Cellphone records tie Proud Boys member to someone in Trump White House

https://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-says-tie-between-a-proud-boy-trump-white-house-2021-3

 

Sarah Al-Arshani

Mar. 6, 2021

A member of the Proud Boys was in contact with someone in former President Donald Trump's White House in the days before the Capitol Attack on January 6, The New York Times reported.

An anonymous source who is familiar with a cellphone data report from the Federal Bureau of Investigations told the Times that it's not clear what they discussed and did not disclose the names of either individual.

The information was found partly as a result of data the FBI got from technology and telecommunications companies immediately after the riot, when Trump supporters breached the US Capitol and clashed with law enforcement.

The riot resulted in the deaths of five people, including a police officer.

•••••

This comes after Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, was arrested on Thursday in connection to the riots.

The FBI has charged Klein with assault on police officers, interfering with police during civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding, both felonies, Politico reported.

Klein was appointed by Trump and worked on his 2016 presidential campaign before becoming a special assistant in the Bureau Of Western Hemisphere Affairs in the State Department in 2017.

The news comes after the leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, told the Times that he spoke on the phone with Roger Stone, a close associate of Trump, at a rally in front of Senator Marco Rubio's home a few days before the Capitol attack. 

Videos from before the riot show Stone being guarded by six people who were members of The Oath Keepers, a militant anti-government extremist group.

•••••

So far, over 310 people have been charged in the Capitol insurrection. More than a dozen have been tied to extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

•••••

Speedy variants power virus surge sweeping Europe

The more Covid spreads, the more mutations will occur.  It could mutate to be more dangerous to young people.

https://news.yahoo.com/speedy-variants-power-virus-surge-072521297.html

AP

 

COLLEEN BARRY
Sat, March 6, 2021, 2:25 AM

The virus swept through a nursery school and an adjacent elementary school in the Milan suburb of Bollate with amazing speed. In a matter of just days, 45 children and 14 staff members had tested positive.

Genetic analysis confirmed what officials already suspected: The highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in England was racing through the community, a densely packed city of nearly 40,000 with a chemical plant and Pirelli bicycle tire factory a 15-minute drive from the heart of Milan.

“This is the demonstration that the virus has a sort of intelligence. ... We can put up all the barriers in the world and imagine that they work, but in the end, it adapts and penetrates them,’’ lamented Bollate Mayor Francesco Vassallo.

•••••

Europe recorded 1 million new COVID-19 cases last week, an increase of 9% from the previous week and a reversal that ended a six-week decline, WHO said Thursday.

“The spread of the variants is driving the increase, but not only,’’ said Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, citing “also the opening of society, when it is not done in a safe and a controlled manner.”

•••••

The so-called U.K. variant is spreading significantly in 27 European countries monitored by WHO and is dominant in at least 10 by the agency's count: Britain, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain and Portugal.

It is up to 50% more transmissible than the virus that surged last spring and again in the fall, making it more adept at thwarting measures that were previously effective, WHO experts warned.

•••••

The South Africa variant, now present in 26 European countries, is a source of particular concern because of doubts over whether the current vaccines are fully effective against it. The Brazilian variant, which appears capable of reinfecting people, has been detected in 15 European countries.

•••••

Study finds mask mandates, dining out influence virus spread

Is Texas governor Greg Abbott another Russian asset?   Who knows how many republicans Russians have influenced.   When they act to weaken our country, they might as well be.  The more Covid is allowed to spread, the more likely it is that there will be harmful mutations, which has already happened.  It might become more dangerous to younger people.

https://news.yahoo.com/study-finds-mask-mandates-dining-214813815.html

Associated Press


MIKE STOBBE
Fri, March 5, 2021, 4:48 PM

A new national study adds strong evidence that mask mandates can slow the spread of the coronavirus, and that allowing dining at restaurants can increase cases and deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the study Friday.

“All of this is very consistent,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing on Friday. “You have decreases in cases and deaths when you wear masks, and you have increases in cases and deaths when you have in-person restaurant dining.”

The study was released just as some states are rescinding mask mandates and restaurant limits. Earlier this week, Texas became the biggest state to lift its mask rule, joining a movement by many governors to loosen COVID-19 restrictions despite pleas from health officials.

•••••

The new research builds on smaller CDC studies, including one that found that people in 10 states who became infected in July were more likely to have dined at a restaurant and another that found mask mandates in 10 states were associated with reductions in hospitalizations.

•••••

The scientists found that mask mandates were associated with reduced coronavirus transmission, and that improvements in new cases and deaths increased as time went on.

The reductions in growth rates varied from half a percentage point to nearly 2 percentage points. That may sound small, but the large number of people involved means the impact grows with time, experts said.

“Each day that growth rate is going down, the cumulative effect — in terms of cases and deaths — adds up to be quite substantial,” said Gery Guy Jr., a CDC scientist who was the study's lead author.

•••••

A California city gave some residents $500 per month. After a year, their unemployment rate had dropped, while the control group's rose.

https://www.businessinsider.com/stockton-california-basic-income-experiment-unemployment-decline-2021-3

Aria Bendix
Mar 5, 2021, 9:07 AM

It's a decades-old debate: Does paying someone simply for being alive make it easier for them to find a job or discourage them from seeking work?

One city got its answer on Wednesday: A new report evaluated a basic-income pilot in Stockton, California, that gave 125 residents $500 monthly stipends for two years. The results showed that unemployment among the recipients dropped during the program's first year, from 12% in February 2019 to 8% in February 2020.

The experiment's control group — residents who didn't receive monthly stipends — saw unemployment rise from 14% to 15% during that year.


•••••

In addition to a decline in unemployment, SEED recipients also saw a rise in full-time employment, from 28% to 40% during the program's first year. Full-time employment increased less dramatically in the control group, from 32% to 37%.

•••••

A 2018 report found that the Alaska Permanent Fund, which has been distributing cash to state residents since 1982, increased part-time work by 17%. But the cash transfers had no effect on overall employment numbers (the share of people who had jobs), according to the researchers. This might be because more people assuming part-time work for the first time, but the number of available jobs climbed.

•••••

Tubbs has a theory for why full-time employment increased as well: Before the stipends, residents who held part-time gigs may not have been able to afford time off work to apply for full-time jobs.

"It's hard when you're on the wheel to get off the wheel," Tubbs said. "And that's what people were saying: 'We work part-time, we need money today, but if I had the opportunity to apply full-time, I would take it.'"
 

[And many part-time and low income jobs don't have fixed hours.  You might not know if you are on the schedule until the day before.  That makes it hard to schedule interviews.]

•••••

Why rich parents are more likely to be unethical

https://news.yahoo.com/why-rich-parents-more-likely-141127240.html

https://theconversation.com/us

David M. Mayer, Professor of Management & Organizations, University of Michigan
Sat, March 6, 2021, 9:11 AM

 

My 20 years of research in moral psychology suggests many reasons why people behave in an unethical manner. When it comes to the wealthy, research shows that they will go to great lengths to maintain their higher status. A sense of entitlement plays a role.

•••••

Let’s first consider what allows people to act unethically and yet not feel guilt or remorse.

Research shows that people are good at rationalizing unethical actions that serve their self-interest. The success, or failure, of one’s children often has implications for how parents view themselves and are viewed by others. They are more likely to bask in the reflected glory of their children. They seem to gain esteem based on their connection to successful children. This means parents can be motivated by self-interest to ensure their children’s achievement.

•••••

Viewing the unethical outcomes as serving others, including one’s children, could help parents create a psychological distance to rationalize misconduct. Several studies demonstrate that people are more likely to be unethical when their actions also help someone else.

•••••

When it comes to the wealthy and privileged, a sense of entitlement, or a belief that one is deserving of privileges over others, can play an important role in unethical conduct.

•••••

Privileged individuals are also less likely to follow rules and instructions given they believe the rules are unjust. Because they feel deserving of more than their fair share, they are willing to violate norms of appropriate and socially agreed upon conduct.

•••••

Feeling a sense of entitlement also leads people to be more competitive, selfish and aggressive when they sense a threat. For example, white males are less likely to support affirmative action to even the playing field because it threatens their privileged status.

Research suggests that entitlement may come in part from being rich. Wealthy individuals who are considered as “upper class” based on their income have been found to lie, steal and cheat more to get what they desire. They have also been found to be less generous. They are more likely to break the law when driving, give less help to strangers in need, and generally give others less attention.

