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Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic produced alarming rates of disease and mortality globally, yet few nations were as severely impacted as Brazil. The pandemic also exposed and exacerbated persistent forms of structural violence across Brazil, which complicated gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response efforts. While structural violence is not new, the systemic pressure and uncertainty introduced by COVID-19 intensified the detrimental impact of structural violence on the lives of Brazilians impacted by GBV. This work qualitatively investigated how the COVID-19 pandemic amplified structural violence and GBV in Brazil. Methods We analyzed key informant interviews (KII) conducted with 12 service providers working in sectors related GBV prevention and response in Roraima, Boa Vista, and Rio de Janeiro. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated from Portuguese or Spanish into English, before applying deductive and inductive coding approaches through a collaborative data reduction process. The theoretical lens of structural violence outlined by Farmer and Rylko-Bauer guided the thematic development. Results Analyses identified three themes. First, structural violence manifests as policies of inaction and erasure, which reduce the opportunity for upward social mobility among GBV survivors including Black women, trans persons, and people who live in the favelas. Policies of inaction and erasure fail to acknowledge/adequately respond to the significant health and safety needs of these communities. Second, structural violence is a fundamental cause of violence against women and children. Finally, service providers described community driven responses that address the dire survival needs (i.e., food insecurity) imposed by COVID-19, within a context of structural violence. These community driven responses were innovative, agile, and based on dire needs expressed to, and observed by, the service providers interviewed. Conclusion This analysis highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing forms of structural violence prevalent throughout Brazil. Findings stress the urgency with which the Brazilian government and international organization must act to support community driven programs that strive to address the most basic human needs.

Abstract Mitochondrial dysfunction has been suggested to contribute to Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis, though an understanding of the extent or exact mechanism of this contribution remains elusive. This has been complicated by challenging nature of pathway-based analysis and an inability simultaneously study multiple related proteins within human brain tissue. We used imaging mass cytometry (IMC) to overcome these challenges, measuring multiple protein targets, whilst retaining the spatial relationship between targets in post-mortem midbrain sections. We used IMC to simultaneously interrogate subunits of the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation complexes, and several key signalling pathways important for mitochondrial homoeostasis, in a large cohort of PD patient and control cases. We revealed a generalised and synergistic reduction in mitochondrial quality control proteins in dopaminergic neurons from Parkinson’s patients. Further, protein-protein abundance relationships appeared significantly different between PD and disease control tissue. Our data showed a significant reduction in the abundance of PINK1, Parkin and phosphorylated ubiquitinSer65, integral to the mitophagy machinery; two mitochondrial chaperones, HSP60 and PHB1; and regulators of mitochondrial protein synthesis and the unfolded protein response, SIRT3 and TFAM. Further, SIRT3 and PINK1 did not show an adaptive response to an ATP synthase defect in the Parkinson’s neurons. We also observed intraneuronal aggregates of phosphorylated ubiquitinSer65, alongside increased abundance of mitochondrial proteases, LONP1 and HTRA2, within the Parkinson’s neurons with Lewy body pathology, compared to those without. Taken together, these findings suggest an inability to turnover mitochondria and maintain mitochondrial proteostasis in Parkinson’s neurons. This may exacerbate the impact of oxidative phosphorylation defects and ageing related oxidative stress, leading to neuronal degeneration. Our data also suggest that that Lewy pathology may affect mitochondrial quality control regulation through the disturbance of mitophagy and intramitochondrial proteostasis.

Extreme weather events, increased intensity of droughts and floods, and changes to growing seasons are results of climate change that impact horticulture, agriculture, and food systems. In the United States, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina experience similar impacts caused by climate change such as rising sea levels and extreme heat. In these states, community gardens can be a source of local, fresh foods, especially in areas experiencing food insecurity. The goals of this study were to identify garden coordinators’ perceptions of the need for climate change adaptation, perceptions regarding the five perceived attributes of climate change adaptation, and where community garden coordinators stand in the innovation–decision process when it comes to climate change adaptation. The findings show that participants valued relative advantage and low levels of complexity when adopting and implementing climate-smart practices into their gardens. This study found that the community gardens were all implementing some form of climate-smart adaptations even if implementation was not for climate-related reasons. All participants noted that the largest barrier to adopting new practices was a lack of extra money. The findings from this study should be used to inform environmental education and communication strategies that encourage adoption of climate-smart practices.