“You Cannot Get into My Taxi!” Perceptions of a COVID-19-based rejection episode reported in the newspapers

COVID-19-related incidents of xenophobia have hit the headlines. We asked participants to read about a rejection episode targeting a foreigner and we manipulated whether the rejection was motivated by COVID-19 fears or by no specific reasons. In the COVID-19 condition, the perpetrator was perceived as moral but as experiencing shame and guilt, while the target was seen as experiencing social pain. Helping intentions were predicted by either the perceived victim's social pain or morality and blame associated with the perpetrator.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Clinical Features of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Older Adults

The COVID-19 clinical presentation is extremely heterogenous and, in older people, it is influenced not simply by chronologic age but also by common geriatric syndromes, such as multimorbidity, motor disability, and frailty. Consequently, although typical respiratory symptoms remain the most frequent clinical presentation of COVID-19 in all age classes, in older patients, atypical symptoms (including but not limited to delirium and hyporexia) are more common than in middle-aged adults and have been associated with adverse outcomes. Moreover, some studies described the tendency of COVID-19 presenting symptoms to aggregate in clusters, and this approach seems to better capture the complexity of COVID-19 disease. The prognostic value of COVID-19 symptom clusters, however, is currently poorly investigated, especially in the older population

Workers as objects: The nature of working objectification and the role of perceived alienation

The aim of the present study is to advance the research on working objectification by analyzing its nature and the mechanism underlying this process. In particular, we hypothesized that working objectification involved an automatic association of the worker with an object and a full denial of humanness related to both agency and experience. Further, we expected that perceived alienation could explain the relationship between critical working conditions and objectifying perceptions. Results showed that, compared to an artisan, a factory worker was automatically associated with the objectrelated words rather than with person-related words. Furthermore, the factory worker was perceived as having less agency and experience than the artisan. Finally, the perception of the factory work as fragmented, repetitive, and other-directed was related to a view of work as being more alienating, which, in turn, led to the increased objectification of the worker. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Intergroup biologization and outgroup prejudice in the time of COVID-19

Through two studies (N = 602) conducted in Italy between February and March 2020, we examined the impact of the COVID-19 emergency on biologization\u2014a form of dehumanization that involves the perception of others as contagious entities\u2014and outgroup prejudice. Overall, results showed that higher emergency perception was associated with greater biologization toward the groups most affected by the virus, namely the Chinese outgroup and the Italian ingroup. In turn, biologization toward the outgroup increased prejudice against that group. We also found that when the pandemic hit Italy, the greater emergency perception was associated with increased emotional closeness with Chinese people, resulting in reduced biologization and prejudice toward them. However, these results held true only for Italian respondents who reported higher levels of ingroup biologization. Taken together, our findings contribute to the knowledge gaps of biologization and prejudice by also providing relevant insights into the ongoing health emergency

Flooding of Piazza San Marco (Venice): Physical model tests to evaluate the overtopping discharge

This paper aims at evaluating the wave overtopping discharge over the pavement of "Piazza S. Marco" (Venice) in order to select the best option to mitigate the risk of flooding of the Piazza and to protect the monuments and historic buildings, e.g., the "Basilica S. Marco". In fact, the MO.S.E. (MOdulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) system is designed to keep the water level below a certain value, for the safety of the lagoon, but it does not guarantee the defence of the Piazza, where flooding is still possible, being its pavement locally much lower than the maximum expected water level. To completely defend the Piazza, specific additional works are planned to prevent the back-flow through the natural drainage system (now the primary pathway) or by filtration or by overtopping. This paper investigates on the overtopping mechanism, under conditions compatible with a fully operational MO.S.E. system, through 2-D experiments. The pavement of the Piazza is gently sloping towards the masonry quay which, in some parts is formed by 5 descending steps, and in some other parts, is just a vertical wall. Close to the "Marciana" Library, a critical part is present, with a slightly lower crest freeboard. In total, three cross-sections were examined in the 36 m long wave flume of the Padova University. The test programme includes 10 irregular wave attacks and three different water levels. The test results differ considerably from the results of the available formulas, since the investigated cross-sections by far exceed their range of applicability. The presence of the steps affects only the reflection coefficient rather than the overtopping discharges. In general, if the waves incident to the Piazza are higher than 40 cm, which is a possible scenario, some other adaptation works must be considered, such as the pavement rise, temporary barriers or the reduction of the waves impacting the quay through, for instance, floating breakwaters

Objectified conformity: Working self-objectification increases conforming behavior

The present work explores whether self-objectification triggered by doing peculiar work activities would increase people\u2019s conforming behavior. We conducted an experimental study in which participants (N = 140) were asked to perform a high objectifying activity (vs. low objectifying activity vs. baseline condition) simulating a real computer job. Afterwards, their levels of self-objectification and conforming behavior were assessed. Results revealed that participants who performed the high objectifying activity self-objectified (i.e., perceived themselves as lacking human mental states) more than the other conditions and, in turn, conformed more to the judgments of unknown similar others. Crucially, increased self-objectification mediated the effects of the high objectifying activity on enhancing conforming behavior. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discusse

Análise espaço-temporal da cafeicultura mineira: 1990-2009.

