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Water SA
versão On-line ISSN 1816-7950
versão impressa ISSN 0378-4738
Water SA vol.35 no.1 Pretoria Jan. 2009
Adsorptive removal of various phenols from water by South African coal fly ash
JH PotgieterI; SO BadaII; SS Potgieter-VermaakI, III, *
IChemistry and Materials Division, School of Biology, Chemistry and Health Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, All Saints Campus, Oxford Street, Manchester, M15 6GD, UK
IISchool of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X3, Wits, 2050, South Africa
IIIMolecular Science Institute, School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X3, Wits, 2050, South Africa
South African coal fly ash (SACFA) was used to effectively remove phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol from wastewater. The rate of adsorption follows first-order kinetics before attaining equilibrium with the sorption rate (Kad) obtained being the highest for 4-nitrophenol (p-nitrophenol) (7.0 x 103/h), followed by phenol (1.2 x 103/h) and 2-nitrophenol (o-nitrophenol) (1.0 x 103/h). Batch studies were performed to evaluate the adsorption process, and it was found that the Freundlich isotherm effectively fits the experimental data for the adsorbates better than the Langmuir model, with the fly ash having the highest adsorption capacity of 6.51 X 10-2 mg/g for 4-nitrophenol, 6.00 x 10-2 mg/g for 2-nitrophenol and 6.31 x10-2 mg/g for phenol. The fly ash was found to adsorb 90.2% of phenol, 88.9% of 2-nitrophenol and 92.6% of 4-nitrophenol at an initial concentration of 20 mg/ℓ. The desorption studies suggested that the desorption of 4-nitrophenol was the most difficult of the three adsorbates to be desorbed. The desorption efficiency was 17.9% for phenol, 18.8% for 2-nitrophenol and 10.2% for 4-nitrophenol. This work proved that SACFA can be used as an efficient adsorbent material for removal of phenol from water and wastewater.
Keywords: fly ash, phenol, nitrophenols, adsorption-desorption, batch study
Wastewaters containing phenolic compounds are a serious environmental problem, and these waters cannot simply be released into the environment without treatment. The toxic and hazardous nature of phenols and their derivatives have been well documented (Greminger et al., 1982; Brandt et al., 1997; Bülbül et al., 1997; Denizli et al., 2004) and can cause several health problems (Slein and Sansone, 1980). Phenolic compounds have been classified as high-priority pollutants by the USA EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, 1984). Phenolic compounds are usually present in wastewater generated from the paint, solvent, petrochemical, coal conversion, pharmaceutical, plastic, iron-steel and paper and pulp industries.
Several methods are currently used for the removal of phenol and its derivatives from wastewater, e.g. microbial degradation, chemical oxidation, incineration, solvent extraction and irradiation (Munaf et al., 1997; Bertoncini et al., 2003; Khalid et al., 2004; Aksu, 2005; Denizli et al., 2005). However, by far the most frequently used technology is adsorption by a solid phase. Several different adsorbent solids such as activated carbon (Garcia-Araya et al., 2003; Nouri et al., 2002), silica (Hanna et al., 2002), glass powder (Atun, 1992), polymeric resins (Wagner and Schultz, 2001; Abburi, 2003), fly ash (Akgerman and Zardkoohi, 1996; Kao et al., 2000; Sarkar et al., 2005; Sarkar and Acharya, 2006; Srivastava et al., 2006; Viraraghavan and Alfaro, 1998), peat (Allen, 1987; Viraraghavan and Alfaro, 1998), kaolinite (Barhoumi et al., 2003) and zeolites (Koh and Dixon, 2001; Sismanoglu and Pura, 2001) have all been proposed to remove phenolic pollutants from wastewater. Activated carbon is, however, an expensive material, so many of the other alternatives suggested become very attractive from a cost point of view. In this regard fly ash is a very attractive option, because it is cheap, widely available and has good mechanical stability for handling purposes and employment in adsorption columns.
The use of fly ash as a means to remove both inorganic heavy metals (Bayat, 2002; Gangoli et al., 1975) and organic phenolic compounds (Akgerman and Zardkoohi, 1996; Kao et al., 2000; Sarkar et al., 2005; Sarkar and Acharya, 2006; Srivastava et al., 2006; Viraraghavan and Alfaro, 1998) has been reported by several other investigators before. However, the nature of fly ash is influenced by, amongst others, the origin of the coal and the burning conditions under which it was formed. It is therefore not unreasonable to expect South African coal fly ash to behave differently from those in other parts of the world. In fact, a previous study (Potgieter-Vermaak and Potgieter, 2006) confirmed that South African coal fly ash behaved very differently from other fly ashes reported in the literature with regard to the removal and successful uptake of heavy metal ions from contaminated water.
Apart from its heavy metal removal capacity, SACFA has been used previously to treat acid mine drainage (Potgieter-Vermaak et al., 2006), remove phosphates from wastewater (Agyei et al., 2002), as a source of metal oxides (Matjie et al., 2004) and for soil amelioration (Reynolds, 2005). However, no record could be found of its use to alleviate the occurrence of phenols in water. The current study thus investigates the suitability of SACFA to remove phenolic compounds from water. To this end, the kinetics of the adsorption process was investigated, due to the importance of its control of the process efficiency. Furthermore, the applicability of the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms was investigated, in order to understand the mechanism of the adsorption process and establish the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent fly ash. Lastly, the desorption of the phenolic compounds was considered to gauge the efficiency of the process. This study will add to the current knowledge of the characteristics and behaviour of South African fly ash, and its suitability as a potential adsorbent in various applications.
Experimental procedure
Adsorbate material
The composition of the synthetically prepared aqueous solutions used in this study was similar to that generated by the petrochemical, coal conversion and phenol producing industries. The stock solution was prepared by diluting the required quantities of phenol, 2- nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol of AnalR grade supplied by Merck Chemical Ltd., South Africa, in the same volume of distilled water to obtain adsorbate solutions of various initial concentrations (Co) in the range of 10 mg/ℓ to 30 mg/ℓ. The pH value for the aqueous solution of phenol, 2- nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol (10 mg/ℓ to 30 mg/ℓ) was adjusted with either dilute HCl or NaOH solutions to a constant value. All the pH measurements were done with a pH meter (827 pH Lab, Metrohm). Each flask was capped and inverted 3 times to mix the contents thoroughly and then allowed to stabilise for 10 to 15 min in the Pyrex conical flask until isotherm experiments for batch studies were performed.
Adsorbent material
Fly ash is the fine powdery residue obtained by separating the solids from the flue gases during the combustion of coal. The fly ash utilised in this investigation was an unclassified grade obtained from Lethabo Power Station in South Africa and collected using an electrostatic precipitator. The physico-chemical characteristics of the material were determined using standard procedures, and are summarised in Table 1.
Instrumental methods
The particle sizes of the samples were measured using a laser based particle size analyser, namely a Mastersizer (2000) of Malvern Instruments Ltd. The surface areas of samples were determined by N2 adsorption at -196 ºC using a TriStat 3000 analyser (Micromeritics Instrument Corp). All samples were degassed at 200ºC for 4 h, prior to adsorption experiments.
Major element concentrations within the fly ash were determined by X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy, using a Magi //X Pro XRF spectrometer from PANalytical. The sample was placed in an aluminium cup and hydraulically pressed into pellets under very high pressure of 20 t for 60 s. This was done to ensure sample integrity under the vacuum and a consistent surface to receive the X-rays. Quantitative analysis was carried out with the Magi //X Pro XRF spectrometer at 40 kV and 40 mA, using IQ+ 'Standardless' analysis.
The phases and qualitative analyses of the minerals within the fly ash were carried out using a X //Pert PRO Diffractometer by PANanalytical, operated at 40 kV and 40 mA for 1 h over the range of 2q from 0° to 80°. A Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) (model Jeol JSM840) was used to identify the minerals' morphology present in the fly ash.
The concentration changes of the individual compounds in the solutions were determined by means of UV-VIS spectrophotometry (SQ-4802 Double Beam). The maximum absorbances for each solute from the highest standard solution prepared were found using scanning spectrophotometry at the respective wavelength maxima λmax . The λmax used were 269 nm, 277.5 nm and 320.5 nm for phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol respectively. The calibration plot of absorbance vs. concentration for all the standards showed a linear working range up to 30 mg/ℓ with correlation coefficient > 0.99. The supernatant solutions obtained after adsorption were also analysed using the same wavelengths.
Adsorption kinetics
Kinetic tests using a mixture of phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4- nitrophenol were performed in a batch fashion. The initial solutes mix was analysed to determine the initial concentration of the solutes before mixing with the fly ash. For each adsorption data point, a 30 mℓ aliquot of the adsorbate solution having an initial phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol concentration of 20 mg/ℓ, constant fly ash loading of 20 g at temperature of 307 K were introduced into a series of 250 mℓ Pyrex conical flasks for different contact times and at a pH of about 3.12. The conical flasks were placed and shaken in a Labcon platform shaking incubator (Model FSIM-SPO16) where the last sample was collected after 360 min of contact time and at a constant stirring speed of 300 rpm. The samples were covered throughout the experiment and the supernatant solution filtered through Whatman micro-fibre filters of 0.45 µm to determine the concentration of each solute left after the different time intervals of agitation. Data obtained from these tests were used in determining the rate constant for adsorption using the Lagergren model. The equilibrium adsorption studies at 307 K were conducted by contacting initial phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol concentrations of 20 mg/ℓ with varying quantities of fly ash (5 to 35) g in a series of 250 mℓ Pyrex conical flasks at a pH of 3.12 ± 0.10. The flasks were shaken in a Labcon platform shaking incubator (Model FSIM-SPO16) to attain equilibrium after about 22 h of contact time and at a constant stirring speed of 300 r/min. This follows a similar approach by Gupta et al. (1998) who used an equilibrium adsorption time of 24 h in their investigation of phenol and 4-nitrophenol adsorption onto bagasse fly ash.
