navan
/
Daily-Dose
mirror of https://github.com/navanchauhan/Daily-Dose.git
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Projects Releases Wiki Activity

Added daily report

This commit is contained in:
Navan Chauhan 2022-05-21 12:56:14 +00:00
parent f00b1871b6
commit 5e0784ab61
3 changed files with 710 additions and 2 deletions
Show Stats Download Patch File Download Diff File Expand all files Collapse all files

188
archive-covid-19/21 May, 2022.html Normal file
View File

@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="" xml:lang="" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head>
<meta charset="utf-8"/>
<meta content="pandoc" name="generator"/>
<meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes" name="viewport"/>
<title>21 May, 2022</title>
<style type="text/css">
code{white-space: pre-wrap;}
span.smallcaps{font-variant: small-caps;}
span.underline{text-decoration: underline;}
div.column{display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; width: 50%;}
</style>
<title>Covid-19 Sentry</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
<body>
<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>Omicron breakthrough infections in vaccinated or previously infected hamsters</strong> -
<div>
The second and third years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have been marked by the repeated emergence and replacement of variants with genetic and phenotypic distance from the ancestral strains, the most recent examples being Delta and Omicron. Here we describe a hamster contact exposure challenge model to assess protection conferred by vaccination or prior infection against re-infection. We found that 2-doses of self-amplifying RNA vaccine based on the ancestral spike ameliorated weight loss following Delta infection and decreased viral loads, but had minimal effect on Omicron/BA.1 infection. Prior infection with ancestral or Alpha variant was partially protective against Omicron/BA.1 infection, whereas all animals previously infected with Delta and exposed to Omicron became infected, although shed less virus. We further tested whether prior infection with Omicron/BA.1 protected from re-infection with Delta or Omicron/BA.2. Omicron/BA.1 was protective against Omicron/BA.2, but not Delta reinfection, again showing Delta and Omicron have a very large antigenic distance. Indeed, cross-neutralisation assays with human antisera from otherwise immunonaive individuals (unvaccinated and no known prior infection), confirmed a large antigenic distance between Delta and Omicron. Prior vaccination followed by Omicron or Delta breakthrough infection led to a higher degree of cross-reactivity to all tested variants. To conclude, cohorts whose only immune experience of COVID is Omicron/BA.1 infection may be particularly vulnerable to future circulation of Delta or Delta-like derivatives. In contrast, repeated exposure to antigenically distinct spikes, via infection and or vaccination drives a more cross-reactive immune response, both in hamsters and people.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.20.492779v1" target="_blank">Omicron breakthrough infections in vaccinated or previously infected hamsters</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Structural basis for substrate selection by the SARS-CoV-2 replicase</strong> -
<div>
The SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase coordinates viral RNA synthesis as part of an assembly known as the replication-transcription complex (RTC). Accordingly, the RTC is a target for clinically approved antiviral nucleoside analogs, including remdesivir. Faithful synthesis of viral RNAs by the RTC requires recognition of the correct nucleotide triphosphate (NTP) for incorporation into the nascent RNA. To be effective inhibitors, antiviral nucleoside analogs must compete with the natural NTPs for incorporation. How the SARS-CoV-2 RTC discriminates between the natural NTPs, and how antiviral nucleoside analogs compete, has not been discerned in detail. Here, we use cryo-electron microscopy to visualize the RTC bound to each of the natural NTPs in states poised for incorporation. Furthermore, we investigate the RTC with the active metabolite of remdesivir, remdesivir triphosphate (RDV-TP), highlighting the structural basis for the selective incorporation of RDV-TP over its natural counterpart ATP. Our results elucidate the suite of interactions required for NTP recognition, informing the rational design of antivirals. Our analysis also yields insights into nucleotide recognition by the nsp12 NiRAN, an enigmatic catalytic domain essential for viral propagation. The NiRAN selectively binds GTP, strengthening proposals for the role of this domain in the formation of the 5’ RNA cap.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.20.492815v1" target="_blank">Structural basis for substrate selection by the SARS-CoV-2 replicase</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Infects Peripheral and Central Neurons of Mice Before Viremia, Facilitated by Neuropilin-1</strong> -
<div>
Neurological symptoms are increasingly associated with COVID-19, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 is neuroinvasive. Although studies have focused on neuroinvasion through infection of olfactory neurons and supporting cells or hematogenous spread, little attention has been paid to the susceptibility of the peripheral nervous system to infection or to alternative routes of neural invasion. We show that neurons in the central and peripheral nervous systems are susceptible to productive infection with SARS-CoV-2. Infection of K18-hACE2 mice, wild-type mice, and primary neuronal cultures demonstrates viral RNA, protein, and infectious virus in peripheral nervous system neurons, spinal cord, specific brain regions, and satellite glial cells. Moreover, we found that SARS-CoV-2 infects neurons at least in part via neuropilin-1. Our data show that SARS-CoV-2 rapidly invades and establishes productive infection in previously unassessed sites in the nervous system via direct invasion of neurons before viremia, which may underlie some cognitive and sensory symptoms associated with COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.20.492834v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 Infects Peripheral and Central Neurons of Mice Before Viremia, Facilitated by Neuropilin-1</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The spike-stabilizing D614G mutation interacts with S1/S2 cleavage site mutations to promote the infectious potential of SARS-CoV-2 variants</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2 remained genetically stable during the first three months of the pandemic, before acquiring a D614G spike mutation that rapidly spread worldwide, and then generating successive waves of viral variants with increasingly high transmissibility. We set out to evaluate possible epistatic interactions between the early occurring D614G mutation and the more recently emerged cleavage site mutations present in spike of the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants of concern. The P681H/R mutations at the S1/S2 cleavage site increased spike processing and fusogenicity but limited its incorporation into pseudoviruses. In addition, the higher cleavage rate led to higher shedding of the spike S1 subunit, resulting in a lower infectivity of the P681H/R-carrying pseudoviruses compared to those expressing the Wuhan wild-type spike. The D614G mutation increased spike expression at the cell surface and limited S1 shedding from pseudovirions. As a consequence, the D614G mutation preferentially increased the infectivity of P681H/R-carrying pseudoviruses. This enhancement was more marked in cells where the endosomal route predominated, suggesting that more stable spikes could better withstand the endosomal environment. Taken together, these findings suggest that the D614G mutation stabilized S1/S2 association and enabled the selection of mutations that increased S1/S2 cleavage, leading to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants expressing highly fusogenic spikes.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.20.492832v1" target="_blank">The spike-stabilizing D614G mutation interacts with S1/S2 cleavage site mutations to promote the infectious potential of SARS-CoV-2 variants</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Deep mutational scanning identifies SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid escape mutations of currently available rapid antigen tests</strong> -
<div>
Widespread and frequent testing is critical to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and rapid antigen tests are the diagnostic tool of choice in many settings. With new viral variants continuously emerging and spreading rapidly, the effect of mutations on antigen test performance is a major concern. In response to the spread of variants the National Institutes of Health’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative created a Variant Task Force to assess the impact of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants on in vitro diagnostic testing. To evaluate the impact of mutations on rapid antigen tests we developed a lentivirus-mediated mammalian surface-display platform for the SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid protein, the target of the majority of rapid antigen tests. We employed deep mutational scanning (DMS) to directly measure the effect of all possible Nucleocapsid point mutations on antibody binding by 17 diagnostic antibodies used in 11 commercially available antigen tests with FDA emergency use authorization (EUA). The results provide a complete map of the antibodies’ epitopes and their susceptibility to mutational escape. This approach identifies linear epitopes, conformational epitopes, as well as allosteric escape mutations in any region of the Nucleocapsid protein. All 17 antibodies tested exhibit distinct escape mutation profiles, even among antibodies recognizing the same folded domain. Our data predict no vulnerabilities of rapid antigen tests for detection of mutations found in currently and previously dominant variants of concern and interest. We confirm this using the commercial tests and sequence-confirmed COVID-19 patient samples. The antibody escape mutation profiles generated here serve as a valuable resource for predicting the performance of rapid antigen tests against past, current, as well as any possible future variants of SARS-CoV-2, establishing the direct clinical and public health utility of our system. Further, our mammalian surface-display platform combined with DMS is a generalizable platform for complete mapping of protein-protein interactions.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.19.492641v1" target="_blank">Deep mutational scanning identifies SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid escape mutations of currently available rapid antigen tests</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein suppresses CTL-mediated killing by inhibiting immune synapse assembly</strong> -
<div>
CTL-mediated killing of virally infected or malignant cells is orchestrated at a specialized intercellular junction, the immune synapse (IS). We hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 may target IS assembly in CTLs to escape killing. We show that primary human CD8+ T cells strongly upregulate the expression of ACE2, the Spike protein receptor, during differentiation to CTLs. CTL pre-incubation with the Wuhan or Omicron Spike variants inhibits IS assembly and function, as shown by defective synaptic accumulation of TCRs and tyrosine phosphoproteins as well as defective centrosome and lytic granule polarisation to the IS, resulting in impaired target cell killing. These defects were reversed by anti- Spike antibodies that interfere with ACE2 binding and were reproduced by ACE2 engagement with Angiotensin-II or an anti- ACE2 antibody, but not by the ACE2 product Ang (1-7). These results highlight a new strategy of immune evasion by SARS- CoV-2 based on the Spike-dependent, ACE2-mediated targeting of the lytic IS to prevent the elimination of infected cells.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.20.492764v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein suppresses CTL-mediated killing by inhibiting immune synapse assembly</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Revealing druggable cryptic pockets in the Nsp-1 of SARS-CoV-2 and other β-coronaviruses by simulations and crystallography</strong> -
<div>
Non-structural protein 1 (Nsp1) is a main pathogenicity factor of alpha- and beta-coronaviruses. Nsp1 of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) suppresses the host gene expression by sterically blocking 40S host ribosomal subunits and promoting host mRNA degradation. This mechanism leads to the downregulation of the translation-mediated innate immune response in host cells, ultimately mediating the observed immune evasion capabilities of SARS-CoV-2. Here, by combining extensive Molecular Dynamics simulations, fragment screening and crystallography, we reveal druggable pockets in Nsp1. Structural and computational solvent mapping analyses indicate the partial crypticity of these newly discovered and druggable binding sites. The results of fragment-based screening via X-ray crystallography confirm the druggability of the major pocket of Nsp1. Finally, we show how the targeting of this pocket could disrupt the Nsp1-mRNA complex and open a novel avenue to design new inhibitors for other Nsp1s present in homologous beta- coronaviruses.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.20.492819v1" target="_blank">Revealing druggable cryptic pockets in the Nsp-1 of SARS-CoV-2 and other β-coronaviruses by simulations and crystallography</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Highly divergent white-tailed deer SARS-CoV-2 with potential deer-to-human transmission</strong> -
<div>
Wildlife reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 may enable viral adaptation and spillback from animals to humans. In North America, there is evidence of unsustained spillover of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), but no evidence of transmission from deer to humans. Through a biosurveillance program in Ontario, Canada we identified a new and highly divergent lineage of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer. This lineage is the most divergent SARS-CoV-2 lineage identified to date, with 76 consensus mutations (including 37 previously associated with non-human animal hosts) and signatures of considerable evolution and transmission within wildlife. Phylogenetic analysis also revealed an epidemiologically linked human case. Together, our findings represent the first clear evidence of sustained evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer and of deer-to-human transmission.
