Daily Archives: March 11, 2020

Philippines, Mar 10: Passengers wear protective masks inside a crowded train following new cases of coronavirus in Manila. Image Credit: ANI

Dubai: As people across the globe look at the growing number of COVID-19 cases, now over 116,000, and the death toll of over 4,091, one key figure is being ignored - the recovery rate.

On Tuesday, China reported that a whopping 70 per cent of coronavirus cases in the country had'recovered'.

The total global number of recoveries, at the time of publishing, stands at 64,750 with 60,113 recoveries in China alone. Iran, the worst affected in the region, reported 2,731 recoveries.

recoveries out of over 116,000 coronavirus cases worldwide

In Macao, all 10 cases reported recovered, showcasing a 100 per cent recovery rate as of March 10. Sri Lanka, Gibraltar and Nepal also reported 100 per cent recovery - one case reported and recovered for each.

China

In China, recent days have seen more recoveries than new cases.Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the coronavirus epicenter of Wuhan for the first time since the disease emerged, state media said, a trip intended to project confidence that his government has managed to stem its spread domestically.

Xi arrived Tuesday morning in the capital of hard-hit Hubei province, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Wuhan, where the disease first emerged in December, has been quarantined since January 23.

What does a COVID-19 infection look like

In most cases, a person with COVID-19 or coronavirus infection has a fever which then goes away without specific treatment. This progression is called a 'mild case' and the World Health Organization reported thatnearly80 percent of all COVID-19 cases are mild.

Most involve fever, dry cough and, in some cases, shortness of breath. People with mild cases are expected to recover without any issues, and in many cases they may not be aware they're ever sick.

A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) studied the COVID-19 infection in 138 patients in Wuhanand came up with the most common progression seen in cases. 99 per cent of the cases surveyed,all of whom were hospitalised at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University during January had fever as a recorded symptom. Dry cough and fatigue were also common symptoms.Patients who developed complications did so within five days after they first started having the symptoms.

In the cases that do get worse, pneumonia is a common ailment which then could lead to further organ dysfunction.

What aids in the recovery?

The new coronavirus has no vaccine or cure yet, but what can be attributed to the 70 per cent recovery rate then?

Nothing in particular yet, studies and accounts show, except the humanimmune system. Many people who recovered had mild symptoms to begin with and did not develop further complications.

She initially tested negative for the virus on her return to India from Wuhan (January 24) but later developed symptoms. The student, who preferred to withhold her name and details, said she put herself in home-quarantine despite testing negative and having no symptoms. She got her temperature recordedregularly before getting a sore throat and she alerted her local government facility (January 27).

Despite no fever at the time, she was put on antibiotics and kept in quarantinewhile tests were done. In 48 hours her test came back positive (January 30), by which she also had a fever.The student prescribed anti-viral drugs,Oseltamivir IP 75 mg also known by the brand name Tamiflu, for five days.

She said, "I had no diet restrictions or anything. I continued in quarantine until February 20 and was tested every alternate day. A blood, urine, stool sample and nasal or throat swab was taken and samples sent to the NIV Pune. After testing negative for nearly a week I was declared free of COVID-19 and have returned home, resumed normal life."

None of her family members or friends contracted the virus from her, she said, as she had put herself in quarantine and followed necessary protocol.

From the time she tested positive, according to her account, it was 14 days before she started testing negative for nearly one week and being declared free of the virus.

Not every recovery story is the same

In Italy, a 38-year-old man named Mattia - who is believed to be patient one in the Lombardy area - was moved out of the intensive care unit and is on the way to recovery, authorities reported on Tuesday.

At the San Matteo hospital in Pavia, there was a sigh of relief after Mattia began breathing on his own Monday with just a small amount of oxygen assistance, said Dr. Francesco Mojoli, head of intensive care. He was moved out of the ICU to a sub-ICU unit and was speaking with doctors.

"This disease has a long life,'' Mojoli told RAI state television. "Now we hope that the fact that he was young and in good shape will help him get back to his normal life.''

Mattia first went to the hospital in Codogno on February18 complaining of flu-like symptoms. He was sent home but came back the next day after his condition worsened dramatically. He was only tested for coronavirus after doctors learned that in early February he had met with a man who had been to China.

By then, however, he had infected his wife and several doctors, nurses and patients at the Codogno hospital, creating what was thought initially to have been Italy's main cluster.

This case is an example of a case that went well over the 14-day mark due to complications and a lack of awareness. In most cases, however, 14 to 20 days is considered standard for monitoring symptoms and getting a conclusive positive/negative test.

