Division of labor between M and P visual pathways: different visual pathways minimize joint entropy differently

Visual perception and action are strongly linked with parallel processing channels connecting the retina, the lateral geniculate nucleus, and the input layers of the primary visual cortex. Achromatic vision is provided by at least two of such channels formed by the M and P neurons. These cell pathways are similarly organized in primates having different lifestyles, including species that are diurnal, nocturnal, and which exhibit a variety of color vision phenotypes. We describe the M and P cell properties by 3D Gábor functions and their 3D Fourier transform. The M and P cells occupy different loci in the Gábor information diagram or Fourier Space. This separation allows the M and P pathways to transmit visual signals with distinct 6D joint entropy for space, spatial frequency, time, and temporal frequency. By combining the M and P impacts on the cortical neurons beyond V1 input layers, the cortical pathways are able to process aspects of visual stimuli with a better precision than it would be possible using the M or P pathway alone. This performance fulfils the requirements of different behavioral tasks.

Exploração madeireira e trabalho análogo ao de escravo no Estado do Pará: o caso do Arquipélago do Marajó

O trabalho escravo inaugurado durante a colonização do Brasil, ainda se faz presente hoje. Mesmo em pleno século XXI, é corriqueiro o conhecimento de notícias e evidências da incidência de exploração do trabalhador em condições análogas às de escravo. O novo panorama do trabalho escravo traz novas causas, diferentes cativeiros e as formas mais cruéis de exploração do ser humano. No caso da Amazônia, pesquisas, dados e estudos apontam que as atividades vinculadas ao desmatamento na região têm relação direta com a incidência de casos de submissão de trabalhadores a condições análogas às de escravo. Em que pese os governos anunciarem medidas de caráter emergencial para combater o desmatamento, tais medidas têm sido pouco eficientes para reverter esta tendência histórica. Nesse contexto, o Estado do Pará não está alheio a essa realidade, apresentando-se como um território de graves conflitos, não só por questões fundiárias e de exploração predatória e ilegal de madeira, como também pelos altos índices de desmatamento e por graves violações de direitos humanos, fatores que têm efeitos ainda mais preocupantes em regiões de difícil acesso como o Arquipélago do Marajó. O presente estudo tem por escopo analisar relação entre o trabalho análogo ao de escravo com a dinâmica do desmatamento na Amazônia, especialmente com estudo de caso que relaciona a exploração madeireira e os casos de trabalho análogo ao de escravo no território do Arquipélago do Marajó.

Reordenamento territorial e produtivo do agronegócio canavieiro no Brasil e os desdobramentos para o trabalho

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Trabalho escravo e aliciamento: proposta para a regularização da relação jurídica de emprego

O presente estudo sobre o trabalho escravo está pautado na análise dos princípios gerais e constitucionais que norteiam a matéria, em especial, o princípio da dignidade humana, discutindo principalmente as hipóteses caracterizadoras do crime de redução do trabalhador à condição análoga à de escravo, os bens jurídicos tutelados, e as possíveis formas de combater essa prática. A partir desse referencial, aprofundamos a pesquisa nas formas de atuação preventiva do Estado, como meio de propiciar a inclusão social dos trabalhadores. Ao abordar a problemática do trabalho escravo, buscamos discutir mecanismos de inclusão social, por meio de ações capazes de inibir a prática do trabalho escravo no momento do aliciamento da mão-de-obra. Esta pesquisa tem por finalidade principal chamar a atenção para o problema que vivenciamos ainda hoje no meio rural brasileiro, demonstrando a necessidade de se agir efetivamente contra esta prática secular que é submeter o ser humano a condições subumanas de vida, por meio da superexploração do trabalho, com vistas a coibir este crime desde o momento do aliciamento, e não apenas por meio de ações repressivas como o resgate. Em outras palavras, defendemos a necessidade de atuação no momento a priori da escravidão – na arregimentação. O estudo está dividido em três capítulos, o primeiro destina-se à compreensão teórico-jurídica do trabalho escravo, analisando o crime sob as óticas internacional, constitucional e penalista; o segundo trata da análise das formas de atuação repressiva do Estado, trazendo entendimentos jurisprudenciais trabalhistas e penais a respeito do tema, cujas decisões judiciais foram selecionadas principalmente no Estado do Pará; e o terceiro capítulo traz o estudo de métodos de atuação preventiva, como forma de combate ao trabalho escravo e de promoção da inclusão social, percorrendo detalhadamente as características do aliciamento ilegal de trabalhadores, propondo, ao final, a regularização prévia da relação de trabalho, transformando o aliciamento ilegal em contrato de trabalho regular.

