#CHEAP Ensure® Chocolate Shake - 24/8 oz. bottlesEnsure

Ensure® Chocolate Shake - 24/8 oz. bottles

CHEAP,Discount,Buy,Sale,Bestsellers,Good,For,REVIEW, Ensure® Chocolate Shake - 24/8 oz. bottlesEnsure,Wholesale,Promotions,Shopping,Shipping,Ensure® Chocolate Shake - 24/8 oz. bottlesEnsure,BestSelling,Off,Savings,Gifts,Cool,Hot,Top,Sellers,Overview,Specifications,Feature,on sale,Ensure® Chocolate Shake - 24/8 oz. bottlesEnsure Ensure® Chocolate Shake - 24/8 oz. bottlesEnsure

Ensure® Chocolate Shake - 24/8 oz. bottles Overview

Use as a delicious meal supplement, occasional meal replacement, or convenient between-meal snack. Ensure can benefit people who are on modified diets, at nutrition risk, experiencing involuntary weight loss, recovering from illness or surgery, or on low-residue diets.

Ensure® Chocolate Shake - 24/8 oz. bottles Feature

• An excellent source of 24 essential vitamins and minerals
• Low in saturated fat (0.5 g/8 fl oz) and low in cholesterol
• Carbohydrate to provide energy and Calcium, magnesium and vitamin D to help maintain bones and teeth
• Zinc, and vitamins C and E to help maintain the immune system
• Antioxidants to help protect cells from damage. Lactose and gluten-free

Crash-safe battery protection for electric cars

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Sept 1, 2011

Everyone is talking about electric drives, and the scientists from Fraunhofer are also working on them. Engineers have replaced a battery box for lithium-ion batteries with a lightweight component. Not only does the housing save weight and sustain no damage in an accident – for the first time ever, it can also be mass-produced.

If an electric car wants to be environmentally friendly it must weigh as little as possible, because when the light turns green every additional pound/kilogram must be accelerated with considerable energy expenditure. And the lighter the electric vehicle, the longer it can be on the road without having to be plugged back into a power outlet. To advance the symbiosis between electromobility and lightweight construction, engineers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pfinztal, Germany, are developing manufacturing concepts that have one goal – they want to gradually replace individual components in the vehicle with lightweight ones. “However, this cannot affect the stability or the safety of the passenger,“ said Manfred Reif, project manager in the joint project ”Fraunhofer System Research for Electromobility.”

The fact that this is possible is proven by the researchers with the Artega GT, a sports car that was modified into a prototype with an electric drive, where the electric motor is located in the rear. The experts, along with colleagues from the Fraunhofer Institutes for Mechanics of Materials IWM, for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF and for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach Institut EMI, have developed a mass-production-ready, crash-safe battery housing that meets strict requirements. The battery housing that surrounds the battery that weighs 340 kilograms (749.57 lbs.) only weighs 35 kilograms (77.16 lbs.). “Traditional solutions made of steel weigh up to 25 percent more,“ said Reif. “The battery housing can withstand a crash, assuming a ten-fold gravitational acceleration.“ And even if a sharp object collides with the housing at 60 km/h (45mph), the highly sensitive battery on the inside remains intact. In addition, the 16 lithium-ion modules are protected from humidity, and a semi-permeable membrane to equalize pressure also guarantees that the batteries are able to “breathe.“
To read more click here...

Researchers build a tougher, lighter wind turbine blade

Case Western Reserve University
Aug 30, 2011

Efforts to build larger wind turbines able to capture more energy from the air are stymied by the weight of blades. A Case Western Reserve University researcher has built a prototype blade that is substantially lighter and eight times tougher and more durable than currently used blade materials.

Marcio Loos, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, works with colleagues at Case Western Reserve, and investigators from Bayer MaterialScience in Pittsburgh, and Molded Fiber Glass Co. in Ashtabula, Ohio, comparing the properties of new materials with the current standards used in blade manufacturing.

