Genome-wide Association Study of Long COVID

SummaryInfections can lead to persistent or long-term symptoms and diseases such as shingles after varicella zoster, cancers after human papillomavirus, or rheumatic fever after streptococcal infections1, 2. Similarly, infection by SARS-CoV-2 can result in Long COVID, a condition characterized by symptoms of fatigue and pulmonary and cognitive dysfunction3–5. The biological mechanisms that contribute to the development of Long COVID remain to be clarified. We leveraged the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative6, 7to perform a genome-wide association study for Long COVID including up to 6,450 Long COVID cases and 1,093,995 population controls from 24 studies across 16 countries. We identified the first genome-wide significant association for Long COVID at theFOXP4locus.FOXP4has been previously associated with COVID-19 severity6, lung function8, and cancers9, suggesting a broader role for lung function in the pathophysiology of Long COVID. While we identify COVID-19 severity as a causal risk factor for Long COVID, the impact of the genetic risk factor located in theFOXP4locus could not be solely explained by its association to severe COVID-19. Our findings further support the role of pulmonary dysfunction and COVID-19 severity in the development of Long COVID.</jats:p

Engineering geological map of the Chiavari city area (Liguria, Italy)

An engineering geological map at a scale of 1:10,000 of the Chiavari city area (Northern Italy) – a major tourist and economic attraction of the Ligurian East Riviera – is presented in this paper. The municipality land shows an excellent geomorphological case-study of the well-known Ligurian coast: a floodplain, fairly wide and inhabited, formed by several floods of the two main rivers, a hill hinterland, reasonably inhabited, developed in marly limestones and sandy shales flysch and the coast – featuring cliffs and narrow pebbly beaches – deeply modified. This map was compiled by combining available geological data with a new engineering geomorphological field survey and including geotechnical data which were obtained from studies carried out for town planning and building purposes. On the basis of the critical review of the available lithostratigraphic data from drilling, as well as geotechnical and geophysical analyses carried out between 1981 and 2010 on the municipality land, an engineering geologica..

The use of embodied imagination and empathy to bridge actor–character dissonance

When a script stipulates actions, gestural routines and mental models for a character that clash with the personal values of the actor, it creates dissonance between what the actor (as person) believes, represents or feels, and that which the character (as fictional construct) is interpreted to represent. This dissonance may negatively impact on the believability of the actor inhabiting the ‘as if’ world of the character. The article proposes a theoretical approach to navigating this potentially performance-restricting dissonance through a cross-disciplinary approach that draws on embodiment, embodied imagination and empathy. Personal restrictions, values, socialization, culture and impulse avoidances are subjectively sculpted and embodied in and through lived experiences. In articulating the proposed approach, the article places emphasis on practically guiding and enabling the actor to manage these embodied experiences, personal values and subjective restrictions in relation to material that is perceived to be challenging and uncomfortable. This article does not aim at theorizing or expanding on character development techniques, but rather to facilitate finding ways to navigate actor–character dissonance while remaining sensitive to actors and their respective processes in engaging with, and depicting, a character in a competent and believable manner. Instead of forcing actors to work through restrictions or adversely dislodging talented actors from a production due to seemingly unmanageable dissonances, this article argues for possible solutions to manage contradictory values and stances respectfully through a multi-layered process. The article will address concepts such as personal views, mental models, socialization, will, empathy, imagination, gesture and motor intentionality.http://www.tandfonline.comtoc/rthj202019-07-19hj2018Dram