New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie and President Barack Obama plan to tour the damage in Christie's state on Wednesday. Christie, a Republican, was quick to commend Obama and FEMA for their response following Hurricane Sandy's landfall in New Jersey on Monday.
By Susan Heavey,?Reuters / October 30, 2012
In this photo, Gov. Chris Christie, second right, and Lt. Governor Kim Guandagno, right, meet with Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty, center, to survey the damage in Belmar, N.J. on Tuesday, after superstorm Sandy made landfall in New Jersey Monday evening.
AP Photo/New Jersey Governor's Office, Tim Larsen
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No one's calling it a "campaign" event. But it will surely dominate the presidential campaign on Wednesday when Democratic President?Barack Obama?and?New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie?inspect storm damage in the hard hit coastal state - together.
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Mega-storm Sandy caused "unthinkable" damage to the Jersey shore, the barrier islands and beach towns that run the length of New Jersey's Atlantic coast, Governor Chris Christie said Tuesday.
Had?Obama been traveling with any old Republican governor, few would have taken notice.
But?Christie is not any old governor. He's young, at 50, and a possible Republican presidential contender as soon as 2016, should Mitt Romney happen to lose.
And he's not just any critic of Obama. As keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention in August, he was the party's critic-in-chief.
Christie has continued to play that role as one of the highest-profile surrogates for the Republican presidential nominee, Romney.
Indeed, it would be hard to find a more unlikely duo six days before a presidential election - and Christie?knows it.
"If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics then you don't know me," Christie?said Tuesday.
He was responding not to the announcement of the joint tour, which had yet to become public, but to questions about all the praise he has been heaping on?Obama during and after Sandy hit?New Jersey.
The unlikely partnership began just hours after the worst of the storm knocked out power for 2.4 million people in New Jersey, south and west of New York City. Christie?was quick to applaud Obama?and the?Federal Emergency Management Agency?in interviews on major television networks on Tuesday morning.
"The?federal government?response has been great. I was on the phone at midnight again last night with the president personally," he told NBC's "Today" program.
"The president has been outstanding in this. The folks at FEMA ... have been excellent," said Christie, once thought to be a contender for the?White House?this time around or possibly Romney's vice presidential pick.
"I don't give a damn about Election Day. It doesn't matter a lick to me at the moment," Christie?later told reporters in a press conference about the storm damage. "I've got bigger fish to fry."
Sandy made landfall in?New Jersey?on Monday night, leaving behind a trail of flooded homes, toppled trees and downed power lines in the nation's most densely populated region. At least 30 people were reported killed along the eastern seaboard.
Obama's handling of the storm's aftermath and Romney's response to it have the potential to become political issues, and both campaigns are taking care to avoid missteps.
The president again canceled his formal campaign activities for Wednesday to deal with storm recovery efforts. Romney on Tuesday transformed what was intended originally to be a campaign stop into a storm relief event in?Ohio.
Liberal group Americans United for Change was quick to circulate Christie's?comments.
Earlier on "CBS This Morning," Christie?said he spoke with Obama?three times on Monday as the storm hit. Obama?declared New Jersey a major disaster area so the state can quickly receive federal aid.
"I can't thank the president enough for that," Christie?told CBS.
And what about Romney?
Asked on FOX News on Tuesday whether he would tour stricken parts of his state with the Republican nominee, Christie?said:
"I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested. I've got a job to do here in?New Jersey?that's much bigger than presidential politics, and I could care less about any of that stuff," he said.
(Reporting By Susan Heavey; Editing by Fred Barbash and Claudia Parsons)
Denise Roberts was just 34 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Although her doctors told her she was too young to worry about the disease, she knew something wasn?t quite right.
?I was really tired, more than normal, but I was told to rest more,? she remembers. But when her symptoms didn?t go away, she advocated for her own health and forced her doctor to give her a mammogram.
Roberts found out she had breast cancer, and she fought aggressively to beat the disease. She went through chemotherapy and had a mastectomy to remove one of her breasts, a move many young women are scared to undergo.
?I went through a mastectomy and looking at my body every day with no breast and the other one looking like a raisin, feeling like the other breast was infected,? she recalls of her experience. ?I didn?t feel any sex appeal and I felt like my husband was with me out of pity because all of my sex appeal went out of the front door.?
Despite Roberts??husband encouraging her to have a mastectomy to increase her chances of survival, she felt unwanted; a fear that keeps many young women from following vital, yet aggressive, treatments could save their life.
?Women, I find, that are single and have a mastectomy they have bigger problems. They rush to get a reconstruction because they want that normal back and a prosthesis isn?t going to give it to them,? she explains of the young women she counsels. ?They don?t want to explain to their partners that they?re not dating. So they get that security back. But it?s a false sense of security.?
Roberts counsels men and women on how to support each other through the disease. While she?s seen her fair share of men who have left their wives or girlfriends because they were afraid their she would die, Roberts says offering support for families and allowing them to speak openly about their concerns helps everyone involved.
