BALTIMORE (AP) ? For the second time this year, a fire at sea has aborted a cruise ship. This time, aboard Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas and the ship's 2,200 passengers were expected back in Baltimore on Tuesday after being flown on charter flights from the Bahamas.
The fire that began at 2:50 a.m. Monday was extinguished about two hours later with no injuries reported. A cause wasn't immediately known but the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate.
The ship, which left Baltimore on Friday for a seven-night cruise, was headed originally to CocoCay, Bahamas. Royal Caribbean said the ship never lost power and was able to sail into port in Freeport, Bahamas, Monday afternoon. The ship launched in 1996 and was refurbished last year.
Royal Caribbean said on its website and through social media that executives met with passengers in port and that the cruise line was arranging flights for all 2,224 guests. Also, passengers will get a full refund of their fare and a certificate for a future cruise.
Aboard ship, the captain announced that passengers needed to go to their muster stations, said passenger Mark J. Ormesher in an email to The Associated Press. Immediately after, his room attendant knocked on the door and told him and his girlfriend to grab their flotation devices. The attendant said it wasn't a drill.
Ormesher, a native of England, who lives in Manassas, Va., said he and his girlfriend smelled acrid smoke as they went to their muster station, the ship's casino. The crew quickly provided instruction.
"This encouraged calm amongst the passengers," he said. Passengers were required to remain at their stations for four hours, he said, and the captain "provided us as much information as we needed to stay safe."
Ormesher, who is 25 and on his first cruise, said the air conditioner had been shut off, and as the hours passed and the ship got hot, bottled water was distributed. The crew and passengers remained calm, and helped those who needed it. Crying babies were given formula and held while their parents used the bathrooms.
Photos show a substantial area of the stern burned on several decks of the ship the length of about three football fields.
Royal Caribbean said all guests and 796 crew were safe and accounted for. Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said in an email that the company was arranging 11 different charter flights.
The company in a statement on its website said it is "deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests' vacation. We understand that this may have been a very stressful time for them. We appreciate their patience and cooperation in dealing with this unfortunate situation."
Carnival Corp. also had trouble with fire aboard ship earlier this year.
The 900-foot Triumph was disabled during a February cruise by an engine room fire in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving thousands of passengers to endure cold food, unsanitary conditions and power outages while the ship was towed to Mobile, Ala. It remained there for repairs until early May when it headed back to sea under its own power.
On the Royal Caribbean ship, after passengers were allowed to leave their stations, Ormesher said he saw water on the outside of deck 5 and in the hallways. The mooring lines were destroyed he said; crew members brought new lines from storage.
The damage at the rear of the ship "looks bad," Ormesher said; burned out equipment was visible.
Martinez said in a news release that a cruise scheduled aboard the Grandeur of the Seas for May 31 has been canceled so the ship can be repaired.
It's amazing how everything works out for the best when Venus and Jupiter join hands in the heavens. Venus and Jupiter are Astrology's two "benefics" and they always bring good fortune in regards to love and money. Misunderstandings will be set right, sacrifices will be rewarded, and even clueless boyfriends who didn't recognize a good thing when they had it will wake up and smell the coffee this week. Moreover all of those sticking points that proved to be such deal breakers will suddenly become very negotiable and even manageable. Mountains revert to molehills under this twin influence.
ARIES (March 20-April 18)
Sex is great and everything but you need to have something more going on upstairs. Aries rules the head in astrology and though people born under your sign are often portrayed as the grunts of the zodiac, the truth is you're closet intellectuals. You're one of the few people who will actually go and look up the word that everyone in the room pretends to know, but doesn't. This need for intellectual stimulation will be very powerful for the next six weeks. This is good news for nerds everywhere.
TAURUS (April 19-May 19)
On Tuesday, you will hear the words you've longed to hear. And it's a good thing too because it's been a while since you had to work this hard to get a guy to commit. However, you will soon realize that he had his reasons for putting things off as long as he did. He really was trying to save you from the financial and/or emotional aggravations that he is currently facing. Nevertheless it's time to show him that burdens are lighter when carried by two.
GEMINI (May 20-June 19)
It doesn't hurt to check out your market value when the Sun forms a sextile to Uranus this week. And you'll be finding plenty of takers because the charisma of the Sun combined with the electricity of Uranus will make you positively magnetic. This is wonderful for the ego?? yours could use some stroking?? and it sends a message to the guy you're dating that he best keep his eye on the store. You don't take anything for granted when it comes to love and neither should he.
CANCER (June 20-July 21)
Venus, the planet of love and beauty, enters your zodiac sign on June 2. This will transform you into everyone's favorite flavor of the month. Actually Venus is only in Cancer for three and a half weeks, but who's counting? Now's the time to haul your butt off the couch and get yourself to the gym. You'll also want to hit the salon for a quick touch-up and to splurge on a new pair of shoes. The fish are jumping and you don't want to miss the boat.
LEO (July 22-Aug. 21)
Can you do better? That's what you'll be asking on Tuesday when Jupiter, the planet of golden opportunity, forms a conjunction to Venus, the planet of dating up. It's hard to settle for what you have when astrology's two great benefics start throwing some tempting offers your way. I mean, would you really stick with your boyfriend or spouse if somebody like David Beckham showed up at the door? OK, it won't be Beckham, but it could be close. That's the predicament you'll be facing in your not-so-distant future.
VIRGO (Aug. 22-Sept. 21)
Jupiter in Gemini will be inflaming your wanderlust tendencies all week?? with twin emphases on the words wander and lust. Jupiter is the ?anywhere but here? planet in astrology. Greener pastures appear greener, blue horizons will be bluer, and exotic men with sexy foreign accents will prove absolutely irresistible while its influence is strong. Starting to get the idea that you're due for a change of scene? Book a trip for a beach resort?? and bring along plenty of suntan lotion for the cabana boy to slather on.
LIBRA (Sept. 22-Oct. 21)
Somehow you got saddled with the role of being the designated adult in your relationship while your paramour acts like an unruly brat. It was OK at first, but now it's getting old. You don't like him interrupting you when he's bored or acting out when he doesn't get his way. You'd take him over bended knee but don't want to give him the satisfaction. Besides he'd probably enjoy the spanking too much. What to do? Ignore him until he calms down?? and then reward him for good behavior.
