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Abstract: Background: Information on neurological and psychiatric adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) with COVID-19 vaccines is limited. Research design & methods: We examined and compared neurological and psychiatric AEFIS reports related to BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and ChAdOx1 (Oxford-AstraZeneca) COVID-19 vaccines and recorded in the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency between 9 December 2020 and 30 June 2021. Results: As of 30 June 2021, 46.1 million doses of ChAdOx1 and 30.3 million doses of BNT162b2 had been administered. The most frequently reported AEFI was headache with 1,686 and 575 cases per million doses of ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2, respectively. AEFIs more frequently reported after CHAdOx1 compared with BNT162b2 vaccination were Guillain-Barré syndrome (OR, 95% CI = 2.53, 1.82–3.51), freezing (6.66, 3.12–14.22), cluster headache (1.53, 1.28–1.84), migraine (1.23,1.17–1.30), postural dizziness (1.24,1.13–1.37), tremor (2.86, 2.68–3.05), headache (1.40, 1.38–1.43), paresthesia (1.11, 1.06–1.16), delirium (1.85, 1.45–2.36), hallucination (2.20, 1.82–2.66), poor quality sleep (1.53, 1.26–1.85), and nervousness (1.54, 1.26–1.89) Reactions less frequently reported with ChAdOx1 than with BNT162b2 were Bell’s palsy (0.47, 0.41–0.55), anosmia (0.58, 0.47–0.71), facial paralysis (0.35, 0.29– 0.41), dysgeusia (0.68, 0.62–0.73), presyncope (0.48, 0.42–0.55), syncope (0.63, 0.58–0.67), and anxiety (0.75 (0.67–0.85). Conclusion: Neurological and psychiatric AEFIs were relatively infrequent, but each vaccine was associated with a distinctive toxic profile. Plain Language Summary We examined reports on adverse neurological and psychiatric effects following immunization with BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and ChAdOx1 (Oxford-AstraZeneca) for COVID-19 to the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency between 9 December 2020 and 30 June 2021. Adverse effects following immunization (AEFIs) were relatively infrequent. Compared to BNT162b2, Guillain-Barré syndrome, freezing phenomenon, cluster headache, migraine, postural dizziness, tremor, headache, paresthesia, delirium, hallucination, poor quality sleep, and nervousness were more frequently reported for ChAdOx1. Reactions less frequently reported for ChAdOx1 than for BNT162b2 were Bell’s palsy, anosmia, facial paralysis, dysgeusia, presyncope, syncope, and anxiety.

Resumen A partir de la llegada del virus sars COVID-19, la educación superior ha sufrido cambios significativos en la innovación educativa y se refleja en cómo se transmite y se adquiere el conocimiento. Lo anterior ha producido controversias en la forma en que el estudiantado implementa nuevas condiciones para el aprendizaje y conlleva a la aparición de nuevos retos en la formación académica, la cual ha generado incertidumbre al posible rezago escolar que puedan atravesar en su mayoría el alumnado en todos los niveles. Para la realización de la presente investigación se utilizó el método cualitativo documental, el cual es resultado de una revisión bibliográfica de autorías expertas en la materia a nivel nacional e internacional, con una revisión exhaustiva, descriptiva, evaluativa y con la revisión de casos clínicos, todo esto con el objetivo de identificar los principales componentes de la innovación educativa y los nuevos retos que la acompañan desde la emergencia sanitaria surgida en el año 2020. Entre los hallazgos se puede identificar la resistencia al cambio como uno de los principales problemas al cual se enfrenta el personal docente y el estudiantado en esta nueva forma de innovar en la educación; los desafíos sobre cómo se transmitirá el conocimiento; la importancia del papel que las universidades juegan en este proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje por medio de la capacitación adecuada y el uso de las tecnologías del aprendizaje y la comunicación interna en la institución. Abstract Since the appearance of the SARS-COVID-19 virus, higher education has undergone significant changes in academic innovation, which is reflected in how knowledge is transmitted and acquired. The aforementioned made it controversial how the students implement new conditions for learning; in addition, it leads to the appearance of new challenges in academic training, which has generated uncertainty about the possible scholastic lag that most students at all levels may experience. To carry out this study, the researchers used the qualitative documentary method, which is the result of a bibliographic review of expert authors in the field at the national and international level, with an exhaustive, descriptive, evaluative review and with the review of clinical cases. Through all of the above, the investigators sought to identify the main components of educational innovation and the new challenges that accompany it since the health emergency that emerged in 2020. Among the findings, resistance to change can be identified as one of the main concerns faced by teaching staff and students in this new way of innovating in education. Secondly, the research demonstrated the challenges of how knowledge will be transmitted, as well as the importance of universities in this teaching-learning process through adequate training and the use of learning technologies and internal communication in the institution.

