"Borrowing money from a friend is like sex - it completely changes the relationship." - George Castanza (Seinfeld)
November 30th, 2012 at 07:42 AM by Paulette
Today I am grateful for:
1. Payday. So grateful to have $$ to throw at the credit card balance.
2. Trees. Japanese do something called shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing" for health: walk among trees. People suffering from depression have experienced a lift in cognition after a 50-minute walk in a forest. Mushrooms, salmon,...
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MADRID (AP) ? Spanish poet and essayist Jose Manuel Caballero Bonald has won the 2012 Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world's highest literary honor.
Education Minister Jose Ignacio Wert said Thursday the 86-year-old was chosen for the contribution his life-long work has made to enriching Spanish-language literature.
The ?125,000 ($167,000) prize generally alternates between Spanish and Latin American writers. Last year, it went to Chilean poet Nicanor Parra.
First handed out in 1976, previous winners include Carlos Fuentes of Mexico, and Nobel prize winners Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru and Spain's late Camilo Jose Cela.
Jon Russell / The Next Web : Apple maintains 70% grip on China's tablet market, as industry sales jump 63% year-on-year ? ?? Android may rule the roost when it comes to smartphones in China, but Apple is still dominant when it comes to tablets, acco ...
Sunlight and itsy bitsy flecks of metal or carbon are all that?s required to quickly vaporize icy-cold water, according to researchers who recently unveiled a new steam-generating process that could revolutionize industrial practices without the hangover of greenhouse gas emissions.
Steam is used throughout our world. It spins turbines to generate electricity and heats kettles used to brew beer. It is used to sterilize medical equipment and distill alcohol.?
But, generating steam typically requires tons of energy to heat and boil water. The most common sources of energy are coal, oil, and natural gas ? fossil fuels that when burned emit carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that?s building up in the atmosphere and causing the planet?s climate to change.
Researchers at Rice University unveiled a method that uses light-absorbing nanoparticles submerged in water to convert solar energy directly into piping?hot?steam. It is so effective that it can even produce the?steam from ice water.
The tiny particles heat up so quickly that they instantly vaporize water, rather than dissipating the?heat into the surrounding fluid. Precisely how this works is a bit of a mystery, according to Naomi Halas, ?director of the nanophotonics laboratory at Rice University.
?There seems to be some nanoscale thermal barrier, because it is clearly making steam like crazy,? she told Technology Review.
The process has an overall efficiency of 24 percent, compared to about 15 percent efficiency for solar panels such as those on your neighbor?s roof. But generating electricity is unlikely the first application of the new technology, which was developed with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.?
Rather, it will be used for sanitation and water purification in developing countries, helping to stem the spread of disease. To that end, the Rice University team has already created a solar steam-powered autoclave to sterilize medical and dental instruments at clinics without access to electricity.
The technology could, however, also improve the efficiency and lower the cost of large-scale solar thermal energy generating plants, which use sunlight to warm up oil that is then used to heat water and generate steam to spin turbines.?
Generating steam directly with the nanoparticles would be 3 to 5 percent more efficient and result in a cost savings of about 10 percent due to the less complex design, Todd Otanicar, a mechanical engineer at the University of Tulsa, told Technology Review.?
For more information, check out the video below. A paper on the process was published Nov. 19 in the journal ACS Nano.?
?? via Technology Review and Rice University?
John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.
Buying a budget HDTV no longer means having to settle for skewed colors and subpar image quality, but you will still have to make some sacrifices. With the Sony Bravia KDL-42EX440 ($549.99 direct) you get solid color quality and a sharp 1080p picture that looks good from all angles, but that?s about it. This no-frills HDTV doesn't offer Internet connectivity or any Web apps, nor does it have 3D capabilities.? Its contrast ratio is less than optimal as well. That said, its very reasonable price tag will appeal to budget-conscious shoppers.
Design There's nothing notable about the look of the 42EX440; it uses a matte black cabinet with a glossy black bezel and a rigid glossy black rectangular base. The base does a good job of supporting the 29-pound cabinet but doesn't allow for swivel adjustments. A silver Sony logo sits on the lower bezel along with seven touch-sensitive buttons, including Power, Channel, Volume, Source, and Home (menu) buttons. The controls are erratic; sometimes they respond with one touch and other times they need to be pressed several times. You're better off using the included remote.