Encouraging women is why Roberts started the Denise Roberts Breast Cancer Foundation in the first place. While many organizations like the Susan G. Komen Foundation focus on finding a cure for the disease, Roberts??organization focuses on prevention and insuring minority women have greater access to health care.
?Nobody wants to talk about prevention,? a frustrated Roberts says of the money being funneled into cancer organizations. ?Our concern should be telling women and men that if you exercise you can be healthier. You can be mentally ready for anything that will hit us because we don?t have a cure.?
Instead of fighting for a cure, Roberts advocates for aggressive prevention.
?Take some of the money put it in billboards, put it schools, pay for materials for us to have support groups for women who are curious because their friend died from breast cancer and they don?t know what to do. It could be just as simple as changing your diet,? she explains.
?I used to tell women who came to the clinic who felt lumps to try this: no fast food, no processed food, just eat vegetables and fruit, and exercise for 30 days, then come back to the clinic. They come back and about 90 percent had no lumpy breasts anymore from just that 30 days of changing.?
Although breast cancer affects black women in lower numbers, we die from the disease at higher rates than our white counterparts. Why? Roberts says it?s due to inadequate access to health care.
While there are resources for women without insurance to receive mammograms and other preventative services, the problem is most women don?t know about them and hospitals aren?t clamoring to inform the public.
To combat this disparity in access to preventative treatment Roberts advises women pay attention to their bodies.
?Stop worrying about your age and concentrate on what?s normal for you and your body,? the two-time cancer survivor recommends. ?Stay conceited. If you like the way you look, be proud of that. If you feel good about yourself, maintain that. Start having a little bit more conceit and vanity about yourself. Because if it ain?t right, get it fixed. Get checked.?
FILE - In this June 9, 1996 file photo Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan stands during a break at the end of an NBA Basketball game against the Seattle SuperSonics in Seattle. A Bismarck, N.D., man who used to own McDonald's restaurants is about $10,000 richer after selling a 20-year-old container of McJordan barbecue sauce Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, to a buyer in Chicago. The sauce was used on McJordan Burgers, named for basketball icon in limited markets for a short time in the 1990s, when Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships. (AP Photo/Beth A. Keiser, File)
FILE - In this June 9, 1996 file photo Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan stands during a break at the end of an NBA Basketball game against the Seattle SuperSonics in Seattle. A Bismarck, N.D., man who used to own McDonald's restaurants is about $10,000 richer after selling a 20-year-old container of McJordan barbecue sauce Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, to a buyer in Chicago. The sauce was used on McJordan Burgers, named for basketball icon in limited markets for a short time in the 1990s, when Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships. (AP Photo/Beth A. Keiser, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 31, 1997, file photo Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan (23) drives past Boston Celtics Ron Mercer (5) during an NBA basketball game in Boston. A Bismarck, N.D., man who used to own McDonald's restaurants is about $10,000 richer after selling a 20-year-old container of McJordan barbecue sauce Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, to a buyer in Chicago. The sauce was used on McJordan Burgers, named for basketball icon in limited markets for a short time in the 1990s, when Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, file)
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) ? A man who used to own McDonald's restaurants in North Dakota is about $10,000 richer after selling a 20-year-old container of McJordan barbecue sauce to a buyer in Chicago.
The sauce was used on McJordan Burgers, named for basketball icon Michael Jordan. The promotional item was sold in limited markets for a short time in the 1990s, when Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships.
Mort Bank, of Bismarck, saved the gallon jug of sauce after selling his McDonald's restaurants in Bismarck-Mandan and Minot in 1996.
"It was in my basement and I would look at it occasionally," he told The Bismarck Tribune. "I thought it would be worth something someday."
Bank advertised the sauce on eBay, saying: "A once in a lifetime chance to own the rarest of rare Michael Jordan and McDonald's collectible!" It sold for $9,995 Monday night to a buyer from Chicago whom Bank has not identified.
Bank told the Chicago Tribune that the buyer was not Jordan himself. Jordan opened a steakhouse in Chicago last year.
"I'm sure he's a Bulls or Michael Jordan fan, and hopefully he's not going to put it on his ribs or his burger," Bank told KXMB-TV of the buyer. "But it's up to him; he can do whatever he wants with it."
Bank said he has at least three storage units full of McDonald's memorabilia and other collector's items that he has been selling on eBay for three years. He has sold items to buyers as far away as China, Japan, Brazil and Europe, though never for as much money as the sauce garnered.
"I'm pretty ecstatic," he told the Bismarck Tribune. "You never know what is going to be a hot item."
With the Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 launch just around the corner, Microsoft is once again making a big push into the world of digital music with its new Xbox Music service. Launching across Windows 8 PCs and tablets, Windows Phone 8 handsets and Xbox 360, Xbox Music won't be limited to Microsoft's own platforms, though, as the company has today confirmed that it'll "eventually" be heading to Android and iOS, too
In addition to the standard music streaming service, Xbox Music will reportedly comprise a digital download service, a cloud music storage offering and an iTunes Match-like service for importing tracks from CDs or other sources.