Resumen La educación continua debe visualizarse bajo un modelo de gestión flexible, dinámico y adaptable a las necesidades de la población donde esta considere operar. El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar cómo diseñar y plantear una estrategia de operación cuántica que potencie proyectos de educación continua, y que estos, a su vez, eliminen la brecha educativa generada por la pandemia del COVID-19. Metodología: enmarcado en el paradigma cualitativo, se realizó un estudio de casos múltiple al seleccionar dos proyectos de educación continua de la Universidad de Costa Rica y se usó la triangulación de la información por un proceso metodológico, para esto se elaboró una matriz de variables donde se comparó la gestión de ambos programas bajo escala de Likert y así obtener los insumos para generar un modelo de gestión cuántico. Resultados: se analizó el proceso de gestión y tipo de liderazgo realizado por más de diez años y se elaboró un flujo de procesos de diez etapas requeridas para implementar proyectos de educación continua sostenibles desde una base de cero experiencias. Conclusiones y recomendaciones: la implementación de este flujo de procesos en educación continua puede hacer llegar conocimiento por vías alternas a la formal o académica a las poblaciones afectadas en su calidad educativa por la pandemia generada por el COVID-19. Se recomienda implementar estos proyectos de forma dinámica a nivel nacional por vías presenciales y virtuales, al usar procesos que potencien el empoderamiento de las partes involucradas, tanto de estudiantes como de docentes. Abstract Continuing education must be visualized as a flexible model, as well as dynamic and adaptable to the population requirements where it is considered necessary to operate. As the main objective, this paper seeks to present how to design and propose a quantum operation strategy that enhances continuing education projects that help to eliminate the educational gap generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding the methodology, framed in the qualitative paradigm, the researcher carried out a multiple case study by selecting two continuing education projects from the University of Costa Rica. In addition, the investigator used the triangulation of information through a methodological process. For the above, a matrix of variables was created where the management of both programs was compared under a Likert scale and thus obtain the inputs to generate a quantum management model. Hence, the researcher analyzed the performance and type of leadership carried out for more than ten years; likewise, a process flow of ten stages required to implement sustainable continuing education projects from a base of zero experiences was elaborated. In conclusion, the implementation of this flow of processes to improve continued education projects can bring knowledge, through alternative channels to the formal or academic, to the populations affected at an educational level by the pandemic. Finally, it is recommended to dynamically implement these projects at a national scale through the creation of virtual and presence courses that improve the empowerment of the actors, both professors and students.

Resumen Las clases en línea se han convertido en uno de los principales métodos de enseñanza en la educación superior durante la pandemia, lo cual ha llevado al estudiantado a realizar esfuerzos de adaptación para mantener su motivación ante distintos desafíos educativos no resueltos en su totalidad. El objetivo del estudio fue describir los desafíos educativos y las orientaciones motivacionales del estudiantado universitario de enfermería durante la pandemia por la COVID-19. A través de un diseño de tipo descriptivo, se aplicó un cuestionario estandarizado a 300 personas universitarias mexicanas. Los principales hallazgos indicaron que el alumnado se enfrenta principalmente a desafíos tecnológicos, seguido de los socioafectivos. Sin embargo, la orientación motivacional hacia el aprendizaje predomina entre el alumnado, donde el contexto educativo es un determinante del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Se concluye que la motivación (orientación al aprendizaje) favorece al aprendizaje y actúa como un intermediario importante durante el aprendizaje en línea. El traslado de la educación presencial a la educación a distancia ha dificultado la integración y adaptación del estudiantado, mientras los desafíos educativos se agudizaron en un contexto de pandemia, donde las categorías tecnológicas y socioafectivas son los factores a los que se enfrentan las y los estudiantes. Se recomienda realizar un estudio de tipo correlacional que permita proporcionar una mejor comprensión de la posible relación entre las dos variables estudiadas. Además de que en un futuro se podría emplear métodos distintos de tipo cualitativo para explorar más a fondo el significado de las diferentes orientaciones motivacionales en entornos educativos en línea bajo distintas condiciones. Abstract Online classes have become one of the main teaching methods in higher education during the pandemic, which has forced students to adapt themselves to keep their motivation in the face of different educational challenges that have not been fully resolved. The objective of the study was to describe the educational challenges and motivational orientations of college nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a descriptive type design, the researchers applied a standardized questionnaire to 300 Mexican university students. As the main discoveries, it was found that students mostly face technological challenges, followed by socio-affective ones. However, the motivational orientation towards learning predominates among students, where the educational context is a determinant of the teaching-learning process. Hence, the authors concluded that motivation (learning orientation) favors learning and acts as an essential intermediary during online learning. Moreover, the transfer from face-to-face education to online teaching has complicated the processes of integration and adaptation for students. The former occurs while educational challenges have become more acute in a pandemic context, and where technological and socio-affective categories represent the elements students must face. Therefore, the researchers recommend a correlational study to provide a better understanding of the possible relationship between the two studied variables. In addition, in the future, different qualitative methods could be used to further explore the meaning of different motivational orientations in online educational environments under different conditions.

