Faster, more efficient technique for creating high-density ceramics

Feb. 27, 2013 ? A researcher from North Carolina State University has developed a technique for creating high-density ceramic materials that requires far lower temperatures than current techniques -- and takes less than a second, as opposed to hours. Ceramics are used in a wide variety of technologies, including body armor, fuel cells, spark plugs, nuclear rods and superconductors.

At issue is a process known as "sintering," which is when ceramic powders (such as zirconia) are compressed into a desired shape and exposed to high heat until the powder particles are bound together into a solid, but slightly porous, material. But new research from Dr. Jay Narayan, John C. Fan Distinguished Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State, may revolutionize the sintering process.

Narayan's new technique, selective-melt sintering, allows sintering of yttria-stabilized zirconia at 800 degrees Celsius (C) -- instead of the conventional 1450 C. In addition, using the selective-melt sintering technique, it is possible to sinter zirconia at 800 C in less than a second, and create a material with no porosity at all. In contrast, traditional sintering techniques take four to five hours at 1450 C.

"This technique allows you to achieve 'theoretical density,' meaning it eliminates all of the porosity in the material," Narayan says. "This increases the strength of the ceramic, as well as improving its optical, magnetic and other properties."

The key to Narayan's approach is the application of an electric field, at approximately 100 volts per centimeter, to the material. When this field is applied, it creates subtle changes in the material's "grain boundaries" -- where atoms from different crystals meet in the material. Namely, the field draws "defects" to the grain boundary. These defects consist of vacancies (missing atoms) which can carry charges. The defects are negatively charged and draw current from the electric field to the area -- which raises the temperature along the grain boundary.

Raising the temperature along the grain boundary means that the material can be sintered at a much lower temperature, because sintering is done by selectively melting the grain boundaries to fuse the crystals together.

Normally you would have to apply enough heat to raise the mass of all the material to the melting point, even though you only need to melt the grain boundary. "Pre-heating" the grain boundary with an electric field is what allowed Narayan to lower the sintering temperature from 1450 C to 800 C and sinter the material much more quickly.

An invited viewpoint paper describing the work, "New mechanism for field-assisted processing and flash sintering of materials," is published online in Scripta Materialia. Narayan is the sole author.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by North Carolina State University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. J. Narayan. New Mechanism for field-assisted processing and flash sintering of materials. Scripta Materialia, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2013.02.020

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electricity/~3/D7Kri9w5O7k/130227085946.htm

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Health Benefits of Colostrum Milk | Gnet Health and Fitness

My name is Colostrum but I bet you don?t know much about me or what I can do? I?m very friendly and want to help you live a longer life so if you spare me a few minutes of your time I?ll tell you a story of nature at its best.

My story

I am part of what they call natural nano-technology, used to help balance your body. You?ll be pleased to know I can help you feel much more energetic, especially after you?ve been down. I can also help rejuvenate you and boost your immune system. In fact I?m perfectly happy to combat things like anti-aging and things harmful to your body?s defences. But there?s much more to me than meets the eye.

Who Can I Help?

The fact is I don?t mean to boast, but I can actually help men, women and children, who incidentally are my best friends! This is because I carry things with me packed with all sorts of nutrients and goodies. These all have a huge role to play in overall health and longevity.

Check This Video Out For More Information On Me:

?

Let Me Go Back to the Start?

When you taste your first milk you won?t even know I?m there but your mother can produce me during pregnancy and then breast feeding. I?m probably your first vaccine as I contain large quantities of an antibody called secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA) which is a new substance to the newborn. I can protect you in the places most likely to come under attack from germs, like the mucous membranes in the throat, lungs, and intestines. I can introduce you to growth factors, immune factors, metabolic factors and basic factors responsible for getting you through the first days outside of the womb.

?Colostrum is so safe; it has been prepared by nature as the ?first food? for infants. It would be hard to imagine any nutritional substance more natural or beneficial.?
(International Institute of Nutritional Research)

I work particularly hard in the baby?s gastrointestinal tract. Your intestines are very permeable and I can seal up the holes by ?painting? the gastrointestinal tract with a barrier. This special protective coating can stop foreign substances from penetrating and possibly sensitizing you to foods your mother has eaten.

I feel very proud to be full of nutrition and high in carbohydrates, protein and antibodies. But this is the clever bit???.I?m very low in fat! I don?t look like normal breast milk, as I?m generally thick and yellowy or even orange in colour.

My Other Benefits.

I can actually help all mammals and not just humans. In fact I?m produced largely in cows but this can be passed on to humans in the form of milk of course. So without being modest about is I?m really quite versatile. I can stimulate tissue growth and this is very important to you so let me explain further:

Take a look at this video about me:

?

?I am the best natural source of antibodies to destroy or neutralise the pathogens causing illness.?

The normal aging process is linked to fast declining levels of hormones, especially Growth Hormone. This begins to decline from puberty onwards. By the time your body reaches the age of 61, the levels of GH are only 20 per cent of the level they were when you were 21. The majority of people are beginning to show signs of aging by their forties. Scientific studies have shown continued ingestion of small amounts of growth hormone can limit the ongoing deterioration of cells associated with the aging process. I can help you try and maintain a healthy youthful appearance, and in turn help you feel good about the world around you.

You can find Vitamin-binding proteins within me delivering B-complex vitamins to your body. I have carrier proteins, and the associated vitamins folate (B6), B12 and orotic acid inside me too.

I have a very small hormone-like protein called, ?Leptin?, which can suppress your appetite and speed up the metabolic rate at the same time. This means I can assist you in weight loss and I can also help those of you who suffer from diabetes. When I?m in supplement form I can be used to treat distal colitis as well as to enhance bone growth and development. I can also come in liquid and powder form!

It contain a multitude of bioactive compounds working hard to boost your immune system and give you greater health.

I feel very privileged to be able to help you and hope you?ve enjoyed finding out more about me. My mother is nature and she produced me to bring goodness to the world. So please remember my name and think positive thoughts to help keep yourself in tip top health!