On his own, Loos went to the lab on weekends and built the world’s first polyurethane blade reinforced with carbon nanotubes. He wanted to be sure the composite that was scoring best on preliminary tests could be molded into the right shape and maintain properties. Using a small commercial blade as a template, he manufactured a 29-inch blade that is substantially lighter, more rigid and tougher.

“The idea behind all this is the need to develop stronger and lighter materials which will enable manufacturing of blades for larger rotors,” Loos said.

That’s an industry goal.

In order to achieve the expansion expected in the market for wind energy, turbines need a bigger share of the wind. But, simply building larger blades isn’t a smart answer.
To read more click here...

9/11 and the Rise of Robots

IEEE Spectrum
Sept 1, 2011

September 11 had quite a different meaning for me before it became 9/11. It's my birthday. And early on that cool blue morning I took my daily run from our Chelsea apartment down the West Side Highway past the World Trade Center to South Ferry and back. I never thought much about the Twin Towers then, except sometimes to remember the convoluted history of how they got built in the first place, or to feel their overwhelming presence in what was then a low-rise part of Manhattan as I breezed past, with no sense of how gigantic their absence might become.

At work later that morning, when the news came in, we first thought "accident." After all, in 1945 a B-25 bomber had crashed into the 79th floor of New York City's Empire State Building. But how could this be on such an acutely clear day? Now, 10 years later, when almost any disaster is tinged with the possibility of terrorism, it's hard to remember a time when these thoughts were not second nature.

Before anyone knew there would be no one to rescue, people from around the United States, and around the world, flocked to the city to help. Among the would-be rescuers who came that day and the ones that followed were robots. They were driven to the scene by engineers and technologists from places like iRobot Corp. and Foster-Miller in the Boston area, and from Robin Murphy's brand-new Center for Robotic-Assisted Search and Rescue, then at the University of South Florida, in Tampa, and now at Texas A&M University.

While they saved no one, these robots were able to traverse some of the vast debris field, going where humans and dogs dared not, demonstrating indisputably that they weren't toys or expensive curiosities but viable machines capable of standing in for humans in dangerous situations. As Murphy has noted, before 9/11 the idea that intelligent robots could help save lives at disaster sites was dismissed as science fiction. But not after.
To read more click here...

Automakers to boost compact car production

The Associated Press
Aug 31, 2011

Automakers are gearing up to make more compact cars this year. It's another bet on a part of the car market that has thrived this year as consumers fret about the economy but still want a new set of wheels.

General Motors is adding Saturday shifts in the fourth quarter at an Ohio factory that makes the compact Cruze, two people briefed on the matter said Monday. Ford, Toyota and Hyundai also have scheduled overtime at compact-car plants.

That might seem chancy with consumer confidence at a two-year low. But the car makers are expecting sales of compacts to increase as nervous consumers go for lower sticker prices and better gas mileage to save money. Compacts sell for $16,000 and up, and can get around 40 mpg in highway driving.

Also, car companies are trying to steal sales from Honda and Toyota, whose factories are just now recovering from parts shortages due to the March earthquake in Japan.

The strategy might pay off. As anxious as consumers say they are about the future, a survey released Tuesday by the Conference Board showed that, compared with July, more of them plan to buy a car within six months.

At Hyundai of New Port Richey near Tampa, Fla., there were only two Elantra compacts on the lot Tuesday, and President Scott Fink expected them to sell quickly.

"As the Elantras come in, nine out of 10 of them are pre-sold," Fink said. "So we really don't have any in stock."

At the New Port Richey dealership and three others in Fink's group, customers stung by Florida's steep drop in house prices are trying to cut their monthly payments.

"Even if they have a job, they just want to reduce their debt and improve their cash flow," Fink said.

Yet they don't want to give up the amenities they have in their current cars. As shoppers look at these smaller cars, they're finding that new compacts such as the Elantra, Cruze and Ford Focus are quiet, handle and ride well, and come with navigation systems, leather seats and all the bells and whistles that previously were available only in larger vehicles. And the Cruze, for instance, has a starting price of $16,525, about $3,700 less than the cheapest midsize Toyota Camry.

