Trends in depression & anxiety symptom severity among mental health service attendees during the COVID-19 pandemic -
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+Background General population surveys have shown that some groups, particularly young women experienced increased distress during nationally mandated restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19. However, there has been limited research on such trends among people with pre-existing mental health conditions, leaving mental health services ill equipped to plan for currents and future lockdowns. Methods Mean weekly scores on the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 between 01/01/2020-22/06/2020 (n=9,538 individuals) for all patients of two psychological treatment services in London, were compared to mean weekly scores from the same time periods in 2017-2019 (n=37,849). The proportion of scores which were above the clinical thresholds for ‘caseness’ each week were compared, and scores between groups based on gender, age group, and ethnicity, were also compared. Results Confirmed community transmission in the UK (26/02/2020-03/03/2020) and the announcement of the national ‘lockdown’ (23/03/2020) were associated with significant increases in anxiety symptom scores. ‘Lockdown’ was associated with a decrease in depression scores. These changes were not maintained during lockdown. Significant increases in depression and anxiety were observed at week 23, as restrictions were eased. Limitations This was an exploratory analysis in two services only. Residual confounding and selection biases cannot be ruled out. Conclusions Differences in the weekly average symptom scores were short-term; they did not continue throughout ‘lockdown’ as might have been expected, except among older people. Replication of this study in other settings and investigating the potential benefits of more regular reviews or more intensive treatments for older adults seeking support, are warranted.
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AYUSH-64 as add-on to standard care in asymptomatic and mild cases of COVID-19: A randomized controlled trial -
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+Background: The evidence on the efficacy and safety of Ayurveda interventions as add-on to the standard conventional care for COVID-19 is limited. This study was planned to explore the potential of AYUSH-64 as add-on to conventional care in improving the clinical recovery and negative RT-PCR conversion in asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases. Materials and Methods: An open-label randomized controlled study was conducted at Government Medical College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India with a sample size of 60 participants. In this study, asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 patients were randomized and allocated into intervention and control group in 1:1 ratio. AYUSH-64 two capsules (500 mg each) were administered thrice daily, after food with water for 30 days along with standard care in the intervention group, while the control group received only standard care. The effect of the interventions was assessed in terms of negative RT-PCR for COVID-19, clinical cure rate and inflammatory cytokines. Outcome measures: Primary outcome was the time to attain negative RT-PCR for COVID-19 and proportion of participants turned RT-PCR negative for COVID-19 at 7th, 15th, 22nd and 30th day respectively in the intervention group compared to the control group. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of participants who attained clinical recovery at 7th, 15th, 22nd, and 30thday; improvement in laboratory parameters on the 30th day (as compared to baseline) and incidence of Adverse Drug Reactions/Adverse Events (ADRs/AEs). The data was compared within group using paired sample t-test/ Wilcoxon signed rank test and between group using independent sample t-test/Mann-Whitney test. Results: Statistically significant difference was not observed in the proportion of participants who turned RT-PCR negative during each of the follow-ups (p=0.134) and both groups demonstrated comparable efficacy. The clinical recovery rate in terms of time taken for complete cure of symptoms in the symptomatic participants was 60% and 37% on day 15 (p=0.098) and 100% and 85.2% on day 30 (p=0.112), in the intervention and control group respectively which is numerically a better clinical outcome in the intervention group. The improvement in the inflammatory markers such as IL-6, TNF-α and D-dimer was statistically significant in the intervention group (p<0.05). None of the participants developed any complications nor were any significant ADR/AE observed in both the groups. Conclusion: In patients with asymptomatic and mild COVID-19, AYUSH-64 as add-on to standard conventional care, contributed to improving the duration for attaining complete clinical cure and demonstrated potential in reducing the levels of pro-inflammatory markers in the body.
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Statistical Analysis Plan for the HydrOxychloroquine Prophylaxis Evaluation (HOPE) trial -
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+HOPE is a prospective, multi-centre, parallel group, concealed, unblinded, randomized, controlled trial to determine whether combination of hydroxychloroquine and standard practice, that is, use of recommended personal protective equipment reduces the proportion of laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infections among frontline healthcare workers in hospitals in India as compared to standard practice. This detailed statistical analysis plan was prepared by trial statisticians and approved by the HOPE management committee prior to completion of data collection.
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The mental health impact of non-pharmacological interventions aimed at impeding viral transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic in a general adult population and the factors associated with adherence to these mitigation strategies -
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+This epidemiological investigation assesses the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 10,061 adults participated in the study. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were two to three times higher compared to pre-pandemic samples. Those who predominantly socially distanced themselves revealed substantially higher symptoms than their counterparts. Females, ethnic and sexual orientation minorities, younger adults, unemployed individuals, and those with a psychiatric diagnosis reported higher prevalence of psychological symptoms. Worry about prolonged duration of physical distancing protocols and frustration of autonomy was associated with elevation in symptoms of depression and anxiety. Increased competence to deal with the crisis was associated with less adverse symptoms. Physical exercise, experiencing nature, and distraction with activities were associated with less depressive symptoms, but not anxiety. The extent of information access about the pandemic was associated with reduced anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, adherence to mitigation protocols was investigated. Younger adults and males reported lowest adherence. Altruistic attitudes, in addition to mandatory as opposed to voluntary adherence was associated with higher adherence. Worrying about significant others’ health was associated with higher, while worry about duration of pandemic protocols was associated with lower adherence rates.
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Impacts of California Proposition 47 on Crime in Santa Monica, California -
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+We examine patterns of reported crime in Santa Monica, California before and after the passage of Proposition 47, a 2014 initiative that reclassified some non-violent felonies as misdemeanors. We also investigate impacts of the opening of four new light rail stations in 2016 and of increased community-based policing starting in late 2018. Our statistical analyses of reclassified crimes — larceny, fraud, possession of narcotics, forgery, receiving/possessing stolen property — and non-reclassified ones are based on publicly available reported crime data from 2006 to 2019. These analyses examine reported crime at various levels: city-wide, within eight neighborhoods, and within a 450-meter radius of the new transit stations. Monthly reported reclassified crimes increased city-wide by approximately 15% after enactment of Proposition 47, with a significant drop observed in late 2018. Downtown exhibited the largest overall surge. Reported non-reclassified crimes fell overall by approximately 9%. Areas surrounding two new train stations, including Downtown, saw significant increases in reported crime after train service began. While reported reclassified crimes increased after passage of Proposition 47, non-reclassified crimes, for the most part, decreased or stayed constant, suggesting that Proposition 47 may have impacted reported crime in Santa Monica. Reported crimes decreased in late 2018 concurrent with the adoption of new community-based policing measures. Follow-up studies needed to confirm long-term trends may be challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic that drastically changed societal conditions. While our research detects changes in reported crime, it does not provide causative explanations. Our work, along with other considerations relevant to public utility, respect for human rights, and existence of socioeconomic disparities, may be useful to law enforcement and policymakers to assess the overall effect of Proposition 47.
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+Objectives: Current estimates of the total number of cases of COVID-19 are largely based on previously-determined case fatality rates (CFRs). The background theory in this study is based on two factors: (1) There is no evidence that the CFR is fixed throughout time or place during an epidemic and (2) there is evidence that an increased viral load (density of infection) leads to more fatalities. Study Design: This study was done to look for relationships of the mortality rate (MR) presented as deaths/ million (M) population with both the total number of cases /(M) population (density of infection) and the CFR. We chose 31 countries with testing coverage levels of > 400,0000 tests /M and populations greater than 1 million inhabitants. Methods: We used ANOVA regression analyses to test the associations. Results: The CRF is not a fixed ratio as it changes with a change in the MR. The COVID-19 deaths/million data were able to be used to calculate the total number of cases through the equation total deaths/M =0.006593 X (total cases1.016959) with a too high significant correlation between total deaths/1M and the total number of cases (P-value 0.0000). A very high positive influence of the COVID-19 MR on the CFR (P-value = 0.0002) was also found by non-linear regression (power model) using the equation CFR = (0.093200) X (total deaths/ M.)0.366580 Conclusions: There is new evidence that increased attack rate generates a cascade which leads to increased CFR through increasing MR. This finding can explain the high mortalities that happened during this pandemic and possibly previous pandemics. This evidence will give us an idea of the behavior of epidemics in general.
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When efficacy and adherence conflict: preferences and patterns of response to mask-wearing and social distancing public health advice during the COVID-19 pandemic -
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+With recurring waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, a dilemma facing public health leadership is whether to provide public advice that is medically optimal (e.g., most protective against infection if followed), but unlikely to be adhered to, or advice that is less protective but is more likely to be followed. To provide insight about this dilemma, we examined and quantified public perceptions about the tradeoff between (a) the stand-alone value of health behavior advice, and (b) the advice9s adherence likelihood. In a series of studies about preference for public health leadership advice, we asked 1,061 participants to choose between (1) strict advice that is medically optimal if adhered to but which is less likely to be broadly followed, and (2) relaxed advice, which is less medically effective but more likely to gain adherence - given varying infection expectancies. Participants9 preference was consistent with risk aversion. Offering an informed choice alternative that shifts volition to advice recipients only strengthened risk aversion, but also demonstrated that informed choice was preferred as much or more than the risk-averse strict advice.