I/O ports are limited. The 42EX440 only has two HDMI inputs (most HDTVs come with four). One is mounted on the left side of the cabinet above a USB port and the other is on the back of the cabinet along with digital and analog audio outputs, a VGA (PC) video input, a TV Coaxial jack, and component A/V inputs. If you have more than two devices (three if you're fine with using component video), you'll need to find other ways to connect them. And there's no Ethernet or Wi-Fi, so you can't connect this set to the Web.
The two 8-watt speakers are actually quite loud considering they are rear-facing. They don?t put out a lot of bass, but you can coax a bit of low end by enabling the bass boost option.
The remote is a little over 8 inches long and contains 36 buttons plus a four-way directional navigation button. None of the buttons are illuminated. It has a dedicated Scene button that lets you select one of seven picture presets (Auto, General, Photo, Music, Cinema, Game, Graphics, and Sports), along with the typical player controls (Play, Forward, Rewind, Pause, Stop), a Source button, a number pad, and a Home button that takes you into the settings screens.
You get the usual selection of picture, audio, and channel settings.? Picture settings include Backlight, Picture (contrast), Brightness, Color, Hue, Sharpness, and Color Temperature. There's also a CineMotion setting that helps reduce blurring when watching film-based content, and five noise reduction settings. Advanced settings include a black corrector and a contrast enhance—both of which can help strengthen contrast, but introduce artifacts when enabled—as well as a gamma adjustment and white balance controls. Additionally, there's a menu selection for Sony?s Photo Frame application that will play USB-stored photos and music in a slideshow while displaying a calendar.
Performance Picture performance was a mixed bag. Using images from the DisplayMate HDTV diagnostic tests and a Konica Minolta CS-200 Chroma Meter, the 42EX440 turned in a relatively low peak brightness of 159.79 cd/m2 (candelas per square meter) and a black level reading of 0.06 cd/m2. That works out to a contrast ratio of 2,663:1, which is considerably better than the LG 42CS560's 987:1 contrast ratio, but just shy of the Editors' Choice Samsung PN51E490B4F, a 720p plasma HDTV that doesn't have quite as high a black level (0.08 cd/m2) but gets much brighter at 225.08 cd/m2 for a contrast ratio of 2,814:1. It's well short of what you?ll get from a more expensive set like theSharp Aquos LC-60LE640U? (12,221:1).
Red and green color measurements matched up nicely with the CIE 1976 chromaticity specs. Blue was a bit cool, but fortunately there were no tinting errors as a result. The mediocre black levels came into play while watching Tree of Life on Blu-ray; shadow detail was somewhat muddy, particularly in darker scenes, and the picture could have been brighter. Otherwise, colors were well-saturated and the high-definition image looked sharp. Off-angle viewing looked great, with the picture not fading and colors not distorting at all when watched from the sides.?
The set averaged 68 watts of power during my testing with power saving disabled, which is in line with similar-size LED-based models. Switching to the low setting cut usage down to 57 watts without making the picture too dim, while the high setting cut it down to 28 watts (but made it much too dark). By way of comparison, Sony's 46-inch KDL-46EX750 used 67 watts with power saving disabled and 48 watts with power saving enabled.
Conclusion You won't get a lot of extras with the Sony Bravia KDL-42EX440, but you won't pay a premium price for it either. What you do get is good color performance, relatively wide viewing angles, and a sharp HD picture for around $550. Black levels and peak brightness could certainly be better, but if you're short on cash and want a basic 42-inch HDTV, the 42EX440 will fill the bill nicely. If you want a larger, still-affordable HDTV with a more robust feature set, including out-of-the-box active 3D with glasses, the $690 51-inch Samsung PN51E490B4F is our Editors' Choice for budget HDTVs. It's a plasma set, however, and it maxes out at 720p resolution.
More HDTV Reviews: ??? Sony Bravia KDL-42EX440 ??? Vizio E701I-A3 ??? Sony Bravia KDL-50EX645 ??? Sony Bravia KDL-60EX645 ??? Sony Bravia KDL-46EX645 ?? more
ScienceDaily (Nov. 27, 2012) ? Some infants are more susceptible to potentially life-threatening breathing problems after birth, and rare, inherited DNA differences may explain why, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The study is the first to identify a single gene -- ABCA3 -- that is associated with a significant number of cases of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in babies born at or near full term. RDS is the most common respiratory problem in newborns and the most common lung-related cause of death and disease among U.S. infants less than a year old.
