COVID-19 and lockdown, as lived and felt by university students

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).In the last 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread all over the world, forcing the closure of universities, among other unusual measures in recent history. (1) Background: This work is based on the study HOUSE-ULisbon, a survey carried out during the second confinement (March-May 2021) in Portugal with the collaboration of all the Faculties of the University of Lisbon (UL). The present work aims to explore gender differences in how first-year college students experienced and felt COVID-19 and the second confinement. (2) Methods: A questionnaire was carried out. In total, 976 university students (19.66 years (SD = 4.033); Min = 17 and Max = 65) from the first year of the UL were included, of which 69.5% (n = 678) were female, and 30.5% were male (n = 298). SPSS v. 26 was used for quantitative data and MAXQDA 2020 for qualitative data. (3) Results: Overall, students reported various symptoms of physical and mental discomfort (especially females). Statistically significant differences were found in the problems that could arise from the pandemic, such as the prevalence of higher anxiety and worries by females, and online gaming by males. In coping strategies, differences were found in leisure and family relationships, with greater difficulty on the female side. Social interaction was perceived as difficult or very difficult by both genders. As strategies for future pandemics, they highlighted a concerted effort between the government and media in the transmission of messages to the population, facilitating information, knowledge and adoption of protective behaviors. (4) Conclusions: These results are important data for activating or maintaining resources and services for first-year university students, who in some university institutions were supported during the pandemic by psychological, material (e.g., computers, internet), and financial support measures, which are now diminished or extinct. The impacts on their lives will certainly not be extinguished post-pandemic, and health, education, and public policy measures should be prioritized for this group. These results are important data for activating resources and services for students, informing health and education professionals, and supporting public policies.Ana Cerqueira—Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) PhD Grant (SFRH/BD/148403/2019); Fábio Botelho Guedes—Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) PhD Grant (SFRH/BD/148299/2019).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The ventro-medial prefrontal cortex: a major link between the autonomic nervous system, regulation of emotion, and stress reactivity?

Recent progress in neuroscience revealed diverse regions of the CNS which moderate autonomic and affective responses. The ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) plays a key role in these regulations. There is evidence that vmPFC activity is associated with cardiovascular changes during a motor task that are mediated by parasympathetic activity. Moreover, vmPFC activity makes important contributions to regulations of affective and stressful situations

Vascular relaxation of canine visceral arteries after ischemia by means of supraceliac aortic cross-clamping followed by reperfusion

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The supraceliac aortic cross-clamping can be an option to save patients with hipovolemic shock due to abdominal trauma. However, this maneuver is associated with ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury strongly related to oxidative stress and reduction of nitric oxide bioavailability. Moreover, several studies demonstrated impairment in relaxation after I/R, but the time course of I/R necessary to induce vascular dysfunction is still controversial. We investigated whether 60 minutes of ischemia followed by 30 minutes of reperfusion do not change the relaxation of visceral arteries nor the plasma and renal levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitrite plus nitrate (NOx).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Male mongrel dogs (n = 27) were randomly allocated in one of the three groups: sham (no clamping, n = 9), ischemia (supraceliac aortic cross-clamping for 60 minutes, n = 9), and I/R (60 minutes of ischemia followed by reperfusion for 30 minutes, n = 9). Relaxation of visceral arteries (celiac trunk, renal and superior mesenteric arteries) was studied in organ chambers. MDA and NOx concentrations were determined using a commercially available kit and an ozone-based chemiluminescence assay, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both acetylcholine and calcium ionophore caused relaxation in endothelium-intact rings and no statistical differences were observed among the three groups. Sodium nitroprusside promoted relaxation in endothelium-denuded rings, and there were no inter-group statistical differences. Both plasma and renal concentrations of MDA and NOx showed no significant difference among the groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Supraceliac aortic cross-clamping for 60 minutes alone and followed by 30 minutes of reperfusion did not impair relaxation of canine visceral arteries nor evoke biochemical alterations in plasma or renal tissue.</p

The impact of chronic stress on the rat brain lipidome

Chronic stress is a major risk factor for several human disorders that affect modern societies. The brain is a key target of chronic stress. In fact, there is growing evidence indicating that exposure to stress affects learning and memory, decision making and emotional responses, and may even predispose for pathological processes, such as Alzheimer's disease and depression. Lipids are a major constituent of the brain and specifically signaling lipids have been shown to regulate brain function. Here, we used a mass spectrometry-based lipidomic approach to evaluate the impact of a chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) paradigm on the rat brain in a region-specific manner. We found that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was the area with the highest degree of changes induced by chronic stress. Although the hippocampus presented relevant lipidomic changes, the amygdala and, to a greater extent, the cerebellum presented few lipid changes upon chronic stress exposure. The sphingolipid and phospholipid metabolism were profoundly affected, showing an increase in ceramide (Cer) and a decrease in sphingomyelin (SM) and dihydrosphingomyelin (dhSM) levels, and a decrease in phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and ether phosphatidylcholine (PCe) and increase in lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) levels, respectively. Furthermore, the fatty-acyl profile of phospholipids and diacylglycerol revealed that chronic stressed rats had higher 38 carbon(38C)-lipid levels in the hippocampus and reduced 36C-lipid levels in the PFC. Finally, lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) levels in the PFC were found to be correlated with blood corticosterone (CORT) levels. In summary, lipidomic profiling of the effect of chronic stress allowed the identification of dysregulated lipid pathways, revealing putative targets for pharmacological intervention that may potentially be used to modulate stress-induced deficits.Funding by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (PTDC/SAU-NMC/118971/2010) and by the North Region Operational Program (ON.2-O Novo Norte), under Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN) and through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). GDP is funded by NIH grants R01 NS056049 and P50 AG008702 (to Scott Small)

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT