wuhan - coronavirus

[Ausmumof3]

There has been a second case in Australia of the Astra Zeneca blood clots making the current rate 1 in 350,000. A woman in her 40s who is in stable condition.  
 

Australia has also had its first Covid death in some time with an eighty year old returned traveller in Queensland dying in hospital.

[Laura Corin]

Regular Exercise May Help Protect Against Severe Covid https://nyti.ms/3uPTkaq

This is exercise independent of BMI.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Laura Corin

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-15/india-breaches-200-000-daily-covid-19-cases/100072816
 

India has reported a record 200,000 new daily COVID-19 cases, with the financial hub of Mumbai going into lockdown and hospitals treating coronavirus patients reporting severe shortages of beds and oxygen supplies.

 

 

[Ausmumof3]

pretty interesting Twitter thread on the variant - worth reading from the top.  Short version - Covid is evolving faster than influenza typically does but maybe that will settle down in a year or two - we don’t know yet.

Edited April 15, 2021 by Ausmumof3

[bookbard]

A woman has just died in Australia after being vaccinated - not quite sure if it's the same woman as above who developed blood clots? 

I really wonder what will end up happening with vaccination in Australia. The trouble is that the risk of getting covid is so low here - it must be lower than one in a million - that it makes the risk of dying from blood clots seem very high. I don't know anyone who is keen on getting the vaccine now, which isn't an issue at the moment as so few people are getting vaccinated, but may be huge down the track - how will they open the borders again if only half the population gets vaccinated?

[TCB]

19 hours ago, bookbard said:

A woman has just died in Australia after being vaccinated - not quite sure if it's the same woman as above who developed blood clots? 

I really wonder what will end up happening with vaccination in Australia. The trouble is that the risk of getting covid is so low here - it must be lower than one in a million - that it makes the risk of dying from blood clots seem very high. I don't know anyone who is keen on getting the vaccine now, which isn't an issue at the moment as so few people are getting vaccinated, but may be huge down the track - how will they open the borders again if only half the population gets vaccinated?

That must be really hard! I guess the risks of Covid will increase once you start opening borders and then maybe it will feel like a better decision- and hopefully they will be able to then get everyone vaccinated, who wants to, in time.

[Ausmumof3]

On 4/16/2021 at 6:53 AM, bookbard said:

A woman has just died in Australia after being vaccinated - not quite sure if it's the same woman as above who developed blood clots? 

I really wonder what will end up happening with vaccination in Australia. The trouble is that the risk of getting covid is so low here - it must be lower than one in a million - that it makes the risk of dying from blood clots seem very high. I don't know anyone who is keen on getting the vaccine now, which isn't an issue at the moment as so few people are getting vaccinated, but may be huge down the track - how will they open the borders again if only half the population gets vaccinated?

From the way the press conferences are going I kind of feel like we’re being threatened with - yes the borders are going to open and there’s going to be 1000 cases a day so you better take what vaccine you can.  That was how it came across to me.  I mean realistically we can’t stay closed forever I guess but I feel like the gov could have done and still could be doing more to secure a wider range of vaccines - they were always going for Astra because it’s the cheapest option.

[Ausmumof3]

The world passed 3,000,000 deaths today.  

[Ausmumof3]

So it looks to me like the case curve for the US has been trending gradually up for about a month now but the death curve is still trending down slightly.  This seems like a good sign that vaccinating the vulnerable is really working?  Would that be a fair interpretation?

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/blood-type-not-covid-19-risk-factor-us-inhaled-asthma-drug-may-keep-mild-illness-2021-04-16/?taid=607a13745a08ec000131f5af&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
 

Only a small study but seems like a good result for budesonide for preventing people from getting worse.

