Wires, pipes, and metal rails are produced at incredibly high speeds in factories. Often as fast as 33 feet per second, which makes doing detailed inspections as the materials are produced almost impossible. But researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM in Freiburg, Germany, have found a way using high-speed cameras and LED flashes brighter than the sun.
More cities are making their data available, both in the name of political transparency and to allow residents to help chip away at civic problems. This lovely-looking chart measures 36 cities by how many civic datasets—from crime to transit to zoning—they've released to the public.
As the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 comes to a frustrating and unsuccessful close, the likelihood of locating the plane's final resting place are astronomically small. However, where an international fleet of search vessels and scanning satellites have failed, this autonomous submarine from Bluefin Robotics could very well succeed.
As the only socially transformational legislation in modern American history to be enacted on a straight party-line vote, Obamacare is wholly owned by the Democrats. Its unraveling would catastrophically undermine their underlying ideology of ever-expansive central government providing cradle-to-grave care for an ever-grateful citizenry.
For four years, this debate has been theoretical. Now it’s real. And for Democrats, it’s a disaster.
Improving detection of radioactive material in nuclear waste water
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
13-Nov-2013
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Contact: Michael Bernstein [email protected] 202-872-6042 American Chemical Society
As the Fukushima crisis continues to remind the world of the potential dangers of nuclear disposal and unforeseen accidents, scientists are reporting progress toward a new way to detect the radioactive materials uranium and plutonium in waste water. Their report on the design of a highly sensitive nanosensor appears in ACS' The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.
Jorge M. Seminario and Narendra Kumar note that it is highly likely that radioactive uranium and plutonium have leaked into the soil and groundwater near nuclear facilities. This contamination poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. Although detecting these materials even at low levels is important for determining whether a leak is occurring, traditional methods of doing so are not effective. But recently, scientists have discovered that radioactive materials in water can clump onto flakes of graphene oxide (GO). Based on theoretical models and calculations, researchers predicted that GO could sense and identify extremely low levels single molecules of various substances. Seminario's team set out to see how best to adapt this for uranium and plutonium sensing.
Using the latest advances in supercomputing, they modeled several different variations of GO to figure out which one would be the most sensitive and selective in detecting uranium and plutonium in nuclear waste water. They concluded that attaching something called a carbonyl functional group to GO would serve as an effective nanosensor for these radioactive materials.
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The authors acknowledge funding from the Argonne National Laboratory, the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the U.S. Army Research Office.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact [email protected].
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Improving detection of radioactive material in nuclear waste water
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
13-Nov-2013
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Contact: Michael Bernstein [email protected] 202-872-6042 American Chemical Society
As the Fukushima crisis continues to remind the world of the potential dangers of nuclear disposal and unforeseen accidents, scientists are reporting progress toward a new way to detect the radioactive materials uranium and plutonium in waste water. Their report on the design of a highly sensitive nanosensor appears in ACS' The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.
Jorge M. Seminario and Narendra Kumar note that it is highly likely that radioactive uranium and plutonium have leaked into the soil and groundwater near nuclear facilities. This contamination poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. Although detecting these materials even at low levels is important for determining whether a leak is occurring, traditional methods of doing so are not effective. But recently, scientists have discovered that radioactive materials in water can clump onto flakes of graphene oxide (GO). Based on theoretical models and calculations, researchers predicted that GO could sense and identify extremely low levels single molecules of various substances. Seminario's team set out to see how best to adapt this for uranium and plutonium sensing.
Using the latest advances in supercomputing, they modeled several different variations of GO to figure out which one would be the most sensitive and selective in detecting uranium and plutonium in nuclear waste water. They concluded that attaching something called a carbonyl functional group to GO would serve as an effective nanosensor for these radioactive materials.
###
The authors acknowledge funding from the Argonne National Laboratory, the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the U.S. Army Research Office.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact [email protected].
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Heidi Montag replaces size-F breast implants with C-cups. Plus Jennifer Aniston says her hair stylist "chopped all of my hair off": See Us Weekly's top stories from Wednesday, Nov. 6, in the daily roundup.
