership more than the <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/12/24/what-china-didnt-learn-from-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union/">Soviet Union’s collapse</a>. “It’s hard to overstate how obsessed they are with the Soviet Union,” historian David Shambaugh <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-china-soviet-unions-failure-drives-decisions-on-reform/2013/03/23/9c090012-92ef-11e2-ba5b-550c7abf6384_story.html">has said</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ILbbhP">
A month into his first term in December 2012, Xi delivered a private speech to party leaders in Guangdong province with “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/world/asia/vowing-reform-chinas-leader-xi-jinping-airs-other-message-in-private.html">deeply profound</a>” learnings from the USSR’s downfall, with a focus on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s missteps. A summary of those remarks was later circulated. “Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate? Why did the Soviet Communist Party collapse? An important reason was that their ideals and convictions wavered,” Xi said, according to the summary. The lessons he took from the collapse: Retain tight control of the military, don’t make reforms that undermine the party’s power, and make no unforced errors.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CEkSXJ">
“Finally, all it took was one quiet word from Gorbachev to declare the dissolution of the Soviet Communist Party, and a great party was gone,” Xi reportedly said. “In the end, nobody was a real man, nobody came out to resist.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AzFWf6NfgLiOdSEIqvwDTwti8xM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24110084/AP21180479134628a.jpg"/> <cite>Ng Han Guan/AP</cite>
<figcaption>
Performers in the role of rescue workers gather around a Communist Party flag during a gala show ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing on June 28, 2021.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WhdjXA">
Another major historical moment that has informed Xi’s thinking is the United States’ war on terror that was launched in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zYbn05">
Xi perhaps saw the ease with which the US perpetuated bad policies worldwide and at home.<strong> </strong>The US did face a credible terrorism threat, but Washington’s response was a massive overextension of power: invading and occupying Iraq and Afghanistan; deepening <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/01/09/legacy-dark-side">extrajudicial policies</a> that meant <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/egypt-u.s.-rendition-program-and-the-italian-job">close collaboration</a> with autocratic Arab and Muslim countries; and advancing surveillance policies, including a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/15/magazine/fbi-international-terrorism-informants.html">misguided dragnet of Muslims, Arabs, and other minorities</a> inside the US and long-term detentions in Guantanamo Bay.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bj2eb4">
The lesson Xi apparently took from America’s global war on terror wasn’t that overextension and hubris would lead to decline. Xi, instead, has seemed to grasp that he could get away with brazen expressions of power, so long as they were framed as counterterrorism.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZZn8Vr">
China, before Xi ascended to the top of the party, took on many of the worst tenets of the war on terror, its rhetoric and policies, to clamp down on the country’s Muslim communities in the province of Xinjiang. The mass detention and relocation of Uyghurs in Xinjiang has been called a <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/9/14/23351153/china-uyghur-muslim-genocide-xinjiang-united-nations">genocide</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y19H9L">
Though these policies began in the early 2000s, Xi has accelerated them and come to be associated with them. As Gulzira Auelkhan, a Uyghur who survived the camps, <a href="https://time.com/6078961/china-ccp-anniversary-identity/">has said</a>, “In the camp, guards openly said it was Xi Jinping’s policy. … We had to publicly thank him for everything.” Or as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/world/asia/xi-jinping-china-xinjiang.html">Xi has put it</a>, “The facts have abundantly demonstrated that our national minority work has been a success.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Righ7Z">
Third, recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/06/world/asia/xi-jinping-china-security.html">political uprisings</a> have informed Xi’s thinking. Top of mind are the color revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan (former Soviet states) in the early 2000s and the Arab revolutions in 2011 that spread across the Middle East and North Africa and toppled dictators.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VH7Skk">
It’s led to a major emphasis on the Chinese state’s stability.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YVeq24">
One way to ensure that is to eliminate the corruption within the party and the Chinese government — for Xi, the rot at the top of the undemocratic regimes exposed their own vulnerability to citizens. Anti-corruption campaigns have been a key component of Xi’s rule, and a way to avoid the fate of leaders like Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who over his 29 years in office was known for his expensive tailored suits and decadent lifestyle that appeared at the expense of his increasingly impoverished nation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LNIobO">
The Arab Spring occurred before Xi took office, but its ongoing protests and counterrevolution were still present in 2012 and may have informed the crackdown on Chinese party corruption, including the fall from grace of party honcho <a href="https://www.thecairoreview.com/book-reviews/the-extraordinary-fall-of-bo-xilai/">Bo Xilai</a>.
