Socioeconomic and psychosocial adversities experienced by creative freelancers in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study. -
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+There are concerns that the socioeconomic consequences of COVID-19, including unemployment and financial insecurity, are having adverse effects on the mental wellbeing of the population. One group particularly vulnerable to socioeconomic adversity during this period are those employed freelance within the creative and cultural industries. Many workers in the sector were already subject to income instability, erratic work schedules and a lack of economic security before the pandemic, and it is possible that COVID-19 may exacerbate pre-existing economic precarity. Through interviews with 20 freelancers working within the performing arts, visual arts, and film and television industries, this article explores the impact of the pandemic on their working lives. Findings suggest the pandemic is affecting the psychological wellbeing of freelancers through employment loss, financial instability and work dissonance, and illustrates the need for urgent economic and psychosocial support for those employed within this sector.
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On the Road to Enlightenment: Tracking Changes in Information and Exploring Knowledge Accuracy During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States -
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+Information about the COVID-19 pandemic changed rapidly over time as researchers learned details about the symptoms, transmission, and prevention of the disease. The onslaught of continually changing information created confusion and misinformation shared by the public and world leaders. This study tracked weekly changes of basic information about the COVID-19 pandemic and assessed the accuracy of information learned by the participants over nine weeks. Additionally, the study assessed factors that could influence the amount of accurate information learned. Results indicated that as the weeks progressed, overall accuracy varied, but the fifth week showed a decline in scores. Lastly, trust and use of certain media sources, along with residence and education level predicted accuracy scores.
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WORKING PAPER - Digital News Media Coverage on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Kenya: Scoping the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic -
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+Working Paper - Aga Khan University, Kenya. Background: Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Kenya is frequently covered in digital news media. As a powerful influencer of public opinion, news media coverage can have a significant societal impact. This scoping review identifies the extent, nature, and themes of all available digital news media coverage on SGBV in Kenya from June 2019 to July 2020. It analyzes changes in coverage since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: The methodological framework for scoping reviews developed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) guided the scoping review. The selected articles were analyzed using NVivo. Results: Analysis of the 340 included articles indicates clear trends in news media coverage on SGBV in Kenya. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, trends include high numbers of news reports, feature articles, and opinion pieces on SGBV, female genital mutilation (FGM) as the most covered form of SGBV, and opinion pieces in line with the Kenya Vision 2030 agenda. Since the implementation of the COVID-19 mitigation measures in Kenya, trends include an increase in news media coverage on SGBV, extensive reporting on the causes of the rise in SGBV cases in Kenya, and increased media attention for domestic and sexual violence. Conclusions: Analysis of the news media coverage demonstrates the health advocacy/agenda-setting role of the media. The increased reporting on SGBV since the implementation of the COVID-19 mitigation measures could facilitate broad-based awareness.
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Modeling SARS-CoV-2 infection and its individual differences with ACE2-expressing human iPS cells -
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+Genetic differences are a primary reason for differences in the susceptibility and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Because induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells maintain the genetic information of the donor, they can be used to model individual differences in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in vitro. Notably, undifferentiated human iPS cells themselves cannot be infected bySARS-CoV-2. Using adenovirus vectors, here we found that human iPS cells expressing the SARS-CoV-2 receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) (ACE2-iPS cells) can be infected with SARS-CoV-2. In infected ACE2-iPS cells, the expression of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, the budding of viral particles, the production of progeny virus, double membrane spherules, and double-membrane vesicles were confirmed. We also evaluated COVID-19 therapeutic drugs in ACE2-iPS cells and confirmed the strong antiviral effects of Remdesivir, EIDD-2801, and interferon-beta. In addition, we performed SARS-CoV-2 infection experiments on ACE2-iPS/ES cells from 8 individuals. Male iPS/ES cells were more capable of producing the virus as compared with female iPS/ES cells. These findings suggest that ACE2-iPS cells can not only reproduce individual differences in SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro, but they are also a useful resource to clarify the causes of individual differences in COVID-19 due to genetic differences.
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Experimental evidence for enhanced receptor binding by rapidly spreading SARS-CoV-2 variants -
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+Rapidly spreading new variants of SARS-CoV-2 carry multiple mutations in the viral spike protein which attaches to the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on host cells. Among these mutations are amino acid changes N501Y (lineage B.1.1.7, first identified in the UK), and the combination N501Y, E484K, K417N (B.1.351, first identified in South Africa), all located at the interface on the receptor binding domain (RBD). We experimentally establish that RBD containing the N501Y mutation results in 9-fold stronger binding to the hACE2 receptor than wild type RBD. The E484K mutation does not significantly influence the affinity for the receptor, while K417N attenuates affinity. As a result, RBD from B.1.351 containing all three mutations binds 3-fold stronger to hACE2 than wild type RBD but 3-fold weaker than N501Y. The recently emerging double mutant E484K/N501Y binds as tight as N501Y. The independent evolution of lineages containing mutations with different effects on receptor binding affinity, viral transmission and immune evasion underscores the importance of global viral genome surveillance and functional characterization.
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High-Throughput, Single-Copy Sequencing Reveals SARS-CoV-2 Spike Variants Coincident with Mounting Humoral Immunity during Acute COVID-19 -
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+Tracking evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) within infected individuals will help elucidate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pathogenesis and inform use of antiviral interventions. In this study, we developed an approach for sequencing the region encoding the SARS-CoV-2 virion surface proteins from large numbers of individual virus RNA genomes per sample. We applied this approach to the WA-1 reference clinical isolate of SARS-CoV-2 passaged in vitro and to upper respiratory samples from 7 study participants with COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 genomes from cell culture were diverse, including 18 haplotypes with non-synonymous mutations clustered in the spike NH2-terminal domain (NTD) and furin cleavage site regions. By contrast, cross-sectional analysis of samples from participants with COVID-19 showed fewer virus variants, without structural clustering of mutations. However, longitudinal analysis in one individual revealed 4 virus haplotypes bearing 3 independent mutations in a spike NTD epitope targeted by autologous antibodies. These mutations arose coincident with a 6.2-fold rise in serum binding to spike and a transient increase in virus burden. We conclude that SARS-CoV-2 exhibits a capacity for rapid genetic adaptation that becomes detectable in vivo with the onset of humoral immunity, with the potential to contribute to delayed virologic clearance in the acute setting.
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Acquisition of the L452R mutation in the ACE2-binding interface of Spike protein triggers recent massive expansion of SARS-Cov-2 variants -
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+The recent rise in mutational variants of SARS-CoV-2, especially with changes in the Spike protein, is of significant concern due to the potential ability for these mutations to increase viral infectivity, virulence and/or ability to escape protective antibodies. Here, we investigated genetic variations in a 414-583 amino acid region of the Spike protein, partially encompassing the ACE2 receptor-binding domain (RBD), across a subset of 570 nasopharyngeal samples isolated between April 2020 and February 2021, from Washington, California, Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota and Illinois. We found that samples isolated since November have an increased number of amino acid mutations in the region, with L452R being the dominant mutation. This mutation is associated with a recently discovered CAL.20C viral variant from clade 20C, lineage B.1.429, that since November-December 2020 is associated with multiple outbreaks and is undergoing massive expansion across California. In some samples, however, we found a distinct L452R-carrying variant of the virus that, upon detailed analysis of the GISAID database genomes, is also circulating primarily in California, but emerged even more recently. The newly identified variant derives from the clade 20A (lineage B.1.232) and is named CAL.20A. We also found that the SARS-CoV-2 strain that caused the only recorded case of infection in an ape - gorillas in the San Diego Zoo, reported in January 2021 - is CAL.20A. In contrast to CAL.20C that carries two additional to L452R mutations in the Spike protein, L452R is the only mutation found in CAL.20A. According to the phylogenetic analysis, however, emergence of CAL.20C was also specifically triggered by acquisition of the L452R mutation. Further analysis of GISAID-deposited genomes revealed that several independent L452R-carrying lineages have recently emerged across the globe, with over 90% of the isolates reported between December 2020 -February 2021. Taken together, these results indicate that the L452R mutation alone is of significant adaptive value to SARS-CoV-2 and, apparently, the positive selection for this mutation became particularly strong only recently, possibly reflecting viral adaptation to the containment measures or increasing population immunity. While the functional impact of L452R has not yet been extensively evaluated, leucine-452 is positioned in the receptor-binding motif of RBD, in the interface of direct contact with the ACE2 receptor. Its replacement with arginine is predicted to result in both a much stronger binding to the receptor and escape from neutralizing antibodies. If true, this in turn might lead to significantly increased infectivity of the L452R variants, warranting their close surveillance and in-depth functional studies.