Additionally, growing up with wealth is associated with more narcissistic behavior, which results in selfishness, expressing a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.

•••••

A recent review of the research on status demonstrates that status loss, or even a fear of status loss, has been associated with an increase in suicide attempts. Individuals have been reported to show physiological changes such as higher blood pressure and pulse.

•••••

People who feel a sense of power, which often comes along with wealth and fame, tend to be less likely to believe they are vulnerable to the detrimental consequences of unethical behavior.

•••••

 

Eight ways chemical pollutants harm the body

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/cums-ewc030521.php

 

News Release 5-Mar-2021
Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health

 

A new review of existing evidence proposes eight hallmarks of environmental exposures that chart the biological pathways through which pollutants contribute to disease: oxidative stress and inflammation, genomic alterations and mutations, epigenetic alterations, mitochondrial dysfunction, endocrine disruption, altered intercellular communication, altered microbiome communities, and impaired nervous system function.

The study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Ludwig Maximilian University, and Hasselt University is published in the journal Cell.


•••••

The paper summarizes evidence for eight hallmarks of environmental insults:

1. Oxidative stress and inflammation: When antioxidant defenses are depleted, inflammation, cell death, and organ damage occur.

2. Genomic alterations and mutations: An accumulation of DNA errors can trigger cancer and other chronic diseases.

3. Epigenetic alterations: Epigenetic changes alter the synthesis of proteins responsible for childhood development and regular function of the body.

4. Mitochondrial dysfunction: A breakdown in the cellular powerplant may interfere with human development and contribute to chronic disease.

5. Endocrine disruption: Chemicals found in our environment, food, and consumer products disrupt the regulation of hormones and contribute to disease.

6. Altered intercellular communication: Signaling receptors and other means by which cells communicate with each other, including neurotransmission, are affected.

7. Altered microbiome communities: An imbalance in the population of bacteria and other microorganisms in our body can make us susceptible to allergies and infections.

8. Impaired nervous system function. Microscopic particles in air pollution reach the brain through the olfactory nerve, and can interfere with cognition.

Not all environmental exposures are harmful. The researchers note that exposure to nature has been reported to have beneficial impacts on mental health.

These eight hallmarks are by no means comprehensive and do not capture the full complexity of the chemical and physical properties of environmental exposures, including mixtures of exposures over the short and long-term.

•••••

Variable compensation and salesperson health

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/ama-vca030421.php

 

News Release 5-Mar-2021
News from the Journal of Marketing
American Marketing Association

 

Researchers from University of Houston and University of Bochum published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines how variable compensation plans for salespeople can lead to lower health.


•••••

Sales compensation plans typically comprise a variable component. Variable compensation is issued on top of a base salary and the amount is contingent on performance. For example, a salesperson with an annual target salary of $100,000 and a variable compensation share of 80% would receive $20,000 as a fixed amount with the remaining $80,000 contingent on the achievement of predetermined sales targets. Variable compensation is widely used and accounts for approximately 40% of total sales compensation in the United States--equivalent to more than $320 billion. However, variable compensation can conjure substantial compensation uncertainty for salespeople.

Variable compensation has been frequently shown to motivate salespeople to work harder and thus achieve higher performance. However, this research shows that variable compensation also induces performance pressure, which causes stress, burnout, and sickness. These "hidden costs" of variable compensation directly counter the hoped-for positive effects on performance.

•••••

Retinal implants can give artificial vision to the blind

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/epfd-ric030321.php

 

News Release 5-Mar-2021
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

 

Being able to make blind people see again sounds like the stuff of miracles or even science fiction. And it has always been one of the biggest challenges for scientists. Diego Ghezzi, who holds the Medtronic Chair in Neuroengineering (LNE) at EPFL's School of Engineering, has made this issue a research focus. Since 2015, he and his team have been developing a retinal implant that works with camera-equipped smart glasses and a microcomputer. "Our system is designed to give blind people a form of artificial vision by using electrodes to stimulate their retinal cells," says Ghezzi.


•••••

The only catch is that the system has not yet been tested on humans. The research team first needs to be certain of their results. "We aren't yet authorized to implant our device in human patients, since obtaining the medical approval takes a long time. But we came up with a process for testing it virtually - a type of work-around," says Ghezzi. More specifically, the engineers developed a virtual reality program that can simulate what patients would see with the implants. Their findings have just been published in Communication Materials.

•••••

All these experiments demonstrated that the system's capacity doesn't need to be improved any further, and that it's ready for clinical trials. But the team will have to wait a little longer before their technology can be implanted in actual patients. For now, restoring vision remains in the realm of science fiction. 

Fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke more harmful than pollution from other sources

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uoc--fpm030321.php

 

News Release 5-Mar-2021
University of California - San Diego

 

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego examining 14 years of hospital admissions data conclude that the fine particles in wildfire smoke can be several times more harmful to human respiratory health than particulate matter from other sources such as car exhaust. While this distinction has been previously identified in laboratory experiments, the new study confirms it at the population level.

This new research work, focused on Southern California, reveals the risks of tiny airborne particles with diameters of up to 2.5 microns, about one-twentieth that of a human hair. These particles - termed PM2.5 - are the main component of wildfire smoke and can penetrate the human respiratory tract, enter the bloodstream and impair vital organs.


•••••

A 10 microgram-per-cubic meter increase in PM2.5 attributed to sources other than wildfire smoke was estimated to increase respiratory hospital admissions by 1 percent. The same increase, when attributed to wildfire smoke, caused between a 1.3 to 10 percent increase in respiratory admissions.

•••••

Coauthor Tom Corringham points to the implications for climate change: "As conditions in Southern California become hotter and drier, we expect to see increased wildfire activity. This study demonstrates that the harm due to wildfire smoke may be greater than previously thought, bolstering the argument for early wildfire detection systems and efforts to mitigate climate change." 

Butterfly numbers plummeting in US west as climate crisis takes toll

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/04/butterfly-numbers-plummeting-us-west-climate-crisis

 

Oliver Milman
@olliemilman
Thu 4 Mar 2021 14.00 EST

The varied, and beautiful, butterfly species that dot the US west are being cut down by the climate crisis, new research has found, with rising temperatures helping cause a steep decline in butterfly numbers over the past 40 years.

There has been a 1.6% reduction in the total number of butterflies observed west of the Rocky Mountain range each year since 1977, researchers calculated, which amounts to a staggering loss of butterflies over the timespan of the study period.

“You extrapolate it and it feels crazy but it’s consistent with the anecdotal ‘windshield effect’ where people aren’t spending time cleaning insects from their car windshields any more,” said Matt Forister, biology professor at the University of Nevada and lead study author.

“Certainly many butterfly species are becoming so rare it’s hard for some people to see what were once widespread, common species.”

The declines are winnowing away much-loved species such as the monarch butterfly, which is known for is spectacular mass migrations to California each year but has lost 99% of its population compared with 40 years ago. “With the monarch it seems we are on the verge of losing the migration, if not the species itself,” Forister said.

•••••

While butterflies, like other insects, are being negatively affected by habitat loss and toxic pesticide use, the researchers accounted for these factors in their study and found that the heating of the planet, even without those other pressures, is causing the steady decline of butterflies.

This could be because plants are drying up more rapidly at the end of summer, meaning nectar resources are more scarce for butterflies, or that warming winters are interfering with the stasis-like state butterflies enter during colder months, meaning they are in worse condition when spring arrives.

•••••

Forister said while temperatures will continue to rise, people can provide butterflies with some breathing room by conserving areas rife with wildflowers and cutting back on certain chemicals.

“The declines are extremely concerning ecologically, said Dara Satterfield, a butterfly researcher at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, who was not involved in the study. “We know butterflies and moths act as pollinators, decomposers, nutrient-transport vessels, and food sources for birds and other wildlife.

“This study is consistent with other large datasets from around the world, showing us that recent decades have presented new hurdles to survival for numerous butterfly species.”

US saw sharp increase in crash deaths in 2020 despite fewer drivers on roads

I've noticed this in the Atlanta area, which already had a lot of horrible jerky drivers.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/04/us-sharp-increase-traffic-crash-deaths-2020

 

Associated Press in Detroit
Thu 4 Mar 2021 08.38 EST


Pandemic lockdowns and stay-at-home orders kept many drivers off US roads and highways last year. But those who did venture out found open lanes that only invited reckless driving, leading to a sharp increase in traffic-crash deaths across the country.

