World's largest capacity container ship embarks on maiden voyage

 

The CSCL Globe, shown here on sea trials, has embarked on its maiden voyage (Photo: HHI) The world's largest capacity container ship has set off on its maiden voyage. Measuring 400 m (1,312 ft) in length and 58.6 m (192 ft) wide – or the size of four soccer fields for those more familiar with that alternative unit of measurement – the CSCL Globe can carry 19,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) shipping containers. The CSCL Globe was constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd (HHI) for China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) and is the first of five ordered by the Shanghai-based marine shipping company in May last year. Despite being the same length and 0.4 m (1.3 ft) thinner, the CSCL Globe can carry 730 more TEU than the Maersk Triple E class container ships that have a capacity of 18,270 TEU. This is thanks to the CSCL Globe's extra draft of 30.5 m (100 ft) compared to the Maersk Triple E's 14.5 m (47.5 ft). (Although, both of these fall short of the the monstrous Prelude FLNG.) In spite of its extra carrying capacity, HHI says the CSCL Globe's 77,200 bhp (56,800 kW) electronically-controlled main engine, which automatically adjusts fuel consumption based on the ship's speed and sea conditions, allows the ship to burn 20 percent less fuel per TEU than ships with 10,000 TEU capacity. The CSCL Globe set off from Tianjin, China this week, embarking on its first of many voyages on the Asia-Europe trade loop. Source: Hyundai Heavy Industries

Thin, strong bond for vacuum seal

 

Thu, 12/04/2014 - 10:09am Patrick Egan, NIST Silicate bonds are so thin they are transparent. Image: NISTAn ultra-stable, ultra-thin bonding technology has been adapted by researchers in NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML)’s Semiconductor and Dimensional Metrology Div. for use as a super-strong vacuum seal. Though it is less than 100 nm thick, the bond can withstand pressure up to 2 megapascals (almost 300 pounds per square inch), and its drift, or how much it shifts over time, is on the order of less than 3 trillionths of a meter per hour. In tests with helium, the bonds show leak rates of less than 10-8 standard cubic centimeters per meter, a performance as good as that of an o-ring seal. The method, called silicate bonding, had previously been used by other experiments to affix optical materials to one another but its use as a vacuum seal had not been attempted to the researchers’ knowledge. The team used the technique for their recent prototype of the first photonic pressure sensor, a device that outperformed the present standard, a 3-m-tall mercury-based device, in resolution, speed, and range at a fraction of the size. Several industry representatives have already shown interest in the prototype pressure sensor, which could be used for semiconductor, glass, and aerospace manufacturing. Source: NIST

In world first, researchers convert sunlight to electricity with over 40 percent efficiency

 

December 7, 2014 University of New South Wales Australia's solar researchers have converted over 40 percent of the sunlight hitting a solar system into electricity, the highest efficiency ever reported. A key part of the prototype's design is the use of a custom optical bandpass filter to capture sunlight that is normally wasted by commercial solar cells on towers and convert it to electricity at a higher efficiency than the solar cells themselves ever could. Solar panels (stock image). UNSW Australia's solar researchers have converted over 40% of the sunlight hitting a solar system into electricity, the highest efficiency ever reported. The record efficiency was achieved in outdoor tests in Sydney, before being independently confirmed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at their outdoor test facility in the United States. The work was funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and supported by the Australia-US Institute for Advanced Photovoltaics (AUSIAPV). "This is the highest efficiency ever reported for sunlight conversion into electricity," UNSW Scientia Professor and Director of the Advanced Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP) Professor Martin Green said. "We used commercial solar cells, but in a new way, so these efficiency improvements are readily accessible to the solar industry," added Dr Mark Keevers, the UNSW solar scientist who managed the project. The 40% efficiency milestone is the latest in a long line of achievements by UNSW solar researchers spanning four decades. These include the first photovoltaic system to convert sunlight to electricity with over 20% efficiency in 1989, with the new result doubling this performance. "The new results are based on the use of focused sunlight, and are particularly relevant to photovoltaic power towers being developed in Australia," Professor Green said. Power towers are being developed by Australian company, RayGen Resources, which provided design and technical support for the high efficiency prototype. Another partner in the research was Spectrolab, a US-based company that provided some of the cells used in the project. A key part of the prototype's design is the use of a custom optical bandpass filter to capture sunlight that is normally wasted by commercial solar cells on towers and convert it to electricity at a higher efficiency than the solar cells themselves ever could. Such filters reflect particular wavelengths of light while transmitting others. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the achievement is another world first for Australian research and development and further demonstrates the value of investing in Australia's renewable energy ingenuity. "We hope to see this home grown innovation take the next steps from prototyping to pilot scale demonstrations. Ultimately, more efficient commercial solar plants will make renewable energy cheaper, increasing its competitiveness." The 40% efficiency achievement is outlined in a paper expected to be published soon by the Progress in Photovoltaics journal. It will also be presented at the Australian PV Institute's Asia-Pacific Solar Research Conference, which begins at UNSW Monday, December 8. Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by University of New South Wales. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Promising compound rapidly eliminates malaria parasite

