среда, 17 октября 2012 г.

Games

Games

Vendetta Online 1.8.231 - Massive, multi-player intergalactic action game.. (Demo)

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 03:40 AM PDT



Vendetta Online is a massively multiplayer game that permits thousands of players to interact as the pilots of spaceships in a vast universe. Users may build their characters in any direction they desire, becoming rich captains of industry, military heroes, or outlaws. A fast-paced, realtime "twitch" style combat model gives intense action, coupled with the backdrop of RPG gameplay in a massive online galaxy. Three major player factions form a delicate balance of power, with several NPC sub-factions creating situations of economic struggle, political intrigue and conflict. The completely persistent universe and detailed storyline add to the depth of immersion, resulting in a unique online experience.

Free download, free trial, no personal information or credit card required.

Version 1.8.231:

  • New visual effects for Mining Beams.
  • Fixed Linux joystick calibration menu.
  • Fixed rare "invincible" Hive Queens.
  • Fixed common case where Linux crash-reporter would fail to appear.
  • Orun Collectors in the training sector no longer leave.




Download Now

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Studiometry 10.0.1 - Keep track of every aspect of your projects; nightly builds available.. (Demo)

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 03:49 AM PDT



Studiometry can store information about clients, contacts, projects, to dos, payments, timers, invoices, reports, employees and more.

It features networking, multiple employee support (with permissions and hour tracking), simultaneous search of all data, multiple currencies (with automatic exchange rate updating), multiple contacts per client, project and client statuses and categories, modifiable taxes, and many more features.

Download is a 30-day trial. Pricing is for a single-user pack. Multiple user packs start at $925 for 5 users.



Version 10.0.1:
  • Can now select separate calendars for Event and To Do syncing from Studiometry to iCal/Calendar and Reminders.
  • Can now show Associated Invoices information for Payments in Custom Summaries.
  • Timesheet window will now show associated client for a row when mousing over.
  • New calendar option to hide completed To Dos.
  • Project Template To Do items will no longer assign all employees if no employee is selected for the item.
  • Will now sync setting to Capture New Descriptions between machines on a network
  • New option in Advanced Billing settings to change default live status for new projects.
  • New option in Advanced Billing settings to disable Project ID generation by default.
  • Fixed issue with deleting Logs from the Contact's logs window.
  • Fixed issue where default markup amounts would not be automatically entered in the Work editing window for debt/credit types that did not have a default unit price.
  • Fixed issue with Apple Mail integration not working on OS X 10.8.
  • Fixed an issue with remote connections on Mountain Lion sometimes not being able to properly log in.
  • Fixed an issue with canceling out of the server login using the Admin password.
  • Fixed an issue where default rates might not be automatically assigned to new items in the Weekly timesheet window.
  • Fixed an issue with some invoice schedules not properly firing.
  • Added improved syncing functions for Studiometry Touch 1.8.


Mac OS X 10.4 or later

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Plays Like... Dishonored

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:43 PM PDT

Jess McDonell takes a break from exploring Dunwall to find mobile games that play like Dishonored.

 

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Plays Like... Dishonored" was posted by JessicaM on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:43:39 -0700

Are Modern Games Being Dumbed Down?

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 10:55 PM PDT

Jess McDonell chats to industry heavyweights from Cliff Bleszinski to Team Meat to find out whether games really are being simplified and if so, why?

 

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Are Modern Games Being Dumbed Down?" was posted by JessicaM on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 22:55:28 -0700

Phonetic 2.0 - Spells out words using the NATO phonetic alphabet.. (Free)

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 03:16 AM PDT



The Phonetic widget spells out the words you type into it in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet.

The NATO Phonetic Alphabet, also known as the NATO spelling alphabet, is the most widely used spelling alphabet. Basically it is used to spell a given word or sentence to avoid ambiguity.

Full source available from the project's GitHub page.



Version 2.0:
  • Updated to include LAPD phonetic.


