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The current COVID-19 pandemic began in December 2019 in Wuhan (China) and rapidly extended to become a global sanitary and economic emergency. Its etiological agent is the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 presents a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, which ranges from an asymptomatic infection to a severe pneumonia accompanied by multisystemic failure that can lead to a patient's death. The immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is known to involve all the components of the immune system that together appear responsible for viral elimination and recovery from the infection. Nonetheless, such immune responses are implicated in the disease's progression to a more severe and lethal process. This review describes the general aspects of both COVID-19 and its etiological agent SARS-CoV-2, stressing the similarities with other severe coronavirus infections, such as SARS and MERS, but more importantly, pointing toward the evidence supporting the hypothesis that the clinical spectrum of COVID-19 is a consequence of the corresponding variable spectrum of the immune responses to the virus. The critical point where progression of the disease ensues appears to center on loss of the immune regulation between protective and altered responses due to exacerbation of the inflammatory components. Finally, it appears possible to delineate certain major challenges deserving of exhaustive investigation to further understand COVID-19 immunopathogenesis, thus helping to design more effective diagnostic, therapeutic, and prophylactic strategies.

A collection of 172 durum wheat landraces from 21 Mediterranean countries and 20 modern cultivars were phenotyped in 6 environments for 14 traits including phenology, biomass, yield and yield components. The genetic structure of the collection was ascertained with 44 simple sequence repeat markers that identified 448 alleles, 226 of them with a frequency lower than 5%, and 10 alleles per locus on average. In the modern cultivars all the alleles were fixed in 59% of the markers. Total genetic diversity was HT = 0.7080 and the genetic differentiation value was GST = 0.1730. STRUCTURE software allocated 90.1% of the accessions in five subpopulations, one including all modern cultivars, and the four containing landrace related to their geographic origin: eastern Mediterranean, eastern Balkans and Turkey, western Balkans and Egypt, and western Mediterranean. Mean yield of subpopulations ranged from 2.6 t ha-1 for the western Balkan and Egyptian landraces to 4.0 t ha-1 for modern cultivars, with the remaining three subpopulations showing similar values of 3.1 t ha-1. Modern cultivars had the highest number of grains m-2 and harvest index, and the shortest cycle length. The diversity was lowest in modern cultivars (HT = 0.4835) and highest in landraces from the western Balkans and Egypt (HT = 0.6979). Genetic diversity and AMOVA indicated that variability between subpopulations was much lower (17%) than variability within them (83%), though all subpopulations had similar biomass values in all growth stages. A dendrogram based on simple sequence repeat data matched with the clusters obtained by STRUCTURE, improving this classification for some accessions that have a large admixture. landraces included in the subpopulation from the eastern Balkans and Turkey were separated into two branches in the dendrogram drawn with phenotypic data, suggesting a different origin for the landraces collected in Serbia and Macedonia. The current study shows a reliable relationship between genetic and phenotypic population structures, and the connection of both with the geographic origin of the landraces.

This study reports novel, compact, and additively manufactured quadrupole mass filters (QMFs) with adequate filtering performance for practical mass spectrometry applications. The QMFs are monolithically fabricated via vat photopolymerization of glass‐ceramic resin using 57 µm × 57 µm × 100 µm voxels, and selective electroless plating of nickel‐boron. Experimental characterization of QMF prototypes at 1.74 MHz using FC‐43 yields 131 Da peaks with 0.50 Da full width at half maximum (260 resolution), surpassing the resolution of reported miniaturized counterparts under similar conditions, and being on par with commercial, non‐miniaturized, heavier devices. The sensitivity of the 3D‐printed devices is estimated at 0.13 mA Torr−1 (comparable to that of optimized, commercial counterparts), while the devices attained up to 250 Da of mass range (limited by the driving electronics). The work is of interest to low‐cost, capable mass spectrometry, 3D‐printed instruments, and in‐space manufacturing of complex instrumentation. This study reports novel, compact, and monolithically additively manufactured quadrupole mass filters with filtering performance adequate for mass spectrometry. The devices are fabricated via vat photopolymerization of a glass‐ceramic and selective electroless plating of nickel‐boron. Device operation at 1.74 MHz using FC‐43 yields 131 Da peaks with 0.50 Da FWHM (262 resolution), 0.13 mA Torr−1 sensitivity, and 250 Da mass range.

