Moserparrish1978

This paper addresses the important question "Which European areas will be able to better react to the crisis induced by COVID-19 and how regional disparities will look like?" To provide an answer, a "new normality" scenario is built, comprising the structural changes likely to take place in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. To develop such scenario, two intermediate steps are necessary, in both cases relying on the use of the latest generation of the MAcroeconomic, Sectoral, Social, Territorial (MASST4) model. First, short-run costs of the COVID-induced lockdowns, in terms of missed GDP, are calculated for all European NUTS2 regions, needed because of the lack of short-run statistics about the extent of the regional costs caused by the lockdowns that will only appear in 2 years. Second, a long-run simulation of the economic rebound expected to take place from 2021 through 2030 is presented, assuming, among other trends, that no further national lockdowns will be undertaken in European countries. In the "new normality" scenario, regional disparity trends will decrease as a result of a decisive rebound of those countries mostly hit by the pandemic.At the time when this paper was written, quarantine-related strategies (from full lockdown to some relaxed preventive measures) were the only available measure to control coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. However, long-term quarantine and especially full lockdown is an extremely expensive measure. To explore the possibility of controlling and suppressing the COVID-19 epidemic at the lowest possible cost, we apply optimal control theory. In this paper, we create two controlled Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed (SEIR) type models describing the spread of COVID-19 in a human population. For each model, we solve an optimal control problem and find the optimal quarantine strategy that ensures the minimal level of the infected population at the lowest possible cost. The properties of the corresponding optimal controls are established analytically using the Pontryagin maximum principle. The optimal solutions, obtained numerically, validate our analytical results. Additionally, for both controlled models, we find explicit formulas for the basic reproductive ratios in the presence of a constant control and show that while the epidemic can be eventually stopped under long-term quarantine measures of maximum strength (full lockdown), the strength of quarantine can be reduced under the optimal quarantine policies. The behavior of the appropriate optimal solutions and their dependence on the basic reproductive ratio, population density, and the duration of quarantine are discussed, and practically relevant conclusions are made.The COVID-19 pandemic allowed for a naturalistic, longitudinal investigation of the relationship between faith and science mindsets and concern about COVID-19. Our goal was to examine two possible directional relationships (Model 1) COVID-19 concern ➔ disease avoidance and self-protection motivations ➔ science and faith mindsets versus (Model 2) science and faith mindsets ➔ COVID-19 concern. We surveyed 858 Mechanical Turk workers in three waves of a study conducted in March, April, and June 2020. We found that science mindsets increased whereas faith mindsets decreased (regardless of religious type) during the early months of the pandemic. Further, bivariate correlations and autoregressive cross-lagged analyses indicated that science mindset was positive predictor of COVID-19 concern, in support of Model 2. Faith mindset was not associated with COVID-19 concern. However, faith mindset was a negative predictor of science mindset. We discuss the need for more research regarding the influence of science and faith mindsets as well as the societal consequences of the pandemic.Neutrophils are one of the main cells of innate immunity that perform a key effector and regulatory function in the development of the human inflammatory response. Apoptotic forms of neutrophils are important for regulating the intensity of inflammation and restoring tissue homeostasis. This review summarizes current data on the molecular mechanisms of modulation of neutrophil apoptosis by the main regulatory factors of the inflammatory response-cytokines, integrins, and structural components of bacteria. Disturbances in neutrophil apoptosis under stress are also considered, molecular markers of changes in neutrophil lifespan associated with various diseases and pathological conditions are presented, and data on pharmacological agents for modulating apoptosis as potential therapeutics are also discussed.Why do people give and help others in face of their own mortality salience? The existential struggle with the awareness of death impacts the gamut of human cognition, emotion, and behavior. This multi-method research (ΣN = 1,219) explains the psychosocial impact of COVID-19-related mortality salience on altruism. Drawing from terror management theory, two studies tested death-thought accessibility, mortality salience, and anxiety buffer hypotheses. Study 1 (cross-sectional survey), using structural equation modeling, confirms death anxiety and fear are predictors of powerlessness and materialism which, in turn, predict charitable donations. Study 2 (between-subjects experiment) confirms the causal effects of COVID-19-induced mortality salience on altruism. Controlling income and socioeconomic status, people in the mortality salience treatment condition indicate greater monetary donations ($), ratio of prosocial (altruistic) to proself (egocentric) spending (%), donation of time (hour), monetary valuation of time (hourly rate = $/hour), and economic value of donated time (hourly rate*hour) than the controls. These effects are mediated by powerlessness. Moderating effects of relevant individual difference factors are significant the greedier, more selfish, narcissistic, materialistic, and system-justifying the donor is, the higher monetary donations, volunteer time, and perceived value of donated time are, only when the COVID-19-induced mortality is made salient but not in the controls. Environmental and dispositional factors jointly influence vulnerability to mortality salience. The paradox of egocentrism and altruism, as an evolutionarily adaptive protective buffer against existential insecurity for social and cultural animals, can help revitalize resilience, thus shedding some lights on the sociopsychological mechanism of consumers' subjective well-being. Implications for consumer affairs, social marketers, and policymakers are discussed.By using three areas of well-being, psychological, physical, and social this study aims to explore the perceptions of consumers engaging in digital-physical platforms and communities during the UK COVID-19 lockdown and the impact such participation had on their well-being. Ninety people were recruited via an online study, all were using online workouts, and self-selected to participate. The use of virtual ethnography gave further insight into the functions of these platforms and their role in social connection. Participants discussed the benefits to their mental health, the provision of structure to their day, the social connection it provided, and the alleviation of feelings of isolation. The findings also demonstrate how numerous consumer groups in society could use digital-physical platforms as a potential way of connecting those who are unable to engage in face-to-face settings.Knowledge about the factors affecting the number of active latrines (NAL) of reintroduced Cuvier's gazelles (Gazella cuvieri Ogilby, 1841) is of a crucial step aiming at understanding their distributional dynamics and their habitats preference. Here, we used six random 500-m transects to assess the effect of season, microhabitat, and management variables on the spatio-temporal pattern of latrines in the Tergou forest reserve (TFR). Our results showed that, in this reserve, NAL is mainly governed by the interaction between season and distance to the nearest developed runway, being higher at the farthest distances from the runway in autumn and the closest distances to it in summer and winter. Variation partitioning analysis confirmed this pattern as the interaction between season and distance to the nearest developed runway explains 82% (p = 0.001) of the total variance in NAL. The distance to the nearest fence also contributes, but marginally, in influencing the NAL in this forest enclosure. For the species' management and conservation, it is recommended to dispose of sandy open ground areas especially in forest reserves to ensure ideal conditions for reintroduced gazelles. The pursuit of monitoring is necessary to understand mechanisms governing the distributional dynamics of Cuvier's gazelles more deeply. As any enclosure, the TFR would offer a good opportunity for consolidating and improving the knowledge on this vulnerable mammal species in the view of a successful release in the wild.Pharmacological activation of the glycolytic enzyme PKM2 or expression of the constitutively active PKM1 isoform in cancer cells results in decreased lactate production, a phenomenon known as the PKM2 paradox in the Warburg effect. Here we show that oxaloacetate (OAA) is a competitive inhibitor of human lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) and that elevated PKM2 activity increases de novo synthesis of OAA through glutaminolysis, thereby inhibiting LDHA in cancer cells. We also show that replacement of human LDHA with rabbit LDHA, which is relatively resistant to OAA inhibition, eliminated the paradoxical correlation between the elevated PKM2 activity and the decreased lactate concentration in cancer cells treated with a PKM2 activator. Furthermore, rabbit LDHA-expressing tumours, compared to human LDHA-expressing tumours in mice, displayed resistance to the PKM2 activator. These findings describe a mechanistic explanation for the PKM2 paradox by showing that OAA accumulates and inhibits LDHA following PKM2 activation.Fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) from lean donors to patients with obesity has been associated with metabolic benefits, yet results so far have been inconsistent. In this study, we tested the application of daily fiber supplementation as an adjunct to FMT therapy to modulate cardiometabolic outcomes. We performed a double-blind randomized trial in patients with severe obesity and metabolic syndrome receiving oral FMT, to test high-fermentable (HF) and low-fermentable (LF) fiber supplements (NCT03477916). Seventy participants were randomized to the FMT-HF (n = 17), FMT-LF (n = 17), HF (n = 17) and LF (n = 19) groups. The primary outcome was the assessment of change in insulin sensitivity from baseline to 6 weeks using the homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2-IR/IS). After 6 weeks, only patients in the FMT-LF group had significant improvements in HOMA2-IR (3.16 ± 3.01 at 6 weeks versus 3.77 ± 3.57 at baseline; P = 0.02). read more No difference in HOMA2-IR was observed over this period for those in the FMT-HF group (3.25 ± 1.70 at 6 weeks versus 3.17 ± 1.72 at baseline; P = 0.8), the HF group (3.49 ± 1.43 at 6 weeks versus 3.26 ± 1.33 at baseline; P = 0.8) or the LF group (3.76 ± 2.01 at 6 weeks versus 3.56 ± 1.81 at baseline; P = 0.8). Interventions were safe and well-tolerated with no treatment-attributed serious adverse events. We provide proof of concept for the use of a single-dose oral FMT combined with daily low-fermentable fiber supplementation to improve insulin sensitivity in patients with severe obesity and metabolic syndrome.