The non-profit National Safety Council estimates in a report issued on Thursday that 42,060 people died in vehicle crashes in 2020, an 8% increase over 2019 and the first jump in four years.

Plus, the fatality rate per 100m miles driven spiked 24%, the largest annual percentage increase since the council began collecting data in 1923.

And even though traffic is now getting close to pre-coronavirus levels, the bad behavior on the roads is continuing, authorities say.

•••••

Last year’s deaths were the most since 2007 when 43,945 people were killed in vehicle crashes. In addition, the safety council estimates that 4.8 million people were injured in crashes last year.

Federal data shows that Americans drove 13% fewer miles last year, or roughly 2.8tn miles, said Ken Kolosh, the safety council’s manager of statistics. Yet the number of deaths rose at an alarming rate, he said.

•••••

Of the reckless behaviors, early data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show speed to be the top factor, Kolosh said. Also, tests of trauma center patients involved in traffic crashes show increased use of alcohol, marijuana and opioids, he said.

In Minnesota, traffic volumes fell 60% when stay-home orders were issued early in the pandemic last spring. Hanson said state officials expected a corresponding drop in crashes and deaths, but while crashes declined, deaths increased.

“Almost immediately the fatality rate started to go up, and go up significantly,” Hanson said, adding that his counterparts in other states saw similar increases. “It created less congestion and a lot more lane space for divers to use, and quite honestly, to abuse out there.”

In late March and early April, the number of speed-related fatalities more than doubled over the same period in 2019 in the state, Hanson said. Last year, Minnesota recorded 395 traffic deaths, up nearly 9% from 364 in 2019.

Drivers also used the empty roads to drive extreme speeds. In 2019, the Minnesota state patrol’s 600 troopers handed out tickets to just over 500 drivers for going over 100mph (160km/h). That number rose to 1,068 in 2020, Hanson said.

Traveling over 100mph makes crashes far more severe, the safety council said.
The high number of speeding drivers is continuing even as traffic is starting to return to pre-pandemic levels, according to Hanson.

•••••

White House announces mass vaccination sites in Atlanta, Cleveland

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/541847-white-house-announces-mass-vaccination-sites-in-cleveland-atlanta

 

By Lexi Lonas - 03/05/21 02:32 PM EST

The White House announced on Friday that mass vaccination sites will be set up in Atlanta and Cleveland and operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“We are announcing the addition of two new FEMA-supported high volume sites,” Andy Slavitt, senior adviser for the White House coronavirus team, said during a press conference.

The sites will be located at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and the Wolstein Center in Cleveland. Each site will be able to distribute 6,000 vaccine doses each day, Slavitt said.

“Both of these sites sit in neighborhoods hit hard by the pandemic and are well known in the community,” he added.

There are 18 FEMA-supported mass vaccination sites in seven states.

The first site was set up in Los Angeles, followed by others in Florida, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.

In total, the sites can administer 60,000 shots a day.

At the same press briefing, Slavitt said people should continue wearing masks and social distancing “for now,” adding that it wouldn’t be “forever.”

Trump, former first lady quietly received Covid vaccine in January

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-former-first-lady-quietly-received-covid-vaccine-january-n1259196

 

March 1, 2021, 4:36 PM EST / Updated March 2, 2021, 12:02 PM EST
By Dartunorro Clark and Monica Alba

Former President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump quietly received the Covid-19 vaccine at the White House in January, a Trump advisor told NBC News on Monday.

It is not clear which type of vaccine they received and they were not disclosed at the time by the Trump White House. The official White House photographer was also not present to document the event, according to an official with direct knowledge.

•••••

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden publicly received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine in an effort to boost confidence about its safety and efficacy. Then-Vice President Mike Pence was also vaccinated in December at a live event with the same goal.

•••••

Three of Trump's predecessors, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have also said they would receive their shots in public.

Great music

Mar. 5, 6 2021

Shawn Mullins is having his birthday shows this weekend at Eddie Owen Presents, in Duluth, GA, in the Red Clay Music Foundry.  A lot of good shows coming up there.

You can see his show live on Youtube at EOP Live.

Trump appointee arrested in connection with Capitol riot

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/04/trump-appointee-arrested-for-capitol-riot-473825

By JOSH GERSTEIN
03/04/2021 09:24 PM EST
Updated: 03/05/2021 03:54 PM EST


The FBI on Thursday arrested Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, on charges related to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, marking the first known instance of an appointee of President Donald Trump facing criminal prosecution in connection with the attempt to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory.

•••••

An FBI lookout bulletin issued two weeks after the Capitol assault included a photo of Klein, prompting two tipsters to contact the FBI and finger him as the man in that picture, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Washington.

The affidavit says video from police body-worn cameras on Jan. 6 shows Klein jamming a riot shield into doors at the Capitol as police were trying to secure them to keep the mob out. Klein was also heard on video trying to encourage others to clash with the police, the complaint says.

"We need fresh people, we need fresh people,” Klein shouted repeatedly, according to the complaint. In much of the video, he is wearing the Trump campaign's trademark "Make America Great Again" red hat.

•••••

File Your Federal Taxes Online for Free

https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free

Welcome to Free File, where you can prepare and file your federal individual income tax return for free using tax-preparation-and-filing software. Let Free File do the hard work for you with brand-name software.

If you did not get the full Economic Impact Payment, you may be eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit using IRS Free File.

If you did not get any payments or got less than the full amounts, you may qualify for the credit, even if you do  not normally file taxes. See Recovery Rebate Credit for more information.

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IRS Free File lets you prepare and file your federal income tax online for free. File at an IRS partner site with the IRS Free File Program or use Free File Fillable Forms. It's safe, easy and no cost to you. 

•••••

Should people who’ve had Covid get vaccinated? Here’s what the experts say

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/05/should-you-get-vaccinated-if-you-recovered-from-covid-expert-advice.html

Published Fri, Feb 5 202110:13 AM EST
Cory Stieg


•••••

The Centers for Disease Control’s guidance says even people who’ve had Covid can benefit from the getting the vaccine.

“Due to the severe health risks associated with Covid-19 and the fact that reinfection with Covid-19 is possible, you should be vaccinated regardless of whether you already had Covid-19 infection,” according to the CDC. Here’s why.

•••••

New research that hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet found that people who have already had Covid tend to have higher antibody responses after their first dose of the mRNA vaccines than two doses of the vaccine in people who haven’t had it. Some immunologists argue that people who’ve recovered from Covid should only need one dose of a vaccine.

“If you’ve had Covid-19, [a vaccine] may augment or help increase the durability, and even maybe the breadth, of your immune response against coronavirus,” Wohl says.

•••••

It’s uncommon for people who are infected with Covid to get infected again within 90 days of recovering, according to the CDC. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that since there’s a lower risk of reinfection in this population, “you may choose to temporarily delay vaccination if you already had Covid-19,” during a Twitter Q&A event Thursday.

Dr. Saad B. Omer, a fellow and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, agrees that if you’re someone who has Covid antibodies “you can afford to wait a little bit” to get the vaccine. “In the long run, it could be risky [to not get the vaccine] because there’s a higher rate of reinfection than those who go get vaccinated,” Omer tells CNBC Make It.

Coronavirus vaccines may reduce or eliminate symptoms of long covid

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2270186-coronavirus-vaccines-may-reduce-or-eliminate-symptoms-of-long-covid

 

4 March 2021
By Clare Wilson

Some people with long covid, in which individuals have long-lasting symptoms after a covid-19 infection, are reporting improvements in their health after being vaccinated against the coronavirus. The reports are based on anecdotes and a small, informal survey rather than a scientific study, but the trend might offer clues to what causes the persistent symptoms.

•••••

Kamala Harris breaks Senate tie to begin Covid relief package debate

 

republicans are trying to do to Biden what they did to Obama, hold back economic relief in order to make him look bad, in expectation they will profit in the next election.  They care only about their own power, not about our country.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2021/mar/04/voting-rights-police-reform-george-floyd-for-the-people-joe-biden-covid-coronavirus-live

 

Maanvi Singh, Joan E Greve and Martin Belam
Thu 4 Mar 2021 20.35 EST 

 

Kamala Harris broke a Senate tie to begin debate on the coronavirus relief package. After the Senate deadlocked on whether to take up the package, the vice-president was forced to cast a tie-breaking 51st vote to approve the motion to proceed. Senate clerks are now reading the full text of the 628-page bill.

Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican of Wisconsin, objected to waiving the reading of the 628-page bill in its entirety – in an attempt to delay the process. So, Senate clerks began reading the bill aloud. This will likely take at least a dozen or more hours in total before senators can move to 20 hours of debate on the bill’s content.

The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said the chamber would stay in session to pass the relief bill, “no matter how long it takes”. The Democratic leader’s comments come as Republicans have planned a series of maneuvers to delay the final vote on the bill, which may not happen until sometime this weekend.

•••••

https://twitter.com/kirkacevedo/status/1367675182727323653

 

Kirk Acevedo

10:15 PM · Mar 4, 2021

 

Not one Republican voted for the Covid Relief bill.

But every Republican voted for the 1.5 trillion in tax cuts for the rich when Trump was in power. 

GOP shoot themselves in the foot

https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/1367841269150519305

 

Jim Sciutto

9:15 AM · Mar 5, 2021

 

Dems seem to have outplayed GOP on the Covid delay. After the all-night reading, @ChrisVanHollen
 simply got up, proposed shortening the debate from 20 hours to 3 and no Republican including @RonJohnsonWI
 was around to contest. In the end, the dramatic Bill reading delayed nothing.

A vegan diet can lead to poorer bone health

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/bfif-dav030421.php

 

News Release 4-Mar-2021
BfR Federal Institute for Risk Assessment

 

The vegan diet is on trend. How this type of diet affects health is the subject of scientific studies. In a new study from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the bone health of 36 vegans as well as 36 people following a mixed-food diet was determined with an ultrasound measurement of the heel bone. The result: on average, people following a vegan diet had lower ultrasound values compared to the other group. This indicates poorer bone health.

In the study, the scientists also determined biomarkers in blood and urine. This aims to identify nutrients that might be related to diet and bone health. Out of 28 parameters of nutritional status and bone metabolism, it was possible to identify twelve biomarkers most strongly associated with bone health - for example, the amino acid lysine and vitamins A and B6. The results show that in most cases, the combination of these biomarkers was present in lower concentrations in vegans. This could be a possible explanation for the poorer bone health. "A vegan diet is often considered health-conscious. However, our scientific findings indicate that a vegan diet does affect bone health," says BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel.

•••••

It was shown that in combination vitamins A and B6, the amino acids lysine and leucine, omega-3 fatty acids, selenoprotein P, iodine, thyroid-stimulating hormone, calcium, magnesium and α-Klotho protein were positively associated with bone health. Conversely, lower concentrations of the hormone FGF23 were observed at higher ultrasound levels in this pattern.

Taking into account other scientific studies, the results indicate that vegans intake fewer nutrients that are relevant for the skeleton and are mainly found in food of animal origin. Further studies are needed for clarification.

Large number of COVID-19 survivors will experience cognitive complications

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/obu-lno030421.php

 

News Release 4-Mar-2021
Oxford Brookes University

 

A research review led by Oxford Brookes University has found a large proportion of COVID-19 survivors will be affected by neuropsychiatric and cognitive complications.


•••••

The study found that in the short term, a wide range of neuropsychiatric problems were reported. In one examined study, 95% of clinically stable COVID-19 patients had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other studies found between 17-42%* of patients experienced affective disorders, such as depression.

The main short-term cognitive problems were found to be impaired attention (reported by 45% patients) and impaired memory (between 13-28% of patients).

In the long term, neuropsychiatric problems were mostly affective disorders [eg. depression] and fatigue, as well as impaired attention (reported by 44% of patients) and memory (reported between 28-50% of patients).

•••••

Administering zinc to covid-19 patients could help towards their recovery

Too much zinc can also be harmful.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/idm-azt030421.php

 

News Release 4-Mar-2021
Mortality in this patient group was 21% compared to 5% of those with higher levels of zinc in the blood
IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute)

 

Administering zinc supplements to covid-19 patients with low levels of this element may be a strategy to reduce mortality and recovery time. At the same time, it could help to prevent risk groups, like the elderly, from suffering the worst effects of the disease. These are the findings of a study by physicians and researchers from the Hospital del Mar, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), led by Dr. Robert Güerri, a physician at the Infectious Diseases Service of Hospital del Mar, which has just been published in the journal Nutrients.


•••••

1 in 4 patients had low levels of zinc. This group had more severe symptoms and higher levels of inflammation as measured by two markers, C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), which mediate the inflammatory response. On average, their length of hospital stay was three times longer than patients with higher levels of zinc (25 days compared to 8).

Regarding mortality, zinc levels were significantly higher in patients who survived the infection, 62 μ/dl, versus 49 μ/dl for those who died. Moreover, 1 in 5 patients with low zinc levels died. Conversely, the mortality rate of those presenting higher levels upon admission was 5%. The study reveals that a one-unit increase of zinc in blood plasma is directly linked to a 7% reduction of the risk of dying from covid-19.

•••••

$15 an hour is too much?

https://twitter.com/DanPriceSeattle/status/1367670799369404416

Dan Price

9:58 PM · Mar 4, 2021

What billionaires have made in the pandemic:

Musk: $19.5 million an hour
Bezos: $9.4M/hour
Zuckerberg: $5.1M/hour
Waltons: $5M/hour
Page & Brin: $4.9M/hour each
Ballmer: $3.4M/hour
Ellison: $3.3M/hour
Gates: $3.2M/hour
Buffett: $3M/hour
Knight $2.9M/hour

https://twitter.com/DanPriceSeattle/status/1367673363427131394

I should add: this is for 24 hours a day, every day. So if you made $100 an hour during the regular 40-hour work week, you'd make $208k a year. And if you never spent a dime of it, it would take you 4,807 years to get to a billion dollars.

It's very hard to conceptualize $1B.

209 US counties face a crisis in staffing ICUs that care for COVID-19 patients

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/gwu-2u030421.php

 

News Release 4-Mar-2021
Online tool launched today by George Washington University and partners
George Washington University

 

-Over the next month, 209 U.S. counties in the United States will need to implement crisis workforce strategies to deal with potentially dangerous shortfalls of intensive care unit doctors, according to a new analysis published today. The analysis draws on data from a just launched county-level hospital workforce estimator, one that takes into account the strain on staffing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The shortages could occur just as public health officials warn that variants of the coronavirus are spreading in the United States and could trigger a sharp rise in the number of Americans infected," Clese Erikson, the principal investigator on the project and deputy director of the Health Equity Workforce Research Center at the George Washington University, said. "Our new online estimator will help county and local public health officials project shortages in the near future and take steps to help keep staffing at safe levels."

The analysis shows that ICU doctors in those 209 counties will be taking care of more than 24 severely ill patients at one time. Typically, an ICU doctor will care for half that number of patients or less at the same time--and, at 24 or higher, hospitals will have to quickly organize and train non-ICU providers to step in and help provide care.



•••••

An analysis using data from the County Hospital Workforce Estimator estimates that 7% of all U.S. counties will experience significant strains in their hospital workforce due to longstanding patterns of maldistribution and the added strain of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, the analysis suggests that 12 U.S. counties will need to put in place contingency strategies within the next month in order to cope with a surge in severely ill patients, including those with new variants of COVID-19.

•••••

COVID-19 nasal swab test may not be best for those who've had sinus surgery

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uoth-cns030421.php

 

News Release 4-Mar-2021
Switching to other testing may be warranted for safety
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

 

People who have had major sinus surgery should consult their ENT doctor before undergoing COVID-19 swab testing, new research indicates.

Likewise, those performing swab testing should ask whether the patient has had extensive sinus or skull base surgery, said Philip G. Chen, MD, study senior author from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio).

"If so, other modes of testing such as at the back of the throat should be performed," said Dr. Chen, associate professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery in the university's Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine.


•••••

Issues include incorrect angling of the swab and inappropriate depth of insertion. If the swab angle is too high, a puncture may occur. The sinuses can protect the skull base to a degree, Dr. Chen said.

Injury from incorrect nasopharyngeal swab technique, while rare, may include cerebrospinal fluid leakage or severe bleeding.

•••••

Senate GOP will force clerks to read bill to delay COVID-19 relief vote

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/541460-senate-gop-will-force-clerks-to-read-bill-to-delay-covid-relief-vote

 

By Alexander Bolton - 03/03/21 03:15 PM EST

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a staunch Trump ally and fiscal conservative, has told colleagues that he plans to force the Senate clerks to read aloud the entire $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill on the Senate floor, which could slow it down by as much as 10 hours.

