El papel de la colocación en el artículo científico

A collocation is a combination of two or more words which frequently occur together (McCarthy and O’Dell 2008). In this paper, we will show how the mastery of these word combinations is a must if one is to publish in a second language at an international level. As English has become the language of science (Crystal 2005; Montgomery 2009), and over 80% of scientific publication is done through this language, researchers who have a good command of it should aim at publishing in English. The work presented here aims at providing some tips on how non-native researchers who want to publish RAs at an international level can improve their collocational competence in English.Una colocación es una combinación de dos o más palabras que frecuentemente aparecen juntas (McCarthy y O’Dell 2008). En este artículo, mostraremos cómo el dominio de estas combinaciones de palabras es imprescindible para publicar a un nivel internacional en una segunda lengua. Puesto que el inglés se ha convertido en el lenguaje de la ciencia (Crystal 2005; Montgomery 2009), y más del 80% de las publicaciones científicas se hace a través de este idioma, los investigadores que tienen un buen dominio de éste deberían proponerse publicar en inglés. El trabajo que presentamos pretende dar algunos consejos sobre cómo los investigadores no nativos que quieren publicar artículos científicos a un nivel internacional pueden mejorar su competencia colocacional en inglés

El tratamiento y la representación de las colocaciones verbales en el lenguaje especializado del turismo de aventura

