NSF REU entrepreneurially minded applied energy program evaluation: traditional delivery versus alternative delivery (implemented during COVID-19)

Purpose: The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs are traditionally delivered in-person and full-time (40 h per week) for 10 weeks during the summer. However, this type of format has the potential to limit broader student participation. This study aims to compare learning assessment data between a traditional NSF REU (10 weeks of summer, full-time, in-person) to an alternative NSF REU delivered virtually, part-time and over 10 months as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A retrospective pre-then-post survey was completed to assess perceived learning gains for each REU program. Three learning gains categories were assessed: entrepreneurial competencies, career goals and research skill development. T-tests were used to evaluate a difference in means between pre and post. Findings: Findings show the greatest quantity of learning gains within the alternative program delivery. Moreover, a larger quantity of learning gains was perceived within the first semester of the alternative program delivery compared to the second semester. Practical implications: The authors propose the NSF should be intentional about trying new approaches to REU programs delivery, including duration and format, as a way to broaden participation in engineering. Originality/value: This study is original in that it is the first of its kind to assess an alternative REU program delivery (allowed only because of the COVID-19 pandemic) in comparison to traditional REU program delivery. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Spatio-temporal changes in urban water consumption during 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Brazil

This study investigated the changes that occurred during the pandemic of COVID-19 in urban water consumption in residential, commercial, industrial, and public agencies in the city of Sao Leopoldo, southern Brazil, which has about 55,000 consumers and over 200,000 inhabitants. Overall, the city increased water consumption by 5.6% during the 2-year pandemic, with 5.9% in 2020 and 5.5% in 2021. Residential and industrial consumption increased by 6.77 and 9.92% in the first year, and by 5.47 and 14.45% in the second year, respectively. On the other hand, commercial and public sector consumption decreased, respectively, 5.48 and 46.26%, in the first year, and also 1.83 and 40.99% in the second year. In the first months of the pandemic, there was a sharp increase in residential water consumption at the same time as a reduction in consumption in the other categories. In contrast, there was a slight return to previous water consumption patterns in the following months. Overall, we can affirm that the more central neighborhoods presented higher changes in water consumption than the peripheral neighborhoods. In addition, the water consumption during the pandemic and pre-pandemic periods was statistically different for residential, industrial, and public consumers.

Instructions for COVID-19 self-tests What parts of the test are the most difficult to get right and how can information design help?

This paper summarises a cross-disciplinary project that explored ways of making instructions, funded as part of the UK COVID-19 rapid-response initiative. The project explored ways of making instructions for COVID-19 Lateral Flow Tests easy for lay people to use. Our method comprised rapid design decision making, where we used existing research, good practice in information design and consultation with diagnostic experts as part of the design process. Iterative review by a panel of users informed the development of prototype instructions: small studies investigated user preference for diagrams, and gathered feedback on the graphic articulation of the procedural steps involved in carrying out the test. © John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Key elements for UX-based design, applied in the improvement of the academic service of Peruvian university education in the context of COVID-19

The support systems for academic management are of vital importance for the development of activities in a higher education institution and their integration with learning platforms are key for a quality educational service, a requirement intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. In most universities in Peru, these applications are far from the necessary critical requirements and especially if seen in terms of user experience (UX), however, it is still observed that they do not apply the methodologies or techniques of this approach, they don't even consider the profile of the key user, the student, according to the context in which it operates. That is why a study was conducted through interviews applied to IT staff, which includes five dimensions and surveys to 611 students, with the purpose of characterizing it, based on three conditions, as well as identifying the key elements for the UX design of the academic management support system, through eight criteria with the objective of improving the service provided. The results of the evaluation raise the need to improve usability, based on the characterization of the student, identifying as key elements, that the students are digital natives, they use the various technological media very frequently, although there was a lack of mastery of digital skills. They make use of the academic management support system but not through the mobile mainly because it is not designed for that environment;in visual logic, the majority specifies that the elements of the same theme must be close to each other;regarding performance, access time should be reduced and interaction with the user should be improved;Finally, online support must be improved, as well as the immediacy in dealing with incidents, as a result of the pandemic. © 2022 IEEE.

