Your favorite youth program is here again! Sign up now for co-ed basketball, girls basketball, and co-ed indoor soccer. Co-ed and girls basketball is open to youth age 7-17 and co-ed Indoor Soccer is open to youth age 5-14 (as of September 1, 2012).
The registration fee is $80 (or $65 if you register by October 13). The registration deadline is October 27. Save $15 if you register by October 13.
Community Services youth leagues are intended to provide a positive social experience for young boys and girls with emphasis on good sportsmanship, fun, and exercise. Teams are based on area, age, height, and experience. Players and coaches receive a team T-shirt. Coaches will contact players regarding practice schedules in December. Game play will start in January and are played at various locations, and this league is Countywide.
Don't forget, we also offer an opportunity to earn a refund. If you volunteer to coach, you will receive a 50% refund off your child's registration fee, if selected to coach. This refund applies to one participating child only. The refund is processed after the first game.
Register online at Charles County Government. For more information, call 301-934-9305 or 301-870-3388, ext 5152.
For information on other programs offered by Community Services, visit our website at Charles County Government, or call 301-934-9305 or 301-870-3388. Those citizens with special needs please contact the Maryland Relay Service at 711, or Relay Service TDD: 800-735-2258.
Park University to Offer Leadership Academy for Young Professionals
By Jenalea Myers - August 29, 2012 - 11:15 am Email?this?article | ?Printer?friendly?page | Media Inquiries | Share on Facebook | Share on Twitter
NEWS RELEASE
Park University has announced its new Kansas City Leadership Academy, designed to groom young professionals for greater leadership roles in organizations, the community and beyond.
The Academy will be led by Kay Barnes, distinguished professor for public leadership in Park's Hauptmann School for Public Affairs and former mayor of Kansas City, Mo., and Don Wise, coordinator of nonprofit and community services and instructor of public administration at the Hauptmann School. The KCLA is a joint initiative of Park's Center for Leadership (founded by Barnes), the Downtown Council of Kansas City (Mo.) and the Kansas City (Mo.) Public Library. The Academy will provide attendees with a combination of the latest scholarship in leadership studies, plus practical hands-on guidance in achieving executive excellence.
The Academy's eight sessions (including two one-day retreats) will include: individual data-gathering regarding current leadership strengths and weaknesses; history of leadership theory development; current trends and leadership skill development through group processes; and case studies and analyses of the challenges and opportunities for organizational development and civic engagement. Also included will be two opportunities to interact with leading scholars of the American presidency as part of the Library's Hail to the Chief series.
The inaugural Academy, which begins with a reception on Thursday, Sept. 20, and continues through December, is limited to 20 participants at a cost of $2,500 per person. Academy graduates will receive a Leadership Academy Certificate of Achievement and 2.4 Continuing Education Units from Park. Undergraduate/graduate credit also is available.
Additional information and applications can be viewed at www.park.edu/cfla/. For more information, e-mail leadership@park.edu or contact Barnes at kay.barnes@park.edu or (816) 559-5644.
30 million boost for biomedical engineering researchPublic release date: 30-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jen Middleton j.middleton@wellcome.ac.uk 44-207-611-7262 Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) announce the launch of a joint 30 million initiative to find biomedical engineering solutions to challenging healthcare problems.
The Innovative Engineering for Health partnership will provide funding for a limited number of ground-breaking long-term projects that address healthcare needs for which current solutions are inadequate. Up to 10m over seven years is available for each project, reflecting the scale of ambition that the initiative seeks to support. Uniquely, the initiative provides the resources and flexibility to both conduct high-quality basic research and enable its adoption into clinical or public health practice.
Engineering and the physical sciences have played a role in many of the most significant advances in healthcare in our time. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fibre-optic surgical techniques, robotic prostheses and automated genetic sequencing are just some of the advances in healthcare that would not have been possible without technology from the physical sciences.
Applications are invited for projects that will address problems of the highest priority in healthcare or public health for which solutions are not obvious given the current state of technology. For example, priority will be given to proposals that address such problems as developing technologies to tackle rare diseases, facilitating care for babies and infants that accommodates challenges posed by growth and development, and finding engineering approaches for mental health problems.
The new initiative builds on the success of a 45m capacity-building initiative from the two funders to support four multidisciplinary centres of excellence in medical engineering around the UK.
The Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, said: "Bringing together the UK's world-class biomedical and physical sciences researchers will be vital in developing the technology to solve our biggest healthcare challenges. This unique initiative supports both basic science and its translation, advancing knowledge and bringing benefits for patients."
Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said: "The research environment for biomedical engineering in the UK has benefited enormously from the collaboration between EPSRC and the Wellcome Trust, and we are delighted to announce this new initiative, bringing together multidisciplinary teams that will tackle some extremely important medical challenges."
The new scheme is open to global applications, and particularly encourages collaboration between the UK and the best international groups.
David Delpy, Chief Executive of the EPSRC, said: "This initiative builds upon our partnership with the Wellcome Trust which has been running since 2008. It provides a unique opportunity for researchers to take basic science and engineering right through to adoption into practice. It will support innovative thinking and bring together the best researchers in the world in the medical, engineering and physical sciences to devise solutions to healthcare challenges."
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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.
30 million boost for biomedical engineering researchPublic release date: 30-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jen Middleton j.middleton@wellcome.ac.uk 44-207-611-7262 Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) announce the launch of a joint 30 million initiative to find biomedical engineering solutions to challenging healthcare problems.
The Innovative Engineering for Health partnership will provide funding for a limited number of ground-breaking long-term projects that address healthcare needs for which current solutions are inadequate. Up to 10m over seven years is available for each project, reflecting the scale of ambition that the initiative seeks to support. Uniquely, the initiative provides the resources and flexibility to both conduct high-quality basic research and enable its adoption into clinical or public health practice.
Engineering and the physical sciences have played a role in many of the most significant advances in healthcare in our time. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fibre-optic surgical techniques, robotic prostheses and automated genetic sequencing are just some of the advances in healthcare that would not have been possible without technology from the physical sciences.
Applications are invited for projects that will address problems of the highest priority in healthcare or public health for which solutions are not obvious given the current state of technology. For example, priority will be given to proposals that address such problems as developing technologies to tackle rare diseases, facilitating care for babies and infants that accommodates challenges posed by growth and development, and finding engineering approaches for mental health problems.
The new initiative builds on the success of a 45m capacity-building initiative from the two funders to support four multidisciplinary centres of excellence in medical engineering around the UK.
The Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, said: "Bringing together the UK's world-class biomedical and physical sciences researchers will be vital in developing the technology to solve our biggest healthcare challenges. This unique initiative supports both basic science and its translation, advancing knowledge and bringing benefits for patients."
Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said: "The research environment for biomedical engineering in the UK has benefited enormously from the collaboration between EPSRC and the Wellcome Trust, and we are delighted to announce this new initiative, bringing together multidisciplinary teams that will tackle some extremely important medical challenges."
The new scheme is open to global applications, and particularly encourages collaboration between the UK and the best international groups.
David Delpy, Chief Executive of the EPSRC, said: "This initiative builds upon our partnership with the Wellcome Trust which has been running since 2008. It provides a unique opportunity for researchers to take basic science and engineering right through to adoption into practice. It will support innovative thinking and bring together the best researchers in the world in the medical, engineering and physical sciences to devise solutions to healthcare challenges."
###
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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.
Google has decided to pull the plug on Google TV Ads, its five-year attempt to convert the cable and broadcast TV industry into selling its available ad inventory on an online ad exchange.
The news comes on the same day that Google was rumored to be exploring the sale of the TV set-top box unit of its Motorola Mobility unit.
Conversely, Google is plowing ahead with its Google Fiber experiment, which brings superfast internet access?and possibly pay TV?to people in Kansas City.
The move comes eight months after it signed up Cox Media as a partner, bringing the network to 42 million households. The network included Dish Network, DirecTV, VerizonFiOS, and Viamedia.
Google TV is unaffected.
The death of Google TV ads is a huge victory for the broadcast and cable networks, who are fighting an epic war against the web, which threatens to turn traditional TV viewing into the newspaper business of the 21st Century.
NBC, for instance, snubbed Google back in 2010 after flirting with the idea of offering inventory via the search giant.
Google TV Ads was the third major attempt to start an online electronic exchange for TV ads, all of which have been rendered extinct by cable and network TV's refusal to allow any programming inventory to be sold on them. (The other three were SpotRunner, Malibu Media and Walmart.)
Microsoft also beat a retreat after failing to dent the TV business.
The cablers and the nets aren't stupid: They operate like a cartel, restricting supply of inventory even as demand?and audiences?fall.
Shishir Mehrotra, Google's vp/product for YouTube and video, gave this explanation:
"... video is increasingly going digital and users are now watching across numerous devices.? So we?ve made the hard decision to close our TV Ads product over the next few months and move the team to other areas at Google.? We?ll be doubling down on video solutions for our clients (like YouTube, AdWords for Video, and ad serving tools for web video publishers).? We also see opportunities to help users access web content on their TV screens, through products like Google TV."
Yesterday, we noted that the government of Wenzhou has put up 52 land plots for sale all in one go.? A sign of desperation, as government?s revenue fell amid slowing economy and weak real estate market.
Of course, this is not a unique phenomenon in Wenzhou.? On the whole, land sales revenue for the whole of China has fallen by 27.5% in the first half of the year compared to a year ago according to First Financial Daily, citing figures from the Ministry of Finance.? As almost 40% of provincial governments have been unable to reach their half-year budget target for the first half of the year, local governments are getting aggressive in putting up land plots on sale in hope to take advantage of the recently warmed-up real estate market and renewed interests from some real estate developers to ?buy the dip?, local governments put up land plots for sales as aggressively as they can.
Hangzhou, for instance, put up 7 land lots for sale on 27 August, raising about RMB5.4 billion of revenue according to First Financial Daily.? Meanwhile, Beijing is also putting up 11 land plots for sale on 17 September, and Shijiazhuang is putting up 8 plots according to the same report.
While local governments are hopeful that putting up more land plots for sale would help their finances, foreign real estate investors are getting more cautious.? We knew from earlier report on foreign direct investment that FDI in the real estate sector has fallen by 9.3% yoy for the first seven months of the year.? A grimmer picture came from National Bureau of Statistics, which says funding from foreign sources in real estate investment has fallen by 54.3% yoy for the first seven months of the year.?
China Securities Journal noted that Tishman Speyer, a real estate developer based in the United States is currently trying to sell one land plot in Shanghai which was acquired in 2008.? Many more other foreign real estate developers are cutting prices to sell off their inventory (with some owners that bought the apartments only months earlier getting angry, like this, perhaps).? On that note, we could go back to the recurring theme here that slowing capital inflow (and emergence of slow capital outflow) has already broken the old money creation mechanism.?
In any case, there is nothing to feel excited about.
For more news and analysis, visit Also sprach Analyst. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
The annual general meeting of the Society?s Environmental Statistics Section will take place on?Monday 24 September 2012 as part of the meeting on?Integrated Population Modelling to be held at ?Charles Darwin House in London.
In accordance with the regulations of the section, the following are recommended by the section committee as members of the committee for the 2013 session:
Jonty Rougier (Chair) Diana Cole (Secretary) Marc Kennedy (Vice Chair) Richard Wilkinson (Meetings Secretary) Janine Illian Richard Chandler Duncan Lee Sujit Sahu Gavin Shaddick Nicole Augustin Alison Johnston
one vacancy
Unless alternative nominations are received by the theme manager for sections Paul Gentry before 10 September. these persons will be declared elected at the annual general meeting.