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An Autoantigen Profile of Human A549 Lung Cells Reveals Viral and Host Etiologic Molecular Attributes of Autoimmunity in COVID-19 -
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+We aim to establish a comprehensive COVID-19 autoantigen atlas in order to understand autoimmune diseases caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Based on the unique affinity between dermatan sulfate and autoantigens, we identified 348 proteins from human lung A549 cells, of which 198 are known targets of autoantibodies. Comparison with current COVID data identified 291 proteins that are altered at protein or transcript level in SARS-CoV-2 infection, with 191 being known autoantigens. These known and putative autoantigens are significantly associated with viral replication and trafficking processes, including gene expression, ribonucleoprotein biogenesis, mRNA metabolism, translation, vesicle and vesicle-mediated transport, and apoptosis. They are also associated with cytoskeleton, platelet degranulation, IL-12 signaling, and smooth muscle contraction. Host proteins that interact with and that are perturbed by viral proteins are a major source of autoantigens. Orf3 induces the largest number of protein alterations, Orf9 affects the mitochondrial ribosome, and they and E, M, N, and Nsp proteins affect protein localization to membrane, immune responses, and apoptosis. Phosphorylation and ubiquitination alterations by viral infection define major molecular changes in autoantigen origination. This study provides a large list of autoantigens as well as new targets for future investigation, e.g., UBA1, UCHL1, USP7, CDK11A, PRKDC, PLD3, PSAT1, RAB1A, SLC2A1, platelet activating factor acetylhydrolase, and mitochondrial ribosomal proteins. This study illustrates how viral infection can modify host cellular proteins extensively, yield diverse autoantigens, and trigger a myriad of autoimmune sequelae.
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Laser-facilitated epicutaneous immunization with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induces ACE2 blocking antibodies in mice -
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+The skin represents an attractive target tissue for vaccination against respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. Laser-facilitated epicutaneous immunization (EPI) has been established as a novel technology to overcome the skin barrier, which combines efficient delivery via micropores with an inherent adjuvant effect due to the release of danger-associated molecular patterns. Here we delivered the S1 subunit of the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 to the skin of BALB/c mice via laser-generated micropores with or without CpG-ODN1826 or the B subunit of heat-labile enterotoxin of E.coli (LT-B). EPI induced serum IgG titers of 1:3200 that could be boosted 5 to 10-fold by co-administration of LT-B and CpG, respectively. Sera were able to inhibit binding of the spike protein to its receptor ACE2. Our data indicate that delivery of recombinant spike protein via the skin may represent an alternative route for vaccines against Covid-19.
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Nanoceutical Fabric Prevents COVID-19 Spread through Expelled Respiratory Droplets: A Combined Computational, Spectroscopic and Anti-microbial Study -
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+Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns the use of one-way valves or vents in free masks for potential threat of spreading COVID-19 through expelled respiratory droplets. Here, we have developed a nanoceutical cotton fabric duly sensitized with non-toxic zinc oxide nanomaterial for potential use as membrane filter in the one way valve for the ease of breathing without the threat of COVID-19 spreading. A detailed computational study revealed that zinc oxide nanoflowers (ZnO NF) with almost two-dimensional petals trap SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, responsible to attach to ACE-2 receptors in human lung epithelial cells. The study also confirm significant denaturation of the spike proteins on the ZnO surface, revealing removal of virus upon efficient trapping. Following the computational study, we have synthesized ZnO NF on cotton matrix using hydrothermal assisted strategy. Electron microscopic, steady-state and picosecond resolved spectroscopic studies confirm attachment of ZnO NF to the cotton (i.e., cellulose) matrix at atomic level to develop the nanoceutical fabric. A detailed antimicrobial assay using Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria (model SARS-CoV-2 mimic) reveals excellent anti-microbial efficiency of the developed nanoceutical fabric. To our understanding the novel nanoceutical fabric used in one-way valve of a face mask would be the choice to assure breathing comfort along with source control of COVID-19 infection. The developed nanosensitized cloth can also be used as antibacterial/anti CoV-2 washable dress material in general.
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Demographic benchmarks for equitable coverage of the COVID-19 vaccination program among priority populations -
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+We report the demographic distribution of non-institutionalized populations in the US who are prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination by ethnicity, age and sex and region. The composition of non-institutionalized priority populations was estimated using a nationally representative sample of 25,417 adults interviewed in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in 2018. A relatively large fraction of individuals prioritized for the earliest distribution of the vaccine are women, non-Hispanic Black, and young to middle aged adults. Overall, the study provides a platform to track equity in vaccine coverage and to better tailor health communication strategies.
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Methodological Approach for Wastewater Based Epidemiological Studies for SARS-CoV-2 -
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+Post COVID-19 outbreak, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) studies as surveillance system is becoming an emerging interest due to its functional advantage as tool for early warning signal and to catalyze effective disease management strategies based on the community diagnosis. A comprehensive attempt was made in this study to define a methodological approach for conducting WBE studies in the framework of identifying/selection of surveillance sites, standardizing sampling policy, designing sampling protocols to improve sensitivity, adopting safety protocol, and interpreting the data. The methodology was applied to a community and studied its epidemiological status with reference to occurrence, persistence, and variation of SARS-CoV-2 genome load in wastewater system to understand the prevalence of infection. Hourly and daily grab samples were analyzed and compared with the composite samples over a surveillance window of 7 days. Based on the SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies/L, faeces shedding, and volume of sewage generated the infected individuals and the population who are in active phase in the studied community was estimated.
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Effectiveness of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions on Child and Staff COVID-19 Cases in US Summer Camps -
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+Background. Most camps remained closed during Summer 2020, due to concerns regarding child transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and limited information about the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) within child congregate settings. Methods. We surveyed US camps about on-site operations, camper and staff demographics, COVID-19 cases amongst campers and staff, and NPI usage as related to pre-camp quarantines, facial coverings, physical distancing, cleaning, and facility modifications. For all NPIs, save quarantines, responses were provided on a 5-point Likert scale format. Results. Within 486 on-site camps, a range of NPIs were instituted, most often related to reduced camper interactions, staff face coverings, cleaning, and hand hygiene. Camper facial coverings were less common, with campers always wearing masks at ~34% of the camps. Approximately 15% of camps reported 1+ confirmed COVID-19 case in either campers or staff, with three camps reporting a COVID outbreak. In both single and multi-NPI analyses, the risk of COVID-19 cases was lowest when campers always wore facial coverings. While less effective, constant use of staff facial coverings and targeted physical distancing measures, but not pre-camp quarantine, also reduced COVID-19 risks. Conclusions. We found constant facial coverings, especially for campers, and targeted physical distancing measures to reduce risks of SARS-CoV-2 transmission within summer camps. Our findings provide valuable guidance for future operations of camp and other child congregate settings with regard to efficient and effective NPI usage to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Targeting the Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Protein through GSK-3 Inhibition -
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+The coronaviruses responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV), COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV), and other coronavirus infections express a nucleocapsid protein (N) that is essential for viral replication, transcription, and virion assembly. Phosphorylation of N from SARS-CoV by glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) is required for its function and inhibition of GSK-3 with lithium impairs N phosphorylation, viral transcription, and replication. Here we report that the SARS-CoV-2 N protein contains GSK-3 consensus sequences and that this motif is conserved in diverse coronaviruses, despite limited overall sequence conservation, raising the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 may be sensitive to GSK-3 inhibitors including lithium. We conducted a retrospective analysis of lithium use in patients from three major health systems who were PCR tested for SARS-CoV-2. We found that patients taking lithium have a significantly reduced risk of COVID-19 (odds ratio = 0.51 [0.34 - 0.76], p = 0.001). We also show that the SARS-CoV-2 N protein is phosphorylated by GSK-3. Knockout of GSK3A and GSK3B demonstrates that GSK-3 is essential for N phosphorylation. Alternative GSK-3 inhibitors block N phosphorylation and impair replication in SARS-CoV-2 infected lung epithelial cells in a cell-type dependent manner. Targeting GSK-3 may therefore provide a new approach to treat COVID-19 and future coronavirus outbreaks.
