Investigation of dynamic functional connectivity in cerebral small vessel disease

Tese de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica e Biofísica (Biofísica Médica e Fisiologia de Sistemas), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2020A doença dos pequenos vasos cerebrais ou Small Vessel Disease (SVD) é a principal causa de disfunção cognitiva em idosos e refere-se a um conjunto de processos patológicos e neurológicos que afetam os pequenos vasos do cérebro. As suas manifestações clínicas variam desde deficiências cognitivas, que podem levar a uma deterioração cognitiva progressiva e até demência, e incapacidades físicas, incluindo perda funcional em fases mais avançadas da doença. A neuroimagiologia é uma ferramenta essencial no diagnóstico e caracterização da SVD, em particular, a ressonância magnética funcional em repouso (rs-fMRI) já demonstrou potencial para fornecer biomarcadores da SVD, revelando interrupções da conectividade funcional (CF) em redes neuronais. No entanto, até o momento, apenas um estudo explorou as flutuações temporais da CF comumente observadas – a chamada conectividade funcional dinâmica (dFC). Em contraste com a CF, a dFC tem em consideração a natureza dinâmica da atividade cerebral, analisando-a em escalas de tempo mais rápidas de segundos a minutos. De facto, diversos estudos de dFC reportaram que esta abordagem pode fornecer uma maior compreensão das propriedades fundamentais das redes cerebrais e servir como um biomarcador de diversas doenças, uma vez que as alterações relacionadas com as mesmas nas propriedades dinâmicas da CF parecem ter origem neuronal. Deste modo, neste trabalho, o objetivo foi investigar a dFC medida por rs-fMRI em dois grupos de pacientes com SVD – do tipo esporádico (sSVD) e arteriopatia cerebral autossómica dominante com enfartes subcorticais e leucoencefalopatia (CADASIL) - em comparação com um grupo saudável. Para tal, a dFC foi estimada entre pares de regiões do cérebro em cada tempo de repetição, TR, com o método de Phase Coherence. Neste método, os padrões de dFC para todos os pontos de tempo foram obtidos calculando o alinhamento de fase entre cada par de regiões do cérebro, estimando a fase do sinal de cada ponto de tempo, em cada uma das 90 regiões do cérebro, com a transformada de Hilbert. De seguida, os padrões de dFC ao longo do tempo e de todos os sujeitos foram analisados utilizando o método Leading Eigenvector Dynamics Analysis (LEiDA), que considera apenas o autovetor principal de cada padrão de dFC obtido, reduzindo deste modo a dimensionalidade dos dados. Este vetor captura a orientação principal das fases do sinal sobre todas as áreas, onde cada elemento do mesmo representa a projeção da fase do sinal em cada área do cérebro no autovetor principal. Em seguida, o algoritmo k-médias foi aplicado a todos os autovetores principais de dFC para obter um número finito de estados de dFC, cada um representando um padrão dFC recorrente, para um k (número de estados) variável. Como este trabalho teve como objetivo explorar se existem estados de dFC que diferenciam pacientes SVD do grupo saudável, e não determinar o número ideal de estados de dFC, o número de estados foi variado de 2 a 20. Para cada k, examinámos as diferenças em termos de probabilidade de ocorrência, duração e perfis de transição dos estados de dFC entre o grupo de doentes e o grupo de controlos saudáveis. Adicionalmente, os estados de dFC foram correlacionados com sete redes neuronais de repouso comuns, nomeadamente a rede somatomotora, a rede de atenção ventral e dorsal, a rede visual, a rede frontoparietal, a rede límbica e a rede de modo padrão. Posteriormente, a fim de determinar se as alterações nas propriedades de dFC, encontradas neste trabalho, poderiam ser potenciais biomarcadores de declínio cognitivo causadas pela SVD, foi realizado uma análise de correlação entre as pontuações dos testes neuropsicológicos em quatro domínios relevantes (função executiva, velocidade de processamento, memória de trabalho e memória de longo prazo) e as propriedades de dFC dos pacientes. Do mesmo modo, uma análise de correlação entre os mapas probabilísticos dos tratos de substância branca mais frequentemente lesionados destes pacientes e as propriedades de dFC foi, também, realizada com o objetivo de determinar se as alterações nas propriedades de dFC, encontradas nos pacientes quando comparadas com o grupo saudável, poderiam estar correlacionadas com lesões estruturais dos mesmos. Quando comparado com o grupo de controlos saudáveis, o grupo de doentes apresentou uma probabilidade de ocorrência significativamente maior num estado de dFC fracamente conectado, composto por áreas clinicamente relevantes. Este estado compreende áreas dos lobos frontais e parietais e está significativamente associado a redes neuronais envolvidas na integração de informações sensoriais e processos específicos para o controlo da atenção, nomeadamente a rede somatomotora, a rede de atenção ventral e dorsal. Estas mesmas redes foram anteriormente identificadas, em estudos de CF, como afetadas em pacientes com SVD, mas também em indivíduos com deficiências cognitivas e com doença de Alzheimer. Além disso, estudos de dFC em doenças relacionadas com a SVD, como a demência e a doença de Alzheimer, relataram que os pacientes também apresentaram maiores probabilidades de ocorrência em estados fracamente e esparsamente conectados, com ausência de fortes conexões positivas e negativas. Em particular, o único estudo de dFC em SVD também descobriu que os pacientes com SVD tiveram mais