As a result of this software update, there would be significant improvement in the use of this wearable computer. For example, battery charge estimation of the device has been improved and the speed of message transcription hugely enhanced. There would also be bug fixes, and the device’s data syncing in the background would require Wi-Fi connection and power. Glass X lab has also made modifications on the device that allows users to comment and add posts directly through the Glass. The explorer edition of Google Glass can not be used by people who wear prescription glasses, but continued research will eventually develop Google Glass for this category of people.

Consumers will also find these services handy for personal convenience. Grocery story delivery services not only help consumers save money on fuel but also on extra vehicle wear and tear from repeated grocery store trips. Consumers can avoid traffic hassles and long waiting lines at the stores which reduces personal stress. With today’s current hectic lifestyles, individuals who choose this environmentally-friendly way to shop will find it healthier not only for their budget but for themselves as well.

There are a variety of grocery delivery services to choose from. Safeway offers their services in many cities across the United States. Seattle consumers can use the services offered by Amazon Fresh. Seattle consumers also have the choice of a new service offered by University of Washington alumni called Genius Delivery. In New York, residences and offices can have their groceries delivered by Fresh Direct. Google unveiled a new experiment in the San Francisco Bay Area just last month.

There is a common misconception that people have to inconvenience themselves in order to be friendlier to the environment. Anne Goodchild, a University of Washington associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, disagrees. “A lot of times people think they have to inconvenience themselves to be greener, and that actually isn’t the case here. From an environmental perspective, grocery delivery services overwhelmingly can provide emissions reductions.”

Engineers at the University of Washington discovered grocery delivery services cut down these carbon dioxide emissions by almost half when compared to the total of consumer household trips to the store. The best results in savings where achieved when capacity-filled trucks targeted their deliveries in customers in neighborhood clusters.

A test experiment was performed in Seattle to determine whether or not grocery store delivery services were indeed better for the environment. Anne Goodchild and Erica Wygonik, a University of Washington doctoral candidate in civil and environmental engineering, headed the experiment. They discovered that the delivery trucks produced 20-75 percent less carbon dioxide than consumer vehicles. Companies who base their routes on customers who are clustered together in specific neighborhoods saw a savings rate of 80-90 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Companies who utilize delivery trucks in this way also see a significant savings to their bottom lines. Erica Wygonik states it this way, “What’s good for the bottom line of the delivery service provider is generally going to be good for the environment, because fuel is such a big contributor to operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Saving fuel saves money, which also saves on emissions.” Grocery store delivery services are simply the best win-win situation for both companies and consumers in both personal convenience and being friendlier to the environment.

He has a pending patent that is simple but quite effective in the role that it can play. He explicitly explained that his inspiration came by the frustration he felt during winter when wipers freeze onto the car windshield. This is common phenomenon that New Englanders understand better. ‘This is the reason why a good number of people do flip their wipers the moment snow is forecast’, He explained. However, he was quick to add that this was a recipe for vandalism, and it was not the best solution to counter the issue. It was for this particular reason that he decided to find a long-lasting solution for this recurring problem.

Daniel Perlman is credited for developing an obstructive solution; a spring-loaded peg that will automatically retract when wipers are turned on. What the peg does is that it raises wipers an inch or two off the wind shield surface. This is a space good enough to avoid windshield freezing to the car glass.

The advantage of this method is that the peg doesn’t affect wiper operations in any way. When the driver exits the car he needs to manually flip down the wipers when snow is forecast. However, with only a flip of the wiper switch the blades are reset to their intended position to counter freezing. Perlman who is a Brandeis researcher is scouting for a company that will be able to license this technology and also commercialize it. He lightly commented on the issue saying that; although he is not the only one frustrated during the winters, he was the only person trying to find a way to fix the problem.

Hunters are now paid handsomely to collect wild pets, which has pushed conservationists to step up vigilance in order to curb this increasing illegal business. It is widely spread across Asia, Europe and the United States. This caught the attention of a wildlife traffic group member called Chris Shepherd who said that the number of animal species threatened by illegal trade for exchange as pets is growing large each day as people prefer rare species.

