четверг, 7 марта 2013 г.

Games

Games

Galactic Conflict - Screenshots

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 02:46 AM PST

Galactic Conflict lives up to its title since the developer promises real-time strategy at an unrivalled scale previously unseen on mobile devices. Players can literally control hundreds of units and fight against other players online for supremacy in the galaxy.

Players can choose between two distinct factions. More than two dozens of different space ship types are supported ranging from small fighters to gigantic battleships, all with their own strengths and weaknesses.
The players fight for dominance in the galaxy by expanding their influence to new planets to get hold of the valuable resources they have to offer and use them to research better technology and build up huge space fleets.

MacDropAny 2.08 - Sync any folder with multiple cloud storage solutions. (Free)

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 02:59 AM PST



MacDropAny is a simple app that painlessly allows Mac users to sync any folder on their computer through Dropbox, Box.com, Google Drive, iClouDrive, or Microsoft SkyDrive.

The easy-to-use interface of MacDropAny, and its deep integration into the Mac system (including allowing you to right click on any folder in Finder and sync it) makes it a must-have for any user of cloud storage for syncing apps.

MacDropAny has been well reviewed by Lifehacker and MacWorld, two highly regarded technology news websites.



Version 2.08:
  • Fixes a bug that prevented the right-click Finder integration from working on some computers.




Download Now

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

Diversity, Vol. 5, Pages 114-123: Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity—The Setting of a Lingering Global Crisis

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

Climate change has created potential major threats to global biodiversity. The multiple components of climate change are projected to affect all pillars of biodiversity, from genes over species to biome level. Of particular concerns are "tipping points" where the exceedance of ecosystem thresholds will possibly lead to irreversible shifts of ecosystems and their functioning. As biodiversity underlies all goods and services provided by ecosystems that are crucial for human survival and wellbeing, this paper presents potential effects of climate change on biodiversity, its plausible impacts on human society as well as the setting in addressing a global crisis. Species affected by climate change may respond in three ways: change, move or die. Local species extinctions or a rapidly affected ecosystem as a whole respectively might move toward its particular "tipping point", thereby probably depriving its services to human society and ending up in a global crisis. Urgent and appropriate actions within various scenarios of climate change impacts on biodiversity, especially in tropical regions, are needed to be considered. Foremost a multisectoral approach on biodiversity issues with broader policies, stringent strategies and programs at international, national and local levels is essential to meet the challenges of climate change impacts on biodiversity.

Worst Jokes of the BAFTA Games Awards

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 02:02 AM PST

Randy Pitchford and Boris Becker are among those nominated for Worst Presenting Gag at this years's BAFTA Games Awards.

 

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Worst Jokes of the BAFTA Games Awards" was posted by sarahl on Thu, 07 Mar 2013 02:02:02 -0800

The Walking Dead season two coming fall 2013, says Telltale

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 01:46 AM PST

Telltale clarifies earlier reports to say gamers will be able to play more of The Walking Dead this year.

 

Telltale's second season of its critically acclaimed The Walking Dead will begin its episodic release in fall 2013.

Speaking to GameInformer, a Telltale representative said "the current estimated release window for Season Two of The Walking Dead is for fall of 'this' year (2013), and not 'next' year (2014) as has been reported after a recent interview. We apologize for any confusion and thank you and all of our fans for your continued excitement for Telltale's series."

In a previous interview with Eurogamer, Telltale CEO Dan Connors suggested the game's second season wouldn't see a release until the second half of 2014.

Telltale writer Gary Whitta has already teased the possibility of some new The Walking Dead content being released to bridge the gap between season one and season two, and presumably he's not talking about Activision's FPS take on the TV series being released this month.

The Walking Dead picked up two gongs at the BAFTA Game Awards on Tuesday night.

Alongside season two of The Walking Dead, Telltale is working to adapt Bill Willingham's Fables graphic novels.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"The Walking Dead season two coming fall 2013, says Telltale" was posted by Martin Gaston on Thu, 07 Mar 2013 01:46:11 -0800

FIFA 13 Ultimate Team Asia All-Stars Singapore Qualifiers Recap

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:57 AM PST

GameSpot Asia sums up everything that happened during the Singapore portion of the FIFA 13 All-Stars tournament on March 3, as well as talk to the qualifier winners, organizers and shoutcasters.

 

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"FIFA 13 Ultimate Team Asia All-Stars Singapore Qualifiers Recap" was posted by rreydebarros on Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:57:02 -0800

Now Playing: Chaos Online (MOBA)

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:24 AM PST

GameSpot's Jonathan and Randolph checks out the closed beta for Chaos Online, a potential contender to the MOBA throne dominated by DOTA 2 and League of Legends.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Now Playing: Chaos Online (MOBA)" was posted by rreydebarros on Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:24:22 -0800

Bungie looking for alpha and beta testers for Destiny

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:19 PM PST

Tweet from Bungie senior UI designer warn players not to seek out invites from third parties.