SCORPIO (Oct. 22-Nov. 20)
There's no denying that the guy is hot. And if things were different, you would definitely try to pursue a future together. But things aren't different and there are some very real obstacles that you have to factor in ? obstacles like age difference, unequal income or incompatible religious and/or cultural beliefs. It's enough to make any self-respecting Scorpio bury her head in the pillows. However, Venus in Cancer on June 2 will beg the single most telling question: Is this really someone you can take home to Mother?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 21-Dec. 20)
Don't be alarmed when your runaway bride tendencies take over. This happens to Sagittarians whenever they get close to tying the knot. There's something about the word ?commitment? that makes you want to bolt. Perhaps it comes from a need to be free at any cost? However freedom can become its own dead end if you don't know what you want. Just because you leave one situation doesn't mean that you will arrive at a better one. Take the plunge and commit to the adventure of having someone in your life.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 21-Jan. 18)
Anyone who's going to fall in love with you will also have to accept your work schedule. It's kind of like love me, love my dog. And like a dog, your work schedule isn't going to give up its favorite place at the top of your list of daily priorities. However, your work schedule will make room for the new man in your life if you say that it has to. Take time introducing them to each other and you may find that they actually get along.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 19-Feb. 17)
Your lover must be your best friend. He has to be someone you can be with 24/7 and then understands when you drop out of the picture for long periods of time. Coming and going is a big part of the way you relate. You don't want to be attached at the hip, but you want to know that he's always there. He also has to be smart, funny and able to hold his own at parties and family get-togethers. If he can do all of this, then he's a keeper.
PISCES (Feb. 18-March 19)
The scales will fall from your eyes when Mercury passes under the rays of Jupiter on Monday. This gets you to re-examine past judgments in light of present and more forgiving circumstances. It's like the end of a Shakespeare comedy when truths are disclosed, disguises are revealed and lovers are reunited. It will be a good day for romance. It will also be good for reuniting with family members who were estranged. After months of much ado about nothing, you will discover that all's well that ends well.
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BEIJING (AP) ? Chinese state media say firefighters and medics have rescued a newborn boy from a sewer pipe below a squat toilet.
The state-run news site Zhejiang News says a tenant heard the baby's cries in the public restroom of a residential building in eastern China's Puijian county Saturday and notified authorities. Firefighters removed an L-shaped section of the pipe ? about 10 centimeters (3 inches) in diameter ? and rushed it to a hospital where it was dismantled and the baby was treated.
Video footage of the rescue was broadcast nationally overnight.
Zhejiang News says the child ? named Baby No. 59 from the number of his incubator ? is safe.
Police are treating the case as an attempted homicide, and are looking for the mother and anyone else involved.
Updated flood insurance maps, made with lidar, laser radar or new computer programs, are increasingly important with global warming
By Theodoric Meyer and ProPublica
(in millions, 2014 number from proposed budget) Image: Federal Budget, Department of Homeland Security
Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
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As the United States grows warmer and extreme weather more common, the federal government's flood insurance maps are becoming increasingly important.
The maps, drawn by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, dictate the monthly premiums millions of American households pay for flood insurance. They are also designed to give homeowners and buyers the latest understanding of how likely their communities are to flood.
The government's response to the rising need for accurate maps? It's slashed funding for them.?
Congress has cut funding for updating flood maps by more than half since 2010, from $221 million down to $100 million this year. And the president's latest budget request would slash funding for mapping even further to $84 million 2014 a drop of 62 percent over the last four years.
In a little-noticed written response to questions from a congressional hearing, FEMA estimated the cuts would delay its map program by three to five years. The program "will continue to make progress, but more homeowners will rely on flood hazard maps that are not current," FEMA wrote.
The cuts have slowed efforts to update flood maps across the country.
In New England, for instance, FEMA is updating coastal maps but has put off updating many flood maps along the region's rivers, said Kerry Bogdan, a senior engineer with FEMA's floodplain mapping program in Boston.
"Unfortunately, without the money to do it, we're limited and our hands are kind of tied," she said. ?
Many of the flood maps in Vermont 2014 including areas near Lake Champlain that have recently flooded 2014 are decades out of date. "There are definitely communities that really need that data," said Ned Swanberg, the flood hazard mapping coordinator with Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation.
Asked about the cuts, a spokesman for the White House's Office of Management of Budget directed to us FEMA, which did not respond to our requests for comment.
New maps can guide development toward areas that are less likely to flood. They also tend to be far more accurate. Today's mapmakers can take advantage of technologies including lidar, or laser radar, and ADCIRC, a computer program that's used to model hurricane storm surge. They can also incorporate more years of flooding data into their models.
"It is disconcerting to have counties and areas where people still have maps from the 1970s," said Suzanne Jiwani, a floodplain mapping engineer with Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources.
The slashed funding for the mapping program hasn't gone unnoticed in Congress.
Rep. David E. Price, a North Carolina Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee that is responsible for FEMA's budget, told W. Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator, at a hearing in March 2012 that FEMA's budget "continues to lowball funding" for updating the country's flood maps.
"Both Republican and Democratic Administrations have generally made inadequate requests for Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis funding, and under the Republican majority funding provided has been inadequate," Price said in a statement to ProPublica.
Andrew High, a spokesman for Price, said the congressman had pushed for modest boost in funding, about $10 million this year.
It was a question from Price that prompted FEMA to detail the delays. FEMA said its ultimate goal was to get 80 percent of the country's flood hazard data up-to-date. Cutting funding for the program "is a difficult decision," FEMA wrote, "but it's reasonable given multitude of competing national priorities and limited resources."
Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham just tweeted an interesting data point about the valuations of YC startups. As of now, Graham says that 37 Y Combinator companies, out of 511 startups, have valuations of or sold for at least $40 million.
How do you write a eulogy that is heartfelt and memorable??If you plan to speak at your loved one?s funeral you may be wondering what steps are required to write and deliver the perfect speech. The thought of public speaking is daunting to most people. Combine the fear of public speaking with the grief of losing a loved one and speaking at a funeral may be one of the most difficult things you have to do.
How do you write a eulogy that?summarizes?the life of your loved one in a 5 to 10 minute speech? The second difficult part of writing a eulogy is choosing the information and stories related to your loved one to share with people at the funeral. The person achieved a lot in his or her life and you shared numerous memories with them. It is important to know what information is typically included in a eulogy. The guide below will help you write a eulogy and select the information to include in the speech.
1. Collect the Information
The first step to writing a eulogy is to collect the information. Begin by taking a piece of paper, or sitting at a computer, and write down everything about the person that you can think of. Don?t worry about writing too much; the goal is to collect as much information as you can. Think about what made the person special, what were the favorite memories you shared together, what the person taught you, and what you will remember most about them. It can help to look at old photographs because they can help trigger memories you have forgotten.
Now that you have collected as much information as you can, the next step is to interview others. Speaking to friends and family of the deceased can help you to gather more information to include in the eulogy. If you are looking for additional help collecting information, use the following list to give you more ideas.
- Birthplace: Where was he or she born?
- Family: Parents, brothers and sisters.
- Childhood: Location, friends, interests, etc.
- Education: High school, post-secondary, trade school and any awards or other designations.
- Relationships: Marriage, divorce and any other significant relationships.
- Children: Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.
