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Silver at ~$12/ oz?  Gold/ Silver price ratio is RIDICULOUS!  You have been informed!

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Regards, Dan, a. k. a. smAshomAsh

COVID-19 CURED! 

https://www.covidtrial.io/

 

 

Regards, Dan, a. k. a. smAshomAsh

An Open Data Clinical Trial for COVID-19 Prevention

BREAKING UPDATE: Clinical trial by Gautret, Raoult, et al. (2020)

What is this initiative?

We're an independent group of scientists and physicians working on an open-data clinical trial for prevention of COVID-19, through the use of hydroxychloroquine in combination with other therapeutic agents.

Unlike a typical commercial drug trial, our objective is to share trial data with the public* and health-care professionals as close to real-time as possible (with a reasonable level of data quality assurance).

Given the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic, we're looking for every possible means to fast-track the effort.

Read our draft paper

Data will be de-identified to preserve participants' privacy and conform with regulatory requirements.

How can I participate in the trial?

Objective: Evaluate the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in the prevention of COVID-19 infection.

Current Phase: We're first focusing on a cohort study of healthy medical professionals.

Status: Active / Recruiting

Join the study: If you're a front-line healthcare worker (physician, nurse, etc.), and willing to participate in the trial (or already taking hydroxychloroquine), please send us an email.

Future phase: Case-control study of hydroxychloroquine in the prevention of COVID-19. Stay tuned.

Can my company / organization participate in the trial?

We'd be happy to discuss.

Could I support the project in other ways?

If you're interested to support or partner on regulatory front, clinical trial, or funding, please send us an email.

Background

A recent well controlled clinical study conducted by Didier Raoult​ M.D/Ph.D, et. al in France has shown that 100% of patients that received a combination of HCQ and Azithromycin tested negative and were virologically cured within 6 days of treatment.

In addition, recent guidelines from South Korea and China report that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are effective antiviral therapeutic treatments for novel coronavirus.

A therapeutic agent that prevents infection with novel coronavirus is highly desirable--especially for persons with high-risk exposure (e.g healthcare professionals) as well as persons with comorbidities (heart disease, diabetes, etc) and compromised immune systems. Ground-breaking in vitro studies demonstrate potential efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic for novel coronavirus infection in primate cells.

Note: Hydroxychloroquine (brand name Plaquenil) is an inexpensive, globally available drug (tablet) that was approved for widespread medical use since 1955. It is commonly used today to treat malaria, systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Project Lead

Gregory J. Rigano, Esq

Mr. Rigano is an Advisor to the Stanford University School of Medicine SPARK Translational Research Program. He's led a biotech firm for the past five years in research and clinical evaluation of Chloroquine in various diseases.

Gregory has provided counsel to over $1 billion in transaction volume at global scale with a strong focus on the sciences involving multi-national corporations and the federal government. Gregory’s experience includes advancing various pharmaceutical assets through laboratory, animal, formulation, manufacturing, clinical trials (Phase I - III) as well as commercialization. Mr. Rigano received his Juris Doctor degree from Hofstra University, and studied at Johns Hopkins University.

Consulting Scientists & Physicians

Didier Raoult​, MD & Ph.D

Didier Raoult created the Rickettsia Unit at Aix-Marseille University. Since 2008, Dr. Raoult has served as the director of URMITE (Research Unit in Infectious and Tropical Emergent Diseases), collaborating with CNRS (National Center for the Scientific Research), IRD (Research for the Development Institute), INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) and Aix Marseille University. His laboratory employs more than 200 people, including nearly 100 active researchers who publish between 250 and 350 papers per year and have produced over 50 patents.

Dr. Chandra Duggirala, MD

Chandra is a Physician, clinical investigator, inventor and serial entrepreneur.

He's been treating patients in the hospital, ER and ICU and is working to find prophylactic drugs for high risk health care workers. Chandra is focused on alleviating and eliminating Covid-19 pandemic by using therapeutic, prophylactic and system design approaches to reduce the burden on our healthcare system and reduce morbidity and mortality caused by SARS-COV2.