The second phase of the study dealt with the determination of the desorbabilities or reversibility of phenolic compounds adsorbed onto the fly ash. The kinetic tests were carried out in 250 mℓ Pyrex conical flasks by contacting a previously loaded set of fly ash/adsorbates with 30 mℓ of water for different time intervals at a temperature of 307 K and shaking it at 300 r/min to complete desorption equilibrium. After equilibrium the concentrations left were analysed as before.
Data obtained from the adsorption isotherm tests were used to determine the adsorption capacity of the fly ash. The equilibrium adsorption uptake and percentage removal of phenol from the aqueous solution qe (mg/g) was determined using the following relationship:
C0 is the initial sorbate concentration (mg/ℓ)
Ce the equilibrium sorbate concentration (mg/ℓ)
V is the volume of solution (ℓ)
wis the mass of the adsorbent (g)
A series of desorption tests were used to determined the concentration of the desorbed phenol in the supernatant. Each desorption test was continued until a constant value of the desorbed phenol compound was reached in the supernatant. Desorption efficiencies for each of the adsorbates was calculated after each consecutive desorption step, using the following equation:
Xa was the initial adsorbate loading on the fly ash (mg)
Xde is the mass of adsorbate desorbed after each ith desorption step (mg)
W is the weight of fly ash used in each desorption test (g)\
The total desorption of each phenol derivative was calculated using the formula:
Cde is the desorbed adsorbate concentration (mg/ℓ)
Vde the volume of the desorption solution (ℓ)
Wa the mass of pre-adsorbed adsorbent (g)
qe is the amount of adsorbate pre-adsorbed on adsorbent (mg/g)
Results and discussion
Characterisation of adsorbents
The N2 adsorption gave the specific surface area (SBET) and pore volume for the fly ash used in this analysis as 1.279 m2/g and 0.001437 cm3/g, respectively. These results are comparable with those reported by Viraraghavan and Alfaro (1998) where the specific surface area (SSA) of the fly ash they used in adsorbing phenol from wastewater was within the range of 1.5 to 1.7 m2/g, and which had an adsorption capacity for phenol in the range of 0.015 to 0.100 mg of phenol per gram of adsorbent. However, the SSA was in contrast with the result reported by Kao et al. (2000), who found that the SSA of fly ash usually ranges from 5 to 42 m2/g. The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of the fly ash used in this investigation is given in Table 1. The particle size of the fly ash used for the current experiments is also shown in Table 1.
XRD analysis
The identification of the mineralogical constituents and phase proportions of fly ash was conducted by X-Ray diffractometer (XRD) on a model Philips PW 1830 X-ray diffractometer with a Cu-anode and X //Pert PRO Diffractometer by PANanalytical, and is given in Fig. 1.
It can be observed from Fig. 1 that the fly ash consists mostly of mullite, quartz, a small amount of hematite and calcium oxide with large characteristic peaks of quartz (SiO2). This composition is similar to that reported for a fly ash investigated by Sarkar et al. (2006). The intensity of quartz is very strong with mullite forming a chemically stable and dense glassy surface layer. The low calcium oxide intensity is characteristic of low-Ca Class-F fly ash and similar to that reported by Giere et al. (2003).
SEM analysis
The investigation reveals that most of the particles present in the fly ash are spherical in shape with a relatively smooth surface. Figure 2 shows sub-angular and spherical particles with relatively smooth grains consisting of quartz, while Fig. 3 shows clusters of iron (Fe-oxide) particles formed due to partial decomposition of pyrite and with dark quartz inclusions. Similar results were obtained from the investigation conducted by Matjie et al. (2004) on Sasol ashes.
Adsorption time
Figure 4 represents the results for the effect of contact time on the removal of phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol from aqueous solution at an initial concentration of 20 mg/ℓ.
It can be seen that the amount of all the adsorbates adsorbed onto fly ash increases with time and about 75.4%, 73.2% and 84.8% of phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol had been removed within the first 15 min of agitation, respectively, after which the process approaches equilibrium. The time profile for the adsorbates is a single, smooth, and continuous curve leading to saturation, which suggests possible monolayer coverage of the adsorbates on the surface of the fly ash. The adsorption capacity (Qt), as illustrated in Fig. 5, generally increases with increase in contact time, and the adsorption equilibrium reached values as high as 2.60 x 10-2 mg/g, 2.33 x 10-2 mg/g, and 2.23 x 10-2 mg/g for 4-nitrophenol, phenol and 2-nitrophenol respectively after 360 min of agitation. Further increases in adsorption capacity after the first 360 min of contact time, will be dependent on the creation of some fresh internal surfaces (Giles et al., 1974). 4-nitrophenol was found to adsorb more than phenol, probably due to its lower solubility in aqueous solution and because the more non-polar an organic compound, the less its affinity for solvent and the higher its adsorption affinity by the adsorbent (Cooney, 1999). The adsorption capacity for phenol was found to be slightly higher than that of 2-nitrophenol and this shows that solubility is not the all-important parameter in this phenomenon. The difference in adsorption behaviour of phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol might also be due to the different affinities of the three phenolic species for the reactive functional groups on the fly ash. Apart from hydrophobic interaction, Van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding interaction can also play a role in this regard (Senel et al., 2006). Denizli et al. (2002) reported that the adsorption capacity for phenol and 4-nitrophenol on micro-beads were found to be greater than that of 2-nitrophenol.
Dynamic adsorption
The data from the kinetic adsorption of phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol with fly ash were modelled using the pseudo first-order Lagergren equation. The Lagergren equation is one of the most widely used for the adsorption of solute from a liquid solution. It can be written as:
kad is the rate constant of pseudo-first-order adsorption (min-1)
qe and q denote the amounts of adsorbed phenol (or derivatives) at equilibrium and at time t (min)
A plot of log(qe q) vs. time should give a straight line to confirm the applicability of the kinetic model, and a derivation of the constant. Figure 6 shows a plot of log(qe qt) vs. t for the phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol adsorption at a concentration of 20 mg/ℓ.
The data depicted in Fig. 6 show that a first order reaction rate expression was obeyed to a reasonable degree, and the value of Kad for the adsorption of the various adsorbates onto the fly ash was found to be 1.15 x 103/h for phenol, 1.0 x 103/h for 2-nitrophenol and 6.32 x 103/h for 4-nitrophenol.
Adsorption mechanisms
The adsorption equilibrium was described using both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms model. The rearranged Langmuir isotherm can be described as:
b is an adsorption equilibrium constant related to the binding energy
The Langmuir adsorption isotherm is based on the concept that solid surfaces have finite adsorption sites. When all the adsorption sites are filled, the surface will no longer be able to adsorb solute from the solution. The maximum amount of solute (Qm) adsorbed in a particular system can be estimated from the isotherm parameters. The plot of 1/Q vs. should yield a straight line. The slope is and the intercept is .
The Freundlich adsorption isotherm can be written in the form:
The Freundlich isotherm predicts that the adsorbate concentration on the surface of an adsorbent will increase when there is an increase in the initial adsorbate concentration in the aqueous solution. The experimental data obtained are plotted as log Qe versus log Ce , to obtain the constants Kf and 1/n. The constant Kf is a comparative measure of the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent, while n is an empirical constant. The magnitude of n gives an indication of the favourability of adsorbent/adsorbate system. Values of n >1 signify that the solute has a low affinity for the adsorbent at low concentrations. Likewise, a value of n < 1 is an indication of favourable adsorption and a high affinity between the solute and the solid phase.
The Freundlich (Kf and 1/n) and Langmuir constants (b and Qm ) determined from the adsorption isotherms for phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol depicted in Figs. 7 and 8 are summarised in Table 2.
The correlation coefficient values determined for each of the adsorption isotherms indicates that the Freundlich model effectively fits the experimental data better than the Langmuir model. The value for n was found to be greater than 1 for the fly ash, which suggested unfavourable uptake of the adsorbates by the fly ash. The adsorption capacity for phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol at the maximum residual concentration was calculated using the Freundlich constants (Kf and 1/n) at an initial concentration of 20 mg/ℓ for all the adsorbates and the values obtained were 5.79 x 10-2 mg/g, 5.47 x 10-2 mg/g and 6.33 x 10-2 mg/g for phenol, 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol, respectively. The adsorption capacity for the adsorbates when applying the Langmuir constant under the same conditions and at the maximum residual concentration were found to be 4.37 x 10-2 mg/g, 4.76 x 10-2 mg/g and 5.62 x 10-2 mg/g. The Kf value determined for fly ash on the adsorption of phenol from the solution was found to be higher than that of 2-nitrophenol and lower when compared to 4-nitrophenol within the same concentration ranges studied.
The higher adsorption affinity of fly ash for 4-nitrophenol was expected due to its lower solubility in water than phenol. 4-nitrophenol is moderately soluble in cold water and denser than water (1.52 g/100 mℓ), while the solubility of 2-nitrophenol in water is (0.26 g/100 mℓ) and phenol is (8.3 g/100 mℓ) under the same condition (273 K). Both 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol have the same molecular weight, and therefore it seems that solubility is not the overriding factor for this test when considering the higher amount of 4-nitrophenol adsorbed onto fly ash compared to 2-nitrophenol. The result is in agreement with the findings of Denizli et al. (2002) where more 4-nitrophenol was found to adsorb onto micro-beads than 2-nitrophenol.
The adsorption capacity of the adsorbent used in this investigation was found to be lower than that of many other fly ashes and activated carbons. The main reason could be the high surface area of activated carbon, which is usually in the range of 500 to 1 500 m2/g (Yin et al., 2007). In addition, the surface area of the fly ash and activated carbon reported by Srivastava et al. (2006) for the uptake of phenol were 168.39 m2/g and 336.60 m2/g respectively.
The adsorption results from this study were compared to those previously found by other authors in Table 3. The value of Kf was found to be significantly higher for the phenol-SACFA system in comparison to phenol-rice husk and phenol-coke breeze described by Mahvi et al. (2004). Also, the constant Kf value obtained for this system was in contrast to the result reported by Viraraghavan and Alfaro (1998) for phenol-bentonite and phenol-peat systems. The adsorption capacity for phenol varies widely among the different adsorbents, thus again underlining the necessity and importance to characterise and investigate each adsorbent intended for pilot or plant use.
The nature and composition of fly ashes are influenced by the coal origin and the existing burning conditions under which it were formed. Therefore, it is to be expected that these ashes should have different adsorption capacities for the uptake of adsorbates. The adsorption capacity for the fly ash used by Sarkar et al. (2005) was found to be much higher than the fly ash used in this investigation. Furthermore, the result was also in contrast with the findings of Ahmaruzzaman and Sharma (2005) and this is due to the fact that the coal ash used in their investigation had a higher specific surface area within the range of 96.44 and 312.56 m2/g. The South African fly ash used in this work had an SSA of 1.279 m2/g and pore volume of 0.001437 cm3/g, which seems to perform almost equally compare to the rubber activated carbon with SSA of 596 m2/g used for adsorbing phenol by Rengaraj et al. (2002b).
Desorption studies
The adsorption-desorption efficiencies shown in Fig. 9 and summarised in Table 4 reveal that the desorption of 4-nitrophenol from the fly ash was more difficult than 2-nitrophenol, and its adsorption was more irreversible than that of phenol and 2-nitrophenol on the adsorbent. The irreversibility of adsorption in this case could possibly be due to high-energy bonding to specific functional groups on the surface of the fly ash that might have resulted in a degree of chemisorption. This work shows that 4-nitrophenol was adsorbed with a higher adsorption efficiency of 92.6% compared to both phenol 90.2% and 2-nitrophenol 88.9%. The desorption efficiency for 2-nitrophenol was 18.8% when using 30 mℓ of distilled water to desorbed phenol from fly ash. Hence, from the initial concentration of 20 mg/ℓ of the adsorbates, 20 g of fly ash adsorbed 16.45 mg/ℓ of phenol, 16.01 mg/ℓ of 2-nitrophenol and 18.13 mg/ℓ of 4-nitrophenol from the solution. The concentrations for the 3 adsorbates released after replacing the supernatant solution with distilled water for the desorption test were 3.00 mg/ℓ for phenol, 3.04 mg/ℓ for 2-nitrophenol and 1.92 mg/ℓ for 4-nitrophenol.
The following conclusions can be drawn from this investigation:
- The adsorption process obeys first-order kinetics. The Freundlich isotherm fits and describes the adsorption mechanism better than the Langmuir one for all three phenol derivatives. The Freundlich constant (n) indicates that the affinity of the adsorbent for the adsorbates is not particularly favourable or strong.
- The values of the adsorption capacity, as well as the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm constants, which were obtained in this work, are comparable to those of some other adsorption systems, but different. This once again emphasises the necessity to investigate and characterise each system individually before attempting any pilot plant or full-scale design for implementation. Desorption occurs to a much lesser extent than adsorption, thus implying that the fly ash investigated in this work could be employed to remove and retain a substantial amount of phenols from solution. This work proved that SACFA have all the necessary adsorption attributes and characteristics to warrant serious consideration for potential application in wastewater treatment applications.
The authors wish to thank Ash Resources (Pty) Ltd for supplying the fly ash used in this investigation. The University of the Witwatersrand is acknowledged for partial financial support and the use of their facilities.
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MUNAF E, ZEIN R, KURNIADI R and KURNIADI I (1997) The use of rice husk for removal of phenol from waste water as studied using 4-aminoantipyrine spectrophotometric method. Environ. Technol. 18 (3) 355-358. [ Links ]
NOURI S, HAGHSERESHT F and MAX LU GQ (2002) Comparison of adsorption capacity of p-Cresol and p-Nitrophenol by activated carbon in single and double solute. Adsorption 8 (3) 215-223. [ Links ]
POTGIETER JH and POTGIETER-VERMAAK SS (2006) A comparison of the adsorption of heavy metals from multicomponent solutions onto industrial clay and fly ash. Proc. Int. Conf. Coal Ash. 2-4 October 2006, Pretoria, South Africa. [ Links ]
POTGIETER-VERMAAK SS, POTGIETER JH, VAN GRIEKEN R and MONAMA PP (2006) Comparison of limestone, dolomite and fly ash as pre-treatment agents for acid mine drainage. Miner. Eng. 19 454-462. [ Links ]
RAVI PV, JASRA RV and BHAT RSG (1998) Adsorption of phenol, cresol isomers and benzyl alcohol from aqueous solution on activated carbon at 278, 298 and 323 K. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 71 173-179. [ Links ]
RENGARAJ S, MOON SH, SIVABALAN R, ARABINDOO B and MURUGESAN V (2002b) Removal of phenol from aqueous solution and resin manufacturing industry wastewater using an agricultural waste: rubber seed coat. J. Hazard. Mater. B 89 185-196. [ Links ]
REYNOLDS K (2005) The utilization of ash wall for the control and treatment of acid mine drainage. World of Coal Ash Conference. Lexington, Kentucky, April11-25, 2005, USA. [ Links ]
SARKAR M, ACHARYA KP and BHATTACHARYA B (2005) Removal characteristics of some priority organic pollutants from water in a fixed bed fly ash column. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 80 1349-1355. [ Links ]
SARKAR M and ACHARYA KP (2006) Use of fly ash for the removal of phenol and its analogues from contaminated water. Waste Manage. 26 559-570. [ Links ]
SARKAR A, BASSU AK, UDAYBHANU G and RANO R (2006) A comprehensive characterization of fly ash from a thermal power plant in Eastern India. Fuel. 87 259-277. [ Links ]
SENEL S, KARA A, ALSANCAK G and DENIZLI A (2006) Removal of phenols and chlorophenol from water with reuseable dye-affinity hollow fibres. J. Hazard. Mater. 138 (2) 317-324. [ Links ]
SHU HT, LI D, SCALA AA and YI HM (1997) Adsorption of small organic pollutants from aqueous streams by aluminosilicate-based microporous materials. Sep. Purif. Technol. 11 27-36. [ Links ]
SISMANOGLU T and PURA S, (2001) Adsorption of aqueous nitrophenols on clinoptilolite. Colloids Surf. A. 180 1-2. [ Links ]
SLEIN MW and SANSONE EB (1980) Degradation of Chemical Carcinogens. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, USA. [ Links ]
SRIVASTAVA VC, SWAMY MM, MALL ID, PRASAD B and MISHRA IM (2006) Adsorptive removal of phenol by bagasse fly ash and activated carbon: Equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics. Colloids Surf. A. 272 89-104. [ Links ]
VIRARAGHAVAN T and ALFARO F (1998) Adsorption of phenol from wastewater by peat, fly ash and bentonite. J. Hazard. Mater.57 59-70. [ Links ]
WAGNER K and SCHULTZ S (2001) Adsorption of phenol, chlorophenols, and dihydroxybenzens onto unfunctionalized polymeric resins at temperatures from 294.15 K to 318.15 K. J. Chem. Eng. Data. 46 322-330. [ Links ]
WU J and YU HQ (2006) Biosorption of 2, 4-dichlorphenol from aqueous solution by Phanerochaete chrysosporium biomass: Isotherms, Kinetics and thermodynamics. J. Hazard. Mater. B 137 498-508. [ Links ]
YIN YC, AROUA MK and WAN DAUD WM (2007) Review of modifications of activated carbon for enhancing contaminant uptakes from aqueous solutions. Sep. Purif. Technol. 52 403-415. [ Links ]
Received 15 October 2008; accepted in revised form 25 November 2008.
* To whom all correspondence should be addressed
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text:
Selling stock photos is a great way to earn extra income from your photography hobby. However, with a bit of practice and some tips from the pros, you can elevate your stock photos to the next level and get your pictures and images featured in advertising, web, and print.
1. Maximize Your Camera's Capabilities
Set the camera's resolution to the highest setting your camera will allow. Higher resolutions allow you to take pictures with finer detail and more vibrant colors. It also makes your photos more usable by designers and producers who need your photos to look great in digital formats and HD. High resolution photos are easier to edit and crop. If your camera's resolution are limited, consider upgrading to a new camera. High resolution photos take up more disk space, so get a nice sized memory card, and possibly an external hard drive to store your shots.
2. Compose Your Shots With The End User In Mind
Snapping photos haphazardly might give you a nice bump in quantity, but quality is what sells when it comes to stock photography. Keep your end user in mind when dreaming up shots. Think of how your photo might be used. Consider the angle that's not only interesting to the eye, but pleasing and usable from a print or advertising perspective. Often times, you'll need lots of negative space for copy.
Use classical photography techniques to frame your shot. Use the rule of thirds to space out primary interest and focal points. Imagine your final image split into even thirds, and your primary subjects should sit on those lines. Try to avoid splitting the image in half with horizons, solid lines, and people. Keep your backgrounds simple and clutter-free so that the audience can focus on your subject matter. But remember, every situation is different, and sometimes a great photo will break these rules of thumb.
3. Get Close
Unless it's a scenic shot, fill the entire frame with your subject. Photos taken from a distance look amateurish and cluttered. Simplicity is better in stock photography, especially because end-users want the photos they purchase to portray a single theme or subject. Put on that high powered zoom lens, and get as close as possible. You can use high resolution settings if you don't have a zoom lens, as you can always crop a bit later. And remember, focus, focus, focus. No one wants a blurry photo.
4. Don't add borders or Instagram-like effects.
Just don't. Make your photos look clean and clear. Let the designers and producers affect the photo later if they want. Frames and cartoonifying a shot makes your photo look cheap, and niche, limiting its usability.
5. Be Stingy With the Flash
Take photos in outdoor, natural lighting first. Using flash in poorly lit locations can cause ugly reflections and other undesirable shadows, not to mention red eyes and pale faces. You can avoid using a flash with a slower shutter speed (just be sure to keep it steady), or with a higher ISO speed. That doesn't mean never use a flash. Flash is great for eliminating shadows, especially in bright light situations that leave shadows in unsightly places (like under eyes, or in corners).
Check out this great video on taking better photos — and remember, practice makes perfect!
View How to Take Great Photographs on Howcast

