Ascariasis in a 75-year-old man with small bowel volvulus: a case report

Background: Ascaris lumbricoides and Ascaris suum are the most common soil-transmitted helminths of humans and pigs, respectively. The zoonotic potential of A. suum has been a matter of debate for decades. This study was aimed to present a case of human ascariasis caused by A. suum in southern Italy. Case presentation: A 75-year-old man presented to the department of surgery in Avellino (southern Italy) complaining of abdominal pain and vomiting. Physical examination revealed bloating and abdominal tenderness. A computed tomography scan showed air-fluid levels and small bowel distension. During exploratory laparotomy a small bowel volvulus with mesenteritis was evident and surprisingly an intraluminal worm was detected. The worm was removed with a small enterotomy and identified as an adult female of A. suum based on morphological and molecular analysis. Faecal examination revealed the presence of unfertilized Ascaris eggs with an intensity of 16 eggs per gram (EPG) of faeces. The patient was treated with mebendanzole 100 mg twice a day for 3 days. The post-operative course was regular with re-alimentation after 3 days and discharge after 12 days. Conclusions: This report shows as A. suum can function as a relevant agent of human zoonosis. Therefore, in patients with bowel obstruction with no evident aetiology a helminthic infestation should be considered for an accurate diagnosis, especially in patients living in rural areas.Fil: Romano, Giovanni. Frieri-Criscuoli Hospital; ItaliaFil: Pepe, Paola. Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; ItaliaFil: Cavallero, Serena. Università di Roma; ItaliaFil: Cociancic, Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Di Libero, Lorenzo. Frieri-Criscuoli Hospital; ItaliaFil: Grande, Giovanni. Frieri-Criscuoli Hospital; ItaliaFil: Cringoli, Giuseppe. Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; ItaliaFil: D'Amelio, Stefano. Università di Roma; ItaliaFil: Rinaldi, Laura. Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; Itali