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Optimal design for phase 2 studies of SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drugs -
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+There is no agreed methodology for pharmacometric assessment of candidate SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drugs. The most widely used measure of virological response in clinical trials to date is the time to viral clearance assessed by serial qPCR. We posited that rate of viral clearance would have better discriminatory value. Using a pharmacodynamic model fit to individual SARS-CoV-2 qPCR data from 46 prospectively followed uncomplicated COVID-19 infections, we simulated viral load data and showed that rate of viral clearance is a uniformly superior endpoint as compared to time to clearance with respect to type 2 error. Rate of clearance is not dependent on initial viral load or assay sensitivity. We apply our approach to data from a randomised controlled trial of ivermectin. Pharmacometric antiviral assessments should be conducted in early illness with serial qPCR samples taken over one week. Response-adaptive trials using rate of clearance can identify promising antiviral interventions rapidly.
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Are vaccines safe in patients with Long COVID? A prospective observational study. -
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+Introduction: Although the efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination to prevent symptomatic COVID-19 is well established, there are no published studies on the impact on symptoms in patients with Long Covid. Anecdotal reports have suggested both a potential benefit and worsening of symptoms post vaccination with the uncertainty leading to some vaccine hesitancy amongst affected individuals. Methods: Patients initially hospitalised with COVID-19 were prospectively recruited to an observational study with clinical follow-up at 3 months (June-July 2020) and 8 months (Dec 2020-Jan 2021) post-admission. Participants who received the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) or Oxford-AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine between January to February 2021 were identified and matched 2:1 (in terms of 8-month symptoms) with participants from the same cohort who were unvaccinated. All were re-assessed at 1 month post vaccination (or matched timepoint for unvaccinated cohort). Validated quality of life (SF-36), mental wellbeing (WEMWBS) and ongoing symptoms were assessed at all timepoints. Formal statistical analysis compared the effect of vaccination on recent quality of life using baseline symptoms, age, and gender in linear regression. Results: Forty-four vaccinated participants were assessed at a median of 32 days (IQR 20-41) post vaccination with 22 matched unvaccinated participants. Most were highly symptomatic of Long Covid at 8 months (82% in both groups had at least 1 persistent symptom), with fatigue (61%), breathlessness (50%) and insomnia (38%) predominating. There was no significant worsening in quality-of-life or mental wellbeing metrics pre versus post vaccination. Nearly two-thirds (n=27) reported transient (<72hr duration) systemic effects (including fever, myalgia and headache). When compared to matched unvaccinated participants from the same cohort, those who had receive a vaccine had a small overall improvement in Long Covid symptoms, with a decrease in worsening symptoms (5.6% vaccinated vs 14.2% unvaccinated) and increase in symptom resolution (23.2% vaccinated vs 15.4% unvaccinated) (p=0.035). No difference in response was identified between Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. Conclusions: Receipt of vaccination with either an mRNA or adenoviral vector vaccine was not associated with a worsening of Long Covid symptoms, quality of life, or mental wellbeing. Individuals with prolonged COVID-19 symptoms should receive vaccinations as suggested by national guidance.
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Long-term neurological manifestations of COVID-19: prevalence and predictive factors -
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+Background: Clinical investigations have argued for long-term neurological manifestations in both hospitalized and non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. It is unclear whether long-term neurological symptoms and features depend on COVID-19 severity. Methods: from a sample of 208 consecutive non-neurological patients hospitalized for COVID-19 disease, 165 survivors were re-assessed at 6 months according to a structured standardized clinical protocol. Prevalence and predictors of long-term neurological manifestations were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results At 6-month follow-up after hospitalisation due to COVID-19 disease, patients displayed a wide array of symptoms; fatigue (34%), memory/attention (31%), and sleep disorders (30%) were the most frequent. At neurological examination, 40% of patients exhibited neurological abnormalities, such as hyposmia (18.0%), cognitive deficits (17.5%), postural tremor (13.8%) and subtle motor/sensory deficits (7.6%). Older age, premorbid comorbidities and severity of COVID-19 were independent predictors of neurological manifestations in logistic regression analyses. Conclusions: premorbid vulnerability and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection impact on prevalence and severity of long-term neurological manifestations.
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Mothering and Stress During COVID-19: Exploring the Moderating Effects of Employment -
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+Using primary data from the Assessing the Social Consequences of COVID-19 study (N=1,647), we examined how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the stress levels (i.e., pre-pandemic vs. during-pandemic stress) of women with and without coresiding minor children, paying special attention to the moderating role of women’s employment status. Results from OLS regression models show that following the pandemic outbreak, among women who worked full-time, mothers reported smaller stress increases than non-mothers. Among part-time and non-employed women, mothers and non-mothers experienced similar levels of stress increase. Changes in women’s work hours and employment status, following the pandemic onset, had limited impacts on the patterns of stress level changes. This study contributes to research on parenting and health by showing that during times of crisis, full-time employment may play a protective role for mother’s mental health, but may not buffer the mental health deterioration of women not raising children.
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+Myocardial damage caused by the newly emerged coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection is one of key determinants of COVID-19 severity and mortality. SARS-CoV-2 entry to host cells are initiated by binding with its receptor, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) 2, and the ACE2 abundance is thought to reflect the susceptibility to infection. Here, we found that clomipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant, potently inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection and metabolic disorder in human iPS-derived cardiomyocytes. Among 13 approved drugs that we have previously identified as potential inhibitor of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity, clomipramine showed the best potency to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein pseudovirus-stimulated ACE2 internalization. Indeed, SARS-CoV-2 infection to human iPS-derived cardiomyocytes (iPS-CMs) and TMPRSS2-expressing VeroE6 cells were dramatically suppressed even after treatment with clomipramine. Furthermore, the combined use of clomipramine and remdesivir was revealed to synergistically suppress SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our results will provide the potentiality of clomipramine for the breakthrough treatment of severe COVID-19.
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Structural basis for backtracking by the SARS-CoV-2 replication-transcription complex -
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+Backtracking, the reverse motion of the transcriptase enzyme on the nucleic acid template, is a universal regulatory feature of transcription in cellular organisms but its role in viruses is not established. Here we present evidence that backtracking extends into the viral realm, where backtracking by the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) may aid viral transcription and replication. Structures of SARS-CoV-2 RdRp bound to the essential nsp13 helicase and RNA suggested the helicase facilitates backtracking. We use cryo-electron microscopy, RNA-protein crosslinking, and unbiased molecular dynamics simulations to characterize SARS-CoV-2 RdRp backtracking. The results establish that the single-stranded 3’-segment of the product-RNA generated by backtracking extrudes through the RdRp NTP-entry tunnel, that a mismatched nucleotide at the product-RNA 3’-end frays and enters the NTP-entry tunnel to initiate backtracking, and that nsp13 stimulates RdRp backtracking. Backtracking may aid proofreading, a crucial process for SARS-CoV-2 resistance against antivirals.
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Serum Vitamin D levels are associated with increased COVID-19 severity markers and mortality independent of visceral adiposity -
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+INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a global pandemic. Vitamin D (25-OHD) deficiency has been associated with susceptibility to infectious disease. In this study, the association between COVID-19 outcomes and 25-OHD levels in patients attending a COVID-19 reference center in Mexico City are examined. METHODS: Consecutive patients with confirmed COVID-19 were evaluated. All patients underwent clinical evaluation (including outcomes), laboratory measurements (including 25-OHD) and a thoracic computerized tomography (including the measurement of epicardial fat thickness). Low vitamin D was defined as levels <20ng/mL (<50nmol/L) and severely low (or deficient) 25-OHD as a level ≤12ng/mL (<30nmol/L) RESULTS: Of the 551 patients included, low 25-OHD levels were present in 45.6% and severely low levels in 10.9%. Severely low 25-OHD levels were associated with mortality (HR 2.11, 95%CI 1.24-3.58, p=0.006) but not with critical COVID-19 (OR 0.97, 95%CI 0.94-0.99, p=0.042), adjusted for age, sex, body-mass index and epicardial fat. Using model-based causal mediation analyses the increased risk of COVID-19 mortality conferred by 25-OHD levels was partly mediated by its effect on D-dimer and cardiac ultrasensitive troponins. Notably, increased risk of COVID-19 mortality conferred by low vitamin D levels was independent of BMI and epicardial fat. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D deficiency (≤12ng/mL or <30nmol/L), is independently associated with COVID-19 mortality after adjustment for visceral fat (epicardial fat thickness). Low 25-OHD may contribute to a pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic state, increasing the risk for adverse COVID-19 outcomes.
