Methodology to carry out medical meeting online, based on low-cost solutions

One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is the adaptation of most of the activities remotely or virtually, in the case of medical appointments, in the different specialties other than emergencies produced by COVID-19. Most of them continued in the format through online appointments. One of the important processes in medical evaluations is related to the so-called specialist boards, where special cases are evaluated, for which several physicians must be connected online, in addition to being able to make reports jointly. In this paper we develop a methodology to perform medical meetings of specialists, using a platform dedicated to the use in video games, through the DISCORD tool interconnectivity from various devices is performed, the results demonstrate the interactivity and applicability of the methodology, so it can be applied in different processes where interconnectivity between different devices and the concurrence of several users is required. We present a methodology to configure virtual appointment rooms, the results allow us to verify that the methodology can be replicated and scaled according to the needs. © 2022 ACM.

Methodology for Monitoring Vital Signs in Virtual Classes Using Low-cost Sensors in Online Classes

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to certain patterns in the different actions people take. One of the areas in which this pandemic has impacted most strongly is related to educational activities and children were the most affected. They went from studying in their schools where they have all the conditions, to a physical space at home. This strong change in the environment added to the high levels of contagion, have caused students to present certain manifestations such as the level of stress which can be manifested by many factors such as the main vital signs such as oxygen saturation and heart rate. In this paper we present a methodology to perform these measurements in order to evaluate these measurements when students are attending classes from home. © 2022 ACM.

Comparative study between delivery modalities in higher education during emergency remote teaching due to COVID-19

Despite the difficulties faced during Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also true that such a situation has left a series of learnings that educational institutions around the world should capitalize on. Under this scenario, interest arose in studying three delivery modalities (face-to-face, hybrid, and remote) at the university level, aiming to compare the students' learning level and their perceptions of each delivery modality. The present study was developed in a private university in Mexico, following a quantitative methodological approach involving 360 students and 14 professors from various schools and geographical locations. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests and a perception questionnaire for students. Findings suggest that the students' learning level in every modality varies by school and that students positively perceive the three delivery modalities, albeit identifying factors that foster and hinder their learning process in each one. The results of this study contribute to strengthening the research field on teaching during ERT, allowing educational institutions to make better decisions regarding the quality of the educational offer.

Methodology for Monitoring the Energy Consumption of Computer Services in Health Centers Based on IoT Technology Applied to Decision Making

Health centers, in recent times, are being considered as important resources to take care of people's health, with greater importance with the arrival of the pandemic produced by COVID-19, where one of the main concerns was to be able to increase their medical equipment. These actions are very helpful, but in some cases, the requirement on the consumption of electrical energy is ignored, which can cause a decrease in voltage levels, which would cause a malfunction of the medical equipment and current surges, which would lead to much of the equipment connected to the electrical network being affected. The proposed methodology is based on being able to monitor and evaluate the consumption of electrical energy, organized under an IoT network configuration, to measure by areas and by critical services that may be affected, and to measure the current and voltage at each critical point. To test the methodology, current and voltage sensors will be used. As an IoT interface, the 16-bit PIC-IoT, a module, was made in LabVIEW to monitor and evaluate the measurements. Copyright © 2022, IGI Global.

Earnings management during the COVID-19 crisis: evidence from the Brazilian and American capital markets

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated earnings management among publicly traded companies in Brazil and the USA.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyzed the above-mentioned effects based on 22,244 observations of Brazilian companies and 139,856 observations of American companies from 1998 to 2020. The proxy used to detect earnings management based on discretionary accruals (DAC) was obtained by using the Modified Jones Model (MJM) (Dechow et al., 1995), with adjustments suggested by Kothari et al. (2005). In accordance with previous studies (e.g. Brown et al., 2015;Enomoto et al., 2015;Galdi et al., 2020;Huang and Sun, 2017;Roychowdhury, 2006), the authors also employed a second proxy to detect earnings management through real activities associated with unusual losses for fixed assets (property, plant and equipment (PPE)).FindingsThe study's findings indicate that the discretionary accruals of Brazilian companies varied in a more accentuated manner during the COVID-19 pandemic, making it possible to deduce that a recent history of economic depression may entail greater incentives for earnings management in an emerging economy. In addition, the authors verified that the effects of the current crisis on earnings management proxies denote a signal that is distinct from previous economic crises, which may be interpreted as an attempt to postpone the effects of the pandemic on financial statements, especially those of the Brazilian capital markets.Originality/valueUnlike previous crises, this pandemic has led to direct restrictions on a wide variety of economic segments rather than indirect contagion due to anomalies in the financial markets, making it a phenomenon with the characteristics of a quasi-natural experiment for studies related to the quality of accounting information. Considering that both Brazil and the USA provide an opportune economic contrast, given their discrepancies in terms of economic growth over the past two decades, the researchers believe that there is an unusual opportunity to understand how earnings management can be an incentive for managers in environments where crises arose from natural causes.

