Saturday, December 22, 2012

Bank Watch: Cooper, CFPB partner on action against debt relief firm

About 80 North?Carolinians?who paid Payday Loan Debt Solutions for debt relief but didn't get help will be reimbursed following the first partnership between states and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the state attorney general's office said Friday.

Attorney General Roy Cooper and counterparts in four other states went in with the fledgling financial system regulator to take the Florida-based firm to court. A federal judge in Miami ordered it to pay $100,000 in refunds.?

It's illegal in North Carolina to collect fees up-front for debt settlement services. The other states involved were?Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The CFPB described its first joint enforcement as a "landmark."

Source: http://obsbankwatch.blogspot.com/2012/12/cooper-cfpb-partner-on-action-against.html

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Engineers seek ways to convert methane into useful chemicals

Friday, December 21, 2012

Little more than a decade ago, the United States imported much of its natural gas. Today, the nation is tapping into its own natural gas reserves and producing enough to support most of its current needs for heating and power generation, and is beginning to export natural gas to other countries.

The trend is expected to continue, as new methods are developed to extract natural gas from vast unrecovered reserves embedded in shale. Natural gas can be used to generate electricity, and it burns cleaner than coal.

"With petroleum reserves in decline, natural gas production is destined to increase to help meet worldwide energy demands," said Matthew Neurock, a chemical engineering professor in the University of Virginia's School of Engineering and Applied Science. "But petroleum ? in addition to being used to make fuels ? is also used to make ethylene, propylene and other building blocks used in the production of a wide range of other chemicals. We need to develop innovative processes that can readily make these chemical intermediates from natural gas."

The problem is, there currently are no cost-effective ways to do this. Methane, the principal component of natural gas, is rather inert and requires high temperatures to activate its strong chemical bonds; therefore the practical and successful conversion of methane to useful chemical intermediates has thus far eluded chemists and engineers.

Neurock is working with colleagues at Northwestern University to invent novel ways and catalytic materials to activate methane to produce ethylene. This week the collaborators published a paper in the online edition of the journal Nature Chemistrydetailing the use of sulfur as a possible "soft" oxidant for catalytically converting methane into ethylene, a key "intermediate" for making chemicals, polymers, fuels and, ultimately, products such as films, surfactants, detergents, antifreeze, textiles and others.

"We show, through both theory ? using quantum mechanical calculations ? and laboratory experiments, that sulfur can be used together with novel sulfide catalysts to convert methane to ethylene, an important intermediate in the production of a wide range of materials," Neurock said.

Chemists and engineers have attempted to develop catalysts and catalytic processes that use oxygen to make ethylene, methanol and other intermediates, but have had little success as oxygen is too reactive and tends to over-oxidize methane to common carbon dioxide.

Neurock said that sulfur or other "softer" oxidants that have weaker affinities for hydrogen may be the answer, in that they can help to limit the over-reaction of methane to carbon disulfide. In the team's process, methane is reacted with sulfur over sulfide catalysts used in petroleum processes. Sulfur is used to remove hydrogen from the methane to form hydrocarbon fragments, which subsequently react together on the catalyst to form ethylene.

Theoretical and experimental results indicate that the conversion of methane and the selectivity to produce ethylene are controlled by how strong the sulfur bonds to the catalyst. Using these concepts, the team explored different metal sulfide catalysts to ultimately tune the metal-sulfur bond strength in order to control the conversion of methane to ethylene.

Chemical companies consider methane a particularly attractive raw material because of the large reserves of natural gas in the U.S. and other parts of the world.

In 2007, Dow issued a "Methane Challenge," seeking revolutionary chemical processes to facilitate the conversion of methane to ethylene and other useful chemicals.

The company received about 100 proposals from universities, institutes and companies around the world.

In 2008, the company awarded major research grants to Cardiff University and Northwestern University to advance the quest. Neurock is a member of the Northwestern University team. He is using theoretical methods and high-performance computing to understand the processes that control catalysis and to guide the experimental research at Northwestern.

"The abundance of natural gas, along with the development of new methods to extract it from hidden reserves, offers unique opportunities for the development of catalytic processes that can convert methane to chemicals," Neurock said. "Our finding ? of using sulfur to catalyze the conversion of methane to ethylene ? shows initial promise for the development of new catalytic processes that can potentially take full advantage of these reserves. The research, however, is really just in its infancy"

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University of Virginia: http://www.virginia.edu

Thanks to University of Virginia for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126061/Engineers_seek_ways_to_convert_methane_into_useful_chemicals

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Chicago bandit captured after high-rise prison escape

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The FBI said on Friday it captured one of two bank robbers who escaped this week from a high-rise jail in downtown Chicago by rappelling to the street using a makeshift rope and hailing a cab to get away.

Joseph Jose Banks, 37, was taken into custody without incident late on Thursday night in an apartment complex on the city's north side, said FBI spokeswoman Joan Hyde.

