Text messaging apps stand to get a whole lot better — and, yes, likely will include Google's own Hangouts app
The Android Developers blog wants the people developing third-party SMS apps to get ready for some big changes to come with KitKat.
The short version is that you can now "officially" make an application the default for sending and receiving SMS and MMS messages, as opposed to the old way of using hidden (not public) APIs and intents. That sort of coding works, but it's subject to change at any time and break all the apps that use it. The new method allows the system to receive and send messages, then use system defaults to decide where to display it. Developers should be sure to give the blog post a read, as the concept and new requirements are laid out nicely.
Now, what does that mean for us? Everyone wants the Hangouts app to send and receive SMS messages. The first step needed for that to happen is to make receiving a message (and sending one) a system function that can be handled by any default application. That's what Google is doing here. With this new method and API set in place, your Android phone doesn't need to ship with a "dedicated" SMS app, and you're free to download one that does things the way you like — or use the bundled Hangouts app.
Of course, there are other reasons they may be doing this. Getting rid of a dedicated Google Voice application (that is in sore need of a revamp) is one of them. Or maybe they all really like using Handcent. We should know more very soon.
New device harnesses sun and sewage to produce hydrogen fuel
Public release date: 10-Oct-2013 [
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Contact: Tim Stephens stephens@ucsc.edu 831-459-2495 University of California - Santa Cruz
PEC-MFC device achieves self-biased solar hydrogen generation through microbial electrohydrogenesis at lab scale
A novel device that uses only sunlight and wastewater to produce hydrogen gas could provide a sustainable energy source while improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment.
A research team led by Yat Li, associate professor of chemistry at the University of California, Santa Cruz, developed the solar-microbial device and reported their results in a paper published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano. The hybrid device combines a microbial fuel cell (MFC) and a type of solar cell called a photoelectrochemical cell (PEC). In the MFC component, bacteria degrade organic matter in the wastewater, generating electricity in the process. The biologically generated electricity is delivered to the PEC component to assist the solar-powered splitting of water (electrolysis) that generates hydrogen and oxygen.
Either a PEC or MFC device can be used alone to produce hydrogen gas. Both, however, require a small additional voltage (an "external bias") to overcome the thermodynamic energy barrier for proton reduction into hydrogen gas. The need to incorporate an additional electric power element adds significantly to the cost and complication of these types of energy conversion devices, especially at large scales. In comparison, Li's hybrid solar-microbial device is self-driven and self-sustained, because the combined energy from the organic matter (harvested by the MFC) and sunlight (captured by the PEC) is sufficient to drive electrolysis of water.
In effect, the MFC component can be regarded as a self-sustained "bio-battery" that provides extra voltage and energy to the PEC for hydrogen gas generation. "The only energy sources are wastewater and sunlight," Li said. "The successful demonstration of such a self-biased, sustainable microbial device for hydrogen generation could provide a new solution that can simultaneously address the need for wastewater treatment and the increasing demand for clean energy."
Microbial fuel cells rely on unusual bacteria, known as electrogenic bacteria, that are able to generate electricity by transferring metabolically-generated electrons across their cell membranes to an external electrode. Li's group collaborated with researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) who have been studying electrogenic bacteria and working to enhance MFC performance. Initial "proof-of-concept" tests of the solar-microbial (PEC-MFC) device used a well-studied strain of electrogenic bacteria grown in the lab on artificial growth medium. Subsequent tests used untreated municipal wastewater from the Livermore Water Reclamation Plant. The wastewater contained both rich organic nutrients and a diverse mix of microbes that feed on those nutrients, including naturally occurring strains of electrogenic bacteria.
When fed with wastewater and illuminated in a solar simulator, the PEC-MFC device showed continuous production of hydrogen gas at an average rate of 0.05 m3/day, according to LLNL researcher and coauthor Fang Qian. At the same time, the turbid black wastewater became clearer. The soluble chemical oxygen demand--a measure of the amount of organic compounds in water, widely used as a water quality test--declined by 67 percent over 48 hours.
The researchers also noted that hydrogen generation declined over time as the bacteria used up the organic matter in the wastewater. Replenishment of the wastewater in each feeding cycle led to complete restoration of electric current generation and hydrogen gas production.
Qian said the researchers are optimistic about the commercial potential for their invention. Currently they are planning to scale up the small laboratory device to make a larger 40-liter prototype continuously fed with municipal wastewater. If results from the 40-liter prototype are promising, they will test the device on site at the wastewater treatment plant.
"The MFC will be integrated with the existing pipelines of the plant for continuous wastewater feeding, and the PEC will be set up outdoors to receive natural solar illumination," Qian said.
"Fortunately, the Golden State is blessed with abundant sunlight that can be used for the field test," Li added.
###
Qian and Hanyu Wang, a graduate student in Li's lab at UC Santa Cruz, are co-first authors of the ACS Nano paper. The other coauthors include UCSC graduate student Gongming Wang; LLNL researcher Yongqin Jiao; and Zhen He of Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy.
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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.
New device harnesses sun and sewage to produce hydrogen fuel
Public release date: 10-Oct-2013 [
| E-mail
| Share
]
Contact: Tim Stephens stephens@ucsc.edu 831-459-2495 University of California - Santa Cruz
PEC-MFC device achieves self-biased solar hydrogen generation through microbial electrohydrogenesis at lab scale
A novel device that uses only sunlight and wastewater to produce hydrogen gas could provide a sustainable energy source while improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment.
A research team led by Yat Li, associate professor of chemistry at the University of California, Santa Cruz, developed the solar-microbial device and reported their results in a paper published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano. The hybrid device combines a microbial fuel cell (MFC) and a type of solar cell called a photoelectrochemical cell (PEC). In the MFC component, bacteria degrade organic matter in the wastewater, generating electricity in the process. The biologically generated electricity is delivered to the PEC component to assist the solar-powered splitting of water (electrolysis) that generates hydrogen and oxygen.
Either a PEC or MFC device can be used alone to produce hydrogen gas. Both, however, require a small additional voltage (an "external bias") to overcome the thermodynamic energy barrier for proton reduction into hydrogen gas. The need to incorporate an additional electric power element adds significantly to the cost and complication of these types of energy conversion devices, especially at large scales. In comparison, Li's hybrid solar-microbial device is self-driven and self-sustained, because the combined energy from the organic matter (harvested by the MFC) and sunlight (captured by the PEC) is sufficient to drive electrolysis of water.
In effect, the MFC component can be regarded as a self-sustained "bio-battery" that provides extra voltage and energy to the PEC for hydrogen gas generation. "The only energy sources are wastewater and sunlight," Li said. "The successful demonstration of such a self-biased, sustainable microbial device for hydrogen generation could provide a new solution that can simultaneously address the need for wastewater treatment and the increasing demand for clean energy."
Microbial fuel cells rely on unusual bacteria, known as electrogenic bacteria, that are able to generate electricity by transferring metabolically-generated electrons across their cell membranes to an external electrode. Li's group collaborated with researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) who have been studying electrogenic bacteria and working to enhance MFC performance. Initial "proof-of-concept" tests of the solar-microbial (PEC-MFC) device used a well-studied strain of electrogenic bacteria grown in the lab on artificial growth medium. Subsequent tests used untreated municipal wastewater from the Livermore Water Reclamation Plant. The wastewater contained both rich organic nutrients and a diverse mix of microbes that feed on those nutrients, including naturally occurring strains of electrogenic bacteria.
When fed with wastewater and illuminated in a solar simulator, the PEC-MFC device showed continuous production of hydrogen gas at an average rate of 0.05 m3/day, according to LLNL researcher and coauthor Fang Qian. At the same time, the turbid black wastewater became clearer. The soluble chemical oxygen demand--a measure of the amount of organic compounds in water, widely used as a water quality test--declined by 67 percent over 48 hours.
The researchers also noted that hydrogen generation declined over time as the bacteria used up the organic matter in the wastewater. Replenishment of the wastewater in each feeding cycle led to complete restoration of electric current generation and hydrogen gas production.
Qian said the researchers are optimistic about the commercial potential for their invention. Currently they are planning to scale up the small laboratory device to make a larger 40-liter prototype continuously fed with municipal wastewater. If results from the 40-liter prototype are promising, they will test the device on site at the wastewater treatment plant.
"The MFC will be integrated with the existing pipelines of the plant for continuous wastewater feeding, and the PEC will be set up outdoors to receive natural solar illumination," Qian said.
"Fortunately, the Golden State is blessed with abundant sunlight that can be used for the field test," Li added.
###
Qian and Hanyu Wang, a graduate student in Li's lab at UC Santa Cruz, are co-first authors of the ACS Nano paper. The other coauthors include UCSC graduate student Gongming Wang; LLNL researcher Yongqin Jiao; and Zhen He of Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy.
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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.
BANGKOK (AP) -- World stock markets were boosted Friday by a glimmer of progress in resolving the U.S. budget row that has threatened to leave the U.S. unable to pay its bills.
The gains came after Republican leaders said Thursday they would vote to extend the government's borrowing authority for six weeks. A spokesman for President Barack Obama said he would "likely" sign a bill to increase the nation's ability to borrow money.
The Dow Jones industrial average soared more than 300 points Thursday, breaking a three-week funk in stocks.
The budget impasse has resulted in a partial shutdown of the U.S. government but the bigger worry has been a looming deadline for the U.S. to raise its borrowing limit. Without that authority from lawmakers, the government could default on its debts, sending shockwaves through the global financial system and economy.
In early European trading, France's CAC 40 was up 0.1 percent at 4,220.03 and Germany's DAX gained 0.4 percent to 8,716.69.
Futures pointed to modest gains on Wall Street with Dow futures up 0.2 percent at 15,059. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1 percent to 1,687.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 1.5 percent to 14,404.74 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.2 percent to 23,218.32. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.6 percent to 5,230.90. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.7 percent to 2,228.15.
Markets were higher in Singapore, South Korea, India and elsewhere in the region.
Among individual stocks, Toyota Motor Corp. rose 0.9 percent in Tokyo after a U.S. jury ruled that the automaker is not liable for the death of a woman who was killed when her 2006 Camry apparently accelerated and crashed despite her efforts to stop.
The outcome of the lawsuit could influence whether Toyota should be held responsible for sudden unintended acceleration as part of a larger group of lawsuits filed in U.S. state courts following a series of massive recalls for quality defects.
In energy trading, benchmark crude for November delivery was down $1.22 at $101.78 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.40 to close at $103.01 on Thursday.
In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3576 from $1.3526 late Thursday. The dollar rose to 98.32 yen from 98.16 yen.
Text messaging apps stand to get a whole lot better — and, yes, likely will include Google's own Hangouts app
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