Their findings will be published in the December 2012 issue of Pediatrics and are available online.
The research may lead to new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for prevention and treatment to improve respiratory outcomes for babies.
"We found that mutations in ABCA3 account for about 10 percent of respiratory disease in babies born near their due dates," said Jennifer A. Wambach, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics and the study's lead author. "These are babies who we typically think should have mature lungs and breathe normally. While we have known for a while that RDS is a heritable disease, this is the first gene to account for a significant proportion of disease among infants that are full-term or nearly full-term."
RDS occurs when an infant's lungs don't produce enough surfactant, a liquid that coats the inside of the lungs and helps keep them open so the baby can breathe. If there isn't enough surfactant, an infant has to work hard to breathe and may suffer from a lack of oxygen. Premature infants are at especially high risk of RDS, as surfactant production increases as babies near term. However, 2 percent to 3 percent of term and near-term babies also develop RDS.
The researchers' findings suggest a range of possibilities, Wambach said. These include using the genetic knowledge to plan affected infants' births near hospitals with neonatal intensive-care units and developing medical therapies to target the abnormal protein resulting from these mutations.
Wambach said the researchers hope to identify additional genes that cause neonatal RDS and better identify babies at risk.
"But right now we're studying how these mutations function in the laboratory," Wambach said. "Statistical associations help guide us, but we also need to understand the biology of these mutations."
The research team -- including Aaron Hamvas, MD, and F. Sessions Cole, MD -- evaluated five genes known to be important for normal breathing immediately after birth. Hamvas is the James Keating Professor of Pediatrics and medical director of the newborn intensive care unit at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Cole is the Park J. White, MD, Professor of Pediatrics.
The team looked at five genes involved in the metabolism of lung surfactant by taking DNA samples from more than 500 infants of African and European descent, with and without respiratory distress, who were carried to term or near term. They evaluated the same genes in an additional 48 babies with especially severe respiratory distress to see if their findings applied to that group, and in a third group of 1,066 Missouri babies, to determine the frequency of the mutations in a general population.
In comparing babies with and without respiratory distress, they found that babies of European descent with respiratory distress were more likely to have a single mutation in ABCA3, one of the five genes tested, than the infants with no breathing problems. Babies of African descent with respiratory distress also were more likely to have single ABCA3 mutations, but this difference did not reach statistical significance.
More than one-quarter of the babies with especially severe respiratory distress had a single mutation in ABCA3. Infants who inherit two defective copies of the ABCA3 gene usually require lung transplantation for survival. However, this is the first study to show that a single mutation in ABCA3 predisposes infants to respiratory distress that can usually be treated with neonatal intensive care.
The researchers also found that 1.5 percent to 3.6 percent of babies born in Missouri carry a single ABCA3 mutation, leading the researchers to estimate that about 10 percent of RDS cases among term and near-term infants may be attributable to mutations in ABCA3.
"We picked five candidate genes and thought we would find rare mutations in all of the genes," Wambach said. "However, we found very few mutations in the other genes, and they were not associated with RDS. Our findings were really isolated to this one gene, ABCA3."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Washington University School of Medicine. The original article was written by Elizabethe Holland Durando.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
J. A. Wambach, D. J. Wegner, K. DePass, H. Heins, T. E. Druley, R. D. Mitra, P. An, Q. Zhang, L. M. Nogee, F. S. Cole, A. Hamvas. Single ABCA3 Mutations Increase Risk for Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Pediatrics, 2012; 130 (6): e1575 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-0918
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Longest US Space Mission Planned For 2015 - Slashdot40440563story Posted by Soulskill from the bring-a-book dept. SchrodingerZ writes "Captain Scott Kelly, brother of former commander Mark Kelly, will embark on the United States' longest manned space mission, set for 2015. Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will spend an entire year on the orbiting International Space Station. The mission will be a first for NASA's space program, but it is far from the world record. The longest recorded time in space was the 438-day mission of Russia's Valery Polyakov, working on the Mir Space Station, 1994-1995. Kelly, a decorated Navy captain received degrees from State University of New York Maritime College and the University of Tennessee, and was the flight engineer for space station expedition 25, and commander of expedition 26 in 2010. 'Kornienko hails from Russia's Syzran, Kuibyshev, region and has worked in the space industry since 1986.' The yearlong study on humans working in space will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, spring 2015."
