But teams of American researchers are looking into ways to build multipurpose sensors based on new forms of carbon molecules. In the drive to build so-called chem-bio-rad nanosensors, nanotubes – carbon molecules coaxed to assemble into long tubes – are competing against flattened nanoribbons.

The research is being led by a joint effort of NASA and the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)’s Technology Innovation Office.

Meyya Meyyappan, chief scientist for exploration technology at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California, is building a postage-stamp-sized sensor chip based on nanotubes.

In purely chemical terms, nanotubes are not necessarily more sensitive than other detector substances. The key is their tubular shapes, which provide more surface area for chemical reactions with contaminants.

“That would mean larger absorption rates for a given gas or vapor, which can change the property of that nanomaterial quickly,” Meyyappan said. “Measuring and monitoring that property forms the basis for sensing.”

All sensors have the challenge of detecting minute quantities. “In general, with gases like nerve gas, you’re talking about detecting parts per billion,” Meyyappan said. “That’s the target that we have.”

His nanotubes are coated with various chemicals sensitive to the three classes of substance.

“A single material won’t be sensitive to everything,” Meyyappan said. “So in the same sensor chip, we will have multiple sensors.”

Just how many? He’s working to find that out.

“With a 1-square-centimeter chip, when we started, we had 12 sensors. Then we had 36, then 64, then 96. We have gone up to 256. That doesn’t mean we want to detect 256 different threats. Sometimes, we like to have some redundancy. It won’t be 20, but it won’t be 256, either,” he said.

Because other sensors can detect parts per billion, Meyyappan spends a lot of time making the case for nanotubes. He notes that nanotube sensors require much less power than conventional technology, which means smaller batteries. They are also generally smaller than similar lab instruments.

“One advantage we have is that this is not a laboratory instrument. A lot of other sensors for nerve gas are bulky instruments, whereas ours will be a postage-stamp-sized chip with low power consumption,” he said.

Meyyappan’s work for DTRA is based on a NASA nanosensor that detects dangerous formaldehyde gas in the air aboard the International Space Station.

“They needed a sensor that was small, unobtrusive and didn’t consume much power,” he said. “It’s been working beautifully for the past year.”

DTRA declined to discuss the “3-in-1 chip.”

NASA’s Ames Center is also working on chemical sensors for the Department of Homeland Security. The biggest challenge has been false alarms, said Jing Li, NASA’s principal investigator for the project.

Li said NASA is working on improving the nanomaterials and the software algorithms to generate fewer false positives.

Questions of cost loom over the DTRA and Homeland Security research. Will sensors based on carbon nanotubes or other nanotechnologies cost more than conventional technology?

“Probably not,” Meyyappan said. “The reason I say that is that this is a chip-based fabrication. The technologies that go into fabricating the chips are similar to the microelectronics and semiconductor revolution, so you use that kind of a foundry. There is a historical precedence for this in terms of miniaturization.

“Don’t let anyone tell you nanotubes are expensive,” he said. “Each sensor uses a nanogram of nanotubes. So, if you buy one gram, you can make a gazillion sensors. The price [of sensors] is not determined by nanotube cost.”

An online search shows that a gram of nanotubes costs as little as $25.
Nanoribbons

At the U.S. Office of Naval Research, Chagaan Baatar, program officer for nanoscale electronics, points to his agency’s research on nanoribbons made from graphene, a 1-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms. The name is derived from graphite, which consists of several graphene sheets stacked together.

Baatar compares nanoribbons to a carpet that has been unrolled.

“From an electronics point of view, graphene does everything a carbon nanotube can do, only better,” he said. Graphene “has wonderful properties: very high speed, very low power consumption. It has enormous strength. It is actually stronger than stainless steel. It has been reported as the strongest material known to man. It has wonderful thermal properties that conduct heat better than other materials.”

Baatar argues that graphene can yield thinner, more sensitive detectors with a wider detection area than a nanotube – think of an unrolled carpet versus a rolled one. Beyond its sensor application, he said, graphene could be used to make lighter, stronger, more power-thrifty components within the sensor electronics.

The post-manufacturing properties of nanoribbons are also more predictable than in a batch of nanotubes, Baatar said.

“Different tubes have very different electronic properties. When you synthesize them, they are a mixed bag. Sorting them is often very costly,” he said.

Meyyappan argues that time is on the side of nanotubes.

“Graphene may or may not be better. But it will take another five to 10 years to see it in the marketplace,” he said.

Not every defense researcher is optimistic about the sensor potential of nanotechnology in either form. Joseph Van Nostrand, a senior electronics engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Information Directorate, said that nanotech is one thing, but nanotech that meets military specifications is something else. Nanotubes are not robust enough for extreme conditions such as heat and humidity, Van Nostrand said. Turning raw nanotubes into sensors won’t be easy, he said.

“You can imagine trying to place a carbon nanotube or other nanomaterials on a substrate for a circuit, which is like trying to place a grain of sand on a football field, and then doing it a billion times and expecting it to be consistent every time,” he said. “Manufacturing is the Achilles heel.”

Van Nostrand said the infinitesimal size of nanotubes turns out to be a curse as well as a blessing. A sensor based on nanotubes “is more sensitive to a small number of defects because it is such a small thing in the first place,” he said. “If you have a huge brick wall and you pull one brick out, the wall can withstand it. But if you have just three rows of bricks and pull one brick out, it will crumble.”