subset: commoncrawl


text:
It was the night that Oscar looked back to its future.
The Artist, a (mostly) silent movie, made in Los Angeles by French director Michel Hazanavicius - a film that pays tribute to the era before talking pictures - on Sunday became the first silent to win the Best Picture Oscar since the first Oscars in 1929. It is also the first black-and-white movie to win since Schindler's List in 1993.
In all, it won five Oscars, tying it with Hugo, a 3-D family film that also hearkens back to an earlier era of silent movies - the Dickensian story of an abandoned orphan that becomes director Martin Scorsese's plea for film.
Related: Oscar dresses, best/worst moments
The Artist's French star, Jean Dujardin, won the Best Actor award for his (mostly) silent portrayal of George Valentin, a fictional silent film star whose career is ended by the advent of talkies. He has to fight back into the limelight with the help of a rising starlet, and also his faithful Jack Russell terrier, Uggie.
"I love your country," Dujardin said, nearly three hours into the Oscar broadcast. "In 1929, it wasn't Billy Crystal, but Douglas Fairbanks who hosted the first Oscar ceremony. Tickets cost $5 and it lasted 15 minutes. Times have changed."
Hazanavicius, who won the Best Director Oscar, thanked everyone, from the crew to Uggie, although he acknowledged that the dog probably didn't understand what he was saying because "he's not that good."
He also thanked the movie itself: "Its life is full of grace and it brings to us joy and happiness, and sometimes life is wonderful, and today is one of those days."
Meryl Streep was named Best Actress for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. It was her third Oscar in a record-setting 17 nominations.
"When they called my name, I had a feeling I could hear half of America going, 'Oh no'", she said. Later, thanking her actor friends, she said, "I really understand I'll never be up here again."
Canadian icon, Christopher Plummer, 82, became the oldest-ever Oscar winner when he was named Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a gay man who comes out of the closet after the death of his wife in the film, Beginners.
"You're only two years older than me, darling," he said to the 84-year-old Oscar. "Where have you been all my life?" It is Plummer's first-ever Academy Award.
It wasn't all glory for Canada, though. The Iranian film, A Separation, which looks at the tragedies that result when a couple applies for a divorce, won the Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film, defeating Canada's entry, the Quebec drama, Monsieur Lazhar. (In Darkness, another nominee, is a Polish-Canadian co-production.)
Asghar Farhadi, director of A Separation, gave an acceptance speech that hinted at the problems - "tug of war, intimidation and aggressions exchanged between politicians" - between Iran and much of the Western world.
"I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, the people who respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment," he said.
Octavia Spencer, who stole scenes as the sassy maid in the civil-rights drama, The Help, was named Best Supporting Actress. Spencer, who had been favoured to win, gave a tearful speech, in which she thanked everyone, from her family in Alabama to the entire state of Alabama.
The absent Woody Allen won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Midnight in Paris, a comic fantasy about a man who goes back in time to the golden age of France - another story that basked in the glow of nostalgia for an earlier culture. The Descendants, the George Clooney movie about a man whose unfaithful wife is in a coma, won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Rango, about a chameleon that becomes a gunfighter in the Old West, was named best Animated Feature Film.
Undefeated, the story of an underdog football team, was named Best Feature Documentary while Saving Face, about acid attacks on women in Pakistan, was Best Documentary Short Subject.
The Iron Lady - which took Streep's Thatcher from middle to old age - won the Oscar for best makeup. In a field of just two nominees, Man or Muppet, the song from The Muppets, was named Best Original Song.
Two movies from the National Film Board, Dimanche and Wild Life, had been nominated as Best Animated Short Film. They are the 71st and 72nd movies from the NFB to be nominated, and the first double nomination in the same category in its history. However, the award went to the American film, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.
The Irish film The Shore was named best Live Action Short.
In the early technical awards, it looked as if Hugo, cast as the (ital)other(unital) movie about movies, was going to eclipse The Artist. Scorsese's film won Oscars for visual effects, art direction, the cinematography of Robert Richardson, and both sound editing and sound mixing, while The Artist won just two, for Mark Bridges' costume design and Ludovic Bource's score.
The Artist and Hugo are part of the reason that this year's awards, more than any in memory, have inspired anxious soul-searching among Oscar-watchers about what it all means. The consensus is that Hollywood is on the cusp of great changes - toward digital cinema, 3-D, and, increasingly, films that resemble video games - and that this year's Academy Awards are the industry's way of looking fondly back to a golden era.
The Artist, which was the front-runner for a Best Picture Oscar, was universally regarded as "charming," but dismissed by some critics as a condescending pastiche of tropes that leaves out the ferocity, the edge, and, ironically, the "art" of the real thing. Critics questioned if a movie that is merely entertaining, even joyful, is worthy of being named the best of the year, even though the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences enlarged its list of nominees specifically to include such films. In previous years, it was the movies that didn't stoop to mere entertainment, let alone joy - films such as the 2004 drama, Crash - that have gone home with the hardware.
The nostalgia of many of the Best Picture nominees also raises the question of age: A Los Angeles Times survey found that the 5,765 voting members of the academy were overwhelmingly old white men, with a median age of 62. Even the evening's host, Billy Crystal, is a 63-year-old veteran: In his opening routine, which elaborately placed him into many of the nominated movies, Justin Bieber popped up to say, "I'm here to give you the 18-to-24 demographic."
Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
"The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
"Saving Face" Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
"The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
"Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
"The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"The Artist" Ludovic Bource
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
"Hugo" Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
"Rango" Gore Verbinski
"Undefeated" TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas
"Hugo" Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
"Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Octavia Spencer in "The Help"
"A Separation" Iran
"The Iron Lady" Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
"The Artist" Mark Bridges
"Hugo" Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Hugo" Robert Richardson


text:
What a glorious day! My first three days here have been amazing; mid twenties, no shortage of sun and not a breath of wind. The last two days have been spent exploring the area south of Geleen in the very most southern part of the Netherlands. This area is where the Amstel Gold Race is held every year and to put it in the most basic terms, there are 50 climbs (between say 1k to 3k) within a 30-40km radius and to get in some solid riding you can simply create a plethora of different loops over different bergs until your heart's content.
Yesterday we started out coming through Valkenburg and straight up the Cauberg which is the finish for Amstel, it's so cool riding up this hill with all the painting (Schleck, Boogerd, Evans etc) half faded on the road, and the finish line is at the top year round so there's no shortage of half wheeling going up the climb. The day before yesterday I had recently Pez'd fellow anglophone, James Spragg, play tour guide and show me round a bunch of different locations; all adorned with the suffix 'berg'. Good to know that my new training ground, despite being in Holland, is anything but flat. Now for some pictures...
Brad and Loh enjoying the sun
I am also enjoying the sun
Enjoying the green surroundings
Enjoying the Dutch bike path systems
Enjoying the car free centre of Geleen
Definitely enjoying finding an asian grocery store in Geleen (yes I am as shocked as you!). Then compounding that enjoyment with the fact that they had fresh rolled sticky rice parcels filled with minced turmeric chicken. Yes, there was a lot of enjoyment on my behalf.
I can survive a month without food but 3 days without Fish sauce and I am in serious trouble.


