Common Man's Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19
Dr. Lalan Kumar
Multichannel Signal Processing (MSP) Research Lab
Department of Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
October 13, 2020
Outline
• Motivation and Introduction
• The four defect in every human being
• The four defects in relation to medical and pharmaceutical world and
research
• The four defects in relation to Covid-19
• Nobel Contribution of Novel Covid-19
• A humble request from research and media community
• The best safeguard
• Conclusion
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 2 / 38
Motivation and Introduction
• COVID-19 has distroyed the economy with many loosing
job/business/life1 , increased domestic violence as never before.
• Many died on their way home, some committed suicide, some went into
Depression.
• No reliable information from organisation like WHO who kept changing
the statements on various aspects.
• SC : Covid-19 patients treated worse than animals2 ,3
• COVID-19 has made medical and pharmaceutical world a big circus and
every individual a clown with gloves, mask, shield, and sanitizer in hand.
• COVID-19 is being used to propagate financial/political/research agenda.
1
1.89 crore salaried Indians lost jobs since April, around 50 lakh only in July, says CMIE
2
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/
covid-19-patients-treated-worse-than-animals-bodies-found-in-garbage-supreme-court/
story-hQFignge7R9PKvpoRjW3kM.html
3
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/
body-of-male-covid-19-patient-turns-out-to-be-of-female-at-graveyard-hospital-booked/
story-wGjdeCMq50LJw0SYTBio9L.html
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 3 / 38
Motivation and Introduction
Disclaimer
• This document is based on various online articles (mostly research and
some news). We take no guarantee if they are altered/removed.
• This in no way encourages anyone to not follow the guideline set by the
government.
• This should be used for self training and necessary precaution only.
• We claim no contribution, just compilation.
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 4 / 38
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19
The Four Defect in Every Human
IMPERFECT TO GET COMMIT CHEATING
SENSES ILLUSIONED MISTAKES PROPENSITY
• OUR EYES ARE BLIND outside the range of 400 to 700 mill-micron
• OUR EARS ARE DEAF outside the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 5 / 38
The Four Defects in Every Human : Imperfect senses
• An uninformed Scientist may boast: We will use the instrument outside
the range for perceiving things.”
• However, “even if we photograph stars eventually we have to take in by
our senses what the photo shows. Furthermore, without our senses we
cannot handle a camera. Even if amplified / refined by instruments, the
knowledge is no more perfect than our imperfect senses.”
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 6 / 38
Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake
Disease or Treatment Protocol
• Plague, the black death (1300 to 1800): Deaths of up to 75–200 million
people in Eurasia and North Africa, upto 20 million in Europe alone.
• Cats were killed for 300 years, thinking them as children of Satan and
cause of the Plague. One with cats were not affected. Hence concluded :
rats are the cause. Recent research does not blame even the rats.
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 7 / 38
Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake
Disease or Treatment Protocol
• George Washington suffered sore throat and breathing problem after
remaining wet for long in cold and chose the protocol of Bloodletting.
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 8 / 38
Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake
Disease or Treatment Protocol
• 1918 Spanish Flu : killing 4 crore people
• Major Protocol : quarantine and isolation
• Some followed : Open air hospital : Fresh air and sunlight prevented
deaths among patients; and infections among medical staff. More death
where no such hospital.
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 9 / 38
Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake Two Contradictory Nature Publication Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 10 / 38
Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Mad Cow Disease
• Name by scientific community suggests cow has gone mad. Cows get it
when fed dried and powdered beef as a supplement.
• Well known that cow is herbivorous, who has gone mad, cow or we?
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 11 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Genetically Modified (GM) Food
• GM organism (GMO) has its DNA altered with DNA from another
organism (bacterium, plant, virus or animal).
• Done to create consistent higher yield crops, and resist pest.
• A rat gene can be put into lettuce to make a plant that produces vitamin
C or splice genes from the cecropia moth into apple plants, offering
protection from fire blight, a bacterial disease that damages apples.
• Have GM apple, can still be called vegetarian?
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 12 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Publication and Space
• One publisher (IEEE), more than 7000 retractions 4 .