A collocation is considered a frequent co-occurrence of two words which hold a syntactic relationship and whose elements enjoy a different status. Given their perception as a unit in language, access to the prominent word (base) involves immediate access to the other item (collocate). In terms of meaning, some combinations tend to be more transparent than others. The pervasiveness of these word associations in language has sparked a strong research interest in the last decades. A compelling reason for this approach may be the fact that they are naturally produced by native speakers but must be actively learned by non-native individuals. Not only has this reality led to their treatment in the general language, but it has also become a legitimate field of study in a wide range of specialized languages, such as the environment, computing, law or tourism, which is our object of study. As a consequence, specialized knowledge resources covering this type of word combinations have seen the light with the primary purpose of offering some extra help to people who deal with this type of language, for example, translators, linguists or other professionals. Nevertheless, there is still much to do in this respect. Taken this into account, it is hypothesized that verb collocations in the specialized language of adventure tourism convey specialized meaning that is worth being collected in terminological products. Therefore, this work endeavors, as its main purpose, to perform a deep analysis of verb collocations in this specialized domain and their implementation in the entries for motion verbs in DicoAdventure, a specialized dictionary of adventure tourism, whose inspirational idea was to highlight the significant role of verbs in the linguistic expression of concepts. Accordingly, the following theoretical objectives were set: first, to cover the linguistic branches which influence specialized lexicography; second, to define the concept of specialized collocation; and third, to examine a vast number of lexicographical and terminological resources so as to discover the items of information that would make an adequate representation of collocations in a specialized dictionary and, then, design a model for such task. Furthermore, the following practical objectives were formulated: first, to extract the motion verbs which would be the bases of the collocations implemented; second, to retrieve the lexical collocations of these verbs; and third, to classify the resulting list of collocations according to the meaning expressed, that is, actual motion or fictive (or metaphorical) motion. The practical steps taken in this research were based on the English monolingual specialized corpus ADVENCOR, which contains promotional texts about adventure tourism, and the use of corpus management software. The results of the theoretical work can be summarized as follows: (1) the specialized language of adventure tourism must be considered as specialized as any others; (2) collocations are not usually encoded in verb entries in dictionaries; and (3) a specialized collocation carries specialized knowledge which must be covered in terminological products. On the other hand, regarding the practical work, 12% of the verbs extracted were selected, as they were the ones expressing motion. However, only 46.61% of them produced collocations according to the extraction criteria established. Last, after applying more strict criteria for the collocation classification, only 25.42% of the verbs along with their collocations were collected in the dictionary. In addition to these results, the theory of Frame Semantics proved useful to understand the meaning of the verbs and their collocates. As for their implementation, which was the primary objective of this doctoral dissertation, the inclusion of verb collocations was of paramount importance for the identification of distinct meanings expressed by one verb in different contexts, as collocates conveyed subtle nuances of meaning. Finally, it was concluded that the incorporation of explanations about the combinations in lay terms facilitates the comprehension of the entries to any type of user, from experts to laypersons, which makes DicoAdventure a terminological product that can render valuable assistance to individuals with distinct specialized expertise.Una colocación es una coaparición frecuente de dos palabras que mantienen una relación sintáctica y cuyos elementos alcanzan un estatus diferente. Puesto que se perciben como una unidad del lenguaje, el acceso al elemento prominente (base) conlleva el acceso inmediato al otro componente (colocativo). Con respecto a su significado, algunas combinaciones tienden a ser más transparentes que otras. La constante presencia de las colocaciones en el lenguaje ha despertado gran interés por su investigación en las últimas décadas. Una razón convincente de este acercamiento podría ser el hecho de que los hablantes nativos las producen de forma natural, mientras que los no nativos deben aprenderlas de manera activa. Esta realidad no solo ha llevado a su tratamiento en el lenguaje general, sino también a que se hayan convertido en un campo de estudio legítimo en una amplia gama de lenguajes especializados, como son el medio ambiente, la informática, el derecho o el turismo, que es el objeto de estudio de esta investigación. Como consecuencia, se han creado recursos de conocimiento especializado con el propósito fundamental de ofrecer ayuda a las personas que interactúan con este tipo de lenguaje, por ejemplo, traductores, lingüistas u otro tipo de profesionales. No obstante, aún queda mucho por hacer en este aspecto. Teniendo esto en cuenta, la hipótesis de este trabajo se basa en la idea de que las colocaciones verbales en el lenguaje especializado del turismo de aventura expresan significados especializados que merecen ser recopilados en productos terminológicos. Por lo tanto, este trabajo tiene como principal objetivo el estudio exhaustivo de las colocaciones verbales en este campo de especialidad y su implementación en las entradas de los verbos de movimiento en DicoAdventure, un diccionario especializado del turismo de aventura, cuyo punto de partida fue la intención de destacar el importante papel que juegan los verbos en la expresión lingüística de los conceptos. Por consiguiente, se establecieron los siguientes objetivos teóricos: primero, revisar las ramas de la lingüística que ejercen una influencia en la lexicografía especializada; segundo, definir el concepto de colocación especializada; y tercero, examinar un gran número de recursos lexicográficos y terminológicos para descubrir qué tipo de información conformaría una representación adecuada de colocaciones en un diccionario especializado y, a continuación, diseñar un modelo para esta tarea. Además, se propusieron estos objetivos prácticos: primero, extraer los verbos de movimiento que serían las bases de las colocaciones implementadas; segundo, extraer las colocaciones léxicas de estos verbos; y tercero; clasificar la lista resultante de colocaciones según su significado, es decir, movimiento real o movimiento figurado (o metafórico). Los pasos prácticos que se dieron en esta investigación se llevaron a cabo mediante la gestión del corpus especializado monolingüe en inglés ADVENCOR, que contiene textos promocionales sobre el turismo de aventura, y el uso de software de gestión de corpus. Los resultados de la parte teórica del trabajo se pueden resumir de la siguiente manera: (1) el lenguaje especializado del turismo de aventura debe considerarse tan especializado como otros; (2) las colocaciones no suelen codificarse en las entradas de verbos en los diccionarios; y (3) una colocación especializada contiene conocimiento especializado que debe aparecer en productos terminológicos. Por otro lado, con respecto al trabajo práctico, se seleccionó el 12% de los verbos extraídos, ya que eran los que expresaban movimiento. Sin embargo, solo el 46,61% de ellos produjeron colocaciones según los criterios de extracción establecidos. Por último, después de aplicar criterios más estrictos para la clasificación de las colocaciones, solo el 25,42% de los verbos con sus colocaciones fueron recogidos en el diccionario. Además de estos resultados, se demostró la utilidad de la teoría de la Semántica de Marcos para entender el significado de los verbos y sus colocativos. En cuanto a su implementación, que era el objetivo principal de esta tesis doctoral, la inclusión de colocaciones verbales fue de suma importancia para la identificación de los distintos significados expresados por un verbo en diferentes contextos, puesto que los colocativos aportaban sutiles matices de significado. Finalmente, se concluyó que la incorporación de explicaciones sobre las combinaciones en términos legos favorece la comprensión de las entradas por parte de cualquier tipo de usuario, desde expertos a personas no especialistas, lo cual hace de DicoAdventure un producto terminológico que puede proporcionar valiosa ayuda a personas con diversa formación especializada