Banks appeared subdued during his brief appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney Schenkier on Friday. Banks was shackled at the hands and legs and dressed in an orange jump suit like the one he was wearing when he staged the daring escape with his cell mate early Tuesday morning.

He is charged with escape from federal custody.

Banks waived his right to a detention hearing. He will be put in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Correctional Center from which he escaped, according to Beau Brindley, Banks' attorney.

Banks and his cell mate, Kenneth Conley, escaped from the MCC early on Tuesday morning. The pair apparently broke a window in the cell they shared, squeezed through the opening and lowered themselves nearly 20 stories to the street, authorities said.

They made their rope from bed sheets and dental floss, according to local media reports.

The FBI said that, based on videotape evidence, agents believe the pair hailed a taxi a few blocks from the jail after making their escape.

Banks was convicted of armed robbery this month, and Conley pleaded guilty to bank robbery in October. Both men were set to be sentenced early next year.

According to a federal affidavit, Banks and Conley were present during a physical head count at the jail at 10 p.m. Monday.

But jail employees arriving for work Tuesday morning saw what appeared to be a rope hanging from a window on the south side of the building. When a physical head count was conducted inside the facility, neither Banks nor Conley was present.

Conley is considered armed and dangerous, the FBI said.

Escape carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher and Mary Wisniewski; editing by Jim Marshall)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-bandit-captured-high-rise-prison-escape-202004703.html

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Poll: If you worked for Google, which corporate gift would you pick?

If you worked for Google, which corporate gift would you pick?

Gift-giving is a beautiful thing, but it inevitably sets precedents. Last Christmas, Google's employees were each handed a customized Galaxy Nexus to take home, which means they'll be expecting something just as nice this year. One solution would be the Nexus 4, but Mountain View is far too smart to let its festive joy hinge on LG's supply chain. Instead, it's apparently taking the safer route of letting workers choose for themselves: either the excellent Nexus 7 (it's not clear which capacity, but we'd guess 32GB) or a wonderful new Samsung Chromebook, or a recently Jelly Beaned RAZR M. So go on, tell us, if all the right hypotheticals were in place, which would you pick?

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Source: The Next Web

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/9MPTYsTnf9M/

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Friday, December 21, 2012

C&EN Jobs: jobs, Midland jobs, Michigan jobs, Analytical ...

Kelly Services is seeking an Analytical Lab Technologist for our client, a global chemical company, in Midland Michigan.?? This position is a long term contract opportunity and can be extended indefinitely based on performance and business needs.?

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Qualified candidates outside the Midland Michigan area must be willing to interview and relocate at their own expense.? Target start dates?for most positions are 2-3 weeks post interview.? Once submitted for a position, hiring managers typically interview within 5-10 business days.?? Individuals must be current and legally permitted to work in the US.?

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Important information:?? This position is recruited by a remote Kelly office, not your local Kelly branch.? To be considered for this position, use the ???apply now??? button below to submit your resumes.? If you have questions about the position, you may contact the recruiter recruiting for this position (email/phone); however your resume must be received via the ???apply now??? button included within.

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Job Summary:

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The Analytical Technologist will play an important role within the company???s Analytical Support and Operations Group, which provides analytical support to the manufacturing facilities.

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The Analytical Technologist will perform non-routine testing on raw materials, in-process and final product testing.? Calibration and maintenance of all lab equipment will also be performed.? The qualified individual(s) will perform a variety of instrumentation and analytical techniques including HPLC, GC, FTIR, titration, pH, particle size distribution, Karl Fisher moisture analysis.? Additionally sample preparation and separations will be performed.?

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Primary Responsibilities:

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·???????? Provide plant support for maintenance, calibration and troubleshooting of analytical equipment.

·???????? Provide operator training and development of procedures.

·???????? Participate on a cross-functional team to support business or organizational needs.

·???????? Participate in Root Cause Analysis as necessary

·???????? Provide project support as directed by the Business Analytical Leader or Analytical Sciences

·???????? Conduct instrument qualification as needed.?

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Qualifications:

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·???????? BS degree in Chemistry or Biochemistry.?

·???????? 1-3 years experience working in a chemistry laboratory or environment

·???????? Perform daily work independently; be highly productive and efficient.

·???????? Be an effective, contributing member of the team.

·???????? Exude a ???Strong Commitment to Service??? attitude.

·???????? High regard for individual and group safety is expected.

·???????? Strong oral and written communication skills.?

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About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB)?is a leader in providing workforce solutions. Kelly® offers a comprehensive array of outsourcing and consulting services as well as world-class staffing on a temporary, temporary-to-hire and direct-hire basis.? Serving clients around the globe, Kelly provides employment to more than 550,000 employees annually.?Revenue in 2011 was $5.6 billion.?Visit www.kellyservices.com and connect with us on?

Source: http://chemistryjobs.acs.org/jobs/5051225/analytical-technologist

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