- Career: Most significant jobs, positions held, achievements, etc.
- Organizations: Military service, fraternal organizations and other clubs.
- Interests: Sports, hobbies, travels, etc.
- Other: Any other special facts about the person.
2. Write the Eulogy
After you have collected the data, the second step is to write the eulogy. Typically, a eulogy is either written in chronological order and like all speeches it includes a beginning, middle, and conclusion.?The introduction should welcome people and introduce yourself, your loved one, and the theme of your eulogy.?The middle (body) is the main part of your eulogy, where you share information and stories about the deceased.?The conclusion is your last word, where you tie the themes together, telling a final story and ending with a final farewell.
The first step is to take the information you collected and arrange it in to the order you want for the speech. Next, you will want to turn the facts into?grammatically?correct paragraphs. Remember that the first step is to produce a draft and it is important not to worry too much about spelling, grammar and the overall speech. The goal is to get a speech written and then you can revise it.
3. Polish and Practice
After you have written the first draft you will want to read through it and begin to fix spelling and grammar errors. Cross out sections that are unnecessary, or move sections around to change the order of the speech. It will take a few revisions before you produce the final speech.
Now that you have the final version of the speech you will want to practice reading the speech.?Practicing?the speech will help to prepare you for reading it at the funeral and will also help you to find mistakes you may have missed during the editing phase. After you have read the speech to yourself a few times, we recommend asking a friend or family member if you can read the speech to them. They will be able to suggest changes to the speech and help you feel comfortable reading it in front of other people.
4. Deliver the Eulogy
After all of the hard work writing the eulogy it is time to read it at the funeral service. Reading the eulogy will likely be the most difficult part of the eulogy process. Reading a speech in public is a fear that many of us have; however, saying a few words about a loved one at their funeral is a huge honor. Remember that everyone attending the funeral is sharing in the grief that you are feeling. They will understand if you get emotional during the eulogy and are there to support you.
We recommend printing a copy of the speech in a large font and brining it to the funeral. It is not necessary to memorize the speech and trying to memorize it will add stress to an already difficult situation. Remember that friends and family will appreciate the words you have written about the deceased person and will understand if you have to read the speech or if you get emotional during the eulogy.
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How do you write a eulogy? It isn?t easy, but it is a tremendously rewarding exercise. The process of writing the eulogy gives you an opportunity to reflect on all of the fond memories you shared with the deceased. Looking through old photos and reflecting on memories is an excellent grief recovery tool. Furthermore, reading the eulogy at the funeral gives you a chance to say goodbye to your loved one and pay tribute to their life. For more help learning how to write a eulogy, read the other articles listed below.
Dortmund's Lukasz Piszczek of Poland, left on ground, shoots at the goal, during the Champions League Final soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, at Wembley Stadium in London, Saturday May 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Dortmund's Lukasz Piszczek of Poland, left on ground, shoots at the goal, during the Champions League Final soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, at Wembley Stadium in London, Saturday May 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski of Poland, left, holds his face after being fouled by Bayern's Franck Ribery of France during the Champions League Final soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at Wembley Stadium in London, Saturday May 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and UEFA President Michel Platini, during the Champions League Final soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, at Wembley Stadium in London, Saturday May 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Dortmund's Jakub Blaszczykowski of Poland, center, reacts after failing to score past Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, right, during the Champions League Final soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at Wembley Stadium in London, Saturday May 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
LONDON (AP) ? Arjen Robben scored in the 89th minute to give Bayern Munich a 2-1 win over German rival Borussia Dortmund on Saturday in the Champions League final, ending four years of frustration for his team in Europe's biggest tournament.
Robben ran onto Franck Ribery's backheeled flick in the penalty area and sent the ball past goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller to give Bayern its first Champions League victory since 2001. The German team had lost two of the last three finals.
Mario Mandzukic put Bayern ahead in the 60th minute at Wembley Stadium before Ilkay Gundogan evened the score with a penalty kick eight minutes later after defender Dante fouled Marco Reus.
Internet web apps are online commerce programs for B2C (business-to-customer), B2B, or even C2C. A simple example is an online ecommerce shopping cart system (B2C) where the focus of business flow is view products > add product to cart > checkout > and pay online. All internet apps has its own business flow.
Intranet web apps are online support programs utilized by a company in between departments or even branches world-wide using the same internet protocols. Access to these intranet web apps are restricted from the general public. In the old days, these are desktop applications that works within LAN (local area network) or WAN (wide area network). But because of high expenses on private WAN infrastructure (leased-lines, frame relays, VSAT, VPN, gigabit switches/routers, etc), the internet and its protocols became the highway of choice later on.
Intranet web apps could extend towards the public for customer convenience purposes. Such is the case for online banking systems where you, as a registered customer, can check your statement balances, pay your bills, etc.
Below are a few web apps you are already familiar with:
INTERNET WEB APPS:
E-commerce shopping cart (B2C)
Crowd funding site (ex. www.kickstarter.com) (C2C)
Crowd sourcing site (ex. www.taskrabbit.com) (C2C)
Group buying site (ex. www.groupon.com) (B2C)
Money remittance system (ex. wwww.paypal.com, www.xoom.com, etc) (B2C)
Buy & Sell Portal (ex. www.ebay.com) (C2C)
INTRANET WEB APPS:
banking system (B2B or B2C)
accounting system
inventory and logistics
purchasing
Extensions
Some processes may require 3rd party products, here are a few samples:
Plugins, snap-ins or redirects to achieve simple goals (ex. Paypal Express Checkout).
APIs for more detailed input/output processing. Some good examples are Paypal Adaptive Payments API for multi-split payments, and Google Map V3 for multi-layered dynamic maps.
Click here to view our web apps development service.
(Reuters) - A teenage girl's abusive slur aimed at Australian Rules Football player Adam Goodes has jolted the state of Victoria into establishing programs that will educate children on racism, according to local media on Saturday. The 33-year-old Sydney Swans player, who is of Indigenous Australian heritage, was called an "ape" by the 13-year-old spectator at Friday's AFL game against Collingwood at the MCG in Melbourne. Goodes told a news conference he was "gutted" by the remark but added that the girl, who was escorted out of the stadium following the incident, had called him to apologies. ...
