Social Intervention Through Community Projects in Virtual Mode in Merida, Mexico. A Perspective from Social Work

The purpose of this work is to gather and systematize the professional learning of the Bachelor in Social Work at the Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan. The learning experiences are from the practical work in communities, which for the first time was carried out in virtual mode due to the social distancing caused by COVID-19.The study was based on Castaneda's methodological proposal, which consists of five phases: experience contexts, conceptual theoretical references, methodological decisions, development of the analysis process, reflections, learning and conclusions of the process. Similarly, a documentary review was carried out with the help of the following instruments: intervention projects, descriptive letters, group chronicles, supervision reports and operational programs. The validation of the information was accomplished by the judgment of experts.As a result, the roles of the social worker were identified: social educator, sociocultural animator and social manager;in addition to the creation of virtual spaces for dissemination, participation and interaction with the population, and finally, the rigor of the methodology used.In conclusion, the methodological process of community practice, integrated into five substantial stages, framed in the use of virtual media, contributed to the development of professional skills, responding to the context of the new reality.

Are we nearly there yet? New technology adoption and labor demand in Peru

Forecasts about the effects of new technologies on labor demand are generally pessimistic. However, little is known about the current level of technology adoption and its effect on labor demand, particularly in developing countries. This paper exploits a national representative employer survey and administrative data from Peru to offer empirical evidence in this regard. Our results show that the adoption of new technologies by firms is still incipient in the country. However, when adopted, they slightly reduce the demand for workers in the medium term, particularly those in high-skilled and non-routine occupations, with a temporary job contract, and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessment of Effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Among Health Care Personnel: Monroe County, NY December 2020-March 2022

Background. Risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 has remained high among health care personnel (HCP) throughout the pandemic, due to both exposure in the community and occupational settings. While vaccine uptake among health care workers is high, real-world continual monitoring of vaccine effectiveness (VE) among this population is crucial for informing future vaccination and prevention efforts. Methods. Data for this analysis came from a test-negative case-control study conducted among HCP working at two acute care hospitals in Monroe County, NY from December 2020 through March 2022, performed as part of the CDC Emerging Infections Program. Case participants were identified as HCP who had at least one COVID-19 like symptom, and a positive polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) SARS-CoV-2 test during the study time period. Control participants had a negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR test, regardless of presence of COVID-19 like symptoms. Cases and controls were matched based on the study week of their test date. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection. Effectiveness was assessed between December 2020-May 2021, May 2021-October 2021, and October 2021-March 2022. Results. From December 28th, 2020 through March 12th, 2022, 881 cases and 1794 controls were enrolled. Vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection was greatest from December 2020 through May 2021, with mRNA complete series effectiveness at 93.1% (95% CI: 86.9%-96.3%) with complete series VE falling to 25.1% (95% CI: 0.0%-50.9%) during May 2021-October 2021. Waning immunity following receipt of second dose was observed across all time periods. Vaccine effectiveness following receipt of one booster vaccine was found to be 59.2% (95% CI: 43.5-70.6), with evidence of waning immunity two months from receipt of the booster (VE: 46.6%;95% CI: 14.6%-66.7%). Conclusion. Protection provided by the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines against symptomatic infection is highly variable among HCP, based on the circulating dominant variant and the time since receipt of each dose. Monitoring of vaccine effectiveness, as well as waning immunity, among this high-risk population is essential to guide future vaccine policies.

SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF THYMIC PEPTIDES IN THE TREATMENT OF HOSPITALIZED COVID-19 PATIENTS IN HONDURAS.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) active cases continue to demand the development of safe and effective treatments. This is the first clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral thymic peptides. ; We conducted a nonrandomized phase 2 trial with a historic control group to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a daily 250-mg oral dose of thymic peptides in the treatment of hospitalized Covid-19 patients. Comparisons based on standard care from registry data were performed after propensity score matching. The primary outcomes were survival, time to recovery, and number of participants with treatment-related adverse events or side effects by day 20. ; A total of 44 patients were analyzed in this study: 22 in the thymic peptide group and 22 in the standard care group. There were no deaths in the intervention group compared to 24% mortality in standard care by day 20 (log-rank P=0.02). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significantly shorter time to recovery by day 20 in the thymic peptide group than in the standard care group (median, 6 days vs. 12 days; hazard ratio for recovery, 2.75 [95% confidence interval, 1.34 to 5.62]; log-rank P=0.002). No side effects or adverse events were reported. ; In patients hospitalized with Covid-19, the use of thymic peptides resulted in no side effects, adverse events, or deaths by day 20. Compared with the registry data, a significantly shorter time to recovery and mortality reduction were measured.