Estudio basado en corpus de 4-gramas en el artículo científico

The analysis of phraseology in the specialized discourse of science has sparked researchers’ interest in the last few decades, probably because the use of word groupings in specific registers can provide information about certain typical features of the genre. For instance, Gledhill (2009) explores colligations of tenses in scientific articles and discovers that the present tense is used for qualitative and empirical expressions, while the past tense provides quantitative and research-oriented descriptions; Pérez-Llantada (2014) investigates 4-word lexical bundles in research articles, finding that these multiword combinations express referential meaning and organize the text; finally, Jiménez-Navarro (2019) analyzes adjective + noun collocations in a corpus of scientific papers and concludes that these phraseological units convey specific meanings when used in this genre, since they represent the contents of research articles. The aim of the current study is to contribute to the analysis of 4-grams in the language of science. To this end, two specific objectives are defined: first, to ascertain the structure of 4-grams; second, to analyze the function they perform. The methodology was based on a corpus and entailed five major steps: (1) a specialized corpus of research articles was built, (2) a list of 4-grams was automatically extracted using the software Sketch Engine, (3) the resulting list was manually verified in order to suppress inaccurate candidates, (4) the selected units were classified depending on their structural framework, and (5) the selected units were categorized according to their function in the text. The findings show that, in terms of the first objective, the most typical 4-grams were noun phrases; and as for the second objective, the sequences examined mostly concerned the research conducted and the authorship of the texts. All in all, the 4-grams identified were structures that were specific to the genre under study but could also be used in other domains.El análisis de la fraseología en el discurso especializado de la ciencia ha despertado el interés de los/as investigadores/as en las últimas décadas, probablemente porque el uso de grupos de palabras en registros específicos puede informar de algunas características típicas del género. Por ejemplo, Gledhill (2009) explora las coligaciones de tiempos verbales en artículos científicos y descubre que el tiempo presente se usa para expresiones cualitativas y empíricas, mientras que el tiempo pasado proporciona descripciones cuantitativas y orientadas a la investigación; Pérez-Llantada (2014) investiga grupos léxicos de cuatro palabras en artículos de investigación y descubre que estas combinaciones multilexémicas expresan significado referencial y organizan el texto; finalmente, Jiménez-Navarro (2019) analiza colocaciones de adjetivo + sustantivo en un corpus de artículos científicos y concluye que estas unidades fraseológicas aportan significados específicos cuando se usan en este género, puesto que representan los contenidos del artículo de investigación. El objetivo de este estudio es contribuir al análisis de 4-gramas en el lenguaje de la ciencia. Para ello, se han definido dos objetivos específicos: en primer lugar, establecer la estructura de estas secuencias de palabras; en segundo lugar, analizar su función. La metodología empleada se basó en corpus y conllevó cinco pasos principales: (1) la construcción de un corpus especializado de artículos científicos, (2) la extracción de una lista de 4-gramas de manera automática usando el software Sketch Engine, (3) la verificación manual de esa lista para eliminar candidatos inadecuados, (4) la clasificación de las unidades seleccionadas dependiendo de su estructura, y (5) la categorización de las unidades seleccionadas según su función en el texto. Los resultados muestran que, con respecto al primer objetivo, los 4-gramas más típicos fueron sintagmas nominales; en relación con el segundo objetivo, las secuencias examinadas trataban principalmente con la investigación llevada a cabo y la autoría de los textos. En conjunto, podemos decir que estas estructuras eran específicas del género estudiado, aunque también podrían ser usadas en otros dominios

English collocations and intercultural communication

In this paper we emphasize the importance of learning a lexico-grammatical type of unit known as collocation when learning English as a second language, as the teaching of these units has been traditionally neglected in favour of more idiomatic units such as phrasal verbs and idioms. However, their mastery proves essential for natural sounding English. Although they should be learned at every language level of the learner they gain additional importance when the learner has advanced level of English or uses this lingua franca for intercultural communication, e.g. English for specific purposes. We present a multimedia self learning tool tailored to the needs of the advanced learner of English as a second languageEn este artículo defendemos la importancia del aprendizaje de un tipo de unidad lingüística conocida como colocación en la adquisición de inglés como segunda lengua, ya que la enseñanza de este tipo de unidad ha sido relegado a un segundo plano a favor de la enseñanza de unidades fraseológicas con mayor grado de idiomaticidad, como los verbos frasales y las expresiones idiomáticas. Sin embargo, su dominio es fundamental para hablar inglés con propiedad. Aunque deben ser aprendidas en todos los niveles de adquisición, cobran especial importancia en los niveles avanzados de aprendizaje o cuando el aprendiz usa esta lengua franca para la comunicación intercultural, como por ejemplo, en el uso del inglés para el terreno profesional. Como contribución práctica, presentamos una herramienta multimedia para el aprendizaje de las colocaciones diseñada para aprendices de nivel avanzado de inglés como segunda lengu

