Google Classroom as an Alternative during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Teachers Perceptions

Currently, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) offer wide access to various educational tools that complement both classroom and online education;therefore, it is the responsibility of institutions to be at the forefront and provide teachers with the necessary technological tools to generate better conditions for meaningful learning. In this sense, the need arises to analyze the use of ICTs during the COVID-19 pandemic as a complement for the teacher in the teaching-learning process. The objective of this research was to analyze the use of Google Classroom during the period March 2020 to February 2021, a tool that supported teachers in communicating with their students at the Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa. For this purpose, a survey was applied to know the perception of 150 teachers of the Economic-Administrative Sciences Division (DCEA) towards the use of the platform. The data analysis was carried out through graphs and their respective description where it was found that most of the teachers accessed the platform to create online classes with students, although their level of knowledge was basic, this software allowed them to maintain interaction with students during the period of suspension of face-to-face classes due to COVID-19;an attitude of acceptance towards its use by teachers and students was perceived. Finally, recommendations were made to continue with teacher training, at intermediate and advanced levels, on the operation and management of the Google Classroom platform, as well as the creation of an area to provide advice to teachers and students in relation to ICTs at the Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa.

Mental health impact of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on children with psychiatric disorder

Introduction: The first full lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic in Portugal started in March 2020 and sent home every child, only to return to school in September the same year. Children are thought to cope harder with this pandemic, but little is known about those already struggling with psychiatric conditions. Methods: We interviewed parents of 196 children in psychiatric follow-up in Clínica da Encarnação, a child psychiatry unit, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central, and reported their perception of the impact of the lockdown on the mental health of their children, as well as on their families. Results: The parents reported a slight deterioration of their children condition and symptomatology, particularly irritability and anxiety. We identified several important fragility factors such as female gender, lower school grade, higher daily screen time, lower housing quality, parental precarious job situation, parental psychiatric disorder, pharmacologic treatment, and shorter follow-up time. We also found some resilience factors such as coronavirus disease 2019 cases in the family and school failure, as well as male gender and shorter daily screen time. The parents who reported a deterioration of familial conflicts also reported a worse lockdown impact on their children psychiatric condition. Discussion: Our findings suggest a heterogeneous impact on these children’s psychiatric symptomatology. Efforts should be made towards prevention along with interventions. The fragility and resilience factors identified should help direct these interventions. © 2022, Portuguese Society of Paediatrics. All rights reserved.

Computational microscopy of SARS-CoV-2 in situ

I will discuss our lab's efforts, together with collaborators, to use computational microscopy to understand the SARS-CoV-2 virus in atomic detail, with the goals to better understand molecular recognition of the virus and host cell receptors, antibody binding and design, and the search for novel therapeutics. I will focus on our studies of the spike protein, its glycan shield, its interactions with the human ACE2 receptor, our ACM Gordon Bell Special Prize winning efforts to model the SARS-CoV-2 virion, and escape variants. I will also discuss our efforts to completely revise current models of airborne transmission of respiratory viruses by providing never-before-seen atomic level views of the SARSCoV-2 virus within a respiratory aerosol.

The flexibility of ACE2 in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept over the world in the past months, causing significant loss of life and consequences to human health. Although numerous drug and vaccine developments efforts are underway, many questions remain outstanding on the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 viral association to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), its main host receptor, and entry in the cell. Structural and biophysical studies indicate some degree of flexibility in the viral extracellular Spike glycoprotein and at the receptor binding domain-receptor interface, suggesting a role in infection. Here, we perform all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the glycosylated, full-length membrane-bound ACE2 receptor, in both an apo and spike receptor binding domain (RBD) bound state, in order to probe the intrinsic dynamics of the ACE2 receptor in the context of the cell surface. A large degree of fluctuation in the full length structure is observed, indicating hinge bending motions at the linker region connecting the head to the transmembrane helix, while still not disrupting the ACE2 homodimer or ACE2-RBD interfaces. This flexibility translates into an ensemble of ACE2 homodimer conformations that could sterically accommodate binding of the spike trimer to more than one ACE2 homodimer, and suggests a mechanical contribution of the host receptor towards the large spike conformational changes required for cell fusion. This work presents further structural and functional insights into the role of ACE2 in viral infection that can be exploited for the rational design of effective SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: As the host receptor of SARS-CoV-2, ACE2 has been the subject of extensive structural and antibody design efforts in aims to curtail COVID-19 spread. Here, we perform molecular dynamics simulations of the homodimer ACE2 full-length structure to study the dynamics of this protein in the context of the cellular membrane. The simulations evidence exceptional plasticity in the protein structure due to flexible hinge motions in the head-transmembrane domain linker region and helix mobility in the membrane, resulting in a varied ensemble of conformations distinct from the experimental structures. Our findings suggest a dynamical contribution of ACE2 to the spike glycoprotein shedding required for infection, and contribute to the question of stoichiometry of the Spike-ACE2 complex.