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Food & Drink
How to get what you want while traveling
By Travel + Leisure Staff • Updated 3rd December 2013
View Gallery
6 Pictures
Any traveler knows that sinking feeling of boarding a plane only to get stuck with a less-than-desirable seatmate: someone who hogs that narrow, coveted armrest or brings an oversized duffel that encroaches on your legroom.
If you've ever resorted to a passive-aggressive nudge or, on the contrary, suffered through hours of transatlantic claustrophobia, you have experienced firsthand what not to do in this scenario.
It's just one of the possible frustrations that you might encounter when you leave home. But how you react can make all the difference, whether you're dealing with that seatmate, a reckless taxi driver or a bad case of food poisoning.
What do you get for $60,000 a night?
Knowing the dos and don'ts of travel etiquette will help you go from an amateur to a sophisticated globetrotter. You'll feel empowered to haggle at a market abroad and be informed about what to do if you get hotel bill shock.
So before you wave your napkin to an inattentive waiter as a white flag of surrender, brush up on your etiquette with these strategic travel tips.
Travel + Leisure: See more travel etiquette dos and don'ts
How to deal with hotel bill shock
...heed the warnings. If the hotel informed you of resort fees and the like, you share some of the blame.
...play up your loyalty. Point out that you are a member of the hotel's program, or a repeat customer.
...accept responsibility for fees buried in fine print. They should be clearly presented to guests.
...be afraid to stand your ground. If the front desk can't help, ask for the general manager or guest services director.
How to cope with a reckless taxi driver
...pay the fare. Your receipt may be helpful in reporting the driver. Tipping, however, is optional.
...record the medallion or car number. Local authorities rely on passenger feedback to keep unsafe drivers off the streets.
...yell. Your driver is a professional. Phrase your complaint as a personal preference -- not an attack.
...stay in a cab if you feel unsafe. If your driver doesn't respond to feedback, ask him to pull over and then find another ride.
America's best family hotels
How to cope with noisy hotel neighbors
...call the manager on duty. He can dispatch security. He'll also know when your rowdy floor mates are checking out.
...ask for earplugs. Most hotels expect some type of noise pollution, be it from tropical birds, traffic or a wailing toddler.
Travel + Leisure: How to pack a suitcase
...take matters into your own hands. You want the hotel to be involved early on in case the culprit is uncooperative.
...demand that other guests move for your sake. If you want a quieter space, expect to switch rooms yourself.
How to cope with a space-hogging seatmate
...assert your territory early on: claim your overhead and under-seat space, and put the armrests down.
...be sensitive about passengers of size. Alert your flight attendant discreetly; you may be able to switch seats.
...resort to dirty looks, or subtle little pushes. Being passive-aggressive only escalates the problem.
...be greedy. Airplane etiquette says that the middle-seat passenger has rights to both inner armrests.
Affordable hotels in pricey cities
What to do when you order wine you don't like
...speak up. A lot of customers feel intimidated by big wine lists and sommeliers, but it's okay to trust your palate.
...snap a photo of the label and add it to an album of wines you've loved or loathed; use it to guide you on future selections.
...judge too early. As the wine opens up, you might change your mind.
...suffer through a poor choice. The sommelier's goal is for you to be happy with your selection.
How to cope with an aggressive masseuse
...lay down the law before the lights dim. Share your preferences, and if you're ticklish or injured.
...use body language. Raising your hand or finger tells your therapist to pause, and is less awkward than breaking the silence.
...leave things to chance. When booking, request a therapist with a lighter touch, or specify a gender.
...be vague. Using a 1-10 scale will ensure the right pressure, e.g., 6 (moderate) rather than 9 (very intense).
How to cope with an overzealous tour member
...book trips where multiple guides are present at all times. One is there to handle special situations just like this.
...talk to your guide, not to the traveler in question. Guides are trained to handle a variety of personalities.
...isolate the individual. That will only make him more likely to further monopolize your guide's attention.
...be too quick to judge. As the group dynamic shakes out, needy travelers tend to settle down.
Travel + Leisure: America's best and worst airports for delays
How to deal with food poisoning while traveling
...ask the local pharmacist for a loperamide-based drug (like Imodium), to prevent dehydration.
...seek medical attention if you experience signs of dehydration, such as dizziness or dry mouth.
...jump back to solid food. Start with electrolyte-fortified liquids (coconut water), then move on to rice and bananas.
...kiss your entire vacation good-bye. Food poisoning usually subsides within two to four days.
How to make a tight flight connection
...ask to be moved closer to the front of the cabin just before landing, so you can make a quick exit.
...run straight to the gate for your connection -- even if it's past your departure time.
...despair. A flight won't wait for one passenger, but system-wide delays might result in a lucky break.
...book tight connections through large airports. Anything less than a 90-minute window is unrealistic.
What to do when you've accidentally damaged your hotel room
...assess the mess. One that only requires cleanup costs less than one that calls for replacing broken furniture and fixtures.
...fess up. The hotel will find out regardless -- and you'll want to be there to plead your case.
...fret if the damage is small and unintentional. Hotels will often let you go without penalty.
...assume you can walk away scot-free. If the damage is major, you could be responsible for repairs and lost revenue.
See all travel etiquette dos and don'ts
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text:
The 2 1/2-year-old Dutch shepherd, named Dinar, was selected from among four dogs that were brought in by Vigilant Canine Services International.
The Ionia County Sheriff's Office K-9 unit will be joined by a new dog this month.
The 2 1/2-year-old Dutch shepherd, named Dinar, was selected from among four dogs that were brought in by Vigilant Canine Services International.
Dinar will replace Kramer, the sheriff's office's current canine, who will retire once Dinar is road-ready. Deputy Dion Sower, Kramer's handler for almost eight years, will work with Dinar, too. Kramer will continue to reside with Sower after retirement.
Dinar has received some training, and is guaranteed by Vigilant Canine Services International in both health and police work performance for five years, said Ionia County Sheriff Dale Miller.
"They run through basic search and subject control, so they're to the point of getting used to a regular handler," Miller said. "Some things they don't teach, because the wording (for certain directions) has to come from the handler."
Sower and Dinar will attend a five-week, 200-hour initial basic handlers course later this month as a team.
Deputy Rick Straubel, who has worked with Kramer while Sower has been on vacation and has trained with the dog, will be available for K-9 duty while Sower and Dinar are in training.
"The new dog will be out after he passes tests and certifications," said Miller. "The dog is very intelligent. He seemed to learn fast and had a ton of energy. I have no doubt they'll make it in five weeks as a team."
The Dutch shepherd resembles the German shepherd but is smaller, Miller said. The smaller-sized dog was recommended, because sometimes the officer has to pick it up to put it through a window or up a ladder.
"It's easier to move the dog from point A to point B," he added.
The Ionia County Board of Commissioners approved the contract with Vigilant Canine Services International to provide the dog to the sheriff's office at its Sept. 24 meeting.
The sheriff's office raised more than $13,000 for the K-9 unit and the purchase of the dog and training.
Contributors included Ionia County Commissioner Jack Shattuck, TRW Automotive in Portland, Michigan One Credit Union, Thomas and Barbara Fagerlin of Belding, students from Belding Elementary School, who sold "puppy chow" as a fundraiser, and the Jessica Nagle-Wilson Charitable Foundation, "who gave two large sums to help us reach our goal," Miller said.
"It takes a community to prevent crime, and these individuals are great examples of that," said Miller. "Their donations allowed us to purchase a tool that will aid us in the detection and prevention of crime."
Follow Karen Bota on Twitter @KarenB_ISS.


text: So far work on the source file lexer has been proceeding nicely... Most of C is fairly straightfoward to parse. So I'm writing the name mangler, I'm just about done it... when I realize I've forgotten about function pointers. I'm not even sure I remember the correct syntax for using a function pointer, or an array of functions pointer... How should I test for a declaration of a function pointer? Where exactly do they go? You have variables, you have functions, you have pointers.. and you have function pointers. It's like a new category of thingies that doesn't exactly fit under any of the other category, and cannot be treated under any of the other rules. Damn. More work :(


text:
$8 $20 You Save 60% ($12)
Very good customer service
Love the leggings but the fabric is quite thin. Have to wear a full pantie under this pair
Well just started i love it and happy with the delay.
Thank you so much.
I like this patch a lot. I bought for my wife and I saw the results in a few weeks and I reordered it 2x and will continue to order.. thanks!
This product has been great can't complain, I've been loosing inches off my waist and get in shape.
Thanks for a great product.
I love it. I have a backache. It helps me when I work. Good material.
Your services are amazing
Hi, i m from indonesia, This smartband, actually, my second order at bodeaz, and i always happy to order here, not only the quality of product but also the services.. I'll order again...
I like it well worth the money
Unexpected; however, pleasantly surprised by the quality & delivery service!
So far i LOVE this product . I just had my baby 5 months ago and this is going to help me get my body back . It makes you sweat a lot in the focus areas while working out ! Thanks :)
Received Smartband very fast. will recommend you to other clients.
I will probably order from Bodeaz again.
Love this suit, the colors are exactly like picture, and the quality is of higher quality, LOVE this suit!
bought a pair for my wife and she loves them.
I love it, it really helps my posture, I have only been using it for a few days so have yet to see if it helps with shaping my waist. But I am looking forward to seeing results.
I wore it all day Sunday and slept with it and my tummy has gone down already I cannot wait till I wear it with a workout I had broken my ankle in February..so just me wearing it yesterday going up and down the stairs to doing laundry...I really feel a small change already!! I am a very pleased customer. Karen Wallace