Democrats on Wednesday were grumbling over the prospect of having to factor an additional 10 hours of floor time into passing the bill.

Any senator can force a reading of a bill on the floor, but the formality is almost always skipped by unanimous consent to avoid wasting time.

•••••

A Morning Consult-Politico poll published last week showed that 76 percent of voters and 60 percent of Republicans support the $1.9 trillion relief package yet Senate Republicans are putting up stiff resistance to the legislation, characterizing it as wasteful spending.

•••••

Get into the swing: Golf may have more benefit for Parkinson's than tai chi

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/aaon-git021821.php

 

News Release 3-Mar-2021
American Academy of Neurology

 

When it comes to exercise that does the most good for people with Parkinson's disease, golf may hit above par when compared to tai chi. That's according to a preliminary study released today, March 3, 2021, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 73rd Annual Meeting being held virtually April 17 to April 22, 2021. The study found that golf was better than tai chi for improving balance and mobility.

"We know that people with Parkinson's disease benefit from exercise, but not enough people with the disease get enough exercise as therapy," said study author Anne-Marie A. Wills, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital Boston and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Golf is popular--the most popular sport for people over the age of 55--which might encourage people to try it and stick with it. We decided to compare golf to tai chi in our study because tai chi is the gold standard for balance and preventing falls in people with Parkinson's."


•••••

At the start and again at the end of the study, researchers evaluated everyone with tests, including one that measures balance, walking ability and risk of falling in older adults. For the test, a person is timed while getting up from a chair, walking 10 feet and then returning to the chair and sitting down.

The golfers were 0.96 seconds faster on the test at the end of the study, while those who did tai chi were 0.33 seconds slower.

"While the results for golf might be surprising, it's important to remember that the number of participants in our study was small, and the period over which we studied them was relatively short," Wills said. "More research in larger groups of people, over longer periods of time, is needed."

Researchers said overall satisfaction with their sport was similar in both groups, however 86% of golfers compared to 33% of tai chi participants were "definitely" likely to continue the activity.

"Our finding that golfers were much more likely to continue with their sport is exciting because it doesn't matter how beneficial an exercise is on paper if you people don't actually do it," Wills said. "So if swinging a golf club is more appealing than practicing tai chi, by all means, go to a driving range and hit balls for an hour instead!"

Custom diets are essential to mental health, new research shows

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/bu-cda022521.php

 

News Release 3-Mar-2021
Binghamton University

 

Customized diets and lifestyle changes could be key to optimizing mental health, according to new research including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

"There is increasing evidence that diet plays a major role in improving mental health, but everyone is talking about a healthy diet," said Begdache, an assistant professor of health and wellness studies at Binghamton University and co-author of a new paper in Nutrients.


•••••

Key findings of this study:

    Significant dietary and lifestyle approaches to improve mental well-being among young women include daily breakfast consumption, moderate-to-high exercise frequency, low caffeine intake and abstinence from fast food.

    Dietary and lifestyle approaches to improve mental well-being among mature women include daily exercise and breakfast consumption, as well as high intake of fruits with limited caffeine ingestion.

    To improve mental well-being of young men, dietary and lifestyle approaches include frequent exercise, moderate dairy consumption, high meat intake, as well as low consumption of caffeine and abstinence from fast food.

    Dietary approaches to improve mental well-being among mature men include moderate intake of nuts.

Begdache and her team split the respondents into two age groups because human brain development continues into the late 20s. For young adults of both genders, quality of diet appears to have an impact on the developing brain.

"Young adults are still forming new connections between brain cells as well as building structures; therefore, they need more energy and nutrients to do that," Begdache said.

As a result, young adults who consume a poor-quality diet and experience nutritional deficiencies may suffer from a higher degree of mental distress.

Age is also the reason high caffeine consumption was associated with mental distress in both young men and young women.

"Caffeine is metabolized by the same enzyme that metabolizes the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen, and young adults have high levels of these hormones," Begdache said. "When young men and women consume high levels of caffeine, it stays in their system for a long time and keeps stimulating the nervous system, which increases stress and eventually leads to anxiety."

•••••

Study contributes to evidence for potential association between blood group a and COVID-19

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/asoh-sct022621.php

 

News Release 3-Mar-2021
American Society of Hematology

 

As researchers around the world work to identify and address risk factors for severe COVID-19, there is additional evidence that certain blood types could be associated with greater risk of contracting the disease. A new Blood Advances study details one of the first laboratory studies to suggest that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is particularly attracted to the blood group A antigen found on respiratory cells.

In the study, researchers assessed a protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus called the receptor binding domain, or RBD. The RBD is the part of the virus that attaches to the host cells, so it is an important research target for understanding how infection occurs. The team assessed synthetic blood group antigens on respiratory and red blood cells found in blood group A, B, and O individuals, and analyzed how the SARS-CoV-2 RBD interacted with each unique blood type. They discovered that the RBD had a strong preference for binding to blood group A found on respiratory cells. It did not display a preference for blood group A red blood cells, or other blood groups found on respiratory or red cells. The capacity of the RBD to preferentially recognize and attach to the blood type A antigen found in the lungs of blood type A individuals may provide insight into the potential link between blood group A and COVID-19 infection.

•••••

Based on their observations, the team sought to determine whether a similar binding preference existed for the RBD of SARS-CoV, the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Although the makeup of the virus differs, the SARS-CoV RBD exhibited the same preference to bind to the group A antigens on respiratory cells.

Dr. Stowell and his team emphasized that their findings alone could not fully describe or predict how coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV would affect patients of various blood types. "Our observation is not the only mechanism responsible for what we are seeing clinically, but it could explain some of the influence of blood type on COVID-19 infection."

•••••

Vaping marijuana associated with more symptoms of lung damage than vaping or smoking nicotine

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uom-vma022621.php

 

News Release 3-Mar-2021
University of Michigan

 

Adolescents who vape cannabis are at greater risk for respiratory symptoms indicative of lung injury than teens who smoke cigarettes or marijuana, or vape nicotine, a new University of Michigan study suggests.


•••••

Adolescents who reported vaping marijuana were roughly twice as likely to report "wheezing and whistling" in the chest than those who did not. Current use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes and cannabis were associated with some respiratory symptoms, such as dry cough, but most associations were not significant after controlling for vaping cannabis.

The researchers also found that an asthma diagnosis was most strongly associated with symptoms of future lung injury than cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cannabis use and vaping cannabis.

One study limitation is that the researchers did not look at co-use of vaping cannabis and the use of cigarettes or e-cigarettes.

"Future studies need to assess if it is the combination of vaping both nicotine and cannabis that is creating so many respiratory issues," Veliz said. "It may be the combination of vaping cannabis along with smoking cigarettes is what leads to the high rates of respiratory symptoms among youthful marijuana vapers."

•••••



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•••••



•••••



•••••

Green tea supplements modulate facial development of children with Down syndrome

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/kl-gts030321.php

 

News Release 3-Mar-2021
KU Leuven

 

Green tea supplements modulate facial development of children with Down syndrome A new study led by Belgian and Spanish researchers published in Scientific Reports adds evidence about the potential benefits of green tea extracts in Down syndrome. The researchers observed that the intake of green tea extracts can reduce facial dysmorphology in children with Down syndrome when taken during the first three years of life. Additional experimental research in mice confirmed the positive effects at low doses. However, they also found that high doses of the extract can disrupt facial and bone development. More research is needed to fully understand the effects of green tea extracts and therefore they should always be taken under medical supervision.

Down syndrome is caused by the presence of a third copy of chromosome 21, leading to an overexpression of the genes in this region and resulting in a number of physical and intellectual disabilities. One of the genes, DYRK1A, contributes to altering brain and bone development in people with Down syndrome. The green tea compound EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) is known to inhibit DYRK1A activity, although it also has other mechanisms of action. Previous research has shown the potential of EGCG to improve cognition in young adults with Down syndrome.

•••••

These findings suggest that the green tea supplements only affect facial development when they are administered in the early stages of life when the face and skull are rapidly growing."

•••••

SARS-CoV-2 variant that emerged in UK more transmissible; could spark resurgences

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/aaft-svt030321.php

 

News Release 3-Mar-2021
American Association for the Advancement of Science

 

A variant of SARS-CoV-2 that emerged in southeast England in November 2020 is more transmissible than pre-existing variants, a new modeling study finds. Further analyses suggest the variant - VOC 202012/01 - will lead to large resurgences of COVID-19 cases. "Without stringent control measures, including limited closure of educational institutions and a greatly accelerated vaccine roll-out, COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths across England in 2021 will exceed those in 2020," the study's authors say.


