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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Regulatory Focus and Perceived Safety with Casual Partners: Implications for Perceived Risk and Casual Sex Intentions During the COVID-19 Pandemic</strong> -
<div>
Motives for security (i.e., prevention focus) or pleasure (i.e., promotion focus) help regulate risk perceptions. Individuals focused on prevention (vs. promotion) tend to be more aware of health risks, more careful in their sexual behaviors, and less likely to take risks with casual partners. However, feeling safer with casual partners seem to mitigate some of these risks. We administered an online survey in English, Spanish, and German at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to 550 participants who were single (57.6% women). Participants predominantly focused on prevention were less fearful of COVID-19 infection, perceived to be well informed about COVID-19, and retrieved their information from scientific sources. Participants predominantly focused on promotion were more fearful of COVID-19 infection and perceived to be well informed about COVID-19 but retrieved their information from non-scientific sources. These participants also had stronger intentions to have casual sex if they felt safer (vs. less safe) with their casual partners. Our findings show the importance of individual motivations and interpersonal dynamics for risk perception and sexual activity during the pandemic.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/wsg89/" target="_blank">Regulatory Focus and Perceived Safety with Casual Partners: Implications for Perceived Risk and Casual Sex Intentions During the COVID-19 Pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Development and external validation of a deep learning-based computed tomography classification system for COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
Rationale: Currently available machine learning models for diagnosing COVID-19 based on computed tomography (CT) images are limited due to concerns regarding methodological flaws or underlying biases in the evaluation process. Objectives: We aimed to develop and externally validate a novel machine learning model that can classify CT image findings as positive or negative for SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Methods: We used 3128 images from a wide variety of two-gate data sources for the development and ablation study of the machine learning model. A total of 633 COVID-19 cases and 2295 non-COVID-19 cases were included in the study. We randomly divided cases into a development set and ablation set at a ratio of 8:2. For the ablation study, we used another dataset including 150 cases of interstitial pneumonia among non-COVID-19 images. For external validation, we used 893 images from 740 consecutive patients at 11 acute care hospitals suspected of having COVID-19 at the time of diagnosis. The dataset included 343 COVID-19 patients. The reference standard was RT-PCR. Result: In ablation study, using interstitial pneumonia images, the specificity of the model were 0.986 for usual interstitial pneumonia pattern, 0.820 for non- specific interstitial pneumonia pattern, 0.400 for organizing pneumonia pattern. In the external validation study, the sensitivity and specificity of the model were 0.869 and 0.432, respectively, at the low-level cutoff, and 0.724 and 0.721, respectively, at the high-level cutoff. Conclusions: Our machine learning model exhibited a high sensitivity in external validation datasets and may assist physicians to rule out COVID-19 diagnosis in a timely manner. Further studies are warranted to improve model specificity.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/j6xhb/" target="_blank">Development and external validation of a deep learning-based computed tomography classification system for COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Real-life protection provided by vaccination, booster doses and previous infection against covid-19 infection, hospitalisation or death over time in the Czech Republic: a whole country retrospective view</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background. Evidence is accumulating that the effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines against infection wanes, reaching relatively low values after 6 months. Published studies demonstrating this effect based their findings on a limited range of vaccines or subset of populations, and did not include booster vaccine doses or immunity obtained due to covid-19 infection. Here we evaluate effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines, booster doses or previous infection against covid-19 infection, hospital admission or death for the whole population in the Czech Republic. Methods. Data used in this study cover the whole population of the Czech Republic reported as infected and/or vaccinated between the first detected case on March 1, 2020 and November 20, 2021 (for reinfections), or December 26, 2020 and November 20, 2021 (for vaccinations), including hospital admissions and deaths. Vaccinations by all vaccines approved in the EU were included in this study. Anonymous, individual-level data including dates of vaccination, infection, hospital admission and death were provided by the the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic. The risks of reinfection, breakthrough infection after vaccination, hospital admission and death were calculated using hazard ratios from a Cox regression adjusted for sex, age, vaccine type and vaccination status. Findings. The vaccine effectiveness against any PCR-confirmed infection declined from 87% (95% CI 86-87) at 0-2 months after the second dose to 53% (95% CI 52-54) at 7-8 months for Comirnaty, from 90% (95% CI 89-91) at 0-2 monthsto 65% (95% CI 63-67) at 7-8 months for Spikevax, and from 83% (95% CI 80-85) at 0-2 months to 55% at (95% CI 54-56) 5-6 months for the Vaxzevria. For Janssen Covid-19 Vaccine we found no significant decline but the estimates are less certain. The vaccine effectiveness against hospital admissions and deaths decayed at a significantly lower rate with about 15%, resp. 10% decline during the first 6-8 months. The administration of a booster dose returns the protection to or above the estimates in the first two months after dose 2. In unvaccinated but previously SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals the protection against PCR-confirmed SARS- CoV-2 infection declined from close to 97% (95% CI 97-97) after 2 months through 90% at 6 months down to 72% (95% CI 65-78) at 18 months. Interpretation. Our results confirm the waning of vaccination-induced immunity against infection and a smaller decline in the protection against hospital admission and death. A booster dose is shown to restore the vaccine effectiveness back to the levels seen soon after the completion of the basic vaccination schedule. The post- infection immunity decreases over time, too. Funding. No external funding was used to conduct this study.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.10.21267590v1" target="_blank">Real-life protection provided by vaccination, booster doses and previous infection against covid-19 infection, hospitalisation or death over time in the Czech Republic: a whole country retrospective view</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Analysing the Correlation between Convolutional Filter Sizes and Classification Accuracy Using MNIST</strong> -
<div>
Handwriting recognition is the process of automatically converting handwritten text into electronic text (letter codes) usable by a computer. The increase in technology reliance during an international pandemic caused by COVID-19 has showcased the importance of ensuring the information stored and digitised is done accurately and efficiently. Interpreting handwriting remains complex for both humans and computers due to the various styles and skewed characters. In this study, we conducted a correlational analysis on the association between filter sizes and the convolutional neural networks (CNN’s) classification accuracy. The testing has been conducted from the publicly available MNIST database of handwritten digits (LeCun and Cortes, 2010). The dataset consists of a training set (N=60,000) and a testing set (N=10,000). Using ANOVA, our results indicate a strong correlation (.000,P≤0.05) between filter size and classification accuracy. However, this significance is only present when increasing the filter size from 1x1 to 2x2. Larger filter sizes were insignificant therefore, a filter size above 2x2 cannot be recommended.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://thesiscommons.org/g7ct6/" target="_blank">Analysing the Correlation between Convolutional Filter Sizes and Classification Accuracy Using MNIST</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Validity Testing of the Conspiratorial Thinking and Anti-Expert Sentiment Scales Across 24 Languages from a Large- Scale Global Dataset</strong> -
<div>
In this study, we tested the validity across two scales addressing conspiratorial beliefs that may influence behaviors related to public health, government, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The 4-item Conspiratorial Thinking Scale and 3-item Anti-Expert Sentiment Scale were validated across 24 languages and dialects using the COVIDiSTRESSII Global Survey dataset, with 12,261 participants who completed the survey in languages with greater than 100 participants per language. We employed confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance test, and measurement alignment for internal consistency testing. To test convergent validity of the two scales, we assessed correlations with trust in seven agents related to government, science, and public health. Although scalar invariance was not achieved when measurement invariance test was conducted initially, we found that both scales can be employed in further international studies with measurement alignment. Moreover, both conspiratorial and anti-expert beliefs were significantly and negatively correlated with trust in all agents. Findings from this study provide supporting evidence for the validity of both scales across 24 languages for future large-scale international research.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html- link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/q3rkj/" target="_blank">Validity Testing of the Conspiratorial Thinking and Anti-Expert Sentiment Scales Across 24 Languages from a Large-Scale Global Dataset</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Disruptiveness of COVID-19: Differences in Course Engagement, Self-appraisal, and Learning</strong> -
<div>
We investigated how the transition to remote instruction amidst the COVID-19 pandemic affected students’ engagement, self-appraisals, and learning in advanced placement (AP) Statistics courses. Participants included 681 (Mage=16.7 years, SDage=.90; %female=55.4) students enrolled in the course during 2017-2018 (N=266), 2018-2019 (N=200), and the pandemic-affected 2019-2020 (N=215) year. Students enrolled during the pandemic- affected year reported a greater improvement in affective engagement but a decrease in cognitive engagement in the spring semester relative to a previous year. Females enrolled in the pandemic-affected year experienced a greater negative change in affective and behavioral engagement. Students enrolled during the pandemic-affected year reported a greater decrease in their anticipated AP exam scores and received lower scores on a practice exam aligned with the AP exam compared to a prior year. Though resilient in some respects, students’ self-appraisal and learning appeared negatively affected by pandemic circumstances.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/b2pxd/" target="_blank">Disruptiveness of COVID-19: Differences in Course Engagement, Self- appraisal, and Learning</a>
</div></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Healthcare workers’ heterogeneous mental-health responses to prolonging Covid-19 pandemic: A full year of monthly follow up in Finland</strong> -
<div>
Purpose: To investigate changes in healthcare workers’ mental-health under prolonging Covid-19 pandemic conditions. Methods: A monthly survey over a full year was conducted for employees of the HUS Helsinki University Hospital (n =</div></li>
</ul>
<ol start="4804" type="1">
<li>between 4th June 2020 to 28th May 2021. Pandemic-related potentially traumatic events (PTEs), work characteristics (e.g., contact to Covid-19 patients), and other covariates were used to predict Mental Health Index-5 (MHI-5) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) in generalized multilevel and latent-class mixed model regressions. Results: Local Covid-19 log-incidence (odds ratio, OR = 1.21, with 95% CI = 1.10–1.60), directly caring for Covid-19 patients (OR = 1.33, CI = 1.10–1.60) and PTEs (OR = 4.57, CI = 3.85–5.43) were all independently associated with low mental health, when (additionally) adjusting for age, sex, profession, and calendar time (a 5th degree polynomial expansion). Independence from time suggests effects of incidence change in time. Effects of local Covid-19 incidence on sleep were fully dependent on time. Latent mental-health trajectories were characterized by a large class of “stable mental health” and minority classes for “early shock, improving” and “early resilience, deteriorating” mental health. The minority classes, especially “early shock, improving”, were more likely to live alone and be exposed to PTEs than others. Conclusion: Healthcare workers face increasingly heterogeneous mental-health challenges as the Covid-19 pandemic prolongs. Adversity and mental ill-being may accumulate in some employees. More research is needed on the factors affecting employees’ resilience to the prolonging pandemic. Living arrangements may play a role.
