CloudOn, the popular free productivity service that brings the power of Microsoft Office to mobile devices, just launched version 3.0 of its mobile app. With this launch, CloudOn is bringing its service to the iPhone, iPad Mini and Nexus 7. This means CloudOn is now available on all of Apple's mobile devices, as well as on Android tablets running Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich version 3.1 or higher, as well as Jelly Bean tablets running Android 4.1 or higher. A version for the new Kindle Fire HD 7 should also be available shortly.
Coffee Lovers Mag is now on the iTunes store exclusive to the iPad.? It is a magazine style periodical which shares the love and experience of coffee through awesome videos, how-tos, insights into the coffee industry, and interviews with experts. Coffee Lovers Mag is for those who love coffee and want to expand their experience with the world of coffee - the magazine also aims to bring light to aspects of the coffee industry which go unnoticed - such as what it takes to bring the coffee to your cup.
Customers have been saying...
?Love Coffee - Great mag. Love coffee. The coffee madness seems to be getting bigger each day. Now there?s a magazine devoted to it. Got to love that!? - Stan W.
?CoffeeHolic Must Read! - And there I was thinking I was the only CoffeeHolic! PHEW! What a relief! This magazine means I can now resign from CoffeeHolics Anonymous. Easy to read, great functionality too. Recommended. (But without milk...)? - Norrimac
Coffee Lovers Mag is available on the iTunes Store exclusively for iPad - single issues are available at $5.99, and a monthly subscription is available for $3.99/mo.?
Coffee Lovers Mag on iTunes: http://www.coffeeloversmag.com/theMagazine
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A 'turbo' for solid oxide fuel cellsPublic release date: 13-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Andr Heel andre.heel@empa.ch 41-587-654-199 Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA)
HITTEC -- from waste heat to electricity
This press release is available in German.
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy. Although an overall efficiency above 95 per cent can be achieved at an operating temperature of nearly 900 degrees Celsius, a certain amount thereof is waste heat and can currently only be used for domestic hot water supply or heating purposes. Andre Heel, chemical engineer and research coordinator of the strategic partnership between Empa and Hexis AG, has something else in mind. He wants to "upgrade" it into electricity using thermoelectric converters (TECs). "This will not only increase the efficiency of the fuel cell system", says Heel. "Highly efficient energy conversion technologies are also the most effective way to conserve valuable resources."
Like adhesive plasters, TECs which are already commercially available are stuck to the walls of motors, industrial ovens and other heat sources. They consist of two different types of semiconducting materials on either side. If there is a temperature gradient between the two sides, electrons are transferred from one side to the other, i.e. an electric current is induced, which can be "harvested".
Under Heel's leadership, Empa kicked-off the four-year "HITTEC" project this summer (HIgh Temperature ThermoElectric Converters). Its aim is to develop and optimize materials for TECs that can withstand elevated temperatures. Not a small feat, given that current TECs can only be operated at temperatures below 300 degrees. What's more, HITTEC materials also have to combine seemingly contradicting properties. They should, for instance, be both highly electrically conductive and at the same have a poor thermal conductivity.
A team led by Anke Weidenkaff, head of Empa's Laboratory for Solid State Chemistry and Catalysis and professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Berne, has set its sights on perovskite-type oxides. These compounds exhibit interesting properties: they are chemically and thermally stable, non-toxic, and can be produced at low cost in large volumes. A particularly promising candidate, it turned out, is tungsten-substituted calcium manganate.
In order to properly evaluate the power output of their novel high-temperature thermoelectric converters at high temperatures, Weidenkaff's team has developed unique equipment capable of faithfully replicating the extreme operating conditions experienced by HITTEC modules. But the researchers are also developing new concepts to overcome challenges in the design of the HITTEC modules. "We are not simply going to stick our converter onto an SOFC", says Weidenkaff. Instead, her team wants to integrate fuel cell and thermoelectric converters in an entirely new way, by directly using thermoelectric converters as fuel cell electrodes, that is, the site of the chemical reaction. "An ambitious idea", admits Weidenkaff. But one with a huge potential because the high-temperature ceramic materials of the SOFC conductor system are not unlike perovskite-type oxides used for HITTECs.
The project relies on a highly multidisciplinary team; Heel and Weidenkaff are cooperating with colleagues from ETH Zurich, EPF Lausanne and the Zurich University of Applied Science (ZHAW). The team's combined efforts will lead to prototypes constructed together with Hexis. Heel estimates that SOFC systems could generate up to 10 per cent extra electric power by using thermoelectric converters thus conserving a significant amount of valuable energy resources.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
A 'turbo' for solid oxide fuel cellsPublic release date: 13-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Andr Heel andre.heel@empa.ch 41-587-654-199 Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA)
HITTEC -- from waste heat to electricity
This press release is available in German.
