Extending Learning and Collaboration in Quantum Information with Internet Support: A Future Perspective on Research Education beyond Boundaries, Limitations, and Frontiers

Quantum information is an emerging scientific and technological discipline attracting a growing number of professionals from various related fields. Although it can potentially serve as a valuable source of skilled labor, the Internet provides a way to disseminate information about education, opportunities, and collaboration. In this work, we analyzed, through a blended approach, the sustained effort over 12 years to involve science and engineering students in research education and collaboration, emphasizing the role played by the Internet. Three main spaces have been promoted, workshops, research stays, and a minor, all successfully developed through distance education in 2021-2022, involving students from various locations in Mexico and the United States. The success of these efforts was measured by research-oriented indicators, the number of participants, and their surveyed opinions. The decisive inclusion of the Internet to facilitate the blended approach has accelerated the boost in human resources and research production. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet played a crucial role in the digital transformation of this research education initiative, leading to effective educative and collaborative experiences in the "New Normal".

Assessment of University Teachers on the Quality of Virtual Teaching

This study was carried out to evaluate the perception that the teaching staff of a private university in southern Peru had about the quality of virtual teaching conditioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted in 2022 with 341 participants, for a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 5%, measuring dimensions such as: academic aspect, materials and connectivity, participation and evaluation, and research and university social responsibility. The results showed that figures greater than the minimum proposed were reached, the best valued dimension was that of materials and connectivity and the least valued was research and university social responsibility. This change in teaching modality has represented an opportunity to improve the quality of university teaching, leaving interaction with other people-typical of attendance-in areas such as health sciences as a pending task. © 2022 IEEE.

Post-COVID-19 Transition in University Physics Courses: A Case of Study in a Mexican University

The extended confinement imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns resulted in the imposition of online education for two years. Many students experienced their transitions to higher educative levels during this time, surely losing some academic learning as a consequence. On the other hand, this context could have promoted different types of competencies, until recently not explored, as a function of students’ personalities or academic profiles. Physics teaching is among those areas which have changed from its traditional methods during this period. The return to school during the ‘New Normal’ has resulted in certain concerns about students’ adaptability due to their possible lack of learning over this time. We analyse, in the current research, the transitions of three generations crossing several pandemic stages during their time participating in university physics courses during the first year, a common entry point for engineering programs. In addition, we analyse several academic traits as causal factors of academic success in order to understand how performance could be affected during online education and during the ‘New Normal’. The results highlight a general high level of adaptation for the most of the students, but still, some of them were affected in terms of the functioning of their learning styles or regarding their personality profiles. Notably, no meaningful losses were detected among the last transition;instead, several interesting aspects were found relating to academic profile appearing to have an effect on the students’ performance during the first transition to online education, and then during the second transition back to face-to-face education in the ‘New Normal’. © 2022 by the author.

Arab Universities: Problems, COVID-19 and Efforts

It is necessary to know the state of the Arab universities. In this paper the general objective was to determine the situation of Arab universities: Problems, COVID-19 & efforts. Methodology, in this research, 36 documents have been selected, carried out in the period 2016 -2021;including: scientific articles, review articles and information from websites of recognized organizations. The keywords used in the searches were: Arab universities and COVID-19. Results. Arab universities have faced many problems during the pandemic, but they have struggled to overcome them and offer a virtual education to their students. Conclusions. Covid-19 forced the closure of Arab universities, affecting the education of students, who have problems accessing to the internet. Arab universities that used traditional education are gradually migrating to virtual education. King Abdulaziz University of Saudi Arabia ranks first in the Arab Universities Ranking 2021.

Analysis for crime prevention using ICT. A review of the scientific literature from 2015 - 2021

Crime is a social problem that after the confinement of COVID-19 has increased significantly worldwide, which is why it is important to know what technological tools can be used to prevent criminal acts. In the present work, a systemic analysis was carried out to determine the importance of how to prevent crime using new information technologies. Fifty research articles were selected between 2015 and 2021. The information was obtained from different databases such as IEEE Xplore, Redalyc, Scopus, SciELO and Medline. Keywords were used to delimit the search and be more precise in our inquiry on the web. The results obtained show specific information on how to prevent crime using new information technologies. We conclude that new information technologies help to prevent crime since several developed countries have implemented their security system effectively, while underdeveloped countries do not have adequate technologies to prevent crime. © 2021 IEEE.