text:
(Reuters) - China's No.2 telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp, under fire in the United States over cyber security concerns, has sold a subsidiary which sells surveillance systems.
The decision to dispose of ZTE Special Equipment Co, also known as ZTEsec, was made on September 21, during a U.S. Congressional committee investigation into ZTE and its local rival Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
The Congressional committee recommended to the U.S. government that Huawei and ZTE should be kept from the U.S. market and told U.S. companies to stop doing business with both firms.
The committee's report, published on October 8, said it "cannot allay concerns that ZTE is aligned with Chinese military and intelligence activities or research institutes." ZTE has denied any such links.
In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September, Shenzhen-based ZTE said it had sold its 68% stake in ZTEsec to 10 Chinese investment companies including Shenzhen Capital Group Co Ltd.
The sale, worth between 360 million yuan and 440 million yuan ($57 million-$70 million), would allow ZTE to "focus its resources on its principal businesses in line with the requirements of its strategic development," it said.
ZTEsec, set up in 2003 with a registered capital of a million yuan, could ultimately pursue a listing in China's stock markets to raise funds for research and expansion purposes, business analysts said.
The company, however, has mostly attracted attention as the most visible ZTE unit selling surveillance, equipment to governments and law enforcement agencies.
ZTEsec's English-language home page describes its customers as "law enforcement and agencies" focusing on criminal groups and terrorists which disseminate hostile "messages, communicate and share information that endangers national security and safety of people's life."
Its Chinese-language website lists China's military, police and telecom carriers as its key customers.
An investigation by Reuters earlier this year found that ZTE had sold to Iran's largest telecommunications firm a powerful surveillance system capable of monitoring landline, mobile and internet communications.
Reuters also reported that ZTE had sold or agreed to sell Iran embargoed U.S. computer equipment, sparking investigations by the U.S. Commerce Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. companies who made the products.
ZTE said after the Reuters report that it was curtailing its business in Iran and that it had stopped looking for any new customers in the country.
ZTEsec has showcased its security products at several international trade shows, offering products to government and law enforcement officials that it said could detect passwords of popular webmail services from Yahoo and Google, filter out anti-government Internet traffic, capture cellphone data, tap phone calls and mine troves of intercepted data.
Its most recent presentation to a gathering in Dubai in February was entitled "Integrated Solution for National Security and Crime Investigation - Our Focus."
(This version of the story has been corrected to add dropped word "to" in third paragraph)
Reporting By Jeremy Wagstaff in SINGAPORE, Lee Chyenyee in HONG KONG and Steve Stecklow in LONDON; Editing by Ryan Woo


text:
Let me guess, you have been playing New York Times crossword and got stuck on the clue Wags. Well, you have come to the right place to find the answer to this clue.
While some crosswords are much simpler than others, most require that players have a vast knowledge of the language and possibly even various topics. So while crossword puzzles are seen as a more intelligent game, they can be very frustrating for players to complete and even experienced crossword players need some help occasionally.
When finding the answers to the clues becomes too difficult, there's no shame in looking for them online.
Now you have the answer to your clue. Its time to move on to the next clue. You can browse through the list with all the answers to the New York Times crossword of August 1st, 1999. Or you can use the search form below to find the answer (no matter if its New York Times Crossword or any other crossword).
|New York Times crossword of August 1st, 1999 other clues
|'The Sound of Music' figure
|'___ is as good as a wink'
|'___-Cop' (1988 film)
|A charming way to look at things?
|Actor Wheaton
|Actress Virna
|Aimée from Paree
|An angry place to live?
|An event to honor the best hospital patient?
|Anderson's 'High ___'
|Aquanaut's place
|Arizona tourist locale
|Assassins have them
|Ballerina Shearer
|Ballet headliners
|Black-and-white diving birds
|Bourbon drinks
|Boy who's bowed
|Brightly colored
|Broadcaster in many langs.
|Brown ___ (old musket)
|Carpet cleaner
|Cartographic fig.
|Cause of an immune response
|Cheese with holes
|Chest protector
|Cleaning cabinet supplies
|Crème de ___
|Do about as expected
|March marchers
|Marino and others
|Marseilles Mrs.
|Massage reactions
|Monkeys' uncles
|More likely
|Muchachas: Abbr.
|N.F.L. draft move?
|Neil and Loretta
|Not so punishing
|One trying to avoid charges?
|Palindromic diarist
|Part of a line: Abbr.
|Part of the 25-Across: Abbr.
|People stand for this
|Piece of stage lighting
|Prepare, as a fancy invitation
|Pres. Davis led it
|Press for payment
|Proved valid, in a way
|Puts down
|Rearranges the lettuce?
|Regular: Abbr.
|Relief pitcher
|Rocker Patty
|Rodent that menaces sugar cane
|Sad news
|Safety device
|Sale item abbr.
|Scotland yard, approximately
|Senator Hutchison
|Share a role?
|Dress designs
|Former monarchy
|French poet ___ de Lisle
|G.I.'s superior
|Group the Surgeon Gen. addresses
|Half a cartoon duo
|High priest at Shiloh
|Home-run hitters
|How some learn
|Hunter's trophy
|Impulse transmitter
|Initials on a toothpaste box
|Irrelevant to Don King?
|It's for good measure
|Its HQ is in Brussels
|Jazz grp.
|Jazz man
|Kind of pathway
|Kind of tree
|Lab employees
|Lamp site
|Lanford Wilson's 'The ___ Baltimore'
|Like 007
|Like a worst-case scenario
|Like some tickets
|Like the surf
|Little one
|M.I.T. or N.Y.U.
|Singer Cara
|Smell bad
|Snug snack item?
|Some bar features
|Song on which 'Love Me Tender' is based
|Start of a prayer
|Summer shade
|Supreme leader
|Tees off
|The Rams of the Atlantic 10 Conf.
|Thundering group
|Title name
|Travel word
|Two good N.F.L. plays?
|U.S. trading partner
|Venae ___
|Verdun was in it once: Abbr.
|Visitor to Siam
|Walk softly
|Walking the dogie?
|Water under the bridge
|Web site?
|Where the successful go
|White House affairs
|Wise counsel
|Witch's deity
|Words of commitment
|___ Friday
|'All the perfumes of ___...': Shak.
|'Big' girl
|'Deuce Coupe' choreographer
|'ER' order
|'Got ya!'
We offer support and help with a wide range of crosswords and are guaranteed to make sure you complete everything; the site is also updated regularly to make sure that all of our answers are correct and to add more crosswords to the ever growing list.__IMAGE__
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The yellow partner is a male or a female?
Well, that eliminates the possibility of the missing team getting eliminated first! Whew! I hope Team Duck Dynasty wasn't last though. I didn't see them in any of the Chile pics.
About the lime green M/F team- is the guy black & the girl white? I couldn't tell.
No the lime team M/F are an African American couple...please see photos from Iquique above, particularly at pitstop along with 'Team Bingo'...she has blonde/brunette braided hair and is African American.
So based on what we have so far...Teams sighted at the Pit Stop:Team Interracial *or* Black Couple M/FTeam Afghanimals M/MTeam African-American M/MTeam Bingo M/MTeam Red/Pink with black bags F/FTeams on the first flight:Team Interracial *or* Black Couple M/FTeam Afghanimals M/MTeam African-American M/MTeam Cheerleaders F/FTeam Red/Pink with black bags F/FI would assume that Team Bingo M/M (the previously missing team) and team Pink/Blonde hair M/F were also on the first flight, since they were grouped with other first flight teams in the Chile sightings. Also, since the first flight seems to have arrived a while before the second, it appears (barring any catastrophes for the remaining first flight teams) that the following teams (all on the last flight) will be fighting for last place on Leg 1 and possible elimination.Last Flight Teams:Team Older Couple M/FTeam Blue M/MTeam Boston M/FTeam Duck Dynasty M/MHere are the other two teams who also aren't confirmed as having checked in.First Group Teams who weren't seen checking in:Team Cheerleaders F/FTeam Pink/Blonde Hair M/FSomeone please correct me if I made any errors.
PICS from Iquique! More Tonight! 5.
See picture 5. Female is seen side on. She is African American.
k thanks. Also in picture 7, the African American M/F couple and the Bingo guys are talking. But off to the left is the pitstop- is this because the African American couple and the Bingo guys have already checked in? If so, that means they are safe!
Pic here!
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DriveTime has 5 used car dealerships in Tampa, where customers can shop for used vehicles and secure the financing needed to buy their desired car.
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At DriveTime, we are committed to helping all our customers purchase their preferred vehicles. Visit your closest DriveTime used car dealer in Tampa today and test drive your ideal vehicle or discuss financing options.


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Hey, I am afraid of failure just like everyone else my age. There are things to do, deadlines to meet, and goals to reach in case I unexpectedly die... sexily.
But sometimes when my self-appointed high-pressure lifestyle gets to be too much... it's really fun to distract myself on cool interior design websites.
Listen, I am no decorator; I have a shower curtain over my window and a beanbag chair with an X-marks-the-spot slab of duck tape from 2001.
But I like to fantasize about a life with stainless steal appliances and tasteful driftwood wall decor. I want people to describe my place as "rustic, yet modern." Not "OK," and, "is that a shower curtain over your window?"
Imagine I had a white couch and didn't immediately spill grape pop on it? (Sigh.)
Sometimes when the dishes are piling up and the cat is asleep on a pile of laundry, I like to go on ApartmentTherapy.com and pretend I have my life together, like the people who are featured on the site. The 20-something graphic designer in New York, the fashion magazine editor in San Francisco, the gay power couple in the tree house ranch! These fantastic people who produce clutter-free zones are like royalty to me, born into creatively superior lifestyles.
Framed artwork, industrial light fixtures, and urban goblets -- I have no right to be looking at this stuff! I need to get my nose down to the grindstone and pull my socks up. I need to put in years of elbow grease, and put the pedal to the metal, and all the other phrases I was raised with that have lost all meaning, before I even deserve to look upon an urban goblet.
I need a good meal at a decent price until my "nest egg" not only exists, but would also impress my parents!
Jeeze I'm tired.
Thirty years ago, would my parents blow entire pay cheques on a pricey used treasure chest? No way! And who's kidding whom? Today's treasure chest is simply a storage place for crap, not rubies. People don't possess actual treasure -- people possess video game magazines and really cool Silverchair CDs.
Great authors of a yonder year literally worked in mud by day and wrote their great works tirelessly with a pigeon feather quill and a dirty candle forged of hog by night! They didn't leaf through Ikea catalogs eating a frozen Snickers bar, wondering why no one "likes" their lazy status updates. These days when I compose a tweet, I often struggle, get mildly depressed and momentarily consider becoming a recluse, until I remember, oh yeah, I can totally just tweet that cats are pretty amazing, and I am safe for another day. I should be shot.
I'd honestly like to think I would get some substantial drive and painstaking work done if my home décor was updated. I can picture me now, collapsed upon my ironic electric blue chaise lounge, fashionably exhausted from accomplishing so much that day. Yeah, that's the ticket: sweet, sweet materialistic denial. But until the day comes where I am successful enough to afford nice things, I will be sitting on this busted beanbag chair, biting my pen, and imagining myself with a gravy-stain-free life.