Looking back all the way to America's Civil War, there have been three dominant presidential coalitions.
The first was Abraham Lincoln's. With his war to restore the Union and his martyrdom, Lincoln inaugurated an era of Republican dominance that lasted more than seven decades and saw only two Democratic presidents: Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson.
The second coalition was FDR's, where he and his vice president Harry Truman won five consecutive presidential elections. Only Gen. Eisenhower could break that streak.
The third was Richard Nixon's New Majority, cobbled together after his narrow 1968 victory, where he annexed the Northern Catholic ethnics and Southern Christian conservatives of FDR's coalition to win 49 states in 1972. Ronald Reagan would follow up with 44- and 49-state landslides and see his vice president win 40 states in 1988.
That New Majority is now history. In the five elections since 1992, Republicans have won the popular vote once ? in 2004. And while Mitt Romney is slightly ahead in polls today, reaching 270 electoral votes will be no easy task. The electoral map is becoming problematic.
According to GOP Chairman Reince Priebus, the party has a 3-2-1 strategy. While holding all the states McCain won, the party must first recapture three red states that Barack Obama carried: Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia. Next, Romney must carry the two major battleground states that Obama won last time: Ohio and Florida. Third, add one more state Obama carried in 2008, like Colorado. Then the GOP is home.
Yet with the exception of Indiana, none of those six states seems close to secure. And the GOP must win them all. And now Missouri, after Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" gaffe, has moved from Republican red into the undecided column.
The good news: With Paul Ryan on the ticket, Wisconsin is in play, and Mitt's birth state, Michigan, is getting a second look.
Yet consider the uphill struggle the GOP faces in a year when the election should be a cakewalk.
Though he has four straight trillion-dollar deficits and 42 months of 8 percent unemployment to his credit, Obama appears to already have four of the seven mega-states ? California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York ? secure and is more than competitive in Ohio and Florida.
Looking to the future, what is the Republican strategy ever again to win New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois or California, other than due to some national calamity or new depression?
Where the Democratic base seems secure, the GOP base, the South from the Potomac to the Pedernales, is seeing Democratic encroachments ? in Florida, Virginia and North Carolina.
Moreover, while the Nixon-Reagan coalition was united on the mega-issues of morality and patriotism, today's GOP is fragmenting on everything except the imperative of removing Obama.
One hears scarcely a peep of protest at Obama's withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet U.S. influence is sinking in Baghdad as a new civil war is stirring, and the Taliban's return after the U.S. departure from Afghanistan seems a certainty. Where have all the uber-hawks gone?
The caws of Sen. John McCain and the neoconservatives for intervention in Syria and an ultimatum to Tehran to halt the enrichment of uranium or face a U.S. attack is echoed by some evangelicals. But foreign policy "realists," libertarians and the anti-interventionist right, all of whom are urging us to stay out of any new war, seem more in tune with the times ? and the country.
The GOP used to be united on a traditionalist view of social and moral issues. Now, not only the Log Cabin Club, but libertarians and some moderate Republicans are receptive to the idea of homosexual marriage. And the ticket of Romney-Ryan accepts abortion in the case of incest or rape.
Once the principled position is yielded, where do we draw the line? At what point does constant accommodation cause True Believers to depart?
Priebus said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that Republicans will cut federal spending from 25 percent of gross domestic product, roughly where it is today, to 20 percent. But a cut of 5 percent of GDP translates into a budget reduction of $750 billion.
That is one-fifth of the entire U.S. budget.
While the Republicans would seek to achieve such a reduction over a period of years, such budget butchery is unheard of in modern times.
Where are the cuts to come from?
Social Security and Medicare are the largest social programs. But the beneficiaries of those middle-class entitlements are seniors and retirees, the big divisions of the Republican army. And Mitt has assured these folks he is not going to cut Medicare.
As for defense, Mitt says we need to spend more. And though the Rand Paul wing of the party is open to cuts in military spending, and some conservatives are ready to see bases closed abroad, this would cause a revolt among congressional hawks, neoconservatives, and executives and lobbyists of the military-industrial complex who show up at all those Washington fundraisers.
Mitt Romney and the Republicans have a shot at taking it all this year. But beyond, one sees only darkening skies for the Grand Old Party.
Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of "Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?" To find out more about Patrick Buchanan and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
Magnetic vortex reveals key to spintronic speed limitPublic release date: 28-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Justin Eure jeure@bnl.gov 631-344-2347 DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Scientists measure key effect of electron spin essential to engineering the next generation of high-performing digital devices
UPTON,NY -- The evolution of digital electronics is a story of miniaturization - each generation of circuitry requires less space and energy to perform the same tasks. But even as high-speed processors move into handheld smart phones, current data storage technology has a functional limit: magnetically stored digital information becomes unstable when too tightly packed. The answer to maintaining the breath-taking pace of our ongoing computer revolution may be the denser, faster, and smarter technology of spintronics.
Spintronic devices use electron spin, a subtle quantum characteristic, to write and read information. But to mobilize this emerging technology, scientists must understand exactly how to manipulate spin as a reliable carrier of computer code. Now, scientists at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have precisely measured a key parameter of electron interactions called non-adiabatic spin torque that is essential to the future development of spintronic devices. Not only does this unprecedented precision - the findings to be published in the journal Nature Communications on August 28 - guide the reading and writing of digital information, but it defines the upper limit on processing speed that may underlie a spintronic revolution.
"In the past, no one was able to measure the spin torque accurately enough for detailed comparisons of experiment and mathematical models," said Brookhaven Lab physicist Yimei Zhu. "By precisely imaging the spin orbits with a dedicated transmission electron microscope at Brookhaven, we advanced a truly fundamental understanding that has immediate implications for electronic devices. So this is quite exciting."
