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Mobile Air Conditioner

You may sometimes feel to carry your air conditioners to places you roam about inside your house, for which many mobile air conditioners are available in the market at affordable rates. It comes in different dimensions, so there is no need to worry about its footprint as it occupies very little space. Two unique features about this device is that it is provided with a remote control system so that you can operate it from wherever you are and the second best feature is, its in-built dehumidifier which acts as an added advantage. In addition to the above said significance if you would wish, the company also provides you with the heating device by just getting a very few bugs more than its original price. It can be used via 2 ports one is the wired remote control and other is through infrared rays. The customer service is very pleasing and they provide you with round the clock services. When you take its effectiveness, the cool air from the machine moves in all four directions and when it comes to moisture removal the outlet hose can be connected to false ceiling. In order to make it more advanced the cool air is also supplied through ductwork and can be connected to ceiling where it can be discharged via mounted grills.

The air conditioner includes two cool settings, sensor signaling when the collection tray becomes full, exhaust, two fan speed settings, compressor that have a high performing capacity, refrigerant to generate cool air, 12 hour timer, dehumidifier, heat settings, air filters to remove dust, and a remote control. For people who look at the technical side of the machine here are the details: cooling capacity ranges from 2.4kW to 5.5kW, removes the condensate at a rate of 1.2litres/hr to 2litres/hr and the capacity of the tank is 12 litres, volume of air flow ranges from 350m3/hr to 500 m3/hr, heating capacity (when heat settings are incorporated in addition) is 3kW, and the hose is 2 meter in length by 150 mm in diameter. It weighs about 39 kg. The dimensions are 840 mm in height, 500 mm in width and 415 mm in depth. It operates at a temperature of 18 degree Celsius to 45 degree Celsius. Initially it consumes voltage of about 40A and the power consumption on an average is 1600W. The machine makes the least amount of noise and the range is 49 to 60 dB.

This machine also comes in split model which is super quiet and highly powerful. The model comprises of two pieces where the indoor unit has a dimension of about 75 cm in height, 38 cm in width and 40 cm in depth whereas the outdoor unit is 58 cm in height, 48 cm in width, and 24 cm in depth. It is employed with three fan speed, 13 amp plugs, and the weight is 38 and 13 kg for indoor and outdoor respectively. For those who always wish to use eco-friendly devices, this is a good alternative because the refrigerant that is used is bio-degradable. For people who love to have their interior beautiful, this is a great deal because it comes in all modern designs of varied styles.

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Cell Phone Radiation: The REAL Issue and How to Reduce Radiation Levels Coming From Your Cell Phone

Recently, the WHO, the World Health Organization came out with a statement that Cell Phones may be hazardous to your health. They made this conclusion after they had a conference in which world scientists, doctors etc., examined the data from one study done in Sweden and concluded that despite all of the other years where they could not make a determination, this year they could.

Was this politically motivated, where the WHO, the organization that created the scare of h1n1 virus, SARs, and Mad Cow, actually needed some more limelight to become relevant or is this real possibility, that is, Cell Phones used for long periods of time can cause tumors in the brain?

In looking at the study, several key facts come out of it. Some of them are based on their assumptions and some as well that are based on logic.

Where is that danged antenna located?

A short time ago, cell phones had a small telescopic antenna that you could raise or lower. This migrated to small stub fixed antennas located at the top of your cell phone, and then off to what is now used predominantly which is a "Patch" antenna, a small wafer about 1" x 1/2 " in size placed behind the back cover of your phone ( not the batter cover). These patch antennas work almost as well as the telescopic ones, but inherently are not as efficient. This means that "Not all cell phones are created equal". That is to say different cell phones produce different power levels.

More importantly there are cell phone that have their antenna located behind the ear piece of the cell phone, and others that are located behind the microphone, or mouth piece. There was no distinction made between these two cases. There should be. Close proximity to the area behind the ear and above, energy transmitted by the cell phone has a higher intensity than that transmitted by the antenna behind the mouth piece. For the signal to travel into the brain area, the signal must pass through the jawbone, the moisture of the mouth, and on to the brain. The energy of the cell phone at 5" from the antenna we can be measured with the spectrum analyzers we have and it was 10 dB or ten times less than that of the energy directly at the ear.

iPhones for example have the antenna located surrounding the cell phone from the right side over the top to the left side. The energy is distributed among a path of approximately 6". No study was done to determine whether the distribution of the energy over the 6" was different than coming from a patch antenna 1" x " in size. Blackberry and most Androids have the antenna located in the bottom of the phone at the back. Again, the signal would have to travel through the phone and then through the jawbone. Similar with Motorola razors, the flip phones where the antenna is located near the mouth piece.

Certainly not all cell phones are created equal.

Cell Phone Output Power Levels

What was the energy level of the cell phone to start off with? That is an important point. If this was a European study, a cell phone can put out a maximum power of 2 watts. Here in the United States, in order to conserve energy, and "talk time" cell phones are designed to operate at lower levels, close to 1 mill watt in most cases. US cell phones have a maximum energy level of of a watt... 25% that of the European maximums. This was not taken into consideration.

What Standard Protocol did they test?

CDMA GSM or iDen? The three standards used in the United States, are infinitely different. CDMA phones normally operate at even lower powers levels than their GSM counterparts. The equipment of the CDMA in the USA is the UMTS in Europe or WCDMA. GSM operates channelized m and CDMA is spread over a greater area. Iden phones, famous for push to talk operate at much higher levels than the other two systems, because their towers are father apart forcing the phone to operate at higher levels. Up to 2 watts in some cases!

Other considerations.

Did they take into consideration other factors, like total amount of metal in the particular cell iPhone versus plastic? Several Nokia, Samsung and Sanyo phones have very little metal, but put out the same power as the Motorola counterparts. This is all very important in looking at the study.

Using Headsets versus the phone up against you ear.

Most news organizations are coming out indicting that the use of a Bluetooth headset is advisable compared to directly putting your cell phone up against your ear. They have no basis for this discussion. No test has ever been done on the effects of Bluetooth headsets on brain cancer!

Here is what they are not telling you: Bluetooth headsets operate a frequency of 2.4-2.5 GHz. Your microwave oven operates at a similar frequency. The headset puts out 2.5 mill watts of power, at a distance closer to your brain than the cell phone! Earpieces are inserted into the ear canal making them closer! The 2.5 mill watts of power is 2.5 times higher than the energy form the cell phone at normal conditions. How anyone can recommend going from a cell phone to a Bluetooth headset is beyond my understanding...unless of course you sell Bluetooth headsets.

DBars (DA-BARS)

The bars on the cell phone can be a good indicator of whether or not your phone is operating at full output power or at the levels that I describe, which are at 1 milliwatt...minimal power. First, the higher the energy that you receive from the tower, the closer the tower is to you and the less energy the cell phone has to put out to reach the tower. More bars on your phone = lower transmission levels of your phone. The power level of your phone transmitting to the tower is inversely proportional to the received signal from the tower. Da Bars! Can you trust the bars on your phone? 5 Bars is FULL? Only with some phones. Motorola we have always found to be truthful with their display of the bars. 3 bars means -75 dBm of downlink signal, and full bars, usually means -60 dB. Each bar on the Motorola phone represents 10 -20 times energy difference. Now, with Samsung, LG etc., they like to 'juice' those bars up. That means that 5 bars on their phone could still mean a lower signal coming form the tower and a high signal generated from your phone. In fact the carriers like giving those people that complain about signal levels on their phones the juiced up models...that way they can full you into thinking you got better signal! If you have 1 or two bars, you can be certain that your cell phone has to power up to full, most of the time. You also notice that the cell phones battery runs out quicker... because it is transmitting at full power!

