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Introduction Long-onset COVID syndrome has been described in patients with COVID-19 infection with persistence of symptoms or development of sequelae beyond 4 weeks after the onset of acute symptoms, a medium- and long-term consequence of COVID-19. This syndrome can affect up to 32% of affected individuals, with symptoms of fatigue, dyspnea, chest pain, cognitive disorders, insomnia, and psychiatric disorders. The present study aimed to characterize and evaluate the prevalence of sleep symptoms in patients with long COVID syndrome. Methodology A total of 207 patients with post-COVID symptoms were evaluated through clinical evaluation with a neurologist and specific exams in the subgroup complaining of excessive sleepiness. Results Among 189 patients included in the long COVID sample, 48 (25.3%) had sleep-related symptoms. Insomnia was reported by 42 patients (22.2%), and excessive sleepiness (ES) was reported by 6 patients (3.17%). Four patients with ES were evaluated with polysomnography and test, multiple sleep latencies test, and actigraphic data. Two patients had a diagnosis of central hypersomnia, and one had narcolepsy. A history of steroid use was related to sleep complaints (insomnia and excessive sleepiness), whereas depression was related to excessive sleepiness. We observed a high prevalence of cognitive complaints in these patients. Conclusion Complaints related to sleep, such as insomnia and excessive sleepiness, seem to be part of the clinical post-acute syndrome (long COVID syndrome), composing part of its clinical spectrum, relating to some clinical data.

APOE ε4 polymorphism has been recently described as a possible association with cognitive deficits in COVID-19 patients. This research aimed to establish the correlation between COVID-19 and cognitive impairment, and the APOE gene polymorphism among outpatients. We performed a cross-sectional study with confirmed COVID-19 patients and neurological symptoms that persisted for more than three months from onset. APOE genotypes were determined. The final number of patients included in this study was 219, of which 186 blood samples were collected for APOE genotyping, evaluated 4.5 months after COVID-19. Among the participants, 143 patients (65.3%) reported memory impairment symptoms as their primary concern. However, this complaint was objectively verified through screening tests (Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination-Revised and Mini-Mental State Examination) in only 36 patients (16.4%). The group experiencing cognitive decline exhibited a higher prevalence of the APOE ε4 allele than the normal group (30.8% vs. 16.4%, respectively, p = 0.038). Furthermore, the APOE ε4 allele and anxiety symptoms remained significant after multivariate analysis. This study assessed an outpatient population where cognitive changes were the primary complaint, even in mild cases. Moreover, the ε4 allele, sleep disorders, and anxiety symptoms were more frequent in the cognitive decline group.

SARS-COV-2 infection has affected millions of individuals with a wide range of clinical manifestations, including central and peripheral nervous systems through several mechanisms. A rare but potentially severe manifestation of this virus is transverse myelitis. Herein, we report on two patients who developed paraparesis, sensory deficit, and autonomic changes on the tenth day after infection by COVID-19. A 27-year-old man, previously healthy, had symptoms of COVID-19 confirmed by oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swab tests. On the tenth day of symptoms, the patient started to experience acute paraparesis, urinary retention, constipation, and hypoesthesia up to the T4 level. The second patient is a 50-year-old man, previously healthy, who had symptoms of the flu-like syndrome. The diagnosis of COVID-19 infection was confirmed by oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swab tests. On the tenth day of symptoms, the patient started to experience paraparesis, urinary incontinence, and hypoesthesia up to the T6 level. The neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis of both patients confirmed acute transverse myelitis after COVID-19 infection. High-dose corticosteroid therapy was started, and both patients showed rapid recovery from their deficits. Although rare, post-infectious transverse myelitis may be related to SARS-COV-2 infection and should be quickly recognized. Although controlled studies are needed, treatment with corticosteroid therapy in high doses was effective in these patients.