ocorrências num estado fracamente conectado nas regiões do domínio sensório-motor, quando comparado ao grupo saudável. Deste modo, podendo indicar que mudanças dinâmicas na CF nestas áreas podem ser particularmente importantes para esta doença. É também importante ressaltar que as probabilidades de transição entre este estado fronto-parietal fracamente conectado para o estado de coerência global, fortemente conectado, foram significativamente correlacionadas com melhor desempenho no domínio cognitivo da velocidade de processamento. Estas descobertas estão de acordo com resultados anteriores de estudos de dFC em indivíduos com melhores e piores desempenhos cognitivos, onde indivíduos com melhores desempenhos cognitivos tiveram maior número de transições para este estado de coerência global. Da mesma forma, as probabilidades de transição do estado fortemente conectado para o estado fronto-parietal fracamente conectado, foram significativamente correlacionadas com um pior desempenho neste mesmo domínio cognitivo. De facto, défices na velocidade de processamento estão entre as primeiras e mais proeminentes manifestações cognitivas da SVD, com diversos estudos demonstrando associações entre o declínio na velocidade de processamento e medidas quantitativas de ressonância magnética. Assim, estudos futuros devem investigar com maior detalhe transições entre estes estados, de modo a determinar se alterações nesta propriedade de dFC podem ser biomarcadores do declínio cognitivo na SVD. Em relação à análise dos mapas probabilísticos dos tratos de substância branca mais frequentemente lesionados nestes pacientes, embora nenhuma correlação significativa tenha sido encontrada com as alterações nas propriedades da dFC encontradas neste trabalho, é interessante notar que vários estudos têm relatado associações entre estas lesões e o declínio cognitivo. O facto de a substância branca ser organizada no cérebro por tratos, conectando regiões cerebrais funcionais entre si, espera-se que danos a esses tratos levem a défices funcionais. Efetivamente, dois dos tratos frequentemente lesionados nestes pacientes, conectando regiões frontais, foram anteriormente relacionados com um pior desempenho cognitivo na velocidade de processamento em pacientes com SVD e demência. É, portanto, tentador sugerir que estes mesmo tratos frequentemente lesionados nos pacientes com SVD aqui estudados, poderiam ter alguma influência no pior desempenho no teste da velocidade de processamento encontrado neste estudo, que foi correlacionado com uma maior probabilidade de transição para o estado fracamente conectado, composto por regiões do lobo frontal e parietal. A compreensão dessa relação poderia ajudar a prever em quais das regiões do cérebro a patologia da substância branca causaria maiores défices funcionais, permitindo uma prevenção e terapia precoce. No geral, os nossos resultados fornecem um novo suporte de que a conectividade funcional dinâmica pode fornecer biomarcadores mais sensíveis da SVD e deste modo, futuras investigações deverão explorar o seu potencial para prever o declínio cognitivo relacionado com a mesma.Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is the leading contributor to cognitive dysfunction in the elderly and it refers to a set of pathological and neurological processes that affect the smallest vessels of the brain. Its clinical manifestations vary from cognitive impairments, which can lead to progressive cognitive deterioration and even dementia, and physical disabilities, including functional loss in more advanced stages. Neuroimaging is a crucial tool in the diagnosis and characterization of SVD; in particular, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has demonstrated potential to deliver sensitive biomarkers of SVD, by revealing disruptions in functional connectivity (FC) across brain networks. However, so far only one study has explored the commonly observed FC temporal fluctuations – so-called dynamic FC (dFC). Here we aim to further investigate dFC measured by rs-fMRI in two groups of patients with SVD – sporadic SVD (sSVD) and cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) – compared with a healthy control group. For this purpose, dFC was estimated at each repetition time point, TR, using Phase Coherence between the BOLD signals in pairs of brain regions, and dFC patterns were then analysed over time and subjects using the Leading Eigenvector Dynamics Analysis (LEiDA) approach. Then, a finite number of dFC states, each representing a recurrent dFC pattern, was obtained by k-means clustering with varying k (number of clusters). For each k, we examined differences between SVD and healthy control groups in terms of the occurrence, duration and switching profiles of dFC states. Additionally, the correlations between each dFC state and seven common resting-state networks (RSNs) were computed. SVD patients showed a significant higher probability of a weakly connected dFC state, consisting of clinically relevant areas, when compared with healthy controls. This state comprises frontal and parietal areas and is significantly associated with the somatomotor, dorsal attention and ventral attention RSNs, which are involved in the integration of sensory information and specific processes for attention control. Further, the fact that the state is weakly connected agrees with the only previous study on dFC in SVD. Overall, our findings contribute with novel support that dFC may provide sensitive biomarkers of SVD and should be further explored in terms of its potential to predictive cognitive decline