Resumen Los avances tecnológicos y el contexto de pandemia han posicionado a la mediación virtual como una potente alternativa para el tránsito y proyección de las instituciones de educación superior y su adaptabilidad a las nuevas demandas, contextos y cambios. La implementación de la mediación virtual a distancia como consecuencia de la pandemia por Covid-19 ha impactado en el sentido de pertenencia y el compromiso estudiantil en la educación superior con modalidad presencial; sin embargo, surge la pregunta de cómo se consolida el comportamiento de estas variables en instituciones de educación superior en las cuales la mediación virtual a distancia siempre ha sido su sello metodológico. Con el objetivo de establecer el perfil del estudiantado de la Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD) en estos contextos y el análisis e interacción de las variables de compromiso estudiantil y sentido de pertenencia, en este orden de ideas y de manera aleatoria, se toma una muestra de 312 estudiantes de la universidad anteriormente mencionada. Este estudio se desarrolla desde un paradigma positivista, con un nivel de profundización descriptivo-inferencial, con registro prospectivo, transversal y no experimental. Se hizo uso de 2 instrumentos para la recolección de información, el primero centrado en la medición del grado y la orientación del compromiso estudiantil y el segundo identifica factores determinantes en el sentido de pertenencia. Finalmente, se concluye que existe una diferencia tangible entre el perfil del estudiante de educación a distancia al ponerlo en comparación con el estudiante de educación presencial; por otra parte, se recomienda ahondar en investigaciones centradas en los procesos de sentido de pertenencia y de compromiso estudiantil, más aún en la Educación Superior a distancia, la cual no ha sido lo suficientemente explorada. Abstract Both technological advances and the context of the pandemic have positioned virtual mediation as a strong alternative for the transit and projection of higher education institutions and their adaptability to new demands, contexts, and changes. The implementation of remote virtual mediation as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the sense of belonging and student commitment in higher education with face-to-face modality. However, the question arises as to how the behavior of these variables is consolidated in higher education institutions in which remote virtual mediation has always been their methodological hallmark. Seeking to establish the profile of the students of the National Open and Distance University (UNAD) in these contexts and to analyze the interaction of the variables of student commitment and sense of belonging, in this order of ideas and in a random manner, the investigators took a sample of 312 students from the aforementioned university. In this way, the study was developed from a positivist paradigm, with a descriptive-inferential level of depth, with a prospective, cross-sectional and non-experimental record. In addition, the authors used 2 instruments for data collection. The first one was focused on the measurement of the degree and the orientation of the student commitment, while the second one identified determinant factors in the sense of belonging. Finally, the investigators concluded that there is a tangible difference between the profile of the distance education student and that of face-to-face education. Likewise, it is recommended to delve into research focused on the processes of a sense of belonging and student commitment, even more so in distance Higher Education, which has not been sufficiently explored.