President Barack Obama talks about national security, Thursday, May 23, 2013, at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington. Declaring America at a "crossroads" in the fight against terrorism, the president revealed clearer guidelines for the use of deadly drone strikes, including more control by the U.S. military, while leaving key details of the controversial program secret. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama talks about national security, Thursday, May 23, 2013, at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington. Declaring America at a "crossroads" in the fight against terrorism, the president revealed clearer guidelines for the use of deadly drone strikes, including more control by the U.S. military, while leaving key details of the controversial program secret. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama talks about national security, Thursday, May 23, 2013, at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington. Declaring America at a "crossroads" in the fight against terrorism, the president Barack revealed clearer guidelines for the use of deadly drone strikes, including more control by the U.S. military, while leaving key details of the controversial program secret.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama talks about national security, Thursday, May 23, 2013, at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington. Declaring America at a "crossroads" in the fight against terrorism, the president Barack revealed clearer guidelines for the use of deadly drone strikes, including more control by the U.S. military, while leaving key details of the controversial program secret.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama talks about national security, Thursday, May 23, 2013, at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington. Declaring America at a "crossroads" in the fight against terrorism, the president Barack revealed clearer guidelines for the use of deadly drone strikes, including more control by the U.S. military, while leaving key details of the controversial program secret. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Thursday defended America's controversial drone attacks as legal, effective and a necessary linchpin in an evolving U.S. counterterrorism policy. But he acknowledged the targeted strikes are no "cure-all" and said he is haunted by the civilians unintentionally killed.
The president also announced a renewed push to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, including lifting a moratorium on prisoner transfers to Yemen. However, shutting the prison will still require help from Republicans reluctant to back Obama's call to move some detainees to U.S. prisons and try them in civilian courts.
Obama framed his address as an attempt to redefine the nature and scope of terror threats facing the U.S., noting the weakening of al-Qaida and the impending end of the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
"Neither I, nor any president, can promise the total defeat of terror," Obama said in remarks at the National Defense University. "What we can do ? what we must do ? is dismantle networks that pose a direct danger, and make it less likely for new groups to gain a foothold, all while maintaining the freedoms and ideals that we defend."
Since taking office, Obama's counterterrorism strategy has increasingly relied on the use of strikes by unmanned spy drones, particularly in Pakistan and Yemen. The highly secretive program has faced criticism from congressional lawmakers who have questioned its scope and legality.
The president, in his most expansive public discussion on drones, defended their targeted killings as both effective and legal. He acknowledged the civilian deaths that sometimes result ? a consequence that has angered many of the countries where the U.S. seeks to combat extremism ? and said he grapples with that trade-off.
"For me, and those in my chain of command, these deaths will haunt us as long as we live," he said. Before any strike, he said, "there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured ? the highest standard we can set."
Ahead of the address, Obama signed new "presidential policy guidelines" aimed at illustrating more clearly to Congress and the public the standards the U.S. applies before carrying out drone attacks. Officials said the guidelines include not using strikes when the targeted people can be captured, either by the U.S. or a foreign government, relying on drones only when the target poses an "imminent" threat and establishing a preference for giving the military control of the drone program.
However, the CIA is still expected to maintain control of the drone program in Yemen, as well as in Pakistan's tribal areas, given the concern that al-Qaida may return in greater numbers as U.S. troops draw down in Afghanistan. The military and the CIA currently work side by side in Yemen, with the CIA flying its drones over the northern region out of a covert base in Saudi Arabia, and the military flying its unmanned aerial vehicles from Djibouti.
In Pakistan alone, up to 3,336 people have been killed by the unmanned aircraft since 2003, according to the New America Foundation which maintains a database of the strikes.
Obama's advisers said the new guidelines will effectively limit the number of drone strikes in terror zones and pointed to a future decline of attacks against extremists in Afghanistan as the war there winds down next year. But strikes elsewhere will continue. The guidelines will also apply to strikes against both foreigners and U.S. citizens abroad.
On the eve of the president's speech, the administration revealed for the first time that a fourth American citizen had been killed in secretive drone strikes abroad. The killings of three other Americans in counterterror operations since 2009 were widely known before a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy acknowledged the four deaths.
In that letter, Holder said only one of the U.S. citizens killed in counterterror operations beyond war zones ? Anwar al-Awlaki, who had ties to at least three attacks planned or carried out on U.S. soil ? was specifically targeted by American forces. He said the other three Americans were not targeted in the U.S. strikes.
Though Obama sought to give more transparency to the drone program, the strikes will largely remain highly secret for the public. Congress is already briefed on every strike that U.S. drones take outside Afghanistan and Iraq during the war there, Obama said, but those briefings are largely classified and held privately.
The president said he was open to additional measures to further regulate the drone program, including creating a special court system to regulate strikes, similar to one that signs off on government surveillance in espionage and terror cases. Congress is already considering whether to set up a court to decide when drones overseas can target U.S. citizens linked to al-Qaida.
White House officials said the president had originally planned to deliver Thursday's speech earlier this month, but it was delayed as the administration grappled with a trio of other controversies, including the attack on Americans in Benghazi, Libya, the IRS' targeting of conservative groups and government monitoring of reporters.
Also Thursday, Obama reaffirmed his stalled 2008 campaign promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, where some terror suspects are held. Lifting the ban on transfers of some Guantanamo prisoners to Yemen is a key step in jumpstarting that process, given that 30 of the 56 prisoners eligible for transfer are Yemeni.
Obama halted all transfers to Yemen after the failed Christmas Day 2009 bombing attempt of an airliner over Detroit. The convicted bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, trained in Yemen.
Congress and the White House have sparred since Obama took office in 2009 over the fate of the suspects and whether they can be brought to trial on U.S. soil. In the meantime, the detainees have been held for years with diminishing hope that they will charged with crimes or given trials.
Obama acknowledged that the politics of closing Guantanamo are difficult, but he made the case that "history will cast harsh judgment on this aspect of our fight against terrorism, and those who fail to end it."
Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he was open to a proposal from Obama on the future of Guantanamo Bay. But that plan has to consist of more than political talking points, he said.
"This speech was only necessary due to a deeply inconsistent counterterrorism policy, one that maintains it is more humane to kill a terrorist with a drone than detain and interrogate him at Guantanamo Bay," McKeon said
This week, the Pentagon asked Congress for more than $450 million for maintaining and upgrading the Guantanamo prison. More than 100 of the prisoners have launched a hunger strike to protest their indefinite detention, and the military earlier this month was force-feeding 32 of them to keep them from starving to death.
___
Associated Press writers Lita Baldor, Kimberly Dozier and Richard Lardner contributed to this report.
LONDON (Reuters) - A group of accountancy professors is backing BP's fight to cap the U.S. oil spillcompensation payouts it has to fund as the cash outflow threatens to add billions of dollars to its bill for the disaster.
The news comes after the payouts administrator, Patrick Juneau, predicted that over 200,000 claims may be made in total by businesses and individuals under a settlement BP agreed last year - a level that could result in a charge against the oil company's profits as early as next year.
BP has said some of the claims Juneau, a Louisiana lawyer, is approving for the 2010 oil spill are "fictitious" and "absurd".
The 12 academics are represented by Paul Clement, one of the best-known lawyers in the United States. Clement was solicitor general under President George W. Bush, and is seen as a potential candidate to fill a Supreme Court vacancy if a Republican becomes president in 2017.
The expert group includes Andrew Bailey, former deputy chief accountant at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the national financial markets regulator, now of the University of Illinois.
In a court document filed on May 10, ahead of BP's one-day appeal hearing due on July 8, the professors said their motivation was to ensure that accounting terms and principles were "properly construed and applied" when relied upon in judicial decisions.
They filed the document as a "Brief of Amici Curiae" - which means "friends of the court". Under U.S. law, these are filed by parties who have an interest in the outcome of a case, but have no declared connection to either side.
In April BP lost its battle to convince Carl Barbier, the judge presiding over a complex set of legal proceedings in a New Orleans federal court, that the terms of the compensation settlement it reached in April 2012 are being misinterpreted by Juneau.
The case will now be heard at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, although in a further twist, the team of lawyers representing Juneau has asked for the hearing to be delayed.
Much of BP's argument against the way Juneau is making the payouts hinge on an interpretation of accountancy terms that BP says is too loose.
One of the key eligibility triggers for a so-called business economic loss claim is the ability to show a lower revenue, higher expense, or both, during and/or after the oil spill, compared with other periods. Proof of a connection with the spill itself is not necessary in most cases.
A looser definition of revenue and expenses could be more volatile and less likely to match up large sums going in and out of the business. BP argues this approach is triggering eligibility even though, over time, there was no real impact on profit.
The accountancy professors backed that argument in their May 10 document, saying; "identifying revenues and expenses requires more than a mere consideration of cash receipts and disbursements. Any judicial decision to the contrary is in conflict with well-established accounting principles."
BP said in its latest court filing: "The result is that thousands of claimants that suffered no losses are coming forward in ever-increasing numbers, seeking and obtaining outrageous windfalls and making a mockery of what was intended to be a fair and honest court-supervised settlement process."
In an interview with Reuters last week, Juneau said he believed the filing was concerned with "general accounting," and added "it's not in the agreement that you follow general accounting principles". BP declined to comment on the filing.
BP has a total provision of $42.2 billion in its accounts set aside for clean-up costs, fines and compensation for the oil spill in 2010, which killed 11 men and devastated the Gulf of Mexico coastline.
The extra compensation payouts BP is arguing about may end up as a relatively small part of the total final bill. Other developments - such as being found grossly negligent by Barbier instead of simply negligent as BP argues, could increase its liability by much more.
However, the nature of the payments - many, small and individual - mean that unlike other future costs, recovering them through further litigation would be next to impossible, BP has argued. That, along with the unpredictability of the final amount, could leave BP "irreparably harmed," it has said.
CHARGE AGAINST EARNINGS NEXT YEAR?
In April, BP added $500 million to its best guess of compensation payouts under the settlement, based on what it knows so far, for a total $8.2 billion of business economic loss and other compensation claims. It has $1.7 billion left in the $20 billion pot it has set aside for paying these and other costs.
After that is gone, BP has said it will take future compensation money straight from its net profit - which could mean a charge as early as next year if payments continue at the same rate until then.
The deadline for claims is April 2014, and Juneau told Reuters last week that he expects total claims will top 200,000, and that the pace of filings from the five states covered by the settlement has picked up in recent months.
Of the 165,877 claims filed as of May 15, Juneau's office has found 40,970 eligible for payment, with a total value exceeding $3.2 billion.
Some 16 percent have been rejected. At that rate, 200,000 claims with 32,000 rejected and 168,000 paid would cost BP a total of $13.1 billion - almost $5 billion more than it has budgeted for and about four months' of earnings.
However, that sum takes no account of the fact that most claims made so far are of uncertain status, having yet to be either rejected or made eligible for payment. It also assumes a steady average payout rate of $78,106 per successful claim.
BP has said the total is impossible to estimate, and declined to comment on the calculations by Reuters. Juneau's office did not return calls asking for comment on them.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel, Kathy Finn and Braden Reddall; Editing by Erica Billingham)
Fluoride helps fight cavities. That?s why it?s in our drinking water and toothpaste. But how this mineral works its dental magic is still somewhat mysterious. Now, researchers offer an incisive solution. They find that fluoride treatment can loosen bacteria?s grip on tooth enamel. The study is in the journal Langmuir. [Peter Loskill et al, Reduced Adhesion of Oral Bacteria on Hydroxyapatite by Fluoride Treatment] Scientists used to think that fluoride could harden tooth enamel, helping it retain the minerals that protect teeth from the acid produced by our oral flora. But recent work has shown that fluoride doesn?t really penetrate past the tooth?s thinnest outer layer, suggesting that something other than hardening is going on. To drill deeper into this toothsome mystery, researchers whipped up a set of artificial choppers, made of the same stuff as teeth. And they used atomic force microscopy to take a closer look at how bacteria interact with this dental material. They found that three different strains of cavity-causing bugs cling less tightly to enamel that?s been rinsed with fluoride. The bacteria carry a net negative charge on their surfaces. So the negatively charged fluoride ions in the treated enamel may be literally repulsive to the bacteria. Which causes them to bite the dust. ?Karen Hopkin [The above text is a transcript of this podcast] Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news. ? 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Urban renewal? New census estimates show that most of the nation's largest cities further enhanced their allure last year, posting strong population growth for a second straight year.
Big cities surpassed the rate of growth of their surrounding suburbs at an even faster clip, a sign of America's continuing preference for urban living after the economic downturn quelled enthusiasm for less-crowded expanses.
Farther-out suburbs known as exurbs saw their growth slip to 0.35 percent, the lowest in more than a decade.
Economists generally had played down the recent city boom as an aberration, predicting that young adults in the recovering economy would soon be back on the move after years of staying put in big cities. But the widening gains for cities in 2012 indicate that young people ? as well as would-be retirees seeking quieter locales ? are playing it safe for a while longer in dense urban cores, where jobs may be easier to find and keep.
Prior to 2011, suburbs had consistently outpaced big cities since 1920, with the rise of the automobile.
The new census estimates are a snapshot of population growth as of July 2012. The Associated Press sought additional analysis from William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, and Kenneth Johnson, a senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire.
Cities with booming regional economies continue to see the biggest gains ? from Seattle and San Francisco to Austin, Texas, Raleigh, N.C., and Washington, D.C., locales seeing a burst of new apartment construction.
"Cities have become more appealing to young people, with more things to do and places to see," said Mark Obrinsky, chief economist at the National Multi Housing Council, a Washington-based trade group. "Many of the cities are committing themselves to regrowth and development, and in newer cities like Dallas we're beginning to see new restaurants, bars and apartments in the downtown areas that put it a bit closer to being a 24-hour city."
He noted that the division between city and suburbs is blurring, too. There's no longer a clear line between an economic center where people work and suburban bedroom communities. Both can be home to major companies and residences.
