History of the eight hours' movement /

Mode of access: Internet.

Forty-eight hour access to primary care: practice factors predicting patients' perceptions

Background: The government has proposed a 48-hour target for GP availability. Although many practices are moving towards delivering that goal, recent national patient surveys have reported a deterioration in patients' reports of doctor availability. What practice factors contribute to patients' perceptions of doctor availability? Method: A cross sectional patient survey (11 000 patients from 54 inner London practices, 7247 (66%) respondents) using the General Practice Assessment Survey. We asked patients how soon they could be seen in their practice following non-urgent consultation requests and related their aggregated responses to the characteristics of their practice. Results: Three factors relating to practice administration and appointments systems operation independently predicted patients' reports of doctor availability. These were the proportion of patients asked to attend the surgery and wait to be seen, the proportion of patients seen using an emergency surgery arrangement, and the extent of practice computerization. Conclusion: Some practices may have difficulty in meeting the target for GP availability. Meeting the target will involve careful review of practice administrative procedures.

The eight hours day for wage earning women: United States Supreme Court upholds the California law : List of eight hours laws

National Consumers' League.

An argument for an eight-hour law

by Walter S. Logan.

Boston Eight Hour League; its object and work. Annual report of the President, containing the plan and estimates of a free hall for workingmen and workingwomen.

Mode of access: Internet.

The twenty-eight hour law and the animal quarantine laws annotated ...

Mode of access: Internet.

Eight-hour series

Mode of access: Internet.

Sullivan Agent Confesses, [1948]

The National Seaman’s Association was a labour recruiter hiding behind a union-like name. It was run by H.N. McMaster who collected fees from companies and dues from workers. With McMaster in charge, shipping interests could claim that their seamen had a union, but ship-owners were free to push their vessels and their workers to the breaking point. In 1935, the members on the Great Lakes decided to strike. One year later, they created their own union and amalgamated with a Montreal-based independent body to create the Canadian Seamen’s Union headed by a ship’s cook who became a union leader, John Allan Patrick “Pat” Sullivan. By the late 1940s, almost all sailors on Canadian ships were CSU members. Right from its inception in 1936, Communists were prominent among the leaders of the union. Sullivan had been recruited to the Communist party that year and the union had a close rapport with the party. On June 8, 1940, Pat Sullivan was arrested because of his affiliation with the Communist party. He was incarcerated until March 20, 1942. No charges were laid, no bail was set and there was no trial. After his release, Sullivan was elected second vice-president of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada. In 1943, Percy Bengough was elected as president and Sullivan was elected as secretary treasurer of the TLC while maintaining his role as president of the CSU. On March 14, 1947 Sullivan made a shocking announcement that he was resigning from the CSU and the Labor-Progressive Party. He claimed that the CSU was under the full control of the Communists. Within a month of this announcement, he emerged as the president of the Canadian Lake Seamen’s Union. Ship-owners never really reconciled themselves to having their industry unionized, and in 1946 there was a seamen’s strike in which the union won the eight-hour day. In 1949, the shipping companies had a plan to get rid of the union and were negotiating behind their back with the Seafarers International Union (SIU). In a brutal confrontation, led by Hal Banks, an American ex-convict, the SIU was able to roust the CSU and take over the bargaining rights of Canadian seamen. On July 15, 1948, Robert Lindsay, who was Sullivan’s Welland business agent said that to the best of his knowledge, Sullivan’s outfit, the CLSU, was under the control of some of the Steamship Companies. Lindsay had heard that there was a movement to get rid of Bengough of the Trades and Labour Congress as well as elements of the CSU. He also had heard that the CLSU wanted to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor. Lindsay’s allegations raised the questions: Were the ship-owners powerful enough to oust Percy Bengough because he supported the seamen? Could the CLSU get an affiliation with the American Federation of Labor? and Would the American Federation of Labor actually affiliate with a union that was siding with employers against a locked-out union?

Adrenocorticotropin stimulation tests in patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disease: low dose, standard high dose and 8-h infusion tests

Objectives Low doses of ACTH [1-24] (0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mug per 1.73 m(2)) may provide a more physiological level of adrenal stimulation than the standard 250 mug test, but not all studies have concluded that the 1.0 fig is a more sensitive screening test for central hypoadrenalism. Eight-hour infusions of high dose ACTH [1-24] have also been suggested as a means of assessing the adrenals' capacity for sustained cortisol secretion. In this study, we compared the diagnostic accuracy of three low dose ACTH tests (LDTs) and the 8-h infusion with the standard 250 jig test (HDT) and the insulin hypoglycaemia test (IHT) in patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disease. Subjects and design Three groups of subjects were studied. A healthy control group (group 1, n=9) and 33 patients with known hypothalamic or pituitary disease who were divided into group 2 (n=12, underwent IHT) and group 3 (n=21, IHT contraindicated). Six different tests were performed: a standard IHT (0.15 U/kg soluble insulin); a 60-minute 250 mug HDT; three different LDTs using 0.1 mug, 0.5 mug and 1.0 mug (all per 1.73 m(2)); and an 8-h infusion test (250 mug ACTH [1-24] at a constant rate over 8 h). Results Nine out of the 12 patients in group 2 failed the IHT. Three out of 12 patients from group 2 who clearly passed the IHT, also passed all the ACTH [1-24] stimulation tests. Seven of the 9 patients who failed the lHT, failed by a clear margin (peak cortisol