So what can be done about lowering the energy level of the cell phone so that I minimize the risks, if any, associated with electromagnetic radiation exposure? What you need to do is get better downlink signals from the tower so that your phone does not have to power up as high. There are several ways to do this

1. Use an External Antenna

In some phones, there is a " small plug located at the back either top or bottom...Behind this plug is a jack that connects directly to the antenna output of the cell phone. With an adapter connected to a cable plugged into this port, you can add an external antenna that can be placed at least 1 meter (3 feet) away from you. A few things happen as a result. The amount of energy you get from the external antenna at 3 feet is 1000 times less than that of the antenna of the cell phone when placed against you rear. As well, since this antenna is more efficient than the small one at the back of your cell phone, the phone is more efficient in transmitting and receiving the signal and therefore powers down to the lowest levels. In some cases this amounts to 10000 times less energy needed, increased talk time, and better reception of course no dropped calls. The Antenna can be stuck to the car window (we have suction cop antennas) to your window at your house as well. OR you can simply hold it at a distance or place it beside you. With the Magnetic mount antennas., placing it outside the car or home results in a doubling of the signal levels of the towers, and halving of the transmission energy of the cell phone.

2. Install a docking station.

We have two products on our side, one made by Dock N talk, and the other is Siemens Gigaset. These two products connect to your cell phone either wirelessly or via a cable to the data port. By placing the docking station near a window, say in your kitchen and attaching the cell phone to it, your signal level of the cell phone will be higher. More importantly, the cell phone when transmitting will be nowhere near you. That is because these two products connect the cell phone directly to the landline phone sin your home. When someone calls your cell number, the house phone rings. You pick it up, (even has caller ID) and you answer just like you would if the phone is up against your ear. AS well, you can dial out. The cell phone does not have to be next to you! It can be anywhere else in the house. The added benefit of course is that you can get rid of your landline entirely and use the cell phone only.

3. Adding a repeater system.

If you have at least 3 bars outside your home and 1-2 bars inside, you are a perfect candidate for Cell phone booster or Repeater. The reason the signal level is lower in your house than outside is because building materials absorb and reflect radio frequency signals. Our repeater system simply put bridges this resistance, and takes the signal from outside, amplifies it and transmits it inside. Similarly the signal from your phone gets amplified and sent to the tower. You install an antenna outdoors, run the cable inside to the amplifier and install a small indoor antenna. Turn it on and presto! 1 bar becomes 5, and as I said, the more bars you see on your phone the less signal is being transmitted.

Some may ask, but what about the energy coming from the repeater? Isn't that a worry? Fact is because our antenna outside sees the tower... the amount of energy that is being picked up and amplifier is about the same as the output power of the cell phone. The difference is that the antenna of the repeater is located three or more feet from where you are. That means the signal level from the repeater is 1000 times or more less than that of your cell phone at your ear! No worries here! We have repeaters for small homes, offices, warehouse and even hospitals and hotels. The added benefit of course is not only do you reduce the radiation level of the cell phones, you increase talk time, get less dropped calls, and you are able to use your phone in more places than before.

4. How about the RAD sticker?

There are many products on the market that tell you that they will reduce the energy of the cell phone. Stickers placed at the back of your phone for instance are nothing more than a sham. Any metal placed near the antenna of a cell phone causes the cell phone to get less signal from the tower...and if you have been reading....forces your phone to power up at higher levels!

5. More Text Messaging less Phone Use.

Use text messaging more often. I always wonder in this world of progress, how we ended up back with text messaging. IF you are older, and remember the days of the pager, you would dial a phone number for a pager, and a signal would be sent, the pager would beep and the person would call his answering service. That migrated to being able to send the phone number to the pager of the party that wanted to be called, to being able to answer back to another pager by a small keyboard on the pager that you received it or sending a message. This migrated to being able to call someone using a cell phone rather than paging them. This migrated to paging them on a cell phone, then finally text messaging them instead of calling them. How the hell did we do a full 360 degree circle with technology that was supposed to move us forward?

Having said that, the best you can do, is use the technology sparingly. There is no reason to talk on a cell phone if you have a landline near you. AS well, you could do the good old fashion way of waiting until you get home to call your friend. What is so urgent? If the WHO is right, and maybe they are wrong, or maybe next year they will look at the facts, be pressured by the CTIA (organization that represents the carriers) and have their ruling about cell phones overturned. Perhaps even better....they will read my article, ask the people performing the study to study more... and maybe 50 years from now, we will get a different answer.... Cell Phones are healthy! They reduce your stress levels. Less stress = better health. Higher tower signals = lower cell phone transmission power = better health.

If you have any concern whatsoever regarding the use of the cell phone, you can abstain from using it of course. However, any and all of the solutions described above will certainly decrease the energy levels, reduce the risk of cancer if any, and provide you with decent coverage and less dropped calls.

Howard Melamed is living proof that the Science of Opportunity works. His book " the Science of Opportunity " has helped people make decisions in their life moving forward in business and personal relationships. ( http://www.scienceofopportunity.com )

As Howard moved through life, he continued to see opportunity where others did not and then capitalize on his insight and using his foresight as a marketer to ride the crest of the Internet wave with his ecommerce store-all unique openings he identified and developed following the principles of The Science of Opportunity.

To those who might say he is lucky, Howard explains that, luck had nothing to do with it. He always found a way to be open to, recognize, and act on opportunity when it came his way. Today Howard is CEO and President of the CellAntenna Corporation, ( http://www.cellantenna.com ) a multinational, multimillion- dollar telecommunications service company with employees worldwide. He has been interviewed by Associated Press, International Tribune, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Fox News, MSNBC and on numerous radio talk shows. He continues to contribute articles to his Web site, Coralsprings.com, and plans to publish two more novels in 2011.

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Antenna - Base Station CB Antennas

Continuing with our research into the CB craze of the mid 70s we'll take a look at what were considered the elite antennas when it came to having a CB setup. While the truckers may have ruled the roads and channel 19, it was the everyday hobbyist who ruled the airwaves from his home, and rule they did.

If you were on CB and really wanted to impress people with your booming voice over the airwaves you had no choice but to set up a base unit. Not only were the units themselves powerful but the antennas that people put up on their roof tops could have given some rival TV stations a run for their money.

Choosing a CB antenna for your base station was not easy. There were plenty to choose from and they all had their pluses and minuses.

One of the most powerful, yet most frustrating was the ever popular Moon Raker. This was a beam antenna that looked very similar to TV antennas, most having 3 elements mounted on an 11 meter base. These were called regular Moon Rakers. However, there were beam antennas that had up to six elements on them. They were referred to as a Moon Raker 6. These things were huge. The problem with them was that they were directional antennas. What this means is that depending on what direction your antenna was pointing that was where you got your best reception and transmission. So if you were speaking to somebody who was south of you and your antenna was pointing north you had to turn the antenna 180 degrees in order to get a decent reception. This got to be a pain after a while. The plus side was that these antennas were so powerful they could cut through anything once you had your target zeroed in.

Another popular base antenna was what was called the "Big Stick". This was really just a very long fiberglass antenna. They were usually about 10 to 15 feet long. They weren't as powerful as the Moon Raker but they transmitted and received equally well in all directions and therefore were great all purpose base antennas especially if you were in a centrally located area where you had a number of people you could speak to in all directions. Also, Big Sticks were relatively cheap next to a Moon Raker that sold for a couple of hundred dollars. A Big Stick was about $70.

For people who didn't have a very large budget, there were base station antennas made that quite honestly were not much more powerful than their mobile counterparts. When you take the lack of power of these antennas into account against their price tag of about $50, it made much more sense to go with a Big Stick.

The biggest problem with all of these antennas, especially in the old days, was that they were constantly interfering with TV receptions. Today with cable, things are not quite as bad.

Even though CB isn't as popular with homeowners as it was 30 years ago, you can still see these bad boys on roof tops if you look close enough. Just make sure you stop the car first before taking a look.

-------------------------------------------------------
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Antennas
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Soleus Air CFM-40e Dehumidifier Review

Recently I purchased a Soleus Air CFM-40e dehumidifier for moisture problems in my bedroom. Based on my experience I can honestly say the Soleus Air CFM-40e series dehumidifier ranks amongst the top of all brands in this size. Chances are, if you believe you need a dehumidifier then you probably need one. Some of the signs that you need a dehumidifier are rotting wood trim, musty odors, window condensation, water stains on interior walls and increased allergic reactions. All of these are an indication of increased moisture in your home and a reason to buy a good dehumidifier.

