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The world needs to learn all it can about the origins of the novel coronarivus, and the World Health Organization has been investigating. But theres increasing reason to question the effort due to Chinas lack of cooperation and conflicts of interest on the WHO team.

A Beijing-approved WHO delegation recently concluded a 12-day visit to Wuhan, where the virus emerged more than a year ago. The group visited local hospitals and sites like the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and Huanan Seafood Market. But such field trips arent very helpful without unhindered access to raw data. The Chinese government, which controls research into Covid-19s origin, has limited WHO access to such information.

Chinese officials are spinning that Covid-19 came from outside China. Some Communist Party functionaries have suggested the virus was imported through frozen food, but few scientists take the idea seriously. Many believe it arrived through zoonotic spillover, passing perhaps from bats, through another species, to humans. Another theory is that the virus came from a laboratory such as the one in Wuhan.

The WIV has conducted controversial gain of function research on coronaviruses. Such experiments can provide viruses with new capabilitiessuch as the ability to infect a different species. The U.S. State Department has said several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019 and had symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses. This is important to investigate.

Yet the recent WHO trip ended with a propaganda coup for Beijing. Peter Ben Embarek, head of the WHO team, declared the lab hypothesis extremely unlikely and not in the hypotheses that we will suggest for future studies. Mr. Embarek said he had spoken with lab personnel extensively, and theyre the best ones to dismiss the claims. But apparently the frozen-food theory was worth looking into.

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Who Are the Covid Investigators? - The Wall Street Journal

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Then comes the big reveal: These are not chips," Kohli says. What he is advertising is different. These are Too Yumm! multigrain chips. Baked, not fried. Not just taste, it has got the power of seven grains."

When nutritionist Misbah Wasi saw her sister eating the same healthy baked chips", she looked at the nutritional information. Compared with an offering of market leader Lays, the fat content in Too Yumms product was less, but to compensate, there was more sugar and salt.

These healthy claims are misleading," said Misbah, who previously worked as a technical officer with Indias food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). A snack cannot be called healthy if it is focused on reducing only one nutrient and increasing the other," she said. If it is baked in a true sense, I will expect a reduction of more than 50% of total calories," she added.

Most Indians are not nutrition experts like Misbah. Yet, a growing number of Indians are interested in making healthier choicesan urge that has only been amplified by covid-19. In 2020, the sales of packaged food items skyrocketed. And, inevitably, a litany of health and immunity boosting claims got slapped on to exiting as well as new lines of consumer products.

It helps that most consumers dont read labels. They are confusing and complicated, giving manufacturers an opportunity to claim whatever they want70% fat-free", high fibre", no sugar"right in front of the pack. While there is an apparent new national focus on health, what seems like a free pass for food manufacturers is set to continue into the new decade.

However, it wouldnt have, if proposed changes in Indias labelling rules had been converted into law. The idea is simple: if the content of fat, salt or sugarthe three nutrients of concernexceed a specified quantity, the food packet would come with a front-of-pack warning label. An easily understandable red dot for each element that surpasses a defined threshold.

The front-of-pack label, its advocates believe, would empower consumers in making informed choices and incentivise companies to innovate in food technology to bring down fat, salt and sugar levels.

Had these rules been in place, the health claims on Too Yumms packet, for instance, would be placed along with two red dots: one for the high sodium (salt) levels (3.5 times higher than the permissible limit) and another for high saturated fat.

But Indias progressive front-of-pack labelling regulation is stuck, following fierce opposition from the industry. Interviews with scientists, government officials, independent experts and a review of documents obtained by Mint under the RTI Actincluding meeting minutes of FSSAI panels and hundreds of comments submitted by the food industry on the draft lawshow how debates between industry and government keep moving from one committee to another and the unresolved conflicts stay on the table. As a result, Indias attempt to regulate high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) foods is stuck for five years now. Now, experts are starting to warn that there would be public health fallouts if India doesnt make up its mind soon.

The executives of the All India Food Processors Association, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and companies like Too Yumm did not respond to a request for comment.