• Some more example
4
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/362/6413/393?utm_campaign=toc_sci-mag_
2018-10-25&et_rid=298496705&et_cid=2449234
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 13 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating Smoking and COVID-19 • Is it about the research or who sets the objective of the research? Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 14 / 38
Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Testing COVID-19 : RT-qPCR
• https://www.fda.gov/media/134922/download
• ”Detection of viral RNA may not indicate the presence of infectious virus
or that 2019-nCoV is the causative agent for clinical symptoms.” .. ”False
positive test results are more likely when prevalence is moderate to low.” -
Case of India., ”The performance of this test has not been established for
monitoring treatment of 2019-nCoV infection.”
• Neither the manufacturer (only for research), nor the FDA confirms the
suitability of RT-qPCR kit, then who recommends it for testing healthy
subjects?
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 15 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Record Single-day Jump in Cases/Death
• Not many cases in India until the following guideline came into force.
• ”....all dead bodies without reliable clinical/ epidemiological history and all
unidentified dead bodies should be treated as suspected Covid-19 deaths.”
• ”..Cases with negative swab results also should be treated as suspected
Covid-19 deaths as false negative result is not uncommon”
• Doctor has to give COVID-19 death certificate to all even with other
complications?
• More testing, more false positive.
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 16 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating Mathematical Models Failed in India : ICMR Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 17 / 38
Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Treatment protocol : Mask
• Science Times5 : ”..virus would further concentrate and circulate within
the nasal passages and could eventually travel into the brain”
• Danger : increased airway resistance, accumulation of carbon dioxide,
hypoxia or inadequate oxygen supply, headaches...
• ASA : it is wrong for any advertiser to claim that surgical masks can
protect against coronavirus. Public Health England (PHE) worry that they
(mask) could encourage the spread of the virus6 .
5
https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/25713/20200518/wearing-face-masks-potentially-
harmful-trap-exhaled-viruses-well-individuals.htm
6
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/can-face-masks-protect-
against-coronavirus-watchdogs-crack-misleading/
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 18 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Treatment protocol : Sanitiser
• The alchohol content in sanitiser gets absorbed by skin, mixes with blood
and is detectable in breath7 .
• Dendritic cells below the skin and responsible for immunity, are killed.
• Sanitizer kills even good bacteria on skin, wreaking havoc in our healthy
bacterial community.8
• FDA: sanitizer with methanol leads to blindness, hospitalizations and
death.
7
Brown, T. L., et al. ”Can alcohol-based hand-rub solutions cause you to lose your driver’s
license? Comparative cutaneous absorption of various alcohols”
8
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/this-is-what-
happens-to-your-body-when-you-use-hand-sanitizer-every-
day/photostory/75600580.cms?picid=75600809
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 19 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Treatment protocol : Social Distancing
• WHO confused? On 8th June with all preparation for media
briefing:”..rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits”,
• On 9th after uproar (pressure?):”..not show symptoms, many of them may
transmit the disease. ..modelling studies(no real study) have put the
extent of asymptomatic transmission to about 40%”
• No lockdown in Taiwan/Japan..9 , still least number of cases/death, why?
9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkospMSKGyQ
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 20 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Treatment protocol : Hydroxychloroquine(HC) with/without azithromycin(AZ)
• March 2020 : Research 10 (on 36 only patients, qualified to be scientific?),
suggests that Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin reduces the viral load.
• Known fact : Hydroxychloroquine causes cardiovascular complications in
patients with COVID-19. Azithromycin an antibiotic being used to treat
virus?
• April 2020 : Research11 on 368 patients only showed that Rates of death
in the HC, HC+AZ, and no HC groups were 27.8%, 22.1%, 11.4%,
respectively i.e. lowest in no treatment.
• The above study contradicting each other.
• Who should be blamed for number of deaths, disease or treating protocol?
10
Gautret, Philippe, et al. ”Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of COVID-19:
results of an open-label non-randomized clinical trial.” International journal of antimicrobial agents
(2020): 105949.
11
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.20065920v1.full.pdf
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 21 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Treatment protocol : Plasma Therapy
• Antibody from Corona recovered patient’s blood, put it in one with Corona
• Any research evidence? Only one from China, on 5 patients only.
• Plasma therapy causes : Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI),
can cause death12
• FDA : Plasma Therapy has not yet been shown to be effective in
COVID-19, AIIMS on Aug 6, 2020, ICMR on Sep 9.
