McDonald's China owners Carlyle, Trustar plan $4 bln exit

 Carlyle Group Inc and Trustar Capital are planning to raise $4 billion from wealth funds to buy part of their stakes in McDonald's Corp operations in Hong Kong and mainland China, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

The move would provide a partial exit for the buyout firms after they bought the business six years ago, according to the report, citing people familiar with the matter.

Shareholders have agreed to the plan, and the asset managers have approached Mubadala Investment and GIC Pte to finalize a deal that values the business at up to $10 billion including debt, the report said.

The asset managers aim to reach an agreement with investors in the fourth quarter of this year, the report added.

Carlyle declined to comment, while McDonald's China and GIC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Reuters had reported in April citing two people with knowledge of the matter that the U.S.-based private equity firm was discussing various options including setting up a continuation fund with financial advisers for its stake in McDonald's China.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-mcdonalds-china-owners-carlyle-012828023.html

Secret Service To Brief Congress Thursday As Biden White House Accused Of "Cocaine Cover-Up"

 by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

Biden critics are accusing the White House of a “cocaine cover-up” as the Secret Service investigation into “CocaineGate” drags on with no resolution.

Amid growing skepticism regarding the trustworthiness of the “ongoing investigation,” the Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday didn’t have an update for reporters.

“Do you have any update on the investigation into the cocaine at the White House?” a reporter inquired.

“I don’t have any updates,” Jean-Pierre responded. “I just don’t have anything updated. I would refer you to the Secret Service on that particular question.”

The USSS have not been answering to press inquiries about the discovery, however, telling news outlets that they cannot comment on ongoing investigations. The Secret Service will be briefing Congress on Thursday, after House Oversight Chairman James Comer Comer fired off a letter to USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle demanding to be briefed on the White House security failures that led to the “unacceptable and shameful” discovery of cocaine in the West Wing.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also called for a briefing in a letter on July 5.

“If the White House complex is not secure, Congress needs to know the details, as well as your plan to correct any flaws,” the Republican senator wrote, demanding a list be provided of every individual who has access to the White House without passing through a security screening.

According to the Daily Mail, Cotton has not yet received a reply from Cheatle.

Details about where the cocaine baggie was found have changed multiple times since the discovery was made on July 2.

Initially, a spokesman for the USSS told reporters that Secret Service officers “located an unknown item on the White House complex.” Then, an audio recording from the Hazmat team sent to the White House  to investigate the substance indicated it was located in the library. Next, the White House said it was found in the highly trafficked West Wing lobby.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday strongly suggested that a member of the public on a tour may have left the drug in a “heavily-traveled area” of the West Wing.

“This is a heavily, heavily trafficked – heavily traveled to be more accurate – area of the campus of the White House. And it is where visitors to the West Wing come,” Jean-Pierre insisted.

“I just don’t have anything else—I’m not going to speculate on who it was.”

Finally, on Thursday, NBC News reported that the contraband was found in a cubby near the “much more secure” West Executive entrance—not the West Wing lobby.

According to NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, “average people just can’t get in” where the cocaine baggie was found.

Although fingerprint and DNA analysis were done last week on the “dime-sized zipper baggie” the drug was found in, no results have yet been shared. The investigation was expected to be concluded by Monday.

Now, some are accusing the Biden White House of engaging in a cover up to protect the culprit.

On Fox News Monday,  Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) said the Biden White House is refusing to hand over the results of the finger print analysis.

“If the cocaine was found on a bag, doesn’t it have fingerprints on it? And how long would it take to answer that question? Weeks, days, hours?” asked Fox News host Martha MacCallum.

“I asked some of our State Troopers, Texas Rangers and Sheriffs—those kinds of people who do this for a living—and they all said to me that on very porous surfaces like bags and envelopes, you’ll be able to determine within an hour if there’s fingerprints on it,” Rep Fallon replied.

“By my math we’re 192 hours from the time it was discovered yet we don’t know.” Fallon noted that “if there were no fingerprints, they could have told us immediately.”

The Texas congressman also said the fingerprints may have been run through a database and pointed out that the cocaine was found in an area “where high level aides and staffers are,”
most of whom “have been fingerprinted at one time or another.”

Fallon told MacCallum that the Secret Service “very well may already know who it belongs to and aren’t sharing with us.”

Kash Patel, a former House Intelligence Committee staffer, and chief of staff to the acting United States secretary of defense under President Donald Trump, told former Trump official Sebastian Gorka on Tuesday that local law enforcement, not just the Secret Service, should be involved in the investigation.

“The White House is subjected to law enforcement and we’re talking about felony levels of narcotics,” he said.

In an interview with Just the News, former FBI agent and acting commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection Agency Mark Morgan said last week that the White House cocaine mystery should take “about 30 minutes to solve.”

“I was there countless times, I put my cell phone in that exact box that they’re talking about. I know it well. Oftentimes, there is a marine that’s standing there. This literally should take them about 30 minutes to solve,” Morgan said on Wednesday.

According to former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino, the culprit has to be a member of the Biden family because everyone else has to go through a strict security checkpoint. “It had to be one of the protectees—there’s no other explanation,” Bongino declared in a video posted on Rumble. “That would never have gotten through the checkpoint. Not a chance in Hell.”

On Friday, even an MSNBC reporter questioned the Secret Service’s line that the mystery may never be solved, saying it’s “hard to believe” the Secret Service can’t figure out who brought the cocaine to the White House, given the heavy security.

“The cocaine cover-up is officially ridiculous,” said Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton in a video commentary posted onto Twitter.

Cheatle will brief members of the powerful House Oversight Committee on Thursday at 10 a.m., the Daily Mail reported.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/secret-service-brief-congress-thursday-biden-white-house-accused-cocaine-cover

Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships skyrocket to highest levels in a decade: CDC data

 Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships have skyrocketed in 2023 — with the number of cases already exceeding that of any year over the past decade, according to recent figures.

Since January, there have been 13 outbreaks across six different cruise lines — the most since 2012 when there were 16 on eight lines over the entire year, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In one case in June, at least 13% of the 838 passengers on a Viking Cruises trip from Iceland to New York reported symptoms characteristic of norovirus.

Nine crew members on that ship — the Viking Neptune — also reported symptoms.

Norovirus is one of the most common viral illnesses on cruise ships, and is also one of the most frequent culprits in cases of basic food poisoning, according to CBS News.

The highly contagious virus causes gastroenteritis, which is characterized by vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.

Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships have skyrocketed this year.

On a Celebrity Cruises voyage in May, 7% or 152 of the 2,144 passengers were infected, and 2.6% or 25 of the 963 crew members contracted the virus.

Another case in May saw 246 or 12.4% of the 1,971 passengers contract norovirus, and 38 or 4.6% of the 826 crew members.

In a Princess Cruises voyage onboard the Ruby Princess, nearly 10% of the 2,881 passengers reported symptoms characteristic of norovirus.

It remains unclear what might be causing the surge in cases. The CDC did not respond to requests for comment from The Post.

https://nypost.com/2023/07/12/norovirus-outbreaks-on-cruise-ships-skyrocket-to-highest-levels-in-a-decade-cdc-data/

Telehealth only reduces costs for certain types of diseases

 Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that telehealth did not reduce costs or the number of future visits for patients with circulatory, respiratory or infectious diseases.

The researchers based their findings on patient visits from hospital outpatient clinics in Maryland from 2012 to 2021. Telehealth tools were effective at treating behavioral health conditions, metabolic disorders, dermatology and musculoskeletal disorders, according to a July 12 University of Texas at Austin news release.

Overall, the study did find that telehealth reduced outpatient costs by $239 per patient. However, clinicians could not accurately observe heart and lung conditions or deal with infections over video.

"People believed that telehealth would be the next big thing, the future of healthcare," Indranil Bardhan, PhD, a professor of information, risk and operations management, said in the release. "But our research shows that its impact is not as straightforward as people might think. It's more nuanced."