He founded Novobionics, a medical device company to treat diabetes and obesity non-invasively and invented it's double sleeve technology. He lead the company through preclinical trials and several US and international patents. He is also the Principal Investigator of the Reset-Youth trial, one of the largest clinical trials for investigating the reversibility of epigenetic markers of aging. He also founded a software company at the intersection of nutritional biology and A.I.

Mary Wright has reacted to this post.
Mary Wright
Regards, Dan, a. k. a. smAshomAsh

That's amazing

smAsh has reacted to this post.
smAsh
Quote from Mary Wright on March 19, 2020, 4:54 pm

That's amazing

Indeed, and here's the paper:

cures > vaccines.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/186Bel9RqfsmEx55FDum4xY_IlWSHnGbj/view 

Regards, Dan, a. k. a. smAshomAsh

Explainer: What is herd immunity and will it affect the pandemic?

LONDON (Reuters) - The outbreak of disease caused by the new coronavirus has raised questions about a phenomenon known as “herd immunity” and whether it might play a role in how the pandemic progresses.

Here are some insights from infectious disease specialists:

WHAT IS HERD IMMUNITY?

* Herd immunity refers to a situation where enough people in a population have immunity to an infection to be able to effectively stop that disease from spreading.

* For herd immunity, it doesn’t matter whether the immunity comes from vaccination, or from people having had the disease. The crucial thing is that they are immune.

* With the new coronavirus infection — called COVID-19 — as more and more people become infected, there will be more people who recover and who are then immune to future infection. 

 

“When about 70% of the population have been infected and recovered, the chances of outbreaks of the disease become much less because most people are resistant to infection,” said Martin Hibberd, a professor of Emerging Infectious Disease at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

“This is called herd immunity.”

WILL IT AFFECT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC?

* With the new coronavirus outbreak, current evidence suggests that one infected person on average infects between two and three others. This means that, if no other measures are taken, herd immunity would kick in when between 50% and 70% of a population is immune.

“But it doesn’t have to be –- and it won’t be –- this way,” said Matthew Baylis, a professor at the Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences at Liverpool University.

* By reducing the number of people that one person infects — with social distancing measures such as closing schools, working from home, avoiding large gatherings and frequent hand washing — the point at which herd immunity kicks in can be lowered.

 

“From an epidemiological point of view, the trick is to reduce the number of people we are in contact with ... so that we can drive down the number of contacts we infect, and herd immunity starts earlier,” said Baylis.

The “sweet spot” he added, is when one infected person infects, on average, one or less than one other person.

Reporting by Kate Kelland, Editing by Catherine Evans

Regards, Dan, a. k. a. smAshomAsh

A letter from Senator Pat Browne to Pennsylvania Residents :

Wolf Orders Shutdown of Non-Life-Sustaining Businesses; Appeals Process Established

On Thursday evening, Governor Wolf ordered the closure of all non-life-sustaining businesses in Pennsylvania. A list of business types that would be affected by this order is available at http://www.pasenategop.com/covid-19-resources.

I joined Senate leaders in raising concerns about some of the unforeseen problems that could arise from his order and how this measure could impact small businesses. The response from Senate Republican leaders is available here.

As a result of these concerns, the Wolf Administration announced a waiver process for any company that believes they should be considered a life-sustaining-business. Business owners can apply for a waiver at this email address: RA-dcexemption@pa.gov. Business owners can address questions about whether they need to close by emailing ra-dcedcs@pa.gov.

Businesses and non-profits who have suffered economic losses during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak can consider applying for low-interest loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Additional information is available by contacting SBA’s disaster assistance customer service center by calling 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or e-mailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

I will continue to work with my colleagues in the General Assembly and the Wolf Administration to find ways to help businesses and employees who have been impacted by coronavirus mitigation measures.

Help for Businesses & Employees Affected by Governor’s Mandated Closures

Assistance Available for Employees Affected by COVID-19

Pennsylvanians who are unable to work because of the COVID-19 coronavirus may be eligible for Unemployment or Workers’ Compensation benefits.

Unemployment Compensation is available for employees whose employer temporarily closes, goes out of business due to COVID-19 or reduces hours due to COVID-19. Eligibility is also extended to employees who are told not to work, have been told to self-isolate or quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus.

UC call centers are experiencing extremely high call volumes, so claimants are encouraged to get help by email at uchelp@pa.gov, or via UC LiveChat.