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Prevalence of COVID-19 in Iran: Results of the first survey of the Iranian COVID-19 Serological Surveillance program -
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+Abstract Background: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 in the general population of Iran. Methods: The target population was all Iranian people aged six years and older in the country. A stratified random sampling design was used to select 28,314 subjects from among the individuals registered in the electronic health record systems used in primary health care in Iran. Venous blood was taken from each participant and tested for the IgG antibody against COVID-19. The prevalence of COVID-19 was estimated at provincial and national levels after adjusting for the measurement error of the laboratory test, non-response bias, and sampling design. Results: Of the 28,314 Iranians selected, 11,256 (39.75%) participated in the study. Of these, 5406 (48.0%) were male, and 6851 (60.9%) lived in urban areas. The mean (standard deviation) participant age was 35.89 (18.61) years. The adjusted prevalence of COVID-19 until August 20, 2020 was estimated as 14.2% (95% uncertainty interval: 13.3%, 15.2%), which was equal to 11,958,346 (95% confidence interval: 11,211,011-12,746,776) individuals. The prevalence of infection was 14.6%, 13.8%, 16.6%, 11.7%, and 19.4% among men, women, urban population, rural population, and individuals 60 years of age and older, respectively. Ardabil, Golestan, and Khuzestan provinces had the highest prevalence, and Alborz, Hormozgan, and Kerman provinces had the lowest. Conclusions: Based on the study results, a large proportion of the Iranian population had not yet been infected by COVID-19. The observance of hygienic principles and social restrictions should therefore continue until the majority of the population has been vaccinated. Keywords: COVID-19, Seroprevalence, Survey, Nationwide, Population-based, Iran, IgG test
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Clinical Study in the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Drug: Molixan; Drug: Placebo Sponsor: Pharma VAM Not yet recruiting
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Diagnostic Performance of the ID Now™ COVID-19 Screening Test Versus Simplexa™ COVID-19 Direct Assay - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Diagnostic Test: ID Now™ COVID-19 Screening Test Sponsor: Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph Active, not recruiting
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Dose-Ranging Study to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of Melatonin in Outpatients Infected With COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Drug: Melatonin; Drug: Placebo Sponsors: State University of New York at Buffalo; National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) Not yet recruiting
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A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Brilacidin in Hospitalized Participants With COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Drug: Brilacidin; Drug: Placebo; Drug: Standard of Care (SoC) Sponsor: Innovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Recruiting
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DCI COVID-19 Surveillance Project - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Diagnostic Test: SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay for Detection of COVID-19 Infection Sponsors: Temple University; Dialysis Clinic, Inc. Recruiting
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Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of Second Generation VIR-7831 Material in Non-hospitalized Participants With Mild to Moderate COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Biological: VIR-7831 (Gen1); Biological: VIR-7831 (Gen2) Sponsors: Vir Biotechnology, Inc.; GlaxoSmithKline Recruiting
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Corticosteroids for COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Drug: Prednisone; Device: Point of Care testing device for C-reactive protein Sponsor: University of Alberta Not yet recruiting
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Effects of Telerehabilitation After Discharge in COVID-19 Survivors - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Other: Telerehabilitation Sponsor: Hacettepe University Recruiting
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A Study to Assess if a Medicine Called Bamlanivimab is Safe and Effective in Reducing Hospitalization Due to COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Biological: Bamlanivimab; Other: Standard of Care Sponsors: Fraser Health; Fraser Health Authrority Department of Evaluation and Research Services; Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation; University of British Columbia; Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences; BC Support Unit; Abcellera; Surrey Memorial Hospital Clinical Research Unit Not yet recruiting
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Efficacy of Adaptogens in Patients With Long COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Dietary Supplement: ADAPT-232 oral solution; Other: Placebo oral solution Sponsors: Swedish Herbal Institute AB; National Family Medicine Training Centre, Georgia; Tbilisi State Medical University; Phytomed AB Not yet recruiting
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Effectiveness of the Adsorbed Vaccine COVID-19 (Coronavac) Among Education and Law Enforcement Professionals With Risk Factors for Severity - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Biological: Adsorbed SARS-CoV-2 (inactivated) vaccine Sponsors: Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado; Butantan Institute Not yet recruiting
Vitamin D3 Levels in COVID-19 Outpatients From Western Mexico - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Dietary Supplement: Vitamin D3 Sponsor: University of Guadalajara Completed
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Dietary Supplements for COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Drug: Vitamin D3 50,000 IU; Dietary Supplement: Vitamin C/Zinc; Dietary Supplement: Vitamin K2/D; Other: Microcrystalline Cellulose Capsule; Other: Medium Chain Triglyceride Oil Sponsors: The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine; Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Not yet recruiting
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Efficacy and Safety Evaluation of Inhaleen Inhalation in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Device: Carragelose; Device: NaCl Sponsors: Marinomed Biotech AG; Austian Research Promotion Agency Recruiting
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From PubMed
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Artemisia annua L. extracts inhibit the in vitro replication of SARS-CoV-2 and two of its variants - CONCLUSIONS: A. annua extracts inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the active component(s) in the extracts is likely something besides artemisinin or a combination of components that block virus infection at a step downstream of virus entry. Further studies will determine in vivo efficacy to assess whether A. annua might provide a cost-effective therapeutic to treat SARS-CoV-2 infections.
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The SARS-CoV-2 Y453F mink variant displays a pronounced increase in ACE-2 affinity but does not challenge antibody neutralization - SARS-CoV-2 transmission from humans to animals has been reported for many domesticated species, including farmed minks. The identification of novel spike gene mutations appearing in minks has raised major concerns about potential immune evasion and challenges for the global vaccine strategy. One genetic variant, known as “cluster-five”, arose among farmed minks in Denmark and resulted in a complete shutdown of the world’s largest mink production. However, the functional properties of this new…
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Research Progress of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Severe COVID-19 - Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) refers to a type of pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. 60 million confirmed cases have been reported worldwide until November 29, 2020. Unfortunately, the novel coronavirus is so extremely contagious that the mortality rate of severe and critically ill patients was high. Thus, there is no definite and effective treatment in clinic except for antiviral therapy and supportive therapy. Mesenchymal stem…
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Predicting and Preventing Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Toxicity: Targeting Cytokines - Cancer immunotherapies can successfully activate immune responses towards certain tumors. However, this can also result in the development of treatment-induced immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in multiple tissues. Growing evidence suggests that cytokine production in response to these therapeutics potentiates the development of irAEs and may have predictive value as biomarkers for irAE occurrence. In addition, therapeutic agents that inhibit cytokine activity can limit the severity of…
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Ivermectin also inhibits the replication of bovine respiratory viruses (BRSV, BPIV-3, BoHV-1, BCoV and BVDV) in vitro - Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) complex is an important viral infection that causes huge economic losses in cattle herds worldwide. However, there is no directly effective antiviral drug application against respiratory viral pathogens; generally, the metaphylactic antibacterial drug applications are used for BRD. Ivermectin (IVM) is currently used as a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic agent both for veterinary and human medicine on some occasions. Moreover, since it is identified as an inhibitor…
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Anti-inflammatory effects of amantadine and memantine in SARS-CoV-2 infection - Amantadine and memantine, apart from their action on cholinergic receptors and dopamine secretion, have a significant influence on the inflammatory process, including the so-called “cytokine storm” and reduction of apoptosis and oxidative stress. Amantadine also inhibits the induction of inflammatory factors such as RANTES, activates kinase p38 of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) and c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinases (JNK), which inhibit viral replication. It also significantly inhibits the entry of…
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The influence of IFITM3 polymorphisms on susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity of COVID-19 - CONCLUSIONS: In summary, we could not confirm the recently reported influence of polymorphisms in the gene IFITM3 on SARS-CoV-2 infection risk or severity of COVID-19 in a German cohort. Additional studies are needed to clarify the influence of the rs12252 CC genotype on SARS-CoV-2 infection risk and the rs34481144 A-allele on course of COVID-19.