If you ignore the moisture, the result will be the growth of mold and mildew and also the release of mold spores which are a main contributor to allergies and asthma. If not taken care of quickly, long term moisture problems can and will cause thousands of dollars in damage.

The first thing you need to do is try to get to the root of the moisture problem. Your best bet is to fix the moisture problem at the root. However, sometimes it's just not possible to find or fix the problem; thus making a dehumidifier imperative. If you're looking for an efficient, quiet dehumidifier then look no further than the Soleus Air CFM-40e. Below are the features and my review of the Soleus Air CFM-40e.

Nearly Silent Operation

Without a doubt the biggest complaint for dehumidifiers is the noise level. If you've ever stood next to a dehumidifier you know how loud they can be. The Soleus Air CFM-40E is without a doubt the most quiet dehumidifier I have ever used or heard. The unit has three power levels; Quiet, Medium and High. With the power level set to Quiet, the sound level is 41 decibels according to the user's guide. To make this easier to understand, a library is typically around 30 decibels. Normal conversation is 60 - 70 decibels. So 41 decibels is somewhere between a whisper quiet library and a normal conversation.

I also have an older LG dehumidifier. It's used in my basement. It certainly is a real work horse. But it's also sounds like a jet engine at take off. I had done tons of research on dehumidifiers before purchasing one. But I was still very nervous when I ordered the Soleus Air CFM-40e because it was to be used in my bedroom and I had never heard one run. I needed something that was very quiet. The Soleus Air CFM-40e is definitely that; extremely quiet. I don't always run it at night because humidity levels aren't always high, but when I do run it at night, I don't even notice it's there. It sits about 3 feet from the foot of my bed. I'm not saying you can't hear it at all, but it's kind of like white noise. I typically have a TV on in my bedroom when I go to bed. The timer is set on the TV for 60 minutes and I am usually sleeping long before that. While the TV is on, I cannot hear the dehumidifier at all. If I happen to wake up at night I no longer even notice it's on.

Unlike traditional dehumidifiers, the Soleus Air CFM-40e uses a rotary compressor, which is one of the reasons it's so quiet. Most other compressors use a reciprocating type compressor which is louder. The fan motor is also nearly silent. The Soleus Air engineers went to great lengths during the design phase to ensure nearly silent operation.

Extremely Powerful Dehumidifying Capability

Dehumidifiers work by drawing air into the unit with a fan. As air is drawn into the dehumidifier it is cooled by pulling the air over a cold coil system. Cool air does not have the capability to hold water like warm air does. As the air is cooled, the water in the warm air condenses on the cool coils. The water which has collected on the coils then runs off those coils and drips into a catch pan. Once the air has shed its water, it is drawn back over warmer coils. The warm coils heat the air back up to more room like temperature without inducing more water into the air. The more surface area the coils have, the greater the dehumidifying capability of the unit.

The Soleus Air CFM-40e is rated to remove 40 pints of water per day. That's 5 gallons of water every day. However, the water tank will only hold 12.5 pints of water. This means if your room air is so humid that the dehumidifier actually removes 40 pints per day, you would need to empty the tank roughly 3.5 times per day. The Soleus Air CFM-40e does come standard with a continuous drainage port. The continuous drainage port allows you to connect a hose to the side of the unit and drain directly into a drain of some type or even out a window if you have access to one.

Perfect Humidity Levels With Adjustable Humidistat

Once humdity get above 50%, mold and mildew can start to grow, and other moisture problems can surface. Humidity levels can be measured with a simple hygrometer. A hygrometer is a tool that will tell you how humid the air is by measuring the amount of water vapor in the air. The prices are all over the map, but for a small investment you can get a good idea how humid your area is. I purchased a hygrometer online and paid less than $10. It works very well.

The Soleus Air CFM-40e has 4 humidity level settings. Three of the settings are dry / medium / moist. The dry setting is for a humidity level of 50%. The medium setting keeps is for a 60% humidity level and the moist setting keeps the area at 70% humidity. The fourth setting is continual de-humidification. At this setting the Soleus Air CFM-40e will keep sucking water like a camel getting ready for a desert trip.

Initially I thought the lack of a wider range of settings might be a problem. Not to worry. I've found that leaving the unit set for the dry setting keeps my bedroom between 45% and 50% humidity. Sometimes the humidity level will be a little lower and sometimes it's a little higher depending on where I've placed the hygrometer. The Soleus Air CFM-40e has plenty of adjustments to get you the humidity level you need.

Miscellaneous Features

Without a doubt, dehumidification capability and quietness are two most important factors when deciding upon a dehumidifier. However, the Soleus Air CFM-40e has more features that make it an outstanding value.

1. It's energy efficient! I hooked the Soleus Air CFM-40e up to an electric usage meter. Based on that I calculated if I was to run the dehumidifier 24 hours a day, 7 days a week it would cost me about $20. I don't run it close to that much. I've found out that in the winter time I do not need to run it all all because the furnace is running and the air is colder and drier. In the summer time, I run it 8 hours per day; so that's about $7 per month. Not bad at all to solve a moisture problem.


2. An attractive design. You won't see it displayed in an art gallery, but for a dehumidifier it's not bad looking. Most dehumidifiers are boxy and industrial looking. The Soleus Air CFM-40e has a nice rounded, aerodynamic look. Even though you wouldn't see this in an art gallery, I have seen modern art not nearly as attractive.


3. There are wheels on the bottom if the unit to make moving it easier. It's not a very heavy unit, weighing in at less than 31 pounds. But the wheels make it easy to move from one area to another if you need to.


4. Adjustable louvers on the top of the unit to direct the output airflow where you want it to go.


5. The Soleus Air CFM-40e will operate down to 36 degrees Fahrenheit. This is important because if you use it in your basement or garage it will continue to work down that temperature. Other dehumidifiers will not work in temperatures that low. Ensure you check the temperature rating of any unit you purchase and verify it will work in the area you plan to place it.


6. A magnetic float that automatically turns the unit off when the drainage tank is full. No need to worry about the unit overflowing. Just be sure you don't remove the styrofoam that's attached to the float when you unpack the unit. The styrofoam is there for a purpose, but it looks like packing material.

A Quirk That's Not A Quirk

When the Soleus Air CFM-40e is powered on, you will immediately notice one thing about it that you may not like. But, this one quirk is actually a smart design by Soleus Air. The minor quirk is while the unit is powered on, the intake fan runs continuously. Even when the unit is not activiely dehumidifying the intake fan is running. This is a smart idea because when the intake fan is running the room air is continuously being cycled. By doing this the dehumidifier can constantly monitor the humidity in the room. If the air was not being moved in the room, the dehumidifier would only be able to monitor the humidity in the area in which it was located. The fan running all the time is not really an issue because it is so quiet. I've been very happy with my purchase of the Soleus Air CFM-40e. If I ever need another dehumidifier I would certainly look at at Soleus Air.

Bill has worked as a support engineer in the AIDC industry for more than 10 years. He is an avid reader, blogger and self-taught guitar player. His blog at http://bestgiftsfor.com reviews, compiles other reviews and recommends the best gifts for everyone on your shopping list. You can also visit http://www.barcodehelponline.com for more information on barcodes and barcode scanners.

Mastering Hip Hop Songs in Your Own Home Recording Studio Or Computer

I cannot stress enough the benefit of having your home recorded Hip Hop songs Mastered by an outside Mastering Engineer that specializes in the Hip Hop genre. The end result will no doubt be better when done by a trained ear with an acoustically tuned environment & Mastering specific gear. With that said, it is possible for you to achieve usable results in your home Hip Hop recording studio & the purpose of this article is to help you achieve those results using the recording gear/software that you already own. If you are recording on Digidesign Protools software then you can use the plug ins that came with the program. Most similar programs should have comparable processing plug ins so consult your user manual for those.