There has been an ongoing meeting in Bangkok comprising of 178 members under the International trade in Endangered Species convention, to help in protecting some threatened species of tortoises and turtles. They are however yet to address dangers posed to snakes, beetles, spiders, scorpions, the big cats and some exotic birds which wildlife protection campaigners have experienced but cannot control due to the increased hunting brought about by a high demand and an offer of luring prices. Research also indicates that the pet business contributes more to illegal hunting compared to medicine and trade and now includes dangerous animals like the large flightless birds of Australia and New Guinea besides very poisonous snakes which raises the question as to why people tame killer animals. The flightless birds can actually kill through a kick.

Shepherd admits that there are some animal species that collectors never dare such as the polar bear. Hunters think it is easier to tame cheetahs and endangered lizards for aesthetic purposes but environmentalists urge that this is worse than even killing a rhinoceros for horns. Shepherd continues to say that taming wild animals as pets has nearly the same effects as killing elephants for ivory because it makes conservation of the species almost impossible. Conservationists also argue that caging an animal from a threatened species is equal to killing it because you are taking it away from the wild nature. The experts point of view is that by the time the animals reach a shop or the home where they are needed, be it big chimpanzees or small reptiles, a number of them may die either at the field during hunting or in the event of transporting them.

Ian Redmond who is the founder of Great Apes Survival Partnership said that every year there are many apes involved in illegal trades, most of them being baby apes, which means the parents are killed during hunting. Redmond puts a share of the blame on celebrities like Michael Jackson, the pop music icon who tamed a chimpanzee by the name Bubble because strong fans of such an icon could easily imitate the character out of sheer love for his music. Such movies also like Clint Eastwood could easily influence fans who watch it because of the Orangutan. He says that apes may seem joyful on television screens but they do not enjoy the fulfilling life brought about by the complex nature of their society in the natural habitat. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species put sanctions to the hunting of some tortoises and turtles such as the star tortoise and Burmese which are running extinct. This is to show how much threat the hunting poses to such iconic species.

Ron Orenstein, a zoologist and consultant from a campaign group called Humane Society International says there are 300 types of turtles that collectors prefer, but people do not collect wild animals as pets because they need them as animal companions. They pay highly for these species just for the pride of owning rare pets. He gives an example of the snake-necked turtle residing in Roti Island which is at high risk because it is very scarce and people pay up to $2000 to get it as a pet.

Shepherd had a special message to people who want to buy pets but do not know whether it was hunted from a wild habitat or not. He simply advices them to stop buying the animals.

Potatoes where initially growing up in nature as wild plants. But human beings started domesticating them as far as 1000 years ago. History says that first potato cultivation began in Andes, which is located in South America. There by we can call it the birth place of potato. When potato become a crop plant there was some restrictions in growing them. Not all the countries had the privilege of having them. Only the natives of south America had these crops. Some of them include Chile  Peru and our original Andes. After the Spanish conquest on 16th century, the Spanish brought potato to the European countries when they came back. This started a new dawn in history. Potato farming started to spread like wild fire and soon become a daily member of our dining table.

But still one problem remained. The potatoes belonged to the South America. So their farming time is different and do not match with the climate of northern latitudes. In Europe the growing season comes in spring and summer. These seasons comes with long days and short nights. Where as the South American growing time is around autumn with day time up to 12 hours or less. They developed tubers during these comparatively shorter days.

It was lately that a group of scientists of Wageningen University discovered a new genetic mechanism in potatoes. This new genetic mechanism will actually allow the potato to grow at the climate of northern latitudes enduring the cycle of long days and short nights during spring and summer. It will act as a tube regulator in a certain variety of potatoes and researchers hope that will let us to grow potato all over the world.

