Linus Pauling (American scientist) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

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Linus Pauling (American scientist) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia: "http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/447161/Linus-Pauling"
American scientist
in full Linus Carl Pauling
born February 28, 1901, Portland, Oregon, U.S.
died August 19, 1994, Big Sur, California
American theoretical physical chemist who became the only person to have won two unshared Nobel Prizes. His first prize (1954 was awarded for research into the nature of the chemical bond and its use in elucidating molecular structure; the second (1962) recognized his efforts to ban the testing of nuclear weapons.
... structural knowledge assisted him in developing an electronegativity scale in which he assigned a number representing a particular atom’s power of attracting electrons in a covalent bond.

On one of his trips to visit Mirsky in New York, Pauling met Karl Landsteiner, the discoverer of blood types, who became his guide into the field of immunochemistry. Pauling was fascinated by the specificity of antibody-antigen reactions, and he later developed a theory that accounted for this specificity through a unique folding of the antibody’s polypeptide chain. World War II interrupted this theoretical work, and Pauling’s focus shifted to more practical problems, including the preparation of an artificial substitute for blood serum useful to wounded soldiers and an oxygen detector useful in submarines and airplanes. J. Robert Oppenheimer asked Pauling to head the chemistry section of the Manhattan Project, but his suffering from glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the glomerular region of the kidney) prevented him from accepting this offer. For his outstanding services during the war, Pauling was later awarded the Presidential Medal for Merit.
While serving as a visiting professor at the University of Oxford in 1948, Pauling returned to a problem that had intrigued him in the late 1930s—the three-dimensional structure of proteins. By folding a paper on which he had drawn a chain of linked amino acids, he discovered a cylindrical coil-like configuration, later called the alpha helix. The most significant aspect of Pauling’s structure was its determination of the number of amino acids per turn of the helix. During this same period he became interested in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and early in 1953 he and protein crystallographer Robert Corey published their version of DNA’s structure, three strands twisted around each other in ropelike fashion. Shortly thereafter James Watson and Francis Crick published DNA’s correct structure, a double helix. Pauling’s efforts to modify his postulated structure had been hampered by poor X-ray photographs of DNA and by his lack of understanding of this molecule’s wet and dry forms. In 1952 he failed to visit Rosalind Franklin, working in Maurice Wilkins’s laboratory at King’s College, London, and consequently did not see her X-ray pictures of DNA. Frankin’s pictures proved to be the linchpin in allowing Watson and Crick to elucidate the actual structure. Nevertheless, Pauling was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize for Chemistry “for his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances.”
While at San Diego and Stanford, Pauling’s scientific interests centred on a particular molecule—ascorbic acid (vitamin C). He examined the published reports about this vitamin and concluded that, when taken in large enough quantities (megadoses), it would help the body fight off colds and other diseases. The outcome of his research was the book Vitamin C and the Common Cold (1970), which became a best-seller. Pauling’s interest in vitamin C in particular and orthomolecular medicine in general led, in 1973, to his founding an institute that eventually bore his name—the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine. During his tenure at this institute, he became embroiled in controversies about the relative benefits and risks of ingesting megadoses of various vitamins. The controversy intensified when he advocated vitamin C’s usefulness in the treatment of cancer. Pauling and his collaborator, the Scottish physician Ewan Cameron, published their views in Cancer and Vitamin C (1979). Their ideas were subjected to experimental animal studies funded by the institute. While these studies supported their ideas, investigations at the Mayo Clinic involving human cancer patients did not corroborate Pauling’s results.


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Social Media Optimization: Emergence Media’s 5 Themes of SMO � Emergence Media

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Social Media Optimization: Emergence Media’s 5 Themes of SMO � Emergence Media

Review after few years !
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Don't nag.
Don't try to make your partner over.
Don't criticize.
Give honest appreciation.
Pay little attentions.
Be courteous.
Listen carefully to what your partner says and make him/her feel important about what he/she says
...The last two sections were included in the original 1936 edition but omitted from the revised 1981 edition...
Now we have:
Twitter (text messages)
Facebook (Messages)
Google Buzz (Conversation)
and a social circle It is up to you, management of your social circle, add new friends or disconnect em.