Distribución horizontal y vertical de los sifonóforos en relación con las condiciones oceanográficas en fiordos patagónicos chilenos

Siphonophores collected in Chilean Patagonian fjords, between the Gulf of Penas and the Trinidad Channel in 2008 were analysed. A total of 12 species were recorded, of which Muggiaea bargmannae, Lensia subtilis, Praya dubia and Sphaeronectes fragilis were identified for the first time in this sector of the Patagonian fjords. M. bargmannae represents a new record for the southeastern Pacific. The most abundant species were Muggiaea atlantica (78.6%), Lensia conoidea (8.7%) and Dimophyes arctica (8.5%). M. atlantica, the dominant species, showed high densities in both oceanic and interior waters. L. conoidea and D. arctica, on the other hand, were principally collected in interior waters. M. atlantica was collected in less saline (< 30), more oxygenated (6-7 mL L–1) shallow strata (0-50 m), while L. conoidea and D. arctica were collected below 50 m depth in more saline (30-33) and less oxygenated (4-6 mL L–1) waters. The eudoxids of these species followed the same horizontal and vertical distribution patterns as their polygastric stages. These results confirm the success of M. atlantica in the colonization of all the southern fjords and document an increase with respect to the results obtained for the same geographical area in the spring of 1996. They also allowed us to infer that salinity and dissolved oxygen vertical gradients play an important role in determining the depth distribution patterns of these species.Se analizaron los sifonóforos muestreados en fiordos patagónicos chilenos, entre el golfo de Penas y canal Trinidad en primavera de 2008. Se identificó un total de 12 especies, de las cuales Muggiaea bargmannae, Lensia subtilis, Praya dubia y Sphaeronectes fragilis fueron registrados por primera vez en este sector de fiordos patagónicos. M. bargmannae constituye un nuevo registro de sifonóforos en el Pacífico suroriental. Las especies más abundantes fueron Muggiaea atlantica (78.6%), Lensia conoidea (8.7%) y Dimophyes arctica (8.5%). M. atlantica, la especie dominante, mostró altas densidades tanto en aguas oceánicas como interiores. Por otra parte, L. conoidea y D. arctica se colectaron principalmente en aguas interiores. Las eudoxias de estas especies siguieron los mismos patrones de distribución horizontal que sus fases poligástricas. M. atlantica se encontró en aguas menos salinas ( < 30) y más oxigenadas (6-7 mL L–1) en el estrato superficial (0-50 m), mientras que L. conoidea y D. arctica se colectaron bajo los 50 m de profundidad en aguas más salinas (30-33) y menos oxigenadas (4-6 mL L–1). Estos resultados confirman el éxito de M. atlantica en la colonización de todos los fiordos australes y su incremento respecto a resultados obtenidos en la misma área geográfica en primavera de 1996