</div>
<div class="article-link article- html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.22.481551v2" target="_blank">Highly divergent white-tailed deer SARS-CoV-2 with potential deer-to-human transmission</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance Among People Incarcerated in Connecticut State Jails</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Objective: To assess the Connecticut Department of Corrections (DOC) COVID-19 vaccine program within jails. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis among people who were incarcerated in a DOC-operated jail between February 2 and November 8, 2021, and were eligible for vaccination at the time of incarceration (intake). We compared the vaccination rates before and after incarceration using an age-adjusted survival analysis with a time-varying exposure of incarceration and an outcome of vaccination. Results: During the study period, 3,716 people spent at least 1 night in jail and were eligible for vaccination at intake. Of these residents, 136 were vaccinated prior to incarceration, 2,265 had a recorded vaccine offer, and 476 were vaccinated while incarcerated. The age-adjusted hazard of vaccination following incarceration was significantly higher than prior to incarceration (12.5; 95% CI: 10.2-15.3). Conclusions: We found that residents were more likely to become vaccinated in jail than the community. Though these findings highlight the utility of vaccination programs within jails, the low level of vaccination in this population speaks to the need for additional program development within jails and the community.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.19.22275339v1" target="_blank">Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance Among People Incarcerated in Connecticut State Jails</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Jinhua Qinggan Granules for Nonhospitalized COVID-19 Patients: a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Controlled Trial</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Key findings from the World Health Organization Expert Meeting on Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine in treating COVID-19 reported that TCMs are beneficial, particularly for mild-to-moderate cases. The efficacy of Jinhua Qinggan Granules (JHQG) in COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms has yet to be clearly defined. Methods: We conducted a phase 2/3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of treatment with JHQR in mild, nonhospitalized, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 5g/sacket of JHQG or placebo granules orally thrice daily for 10 days. The primary outcomes were the improvement in clinical symptoms and proportion tested negative on viral PCR after treatment. Secondary outcomes were the time to recovery from clinical symptoms and changes in white blood cells (WBC) and acute phase reactants (C-reactive protein (CRP) and ferritin) 10 days after treatment. Results: A total of 300 patients were randomly assigned to receive JHQG (150 patients) and placebo (150 patients). Baseline characteristics were similar in the two groups. In the modified intention-to-treat analysis, JHQG showed greater clinical efficacy (82.67%) after 10 days of treatment compared with the placebo group (10.74%) (rate difference: 71.93%; 95% CI 64.09 - 79.76). The proportion of patients with a negative PCR after treatment were comparable (rate difference: -4.67%; 95% CI -15.76 - 6.42). While all changes in WBC, ferritin, and CRP levels showed a statistically significant decline in JHQG (p&lt;=0.044) after treatment, but not the latter in placebo (p=0.077). The median time to recovery of COVID-19 related symptoms including cough, sputum, sore throat, dyspnea, headache, nasal obstruction, fatigue, and myalgia were shorter in the JHQG group compared to the placebo group (P&lt;0.001 for all). 3 patients experienced mild to moderate adverse events during the treatment period in the JHQG group. Findings were similar between the modified intention-to-treat and the per-protocol analysis that included only patients who reported 100% adherence to the assigned regimen. Conclusions: JHQG is a safe and effective TCM for the treatment of mild COVID-19 patients.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.16.22275074v2" target="_blank">Jinhua Qinggan Granules for Nonhospitalized COVID-19 Patients: a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Controlled Trial</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Behaviour, booster vaccines and waning immunity: modelling the medium-term dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in England in the Omicron era</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
England has experienced a heavy burden of COVID-19, with multiple waves of SARS-CoV-2 transmission since early 2020 and high infection levels following the emergence and spread of Omicron variants since late 2021. In response to rising Omicron cases, booster vaccinations were accelerated and offered to all adults in England. Using a model fitted to more than 2 years of epidemiological data, we project potential dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospital admissions and deaths in England to December 2022. We consider key uncertainties including future behavioural change and waning immunity, and assess the effectiveness of booster vaccinations in mitigating SARS-CoV-2 disease burden between October 2021 and December 2022. If no new variants emerge, SARS-CoV-2 transmission is expected to decline, with low levels remaining in the coming months. The extent to which projected SARS-CoV-2 transmission resurges later in 2022 depends largely on assumptions around waning immunity and to some extent, behaviour and seasonality.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.22.21266584v2" target="_blank">Behaviour, booster vaccines and waning immunity: modelling the medium-term dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in England in the Omicron era</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A social media-based framework for quantifying temporal changes to wildlife viewing intensity: Case study of sea turtles before and during COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
Documenting how human pressure on wildlife changes over time is important to minimise potential adverse effects through implementing appropriate management and policy actions; however, obtaining objective measures of these changes and their potential impacts is often logistically challenging, particularly in the natural environment. Here, we developed a modular stochastic model that infers the ratio of actual viewing pressure on wildlife in consecutive time periods (years) using social media, as this medium is widespread and easily accessible. Pressure was calculated from the number of times individual animals appeared in social media in pre-defined time windows, accounting for time-dependent variables that influence them (e.g. number of people with access to social media). Formulas for the confidence intervals of viewing pressure ratios were rigorously developed and validated, and corresponding uncertainty was quantified. We applied the developed framework to calculate changes to wildlife viewing pressure on loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) at Zakynthos island (Greece) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2021) based on 2646 social media entries. Our model ensured temporal comparability across years of social media data grouped in time window sizes, by correcting for the interannual increase of social media use. Optimal sizes for these windows were delineated, reducing uncertainty while maintaining high time-scale resolution. The optimal time window was around 7-days during the peak tourist season when more data were available in all three years, and &gt;15 days during the low season. In contrast, raw social media data exhibited clear bias when quantifying changes to viewing pressure, with unknown uncertainty. The framework developed here allows widely-available social media data to be used objectively when quantifying temporal changes to wildlife viewing pressure. Its modularity allowed viewing pressure to be quantified for all data combined, or subsets of data (different groups, situations or locations), and could be applied to any site supporting wildlife exposed to tourism.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.19.492636v1" target="_blank">A social media-based framework for quantifying temporal changes to wildlife viewing intensity: Case study of sea turtles before and during COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Annual prevalence of non-communicable diseases and identification of vulnerable populations following the Fukushima disaster and COVID-19 pandemic</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Disasters, pandemics, and their response measures can have secondary effects on the physical and psychological health of affected populations. Identifying populations vulnerable to these effects is beneficial for promoting effective health and prevention strategies. Using health insurance receipt data from 2009 to 2020, we assessed changes in prevalence of major non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and mental disorders, among affected populations before and after the Fukushima disaster and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Japan. Furthermore, age and sex groups with the largest increases in prevalence after these events were identified. The participants of this study were members of the Employees9 Health Insurance scheme, including employees of companies and their dependent family members. The dataset was provided by JMDC Inc. The annual age-adjusted prevalence of each disease was used to calculate the ratio of disease prevalence before and after the events. After the Fukushima disaster, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes generally increased over a 9-year period in Fukushima Prefecture. The increase in the prevalence rate of these three NCDs and mental disorders were the highest among females aged 40-74 years compared to males and the other age groups. The prevalence of all four diseases increased after the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan, with marked increase in males aged 0-39 years. Populations that have experienced secondary health effects such as NCDs are unique to each disaster or pandemic, and it is important to provide tailor-made public health support among populations in accordance to the type of disasters and pandemic.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.18.22275293v1" target="_blank">Annual prevalence of non-communicable diseases and identification of vulnerable populations following the Fukushima disaster and COVID-19 pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Prevalence and determinants of mental well-being and satisfaction with life among university students amidst COVID-19 pandemic</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a slew of mental illnesses due to a lack of cures and vaccinations, as well as concerns about students9 well-being and satisfaction with life, resulting in psychological symptoms and dissatisfaction with their lives. As students are highly susceptible to mental health issues, researchers discovered that perceived SWL and MWB decreased. The present study investigated the prevalence and determinants of mental well- being and satisfaction with life among university students in Bangladesh. Methods: An e-survey based cross-sectional study was carried out from February to April 2021 among 660 students. A purposive sampling technique was utilized in the study. Self-reported mental well-being and satisfaction with life psychological tools were also used. The e-questionnaire survey was conducted with informed consent and questions were related to socio-demographics, satisfaction with life, and mental well-being scales. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses were performed. The data were rechecked and analyzed with the R programming language. Results: The prevalence estimates of mental well-being and satisfaction with life were 27% and 13% respectively. In a total of 660 participants, 58.2% of them were male and the rest of them were female (41.8%). Among the participants, 22.5% suffer the worst conditions regarding their financial conditions, and 16.5% badly seek a job for livelihood. Conclusion: The present findings revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic and longtime educational institution closure significantly affect the students mental health. Students mental well-being was in vulnerable conditions and their satisfaction with life was extremely poor. A comprehensive student psychological support service should be expanded to help students mental health.