Q: What's the difference between a Mac and an Etch-a-Sketch? A: You don't have to shake the Mac to clear the screen.
Posted by Paul Gullixson in Inside Opinion on November 27th, 2012 tags: Erin Carlstrom, Ernesto Oliveras, Gary Wysocky, Gullixson, Jake Ours, John Sawyer, Julie Combs, Marsha Vas Dupre, Scott Bartley, Susan Gorin
If Sonoma County?s election results can be certified by Monday, Tuesday could be the last City Council meeting for outgoing Santa Rosa City Council members John Sawyer and Marsha Vas Dupre and the first for newcomers Julie Combs and Erin Carlstrom. (If not, the changing of the guard will occur on Dec. 11.)
Whenever the new members are sworn in, the first order of business will be electing a new mayor, who will serve for two years, and a vice mayor who will serve for one.
The question is who will the mayor?be? At the moment, the money is on Gary Wysocky. He?s made no secret about the fact that he would like the post, and he may have the votes, given that Susan Gorin will still be on the council for that meeting. She won?t have to step down to assume her new role as county supervisor until the end of the year. Conventional wisdom suggests Wysocky would get the support of Gorin as well as newcomers Combs and Carlstrom.
But there are some who believe that it may end up going to City Councilman Scott Bartley who is likely to have the support of current Mayor Ernesto Oliveras and Councilman Jake Ours, who make up the more conservative bloc on the council.
The outcome is likely to hinge on the Carlstrom vote, which is uncertain. Wysocky did not endorse Carlstrom during the election and clearly was not happy with her decision to forge an alliance with Oliveras during the campaign. Carlstrom and Oliveras endorsed one another in September pledging to bridge the gap that has existed in recent years between the two factions on the City Council. But that alliance will certainly be tested early ? both during the vote for mayor and in the vote to appoint someone to fill Gorin?s seat.
Promises of better cooperation aside, it?s questionable?whether?the six City Council members will be able to agree on someone to fill the vacancy. The key will be whether Carlstrom votes with Wysocky and Combs or sides with Oliveras, Bartley and Ours.
Whatever the decision, the worst outcome would be if the City Council can?t come to an agreement and forces the city to hold a special election ? an election the city can ill?afford. Let?s hope it doesn?t come to that.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) ? Blood dripping from the back of an SUV led to the arrest of two Sacramento men accused of illegally shooting a deer, then stabbing it to death in their vehicle when it suddenly came to and began to struggle.
The Tahoe Daily Tribune (http://bit.ly/Uqv35O ) reports 46-year-old Scott Lee and 32-year-old Nai Saechao were arrested Nov. 18 on poaching, animal cruelty and other charges.
The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office says the California Highway Patrol received multiple calls from people reporting blood seeping out of a Toyota SUV near Shingle Springs, a small community in the Sierra foothills 40 miles east of Sacramento.
When authorities pulled over the vehicle, they found the deer carcass in the back. Officers say both men and the interior of the SUV were smeared with blood.
NEW YORK ? Exit, Philip Roth? Having conceived everything from turning into a breast to a polio epidemic in his native New Jersey, Roth has apparently given his imagination a rest.
The 79-year-old novelist recently told a French publication, Les inRocks, that his 2010 release "Nemesis" would be his last. A spokeswoman for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt said Friday that she spoke with Roth and that he confirmed his remarks. Roth's literary agent, Andrew Wylie, declined comment.
Roth certainly worked hard, completing more than 20 novels over half a century and often turning out one a year. He won virtually every prize short of the Nobel and wrote such classics as "American Pastoral" and "Portnoy's Complaint." His parting words from "Nemesis": "He seemed to us invincible."
The energy of stunt kitesPublic release date: 12-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Joachim Montnacher joachim.montnacher@ipa.fraunhofer.de 49-711-970-3712 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Kite surfing has risen to become a fashionable sporting activity, with the number of enthusiasts participating in this cross between wind surfing and stunt kite flying growing at a tremendous pace. When the wind catches the kite, the surfer is carried meters into the air; and the greater the leap, the bigger the thrill. But a modern stunt kite is capable of being much more than a mere piece of sporting equipment it has the potential to become a valuable energy producer. A stunt kite's aerial movements can be used to drive a generator, which in turn converts this kinetic energy into electricity. This dynamic idea came to the founders of Berlin-based wind energy developer NTS GmbH. To make their concept a reality, they brought in the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart. The project partners intend to use their new method to harness the power of strong winds at altitudes of up to 500 meters.