Now, optmimum social behaviour is on the web. FriendFeed aims to be a one stop shop for all your social networking updates and news items.
For music is Pandora.
Profesional social circle is on LinkedIn.
Google profile have all your public on private data so search engines will appear able to understand your personal needs.
If you will generate web content, new, yours and will cooperate inside or outside of yours social circle optimum is there. Something like mobile or celular telefon!

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Toyota crisis puts spotlight on electronics - Autos- msnbc.com

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Toyota crisis puts spotlight on electronics - Autos- msnbc.com: "'Those are very hard to reproduce. The problem happens and you go back and check and it's not there. The normal tendency is to blame it on the driver and go on.'

And that's what Toyota did initially."

It's troubling not only for Toyota owners but for drivers of any modern car that's basically a computer on wheels.
Toyota, which until recently had a reputation for being high-quality and cutting-edge, began replacing mechanical accelerators with electrical ones starting with the Camry in 2002. Since the 2007 model year, all its cars have been equipped with the high-tech throttle.


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HighlightsInChemicalScience, February 01, 2010 - ActiveMagazine by Olive Software

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HighlightsInChemicalScience, February 01, 2010 - ActiveMagazine by Olive Software

Magnetic iron nanocatalysts
Easily recoverable, green and effective catalysts
Iron oxide nanoparticles make efficient recyclable catalysts for organic reactions say a team of scientists in Canada.
Environmentally friendly, economical and efficient catalysts for carbon–carbon bond forming reactions are desirable for industrial chemists. Magnetically recoverable catalysts are especially attractive due to their ease of separation from the reaction mixture. Chao-Jun Li and colleagues at McGill University, Montreal, have shown that iron oxide nanoparticles are efficient magnetic catalysts that can be reused up to 12 times without losing their effectiveness.
Immobilised or supported iron oxide nanoparticles have been used as catalysts before but their direct use without modification as magnetically recoverable catalysts for organic reactions is very rare, explains Li. His team demonstrated the nanoparticles effectiveness in the synthesis of important medicinal chemistry intermediates, propargylamines. Thanks to the magnetic character of the nanoparticles, they stick onto the magnetic stirring bar and are easily separated so they can be washed before being used again.
‘The separation and reuse of the magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were very simple, effective and economical. In addition, the use of iron oxides as catalysts is also more environmentally friendly and safer than other transition metal catalysts,’ says Li.
Unni Pillai, an expert on green chemistry and catalysis at Dow Corning Corporation, Carrollton, US, says that ‘the ease of separation of these catalysts helps to avoid difficult and elaborate separation procedures involving filtration and centrifuging equipment and solvents; thereby contributing immensely to the ‘environmentally friendly’ aspects of the process.’
Li explains the team plan to explore the catalyst for other organic reactions. ‘A widespread expansion of these catalysts’ application is anticipated in the near future,’ adds Pillai.
Lorena Tomas Laudo

Photocatalyst sees the light
Energy saving bismuth photocatalyst works under visible light
A nanoparticle photocatalyst that works under natural light and could be used to remove pollutants from water has been developed by scientists in China and Japan.
Photocatalysts use light to speed up a reaction but most need ultraviolet (UV) light to work. Now, Renhong Li at the Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, China, and colleagues have used bismuth to make a catalyst that works under visible light.
Li’s catalyst uses platinum nanoparticles loaded with the semiconductor bismuth oxide (Bi2 O3 ). The Bi2 O3 allows transfer of electrons to take place on excitation by visible light. This generates holes on the surface that decompose organic molecules such as acetaldehyde and formaldehyde.
The reaction rates achieved by this new catalyst are comparable to ones that use UV light, says Bi2 O3 catalyst is very useful for energy saving purposes,’ he adds.
Leonardo Palmisano, a photocatalysis researcher at the University of Palermo, Italy, says ‘this shows some convincing results on the photo-oxidation of organic pollutants under visible light illumination, demonstrating an important plasmonic effect for Pt/Bi2 O3 photocatalysts.’ He adds that he sees promising applications for the new catalyst.
Li says that this research could provide advances in the use of platinum and other noble metals photocatalysts, such as the use of photocatalysts in water splitting under visible light which is an area the team hope to explore further.
Rebecca Brodie
Reference
R Li, et al, Green Chem., 2010, DOI: 10.1039/   b917233e  


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Clean, cheap power from fuel cells in a box? - USATODAY.com

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Clean, cheap power from fuel cells in a box? - USATODAY.com: "Bloom Energy, backed by Silicon Valley's leading venture capitalist, has been in stealth mode for eight years. Today, it's scheduled to announce that 20 companies, including Wal-Mart, Google, eBay, FedEx, Staples, Coca-Cola, Bank of America and Cox Enterprises, have bought Bloom's fuel-cell boxes. The commercial-scale boxes are about the size of a parking space and cost $700,000 to $800,000."