The best route to recovery

As seen from many cases worldwide, the best way prevent infectionis basic hygiene and following quarantine protocols when necessary. The best route to recovery is to depend on one's own immune system.

Following the first reported recovery in the UAE,Gulf News spoke to a specialist in internal medicine, Dr Smitha Muraletharan, from Aster Hospital in Al Ghusais, to find out how patients can be cured of coronavirus infection in general.

UAE has reported 17 recovered cases as of March 10.

If you are healthy, you could just pass it off as a cough or cold, Dr Muraletharan told Gulf News. Theres no treatment or cure just support to help your immune system clear it.

Patients with mild to moderate infection when detected early and isolated can get their immune system strong enough to fight the virus, she added.

Risk of getting COVID-19 a second time

Reuters reported that Japan reported its first case who recovered from coronavirus and then became ill with the disease for a second time. This gave way to fears of getting re-infected post recovery and questions regarding the virus's life span.

A small study out of China on four medical professionals who had the virus, published by JAMA, suggests that the new coronavirus can persist in the body for at least two weeks after symptoms of the disease clear up.All of the cases recovered, and only one was hospitalized during the illness.

Recovery is determined if tests for COVID-19 come out negative for two or more consecutive days.The cases studied in Chinacontinued to get throat swabs for the coronavirus after five days for up to 13 days post-recovery - which showed positive.

"These findings suggest that at least a proportion of recovered patients still may be virus carriers," the study concludes.

It is not uncommon for a virus to live on in the human body despite 'recovery'. Viruses such as the Zika virus, Ebola etc. tend to live on in recovered patients for months. The mono virus or the Epstein-Barr Virus can exist in the body for an entire lifespan, in most cases staying dormant and without any issues. The virus that causes chicken pox, for example, remains in your nerve tissues after infection in a dormant state.

Immunity against coronavirus

The human body's response to viruses is what is called 'immunity' where antibodies are created to recognise and destroy viruses. The reason most people are immune to chicken pox post an infection is because of the antibodies created to respond to that particular virus -varicella zoster virus - which is still in the human system but is dormant. In another example, when testing recovered cases from the 1918 Spanish flu in a 2008 paper published in Nature science journal, 90 per cent of survivors still had a high concentration of antibodies against that specific virus strain.

In the coronavirus infection, the immune system is able to create antibodies as it does with all viruses which is what ultimately results in recovery. However, factors such as the strength and longevity ofthese antibodies along with the mutation pattern of the virus could lead to possible relapse.

- Krys Johnson, an epidemiologist at Temple University's College of Public Health

In the case of the Japanese woman who got sick again post a COVID-19 recovery, experts have various opinions.

The efficacy of antibodies created and the longevity of these is one angle.

Zhan Qingyuan, director of pneumonia prevention and treatment at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, had warned that this could happen. "For those patients who have been cured, there is a likelihood of a relapse," Zhan said in a press briefing on January 31. "The antibody will be generated; however, in certain individuals, the antibody cannot last that long."

In another angle, experts suggested dormancy of the virus andlater exacerbation.

Once you have the infection, it could remain dormant and with minimal symptoms, and then you can get an exacerbation if it finds its way into the lungs, Philip Tierno Jr., Professor of Microbiology and Pathology at NYU School of Medicine told Reuters.

Yet another angle is the mutation rate of the new coronavirus which is unknown as of now.

Krys Johnson, an epidemiologist at Temple University's College of Public Health told Live Science that viruses that stay behind in dormant states have a low chance of re-infection.

However, he added, there is always the possibility that the new coronavirus would mutate as it moves through populations, changing into a version that already-exposed immune systems can't recognize.

"The challenge is, how fast does this mutate?" Johnson said.

Testing for re-infection, recovery: Methods

There are many tests being researched as the best way to determine the presence of the virus. Some are very sensitive while others are not as sensitive in possibly dormant cases.

The study of the four Chinese medics with COVID-19, for example, showed positive results days after recovery from symptoms in a highly sensitive test that amplifies even the smallest viral molecule - the RT-PCR test (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction). This test studies RNA and DNA to analyse the presence of the virus.

In a paper published on February 26 in the Radiological Society of North America, it was found that a chest CT scan has a high sensitivity for diagnosis of COVID-19 and that it could be used as a primary tool for the current COVID-19 detection in epidemic areas.

As of now, the most common and easily accessible method of testing is the throat swab which is widely used in airports, hospitals and other quarantine facilities globally. TheCentre for Disease Control (CDC) recommends four swabs daily to determine recovery.

What does a recovery mean?

