Wednesday, October 21, 2020
I have started hearing about more COVID exposed and COVID positive friends and family over the last two weeks. Comfortingly, I have not had physical contact with any of them. Of course, I instantly parse the complex social web in my head - trying to determine who knows who and whether I have encountered any second or third-degree contacts of contacts. It is maddening and infuriating. Though my social network is a non-random sample, it is an excellent reminder to be vigilant.
-----Latest Data---
Case rates are still trending up in many states and parts of the world. Death rates are still stable - remember it is often a 2+ week lagging indicator. The US is now diagnosing more than 55,000 new cases per day (7-day rolling average) and is stable at 680-700 deaths per day (7-day rolling average).
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=cases
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The US Regionally - NY. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
----
I wanted to offer a rapid-fire review of some interesting studies. Please note the data are often early, require further research, and are often only associative. These studies demonstrate the breadth and depth of global thought around COVID. AND -LET ME BE VERY CLEAR - DO NOT TAKE ACTION BASED ON THE ARTICLES BELOW.
Mouthwash is again being looked at to reduce the viral load in the mouth of positive patients. Possible use cases include minimizing spread from symptomatic patients within their house or when they require medical intervention.
https://news.psu.edu/story/635101/2020/10/19/research/mouthwashes-oral-rinses-may-inactivate-human-coronaviruses
HCQ - no better than placebo in this French multicenter randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.19.20214940v1?rss=1%22
From Ireland, Healthcare workers have difficulty collecting nasopharyngeal coronavirus swabs, increasing the false-negative rate.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.19.20213140v1?rss=1%22
This article is a retrospective look at COVID transmission rates in England over the last few months. The authors were able to parse out the impact of parks and greenspace on transmission patterns. They conclude that "utilizing green spaces rather than other activities (e.g., visiting shops and workplaces) can reduce the transmission rate of COVID-19, especially during an exponential phase of transmission." You can probably use this one to reassure yourself that the outdoors is relatively safe.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.20.20215731v1?rss=1%22
At the Medical College of Georgia, they are looking at CBD to increase apelin levels - an anti-inflammatory and protective protein.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-10/mcog-chr101620.php
This research is all bench-top for now. Of note, this is the first time I have ever read the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, which has been around long enough to have at least five volumes and three issues. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/can.2020.0043
Infographic of the day - The positive news mega-infographic
Information is Beautiful recently released a compilation of their infographics indicating that the world is slowly, progressively improving across numerous domains.
https://informationisbeautiful.net/beautifulnews/
from
https://informationisbeautiful.net/2020/365-days-of-beautiful-news/
----Bonus Round -- Dialect day
An endless source of entertainment for me has been the serious focus of linguists. Soda vs. pop; wahter, worter, water; y'all vs. yous. I found this article looking at three different documentaries on American dialects. Enjoy y'all:
https://www.openculture.com/2020/10/mapping-the-differences-in-how-americans-speak-english-a-geographic-look-at-words-accents-dialects.html
And, to keep things fair and balanced, I offer the 84-second 2014 "Tour of the accents of the British Isles."
https://kottke.org/14/04/a-tour-of-the-accents-of-the-british-isles
And to wrap up, I highly recommend this. Very, very entertaining:
What English would sound like if pronounced phonetically:
https://kottke.org/18/08/how-would-english-sound-if-it-were-phonetically-consistent
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
I have started hearing about more COVID exposed and COVID positive friends and family over the last two weeks. Comfortingly, I have not had physical contact with any of them. Of course, I instantly parse the complex social web in my head - trying to determine who knows who and whether I have encountered any second or third-degree contacts of contacts. It is maddening and infuriating. Though my social network is a non-random sample, it is an excellent reminder to be vigilant.
-----Latest Data---
Case rates are still trending up in many states and parts of the world. Death rates are still stable - remember it is often a 2+ week lagging indicator. The US is now diagnosing more than 55,000 new cases per day (7-day rolling average) and is stable at 680-700 deaths per day (7-day rolling average).
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=cases
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The US Regionally - NY. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
----
I wanted to offer a rapid-fire review of some interesting studies. Please note the data are often early, require further research, and are often only associative. These studies demonstrate the breadth and depth of global thought around COVID. AND -LET ME BE VERY CLEAR - DO NOT TAKE ACTION BASED ON THE ARTICLES BELOW.
Mouthwash is again being looked at to reduce the viral load in the mouth of positive patients. Possible use cases include minimizing spread from symptomatic patients within their house or when they require medical intervention.
https://news.psu.edu/story/635101/2020/10/19/research/mouthwashes-oral-rinses-may-inactivate-human-coronaviruses
HCQ - no better than placebo in this French multicenter randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.19.20214940v1?rss=1%22
From Ireland, Healthcare workers have difficulty collecting nasopharyngeal coronavirus swabs, increasing the false-negative rate.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.19.20213140v1?rss=1%22
This article is a retrospective look at COVID transmission rates in England over the last few months. The authors were able to parse out the impact of parks and greenspace on transmission patterns. They conclude that "utilizing green spaces rather than other activities (e.g., visiting shops and workplaces) can reduce the transmission rate of COVID-19, especially during an exponential phase of transmission." You can probably use this one to reassure yourself that the outdoors is relatively safe.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.20.20215731v1?rss=1%22
At the Medical College of Georgia, they are looking at CBD to increase apelin levels - an anti-inflammatory and protective protein.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-10/mcog-chr101620.php
This research is all bench-top for now. Of note, this is the first time I have ever read the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, which has been around long enough to have at least five volumes and three issues. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/can.2020.0043
Infographic of the day - The positive news mega-infographic
Information is Beautiful recently released a compilation of their infographics indicating that the world is slowly, progressively improving across numerous domains.
https://informationisbeautiful.net/beautifulnews/
from
https://informationisbeautiful.net/2020/365-days-of-beautiful-news/
----Bonus Round -- Dialect day
An endless source of entertainment for me has been the serious focus of linguists. Soda vs. pop; wahter, worter, water; y'all vs. yous. I found this article looking at three different documentaries on American dialects. Enjoy y'all:
https://www.openculture.com/2020/10/mapping-the-differences-in-how-americans-speak-english-a-geographic-look-at-words-accents-dialects.html
And, to keep things fair and balanced, I offer the 84-second 2014 "Tour of the accents of the British Isles."
https://kottke.org/14/04/a-tour-of-the-accents-of-the-british-isles
And to wrap up, I highly recommend this. Very, very entertaining:
What English would sound like if pronounced phonetically:
https://kottke.org/18/08/how-would-english-sound-if-it-were-phonetically-consistent
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
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