</p>
<h3 id="QdzAfB">
Learning from China’s history
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cKIh3f">
The crack-up of the Soviet Union, America’s war on terror, and the fall of autocratic regimes elsewhere are certainly instructive for Xi.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qKny8z">
But John Delury, a historian at Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies in Seoul, emphasized that Xi’s main references come from within China. He did take the core members of his party to the history museum, after all.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7ZctRI">
The museum itself offers important clues for how Xi thinks. “It’s an orthodox lesson of essentially modern Chinese history, which is the century of humiliation,” Delury told me. The museum tells the story of the Qing Dynasty — “China let itself become weak, the system became weak. And ‘We got whooped by these European powers and then by the Japanese. And we can never let that happen again,’” he said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="j4l5oB">
That account is well-known in China, but, Delury says, “It does tell us a little bit about Xi’s instincts.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GMRBlM">
It’s less clear what Xi has gathered about the histories of succession among China’s leaders. There is much speculation but little clarity about who might follow Xi as president after his third term — or perhaps even another. The party is changing the constitution to extend his presidency, and we don’t yet know when that term will end or what comes next.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Bta6dR">
“From the beginning, from 1921 when the CCP was founded, there are very few examples of a smooth, orderly transition of supreme power,” Delury said. “It’s a mess.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aFnp8J">
As Delury put it, “Xi Jinping would know this history.”
</p></li>
<li><strong>How Vladimir Putin is thinking about the war</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8rox8sC9EHiyQ0w9SVedLAEZRTk=/5x0:3900x2921/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71498518/GettyImages_1243861544a.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
People embrace outside a partially destroyed office building in the aftermath of Russia’s shelling of Kyiv on October 10. | Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Russia’s barbaric missile attack on civilians was doomed to backfire. Here’s why Putin did it anyway.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RUdFUA">
Less than 48 hours after <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/10/8/23394176/crimea-bridge-explosion-putin-ukraine-russia">the Kerch Bridge</a> connecting Crimea with Russia proper was damaged by a powerful blast, Vladimir Putin retaliated against Ukraine. Russia fired close to a hundred missiles at a variety of Ukrainian cities <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/10/11/23398192/ukraine-airstrikes-putin-russia-war">this past Monday and Tuesday</a>. The rockets hit an array of buildings, including residences and schools, killing at least 19 civilians and injuring more than 100.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OBKkxG">
While the missile attacks knocked out power and water to Ukraine’s largest cities, the value of the attacks was dubious at best. No military targets were hit. Ukraine’s population seems <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/10/iuliia-mendel-putin-airstrikes-kyiv-ukraine/">ever more determined</a> to resist Russia. Experts pointed out that Russia retains <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/11/russia-lashes-out-against-ukraine-but-its-in-the-death-throes-of-war.html?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_content=Main&amp;utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1665485742">a scarce number</a> of precision-guided missiles, and it seemed like <a href="https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1579492771949596672?s=20&amp;t=_mG6QCR8q5Y1nwx9SSQhCg">a waste</a> to use them on these kinds of targets. Looking ahead, the attacks may well have also created a permission structure for NATO to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/10/politics/biden-zelensky-advanced-air-defense-systems/index.html">arm Ukraine</a> with better air defenses. Oh, and there is also the whole “blatantly violating the laws of war” thing. Even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/10/world/europe/india-china-russia-strikes-ukraine.html">India and China</a> are trying to generate some separation from Russia.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="INP7SX">
So, Russia’s missile attacks may have <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-10-11/deadly-russian-strikes-may-have-violated-international-law-principles-un">violated international law</a>, alienated longstanding partners, hardened the determination of Ukraine and its allies, and expended scarce munitions without altering the situation on the battlefield. Why did Russia do it?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FRq7Bz">
Trying to <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/10/1/23380326/future-ukraine-russia-war">explain current Russian foreign policy</a> behavior is complicated, because rational-actor stories have not proven to be a great guide to analyzing 2022. Many experts and policymakers <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60468264">predicted that Russia would not attack Ukraine</a> because it would prove to be such a costly and risky action to take. Indeed, Putin’s initial decision to invade Ukraine seems like an example of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ia/issue/98/5">what not to do</a> in international relations. The fact that he did it, however, means we need alternative explanations for Russian behavior.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="knQsdP">
With <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/10/ukraine-nuclear-war-cuban-missile-crisis.html">constant — often flawed — comparisons</a> now being made to the Cuban missile crisis, perhaps it is time to approach this question as Graham Allison, a longtime political scientist and sometime US government advisor now at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, did when he wrote <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Essence-Decision-Explaining-Missile-Crisis/dp/0321013492"><em>Essence of Decision</em></a>. That 1971 book provided a <em>Rashomon</em>-style explanation of the crisis, using bureaucratic and organizational approaches as well as the rational actor model — the idea that countries can be simplified down to unitary strategic actors pursuing the national interest — to explain US and Soviet behavior.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3rnKRq">
Consider the following an attempt to explain why Russia took this step from <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/international-conflict-three-levels-of-analysis/6B00A0D98AA8FAFB80208A27CDBC86AE">three different levels of analysis</a>: the international, the domestic, and the psychological.