The extreme sensitivity of nanosensors also renders them vulnerable to false positives.

“One particle would be plenty to set off a nanosensor. But then again, maybe the wrong type of particle lands on it and maybe it’s not discriminating enough and sends off a false positive,” Van Nostrand said.

Meyyappan attributes much of the criticism to misperceptions.

” ‘Fragile’ is the last word I would use to describe nanotubes,” he said. “In our system, we don’t need to sort different tubes; we use all kinds of tubes mixed together. The only requirement is purification, because we don’t want junk in there.”

http://defensenews.com/story.php?i=4538235&c=FEA&s=TEC

The external surface of these nano containers could be decorated with molecules that guide them to where they are needed in the body, before the chemical load is discharged to exert its effect on diseased cells. The containers are particles of the Cowpea mosaic virus, which is ideally suited for designing biomaterial at the nanoscale.

“This is a shot in the arm for all Cowpea mosaic virus technology,” said Professor George Lomonossoff of the John Innes Centre, one of the authors on a paper to be published in the specialized nanotechnology scientific journal, Small.

Scientists have previously tried to empty virus particles of their genetic material using irradiation or chemical treatment. Though successful in rendering the particles non-infectious, these methods have not fully emptied the particles.

Scientists at the John Innes Centre, funded by the BBSRC and the John Innes Foundation, discovered they could assemble empty particles from precursors in plants and then extract them to insert chemicals of interest. Scientists at JIC and elsewhere had also previously managed to decorate the surface of virus particles with useful molecules.

“But now we can load them too, creating fancy chemical containers,” said lead author Dr Dave Evans.

“This brings a huge change to the whole technology and opens up new areas of research,” said Prof Lomonossoff.

“We don’t really know all the potential applications yet because such particles have not been available before. There is no history of them.”

One application could be in cancer treatment. Integrins are molecules that appear on cancer cells. The virus particles could be coated externally with peptides that bind to integrins.

This would mean the particles seek out cancer cells to the exclusion of healthy cells. Once bound to the cancer cell, the virus particle would release an anti-cancer agent that has been carried as an internal cargo.

Some current drugs damage healthy cells as well as the cancer, leading to hair loss and other side effects. This technology could deliver the drug in a more targeted way.

“The potential for developing Cowpea mosaic virus as a targeted delivery agent of therapeutics is now a reality,” said Dr Evans.

The empty viral particles, their use, and the processes by which they are made, are the subject of a new patent filing. Management of the patent and commercialization of the technology is being handled by PBL.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8812230461

The Bio-Nano Electronics Research Centre has been selected as a 21st Century’s Centre of Excellence (2003-2007) and a High-Tech Research Centre (1996–2010).

The Bio-Nano Electronics Research Centre was also selected as one of 13 Nanotechnology Support Centres in Japan thanks to the advanced high-tech facilities and equipment.

Doctoral candidates, who have already obtained Master’s degree in science or engineering can carry out advanced bio-nano fusion research using state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.

Entrance in April or October each year.  Bio-Nano Electronics Research Centre, Toyo University  2100, Kujirai, Kawagoe, Saitama 350-8585, Japan E-mail: bnel [at] toyonet.toyo.ac [.] jp

URL: nls.cse.eng.toyo.ac.jp/nls/bionano/COEtop.htm

The Hipernano conference, which is held in partnership with Cranfield University, is dedicated to raising awareness and promoting developments in nano-materials for the high-performance engineering industry.

The conference, exhibition and poster presentations will showcase scientific and commercial developments alongside far-sighting by industry professionals on challenges yet to be addressed.

The ‘wonder’ materials promised by nanotechnology are beginning to appear in the commercial world, and are solving real-world problems in the transport and performance engineering sectors.

The higher-visibility consumer products such as polishes, glass treatments and colour changing paints are only the beginning.

Nanofilled polymers and resins, and nanostructured ceramics and coatings, offer higher performance and/or additional functionality such as wear and erosion resistance, lighting-weighting, reduced friction, toughening, UV resistance, corrosion control and aesthetic enhancement.

A key area is the hidden but important drive to find high-performance, but environmentally friendly, alternatives to toxic materials.

Ian Minards, director of product development at Aston Martin, will be giving an overview of the environmental, legislative and market pressures in the high luxury automotive sector and will discuss how Aston Martin is looking to meet these challenges.

Topics will include mass reduction, aerodynamic efficiency and friction reduction.

Dr Al Lambourne, strategic materials at Rolls-Royce, will review the enabling role of nanotechnology in the aerospace sector and Rolls-Royce’s policy to support early stage nanotechnology research.

His presentation will include electronic materials, bulk structural materials and coatings, all aimed at enhancing future engine performance.

Dr Graham Sims, head of materials and engineering at the National Physical Laboratory, will focus on an exercise supported by the Hipernano focus group to review the needs and feasibility of developing an engineering data handbook for nanocomposite properties.

Using electrical properties of carbon-nanotube-filled polymers as a case study, Sims will discuss the influences of processing, CNT type and length and issues related to improving the availability and validity of published data.

Additional speakers will cover a range of material and processing issues, and include Johnson Matthey, Polyfect Solutions, Exilica, Promethean Particles, Keronite Group, Indestructible Paints, BHR Group and Netcomposites UK.

