ABSTRACT
Teaching cybersecurity to children is not a trivial task due to the complexity of explaining online-threat-related topics such as sexting or cyberbullying. Moreover, most of the courses designed to raise awareness in these controversial subjects has been mainly produced in English. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, getting access to Spanish-based training for protecting children online became a priority for parents in countries such as Ecuador, which was not prepared to have children studying at home whilst being exposed to such threats. In this paper, we show that it is feasible to design a virtual course (MOOC) to teach cybersecurity to Spanish-speaking children with acceptable usability levels and minor usability issues. Our proposed methodology combines ADDIE, DPIPE and UDL for developing the course, and uses both SUS and Nielsen as methods to assess the MOOC from an usability point of view. For enhancing user engagement, our course uses novel 3D anthropomorphic characters and storyboards to aid the learning process. Regarding usability results, our proposed MOOC has very high and acceptable scores, with around 86/100 using the SUS scale, and less than 3 in the Nielsen score. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Currently, the implementation of chatbots or virtual assistants presents great benefits for the companies or institutions that use them, since their use allows the user to establish a communication through a program that is integrated to a certain messaging system. Virtual assistants are programmed to communicate with the client and solve their doubts without a person attending them, and their main advantage is that they are always available to interact with users at any time the person requires it. This research aims to evaluate how it affects the use of chatbots in the process of counseling students of the Technical University of Manabi, since with all the technological advances that have been occurring over the years with the implementation of chatbots in the area of education has increased, the application of these virtual assistant systems in schools and universities has increased its popularity of implementation in these times, where virtual education is widely used as a result of the pandemic of covid-19, a situation that has faced the vast majority of countries worldwide. The methodology used for this research is quantitative, bibliographic and experimental. Bibliographic because a research is carried out on works related to the proposed topic. Experimental because it is based on the development of a chatbot in Telegram, which will be executed and subsequently evaluated through a Likert scale survey that aims to determine the QoS of users with respect to the chatbot. The results obtained from the student surveys show a high level of acceptability and satisfaction with the chatbot service, therefore, it is recommended that this service be incorporated at the institutional level, in order to provide information support to users without time constraints. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Updated analysis confirms sustained poor prognosis of COVID-19 in patients with lymphoma in Latin America: A cohort of 160 patients from GELL. Introduction: Ongoing SARS-COV-2 pandemic has impacted the management of cancer patients worldwide. Several reports have demonstrated inferior outcomes of patients with hematological malignancies, including higher rates of intensive care unit admission, need for mechanical ventilation and death. The impact of COVID-19 is profound in resource-restricted countries, including Latin America. Most cohorts reported have not included patients from Latin America, and there is paucity of data of the outcome of cancer patients with COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries. Grupo de Estudio De Linfoproliferativos En Latino-America (GELL )is a collaborative network of hematological centers in 13 countries in Latin America. We report updated outcomes of lymphoma patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Latin America. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study including patients with a diagnosis of lymphoma and COVID-19 infection. Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma were excluded from the analysis We defined active disease as follow: (1) patients with detectable disease either prior to initiating therapy or upon relapse, and/or (2) patients undergoing active cancer treatment. The primary outcome was overall survival at 100 days. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan Meier method. Uni and multivariable analysis were carried out with Cox model. Results: A total of 160 patients were available for analysis. Median age was 60 years old. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity (33%). Most patients had aggressive lymphomas (62%), including 43% of patients with diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Follicular lymphomas were observed in 13% of patients and Hodgkin lymphoma in 12.5% of patients. With a median follow-up of 37 days, the 100-day OS was 64% (95CI 56-74%, fig. 1). In univariate analysis, age (HR 1.03, p=0.0025), hypertension (HR 2.01, p=0.017), >1 number of prior lines (HR 2.78, p=0.011), patients currently on treatment (HR 1.83, p=0.043), ferritin >2000 ng/mL (HR 4.74 p=0.00047) were associated with inferior OS. In multivariate analysis, age (HR 1.03, p=0.0026) and patients currently on treatment (HR 1.82, p=0.04) had inferior OS. There was a trend towards inferior outcomes in patients receiving monoclonal antibodies in univariate analysis (HR 1.82, p=0.081) but not in multivariable analysis (HR=1.29, p=0.48). Use of steroids was not statistically related to mortality (HR 1.79, p=0.074). Finally, contrary to other cohorts, no improvement in OS was observed in patients diagnosed later on the pandemic (fig. 2). Conclusion: In this large cohort of Latin American patients with lymphoma malignancies, our updated analysis showed a maintained dismal prognosis with COVID-19 infection. With a median follow up of 37 days, the 100-day OS was 64%. Older age and ongoing active cancer treatment were significantly associated with mortality. The use of monoclonal antibodies and systemic corticosteroids were not statistically associated to poor survival. Current efforts are focused on improving immunization in the Latin American population. There is an unmet need for improving survival in patients with hematologic malignancies and COVID-19 infection. [Formula presented] Disclosures: Perini: Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau;Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau;Astra Zeneca: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau;MSD: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Otero: ASTRA ZENECA: Current Employment. Abello: Dr Reddy's: Research Funding;Amgen: Honoraria;Janssen: Honoraria. Castillo: Abbvie: Consultancy, Research Funding;BeiGene: Consultancy, Research Funding;Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding;Janssen: Consultancy;Roche: Consultancy;TG Therapeutics: Research Funding.
ABSTRACT
Background. In December 2019, multiple cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology surged in China. In January 2020, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was the identified cause. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined the condition as "Coronavirus 2019 Disease" (COVID-19). In February, its presence was confirmed in South America and Ecuador. On March 11th, the WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. This condition mainly afflicts the respiratory system. However, reports of neurological manifestations in confirmed COVID-19 p atients have recently emerged. Methods. Multiple databases were reviewed, the information was extracte d and analyzed independently by 3 authors. Results. Neurological manifestations associated with COVID-19 were identified. Including: myalgia, headache, altered mental status, cerebrovascular events, dizziness, hypogeusia, hyposmia, neuropathic pain, visual impairment, ataxia, seizures, Central Hypoventilation Syndrome, encephalopathy, rhabdomyolysis, Acute Hemorrhagic Necrotizing Encephalopathy, Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS), meningitis and encephalitis.Conclusion. COVID-19 is associated with neurological involvement. It is most frequently observed in cases that are severe, atypical, and with comorbidities. Health care providers and neurologists alike, must remain alert and keep high suspicion of severity when these manifestations are present. Timely recognition might help initiate early treatment and isolation, preventing clinical decline and viral spread.