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El presente documento expone el diseño y construcción de un módulo de comunicación entre el protocolo Loxone y el dispositivo Alexa que tuvo como objetivo aportar una nueva función de control de los dispositivos conectados al protocolo mediante comandos de voz ya que actualmente este no ofrece conexión directa con asistentes virtuales. This document sets out the design and construction of a communication module between the Loxone protocol and the Alexa device that was aimed at providing a new function to control the devices connected to the protocol through voice commands, since it currently does not offer direct connection with virtual assistants.

Consumption of plastic is steadily increasing, making disposal through landfilling, incineration, and open-or closed-loop recycling challenging. The majority of these plastic waste is Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles, widely used for single-use beverage and liquid containers. This study focuses on using Recycled PET (RPET) bottles as confining material on rectangular concrete columns. This method uses RPET strips that are produced by stripping parts of the RPET bottle which are then wrapped around externally on concrete columns. It can easily be adapted in rural areas with low skilled workers, unlike the conventional methods which makes use of expensive materials and require trained workers. Production of twenty-seven rectangular unreinforced concrete specimens with a size of 100 mm × 100 mm × 300 mm are made. The RPET strips are varied having width of 10 mm and 20 mm, and clear spacing between strips of 10 mm and 25 mm by using two available PET bottles in the industry. A fastening system is proposed, instead of using industrial adhesives, in placing and tying the RPET strips to the rectangular column. Results show a 19% to 70% increase in ultimate compressive strength for rectangular columns which are externally reinforced by RPET. A significant increase in axial strain from the stress-strain diagram is experienced. The proposed method is practical and effective in strengthening concrete structures. The findings suggest that test for long-term durability should be implemented. Life cycle analysis as well as further studies on the scalability of this viable PET waste management solution should be conducted.

Objective A consistent line of investigation proposes fibromyalgia as a dysautonomia-associated neuropathic pain syndrome. Comorbid anxiety or depression amplifies fibromyalgia symptoms. The recent recognition of small fiber neuropathy in fibromyalgia patients supports the neuropathic nature of the illness. Corneal confocal microscopy accurately identifies small nerve fiber pathology. The newly developed Small-Fiber Symptom Survey captures the spectrum of small fiber neuropathy symptoms. We aimed to correlate corneal nerve density with different fibromyalgia disease severity questionnaires including the Small-Fiber Symptom Survey. We defined the possible confounding role of comorbid anxiety or depression severity in the clinical-pathological association. Methods This is a case series of 28 women with fibromyalgia. A single ophthalmologist quantified corneal subbasal plexus nerve density. Corneal innervation was correlated (Spearman ρ) with the following clinical questionnaires scores: Small-Fiber Symptom Survey, Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, and COMPASS-31 (Composite Autonomic Symptom Survey 31-Item Score). Validated inquiry forms assessed the comorbid anxiety and/or depression severity. Results There were no clinical-pathological correlations in the group as a whole. In the subgroup of fibromyalgia women without severe anxiety or depression (n = 13), there was a strong negative correlation between corneal nerve density with the Small-Fiber Symptom Survey score (ρ = -0.771, p = 0.002) and COMPASS-31 score (ρ = -0.648, p = 0.017). Patients with profound anxiety or depression (n = 15) had more intense symptoms but had not clinical-pathological correlations. Conclusions Small fiber neuropathy and dysautonomia symptoms correlate with corneal denervation in women with fibromyalgia without severe anxiety or depression. This clinical-pathological association reinforces fibromyalgia as a dysautonomia-related neuropathic pain syndrome. Severe anxiety or depression distorts fibromyalgia symptoms. Practical point Corneal confocal microscopy may become a useful procedure to study fibromyalgia patients.

La presente edición ofrece una serie de temas sobre Cirugía General en la práctica médica. Se hace una presentación clásica de la patología o procedimiento tomando en cuenta el accionar del médico general o el interno residente en dicha especialidad. Cuando ha sido posible se incluye un estudio de caso y bibliografía más reciente con epidemiología del Ecuador o Latinoamérica.

Playful activities are regarded to be a promising way for fostering children's geometric thinking and understanding. In this paper we introduce Lost My Way, an educational game about geometric transformations targeted at middle school children of about 10 years of age. We describe the design of the game and report preliminary results and experiences gained from the first two stages of our iterative development process which included a playtesting session and an on-site evaluation at a local middle school.

New metrics are needed to produce insights in serious games analytics.Action sequences can be coded using task- or tile-based approach.Size of map grids can affects the accuracy in performance prediction.Grid size affects tile-based coding of action sequences and performance prediction.The optimal map grid size must be determined independently for each game. Previous research differentiated expert vs. novice performances based on how (dis)similar novices' action sequences were from that of the expert's by way of similarity measures. Action sequences were coded using an 'objective-oriented' (or task-based) approach based on the sequence of objectives/tasks completed in-game. Findings from these studies suggest that the task-based similarity measures is a better predictor than (a) distance traversed, and (b) time (of completion).In this study, we suggested an alternative method to code action sequences of experts and novices by way of a 'navigational' (or tile-based) approach. We divided a game-map into grids/tiles of different sizes to facilitate tracing of the path traversed by players in game and proceeded to test the effect of grid sizes on differentiating between experts and novices. We further compared the two different action sequence coding approaches and their abilities to measure players' competency improvement in serious games. The results of the study showed that the size of game grids does matter, and that both task-based and tile-based action sequence coding approaches are useful for serious games analytics.

Effects of game characters' voiceovers on players' engagement.Character voiceovers result in better engagement in participants.Voiceovers have moderately significant effect on play-learners' engagement.More research is needed to investigate presence of other audio effects in games. Learner engagement has been considered to be an important factor for successful learning in multimedia learning environments, which include digital game-based learning (DGBL). Nonetheless, there have been few empirical studies and very little consensus on what elements critically affect learners' engagement in a DGBL environment. Audial and visual stimuli are often the only means to communicate learning materials to the learners because of the virtual environment found in DGBLs. This means that learners' engagement in DGBL will need to occur via audial or visual stimuli - sans other specialty devices to immerse players in virtual reality (such as Occulus Rifts and Virtusphere). Yet, very few researchers have directly measured the effect of sensory stimuli on learners' engagement during (game-based) learning. This study examined the effects of non-player characters' (NPC) voiceovers on play-learners' engagement in DGBL through a role-playing game (RPG). A randomized control-group post-test only design was used to collect data from 74 participants. Data analysis revealed that the participants who played the game with voiceovers were more engaged than participants who played without voiceovers. The results of this study will guide practitioners to identify more effective ways of adopting, developing, and modifying digital games for educational purposes.