Terra posts are usually fun for me because I get to explore the sassiness of flora/fauna/gaia and boil it down for the HAWT readers.  This one, though, makes me nervous because I’m concerned about doing the subject justice.  I know spider silk is worthy of its own post, I just hope that is apparent in my portrayal.  A loyal HAWT reader is thinking, “A terra post about a part of an animal?”  That’s how highly we rate the spider silk here at HAWT.  Don’t worry, I’m sure there’s a Terra: Spider post in our future.  But the silk?  It demands its own spotlight.

Spider silk is a protein, quite simply.  It’s a chain of amino acids, mainly glycene and alanine, that has some amazing qualities.  Like?  Well, it’s incredibly strong.  Its tensile strength is almost as strong as steel, yet it is much less dense than steel.  Put those two together, and you realize that spider silk’s tensile strength to density ratio is about five times that of steel.  In fact, spider silk is as strong as kevlar, which… well… stops bullets.

I’m nervous about putting this in perspective.  How about this?  If you got a strand of silk to circle the planet–all 40,000 kilometers–it would only weight 450 grams (16 ounces).  Holy.  Moly.

And yet spider silk is flexible!  Depending on the humidity in the air (and in the silk), it can stretch anywhere from 30-300% longer than its original length without breaking.  Kevlar?  No stretching.  Steel?  No stretching.

They actually spin the silk out their… well… ass area.  The glands that produce the silk hold the raw materials, which are protein gels.  Spiders control the type of silk they produce by altering the mix of these gels in the gossamer.  Once the silk is created, it sits in the ampulla, which acts as a storage sack.  When the spider wants it, it is pulled through a spinning duct and out into the world via the visible spinneret organs.  Pushing the silk through the duct removes the water from the solution and it instantly becomes a solid.  Ummm…  Wow.  No one knows how that happens.   No one knows how they turn liquid protein into solid protein at room temperature.  They know it’s something to do with the pH, shape and chemical makeup of the spinneret, but it not close to being reproduced anywhere.  It has scientist frothing at the mouth.

Let’s look at the silk glands of the simple European garden spider.  Which ones do they have?  They have 4 glands dedicated to silk to build their web frame, 4 for their egg sac silk, 4 for “glue,” and 2 for the thread of glue lines.  In addition, they have hundreds of smaller glands that act as spigots to make attachment points, be the outer lining of egg sacks and to ensnare prey.

If nature making a fiber that is as strong as any fiber made by man (yet more flexible), made at room temperature from liquid sources, able to change its quality instantly wasn’t enough…  Well, good, because there’s more.  Spider silk is impervious to bacteria and fungi.  Nothing can really break it down.  It’s also waterproof.  Essentially, that cobweb will sit in the corner of your room until you tear it down.  It’s not going anywhere.

Still not enough?  How about the fact that the silk is totally recyclable?  A spider can eat a cobweb and respin that same silk.  Holy.  Moly.  (As I’ve though throughout every Terra post… humans are so boring.)

So, why would scientists want to reproduce spider silk?   The National Geographic has an interesting quick list to give you an understanding of the potential.  Artificial spiders silk could be useful in “extremely thin sutures for eye or nerve surgery, plasters and other wound covers, artificial ligaments and tendons, textiles for parachutes, protective clothing and body armor, ropes, fishing nets, and so on.”

http://hawtaction.com/2008/05/terra-spider-silk.html

Research in this week’s Nature Nanotechnology takes aim at a biological icon: the two-dimensional petri dish. Scientists from Rice University and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have found a simple way to suspend cells in magnetic fields so they grow into three-dimensional cell cultures. Compared with flat cell cultures, the 3-D cell cultures more closely resemble real tissues from the body and should provide more realistic targets for testing new drugs.

3-D cell culture: making cells feel right at home

Houston, TX | Posted on March 15th, 2010

The film “Avatar” isn’t the only 3-D blockbuster making a splash this winter. A team of scientists from Houston’s Texas Medical Center this week unveiled a new technique for growing 3-D cell cultures, a technological leap from the flat petri dish that could save millions of dollars in drug-testing costs. The research is reported in Nature Nanotechnology.

The 3-D technique is easy enough for most labs to set up immediately. It uses magnetic forces to levitate cells while they divide and grow. Compared with cell cultures grown on flat surfaces, the 3-D cell cultures tend to form tissues that more closely resemble those inside the body.

“There’s a big push right now to find ways to grow cells in 3-D because the body is 3-D, and cultures that more closely resemble native tissue are expected to provide better results for preclinical drug tests,” said study co-author Tom Killian, associate professor of physics at Rice. “If you could improve the accuracy of early drug screenings by just 10 percent, it’s estimated you could save as much as $100 million per
drug.”

For cancer research, the “invisible scaffold” created by the magnetic field goes beyond its potential for producing cell cultures that are more reminiscent of real tumors, which itself would be an important advance, said co-author Wadih Arap, professor in the David H. Koch Center at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

To make cells levitate, the research team modified a combination of gold nanoparticles and engineered viral particles called “phage” that was developed in the lab of Arap and Renata Pasqualini, also of the Koch Center. This targeted “nanoshuttle” can deliver payloads to specific organs or tissues.

“A logical next step for us will be to use this additional magnetic property in targeted ways to explore possible applications in the imaging and treatment of tumors,” Arap said.

The 3-D modeling raises another interesting long-term possibility. “This is a step toward building better models of organs in the lab,” Pasqualini said.