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Emetine suppresses SARS-CoV-2 replication by inhibiting interaction of viral mRNA with eIF4E - Emetine is a FDA-approved drug for the treatment of amebiasis. Previously we demonstrated the antiviral efficacy of emetine against some RNA and DNA viruses. In this study, we evaluated the in vitro antiviral efficacy of emetine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and found it to be a low nanomolar (nM) inhibitor. Interestingly, emetine exhibited protective efficacy against lethal challenge with infectious bronchitis virus (IBV; a chicken coronavirus) in the…
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ARB-Based Combination Therapy for the Clinical Management of Hypertension and Hypertension-Related Comorbidities: A Spotlight on Their Use in COVID-19 Patients - Essential hypertension is the most common cardiovascular (CV) risk factor, being primarily involved in the pathogenesis of CV disease and mortality worldwide. Given the high prevalence and growing incidence of this clinical condition in the general population in both high and low-income countries, antihypertensive drug therapies are frequently prescribed in different hypertension-related CV diseases and comorbidities. Among these conditions, evidence are available demonstrating the clinical…
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COVID-19 vaccination and antirheumatic therapy - The COVID-19 vaccination will be the largest vaccination programme in the history of the NHS. Patients on immunosuppressive therapy will be amongst the earliest to be vaccinated. Some evidence indicates immunosuppressive therapy inhibits humoral response to the influenza, pneumococcal and hepatitis B vaccines. The degree to which this will translate to impaired COVID-19 vaccine responses is unclear. Other evidence suggests withholding methotrexate for two weeks post vaccination may improve…
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COVID-19 pneumonia: do not leave the corticosteroids behind! - The host inflammatory response is critical in the progression of lung injuries in patients with SARS-CoV-2. Corticosteroids (CS) have been widely used as immunomodulating agents, but the right timing, dosage and type of molecule are unknown. In fact, the early use of CS could facilitate the viral replication but late administration may not prevent the alveolar damage. Nevertheless, a short administration of high doses of CS in the early stage of the inflammatory phase resulted in favorable…
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Targeting mesenchymal stem cell therapy for severe pneumonia patients - Pneumonia is the inflammation of the lungs and it is the world’s leading cause of death for children under 5 years of age. The latest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus is a prominent culprit to severe pneumonia. With the pandemic running rampant for the past year, more than 1590000 deaths has occurred worldwide up to December 2020 and are substantially attributable to severe pneumonia and induced cytokine storm. Effective therapeutic approaches in addition to the vaccines and drugs under…
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Drug Repurposing Screen for Compounds Inhibiting the Cytopathic Effect of SARS-CoV-2 - Drug repurposing is a rapid approach to identify therapeutics for the treatment of emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19. To address the urgent need for treatment options, we carried out a quantitative high-throughput screen using a SARS-CoV-2 cytopathic assay with a compound collection of 8,810 approved and investigational drugs, mechanism-based bioactive compounds, and natural products. Three hundred and nineteen compounds with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities were identified and confirmed,…
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Calming the Storm: Natural Immunosuppressants as Adjuvants to Target the Cytokine Storm in COVID-19 - The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global health crisis, with no specific antiviral to treat the infection and the absence of a suitable vaccine to prevent it. While some individuals contracting the SARS-CoV-2 infection exhibit a well coordinated immune response and recover, others display a dysfunctional immune response leading to serious complications including ARDS, sepsis, MOF; associated with morbidity and mortality. Studies revealed that in patients with a dysfunctional immune response,…
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SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing human recombinant antibodies selected from pre-pandemic healthy donors binding at RBD-ACE2 interface - COVID-19 is a severe acute respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a new recently emerged sarbecovirus. This virus uses the human ACE2 enzyme as receptor for cell entry, recognizing it with the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the S1 subunit of the viral spike protein. We present the use of phage display to select anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies from the human naïve antibody gene libraries HAL9/10 and subsequent identification of 309 unique fully human antibodies against S1. 17 antibodies are…
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From Patent Search
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Peptides and their use in diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection - - link
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A PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT OF COVID 19 POSITIVE PATIENTS - - link
Gerät zur Unterstützung und Verstärkung natürlicher Lüftung -
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Lüftungssystem für einen mit öffnbaren Fenstern (16) ausgestatteten Gebäuderaum, gekennzeichnet dadurch, dass es ein Gehäuse (18) und einen Ventilator (20) aufweist, wobei durch das Gehäuse eine vom Ventilator erzeugte Luftströmung strömen kann, wobei das Gehäuse dafür eine Einströmöffnung (24) für Luft und eine Ausströmöffnung (22) für Luft enthält, wobei eine der beiden Öffnungen der Form eines Öffnungsspalts (26) zwischen einem Fensterflügel (12) und einem Blendrahmen (14) des Fensters (16) angepasst ist.
Compositions and methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein - - link
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靶向SARS-CoV-2的抗体及其制备方法和应用 - 本发明提供了靶向SARS‑CoV‑2的抗体及其制备方法和应用，该抗体包含VH和VL，所述VH包含以下CDR：氨基酸序列如SEQ ID NO:1、2、3所示的VH CDR1、VH CDR2、VH CDR3；所述VL包含以下的CDR：氨基酸序列如SEQ ID NO:4、5、6所示的VL CDR1、VL CDR2、VL CDR3。该抗体能够高亲和且特异地结合SARS‑CoV‑2的S蛋白的RBD，抑制RBD蛋白与受体ACE2蛋白的结合，高效地抑制SARS‑CoV‑2感染细胞，同时对潜在的免疫逃逸突变的假病毒具有很好的中和活性，从而可有效应用于SARS‑CoV‑2病毒及相关疾病的诊断、预防和治疗中。 - link
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UV-Desinfektion von interaktiven Oberflächen -
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Desinfektionsvorrichtung (100, 200A, 200B, 300) zum Desinfizieren einer berührungsintensiven Oberfläche, umfassend: eine EWE-Vorrichtung (110) zum Emittieren von elektromagnetischen Wellen, die dafür konfiguriert ist, elektromagnetische Strahlung innerhalb des ultravioletten Spektrums (UV-Strahlung, 115) zu emittieren; und einer als Lichtleiter dienenden, mindestens teilweise für sichtbares Licht zwischen der vorderen Oberfläche (121) und der hinteren Oberfläche (122, 222) durchlässigen Scheibe (120, 220A, 220B) mit einer vorderen Oberfläche (121) und einer hinteren Oberfläche (122, 222), wobei die EWE-Vorrichtung (110) positioniert ist, um UV-Strahlung (115) in die Scheibe (120, 220A, 220B) zu emittieren, wobei die Scheibe dafür konfiguriert ist, einen Teil der von der EWE-Vorrichtung (110) empfangenen UV-Strahlung (115) in einer verteilten Art und Weise über die vordere Oberfläche (121) zu reflektieren und zu zerstreuen; und die UV-Strahlung, die von der Scheibe (120, 220A, 220B) empfangen und über die vordere Oberfläche (121) verteilt wird, zur Desinfektion der vorderen Oberfläche dient.
一种SARS-CoV-2中和抗体的检测方法、检测试剂盒 - 本发明公开了一种SARS‑CoV‑2中和抗体的检测方法、检测试剂盒，属于生物医学检测技术领域。本发明公开的SARS‑CoV‑2中和抗体的检测方法是基于hACE2‑RBD放大的胶乳增强免疫比浊检测法，检测试剂盒包括SARS‑CoV‑2的S蛋白受体结合域RBD标记的第一胶乳微球和人hACE2标记的第二胶乳微球。本发明通过在胶乳微球上标记抗原，放大了检测信号，增加了检测的灵敏度，拓宽了检测范围。本发明不仅能够确定被检测者是否为感染者，还能获知被检测者感染风险。本发明对中和抗体的检测还可用于评价接种SARS‑CoV‑2疫苗后临床效果，对SARS‑CoV‑2疫苗的研发与接种，具有重大意义。 - link
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Aronia-Mundspray -
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+Anordnung zum Versprühen einer Substanz in die menschliche Mundhöhle und/oder in den Rachen, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Anordnung eine Sprühflasche mit einer Substanz aufweist, die wenigstens Aroniasaft und eine Alkoholkomponente aufweist.
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Who Ordered a Smear Campaign Against Andrew Cuomo’s First Accuser? - When Lindsey Boylan first publicly accused New York’s governor of sexual harassment, in December, damaging government documents about her were leaked to the press. - link
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L.A.’s Disorganized Vaccination Rollout and the Dream of Universal Health Care - The failures to reach the hardest hit populations are another reminder of how the system neglects so many. - link
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Biden Has Few Good Options for the Unaccompanied Children at the Border - The new Administration is coming under fire for a policy it says protects young migrants. - link
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Why Learning Pods Might Outlast the Pandemic - It’s possible to imagine home schools becoming like sidewalk dining—an experiment that sticks. - link
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The Story of the Comfort Women, in Korean and Japanese - Why The New Yorker translated its recent report on a battle over history, accountability, and the legacy of the Second World War. - link
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From Vox
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The sweeping implications of the Supreme Court’s new union-busting case -
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+Cesar Chavez speaking to demonstrators in Foley Square before entering the Federal Building to file a lawsuit against the Department of Defense for buying scab lettuce, circa 1971. | Frank Hurley/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
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+Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid isn’t just an attack on unions, it could bar health inspectors from inspecting restaurants.
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+Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, which the Supreme Court will hear next Monday, March 22, targets a nearly half-century-old regulation in California that permits union organizers to briefly enter agricultural worksites and speak to farmworkers. But the stakes in this case go far beyond union busting.
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+The plaintiffs in Cedar Point ask the justices to so radically reshape the Court’s approach to property rights that some of the most basic state and federal health and safety laws could fall. Among other things, if the Court accepts the plaintiffs’ argument that farm owners have a constitutional right to kick union organizers off their property, it could also mean that restaurants have a constitutional right to keep health inspectors from entering their kitchens, or that factory owners can prohibit the government from inspecting their machines to make sure those machines are safe to operate.
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+Cedar Point is one of the most radical property rights cases to reach the justices in a long time. And its plaintiffs ask for a significant reshaping of the American social contract.
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+If the Cedar Point plaintiffs prevail, California will have to pay farm owners if it wants to enforce its pro-union regulation.
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+The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that laws granting unions a limited right to enter an employer’s property and speak to workers are constitutional. As the Court held in Central Hardware v. NLRB (1972), the government may require an employer to allow a union onto its property so long as “the access is limited to (i) union organizers; (ii) prescribed nonworking areas of the employer’s premises; and (iii) the duration of organization activity.”
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+But the Cedar Point plaintiffs don’t just ask for a decision that could sweep away decisions like Central Hardware. They ask for such a broad power to exclude others from private property that even things like health inspections could be endangered.