Employees who have been exposed to COVID-19 in their workplace could also be eligible for Workers’ Compensation.

More details about benefits for affected employees are available here.

Emergency Food Assistance Available During Coronavirus Mitigation

Individuals who are out of work due to the coronavirus can seek emergency food assistance at local food banks. Many food banks, pantries, shelters and soup kitchens are offering special drive-through services to limit close personal contact.

A list of food banks and additional guidance from the Department of Agriculture is available here.

Many schools are continuing to offer meals for students. More information on how schools are adjusting to mitigation efforts is available here.

Guidance Offered to Help Older Pennsylvanians; PACE Requirements Relaxed; PTRR Deadline Extended

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging recently issued guidance to help older adult day centers, adult protective services, and senior centers continue to meet the needs of older adults while coronavirus mitigation measures remain in effect. These guidelines are available here.

The department is also relaxing restrictions in the PACE program that require a person to use 75 percent of their medication before seeking a refill. Enrollees who wish to receive that exception must have their pharmacy provider contact PACE at 1-800-835-8040.

All enrollees should be able to receive free home delivery of medications from their pharmacy. Enrollees who have difficulty obtaining their refills can call Cardholder Services at 1-800-225-7223.

In addition, the deadline for older Pennsylvanians and disabled state residents to apply for the Property Tax Rent Rebate Program has been extended from June 30 until December 31. The Online Customer Service Center remains open for applicants who have questions about the program.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is continuing to provide guidance to healthcare providers regarding measures to prevent exposure and transmission of the coronavirus, reporting, testing, specimen collection and more.

Guidance for healthcare professionals, facilities, nursing homes, first responders and more are available here.

In addition, the Department of State’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs recently announced that licensing boards can provide telemedicine services to patients during the coronavirus emergency. More information on the announcement is available here.

PUC Prohibits Utility Terminations During Public Health Emergency; Evictions, Foreclosures Delayed

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has announced that utility terminations would be prohibited while the governor’s Proclamation of Disaster is in effect. This applies to all electric, natural gas, water, wastewater, telecommunications and steam utilities.

More details about this decision is available here.

Federal Tax Payment and Filing Deadline Extended to July 15

Federal tax filing and payment deadlines have been extended to July 15.

More guidance from the IRS is available here. 

Vital Records Requests Delayed, Online Services Remain Open

The closure of the Capitol Complex and surrounding offices has affected the ability of the Department of Health to fulfill requests for birth certificates, death certificates and other vital records. Individual who need these documents are strongly encouraged to file requests online at http://www.vitalchek.com.

In cases where online processing is not an option and the situation is an emergency, paper applications can be mailed to the address below. No paper applications should be sent Health & Welfare or Forum Place through the statewide closure. Once normal operations return, the Department of Health's address is:

Department of Health
Division of Vital Records
PO Box 1528
New Castle, PA  16103

Regards, Dan, a. k. a. smAshomAsh

IBM Supercomputer Identifies 77 Compounds That Could Fight Coronavirus

 
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The Summit supercomputer came online several years ago with more computing power than any other non-distributed system. The US Department of Energy announced earlier this month that it would turn the system’s massive computing power toward the COVID-19 pandemic. The machine has been crunching the numbers, and it has now identified 77 chemical compounds that could help stop coronavirus. 

Summit is the most powerful supercomputer on Earth by a wide margin, and it’s also the third most energy-efficient. It uses 10MW of power to keep its 9,216 POWER9 22-core CPUs and 27,648 Nvidia Tesla V100 GPUs humming. It has a theoretical peak performance of over 200 petaflops and has demonstrated 148.6 petaflops in practice while operating at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

 

The target of Summit’s massive computing power is a specific protein on the surface of the virus particle. Like other viruses, SARS-CoV-2 needs to infect cells to make copies of itself, and it does that with the help of the Spike protein. These molecules on the surface of the virus link to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors on human cells, allowing the virus to inject its genome and hijack cellular machinery. 

Summit has run simulations on more than 8,000 compounds, searching for molecules that could inactivate the virus. Early results from Summit have identified 77 compounds that could bind to the Spike protein, preventing it from binding to human cells. 

