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Tag: black masterbatch Americhem, a global supplier of color and additive solutions for polymer-based products, is consistently working to

deliver breakthrough solutions to the fibers industry. A focused effort by the company's fibers team has resulted in a stream of new product

offerings -- many of which offer performance and cost-savings previously unavailable in the industry."As the technology leader in the

production of color and additives for synthetic fibers, Americhem has a responsibility to continuously work toward identifying and developing

new solutions," says Rob Clayton, Business Director for NAFTA Fibers at Americhem.Among the recently introduced products are new yellow,

black and red dispersions, along with two UV stabilizers. Each offers new alternatives to traditional products with enhanced performance

characteristics. Americhem designed the offerings in response to industry demand or based on gaps in current industry solutions.Americhem's

new yellow dispersions for polypropylene and nylon offers clients a non-SARA-reportable (Superfund Amends and Reauthorization) alternative.

This product can be used as a replacement for heavy-metal colorants and works well with indoor and outdoor fiber applications because of its

excellent colorfastness."In addition to its environmentally friendly benefits, this yellow colorant delivers equal color value when compared

with traditional alternatives. It also offers excellent filtration properties and heat stability," comments Roger Threadgill, Technology

Manager -- Fibers and Engineering Resins at Americhem. "This is the answer in the yellow color space for those who wish to eliminate the use

of SARA-reportable pigments like lead chromate."Red 214 (NT), the newest red colorant in Americhem's product line, represents a new option in

Americhem's color palette. This red offers a lower cost, high performance option for mass tone. "Red is one of the most expensive color

spaces to produce in nylon fiber applications. Americhem stabilization technology allows this non-traditional color to be cost-effective when

used in nylon," says Threadgill.Americhem's new X84 Technology offers a carbon black with loadings of up to 30% with minimal pack pressure

rise. Threadgill states, "We benchmarked the industry and went about designing a black dispersion that performs better than anything in the

industry. That's what the X84 technology is all about. It offers clients an exceptionally cost-effective, high-yield alternative."Continues

Threadgill, "Anyone who needs to color nylon and wants a carbon black dispersion would find this useful. This product can be used in nylon

fibers, and even molded applications such as automotive components -- exterior parts and under the hood applications -- wiring harnesses,

etc."Americhem has also introduced two versions of a UV stabilizer for polypropylene. X3-038 UV Stabilizer is a 50% hindered amine light

stabilizer black masterbatch. This product offers excellent dispersion quality for use in polypropylene fiber applications. It is also

available in a 60% concentration, which makes it an even more cost effective alternative.X3-038 LC UV Stabilizer is targeted to less-

stringent UV applications such as residential carpeting and upholstery. It is a 50% loaded black masterbatch with excellent dispersion

quality. This particular product is innovative to the industry because it's geared toward applications that do not require an advanced

technology solution."With continued expansion of our capabilities and our constant quest for advancement, we are better positioned than ever

to benefit our clients," adds Clayton. "We are dedicated to developing next generation solutions for the markets we serve. Our goal is to

deliver innovative products that put our clients on top."

ag: Bubble Sheet A quiet campaign is afoot in Texas schools to scrap a key part of the state accountability test: the pressure.Educators

say some students have become so nervous at test time that they vomit before the exam, cry at their desks or become so unglued that their

parents turn to professional help.The pressure doesn't bode well for their psyches or their scores: Stressed-out students who freeze at the

sight of a bubble sheet can sink scores as much as children who don't know the answers, school officials say.Districts that are on the hook

for those scores are trying everything from the sublime to the scientific: In Coppell, an elementary principal plays soothing music – before

this week's tests, it was "Don't Worry, Be Happy" – over the loudspeaker.Irving officials created a game show to help high school students

relax. This spring, Plano officials will study how the jitters affect test scores.Kim Symes, an Allen mother of two, knows firsthand. She

said her daughter, Sydney, is a straight-A student but froze on the fourth-grade writing test last year."She just went blank," Mrs. Symes

said. "She said, 'Mom, I could not think of a descriptive word.' I think she was so stressed out about it that she couldn't focus."Test

anxiety strikes the best and worst of students from all backgrounds, researchers say. About 20 percent of students in upper elementary grades

are hamstrung by testing stress, according to University of North Carolina researcher Gregory Cizek.Part of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge

and Skills pressure is by design. Third-, fifth- and eighth-graders who fail exams aren't allowed to move to the next grade. High school