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+How the Takings Clause currently operates
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+The specific regulation at issue in Cedar Point has been on the books since 1975. It allows organizers to enter a worksite and speak to farmworkers for up to three (nonconsecutive) hours a day — the hour before the start of work, the hour after the end of work, and the workers’ lunch break.
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+Before a union may do so, it must notify the government and the employer. The union may enter the worksite for up to 30 days, and it may invoke this right to enter a particular worksite up to four times a year.
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+Thus, union organizers are allowed on a farm’s property for a maximum of 120 days a year, and only for a total of three hours per day.
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+The Cedar Point plaintiffs argue that this limited intrusion of their property amounts to what is known as a “per se” taking. Current law distinguishes between per setakings, which involve unusually severe intrusions on private property and are treated with particular skepticism by courts, and milder intrusions on property rights that fall under the broader umbrella of “regulatory” takings. Notably, the Cedar Point plaintiffs do not argue that California’s union access rule is a regulatory taking — so they appear to have made a strategic decision to avoid more measured legal arguments in favor of their more radical claim.
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+Property owners subject to a per se taking will generally prevail in court, while plaintiffs who allege a regulatory taking often lose — even if they challenge a land use regulation that imposes fairly substantial limits on how they can use their property. In one famous regulatory takings case, the Court upheld a New York City law that prevented the owners of Grand Central train station from constructing a high-rise office building on top of the terminal.
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+Very few cases qualify as per se takings. Under existing precedents, a law doesn’t count as a per se taking unless it deprives a property owner of “all economically beneficial or productive use” of their property, or subjects the property owner to a “permanent physical occupation” of their land.
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+So, under this framework, California’s union access rule is not a per se taking. Though a union that successfully organizes a workplace is likely to secure a contract that requires the employer to pay more money to its workers, unionization does not deprive an employer of all economic benefits from their land. And California’s rule does not allow anyone to permanently occupy a property owner’s land. It only allows union organizers to enter that land for a few hours a day, and only for about a third of the year.
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+How the Cedar Point plaintiffs want to remake the law
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+Before we get into some details about the Cedar Point plaintiffs’ argument, it’s helpful to understand two legal concepts.
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+The first is the concept of a “license.” Suppose that I hire a dog walker to walk my dog on weekday afternoons while I’m at the office. As part of this arrangement, I give the dog walker a key to my home and permission to enter in order to bring the dog outside for his walk. Under this arrangement, I have granted the dog walker a “license” to enter my home.
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+Licenses are often temporarily arrangements. And they typically (though not always) can be revoked by the property owner. If I decide that my dog walker is doing a bad job, I can fire them and take away their legal right to enter my home. And if I sell my home, the dog walker doesn’t retain any right to enter my former home once the new owner takes possession.
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+An “easement” is something else entirely. Suppose that Marge owns a house in a rural area with minimal electrical infrastructure. Now suppose that Big Electric wants to build a power line under Marge’s land that can bring electricity to her neighbors, and that Big Electric also seeks a permanent right to enter Marge’s land and repair this power line if it is damaged. So Big Electric offers Marge money in return for a permanent right to build and maintain this power line.
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+Big Electric is seeking an easement. Easements typically transfer a portion of a property owner’s rights permanently to someone else. Under ordinary circumstances, a landowner may exclude anyone they want from their property. But under the terms of this easement, Marge would permanently give up her right to exclude Big Electric’s repair crews. Big Electric would ownthe right to enter onto Marge’s land just as surely as Marge owns her home.
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+And if Marge someday sells her home to someone else, Big Electric would still own that easement. It would belong to Big Electric, not Marge, and therefore is not something that Marge could transfer to someone else.
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+This distinction between licenses and easements matters because in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission(1987), the Supreme Court held that, if the government seeks a “public easement across a landowner’s premises,” then the Takings Clause requires the government to compensate that landowner. The Cedar Point plaintiffs rely heavily on Nollan in their brief, arguing that the California union-access regulation “appropriates an easement across the property of all agricultural businesses in California” by stripping those businesses of the right to exclude certain people from their land.
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+Essentially, they argue that this alleged easement amounts to a per se taking because it permanently gives unions a right to visit certain worksites — even if the unions can only enter those worksites some of the time.
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+The state concedes that its regulation “is similar to an easement insofar as it affords union organizers a ‘nonpossessory right to enter’ the property of agricultural employers.” But the state ultimately argues that its regulation only grants “some form of license” to union organizers.
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+It’s a strong argument because, while the California regulation does diminish some property owners’ rights to exclude unwanted visitors, it does not resemble an easement in one very important way. The California regulation does not permanently transfer any of a farm owner’s property rights to unions. The unions do not own anything because of this regulation.
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+If California were to repeal its regulation tomorrow, the unions would be left with nothing. Had the California regulation actually imposed an easement on farm owners, then unions would retain their ownership of this easement even after the regulation that established it ceased to exist. Under Nollan, if the unions had obtained an easement allowing them to enter private land, then the Takings Clause would forbid California from taking this easement from them without compensating them.
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+If the Supreme Court agrees that California’s regulation appropriates an easement from farm owners, then the implications are profound
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+At least in marginal cases, the line between an easement and a license can be blurry. As one California appeals court judge complained in a 1994 opinion, commercial land use arrangements often involve such complicated terms that “it is increasingly difficult and correspondingly irrelevant to attempt to pigeonhole these relationships as ‘leases,’ ‘easements,’ ‘licenses,’ ‘profits,’ or some other obscure interest in land devised by the common law in far simpler times.”
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+But, to the extent that the Supreme Court is uncertain whether to classify the rights granted to unions by California’s regulation as a “license” (and therefore as more permissible under the Constitution) or an “easement” (and therefore subject to the Takings Clause’s restrictions), there are profound practical reasons to prefer the former option.
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+The state’s brief in Cedar Point spends several pages explaining just how many laws could become invalid if the government cannot require landowners to allow unwanted persons onto their property.
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+“The categorical rules proposed by petitioners and their amici would also imperil a wide variety of health- and safety-inspection regimes,” the state’s legal team writes. “These include, among many others, food and drug inspections, occupational safety and health inspections, and home visits by social workers,” as well as a federal law providing that “underground mines must be inspected ‘at least four times a year.’”
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+States also frequently enact laws allowing non-governmental workers to enter onto private land. “Many States authorize utility companies and similar entities to enter private property, even absent the owner’s consent, for surveys, repairs, connections, and similar purposes,” the state’s brief explains.
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+And, in what is likely a bid to secure the votes of conservative justices who support strict enforcement of immigration laws, California argues that the rule proposed by the Cedar Point plaintiffs could prevent law enforcement from arresting many undocumented immigrants.
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+Although longstanding legal principles permit “entries onto private property to make arrests or enforce criminal laws,” these principles “do not appear to apply to entries by Border Patrol agents to enforce noncriminal immigration laws, or by other government officials to enforce other civil laws.”
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+US laws permitting unwanted persons to enter a property owner’s land, moreover, stretch back to the early days of the American Republic. Indeed, a Massachusetts law from the 1640s, when the state was still a British colony, provided that “‘any man … may pass and repass on foot through any man’s propriety’ in order to access ‘great ponds’ for the purpose of fishing or fowling, so long as the entry did not damage the property.”
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+The strict limits on governmental regulation of property rights proposed by the Cedar Point plaintiffs, in other words, are quite novel. And those limits could invalidate countless state and federal laws, preventing health inspectors from investigating potentially unsafe businesses, and preventing workplace inspectors from investigating dangerous factories and other worksites.
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+The Roberts Court, which now has a 6-3 Republican majority, is often very hostile toward the rights of unions — even when those rights are clearly established by existing law. In Janus v. AFSCME (2018), for example, the Supreme Court overruled a 41-year-old decision permitting unions to collect certain fees from non-members who benefit from the union’s services.
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+But, to rule against the unions in Cedar Point, the Supreme Court wouldn’t simply need to undermine many years of decisions benefiting unions. Such a decision could profoundly rework the balance of power between landowners and the government, undercutting huge swaths of state and federal law in the process.
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+A justice who may be inclined to spite the United Farm Workers in Cedar Point, in other words,needs to ask themselves if they also feel safe eating out at a restaurant that is closed to health inspectors.
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WandaVision’s disappointing finale and the problem with demanding “justice” in fiction -
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+Wanda Maximoff prepares a little spell. | Disney+
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+We don’t want justice in a story. We want the authors to know what justice might look like.
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+Wanda Maximoff has done a very bad thing.
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+As the finale of WandaVision, the Marvel TV series that bears her name and airs on Disney+, wraps up its story, the superpowered witch has begun to realize the extent of the hex she cast over the town of Westview, New Jersey. The citizens of the town, wholly innocent and unsuspecting, have awakened from a dreamlike state that lasted several days and caused them to reenact old sitcoms, for the amusement of an audience who didn’t really exist. (Well, technically, we were the audience, but I sure hope nobody in Westview knows about us.)
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+Notably, when the hex was established, Wanda didn’t realize the extent of what was happening. She was as trapped by her sitcom world as anybody else. But then she slowly began to understand the truth, while also realizing the hex was directly tied to the existence of her husband (the synthezoid Vision, dead in “actual” reality) and her children (wholly inventions of the hex). And she kept the whole thing going because she couldn’t bear to lose them.