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Diagnostic accuracy of RT-PCR for detection of SARS-CoV-2 compared to a composite reference standard in hospitalized patients -
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+Background: COVID 19 caused by the novel coronavirus SARS CoV 2 has caused the greatest public health emergency of our time. Accurate laboratory detection of the virus is critical in order to contain the spread. Although real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been the cornerstone of laboratory diagnosis, there have been conflicting reports on the diagnostic accuracy of this method. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on all hospitalized patients tested for SARS CoV 2 (at St. Pauls Hospital in Vancouver, BC) from March 13 to April 12, 2020. Diagnostic accuracy of initial PCR on nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs was determined against a composite reference standard which included a clinical assessment of the likelihood of COVID 19 by medical experts, initial and repeat PCR, and post-hoc serological testing. Results: A total of 323 patients were included in the study, 33 (10.2%) tested positive and 290 (89.8%) tested negative by initial PCR. Patients testing positive were more likely to exhibit features of cough (66.7% vs 39.3%), shortness of breath (63.6% vs 35.9%), fever (72.7% vs 27.6%), radiographic findings (83.3% vs 39.6%) and severe outcomes including ICU admission (24.2% vs 9.7%) and mortality (21.2% vs 6.2%) compared to patients testing negative. Serology was performed on 90 patients and correlation between serology and PCR was 98.9%. There were 90 patients included in the composite reference standard. Compared to the composite reference standard, initial PCR had sensitivity of 94.7% (95% CI 74.0 to 99.9%), specificity of 100% (95% CI 94.9 to 100%), positive predictive value of 100% (95% CI 81.5 to 100%) and a negative predictive value of 98.6% (95% CI 92.5 to 100%). Discussion: Our study showed high sensitivity of PCR on NP swab specimens when compared to composite reference standard in hospitalized patients. High correlation of PCR with serological testing further increased confidence in the diagnostic reliability of properly collected NP swabs.
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Protecting Native Families From COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing; Behavioral: COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring System; Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing and COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring System; Other: Supportive Services Sponsor: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Not yet recruiting
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COVID Antithrombotic Rivaroxaban Evaluation - Condition: COVID-19 Intervention: Drug: Rivaroxaban 10 mg Sponsors: Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz; Bayer; Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein; Hospital do Coracao; Hospital Sirio-Libanes; Hospital Moinhos de Vento; Brazilian Research In Intensive Care Network; Brazilian Clinical Research Institute Recruiting
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An Exploratory Study to Describe Virological Effect, Safety, and Pharmacokinetics of VIR-7831 Monoclonal Antibody in Hospitalized Participants With COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Biological: VIR-7831; Biological: Placebo; Drug: Standard of care Sponsors: GlaxoSmithKline; Vir Biotechnology, Inc. Not yet recruiting
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Efficacy and Safety of Tofacitinib in Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia - Condition: COVID-19 Intervention: Drug: Tofacitinib Sponsor: I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University Completed
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Improvement of the Nutritional Status Regarding Nicotinamide (Vitamin B3) and the Disease Course of COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Dietary Supplement: Nicotinamide; Dietary Supplement: Placebo Sponsor: University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein Recruiting
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A Study to Assess the Safety and Immunogenicity of the Coronavac Vaccine Against COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19 Intervention: Biological: Adsorbed COVID-19 (inactivated) Vaccine Sponsors: D’Or Institute for Research and Education; Butantan Institute Not yet recruiting
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Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Remdesivir in Participants With Severely Reduced Kidney Function Who Are Hospitalized for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Drug: Remdesivir; Drug: RDV Placebo; Drug: Standard of Care Sponsor: Gilead Sciences Not yet recruiting
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COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Therapy - Conditions: SARS-CoV-2 Infection; COVID-19 Infection Intervention: Biological: Convalescent plasma Sponsors: Angelica Samudio; Consejo Nacional de Ciencias y Tecnología, Paraguay; Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social, Paraguay; Centro de información y recursos para el desarrollo, Paraguay Completed
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COVID-19 Treatment Cascade Optimization Study - Condition: COVID-19 Testing Interventions: Behavioral: Navigation Services; Behavioral: Critical Dialogue; Behavioral: Brief Counseling; Behavioral: Referral and Digital Brochure Sponsors: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; North Jersey Community Research Initiative; National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD); University of Michigan Recruiting
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Adoptive SARS-CoV-2 Specific T Cell Transfer in Patients at Risk for Severe COVID-19 - Condition: Moderate COVID-19-infection Interventions: Drug: IMP 1,000 plus SoC; Drug: IMP 5,000 plus SoC; Drug: IMP RP2D plus SoC; Drug: SoC Sponsors: Universitätsklinikum Köln; ZKS Köln; MMH Institute for Transfusion Medicine; Miltenyi Biomedicine GmbH Not yet recruiting
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An Effectiveness Study of the Sinovac’s Adsorbed COVID-19 (Inactivated) Vaccine - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Biological: Adsorbed COVID-19 (Inactivated) Vaccine Sponsor: Butantan Institute Enrolling by invitation
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The Safety and Efficacy of FB2001 in Healthy Subjects and Patients With COVID-19 Infection - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Drug: FB2001; Drug: FB2001 Placebo Sponsor: Frontier Biotechnologies Inc. Not yet recruiting
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A Safety and Immunogenicity Study of Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cells) in Healthy Population Aged 18 Years and Above(COVID-19) - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Biological: medium dosage inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine; Biological: high dosage inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine; Biological: Placebo Sponsors: Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co., Ltd; Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., LTD; Jiangsu Province Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Active, not recruiting
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A Study to Evaluate Safety and Immunogenicity of Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cells) in Healthy Population Aged 18 Years and Above(COVID-19) - Condition: COVID-19 Interventions: Biological: medium dosage inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine; Biological: high dosage inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine; Biological: Placebo Sponsors: Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co., Ltd; Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., LTD; Jiangsu Province Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Active, not recruiting
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Effect of Prone Position onV/Q Matching in Non-intubated Patients With COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Other: prone position Sponsor: Southeast University, China Not yet recruiting
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From PubMed
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Potential therapeutic road for targeting the SARS-CoV-2 at throat - CONCLUSION: In view of the fact that the mouth and nose have higher number of ACE2 expressed cells, they serve as a gateway for the virus to enter. Thus, blocking the gate could be a good choice to reduce or even prevent the transmission. Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are double-stranded RNA molecules and could be designed easily and directed against many strains of a virus. Due to their features, siRNAs can provide a potential strategy to interfere with the replication of viral diseases. We…
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Synthesis of silver nanoparticles using gum Arabic: Evaluation of its inhibitory action on Streptococcus mutans causing dental caries and endocarditis - CONCLUSION: The potent antibiotic action over S. mutans seen with the synthesized NPs, paves the way for the development of novel dental care products. Also, the small-sized NPs promote its applicability in COVID-19 pandemic containment.
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In silico identification of available drugs targeting cell surface BiP to disrupt SARS-CoV-2 binding and replication: Drug repurposing approach - AIMS: Cell surface binding immunoglobin protein (csBiP) is predicted to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 binding. With a substrate-binding domain (SBD) that binds to polypeptides and a nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) that can initiate extrinsic caspase-dependent apoptosis, csBiP may be a promising therapeutic target for COVID-19. This study aims to identify FDA-approved drugs that can neutralize viral binding and prevent viral replication by targeting the functional domains of csBiP.