Improvement of teaching, learning and english usage: common errors (F)

Se ha desarrollado el programa iErrors-F, disponible a modo de juego para aprender los errores comunes del uso del inglés (F) en . Dicho proyecto (2015-2-2009) complementa otros nueve (07NA2037, 08A4087, 092016, 102008, 112007, 122022, 2013-12-2009, 2014-12-2013 y 2016-1-2009), que permitieron desarrollar, respectivamente, los programas iFalseFriends, iPartialFalseFriends, iAnglicisms, iErrors-A, iErrors-B, iErrors-C, iErrors-D, iErrors-E and iErrors-G, disponibles a modo de juego para aprender los “falsos amigos” o cognados entre inglés y español , los “amigos inconsistentes” o cognados parciales entre dichos idiomas , los anglicismos , los errores comunes en inglés (A) , los errores comunes en inglés (B) , los errores comunes en inglés (C) , los errores comunes en inglés (D) los errores comunes en inglés (E) y los errores comunes en inglés (G) . Conviene resaltar que estos desarrollos se basan en el aprendizaje de forma lúdica, mediante un juego educativo, lo cual potencia su uso por todos en general y por las nuevas generaciones en particular. Esto diferencia a estos desarrollos de otras alternativas, como son las listas de textos escritos o diccionarios existentes. Dicho con otras palabras, el objetivo es innovar desde el diccionario clásico al juego educativo. Consideramos que ello es un elemento clave para incentivar y motivar al posible usuario. Dichos juegos educativos están diseñados para una visualización óptima desde el navegador web Apple Safari con iPhone e iPod touch (también se pueden usar en el iPad, así como con Mac o Windows). Es indudable que el inglés es el idioma universal y la lingua franca de nuestros días. Sin embargo, el nivel general de inglés en la Universidad de Córdoba puede ser significativamente mejorado, incluyendo Personal Docente e Investigador (PDI), alumnos y Personal de Administración y Servicios (PAS). Esta realidad puede extrapolarse a Andalucía y a España entera. Se trata de un hecho de notable importancia, sobre todo si se tiene en cuenta que la tendencia progresiva es hacia la impartición de clases en inglés. Por tanto, la situación actual nos pone en desventaja frente al proceso de Convergencia Europea (ECTS/EEES), la competitividad empresarial y el acceso al mercado laboral de nuestros egresados, por citar sólo algunos ejemplos. Esta realidad cobra especial relevancia en un mundo cada vez más globalizado. Faltan, por otra parte, herramientas específicas de enseñanza, aprendizaje, uso y perfeccionamiento del inglés (con aplicación académica general, docente, investigadora, asistencial y de gestión) que incidan en las peculiaridades de los hispanoparlantes en general y de los universitarios en particular. El proyecto realizado ha usado las nuevas Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC) para el desarrollo y aplicación de herramientas multimedia y multiplataforma que ayuden a mejorar dichas carencias. El programa contiene una base de datos de errores comunes en el uso del inglés (F). El funcionamiento del recurso es tan intuitivo que no requiere instrucciones especiales: basta navegar hasta iErrors-F y seguir las instrucciones del juego educativo que aparecen en pantalla. La metodología utilizada es doble. Por una parte, se ha desarrollado dicho programa a modo de juego de aprendizaje para su acceso universal vía Internet. Por otra parte, los alumnos han jugado con el mismo de forma presencial y no presencial, analizándose después en clase los avances alcanzados en el aprendizaje del inglés, mediante las correspondientes evaluaciones de progreso. Con ello se ha conseguido una significativa mejora en el aprendizaje de inglés de los alumnos, en un campo en el que los propios angloparlantes cometen errores. El uso de esta herramienta permite una mejora de la docencia, aprendizaje y uso de dicho idioma, mejorando también con ello la calidad de las diferentes actividades desarrolladas en la universidad: académica general, docente, investigadora, asistencial y de gestión. De este modo se contribuye a aumentar la competitividad de la universidad, preparando a la misma para una mejor adaptación al Sistema de Convergencia Europea, actualizando la docencia en las nuevas tecnologías y mejorando la formación pedagógica del profesorado. Asimismo, todo ello genera un perfil más internacional y abierto de nuestra universidad, incrementando su calidad, y con ello el número de alumnos y profesores que la elijan.The application iErrors-F has been developed, being available as a game to learn common errors in English usage (F) in . Such project (2015-2-2009) complement other nine (07NA2037, 08A4087, 092016, 102008, 112007, 122022, 2013-12-2009, 2014-12-2013 and 2016-1-2009), which allowed to develop, respectively, the applications iFalseFriends, iPartialFalseFriends, iAnglicisms, iErrors-A, iErrors-B, iErrors-C, iErrors-D, iErrors-E and iErrors-G, available as games to learn “false friends” or cognates between English and Spanish , “inconsistent friends” or partial cognates between such languages , anglicisms , common errors in English (A) , common errors in English (B) , l common errors in English (C) , common errors in English (D) , common errors in English (E) and common errors in English (G) . It is important to remark that these developments are based on ludic learning, by means of educational games (edutainment), which enhance their use by all in general, and the new generations in particular. That sets apart these developments from other alternatives, like lists of available written texts or dictionaries. In other words, the objective is to innovate from classic dictionaries to educational games. We consider that this is a key element to encourage and motivate the potential user. Such educational games are designed for an optimal visualization from Apple Safari web browser, with iPhone and iPod touch (they can be also used with iPad, as well as Mac o Windows). It is obvious that English is the universal langue and lingua franca of our days. Yet, the general English level at the University of Cordoba (including faculty, students and administrative staff) can be significantly improved. This situation can be extrapolated to Andalusia and the whole Spain. That is a critical fact, mainly when taking into account that there is a progressive trend towards lecturing in English language. Therefore, the current situation represents a disadvantage for us in the context of European Convergence [European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)/European Higher Education Area (EHEA)], business competitiveness and access to labor market of graduates, among others. This situation takes special relevance in a world that is becoming globalized. On the other hand, there is a lack of specific tools for teaching, learning, use and improvement of English language (with general academic application, education, research, assistance and management), taking into account the Spanish-speaking people in general, and university students in particular. The project carried out has used the new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for development and deployment of multimedia and cross-platform tools to help improve such shortcomings. The application contains a database of common errors of English usage (F). Operation of the resource is so intuitive that it does not require special instructions: just navigate to iErrors-F and follow the simple directions of the edutainment game, showing on the screen. The methodology used is twofold. On one side, such application has been developed as a learning game for universal access via Internet. On other side, students have played with it in classrooms and outside locations (distance-learning), analyzing later on in classrooms the goals reached in English learning, by means of corresponding progress assessments. That has allowed to accomplish a significant improvement in English learning of students, in an area in which even English-speaking people make mistakes. Such tool allows an improvement of lecturing, learning and usage of such language, further improving that way the quality of different activities carried out at the university: academic in general, education, investigation, assistance and management. This is, therefore, a contribution to increase the university competitiveness, training for a better adaptation to the European Convergence System, updating teaching in new technologies and improving pedagogical level of teachers. Additionally, all that generates a more international and open profile of our university, increasing its quality, and thus the number of students and teachers applying for it