•••••

Based on their analysis, they identify increased transmissibility as the model that best explains the variant's rapid spread. They estimate that the novel variant has a 43-90% higher reproduction number than preexisting variants of SARS-CoV-2 in England.

•••••

Color blindness-correcting contact lenses

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/acs-cbc030321.php

 

News Release 3-Mar-2021
American Chemical Society

 

Imagine seeing the world in muted shades -- gray sky, gray grass. Some people with color blindness see everything this way, though most can't see specific colors. Tinted glasses can help, but they can't be used to correct blurry vision. And dyed contact lenses currently in development for the condition are potentially harmful and unstable. Now, in ACS Nano, researchers report infusing contact lenses with gold nanoparticles to create a safer way to see colors.

Some daily activities, such as determining if a banana is ripe, selecting matching clothes or stopping at a red light, can be difficult for those with color blindness. Most people with this genetic disorder have trouble discriminating red and green shades, and red-tinted glasses can make those colors more prominent and easier to see. However, these lenses are bulky and the lens material cannot be made to fix vision problems.



•••••

 The researchers say that the next step is to conduct clinical trials with human patients to assess comfort.

Learning about health from trusted sources may help teens battle depression

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/ps-lah030321.php

 

News Release 3-Mar-2021
Penn State

 

Depression can be a common problem for teens and adolescents, and while many treatments exist, they don't always work for everyone. A new study found that feeling more informed about their health may help teens take better care of themselves, leading to less depressive symptoms.

The researchers also found that trust played a factor in whether receiving health information improved depression. The more that adolescents trusted their parents or teacher as a credible source of health information, the more likely they were to experience less depression.

Additionally, even though adolescents reported that they trusted traditional media -- like TV, radio and newspapers -- more than online content, only content from social media or websites resulted in actual changes in behavior.


•••••

‘I don’t have money for food’: millions of unemployed in US left without benefits

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/02/us-unemployed-millions-without-benefits

 

Michael Sainato
Tue 2 Mar 2021 03.00 EST

•••••

State unemployment systems continue experiencing long delays, backlogs of unemployed claims, errors and long arbitration periods that have left millions of workers in the US without any unemployment benefits while they are out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic.

An analysis of unemployed workers in January 2021 by the labor economist Eliza Forsythe at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, estimated unemployment systems are currently only reaching at most 30% of all unemployed workers, leaving an estimated 8 million unemployed Americans not receiving benefits.

Several states still have thousands of unemployed claims backlogged. Total initial weekly unemployment claims have declined in recent weeks but have remained higher than the worst week of the 2008 recession for 49 straight weeks. The US labor market currently has 9.9m fewer jobs than before the pandemic.

According to a Washington Post analysis in January 2021, more than 1.2 million Americans were waiting on appeals to denied unemployment claims or for their initial claims to be processed.

Officially the US unemployment rate is 6.3% but as the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, noted last month the real unemployment rate in the US is closer to 10% when misclassification errors are taken into account.

•••••

Jackie Warner of Lakewood, New Jersey, lost her position in payroll when the pandemic started in March 2020. It took until May to start receiving benefits, and she hasn’t received anything since her pandemic benefits expired in December 2020.

“This has been an awful time for many of us. When we call the Reemployment Center we cannot get through on the phones. There is a message that states to call back the next day. The next day never comes,” said Warner. “It’s still a mess.”

The Biden administration’s $1.9tn Covid relief plan passed the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives on Saturday. It would pay $1,400 to struggling Americans if it passes in the Senate. But for those struggling now, there is little relief.

Warner has applied for dozens of jobs around her area through the pandemic, with no luck, while she has no income because her unemployment benefits have yet to restart.

“I’ve lost my health insurance; my car is in desperate need of repairs and I do not have money to buy food,” added Warner.

Rising temperatures could send more people with MS to the hospital

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/aaon-cr021821.php

 

News Release 2-Mar-2021
American Academy of Neurology

 

As average temperatures around the globe climb, a preliminary study has found people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may expect worsening symptoms, enough to send them to the hospital more often. The preliminary study released today, March 2, 2021, will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 73rd Annual Meeting being held virtually April 17 to April 22, 2021.

"We know that heat sensitivity is common in multiple sclerosis, and climate scientists expect that periods of anomalously warm weather will become more frequent with climate change," said study author Holly Elser, Ph.D., of Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Our study suggests that warming trends could have serious health implications over the long term for people living with MS."

Anomalously warm weather was defined as any month in which local average temperatures were higher than the long-term average temperature for that month by at least 1.5 degrees Celsius, or almost 2 degrees Fahrenheit.


•••••

UMD study finds the fuel efficiency of one car may be cancelled by your next car purchase

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uom-usf030221.php

 

News Release 2-Mar-2021
University of Maryland

 

In a recent collaborative study led by the University of Maryland (UMD), researchers find that consumers tend to buy something less fuel efficient than they normally would for their second car after springing for an eco-friendly vehicle. While this sounds like an all-too-logical conclusion, the study reports a 57% reduction in the benefits of driving your fuel efficient car for carbon emissions purely based on the purchase of your second vehicle. Since about three-quarters of cars are purchased into multi-car households, these findings could have major implications for carbon emissions, and especially for the design of carbon mitigation programs like Cash-for-Clunkers and Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that aren't taking into account the decisions of consumers with multiple vehicles.


•••••

The study also found that consumers who buy fuel efficient vehicles tend to end up driving them more and farther distances than they might otherwise, further chipping away at the emissions benefits.

•••••

'Canary in the mine' warning follows new discovery of effects of pollutants on fertility

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uop-it030221.php

 

News Release 2-Mar-2021
University of Portsmouth

 

New research has found that shrimp like creatures on the South Coast of England have 70 per cent less sperm than less polluted locations elsewhere in the world. The research also discovered that individuals living in the survey area are six times less numerous per square metre than those living in cleaner waters.

This discovery, published today in Aquatic Toxicology, mirrors similar findings in other creatures, including humans. The scientist leading research at the University of Portsmouth believes pollutants might be to blame, further highlighted by this latest research.

Professor Alex Ford, Professor of Biology, University of Portsmouth, says: "We normally study the effect of chemicals on species after the water has been treated. The shrimp that we have tested are often in untreated water. The study site suffers from storm water surges, which is likely to become more common with climate change. This means that the creatures could be exposed to lots of different contaminants via sewage, historical landfills and legacy chemicals such as those in antifoulting paints. There is a direct relationship between the incidence of high rainfall events and in the levels of untreated sewage."

Professor Ford describes the shrimp as "the canary in the mine" - concerned that the plight of the shrimp is only just the tip of the iceberg in terms of fertility problems in male creatures, both great and small.


•••••

Layperson can reduce pregnant women's depression as well as mental health professional

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/nu-lcr030221.php

 

News Release 2-Mar-2021
Trained paraprofessionals deliver CBT to women and expand care
Northwestern University

 

Perinatal depression has soared during the pandemic. But many mental health professionals are overwhelmed and can't take on new clients.

Good news comes from a new Northwestern Medicine study finding paraprofessionals generated similar reductions in depressive symptoms as mental health professionals when delivering a group-based cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention.

The study findings are based on adding home health visits by trained lay health professionals to low-income pregnant women in a national project called Mothers & Babies. Mothers and Babies is an intervention using cognitive behavioral therapy that aims to reduce stress and improve mood among pregnant women and new mothers.

But since in-person home-visits are no longer possible during the pandemic, the program has recently pivoted to deliver the therapy virtually to pregnant women.

"The response to Mothers and Babies delivered virtually has been incredibly positive from providers and clients," said lead study author Darius Tandon, associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "In this COVID environment, the need for mental health services is so great that providers and perinatal women who have stress in their lives are really valuing the ability to receive help remotely."

One in five women will develop postpartum depression, and both mother and child are adversely affected by postpartum depression.

"Preventing postpartum depression before it starts is critical in promoting the health and well-being of new mothers and their children," Tandon said.

"With appropriate training and supervision, lay health workers can do a good job," Tandon noted. "We don't have to rely on mental health professionals. We can go another route."


•••••

Placebo effect may explain reported benefits of psychedelic microdoses

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/e-pem030221.php

 

News Release 2-Mar-2021
The largest placebo-controlled trial of psychedelics to date suggests that the reported psychological benefits of microdosing are likely explained by the placebo effect
eLife 

 

Positive psychological effects associated with taking small doses of psychedelic drugs are likely the result of users' expectations, suggests a study published today in eLife.