 

Halo and Marathon creators Bungie are currently accepting applications for alpha and beta testers for its upcoming shooter Destiny.

According to a Twitter message from Bungie's senior user interface designer David Candland, the company is looking for interested applicants. He also warned gamers not to accept beta invites from third party sources. Players who wish to apply can do so on this page.

Destiny was announced last February and was unveiled as a sci-fi first-person shooter with social and online elements. The game was also confirmed to be released on the upcoming Sony console, the PS4. There is no release date for the game as of yet.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Bungie looking for alpha and beta testers for Destiny" was posted by Jonathan Toyad on Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:19:41 -0800

New World of Tanks update features British tank destroyers

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:15 PM PST

Update 8.4 to introduce more vehicles and graphically-enhanced maps; out for North America and Southeast Asia on March 7.

 

Wargaming.net has announced that it will launch a new update to World of Tanks this week.

Update 8.4 will bring in 10 new tank destroyers from Great Britain such as the FV215b prototype that comes with a 183mm high-damage gun. Players can also check out three new light German tanks: the Pz.I, the Pz.I Ausf., and the Pz.II Ausf.G.

The four battle arenas in the game--Ensk, Live Oaks, Steppes and Fisherman's Bay--have also been updated with new graphics. The tutorial mode for the game has also been revamped.

The update will be out for North America and Southeast Asia on March 7. Korea will receive the update on March 20. For more information on World of Tanks, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"New World of Tanks update features British tank destroyers" was posted by Jonathan Toyad on Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:15:28 -0800

Marine Drugs, Vol. 11, Pages 680-699: Omega-Conotoxins as Experimental Tools and Therapeutics in Pain Management

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

Neuropathic pain afflicts a large percentage of the global population. This form of chronic, intractable pain arises when the peripheral or central nervous systems are damaged, either directly by lesion or indirectly through disease. The comorbidity of neuropathic pain with other diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and AIDS, contributes to a complex pathogenesis and symptom profile. Because most patients present with neuropathic pain refractory to current first-line therapeutics, pharmaceuticals with greater efficacy in pain management are highly desired. In this review we discuss the growing application of ω-conotoxins, small peptides isolated from Conus species, in the management of neuropathic pain. These toxins are synthesized by predatory cone snails as a component of paralytic venoms. The potency and selectivity with which ω-conotoxins inhibit their molecular targets, voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, is advantageous in the treatment of neuropathic pain states, in which Ca2+ channel activity is characteristically aberrant. Although ω-conotoxins demonstrate analgesic efficacy in animal models of neuropathic pain and in human clinical trials, there remains a critical need to improve the convenience of peptide drug delivery methods, and reduce the number and severity of adverse effects associated with ω-conotoxin-based therapies.

Plants, Vol. 2, Pages 107-147: Cell Wall Composition, Biosynthesis and Remodeling during Pollen Tube Growth

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

The pollen tube is a fast tip-growing cell carrying the two sperm cells to the ovule allowing the double fertilization process and seed setting. To succeed in this process, the spatial and temporal controls of pollen tube growth within the female organ are critical. It requires a massive cell wall deposition to promote fast pollen tube elongation and a tight control of the cell wall remodeling to modify the mechanical properties. In addition, during its journey, the pollen tube interacts with the pistil, which plays key roles in pollen tube nutrition, guidance and in the rejection of the self-incompatible pollen. This review focuses on our current knowledge in the biochemistry and localization of the main cell wall polymers including pectin, hemicellulose, cellulose and callose from several pollen tube species. Moreover, based on transcriptomic data and functional genomic studies, the possible enzymes involved in the cell wall remodeling during pollen tube growth and their impact on the cell wall mechanics are also described. Finally, mutant analyses have permitted to gain insight in the function of several genes involved in the pollen tube cell wall biosynthesis and their roles in pollen tube growth are further discussed.