Health warning

We are passing through a public health emergency," said Dr K. Madhavan Nair, a former scientist at the National Institute of Nutrition and the chair of an expert group that will determine the future of labelling regulation, referring to the rising incidences of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Part of the problem is the composition of foods that Indians eat. The earlier problem in India was undernutrition. We thought overnutrition wont happen here. But it came so fast that we didnt even have time to frame policy," Nair said.

Fat, salt and sugar are the three critical nutrients that increase the risk of non-communicable diseases," he said. The latest official data from the National Family Health Survey released in December shows continued prevalence of diet-related NCDs like diabetes. Most states saw a sharp rise in obesity.

In 2011-12, the last nationwide consumption survey found that an average Indian consumed 10% of daily calories from processed food. For urban households in the highest income group, it accounted for roughly 30% of their daily food intake. Anecdotal evidence suggests the share of processed food has only increased since.

On its part, the processed food industry claims the proposed red dot" rules are not backed by evidence, could lead to a decline in sales, and would create panic among Indian consumers as most products will carry a red dot.

Nobody wants to put a red label," Nair said. But thats the only option to make the public aware about the danger and impact of HFSS foods."

India turned its attention to regulate HFSS foods only in the last decade. It all began in 2010 when Uday Foundation, a non-profit, filed a petition in the Delhi High Court flagging the easy availability of junk food and carbonated drinks to school children and sought a ban. The court asked FSSAI to look into the issue and frame guidelines. An expert group with public health advocates and industry representatives was set up in September 2013.

During these discussions, experts noted that there is no scientific definition of junk food", but they are generally understood to be foods high in fat, salt and sugar and lacking in micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals). Thats how the regulatory focus shifted to HFSS foods.

The submission was made in March 2014 and the court accepted it in 2015. The court did not order an outright ban on junk food, though. Instead, it asked the regulator to restrict or limit the availability of the most common HFSS foods in schools and areas within 50 metres of schools. Strengthening labelling laws to make nutritional labels more informative and appropriate was also recommended.

In June 2015, FSSAI set up a new committeean expert group on Fat, Sugar and Salt. It eventually led to the draft front-of-pack labelling regulations of 2018.

In its May 2017 report, the expert group found that an average Indians consumption of all the three ingredients is higher than the recommended threshold. They advocated for reformulation of products, an advertisement ban for foods high in FSS during childrens TV shows, and strengthening of the labelling systemonly 52% of products displayed the nutrient information as per prevalent laws.

This is especially crucial for India. A 2019 study published in Obesity Reviews Journal analysed over 400,000 packaged food and beverages from 12 countries and found that Indian products ranked lowest in terms of healthiness" across a range of health measures: they were most energy-dense and had the highest levels of saturated fat and total sugar.

The sticking points

There are four questions at the centre of the draft 2018 red dot" policys design: Which nutrients should be highlighted on the front of the pack? How to define what is considered high? What should be the labels design? What should be the timeline of implementation?

After considering various options, FSSAI proposed that packaged foods will carry a red dotseparate one for each categoryif the amount of total calories, fats, sodium and sugar exceed the defined threshold, which were decided based on WHOs nutrient profiling models.

The industry, expectedly, opposed itespecially the red colour of the warning label, which they said indicates danger and would discourage the sale of their products. It was hard to build consensus.

To address these concerns, a new three-member expert panel led by B Sesikeran, former director of the National Institute of Nutrition, was set up to propose revisions to the draft after consulting all stakeholders. The group met thrice between September and December 2018 and the changes they introduced included modifying the ingredients that would determine what is an HFSS food: in the new definition, high sugar would refer to added sugar, not total sugar; high fat would focus on saturated fat, not total fat; and salt was replaced with sodium. Limits were modified accordingly.

The committee proposed starting with a black coloured mark in the first year with a warning that excessive intake may be harmful to health" and move to a red-colored label afterwards. The rollout, they said, should be gradual: deviations up to 30% from the prescribed limit will be allowed in the first year to avoid the warning label and 15% in the second year.

