Virar travesti: trajetórias de vida, prostituição e vulnerabilidade social

Em Portugal, a população travesti trabalhadora do sexo não tem sido alvo de interesse científico, razão pela qual se mantém praticamente desconhecida. Ao não haver um real entendimento sobre ela, os discursos produzidos, na sua maioria a partir de um contacto superficial, têm favorecido a construção de imagens estigmatizantes, com consequências ao nível da sua exclusão. Por forma a contrariar esta tendência, procurou-se, ao longo de cinco anos, imergir no "mundo" das travestis para se compreender: (i) as "forças sociais" que, nas suas trajetórias de vida, ajudaram a compor e definir a experiência identitária na travestilidade, (ii) o modo como o trabalho sexual se constituiu (ou não) um elemento facilitador dessa experiência, e (iii) as situações de vulnerabilidade social a que estavam expostas decorrente da sua atividade laboral e da expressão de género e sexual manifestada. Atendendo a que os sujeitos se constroem de acordo com as interações sociais e as possibilidades (ou impossibilidades) que delas vão surgindo dentro dos contextos em que se encontram inseridos, a presente etnografia constatou que a identidade travesti estava intimamente ligada à classe social, tendo sido forjada no seio de contextos sociofamiliares precários, onde reinou a privação económica e afetiva. Porém, foram os contextos de trabalho sexual que viabilizaram e consolidaram essa possibilidade identitária, dado que eles se estruturavam como importantes agentes de socialização onde se aprendia a "ser travesti". Nesse meio, foram encontradas diferentes formas de viver a experiência travesti, ligadas à construção da feminilidade e à «montagem» corporal, pelo que a expressão "travestilidades" permite evidenciar essa heterogeneidade, contestando as visões reducionistas que procuram fixar e essencializar as identidades. A vivência das "travestilidades" era, no entanto, produtora de situações de risco e vulnerabilidade. Diante delas, as frágeis redes sociais que as travestis possuíam, tinham dificuldade em assegurar-lhes o suporte e proteção que necessitavam, favorecendo a sua segregação, invisibilidade e exclusão social. Deste modo, os resultados da pesquisa constituem-se um caminho fértil para desafiar o Serviço Social na adoção de práticas afirmativas que permitam eliminar a opressão de género e sexual.In Portugal, the travesti sex worker population hasn’t been approached by scientific research, which is why they remain virtually unknown. Without this knowledge the discourses produced are based on a superficial contact and favor the construction of stigmatized images, impacting on the exclusion of this population. In order to counter this tendency, we sought to immerse ourselves in the transvestite world, during a period of five years, aiming at understanding: (i) the social forces present in their life-course that helped setting and defining their identity experiences in travestility (travestilidade), (ii) how sex work contributed (or not) as a facilitating element in this experience, and, (iii) which social vulnerabilities emerged from their work activity and their gender and sexual expression. Since subjects are constructed according to their social interactions and the correspondent possibilities (or impossibilities) that emerge from the social context in which they are inserted, in this ethnography we found that the travesti identity was intimately linked to social class, having been grown in the midst of precarious socio-familiar contexts, where economic and affective deprivation was the norm. This work brings to light the importance of sexual work contexts to the feasibility and consolidation of this identity. These contexts acted as socialization agents where they would learn to "be a travesti". In them we found multiple ways of living the travesti experience, that are connected to femininity and body "assembly" construction. Hence, the expression "travestilities" (travestilidades) allows to highlight the heterogeneity, challenging the essentialist visions that seek to pin and reduce identities. Nonetheless, the experience of "travestilities" was producing risk and vulnerability situations. The fragile social networks they had before them had difficulty in assuring them the support and protection needed, favoring their segregation, invisibility and social exclusion. Thus, the results of the research constitute a fertile path to challenge the Social Work in adopting affirmative practices that allow the elimination of gender and sexual oppression

Improving processes in a postgraduate office of a university through lean office tools

This paper reports the administrative processes improvement based on Lean Office tools in an office environment of a University department. Lean tools such as electronic standardization were applied on the six educational projects of the department. Also, some were used to organize the computer desktop and network drives to improve the supporting educational projects information. Additionally, due to the absence of Key Performance Indicators (KPI), some here defined and implemented on the department. The main results were the electronic standardization successful implementation, reorganization of the drives and the desktop. The impacts were a reduction of 84% on the files search time, improvements on the development of forms for student I registration and projects managing, a 69% reduction of time searching for student information or data, a reduction of the input times and information handling in an estimated total of 12 hours/year, identification of KPI and development of a dashboard for visual analysis and monitoring of these.The authors want to acknowledge the LeanOffice@DPS team to support this work and the Department of Production and System-University of Minho where it was developed. The authors also would like to express their acknowledgments to national funds by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT - Fundação para a Ciencia e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013