When the viral load or concentration goes down in a person, so much so that his immune system is able to fight back symptoms, his throat swabs start showing low or no evidence of the COVID-19 virus. This usually happens in a span of 15-21 days. The patient is tested every alternative day until his swabs test negative for the virus. Under such circumstances the patient is said to have recovered from COVID-19.

Explaining the process, Dr Mohammad Rafique, Medical Director of Prime Hospital, Head of Infection Control and specialist pulmonologist said recovery from COVID-19 infection did not mean one was completely virus free but the virus load had become lower and the bodys immune system had created antibodies to fight back.

Dr Mohammad Rafique

In general from studies conducted on patients one has learnt that the virus presents mild to moderate symptoms with headache, fever and cough, gastro-intestinal symptoms and so on, in younger people. Only those above 60 and with co-morbidities have severity and fatality. What makes it contagious is its high shedding rate. But when kept in isolation and with symptomatic treatment in many cases with double dose of anti-virals, the load of the virus comes down.

Dr Rafiqe added that simple Polymerase Chain Reactor tests (PCR) records the ability of the virus to replicate. When the PCR rates fall and the virus is present in very low copies it does not show in the assay. Naso-pharyngeal and throat swabs are taken every 24 hours and when these turn up negative, a person is said to have recovered. It means that the virus load is so low that it does not show up in the swab tests. That is when a persons immune system has be activated creating enough anti-bodies to combat it and he or she is said to have recovered.

Dr Satyam Parmar, head of Pathology at RAK Hospital explained : As per the guidelines of the Centre for Disease Control, four swabs, in 24 hours gaps are taken totally from the nasopharyngeal and throat area to check if the patient has recovered.

Dr Satyam Parmar

"When all of these turn negative only then is patient declared to have recovered from COVID-19. it is advisable that a patient who has recovered must still continue to be in isolation for four to five days as his immune system has developed antibodies but the virus might still be lurking in small numbers.. This is what happens in other strains of coronavirus such as MERS and SARS, explained Dr Parmar.

*All numbers and toll taken fromhttps://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ as of 6pm onMarch 10.

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Coronavirus: What does a COVID-19 recovery mean for you - Gulf News

In Parks and Rec, Rob Lowes Chris Traeger is a perennially positive, supplement-popping 45-year-old who glides through the rooms of Pawnee City Hall with golden retriever energy. He brings vegetable loaves to birthday parties, regularly runs 10 miles during his lunch breaks and touts just 2.8% body fat. In Season 2 of the show, Traeger reveals his lifes goal: to live to 150.

Scientists believe that the first human being to live to a 150 years has already been born I believe I am that human being. At first, it sounds like just another quotable line from a show thats famous for them. Traeger isnt to be taken seriously, after all. One of his other signature adages is simply Stop pooping. (On the exceedingly rare occasions that Traegers body fails him, he lands in a dark place.)

Believe it or not, though, Traegers right. At least one scientist has been predicting humankinds potential to live to 150 for the better part of a decade, a man whos furthered the notion of aging as disease since he arrived at MIT in the late 1990s. That would be Australian Dr. David Sinclair, a biology rockstar and former Time 100 honoree with an Order of Australia (Down Unders version of knighthood), and his own genetics lab at Harvard Medical School.

In September of last year, Dr. Sinclair released Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Dont Have To. Its an explosive call to arms detailing Dr. Sinclairs core belief, which hes spent decades researching: most humans leave decades of high-quality life on the table simply because society doesnt afford aging the same attention and dollars it reserves for other health crises like cancer and heart disease. The book is one part memoir (Dr. Sinclair recalls the drawn-out final decades of his mother and grandmothers lives), one part crash-course in epigenetics (we hold far more in common with yeast cells than the common person knows) and one part sneak peek into the advancements being made in the worlds preeminent genetics labs (Dr. Sinclairs team has successfully cured blindness in mice).

Most refreshingly, though, Lifespan delights in giving answers. On top of the many science-fiction-esque wonders on display at Harvard Medical School each week (Dr. Sinclair is a pioneer of a practice called cellular programming, which effectively means resetting cells back to a younger age), the book includes functional day-to-day advice on how the layman or woman can activate survival processes in their epigenome, engaging specific sirtuin proteins (a class of protein that helps regulate cellular aging) to help foster greater longevity.

Basically, Sinclairs hypothesis is that eating a certain way, working out a certain way and exposure to a certain kind of temperature can make living past 100 a relative breeze. We recently caught up with Dr. Sinclair to discuss his book, intermittent fasting, Benjamin Button and more.

