Blue shark (Prionace glauca) occurrence and relative abundance in the western South Atlantic Ocean influenced by spatiotemporal variability, environmental variables, and oceanographic processes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate spatiotemporal patterns in the distribution and relative abundance of blue sharks and their relationship with environmental variables and oceanographic processes in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. We modeled data on catch records from the Brazilian pelagic tuna longline fleet using generalized additive models (GAMs). The distribution of Prionace glauca was influenced by salinity, chlorophyll-a and temperature. Our models showed that both the catch per unit of fishing effort (CPUE) and the probability of presence increased mainly between March and August. The CPUE was also influenced by ocean depth and sea surface height, and the probability of occurrence by ocean fronts and slope. The highest CPUE values and probability of occurrence of blue sharks tended to occur mainly in parts of the continental slope off Brazil and at the Rio Grande Rise, characterized by the presence of seamounts. Such hotspots for P. glauca could potentially be considered in fisheries management plans.

Respiratory Viral Shedding in Healthcare Workers Reinfected with SARS-CoV-2, Brazil, 2020.

We documented 4 cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 reinfection by non-variant of concern strains among healthcare workers in Campinas, Brazil. We isolated infectious particles from nasopharyngeal secretions during both infection episodes. Improved and continued protection measures are necessary to mitigate the risk for reinfection among healthcare workers.

Ingestion of plastic debris by commercially important marine fish in southeast-south Brazil.

Rising concentrations of plastics in the oceans are leading to increasing negative interactions with marine biota, including ingestion by endangered and/or economically important seafood species such as fish. In this paper, we visually evaluated plastic debris ingestion by 965 specimens of eight commercially exploited fish species from different marine habitats off the southeast-south coast of Brazil. All species ingested plastics, with pelagic animals having higher amounts, frequency of occurrence, diversity and sizes of ingested items than demersal-pelagic and demersal animals. Highest frequency of occurrence (FO%) of plastic ingestion (25.8%) was observed for the pelagic skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis (Scombridae), and lowest (5%) for the demersal bluewing searobin Prionotus punctatus (Triglidae). Microplastics predominated in all species, and fibers/lines and fragments were the main items found, possibly derived from fishing materials. The most abundant plastic colors were transparent, black and blue, and the most common polymers were polyamide and polyurethane. With the available data, no relationship between the size of the individuals and amount of ingested plastics was observed. Considering the negative impacts of plastic ingestion on marine fish, and potentially on human health due to their consumption, understanding ingestion patterns is critical for better evaluating their origin and possible causes, and consequently for helping define prevention strategies for this problem.

Antiulcerogenic activity of crude extract, fractions and populnoic acid isolated from Austroplenckia populnea (Celastraceae).

Many plant crude extracts and their isolated compounds are the most attractive sources of new drugs and show promising results for the treatment of gastric ulcers. Austroplenckia populnea is commonly known as "marmelinho-do campo, mangabeira-brava, mangabarana and vime" and it has been used in folk medicine as anti-dysenteric and anti-rheumatic. Powdered bark wood (3.25 kg) was macerated with aqueous ethanol (96%) and the extract was concentrated under reduced pressure to yield 406 g of crude hydralcoholic extract. The hydralcoholic extract was suspended in aqueous methanol and partitioned with hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate (EtOAc) in sequence, yielding 8.0 g, 9.5 g and 98.17 g of crude extracts, respectively. Chromatography of the hexane extract over a silica gel column led to the isolation of the triterpene populnoic acid. The oral administration of hydralcoholic, hexane, chloroform and EtOAc extracts (200 mg/kg) decreased the ulcer lesion index (ULI) by 83.15%, 46.87%, 32.2%, 68.12%, respectively. Oral administration of populnoic acid (100 mg/kg) diminished the ULI by 55.29%. All the obtained results were significant in comparison with the negative control, with exception of the chloroform extract.

Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of water-ethanolic extract from Pothomorphe umbellata (Piperaceae) aerial parts.

Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities as well as the median lethal dose (LD50) of water-ethanolic extract (PHE) of the aerial parts of Pothomorphe umbellata were evaluated in animal models. The ED(50) (oral) for the inhibition of carrageenan-induced rat paw edema assay was determined to be 550 mg/kg, while the LD(50) was higher than 2.0 g/kg. At a dose of 550 mg/kg, PHE inhibited the inflammatory process by 48.7% (P < 0.05) on the third hour of the assay (edema peak) when compared to the untreated control. Indomethacin, the positive control used in this test, inhibited the edema by 58.6% at a dose of 10 mg/kg, when compared to the untreated control (P < 0.05). All three fractions--hexane, methylene chloride and ethyl acetate--obtained by partition of PHE with respective solvents also showed inhibition of the edema induced by carrageenan over a period of 4h but the methylene chloride fraction showed the best activity. The activity shown by the methylene chloride fraction at 200 mg/kg was comparable to that exhibited by indomethacin at a dose of 10mg/kg. The number of writhings induced by a 0.6% acetic acid solution intraperitoneal injection was decreased by 22% (P < 0.05) in the group treated orally with Pothomorphe umbellata crude extract. PHE also inhibited the granulomatous tissue formation in rats by 6.2% (P < 0.05). In the same assay, topically applied dexamethasone decreased the granuloma formation by 14.2%. The above results suggest that Pothomorphe umbellata crude extract has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties supporting its folkloric use for the treatment of these conditions.