Headache is the most common neurological symptom in COVID-19, reported in 6.5 to 34% of patients. Few studies have analyzed its characteristics, and some of them included cases without laboratory confirmation or reported only critical patients. We aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 associated headache in laboratory-confirmed cases. We conducted a retrospective evaluation of patients with COVID-19 and neurological symptoms. Patients who reported headache answered an interview about its clinical characteristics. Twenty-four patients with COVID-19 associated headache completed the interview. Mean age of patients was 53.8 (standard deviation—17.44), and 14 out of 24 (58.3%) were male. The majority (75%) had no previous history of headache. Fever was documented in 19 out of the 24 patients (79.1%). Headache was predominantly bifrontal or holocranial, in pressure, during hours, worsening with cough or physical activity. COVID-19 headache tends to appear in the first days of symptoms, be either frontal or holocranial and last for days. The quality of pain in pressure and the worsening with cough or physical activity were reported in most cases. We have not found any characteristic that could differentiate COVID-19 associated headache from other causes of headache, possibly because of its multifactorial mechanism.

Although the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic primarily affected the human population, the virus has also been detected in various animal species worldwide, raising concerns about its potential to establish new animal reservoirs. This study aimed to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in non-human primates (NHPs) and synanthropic small mammals (SSMs) in the Jequitinhonha Valley and Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil. Between October 2021 and October 2023, 119 animals were sampled, 82 NHPs and 37 SSMs, across 22 municipalities. A total of 342 biological samples—including oral and nasal swabs, lungs, livers, spleens, blood, and feces—were collected and analyzed using RT-qPCR, while 37 serum samples were submitted to neutralization tests. Despite the diversity of sampled species, habitats, and biological materials, no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection or specific antibodies was detected in any of the individuals tested. The results suggest that NHPs and SSMs in these regions did not act as reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2 during the study period. This finding is particularly relevant given the high synanthropy of species such as Callithrix penicillata (black-tufted marmoset) and Rattus rattus (black rat), which frequently interact with human populations. Our study underscores the importance of integrating animal, human, and environmental health perspectives under a One Health framework to monitor emerging zoonotic threats. By providing baseline data on SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in wildlife, we emphasize the need for ongoing ecological and epidemiological surveillance to assess potential spillover events and their implications for biodiversity and public health in Brazil.

Brazil's inability to tackle illegal deforestation puts the future of its agribusiness at risk In the increasingly polarized international political arena, it has become difficult to find common ground to solve Brazil's ongoing environmental crisis, which has global as well as local implications. International buyers of Brazil's agricultural commodities have raised concerns about products that are contaminated by deforestation (i.e., deforestation occurred during the process of producing the product) (text S12). European Union (EU) criticism of the Brazilian government bolsters demands to boycott Brazilian products and to withhold ratification of the trade agreement reached in 2019 between the EU and Mercosur, the South American trade bloc. Among the concerns is that increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation and forest fires in Brazil could cancel out EU climate change mitigation efforts. The Brazilian government and agribusiness contend that national laws ensure high conservation standards, and hence trading bans should not include legally authorized deforestation ( 1 ). Here, we address the interlinkage between illegal deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado—the largest Brazilian biomes with the highest rates of deforestation—and EU imports of Brazil's soy and beef, the country's major agricultural commodities (table S9). Although most of Brazil's agricultural output is deforestation-free, we find that 2% of properties in the Amazon and Cerrado are responsible for 62% of all potentially illegal deforestation and that roughly 20% of soy exports and at least 17% of beef exports from both biomes to the EU may be contaminated with illegal deforestation. Raising awareness is important to press Brazil to conserve its environmental assets and to promote international political will for cutting telecoupled GHG emissions. This could be achieved, for example, through the environmental safeguards of the Mercosur-EU trade agreement, which require EU imports to comply with the export country's legislation.