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Selective targeting of the inactive state of hematopoietic cell kinase (Hck) with a stable curcumin derivative - Hck, a Src family non-receptor tyrosine kinase (SFK), has recently been established as an attractive pharmacological target to improve pulmonary function in COVID-19 patients. Hck inhibitors are also well known for their regulatory role in various malignancies and autoimmune diseases. Curcumin has been previously identified as an excellent DYRK-2 inhibitor, but curcumin’s fate is tainted by its instability in the cellular environment. Besides, small molecules targeting the inactive states of a…
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DNA Nanostructures in the Fight Against Infectious Diseases - Throughout history, humanity has been threatened by countless epidemic and pandemic outbreaks of infectious diseases, from the Justinianic Plague to the Spanish flu to COVID-19. While numerous antimicrobial and antiviral drugs have been developed over the last 200 years to face these threats, the globalized and highly connected world of the 21st century demands for an ever-increasing efficiency in the detection and treatment of infectious diseases. Consequently, the rapidly evolving field of…
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Antibacterial and Antiviral Functional Materials: Chemistry and Biological Activity toward Tackling COVID-19-like Pandemics - The ongoing worldwide pandemic due to COVID-19 has created awareness toward ensuring best practices to avoid the spread of microorganisms. In this regard, the research on creating a surface which destroys or inhibits the adherence of microbial/viral entities has gained renewed interest. Although many research reports are available on the antibacterial materials or coatings, there is a relatively small amount of data available on the use of antiviral materials. However, with more research geared…
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Nanotechnology: an emerging approach to combat COVID-19 - The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has challenged the survival of human existence in the last 1 year. Frontline healthcare professionals were struggling in combating the pandemic situation and were continuously supported with literature, skill set, research activities, and technologies developed by various scientists/researchers all over the world. To handle the continuously mutating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) requires amalgamation of…
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Stapled ACE2 peptidomimetics designed to target the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein do not prevent virus internalization - COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Virus cell entry is mediated through a protein-protein interaction (PPI) between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). A series of stapled peptide ACE2 peptidomimetics based on the ACE2 interaction motif were designed to bind the coronavirus S-protein RBD and inhibit binding to the human ACE2 receptor. The peptidomimetics were assessed for antiviral…
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The Perspectives of Biomarkers based Electrochemical Immunosensors, Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Medical Things towards COVID-19 Diagnosis and Management - The WHO has declared the COVID-19 an international health emergency due to the severity of infection progression which become more severe due to its continuous spread globally and the unavailability of appropriate therapy and diagnostics systems. Thus, there is a need for efficient devices to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection at an early stage. Nowadays, the RT-PCR technique is being applied for detecting this virus around the globe; however, factors such as stringent expertise, long diagnostic times,…
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Corrigendum to “mTOR inhibition and p53 activation, microRNAs: The possible therapy against pandemic COVID-19” [Gene Rep. 20 (2020) 100765] - [This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.genrep.2020.100765.].
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Virus-Free and Live-Cell Visualizing SARS-CoV-2 Cell Entry for Studies of Neutralizing Antibodies and Compound Inhibitors - The ongoing corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. Cellular entry of SARS-CoV-2, which is mediated by the viral spike protein and ACE2 receptor, is an essential target for the development of vaccines, therapeutic antibodies, and drugs. Using a mammalian cell expression system, a genetically engineered sensor of fluorescent protein (Gamillus)-fused SARS-CoV-2 spike trimer (STG) to probe the viral entry…
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Social mobilization and polarization can create volatility in COVID-19 pandemic control - During the COVID-19 pandemic, political polarization has emerged as a significant threat that inhibits coordinated action of central and local institutions reducing the efficacy of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Yet, it is not well-understood to what extent polarization can affect grass-roots, voluntary social mobilization targeted at mitigating the pandemic spread. Here, we propose a polarized mobilization model amidst the pandemic for demonstrating the differential responses to…
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In silico Exploration of Inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2’s Papain-Like Protease - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with very limited treatments so far. Demonstrated with good druggability, two major proteases of SARS-CoV-2, namely main protease (Mpro) and papain-like protease (PLpro) that are essential for viral maturation, have become the targets for many newly designed inhibitors. Unlike Mpro that has been heavily investigated, PLpro is not well-studied so far. Here, we…
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In Silico Study of Coumarins and Quinolines Derivatives as Potent Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease - The pandemic that started in Wuhan (China) in 2019 has caused a large number of deaths, and infected people around the world due to the absence of effective therapy against coronavirus 2 of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). Viral maturation requires the activity of the main viral protease (M^(pro)), so its inhibition stops the progress of the disease. To evaluate possible inhibitors, a computational model of the SARS-CoV-2 enzyme M^(pro) was constructed in complex with 26…
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Landscape Profiling Analysis of DPP4 in Malignancies: Therapeutic Implication for Tumor Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 - Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is characterized by pneumonia, lymphopenia, and cytokine storms. Patients with underlying conditions, and especially cancer patients with impaired immunity, are particularly vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection and complications. Although angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2) has been identified as a cellular binding receptor for SARS-CoV-2, immunopathological changes in severe…
Compositions and methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein - - link
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SELF-CLEANING AND GERM-KILLING REVOLVING PUBLIC TOILET FOR COVID 19 - - link
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Deep Learning Based System for the Detection of COVID-19 Infections - - link
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新冠病毒疫苗表达抗原蛋白的电化学发光免疫检测试剂盒 - 本发明提供一种新冠病毒疫苗表达抗原蛋白的电化学发光免疫检测试剂盒，所述试剂盒至少包含：包被有链霉亲和素的孔板、生物素标记的抗新冠棘突蛋白抗体1、SULFO标记的抗新冠棘突蛋白抗体2、洗涤液、读数液、新冠病毒S蛋白标准品和新冠病毒RBD蛋白标准品。本发明以生物素标记的抗新冠棘突蛋白的抗体1与链霉亲和素板进行连接作为固定相，以新冠S蛋白、RBD蛋白作为参照品，可被SULFO标记的抗体2识别，从而检测新冠抗原的表达情况。该试剂盒能准确灵敏地定量检测不同基质中的新冠S蛋白、RBD蛋白，样品的前处理过程简单，耗时少，可同时检测大量样品。本发明对于大批量样品的新冠病毒疫苗表达抗原的检测具有重要意义。 - link
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陶瓷复合涂料、杀毒陶瓷复合涂料及其制备方法和涂层 - 本发明是关于一种陶瓷复合涂料、杀毒陶瓷复合涂料及其制备方法和涂层。该涂料包括3099.9%无机树脂、0.170%氮化硅、010%功能助剂、018%无机颜料和02%其他功能助剂；无机树脂由有机烷氧基硅烷、有机溶剂和硅溶胶混合、反应，抽醇，添加去离子水获得；有机烷氧基硅烷、有机溶剂和硅溶胶的质量比为11.6：0.5~0.8：1。所要解决的技术问题是如何制备一种贮存稳定性好、可常温固化且膜层的物理化学性能优异的涂料；该涂料VOC含量低，具有良好的安全生产性，且涂料成膜过程中的VOC排放很低，利于环保；该膜层的硬度高、柔韧性好，不易开裂，且可以接触性杀灭病毒和细菌；该涂料既可常温固化，也可加热固化，无需现场两个剂型调配，施工方便，成本节约，从而更加适于实用。 - link
利用BLI技术检测新型冠状病毒中和性抗体的方法 - 本发明提供一种利用BLI技术检测新型冠状病毒中和性抗体的方法，先将同一浓度的人ACE2蛋白捕获到生物传感器表面上，再将新型冠状病毒棘突蛋白RBD分别与不同浓度的待测中和性抗体预混，再将各混合液分别与捕获到生物传感器表面上的人ACE2蛋白接触，根据基于BLI技术的分子互作仪器检测到的干涉光谱的相对位移强度变化计算抑制率，绘制抑制曲线，计算IC50。本发明操作简单，快速高效，检测全过程无需包被和反复加样、洗板，15min内即可得到实验结果。检测反应在黑色孔板中进行，可实现大批量样品的新冠中和抗体的检测，与传统定性检测不同，通过计算IC50值，可以快速比较不同新冠中和性抗体的抑制能力。 - link
能够抑制冠状病毒Spike蛋白与ACE2相互作用的化合物的用途 - 本发明公开了能够抑制冠状病毒Spike蛋白与ACE2相互作用的化合物的用途。结构如下，该类化合物在制备治疗和/或预防SARS‑CoV‑2新型冠状病毒感染的药物中的用途。同时，化合物不仅能够抑制冠状病毒Spike蛋白与ACE2蛋白的相互作用，IC50<1μM，同时能够促使Spike‑ACE2复合物的解离。在细胞水平上可以有效的抑制新型冠状病毒SARS‑CoV‑2假病毒入侵，IC50<2μM。所述化合物能特异性的结合在Spike蛋白的RBD区域，KD<6μM，表明该类化合物对于制备治疗和/或预防冠状病毒感染药物具有非常积极的作用。 - link
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+ 23 February, 2021
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+Daily-Dose
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Why Impeachment Doesn’t Work - Long before Donald Trump arrived, there was reason to be skeptical of impeachment’s power. - link
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Haitians Are at an Impasse Over the Country’s Future - Jovenel Moïse is intent on remaining President amid continued protests calling for him to step down. - link
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The Activists Who Embrace Nuclear Power - In the face of climate change, some environmentalists are fighting not to close power plants but to save them. - link
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Will Biden’s Iran Diplomacy Become a Shakespearean Tragedy? - In principle, the U.S. is again committed to inclusive international diplomacy. In practice, Trump so rattled the global order that the damage endures after he has gone. - link
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The Whole Foods C.E.O. John Mackey’s “Conscious Capitalism” - Mackey discusses his book “Conscious Leadership,” the labor issues that arose at Whole Foods during the pandemic, his business philosophy, and running a company as part of Amazon. - link
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From Vox
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Congress is writing up Biden’s stimulus plan. Here’s what’s in it. -
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+House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks with reporters outside the White House after meeting with President Joe Biden to discuss Covid-19 relief efforts on February 5. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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+Stimulus checks, UI, and a $15 minimum wage: the state of the House’s stimulus bill so far.