Stati d’animo in persone con malattie croniche

ItNell’ambito della psicologia della salute è di rilievo la rappresentazione della propria malattia per le persone affette da disturbi invalidanti, cronici che, per effetto di un continuo trauma, comportano una ridefinizione del proprio Sé. Questo trauma nell’esperienza della persona è cumulativo (Khann, 1963) ed anche il tempo cronologico diviene permeato di micro traumi,che sono collegati a perdite che riguardano la propria autostima e la capacità di fronteggiare le difficoltà e la propria identità corporea Per questi motivi l’indagine ha teso ad esplorare la rappresentazione della malattia degenerativa cronica in persone con malattia di Parkinson ed Artrite Reumatoide, disturbi che investono non solo lo psicofisico, ma anche la realtà psicosociale della persona. La ricerca ha avuto l’obiettivo di conoscere quanto le due malattie si differenziano, pur avendo in comune cronicità, invalidità e degenerazione, ipotizzando che vi siano espressioni linguistiche comuni e tipiche di ciascuna malattia. Con la somministrazione di tre strumenti (M.M.S.E., Beck Depression Inventory, Scala di Hoehn&Yahr e Scala di Hockberg) abbiamo selezionato e caratterizzato i due gruppi di soggetti a cui abbiamo successivamente applicato un Questionario Anamnestico ed un aggregato di 35 parole stimolo, per descrivere il proprio stato d’animo. Dai risultati è emerso che le persone (adulti-anziani), con un’età media di 54 anni, considerano il proprio stato soprattutto in termini negativi. Per quanto riguarda i sintomi il tremore è quello più citato dai parkinsoniani, seguito dalle le problematiche motorie, mentre le persone con Artrite puntualizzano soprattutto il dolore e le difficoltà psicologiche. La percezione della malattia è legata all’entità del sintomo e le parole scelte (10 su 35) sono simili per i due gruppi , ma la distribuzione del grado di importanza attribuita è risultata diversa in modo significativo La conoscenza della diversa distribuzione delle parole permette all’altro di facilitare il rapporto con coloro che sono spesso sopraffatti dal disagio e dalla sofferenza.EnIn the area of health psychology, the way in which a disorder is represented is important, especially by people suffering from two incapacitating and chronic disorders, as these lead to self-redefinition because of constant trauma. People experience this suffering as being cumulative (Khann M.M.R.1963) and over time it becomes permeated with micro-traumas that are associated with the loss of self-esteem and the ability to cope with difficulties, and identifying with their own body. For these reasons, the research aimed at exploring the way in which chronic degenerative disorders are represented by people with Parkinson’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis: disorders that affect not only psychophysical aspects, but also the person’s psychosocial circumstances. The research also aimed at finding out the extent to which the two disorders differ. Although they are both chronic, incapacitating and degenerative, we investigated whether there may be linguistic expressions that are common to, and typical of, the two pathologies that would describe a state of mind and contribute to representing the two chronic, degenerative disorders. We administrated three tools (M.M.S.E., Beck. Depression Inventory, Hoehn &Yahr Scale, Hockberg Scale) to select and describe two groups of people to whom we then gave the following tests: an Anamnestic Questionnaire and a list of 35 suggested words to be used to describe their state of mind. The results showed that those (adultselderly) with an average age of 54 were primarily negative about their condition. In terms of symptoms, trembling is the most frequent in Parkinson’s sufferers, followed by impeded movement and, in particular, pain and psychological problems for those with arthritis. The perception of the disorder is linked to the extent of the symptoms and the words chosen (10 out of 35) were similar in both groups, but the distribution of the importance ascribed was significantly different. Knowing about the different distribution of the words also facilitates the relationship with those who are frequently overwhelmed by discomfort and suffering.FrDans le cadre de la psychologie de la santé un rôle important est donné à la représentation de la pathologie, en particulier chez les patients souffrant de deux affections invalidantes et chroniques, qui, en raison du caractère constant du traumatisme, entraînent une redéfinition de Soi. Dans l’expérience personnelle ce traumatisme est cumulatif (Khann M.M.R.1963) et le temps chronologique s’imprègne de microtraumatismes associés à la perte de l’auto estime, de la capacité de faire face aux difficultés et de l’identité corporelle. Pour ces raisons, l’étude explore la représentation de la maladie dégénérative chronique chez les personnes atteintes de la maladie de Parkinson et d’Arthrite Rhumatoïde: des troubles qui affectent non seulement la dimension psychophysique, mais aussi la réalité psychosociale de la personne. La recherche vise à explorer la manière dont ces deux pathologies – qui ont des traits communs, comme la chronicité, l’invalidité et le caractère dégénératif – peuvent donner lieu à des expressions linguistiques communes et typiques de deux maladies, en rapport avec le tableau pathologique, permettant d’établir des descriptions de l’état d’âme qui contribuent à une représentation des deux pathologies chroniques dégénératives. Par l’administration de trois protocoles (M.M.S.E., Beck. Depression Inventory Echelle Hoehn &Yahr- Echelle Hockberg) nous avons sélectionné les deux groupes de patients auxquels ont été par la suite administrés les tests suivants: le Questionnaire Anamnestique et une liste de 35 mots les incitant à décrire leur état d’âme. Les résultats ont mis en évidence que les patients (adultes – personnes âgées) dont l’âge moyen était de 54 ans, décrivent leur état surtout en termes négatifs. En ce qui concerne les symptômes, la Trémulation apparaît comme le plus répandu, suivi par l’Empêchement de la capacité motrice et surtout par la Douleur et les Difficultés psychologiques. Pour les personnes souffrant d’Arthrite Rhumatoïde, la perception de la maladie est liée à la gravité du symptôme. Les mots choisis (10 sur 35) sont pareills pour les deux groupes, mais l’attribution de l’importance diffère de manière significative. La connaissance de l’attribution différente contribue à faciliter la relation avec ces patients, souvent accablés par l’angoisse et la souffrance

Soil organic carbon stocks in native forest of Argentina: a useful surrogate for mitigation and conservation planning under climate variability