The study - the largest placebo-controlled trial on psychedelics to date - used an innovative 'self-blinding citizen science' approach, where members of the public who were already microdosing implemented their own placebo control following online instructions. The results from the trial may influence future studies in real-world settings.



•••••

tags: drug use, drug abuse,

Deepwater Horizon's long-lasting legacy for dolphins

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uoc-dhl030221.php

 

News Release 2-Mar-2021
University of Connecticut

 

The Deepwater Horizon disaster began on April 20, 2010 with an explosion on a BP-operated oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers. Almost immediately, oil began spilling into the waters of the gulf, an environmental calamity that took months to bring under control, but not before it became the largest oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

Nearly 10 years have passed since then, and the oil slick has long since dispersed. Yet, despite early predictions, area wildlife are still feeling the effects of that oil, and research published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry has shown that negative health impacts have befallen not only dolphins alive at the time of the spill, but also in their young, born years later.


•••••

How The Military Helped Bring Back The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker

Their population is stable because they are getting help from humans, due to the fact that they are listed as endangered.  So if they stop getting that help, we can expect their numbers to fall again to where they would be more endangered again.  Delisting them is the kind of brainless thing Trump is prone to.

I suggest reading the whole article.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/02/972486093/how-the-military-helped-bring-back-the-red-cockaded-woodpecker

 

 

March 2, 20219:50 AM ET

The red-cockaded woodpecker has been listed as endangered for more than half a century, but that could soon change.

In the final months of the Trump administration, federal wildlife officials started a process to downgrade its status to "threatened."

Conservation groups say science doesn't support the move, and that it could undermine gains made in part with the help of unusual public-private partnerships that have taken decades of work and millions of dollars.

But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the bird's population is stable now, and that legally its status should be changed.

"It no longer meets that definition of endangered species, you know, that it is threatened by extinction basically," said Kristi Young, deputy manager for the service's Division of Conservation and Classification. "That's because the conditions have really improved."

•••••

One thing both sides agree on: For a bird that once threatened some of the nation's largest and most powerful military bases, the woodpecker's survival relies on an unusual amount of human help.

•••••

Managing the trees, the birds and the forests themselves is a lot of work at Lejeune. And similar efforts are required on several major military bases across the Southeast, which are home to four of the six most robust pockets of the woodpeckers.

•••••

Words of wisdom

Seen on Facebook:

We don't have to agree on anything

to be kind to one another.

Treatable sleep disorder common in people with thinking and memory problems

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/aaon-sts021821.php

 

News Release 28-Feb-2021
American Academy of Neurology

 

Obstructive sleep apnea is when breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep. Research has shown people with this sleep disorder have an increased risk of developing cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Yet, it is treatable. A preliminary study released today, February 28, 2021, has found that obstructive sleep apnea is common in people with cognitive impairment. The study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 73rd Annual Meeting being held virtually April 17 to 22, 2021.

Cognitive impairment includes memory and thinking problems that affect concentration, decision making and learning new things. The risk of cognitive impairment increases as people age.

"Better sleep is beneficial to the brain and can improve cognitive skills. Yet in our study, we found that over half of the people with cognitive impairment had obstructive sleep apnea," said study author Mark I. Boulos, M.D., of the University of Toronto in Canada and member of the American Academy of Neurology. "We also found that those with the sleep disorder had lower scores on thinking and memory tests. Fully understanding how obstructive sleep apnea affects this population is important because with treatment, there is potential to improve thinking and memory skills as well as overall quality of life."


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Cannabis use can lead to rebound headaches for people with migraine

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/aaon-ccu021821.php

 

News Release 1-Mar-2021
American Academy of Neurology

 

 Using cannabis for relief from migraine headache may be associated with developing "rebound" headache, or medication overuse headache, which occurs when pain medication is overused by patients who have an underlying primary headache disorder such as migraine, according to a preliminary study released today March 1, 2021, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 73rd Annual Meeting being held virtually April 17 to 22, 2021.

"Many people with chronic migraine are already self-medicating with cannabis, and there is some evidence that cannabis can help treat other types of chronic pain," said study author Niushen Zhang, M.D., of Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "However, we found that people who were using cannabis had significantly increased odds of also having medication overuse headache, or rebound headache, compared to people who were not using cannabis."


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tags: drug use, drug abuse,

The right '5-a-day' mix is 2 fruit and 3 vegetable servings for longer life

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/aha-tr022421.php

 

News Release 1-Mar-2021
Circulation journal report
American Heart Association

 

Studies representing nearly 2 million adults worldwide show that eating about five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, in which 2 are fruits and 3 are vegetables, is likely the optimal amount for a longer life, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation.

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables help reduce risk for numerous chronic health conditions that are leading causes of death, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. Yet, only about one in 10 adults eat enough fruits or vegetables, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


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Education, interest in alternative medicine associated with believing misinformation

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/apa-eii022521.php

 

News Release 1-Mar-2021
American Psychological Association

 

While many people believe misinformation on Facebook and Twitter from time to time, people with lower education or health literacy levels, a tendency to use alternative medicine or a distrust of the health care system are more likely to believe inaccurate medical postings than others, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.


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New research highlights health risks to babies on the front line of climate change

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/lu-nrh022621.php

 

News Release 1-Mar-2021
Lancaster University

 

Extreme rainfall associated with climate change is causing harm to babies in some of the most forgotten places on the planet setting in motion a chain of disadvantage down the generations, according to new research in Nature Sustainability.

Researchers from Lancaster University and the FIOCRUZ health research institute in Brazil found babies born to mothers exposed to extreme rainfall shocks, were smaller due to restricted foetal growth and premature birth.

Low birth-weight has life-long consequences for health and development and researchers say their findings are evidence of climate extremes causing intergenerational disadvantage, especially for socially-marginalized Amazonians in forgotten places.

Climate extremes can affect the health of mothers and their unborn babies in many ways - for example causing crops to fail, reducing access to nutritious affordable food, increasing prevalence of infectious diseases. Extremely intense rainfall in Amazonia causes river flooding exposing poorer households to water-borne diseases and creating ideal breeding conditions for mosquitos, leading to outbreaks of malaria or dengue fever. Major floods and droughts are extremely disruptive to people's lives; related stress and anxiety can contribute to premature birth and impair normal childhood development.


•••••


tags: severe weather, extreme weather,

The risk of ADHD may be lower if children grow up in green environments

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/au-tro030121.php

 

News Release 1-Mar-2021
The results of a new Danish study by researchers from iPSYCH show that the amount of green space surrounding children's homes has influence for the risk of developing ADHD. The study is so far the largest of its kind.
Aarhus University

 

 

The amount of green space surrounding children's homes could be important for their risk of developing ADHD. This is shown by new research results from iPSYCH.

A team of researchers from Aarhus University has studied how green space around the residence affects the risk of children and adolescents being diagnosed with ADHD. And the researchers find an association.

"Our findings show that children who have been exposed to less green surroundings in their residential area in early childhood, which we define as lasting up until age five, have an increased risk of receiving an ADHD diagnosis when compared to children who have been surrounded by the highest level of green space," says Malene Thygesen, who is one of the researchers behind the study.


•••••

A single study does not provide sufficient basis to conclude that there exists an association between access to green environments and children's risk of developing ADHD, as this requires further studies. But the results of Malene Thygesen and the team's research are the same as those of previous similar research projects, and the study's research methods have taken into account many of the other factors which can also come into play in the development of ADHD.

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Excessive social media use linked to binge eating in US preteens

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uot-esm030121.php

 

News Release 1-Mar-2021
For kids, screen time may go hand-in-hand with high-calorie snacking, UCSF- University of Toronto study shows
University of Toronto

 

 Children in the United States who have more screen time at ages 9-10 are more likely to develop binge-eating disorder one year later, according to a new national study.

The study, published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders on March 1, found that each additional hour spent on social media was associated with a 62% higher risk of binge-eating disorder one year later. It also found that each additional hour spent watching or streaming television or movies led to a 39% higher risk of binge-eating disorder one year later.