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+In the finale, Wanda finally sees the pain she has spread, as the citizens of Westview plead with her to kill them, to free their children from the bedrooms the kids had been imprisoned in for the sake of a fake TV show, to make sense of what she had done to them. Wanda doesn’t know how to say anything. “They hate me,” she offers, and, yeah, probably.
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+Though both the series and Wanda seem to realize she’s done something horrible, the former seems determined to justify her motivations, if not her actions. Her grief at a life where everyone she loved was ripped away from her is so all-consuming that of course she imprisoned a bunch of people in a sitcom. Who wouldn’t?
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+“They’ll never know what you sacrificed for them,” says Monica Rambeau, the closest thing WandaVision has to an audience surrogate (a character designed to reflect how the audience is probably feeling about things and subtly direct those feelings in certain ways). This is true. I doubt anybody could understand what it means to have your magically created husband and children simply dissolve into thin air. But it also so privileges the emotions and drives of the show’s protagonist over those of any other characters that it feels as though WandaVision is writing off the very obvious horrors Wanda visited on this town.
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+I’m not really here to relitigate the finale, which has been endlessly argued about. I think WandaVision was deeply irresponsible in how it handled this plot point, creating a scenario where it all but sidled up to telling an abuser that she’s okay because her motives were okay. It didn’t cross that line, but that it came close is unsettling.
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+But many of the arguments about the finale have centered on what should have happened to Wanda, as though she were a real person who must be brought to justice. And because Marvel is telling one giant interconnected story with every movie and TV show it releases, it can, in theory, have Wanda face judgment for these actions years from now and retroactively seem to justify the storytelling choices made here.
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+I think these arguments are missing an important point. Wanda is a fictional character. By definition, she cannot face actual justice. But increasingly, we struggle to talk about fictional characters within the fictional contexts they exist in. We debate the military strategies of Game of Thrones characters and argue about the morality and political positions of all sorts of superheroes.
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+Yet these characters are all created, and they exist in universes that are constructed. Within those universes, the storytellers who create these stories are, functionally, gods. When we say we want Wanda Maximoff to face justice, I think what we’re really saying is that we want the storytellers to show us they know what justice would be, even if she doesn’t face it.
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+We want, in other words, story karma.
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+Story karma, defined
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+ FX
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+The Americans ended with several tricky dilemmas for the main characters — and for the show’s writers.
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+I first encountered the term “story karma” in talking to Joel Fields, the co-showrunner of The Americans, in the wake of that show’s series finale. As the writers of The Americans were deciding how to end their story, they had to grapple with the fact that their main characters — Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, a pair of Soviet super spies posing as a married American couple — had both killed lots and lots and lots of innocent people and figured out a way to avert tensions in a way that allowed for continued rapprochement between the US and USSR. Though their story played out on a much larger scale than yours or mine, they had been responsible for very bad and very good things.
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+What true “justice” might have looked like for Philip and Elizabeth was going to prison. They did, after all, murder a bunch of people, no matter how pure their motivations might have seemed. The two probably would have considered themselves soldiers in a war without end, and the rules of traditional morality get bent in a war. Yet few of the people they killed were other spies. Too often, they were just people in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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+But the characters were also the protagonists of their series, and viewers had seen them fall in love all over again. We had watched them care for their kids and form a friendship with the FBI agent across the street. We had seen them at their most human, so many viewers found some part of themselves wanting them to get away with what they had done. Yes, they had done terrible things, but it often seemed like they felt bad about it. That counts for something. Right?
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+When Fields mentioned story karma to me, this is what he was talking about — how do you find a way to punish Philip and Elizabeth for their sins without punishing them too much? (Karma within Hinduism or Buddhism is a more layered concept than a simple binary between good and bad behavior or punishment and reward. I’m using the term in the colloquial sense of good actions or bad actions being repaid in kind, but you should feel free to think of this concept as “story justice” or whatever makes the most sense to you.)
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+To my mind, the solution The Americans came up with (which I won’t spoil here) was an elegant one. You might disagree because we’ve all got different ideas of how to balance these moral ledgers. But I think we’d agree that the writers of The Americans clearly thought long and hard about what “justice” might look like.
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+The protagonist of any story takes both moral and immoral actions across the course of that story, and the storyteller’s responsibility is to understand which actions are which — and, more importantly, to signal to the audience that they have actually thought about this. We will go along with the worst, most venal protagonist alive if we know the storyteller knows their protagonist is awful. The second that level of understanding starts to slip, however, it becomes much easier to doubt the storyteller knows what they’re doing. We want our gods to be just. We know they aren’t always. But we want them to know when they’ve screwed up.
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+The use of story karma differs from story to story. In some cases, an exact balancing of the moral scales is called for. (Star Wars, with its very clear-cut good-versus-evil binary, might be a good example.) In others, good or innocent people will be asked to suffer endlessly because that is what the story requires of them. (Think of the Stark kids from Game of Thrones.) In still others, horrible people will get away with horrible things. (Think of Tony Soprano or Breaking Bad’s Walter White.) In all of these cases, the storytellers tipped their hands to say, “Yes, we know what’s going on,” which made it easier to just enjoy the ride.
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+I would also argue that narrative proximity is a key part of story karma, especially in long-form serialized narratives, where viewers will only sit with something awful for so long before they start to turn on the story. For instance, in the second season of Breaking Bad, Walter White commits a grievous sin: He lets Jane, the girlfriend of his meth-making partner Jesse, choke to death on her own vomit. He doesn’t directly kill her (as he does several other people throughout the show to that point), but her death is straightforwardly a product of his inaction. We know Jane. We know what she means to Jesse. Walter’s lethal idleness hits us hard.
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+Breaking Bad doesn’t provide direct retribution for Walter’s actions for many, many episodes. But in the episode immediately following Jane’s death, it still tips its hand. Jane’s father works as an air traffic controller, and in his grief over her death, he gets sloppy. Two planes collide in midair. People die, and the debris from the crash rains down over Walter’s backyard. It’s as clear a sign imaginable from the gods — a.k.a. the storytellers — that Walter’s sins are considerable, and he is going to pay for them. Maybe just not yet.
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+A lack of story karma can make a story deeply unsatisfying
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+ AMC
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+Walter White was often reminded of the awfulness of his actions by the show he starred on.
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+Now, Breaking Bad is maybe the best-balanced TV series in history in terms of story karma. I don’t love that show in the way that some do, but it was always clear that its writers knew what was good, what was evil, and when a good motive might excuse an evil act. Most importantly, they knew that even if Walter’s original motives for cooking meth were pure — he wanted to provide for his family after his death — those motives didn’t absolve him of the horrible things he did.
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+Compare Breaking Bad to WandaVision, a series that seems trapped by its refusal to acknowledge its protagonist’s culpability in events beyond having her feel really bad about what she did, you guys. The loss of her husband and children, which should theoretically offset her karmic ledger, doesn’t hit as hard because it’s a direct consequence of her immoral actions. Sure, she’s sad, but that loss is an offshoot of her original sin.
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+What many WandaVision viewers are waiting for is that plane crash in the sky, that reassurance from the show’s storytellers that they know what she did was just that awful. In that case, Wanda could get away with far worse, and we’d all breathe easier, knowing that somebody somewhere had their eye on the scales of justice.
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+In saying this, I’m aware of how easy it would be to interpret all of the above as “A character has to pay for their bad actions somewhere down the line, ideally pretty soon after they commit those actions.” But I don’t mean that at all. The Sopranos spent season after season allowing Tony to chalk up an ever-increasing moral debt that it never, ever bothered to collect on.
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+Yet it was incredibly clear throughout that The Sopranos’ writers knew just how bad the guy could be, and they nodded, frequently, to something we all know to be true: Sometimes, horrible people get away with stuff.What’s more, they tied Tony’s awfulness to the smaller, pettier sins any of us commit in our lives, when our selfishness or envy blinds us to the harm we cause to others.
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+Where our tales of the fantastical, particularly superhero tales, fall short is in their frequent struggle to understand that even if their stories involve larger-than-life characters and situations, the moral framework we expect them to exist within is basically the same as our own. The further we get into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, the harder it becomes to ignore the way it nurtures a near-fascistic sense that a powerful being should be allowed to do what they want, so long as they feel kinda bad about the collateral damage at the end of the day.
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+Mistaking (what the protagonist assumes to be) good motivations for good actions is perhaps the most deeply American thing about Marvel’s cinematic storytelling, and they’ve proved wildly popular worldwide, because all of us can twist any given bad thing we do into a good thing if we think hard enough about all of the reasons we might have done it that aren’t motivated by our own worst qualities. Wanda Maximoff lived under the weight of considerable grief, and in that grief, she did something awful. We’ve all had some version of that in our lives. But that doesn’t excuse our bad actions amid that grief.
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+That’s why WandaVision’s finale made me finally give up on the idea of the MCU ever understanding the stories it’s trying to tell beyond the most superficial level. Many of these movies are entertaining, but beyond Black Panther (which at least tries to wrestle with the weight of colonialism and the ways in which the affluent have responsibilities to those without) and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (which has a go at talking about legacies of familial abuse), none of them do more than pay lip service to complicated ideas.