“Within a week of developing symptoms, 73 patients were randomly assigned to receive inhaled budesonide twice a day, and another 73 were assigned to receive only usual care. On average, patients used budesonide for 7 days. Ultimately, 15% of patients receiving usual care needed an urgent-care visit or hospitalization, compared to only 3% of those treated with budesonide. Patients who got budesonide also had fewer days with fever, fewer days of taking medicines to prevent fever, and recovered on average one day faster. "To our knowledge," the researchers said, this is the first trial of inhaled corticosteroids in early COVID-19 illness, and it "potentially provides the first easily accessible effective intervention" for patients with mild symptoms. They said larger trials to confirm their findings are urgently needed”

[Corraleno]

18 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

So it looks to me like the case curve for the US has been trending gradually up for about a month now but the death curve is still trending down slightly.  This seems like a good sign that vaccinating the vulnerable is really working?  Would that be a fair interpretation?

Yes, and that seems to match what HCWs are seeing, with the numbers of hospitalized older patients declining and younger patients increasing. E.g. in Michigan, the percentage of hospitalized covid patients over 70 dropped from 50% in the fall to 25% now, while those aged 30-49 more than doubled from 11% to 24%.

[Ausmumof3]

some interesting links etc here comparing J&J to AZ and seems like there may be less of the clotting issue - would be good if true.  A bit technical for me at this time of night though.

[Penelope]

June Hart Almeida, a Scottish virologist, was the first to describe a human coronavirus, London, 1964.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-52278716

[Corraleno]

What's happening in India right now is just terrifying. The "curve" is basically a vertical line and the rate of spread is accelerating rapidly — daily cases jumped from 150K to 260K in a single week. New Delhi alone had more than 25,000 new cases in one day, with a positivity rate of 30%. There are virtually no ICU beds left in a city of 20 million people. 😥

[Penelope]

https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-global-trade-india-coronavirus-pandemic-coronavirus-vaccine-50f18d8be1711d11744db710cfbb4c92
 

Quote

The chief executive of Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest maker of vaccines and a critical supplier of the U.N.-backed COVAX facility, asked President Joe Biden on Twitter to lift the U.S. embargo on exporting raw materials needed to make the jabs. 

Vaccine makers and experts in India have been concerned that the use of the Defense Production Act by the U.S. to boost it own vaccine production was resulting in exports of critical raw materials being stopped. This was hobbling vaccine production in other parts of the world.

Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer for Moderna, said Tuesday in an online event that export embargoes were also preventing American vaccine makers from exporting shots globally and resulting in shortages.

 

[Melissa in Australia]

4 hours ago, Corraleno said:

What's happening in India right now is just terrifying. The "curve" is basically a vertical line and the rate of spread is accelerating rapidly — daily cases jumped from 150K to 260K in a single week. New Delhi alone had more than 25,000 new cases in one day, with a positivity rate of 30%. There are virtually no ICU beds left in a city of 20 million people. 😥

News here said that hospital beds in New Delhi  are doubling up, 2 per bed. 😳

And people are still gathering in very tightly packed groups. 😲

[Corraleno]

4 hours ago, Penelope said:

https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-global-trade-india-coronavirus-pandemic-coronavirus-vaccine-50f18d8be1711d11744db710cfbb4c92
 

I think there's a bit of a double standard there — India is asking the US not to block the export of vaccines and raw materials that the US currently needs, while they themselves have blocked the export of 100 million doses of AZ vaccine that they were contracted to supply to COVAX this month, which screws the 70 countries that rely on COVAX. India has also blocked the export of Remdesivir and the raw materials for Remdesivir. So they're asking the US not to do to them exactly what they are currently doing to even poorer countries.

[iamonlyone]

On 4/16/2021 at 6:15 PM, Ausmumof3 said:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/blood-type-not-covid-19-risk-factor-us-inhaled-asthma-drug-may-keep-mild-illness-2021-04-16/?taid=607a13745a08ec000131f5af&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
 

Only a small study but seems like a good result for budesonide for preventing people from getting worse.