You will start your mastering session with a two track stereo mix of your song preferably with the master level peaking at about -3db never hitting the red on the meter. This mix should already be sounding the way you want while needing a boost in volume & maybe a couple EQ tweaks to make it translate well to various sound systems/sources.

Starting with the EQ make adjustments to the lows, mids, & highs, based on any notes that you taken after listening to your mix on several different types of sound sources such as earbuds, a car system, a bookshelf stereo, a mono clock radio, laptop speakers etc. Your goal is for your master to end up sounding good on all the different systems where of course on larger systems with sub woofers you will have more bass & on laptop speakers & earbuds there will be little or no sub bass. The key is to have a master that still retains clarity on each of these sources. When you listen to your mix on these sources listen for frequency problems that tend to show up on multiple sound sources as these are the first things you should work on with the EQ. You should try trial & error to find the frequencies and remember it is always better to fix by cutting the offensive sounds then by boosting other frequencies to cover them. Remember that any EQ tweaks that you perform on the stereo mix is going to affect the whole song so make sure the adjustments are actually fixing the problem without causing a bigger one in another area.

The next step in your home Hip Hop Mastering session after you are happy with the EQ results will be adding a Compressor to the track. This will be used to give the song a smooth level sound making the track level consistent from start to finish. The Compressor will also aid in boosting the perceived volume of the song. Below is a set of Compressor settings that I have come to use on Hip Hop tracks as a starting point when putting together a song Master.

gain 3.5 db

threshold -22.6 db

ratio 3.00:1

attack 11 ms

release 50 ms

knee 80

(These are compressor start off positions which I have found are a good starting point for Hip Hop recordings where the mix has been peaked at -3db)

The next device in line after the Compressor is a Limiter, which is kind of like a Compressor on steroids, the Limiter will be used to max out the volume of the mix & create a master that is as loud as any commercially released Hip Hop track.

The Limiter settings shown below are settings that I have found to be a good starting point achieving a loud yet not distorted final master of a Home studio recorded Hip Hop track

3.5 gain

threshold 17.6 db

attack 1.0 ms

release 20 ms

(These are Limiter start off positions which I have found are a good starting point for Hip Hop recordings where the mix has been peaked at -3db)

You will want to do A/B listening comparisons between your working master & a commercially released Hip Hop track that is similar in style to your song. You will want your master to be as loud as the commercially released song and translate well on all the different sound systems/sources.

Just as you will want to do with a mix, after completing your song master save it & leave it alone for a day or two then come back to it with fresh ears and you may have a different perspective on it & finds things to fix that may have been missed earlier. once you feel your song master is comparable to the commercially released song you are done mastering your new song.

There are many different specialty programs & software plug ins that are designed for Mastering however this article is geared toward those that are trying to master their songs using the options that are already present on their recording software or workstation. Also keep in mind that Pro Mastering houses will furnish you with a master CD that will be verified to be error free as well as contain special encoding that will be the master you would want to give to a CD replication/duplication plant to get mass produced CD's. This is an important feature though it seems in the music business more & more artists are bypassing the cost of getting CD's made & instead having download only releases.

The information in this article should give you a path to follow when attempting to master your Hip Hop songs in your own home studio. There are no rules set in stone though trial & error have helped to formulate the mastering procedure given above.

Brian G a.k.a. BG has 15 years experience starting out as a Deejay turned Producer/remixer turned recording engineer with an honor student diploma from AIA. Brian G has recorded over 50 Hip-Hop and R&B artists in his home studios as well as recorded his own hip-hop songs.

Brian G has also recorded in commercial recording studios and radio station production studios. The tips/techniques in this article come from all the experiences encountered during the various hip hop recording processes and have proven to make much better end recordings when followed by any artist recording their own material at home. Visit http://www.BRIANGMUSIC.COM to contact BG & listen to some of his songs and remixes. Song Production Services available at http://www.BGBEATS.COM

Health and Safety: Noise Hazards in the Workplace

Elimination of noise is the most effective way to prevent risks to workers and should be considered when new equipment is purchased or procured for workplaces. Low noise equipment should be selected when possible. A project manager or the equivalent person is responsible for demonstrating that equipment noise levels have been considered as part of the selection process. The control of noise generation/exposure should be considered at every stage of a project and recorded with suitable controls. Site management should monitor activities and determine when noise assessments are required. As a rule of thumb if 2 people stood 2m apart have to raise their voices to be heard then a potential noise problem exists and an assessment should be made (all machinery emitting over 85dB (A) should be considered to be a noise risk).

Occupational noise assessments should be undertaken by a competent person using a calibrated noise meter and should include an octave band analysis. A results sheet should be used for this purpose. Where a noise problem is identified all reasonable steps should be taken to reduce the noise at source and should consider both equipment and workplace design and maintenance.

Engineering controls to include this may include isolation of the source (enclosure, vibration damping), reduction at source or in path (enclosure, barriers, mufflers), replacement or alteration of machines (electrical rather than pneumatic) and carrying out effective preventative maintenance (restriction workplace zones etc).

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as ear plugs and ear muffs should be used as a last resort, after all efforts to eliminate or reduce the source of the noise have been exhausted. Ear protection should be selected from the approved PPE list and should be appropriate for the type and duration of the noise, be compatible with other PPE and correctly stored and maintained.

Personnel should be given a choice of suitable hearing protection so they can select the most comfortable solution. Training should be given in its use, storage and maintenance. At the Lower Exposure Action Value of 80dB suitable ear protection should be made available. All individuals should be informed of the noise risk. At the Upper Exposure Action Value 85 dB suitable ear protection should be provided and should be worn in the Ear Protection Zones. Ear protection zones should be clearly marked with the standard blue and white ear protection logo signs.

Health surveillance should be undertaken where workers are regularly exposed above the Upper Exposure Action Values (85 dB and 137 dB peak noise) or when workers are occasionally exposed above the Upper Exposure Action Value, especially if individuals are particularly sensitive to noise, have a family history of the hazard or have previous exposures. All personnel should receive information and training to help them understand and deal with the noise related risks. This should include, but not be limited to the risks faced (as well as the measures taken to eliminate or reduce them), the results of the risk assessment with noise measurements and noise control and hearing protection measures, including restricted areas and PPE.

Documentation relating to the noise hazards should be retained at a work site. In larger companies, upon completion of the project all information should be archived at the company's head office including noise risk assessments, induction and briefing records, PPE issue records, health surveillance records and noise monitoring/measurements.

For FREE hassle-free quick reference health and safety information in small easy to understand bite size chunks, go to http://www.myfiresafetytraining.com/health-and-safety-training/

How To Calculate Cubic Metres (CBM) When Shipping

Determining Cubic Metres or CBM is the first step you should take in determining how to ship your cargo. You don't want to be shipping FCL cargo as FCL Groupage cargo nor do you want to be shipping FCL Groupage Cargo as FCL, unless obviously you have reached or exceeded the break-even point of your cargo which I teach in the section FCL vs FCL Groupage.

The CBM of a consignment is always calculated

L x W x H

e.g. 3,20 x 2,45 x 1,56

= 12,23CBM

For Seafreight shipments, the idea is to calculate CBM in metres. If you have 320cm's
then convert it to 3,2metres before starting the calculation.
If you have 45cm's then your formula will have 0,45metres.

A 20ft General Purpose or dry container will pack a maximum of 33,2CBM whilst a 40ft General Purpose or dry container will pack 67,7CBM.

A 40ft High Cube which will allow you more space to pack and will pack a maximum of 76,3CBM.
All of the above are subject to your line of commodity and how it is packed.

40ft General Purpose containers and High Cube containers are only to be used for larger volume cargo and not larger weight cargo. In my article on cargo weights and road weight limitations, I discuss this point further.

Also to bear in mind is the length of your cargo, you can't pack 13 metre steel pipes in a 40ft General Purpose container as it is only 12,036metres in lenght. The proper equipment will be required in this case.