The Summit supercomputer covers about as much space as two basketball courts. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, CC BY 2.0

Unfortunately, Summit can’t devise a treatment all by itself. All that processing power is great at simulating molecular interactions, but not ideal for the nuanced process of clinical analysis. All we know right now is these 77 molecules stand a good chance of blocking the Spike protein from attaching to cells. We don’t even know if the compounds Summit has identified are safe for use in humans. 

 

Medical authorities will need to evaluate the compounds and conduct laboratory testing, which may eventually lead to clinical tests with human subjects. This is just part of our efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. Work on a vaccine is separate from this. A vaccine could stop infections from taking place at all, but a treatment based on Summit’s work could help alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19 and increase survival rates. Unfortunately, vaccines are much harder to develop.

source : extremetech.com

Regards, Dan, a. k. a. smAshomAsh

 

Here Are Simple Tips to Help You Avoid Fake Coronavirus News

 

SAMANTHA VANDERSLOTT, THE CONVERSATION

 

21 MARCH 2020

 

The proliferation of fake news about the COVID-19 pandemic has been labelled a dangerous "infodemic". Fake news spreads faster and more easily today through the internet, social media and instant messaging.

 
 
 

These messages may contain useless, incorrect or even harmful information and advice, which can hamper the public health response and add to social disorder and division.

 

Confusingly some fake news also contains a mixture of correct information, which makes it difficult to spot what is true and accurate. Fake news may also be shared by trusted friends and family, including those who are doctors and nurses.

 

They might not have read the full story before sharing or just glanced over it. Before you decide to share, make sure to read stories properly and follow some checks to determine the accuracy.

 

If the story appears to claim a much higher level of certainty in its advice and arguments than other stories, this is questionable. People will be seeking certainty in a time of high uncertainty, anxiety and panic.

 

So it is only natural to more readily accept information that resolves, reassures and provides easy solutions – unfortunately, often in a false way.

 

Similarly, if a story is more surprising or upsetting than other stories it is worth double-checking, as fake news will try to grab your attention by being more exaggerated than real stories.

 

What to look out for

 
  • Source. Question the source. References have been made to "Taiwanese experts" or "Japanese doctors" or "Stanford University" during the outbreak. Check on official websites if stories are repeated there. If a source is "a friend of a friend", this is a rumour unless you also know the person directly.
  • Logo: Check whether any organisation's logo used in the message looks the same as on the official website.
  • Bad English: Credible journalists and organisations are less likely to make repeated spelling and grammar mistakes. Also, anything written entirely in capital letters or containing a lot of exclamation marks should raise your suspicions.
  • Pretend social media accounts: Some fake accounts mimic the real thing. For example, the unofficial Twitter handle @BBCNewsTonight, which was made to look like the legitimate @BBCNews account, shared a fake story about the actor Daniel Radcliffe testing positive for coronavirus. Media platforms try to remove or flag fake accounts and stories as well as verify real ones. Look out for what their policies are to try to do this.
  • Over-encouragement to share: Be wary if the message presses you to share – this is how viral messaging works.
  • Use fact-checking websites: Websites such as APFactCheck and Full Fact highlight common fake news stories. You can also use a search engine to look up the title of the article to see if it has been identified as fake news by the mainstream media.
 

Who to trust

 

The best sources to go to for health information about COVID-19 are your government health websites and the World Health Organization website. Primary sources are generally better than news articles.

 

Even government messaging and the mainstream media can get things wrong, but they are more trustworthy than unverified sources on social media and viral messaging.

 
 
 

For instance, The Conversation is a more trusted source because all content is written by academics who are experts in their fields.

 

Charlatans have been promoting false preventions and cures for people to spend their money on. For example, the New York attorney general has had to send cease and desist notices for claims that toothpaste, dietary supplements and creams will prevent and cure COVID-19.

 

The effects can also be more serious than losing some cash. Iran has reported at least 44 people died from alcohol poisoning after drinking bootleg alcohol in a misguided attempt to cure COVID-19.

 

Unfortunately, the most basic and correct advice given so far does not offer a miracle or special insight. Wash your hands often (use hand sanitisers if you cannot), avoid touching your face, and sneeze or cough into the crook of your elbow or a tissue (and throw it away in a bag-lined bin).