Distance education with university students quarantined by COVID-19

During the confinement period resulting from the COVID-19 virus, distance, isolation, and uncertainty were inevitable among the general population. Young university students had to face emotions such as guilt, for not attending online classes;distrust, related to the quality of classes;fear, as a result of thinking that they were not learning and could fail their subjects;as well as death, in the face of the loss and illness of family members and friends. These are the results obtained in an exploratory quantitative study on the actions and decisions of individuals in emotional contexts carried out in 5 academic programs and based on 455 student surveys, which were administered during the last week of school activities at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez in Nuevo Casas Grandes. Consequently, we affirm that the extreme situations experienced within the university community reach the resilience process as long as the problems are recognised and the difficulties faced. This should help to ensure the implementation of better-articulated learning strategies among teachers, academic authorities, and students to further friendlier educational processes with less tension between subjects that are more beneficial for everyone.

Expanding current decentralized research model concepts for targeted community health interventions

Background: Inclusion of historically underrepresented populations in research has been a problem existing for many years. The recent Covid pandemic has exposed the significant cost of gaps in access to care. There remains a need to reevaluate current research paradigm frameworks to consider tailored approaches that accommodate any location that would ease participant burden and maintain retention. Current decentralized research models include home and mobile options. However, barriers exist, and certain demographics remain elusive to recruitment into research studies. Aim(s): In this paper, we aim to identify a theoretical framework that will allow for more inclusivity in research. Methodology: Current utilized community-based decentralized research models are compared, barriers in recruitment and retention of interested participants are examined, and a framework individualized to study participants is offered. Result(s): The proposed framework expands upon the complex adaptive systems theory to incorporate community-based research which considers dividing studies into individual study visit components that may differ in location. It allows for ease of research participant access to care and mutual collaboration among providers and institutions. This new theoretical model expansion outlines a novel approach to communitybased participatory research for increased representation and inclusion. Conclusion(s): Investigators should carefully consider creative and effective solutions to overcome barriers to research participation access, increase diversity and representation, and provide tailored public health interventions. Minimally risk study intervention visits may occur in multiple community-driven locations such as: community resource centers, local physician offices, mobile research units, remote electronic visits, home settings, and a combination of the above (hybrid model). Breaking studies into individual study visit components expands the reach of science into the communities that have long been difficult to reach.

Strategies to reduce academic stress in postgraduate students in the distance education modality in times of COVID-19

The current context of a pandemic associated with a new remote educational modality has generated various effects on the world population. University students, and specifically postgraduate students, face various challenges to adapt to this new reality, which could generate certain levels of academic stress. This research of mixed nature sought, first, to determine the main frequencies of the dimensions of academic stress in 67 students of the master's degree in Education of a private university of Lima for which the Inventory of Academic Stress SISCO SV adapted to this context was applied. Secondly, it aimed to propose and evaluate strategies aimed at improving the psychological well-being of these students based on a focus group made to the students. In the initial findings, certain stressors perceived by the students were identified, such as the overload of tasks and works, the manner of evaluation of the teachers, and the perception about the limited time to do the works. In addition, among the most recurrent symptoms, are chronic fatigue, drowsiness or increased need for sleep, restlessness, and anxiety. From the application of strategies of an emotional and academic nature, there was an improvement in the perception declared by the students, which favored their psychological well-being. © 2022 IEEE.