Related posts:

Source: http://www.gnet.org/colostrum-mother-natures-hero/

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T-Mobile Q4 2012 revenue drops 5.2 percent to $4.9 billion, customers and income also fall

It might be a good thing that T-Mobile's in the crosshairs of a takeover by Deutsche Telecom, as the company again shed revenue, customers and profits. Total revenue dropped to $4.9 billion from $5.2 billion last year, while profits were down a whopping 25.1 percent over Q4 2011 to $1.05 billion. Meanwhile the company dropped 515,000 branded contract customers compared to 492,000 last quarter, representing a 'churn' rate of 2.5 percent, a slight improvement over last year. All that culminated in a rather miserable year for the carrier, which despite showing income of $4.9 billion for the year, took a whopping $11.3 billion in depreciation and impairment charges, resulting in a full year loss of $6.4 billion. Meanwhile, Deutsche Telecom said recently that T-Mobile would soon fall under its umbrella along with MetroPCS as early as April -- which sounds like it can't come soon enough.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, T-Mobile

Comments

Source: Business Wire

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/xXS0ju7qSDo/

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Orders jump for key US long-lasting factory goods

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Orders for U.S. factory goods that signal business investment plans jumped last month by the most in more than a year, suggesting companies are confident about their business prospects.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that orders for so-called core capital goods, which include industrial machinery, construction equipment and computers, rose 6.3 percent in January from December. A sharp fall in demand for commercial aircraft caused overall durable goods orders to drop 5.2 percent, the first decline since August.

Orders for commercial aircraft are volatile from month to month and can cause large swings in the overall figure. Boeing reported orders for only two planes in January, down from 183 in December. Orders for defense equipment also plummeted by the most in more than 12 years.

Durable goods are items expected to last at least three years.

The increase in core capital goods suggests companies are willing to expand their production capacities despite worries that automatic government spending cuts will slow the economy in the coming months.

"The fact remains that capital spending appears to be holding up very well," Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG, a brokerage firm. "In fact, it appears to be accelerating."

Still, the jump in orders wasn't broad-based and occurred mostly in machinery and manufactured metal products. Orders for computers and communications equipment both fell and orders for autos and auto parts were unchanged.

About $85 billion in spending cuts are scheduled to kick in Friday and there is little sign that the White House and Congress will reach a deal to avoid them. Defense Department officials may have slowed purchases in January in anticipation of the cutbacks.

Business investment plans have held up in recent months despite the uncertainty surrounding tax and spending policies. Core capital goods orders dipped 0.3 percent in December but posted strong gains of 3.3 percent in November and 3 percent in October.

The report suggests U.S. manufacturing is strengthening. The Institute for Supply Management said earlier this month that factory activity grew in January at the fastest pace in nine months. Measures of new orders and hiring both rose.

But industrial production fell in January after two months of increases, the Federal Reserve said. Much of the decline reflected a big drop in auto production that was likely temporary. The auto industry is coming off its best year for sales in five years. Sales continue to rise, so production will likely rebound in February.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-27-US-Durable-Goods/id-524da65e0dd24d6cbfde6ca466455ded

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Sally Shapiro's 'Somewhere Else': Album Review

In case you?re under the impression that Sally Shapiro is content three albums deep into her career, she?s not. ?The title describes the recurrent theme in the music and my life, to somehow never be satisfied with what you have, or where you are ? to always wish you were somewhere else,? Shapiro explained of the title of her new record in the official blurb?about the release. It?s not all that surprising to hear from the shy singer, who notoriously doesn?t like to perform live ? or even appear on stage at all. In fact, ?Sally Shapiro? is just a pseudonym for the mystery chanteuse?s work with producer Johan Agebj?rn. Together, they?ve been quietly crafting transportive soundtracks made for sun-soaked daydreaming and contemplative late night drives since the latter half of the 00?s, beginning with 2007?s acclaimed Disco Romance.With their latest outing, Somewhere Else (out yesterday, February 26), the dream-pop duo have crafted yet another set of entrancing disco-tinged tunes ? a follow-up to their 2009 record, My Guilty Pleasure.This time around however, the band chose to stretch outside of their solo comfort zone, teaming up with acts like Le Prix, Anoraak and duo Electric Youth (of Drive soundtrack fame), who helped to craft their latest single, ?Starman.?

Be it Shapiro?s somber lyricism or Agebj?rn?s oft-nostalgic production, there?s always been a lingering melancholy in their music: On lead single ?What Can I Do?? a frustrated Shapiro tries to make it work while sounding her sweetest, but ultimately drawing sour conclusions. Yet with such cheerful orchestration fluttering in the background (flutes!), who would ever know there?s trouble in paradise?

As with Disco Romance, the band occasionally dips into rave-ready territory, especially on dance cuts crafted with Swedish producer/DJ, Le Prix including ?All My Life,? which sounds like a euphoric Eurodance mix for a Dance Dance Revolution soundtrack. It?s no ?We Found Love,? but for the indie-leaning DJ, it?s likely the most dance floor-ready treat.

Elsewhere, the music mellows to a chill as with ?Sundown,? a gorgeous midtempo that brings the Pet Shops Boys? dreamy 2012 effort, Elysium to mind. (Also, hello saxophone solo!)

?This City?s Local Italo Disco DJ Has A Crush On Me,? of course, is an instant favorite. (Who could resist with that title?) Full of funky rhythms, the Annie-esque track is one of the album?s most glittery moments: ?And though he talks about his clubs and shows, there?s no doubt that he wants me so,? Shapiro swoons, followed by some amazingly half-hearted ?na-na-na?-ing. It?s like Ke$ha?s ?Fuck Him (He?s A DJ)? ? if she sang it with a bar of soap in her mouth.

Somewhere Else is as charming and featherlight as the rest of their discography, but shows growth in all the right places: New collaborations, new sounds, same feeling. Sure, the bells and whistles (and now, saxophones) have changed slightly, but the essence is still satisfyingly Sally Shapiro.

The Best Song Wasn?t The Single: Either of the Le Prix tracks ? ?All My Life? and ?Architectured Love.?

Best Listened To: Midnight drives, daydreaming in the sun, and alone at night when he doesn?t text you back.

Most Likely To Make You Cry: ?Sundown,? but potentially all of them.

Rating: 4/5

??Bradley Stern

Source: http://idolator.com/7443632/sally-shapiro-somewhere-else-album-review

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Video: Hagel confirmed as defense secretary

>>> good evening. i'm chris matthews back in washington. let me start tonight with this. we can usually tell when a political party has gone off the deep end. republicans did it with goldwater, democrats with mcgovern, fdr did it when he tried to pack the supreme court . republicans did it when they impeached bill clinton . so let's talk about this grabbed standing hue loo hooping bonanza of bs the republicans have thrown at chuck hagel . look at the list of gop senators who voted today again to continue the filibuster against the president's nominee for secretary of defense . check these names. barrasso and enzip of wyoming. cornyn and cruise of texas, crapo and rich of idaho, paul and mcconnell of kentucky. boozman of arkansas, coats of indiana, fisher of nebraska, grassley of iowa, heller of nevada, hoeven of north dakota , imhoff of oklahoma. eye sayson of georgia, johnson, wisconsin.