Speed Limits
Most prevailing technology fails to take full advantage of the electron, which features intrinsic quantum variables beyond the charge and flow driving electricity. One of these, a parameter known as spin direction, can be strategically manipulated to function as a high-density medium to store and transmit information in spintronics. But as any computer scientist can attest, dense data can mean very little without enough speed to process it efficiently.
"One of the big reasons that people want to understand this non-adiabatic spin torque term, which describes the ability to transfer spin via electrical currents, is that it basically determines how fast spintronic devices can be," said Shawn Pollard, a physics Ph.D. student at Brookhaven Lab and Stony Brook University and the lead author of the paper. "The read and write speed for data is dictated by the size of this number we measured, called beta, which is actually very, very big. That means the technology is potentially very, very fast."
Building a Vortex
Consider the behavior of coffee stirred rapidly in a mug: the motion of a spoon causes the liquid to spin, rising along the edges and spiraling low in the center. Because the coffee can't escape through the mug's porcelain walls, the trapped energy generates the cone-like vortex in the center. A similar phenomenon can be produced on magnetic materials to reveal fundamental quantum measurements.
The Brookhaven physicists applied a range of high-frequency electric currents to a patterned film called permalloy, useful for its high magnetic permeability. This material, 50 nanometers (billionths of a meter) thick and composed of nickel and iron, was designed to strictly contain any generated magnetic field. Unable to escape, trapped electron spins combine and spiral within the permalloy, building into an observable and testable phenomenon called a magnetic vortex core.
"The vortex core motion is actually the cumulative effect of three distinct energies: the magnetic field induced by the current, and the adiabatic and non-adiabatic spin torques generated by electrons," Zhu said. "By capturing images of this micrometer (millionth of a meter) effect, we can deduce the precise value of the non-adiabatic torque's contribution to the vortex, which plays out on the nanoscale. Other measurements had very high error, but our technique offered the spatial resolution necessary to move past the wide range of previous results."
Disk Density
The high-speed, high-density hard drives in today's computers write information into spinning disks of magnetic materials, using electricity to toggle between magnetic polarity states that correspond to the "1" or "0" of binary computer code. But a number of intrinsic problems emerge with this method of data storage, notably limits to speed because of the spinning disk, which is made less reliable by moving parts, significant heat generation, and the considerable energy needed to write and read information.
Beyond that, magnetic storage suffers from a profound scaling issue. The magnetic fields in these devices exert influence on surrounding space, a so-called fringing field. Without appropriate space between magnetic data bits, this field can corrupt neighboring bits of digital information by inadvertently flipping "1" into "0." This translates to an ultimate limit on scalability, as these data bits need too much room to allow endless increases in data density.
Nanowire Racetracks
One pioneering spintronic prototype is IBM's Racetrack memory, which uses spin-coherent electric current to move magnetic domains, or discrete data bits, along a permalloy wire about 200 nanometers across and 100 nanometers thick. The spin of these magnetic domains is altered as they pass over a read/write head, forming new data patterns that travel back and forth along the nanowire racetrack. This process not only yields the prized stability of flash memory devices, but also offers speed and capacity exceeding disk drives.
"It takes less energy to manipulate spin torque parameters than magnetic fields," said Pollard. "There's less crosstalk between databits, and less heat is generated as information is written and read in spin-based storage devices. We measured a major component critical to unlocking the potential of spintronic technology, and I hope our work offers deeper insight into the fundamental origin of this non-adiabatic term."
The new measurement pins down a fundamental limit on data manipulation speeds, but the task of translating this work into practical limits on processor speed and hard drive space will fall to the scientists and engineers building the next generation of digital devices.
Zhu and Pollard collaborated with two physicists specializing in nanomagnetism, Kristen Buchanan of Colorado State University and Dario Arena of Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), to push the precision capabilities of the transmission electron microscope. This research was conducted at Brookhaven Lab's Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
###
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit http://science.energy.gov .
One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.
Visit Brookhaven Lab's electronic newsroom for links, news archives, graphics, and more at http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom, follow Brookhaven Lab on Twitter, http://twitter.com/BrookhavenLab, or find us on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/BrookhavenLab/.
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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.
Magnetic vortex reveals key to spintronic speed limitPublic release date: 28-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Justin Eure jeure@bnl.gov 631-344-2347 DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Scientists measure key effect of electron spin essential to engineering the next generation of high-performing digital devices
UPTON,NY -- The evolution of digital electronics is a story of miniaturization - each generation of circuitry requires less space and energy to perform the same tasks. But even as high-speed processors move into handheld smart phones, current data storage technology has a functional limit: magnetically stored digital information becomes unstable when too tightly packed. The answer to maintaining the breath-taking pace of our ongoing computer revolution may be the denser, faster, and smarter technology of spintronics.
Spintronic devices use electron spin, a subtle quantum characteristic, to write and read information. But to mobilize this emerging technology, scientists must understand exactly how to manipulate spin as a reliable carrier of computer code. Now, scientists at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have precisely measured a key parameter of electron interactions called non-adiabatic spin torque that is essential to the future development of spintronic devices. Not only does this unprecedented precision - the findings to be published in the journal Nature Communications on August 28 - guide the reading and writing of digital information, but it defines the upper limit on processing speed that may underlie a spintronic revolution.
"In the past, no one was able to measure the spin torque accurately enough for detailed comparisons of experiment and mathematical models," said Brookhaven Lab physicist Yimei Zhu. "By precisely imaging the spin orbits with a dedicated transmission electron microscope at Brookhaven, we advanced a truly fundamental understanding that has immediate implications for electronic devices. So this is quite exciting."