</p>
</div></li>
</ul>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.18.22275203v1" target="_blank">Prevalence and determinants of mental well-being and satisfaction with life among university students amidst COVID-19 pandemic</a>
</div>
<ul>
<li><strong>Real-world effectiveness of molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir among COVID-19 inpatients during Hong Kong’s Omicron BA.2 wave: an observational study</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background Real-world evidence on the effectiveness of oral antivirals in mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients is urgently needed. This retrospective cohort study aims to evaluate the clinical and virologic outcomes associated with molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir use in COVID-19 patients during a pandemic wave dominated by the Omicron BA.2 variant. Methods We analyzed data from a territory-wide retrospective cohort of hospitalized patients with confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection from 26th February 2022 to 26th April 2022 in Hong Kong. Oral antiviral users were matched with controls using propensity-score matching in a ratio of 1:4. Study outcomes were a composite outcome of disease progression (all-cause mortality, initiation of invasive mechanical ventilation [IMV], or intensive care unit admission) and their individual outcomes, and lower viral load of cycle threshold (Ct) value ≥30 cycles. Hazard ratios (HR) of event outcomes were estimated using Cox regression models. Results Among 40,776 hospitalized patients with SARS- CoV-2 infection over a mean follow-up of 41.3 days with 925,713 person-days, 2,359 and 1,000 patients not initially requiring oxygen therapy were initiated with molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, respectively. The crude incidence rates of all-cause mortality and IMV were 22.24 and 1.06 events per 10,000 person-days among molnupiravir users, 11.04 and 1.75 events per 10,000 person-days among nirmatrelvir/ritonavir users. Oral antiviral use was associated with a significantly lower risk of the composite outcome of disease progression (molnupiravir: HR=0.53, 95%CI=0.46-0.62, p&lt;0.001; nirmatrelvir/ritonavir: HR=0.33, 95%CI=0.24-0.46, p&lt;0.001) than non-use, which was consistently observed for all-cause mortality (molnupiravir: HR=0.55, 95%CI=0.47-0.63, p&lt;0.001; nirmatrelvir/ritonavir: HR=0.32, 95%CI=0.23-0.45, p&lt;0.001). Molnupiravir users had lower risks of IMV (HR=0.31, 95%CI=0.16-0.61, p&lt;0.001). Time to achieving lower viral load was significantly shorter among oral antiviral users than matched controls (molnupiravir: HR=1.21, 95%CI=1.07-1.37, p=0.002; nirmatrelvir/ritonavir: HR=1.25, 95%CI=1.04-1.50, p=0.015). Amongst survivors, nirmatrelvir/ritonavir had shorter length of hospital stay (-0.70 days, 95%CI=-1.37 to -0.04, p=0.039) than matched controls. Head-to-head comparison of molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir reported higher risk of mortality (HR=1.53 95%CI=1.01-2.31, p=0.047) and longer length of hospital stay (0.83 days, 95%CI=0.07-1.58, p=0.032) for molnupiravir users. Conclusions Against Omicron BA.2, initiation of novel oral antiviral treatment in hospitalized patients not requiring any oxygen therapy was associated with lower risks of disease progression and all-cause mortality, in addition to achieving low viral load faster.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.19.22275291v1" target="_blank">Real-world effectiveness of molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir among COVID-19 inpatients during Hong Kong’s Omicron BA.2 wave: an observational study</a>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Role of Glutathione Deficiency and MSIDS Variables in Long COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Dietary Supplement: NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) , Alpha lipoic acid (ALA), liposomal glutathione (GSH)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   University of California, Irvine;   Hudson Valley Healing Arts Center<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of IN STI-9199 in Treating Symptomatic COVID-19 in Outpatient Adults and Adolescents</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: STI-9199;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of Omicron COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated in Population 18 Years Old of Age and Above</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Omicron COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   China National Biotec Group Company Limited;   Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd.;   Shulan (Hangzhou) Hospital<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study on Sequential Immunization of Omicron Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine and Prototype Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine in Population Aged 18 Years Old and Above</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Omicron COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated;   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:  <br/>
China National Biotec Group Company Limited;   Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd.;   Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention<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>Neuro-inflammation and Post-infectious Fatigue in Individuals With and Without COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Radiation: [18F]DPA-714 positron emission tomography (PET) scan<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc;   ZonMw: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development<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>Phase II Safety Single-arm Study of CDK4/6 Inhibition With Palbociclib in Hospitalized, Moderate COVID-19 Cases to Prevent Thromboinflammation</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Palbociclib<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   biotx.ai GmbH<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>Phase I Clinical Trial of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine in Adults Aged 18 Years and Older</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: COVID-19 mRNA vaccine;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   CanSino Biologics Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Phase II Clinical Trial of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine in Adults Aged 18 Years and Older</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: COVID-19 mRNA vaccine;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   CanSino Biologics Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>THEMBA II T-Cell Vaccine: Vaccination With saRNA COVID-19 Vaccines</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: AAHI-SC2 Vaccine;   Biological: AAHI- SC3 Vaccine;   Biological: EUA or approved vaccine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   ImmunityBio, Inc.<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>To Evaluate SSD8432/Ritonavir in Adults With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: SSD8432 dose;   Drug: SSD8432 placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Jiangsu Simcere Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of DXP604 in Patients With Mild to Moderate COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: DXP604<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Evaluation of SSD8432 and Ritonavir in Adult Subjects With COVID-19 Placebo-Controlled, Phase II Clinical Study</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: SSD8432 dose1;   Drug: SSD8432 dose2;   Drug: SSD8432Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Jiangsu Simcere Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sequential Immunization of Two Doses of Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine (Omicron) in Vaccinated Population Aged 18 Years and Above</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: BIBP Omicron Inactivated COVID-19 vaccine (Vero Cell);   Biological: WIBP Omicron Inactivated COVID-19 vaccine (Vero Cell);   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   China National Biotec Group Company Limited;   Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd.;   Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd;   The University of Hong Kong<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>Immunogenicity and Safety of Booster Immunization of COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated (Omicron Variant) in Healthy People Aged 18 Years and Above</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero cell), Inactivated (Omicron variant);   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero cell), Inactivated (CZ strain)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Sinovac Research and Development Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>To Evaluate SSD8432/ Ritonavir in Adults With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Patients<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: SSD8432 dose 1/Ritonavir;   Drug: SSD8432 dose 2/Ritonavir<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Jiangsu Simcere Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Disease-associated dysbiosis and potential therapeutic role of Akkermansia muciniphila, a mucus degrading bacteria of gut microbiome</strong> - The unique functionality of Akkermansia muciniphila in gut microbiota indicates it to be an indispensable microbe for human welfare. The importance of A. muciniphila lies in its potential to convert mucin into beneficial by-products, regulate intestinal homeostasis and maintain gut barrier integrity. It is also known to competitively inhibit other mucin-degrading bacteria and improve metabolic functions and immunity responses in the host. It finds a pivotal perspective in various diseases and…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Expanding the spectrum of the hyperferritinemic syndrome, from pathogenic mechanisms to clinical observations, and therapeutic implications</strong> - From the introduction of hyperferritinemic syndrome concept, a growing body of evidence has suggested the role of ferritin as a pathogenic mediator and a relevant clinical feature in the management of patients with inflammatory diseases. From a pathogenic point of view, ferritin may directly stimulate the aberrant immune response by triggering the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in inducing a vicious pathogenic loop and contributing to the occurrence of cytokine storm syndrome. 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>Longitudinal analyses reveal distinct immune response landscapes in lung and intestinal tissues from SARS- CoV-2-infected rhesus macaques</strong> - The pathological and immune response of individuals with COVID-19 display different dynamics in lung and intestine. Here, we depict the single-cell transcriptional atlas of longitudinally collected lung and intestinal tissue samples from SARS-CoV-2-infected monkeys at 3 to 10 dpi. We find that intestinal enterocytes are degraded at 3 days post- infection but recovered rapidly, revealing that infection has mild effects on the intestine. Crucially, we observe suppression of the inflammatory…</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 vitro characterization of the furin inhibitor MI-1851: Albumin binding, interaction with cytochrome P450 enzymes and cytotoxicity</strong> - The substrate-analog furin inhibitor MI-1851 can suppress the cleavage of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and consequently produces significant antiviral effect on infected human airway epithelial cells. In this study, the interaction of inhibitor MI-1851 was examined with human serum albumin using fluorescence spectroscopy and ultrafiltration techniques. Furthermore, the impacts of MI-1851 on human microsomal hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A2, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6 and 3A4 activities were assessed based on…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Folic acid: a potential inhibitor against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein</strong> - CONTEXT: Coronavirus disease 2019 is a global pandemic. Studies suggest that folic acid has antiviral effects. Molecular docking shown that folic acid can act on SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Phosphoprotein (SARS-CoV-2 N).