PPG Completes Acquisition of Deft, Expands Aerospace Coatings Business

Posted on by

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

PPG Industries (PPG) announced today that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of certain assets of Deft Incorporated, a privately-owned specialty coatings company based in Irvine, Calif. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition enhances the coatings capabilities of PPGs aerospace business. Deft products include structural primers and military topcoats for the North American aviation industry. In addition, Deft produces coatings used within the architectural and general industrial markets.

With the acquisition of Deft, we are now able to offer an even broader portfolio of innovative coatings that benefit our customers and reduce the impact on the environment, said Barry Gillespie, PPG vice president, aerospace. Defts waterborne and chrome-free technologies complement PPGs existing coatings capabilities, particularly in the aerospace industry, and support PPGs ongoing commitment to sustainability.

PPG Aerospace is the aerospace products and services business of PPG Industries and a diverse, global supplier with 18 coatings facilities around the world. PPG Aerospace PRC-DeSoto is the leading global producer of aerospace sealants, coatings, and packaging and application systems. PPG Aerospace Transparencies is the worlds largest supplier of aircraft windshields, windows and canopies.

PPG: BRINGING INNOVATION TO THE SURFACE.(TM)

PPG Industries' vision is to continue to be the worlds leading coatings and specialty products company. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in nearly 70 countries around the world. Sales in 2012 were $15.2 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (PPG). For more information, visit http://www.ppg.com.

Bringing innovation to the surface is a trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.

Read the rest here:

PPG Completes Acquisition of Deft, Expands Aerospace Coatings Business

Bacteria use hydrogen, carbon dioxide to produce electricity

Posted on by

Public release date: 19-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology

Researchers have engineered a strain of electricity-producing bacteria that can grow using hydrogen gas as its sole electron donor and carbon dioxide as its sole source of carbon. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst report their findings at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

"This represents the first result of current production solely on hydrogen," says Amit Kumar, a researcher on the study who, along with his co-authors are part of the Lovley Lab Group at the university.

Under the leadership of Derek Lovley the lab group has been studying Geobacter bacteria since Lovley first isolated Geobacter metallireducens in sand sediment from the Potomac River in 1987. Geobacter species are of interest because of their bioremediation, bioenergy potential, novel electron transfer capabilities, the ability to transfer electrons outside the cell and transport these electrons over long distances via conductive filaments known as microbial nanowires.

Kumar and his colleagues studied a relative of G. metallireducens called Geobacter sulfurreducens, which has the ability to produce electricity by reducing organic carbon compounds with a graphite electrode like iron oxide or gold to serve as the sole electron acceptor. They genetically engineered a strain of the bacteria that did not need organic carbon to grow in a microbial fuel cell.

"The adapted strain readily produced electrical current in microbial fuel cells with hydrogen gas as the sole electron donor and no organic carbon source," says Kumar, who notes that when the hydrogen supply to the microbial fuel cell was intermittently stopped electrical current dropped significantly and cells attached to the electrodes did not generate any significant current.

###

This research was supported by funding by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Office of Naval Research.

This research was presented as part of the 2013 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology held May 18-21, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. A full press kit for the meeting, including tipsheets and additional press releases, can be found online at http://bit.ly/asm2013pk.

Read this article:
Bacteria use hydrogen, carbon dioxide to produce electricity

Engineered microbes grow in the dark

Posted on by

Public release date: 19-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology

Scientists at the University of California, Davis have engineered a strain of photosynthetic cyanobacteria to grow without the need for light. They report their findings today at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

"In this work, we used synthetic biology approaches to probe and rewire photoautotrophic (exclusively relying on carbon dioxide and light energy for growth) cyanobacterial metabolism for the ability to grow without light energy," says Jordan McEwen, the lead researcher on the study. He is part of Shota Atsumi's lab at the university, a research group focused on developing synthetic organisms capable of converting carbon dioxide directly to biofuels.

The cyanobacterium strain Synechococcus elongatus strain PCC 7942 has been well characterized as a model photoautotroph. Previous work by Atsumi's lab has engineered this organism to recycle carbon dioxide into a variety of biofuels and valuable chemicals in the presence of light. Any cost-effective, cyanobacterial biofuel production scheme would use natural lighting conditions, limiting how much biofuel could be produced in a 24-hour period.