Risk of employing an evolvable production system

Nowadays manufacturing companies are facing a more challenging environment due to the unpredictability of the markets in order to survive. Enterprises need to keep innovating and deliver products with new internal or external characteristics. There are strategies and solutions, to different organisational level from strategic to operational, when technology is growing faster in operational level, more specifically in manufacturing system. This means that companies have to deal with the changes of the emergent manufacturing systems while it can be expensive and not easy to be implement. An agile manufacturing system can help to cope with the markets changeability. Evolvable Production Systems (EPS) is an emergent paradigm which aims to bring new solutions to deal with changeability. The proposed paradigm is characterised by modularity and intends to introduce high flexibility and dynamism at shop floor level through the use of the evolution of new computational devices and technology. This new approach brings to enterprises the ability to plug and unplug new devices and allowing fast reformulation of the production line without reprogramming. There is no doubt about the advantages and benefits of this emerging technology but the feasibility and applicability is still under questioned. Most researches in this area are focused on technical side, explaining the advantages of those systems while there are no sufficient works discussing the implementation risks from different perspective, including business owner. The main objective of this work is to propose a methodology and model to identify, classify and measure potential risk associated with an implementation of this emergent paradigm. To quantify the proposed comprehensive risk model, an Intelligent Decision system is developed employing Fuzzy Inference System to deal with the knowledge of experts, as there are no historical data and sufficient research on this area. The result can be the vulnerability assessment of implementing EPS technology in manufacturing companies when the focus is more on SMEs. The present dissertation used the experts’ knowledge and experiences, who were involved in FP7 project IDEAS, which is one of the leading projects in this area

Recent Approaches for the Determination of Forming Limits by Necking and Fracture in Sheet Metal Forming

Forming limit diagrams (FLD’s) are used to evaluate the workability of metal sheets. FLD’s provide the failure locus at which plastic instability occurs and localized necking develops (commonly designated as the forming limit curve - FLC), and the failure loci at the onset of fracture by tension (FFL) or by in-plane shear (SFFL). The interest of metal formers in controlling localized necking is understandable because the consequence of plastic instability is an undesirable surface blemish in components. However, because under certain loading conditions fracture can precede necking in sheet metal forming processes, there is a growing interest in characterizing the forming limits by necking and fracture in the FLD’s. This paper gathers together a number of recently developed methodologies for detecting the onset of local necking and fracture by in-plane tension or in-plane shear, and discusses their applicability to determine experimentally the FLC’s, FFL’s and SFFL’s.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad DPI2012-3291

A Case Study in the Tejo Basin (Portugal)

Funding Information: This research was funded through the Project AgriWW2Fertilizer, from LEAF/ISA, FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the Project LEAF (Ref. UIDB/04129/2020 and UIDP/04129/2020), and by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, included in the COMPETE 2020 (Operational Program Competitiveness and Internationalization) through the ICT project (UIDB/04683/2020) and through the FitoFarmGest Operational Group (PDR2020-101-030926). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.The use of agricultural drainage water (ADW) in irrigation is a great challenge, improving water use efficiency, nutrient circularity, and avoiding surface and ground-water contamination. The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical and ecotoxicological characteristics of an ADW to analyze the safety of its reuse. An irrigated area with maize crops was selected (Tejo Basin, Portugal), where a subsurface structure for the recovery of ADW was installed, collecting the drainage in a pond and recycling it for crop irrigation. Water was collected monthly during the irrigation campaign of 2021 (April to August). Three herbicides and two metabolites were quantified, reaching a maximum concentration of 0.74 µg L−1 for S-metolachlor and 0.48 µg L−1 for terbuthylazine. The lethal bioassays did not detect toxicity, except for the sample collected in August toward Vibrio fisheri (EC50 = 25.2%). The samples were not toxic to Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, with a growth inhibition rate of less than 10%. The low lethal and sublethal effects may be ascribed to the high nutrient concentration (e.g., 1.76 mg P L−1 and 98.9 mg NO3− L−1, in July) that could have masked toxic effects. Ecotoxicological responses support the option of ADW reuse in irrigation, offering a safe and sustainable solution for water and nutrient management.publishersversionpublishe

THE CONTEMPORARY SLAVE LABOR: ESSAY ON THE NEW CONTENT OF THE ARTICLE 243 OF BRAZILIAN CONSTITUTION FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SOCIAL FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO DECENT WORK