Repeated exposure to Ochratoxin A generates a neuroinflammatory response, characterized by neurodegenerative M1 microglial phenotype.

Neurotoxic effects of the environmentally abundant mycotoxin Ochratoxin A (OTA) were studied in histotypic 3D rat brain cell cultures, comprising all brain cell types. Cultures were exposed to nanomolar OTA concentrations and samples were collected 48h after a single exposure, or after 10 days of repeated administration. OTA-induced changes in gene- and protein expression, as well as alterations in cell morphology were assessed. Forty-eight-hour OTA exposure resulted in a disruption of the neuronal cytoskeleton and reduced expression of several oligodendrocyte-specific markers indicative of demyelination. Astrocyte disturbances were revealed by a decrease in two astrocytic proteins involved in regulation of inflammatory responses, metallothioneins I and II. Repeated OTA administration induced a neuroinflammatory response, as visualized by an increase of isolectin B4 labelled cells, increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and detection of macrophagic ED1/CD68 positive cells, as well as an upregulation of neurodegenerative M1 microglial phenotype markers. Partial recovery from OTA-induced deleterious effects on oligodendrocytes and astrocytes was achieved by co-treatment with sonic hedgehog (SHH). In addition, metallothionein I and II co-treatment partially restored OTA-induced effects on oligodendrocytes after 48h, and modulated microglial reactivity after 10 days. These results suggest that OTA-exposure affects Shh-signalling, which in turn may influence both oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. Furthermore, the primarily astrocytic proteins MTI/MTII may affect microglial activation. Thus the neuroinflammatory response appears to be downstream of OTA-induced effects on demyelination, axonal instabilities and astrocytes disturbances. In conclusion, repeated OTA-exposure induced a secondary neuroinflammatory response characterized by neurodegenerative M1 microglial activation and pro-inflammatory response that could exacerbate the neurodegenerative process.

Colon extended physiologically based extraction test (CE-PBET) increases bioaccessibility of soil-bound PAH

Assessment of the risk to human health posed by contaminated land may be seriously overestimated if reliant on total pollutant concentration. In vitro extraction tests, such as the physiologically based extraction test (PBET), imitate the physicochemical conditions of the human gastro-intestinal tract and offer a more practicable alternative for routine testing purposes. However, even though passage through the colon accounts for approximately 80% of the transit time through the human digestive tract and the typical contents of the colon in vivo are a carbohydrate-rich aqueous medium with the potential to promote desorption of organic pollutants, PBET comprises stomach and small intestine compartments only. Through addition of an eight-hour colon compartment to PBET and use of a carbohydrate-rich fed-state medium we demonstrated that colon-extended PBET (CE-PBET) in- creased assessments of soil-bound PAH bioaccessibility by up to 50% in laboratory soils and a factor of 4 in field soils. We attribute this increased bioaccessibility to a combination of the additional extraction time and the presence of carbohydrates in the colon compartment, both of which favor PAH desorption from soil. We propose that future assessments of the bioaccessibility of organic pollutants in soils using physiologically based extraction tests should have a colon compartment as in CE-PBET.

Purification and analysis of protein synthetic initiation factors from Volvox Carteri

Volvox carteri, a multi-celled green algae, can grow synchronously given a sixteen hour light period followed by an eight hour dark period, a cycle which is repeated for a 48 hour growth cycle total. Near the end of each light period, reproductive cells divide rapidly resulting in the differentiation of ceIls. When the dark period begins, this differentiation stops and the cells remain dormant with little protein synthesis or differentiation occurring. Immediately after the lights come back on, however, the cells again undergo rapid protein synthesis and complete their differentiation. Previous studies have concluded that Volvox carteri discontinue protein synthesis during the dark phase due to regulation at the translational level and not the transcriptional level. Therefore, the inhibition of protein synthesis does not lie in the transfer of the protein coding sequence from DNA to mRNA, but rather in the transfer of this information from the mRNA to the ribosomes. My research examined this translational regulation to determine the factor(s) causing the discontinuation of protein synthesis during the dark phase. Evidence from other research further suggests that the control of translation lies in the initiation step rather than the elongation step. Eukaryotic initiation factors aid in the binding of the ribosomal subunits to the mRNA to initiate protein synthesis. It is known that initiation factors can be modified by phosphorylation, regulating their activity. Therefore, my study focused upon isolating some of these initiation factors in order to determine whether or not such modifications are responsible for the inhibition of dark phase protein synthesis in Volvox carteri.