</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>HDAC Inhibition as Potential Therapeutic Strategy to Restore the Deregulated Immune Response in Severe COVID-19</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact worldwide and has been a great challenge for the scientific community. Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are now efficiently lessening COVID-19 mortality, although finding a cure for this infection is still a priority. An unbalanced immune response and the uncontrolled release of proinflammatory cytokines are features of COVID-19 pathophysiology and contribute to disease progression and worsening. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) have gained interest 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>Intranasal Delivery of Thermostable Subunit Vaccine for Cross-Reactive Mucosal and Systemic Antibody Responses Against SARS-CoV-2</strong> - Despite the remarkable efficacy of currently approved COVID-19 vaccines, there are several opportunities for continued vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2 and future lethal respiratory viruses. In particular, restricted vaccine access and hesitancy have limited immunization rates. In addition, current vaccines are unable to prevent breakthrough infections, leading to prolonged virus circulation. To improve access, a subunit vaccine with enhanced thermostability was designed to eliminate 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>Importance of Influenza Anti-Hemagglutinin Antibodies During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in the 2019/2020 Epidemic Season in Poland</strong> - BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the level of anti-hemagglutinin antibodies in the serum of recovered patients during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the 2019/2020 epidemic season in Poland, and the course of COVID-19. MATERIAL AND METHODS The material for the study consisted of the sera of COVID-19 convalescents obtained from the following 9 Regional Blood Donation and Blood Supply Centers located in 8 voivodeships. The hemagglutination inhibition reaction assay (HAI) using 8 viral…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Nanocomposites of Graphene Oxide-Silver Nanoparticles for Enhanced Antibacterial Activity: Mechanism of Action and Medical Textiles Coating</strong> - The resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics is a crucial problem for which the application of nanomaterials is among a growing number of solutions. The aim of the study was to create a nanocomposite (composed of graphene oxide and silver nanoparticles) with a precise mode of antibacterial action: what enables textiles to be coated in order to exhibit antibacterial properties. A characterization of nanomaterials (silver nanoparticles and graphene oxide) by size distribution, zeta potential…</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>Ginkgolic acid and anacardic acid are reversible inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3-chymotrypsin-like protease</strong> - Because of the emerging variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in different regions of the world, the battle with infectious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been seesawing. Therefore, the identification of antiviral drugs is of particular importance. In order to rapidly identify inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CL^(pro)), an enzyme essential for viral replication, we combined the fluorescence polarization (FP)…</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>Broad-spectrum CRISPR-mediated inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 variants and endemic coronaviruses in vitro</strong> - A major challenge in coronavirus vaccination and treatment is to counteract rapid viral evolution and mutations. Here we demonstrate that CRISPR-Cas13d offers a broad-spectrum antiviral (BSA) to inhibit many SARS-CoV-2 variants and diverse human coronavirus strains with &gt;99% reduction of the viral titer. We show that Cas13d-mediated coronavirus inhibition is dependent on the crRNA cellular spatial colocalization with Cas13d and target viral RNA. Cas13d can significantly enhance the therapeutic…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages show comparable cell entry but differential neutralization by therapeutic antibodies</strong> - The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 evades antibody-mediated neutralization with unprecedented efficiency. At least three Omicron sublineages have been identified-BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3-and BA.2 exhibits increased transmissibility. However, it is currently unknown whether BA.2 differs from the other sublineages regarding cell entry and antibody-mediated inhibition. Here, we show that BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3 enter and fuse target cells with similar efficiency and in an ACE2-dependent manner. However,…</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 IRAK4 dysregulates SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-induced macrophage inflammatory and glycolytic reprogramming</strong> - Escalated innate immunity plays a critical role in SARS-CoV-2 pathology; however, the molecular mechanism is incompletely understood. Thus, we aim to characterize the molecular mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein advances human macrophage (Mϴ) inflammatory and glycolytic phenotypes and uncover novel therapeutic strategies. We found that human Mϴs exposed to Spike protein activate IRAK4 phosphorylation. Blockade of IRAK4 in Spike protein-stimulated Mϴs nullifies signaling of IRAK4, AKT,…</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>ZBP1-dependent inflammatory cell death, PANoptosis, and cytokine storm disrupt IFN therapeutic efficacy during coronavirus infection</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality in the ongoing global pandemic. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms that govern innate immune and inflammatory responses during SARS-CoV-2 infection is critical for developing effective therapeutic strategies. While IFN-based therapies are generally expected to be beneficial during viral infection, clinical trials…</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>Clofoctol inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication and reduces lung pathology in mice</strong> - Drug repurposing has the advantage of shortening regulatory preclinical development steps. Here, we screened a library of drug compounds, already registered in one or several geographical areas, to identify those exhibiting antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 with relevant potency. Of the 1,942 compounds tested, 21 exhibited a substantial antiviral activity in Vero-81 cells. Among them, clofoctol, an antibacterial drug used for the treatment of bacterial respiratory tract infections, was…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
<script>AOS.init();</script></body></html>

520
archive-daily-dose/21 May, 2022.html Normal file
View File

@ -0,0 +1,520 @@
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="" xml:lang="" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head>
<meta charset="utf-8"/>
<meta content="pandoc" name="generator"/>
<meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes" name="viewport"/>
<title>21 May, 2022</title>
<style type="text/css">
code{white-space: pre-wrap;}
span.smallcaps{font-variant: small-caps;}
span.underline{text-decoration: underline;}
div.column{display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; width: 50%;}
</style>
<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
<body>
<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>How Putin’s War Remade Washington</strong> - From a revitalization of NATO to the return of superpower nuclear anxiety, it’s been a breathtaking three months. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/how-putins-war-remade-washington">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Trump Brings His Big Lie Playbook to the G.O.P. Primaries</strong> - Tuesday was a mixed bag for candidates endorsed by the former President, who is making fresh suggestions of election fraud. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/trump-brings-his-big-lie-playbook-to-the-gop-primaries">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>American Racism and the Buffalo Shooting</strong> - The gunman seems motivated by a vision of history, pushed by the right, in which American racism never existed and Black people are undeserving takers. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/american-racism-and-the-buffalo-massacre">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Buffalo Shooter Shopped at their Gun Stores</strong> - New York and Pennsylvania shopkeepers recount their interactions with Payton Gendron, and the fears of civil war that have run rampant in his community since 2020. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-buffalo-shooter-shopped-at-their-gun-stores">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>An Insurrectionist Could Be the Next Governor of Pennsylvania</strong> - Doug Mastriano, who won the Republican nomination, has pushed Trump’s lies about the election and sent busloads of supporters to the Capitol riot. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/an-insurrectionist-could-be-the-next-governor-of-pennsylvania">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Is the center shrinking in the Democratic primaries?</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Pennsylvania state representative Summer Lee smiles in a photo at a campaign event." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/V24ROThLezqfthExuhQ9pZj-vr0=/179x0:3763x2688/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70895095/1240730173.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Pennsylvania Democratic congressional candidate, state Rep. Summer Lee, talks to the press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. | Nate Smallwood/Bloomberg via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Democratic voters are moving their party to the left — and dragging candidates with them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2U5KzY">
This year’s Democratic primaries are being largely framed as an ideological struggle between the national party’s moderate and progressive wings. But voting patterns over the last few weeks have complicated that narrative.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KmnTPO">
In marquee contests in Pennsylvania and Oregon, progressive wins led to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/18/tough-senate-races-democrats-shift-
away-centrists-toward-progressive-diverse-candidates/">proclamations</a> that the left wing of the party is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/18/progressive-democratic-primary-wins-00033557">gaining</a> <a href="https://thehill.com/news/state-watch/3493293-progressives-feel-vindication-after-major-primary-
wins/">influence</a>, while some moderate victories defied that thinking. What’s becoming clear as votes are counted, however, is that Democratic primary voters seem to care less about who the “progressive candidate” is and more about if candidates are campaigning on progressive goals. What many of the Democrats who won this week have in common is that they all embraced progressive priorities tailored to where they were running.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XuuERH">
Perhaps nowhere encapsulated this reality better than swing-state Pennsylvania, where a relatively progressive and locally trusted candidate who repeatedly rejected the progressive label — <a href="https://www.vox.com/23068819/democrats-pennsylvania-
senate-primary-progressive-moderate">Lt. Gov. John Fetterman</a> — trounced the more moderate, Washington favorite, Rep. Conor Lamb, in the primary race for the US Senate.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YJ3vTa">