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy. Although an overall efficiency above 95 per cent can be achieved at an operating temperature of nearly 900 degrees Celsius, a certain amount thereof is waste heat and can currently only be used for domestic hot water supply or heating purposes. Andre Heel, chemical engineer and research coordinator of the strategic partnership between Empa and Hexis AG, has something else in mind. He wants to "upgrade" it into electricity using thermoelectric converters (TECs). "This will not only increase the efficiency of the fuel cell system", says Heel. "Highly efficient energy conversion technologies are also the most effective way to conserve valuable resources."
Like adhesive plasters, TECs which are already commercially available are stuck to the walls of motors, industrial ovens and other heat sources. They consist of two different types of semiconducting materials on either side. If there is a temperature gradient between the two sides, electrons are transferred from one side to the other, i.e. an electric current is induced, which can be "harvested".
Under Heel's leadership, Empa kicked-off the four-year "HITTEC" project this summer (HIgh Temperature ThermoElectric Converters). Its aim is to develop and optimize materials for TECs that can withstand elevated temperatures. Not a small feat, given that current TECs can only be operated at temperatures below 300 degrees. What's more, HITTEC materials also have to combine seemingly contradicting properties. They should, for instance, be both highly electrically conductive and at the same have a poor thermal conductivity.
A team led by Anke Weidenkaff, head of Empa's Laboratory for Solid State Chemistry and Catalysis and professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Berne, has set its sights on perovskite-type oxides. These compounds exhibit interesting properties: they are chemically and thermally stable, non-toxic, and can be produced at low cost in large volumes. A particularly promising candidate, it turned out, is tungsten-substituted calcium manganate.
In order to properly evaluate the power output of their novel high-temperature thermoelectric converters at high temperatures, Weidenkaff's team has developed unique equipment capable of faithfully replicating the extreme operating conditions experienced by HITTEC modules. But the researchers are also developing new concepts to overcome challenges in the design of the HITTEC modules. "We are not simply going to stick our converter onto an SOFC", says Weidenkaff. Instead, her team wants to integrate fuel cell and thermoelectric converters in an entirely new way, by directly using thermoelectric converters as fuel cell electrodes, that is, the site of the chemical reaction. "An ambitious idea", admits Weidenkaff. But one with a huge potential because the high-temperature ceramic materials of the SOFC conductor system are not unlike perovskite-type oxides used for HITTECs.
The project relies on a highly multidisciplinary team; Heel and Weidenkaff are cooperating with colleagues from ETH Zurich, EPF Lausanne and the Zurich University of Applied Science (ZHAW). The team's combined efforts will lead to prototypes constructed together with Hexis. Heel estimates that SOFC systems could generate up to 10 per cent extra electric power by using thermoelectric converters thus conserving a significant amount of valuable energy resources.
###
[ | 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.
My distinguished colleague and fellow-blogger,?Danielle L.C. Beach-Oswald, has called attention to Human Rights Day, which we celebrated last Monday as mentioned in her comment: Make Human Rights Day Last All Year 'Round. Human Rights are rarely mentioned in discussions about immigration policy.
At least this is the case compared to economics (the main argument of immigration supporters in both parties) and, especially after the 2012, demographics (now that the Republicans have discovered that Latino and other ethnic minority US citizens actually vote in presidential elections, no matter how many attempts are made to stop them from coming to the polls).
Immigration opponents, on the other hand, tend to look at immigration mainly as a law enforcement and "national sovereignty" issue; but they also try to muster other arguments, including economic ones (such as that immigrants allegedly "steal jobs" and "lower wage levels", not to mention "overcrowded schools and emergency rooms"). Supposed environmental concerns are another favorite, as well as the??"cultural" (i.e. race) argument against immigration, which has been around ever since the time of Benjamin Franklin.?
In order to combat anti-immigrant racism and prejudice, as well as abuses in connection with overzealous immigration enforcement, immigration supporters have no hesitation in relying on the concept of Constitutional rights, but as we all know, this can be a very limited tool in protecting vulnerable people, including immigrants, against abuse. Anyone who has doubts on this point can read the majority opinion in last June's decision in?Arizona v. US, 567 US? ? ? ??(2012)?not to mention Justice Scalia's dissent in the same case, referred to in my December 12 blogging.
