Release Date: 07/17/2013 Contact Information: Jennah Durant or Austin Vela, 214 665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov
(Dallas ? July 17, 2013) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces $884,000 in grants available for the US-Mexico border region in Texas and New Mexico. The funds will be awarded under the Border 2020 U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program, in coordination with the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC). All proposals must be submitted by August 29, 2013.
EPA will award grants to projects that reflect the goals of the Border 2020 program, especially those supporting work in the Texas/New Mexico border region. Project types include improving air quality monitoring networks; developing applications for reusing water; developing bilingual outreach campaigns to stop illegal dumping; updating sister city-plans; improving understanding of each country?s compliance and enforcement roles; and other projects that help fulfill the goals and objectives of Border 2020. Greater consideration will be given to proposals that leverage other resources and demonstrate measurable results.
Several workshops will be held for potential grant applicants:
Workshops in the U.S.: 7/19/13?McAllen Firemen?s Pumphouse, 201 N. 1st Street, McAllen, TX, 9:30-11:30 am 7/24/13?Del Cerro Community Center, 180 La Fe Ave., Vado, NM, 3-5 pm 7/30/13?American Dam/Carlos Marin Field Office, 2616 West Paisano Drive, El Paso, TX, 3-5 pm
Workshops in Mexico: 8/1/13?Estaci?n Palabra ?Gabriel Garc?a M?rquez,? Ave. C?sar L?pez de Lara #1020, Sector Aduana Enfrente de la Plaza Primero de Mayo, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, 1-3 pm 8/7/13?Sala R?o Bravo, COCEF, Blvd. Tomas Fern?ndez #8069, Fracc. Los Parques, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, 3-4:30 pm
The mission of the bi-national Border 2020 Program is to protect human health and the environment in the U.S.-Mexico border region. BECC is an international organization established to preserve, protect, and enhance the environment in the U.S. ? Mexico border region.
Eligibility is open to U.S. and Mexican non-governmental organizations; local and state government agencies; industry associations; universities; U.S. tribes and Mexican indigenous communities. Proposal applications can be downloaded from the BECC website at
www.cocef.org or the EPA Border 2020 website at, www.epa.gov/border2020.
Tom Ford is expanding his retail empire. The 51-year-old designer will open two new retail locations within the next few months, according to Daily Front Row.
Ford?s Chicago flagship store will open its door in August, followed by a Dallas boutique in September. The designer currently has 93 stores worldwide, with three locations in New York City.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new leaders have promised to keep the economy on an even keel in 2013 with flexible policy settings while accelerating free-market reforms to sustain long-term growth.
Beijing would tolerate quarterly growth slipping as far as 7 percent year-on-year before looking to lift the economy, according to government economists from top think-tanks. The government is projecting growth this year of 7.5 percent.
Below are recent comments on the economy from top government leaders and other senior figures.
LOU JIWEI, FINANCE MINISTER
"China will not conduct large scale fiscal stimulus this year. We will fine-tune some policies to support economic growth and employment on the premise of keeping the size of fiscal deficit unchanged."
"We will mainly take measures to support economic growth and employment while putting more energies to push forward the next round of reform."
"We will keep the size of the fiscal deficit unchanged (this year) but will adjust it structurally. The central government will cut expenditures by 5 percent."
"We will unveil some tax reduction policies, especially for small-sized firms, to better increase employment."
"We will adjust the expenditure responsibilities of central and local government and increase central government's spending appropriately."
"China will expand the value-added tax reform program to the whole service industry." (Lou made the comments during the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington.) Source: The website of the Ministry of Finance, July 17
LI KEQIANG, PREMIER
"Neither should we change policy orientation due to temporary economic fluctuations, which may affect the hard-won restructuring opportunity, nor should we lack vigilance and preparations when the economy might slide below the reasonable range,"
"We are confident, having the necessary means and the ability (to achieve this year's growth targets).But we need to pay a lot of efforts."
"When the economy operates within reasonable range, we will focus on transforming of the mode of economic development."
"The macroeconomic policies will focus on stabilizing economic growth or guarding the inflation when the economic growth near upper or lower limits."
Source: the central government website, July 16
LI KEQIANG, PREMIER
"China's economic situation is generally stable so far this year with main economic indicators within reasonable range and annual expectations."
"But the economic environment is becoming more complicated and faces favorable and adverse conditions, while the economy still has growth momentum and faces downward pressure."
