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Check out his blog, a journal about a Danish being stuck at Hong Kong for 3 months 
!
http://www.onceuponasaga.dk/blog
!http://www.onceuponasaga.dk/blog
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[No Politics] What you need to know about CoVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 [No Politics]
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maty
Major Contributor
¿Estamos listos para la vida normal? Así evoluciona la nueva curva de actividad y contagios
[Spanish] https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-05...la-batalla-en-la-vuelta-a-la-vida-normal.html
Are we ready for normal life? This is how the new activity and contagion curve evolves
https://translate.google.es/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-05-01/asi-evoluciona-la-nueva-curva-del-coronavirus-movilidad-frente-a-contagios-la-batalla-en-la-vuelta-a-la-vida-normal.html
[ 
- Activity (objective: 100%). To measure it we use daily mobility figures. It is an indicator of normal life. We took the information from three sources: Google location, trips on Apple Maps and mobile phone movements collected in a study by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. In the graph, we combine the three metrics - from millions of data - to generate a composite indicator.
- Rhythm of the virus (target: R <1). To keep pace with the epidemic use the reproductive number, we call R . It is an estimate of the number of people that each infected person infects. In the absence of measures, that number is around 3 and the virus grows exponentially, as it did until mid-March. To avoid this, the R must be less than one. We also measured the rhythm of the epidemic with the incidence of infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks.
- Color (target: green). The color of the line of infection in each country or region will depend on the level of activity and the rate of the virus. It is red when the activity is low (less than 70%) and the virus grows (R greater than 1.1), green when activity is recovered (more than 70%) and the virus does not grow (R less than 1.1) and orange in any other case... ]
Only Germany, Sweden and South Korea have the green color: activity is recovered (more than 70%) and the virus does not grow (R less than 1.1)
[Spanish] https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-05...la-batalla-en-la-vuelta-a-la-vida-normal.html
Are we ready for normal life? This is how the new activity and contagion curve evolves
https://translate.google.es/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-05-01/asi-evoluciona-la-nueva-curva-del-coronavirus-movilidad-frente-a-contagios-la-batalla-en-la-vuelta-a-la-vida-normal.html
[
- Activity (objective: 100%). To measure it we use daily mobility figures. It is an indicator of normal life. We took the information from three sources: Google location, trips on Apple Maps and mobile phone movements collected in a study by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. In the graph, we combine the three metrics - from millions of data - to generate a composite indicator.- Rhythm of the virus (target: R <1). To keep pace with the epidemic use the reproductive number, we call R . It is an estimate of the number of people that each infected person infects. In the absence of measures, that number is around 3 and the virus grows exponentially, as it did until mid-March. To avoid this, the R must be less than one. We also measured the rhythm of the epidemic with the incidence of infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks.
- Color (target: green). The color of the line of infection in each country or region will depend on the level of activity and the rate of the virus. It is red when the activity is low (less than 70%) and the virus grows (R greater than 1.1), green when activity is recovered (more than 70%) and the virus does not grow (R less than 1.1) and orange in any other case... ]
Only Germany, Sweden and South Korea have the green color: activity is recovered (more than 70%) and the virus does not grow (R less than 1.1)
Received the first of two stimulus checks.
I don't feel stimulated.
I don't feel stimulated.
You could buy CDs or records and stimulate the shop owners ...
Well, remember that these stimulus checks are an advance on any refund associated with next year's return. So, it's really your own money. Therefore, we in the US need to monitor our withholding this year to make sure that we do not end up owing a lot of money at filing time next year. If you normally get a refund of around $1,200, then you may end up with no refund next year. If you normally get no refund at all, then you may owe money at filing time.
I see. Well, if $1200 is like porto for you you could still give it to someone more in need. Or I didn't see and just wrote BS ...
EDIT: It was BS
... thought you bought 2 cars and a bike ...
Maybe, but:
"Will this eat into my tax refund for 2020?
No. The ‘advance’ you’ve been hearing about is in reference to a special tax credit that’ll appear on the tax return you file in 2021 for the 2020 tax year — a tax credit that wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for these stimulus checks.
So the Internal Revenue Service isn’t giving you some of your 2020 tax refund upfront. The stimulus check will be in addition to what you would’ve otherwise expected.
Will it count towards my taxable income for 2020?
