Breaking presence in Immersive Virtual Reality toward behavioral and emotional engagement.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Many recent studies in virtual reality (VR) have managed the sense of Presence to assess the suitability of their designs, mainly when focused on learning goals that require high user engagement, such as in serious games for psychomotor training. However, the place and plausibility illusions needed to promote Presence are achieved by combining different VR-based design cues, and their individual contribution to preserving the Presence's engagement/involvement component is still unclear. This article explored the single effect of breaking the sense of Presence per VR factor, i.e., removing VR cues related to Social Presence (human interactions), Self-Presence (embodiment), and Physical Presence (Scenario realism). METHODS: Thirty-three participants were asked to play an immersive VR simulation of an arcade game three times by experiencing a stepped Break of Illusion in one of the VR factors, i.e., while two factors were kept high, the remaining one was reduced to a low and null (hypothetical) level. The game difficulty was fixed after assessing each person's skills. RESULTS: Results showed that psychophysiology indicators (heart rate and skin conductance) were not affected by the level of illusion, whereas exercise intensity was significantly higher with low body and social presence-based conditions. Moreover, skin conductance was lower in the Social-presence group, which suggests that perspiration is only affected by breaks in realism (scenario and body representations). Based on the obtained evidence, we proposed some guidelines for adapting the design of immersive virtual environments through Breaks in Presence, mainly by changing the realism of the scenario and body representation depending on the skin conductance or the interaction with virtual humans depending on exercise intensity.

Dispositivo de medición de fuerza de los dedos y su rol en el seguimiento de las funciones de la mano / Device for measuring fingers strength and its role in monitoring hand functions

Introducción y objetivo: El amplio rango de movimiento y fuerza de la mano ha sido clave en el desarrollo de la especie humana dada su capacidad de adaptación según las demandas funcionales. El conocimiento de la anatomía y biomecánica de las estructuras que influyen en la generación de la fuerza de los dedos es crucial para el entendimiento de las alteraciones que pueden producir un deterioro de la misma. Son múltiples los estudios para valorar la fuerza de cada dedo y su rol en la funcionalidad del complejo sistema músculo-esquelético de la mano. En este trabajo descriptivo revisamos conceptos básicos y presentamos las etapas de diseño y construcción de un dispositivo tridimensional capaz de cuantificar de manera individual la fuerza de los dedos para la evaluación en pacientes sanos. Material y método: Realzamos múltiples mediciones en 20 pacientes sanos con un dispositivo que discrimina la fuerza de cada dedo y comparamos los resultados con estudios previamente publicados. Resultados: Los hallazgos numéricos de las diferentes mediciones son equiparables entre si y con los resultados en estudios previos. Conclusiones: Este nuevo dispositivo brinda la posibilidad de medir la fuerza de los dedos de manera individual, como valiosa herramienta en la evaluación del paciente sano y de pacientes con patologías traumáticas y no traumáticas, para cuantificar su grado de discapacidad, evolución postoperatoria o de su enfermedad de manera especifica al dedo comprometido y el impacto en la fuerza global de agarre. (AU)

Background and objective: The wide range of movement and strength of the hand have been key in the development of the human species given its ability to adapt according to functional demands. Knowledge of the anatomy and biomechanics of the structures that influence the generation of fingers force is crucial to understand the alterations that can cause its deterioration. Multiple studies have been conducted to assess the strength of each finger and its role in the functionality of the complex musculoskeletal system of the hand. In this descriptive paper, basic concepts are reviewed and stages of design and construction of a three-dimensional device capable of individually quantify the strength of each finger for healthy patients evaluation is presented. Methods: Multiple measurements were performed in 20 healthy patients with a device that discriminates the strength of each finger, comparing the results with previously published studies. Results: The results of the different measures are comparable with each other and with the results in previous studies. Conclusions:The use of this new device offers the possibility of measuring the strength of the fingers individually, which constitutes a valuable and novel tool in the evaluation of healthy patients and patients with traumatic and non-traumatic pathologies, to quantify their degree of disability, postoperative evolution or its disease specifically to the involved finger and its impact on the global grip strength. (AU)

Determinación Social en México y su efecto ante la pandemia por Covid-19 / Social Determination in Mexico and its effect in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic

Este articulo nos ayuda a comprender la determinación social de la salud en la población mexicana y su vínculo con la vulnerabilidad frente a la pandemia por Covid 19, se desarrolló un recorrido socio histórico que abordó 5 categorías de análisis: escolaridad, pobreza, acceso a servicios de salud y servicios básicos de vivienda, todos estos campos de análisis nos ayudan a comprender la distribución asimétrica en la cual la población mexicana enfrento a la pandemia, una determinación social que nos ayuda a develar las escasas fuentes de bienestar social y la calidad de vida diferenciados entre las regiones del país, situación que en el contexto de la pandemia por Covid-19 amplió las brechas de letalidad por contagio entre las entidades en toda una República Mexicana que se ahogó entre sus propias decisiones histórico sociales.

This article helps us understand the social determination of health in the Mexican population and its link with vulnerability to the Covid 19 pandemic, a socio-historical journey was developed that addressed 5 categories of analysis: schooling, poverty, access to services health and basic housing services, all these fields of analysis help us to understand the asymmetric distribution in which the Mexican population faced the pandemic, a social determination that helps us to reveal the scarce sources of social welfare andquality of life differentiated between the regions of the country, a situation that in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic widened the lethality gaps due to contagion between entities in an entire Mexican Republic that drowned between its own historical social decisions.

A simplified method for online extraction of skin conductance features: A pilot study on an immersive virtual-reality-based motor task.

There is a growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of Skin Conductance (SC) for assessing changes in emotional states, such as engagement to learning tasks, and its importance to estimate possible drawbacks affecting overall performance. To date, most of the commonly used methods for SC signal analysis, i.e. detecting its phasic and tonic components and thus extracting informative features, are either too simple and unreliable or too complex and thus inaccessible and inflexible, as well as unable to perform online analyses. The current work proposes a simplified but clear and effective algorithm based on a Machine State to search for expected behaviors in the well-defined morphology of the signal. Eleven (11) features were correctly extracted from 79 healthy subjects during an experimental setup for immersive virtual rehabilitation (balance study case). The method was also successfully applied as a tool to identify significant changes in the subjective psychophysiological response to different experimental conditions. These results point toward a potential role in virtual rehabilitation applications by getting real-time feedback in human-in-the-loop approaches.

Effects of Presence and Challenge Variations on Emotional Engagement in Immersive Virtual Environments.

Serious games and immersive virtual reality promote emotional engagement during learning tasks, mostly by providing (1) skill-adapted challenges with performance feedback (for trial and error learning) and (2) enhanced presence (further reactions to multimodal stimuli), respectively. However, it is still unclear how each of these two strategies independently influence emotional states to engage subjects to a task. This study assessed the dimensions of emotion (valence-arousal-dominance) of 87 healthy subjects in a virtual game, assigned to 2 groups that were exposed to a different set of 5 trials: Group A experienced game variations by virtual factors affecting user's presence, whereas group B experienced levels of difficulty, affecting challenge. Emotional reports and 26 features extracted from physiological signals were statistically analyzed. Results showed that presence-based experimental conditions were able to modify the sense of arousal, whereas valence and dominance responded to challenge variation, i.e. were positively correlated with game score. Arousal is likely to increase with low sense of coexistence (social presence) and decrease with low scenario realism (physical presence). Faster breathing and higher skin conductance (SC) were detected at high challenge, whereas heart rate variability and SC increased with higher arousal. The evidence from this study suggests that both strategies can be used to separately influence dimensions of emotion, pointing out the customization of presence-based factors as a promising method to adjust emotional engagement by impacting arousal. Further research should be undertaken to identify the independent effect of single presence factors on emotional states.

Analysis of E2 gene integrity in HPV16 and HPV58 viruses isolated from women with cervical pathology.

Integration of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA into human cells accompanied by the disruption of the viral genome has been described as a prerequisite for cancer development. This study aimed to investigate E2 gene integrity of HPV16 and HPV58 viruses isolated from infected women with cervical lesions. Forty-two HPV16- and 31 HPV58-positive samples were analysed. E2 integrity was assumed when all fragments covering the E2 gene were amplified with specific polymerase chain reaction primers. Overall, in 59% of the samples, at least one fragment was not amplified in HPV16- (57%) and HPV58-positive samples (61%). Samples from high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions had the highest frequency of E2 gene disruptions (73%), followed by samples from low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (63%) and, finally, samples from invasive cervical cancer (35%). Association between the integrity status of the E2 gene, and lesion grade was assessed by the chi-squared test applied to the combined set of viruses (p = 0.6555) or to populations of the same virus type (HPV58, p = 0.3101; HPV16, p = 0.3024). In conclusion, in this study, no association was found between the presence of E2 gene disruptions and the grade of cervical lesions caused by HPV16 and HPV58.

