Quality of life and associated factors on employees of a public university working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 imposed restrictions to movement, generating new work dynamics especially in the education sector, where remote working has become the rule. The overlapping of work-related and domestic tasks and the fear of the virus generated an additional burden to workers, with unknown effects on their quality of life. Objectives: To estimate the quality of life of employees of the education sector who were working remotely during the pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and identify associated factors. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study performed with a sample of 317 government employees of a federal university between August 25 2020 and September 11 2020. Standardized questionnaires concerning sociodemographic and economic aspects were constructed using the Google Forms tool. The European Health Interview Survey - Quality of Life 8-item index was used to assess quality of life. Multiple linear regression was used to check for associations between variables using quality of life scores as outcome (alpha value of 5%). This research proposal was approved by the National Research Ethics Commission, with a Certificate of Presentation for Ethical Appreciation No. 33636220.1.0000.0056. Results: The European Health Interview Survey - Quality of Life 8-item index resulted in mean adjusted scores of 3.5 ± 1.9. Quality of life was independently associated with age (ß = 0.01, 95% confidence interval 0.00 to 0.02, p = 0.015), physical activity (ß = 0.19, 95% confidence interval 0.00 to 0.38, p = 0.049), smoking habits (ß = 0.54, 95% confidence interval 0.19 to 0.88, p = 0.002), having a dedicated workspace (ß = 0.14, 95% confidence interval 0.02 to 0.26, p = 0.023), performing housework (ß =-0.20, 95% confidence interval-0.32 to-0.08, p < 0.001), financial difficulties (ß =-0.26, 95% confidence interval-0.40 to-0.12, p < 0.001), and the impact of social distancing at work (ß =-0.33, 95% confidence interval-0.47 to-0.19, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The level of quality of life within the sample was reasonable; it was higher among older participants who were physically active and did not smoke, and lower when the socioeconomic situation was unfavorable. This highlights the importance of constructing support strategies while the effects of the pandemic linger.

Renal Morphology in Coronavirus Disease: A Literature Review.

Renal biopsy is useful to better understand the histological pattern of a lesion (glomerular, tubulointerstitial, and vascular) and the pathogenesis that leads to kidney failure. The potential impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on the kidneys is still undetermined, and a variety of lesions are seen in the kidney tissue of coronavirus disease patients. This review is based on the morphological findings of patients described in case reports and a series of published cases. A search was conducted on MEDLINE and PubMed of case reports and case series of lesions in the presence of non-critical infection by SARS-CoV-2 published until 15/09/2020. We highlight the potential of the virus directly influencing the damage or the innate and adaptive immune response activating cytokine and procoagulant cascades, in addition to the genetic component triggering glomerular diseases, mainly collapsing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, tubulointerstitial, and even vascular diseases. Kidney lesions caused by SARS-CoV-2 are frequent and have an impact on morbidity and mortality; thus, studies are needed to assess the morphological kidney changes and their mechanisms and may help define their spectrum and immediate or long-term impact.

Evaluation of the antioxidant activities of fatty polyhydroquinolines synthesized by Hantzsch multicomponent reactions.

Polyhydroquinolines (PHQs) are the unsymmetrical Hantzsch derivatives of 1,4-dihydropyridines with several biological applications. In this work, new fatty 2- and 3-substituted PHQ derivatives from different fatty acids and fatty alcohol feedstocks were synthesized at good yields via a four-component reaction (4CR). The antioxidant activities of fatty PHQs were investigated using three different antioxidant methods. The experiments showed that the compounds derived from 2-nitrobenzaldehyde and fatty palmitic (C16:0) and oleic (C18:1) chains showed better antioxidant activity. This revealed that combining the ortho NO2 group in the aromatic ring with the insertion of fatty chains in the PHQ core contributed to the antioxidant activity. However, among all the fatty PHQs tested, the fatty 2-substituted compound derived from oleyl alcohol and 2-nitrobenzaldehyde showed the highest antioxidant activity (EC50, 2.11-4.69 µM), which was similar to those of the antioxidant standards butylated hydroxytoluene (EC50, 1.98-6.47 µM) and vitamin E (EC50, 1.19-5.88 µM). In addition, this lipophilic compound showed higher antioxidant activity than the antihypertensive drug nifedipine (EC50, 49.25-126.86 µM). These results indicate that the new fatty PHQs may find novel applications as antioxidant additives.

Synthesis and antitumoral activity of novel analogues monastrol-fatty acids against glioma cells.

Monastrol is a small cell-permeable heterocyclic molecule that is recognized as an inhibitor of mitotic kinesin Eg5. Heterocyclic-fatty acid derivatives are a new class of compounds with a broad range of biological activities. This work describes a comparative study of the in vitro antitumoral activity of a series of new long-chain monastrol analogues against rat glioblastoma cells. The novel analogues C6-substituted monastrol and oxo-monastrol were synthesized via Biginelli multicomponent condensation of fatty ß-ketoester in good yields using a simple approach catalyzed by nontoxic and free-metal sulfamic acid. Following synthesis, their in vitro antitumoral activities were investigated. Notably, all analogues tested were active against rat glioblastoma cells. Superior activity was observed by analogues derived from palmitic and stearic fatty acid chains; these compounds were the most potent molecules, showing 13-fold higher potency than monastrol with IC50 values of 5.11 and 6.85 µM, respectively. These compounds could provide promising new lead derivatives for more potent antitumor drugs.

Appendicitis in double cecal appendix: Case report.

UNLABELLED: Double cecal appendix is a rare anatomical variation. Approximately 100 cases have been reported worldwide. It is usually diagnosed incidentally during emergency appendectomies due to inflammatory processes in the cecal appendix. CASE PRESENTATION: male, white, 36 years old, obese, presenting with pain in the lower abdomen for 24 h followed by nausea, vomiting and mild fever. He was subjected to additional tests, with the leukogram showing leukocytosis and abdominal ultrasonography depicting cecal appendix with thickened wall, locally associated with small quantities of liquid and intestinal loop obstruction. He underwent laparotomy, revealing acute appendicitis. Another intestinal loop obstruction was identified next to the ileum, leading to recognizing another cecal appendix after local dissection. Double appendectomy and segmental iliectomy were performed although not needed. Results of the anatomopathological examination of the surgical samples showed acute inflammation in the two cecal appendices. So, performing a routine retroperitoneal release and a complete cecum evaluation during such surgical procedures is recommended and suggested due to the possibility of not identifying a second cecal appendix.