The new technique is an example of the innovation that can result when experts come together from disparate fields. Killian studies ultracold atoms and uses finely tuned magnetic fields to manipulate them. He had been working with Rice bioengineer Robert Raphael for several years on methods to use magnetic fields to manipulate cells. So when Killian’s friend Glauco Souza, then an Odyssey Scholar studying with Arap and Pasqualini, mentioned one day that he was developing a gel that could load cancer cells with magnetic nanoparticles, it led to a new idea.

“We wondered if we might be able to use magnetic fields to manipulate the cells after my gels put magnetic nanoparticles into them,” said Souza, who left M.D. Anderson in 2009 to co-found Nano3D Biosciences (www.n3dbio.com), a startup that subsequently licensed the technology from Rice and M.D. Anderson.

The nanoparticles in this case are tiny bits of iron oxide. These are added to a gel that contains phage. When cells are added to the gel, the phage causes the particles to be absorbed into cells over a few hours. The gel is then washed away, and the nanoparticle-loaded cells are placed in a petri dish filled with a liquid that promotes cell growth and division.

In the new study, the researchers showed that by placing a coin-sized magnet atop the dish’s lid, they could lift the cells off the bottom of the dish, concentrate them and allow them to grow and divide while they were suspended in the liquid.

A key experiment was performed in collaboration with Jennifer Molina, a graduate student in the laboratory of Maria-Magdalena Georgescu, an M.D. Anderson associate professor in neuro-oncology and also a co-author, in which the technique was used on brain tumor cells called glioblastomas. The results showed that cells grown in the 3-D medium produced proteins that were similar to those produced by gliobastoma tumors in mice, while cells grown in 2-D did not show this similarity.

Souza said that Nano3D Biosciences is conducting additional tests to compare how the new method stacks up against existing methods of growing 3-D cell cultures. He said he is hopeful that it will provide results that are just as good, if not better, than longstanding techniques that use 3-D scaffolds.

Raphael, a paper co-author, associate professor in bioengineering and a member of Rice’s BioScience Research Collaborative, said, “The beauty of this method is that it allows natural cell-cell interactions to drive assembly of 3-D microtissue structures. The method is fairly simple and should be a good point of entry in 3-D cell culturing for any lab that’s interested in drug discovery, stem cell biology, regenerative medicine or biotechnology.”

Other co-authors include Daniel Stark and Jeyarama Ananta, both of Rice; Carly Levin of Nano3D Biosciences; and Michael Ozawa, Lawrence Bronk, Jami Mandelin, James Bankson and Juri Gelovani, all of M.D. Anderson.

The research was funded by M.D. Anderson’s Odyssey Scholar Program, the Department of Defense’s Breast Cancer Research Program, the National Science Foundation, the Packard Foundation, the Gillson-Longenbaugh Foundation, AngelWorks, the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.

####

About Rice University
Located in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked one of America’s best teaching and research universities. Known for its “unconventional wisdom,” Rice is distinguished by its: size — 3,102 undergraduates and 2,237 graduate students; selectivity — 12 applicants for each place in the freshman class; resources — an undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5-to-1; sixth largest endowment per student among American private research universities; residential college system, which builds communities that are both close-knit and diverse; and collaborative culture, which crosses disciplines, integrates teaching and research, and intermingles undergraduate and graduate work. To learn more, visit www.rice.edu.

Who Knew? explore.rice.edu/explore/Who_Knew.asp

About M. D. Anderson
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world’s most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. M. D. Anderson is one of only 39 Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. For six of the past eight years, M. D. Anderson has ranked No. 1 in cancer care in “America’s Best Hospitals,” a survey published annually in U.S. News and World Report. To learn more, visit www.mdanderson.org.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Jade Boyd
713-348-6778
jadeboyd@rice.edu

Scott Merville
713-792-0661
smerville@mdanderson.org

SVTC, which operates a development office in Austin, specializes in commercialization services for new emerging silicon-based technologies.

It has distributed mini semiconductor products and services through Japan-based Advantec Co. Ltd. for ten years. But the new agreement was expanded to include other parts of Asia.

SVTC will supply test wafers, or tiny slices of semiconductor material, and analytical services to customers in Asia. The products are used in industries including novel memory, novel transistors, logic, MEMS, biotechnology, image sensors and photovoltaics.

The idea is to get the younger sector interested in this technology. Nanotechnology is an emerging research challenge in the country with several associations and research establishments already up and running.

The exhibiyion is aptly named “Nanotechnology: infinitesimally small, big challenges” and will consist of four distinct modules offering the visitor manipulation, interactive multimedia, videos, objects and facilities to discover and confront this new world, innovation and industrial dimensions of the debate over nanotechnology.

PALO ALTO, CA – Sand Hill Advisors, a respected investment management and wealth advisory firm with more than $1 billion under management, today announced its new company name, Sand Hill Global Advisors. The name change reflects the global nature of the challenges and opportunities facing clients today; it also more accurately describes the firm’s global view of markets and economic conditions, and its holistic, or global, approach to meeting clients’ needs.