</p>
<h3 id="1UaxQy">
The international level
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="74xHzZ">
The perception of Russian power has been on the wane ever since Moscow <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/3/18/22977801/russia-ukraine-war-losing-map-kyiv-kharkiv-odessa-week-three">failed to execute its initial invasion plan</a> of capturing Kyiv in the first week.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pcYxyA">
Eight months into the war, Ukraine is now on the offensive. Their forces seem better armed, better trained, and better motivated, and most military analysts are <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/09/14/jack-watling-interview-ukraine-russia-war/">predicting</a> further Ukrainian territorial gains before the onset of winter. Russia’s partial mobilization looks like a logistical mess. Only <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/12/russia-ukraine-annexation-un-vote-00061558">four countries voted with Russia</a> in the latest United Nations General Assembly vote condemning its attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZTkUuC">
An underrated source of power in world politics is a reputation for effectively wielding power. This means Russia is in serious trouble.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OdPP8w">
What was supposed to be a lightning-fast decapitation of the Zelenskyy government has turned into a costly conflict with an opponent out-fighting and out-thinking Russians on the battlefield. Even before the recent strikes on civilians, Putin was forced to <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-china-sco-meeting/32034928.html">acknowledge</a> that key partners like China and India had started making noises indicating dissatisfaction with the war.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g3yCjJ">
With Russia distracted by its Ukraine quagmire, countries like Azerbaijan appear to be <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/azerbaijan-has-used-russias-weakness-in-ukraine-expert-says/a-63121660">taking the opportunity</a> to advance their interests against Russian allies. Even states more dependent on Russia are starting to show some independence. Kazakhstan has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/kazakhstan-says-it-wont-recognise-referendums-eastern-ukraine-2022-09-26/">flatly rejected</a> the legality of referenda annexing Ukrainian territory, while Kyrgyzstan <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/09/russian-ally-cancels-russian-led-military-drill-on-its-land-00061081">canceled</a> at the last minute Russian-led military exercises to be held on its soil. The attack on the Kerch Bridge was simply the latest symbolic blow to Russian power.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="igFn8R">
Given this context, it is easy to see why Russia felt the need to escalate the use of violence in the most vicious way possible. Russia very much wants to remind friends and foes alike that it still can project destructive power. And while bombing civilians seems to have minimal military value, Russia might believe it to be an effective signal that bolsters its <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/9/22/23366499/putin-russia-ukraine-war-nuclear-threat-expert">nuclear threats</a>. After all, the logic runs, if Russia demonstrates that it is unconcerned about the norms and laws governing the use of conventional force, that sends a message that it is likewise unconcerned about the norms and laws governing the use of nuclear weapons.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="v5ClP0">
And the more credible Russia’s nuclear threat is, the more it can rely on that tool as a form of coercive bargaining.
</p>
<h3 id="bZORRO">
The domestic level
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nezHol">
Contrary to popular belief, Putin is not running a one-man regime. Even autocrats need to placate supporters among what political scientists call the <a href="https://oxfordre.com/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-293">“selectorate”</a> — the people or group who, in practice, select a state’s leader. In a democracy, the electorate is the selectorate; in a more authoritarian regime, the selectorate is smaller and murkier. Regardless of regime type, a ruler needs to command a winning coalition with the selectorate.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6L-ePB0DHekQm4q7hSqllrPqcJQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24110383/AP22283386614885a.jpg"/> <cite>Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP</cite>
<figcaption>
Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videoconference in St. Petersburg, Russia, on October 10.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LZaeB1">
Who are the actors in Putin’s coalition? A <a href="https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-4">recent Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analysis</a> of Russia’s information space concluded that there were three key pillars of support for Putin: “Russian milbloggers and war correspondents, former Russian or proxy officers and veterans, and some of the Russian <em>siloviki </em>— people with meaningful power bases and forces of their own. Putin needs to retain the support of all three of these factions.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BqYuCH">
The reverses on the battlefield in the east and south of Ukraine cost Putin some support among his selectorate. According to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/10/07/putin-inner-circle-dissent/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWJpZCI6IjQwNjIwNzAiLCJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjY1MTU2ODU4LCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjY2MzY2NDU4LCJpYXQiOjE2NjUxNTY4NTgsImp0aSI6IjJhODczYzJhLTUwOWEtNDI4MC1iOWFjLWU3NTI2OWFmN2U0ZCIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9uYXRpb25hbC1zZWN1cml0eS8yMDIyLzEwLzA3L3B1dGluLWlubmVyLWNpcmNsZS1kaXNzZW50LyJ9.RUwRTmTzPJwSrEB5QxH-L67GYKVSvVrJobnY0sV4RvQ;%C2%A0https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1578277289376174080;%C2%A0https://meduza.io/feature/2022/10/07/pered-nim-strah-do-usrachki-no-strah-bez-uvazheniya">Washington Post</a>, “A member of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle has voiced disagreement directly to the Russian president in recent weeks over his handling of the war in Ukraine.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Post that was “absolutely not true,” even while acknowledging, “There is disagreement over such moments. Some think we should act differently. But this is all part of the usual working process.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KATllT">
This jibes with the recent public criticisms by Chechen leader <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/11/putin-loyalist-kadyrov-criticises-russian-armys-performance-over-ukraine-retreat">Ramzan Kadyrov</a> and <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/putin-allies-ramzan-kadyrov-and-evgeniy-prigozhin-mock-vladimir-putins-war-failures">Evgeny Prigozhin</a>, head of the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, about the way the war has been prosecuted. ISW <a href="https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-7">reported</a> similar discontent from nationalists and military bloggers.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eYhAN3">
As ISW writes, this dissension has a feedback effect that erodes Putin’s standing: “Word of fractures within Putin’s inner circle have reached the hyper-patriotic and nationalist milblogger crowd, however, undermining the impression of strength and control that Putin has sought to portray throughout his reign.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KVoF14">
Striking Ukrainian civilians with missiles makes sense for Putin within this domestic context. After the bridge attack, there were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/10/world/europe/russia-putin-ukraine-strikes.html">calls from Russian nationalists</a> to escalate the conflict. They want the gloves to come off in the fight against Ukraine, advocating for ever more brutality. The rocket attacks against Ukrainian cities will placate Putin’s nationalist supporters for the time being, and allows his subordinates and surrogates to <a href="https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1579578461869731840?s=20&amp;t=oq_Z-chob-lkXPhhsqfrDQ">make the case on television</a> that they are responding to reverses on the battlefield. Putin’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/12/sergei-surovikin-russia-ukraine-war/">promotion</a> this week of Gen. Sergei Surovikin, known as “General Armageddon” for his brutality in Syria, will also bolster his standing with nationalists.