Census data show that many closer-in suburbs linked to a city with public transit or well-developed roadways are benefiting from strong city growth, while far-flung areas near the metropolitan edge are fizzling after heady growth during the mid-decade housing boom.
Suburbs in the South and West also are seeing some gains, such as those around Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Jacksonville, Fla.
New Orleans, which saw its population shrivel in the mid-2000s after Hurricane Katrina, continued to post the biggest increase in city growth relative to suburbs in the past year ? 2.5 percent vs. 0.6 percent. Atlanta, Richmond, Va., Denver, Boston and Charlotte, N.C., also showed wide disparities between city and suburbs.
Other big cities showing faster growth compared with the previous year include Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, San Francisco and Columbus, Ohio.
In all, primary cities in large metropolitan areas with populations of more than 1 million grew by 1.12 percent last year, compared with 0.97 percent in surrounding suburbs. In 2011, the gap between city and suburb growth was narrower ? 1.03 percent vs. 0.96 percent.
During the mid-decade housing boom, city growth had come to a standstill, while exurban growth rose by 2 percent, as the wide availability of low-interest mortgages pushed new residential development outward.
"The country has been exposed to a very difficult five years, and many people are reluctant to take chances," said Johnson, the University of New Hampshire demographer. "Marriages are still down, births are still down. Economists may say that the recession is over, but the recovery has not yet been fully reflected in demographic trends."
Other findings:
?New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Boston each grew faster between 2010 and 2012 than they did annually between 2000 and 2010.
?Texas continued to be the big population winner, accounting for eight of the 15 fastest-growing cities with populations of 50,000 or more from 2011-2012.
?New York remained the nation's most populous city, at 8.3 million, with the rest of the top 10 unchanged. Austin, Texas, moved up from 13th to 11th, supplanting Jacksonville, Fla.; Indianapolis slipped from 12th to 13th.
Nearly four months ago, Oklahoma Senators Tom Coburn and James Inhofe both voted?against?H.R.152, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act that eventually sent $50.5 billion in relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy. And in the flurry of last night's devastation in Moore, Oklahoma. it was impossible not to forget that fact, knowing the federal government would soon rally to the cause.
FILE - In this May 14, 2013 file photo, Donald Trump arrives at federal court n Chicago to testify at a civil trial where he's accused of enticing investors to buy condos at his Chicago skyscraper with promises of profit-sharing, then quietly reneging on them. On Monday, May 20, 2013, Jacqueline Goldberg, 87, who alleges Trump cheated her in a bait-and-switch scheme has told jurors she had qualms about suing the developer-turned-TV star given his power and influence. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
FILE - In this May 14, 2013 file photo, Donald Trump arrives at federal court n Chicago to testify at a civil trial where he's accused of enticing investors to buy condos at his Chicago skyscraper with promises of profit-sharing, then quietly reneging on them. On Monday, May 20, 2013, Jacqueline Goldberg, 87, who alleges Trump cheated her in a bait-and-switch scheme has told jurors she had qualms about suing the developer-turned-TV star given his power and influence. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
FILE - In this May 17, 2013 file photo, Jacqueline Goldberg, 87, who has accused Donald Trump of cheating her in a skyscraper condo deal, leaves the federal building in Chicago after testifying against Trump in her lawsuit. The attorney for Goldberg told jurors Wednesday, May 22, 2013, that he was personally repulsed by the "Apprentice" star whom he said lied on the witness stand. The comments came during a sarcasm-filled closing argument at the civil trial that pits Goldberg against the billionaire real estate mogul-turned TV showman. (AP Photo/Chicago Sun-Times, Scott Stewart, File) CHICAGO LOCALS OUT, MAGS OUT
CHICAGO (AP) ? The lawyer for an 87-year-old woman who accuses Donald Trump of cheating her in a skyscraper condo deal told jurors in Chicago on Wednesday that he was personally repulsed because he felt the "Apprentice" star conned his client and lied about it on the witness stand.
Plaintiff attorney Shelly Kulwin's comments came during a sarcasm-filled closing argument at the federal civil trial that pits Jacqueline Goldberg against the billionaire real estate mogul-turned TV showman.
His voice rising, Kulwin portrayed the case as a battle between Trump, who he described as a wheeler-dealer, and a woman with wholesome values learned growing up during the Depression.
Trump, of New York, wasn't in court for the closings. But Kulwin projected a photograph of the beaming developer on a large courtroom screen.
"The thought of my grandma being in the same room with that guy. Yuck!" Kulwin said. The judge told jurors to disregard the comment.
Later, the attorney said Trump was motivated to cheat his client by a love for money.
"It's like his family, those dollars," Kulwin said.
Jurors withdrew to begin deliberations later Wednesday but went home after 90 minutes without reaching a verdict. They were to resume Thursday morning.
City pride intervened during closings when Kulwin appeared to make an unfavorable reference to executives in New York.
"Judge, he's mocking New York," Trump attorney Stephen Novack said, standing to object.
"I can't mock New York?" Kulwin shot back. "I thought it was every Chicagoan's right to do that."
Addressing jurors next, Novack accused Kulwin of resorting to personal attacks on Trump out of desperation and a lack of evidence.
Goldberg alleges Trump persuaded her to buy two condos at around $1 million apiece in Chicago's glitzy Trump International Hotel & Tower by promising she would share in building profits. But, Goldberg says, Trump reneged after she committed to the investment.
"It's called a bait and switch," Kulwin told jurors. "Here's the bait. Here's the switch."
But Trump's attorney described Goldberg as a detail-oriented investor who knew the contract that she signed stipulated Trump could cancel the profit-sharing offer as he saw fit.
"She knows the drill," Novack said. "Nobody put a gun to her head (to sign)."
He later added: "Mrs. Goldberg went into this deal with her eyes wide open."
Since the contract gave Trump rights to change the profit-sharing offer, Novack said the onus was on Goldberg's attorneys to prove Trump secretly plotted to defraud her before she even signed up to buy.
"What do they call it? A bait and switch," he said. "Switch is not enough. ... There is no evidence whatsoever of a secret plan."
In two days of sometimes combative testimony last week, Trump denied cheating Goldberg. And he told reporters outside court that he was the victim, not her. He declared, "She's trying to rip me off."
On Wednesday, though, Kulwin said Trump took the stand "to lie, evade and spout infomercials."
He also mocked Trump for telling jurors he never took notes of business meetings and therefore couldn't say when certain decisions were made and by whom.
"People who don't want to be found out don't write things down. They're not stupid," Kulwin said. "And Donald Trump may be a lot of things, but he's not stupid."
Kulwin told jurors Goldberg was seeking a total of $6 million in damages.
"Send a message not just to Mr. Trump ... but to others like him," he said pounding his hand on a podium. "You can say to them, 'These people who do these things have crossed the line.'"
In his final remarks, Trump's attorney told jurors their obligation was to the evidence, not to their sense of sympathy or to any urge to send a message.
"This isn't the chance for you to decide that Wall Street is bad ... and (now) we're going to show these fat cats," Novack said. "Look at the facts."
___
Follow Michael Tarm at http://www.twitter.com/mtarm
Waiting for a sign? Researchers find potential brain 'switch' for new behaviorPublic release date: 21-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jared Wadley jwadley@umich.edu 734-936-7819 University of Michigan
ANN ARBORYou're standing near an airport luggage carousel and your bag emerges on the conveyor belt, prompting you to spring into action. How does your brain make the shift from passively waiting to taking action when your bag appears?
A new study from investigators at the University of Michigan and Eli Lilly may reveal the brain's "switch" for new behavior. They measured levels of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, which is involved in attention and memory, while rats monitored a screen for a signal. At the end of each trial, the rat had to indicate if a signal had occurred.
Researchers noticed that if a signal occurred after a long period of monitoring or "non-signal" processing, there was a spike in acetylcholine in the rat's right prefrontal cortex. No such spike occurred for another signal occurring shortly afterwards.
"In other words, the increase in acetylcholine seemed to activate or 'switch on' the response to the signal, and to be unnecessary if that response was already activated," said Cindy Lustig, one of the study's senior authors and an associate professor in the U-M Department of Psychology.
The researchers repeated the study in humans using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures brain activity, and also found a short increase in right prefrontal cortex activity for the first signal in a series.
To connect the findings between rats and humans, they measured changes in oxygen levels, similar to the changes that produce the fMRI signal, in the brains of rats performing the task.
They again found a response in the right prefrontal cortex that only occurred for the first signal in a series. A follow-up experiment showed that direct stimulation of brain tissue using drugs that target acetylcholine receptors could likewise produce these changes in brain oxygen.
Together, the studies' results provide some of the most direct evidence, so far, linking a specific neurotransmitter response to changes in brain activity in humans. The findings could guide the development of better treatments for disorders in which people have difficulty switching out of current behaviors and activating new ones. Repetitive behaviors associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism are the most obvious examples, and related mechanisms may underlie problems with preservative behavior in schizophrenia, dementia and aging.
###
The study's other authors included William Howe, Martin Sarter, Anne Berry and Joshua Carp from U-M and Jennifer Francois, Gary Gilmour and Mark Tricklebank from Eli Lilly.
The findings appear in the current issue of Journal of Neuroscience.
[ | 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.
Waiting for a sign? Researchers find potential brain 'switch' for new behaviorPublic release date: 21-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jared Wadley jwadley@umich.edu 734-936-7819 University of Michigan
ANN ARBORYou're standing near an airport luggage carousel and your bag emerges on the conveyor belt, prompting you to spring into action. How does your brain make the shift from passively waiting to taking action when your bag appears?
A new study from investigators at the University of Michigan and Eli Lilly may reveal the brain's "switch" for new behavior. They measured levels of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, which is involved in attention and memory, while rats monitored a screen for a signal. At the end of each trial, the rat had to indicate if a signal had occurred.
Researchers noticed that if a signal occurred after a long period of monitoring or "non-signal" processing, there was a spike in acetylcholine in the rat's right prefrontal cortex. No such spike occurred for another signal occurring shortly afterwards.
"In other words, the increase in acetylcholine seemed to activate or 'switch on' the response to the signal, and to be unnecessary if that response was already activated," said Cindy Lustig, one of the study's senior authors and an associate professor in the U-M Department of Psychology.
The researchers repeated the study in humans using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures brain activity, and also found a short increase in right prefrontal cortex activity for the first signal in a series.
To connect the findings between rats and humans, they measured changes in oxygen levels, similar to the changes that produce the fMRI signal, in the brains of rats performing the task.
They again found a response in the right prefrontal cortex that only occurred for the first signal in a series. A follow-up experiment showed that direct stimulation of brain tissue using drugs that target acetylcholine receptors could likewise produce these changes in brain oxygen.
Together, the studies' results provide some of the most direct evidence, so far, linking a specific neurotransmitter response to changes in brain activity in humans. The findings could guide the development of better treatments for disorders in which people have difficulty switching out of current behaviors and activating new ones. Repetitive behaviors associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism are the most obvious examples, and related mechanisms may underlie problems with preservative behavior in schizophrenia, dementia and aging.
###
The study's other authors included William Howe, Martin Sarter, Anne Berry and Joshua Carp from U-M and Jennifer Francois, Gary Gilmour and Mark Tricklebank from Eli Lilly.
The findings appear in the current issue of Journal of Neuroscience.
[ | 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.
Contact: Jade Boyd jadeboyd@rice.edu 713-348-6778 Rice University
Arranging nanoparticles in geometric patterns allows for control of light with light
HOUSTON -- (May 21, 2013) -- Rice University scientists have unveiled a robust new method for arranging metal nanoparticles in geometric patterns that can act as optical processors that transform incoming light signals into output of a different color. The breakthrough by a team of theoretical and applied physicists and engineers at Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) is described this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Rice's team used the method to create an optical device in which incoming light could be directly controlled with light via a process known as "four-wave mixing." Four-wave mixing has been widely studied, but Rice's disc-patterning method is the first that can produce materials that are tailored to perform four-wave mixing with a wide range of colored inputs and outputs.
"Versatility is one of the advantages of this process," said study co-author Naomi Halas, director of LANP and Rice's Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of biomedical engineering, chemistry, physics and astronomy. "It allows us to mix colors in a very general way. That means not only can we send in beams of two different colors and get out a third color, but we can fine-tune the arrangements to create devices that are tailored to accept or produce a broad spectrum of colors."
The information processing that takes place inside today's computers, smartphones and tablets is electronic. Each of the billions of transistors in a computer chip uses electrical inputs to act upon and modify the electrical signals passing through it. Processing information with light instead of electricity could allow for computers that are both faster and more energy-efficient, but building an optical computer is complicated by the quantum rules that light obeys.
"In most circumstances, one beam of light won't interact with another," said LANP theoretical physicist Peter Nordlander, a co-author of the new study. "For instance, if you shine a flashlight at a wall and you cross that beam with the beam from a second flashlight, it won't matter. The light that comes out of the first flashlight will pass through, independent of the light from the second.
"This changes if the light is traveling in a 'nonlinear medium,'" he said. "The electromagnetic properties of a nonlinear medium are such that the light from one beam will interact with another. So, if you shine the two flashlights through a nonlinear medium, the intensity of the beam from the first flashlight will be reduced proportionally to the intensity of the second beam."