Does Human Rights Law have the potential to provide a broader and more reliable framework for protecting immigrant rights? If so, are there mechanisms for making at least the basic concepts of Human Rights Law part of America's immigration law and practice? The starting point for this discussion is to define what Human Rights Law is and how it applies specifically to immigration.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants and the Committee on Migrant Workers have stated that although countries have a sovereign right to determine conditions of entry and stay, they also have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of all individuals under their jurisdiction, regardless of their nationality or origin and regardless of their immigration status. (See, United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights).
Is America now adhering to this standard? Not according to the ACLU, which has, with a great deal of justicification, criticized the Obama administration's enforcement policies on human rights grounds. See: The Truth about the Current State of Immigration Enforcement, ACLU, December 12.?
Perhaps the best way to look at the connection between Human Rights Law and immigration would be through The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I will discuss this in future comments.
The simple answer to whether there is a First Amendment right to offer ex-gay therapy should, of course, be no. The long answer is that a California judge is going to put the idea on trial because he believes there may be unintended consequences from California?s ban on ex-gay therapy for under 18?s.
Federal Judge: Banning Ex-Gay Therapy May Violate the 1st Amendment
When earlier this year California passed a ban on exposing minors to ex-gay therapy the law was hailed as a landmark. For the first time in the US a state had made provisions to protect children from efforts to change their sexuality. However, ex-gay therapists soon brought legal suits to try and block the law from coming into effect on January 1, saying that it violates their freedom of speech and the right for parents to decide what is best for their children. Gay rights groups assumed these cases would get thrown out without much trouble. They were wrong.
Federal District Judge William Shubb, on Monday,?enjoined the law from going into effect, but only where it applies to the three plaintiffs in the ex-gay therapy ban challenge ? two therapists and another man who, having been subjected to the therapy when young, now wishes to become a therapist himself ? because the judge found there was cause to believe that at trial, the law would not pass muster against the First Amendment.
The basis for this ruling is that, while the APA and in fact all mainstream health practitioners agree that sexual orientation change efforts are unnecessary because being homosexual is not a pathology,?there has been little to no wide-scale clinical trials conducted regarding sexual orientation change efforts ? therefore, he contends, that while?we have plenty of stories that say this therapy is harmful, the evidence may be lacking. Therefore, banning therapists from offering sexual orientation change therapy is, essentially, a ?viewpoint-based restriction.?
In effect, Shubb is arguing this comes down to a matter of a difference of opinion as to what therapy is best for some patients, and therefore the ex-gay therapy ban actually restricts ex-gay therapists from offering change therapy when they sincerely believe there is evidence enough that this therapy can be of benefit to a patient.
Such view-point restrictions must under examination pass a high threshold of government interest to be allowed to stand, and so now it will be up to the state of California to make the case that ex-gay therapy is harmful, and to argue against the free speech angle. State Attorney Gen.?Kamala D. Harris is quoted as saying she will continue to ?vigorously? defend the law at trial.
But, to be clear, Judge Shubb did not say ex-gay therapy isn?t harmful ? by virtue of this proceeding to trial he is requiring both the state to prove that ex-gay therapy is not a valid treatment and that it can be harmful, and also ex-gay therapists to prove their treatment is a viable one.
A Second Federal Judge Refuses to Bar The Ex-Gay Therapy Ban From Going into Effect
The case is made twice as interesting because another judge this week in fact ruled against ex-gay therapists in a separate lawsuit against the new law.
U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller on Tuesday refused to block the ban from going into effect on January 1, saying that the Sacramento court finds it unlikely that plaintiffs will be able to prove that the ban limits their civil rights. The groups arguing to block the law ? four counselors, two families, a professional organization representing ex-gay therapists and a Christian therapists group ? all said that they would be liable for court action for recommending the therapy to minors, something they said violates their rights to free speech and to raise children free of government intrusion.
Muller concluded they had failed to demonstrate the merits of their case. They have immediately appealed the ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and are asking for an emergency injunction.
With a number of Jewish men and their parents suing an ex-gay therapy clinic in New Jersey for the harm they say was caused by the therapy and, crucially, by the fact that the therapy was ultimately ineffective and therefore the clinic?s taking money for the therapy amounts to fraud, it seems that at last America finds itself ready to test ex-gay therapy?s claims. And this is why the First Amendment challenge isn?t necessarily a bad thing for gay groups.