 

Avoid crowds and public places, keep a sensible distance from people, and do not travel unless absolutely necessary.

 

Now many governments are introducing measures including travel bans and quarantines that need to be followed to protect the health of everyone, especially the most vulnerable.

 

We can all get caught out. Think twice about the messages currently circulating and help guide your family and friends to decide what to trust.

 

Samantha Vanderslott, Postdoctoral Researcher in Social Sciences, University of Oxford.

 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

source : sciencealert.com

Regards, Dan, a. k. a. smAshomAsh

Doctors Say Children Vital to Slowing COVID-19 Pandemic – Here’s How

Steven Zeichner

Steven L. Zeichner, MD, PhD, is the head of UVA Health’s Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Credit: Sanjay Suchak | UVA Communications

Though COVID-19 so far appears to be largely sparing children, researchers are cautioning that it is critical to understand how the virus affects kids to model the pandemic accurately, limit the disease’s spread and ensure the youngest patients get the care they need.

The warning comes from Steven L. Zeichner, MD, PhD, the head of UVA Health’s Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, and Andrea T. Cruz, MD, MPH, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine. They have authored a commentary in the journal Pediatrics accompanying a new article that reveals a small percentage of infected children become seriously ill. Those at greatest risk include babies and preschoolers.

Hanna Yu and Vignesh Rajasekaran

Lab technicians Hanna Yu (foreground) and Vignesh Rajasekaran work in the lab of UVA’s Steven L. Zeichner, MD, PhD. The lab is working to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. Credit: Sanjay Suchak | UVA Communications

“Many infectious diseases affect children differently than adults and understanding those differences can yield important insights,” the commentary authors write. “This will likely be true for COVID-19, just as it was for older infectious diseases.”

Assessing COVID-19 Risks

Zeichner and Cruz note that there are subgroups of children who appear to be at greater risk of COVID-19 complications, particularly those who are younger, immunocompromised or have other pulmonary health problems.

However, the presence of other viral infections in up to two-thirds of childhood coronavirus cases makes it very difficult to assess the true effect of COVID-19 on children, they state. (This figure is based on prior studies of children with coronaviruses detectable in the respiratory tract.)

Vignesh Rajasekaran Steven Zeichner Hanna Yu

UVA’s Vignesh Rajasekaran (from left), Steven L. Zeichner and Hanna Yu are working to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. Rajasekaran and Yu are technicians in Zeichner’s lab. Credit: Sanjay Suchak | UVA Communications

While much remains unknown, Cruz and Zeichner caution that children, even asymptomatic children, could play a “major role” in disease transmission. For example, they cite a study that found the virus remained in children’s stool for several weeks after diagnosis. That, combined with other routes of transmission such as nasal secretions, could pose a major challenge for schools, day care centers and the children’s families, they note.

“Since many children infected with COVID-19 appear to have have mild symptoms, or even no symptoms at all, it is important to practice all the social distancing, hygiene and other precautions being recommended by public health authorities to minimize transmission from children to others, including family members who may be at greater risk from the infection, such as grandparents or family members with chronic medical conditions,” said Zeichner, who is working on innovative potential COVID-19 vaccines in his lab. “In addition, studies of the reasons why children are affected differently than adults by the infection may yield insights that can be helpful in understanding the disease and ways to treat or prevent it.”

Reference: “COVID-19 in Children: Initial Characterization of the Pediatric Disease” by Cruz A and Zeichner S., March 2020, Pediatrics.
DOI: 10.1542/peds.2020-0834 

Zeichner holds appointments in the UVA School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology. He is part of UVA Children’s Child Health Research Center. Cruz is part of Baylor’s Department of Pediatrics. They are associate editors of the Pediatrics journal.

In addition, Zeichner is an inventor of technology to develop vaccines rapidly that is being patented by UVA.

Their commentary accompanies the article “Epidemiology of COVID-19 Among Children in China” by Yuanyuan Dong, Xi Mo, Yabin Hu, Xin Qi, Fang Jiang, Zhongyi Jiang and Shilu Tong.

source : scitechdaily.com

Regards, Dan, a. k. a. smAshomAsh
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