SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by inflammation, irreversible dilation of the bronchi, and recurrent pulmonary infections, with a high morbidity and mortality rate, but is less studied from the point of view of its prevalence and associated factors not directly related to respiratory prognosis. As it is a disease related to the exacerbation of the inflammatory process and oxidative stress, this study searched to investigate the micronucleus frequency in patients with and without bronchiectasis treated at a specialized pulmonology service in a hospital in the extreme south of Brazil. METHODS: Patients with a confirmed tomographic diagnosis of bronchiectasis were defined as cases. Mutagenicity was evaluated by the micronucleus test in patients’ oral mucosa cells. Data collection was performed through a questionnaire containing socioeconomic, demographic, lifestyle, and health condition information. RESULTS: Of the 95 patients involved in this study, 21 (22.1%) were diagnosed with bronchiectasis aged between 12 and 89 years. There was no significant difference in the frequency of micronucleus between patients with and without bronchiectasis. There was a significant positive association between age and frequency of micronucleus among patients with bronchiectasis, but this association does not occur among patients without the disease. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to investigate data on the prevalence and clinical and epidemiological aspects of this chronic disease in Brazil, especially those related to the genotoxicity outcome.

Resumo A disparidade étnico-racial é uma inquietante adversidade que se faz vigente no contexto atual da sociedade brasileira. Durante a pandemia do Novo Coronavírus, diferentes países do mundo apontaram a relação entre esta e outras vulnerabilidades socioeconômicas e a mortalidade pelo vírus. A presente pesquisa objetivou analisar e fundamentar como a disparidade étnico-racial se fez presente durante a pandemia da COVID-19 contextualizando a problemática a partir da análise em duas cidades de médio porte, localizadas no Rio Grande do Sul: Rio Grande-RS e Pelotas-RS. O artigo foi baseado no método de abordagem hipotético-dedutivo, com participação da técnica de pesquisa bibliográfica junto ao estudo de caso, em que foram estimadas as taxas de mortalidade geral da população e as estratificadas entre brancos, pretos e pardos, baseadas nos dados do Registro Civil de Óbitos das cidades referidas. Os resultados obtidos no presente estudo apontam taxas de mortalidade entre pretos superiores às taxas entre os brancos (aumento de 36% em Rio Grande e 46% em Pelotas), similares a resultados obtidos em outros estudos que investigaram metrópoles brasileiras. Nesse ínterim, os achados deste estudo ampliam a problemática da disparidade étnico-racial no contexto da pandemia da COVID-19, para além das grandes metrópoles brasileiras, e evidenciam um problema estrutural em cidades de médio porte.

Abstract Ethnic-racial disparity is a disturbing adversity that is present in the current context of Brazilian society. During the New Coronavirus pandemic, different countries around the world pointed out the relationship between this and other socioeconomic vulnerabilities and mortality from the virus. This research aimed to analyze and substantiate how an ethnic-racial disparity was present during the COVID-19 pandemic, contextualizing the problem from the analysis of two medium-sized cities located in Rio Grande do Sul: Rio Grande, RS and Pelotas, RS. The article was based on the hypothetical-deductive approach method, with the use of the bibliographic research technique together with the case study, in which the general mortality rates of the population and the mortality stratified among whites, blacks and browns were estimated, based on data from the Civil Registry of Deaths in the cities mentioned. The results obtained in the present study show higher mortality rates among blacks than among whites (an increase of 36% in Rio Grande and 46% in Pelotas), similarly to results obtained in other studies that investigated Brazilian metropolises. In the meantime, the findings of this study expand the issue of ethnic-racial disparity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic beyond the large Brazilian metropolises and highlight a structural problem in medium-sized cities.

Abstract: Urbanization is an important source of air pollutants that can compromise human health. In developing countries, such as Brazil, most cities do not have air quality monitoring stations. Assessing air quality through plant species has gained recognized prominence, as they are sessile organisms and sensitive to environmental changes. Pollen abortion assay in Tradescantia pallida is a fast and low-cost bioassay that can be implemented in passive biomonitoring scenarios. The present study aimed to use the pollen abortion assay in T. pallida to assess air quality in the municipality of Rio Grande, RS, Brazil and the possible relationship with vehicular flow. A relation was found between the highest rate of pollen abortion and the sites where there was greater vehicular flow and ozone levels, while at the control point, the lowest rate of pollen abortion among the others was found, corroborating the hypothesis that air pollution together with high levels of ozone from vehicles, impair plant pollination.