For airfreight shipments, the method that the airline industry uses is the
Volume / Weight.

If you have 5 boxes that identical in size that are 23cmx34cmx56cm (LxBxH)
Presume that the actual weight of each of the 5 boxes is 10kgs.

What you will have to do first is separate the Volumetric from the Actual Weight.

Volumetric Weight Actual Weight
(23x34x56) div 6000 10kgs per box
= 43792 div 6000
= 7,30kgs per box

For 5 boxes : 7,30 x 5 For 5 boxes : 10 x 5

=36,5kgs =50kgs

The true weight needed to be declared to the airline here will be the actual weight
of the boxes of 50kgs.

Note: Airfreight is calculated in cm's not in metres as in seafreight.

Volumetric weight must be calculated by dividing by a denominator of 6000 in your formula when calculating cubic centimetres (cm) or dividing by 166 when calculating cubic inches (ins)

Make sure that your cargo can fit through the airline's loading doors.

10 Steps to Recording Better Hip Hop Songs in Your Own Home Studio

Let me start by saying if you can afford to go and record your songs at a commercial studio because you will have the advantage of top notch gear and pro engineers to handle the technical stuff allowing you to focus on the vocal performance alone. Stay home a couple weekends and put the bar money into your recording fund as an investment in your career if at all possible and still follow step 1 below when going to a commercial studio. If you insist on doing it all yourself, follow the 10 steps below and you will definitely end up with a better Hip Hop home studio song recording.

Step # 1. Memorize your song lyrics to the point where they come just as natural as when your singing along with your favorite song. Do not record if you have to read your verses off of notebook paper.

Step #2. Try to keep your mouth approximately 3 to 6 inches from the mic when recording, placing your pop screen three inches in front of the mic will help you maintain the right distance. Do a test vocal run recording at the level that you will actually be rapping at. A simple mic check 1, 2 is not enough for a recording level check. Adjust the interface/preamp gain input so that your vocal recording averages in the middle of the meter without hitting red even on the loudest parts. It is a good idea to record with a compressor on your vocal tracks this will help keep your vocals at a steady level. Most recording programs like pro tools le has presets for vocal compression that are good starting points. When you find the right settings write them down, save as custom settings, take a picture of the knob, mark with tape etc so you can recall easily. Do this for each different rapper you record. Be sure to use a pop filter or windscreen in front of/on the mic to keep the plosive pops ( like from p sounds & t sounds) out of the vocal recording. Place heavy blankets or carpet on the walls behind & around where the mic stand is to keep the room sound/echo zing out of your recording. Buy an SE Reflexion filter if you can afford one.

Step # 3. Record 1 verse at a time & get a perfect take of each verse with every word pronounced right. Treat it as if you were not even going to have adlibs as if the 1 main vocal track was going to have to carry the song. Keep your main vocal track panned dead center. Avoid having to punch in because if you can't record your verse without messing up how would you ever perform it.

Step # 4. Use adlibs/ over dubs to accentuate key words phrases on your main vocal don't use adlibs to fix badly pronounce words your main vocal track should be perfect remember that. Duplicate your adlib tracks & pan 1 to the left & 1 to the right 10 to 50 % lower their volume so the blend well with the main vocal & accentuate the words without overpowering them. Do not layer performances of your entire vocal over & over unless you want to have the chant/crowd or the sound of ten of you . Most songs will be better without that effect. Additional adlibs/ sound effects, other person voice reactions to lyrics follow the same but pan slightly different & eq a little different so may stand out from the other vocals at low volume without clashing. **Avoid editing out all of the breathing/breaths on the vocal tracks, you may reduce the volume but leave the natural breaths removing only those occurring in un-natural places and in doubled vocals.

Step # 5. When mixing the vocal tracks at first mute the beat/instrumental & get a good balance between all the vocal tracks recorded that sounds on it's own, compare with an accapella from a major hip hop artist many can be found online. When you get a great accapella mix render it/bounce out to a two-track stereo file & save it by itself. Import that two track mix of your accapella into your recording program. Mute the separate vocal tracks now & unmute your beat. Adjust the volume level of your vocals track so that you can hear each part of the vocal as well as each element of the beat. Do this at a very low volume on your speakers. Make sure you can hear EVERY part then turn the speaker volume up to a comfortable listening level.. *** make you're your master fader output is not hitting the red & try to keep ii peaked at the -3db level. The overall song volume will be maxed out to industry level during mastering don't worry about overall loudness in the mix concentrate on blending all the parts to sound good together.

Step # 6. When you have the mix sounding good to your ears put in one of your favorite hip-hop songs that may be similar to yours turn the volume on it down so the volume level matches your mix listen to both & take notes to how your mix sounds in comparison. Burn a cd of it & do the same test in your car preferably on a factory system with no eq setting set. Go back & make the adjustments that you noted during the test. It is a good idea to wait several hours or even a day to let your ears rest & get fresh again. When you get a mix you like that passes the a//b tests save it & render/bounce it out to two track stereo mix. Bounce out another one with your vocal s raised about 1 to 2 db as well & label it as such. These are the two mixes that you will want to send to be mastered or master yourself though not recommended to do it yourself. The mastering engineer can listen to both & master the one that his/her unbiased ears think is best. They will pick the one that will have the better overall sound after mastering so trust them.

Step # 7. If mastering yourself know that you will need to rest your ears about a day first then use an eq to fix any overall frequency issues then use a compressor to smooth out the mix, then a limiter to raise the overall volume of the mix to be as loud as any commercially released track. Go ahead & do new a/b tests with your favorite industry track this time with the goal of making your song as loud as the industry track even while both volume faders are set the same. Listen to the overall sound & try to get as close the overall quality as you can. Software such as Propeller head Reason as well as others has Mastering suites included that have mastering presets that can be good starting points for your song mastering though adjustments must be made to fit your song.

Step # 8. Use your ears & judge the sound closing your eyes is a good idea to get a different perspective too. Rest your ears for a day then come back to the song for a different perspective. Try to listen to it from the point of view of an average music fan, ask yourself if it sounds like a song you would want to listen to if it was not yours or if you were not even involved in music. Try your best to be objective.

Step # 9. Listen to your master on many different types of systems such as your studio monitors, your car system, your iPod ear buds, very cheap headphones, high quality headphones A loud club system if you can, Laptop built in speakers, a clock radio, an aftermarket car system if you can. Also check your song on mono sound sources to make sure you can still hear everything ok. A great master will sound good /translate well on all kinds of playback systems. That is actually the point of mastering, to make your song loud and make it translate well everywhere.

Step # 10. Get opinions of your songs from people associated in the music business as well as just non music business people like just regular fans. You need to know if your song is something an everyday person would want to listen to on a daily basis. Take constructive critic for what it is "constructive" Use the information to improve and make better songs in the future because really as an unsigned hip-hop artist, you should want to be able to give your music to the world with pride and not have to make excuses for the sound quality/mix etc. All the techniques and tools to capture great song recordings are out there for anybody to obtain. You just have to write great songs then take the time, however long that is, to record the perfect vocal takes, make the mix down, & get the master right.

By following the above 10 steps you will definitely record better Hip Hop songs in your home studio that will be able to compete with songs recorded by the pros.  It is up to you however to either make or purchase catchy beats and write great songs that are worthy of your recording efforts and investment in time.

Brian G a.k.a. BG has 15 years experience starting out as a Deejay turned Producer/remixer turned recording engineer with an honor student diploma from AIA. Brian G has recorded over 50 Hip-Hop and R&B artists in his home studios as well as recorded his own hip-hop songs.

Brian G has also recorded in commercial recording studios and radio station production studios.

