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Biopolitics and Education: relations from discursitiy about health at school. This paper aims to discuss the relations between biopolicits and education from the agency theories produced by the discursive practices about health on the scolhar context. The paper is based on: 1) literature consulting that, refering to the history of brazilian education, shows the insertion of the practices of health at school; 2) results from a master's degree research that intented to understand the mediation of the interaction of a discussion grouo about health, at a school from Fortaleza, on the participant's postion about the chosen subjetcs. Thus, it is discussed how the agency theories produced by practices of health at the school evidence the link between disciplinary and biopolitical mechanism that aim to regulate the life of juvenile sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite recent efforts to apply machine learning (ML) for water demand modeling, overcoming the black-box nature of these techniques to extract practical information remains a challenge, especially in developing countries. This study integrated random forest (RF), self-organizing map (SOM), and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques to assess water demand patterns and to develop a predictive model for the city of Fortaleza, Brazil. We performed the analysis at two spatial scales, with different level of information: census tracts (CTs) at the fine scale, and census blocks (CBs) at the coarse scale. At the CB scale, demand was modeled with socioeconomic, demographic, and household characteristics. The RF technique was applied to rank these variables, and the most relevant were used to cluster census blocks with SOMs. RFs and ANNs were used in an iterative approach to define the input variables for the predictive model with minimum redundancy. At the CT scale, demand was modeled using HDI and per capita income. Variables which assess the education level and economic aspects of households demonstrated a direct relationship with water demand. The analysis at the coarse scale provided more insight into the relationship between the variables; however, the predictive model performed better at the fine scale. This study demonstrates how data-driven models can be helpful for water management, especially in environments with strong socioeconomic inequalities, where urban planning decisions should be integrated and inclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Interventions on adolescents' lifestyle are important, but the main mechanisms that explain the changes (mediating variables) on lifestyle are unclear. This paper presents the rationale and methods of an intervention program focused on promoting active and healthy lifestyles (especially physical activity [PA] practice and reducing screen time) among Brazilian students-the Fortaleça sua Saúde program (Portuguese for "strengthen your health").Methods/design: This is a school-based cluster-randomized controlled trial. Three intervention and three control (no intervention) full-time public schools were randomly selected in Fortaleza, northeastern Brazil. Students (n = 1,272) from classes in Grades 7-9 were eligible, and 1,085 (548 in the intervention and 537 in control schools) completed the baseline and follow-up measures. The program duration was approximately four months and took place in 2014. Intervention strategies focused on teacher training, activities on health in the curriculum, active opportunities in the school environment (the availability of equipment for PA), and health education (health materials for students and parents). Data collection was undertaken before and immediately after the intervention. The primary variables included the practice of PA (weekly PA volume, PA behavior change stage and preference for PA during leisure-time) and screen time (TV and computer/video games). Potential intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental mediators of PA and screen time were evaluated by a standardized questionnaire. Other lifestyle components (e.g., eating habits, substance use), psychological (e.g., self-rated health, body satisfaction) and biological (general and abdominal obesity) aspects, as well as academic performance were also evaluated in the total sample. Depressive symptoms, eating disorders, sleep quality, objectively-measured PA, and sedentary time were evaluated in obese students.Discussion: If effective, this program will contribute to the development of public policies for the promotion of active and healthy lifestyles in youth, especially those from low- and middle-income countries. The main intrapersonal, interpersonal and/or environmental mediators of PA and screen time may also be indicated. Finally, we anticipate that the proposed strategies may be adaptable to public schools and may even be extended to the entire school system.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.Gov: NCT02439827 . Registration date: May 3, 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]