Background The nationally determined contribution (NDC) presented by Argentina within the framework of the Paris Agreement is aligned with the decisions made in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on the reduction of emissions derived from deforestation and forest degradation, as well as forest carbon conservation (REDD+). In addition, climate change constitutes one of the greatest threats to forest biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, the soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks of native forests have not been incorporated into the Forest Reference Emission Levels calculations and for conservation planning under climate variability due to a lack of information. The objectives of this study were: (i) to model SOC stocks to 30 cm of native forests at a national scale using climatic, topographic and vegetation as predictor variables, and (ii) to relate SOC stocks with spatial–temporal remotely sensed indices to determine biodiversity conservation concerns due to threats from high inter‑annual climate variability. Methods We used 1040 forest soil samples (0–30 cm) to generate spatially explicit estimates of SOC native forests in Argentina at a spatial resolution of approximately 200 m. We selected 52 potential predictive environmental covariates, which represent key factors for the spatial distribution of SOC. All covariate maps were uploaded to the Google Earth Engine cloud‑based computing platform for subsequent modelling. To determine the biodiversity threats from high inter‑annual climate variability, we employed the spatial–temporal satellite‑derived indices based on Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and land surface temperature (LST) images from Landsat imagery. Results SOC model (0–30 cm depth) prediction accounted for 69% of the variation of this soil property across the whole native forest coverage in Argentina. Total mean SOC stock reached 2.81 Pg C (2.71–2.84 Pg C with a probability of 90%) for a total area of 460,790 km2, where Chaco forests represented 58.4% of total SOC stored, followed by Andean Patagonian forests (16.7%) and Espinal forests (10.0%). SOC stock model was fitted as a function of regional climate, which greatly influenced forest ecosystems, including precipitation (annual mean precipitation and precipitation of warmest quarter) and temperature (day land surface temperature, seasonality, maximum temperature of warmest month, month of maximum temperature, night land surface temperature, and monthly minimum temperature). Biodiversity was influenced by the SOC levels and the forest regions. Conclusions In the framework of the Kyoto Protocol and REDD+, information derived in the present work from the estimate of SOC in native forests can be incorporated into the annual National Inventory Report of Argentina to assist forest management proposals. It also gives insight into how native forests can be more resilient to reduce the impact of biodiversity loss.EEA Santa CruzFil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina.Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Gaitan, Juan José. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Gaitan, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Mastrangelo, Matias Enrique. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Grupo de Estudio de Agroecosistemas y Paisajes Rurales; Argentina.Fil: Mastrangelo, Matias Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Nosetto, Marcelo Daniel. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada San Luis. Grupo de Estudios Ambientales; Argentina.Fil: Nosetto, Marcelo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Villagra, Pablo Eugenio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina.Fil: Villagra, Pablo Eugenio. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Balducci, Ezequiel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Yuto; Argentina.Fil: Pinazo, Martín Alcides. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Montecarlo; Argentina.Fil: Eclesia, Roxana Paola. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; Argentina.Fil: Von Wallis, Alejandra. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Montecarlo; Argentina.Fil: Villarino, Sebastián. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Grupo de Estudio de Agroecosistemas y Paisajes Rurales; Argentina.Fil: Villarino, Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Alaggia, Francisco Guillermo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Manfredi. Campo Anexo Villa Dolores; Argentina.Fil: Alaggia, Francisco Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Gonzalez-Polo, Marina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue; Argentina.Fil: Gonzalez-Polo, Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. INIBIOMA; Argentina.Fil: Manrique, Silvana M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía No Convencional. CCT Salta‑Jujuy; Argentina.Fil: Meglioli, Pablo A. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina.Fil: Meglioli, Pablo A. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez‑Souilla, Julián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC); Argentina.Fil: Mónaco, Martín H. Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible. Dirección Nacional de Bosques; Argentina.Fil: Chaves, Jimena Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC); Argentina.Fil: Medina, Ariel. Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible. Dirección Nacional de Bosques; Argentina.Fil: Gasparri, Ignacio. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina.Fil: Gasparri, Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Alvarez Arnesi, Eugenio. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina.Fil: Alvarez Arnesi, Eugenio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe; Argentina.Fil: Barral, María Paula. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Grupo de Estudio de Agroecosistemas y Paisajes Rurales; Argentina.Fil: Barral, María Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Von Müller, Axel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Esquel Argentina.Fil: Pahr, Norberto Manuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Montecarlo; Argentina.Fil: Uribe Echevarría, Josefina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Quimilí; Argentina.Fil: Fernandez, Pedro Sebastian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; Argentina.Fil: Fernandez, Pedro Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina.Fil: Morsucci, Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina.Fil: Morsucci, Marina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Lopez, Dardo Ruben. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Manfredi. Campo Anexo Villa Dolores; Argentina.Fil: Lopez, Dardo Ruben. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Cellini, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional de la Plata (UNLP). Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Maderas; Argentina.Fil: Alvarez, Leandro M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina.Fil: Alvarez, Leandro M. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Barberis, Ignacio Martín. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe; Argentina.Fil: Barberis, Ignacio Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe; Argentina.Fil: Colomb, Hernán Pablo. Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible. Dirección Nacional de Bosques; Argentina.Fil: Colomb, Hernán. Administración de Parques Nacionales (APN). Parque Nacional Los Alerces; Argentina.Fil: La Manna, Ludmila. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco. Centro de Estudios Ambientales Integrados (CEAI); Argentina.Fil: La Manna, Ludmila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Barbaro, Sebastian Ernesto. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Cerro Azul; Argentina.Fil: Blundo, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina.Fil: Blundo, Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Tucumán; Argentina.Fil: Sirimarco, Marina Ximena. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Grupo de Estudio de Agroecosistemas y Paisajes Rurales (GEAP); Argentina.Fil: Sirimarco, Marina Ximena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Cavallero, Laura. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Manfredi. Campo Anexo Villa Dolores; Argentina.Fil: Zalazar, Gualberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina.Fil: Zalazar, Gualberto. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC); Argentina