"We are at a stage where we must rely on economic transformation and upgrading to keep sustainable and healthy (economic) development."
"Reform will get rid of obstacles from the structure and mechanisms and inject new momentum for stabilizing and restructuring the economy."
"Macro-economic control should be based on present conditions and with an eye to the future to ensure the economic growth rate and employment levels do not slide below lower limits and consumer prices do not surpass the upper limit."
"We will quicken reforms in key areas including administrative management, the fiscal system, finance and prices."
(Li made the comments during a trip to southern Guangxi Province.)
Source: Xinhua, July 9;
XI JINPING, PRESIDENT
"We should improve our way of evaluating officials' performance. We should not only look at (economic) development but also fundamentals, not only at obvious achievements but also at potential results."
"We will include indicators including welfare improvements, social development and ecological benefits as important measures in evaluating officials. We should no longer evaluate performance of officials simply against GDP growth."
(Xi made the comments in a national party meeting on personnel and organization issues)
Source: Xinhua, June 29;
LIU SHIYU, DEPUTY CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR
"I am worried that the 'shadow banking' capital may flow into the property market, outdated industries and some local government financing vehicles with poor qualifications, which might lead to relatively high risks."
"We must develop a system of small- and medium-sized banks mainly invested by private investors ... and we should unswervingly push forward market-oriented reforms of interest rate and exchange rate (regimes)."
"Personally, I think we could complete the two reforms naturally over the next 10 years if we the international financial crisis won't take a turn for the worse."
"We can also complete the reform on renminbi (yuan) convertibility under the capital account and the use of yuan in cross-border trade over the next 10 years if there is no big changes in the international market."
Source:Sina.com, March 18
(Reporting by China Economics Team; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
Everyone's favorite Minion based game, Despicable Me: Minion Rush, just got updated and now has more obstacles, and more Minions! The first update to the game since release sees new obstacles in a new environment, evil purple Minions, and over 150 new missions and achievements.
The new location is El Macho's lair from the movie, and who doesn't like to knock over evil Minions, right? There's also a new villain and his sidekick to defeat from the movie ? no spoilers here ? as well as the chance to "prepare for summer in a new secret area." All sounds great, and if you really want to get the best out of the game and you haven't already read our tips, tricks and cheats guide, then be sure to give that a once over as well!
UPDATED: After a public disagreement that threatened to blow up into a larger battle, Chrysler said Tuesday that it agreed to recall 1.56 million Jeep vehicles that a government safety watchdog said could potentially erupt into fire if rear-ended.
Chrysler had been expected to file papers Tuesday refusing to comply with a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's voluntary recall request sent earlier this month. That request covered Jeep Grand Cherokees in model years 1993 to 2004 and Libertys in model years 2002 to 2007.
NHTSA had warned after investigations that a crash from behind on these vehicles could puncture the fuel tank, located in the rear of the models, spill fuel and potentially cause a fire. NHTSA said the defect may have been responsible for up to 51 deaths.
Chrysler had disagreed with NHTSA's assessment.
Read more: Take that back: Famous recalls from Tylenol to Toyota
"As a result of the agreement, Chrysler Group will conduct a voluntary campaign with respect to the vehicles in question that, in addition to a visual inspection of the vehicle will, if necessary, provide an upgrade to the rear structure of the vehicle to better manage crash forces in low-speed impacts," Chrysler said in a statement.
NHTSA set events in motion earlier this month when it sent a letter to Chrysler recommending a safety recall of certain older Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty models with gas tanks mounted behind their rear axles. The letter stated that, in an initial assessment, the vehicles have performance and design defects that could cause deadly fires in rear-end collisions.
Read more: Hands-free systems not nearly as safe as automakers say
Chrysler's response in a "White Paper on NHTSA's Recall Request" said the company has fully cooperated with government's review of the model-years in question. The paper states that it provided "technical information and detailed analyses showing these models are safe, and meet or exceed all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards."
The paper also said Chrysler disagreed with NHTSA's recall request. "The subject vehicles are not defective and their fuel systems do not pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety in rear-impact collisions," said Chrysler, which is owned by Italian automaker Fiat SpA.
Chrysler stuck to that line Tuesday, saying in a brief statement that the vehicles are not defective and are "among the safest in the peer group."
"Nonetheless, Chrysler Group recognizes that this matter has raised concerns for its customers and wants to take further steps, in coordination with NHTSA, to provide additional measures to supplement the safety of its vehicles," the statement said.