Binge-eating disorder is characterized by eating large quantities of food in a short period of time, a feeling of loss of control during the binge, and experiencing shame or guilt afterwards. Binge-eating disorder can be severe and life-threatening if it causes heart disease or diabetes, and it is the most common eating disorder in the United States. People with binge-eating disorder may be overweight or of normal weight, but unlike those with bulimia, they do not compensate by vomiting, using laxatives or exercising excessively. They frequently eat alone or in secret and may eat until they are uncomfortably full.


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Adverse childhood and combat experiences may drive veterans' suicidal thoughts

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/ps-aca030121.php

 

News Release 1-Mar-2021
Penn State

 

The rate of suicide among post-9/11 military veterans has been rising for nearly a decade. While there are a number of factors associated with suicide, veterans have unique experiences that may contribute to them thinking about killing themselves.

"Compared to their civilian peers, veterans are more likely to report having experienced traumatic adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as physical and emotional abuse," stated Keith Aronson, associate director of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State and the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI). "Veterans also engage in life-threatening combat and witness the corollaries of combat such as seeing colleagues killed or wounded."


•••••

Compared to veterans who had no ACEs or combat exposure (reference group), male and female veterans who had experienced one ACE but no combat were two-and-a-half times more likely to report thoughts of suicide. Females who experienced three or more ACEs but no combat were five times more likely to think of suicide, while males were three times more likely compared to the reference group.

"This data shows that veterans' suicidal thinking and mental well-being is influenced by factors that happen both before and during military," noted Daniel Perkins, principal scientist at the Clearinghouse and professor of Family and Youth Resiliency and Policy in the College of Agricultural Sciences who is also an SSRI cofunded faculty member.

Female veterans who were exposed to three or more ACEs and corollaries of combat were more than five times more likely and males were more than three times more likely to have thoughts of suicide compared to the reference group.

Female veterans who only were exposed to combat were nine times more likely to have thoughts of suicide, while males were four times more likely. Female veterans exposed to one or more ACEs and combat were more than eight times more likely to think about suicide than females in the reference group. Males exposed to one or more ACEs and combat were between two and five times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than male veterans in the reference group.

There was no association between suicidal thinking and exposure to the corollaries of combat irrespective of exposure to ACEs.

•••••

tags: child abuse,

School-based dental program reduces cavities by more than 50%

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/nyu-sdp030121.php

 

News Release 1-Mar-2021
New York University

 

A school-based cavity prevention program involving nearly 7,000 elementary school students reduced cavities by more than 50 percent, according to a study led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry. The findings are published March 1 in the Journal of the American Dental Association.


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Dental cavities are the most common chronic disease in children, and one in five elementary school children have at least one untreated cavity. While cavities can be prevented with dental visits and good at-home oral hygiene, some families experience barriers to seeing a dentist, including cost and parents having to take time off of work.

"School-based cavity prevention programs eliminate these barriers by bringing basic dental care to children, rather than bringing children to care," said Niederman.

•••••

Twice-yearly visits involved dental examinations followed by cavity prevention and treatment, including fluoride varnish, sealants, and minimally invasive fillings to stabilize cavities without drilling. Students also received oral hygiene instructions, toothbrushes, and fluoride toothpaste to take home. If more complex care was required, students were referred to local dentists. Notably, the procedures used do not create aerosols, which limits the risk of transmitting viruses through the air.

After six visits, the prevalence of untreated cavities decreased by more than 50 percent. In one group of schools, cavities were reduced from a baseline of 39 percent to 18 percent, and in a second group, cavities decreased from 28 percent to 10 percent. The prevention program reduced cavities in both baby and permanent teeth.

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Biden administration preparing to sanction Russia over Navalny treatment this week

It's great to have a president who doesn't kowtow to Russia.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/01/politics/biden-administration-russia-sanctions-alexei-navalny/index.html

 

By Kylie Atwood, CNN
Updated 10:35 AM ET, Mon March 1, 2021

The Biden administration is preparing to impose sanctions on Russia over the poisoning and jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny this week, two administration officials tell CNN.

The rollout of the sanctions will happen in coordination with the European Union, the officials said. The measures and the exact timing will be fleshed out by US and EU officials in the coming days.

These sanctions would be the first costs imposed on Russia by the Biden administration and will set the tone for their policy towards Moscow going forward. They would mark a clear departure from the approach of the Trump administration, which declined to impose penalties over the poisoning and shied away from directly confronting Russia over its nefarious actions.\

The Biden administration is seeking to send a "strong message" on human rights and the importance of acting alongside allies with these sanctions, and there are plans to tackle a broader set of challenges posed by Russia in the coming weeks, the officials said.

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Hurricane season start date could shift earlier because of a surge in May storms

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/03/01/hurricane-season-start-day-could-shifted-may-15/6870944002/

Doyle Rice
USA TODAY

Mar. 1, 2021

Because of a surge in May storms, meteorologists are considering moving the start date of the Atlantic hurricane season from June 1 to May 15.

The hurricane season has started on June 1 for more than five decades.

The discussion on changing the start date began in December at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) hurricane conference, which followed the most active hurricane season on record, when 30 named storms formed.

Storms have formed in May in each of the past six years, according to NOAA. In 2020, Tropical Storm Arthur came to life on May 16, followed by Tropical Storm Bertha on May 27.

Since the late 1960s, when satellites began identifying tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic, 19 named storms have formed before June 1, Colorado State University researcher Phil Klotzbach said.


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Amazon insiders sound alarm over security

https://www.politico.eu/article/data-at-risk-amazon-security-threat/

 

 By Vincent Manancourt
February 24, 2021 11:05 am 

 

YOUR ORDER HISTORY. Your credit card information. Even your intimate health data.

Amazon is amassing an empire of data as the online retailer ventures into ever more areas of our lives. But the company's efforts to protect the information it collects are inadequate, according to insiders who warn the company's security shortfalls expose users' information to potential breaches, theft and exploitation.

The warnings about privacy and compliance failures at Amazon come from three former high-level information security employees — one EU-based and two from the U.S. — who told POLITICO they had repeatedly tried to alert senior leadership in the company's Seattle HQ, only to be sidelined, dismissed or pushed out of the company in what they saw as professional retaliation.


•••••

Put together, their accounts paint a picture of a corporate culture at Amazon that they say prioritizes growth over other factors, such as the security of customers' information, compliance with rules designed to safeguard that data and the careers of employees the company hired specifically to flag problems.

“Imagine if a company the size of Amazon had a breach? The issue is millions of people's personal identifiable information is at risk,” the first former U.S.-based information-security employee said.

•••••

Garfield Benjamin, a British academic who has previously written about Amazon’s privacy lapses, said that the company's "disregard for privacy and security" was indicative of a "big problem."

“It seems bizarre — although perhaps unfortunately all too common — that a company so intent on making data its primary business should have such poor practices,” Benjamin said when shown POLITICO’s findings. He added, "Is their hubris so great, their assumed power so unassailable, that they see themselves as completely untouchable?”

The consequence for consumers is more than potential loss of trust in Amazon's privacy and security practices. The company's practices leave it vulnerable to potential breaches or hacks that could put highly sensitive information into the hands of malicious actors. 

[My guess is they don't want to spend the money needed for good security.]

•••••

“The quality of the controls that Amazon has in place is appalling. We found hundreds of thousands of accounts where the employee is no longer there but they still have system access,” said the first former U.S.-based employee, adding that such a vast number was possible because of Amazon's massive workforce and rapid staff turnover. Amazon said it has strict procedures in place when employees leave the company that remove their access.

•••••

Weak controls mean the company may not even detect a hack. An internal Amazon memo seen by one of the former employees from June 2018 deemed there was a “very high” possibility of critical financial loss or reputational damage to the business because of the company’s “inability to identify adversarial events.”

•••••

AMAZON PUTS GREAT STOCK in its 14 "leadership principles," which every employee is supposed to follow, and against which they are measured. The principles include "customer obsession," "are right, a lot," "frugality" and "earn trust." All the former employees said they felt those principles were used against them in retaliation for highlighting issues with compliance or security.

For instance, those seeking funding would sometimes come up against senior managers citing the need for "frugality."

•••••

ALL THE EMPLOYEES WHO SPOKE TO POLITICO attributed the company being unwilling to fix issues or deliberately hiding them most directly to a strata of management that sits between the highest levels of the company — which includes vice presidents, senior vice presidents and Jeff Bezos himself — and the rest of the company.

They said that a “cut throat” competitive culture meant that there was jostling in the mid-level layer directly above them for promotions and funds. This meant that there was pressure to report wins over losses and downplay issues within the company — as well as to regulators.

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