The tips/techniques in this article come from all the experiences encountered during the various hip hop recording processes and have proven to make much better end recordings when followed by any artist recording their own material at home. Visit http://www.BRIANGMUSIC.COM to contact BG & listen to some of his songs and remixes. Song Production Services available at http://www.BGBEATS.COM

Desibel

DESIBEL -- the Worlds Largest Mobile Horn Laod speaker Soundsystem Desibel, a mobile sound art project, commissioned by Vevringutstillinga in 2009, for their 30th anniversary of their annual exhibition. Desibel is a ten meter long horn, sounding with frequencies between 15 Hz and 15 000 Hz reaching 130 Db within ten meters distance. Weight: 2 tons Height: 3.6 meters Length: 10 meters It plays a ten-minute long composition written by Maja SK Ratkje. The composition is made based on quency analysis of the horn, and the pitches are chosen to give the horns a full volume range.

Red Leafed Plants: Evolution in Progress?

Each spring when the colorful mosaic of flowers comes to a close, red-leafed plants stand out in the sea of green. While green- and red-leafed trees, bushes, and flora consist of chloroplasts to undertake photosynthesis, the latter utilize anthocyanins to provide added benefits and to differentiate themselves. The question is, with the continued ozone depletion that allows harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays to penetrate the atmosphere at greater levels and intensity and subtle changes in sunlight ranging from brightness to the way it is refracted due to the continued buildup of emissions and pollutants, is the existence of red-leafed plants evidence of evolution in progress? Is a transformation underway in which they will become the dominant type?

While these questions cannot be readily answered, it appears that red-leafed plants hold several advantages. They absorb green and yellow wavelengths (two dominant colors of the spectrum), they attract “friendly” insects to assist with pollination, they repel “hostile” pests that would exploit them, and they can tolerate environmental stress better than green-leafed plants because of their slower metabolism. However, to gain these advantages, red-leafed plants must expend energy and utilize nutrients to produce the pigmentation responsible for their color.

Red-leafed plants “are common throughout all orders of the plant kingdom, from… basal liverworts [mosses, ferns, gymnosperms (cycads or conifers)][1] to the most advanced angiosperms (flowering plants with ovaries). They [exist] in habitats as diverse as the Antarctic shoreline and the tropical rainforests, are as abundant in arid deserts as in freshwater lakes, and seem equally at home in the light-starved forest understorey (ground-lower level) as in the sun-drenched canopy (upper level-top).”[2] While the existence of red leaves is transient in some plants (e.g. deciduous plants that change colors in the fall, others that start out with red hues in the spring), it is permanent in other species. The focus of this article is on the plants with red leaf pigments that exist for the duration of their lives.

The “Red” in Leaves

Anthocyanins (mainly cyanidin-3-O-glucoside)[3], which belong to the flavonoid family are the key water-soluble pigment responsible for giving a plant its red color. They are synthesized in the cytoplasm[4] and reside in the vacuole of leaf cells. Other contributing pigments or photoreceptor chemicals that emit “reddish” colors are thiarubrine A, the 3-deoxyanthocyanins, the betalains, some terpenoids, and certain carotenoids. These pigments too, may perform similar functions and provide similar benefits as anthocyanins.

Based on their properties, anthocyanins absorb the green and yellow wavebands of light, commonly between 500 and 600 nanometers (nm)[5] (each nonmeter is equal to one billionth (10-9) of a meter), making leaves appear red to purple as they “reflect the red to blue range of the visible spectrum”[6] of light. In addition, flavins absorb blue wavelengths of light [to some degree], also contributing to a “reddish” color in leaves.[7] “Interestingly [though], the amount of red light that is reflected from red leaves often… correlates [poorly] to anthocyanin content; leaf morphology (structure and form) and the amount and distribution of chlorophyll are… stronger determinants of red reflectance.”[8] Although chlorophyll is the pigment responsible for giving most plants their green color, an experiment showed that it can play a role in red reflectance. When a transparent pure chlorophyll solution was created from ground up spinach leaves mixed with acetone to dissolve chloroplasts and their membranes, it reflected a “reddish glow/flourescence” when a beam of light was directed at it.[9]

When it comes to Rhodophyta (Red Algae), phycoerythrin, a pigment belonging to the phycobilin family found in its chloroplasts is responsible for its color. Phycoerythrins absorb (between 500 and 650 nm. of)[10] blue wavelengths of light and reflect red wavelengths as Rhodophyta engage in photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the process that plants and some bacteria use to convert energy from sunlight into sugar (glucose); which cellular respiration converts into ATP (adenosine triphosphate), chemical energy or the “fuel” used by all living organisms. Photosynthesis uses six molecules of water (transported through the stem from the roots) and six molecules of carbon dioxide (that enter through a leaf’s stomata or openings) to produce one molecule of sugar (glucose) and six molecules of oxygen (6H2O + 6CO2 -> C6H12O6+ 6O2), the latter, which is released into the air (also through the leaf’s stomata). Although “sugar (glucose) molecules formed during photosynthesis serve as… the primary source of food”[11] for plants, excess sugar (glucose) molecules are converted into starch, “a polymer… to store energy”[12] for use at a later time when photosynthetic sources of energy are lacking.

While chlorophyll (green) is the best-known photosynthetic pigment, other pigments also play a role in converting sunlight into useable energy. They include carotenoids such as carotene (orange), xanthophylls (yellow), and phycoerythrin (red). When engaging in photosynthesis, chlorophyll “absorbs its energy from the Violet-Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths, and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths,”[13] while carotenoids and xanthophylls absorb some energy from the green wavelength, and phycoerythrin absorbs a significant amount of its energy from the blue wavelength. Many plants use multiple pigments for photosynthetic purposes, enabling them to maximize use of sunlight that falls on their leaves.

When comparing photosynthesis that occurs within red and green leaves, the latter, which have greater concentrations of chloroplasts, scientific studies have shown that the rate of photosynthesis is higher in green-leafed plants. In one experiment, green and red leaves were collected from the same deciduous tree and exposed to 5-10 minutes of light and another 5-10 minutes of darkness. Afterwards the change in Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels was measured to determine the rate of photosynthesis. The “results showed that green leaves [had] a higher mean rate of photosynthesis (-.5855 parts per million (ppm) CO2/minute/gram) than red leaves (-0.200 ppm CO2/minute/gram). [However] the differences in [the] average rates of photosynthesis were not significantly different.”[14]

Another experiment compared the photoperiodic sensitivity of green-leafed (Perilla frutescens) and red-leafed (Perilla crispa) Perilla (flowering Asian annuals) or how long it took each of the Perilla plants to reach the same level of growth or flowering based on exposure to different light conditions. When exposed to 8 hours of light, red-leafed Perilla took 4 days longer to reach the same growth stage as green-leafed Perilla. The results were more dramatic when each plant was exposed to continuous light – red-leafed Perilla took between 47 to 55 days longer to reach the same growth stage as green-leafed Perilla.[15]

A third experiment involved an in-depth study of photosynthesis in red- and green-leafed Quintinia serrata, a tree native to New Zealand. When the rate of photosynthesis was measured at the “cellular, tissue, and whole leaf levels to understand the role of anthocyanin pigments on patterns of light utilization” of red- and green-leafed Quintinia serrata, it was found that “anthocyanins in the mesophyll (photosynthetic tissue between the upper and lower epidermis of a leaf) restricted absorption of green light to the uppermost [section of the] mesophyll [and that] distribution was further restricted when anthocyanins were also present in the upper epidermis.”[16]

Accordingly, “mesophyll cells located beneath a cyanic (blue or bluish) light filter assumed the characteristic features of shade-adapted cells, [with red leaves showing] a 23% reduction in CO2 assimilation under light-saturating conditions, and a lower threshold of irradiance (density of radiation occurrence) for light-saturation, relative to those of green leaves.”[17] In short, the findings were consistent with the previous two experiments in which red leaves displayed slower rates of photosynthesis, exhibiting photosynthetic characteristics of “shade-acclimated plants.”[18]

Although green-leaves appear to hold the advantage when it comes to photosynthesis, this advantage should not be overstated since to compensate for their slower rate of photosynthesis, red-leafed plants exhibit slower metabolism as established by an experiment using Iodine to test for the presence of starch. When I tested red leaves of an Acer Palmatum Japanese Maple and Acer Rubrum Red Maple in May 2006 (when the leaves were young and after the respective trees had expended most of their excess reserves over the winter), red Iodine turned a dark blue when placed on their sub-epidermal tissue, indicating that each leaf tested held this polymer. Thus, their photosynthetic activities were not only producing sufficient amounts of sugar (glucose) but excess reserve amounts. Had the metabolic rate of red-leafed plants been comparable, the same, or faster than that of green-leafed plants, when their rate of photosynthesis is slower as established by the above three experiments, it is unlikely that they would have been able to produce excess sugar (glucose) as evidenced by the presence of starch.

