Predicting mortality in SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) positive patients in the inpatient setting using a Novel Deep Neural Network -
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+Background The second-wave of CVOID-19 pandemic is anticipated to be worse than the initial one and will strain the healthcare systems even more during the winter months. Our aim was to develop a machine learning-based model to predict mortality using the Neo-V framework. We hypothesized this novel machine learning approach could be applied to COVID-19 patients to predict mortality successfully and high accuracy. Methods The current Deep-Neo-V model is built on our previously statistically rigorous machine learning framework [Fahad-Liaqat-Ahmad Intensive Machine (FLAIM) framework] that evaluates the statistically significant risk factors, generate new combined variables and then supply these risk factors to deep neural network to predict mortality in RT-PCR positive COVID-19 patients in the inpatient setting. We analyzed adult patients (≥18 years) admitted to the Aga Khan University Hospital with a working diagnosis of COVID-19 infection (n=1228). We excluded patients that were negative on COVID-19 on RT-PCR, had incomplete or missing health records. The first phase selection of risk factor was done using Cox-regression univariate and multivariate analyses. In the second phase, we generated new variables and tested those statistically significant for mortality and in the third and final phase we applied deep neural networks and other traditional machine learning models like Decision Tree Model, k-nearest neighbor models and others. Results A total of 1228 cases were diagnosed as a COVID-19 infection, we excluded 14 patients after the exclusion criteria and (n=)1214 patients were analyzed. We observed that several clinical and laboratory-based variables were statistically significant for both univariate and multivariate analyses while others were not. With most significant being septic shock (hazard ratio [HR], 4.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.91-6.37), supportive treatment (HR, 3.51; 95% CI, 2.01-6.14), abnormal international normalized ratio (INR) (HR, 3.24; 95% CI, 2.28-4.63), admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) (HR, 3.24; 95% CI, 2.22-4.74), treatment with invasive ventilation (HR, 3.21; 95% CI, 2.15-4.79) and laboratory lymphocytic derangement (HR, 2.79; 95% CI, 1.6-4.86). Machine learning results showed our DNN (Neo-V) model outperformed all conventional models (Neo-V) and Deep-FLAIM models with test set accuracy of 99.53%, sensitivity of 89.87%, and specificity of 95.63%; positive predictive value, 50.00%; negative predictive value, 91.05%; and area under the curve of the receiver-operator curve of 88.5. Conclusion Our novel Deep-Neo-V model outperformed all other machine learning models. The model is easy to implement, user friendly and with high accuracy.
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Compliance and Self-Reporting during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Cultural Study of Trust and Self-Conscious Emotions in the United States, Italy and South Korea -
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+The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health crisis. Many governments around the world have responded by implementing lockdown measures of various degrees of intensity. To be effective, these measures must rely on citizens’ cooperation. In the present study, we drew samples from the United States (N = 597), Italy (N = 606) and South Korea (N = 693) and examined predictors of compliance with social distancing and intentions to report the infection to both authorities and acquaintances. Data were collected between April 6th and 8th 2020. We investigated the role of cultural orientations of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism, self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt related to the infection and trust in the government’s action. Across all countries, vertical collectivism predicted stronger shame, whereas horizontal collectivism predicted stronger trust in the government. Only in the United States, vertical collectivism was associated with stronger trust. Stronger feelings of shame predicted lower compliance and intentions to report the infection to both authorities and acquaintances. In contrast, guilt was associated with stronger intentions to report the infection to the authorities. Finally, trust was associated with stronger compliance and intentions to report the infection to the authorities. Unlike Italy and South Korea, the association between trust on compliance was not statistically significant in the United States, Implications of the findings, and directions for future research are discussed.
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Age-related heterogeneity in Neutralising antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 following BNT162b2 vaccination -
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+Background Vaccines remain the cornerstone for containing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. mRNA vaccines provide protection in clinical trials using a two-dose approach, separated by a three to four week gap. UK policy in 2021 is to extend the dosing interval from three to twelve weeks. There is a paucity of data in the elderly, even though these individuals are the first to receive vaccines due to risk of severe disease. Here we assessed real world immune responses following vaccination with mRNA-based vaccine BNT162b2. Methods: We did a prospective cohort study of individuals presenting for first dose vaccination. Following the first and second doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine, we measured IFNgamma; T cell responses, as well as binding antibody (IgA, IgG and IgG1-4) responses to Spike and Spike RBD. We also measured neutralising antibody responses to Spike in sera using a lentiviral pseudotyping system. We correlated age with immune responses and compared responses after the first and second doses. Findings Median age was 63.5 years amongst 42 participants. Three weeks after the first dose a lower proportion of participants over 80 years old achieved adequate neutralisation titre of >1:20 for 50% neutralisation as compared to those under 80 (8/17 versus 19/24, p=0.03). Geometric mean neutralisation titres in this age group after the first dose were lower than in younger individuals (p<0.001). Binding IgA and IgG1 and 3 responses developed post vaccination, as observed in natural infection. T- cell responses were not different in those above or below 80 years. Following the second dose, 50% neutralising antibody titres were above 1:20 in all individuals and there was no longer a difference by age grouping. Interpretation A high proportion of individuals above the age of 80 have suboptimal neutralising antibody responses following first dose vaccination with BNT162b2, cautioning against extending the dosing interval in this high risk population.
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Genomic epidemiology of COVID-19 in care homes in the East of England -
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+COVID-19 poses a major challenge to care homes, as SARS-CoV-2 is readily transmitted and causes disproportionately severe disease in older people. Here, we report on 6,600 COVID-19 cases from the East of England, 1,167 of which were identified as residents from 337 care homes. Older age and being a care home resident were associated with increased mortality. SARS-CoV-2 genomes were available for 700 residents from 292 care homes. By integrating genomic and temporal data we defined 409 viral clusters within the 292 homes, indicating two different patterns - outbreaks among care home residents and independent introductions with limited onward transmission. Approximately 70% of residents in the genomic analysis were admitted to hospital during the study period, providing extensive opportunities for transmission between care homes and hospitals. Limiting viral transmission between care home residents should be a key target for infection control to reduce COVID-19 mortality in this population.
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Saliva TwoStep for rapid detection of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers -
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+Here, we develop a simple molecular test for SARS-CoV-2 in saliva based on reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP). The test has two steps: 1) heat saliva with a stabilization solution, and 2) detect virus by incubating with a primer/enzyme mix. After incubation, saliva samples containing the SARS-CoV-2 genome turn bright yellow. Because this test is pH dependent, it can react falsely to some naturally acidic saliva samples. We report unique saliva stabilization protocols that rendered 295 healthy saliva samples compatible with the test, producing zero false positives. We also evaluated the test on 278 saliva samples from individuals who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 but had no symptoms at the time of saliva collection, and from 54 matched pairs of saliva and anterior nasal samples from infected individuals. The Saliva TwoStep test described herein identified infections with 94% sensitivity and >99% specificity in individuals with sub-clinical (asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic) infections.