Teaching practices for enhancing self-regulated learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Measuring scales and predictive model

The main objectives of this research study were to examine the factorial structure of teaching-variable scales to enhance self-regulated learning in students and to estimate a predictive model for teaching practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The methodology applied contained a psychometric and a predictive design for each phase of the study. A total of 765 professors from six Chilean universities were surveyed. The results showed four scales (beliefs, self-efficacy, knowledge, and teaching practices) with adequate psychometric properties. The variables “self-regulated learning knowledge” and “self-efficacy for promoting self-regulated learning” had indirect effects on the variable “teaching practices for promoting self-regulated learning”, which was a partial mediation type. The estimated mediation model accurately predicted 33.7% of the teaching practices used for boosting self-regulated learning. In conclusion, the present study developed valid and reliable scales along with a predictive model with adequate adjustment that served to improve the understanding of self-regulated learning enhanced by university professors. © 2022

Lessons Learned in the Implementation of a Training Knowledge Management System for the SERVIR Network

The SERVIR program is a unique partnership between NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), focusing on building capacity to use Earth observations for addressing development challenges. In that context, between 2004 and 2020, the program delivered approximately 365 trainings to almost 10,000 professionals. More recently, between November 2020 and August 2021, the SERVIR network executed some 55 training events addressing SERVIR’s 4 priority thematic areas, and roughly a quarter of SERVIR trainings overall have focused on themes related to Ecological Forecasting. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, almost four-fifths of recent training events have been virtual, with the remainder being in-person under limited circumstances. The large number of training events delivered represents both an opportunity and a challenge in terms of knowledge management. While the training materials developed can later be reused in other parts of the SERVIR network, prior to recently, the lack of a central repository for those materials has prevented wider dissemination and use. The recently developed Training Knowledge Management System (TKMS) is now becoming an integral part of the SERVIR Capacity Building Framework, supporting the exchange of resources and methods for conducting training activities across the network. This presentation focuses on the structure of this system, as well as on the anticipated benefits for the User Communities for Earth Observations of Terrestrial Systems.

Cancer control in Latin America and the Caribbean: recent advances and opportunities to move forward

The increasing burden of cancer represents a substantial problem for Latin America and the Caribbean. Two Lancet Oncology Commissions in 2013 and 2015 highlighted potential interventions that could advance cancer care in the region by overcoming existing challenges. Areas requiring improvement included insufficient investment in cancer control, non-universal health coverage, fragmented health systems, inequitable concentration of cancer services, inadequate registries, delays in diagnosis or treatment initiation, and insufficient palliative services. Progress has been made in key areas but remains uneven across the region. An unforeseen challenge, the COVID-19 pandemic, strained all resources, and its negative effect on cancer control is expected to continue for years. In this Series paper, we summarise progress in several aspects of cancer control since 2015, and identify persistent barriers requiring commitment of additional resources to reduce the cancer burden in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Association Between Self-Regulation of Learning, Forced Labor Insertion, Technological Barriers, and Dropout Intention in Chile

Early dropout and retention of students are critical problems in both secondary and higher education. Existing models that predict the intention to drop out require the incorporation of complex variables strongly related to student success, such as self-regulated learning. Moreover, new possible predictors have emerged in the context of a pandemic. This study set out to validate scales that measure the phases of self-regulation of learning in Chilean secondary school students and determine the association between self-regulation, forced labor insertion, technological barrier, and intention to quit during COVID-19. An instrumental design was carried out, where 251 students participated, and a cross-sectional predictive design with a sample of 171. Results showed adequate psychometric properties in assessment scales for self-regulation. Furthermore, the logistic regression model carried out to predict the dropout intention was significant. The final model showed that external causal attributions, planning self-evaluation, forced labor insertion, and technological barriers were significant predictors, achieving a success rate of 84.8%. In conclusion, although many factors are considered in dropout intention models, this study incorporated self-regulation skills that can be promoted in students and systematically integrated into school programs to help reduce dropout rates in secondary education, therefore contributing to a successful transition to higher education. Copyright © 2021 Sáez-Delgado, Mella-Norambuena, López-Angulo, Olea-González, García-Vásquez and Porter.

