October 24, 2006, 8:24 PM CT

Soot from wood stoves impacts global warming

New measurements of soot produced by traditional cook stoves used in developing countries suggest that these stoves emit more harmful smoke particles and could have a much greater impact on global climate change than previously thought, according to a study scheduled to appear in the Nov. 1 issue of the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Perhaps as many as 400 million of these stoves, fueled by wood or crop residue, are used daily for cooking and heating by more than 2 billion people worldwide, according to the study's lead authors, Tami Bond, Ph.D., and doctoral candidate Chris Roden of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In a field test in Honduras, the researchers found that cook stoves there, which are similar to those used in other developing nations, produce two times more smoke particles than expected, based on previous laboratory studies. These dark, sooty particles, which are darker than those produced by grassland or forest fires, have a climate warming effect because they absorb solar energy and heat the atmosphere, according to Roden.

In earlier work, Bond estimated that burning firewood -- the principal fuel for cook stoves in the developing world -- produces 800,000 metric tons of soot worldwide each year. In comparison, diesel cars and trucks generate about 890,000 metric tons of soot annually. These two sources each account for about 10 percent of the soot emitted into the world's atmosphere each year, she said.........

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October 24, 2006, 6:18 PM CT

Skin Tone Influences Perception Of Beauty

A new study is revealing that wrinkles aren't the only cue the human eye looks for to evaluate age. Facial skin color distribution, or tone, can add 10-12 years to a woman's perceived age.

The study, reported in the latest issue of the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, used three-dimensional imaging and morphing software to remove wrinkles and furrows from pictures of women, leaving skin tone as the only variable. Scientists were then able to determine exactly what impact facial skin tone has on how young, healthy and attractive people perceive the women to be. Faces with more even skin tone were judged to be younger.

"Until now, behavioral researchers have mostly ignored the overall homogeneity and color saturation of a person's skin," says lead researcher Dr. Karl Grammer. "This study points out that wrinkles aren't the only visual cue to a woman's age.

"Skin tone and luminosity may be a major signal to suitors of a woman's attractiveness, as well as of her assumed age," said Grammer, who is founder and scientific director of the Ludwig-Boltzmann-Institute for Urban Ethology at the University of Vienna, Austria.

The scientists took digital photographs of 169 Caucasian women between the ages of 10 and 70. Then they used specialized morphing software to "drape" each subject's facial skin over a standardized model, in effect, taking 169 different skin tones and applying them to a common canvas.........

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October 22, 2006, 9:58 PM CT

Marie Antoinette Reviews

The early Marie Antoinette reviews are coming in, and they don't look too bad. Not fantastic, but pretty solid. I've got to admit I haven't had one shred of interest in this film ever since I saw the first trailer for it a few months ago. The fact that Sofia Coppola is directing it gets my attention, but nothing I've seen so far has solidified that. Looks like it might be worth watching after all.

Here is what some of the critics are saying about Marie Antoinette reviews:

Highly theatrical and yet also intimate and informal, Marie Antoinette lets its story slink almost casually through its lovingly composed and rendered images.

A.O. Scott - New York Times.

The work of a mature filmmaker who has identified and developed a new cinematic vocabulary to describe a new breed of post-postpostfeminist woman.

Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly.

Let them have eye candy pretty much sums up Sofia Coppola's approach to her revisionist and modernist take on the famous royal airhead who in the end lost her head.

Todd McCarthy - Variety.

If Sofia Coppola isn't the queen of slow, she's the princess of bore. Despite its sumptuous production design and cinematography, this is grotesquely superficial, slow, and boring.........

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October 22, 2006, 9:50 PM CT

The Prestige Reviews

Early The Prestige reviews are coming out, and they don't look great. As a matter of fact, I'm really disappointed in what I'm reading. The Prestige has been one of the films I've most been looking forward to seeing ever since watching the trailer a few months back. but so far no one I've talked to who has seen it is raving about it. A bunch of people like it. but didn't love it. Damn!!

Here is what some of the critics are saying in their "The Prestige" reviews:

"Pic insists on a depth of human emotion that isn't developed -- protags emerge as one-dimensional, despite the efforts of two of our best leading actors -- amid increasingly elaborate, uninvolving plot mechanizations".

Dennis Harvey - Variety.

The Prestige isn't art, but it reaps a lot of fun out of the question, How did they do that?

Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly.

A dazzlingly complicated narrative; indeed, it might prove a little too complicated for many viewers.

Andy Klein - Los Angeles CityBeat.

Audiences might enjoy this cinematic sleight of hand, but the key characters are such single-minded, calculating individuals that the real magic would be to find any heart in this tale.

Kirk Honeycutt - Hollywood Reporter.........

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October 22, 2006, 9:44 PM CT

EXT Still The Stupid Of Trucks

The Detroit News reports: EXT still the Cadillac of trucks. We're well aware how dim we are, but isn't calling an item "The Cadillac of (whatever)" supposed to mean it's the best at what it is meant for? As in, "The new MacBook is the Cadillac of laptops" or "Google is the Cadillac of search engines" or "Alison Krauss is so smokin' hot we'd fake our own death, move to Tennessee, and change our name to be with her".