A Dynamic Model for Analyzing the Public Health Policy of the Mexican Government During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been one of the most significant health problems in the world. Several academic studies focus on health consequences. However, only a few studies have paid attention to analyzing government strategies as general public guidelines. In this work, we use a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Deceased (SIRD) model to assess infection rate, mortality rate, and the effects of the Mexican government intervention during the three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. We carry out Bayesian inferences on the proposed model using a Robust Adaptive Metropolis (RAM) algorithm. Essentially, the proposed methodology allows appreciating the effects of quarantine on the three pandemic wave's mortality rate. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Optimization model to increase the efficiency of the flexible packaging production process applying the Johnson Method, SMED and TPM in a SME in the Plastics Sector

In the current context, the plastic industry has had a recession phase caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, according to the Manufacturing Production Report of the year 2020 reveals a recovery of 4.7% in the manufacture of plastics compared to the previous year. Faced with this, new challenges have emerged such as the increase in demand and the demand for high quality products;these are added to the old challenges of the sector such as unproductive times and non-compliance with delivery deadlines. This research is carried out in a small Peruvian company in which the low efficiency of its production process was identified as a central problem. In this sense, we propose the implementation of an optimization model based on the Johnson method, SMED and 2 pillars ofthe TPM methodology, resulting in an increase of24.39% inthe productive efficiency of the company, product of reduced setup times and increased mean time between failures. © 2022 Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions. All rights reserved.

Construction of an RTD as Didactic Support for Non-Face-To-Face Lessons Due to COVID-19

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been momentous changes in working in all sectors of the economy, including the education sector. The educational institutions where face-to-face lessons are taught overnight were forced to continue with distance classes (virtual and online). It is a reality that most schools and their communities were not prepared to deal with this atypical situation. Therefore, the objective was the development of a digital teaching resource (DTR) as pedagogical support, in online classes, of the Business Finance learning unit that is taught at the Escuela Superior de Cómputo (ESCOM) of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN). Documentary analysis was carried out based on applied research, and the DTR was later built. This construction obeys the criteria considered for the elaboration of digital didactic resources proposed by the authors consulted, particularly in those required and evaluated by the Polytechnic Unit for Virtual Education (UPEV) of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), which focuses specifically on pedagogical, editorial, graphic and technical aspects. © 2022, North American Business Press. All rights reserved.

Use of neural networks for triage of SARS-CoV-2

Emergency services worldwide have been exceeded in their capacities due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, a generalized situation in countries with robust health systems and aggravated in lagging countries. As a result, focused computer solutions have been developed for self-diagnosis, triage, and follow-up of suspected and confirmed patients of SARS-CoV-2. But as it is a new disease, the symptoms evolve in a short time and the diagnostic protocols must be updated. The applications that integrate algorithms in their code to help sanitary processes need to be modified, recompiled, and published integrating these changes. This article presents a solution through the implementation of a neural network that only requires updating an external file without the need to modify whole applications. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.

Academic Performance before and during the State of Emergency due to Covid-19: Analysis from the Perspective of Distance Education

Faced with Covid-19, and the need to adapt to environments that guarantee continuity of educational service in the context of social distancing, many universities did not initially plan the mechanisms for adapting to the virtual modality adequately. Therefore, this period of transition to e-learning was characterised by a decrease in academic performance . This article reports on a study that focused on determining whether the transition from a classroom to a virtual teaching–learning model had an effect or influence on the academic performance of university students in mechanical and electrical engineering at a public university in Peru during the period 2018 to 2021. The purpose of the study was to ensure the quality of the education system in the face of the implementation of a hybrid mode of teaching. Methodologically, a descriptive type of investigation and longitudinal non-experimental design were undertaken. The research methodology followed a hypothetical-deductive approach. The number of participants was 157 and a registration form was used to collect data on the indicators that made up the academic performance variable. The results reveal that the switch to a virtual teaching–learning modality significantly influenced the academic performance of the students. Student’s t-test found a significance equal to 0.000. Passing grades were achieved by 98.57% of students under the virtual teaching–learning modality, compared to 68.4% under classroom learning. ©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Epidemiology, Management and Risk of Sars-Cov2 Transmission in a Cohort of Newborns Born to Mothers Diagnosed with Covid19 Infection