“Just being a centrist anymore, it’s hard to get things done. There’s shrinking room left in the middle,” Mustafa Rashed, a Democratic strategist in Philadelphia, told me about the state’s dynamics.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nmojyZ">
Around the state, candidates who delivered digestible versions of progressive messages did well, from the <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-election-2022-results-
williams-prescod-evans-hunt-20220518.html">left-leaning candidates</a> who won races in heavily Democratic areas for state and federal legislatures to the <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2022/05/18/pennsylvanias-
democratic-progressives-and-establishment-face-off">moderate incumbents</a> who survived tough challenges from the left. In nearly all of these races, a general shift to the left was apparent among the party’s base and candidates.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TVY9KA">
This trend isn’t necessarily universal: Plenty of more traditional moderate Democrats won their races in Ohio and North Carolina. And it’s possible upcoming races in California, Illinois, Michigan, and Texas may upset this narrative. But for the most part, the primaries so far appear to show that progressive activism and ideas have changed what primary voters want and what their candidates are offering.<strong> </strong>
</p>
<h3 id="AWPTZP">
Every team scored wins on Tuesday
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SI4PrF">
Both sides of the Democratic ideological spectrum could claim wins on Tuesday. From North Carolina to Oregon, there wasn’t uniformity in who emerged victorious.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZEPT1T">
What does tie a lot of Tuesday’s races together, though, is how few moderates ran openly down the middle of the ideological spectrum without co-opting at least some of the issues and language progressives have used in previous races. That includes things like advocating for a higher minimum wage, expanding health care access and coverage, more openly embracing gun control and abortion rights, and at least addressing climate change.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FEajw3">
A more moderate, establishment type prevailed in Pennsylvania’s Third Congressional District, where Rep. Dwight Evans beat back progressive challengers by focusing on affordable housing, criminal justice reform, gun violence, and crime. A similar dynamic could be seen in <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-election-2022-results-williams-prescod-evans-hunt-20220518.html">other seats in the state legislature</a>, including with longtime state Sen. Anthony Williams, who campaigned on abortion access, gun-violence prevention, and criminal justice reform as he faced his first serious challenge from the left. And in the primary for lieutenant governor, frontrunner Rep. Austin Davis defeated rivals to his left running on abortion and criminal justice reform.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TbAbXf">
This trend wasn’t just seen in Pennsylvania.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fLtgeL">
In Kentucky, liberal state Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey defeated a lefty rival to represent the Louisville-area Third Congressional District, which is solidly Democratic, by supporting partial student loan cancellation, single-payer health care, and endorsing the idea of a Green New Deal.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9xi2Hw">
In North Carolina, a similar picture emerged. Centrist-minded state Sen. Don Davis, backed by outgoing US Rep. GK Butterfield, comfortably beat his progressive challenger, a former state senator endorsed by US Sen. Elizabeth Warren and an array of progressive groups. Though Davis doesn’t back a Green New Deal or Medicare-for-all, he still campaigned on affordable health care, voting rights, reproductive rights, and increasing the minimum wage.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8BeBZf">
Things were a little different in Democrat-dominated Oregon, however, where progressives were ascendant. The solidly centrist incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader, who campaigned on pragmatism and consensus-building, is on track to lose to progressive activist Jamie McLeod- Skinner in the Fifth District, while crypto-backed lawyer Carrick Flynn, who had no political experience, is also trailing the progressive state Rep. Andrea Salinas. And after a difficult campaign, former state House Speaker Tina Kotek defeated a moderate challenger, state Treasurer Tobias Read, in the primary for Oregon governor.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2BLxV0">
Oregon’s results, which saw voters gravitate toward the conventional, genuine progressive, add another layer of complexity to the primary picture. Regardless, races this week showed Democratic candidates of all ideologies feel compelled to address their left flank.
</p>
<h3 id="oGgZa2">
Progressive ideas have changed the way candidates run
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bZeEWS">
A lot has changed since the last midterms in 2018, when progressives made <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/7/19/17585606/2018-midterm-elections-democrats-ocasio-cortez">big gains</a> but moderate Democrats were instrumental in giving the party a <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-
politics/2018/11/5/18042804/2018-midterm-elections-moderates-indiana-ohio-west-virginia">majority in the House</a>. So far, the party’s primaries are showing an electorate much more willing to accept populist, progressive(-ish) ideas than before — a big win for left-wing activists and thinkers who have managed to move the party’s ideological center in their direction.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jkjvT6">
Few candidates so far have run overtly as centrists without at least paying lip service to progressive priorities. Where they refused to do so, as in Schrader’s race, they faced headwinds from a changing Democratic primary electorate.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kSccaQ">
“Ten years ago, blue-dog and corporate Democrats would run on that [centrist] message against progressives,” Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has endorsed several progressive upstarts this election cycle, told me. “These days, they’re more willing to use the language of progressives against progressives in primaries — but Schrader was the exception to this rule.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9Y2ffz">
That’s not to say a moderate using progressive talking points has a sure path to success. Marcia Wilson, the chair of rural Pennsylvania’s Adams County Democratic Party, said Lamb’s campaign showed how some Democrats fear electing an apparent liberal who turns out to be a Joe Manchin-style Democrat.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c6vs0r">
“Democrats are feeling more galvanized and want to be known as Democrats, not because they are unwilling to compromise but because we want to support Democratic ideals,” she said. Wilson told me that partly explains why Lamb’s pitch to the state didn’t resonate — a more conservative background and platform in past races made his leftward shift in the Senate primary seem inauthentic.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jVdo2t">
But still, Lamb attempted some ideological change. A similar thing happened in earlier Democratic primaries in Ohio, where more moderate candidates like Tim Ryan (in the state’s Democratic Senate race), Nan Whaley (in the governor’s race), and Shontel Brown (in the 11th Congressional District) were <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/5/3/23056350/winners-loses-ohio-indiana-primaries-jd-vance-trump">pushed to the left</a>. Upcoming races will test this trend, but so far, it appears Democratic voters want their candidates to speak like progressives, even if they aren’t actually progressive.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F3Fuxi">
The general election may in turn change the way these candidates talk about their priorities. The citizens who typically turn out to vote in November tend to be less <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/12/too-much-democracy-is-bad-for-
democracy/600766/">ideological</a> and <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-2018-primaries-project-the-
ideology-of-primary-voters/">party-affiliated</a> than the voters who participate in primary elections. And the progressive ideals beloved by hardcore Democrats may not be as well received by moderates and centrists in competitive general election seats.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nOlJ0A">
If progressives — and progressive ideas — do win <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/07/politics/republicans-midterms-roe-v-wade/index.html">uphill battles</a> in these swing districts, however, Democrats may end up with a newly empowered left flank, catalyzing the political polarization Americans have come to expect from their government.
</p></li>
<li><strong>The problem of global energy inequity, explained by American refrigerators</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A person opening a refrigerator." src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/iHFQlIQLAt3cckSV6HFHA60JI6A=/328x0:6045x4288/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70895015/GettyImages_1279439218.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The average fridge in the US consumes more electricity in a year than an average person in dozens of countries.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="m5Dk2P">
My refrigerator — that appliance humming in the background that I rarely think about — consumes about 450 kilowatt-hours of energy (kWh) every year. A highly <a href="https://www.energystar.gov/productfinder/product/certified-room-air-conditioners/results">efficient</a> air conditioner uses 483 kWh per year, and even more if the system is older or less efficient.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xxs9CU">
Chances are, though, kilowatt-hours don’t mean a lot to you. To help put it into perspective, consider this chart:
</p>
<div id="WR407Y">
<div id="datawrapper-Both7">
</div></div></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="muHAXi">
Let’s spell this out. In any given year, the average refrigerator or air conditioner in the US consumes much more energy than an average <em>person</em> in dozens of countries around the world consumes for all purposes over an entire year.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EXasMs">
The issue isn’t that Americans should be going without air conditioners, let alone refrigerators. It’s that the world needs to prioritize how to get much higher levels of energy to the poorest countries in the world. Energy access is a foundational component of development, yet many people across Africa and Asia don’t have the energy they need to thrive — and even survive — in a warming world.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z2ms42">
South Asia, for instance, has been experiencing a record heat wave for the last three weeks, with heat consistently <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-forecasts/scorching-heat-roasts-india-as-
new-delhi-soars-to-116-f/1187927">over 110</a>° Fahrenheit and “<a href="https://www.vox.com/23057267/india-pakistan-
heat-wave-climate-change-coal-south-asia">wet-bulb</a>” temperatures — which account for humidity as well as heat — reaching potentially fatal levels. About <a href="https://www.vox.com/23057267/india-pakistan-heat-wave-climate-change-
coal-south-asia">half</a> of the workforce in India and Pakistan is employed in agriculture, which means working hours outside in the blistering heat; <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/cooling">less than 10 percent</a> of Indians — compared to <a href="https://usafacts.org/articles/91-of-households-nationwide-have-air-conditioning-44-of-those-in-
seattle-do/">91 percent</a> of Americans — own air conditioners. To Americans, living in 110°F heat without air conditioning is almost unthinkable, but for billions of people around the world, cooling is an unaffordable luxury due to poverty and the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1040619020301202?via%3Dihub">lack of access to reliable electricity</a>.