Resumen La investigación tuvo por objetivo conocer el bienestar socioemocional del alumnado, personal docente, madres y padres de algunas escuelas públicas de la provincia de Curicó-Chile en contexto de pandemia y virtualidad. Las personas participantes fueron 49, todas pertenecientes a escuelas públicas de educación primaria de la provincia de Curicó, Chile. El diseño investigativo fue transversal descriptivo con enfoque mixto, empleando técnicas cuantitativas: Redes Semánticas Naturales (RSN) y cualitativas −entrevistas semiestructuradas y dibujo identitario−. En el análisis de datos se emplearon la estadística descriptiva y elementos de microanálisis de la Teoría Fundamentada. Los hallazgos evidenciaron una discrepancia en las emociones del cuerpo docente, nuevas experiencias socioemocionales y rutinas domésticas por parte de las madres y los padres, y experiencias formativas del estudiantado con variados obstáculos y emociones diversas. De estas últimas, las más recurrentes fueron: frustración, tristeza y miedo. Por otro lado, existe una amplia valoración de la comunidad del contexto socioeducativo presencial por sobre el virtual. Se recomienda fomentar el bienestar socioemocional escolar, debido a que es un elemento en la formación del ser humano a través de estrategias como los dibujos de reconocimiento de emociones para profesorado, alumnado, madres y padres. Abstract The objective of the research was to know the socio-emotional well-being of students, teachers, and parents of some public schools in the province of Curicó-Chile, in the context of the pandemic and virtuality. The participants were 49 people who belong to public primary schools in the Province of Curicó, Chile. The research design was cross-sectional descriptive with a mixed approach, using quantitative techniques: Natural Semantic Networks (NSR), and qualitative: semi-structured interviews and identity drawing. Descriptive statistics and microanalysis elements of the Grounded Theory were used in the data analysis. The findings evidenced a discrepancy in the emotions of the teaching staff, new socio-emotional experiences and domestic routines on the part of the parents, and formative experiences of the student body with various obstacles and diverse emotions. Of the latter, the most recurrent were frustration, sadness, and fear. On the other hand, there is a wide appreciation of the community of the face-to-face socio-educational context over the virtual one. It is recommended to promote social-emotional well-being, for it represents an element in the formation of the human being, through strategies such as emotion recognition drawings in teachers, students, and parents.

Resumen El presente artículo tiene como objetivo describir y analizar las vivencias del profesorado de escuelas secundarias en torno a la desigualdad que la pandemia visibilizó en el uso y acceso a diferentes recursos tecnológicos, tanto en el momento de continuidad pedagógica en 2020, como en el de retorno a la escolaridad en 2021. Para ello se analizó un corpus de 19 entrevistas semiestructuradas realizadas por la Red ENCRESPA (Red de Estudio colaborativo de representaciones sobre la pandemia en Argentina), en el marco del proyecto Identidades, experiencias y discursos sociales en conflicto en torno a la pandemia y la postpandemia, del Programa de Investigación de la Sociedad Argentina Contemporánea (PISAC): Las ciencias sociales y humanas en la crisis COVID-19 (Agencia Nacional de la Promoción de la Investigación, el Desarrollo tecnológico y la Innovación). Los datos se procesaron con el software Atlas.ti, a partir del cual se codificaron significaciones en torno a la desigualdad de recursos, poniendo en tensión las divergencias entre escuelas públicas y privadas. Dentro de los resultados se destaca que el acceso, uso y apropiaciones de ciertos materiales condicionaron las experiencias educativas, lo que afectó tanto al estudiantado como al profesorado. Esto acotó el alcance de las políticas educativas diseñadas en el contexto de pandemia, de modo que los vínculos, los tiempos, las posibles estrategias pedagógicas, los aprendizajes y los modos de enseñar fueron desiguales. En función de ello, se concluye que la educación en pandemia ha sido virtual, sostenida y simultánea solo para unas pocas personas, en tanto que para la mayoría fue remota, intermitente y asincrónica. Los datos analizados resultan un insumo valioso para repensar las políticas educativas, poniendo en relieve las necesidades que aparecen en el terreno y las deudas pendientes en cuanto a la inclusión. En este sentido se recomienda mayor diálogo entre los niveles macro (estatal) y micro (escolar), para construir políticas más vinculadas a las realidades institucionales. Abstract The present article aims to describe and analyze the experiences of secondary school teachers around the inequality that the pandemic made visible in the use and access to different technological resources, both at the time of pedagogical continuity in 2020, and at the time of return to schooling, in 2021. To achieve this, a corpus of 19 semi-structured interviews conducted by the ENCRESPA Network (Network for the Collaborative Study of Representations on the Pandemic in Argentina) was analyzed, within the framework of the Project Identities, experiences and social discourses in conflict around the pandemic and the post-pandemic, of the Research Program of the Contemporary Argentine Society (PISAC): The social and human sciences in the COVID-19 crisis (National Agency for the Promotion of Research, Technological Development and Innovation). The data was processed with the Atlas.ti software, by identifying and coding meaningful extracts regarding the inequality of resources, stressing the divergences between public and private schools. Among the results, it is highlighted that the access, use and appropriations of certain materials conditioned educational experiences, affecting both students and teachers. This limited the scope of the educational policies designed in the context of the pandemic, so that the links between actors, the times, the possible pedagogical strategies, the learning, and the ways of teaching were unequal. Based on this, it is concluded that education in the pandemic has been virtual, sustained, and simultaneous only for a few, while for the majority it was remote, intermittent and asynchronous. The data analyzed is a valuable input to rethink educational policies, highlighting the needs that appear on the ground and the pending debts regarding inclusion. In this sense, greater dialogue is recommended between the macro (state) and micro (school) levels, to build policies more linked to institutional realities.