"To overcome this constraint, we installed foreign genes into S. elongatus to allow this cyanobacterium to grow and generate biofuels in diurnal (light or dark) conditions," says McEwen. "With recent, increased focus on cyanobacteria-based industrial applications, this advancement is desirable for more efficient, economical and controllable bioproduction systems."

###

This work was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (1132442).

This research was presented as part of the 2013 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology held May 18-21, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. A full press kit for the meeting, including tipsheets and additional press releases, can be found online at http://bit.ly/asm2013pk. The American Society for Microbiology is the largest single life science society, composed of over 39,000 scientists and health professionals. ASM's mission is to advance the microbiological sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health and environmental and economic well-being worldwide.

Read more from the original source:
Engineered microbes grow in the dark

Saudi coronavirus work stymied at Canadian lab

Posted on by

The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg is working with a sample of the new coronavirus thats causing clusters of infections abroad but can't share the material with other researchers across the country despite the public health urgency.

It was a Dutch lab that sent a Saudi sample of the virus to Winnipeg, where scientists are looking for better ways to diagnose and treat the infection. So far, 41 confirmed cases and 20 deaths have been recorded.

But before they could start, officials had to sign a material transfer agreement, a contract that outlines the terms and conditions for using the coronavirus sample.

The Dutch "had pretty tight restrictions around how it could be used," Frank Plummer, scientific director of the National Microbiology Laboratory, said in an interview. "So there was a lot of negotiation and a lot of lawyers involved both with us and the Americans and others around the world, which slowed things down quite a bit."

Such agreements exist for different reasons sometimes because countries want to make sure a dangerous bug won't fall into the wrong hands, sometimes because they want to exert their rights if a vaccine or treatment is developed. But the agreements also impede the research process, say scientists.

"We can't distribute [the virus] any further, which is a problem, because a lot of people would like to be working on this and can't," Plummer said.

In contrast, Plummer said China simply gave away samples of the H7N9 bird flu virus, as did Mexico with H1N1 swine flu in 2009.

The researcher who first spotted the coronavirus in 2012 lost his job for sending it out of Saudi Arabia.

Ali Mohamed Zaki discovered the deadly pathogen last June at a microbiology lab at the Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Zaki had been investigating the case of a 60-year-old man with a lung infection who died 18 days after symptoms started. When he couldn't identify the virus, he sent it to Ron Fouchier, a Dutch researcher who was able to sequence it. It was a coronavirus never before seen in humans.

Continue reading here:
Saudi coronavirus work stymied at Canadian lab

SBA awards Sievers’ family business for longevity

Posted on by

Published: Wednesday, May 15, 2013

SBA awards Sievers family business for longevity

By Amy Watkins HBJ Freelance Writer

EVERETT A four-generation, family-owned small business has been recognized for its successful history.

The H.O. Seiffert Co. received the U.S. Small Business Administrations 2013 Washington State Family-owned Small Business of the Year award. The award honors family-owned and operated businesses that have been passed on from one generation to another with at least a 15-year track record. Honorees also have a demonstrated history of success with growth in sales and profits, increased employment opportunities for family members, potential for future growth and volunteer efforts to strengthen family-owned businesses in the community.

The companys current president, Pat Sievers, accepted the award on May 9 at the 2013 SBA Annual Small Business Awards Gala at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Its undoubtedly a great honor, said Sievers, 42. Its certainly a celebration of our history and duration in the community and it was nice just to share it with others who have been part of that success.

The H.O. Seiffert Co. has had the longevity and ability to prosper through great and hard times, said Lorin Smith, a spokesman for the U.S. Small Business Administration Seattle District Office.

I think that could be a good demonstration to other businesses as to what a stable company can look like, he said.

The H.O. Seiffert Co. got its start in Everett in 1897 when a lumber dealer in Davenport, Iowa, sent four brothers to the area to form a shingles brokerage. They bought out the Everett assets and incorporated in 1901 under the parent companys name.

Visit link:
SBA awards Sievers’ family business for longevity

Eric Prydz sunburst – www.iTravelFriends.com cool places World Travel – Video

Posted on by


Eric Prydz sunburst - http://www.iTravelFriends.com cool places World Travel
http://www.iTravelFriends.com Beautiful Places to visit around the world. Music: Eric Prydz-Pryda - Sunburst Eric Prydz one of our favorite DJ Picture: http://www.wallpape...

By: iTravelFriends

More here:

Eric Prydz sunburst - http://www.iTravelFriends.com cool places World Travel - Video