</p>
<aside id="mDkEwY">
<div>
</div>
</aside>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gy6xCL">
The energy gap shown in the chart above is one of the starkest examples of global economic inequality. Energy poverty is a major cause of health issues because of <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy-poverty-air-pollution">indoor air pollution</a> from burning coal or biomass instead of electricity or gas for stoves — there are an estimated <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/data-review-air-pollution-deaths">3.8 million premature deaths each year</a> due to indoor air pollution — and an <a href="https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-
reports/documentdetail/184521468179658984/assessment-of-energy-poverty-papers">impediment to economic growth</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KjgRpG">
Even in areas where there isn’t risk of illness and death from heat, someone without reliable energy access won’t have regular lighting to study at night, won’t have a smartphone to gain access to new farming techniques and markets, won’t be able to prevent food spoilage at home. Things that most Americans take for granted — smartphone access, hot showers, and, yes, refrigerators — are erratic or nonexistent in much of the world. Americans <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=50316">experienced</a> on average eight hours of electricity disruption over the course of 2020 — and this represented the most amount of lost power since at least 2013. By contrast, in most Indian states, <a href="https://time.com/6173769/india-heatwave-climate-change-coal/">power outages</a> are surging due to the heat wave, and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), <a href="https://www.iea.org/articles/democratic-republic-of-the-congo-energy-outlook">only about 10 percent of people</a> have access to electricity at all.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g16LWV">
Lack of reliable energy pervades all areas of life and makes people reliant on suboptimal sources of power, which affects people and businesses even more as energy prices <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/04/26/food-and-energy-price-shocks-from-ukraine-
war">spike</a>. “Being a DRC national, I’ve witnessed all my life that whenever fuel prices increase, the prices of everything else increase too,” said Rachel Boketa, the country director for the DRC office of the nonprofit Women for Women International. “Leading an office in an area which has so many electricity-related problems, we rely on generators and we use fuel for that. Now it’s affecting our budget because we have to cover all these unplanned increases in price.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bOBt8Q">
I spoke with Todd Moss, who heads the <a href="https://www.energyforgrowth.org/us/todd-
moss/">Energy for Growth Hub</a>, an initiative to connect energy research to policy. He created the <a href="https://www.cgdev.org/blog/my-fridge-versus-power-africa">original “fridge graph,”</a> so I asked about the rationale behind making it. “We know that inequality is really bad in the world, but this is a stark visual of how unequal energy consumption is. … [Americans] consume 100 times as much electricity as hundreds of millions of people.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tBodbz">
There are of course climate and carbon trade-offs involved in expanding energy access, and the most recent UN climate conference <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/climate/africa-fossil-fuel-gas-
cop26.html">featured a push</a> to restrict fossil fuel development in the global South. But Western nations have been <a href="https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/05/14/yemi-osinbajo-on-the-hypocrisy-of-rich-countries-climate-
policies">rightly accused of hypocrisy</a> for trying to hold poor countries to standards they don’t hold themselves, particularly given that, as the chart shows, one fridge or one air conditioner takes more energy than the average DRC citizen uses in a year.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eWu1zD">
When the war in Ukraine and the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-
ukraine-putin-european-union-global-trade-57d45b570e2d186032c7198e12eeaa66">resulting</a> economic <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/12/europes-gas-supply-crisis-grows-after-russia-imposes-
sanctions">response</a> raised the possibility Germany would be cut off from Russian natural gas, Moss said, Berlin’s priorities completely changed. Suddenly ultra-green Germany was discussing <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-28/germany-mulls-extending-coal-phaseout-to-wean-off-russian-
gas">extending coal plant usage</a>. “Taking [energy] away is very powerful,” he said. With the war in Ukraine, “African leaders are going to say, ‘Energy security is obviously a top priority for Europe, that’s why they’re responding this way. Well, energy security is just as urgent for us. We don’t have it, we need it. Just because you already have it doesn’t mean you’re more entitled to it than we are.’ It’s a different conception of what energy security means, which is being able to count on having it when you need it.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SjBoub">
In a <a href="https://www.economist.com/by-
invitation/2022/05/14/yemi-osinbajo-on-the-hypocrisy-of-rich-countries-climate-policies">recent op-ed</a> in the Economist, Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo underscored the importance of energy access for jobs and growth, and wrote that while Nigeria is moving toward <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/cheap-renewables-growth">renewables</a> such as wind and solar energy,<strong> </strong>policy around energy needs to be as flexible as it was for rich nations. “The renewables-only mantra is also driven by unjustified fears of the continent’s future emissions,” Osinbajo wrote. “Yet under no plausible scenario is Africa a threat to global climate targets.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0L0AZn">
As renewables grow <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/cheap-renewables-growth">more widespread and affordable</a>, it’s becoming increasingly possible to balance growth with sustainability. For cooling in India, Oxford University sustainable development expert Radhika Khosla told me, passive cooling methods, such as shading, natural ventilation, green roofs or reflective white roofs, and changing working schedules and hydration practices when possible will continue to be vital for people who can’t afford air conditioners or work most of the day outdoors. Making efficient air conditioners more affordable and widely used — few in India use the <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-how-energy-demand-for-
cooling-in-indias-cities-is-changing/">most efficient models</a> due to cost — will require technological advances, policy and market mechanisms, and education about long-term cost savings of efficient air conditioners. <strong><br/>
</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NFyaV8">
Energy needs and policies will vary by country. The Democratic Republic of Congo, in which <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS?locations=CG">about half the population lacks access to electricity</a>, is very different from India, which has high electrification but faces deadly heat waves that make cooling essential and extend service interruptions. These massive energy inequalities, as well as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-05-15/india-heat-wave-a-diary-from-new-delhi-on-a-day-of-killer-
weather?sref=qYiz2hd0">human suffering</a> from lack of energy, are important to appreciate before high-income countries make wholesale policy decisions for the rest of the world.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wvfBzZ">
<em>A version of this story was initially published in the </em>Future Perfect<em> newsletter. </em><a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/A2BA26698741513A"><em><strong>Sign up here to subscribe!</strong></em></a>
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Title 42, the controversial Trump-era border policy, explained</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/PE0aE03NmzUH_-V0wN3Wf-2wnNM=/310x0:5259x3712/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70800143/1239925809.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A child in a shelter for refugee migrants from Central and South American countries seeking asylum in the United States, as Title 42 and Remain in Mexico border restrictions continue, in Tijuana, Mexico, on April 9, 2022. | Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A Louisiana judge is preventing Biden from ending the policy as planned.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vG3jQp">
The Biden administration was days away from <a href="https://www.vox.com/23006820/title-42-border-pandemic-
biden">ending Title 42</a>, a policy implemented under then-President Donald Trump that has allowed the US to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants at the southern border under the guise of curbing the spread of Covid-19, when a Louisiana federal judge temporarily put a halt to those efforts.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TxItIV">
District Judge Robert Summerhays <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.188754/gov.uscourts.lawd.188754.90.0_1.pdf">ruled</a> on Friday that the policy must remain in place for now, writing that the administration didn’t follow the correct administrative procedures in ending the policy. It also failed to consider the surge in migration that would result from lifting the policy and the costs border states would incur by supporting social services for additional migrants, he wrote.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EyfRcd">
The decision will set the Biden administration back by months in its efforts to end Title 42.<strong> </strong>And it maintains a status quo on the border that has shut migrants out of the US asylum system since March 2020.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xGPoNd">
Title 42 was put in place under dubious public health rationale and has become an overt, de facto national immigration and border security strategy due to its effectiveness at keeping migrants out of the US. As Summerhays noted, Title 42’s rollback was expected to prompt an increase in migration to the border that would challenge US immigration and border enforcement capabilities. Republicans were ready to pounce on the anticipated border surge, and some Democrats — including ones in tight reelection races in this fall’s midterms — had even <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23016907/democrat-biden-border-title-42-midterms">urged President Joe Biden to leave Title 42</a> in place of his own accord.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FKBmRf">
The White House had resisted such calls, proceeding with its plans to end the policy on May 23. But now that the court is standing in its way, the question is how forcefully the Biden administration will resist its decision.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bCXmeT">
Here’s what you need to know about the policy and the political fight over ending it.
</p>
<h3 id="sBhq38">
Title 42, explained
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sDBM7i">
Title 42 is a previously little-known section of US health law that allows the US government to temporarily block noncitizens from entering the US “when doing so is required in the interest of public health.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qZ64Qv">
When the Trump administration invoked Title 42 in March 2020 at the outset of the pandemic, White House officials <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-officials-objected-to-order-turning-away-migrants-at-
border-11601733601">argued</a> that it had been recommended by public health officials to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among migrants in crowded Border Patrol stations.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rCCLBQ">
But public health officials weren’t the ones pushing the policy; the effort was led by Stephen Miller, a former senior adviser to Trump and the chief architect of his immigration policy, which focused on reducing overall immigration levels to the US, at times by <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/the-cruelty-is-the-point/572104/">deliberately cruel means</a>. Even before the pandemic, Miller had been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/03/us/coronavirus-immigration-
stephen-miller-public-health.html">looking for opportunities</a> to use Title 42 to expel migrants, including when there was a mumps outbreak in immigration detention and flu spread in Border Patrol stations in 2019.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jlbiWy">
The policy has effectively shut out migrants arriving at the southern border from legal pathways to enter the US (there are limited exceptions for some families, unaccompanied children, and Ukrainians). Before Title 42, the migrants would have been processed at Border Patrol facilities and evaluated for eligibility for asylum and other humanitarian protections that would allow them to remain in the US. Migrants have a legal right, enshrined in US and international law, to seek asylum. But under Title 42, migrants are returned to Mexico within a matter of hours and without any such opportunity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1rqYAo">
The US has used Title 42 to expel migrants more than <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters">1.9 million times</a> since March 2020. Many have been caught trying to cross the border multiple times because the policy removed any potential adverse legal consequences of doing so.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="npkmbw">
Title 42 was controversial when Trump implemented it: It was clear that the primary purpose of the policy was not to protect public health, but to advance Trump’s political goal of cracking down on unauthorized immigration at great human cost.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zJ0nCU">
The Biden administration has had plenty of opportunities to roll back Title 42, starting when Biden made a flurry of executive actions in January 2021 to roll back other Trump-era immigration policies. But because the administration waited more than a year to take action, it has had to defend the policy as a necessary public health tool. In that time the current reality on the border, where most migrants are being turned away under Title 42, has become the new normal.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nR3WC4">
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found last month that Title 42 was <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cdcresponse/Final-CDC-Order-Prohibiting-Introduction-of-Persons.pdf">no longer necessary</a> to protect public health from the spread of Covid-19. Many public health experts outside the agency argued all along that it was <a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/node/76271">never necessary</a> for public health because community transmission inside the US, not introduction of the virus from Mexico, is what has driven the spread of Covid-19 in the country. They say that the US always had the capacity to safely process migrants by means of testing, quarantining, and enforcing masking.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Imief0">
But the Trump administration maintained that Title 42 was a means of mitigating “serious danger to migrants, our front-line agents and officers, and the American people,” as then-acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-officials-objected-to-order-
turning-away-migrants-at-border-11601733601">said</a> at a White House event announcing the policy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p9pWy9">
Not only was Title 42 questionable from a public health standpoint, it didn’t deter migration. Before Title 42, migrants might have been subject to swift deportation proceedings, known as “expedited removal,” and criminal prosecution, which would have made it more difficult for them to get legal status in the US down the line. But now they’re simply returned to Mexico and undeterred from trying to cross again.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bjnIaU">
That’s reflected in the data: There were nearly <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters">twice as many</a> border apprehensions in fiscal year 2021 as in fiscal year 2019. Before the pandemic, only <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/guide-title-42-expulsions-border">7 percent</a> of people arrested at the border had crossed the border more than once; in fiscal year 2022, it’s <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics">27 percent</a>, and among single adult migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras specifically, it’s <a href="https://twitter.com/Haleaziz/status/1517563859803942912?s=20&amp;t=ZjQtANbSyNmIW8d-BYWq3g">49 percent</a>.