Pentraxin-3 concentration in the amniotic fluid of women at term, in spontaneous preterm labor and when not in labor

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Educational and professional background and success in the labor market: the case of Portuguese immigrants in the Netherlands

The aim of this paper is to describe the relationship between educational and professional occupation trajectories of Portuguese immigrants in The Netherlands. To this end, the sample used comprises Portuguese immigrants that arrived in The Netherlands in two periods which represent the highest influx of immigrants: around the years 1966 and 2002. The analysis of the data shows a strong relationship between the level of professional education and the level of professional occupation. Furthermore, some exceptions to the generalizations found show that in service training may lead to an improvement of the possibilities to ascend regarding the level of professional occupation.

A experiência do trabalho do serviço social junto aos carcereiros da cadeia feminina de Franca - SP

Pós-graduação em Serviço Social - FCHS

Profissionalização e acesso ao trabalho para os jovens: elementos sociojurídicos

Pós-graduação em Serviço Social - FCHS

Filoctetes de Sófocles: o espaço e o labor humano

This article analyses the transformations of spatial references in Sophocles’Philoctetes. As we can see, instead of being cristalized in formulas and conventions, Ancient Greek Theater has renewed itself constantly, by experiencing different ways to correlate audience and events on stage.

The traceability/trackability of illegal trade in whale products: a proposal to evaluate the technical functionality of DNA registers

The Government of Japan, through the Institute for Cetacean Research (Tokyo), has established a DNA register for whales taken under special permit or otherwise destined for commercial markets (IWC 2005; IWC 2010a). The functionality of this DNA register, for the purposes of traceability/trackability, is critical to the current negotiations on the future of the IWC (IWC 2010b). Here we request access to the DNA register for 3 species of whales (fin, sei and Antarctic minke) for the purposes of tracking the origins of whale products purchased at commercial outlets in Seoul, South Korea and Santa Monica, US, as described in the Baker et al. (2010). The attached proposal was included as Supplementary Material to this published article and submitted for consideration to the IWC Data Availability Group (DAG) on 12 April 2010. However, the DAG declined to forward the proposal to the data holders, recommending that we “wait until the Scientific Committee has reviewed the proposed DNA register/market sampling text in the draft Consensus Decision in accordance with the Commission's instructions and then reported to the Commission itself” (email 16 May 2010). We assume that this will take place at SC/62 in Agadir and request that this proposal be considered for endorsement by the DNA subcommittee.

The Young Mother and the Labor Market

Introduction - The Centro de Orientacao ao Adolescente of Campinas (Southeastern Brazil) maintains a program to qualify economically disadvantaged adolescent students aged 15 to 18 years to enter the labor market. Objective - To understand life projects of teenagers who became mothers while participating in the program, in the period from 2003 to 2008, aiming to find the place of professional life in their life trajectory before and after motherhood. Method - Eight young mothers were interviewed, and a qualitative methodology was applied to the analysis of the interviews. Results - The trajectories of study and work were discontinued or adapted due to motherhood. Four young mothers completed high school and none had entered university. Three did not return to work and the rest had diverse work experiences. The reported difficulties to enter the labor market were: inadequate instruments to support the children's care, low income, lack of work experience, presence of small children and little educational background. Final Considerations - Teenage motherhood did not indicate the exclusion of educational or work projects but indicated adjustments and the need for a family and social support network. It was noted the need for public policies targeted at the inclusion of youths in the labor market and at support services such as nurseries. Also, the need for a change in gender relations was demonstrated, with greater equality of rights as a precondition for the inclusion of women, especially those who are mothers, in the labor market.