Influence of Technological Factors in Teaching and Communication in Higher Education During the COVID-19 Health Crisis

Due to COVID-19, the way we use digital tools and the way we communicate with students have changed in higher education, it is so that the present investigation of mixed type carried out through: bibliographic review, interview with ICT managers, application of a virtual survey to teachers, and processing of the academic database, aimed to determine the degree of influence of technological factors in the form of communication and teaching in higher education, finding that the pandemic had positive effects, mastery of digital skills in teachers increased, digitization and updating of online courses, synchronous and asynchronous modalities were integrated, the use of digital tools was diversified and in terms of communication, and institutional mail was used massively for administrative and academic purposes. Nevertheless, in the negative effects noted, that feedback and motivation were not adequate. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Use of Hashtags related to Covid-19 infodemics by bot accounts : Victor Suarez-Lledo

Background Along with the Covid-19 pandemic we need to fight an ‘infodemic'. Some of the most widespread social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have implemented policies to combat the spread of misinformation about Covid. However, the online ecosystem is still full of health myths, hoaxes, and fake news that-either consciously or unconsciously-is propagated by social media users with different purposes, messages that can lead to attitudinal and behavioral changes which might result in inadequate health decision making Methods We use Twitter Stream API to collect tweets about Covid-19 during the early outbreak. Then we filtered those tweets with hashtags related to three infodemic topics: 5g, bill gates, UV and hydroxychloroquine. Then, we use Botometer to obtain the probability that each account is a bot or not. We use bot classification along with network analysis (Louvain community detection) to delve into the subtopics and the use of hashtags. Results The resulting data collection contains ∼14M tweets from ∼285K of different Twitter accounts. We selected only tweets written in English. Regarding 5G, the most important communities link China with the virus, are about “democratshateamerica” or conspiracy theories. Tweets about Bill Gates contain hashtags about Trump, America, or mention the batflu. Communities related with UV are about Trump disinfectant, or pointing out that tv channels spread fake news. Those tweets that mention hydroxychloroquine mostly contain hashtags that mention qanon or maga content. Conclusions In this paper, we analyze the use of hashtags by accounts classified as bots. Using Louvain community detection we identify co-occurring hashtags. Using social network analysis we identify which hashtags are the most important within the conversation. Key messages • We identify several communities around most important infodemic topics. Bots activity in most of the cases is about political content than spreading health misinformation. • This method allows to find subtopics based on the use of hashtags. Which allow public health policies to prevent the spread of infodemics.

A Novel Layered Learning Approach for Forecasting Respiratory Disease Excess Mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic

Forecasting model selection and model combination are the two contending approaches in the time series forecasting literature. Ensemble learning is useful for addressing a given predictive task by different predictive models when direct mapping from inputs to outputs is inaccurate. We adopt a layered learning approach to an ensemble learning strategy to solve the predictive tasks with improved predictive performance and take advantage of multiple learning processes into an ensemble model. In this proposed strategy, we build each model with a specific holdout and make the ensemble model of time series with a dynamic selection approach. For the experimental section, we studied more than twelve thousand observations in a portfolio of 61-time series of reported respiratory disease deaths to show the amount of improvement in predictive performance of excess mortality. Then we compare the forecasting outcome of our model with the corresponding total deaths of COVID-19 for selected countries. © 2021 Associacao Portuguesa de Sistemas de Informacao. All rights reserved.