“Within a week of developing symptoms, 73 patients were randomly assigned to receive inhaled budesonide twice a day, and another 73 were assigned to receive only usual care. On average, patients used budesonide for 7 days. Ultimately, 15% of patients receiving usual care needed an urgent-care visit or hospitalization, compared to only 3% of those treated with budesonide. Patients who got budesonide also had fewer days with fever, fewer days of taking medicines to prevent fever, and recovered on average one day faster. "To our knowledge," the researchers said, this is the first trial of inhaled corticosteroids in early COVID-19 illness, and it "potentially provides the first easily accessible effective intervention" for patients with mild symptoms. They said larger trials to confirm their findings are urgently needed”

Inhaled nitric oxide also looks like it may also be promising: https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/clinical-trial-confirms-nasal-spray-efficacy-in-treating-reducing-transmission-of-covid-19

[Pen]

1 hour ago, iamonlyone said:

Inhaled nitric oxide also looks like it may also be promising: https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/clinical-trial-confirms-nasal-spray-efficacy-in-treating-reducing-transmission-of-covid-19

I have been interested in sound frequencies on health, and some may relate to generating NO: 

Humming Greatly Increases Nasal Nitric Oxide | American Journal of ...

 

by E Weitzberg · 2002 · Cited by 142 — The paranasal sinuses are major producers of nitric oxide (NO). We hypothesized that oscillating airflow produced by humming would enhance sinus ventilation and thereby increase nasal NO levels. Ten healthy subjects took part in the study.

 

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com › pii

Strong humming for one hour daily to terminate chronic ...

 

by GA Eby · 2006 · Cited by 27 — Nitric oxide can inhibit human rhinovirus-induced epithelial expression of several pro-inflammatory cytokines and can ...

 

[SoCal_Bear]

On 4/7/2021 at 3:05 PM, TCB said:

I must start by apologizing because I don’t think this is necessarily  too relevant to this thread but wasn’t sure where it fits.

I’ve been thinking about what has made this year so hard, and one thing is the fact that it has been the most difficult and upsetting work year in my 35+ years as a nurse, but I have hardly discussed it with many local friends and acquaintances because they are so busy maintaining the position that it is no big deal and completely overblown for political reasons. They just literally never ask about it or say anything about it. It’s surreal.

I'm so sorry. This is exactly what moral injury is.

Edited April 19, 2021 by calbear

[SoCal_Bear]

dp

Edited April 19, 2021 by calbear
duplicate post

[Ausmumof3]

We are up to 19 active quarantine cases in my state now.  Last time we had so many cases we ended up with an outbreak- really hoping that doesn’t happen again.

[lewelma]

12 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

We are up to 19 active quarantine cases in my state now.  Last time we had so many cases we ended up with an outbreak- really hoping that doesn’t happen again.

Oh boy.  Travel bubble just opened today. gulp!

[Amira]

8 hours ago, Corraleno said:

I think there's a bit of a double standard there — India is asking the US not to block the export of vaccines and raw materials that the US currently needs, while they themselves have blocked the export of 100 million doses of AZ vaccine that they were contracted to supply to COVAX this month, which screws the 70 countries that rely on COVAX. India has also blocked the export of Remdesivir and the raw materials for Remdesivir. So they're asking the US not to do to them exactly what they are currently doing to even poorer countries.

I agree, on its face there's a double standard. but India's current corona numbers and the condition of their health care system may justify limiting exports of their medical resources even when they call on others to stop doing it.  In my opinion, the US really can't make a good case for it right now, and the US could relieve some of the pressure on India to provide COVAX vaccines itself. 

[Corraleno]

RE: export of culture medium 
I looked into this some more, and what's actually happening is that US vaccine producers get priority in orders for US-manufactured culture medium, which doesn't seem unreasonable. There was a BBC report that said there is a global shortage of a lot of materials in the vaccine supply chain due to unprecedented demand, and US manufacturers getting first dibs on US-made materials is a response to the problem, not the cause of it.

RE: export of Moderna vaccine
Moderna has production facilities in the US and the EU, with the US facilities fulfilling US orders and EU facilities fulfilling non-US orders. EU production is running a few months behind US production because of a much later start, but they have been shipping vaccines to many countries outside the EU. Unfortunately the EU is now discussing an export ban on EU-manufactured vaccines in response to the UK refusing to allow export of AZ to the EU, while still receiving EU-manufactured mRNA vaccines. Moderna's US facilities are on schedule to deliver the 300 million doses the US ordered within the next 90 days or so; once they've fulfilled those orders, they can presumably start using the US facilities to produce vaccines for other countries as well.