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New York City Jails: COVID Discharge Policy, Data Transparency, and Reform -
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+During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered the release of New York City jail inmates who were at high risk of contracting the disease and at low risk of committing criminal reoffense. Using public information, we construct and analyze a database of nearly 350,000 incarceration episodes in the city jail system from 2014 - 2020. In concordance with de Blasio’s stated policy, inmates discharged immediately after his order were at a lower risk of reoffense than inmates discharged during the same calendar week in previous years. The inmates in the former group were also slightly older, on average, than those in the latter group, although the overall age distributions of the two groups were quite similar. Additionally, the inmates of the former group had spent dramatically longer in jail than those in the latter group. With the release of long-serving inmates demonstrated to be feasible, we also examine how the jail population would have looked over the past six years had caps in incarceration been in place. With a cap of one year, the system would experience a 15% decrease in incarceration. With a cap of 100 days, incarceration would be just under 50% of the realized value. Because our results are only as accurate as New York City’s public-facing jail data, we discuss numerous challenges with this data and suggest improvements. These improvements would address issues including inmate age, gender, and race. Finally, we discuss policy implications of our work, highlight some opportunities and challenges posed by incarceration caps, and suggest key areas for reform. It is striking that the de Blasio administration was able to identify inmates at low risk of reoffense and was willing to release them. Their success with discharge during the early stages of COVID-19 suggests that low-risk inmates could be discharged sooner in general.
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SARS-CoV2 envelop proteins reshape the serological responses of COVID-19 patients -
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+The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has elicited a unique international mobilization of the scientific community to better understand this coronavirus and its associated disease and to develop efficient tools to combat infection. Similar to other coronavirae, SARS-CoV-2 hijacks the host cell complex secretory machinery to produce properly folded viral proteins that will compose the nascent virions; including Spike, Envelope and Membrane proteins, the most exposed membrane viral proteins to the host immune system. Antibody response is part of the anti-viral immune arsenal that infected patients develop to fight viral particles in the body. Herein, we investigate the immunogenic potential of Spike (S), Envelope (E) and Membrane (M) proteins using a human cell-based system to mimic membrane insertion and N-glycosylation. We show that both S and M proteins elicit the production of specific IgG, IgM and IgA in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Elevated Ig responses were observed in COVID+ patients with moderate and severe forms of the disease. Finally, when SARS-CoV-2 Spike D614 and G614 variants were compared, reduced Ig binding was observed with the Spike G614 variant. Altogether, this study underlines the needs for including topological features in envelop proteins to better characterize the serological status of COVID+ patients, points towards an unexpected immune response against the M protein and shows that our assay could represent a powerful tool to test humoral responses against actively evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccine effectiveness.
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Broad-spectrum antiviral activity of 3D8, a nucleic acid-hydrolyzing single chain variable fragment (scFv), targeting SARS-CoV-2 and multiple coronaviruses in vitro -
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+The current pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pose a critical public health threat worldwide. Coronaviruses (subfamily Orthocoronavirinae, family Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales) are a group of enveloped positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses. Six pathogenic human coronaviruses, likely zoonotic viruses, cause the common cold in humans. A new emerging coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, become a crucial etiology for the Coronavirus-induced disease 19 (COVID-19). However, effective therapeutics and vaccines against multiple coronaviruses remain unavailable. This study aimed to investigate an antiviral molecule, single chain variable fragment (scFv), against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses. 3D8, a recombinant scFv, exhibits broad-spectrum antiviral activity against DNA and RNA viruses owing to its nucleic acid-hydrolyzing property. Here, we report that 3D8 scFv inhibited the replication of SARS-CoV-2, human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43), and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). Our results revealed the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of 3D8 scFv against SARS-CoV-2 in Vero E6 cells. Immunoblot and plaque assays showed the absence of coronavirus nucleoproteins and infectious particles in 3D8 scFv-treated cells, respectively. In addition, we observed the antiviral effects of 3D8 against HCoV-OC43 and PEDV. In conclusion, this study provides insights into the broad-spectrum antiviral agent of 3D8 scFv; thus, it could be considered a potential antiviral countermeasure against SARS-CoV-2 and zoonotic coronaviruses.
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Bromodomain and Extraterminal Inhibition Blocks Inflammation-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction and SARS-CoV-2 Infection (Pre-Clinical) -
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+Cardiac injury and dysfunction occur in COVID-19 patients and increase the risk of mortality. Causes are ill defined, but could be direct cardiac infection and/or inflammation-induced dysfunction. To identify mechanisms and cardio-protective drugs, we use a state-of-the-art pipeline combining human cardiac organoids with phosphoproteomics and single nuclei RNA sequencing. We identify an inflammatory cytokine-storm, a cocktail of interferon gamma, interleukin 1B; and poly(I:C), induced diastolic dysfunction. Bromodomain-containing protein 4 is activated along with a viral response that is consistent in both human cardiac organoids and hearts of SARS-CoV-2 infected K18-hACE2 mice. Bromodomain and extraterminal family inhibitors (BETi) recover dysfunction in hCO and completely prevent cardiac dysfunction and death in a mouse cytokine-storm model. Additionally, BETi decreases transcription of genes in the viral response, decreases ACE2 expression and reduces SARS-CoV-2 infection of cardiomyocytes. Together, BETi, including the FDA breakthrough designated drug apabetalone, are promising candidates to prevent COVID-19 mediated cardiac damage.
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Jumper Enables Discontinuous Transcript Assembly in Coronaviruses -
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+Genes in SARS-CoV-2 and, more generally, in viruses in the order of Nidovirales are expressed by a process of discontinuous transcription mediated by the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. This process is distinct from alternative splicing in eukaryotes, rendering current transcript assembly methods unsuitable to Nidovirales sequencing samples. Here, we introduce the DISCONTINUOUS TRANSCRIPT ASSEMBLY problem of finding transcripts T and their abundances c given an alignment R under a maximum likelihood model that accounts for varying transcript lengths. Underpinning our approach is the concept of a segment graph, a directed acyclic graph that, distinct from the splice graph used to characterize alternative splicing, has a unique Hamiltonian path. We provide a compact characterization of solutions as subsets of non-overlapping edges in this graph, enabling the formulation of an efficient mixed integer linear program. We show using simulations that our method, JUMPER, drastically outperforms existing methods for classical transcript assembly. On short-read data of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 samples, we find that JUMPER not only identifies canonical transcripts that are part of the reference transcriptome, but also predicts expression of non-canonical transcripts that are well supported by direct evidence from long-read data, presence in multiple, independent samples or a conserved core sequence. JUMPER enables detailed analyses of Nidovirales transcriptomes.
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SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV spike-mediated cell-cell fusion differ in the requirements for receptor expression and proteolytic activation -
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+The severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects cells through interaction of its spike protein (SARS2-S) with Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and activation by proteases, in particular transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2). Viruses can also spread through fusion of infected with uninfected cells. We compared the requirements of ACE2 expression, proteolytic activation, and the sensitivity to inhibitors for SARS2-S-mediated and SARS-CoV-S(SARS1-S)-mediated cell-cell fusion. SARS2-S-driven fusion was moderately increased by TMPRSS2 and strongly by ACE2, while SARS1-S-driven fusion was strongly increased by TMPRSS2 and less so by ACE2 expression. In contrast to SARS1-S, SARS2-S-mediated cell-cell fusion was efficiently activated by Batimastat-sensitive metalloproteases. Mutation of the S1/S2 proteolytic cleavage site reduced effector-target-cell fusion when ACE2 or TMPRSS2 were limiting and rendered SARS2-S-driven cell-cell fusion more dependent on TMPRSS2. When both ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were abundant, initial target-effector-cell fusion was unaltered compared to wt SARS2-S, but syncytia remained smaller. Mutation of the S2’ site specifically abrogated activation by TMPRSS2 for both cell-cell fusion and SARS2-S-driven pseudoparticle entry but still allowed for activation by metalloproteases for cell-cell fusion and by cathepsins for particle entry. Finally, we found that the TMPRSS2 inhibitor Bromhexine was unable to reduce TMPRSS2-activated cell-cell fusion by SARS1-S and SARS2-S as opposed to the inhibitor Camostat. Paradoxically, Bromhexine enhanced cell-cell fusion in the presence of TMPRSS2, while its metabolite Ambroxol exhibited inhibitory activity in some conditions. On Calu-3 lung cells, Ambroxol weakly inhibited SARS2-S-driven lentiviral pseudoparticle entry, and both substances exhibited a dose-dependent trend towards weak inhibition of authentic SARS-CoV-2.
