Sustainability-focused international PBL project:Rethinking digital education for individuals of low socioeconomic status

Providing access to education for individuals of lower socio-economic status is a significant way to reduce poverty, as it empowers them to grow as professionals and as individuals. Although there is an increasing sense of urgency to promote these changes, notably motivated by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN 2030 Agenda, there are still few successful ways to solve this problem on a large-scale. As digital technology develops and affordability increases, new ways to share quality educational content are created. In an exploratory case study, with a qualitative approach, this paper presents the development of a digital application focused on providing quality educational content directed to vulnerable groups that lack access to formal learning experiences, specifically focused on waste pickers in Brasilia, Brazil. The main data collection methods used to make the decisions through the development process were observation, surveys, and interviews. Within the framework of Problem Based Learning (PBL) an international cross-disciplinary collaboration among different universities, the project, denominated “Mobile Education”, involved: (i) the design and implementation of a system consisting of both a web and mobile application; (ii) the research of a viable business model to provide long-term sustainability for the project; (iii) and the creation of a pilot course of financial education for the preliminary target group, i.e., waste pickers from Brasilia, Brazil. Conclusively, the project aims to positively impact social transformation for individuals who work at the Waste Sorting facilities and lack financial knowledge. The Mobile Education project resulted in a functional version of the app (Web and Mobile) as well as the delimitation of a viable business model to keep it providing digital equality in Brazilian education

Encephalopathy and encephalitis during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Spanish Society of Neurology COVID-19 Registry

Objectives: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spanish Society of Neurology has run a registry of patients with neurological involvement for the purpose of informing clinical neurologists. Encephatopathy and encephalitis were among the most frequently reported complications. In this study, we analyse the characteristics of these complications. Patients and methods: We conducted a retrospective, descriptive, observational, multicentre study of patients with symptoms compatible with encephalitis or encephalopathy, entered in the Spanish Society of Neurology''s COVID-19 Registry from 17 March to 6 June 2020. Results: A total of 232 patients with neurological symptoms were registered, including 51 cases of encephalopathy or encephalitis (21.9%). None of these patients were healthcare professionals. The most frequent syndromes were mild or moderate confusion (33%) and severe encephalopathy or coma (9.8%). The mean time between onset of infection and onset of neurological symptoms was 8.02 days. Lumbar puncture was performed in 60.8% of patients, with positive PCR results for SARS-CoV-2 in only one case. Brain MRI studies were performed in 47% of patients, with alterations detected in 7.8% of these. EEG studies were performed in 41.3% of cases, detecting alterations in 61.9%. Conclusions: Encephalopathy and encephalitis are among the complications most frequently reported in the registry. More than one-third of patients presented mild or moderate confusional syndrome. The mean time from onset of infection to onset of neurological symptoms was 8 days (up to 24 hours earlier in women than in men). EEG was the most sensitive test in these patients, with very few cases presenting alterations in neuroimaging studies. All patients treated with boluses of corticosteroids or immunoglobulins progressed favourably. (C) 2021 Sociedad Espanola de Neurologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U