Resumen: La urbanización es una fuente importante de contaminantes atmosféricos que pueden comprometer la salud humana. En los países en desarrollo, como Brasil, la mayoría de las ciudades no tienen estaciones de monitoreo de la calidad del aire. La evaluación de la calidad del aire a través de especies vegetales ha ganado una importancia reconocida, ya que son organismos sésiles y sensibles a los cambios ambientales. El ensayo de aborto de polen en Tradescantia pallida es un bioensayo rápido y de bajo costo que puede ser implementado en escenarios de biomonitoreo pasivo. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo utilizar el ensayo de aborto con polen en T. pallida para evaluar la calidad del aire en el municipio de Rio Grande, RS, Brasil y la posible relación con el flujo vehicular. Se encontró relación entre las tasas más altas de aborto de polen y los sitios donde hay mayor flujo vehicular y niveles de ozono, mientras que en el punto de control se obtuvo la tasa más baja de aborto de polen entre los demás, corroborando la hipótesis de que la contaminación del aire junto con altos niveles de ozono de los vehículos perjudica la polinización de las plantas.

Abstract The potential use of microalgae in health has been the aim of different studies in the last years. This study investigated anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of three different extracts of green microalga Pediastrum boryanum in an acute inflammation model in rats. Rats were treated intraperitoneally with lyophilized biomass, the phenolic compounds and the extracellular extracts of P. boryanum before the induction of paw edema by the intraplantar injection of carrageenan. The edema and the levels of interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α were determined in the hind paw. Oxidative stress markers were analyzed in the liver and hepatic toxicity and genetic damage was evaluated in the blood. The results demonstrated that the three extracts of P. boryanum exhibited pronounced anti-oedematous property and decreased the levels of cytokines. The best results were provided by the phenolic compounds extract, that contains gallic, chlorogenic, protocathecuic and vanillic acid. A reduction in lipid peroxidation was observed after the treatment with lyophilized biomass and the extracellular extract improved the total antioxidant capacity of the liver. Moreover, no DNA damage and hepatic toxicity were observed after administration of P. boryanum extracts. In conclusion, these results suggest that P. boryanum can be an important source of anti-inflammatory compounds.

ABSTRACT Marine sponges are a rich source of bioactive natural products with multiple pharmacological properties. In this study, the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of extracts obtained from Aplysina caissara, Haliclona sp. and Dragmacidon reticulatum were evaluated by using the writhing test and formalin-induced mouse paw edema model in mice. All extracts were administered via oral pathway in the doses of 60 and 90 mg/kg. In the writhing test the pre-treatment with all sponges resulted in significant inhibition of the acetic acid-induced response, suggesting an antinociceptive effect. The formalin test showed that the extracts from A. caissara, Haliclona sp. and D. reticulatum, in the tested doses, did not affect the first formalin phase, however, they were effective in the late phase. To assess the potential anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts, the test of formalin-induced paw edema was used. The oral administration of A. caissara, Haliclona sp. and D. reticulatum extracts significantly reduced the formalin-induced paw edema in mice. In conclusion, our data show that marine sponges can be an important source of anti-inflammatory and antinocicpetive products that can be promising therapeutical leads. Furthermore, pharmacological and chemical studies have been developed not only to characterize the mechanism(s) that is/are responsible for the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory action but also to identify the active principles of sponges.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of metallurgical industry wastes on the semiarid soil microbiota using physico-chemical and microbiological parameters, highlighting the filamentous fungi assembly. Soil samples were collected in an area of industrial waste deposit contaminated with lead and mixed with natural soil (control soil) in seven different concentrations (0, 7.5, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 100%). The results showed alterations on the physico-chemical properties of the soil treated with industrial wastes, with a gradate increase of the soil's pH (5.6-10.4) and electrical conductivity (0.3-14.7 dS m-1) and also reduction of organic matter (7.0-1.8%). The use of microbiological parameters (fungal richness and diversity, CO2emission, and the carbon on the microbial biomass) enabled the identification of alterations on the microbial community due to stress caused by the exposure to industrial wastes, despite the presence of Thielavia, Chaetomium and Aspergillus tolerant to high concentrations of the scoria. Therefore, these filamentous fungi could be used in biomonitoring and bioremediation studies in the soils contaminated by industrial wastes.