Additive fabrication of active materials with sub‐millimeter resolution can improve the performance and expand the functionality of sensing, actuation, and transduction in microsystems. In particular, the integration of soft magnetic materials of customized 3D geometries that guide and focus magnetic flux can increase inductive coupling and interaction forces. In this paper, a magnetic material extrusion method is used to fabricate flux concentration structures of arbitrary shapes. A magnetic permeability of 42 is experimentally demonstrated. Ring and H‐shape structures are used to evaluate their performance as inductive, power‐line energy harvesters. An output power density of 6.4 µW g −1 is demonstrated by open‐loop coupling to a 10 A, 500 Hz power line emulating an aircraft use case. The results are compared with similar ferrite and moulded material devices, which yield 17.3 and 2.4 µW g −1 , respectively. In line with a simulation analysis, the experimental results show that materials with moderate magnetic permeability can provide competitive transduction performance, while offering unique customisation, accessibility, and design‐to‐prototype speed benefits. The proposed customisable magnetic flux‐concentration approach provides a simple, effective, and accessible method for enhancing the performance of magnetic and inductive sensing, actuating, and energy transduction devices.

The current manuscript presents the convergence of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP-BQ), using its short form the DAPP-90, and the Five-Factor Personality Inventory for International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), the FFiCD, in the context of the five-factor personality model and the categorical approach of personality disorders (PDs). The current manuscript compares the predictive validity of both the FFiCD and the DAPP-90 regarding personality disorder scales and clusters. Results demonstrate a very high and meaningful convergence between the DAPP-90 and the FFiCD personality pathology models and a strong alignment with the FFM. The DAPP-90 and the FFiCD also present an almost identical predictive power of PDs. The DAPP-90 accounts for between 18% and 47%, and the FFiCD between 21% and 47% of PDs adjusted variance. It is concluded that both DAPP-90 and FFiCD questionnaires measure strongly similar pathological personality traits that could be described within the frame of the FFM. Additionally, both questionnaires predict a very similar percentage of the variance of personality disorders.

A survey of genetic variation in Native American and Siberian populations reveals that Native Americans are descended from at least three streams of gene flow from Asia: after the initial peopling of the continent there was a southward expansion facilitated by the coast, with sequential population splits and little gene flow after divergence, especially in South America. The roads to the Americas The settlement of the Americas occurred at least 15,000 years ago by means of the Beringia land bridge that existed between Asia and America during the ice ages. Key questions about how many migrations were involved and subsequent dispersal patterns within the Americas remain unresolved. This new survey of genetic variation in Native American and Siberian populations shows that Native Americans descend from at least three waves of migration from Asia. After the initial peopling of the continent there was a southward expansion along the coast, with sequential population splits and little gene flow after divergence, particularly in South America. The peopling of the Americas has been the subject of extensive genetic, archaeological and linguistic research; however, central questions remain unresolved 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 . One contentious issue is whether the settlement occurred by means of a single 6 , 7 , 8 migration or multiple streams of migration from Siberia 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 . The pattern of dispersals within the Americas is also poorly understood. To address these questions at a higher resolution than was previously possible, we assembled data from 52 Native American and 17 Siberian groups genotyped at 364,470 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Here we show that Native Americans descend from at least three streams of Asian gene flow. Most descend entirely from a single ancestral population that we call ‘First American’. However, speakers of Eskimo–Aleut languages from the Arctic inherit almost half their ancestry from a second stream of Asian gene flow, and the Na-Dene-speaking Chipewyan from Canada inherit roughly one-tenth of their ancestry from a third stream. We show that the initial peopling followed a southward expansion facilitated by the coast, with sequential population splits and little gene flow after divergence, especially in South America. A major exception is in Chibchan speakers on both sides of the Panama isthmus, who have ancestry from both North and South America.