No. This money is not considered income. It won’t be taxable and it won’t affect your income tax bracket for 2020."
https://money.com/stimulus-check-advance-tax-refund/
More info (I suppose):
https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payment-information-center
Oh, wow. Excellent! I had just spoken with my sister, who is a tax accountant. She is the one who told me what I had posted here. I guess she was not yet aware of this info. It does seem like there is a lot of confusion around this.
digicidal
Major Contributor
I went to pickup food today and was once again the only person with a mask... It made me think about the ironic (and irritating) differences in approach between this and tobacco use. I have no idea what the risk of serious health issues are with an extremely brief second hand smoke exposure, but it's definitely less than contact with just about any virus. At least I haven't read about an epidemic of instant onset COPD... prolonged and systemic exposure of course does, but single/brief instance exposure? Not even in asthmatic geriatrics (unless they already had it).
Yet it makes perfect sense as a society to force smokers 20 feet from the entrance of a public building in the interest of public health (mostly IMO because this affects a largely "non-PC subset" of society). When it's everyone, and a real public health crisis, where single exposure has a small but appreciable possibility of causing significant harm to one or more in the area - it's suddenly time to protest in the streets and refuse to wear masks even inside closed public spaces! We're not even talking about "forever" - just for a few months or perhaps a year.
Smoke doesn't bother me personally, but I'm terribly allergic to some colognes/perfumes. I certainly won't ever get to live in a world where dumping scents all over yourself and then shoving your way into an elevator with me warrants the public stink-eye. At least nothing like having a cigarette in a public park (with a breeze) will receive in some cities. Building a bonfire in your backyard (in the desert) however... the more the merrier apparently - I'm surrounded by fire pits at both home and work.
/rant
It made me think about the ironic (and irritating) differences in approach between this and tobacco use. I have no idea what the risk of serious health issues are with an extremely brief second hand smoke exposure, but it's definitely less than contact with just about any virus. At least I haven't read about an epidemic of instant onset COPD... prolonged and systemic exposure of course does, but single/brief instance exposure? Not even in asthmatic geriatrics (unless they already had it).Yet it makes perfect sense as a society to force smokers 20 feet from the entrance of a public building in the interest of public health (mostly IMO because this affects a largely "non-PC subset" of society). When it's everyone, and a real public health crisis, where single exposure has a small but appreciable possibility of causing significant harm to one or more in the area - it's suddenly time to protest in the streets and refuse to wear masks even inside closed public spaces! We're not even talking about "forever" - just for a few months or perhaps a year.
Smoke doesn't bother me personally, but I'm terribly allergic to some colognes/perfumes. I certainly won't ever get to live in a world where dumping scents all over yourself and then shoving your way into an elevator with me warrants the public stink-eye. At least nothing like having a cigarette in a public park (with a breeze) will receive in some cities.
Building a bonfire in your backyard (in the desert) however... the more the merrier apparently - I'm surrounded by fire pits at both home and work./rant
Stillwater OK had to abandon their requirement for masks to be worn in all stores and restaurants only a few hours after it went into effect, because store employees were being threatened with violence for attempting to enforce the restriction. They backed off and made it a recommendation rather than a requirement.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/02/us/face-masks-stillwater-oklahoma-trnd/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/02/us/face-masks-stillwater-oklahoma-trnd/index.html
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This is going to be a huge issue going forward and seeing what happened in Oklahoma today without elaborating, there will be blood.
Are there enough masks for all, given that they require frequent replacing? If not, is it not more judicious that they be used to better effect by the most vulnerable, more frequently exposed workers and coughers and sneezers?
Mixed messages, here in Oz(3 days, ago): https://www.nationalreview.com/2020...t-purchase-guarantees-incentivize-production/
Mixed messages, here in Oz(3 days, ago): https://www.nationalreview.com/2020...t-purchase-guarantees-incentivize-production/
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maty
Major Contributor
[Spanish] https://www.diaridetarragona.com/ta...o-sin-muertes-por-Covid-19-20200502-0061.html
* Tarragona province, yesterday: 0 deaths, 5 positives, 4 recovered.
But
* Catalonia CCAA, yesterday: 51 deaths, 270 positives, 228 recovered.
The other day I did the calculations of the real mortality in Catalonia, which was very high (1,374 deaths by Covid-19 per million inhabitants). If it were only in a few counties of Barcelona province, it is to be feared that the number will be much worse.
* Tarragona province, yesterday: 0 deaths, 5 positives, 4 recovered.
But
* Catalonia CCAA, yesterday: 51 deaths, 270 positives, 228 recovered.
The other day I did the calculations of the real mortality in Catalonia, which was very high (1,374 deaths by Covid-19 per million inhabitants). If it were only in a few counties of Barcelona province, it is to be feared that the number will be much worse.