</p>
<h3 id="F6TznQ">
The psychological level
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4IACPX">
While Putin might not be a dictator without constraints, he is far and away the most powerful decision-maker in Russia. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/22/politics/russia-military-divided-ukraine-putin/index.html">US intelligence suggests</a> that he is even giving orders directly to commanders in the theater of operations. Understanding how Putin thinks would go a long way toward explaining his recent actions in Ukraine.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VeR0Dn">
Daniel Kahneman <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2002/kahneman/prize-presentation/">won a Nobel Prize</a> for his research with Amos Tversky demonstrating that most humans do not make decisions based on rational choice, but rather use a collection of cognitive shortcuts known as prospect theory. A central tenet of prospect theory is that individuals will be risk-averse when they are winning, and risk-tolerant when they are losing. In other words, when someone faces a setback relative to the prior status quo, they are more willing to take risks in an effort to “gamble for resurrection.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XjS2z2">
This seems to describe Putin’s behavior over the past few months. During the late spring and summer, as Russia was making incremental gains on the battlefield, Putin was content to use a combination of Wagner Group mercenaries and raw recruits from Donetsk and Luhansk, the Russian-held eastern regions of Ukraine, to replenish Russian forces.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JO0e5f">
After Ukraine started making advances in the east and south, however, Putin finally opted for riskier political actions. He announced a partial mobilization, formally announced the <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/9/30/23380082/putin-ukraine-annexation-russia-nuclear-threats">annexation</a> of four Ukrainian regions, and amped up his nuclear threats. This did nothing to stop Ukrainian forces on the ground; in the days after annexation, Russia lost the key logistical city of Lyman, in Donetsk, and then suffered the attack on the Kerch Bridge. In this context, the attacks on Ukrainian cities earlier this week can be viewed as Putin’s attempt to gamble for resurrection.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dcB7eD">
Prospect theory applies to all individuals; what about Putin’s individual psychology? According to Michael Kofman, an analyst of the Russian military at CNA, a research and analysis organization, Putin is a “<a href="https://news.yahoo.com/putin-called-master-procrastinator-experts-021548714.html">master procrastinator</a>.” He delays making big decisions until the last minute, so often paints himself into corners. Or, as Kofman told <a href="https://puck.news/trumps-putin-lust-the-final-frontier-of-democracy/">Puck’s Julia Ioffe</a> last month, “he procrastinates and procrastinates till the options go from bad to worse.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HZoz20">
In all likelihood, Putin did not want to expend scarce ammunition bombarding Ukrainian cities. Faced with a deteriorating military and political situation, however, Putin probably felt as though he had little choice but to lash out.