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+Most of us are first introduced to stories as simple tales of moral instruction, in which our parents and teachers tell us tales meant to provide us with a firm understanding of what is right and what is wrong. As we grow, we understand that not all stories have to have tidy morals at the end, but we never quite lose the sense that stories have a moral dimension. When we hear a story, we don’t always need its gods to be just, but we do want to know they exist.
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Asian American communities grapple with whether police are the right answer to recent attacks -
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+An Oakland, California shop owner speaks with Deputy Chief of Police Chris Bolton and Carl Chan, president of Oakland’s Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, on February 16. | Stephen Lam/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
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+“The issue of policing is really complex, and in Chinatown, we are an ideologically diverse group of people.”
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+If one thing was made clear last year, it’s that American policing is a deeply flawed institution. Protests over racism and the police killings of Black Americans have fueled efforts to shift funding away from law enforcement and toward social services like mental health care and education. Cities across the country are now grappling with what the function of police should be as they consider the future of public safety. And many communities, including Asian American ones that have been targeted with violent attacks in recent weeks, are among those navigating tough questions about the role of law enforcement.
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+California’s Bay Area has seen a wave of violence toward Asian Americans this past winter. In Oakland, the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce has documented at least 20 assaults. And in the Bay Area overall, there have been 32 reports of Asian Americans getting assaulted or robbed since the start of the year, according to a February analysis by the San Francisco Chronicle. The motivations behind many of these attacks are currently unclear, though they’ve taken place as anti-Asian incidents have surged during the pandemic. According to a study by Cal State San Bernardino, San Francisco was one of the cities that observed an increase in reports of hate crimes toward Asian Americans in the past year.
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+The community response to the recent attacks has been varied: Some in the Bay Area have called for more police presence, some have hired private security, and others have pushed for public safety interventions that don’t center law enforcement.
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+All parties, ultimately, share a similar goal: They want to prevent more violence from happening in their community, and to keep their most vulnerable populations safe. Where they differ, however, is on just how involved the police need to be in this response, and the concerns about relying on law enforcement as the main solution to this problem.
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+“The issue of policing is really complex, and in Chinatown, we are an ideologically diverse group of people,” says Ener Chiu, associate director of the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, a group that’s part of the Oakland Chinatown Coalition. “There are people who support defunding the police. And there are people who say, ‘I don’t feel comfortable saying we need less police.’”
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+Such discussions are taking place not just in the Bay Area but in a number of cities, including New York and Los Angeles, as they also deal with an uptick in anti-Asian incidents. Physical and verbal assaults have spiked as Asian Americans have been scapegoated for the spread of the coronavirus in the past year, and as former President Donald Trump has stoked xenophobic sentiments.
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+According to Stop AAPI Hate, a group that’s been tracking such issues, there have been more than 2,500 anti-Asian incidents ranging from verbal assaults to physical attacks reported since last March, with 1,100 of those occurring in California. The Cal State San Bernardino study, which examined police logs in 16 major cities, found a nearly 150 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes nationwide in 2020 as well.
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+Community members in both San Francisco and Oakland are now working to figure out what comes next. In the near term, there’s a debate about how to make people feel more secure, and in the long term, there’s a question of how the community can invest in efforts that help prevent these attacks from happening again.
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+A conversation about policing is a key piece of these talks. And a tension at the heart of it is the immediacy in security that some people see police providing versus the belief that increased police presence not only doesn’t address the root cause of the violence but also endangers members of the community, particularly Black Americans, who’ve disproportionately been the targets of police brutality.
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+Responses to violence against Asians + Asian Americans can’t be to create a police state in Chinatown.
There are now private security guards, vigilantes, + mobile police stations in our neighborhood.
That doesn’t make us safe. Our communities working in solidarity keep us safe
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+Ultimately, many local organizers emphasize that relying solely on policing isn’t a tenable long-term solution or the best use of a limited set of city resources. There are efforts underway to bolster programs, like community ambassadors — who help build relationships with business owners and residents, increase traffic to the area, and beautify the neighborhood — that could serve as a potential alternative.
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+“We have to offer people an alternative. We can’t just say we don’t want more police and not offer other options,” says Chiu. “It’s not about denouncing; it’s about what’s the right balance for our community?”
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+The debate about policing among members of Asian American communities, briefly explained
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+The policing debate centers on a complicated series of questions, including whether increased law enforcement in Chinatown and other places can deter further harm toward seniors, while also not adding to harms against the community more broadly, and if there are other immediate responses that can provide the same sense of security.
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+The issue came up earlier this year when actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu offered a $25,000 reward for information about a suspect who pushed a 91-year-old man in Oakland: Few doubted the well-meaning intentions of both celebrities, whose actions played a key role in raising awareness about this violence, but some saw their offer as effectively placing a bounty on a person and looking to policing as the solution.
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+Some community members argue that ramping up police is necessary because it’s a resource that elders are familiar with — and able to trust — compared to some of the newer volunteer efforts that have emerged, which include escort programs to help people get from place to place.
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+“Unless the police step in, there’s very little protection they would be getting,” says Anni Chung, the executive director of a San Francisco nonprofit called Self-Help for the Elderly, which provides food aid and health care support for older adults. Chung is among those pushing the San Francisco Police Department to establish a larger presence in Chinatown, and to train more bilingual and bicultural officers who can better engage with residents who may be less comfortable with English.
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+“The merchants feel better and the residents feel better,” Chung said of additional law enforcement.
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+In Oakland, too, Carl Chan, the head of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, says that he and other store owners support more police presence. “I ask all of our seniors in Chinatown and basically all of our businesses: Do you want to see police in this community?” Chan told KQED. “So far, I haven’t heard anybody say no.”
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+In San Francisco, police have increased patrols in the Chinatown area, and in Oakland, the department has dispatched a specific liaison officer to the neighborhood. “The San Francisco Police Department stands for safety with respect for all,” the SFPD said in a statement. “These crimes impact all of us and SFPD officers will maintain high visibility vehicle and foot patrols to help deter crime and reassure our communities across our City.”
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+Because some community members still fear there isn’t enough of a security presence, Oakland Chinatown residents have also crowdfunded more than $80,000 to help cover costs for private armed guards, a security force that could well replicate the same issues of abuse that police have struggled with.
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+Local activists, meanwhile, note that everyone in these communities has the same goals, but stress that they don’t support relying on police as the main solution — and are actively working to bolster other options.
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+“There are members of our community that believe more police presence, that will lead to safety, that there should be more bilingual cops, that there should be more drive-bys. And the data just doesn’t show that,” says Cynthia Choi, a co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, who’s based in San Francisco. As law enforcement experts have found, having more police doesn’t necessarily result in less crime, and actual outcomes can be more dependent on the strategies law enforcement officers deploy.
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+In addition to concerns about the efficacy of police as a deterrent to crimes, organizers also note that increased police could harm Black community members in particular, given law enforcement’s disproportionate violence toward Black Americans. In the Bay Area, Black residents have had an outsize number of fatal encounters with the police in recent years: According to the San Jose Mercury News, Black residents comprise 7 percent of the region’s population but 27 percent of the people killed by police between 2015 and 2020.
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+“We recognize that policing leads to mass incarceration and racial profiling,” says Russell Jeung, a San Francisco State University professor and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, who emphasizes that a public safety response will likely include law enforcement but can’t be overreliant on it.
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+Jeung and Choi are among those who cited a community ambassadors program that’s active in both Oakland and San Francisco as part of the near-term response. Oakland’s ambassadors program, established in 2017 by the Asian Health Services group and the Asian Prisoner Support Committee, includes formerly incarcerated people who go to Chinatown regularly and engage with merchants and residents, while cleaning up trash and graffiti. The program is intended to help boost traffic in these areas as well as help build a sense of community. And in San Francisco, a similar city-run program dedicated to promoting public safety in different neighborhoods has now been around for several years. Ambassadors are also trained in deescalation and aiding community members who may need help with their daily tasks.
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+“You have the immediacy of the community ambassadors, of volunteer programs, you have the immediacy of people willing to volunteer and stand in front of stores and walk people across the street,” says Cat Brooks, a co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project in Oakland. “I understand the fear, I really do. But what we are doing [with policing] ultimately isn’t working.”
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+Margaret Huang, a 55-year-old Oakland resident who was mugged near Chinatown earlier this year, says she thinks the community ambassadors are a good idea that many people may simply not be aware of. “We have learned that it’s a very valuable resource to have a group that can act as an intermediary and deescalate things,” she said, noting she didn’t feel that police should be the only option.
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+Some residents, though, worry that the work of ambassador programs and other volunteer efforts simply aren’t enough to address the current problem. For now, the talks between pro-police and anti-police advocates, a divide that often falls along generational lines, are ongoing and nuanced. Community members say that policing may still be a necessary part of the current response, but that they’re working to ensure it is not the sole avenue for recourse.
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+“I think a comprehensive approach is what’s necessary. We are encouraging restorative justice models,” says Jeung.
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+There is a major focus on solidarity
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+Part of the talks around policing center on helping Asian American community members understand what more police presence means for Black residents who are disproportionately targeted by law enforcement, and on the need to ensure that diverse viewpoints are considered while charting a path forward.