I do think the US should immediately release their AZ stockpile of 20 million doses, which will almost certainly not be used here. Fauci has been signaling that the FDA will probably give J&J the green light by Friday, but if demand for that falls, they could also donate the excess J&J doses. Hopefully the UK studies on mixing manfacturers goes well, and then if J&J shows better efficacy with two shots, anyone who got one J&J shot could opt for Pfizer or Moderna for the second.

 

[Amira]

Thanks for finding more info on that, Corraleno.  Your posts have been valuable throughout this very long thread.

[Ausmumof3]

From BNO:

BREAKING: Number of Americans at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19 reaches 40%

[Corraleno]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

From BNO:

BREAKING: Number of Americans at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19 reaches 40%

And that's 50% of all adults with at least one shot, and a third of all adults fully vaccinated. 

 

 

[RootAnn]

CDC says that cleaning surfaces can help reduce spread in the first 24 hours of infection but isn't super helpful in other times.

 https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/19/health/cdc-covid-guidelines-cleaning/index.html

In a related note, A New Zealand airport worker who was fully vaccinated has tested positive for coronavirus. 

"The individual's job is to clean planes that have flown internationally from countries where Covid-19 is widespread, according to a media release from New Zealand's Ministry of Health."

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-04-20-21/h_237a98e80bf58cc773c1aba1f5d7eb35

[ktgrok]

3 hours ago, RootAnn said:

CDC says that cleaning surfaces can help reduce spread in the first 24 hours of infection but isn't super helpful in other times.

 https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/19/health/cdc-covid-guidelines-cleaning/index.html

In a related note, A New Zealand airport worker who was fully vaccinated has tested positive for coronavirus. 

"The individual's job is to clean planes that have flown internationally from countries where Covid-19 is widespread, according to a media release from New Zealand's Ministry of Health."

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-04-20-21/h_237a98e80bf58cc773c1aba1f5d7eb35

It does seem like a lot of the breakthrough cases are with high exposure levels - like this person, some health care workers, etc. Also, in at least one case it was a family, so maybe a genetic predisposition to lower immune response. 

[Jyhwkmama]

I have been away from this board for almost a year (not exactly sure why) and am surprised this thread is still going. This is the thread that I first read and connected with news reports that gave me the push to start mild prepping for the pandemic in February 2020. For that, I say thanks.

[Ausmumof3]

There is a report in the Australian today about a blood clotting case occurring a couple of days after the Pfizer shot.  It’s not clear if there’s a link at all, and I haven’t seen it on the ABC at all, and there’s no information about whether it’s the specific clotting pattern that’s distinctive with the vaccines but I’m keeping an eye out.  Presumably if there is an issue it’s extremely rare or it should have been seen elsewhere at this point.

[Ausmumof3]

Autoimmune disease, Pfizer jab shingles link.- a small number of people in Israel with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases developed shingles after receiving the COVID shot.  It may be advisable to get the shingles vaccine prior to the Pfizer Covid vaccine if you have one of these diseases.

Sorry about using the Daily Mail as a source but there’s a link to the original study and it might be important for someone here to know this.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9492433/Six-people-autoimmune-conditions-developed-shingles-getting-Pfizer-shots.html

 

[Laura Corin]

On 4/20/2021 at 12:10 AM, Corraleno said:

And that's 50% of all adults with at least one shot, and a third of all adults fully vaccinated. 

It's good to see countries creeping upwards. The UK is at 62% of adults with at least one jab but only 20% with two - due to the longer spacing,  probably.

[Jaybee]

14 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Autoimmune disease, Pfizer jab shingles link.- a small number of people in Israel with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases developed shingles after receiving the COVID shot.  It may be advisable to get the shingles vaccine prior to the Pfizer Covid vaccine if you have one of these diseases.