Mac OS X 10.5 or later

Download Now

Assassin's Creed III multiplayer will let you turn invisible. See it happen in this new trailer

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 03:02 AM PDT

Assassin's Creed III's multiplayer mode is looking bloody, brutal and bloody brutal. But it's also looking rather fine from a gameplay perspective, with

Catalysts, Vol. 2, Pages 490-516: Hydrogen Production from Semiconductor-based Photocatalysis via Water Splitting

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Hydrogen is the ideal fuel for the future because it is clean, energy efficient, and abundant in nature. While various technologies can be used to generate hydrogen, only some of them can be considered environmentally friendly. Recently, solar hydrogen generated via photocatalytic water splitting has attracted tremendous attention and has been extensively studied because of its great potential for low-cost and clean hydrogen production. This paper gives a comprehensive review of the development of photocatalytic water splitting for generating hydrogen, particularly under visible-light irradiation. The topics covered include an introduction of hydrogen production technologies, a review of photocatalytic water splitting over titania and non-titania based photocatalysts, a discussion of the types of photocatalytic water-splitting approaches, and a conclusion for the current challenges and future prospects of photocatalytic water splitting. Based on the literatures reported here, the development of highly stable visible–light-active photocatalytic materials, and the design of efficient, low-cost photoreactor systems are the key for the advancement of solar-hydrogen production via photocatalytic water splitting in the future.

Catalysts, Vol. 2, Pages 466-489: Tailoring Synthesis Conditions of Carbon Xerogels towards Their Utilization as Pt-Catalyst Supports for Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR)

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Carbon xerogels characterized by different textural, structural and chemical properties were synthesized and used as supports for Pt catalysts for the application in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Synthesis conditions were varied in order to synthesize carbon xerogels following the sol-gel method. These included the reactants ratio (precursor/formaldehyde), the catalyst concentration (precursor/catalyst ratio) and type (basic and acid), the precursor type (resorcinol and pyrogallol) and the solvent (aqueous or acetone based). Stoichiometric mixtures of resorcinol and formaldehyde yielded well polymerized gels and highly developed structures. Slow gelation, favored by the presence of acetone as solvent in the sol and low catalyst concentration, resulted in higher polymerization extent with a highly mesoporous or even macroporous texture and more ordered structure, as evidenced by XPS and Raman spectroscopy. Small Pt particles of ca. 3.5 nm were obtained by using carbon xerogels characterized by an ordered surface structure. The specific activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction, i.e., the limiting catalytic process in low temperature fuel cells, is significantly favored by highly ordered carbon xerogels due to a metal-support enhanced interaction. Nevertheless, surface defects favor the distribution of the metallic particles on the surface of carbon, which in the end influences the effectiveness of the catalyst. Accelerated degradation tests were conducted to evaluate catalyst stability under potential cycling conditions. The observed decay of performance was considerably lower for the catalysts based on ordered carbon xerogels stabilizing Pt particles in a higher extent than the other xerogels and the commercial carbon black support.

Catalysts, Vol. 2, Pages 447-465: Carbon Xerogel Catalyst for NO Oxidation

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Carbon xerogels were prepared by the polycondensation of resorcinol and formaldehyde using three different solution pH values and the gels were carbonized at three different temperatures. Results show that it is possible to tailor the pore texture of carbon xerogels by adjusting the pH of the initial solution and the carbonization temperature. Materials with different textural properties were obtained and used as catalysts for NO oxidation at room temperature. The NO conversions obtained with carbon xerogels were quite high, showing that carbon xerogels are efficient catalysts for NO oxidation. A maximum of 98% conversion for NO was obtained at initial concentration of NO of 1000 ppm and 10% of O2. The highest NO conversions were obtained with the samples presenting the highest surface areas. The temperature of reaction has a strong influence on NO oxidation: the conversion of NO decreases with the increase of reaction temperature.

Atmosphere, Vol. 3, Pages 468-494: Development of a Ground Based Remote Sensing Approach for Direct Evaluation of Aerosol-Cloud Interaction

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

The possible interaction and modification of cloud properties due to aerosols is one of the most poorly understood mechanisms within climate studies, resulting in the most significant  uncertainty as regards radiation budgeting. In this study, we explore direct ground based remote sensing methods to assess the Aerosol-Cloud Indirect Effect directly, as space-borne retrievals are not directly suitable for simultaneous aerosol/cloud retrievals. To illustrate some of these difficulties, a statistical assessment of existing multispectral imagers on geostationary (e.g., GOES)/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite retrievals of the Cloud Droplet Effective Radius (Reff) showed significant biases especially at larger solar zenith angles, further motivating the use of ground based remote sensing approaches. In particular, we discuss the potential of using a combined Microwave Radiometer (MWR)—Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR) system for real-time monitoring of Cloud Optical Depth (COD) and Cloud Droplet Effective Radius (Reff), which are combined with aerosol vertical properties from an aerosol lidar. An iterative approach combining the simultaneous observations from MFRSR and MWR are used to retrieve the COD and Reff for thick cloud cases and are extensively validated using the DoE Southern Great Plains (SGP) retrievals as well as regression based parameterized model retrievals. In addition, we account for uncertainties in background aerosol, surface albedo and the combined measurement uncertainties from the MWR and MFRSR in order to provide realistic uncertainty estimates, which is found to be ~10% for the parameter range of interest in Aerosol-Cloud Interactions. Finally, we analyze a particular case of possible aerosol-cloud interaction described in the literature at the SGP site and demonstrate that aerosol properties obtained at the surface can lead to inconclusive results in comparison to lidar-derived aerosol properties near the cloud base.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 13322-13337: Histone Displacement during Nucleotide Excision Repair