Migrant labor and wear-out in manual sugarcane harvesting in Sao Paulo, Brazil

The scope of this paper is to describe the work of manual sugarcane harvesters, assessing the nutritional behavior and body composition between the beginning and the end of the harvest. A descriptive longitudinal study was made of harvesters in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, who answered a socio-demographic questionnaire and authorized measurement of Body Mass Index, Body Fat Percentage and Arm Muscle Circumference at three stages. Creatine kinase on the skeletal isoform, C-reactive protein and plasma urea were measured at the end of the harvest. Thirty male migrant harvesters with ages ranging from 18 to 44 from the Northeast (Ceara) were assessed over a nine-month period. The workers suffered significant body fat and weight loss in the first half of the harvest. Eighteen workers had abnormal levels of creatine kinase and four - out of 24 who had donated blood - had altered urea levels. Sugarcane harvesting work causes weight and body fat loss and gains in the lean body mass index, which suffers wear-out when working on consecutive harvests. It can also cause changes in biochemical markers of chronic systemic inflammation. Further studies will make it possible to comprehend the relationships between stress, wear-out, labor longevity and health in sugarcane harvesting.

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in amphibians confiscated from illegal wildlife trade and used in an ex situ breeding program in Brazil

This paper describes an outbreak of chytridiomycosis affecting a group of Dendrobates tinctorius, a Neotropical anuran species, confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade and housed in a private zoo in Brazil as part of an ex situ breeding program. We examined histological sections of the skin of 30 D. tinctorius and 20 Adelphobates galactonotus individuals. Twenty D. tinctorius (66.7%) and none of the A. galactonotus were positive for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Multiple development stages of Bd infection were observed. The reasons for the interspecific difference in the rate of infection could not be determined, and further studies are advised. Because the examined population consisted of confiscated frogs, detailed epidemiological aspects could not be investigated, and the source of the fungus remains uncertain. The existence of ex situ amphibian populations is important for protecting species at higher risk in the wild, and ex situ amphibian conservation and breeding programs in Brazil may be established using confiscated frogs as founders. However, this paper alerts these programs to the urgency of strict quarantine procedures to prevent the introduction of potential pathogens, particularly Bd, into ex situ conservation programs.

Children and teenagers working in artistic labor: Brazilian situation and international examples

This descriptive study about children and adolescents artistic labor verifies the applicable legislation, in Brazil, regarding the participation of children and adolescents in the entertainment industry and in advertising campaigns, as well as the judicial processes about the theme known by the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice up to October, 2010. The results permit to conclude that, due to the lack of specific regulation and general rule of child labor prohibition, the restrictions that tend to protect the health and security of children and adolescents that act in the artistic niche (television, advertising, fashion, movies etc.) have been, in Brazil, at subjective criteria of the judges and, in many cases, in the hands of producers themselves. Brief considerations on how other countries regulate the theme are also presented (the USA, Portugal and Argentina).

Migrant labor and wear-out in manual sugarcane harvesting in São Paulo, Brazil

The scope of this paper is to describe the work of manual sugarcane harvesters, assessing the nutritional behavior and body composition between the beginning and the end of the harvest. A descriptive longitudinal study was made of harvesters in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil, who answered a socio-demographic questionnaire and authorized measurement of Body Mass Index, Body Fat Percentage and Arm Muscle Circumference at three stages. Creatine kinase on the skeletal isoform, C-reactive protein and plasma urea were measured at the end of the harvest. Thirty male migrant harvesters with ages ranging from 18 to 44 from the Northeast (Ceará) were assessed over a nine-month period. The workers suffered significant body fat and weight loss in the first half of the harvest. Eighteen workers had abnormal levels of creatine kinase and four - out of 24 who had donated blood - had altered urea levels. Sugarcane harvesting work causes weight and body fat loss and gains in the lean body mass index, which suffers wear-out when working on consecutive harvests. It can also cause changes in biochemical markers of chronic systemic inflammation. Further studies will make it possible to comprehend the relationships between stress, wear-out, labor longevity and health in sugarcane harvesting.