Detailed stratified GWAS analysis for severe COVID-19 in four European populations

Given the highly variable clinical phenotype of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a deeper analysis of the host genetic contribution to severe COVID-19 is important to improve our understanding of underlying disease mechanisms. Here, we describe an extended genome-wide association meta-analysis of a well-characterized cohort of 3255 COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure and 12 488 population controls from Italy, Spain, Norway and Germany/Austria, including stratified analyses based on age, sex and disease severity, as well as targeted analyses of chromosome Y haplotypes, the human leukocyte antigen region and the SARS-CoV-2 peptidome. By inversion imputation, we traced a reported association at 17q21.31 to a ~0.9-Mb inversion polymorphism that creates two highly differentiated haplotypes and characterized the potential effects of the inversion in detail. Our data, together with the 5th release of summary statistics from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative including non-Caucasian individuals, also identified a new locus at 19q13.33, including NAPSA, a gene which is expressed primarily in alveolar cells responsible for gas exchange in the lung.S.E.H. and C.A.S. partially supported genotyping through a philanthropic donation. A.F. and D.E. were supported by a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and COVID-19 grant Research (BMBF; ID:01KI20197); A.F., D.E. and F.D. were supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Cluster of Excellence ‘Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation’ (EXC2167). D.E. was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the Computational Life Sciences funding concept (CompLS grant 031L0165). D.E., K.B. and S.B. acknowledge the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF14CC0001 and NNF17OC0027594). T.L.L., A.T. and O.Ö. were funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), project numbers 279645989; 433116033; 437857095. M.W. and H.E. are supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the Research Training Group 1743, ‘Genes, Environment and Inflammation’. L.V. received funding from: Ricerca Finalizzata Ministero della Salute (RF-2016-02364358), Italian Ministry of Health ‘CV PREVITAL’—strategie di prevenzione primaria cardiovascolare primaria nella popolazione italiana; The European Union (EU) Programme Horizon 2020 (under grant agreement No. 777377) for the project LITMUS- and for the project ‘REVEAL’; Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda ‘Ricerca corrente’, Fondazione Sviluppo Ca’ Granda ‘Liver-BIBLE’ (PR-0391), Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda ‘5permille’ ‘COVID-19 Biobank’ (RC100017A). A.B. was supported by a grant from Fondazione Cariplo to Fondazione Tettamanti: ‘Bio-banking of Covid-19 patient samples to support national and international research (Covid-Bank). This research was partly funded by an MIUR grant to the Department of Medical Sciences, under the program ‘Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018–2022’. This study makes use of data generated by the GCAT-Genomes for Life. Cohort study of the Genomes of Catalonia, Fundació IGTP (The Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol) IGTP is part of the CERCA Program/Generalitat de Catalunya. GCAT is supported by Acción de Dinamización del ISCIII-MINECO and the Ministry of Health of the Generalitat of Catalunya (ADE 10/00026); the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR) (2017-SGR 529). M.M. received research funding from grant PI19/00335 Acción Estratégica en Salud, integrated in the Spanish National RDI Plan and financed by ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)-Una manera de hacer Europa’). B.C. is supported by national grants PI18/01512. X.F. is supported by the VEIS project (001-P-001647) (co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), ‘A way to build Europe’). Additional data included in this study were obtained in part by the COVICAT Study Group (Cohort Covid de Catalunya) supported by IsGlobal and IGTP, European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, COVID-19 Rapid Response activity 73A and SR20-01024 La Caixa Foundation. A.J. and S.M. were supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grant numbers: PSE-010000-2006-6 and IPT-010000-2010-36). A.J. was also supported by national grant PI17/00019 from the Acción Estratégica en Salud (ISCIII) and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). The Basque Biobank, a hospital-related platform that also involves all Osakidetza health centres, the Basque government’s Department of Health and Onkologikoa, is operated by the Basque Foundation for Health Innovation and Research-BIOEF. M.C. received Grants BFU2016-77244-R and PID2019-107836RB-I00 funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER, EU). M.R.G., J.A.H., R.G.D. and D.M.M. are supported by the ‘Spanish Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Competition, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III’ (PI19/01404, PI16/01842, PI19/00589, PI17/00535 and GLD19/00100) and by the Andalussian government (Proyectos Estratégicos-Fondos Feder PE-0451-2018, COVID-Premed, COVID GWAs). The position held by Itziar de Rojas Salarich is funded by grant FI20/00215, PFIS Contratos Predoctorales de Formación en Investigación en Salud. Enrique Calderón’s team is supported by CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), ‘Instituto de Salud Carlos III’. J.C.H. reports grants from Research Council of Norway grant no 312780 during the conduct of the study. E.S. reports grants from Research Council of Norway grant no. 312769. The BioMaterialBank Nord is supported by the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Airway Research Center North (ARCN). The BioMaterialBank Nord is member of popgen 2.0 network (P2N). P.K. Bergisch Gladbach, Germany and the Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. He is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). O.A.C. is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education and is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy—CECAD, EXC 2030–390661388. The COMRI cohort is funded by Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. This work was supported by grants of the Rolf M. Schwiete Stiftung, the Saarland University, BMBF and The States of Saarland and Lower Saxony. K.U.L. is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG, LU-1944/3-1). Genotyping for the BoSCO study is funded by the Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital Bonn. F.H. was supported by the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Arts. Part of the genotyping was supported by a grant to A.R. from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, grant: 01ED1619A, European Alzheimer DNA BioBank, EADB) within the context of the EU Joint Programme—Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND). Additional funding was derived from the German Research Foundation (DFG) grant: RA 1971/6-1 to A.R. P.R. is supported by the DFG (CCGA Sequencing Centre and DFG ExC2167 PMI and by SH state funds for COVID19 research). F.T. is supported by the Clinician Scientist Program of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Cluster of Excellence ‘Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation’ (EXC2167). C.L. and J.H. are supported by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF). T.B., M.M.B., O.W. und A.H. are supported by the Stiftung Universitätsmedizin Essen. M.A.-H. was supported by Juan de la Cierva Incorporacion program, grant IJC2018-035131-I funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. E.C.S. is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; SCHU 2419/2-1).Peer reviewe