But in order to access the service on these other platforms, though, you'll need a $10-per-month subscription, as the free, ad-supported Xbox Music experience will only be available on Windows 8 PCs. With regards to Android, Xbox Music will compete with Google Play Music, a service that's well established in the U.S., but unavailable internationally. If Microsoft can offer wide availability in enough countries, it'd could have the chance convert Android users over to Xbox Music before Google has the chance to launch its own service.
As you might expect, the cable industry has been taking measures to protect its business by asking the FCC to allow encryption of basic cable -- something that has never been done and that many have rightly opposed. The FCC responded by releasing new rules on Friday and while cable operators will be able allowed to encrypt all their channels, it isn't without a few strings. The Boxee blog voiced its approval of those strings, which basically amounts to a requirement that when an operator encrypts, it also needs to make basic channels accessible via IP -- with or without some hardware in your home -- so that Boxee and others can still tune in. The other, less interesting stipulation, is that you might be entitled to at least one free set-top box or CableCARD for up to five years, depending on what package you subscribe to or if you are on Medicaid. The free hardware will only be for existing customers who apply within four months of when your provider rolls out the basic cable encryption. The real loser here are those few who actually use the Clear-QAM tuner in their TV, or perhaps those that use HTPC software that'll never get anupdate.
For business owners and home owners across the UK; the past five years have been riddled with economic uncertainty and worry. Claims of financial disaster, worrying economic predictions and the increasingly minimalistic trust within banking authorities have made for one of the toughest pecuniary periods the nation and in fact, the world has ever seen.
As one crisis after another has been brought to light; a notion of ?penny pinching? has been one embraced across the board and in effect, created an economy that has remained stagnant for quite some time. As the biggest banking companies restrict their lending on commercial mortgages, leasehold finance, loans and of course home mortgages; many borrowers have been forced to seek alternative sources whilst others have simply lost all hope.
The continuing dip in economic moral has most definitely affected the UK for the worst however; according to the latest reports; some rather startling claims have been made. According to renowned financial experts Ernst &Young; the double dip recession may just be an illusion.
As forecasters predict growth within the second half of the year, economists have declared their puzzlement over discrepancies between official growth figures and the more positive figures from industry experts and manufacturers.
According to the Ernst & Young ITEM club; the official GDP figures appear to be considerably weaker in comparison to the actual figures released by directors and manufacturers across the nation and as employment has also seen a great improvement; there seems no cause for worry.
Perhaps this recent enlightenment may give the British economy the kick start it so desperately needs?
Games nights at home at NAS Meridian Family Housing are a great way for the whole family to spend time together. These classic board games are perfect for holidays, rainy days, or any time you want to get the family together for some fun. They?re simple enough for the kids, but they?re sure to bring out the kid in you, too. You just might get hooked!
Battleship This thrilling cat-and-mouse game of naval strategy is especially great for boys. Use deduction and a bit of luck to sink your opponent's ships!
Clue There?s a different guilty party each time you play this addictive classic. Collect clues to try to figure out "whodunit."
Scrabble Big words win the day in this crossword-style game. It's a great way to work on spelling and vocabulary with your kids? without them realizing how much they're learning!
Pictionary Kids and adults alike love this energetic and hilarious game. The objective is to draw?your selected word in hopes of getting your teammates to guess it.?
Connect Four Inspired by tic-tac-toe, Connect Four's object is to drop four checkers into a row while simultaneously preventing your opponent from "connecting four." It?s simple, fast, and fun.
Check out the new lineup of fall classes available at Allied Arts. Call (509) 966-0934 to register today. Open enrollment for all classes.
WATERCOLOR FOR HOMESCHOOLERS
Tuesdays, 12:45pm-2pm with Monique McFadden
October 16th-November 20th (Ages 7 & up)
Explore basic watercolor techniques such as wet-into-wet, salt, spattering, dry brushing, feathering, and wet-on-dry. Learn color theory and paint mixing while creating flowers, landscapes, abstracts and more!
ADULT POETRY WRITING First Tuesday of Every Month, 10am-12pm(Ages 18 & Up)
November-June
Learn to write poetry! Enjoy? two stimulating hours a month looking at poetry with the emphasis on modern American work. Journal and discuss in a safe and supportive environment and watch your thoughts evolve into wonderful works of art. New and experienced writers are welcome. Materials needed include: Spiral notebook, paper, pen, pencil, and a sense of humor!
POETRY OPEN MIC NIGHTSecond Wednesday of Every Month, 7pm-9pm
September-March
?Every Wednesday at 7:00pm from September to March in the Peggy Lewis Gallery at the Allied Arts Center. Everyone is welcome to read, enjoy the refreshments, and be wowed by? local talent?The best part is, it?s all free! Featured poets will host each evening. Not a seasoned poet? No worries, readers are comprised of all experience levels. The Open Mic line-up is on a first come, first read basis. Readers are encouraged to sign up before the event at the Allied Arts Office secure their spot in the reading line.