SATISFACTION AND DISSATISFACTION IN TEACHERS WITH MANAGEMENT POSITIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY IN TIMES OF COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization as a public health emergency of international impact on January 30, 2020. Such health contingency caused significant changes in all areas of society, and higher education has been no exception. The urgent migration from face-to-face education to the online modality challenged the work of many, including teachers with management positions in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The objective of the study is to explore the main factors of satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the teach- ers with management positions who face the great challenge of managing the HEIs remotely, in times of COVID-19. A qualitative investigation was carried out with the critical incident technique that yielded a total of 643 critical incidents. The results show that satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the teachers with management positions, resulting in eight categories: budget management, physical conditions, work facilities and equipment, time and workload, relationship with colleagues, supervision, student administration, teacher administration, and general management.

Design, Validity and Effect of an Intra-Curricular Program for Facilitating Self-Regulation of Learning Competences in University Students with the Support of the 4Planning App

Background: Smartphone applications have the potential to support university students for the benefit of learning in higher education. Objective: To design and evaluate the effect of an intra-curricular program using a mobile application on self-regulated learning strategies in university students. Method: The 4Planning mobile application was designed following a systematic literature review, expert judgement and application. The instrument to assess the effect of the intervention was the SRL Readiness Practices Scale, with a one-factor structure (CFI = 0.98;TLI = 0.97;RMSEA = 0.05) with reliability of alpha = 0.89. The design was quasi-experimental with pre- and post-test measures and experimental and control groups. The sample consisted of 473 first-year university students (37.02% male) from seven Chilean universities with a mean age of 19.35 (SD = 2.49). Statistical analysis was an ANOVA performed in R software version 4.0.3. Results: Statistically significant differences were identified in the levels of self-regulated learning between the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion: The development of the 4Planning app proved to be effective in promoting the development of self-regulated learning strategies in university students.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19/incomplete Kawasaki disease

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, we continue to understand the clinical manifestations of this infection. It was initially assumed that the effects of this infection in the pediatric population were minimal. However, an increasing number of case reports of MIS-C associated with COVID-19/incomplete KD have emerged from various countries in Europe and Asia, and most recently from the United States. The case presented here appears to be the first case reported in Indiana in an older individual (20 years) with rapid improvement after immunomodulating therapy (IVIG). The age of this patient is a reminder for all clinicians caring for COVID-19 patients to be aware of this emergent condition in young adults so as to allow early potentially life-saving therapy.

Acute upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in a coronavirus disease of 2019 positive pediatric patient with sickle cell disease

Background: SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19), most commonly presents as a febrile respiratory illness. Atypical symptoms are being increasingly recognized including myalgias, anosmia, vomiting, and diarrhea. Pediatric COVID-19 infections are usually mild, self-limiting, and rarely require hospitalization. We describe a case of severe upper gastrointestinal bleeding as the only initial symptom of COVID-19 infection in a child with sickle cell disease (SCD). Case: A 12-year-old male with SCD, HbSS subtype, with a history of splenectomy presented to our Emergency Department (ED) with acute onset progressively worsening hematemesis for the past 24 hours. He denied fever, cough, melena, peptic ulcer disease, family history of excessive bleeding, or regular nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use. Upon arrival, the patient had tachycardia, hypotension (HR 150, BP 86/40), and cool extremities with delayed capillary refill. His temperature was 100.0F with an oxygen saturation of 100% on room air. His initial laboratory results were significant for hemoglobin of 4.1 g/dL, (baseline 7-8 g/dL), reticulocytes 13.7%, venous blood gas pH of 7.17, lactate of 7.3, white blood cell count of 21.7 K/uL, and prothrombin time (PT) of 19.9 seconds / INR of 1.7. His hepatic and renal function tests were within normal limits. In the ED, the patient received a normal saline bolus, two units of packed red blood cells, pantoprazole, famotidine, ondansetron, tranexamic acid, and ceftriaxone. His chest X-ray was unremarkable. A nasopharyngeal COVID-19 swab was sent. Pediatric gastroenterology and hematology were consulted, and he was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. The following day he underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy which showed diffuse hemorrhagic gastropathy with superficial mucosal bleeding and without frank ulcers (Figure 1). An abdominal ultrasound revealed a normal gallbladder, no portal hypertension, and known absent spleen. His nasopharyngeal swab was positive for COVID-19. Helicobacter pylori testing was sent and reported negative. He received Vitamin K and two units of fresh frozen plasma for his coagulopathy resulting in normalization in his PT/INR. He did not have any further hematemesis but developed melena which improved, and he was discharged with a hemoglobin of 9.3 g/dL. Discussion: To date, we have not seen reports of either upper gastrointestinal bleeding as the only initial presenting symptom of COVID-19 or endoscopic visualization of gastric lumen during acute infection. The petechial hemorrhaging located at the body of the greater curvature and fundus of the stomach is an unusual site and indicated the underlying coagulopathy as the cause for bleeding. Our patient's mild coagulopathy is consistent with other reports of critically ill COVID-19 patients. This case highlights the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion for COVID-19 infection in an immunocompromised pediatric patient with severe bleeding or new coagulopathy within our current medical climate.