Speed Limits
Most prevailing technology fails to take full advantage of the electron, which features intrinsic quantum variables beyond the charge and flow driving electricity. One of these, a parameter known as spin direction, can be strategically manipulated to function as a high-density medium to store and transmit information in spintronics. But as any computer scientist can attest, dense data can mean very little without enough speed to process it efficiently.
"One of the big reasons that people want to understand this non-adiabatic spin torque term, which describes the ability to transfer spin via electrical currents, is that it basically determines how fast spintronic devices can be," said Shawn Pollard, a physics Ph.D. student at Brookhaven Lab and Stony Brook University and the lead author of the paper. "The read and write speed for data is dictated by the size of this number we measured, called beta, which is actually very, very big. That means the technology is potentially very, very fast."
Building a Vortex
Consider the behavior of coffee stirred rapidly in a mug: the motion of a spoon causes the liquid to spin, rising along the edges and spiraling low in the center. Because the coffee can't escape through the mug's porcelain walls, the trapped energy generates the cone-like vortex in the center. A similar phenomenon can be produced on magnetic materials to reveal fundamental quantum measurements.
The Brookhaven physicists applied a range of high-frequency electric currents to a patterned film called permalloy, useful for its high magnetic permeability. This material, 50 nanometers (billionths of a meter) thick and composed of nickel and iron, was designed to strictly contain any generated magnetic field. Unable to escape, trapped electron spins combine and spiral within the permalloy, building into an observable and testable phenomenon called a magnetic vortex core.
"The vortex core motion is actually the cumulative effect of three distinct energies: the magnetic field induced by the current, and the adiabatic and non-adiabatic spin torques generated by electrons," Zhu said. "By capturing images of this micrometer (millionth of a meter) effect, we can deduce the precise value of the non-adiabatic torque's contribution to the vortex, which plays out on the nanoscale. Other measurements had very high error, but our technique offered the spatial resolution necessary to move past the wide range of previous results."
Disk Density
The high-speed, high-density hard drives in today's computers write information into spinning disks of magnetic materials, using electricity to toggle between magnetic polarity states that correspond to the "1" or "0" of binary computer code. But a number of intrinsic problems emerge with this method of data storage, notably limits to speed because of the spinning disk, which is made less reliable by moving parts, significant heat generation, and the considerable energy needed to write and read information.
Beyond that, magnetic storage suffers from a profound scaling issue. The magnetic fields in these devices exert influence on surrounding space, a so-called fringing field. Without appropriate space between magnetic data bits, this field can corrupt neighboring bits of digital information by inadvertently flipping "1" into "0." This translates to an ultimate limit on scalability, as these data bits need too much room to allow endless increases in data density.
Nanowire Racetracks
One pioneering spintronic prototype is IBM's Racetrack memory, which uses spin-coherent electric current to move magnetic domains, or discrete data bits, along a permalloy wire about 200 nanometers across and 100 nanometers thick. The spin of these magnetic domains is altered as they pass over a read/write head, forming new data patterns that travel back and forth along the nanowire racetrack. This process not only yields the prized stability of flash memory devices, but also offers speed and capacity exceeding disk drives.
"It takes less energy to manipulate spin torque parameters than magnetic fields," said Pollard. "There's less crosstalk between databits, and less heat is generated as information is written and read in spin-based storage devices. We measured a major component critical to unlocking the potential of spintronic technology, and I hope our work offers deeper insight into the fundamental origin of this non-adiabatic term."
The new measurement pins down a fundamental limit on data manipulation speeds, but the task of translating this work into practical limits on processor speed and hard drive space will fall to the scientists and engineers building the next generation of digital devices.
Zhu and Pollard collaborated with two physicists specializing in nanomagnetism, Kristen Buchanan of Colorado State University and Dario Arena of Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), to push the precision capabilities of the transmission electron microscope. This research was conducted at Brookhaven Lab's Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
###
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit http://science.energy.gov .
One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.
Visit Brookhaven Lab's electronic newsroom for links, news archives, graphics, and more at http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom, follow Brookhaven Lab on Twitter, http://twitter.com/BrookhavenLab, or find us on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/BrookhavenLab/.
[ | 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.
BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) ? British safari driver David Simpson was released after five months of incarceration in the Central African Republic on suspicion of killing 13 people.
Deputy Prosecutor, Magistrate Romaric Martian Kpangba-Kingo said that all charges have been dropped against Simpson. He is still in Bangui awaiting permission to return to Britain.
In local reports Simpson says that despite his ordeal he hopes to resume work as a safari guide.
Simpson was arrested on March 26 after he reported the discovery of the bodies of 13 people by a small-scale gold mine in the east.
The victims' hands were bound behind their backs and had machete wounds. Simpson's lawyers claimed he was innocent and charged the the killings may have been committed by the Lord's Resistance Army.
My Place for Hosting Estimates Major Increase in Affiliate Marketing Earnings
Marketing officials attending Affiliate Summit East 2012 reveal that those in the affiliate marketing business may experience increased incomes within the next year. Affiliate marketing resource, My Place for Hosting expands on the benefits of the practice.Phoenix, Arizona (PRWEB) August 27, 2012 Although affiliate marketing is a business practice that has existed for many years, the revolution ...
Julia Alsarraf's last ukulele camp of the summer starts tonight VIDEO
TROY ? It was hard to miss a group of people walking around the downtown area during the last Troy Night Out, playing ukuleles and singing in unison, but it was just something special Julia Alsarraf did to show off campers from the Troy Ukulele Neighborhood Ensemble.
UnPitching: How "Not to Suck" at Pitching the Media
Social marketer, viral strategist and best-selling author Scott Stratten to share how to build relationships and create awesome PR pitches in free Vocus webinarBeltsville, MD (PRWEB) August 20, 2012 Un-Marketing is Scott Stratten?s calling card. Stratten, an expert in viral, social and authentic marketing, will dial in to the next Vocus (NASDAQ: VOCS) free online webinar titled: ?UnPitching: How ...