Immigrant IBD Patients in Spain Are Younger, Have More Extraintestinal Manifestations and Use More Biologics Than Native Patients

BackgroundPrevious studies comparing immigrant ethnic groups and native patients with IBD have yielded clinical and phenotypic differences. To date, no study has focused on the immigrant IBD population in Spain. MethodsProspective, observational, multicenter study comparing cohorts of IBD patients from ENEIDA-registry who were born outside Spain with a cohort of native patients. ResultsWe included 13,524 patients (1,864 immigrant and 11,660 native). The immigrants were younger (45 +/- 12 vs. 54 +/- 16 years, p < 0.001), had been diagnosed younger (31 +/- 12 vs. 36 +/- 15 years, p < 0.001), and had a shorter disease duration (14 +/- 7 vs. 18 +/- 8 years, p < 0.001) than native patients. Family history of IBD (9 vs. 14%, p < 0.001) and smoking (30 vs. 40%, p < 0.001) were more frequent among native patients. The most prevalent ethnic groups among immigrants were Caucasian (41.5%), followed by Latin American (30.8%), Arab (18.3%), and Asian (6.7%). Extraintestinal manifestations, mainly musculoskeletal affections, were more frequent in immigrants (19 vs. 11%, p < 0.001). Use of biologics, mainly anti-TNF, was greater in immigrants (36 vs. 29%, p < 0.001). The risk of having extraintestinal manifestations [OR: 2.23 (1.92-2.58, p < 0.001)] and using biologics [OR: 1.13 (1.0-1.26, p = 0.042)] was independently associated with immigrant status in the multivariate analyses. ConclusionsCompared with native-born patients, first-generation-immigrant IBD patients in Spain were younger at disease onset and showed an increased risk of having extraintestinal manifestations and using biologics. Our study suggests a featured phenotype of immigrant IBD patients in Spain, and constitutes a new landmark in the epidemiological characterization of immigrant IBD populations in Southern Europe