Detailed stratified GWAS analysis for severe COVID-19 in four European populations

Given the highly variable clinical phenotype of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a deeper analysis of the host genetic contribution to severe COVID-19 is important to improve our understanding of underlying disease mechanisms. Here, we describe an extended GWAS meta-analysis of a well-characterized cohort of 3,260 COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure and 12,483 population controls from Italy, Spain, Norway and Germany/Austria, including stratified analyses based on age, sex and disease severity, as well as targeted analyses of chromosome Y haplotypes, the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region and the SARS-CoV-2 peptidome. By inversion imputation, we traced a reported association at 17q21.31 to a highly pleiotropic ∼0.9-Mb inversion polymorphism and characterized the potential effects of the inversion in detail. Our data, together with the 5th release of summary statistics from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative, also identified a new locus at 19q13.33, including NAPSA, a gene which is expressed primarily in alveolar cells responsible for gas exchange in the lung.Andre Franke and David Ellinghaus were supported by a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (01KI20197), Andre Franke, David Ellinghaus and Frauke Degenhardt were supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (EXC2167). David Ellinghaus was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the Computational Life Sciences funding concept (CompLS grant 031L0165). David Ellinghaus, Karina Banasik and Søren Brunak acknowledge the Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant NNF14CC0001 and NNF17OC0027594). Tobias L. Lenz, Ana Teles and Onur Özer were funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), project numbers 279645989; 433116033; 437857095. Mareike Wendorff and Hesham ElAbd are supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the Research Training Group 1743, "Genes, Environment and Inflammation". This project was supported by a Covid-19 grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF; ID: 01KI20197). Luca Valenti received funding from: Ricerca Finalizzata Ministero della Salute RF2016-02364358, Italian Ministry of Health ""CV PREVITAL – strategie di prevenzione primaria cardiovascolare primaria nella popolazione italiana; The European Union (EU) Programme Horizon 2020 (under grant agreement No. 777377) for the project LITMUS- and for the project ""REVEAL""; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda ""Ricerca corrente"", Fondazione Sviluppo Ca' Granda ""Liver-BIBLE"" (PR-0391), Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda ""5permille"" ""COVID-19 Biobank"" (RC100017A). Andrea Biondi was supported by the grant from Fondazione Cariplo to Fondazione Tettamanti: "Biobanking of Covid-19 patient samples to support national and international research (Covid-Bank). This research was partly funded by a MIUR grant to the Department of Medical Sciences, under the program "Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018–2022". This study makes use of data generated by the GCAT-Genomes for Life. Cohort study of the Genomes of Catalonia, Fundació IGTP. IGTP is part of the CERCA Program / Generalitat de Catalunya. GCAT is supported by Acción de Dinamización del ISCIIIMINECO and the Ministry of Health of the Generalitat of Catalunya (ADE 10/00026); the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR) (2017-SGR 529). Marta Marquié received research funding from ant PI19/00335 Acción Estratégica en Salud, integrated in the Spanish National RDI Plan and financed by ISCIIISubdirección General de Evaluación and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER-Una manera de hacer Europa").Beatriz Cortes is supported by national grants PI18/01512. Xavier Farre is supported by VEIS project (001-P-001647) (cofunded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), “A way to build Europe”). Additional data included in this study was obtained