The perceptions of Brazilian postgraduate students about the impact of COVID-19 on their well-being and academic performance.

This study aimed at identifying the perceptions of Brazilian postgraduate students from all over the country on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their academic trajectories. Data from 5985 postgraduate students were collected in the end of 2020, through a 37-item questionnaire, including multiple-choice questions, through Google Forms. The questions were divided into blocks with different proposals: personal profile, academic profile, issues related to COVID-19 infection, and issues related to mental health. Our analysis showed that 51.43% were master's degree students; 43.02% were doctorate and 5.55% were specialization students, mostly attending Biological, Health, and Human Sciences post-graduation courses (18.13%, 17.91%, and 17.38%, respectively) of different Brazilian educational institutions, including public (e.g., UFRJ) and private (e.g., PUC) federal universities as well as research institutions (e.g., Fiocruz) from all five regions of Brazil (north, south, southeast, northeast, and center Midwest). Most of them were academically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which also involved psychological aspects such as high levels of anxiety and depression. The results showed readjustments of research projects, and academic activities, which in some particular research fields led to the successful completion through the remote activities. However, efforts are still needed by graduate programs in order to allow greater flexibility in academic activities to fulfill all previous planning and chronograms, in addition to implementing ongoing projects to support students' mental health.

Perceptions and Feelings of Brazilian Health Care Professionals Regarding the Effects of COVID-19: Cross-sectional Web-Based Survey.

BACKGROUND: The importance of health professionals has been recognized in COVID-19 pandemic-affected countries, especially in those such as Brazil, which is one of the top 3 countries that have been affected in the world. However, the workers' perception of the stress and the changes that the pandemic has caused in their lives vary according to the conditions offered by these affected countries, including salaries, individual protection equipment, and psychological support. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of Brazilian health workers regarding the COVID-19 pandemic impact on their lives, including possible self-contamination and mental health. METHODS: This cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted in Brazil by applying a 32-item questionnaire, including multiple-choice questions by using the Google Forms electronic assessment. This study was designed to capture spontaneous perceptions from health professionals. All questions were mandatory and divided into 2 blocks with different proposals: personal profile and COVID-19 pandemic impact. RESULTS: We interviewed Brazilian health professionals from all 5 Brazilian regions (N=1376). Our study revealed that 1 in 5 (23%) complained about inadequate personal protective equipment, including face shields (234/1376, 17.0%), masks (206/1376, 14.9%), and laboratory coats (138/1376, 10.0%), whereas 1 in 4 health professionals did not have enough information to protect themselves from the coronavirus disease. These professionals had anxiety due to COVID-19 (604/1376, 43.9%), difficulties in sleep (593/1376, 43.1%), and concentrating on work (453/1376, 32.9%). Almost one-third experienced traumatic situations at work (385/1376, 28.0%), which may have led to negative feelings of fear of COVID-19 and sadness. Despite this situation, there was hope and empathy among their positive feelings. The survey also showed that 1 in 5 acquired COVID-19 with the most classic and minor symptoms, including headache (274/315, 87.0%), body pain (231/315, 73.3%), tiredness (228/315, 72.4%), and loss of taste and smell (208/315, 66.0%). Some of their negative feelings were higher than those of noninfected professionals (fear of COVID-19, 243/315, 77.1% vs 509/1061, 48.0%; impotence, 142/315, 45.1% vs 297/1061, 28.0%; and fault, 38/315, 12.1% vs 567/1061, 53.4%, respectively). Another worrying outcome was that 61.3% (193/315) reported acquiring an infection while working at a health facility and as expected, most of the respondents felt affected (344/1376, 25.0%) or very affected (619/1376, 45.0%) by the COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: In Brazil, the health professionals were exposed to a stressful situation and to the risk of self-contamination-conditions that can spell future psychological problems for these workers. Our survey findings showed that the psychological support for this group should be included in the future health planning of Brazil and of other hugely affected countries to assure a good mental health condition for the medical teams in the near future.

Dolabelladienols A-C, new diterpenes isolated from Brazilian brown alga Dictyota pfaffii.