Chronic Profits Review Released by Caleb Abrams
Chronic Profits Review Released by TheMayDayReport.com for the newly released Chronic Profits Program by Caleb Abrams.Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) August 16, 2012 Chronic Profits has just been released by Caleb Abrams and after just a few hours of being online the internet is already buzzing about the Chronic Profits program.And for good reason this software and system has helped Caleb bank over 0,000 ...
The Local Buzz: Aug. 10
STAAR Surgical Co., a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of implantable lenses for the eye, will participate in the 32nd annual Canaccord Growth Conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston.
PENSRUS Premiers BIC Loyalty Sale With BIC Atlantis Stic Imprinted Pens
NEW YORK, NY-- - PENSRUS is celebrating their long-lasting relationship with BIC, a top-selling producer of personalized pens , custom logo pens, and more, by hosting a BIC Loyalty Sale on the PENSRUS ...
Sought-After Internet Marketer, Bryan Dulaney, Will Be Hosting a Two Day ?Done With You? Workshop on October 13th ...
Attend a one-of-a-kind workshop focused completely on helping one launch their own products and/or services online as top marketers and companies do. Workshop is being held on October 13th and 14th in sunny San Diego, CA.San Diego, CA (PRWEB) August 03, 2012 Attend a one-of-a-kind workshop focused completely on helping one launch their own products and/or services online as top marketers and ...
Local CITGO Marketer Condon Oil Raises ,286 For The Muscular Dystrophy Association In 2012
RIPON, Wis., Aug. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --?Condon Oil teamed up with CITGO Petroleum Corporation and members of the Ripon community to raise ,000 for muscular dystrophy research and support. On June ...
Agilysys Software Solutions Popular Throughout United Kingdom
For the next two weeks, Agilysys software solutions will be used extensively throughout London and the United Kingdom, as sporting venues and hotels rely on Agilysys
Social Commissions Review Revealed for Adrian Morrison's Brand New Social Commissions Program
Social Commissions review revealed by the MayDayReport.com for Adrian Morrison's newly released Social Commissions online marketing program. Learn how Adrian Morrison has been teaching people to make money online for the last several years.San Diego, CA (PRWEB) July 29, 2012 Social Commissions by Adrian Morrison has been released and the response from the internet marketing community has been ...
We know this much: Nintendo plans to launch its next game console ???the Wii U ? sometime later this year. What the game giant has refused to reveal?is when,?exactly, the machine with the touchscreen controller will arrive in stores ... and?how much it will cost for that matter.
But according to what looks to be a?pretty reliable leak, Mario's maker will be putting the Wii U on shelves starting Nov. 18.
Game blog Kotaku reports that gaming accessory-maker PDP accidentally spilled the beans?at a GameStop managers' conference. A tipster who attended the conference told Kotaku that the PDP representative?wrapped up?their presentation by saying their products would be in stores?just before the Wii U's Nov. 18 release date.
Whoops.?
The report was then?corroborated?by this NeoGAF post which told the same foot-in-mouth tale.
We'll likely get official word on the launch date and price on Sept. 13, when Nintendo is hosting?a Wii U preview event?in New York.
Meanwhile, if you want an advance look at the Wii U, check out?InGame editor Todd Kenreck's preview video below and take a look at some of the games it will play here.
Via Kotaku
Winda Benedetti?writes?about video?games for NBC?News. You can follow her tweets about games and other things?on Twitter?here?@WindaBenedetti?and you can?follow her?on?Google+.?Meanwhile, be sure to check?out the?IN-GAME?FACEBOOK PAGE?to discuss the day's?gaming news and reviews.
Mark My Words convinced about the Ladbrokes August Festival 630 Final 2012
The Ladbrokes August Festival 630 Final 2012 has brought together some talented hounds with some racing right out of training sessions while others have won through the very last race they took part in. The ?5000 prize money will be contested by Mark My
Words, Dixies Air, Granard Bound, Pats Legacy, Forest Bonjo and Farloe Mysterio.
The three-year-old, Mark My Words, gets the nod for the 630 metres flat race at Monmore on Friday, 24th August. He has been a little down low since the last three races but was in such an incredible form lately that he struck a hat-trick right
before that.
His seasonal debut was in the Heat 5 on 20th February, 2012 at Swindon over 480 metres. He qualified as the runner-up after shifting to the middle after the rails and then ran clear concluding the race in 28.49 seconds and missing it by 3 ? lengths.
The race was won by, Slick Santiago, who made it to the wire in 28.21 seconds.
The first success of the season of the Paul Sallis trained was in the Heat 4 on 24th February, 2012 at Swindon over 480 metres. He took the rails after leashing out of the first trap and led for the half way settling the race in 28.34 seconds
and defeating Ballymac Cryan by 3 ? lengths.
Mark My Words won the Ladbrokes Summer Stayers Classic ? Semi-Final 3 on 18th June, 2012 at Monmore over 630 metres. Setting into an early pace got the joint favourite the race in 38.08 seconds while he led by 5 ? lengths.
Finishing the closest to the winner was, Clerihan Gold.
The three-year-old then secured the Ladbrokes Summer Stayers Classic Final 2012 on 22nd June, 2012 at Monmore over 630 metres. He was through the track distance in 37.50 seconds.
After getting drilled twice he struck a hat-trick through the Coral Sussex Cup ? Heat 2 on 19th July, 2012 at Hove over 515 metres. He clocked the track distance in 29.95 seconds while racing ahead by 2 ? lengths.
He needs to bounce back in form for claiming the race tonight and has the lucky first trap to race out of.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
While judges have always admonished jurors not to?blab during a trial and deliberations, some people can't keep their mouths shut. The growth of social media like?Facebook and?Twitter have proven?too tempting for some jurors, ?so a new set of guidelines for jurors in federal cases aims?to make it crystal clear: Stay off the stuff.