in part by the COVICAT Study Group (Cohort Covid de Catalunya) supported by IsGlobal and IGTP, EIT COVID-19 Rapid Response activity 73A and SR20-01024 La Caixa Foundation. Antonio Julià and Sara Marsal were supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grant numbers: PSE-010000-2006-6 and IPT-010000-2010-36). Antonio Julià was also supported the by national grant PI17/00019 from the Acción Estratégica en Salud (ISCIII) and the FEDER. The Basque Biobank is a hospitalrelated platform that also involves all Osakidetza health centres, the Basque government's Department of Health and Onkologikoa, is operated by the Basque Foundation for Health Innovation and Research-BIOEF. Mario Cáceres received Grants BFU2016-77244-R and PID2019-107836RB-I00 funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER, EU). Manuel Romero Gómez, Javier Ampuero Herrojo, Rocío Gallego Durán and Douglas Maya Miles are supported by the “Spanish Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Competition, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III” (PI19/01404, PI16/01842, PI19/00589, PI17/00535 and GLD19/00100), and by the Andalussian government (Proyectos Estratégicos-Fondos Feder PE-0451-2018, COVID-Premed, COVID GWAs). The position held by Itziar de Rojas Salarich is funded by grant FI20/00215, PFIS Contratos Predoctorales de Formación en Investigación en Salud. Enrique Calderón's team is supported by CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), "Instituto de Salud Carlos III". Jan Cato Holter reports grants from Research Council of Norway grant no 312780 during the conduct of the study. Dr. Solligård: reports grants from Research Council of Norway grant no 312769. The BioMaterialBank Nord is supported by the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Airway Research Center North (ARCN). The BioMaterialBank Nord is member of popgen 2.0 network (P2N). Philipp Koehler has received non-financial scientific grants from Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, and the Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. He is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).Oliver A. Cornely is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education and is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy – CECAD, EXC 2030 – 390661388. The COMRI cohort is funded by Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. Genotyping was performed by the Genotyping laboratory of Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM Technology Centre, University of Helsinki. This work was supported by grants of the Rolf M. Schwiete Stiftung, the Saarland University, BMBF and The States of Saarland and Lower Saxony. Kerstin U. Ludwig is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG, LU-1944/3-1). Genotyping for the BoSCO study is funded by the Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital Bonn. Frank Hanses was supported by the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Arts. Part of the genotyping was supported by a grant to Alfredo Ramirez from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, grant: 01ED1619A, European Alzheimer DNA BioBank, EADB) within the context of the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND). Additional funding was derived from the German Research Foundation (DFG) grant: RA 1971/6-1 to Alfredo Ramirez. Philip Rosenstiel is supported by the DFG (CCGA Sequencing Centre and DFG ExC2167 PMI and by SH state funds for COVID19 research). Florian Tran is supported by the Clinician Scientist Program of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation” (EXC2167). Christoph Lange and Jan Heyckendorf are supported by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF). Thorsen Brenner, Marc M Berger, Oliver Witzke und Anke Hinney are supported by the Stiftung Universitätsmedizin Essen. Marialbert Acosta-Herrera was supported by Juan de la Cierva Incorporacion program, grant IJC2018-035131-I funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. Eva C Schulte is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; SCHU 2419/2-1).N