The patterns of metal discs LANP scientists created for the PNAS study are a type of nonlinear media. The team used electron-beam lithography to etch puck-shaped gold discs that were placed on a transparent surface for optical testing. The diameter of each disc was about one-thousandth the width of a human hair. Each was designed to harvest the energy from a particular frequency of light; by arranging a dozen of the discs in a closely spaced pattern, the team was able to enhance the nonlinear properties of the system by creating intense electrical fields.
"Our system exploits a particular plasmonic effect called a Fano resonance to boost the efficiency of the relatively weak nonlinear effect that underlies four-wave mixing," Nordlander said. "The result is a boost in the intensity of the third color of light that the device produces."
Graduate student and co-author Yu-Rong Zhen calculated the precise arrangement of 12 discs that would be required to produce two coherent Fano resonances in a single device, and graduate student and lead co-author Yu Zhang created the device that produced the four-wave mixing -- the first such material ever created.
"The device Zhang created for four-wave mixing is the most efficient yet produced for that purpose, but the value of this research goes beyond the design for this particular device," said Halas, who was recently named a member of the National Academy of Sciences for her pioneering research in nanophotonics. "The methods used to create this device can be applied to the production of a wide range of nonlinear media, each with tailored optical properties."
###
High-resolution IMAGES are available for download at:
http://news.rice.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/0520-FANO-Mix-lg.jpg
CAPTION: Physicists and engineers from Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics have unveiled a robust new method for arranging metal nanoparticles in geometric patterns that can act as optical processors that transform incoming light signals into output of a different color.
CAPTION: By arranging optically tuned gold discs in a closely spaced pattern, Rice University scientists created intense electrical fields and enhanced the nonlinear optical properties of the system. Here a computer model displays the plasmonic interactions that give rise to the intense fields.
CAPTION: Gold discs tuned to capture the energy from two incoming beams of light can produce output of a third color. Here a computer animation shows how the electromagnetic wave (red=positive, blue=negative) from the incoming light propagates through the system as a series of plasmonic waves.
CREDIT: Yu-Rong Zhen/Rice University
A copy of the PNAS paper is available at:
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1220304110
This release can be found online at:
http://news.rice.edu/2013/05/21/rice-unveils-method-for-tailoring-optical-processors/
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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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.
Contact: Jade Boyd jadeboyd@rice.edu 713-348-6778 Rice University
Arranging nanoparticles in geometric patterns allows for control of light with light
HOUSTON -- (May 21, 2013) -- Rice University scientists have unveiled a robust new method for arranging metal nanoparticles in geometric patterns that can act as optical processors that transform incoming light signals into output of a different color. The breakthrough by a team of theoretical and applied physicists and engineers at Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) is described this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Rice's team used the method to create an optical device in which incoming light could be directly controlled with light via a process known as "four-wave mixing." Four-wave mixing has been widely studied, but Rice's disc-patterning method is the first that can produce materials that are tailored to perform four-wave mixing with a wide range of colored inputs and outputs.
"Versatility is one of the advantages of this process," said study co-author Naomi Halas, director of LANP and Rice's Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of biomedical engineering, chemistry, physics and astronomy. "It allows us to mix colors in a very general way. That means not only can we send in beams of two different colors and get out a third color, but we can fine-tune the arrangements to create devices that are tailored to accept or produce a broad spectrum of colors."
The information processing that takes place inside today's computers, smartphones and tablets is electronic. Each of the billions of transistors in a computer chip uses electrical inputs to act upon and modify the electrical signals passing through it. Processing information with light instead of electricity could allow for computers that are both faster and more energy-efficient, but building an optical computer is complicated by the quantum rules that light obeys.
"In most circumstances, one beam of light won't interact with another," said LANP theoretical physicist Peter Nordlander, a co-author of the new study. "For instance, if you shine a flashlight at a wall and you cross that beam with the beam from a second flashlight, it won't matter. The light that comes out of the first flashlight will pass through, independent of the light from the second.
"This changes if the light is traveling in a 'nonlinear medium,'" he said. "The electromagnetic properties of a nonlinear medium are such that the light from one beam will interact with another. So, if you shine the two flashlights through a nonlinear medium, the intensity of the beam from the first flashlight will be reduced proportionally to the intensity of the second beam."
The patterns of metal discs LANP scientists created for the PNAS study are a type of nonlinear media. The team used electron-beam lithography to etch puck-shaped gold discs that were placed on a transparent surface for optical testing. The diameter of each disc was about one-thousandth the width of a human hair. Each was designed to harvest the energy from a particular frequency of light; by arranging a dozen of the discs in a closely spaced pattern, the team was able to enhance the nonlinear properties of the system by creating intense electrical fields.
"Our system exploits a particular plasmonic effect called a Fano resonance to boost the efficiency of the relatively weak nonlinear effect that underlies four-wave mixing," Nordlander said. "The result is a boost in the intensity of the third color of light that the device produces."
Graduate student and co-author Yu-Rong Zhen calculated the precise arrangement of 12 discs that would be required to produce two coherent Fano resonances in a single device, and graduate student and lead co-author Yu Zhang created the device that produced the four-wave mixing -- the first such material ever created.
"The device Zhang created for four-wave mixing is the most efficient yet produced for that purpose, but the value of this research goes beyond the design for this particular device," said Halas, who was recently named a member of the National Academy of Sciences for her pioneering research in nanophotonics. "The methods used to create this device can be applied to the production of a wide range of nonlinear media, each with tailored optical properties."
###
High-resolution IMAGES are available for download at:
http://news.rice.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/0520-FANO-Mix-lg.jpg
CAPTION: Physicists and engineers from Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics have unveiled a robust new method for arranging metal nanoparticles in geometric patterns that can act as optical processors that transform incoming light signals into output of a different color.
CAPTION: By arranging optically tuned gold discs in a closely spaced pattern, Rice University scientists created intense electrical fields and enhanced the nonlinear optical properties of the system. Here a computer model displays the plasmonic interactions that give rise to the intense fields.
CAPTION: Gold discs tuned to capture the energy from two incoming beams of light can produce output of a third color. Here a computer animation shows how the electromagnetic wave (red=positive, blue=negative) from the incoming light propagates through the system as a series of plasmonic waves.
CREDIT: Yu-Rong Zhen/Rice University
A copy of the PNAS paper is available at:
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1220304110
This release can be found online at:
http://news.rice.edu/2013/05/21/rice-unveils-method-for-tailoring-optical-processors/
[ | 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.
Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham 
How do you write a eulogy that is heartfelt and memorable??If you plan to speak at your loved one?s funeral you may be wondering what steps are required to write and deliver the perfect speech. The thought of public speaking is daunting to most people. Combine the fear of public speaking with the grief of losing a loved one and speaking at a funeral may be one of the most difficult things you have to do.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 21-May-2013
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