INTRODUCTION: the impact of maternal SARS-CoV2 infection and its risk of vertical transmission is still not well known. Recommendations from scientific societies seek to provide safety for newborns without compromising the benefits of early contact. The aim of the study is to describe characteristics and evolution of newborns born to mothers with SARS-CoV2 infection, as well as the implemented measures following recommendations from the Sociedad Espanola de Neonatologia. METHODS: observational, prospective and single-center cohort study. A specific circuit was designed for mothers with SARS-CoV2 infection and their newborns. Epidemiological and clinical data were collected. PCR were performed in newborns at delivery and at 14 days of age. RESULTS: 73 mothers and 75 newborns were included in the study. 95.9% of maternal infections were diagnosed during the third trimester of pregnancy, 43.8% were asymptomatic. Median gestational age was 38 weeks (IQR:37-40), 25.9% of newborns required admission to Neonatology. Skin-to-skin mother care was performed in 68% of newborns, 80% received exclusive maternal or donated breast milk during hospital stay. No positive PCR results were observed in newborns at delivery, one case of positive PCR was observed in an asymptomatic neonate at 14 days of age. CONCLUSIONS: Risk of SARS-CoV2 transmission is low when complying to the recommendations issued by Sociedad Espanola de Neonatologia, allowing rooming-in and promoting breastfeeding.

Effects of Home-Based Respiratory Physiotherapy and Telephone- Based Psychological Support on Pulmonary and Mental Health Outcomes in Peru: A Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: We sought to determine whether a 6-week integrated rehabilitation program improved pulmonary function, physical and mental health outcomes in patients discharged alive after surviving a severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods: Parallel, open-label, feasibility randomized controlled trial in participants aged 18-75 years who were discharged for severe COVID-19 pneumonia. The intervention consisted of 12 in-person home respiratory rehabilitation sessions and 6 telephonebased, emotion-centered problem-solving therapy psychological sessions. We measured the 6- minute walk test (6MWT), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Impact of Event Scale- Revised (IES-R) and Short Form 36 health survey (SF-36). Following the recommendation by Cocks and Torgerson, we used a one-sided 80% confidence interval to determine if this feasibility trial should proceed to a phase III trial. Results: We randomized 103 participants (mean age, 48 years;71% men). There were no differences at baseline assessments of outcomes between the two groups. Intervention participants walked 15 and 45 meters more during a 6MWT at 7 and 12 weeks, respectively, than controls after accounting for baseline distance. In both instances, the onesided 80% lower bound was above 0. Intervention participants also had a greater improvement of lung function for week 7 (mean difference FEV1, 0.05 L;95% CI, -0.14 to 0.24;mean difference FVC, 0.10 L;95% CI, -0.12 to 0.31) and at week 12 (mean difference FEV1, 0.10 L;95% CI, -0.18 to 0.37;mean difference FVC, 0.15 L;95% CI, -0.17 to 0.47). Likewise, the prevalence of depression (percentage difference PHQ-9, 24.3%;95% CI, -4.3 to 44.3), anxiety (percentage difference GAD-7, 20.7%;95% CI, 0.8 to 40.6) and post-traumatic stress (percentage difference IES-R, 14.0%;95% CI, -5.7 to 33.7) were lower in the intervention group at week 2 after hospital discharge. At week 7, the intervention group had a greater improvement of physical (mean difference, 10.8;95% CI, -1.8 to 23.4) and social (mean difference, 6.43;95% CI, -0.65 to 13.5) function on the SF-36. Conclusion: We demonstrated that an integrated rehabilitation program administered over a 6-week after discharge in Lima, Peru was both feasible and acceptable, and had positive benefits on physical and pulmonary function and on mental health during the 12 weeks of follow-up. Measured improvements in the primary outcome of 6MWT distance recommend that we consider a phase III trial to test the efficacy of our integrated rehabilitation intervention in a larger sample.

Virtual education during COVID-19 in higher education: A systematic review

The objective of the present systematic review aimed to analyze studies linked to online teaching-learning, digital competence tutoring, and technological tools in virtual education during COVID-19 in higher education. The suggested methodology by the PRISMA declaration was pursued;the information search was conducted in Scopus, EBSCO, Springer Open, ProQuest, and One File. The target period ranged from May 10, 2021, to July 4, 2021;the identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion for its progress were performed. The search produced a total of 230 studies, with 45 remaining. The inclusion criteria included original peer-reviewed research articles and qualitative and quantitative studies in higher education, comprising teachers and students addressing the study objective. In contrast, the exclusion criteria covered bibliographic reviews with procedural deficiencies, studies not exposed to a peer review process, and those not depicting a relationship with parts of the study. The results reveal that online teaching-learning, digital competence tutoring, and technological tools have been affirmative features expected to persist in higher virtual education engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