Bloom's technology is cheaper and more efficient than others because of proprietary technology that enables it to use low-cost materials — sand and ink — in 4-inch-by-4-inch fuel cells as thick as business cards. One cell powers a light bulb. Bloom stacks them together to produce more power.

Bloom's big breakthrough was reducing breakage by figuring out how to get the cells and the metal plates that go between them in the stacks to expand and shrink at the same rate at temperatures up to 800 degrees Celsius (1,472 degrees Fahrenheit). The high heat makes the fuel more reactive and the cell more efficient, Sridhar says. The heat also enables use of different fuels, making the tech easier and cheaper to deploy, he says.

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Alternatives to BPA containers not easy for U.S. foodmakers to find - washingtonpost.com

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Alternatives to BPA containers not easy for U.S. foodmakers to find - washingtonpost.com
Bisphenol A, a chemical under scrutiny by federal regulators concerned about links to a range of health problems, including reproductive disorders and cancer.

Government studies estimate that the chemical has been found in the urine of more than 90 percent of the population.

ohn M. Rost, chairman of the North American Metal Packaging Alliance, which represents the canned food and beverage industry, said BPA has been "used safely in metal food packaging for decades. They have been deemed safe by regulatory agencies around the world." He also said there hasn't been a case of food-borne illness resulting from a failure of metal packaging since the industry began using BPA in its linings more than 30 years ago.

Commercial uses of BPA exploded in the 1950s after scientists discovered its ability to make plastics more durable and shatterproof. By 1963, scientists were using it to create epoxy linings for steel cans, which held up under heat and other extreme conditions. Because the BPA linings extended the shelf life of canned goods, did not affect taste, prevented bacterial contamination and were relatively cheap, they became the industry standard by the 1970s.

Makers of plastic bottles found a quick and relatively simple BPA substitute, polypropylene, but canned-food makers are having considerably more trouble.

Foodmakers say that some alternative linings disintegrate, reducing a product's shelf life. Other linings can't withstand the high heat applied to certain canned products to kill bacteria. Still others interfere with taste.



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Where's the "Big Money" Headed Now?

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Where's the "Big Money" Headed Now?: "First, despite the uneven market at the start of this year, it is important to keep one thing clearly in mind:�Group 20 central banks and governments still uniformly believe that their monetary and fiscal policy should be oriented toward boosting growth,�not curbing inflation."

Second, this year is shaping up much like 2004. That year saw a 100-point range in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index between 1,150 and 1,050 for the first nine months of the year. The trading phenomenon known as "trend extension" was lacking then, much to the dismay of participants who were looking for strong trends and breakouts like the prior three years. We're seeing that again this year, no doubt. So the analog with 2004 is tracking quite closely -- almost uncannily so, given that the 1,050-1,150 range is virtually identical.

Third, so far this year only currency markets in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe have exhibited trend extension outside of ranges seen in the last quarter of 2009. All other markets -- equities, commodities, bond and emerging markets -- have either been characterized by erratic range-trading or mean-reversion back to Q4 2009 ranges.

The real story is that we are seeing a separation of performance between cyclical and non-cyclical corporations -- which is exactly what we would expect coming out of a recession. Removing the financials (since they are in unique circumstances at the moment), cyclical stocks have reported 25% year-over-year earnings growth according to Golub. Compare this to the relatively flat earnings growth by more defensive companies, such as health care, utilities and soap makers.

Technology and semiconductor stocks have reported especially strong earnings. In Golub's words, tech stocks have been "knocking the cover off the ball, posting top-line and bottom-line growth of 11% and 62%." See below for new exposure to the sector to try to take advantage of combination of healthy profitability and the unhealthy investor skepticism.


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America's Most Miserable Cities 2010 - Yahoo! Real Estate

This year Cleveland takes the top spot in our third annual ranking of America's Most Miserable Cities. Cleveland secured the position thanks to its high unemployment, high taxes, lousy weather, corruption by public officials and crummy sports teams.

I've just quit a job in that area. Mistake by the Lake

Cleveland ranked near the bottom when looking at corruption. Northern Ohio has seen 309 public officials convicted of crimes over the past 10 years according to the Justice Department. A current FBI investigation of public officials in Cuyahoga County (where Cleveland is located) has ensnared more than two dozen government employees and businessmen on charges including bribery, fraud and tax evasion.

Other cities on the list include Memphis, which came in third thanks to the second-worst rate of violent crime in the U.S. and an alarming rate of convicted public officials. Detroit, ravaged by the ailing auto industry was forth. Flint, Mich., was fifth. Also on the list?Chicago (No. 10) and New York City (No. 16). Torturous commute times and nosebleed-inducing taxes are the high prices locals pay for the cultural opportunities and corporate headquarters located there.

America's Most Miserable Cities 2010 - Yahoo! Real Estate


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German Missions in the United States - Opening of GCRI

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German Missions in the United States - Opening of GCRI

More than a decade ago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist Wolfgang Ketterle was honored with University of Colorado researchers Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman for work that led to the discovery of a new state of matter called the Bose-Einstein condensate. Together, they won the2001 Nobel Prize in Physics. Citing his success, Ketterle called for even greater scientific collaboration between disciplines, universities and countries during a brief lecture he gave Friday to mark the opening of the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) in New York City.

First Piloted Fuel-Cell Powered Aircraft Takes Off in Hamburg

A fuel cell system is the centerpiece of propulsion technology. The fuel cell system was developed by the DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics in collaboration with BASF Fuel Cells and Serenergy A/S. It uses hydrogen as its fuel, and this is converted into electrical energy in a direct, electrochemical reaction with oxygen in the ambient air, without any combustion occurring. During this zero-particulate reaction, the only byproduct is water.

Fuel cell as future energy source for air transport

"With our successful first flight, we have verified the feasibility of fuel-cell powered flight and our next steps will focus on improving efficiency levels and on extending the service life of these systems," stated Antares Project Manager Josef Kallo from the DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics.
This could, for example, make it possible to significantly improve performance by optimizing the cooling concepts, fuel cell architecture and components such as the air supply system.

Something, somewhat, is the same story called now E 85. Ethanol use as fuel was tested for years in Brasilia and now is on his way over the road here.

This Hydrogen based technology for automotive industry a asking for new infrastructure that will be tested in Germany. After German success... here.

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Energy

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news_pub_eo_2009.pdf - Google Docs

Energy a view to next 10 years.
 In the United States, absent any policies Carbon capture and storage (CCS), would expect coal and natural gas to be lowest-cost options for future.
At $30 per ton of CO2, natural gas would become the most economic alternative for new-build power plants. This is where we expect CO2 costs may evolve over the next 10 years.
As the CO2 price increases, we would expect to see fuel switching from coal to natural gas.
At $60 per ton, natural gas is still very competitive. In addition, nuclear and wind are now competitive.
The cost of capturing solar energy in photovoltaic cells or concentrators remains generally unaffordable for large, commercial applications.

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Cogent analysis...

Americans don't spend much time debating whether there ought to be a public option in the health insurance market, or whether consumer protection should be separated from bank supervision, or whether terrorists ought to be tried in criminal courts or by military tribunals. They expect that such issues will be decided by elected officials who understand their sometimes conflicting values and desires and use good judgment in resolving them.

This Presidents' Day week, we celebrate the leadership of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who confronted far worse division and dissent in their times. The reason we remember them as great presidents is that they threw off the yoke of party loyalty, defied popular opinion and used the full weight of their office to do what had to be done. They understood, or came to understand, an important truth: that only after they had demonstrated that they were willing to lead, and lead boldly, were the people willing to follow and drag Congress along with them.

It turns out that successful political leadership is not about this strategy or that tactic or where you place yourself on the left-right ideological spectrum. What it's mostly about is character

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Iron Curtain versus NLP Modelling

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In the months immediately following the end of the Second World War, the United States was slow to realize the threat to international peace posed by the Soviet Union. In an effort to warn his American compatriots of this danger, the former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, just as he had warned the world of the threat posed by Nazi Germany, came to the United States to deliver this speech, with the hopes that his warnings would be received more succesfully. The result was this address, which became for west and east alike a landmark in what was to become known as the Cold War.

"An iron fence has descended," he complained.

Churchill must have liked the sound of that phrase.