A new draft was floated in 2019 and placed in the public domain to invite comments. The regulator received hundreds of submissions, mostly from industry. Still doesnt work, they said.

In a letter to FSSAI, the CII, an industry body, said the draft legislation is non-implementable" in its current form. The current definition of HFSS and definition of thresholds per 100 gm would result in a large percentage of processed foods becoming labelled red," they wrote. The threshold values are extremely impractical and even the three-year roadmap to achieve thresholds would really not be implementable."

The data CII submitted to the FSSAI, obtained via RTI, is instructive and shows whats at stake. What is high fat? It depends on the type of food of course. CII data show 100gm of ketchup in the Indian market contain 25-75gm fatthe threshold is just 12gm. For snackslike potato chipsFSSAI set 8gm as the upper limit. The industry benchmark is 30-36gm for total fat. No technology is available to reduce the level to 8% fat in fried foods," CII said in its submission.

Similar arguments were made by all major manufacturers and the FSSAI decided to reconsider. The industry associations raised concerns on the specified thresholds and requested to contextualize thresholds based on Indian scenario," FSSAI CEO Arun Singhal said in an emailed interview. The request also came from the ministry of food processing industries, Singhal said.

And so, in October 2019one year after the Sesikeran committee proposed changes after hearing industrys concernsanother committee chaired by Dr Madhavan Nair was set up. The panel met in November 2019 and asked the FSSAI to initiate a nutrient threshold study to assess the current Indian market scenario and generate baseline data for nutrient levels across all food categories.

This new baseline data will be crucial in determining thresholds. Seema Puri, a member in the Nair committee, explained why. Take biscuits. Currently, in most products, 20% of the energy comes from sugar, which is double the threshold value. When you get detailed data like this for the current market profile, you can study how much it deviates from existing thresholds and get to a middle ground," she said. In other words, one can expect a relaxation in the existing thresholds.

Some will see it as a compromise: high or low should be based on science, the argument goes, and not on existing market practisesthe fact that most Indian food products have fat, salt and sugar exceeding permissible quantities is the reason the regulation is being introduced.

Others term them pragmatic changes. Regulation needs to be evidence-based and take along its implementers," Puri said. If you take it too far, there will be violations. Based on the thresholds which may be arrived at, we are hoping industry should be positive," he added.

By now, 14 months have passed since the Nair committee commissioned the nutrient threshold study. Deliberations are still on. Its decision will determine the quality of packaged food in retail stores and, ultimately, the health of Indians.

In conclusion

There are essentially two world views in conflict here. Activists often point fingers at Big Food: cravings are artificially induced by engineering food in chemistry labs to make consumers eat more. Dubious claims pushed through misleading ads only make it harder for people to understand what they are actually eating.

The other viewwidely promoted by the industryputs the onus on individual behaviour: its about sedentary lifestyles, overall eating habits (not just what you buy in the supermarket) and preference (less demand for healthy products as consumers put taste over nutrition).

The reality most probably lies somewhere in between. And that zone, which prioritizes public health over all else, is probably what India should seek.

At a CUTS International event in August 2018, Pawan Agarwal, the former FSSAI CEO, had said it is high time to finalize the labelling rules as delays are holding up other regulations, including regulation on food allowed at school campuseswhere the story began in 2010. The regulator will move ahead, he had said, as already three years have passed discussing the theme."

Yet, in February 2021two-and-a-half years laterit is still not clear when the draft will turn into policy and in what form. India, meanwhile, desires good health while doing little.

Samarth Bansal is a freelance journalist who writes about technology and policy

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Inside the five-year battle food companies have fought to resist stricter labelling norms - Mint

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Loaded with cap space and possessing premiere draft capital, the numerous potential scenarios that could play out for the Cincinnati Bengals can become mind-boggling. Will the front office re-sign both, one, or neither of their own top free agents, William Jackson III and Carl Lawson? Will they rely on a deep tackle class in this years draft to fix the offensive line? Is a big-time wide receiver free agent on the table?