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/telehealth/telehealth-only-reduces-costs-for-certain-types-of-diseases.html

6 myths and misconceptions about hypnosis

 A strange mystic swings a pocket watch back and forth, repeating the phrase "You're getting sleepy, very sleepy," giving them absolute command over their subject. That's not how hypnotism really works, but it's the way it's often depicted in pop culture. Even some clinicians and hypnosis educators propagate harmful myths about hypnosis.

Steven Jay Lynn, a professor of psychology at Binghamton University, State University of New York, is an expert on hypnosis who has made major contributions to the judicial system for his insight on the practice. Lynn believes that hypnosis has many useful clinical applications, but that myths keep it from being utilized to its full potential.

In a recent paper published in BJPsych Advances, "Reconciling myths and misconceptions about hypnosis with scientific evidence," he and his colleagues, Madeline Stein and Devin Terhune from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College, addressed a number of errors and misconceptions regarding the characteristics and practice of hypnosis. These are a few of the common myths that are widely believed and commonly circulated in popular culture.

Hypnotized people can't resist suggestions

A deeply hypnotized person is believed to display "blind obedience," going along automatically with whatever the hypnotist suggests. Yet individuals do not lose control over their actions during hypnosis -- contrary to the notion the media reinforces that hypnosis is something done to you and that hypnosis can be used to control someone. In fact, people can resist and even oppose hypnotic suggestions. Their experience of control during hypnosis depends on their intentions and expectations regarding whether or not they retain voluntary control.

Hypnosis is a "special state"

Hypnosis is often mischaracterized as a "special state" where defense mechanisms are reduced and a "unique state of physical relaxation and conscious unconsciousness' allows us to 'enter our subconscious depths through hypnosis. However, people can respond to hypnotic suggestions even while they are alert and on an exercise bicycle. Aside from being a contradiction in terms, 'conscious unconsciousness' is an inaccurate depiction, because during hypnosis even the most highly suggestible individuals remain fully conscious and cognizant of their surroundings. It is more accurate to consider hypnosis as a set of procedures in which verbal suggestions are used to modulate awareness, perception and cognition, rather than to unnecessarily invoke 'special states.'

People are either hypnotizable or they are not

People's responsiveness to hypnosis can be relatively stable over time. Yet it is inaccurate to assume that people are either hypnotizable or not. People vary greatly in their responsiveness and often respond to some suggestions but not others. Still, most people are sufficiently hypnotizable to reap substantial benefits from therapeutic suggestions.

Responsiveness to suggestions reflects nothing more than compliance or faking

Suggested behaviors during hypnosis can seem so much a departure from the mundane that questions inevitably arise regarding whether hypnotic responses are genuine. However, neuroimaging studies reveal that the effects of hypnotic suggestions activate brain regions (e.g, visual processing) consistent with suggested events (e.g., hallucinating an object).These findings provide convincing evidence that hypnotic effects are represented at the neurophysiological level consistent with what people report.

Hypnotic methods require great skill to administer

One popular misconception is that of the mesmerist, or magician-like hypnotist with special powers of influence who can "hypnotize" anyone. This widespread idea is pure myth; in actuality, administering a hypnotic induction and specific suggestions do not require any special skills or abilities beyond those required for basic social interactions and administration of experimental or clinical procedures, such as the ability to establish rapport. However, hypnosis should be practiced only by professionals trained in the use of hypnosis.

Hypnotic age regression can retrieve accurate memories from the distant past

TV shows and movies often feature people being able to recall extremely accurate memories from a distant past life under hypnosis. But research suggests a contrary view. When researchers check the accuracy of memories of people who are "age regressed" to an earlier time (e.g., 10th century) against factual information from the suggested period, they find that the information is almost invariably incorrect. What people report is mostly consistent with information experimenters provide regarding their supposed past life experiences and identities (e.g., different race, culture, sex). These findings imply that "recall" reflects participants' expectancies, fantasies, and beliefs regarding personal characteristics and events during a given historical period.

Journal Reference:

1. Madeline V. Stein, Steven Jay Lynn, Devin B. Terhune. Reconciling myths and misconceptions about hypnosis with scientific evidence. BJPsych Advances, 2023; 1 DOI: 10.1192/bja.2023.30

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230711133126.htm

Novel compound combats drug-resistant fungi when combined with commercially available meds

 A study conducted at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil shows that brilacidin, a new drug tested for treatment of diseases ranging from bacterial skin infections to COVID-19, can kill drug-resistant strains of fungi when combined with two classes of anti-fungals available on the market.

This potential application of the drug has been patented and is reported in an article published in Nature Communications. It was discovered by researchers at the Ribeirão Preto School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCFRP-USP).

The problem of drug resistance is a challenge recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), but developing new drugs is costly and time-consuming. "For this reason, we set out to identify the anti-fungal activity of known chemical molecules that had not been studied for their effects on fungal growth control. In this case, we explored 1,400 chemical compounds until we arrived at brilacidin," said Thaila Fernanda dos Reis, first author of the article and a postdoctoral fellow at FCFRP-USP.

Thanks to the use of several different methods, the researchers concluded that combining brilacidin with either of two anti-fungals (caspofungin or voriconazole) could kill resistant strains of several fungal species that cause infections in humans, such as Aspergillus fumigatus, which causes invasive pulmonary aspergillosis.

Aspergillosis is a common infection in intensive care units (ICUs), with mortality rates of between 60% and 90%. It also affects patients with impaired immune systems, such as those undergoing treatment for cancer.

In addition to the combinations with anti-fungals for lung infections, brilacidin alone blocked growth of A. fumigatus and development of the disease in an animal model of fungal keratitis, an infection of the cornea that affects 1 million-2 million people per year worldwide, especially in tropical countries with intense agricultural activity, as it frequently results from corneal abrasion by plant debris. In the United States and other developed countries, wearing contact lenses contaminated by fungi is the main risk factor.

Action mechanism

Drug resistance comes about when a microorganism (fungus, bacterium or virus) finds a way to survive and continue multiplying even in the presence of a drug that should inhibit its growth. Hence the importance of having several drugs with different action mechanisms so as to be able to choose one drug instead of another if a strain proves resistant.

However, while there are nine classes of anti-bacterials, only four classes of anti-fungals are commercially available. Caspofungin is an example. It has been available for some time, with an action mechanism that inhibits synthesis of the fungal cell wall, an integrity-related structure surrounding the plasma membrane.

It is not unusual for fungi to activate a repair system on coming into contact with the drug, avoiding the effects of the drug and surviving in its presence. The study pointed to the potential benefits of combining caspofungin with brilacidin in terms of deactivating this repair system.

"Caspofungin doesn't kill A. furmigatus but hinders its multiplication. This is often sufficient for the host's immune system to control the infection, but not always, so it's important to identify drugs that can act in synergy with caspofungin. One option would be to develop a single medication combining caspofungin and brilacidin so that they acted together," said Gustavo Henrique Goldman, last author of the article and a professor at FCFRP-USP.

Superfungi

Another advantage of brilacidin detected by the researchers was that its combination with caspofungin or voriconazole acted against different species of fungus. In tests involving an animal model, the caspofungin-brilacidin combination was effective against other species besides A. fumigatus, such as Candida albicans, Candida auris and Cryptococcus neoformans.

These and other species are known as superfungi because of their robust resistance to drugs and have been blamed for severe hospital-acquired infections. They recently became more common, owing to the many hospitalizations in ICUs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The researchers found the brilacidin-voriconazole combination to be effective against both A. fumigatus and species in the order Mucorales that cause severe facial deformation and are found mainly in India and Pakistan.

Clinical trials are needed to confirm the effects in humans. In partnership with Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IPI), the US-based company that owns the patent on brilacidin, the researchers are now looking for a Brazilian company interested in licensing the drug, conducting clinical trials, and marketing one of the combinations, if the trials are successful.

More information: Thaila Fernanda dos Reis et al, A host defense peptide mimetic, brilacidin, potentiates caspofungin antifungal activity against human pathogenic fungi, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37573-y

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-compound-combats-drug-resistant-fungi-combined.html

Anti-inflammatory drugs did not speed COVID-19 recovery but prevented deaths

 Two drugs commonly used to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis did not shorten recovery time for patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 but did reduce the likelihood of death when compared with standard care alone, according to a national study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study was coordinated by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), also part of HHS.

The study appears July 10 in JAMA.

In April 2020, the NIH launched a public-private partnership called Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) with the ultimate goal of speeding the development of the most promising COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.

As part of this partnership, a clinical trial called ACTIV-1 Immune Modulator (IM) was developed to compare multiple drugs at once. The researchers evaluated three anti-inflammatory drugs—infliximab, abatacept or cenicriviroc—added to standard care versus standard of care alone, in participants hospitalized with COVID-19. Standard care for such patients includes remdesivir, an antiviral drug, and dexamethasone, a corticosteroid. The study included 1,971 patients treated at 95 hospitals in the U.S. and Latin America.

Even in the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was evident that the body's aberrant and dysregulated immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is often responsible for pneumonia, respiratory failure and other severe consequences of the disease.

"One of the fundamental questions of early COVID-19 research was whether we could dampen the inflammatory process using existing anti-inflammatory drugs," said William G. Powderly, MD, the J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine & co-director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Powderly served as the national principal investigator leading the ACTIV-1 trial. "Our data suggest that two of the drugs we studied can be given to reduce mortality in severely ill patients. We hope this study will be helpful in revising guidelines for best practices in treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19."

When used in conjunction with standard of care, these immune modulators did not yield a statistically significant difference in recovery time compared with no use of such medications. However, Powderly said two of the three drug treatments still have clinical importance, especially in terms of one of the study's key secondary endpoints: mortality. Fewer patients died when treated with standard care plus either infliximab or abatacept, compared with patients who received standard care plus a placebo. Treatment with the third drug, cenicriviroc, was stopped early because the data showed no benefit.

Sold under the trade name Orencia, abatacept is used to treat joint swelling, pain and fatigue associated with rheumatoid arthritis. It is administered via infusion and works by reducing T cell responses. Infliximab, known by the trade name Remicade, is used to treat adults with rheumatoid arthritis in combination with methotrexate and adults with chronic severe plaque psoriasis, among other conditions. Abatacept and infliximab were administered via a single infusion in the ACTIV-1 trial.

For COVID-19 patients treated with abatacept, 56 out of 509 patients had died by day 28 (11% mortality). In the placebo group, 77 out of 510 patients had died over the same time frame (15.1% mortality). This 4.1% difference represents 21 fewer deaths among those who received abatacept.

For patients treated with infliximab, 52 out of 517 patients had died by day 28 (10.1% mortality). In the placebo group, 75 out of 516 patients had died by day 28 (14.5% mortality). This 4.4% difference represents 23 fewer deaths among those who received infliximab.

Although this study's immune modulators, when used in conjunction with standard of care, did not yield a statistically significant difference in recovery time, the mortality numbers determined by this study are still considered clinically important, according to Powderly. Powderly said this type of study is crucial for patients hospitalized with COVID-19, as it means that potential options for treatment are continually expanding.

"We've now shown that there are multiple potential options available for COVID treatment," Powderly added. "But ideally, we as doctors don't want to have to treat COVID pneumonia. We much prefer to prevent it, and vaccines are still the best way to prevent severe COVID-19."

More information: Jane A. O'Halloran et al, Abatacept, Cenicriviroc, or Infliximab for Treatment of Adults Hospitalized With COVID-19 Pneumonia, JAMA (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.11043

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-anti-inflammatory-drugs-covid-recovery-deaths.html