</p>
<h3 id="J68ciw">
Where the war might lead
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1V68QX">
What can we infer from these three different stories?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="37YdtW">
Weirdly, they suggest that the West should hope Russia’s actions are explained by Putin’s individual psychology. Both the international and domestic explanations suggest that Putin will double down on aggressive actions. At the global level, Russia keeps getting <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/12/russia-ukraine-annexation-un-vote-00061558">humiliated by UN General Assembly votes</a>. At the domestic level, Putin will need to amp up the barbarism to maintain nationalist support as Russian fortunes in Ukraine continue to deteriorate.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8x5nRA">
Only Putin’s reputed procrastinating tendencies suggest a return to Russian lethargy in adapting to Ukrainian military successes. It would be ironic indeed if the greatest gift Russia can give Ukraine is Vladimir Putin’s torpor.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gxxpfe">
<em>Daniel W. Drezner is professor of international politics and co-director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University</em>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wvrudI">
</p></li>
<li><strong>We’re asking the wrong questions about John Fetterman</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/py2t8zTq7nDI0pvNi3gGqV8u2jA=/217x0:3684x2600/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71498470/AP22281751098872a.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. and Senate candidate John Fetterman attends a campaign event in York, Pennsylvania, on October 8. | Matt Rourke/AP
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
What do we stand to gain when people with disabilities run for public office?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RNnMo0">
A recent NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read/fetterman-walker-face-political-challenges-overall-environment-rcna51833">interview</a> with <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/10/13/23401531/fetterman-oz-pennsylvania-senate-polls-crime">Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman</a> has America showing its disability biases.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TGUOjI">
In his first televised interview since he survived a stroke in May, Fetterman used live captioning technology for assistance with what he calls auditory processing issues (commonly known as an <a href="https://www.audiology.org/consumers-and-patients/hearing-and-balance/auditory-processing-disorders/">auditory processing disorder</a>) — that is, problems with the brain’s work of processing speech. When Fetterman’s interviewer, NBC correspondent Dasha Burns, made pointed observations about his need to read her questions in order to understand them, it touched off an <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1579969440917356544">avalanche</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/edokeefe/status/1580002053723938816">of</a> questions and <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenM/status/1579931055062388736">bad</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1579998910403481600">takes</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iOvqd3">
Among the swirling questions are ones about whether Fetterman’s stroke has caused cognitive changes that render him unfit to serve in the Senate. On their face, these are not unreasonable — although in both the NBC interview and in a <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-with-kara-swisher/id1643307527?i=1000582144500">podcast interview</a> recorded Monday with New York magazine’s Kara Swisher, herself a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/opinion/luke-perry-90210-stroke.html">stroke survivor</a>, Fetterman’s thinking and expression appeared to be intact.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1IWx6a">
But the questions become ugly when they ask if someone who requires accommodations similar to the ones Fetterman used can do the job of governing. Questions like this conflate the use of language-assistive devices with intellectual delays. More broadly — and especially when they’re weaponized politically, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/31/us/politics/fetterman-health-oz-pennsylvania.html">as they have been</a> by the <a href="https://abc17news.com/news/2022/10/14/oz-says-he-wouldnt-talk-to-patients-the-way-his-campaign-talked-about-fettermans-health/">campaign</a> of political rival Mehmet Oz — these questions conflate disability with weakness of character and mind.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Qofb1A">
Take a look at legislative bodies in the US and you’ll see that many of our elected officials <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/opinion/fetterman-disability.html">use assistive technology</a>, from glasses to wheelchairs to hearing aids and beyond. So do nearly <a href="https://hcp.hms.harvard.edu/news/rate-workplace-accommodations-higher-previously-thought#:~:text=Prior%20research%20using%20the%20Health,closer%20to%2056%2D65%25.">two-thirds</a> of our working public. The <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/publications/ada-your-employment-rights-individual-disability">Americans with Disabilities Act</a> (ADA), passed in 1990, requires employers to make these kinds of accommodations so people with disabilities can complete their job functions.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lYnigh">
The ADA acknowledged that excluding people with disabilities did them a disservice by preventing them from contributing to and fully participating in the world around them. But it also helped uncover another important truth: that the whole of society makes meaningful gains when workplaces of all kinds include people with a range of disabilities.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kPkJSB">
If Fetterman wins his race, the accommodations he may use as a senator are ones that could also meaningfully benefit his colleagues without disabilities. Furthermore, say advocates, his mere presence in a high-stakes campaign as a political figure acknowledging and working through a disability can move the needle — not only on what the public imagines when it conceives of elected officials but also what legislators imagine they can do for us.
</p>
<h3 id="yTDg7g">
Disability accommodations benefit everyone
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pAgIIH">
Several stroke rehabilitation experts told me it’s impossible to assess from afar whether Fetterman will be able to successfully complete the functions of being a US senator. However, they noted that language processing differences and speech changes like the ones Fetterman demonstrated in the NBC interview — for example, he mispronounced “empathetic,” recognized his error, and corrected himself —<strong> </strong>signify he may have a type of language disorder that’s not uncommon after a stroke and which does not indicate changes in reasoning ability.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sbAikM">
When people have a stroke, “that does not mean they can’t think through and rationalize and objectively analyze every question,” said <a href="https://www.bu.edu/sargent/profile/swathi-kiran-ph-d-ccc-slp/">Swathi Kiran</a>, a neurorehabilitation professor and speech language pathologist at Boston University.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jyMmBo">