 

A new report says that the rapid action of (+)-SJ733 will likely slow malaria drug resistance. An international research collaborative has determined that a promising anti-malarial compound tricks the immune system to rapidly destroy red blood cells infected with the malaria parasite but leave healthy cells unharmed. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists led the study, which appears in the current online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The compound, (+)-SJ733, was developed from a molecule identified in a previous St. Jude-led study that helped to jumpstart worldwide anti-malarial drug development efforts. Malaria is caused by a parasite spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. The disease remains a major health threat to more than half the world's population, particularly children. The World Health Organization estimates that in Africa a child dies of malaria every minute. In this study, researchers determined that (+)-SJ733 uses a novel mechanism to kill the parasite by recruiting the immune system to eliminate malaria-infected red blood cells. In a mouse model of malaria, a single dose of (+)-SJ733 killed 80 percent of malaria parasites within 24 hours. After 48 hours the parasite was undetectable. Planning has begun for safety trials of the compound in healthy adults. Laboratory evidence suggests that the compound's speed and mode of action work together to slow and suppress development of drug-resistant parasites. Drug resistance has long undermined efforts to treat and block malaria transmission. "Our goal is to develop an affordable, fast-acting combination therapy that cures malaria with a single dose," said corresponding author R. Kiplin Guy, Ph.D., chair of the St. Jude Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics. "These results indicate that SJ733 and other compounds that act in a similar fashion are highly attractive additions to the global malaria eradication campaign, which would mean so much for the world's children, who are central to the mission of St. Jude." Whole genome sequencing of the Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of the malaria parasites, revealed that (+)-SJ733 disrupted activity of the ATP4 protein in the parasites. The protein functions as a pump that the parasites depend on to maintain the proper sodium balance by removing excess sodium. The sequencing effort was led by co-author Joseph DeRisi, Ph.D., a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and chair of the University of California, San Francisco Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Investigators used the laboratory technique to determine the makeup of the DNA molecule in different strains of the malaria parasite. Researchers showed that inhibiting ATP4 triggered a series of changes in malaria-infected red blood cells that marked them for destruction by the immune system. The infected cells changed shape and shrank in size. They also became more rigid and exhibited other alterations typical of aging red blood cells. The immune system responded using the same mechanism the body relies on to rid itself of aging red blood cells. Another promising class of antimalarial compounds triggered the same changes in red blood cells infected with the malaria parasite, researchers reported. The drugs, called spiroindolones, also target the ATP4 protein. The drugs include NITD246, which is already in clinical trials for treatment of malaria. Those trials involve investigators at other institutions. "The data suggest that compounds targeting ATP4 induce physical changes in the infected red blood cells that allow the immune system or erythrocyte quality control mechanisms to recognize and rapidly eliminate infected cells," DeRisi said. "This rapid clearance response depends on the presence of both the parasite and the investigational drug. That is important because it leaves uninfected red blood cells, also known as erythrocytes, unharmed." Laboratory evidence also suggests that the mechanism will slow and suppress development of drug-resistant strains of the parasite, researchers said. Planning has begun to move (+)-SJ733 from the laboratory into the clinic beginning with a safety study of the drug in healthy adults. The drug development effort is being led by a consortium that includes scientists at St. Jude, the Swiss-based non-profit Medicines for Malaria Venture and Eisai Co., a Japanese pharmaceutical company. Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference: María Belén Jiménez-Díaz, Daniel Ebert, Yandira Salinas, Anupam Pradhan, Adele M. Lehane, Marie-Eve Myrand-Lapierre, Kathleen G. O’Loughlin, David M. Shackleford, Mariana Justino de Almeida, Angela K. Carrillo, Julie A. Clark, Adelaide S. M. Dennis, Jonathon Diep, Xiaoyan Deng, Sandra Duffy, Aaron N. Endsley, Greg Fedewa, W. Armand Guiguemde, María G. Gómez, Gloria Holbrook, Jeremy Horst, Charles C. Kim, Jian Liu, Marcus C. S. Lee, Amy Matheny, María Santos Martínez, Gregory Miller, Ane Rodríguez-Alejandre, Laura Sanz, Martina Sigal, Natalie J. Spillman, Philip D. Stein, Zheng Wang, Fangyi Zhu, David Waterson, Spencer Knapp, Anang Shelat, Vicky M. Avery, David A. Fidock, Francisco-Javier Gamo, Susan A. Charman, Jon C. Mirsalis, Hongshen Ma, Santiago Ferrer, Kiaran Kirk, Iñigo Angulo-Barturen, Dennis E. Kyle, Joseph L. DeRisi, David M. Floyd, R. Kiplin Guy. ( )-SJ733, a clinical candidate for malaria that acts through ATP4 to induce rapid host-mediated clearance ofPlasmodium. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014; 201414221 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1414221111