“Today’s unveiling of the Sand Hill Global Advisors name marks a significant milestone for our company,” explained Jane Williams, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer. Founded in 1982 as Conway Luongo Williams Inc, the firm became Sand Hill Advisors, Inc. in 1995. In 2009 the company completed a stock re-purchase from then parent company, Boston Private Financial Holdings (NASDAQ: BPFH), and today the firm is owned by its employees with outside financing from Fiduciary Network of Dallas, TX. “The evolution of Sand Hill and the positive path that is now in front of us, particularly since our stock-repurchase in 2009, are testaments to the quality of our investment team and the demand that exists for our hallmark broad, service-focused advisory capabilities,” added Williams.

Brian Dombkowski, Chief Investment Officer, commented, “Our new name, Sand Hill Global Advisors, more accurately reflects the company’s leadership position and expertise in building global asset allocation investment strategies for the affluent individuals, families, and institutions we serve.”

Effective immediately, all business activity will be conducted using the new name. The website address and mail addresses remain unchanged.

About Sand Hill Global Advisors (formerly Sand Hill Advisors)
Sand Hill Global Advisors was founded as Conway Luongo Williams Inc in 1982 and is based in Palo Alto, California. Our offerings include investment planning and risk management, retirement and estate planning, philanthropic strategies, divorce financial consulting, and solutions for women in transition.

For more information about the company, contact Priscilla Joyce at 650.854.9150, or visit the website at http://www.shadv.com.

Source:

http://www.1888pressrelease.com/sand-hill-advisors-changes-name-to-sand-hill-global-advisors-pr-192472.html

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Restoration Environmental, one of Canada’s leading GREEN environmental remediation contractors in Asbestos Removal, Demolition and Disaster Recovery, and Water Damage Restoration Emergency Response.

Restoration Environmental Contractors-REC Demolition announced their 21st anniversary of being GREEN.

Established in 1989, the company has completed over 9,000 environmental restoration and demolition projects throughout Ontario, Canada, specializing in demolition, asbestos removal, lead abatement and industrial plant cleaning, plant decommissioning & closures, site and soil remediation, disaster recovery and emergency response in the industrial, commercial, governmental and institutional sectors.

Restoration Environmental prides themselves on their outstanding safety record, their commitment to environmental stewardship, the high level of productivity of their skilled unionized workforce and by enforcing the Three R’s – Reduce, Re-use and Recycle, the company’s “Green LEED Philosophy” and market strategy.

Restoration Environmental’s senior project management and site supervisory team has accumulated more than one million hours of on-site contracting experience, whether they are small or large projects, from emergency service response calls, or maintenance calls, or multi-million dollar demolition, disaster recovery, and environmental remediation projects.

REC believes the process should be simple, while at the same time creating options for their clients that offer sound environmental solutions in plant decommissioning, site decontamination, soil remediation and demolition.

The company’s commitment to meet the needs of their clients with experienced, highly skilled unionized workers, well-planned project planning and an assurance to quality means that Restoration Environmental can help with a disaster recovery emergency response readiness plan, plant decommissioning or closure, an asbestos removal, an environmental remediation, demolition or historic restoration project.

Restoration Environmental Contractors – REC Demolition – REC Disaster
Recovery services include:
- Environmental Abatement and Soil Remediation Contractors
- Demolition; Deconstruction, Asset Recovery, Equipment Dismantling
- Hazardous Materials Removal; asbestos removal, Mold, PCBs, Lead.
- Plant Closures: Industrial Plant Decommissioning, Soil & Site
Remediation
- Removal and Interior Plant Cleaning of Heavy Metals
- Disaster Recovery; Planning Cost saving Service Contracts
- Fire, Sewage Backup, Flood, Water, Wind Damage Restoration
- Emergency Response: bonded secure, CPIC Police Cleared Staff.

Corporate Profile Background:

Restoration Environmental REC Demolition REC Disaster Recovery is a turnkey, full-service, emergency response contractor and environmental contractor, a recognized leader in the environmental, demolition, restoration and construction industry. Their exceptional reputation, aggressive health & safety program and quality client services make them one of Canada’s leading environmental and government emergency response contractors.

Don Bremner and David Bremner are the founders of The Passion Campaign.ca an awareness campaign bringing together local food banks and thirteen charities that help the poor, homeless and less fortunate every day in Brantford, Hamilton, Markham and Toronto-GTA www.thepassioncampaign.ca;

Don Bremner and Restoration Environmental Contractors – REC Demolition – REC Disaster Recovery were the Proud Owners of The Markham Waxers Junior “A” Hockey Club for 11 years, from 1994-2005 Web: markhamwaxersarchives.ca;

Don Bremner is the President and majority owner of Abcott Construction Ltd. a Design Build General Contractors (Est. 1972), an awarded Butler Builders, Project Managers and Construction Managers. Builders of ICI specializing in manufacturing, commercial, institutional, government (schools), steel and automotive dealerships / industries. www.abcott.ca

Press Contact: Don Bremner
P.O. Box 746, 10 Stalwart industrial Drive Unit 5
Gormley, Ontario, Canada, L0H 1G0 tel:1-905-888-0066 fax: 905-888-0071
rec ( @ ) restorationenvironmental dot com

http://www.environmentalhazards.com/

Call 1-800-894-4924 – Please forward all Project or Tender Related E-Mails to: rec ( @ ) restorationenvironmental dot com or info ( @ ) abcott dot ca

For more information on all REC’s services, please visit our Websites: www.recdemolition.com, www.environmentalhazards.com, www.recdisaster.com or www.soilremediation.com. www.leadabatement.com, www.toxicmold.ca, www.pcbremoval.com, www.asbestoscleanup.com; www.asbestosremoval.org

See our BLOG: http://recdemolition.blogspot.com and www.soilremediation.com

For further information: Don Bremner at 1-800-894-4924 toll-free or Email donbremner ( @ ) restorationenvironmental dot com

Source:

http://www.1888pressrelease.com/asbestos-removal/demolition/asbestos-removal-demolition-mold-remediation-lead-abateme-pr-192923.html

Fresno, CA – Maxwell, Turner & Associates, Inc. a financial recovery institute in Fresno California announces an expansion of its already robust Medical Collections Department.

