ABSTRACT
Increased migration and im/migrant (i.e. migrant and immigrant) inequities, particularly during COVID-19, call for experiential global public health teaching to adequately prepare future leaders. We evaluated student perspectives on the benefits, drawbacks, and lessons learned from a migrant health field course in the U.S.-Mexico border region. We analyzed qualitative data from reflexive diary-writing assignments and post-course evaluations from graduate and undergraduate students (N = 12). Students highlighted personal growth and reflexivity, professional development opportunities, and benefits and drawbacks of the immersive course design as key themes. Tri-national learning across Canada, Mexico and the U.S., and an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural learning model allowed for deeper understandings of globally relevant and politically and socially complex issues through community engagement and 'real-world' approaches. Students described benefits of reflexive learning, bridging classroom-based learning with field experiences, and learning about community-engaged research in advancing im/migrant justice, though acknowledged challenges of intensive course design. Narratives highlighted unique needs in navigating challenges inherent in reflexive learning on sensitive topics, such as structural inequities faced by asylum seekers. This evaluation provides unique empirical evidence to inform future experiential learning opportunities rooted in equity-oriented approaches, which are crucial for advancing hands-on learning regarding global issues. Appropriate approaches must ensure ethical, respectful community engagement and ongoing support for students.Copyright © 2021 Institute of Health Promotion and Education.
ABSTRACT
This article emphasizes the dynamics of adolescents who are consumers of psychoactive substances in times of confinement as a result of SARS-COV-2, known as Covid-19, especially those who use the airway to get high, since it is a risk factor in case of being infected. Objective: to analyze the consumption situation of adolescents today, when a global atypical health experience is lived that forces them to be more at home or at less crowded places, in a way that causes a more hostile context in the face of need and search of substance use, and makes personal and social risk factors more noticeable. Methodology: qualitative type of study and bibliographic exploration based on both national and international statistical sources. In addition, a brief statistical explanation is made of the reactions in the central nervous system at the time of consumption. Results: it is reflected how the use and abuse of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana in young people has been increasing. Conclusion: The article ends with recommendations for detecting consumption, prevention channels and seeking help.
ABSTRACT
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV- 2) is currently one of the worst pandemics ever. ABO blood groups are associated with different risk of viral infections and they could also play a role in COVID-19 disease. In vitro, studies demonstrated how anti-A and B antibodies neutralized the infectious capacity of SARSCoV- 2. Both SARS-CoV-2 and antibodies let a strong competitive inhibition of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Those biological mechanisms could be associated with the lower risk of severity and mortality in blood group O patients. Aims: Prospectively perform a cytokine array in plasma samples from COVID-19 patients who were stratified based on their bloody type, in order to describe the inflammatory response and provide a further insight about the possible protective mechanisms elicited by the blood type O. Methods: Prospective and consecutive study including blood samples from 108 adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and admitted to the "Hospital Clínico Universitario" (Valladolid, Spain) between March 24 to April 11, 2020. Percentage distribution of ABO blood type correspond to 54.6%, 9.3%, 3.7% and 32.4% for A, B, AB and O group respectively. Patients were divided into 2 groups: i. Blood type O (n=35);ii. Blood types A/B/AB (n=73). Forty-five Cytokines, Chemokines and Growth Factors were measured in duplicate for each patient using a MAGPIX system (Luminex). Statistical analysis was performed using the R statistical package version 4.0.2. Results: In both groups, most frequent comorbidities were hypertension, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. According to analytical profile, blood type O displayed higher lymphocytes (p=0.057) and lower total bilirubin (p=0.009) plasma levels than the A/B/AB group. We found a lower risk (2.16 times) of mechanical ventilation or death in patients with blood type O [Log Rank: p=0.042, Hazard Ratio: 0.463, CI 95% (0.213-1.004), p=0.050]. Moreover, 15 cytokines were over-express (and 1 under-expressed) in blood type O (Image upload. Left boxplots: Group A/B/AB. Right Box-plots: Group O). Last, a multivariate model found BDNF, IL-13 and IL-27 as the best cytokines able to differentiate the immune profile based on the blood type. Discussion: In first place, blood type of the general population covered by our hospital are 42%, 9%, 4% and 47% for blood types A, B, AB and O respectively. Nevertheless, our cohort found increase blood type A (54.6%) and decrease in blood type O (32.4%). Therefore, and according our results, blood type O was not only associated to a lower risk of mortality or mechanical ventilation, but also to the need of hospital admission. In second place, a strong ACE2 downregulation - competitive inhibition of ACE2 by SARS-CoV-2 and anti-A and B antibodies - associates high Ang-II plasma levels which allows the production of inflammatory cytokines and, at the same time, a possible lower infectious capacity by SARS-CoV-2 in O blood type patients. Moreover, the existence of a higher activation status of the immune system could also let a rapid activation of the immune response in patients with the O blood type and associate a quicker viral clearance. Summary/Conclusion: Our cohort showed how blood type O associated with both lower rates of hospital admission and lower risk of intubation or death. Indeed, these patients produced higher amounts of cytokines in response to SARS-CoV-2, hence mounting an effective immune response which allowed them to control the viral infection and therefore decrease the risk of further complications.
ABSTRACT
The change generated by the virtualization of activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the way people participate in countless activities. Scientific conferences, like many other events, were forced by the circumstances to change from face-to-face to online overnight. The goal of this study is to identify the accessibility barriers that the platforms used by scientific online conferences pose for blind participants. The research methodology used was experiential introspection complemented by automated testing. Exploratory tests were conducted by a blind researcher using the JAWS screen reader. Besides, the accessibility evaluation tool WAVE was used to identify non-conformances with the web content accessibility guidelines WCAG. As a result, it was found in some cases a null level of accessibility and, in other cases, complexity was detected in the access to activities. As for no conformances with WCAG, two of the most prominent were empty links and the absence of headings for efficient screen reader navigation. The automated tool showed errors and alerts that need to be fixed in the teleconferencing platforms evaluated. It is presumed that, unfortunately, the moderately or even basic concepts for the participation of users with visual disabilities and blind are not being considered in the platforms used to host virtual scientific conferences. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Currently, there are millions of people who are studying professional training using e-Learning environments. A trend that has been exacerbated by the global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. This circumstance has forced students around the world to switch to an emerging online modality in 2020. E-Learning environments has become an important option, maybe the only one, to keep studying, as long as these environments and the educational resources they host are accessible. In this context, it is relevant to have a mechanism to describe the accessibility preferences and need of students through the management of personal profiles. In this study, authors carried out a literature review regarding models designed to enable the creation of profiles in the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and presents an analysis of scientific research published by other researchers and shows the current state of the art of the research area of profiling of students with disabilities in MOOC platforms. This literature review will serve as input to propose a model that allows covering the lack of profiling of students with disabilities within e-Learning platforms to meet the needs of students who have disabilities. As far as we know, this is the first literature review of this kind. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Increased migration and im/migrant (i.e. migrant and immigrant) inequities, particularly during COVID-19, call for experiential global public health teaching to adequately prepare future leaders. We evaluated student perspectives on the benefits, drawbacks, and lessons learned from a migrant health field course in the U.S.–Mexico border region. We analyzed qualitative data from reflexive diary-writing assignments and post-course evaluations from graduate and undergraduate students (N = 12). Students highlighted personal growth and reflexivity, professional development opportunities, and benefits and drawbacks of the immersive course design as key themes. Tri-national learning across Canada, Mexico and the U.S., and an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural learning model allowed for deeper understandings of globally relevant and politically and socially complex issues through community engagement and ‘real-world’ approaches. Students described benefits of reflexive learning, bridging classroom-based learning with field experiences, and learning about community-engaged research in advancing im/migrant justice, though acknowledged challenges of intensive course design. Narratives highlighted unique needs in navigating challenges inherent in reflexive learning on sensitive topics, such as structural inequities faced by asylum seekers. This evaluation provides unique empirical evidence to inform future experiential learning opportunities rooted in equity-oriented approaches, which are crucial for advancing hands-on learning regarding global issues. Appropriate approaches must ensure ethical, respectful community engagement and ongoing support for students. © 2021 Institute of Health Promotion and Education.