Vivere in Casa di Riposo: un contesto comunitario con valenze psicosociali

ItIntroduzione È un evento difficile entrare in una istituzione, perché comporta novità ambientali e modificazioni dei rapporti sociali e familiari, che possono incidere sulla percezione di sé con rischi di isolamento e solitudine (Krohn, Bergman-Evans, 2000). Obiettivi Si indaga come gli anziani autosufficienti istituzionalizzati percepiscono e considerano la propria vita sociale e quella dei coetanei. Si ipotizzano diversità per genere, luogo, età e per l’importanza di una relazione d’amore. Metodi Il campione è di 296 anziani autosufficienti, con un’età media di 83 anni, di due città toscane. Sono stati somministrati il Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), una Scala per la percezione di solitudine e dei rapporti sociali (UCLA Loneliness Scale-Russell. et alii, 1980; Solano, Coda, 1994), ed un Questionario sulle opinioni degli anziani verso la solitudine e l’essere soli (Cavallero et. Alii, 2004), I dati sono stati elaborati con la statistica non parametrica e confrontati con test t di Student. Risultati-conclusioni Dai risultati abbiamo anziani autonomi che, pur sentendosi soli, non si ritengono isolati e sono abbastanza soddisfatti della loro vita sociale. Non riconoscono una solitudine dovuta a caratteristiche di personalità e in parte affermano che questa possa influenzare la qualità di vita. Risultano differenze sia rispetto alla percezione della propria solitudine,sia rispetto alle opinioni verso gli anziani, riguardo al genere, all’età e al territorio di appartenenza. È da sottolineare l’importanza nella terza età di una relazione d’amore.EnIntroduction Entering a residential institution is a difficult event because it involves a new environment and changes to social and family relationships, which could influence self-perception with the risk of isolation and loneliness. (Krohn, Bergman-Evans, 2000). Objectives To investigate how institutionalised self-sufficient elderly people perceive and consider their own social life and that of their contemporaries. Different genders, places, ages and the importance of a loving relationship were taken into account. Methods The sample comprises 296 self-sufficient elderly people, with an average age of 83, in two cities in Tuscany. They were given the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), a scale for measuring the perception of loneliness and social relationships (UCLA Loneliness Scale–Russell D. et alii, 1980; Solano, Coda, 1994), and a questionnaire about their opinions of loneliness and being alone. (Cavallero et. alii, 2004). Nonparametric statistics were applied to the processing of the data, which were then compared with Student’s T test. Results–conclusions We found autonomous elderly people who, despite feeling alone, did not consider themselves to be isolated and were fairly satisifed with their social life. They do not consider loneliness to be due to personality and, in part, state that it can influence the quality of life. Differences were noted in the perception of personal loneliness and opinions about the elderly depending on gender, age and the area of origin. It should be stressed that a loving relationship is very important for senior citizens.FrIntroduction L’entrée dans une institution est une épreuve difficile, car elle compor- te des changements dans l’environnement et dans les rapports sociaux et familiers pouvant avoir une incidence sur la perception de soi avec des risques d’isolation et de solitude (Krohn, Bergman-Evans, 2000). Objectifs On a interviewé des personnes âgées autosuffisantes institutionnalisées pour savoir comment elles percevaient et considéraient leur propre vie sociale et celle des personnes du même âge. On admet des diversités par genre, lieu, âge et par l’importance d’une relation sentimentale. Méthodes L’échantillon est constitué de 296 personnes âgées, d’un âge moyen de 83 ans, de deux villes toscanes. On les a soumises au Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), un barème pour la perception de solitude et des rapports sociaux (UCLA Loneliness Scale-Russell D. et alii, 1980; Solano et Coda, 1994), et à un Questionnaire sur les opinions des personnes âgées sur la solitude et le fait d’être seules (Cavallero et. alii, 2004). Les données ont été élaborées selon la statistique non paramétrique et comparées avec le test de Student. Résultats–conclusions Des résultats, il émerge que nous avons des personnes âgées autonomes qui, bien que se sentant seules, ne se considèrent pas isolées et sont assez satisfaites de leur vie sociale. Elles ne reconnaissent pas une solitude due à des caractéristiques de personnalité et, en part, elles affirment que cette dernière peut avoir une influence sur la qualité de vie. On note des différences au niveau de la perception de la propre solitude et des opinions sur les personnes âgées, à propos du genre, de l’âge et du territoire d’appartenance. Il faut souligner l’importance, âge, d’une relation sentimentale