The brain can do a lot of recovery in the first six months to a year, said Kiran. But recovery varies from person to person, said Ronald Lazar, a neuropsychologist specializing in stroke recovery at the University of Alabama’s medical school. “Making an assumption about what he can or cannot do because you don’t know is not always, I think, a fair thing to the patient,” he said. Stroke rehabilitation — like most illness recovery — usually happens in private, but Fetterman is recovering from his stroke in public.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="96cGva">
Although it’s unclear what path Fetterman’s recovery will take in the future, the conversation about his need for a disability accommodation is an opportunity to revisit the ways such accommodations have already benefited all of us.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cwIUbB">
In his interview, Fetterman used live captioning, a technology that was originally invented for deaf and hard-of-hearing people to help them enjoy films. US law has required live captioning for all television programs since the 1990s. These days, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/10/13/fetterman-closed-captioning-stroke-aphasia/">it is a fixture</a> among assistive technologies used to help people with language or hearing problems.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QSndTg">
But live captioning offers a wide range of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5214590/">other<strong> </strong>benefits</a>, too. Among hearing people, captions help <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-06601-005">children</a> <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5cf15af7a259990001706378/t/5cf56818bea5db00015887dc/1559586843457/Parkhill+%28December+2011%29.pdf">learn</a> to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-05527-003">read</a>, improve <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2190/JKC2-LE5D-36BC-809F">adult</a> <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1162/1544752043971170">literacy</a>, speed up learning of <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-teaching/article/abs/effects-of-and-effects-with-captions-how-exactly-does-watching-a-tv-programme-with-samelanguage-subtitles-make-a-difference-to-language-learners/BE7001BB2BABEC728C066DEBE73BD68A">second</a> <a href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/llaj/37/0/37_KJ00007039904/_article">languages</a>, and improve people’s ability to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5214590/#R32">remember</a> orally delivered material. The technologies have become a fixture in my own life: The real-time transcription program I use on a near-daily basis makes my work immeasurably easier, and the captions I use while watching TV allow me to go slack-jawed in front of <a href="https://www.hbomax.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GXqSOLwNbYcLDwgEAAAcD"><em>Stath Lets Flats</em></a> episodes without hovering a finger over the rewind button.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VgDVNq">
Captioning is just one of <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-if-you-build-it">many</a> <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/561049/what-can-a-body-do-by-sara-hendren/">accommodations</a> initially created for people with disabilities that have dramatically improved life for people without disabilities, said Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, a disability justice scholar and professor emerita at Emory University. Curb cuts, the tiny ramps that allow wheels to smoothly climb a curb, are a great example, she said. “A curb cut was mandated for, basically, wheelchair users, and it has made the world more accessible for people like you and me and our rolling suitcases, and people who use bicycles,” she said. Another big beneficiary: People pushing baby strollers.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7qyrRV">
The captioning technology Fetterman is using — if he still needs to use it once his rehabilitation is complete — may actually confer important benefits to his colleagues in the Senate if he’s elected, said Garland-Thomson.<strong> </strong>People with hearing difficulties (which are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27632707/">inevitable</a> with advanced age, which is itself <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/06/02/senate-age-term-limits/">inevitable in the Senate</a>) would benefit from being able to read captioned proceedings.<strong> </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dmrKRV">
It’s also important to keep in mind that if Fetterman is elected and needs communication accommodations to do his job, he wouldn’t be the first elected official to do so. David Paterson, the New York State lawmaker who in 2008 became the country’s first legally blind governor, used <a href="http://nytimes.com/2008/04/21/nyregion/21paterson.html">several kinds of assistive audio</a> to do his job, and Washington state’s former Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib, who is also blind, used a <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/tech-innovations-help-washingtons-blind-lieutenant-governor-oversee-legislature/">braille keyboard</a> to preside over the state legislature.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oEWxJm">
Additionally, many people absorb and retain information better when it’s <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-013-0358-1">delivered</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24684077/">in writing</a> in addition to being communicated verbally. “When they’re in place, it’s really useful for people to have them,” Garland-Thomson said of these types of accommodations.<strong> </strong>
</p>
<h3 id="UFWFSW">
Having disabled people in leadership positions can reduce stigma and lead to more inclusive legislation<strong> </strong>
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6VBzYw">
When people with disabilities work in prominent positions, their presence in the job makes disability more “legible” in the public sphere, said Garland-Thomson. She noted the examples of Tammy Duckworth, a Senator from Illinois who uses leg prostheses, and of Haben Girma, a lawyer and disability rights advocate who is deafblind. “Witnessing people who have pretty significant disabilities doing a job that we imagine they can’t do is itself an important function,” she said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dKH8bW">
The effect may be particularly powerful when the disabled role model has a traditionally masculine presentation. Cultural scholars have argued that masculinity and disability are in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1097184X12439879">conflict</a>, in part because disability’s connotations of reliance bump up against masculinity’s connotations of independence. Part of Fetterman’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/08/us/politics/fetterman-pennsylvania-senate-race.html">appeal</a> to working-class voters is his brawn — he is 6-foot-8, played football in college, and still has the build of an offensive lineman. If elected, he could help destigmatize disability within communities where it’s currently <a href="https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/3570/3526">highly</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33593519/">stigmatized</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GeC6tU">
We assume that living without a disability<strong> </strong>leads to having a better life, said Garland-Thomson — and similarly, we might assume it makes for being a better politician and legislator. But over decades, elected officials have demonstrated that disability can be a source of strength.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YeEVQq">