D
Deleted member 65
Guest
A bit surprised this highly awarded face mask hasn’t been discovered yet. I for one will get one ... ;-)
PUBLIC HEALTH PRIZE: Elena N. Bodnar, Raphael C. Lee, and Sandra Marijan of Chicago, Illinois, USA, for inventing a brassiere that, in an emergency, can be quickly converted into a pair of protective face masks, one for the brassiere wearer and one to be given to some needy bystander.
REFERENCE: U.S. patent # 7255627, granted August 14, 2007 for a “Garment Device Convertible to One or More Facemasks.”
WHO ATTENDED THE CEREMONY: Elena Bodnar.
https://www.improbable.com/ig-about/winners/#ig2009
Also commercially available:
”The Emergency Bra can be transformed into two facemasks to reduce the inhalation of harmful chemical, biohazard and dust particulate when personal protective equipment (PPE) is not available. The comfortable, cushioned bra is uniquely made with specialized filtration layers similar to an N95, and has an adjustable headband and nose clip allowing it to fit most face shapes and sizes. Unlike conventional PPE, the bra can also be washed and reused. ”
https://www.ebbra.com/
PUBLIC HEALTH PRIZE: Elena N. Bodnar, Raphael C. Lee, and Sandra Marijan of Chicago, Illinois, USA, for inventing a brassiere that, in an emergency, can be quickly converted into a pair of protective face masks, one for the brassiere wearer and one to be given to some needy bystander.
REFERENCE: U.S. patent # 7255627, granted August 14, 2007 for a “Garment Device Convertible to One or More Facemasks.”
WHO ATTENDED THE CEREMONY: Elena Bodnar.
https://www.improbable.com/ig-about/winners/#ig2009
Also commercially available:
”The Emergency Bra can be transformed into two facemasks to reduce the inhalation of harmful chemical, biohazard and dust particulate when personal protective equipment (PPE) is not available. The comfortable, cushioned bra is uniquely made with specialized filtration layers similar to an N95, and has an adjustable headband and nose clip allowing it to fit most face shapes and sizes. Unlike conventional PPE, the bra can also be washed and reused. ”
https://www.ebbra.com/
maty
Major Contributor
[UK] Coronavirus: Doctors 'buy their own PPE or rely on donations'
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52519339
[ Almost half of doctors in England might be buying their own protective equipment or are relying on donations, according to a survey by the British Medical Association (BMA).
The survey of more than 16,000 doctors also found that 65% feel they are only partly or not at all protected on the front line of the coronavirus crisis... ]
[ The survey found that 48% of doctors reported having bought personal protective equipment (PPE) directly for themselves or their department, or had received donations from a charity or local firm... ]
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52519339
[ Almost half of doctors in England might be buying their own protective equipment or are relying on donations, according to a survey by the British Medical Association (BMA).
The survey of more than 16,000 doctors also found that 65% feel they are only partly or not at all protected on the front line of the coronavirus crisis... ]
[ The survey found that 48% of doctors reported having bought personal protective equipment (PPE) directly for themselves or their department, or had received donations from a charity or local firm... ]
maty
Major Contributor
We found and tested 47 old drugs that might treat the coronavirus: Results show promising leads and a whole new way to fight COVID-19
https://theconversation.com/we-foun...-and-a-whole-new-way-to-fight-covid-19-136789
-> https://www.nature.com/articles/s41...ted&code=b7eaaf4c-2d0f-4a83-87c7-25a3af2643ca
[ Abstract
The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19 respiratory disease, has infected over 2.3 million people, killed over 160,000, and caused worldwide social and economic disruption1,2. There are currently no antiviral drugs with proven clinical efficacy, nor are there vaccines for its prevention, and these efforts are hampered by limited knowledge of the molecular details of SARS-CoV-2 infection. To address this, we cloned, tagged and expressed 26 of the 29 SARS-CoV-2 proteins in human cells and identified the human proteins physically associated with each using affinity-purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS), identifying 332 high-confidence SARS-CoV-2-human protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Among these, we identify 66 druggable human proteins or host factors targeted by 69 compounds (29 FDA-approved drugs, 12 drugs in clinical trials, and 28 preclinical compounds). Screening a subset of these in multiple viral assays identified two sets of pharmacological agents that displayed antiviral activity: inhibitors of mRNA translation and predicted regulators of the Sigma1 and Sigma2 receptors. Further studies of these host factor targeting agents, including their combination with drugs that directly target viral enzymes, could lead to a therapeutic regimen to treat COVID-19. ]
https://theconversation.com/we-foun...-and-a-whole-new-way-to-fight-covid-19-136789
-> https://www.nature.com/articles/s41...ted&code=b7eaaf4c-2d0f-4a83-87c7-25a3af2643ca
[ Abstract
The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19 respiratory disease, has infected over 2.3 million people, killed over 160,000, and caused worldwide social and economic disruption1,2. There are currently no antiviral drugs with proven clinical efficacy, nor are there vaccines for its prevention, and these efforts are hampered by limited knowledge of the molecular details of SARS-CoV-2 infection. To address this, we cloned, tagged and expressed 26 of the 29 SARS-CoV-2 proteins in human cells and identified the human proteins physically associated with each using affinity-purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS), identifying 332 high-confidence SARS-CoV-2-human protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Among these, we identify 66 druggable human proteins or host factors targeted by 69 compounds (29 FDA-approved drugs, 12 drugs in clinical trials, and 28 preclinical compounds). Screening a subset of these in multiple viral assays identified two sets of pharmacological agents that displayed antiviral activity: inhibitors of mRNA translation and predicted regulators of the Sigma1 and Sigma2 receptors. Further studies of these host factor targeting agents, including their combination with drugs that directly target viral enzymes, could lead to a therapeutic regimen to treat COVID-19. ]
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maty
Major Contributor
España, hoy: innumerables máquinas de PCR criando polvo que no se usan para test de covid, científicos parados
[Spanish] https://blogs.20minutos.es/ciencias...-usan-para-test-de-covid-cientificos-parados/
Spain today: countless PCR machines raising dust that are not used for covid tests, unemployed scientists
https://translate.google.es/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https://blogs.20minutos.es/ciencias-mixtas/2020/05/03/espana-hoy-innumerables-maquinas-de-pcr-criando-polvo-que-no-se-usan-para-test-de-covid-cientificos-parados/
[ "The outrage is maximum in our group," says a researcher from a laboratory in one of the largest centers in Spain, located in Madrid, and who has asked me to remain anonymous. The reason for that outrage is none other than this: countless potentially valid diagnostic PCR machines are shut down and raising dust in laboratories closed by confinement.
[ Incidentally, there is an exemplary display of the willingness of researchers from all disciplines to contribute to the fight against covid, and which has hardly been discussed here. The Spaniards Alfonso Pérez-Escudero and Sara Arganda study animal behavior in worms and insects, respectively, he in Toulouse (France), she at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid. When their laboratories were closed due to confinement, they decided to create Crowdfight COVID-19, a platform where more than 45,000 volunteers from around the world, most of them scientists, half of them from the field of biology and biomedicine, have offered their time and their experience to help with virus research,be it analyzing data, searching for relevant studies and a host of other tasks. Pérez-Escudero and Arganda deserve that applause that the scientists are not receiving, a group that is working tirelessly; let's not forget, it is they who will get us out of this... ]
[ "Routine viral testing of patient samples [...] can be handled in a BSL-2 laboratory using standard precautions," says the CDC . What's more, this body also contemplates carrying out tests directly at patient care points, without even a BSL-2, taking due precautions. For its part, the WHO says : “Non-propagative laboratory diagnostic work (for example, sequencing and nucleic acid amplification test [this is PCR]) must be carried out in a facility using procedures equivalent to a Level Biosafety 2 (BSL-2)”... ]
[ The normal procedure for a PCR test begins by collecting a nasopharyngeal sample from the patient's throat with a cotton swab and storing it in a liquid called Universal Transport Medium (UTM), which maintains it during handling and transport. This sample must then be processed in the laboratory to extract the RNA from the virus using a special reagent. Both UTM and the RNA extraction solution are today more precious than gold.
The authors of the new study asked themselves: what if we do without all this? To do this, they chose a group of patients with a previous positive diagnosis of covid, took the samples by the usual procedure, and stored them dry, eliminating the UTM. Then, already in the laboratory, they introduced these dry cottons in a simple solution called Tris-EDTA (TE) buffer , which is to laboratories like beer to bars. No extraction of RNA. And finally, they tested the eluate of the samples in TE with a standard PCR machine. And works.
"Our results suggest that dry samples eluted directly in a simple buffered solution (TE) can support the molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 through RT-qPCR without substantially compromising sensitivity," they write. But the usual prudence of the language of scientific studies does not give an idea of the great finding that this implies: the researchers processed samples from 11 patients who had previously been diagnosed positive. Using the conventional method, 8 of them tested positive. Using the new method, there were 9.
[ Of course, they warn that these are preliminary results, and that "more research is needed with a larger sample size and with the variation of other parameters." But with this the way is opened to eliminate another of the great obstacles to put to work precious resources that we have, both technical and human, and that are being wasted.
"Publishing this can get you in trouble," my source finally told me. "If you do, you are brave." Probably I am not, because I have preferred not to detail which are those parts that have influenced the authorities for the waste of these resources. I simply do not think it is in anyone's interest to put that noise in now, in the face of the effort against this crisis. Better let them, if they want, give themselves away. ]
[Spanish] https://blogs.20minutos.es/ciencias...-usan-para-test-de-covid-cientificos-parados/
Spain today: countless PCR machines raising dust that are not used for covid tests, unemployed scientists
https://translate.google.es/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https://blogs.20minutos.es/ciencias-mixtas/2020/05/03/espana-hoy-innumerables-maquinas-de-pcr-criando-polvo-que-no-se-usan-para-test-de-covid-cientificos-parados/
[ "The outrage is maximum in our group," says a researcher from a laboratory in one of the largest centers in Spain, located in Madrid, and who has asked me to remain anonymous. The reason for that outrage is none other than this: countless potentially valid diagnostic PCR machines are shut down and raising dust in laboratories closed by confinement.
[ Incidentally, there is an exemplary display of the willingness of researchers from all disciplines to contribute to the fight against covid, and which has hardly been discussed here. The Spaniards Alfonso Pérez-Escudero and Sara Arganda study animal behavior in worms and insects, respectively, he in Toulouse (France), she at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid. When their laboratories were closed due to confinement, they decided to create Crowdfight COVID-19, a platform where more than 45,000 volunteers from around the world, most of them scientists, half of them from the field of biology and biomedicine, have offered their time and their experience to help with virus research,be it analyzing data, searching for relevant studies and a host of other tasks. Pérez-Escudero and Arganda deserve that applause that the scientists are not receiving, a group that is working tirelessly; let's not forget, it is they who will get us out of this... ]
[ "Routine viral testing of patient samples [...] can be handled in a BSL-2 laboratory using standard precautions," says the CDC . What's more, this body also contemplates carrying out tests directly at patient care points, without even a BSL-2, taking due precautions. For its part, the WHO says : “Non-propagative laboratory diagnostic work (for example, sequencing and nucleic acid amplification test [this is PCR]) must be carried out in a facility using procedures equivalent to a Level Biosafety 2 (BSL-2)”... ]
[ The normal procedure for a PCR test begins by collecting a nasopharyngeal sample from the patient's throat with a cotton swab and storing it in a liquid called Universal Transport Medium (UTM), which maintains it during handling and transport. This sample must then be processed in the laboratory to extract the RNA from the virus using a special reagent. Both UTM and the RNA extraction solution are today more precious than gold.
The authors of the new study asked themselves: what if we do without all this? To do this, they chose a group of patients with a previous positive diagnosis of covid, took the samples by the usual procedure, and stored them dry, eliminating the UTM. Then, already in the laboratory, they introduced these dry cottons in a simple solution called Tris-EDTA (TE) buffer , which is to laboratories like beer to bars. No extraction of RNA. And finally, they tested the eluate of the samples in TE with a standard PCR machine. And works.
"Our results suggest that dry samples eluted directly in a simple buffered solution (TE) can support the molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 through RT-qPCR without substantially compromising sensitivity," they write. But the usual prudence of the language of scientific studies does not give an idea of the great finding that this implies: the researchers processed samples from 11 patients who had previously been diagnosed positive. Using the conventional method, 8 of them tested positive. Using the new method, there were 9.
[ Of course, they warn that these are preliminary results, and that "more research is needed with a larger sample size and with the variation of other parameters." But with this the way is opened to eliminate another of the great obstacles to put to work precious resources that we have, both technical and human, and that are being wasted.
"Publishing this can get you in trouble," my source finally told me. "If you do, you are brave." Probably I am not, because I have preferred not to detail which are those parts that have influenced the authorities for the waste of these resources. I simply do not think it is in anyone's interest to put that noise in now, in the face of the effort against this crisis. Better let them, if they want, give themselves away. ]
digicidal
Major Contributor
And as an added benefit, if you have to perform the "conversion" in public... there are likely to be several bystanders who will gladly make use of the extra one.
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1) Prudence? Yes, and rightly so. See the problem with a small n?
2) Hmmm... How could reporting on a published pre-print get someone in trouble? Are the authors of the initial article in trouble? Doesn't seem so...
@maty , since you republished and I quoted you, we might be in trouble now. Can I ask you to warn me when the black helicopter lands at your place?
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