The place of Fasda'il Al-Quds (merits of Jerusalem) : literature and religious poetry in the Muslim effort to recapture Jerusalem during The Crusades

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Joyce's open city : colonialism, style, and the politics of impurity

Although much has been written about the politics of Joyce's style, critics often fail to do justice to the style of Joyce's politics, and this thesis re-visits this complex topic in order to articulate an optimistic reading of Joyce's response to colonialism, and the idiosyncratic 'cosmopolitan' or 'transnational' style of his mature work. In particular, this thesis engages with recent political accounts of Joyce's texts, especially the work of Andrew Gibson and Len Platt, and, while saluting their emphasis on a precise historical and intertextual contextualization of Joyce's writing, it objects to their reading of Joyce's style as an aggressive satire undertaken against class and cultural enemies within the colonial situation of modern Ireland. Instead, drawing on the recent work of Joseph Valente and Finn Fordham, this thesis attempts to emphasize the ethical subtlety and enabling optimism with which Joyce's work responds to the cultural antagonism of modern Irish politics through its cosmopolitan style. A key aspect of this argument is a revaluation of Joyce's attitude to the English language and its literature, and I argue that Joyce's 'babelian' version of the language in 'Finnegans Wake', although rooted in a response to colonialism, does not represent a destructive revenge upon the colonial power, as some critics argue. My central metaphor, the 'open city', aims to underline the ways in which the critique of authority that occurs in Joyce's texts, all of which are set in the city of Dublin, allows the emergence of an heterogeneous, decentralized textual community, the ethics and creative effects of which Joyce celebrates. Working chronologically through Joyce's mature work, from 'The Dead' and 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' to 'Ulysses' and 'Finnegans Wake', this thesis aims to highlight some of the continuities within the trajectory of Joyce's writing, in conscious opposition to the understandable critical tendency to bracket off 'Finnegans Wake' from the other texts in Joyce's oeuvre. Methodologically, I use a technique of close reading and an extremely detailed attention to a wide range of literary, cultural and historical intertexts to carry out my revisionary account of Joyce's politics. I also bring together two approaches to Joyce which have been distinct and often opposed in critical history, namely a post-structuralist analysis of Joyce's sophisticated play with philosophical ideas, and a scholarly attention to historical and intertextual material. While offering original interpretations of all the major works, this thesis also contributes to knowledge about Joyce's engagement with an eclectic range of contexts and intertexts; these include the use of the Irish novelist George Moore in 'Dubliners' and 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' (which has been consistently and seriously underestimated by criticism), the presence of Flaubert in 'Dubliners', the influence of eighteenth-century theories of the comic on the 'Oxen of the Sun' episode of 'Ulysses', the use of nineteenth-century historical linguistics in the later work, Joyce's response to the development of radio technology in 'Finnegans Wake', and his reaction to right-wing political theory and oratory of the 1920s and '30s, in particular his attitude to his contemporary, Éamon de Valera, and the Irish Free State.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Territori e Paesaggi del Centro Italia: Rappresentazioni Sociali, Place Identity, percezione della Qualità di Vita e del Benessere Psicologico.

Il contributo propone il quadro complessivo della ricerca sul tema: “Territori, Paesaggi e a it i ita e a i et c e t ia i a o to e i a itanti con i o io territorio in aree extra-urbane con elevata valenza paesaggistica: Lunigiana, Media Valle del Serchio, Piana di Lucca, Area Pisana, Crete Senesi, Maremma Grossetana e Maremma Viterbese. Partecipanti: 587 tra studenti delle scuole superiori e residenti di fasce di età diverse (giovani, adulti, anziani). Tecniche d’indagine: libere associazioni e questionario. I risultati ottenuti sintetizzano in un quadro d’insieme i dati raccolti in annualità diverse e oggetto di contributi separati nei precedenti Convegni AIQUAV: 2015-2016-2017