Psychosocial Characterization and Mental Health in Families of Chilean Students during Physical Isolation by Covid-19

The research objectives were to examine psychosocial and academic variables in families of primary and secondary schoolchildren in southern Chile in physical isolation and to analyze the mental health of parents. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Two stages were considered. In the first stage, an ad-hoc survey was applied to 8,102 families. In the second stage, the DASS-21 instrument was applied to a sample of 59. The results of the first stage showed that 40% of the participant families had a member without paid work, an income of less than $ 440, and the majority did not have computer at home. The schoolchildren have felt anxiety, night fears, bad mood or aggressiveness, several of them have not completed schoolwork and reported motivational difficulties. Most of surveyed students have not dedicated enough time to schoolwork and their main activity has been to watch TV series. The second stage showed that the 57.6% of parents presented severe anxiety, 50.8% stress and 83% depression. It is concluded that families lack the resources for the effective development of online education. Specialized actions are required to "mitigate" the impact of physical isolation by Covid-19 on socio-academic and mental health variables in schoolchildren and their families.

Encephalopathy and encephalitis during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Spanish Society of Neurology COVID-19 Registry. / Encefalopatías y encefalitis durante la infección aguda por SARS-CoV2. Registro de la Sociedad Española de Neurología SEN COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spanish Society of Neurology has run a registry of patients with neurological involvement for the purpose of informing clinical neurologists. Encephalopathy and encephalitis were among the most frequently reported complications. In this study, we analyse the characteristics of these complications. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, descriptive, observational, multicentre study of patients with symptoms compatible with encephalitis or encephalopathy, entered in the Spanish Society of Neurology's COVID-19 Registry from 17 March to 6 June 2020. RESULTS: A total of 232 patients with neurological symptoms were registered, including 51 cases of encephalopathy or encephalitis (21.9%). None of these patients were healthcare professionals. The most frequent syndromes were mild or moderate confusion (33%) and severe encephalopathy or coma (9.8%). The mean time between onset of infection and onset of neurological symptoms was 8.02 days. Lumbar puncture was performed in 60.8% of patients, with positive PCR results for SARS-CoV-2 in only one case. Brain MRI studies were performed in 47% of patients, with alterations detected in 7.8% of these. EEG studies were performed in 41.3% of cases, detecting alterations in 61.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Encephalopathy and encephalitis are among the complications most frequently reported in the registry. More than one-third of patients presented mild or moderate confusional syndrome. The mean time from onset of infection to onset of neurological symptoms was 8 days (up to 24hours earlier in women than in men). EEG was the most sensitive test in these patients, with very few cases presenting alterations in neuroimaging studies. All patients treated with boluses of corticosteroids or immunoglobulins progressed favourably.