This study evaluated the effects of a phytogenic feed additive – a blend of tannins, flavonoids, and essential oils – on intake, performance, and carcass traits of feedlot-finished Nellore cattle. The additive was hypothesized to enhance performance by modulating ruminal fermentation, favoring more efficient energy utilization pathways. Ninety-six intact Nellore bulls (357.4 ± 25.9 kg) were assigned to 24 pens (4 animals/pen) and fed high-concentrate diets for 116 days. Treatments included: 1) control diet and 2) control plus the phytogenic additive blend. Cattle receiving the phytogenic blend showed a significant reduction in dry matter intake (DMI) as a percentage of body weight (P = 0.04) without changes in final body weight, average daily gain, or carcass ultrasound traits. A numerical improvement in feed efficiency (3.3%; P = 0.19) was observed, along with increased selection for long particles (P = 0.02), potentially indicating altered feeding behavior. No differences were detected in fecal starch content or total starch digestibility. While the phytogenic blend did not significantly enhance performance or carcass traits, the reduction in intake without impairing productivity suggests a potential improvement in feed utilization efficiency. Further research is needed to refine dosing strategies and evaluate their effects under varying feeding conditions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to map and summarize the extent and type of evidence related to self-medication among undergraduate nursing students. Method: A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute. The guiding questions of the interviews were the following: 1) \"What are the reasons/motivations and health conditions leading to self-medication behavior in nursing students?\"; 2) \"What are the sources of information involved in the decision-making process for self-medication?\"; 3) \"What medications are used in self-medication?\"; 4) \"What are the perceptions of risks and benefits of this behavior?\"; 5) \"What are the knowledge, beliefs/attitudes, and practices regarding self-medication?\" The descriptors used were: \"self-medication\" AND \"students, nursing\" combined with their synonyms. A total of 55 articles were included from searches in the MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Virtual Health Library databases, including gray literature. Results: The analysis of the studies resulted in ten categories characterizing the factors of self-medication: clinical conditions (n=52), reasons/motives (n=54), recall period (n=22), drug classes (n=54), sources of advice (n=53), perception of risks (n=47) and benefits (n=21), knowledge (n=27), beliefs and attitudes (n=27), and practices (n=20). Conclusion: This study showed that clinical, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors are common themes described in the literature on self-medication among undergraduate nursing students. There are opportunities, especially in training, to improve self-medication practices and patient safety among future nurses.

To investigate if a cloth facemask could affect physiological and perceptual responses to exercise at distinct exercise intensities in healthy young individuals. Nine participants (sex, female/male: 6/3; age: 13±1 years; VO2peak: 44.5±5.5 mL/kg/min) underwent a progressive square-wave test at four intensities: (1) 80% of ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT), (2) VAT, and (3) 40% between VAT and [Formula: see text] wearing a triple-layered cloth facemask or not. Participants then completed a final stage to exhaustion at a running speed equivalent to the maximum achieved during the cardio-respiratory exercise test (Peak). Physiological, metabolic, and perceptual measures were measured. Mask did not affect spirometry (forced vital capacity, peak expiratory flow, forced expiratory volume; all p≥0.27), respiratory (inspiratory capacity, end-expiratory volume [EELV] to functional vital capacity ratio, EELV, respiratory frequency [Rf], tidal volume [VT], Rf/VT, end-tidal carbo dioxide pressure, ventilatory equivalent to carbon dioxide ratio; all p≥0.196), hemodynamic (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure; all p>0.41), ratings of perceived exertion (p = 0.04) or metabolic measures (lactate; p = 0.78) at rest or at any exercise intensity. This study shows that performing moderate to severe activity is safe and tolerable for healthy youth while wearing a cloth facemask. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04887714.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of hybrids and the heterosis in crosses of sweet sorghum using juicy sweet male-sterile lines and fertility-restoring lines with and without sensitivity to photoperiod. Thirty hybrids and six controls were evaluated in experiments laid out in a 6 × 6 triple lattice design. The genotypes differed for all traits. The general combining ability (GCA) of the R lines affected all traits, while the GCA of the A lines only affected juice extraction, total soluble solids, and tons of Brix per hectare (TBH). The photosensitive-restoring line CMSXS5022 had the highest positive GCA estimates for the fresh mass production and TBH traits. Heterosis was significant only for days to flowering and plant height. Overall, the photoperiod-sensitive hybrids stood out. The development of male-sterile lines requires better complementarity from restoring lines to reap the benefits of heterosis.