Faced with the high cost of medical malpractice insurance, expensive pharmaceuticals, qualified clinical and administrative personnel, office leases, and lagging medical insurance claims, twenty-first century docs need professional help to collect payment for services rendered.

In the complex world of medical billing, collecting debts can be very difficult. Medical debt collection is complex because of the number of agencies often involved including insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, and the patient. For the average doctor’s office or dental facility, hiring a full staff of collection professionals may be necessary, but can be too costly of an option to consider. This is where Maxwell, Turner & Associates, Inc. can help.

Maxwell, Turner & Associates is doubling the size of its existing Medical Collections staff in an effort to meet the growing demand for recovery in an ailing industry. More phone reps, more medical billing training, more more MORE!

Don’t forget about a debt or give up in pursuing the payment on a debt due to the complexity of medical debt. Let Maxwell, Turner & Associates, Inc. help you through education, guidance, and specific consultation services regarding medical debt collection options. Medical debt is bad for your financial health and should be treated with the best care available. MTA can provide you with quality services in recovering unpaid medical debts.

Who Are They For?
A range of medical facilities often require the help of collections professionals. This includes:

* Hospitals

* Clinics

* Physicians

* Dentists

* Chiropractors

* Urgent Care facilities

* Ambulatory and EMS facilities

They also often require a range of collection account types. Workers compensation claims, patient responsibility claims and accounts, insurance follow up and pre-collection help is available. Each type of account requires a unique set of practices to get the debts paid.

Medical Clients aren’t “immune” to this economy. They need help too!

To learn more about their expansion or to read up on all things financial recovery related, please visit Maxwell, Turner & Associates, Inc on the web at : www.maxwellturner.com

http://www.maxwellturnerandassociates.com

Source:

http://www.1888pressrelease.com/maxwell-turner-associates-inc-expands-its-medical-colle-pr-192889.html

Online bingo players worldwide can enjoy a week of fantastic new promotions from BingoBeez starting with Mother’s Day on 14th March, 2010. Offering a one-day only special of $25 worth of BBs for one lucky player drawn at random on the 14th March, and for all players a 100% redeposit bonus for all deposits over $20, BingoBeez is certain that it will be a promotion that many can really take advantage of.

Not just for moms, mums, and mothers of the world, online bingo promotions such as this one, are there to honour mothers and in doing so, everyone is able to make the most of the offering.

For online bingo enthusiasts, this promotion spearheads a week of many which are geared at rewarding regular players taking part, not just those who play the most frequently.

BingoBeez is primarily a social site, so many of the competitions, promotions, bingo bonuses and games are equally open to those playing regardless of whether it is one time or many times. The emphasis on the site is on online bingo fun – so there is a 24/7 live chat facility as well as bingo chat games on and off throughout the day.

Being a social site, complete with Twitter and Facebook, it offers those looking for free bingo online a free hall with bingo games playing every 30 minutes and a progressive jackpot and cash prize – just like paid bingo games online. BingoBeez also offers a unique free lottery to its players as well as bingo games which start from just cents or pence depending on which hall players choose to play in.

And their players love it! As one happy player named Slipper Lady said, “Wow you offer great prizes at this site!” in a recent email thanking BingoBeez for her birthday bonus.

Having just finished the International Women’s Day celebration where one lucky bingo player drawn at random, was sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers, BingoBeez is now focussing on celebrating Mother’s Day, with its prize of $25 worth of BBs, and in swift succession, St. Patrick’s Day too!

Named “Luck of the Irish” promotion, the St. Patrick’s Day promotion comprises bingo games at allocated times in the Classic bingo hall, Party bingo hall, and Blowout Bingo Hall where prizes are offered for players managing to find a “P” pattern on their bingo card. Jackpots range from $1000 – $1500 and there are also prizes of BBs for chat games during the same times.

BingoBeez aims to give as many of its online bingo players a chance to win so is running this promotion all week from the 8th – 17th March inclusive. On St. Patrick’s Day itself, there will be one lucky player drawn at random who will win a $50 voucher for either Amazon or Wal-Mart (players can choose) – so there’s an even bigger incentive to play on the lucky day itself!

However these are not the only promotions planned as BingoBeez will be hosting their first birthday celebrations less than a month away on April 8th!