Quality Assessment of Emergency Corrective Maintenance of Critical Care Ventilators Within the Context of COVID-19 in São Paulo, Brazil

This paper presents the process of quality assessment of emergency corrective maintenance of critical care ventilators in a node, IPT-POLI, of a voluntary network, the initiative + Maintenance of Ventilators, led by SENAI-CIMATEC to perform maintenance on unused mechanical ventilators during the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. A procedure was developed for quality assessment of equipment subjected to corrective emergency maintenance, covering the main points of three main standards for performance and safety assessment. A set of seven critical care ventilators was evaluated according to the following parameters: leakage current, resistance of protective earth, accuracy of control and instruments, delivered oxygen test, and alarms. All evaluated ventilators were out of use for more than 2 years and underwent corrective emergency maintenance before having their performance and safety assessment. In electrical safety tests, all equipment presented values prescribed for the standard. In the assessment of ventilator parameters, all equipment did not perform sufficiently according to the standard. It was possible to conclude that the choice of criteria to perform the quality assessment in critical care ventilators proved to be important and can be a report of great value for future pandemic scenarios such as that experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Small and Medium Enterprises in Mexico and the Craft Beer Sector in Baja California: Dynamic Capabilities, Culture, and Innovation

This article studies how Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating in emerging economies implement adaptative strategies to respond to constant changes in demand and global uncertainties, such as those stemming from the current SARS-COV2 pandemic. In this study the knowledge management capabilities used by SMEs in the craft beer sector in a region of northern Mexico are the focus of analysis. The objective is to present the competitive capabilities that craft beer sector has demonstrated in Baja California region and how small companies compete with the national industrial brewery and survive. Sources are data from a sample of companies and interviews with brewery owners, with which the analysis approaches, also, the Baja California business environment. The article highlights the routes of creativity, innovation, and symbolic capital of the companies in the region, and uses ideas from dynamic capabilities and knowledge management theoretical frameworks, to understand the craft brewery milieu. The conclusions in this article include the confirmation about the usefulness of these analytical frameworks based in the capabilities approach and the territorial knowledge. Also, the description of the existence of a complex Baja Californian milieu, where a multimodal scheme of craft beer characterized by different places of distribution and types of beer container, food-districts, at Mexicali, Tijuana, and Ensenada and a second generation of entrepreneur groups leading local business, is identified. © 2022, Universitat de Barcelona, Facultad de Economia y Empresa. All rights reserved.

Plenary: Real-Time Transformation of the freshmen Mathematics Engineering Courses during COVID-19 Outbreak

Due to the circumstances associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the academic year 2020 represented a challenge for engineering education around the world. In Guatemala, the first case of COVID-19 was reported on Friday, March 13, 2020, and as a consequence, all higher-level educational institutions were closed. Before the pandemic, in Universidad Galileo, all of the different engineering mathematics courses were taught traditionally following a face-to-face format. As a result, the pandemics' challenge consists of, not only the fact of having to transform the teaching and learning format but also in making the transition in the shortest amount of time possible. During the pandemic, the class sessions continued with the schedule established at the beginning of the semester, but with the help of video conferencing tools. It is important to mention that we used a set of distance teaching tools and techniques that help us fulfilling the main objective of the course: students' learning while enhancing their motivation. A test designed specifically for the pandemic situation was used to measure the students' motivation. Such a test includes sub-scales associated with the students' feelings about the current situation and it also assesses the course structure, flexibility, and content delivery in the virtual format. In this plenary, we present our experience and the main lessons learned from such a transition from traditional to virtual teaching.

E-learning in times of COVID. The experience of the AULACIETE 2020-2021 Teaching-Learning CLUSTER

The COVID-19 pandemic affected access to education. From the analysis to the governmental measures, the absence of teacher training was found, this motivated the initiative of a group of Professionals to create an online program. The objective of this article is: To point out the elements that made up the initiative;Identify the results obtained;Highlight the success factors and make some recommendations. The research is qualitative, descriptive. The need to provide equipment, use of specialized applications, the Internet and spaces for the development of skills in self-management of learning is highlighted.

Association between Covid-19 mortality and atmospheric pollution in Mexican cities

Objective. To analyze the relationship between chronic exposures to air pollution with Covid-19 death rate in Mexican cities. Materials and methods. Ecological study in 25 Mexican cities using the report of daily Covid-19 deaths (from February to June 2020) and validated data of air pollutants, considering average concentrations in each city for the last year. Poisson regression models using generalized additive models with adjustment variables (GAM) were used. Results. A significant increase of 3.5% (95% CI 2.3-4.7) was found in Covid-19 death rate for each 1 mu g/m(3) in annual concentration of NO2. The association with PM2.5 was not significant, with an increase of 1.8% for each 1 mu g/m(3). Conclusions. Results suggest an association between Covid-19 mortality and chronic exposure to NO2. This first approximation of the risk associated with air pollution requires a more precise analysis, but is consistent with what was observed in other studies.

Examining the effect of perceived fatigability on cognitive function abilities in older adults with MCI

Background Chronic fatigue with cognitive and daily functioning decline is a major public health concern in older adults. The association between fatigue and neurodegenerative conditions (e.g., multiple sclerosis) has been studied for many years. But, it is not known the relationship between Alzheimer's pathology and perceived fatigability, a phenotype characterized by the relationship between an individual's perceived fatigue and the activity level with which the fatigue is associated. We examined the role of fatigability on the link between cognitive function and cognitive function abilities and the effect of sleep on this indirect link in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods Adults age > 55 years who met the ADNI criteria for MCI were included. Depression assessed by the DSM-V criteria and a GDS>5 was exclusionary. We conducted the study with the PROMIS Cognitive Function-Abilities (CogAb), Sleep Disturbances (SD), Sleep-related Impairment (SRI), and the Neuro-QOL Cognitive Function (CogF) and Fatigue, including Fatigue symptom score (item1-3&7) and Fatigability score (item4-6&8). Linear regression models were fit to Fatigue and Fatigability included sleep outcomes and their interaction as predictors. Mediation models were fit to assess whether fatigability mediated the effect of CogF on CogAb. Results Before the COVID pandemic, 36 subjects were recruited, with the mean age= 68.8 ±9.3, 58.3% female, 78% white, and 15.2% Hispanic. The results revealed that CogF predicted CogAb (b= 0.78, t(34)=4.83, p<0.001). Analysis of the indirect effects showed CogF predicted Fatigability (b=-0.29, t(34)=-3.09, p<0.005), Fatigability predicted CogAb (b= -0.99, t(33)=-4.03, p<0.001), CogF predicted CogAb (b=0.49, t(33)=3.25, p<0.01). The indirect effect of CogF on CogAb mediated through fatigability was significant (95%CI=0.08, 0.44), even after controlling for age and education, and fatigue symptom score. Fatigability was associated with SRI (beta=0.642, t=4.73, p<0.001) but not SD (P>0.05) after controlling for age. SRI had no direct effect on CogAb. Conclusions Perceived fatigability partially mediated the link between CogF and CogAb and sleep outcomes had no significant impact on this indirect link. The results suggested that fatigability could be a biological construct of Alzheimer's pathology, independent from sleep and depression.

Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of delirium in older adults with COVID-19. Literature review

Background. COVID-19 affects several systems in the body, including the central nervous system (CNS), expressed in the form of headaches, hyposmia, cerebrovascular disease, and neuropathy. Older Adults (OA) are vulnerable to this infection, and may also present delirium, which may be the result of the virus directly affecting the CNS or of systemic inflammation during infection. Objective. To determine the clinical characteristics, risk factors, pathophysiology, treatment measures, and prevention of delirium associated with COVID-19 from a review of the literature in times of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Method. A search was conducted in PubMed, SciELO, UpToDate, and Medscape using keywords in English and Spanish. Results. Seventy-two articles were reviewed. We analyzed inclusion and exclusion criteria and 43 articles with relevant information for the narrative description of the review were selected. Twenty to thirty per cent of the COVID-19 patients will present or develop delirium, or changes in mental status during their hospitalization, with rates of 60% to 70% in severe illness. The exact mechanisms are likely to be multifactorial. There is a worrying lack of attention to the implications of identifying and managing delirium in the response to this pandemic. Discussion and conclusion. Delirium is a frequent neurological manifestation in OA with COVID-19 and requires early identification, as well as the implementation of non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatment strategies, which may reduce the associated morbidity and mortality in this age group.

Multiple myeloma in times of SARS-CoV-2 in Mexico

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a heterogeneous oncological disease in its molecular component that in turn generates clinical variability, its risk is defined according to the Revised International Staging System, which considers: serious high levels of DHL and Beta2 microglobulina, low levels of albumin and the presence of some cytogenetic alteration, [del 17p13, t (14;14), and t (14;16)], the high-risk group is characterized by early relapse and short survival. At this time of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, the management of patients with multiple myeloma has been indirectly affected by the lack of opportunity in diagnosis and management. In addition to there are data that suggest that the state of immunosuppression typical of the disease, combined with immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapy, makes them at high risk of complicating themselves and dying when they acquire the disease from COVID-19. However, there are no proper myeloma registries to corroborate this and in the COVID-19/cancer registries complications are reported mainly in lung cancer and those that are within 4 weeks of receiving intense chemotherapy. In Mexico and Latin America a brief survey only found isolated cases, the data has yet to be analyzed. The low frequency of patients with MM and COVID-19 is probably due to the care and isolation that is had with them beforehand. Since MM is a heterogeneous disease, we must continue to evaluate the risk at diagnosis and give full treatment to those at high risk, for this we must adjust the measures to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19, reduce visits to care units as much as possible, adjust first-line treatments according to the characteristics of each patient and monitor patients with intensive therapies and those requiring transplantation with tests for COVID-19 of hematopoietic progenitor cells. The COVID-19 pandemic is a catastrophe without a present, not only due to the morbidity and mortality of the infection, it has also generated saturation of health services, increasing complications and deaths from other diseases due to the lack of opportunity in care and Multiple Myeloma is no exception.