This group of scientists from the plant breeding of Wageningen University have published an article in the ‘journal magazine’. This article is clearly explaining the new genetic mechanism found in potatoes that is helping the new breed of potato to grow even far away from their natural origin. Their researches points out that there are a lot of new genetic mutations occurring in potato. These researches shows that the continuous cultivation of potato at different areas of Europe has distorted their natural inhibition to develop tuber during longer days. They found that these genetic mutations have developed a new category of potato having early, medium and late variety of tuber development. The early varieties can form tuber during the early April  These researchers have put forward a new technology for the potato breeders around the world. They say that by identifying the early, medium and late variety of potato and cross breeding them correctly can help them to develop new breed of potato which can be made to grow anywhere and at any climatic conditions.

The research which was published by Alcantra Miranda, Maria Raquel and other researchers from the Federal-University of Ceara, Brazil involved comparing weight and bio-chemical properties of tomatoes grown from conventional and organic farms. The researchers also found that the tomatoes grown from organic were approximately 40% smaller compared to those from conventional-farms.

According to the authors, this phenomenon can be attributed to the fact that organic farming practices expose plants to higher stress levels compared to conventional methods. The authors argue that the increased stress levels maybe the reason why organic tomatoes accumulate high sugar levels, vitamin C & pigment molecules such as lycopene (anti-oxidant compound); which are all associated with a biological-response to stress. The researchers suggest that rather than try to eliminate stress and increase yields, farmers should aim to strike a balance between plant stress and fruit size/ maximum yields.

Photo source: www.carzoos.com.au/Used_Cars

Ethanol – the pure alchocol has many uses. Besides being an alhocolic beverage it is widely used as fuel. It mostly has good effects on engine performance but not so good on exhaust emission.

Basics:

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. A psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs known, ethanol produces a state known as alcohol intoxication when consumed. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a solvent, and as a fuel. [1]

The Ethanol Effect refers to the unintended consequences of United States’ reliance on the biofuel ethanol as a substitute for fossil fuels and as a quick-fix solution for America’s reliance on foreign oil in a post 9/11 world. The term was first coined, according to American Public Media’s Marketplace Radio, by a University of Iowa study in 2007.[1]
Ethanol champions declare corn as the “new oil” and that it will forever end our dependence on the unstable OPEC nations. Sustainability advocates say that new and advanced methods of growing crops, that weren’t present 20 years ago, will more than cover the world’s food and fuel needs. [2]

Performance tests were conducted for equivalence air–fuel ratio, fuel consumption, volumetric efficiency, brake thermal efficiency, brake power, engine torque and brake specific fuel consumption, while exhaust emissions were analyzed for carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and unburned hydrocarbons (HC), using unleaded gasoline–ethanol blends with different percentages of fuel at three-fourth throttle opening position and variable engine speed ranging from 1000 to 4000 rpm. The results showed that blending unleaded gasoline with ethanol increases the brake power, torque, volumetric and brake thermal efficiencies and fuel consumption, while it decreases the brake specific fuel consumption and equivalence air–fuel ratio. The CO and HC emissions concentrations in the engine exhaust decrease, while the CO2 concentration increases. The 20 vol.% ethanol in fuel blend gave the best results for all measured parameters at all engine speeds. [3]

This study was focused on fuel energy efficiency and pollution analysis of different ratios of ethanol-gasoline blended fuels (E0, E3, E6, and E9) under different loadings. In this research, the experimental system consisted of a small engine generator, a particulate matter measurement system, and an exhaust gas analyzer system. Different fuels, unleaded gasoline, and ethanol-gasoline blends (E0, E3, E6, and E9) were used to study their effects on the exhaust gas emission and were expressed as thermal efficiency of the small engine generator energy efficiency. The results suggested that particle number concentration increased as the engine loading increased; however, it decreased as the ethanol content in the blend increased. While using E6 as fuel, the carbon monoxide (CO) concentration was less than other fuels (E0, E3, and E9) for each engine loading. The average of CO concentration reduction by using E3, E6, and E9 is 42, 86, and 83%, respectively. Using an ethanol-gasoline blend led to a significant reduction in exhaust emissions by approximately 78.7, 97.5, and 89.46% of the mean average values of hydrocarbons (HCs) with E3, E6, and E9 fuels, respectively, for all engine loadings. Using an ethanol-gasoline blend led to a significant reduction in exhaust emissions by approximately 35, 86, and 77% of the mean average values of nitrogen oxides (NOx) with E3, E6, and E9 fuels, respectively, at each engine loading. The E6 fuel gave the best results of the exhaust emissions, and the E9 fuel gave the best results of the particle emissions and engine performance. The thermal efficiency of the small engine generator increased as the ethanol content in the blend increased and as the engine loading increased. [4]

Use of Gasoline as an alternative fuel in Gasoline engine is becoming a need, looking at the scarcity of petroleum fuels in near future. This paper investigates the use of mathematical model to find effects of using gasoline and ethanol blends on SI engine performance at various compression ratios. This is done by first making a mathematical model of the engine and testing it for various operating conditions. The aim of this paper is to develop a simple, fast and accurate engine simulation model without the need of complex computational power or knowledge of precise engine geometrical data. The effectiveness of this model is verified by conducting trials on the engine. A four stroke, single cylinder, Kirloskar made Variable Compression Ratio SI engine is used for conducting this study. In this study the effects of adding ethanol to the unleaded gasoline on engine performance have been investigated numerically. The ethanol gasoline blends have been obtained by adding ethanol to a gasoline in different ratios by volume. Several parameters like BP, IP, Break Thermal Efficiency, Indicated Thermal Efficiency Mechanical Efficiency, BSFC, were calculated. The performance of the engine was evaluated with gasoline and with the said fuels at varying speeds and different compression ratios. After running this mathematical model, it was observed that this model gives fairly close results and can be used to evaluate the performance of the engine for various speed, compression ratios and different combinations of gasoline- ethanol fuel blends. Errors were also calculated and it was observed that these errors are in the range of -0.12 % to 7.63% for BSFC & BP respectively. [5]

In this study, the effect of unleaded gasoline and unleaded gasoline lended with 5% and 10% of ethanol or methanol on the performance and exhaust emissions of a spark-ignition engine were experimentally nvestigated. The engine tests were performed by varying the engine peed between 1000 and 4000 rpm with 500 rpm period at threefourth throttle opening position. The results showed that brakespecific fuel consumption increased while brake thermal efficiency, emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HCs) decreased with methanol-unleaded gasoline and ethanol-unleaded gasoline blends. It was found that a 10% blend of ethanol or methanol with unleaded gasoline works well in the existing design of engine and parameters at which engines are operating. [6]

Conclusion:

Many researches have been conducted on effects of blending unleaded gasoline with ethanol and it has been proven that it increases torque, the brake power,fuel consumption , volumetric and brake thermal efficiencies , however it decreases the fuel consumption specific for brake and equivalence air–fuel ratio. Unfortunately the CO2 concentration increases.

References:

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_effect
[3] ”Effect of ethanol–unleaded gasoline blends on engine performance and exhaust emission” by: M Al-Hasan
[4] ”Effect of ethanol-gasoline blends on small engine generator energy efficiency and exhaust emission” by: Lin WY, Chang YY, Hsieh YR.
[5] ”Mathematical Modeling of Variable Compression Ratio Engine Operating on Gasoline Ethanol Blend” by: Prafulla HatteY., J. Bhalerao
[6] ”Exhaust emissions of methanol and ethanol-unleaded gasoline blends in a spark-ignition engine” by: Şehmus Altun, Hakan F. Öztop, Cengiz Öner, Yasin Varol

Auxin and hydrotropism is the newest experiment. It has astronauts placing their ability to grow plants on the check. Hydro tropic is an inducible DNA appearance in roots grown under microgravity environment. This process was done in 18-21 October 2010. The most popular JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is hydro Topi. JAXA operates research study about directional growth of root. Under microgravity, roots grows to one side or sideways, unlike under normal situations in which they grow up and down due to forces of gravity. The researchers use cucumis sativus (cucumber) plants to find out whether plant root orientation, because of water response (hydrotropics) is able to manage the direction in the growth of root in microgravity.