>>> kirk of illinois. moran of kansas. portman. roberts of rubio florida. toomey of pennsylvania. vitter of louisiana and wicker of mississippi. think about it, all these men, all men, voted against even having a vote on hagel . they did so after it was clear there would be a vote today on hagel . they did it to put themselves on record for no better ran than to undermine, undermine is the key word here, the successful functioning of our government. they knew it would hurt hagel 's prestige, would discredit president obama 's leadership and did it anyway. want to know why the government is grinding to a halt? check this list. they are men bent on division, distrust, and disdain toward the elected presidency of barack obama . and i mean it. i'm jined by steve clemens and piter by nert. these people are disrepresentable. peter binert why on god's earth with a united states senator whose purpose is to help the republic work knowing this guy is going to be 1k9 of defense , knowing there's going to be a vote on it, vote publicly to deny him even a vote today? why would they do that?

>> well, i think it's because they wanted to somehow show that they are more militantly in opposition than anybody else. but the whole thing is absurd.

>> they already did that.

>> that's right.

>> they already did that a week ago, two weeks ago. you know, peter , they did it. they did all that. they dutched all over this guy's nomination. they attacked him in the hearing, issued all the prereleases, made their point. why would they do it the very day they knew he'd be confirmed knowing they would be dumping on him as secretary of defense , not as a nominee, but actually as dkt of defense ?

>> because we have so debased the idea of the filibuster that i honestly think people think of not voting to allow a vote as simply the same as voting no. this is how corrupted our political system has become that actually people see voting for a filibuster as simply no different than simply voting against someone. the whole system is not working the way it's supposed to.

>> you know what? steve , i respect any opinion on this within bounds. there are problems with this nomination. this is not superman.

>> right.

>> but they looked and they looked and i said face-to-face enough, they looked. had he ever made an anti-semitic look in private. had anybody heard him say anything awful. they looked and looked and looked and they couldn't find it an they still voted to deny him a vote.

>> two of the most militant senators opposed to hagel nonetheless did the right thing and voted for clowe you tour and that was mccain and graham. those were two of the centerpieces. when you look at inhofe, ted cruz , inhofe is ranking member of the armed services committee . he has certain responsibilities. i think they just blew it.

>> but you're right, they voted against -- voted for cloture to stop the debate. let me ask you about this, peter . let's talk about the look looking forward and what it does to our government. we have a government closed down in a lot of defense spending . it's going to hurt a lot. we have a potential -- we have a war we're still fighting. i wish everybody remembered that 37 men and women are out there on the post right now in some cases scared to death wherever they're stuck fighting the enemy and they couldn't agree on a secretary of defense in the chain of command . what's it do to the active military? what's it do to our future potential for saving money in defense and perhaps fighting another war in iran?

>> i think it's terrible. the fact that afghanistan which you remember mitt romney never mentioned in his speech at the republican national convention was barely mentioned by any of the republican senators in the 7 1/2 hour hagel hearing. i think it shows how fundamentally unserious and unreal so much of this foreign policy debate is. this hawkish party, this party which claims to be the party of national security in the military basically acting as if the united states is no longer at war when american soldiers are still dying there. i think, unfortunately, this very, very nasty campaign against hagel and let's be honest hagel 's not very stellar performance in front of the senate armed services committee is going to make it harder for him to have the political leverage that he's going to need to make the tough decisions on cutting the defense budget . he's going to have to rebuild some of the political clout that i'm afraid he lost over the past few weeks.

>> let's go with that. steve , same question. what does it mean to our country. the wars were fighting now, the one we're sort of getting out of in iraq. the one we're still in in afghanistan. the one we may face within months.

>> i know chuck hagel and know him well. i know he's going to sit down and he's going to do exactly what peter said. he's going to come out with a plan. he's going to communicate with the soldiers in the field. he's going to remind them he was a sergeant, too, and he is going to implement the president's policy of shifting out of the wars we're engaged in now and sorting out other priorities. i think my estimate of this is that he's going to dom out with a very, very good and confident looking strategy for the military and its priorities and how to responsibly handle what likely are to be sizable cuts. so he's going to owe it, but people in the gop are saying that he's going to have to reinvent their relationship with them. i think it's the other way around. i grew up in oklahoma. my parents are in texas. these places have bases, defense contractors . now, hagel will be judicious. he's not going to hold anything against them, but their constituents are going to want -- can you talk to chuck hagel about our base? i don't know if he's going to take his calls before --

>> he may have to --

>> he will take their calls. he's not going to hold any grudges.

>> i guess --

>> but their grudges are go going to cost their quaets.

>> peter , let's talk about the republic. what does it say about the ability of a president to pick his cabinet, especially the top officers. they're going after jack lew. they gave i guess kerry got this pretty clean but it looks like they're being very tough on these top appointees.

>> that's right. and this obsession with the benghazi thing, it seems to be again, it's a way for the republicans to still continue to fight the last election, and just politically it's hard to understand what the republicans feel they're gaining by continually picking these fits that they know they're not going to win. it seems like, you know, you're a student of the history, chris. you know how this happens. sometimes when parties get smaller because they have lost elections, they get more captive for a while by their most extremist wings. if you look at the way that ted cruz was essentially driving this whole debate over chuck hagel , you see that you have a republican party when in some ways it's most militant factions, the ones who are furthest away from ever being able to help the republican party compete nationally, are the ones driving the agenda.

>> i think one thing they'd like to do, let's talk about the golden fleece , what they're really after here. i think what the republicans want to do with benghazi , it's the thing -- the only thick they're interested in and they're the only ones interested in it is potentially in their dream world that they can prove that the president of the united states got an emergency call from benghazi , from lib yashtion and heard our ambassador, chris stevens , was in trouble, was under attack, and went off and played golf or had his dinner or forgot about it. . they want to show that somehow the president of the united states didn't go to the defense of his own guy over there and that's why the guy is dead. i think that's what they're after. i don't think there's any proof, any evidence, any reasonable to believe it, but that's the only thing that can justify this continual refocusing and refocuses and reattack. peter , what do you think. they're fighting the old battle. i think they're still going after obama personally.

>> also about hillary clinton in 2016 . it's about trying to take away the benefit she's gotten from what most people agree was a pretty successful run as secretary of state and creating a political scandal they can use all the way through until the next presidential election .

>> let's face it, they're going to turn on hillary the main she makes a move.

>> absolutely. they're waiting.

>> only last as long as obama's run.

>> that's right. jo let's take a look at the confirmation vote. chuck hagel 's been confirmed by 58-41. so he got some republican votes there.

>> it's interesting. john bolten when he was up for under secretary of state, he also had 41 no votes against him. so they're tied. so those that were the bolden crowd can feel like they got a tie with chuck hagel .

>> injure attempt at symmetry disturbs me. i think no one is in the same league as bolten. why do they keep bringing up benghazi . what's the bee in the bonnet?

>> i think there's a couple things. for them there's the earnest side if you want to give john mccain and the others the benefit of the kout, they're national heroes and they think it's markers for things like the iraq surge . if you're not in the right place on that, you're not a true national hero stewarding the interests of the country in the right way. the deeper thing is this is a time where the other side really just wants to tear down the president anyway he can and to do it viciously every day over and over again and not be about constructive solutions. now, i happen to be one who doesn't think john mccain and even lindsey graham are really about that, but i think that the ted cruzs and inhofes are.

>> cruz is voting against everybody.

>> i think it's -- the petty slander. we've got to call it what it is. there is a game of slander that's coming out of u.s. senate offices today in a way that we haven't seen in generations. that's what we should be worried about.

>> we saw the staffer who said we're going to prove he's an anti-semite.

>> right. friends of hamas.

>> peter , i know you're a high level policy analyst but let's talk down and dirty politics. i don't dislike lindsey graham . in fact i like him. i don't dislike the guy at all. i think he's facing a potential right wing chal feng for renomination in south carolina by some standards on the republican right down there he's a moderate republican , i guess. was this a way to show that he had some bullets in his gun and he was willing to play right wing cowboy on issues like benghazi and it would make up for the fact he was smart and reasonable and even a bit progressive on issues like immigration?

>> absolutely. you know, lindsey graham reminds me of what al di ma toe used to be like when he was senator from new york . in the last couple years he would have to race to his left politically to get in touch with new york and in some ways graham does the same thing. he's actually relatively moderate the first four years and the last couple years he races to get in line with the tea party because people have seen what happened to richard lugar . there were people who were considered reasonable conservative credentials who are now no longer conservative enough to win their own primaries and that's what's driving even big questions like how you vote on chuck hagel .

>> i remember pataki in new york moved to the center. i like people who move to the center in general elections . it's the whackos who move so far right th

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50963019/

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Beer lovers accuse Anheuser-Busch of watering down brews

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? Beer lovers across the U.S. have accused Anheuser-Busch of watering down its Budweiser, Michelob and other brands, in class-action suits seeking millions in damages.

The suits, filed in Pennsylvania, California and other states, claim consumers have been cheated out of the alcohol content stated on labels. Budweiser and Michelob each boast of being 5 percent alcohol, while some "light" versions are said to be just over 4 percent.

The lawsuits are based on information from former employees at the company's 13 U.S. breweries, some in high-level plant positions, according to lead lawyer Josh Boxer of San Rafael, Calif.

"Our information comes from former employees at Anheuser-Busch, who have informed us that as a matter of corporate practice, all of their products mentioned (in the lawsuit) are watered down," Boxer said. "It's a simple cost-saving measure, and it's very significant."

The excess water is added just before bottling and cuts the stated alcohol content by 3 percent to 8 percent, he said.

Anheuser-Busch InBev called the claims "groundless" and said its beers fully comply with labeling laws.

"Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws. We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers, which have made them the best-selling in the U.S. and the world," Peter Kraemer, vice president of brewing and supply, said in a statement.

The suit involves 10 Anheuser-Busch products: Budweiser, Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum, Michelob, Michelob Ultra, Hurricane High Gravity Lager, King Cobra, Busch Ice, Natural Ice and Bud Light Lime.

Anheuser-Busch, based in St. Louis, Mo., merged with InBev in 2008 to form the world's largest alcohol producer, headquartered in Belgium. In 2011, the company produced 10 billion gallons of malt beverages, 3 billion of them in the U.S., and reported $22 billion in profits from that category, the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, the company has sophisticated equipment that measures the alcohol content throughout the brewing process and is accurate to within one-hundredth of a percent. But after the merger, the company increasingly chose to dilute its popular brands of beer, the lawsuit alleged.

"Following the merger, AB vigorously accelerated the deceptive practices described below, sacrificing the quality products once produced by Anheuser-Busch in order to reduce costs," said the lead lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco on behalf of consumers in the lower 48 states.

Companion suits are being filed this week in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and elsewhere. Each seeks at least $5 million in damages.

The named Pennsylvania plaintiffs, Thomas and Gerald Greenberg of Ambler, said they buy six cases of the affected Anheuser-Busch products a month. They did not immediately return a message Tuesday, and Boxer would not elaborate on their purchases except to say the consumer-protection suit does not involve retailers or bar owners.

One of the California plaintiffs, Nina Giampaoli of Sonoma County, said she bought a six-pack of Budweiser every week for the past four years.

"I think it's wrong for huge corporations to lie to their loyal customers ? I really feel cheated. No matter what the product is, people should be able to rely on the information companies put on their labels," Giampaoli said in a news release issued by Boxer's law firm.

Bloomberg News first reported Tuesday on the lawsuits.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Boxer said he has evidence to corroborate the former employees' allegations, but stopped short of saying the beers had been independently tested.

"AB (Anheuser-Busch) never intends for the malt beverage to possess the amount of alcohol that is stated on the label. As a result, AB's customers are overcharged for watered-down beer and AB is unjustly enriched by the additional volume it can sell," the lawsuit said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suits-more-water-less-buzz-bud-michelob-beer-200521568--finance.html

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Christina Applegate weds Martyn LeNoble

Imeh Akpanudosen / Getty Images Contributor

Christina Applegate and Martyn LeNoble.

By Erin O'Sullivan, Access Hollywood

Christina Applegate is married!?The actress -- who recently announced her exit from NBC?s ?Up All Night? -- wed longtime boyfriend Martyn LeNoble on Saturday, according to People.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Funny ladies! The glorious women of TV comedy

The couple, who are already parents to 2-year-old daughter Sadie, tied the knot ?surrounded by family in a private ceremony at their home in Los Angeles,? Christina?s rep told the mag.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The magnificent Maya Rudolph!

The 41-year-old star wore a dress by Maria Lucia Hohan, while the newlyweds? rings were designed by Neil Lane, the mag reported.

Christina and Martyn -- who composes the music for ?Up All Night? -- got engaged on Valentine?s Day 2010, but postponed tying the knot due to their hectic TV schedule.