Having a disability, whether outwardly visible or not, could make leaders more compassionate toward their most vulnerable constituents, and may lead to more inclusive legislation. For example, after the Illinois Republican Sen. Mark Kirk had a stroke in 2011, his aides <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/the-aftermath-of-a-senators-stroke/435579/">described him</a> as a “mellower” boss and a more emboldened policymaker — including on social issues such as same-sex marriage, for which he declared his support in 2013.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6itwDH">
Disabled policymakers have often been the ones to spearhead legislation that advances equity for people with disabilities. Bob Dole, who had sensory and movement problems in his right arm due to a wartime injury, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/us/bob-dole-americans-with-disabilities-act.html">instrumental</a> in passing the ADA. Duckworth has introduced bills aimed at <a href="https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-murray-introduce-bill-to-help-women-with-disabilities-access-reproductive-healthcare">improving reproductive health care access</a> for women with disabilities and expanding small businesses’ accessibility. Former US Rep. Tony Coelho, another <a href="https://mn.gov/mnddc/parallels/five/5d/coelho.html">ADA sponsor</a> who also <a href="https://issuu.com/faircountmedia/docs/ada25_complete_book/s/145462">supported</a> 2008 amendments that made it <a href="http://eeoc.gov/statutes/americans-disabilities-act-amendments-act-2008">more inclusive</a>, has epilepsy. And Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who used a wheelchair, enacted the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/new-deal">New Deal</a>, many of whose health, vocational, and funding programs <a href="https://livingnewdeal.org/what-was-the-new-deal/new-deal-inclusion/disabled-americans-and-the-new-deal/">benefited people with disabilities</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xSSoRV">
In the NBC interview, Fetterman said his experience surviving and rehabilitating from his stroke has keenly attuned him to the needs of his constituents. “I always thought I was very empathetic before having a stroke. But now, after having that stroke, I really understand much more the challenges that Americans have day in and day out,” he said. Health care saved his life, and speech therapy has been critical to his recovery, he added: “Those are the resources everyone deserves to get.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SMBH9c">
People can make a lot of judgments based on what they think of as “normal,” said Garland-Thomson. But to her, it’s more productive to question whether being “normal” is really an asset to begin with. “There are many people who look at disability, and living with disability, as a benefit — that it has made good lives for them,” she said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gJOC6n">
The public can choose to dwell on the doors disability can close. Perhaps we owe it to ourselves, and each other, to instead generously imagine what doors disability can open.
</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Blasters looks for first win against vulnerable ATK</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>Women’s Asia Cup | We should give credit to bowlers and fielders: Harmanpreet</strong> - India clinched their seventh title in eight editions with an eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka</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>Theon, New Dimension and Monarchy show out</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>ICC T20 World Cup 2022 | England well prepared but Australia favourite, says Jos Buttler</strong> - “I think history tells you that generally the host nations are slight favourites in big tournaments”</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>ICC T20 World Cup 2022 | Shami has shown positive signs in his recovery, we couldn't have risked playing Bumrah: Rohit</strong> - Mohammad Shami has been drafted into the squad as Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement despite having not played a competitive game since July.</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>BJP spokesperson seeks release of Sikhs imprisoned beyond jail term in militancy cases</strong> - Demand has also been raised by several Sikh outfits, political parties such as Shiromani Akali Dal</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>Success of NEP 2020 outcome hinges on proper implementation, say former Vice-Chancellors</strong> - Call to enhance GDP spend on higher education</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>Andhra Pradesh: BC associations seek Statehood for North Andhra to prevent exploitation of natural wealth</strong> - The region remained undeveloped in the last 70 years with the successive Chief Ministers concentrating on the development of their own regions, they say</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Explained | RBI’s concept note on introducing CBDCs</strong> - The RBI floated a concept note delving into the risks and benefits of introducing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in India as part of their phased implementation strategy</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>ED summons Anubrata Mondal's daughter to Delhi</strong> - She had avoided meeting a team of CBI officers who had gone to her Bolpur residence in August.</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>Musk says SpaceX cannot keep funding Ukraine Starlink</strong> - The tycoon asked the US to fund the satellite internet service instead of him, according to reports.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Putin says no more massive strikes - for now</strong> - The Russian president says it is not his aim to destroy Ukraine, despite recent heavy bombardments.</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>Slovakia LGBT attack: Thousands gather at vigil outside Bratislava bar</strong> - Thousands gathered in the Slovakian capital to remember two men killed in a suspected hate crime.</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>Creeslough explosion: Creeslough father and child had ‘a beautiful love’</strong> - The funeral of Creeslough victims Robert Garwe and his daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe has taken place.</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>Turkey coal mine explosion kills 40, injures 11</strong> - Emergency crews had worked through the night to reach survivors. hundreds of metres below ground.</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>New, transparent AI tool may help detect blood poisoning</strong> - The algorithm scans electronic records and may reduce sepsis deaths. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1889636">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Removing notes from Mendelssohn overture shows plight of humpback whales</strong> - <em>Hebrides Redacted</em> is meant to show “how human activities have silenced nature.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1890094">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Since Crew Dragon’s debut, SpaceX has flown more astronauts than anyone</strong> - “Thank you for an incredible ride up to orbit and an incredible ride home.