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is an important DNA repair mechanism required for cellular resistance against UV light and toxic chemicals such as those found in tobacco smoke. In living cells, NER efficiently detects and removes DNA lesions within the large nuclear macromolecular complex called chromatin. The condensed nature of chromatin inhibits many DNA metabolizing activities, including NER. In order to promote efficient repair, detection of a lesion not only has to activate the NER pathway but also chromatin remodeling. In general, such remodeling is thought on the one hand to precede NER, thus allowing repair proteins to efficiently access DNA. On the other hand, after completion of the repair, the chromatin must be returned to its previous undamaged state. Chromatin remodeling can refer to three separate but interconnected processes, histone post-translational modifications, insertion of histone variants and histone displacement (including nucleosome sliding). Here we review current knowledge, and speculate about current unknowns, regarding those chromatin remodeling activities that physically displace histones before, during and after NER.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 13308-13321: ABO Blood Group System and Gastric Cancer: A Case-Control Study and Meta-Analysis

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

This study focuses on the association between the ABO blood group system and the risk of gastric cancer or Helicobacter pylori infection. The data for the ABO blood group was collected from 1045 cases of gastric cancer, whereby the patient underwent a gastrectomy in Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai. The information on the ABO blood group from 53,026 healthy blood donors was enrolled as control. We searched the Pubmed database on the relationship between ABO blood groups and gastric cancer risk for meta-analysis. In our case-control study, the risk of gastric cancer in blood group A was significantly higher than that in non-A groups (O, B and AB) (odd ratio, OR1.34; 95% confidential interval, CI 1.25–1.44). Compared with non-O groups (A, B and AB), individuals with blood group O demonstrated a reduced risk of gastric cancer (OR = 0.80; 95% CI 0.72–0.88). The proportion of H. pylori infection in blood group A individuals was significantly higher than that in non-A blood groups (OR = 1.42; 95% CI 1.05–1.93). We further combined our data with the published data of others, and crossreferenced the risk of gastric cancer with the blood type, finding consistent evidence that gastric cancer risk in the blood A group was higher than that in the non-A groups (OR = 1.11; 95% CI 1.07–1.15), and that blood type O individuals were consistently shown gastric cancer risk reduction (OR = 0.91; 95% CI 0.89–0.94). Our study concluded that there was a slightly increased risk of gastric cancer in blood group A individuals, and people with blood type A are more prone to be infected by H. pylori than other ABO blood type individuals, whereas, a slightly decreased risk of gastric cancer was identified in blood type O individuals.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 13294-13307: Improved Production of Cyclodextrins by Alkalophilic Bacilli Immobilized on Synthetic or Loofa Sponges

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

This study aimed to improve the production of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) by microbial cells immobilized on synthetic or loofa sponges both with and without the use of alginate or chitosan. The most suitable matrix for the immobilization of Bacillus firmus strain 7B was synthetic sponge and for Bacillus sphaericus strain 41 was loofa sponge. After 330 days of storage, the β-CD production by Bacillus firmus and Bacillus sphaericus remained at around 41% and 49%, respectively, of initial levels. After 24 days of immobilization on loofa sponge, Bacillus sphaericus strain 41 achieved an improved operational stability, reaching 86.6 mM β-CD after 20 days of production, compared to only 32.8 mM of β-CD produced by free Bacillus sphaericus strain 41 cells. The expected increase in β-CD production by immobilized cells of Bacillus firmus strain 7B on synthetic sponge for 4 days was not statistically different to that for cells immobilized for 24 days. The application of this process on an industrial scale using loofa sponge, an inexpensive and renewable matrix, will allow the stable production of β-CD.