In addition, the presence of anthocyanins, which slow photosynthetic rates also provide an advantage. They give red-leafed plants a higher tolerance for harmful UV rays, which can reduce photosynthetic productivity in green-leafed plants. This is especially important when considering the ongoing depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer that filters harmful UV rays, minimizing the level that reaches the earth’s surface.

Anthocyanins

The presence of anthocyanins provide important benefits (which are discussed below) to red-leafed plants. Had their presence been for mere extravagance (e.g. solely to provide color – red, pink, purple, and blue hues to enable these plants to stand out from the sea of green) it is unlikely that red-leafed plants would make “the considerable metabolic investment” and expend energy to synthesize and accumulate the pigment in their leaf cells. As Kevin S. Gould, one of the world’s leading botanists and researchers wrote, “…a wealth of… evidence, ascribes a remarkable diversity of functions to anthocyanins… many of them associated with stress responses and some potentially critical to a plant’s survival.”[19] In his words, “Anthocyanins are arguably the most versatile of all [plant] pigments, their multifarious (diverse) roles in plant stress responses stemming as much from the physicochemical property of light absorption as from their unique combination of biochemical reactivities.”[20]

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Researcher Paul Schaberg, a plant physiologist agrees. “There are all kinds of strategies that [plants] have to protect themselves and increase their chance of survival. …some trees have deep roots to get extra water and survive droughts. Others survive by just using less of the water they get. …red leaf coloration may be one of those specialized adaptive traits…”[21]

Protection from Hostile Environments

“When leaves receive more light energy than can be used in photochemistry, they show a characteristic decline in the quantum efficiency of photosynthesis, termed photoinhibition. Under severe conditions [critical leaf structures such as chloroplasts, thylakoid membranes (the area where photons from sunlight initiate photosynthesis), DNA, and proteins essential for photosynthetic activities can be harmed or destroyed].”[22]

Anthocyanins, through their absorption of blue-green light, “have been shown to protect plants from excess light during periods of high light stress (as occurs when plants are exposed to high light in combination with drought or cold temperatures)”[23] by providing a physicochemical barrier to protect a leaf’s chloroplasts and other critical structures. “Chloroplasts irradiated with light that has first passed through a red filter have been shown to generate fewer superoxide radicals (highly oxidized compounds)” that could damage a plant’s “photosystems (group of structures that perform photosynthesis)”[24] and impair its ability to transfer and use necessary sugar (glucose) to sustain its metabolism.

Numerous studies have shown that anthocyanins can effectively “reduce both the frequency and severity of photoinhibition [and] expedite photosynthetic recovery. [For example] in red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), a 30-minute exposure to strong white light [was found to have reduced] the quantum efficiency of photosynthesis by 60% in red leaves [and] by almost 100% in acyanic leaves (those without anthocyanins). [Then] when the plants were returned to darkness, the red leaves recovered to their maximum [photosynthetic] potential after… 80 minutes [while] their acyanic counterparts [still had not fully recovered] after six hours.”[25]

Another study involving the Setcreasea purpurea, a plant that can grow well under both extremely low light and high light conditions also illustrated this. When Setcreasea purpurea plants were kept in low light conditions, they did not synthesize anthocyanins. Accordingly their leaves were green. However, when these same plants were exposed to bright light conditions, they defensively accumulated anthocyanins in the epidermal layer of their leaves, transforming the color of their leaves to red. Accordingly, when the epidermal layer consisting of anthocyanins in the red leaves was removed, they exhibited a photoinhibitory effect similar to that experienced by green leaves, in which their photosynthetic yield was reduced by between 2-4 times from that of leaves where anthocyanins were present in their epidermal layer.[26]

Second, because of their ability “to absorb strongly in the UV region [of the spectrum]” anthocyanins have been proven to protect critical structures from “potentially damaging [amounts of] UV-B radiation – red-leafed Coleus varieties [were found to have retained] higher photosynthetic efficiencies… than green-leafed varieties” after exposure to UV radiation.[27] However, anthocyanins’ ability to absorb UV radiation is also a double-edged sword since if damage occurs, such absorption impairs DNA repair.

Third, since red-leafed plants have slower rates of photosynthesis and metabolism, they can also thrive well in low-light, high or low temperatures (anthocyanins “function as antifreeze by protecting leaves during a frost”[28] and from extreme heat) as well as from drought and desiccation (severe drying of tissues). For example, “New Zealand’s liverworts, [a primitive and simple land species] are remarkably resilient to environmental stresses such as intense sunlight, high temperatures, UV-B radiation, and desiccation.”[29]

In addition to protecting against harmful lighting, UV radiation, temperature extremes, droughts and desiccation, anthocyanins have been found to enhance plant resistance to heavy metal contamination (e.g. mercury) and wounds (e.g. leaf punctures).

Protection of Photolabile (Light-Sensitive) Defense Compounds and against Herbivory

Anthocyanins because of their absorptive qualities also play an important role in protecting photolabile (light-sensitive) molecules from degradation and damage caused by exposure to bright light and UV radiation. An example of this is illustrated in the silver beachweed (Ambrosia chamissonis), a plant that grows in sunny areas and contains large amounts of thiarubrine A, “a potent defense compound that is toxic to insects, bacteria, and fungi.” Without protection from two anthocyanic pigments – cyaniding-3-O-glucose and cyaniding-3-O-(6’-O-malonylglucoside) – this plant’s defenses would be rendered impotent since thiarubrine A is photolabile; even short exposures to visible light and/or [UV] radiation render it inactive.”[30]

Second, red color alone has also been found to protect plants from herbivory (harmful insects and organisms that feed on them). For example, “California maple aphids… readily [and harmfully] colonize [and exploit] yellow-orange leaves of Japanese maples [while ignoring] red-leafed [Japanese maples]. Similarily, leaf-cutting ants from tropical forests… browse significantly less on red leaves than on green leaves, [indicative that] athocyanins may serve as aposematic signals (warning of a special defense against enemies such as poison and toxins), [mimick the appearance of dead, inedible foliage and/or] simply render the leaves unpalatable.”[31]

Attraction of “Friendly” Creatures

While serving as a potent repellant to herbivores that could potentially cause serious or mortal harm through ingestion of plant foliage and compounds, anthocyanins also play the opposite role when it comes to “friendly” creatures. “The red colors of anthocyanic leaves”[32] also serve as a means to attract “birds, insects and mammals… for pollination and reproduction [purposes].”[33] When the fruit and background foliage of a Canadian shrub were manipulated, it was found that “red-orange [coloring accentuated] the conspicuousness of [its] black-colored fruits to birds [enabling them to remove the fruits at a higher rate, accordingly enhancing the plants’ reproductive efforts since when the fruits were consumed, their inedible seeds fell to the ground for possible germination].[34]

Antioxidants and Scavenging Free Radicals

Another important role of anthocyanins is that they serve as antioxidants to scavenge free radicals (highly oxidized compounds that could damage proteins, membrane lipids, DNA and other botanic structures) for salvageable compounds and diffuse their harmful energy. They reduce the amount of oxidized compounds by filtering out yellow-green light since “the majority of reactive oxygen in plant cells is derived from the excitation of chlorophyll.”[35] In one study, anthocyanins were found “to have the strongest antioxidizing power of [a group] of 150 flavonoids.” In another study, conducted by the USDA, anthocyanins in blackberries were found to have a potent antioxidant capacity against “superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and other oxidants.”[36] A third study, involving Arabidopsis plants (a species belonging to the mustard family that have white, yellow or purplish flowers) found that exposure “to strong light and low temperatures caused more lipid peroxidation in anthocyanin-deficient [plants]… Similarly, upon gamma irradiation, only those Arabidopsis plants that contained both anthocyanin and ascorbic acid were able to grow and flower normally.”[37]

