Babes in Turkland: Unsung Bursa

After three nonstop days of traveling, from LAX to Frankfurt and Atatürk airports, then to Sultanahmet, Tarlabas and the clubs in Taksim, then Haydar Pasa, Gebze and Eskihisar and, finally, to Darca and a family dinner, the kids got a well-deserved break.

Our idea of a break was to go to Gebze for the day, exploring the Anabal hardware store, our favorite tile retailer, the ladies’ clothing stores at the Gebze Center Mall, then on to the lovely süsler Perde curtain store, where we had tea with our friend Fatih Genc, one of the owners. After oohing and aahing over the beautiful fabrics,Offering highriskmerchantaccountes and Bad Credit Merchant Accounts. tassels, beads, fringes and other delights on display, Fatih took us to what we think is Gebze’s finest restaurant,China plasticmoulds plastic mold, Tandrci, for a late lunch. The creamy buffalo yogurt, homemade puffy bread and one of the specialties of the house, buryan kebab, were even better than the last time we were there. Buryan kebab is the succulent result of hanging big pieces of lamb from hooks then lowering them into a chamber in the earth with a fire underneath it, and is most associated with the province of Siirt,Sika tooling & Composites develops and produces tailor-made synthetic resins, in southeastern Turkey. We could barely roll ourselves into Fatih’s car for the trip back. Needless to say, I didn’t have to cook anyone dinner that night.

Having recharged our family’s batteries with Gebze-hopping and some of the best food on the planet, we hooked up with Fatih and his car again to go across the water to Bursa. One of the great things about having visitors who had no expectations at all as to what to see in Turkey was that we could take them only to places we like to go, and not to “must-sees” from the guidebooks. We love going to Bursa, and while lots of tourists go to there, they are usually on the way to or from somewhere else, from points north or south. While Bursa is changing as much as Istanbul in terms of the huge Ikea near the bus station and several multi-story malls in the chic, modern downtown, there is enough of the old Ottoman capital left to make it a destination all on its own. We only had a day’s trip planned; we chose our favorite few things so that we’d all have time to enjoy them.

To get to Bursa from here, we took the Yalova ferry, as it is called, although it actually lands at Topcular,Learn all about solarpanel, named for some long-forgotten cannon makers. Our ferry ride was perfect, with the crisp December weather cooperating,The beddinges sofa bed slipcover is a good and affordable alternative to buying a new sofa that is run down. with blue sky and pretty clouds here and there. The seagulls had their winter appetites at the ready, and were happy to take food from one’s fingers. Our Marmara gulls have very strong shoulders to hold their place in the wind long enough for the silly humans to feed them simit and tost. I believe they are a bit more patient than, and probably not as spoiled as, the seagulls on the Bosporus, but that might be my local loyalties talking. As we neared the southern shore of the Marmara, we got back into Fatih’s car and prepared for the crazy mini-road-race endemic to every Turkish car ferry I have ever been on. It was fun to be inside a car, terrorizing the poor pedestrians, (although not on purpose, of course) instead of being the ones terrorized. I have no idea why it is so necessary to speed as fast as possible over the few hundred meters involved, when there is virtually no chance of getting ahead of anyone because of the lanes drivers (for once) have to stay in, but speed they do. Joaquin and Bonnie were appropriately impressed at this demonstration of derring-do from non-taxi-driving citizens.

Multivariate closed-loop control improves cycle times

MKS Instruments Inc. and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell have developed a device that collects and monitors data from the injection molding process and can automatically change the process settings on the next shot, to ensure good-quality parts.

Dan Hazen,It comes in a small attractive glassbottles that is easily reusable. MKS product manager, explained the technology, called multivariate closed-loop control, during a presentation at Engel Medical Days, held June 15-16 in York, Pa. MKS offers it on its SenseLink quality control system.

The technology is called "multivariate" statistical process control, a form of closed-loop control. That's different from common fault-detection methods that are uni-variant, which means they only can control a few variables, by looking at one variable at a time, measured against pre-set upper and lower process variable limits, according to Dan Hazen, MKS product manager. The limits are adjusted as the process changes. That can result in false alarms. Also, he said,Earn points and challenge your friends to win an thequicksilverscreen! when you optimize one variable, another variable can go out of whack.

Multivariate SPC, on the other hand,Power Dock with cheapaionkinah, and/or wireless broadband modem.you may be climbing over replicawatchesnewyork or through very narrow pathways, does not look at each process variable individually, and is able to determine alarm windows around process variable correlations. Instead, it summarizes multiple signals, and the relationship of the data is just as important as the individual values of the data. For example, the process looks at the relationship of two variables that are coordinated, such as temperature and pressure.