Read more: Ford will cut factory CO2 admissions 30%
As recently as this morning, Chrysler officials were signaling that they would reject the recall request even if that meant squaring up against NHTSA in court. But a senior Chrysler source who asked not to be named acknowledged that the maker came to recognize it might be able to win that battle yet still could lose in the court of public opinion.
?The morning (news reports) were accurate but the decision wasn?t finalized,? said the Chrysler veteran, who was not officially authorized to discuss the recall, adding that the maker ?absolutely? recognized that public sentiment seemed to be shifting against the company. ?Even if all the data shows we?re right?we?re impacted by concerns about public opinion. This is an iconic brand and we have to consider this from a reputation standpoint.?
Read more: 10 best base-model cars
Had the maker decided to rebuff NHTSA it could have limited the scope by citing the 10-year statute of limitations on recalls, noted Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety, the consumer group that originally spurred NHTSA to investigate the Jeep gas tank issue three years ago. Such a move would effectively have reduced the number of vehicles the government could have continued pressing to recall.
NHTSA could have responded by ordering a series of public hearings. Ultimately, the case could have wound up in court.
The Detroit Bureau's Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story reported that 2.7 million Jeep vehicles would be recalled. Chrysler updated that figure on Tuesday evening.
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We knew Halo: Spartan Assault would be making its debut sometime this month; what we didn't know, however, is that it would only be reaching Verizon-branded Windows Phone 8 handsets initially. According to the Big Red network, its subscribers will be the first in the US to be able to download the popular franchise's mobile title, although no word was given on when exactly we can expect it to launch. Halo: Spartan Assault is set to cost $6.99 once it eventually hits the Windows Phone store -- the good news is July's almost over, so it won't be much longer before you can get in on the action. For now, it looks as if our hands-on preview will have to hold you over.
Fishing in the sea of proteinsPublic release date: 2-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr. Jessica Jacobs Jessica.Jacobs@rub.de 49-234-322-2197 Ruhr-University Bochum
Composition of splicing complex in chloroplasts identified for the first time
To convert a gene into a protein, a cell first crafts a blueprint out of RNA. One of the main players in this process has been identified by researchers led by Dr. Jessica Jacobs at the Ruhr-Universitt Bochum. The team "fished" a large complex of proteins and RNA, which is involved in the so-called splicing, from the chloroplasts of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This cuts non-coding regions out of the messenger RNA, which contains the protein blueprint. "For the first time, we have established the exact composition of an unknown splicing complex of the chloroplasts", says Jacobs. She reports with her colleagues from the Department of General and Molecular Botany and the Work Group for Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry in the journal "Molecular and Cellular Proteomics".
From gene to protein craftwork required
Genes, the bearers of genetic information, contain coding and non-coding regions. To convert a gene into a protein, enzymes first create a copy of the gene, the messenger RNA. A useful blueprint for a protein is only obtained, however, when enzymes cut the non-coding regions, called introns out of the messenger RNA. Scientists call this process splicing. Large complexes of RNA and proteins are responsible for the splicing.
Components of the splicing complex identified in chloroplasts
The RUB researchers examined the splicing of the gene psaA, which is found in chloroplasts. These cellular constituents of plants which carry out photosynthesis probably originated from formerly free-living cyanobacteria. According to the endosymbiotic theory, the cyanobacteria lived in symbiosis with the plants and were eventually integrated into their cells. Chloroplasts therefore have their own genetic material - a relic from the cyanobacterial genome. However, the chloroplasts are dependent on the communication with the cell nucleus in order to be functional. The Bochum team identified the components of the protein complex that splices the chloroplast gene psaA. In the splicing complex they found 23 different proteins that are encoded in the genome of the cell nucleus. "The protein complex discovered gives us an insight into the functioning of components involved in the communication between chloroplasts and the nucleus", says Jessica Jacobs.
How to fish a splicing complex
The team carried out its investigations on the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. "We used a protein bait to fish the splicing complex out of the chloroplasts", says Jacobs. Before starting the experiment, it was known that the protein Raa4 is involved in the splicing of the psaA gene. The many interaction partners of Raa4, however, were unknown. The RUB biologists genetically altered the alga in such a way that it produced a modified form of the protein Raa4 - with a tag, i.e. a kind of "fish hook". They isolated all the proteins of the cell and filtered them through a particular material, on which only Raa4 got caught on its fish hook along with all of its bound interaction partners. They determined the components of the splicing complex fished out with the aid of mass spectrometry. The researchers found a splicing complex with the same composition for various environmental conditions: in light, darkness, and in an oxygen-free environment.