Everybody seems to have an opinion. That includes Pro Football Focus analyst Anthony Treash, who appeared on the Bengals Booth Podcast to marry advanced analytics with the logistics of running a franchise.

The plan laid out by Treash circles around three key components: 1. Prioritize re-signing Jackson over Lawson 2. Target players like Joe Thuney and Taylor Moton to upgrade Joe Burrows protection before the draft 3. Scoop up a wide receiver like JaMarr Chase to serve as a number one receiving threat in the offense.

This offseason plan differs from the traditional line of thought in a number of ways. The first instance being the idea that Jackson should be the priority over Lawson. Even a number of Bengals insiders believe the pass rush is of chief concern on the defensive side of the ball and Lawson is a guy the club just cant afford to lose.

After all, the team did finish dead last in terms of sacks a season ago, right? Not so fast. Its the positional value that makes this decision in the mind of Treash. When asked who should be prioritized, he had this to say,

It has to be William Jackson just because of the position value. I love Lawson, I think hes a very good pass rusher but when you look at our wins above replacement metric Jackson generated 2.5 times more wins above replacement than Carl Lawson did.

Its difficult to argue against that kind of statistic. However, it should be taken into account that the corner draft class appears to be considerably deeper than EDGE this year. If Lawson walks, and the board doesnt fall in a way to let the Bengals net another top pass rusher, theyll have very little to throw at opposing offenses in terms of getting after the quarterback.

You can have an All-Pro secondary, but if you give signal-callers all day to throw, it wont matter.

The second point made by Treash thats sure to get some of WhoDey Nation reaching for their pitchforks is the idea that Chase, not Sewell, would be the ideal selection for Cincinnati,

The Cincinnati Bengals, they have the cap space to attack [offensive line in free agency]. Theres some quality offensive linemen out there that not a lot of teams can afford from a wide receiver perspective, he [Chase] is up there with Amari Cooper and Julio Jones this guy has a chance to be an elite wide receiver number one

Again, its difficult to argue with the logic here. As of right now, eleven teams in the NFL are projected to have negative cap space. Not to mention, theres another chunk of the league that wouldnt have the means necessary to land some of the big offensive line targets. The Bengals may be able to out-bid a lot of the competition, thanks to smart salary cap management.

If they were able to land both Moton and Thuney, theyd have three solid pieces if you include Jonah Williams in the conversation as well. Pencil in a fairly quick return from injury from Trey Hopkins and Quinton Spain/a mid-round guard prospect, and thats a line that you can feel fairly comfortable about.

Then, add Chase to an offense that was already looking explosive last year prior to Burrow going down? Look out, Paul Brown Stadium could be home to the next offensive juggernaut.

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PFF analyst reveals his ideal Cincinnati Bengals offseason - Stripe Hype

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Learner, Input, Achiever, Analytical, Intellection read my table tent, proclaiming to the world my talents identified by the Gallup Clifton Strength assessment. I was proud of the outcomes because they correctly characterized me as a neuroscience researcher ready to take action.

Suddenly, a postdoc sitting next to me exclaimed, Empathy? What is that? How come I have it? This puzzled my analytical mind, which had been trained for years in my scientific research to value logic over emotion. The facilitator quickly described empathy as a precious talent that helped us understand other people and build strong relationships. However, I was not buying this description as a strength I could use to reach my ultimate goals.

Now, six years later, working as a career coach at an institution in Japan and logging countless hours in one-to-one meetings helping others determine career direction, I wholeheartedly agree with one of my postdoc advisees statements: Empathy! I love it! I would not be here without it. As a result of this shift, I am writing to share how we can use this foundational skill to advance our careers and maintain well-being during a job search.