As a result, automakers sold nearly 1 million compacts through the end of July. That's up 12.8 percent from a year earlier, an impressive gain considering the scarcity of the most popular compact models, the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. Civic sales are down 9.7 percent and Corolla sales are off 8.1 percent, according to Autodata Corp.

Cruze sales are up 74 percent over the car it replaced, the Chevrolet Cobalt. Elantra sales have risen 56 percent and the Nissan Sentra are up 33 percent. In June the Cruze, which GM introduced last year, was the top-selling car in the country.

At its in Lordstown, Ohio, which already is working around the clock on weekdays to make the Cruze, GM plans to add Saturday shifts in the fourth quarter, two people briefed on the plans said. One said five Saturdays will be added, while another said only two had been scheduled but more are possible. Neither wanted to be identified because workers have not been told of the plans.

For the workers, it means giving up a weekend day. But it also means more pay.

At current sales rates, GM dealers have only enough Cruzes on their lots to last for 27 days, far lower than the 60 days considered optimal to give customers enough selection.

Hyundai also has added one Saturday shift per month at its Montgomery, Ala., factory that makes the Elantra. Toyota has added Saturday shifts and weekday overtime at a plant in Cambridge, Ontario, that makes the Corolla. Ford workers also are on overtime some Saturdays at the Focus plant near Detroit.

The boost in production comes even as analysts and car companies cut their 2011 forecasts for U.S. auto sales because of the sputtering economy. IHS, for instance, has dropped its forecast from 12.7 million cars and trucks to 12.5 million.

Aaron Bragman, an analyst with IHS Automotive, said consumers could benefit later in the year as automakers try to keep market share and sell the extra cars. He expects Honda and Toyota to start discounting to win back sales that were lost while factories were slowed by the earthquake.

"It's expected they are going to be piling some incentives on the hood," he said.

Other automakers won't say whether they'll match the incentives, but Fink, the dealer near Tampa, said they will respond.

"I don't think Hyundai is going to walk away from a fight," he said.

Cost Vs. Quality: The Dangers Of Outsourcing Design Overseas

Engineerblogger
Sept. 1, 2011

For many years now, the outsourcing of American manufacturing overseas has been common practice. Asia leads the way in producing most consumer goods -- from electronics to housewares and everything in between -- at far lower cost than would be possible in the States. While this has resulted in a painful transition period for countless American workers, by and large U.S. companies have embraced the ability to produce their products at significantly reduced tooling, parts and labor costs.

Yet while American firms gave up manufacturing and production to overseas vendors, it has always been assumed that we would remain headquarters for the “brains” of the operation -- the research, strategy, concept development, engineering, etc.

Unfortunately, we are seeing the beginning of a new phase of outsourcing, one that could transform the playing field all over again. Having already gained the lion’s share of manufacturing work, countries like China and India are now focusing on building their capabilities in the innovation and design phases of product development. While some may dismiss the seriousness of this trend, we’d be naïve to believe that America has a monopoly on a creative workforce.

In fact the hard numbers tell a very different story. A handful of years ago Businessweek reported China having over 400 design schools with an estimated 10,000 graduates every year. The Chinese government realizes that their position as low cost supplier of cheap labor will not last forever, and their population is already demanding higher wages and better living conditions.

As a result manufacturers are looking to places like Vietnam for even less expensive production solutions. With that in mind, China is consciously investing in educating their workforce in the skills needed to add greater value to the product development process, to contribute at a higher rung on the food chain of international trade.

And those who dismiss the quality of thinking and design being offered from newly minted Chinese and Indian professionals are being rather short sighted; we only need to think back to the days when Japanese goods were scoffed at as low quality and derivative.

Of course there are many risks to simply chasing low prices for any service, and that’s all the more so when considering the use of offshore resources for research, innovation, and design - the creative foundations upon which a successful product, line or brand is built.

These overseas resources lack not only the experience of western firms in this area, but the culture of their markets also presents a significant challenge to their taking on a greater role at the front end of the product development process.