In my dissertation, I described two label-free optical biosensors based on integrated optical (IO) structures for the sensitive, rapid detection of pathogens - bacterial cells, viral proteins - from fluid samples, which can serve as a basis for rapid clinical tests. These types of devices provide a specific, cost-effective, user-friendly and portable way of detection with sufficient sensitivity by changing the optical signal. Thus, in practice, they could potentially be used as point-of-care (POC) or home rapid diagnostic tests, offering a promising alternative to traditional laboratory assays. Their realization is supported by their integration with microfluidic channels in a lab-on-a-chip (LOC) device, for handling small volumes of fluid. Based on these aspects, biosensors were designed as waveguides, integrated in a microfluidic channel on a glass substrate, performing evanescent-field sensing. The detection method is based on the fact that the light, propagating in the waveguide with total internal reflections, penetrates into the surrounding media at a limited extent, which is called the evanescent field. Material can enter this space and become bound to the surface, which can change the phase of the light, propagating in the structure, or even scatter it into the surrounding medium. These phenomena offer the possibility of specific detection of pathogens, adhering to the surface, pre-coated with a biological recognition element, such as an antibody. As a first application, an electro-optical biosensor was developed with an evanescent field-based detection concept, aiming at label-free, rapid, selective and sensitive detection of bacteria from body fluids. The usability of the measurement principle, based on the processing of light-scattering patterns, caused by evanescent waves, scattered on target cells, was demonstrated by quantitative detection of Escherichia coli bacterial cells from their suspensions. One of the keys to the applicability of biosensors is their sensitivity. To increase it in case of this device, I applied the phenomenon of dielectrophoresis using the polarizability of the target cells. It provides the possibility to selectively collect cells on the surface of electrodes placed close to the waveguide and then detect them based on the evanescent field. To test this, I wanted to sense bacteria in an artificial urine sample containing somatic cells, in this case endothelial cells, mimicking urine in an inflammatory state. By optimizing the parameters of the measurements, a rapid, sensitive bacterial detection of about 10 minutes was achieved. The detection limit of the biosensor was comparable to the characteristic pathogen concentration in body fluids. Furthermore, selective bacterial detection was also achieved from a fluid sample containing somatic cells, mimicking inflammatory urine. In my dissertation, a second application is also presented, in this case a miniature IO Mach-Zehnder interferometer-based biosensor was developed for the specific quantitative detection of viral proteins. Thanks to the interferometric measurement principle, a fast and accurate detection of target proteins can be achieved. With this device, the aim was to investigate the potential neuroinvasion of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection, from which point of view the pathological effects of viral surface spike proteins on the blood-brain barrier are of great importance in the case of severe symptoms. Furthermore, infection may also cause adverse effects in the intestinal tract. Thus, the specific aim of this application was to evaluate the ability of the S1 subunit of the coronavirus surface spike protein to cross the human in vitro blood-brain barrier and intestinal epithelial biological barrier system models using the biosensor. Experiments were designed to use the sensor for specific, quantitative detection of spike proteins, that may have been passed through permeability assays on biological barrier models prepared by our collaborators. To reach the specific sensing of the target protein, the waveguide surface of the interferometer’s measuring arm was functionalized with specific S1 protein antibody. To achieve optimal, stable measurement conditions, the operating point of the interferometer was adjusted thermo-optically. The results of the experiments with the biosensor were in agreement with the ones of the conventional immunological tests (ELISA) carried out in parallel. It was possible to determine that S1 protein could pass through the two types of barriers in different amounts. The findings of the experiments with the integrated optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer biosensor demonstrate that this detection approach can be used for similar medical diagnostic purposes, and thus can contribute to the investigation of the adverse effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the human body.

The 500-ns CG-MD simulation trajectory towards SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Goal of this model is to identify, if a patient is suffering from COVID-19 or not, based on his / her chest CT. Original images were collected by the authors of this paper. The original images were collected from: http://ictcf.biocuckoo.cn/. Available classes are non-informative CT (NiCT) images where lung parenchyma was not captured for any judgmentnegative CT (nCT) images where imaging features in both lungs were irrelevant to COVID-19 pneumoniapositive CT (pCT) images where imaging features associated with COVID-19 pneumonia could be unambiguously discernedThe model was trained using this script; a summary of its performance can be found here.