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Complete Protection of Nasal and Lung Airways Against SARS-CoV-2 Challenge by Antibody Plus Th1 Dominant N- and S-Specific T-Cell Responses to Subcutaneous Prime and Thermally-Stable Oral Boost Bivalent hAd5 Vaccination in an NHP Study -
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+We have developed a dual-antigen COVID-19 vaccine incorporating genes for a modified SARS-CoV-2 spike (S-Fusion) protein and the viral nucleocapsid (N) protein with an Enhanced T-cell Stimulation Domain (N-ETSD) with the potential to increase MHC class I/II responses. The adenovirus serotype 5 platform used, hAd5 [E1-, E2b-, E3-], previously demonstrated to be effective in the presence of Ad immunity, can be delivered in an oral formulation that overcomes cold-chain limitations. The hAd5 S-Fusion + N-ETSD vaccine was evaluated in rhesus macaques showing that a subcutaneous prime followed by oral boosts elicited both humoral and Th1 dominant T-cell responses to both S and N that protected the upper and lower respiratory tracts from high titer (1 x 106 TCID50) SARS-CoV-2 challenge. Notably, viral replication was inhibited within 24 hours of challenge in both lung and nasal passages, becoming undetectable within 7 days post-challenge.
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Targeting androgen regulation of TMPRSS2 and ACE2 as a therapeutic strategy to combat COVID-19 -
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+The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have an adverse effect on the progression of multiple cancers, including prostate cancer, due to the ensuing cytokine storm and associated oncogenic signaling. Epidemiological data showing increased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in men suggests a potential role for androgen in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we present evidence for the transcriptional regulation of SARS-CoV-2 host cell receptor ACE2 and co-receptor TMPRSS2 by androgen in mouse tissues and human prostate and lung cell lines. Additionally, we demonstrate the endogenous interaction between TMPRSS2 and ACE2 in human cells and validate ACE2 as a TMPRSS2 substrate. In an overexpression model, and the prostate and lung cells, Camostat - a TMPRSS2 inhibitor, blocked the cleavage of pseudotype SARS-CoV-2 surface Spike without disrupting TMPRSS2-ACE2 interaction. Thus providing evidence for the first time a direct role of TMPRSS2 in priming the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, required for viral fusion to the host cell. Importantly, androgen-deprivation, anti-androgens such as enzalutamide/AR-PROTAC, or Camostat treatment attenuated the SARS-CoV-2 S-mediated entry in lung and prostate cells. Together, our preclinical data provide a strong rationale for clinical evaluations of the TMPRSS2 inhibitors, androgen-deprivation therapy and androgen receptor antagonists alone or in combination with anti-viral drugs as early as clinically possible to prevent inflammation driven COVID-19 progression.
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Sequential infection with influenza A virus followed by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) leads to more severe disease and encephalitis in a mouse model of COVID-19. -
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+COVID-19 is a spectrum of clinical symptoms in humans caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2, a recently emerged coronavirus that has rapidly caused a pandemic. Coalescence of a second wave of this virus with seasonal respiratory viruses, particularly influenza virus is a possible global health concern. To investigate this, transgenic mice expressing the human ACE2 receptor driven by the epithelial cell cytokeratin-18 gene promoter (K18-hACE2) were first infected with IAV followed by SARS-CoV-2. The host response and effect on virus biology was compared to K18-hACE2 mice infected with IAV or SARS-CoV-2 only. Infection of mice with each individual virus resulted in a disease phenotype compared to control mice. Although, SARS-CoV-2 RNA synthesis appeared significantly reduced in the sequentially infected mice, these mice had a more rapid weight loss, more severe lung damage and a prolongation of the innate response compared to singly infected or control mice. The sequential infection also exacerbated the extrapulmonary manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2. This included a more severe encephalitis. Taken together, the data suggest that the concept of “twinfection” is deleterious and mitigation steps should be instituted as part of a comprehensive public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Separable Associations Between Perceived Positive and Negative Online Experiences and Loneliness in Peruvian Adolescents During Physical Isolation in Response to COVID-19 -
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+COVID-19 lockdowns around the world have markedly disrupted adolescents’ in-person social networks, putting them at risk for social isolation, loneliness and their detrimental consequences. During lockdown, social media can help adolescents to maintain and develop relationships across distance, particularly with peers. In this longitudinal, observational study following 735 Peruvian adolescents (11-17 years old) from low-to-middle income urban settings, we investigated whether online experiences relate to loneliness during initial stages of lockdown in Perú. We found that loneliness generally did not change between week six and week eleven of lockdown, was higher for females and similar for all grades. Both positive and negative online experiences were more frequent for older students, and females experienced more negative online experiences than males. Loneliness was negatively associated with positive online experiences, with the reverse pattern for negative online experiences, when controlling for family social support and screen time. Our results highlight the association between online experiences and well-being, suggesting that positive online experiences can be an important vehicle for peer relationships in the face of lockdown.