INTRODUCTIONThis work lies in the study of social fundamental right to decent work and most specifically in the fight against the work in analogous conditions to slavery. From the analysis of the Brazilian constitutional text, its resulting legislative policies and factual statistics data, it is presented, as the central research problem, some possible lacks of forecasts to ensure the so called decent work and the effective efforts to eradicate slave labor in Brazil.This theme is becoming one of the most worldwide debated issues, by the hand of the protective organizations for human rights. Considering the statistical analysis that prove the existence of serious violations of human rights in terms of  social fundamental rights to decent work, it is justified the importance of this research,in the contemporary scenario,about the laboring under slavery conditions.In this context, the goal is to analyze the possible protection which can be provided – or its eventual lacks – considering the content of the Constitutional Amendment 81/2014 for the Article 243 of the Federative Republic of Brazil constitution, all in order to clarify whether the new constitutional rules contribute to the effectiveness of the social fundamental right to work, as a guideline for policies launched from the constitutional text against the contemporary forms of slavery. METHODOLOGYIt is adopteda comparative form of the deductive method with the help of specialized lawand sociological literature asreferences for quotation and, for sure, the core constitutional text. The research analyzes, initially, the relationship between public policymaking and the enforcement of Constitutional rights, most especially, the social fundamental rights, and so on, to right to work under decent conditions, effort which scrutinizes the notions of contemporary slave labor in opposition to the principle of human dignity.From the released ideas, the work follows studying the new Article 243 of the Brazilian Constitution, in order to raise some solution for the research problem, considering the practice of imposing workers anyrestriction to their freedom as something rude as to suppress their dignity by degrading work with deprivation of liberty. CONTEMPORARY SLAVE WORK, HUMAN DIGNITY AND PUBLIC POLICYIn the world and so on, in Brazil as well, since the most ancient times, the main cause of slavery was stated as the economic exploitation – which prevails also in the present time. Contemporary slavery practice manifests itself in the hinding form, marked by authoritarianism, combining the worker's freedom of retrenchment with the violation of their fundamental right to decent work.Contemporaneously, the notion of slave labor is identified by long working hours, paltry salaries, prohibition of circulating, wild discriminations and other precarious threats.Even nowadays, despite of allefforts to the adoption of certain means of protection against thepractice of slave labor, employee is usedto consider some alternatives as “not bad” as others which are even worst. It motivates the acceptation of lots of alternative forms of “job”, in order to find a way of survival. This situation is often found, very frequently in the urban industrial areas, coming to demystify the slave labor binding only with the countryside.For a long time, there existed no effective protection mechanism that workers could use, when subjected to abuse. The work has been related to thestatus of toolfor implementation of human dignity as it happens to its nature as social fundamental right, in accordance with severalcountries’ constitutions. Throughout the long own history, until, in modern times, it is said, even when it is not true.In the Brazilian case, looking forward to follow up on commitments assumed by Brazil upon ratification of Convention No. 29 and 105 and also when the adoption of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, ILO launched the Project for Technical Cooperation to Combat Forced (Slavery) Labor in Brazil.This measure sought to promote integrated operations and to strength the actions of all national partner institutions that protect human rights, particularly within the National Commission for the Eradication of Slave Labor, also providing for the rehabilitation of rescued workers to prevent their return to slave labor.In addition, at the Brazilian normative level, the behavior of subjecting someone to conditions analogous to slavery is typified in Article 149 of the Penal Code. In the labor legislation, the provision to rural areas is more than forty years old (Law no. 5,889 / 1973, as amended by Provisional Measure no. 2164-41 / 2001 and Law n. 11,718 / 2008).However, both the question of jurisdiction over the crime as the current setting of the minimum penalty provided for in this article, which is two years, have inhibited any effective prosecution, and there are several favorable devices to the convict that allow to slow down the eventual execution pen. ARTICLE 243 OF THE BRAZILIAN CONSTITUTION CONTEXT AND THE FIGHT FOR ELIMINATION OF CONTEMPORARYSLAVE WORKAccording to the Ministry of Labor and Employment, it were freed from slavery in Brazil 49,816 people between 1995 and 2015, which seems to be very insufficient numbers to close upwhat to what is estimated to exist. This demonstrates that, despite conveyed policies, slavery work practice has not been eliminated in Brazil. Therefore, legislative measures and other government actions remained being taken, against the continuation of criminal conduct in labor relations, recognized long ago as so offensive to human rights.The issue, therefore, was the subject of most discussion from the issue of Amendment to the Constitution Proposal (PEC) n. 57 from 1999, which was finally, and very lately, approved by the Senate only in 2014, with progress in the House of Representatives under the number 438/2011.The project culminated in the Constitutional Amendment. 81 of June 5, 2014, by which was given new wording to Article 243 of the Constitution, which has been determined that rural and urban properties with illegal plantations of psychotropic plants or slave labor exploitation are expropriated for subsequent allocation to land reform and implementation of public housing programs, without compensation to the owner (BRAZIL, 1988).From the new Constitutional provision, there exists the possibility of applying sanctions of various kinds by the practice of exploitation of slave labor. Noteworthy is the fact that any economic good linked to the forbidden practice can be confiscated, reversing the special fund allocations, under specific legal regulation, when checking exploitation of slave labor.It was instituted, thus, the confiscation of all material linked to the exploitation of slave labor. From this point on, all legal institutions such property are subjected to expropriation under those conditions. Starting from the primary notion that "expropriation" was a genre in which to understand the species "expropriation" and "seizure" (differing, both because there or not payment of a prior compensation to loss of well ownership), one is really facing a confiscation and the state.This is justified by the reason of, as a punitive measure, it could not have any payment as a form of compensation for the economic value lost.It shall be emphasized that, by providing for the loss of property as a penalty to the employer that adopts the slave labor practice, the rule of law clarifies the clear linkage of mutual respect that should exist between the employer and the employee, under penalty of sanctions.The current wording drew attention also to the need of a continued adoption of effective measures in the fight against this practice, which repeatedly occur in national territory, imposing a deep study about the possible forms that forced labor takes in the contemporary era and about the several reactions it causes, in order to mobilize people and garner more support for its eradication.After all, in the twenty-first century, Brazil can no longer affordnor the Brazilian civil society can remain inert about this pernicious violation of the Constitutional principle of human dignity. CONCLUSIONSThe wording given to Article 243 of the Brazilian constitution by constitutional amendment No. 81/2014 evaluates the importance of productive men and its working force and consequently the production, to the aggrandizement of economic power.At this point, it remains shown the relevance of the new constitutional provision against the feeling of the exploiters of slave labor, to impart a bias of "reification" to employees which demonstrate the extreme value of "owning" in defeat of the human being respect.Thus, it is expected that the risk of having confiscated their properties (because of badly treating people – as object of their property – will motivate a higher abstention from slavering practice by the land or building owners who act as bad employers. Although this behavior change can, possibly, be adopted only to avoid losing real property that is used slave labor, it creates an opportunity of an effective change in the employing practices and conditions.Therefore the formal existence of legal policies to combat modern-day slavery, if considering the greater reach and relevance they should have, they have not been strong enough to eradicate the practice of labor under those conditions that reduce workers to conditions analogous to slavery and ensure the effectiveness of the fundamental right to decent work.Thus, it is necessary that all information against slave work can reach the appropriately the legal authorities, so that the monitoring shall be effective and the sanctions have to be seriously imposed. The adoption of the measures to combat slave labor with constitutional statusis expected as to enforce government actions to implement and disseminate a greater awareness of civil society with regard to collaboration with complaints and dissemination of eradication campaigns.Thus, the wording given by Constitutional Amendment 81/2014 Article 243 of the Constitution, with the institution of confiscation of properties where slave labor is caught, foreshadows the landscape will suffer some important changes. It looks clear, therefore, that the new constitutional discipline shall contribute to the realization of the social fundamental right to decent work as a barrier to contemporary forms of slavery, allied form, however, other measures.Unfortunately it will not be enough to put an end at this horrible practice. This first effort must be complemented by other measures, if it is considered how the starting point of a job can represent awareness under conditions of greater social vulnerability.It is absolutely imperative to eradicate degrading forms of labor, in compliance with constitutional rules, with greater effectiveness of the social fundamental rights to decent work.[1] Do not take this document as a complete Paper for Discussion. This is merely the format which is supposed to be adopted by authors for submissions to SPRING 2016 | UNOESC INTERNATIONAL LEGAL SEMINAR

