The relationship between nutritional deficiencies and mental health

The objective of this mini review was to discuss the relationship between nutritional deficiencies and mental health, and to present a structure that helps to visualize these associations based on a literature review and the scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted to demonstrate the effect of the nutritional deficiencies on the occurrence and/or worsening of mental health problems, mainly related to the most drastic measures of social distance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have already shown that a nutritionally unbalanced diet may be associated with greater chances of mental health problems. Insufficient levels of micronutrients can, by regulating the stress response, immune and oxidative systems, negatively affect brain functions and, consequently, cognitive functions and mental health of individuals. The current pandemic of COVID-19 reveals an increase in food and nutritional insecurity, and a worsening of this situation among already vulnerable populations. Micronutrient deficiencies may be exacerbated in a context of increased food insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic, which may contribute to increased mental health problems.

Evaluation of Pedagogical Strategies used in the State of Rio de Janeiro for Teaching Chemistry, Physics and Biology in High School During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared that the epidemic of the new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was out of control and had become a global zoonotic pandemic. Consequently, more than 190 countries have implemented measures to contain the outbreak of the disease, including the Lockdown, mainly to avoid the saturation of their health systems. Humanity found itself in an unprecedented disruptive moment, in which basic education was compelled to change, compulsorily. the traditional paradigm of the teaching-learning process and to adopt emergency remote teaching, mediated massively by technological alternatives. In the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, it was decreed that there would be no loss of school days during the year 2020. Therefore, teachers of Chemistry, Physics and Biology were forced to develop assignments and digital skills online, for which they were not prepared. In the private education network in Rio de Janeiro, science teachers had more favorable technological conditions, as well as a better return from synchronous and asynchronous online activities by students and family. In spite of these factors, the exacerbation of fatigue and professional exhaustion have been reported. In the federal education network, basic education classes were cancelled in 2020, as a pedagogical policy to mitigate the inequalities within the students. On the other hand, in the state education network, which is responsible for education of nearly 500,000 students in the state of Rio de Janeiro, classes were not cancelled. Among the numerous approaches adopted by teachers of Chemistry, Physics and Biology at the state network, the creation of 36 video classes that were broadcast on an open television station and on TV ALERJ stands out. An exponential drop was observed in the visualizations of the video classes, which may result in the loss of the scientific literacy quality of high school students. In this way, they may become more vulnerable to fake news and fake sciences and may have a worse formation as citizens and a poor critical sense.

The impact of covid-19 on the peripheries: a spatial analysis based on cases and deaths in Rio de Janeiro

After almost a year, the covid-19 pandemic did not prove to be as democratic as was announced: the urban peripheries, more socially vulnerable, proved to be privileged areas of contamination. Thus, the objective of this article is to analyze the impacts of the covid-19 in the peripheries of the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro, highlighting the capital and the municipalities that make up the Baixada Fluminense. Presenting a conceptual debate on social vulnerability and dialoguing with the field of public health, maps and tables were produced, based on official case and death data from the State of Rio de Janeiro Health Department, by municipality, and estimated population in 2020, from IBGE Cidades, to calculate the Prevalence, Mortality and Lethality Rates, to seek an analytical understanding of the diffusion of covid-19 in the peripheral territories of Rio de Janeiro. Despite the obstacles to underreporting, the results made it possible to identify a similar spatial behavior between groups of municipalities, highlighting the importance of social vulnerability as one of the most relevant elements of the spread of covid-19.

COVID-19 and the circulation information on social networks: analysis in a Brazilian Facebook group about the Coronavirus

This article aims to quantify and qualify the information circulating in social media groups about COVID-19, the subjects covered in posts, as well as the possible relations with other subjects, events or social events, in order to generate a representative panorama of perception and social reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. For this, statistical techniques, data mining and machine learning are used to the characterization, pattern detection, and grouping of textual data. The experiments are carried out on a dataset of textual data extracted from a Brazilian public group about COVID-19 (SARS-cov-2) of the social network Facebook. Statistical analyzes are crossed with data on the advance of the number of infected, and with specific political-social events, revealing variations and influences in terms of participation and engagement in the analyzed group. In addition, through the results obtained by the clustering method used, two main groups of posts are detected, the first presenting a content pattern geared to governmental issues, and the second to personal issues. The results achieved still allow a reflection on the possible social impacts of the creation or absence of public policies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE EXPANSION OF COVID-19 IN BAIXADA FLUMINENSE - RJ: THEIR PATHS AND SOCIAL EFFECTS ON THE PERIPHERY

The geographical expansion of Covid-19 has revealed that the metropolitan peripheries are privileged areas of contamination. As a periphery of the city of Rio de Janeiro, the Baixada Fluminense is the vector of expansion and already has a high number of cases and deaths. This article is based on surveying, monitoring and tabulation of the evolution of data and construction of different maps and graphs, with the number of contaminated, cured and deaths and demonstrating the centralities and paths of Covid-19. Therefore, it aims to analyze and make visible the impacts of the pandemic in the Baixada Fluminense.

Predictive Value of Myocardial injury in Patients with COVID-19 Admitted to a Quaternary Hospital in the City of Rio de Janeiro

Background: In Brazil the factors involved in the risk of death in patients with COVID-19 have not been well established. Objective: To analyze whether elevations of high-sensitivity troponin I (hTnI) levels influence the mortality of patients with COVID-19. Methods: Clinical and laboratory characteristics of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were collected upon hospital admission. Univariate and binary logistic regression analyzes were performed to assess the factors that influence mortality. P-value<0.05 was considered significant. Results: This study analyzed192 patients who received hospital admission between March 16 and June 2, 2020 and who were discharged or died by July 2, 2020. The mean age was 70±15 years, 80 (41.7%) of whom were women. In comparison to those who were discharged, the 54 (28.1%) who died were older (79±12 vs 66±15years;P=0.004), and with a higher Charlson´s index (5±2 vs 3±2;P=0.027). More patients, aged≥60years (P <0.0001), Charlson´s index>1 (P=0.004), lung injury>50% in chest computed tomography (P=0.011), with previous coronary artery disease (P=0.037), hypertension (P=0.033), stroke (P=0.008), heart failure (P=0.002), lymphocytopenia (P=0.024), high D-dimer (P=0.024), high INR (P=0.003), hTnI (P<0.0001), high creatinine (P<0.0001), invasive mechanical ventilation (P<0.0001), renal replacement therapy (P<0.0001), vasoactive amine (P<0.0001), and transfer to the ICU (P=0.001), died when compared to those who were discharged. In logistic regression analysis, elevated hTnI levels (OR=9.504;95% CI=1.281–70.528;P=0.028) upon admission, and the need for mechanical ventilation during hospitalization (OR=46.691;95% CI=2.360–923.706;P=0.012) increased the chance of in-hospital mortality. Conclusion: This study suggests that in COVID-19 disease, myocardial injury upon hospital admission is a harbinger of poor prognosis. © 2022, Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia. All rights reserved.