Bigger isn't always better -- just ask Heidi Montag. Three years after famously going under the knife to get size-F breast implants (along with nine other plastic surgeries in a single day), the former Hills star returned to the OR to downsize her bust. Now, in the new issue of Us Weekly, she's opening up about the procedure and proudly showing off her brand-new C-cup implants.
Jennifer Aniston is making hair-story once more. The actress, 44, had more than six inches lopped off of her famous head of dirty-blonde hair last Thursday. "Chris McMillan actually chopped all my hair off!" Aniston clarified to Vogue.com that there was no master plan behind the latest cut. "I actually don't have any red carpets coming up. This is truly just for me!"
No one ever said she was down-to-earth! In early 2015, Lady Gaga will become the first artist to sing in outer space, Us Weekly can exclusively reveal.
Is there something in the water in Hollywood? Short hair is all the rage these days -- celebs including Jennifer Aniston, Pamela Anderson, Kristin Chenoweth, and Jennifer Hudson have debuted dramatic new bobs and pixie cuts in recent weeks, and others are following suit. The latest star to join their ranks? Jennifer Lawrence.
No broken marriage here! Newly surfaced photos of Will Smith getting mighty close (and partially nude) with his young Focus costar Margot Robbie have sparked rumors that the actor has been cheating on his wife of 16 years Jada Pinkett Smith. However, sources reveal to Us Weekly that everything is still intact in the Smith household.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Tens of thousands of demonstrators packed the streets Monday outside the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran in the biggest anti-American rally in years, a show of support for hard-line opponents of President Hassan Rouhani's historic outreach to Washington.
Such protests occur every year outside the former embassy compound to mark the anniversary of the 1979 takeover following the Islamic Revolution. But the latest demonstration is the largest in years after calls by groups such as the powerful Revolutionary Guard for a major showing, including chants of "death to America" that some of Rouhani's backers have urged halted.
The crowds also send a message to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who cautiously has backed Rouhani's overtures to the U.S. and efforts to end the impasse with the West over Tehran's nuclear program.
Opponents of thawing relations with the U.S. say they will not back down, opening the prospect of deeper internal rifts and tensions that could put pressure on Khamenei to reconsider his backing of Rouhani's groundbreaking exchanges with the U.S.
In September, Rouhani accepted from a call from U.S. President Barack Obama following the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York, where U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with Iran's foreign minister. Ties between the two countries were severed after the embassy siege, which began a hostage crisis with 52 people held for 444 days.
Critics of the dialogue made their views immediately known, hurling insults and eggs at Rouhani's entourage upon their return from New York. Late last month, huge banners appeared around Tehran depicting the U.S. as a sinister and deceitful adversary that seeks to weaken Iran. Tehran officials ordered the signs removed, but they appeared in poster form at the demonstration Monday outside the former embassy compound.
Protesters also stomped on images of Obama and the U.S. flag.
On Sunday, Khamenei appeared to chide hard-liners by denouncing any attempts to undermine Iran's nuclear negotiators. Talks with world powers are scheduled to resume Thursday in Geneva.
Diplomats "are on a difficult mission and nobody should weaken those who are on assignment," the official IRNA news agency quoted Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state, as telling a group of students.
Iran seeks to have painful economic sanctions eased in exchange for concessions in its nuclear program to address concerns by the West, which fears Iran's uranium enrichment could eventually produce weapons-grade material. Iran insists it only seeks reactors for energy and medical applications, but has not made public its possible confidence-building offers at the talks.
Khamenei's backing of Rouhani also puts him in an unfamiliar spot of having to reassure hard-liners he has not abandoned their views.
Khamenei on Sunday praised Iranian militant students who stormed the U.S. Embassy in 1979.
"Thirty years ago, our young people called the U.S. Embassy a 'den of spies.' ... It means our young people were 30 years ahead of their time," he said, a reference to a series of reports of U.S. eavesdropping on foreign leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
She’s received more than her fair share of criticism over the years, and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi has apparently learned how to let it roll off her back.
The “Jersey Shore” starlet was targeted by Colorado Morning News radio host Steffan Tubbs on Tuesday (October 29), as he called her “f**king ugly” when he thought his microphone was muted.
Unfortunately, Tubbs’ statement was loud and clear over the airwaves, though Snooki responded to the remark with the utmost restraint.