12
https://professionaleducation.blood.ca/en/transfusion/publications/transfusion-related-acute-
lung-injury-trali
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 22 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Treatment protocol : Mechanical Ventilator - a curse or boon?
We may get 13
• A collapsed lung (pneumothorax) from having too much pressure in our
lungs
• Lung infection (pneumonia) because the tube in our windpipe can let
germs in
• Bleeding and scarring of our windpipe because having a tube in our
windpipe for a long time can irritate it
• Lung damage because breathing a high percentage of oxygen for a long
time can harm our lungs
• Breathing muscles becomes weak from not being used
13
https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/quick-facts-lung-and-airway-disorders/respiratory-
failure-and-acute-respiratory-distress-syndrome/ventilators
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 23 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Treatment protocol : Fabi-Flue
• In 1957, Thalidomide was advertised as “completely safe” for everyone, as
its developers “could not find a dose high enough to kill a rat”.14 , Result :
Still born baby, baby with severe birth defect.
• Fabi-Flue : an experimental drug, to treat COVID-19 patients with mild or
moderate symptoms, cost for two week INR 12500 only.
• Favipiravir in Fabi-Flue, mutates the influenza RNA15 . Mutates our body
RNA also? Will it prove like Thalidomide?
• At least study on animals indicates the same.page 4516
14
https://helix.northwestern.edu/article/thalidomide-tragedy-lessons-drug-safety-and-regulation
15
Goldhill, Daniel H., et al. ”Determining the mutation bias of favipiravir in influenza virus using
next-generation sequencing.” J. of virology 93.2 (2019).
16
https://biswaroop.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fabi-flu-book.pdf
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 24 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Treatment protocol : Fabi-Flue
17 18
17
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-many-questions-about-
favipiravir/article31908725.ece
18
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/favipiravir-studies-involving-animal-models-shows-
favipiravir-has-very-weak-effect-on-sars-cov-2-and-not-viable-as-an-effective-therapeutic
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 25 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
The Alternative method suppressed during Spanish Flue?
• ”When it was suggested that Indian medicine which was cheap and could
be dispensed by school masters, postmasters and village officers, the
Provisional government opposed it and put down indigenous systems
citing the Bombay Medical Act of 1912 that upheld allopathy as the
dominant medicine system.19 ”
• The Ayurvedic doctors were punished for treating the influenza patients
19
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/governance/between-1918-19-spanish-flu-and-covid-19-
not-much-has-changed-71425
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 26 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
The AYUSH approach suppressed : Corona??
Internet is flooded with articles like
• ”India touts traditional remedies to combat new coronavirus”
• ”Coronavirus outbreak: Ayush pushes ‘traditional cure’, med council backs
modern drugs”
• ”Face It: The Indian Government Is Peddling Pseudoscience”
• ”Forget coronavirus, homoeopathy can’t cure anything. It’s a placebo, at
best”
• ”...Despite Unscientific Claims Like Patanjali’s..”
• ”Science vs nonsense: On Patanjali’s COVID-19 claim”
Fair Comparison
• Revisit Fabi-Flue, Thalidomide,HC, HC+AZ, and size of trial sample.., and
compare for ourselves w.r.t. safety and scientific.
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 27 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
The AYUSH approach suppressed : Corona??
• Not covered in national news
• Largest sample size when compared to any publication reported on corona
till date but was not published in any (so called) scientific journals.
• Traditional medicine, being used for thousands of year with no side effect.
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 28 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
The AYUSH approach suppressed : Corona??
• About 86.66 per cent of patients on the natural protocol have tested
corona negative on day 5 vs 60 per cent of patients on the conventional
treatments.
• On the 10th day test, all patients were negative
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 29 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Media tells the number only, research makes us understand the number
• The article published20 , concludes : In young children, SARS-CoV-2
infection was largely mild or asymptomatic and there was no evidence of
onwards transmission from children in the school setting.
20
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.25.20140178v2
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 30 / 38Imperfect Senses → Illusion → Mistake → Cheating
Media tells the number only, research makes us understand the number
• Similar report from USA21 ..”Throughout the pandemic, many child care
centers have stayed open for the children of front-line workers..”, ”..There
are almost no recorded cases of child-to-adult transmission of
COVID-19..it’s worth taking these low numbers into account..”
21
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/24/882316641/what-parents-can-learn-from-child-care-centers-
that-stayed-open-during-lockdowns?sc=18&
f=882316641
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 31 / 38Quiz Time!
Waiting for Vaccine?
• Can you help me with the Covid vaccine constituents with side effects (if
any), number of subjects used and after effect?
Some hints
• Vaccine could be DNA manipulator by Anthony Patch : 22
• AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson pauses coronavirus vaccine trial as
participant illness investigated 23
• DCGI sends notice to Serum Institute for not informing Oxford Covid
vaccine trial was halted in UK - Any synonym for this act? 24
• Scientists question ‘strange’ data in Russian coronavirus vaccine trial after
‘unlikely’ patterns 25
• Russian vaccine trial published in Lancet, Sample size 76, Results :
hyperthermia in 50%, ... Further investigation is needed of the
effectiveness26
22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXCK77qJQdc&feature=youtu.be
23
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-astrazeneca/astrazeneca-pauses-
coronavirus-vaccine-trial-as-participant-illness-investigated-idUSKBN26017L,
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-trial-johnson-johnson-pause-sick-participant/
24
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/dcgi-sends-notice-to-serum-institute-for-not-informing-
oxford-covid-vaccine-trial-was-halted-in-uk-1720239-2020-09-09
25
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/10/scientists-question-russian-vaccine-trial-data-on-unlikely-
patterns.html
26
Commonhttps://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2820%2931866-3
Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 32 / 38Quiz Time!
• For how many days were the schools shut in Japan/Vietnam?
• Can you name the countries that never went on lockdown and still
managed the Covid-19?
• Which leader pushed his country-made tonic (Ayurvedic medicine) as
Covid organics despite of WHO warning?
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 33 / 38Nobel Contribution of Novel Covid-19
• Low death rate post covid, CEO, Anthyesti Funeral Services, declared
employee pay cuts 27
• Air and water pollution level Decrease : What crores of rupees could not
do, one month of lockdown did, 28
• Simple living high thinking : reducing dependence on outside eating,..
adopting namaste..
• One side we pollute the air, water, other side, spend crores for researching
to clean. Each year lockdown for short period is good alternative.
27
https://science.thewire.in/health/mortality-rates-drop-coronavirus-india/
28
https://zeenews.india.com/india/
for-first-time-since-2000-water-in-ganga-at-haridwar-rishikesh-become-drinkable-amid-coro
html, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/
saharanpur-wakes-up-to-himalayas-visible-from-town-after-30-years-as-aqi-dips-below-50/
articleshow/75465589.cms
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 34 / 38A humble request from research and media community
Media
• Just dont report the number of cases (false positive/negative) and scare
the common people, put some disclaimer as FDA/testing equipment
Research Community
• Just dont rely on simulation results. Follow up on the positive cases and
see if there is further onwards transmission/symptom development and
come to conclusion after real studies in Indian scenarios.
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 35 / 38The Best Safeguard : our old tradition
Not tested on animal, not published, not having side effect, probably no flue
• Drinking warm water only, Steam Inhalation
• Putting two drops of A2 cow ghee before sleeping
• Having warm water mixed with lemon and honey in empty stomach.
• Have these displayed all around in addition to
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 36 / 38Conclusion
• We have to pay for our fiddling with mother nature.
• Science and scientists are worshipped as God, but lying, cheating and
saying sorry are quite frequently seen in research because of the four
defect.
• People are dying because COVID-19 disease or treatment protocol, we are
free to decide.
• Our research ethics need serious revisit.
• AYUSH system of medicine has been in practice in India when rest of the
world was considering cat to be children of satan.
• If any one received experimental drugs, mechanical ventilator and then
plasma therapy, what is the probability that he will be alive??
• Better these treatment protocols and surveys do not reach our innocent
villages.
• Thanks to Indian Government for giving AYUSH.
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 37 / 38Thank You!
E-mail: lkumar@ee.iitd.ac.in
url : http://web.iitd.ac.in/∼lalank/
Common Man’s Perspective of Research Ethics and COVID19 38 / 38You can also read