The marine brown alga Dictyota pfaffii from Atol das Rocas, in Northeast Brazil is a rich source of dolabellane diterpene, which has the potential to be used in future antiviral drugs by inhibiting reverse transcriptase (RT) of HIV-1. Reexamination of the minor diterpene constituents yielded three new dolabellane diterpenes, (1R*,2E,4R*,7S,10S*,11S*,12R*)10,18-diacetoxy-7-hydroxy-2,8(17)-dolabelladiene (1), (1R*,2E,4R*,7R*,10S*,11S*,12R*)10,18-diacetoxy-7-hydroxy-2,8(17)-dolabelladiene (2), (1R*,2E,4R*,8E,10S*,11S,12R*)10,18-diacetoxy-7-hydroxy-2,8-dolabelladiene (3), termed dolabelladienols A-C (1-3) respectively, in addition to the known dolabellane diterpenes (4-6). The elucidation of the compounds 1-3 was assigned by 1D and 2D NMR, MS, optical rotation and molecular modeling, along with the relative configuration of compound 4 and the absolute configuration of 5 by X-ray diffraction. The potent anti-HIV-1 activities displayed by compounds 1 and 2 (IC50 = 2.9 and 4.1 µM), which were more active than even the known dolabelladienetriol 4, and the low cytotoxic activity against MT-2 lymphocyte tumor cells indicated that these compounds are promising anti-HIV-1 agents.

Etiologia viral das infecções respiratórias agudas em população pediátrica no Instituto Fernandes Figueira/FIOCRUZ/RJ / Viral etiology of acute respiratory infections among children at Instituto Fernandes Figueira/FIOCRUZ/RJ

INTRODUÇÃO: As infecções respiratórias agudas (IRAs) constituem importante causa de morbidade e mortalidade em crianças nos países em desenvolvimento. A etiologia viral dessas infecções nem sempre é conhecida no Brasil, e estudos sobre as IRAs virais em crianças com doenças de base (DBs) são escassos. OBJETIVO: Determinar a etiologia viral dessas infecções em menores de 5 anos assistidos no Instituto Fernandes Figueira da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (IFF/FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro. MÉTODOS: Foram analisadas 285 amostras de aspirado de nasofaringe, obtidas de 204 crianças com IRA, de maio de 2005 a junho de 2006. RESULTADOS: Por meio da imunofluorescência indireta (IFI), 90 amostras (31,6 por cento) foram positivas: 21,4 por cento vírus sincicial respiratório (VSR); 3,5 por cento adenovírus (Ad); 3,1 por cento parainfluenza (PF) 3; 2,5 por cento influenza (Flu) A; 0,7 por cento PF 1; 0,4 por cento Flu B. Das 195 negativas, 156 foram testadas para metapneumovírus humano (MPVh), com 15 positivas (9,6 por cento das amostras testadas). CONCLUSÃO: A prevalência viral nos serviços de ambulatórios foi de 42,8 por cento e nos hospitalizados foi de 30 por cento. Das crianças, 83,3 por cento possuíam uma ou mais DBs associadas às IRAs, resultando em longos períodos de internação. Algumas delas tiveram múltiplas internações e múltiplos diagnósticos clínicos de IRA no período estudado.

INTRODUCTION: Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality among children in developing countries. The viral etiology of such infections is not always known in Brazil. Furthermore, studies on viral ARIs in children with underlying diseases (UD) are scanty. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the viral etiology of these infections among children under 5 years of age treated at Instituto Fernandes Figueira/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (IFF/FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro. METHOD: Two hundred and eighty-five samples of nasopharyngeal aspirate, which had been obtained from 204 children with ARI from May/2005 to June/2006, were analyzed. RESULTS: Samples were tested through indirect immunofluorescence assay and 90 of them (31.6 percent) were positive for the following viral agents: respiratory syncytial virus (21.4 percent), adenovirus (3.5 percent), parainfluenza 3 (3.1 percent), influenza A (2.5 percent), parainfluenza 1 (0.7 percent), and influenza B (0.4 percent). One hundred and ninety-five samples were negative, from which 156 were tested for human metapneumovirus, and 15 of them (9.6 percent) were positive. CONCLUSION: The viral prevalence among outpatients was 42.8 percent and among inpatients it was 30 percent; 83.3 percent of the children were carriers of one or more UD associated with ARI, resulting in long-term admission to hospital. Some children had multiple admissions and multiple clinical diagnoses of ARI during the studied period.