University teachers facing academic lockdown: an exploratory analysis

This study utilizes a qualitative methodology with an exploratory approach to know the implications of life in confinement for a group of college teachers. Data were gathered through ten semi-structured interviews by videoconference conducted with young teachers working in public and private institutions in the state of Nuevo Leon in Mexico, the sample included five women and five men. Data suggested three dimensions that described teachers' experiences: professional implications, personal implications, and passion for teaching. Among these categories, eight categories emerged, including the new modality, problems, changes, flexibility, Covid-19, consequences, opportunities and teaching work. The study recognize that even when the main changes due to confinement were made in the professional area, its implications were not limited to teaching, but transcended their personal life, in addition, participating in the migration to a virtual mode allowed teachers to reassess its importance in the society. This research sought to learn about the professional and personal experiences of teachers who moved to a non-face-to-face modality due to the pandemic, and invites other key actors such as students and administrators to share their experiences around confinement.

Perspective on formative evaluation in times of pandemic. Theoretical review

The objective of the research is the reflective analysis of updated and relevant information related to formative assessment in the current context of pandemic between the years 2019 to 2021, the methodology considers the documentary analysis of descriptive and explanatory character, as well as, hermeneutic analysis and the use of heuristic techniques;in addition, to perform the literature review 35 articles obtained from the base Scopus, Ebsco, Scielo, Proquest, were examined;in addition, the search equations used were in Spanish: Evaluaci..n formativa AND estudiantes in English: formative assessment AND students. It should be noted that for the analysis of results and discussion, 23 articles were considered using a selection and review matrix that focused on formative assessment, formative strategies and the perceptions of educational actors. The results show that students value the formative and shared evaluation proposals in view of the fact that they focus on the educational processes, promoting meaningful experiences;likewise, the interaction among students with the mediation of teachers in a formative evaluation system is the backbone to redirect learning and achieve better results.

Predictors of Seropositivity to SARS-CoV-2 among Workforce Members at a Large Urban Medical Center

Background. Prior to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination availability, medical centers workers were at significant COVID-19 (COVID) infection risk. As part of a program offering free SARS-CoV-2 serology tests to medical center employees, we examined risk factors for prior COVID infection. Methods. From Sept. to Dec. 2020, we advertised free IgG antibody testing to all Los Angeles County-Univ. of Southern California Medical Center (LAC+USC) workforce members (clinical and non-clinical) via repeated email blasts. Antibody was determined using the Abbott SARS-Cov-2 IgG test against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. Program participants were asked to fill out a detailed epidemiologic questionnaire about work and non-work COVID risks on their cell phone or on paper at the time of phlebotomy. All testing was done prior to COVID vaccine availability. Results. Among approximately 10,500 workforce members, 1327 had serologies done. Among those 1273 (96%) completed the questionnaire and were included in the analysis. SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were found in 60 (4.7%). In bivariate analysis, we found associations between SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and persons who previously tested positive for COVID (OR 175.8 [95% CI 77.6 - 398.6]), persons who thought they had prior COVID but tested negative (OR 3.9 [95% CI 1.3 - 11.4]), and persons who thought they had prior COVID but did not get a COVID test (OR 4.2 [95% CI 1.4 - 12.5]). In a multivariate model of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity examining work- and non-work-related COVID exposures (Table), seropositivity was associated with work-related COVID exposure without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) (OR 5.1 [95% CI 2.1 - 12.2]), work-related COVID exposure with adequate PPE (OR 3.5 [95% CI 1.5 - 8.0]), never wearing a mask outside of work (OR 7.1 [95% CI 1.3 - 38.4]), and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander race (OR 6.6 [95% CI 1.7 - 23.4]). Seropositivity was inversely associated with living at home with multiple age groups (OR 0.4 [95% CI 0.2 - 0.8]). Multivariate Model of Exposures Associated with Positive COVID Serology Among LAC+USC Workforce Members Conclusion. Among workers in a large urban medical center prior to COVID vaccine availability, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was associated with work-related COVID exposures and low mask use outside of work, suggesting that COVID transmission in workforce members occurs both via occupational and non-occupational routes.