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/59h2j/" target="_blank">Healthcare workers’ heterogeneous mental-health responses to prolonging Covid-19 pandemic: A full year of monthly follow up in Finland</a>
</div></li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The T cell receptor repertoire reflects the dynamics of the immune response to vaccination</strong> -
<div>
Early, high-resolution metrics are needed to ascertain the immune response to vaccinations. The T cell receptor (TCR), a heterodimer of one and one {beta} chain, is a promising target, with the complete TCR repertoire reflecting the T cells present in an individual. To this end, we developed Tseek, an unbiased and accurate method for profiling the TCR repertoire by sequencing the TCR and {beta} chains and developing a suite of tools for repertoire analysis. An added advantage is the ability to non-invasively analyze T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Tseek and the analytical suite were used to explore the T cell response to both the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (n=9) and the seasonal inactivated Influenza vaccine (n=5) at several time points. Neutralizing antibody titers were also measured in the covid vaccine samples. The COVID-19 vaccine elicited a broad T cell response involving multiple expanded clones, whereas the Influenza vaccine elicited a narrower response involving fewer clones. Many distinct T cell clones responded at each time point, over a month, providing temporal details lacking in the antibody measurements, especially before the antibodies are detectable. In individuals recovered from a SARS-CoV-2 infection, the first vaccine dose elicited a robust T cell response, while the second dose elicited a comparatively weaker response, indicating a saturation of the response. The physical symptoms experienced by the recipients immediately following the vaccinations were not indicative of the TCR/antibody responses, while a weak TCR response seemed to presage a weak antibody response. We also found that the TCR repertoire acts as an individual fingerprint: donors of blood samples taken years apart could be identified solely based upon their TCR repertoire, hinting at other surprising uses the TCR repertoire may have. These results demonstrate the promise of TCR repertoire sequencing as an early and sensitive measure of the adaptive immune response to vaccination, which can help improve immunogen selection and optimize vaccine dosage and spacing between doses.
</div></li>
</ul>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.09.471735v1" target="_blank">The T cell receptor repertoire reflects the dynamics of the immune response to vaccination</a>
</div>
<ul>
<li><strong>Maternal Prenatal Somatization, Postnatal Depression, and Offspring Temperament During the COVID-19 Pandemic</strong> -
<div>
Background. Researchers have begun to examine the psychological toll of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. Data are now emerging indicating that there may be long-term adverse effects of the pandemic on new mothers and on children born during this period. Methods. In a longitudinal study of maternal mental health and child emotional development during the pandemic, we conducted online assessments of a cohort of women at two time points: when they were pregnant at the beginning of the surge of the pandemic in the United States (N=725), and approximately one year postpartum (N=296), examining prenatal and postnatal maternal mental health symptoms and infant temperament. Results. Prenatal maternal symptoms of somatization, the number of people in the household with COVID-19 symptoms, and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms all were positively associated with infant negative affect. Further, postnatal maternal depressive symptoms mediated the relation between prenatal maternal symptoms of somatization and infant negative affect. Conclusions. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the persistence of mental health symptoms in potentially vulnerable groups and of the emotional development of children who were in utero during the COVID-19 pandemic.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/sryx8/" target="_blank">Maternal Prenatal Somatization, Postnatal Depression, and Offspring Temperament During the COVID-19 Pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>California Wildfire Exposure, Vulnerability, and Mental Health: Who gets to recover and who does not?</strong> -
<div>
One of the various aftereffects of persistent climate change is an upsurge in the frequency, severity, and effect of wildfires on the wellbeing of suffering communities. The destruction and wreckage of one’s home, properties, and the surrounding neighborhood, as well as the threat to one’s psychological safety and the safety of loved ones, can have long-term effects on survivors’ mental health. The central goal of this study, therefore, is threefold. Firstly, identify the significant qualitative and quantitative studies that examine the impacts of wildfire on mental health. This study mainly focuses on studies that capture the effects of wildfire, smoke, and air quality in California and how that affected the local communities based on their vulnerability determinants. Secondly, the study examines both types of studies to find common grounds regarding the most vulnerable population and their mental health, their ability to seek professional help, and barriers to the road to recovery. Finally, this study provides evidence-based strategies for including more vulnerable members of society in receiving sufficient and timely psychological care to recover from PTSD, trauma, distress, and hopelessness. Migrant farmworkers, particularly younger female Hispanic and indigenous workers, suffer from the wildfire’s long-term stress, PTSD, depression, and emotional distress. Furthermore, the continued COVID-19 deepens the gap, social stigma, and barriers to receiving sufficient mental health care to recover and rehabilitate traumatic wildfire exposure. A localized mental healthcare support system based on equity, with flexible infrastructure and greater accessibility, promises to be more efficient and advantageous for underrepresented and vulnerable individuals seeking mental health treatment and quick recovery.
</div>
<div class="article-link article- html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/qs2a8/" target="_blank">California Wildfire Exposure, Vulnerability, and Mental Health: Who gets to recover and who does not?</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Educational Assessment Experiences of College Students during COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
To better understand the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on today’s college students and tomorrow’s workforce, a survey was administered to 992 U.S. college students (Meanage=22.36 years, SDage=5.24; %female=53.3) between February and June 2021 on academic assessment practices they experienced before and after COVID-19. Females reported greater test anxiety and lower computer self-efficacy; neither varied based on race/ethnicity nor parental education. Most reported a transition to an online modality during the COVID-19 outbreak with a decrease in classroom assessments. Though classroom assessment formats appeared to change minimally, assessment administration changed markedly during the pandemic-affected period. Untimed and open-book assessments became more common. Assessments administered in-class and in-person proctored became less frequent. Interestingly, during spring 2021, as many colleges returned to in-person instruction, open-book, outside of class, and exams proctored online or unproctored remained common, suggesting a persistent shift in assessment administration practices. Students generally did not feel that exams covered any less content, however cheating was a concern. Most indicated it was difficult to concentrate and reported the idea of taking an exam was stressful during the pandemic, though many still believed that it is important to have assessments to demonstrate learning. Some noted they no longer planned to take certain standardized exams (e.g., GRE) given changes in admission requirements of post-baccalaureate academic programs. Some felt deterred from pursuing further education, yet others felt more inclined given perceptions of a highly competitive job market. Implications of these findings are discussed.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/kq5yd/" target="_blank">Educational Assessment Experiences of College Students during COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>iCOPE with COVID-19: A Brief Telemental Health Intervention for Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic</strong> -
<div>
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted unprecedented disruptions to the daily lives of children and adolescents worldwide, which has been associated with an increase of anxiety and depressive symptoms in youth. However, due to public health measures, in-person psychosocial care has been affected causing barriers to mental health care access. This study investigated the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of iCOPE with COVID-19, a brief telemental health intervention for children and adolescents to address anxiety symptoms. Sessions were provided exclusively using videoconferencing technology. Feasibility and acceptability were measured with client satisfaction data. The main outcome measure for effectiveness was anxiety symptom severity measured using the Screen for Child Anxiety and Related Disorders (SCARED). Results indicated that the treatment was well accepted by participants. Significant reductions in anxiety were noted for social anxiety, and were observed to be trending towards a mean decrease for total anxiety. The findings suggest that this brief telemental health intervention focused on reducing anxiety related to COVID-19 is acceptable and feasible to children and adolescents. Future research using a large sample and with a longer follow-up period could inform whether symptom decreases are sustained over time.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/jk32s/" target="_blank">iCOPE with COVID-19: A Brief Telemental Health Intervention for Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Lockdown experiences and views on future research participation of autistic adults in the UK during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic</strong> -
<div>
The COVID-19 lockdown was a set of nationwide public health restrictions in force on the UK from March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Co-occurring anxiety and depression in autistic people placed them at heightened risk of potential adverse mental health due to the lockdown. Furthermore, the impact of current and future public health measures on autistic people’s willingness to take part in autism research was unknown. We carried out in-depth interviews with 31 autistic adults exploring their experiences of the COVID-19 lockdown and how the pandemic may affect future research participation. Transcripts were analysed thematically within a critical realism framework. Participants identified positive aspects of lockdown such as enjoying the lack of social pressures and using their well-developed skills for dealing with uncertainty. Autistic people also shared challenges of adjusting to lockdown, e.g., rapid change in daily routines. While hopeful about the freedom gained from easing restrictions, participants were concerned about the inconsistent communication and application of rules during the transition out of lockdown which may exacerbate already rising mental health issues among autistic people. The participants viewed research participation and engagement with increased relevance during the pandemic and welcomed efforts to conduct research using online methods of communication. The COVID-19 lockdown had a varied effect in the lives and routines of autistic people. However, healthcare providers and researchers need to be mindful of rising mental health issues during the pandemic, especially for people who were already vulnerable. The response to the pandemic may have offered opportunities for innovation in research processes enabling more autistic people to engage with research and making studies more inclusive.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/ncbem/" target="_blank">Lockdown experiences and views on future research participation of autistic adults in the UK during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Icon Arrays Reduce Concern Over COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects: A Randomized Control Study</strong> -
<div>
On April 13, 2021, the CDC announced that the administration of Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine would be paused due to a rare blood clotting side effect in ~0.0001% of people given the vaccine. Most people who are hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine list potential side effects as their main concern (PEW, 2021); thus, it is likely that this announcement increased vaccine hesitancy among the American public. Two days after the CDC’s announcement, we administered a survey to a group of 2,046 Americans to assess their attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines. The aim of this study was to investigate best practices for communicating information about the risk of side effects to the public. We found that the use of icon arrays to illustrate the small chance of experiencing the blood clotting side effect greatly decreased reported aversion toward the Johnson and Johnson vaccine as well as all other COVID-19 vaccines.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/dcx8p/" target="_blank">Icon Arrays Reduce Concern Over COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects: A Randomized Control Study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Niche diversity influences psychometric properties of a brief personality scale – evidence from representative samples during the COVID-19 pandemic</strong> -
<div>
Recent studies using more diverse samples have questioned the applicability of the Big Five. It needs to be shown how robust measures of the big five are and whether any deviations are systematic or random. We present validity information on a ten-item personality measure applied to population samples in 16 nations during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (N=35,052). Overall, we found poor replicability and low reliability of the five-factor structure of personality. We then test whether variation is systematically related to ecological, economic or stress-related variables. Personality structure replicability measured via averaged Tucker’s Φ values was correlated with niche diversity data (Human development index, rate of urbanization, diversity of export goods) and national wealth, but not reliably related with COVID-19 (gross domestic product per capita). and death rates per million citizens during the study period. These patterns overall suggest that a) personality structure in brief measures need to be carefully tested prior to any substantive interpretations of the personality data and b) that systematic socioecological factors have an impact on survey responses to personality inventories.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/5jva9/" target="_blank">Niche diversity influences psychometric properties of a brief personality scale – evidence from representative samples during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Double-blind Randomized Controlled Trial of Ivermectin With Favipiravir in Mild-to-moderate COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Ivermectin Tablets;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Mahidol University;   Prince of Songkla University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Using MOST to Optimize an Intervention to Increase COVID-19 Testing for Frontline Essential Workers</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   COVID-19 Testing<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Motivational interviewing</li>
</ul>
<ol start="1001" type="I">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">counseling;   Behavioral: Text messages (TMs) and quiz questions (QQs);   Behavioral: Peer education;   Behavioral: Access to COVID testing<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   New York University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Australian Phase 2/3b Study to Assess Effectiveness of a Protein-based Covid-19 Vaccine (Spikogen)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Spikogen/Covax-19<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:  <br/>
Vaxine Pty Ltd;   Australian Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Institute;   Cinnagen<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>COVID-19 Administration of Single-Dose Subcutaneous Anti- Spike(s) SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibodies Casirivimab and Imdevimab in High-Risk Pediatric Participants Under 12 Years of Age</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: casirivimab+imdevimab<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>GlowTest COVID-19 Antigen Home Test Kit QRI Use Study</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid 19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: GlowTest COVID-19 Antigen Home Test<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Arion Bio;   CSSi Life Sciences<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of Different COVID-19 Vaccine Combinations in Inducing Long-term Humoral Immunity [PRIBIVAC]</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Homologous mRNA booster vaccine;   Biological: Heterologous mRNA booster vaccine;   Biological: Non-mRNA booster vaccine A;   Biological: Non- mRNA booster vaccine B;   Biological: Non-mRNA booster vaccine C<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Tan Tock Seng Hospital;   A*Star;   Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School;   KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study of GRT-R910 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Boost Vaccine in Healthy Volunteers</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: GRT-R910 booster 113 days after prime;   Biological: GRT-R910 booster 28 days after prime<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Gritstone Oncology, Inc.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Immunogenicity of COVID-19 Vaccine, Inactivated in Healthy Population Aged From 3 to 11 Years</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine,Inactivated<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sinovac Biotech Co., Ltd<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study of Immunogenicity Equivalence of a Homologous Third Dose of Covid-19 (Recombinante) Vaccine</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Covid -19 (recombinante) vaccine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   The Immunobiological Technology Institute (Bio-Manguinhos) / Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz)<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of a Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail for the Prevention of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: ADM03820;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:  <br/>
Ology Bioservices;   Enabling Biotechnologies (EB)<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Communities Fighting COVID-19!</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: COVID-19 Testing Home-based (Aim 1);   Other: COVID-19 Testing Mobile (Aim 1);   Other: COVID-19 Testing Mobile Approach 1 (Aim 2);   Other: COVID-19 Testing Mobile Approach 2 (Aim 2)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   San Diego State University;   National Cancer Institute (NCI)<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Usefulness of DORNASE in COVID-19 on HFNO</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pneumonia<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Procedure: inhalations<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
University Medical Centre Ljubljana<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Communities Fighting COVID Return to School</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: At-home COVID-19 testing;   Behavioral: Family- based model;   Behavioral: Onsite COVID-19 testing<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   San Diego State University;   Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Phase Ⅱ and Ⅲ Trial of a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine LYB001</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: LYB001;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Yantai Patronus Biotech Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Effect of Micellized Food Supplements on Health-related Quality of Life in Patients With Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Dietary Supplement: Curcumin/Boswellia Serrata/Ascorbic acid mixture<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   PhysioMetrics<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Virus-inspired hollow mesoporous gadolinium-bismuth nanotheranostics for magnetic resonance imaging-guided synergistic photodynamic-radiotherapy</strong> - The anti-tumor efficacy of single photodynamic therapy (PDT) and radiotherapy (RT) has been greatly affected by inadequate tumor uptake of photo/radiation sensitizers, limited laser penetration depth, and radiation sickness caused by high doses of X-rays. Here, we report a biomimetic coronavirus-inspired hollow mesoporous gadolinium/bismuth nanocarrier loaded with a new NIR photosensitizer HB (referred to as HB@VHMBi-Gd) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided synergistic photodynamic-RT….</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Author Correction: Amantadine inhibits known and novel ion channels encoded by SARS-CoV-2 in vitro</strong> - No abstract</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The short isoform of the host antiviral protein ZAP acts as an inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 programmed ribosomal frameshifting</strong> - Programmed ribosomal frameshifting (PRF) is a fundamental gene expression event in many viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. It allows production of essential viral, structural and replicative enzymes that are encoded in an alternative reading frame. Despite the importance of PRF for the viral life cycle, it is still largely unknown how and to what extent cellular factors alter mechanical properties of frameshift elements and thereby impact virulence. This prompted us to comprehensively dissect the…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Plant lectins as prospective antiviral biomolecules in the search for COVID-19 eradication strategies</strong> - Lectins or clusters of carbohydrate-binding proteins of non-immune origin are distributed chiefly in the Plantae. Lectins have potent anti-infectivity properties for several RNA viruses including SARS-CoV-2. The primary purpose of this review is to review the ability of lectins mediated potential biotherapeutic and bioprophylactic strategy against coronavirus causing COVID-19. Lectins have binding affinity to the glycans of SARS-COV-2 Spike glycoprotein that has N-glycosylation sites. Apart from…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A rapid real-time polymerase chain reaction-based live virus microneutralization assay for detection of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in blood/serum</strong> - CONCLUSION: We describe a rapid RT-PCR-based SARS-CoV-2 microneutralization assay for the detection of neutralizing antibodies. This can effectively be used to test the antiviral activity of serum antibodies for the investigation of both disease-driven and vaccine-induced responses.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Unexplained arterial thrombosis: approach to diagnosis and treatment</strong> - Arterial thrombotic events in younger patients without a readily apparent etiology present significant diagnostic and management challenges. We present a structured approach to diagnosis with consideration of common causes, including atherosclerosis and embolism, as well as uncommon causes, including medications and substances, vascular and anatomic abnormalities, systemic disorders, and thrombophilias. We highlight areas of management that have evolved within the past 5 years, including the use…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Is pregnancy a risk factor for in-hospital mortality in reproductive-aged women with SARS-CoV-2 infection? A nationwide retrospective observational cohort study</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: With the adjustment for intervention that was shown to be an independent factor associated with mortality, pregnancy appeared to have a favorable effect on SARS-CoV-2 infection. Given the immunosuppressed state of pregnancy, this finding is in line with the hypothetical protective role of a weaker immune response that inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokine. With the adjustment for intervention, pregnancy was found associated with more favorable outcome of COVID-19, in…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Report on Multi-Target Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Phytoconstituents from <em>Monochoria hastata</em> (Family: <em>Pontederiaceae</em>)</strong> - This study aims to investigate the potential analgesic properties of the crude extract of Monochoria hastata (MH) leaves using in vivo experiments and in silico analysis. The extract, in a dose-dependent manner, exhibited a moderate analgesic property (~54% pain inhibition in acetic acid-induced writhing test), which is significant (** p &lt; 0.001) as compared to the control group. The complex inflammatory mechanism involves diverse pathways and they are inter- connected. Therefore, multiple…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Computational Simulation of HIV Protease Inhibitors to the Main Protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2: Implications for COVID-19 Drugs Design</strong> - SARS-CoV-2 is highly homologous to SARS-CoV. To date, the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is regarded as an important drug target for the treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Some experiments confirmed that several HIV protease inhibitors present the inhibitory effects on the replication of SARS-CoV-2 by inhibiting Mpro. However, the mechanism of action has still not been studied very clearly. In this work, the interaction mechanism of four HIV protease inhibitors Darunavir…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Involvement of the ACE2/Ang-(1-7)/MasR Axis in Pulmonary Fibrosis: Implications for COVID-19</strong> - Pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic, fibrotic lung disease affecting 3 million people worldwide. The ACE2/Ang-(1-7)/MasR axis is of interest in pulmonary fibrosis due to evidence of its anti-fibrotic action. Current scientific evidence supports that inhibition of ACE2 causes enhanced fibrosis. ACE2 is also the primary receptor that facilitates the entry of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 is associated with a myriad of symptoms ranging from asymptomatic…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Development of a PROTAC-Based Targeting Strategy Provides a Mechanistically Unique Mode of Anti-Cytomegalovirus Activity</strong> - Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a major pathogenic herpesvirus that is prevalent worldwide and it is associated with a variety of clinical symptoms. Current antiviral therapy options do not fully satisfy the medical needs; thus, improved drug classes and drug-targeting strategies are required. In particular, host-directed antivirals, including pharmaceutical kinase inhibitors, might help improve the drug qualities. Here, we focused on utilizing PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs), i.e.,…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy, Safety and Future Perspectives of JAK Inhibitors in the IBD Treatment</strong> - Although development of biologics has importantly improved the effectiveness in inducing and maintaining remission in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), biologic therapies still have several limitations. Effective, low-cost drug therapy with good safety profile and compliance is therefore a substantial unmet medical need. A promising target for IBD treatment strategies are Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, which are small molecules that interact with cytokines implicated in pathogenesis of IBD. In…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Management and Outcome in Patients with Heart Failure</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Mortality rates in HF patients infected with COVID-19 were high. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the reduced usage of health services but without increased overall mortality.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Prevalence and Outcomes Associated with Hyperuricemia in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19</strong> - CONCLUSION: In patients admitted to the hospital for COVID-19, higher serum UA levels were independently associated with AKI, MAKE, and in-hospital mortality in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, hyperuricemia was associated with higher procalcitonin and troponin I levels.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Discovery of 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene derivatives as SARS-CoV-2 3CL(pro) inhibitors for treating COVID-19</strong> - The epidemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has now spread worldwide and efficacious therapeutics are urgently needed. 3-Chymotrypsin-like cysteine protease (3CL^(pro)) is an indispensable protein in viral replication and represents an attractive drug target for fighting COVID-19. Herein, we report the discovery of 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene derivatives as non-peptidomimetic and non-covalent inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>METHODS OF TREATING SARS-COV-2 INFECTION</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU344309338">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>REAL-TIME REST BREAK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR WORKPLACE</strong> - The present invention relates to a real-time rest break management system for workplace that comprises of a work desk, wherein first portion is incorporated with a biometric unit 4 for authenticating first user, and a second portion with a telescopic panel 2 associated with a weight sensor 6 and timer unit 7 calculating weight of head/hand manifesting user presence and their resting time period is mounted with an inflated cushion 5, an interactive primary display unit 1 attached over desk enables user to set first/second threshold time for sleeping/taking break, further linked with a tracking interface keeping track of activities and a vibrating unit crafted inside the cushion 5 which is linked to a secondary display unit 8 of second user, giving them access to actuate vibrating unit generating impulses to wake first user when threshold time period is exceeded by the first user. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN342791215">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>P2P 네트워크를 이용한 내장된 화상회의 시스템</strong> - 본 발명은 P2P 네트워크를 이용한 내장된 화상회의 시스템에 관한 것으로, 상태표시부(1), 영상송출부(2), 제어부(3), 광고부(4), 입력부(5)를 포함한다. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=KR342781397">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A DOORBELL SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND RECORDING A PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA OF A PERSON</strong> - AbstractTitle: A doorbell system for monitoring and recording a physiological data of a person The present invention provides a doorbell system 500 for monitoring and recording a physiological data of a person. The doorbell system 500 having a transmitter module 100 and a receiving module 200. The transmitter module 100 is having a TOF sensor module 110, an ultrasound detector 120, and an infrared detector 130. Further, a speech recognition system 150, a facial recognition system 160, and a temperature detector 190 are provided for recognizing speech, face, and temperature of the person by comparing pre-stored data. A controlling module 180 is set with a predefined commands for communicating with the transmitter module 100 and receiving module 200. The collected facial and speech data is compared and matched with the pre-stored data then the temperature detector 190 triggers and the door opens when the captured body temperature of the person is matched within the predefined range of temperature.Figure 1 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN340503637">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A study of contemporary trends in investing patterns, household savings, and economic investment.</strong> - Because household savings and household investments are intertwined and interdependent, they are discussed briefly in this paper. Household savings account for more than half of a country’s capital formation, which fluctuates due to a variety of economic factors such as inflation and interest rates. Households should gradually shift their savings and investments from physical assets to financial assets to avoid a sudden change in wealth. They should also save and invest using a variety of platforms. Trends in investing and saving will be easier to track and measure this way. This year’s domestic saving rate in India is 2.3 percent lower than last year’s and 1.2 percent lower than the year before. Since 2011, general domestic savings have been steadily declining, with the trend continuing into the following year. According to official data, the GDP in 2020 shrank by 23.9%, the least in previous years and the least since the Covid-19 pandemic in previous years. As a result, the information presented in this paper is drawn from and evaluated from other sources - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN340502149">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>靶向刺激体液免疫和细胞免疫的新冠病毒mRNA疫苗</strong> - 本发明公开了一种靶向刺激体液免疫和细胞免疫的新冠病毒mRNA疫苗。本申请的第一方面提供一种分离的DNA分子组合，该DNA分子组合包括第一DNA分子和第二DNA分子和第三DNA分子中的至少一种。通过第一DNA分子以及第二DNA分子和/或第三DNA分子的组合，利用第一DNA分子最终合成的mRNA诱导高滴度的交叉中和抗体，利用第二DNA分子和/或第三DNA分子最终合成的mRNA诱导新冠病毒特异性的细胞毒性T淋巴细胞，从而高效地同时激活相对独立的体液免疫应答和细胞免疫应答，应对新冠病毒在流行传播过程中产生的突变毒株所引发的突破性感染。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN343418093">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶2抑制剂在制备治疗和/或预防冠状病毒感染药物中的用途</strong> - 本发明公开了跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶2抑制剂在制备治疗和/或预防冠状病毒感染药物中的用途。本发明通过亲和垂钓及活性导向分离获得3种化合物，证实该类化合物可以直接地与跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶2结合，KD&lt;13μM，且能够显著抑制跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶2的催化活性。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，表明该类化合物对于制备治疗和/或预防病毒感染药物具有非常积极的作用。化合物1 化合物2 化合物3。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN343418164">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>PROLIPOSOMAL DRY POWDER INHALER OF REMDESIVIR</strong> - The present invention is related to Proliposomal Dry Powder Inhaler of Remdesivir and its method thereof for the treatment of viral infections such Coronaviridae (including COVID-19 infection). - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN342291904">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Use of Diminazene Aceturate, Xanthenone, ACE 2 activators or analogs for the Treatment and therapeutic use of COVID-19 on human patients.</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU340325322">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>ACTIVE RIDER SAFETY SYSTEM FOR TWO WHEELERS</strong> - The present invention relates to an active rider safety system for two wheelers comprising, a protective case equipped by a user for riding, where the case is integrated with multiple piezoelectric sensor that determines fastening of the case by user, a processing unit linked to the sensor, where the unit detects absence of case upon fetching data from the sensor below a threshold value and thereby terminates operation of ignition by stopping a coupled motor operated via a radio frequency module, an alcohol detection sensor that detects presence of alcohol and send data to processing unit, a temperature sensor that measures temperature of the user, an accelerometer sensor that activates upon ignition us tuned on to determine presence of a crash and a navigation module that via communication module sends location of user to pre saved users and concerned authorities. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN340503361">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Secret History of the U.S. Diplomatic Failure in Afghanistan</strong> - A trove of unreleased documents reveals a dispiriting record of misjudgment, hubris, and delusion that led to the fall of the Western-backed government. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/20/the-secret-history-of-the-us-diplomatic-failure-in-afghanistan">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>An Astounding List of Artists Helped Persuade the Met to Remove the Sackler Name</strong> - Richard Serra, Kara Walker, and Ai Weiwei were among a group of more than seventy that quietly pressured the museum to end its association with the family that made a fortune on the opioid crisis. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/an-astounding-list-of-artists-helped-persuade-the-met-to-remove-the-%20sackler-name">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Man Who Predicted Climate Change</strong> - In the nineteen-sixties, Syukuro Manabe drew a graph that foretold our world today—and what’s to come. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/persons-of-interest/the-man-who-predicted-climate-change">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Former BuzzFeed Employees Missed Their Big Payday</strong> - When the company went public this past week, ex-staffers learned something alarming: they were unable to sell the stock that they had waited years to trade. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/how-former-buzzfeed-employees-missed-their-big-payday">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Vegan Bodega Sandwiches That Eric Adams Wants to See in the World</strong> - A New York City startup is putting plant-based chopped cheese, butter rolls, and egg sandwiches on the menu at deli counters around town. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-vegan-bodega-sandwiches-that-eric-adams-wants-to-%20see-in-the-world">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>The state of the shrinking Build Back Better Act</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/a8xA8Jf_Z12qD9aLKNqbdlwsB2w=/369x0:4029x2745/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70263998/GettyImages_1237125430.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Activists gather near where Senator Joe Manchin’s boat is docked in Washington, DC, on December 9. They are encouraging him to help pass the Build Back Better Act. | Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
It’s still quite large, but it’s been compromised down, and more changes lie ahead in the Senate.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LLiDIw">
All of the twists and turns in the saga of the Build Back Better Act have just been prologue. Now, it’s time for Democratic senators to determine what will really make it in the final product and whether President Joe Biden’s signature bill will pass at all.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="reIGgD">
Much of that comes down to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who <a href="https://twitter.com/awprokop/status/1468350457496190980/photo/1">expressed skepticism</a> about Build Back Better Wednesday. The bill, he said, would make major changes to three main areas: the tax system, social services, and the energy sector. “We should all be very careful what we do,” Manchin said. “We get any of those wrong, and we’re in trouble.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bKEhN5">
Back in August, I wrote that the proposed bill would be “<a href="https://www.vox.com/22577374/reconciliation-bill-biden-medicare-climate">a big fucking deal</a>” if it passed. Various changes and compromises have been made to it since then, weakening or eliminating some — but certainly not all — of its most significant provisions. What remains in the House-passed bill does break down mainly into the three areas Manchin described.
</p>
<ul>
<li id="CIH0wC">
<strong>Social spending</strong>: A compromised effort to expand the social welfare state and help families with children, with several new programs created but set to expire in a few years (this includes <a href="https://www.vox.com/22744837/house-senate-democrats-build-back-better-child-care">child care funding</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22796061/universal-preschool-pre-k-biden-build-back-better">pre-K expansion</a>, and a continuation of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22543868/biden-child-tax-credit-
july-15-monthly-payment">expanded child tax credit</a>) as well as various funding for health care programs (like home- based care through Medicaid and hearing for seniors through Medicare)
</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jCejhg">
<strong>Climate</strong>: A lot of money aimed at fighting climate change, primarily through tax credits for clean energy, but not including many punitive policies toward dirty energy
</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HFQgXl">
<strong>Taxes</strong>: New tax changes that are projected to raise much more money from the very wealthy and corporations but also a large tax cut for well-off people in high-tax (mostly blue) states
</li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Zz5BkG">
Then there’s various other spending on a plethora of different issues and projects, including more money for existing affordable housing programs, and measures to give unauthorized immigrants temporary work permits and increase legal immigration.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4cHMS0">
But major changes will lie ahead as the Senate hammers out its own version. Manchin’s vote is essential, and he’s said he’s worried the bill creates too many temporary social programs and may seek additional changes to the climate provisions too. That tax change benefiting wealthy blue state residents <a href="https://itep.org/latest-proposal-from-senate-democrats-would-bar-the-rich-from-
salt-cap-relief/">may be scaled back</a> by senators. And the chamber’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/9/12/22669790/budget-reconciliation-democrats-immigration-senate-
parliamentarian">parliamentarian</a> has to determine whether major provisions on immigration and other issues comply with the chamber’s rules. So none of this is set in stone just yet.
</p>
<h3 id="ZPyonC">
New social spending programs — many of which may not last long
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lpxMlL">
Most of the bill’s spending — more than half in the House’s version — is devoted to expanding the social welfare state. (All cost estimates quoted in this article are from the <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/57627">Congressional Budget Office’s analysis</a>.) We can think of that spending as falling into two main buckets: spending to help families with children and spending on health care.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f2qPpu">
First, many of the most sweeping provisions in the bill have the common goal of financially helping families with children. But there’s a catch: In an effort to please moderates who demanded the overall cost of the bill be kept down, Democrats have set several of these programs to last for only a limited time, gambling that they’ll end up being popular and that Republicans will agree to let them continue if they hold power later. They include:
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FAHMc6">
<strong>The expanded child tax credit</strong>: As a pandemic relief measure, Congress expanded the child tax credit for this year, making it significantly larger (for all families except the rich) and having it go out in monthly payments. They also made the credit available even to poor families earning no taxable income at all (who had so often been left out of previous antipoverty policies due to work requirements). But these changes are set to expire at the end of this year.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NMUYj4">
The Build Back Better Act would also make the credit’s increased availability to the poorest families permanent. Many antipoverty crusaders and policy wonks think this latter part is the best social spending in Build Back Better, with <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/03/extending-this-provision-of-the-child-tax-
credit-will-slash-poverty-by-19percent.html">one estimate</a> saying it could cut child poverty in the US by 19 percent.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dk1WxN">
The bill would also keep the “supersized” child tax credit for all but the wealthiest families going — but just for one more year. So overall this adds up to a cost of about $184 billion over 10 years. (If the expanded child tax credit was expanded for a full decade, it would cost more than $1 trillion in that span.)
</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/5_vqGJVnbfxyXa3lxICoDd6_8ng=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23080138/AP21342045831831.jpg"/> <cite>AP</cite>
<figcaption>
A demonstrator blocks Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, on December 7 to call for the continuation of the expanded child tax credit in the Build Back Better bill.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hsVMUg">
<strong>The child care plan</strong>: The bill includes an ambitious plan to help millions of families with children under age 6 get affordable child care for the first time, subsidizing most or all of the cost of their care at licensed providers. It’s also a plan that’s been the subject of intense debate, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22744837/house-senate-democrats-build-back-
better-child-care">as I wrote recently</a> — critics fear it could lead to shortages or drive up prices while supporters argue that an influx of federal money would improve a broken system.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uFuTOf">
The catch here is that the bill only fully funds this plan for three years — 2025 to 2027. In the three years before that, subsidies will gradually be expanded to more Americans. But in 2028, the subsidies vanish. So on paper, the childcare plan costs $273 billion over 10 years, per CBO, but a fully funded version would likely cost more than $600 billion.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f4c3Gs">
<strong>Expanded pre-K</strong>: The bill also devotes about $109 billion to funding state expansions of pre-K programs — though here too, the federal money will vanish after six years, in 2028. The White House argues that this would provide “universal pre-K” but there are questions about whether they can truly make good on that promise, as my colleague <a href="https://www.vox.com/22796061/universal-preschool-pre-k-biden-build-back-better">Fabiola Cineas has written</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Rum4C2">
<strong>Paid leave: </strong>Finally, the House bill also has the federal government, working through private insurers, help fund paid leave for workers who become new parents or who are seriously ill. But Manchin has said he is opposed to including this at all, and the White House has already <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/28/president-biden-announces-the-build-back-
better-framework/">agreed to drop it</a>, at his behest. So it seems this won’t end up in the final version.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LpcAU6">
Health care is the other major category of the bill’s new social spending. The biggest-ticket item is about $146 billion for in-home care for seniors and the disabled <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/11/19/elder-care-biden-spending-plan/">through Medicaid</a>. The bill would also expand Medicare <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/potential-costs-and-impact-of-health-
provisions-in-the-build-back-better-act/">to cover hearing benefits</a>, <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-
costs/issue-brief/potential-costs-and-impact-of-health-provisions-in-the-build-back-better-act/#one">fund the subsidies </a>that help people pay for Obamacare individual insurance plans for a few more years, allow the federal government to <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/explaining-the-prescription-drug-provisions-in-the-build-back-better-
act/">negotiate some prescription drug prices</a> in the hopes of driving those prices down, and <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/potential-costs-and-impact-of-health-provisions-in-the-build-back-
better-act/#five">pay for coverage</a> for low-income individuals in states that did not expand Medicaid.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="57Zkmt">
The potential trouble ahead is that Manchin <a href="https://twitter.com/awprokop/status/1468350457496190980">has said he’s not thrilled</a> with the approach of funding many programs only for a few years (though this is not uncommon congressional budgeting practice). He <a href="https://reason.com/2021/11/01/manchin-bidens-new-spending-plan-relies-on-shell-games-and-budget-gimmicks/">said Democrats</a> have relied on “shell games” and “budget gimmicks” to hide the true costs of their bill. If he holds firm on this, it could mean major changes to this part of the bill — certain programs may have to be dropped entirely.
</p>
<h3 id="9LLy28">
Democrats have protected a lot of money to clean energy
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LMM2BQ">
Significantly, as Democrats have been forced to pare back the overall size of Build Back Better, they have protected the overall amount of money they’re devoting to climate: Nearly $500 billion over 10 years (about a quarter of the bill’s spending) is devoted to green energy or other measures meant to fight climate change.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tVheGh">
The bulk of that money goes to tax credits meant to incentivize clean electricity and transportation as well as energy efficiency for property owners. And in contrast to their treatment of social policy programs, Democrats are not setting their new clean energy tax credits to expire after just a few years. The bill would create a tax regime for clean energy that would last the next 10 years. (More specifically, <a href="https://www.novoco.com/notes-from-novogradac/house-passed-17-trillion-build-back-better-
reconciliation-legislation-includes-325-billion-green">the bill would</a> extend and enhance existing tax credits, which are often targeted to specific technologies, for the next five years, but it would create a new technology-neutral approach for such tax credits after that.) There’s also spending on reducing pollution, forest restoration, and other conservation programs.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LDhJoI">
Yet while the amount of money devoted to climate has stayed the same, the form of that spending has changed. At Manchin’s behest, Democrats have backed down from proposals that would be punitive toward dirty, emission-heavy energy. Most notably, they’ve abandoned what had been their centerpiece climate proposal: a “<a href="https://www.vox.com/22579218/clean-energy-standard-electricity-infrastructure-democrats">clean electricity payment program</a>” that would <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/payments-or-fines-how-dems-ces-would-affect-
utilities/">make payments</a> to utilities that rely on clean energy, while fining those that aren’t making progress toward reducing carbon emissions. That’s out. Loose talk of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/16/climate/democrats-carbon-tax-climate.html">including a carbon tax of some kind </a>never went anywhere, either.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LUalrT">
The major punitive policy toward dirty energy that remains in the bill is a fee on methane emissions associated with oil and gas production and transmission. Though carbon dioxide emissions are mostly responsible for climate change, methane emissions play a significant role as well — they’re at least 80 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22613532/climate-
change-methane-emissions">my colleague Rebecca Leber recently wrote</a>. Democrats hoped to discourage such emissions with a new fee, but they need Manchin’s approval, so they’re working to win him over. (He <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/584962-manchin-says-good-adjustments-have-been-made-on-democrats-
methane">said Wednesday</a> that Democrats have made “some good adjustments” on the methane fee but didn’t sound completely won over just yet.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sE72I2">
The big picture is that the climate provisions of the current bill fall short of what progressives hoped was possible earlier this year, but they’re still sweeping, important, and would be quite impressive for a Senate that needs a vote from <a href="https://www.vox.com/22339531/manchin-filibuster-
bipartisanship-senate-west-virginia">Manchin</a> — who represents a state where the coal industry is tremendously important and who himself has <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/09/03/joe-manchin-coal-fossil-fuels-
pollution/">made millions</a> from coal companies he founded.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aVLyou">
But of course, nothing is final.
</p>
<h3 id="I69qDO">
A tax hike for the very wealthy and corporations, a tax cut mostly benefiting wealthy blue staters
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QUDVA5">
On the one hand, the Build Back Better Act would raise a great deal of revenue from higher taxes on some of the wealthiest people in the country and on corporations. On the other hand, the bill would massively cut taxes for many less wealthy but still quite well-off people — because of its changes to what’s known as the SALT (state and local tax) deduction.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CeES3f">
The background here is that President Trump’s 2017 tax cut bill made a significant change limiting how much state and local taxes were deductible on federal tax returns. This meant a bigger tax bill for well-off people who live in places where taxes are high — usually blue states or cities. (The change mostly hits well- off people because they often itemize their taxes and pay higher rates.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K4uFsd">
So House Democrats representing these high-tax areas (for instance, New Jersey) demanded a significant portion of the bill’s spending be devoted to rolling back this change over the next five years. This change would cost $229 billion in that span, making it of comparable size to Democrats’ childcare plan. “Roughly 98 percent of the benefit from the increase would accrue to those making more than $100,000 per year, with more than 80 percent going to those making over $200,000,” per the <a href="https://www.crfb.org/blogs/build-back-better-salt-gains-rich-eclipse-child-credit-boost">Committee for Responsible Federal Budget analysis</a>.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/YTQHtXHR7DWAXmi7hRwVT0Qntg4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23080047/GettyImages_1237125032.jpg"/> <cite>Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill advocates for inclusion of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction in the Build Back Better Act reconciliation bill, outside the US Capitol on December 8.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kP8Oah">
The Senate Democratic Caucus, which includes several Democrats in rural lower-tax states, is less “SALT-y,” and key senators have discussed scaling back this change. It isn’t clear where they’ll land yet. For now, though, one of the groups that benefits most clearly from the House-passed bill is wealthy people in blue states.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2Q5O9h">
To be clear, though, the overall bill is no giveaway for the richest. Changes to taxes on high- income individuals would raise an estimated $640 billion more in revenue over the next decade, per CBO. This breaks down into about $252 billion from changes to the net investment income tax, $160 billion from limiting excess business losses, and $227 billion from a “surcharge” on wealthy individuals, estates, and trusts, which would apply to about the wealthiest <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/28/president-biden-announces-
the-build-back-better-framework/">0.2 percent of Americans</a>. These tax policies were crafted to please Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who opposed plans to raise tax rates and preferred these somewhat more obscure workarounds.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DPDRZP">
Additionally, corporate tax changes would raise an estimated $813 billion more revenue over the next decade. This includes about $318 billion from a corporate alternative minimum tax, $124 billion from an excise tax on the repurchase of corporate stock, and $211 billion from changes to how foreign-derived income is taxed. All that totals to about $1.4 trillion in new revenue from taxes on corporations and the wealthy, far more than the SALT tax change will cost.
</p>
<h3 id="ZzuCgF">
And there’s more
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bqHeJs">
The social welfare state, climate, and tax changes make up the most significant chunks of the bill in dollar terms, but there’s, of course, a great more in it that would affect millions of people — far too much to fully outline here. The bill would also spend billions on housing, public health, higher education, and transportation projects, and it would <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/11/22/e-cigarettes-nicotine-tax-smoking-vaping-health/">tax e-cigarettes</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LZDDZS">
Democrats hope the bill will make significant changes to immigration policy too. They’ve been negotiating with the Senate parliamentarian to try to find a version of their proposed changes that she says can go through the special, filibuster-proof <a href="https://www.vox.com/22242476/senate-filibuster-budget-
reconciliation-process">budget reconciliation</a> process being used for this bill.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yZLQP0">
As <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/11/15/22770255/democrats-immigration-budget-reconciliation-plan-c">my colleague Nicole Narea has written</a>, the parliamentarian has also rejected the Democrats’ first two proposals — creating either a path to citizenship or a green card for millions of unauthorized immigrants. Their current plan would allow unauthorized immigrants to apply for temporary deportation protection that would let them work and last for five years. The proposal would also expand legal immigration, in part by “recapturing” millions of green cards that have gone unused in recent decades.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jA32NZ">
Theoretically, Democrats could override a ruling by the parliamentarian, but <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/manchin-says-he-wouldnt-defy-parliamentarian-on-
immigration/">Manchin has said</a> he will not do so. Even if Democrats’ proposals get a thumbs-up from the parliamentarian, they’d still have to get Manchin’s vote. So what lies ahead for immigration in Build Back Better is unclear.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sMO3PV">
Then again, that’s true for the entire bill. With no votes to spare in the Senate, everything hinges on what Manchin and Sinema will accept. Nothing is final until everything is final. And a great deal more intense negotiation lies ahead.
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>How California plans to copy Texas abortion tactics for gun control</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="California Gov. Gavin Newsom gestures while speaking to a crowd of students outdoors in
Oakland, California, on September 15, 2021." src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/-IZC8zfAhsQFK539YEv4kw_fblY=/312x0:5176x3648/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70262504/1340600714.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to students at Melrose Leadership Academy in Oakland, California, in September. | Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to let Californians sue some firearm manufacturers and sellers.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="15zXSA">
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Saturday that his administration will push for a new measure, modeled after Texas’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/31/22650303/supreme-court-
abortion-texas-sb8-jackson-roe-wade-greg-abbott">controversial abortion ban</a>,<strong> </strong>to limit the sale of assault weapons and “ghost guns” in the state.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uTK92b">
The proposed bill, <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/12/11/governor-newsom-statement-on-supreme-court-decision/">according to a press release</a> from Newsom, would allow Californians to sue “anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts” for damages — the same injunction-skirting mechanism Texas has used to <a href="https://www.vox.com/22444100/texas-bans-abortion-6-weeks-supreme-court">ban all abortions after six weeks</a>, which has so far been permitted by the Supreme Court.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mIrnDj">
“If that’s the precedent then we’ll let Californians sue those who put ghost guns and assault weapons on our streets,” Newsom said <a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1469865185493983234?s=20">in a tweet</a> Saturday. “If TX can ban abortion and endanger lives, CA can ban deadly weapons of war and save lives.”
</p>
<div id="LqVnPz">
<blockquote class="twitter- tweet">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
SCOTUS is letting private citizens in Texas sue to stop abortion?!<br/><br/>If that’s the precedent then we’ll let Californians sue those who put ghost guns and assault weapons on our streets.<br/><br/>If TX can ban abortion and endanger lives, CA can ban deadly weapons of war and save lives. <a href="https://t.co/N5Iur9PEUZ">https://t.co/N5Iur9PEUZ</a>
</p>
— Gavin Newsom (<span class="citation" data-cites="GavinNewsom">@GavinNewsom</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1469865185493983234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2021</a></blockquote></div></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KuEQTm">
Newsom’s statement comes on the heels of a Friday Supreme Court ruling, which further entrenched Texas’s ability to ban virtually all abortions in the state, despite allowing a suit against Texas state health officials to advance. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/12/10/22827899/supreme-court-texas-abortion-law-
sb8-decision-whole-womens-health">As Vox’s Ian Millhiser explained</a>:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KmBypb">
The upshot of this decision is that, while the abortion provider plaintiffs in <em>Jackson</em> may be able to get a federal court order declaring that SB 8 is unconstitutional, the only real relief they are likely to win is an order preventing a few state health officials from carrying out the minor role they play in enforcing the law. The most important provisions of the law — the ones that effectively prevent anyone from performing an abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy by threatening them with financial ruin if they do so — will most likely remain in effect.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rwPJJF">
Currently, few details are known about the proposed California legislation other than its enforcement mechanism; according to Newsom’s announcement, plaintiffs suing firearms manufacturers could be awarded at least $10,000, plus attorney’s fees if they win their case. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-11/in-
response-to-texas-abortion-law-newsom-calls-for-legislation-to-restrict-assault-weapons">As the LA Times reports</a>, however, the California State Assembly and Attorney General Rob Bonta won’t be able to move on putting together a bill until January 3, when the legislature reconvenes after the holiday break.
</p>
<h3 id="ADILsc">
Newsom wants to use Texas’s abortion tactics for gun control
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SUkIsw">
SB 8, the law that Newsom references in Saturday’s announcement, hinges on a novel, convoluted enforcement scheme. Though it functionally bans all abortions after a mere six weeks of pregnancy, Texas officials are prohibited from directly enforcing the law, according to its text. Instead, SB 8 is constructed so that an individual — who doesn’t even have to be a Texas resident or have anything to do with the abortion in question — can sue an abortion provider or someone suspected of aiding an abortion performed after the six- week window.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yz58DG">
As <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/31/22650303/supreme-court-abortion-texas-
sb8-jackson-roe-wade-greg-abbott">Vox’s Millhiser explained in August</a>, SB 8 is an intentionally perplexing piece of legislation, designed to thwart legal challenges:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7rqg6r">
The anti-abortion law, which is before the Supreme Court in a case called <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21A24/189841/20210830120232143_WWH%20v%20Jackson%20-%20emergency%20application%20with%20appendix.pdf"><em>Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson</em></a>, presents a <a href="https://twitter.com/steve_vladeck/status/1432682606248747009">maze of procedural complexities</a> that are rarely seen in even the most complicated litigation. The law appears to have been drafted to intentionally frustrate lawsuits challenging its constitutionality. And Texas, with an assist from a right-wing appellate court, has thus far manipulated the litigation process to prevent any judge from considering whether SB 8 is lawful.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gerbyY">
Already, SB 8 has resulted in a number of <a href="https://www.thelily.com/lawmakers-are-racing-to-mimic-
the-texas-abortion-law-in-their-own-states-they-say-the-bills-will-fly-through/">copycat bills</a>. According to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/12/09/alabama-lawmakers-latest-to-introduce-texas-abortion-copycat-
bill---here-are-all-the-states-weighing-a-similar-ban/?sh=2538b2905f52">Forbes</a>, state legislatures in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Ohio have all introduced similar abortion bans, and even more <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/09/23/citizen-enforcement-of-texas-
abortion-ban-could-spread-to-other-laws">could be on the way</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7jRpoL">
The proposed California legislation, however, would be the first measure to use a SB 8-style enforcement mechanism for a different goal. Newsom’s proposal would empower private citizens to sue the manufacturers of assault rifles and so-called <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/us/politics/ghost-guns-explainer.html?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share">ghost guns</a> — firearms made from kits, which are difficult to track because they don’t have serial numbers like those that come from licensed companies and are sold by licensed dealers. Ghost gun kits are sold online, are easy to assemble, require no background check to buy, and are impossible for authorities to trace, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/us/politics/ghost-guns-explainer.html?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share">the New York Times’s Annie Karni</a> explained in April.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lrxP7L">
California’s longstanding ban on assault weapons <a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-california-courts-us-supreme-court-
health-1c09f80feb967be7c52bec1e2f1b88a4">was overturned</a> by a federal district court judge, Robert Benitez, in June; the same judge ruled in 2017 against a ban on magazines with a capacity of more than 10 bullets, and last year blocked a 2019 law requiring background checks for people purchasing ammunition.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wnkAam">
Benitez overturned the previous ban on the grounds that it violated the Second Amendment, and explicitly pointed to the AR-15’s military utility <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/firearmspolicycoalition/pages/5381/attachments/original/1622850515/Miller_v_Bonta_Opinion.pdf?1622850515">in his decision</a>. “Like the Swiss Army knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment,” Benitez wrote. “Good for both home and battle.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="C7ZlBU">
As Vox’s Dylan Matthews <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/7/31/17475072/guns-explained-assault-weapons-bans-guide-to-
guns">explained in 2019</a>, the AR-15 “is not a specific model — it gets its name from ArmaLite, the company that originally manufactured the rifle,” but the design is no longer patented.<strong> </strong>Though the AR-15 was initially designed as a military weapon, it has since become one of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/14/health/ar15-rifle-history-trnd/index.html">the most popular rifles in the US</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="blrA99">
<a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1401039242113949697?s=20">At the time</a>, Newsom called Benitez’s ruling “a direct threat to public safety and innocent Californians.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zyRdaK">
Newsom’s new tactic — adapting the SB 8 model to gun control — would ostensibly circumvent Benitez’s June ruling, taking enforcement of the law out of the hands of the state and shielding the ban itself from judicial challenge in the same way SB 8’s enforcement mechanism does.
</p>
<h3 id="2SXp65">
California legislation could be a political win-win for Newsom
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FSlLuA">
In some ways, the proposed legislation could be a no-lose strategy for Newsom, who is running for reelection next year after surviving a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/9/15/22662487/newsom-wins-california-recall-elder">recall effort</a> in September. It’s a way for him to take aim at the June ruling overturning the assault rifle ban, and to rebuke the Texas law that both infringes on the right to an abortion and presents an alarming subversion of legal and judicial processes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2HHoXk">
While Newsom’s proposed bill probably stands a good chance in the California legislature, where Democrats have a supermajority in both chambers, it’s also proof positive of the warning that SB 8 presents a slippery legal precedent, as gun rights group the Firearms Policy Coalition described in <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21-463/197884/20211027164758725_21-463%20tsac%20WWH%20-amicus-FPC-
final.pdf">an amicus brief</a> in <em>Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson. </em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iup9Hl">
“To the extent this tactic is effective at evading or outright blocking pre-enforcement review, while still deterring protected behavior, it will easily become the model for suppression of other constitutional rights, with Second Amendment rights being the most likely targets,” the group’s attorney, Erik Jaffe, wrote in the brief.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oYnGqW">
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor echoed that assessment in her dissent to Friday’s ruling, which allows SB 8 to stand while another legal challenge is argued before the Court, <a href="https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=21152077-scotus-
soto">saying</a> the Texas law would create a path for other states to “reprise and perfect Texas’ scheme in the future to target the exercise of any right recognized by this court with which they disagree.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xZvpkZ">
With Newsom’s Saturday announcement, that now appears more likely to come to pass.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dvSMSN">
“Gov. Newsom is following through on the threat,” UC Berkeley School of Law professor Khiara Bridges <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-11/in-response-to-texas-abortion-law-newsom-calls-for-
legislation-to-restrict-assault-weapons">told the LA Times</a>. “It’s just been academic up until now.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5sPdI5">
As Bridges points out, the proposed bill won’t necessarily succeed. Should it become law and end up before the Supreme Court, it’s still possible judges could strike it down while leaving SB 8’s citizen enforcement mechanism intact.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EM4rmt">
“I have no doubt whatsoever that the Supreme Court will find some bizarre, disingenuous argument to distinguish gun rights from abortion rights,” Bridges told <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-11/in-response-to-texas-abortion-law-newsom-calls-for-
legislation-to-restrict-assault-weapons">the Times</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="s1oaMQ">
Newsom’s proposal does, however, have the potential to underscore the absurdity of the mechanism behind SB 8, whatever the actual outcome for the gun bill. As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote Friday in a <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21-463_3ebh.pdf">minority opinion</a>, “If the legislatures of the several states may, at will, annul the judgments of the courts of the United States, and destroy the rights acquired under those judgments, the constitution itself becomes a solemn mockery.”
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>The best $210 I ever spent: My sobriety</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="An illustration of an open laptop displaying a window that says “sobriety.”" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/guShtblwkcXjXYe0m06IMT0_XvU=/500x0:3500x2250/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70261329/Sobriety.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Dana Rodriguez for Vox
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The glossy online program wasn’t perfect, but it was what I needed just then.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JzeoyW">
There is footage of me as a middle school girl in Los Angeles that aired nationally in the late ’90s.<strong> </strong>In the clip, which was part of a <em>Candid Camera</em> gotcha segment, the comedian Richard Lewis and I sit alone at a long rectangular table in an unused room on campus, a map of the solar system hanging behind us. He tells me he has analyzed me and determined I will grow up to work as a manufacturer of waste disposals. While in front of Lewis — a tall self-assured man, telling me who I could be — I shrug, as if to say, “Seems reasonable.” My frame is cowed, hands in lap, lips pursed in consideration of the news, eyes dead, a little sad. I bow to male authority. I look as though I’m folding in on myself.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r6sd7O">
When Lewis leaves, however, my entire body unlocks. I make an animated face of disbelief, and later tell a friend who visits me in the room where I’ve been cloistered by producers what Lewis said. I do so with an admirable amount of gumption.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3Ppvr2">
In the beginning, that unlocking is what drinking felt like. I took my first tequila shots as a freshman in high school, only a few years after that video was shot, to put myself in that supplicating state around boys, but also to access that salty girl, the one who came out when I could no longer feel the energy of male power in the room, pressing into my throat. I didn’t go into manufacturing, but I did become a writer and an academic, which meant I was always surrounded by those who used substances to find their way in or out of their bodies. By the spring of 2020, now a <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wine-mom-covid-19-pandemic_n_611bd2f5e4b0ff60bf7a192b">wine mom</a>, I was eyeing an expensive online program for those who wanted to “rethink” their drinking.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lWnFSP">
I applied for a scholarship to the program on July 2, just missing the window for Dry July, but it was fine, I had a birthday coming up anyway! I was on unemployment, having lost work in the pandemic, so I requested as much financial assistance as possible. I got word a week later that I would receive a 75 percent scholarship for the program. This meant I would only be responsible for paying $70 three times over the course of one year, instead of the nearly $1,000 annual price tag paid by top-tier members who are unfunded. I planned to stop drinking after that birthday.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8i2D9u">
I found the progressive, for-profit recovery program after buying a popular book that took a feminist approach to addiction. The book drew on research and work that has been happening in addiction and recovery spaces for years but used jaunty language and a personal story to make brain science and concepts like harm reduction colloquial, accessible, relevant.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2FUgOH">
I read the book in a matter of days. I could feel the dread that had always circled around the prospect of quitting peeling off me. The program I joined soon after had been founded by the book’s author and had a website that was chic and modern. It did exactly what the book suggested sobriety culture needed to do: It rebranded recovery.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dZFtjZ">
With my membership, I got themed and curated educational content — videos and readings, but also meditations and virtual meeting options organized around various identity groups. The mission eschewed rock-bottom narrative arcs and heavy labels like “alcoholic” in exchange for lemon water, affirmations, and self-care practices. But I was not as reproving as I sound now. I was in need.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qZIpJ9">
Everything about the program had an inclusive, safe-space ambiance, including the community forum, a social platform for members. I found a familiar private succor in the message boards. They reminded me of forums I had prowled in new motherhood. I didn’t have to show up as a whole person there — or maybe I arrived whole, in a way I couldn’t in daily life. I could just slip into the space as an anyone and say what I needed to say.<strong> </strong>It wasn’t quite the anonymity that I liked or needed, but rather the disembodiment that came with the internet exchanges. I carried guilt about the many years I had spent drinking — I am a woman and a mother, I always feel I am to blame for everything — but also, I didn’t feel that way at all. I could see addiction happening all around me and felt generally unseen by pathology frameworks. Wanting too much of anything just seemed like a logical outgrowth of a culture that preaches overconsumption.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AprZw4">
And I had grown up around it:<strong> </strong>Not long after I started drinking, when I was a teenager, I Mapquested my first Al-Anon meeting, which I walked to using my little printed pages as a guide. The meeting was held in a school down the street from the house I shared with my single mother, who was struggling with addiction. Years later, she got sober by committing to the 12 steps. Before long, her world — and so my world — was ruled by AA chips and moralizing decrees related to powerlessness and disease. Addiction, she told me, ran in our blood; she was asked to repent and began to see the world as bifurcated into normies and drunks. Her abstinence seemed, to me but also often to her, like a kind of damnation. I had helped get her into treatment, so I wanted her to be well, but I also hated seeing her like that, living in shame.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6SOEzq">
My mother got sober when I was in my 20s, so I had spent a long time turning over my issues with AA by the time I invested in my recovery a decade and a half later. I knew AA had helped many people: It was free and decidedly not-for-profit; meetings provided community and recognition. But its membership seemed to come with a misdirected indignity, especially for those who <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/">fell off the wagon</a> or had addictions to <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/3/11/21171736/alcoholics-
anonymous-cochrane-study-research">other substances</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hpqanh">
My drinking felt so clearly contextual, conditioned by the performance of sexuality that was requested of me young, which told me to accommodate and satisfy men’s voices and desires. It had been about not letting the labor of gender show, that work I learned even before I learned to drink, work that had made my body — and the voice that emerged from it — timid, stilted, glitchy, untrustworthy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9UIP36">
Moving within a recovery space online, I didn’t have to worry about how I presented. One of the central tenets of the program was that many of us are led to addiction not simply because we are powerless against one integrally addictive substance (obviously we are), but because our bodies are also shaped by the world we move through. We are often made to feel powerless and get high to help with that feeling. This was an idea I was willing to pay to identify with.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right c-float-hang">
<aside id="TpIqLj">
<q>We are often made to feel powerless and get high to help with that feeling. This was an idea I was willing to pay to identify with.</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lGpHL7">
But it was often hard to tease the language of recovery from the language of wellness. Sometimes, all the mantras about staying present and releasing myself from the grip of alcohol felt no different from messages I had placed bets on before, when I had toyed with other forms of temperance. Ever since I was a girl, I had been through many ideological cycles with respect to what I put in my body and what I tried to get out of it. I had tried a variety of restrictive diets, most of which included prohibitions against alcohol (it felt like an impossible ask, but I nevertheless decorated my house with sticky notes and refrigerator reminders). Once, I vowed to do push-ups every day for a month (made it, like, a couple days?).<strong> </strong>I failed every 30-day challenge to which I dedicated a Pinterest board. Even the three-day cleanses ended in disappointment.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="huQFdX">
I was searching, even then, through the spectacle of self-optimization, for some balm for my wounds, the discomfort I felt living in my body. I knew what I was taking in. I could see capitalism grabbing me, shaking me as if to say, “You can be well! I swear it! Just try this one more thing!” But what can I say? For those of us who have been made to feel impure or unraveled, the promise that we can be clean<em> </em>is a hard one to snub.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GtjALK">
When I joined the recovery program, I didn’t want to get clean<em>. </em>Or maybe I did. Maybe I still thought I could or needed to. Either way, by then, AA had taken a shape of its own in my mind. I wanted alcohol completely out of my life, but I knew the emphasis on submission, and on <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2020/03/alcoholics-anonymous-most-
effective-path-to-alcohol-abstinence.html">complete abstinence</a> or bust, was useful for many, not all. I needed something else.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GEKBRr">
I didn’t want to be<strong> </strong>that cowed girl, doomed by male authority to forever perform work in which I found no pleasure. I wanted the sheen of an unstructured journey, one in which I could falter and not be made to view it as faltering, others lifting me up with slogans that reminded me I wasn’t forgoing indulgence forever but seeking it in a way I never had before. I liked those perspectives. They felt true. And I was beginning to see that choosing to no longer dissolve one’s body feels like that: like locating what makes you fall apart and what holds you together.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gxbryB">
On occasion, I turned to content outside my program to help with the cognitive dissonance of living in a world bathed in booze, but I couldn’t quite make sense of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/18/18677895/sobriety-influencers-sober-curious-instagram">“new sobriety.”</a> At least what I saw as the depressing disease model of AA had a literary quality to it, a melancholic’s gothic glaze. There was nothing incredibly literary about scrolling through sparkling memes about how fun sobriety is on Instagram. I liked not feeling hungover, truly, but the world I seemed to be entering felt very<em> “</em>living my best life<em>.”</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZrbeoW">
Back inside the warm pocket of my program’s community page, everything felt simpler, and more complicated. No one who shared their stories, their uncertainties, was willing to settle. And though the stories they told were about themselves, they weren’t individualistic. One element of the wellness revolution that was missing from the discourse on the boards was all the talk of willpower. Without bodies, it seemed, everyone showed up shapeless, and there was a lot of encouragement and support between members around simply existing this way, as lumps, flesh and minds trying to live with and among others, amid the grief of living at all right now. We weren’t fitting ourselves into steps or paradigms or even social graces. I cleansed myself with that ordinary language of survival and all the speculative suggestions about how to make a life that felt less like suffering.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dSPc3N">
I was often preoccupied, though, by the knowledge that I was moving within a virtual community to which only folks of a certain income bracket could belong, while addicts who couldn’t afford glossy private treatment were regularly turned out on the streets, abandoned, or offered the disease model I had the ability to shirk.<strong> </strong>This underlined what had led me to the program, and maybe addiction, in the first place: the painful knowledge that everything — including the ease we feel in our bodies — is up for sale. That’s what capitalism does, too: It provides the good life to some, then rewrites our collective failure to care for all as individual shortcomings.