But perhaps it wasn't quite completely right. After all, fences do not descend.

The Iron Curtain speech, perhaps more commonly known as the Sinews of Peace address, was delivered by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on March 5th, 1946 at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri. The audience numbered around 40,000. In this speech, Churchill talked about how wrong it was that the Russians were occupying European countries. He spoke of all the terrible things that were going on within these countries, and of the threats and dangers of Communism. Churchill also described an "Iron Curtain" which prevented all communication and connection between the Soviets and Europe and which hung around many European countries. The Sinews of Peace address was a speech which attracted a lot of attention from the media (and so from the people) because of the revolutionary new concepts, phrases and ideas which he introduced in it.

Here are some excerpts from the Iron Curtain Speech:

"When I stand here this quiet afternoon I shudder to visualize what is actually happening to millions now and what is going to happen in this period when famine stalks the earth. None can compute what has been called "the unestimated sum of human pain." Our supreme task and duty is to guard the homes of the common people from the horrors and miseries of another war. We are all agreed on that."

"A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted by the Allied victory. Nobody knows what Soviet Russia and its Communist international organization intends to do in the immediate future, or what are the limits, if any, to their expansive and proselytizing tendencies. I have a strong admiration and regard for the valiant Russian people and for my wartime comrade, Marshal Stalin. There is deep sympathy and goodwill in Britain - and I doubt not here also - towards the peoples of all the Russias and a resolve to persevere through many differences and rebuffs in establishing lasting friendships. We understand the Russian need to be secure on her western frontiers by the removal of all possibility of German aggression. We welcome Russia to her rightful place among the leading nations of the world. We welcome her flag upon the seas. Above all, we welcome constant, frequent and growing contacts between the Russian people and our own people on both sides of the Atlantic. It is my duty however, for I am sure you would wish me to state the facts as I see them to you, to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe."

"If now the Soviet Government tries, by separate action, to build up a pro-Communist Germany in their areas, this will cause new serious difficulties in the British and American zones, and will give the defeated Germans the power of putting themselves up to auction between the Soviets and the Western Democracies. Whatever conclusions may be drawn from these facts - and facts they are - this is certainly not the Liberated Europe we fought to build up. Nor is it one which contains the essentials of permanent peace."

"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent."

"Let no man underrate the abiding power of the British Empire and Common-wealth. Because you see the 46 millions in our island harassed about their food supply, of which they only grow one half, even in war-time, or because we have difficulty in restarting our industries and export trade after six years of passionate war effort, do not suppose that we shall not come through these dark years of privation as we have come through the glorious years of agony, or that half a century from now, you will not see 70 or 80 millions of Britons spread about the world and united in defense of our traditions, our way of life, and of the world causes which you and we espouse. If the population of the English-speaking Commonwealths be added to that of the United States with all that such co-operation implies in the air, on the sea, all over the globe and in science and in industry, and in moral force, there will be no quivering, precarious balance of power to offer its temptation to ambition or adventure. On the contrary, there will be an overwhelming assurance of security. If we adhere faithfully to the Charter of the United Nations and walk forward in sedate and sober strength seeking no one's land or treasure, seeking to lay no arbitrary control upon the thoughts of men; if all British moral and material forces and convictions are joined with your own in fraternal association, the high-roads of the future will be clear, not only for us but for all, not only for our time, but for a century to come."

Half century is gone.

NLP Modelling is all about finding a model of excellence and then discovering how you can replicate that in yourself and others.

Most modelling is about taking a small slice of behaviour and being to replicate it, for example one element of a sales pitch…closing for example. This has a lot of value and another part of modelling is about the beliefs, values and attitudes that drive a person to perform the overall task. If I stick with the sales example it would be what drives a particular individual to be an expert sales professional, as opposed to just analysing one small element of what they do.

Romilla has the ability to look on experiences as a learning vehicle. This gives her permission to make mistakes, ask questions and ask for help. Also it is a different frame on the mistakes that are inevitably going to happen with a new project.

We are back at Pavlov.

Pavlov's description on how animals (and humans) can be trained to respond in a certain way to a particular stimulus drew tremendous interest from the time he first presented his results. His work paved the way for a new, more objective method of studying behavior.

Having taken and used these elements myself I have noticed some interesting results. I am now in the habit of writing about 2000 words a day for various projects. I am not sure how it got to be this much, but it does not take any real effort and nor does it take too much time out of the rest of my day. Virtually all of what I write is usable in its first draft barring some typos and grammar elements. And more importantly it all seems to fit with my overall game plan.