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Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of a Single Dose of STI-2020 (COVI-AMG™) to Treat COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Biological: COVI-AMG; Drug: Placebo Sponsor: Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. Not yet recruiting
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Study to Evaluate a Single Dose of STI-2020 (COVI-AMG™) in Adults With Mild COVID-19 Symptoms - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Biological: COVI-AMG; Drug: Placebo Sponsor: Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. Not yet recruiting
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An Effectiveness Study of the Sinovac’s Adsorbed COVID-19 (Inactivated) Vaccine - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Biological: Adsorbed COVID-19 (Inactivated) Vaccine Sponsor: Butantan Institute Enrolling by invitation
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A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of VB-201 in Patients With COVID-19 - Condition: Severe COVID-19 Interventions: Drug: VB-201 + Standard of care; Drug: Standard of care Sponsor: Vascular Biogenics Ltd. operating as VBL Therapeutics Recruiting
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Effect of Prone Position onV/Q Matching in Non-intubated Patients With COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Other: prone position Sponsor: Southeast University, China Not yet recruiting
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Study of the Kinetics of COVID-19 Antibodies for 24 Months in Patients With Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection - Conditions: Covid19; SARS-CoV 2 Intervention: Other: Sampling by venipuncture Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Régional d’Orléans Recruiting
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COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Therapy - Conditions: SARS-CoV-2 Infection; COVID-19 Infection Intervention: Biological: Convalescent plasma Sponsors: Angelica Samudio; Consejo Nacional de Ciencias y Tecnología, Paraguay; Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social, Paraguay; Centro de información y recursos para el desarrollo, Paraguay Completed
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A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Prothione™ Capsules for Mild to Moderate Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Condition: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Interventions: Drug: Placebo; Drug: Prothione™ (6g) Sponsor: Prothione, LLC Not yet recruiting
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Effectiveness of Ivermectin in SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Patients - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Drug: Ivermectin Sponsor: FMH College of Medicine and Dentistry Completed
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Telerehabilitation in Covid-19 After Hospital Discharge - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Other: Standard Physiotherapy program; Other: Telerehabilitation Sponsor: Universidad de Granada Not yet recruiting
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AGILE (Early Phase Platform Trial for COVID-19) - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Drug: CST-2: EIDD-2801; Drug: CST-2: Placebo Sponsors: University of Liverpool; University of Southampton; Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; Lancaster University; Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Recruiting
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Enriched Heparin Anti COVID-19 Trial - Condition: Covid19 Interventions: Drug: Heparin sodium; Drug: Placebo Sponsor: UPECLIN HC FM Botucatu Unesp Not yet recruiting
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Pulmonary Rehabilitation of Patients With a History of COVID-19 - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Procedure: Pulmonary rehabilitation Sponsor: University of Rzeszow Enrolling by invitation
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Respiratory Aerosols in Patients With COVID-19 and Healthy Controls - Conditions: SARS-CoV-2 Infection; Covid19 Interventions: Diagnostic Test: Resp-Aer-Meter; Diagnostic Test: Spirometry; Diagnostic Test: Qualitative and quantitative virus PCR of respiratory secretions in patients with high aerosol concentrations Sponsors: Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Hospital; Palas GmbH Recruiting
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Community Network-driven COVID-19 Testing of Vulnerable Populations in the Central US - Condition: Covid19 Intervention: Other: Social Network Strategy + COVID-19 messaging Sponsor: University of Chicago Not yet recruiting
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From PubMed
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Effect of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine on COVID-19 Virological Outcomes: An Updated Meta-Analysis - As anti-malarial drugs have been found to inhibit Corona viruses in vitro, studies have evaluated the effect of these drugs inCOVID-19 infection. We conducted an updated meta-analysis of clinical trials and observational studies published till June 2020. Patients with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) infection were included. The drugs used in the intervention group are Chloroquine (CQ)/Hydroxychloroquine…
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EGCG, a green tea polyphenol, inhibits human coronavirus replication in vitro - COVID-19 pandemic results in record high deaths in many countries. Although a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 is now available, effective antiviral drugs to treat coronavirus diseases are not available yet. Recently, EGCG, a green tea polyphenol, was reported to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3CL-protease, however the effect of EGCG on coronavirus replication is unknown. In this report, human coronavirus HCoV-OC43 (beta coronavirus) and HCoV-229E (alpha coronavirus) were used to examine the effect of EGCG on…
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Discovery and structural optimization of 3-O-beta-chacotriosyl oleanane-type triterpenoids as potent entry inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 virus infections - Currently, SARS-CoV-2 virus is an emerging pathogen that has posed a serious threat to public health worldwide. However, no agents have been approved to treat SARS-CoV-2 infections to date, underscoring the great need for effective and practical therapies for SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks. We reported that a focused screen of OA saponins identified 3-O-β-chacotriosyl OA benzyl ester 2 as a novel small molecule inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 virus entry, via binding to SARS-CoV-2 glycoprotein (S). We performed…
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Neutralizing antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain isolated from a naive human antibody library - Infection with SARS-CoV-2 elicits robust antibody responses in some patients, with a majority of the response directed at the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike surface glycoprotein. Remarkably, many patient-derived antibodies that potently inhibit viral infection harbor few to no mutations from the germline, suggesting that naïve antibody libraries are a viable means for discovery of novel SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. Here, we used a yeast surface-display library of human naïve…
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Quantitative Assays Reveal Cell Fusion at Minimal Levels of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein and Fusion-from-Without - Cell entry of the pandemic virus SARS-CoV-2 is mediated by its spike protein S. As main antigenic determinant, S protein is in focus of various therapeutic strategies. Besides particle-cell fusion, S mediates fusion between infected and uninfected cells resulting in syncytia formation. Here we present sensitive assay systems with a high dynamic range and high signal-to-noise ratios covering not only particle-cell and cell-cell fusion, but also fusion-from-without (FFWO). In FFWO, S-containing…
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Transcriptomic profiling of SARS-CoV-2 infected human cell lines identifies HSP90 as target for COVID-19 therapy - Detailed knowledge of the molecular biology of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for understanding of viral replication, host responses and disease progression. Here, we report gene expression profiles of three SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 infected human cell lines. SARS-CoV-2 elicited an approximately two-fold higher stimulation of the innate immune response compared to SARS-CoV in the human epithelial cell line Calu-3, including induction of miRNA-155. Single-cell RNA sequencing of infected cells…
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Microsecond MD Simulation and Multiple-Conformation Virtual Screening to Identify Potential Anti-COVID-19 Inhibitors Against SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease - The recent pandemic outbreak of COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), raised global health and economic concerns. Phylogenetically, SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to SARS-CoV, and both encode the enzyme main protease (M(pro)/3CL(pro)), which can be a potential target inhibiting viral replication. Through this work, we have compiled the structural aspects of M^(pro) conformational changes, with molecular modeling and 1-μs MD simulations. Long-scale MD…
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Screening of JAK-STAT modulators from the antiviral plants of Indian traditional system of medicine with the potential to inhibit 2019 novel coronavirus using network pharmacology - The majority of the bioactives under investigation were predicted to target TNF receptor-associated factor 5 in the Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of the transcription pathway. Similarly, druglikeness prediction identified vitexilactone to possess the highest druglikeness score, i.e., 0.88. Furthermore, proteins targeted in the Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription pathway were also predicted to regulate multiple pathways, i.e., ErbB, AGE-RAGE, NF-kappa…
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Development of Plant-Produced Recombinant ACE2-Fc Fusion Protein as a Potential Therapeutic Agent Against SARS-CoV-2 - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which has recently emerged as a potential threat to global public health. SARS-CoV-2 is the third known human coronavirus that has huge impact on the human population after SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Although some vaccines and therapeutic drugs are currently in clinical trials, none of them are approved for commercial use yet. As with SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 utilizes…
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Complement Activation in Kidneys of Patients With COVID-19 - Most patients who became critically ill following infection with COVID-19 develop severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) attributed to a maladaptive or inadequate immune response. The complement system is an important component of the innate immune system that is involved in the opsonization of viruses but also in triggering further immune cell responses. Complement activation was seen in plasma adsorber material that clogged during the treatment of critically ill patients with COVID-19. Apart…
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HIF Prolyl Hydroxylase Inhibitors for COVID-19 Treatment: Pros and Cons - The review analyzes the potential advantages and problems associated with using HIF prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors as a treatment for COVID-19. HIF prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors are known to boost endogenous erythropoietin (Epo) and activate erythropoiesis by stabilizing and activating the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF). Recombinant Epo treatment has anti-inflammatory and healing properties, and thus, very likely, will be beneficial for moderate to severe cases of COVID-19. However, HIF PHD…
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Nasal Delivery of Hesperidin/Chitosan Nanoparticles Suppresses Cytokine Storm Syndrome in a Mouse Model of Acute Lung Injury - The cytokine storm or cytokine storm syndrome (CSS) is associated with high mortality in patients with acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), for example following sepsis or infectious diseases including COVID-19. However, there are no effective treatments for CSS-associated ALI or ALI/ARDS. Thus, there remains an urgent need to develop effective drugs and therapeutic strategies against CSS and ALI/ARDS. Nasal and inhaled drug delivery methods represent a…
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Computational search for drug repurposing to identify potential inhibitors against SARS-COV-2 using Molecular Docking, QTAIM and IQA methods in viral Spike protein - Human ACE2 interface - With the advancement of the Covid-19 pandemic, this work aims to find molecules that can inhibit the attraction between the Spike proteins of the SARS-COV-2 virus and human ACE2. The results of molecular docking positioned four molecules at the interaction site Tyr-491(Spike)-Glu-37(ACE2) and one at the site Gly-488(Spike)-Lys-353(ACE2). The QTAIM and IQA data showed that the 1629 molecule had a significant inhibitory effect on the Gly488-Ly353 site, decreasing the Laplacian of the electronic…
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In silico identification and validation of natural antiviral compounds as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 methyltransferase - The novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is potentially fatal and caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Due to the unavailability of any proven treatment or vaccination, the outbreak of COVID-19 is wreaking havoc worldwide. Hence, there is an urgent need for therapeutics targeting SARS-CoV-2. Since, botanicals are an important resource for several efficacious antiviral agents, natural compounds gaining significant attention for COVID-19 treatment. In the…
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Network Meta-analysis on the Mechanisms Underlying Alcohol Augmentation of COVID-19 Pathologies - CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analyses demonstrate that EtOH exposure may augment SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammation by altering the activity of key inflammatory mediators. Medical records of COVID-19 patients are sparse for drinking history. Our findings suggest the importance to caution against alcohol consumption, which has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and facilitate further investigation into how alcohol exposure may affect viral infections.