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Seven organizations and individuals in Connecticut were honored today at the 2013 Environmental Merit Awards ceremony of the US Environmental Protection Agency. They were among 28 recipients across New England recognized for their significant contributions to environmental awareness and problem-solving.
The merit awards allow EPA to recognize individuals and groups whose work has protected or improved the region's environment in distinct ways. Given out by EPA annually since 1970, the merit awards honor individuals and groups who have shown particular ingenuity and commitment in their efforts.
"The people, communities and businesses being recognized today are leaders in helping create a cleaner environment and healthier communities across New England," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA New England.
The Environmental Merit Awards, which are given to people who have already taken action, are awarded in the categories of individual; business (including professional organizations); local, state or federal government; and environmental, community, academia or nonprofit organization. Also, each year EPA presents lifetime achievement awards for individuals. The Environmental Merit Award Winners from Connecticut listed by category are:
Local, State or Federal Governmental Environmental Merit Award
Conn. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Hartford, Conn.
K.C. Alexander, Sherill Baldwin, Judy Belaval, Diane Duva, Paula Guerrera, Macky McCleary, Chris Nelson, Joseph Schiavone, Jennifer Weymouth
In 2012 Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection managed the groundbreaking process of transforming the state's solid waste management system for the 21st century. The staff members receiving this award ushered through a transition that resulted in waste being viewed as a resource rather than something to be disposed of.
"Connecticut was well represented among recipients of US EPA awards today," said CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Daniel C. Esty. "Several individuals and organizations were honored, which speaks to this state's strong and ongoing commitment to protecting our environmental natural resources."
"I am especially proud that DEEP staff received two awards – A Lifetime Award to Tessa Gutowski and a Merit Award to a team of people who have been working to transform the manner in which Connecticut handles solid waste into a 21st century Materials Management System."
In 2010, Connecticut generated about 2.3 million tons of municipal solid waste or .65 tons per person per year. The state recycles about 30 percent of its waste and most of the remainder is taken to in-state waste-to-energy facilities. Leadership for this effort came from Gov. Dannel Malloy who convened a working group in April on "Modernizing Recycling." The winners of this award put into action the vision of Commissioner Dan Esty and Deputy Commissioner Macky McCleary who recognized Connecticut's solid waste management system had become outdated. The award winners together communicated with hundreds of stakeholders, analyzed alternatives, and studied the impacts of changing regulations. Their work led to a report whose recommendations left Connecticut ready to be a leader in materials management. As Terri Goldberg, director of the Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association said, "The people receiving this award are responsible for the significant shift in thinking regarding waste management options in Connecticut."
Environmental, Community, Academia, & Non-profit Organizations Environmental Merit Award
Northwest Conservation District, Torrington, Conn.
The Northwest Conservation District serves 34 communities in Northwest Connecticut. Its main function is to conserve local natural resources through a wide variety of technical services and educational programs. The district focuses on watershed and open space protection, low impact development techniques, sustainable resource and energy use, and promoting ecosystem planning. The organization also offers a variety of Geographic Information Systems based mapping solutions to help towns, organizations, and individuals to plan projects and make decisions.
Among the challenges addressed by the Northwest Conservation District are drinking water and aquifer protection, wetland protection and restoration, aquatic resource protection through low impact development measures, as well as open space and farmland preservation. As one example of the work the organization has done, the Northwest Conservation District teamed up with the Farmington River Watershed Association to help build a rain garden and bioswale at a wastewater treatment plant in Winchester and at Crystal Lake filtration facility. Rain gardens and bioswales are low impact development measures that can reduce runoff and clean water. Volunteers who helped build the bioswale which was converted from a standard rock-lined swale, planted various shrubs, including blueberries and other native species. The plants will now attract more native wildlife at the same time they filter pollutants.
Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust, Inc., Kent, Conn.
Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust is one of the leading conservation non-profits in Connecticut, not a small distinction in a state with a wealth of organizations committed to preserving natural landscapes. Founded in 1965 to protect Northwest Connecticut's vanishing scenic treasures, Weantinoge is now the state's largest land trust, helping to steward more than 9,000 acres of land worth an estimated $28 million in 17 towns. Their holdings include 14 preserves open to the public and 15 active farms.
The Weantinoge trust has emerged as a statewide leader in the difficult work of making preservation possible in a state with a variety of competing pressures and interests. The trust works with local communities to identify threatened and valuable properties for permanent protection and once acquired, the organization sticks to strict stewardship standards, making sure lands' natural character is safeguarded. In addition to buying land, Weantinoge works to expand public access to the outdoors and environmental education. Weantinoge has 18 miles of hiking trails available to the public in its nature preserves, and it provides outdoor science programming to 200 schoolchildren a year. Weantinoge represents the best of centuries-old Yankee traditions: working together to save and safeguard the best parts of the places we call home.
Business, Industry, Trade or Professional
The Siemon Company, Watertown, Conn.
Efforts by the Siemon Company to prevent pollution and protect drinking water have put them in a league of their own when it comes to environmental stewardship. In 2012 Siemon achieved carbon negativity through reductions and offsets, but long before it became trendy, this cable manufacturer was leading the way. Among its 2012 projects, Simeon changed its process water loop system from open to closed loop to reduce water use by 5 percent. It reduced electricity consumption by more than 5 percent by changing to a variable frequency drive and using other smart technology. The family-owned company also changed its packaging to use 2000 fewer square feet of cardboard and installed a waste management program that helped achieve zero-landfill status. Employees get incentives to buy fuel efficient cars and recently employee trash cans were removed to reduce the amount thrown away.
In August 2012, Siemon announced its carbon reductions and offsets exceeded its actual global emissions by over 179 percent. Another 16.885 metric tons of carbon output was offset by a combination of efforts by recycling 976.7 metric tons of waste at Siemon sites globally, installing a clean solar energy system and operating a 3,000-acre tree farm in Milton, NH. This land conservation in the headwaters of the Salmon Falls River was key in protecting water quality in the river, which provides drinking water to 47,000 people.
Lifetime Award
Russell L. Brenneman
In 1967 Russell Brenneman wrote the book, "Private Approaches to the Preservation of Open Land," published by The Conservation and Research Foundation. This book made it easier to put conservation easement regulations into codes that could become laws. Brenneman co-chaired the Conn. League of Conservation Voters, crafted legislation and provided legal counsel for the preservation of many tracts of land. He also teaches environmental law, and has passed his knowledge of and devotion to the environment to the next generation.
Tessa Gutowski
During more than 30 years with the state, Tessa Gutowski has worked on many projects that have benefited residents of Connecticut and the environment. As an employee of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Gutowski developed Connecticut's Debris Disaster Management Plan, which allowed Connecticut to effectively address the large quantities of debris from storms Irene, Sandy and Charlotte over the last three years. Gutowski made sure the solid waste team understood the plan and was available to help staff put the plan into place during the storms, even sleeping on the floor at work to be available during the events. The value of Gutowski's plan was evident when New Jersey and New York adopted it as the basis for their response after storm Sandy. Gutowski also developed the state's Solid Waste Management Plan, which has become the backbone of Connecticut's waste management efforts and a lasting example for other states.
Gutowski's attention to quality have kept data up to EPA standards which helps the state get federal grants and assures the integrity of department programs. In 2012, Gutowski transformed the open burning program to reduce the harm done by burning to air quality. Off work, Gutowski has served on her local wetlands commission in Willington, Conn., and volunteered for many No Child Left Inside events. Gutowski is described as "a quiet and steady hero" with "superb knowledge of environmental issues, the innovation necessary to tackle problems effectively … and the collaborative ability to spread her successes."
Marc J. Taylor, M.D., (posthumous)
Marc Taylor worked on the health of America's waterways and the ecological systems they are a part of. His focus was Connecticut's Pomperaug River Watershed. A physician, medical educator, and national leader in water conservation, Taylor was nominated posthumously for his contribution late in his life in co-founding Connecticut's Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition, an innovative model for local water conservation, as well as for his leadership in pursuing clean, plentiful water for all. Taylor first became concerned about water diversions and other threats to the Pomperaug River in 1999. He mobilized citizens and leaders and co-founded the coalition with three initial goals: to study the watershed and the factors affecting its health; to share findings with the community; and to establish a coalition that could influence policies and conservation practices. With Taylor as chair for nine years, the coalition has done multiple scientific studies that have brought new understanding of the watershed and new policies for river protection. It has also created tools to monitor water and habitat and has brought crucial scientific data to decision-makers while educating and involving residents, organizations, businesses and town officials.
Taylor's work with the Coalition led him to get involved with other organizations. He was chair of River Network in Portland, Oregon, which supports 2000 grass-roots water organizations across the country; a board member of the Connecticut Rivers Alliance, the Housatonic Valley Association, and the Southbury Land Trust. He nurtured connections between groups. Without fanfare or pay, Taylor was an influential and inspiring leader to those working to safeguard our water.
More information on EPA New England Environmental Merit Awards (http://www.epa.gov/region1/ra/ema/index.html)