Where to go:
5000 West Lincoln Ave, Yakima, WA 98908 Call (509) 966-0930 with questions
With Windows 8's launch just a couple weeks away, Microsoft is clearly getting ready to aggressively market its upcoming platform to consumers, as seen in four leaked television commercials.
WESTON, FL, ? On Thursday, October 11 at 9:00a.m., Imagine Charter School will host the Rotary Club of Weston, the City of Weston and the YMCA of Broward County to kick off the Rotary YFit Mayor?s Challenge Program for 2012. Over 950 students will participate in the visually active kick off that will be focused on inspiring Weston youth to achieve higher physical fitness levels by working with a Rotary YFit coach.? Imagine Charter School, located at 2500 Glades Circle, Weston.
Current Weston Mayor Eric Hersh will be in attendance to kick off participation in this year?s Mayor?s Challenge: To have as many elementary students as possible walking in the 1-Mile Family Health Walk at the Rotary Run For Tomorrow on Sunday, December 9, 2012. The Weston elementary school with the largest number of participants, as a percentage of its enrollment, will win the 3rd Annual Mayor?s Get Fit Challenge Cup AND a $500 cash prize from the Rotary Club of Weston.
The Rotary YFit program mobilizes YFit Coaches into Weston elementary schools to increase student physical activity during the school day, while inspiring life-long healthy habits disguised as fun.? Rotary YFit has been supported with funds raised during the Rotary Run For Tomorrow and the Get Fit Fest in the City of Weston.
The YMCA of Broward County?s YFit program is an evidence based program for improving student health levels based on the nationally recognized SPARK curriculum.? The SPARK curriculum has been honored as an ?exemplary program? of the U.S. Department of Education; featured in the Surgeon General?s Report as a ?School-based solution to our nation?s healthcare crisis.?
YFit meets the 4 Sunshine State Physical Education Standards.
YFit Curriculum Focused on Producing the Following Childhood Outcomes:
Increased cardiovascular health and endurance
Lowered blood pressure & blood cholesterol levels
Decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes
Reduced bullying behaviors
Improved healthy weight levels
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The best of both catalytic worldsPublic release date: 10-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lynn Yarris lcyarris@lbl.gov 510-486-5375 DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley Lab researchers develop new technique for heterogenizing homogenous nano catalysts
Catalysts are substances that speed up the rates of chemical reactions without themselves being chemically changed. Industrial catalysts come in two main types - heterogeneous, in which the catalyst is in a different phase from the reactants; and homogeneous, in which catalyst and the reactants are in the same phase. Heterogeneous catalysts are valued for their sustainability because they can be recycled. Homogeneous catalysts are valued for their product selectivity as their properties can be easily tuned through relatively simple chemistry.
Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have combined the best properties of both types of industrial catalysts by encapsulating nanoclusters of a metallic heterogeneous catalyst within the branched arms of the molecules known as dendrimers.
The results are heterogenized homogeneous nanocatalysts that are sustainable and feature high reactivity and selectivity. Furthermore, these heterogenized homogeneous nanocrystals hold promise for bridging the gap between industrial catalysts, which carry out simple reactions, and a third type of catalyst, the proteins known as enzymes, that nature uses to carry out the complex reactions of biochemistry.
"Using cyclopropanation reactions catalyzed by dendrimer-encapsulated gold and other metal nanoclusters, including platinum, palladium and rhodium, we have demonstrated that changing the dendrimer properties allows catalytic reactivity in a heterogeneous catalyst to be tuned in a similar fashion to ligand modification in a homogeneous catalyst," says world renowned catalysis chemist Gabor Somorjai, one of the leaders of this research. "Furthermore, we have shown that these heterogeneous catalysts employed in a fixed-bed flow reactor allow fine control over the residence time of the reactants and thus enable control over product distribution in a way that is not easily available for homogeneous catalysts."
Somorjai is a senior scientist with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division, where he directs the Surface Science and Catalysis Program, and a professor of chemistry with the Chemistry Department at the University of California Berkeley. He is the corresponding author along with chemist Dean Toste, who also holds joint appointments with Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley, of a paper describing this research in the journal Nature Chemistry. The paper is titled "Control of selectivity in heterogeneous catalysis by tuning nanoparticle properties and reactor residence time." Other authors were Elad Gross and Jack Hung-Chang Liu.
Catalysts are used to initiate virtually every industrial manufacturing process that involves chemistry. Metal catalysts have been the traditional workhorses, but in recent years nano-sized catalysts have surged in importance.
"From our work, it has become increasingly clear that at the molecular level, all catalysts heterogeneous, homogeneous and enzymes function the same," Somorjai says. "We have now proven that working with metal nanoclusters, the same chemistry can be done with heterogeneous or homogeneous catalysts."