HIV, STI and Behavioral Risk Among Men Who have Sex with Men in a Setting of Elevated HIV Prevalence Along Ecuador's Pacific Coast.

We assessed HIV and STI prevalence, risk behaviors and factors associated with HIV infection in men who have sex with men (MSM) in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit 400 MSM in 2011-2012. Participants completed a computer-assisted self-interview and provided blood samples. Statistical analysis accounted for differential probability of selection and for recruitment patterns. HIV prevalence was 11.3 %, HSV-2 30.2 %, active syphilis 6.9 % and hepatitis B 1.2 %. In the previous 12 months, 84 % of MSM reported casual male sex partners and 25 % sex work. Only 48 % of MSM consistently used condoms with male partners and 54 % had ever been tested for HIV. Of 17 % of MSM reporting a female partner, consistent condom use was 6 %. HIV infection was associated with age 25 or older, active syphilis and homosexual self-identification. Findings suggest continuing HIV risk and a need to strengthen prevention and testing among MSM.

[Prevalence of autoantibodies against autonomic receptors in patients with chronic cardiopathies]. / Prevalencia de autoanticuerpos contra receptores autonómicos en pacientes panameños con cardiopatía chagásica crónica y con otras formas de cardiopatía.

INTRODUCTION: Chagas disease is the main cause of chronic myocardiopathy in Central America. The mechanisms proposed for this cardiac pathology during the chronic phase remain controversial. Several studies have detected the presence of circulating autoantibodies against beta-adrenergic and cholinergic muscarinic receptors of the myocardium in patients with Chagas disease. These autoantibodies can trigger intracellular signals and modify the cardiac function during the progression of the disease. OBJECTIVES: The serological frequency of these autoantibodies was compared among patients with chronic Chagas disease, patients with other cardiopathies and healthy controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The prevalence of autoantibodies against beta-adrenergic and cholinergic muscarinic receptors was determined in four groups of Panamenian patients: 53 chagasic patients, 25 serologically negative patients with cardiac insufficiency, 25 patients with cardiac arrhythmia and 25 healthy individuals. RESULTS: The antibodies against autonomic receptors were more frequently observed in patients with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (24.5%) compared to the cardiac insufficiency group (20.0%) and the cardiac arrhythmia group (16.0%). The proportion of autoantibodies was significantly different between the groups with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy and healthy controls (24.5% versus 0%; p = 0.015). Of the 53 chronically infected chagasic patients, 48 (90%) showed some degree of cardiac dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of autoantibodies against autonomic receptors is significantly increased in patients with chronic Chagas disease and in patients with other cardiopathies.

Prevalencia de autoanticuerpos contra receptores autonómicos en pacientes panameños con cardiopatía chagásica crónica y con otras formas de cardiopatía / Prevalence of autoantibodies against autonomic receptors in patients with chronic cardiopathies

Introducción. La enfermedad de Chagas es la principal causa de cardiomiopatía crónica en Centroamérica. Existe controversia sobre los mecanismos causantes de la patología cardiaca observada durante la fase crónica de esta parasitosis. Varios estudios han detectado la presencia de autoanticuerpos circulantes dirigidos contra receptores beta-adrenérgicos y colinérgicos muscarínicos del miocardio en pacientes chagásicos, que pueden desencadenar señales intracelulares y alterar la función cardiaca durante el curso de la enfermedad. Objetivo. Nuestro objetivo principal fue comparar la frecuencia sérica de estos autoanticuerpos en pacientes chagásicos crónicos con la observada en pacientes con otras formas de cardiopatía y en controles sanos. Materiales y métodos. Se determinó la prevalencia de autoanticuerpos contra receptores beta-adrenérgicos y colinérgicos muscarínicos en cuatro grupos de pacientes panamelos: 53 pacientes chagásicos, 25 pacientes seronegativos con insuficiencia cardiaca, 25 pacientes con diferentes tipos de arritmia cardiaca y 25 controles sanos. Resultados. Los autoanticuerpos contra receptores autonómicos fueron más frecuentes en el grupo de pacientes con cardiopatía chagásica crónica (24,5%) comparados con el grupo de insuficiencia cardiaca (20,0%) y con el grupo con arritmias cardiacas (16,0%). Al comparar la proporción de autoanticuerpos entre el grupo de pacientes con cardiopatía chagásica crónica y los controles sanos, se detectaron diferencias muy significativas (24,5% versus 0%; p=0,0015). De los 53 pacientes con infección crónica, 48 (90,6%) presentaron algún grado de alteración cardiaca. Conclusiones. En comparación con el grupo de controles sanos, la frecuencia de los autoanticuerpos contra receptores autonómicos se encuentra significativamente aumentada en pacientes con enfermedad de Chagas crónica y con otras formas de cardiopatía.