First things first, lets define empathy. Empathy is the ability to experience other peoples feelings, emotions, thoughts and behaviors. More simply, it is the ability to put yourself in anothers person shoes. Neuroscience tells us that when we empathize, a special network of brain cells called mirror neurons is activated, allowing us to mirror the others experience. For example, when I work with a postdoc who struggles to find a job amid pandemic and Brexit concerns, my mirror neurons are working hard to create an experience of frustration and anxiety mixed with hope, allowing me to understand the state of mind of my advisee. Likewise, I am full of joy and excitement when reading a message from a graduate student who landed a dream position.

To note, empathy is different from sympathy and compassion. Specifically, sympathy expresses an understanding and concern for a situation, and unlike empathy, it lacks the feeling of sharedness and closeness. Compassion, on the other hand, takes empathy to the next level by adding a desire to alleviate suffering and discomfort. With the clarified terminology, lets explore why it is beneficial to consider empathy skills when managing careers, applying for a job or conducting interviews.

Empathy is often the top skill employers seek in a potential hire. Every year I teach career development workshops where we examine job postings to understand the position requirements. We have yet to encounter the phrase Empaths are needed in an advertisement; however, we frequently find reference to team player, cross-cultural communicator, adaptable professional or skillful problem solver on company wish lists. It turns out that most employers are looking for candidates who can mind read a funding agency, resolve conflict, build alliances, nurture relationships and manage or work in teams. Upon closer examination, we discover these traits to be rooted in understanding other peoples perspectives to advance projects or common goals. This is, in a nutshell, empathy in disguise.

Empathy provides keen insights during interviews. I love prepping our postdocs and graduate students for upcoming interviews. During those sessions, we practice the most frequently asked questions and develop a tell me about yourself elevator pitch. We also exercise our empathy by an imagine yourself as an interviewer role play. This activity serves two purposes: to see the hiring manager as a real person with specific needs, and to collect useful data to make the interview experience more relevant, memorable and fun.

For example, I ask a postdoc to imagine a hiring manager on the fifth Zoom call of the day at 4 p.m. on a Friday during a tough week. They are dealing with a lot of uncertainty while keeping the team afloat until the pandemic is over. Once imagined, we explore how this information could affect the interview dynamic.

In this case, we discuss how the postdoc could benefit from acknowledging the unfortunate timing and shortening the answers by getting straight to the point. Moreover, they could provide examples of handling uncertainty to ensure that joining a team in difficult times is a familiar experience. That sounds good, right? But how on earth can one guess these details during the real interview? The answer is to use deep listening, which comes when you empathize with a person on the other side of the conversation. Actively listening, observing and taking on the other persons perspective shifts the focus from your rehearsed answers to your conversation partners' needs and wants. That leads to mutual understanding and an instant connection, making the interview experience more memorable and effective.

Self-empathy keeps us grounded during the job search. It has been a year since we learned what it means to be under constant pressure due to the pandemic and all the changes in our work and home lives. Some of us are facing uncertainty, anxiety and desperation when sending out application No. 51 to the black hole of HR portals. Experts suggest using self-compassion to treat yourself with kindness and support to handle such stressful situations and relieve suffering. But if you are like me, self-compassion might be a difficult concept to incorporate into your daily routine.

You could try a self-empathy shortcut aimed at observing your situation, collecting evidence and objectively yet open-heartedly analyzing where you are in the present moment. This gentle investigation allows you to look empathetically inward to acknowledge that you are not alone in the quest to obtain a job during these tumultuous times. Taking this perspective, you might find some comfort in reframing highly competitive and unstable job markets as shared learning experiences that bring us all together instead of splitting us apart. You might also realize that facing some type of hardship may build a character and momentum to pivot your career and examine opportunities you would have never considered before.

At this point, you might be curious if empathy is innate or can be acquired. The truth is, some of us, like the postdoc mentioned at the very beginning of this essay, are naturally good at picking up on others emotions and thoughts. Meanwhile, some of us, like myself, have to learn to feel the feels. Despite your natural abilities, Id like to offer a few practices to get you started.

Deep listening requires listening with your ears, eyes and body not for what is said, but rather for what is unsaid. You can practice deep listening by setting up a short listening session with a friend or family member. During these sessions, ask, How are you? or Tell me a story about Then pay attention to every word, gesture and pause. If you find yourself thinking and preparing the next questions, rather than focusing on what your conversation partner is saying, bring yourself back to the conversation and start over again.