Single nucleotide variations in ZBTB46 are associated with post-thrombolytic parenchymal haematoma

Haemorrhagic transformation is a complication of recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator treatment. The most severe form, parenchymal haematoma, can result in neurological deterioration, disability, and death. Our objective was to identify single nucleotide variations associated with a risk of parenchymal haematoma following thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute ischaemic stroke. A fixed-effect genome-wide meta-analysis was performed combining two-stage genome-wide association studies (n = 1904). The discovery stage (three cohorts) comprised 1324 ischaemic stroke individuals, 5.4% of whom had a parenchymal haematoma. Genetic variants yielding a P-value < 0.05 1 x 10(-5) were analysed in the validation stage (six cohorts), formed by 580 ischaemic stroke patients with 12.1% haemorrhagic events. All participants received recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator; cases were parenchymal haematoma type 1 or 2 as defined by the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS) criteria. Genome-wide significant findings (P < 5 x 10(-8)) were characterized by in silica functional annotation, gene expression, and DNA regulatory elements. We analysed 7 989 272 single nucleotide polymorphisms and identified a genome-wide association locus on chromosome 20 in the discovery cohort; functional annotation indicated that the ZBTB46 gene was driving the association for chromosome 20. The top single nucleotide polymorphism was rs76484331 in the ZBTB46 gene [P = 2.49 x 10(-8); odds ratio (OR): 11.21; 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.82-26.55]. In the replication cohort (n = 580), the rs76484331 polymorphism was associated with parenchymal haematoma (P = 0.01), and the overall association after meta-analysis increased (P = 1.61 x 10(-8), OR: 5.84; 95% CI: 3.16-10.76). ZBTB46 codes the zinc finger and BTB domain-containing protein 46 that acts as a transcription factor. In silica studies indicated that ZBTB46 is expressed in brain tissue by neurons and endothelial cells. Moreover, rs76484331 interacts with the promoter sites located at 20q13. In conclusion, we identified single nucleotide variants in the ZBTB46 gene associated with a higher risk of parenchymal haematoma following recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator treatment.Peer reviewe

Management of acute diverticulitis with pericolic free gas (ADIFAS). an international multicenter observational study

Background: There are no specific recommendations regarding the optimal management of this group of patients. The World Society of Emergency Surgery suggested a nonoperative strategy with antibiotic therapy, but this was a weak recommendation. This study aims to identify the optimal management of patients with acute diverticulitis (AD) presenting with pericolic free air with or without pericolic fluid. Methods: A multicenter, prospective, international study of patients diagnosed with AD and pericolic-free air with or without pericolic free fluid at a computed tomography (CT) scan between May 2020 and June 2021 was included. Patients were excluded if they had intra-abdominal distant free air, an abscess, generalized peritonitis, or less than a 1-year follow-up. The primary outcome was the rate of failure of nonoperative management within the index admission. Secondary outcomes included the rate of failure of nonoperative management within the first year and risk factors for failure. Results: A total of 810 patients were recruited across 69 European and South American centers; 744 patients (92%) were treated nonoperatively, and 66 (8%) underwent immediate surgery. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups. Hinchey II-IV on diagnostic imaging was the only independent risk factor for surgical intervention during index admission (odds ratios: 12.5, 95% CI: 2.4-64, P =0.003). Among patients treated nonoperatively, at index admission, 697 (94%) patients were discharged without any complications, 35 (4.7%) required emergency surgery, and 12 (1.6%) percutaneous drainage. Free pericolic fluid on CT scan was associated with a higher risk of failure of nonoperative management (odds ratios: 4.9, 95% CI: 1.2-19.9, P =0.023), with 88% of success compared to 96% without free fluid ( P &lt;0.001). The rate of treatment failure with nonoperative management during the first year of follow-up was 16.5%. Conclusion: Patients with AD presenting with pericolic free gas can be successfully managed nonoperatively in the vast majority of cases. Patients with both free pericolic gas and free pericolic fluid on a CT scan are at a higher risk of failing nonoperative management and require closer observation

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality