125 research outputs found
Re Int\u27l Moulders Union and Jamaica MFG (Canada) Ltd
The facts essential to the settlement of this grievance do not appear to be in dispute. Employees of the company are paid an hourly base rate, as set out in the schedule to the collective agreement, plus incentive pay. The incentive system operates. wholly outside the agreement except for references in art. 10 (c), which is quoted below, and upon which this grievance is based. There are several indirect references to the incentive scheme in the Wage Schedule and Classifications appended to the agreement. The references in the schedule do no more than testify to the existence of the incentive system. The system in use is a standard allowed time method of calculating bonus payments
Long-Term Effects of Cathodic Protection on Prestressed Concrete Bridge Components
DTFH61-92-C-00058While cathodic protection effectively reduces or stops ongoing corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete, applicability of this technology to prestressing steel has been limited because of concerns of possible bond loss and hydrogen embrittlement. Within this context the present research was intended as a comprehensive, multifaceted undertaking to elevate the understanding of prestressed concrete cathodic protection to the same level as for reinforced concrete. The experimental part of the program involved three approaches: 1) constant extension rate tests (CERT) upon straight tendon wire, 2) monitoring of cathodically polarized prestressed beams for both bond loss and hydrogen embrittlement, and 3) concrete block pullout tests involving both tendon and wire. Findings to date include the following: 1) High chromium bearing microalloyed prestressing steel is more susceptible to embrittlement than ordinary steel, and the previously proposed -0.90 v (SCE) lower potential limit is not conservative in this case; 2) Prestressed concrete structures can be qualified for cathodic protection based upon the amount of uniform and localized corrosion wire cross section loss; 3) Loss of bond within the anticipated remaining service life of most prestressed concrete structures should not be a concern provided current density is within the normal range and is not locally concentrated. These and related findings are evaluated within the context of standards for prestressing steel and criteria for cathodic protection
Homologous and heterologous desensitization of guanylyl cyclase-B signaling in GH3 somatolactotropes
The guanylyl cyclases, GC-A and GC-B, are selective receptors for atrial and C-type natriuretic peptides (ANP and CNP, respectively). In the anterior pituitary, CNP and GC-B are major regulators of cGMP production in gonadotropes and yet mouse models of disrupted CNP and GC-B indicate a potential role in growth hormone secretion. In the current study, we investigate the molecular and pharmacological properties of the CNP/GC-B system in somatotrope lineage cells. Primary rat pituitary and GH3 somatolactotropes expressed functional GC-A and GC-B receptors that had similar EC50 properties in terms of cGMP production. Interestingly, GC-B signaling underwent rapid homologous desensitization in a protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A)-dependent manner. Chronic exposure to either CNP or ANP caused a significant down-regulation of both GC-A- and GC-B-dependent cGMP accumulation in a ligand-specific manner. However, this down-regulation was not accompanied by alterations in the sub-cellular localization of these receptors. Heterologous desensitization of GC-B signaling occurred in GH3 cells following exposure to either sphingosine-1-phosphate or thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH). This heterologous desensitization was protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent, as pre-treatment with GF109203X prevented the effect of TRH on CNP/GC-B signaling. Collectively, these data indicate common and distinct properties of particulate guanylyl cyclase receptors in somatotropes and reveal that independent mechanisms of homologous and heterologous desensitization occur involving either PP2A or PKC. Guanylyl cyclase receptors thus represent potential novel therapeutic targets for treating growth-hormone-associated disorders
Description of the two-nucleon system on the basis of the Bargmann representation of the S matrix
For the effective-range function , a pole approximation that
involves a small number of parameters is derived on the basis of the Bargmann
representation of the matrix. The parameters of this representation, which
have a clear physical meaning, are related to the parameters of the Bargmann
matrix by simple equations. By using a polynomial least-squares fit to the
function at low energies, the triplet low-energy parameters of
neutron-proton scattering are obtained for the latest experimental data of
Arndt et al. on phase shifts. The results are fm, fm, and fm. With allowance for the values found for the
low-energy scattering parameters and for the pole parameter, the pole
approximation of the function provides an excellent description
of the triplet phase shift for neutron-proton scattering over a wide energy
range (MeV), substantially improving the
description at low energies as well. For the experimental phase shifts of Arndt
et al., the triplet shape parameters of the effective-range expansion
are obtained by using the pole approximation. The description of the phase
shift by means of the effective-range expansion featuring values found for the
low-energy scattering parameters proves to be fairly accurate over a broad
energy region extending to energy values approximately equal to the energy at
which this phase shift changes sign, this being indicative of a high accuracy
and a considerable value of the effective-range expansion in describing
experimental data on nucleon-nucleon scattering. The properties of the deuteron
that were calculated by using various approximations of the effective-range
function comply well with their experimental values.Comment: 39 pages, 3 figure
Impact of HIV on Cell Survival and Antiviral Activity of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are important mediators of innate immunity that act mainly through secretion of interferon (IFN)-α. Previous studies have found that these cells can suppress HIV in vitro; additionally, pDCs have been shown to be severely reduced in the peripheral blood of HIV-infected individuals. In the present study, we sought to determine the ability of pDCs to directly suppress viral replication ex vivo and to delineate the potential mechanisms whereby pDCs are depleted in HIV-infected individuals. We demonstrate that activated pDCs strongly suppress HIV replication in autologous CD4(+) T cells via a mechanism involving IFN-α as well as other antiviral factors. Of note, unstimulated pDCs from infected individuals who maintain low levels of plasma viremia without antiretroviral therapy were able to suppress HIV ex vivo via a mechanism requiring cell-to-cell contact. Our data also demonstrate that death of pDCs by both apoptosis and necrosis is induced by fusion of HIV with pDCs. Taken together, our data suggest that pDCs play an important role in the control of HIV replication and that high levels of viral replication in vivo are associated with pDC cell death via apoptosis and necrosis. Elucidation of the mechanism by which pDCs suppress HIV replication in vivo may have clinically relevant implications for future therapeutic strategies
Steroid hormone receptors ERα and PR characterised by immunohistochemistry in the mare adrenal gland
Natriuretic peptide activation of extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) pathway by particulate guanylyl cyclases in GH3 somatolactotropes.
The natriuretic peptides, Atrial-, B-type and C-type natriuretric peptides (ANP, BNP, CNP), are regulators of many endocrine tissues and exert their effects predominantly through the activation of their specific guanylyl cyclase receptors (GC-A and GC-B) to generate cGMP. Whereas cGMP-independent signalling has been reported in response to natriuretic peptides, this is mediated via either the clearance receptor (Npr-C) or a renal-specific NPR-Bi isoform, which both lack intrinsic guanylyl cyclase activity. Here, we report evidence of GC-B-dependent cGMP-independent signalling in pituitary GH3 cells. Stimulation of GH3 cells with CNP resulted in a rapid and sustained enhancement of ERK1/2 phosphorylation (P-ERK1/2), an effect that was not mimicked by dibutryl-cGMP. Furthermore, CNP-stimulated P-ERK1/2 occurred at concentrations below that required for cGMP accumulation. The effect of CNP on P-ERK1/2 was sensitive to pharmacological blockade of MEK (U0126) and Src kinases (PP2). Silencing of the GC-B1 and GC-B2 splice variants of the GC-B receptor by using targeted short interfering RNAs completely blocked the CNP effects on P-ERK1/2. CNP failed to alter GH3 cell proliferation or cell cycle distribution but caused a concentration-dependent increase in the activity of the human glycoprotein α-subunit promoter (αGSU) in a MEK-dependent manner. Finally, CNP also activated the p38 and JNK MAPK pathways in GH3 cells. These findings reveal an additional mechanism of GC-B signalling and suggest additional biological roles for CNP in its target tissues
The Oldest Case of Decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil)
We present here evidence for an early Holocene case of decapitation in the New World (Burial 26), found in the rock shelter of Lapa do Santo in 2007. Lapa do Santo is an archaeological site located in the Lagoa Santa karst in east-central Brazil with evidence of human occupation dating as far back as 11.7-12.7 cal kyBP (95.4% interval). An ultra-filtered AMS age determination on a fragment of the sphenoid provided an age range of 9.1-9.4 cal kyBP (95.4% interval) for Burial 26. The interment was composed of an articulated cranium, mandible and first six cervical vertebrae. Cut marks with a v-shaped profile were observed in the mandible and sixth cervical vertebra. The right hand was amputated and laid over the left side of the face with distal phalanges pointing to the chin and the left hand was amputated and laid over the right side of the face with distal phalanges pointing to the forehead. Strontium analysis comparing Burial 26's isotopic signature to other specimens from Lapa do Santo suggests this was a local member of the group. Therefore, we suggest a ritualized decapitation instead of trophy-taking, testifying for the sophistication of mortuary rituals among hunter-gatherers in the Americas during the early Archaic period. In the apparent absence of wealth goods or elaborated architecture, Lapa do Santo's inhabitants seemed to use the human body to express their cosmological principles regarding death
Two new species of the banjo catfish Bunocephalus Kner (Siluriformes: Aspredinidae) from the upper and middle rio São Francisco basins, Brazil
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