Hazen described a case study MKS ran with Engel, molding a two-part medical hose connector on a 55-ton Engel e-motion press. The multivariate controller was allowed to change 10 different machine settings. The result, he said, was a cycle time reduction of 6 percent.the machine does not use a traditional chinaprojectorlamp. The control was optimized based on changes in material viscosity.

A study at UMass Lowell showed the cycle time could be cut by 9 percent, and dimensional variation was reduced by 33 percent.

Can Technology Rescue the Sprouts Industry?

While scientists are scrambling to pinpoint the cause of the E. coli outbreak linked to bean and seed sprouts in northern Germany, a veteran sprouts system designer believes he has developed the technology that can produce "the perfect sprout."

As of June 20, the outbreak had killed 40 people and sickened 3,598.

According to the company's website, Quicksilver provides state-of the art purification, propagation and processing systems for the largest sprout companies in North America.

Neal thinks the pathogen that caused the E. coli outbreak in Germany likely came in on the seeds, a conjecture that echoes warnings to sprout growers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that seeds are most often the source of most sprout-associated outbreaks.

For that reason,the Injection mold fast! the agency recommends that sprout growers soak the seeds in a strong disinfecting solution, such as 20,000 ppm calcium hypochlorite, before sprouting them.

But Neal, a mechanical systems designer with a focus on disinfection, who describes himself as "a bit of a germophobe," said soaking the seeds in a strong disinfecting solution at the onset just isn't enough because the pathogens can lodge themselves into cracks and crevasses in the seeds.

Those cracks and crevasses, which he said in the microscopic world can be as large as the Grand Canyon, can provide safe harbor for the wily pathogens.

To make things more challenging yet, the seeds have a "somewhat oily surface" that can repel water. As a result, the surface tension on the outside of the seed can prevent the disinfectant from going into the cracks and crevasses in the seeds.

Neal compares that situation to the water that pools into droplets on the surface of a freshly waxed car.

He warns that if a sprout grower only disinfects the seeds at the beginning of the sprouting process, pathogens could still be lurking in the seeds, especially since sprout growers typically soak their seeds in disinfectant for only about an hour.We processes for both low-risk and high risk merchant account.

Neal also said that contrary to what some people in the industry assert, bacteria such as E. coli can not only hide in the microscopic cracks but can also get inside the sprouting seeds through those cracks.

Neal believes that the solution to that dilemma is easy enough: Use a method that sanitizes the seeds as they're sprouting.

"We focus on the first 24 to 36 hours," he said of his method

According to the company's information about its Emerald Purifier/Sprouter, the equipment can get rid of embedded pathogens inside the seed shell by repeatedly flushing the inside of the seed hull with disinfectant solution at the moments it "changes, opens,What to consider before you buy oil painting supplies. 'morphs,' and detaches to release the sprout.

"Bacteria-occupied air cups and pockets are flushed out and disinfected," says the company literature. "Full automatic wash cycles occur as the seed pops open and the microbes become exposed."

"We go in when the seed is changing and by doing that we can get into the seed," Neal said. "The machine persistently and automatically washes the product."

Neal said that if the pathogens aren't caught early on in the process, they can get into the sprouts themselves and that no amount of spray misting a disinfectant onto them can reach every square micron of the sprouts.

"Nipping it in the bud early on in the process is essential," he said, adding that persistent disinfection doesn't erode the nutritional value of the seeds and "is in full accord with the life process of the sprouts."

"It doesn't compromise germination or weaken it," he said.

Looking at another FDA guideline for producing sprouts that involves testing the spent irrigation water that has flowed over the seeds, Neal sees drawbacks. FDA's thinking behind that approach is that if there were any pathogens on the seeds themselves, they would multiply under the warm, moist conditions the seeds are sprouted in. If the testing, which typically occurs 48 hours into the sprouting process, reveals the presence of pathogens, then that batch can be thrown away, thus keeping it out of the marketplace.

But Neal said that as valuable as testing is, sprouting is a "hurry-up" sort of industry when it comes to shipping the fresh sprouts out to customers. For that reason, sometimes the sprouts are sent out before the test results of the spent irrigation water come back.

And even if a test-and-hold approach were adopted, Neal said that if the pathogens are deep inside the seed, the water won't be able to reach them. They could actually be trapped and not be able to get out.

"It's rare, but it could happen," he said.

Then, too, Neal said that even with the safeguards many sprout growers are using, including FDA's guidelines, a sobering fact keeps emerging: "Somehow these pathogens are getting by these sprouters."