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From Patent Search
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Compositions and methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein - - link
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新冠病毒疫苗表达抗原蛋白的电化学发光免疫检测试剂盒 - 本发明提供一种新冠病毒疫苗表达抗原蛋白的电化学发光免疫检测试剂盒，所述试剂盒至少包含：包被有链霉亲和素的孔板、生物素标记的抗新冠棘突蛋白抗体1、SULFO标记的抗新冠棘突蛋白抗体2、洗涤液、读数液、新冠病毒S蛋白标准品和新冠病毒RBD蛋白标准品。本发明以生物素标记的抗新冠棘突蛋白的抗体1与链霉亲和素板进行连接作为固定相，以新冠S蛋白、RBD蛋白作为参照品，可被SULFO标记的抗体2识别，从而检测新冠抗原的表达情况。该试剂盒能准确灵敏地定量检测不同基质中的新冠S蛋白、RBD蛋白，样品的前处理过程简单，耗时少，可同时检测大量样品。本发明对于大批量样品的新冠病毒疫苗表达抗原的检测具有重要意义。 - link
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陶瓷复合涂料、杀毒陶瓷复合涂料及其制备方法和涂层 - 本发明是关于一种陶瓷复合涂料、杀毒陶瓷复合涂料及其制备方法和涂层。该涂料包括3099.9%无机树脂、0.170%氮化硅、010%功能助剂、018%无机颜料和02%其他功能助剂；无机树脂由有机烷氧基硅烷、有机溶剂和硅溶胶混合、反应，抽醇，添加去离子水获得；有机烷氧基硅烷、有机溶剂和硅溶胶的质量比为11.6：0.5~0.8：1。所要解决的技术问题是如何制备一种贮存稳定性好、可常温固化且膜层的物理化学性能优异的涂料；该涂料VOC含量低，具有良好的安全生产性，且涂料成膜过程中的VOC排放很低，利于环保；该膜层的硬度高、柔韧性好，不易开裂，且可以接触性杀灭病毒和细菌；该涂料既可常温固化，也可加热固化，无需现场两个剂型调配，施工方便，成本节约，从而更加适于实用。 - link
病毒核酸提取或保存试剂、引物探针组合、病毒扩增试剂、试剂盒及其应用 - 本发明涉及病毒检测领域，特别涉及病毒核酸提取或保存试剂、引物探针组合、病毒扩增试剂、试剂盒及其应用。本发明病毒检测装置提供了一种简单易行的病毒核酸提取方法，整个过程大约5‑15分钟，回收纯化的核酸，可用于病毒核酸的检测。包括PCR、NASBA、LAMP、RPA等。相比较于传统的病毒提取方法，本方法病毒核酸回收率高、用时少、操作方便、易于临床推广。本发明涉及单管同时检测新型冠状病毒COVID‑19 N和ORF基因以及人源内参基因的等温扩增引物、探针组合序列和反应缓冲液，该体系特异性好，灵敏度高（50 cp/mL），特异性高，只需20 min的检测时间，最快可在10 min左右报阳性。 - link
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一种侧链修饰的聚氨基酸及其制备方法和用途 - 本发明提供了一种侧链修饰的聚氨基酸及其制备方法，所述侧链修饰的聚氨基酸具有如下优势：（1）主链和侧链结构及其连接方式都可以灵活选取，使制得的聚合物胶束具有良好生物相容性和靶向递送效率，（2）聚氨基酸主链的电荷极性为电正性，对主链的电荷调节促进胶束的pH值响应，帮助RNA从“溶酶体陷阱”中逃离进入胞浆，（3）通过量化侧链修饰脂肪链的链长、饱和度和脂肪链数量来控制侧链的疏水性部分，精确调节疏水部分的体积和缔合作用强度，（4）由于RNA和DNA在结构和负电性上的相似性，高效构建包裹和递送体，（5）通过双亲性功能高分子的侧链修饰引入不同的生物功能基团，实现递送体系对靶点组织和部位的特异性结合，提高靶向递送效果。 - link
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靶向SARS-CoV-2冠状病毒的抗体及其诊断和检测用途 - 本发明涉及靶向SARS‑CoV‑2冠状病毒的抗体及其诊断和检测用途。具体涉及特异性结合冠状病毒S蛋白的抗体或其抗原结合片段和抗体对以及包含所述抗体或其抗原结合片段和抗体对的检测产品。本发明还涉及编码所述抗体或抗原结合片段的核酸及包含其的宿主细胞，以及制备所述抗体或抗原结合片段的方法。此外，本发明涉及所述抗体或其抗原结合片段、抗体对的预防、治疗或诊断用途。相较于常规的IgG/IgM检测，该检测方法直接检测样本中病毒的RBD蛋白，可以有效避免可能的样本中无关IgG/IgM对于检测的干扰，有效提高检测的灵敏度。所述抗体或抗体对可用于诊断和/或检测冠状病毒。 - link
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A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITION OF NITAZOXANIDE AND MEFLOQUINE AND METHOD THEREOF - A pharmaceutical composition for treating Covid-19 virus comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a nitazoxanide or its pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof and an mefloquine or its pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof is disclosed. The pharmaceutical composition comprises the nitazoxanide in the ratio of 0.05% to 66% w/v and the mefloquine in the ratio of 0.05% to 90% w/v. The composition is found to be effective for the treatment of COVID -19 (SARS-CoV2). The pharmaceutical composition of nitazoxanide and mefloquine has been found to be effective and is unexpectedly well tolerated with a low rate of side-effects, and equally high cure-rates than in comparable treatments. - link
The Biden White House Is Tossing Obama’s Economics Playbook - Joe Biden and Janet Yellen are proving to be far bolder than past Democratic Administrations. - link
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Can Biden Reverse Trump’s Damage to Latin America? - The new President has vowed to end his predecessor’s “incompetence and neglect” in the region, but first he must convince allies to trust Washington again. - link
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Trump’s Impeachment-Trial Lawyers Refuse to Seriously Engage with the Constitutional Issues - What looks like incompetence by Bruce Castor and David Schoen may be better understood as contempt for the process. - link
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When Climate Change and Xenophobia Collide - During a hurricane, migrants in the Bahamas were told that they could seek shelter without fear. More than a thousand were deported, reflecting a global trend. - link
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A Survival Center Tries to Survive the Pandemic - Bobby Simpson has been distributing food in Kentucky for decades. Now the people who usually help him help others are hurting, too. - link
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From Vox
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The best 70€ I ever spent: An old German sideboard -
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+Dana Rodriguez for Vox
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+After an adulthood spent moving around, I decided it was finally time to make an apartment a home.