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+We’re beginning to see what the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 stimulus package might actually look like.
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+The House of Representatives has been busy drafting its version of the budget reconciliation package, which includes $1,400 stimulus checks for those making up to $75,000, $400 expanded weekly unemployment insurance benefits through August 29, and, as it stands now, increasing the minimum wage to $15 by 2025. It also contains a restaurant rescue fund, money for reopening schools, and Democrats’ long-sought-after funding for state and local governments, among other items.
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+The biggest ticket items have been among the most contentious: Though there was some discussion of further targeting for stimulus checks, the House proposal winds up pretty close to Biden’s original plan. The $1,400 stimulus checks are for those making up to $75,000 a year, and the checks phase out at $100,000 yearly income (there has been quite a bit of back-and-forth over whether to aim them more precisely at lower-income people).
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+The expanded weekly unemployment benefits are currently set at $300 and expire on March 14; this bill expands them to $400 through August 29 and extends pandemic-related benefits for freelancers and contractors, along with extended state benefits, for the same period. That shaves one month off Biden’s proposal.
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+One big question mark in the House proposal is the federal minimum wage, which the bill would raise to $15 an hour by 2025. There are important questions as to whether a minimum wage hike can get through the reconciliation process and make it past the Senate parliamentarian, but for now, at least, Democrats are determined to fight for it. “Our strategy is to make an aggressive case with the parliamentarian,” one Democratic Senate aide said, noting Republicans were able to include work requirements for beneficiaries of social programs and open up Arctic wildlife refuges in past reconciliation bills. “These were some pretty outlandish policies that were able to pass muster.”
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+One thing this bill doesn’t include is automatic stabilizers, or tying unemployment benefits to the actual unemployment situation instead of picking a specific date for them to expire.
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+Several House committees have had a hand in crafting portions of the bill. The committees submitted their recommendations on what should be in it to the House Budget Committee, which on Monday completed its markup of the bill and packaged the whole thing together.
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+This is nowhere close to a done deal, and much still can change about what’s in the final bill, in both the House and in the Senate. A more bipartisan deal — which would look pretty different from this one — isn’t yet entirely off the table, though it looks unlikely at this point. And while the Senate looks likely to work from the House bill, since they were tied up with impeachment and Cabinet confirmations, they are likely to make amendments and changes to it, after which the legislation would then be bounced back to the House.
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+The Senate also has to keep in mind the rules governing what can be done through budget reconciliation. Aides say House and Senate committees have been in close communication on the legislation so that they don’t end upwith a bunch of ping-ponging back and forth later, though some of that will likely be inevitable. The clock is ticking, and Democrats have every intention of getting more stimulus passed before the unemployment insurance cliff appears on March 14.
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+What’s in the House’s reconciliation bill, so far
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+From the Education and Labor Committee
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+Money for school reopening and higher education: In line with Biden’s proposal, the bill calls for $130 billion toward school reopening, directing funds toward areas such as ventilation system upgrades, reduced class sizes, and personal protective equipment to help make schools safer, and ensures the money is directed toward public schools. Schools are required to put 20 percent of money toward learning loss, meaning efforts to make up for lost ground with students missing school. It also directs $40 billion in grants to higher education and requires institutions that receive funding to dedicate at least half of it to emergency financial aid grants for students. At for-profit higher education institutions, 100 percent of allocations have to go to student aid.
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+Child care help: The proposal would put $39 billion toward a grant program for child care providers, ordering them to prioritize relief for families having a hard time covering tuition, as well as $1 billion for the Head Start program.
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+Funds for health care access: The bill provides subsidies for COBRA (continued health coverage when people lose their jobs) with a premium reduction of 85 percent through September, and puts in place provisions to improve subsidies for health coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
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+Food assistance and resources for families and children: The House bill puts $5 billion more into an existing Pandemic-EBT program to help low-income families with food assistance during the school year and the summer as well as additional funds for WIC, which supports women and children. It also expands the age of eligibility for the Child and Adult Care Food Program at emergency homeless shelters for young adults, and puts millions of dollars toward programs meant to address child abuse and neglect and domestic violence. And it puts $4.5 billion into the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to help families cover the costs of heating and cooling their homes.
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+Funds for older Americans: The bill invests $1.4 billion in programs for older adults under the Older Americans Act, including nutrition programs, support services, and disease prevention programs.
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+A $15 minimum wage: The bill seeks to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will increase wages for 27 million workers (some Democrats say it will raise wages for 32 million workers). There’s some debate as to whether this provision can be done through reconciliation. The bill also puts $150 million toward the Department of Labor for the implementation of Covid-19-related worker protection programs.
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+Transportation and Infrastructure
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+Disaster relief: The bill has in it $50 billion for reimbursing state, local, tribal, and territorial governments for their Covid-19 response expenses, including vaccinations, PPE, National Guard deployment, and disinfecting public facilities.
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+Public transit and transportation: The bill directs $30 billion to public transit, which nationally has seen a huge drop in ridership during the pandemic:$8 billion to airports, $3 billion to aerospace manufacturing for temporary payroll support, and $1.5 billion to Amtrak for payrolls and restoring daily long-distance service. It also puts $3 billion toward the Economic Development Administration, which provides grants to economically distressed communities, meant to help respond to economic harm done by the pandemic.
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+Ways and Means
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+Unemployment insurance: The bill provides an additional $400 in weekly unemployment benefits from the federal government through August 29, 2021. (The supplement is currently set at $300 and is set to expire on March 14.) It also extends the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program for the self-employed and contractors, and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program, which tacks on extra weeks of state benefits, through August 29. This is one to watch — Biden proposed extending pandemic-related unemployment benefits through September. The bill also directs $2 billion to the Department of Labor to shore up unemployment systems.
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+Stimulus checks: After much debate about who will receive stimulus checks, the House bill would distribute a $1,400 benefit for those earning up to $75,000 and phasing out at $100,000 yearly income for individuals and $200,000 for couples. It also includes $1,400 for child and adult dependents, including college students and disabled adults (adult dependents have been excluded from previous stimulus payments).
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+Tax credits: The bill expands the child tax credit to $3,000 per child up to age 17 and $3,600 for children under age 6 for 2021, and it modifies the child and dependent care tax credit so that families can claim up to half of their related care expenses. It also enhances the earned income tax credit for people without children, reducing the minimum age to claim the credit from 25 to 19 and nearly tripling the maximum credit from $543 to $1,402.
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+Child care assistance programs: The bill increases funding for the Child Care Entitlement to States, which gives states funding for child care for low-income families, to over $3.5 billion per year and suspends the required state match on new funds for fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
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+Pensions: A top priority of Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal (D-MA), this portion of the bill would bail out multi-employer pension plans, which are pensions created through an agreement between at least two employers and a union. Neal estimates that about 10 million Americans are participants in multi-employer pension plans, and more than 1 million of them are participating in plans that are running out of money.
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+Obamacare premium subsidies. The bill increases the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies for two years for low- and middle-income Americans, or those making up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level. That would make health care through the ACA marketplace more affordable in 2021 and 2022. The bill also adjust subsidies for people who make more than 400 percent of the poverty level to make sure that nobody pays more than 8.5 percent of their income for coverage.
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+Small Business
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+Amendments to the Paycheck Protection Program: The bill expands eligibility for the PPP for small businesses to include nonprofits (with certain restrictions) and to online-only news publishers (also with certain restrictions — they can have more than one physical location but can’t have more than 500 employees per location). It also puts an additional $7.25 billion toward the PPP, increasing the program level to $813.7 billion from $806.4 billion.