Back in January 2012, Christina explained to Access Hollywood?s Laura Saltman why they seemed to be dragging their heels when it came to walking down the aisle.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Celebrity wedding photos!

?Of course (we will get married), but the schedule, the way that it is -- it?s just almost impossible. It really is. It?s insane,? she said at the time. ?We kind of thought about, seriously, like a city hall thing. Like just going and doing it and being done with that part of it, then having a party six months from now.?

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Christina Applegate

This is the second marriage for both Martyn and Christina (who split from actor/director Johnathon Schaech in 2007).

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Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/02/25/17086239-christina-applegate-weds-longtime-boyfriend-musician-martyn-lenoble?lite

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Huawei Ascend W1 launching March 7th in UK on O2: free from ?13.50 per month or ?120 on PAYG

We're starting to think Microsoft is onto something with Windows Phone 8, an OS that's capable of delivering a solid user experience on mediocre handset specs. UK network provider O2 seems to feel the same, and in addition to pushing Nokia's Lumia 620 at an attractively low price, has bagged exclusivity for Huawei's Ascend W1. We originally heard the device would be available sometime in Q1, but now we have a specific date: March 7th. Well, that's when you can pick up the "Electric Blue" model, anyway, with an "Electric Pink" option arriving March 18th. It'll cost £120 (around $182 dollars) if you opt for PAYG (SIM-locked, no doubt), or free on contracts starting at £13.50 per month. Sold on those wallet-friendly numbers? Then head past the break and pick out your color.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/huawei-ascend-w1-O2-launch/

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Music goes back to the future with Pyle?s retro turntable

This red Retro-Style Turntable from Pyle combines a cool, retro style with modern audio features. ?In addition to the turntable that plays 33-1/3 or 45 RPM vinyl records, you can play MP3 files stored on SD cards or on a USB flash drive or tune in AM/FM radio stations on the 1950s speedometer-like dial. ?There’s [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/02/25/music-goes-back-to-the-future-with-pyles-retro-turntable/

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LG Optimus F7 and F5 hands-on: mid-range devices for first time LTE users

After a couple of leaks last week all but completely unveiled the Optimus F7 and F5 to the general public, LG's made the devices official today at MWC 2013. The two handsets are part of the company's mid-range line, devised as a bridge for users crossing over from aging 3G networks to LTE. But that's not all the 4.7-inch F7 and 4.3-inch F5 have in common. Both run Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 (skinned) and pack a dual-core setup, 8GB of internal storage, 1.3-megapixel front facing camera and LG's suite of custom software. Of course, there are bound to be significant differences between the two, so follow along as we dive into our initial impressions.

Developing...

Gallery: LG Optimus F7 and F5 hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/5Rojk1ZGbNw/

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The brutal, exaggerated death of the form factor phone

This year's Mobile World Congress is bound to be frenetic with phone news. That's why we're about to brave Barcelona's rain, airline strikes and pickpockets (no offense, dear BCN) in order to stay up-to-date. But if there's one aspect of mobile phones we're not counting on to provide much excitement, it's their fundamental physical design or form factor. We're in the grip of the monolith, the concrete slab, the plain rectangle, with its full touchscreen and a couple of buttons here and there, and that grip is so tight that even the pickpockets are slightly shocked when they haul in something with a physical QWERTY.

But the point of this piece isn't merely to plot the decline of form factor diversity. It's actually to argue that the current monotony is probably only temporary, and that signs of a revival are already in the air. Read on and we'll do our utmost to convince you.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/24/the-exaggerated-death-of-the-form-factor/

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Las Vegas seen as dangerous even as crime rate drops

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Variously known as an adult playground and Disneyland for grown-ups, Las Vegas brands itself as a place where tourists can enjoy a sense of edginess with no real danger.

But a series of high-profile episodes of random violence amid the throngs of tourists is threatening Sin City's reputation as a padded room of a town where people can cut loose with no fear of consequences.

A car-to-car shooting and fiery crash that killed two bystanders and an aspiring rapper Thursday followed a bizarre elevator stabbing and a movie theater parking lot shooting.

Though crime has been falling on the glitzy stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that houses most of the city's major casinos, tourism officials worry that vacationers and convention planners could begin to steer clear of the town because of a perception of mayhem.

"We are concerned because it can create misperceptions about the safety of the city, the safety of the Strip," said Gary Thompson, spokesman for Caesars Entertainment, which owns 10 resorts in the tourist zone, including Caesars Palace and Paris Las Vegas.

Casinos are particularly worried about convention business, which helps fill rooms and gambling tables between weekends. Corporate planners can swing the market with a few decisions, said Gordon Absher, spokesman for MGM Resorts International.

"And that decision will bring thousands of people," he said. MGM operates several major casino-hotels, including CityCenter, where Thursday's convulsion of violence originated.

Violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery and assault, in the city's main tourist hub fell 13 percent in 2012, from 256 to 223 incidents, and is down 11 percent for the first part of 2013, with 50 incidents reported. The number of rapes has fallen by more than a third.

There have been two homicides just off the Strip this year, in addition to the three deaths Thursday, compared to none in the area during the first month and a half of 2012.

Had they taken place elsewhere, the incidents that made headlines in recent weeks would never have become national stories, Thompson said. But when the crime happens in a city that welcomes 40 million visitors a year, people tend to care even if they haven't seen the neon lights in years.

"It's like, 'I was there! I stayed in there in Las Vegas! I walked that part of the Strip!'" he said.

The spate of violence started just before the new year, when a man shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, an Excalibur hotel-casino concierge clerk, before fatally shooting himself.

The following week, a blackjack dealer was wrestled to the ground at the Bellagio with razor blades in both hands. She is charged with killing a 10 year-old girl and then slashing her co-worker's face.

On New Year's Eve, a man allegedly fired a gunshot into the floor of the crowded Circus Circus casino during an argument. A Saudi air force sergeant is accused of raping a 13-year-old boy in the rooms above the same night.

A nighttime shooting outside a Strip movie theater left two people critically wounded earlier this month. Last week, two random men allegedly assaulted a visitor in the elevator at the Mandalay Bay property, tackling him and stabbing him in such a frenzy that they also stabbed each other.

During the same period, Las Vegas courts sentenced a Florida teacher for killing a stranger with a single punch after trading words in a casino bathroom, and heard the case of two law students charged with beheading an exotic bird at the Flamingo casino-hotel.

The shoot-'em-up car chase that closed the Strip for 12 hours Thursday was the most public and deadly incident yet.