</p>
<div>
<aside id="a5ED1J">
<q>That’s what capitalism does: It provides the good life to some, then rewrites our collective failure to care for all as individual shortcomings</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A7yWie">
I could see others in the program were pensive with this awareness, too. There were plenty of folks on the community boards pushing back against the program’s model, especially as the space became, over time, more corporate. As we witnessed high employee turnover and some quieting of dissent in the boards, some left, many stayed, fighting for their lives. I stayed, ambivalently, feeling culpable for not putting my money elsewhere, toward those who might need it more, or toward upending the systems that cast aside those who struggle. I knew I had not yet solved the unsolvable problem of how to live in a body, so I continue to shell out $15 a month to pop in and out of forums and online meetings now and then to remind myself that, yes, it’s a journey, but also one that no one can walk alone.
</p>
<p class="c-end-para" data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Dfx41p">
Sometimes, I suppose, we must move in spaces that are imperfect to save ourselves because all the spaces made available to us, at least at this moment, are imperfect. Obviously, one can’t purchase sobriety or any ongoing relationship with wellness, with the body, even if we are told constantly that we can, and even if one can throw money in that general direction. But paying to rewrite the script I inherited feels so much more sensible than the hundreds of dollars I spent trying to shape my body into what others told me it should be.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="B8m4p0">
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amandamontei.com_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=7MSjEE-
cVgLCRHxk1P5PWg&amp;r=K3OysPjapihGd3XjPRBuh7gL1yPrgKgJzffvEhj5_vY&amp;m=hRKf7rSpBxqTsafCIwaFAn9hCEABaoxMUZC3RoZ4rc8&amp;s=DA3hpH9WrqlV12jVb4qHv5OlUdRj_-q93drZsag744I&amp;e="><em>Amanda Montei</em></a><em> is a writer and educator living in California. She is working on her next book, a memoir about care and consent.</em>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Miracle, Parisian, Successor and Mehr catch the eye</strong> - Miracle, Parisian, Successor and Mehr caught the eye when the horses were exercised here on Monday (Dec. 13) morning.Inner Sand: 800m: Angels Trumpet</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Explained | What led to Max Verstappen’s win at Sunday’s Abu Dhabi GP?</strong> - Verstappen won the title with a last-lap pass on Lewis Hamilton under controversial circumstances in safety car period</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Virat led from front for five years, enjoyed each and every moment under him, says Rohit Sharma</strong> - Rohit said he is aware of the challenge and would try to grab that extra inch that has eluded the side in the ICC tournaments</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kamran Akmal withdraws from PSL following his relegation to silver category</strong> - Akmal was initially demoted from the platinum category to the gold category by the Pakistan Cricket Board</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>West Indies tour of Pakistan | Three test West Indies players test positive for COVID-19</strong> - West Indians Cotrell, Chase and Mayers now in isolaton</p></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Supersonic missile-assisted torpedo system successfully launched: DRDO</strong> - It’s designed to enhance anti-submarine warfare capability far beyond the conventional range of the torpedo</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Now, file corruption complaints online with Lokpal</strong> - It can be accessed by the citizens of the country and complaints can be filed from anywhere, anytime at lokpalonline.gov.in.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>UDF not to take sides in CM, Governor spat</strong> - Fight against political cronyism in varsities on: Satheesan</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rahul Gandhi to take part in ‘padyatra’ in former constituency of Amethi</strong> - He will participate in a ‘padyatra’ as part of the party’s ongoing nationwide ‘Jan Jagran Abhiyan’.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Army felicitates government officials for assisting in rescue operations during helicopter crash</strong> - Lieutenant General A. Arun, General Officer Commanding, Dakshin Bharat Area, felicitated members of various government departments; the adoption of the villagers of Nanjappa Sathiram by Headquarters, Dakshin Bharat Area was also announced</p></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Inger Stoejberg: Jail for Danish ex-minister in impeachment trial</strong> - Inger Stoejberg faces 60 days in prison for separating young asylum-seeking couples in 2016.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Baltic Sea: Two feared dead as British and Danish ships collide</strong> - Shouts were heard in the cold water off the Swedish coast when the Danish vessel capsized.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Russia explosion: Teen detonates device at Orthodox convent school</strong> - At least 12 are reported injured after the blast at an Orthodox school near a nunnery outside Moscow.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Italy: Seven dead as rescuers find bodies in Sicily blast</strong> - Rescuers are still searching for two missing people in the rubble of four collapsed buildings.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>France resists US challenge to its values</strong> - The government is fighting back at what it sees as imported cultural ideas from the UK and US.</p></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Don’t Look Up is fiction. Here’s the real science of that doomsday scenario</strong> - Ars chats with Amy Mainzer about why we don’t need comet and asteroid insurance just yet. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1819879">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Log4Shell 0-day, four days on: What is it and how bad is it really?</strong> - If the max severity 0-day hasn’t already dampened your Xmas spirit, it likely soon will. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1820027">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Take one last look at Google Toolbar, which is now dead</strong> - Google Toolbar is dead, but we took it out for one last spin before it died. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1813243">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>To see proteins change in a quadrillionth of a second, use AI</strong> - Researchers can finally see how protein structures contort in response to light. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1819726">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Defending quantum chess champion takes the title again in 2021 tournament</strong> - AWS’ Aleksander Kubica defeated Seneca Meeks from Google Quantum AI in the final match - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1819918">link</a></p></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
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<li><strong>Two Nuns are tasked with painting a room.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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Two nuns are tasked with painting a bedroom. They are concerned about getting paint all over their outfits, so they lock themselves inside and strip out of them and begin painting in their underwear. All is going well until there is a knock at the door. “Who is it?” They ask. “Blind man,” is the reply. The nuns shrug and decide there is no harm in opening the door for him. They unlock the door and open it. The man says “Nice boobs! Anyways, where do you want the blinds installed?”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Duckieyupyupyup"> /u/Duckieyupyupyup </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rewn39/two_nuns_are_tasked_with_painting_a_room/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rewn39/two_nuns_are_tasked_with_painting_a_room/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>What does a man who’s had a vasectomy and a Christmas tree have in common?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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Decorative balls.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/knight-errant52"> /u/knight-errant52 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rezfyd/what_does_a_man_whos_had_a_vasectomy_and_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rezfyd/what_does_a_man_whos_had_a_vasectomy_and_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Viruses can mutate over time. Take Covid for example…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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It started as a pandemic illness and turned into an IQ test.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/FlatulenceIsAVirtue"> /u/FlatulenceIsAVirtue </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rewpp0/viruses_can_mutate_over_time_take_covid_for/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rewpp0/viruses_can_mutate_over_time_take_covid_for/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Two Brazilian men die in a skydiving accident.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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A woman is watching the news with her husband when the newscaster says “Two Brazilian men die in a skydiving accident.”
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The woman starts crying to her husband, sobbing “That’s horrible!!! So many men dying that way!”
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Confused, he says, “Yes dear, it is sad, but they were skydiving, and there is always that risk involved.”
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After a few minutes, the woman, still sobbing, asks, “How many is a Brazilian?”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Legenda_069"> /u/Legenda_069 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rf52nl/two_brazilian_men_die_in_a_skydiving_accident/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rf52nl/two_brazilian_men_die_in_a_skydiving_accident/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Sex for Money</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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The big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money costs less.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/semtexmex"> /u/semtexmex </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rf3ijq/sex_for_money/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rf3ijq/sex_for_money/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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