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+Funds for economic disaster loans: The bill directs $15 billion toward the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for businesses impacted by the pandemic. It also puts $1.25 billion toward the SBA’s program for shuttered venue operators that was established in the December stimulus.
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+A restaurant revitalization fund: House Democrats are seeking to put $25 billion toward a new program at the Small Business Administration that would support restaurants, $5 billion of which will be set aside for businesses with under $500,000 in revenue in 2019. The restaurant industry has been particularly hard hit in the pandemic — the National Restaurant Association estimates industry losses in 2020 to be $240 billion.
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+Energy and Commerce
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+Vaccines, testing, and tracing: The bill directs $46 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services to detect, diagnose, trace, and monitor Covid-19. It also provides $7.5 billion in funding for the CDC to promote, monitor, and track Covid-19 vaccines, $1 billion for the CDC to strengthen confidence in the vaccine, and $5.2 billion to HHS to support more vaccine research and manufacturing. And it puts $500 million toward helping the CDC track Covid-19 hot spots and $750 million toward its efforts to combat Covid-19 around the world.
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+Money for the public health workforce: The bill allots $7.6 billion to HHS to shore up the public health workforce and an additional $100 million for the Medical Reserve Corps, a network of volunteers to support emergency response efforts.
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+Other public health investments: The proposal puts $7.6 billion into community health centers for coronavirus-related activities and $1.8 billion toward HHS for coronavirus tests, PPE, and vaccines for staff and people living in congregate settings. All in all, it puts $25 billion toward vulnerable populations and disparities in health care and access.
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+Tribal health programs: The bill puts $6 billion toward tribal health programs, including funds to support the Indian Health Service.
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+Mental health and substance abuse: The bill puts $3.5 billion toward block grant programs for mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment as well as millions of dollars more toward other programs related to mental health and substance abuse.
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+Energy assistance: The bill directs $4.5 billion to HHS to help low-income people pay their energy and water bills.
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+Internet connectivity: The bill establishes a $7.6 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund to be enacted by the FCC to expand internet connectivity to students and teachers during the pandemic.
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+Financial Services
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+Defense Production Act spending: The bill puts $10 billion toward spending under the Defense Production Act, which lets the federal government make requests to private industries in times of emergency. The funds would help the president increase production of certain materials — namely, those needed to respond to the Covid-19 crisis, including PPE, vaccines, and tests.
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+Rental assistance: Democrats are aiming to put $25 billion toward emergency assistance to renters. Namely, they would put $19 billion toward the Treasury Department for rental and utility assistance to be allocated to states, territories, counties, and cities, and an additional $5 billion toward emergency housing choice vouchers for people at risk of homelessness, domestic violence survivors, and human trafficking victims to help them get stable housing. The bill also aims to put money toward people living on USDA-subsidized properties and toward programs helping Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives with housing.
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+Homelessness funding: The bill puts $5 billion in assistance to help communities provide shelter to the homeless.
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+Homeowner assistance: The bill would direct nearly $10 billion toward states, territories, and tribes to provide assistance to homeowners on fronts such as mortgage payments and property taxes.
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+Small business credits: The bill puts $10 billion toward the State Small Business Credit Initiative, which lawmakers say would support up to $100 billion in financing for small businesses through state, territorial, and tribal programs. Some funds will be directed specifically toward minority-owned businesses, businesses owned by those who are economically disadvantaged, and tribal government programs.
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+Support for the airline industry: The bill directs $15 billion toward a payroll support program established under the CARES Act that was supposed to help airline workers. This was not in Biden’s plan.
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+Agriculture
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+Food supply chains and agriculture: The bill puts an additional $3.6 billion toward the USDA for buying and distributing food and agricultural commodities and making grants and loans to farmers. It also provides $500 million in grants for rural health care and farm loan assistance for disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, including those who have historically been discriminated against by the USDA. And, it puts money toward US-led humanitarian food aid.
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+Increased SNAP benefits: The bill continues the 15 percent increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through September 30, 2021. It also directs funds toward technological improvements for the program.
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+Veterans Affairs
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+Claims and appeals funding: The bill directs $272 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs to try to reduce the effects of Covid-19 on benefits claims and appeals backlogs for vets.
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+Veteran medical care and health needs: The bill puts $13.5 billion toward the VA for providing health care services and support to veterans, including those whose care has been delayed, become more expensive, or been otherwise affected by the pandemic.
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+Funding for state veterans homes: State veterans homes are facilities that provide care for veterans, whether nursing homes, at-home help, or adult day care. The bill puts funding toward them in two ways: $500 million for the VA to send money to states to upgrade and enhance homes, and $250 million in one-time emergency payments to support facilities.
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+Other VA funding: The bill directs $100 million toward the VA’s supply chain modernization efforts, $10 million for the VA’s inspector general’s office to conduct oversight, and almost $400 million for retraining assistance for veterans who lost their jobs because of Covid-19. It also allows the VA to waive copays for veterans, which is already in place, through September 30.
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+Oversight
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+State, local, tribal, and territorial funding: The bill directs $350 billion total toward state, local, tribal, and territorial funding, split into 60 percent for states and 40 percent for localities. Nearly $200 billion would go to states and Washington, DC, with $25.5 billion equally divided and then an additional $169 billion divvied up according to the state’s share of unemployed workers. On the local government front, $130 billion would be divided between cities and counties. Of that amount, $65 billion would go to cities using a community development block grant formula, so that $45 billion would go to municipalities with populations of over 50,000 and nearly $10 billion would go to municipalities with populations of under 50,000. Then, $65 billion would go to counties based on populations. The bill directs $4.5 billion to territories and $20 billion to tribal governments.
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+State and local government funding has been a major sticking point for Republicans, and if Democrats are able to pass this through reconciliation, they can bypass GOP opposition.
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+Emergency leave for federal and postal workers: The bill directs $570 million in emergency paid leave for federal employees and postal workers.
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+Oversight money: The bill puts $117 million toward oversight entities — namely, the Government Accountability Office and the Pandemic Response and Accountability Committee — to oversee pandemic relief funds.
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+Democrats are trying to go fast and go big
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+Democrats have a deadline for passing the bill in mind, because they don’t want expanded unemployment insurance to dry up in mid-March. President Donald Trump waited until the very last minute to sign the $900 billion stimulus package into law in December, and that threw a wrench in benefits for many workers and screwed up the inner workings of unemployment administration in many states.
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+This time around, Democrats appear determined to get legislation done on time. In the Senate, that has entailed simultaneously dealing with Trump’s impeachment trial, which ended in acquittal on February 13, and getting Biden’s Cabinet nominees confirmed. In a press conference with Senate Democrats on February 9, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer insisted they could get it all done. “The bottom line is simple: the Senate is moving full steam ahead on a bold plan to get this country out of the crisis, to speed vaccination distribution, provide a lifeline to small businesses, help schools reopen safely, save the jobs of teachers, firefighters, and other public employees and so much more,” he said.
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+How this will eventually shake out is unclear. While it appears the White House at least initially wanted to try to get a bipartisan bill passed through regular order, it seems increasingly unlikely that the needed 10 Senate Republicans will go along, and the reconciliation process is moving ahead. What’s more, Democrats and Biden, well aware that the federal response to the Great Recession in 2009 was insufficient, appear determined to act aggressively on the economy this time around — whether or not many Republicans are along for the ride.
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+The trick, especially in the Senate, will be ensuring Democrats can stick together going forward, whatever the path.
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+Correction, February 19: A previous version of this story misstated Democrats’ estimate for how many workers would have their earnings increased with a $15 minimum wage.
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Why Spotify wants to work with Joe Rogan, Barack Obama, and … you -
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+Joe Rogan in 2013. | Vivian Zink/Syfy/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images
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+The service is paying big money to big stars. But people who aren’t famous — maybe even you, the person reading this — might want to upload some stuff, too.
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+Spotify started out as a legal way to stream popular music. Then it flirted, unsuccessfully, with becoming a video company, too. Now it is trying out a new identity: It wants normal people, not just people you’ve heard of, to start uploading songs and podcasts — and then it wants to make money getting those songs and podcasts out to many, many more people.
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+Spotify still wants the biggest stars in the world on its service. That’s why it spends most of its money on licensing deals with the big music labels, and why it paid a ton of money to sign podcast king Joe Rogan last summer. And it’s also why it is working with Barack Obama; the service just announced that Bruce Springsteen and the former president have a new Spotify podcast where they discuss “modern manhood.”
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+But the main message behind a promotional event Spotify held Monday, where the company announced a slew of new products and several new podcasts, was aimed at a much larger group of musicians and podcasters who will never be Obama-level famous, or even a little bit famous: Spotify wants all of them uploading their content to Spotify.
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+Spotify thinks it can make money by distributing that stuff to hundreds of millions of people through a combination of advertising and subscription dollars. In theory, some of that may come back to the people who made the stuff in the first place.
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+After the event, I spoke with Spotify’s content boss Dawn Ostroff, a veteran of the magazine and TV business, about Spotify’s big-picture ambitions and how it is navigating the change from being a content distributor to a content owner. And, specifically, how it’s responding to the challenges that come with being Joe Rogan’s employer.
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+Here’s an edited transcript of our conversation:
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+Peter Kafka
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+Who is this event aimed at? It seemed reminiscent of all the streaming video launch events companies like Apple and HBO and Disney have done over the last year or so — kind of aimed at investors, but also for consumers.
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+Dawn Ostroff
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+Actually, we’re trying to reach creators. For us, it was about being able to show where we’ve come from and where we’re planning on going for creators.
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+When you think back to what Daniel [Ek]’s mission and vision was early on for Spotify, it was how do we connect millions of artists and creators with billions of users. This was explaining that we’ve come a long way, we still have a long way to go, and where we are in the journey. And also being able to communicate to creators the different tools, the different products that we have, to help and support them in our journey in terms of not only creation, but monetization, and of course reach.
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+Peter Kafka
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+There has been a long-running discussion with Spotify and creators/artists, back to its earliest days, where artists were complaining that they weren’t getting value out of Spotify but Spotify was getting value out of them. How much of that discussion informed what you’re doing today — both the way you talk to artists and what you’re doing for them?
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+Dawn Ostroff
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+Well, we have deals with the labels. That’s been pretty transparent: People know what we pay out, out of our revenue, to the artists and their labels. But I think really part of what Spotify is about is democratizing a form of distribution for artists in order for them to be able to experiment, create, and hopefully grow. Because there’s a lot of room for artists who aren’t necessarily the top artists in the world. And similarly for podcasters, there’s a lot of room for people who are interested in having podcasts, that aren’t the top podcasters in the world.
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+And the idea that you’re able to globalize the platform in a way that music is crossing over all boundaries and borders, and similarly, we’re seeing that with podcasts — it’s really unifying the world.
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+You don’t have to look any further than the performance of all the major record labels. The music catalogs are going for record amounts. There are hundreds of artists now earning millions of dollars from Spotify alone. And that’s part of what we wanted to be able to illustrate today.
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+Peter Kafka
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+One thing that’s changed since Spotify’s start is the way that consumers and certainly regulators view big tech platforms. They generally had favorable feelings about them, and now there’s a lot more suspicion of them. You have your own complaint about Apple — you say it has too much power. But it strikes me that in audio, Spotify has so much power that there is likely to be even more suspicion about its motives, and what happens when you give Spotify your data or your livelihood.
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+Dawn Ostroff
+
+
+To start off with, compared to Google, Amazon, or Apple, we’re still very small. We’re not in that league. But we’re incredibly focused on audio. And there should be competition for the tech giants. And that’s what we are. We’re competition for them in this one area.
+
+
+Peter Kafka
+
+
+Since we’re talking about the giants: For years, Apple didn’t seem interested in making a business out of podcasting. It seems to have woken up — I guess because of Spotify — and now seems to have some plans to invest in podcasting and to offer a paid podcast service. What do you think of Apple starting to compete with you in podcasting?
+
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+Dawn Ostroff
+
+
+I can’t comment on their plans. And quite honestly, I have no sense of what their plans are. But we think any company that’s spending money on the audio space is smart. We think the audio industry is still growing — we’ve seen an explosion, but we don’t think we’re anywhere near plateauing yet.
+
+What kind of discussions did you have about whatever kind of blowback Rogan was going to generate? And did those discussions include what would happen if your own employees are upset?
+
+
+Dawn Ostroff
+
+
+In terms of Joe: He’s been held to the same policies that everyone else at our platform has to adhere to. And for us, it’s about having a diverse voice of people, for a global audience — a wide and varied group of people who listen to Spotify. And he happens to remain wildly popular.
+
+
+I can’t comment on our internal discussions, but debate is also a big part of Spotify’s internal corporate culture. And it happens not just with something like Joe Rogan but it happens with different areas of our business. It’s nothing new for us.
+
+
The latest consequence of climate change: The Arctic is now open for business year-round -
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+
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+The Arctic tanker Christophe de Margerie, operated by Sovcomflot, is seen in the Gulf of Ob in northern Russia on February, 18, 2019. | Alexander Ryumin/TASS via Getty Images
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+
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+Global competition in the Arctic is heating up as the year-round sea ice retreats.
+
+
+The Arctic is now open for business year-round after a large commercial ship sailed the Northern Sea Route from Jiangsu, China, to a Russian gas plant on the Arctic coast, for the first time ever during the month of February, when winter temperatures normally make the icy waterway impassable.
+
+
+The tanker, owned by Russian maritime shipping company Sovcomflot, was able to make the trip through the Arctic sea ice because it is no longer frozen all winter due to human-induced global warming.
+
+To get a better understanding of what this new possibility in the Arctic means for the rest of the world, I spoke to Juliette Kayyem, Belfer senior lecturer in international security at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
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+
+Kayyem served in the Obama administration as assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, where she played a key role in handling major operations, including the administration’s response to the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
+
+
+Kayyem reacted on Twitter to the news of the Arctic tanker’s historic trip, writing that the moment was “so consequential you can’t get your head around it.” To find out more about why she thinks this is so monumental, I gave her a call. Our discussion, edited for length and clarity, is below.
+
+
+
+Jariel Arvin
+
+
+What exactly has changed with this news?
+
+
+Juliette Kayyem
+
+
+In the past, trade had to work in a north-to-south way, just because the Arctic had never been navigational. Now ships can go from Europe to China on an east-west route. It’s going to put more competition on the north-south passages to retain their commercial activity.
+
+
+Eighty percent of the world’s goods by volume are shipped by cargo, so this is no joke. For 100 years, cargo has essentially followed the same pathway through the Suez Canal. So, with days cut off transit time, as well as [not having to pay] all the taxes and fees that align with being a port city or canal like the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal — that’s all going to change.
+
+
+Jariel Arvin
+
+
+How does this change, for example, how a Chinese cargo ship would have traveled?
+
+
+Juliette Kayyem
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+
+To do Europe alone, China would have gone from the Netherlands through the Suez Canal — south of India, up to China to Dalian, which is their main area. Now if you look at the route, it’s cut off by half. Now, you can go the northern route, east down. It’s mind-boggling.
+
+
+Jariel Arvin
+
+
+So, Russia and China are obviously going to be interested in moving goods up through that Northern Sea Route. Which other countries will be vying for a stake?
+
+
+Juliette Kayyem
+
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+Japan, Vietnam, Russia, pretty much every country. Australia is going to want to go through there. I mean, why wouldn’t they, since it’s so much shorter? Now there’s going to be pressure and competition. Now you’ve just [opened up]a huge, huge competitive market.
+
+
+Jariel Arvin
+
+
+What about the US?
+
+
+Juliette Kayyem
+
+
+The United States, because we don’t really sign treaties anymore, is not signatory to the Law of the Sea. But we are a member of the Arctic Council, which is a sort of ad hoc [international] system to try to deal with everything in the Arctic, from who has access to what minerals to [how to manage] traffic.
+
+
+Jariel Arvin
+
+
+What do you think will be the impact of this new competition?
+
+
+Juliette Kayyem
+
+
+There are two pieces: the environmental piece and the geopolitical piece. For the environment, this is the equivalent of an ocean opening up. The waters are going to move in ways that they hadn’t moved before. The ice is melting in ways that mean that the water has to go somewhere, and that is going to cause sea level rise, impacting coastal cities throughout the world.
+
+
+
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+Absolutely true. The consequences will be shocking; I described it as imagining an ocean just appears on earth. Where does it go? The climate consequences are immeasurable. The security ones as well. This is what China wanted ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/K8NZMYr9Rv
+
+And the role of human activity in accelerating this change is undeniable. Global warming has impacted the Arctic considerably. As I’ve written for the Boston Globe, it was about a decade ago that things began changing up there in the sense that countries were positioning themselves to take over.