Chronic exposure to environmentally relevant levels of simvastatin disrupts zebrafish brain gene signaling involved in energy metabolism

Simvastatin (SIM), a hypocholesterolaemic drug belonging to the statins group, is a widely prescribed pharmaceutical for prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Several studies showed that lipophilic statins, as SIM, cross the blood-brain barrier and interfere with the energy metabolism of the central nervous system in humans and mammalian models. In fish and other aquatic organisms, the effects of SIM on the brain energy metabolism are unknown, particularly following exposure to low environmentally relevant concentrations. Therefore, the present study aimed at investigating the influence of SIM on gene signaling pathways involved in brain energy metabolism of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) following chronic exposure (90 days) to environmentally relevant SIM concentrations ranging from 8 ng/L to 1000 ng/L. Real-time PCR was used to determine the transcript levels of several genes involved in different pathways of the brain energy metabolism (glut1b, gapdh, acadm, accα, fasn, idh3a, cox4i1, and cox5aa). The findings here reported integrated well with ecological and biochemical responses obtained in a parallel study. Data demonstrated that SIM modulates transcription of key genes involved in the mitochondrial electron transport chain, in glucose transport and metabolism, in fatty acid synthesis and β-oxidation. Further, SIM exposure led to a sex-dependent transcription profile for some of the studied genes. Overall, the present study demonstrated, for the first time, that SIM modulates gene regulation of key pathways involved in the energy metabolism in fish brain at environmentally relevant concentrationsThis study was developed under the project Nor-Water -Poluentes emergentes nas águas da Galiza-Norte de Portugal: novas ferramentas para gestão de risco [Reference: 0725_NOR_WATER_1_P], financed by Programa de Cooperação Interreg Portugal/Espanha, (POCTEP) 2014–2020. The study was also supported by the National Funds through Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the projects [UID/Multi/04423/2019 and UID/AGR/04033/2013]. S. Barros was supported by the doctoral fellowship [PD/BD/143090/2018] from FCT. J.B. Quintana acknowledges the financial support of Spanish “Agencia Estatal de Investigación” [ref. CTM2017-84763-C3-R-2] and Xunta de Galicia [ref. ED431C2017/36], both co-funded by FEDER/ERDFS

Towards an ergonomic assessment framework for industrial assembly workstations - a case study

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are one of the main occupational health problems. The best strategy to prevent them lies on ergonomic interventions. The variety of industrial processes and environments, however, makes it difficult to define an all-purpose framework to guide these ergonomic interventions. This undefinition is exacerbated by recurrent introduction of new technologies, e.g., collaborative robots. In this paper, we propose a framework to guide ergonomics and human factors practitioners through all stages of assessment and redesign of workstations. This framework was applied in a case study at an assembly workstation of a large furniture enterprise. Direct observation of work activity and questionnaires were applied to characterize the workstations, the process, and the workers’ profiles and perceptions. An ergonomic multi-method approach, based on well-known and validated methods (such as the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment), was applied to identify the most critical risk factors. We concluded that this approach supports the process redesign and tasks’ allocation of the future workstation. From these conclusions, we distill a list of requirements for the creation of a collaborative robot cell, specifying which tasks are performed by whom, as well as the scheduling of the human-robot collaboration (HRC).This work has been supported by NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000018, integrated in the invitation NORTE-59-2018-41, aiming the Hiring of Highly Qualified Human Resources, co-financed by the Regional Operational Programme of the North 2020, thematic area of Competitiveness and Employment, through the European Social Fund (ESF). This work has been also supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Lean manufacturing and ergonomics integration: defining productivity and wellbeing indicators in a human–robot workstation