InsideHook: This book definitely doesnt mince concepts or words. Why was it important to you to write so boldly on aging as a disease?

Dr. David A. Sinclair: The world is in a stupor when it comes to aging. Theres a blind spot. I wrote the book to shake things up, and hopefully wake up those who dont think aging is important or worth working on. We focus as a society far too much on the end consequence of aging, playing whack-a-mole with these diseases that kill us. We ignore whats actually driving these diseases. The more we study aging, though, the more we realize that the diseases we treat are all manifestations of an underlying process. And its treatable.

Some of your peers in the field have said it isnt a good look to be so declarative in your predictions on aging. Have they changed their tune since the book was released?

I havent had any criticism from colleagues since the book came out. Either they havent read it, or theyre okay with my arguments. But also, the world is changing. What used to be considered crazy 10 years ago is no longer crazy. For example, scientists didnt used to say the phrase reversal of aging. But now, its a fact thats doable. Our field has proven that many aspects of aging are reversible, including blindness. Its also partly that I was ahead of the curve, and that things which were once forbidden are now in the realm of discussion and debate.

Im fascinated by the cellular reprogramming work your lab has done. In the book, you invoke F. Scott Fitzgeralds Benjamin Button story to describe how a 50-year-old could soon begin a routine that will have him/her feeling and looking 30 again. Are we actually close to seeing that sort of treatment in the developed world?

The first thing to say is we now understand that changes in your lifestyle can dramatically improve your age and physiology. We used to think that aging was just something that was in our genes, something that we couldnt modify. But very rapidly, within months of changing diet and exercise, you can reverse many aspects of aging. Its never too late, unless youre on your last legs. The fact that its that easy to slow down and reverse aspects of aging just with lifestyle changes totally fits with our understanding of molecular mechanisms. We should be able to slow aging even better with the reprogramming of cells. I see the work weve done as a proof of concept. While its true that Im working hard towards restoring eyesight in people whove lost their vision, its really just the beginning. This work is proof that its possible to restore the age of a complex tissue. In the same way that the Wright brothers werent building rockets to the moon, they could at least imagine that one day it would be possible. Weve shown that there is a backup copy of a youthful epigenome that we can turn on to reset the cell and get it to work again. If thats doable in the eye, it would be rather pessimistic to say we were just lucky to choose the right body part for this to work.

High-intensity training is one of the practices you cite as vital to this process. What about it encourages longevity genes?

Weve found that high-intensity training will induce the sirtuin defenses in the body, similar to what intermittent fasting does. When those genes come on, they defend the cell against diseases, and aging itself. When we dont engage those sirtuin genes, we dont reap the benefits. High-intensity training is particularly good at turning on the sirtuins, because it encourages a hypoxic response, which weve shown leads to the activation of these defense mechanisms. While walking is good, its not as good as doing high-intensity training.

Im glad you mentioned intermittent fasting, another practice you endorse. Are there any mistruths or misunderstandings in the way that popular media portrays it?

Based on recent results in animal studies, its not so much what you eat but when you eat. Of course, you cant eat a hamburger morning, noon and night, then fast the next day and expect to get the maximum benefits. That said, it seems to be more about just having a period of fasting in general. Theres one misconception that people need an optimal mix of protein, carbohydrates and fat, and that thats the most important thing to get right. Id say worry about that less, as long as youre getting nutrients and xenohormetic molecules, which are molecules produced by plants when theyre under stress. As long as youre doing those things, its far more important to skip meals.

One other thing: people claim that there is an optimal intermittent fasting protocol. The truth is, we dont know what the optimal is. Were still learning, and its individual. There are individual differences in all of us. There is a subset of people, myself included, who start producing glucose out of their livers early in the morning, at around 6 a.m. Which means, for me, to start eating breakfast around 7 a.m. makes no sense. Some people, though, have such low blood sugar in the morning that they can barely function. We also dont know the best method. Is it the 16/8 [hours, first on and then off of the fast]? Two days fasting out of every five? We really dont know yet. But we do know that if youre never hungry, if youre eating three meals a day and snacking in between, thats the worst thing you can do. It switches off your bodys defenses. Some fasting is better than none.

Do you eat meat?

I do, but its a gradient. Its mostly plants, then fish, rarely chicken, and almost never red meat.

From an aging perspective, do you recommend that people give up meat?

For the average person, focus on plants. Meat isnt going to kill you if you eat it once in a while, but the reason for the plant-based diet is we know where the hot spots are for longevity. We know what theyre eating. Its not a mystery. Theyre not carnivores. Theyre eating mostly plants, and a little bit of meat maybe, a bit of fish. Theyre consuming olive oil, avocados, red wine and other plants that have xenohormetic molecules. I dont think that thats a coincidence.

