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The aim of this study was to identify the association between four selected inflammatory polymorphisms with the development of long-term post-COVID symptoms in subjects who had been hospitalized due to SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first wave of the pandemic. These polymorphisms were selected as they are associated with severe COVID-19 disease and cytokine storm, so they could be important to prognoses post-COVID. A total of 408 (48.5% female, age: 58.5 ± 14.0 years) previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors participated. The three potential genotypes of the following four single-nucleotide polymorphisms, IL-6 rs1800796, IL-10 rs1800896, TNF-α rs1800629, and IFITM3 rs12252, were obtained from non-stimulated saliva samples of the participants. The participants were asked to self-report the presence of any post-COVID symptoms (defined as symptoms that had started no later than one month after SARS-CoV-2 acute infection) and whether the symptoms persisted at the time of the study. At the time of the study (mean: 15.6, SD: 5.6 months after discharge), 89.4% of patients reported at least one post-COVID symptom (mean number of symptoms: 3.0; SD: 1.7). Fatigue (69.3%), pain (40.9%), and memory loss (27.2%) were the most prevalent post-COVID symptoms in the total sample. Overall, no differences in the post-COVID symptoms depending on the IL-6 rs1800796, IL-10 rs1800896, TNF-α rs1800629, and IFITM3 rs12252 genotypes were seen. The four SNPs assessed, albeit having been previously associated with inflammation and COVID-19 severity, did not cause a predisposition to the development of post-COVID symptoms in the previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secamone afzelii (Roem. & Schult.) K. Schum (family Asclepiadaceae) is a creeping woody climber used to treat ailments in many traditional medicine systems. The present study aims to examine the antioxidant and enzyme inhibition activities of S. afzelii leaf using different compositions of methanol–water mixture as an extraction solvent. The extracts were characterized by HPLC-ESI-MSn in terms of chemical compounds. The in silico results show that compound 23 (quercitrin) has the higher docking scores among the selected substances and the MD simulation revealed that the interactions with the enzymatic pocket are stable over the simulation time and strongly involve the tyrosinase catalytic Cu atoms. All together the results showed that both 80% and 100% methanolic extracts contained significantly (p < 0.05) the highest total phenolics content while the highest content of total flavonoids was significantly (p < 0.05) extracted by 100% methanol. About 26 compounds were tentatively identified by HPLC-ESI-MSn and 6 of them were quantified using standards. Results showed that the extracts were rich in flavonoids with a relatively high abundance of two kaempferol glycosides comprising 60% of quantified compounds. The 100% and 80% methanol extracts recorded significantly (p < 0.05) the highest total antioxidant, DPPH and ABTS activity as well as tyrosinase and ⍺-amylase inhibitory activities. The best significant (p < 0.05) cholinesterase inhibitory activity and reducing capacity of Fe+++ and Cu++ was recorded from the 80% methanolic extract while 100% ethanolic extract gave the highest significant (p < 0.05) butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activity. The best glucosidase activity was observed in the 50% and 80% methanolic extracts. Although the water extract displayed the least total phenolics and flavonoids content and consequently the lowest antioxidant and enzyme inhibition activity, it displayed significantly (p < 0.05) the highest chelating power. In conclusion, these results demonstrated the richness of S. afzelii leaf as a potential source of bioactive compounds for the food industry, for the preparation of food supplements and functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s cross-cultural studies of academic genres are becoming increasingly relevant. One genre that has recently attracted cross-cultural attention is the academic book review. The aim of the present paper is to provide insight into what is expected in terms of overall critical attitude towards the books under review when writing in this academic genre for international journals by comparison to what is conventional in journals of smaller discourse communities. Based on two comparable corpora of 20 academic book reviews of literature in English and 20 in peninsular Spanish, the study compares how much and what kind of critical attitude (positive vs. negative) is typically displayed by expert L1 writers of such texts. Critical attitude is defined in terms of "critical acts," which are identified and measured in a way that takes the co-text and the context into account. The results show that the peninsular Spanish writers of literary academic book reviews are much less critical in general and show a much lower tendency to evaluate the book negatively than their Anglo-American counterparts. Results are discussed in the light of information provided by informants.

Moringa oleifera has been reported to possess a high number of bioactive compounds; hence, several food supplements are commercially available based on it. This work aimed to analyze the phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of commercial food supplements. The phenolic composition of methanolic extracts was determined by using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn), and the antioxidant activity was assessed by ABTS·+ and DPPH assays. Thirty-three compounds were identified, and all the main compounds were quantified, observing that the main contribution to the phenolic profile was due to kaempferol and quercetin glucosides. The antioxidant activity in both assays agreed with the phenolic content: the higher the phenolic levels, the higher the antioxidant activity. The obtained results were compared with those previously published regarding Moringa oleifera leaves to establish the potential benefits of food supplement consumption in the diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study assumes that, despite the relative uniformity of research articles (RAs) imposed by the requirements of the genre, there may be intercultural variation in the rhetorical preferences of different writing cultures. This study develops further Moreno's [Text 18 (1998) 545] model for the comparison of the metatext employed in English and Spanish to signal premise-conclusion intersentential coherence relations. It does so by focusing on the types and preference of use of retrospective cohesive mechanisms employed in premise-conclusion metatext to label the premise from which the upcoming conclusion is to be drawn. Variability is sought in different aspects of the label arriving at the following conclusions: (1) With regards to the extent to which authors make explicit reference to the stretch of discourse from which the upcoming conclusion is to be drawn, Spanish academics show a greater tendency towards the use of fuzzy labels; (2) The overall distribution of the lexical range of labels is also different, with English showing a greater tendency towards the use of non-metalinguistic labels. Retrospective labels have a greater tendency to add interpersonal meanings in English both (3) through the label itself and (4) through its modification; (5) The various ways in which modifiers in retrospective labels add ideational meaning seem to be distributed differently. (Contains 5 tables.)

Demonstrates the need to bridge the gap between theoretical descriptions of discourse and type of language description that should be used in the English for academic purposes classroom in accordance with recent approaches to teaching a second language. Compares accounts of causal metatext from a sample of textbooks on academic writing to results obtained from analyzing the actual expression of causal coherence relations drawn from a sample of cause-and-effect essays. (VWL)

Sought evidence for or against the assumption that significant intercultural variation exists in the rhetorical preferences of national cultures through contrastive analysis of research articles in English (n=36) and Spanish (n=36) on business and economics written by native speakers of each language. (45 references) (Author/CK)

Copyright of Iberica is the property of Asociacion Europea de Lenguas para Fines Especificos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Cathissa reverchonii (formerly Ornithogalum reverchonii) is a threatened species, constituting an endemism present in the south of Spain and northern Morocco. In Spain, it is only found in two disjoint populations in the region of Andalusia. The determination of its chemical composition and the influence that environmental factors have on it can contribute significantly to the development of appropriate protection and conservation plans. However, there are no previous reports about this species to date. Consequently, this research aimed to study the phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of C. reverchonii and to assess the influence of environmental factors on the phenolic profile and bioactivity. The vegetal material was collected in seven places inhabited by the two separate populations in Spain. The phenolic composition of methanolic extracts of the species was determined by HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS, and the antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH and ABTS assays. Fifteen compounds were characterized in the extracts of the aerial parts of C. reverchonii, revealing differences in the phytochemical profile between both populations analyzed, mainly in the saponin fraction. The main phenolics were flavone di-C-glucoside (lucenin-2), followed by a quercetin-di-C-glucoside. The composition of the extracts of C. reverchonii and their radical scavenging power were compared with those of other species of the genus Ornithogalum L., revealing significant differences between the latter and the genus Cathissa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned aerial vehicles are a valid tool for exploring celestial objects that have atmosphere. The design process of these vehicles includes numerical analysis phase, which is then followed by an experimental flight test campaign in order to validate and refine the design. In terrestrial conditions, it is impossible to use the full size prototype and recreate all the conditions of extraterrestrial flight. The only option is to use a scaled model maintaining certain similarity parameters to the prototype. This would, however, not reproduce the global multidisciplinary behavior in terrestrial conditions. Alternatively, relaxing similarity constraints enables reproducing the global multidisciplinary behavior but introduces known and measurable similarity differences. The objective of this study is to provide a methodology for designing a relaxed similarity scaled model for terrestrial multidisciplinary tests for any extraterrestrial unmanned aerial vehicle. The methodology is then applied to a case scenario in order to verify its validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article proposes a framework for studying researchers' motivations in publishing their work either in English as an additional language (EAL) or their first language (L1) based on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Topics include the psychological, sociological, and rational-economic perspectives behind academic motivation, how motivations are shaped by gender, seniority and publication experience, and the results of an application of the framework on Spanish researchers' motivations.

Copyright of Iberica is the property of Asociacion Europea de Lenguas para Fines Especificos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The use of evaluation resources has proven to be an especially difficult area in English for Academic Purposes. Our aim is to propose a methodological framework for identifying recurrent differences in the use of evaluation resources in academic texts across English and other languages. We argue that for comparisons to be meaningful, studies of independent but comparable successful texts should contrast propositions that are similar in terms of their pragmatic or discourse function. We narrow the focus of the proposal down to the academic book review genre in one particular academic discipline and argue for the contrast of propositions functioning as critical acts on similar things, the academic books under review. We reason that for fruitful comparisons it would be necessary to distinguish between evaluation resources occurring on the propositional, metadiscoursal, and rhetorical planes. We discuss the types of evaluation resources that occur on these three planes in a corpus of twenty recent literary academic book reviews in English. We conclude that applying this framework to the quantitative analysis of comparable texts and propositions across languages would help to establish the extent to which the use of evaluation resources varies as a function of the language in a useful way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]