MIDDLE MENINGEAL ARTERY EMBOLIZATION AS A SAME-DAY DISCHARGE PROCEDURE

Introduction Middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) is a fundamental piece in the management of Chronic Subdural Hematoma (cSDH) that prevents recurrence and can serve as primary treatment for nonoperative candidates. MMAE offers time-effectiveness, since it may be performed in less than one hour under minimal sedation. As the COVID-19 pandemic makes inpatient beds scarce, MMAE could potentially become a same-day procedure which poses a potential economic benefit for both patients and health institutions alike. We reviewed MMAEs performed at our institution and measured the complication rates in an effort to determine if hospital admission after the procedure is necessary. Methods A retrospective analysis of patients who underwent MMAE for cSDH at the University of California, San Diego was performed. Data collected included post-procedural complications such as focal neurologic deficit, cognitive decline, and groin access-point hemorrhage identified within the first 4 hours, 24 hours, and delayed manner respectively. Success of treatment was defined as patient stability and return to baseline following the post-procedure assessment protocol performed routinely at our institution. We further characterized patients with the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to identify higher risk populations that would require increased observation. The CCI was also used to determine a cut-off point for same-day discharge eligibility. Results We analyzed data from 95 patients that had 143 subdural hematomas treated at our institution. Of the 95 patients, 93 patients (98%) had no complications following our institution's standardized assessments after MMAE or at discharge the following day. Average SDH size was 12.9mm. Twenty-one patients underwent surgical drainage after MMAE. Following MMAE, two patients presented complications;one patient, an 83-year-old female, developed transient headache and blurry vision one day after MMAE and was discharged uneventfully;this patient had a CCI of 4 points. The other patient was a 77-year-old male with metastatic prostate carcinoma and had an SDH volume expansion one day after the procedure which required operative intervention with burr-hole craniotomy and drainage;this patient had a CCI of 9 points (0% estimated 10-year survival). The remaining 93 patients suffered no complications after MMAE. Conclusion Time-effectiveness and low complication rates make MMAE an ideal same-day procedure for patients with cSDH and a low CCI score. The grand majority of patients had no complications following MMAE, suggesting a large patient population that may benefit from the same-day procedure aspect of intervention. Although some patients underwent planned surgical drainage, the embolization component of management was uneventful. Our analysis provides evidence that MMAE could develop into an ambulatory procedure in patients with cSDH and a low comorbidity profile;this could have economic benefits for both the patients requiring and the institutions offering the procedure. Further prospective studies are needed to strengthen these findings.

Life Table Forecasting in COVID-19 Times: An Ensemble Learning Approach

Stochastic mortality modeling play a critical role in public pension design, population and public health projections and in the design, pricing and risk management of life insurance contracts and longevity-linked securities. There is no general method to forecast mortality rate applicable to all situations especially for unusual years such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of using an ensemble of traditional and machine learning time series methods to empower forecasts of age-specific mortality rates for groups of countries that share common longevity trends. We use Generalized Age-Period-Cohort stochastic mortality models to capture age and period effects, apply K-means clustering to time series to group countries following common longevity trends and use ensemble learning to forecast future longevity and annuity price markers. To calibrate models, we use data for 14 European countries from 1960 to 2018. The results show that the ensemble method presents the best robust results overall with minimum RMSE in the presence of structural changes in the shape of time series at the time of COVID-19.

Perceived Effectiveness of Gender-Based Virtual Education in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic in University Higher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many processes to be digitized, one of them being education. With regard to university education, it was carried out virtually, in such a way that students were affected by the confinement and the coupling to a new educational reality. The objective was to analyze the perception of the effectiveness of the students based on their gender in the teaching - virtual learning process, under a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, and descriptive approach. A survey structured in five dimensions: psychological, technological, pedagogical, academic activities, and communication, was applied to a sample of 1,348 students from a public university. The results show that there is a significant difference between the perception of effectiveness by gender, taking into account the career groups. In technology, women perceive high effectiveness compared to men, in pedagogical terms, men have a better perception than women, academic activities and communication are perceived in a similar way in both genders, finally, psychologically, women were more affected than men. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Anger and anxiety in athletes aged 18 to 39 years in Metropolitan Lima and Callao during the covid 19 pandemic

Objetive: The study aimed to determine the relationship between anger and anxiety in athletes aged 18 to 39 years from Metropolitan Lima and Callao in times of the COVID-19 pan-demic. Materials and methods: The type of research was basic and the cross-sectional non-experimental design under a quantitative and descriptive-correlational level approach. The instruments used were the anger scale (STAXI-2) and the state-trait anxiety questionnaire (STAI). The sample was made up of 200 athletes between the ages of 18 and 39 from Metropolitan Lima and Callao. Results: The results show that the correlation between the anger and ansiety variables was signiticant, of an indirect type and weak magnitude (rho =-. 274 **), very high level of anger in athletes and average level of anxiety in athletes. Conclusion: It os concluded that there is an influence of anger levels on anxiety levels in anegative way, wich the same result for state anxiety.