Here is the connection ... Social Media, Blogs, Twitter, Facebook.









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Chemists create synthetic 'gene-like' crystals for carbon dioxide capture

Chemists create synthetic 'gene-like' crystals for carbon dioxide capture

In the early 1990s, Yaghi invented a class of materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), sometimes described as crystal sponges, in which he can change the components nearly at will. MOFs have pores -- openings on the nanoscale in which Yaghi and his colleagues can store gases that are usually difficult to store and transport. Molecules can go in and out of the pores unobstructed. Yaghi and his research team have made thousands of MOFs.

"We have created crystals of metal-organic frameworks in which the sequence of multiple functionalities of varying kind and ratios acts as a synthetic 'gene,'" Yaghi said. "With these multivariate MOFs, we have d out a way to incorporate controlled complexity, which biology operates on, in a synthetic crystal -- taking synthetic crystals to a new level of performance.

"This can be a boon for energy-related and other industrial applications, such as conversion of gases and liquids like carbon dioxide to fuel, or water to hydrogen, among many others," he said.

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U.S. Officials Plan $78.5 Million Effort to Keep Dangerous Carp Out of Great Lakes

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By MONICA DAVEY

Published: February 9, 2010

Addressing a threat that has grown increasingly tense throughout the Midwest as genetic material from the fish was found in Lake Michigan.

Leaders from Michigan and other states point to the risks the carp pose to the fishing industry here, valued at $7 billion a year. But officials in Chicago worry about closing waterways between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River because of a barge industry that carries millions of tons of gravel, coal, cement and salt along that path.

“President Obama proved today that he’ll do anything to protect the narrow interests of his home state of Illinois,” said Mr. Cox, a Republican who is running for governor, “even if it means destroying Michigan’s economy.”

The Illinois Waterway system It is a system of rivers, lakes, and canals which provide a shipping connection from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. The Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1849. In 1900, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal replaced it and reversed the flow of the Chicago River so it no longer flowed into Lake Michigan.


Everyone agrees that the carp should be kept out of the Great Lakes, which contain 20 percent of the world’s freshwater, but economic interests appear to have divided state officials.


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Ford offers repair for brake glitch

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Giant US carmaker Ford has called on its customers who own Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid models to bring in their cars to upgrade the software that operates the brakes.

The move by Ford, which affects about 18,000 cars, came on Thursday on the heels of a similar problem experienced by its rival Toyota Prius hybrids. 

A Consumer Reports engineer reportedly ran a stop sign when he was unable to stop his Ford hybrid with his normal braking action. Pushing the pedal farther than normal, he reported, caused the conventional brakes to engage, stopping the vehicle.

The engineer reported that, though his foot was firmly planted on the brake, the car slowed slightly but did not stop the way it normally did. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, at least one other fusion driver has reported a similar incident to the agency.

Ford said it traced the problem to a software glitch in both the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids built before October 17, 2009. The glitch is said to occur when the car shifts from electronic braking into conventional braking mode.

Ford said it could fix the problem by simply upgrading the software in the cars.

Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/02/ford_fusion_brakes.html#ixzz0en90R7hk


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Missing button

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or "Toyota discovers the risks of flying by wire"

A friend of mine once had a Toyota that wouldn't die. ...

I think this is more than a retelling of the story of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun. It also may be a Promethean tale of punishment for having stolen fire from the gods.

...Automobiles used to be mechanical devices. Now they are collections of mechanical parts that are told what to do by computers. In most cars, the gearshift, pedals and steering wheel are nothing more than proxies for electronic controls. When something goes wrong with a car, you don't start by opening the hood and unbolting pieces from the engine one at a time, the way we used to. You plug in a reader device and ask the vehicle what its problem is.

Sometimes you read...change the wire.
What if car is moving when something goes wrong with a car ? Well...any computerized truck have a little button namer "override". What for ? As a driver I have the decision on my hand, so. push that button and computer orders are ignored !
If your car have an acupuncture you ask the computer ?
In air you have a parachute. On land no way. Toyota forget the servo assisted steering lesson, if you lose the steering fluid you are able to change the direction, harder of course. And forget that speed of electronic devices, same for actions and malfunctions.
By by Volt & Co, flight by wire is to expensive.




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