Impact of COVID-19 on health services and its consequences for pregnant women

During the pandemic of the COVID-19 several factors provided higher risks for pregnant women, which could negatively interfere in the ongoing pregnancies. This study aims to reflect on the impacts of the pandemic of COVID-19 caused in the health of pregnant women, related to the physical and psychological impacts and changes in prenatal care, as well as the changes made in maternity hospitals due to social distance. This is a methodology with a literature review based on scientific articles published during the pandemic period. In view of the records analyzed it was observed that the pandemic of COVID-19 brought difficulties in the scope of health services, directed to pregnant women.

The Portuguese Football Federation's new paradigm during COVID-19

Sport is probably the main form of physical activity. Football (i.e., soccer) is often mentioned as the most popular sport. Not surprisingly, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) consistently registers the largest number of participants among 60 sport federations that are recognized by the Portuguese Government. To enhance quality, FPF created the Portugal Football School (PFS) aimed to promote education and applied research in parallel to knowledge transfer. The targets are players, managers, clinical professionals, nutritionists, and media. Until the emergence of the current pandemic, COVID-19, the educational model followed the traditional classroom setting for teaching and learning. This chapter's focus will be only on the PFS Education area and presenting results related to the PFS courses and participants in the pre-COVID-19 period and during COVID-19 pandemic time. © 2021 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Silver, copper and copper oxide nanoparticles in the fight against human viruses: progress and perspectives.

The rapid development of nanomedicine has created a high demand for silver, copper and copper oxide nanoparticles. Due to their high reactivity and potent antimicrobial activity, silver and copper-based nanomaterials have been playing an important role in the search for new alternatives for the treatment of several issues of concern, such as pathologies caused by bacteria and viruses. Viral diseases are a significant and constant threat to public health. The most recent example is the pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this context, the object of the present review is to highlight recent progress in the biomedical uses of these metal nanoparticles for the treatment and prevention of human viral infections. We discuss the antiviral activity of AgNPs and Cu-based NPs, including their actions against SARS-CoV-2. We also discuss the toxicity, biodistribution and excretion of AgNPs and CuNPs, along with their uses in medical devices or on inert surfaces to avoid viral dissemination by fomites. The challenges and limitations of the biomedical use of these nanoparticles are presented.

Mindfulness and Other Simple Neuroscience-Based Proposals to Promote the Learning Performance and Mental Health of Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on education. The restrictions imposed have undoubtedly led to impairment of the psychological well-being of both teachers and students, and of the way they experience interpersonal relationships. As reported previously in the literature, adverse effects such as loneliness, anxiety, and stress have resulted in a decrease in the cognitive performance of school and higher education students. Therefore, the objective of this work is to present a general overview of the reported adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which may potentially influence the learning performance of students. Some neuroscientific findings related to memory and cognition, such as neuroplasticity and long-term potentiation, are also shown. We also discuss the positive effects of the practice of mindfulness, as well as other simple recommendations based on neuroscientific findings such as restful sleep, physical activity, and nutrition, which can act on memory and cognition. Finally, we propose some practical recommendations on how to achieve more effective student learning in the context of the pandemic. The aim of this review is to provide some assistance in this changing and uncertain situation in which we all find ourselves, and we hope that some of the information could serve as a starting point for hypotheses to be tested in educational research and their association with neuroscience.

Occupational participation, stress, anxiety and depression in workers and students from Brazilian universities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: The physical, social and occupational restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the health and well-being of the world population. Objective: To identify the repercussions of the pandemic on the occupational participation of students, lecturers and technicians from three public universities in Northern Brazil, to compare the changes reported by participants in occupational participation before and during the pandemic, and to identify symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress self-reported. Method: This is a Cross-sectional, descriptive and comparative study with a quantitative approach. One hundred and ninety-nine (n = 199) participants (students, lecturers and technicians) responded to an online questionnaire, the "Occupational Participation Checklist" and the Anxiety, Stress and Depression Scale (DASS-21). Data analysis were descriptive and also performed by applying the Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests. Results: During the pandemic, an increase in occupational participation was identified for all participants in domestic activities (p <0.001) and a decrease in work and study face to face (p <0.001). Students reported more symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress when compared to lecturers (p<0.001). Most students did not organise their time to fulfil their occupations with satisfaction. Such difficulties were associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, especially among the student's group (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study provided preliminary evidence about differences in occupational participation before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. The organization of time and difficulties in occupational participation were associated to levels of anxiety, depression and stress, especially in the sample of students.