Materials, Vol. 6, Pages 927-940: Effects of Hydrolysed Whey Proteins on the Techno-Functional Characteristics of Whey Protein-Based Films

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

Pure whey protein isolate (WPI)-based cast films are very brittle due to its strong formation of protein cross-linking of disulphide bonding, hydrogen bonding as well as hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. However, this strong cross-linking is the reason for its final barrier performance. To overcome film brittleness of whey protein layers, plasticisers like glycerol are used. It reduces intermolecular interactions, increases the mobility of polymer chains and thus film flexibility can be achieved. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of hydrolysed whey protein isolate (WPI) in whey protein isolate-based cast films on their techno-functional properties. Due to the fact, that the addition of glycerol is necessary but at the same time increases the free volume in the film leading to higher oxygen and water vapour permeability, the glycerol concentration was kept constant. Cast films with different ratios of hydrolysed and not hydrolysed WPI were produced. They were characterised in order to determine the influence of the lower molecular weight caused by the addition of hydrolysed WPI on the techno-functional properties. This study showed that increasing hydrolysed WPI concentrations significantly change the mechanical properties while maintaining the oxygen and water vapour permeability. The tensile and elastic film properties decreased significantly by reducing the average molecular weight whereas the yellowish coloration and the surface tension considerably increased. This study provided new data which put researchers and material developers in a position to tailor the characteristics of whey protein based films according to their intended application and further processing.

Sustainability, Vol. 5, Pages 1114-1127: Sustainable Urban (re-)Development with Building Integrated Energy, Water and Waste Systems

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

The construction and service of urban infrastructure systems and buildings involves immense resource consumption. Cities are responsible for the largest component of global energy, water, and food consumption as well as related sewage and organic waste production. Due to ongoing global urbanization, in which the largest sector of the global population lives in cities which are already built, global level strategies need to be developed that facilitate both the sustainable construction of new cities and the re-development of existing urban environments. A very promising approach in this regard is the decentralization and building integration of environmentally sound infrastructure systems for integrated resource management. This paper discusses such new and innovative building services engineering systems, which could contribute to increased energy efficiency, resource productivity, and urban resilience. Applied research and development projects in Germany, which are based on integrated system approaches for the integrated and environmentally sound management of energy, water and organic waste, are used as examples. The findings are especially promising and can be used to stimulate further research and development, including economical aspects which are crucial for sustainable urban (re-)development.

Sustainability, Vol. 5, Pages 1095-1113: Discursive Overlap and Conflictive Fragmentation of Risk and Security in the Geopolitics of Energy

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

As it touches all aspects of human activity and society in general, energy has become an object of discourse. Two main discourses have formed on the use of energy: risk discourse and security discourse. While environmental changes and oil depletion continue, a new application for the term security has appeared: energy security. This concept can be interpreted within the terms of risk discourse, which is oriented towards rational consensus and decision making, or as an exercise of power, sovereignty and hegemony. The boundaries between interpretations are often unclear. Thus, in an institutional framework that has fragmented principles, norms and rules, opposing discourses will overlap. Political agents and institutions deploy strategies based on these discourses. With this overlapping of discourses, the performative powers of different institutions clash, thus creating conflictive fragmentation in a governance architecture. The purpose of this investigation is to analyze the use of, replication of, and ambiguities surrounding the concept of energy security, so as to understand how and why these discourses overlap and the profound consequences that this overlap may have for present and future energy use, environmental negotiations, and political climate.

Materials, Vol. 6, Pages 911-926: Covalently Bonded Chitosan on Graphene Oxide via Redox Reaction

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

Carbon nanostructures have played an important role in creating a new field of materials based on carbon. Chemical modification of carbon nanostructures through grafting has been a successful step to improve dispersion and compatibility in solvents, with biomolecules and polymers to form nanocomposites. In this sense carbohydrates such as chitosan are extremely valuable because their functional groups play an important role in diversifying the applications of carbon nanomaterials. This paper reports the covalent attachment of chitosan onto graphene oxide, taking advantage of this carbohydrate at the nanometric level. Grafting is an innovative route to modify properties of graphene, a two-dimensional nanometric arrangement, which is one of the most novel and promising nanostructures. Chitosan grafting was achieved by redox reaction using different temperature conditions that impact on the morphology and features of graphene oxide sheets. Transmission Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared, Raman and Energy Dispersive spectroscopies were used to study the surface of chitosan-grafted-graphene oxide. Results show a successful modification indicated by the functional groups found in the grafted material. Dispersions of chitosan-grafted-graphene oxide samples in water and hexane revealed different behavior due to the chemical groups attached to the graphene oxide sheet.

Sustainability, Vol. 5, Pages 1080-1094: Can We Model the Scenic Beauty of an Alpine Landscape?