Perspective-taking is aimed at understanding the perspective of the other person. To sharpen this skill, imagine yourself in the shoes of people who surround you -- a fellow researcher, colleague or bank teller. Ask yourself about what they might be thinking, feeling and experiencing. This exercise could be especially useful when facing a difficult conversation, because it creates an opportunity to hear the other side of the story, see yourself from a different point of view and examine your own assumptions about what happened.

Improv classes are for the bravest of us. Initially intimidating, then morphing into pure fun, in-person or online improvisation exercises create a judgment-free environment to practice empathy and connections with others through activities that teach humor and responsiveness. To build up the courage, Id suggest incorporating some of the activities into your online social or birthday parties, combining silliness with undercover intentionality.

In my experience, developing empathy has been a slow but rewarding process. Over the last six years, developing and improving my own empathy has powered me to navigate complex environments, resolve conflicts and help many researchers to move forward with their goals. Choosing to listen and understand myself and others opened up a world full of sensations, emotions and insights. I am confident that expanding your empathetic repertoire will also bring you precious aha moments of support as we journey further into an unpredictable 2021.

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The value of empathy in career success (opinion) - Inside Higher Ed

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Biden and Dems are destroying AmericaJoe Biden is destroying America, along with the elected Democrats.Where in Gods name is the common sense that elected officials were supposed to have?With the stroke of a pen, the Keystone pipeline stopped, and 11,000 oil workers were out of a job, plus all the businesses that depend on them just to appease the hate-fossil-fuel group.Also signaling to undocumented immigrants on our southern border that it is OK to come during a pandemic, mind you. No checks for COVID-19. That alone demands a recall, and Biden and all the Democratic governors that are drunk with power, and those who cover for them, should be out.The state Health Department should be investigated, and arrests made for covering up nursing home deaths and lying for Andrew Cuomo the worst.The media played a big role in all of this, not telling the truth about many issues. Just keep blasting Trump to keep peoples mind off the issues a Democratic trick. You all have a lot to answer for and I hope you dont believe in karma.Shame on them all. Tell the truth about Bit-coin also.Albert MarvellScotia

Great experience getting vaccinatedRecently I had the good fortune and pleasure of receiving my first COVID-19 vaccine at SUNY Schenectady.I can happily report that the service was extremely well run by a contingent of county employees and a dedicated group of volunteers who administered the vaccine and saw to everyones safety and well-being.After presenting my pre-registration document and photo ID, I was escorted to one of several vaccination spots for some simple health screening, and then the magic liquid was injected into my arm.A follow-up appointment at the same location established.Then I was escorted to a chair in a socially distanced waiting area overseen by a registered EMT. A 15-minute timer was set on my chair; when the buzzer rang, I was free to leave. The entire operation was set up with one-way traffic flow, hence never any congestion. Wheelchairs and pushers were abundant for folks who needed them. I rate this service A-plus. The downside is the short supply of vaccines that the county is allocated. We must hope that the supply continues to improve as production ramps up.Please take hope and please dont blame the county employees for a supply problem that is beyond their control.Blanche FischerGlenville

Impeachment just a giant waste of timeThe impeachment farce has been a waste of precious time, as they could have been debating and voting on legislation but instead had to slag through hours of partisan rhetoric regarding a former president who no longer holds office.The only repercussion of impeachment is to bar Donald Trump from holding office again,. But this will only disenfranchise voters. Democrats are so tyrannical that they have to preclude a candidate from running for office as opposed to allowing a voter to make up his or her own mind in regards on who they vote for.If Trump really committed a heinous act, then the Department of Justice has every power and right to indict him, regardless of if he was the president at the time of the crime. Deep down, Democrats are nervous about Donald Trump running for reelection and winning.Mark BrockbankClifton Park

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Letters to the Editor Monday, Feb. 15 - The Daily Gazette

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