From yeasts to humans, introgressive hybridization significantly influences the evolutionary history of living organisms by introducing new genetic diversity. Strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae worldwide exhibit introgressions from the sister species S. paradoxus , despite the average sequence identity between these species being lower than 90%. While S. cerevisiae isolates from the Neotropics are known for their high levels of introgression, the hybridization events originating them remain unclear. Here, we sequence 216 S. cerevisiae isolates from open, spontaneous agave fermentation across Mexico. The genomes of these strains reveal considerable genetic diversity and population structure linked to geographic distribution, which had been overlooked due to undersampling of this megadiverse region. These strains, along with those from French Guiana, Ecuador, and Brazil, form a broader Neotropical phylogenetic cluster that is notably enriched in introgressions. Surprisingly, their origins and the observed conservation patterns of these introgressions indicate multiple hybridization events, suggesting flexible species barriers in this region. Our findings underscore concurrent evolutionary processes—geographical stratification and multiple introgressions—that shape the genomes of a diverse lineage of S. cerevisiae . Neotropical yeasts thus provide a natural laboratory for exploring the mechanisms and adaptive significance of introgressive hybridization in eukaryotic genome evolution. Introgression shapes eukaryotic genomes, yet its prevalence in nature remains unclear. Sequencing 216 Neotropical S. cerevisiae genomes reveals that recurrent introgression is widespread and a major driver of lineage evolution within a structured population.

This study compares the Melbourne Decision-Making Questionnaire (MDMQ) and the General Decision-Making Style questionnaire (GDMS), two of the most widely used decision-making questionnaires in the literature, in a large age- and sex-weighted general population sample of 714 men (45.7%) and 848 women (54.3%) between 18 and 90 years old. The objective was to evaluate the convergent and construct validity between several aspects of these decision-making style questionnaires. The results indicate that the two questionnaires replicate the factorial structure of four and five factors reported in the original studies, respectively, through exploratory and confirmatory procedures in our cross-cultural context. The domains of both questionnaires that represent a strong or large correlation are Vigilance with Rational (0.50), and Hypervigilance, Buck-passing, and Procrastination with Avoidant (0.45, 0.52, and 0.60). A Structural Equations Model (SEM) between both questionnaires indicates that both latent factors formed by the domains of the MDMQ and the GDMS obtain a correlation of 0.96. It is concluded that the two questionnaires measure similar aspects of the decision-making construct.

AIMS: This study aimed to quantify the changes in root and aerial biomass of durum wheat brought about by the introduction of the Rht-B1b dwarfing allele and their effects on yield formation. METHODS: A historical series of 24 Mediterranean cultivars with allelic variants a (tall) and b (semi-dwarf) at Rht-B1 locus was tested in tubes in three greenhouse experiments and six field experiments. RESULTS: The dwarfing allele reduced the aerial biomass of each plant at anthesis by 7.6 % and the root by 28.1 % (25.4 %, 26.7 % and 36.0 % in the upper, middle and lower root sections, respectively). Aerial and root biomass were reduced by 27.0 g y⁻¹ and 7 g y⁻¹ respectively, but the relative rate of change was much greater for roots (−0.73 % y⁻¹) than for aerial organs (−0.17 % y⁻¹). Aerial biomass at anthesis was negatively associated with spike number, harvest index and yield in tall cultivars, but no significant relationship was found for semi-dwarf ones. CONCLUSIONS: The root/aerial biomass ratio was 29 % lower in semi-dwarf than in tall cultivars. In tall cultivars large aerial biomass at anthesis was detrimental to yield formation, while in semi-dwarf cultivars high aerial biomass at anthesis had no effect on yield formation.

Available data indicate that the frequency of Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) has been increasing over the years. Although there is some debate as to whether or not this behavior corresponds to true addiction, comorbidity has been found with problematic outcomes typically related to traditional addictions. Thus, there is interest in better understanding which individual variables interact with this behavior. The present study uses a large sex-balanced sample covering a wide age range to shed light on this question. The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between personality, assessed by Zuckerman's alternative five-factor model, and PSU. The possible mediating role of individual decision-making styles as well as the effect of sociodemographic variables such as age, sex, and social position are also investigated. The results indicated a strong association between Aggressiveness, Neuroticism, and, to a lesser extent, Sensation Seeking with PSU. The decision-making styles that were most related to the problematic use of smartphones were Avoidant and Spontaneous. Neuroticism, Sensation Seeking, and Aggression explained 24% of the variance of the PSU measure. Only Avoidant showed some incremental validity for this model. However, a mediation analysis by structural equation modeling revealed generally significant indirect effects for Avoidant and Spontaneous, explaining part of the effect of personality on the factor assessed by the PSU measure. The percentage of variance explained for latent scores ranged from 20-32%. The practical implications of the study and future research directions are discussed.