In a new set of?jury instructions?issued by a Federal Judicial Conference committee, jurors will be told by the judge:
I know that many of you use cell phones, BlackBerrys, the Internet and other tools of technology. You also must not talk to anyone at any time about this case or use these tools to communicate electronically with anyone about the case. This includes your family and friends. You may not communicate with anyone about the case on your cell phone, through e-mail, BlackBerry, iPhone, text messaging, or on Twitter, through any blog or website, including Facebook, Google+, My Space, LinkedIn, or YouTube. You may not use any similar technology of social media, even if I have not specifically mentioned it here.
And, the judge will add: ?"I expect you will inform me as soon as you become aware of another juror?s violation of these instructions."
That's how many?judges have learned?about?such missteps. The conference surveyed judges last fall about jurors' use of social media during trials and deliberations, and found that when "social media use was detected, it was most likely to be reported by a fellow juror."
"This social media use most often took the form of posts about the progress of the case or the juror?s service in general," according to the?study. "There were several instances of jurors attempting to contact participants in the case via social media.
Indeed. In Florida earlier this year, a 29-year-old juror who?sent a Facebook message to a defendant during a trial, then bragged on the social network about being kicked off the jury, is now himself in hot water ? and in jail for contempt of court. In Britain last year, a 40-year-old juror admitted she used Facebook to?contact?the defendant in a case because she saw "considerable parallels" between their lives.
U.S. District Court Judge Julie A. Robinson, chairwoman of the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, which issued the new guidelines, said in a statement?that while "the overwhelming majority of judges take steps to warn jurors not to use social media during trial," the judges who were surveyed said that "additional steps should be taken."
"The judges recommended that jurors frequently be reminded about the prohibition on social media before the trial, at the close of a case, at the end of each day before jurors return home, and other times, as appropriate. Jurors should be told why refraining from use of social media promotes a fair trial. Finally, jurors should know the consequences of violations during trial, such as mistrial and wasted time. Those recommendations are now part of the guidelines."
? Via Network?World
Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on?Facebook,?and on?Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.
A commercial real estate loan delivers you the finances needed to invest in a commercial property. There are a wide variety of commercial properties all over the state of California, and you may be contemplating purchasing one of these properties by yourself as an investment or to use as an owner-user. Some buyers will get help from a California mortgage broker to find a lender to do business with, while others will just call around from lender to lender on their own.
Conventional Commercial Loans
The best rates and fairest terms for commercial real estate loans are likely to be those associated with traditional loans. Commercial investment loans are usually approved based on the property?s ability to fulfill a certain debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) requirement. In addition, other factors like the borrower?s liquidity, credit scores, the type and condition of the property have to all meet lender requirements. Quite a few properties and borrowers are capable of meeting the requirements in place for approval with a regular commercial loan. However, various other requests for loans are refused.
When Banks Don?t Approve Your Loan Application
California hard money lenders tend to be thought to be a secondary provider of commercial loans. They are lenders who are experts in lending situations that are outside-the-box. They can possess some financial merit, but additionally, might not quite meet the criteria for traditional financing. In the past, typical commercial lenders were happy to make an occasional exception for loan requests that did not quite satisfy all the requirements, provided the credit request was otherwise strong and financially sound. Now that stricter lending requirements are in place, utilizing California hard money lenders to finance commercial loans is a lot more widespread now.
An Alternative to Hard Money Lenders
There are specific situations when even California hard money lenders will not fund a loan application or in the event the loan terms accepted by hard money lenders aren?t advantageous or beneficial to the applicant. Many private brokers are prepared to evaluate a loan request. They normally have a keen eye and substantial knowledge of commercial real estate to find value in financial loans that other lenders will never fund.
As better rates can be found through conventional lenders, the majority of borrowers will first attempt to explore financing options obtainable through traditional lenders. However, when you?re in the event of submitting your loan application to hard money lenders with a California mortgage broker or on your own, considering exploring the option of finding a private investor as well. You may enjoy more attractive financing through a private investor.
If you are looking to find private mortgage lenders that can provide residential and commercial financing, then Blackhawk Investments are a great choice. Blackhawkcorp.com ? The premium California mortgage broker.
Professional articles - Online article blog. All information regarding Gold Trading we provide professionally.
Lots of people think that updates aren't really that important. In the past, updating a program often involved implementing small features or fixes that, most of the time, didn't seem worth the bother. While this may still be true for some applications, there's no doubt that updates are crucial for much of the software running on your computer.
The Weather Channel's Bryan Norcross tracks Tropical Storm Isaac's movement and predictions about where it is headed.
Kerry Sanders, NBC News writes
Dear delegates to the Republican National Convention and visitors:
Welcome to Florida and Isaac.
I've covered hurricanes for 30 years, from as far south as El Salvador to the tip of Long Island at Montauk Point.
So if you are from a landlocked state or one far from the hurricane zone, a few tips that you won't see on most lists:
*Pack some zip-lock bags. You will need them to protect so much -- from your phone to a pair of socks you put in your pocket or purse.
*Bring shoes that you can walk in water with.
Since you don't want boots, as those won't work well headed to the convention hall, try Crocs. Put your shoes in your hand, roll up your pants, slog thru the water and dry off. Crocs dry easily and are weightless -- you can stuff them in your bag/purse.
Trust me, you can't escape the puddles, and those odd-colored Crocs are just fun enough to make people smile in the misery.
Want to skip Crocs? Get some bread bags and rubber bands to cover your shoes. It's ugly but works.
*Get a tiny pin flashlight that goes on your key chain. You won't need it here with all the auxiliary power, but it's nice peace of mind.