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

During the last decade, agriculture has lost its importance in many European mountain regions and tourism, which benefits from attractive landscapes, has become a major source of income. Changes in landscape patterns and elements might affect scenic beauty and therefore the socio-economic welfare of a region. Our study aimed at modeling scenic beauty by quantifying the influence of landscape elements and patterns in relationship to distance. Focusing on Alpine landscapes in South and North Tyrol, we used a photographic questionnaire showing different landscape compositions. As mountain landscapes offer long vistas, we related scenic beauty to different distance zones. Our results indicate that the near zone contributes by 64% to the valuation of scenic beauty, the middle zone by 22%, and the far zone by 14%. In contrast to artificial elements, naturalness and diversity increased scenic beauty. Significant differences between different social groups (origin, age, gender, cultural background) occurred only between the local population and tourists regarding great landscape changes. Changes towards more homogenous landscapes were perceived negatively, thus political decision makers should support the conservation of the cultural landscape.

Sustainability, Vol. 5, Pages 1067-1079: The Impacts of Spatial Planning on Degrowth

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

As the current growth economy has created severe environmental pollution and unbalanced distribution of prosperity, there is an increasing amount of critical voices calling for a change. The new concept of degrowth addresses a fundamental change in political, economic and institutional levels underpinning different norms and values towards sustainability. Spatial planning institutions have a decisive role in the transition process insofar as they take decisions regarding the use of land and its attributed space. Especially in three areas spatial planning has influential potentials to stimulate the transition process towards degrowth by enhancing: (i) a sustainable use of renewable energy sources; (ii) sustainable settlement structures; and (iii) the creation of social capital by more community based facilities. The paper explores these possibilities for intervention and shows how spatial planning can have positive impacts on degrowth.

Social Sciences, Vol. 2, Pages 23-39: Population, Resources and Female Labor in the Raw Silk Industry of Nagano in Meiji Japan

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

Gendered realities in local regions are a prominent issue in today's global economy. However, the process of globalization in the late-19th century already involved the local Nagano women in an indispensable role in Japan's raw silk industry. This paper studies the interplay between population growth and relatively limited resources in Nagano vis-à-vis the demand for female labor during the Meiji era, when Japan became a major raw silk producer. The local/regional constraints in Nagano interacted with economic globalization and gave Nagano its position in the global market. Therefore, we cannot ignore the consequences of local/regional constraints and advantages in global processes on female workers. Population pressure and environmental squeeze are found to have been important forces that integrated the local and regional in the global process of industrialization and trade, and together, they produced social outcomes, such as gender hierarchies in globalization and glocalization processes.

Molecules, Vol. 18, Pages 3107-3117: Solution-Processed Organic Photovoltaics Based on Indoline Dye Molecules Developed in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

A donor-acceptor (D-A) type indoline dye, D149, was used as an electron donor in solution-processed organic solar cells (OSCs). For bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) type OSCs with PC70BM as electron acceptor, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) is sensitive to the amount of D149 in the D149/PC70BM blend film. When the concentration of D149 in the blend film was as low as 5%, the highest PCE of up to 1.29%, together with a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 4.58 mA·cm−2, an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.90 V and a fill factor (FF) of 0.31, was achieved. In order to improve the PCE of D149-based OSCs, a bilayer-heterojunction configuration with C70 as electron acceptor has been employed. By optimizing the thickness of the D149 layer and varying the electron- and hole-transport layers, a highest PCE of up to 2.28% with a Jsc of 4.38 mA·cm−2, a Voc of 0.77 V, and an FF of 0.62 was achieved under AM 1.5G solar illumination (100 mW·cm−2).

Molecules, Vol. 18, Pages 3086-3106: Whole-tree Agarwood-Inducing Technique: An Efficient Novel Technique for Producing High-Quality Agarwood in Cultivated Aquilaria sinensis Trees

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST

Agarwood is the fragrant resin-infused wood derived from the wounded trees of Aquilaria species. It is a valuable non-timber forest product used in fragrances and as medicine. Reforestation for Aquilaria trees in combination with artificial agarwood-inducing methods serves as a way to supply agarwood and conserve of wild Aquilaria stock. However, the existing agarwood-inducing methods produce poor-quality agarwood at low yield. Our study evaluated a novel technique for producing agarwood in cultivated Aquilaria trees, called the whole-tree agarwood-inducing technique (Agar-Wit). Ten different agarwood inducers were used for comparison of Agar-Wit with three existing agarwood-inducing methods. For Aquilaria trees treated with these ten inducers, agarwood formed and spread throughout the entire tree from the transfusion point in the trunk to the roots and branches of the whole tree. Agarwood yield per tree reached 2,444.83 to 5,860.74 g, which is 4 to 28 times higher than that by the existing agarwood-inducing methods. Furthermore, this agarwood derived from Agar-Wit induction was found to have a higher quality compared with the existing methods, and similar to that of wild agarwood. This indicates Agar-Wit may have commercial potential. Induction of cultivated agarwood using this method could satisfy the significant demand for agarwood, while conserving and protecting the remaining wild Aquilaria trees.
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