Tsiimene: Mobile application to improve the knowledge and revitalisation of the Bora language in the context of COVID-19 in Loreto Peru

This work proposes the design and development and validation of the mobile application Tsiimene aimed at preserving and rescuing the Bora language in times of pandemic, which currently faces extinction problems due to the few existing speakers. This work was carried out in the town of San Joaquin de Omaguas, located 64 km from the city of Iquitos. The application of the mobile device was carried out through traditional and experimental methodology in which the application was used. It has been validated that the use of a mobile application is more effective than traditional teaching, mainly in the learning of a native language.

Perception of the quality of virtual educational services during the COVID-19 pandemic at the National University of the Peruvian Amazon (UNAP)

This work consists of a second descriptive study on the implementation of the use of virtual education services at the National University of the Peruvian Amazon (UNAP), in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Iquitos, home to UNAP, is a Peruvian city located in the Amazon, with no road connection to the rest of Peru and with a series of limitations in electricity and telecommunications services, which conditions or negatively affects the quality of e-learning services at UNAP. The Peruvian government has suspended face-to-face educational activities since March 2020, motivated by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the main cities of Peru, so digital tools are being used as mechanisms for the continuity of educational services. For this descriptive research, the survey method was used. The surveys have been designed based on the usefulness of virtual services using the UNE 66181:2008 Standard, considering indicators such as the levels of Information, Employability, Ease of assimilation and Accessibility. Virtual teaching is carried out at UNAP through the following tools: Zoom, Google Meet, Youtube, Whatsapp, Moodle and others. The results of this second experience, unlike the first study, show that the participating students have improved their perception of the quality of university educational services through virtual media. At the same time, the low quality of connectivity and the low penetration of the use of technologies among teachers are still limiting factors. © 2021 IEEE.

Immune thrombocytopenia and covid-19: A single centre experience

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an acquired autoimmune disorder defined by a platelet count <100×109/L without explanation. This laboratory parameter has emerged as an important complication and have been shown to correlate with severe course in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Aims: To analyze the clinical characteristics, diagnostic, blood count parameters, therapeutic strategies and outcomes in patients admitted with COVID-19 infection with acquired ITP. Methods: An observational, longitudinal, descriptive and retrospective study was performed on all patients who were COVID-19 positive and platelet count < 100×109/L admitted to hospital between March 1 2020 and January 31 2021 at our centre. All patients were laboratory confirmed COVID-19 positive with a positive nasopharyngeal swab. Clinical and demographic data were collected for each patient, including age, gender, nadir platelet count, bleeding symptoms, time to recovery from start of treatment and clinical outcomes. Patients with previous hematological pathologies or thrombocytopenia were excluded. Mild COVID-19 disease was defined by presence of fever and cough only. Moderate disease was defined by presence of unilateral pneumonia by radiological evidence and/or clinical worsening. Severe disease was defined by presence of bilateral pneumonia by radiological evidence, admission to intensive care unit (ICU) during admission or met criteria for ARDS. Response to treatment was defined by documentation of platelet doubling or platelet count reaching at least > 30 × 109 /L (partial response-PR) or level reached > 100 × 109 /L or up to baseline count of that patient (complete response-CR). The results are expressed in percentages for qualitative variables, and in means and interquartilic ranges for continuous variables. The data were included in an Excel database (Microsoft.) and the IBM SPSS Statistics. 20 program was used for their analysis. Results: A total of 27 patients were identified, 17 males (62.96%) and 10 females (37.03%). The mean age at the time of the event was 78 years old (interquartile range-IQR-: 28 years). Attending to severity, 15 had severe disease (55.5%), 9 moderate and only 3 patients (11%) had a mild presentation. The mean time from first COVID-19 manifestations to first ITP expression was 5 days (0-23). and in most of our patients was an incidental finding, presenting only 22% haemorragic clinic associated. The majority of patients in our study did not receive a specific treatment for suspected ITP (e.g. only 6 were treated with intravenous immunoglobulins which were needed due to bleeding). But most patients were already treated with low doses of steroids as part of their treatment for COVID-19. The response rate was about 63% (PR and CR), with a mean of response of six days (IQR of 6.5 days). Patients with severe disease and those who died at the end of the study, had lower platelet count than survivors and patients with moderate disease. However, our differences were not statisticaly significant. Summary/Conclusion: In our study, ITP was more frequent in severe COVID-19, with lower nadir platelet count, as described in literature. Bleeding events were infrequent. Glucocorticoids were used as a treatment for COVID-19 disease, only used in few patients as ITP specific treatment. The results should be confirmed with prospective randomized controlled studies.

A digital educational tool for learning the Aymara language in the region of Ayacucho, Peru

This paper presents the design, development, and validation of a mobile educational tool that is contextualized in order to overcome and adapt to the limitations of current basic services, such as education, in the indigenous populations of the Peruvian Amazon in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic. The Aymara language has a significant number of speakers, but for many years the services offered by the Peruvian State were not oriented or adapted to the cultural context of the Aymara people, which became even more evident during the pandemic. Tests were carried out with the use of the tool on primary school children in the city of Ayacucho, and it was found that the ease of use of the tool, and the friendly design with the interaction of sounds and images, help and favor the rapid learning of the children.