*Grab a baseball cap to protect your hair from the rain.
*Umbellas are a pain. They blow inside out. You need a very light rain coat. (It's hot during a hurricane/tropical storm, and you don't want a coat that makes you perspire or worse: sweat!)
*Finally, don't focus on the category of the storm.?I've seen tropical storms create more havoc than a category 2 storm.
Inside the forum, you won't even know there's a storm. And if you're a guest at the beach while your loved one is busy with politics, bring a book, and if the weather doesn't clear up by Wednesday, consider a drive inland. Orlando and the theme parks are only twohours or so away. Just check weather.com to see of the skies are sunny nearby.
Enjoy!
Kerry Sanders is a?Miami-based correspondent for NBC News
Florida's governor declares a state of emergency as residents and tourists flee Key West. Storm preparations are under way all along the Gulf Coast. NBC's Thanh Truong reports.
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Powin Energy said it has entered a strategic partnership with TIP Capital?s Specialty Markets Group to offer customers an easy-to-use credit facility for the purchase of energy efficient lighting products and energy storage systems. Under the co-branded program, TIP Capital will originate new lease transactions directly with Powin Energy?s customers through its range of strategic vendor finance programs.
?Partnering with TIP Capital is a game changer for Powin Energy,? said Virgil Beaston, chief technology officer. ?We can now offer zero-down financing packages structured to meet customer needs. With no federal, state or local government rebates/incentives for energy storage, access to TIP?s reliable financing program promises to up our market immensely.?
?We were pleased to welcome Powin Energy as a preferred partner after our rigorous credit review process,? said Ross Reida, vice president, National Accounts, TIP Capital Specialty Markets Group. ?Our goal is to make it easier for customers to buy Powin Energy?s energy efficient lighting and energy storage products, which in turn will shorten the sales cycle for the company.?
TIP will offer Powin Energy customers a variety of equipment finance options, from traditional operating lease financing to structures that transfer ownership at the end of the lease. Options include traditional tax-exempt financing, true lease and conditional sales to commercial customers, state and local government agencies, municipalities and not-for-profit 501c(3) organizations.
New London ? The Board of Education reluctantly approved the district?s $39.8 million spending plan for 2012-13 in a 5-2 vote Thursday, with a majority of members saying they felt as though their hands were tied.
Members Jason Catala and Sylvia Potter voted against the budget.
?For the first time in 10 years (as) a board member, I have a problem with the budget,? Catala said. ?I?ve never felt as left out as I have with this budget. I was told that if we don?t pass it, it?s going to pass anyway. I feel like this budget is cheating our children.?
Last month, school administrators delivered lists of cuts that would meet the goal of saving $3.2 million across the district. Working with that information, the district?s state-appointed special master Steven Adamowski, the superintendent of schools and others in the central office worked to adjust the district?s budget for a second time.
The central office and the principals of each school trimmed their budgets by 8.2 percent, Superintendent of Schools Nicholas A. Fischer said during the meeting.
Board approval means the 2012-13 budget is now final.
The school board has been struggling to close a $3.8 million gap since the budget process began. When Adamowski put the city?s proposal to absorb the school system?s finance department on hold, the $500,000 the school system had hoped to save from the consolidation dissolved.
Also, for the fifth year, the school system did not receive a funding increase from the city. The district now holds the state record for the most years a public school system has gone without a budget increase.
Bridgeport?s school district went four years without an increase.
To achieve the 8.2 percent reduction, three administrators, 23.2 teaching positions, 15 educational aides and assistants, four secretaries and a custodian have been eliminated. Advancement Via Individual Determination, a program introduced to New London in 2007 that brings students from Mitchell and Connecticut colleges as well as from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to classrooms to help students, also has been eliminated.
?I don?t like the budget that?s been presented to the public at this time, and I don?t like the flat-funding that we?ve received for the last five years,? board member Margaret Curtin said. ?If we looked at the consolidation of the finance departments, we would have had another $500,000. I?m not happy, but we have to pass it to keep the schools open and running.?
The school district issued layoff notices to 68 nontenured teachers earlier in the budget process. All positions were later reinstated, but the school board on Thursday terminated the contract of a technology education teacher at the Science and Technology Magnet High School in order to achieve the teaching position cuts they needed. They achieved the rest through retirements and resignations.
?Over the past five years, we?ve had to reduce the staff of this district by 100-plus people. This is extremely serious,? Fischer said.
Also Thursday, board members approved the submission of an Alliance District application to the state Department of Education. As one of 30 designated Alliance Districts, the city would receive its only increase this year, $809,001 in expected Alliance District funds, Chairman William Morse said before the meeting.
The district plans to spend that money at Jennings and Winthrop schools. In its plan, $428,000 is marked to help close the achievement gap; $50,000 for leadership and accountability; $110,000 for effective instruction; $20,000 for strategies for recruiting and retaining talent; $80,000 for high expectations; and $120,000 for additional learning time.
School days at both schools will not necessarily be extended, Fischer said during the meeting. Rather, the district will look at programs to hold after school, on weekends and potentially during the summer.
Fischer said he expects to hear from the state in early September as to whether the district receives the grant.
The new budget will be posted on the school district?s website today.
It's a new product that operates just like its current one, but it's aimed at small and medium-sized businesses to help people remember things in their private and professional lives.
The major differences revolve around the following:
An admin console that lets people manage their company data and who has access to it.
In-company notebook sharing capabilities.
Easy setup: once a company is set up for Evernote Business, employees can upgrade their Evernote accounts simply by entering their business email address.
Easier billing for an entire company on a single credit card.
Think Evernote Business as the startup's version as Google's Gmail, calendar, and documents offerings for businesses.No word on pricing yet. Evernote Business?will launch this December. To get on the waiting list, head here.
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Public release date: 30-Aug-2012
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