Theres been some coverage recently about the rise of wild swimming. In the UK, especially, people have started jumping into freezing cold water and claiming all sorts of health benefits. It reminded me of your points in the book about challenging the thermoneutral zone. Does one need to frequently experience extremely cold temperatures to reap benefits?

Cold baths, cryotherapy I was skeptical. I started out skeptical until proven otherwise. But theres some evidence that making brown fat is good. Adult humans can make brown fat as long as theyre not super old, and cold is a good way to do that. One of my favorite genes, the third of the seven sirtuin genes, boosts brown fat. All of these things that were talking about exercise, fasting, cold therapy, even a sauna its best to mix it up. You dont want to be constantly exercising, constantly hungry, or constantly at one temperature or another. You want to shock the body. Putting a few days of recovery in between makes a lot of sense. As for exposing yourself to cold, a little is still better than nothing. I do it once a week. But Im still trying to figure out when to do these ice baths. There was a study that an ice bath after a workout potentially lowers the benefit of the workout.

Lifespan devotes a ton of pages to metformin, the anti-diabetic medication thats been discovered to activate longevity genes. Are there adverse side effects from taking metformin? It seems a little too good to be true.

As far as drugs go, metformin is very safe. The World Health Organization declared it one of the essential medicines for humanity. One in 10,000 people have an adverse side reaction and have to stop taking it. The majority of complaints are attributed to a queasy stomach feeling until you get used to it. I actually dont mind, because it stops me from getting hungry. [Editors note: Dr. Sinclair takes metformin daily.] It doesnt give you anything like a greater risk of cancer or heart disease. The data actually suggests the opposite. The risk of getting old is pretty high, but the risk of taking metformin is pretty low, based on millions of people taking it.

Youre on the record saying the first person to live to 150 has been born. Would that person need to combine every single practice and innovation that you outline in this book in order to do so?

An important point of clarification: I dont think we have any technology today that would get us to 150. But if youre born today, you can be around until the mid-22nd century. Theres a lot thats going to happen between now and then. Were on a path of technological development. Once you see the trajectory and barriers are broken down, it gives me the license to say someone born today will live far longer than we can imagine. People born today will benefit from technologies that come about after were dead. The big breakthrough is being able to reprogram the body. If we can get that to work, wed be literally able to turn the clock back on cells. Weve done it once we managed to restore vision in mice but you might be able to reset cells twice. Or 100 times. Well just have to see.

Related: The Healthiest Blue Zone in Every State, Mapped

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A Conversation With a Harvard Geneticist on How to Live (Well) Past 100 - InsideHook

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We are beginning to see the early economic impact of the Coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. and globally. Beyond the human healthcare aspect, it is clear that the outbreak will disrupt the global supply of goods, making it harder for U.S. firms to fill orders. But as events get cancelled, schools and offices close, and social withdrawal becomes the norm, the demand for products and services will decrease, workers will lose jobs and some businesses may shut their doors forever.

With the virus that causes COVID-19 spreading to significantly more communities around the country, its becoming clear that the epidemic is the biggest threat to the global economy since the financial crisis almost a dozen years ago. In a startlingly short period of time, spending and confidence that until recently underpinned the economy and supported a record-breaking job market for more than a decade appear to be coming to a screeching halt.

For consumers, the impact of being sent home because demand for their services are not needed at this time (or the need to stay home to care for a sick loved one or a child without a school to attend) differs depending on the specific circumstances. There is far less impact for a middle income worker telecommuting from home than one who is out of a job without unemployment benefits or a safety net of funds available for emergencies.

If the health crisis continues for an extended period, the impact on income and future employment becomes less certain and more at risk. The impact is even more uncertain when we consider the impact of global supply chains potentially drying up.

Eleven states and the District of Columbia require employers to offer workers paid leave, but none of these states guarantee paid leave to healthy workers if a virus outbreak requires everyone to stay home. Because of this gap, 14 Democratic senators wrote to leaders of the Business Roundtable, the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers tourge their member companies not to penalize workersfor going home during the outbreak, according to Politico.

It is clear that we are entering completely uncharted waters.

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According to Alex Johnson, Director of Portfolio Marketing for FICO, Most of the time, consumers dont think about banking at all. They just expect it to work. The only times they really think about banking is when there is a financial need or when theyre facing a crisis. Johnson continues, Delivering solutions, tailored to each individual customer, is what builds trust and brand loyalty in these moments.