Testes bioquímicos para avaliação do vigor em sementes de Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia Benth

Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia Benth. is a forest species of the Mimosaceae family, recommended for recovery of degraded areas. The evaluation of vigor by biochemical tests have been an important tool in the control of seed quality programs, and the electrical conductivity and potassium leaching the most efficient in the verifying the physiological potential. The objective, therefore, to adjust the methodology of the electrical conductivity test for seeds of M. caesalpiniaefolia, for then compare the efficiency of this test with the potassium in the evaluation of seed vigor of different lots of seeds M. caesalpiniaefolia. To test the adequacy of the electrical conductivity were used different combinations of temperatures , 25 °C and 30 ºC, number of seeds , 25 and 50, periods of imbibition , 4 , 8 , 12 , 16 and 24 hours , and volumes deionized water, 50 mL and 75mL. For potassium leaching test, which was conducted from the results achieved by the methodology of the adequacy of the electrical conductivity test, to compare the efficiency of both tests , in the classification of seeds at different levels of vigor, and the period 4 hours also evaluated because the potassium leaching test can be more efficient in the shortest time . The best combination obtained in experiment of electrical conductivity is 25 seeds soaked in 50 mL deionized or distilled water for 8 hours at a temperature of 30 ° C. Data were subjected to analysis of variance, the means were compared with each other by F tests and Tukey at 5 % probability, and when necessary polynomial regression analysis was performed. The electrical conductivity test performed at period eight hour proved to be more efficient in the separation of seed lots M. caesalpiniaefolia at different levels of vigor compared to the potassium test

Efeito dos substratos e temperaturas na germinação de sementes de Cnidosculus phyllacanthus Pax & K. Hoffm. (Faveleira)

Este trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo estudar diferentes substratos e temperaturas para germinação de sementes de faveleira. Foram testadas as temperaturas constantes de 25º e 30ºC e alternadas com amplitudes de 5ºC (30-35ºC), 10ºC (20-30º e 25-35ºC) e 15ºC (20-35ºC), e fotoperíodo de oito horas para a temperatura mais elevada e dezesseis horas para a temperatura mais baixa. Os substratos papel de filtro, areia, vermiculita e papel germitest, foram umedecidos com solução de nistatina 0,2%. Para o teste de germinação em laboratório para sementes de faveleira pode-se recomendar os substratos areia, vermiculita, papel germitest e papel filtro combinado com temperaturas alternadas de 20ºC -30ºC. Para o teste de vigor, velocidade de germinação de sementes de faveleira, pode-se recomendar o substrato papel filtro combinado com as temperaturas alternadas de 20ºC -30ºC.

Germinação de sementes de pau-ferro submetidas a diferentes condições de armazenamento, escarificação química, temperatura e luz

Caesalpinia leiostachya (Benth.) Ducke (pau-ferro) é uma planta arbórea nativa do Brasil, cujas sementes possuem dormência causada pela impermeabilidade do tegumento à água. Neste trabalho foram conduzidos dois experimentos, nos quais foram utilizados diferentes períodos de escarificação em ácido sulfúrico concentrado para superar a dormência das sementes. No primeiro experimento, sementes coletadas em agosto de 1997 foram armazenadas por oito meses em ambiente não controlado no interior do próprio fruto, e em câmara seca após serem extraídas dos frutos; a seguir, elas foram imersas em ácido sulfúrico por 0, 10, 20, 40, 60 e 80min e colocadas para germinar nas temperaturas constante de 25ºC e alternada de 20-30°C, sob fotoperíodo de 8h. No segundo experimento, sementes extraídas de frutos recém-coletados em agosto de 1998 foram imersas em ácido sulfúrico por 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 e 60min, seguido do teste de germinação conduzido nas mesmas temperaturas do experimento anterior, na ausência e presença de luz. Foram avaliados a porcentagem final e o índice de velocidade de germinação das sementes. Os resultados mostraram que (a) a manutenção das sementes no interior dos frutos é uma alternativa viável para o armazenamento durante o período adotado; (b) as sementes recém-coletadas são indiferentes à luz, nas duas temperaturas testadas; (c) as sementes recém-coletadas e as armazenadas germinam em maior velocidade a 25ºC; (d) em sementes armazenadas, a imersão em ácido sulfúrico por 10min é suficiente para superar a dormência; (e) em sementes recém-coletadas, a imersão em ácido sulfúrico por 20 a 30min favorece a porcentagem e a velocidade de germinação.