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+Over my first two years in Berlin, I moved house seven times and never owned a bed.Buying furniture takes time, money, or both, I reasoned, and moving with furniture is even more work. Instead,I hailed standard yellow cabs to shuttle me between sublets with my possessions in boxes, bags, and suitcases. It seldom took more than one trip.
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+Like many people, I find it easier to leave than to ever settle down. I believe it’s a form of pragmatism. In my early 20s, I made too little money to have long-term plans. I found myself at the mercy of landlords, bureaucrats, and employers who made it clear that any contracts and permits I received were acts of profound charity. I spent these years listless, and ready to leave if or when I was told to. I refused to buy furniture because it was more convenient to inherit what others left behind, because someone was always leaving something behind, which meant that I could do the same without thinking about where it came from, or where it was going.
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+Instead, I nursed a found collection of IKEA bookshelves and cheap wardrobes alongside the detritus from my day-to-day life that lined my suitcases. I honored my bric-a-brac as sentimental and my furniture as functional until it all became too unbearable or illogical to carry it with me. Last summer — my seventh in Berlin — I gave away so much of what I owned that when I most recently moved house, it took the movers under an hour to gather everything I had and bring it to my new apartment, where I have lived alone since last July, and where I intend to stay for as long as I can.
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+The night that I moved in, I could hear bar hoppers making the most of the summer evening in the distance. My thoughts turned to the stack of boxes that were still piled up in the next room where I’d abandoned them for a Zoom call shortly after I arrived that morning. As I nodded off, I caught myself apologizing for leaving my things everywhere. With no one to inconvenience, I let go as the sound of the streets pushed me deeper and deeper asleep instead. When I woke up, I dumped every box out on the living room floor and broke them all down, then frogmarched them to the recycling bin.
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+Now in lockdown, to fill the nameless, anxious void that spans between working and sleeping, I search for second-hand furniture online. It started out of necessity: I surveyed the apartment when I signed the lease, and noted which pieces of furniture would be temporarily loaned to me. Then, I made a list of the things that I would be most devastated to live without. I had brought a bookshelf, a sofa, a desk, a chair, and a clothing rack with me; I decided that replacing the trash cans could wait, and that I didn’t need any more lamps for now. I also conceded it was time to give up the bit: After seven years in Berlin, I finally bought my own bed.
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+Something had changed: This space is mine, I decided with conviction. I wasn’t going to leave. I bought two matching chests of drawers from the 1960s, in which I could decant my suitcases. And I bought a ’70s bar cart next, which now only holds a dish of candles and a splinter of sandalwood. I put an offer in on a narrow highboard from the ’50s that had just enough storage space for a few binders or files, but it was already spoken for.
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+On my favorite second-hand furniture sites, the search function is limited, ranking posts only by time published, distance from your area code, and price. Sometimes, you can explore categories and subcategories, but the overlap between disparate branches in the same taxonomic tree is not intuitive to navigate — is a vintage flowerpot an antique (Hobby), an interior decoration (Furniture), or a garden accessory (Garden and Pets)?
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+Six times a day, I run through a list of search terms that sort furniture by form (sideboard), by function (cabinet), by age (’70s), by taste (mid-century modern), and by the owner’s sales pitch (high-quality). I learned a new language for furniture — one that describes its features, its history, and how people understand it. There are no fewer than 12 words in German for a small pedestal on which you can stand a plant, so I learned all of them, and four common misspellings. I hold deep, almost prejudicial beliefs about how much a kitchen table should cost, despite having never shopped for one. I can clock sellers with a penchant for gouging prices by their VSCO filters alone.
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+My searches follow me, with targeted advertisements blooming across my Facebook and Instagram feeds. One appeals to my values with a bamboo TV console, prioritizing its sustainability over any details on its price, size, or what makes it sustainable. Another ad appeals to my taste, selling designer hairpin legs that upgrade flatpack furniture into thoughtful, considered homeware.
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+Some people might confuse my labored, inefficient searching for a daily meditation, or a deliberate form of resistance against the attention economy in which competing vendors anticipate my desires to offer something that I might want, or something I should want, or both. This is not the case.
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+My hunts are furious, and cathartic. I scroll angrily until I reach the timestamp where I last ended. I am powered by adrenaline and cortisol, playing a game of chance, of timing, of instinct, and of last-minute planning that seems so foreign and distanced from the life I’ve lived since the start of the pandemic. Against the backdrop of the last year of restless, aching sanctions, I can understand why someone would bet their life savings on the word of Reddit prophecies because regardless of the outcome, it is a choice that they can say they made, and a decision that was their own. If I see furniture I want, I find a way to make it mine.
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+On a Sunday morning, in a lull during an otherwise work-heavy weekend, I came across a gorgeous East German sideboard from 1970 with glass windows to show off stemware that I don’t own. I acted before thinking, and showed up two hours later with a moving trolley and belt that were comically undersized for the sideboard’s breadth and depth.
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+As the owners helped me load it into the elevator in their well-groomed new-build apartment complex, they told me how much they’d loved the sideboard, and how sad they were to part with it, but their first child was on the way and needed the space. They were happy, they said, to see it was going somewhere it would be well tended to.
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+They offered me a ride home, but their car doors had frozen shut, and I really couldn’t ask them to go so far out of their way for me, a stranger. So I handed over 70€ in cash and stood outside their apartment in the ice and the snow with my sideboard. I called every number in my phone until I made it back to my apartment thirty minutes later with the sideboard in tow. Upon my return, I stood in the hallway, eyeing it and necking a bottle of water as the adrenaline left my body. Then, I returned to my desk and went back to work.
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+Sometimes, I find furniture that I don’t buy because it’s too big, too ostentatious, too close to what I own, or too far from my apartment. I post this furniture on Twitter in hopes that someone else can see what I see in it. Recently, two friends sent me a picture of a cupboard in their bedroom. It’s their first home together, and the cupboard is one of the many things I found in my searches that will remain with others even if I choose to leave.
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+As I cycled through commonly misspelled search terms, I came across two blumenständerthat had been mislabelled. They went to an author I’ve never met and a week later, I received a copy of her first book in the mail in return. So many people chased a glass table that I found that when it resurfaced a week later on one of my favorite sites, it was 100 euro more. Its owner hadn’t seen its worth until other people did first.
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+I search for furniture, then send side table recommendations to a man with whom I shared two chaste dates after meeting him on Bumble, and I send furniture I find in London, New York, and Philadelphia to friends in these cities, as well as in cities that I’ve never visited myself. I search for furniture because it is a way to spend my time (of which I have plenty) and not money, of which I have less and less. I search for furniture because I’ve made a choice to stay and that choice was my own. I search for furniture because I do not know what I want until I know what I can have.
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+Nathan Ma is a Berlin-based writer and critic for the Believer, the Baffler, and other outlets.
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The many ways Muslim prisoners are denied religious rights in prison -
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+From high-cost Qurans to ignored dietary requests, Muslim inmates face discrimination. | Matias Nieto/Cover via Getty Images
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+Capitol rioter Jake Angeli, the so-called “Q Shaman,” was given organic food in prison, revealing a double standard for Muslim prisoners.
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+Rick, an African American and Muslim prisoner, was in a correctional facility in a Midwestern state when he tried to obtain a Quran for worship. His request to the officer in charge was denied. But when he was told the price for it, he was shocked — it was far more than he could afford, and, significantly, was two to three times more expensive than a Bible.
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+“I just couldn’t afford to buy the Quran, or anything else, for that matter,” he says, as he was denied a Quran multiple times.
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+Rick, whose last name is being withheld to protect his privacy, resorted to secretly borrowing a copy of the Quran from another inmate. When guards were passing by, he had to quickly make sure they did not see it.
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+“The discrimination is so real. All that matters is your background and the color of your skin,” he says.
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+Yet earlier this month, a federal judge affirmed that Jake Angeli, the Capitol rioter known as “Q Shaman,” should be granted his request for organic food while being held in a Washington, DC, jail, citing his religious beliefs. It is puzzling that Angeli’s accommodations were met, not only because the DC jail found no research to show that an organic diet was a tenet of Shamanism but also because it’s deeply hypocritical given the treatment of so many Muslim prisoners in this country who are denied, among other things, halal food. This demonstrates how so many white practitioners of faith are not just immune to discrimination, but are even awarded favors when it comes to treatment in prison.
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+Rami Nsour, founding director of the Tayba Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to provide services to those incarcerated, says that providing incarcerated Muslims with the basics necessary to practice their faith is extremely low priority for most prisons.
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+“If not all basic necessities of hygiene are not afforded to prisoners, and that is not high on the budget list, then religious material is also not going to be high,” said Nsour.
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+Nsour explains that federal prisons allot a certain amount of money to buy books for the chapel. That means that the cost of practicing one’s religion falls on inmates, who are forced to use money from their prison wages, which can be as low as 5 cents an hour. She explained that a Quran can run $20 in prison. “For some, that might be their whole monthly paycheck. This is for the people who don’t have family or friends on the outside who can purchase a book for them. That is one hurdle,” Nsour adds. In many prisons, Bibles are far more abundant.
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+Even those who are able to successfully obtain a Quran face issues. Nsour said that many prisoners reported to her their religious books were thrown away after search or destroyed. “In one case, an office stomped on the student’s copy of the Quran. The student retrieved the copy of the Quran from the garbage can and the officer’s boot print was still clearly on the Quran,” Nsour explains. “We had one Muslim incarcerated student who told us that 17 prisoners were using one copy of the Quran. Note that the average Muslim house in the US probably has about four copies per household member,” he adds.
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+According to Rick, even obtaining something simple as a prayer mat was looked down on and not provided. “When trying to pray, we are not allowed to. The guards think we are making some moves to be part of a gang, and they don’t let us pray,” Rick explains. He tells Vox how guards feel threatened with the growing number of people becoming Muslims and how the “technique” is scary to them. “It’s like we’re doing something abnormal for them to think we’re being Muslims,” he says. “The white-centric world just criminalizes us for who we are. Whether I’m wanting to pray alone or in congregation, it’s a no.”
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+Unfortunately, prayer is not the only thing Muslim prisoners are denied. Fasting and breaking the fast is also a struggle for many. Rick tells us how he has needed food but was not given the time or resources to start or break the fast in a timely fashion. During Ramadan, Muslims fast before sunrise until sunset; with the dates of the holiday changing each year, the time also shifts. “When I’m confined, the guards don’t even give me any food when I need to start my fast since sometimes it’s as early as 4 in the morning,” he explains.
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+Similarly, Aishah — who was incarcerated for three years in a prison on the East Coast — recounts multiple forms of religious discrimination when she was incarcerated. She tells Vox how women used to fast long days during Ramadan and at times were denied iftar, the breaking of the fast, simply because “the kitchen didn’t have food.” She says when a local mosque used to donate food, many Muslims were denied that food and told they had to pay for it. When it came to accessing Qurans, they were extremely limited in number and not readily available. Instead, a Bible was offered.
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+“It was clear that they were trying to make our lives more difficult because we were Muslim,” Aishah says. She also mentioned how churches used to donate food and that Christians readily accessed the food but Muslims were denied.
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+Even though federal laws are in place to protect individuals from religious discrimination, Muslim prisoners like Rick and Aishah are either charged more for resources or denied it altogether. Muslim Advocates, a group of lawyers based in Washington, DC, reports there are rampant cases where many Muslim prisoners are simply not listened to due to their religion.
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+“All too often, Americans who practice Islam or other faiths that are less common in this country face discrimination from those who are misinformed or bigoted,” says Matt Callahan, senior staff attorney for Muslim Advocates. “This problem is especially severe in prison, where Muslims are overrepresented and their power to stand up for their rights is weakest. Because of this power imbalance, it is critical that our courts and governments do everything in their power to protect the religious exercise of prisoners.”
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+But the discrimination goes beyond treatment behind bars. In particular, Black people are twice as likely to be held pretrial as white people. Muslims in pretrial incarceration face an increased risk of victimization, surveillance, and denial of religious freedom in the prison system due to Islamophobia. It also puts those who can’t afford bail at a disadvantage.
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+Maryam Kashani, one of the cofounders of Believers Bail Out, a community-led nonprofit that aims to bail out Muslims in pretrial incarceration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, explained that funding is required as a mechanism to penalize poverty and promote racism. “Even though the criminal legal system proclaims the principle of innocent until proven guilty the reality is that people who have not been convicted of any crime can be jailed indefinitely because they can’t afford bail,” she said. “As a result, those in pretrial incarceration can lose their jobs, their children, their homes, and even their lives.”
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+Kashani explained that she sees Believers Bail Out as a form of zakat, or a tax on wealth and one of the five pillars in Islam that is outlined in the Quran. It is to help the poor and the needy and for the freeing of enslaved people or captives. “It is in our capacity and our duty as Muslims to be a part of ending this unjust bail system that criminalizes poverty and is inherently racist in nature,” Kashani explains.
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+Though Rick is now out of prison, he reflects on the time he spent there and how much discrimination he faced. “It is as if I was committing a crime, to be both Muslim and Black,” he said.
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+Tasmiha Khan has written for the New York Times, National Geographic, and Vanity Fair, among others. Find her on Twitter to learn more.
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One Good Thing: How indie rock band Fever Dolls won my heart in just 9 songs -
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+Who doesn’t love a band with matching tennis outfits? | Kayhl Cooper
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+The five-piece group might make you miss hearing a band you’ve never heard of in concert.
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+If you were to ask me to name the qualities that unite most of my favorite bands, I think I would say, “a great bar band that sounds like it might write an amazing Broadway musical.” The New York-based rock quintet Fever Dolls meets and far surpasses that standard. Not only can I not wait for the band’s first full-length album whenever it should arrive, but I’m also very excited for the day when its members mount a musical adaptation of No Country for Old Men or something.
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+Cofounders Evan Allis and Renn Mulloy, who started the Fever Dolls in 2018 in Burlington, Vermont, took the band’s name from two seemingly opposing creative influences: proto punk band the New York Dolls and the disco-infused soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever (the film that made “Stayin’ Alive” famous). Yet listen to many of the Fever Dolls’ best tracks, currently available as a handful of singles and a five-song EP, and you might detect a hint of country and bluegrass poking through.
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+This is to say that Fever Dolls seem to borrow from an entirely new set of artistic influences on each and every track, while still sounding like themselves. That “musical mishmash” quality can get exhausting, but the few bands who’ve figured out how to navigate it have often become my absolute favorites. (See also: the New Pornographers, for a band that blends a huge number of influences into something weirdly coherent and cohesive.)
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+Sidebar: I wonder if musical eclecticism is a good thing for bands who might hope to find new listeners on Spotify. The streaming service served me three different Fever Dolls songs, in three very different contexts, before I put together that all of them were by the same band, whom I quickly became obsessed with. I have to imagine that incorporating several different influences helps bands reach lots of users who listen to different kinds of music.
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+One nice thing about getting on board with Fever Dolls at this point in their evolution is that the group has just nine songs that have been publicly released. Their first full album (assuming they record one someday) is still somewhere in the hazy future. That fact makes it easy to consume the entire catalog of Fever Dolls music in an hour, to realize just how many different styles the group pulls into its music, while always remaining within the world of indie rock.
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+Of these nine songs, I particularly enjoy the arena rock-adjacent “The Distance,” the acoustic lament “Mrs. Carver,” and the more straightforwardly danceable “Out of Vogue.” But by far my favorite Fever Dolls song — as in “this is basically the only song I have listened to for two straight weeks” — is “All the Best Debts.”
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+“All the Best Debts” was consciously written by co-founder Allis as a song the band could play at the start of sets during shows where they appeared in the lineup with other acts. The song was designed to be compelling to people who came to see someone else, in hopes of convincing them to stick around and listen to what Fever Dolls have to offer. As such, it starts small and gradually builds in intensity, finding ways to highlight each and every member of the five-piece ensemble, with particular highlights for lead singer Mulloy and bassist Mitchell Parrish. By the end, “All the Best Debts” has a vaguely operatic quality, while remaining the sort of song you might not be surprised to hear the world’s best band play in the world’s worst dive bar.
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+The song also makes good on my “I’ll bet Fever Dolls would write a good musical…” notion, because for all its indie rock trappings, “All the Best Debts” is structured almost exactly like the opener to a musical that slowly introduces its major characters across the course of its opening tune. It’s a neat trick, and it strikes me as a near-perfect concert opener (though who’s going to concerts right now?).
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+But I have more personal reasons for recommending an obscure indie band, even one whose music I like as much as I like Fever Dolls’ songs. I have a firm belief that the right art finds us exactly when we need it most. Taylor Swift’s “Mine” will always be the soundtrack to a rough spot in my marriage that my wife and I have since overcome, while Gang of Youths’ “The Heart Is a Muscle” was pretty much all I listened to in the month before I came out publicly as a trans woman. “All the Best Debts” has served a similar purpose.
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+I first heard the song recently, while driving through the New Mexico desert on a trip I had taken to intentionally confront a difficult pain from my past. I listened to it one time. And then again. And again. And again. I’m still listening to the song on repeat; somewhere inside of it, I can hear a vague reassurance that while my pain is real, and my pain is awful, and my pain feels like it will destroy me all too often, there are other people out there who are waiting to lift me up, even if they don’t know they are.
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+I have absolutely no idea what inspired Fever Dolls to write this song, but I know that when I hear the lyric “So when you tell them that you saw me tell them I took the long way out,” I feel a little bit more seen. And that’s one of the most powerful gifts art can give us.
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+Music by Fever Dolls is available on all major music streaming platforms. For more recommendations from the world of culture, check out the One Good Thing archives.
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From The Hindu: Sports
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Ind vs Eng | Root refuses to blame rotation policy, team selection after 317-run hammering - Root said it is the best they could have asked for under the current circumstances, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Serena Williams tops Halep at Australian Open quarterfinal - Seeking a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title, Williams set up a showdown against No. 3 Naomi Osaka, who will carry a 19-match winning streak into Thursday’s semifinals.
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Sydney police say 1996 Olympic swimmer ran drug syndicate - Scott Miller was in custody and charged with drug trafficking after Australian police seized methamphetamine valued at 2 million Australian dollars
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Turn alone did not give me wickets, pace and guile did: Ashwin on Chepauk pitch - I try and load up differently, use the breeze, use different angles to release the ball, speed of the run-up,” says Ravichandran Ashwin
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India jump to second spot in WTC rankings after big win over England in 2nd Test - India were fourth on the table before Tuesday’s result
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From The Hindu: National News
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SIT to probe grenade attack on newspaper office: Manipur CM - Newspaper publication and cable news broadcast have been suspended in the State to protest the attack on the office of Poknapham and its sister publication The People’s Chronicle
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No record of trusts headed by PM, says PMO - Compilation of data would divert resources, says response to RTI
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Watch | Disengagement of the Chinese army troops at Pangong Tso - A video showing the ongoing disengagement of Chinese army from the north and south banks of Pangong Tso
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KFRI launches help facility for farmers - The on-call help centre will offer expert opinion on medicinal plant cultivation
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Odisha CM lays foundation stone of country’s largest hockey stadium in Rourkela - Odisha chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra had said that the proposed facility will be developed within one year.
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From BBC: Europe
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Spain: Rapper Pablo Hasel who fled to university sent to jail - Pablo Hasel had defied a prison sentence for “glorifying terrorism” in lyrics and tweets.
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Covid: Court orders end to nationwide curfew in Netherlands - Judges rule the measure should be lifted immediately because it breaches the right to free movement.
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The hypercar maker who was told to give up his dream - Mate Rimac struggled to get anyone to believe that cutting edge sportscars could be made in Croatia.
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Irish priest provides ‘takeaway ashes’ - Fr Brian Brady teamed up with a shop to provide holy ashes in sauce containers for parishioners.
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Frozen canals attract ice skaters in the Netherlands - Freezing temperatures in the Netherlands have made its famous waterways ideal for outdoor skating.
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From Ars Technica
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Neanderthals used stone tool tech once considered exclusive to Homo sapiens - A child’s molar from an Israeli cave links Neanderthals to the cave’s stone tools. - link
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VLC 4.0 sneak peek—a look at its work-in-progress new interface - VLC 4.0’s brand-new interface abstracts media files away from their content. - link
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Parler says it’s back without “Big Tech” after being kicked off Amazon - Parler said it’s using “independent technology” to get online after Amazon ban. - link
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Texas’ power grid crumples under the cold - Competition for natural gas and frozen wind turbines are only some of the problems. - link
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Astronomers: A comet fragment, not an asteroid, killed off the dinosaurs - Jupiter’s gravity pushed comet toward Sun; comet was ripped apart by tidal forces. - link
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From Jokes Subreddit
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I yelled “COW!” at a woman on bike -
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+I yelled “COW!” at a woman on a bike, she flipped me off and then ran straight into the cow.
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A man walks out to the street and catches a taxi just going by. He gets into the taxi, and the cabbie says, “Perfect timing. You’re just like Frank.” -
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+Passenger: “Who?”
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+Cabbie: “Frank Feldman… he’s a guy who did everything right all the time. Like my coming along when you needed a cab, things happened like that to Frank Feldman every single time.”
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+Passenger: “There are always a few clouds over everybody.”
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+Cabbie: “Not Frank Feldman. He was a terrific athlete. He could have won the Grand-Slam at tennis. He could golf with the pros. He sang like an opera baritone, and danced like a Broadway star. And you should have heard him play the piano! He was an amazing guy.”
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+Passenger: “Sounds like he was something really special.”
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+Cabbie: “There’s more. He had a memory like a computer. He remembered everybody’s birthday. He knew all about wine, which foods to order, and which fork to eat them with. And he could fix anything. Not like me -I change a fuse, and the whole street blacks out. But Frank Feldman, he could do everything right.”
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+Passenger: “Wow, some guy then.”
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+Cabbie: “He always knew the quickest way to go in traffic and avoid traffic jams. Not like me, I always seem to get stuck in them. But Frank, he never made a mistake, and he really knew how to treat a woman and make her feel good. He would never answer her back, even if she was in the wrong; and his clothing was always immaculate, shoes highly polished too. He was the perfect man! He never made a mistake. No one could ever measure up to Frank Feldman.”
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+Passenger: “An amazing fellow. How did you meet him?”
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+Cabbie: “Well… I never actually met Frank. He died, and I married his bloody widow…”
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