Tort Law - Product Liability - Manufacturer\u27s Duty to Provide Necessary Safety Equipment - Effect of Purchaser\u27s Request That Safety Equipment Be Removed

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held that under Pennsylvania law where a knowledgeable purchaser of equipment instructs the manufacturer to remove a standard safety device prior to the equipment\u27s delivery the manufacturer is liable for injuries resulting from the lack of the safety device even where the equipment was used by an experienced operator. Hammond v. International Harvester, 691 F.2d 646 (3d Cir. 1982)

Evaluation of lactic acid bacteria strains isolated from fructose-rich environments for their mannitol-production and milk-gelation abilities

peer-reviewedMannitol is a sugar alcohol, or polyol, widely used in the food industry because of its low-calorie properties. Industrial production of mannitol is difficult and expensive. However, certain bacterial species are known to produce mannitol naturally, including certain lactic acid bacteria and fructophilic lactic acid bacteria (LAB). In this study, bacterial strains isolated from fructose-rich sources, including flowers, leaves, and honey, were identified by 16S rRNA sequence analysis as Leuconostoc, Fructobacillus, Lactococcus, and Lactobacillus species and 4 non-LAB species. DNA profiles generated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis discriminated 32 strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides and 6 Fructobacillus strains. Out of 41 LAB strains isolated, 32 were shown to harbor the mdh gene, which encodes the mannitol dehydrogenase enzyme, and several showed remarkable fructose tolerance even at 50% fructose concentrations, indicating their fructophilic nature. Several of the strains isolated, including Leuconostoc mesenteroides strains DPC 7232 and DPC 7261, Fructobacillus fructosus DPC 7237, and Fructobacillus fructosus DPC 7238, produced higher mannitol concentrations than did the positive control strain Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 20016 during an enzymatic screening assay. Mannitol concentrations were also examined via HPLC in 1% fructose de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe medium (FMRS) or 1% fructose milk (FM). Among the strains, Fructobacillus fructosus DPC 7238 displayed high fructose utilization (9.27 g/L), high mannitol yield (0.99 g of mannitol/g of fructose), and greatest volumetric productivities (0.46 g/L per h) in FMRS. However, Leuconostoc mesenteroides DPC 7261 demonstrated the highest fructose utilization (8.99 g/L), mannitol yield (0.72 g of mannitol/g of fructose), and volumetric productivities (0.04 g/L per h) in FM. Storage modulus G′ (>0.1 Pa) indicated a shorter gelation time for Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 20016 (8.73 h), followed by F. fructosus DPC 7238 (11.57 h) and L. mesenteroides DPC 7261 (14.52 h). Our results show that fructose-rich niches can be considered important sources of fructophilic LAB strains, with the potential to be used as starter cultures or adjunct cultures for the manufacture of mannitol-enriched fermented dairy products and beverages

Diversity of vibrational landscapes within a specific meadow habitat

Nedavni pojav biotremologije kot nove znanstvene discipline je vibracijsko komunikacijo postavil v središče raziskav. Čeprav je znano, da je vibracijsko signaliziranje ena najstarejših in najbolj razširjenih oblik komunikacije med živalmi, kompleksnost naravnega vibracijskega okolja, kjer se ta komunikacija odvija, ostaja neznana. Glavni cilj naloge je raziskati raznolikost vibracijskega okolja v travniškem habitatu in primerjati med seboj vibracijsko okolje posameznih rastlin iste vrste ter vibracijsko okolje rastlin različnih vrst na isti lokaciji, v istem habitatu – nižinskem travniku na Ljubljanskem barju. Istočasno snemanje vibracijske krajine z več laserskimi vibrometri smo izvedli zgoščeno v obdobju najvišje aktivnosti živali, ki oddajajo vibracijske signale. Hkratni posnetki rastlin Carex hirta in Galium mollugo, ki rastejo v bližini na različnih delih travnika, so pokazali, da sta sestava in abundanca vibracijske krajine odvisni tako od gostiteljske rastlinske vrste kot tudi od prostorskega položaja posamezne rastline na travniku. Med lokacijami na travniku se pri dlakavemu šašu pojavljajo statistično značilne razlike v skupnem trajanju vibracijskih signalov, pri navadni lakoti pa teh razlik nismo opazili. Na obeh rastlinskih vrstah se najpogosteje pojavljajo vibracijski signali treh vrst škržatkov (Cicadelliae), razlike pa se kažejo v prisotnosti ali odsotnosti redkih tipov vibracijskih signalov. Domnevamo, da so razlike v količini in sestavi vibracijske krajine, ki jo zaznamo z laserskim vibrometrom, posledica heterogenosti rastlinskih sestojev, geometrije in strukture rastlin in variabilnosti mikroklimatskih pogojev znotraj habitata.The recent emergence of biotremology as a new scientific discipline has placed vibrational communication into research focus. Although vibrational signaling is known to be one of the oldest and most widespread forms of communication, the complexity of the natural vibrational environment where this communication takes place remains unknown. The main goal of the thesis was to investigate the diversity of vibrational environment within the same meadow habitat and to compare the vibrational environment on individual plants of the same species and the vibrational environment registered on plants of different species within the same location. The recording of the vibrational landscape (vibroscape) was performed during the period of the highest insect activity with several laser vibrometers in lowland meadow in Ljubljansko barje. Simultaneous recordings of Carex hirta and Gallium mollugo plants growing near each other in different parts of the meadow showed that the composition and the cumulative duration of vibrational signals differs, regarding both the host plant species and the spatial position of individual plants. On Carex hirta, the amount of registered vibratory signals showed significant differences between locations, while on Gallium mollugo plants, diferences were much smaller. In both plant species, the most common vibrational signals belonged to the same three leafhopper (Cicadelliae) species and they differ in the presence or absence of rare vibrational signal types. We assume that the differences in the amount and composition of the vibroscape registered by the laser vibrometer are due to the heterogeneity of meadow plant composition, plant geometry and structure, and the variability of microclimatic conditions within the habitat

Bostadsområdets betydelse : En kvalitativ studie om unga mäns och kvinnors upplevelse av sitt bostadsområde

I vår kandidatuppsats har vi valt att utifrån intervjuer med unga män och kvinnor med invandrarbakgrund från tre olika bostadsområden, Andersberg, Vallås och Nyhem i Halmstad,belysa deras upplevelse av sitt bostadsområde och vilken betydelse bostadsområdet kan ha för deras interaktion med det omgivande samhället. Vi har i vår studie utgått från den fenomenologiska metodansatsen då vi fokuserar på deras egna upplevelser och erfarenheter. Vi har samlat in vårt empiriska material genom att använda oss utav en kvalitativ forskningsmetod då vi genomförde nio semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet vi har kommit fram till visar att respondenterna från Andersberg och Vallås anser att deras bostadsområde har en stor betydelse för dem eftersom de har bra relationer med varandra i sitt bostadsområde jämfört med det omgivande samhället och därför har de en stor inre interaktion med varandra i sitt bostadsområde. Till skillnad från unga män och kvinnor från Nyhem upplever de inte det på samma sätt, då deras bostadsområde inte har så stor betydelse för dem och deras yttre interaktion med det omgivande samhället är mycket bättre.In our bachelor essay we have chosen to highlight by interviews with young men and women of immigrant background from three different neighborhoods, Andersberg, Vallås and Nyhem in Halmstad, we wan’t to highlight their experience of their neighborhood and the importance of their residential area and what significance that area has upon their interaction with the surrounding society. In our study we have used the phenomenological method approach since we focus on young people’s experiences. We have collected our empirical material through a qualitative research method since we performed nine semi structured interviews. The result we have reached shows that the respondents from Andersberg and Vallås feel that their residential area plays a big part since they have good relations with each other within the residential area in comparison to the surrounding society. Therefore, they have a large inner interaction with each other within the residential area. The young man and women immigrants from Nyhem have a different experience since their residential area does not play such a big part for them and their interaction with the surrounding society is much better

Level of stress, anxiety, depression and resilience for social workers during Covid-19

In January 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak of Coronavirus as a Public Health Emergency of international importance, the same happened in Kosovo. Public health actions, such as social distancing, isolation can make people feel lonely and can increase stress and anxiety. The purpose of this research is to show the relationship between stress, anxiety, depression and the development of resilience of social workers in the period of pandemic. DASS will be used to measure S.A.D (Lovibond, SH & Lovibond, 1995) and the ARM to measure resilience (Ungar, 2008, 2011). It is hypothesized that Social Workers who have developed resilience will easily cope with S.A.D, while workers who failed to develop resilience will be more vulnerable to S.A.D. Participants are 39 social workers of CSW Pristina. The findings of the study show that level of SAD is in moderate extent and level of resilience is high