Limiting the Right to Terminate at Will -Have the Courts Forgotten the Employer?

This Note examines the extent to which courts should apply the public policy exception to abrogate the common-law right of an employer to terminate at will. Although some limits must be placed upon employers in order to protect those employees who lack adequate bargaining power, this Note proposes that the courts should strike a balance among the interests of the employer, the employee, and society. This balance can be achieved by limiting the public policy exception to those instances in which an employee is discharged in contravention of a legislatively articulated public policy. This approach would achieve equitable results since both employers and employees would be on notice of clearly defined reasons for which an employee absolutely may not bed is charged. Part II of this Note traces the development of the at will doctrine in this country. The next part discusses the judicially created public policy exception. Part IV examines the ramifications of the use of the public policy exception upon employers. Finally, in part V this Note proposes an approach that will accommodate the interests of both the employee and the employer

Tilted guides with friction in web conveyance systems

One challenge in designing web conveyance systems is controlling the displacement and vibration of the webs by guides without introducing instabilities or higher frequency disturbances from flange impacts. A solution to this problem is to use an actively or passively tilted guide or roller to steer the web. In this paper, a model of tilted guides with friction is developed, and it is shown that tilted guides produce a change in the web’s displacement, slope, bending moment, and shear force. When the web is conceptually unwrapped from its path, the normal force between the web and a tilted guide has a component that acts in the direction of the web’s lateral displacement, resulting in an equivalent force and bending moment acting on the web. The model is validated by measurements, and is compared to a previously existing model of guide tilt. In the configurations studied, the displacement of the web near the guide is linearly dependent on the tilt angle and tension and it increases exponentially with the web’s span length. When the guide’s tilt is oriented towards the center of the web’s wrap around the guide, the equivalent bending moment is zero in the absence of friction, and there is good agreement between the model developed in this paper and the previously existing model. However, when the center of the web’s wrap is oriented 90° away from the guide’s tilt orientation, the equivalent force is zero in the absence of friction, and measurements demonstrate the necessity of the equivalent bending moment

The UT 19-channel DC SQUID based neuromagnetometer

A l9-channel DC SQUID based neuromagnetometer is under construction at the University of Twente (UT). Except for the cryostat all elements of the system are developed at the UT. It comprises 19 wire-wound first-order gradiometers in a hexagonal configuration. The gradiometers are connected to planar DC SQUIDS fabricated with a Nb/Al, AlOx/Nb technology. For this connection we developed a method to bond a Nb wire to a Nb thin-film. The SQUIDs are placed in compartmentalised Nb modules. Further, external feedback is incorporated in order to eliminate cross talk between the gradiometers. The electronics basically consist of a phase-locked loop operating with a modulation frequency of 100 kHz. Between SQUID and preamplifier a small transformer is used to limit the noise contribution of the preamplifier. In the paper the overall system is described, and special attention is paid to the SQUID module (bonding, compartments, external-feedback setup, output transformer)

Human fur gene encodes a yeast KEX2-like endoprotease that cleaves pro-beta-NGF in vivo.

Extracts from BSC-40 cells infected with vaccinia recombinants expressing either the yeast KEX2 prohormone endoprotease or a human structural homologue (fur gene product) contained an elevated level of a membrane-associated endoproteolytic activity that could cleave at pairs of basic amino acids (-LysArg- and -ArgArg-). The fur-directed activity (furin) shared many properties with Kex2p including activity at pH 7.3 and a requirement for calcium. By using antifurin antibodies, immunoblot analysis detected two furin translation products (90 and 96 kD), while immunofluorescence indicated localization to the Golgi apparatus. Coexpression of either Kex2p or furin with the mouse beta-nerve growth factor precursor (pro-beta-NGF) resulted in greatly enhanced conversion of the precursor to mature nerve growth factor. Thus, the sequence homology shared by furin and the yeast KEX2 prohormone processing enzyme is reflected by significant functional homology both in vitro and in vivo

Comparison of Camelina Meal and Distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles in Diet of Beef Replacement Heifers

Biofuel production from different crops yields by-product meals that are available for use as protein sources for ruminant livestock. Variation in nutrient composition among meals may result in different inclusion rates to meet nutrient needs of livestock. In this study we compared distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a by-product of ethanol production, and camelina meal, a by-product of biodiesel production, as a protein source in hay-based diets for beef heifers before breeding. Diets were formulated to be similar in energy and protein content by altering the amount of protein source and corn in the diet. Heifers fed the two protein supplements performed similarly in both weight gain and reproductive performance. Both gain and reproduction were at very acceptable levels for beef heifers, indicating that both by-product meals are satisfactory protein sources in beef heifer diets

Effect of Processing Conditions on Nutrient Disappearance of Cold-pressed and Hexane-extracted Camelina and Carinata Meals in vitro

Camelina and carinata are oilseed crops that have recently gained increasing attention as biofuel sources. The meals remaining after oil extraction contain relatively high concentration of protein and, because of this, there is interest in using them in livestock diets. However, the nutritional qualities of these meals are not well defined and may vary with processing conditions. In our experiment, we evaluated meals from cold-pressed and solvent-extracted camelina and carinata meals manufactured using 6 different processing conditions. Estimates of total in vitro OM and CP disappearance of each meal were determined according to a modified 2-phase procedure of Tilley and Terry (1963). We detected no differences in CP disappearance of camelina meal manufactured under cold-pressed extraction. In contrast, we noted differences in OM disappearance of camelina and carinata meals which had undergone different cold-press processing conditions. Differences were also observed in OM and CP disappearance of oilseed meals under varied hexane extraction conditions. Our data suggests that hexane extraction produced, on average, meals with greater OM disappearance than cold-pressing, but there were interactions by oilseed type. Hexane extraction performed under a temperature of 80°C for 90 min resulted in camelina meals with the greatest CP disappearance, whereas a temperature of 120°C for 65 min resulted in meals with the lowest CP disappearance

Personalities in female domesticated pigs: behavioural and physiological indications

The inconclusive evidence so far on the existence of distinct personality types in domesticated pigs, led us to perform the present experiment. A total of 128 gilts from 31 sows were systematically studied from birth to slaughter in two identical trials. Intra-test consistency in individual behavioural andror physiological reactions was studied in three different tests. We were not able to show consistencies in reactions of gilts over time to a backtest (at 2–4 days and 4 weeks of age) and to a novel environment test (at 10 and 24 weeks of age). Individual aggression, however, as measured in a group-feeding competition test in stable groups (at 10 and 24 weeks of age), proved to be highly consistent. Explanations for these discrepancies in intra-test consistencies are critically discussed. Inter-test consistencies were determined by relating the individual reactions of gilts to the backtest to various characteristics and responses to tests at a later age. The highest correlations were found when resistance in the first backtest was involved. No evidence was found for the existence of specific isolated categories of animals with respect to this resistance. For further analysis, extreme responding gilts in the first backtest (roughly the top and bottom 25% of the distribution) were classified as low resistant (LR; <3 escape attempts; n=31) or high resistant (HR; >4 escape attempts; n=45). By comparisons of mean responses of LR and HR gilts within groups, we have established a relationship between the backtest and several other variables. Behaviourally, the HR gilts showed more aggression in the group-feeding competition tests. Also, in the competition for the most productive teats at the anterior, a predominant position of HR piglets at this site was observed during the suckling period. The latter piglets also gained more weight during this period than LR ones. Compared to HR pigs, in the first novel environment test LR pigs hesitated longer to leave their home pens and to contact a human, but no difference in their locomotory behaviour was observed. Contrasts between LR and HR pigs in the second novel environment test were reduced or absent. Physiologically, when compared to HR gilts, LR ones had a higher reactivity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) system. This was shown by higher cortisol responses to the first novel environment test, to routine weighing at 25 weeks of age, and to administration of a high dose of ACTH. It is discussed that these findings for LR and HR gilts, may provide support for the existence of behavioural and physiological responses in pigs, resembling those of proactive and reactive rodents.