This need has not gone unnoticed by the regulators. A joint statement from the Federal Reserve, CFPB, FDIC, NCUA, OCC and Conference of State Bank Supervisors stated, Regulators note that financial institutions should work constructively with borrowers and other customers in affected communities. The statement continued, Prudent efforts that are consistent with safe and sound lending practices should not be subject to examiner criticism.

To stimulate the economy, the central bank also cut its benchmark short-term lending rate by half a percentage point, with the rate expected to go even lower soon. The President also indicated the potential for additional stimuli, including a possible direct payment to consumers, a cut in payroll taxes and other options.

These are extraordinary times and they require extraordinary thinking and actions, states Bryan Clagett, Director of Strategic Initiatives for StrategyCorps. From a tactical level, financial institutions can do a lot to reduce consumer and business stress. For years Ive seen and heard bankers preach advocacy. Its put up or shut up time.

While some consumer relief strategies can be offered unilaterally (such as reductions in lending rates or elimination of penalty fees), now is a perfect time to leverage both personalized strategies as well as the use of advanced analytics to deliver contextual solutions.

Some examples that should be considered on a case-by-case basis include:

One of the most impactful offerings may be the availability of short-term, small-dollar personal lines of credit that can provide relief for consumers needing funds until an upcoming employment or benefit check is received. Similar to the high-rate payday loan offered by third party vendors, a much lower rate offering from a traditional or fintech organization can create tremendous positive impact on a consumer experiencing financial stress.

This type of small dollar personal loan offering should be offered on a pre-approved basis (and for varying amounts) directly on a banks or credit unions mobile app. With instant access, and the ability to repay the borrowed funds automatically when a deposit is made, this service should take into account the longevity of the relationship, utility and rent bill payment history as well as other non-traditional credit criteria.

To provide people with more financial instruments during Black Swan events like the Coronavirus outbreak, financial institutions should look for more ways to help their customers and members tap into their credit, their savings, and other sources of income to sustain them when they are unable to work, states Bradley Leimer, co-founder of Unconventional Ventures. More innovation has to come from within banking and from our friends in fintech.

According to best-selling author, speaker and founder of Moven, Brett King, After years of continuous growth, banks and lenders should be seeking to alleviate some of the stress of Coronavirus with mortgage holidays and temporary rate reductions on credit lines for effected individuals. Its time for banks to show their social and community commitment.

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Unfortunately, the challenge for many traditional financial institutions is a combination of a lack of simple digital product offerings as well as an inability to deliver highly personalized financial solutions seamlessly.

According to Ron Shevlin, Director of Research at Cornerstone Advisors and senior contributor to Forbes, Nearly every financial institution Ive surveyed or spoken to says that personalization is important to their customer relationship building efforts. But when it comes to personalizing a product like offering flexible payment terms on mortgage payments, or allowing someone to skip a payment its oh no, we cant do that.

We found the same to be true in research conducted by the Digital Banking Report. As would be expected, the largest financial institutions had the highest self-assessment around the ability to provide real-time contextual guidance. That said, less than 20% of the large national and regional banks considered themselves Advanced in this capability.

While it was somewhat encouraging that almost 60% of financial organizations in all asset ranges considered themselves as Emerging (10% higher than in 2016), the overall percentage of institutions believing they were Advanced is dismal. Bottom line, 94% of financial institutions are still unable to deliver on the personalization promise.

Unfortunately, most responses to the Coronavirus outbreak have consisted of email messages to customers and members, discussing a commitment to the community and willingness to help, with close to zero specifics beyond phone numbers to call. In the case of my primary business bank, they also offered links to digital bill payment solutions and their overdraft solutions page. (#epicfail)

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Obviously, if the Coronavirus epidemic gets much worse, branch banks may be forced to limit operations or potentially close some branches if there are not adequate employees to support the office. In China many banks needed to close hundreds of offices during the height of the epidemic. Many banks and credit unions in the U.S. are developing contingency plans, but how does the consumer and small business get impacted if a local branch needs to close?

Government agencies understand that financial institutions may face staffing and other challenges. Regulators stated that they will expedite, as appropriate, any request to provide alternative availability of services in affected communities. In these situations, it becomes clear the importance of digital banking solutions across the organization, from opening accounts and applying for loans to disbursement of funds.

Consumers, small businesses and bank employees are looking for relief during these unusual times. While some may be forced out of work or may simply just be emotionally impacted by the current inundation of stressful economic messages, everyone will be looking to their local financial institution for a calming influence and financial solutions that will help.

What is the culture of your organization? Can you deliver on your promise of delivering a positive customer experience? Can you illustrate your support for your employees?

One example of how an organization put their corporate culture to the test was WeLab in Shenzhen China. When the Chinese fintech reopened their offices, employees received Welcome Bank Packs that included hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial wipes, face masks and additional goodies. Most importantly, these Welcome Back Packs were assembled by the senior management team at WeLab.

At times of crisis, how you treat your employees and your customers speak volumes about your values, shared Theodora Lau, founder of Unconventional Ventures. From allowing interest-only payments for mortgages, to suspending debt repayments, to extending relief loans for small businesses, we must ensure that the societys most vulnerable citizens have access to a safety net. How our financial institutions choose to act will have a long lasting impact in the lives of their customers and beyond.

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Banking Must Provide Financial Relief In Times Of Economic Stress - The Financial Brand

Written by Catherine Opie

Beauty is often thought of in relation to fashion and femininity. Its construct in pop culture is something that I've always tried to work with in different ways in relation to my work as a photographer. Beauty is complicated; it's an individual response to how we live our lives -- but it can also encompass kindness and compassion.

I don't think that real beauty is easily defined, otherwise it's cliched. I'm a self-identified butch dyke, I'm a big woman, and even though I might struggle with my body, I still find it really beautiful in terms of what it can do. Artists who challenge the idea that only a certain type of person or body can be valued are showing that what's considered "the other" can be beautiful too.

I find an enormous amount of beauty in being political and intellectual. Beauty isn't necessarily surface-level; it can also be about one's personal life and contain conflicting ideologies. You can create a certain aesthetic around those ideas, draw someone in with an element of beauty, and then push those boundaries by posing questions.

"Self-Portrait/Nursing" (2004) Credit: Catherine Opie

It's also important to make photographs that inspire one to really look, to be drawn in, instead of just glancing at something quickly. For me, beauty is also about being held.

I've experienced that captivating feeling in a series of three portraits taken by Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra in 1994. They feature three different women in the hospital, just after giving birth. They stand, nude, holding their newborns, and at times you see a trail of blood running down a leg, or the marking of a caesarean scar. I find beauty in the honesty of these images, and I'm moved by how they show a mother's protective nature.

People in my community were shocked when I became pregnant. It didn't seem like butch women like me birthed children.

But, I knew I always wanted to be a mom. When I gave birth to Oliver in 2002 , I took a self-portrait while nursing, recalling the forms of Madonna and child.

"Self-Portrait/Cutting" (1993) Credit: Catherine Opie

"Self-Portrait/Nursing" became the third in what could be considered a trilogy of photographs, with my earlier photographs "Self-Portrait/Cutting" and "Self-Portrait/Pervert" from the 1990s. The photograph with "pervert" cut into my chest, when I participated in Los Angeles's queer BDSM community, is a little too extreme for me now. It was important for me to make it, but there's some work that you don't necessarily want to live with every single day. I was talking about beauty in it, though, and the formality of a photograph. It engages you; it's very well-designed. For a large queer body to both hold space, and to seduce you, was a radical concept.

For me, it was perfect to complete this trilogy with the nursing image, which fulfilled my own longing to be a mother. I love the photograph because he was such a beautiful baby -- and he still is. At my last opening, Oliver sat on my lap and told me how proud he was of me as an artist. The fact that my 18-year-old son will still come and cuddle in my lap, mirroring the moment I photographed him while nursing, is incredibly touching to me.

"Rusty" (2008) Credit: Catherine Opie

I try to show that kind of vulnerability when photographing male beauty. In the 2000s, I took tender photographs of high school football players that show both their vulnerability as well as their performance of masculinity. Some of those images are hung now for the "Masculinities" show at the Barbican in London.

Chicken from "Being and Having" (1991) Credit: Catherine Opie

The show also includes images from "Being and Having," which I hung in 1991, of my queer friends and I acting out exaggerated masculinity in moustaches and beards. The show included portraits of my longtime friend Pig Pen. Pig Pen is beautiful to me -- it's in their butchness, the way they hold their body. I'm drawn to the slippage of identity. We met in Los Angeles, running in the same circles, hanging out in queer clubs and being a part of grassroots organizations like Act Up and Queer Nation. The presence of our friendship, which spans decades and multiple bodies of work, is also really important to me. Sentimentality and nostalgia can also shape our perceptions of beauty.

"Pig Pen (Tattoos)" (2009) Credit: Catherine Opie

Today I think we're getting around to understanding that it's also important to show people who are aging. There's something beautiful to that. I think about portraits of John Baldessari, David Hockney or Edith Windsor, all taken in their 80s, and what it means to kind of sit with somebody and photograph them when they're of that age. It's another way of talking about the beauty of longevity. Youth culture isn't the only important area to explore in beauty and fashion. It's important to represent the transitions of a person's body throughout their life.