249 The Impact of an Electronic Medical Record Alert on Recognition and Referral of High-Risk Elders in the Emergency Department Setting

Study Objectives: Older patients frequently utilize Emergency Departments (ED). Multiple comorbidities, polypharmacy, impaired mobility (falls), changes in mentation (delirium, dementia) and poor social support often contribute to ED visits. Traditional assessment tools, such as ISAR, to identify high-risk geriatric patients can be difficult to implement in a high volume, high acuity ED setting. We examined the impact of an electronic medical record (EMR) best-practice alert (BPA), on recognition and referral of high-risk older patients in the Emergency Department (ED) who could potentially benefit from geriatric evaluation. Methods: Retrospective case control study in a busy academic ED with 67,000 total annual visits, and 24% geriatric (age ≥ 65 y) visits, from October 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020. In the initial program (10/1/19-3/30/20), ED providers were educated about high-risk geriatric conditions and an EMR BPA alerted ED providers to a positive (+) triage delirium screen. Starting 3/31/20, an enhanced BPA used EMR-automated recognition that also included age ≥80y, fall complaint, documented dementia history, polypharmacy (≥ 10 medications recorded), or high ED utilization (>5 visits in 1 year) in addition to the (+) delirium screen. A modified Delphi method was used to select these additional high-risk geriatric characteristics. Frequency of BPA notification and ED or ED-observation unit geriatric consultation (summed as comprehensive geriatric assessment, CGA) are reported for initial and enhanced BPA cohorts. Data was abstracted from the electronic medical record. The difference between initial and enhanced BPA encounters is reported. Analysis used SAS studio (v9.4, Cary, NC). 95% CI and p-values are reported. Results: 7,718 geriatric patients were seen during the initial program;1,836 were seen during the enhanced BPA program. Mean age in the initial cohort was 74.9 years (95% CI, 74.7, 75.0) and 75.6 years (95% CI, 75.1, 76.0) in the enhanced BPA cohort (p=0.002). % Female was 53.0% and 52.9%, respectively (p= 0.95). Unenhanced BPA alerts in the initial program averaged 53/month (range 45-67). BPA alerts in the enhanced program averaged 699/month. In the initial cohort, 318 (4.1%) BPA alerts led to 30 CGA. 303 (4.1%) patients for whom the initial BPA did not fire were also referred for CGA. Overall, during the initial period, 333 (4.3%) patients had CGA. The enhanced BPA resulted in 1398 (76.1%) alerts and 82 (5.9%) CGA. 14 (3.2%) BPA-negative patients were also referred for CGA. Overall, during the enhanced-BPA, 96 (5.2%) patients had a CGA. After the BPA enhancement, the proportion of geriatric evaluations increased a relative 21% (4.3% to 5.2%, p=0.09). Overall CGA referrals averaged 56/month during initial BPA and 48/month in the enhanced period. Of note, due to COVID-19 impact, overall ED volume declined 29% and geriatric ED visits declined 30% during the enhanced BPA period. Conclusion: This single-site study demonstrates that the EMR can be used to identify high-risk elders. An enhanced automated EMR BPA increased both ED provider alerts and, more importantly, geriatric evaluations in high-risk older ED patients. An EMR-based automated alert can be a useful adjunct to increase referrals and geriatric evaluations in the ED setting for this at-risk population.

Association between teachers’ resilience and emotional intelligence during the COVID-19 outbreak

Introduction/Objective: The resilience and emotional intelligence of teachers are crucial in order to face the daily educational challenges. To determine the association between teacher’s emotional intelligence and resilience during Emergency Remote Learning. Method: A quantitative approach and a cross-sectional predictive non-experimental design were used. Participants were 1329 teachers from Chilean schools. The WLEIS Emotional Intelligence Scale and the RS-14 resilience scale were used. Spearman correlation analyses and Yuen’s test were used for the comparative analysis by sex, and in the case of comparison by specialty the one-way ANOVA test was used;multiple regressions were performed. Results: High levels of resilience and between medium to high emotional intelligence;significant, positive and high relationship between emotional intelligence and resilience. Both in the emotional regulation variable and in the emotional intelligence variable significant differences were found regarding sex and specialty. The results of the predictive model with all emotional intelligence variables as predictors explained 43.5% of the observed variability of resilience. Conclusion: During the pandemic, teachers’ emotional intelligence and resilience are essential for facing the educational adversities and challenges that arise as a consequence of a context susceptible to constant and deregulatory change. © 2022 Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz.