Using ultrafast imaging of moving energy in photosynthesis, scientists at Imperial College London have determined the speed of crucial processes for the first time, which could be copied to produce fuels by artificial photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, plants harvest light and, though a chemical process involving water and carbon dioxide, convert this into energy. A vital part of this process is using the light energy to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. This is done by an enzyme called Photosystem II. Light energy is harvested by ‘antennae’, and transferred to the reaction centre of Photosystem II, which strips electrons from water. This conversion of excitation energy into chemical energy, known as ‘charge separation’, is the first step in splitting water. It was previously thought that the process of charge separation in the reaction centre was the slowest step in photosynthesis that created a ‘bottleneck’, in comparison to the transfer of energy along the antennae. However, since the structure of Photosystem II was first determined in 2001, there was some suggestion the energy transfer step was the slowest part of photosynthesis, but it was not yet possible to prove experimentally. Using ultrafast imaging of electronic excitations that uses small crystals of Photosystem II, scientists from Imperial College London and Johannes Kepler University (JKU) in Austria have now been able to prove that the slowest step is in fact the process through which the plants harvest light and transfer its energy through the antennae to the reaction centre. The new insights into the precise mechanics of photosynthesis should help researchers hoping to copy the efficiency of natural photosynthesis to produce green fuels. The study is published in Nature Communications. Study author Dr Jasper van Thor, from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial, said: “We can now see how nature has optimised the physics of converting light energy to fuel, and can probe this process using our new technique of ultrafast crystal measurements. “For example, is it important that the bottleneck occurs at this stage, in order to preserve overall efficiency? Can we mimic it or tune it to make artificial photosynthesis more efficient? These questions, and many others, can now be explored.” Although the researchers could determine which step is faster, both steps occur incredibly quickly – the whole process takes a matter of nanoseconds, with the individual steps of energy transfer and charge separation taking only picoseconds. Read more at http://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/ultrafast-imaging-of-photosynthesis-could-help-development-of-green-fuel

2 August 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal FM provider Bellrock has acquired Stanley Hicks Ltd and Property Solutions (UK) Ltd. Stanley Hicks, a chartered surveying business, is based in the City of London and has been providing professional advice to clients for the last two centuries.   Property Solutions, based in Bristol, is a commercial service charge specialist for the office and retail sectors. Bellrock has targeted these acquisitions “to expand its portfolio of property consultancy services into new markets”.   Bellrock says that it will be able to offer Stanley Hicks’ and Property Solutions’ clients “a broader range of property and FM services”. Source link

A gas engineer undertook gaswork despite his registration with Gas Safe Register (GSR) lapsing and produced false documents claiming the work had been completed by a member of Gas Safe Register. Peter Strudwick, 58, appeared at Barnstaple Magistrates’ Court after undertaking servicing of commercial catering gas appliances at a mobile catering van in February 2015 despite his membership with GSR lapsing some seven months before. He used his former GSR number and logo on paperwork he issued after that servicing. Later, in May 2015, Strudwick undertook gas safety inspections on the same commercial catering gas equipment but this time he used a false name and a false GSR number on paperwork that he issued. A few days later the operator of the catering van noticed Strudwick had used another name and a false GSR number and became suspicious. She arranged for another gas engineer to check the catering equipment. Subsequently Peter Strudwick’s activities were investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who prosecuted him. Peter Strudwick of Bridge Plats Way, Bideford, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching Regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and was found guilty of 1 charge of breaching Section 33(1)( l) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined a total of £1,500 and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs. HSE Inspector Simon Jones, speaking after the hearing, said: “Peter Strudwicks undertook gaswork which he should have known he was not registered to do. “All commercial catering gas work must be done by registered GSR engineers to ensure the highest standards are met to prevent injury and loss of life. Mr Strudwick knew that he should not have undertaken the gaswork but carried on anyway and deliberately tried to deceive the catering van operator by giving her false documentation” Further information about gas safety can be found at  http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/ Notes to Editors The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/  HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk   Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link

Barry Gardiner has been appointed as Labour’s new shadow energy secretary. The announcement was made by Jeremy Corbyn yesterday evening after Lisa Nandy resigned from the post earlier in the day. Gardiner was promoted from shadow energy minister, a post which he had held since September 2015. Elected as the MP for Brent North in 1997, Gardiner has also served as undersecretary and then shadow minister for environment, as well as on the energy and environment select committees. Earlier today Alan Whitehead resigned as Labour’s shadow energy minister, saying Corbyn is “not the right person to lead the opposition”. No replacement has yet been named. Yesterday Rachael Maskell was appointed as shadow environment secretary, after her predecessor, Kerry McCarthy, resigned at the weekend. More than 40 members of shadow cabinet have now quit because of concerns over Corbyn’s leadership. Labour MPs are today voting on a motion of no confidence in the party leader. Source link

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) today (Wednesday 24 September) announced the 2015 RIBA International Fellowships which will be awarded to eleven non-UK architects. The RIBA’s 2015 International Fellowships are: Emilio Ambasz, Emilio Ambasz & Associates (New York, USA) Julia Bolles + Peter Wilson, Bolles + Wilson (Munster, Germany) Santiago Cirugeda, (Recettes Urbaines) Urban Recipes (Sevilla, Spain) Joao Luis Carrilho Da Graca, JLCG (Portugal) Richard Leplastrier, Richard Leplastrier (Australia) Thom Mayne, Morphosis (Los Angeles and New York, USA) Antoine Predock, Studio Predock (Albuquerque, USA) Peter Rich, Peter Rich Architects (Johannesburg, South Africa) Wang Shu + Lu Yenyu (China)  The lifetime honour allows individual recipients to use the initials Int FRIBA after their name. The 2015 RIBA International Fellowships will be awarded at a special event at the RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London, W1 on 3 February 2015. ENDS Notes to editors For further press information contact Howard Crosskey in the RIBA Press Office: 020 7307 3761 howard.crosskey@riba.org The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members. Visit www.architecture.com and follow us on Twitter. The 2014 RIBA Honours Committee who selected the 2015 fellows was chaired by RIBA President Stephen Hodder with Joseph Rykwert, Benedetta Tagliabue, Eric Parry and Louisa Hutton. RIBA International Fellows 2015 citations: EMILIO AMBASZ  – Argentina/USA Emilio Ambasz, who was trained as an architect and taught at Princeton University, has made a number of outstanding contributions to both architecture and industrial design. He first came to public notice as the originator and organizer of a number of exhibitions at the MoMA in New York; ‘Italy: the New Domestic Landscape’ in 1972 and ‘The Taxi Project’ of 1976 (which was in fact a reconsideration of urban transport. These were landmark shows – as was the monographic exhibition of the work of Louis Barragan (of 1974) which brought the reclusive Mexican architect to world notice. He represented the US at the 1976 Venice Biennale and won the first prize for the master-plan of the Seville International Exhibition of 1992. He was one of the first – if not the very first – architect to realize that environment-friendly architecture was not a specialist concern but a design problem as well as a great opportunity. His landscape-cum-building designs include such innovative projects as the Lucille Halsell Conservatory at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens in Austin Texas; and the San Antonio Botanical Gardens in Texas (1988), but even more conspicuously in the Mycal Cultural Centre in Sin-Shanda, Japan. Similarly distinguished are the Fukuoka Prefectural and International Hall; the Ospedale dell’Angello and the Banco del Occhio Medical Centre, both in Venice, Italy; the Terrace Garden for the Pompidou Center in Paris; and his reformulation of the traditional Andalusian house Casa de Retiro Espiritual. His Vertebra chair is an established ‘classic’ of Industrial Design and is included in the MoMA and the Metropolitan Museums’ collection; it has also been distinguished by a number of awards, as have been his Saturno range of street lights. His design has always been distinguished by wit as well as invention; witness his Handkerchief Television and Soft Notebook. There have been several one man exhibitions of Ambasz’ work world-wide, twice at New York’s MOMA and twice at the Triennale di Milano, and he is the subject of several monographs. He is himself the author of Natural Architecture/Artificial Design first published in 2001 and republished in 2011. An Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, he has also been honored with the title of Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana on account of his contributions to Italian culture. JULIA BOLLES + PETER WILSON – Germany Peter Wilson was born in Melbourne in 1950. After studying architecture at the University of Melbourne, Peter went on to the Architectural Association in London in 1972, where Julia Bolles-Wilson was also a student. Originally established in London in 1980, the partnership moved to Münster in 1988 on winning the competition to design the new city library there. This highly articulated building is a response to a complex urban situation: its originality and excellence are demonstrated in the fact that almost immediately upon completion it became a mecca for architects and architectural students alike. Other work includes the 360 degree red-wrapped Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam, which was shortlisted for the 2001 Mies van der Rohe Prize; the visually striking, functionally ambiguous pair of harbour buildings in Münster (2006); and the highly tactile and contextual library in the heart of the Dutch city of Helmond (2010). Julia Bolles-Wilson has lectured and taught world-wide. She is a regular jury member of architectural competitions and has chaired significant ones such as the Federal Environment Agency Design in Dessau; the new Train station and exhibition centre in Cologne-Deutz; the ‘Topography of Terror’ in Berlin and the Thermal Baths in Wien. Peter Wilson has lectured worldwide and has run studios in four continents. Peter is also a regular jury member of architectural competitions – he was president of the jury for a new Arts Centre in Maribor, Slovenia and in 2012 he was a member of the jury for the new Medellín Velodrome in Columbia. Both Julia and Peter are dedicated to teaching and have inspired students and architects through their provocative and relevant public lectures around the world. Of particular note is their inventive use and indeed development of architectural drawing as a tool of representation and research, and their intellectual contribution to thinking on architecture has been considerable. Bolles+Wilson’s work has been broadly published and has received many awards. In 2009 they were rewarded with a Gold Medal at the XI International Triennale of Architecture in Cracow, and in 2013 Peter was awarded the 2013 Gold Medal of the Australian Institute of Architects. The RIBA is recognizing the distinctive and highly crafted work of Bolles + Wilson – that has been in consistent production over 3 and a half decades – in awarding them

Barcalys has announced that as of tomorrow (Friday 8th July), it will cut mortgage rates across the 2, 3, 5 and 10 year fixed, low Loan to Value (LTV) range. Highlights include: • 2 year fixed at 1.35 per cent, 60 per cent LTV (Remortgage and rate switch) • 5 year fixed at 2.14 per cent, 60 per cent LTV (Remortgage only) Craig Calder, Director of Mortgages for Barclays said: “These changes to our fixed range of mortgage products demonstrates that Barclays, as a responsible lender, is continuing to offer home buyers and movers with even more choice, all supported by robust lending criteria.” Source link