ABSTRACT
In this work, we study the feeling of membership in undergraduate students who interact with their higher education institution through a virtual environment. We explore the Centro de Investigaciones en Diseño Industrial (CIDI) case, in which a virtual environment was built using the Roblox platform to enhance the online experience that students were having during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the application of the Psychological Sense of School Membership scale, we show that it is possible to evoke a sense of belonging in a physical space with a virtual representation. We achieved this by virtually replicating the physicality of the original CIDI and by promoting social behaviors using three modalities of social interaction. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Dry eye is a multifactorial ocular surface disease (DED) characterized by a loss of tear film homeostasis, which is widely associated with alterations in mental health. Problematic internet use (PIU) is defined as the feeling of concern about using this tool irresistibly, for longer periods than usual, accompanied by anguish that results from not doing so without reaching mania or hypomania behaviors. Both PIU and DED present a theoretical link; however, there are no published studies that report its relationship with problematic internet use. Therefore, this study aims to determine the association between PIU and symptomatic DED in Peruvian medical students. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Analytical cross-sectional study that included human medical students from Peru. For the measurement of main variables, the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) were used. To study their relationship, the Poisson regression analysis was used, we consider a p-value <0.05 as significant. RESULTS: Data from 844 medical students were analyzed, 35.7% male and 64.3% female, with an average age of 21.8 ± 3.3 years. Likewise, the prevalence of symptomatic DED was 70.9%, and the internet's controlled use was 85.3%. In the analysis adjusted for symptomatic DED, the men showed significant differences in the controlled use of the internet (p <0.003), of which those who had PIU, 50% had severe symptomatic DED, as well as 80% of those addicted to the internet. The adjusted model showed that the PIU increases the prevalence of symptomatic DED in men (PR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.06-1.29); however, in women, no association was found between both variables. CONCLUSION: PIU and symptomatic DED showed a significant association in male medical students from Peru.
ABSTRACT
Objective. To determine the extent of pulmonary involvement in patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia using tomography. Method. Retrospective evaluation in patients with evidence of COVID-19 at the Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen National Hospital, Lima - Peru, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, between March 15 and May 14, 2020. The extent of pneumonia was determined by means of tomography based on the Classification of the French Society of Thoracic Imaging. Results. 485 patients were included in the study. The extent of pneumonia was: 1.2% absent, 4.9% minimal, 20.6% moderate, 27.4% extensive, 30.7% severe, and 15.1% critical. Lung involvement was associated with age older than 60 years (p=0.014) and ambient oxygen saturation below 90% (n=372, p=0.000). Conclusions. Due to its extension, the SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in the first two months of the COVID-19 epidemic at Hospital Almenara were severe, extensive and mostly moderate. The extent of pneumonia was associated with age and ambient oxygen saturation at admission.