NC high court weighs status of video sweepstakes

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 02:45 AM PDT

North Carolina's highest court will soon decide whether the state can outlaw video sweepstakes parlors as gambling halls, or whether the video screens give the owners constitutional free-speech rights.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

GetUp! takes pokies fight to check out

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 02:45 AM PDT

Activist group GetUp! is urging its thousands of members to write and deliver letters to Woolworths about its ownership of poker machines when they next pass through the registers.

Golden Joystick Awards 2012: Best DLC category – who are you voting for?

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 02:25 AM PDT

As voting for the Golden Joystick Awards 2012 enters its final weeks, we take a look at each of the individual categories. Today is the turn of Best DLC

Crystals, Vol. 2, Pages 1441-1454: Determination of the Absolute Configuration of Aegelinol by Crystallization of Its Inclusion Complex with β-Cyclodextrin

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

The absolute configuration and structure of aegelinol, a pyranocoumarin isolated from Ferulago asparagifolia Boiss (Apiaceae), has been determined by crystallography. Crystal structure of the inclusion complex of aegelinol in β-cyclodextrin was determined (a = 15.404(1) Å, b = 15.281(1) Å, c = 17.890(1) Å, α = 99.662(1), β = 113.4230(1), γ = 102.481(1)°, P1; R1 = 6.71%) and allowed unambiguous determination of the absolute configuration of the stereogenic center of aegelinol. The pyranocoumarin guest is included within the cylindrical cavity formed by dimeric β-cyclodextrin molecules with a head-to-head arrangement. Crystal structure of aegelinol alone was also determined (a = 6.8921(3) Å, b = 11.4302(9) Å, c = 44.964(3) Å, P212121; R1 = 4.44%) and allowed precise determination of its geometry. Aegelinol crystallizes with three molecules in the asymmetric unit held together by H-bonds and π-stacking interactions.

Entropy, Vol. 14, Pages 1939-1952: Programming Unconventional Computers: Dynamics, Development, Self-Reference

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Classical computing has well-established formalisms for specifying, refining, composing, proving, and otherwise reasoning about computations. These formalisms have matured over the past 70 years or so. Unconventional Computing includes the use of novel kinds of substrates–from black holes and quantum effects, through to chemicals, biomolecules, even slime moulds–to perform computations that do not conform to the classical model. Although many of these unconventional substrates can be coerced into performing classical computation, this is not how they "naturally" compute. Our ability to exploit unconventional computing is partly hampered by a lack of corresponding programming formalisms: we need models for building, composing, and reasoning about programs that execute in these substrates. What might, say, a slime mould programming language look like? Here I outline some of the issues and properties of these unconventional substrates that need to be addressed to find "natural" approaches to programming them. Important concepts include embodied real values, processes and dynamical systems, generative systems and their meta-dynamics, and embodied self-reference.

Cells, Vol. 1, Pages 832-850: Trophic Actions of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Muscle Repair/Regeneration

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) represent the leading candidate cell in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. These cells can be easily isolated, expanded in vitro and are capable of providing significant functional benefits after implantation in the damaged muscle tissues. Despite their plasticity, the participation of BM-MSCs to new muscle fiber formation is controversial; in fact, emerging evidence indicates that their therapeutic effects occur without signs of long-term tissue engraftment and involve the paracrine secretion of cytokines and growth factors with multiple effects on the injured tissue, including modulation of inflammation and immune reaction, positive extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, angiogenesis and protection from apoptosis. Recently, a new role for BM-MSCs in the stimulation of muscle progenitor cells proliferation has been demonstrated, suggesting the potential ability of these cells to influence the fate of local stem cells and augment the endogenous mechanisms of repair/regeneration in the damaged tissues.

Molecules, Vol. 17, Pages 12187-12196: Synthesis and Herbicidal Activity of Substituted Pyrazole Isothiocyanates

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Isothiocyanates and substituted pyrazoles were combined to form a series of novel isothiocyanates with highly effective herbicidal activity. The target compounds were analyzed by elemental analysis, 1H-NMR, EI-MS and IR spectroscopy. The synthesized compounds, particularly compounds 3-1 and 3-7, exhibited good herbicidal activities against four weeds. The EC50 values of compound 3-1 against Echinochloa crusgalli L., Cyperus iria L., Dactylis glomerata L., and Trifolium repens L. were 64.32, 65.83, 62.42, and 67.72 µg/mL, respectively. The EC50 values of compound 3-7 against E. crusgalli L., C. iria L., D. glomerata L., T. repens L. were 65.33, 64.90, 59.41 and 67.41 µg/mL, respectively. Compounds 3-1 and 3-7 may be further optimized as lead compounds for new herbicides.
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