Likewise, in a study involving Elatostema rugosum plants it was “established that red-leaved morphs held a significant antioxidant advantage over green morphs.”[38]

In addition a study reported by Kevin S. Gould also showed that anthocyanins served as a chemical remedy to repair damage caused by oxidation and free radicals. “Microscopic examinations of wounded leaf peels have shown that red-pigmented cells eliminate Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) significantly faster than… green cells.”[39]

Conclusion

While it appears red-leafed plants with their slower metabolic rate (to compensate for the edge green-leafed plants hold regarding photosynthesis) have an advantage because of the powerful presence of anthocyanins that give them an edge in hostile environments and assist with healing, the case cannot be made that “red” is biologically superior to “green.” Many green-leafed plants also utilize anthocyanins to reduce climactic stress – the only difference being is that they only expend energy to produce this pigment when most needed – spring to resist freezes and in autumn against heightened sensitivity to light exposure, thus ensuring that their leaves can “function long enough to unload nutrients and sugars” to store for the approaching winter and to give them a “head start for the next growing season.”[40] Last, if advantages of red-leafed plants were materially overwhelming (which, if their presence constitutes evolution in progress, could some day be the case depending on global warming, ozone depletion, and other adverse ecological changes), the vast majority of the Earth’s land would not be clothed in green.
_________________________________________________________________

[1]Kevin S. Gould. Plant ecophysiology research. (Otago, New Zealand: Department of Botany, University of Otago). 19 May 2006. [http://www.botany.otago.ac.nz/plant_ecophysiology/]

[2]Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife: The Diverse Protective Role of Anthocyanins in Leaves. Biomedicine and Biotechnology. 15 July 2004. 19 May 2006. http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1082902

[3]Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife: The Diverse Protective Role of Anthocyanins in Leaves.

[4]Kevin S. Gould, et. al. Functional role of anthocyanins in the leaves of Quintinia serrata A. Cunn. Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 51, No. 347 (June 2000). 22 May 2006. http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/51/347/1107

[5] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[6]Anthocyanin. Wikipedia.com. 13 May 2006. 19 May 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthocyanin

[7]Seeing Red. NewScientist.com. 29 October 1994. 22 May 2006. [http://www.newscientist.com/backpage.ns?id=lw63].

[8]Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[9]W.P. Armstrong. Photosynthesis & Cellular Respiration: Supplements To Biology 101 Cell Unit. 2001. 19 May 2006. http://waynesword.palomar.edu/photsyn1.htm

[10]Lecture 5 Photosynthesis I: Light, Pigments, and Leaves. 22 May 2006. [http://biology.wright.edu/courses/304/Lect5PhotoI.html]

[11]Karin Tanino. Photosynthesis: Leaf Coloration. 19 May 2006. http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/sciences/botanicalsciences/Photosynthesis/LeafColoration/LeafColoration.htm

[12]Starch. Polymer Science Learning Center, Department of Polymer Science, University of Southern Mississippi. 2003. 22 May 2006. http://pslc.ws/macrog/kidsmac/starch.htm

[13]M.J. Farabee. Photosynthesis. 2001. 19 May 2006. [http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookPS.html]

[14]Courtney Marne et. al.. The Effects of Leaf Color on Rates of Photosynthesis. Colorado University Boulder (Boulder, CO. 2004). 19 May 2006. http://www.colorado.edu/eeb/courses/1230jbasey/abstracts/29.htm

[15]William P. Jacobs. Comparison of Photoperiodic Sensitivity of Green-Leafed and Red-Leafed Perilla. Plant Physiology Vol. 70. July 1982. 19 May 2006. http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/abstract/70/1/303

[16]Kevin S. Gould et al. Profiles of photosynthesis within red and green leaves of Quintinia serrata. Plant Sciences Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland (Auckland, New Zealand: September 2002). 19 May 2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12207671&dopt=Abstract

[17]Kevin S. Gould et. al. Profiles of photosynthesis…

[18]Kevin S. Gould et al. Profiles of photosynthesis…

[19] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[20] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[21]Glenn Rosenholm. Maples gamble on antioxidant’s value, says New England researcher. News Release USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area. 18 October 2005. 24 May 2006. http://www.na.fs.fed.us/nanews/archives/2005/oct05/mapleantiox/mapleantiox.htm

[22] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[23]Anthocyanin. Wikipedia.com. 13 May 2006. 19 May 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthocyanin

[24] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[25] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[26]David Dewez et. al. Photorotective role of anthocyanins regulating PSII activity

[27] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[28]Glenn Rosenholm. Maples gamble on antioxidant’s value, says New England researcher. [29]Kevin S. Gould. Plant ecophysiology research. Department of Botany, University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand). 19 May 2006. [http://www.botany.otago.ac.nz/plant_ecophysiology/]

[30] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[31] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[32] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[33]Sean Henahan. Time to Leave. The National Health Museum. 19 May 2006. http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/SUA06/leaves.html

[34] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[35] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[36]Marilyn Sterling, R.D. Got Anthocyanins? Nutrition Science News. (Penton Media, Inc. 2006). 19 May 2006. [http://www.newhope.com/nutritionsciencenws/nsn_backs/Dec_01/antho.cfm]

[37] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[38]Samuel O. Neill et. al. Antioxidant capacities of green and cyanic leaves in the sun species, Quintinia serrata. Functional Plant Biology. Abstract. 19 May 2006. http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/102/paper/FP02100.htm

[39] Kevin S. Gould. Nature’s Swiss Army Knife…

[40]Glenn Rosenholm. Maples gamble on antioxidant’s value, says New England researcher.

William Sutherland is a published poet and writer. He is the author of three books, "Poetry, Prayers & Haiku" (1999), "Russian Spring" (2003) and "Aaliyah Remembered: Her Life & The Person behind the Mystique" (2005) and has been published in poetry anthologies around the world. He has been featured in "Who's Who in New Poets" (1996), "The International Who's Who in Poetry" (2004), and is a member of the "International Poetry Hall of Fame."

Mono VU meter

decibel meter in de pc ingebouwd om het volume van de subwoofer in de gaten te houden.

Ringtones - Really Noisy

Mobile phones, as a convenient communication tool full of individuality have become an important part of our lives. Downloading ringtones from websites has become young people's new favorite pass time. However what the younger generation has forgotten is that in some specific situations and special time, ringtones are not considered as a symbol of fashion but regarded as noise.

According to human bearing capacity to sound, living regions can be divided into three classes from 0 to 3. Class 0 is assigned to places that call for special quiet environments such as convalescent districts, deluxe hotels and so on. In this region the noise criterion is 50 decibels during daytime and 40 at night; class 1 is ideal for residential areas, education districts and so on. The noise criterion in the daytime and night are 55 and 45 decibels respectively; the criterion of class 2 is 60 to 50, and it suits the mixing zone where there are residential, commercial and industry areas; class 3 can only serve industry districts and the noise criterions are between 65 and 55 decibels.

Tested by the method of measuring sound levels, ringtone sound levels average 76 decibels one meter away from the mobile phone set, and still 60 decibels five meters away. The sound intensity would reach up to 128 decibels when a mobile phone is put beside ear. It is 80 decibels one meter away if two sets are ringing together. By this classification, ringtones could really be very "noisy".

Say, what would you feel if a sudden music erupts on another cell phone when you are engaged in one of your favorite book? Maybe you won't consider it as music at all. On the contrary, do you feel embarrassed when everybody gazes at you when your proud fashion ringtone breaks an occasion of harmonious peace? To avoid this, a vibration or silence mode can be the best choice.

If you are looking to download ringtones then feel free to visit ringtones.