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Hack Your Future is a six months program for immigrants to become a fullstack web developers.
You sign up for a six months course.
Applications can be made at http://www.hackyourfuture.net/apply
Find out more at www.hackyourfuture.net and see our open source curriculum at
11.30 - 12:30 Session 1
12:30 - 13:00 Food
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If you want to join us as mentor contact Baraa Hatem. If you want to sponsor us contact Johan Guttman
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Unfortunately in reality, many organizations don't live up to their family friendly claims. The policies exist, but are not actually utilized in the company. For example, some companies offer a flexible schedule option, but only with the boss's approval. If your manager doesn't believe in flexible work, you don't get the option. Or, your career progress is delayed if you ask for a flexible option.
So if you are looking for a job change and want family friendly work, you should spend some time evaluating the claims of a potential employer. In addition to finding out if you want the job, you need to make an effort to find out if the company is truly supportive of working parents. Here are some ways to do it:
- Look for indications that company employees appreciate their families, such as photo displays or invitations to company picnics. Evidence of other working parents is a good sign.
- Look for an opportunity to talk to co-workers about the company culture and learn about a typical day. The less you see a typical day, the better.
- Find out how your potential supervisor measures productivity on the job. If he or she only looks at hours at work, then flexibility may not be an option.
- Find out what flexible work options are available, and then find out how much they are utilized.
- Ask about overtime work requirement. If overtime is required, how much notice you receive. It is difficult to manage family obligations if your schedule will vary without your control.
- Look for other benefits that support working parents such as child care assistance, generous time-off allowances and solid health insurance benefits.


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For the office, the entrance, or the conference room: Pillow by Cascando is a functional collection of panels, which has several advantages, such as improved room acoustics.
Pillow is a completely new collection of furnishing accessories, which make offices even more personal. Pillow offers colourful wall panels, which make every lobby, every hall, every office, and every conference room more quiet.
Decorative and functional: as a wardrobe, newspaper rack, and memo panel. Pillow is upholstered with foam and coated by high-quality wool felt material – it even improves room acoustics. There are suitable Cascando Pillows for different purposes – the purpose of your panels does not matter since the editions are well to combine.
Cascando's wardrobe collection Pillow was honoured with the Interior Innovation Award due to its exceptional features in 2013.


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Texas A&M cologne gives wearers opportunity to smell like an Aggie
Coming this August just in time for the fall semester, Texas A&M will have its own cologne and perfume line for incoming freshmen to bathe themselves in.
Masik Collegiate Fragrances already makes cologne and perfume for ten other colleges across the country, including the University of Alabama and Penn State University, and will release their Aggie smell-good spray on August 18.
This is the first Texas college to get its own cologne. Six other colleges will also get the aromatic treatment in August.
Press materials from Masik indicate that the Aggie cologne and perfume will offer rich indications of rose, vanilla and apple, playing off their school colors.
Let the Aggie jokes commence.
Air of distinction?: What would some other Texas colleges smell like?


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Lucky car model of the week!
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Nikki was an amazing giraffe. She spent her time working hard to help others and be better each day for those who counted on her.How many of us can see ourselves in Nikki? For me, I see the endurance, patience and kindness that I hope to exhibit with all of my "young giraffes" this year as I guide them to walk on their own learning path. All of our students deserve educators like Nikki. Will you be a Nikki this year?
She was great in all forms of her life, especially her job. She was a walking instructor. As many know, when baby giraffes are born they take a minute to get up and going. Their uneasiness of being able to walk on their new stilted legs is obvious and can be very frustrating for them. That's where Nikki comes in. Every year she is met with the new challenges of working to get those new giraffe calves up and moving so they don't become easy prey to their predators and so they can begin to learn more and eventually fend for themselves.
Nikki's job is pretty involved. She gives of her time and she focuses on each individual giraffe. Some come along quickly and some come along slowly, but it's Nikki's job to be sure they are up and moving in a speedy time frame.
There are others in Nikki's herd who claim to do the same thing. Many of the other walking instructors have been in the their game so long that they almost get frustrated when new calves just can't seem to "get it". They berate and push and cajole to get these new babies up and moving. Many times the little ones get so frustrated that they cry and some give up completely because they refuse to be pushed. The older calves just move on without them and get the ones that are more naturally talented and able to get moving and they leave the slower ones to fend for themselves.
Not Nikki. She looks at each calf as the new creature that they are. She gets them each up and going at a pace they are comfortable with and that makes them want to keep trying. One by one, the calves in her care get up and start to teeter, then walk, and eventually run. Those slower to stand see the others and become more encouraged by them than Nikki. Many times Nikki will ask an already walking calf to go and help the ones having trouble. It's been some time since she learned to walk that maybe the encouragement of a peer would be better suited. Nikki stands by and watches and answers questions when needed, but for the most part her job is that of encourager and advisor.
There is never a forcing nature or a mean demeanor in her presence. She exudes patience and knows that her calves will all succeed to the measure they are meant to. She does all this with the constant nagging and backbiting of the other walk instructors. "She takes too long with each one", "All her calves love her. She must just be the 'fun one", "Parents always ask for Nikki. What's she got that we don't have. I mean, we've been doing it longer than her and everything".
It was true, but the reality was that Nikki loved what she did and had not allowed the weight or monotony of her job to get the best of her. She knew how to encourage and direct and to give guidance when necessary but for the most part she also knew that each little giraffe in her care would have to get it on their own to really make it in their world. Pushing them could be more detrimental than good so she took the time needed to be sure they were comfortable where they were and not where someone else thought they should be.
"Thank you Ms. Nikki" was a common theme as both mommy and daddy giraffes approached her. Calves who had learned from her would constantly come back to see her and even worked with the new ones to help her.
Nikki did more than just instruct. She taught little giraffes how to be successful at becoming big giraffes and to stand on their own 4 feet.
~Special thanks to Gene Ramsay for writing 'Nikki the Giraffe.' A best first-day-of-school gift I've ever received.
photo credit: ucumari via photo pin cc


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Students who are registering to take a French and Francophone Studies course in the coming academic year should take our on-line placement exam, administered through Brigham Young University. The exam will take about 20 minutes and will recommend to you the level of course for which you should register. Results will also be forwarded to the French and Francophone Studies department.
Follow the instructions below to take the on-line exam (you might want to print this page).
- Go to http://webcape.byuhtrsc.org/?acct=lawrence Your password will be: vikings1 (all lower case; it is the number 1, not the letter L).
- Select the link to the French exam. You'll be prompted to fill out a form. Enter your name. For ID, type in "new student" (without quotes).
You'll also be prompted for your email address. If you have one, type it in. If you have no email address, type "NA" (without quotes). If you have questions about this exam or problems logging in, please contact the French and Francophone Studies department.


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DETROIT — The way Torii Hunter killed the Tigers early in his career, you might have figured he'd do something like come to Comerica Park and collect a milestone like his 2,000th hit.
Then again, you may not have figured he'd do it in a Tigers uniform.
The consummate Tigers-killer from the early part of the millennium, Hunter is approaching a pair of career milestones, at least one of which he may pass in the final three games of the current home stand.
The Tigers play a three-game set with Toronto starting Wednesday, before heading to the West Coast for nine games in 10 days.
Hunter sits just three hits shy of 2,000 and three home runs shy of 300 in his career. He's already recorded 11 hits in the Tigers' first six games of the season.
What does it mean to him?
"It means I'm getting older," he said Sunday with a laugh. "It's an honor. I was always known for my defense and you gotta stay healthy to get 2,000 hits and come ready to play every day. For me to be around this long and get 2,000 hits, I'm very thankful."
Hunter got his first home run at Tiger Stadium in 1999, hitting it in the top of the fifth inning, off Brian Moehler. He picked up hit No. 1,000 in Baltimore's Camden Yards in August of 2006.
His top two stadiums for hits, unsurprisingly are the Metrodome (604) in Minnesota, where he played 11 seasons, and Angel Stadium in Anaheim (419), his home park for the past five seasons. Comerica Park (87) is fourth on the hit parade, behind Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium (97).
"I thank God for the opportunity to come out here and play major league baseball and get 2,000 hits. So I can always tell my grandkids, I got 2,000 hits in the major leagues. Top that, little sucker," he joked. "I'm definitely honored."
Matthew B. Mowery covers the Tigers for Journal Register Company. Email him at email@example.com and follow him on Twitter @matthewbmowery.


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YOU by skechers®. A new footwear collection combining lifestyle and wellness. Versatile. Active.Comfort, style and flexibility with the YOU Define – Excellence by skechers® shoe. Designed to be worn. Soft woven flexible knit fabric upper in a slip on sporty walking and comfort athletic shoe with stitching detail. Comfort insole and midsole design.
Features high-rebound cushioning with responsive feedback
Soft socklike knit fabric upper
Multi directional traction sole


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What movie is this?
Ant man and the wasp
CORRECT! Good work Step :)
"This is literally the equivalent of a major studio in the year 2019 asking Jordan Peele to remove a 40 second scene featuring a black man kissing a white woman. Wow."--- Anonymous agrees, we're all pretty peeved + anxious about the rumors that the Elton John biopic Rocketman with Taron Egerton might be getting de-gayed -- read my thoughts here and stay tuned for more, no doubt.


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PowerWizard™ Outage Protection
When the power goes out, your Pet Stop system stays on. That's because the PowerWizard® incorporates circuity that couples to a battery to supply power to the transmitter for hours up to days, depending on the battery your Dealer selects. Simply a great way to ensure that your system stays operational regardless of the environmental conditions.Back to Products


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This forum is for new members to introduce themselves. you MUST post an introduction thread before you can post in any other section
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