The recognition of domestic workers' labor rights and the debate over the legacy of slavery in Brazil

This thesis examines the relation between Brazil's slavery past and the adoption of Constitutional Amendment Bill Nº 72, better known as "PEC das domésticas", which extended domestic workers' labor rights in Brazil. Being predominantly executed by black, poor women under precarious conditions, domestic work in Brazil is often portrayed as a continuation of relations of dominance and oppressional dynamics that have their origin in the country's colonial and slavery past. For a long time, domestic workers have been at the margins of Brazil's government policies and lacked proper legal protection and recognition, naturalizing their subaltern status as "second-class-citizen". Based on qualitative interviews with unionized domestic workers and representatives of the former government which passed the PEC in 2013, this work aims to analyze the role played by Brazil’s slavery legacy in the promotional process of the law. The thesis uses the concepts of intersectionality and the coloniality of power and gender to explore the core origin of domestic workers' enduring marginalization and discrimination. I argue that the debate about the living slavery legacy that domestic work carries played a significant double role in the PEC promotional process: on the one hand, the claim for the PEC involved the overarching objective to challenge persistent gender, class, and race asymmetries associated to the country's colonial and slavery past. On the other hand, the debate over the legacy of slavery was instrumentalized in the collective fight of domestic workers and their political allies to make their voices heard and push the law through.Esta tese explora a relação entre o passado escravocrata do Brasil e a aprovação da Emenda Constitucional Nº 72, mais conhecida como "PEC das Domésticas", que ampliou os direitos laborais das trabalhadoras domésticas no país. Sendo predominantemente executado por mulheres negras e pobres em condições precárias, o trabalho doméstico no Brasil é frequentemente retratado como uma continuação das relações de poder e opressão cuja origem remonta ao passado colonial e escravocrata do país. Durante muito tempo, as domésticas estiveram à margem da política do Estado brasileiro e careciam de proteção e reconhecimento jurídico adequado, legitimando o seu estatuto subalterno de "cidadão de segunda classe". Com base em entrevistas qualitativas com domésticas sindicalizadas e representantes do governo na altura da aprovação da PEC em 2013, este trabalho visa analisar o papel do legado do passado escravocrata brasileiro na promoção da lei. A tese utiliza os conceitos de interseccionalidade e a colonialidade de poder e de género para explorar a origem da marginalização e discriminação permanente das domésticas. Defendo que o debate sobre o legado vivo da escravidão que o trabalho doméstico representa desempenhou um papel com duplo significado no processo promocional da PEC: por um lado, a reivindicação da PEC tinha como objectivo maior desafiar as assimetrias persistentes de género, classe e raça associadas ao passado colonial e escravocrata do país. Por outro lado, o debate sobre o legado da escravidão foi instrumentalizado na luta coletiva das domésticas e respetivos aliados políticos para forçar a aprovação da lei

The climate and vegetation of Marine Isotope Stage 11-Model results and proxy-based reconstructions at global and regional scale

The climate of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11, the interglacial roughly 400,000 years ago, is investigated for four time slices, 416, 410, 400, and 396 ka. We compare results from two climate models, the earth system model of intermediate complexity CLIMBER2-LPJ and the general circulation model CCSM3, to reconstructions of MIS 11 temperature, precipitation and vegetation, mainly from terrestrial records. The overall picture is that MIS 11 was a relatively warm interglacial in comparison to preindustrial, with Northern Hemisphere (NH) summer temperatures early in MIS 11 (416-410 ka) warmer than preindustrial, though winters were cooler. Later in MIS 11, especially around 400 ka, conditions were cooler in the NH summer, mainly in the high latitudes. Climate changes simulated by the models were mainly driven by insolation changes, with the exception of two local feedbacks that amplify climate changes. Here, the NH high latitudes, where reductions in sea ice cover lead to a winter warming early in MIS 11, as well as the tropics, where monsoon changes lead to stronger climate variations than one would expect on the basis of latitudinal mean insolation change alone, are especially prominent. Both models used in this study support a northward expansion of trees at the expense of grasses in the high northern latitudes early during MIS 11, especially in northern Asia and North America, in line with the available pollen-based reconstructions. With regard to temperature and precipitation changes, there is general agreement between models and reconstructions, but reconstructed precipitation changes are often larger than those simulated by the models. The very limited number of records of sufficiently high resolution and dating quality hinders detailed comparisons between models and reconstructions

Macrophage Kdm6b controls the pro-fibrotic transcriptome signature of foam cells

In order to identify regulators of foam cells, we studied the H3K27 demethylase Kdm6b (also known as Jmjd3), a known regulator of macrophages, in controlling the transcriptional profile of foam cells. Foam cells from Kdm6b-deleted or Kdm6b wild-type mice were isolated and used for RNA-sequencing analysis. Pathway analysis revealed that pro-fibrotic pathways were strongly suppressed in Kdm6b-deleted foam cells. Analysis of published datasets showed that foam cell formation induces these pro-fibrotic characteristics. Overlay of both datasets indicated that fibrotic genes which are induced upon foam cell formation, are reduced in the absence of Kdm6b. These data suggest that foam cell formation induces a pro-fibrotic gene signature in a Kdm6b-dependent manner. We identified Kdm6b as a novel regulator of the pro-fibrotic signature of peritoneal foam cell

Myeloid Kdm6b deficiency results in advanced atherosclerosis

Background and aims: Atherosclerosis is a lipid-driven chronic inflammatory disorder of the arteries, and monocytes and macrophages play a central role in this process. Within the atherosclerotic lesion, macrophages can scavenge modified lipids and become the so-called foam cells. We previously reported that the epigenetic enzyme Kdm6b (also known as Jmjd3) controls the pro-fibrotic transcriptional profile of peritoneal foam cells. Given the importance of these cells in atherosclerosis, we now studied the effect of myeloid Kdm6b on disease progression. Methods: Bone marrow of myeloid Kdm6b deficient (Kdm6bdel) mice or wild type littermates (Kdm6bwt) was transplanted to lethally irradiated Ldlr−/− mice fed a high fat diet for 9 weeks to induce atherosclerosis. Results: Lesion size was similar in Kdm6bwt and Kdm6bdel transplanted mice. However, lesions of Kdm6bdel mice contained more collagen and were more necrotic. Pathway analysis on peritoneal foam cells showed that the pathway involved in leukocyte chemotaxis was most significantly upregulated. Although macrophage and neutrophil content was similar after 9 weeks of high fat diet feeding, the relative increase in collagen content and necrosis revealed that atherosclerotic lesions in Kdm6bdel mice progress faster. Conclusion: Myeloid Kdm6b deficiency results in more advanced atherosclerosis

Erratum to: Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition) (Autophagy, 12, 1, 1-222, 10.1080/15548627.2015.1100356

non present