</p>
<h3 id="havZHd">
What Title 42 has meant for migrants
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="q3LUbu">
Title 42, coupled with other Trump policies designed to keep out migrants, has impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of migrants who are effectively trapped in Mexico, many living in shelters or camps along the border and relegated to informal work if they can find work at all. Many of them had nowhere else to go: Gang violence, climate-related challenges, and economic instability due to the pandemic are common factors in their decisions to flee their home countries.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0J6Md4">
Though Title 42 is still the US’s primary means of turning back migrants to Mexico, migrants have also been returned under the Trump administration policy colloquially known as “Remain in Mexico.” The Trump administration used this policy to send 70,000 asylum seekers to Mexico while they awaited their immigration court hearings in the US.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HEyxF6">
Biden tried to roll back Remain in Mexico last year, but a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/4/26/23042653/supreme-court-remain-in-
mexico-trump-biden-texas-immigration-border-asylum">Trump-appointed judge</a> ordered the administration to reinstate the program in December. The administration appealed that ruling to the US Supreme Court, which <a href="https://www.vox.com/23032702/supreme-court-remain-in-mexico-texas-biden-trump-immigration">heard arguments</a> in the case in April and will determine whether the rollback of Remain in Mexico can proceed. In the meantime, another <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/2022_0415_plcy_mpp_cohort_report_april_2022.pdf">3,012 migrants</a> — most from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela — have since been enrolled in the program under Biden as of April 2022.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xGyLGM">
Mexico is woefully ill-equipped to administer to the needs of thousands of migrants who have been waiting in border towns for a chance to enter the US. When migrant shelters are full, some have been forced into camps in cities such as Tapachula and Reynosa along Mexico’s southern and northern borders, where they rely on NGOs to provide basic supplies and services, including medical care. During the pandemic, social distancing in these environments has been difficult if not impossible, and access to testing and vaccines has been <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22902501/migrants-mexico-omicron-surge-health-care">sparse</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JLUyrf">
What’s more, Title 42 and Remain in Mexico have endangered migrants by sending them back to Mexico. The refugee advocacy group Human Rights First documented <a href="https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/sites/default/files/AttacksonAsylumSeekersStrandedinMexicoDuringBidenAdministration.1.13.2022.pdf">8,705</a> reports of kidnappings and other violent attacks against migrants sent back to Mexico by the US. Haitians and other Black migrants have been at <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22881819/biden-haiti-immigration-mexico-
asylum">particular risk</a> because of the discrimination they face in Mexico.
</p>
<h3 id="AP3quS">
What were the Biden administration’s plans to lift Title 42?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KDQsLV">
Lifting Title 42 would be a seismic change in US policy for migrants who have been stranded in northern Mexico, in many cases for years. As part of the administration’s now moot plans to end the policy on May 23, families and single adults who are caught trying to cross the border would have been processed and placed in deportation proceedings.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mxTC1D">
They might have been detained while fighting their deportation cases, a process that could take months or even years, or released while being monitored. If they couldn’t prove that they have a legal basis to stay in the US (such as asylum or other humanitarian protections), then they would have been deported, which would have also made it harder for them to legally immigrate in the future.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NPChJg">
The policy change would have also brought challenges for Biden administration officials, who would have faced the enormous task of safely and humanely processing what would have likely been a sharp increase in the number of migrants arriving on the southern border in the coming months. DHS and State Department officials told reporters last month that they were concerned that smugglers will contribute to that anticipated spike, misrepresenting the policy change to migrants, and overstating their chances of getting legal status in the US.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="t7CCBA">
The administration had been preparing for a worst-case scenario of <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-bracing-influx-
migrants-southern-border-title-42/story?id=83751437">as many as 18,000 migrants</a> arriving daily after Title 42 was lifted, up from an average of <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-bracing-influx-migrants-southern-border-
title-42/story?id=83751437">about 5,900</a> in February. That involved deploying additional resources to the border to deal with it, including hundreds of personnel, transportation, medical resources, and new soft-sided processing facilities.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MY2U66">
“We are confident that we can implement our plans when they are needed. … [W]e are planning for different scenarios,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alejandro-
mayorkas-interview-transcript-border-immigration-title-42/">told CBS</a> in April. But he also admitted that “certain of those scenarios present significant challenges for us.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Tt0SuB">
In April, Mayorkas issued a <a href="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23420124/DHS_Plan_for_Southwest_Border_Security_and_Preparedness.pdf">20-page memo</a> formalizing those plans, which included surging even more resources to the border, increasing processing efficiency, enforcing legal consequences against migrants who try to cross the border without authorization, bolstering NGO capacity, targeting transnational criminal organizations, and trying to deter migrants from making the journey to the southern border in the first place.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jEINh7">
Border Patrol leaders had <a href="https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2022/04/22/el-paso-border-patrol-cbp-title-42-asylum-immigration-
migrants/7355068001/">voiced concern</a> about getting adequate support from the Biden administration and what that could mean for morale. But if they had the support, they thought they could implement the new system.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5KZDzE">
“It’s going to take us a little bit to ramp up. But we’re gonna get there,” Border Patrol El Paso Sector Chief Gloria Chavez <a href="https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2022/04/22/el-paso-border-patrol-cbp-
title-42-asylum-immigration-migrants/7355068001/">told</a> the El Paso Times.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rfiOPo">
The Biden administration is also in the process of revamping the way that migrants will apply for asylum. Rather than wait in years-long backlogs for a hearing before an immigration judge, they would be referred to an asylum officer and released while US Citizenship and Immigration Services processes their application. The aim was for the application process to take no more than a few months, but the Biden administration <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/03/29/2022-06148/procedures-for-credible-fear-screening-and-
consideration-of-asylum-withholding-of-removal-and-cat">acknowledged</a> that USCIS doesn’t currently have the necessary staffing levels to make that happen. That would require <a href="https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2022/04/22/el-
paso-border-patrol-cbp-title-42-asylum-immigration-migrants/7355068001/">another</a> 800 employees and an additional $180 million in funding.
</p>
<h3 id="yKRC6q">
How ending Title 42 became a fight among Democrats
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rQv1Oo">
Republicans have been gearing up for a fight over the policy even before the Biden administration announced that it would end Title 42. They have decried what they predict will be “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/republican-states-challenge-repeal-pandemic-migrant-expulsion-
policy-2022-04-04/">unmitigated chaos and catastrophe</a>” at the border once the policy is lifted, advancing their <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/us/jim-jordan-republicans-memo-immigration.html">planned line of attack</a> on Biden’s immigration policies ahead of the midterms.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vGuCdU">
Democrats, especially those facing tough 2022 contests, have little interest in taking responsibility for a perceived border crisis by ending Title 42. Democratic Senate candidates, including John Fetterman in Pennsylvania and Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin, have consequently urged the administration to reevaluate whether it should end. Five Democratic senators — Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly of Arizona, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire — even joined Republicans in introducing a <a href="https://www.kelly.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/BAI22187.pdf">bill</a> that would preserve the policy until 60 days after the surgeon general announces the end of the public health emergency related to Covid-19.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vZHsc4">
“Unless we have a well-thought-out plan, I think it is something that should be revisited and perhaps delayed,” Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, <a href="https://thehill.com/news/senate/3271983-biden-faces-deepening-democratic-rift-over-title-42/">told reporters</a> last month. “I’m going to defer judgment on that until I give the administration the opportunity to fully articulate what that plan is. But I share … concerns of some of my colleagues.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wAPEns">
Moderate Democrats’ reaction to the Biden administration’s decision to end Title 42 was swift — but for many of them, it’s the first time they have voiced any opinion about the policy at all. Progressives, on the other hand, have been calling on Biden to end Title 42 since shortly after he took office. As early as February 2021, 60 Democratic members of Congress <a href="https://twitter.com/RepWilson/status/1364368698207830016?s=20&amp;t=fnvrVKtccd3TLmVvAz4h6Q">wrote</a> to the administration demanding that it “safely and effectively end all expulsions under title 42 … as soon as practicable and ensure that migrants can access our nation’s asylum system.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QpAjEP">
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus reiterated that message during a meeting with the White House in late April: “Title 42 should be lifted, and we should focus on border management policy in order to make sure that they have the resources in order to move forward,” caucus chair Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) <a href="https://thehill.com/news/administration/3463077-title-42-looms-over-biden-
meeting-with-hispanic-democrats/">told reporters</a> following the meeting.