"David" (2017) Credit: Catherine Opie

We have to question the norm. And if we question the norm, then we question ideas that surround beauty. For me, beauty has to encompass more about the human condition and the times we are living in. I see just an enormous amount of hatred these days. It's troubling; I didn't think that we would return to this level of bigotry. In response, we have to figure out how to really support one another -- to treat people with decency. It's important to realize that beauty is actually tied to ideas around happiness. How do we become fulfilled in that way? And can we fulfill it through acts of kindness?

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Catherine Opie: 'Beauty has to encompass more about the human condition' - CNN

Billionaire Mark Cuban discusses the fastest growing industries and the streaming wars.

Tech and medical experts say artificial-intelligence technology holds the key to preventing potential virus pandemics and outbreaks like novel coronavirus.

Researchers at the Toronto-based AI platform BlueDot identified COVID-19 on Dec. 31 just hours after local officials in Wuhan, China, reported the city's first diagnoses, but it took the Chinese government weeks to make an official announcement.

"Coronavirus is a huge wake-up call for us in a positive way because ofhow important AI technology is and how medicine should embrace AI technology so it can recognize viruses like [COVID-19]," Sergey Young,founder ofa $100 millioninvestment fund dedicated to making longevity affordable and accessible called the Longevity Vision Fund, told FOX Business.

A worker wearing protective gear sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

"It's also a negative wake-up call because we are still human beings with a lack of trust in AI, and human beings have a weakness in terms of how we respond to AI," Young added.

Investors, tech experts and health care experts alike are starting to become more comfortable with the integration of AI in the medical field, including its use in identifying diseases that have the potential to become widespread. AI "is a huge search machine that searches the world's data," Young said.

AS CORONAVIRUS SPREADS, MORGAN STANLEY RELOCATING WALL STREET TRADERS

Imagine the world's biggest library. AI uses algorithms that could scan through all the books in that library in a fraction of the time that humans would be able to. For example, BlueDot's AI technology was able to identify coronavirus in just a day when its technology picked up signs of anunusual pneumonia coming from a market in Wuhan on Dec. 30, CNBC Make It reported on Wednesday.

BlueDot founder and CEOKamran Khan, who worked as an epidemiologist and physiciantreating patients in Toronto during the 2003 SARS outbreak, said the purpose of AI and companies that use it like BlueDot is to "spread knowledge faster than the diseases spread themselves."

It would have been impossible for humans to come to the same conclusions about COVID-19 in December without AI, which partners with big tech and big pharma tosearch millions and billions of databases for keywords on social media, financial transactions, hospital data, people reporting unusual trends,travel activity and a number of other data to make connections between two unlikely factors, Young said.

COVID-19 has since spread to 85 countries outside of China with95,333 confirmedcases within and outside the origin country. The virus has killed3,015 in Chinaand 267 elsewhere as of March 5, according to data from the World Health Organization.

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Despite knowing about the virus weeks before it began to rapidly spread, officials refrained from spreading informationYoung says the issue has to do with human trust in technology and AI, and AI's ability to connect dots that humans likely would not.

"Where AI is similar to human intelligence is that it tries to look for all relevant data and analyze it," Young said. "Where AI is unlike human intelligence is its enormous capacity to search, analyze and link data, and often come up with very unusual correlations.AI will not be scared to present unusual data correlations at the risk of sounding stupid" like humans would.

This undated photo provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows CDCs laboratory test kit for the new coronavirus. (CDC via AP)

"The overall issue is two problems. One: We live in a world of oversupply of information. There is so much noise that we need AI to handle it. It is impossible for WHO and other world organizations to see abnormal activity coming from one specific direction," Young explained.

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"Two: I think we missed the point in the development of global health crisis. We didn't realize that like technology, viruses do not have borders. If people think it's just a China problem, that will create more problems," Young said. "The level of globalization today, not just in technology but human-to-human interactions," continues to develop.

Young and Kahn both said federal organizations like WHO that help fight infectious disease are too reliant on old systems and traditional medical research practices.

"What I learned during SARS is, lets not get caught flatfooted, lets anticipate rather than react," Kahn told CNBC. "If we rely on government agencies to report information about infectious disease activity, we may not always get that in the most timely way or as quickly as we would like."

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AI identified coronavirus before it spread. Here's how it can contain future contagious viruses - Fox Business