Joachim Montnacher, an engineer at the IPA, explains how a "kite power station" works thus: "The kites fly at a height of 300 to 500 meters, perfectly positioned to be caught by strong winds. Cables, about 700 meters in length, tether the kites to vehicles and pull them around a circuit on rails. A generator then converts the kinetic energy of the vehicles into electricity. The control and measuring technology is positioned on the vehicles." Compared to conventional wind farm technology that relies on rotors, this technology offers a wide range of advantages. Wind speeds at ground level tend to zero, but they increase dramatically the higher you go. At a height of 100 meters wind speeds are around 15 meters a second; at 500 meters they exceed 20 meters a second. "The energy yield of a kite far exceeds that of a wind turbine, whose rotor tips turn at a maximum height of 200 meters. Doubling the wind speed results in eight times the energy," says Montnacher. "Depending on wind conditions, eight kites with a combined surface area of up to 300 square meters can equate to 20 conventional 1-megawatt wind turbines."
More consistent winds at 500 meters
Kites do not have to struggle with the constancy of the wind the way turbines do, because the higher you go, the windier things get. Figures for the past year show that at a height of 10 meters, there is only about a 35 percent chance of wind speeds reaching 5 meters a second, but at 500 meters that likelihood goes up to 70 percent. This makes any number of new lowland sites viable for the production of wind energy. Another advantage is that it costs considerably less to build a system that, among other things, does not require towers each weighing hundreds of tons.
The project partners have clearly divided up responsibilities: NTS GmbH will design the kites and construct the high-altitude wind farm, and the researchers from the IPA will be in charge of developing the control and measuring technology, which includes the cable winching mechanism and cable store. One of the jobs of the control unit is to transmit the measuring signals to the cable control and kite regulation mechanisms. A horizontal and vertical angle sensor located in each cable line and a force sensor within the cable distributor guarantee precise control of the kite's movements as it follows either a figure-of-eight or sine-wave flight path up above. These flight maneuvers generate a high pulling power of up to 10 kilonewtons (kN) meaning that a 20-square-meter kite has the capacity to pull one ton. Each vehicle is pulled by a different flight system.
At a test site in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, IPA researchers and NTS GmbH have already been able to send a kite on its maiden voyage along a 400-meter-long straight track. A remote control similar to those used to fly model planes was used to manually control the kite. The experts now want to reconfigure the test track making it into a loop. Computers will eventually be used to achieve fully automatic control of the kites.
"According to our simulations, we could use an NTS track running a total of 24 kites to generate 120 gigawatt hours a year (GWh/year). To put this into perspective, a 2-megawatt wind turbine produces around 4 GWh/year. So an NTS system could replace 30 2-megawatt turbines and supply power to around 30,000 homes," says Guido Ltsch, managing director of NTS GmbH. After successful test flights on the demonstration track, the project partners are confident that their computer simulations will hold up in reality. The first investors are already on board.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The energy of stunt kitesPublic release date: 12-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Joachim Montnacher joachim.montnacher@ipa.fraunhofer.de 49-711-970-3712 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Kite surfing has risen to become a fashionable sporting activity, with the number of enthusiasts participating in this cross between wind surfing and stunt kite flying growing at a tremendous pace. When the wind catches the kite, the surfer is carried meters into the air; and the greater the leap, the bigger the thrill. But a modern stunt kite is capable of being much more than a mere piece of sporting equipment it has the potential to become a valuable energy producer. A stunt kite's aerial movements can be used to drive a generator, which in turn converts this kinetic energy into electricity. This dynamic idea came to the founders of Berlin-based wind energy developer NTS GmbH. To make their concept a reality, they brought in the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart. The project partners intend to use their new method to harness the power of strong winds at altitudes of up to 500 meters.
Joachim Montnacher, an engineer at the IPA, explains how a "kite power station" works thus: "The kites fly at a height of 300 to 500 meters, perfectly positioned to be caught by strong winds. Cables, about 700 meters in length, tether the kites to vehicles and pull them around a circuit on rails. A generator then converts the kinetic energy of the vehicles into electricity. The control and measuring technology is positioned on the vehicles." Compared to conventional wind farm technology that relies on rotors, this technology offers a wide range of advantages. Wind speeds at ground level tend to zero, but they increase dramatically the higher you go. At a height of 100 meters wind speeds are around 15 meters a second; at 500 meters they exceed 20 meters a second. "The energy yield of a kite far exceeds that of a wind turbine, whose rotor tips turn at a maximum height of 200 meters. Doubling the wind speed results in eight times the energy," says Montnacher. "Depending on wind conditions, eight kites with a combined surface area of up to 300 square meters can equate to 20 conventional 1-megawatt wind turbines."