A person in a luxury SUV opened fire on an aspiring rapper in a Maserati near one of the busiest intersections on the iconic corridor. As the bullets flew, the Maserati ran a red light and crashed into a taxi, which burst into flames. The taxi driver, a passenger and the rapper were killed, and six people were injured.

Casino executives say they do all they can to keep visitors safe, with armies of guards, networks of high-definition survielence cameras and undercover security workers scattered throughout nearly every major attraction.

"Unless you are a complete idiot, you're not going to want to commit many crimes in or around a casino because you're going to get caught," Thompson said.

But catching a criminal isn't the same as stopping the crime.

Commissioners in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, are weighing steps to increase safety, including installing additional cameras in public spaces and broadening the sidewalks. In October, they banned potentially dangerous objects including fireworks, knives and toy guns from the Strip.

But real guns remain permissible. Nevada's relaxed gun laws, including the ability to carry them openly, have made Las Vegas an attractive spot for shooting ranges and gun shows.

Some observers think police should step up their presence on the Strip, just as they did after three slayings in 2011.

"Clearly they should be looking into this because they have had a string of incidents now, and while they've all been random incidents, they all did happen," said David Schwartz, the Director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

On Thursday, police spokesman Jose Hernandez said the department had no plans to send additional officers to the Strip, noting that crime remains relatively low for a town that accommodates so many visitors each day.

But with violent crime, as with so much else in Vegas, perception may outweigh reality. As a place built on the promise of letting loose, the city must work extra hard to banish all fear of danger, said Tony Henthorne, a marketing professor at the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration in Las Vegas.

"It's important for any destination that relies on tourism for a major percentage of its income to appear safe," he said, "and also actually to be safe."

___

Hannah Dreier can be reached at http://twitter.com/hannahdreier

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/las-vegas-seen-dangerous-even-crime-drops-145823799.html

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Among pilgrims on pope's final Sunday, a sense of malaise

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Many of the Catholics packed into St. Peter's Square On Sunday expressed a sense of malaise about seeing Pope Benedict give his last weekly blessing before resigning from a position traditionally seen as a commitment until death.

"This is an ill wind blowing," said midwife Marina Tacconi as a chilly gust blew across the square.

"It feels like something ugly could happen. I'm 58 years old. I have seen popes come and go, but never one resign. I don't see it as a good thing."

While many pilgrims held signs thanking the 85-year-old pontiff, who elicited a huge cheer when he appeared at his window over the square for the last time ever, one banner in the crowd read "Pope, we don't understand you".

"I feel very emotional and upset, full of gratitude and love and prayer," said Italian pilgrim Andreina Scuri.

In his final Sunday blessing address before leaving on Thursday for a life of prayer and meditation, Benedict said he was "not abandoning the Church". [ID:nL6N0BO2AP] But many there to see him said they were confused and upset by his decision.

"The news of his resignation was a blow for everyone. We lack a uniting figure," said Mirko Ninni, an unemployed 22-year-old who said the abdication added to the sense of unease in Italy which is in deep recession and faces political uncertainty in a general election.

Dressed in rough sack cloth and with blistered bare feet, pilgrim Massimo Coppo drew a crowd as he railed against the Vatican hierarchy, saying it was alienated from the people.

"There is too much money in the Church. We must offer them our hearts, not our money," shouted the grey-bearded Coppo to applause and shouts of "Make him Pope, immediately!".

Disunity in the Church is one of many challenges faced by an institution plagued by a series of sexual abuse scandals and allegations of corruption.

"The people are scared and panicked like sheep in the night when they think there is a wolf among them," Coppo preached to the gathered crowd, who filmed him on mobile phones.

ADVERSITY

"The Church is going through a difficult moment," said Sara Laurenzano, 20, a Rome student who said Benedict had suffered in comparison to his widely beloved predecessor John Paul II.

The contrast with the adoring crowds who massed in the same square almost eight years ago as John Paul II lay dying was stark. The more charismatic pope had won widespread respect for opposing Soviet communism and for enduring a lengthy illness in the public eye.

"(Benedict) wasn't a uniting figure," said Laurenzano. "The new pope will need to lead us out of this adversity, we need someone to unite us."

The next pontiff, who is expected to take over before the Easter weekend at the end of March, will take up a battle against increasing secularization, cultural change and ever-falling church attendance in many Western countries.

Sister Daniella, 58, said she and her fellow nuns at the order of the Sacred Sacrament based beside the Vatican had been initially stunned at the pope's decision to become the first pontiff in centuries to resign.

"It was a lightning bolt. But in the end we saw that the decision was done from a wish to serve the Church, " Sister Daniella said, wearing glasses and a light grey habit.

Other pilgrims also sought to take something positive from Benedict's decision.

"It's bittersweet," said Sarah Ennis, 21, a student from Minnesota who studies in Rome.

"Bitter because we love our Pope Benedict and hate to see him go, but sweet because he is going for a good reason and we are excited to see the next pope."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/among-pilgrims-popes-final-sunday-sense-malaise-153931781.html

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Chinese Arts Festival at the New Haven Museum ? March 2 & 3rd ? live snakes, paper lantern making & more!

The?Chinese Arts Festival in New Haven?is a celebration of the Lunar New Year, Year of the Snake, now rescheduled to March 2-3, 2013. Kick off with the Lion Dance Parade down Whitney Avenue at 10AM on Saturday, March 2. (Rain location: New Haven Museum)

The Chinese Arts Festival has been rescheduled for March 2-3, 2013.

Please register at this link.

See the revised schedule here.

Thank you for your patience, and we are excited to prolong the celebration of the Chinese New Year into the spring!

About the Chinese Arts Festival in New Haven
The Chinese Arts Festival in New Haven is a day-long event offering arts and cultural programs for adults and children of all ages in celebration of the Year of the Snake.

The Chinese Arts Festival in New Haven kicks off at 10:00AM with a traditional lion dance on Whitney Avenue between Grove Street and Trumbull Street. Celebrate alongside the Wan Chi Ming Hung Gar Institute?s lion dance troupe as they bring good luck and prosperity to the New Haven merchants and community members. Join us again from 1:00PM ? 5:00PM for a series of Chinese arts and culture workshops and demonstrations, including presentations and performances of traditional Chinese instruments by the EastRiver Ensemble, a Peacock Dance demonstration by Dai ethnic tribe dancer Xi Wang, a snake petting zoo, a Tai Chi workshop with Grandmaster Aiping Cheng, opportunities to learn traditional Chinese dances with Yale dance troupes, a master painting demonstration with Chinese landscape artist Sun Dawei, Chinese calligraphy and papercutting sessions, a Yale-China Fireside Chat with Beijing-based culinary author Audra Ang, and opportunities to learn about Chinese New Year celebrations. Each of the twelve exhibits and workshops presents an opportunity to engage in some of the classic Chinese arts.

The Snake is one of twelve designated animals celebrated as part of the Chinese calendar based on the lunar calendar. The Year of the Snake begins on February 10, 2013 and ends on January 30, 2014.

The venue locations for the Chinese Arts Festival in New Haven are: Henry R. Luce Hall at Yale University (34 Hillhouse Avenue), New Haven Museum (114 Whitney Avenue), and Yale-China Association (442 Temple Street). All events are free and open to the public, but registration is required.?To register, click here.?You can also download a?full schedule of events. For questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at?ChineseArtsFestival@yalechina.org?or call (203) 432-3427.

This event is sponsored by the Council on East Asian Studies at Yale University,
New Haven Museum, and Yale-China Association.

Special thanks to Yale Programs in International Educational Resources.

Source: http://robbinslist.com/?p=29000

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Japan coastguard says China ship in disputed waters

Japan said a Chinese government ship briefly entered its territorial waters off disputed islands on Saturday, as the Japanese premier vowed he would not tolerate Beijing's incursions into the area.

A Japanese coast guard vessel (bottom) monitors a Chinese fisheries patrol boat in the East China Sea in 2011.

The fisheries patrol boat entered the waters in the East China Sea at 4:48 pm (0748 GMT) and was sailing some 19 kilometres northwest of Uotsuri, one of the Senkaku islands, Japan's coastguard said in a statement.

But the Chinese ship moved out of the zone after about an hour, watched by a Japanese coastguard vessel, it said.

Beijing claims the Japanese-controlled islands, which it calls the Diaoyus.

The incident was the latest in a series, with Japan claiming in one case that Chinese vessels had locked weapons-targeting radar onto a ship and a helicopter. Beijing denied the charge.

Saturday's incident came as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, now on his first visit to the United States since he took office late December, vowed that he would not tolerate any challenge to control over the contested islands.

"We simply cannot tolerate any challenge now and in the future. No nation should make any miscalculation or underestimate the firmness of our resolve," Abe said Friday in Washington.

Speaking after talks with President Barack Obama at the White House, however, Abe cautioned that "I have absolutely no intention to climb up the escalation ladder".

The dispute between Asia's two largest economies intensified in September when Tokyo nationalised three islands in the chain, in what it said was a mere administrative change of ownership.

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Top GOP Voter ID Crusader Loses Virginia Election Panel Post

Hans Von Spakovsky in his official FEC photo taken during former President George W. Bush's administration.

FEC.gov

To those who closely follow the voter ID wars, Hans von Spakovsky is a household name, one of the nation's leading crusaders against voter fraud, and also one of its more controversial. Days before the 2012 election, The New Yorker profiled him as "the man who has stoked fear about imposters at the poll."

So it was news that von Spakovsky, a Republican lawyer and scholar at the conservative Heritage Foundation, failed to get a second term on the electoral board of Fairfax County, Virginia's largest county, despite being the top choice of the county's Republican Party.

It was the kind of local personnel change that normally wouldn't get much attention ? except that von Spakovsky has become something of a national lightning rod.

The panel of county circuit court judges who approve the political parties' nominees to the board voted to replace von Spakovsky with another Republican lawyer, Brian Schoeneman. County Democrats had accused von Spakovsky of being hyperpartisan and a master at voter suppression tactics, charges that have trailed him for years.

In an email to my request for reaction to his judicial decision, von Spakovsky, whose term ends Feb. 28, wrote:

"The 'partisanship' claim is disproved by a very simple, uncontested fact, which is reflected in the minutes of the January 10, 2013, meeting of the Board.

"I asked our clerk in December to total up all of the votes taken by the Election Board since Seth Harp, the Democratic appointee to the Board, took office. There were 224 votes taken during that time period. The Board voted 2-1 on only three issues. All remaining votes were unanimous.

"It is a bit much to claim we (or I) acted in a partisan manner on the Board when the Democratic member voted with me in 99% of all of the votes of the Board.

"But then, a majority of the judges who made this decision are Democratic appointees and they clearly made a purely partisan, political decision. They apparently don't like someone who has stood up for the integrity of the election process as I have."

According to Jay McConville, chairman of the county's Republican Party, it was the first time to his knowledge or that of those he consulted that the county's judges rejected one of the two major political parties' top choices to the electoral board. In an interview with me, he said:

"In my opinion it was the unprecedented, unnecessary and really unacceptable protest by the Fairfax County Democrats. And for reasons that are very hard to understand other than just being partisan gamesmanship. They've broken a longstanding tradition honestly because they want to show that they can. And that's really unfortunate.

"... What we care about in the Republican Party is defending the vote and free elections where qualified folks can vote. And make sure it runs well. Hans is an expert on that and he should be on the board."

Fairfax County Democrats agree that the circumstances surrounding von Spakovsky were unprecedented, though they put their emphasis not on how he is leaving the board but rather how he arrived.

Bettina Lawson, an official, said:

"What was unprecedented, actually, was the original nomination of the Fairfax County Republican Party of Hans von Spakovsky. He has a national reputation for efforts to suppress the vote with his various positions on voter identification and creating a lot of fear about voter fraud. And putting a person like that on the Fairfax Electoral Board was the original problem.

"What we did in the last three years was experience the results of that. That's why the Fairfax Democratic committee took the step of sending the letter to the judges to say, we want you to know that this man has this reputation. While he has been on our electoral board he's continued these efforts."

Von Spakovsky pushed successfully to end the practice of providing multilingual voting information in the voter registrar's office, Lawson said, a problem in a county with considerable diversity. He also succeeded in removing from the registrar's office nonpartisan informational material provided by the League of Women Voters that the county had long been made available to voters.

These and other actions made Democrats seek to permanently suppress von Spakovsky's vote on the board by getting him kicked off.

Von Spakovsky was a George W. Bush appointee to the Federal Elections Commission. But it was von Spakovsky's work before that as a Justice Department political appointee that drew the praise of voter ID proponents and ire of those opposed to the controversial laws.