###
Bibliographic record
J. Jacobs, C. Marx, V. Kock, O. Reifschneider, B. Frnzel, C. Krisp, D. Wolters, U. Kck (2013): Identification of a chloroplast ribonucleoprotein complex containing trans-splicing factors, intron RNA and novel components, Molecular and Cellular Proteomics DOI: 10.1074/mcp.M112.026583
Further information
Dr. Jessica Jacobs, Department of General and Molecular Botany, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology at the Ruhr-Universitt, 44780 Bochum, Germany, Tel. +49/234/32-22197, E-mail: Jessica.Jacobs@rub.de
Editor: Dr. Julia Weiler
[ | 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.
Fishing in the sea of proteinsPublic release date: 2-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr. Jessica Jacobs Jessica.Jacobs@rub.de 49-234-322-2197 Ruhr-University Bochum
Composition of splicing complex in chloroplasts identified for the first time
To convert a gene into a protein, a cell first crafts a blueprint out of RNA. One of the main players in this process has been identified by researchers led by Dr. Jessica Jacobs at the Ruhr-Universitt Bochum. The team "fished" a large complex of proteins and RNA, which is involved in the so-called splicing, from the chloroplasts of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This cuts non-coding regions out of the messenger RNA, which contains the protein blueprint. "For the first time, we have established the exact composition of an unknown splicing complex of the chloroplasts", says Jacobs. She reports with her colleagues from the Department of General and Molecular Botany and the Work Group for Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry in the journal "Molecular and Cellular Proteomics".
From gene to protein craftwork required
Genes, the bearers of genetic information, contain coding and non-coding regions. To convert a gene into a protein, enzymes first create a copy of the gene, the messenger RNA. A useful blueprint for a protein is only obtained, however, when enzymes cut the non-coding regions, called introns out of the messenger RNA. Scientists call this process splicing. Large complexes of RNA and proteins are responsible for the splicing.
Components of the splicing complex identified in chloroplasts
The RUB researchers examined the splicing of the gene psaA, which is found in chloroplasts. These cellular constituents of plants which carry out photosynthesis probably originated from formerly free-living cyanobacteria. According to the endosymbiotic theory, the cyanobacteria lived in symbiosis with the plants and were eventually integrated into their cells. Chloroplasts therefore have their own genetic material - a relic from the cyanobacterial genome. However, the chloroplasts are dependent on the communication with the cell nucleus in order to be functional. The Bochum team identified the components of the protein complex that splices the chloroplast gene psaA. In the splicing complex they found 23 different proteins that are encoded in the genome of the cell nucleus. "The protein complex discovered gives us an insight into the functioning of components involved in the communication between chloroplasts and the nucleus", says Jessica Jacobs.
How to fish a splicing complex
The team carried out its investigations on the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. "We used a protein bait to fish the splicing complex out of the chloroplasts", says Jacobs. Before starting the experiment, it was known that the protein Raa4 is involved in the splicing of the psaA gene. The many interaction partners of Raa4, however, were unknown. The RUB biologists genetically altered the alga in such a way that it produced a modified form of the protein Raa4 - with a tag, i.e. a kind of "fish hook". They isolated all the proteins of the cell and filtered them through a particular material, on which only Raa4 got caught on its fish hook along with all of its bound interaction partners. They determined the components of the splicing complex fished out with the aid of mass spectrometry. The researchers found a splicing complex with the same composition for various environmental conditions: in light, darkness, and in an oxygen-free environment.
###
Bibliographic record
J. Jacobs, C. Marx, V. Kock, O. Reifschneider, B. Frnzel, C. Krisp, D. Wolters, U. Kck (2013): Identification of a chloroplast ribonucleoprotein complex containing trans-splicing factors, intron RNA and novel components, Molecular and Cellular Proteomics DOI: 10.1074/mcp.M112.026583
Further information
Dr. Jessica Jacobs, Department of General and Molecular Botany, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology at the Ruhr-Universitt, 44780 Bochum, Germany, Tel. +49/234/32-22197, E-mail: Jessica.Jacobs@rub.de
Editor: Dr. Julia Weiler
[ | 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.
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Public release date: 2-Jul-2013
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