O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar e detectar padrões espaciais de área plantada e produção cafeeira no estado de Minas Gerais, entre os anos de 1990 e 2009. Para tanto, foram utilizados dados do IBGE e o sistema de informação geográfica TerraView, que permitiu a agregação das informações cadastrais do IBGE com a divisão municipal cartográfica do Estado. Nos anos estudados, a área plantada cresceu 16,51%. As regiões Sul/Sudoeste de Minas, Zona da Mata e Norte do Estado foram as que mais cresceram. Por outro lado, as regiões Campos das Vertentes e Central Mineira tiveram suas áreas diminuídas nesse tempo. Com relação a produção, verificou-se um aumento na produção da Zona da Mata e do Sul/ Sudoeste de Minas. Houve também uma redução de 20,46% do número de municípios que produzem até 50.000 sacas de café por ano. Os dados de produção do IBGE foram confrontados com o do Anuário Estatístico do Café e o que se viu foi uma enorme diferença de grandezas entre os dados, só acordada a partir de 2002. Foi encontrada uma não compatibilidade de informações para a safra 2001/2002

Synthesis of a group of novel Xanomeline/77-LH-28-1 hybrid ligands and their FRET investigation at muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes

In connection with our interest in investigating novel rationally designed bitopic (i.e., orthosteric/allosteric) derivatives targeting muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtypes (1,2,3), in this study we designed and synthesized a new set of ligands that integrate in the same molecular skeleton the pharmacophoric moieties of Xanomeline and of 77-LH-28-1 (1-[3-(4-butyl-1-piperidinyl)propyl]-3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolinone). Xanomeline is a well-known M1/M4-preferring orthosteric agonist, which ameliorated cognitive impairments in Alzheimer\u2019s disease patients and showed activity in various models of schizophrenia, thus being potentially beneficial for treatment of positive, negative and cognitive symptoms (4). On the other hand, 77-LH-28-1 was characterized as an M1-selective, positive allosteric modulator, thus representing an interesting pharmacological tool with cognition enhancing properties (5). As illustrated below, we planned the novel bipharmacophoric derivatives as merged structures, with the tetrahydropyridine nucleus of Xanomeline as the central core. In the last years, different receptor sensors, based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), were generated for various G protein-coupled receptors, and represented a valuable tool to investigate real time receptor activation as well as ligand-receptor interactions. Recently, this analysis was performed also on a set of bitopic ligands designed for a selective interaction with M1 mAChRs (6). Our preliminary results on the group of Xanomeline/77-LH-28-1 hybrid compounds indicate, for the M1 sensor, a reproducible activation response, which depends on the linker length. Conversely, no FRET-related effect could be detected at the M2 sensor. Thus, a critical spacer length of the hybrid compounds induces conformational changes with a degree of selectively for the M1 muscarinic receptor. The synthesis and the results of pharmacological investigation will be presented and discussed. References: 1. J. Antony, K. Kellershohn, M. Mohr-Andr\ue4, A. Kebig, S. Prilla, M. Muth, E. Heller, T. Disingrini, C. Dallanoce et al., FASEB J 2009, 23, 442-450. 2. A. Bock, B. Chirinda, F. Krebs, R. Messerer, J. B\ue4tz, M. Muth, C. Dallanoce et al., Nat. Chem. Biol. 2014, 10, 18-20. 3. A. Bock, M. Bermudez, F. Krebs, C. Matera, B. Chirinda, D. Sydow, C. Dallanoce et al., J. Biol. Chem. 2016, 291, 16375-16389. 4. S. Barak, I. Weiner, Int. J. Neuropsychoph. 2011, 14, 1233-1246. 5. C. J. Langmead, N. E. Austin, C. L. Branch, J. T. Brown, K. A. Buchanan, C. H. Davies, I. T. Forbes et al., Br. J. Pharmacol. 2008, 154, 1104-1115. 6. R. Messerer, M. Kauk, D. Volpato, M. C. Alonso Canizal, J. Kl\uf6ckner, U. Zabel, S. Nuber, C. Hoffmann, U. Holzgrabe, ACS Chem. Biol. 2017, 12, 833-843