As NPR's Peter Overby reported in 2007 at the time of von Spakovsky's confirmation hearing to the FEC, von Spakovsky critics accused him of, among other things, being overly partisan:

"In 2003, he worked on a redistricting plan from Texas. Tom Delay, then the most powerful Republican in Congress, drew the plan to add Republicans to the state's Congressional delegation. Career lawyers in the Justice Department said it shouldn't be approved. Von Spakovsky and other politicos thought it should be, and it was.

" ... Here are other notable cases, too. In 2005, Justice reviewed a voter identification law from Georgia. Critics said it discriminated against poor people who would have the hardest time getting photo IDs. Von Spakovsky had published a law review article arguing strongly for voter ID laws, but he'd used a pseudonym so no one connected him to it. He oversaw the review of the Georgia case at Justice and once again he overruled the career lawyers. After that career employees say there was a purge.

"... Von Spakovsky has drawn other criticism as well. At the Federal Election Commission, he declared that a proposal to regulate political advertising was equivalent to the Alien and Sedition Acts, laws that were enacted in 1798 in an effort to silence attacks on President John Adams. Proponents of stronger campaign finance regulation questioned his commitment to enforcing policies that he so clearly opposes. Von Spakovsky declined to be interviewed for this piece."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/02/22/172722972/top-gop-voter-id-crusader-loses-virginia-election-panel-post?ft=1&f=1001

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When water speaks: Solvents make catalysts more efficient

Feb. 21, 2013 ? Why certain catalyst materials work more efficiently when they are surrounded by water instead of a gas phase is unclear. RUB chemists have now gleaned some initial answers from computer simulations. They showed that water stabilises specific charge states on the catalyst surface.

"The catalyst and the water sort of speak with each other" says Professor Dominik Marx, depicting the underlying complex charge transfer processes. His research group from the Centre for Theoretical Chemistry also calculated how to increase the efficiency of catalytic systems without water by varying pressure and temperature.

The researchers describe the results in the journals Physical Review Letters and Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.

Heterogeneous catalysis: water or gas as the second phase

In heterogeneous catalysis, researchers combine substances with two different phases -- usually solid and gas. Chemical reactions work faster at the resulting interfaces than without a catalyst. Industry uses heterogeneous catalysis for many processes, for example to transform alcohols into certain aldehydes. Titanium dioxide with gold particles bonded to the surface, for example, is suitable as the solid phase. Water -- instead of a gas -- as the second phase has several advantages: environmentally harmful substances which are required in traditional procedures for the oxidation of alcohols can easily be replaced by atmospheric oxygen. Also, the whole reaction in water is very efficient, even at moderate temperatures.

Charge transfer between water and catalyst

The theoretical chemists have studied what happens in the catalysis at the molecular level by means of so-called ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The result: a charge transfer takes place between the water and the catalyst. Electrons, or more specifically portions of electron densities, are moved between the solid and the liquid phase. The researchers speculate that in this way the liquid phase stabilises charge states on the gold surface. The sites where this occurs could be the active centres of the catalyst, where the chemical reactions work efficiently. Unlike water, a gas phase is not able to "talk" to the catalyst in this way, because no charge transfer is possible with the gas phase.

Increasing the efficiency through thermodynamics

In a further study, the team led by Dominik Marx examined a related metal/oxide catalyst of copper and zinc oxide, which is used for the large-scale industrial synthesis of methanol. As the computer simulations showed, especially the interplay between the solid phase and the gas phase is important here for the efficiency. Depending on the pressure and temperature conditions, hydrogen binds to the catalyst surface and thus indirectly stabilises catalytically active centres that occur in this case due to an electron transfer between the metal and the oxide. "Without the hydrogen, put bluntly the centres would not exist," says Marx. In this way, the thermodynamic conditions in the gas phase put the surface into a certain state which is particularly favourable for the work of the catalyst.

Added value through combination

The two studies thus show that the catalytic efficiency can be controlled both by a solvent and by thermodynamics -- namely through the pressure and temperature of the gas phase. However, completely different mechanisms are responsible for this, which the researchers were nevertheless able to elucidate using the same simulation methods. This makes the results directly comparable. In this way, the theorists aim to study in future whether they can improve the copper/zinc oxide system even further by replacing the gas phase with a suitable solvent.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal References:

1. Matteo Farnesi Camellone, Dominik Marx. On the Impact of Solvation on a Au/TiO2Nanocatalyst in Contact with Water. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2013; 4 (3): 514 DOI: 10.1021/jz301891v
2. Luis Mart?nez-Su?rez, Johannes Frenzel, Dominik Marx, Bernd Meyer. Tuning the Reactivity of a Cu/ZnO Nanocatalyst via Gas Phase Pressure. Physical Review Letters, 2013; 110 (8) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.086108

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/biochemistry/~3/NycdAng2A70/130221084705.htm

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Mosquitoes exposed to DEET once are less repelled by it a few hours later

Feb. 20, 2013 ? Mosquitoes are able to ignore the smell of the insect repellent DEET within a few hours of being exposed to it, according to research published February 20 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by James Logan, Nina Stanczyk and colleagues from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK.

Though most insects are strongly repelled by the smell of DEET, previous studies by Logan's research group have shown that some flies and mosquitoes carry a genetic change in their odor receptors that makes them insensitive to this smell. The new results reported in the PLOS ONE study uncover a response in mosquitoes based on short-term changes, not genetic ones.

"Our study shows that the effects of this exposure last up to three hours. We will be doing further research to determine how long the effect lasts," says Logan.

In this study, the authors tested changes in responses to DEET in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are notorious for biting during the day and are capable of transmitting dengue fever. They found that a brief exposure to DEET was sufficient to make some mosquitoes less sensitive to the repellent. Three hours after the exposure, these mosquitoes were not deterred from seeking attractants like heat and human skin despite the presence of DEET. The researchers found that this insensitivity to the smell could be correlated to a decrease in the sensitivity of odor receptors on the mosquito's antennae following a previous exposure. "We think that the mosquitoes are habituating to the repellent, similar to a phenomenon seen with the human sense of smell also. However, the human olfactory system is very different from a mosquito's, so the mechanism involved in this case is likely to be very different," explains Logan.

He adds, "This doesn't mean that we should stop using repellents -- on the contrary, DEET is a very good repellent, and is still recommended for use in high risk areas. However, we are keeping a close eye on how mosquitoes can overcome the repellent and ways in which we can combat this."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Public Library of Science.

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Journal Reference:

1. Nina M. Stanczyk, John F. Y. Brookfield, Linda M. Field, James G. Logan. Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Exhibit Decreased Repellency by DEET following Previous Exposure. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e54438 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054438

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/MeQEiUU0SxU/130220184949.htm

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