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1890316">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Apple’s AR/VR headset will scan your iris when you put it on</strong> - Apple’s headset will also scan users’ legs for inclusion in virtual space. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1890235">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>AT&amp;T to pay $23M fine for bribing powerful lawmaker’s ally in exchange for vote</strong> - AT&amp;T said it’s “committed to ensuring that this never happens again.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1890282">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>As an Aussie, Americans always ask me where in Australia <em>isn’t</em> there anything trying to kill me…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“School” I tell them.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Middleway_Natural"> /u/Middleway_Natural </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/y4g6qp/as_an_aussie_americans_always_ask_me_where_in/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/y4g6qp/as_an_aussie_americans_always_ask_me_where_in/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>An atheist dies, goes to hell, and finds himself in a lush park with butterflies.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
His physical body has transformed back into its prime and he’s then greeted by Satan who says “Why hello there! Welcome to hell. Let me show you around, you’re gonna love it here.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Satan points to a nice house and says “what do you think of this house?” The atheist replies “It’s beautiful, I could never afford anything like that in my life.” Satan gave him a key ring and said “well it’s yours now. Free utilites, Netflix, Hulu, and there’s a PS5, Nintendo Switch, all your favorite John Hughes films, you name it! It’s all yours now, I like my residents to be cozy.” The atheist thanked Satan. Satan replied “you’re welcome. But before you get settled, I got more to show you. Follow me!”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
They walk further along the park. The sun is shining bright and there’s a nice fragrance in the air. Then Satan points to a parking garage and says “click the button on your key ring.” The atheist clicks it and notices a particular car flashing its lights. He says, “is that a silver Tesla?” Satan replied “I heard its your dream car, right? I just think that everyone deserves a reliable way of transportation. I don’t want anyone panting to get around in hell. That Tesla is all yours.” The atheist thanked him.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He and Satan continue walking through the park and things still seem amicable. There are critters playing and flowers blooming. Then a beautiful woman rushed up to the two and says “what’s up Satan…heyyyy, aren’t you a handsome looking fellow”. Satan said, “everyone deserves the partner of their dreams so…” The woman gives the atheist her number and says “here’s my number, call me when the tour’s over and we’ll have fun.” The atheist is excited but continues walking with Satan.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Then the atheist suddenly sees a fence. He gets a whiff of sulfur coming from the other side of the fence and hears some screaming. He looks through a hole in the fence and notices people getting tortured and impaled and pools of magma. The atheist is horrified and said “what is going on in there?” Satan said “oh, those are the Christians. I won’t pretend to understand why, but they seem to prefer it that way”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/FancyAlligator"> /u/FancyAlligator </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/y42ly4/an_atheist_dies_goes_to_hell_and_finds_himself_in/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/y42ly4/an_atheist_dies_goes_to_hell_and_finds_himself_in/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Two mathematicians are in a bar</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The first one says to the second that the average person knows very little about basic mathematics. The second one disagrees, and claims that most people can cope with a reasonable amount of math.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The first mathematician goes off to the washroom, and in his absence the second calls over the waitress. He tells her that in a few minutes, after his friend has returned, he will call her over and ask her a question. All she has to do is answer one third x cubed.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She repeats “one thir – dex cue”?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He repeats “one third x cubed”.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She says, “one thir dex cuebd”?
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Yes, that’s right, he says. So she agrees, and goes off mumbling to herself, “one thir dex cuebd…”.
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The first guy returns and the second proposes a bet to prove his point, that most people do know something about basic math. He says he will ask the blonde waitress an integral, and the first laughingly agrees. The second man calls over the waitress and asks “what is the integral of x squared?”.
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The waitress says “one third x cubed” and while walking away…
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…turns back and says over her shoulder “plus C!”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/atomicpete"> /u/atomicpete </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/y3sztf/two_mathematicians_are_in_a_bar/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/y3sztf/two_mathematicians_are_in_a_bar/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Why did Barbie never have kids?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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Because Ken comes in another box.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/wilsonisadog"> /u/wilsonisadog </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/y481p4/why_did_barbie_never_have_kids/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/y481p4/why_did_barbie_never_have_kids/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A bus full of ugly people crashes…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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A bus full of ugly people crashes. Everyone dies and goes to heaven, forming a line at the pearly gates. St. Peter is there and says, “Before you get into heaven, you get one wish.” The first person in line says, “I wish I was beautiful!” Poof, they’re beautiful, they get into heaven. The second guy says, “I wish I was beautiful too!” Poof, they’re beautiful, they get into heaven. The guy at the end of the line starts to chuckle. The line gets shorter and shorter with everyone asking to be beautiful. Poof, they’re beautiful, they get into heaven. The guy at the end of the line starts to laugh harder and harder until he’s finally at the pearly gates with St. Peter. St. Peter asks the man, “What on earth is so funny?” And the man, through his tears of laughter, finally manages to say, “Make ’em all ugly again!”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/tetrahedralcathedral"> /u/tetrahedralcathedral </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/y4ev9c/a_bus_full_of_ugly_people_crashes/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/y4ev9c/a_bus_full_of_ugly_people_crashes/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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