Introduction. ChagasL disease is the main cause of chronic myocardiopathy in Central America. The mechanisms proposed for this cardiac pathology during the chronic phase remain controversial. Several studies have detected the presence of circulating autoantibodies against ƒÀ-adrenergic and cholinergic muscarinic receptors of the myocardium in patients with Chagas disease. These autoantibodies can trigger intracellular signals and modify the cardiac function during the progression of the disease. Objectives. The serological frequency of these autoantibodies was compared among patients with chronic Chagas disease, patients with other cardiopathies and healthy controls. Materials and methods. The prevalence of autoantibodies against ƒÀ-adrenergic and cholinergic muscarinic receptors was determined in four groups of Panamenian patients: 53 chagasic patients, 25 serologically negative patients with cardiac insufficiency, 25 patients with cardiac arrhythmia and 25 healthy individuals. Results. The antibodies against autonomic receptors were more frequently observed in patients with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (24.5%) compared to the cardiac insufficiency group (20.0%) and the cardiac arrhythmia group (16.0%). The proportion of autoantibodies was significantly different between the groups with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy and healthy controls (24.5% versus 0%; p=0.015). Of the 53 chronically infected chagasic patients, 48 (90%) showed some degree of cardiac dysfunction. Conclusions. The frequency of autoantibodies against autonomic receptors is significantly increased in patients with chronic Chagas disease and in patients with other cardiopathies.

Diseño y construcción de un dedo para grippers robóticos / Design and construcción of finger for robotic

En este trabajo muestra el diseño de un prototipo de dedo robótico antropomórfico un dedo artificial para la posterior implementación de una mano bio-mecatrónica. El dedo es desarrollado en el laboratorio de Automatización y Robótica de la Universidad Estatal de Campinas (Brasil) con la colaboración de la Universidad Militar Nueva Granada en Bogotá (Colombia). Una mano robótica multidedos típicamente tiene muchos grados de libertad (GDL), estos dedos están montados en una palma rígida, la cual está proyectada para ser ensamblada en la muñeca de un brazo robótico. El principal componente de una mano multidedos es el mecanismo de un dedo. Con base en el estudio de manos robóticas disponibles, es desarrollado un mecanismo para un dedo artificial el cual posee tres juntas y un GDL para todo el mecanismo. El mecanismo implementado es un sistema de palancas en donde la entrada es un tornillo sin fin para conversión de movimiento rotacional en lineal. Un prototipo del dedo es implementado y probado experimentalmente. Este diseño presenta una alternativa de bajo costo y permite la actuación y control de una mano artificial con un número pequeño de grados de libertad.

This work presents the design of a prototype of an anthropomorphic robotic finger (12). The main objective of this article is to show the design of an artificial finger. It describes the implementation of a finger for the implementation of a Bio- Mecatronic hand. The finger is developed in the “Laboratorio de Automatización y Robótica de la Universidad Estatal de Campinas (Brazil)” with collaboration with the “Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogotá”, (Colombia). A robotic hand multi finger has many grades of liberty (GDL), these fingers are placed on a rigid palm, projected to be assembled in the wrist of a robotic arm. The main component of a multi finger hand is the mechanism of one finger. Based on the study of robotic hand available, a mechanism is developed for an artificial finger with three joints and one GDL for all the mechanism. The implemented mechanism is a system of levers where the entrance is a worm screw for the conversion of rotational movement into lineal. A prototype of a finger is implemented and tested experimentally. This design presents an alternative of low cost and allows the action and control of an artificial hand with some liberty.