Lean Manufacturing (LM), Ergonomics and Human Factors (E&HF), and Human–Robot Collaboration (HRC) are vibrant topics for researchers and companies. Among other emergent technologies, collaborative robotics is an innovative solution to reduce ergonomic concerns and improve manufacturing productivity. However, there is a lack of studies providing empirical evidence about the implementation of these technologies, with little or no consideration for E&HF. This study analyzes an industrial implementation of a collaborative robotic workstation for assembly tasks performed by workers with musculoskeletal complaints through a synergistic integration of E&HF and LM principles. We assessed the workstation before and after the implementation of robotic technology and measured different key performance indicators (e.g., production rate) through a time study and direct observation. We considered 40 postures adopted during the assembly tasks and applied three assessment methods: Rapid Upper Limb Assessment, Revised Strain Index, and Key Indicator Method. Furthermore, we conducted a questionnaire to collect more indicators of workers’ wellbeing. This multi-method approach demonstrated that the hybrid workstation achieved: (i) a reduction of production times; (ii) an improvement of ergonomic conditions; and (iii) an enhancement of workers’ wellbeing. This ergonomic lean study based on human-centered principles proved to be a valid and efficient method to implement and assess collaborative workstations, foreseeing the continuous improvement of the involved processes.This work has been supported by NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000018; integrated in the invitation NORTE-59-2018-41, aiming at the Hiring of Highly Qualified Human Resources, co-financed by the Regional Operational Programme of the North 2020, thematic area of Competitiveness and Employment, through the European Social Fund (ESF). This work has been also supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Occurrence of persistent and mobile chemicals and other contaminants of emerging concern in Spanish and Portuguese wastewater treatment plants, transnational river basins and coastal water

This work investigated, during one year, the occurrence and fate of 52 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in transnational river basins and coastal areas of the North of Portugal and Galicia (NW Spain) and the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) discharging on these environments. The different CECs investigated included pharmaceuticals, personal care products, industrial chemicals, among others, of which ca. 90 % would fulfill the persistence, mobility and toxicity criteria proposed by the German Environmental Agency. The results showed the ubiquitous presence of these CECs and an incomplete removal of over 60 % of them with current conventional WWTPs. These findings highlight the requirement of a prominent and coordinated upgrade of WWTP treatments in order to meet the future European Union regulations on urban wastewater treatment and surface water quality. In fact, even some compounds exhibiting high removals, such as caffeine or xylene sulfonate, were frequently detected in river and estuarine waters at the high ng L−1 level. Thus, our preliminary risk assessment study concluded that 18 of the CECs presented a potential risk for the environment, being caffeine, sulpiride, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), diclofenac, fipronil and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) the most concerning ones. Yet, additional toxicity data as well as a more robust information on persistence and mobility of CECs are necessary for better estimating the magnitude of the problem and improve risk assessment. As an example, in the case of the antidiabetic metformin, recent research has revealed toxicity for model fish species at concentration levels below those found in 40 % of the river water samples analyzed in this workThis work was financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Programme (POCTEP) 2014-2020 (ref. 0725_NOR_WATER_1_P), the Agencia Estatal de Investigación MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (ref. PID2020-117686RB-C32) and the Consellería de Cultura, Educación y Universidades da Xunta de Galicia (ref. ED431C 2021/06). The study was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the projects [UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020]. R.M. acknowledges Banco Santander and Universidade de Santiago de Compostela for her outstanding researcher contract, N. A. acknowledges the FCT for his Ph.D. grant DFA/BD/6218/2020 and T.N. acknowledges FCT Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus 2022 (2022.02925.CEECIND). The authors also want to acknowledge Agilent Technologies for providing the equipment described in Section 2.4 and the different entities which have collaborated in the sampling campaign: VIAQUA, Augas de Galicia, Confederación Hidrográfica do Miño-Sil, Águas do Porto, Efacec and Águas do NorteS

Transcriptomic data on the transgenerational exposure of the keystone amphipod Gammarus locusta to simvastatin

The use of transcriptomics data brings new insights and works as a powerful tool to explore the molecular mode of action (MoA) of transgenerational inheritance effects of contaminants of emerging concern. Therefore, in this dataset, we present the transcriptomic data of the transgenerational effects of environmentally relevant simvastatin levels, one of the most prescribed human pharmaceuticals, in the keystone amphipod species Gammarus locusta. In summary, G. locusta juveniles were maintained under simvastatin exposure up to adulthood (exposed group - F0E) and the offspring of F0E were transferred to control water for the three subsequent generations (transgenerational group - F1T, F2T and F3T). To gain insights into the biological functions and canonical pathways transgenerationally disrupted by simvastatin, a G. locusta de novo transcriptome assembly was produced and the transcriptomic profiles of three individual G. locusta females, per group, over the four generations (F0 to F3) - solvent control groups (F0.C, F1.C, F2.C and F3.C), F0 320 ng/L simvastatin exposed group (F0.320E) and F1 to F3 320 transgenerational group (F1.320T; F2.320T and F3.320T) - were analyzed. Briefly, Illumina HiSeq™ 2500 platform was used to perform RNA sequencing, and due to the unavailability of G. locusta genome, the RNA-seq datasets were assembled de novo using Trinity and annotated with Trinotate software. After assembly and post-processing steps, 106093 transcripts with N50 of 2371 bp and mean sequence length of 1343.98 bp was produced. BUSCO analyses showed a transcriptome with gene completeness of 97.5 % Arthropoda library profile. The Bowtie2, RSEM and edgeR tools were used for the differential gene expression (DEGs) analyses that allowed the identification of a high quantity of genes differentially expressed in all generations. Finally, to identify the main metabolic pathways affected by the transgenerational effects of SIM across all generations, the DGEs genes were blasted onto KEGG pathways database using the KAAS webserver. The data furnished in this article allows a better molecular understanding of the transgenerational effects produced by simvastatin in the keystone amphipod G. locusta and has major implications for hazard and risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants. This article is related to the research article entitled “Transgenerational inheritance of chemical-induced signature: a case study with simvastatinThis article was developed under the Transobesogen project - Trans-phyletic obesogenic responses: from epigenetic modules to transgenerational environmental impacts (reference PTDC/CTA-AMB/31544/2017 - NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-031544), cofunded by Portugal 2020, the European Union through the ERDF and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT. This article was also supported by FCT through national funds (UIDB/04423/2020; UIDP/04423/2020), by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (CTM2017-84763-C3-2-R) and by the Galician Council of Culture, Education and Universities (ED431C2017/36), cofounded by ERDF. A PhD grant awarded to Susana Barros acknowledges the doctoral grant attributed by FCT with reference PD/BD/143090/2018S

Transgenerational inheritance of chemical-induced signature: A case study with simvastatin

The hypothesis that exposure to certain environmental chemicals during early life stages may disrupt reproduction across multiple non-exposed generations has significant implications for understanding disease etiology and adverse outcomes. We demonstrate here reproductive multi and transgenerational effects, at environmentally relevant levels, of one of the most prescribed human pharmaceuticals, simvastatin, in a keystone species, the amphipod Gammarus locusta. The transgenerational findings has major implications for hazard and risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emerging concern given that transgenerational effects of environmental chemicals are not addressed in current hazard and risk assessment schemes. Considering that the mevalonate synthesis, one of the key metabolic pathways targeted by simvastatin, is highly conserved among metazoans, these results may also shed light on the potential transgenerational effects of simvastatin on other animals, including humans.This research was funded by COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020, the European Union through the ERDF and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (Transobesogen project – Trans-phyletic obesogenic responses: from epigenetic modules to transgenerational environmental impacts, reference: PTDC/CTA-AMB/31544/2017 – NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-031544). This research was also supported by the National Funds through FCT under the projects (UIDB/04423/2020; UIDP/04423/2020), by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (CTM2017-84763-C3-2-R), and by the Galician Council of Culture, Education and Universities (ED431C2017/36), cofounded by ERDF. A PhD grant awarded to Susana Barros (PD/BD/143090/2018) was funded by the FCTS

Digitalization of musculoskeletal risk assessment in a robotic-assisted assembly workstation

The ergonomic assessment of adopted working postures is essential for avoiding musculoskeletal risk factors in manufacturing contexts. Several observational methods based on external analyst observations are available; however, they are relatively subjective and suffer low repeatability. Over the past decade, the digitalization of this assessment has received high research interest. Robotic applications have the potential to lighten workers’ workload and improve working conditions. Therefore, this work presents a musculoskeletal risk assessment before and after robotic implementation in an assembly workstation. We also emphasize the importance of using novel and non-intrusive technologies for musculoskeletal risk assessment. A kinematic study was conducted using inertial motion units (IMU) in a convenience sample of two workers during their normal performance of assembly work cycles. The musculoskeletal risk was estimated according to a semi-automated solution, called the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) report. Based on previous musculoskeletal problems reported by the company, the assessment centered on the kinematic analysis of functional wrist movements (flexion/extension, ulnar/radial deviation, and pronation/supination). The results of the RULA report showed a reduction in musculoskeletal risk using robotic-assisted assembly. Regarding the kinematic analysis of the wrist during robotic-assisted tasks, a significant posture improvement of 20–45% was registered (considering the angular deviations relative to the neutral wrist position). The results obtained by direct measurements simultaneously reflect the workload and individual characteristics. The current study highlights the importance of an in-field instrumented assessment of musculoskeletal risk and the limitations of the system applied (e.g., unsuitable for tracking the motion of small joints, such as the fingers).This work was supported by NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000018, integrated in the invitation NORTE-59-2018-41, aiming the Hiring of Highly Qualified Human Resources, co-financed by the Regional Operational Programme of the North 2020, thematic area of Competitiveness and Employment, through the European Social Fund (ESF). This work was also supported by FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020