How the World Can Fight Global Warming, No Matter What Happens in Lima

 

By David Biello | December 2, 2014 The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.   Imagine if the world’s two largest polluters unilaterally decide to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, the ubiquitous gas responsible for the bulk of global warming. At the same time, a major developing country admits that future growth will have to be balanced with CO2 pollution limits. Meanwhile, an industrialized nation country takes responsibility for the layer of greenhouse gases it has already added to the atmosphere. Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy Even better, alternatives to burning fossil fuels to generate electricity or propel vehicles get cheap and begin to be deployed at significant scale. The clearing and cutting of the world’s forests slows. Even farmers who don’t particularly believe in climate change begin to take steps to restore carbon to depleted soils to boost fertility. That’s what significant action to combat climate change would look like. And that’s exactly what is happening in the world right now. No matter what comes out of the traveling circus known as the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Lima, Peru over the next few weeks, nations are taking action to curb global warming on their own. And by the end of the meeting in Lima, the world should be well on its way to delivering national commitments for combating climate change. Of course, it’s not all good news. Japan’s pollution has risen anew thanks to the shutdown of nuclear reactors in the wake of the Fukushima meltdowns. Canada has repudiated its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol and seems content to let pollution rise as much and as fast as possible, perhaps because a warmer Arctic might let it find yet more tar sands and other natural resources (not unlike seemingly pro-global warming Russia). And Australia has seen its pollution swell with the repeal of its carbon tax. Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory Decades of delay mean hopes of restraining global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius or limiting CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere to less than 450 parts-per-million may seem a little unrealistic. In fact, if the world can only add roughly 1 trillion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere as has been suggested by scientists, then half has already been burned and the rest could go up in smoke in the next few decades. The world still gets 80 percent of all its energy from burning fossil fuels. No wonder geoengineering—the deliberate manipulation of the planet’s climate by sucking CO2 back out of the air or blocking sunlight—has begun to be suggested as a backup plan. Courtesy of Climate Nexus Yet, there is still hope. The world’s biggest polluter—China—will attempt to reach a peak in its voluminous output of greenhouse gases by 2030 under the terms of a new agreement with the U.S., and not a peak that is the size of the Himalayas on its borders. Under that same agreement, the U.S. will attempt to cut its CO2 pollution by as much as 28 percent by 2025. The European Union rounds out the world’s biggest industrial polluters by committing to a 40 percent cut by 2030. Electricity generated by the wind and sun has boomed in recent years, as has the hydropower from dams. China is building more nuclear power plants instead of coal-fired ones—and has pledged to increase such low-carbon energy to 20 percent of its supply by 2030. A shift to less CO2-intensive natural gas is pushing aside dirtier oil and coal while increasing energy efficiency means more heating, cooling, motion and light without as much growth in burning fossil fuels. Slowly but surely CO2 capture and storage is beginning to be tried on power plants and other big pollution sources. At every level—individuals, families, cities, states, provinces, even multinational corporations—efforts to cut CO2 are underway, ranging from planting street trees to a bid to replace palm oil from deforested bits of Indonesia. That deforestation has helped push Indonesia into the unfortunate position of being the world’s third largest greenhouse gas polluter at times. At the same time, Brazil has slowed its clearing of the Amazon rainforest. These are still small steps, and so far inadequate to the scale of the challenge ahead, which involves reaching zero pollution before the end of the 21st century. Courtesy of Carbon Brief But these are first steps and they are coming at a quickening pace, which suggest a possible future free of catastrophic climate change. More and faster should be the new slogan for action to address global warming. How much more and how much faster should be the only issue for negotiation. When assessing the news from Lima, keep in mind that the international process does not encompass all the progress made to combat climate change to date. source of this article :www.scientificamerican.com