With promotions such as these for Mother’s Day and St. Paddy’s Day, the promise of more to come with Easter and their first Birthday celebrations, and their ongoing $10 free sign up bonus (no deposit) promotion, it’s no wonder that players of all ages everywhere are flocking to play online bingo at BingoBeez, where their slogan online bingo with a buzz, really is true!

http://www.bingobeez.com

Source:

http://www.1888pressrelease.com/online-bingo/play-online-bingo/online-bingo-site-bingobeez-offers-players-a-week-of-promoti-pr-192917.html

नैनो: उपभोक्ता अतिरिक्त जानकारी की आवश्यकता

क्योंकि त्वचा से संपर्क के पहले अंक और बचाव के नव निर्मित नैनो सामग्री के लिए पहली पंक्ति है, डा. नासिर ने कहा कि कई त्वचा विशेषज्ञ संभावित स्वास्थ्य नैनो से उत्पन्न खतरों के बारे में चिंता है. “हालांकि नैनो एक रोमांचक क्षेत्र में जबरदस्त क्षमता रखता है,” डॉ. नासिर, “हमें उत्सुकता नैनोकणों की सुरक्षा की समीक्षा एफडीए है जो त्वचा कैंसर के उत्पादों में अपने भविष्य की भूमिका तय करेगा की प्रतीक्षा है.”

El resultado final es un diamante-como la masa de material de carbono producido en la escala nanométrica que no se desgaste. El nuevo nano-tamaño de la punta, dicen los investigadores, se desgasta a un ritmo de un átomo por micrómetro de deslizamiento sobre un sustrato de dióxido de silicio, mucho más bajo que el de una punta de óxido de silicio, que representa el estado actual de la técnica de la. Formado por carbono, hidrógeno, oxígeno y silicio, moldeado en la forma de un nano-tamaño Consejo e integrado en el final de un microcantilever de silicio para uso en microscopía de fuerza atómica, el material tiene implicaciones tecnológicas de imagen atómica, investigación basada en almacenamiento de datos y como las aplicaciones emergentes, tales como nanolitografía, nanometrología y nanofabricación.

La importancia del descubrimiento reside no sólo en su tamaño y resistencia al desgaste, pero también en el sustrato duro contra el que se ha demostrado funcionar bien cuando en contacto deslizante: dióxido de silicio. Debido a que el silicio – se utiliza en casi todos los dispositivos de circuitos integrados – se oxida en la atmósfera formando una capa delgada de su óxido, este sistema es el más relevante para nanolitografía, nanometrología y aplicaciones de nanofabricación.
Sonda de tecnologías basadas en la se espera que desempeñen un papel dominante en muchas de esas tecnologías, sin embargo, el rendimiento de desgaste pobres de muchos materiales, cuando se deslizó en contra de óxido de silicio, incluyendo el óxido de silicio en sí, tiene una utilidad limitada gravemente al laboratorio.
Los investigadores construyeron el material de la tierra para arriba, en lugar de recubrimiento de una punta a nanoescala con materiales resistentes al desgaste. La colaboración utilizaron una técnica de moldeo para la fabricación de puntas de microcantilevers monolítica de silicio estándar. Una técnica de procesamiento a granel que tiene el potencial de la escala para la fabricación comercial está disponible.
Robert Carpick, profesor en el Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica y Mecánica Aplicada de Penn, y su grupo de investigación había demostrado que la emisión de carbono basados en películas delgadas, incluyendo carbono diamante, había de baja fricción y el desgaste en la nanoescala, sin embargo, se ha difíciles de fabricar estructuras a nanoescala hechas de carbono diamante hasta ahora.
Comprender la fricción y el desgaste en la nano escala es importante para muchas aplicaciones que incluyen componentes de dimensión nanométrica se desliza sobre una superficie.
“No está claro que los materiales que son resistentes al desgaste en la exhibición de macro-escala de la misma propiedad en la nanoescala,” el autor principal Harish Bhaskaran, que era una investigación postdoctoral en IBM durante el estudio, dijo.

Defectos, grietas y otros fenómenos que influyen en la resistencia del material y llevar a escalas macroscópicas son menos importantes a escala nanométrica, por lo que los nanocables pueden, por ejemplo, muestran mayores fortalezas que las muestras a granel.
El estudio, publicado en la edición actual de la revista Nature Nanotechnology, se llevó a cabo en colaboración por Carpick e investigador postdoctoral Papot Jaroenapibal del Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica y Mecánica Aplicada en la escuela de Penn de la Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas; Bhaskaran, Bernd Gotsmann, Abu Sebastián, Ute Drechsler, Mark A. Lantz y Michel Despont de Investigación de IBM-Zürich, y Chen Yun y Kumar Sridharan de la Universidad de Wisconsin. Jaroenapibal actualmente trabaja en la Universidad Khon Kaen en Tailandia, y Bhaskaran actualmente trabaja en la Universidad de Yale.

“Multi-million dollar nanotechnology innovation parks are under advanced stages of negotiations and will be set up with public-private partnership,” Boston-based Nanobiosym’s Chairman and CEO Dr Anita Goel told PTI on her way to Gujarat.

Partners in this venture would be The state government and Indian private stakeholders consortium.

The nanotechonology market is expected to be worth USD 2.9 trillion by 2014

Common interests will be setup such as research and development, Education, Industrial links, SME’s and Environment

The first joint projects are expected during 2010

Nanotechnology is the use of technology using very small things. A nanometer is a component of measurement. Nanotechnology useunits between 1 and 100 nanometers. If you took 800,000 nanometers and laid them side by side it would be about the width of a hair. That’s small stuff. Being able to operate and manipulate elements on such a tiny scale holds great potential benefit in the medical arena. Many institutions and researchers are engaged in exciting studies that could change the face of health care. Some advances are already happening.

Presently a number of experiments are using nanotechnology in a various methods. One application is in how nanotechnology can help in diagnosing and treating cancer. A major downside to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, is that it can’t specifically target only cancer cells. Healthy and unhealthy cells are assaulted. With nanotechnology specific cells can be targeted. There are studies that employee RNA strands that can find and attach to cancer cells. These strands, when connected can release anti-cancer agents into the afflicted cells. Research has also considered the possibility of creating a color coding system using nanotechnology that would create protein indicators that would find and link to cancer cells for easy identification. Another developing use nanotechnology in the fight against cancer is nanoshells. Nanoshells are made of tiny beads with various thicknesses made of gold. These shells are drawn to cancer cells, surround them and then are heated with near infrared light which destroys the cancer cells, but spares the nearby healthy cells not surrounded by nanoshells.

Nanodevices would be small enough to operate inside a cell. They would be little enough that they could engage proteins and DNA. Nanodevices could monitor the cell and detect disease using a smaller quantity of cell tissue. This means that diseases and change in cell tissue could be monitored and detected much earlier in the process. Since success in fighting cancer often depends on early detection, this would be a major advance in cancer fighting technology.

Nanotechnology is a quickly becoming an area of science that combines many disciplines including; physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and many other sciences including political and social science. With ongoing discoveries in all different fields, the world of Nanotechnology will be fully upon us.

http://www.camera-notes.com/accessories/camera-bags/753-smaller-is-powerful-nanotechnology-is-an-exciting-field.php

Governments should act before nanocosmetics becomes the next asbestos scandal.

COSMETICS companies spend big on ad campaigns to convince women their products offer magic in a bottle. Expensive marketing, boosted by “scientific” claims, promises us “we’re worth it”.

But there are disturbing signs that in their quest for a competitive edge, cosmetics companies may be gambling with women’s safety. Studies suggest nanotechnology ingredients in cosmetics pose serious health risks to the women wearing them and, potentially, even their unborn babies.

The $60-billion global beauty industry has been quick to embrace nanotechnology – the “science of the small”. L’OrÌÌÌÌal, the world’s largest cosmetics company and sponsor of this week’s Melbourne Fashion Festival is one of the US’s top nanotechnology patent holders.

Cosmetics companies are interested in nanotechnology because it allows them to use familiar ingredients in entirely new ways. In extremely tiny nanoparticle form, familiar substances have different colours and textures, greater potency, and greater capacity to penetrate deep inside cells.

Nanoparticles of silica are used in anti-ageing applications to lift skin and smooth out wrinkles. Nano-scale aluminium oxide is added to foundations and concealers to deflect light, helping to hide wrinkles. Nanocapsules are used in moisturisers to deliver vitamins and anti-ageing ingredients deep into skin. Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles are used for transparent UV protection.

Testing commissioned by Friends of the Earth, and carried out by the Australian Microscopy & Microanalysis Research Facility, found nanoparticles in foundations and concealers sold by 10 top name brands – By Terry, Christian Dior, Clarins, Clinique, LancÌÌÌÌme Paris, L’OrÌÌÌÌal, Max Factor, Revlon, The Body Shop and Yves Saint Laurent. Only one of these, Christian Dior, labelled its use of nano ingredients.

The secrecy with which the cosmetics sector has started using nanotechnology has upset consumer groups internationally. Choice, the Australian consumers’ group, has argued use of nano ingredients in products such as cosmetics should be labelled.

Concerns about the cosmetics sector’s lack of transparency have been made worse by growing evidence that nanoparticles in cosmetics may pose serious new health and environmental risks.

In recent years test-tube studies have found aluminium oxide is a neurotoxin and can kill brain cells. Other test-tube studies have shown silica, titanium dioxide and zinc nanoparticles can damage DNA, especially when exposed to UV light. Scientists have expressed concern that if nanoparticles used in cosmetics or sunscreen are absorbed into living skin cells, they could increase the risk of skin cancer.

Inhalation studies have found many nanoparticles cause lung inflammation. Other live animal experiments have shown titanium dioxide nanoparticles cross the placenta of pregnant mice, harming brain development and reducing sperm production in male offspring.

What these early test-tube and animal studies mean for the millions of Australian women and teenagers who wear cosmetics remains hotly disputed. Cosmetics companies argue there is no conclusive evidence that nanoparticles used in cosmetics and sunscreens penetrate intact healthy adult skin. Even if nanoparticles are toxic, they suggest, the nanoparticles remain on the outer layers of dead skin cells.

However this argument has been undermined by a new study conducted by Macquarie University’s Brian Gulson and the CSIRO. Professor Gulson found isotope-labelled zinc from nano sunscreens applied to healthy skin was detectable in the blood and urine of human volunteers.

Despite growing concerns about safety, most nanoparticles in Australian products are effectively unregulated. Companies are not legally required to test the safety of nanoparticles before using them in products, or to label their products as containing nano ingredients.

National cosmetics regulator the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme has begun consultation on a new regulatory framework that aims to close some of the legal gaps but it does not address labelling.

The sector is making a fortune selling products about which there are serious safety concerns. The NSW and federal governments must not wait for nanotechnology to become the next big asbestos scandal.

Untested, unlabelled nanocosmetics should not be on sale.

?Lee Rhiannon is a NSW Greens MP and health spokesperson

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/regulation-only-skin-deep-20100313-q58l.html