Sorry about using the Daily Mail as a source but there’s a link to the original study and it might be important for someone here to know this.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9492433/Six-people-autoimmune-conditions-developed-shingles-getting-Pfizer-shots.html

 

I posted about this on one of the vaccine posts with the link to medpage https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/92106 (you have to sign up but it's free) because I had shingles 8 days after the 2nd shot. I may have an autoimmune/inflammatory disease, but I don't know of it.

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, Jaybee said:

I posted about this on one of the vaccine posts with the link to medpage https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/92106 (you have to sign up but it's free) because I had shingles 8 days after the 2nd shot. I may have an autoimmune/inflammatory disease, but I don't know of it.

Hope you’re all recovered and feeling good.  Thanks for sharing that.

[Jaybee]

10 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Hope you’re all recovered and feeling good.  Thanks for sharing that.

Thanks, yes, I'm fine. I had a few bad days, but getting the vaccine was still worth it by far.

[Ausmumof3]

The situation down here over the last couple of days

- transmission of the South African variant has occurred in hotel quarantine in NSW.  Some people have left hotel quarantine and gone to other states.  They need to be contacted and asked to self isolate again.

- transmission has occurred in hotel quarantine in WA

- 9 cases of COVID have come in today in my state (this is fairly high - all from India.  There are currently three people hospitalised

- NT are considering asking for a reduction in flights from India because of the risk.  22 Australians who have returned from India have tested positive in the Northern Territory in the last week.

- vaccine rollout to health care workers has dropped because of the Astra Zeneca issues 

 

[Ausmumof3]

India recorded over 315,000 cases yesterday - first day with over 300,000. 😞 

[Ausmumof3]

54 minutes ago, kand said:

I just watched a gutting video from India from the BBC. I wish it would be watched by every person who blows off Covid as no big deal. I don't know how anyone could watch it and not be moved and want to do whatever they can to help end this awful thing 😭.

 

To be honest I haven’t felt like sharing all that I’ve read.  The one sort of bright spot in this pandemic up until now has been that India had escaped.  

[Corraleno]

A doctor in Mumbai described what is happening there as a "tsunami" not a wave. He said there are no available beds, not enough oxygen, and it's impossible to get a test. And yet Modi is still holding huge political rallies, and literally millions of Indians are traveling from all over the country this month for the Kumbh Mela festival. Not only has Modi refused to stop it, the gathering is actually exempt from all restrictions. And when those millions all return home, they will spread the virus to every corner of the country. A public health official there called it potentially "one of the largest mass super spreader events ever." 

Daily cases jumped from 200K to 315K, and deaths doubled from 1000 to 2100, in a single week, and it's only accelerating.  And as horrific as those stats are, due to the lack of testing and the number of people who are dying without being tested or hospitalized, the real numbers are likely much much worse.  It's absolutely staggering. 😥

[Ausmumof3]

So the decision has been made for now to reduce arrivals from India by 30pc.  It seems like a harsh decision but I think that it might be necessary.  In this state they move people who are Covid positive to a smaller separate quarantine facility with better ventilation to avoid spread within the quarantine hotels and that facility is almost at capacity with 30 cases.

[Melissa in Australia]

2 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

So the decision has been made for now to reduce arrivals from India by 30pc.  It seems like a harsh decision but I think that it might be necessary.  In this state they move people who are Covid positive to a smaller separate quarantine facility with better ventilation to avoid spread within the quarantine hotels and that facility is almost at capacity with 30 cases.

I cannot understand why we don't just stop arrivals form India at the moment. Aussies have had ample time to get back, the borders have supposedly been closed for a year now. 