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+Thus far, a major emphasis of organizers’ response has been on reaffirming solidarity between Black and Asian communities, and stressing the need to work together to improve public safety overall.
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+One of the rallies local organizers put together in February stressed a united front. The event, which took place in Madison Park following the death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, who was brutally pushed in San Francisco, aimed to raise awareness about the assaults and dispel the use of any stereotypes about potential attackers.
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+“The suspects in some of these attacks were Black men, and some Asian Americans have responded with stereotypes of their own, blaming supposed anti-Asian sentiment from the Black community for the crimes,” the Guardian’s Vivian HoandAbené Clayton reported. “This narrative, which has not been supported by evidence, has nevertheless shoved a new wedge into age-old cracks between Black and Asian immigrant communities in the US.”
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+After several attacks on members of the Asian-American community in the Bay Area, a rally was held in Oakland to promote multicultural healing Saturday.https://t.co/gcev61ZmgW
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+In both San Francisco and Oakland, organizers say it’s important for groups to understand one another’s experiences in order to build a solution that factors in all perspectives.
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+“We want to work cross-racially to promote neighborhood safety,” Jeung says.
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+Leaders have also said it’s important to interrogate anti-Black and anti-Asian biases and push back on them, while ensuring that people don’t make generalizations about each respective group. “Supporting our Asian community is not about dividing us. This support is for all of us suffering under white supremacy. We need to understand that so we can triumph and have public and personal safety,” Eddy Zheng, an Oakland organizer and youth counselor, told the Guardian.
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+The Bay Area particularly has had historic models of solidarity, like the Third World Liberation Front effort in the 1960s, when Black, Asian, and Latino organizers worked together to push for an ethnic studies department at San Francisco State. In the past, however, there have also been moments when concerns about public safety have heightened tensions between the two groups, such as during the Los Angeles riots, which followed the police beating of Rodney King and the acquittal of multiple officers involved.
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+At the time, Korean American business owners and Black residents clashed after pressure had been building for months. “Socio-economic factors mattered in the creation of tensions in South Central Los Angeles that spring; in particular, the perception of Korean businesses displacing local owners in these predominantly black neighborhoods,” Andrew Cha writes for Harvard Kennedy School’s Asian American Policy Review.
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+Organizers stress that open communication is vital in order to move forward and ensure that the same problems aren’t repeated.
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+“Oakland is a really unique space. My neighborhood was one of the neighborhoods that was Black and Asian. My elementary school was Black and Asian. That sharing of space is not something we’ve seen a lot in this country; it’s unique in the Bay Area,” says Melina Abdullah, a founder of a Black Lives Matter chapter in Los Angeles. “One of the things that can bring solidarity is the understanding of each other and the sharing of space.”
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+Community safety alternatives to police need more funding
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+In addition to the more immediate conversations taking place, community leaders are weighing questions about what longer-term efforts for preventing crime look like, and the resources needed to really make them work.
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+“Do we put our limited dollars into policing? Or do we put it back into communities that are underresourced? We have crisis over crisis that’s been exacerbated by the pandemic,” says Choi. “Long-term, if you’re going to break generational violence, you have to invest in interventional measures.”
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+A key effort that’s shown strong results is violence interruption programs, notes professor Paul Butler, a criminal justice expert at Georgetown Law. These programs, used in European countries like the UK and Belgium, aim to prevent and mediate violence before it occurs. As part of these efforts, people are trained as “community safety professionals,” who help address conflicts. “They are unarmed, lack most formal policing powers, and perform responsibilities like youth outreach, conflict mediation, community patrol, and addressing low-level crime and disorder,” as Roge Karma previously explained for Vox.
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+“Divesting from the police, and not exclusively relying on police for public safety: It’s a recognition that the police don’t bring us the kind of safety we would hope,” says Butler.
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+Investing and shifting resources to such programs is a key push among some activists: Some Oakland Chinatown residents, for instance, are pushing for specific tax revenues to go toward hiring more community ambassadors who are trained in violence deescalation and broader engagement. They’re also calling for more investments in health care programs, housing access, and other neighborhood resources including parks and open spaces.
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+The conversation is unfolding as the cities of San Francisco and Oakland have a larger discussion about what public safety looks like overall. And in both cities, progressive officials have signaled support for adding more funding to efforts like the ambassadors program and other social services, an outcome that could be a direct result of constituent pressure.
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+“How can we focus on increasing the vibrancy and vitality of our neighborhoods and safety is going to be the byproduct?” says Alvina Wong, the campaign and organizing director of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network.
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From The Hindu: Sports
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India vs England preview | Confident India look to build on new approach against England in 3rd T20 - India are unlikely to tinker with the winning combination save the return of opener Rohit Sharma, who is expected to be back in the side after being rested for a couple of games.
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India exposed our weakness in handling slow conditions, says Morgan - Morgan had words of appreciation for young Ishan Kishan, who scored a 32-ball 56 on his international debut.
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Ind vs Eng 2nd T20 | Having faced good pacers in IPL helped me on India debut: Kishan - The debutant was in awe of Virat Kohli during their 94-run stand and hopes to pick the brain of India skipper during the five-match series
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Daniil Medvedev wins Open 13 for 10th title on eve of move to No. 2 - Medvedev will overtake Rafael Nadal on Monday and push the 20-time Grand Slam champion down to No. 3.
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Consigliori should make amends - Trainer L V R Deshmukh’s ward Consigliori, who ran third in his last start, should make amends in the Sultan Phiroze Plate, the main event of Monday’
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From The Hindu: National News
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‘Parliamentarians have not raised voice against injustice done to Teltumbde’ - Writer and activist Anand Teltumbde has been in prison on false charges, but no parliamentarian has raised a voice against the injustice done to him,
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Hindutva main plank of BJP in polls: Surendran - He says his party considers both LDF and UDF as adversaries
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Kerala Assembly elections: IT industry pins hopes on incoming govt. for business continuity - Experts from Information Technology sector in Kerala call for furthering the gains and plugging the gaps
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MP holds meeting on revival of industries - B.Y. Raghavendra, MP, on Monday held a meeting with officers of the Industries Department in Bengaluru on the revival of Mysore Paper Mills and Visves
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Parliament Proceedings | States yet to pay ESIC for COVID-19 hospital use: Ministry - State governments are yet to reimburse the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) for treatment of non-ESI beneficiaries at the ESI hospitals th
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From BBC: Europe
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Germany elections: Merkel’s party suffers setback in regional polls - The German chancellor’s Christian Democrats (CDU) heavily in two former stronghold regions.
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Covid-19: Netherlands suspends use of AstraZeneca vaccine - It is the latest country to act over reports of blood clotting, but the WHO says the vaccine is safe.
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Covid-19: NI to keep using AstraZeneca jab after Irish suspension - The Republic of Ireland stops using the vaccine after reports of blood clotting in adults in Norway.
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French drone tourist in Iran Benjamin Briere ‘facing spy charges’ - Benjamin Briere was detained in Iran last year after flying the device near the Turkmenistan border.
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Brexit: EU to begin legal action over alleged NI Protocol breach - A letter will be issued stating the reasons why the EU believes the protocol has been breached.
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From Ars Technica
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The Ars Technica System Guide, spring 2021: Gaming edition - Supply shortages made building a gaming PC near-impossible—but you can buy one. - link
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Review: Boss Level offers a witty, bloody take on the time-loop trope - Everyone seems to be having a blast in Joe Carnahan’s over-the-top sci-fi thriller. - link
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Mother to Earth: When an NES prototype lands on eBay and inspires a documentary - Kickstarted movies can go down pretty narrow rabbit holes, but this is some real hyperfocus. - link
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How to find a COVID-19 vaccine appointment in your area - Vaccination rollout has been a challenge across the US. These tips should help. - link
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Researchers think a planet lost its original atmosphere, built a new one - Imaging the atmosphere finds a combination of chemicals that shouldn’t be there. - link
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From Jokes Subreddit
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I hate that SEPTember, OCTober, NOVember, and DECember aren’t the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months…… -
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+…and my wife told me to empty the contents of each and every bottle down the sink, or else! So, I said I would and proceeded with the unpleasant task.
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+I withdrew the cork from the first bottle and poured the contents down the sink, with the exception of one glass… which I drank.
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+I extracted the cork from the second bottle and did likewise with the exception of one glass… which I drank.
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+I pulled the cork from the third bottle and poured the whiskey down the sink, with the exception of one glass… which I drank.
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+I then withdrew the cork from the fourth sink and poured the bottle down the glass… which I drank.
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+I pulled the bottle from the cork of the next and drank one sink out of it and threw the rest down the glass.
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+I pulled the sink out of the next glass and poured the cork from the bottle. Then I corked the sink with the glass, bottled the drink and drank the pour.
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+When I had everything emptied I steadied the house with one hand, counted the bottles, corks, glasses and sinks with the other, which were twenty-nine. To make sure I counted them again… they came to seventy-four.
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+And as the house came by, I counted them again, and finally I had all the houses and bottles and corks and sinks and glasses counted, except one house and one cork… which l drank.
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