Adds corresponding author Dean Toste, "It's an exciting prospect that there may be universal design principles that can be applied to constructing 100-percent selective catalysts, whether they are homogeneous or heterogeneous. Ultimately, if these principles can be uncovered, it should be possible to design complex networks of selective catalysts that generate products with high efficiency."
The key to the success of this latest research was the encapsulation of metal nanoparticles inside dendrimers. The term "dendrimer" comes from the Greek word for "tree," an apt description for branching polymer molecules that resemble a worm's eye view of a tree's root system. Somorjai, Toste and their co-authors used gold nanoclusters and polyamidoamine (PAMAM), a common class of dendrimers suitable for numerous applications in materials and biotechnology. They successfully tested their dendrimer-encapsulated catalyst on cyclopropane, a biomolecule widely used in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, and typically formed through homogeneous catalysis.
"By designing the molecular architecture of our catalyst to feature a highly crowded matrix, we greatly enhanced the product selectivity of our reaction, similar to the use of bulky ligands in a homogeneous catalyst," says Elad Gross, the lead author of the Nature Chemistry paper and a member of Somorjai's research group. "Product selectivity was further enhanced by employing the catalyst in a flow reactor and changing the flow rate of the reactants. This gave us a high degree of control over our secondary reactions, again similar to the role that ligand electronic properties play in tuning the chemical selectivity of homogeneous catalysts."
Given that flow systems are widely used in industrial chemistry, the concept of replacing homogeneous catalysts with dendrimer-encapsulated heterogeneous catalysts whose product selectivity can be controlled should be a popular alternative. For example, the catalysis of cyclopropane could be tuned to favor the formation of cyclopropanes that are critical components of cancer and cholesterol medicines. The recyclability of these dendrimer-encapsulated heterogeneous catalysts is another major advantage.
"Highly selective catalysts, especially those that can be recycled readily, are vital for the development of sustainable chemical processes," Gross says. "In the future, with our technique it should be possible to combine heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts to get specific products with very high selectivity."
###
This research was supported by the DOE Office of Science.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. For more, visit www.lbl.gov.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit the Office of Science website at science.energy.gov/.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The best of both catalytic worldsPublic release date: 10-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lynn Yarris lcyarris@lbl.gov 510-486-5375 DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley Lab researchers develop new technique for heterogenizing homogenous nano catalysts
Catalysts are substances that speed up the rates of chemical reactions without themselves being chemically changed. Industrial catalysts come in two main types - heterogeneous, in which the catalyst is in a different phase from the reactants; and homogeneous, in which catalyst and the reactants are in the same phase. Heterogeneous catalysts are valued for their sustainability because they can be recycled. Homogeneous catalysts are valued for their product selectivity as their properties can be easily tuned through relatively simple chemistry.
Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have combined the best properties of both types of industrial catalysts by encapsulating nanoclusters of a metallic heterogeneous catalyst within the branched arms of the molecules known as dendrimers.
The results are heterogenized homogeneous nanocatalysts that are sustainable and feature high reactivity and selectivity. Furthermore, these heterogenized homogeneous nanocrystals hold promise for bridging the gap between industrial catalysts, which carry out simple reactions, and a third type of catalyst, the proteins known as enzymes, that nature uses to carry out the complex reactions of biochemistry.
"Using cyclopropanation reactions catalyzed by dendrimer-encapsulated gold and other metal nanoclusters, including platinum, palladium and rhodium, we have demonstrated that changing the dendrimer properties allows catalytic reactivity in a heterogeneous catalyst to be tuned in a similar fashion to ligand modification in a homogeneous catalyst," says world renowned catalysis chemist Gabor Somorjai, one of the leaders of this research. "Furthermore, we have shown that these heterogeneous catalysts employed in a fixed-bed flow reactor allow fine control over the residence time of the reactants and thus enable control over product distribution in a way that is not easily available for homogeneous catalysts."
Somorjai is a senior scientist with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division, where he directs the Surface Science and Catalysis Program, and a professor of chemistry with the Chemistry Department at the University of California Berkeley. He is the corresponding author along with chemist Dean Toste, who also holds joint appointments with Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley, of a paper describing this research in the journal Nature Chemistry. The paper is titled "Control of selectivity in heterogeneous catalysis by tuning nanoparticle properties and reactor residence time." Other authors were Elad Gross and Jack Hung-Chang Liu.
Catalysts are used to initiate virtually every industrial manufacturing process that involves chemistry. Metal catalysts have been the traditional workhorses, but in recent years nano-sized catalysts have surged in importance.
"From our work, it has become increasingly clear that at the molecular level, all catalysts heterogeneous, homogeneous and enzymes function the same," Somorjai says. "We have now proven that working with metal nanoclusters, the same chemistry can be done with heterogeneous or homogeneous catalysts."