Reflections on Access to Health Services for People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilitiesin the Context of the Health Crisis createdby the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had in its first wave between March and May 2020, and had a huge impact on the Spanish health system. Its saturation and the scarcity of material and personal resources forced decisions which implied prioritizing the care of some patients over others. These decisions were made in most cases without taking into account the characteristics, needs and rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, when not based on negative biases on the group. The situation created during the first pandemic peak is analyzed and relevant conclusions are drawn for the preservation of the right to healthcare access. © 2021 University of Salamanca. All rights reserved.

Dermatological Manifestations in Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia in Veracruz, Mexico

Background. A large number of viral infections are characterized by the presence of cutaneous manifestations. Multiple dermatological manifestations have been observed in patients with COVID-19. Dermatological lesions in patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 such as livedo reticularis, rash and vascular lesions may represent manifestations of secondary phenomena such as paraviral rashes or by participation of the innate or adaptive immune system that cause vasodilation, vascular leakage or procoagulant effects Methods. Descriptive and observational study, adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were selected, confirmed by RT-PCR and chest CT. General symptoms, hematic cytometry results, pneumonia severity, prognosis as well as dermatological manifestations are characterized. Results. 100 patients were entered into the study, with an average age of 49.4 years, 54% male. The general symptoms with the highest incidence were: fever, cough and dyspnea characteristic of SARS-CoV-2 infection, followed by chest pain, headache, anosmia and dysgeusia. The main alteration of the hemogram was lymphopenia, no leukopenia or plaquetopenia was demonstrated. 54% of those affected had mild pneumonia, the rest severe pneumonia. 75% progressed towards improvement and 25% died. Among the dermatological manifestations identified, all occurred in cases with severe pneumonia, the one with the highest incidence was the morbilliform viral exanthema in 18%, the presence of diffuse partial alopecia in 7% as well as manifestations of lividity and maceration in 1%. Regarding alopecia, in 6% it was reversible androgenetic alopecia, having manifested during the acute stage of pneumonia (all men), in 1% it presented alopecia areata (male) that has been persistent beyond the acute phase and in frank recovery Demographic and clinical variables Conclusion. The incidence of dermatological manifestations is low in this study population, the most frequent being the morbilliform viral exanthema expected in a virus, however they present manifestations of low incidence such as reversible androgenetic alopecia associated with severity of the disease, a finding that has been documented recently as a manifestation associated with COVID-19.

Baricitinib in Patients with Severe Pneumonia due to COVID-19 in Veracruz, Mexico

Background. Patients affected by COVID-19 pneumonia who present severe symptoms with manifest hypoxemia and cytokine storm have a high mortality rate, which is why therapies focused on reducing inflammation and improving lung function have been used, one of them being jakinibs through of the blocking of the JAK tracks. Methods. Patients who presented data of severe pneumonia due to COVID-19 with data of severe hypoxemia and cytokine storm were selected, from June to August 2020, to whom the SaO2/FiO2 ratio is measured at the beginning, intermediate and end of treatment, as well as D dimer and serum ferritin. Comorbidity and drugs taken previously are analyzed. The patients being cared for at home. Results. We included data from 30 patients, 8 (27%) women and 22 (73%) men, with a median age of 58.5 (46.5 - 68.0) years. 23 patients (77%) had comorbidities, the most frequent being arterial hypertension (43%), followed by obesity (30%), type 2 diabetes mellitus (27%), among others. In the laboratory, the medians of D-Dimer 982 ng/ mL, Ferritin 1,375 ng/mL and C-Reactive Protein 10.0 mg/dL. Regarding the use of previous medications, we found that 29 (97%) patients had treatment with some medication, the most frequent: azithromycin (77%), ivermectin (53%) and dexamethasone (47%). The median number of medications received was 3. The initial pulse oximetry (SaO2) measurement with room air had a median of 80.5% and the median SaO2/FiO2 (SAFI) was 134;Regarding the type of SIRA, 90% had moderate SIRA and 10% had severe SIRA. The median day of evolution on which baricitinib was started was 10 days, all received 4 mg/day, and the median days of treatment with baricitinib was 14.0 days. At follow-up, SaO2 at 7 days had a median of 93.0% and the median SAFI at 7 days was 310.0;the median SaO2 at 14 days was 95.0% and the median SAFI at 14 days was 452.0. In comparative analysis, baseline SaO2/SAFI was significantly lower compared to 7 and 14 days (p = 0.001 for both comparisons). The outcomes, 27 (90%) patients improved and there were 3 (10%) who died. Conclusion. Baricitinib therapy in these patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia who present with severe hypoxemia and cytokine storm presented good results by improving clinical status and pulmonary failure, with patients being cared for at home and avoiding mechanical ventilation.

POSSIBLE MUTATION PATHWAYS IN SARS-CoV-2

Mutations are the best way to generate genetic variation, as they provide the raw material in which evolutionary forces, like natural selection, can act. However, mutations are not always able to change the apparent behaviour of an organism, instead, they are capable of providing normal and abnormal biological functions. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has triggered a new and controversial biological scenario. Despite the hundreds of studies performed, to date, there is no specific treatment available. Several genomic and non-genomic mutations have been also reported, and due to its high genome size and mutation capacity, it can acclimatize to variable environments and has become the leading cause of high infection and mortality rates. This review outlines the possible pathways behind SARS-CoV-2 mutations.

Raising Awareness in the Adoption of COVID-19 Preventive Measures in Higher Education Students through an Epidemiological Surveillance Mobile App

COVID-19 disease has started several levels of alert and biosafety protocols to mitigate the risk of contagion everywhere, therefore causing universities to adopt the virtual environments in their teachings, but nowadays it became a necessity to return to classrooms in a short term basis;however, how prepared are we for this “new normal”? In this research, a validated questionnaire was used to measure the knowledge of COVID-19 and preventive measures adopted by university students, before and after the use of an epidemiological surveillance mobile app, developed as a tool to raise awareness in students. The research was quantitative, quasi-experimental, it was applied in a sample of 82 students, the analysis was global and gender inferential using the non-parametric T test for paired samples. The results indicated that the epidemiological surveillance mobile app made possible to raise awareness in the students in the adoption of preventive measures, proposing awareness strategies that allow establishing alerts and timely controls. © 2020 Copyright for this paper by its authors.

Model Maturity to Determine Student Profile During COVID-19 Pandemic at Public University

COVID-19 has accelerated the virtualization of processes in universities, academically, the role played by students. A maturity model was developed to determine the student profile based on digital culture, organizational culture and the psychological aspect, the latter being the most affected during confinement. These aspects were integrated to create a model in which students were classified into five profiles: silent, cooperative, creative, star, and superstar. This will allow us to know what type of student we have and what strategies to implement to achieve that they reach the profile of superstar student and can face the virtual teaching - learning process with success. To validate our model, it was applied to a public university where the level of maturity of the students was evidenced and strategies were established that would allow us to lead students with a superstar profile. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

A Prospective Model of a Digital Epidemiological Surveillance 4.0 Based on the Peruvian Public Health System

The health-disease situation of the population and health care delivery services are continuously monitored by epidemiological surveillance systems and health information systems, but since the first cases of COVID-19 appeared in December 2019 and spread globally, each country tried to control the virus by activating their own health protocols, but they became insufficient to face the pandemic and every control attempts seem impossible to all humanity, even more without the support of information technologies, which provides a rapid response for decision-making. Being that the reason why surveillance systems should help mitigate the spread of diseases and, at the same time, plan resources to protect the health status of citizens. Therefore, the aim of this article is to propose a model of a digital epidemiological surveillance 4.0, considering the current technological revolution and the constant evolution of the Internet. This model is divided into 4 phases: situational analysis, planning, execution and evaluation, and supported on 4 key components: logistic support, digital privacy and data protection, communication and technology, and disruptive innovation. A quantitative type of research was applied in a sample of 58 participants, all working as health staff in Chiclayo-Peru, to whom a data collection instrument, based on digital forms and interviews with medical epidemiologists, was applied, that information, which mainly considers the perception and perspectives of the epidemiological surveillance system, served as the basis for the proposed model. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.