More consistent winds at 500 meters
Kites do not have to struggle with the constancy of the wind the way turbines do, because the higher you go, the windier things get. Figures for the past year show that at a height of 10 meters, there is only about a 35 percent chance of wind speeds reaching 5 meters a second, but at 500 meters that likelihood goes up to 70 percent. This makes any number of new lowland sites viable for the production of wind energy. Another advantage is that it costs considerably less to build a system that, among other things, does not require towers each weighing hundreds of tons.
The project partners have clearly divided up responsibilities: NTS GmbH will design the kites and construct the high-altitude wind farm, and the researchers from the IPA will be in charge of developing the control and measuring technology, which includes the cable winching mechanism and cable store. One of the jobs of the control unit is to transmit the measuring signals to the cable control and kite regulation mechanisms. A horizontal and vertical angle sensor located in each cable line and a force sensor within the cable distributor guarantee precise control of the kite's movements as it follows either a figure-of-eight or sine-wave flight path up above. These flight maneuvers generate a high pulling power of up to 10 kilonewtons (kN) meaning that a 20-square-meter kite has the capacity to pull one ton. Each vehicle is pulled by a different flight system.
At a test site in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, IPA researchers and NTS GmbH have already been able to send a kite on its maiden voyage along a 400-meter-long straight track. A remote control similar to those used to fly model planes was used to manually control the kite. The experts now want to reconfigure the test track making it into a loop. Computers will eventually be used to achieve fully automatic control of the kites.
"According to our simulations, we could use an NTS track running a total of 24 kites to generate 120 gigawatt hours a year (GWh/year). To put this into perspective, a 2-megawatt wind turbine produces around 4 GWh/year. So an NTS system could replace 30 2-megawatt turbines and supply power to around 30,000 homes," says Guido Ltsch, managing director of NTS GmbH. After successful test flights on the demonstration track, the project partners are confident that their computer simulations will hold up in reality. The first investors are already on board.
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Dr Ivan Sutherland, often dubbed "Father of Computer Graphics" was one of three laureates honored at the 28th Annual Kyoto Prize Ceremony held today in Japan,?
The Kyoto Prize is an annual international award presented in three categories to "honor those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind".
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The names of this year's laureates were announced in June when we learned that American computer scientist Dr. Ivan E Sutherland had been awarded the 2012 Advanced Technology prize in the field of Information Science in recognition of his pioneering work in developing graphical methods of interacting with computers, including Sketchpad, the breakthrough application that allowed users to directly manipulate figures on a computer screen through a pointing device that can be seen as the progenitor of today's graphical user interfaces.
Sketchpad with Sutherland at the controls in 1960s.
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The announcement from the award ceremony held on November 10th, 2012 stated:
Dr. Ivan E. Sutherland has been responsible for many pioneering advances and fundamental contributions to the computer graphics technology used for information presentation, as well as the interactive interfaces that allow people to utilize computers without the need for programming.
The presentation ceremony was held at the Kyoto International Conference Center. Each winner was presented with a Kyoto Prize medal and 50 million yen prize money from Hiroo Imura, Chairman of the Inamori Foundation in the presence of Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado and an audience of about 1,700 people.
Along with the other laureates, Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi, a Japanese molecular cell biologist, and Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, an Indian literary critic and educator, Dr Sutherland will be giving a public Commemorative Lecture on November 11th, and participating in Workshops the following day and then in Youth Development programs for the rest of the week.
The three?laureates, will reconvene in San Diego, California. March 12-14, 2013 to participate in North America's twelfth annual Kyoto Prize Symposium, a three-day celebration of the lives and works of the laureates with an opening Gala and ongoing lectures at host universities.
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Kyoto Prize for Ivan Sutherland
Ivan Sutherland - Father of Graphics
Pioneering 3D video from 40 years ago
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You will discover phones and there are phones, but the development of Smartphones modifies the face of communication across the world. What makes a cell phone to be sensible? When you study on, you will know. Visit my site for more news and reviews.
In times, the only thing a cellphone are capable of doing is to create and receive calls. Nevertheless as technology changes, the entire story has modified. In actual fact, if you would like a phone that are capable of doing the function of the laptop presently, you don?t have to search for too long. By using a very little online search and sufficient dough with your virtual wallet, you are going to get one in no time.
What makes Smartphones different from non Smartphones is their simplicity of operating third party programs. This means that in case you are using a non Smartphone, you might have to make do with the programs set up with the manufacturer. But when it truly is a Smartphone, you can get lots of interesting apps set up from third parties. That means you do not have to transform your mobile phone when there is certainly a brand new application, you merely ought to install it in your mobile phone; quite clever indeed.
On the other hand, regardless of their originality, you will find few issues connected with them. They are far more expensive as opposed to common handsets especially if purchased by using a services contract and many contracts function for two years that has a penalty for early termination. If you don?t have adequate income to save, you may choose refurbished ones, that are a tad cheaper. Nevertheless effort to order from devoted vendors that has a fantastic return policy.
In addition, services price for Smartphones is much more costly than for normal ones. The reason for this really is that there are several providers that a non-Smartphone consumer can?t access which will be accessible to a Smartphone consumer. As an example, data and internet plans can by no means be precisely the same for the two consumers and also in the very same time a Smartphone user will consume far more data than his/her non-Smartphone counterpart.
Most importantly, the cost of downloading apps can be a key headache for any Smartphone user. Despite the fact that you?ll find totally free applications all over the place, there are lots of others that need parting with your cash before you may get them. Actually, there are several that require a month-to-month subscription for their utilize while others that are really specific are very high priced. However regardless of which one you select, you will be definitely not going to regret your action. Which is why it can be usually thought that just intelligent individuals use Smartphones. Are you one? Check out my blog for more details.
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The hard-hit victims of Superstorm Sandy have received donations of blankets, cleaning supplies and diapers. Now there may be more aid flowing their way: tax help.
Taking some lessons from the hardship faced by the thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have come up with ways to ease the upcoming tax burden.
Some businesses and certain other taxpayers in hard-hit areas have extra time to file returns and pay taxes. Some can deduct certain losses not covered by insurance. Even good Samaritans who donate cash and goods can get some relief.
"Anything to get cash to (taxpayers) sooner rather than later is a godsend," said Paul Gevertzman, partner at accounting firm Anchin, Block & Anchin. "This is a difficult time and cash flow will be a problem."
The IRS is continuing to announce initiatives and posting updates on its website.
"We are monitoring the situation closely to resolve potential tax administration issues as they are identified," the agency says on that site. Other locations eligible for tax aid may be added in coming days based on additional damage assessments by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Congress provided additional tax breaks that went beyond what the IRS can do on its own. It's uncertain whether legislators will fold similar provisions into a larger year-end tax bill.
"Keep your eyes open," said Mariana Moghadam, a tax director at accounting firm EisnerAmper. Moghadam certainly will be looking. Her Montville, New Jersey, home was hit by a tree and lost power.
If you've been hurt by Sandy or helped those who were, here are ways the tax system may be able to help you.
Time is money For starters, you have some breathing room.
Individuals and businesses in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York rushing to meet tax filing or payment deadlines that fall between late October and January 15 have until February 1, 2013. The IRS automatically provides this relief to any taxpayer in states where there are declared disaster areas, and you do not need to contact them. Penalties are waived.
Taxpayers outside disaster areas also get the extension if their books, records or tax professionals are in the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Does your home or business have damage not covered by insurance? You might be able file an amendment to your 2011 taxes, claiming a loss. This disaster declaration enables you to treat the losses as if they happened last year. This can help reduce last year's income and may give you quicker access to tax refunds. It will benefit some people in certain tax brackets. Check with an accountant.
The IRS's disaster resource guide will walk you through the process.
Take note, though. Accountants said you aren't allowed to deduct out-of-pocket expenses for things like replacement diapers and emergency hotel rooms.
Even better than a deduction for most taxpayers is tax-free income. Disaster relief payments for rebuilding homes and businesses are typically not subject to income taxes.
Good Samaritans People giving aid and shelter to Sandy victims will get some tax help, too.
The IRS and Treasury are allowing tax credits for owners of qualified low-income housing who opened their doors to victims of Sandy, even if the victims are not in a low-income bracket.
Workers anywhere can donate vacation or sick time or personal leave in exchange for employer cash payments to qualified, tax-exempt organizations helping victims, if their company has such a program. This donated leave will not be included in employee wages and employers can deduct the amount of the cash payment.
Volunteers affiliated with an IRS-recognized government or philanthropic organization who helped distribute supplies in disaster areas are eligible for the February 1 extension to file taxes and make payments, the IRS has said. Volunteers for so-called 501(c)3 charities also will be able to deduct their transportation costs, including 14 cents per mile for distances they drove in their cars.
If you want to make a cash donation and receive a tax benefit, be sure you only give to a qualified 501(c)3 organization and get a receipt.
How about donations of clothing, blankets and cleaning supplies? There's a chance you can deduct the fair market value of things dropped off at qualified organizations, such as most religious and fraternal groups and nonprofit volunteer fire companies.
"Many of these measures are designed to speed up cash flow," said Gevertzman. The IRS "is trying to be a little more sensitive."?
ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2012) ? New antibiotic and anti-cancer chemicals may one day be synthesised using biotechnology, following CSIRO's discovery of the three genes that combine to provide soldier beetles with their potent predator defence system.
CSIRO researchers, and a colleague at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, published details of the gene identification breakthrough and potential applications recently in the international journal Nature Communications.
"For the first time, our team has been able to isolate and replicate the three genes that combine to make the potent fatty acid that soldier beetles secrete to ward off predators and infection," said CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences research leader Dr Victoria Haritos.
"This discovery is important because it opens a new way for the unusual fatty acid to be synthesised for potential antibiotic, anti-cancer, or other industrial purposes," Dr Haritos said.
Soldier beetles exude a white viscous fluid from their glands to repel potential attacks from predators, as well as in a wax form to protect against infection.
The team found this fluid contains an exotic fatty acid called dihydromatricaria acid, or DHMA, which is one of a group called polyynes that have known anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties.
While DHMA and similar polyyne fatty acids are found in a wide variety of plants, fungi, liverworts, mosses, marine sponges and algae, these compounds have proved very difficult to manufacture using conventional chemical processes. However, Dr Haritos and her team have developed a way to achieve this.
"We have outlined a method for reproducing these polyyne chemicals in living organisms like yeast, using mild conditions" Dr Haritos said.
Soldier beetles are the only animals reported to contain DHMA. This, together with the observation that the beetles forage on plants (such as daisies) which contain a lot of these types of fatty acids, led to previous incorrect conclusions that the DHMA in soldier beetles was derived from their diet.
"Through our research and the gene differences we have discovered, we now know soldier beetles have evolved this same defensive compound entirely independently of its production in plants and fungi," Dr Haritos said.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by CSIRO Australia, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Victoria S. Haritos, Irene Horne, Katherine Damcevski, Karen Glover, Nerida Gibb, Shoko Okada, Mats Hamberg. The convergent evolution of defensive polyacetylenic fatty acid biosynthesis genes in soldier beetles. Nature Communications, 2012; 3: 1150 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2147
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Millicent Owuor, 20, carries her newly born twin boys named after U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and Republican?? A young Kenyan mother has named her newly born twin boys after the U.S. president-elect and his defeated Republican challenger.
Millicent Owuor, 20, gave birth to Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on Wednesday at the Siaya District Hospital in southwest Kenya, according to the Standard.
Owuor told the Kenyan news outlet her sons' names will always remind her of the election in the United States.
The hospital is near the village of Kogelo, where where President Barack Obama's father was born and where his 90-year-old step-grandmother, Sarah Obama resides.
Residents of Kogelo emphatically celebrated Obama's victory as results from the United States were reported.
Shouts of "Hail our Kogelo son" and "Obama is coming, open the road for him" rang through the air as locals blew vuvuzelas horns in celebration, the Standard reports.
"If Obama did not win, I believe most projects here would stall," Joseph Onyango told the Kenyan media outlet.
Kenyans hope Obama's reelection will harken a fresh start with U.S. relationships with Kenya, Reuters reports.
Obama visited sub-Saharan Africa just once during his first four years - a stop of less than a day in Ghana, according to Reuters.
If Obama does visit Kenya, maybe baby Barack can meet his namesake, and baby Mitt meet the U.S. President.
No word yet if there have been twins named Joe Biden and Paul Ryan.
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Public release date: 12-Nov-2012
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