A socio-historic overview of social pedagogy and social work in Mexico

In this article, we offer a socio-historic overview of the development of social work and social pedagogy in Mexico. First, we examine the rise of the welfare state in Mexico in the immediate post-revolution period and the way the new secular government assumed control of social intervention. We describe the inception of the School of Social Assistance and the emergence of social work in the country, as well as exploring the role and influence of Cultural Missions and the training of social workers. We discuss the role of Fundamental Education, rural schools and their resemblance to the ideals of social pedagogy. Finally, we describe the founding of the Degree in Educational Intervention, which we consider sows the seeds of socio-pedagogical thought and practice in Mexico. We conclude that, despite the many periods of reorganisation of social intervention by successive governments, different initiatives use education to promote individual and collective development. Though social pedagogy does not exist as a profession in Mexico and social work is an imprecisely defined profession, education has a socialising potential that underpins pedagogical work of an extensive network of areas and agents animated by social ideals and goals

An assessment of geotubes performance in coastal protection

The Ofir spit is located at the estuary of Cavado River (NW coast of Portugal), and is the natural protection of Esposende city, ensuring also the navigability of the river and preventing from the maritime invasion of its estuary or the flooding of the riverine part of that city. It has been subjected to the actions of nature, especially from the Atlantic Ocean, known for its energetic regime and, more recently, those of human activities. Considering that, in Portugal, the use of geosynthetics on coastal protection is not yet a usual solution, it is relevant to investigate it, especially in this case of high-energy wave agitation. The paper presents a summary on the interventions conducted to the sandbank along time, it refers also the solution implemented as well as the monitoring campaign conducted after December 2015, discussing its results and the viability of the structure itself as a permanent solution.publishersversionpublishe