Adds corresponding author Dean Toste, "It's an exciting prospect that there may be universal design principles that can be applied to constructing 100-percent selective catalysts, whether they are homogeneous or heterogeneous. Ultimately, if these principles can be uncovered, it should be possible to design complex networks of selective catalysts that generate products with high efficiency."
The key to the success of this latest research was the encapsulation of metal nanoparticles inside dendrimers. The term "dendrimer" comes from the Greek word for "tree," an apt description for branching polymer molecules that resemble a worm's eye view of a tree's root system. Somorjai, Toste and their co-authors used gold nanoclusters and polyamidoamine (PAMAM), a common class of dendrimers suitable for numerous applications in materials and biotechnology. They successfully tested their dendrimer-encapsulated catalyst on cyclopropane, a biomolecule widely used in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, and typically formed through homogeneous catalysis.
"By designing the molecular architecture of our catalyst to feature a highly crowded matrix, we greatly enhanced the product selectivity of our reaction, similar to the use of bulky ligands in a homogeneous catalyst," says Elad Gross, the lead author of the Nature Chemistry paper and a member of Somorjai's research group. "Product selectivity was further enhanced by employing the catalyst in a flow reactor and changing the flow rate of the reactants. This gave us a high degree of control over our secondary reactions, again similar to the role that ligand electronic properties play in tuning the chemical selectivity of homogeneous catalysts."
Given that flow systems are widely used in industrial chemistry, the concept of replacing homogeneous catalysts with dendrimer-encapsulated heterogeneous catalysts whose product selectivity can be controlled should be a popular alternative. For example, the catalysis of cyclopropane could be tuned to favor the formation of cyclopropanes that are critical components of cancer and cholesterol medicines. The recyclability of these dendrimer-encapsulated heterogeneous catalysts is another major advantage.
"Highly selective catalysts, especially those that can be recycled readily, are vital for the development of sustainable chemical processes," Gross says. "In the future, with our technique it should be possible to combine heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts to get specific products with very high selectivity."
###
This research was supported by the DOE Office of Science.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. For more, visit www.lbl.gov.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit the Office of Science website at science.energy.gov/.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets fell Thursday after Spain, the fourth-largest euro economy, was slapped with a two-notch credit downgrade and the U.S. earnings season opened with a whimper.
Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain's debt late Wednesday from BBB+ to BBB-, the lowest investment-grade level. S&P said the action was due to the country's recession, high unemployment and social unrest, which limit the government's options for reversing the country's financial crisis.
Meanwhile, aluminum giant Alcoa marked the unofficial start to U.S. corporate earnings season by beating earnings estimates but investors were disappointed that the company cut its demand forecast for the year, mostly due to a slowdown in China.
In another sign of a worsening global slowdown, South Korea's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate and lowered economic growth forecasts for this year and next.
The turbulence from abroad dragged Asian stocks lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.6 percent to 8,546.80. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.8 percent to 1,932.74. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost less than 0.1 percent to 4,490.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, however, rose 0.2 percent to 20,969.90.
On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund reduced its growth forecast for the world economy to 3.3 percent this year from 3.5 percent. Its forecast for growth in 2013 is 3.6 percent, down from 3.9 percent three months ago and 4.1 percent in April. Global growth concerns are weighing heavily on market sentiment.
"From here on in, it's going to be a matter of how much economic or corporate earnings growth there is. And the outlook for that is still pretty flat, as evidenced by what the IMF is saying," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.
Spain presented yet another deeply worrying problem. Last month, the European Central Bank agreed to buy unlimited amounts of the government bonds of struggling European countries such as Spain to help lower their borrowing costs. But the governments first need to apply for a bailout.
Spain has not applied for a bailout. Instead, the government has introduced a series of austerity and labor measures in a bid to bring down its budget deficit and convince investors it can manage its finances without outside help.
"The slow progress towards a sovereign bailout for Spain will have likely played a role in the (S&P) decision, a factor that is also weighing on general market sentiment," analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a market commentary. "The debt downgrade may on the margin increase the pressure on the Spanish government to request a formal bailout."
Among individual stocks, Toyota Motor Corp. fell 1.6 percent after the company was forced to recall 7.4 million cars from around the world due to faulty power window switches.
Shares of Australia's Lynas Corp. plunged 14.5 percent after a Malaysian Court delayed the start of production at its rare earths processing plant to consider objections by environmentalists and other opponents of the project.
Chinese property shares rose on expectations of action by the government to spur growth by supporting infrastructure projects. Hong Kong-listed China Railway Construction Corp. jumped 4.7 percent. China Railway Group rose 3.8 percent.
Wall Street stocks dropped Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1 percent to 13,344.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 0.6 percent to 1,432.56. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 0.4 percent to 3,051.78.
The U.S. quarterly earnings season is expected to be the weakest in three years. Analysts project that companies in the S&P 500 will collectively report third-quarter earnings that are 1 percent lower compared with the same quarter of last year.
Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, has warned that slumping oil prices and production would cause earnings to be "substantially lower."
Benchmark crude for November delivery was up 37 cents to $91.62 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.14 to finish at $91.25 per barrel on the Nymex on Wednesday.
In currencies, the euro fell to $1.2863 from $1.2897 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar fell to 78.05 yen from 78.19 yen.
The Wild Coyote Adventure Challenge is a test of strength, speed, agility and, most of all, commitment.
Similar to an iron-man or triathlon, the Challenge requires participants to run/walk/hike 14 miles, cycle 70 miles, row/paddle 210 minutes and climb 1190 feet (35 routes on the recreation center?s rock wall). All of which must be completed between October 1, 2012 and November 16, 2012 at whatever pace participants choose.
You have some options for how to complete the minimum requirements but all of it must be sanctioned and counted by the recreation center.
The rowing can be done on one of the recreation center?s rowing machines or on one of the three CSUSB outdoor paddling trips: Oct. 13-14 in Santa Barbara, Oct.? 27 for Stand Up Paddle Boarding in the aquatic center or Oct. 28 on the Palos Verdes kayaking trip.
You can choose to walk or run on one of the many treadmills, elliptical or ski machines in the recreation center, hike on the stair-climber or on one of the two upcoming outdoor hiking trips. The San Gorgonio backpacking trip will take place on Oct. 19-21. The Mt. Lowe Railway Hike will take place on Nov. 3.
Climbing may be completed on the rock wall in the air-conditioned recreation center or on the Oct. 7 Intro to Climbing trip.
The biking may be done in the recreation center because there are no scheduled outdoor biking events, but participants may use any of the bikes, including the revolutionary new spin bikes that CSUSB recently bought.
These spin bikes use a kevlar belt which simulates a bike chain far more realistically than previous models. Students may also log their bike requirements in one of the many spin classes offered in the recreation center.
If it sounds like a lot of work, you?re correct. But spacing the requirements up into daily workouts makes it much more manageable. Doing the daily minimum requirements means that participants meet the Surgeon General?s recommendations for a healthy lifestyle.
Some people, like Danny Provencio, complete the whole challenge in three days. ?It?s kind of a competition between my friends and I,? said Provencio. ?We push each other pretty hard.?
Some people even pay the entry fee twice just so they can do the challenge again after completion.
Fitness coordinator Barry Greene Jr. explained the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with completing the challenge.
?You walk around with your chest out and your head held high when you are wearing that T-shirt, it?s not an easy thing to do,? said Greene.
The entry fee is $10 and that covers the log, a Wild Coyote Adventure Challenge T-shirt and your entry into the drawing for participants.
?We give away a bunch of stuff,? said Greene. ?It?s worth the $10.?
Some of the prizes include stuffed CSUSB coyotes, book bags and a yet to be revealed grand prize (last year it was a two-day golfing trip). And it doesn?t matter how fast you finish, everybody that completes it has the same chance of winning.
The challenge has been set, will you accept? If so, get over to the recreation center and sign up between now and Nov. 16 and get healthy.
Your feet are your connection to the earth, the grounding force that propels you through life.
Interestingly, problems with your feet can tell you much about the health of your body as a whole. A quick and simple foot examination yields many clues to the condition of your body and your overall health. Check for these signs to see what your feet say about your body?s health:
1. Cold feet with hairless toes -
Contrary to the popular adage suggesting that cold feet make a warm heart, cold feet are often a sign of a poor circulation because of problems with the heart. Paired with hairless toes and a lack of hair on top of the foot, poor circulation because of vascular disease is generally the reason.
Once arteries connected to the heart begin to harden, the heart cannot pump at maximum capacity. The body prioritizes the use of the blood, slowing down blood flow sent to the feet. Other signs of poor circulation include:
Difficulty obtaining a pulse in the foot
Pain when walking or standing, relieved by sitting
Changing of the foot color, e.g., dusky or shiny when standing, pale when sitting
Consult your physician or ask for a referral to a cardiovascular specialist. A painless, non-invasive vascular study will determine if you have a cardiovascular issue.
2. Thick, hard toenails -
Thick, hard and yellowing toenails are the symptoms of a fungal nail infection. This type of foot infection grows down below the surface of the nail in the nail bed. Regular OTC fungal treatments do not work on this type of infection. Nail infections signify possible diabetes, especially if accompanied with a strong smell.
See your local doctor or a schedule a visit with a podiatrist. If diabetes is ruled out, a prescription-strength, oral antifungal medication, when taken as directed, has your toenails looking healthy again.
3. Enlargement of the big toe -
Gout is a notorious cause of swelling of the big toe and the big toe joint. This swelling, accompanied with pain and red inflammation, occurs when the body builds up too much uric acid. Uric acid, a by-product of the broken down proteins within the body, forms needle-shaped crystals in the big toe joint. Other signs of gout include swollen, red or purple shiny skin, along with heat and pain at the joint site, ankle, Achilles tendon, knees and elbows.