During the hydro Tropi experiment process, astronauts transport the seed of cucumis sativus from the planet earth to the station in the space and then entice the seeds into growth. The hydrotropism chambers’ seeds go through 18 hours of nurture in a CBEF or cell biology experiment. Consequently, members of the crew activate the seeds using saturated salt solution or water. The next step is a 4 to 5 hours later application of water.

The crew performs the seedlings of cucumis sativus harvest and preserve them by means of fixation tubes known as KFTs or Kenney Space hub fixation tubes. The harvested seeds are stored in one of the location MELFI Freezers to anticipate go back to planet earth. The hydro tropi outcome, which goes back to the planet earth on STS- 133, will enable researchers to appreciate fully the mechanism that enables plant to grow and build up at particle level.

The study will reveal the capability of a plant, to alter the direction of growth in response to gravitropism or gravity against the directional development in response to hydrotropism or water. Through observing the plants response and the ensuing reaction of various auxin, researchers will discover about plants inducible genetic material appearance. Auxin is a compound that regulates the plants of growth. Under space, researchers are optimistic that hydro Tropi will demonstrate how to manage directional growth of the root by employing the hydrotropism response.

This field of study and knowledge may also contribute to a major advancement in the agricultural production on the globe. With the knowledge, we will be capable of producing enough food that can support the ever-creasing population on the earth.

The link between diet and a child’s intelligence.

Results from the meta-analysis proved that newborns that took the long chained polyunsaturated fatty acids (Omega 3 fatty acids) had their IQ enhanced by over 3.5 points. Additionally, children born to mothers who took these fatty acids supplements at their time of pregnancy, were also found to have a boost of more than 3.5 points to their IQ. These fatty acids, found in foods rich Omega 3 acids such as fish and plant oils,promote the children’s IQ by providing building blocks necessary for nerve cell development that the body cannot create by itself. Further research is required to confirm whether or not other supplements in our day to day diet such as B-complex vitamins, iron, riboflavin, niacin, zinc and thiamine enhance a child’s intelligence.

The link between preschool and a child’s intelligence.

Additionally, the enrollment of a child with a disadvantaged economic background into an early education system was found to promote the child’s IQ by more than 4 points. The early education system with a center-based component education proved to be better for it helped enhance the children’s IQ by more than 7 points. This promotion is a result of the child getting exposed to cognitively stimulating as well as demanding complex environments,in this case,the early education systems.However, Protzko, Blair and Aronson’s results did not give clarity on whether this applies to all children from various socio-economic backgrounds.They also found no proof to support the theory that early education systems during childhood are more advantageous than those that start later stage.

The link between parental behaviour and a child’s intelligence.

Protzko,Blair and Aronson’s meta-analysis showed that a system whereby the parents took time to participate in teaching their children contributed boosting the latter’s intelligence. The children seemed to exhibit a raise of over 6 points in their IQ.Nevertheless,these interactive reading systems do not appear to have the same effect on children over the age of 4 years. These results suggest that these type of systems may contribute in the acceleration of language development which boosts the children’s(below 4 years of age) IQ during communication.

A summary.

Looking at all the results obtained from the meta-analysis that was carried by Protzko, Blair and Aronson, we identify the link between intelligence and essential fatty acids because latter assists in nerve cell development that results to a raise of the children’s IQ by 3.5 points. We also establish the link between the enrollment of a child to preschool and intelligence for this raises the child’s IQ by more than 4 points. Additionally, the preschools inclusive of language development systems were shown to improve a child’s IQ by more than 7 points. This link was identified because the children’s cognitive abilities get stimulated when they get exposed to complex environments such as preschool. The parents participation in teaching their children also seemed to increase the children’s IQ by more than 6 points. The link between parent participation and intelligence is therefore established because this process tends to speed up language development of the child as the two parties communicate. Conclusively,parental behaviour, diet and enrollment to preschools do enhance your child’s IQ considerably, therefore you are urged to try them out.