The Role of Immunogenetics in COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is induced by SARS-CoV-2 and may arise as a variety of clinical manifestations, ranging from an asymptomatic condition to a life-threatening disease associated with cytokine storm, multiorgan and respiratory failure. The molecular mechanism behind such variability is still under investigation. Several pieces of experimental evidence suggest that genetic variants influencing the onset, maintenance and resolution of the immune response may be fundamental in predicting the evolution of the disease. The identification of genetic variants behind immune system reactivity and function in COVID-19 may help in the elaboration of personalized therapeutic strategies. In the frenetic look for universally shared treatment plans, those genetic variants that are common to other diseases/models may also help in addressing future research in terms of drug repurposing. In this paper, we discuss the most recent updates about the role of immunogenetics in determining the susceptibility to and the history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We propose a narrative review of available data, speculating about lessons that we have learnt from other viral infections and immunosenescence, and discussing what kind of aspects of research should be deepened in order to improve our knowledge of how host genetic variability impacts the outcome for COVID-19 patients.     

Pressure stability field of Mg-perovskite under deep mantle conditions: A topological approach based on Bader's analysis coupled with catastrophe theory

The pressure stability field of the Mg-perovskite phase was investigated by characterizing the evolution of the electron arrangement in the crystal. Ab initio calculations of the perovskite structures in the range 0–185?GPa were performed at the HF/DFT (Hartree-Fock/Density Functional Theory) exchange–correlation terms level. The electron densities, calculated throughout the ab-initio wave functions, were analysed by means of the Bader's theory, coupled with Thom's catastrophe theory. To the best of our knowledge the approach is used for the first time. The topological results show the occurrence of two topological anomalies at P~20?GPa and P~110?GPa which delineate the pressure range where Mg-perovskite is stable.The paper accomplishes the twofold objectives of providing a contribution in shading light into the behaviour of the dominant component of the Earth's lower mantle across the D’’ layer and of proposing a novel approach in predicting the stability of a compound at extreme conditions.     

A new archival approach to the study of values and value--Behavior relations: Validation of the value lexicon.

The present effort employs a new archival approach to study values and value- behavior relations, which is likely to be particularly useful in applied settings. A value lexicon was developed on the basis of the Schwartz (1992) value theory to extract lexical indicators of values from texts. The convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of this measure was established using American newspaper content from 1900 to 2000 vis-à-vis existing self-report measures of values and objective indicators of value-expressive behaviors. Results provide empirical support for the use of the value lexicon to study values and value- behavior relations. First, the value lexicon demonstrated convergence with self-report responses of values. Second, values in American newspapers were associated with objective indicators of their corresponding value-expressive behaviors compared with noncorresponding value- expressive behaviors. Third, patterns of values over this 101-year period exhibited meaningful fluctuations with major historical and political events. The discussion describes new possibilities for future research on values in many applied settings with the value lexicon. The discussion also suggests that the principles of the value lexicon could be adopted to measure other psychological constructs of interest to applied psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Finite-Dynamic Model for Infinite Media: Corrected Solution of Viscous Boundary Efficiency

This paper presents the corrected development of viscous boundary efficiency initially proposed by Lysmer and Kuhlemeyer. The expressions of the energy ratio are given, in accordance with the original numerical results, and confirm the authors’ recommendations to minimize the reflected energy of body waves that impinge on the artificial boundary.     

Self-subjugation among women: Exposure to sexist ideology, self-objectification, and the protective function of the need to avoid closure.

Despite extensive evidence confirming the negative consequences of self-objectification, direct experimental evidence concerning its environmental antecedents is scarce. Incidental exposure to sexist cues was employed in 3 experiments to investigate its effect on self-objectification variables. Consistent with system justification theory, exposure to benevolent and complementary forms of sexism, but not hostile or no sexism, increased state self-objectification, self-surveillance, and body shame among women but not men in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, we replicated these effects and demonstrated that they are specific to self-objectification and not due to a more general self-focus. In addition, following exposure to benevolent sexism only, women planned more future behaviors pertaining to appearance management than did men; this effect was mediated by self-surveillance and body shame. Experiment 3 revealed that the need to avoid closure might afford women some protection against self-objectification in the context of sexist ideology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electric field and charge distribution imaging with sub-micron resolution in an organic Thin-Film Transistor

Here we show how Stark spectroscopy, coupled with confocal microscopy, is able to directly map the electric field in an n-type Copper-Fluorinated Phthalocyanine Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) under different operating conditions. To this extent, we locally probe Electro-Reflectance, with a nominal spatial resolution better than 500 nm, exploiting the fact that the detected signal is directly proportional to the square of the local field on the probe volume. This electric field imaging technique has unique advantages because it is non-invasive, since it exploits low incident power and because it probes the existing field in the bulk rather than the surface. Combining the experimental data with numerical modeling, it is possible not only to reconstruct the space charge profile in the few-nanometer thick accumulation layer, but also to extract the AC electron mobility.     

Cloning and characterization of a developmentally regulated sea urchin cDNA encoding glutamine synthetase

A 2935-bp cDNA clone encoding glutamine synthetase (GS) was isolated from a cDNA library prepared from four-blastomere Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos. The sequence consists of a 75-bp 5' untranslated region (5'-UTR) followed by a 1095-bp coding region corresponding to a 365-amino-acid (aa) protein, a 1747-bp 3'-UTR and a terminal 18-bp poly(A) tail. The encoded protein shows about 66% identical residues, as compared with human and lobster class-II GS. The sequence contains the Mn(2+)-binding aa and the highly conserved aa regions observed in other GS. Northern blot analyses show that the GS mRNA is present in the sea urchin egg and is developmentally regulated in the embryo.