[chiguirre]

4 hours ago, Corraleno said:

Daily cases jumped from 200K to 315K, and deaths doubled from 1000 to 2100, in a single week, and it's only accelerating.  And as horrific as those stats are, due to the lack of testing and the number of people who are dying without being tested or hospitalized, the real numbers are likely much much worse.  It's absolutely staggering. 😥

This is just the start, I'm afraid. Brazil has a seven day average of over 3,000 deaths and they have 1/7 the population of India. Many of the same elements are driving the spread of Covid: a more contagious and virulent variant, a government that won't take the danger seriously, a lack of medical infrastructure compared to richer countries and a large urban poor population that can't easily isolate. This is a recipe for disaster, not just for these large, developing countries, but for the whole world. The opportunity for variants that will be more deadly, and that vaccines might not work against them is going to deepen this crisis just as we seemed to be overcoming it. What a tragedy!

[Ausmumof3]

38 minutes ago, chiguirre said:

This is just the start, I'm afraid. Brazil has a seven day average of over 3,000 deaths and they have 1/7 the population of India. Many of the same elements are driving the spread of Covid: a more contagious and virulent variant, a government that won't take the danger seriously, a lack of medical infrastructure compared to richer countries and a large urban poor population that can't easily isolate. This is a recipe for disaster, not just for these large, developing countries, but for the whole world. The opportunity for variants that will be more deadly, and that vaccines might not work against them is going to deepen this crisis just as we seemed to be overcoming it. What a tragedy!

I believe there is already a variant circulating in India that may be impacting the situation although it’s not yet known if it’s an added problem or not.

[chiguirre]

28 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I believe there is already a variant circulating in India that may be impacting the situation although it’s not yet known if it’s an added problem or not.

There already is. Here's a Times of India article about their double variant:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/is-indian-covid-variant-behind-second-wave-that-started-from-vidarbha/articleshow/82189536.cms

[Jaybee]

I was talking to an Indian friend yesterday, who told me it is so much worse this time than before. And her province is not even giving numbers, due to their waiting for election results to be released. So I'm assuming add in a lot higher numbers than are being reported, considering cases like that? (In addition to many many who will never be tested.) There is understandable suspicion over vaccines, and many had decided to wait awhile. I have no idea about general vaccine availability, but I suspect it has not been wide.

[Corraleno]

It boggles my mind that the IOC is still saying that the Olympics are on track to start in just 90 days. How can that not be a total disaster? Worldwide cases have been rising for eight weeks straight and are currently at the highest level since the start of the pandemic. Deaths have been rising for five weeks straight and will soon surpass the previous peak. All of South America is spiking right now, Turkey and Kazakhstan are having huge spikes, Iran and Iraq, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Even Japan is having a spike — cases have more than tripled in the last month — and they're going to have thousands of athletes and support staff from 200 countries all fly in and live in close quarters for three weeks and then fly home? So many of the people in power who need to be making the hard, unpopular, expensive decisions to do the right thing and protect human life, are just not doing it. 🤬

[Ausmumof3]

17 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

It boggles my mind that the IOC is still saying that the Olympics are on track to start in just 90 days. How can that not be a total disaster? Worldwide cases have been rising for eight weeks straight and are currently at the highest level since the start of the pandemic. Deaths have been rising for five weeks straight and will soon surpass the previous peak. All of South America is spiking right now, Turkey and Kazakhstan are having huge spikes, Iran and Iraq, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Even Japan is having a spike — cases have more than tripled in the last month — and they're going to have thousands of athletes and support staff from 200 countries all fly in and live in close quarters for three weeks and then fly home? So many of the people in power who need to be making the hard, unpopular, expensive decisions to do the right thing and protect human life, are just not doing it. 🤬

We were talking about this tonight.  It seems so inevitable that it will fall over but no one is saying it.

[YaelAldrich]

As y'all know my DH studies Japan and travels there multiple times a year.  He was in the process of making plans to teach at one of the universities there last year in May.  Of course that was cancelled due to COVID.  My husband reached out and wanted to plan for December.  Their response was to say they can start planning but it is more than likely he would not be allowed in then either (at the least without 2 week quarantine, even though his if fully immunized).  The Olympics in Tokyo are toast - even without the visitors who are currently banned.  The numbers in Japan are bad but of course it is nothing like the India or Brazil (or even the US/Canada).