In China, for example, there’s a strong tendency for individuals to refrain from pushing boundaries far beyond those accepted by the larger group, and a desire to reach some level of consensus before acting on new ideas.

This is changing to be sure, but in many cases product development strategies overseas have culturally and economically favored a “produce lots stuff and let’s see what sticks” approach that’s diametrically opposed to the kind of deep research, thinking and planning engaged in by the most successful western firms. In the U.S. and Europe, focus is placed on taking the time to effectively target needs and opportunities in the market to ensure that new products will be met with open arms and driven demand.

In contrast, the experience of overseas suppliers has largely been based on bringing imperfect products to market quickly, knowing that their deficiencies can be inexpensively addressed in the next version.

There is also the well established concern many firms have for the protection of their intellectual property when outsourcing to certain overseas markets. While IP rights are regularly ignored in both China and India, the risk to losing control over your most valuable intangible property- the critical ideas which form the foundation of your products’ success- can be of even greater magnitude (and more difficult to control) than problems related to the theft of technical or engineering-focused properties.

To the extent that low cost overseas design and development services have begun to gain traction, it has often been an indicator of their cost-effectiveness rather than the quality of design and innovation they deliver. For many clients, solutions which are “good enough” suffice, particularly for lower cost products where investment in more expensive domestic design and development is difficult to amortize over their increasingly short shelf life.

And while investment in extensive front-end research, strategy, prototyping and testing can readily pay off for brands with the equity to sell their products at higher margins over lesser competition, the business model for such investment can look decidedly different for products competing primarily on price point or in generic product categories.

So, tempting as some may find the lure of overseas creative services, I would advise proceeding with caution. As a creative professional, I’m concerned about the potential for the United States to give up yet another area of competitive advantage which, as a nation, is so critical to our economic well being.

American design and development firms have a genuine understanding of how to gain insight into the needs of users and the opportunities unmet in the marketplace, and there’s much to be said for the proven methodologies of research and design strategy practiced by creative professionals here.

Moreover, thinking is not a precision skill like injection mold tool making, or analogous in the least to tedious assembly operations that can be accomplished by inexpensive, unskilled labor. We’ve seen examples of clients trying out the creative services offered overseas, only to return in frustration to U.S. firms after realizing that promised cost savings were illusive at best.

While cost will always be an issue for manufacturers, the efficient investment of capital is also a key consideration in the product development cycle. There’s no more important aspect of product development than coming up with the right idea or the optimal design… that’s the foundation for everything to follow. It’s tough to argue with overseas production these days, but innovative thinking is not a place where any firm can afford to cut corners.

Source: Manufacturing.net

Down to the Wire: Berkeley Lab Researchers Develop Inexpensive Technique for Making High Quality Nanowire Solar Cells

 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)
Aug 31, 2011

Solar or photovoltaic cells represent one of the best possible technologies for providing an absolutely clean and virtually inexhaustible source of energy to power our civilization. However, for this dream to be realized, solar cells need to be made from inexpensive elements using low-cost, less energy-intensive processing chemistry, and they need to efficiently and cost-competitively convert sunlight into electricity. A team of researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has now demonstrated two out of three of these requirements with a promising start on the third.

Peidong Yang, a chemist with Berkeley Lab’s Materials Sciences Division, led the development of a solution-based technique for fabricating core/shell nanowire solar cells using the semiconductors cadmium sulfide for the core and copper sulfide for the shell. These inexpensive and easy-to-make nanowire solar cells boasted open-circuit voltage and fill factor values superior to conventional planar solar cells. Together, the open-circuit voltage and fill factor determine the maximum energy that a solar cell can produce. In addition, the new nanowires also demonstrated an energy conversion efficiency of 5.4-percent, which is comparable to planar solar cells.

“This is the first time a solution based cation-exchange chemistry technique has been used for the production of high quality single-crystalline cadmium sulfide/copper sulfide core/shell nanowires,” Yang says. “Our achievement, together with the increased light absorption we have previously demonstrated in nanowire arrays through light trapping, indicates that core/shell nanowires are truly promising for future solar cell technology.”
To read more click here...