</p>
<h3 id="FwSbJt">
What are the political implications of lifting Title 42?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YwcUeo">
There are huge political upsides for Republicans trying to spin the end of Title 42 as the start of a border surge — and not so much for Democrats making the argument that the policy should be rescinded.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="upLMmt">
According to an April 6 Morning Consult/Politico <a href="https://morningconsult.com/2022/04/06/biden-approval-rating-immigration-title-42/">poll</a>, 55 percent of voters somewhat or strongly oppose the decision to end the policy, including 88 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of Democrats. That represents the biggest backlash to any Biden administration policy among dozens tracked by Morning Consult since January 2021. But there is a big partisan divide in perception of the policy, and Republicans rank immigration overall as a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/02/16/publics-top-priority-
for-2022-strengthening-the-nations-economy/">much higher-priority issue</a> than Democrats.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="o76T73">
Democratic convulsions over Title 42 show that the party’s consensus on immigration policy is tenuous at best.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8hZLzt">
The party wasn’t always as pro-immigration as it purports to be today. As recently as 2006, <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/109-2006/h446">64 House Democrats</a> and <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/109-2006/s262">26 in the Senate</a> voted for the Secure Fence Act, which built some 700 miles of fence — basically, a wall by another name — along the 2,000-mile southern border. For votes included then-Sens. Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9vJi58">
The Democratic Party’s identity as the party of immigrants is a relatively new development, and now the party seems to be reverting to old patterns. But in failing to present a united front and make the case for why Title 42 should end, Democrats are handing a political win to Republicans.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kAwiTf">
“It is important for Democrats to articulate to the American public where they stand, which is for a well-managed border and a fair, orderly system,” Tyler Moran, a senior adviser for migration to Biden who stepped down from her post at the end of January, <a href="https://www.vox.com/23006820/title-42-border-pandemic-biden">told me</a> last month. “If Democrats don’t say anything, it puts them at a disadvantage because Republicans are able to fill the void.”
</p>
<h3 id="JBt7Gm">
What happens next?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BJ5cMk">
The court battle isn’t over, and how the administration handles this next phase will reveal its true commitment to ending the policy and making good on its promises to build a more humane immigration system.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y1cWoU">
The Biden administration could immediately appeal the decision so that the rollback could proceed. It could also start the administrative process of formally notifying the public of its decision to end Title 42 and asking for feedback — a step that the <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.188754/gov.uscourts.lawd.188754.90.0_1.pdf">Louisiana judge said</a> couldn’t be skipped.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2mYl9G">
But that assumes that the White House is willing to spend further political capital on the issue. The Louisiana court has handed the Biden administration a potential easy out from what was already shaping up to be a costly controversy over border policy in an election year. The White House has stood by its decision to end the policy for the last month in an attempt to placate immigration activists and progressives, even over the protests of moderate Democrats. Now, the administration can argue that the court has effectively tied its hands.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X934Rl">
<em><strong>Update, May 20, 7 pm ET: </strong></em><em>This story has been updated with new information about the latest Louisiana court ruling.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lOB1zV">
<em><strong>Update, April 29, 1:50 pm ET:</strong></em><em> This story has been updated to include the Louisiana ruling.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c0mBnD">
<em><strong>Update, April 27, 4 pm ET:</strong></em><em> This story has been updated with new information about Alejandro Mayorkas’s testimony to Congress.</em>
</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>Man City’s Foden named Premier League’s best young player for the second season in a row</strong> - Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden named Premier League Young Player of the Season; Declan Rice, Mason Mount among those who were in consideration to win award</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Indian men bag compound team gold</strong> - Silver for Bhardwaj and bronze for mixed team</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Indian men’s compound archery team wins second straight World Cup gold</strong> - The fourth-seeded men's team of Abhishek Verma, Aman Saini and Rajat Chauhan beat France by two points to win the gold medal in the compound team event at the World Cup Stage 2</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>PV Sindhu loses to Chen Yu Fei in Thailand Open semifinals</strong> - Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, lost to third-seeded Chen in 43 minutes to end an impressive run in the Super 500 tournament</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>On selection radar for South Africa series: Umran Malik, Mohsin Khan, Dinesh Karthik</strong> - India’s squad for the home series against South Africa to be picked on Sunday; Rohit, Virat, Bumrah and Pant likely to be rested</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>Faculty interview at National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC)</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>OMCs reduce fuel supply to petrol outlets in north Andhra, Godavari districts</strong> - BPCL has reportedly reduced supplies drastically in the last few days</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>Rahul Bhat's killing | Kashmiri Pandits take out protest march in Srinagar</strong> - Rahul Bhat was gunned down by terrorists inside the Tehsil office in Chadoora town on May 12</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>Ayush Ministry announces major initiatives in Sikkim, northeast</strong> - Underlying the importance of Sowa Rigpa, Minister says a 30-bedded Sowa Rigpa Hospital will be set up in Sikkim</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>65 kg of ganja seized at Walayar</strong> - Arrested duo hid contraband in boot of car</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>Mariupol: Russia declares complete victory at Azovstal plant</strong> - Ukraine says the last defenders at the besieged site have been given permission to leave.</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>Tornado in Germany injures 43 people, police say</strong> - Officials said the tornado cut a path of destruction during violent storms in the west of the country.</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>Moldova should be ‘equipped to Nato standard’ - UK</strong> - The foreign secretary says smaller nations should be helped to counter Russian aggression.</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 says giant Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant can’t supply Russia</strong> - Russia occupies Europe’s biggest nuclear plant and now wants to sell power from it back to Ukraine.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Russia halts gas supplies to Finland</strong> - Finland has refused to pay for gas in roubles but also angered Moscow by applying to join Nato.</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>Biden administration lays out plan for four carbon-capture facilities</strong> - Big infrastructure package includes funds for the underdeveloped technology. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1855569">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Researchers find backdoor lurking in WordPress plugin used by schools</strong> - If you’ve used School Management Pro, it’s time to check your site, stat. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1855563">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sixth child in US dies of unexplained hepatitis as global cases top 600</strong> - There are now over 600 cases worldwide and 15 deaths, but still no firm answers. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1855561">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Analysis of prehistoric feces shows Stonehenge people had parasites</strong> - Fossilized fecal analysis sheds light on prehistoric dietary habits and social behavior. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1855356">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Review: New Chip ‘N Dale movie hilariously spoofs classic games, cartoons</strong> - A <em>Shrek</em> for a new era, as Disney lets Lonely Island go nuts (in PG fashion). - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1855487">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>After my accident, I woke up in hospital with a sexy nurse standing over me</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She said “You may not feel anything from the waist down.”<br/> “Fair enough,” I replied, and felt her breasts.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MEforgotUSERNAME"> /u/MEforgotUSERNAME </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uudjym/after_my_accident_i_woke_up_in_hospital_with_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uudjym/after_my_accident_i_woke_up_in_hospital_with_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>What is Harry Potter’s favorite way to get down a hill?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Walking.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
…
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
j/k…rolling.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/meganpecan"> /u/meganpecan </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uu4kf7/what_is_harry_potters_favorite_way_to_get_down_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uu4kf7/what_is_harry_potters_favorite_way_to_get_down_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>I just accidentally superglued my thumb and index finger together and at first, I started to panic but then I remembered that…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
…it’s always going to be okay!
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/808gecko808"> /u/808gecko808 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uukoi4/i_just_accidentally_superglued_my_thumb_and_index/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uukoi4/i_just_accidentally_superglued_my_thumb_and_index/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A girl is walking through a cemetery at night</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She’s a little nervous because it’s dark, but it’s the shortest way to get to her home.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Suddenly she hears a distinct tapping noise from the graves on her left. Her heart almost stops as she pauses mid-step. She hears it again - tap, tap, tap.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She screams and starts running down the path. After a while she stops to catch her breath. “This is silly” she thinks to herself “there must be a rational explanation.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She slowly retraces her steps and walks towards the direction of the sound - tap, tap, tap.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
There, sitting on a grave, is a gentle old man with a small hammer and chisel. He is tapping out an inscription on the tombstone.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Phew! You scared me” the girl says, relieved upon seeing him. “What are you carving there?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The old man turns to her and smiles. “I’m just correcting the spelling of my name”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MisterDecember"> /u/MisterDecember </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/utyav5/a_girl_is_walking_through_a_cemetery_at_night/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/utyav5/a_girl_is_walking_through_a_cemetery_at_night/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Three Italian nuns die and go to heaven.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Three Italian nuns die and go to heaven.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
At the Pearly Gates, they are met by St. Peter. He says “Sisters, you all led such wonderful lives that I’m granting you six months to go back to earth and be anyone you want to be.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The first nun says, “I want to be Sophia Loren;” and <em>poof</em> she’s gone.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The second says, “I want to be Madonna;” and <em>poof</em> she’s gone.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The third says, “I want to be Sara Pipalini.” St. Peter looks perplexed. “Who?” he says. “Sara Pipalini;” replies the nun. St. Peter shakes his head and says; “I’m sorry, but that name just doesn’t ring a bell.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The nun then takes a newspaper out of her habit and hands it to St. Peter. He reads the paper and starts laughing. He hands it back to her and says “No sister, the paper says it was the ‘Sahara Pipeline’ that was laid by 1,400 men in 6 months.”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/bushbabybawbag"> /u/bushbabybawbag </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uu6fko/three_italian_nuns_die_and_go_to_heaven/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uu6fko/three_italian_nuns_die_and_go_to_heaven/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
<script>AOS.init();</script></body></html>

4
index.html
View File

File diff suppressed because one or more lines are too long