+
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+You’re going to start seeing cruise lines. It’s beautiful up there. So this is why even 10 years ago, I started to feel — anticipatory nauseousness is how I would describe it — anticipatory because we’ve known the opening of the Arctic to all sorts of traffic was going to happen, and nauseous because there’s no question that human-induced climate change was having a major impact.
+
+
+Jariel Arvin
+
+
+So what do you think the future holds for the Arctic in terms of geopolitics?
+
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+Juliette Kayyem
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+You’re going to have a lot of countries with a lot of interest, without a lot of governance, and with a lot of traffic. And that, to me as a security person, spells trouble.
+
+
+Jariel Arvin
+
+
+Why is that trouble?
+
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+Juliette Kayyem
+
+
+Well, it sets off a number of questions which bring up national security concerns. One of them is, who gets what routes when? And who gets to drill where? So let’s say a bunch of geologists discover that there’s a massive oil patch much further out so that no country has ownership of the well. So who gets to drill?
+
+
+Jariel Arvin
+
+
+As of right now, who is in control of helping manage these international tensions in the Arctic?
+
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+Juliette Kayyem
+
+
+These are the kind of issues that the Arctic Council is going to have to deal with. It is also going to have to enforce things like offshore drilling, mineral ownership, traffic, and who gets to go first, which are all tough issues. Accidents are a huge issue. What if there’s an accident? There are now going to be a lot of issues to address.
+
+
+Jariel Arvin
+
+
+Is there anything that can be done about this new reality?
+
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+Juliette Kayyem
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+I think this new reality will mean greater US engagement in the Arctic, so this will be a big test of leadership for the Biden presidency because this is an issue in which we need a counter to Russia and China.
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+
+This also will be a big moment for John Kerry, who was pushing for greater Arctic governance against a Republican Senate when he was secretary of state and couldn’t get it through. It’s something Kerry’s been focused on a long time. And now, wearing the environmental hat as Biden’s climate envoy, the potential for him to get it done is much greater.
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+
From The Hindu: Sports
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Ishant could’ve prioritised white-ball cricket to prolong career but chose to focus on Tests: Kohli - The 32-year-old Ishant is set to become only the second Indian pacer after the legendary Kapil Dev to play in 100 Tests when he takes the field in the day-night third match against England in Ahmedabad
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Sri Lankan batsman Upul Tharanga retires from international cricket - Tharanga, 36, enjoyed more success in ODIs, making 6951 runs at an average of 33.74 in the 235 matches he played since his debut against West Indies in August 2005
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Indian football team to play friendlies against Oman and UAE in March - As part of preparation for the two matches against Oman and UAE in March, the national team will assemble in a camp from March 15
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Pink-ball Test | Spinners will come into play for sure but pacers can’t be ignored either: Kohli - The Indian captain also rejected the assessment that England would have an edge if the pitch favours pacers.
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New Zealand players have been overlooked for second-rate Australians in IPL: Simon Doull - New Zealander Devon Conway smashed a 59-ball 99 and powered his team to a 53-run win over Australia, days after he went unsold in the IPL auction
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+
From The Hindu: National News
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Kushinagar airport gets aerodrome licence - It will boost tourism and facilitate travel on Buddhist circuit: Minister
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HC grants bail to Kathiroor Manoj murder accused - The Kerala High Court on Monday granted bail to first accused Vikaraman and 14 other accused in a case relating to the murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak
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Left-Congress alliance yet to finalise seat-sharing arrangement - We have decided to give Indian Secular Front 20-25 seats, says Left leader
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Women entrepreneurship development programme launched - The local commerce platform, eSamudaay has launched a unique women entrepreneurship programme to enable dynamic and aspiring young women to set up and
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Chamarajanagar gets rapid action team - The District-Rapid Action Team (D-RAT) was launched in Chamarajanagar making it the first district in the State to have trained personnel for rapid re
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From BBC: Europe
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Nika Melia, Georgian opposition leader, is arrested at party HQ - Dramatic video shows Nika Melia barricaded in a room with supporters as police raid his party’s HQ.
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Six Nations: France v Scotland in doubt because of positive coronavirus tests - Scotland’s Six Nations match in Paris on Sunday is thrown into further doubt after five more France players tested positive for coronavirus.
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Extinction: Freshwater fish in ‘catastrophic’ decline - Numbers are plunging due to pollution, unsustainable fishing and the draining of rivers.
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Italian ambassador to DR Congo killed in UN convoy attack - Luca Attanasio and two other people die after his UN convoy is attacked near Goma.
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Spotify to expand into more than 80 new markets - The audio streaming company wants to extend its global reach to include more than a billion extra people.
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+
From Ars Technica
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Here’s the first of Hyundai’s new 800-volt EVs—the Ioniq 5 - Due this fall, it features clever fast-charging tech and an expansive interior. - link
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Epic will pay off class-action loot-box settlement with in-game currency - Fortnite and Rocket League players will get over $78 million in digital goods. - link
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Humans had never seen a spacecraft land on another planet—until now - “I can, and have, watched those videos for hours.” - link
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Microsoft throws Google under the bus in European news fight - Google has blasted “link tax” proposals as antithetical to the open Web. - link
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Huawei’s new $2,800 foldable phone copies Samsung’s Galaxy Fold line - The phone looks great, but can Huawei even get the parts for it? - link
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+
From Jokes Subreddit
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+
A man went to the doctor… -
+
+
+He said, “Doc, you gotta check my leg. Something’s wrong. Just put your ear up to my thigh, you’ll hear it!”
+
+
+The doctor cautiously placed his ear to the man’s thigh only to hear, “Gimme 20 bucks, I really need 20 bucks.”
+
+
+“I’ve never seen or heard anything like this before, how long has this been going on.” The doctor asked.
+
+
+“That’s nothing Doc. put your ear to my knee.”
+
+
+The doctor put his ear to the man’s knee and heard it say “Man, I really need 10 bucks, just lend me 10 bucks!!”
+
+
+“Sir, I really don’t know what to tell you. I’ve never seen anything like this.” The doctor was dumbfounded.
+
+
+“Wait Doc, that’s not it. There’s more, just put your ear up to my ankle,” the man urged him.
+
+
+The doctor did as the man said and was blown away to hear his ankle plead, “Please, I just need 5 bucks. Lend me 5 bucks please if you can.”
+
+
+I have no idea what to tell you," the doctor said. “There’s nothing about it in my books,” he said as he frantically searched all his medical reference books.
+
+
+“I can make a well educated guess though. Based on life and all my previous experience I can tell you that your leg appears to be broke in three places.”
+
A man absolutely hated his wife’s cat and decided to get rid of him one day by driving him 20 blocks from his home and leaving him at the park… -
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+
+As he was getting home, the cat was walking up the driveway.
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+
+The next day he decided to drive the cat 40 blocks away. He put the beast out and headed home.
+
+
+When he reached his driveway, there was the cat.
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+
+He kept taking the cat further and further but the cat would always beat him home.
+
+
+One day he decided to drive hundreds of miles away. He drove out of town, through the desert and into the next state until he reached what he thought was a safe distance from his home. He let the cat out and headed back.
+
+
+Hours later the man calls home to his wife: “Jen, is the cat there?”
+
+
+“Yes,” the wife answers. “Why do you ask?”
+
+
+“Put him on the phone,” the man replies. “I’m lost and need directions.”
+
+A priest gets a taxi. While driving, the taxi driver is being extremely obnoxious. Every time the car gets into a small pit in the road, the taxi driver says “Fuck!” or “Shit!”. The priest is silent. Then they accidentally hit a pothole, and the taxi driver goes “Motherfucker!”. Then they hit a crack in the road and the driver yet again goes “For fuck’s sake!”. The priest cannot handle it no more so he goes: “Sir, why are you cussing every time? Instead of swearing, say”May the Lord have mercy" and all will be fine!".
+
+
+They continue driving. For some unknown reason, the car starts drifting, the driver loses control of his car, get’s its tire into a hatch in the ground so that this tire flies off in the distance, and the car itself is on the verge of turning over, so the driver shouts out: “Lord, have mercy!”, and the car is immediately tipped back on, reversed back on the road, and the tire flies back into its position. The man goes: “Lord, thank you!”, while the priest goes: “Jesus fucking Christ, that’s new!”.
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