A Chance to Clarify Ex-Gay Therapy and First Amendment Rights
While a number of gay rights groups, including the leading ex-gay therapy fighters Truth Wins Out, have said the ruling by Judge Shubb is wrong-headed and that strict scrutiny should not have been applied in this case, they also are hopeful that this provides a platform to spell out exactly the harms of ex-gay therapy and that, as in the Proposition 8 trial, they have the facts on their side and they are willing to use them.
As to the central thesis of whether ex-gay therapy is a free-speech issue, I?ve outlined before why it is not.
Put concisely, however, there is one overriding line of logic that can be established: Were it not for anti-gay discrimination there would likely be no anxiety over being gay. Homosexuality is of itself not harmful, therefore it is not a pathology. Any therapy that attempts to treat homosexuality as if it is a pathology is therefore flawed, based on bad science, and potentially fraudulent. There is an overriding government interest in protecting minors from a flawed therapy that is medically unproven, and this is perhaps the central argument we can expect to hear when this lawsuit comes to trial.
?
Related Reading:
5 Reasons to Support a Ban on?Ex-Gay Therapy
Landmark Lawsuit Puts?Ex-Gay Therapy on Trial
California?s?Ex-Gay Therapy Ban Is Already Under Threat
Some businesses could be losing customers to competitors because they are giving customers a poor mobile web experiences if they do not build mobile strategies that properly addresses changing web access patterns or the many different devices that people use. So says Netbiscuits? quarterly Metrics Report, which shows that even if enterprises design for the top 10 most used devices they still only cover 56% of global traffic.
Mobile web user habits are changing and websites are being accessed through devices rarely covered in enterprise mobile strategies. In 7 out of 8 regional markets studied, more web traffic still comes via feature phones than tablets. This is critical for Enterprise mobile strategies which tend to rely on their PC sites running on tablets, which in itself is also a limited strategy by ignoring features like touch and GPS functionality.
Declining use of Blackberry devices has led some businesses to omit optimising their web experience for these smartphones. The Metrics Report reveals, however, that whilst declining, six Blackberry devices are still among the top 25 devices based on global traffic share, with the Blackberry 8520 in fifth place.
?Unless enterprises embrace changing trends in how people access the web, they could leave the majority of their customers with a slow, limited or even irrelevant experience and ultimately lose customers to competitors with better, more engaging experiences,? says Daniel Weisbeck, CMO, Netbiscuits. ?Enterprises need to ensure that their web app or site adapts for a superior and customised web experience across all devices, browsers and features if they are to have the best chance of engaging and retaining their customers in a highly competitive economy. This is where responsive design is never enough. Responsive design doesn?t help companies adapt the experience through faster image conversion, GPS and touch functions as an example.?
The Metrics Report also reveals the top device categories by global web traffic. The iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S tops the list with 31% of global traffic share, followed by the Samsung GT-I9100 (Galaxy S2, Galaxy Z) with 6% share and the Samsung GT-I9300 in third with 4%. The cloud-based Netbiscuits adaptive web development platform enables companies to quickly and easily create rich mobile web experiences customised to every mobile device, whatever its global traffic share.
HONG KONG (AP) ? HSBC says it's paying $1.9 billion in penalties to settle a U.S.money laundering probe.
The investigation into HSBC has focused on the transfer of billions of dollars on behalf of nations such as Iran and the transfer of money from Mexican drug cartels.
The British bank said in statement Tuesday that the settlement involves a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The bank won't be prosecuted if it meets certain conditions, such as strengthening internal controls to prevent money laundering.
Europe's biggest bank also said it has reached agreements over investigations by other U.S. government agencies. It also expects to sign an agreement with British regulators shortly.
HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said the bank accepts responsibility for "past mistakes" and is "profoundly sorry for them."
CloudOn, the popular free productivity service that brings the power of Microsoft Office to mobile devices, just launched version 3.0 of its mobile app. With this launch, CloudOn is bringing its service to the iPhone, iPad Mini and Nexus 7. This means CloudOn is now available on all of Apple's mobile devices, as well as on Android tablets running Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich version 3.1 or higher, as well as Jelly Bean tablets running Android 4.1 or higher. A version for the new Kindle Fire HD 7 should also be available shortly.
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Public release date: 13-Dec-2012
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Some businesses could be losing customers to competitors because they are giving customers a poor mobile web experiences if they do not build mobile strategies that properly addresses changing web access patterns or the many different devices that people use. So says Netbiscuits? quarterly Metrics Report, which shows that even if enterprises design for the top 10 most used devices they still only cover 56% of global traffic.