Anyway, are aren't trucks meant to carry stuff? You could say it's the most luxurious pick-up truck made. And you can't say "By saying Cadillac we meant luxurious" because you can't equate Cadillac with luxury anymore since it's been trumped by many.........

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October 22, 2006, 9:35 PM CT

2007 Hyundai Veracruz

Hyundai has announced that its 2007 version of Veracruz will make its North American debut at next years Detroit International Auto Show.

A 3.8-liter V6 engine with a six-speed automatic transmission powers the 2007 Veracruz. The customer can also opt for an all-wheel drive.

The safety features include an ESC i.e. Electronic Stability Control, Standard side Airbags and Side-Curtain Airbags for all three passenger rows.

The Veracruz is build as a direct competitor for the Honda Pilot, Nissan Murano and the Lexus RX350.

Courtsey : Top Speed........

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October 22, 2006, 9:30 PM CT

2006 Gumpert Apollo

It seldom happens that you drive a performance based car which gives you a soothing experience..... this is the kind of balance all super car manufacturers try to strike , which is a tough ask in it self..... Apollo has done it with flawless precision by developing a super car that not only flies but soothes.

The 2006 Gumpert Apollo is the new Sports car from Apollo that produces 650 horsepower with a Topspeed of 360 km/h. This car does 0 to 100 km in just 3 seconds. It has a bi-turbo engine that weighs only 195 kg thus perfectly complimenting this light weighted car.

The aerodynamics of this super sports car are just about perfect with the dimensions in the order l x w x h being 4.46 x 2 x 1.24 in meters. The taut yet flexible suspension of this car offers the driver an extraordinary high level of comfort despite being a total speed wagon.

As always, low weight is the top priority for cars of this segment and Apollo does not disappoint us. It has used carbon-fiber extensively for the interiors.

This car reminds me of the TS07 from Technical Studio, The color scheme is exactly the same.Image : Clabedan


Courtsey : Autopark........

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October 19, 2006, 10:04 PM CT

A Road Is More Than A Road

Standing by the edge of Susie Wilson Road in Essex, Anthony Gervais eyes a line of cars stopped at a light. Like a giant strand of metal beads pulled from one end, the cars start to move and spread when the light changes, accelerating away toward Colchester.

Aiming his radar gun carefully at an approaching pick-up truck, Gervais stares with a calculating concentration at the read-out on screen. He writes a few figures in his notebook and then prepares for the next surge of cars.

He's not a police officer. He's a freshman at UVM and this is Civil Engineering 003.

"Susie Wilson Road has been a big thorn for us," says Dennis Lutz, director of public works for the town of Essex, who is standing nearby, helping the students. "There's a high accident rate. It used to be about 15 to 17 thousand cars passed through here daily. It's 20 or 22 thousand now."

"There are no simple solutions to the traffic," he says, "every time you make a tweak here, there's a tweak somewhere else."

The power of problems.

That's exactly the point associate professor of civil engineering Nancy Hayden hopes the students learn in her class - and it's the point of a three-year, $860,000 effort at systems education she is directing through UVM's department of civil and environmental engineering, funded by the National Science Foundation.........

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October 19, 2006, 10:00 PM CT

Kartchner Caverns To Become Microbial Observatory

University of Arizona researchers will investigate the lives of Kartchner Caverns State Park's tiniest inhabitants with the help of a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

The five-year grant to the UA will add Kartchner Caverns, part of the Arizona State Parks system, to the National Science Foundation's worldwide network of Microbial Observatories.

Research at the networks' sites is revealing the goings-on of the Earth's smallest and most poorly known life forms. Kartchner Caverns is the only cave in the network.

"We thought Kartchner Caverns was perfect for this. It's one of the top 10 caves in the world in terms of mineralogical diversity," said principal investigator Raina M. Maier, a UA professor of soil, water and environmental science. "And the development of Kartchner is a model internationally for the development of a cave as a living system. It's a model for preservation".

The researchers will catalog the microbial inhabitants of the cave, study how tourism affects their diversity and investigate whether microorganisms are involved in the growth of cave formations such as stalactites and stalagmites. The team also hopes to find microbes that could be exploited for medical, industrial and biotechnology applications.........

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October 19, 2006, 9:52 PM CT

Malaria in the Middle East

Malaria is not commonly thought of as a major disease in the Middle East, but a study from Yemen in this week's BMJ reveals worryingly high levels of severe malaria in children.

In fact, the figures show that as a number of as 4 out of 10 children attending hospital with severe illness could be affected during the peak season. This is comparable to a number of areas of Africa.

Scientists identified over 2,000 children aged 6 months to 10 years who were admitted to two public hospitals with suspected severe malaria. Malaria was confirmed in 1,332 children, 808 of whom had severe malaria.

The proportion of admissions varied as per the season, from 1% between July and September to 40% in February and March. Twenty six children died in hospital. Most deaths were in children with a neurological presentation, and more girls died than boys.

Severe malaria puts a high burden on health services in Yemen, say the authors. Malaria control should be a priority and lesson should be learnt from other areas of highly seasonal malaria.........

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