Polizzi simply tweeted, “No hard feelings Steffan Tubbs..i am ‘f*cking ugly’ :(.” And Newsradio 850KOA replied, "We are aware of a recent inappropriate comment that was made on-air by Steffan Tubbs. While Steffan made the comment in what he thought was a private conversation, it was still thoughtless and insensitive and we apologize to anyone whom it offended. We take matters of this nature very seriously and we will take appropriate disciplinary action."
Thyroid project sheds light on molecular processes related to cystic fibrosis
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
29-Oct-2013
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Contact: Peying Fong [email protected] 785-532-4524 Kansas State University
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Research in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University is leading to a better understanding of the molecular interactions in the thyroid gland related to cystic fibrosis.
A genetic disorder, cystic fibrosis affects the function of epithelia, the tissues formed of cells that secrete and absorb an array of substances important for health.
The university's Peying Fong, associate professor of anatomy and physiology, has received a $285,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services in support of her study, "CFTR Regulation of Thyroid Transport."
"We are looking at a cellular mechanism that is essential to production of thyroxine and triiodothyronine, which are hormones that modulate development, growth and metabolism in both prenatal and postnatal cell life," Fong said. "Iodide is an essential component of these thyroid hormones. Its rarity in the environment challenges the thyroid to orchestrate a remarkable series of transport processes that are critical for hormone synthesis."
In addition to actively extracting iodidethrough the circulation process, thyroid cells must also translocate iodide into a central compartment within thyroid follicles, where it begins to combine with thyroglobulin to form the precursor to thyroid hormone.
"Through this study, we are seeking to better understand the molecular interactions between the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator, or CFTR, and SLC5A8, which are two transport proteins found in thyroid," Fong said. "These proteins may play a role in moving iodide into the follicular lumen."
Fong's project is classified by the National Institutes of Health as an R15 Academic Research Enhancement Award. The NIH uses such awards to strengthen research environments at educational institutions as well as to promote the exposure of students to academic research. This is a renewable grant and helps cover expenses for a period of up to three years.
Fong said that the groundwork for her research project originally began with funding from the Kansas State University's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, or COBRE, and NIH project "Epithelial Function in Health and Disease"; a grant-in-aid from the American Heart Association Midwest Affiliate; and an Innovative Research Award from the university's Johnson Center for Basic Cancer Research.
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Thyroid project sheds light on molecular processes related to cystic fibrosis
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
29-Oct-2013
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Contact: Peying Fong [email protected] 785-532-4524 Kansas State University
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Research in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University is leading to a better understanding of the molecular interactions in the thyroid gland related to cystic fibrosis.
A genetic disorder, cystic fibrosis affects the function of epithelia, the tissues formed of cells that secrete and absorb an array of substances important for health.
The university's Peying Fong, associate professor of anatomy and physiology, has received a $285,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services in support of her study, "CFTR Regulation of Thyroid Transport."
"We are looking at a cellular mechanism that is essential to production of thyroxine and triiodothyronine, which are hormones that modulate development, growth and metabolism in both prenatal and postnatal cell life," Fong said. "Iodide is an essential component of these thyroid hormones. Its rarity in the environment challenges the thyroid to orchestrate a remarkable series of transport processes that are critical for hormone synthesis."
In addition to actively extracting iodidethrough the circulation process, thyroid cells must also translocate iodide into a central compartment within thyroid follicles, where it begins to combine with thyroglobulin to form the precursor to thyroid hormone.
"Through this study, we are seeking to better understand the molecular interactions between the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator, or CFTR, and SLC5A8, which are two transport proteins found in thyroid," Fong said. "These proteins may play a role in moving iodide into the follicular lumen."
Fong's project is classified by the National Institutes of Health as an R15 Academic Research Enhancement Award. The NIH uses such awards to strengthen research environments at educational institutions as well as to promote the exposure of students to academic research. This is a renewable grant and helps cover expenses for a period of up to three years.
Fong said that the groundwork for her research project originally began with funding from the Kansas State University's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, or COBRE, and NIH project "Epithelial Function in Health and Disease"; a grant-in-aid from the American Heart Association Midwest Affiliate; and an Innovative Research Award from the university's Johnson Center for Basic Cancer Research.
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