"That's why I think upfront methods must be incorporated," he said. "You've got to come in again and again and again to get the pathogens out. You have to be persistent -- more persistent than the microbes. They've got brilliant programming in them to stay alive."

These pathogens can be virulent. According to the FDA,Largest Collection of billabong boardshorts, a single surviving bacterium in a kilogram of seed can be enough to contaminate a whole batch of seeds.

Neal, who says he was called upon by the industry in 1985 to develop a sprout manufacturing package, has focused on modernizing an industry that had previously been more of a "flower-child kind of business."

Fast forward to the present, and Neal says he's probably designed more sprouting equipment "than anyone on the planet."

Back then, immediate questions before him were "How can this problem be solved?" "And where are these pathogens coming from and what's allowing them to proliferate."

When evaluating the potential of his equipment to produce the perfect sprout, Neal said there are no "absolutes in microbiology."

"But if the sprout growers follow our methods and don't cheat, they can virtually eliminate the pathogens," he said.


Organic sprouts

Although the sprout farm in Lower Saxony state in northern Germany that has been indicated as the source of the E. coli-contaminated bean and seed sprouts is described as an organic farm, Mark Kastel, founder of The Cornucopia Institute, said that the problem in Germany is primarily about sprouts, not organic agriculture.The Leading zentai suits Distributor to Independent Pet Retailers.

"People are using the term "organic farm," Kastel said, "when the real elephant in the room -- where the pathogens are originating -- is not being discussed."

He also said that according to recall data, of the 10 sprout recalls in the United States in the past 2.5 years (since April 2009), nine occurred because conventional sprouts tested positive for foodborne pathogens. In other words, 90 percent of the recalls involved conventionally grown sprouts.

German authorities have not yet discovered exactly where the pathogens that contaminated the sprouts from the organic farm linked to the outbreak came from.

Because the potentially fatal forms of E. coli are shed in animal feces, fresh vegetables are generally kept far apart from animals to prevent E. coli contamination.

Although organic and conventional sprouts are generally produced the same way, organic sprouts must be grown from certified organic seeds.

Hyundai's Sonata Offers Style, Class With Value

Hyundai's mid-size Sonata four-door sedan received a makeover for the 2011 selling season and the results are a thing of beauty. This latest incarnation of Hyundai's bread-and-butter, front-wheel-drive machine has the look and feel of cars costing way more than it does.

On the market since springtime of 2010, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata closely resembles cars costing triple its price. With a sloping front end, pronounced straked hood and body side crease, together with its coupe-like sloping roofline, the Sonata sedan has richness to its exterior that belies the value.

Of course, for this Korean carmaker, value is the calling card. Speedily overcoming an initial entry to the American marketplace with inexpensive cars that were built a little too cheaply to survive our daily driving habits, it's taken far longer for the company's reputation to catch up with Hyundai's products, which have been exemplary for at least the last five years.

There are now three stanzas of Sonatas: regular, turbo and hybrid. I've driven two of the three and loved both the standard and turbocharged versions. From the moment I stepped into the driver's seat, each of these cars has felt like an old friend. Materials are excellent throughout the cabin; ergonomics are world-class and the mechanicals of both Hyundai Sonata sedans driven give way to no one.

The Pacific Blue pearl Hyundai Sonata 2.0T has a direct injection (DI), four-cylinder turbocharged engine that produces 274 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, well in excess of the standard 2.4-liter aspirated DI engine that hands over 198 horsepower at 6,300. Torque figures are equally elevated for the turbo: 269 lb-ft at 1,750-4,500 rpm vs. 184 lb-ft at 4,250 rpm. Redline for the turbo driven here is 6,500 rpm.

Both the standard Sonata and 2.0T arrive with a shiftable 6-speed automatic transmission — a manual 6-speed is available only on the base GLS model. The 2.0T has paddle shifters mounted behind the steering wheel that can be used on the fly; the transmission reverts to Drive quickly if it senses little manipulation and yes, it downshifts to first gear on its own.

MacPherson struts up front complement multi-link rear suspension and there's a sway bar at the rear of the sedan. Power rack and pinion steering is excellent with reasonable heft and no on-center dullness. All-wheel ABS-equipped disc brakes feature electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist, working together with electronic stability and traction controls to keep the Sonata sure-footed.

Size of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata in any guise is Goldilocks right: 189.8 inches long, 72.2 inches wide, 57.9 inches tall and riding on a 110-inch wheelbase. Hyundai cites weights ranging from 3,338 to 3,452 pounds for the Sonata 2.0T; with all the extra equipment on this car, I'm sure it swayed toward the latter figure. Hyundai fits Hankook P225/45 rubber to 10-spoke, 18-inch alloy rims that are easy on the eye.