Gout is controlled though both diet and medication. A family physician and nutritionist work with you to alleviate the symptoms of gout.
4. Shooting pain in the foot, radiating from the lower leg -
This type of shooting pain signifies a pinched nerve in the lower back. The nerves in the legs and foot originate in the lower back, or lumbar region. Nerves exiting the spinal column often become pinched as they travel down the leg and foot region.
The pain is more intense with movement of the body from side-to-side. Pain also flares when stooping or bending to lift. Generally, the pain is contained within the foot region or radiates from the calves into the ankles and feet.
Tell your family physician. Your physician will take x-rays and may refer you to a doctor specializing in spinal problems or a chiropractor.
Your feet work harder than any other part of your body. Take care of your feet. Choose correctly fitting shoes. Keep toenails neatly trimmed and keep your feet warm and dry. If you find a problem with yellow nails,?Houston toenail fungus?clinic, Houston Nail Clinic, can help with fast, effective laser treatments.
Tabby - Brown - Loki Needs Foster - Medium - Young - Male - Cat
If you are interested in adopting this cat, please fill out our cat adoption questionnaire <http://homewardtrails.org/adopt-a-pet/pet-adoption-forms?utm_source=petfinder&utm_medium=adoptionforms&utm_campaign=cats> and e-mail it to [email removed]
Loki is an adorable kitten who loves to play. . He was a shelter favorite with his outgoing loving personality. Loki would love a home that already has a cat or he can be adopted with one of his Homeward Trails cat or kitten pals. Breed Estimate: Brown Tabby De-Clawed: no Approximate weight: 6lbs Approximate age: 5.5 months aprox early Oct. The adoption fee for this cat is $135, which helps with the cost of routine vet care. This fee INCLUDES spay/neuter surgery, shots and microchip If the animal you are adopting is not already spayed/neutered, you will be required to sign a contract legally obligating you to have the animal altered. If you are interested in adopting this cat, please fill out our cat adoption questionnaire <http://homewardtrails.org/adopt-a-pet/pet-adoption-forms?utm_source=petfinder&utm_medium=adoptionforms&utm_campaign=cats> and e-mail it to [email removed]hank [email removed] you for contacting Homeward Trails Animal Rescue and helping to save a life! Want to meet a handful of cats in person? Check out a list of our upcoming pet adoption events <http://www.homewardtrails.org/event-list?utm_source=petfinder&utm_medium=events&utm_campaign=cats> . You can save animals like this one by becoming a foster! Fosters are like way stations between high kill shelters and forever homes. We need fosters so that we can save cats before they are euthanized at the shelters. If you are interested in becoming a foster, please check out our information about fostering <http://homewardtrails.org/foster-a-pet/dog-and-cat-foster-program?utm_source=petfinder&utm_medium=fosterinfo&utm_campaign=cats> .
CHARACTERISTICS: Breed: Tabby - Brown Size: Medium Petfinder ID: 24273598
ADDITIONAL INFO: Pet has been spayed/neutered
CONTACT: Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, Inc. | Arlington, VA | 703-249-5066
For additional information, reply to this ad or see: http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=24273598
If you jiggle a dish of liquid in just the right way, you might start seeing stars. Jean Rajchenbach and colleagues at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis in Nice, France, have discovered that shaking a tray of silicone oil up and down with a slow but regular motion produces star-shaped waves with five or six sides.
These unusual patterns are thought to spring out of non-linear interactions between three separate waves, but the mathematics behind the shapes is poorly understood. Weirdly, the star-shaped waves emerge in containers of different shapes and sizes, suggesting they are not affected by a container's edge - which usually explains a wave's shape. "It is extremely amazing," says Rajchenbach.
The team is currently developing a complete theoretical model to describe the phenomenon. According to Rajchenbach, the wave shapes could be related to quasicrystals, strange arrangements of atoms that give rise to a structure with five-fold symmetry.
The work will be presented at the fluid dynamics division meeting of the American Physical Society in San Diego, California, next month.
If you enjoyed this post, see how X and Y-shaped waves can form in the ocean or check out the wave patterns that can appear in a glass of wine.
Denise Roberts was just 34 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Although her doctors told her she was too young to worry about the disease, she knew something wasn?t quite right.
For business owners and home owners across the UK; the past five years have been riddled with economic uncertainty and worry. Claims of financial disaster, worrying economic predictions and the increasingly minimalistic trust within banking authorities have made for one of the toughest pecuniary periods the nation and in fact, the world has ever seen.
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Public release date: 10-Oct-2012
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Thick, hard and yellowing toenails are the symptoms of a fungal nail infection. This type of foot infection grows down below the surface of the nail in the nail bed. Regular OTC fungal treatments do not work on this type of infection. Nail infections signify possible diabetes, especially if accompanied with a strong smell.