seniors who fail the exit test can't graduate."Once a student can understand the ramifications of passing or failing, that's the point where

the anxiety kicks in," said Charles Crews, a licensed counselor who studies testing stress at Texas Tech University. "If you can't go to

fourth grade because you can't pass the third-grade TAKS, the kids know that. It's at that point that I think it becomes pretty bad for

them." Dr. Crews said teachers and principals don't help matters when their own stress trickles down to kids. In schools with consistently

low test scores, failure can cost educators their jobs."I've observed teachers where they have a cup of coffee and they're just shaking

because some of them know it's that intense," he said.The testing environment can make it worse. Students can't talk to each other or carry

backpacks. Their teachers pace up and down the rows of desks."It's the quietest day you'll ever hear in school," said Erin Wesley, 13, an

eighth-grader at Ereckson Middle School in Allen. "There's ways they can make it less stressful, but there's no way they can make it no

stress."Mark Lukert, principal of Lakeside Elementary School in Coppell, does his best to settle nerves. He held a school assembly last

Friday specifically to tell children to relax."We don't want to over-emphasize the test," he said. "That one-day snapshot definitely does not

judge what kind of year that kid had."
2008-05-12 12:50:40

Tag: Hydrosulphite The Delhi oil and oilseeds market remained buoyant past week amid hectic buying by stockists and retailers. Mustard seed

42 per cent condition flared up by Rs 75 to Rs 2650 per quintal as arrivals remained thin at 18000-20000 bags past week.Mustard seed in

upcountry market centres such as Kota, Alwar, Bharatpur and Jaipur was also traded upward by Rs 50/75 per quintal as daily arrivals fell to

20000-22000 bags.Close on the heels of soaring mustard seed prices, mustard oil too shot up by Rs 230 to Rs 5680 per quintal end week.

Mustard oil mill-gate prices in Tonk, Newai, Alwar and Bharatpur line scaled up by Rs 200/250 per quintal owing to despatches for forward

contract, marketmen said.Soya refined oil in Delhi was up marginally by Rs 15/20 though spot soya oil prices in Indore was up Rs 60 at Rs

5500 per quintal. Soya oil May futures also moved up from Rs 562 to Rs 571.50 per 10 kg on speculative buying. Cottonseed oil held firm as

its prices in Punjab centres hardened by Rs 70 at Rs 5450 per quintal on pause in selling.Spices & DryfruitsLack of buying interest coupled

with fresh arrivals kept Delhi wholesale spices and dryfruits market rather depressive past week. Dry mango Nizamabad and Dandyocha new were

seen quoting at Rs 9000/20000 per quintal, while dry mango old fell by Rs 6000 per quintal to Rs 10000/20000 end week amid selling

pressure.Dry mango from Malda (West Bengal) ruled at Rs 3200 per quintal though prices in Malda stood at Rs 2500 per quintal. According to

marketmen, around 700-800 bags of dry mango new arrived in Nizamabad, while in Dandyocha arrivals past week remained restricted at 300 bags.

Dry mango in both these producing centres was traded at Rs 8000/18000 per quintal.Meanwhile, a major fire broke out in Guntur chilli yard on

Saturday destroying chilli stocks there. Prices are expected to firm up again, marketmen said.Grains & PulsesBarring gram all major cereals

and pulses were traded upward on the Delhi wholesale grains and pulses market past week. Mill-quality wheat posted a marginal gain of Rs

10/15 a quintal as arrivals past week remained restricted at one lakh bags.This year, until now 160 lakh tonne has been procured by the

government for the central pool, which is 57-58 lakh tonne more as against the corresponding period last year. As against last year’s 738

lakh tonne, wheat production this year is also estimated higher at 770 lakh tonne. Wheat products like atta, maida and suji also ended firm

by Rs 10 per 90 kg bag on retailers’ buying.With big retail chains buying almost 65% of the new crop in Bhopal, Sagar, Indore, Beenaganj,

Jhansi and Lalitpur line and stockists selling their stocks amid fear of raids by the government, this has almost emptied supply lines,

pushing up masoor prices across all market centres even as production this year is higher at around 9 lakh tonne, marketmen said.ChemicalsThe

wholesale chemicals market largely ended on a mixed note past week. While Caustic Soda Flake, Caustic Potash, Resin, Sodium Hydrosulphite and

Titanium ended with a gain, chemicals like Ammonia Bicarb, Citric Acid, Potassium Permanganate and Mentha oil and its products were major

losers.

Tag: Pharmaceutical Gelatin MUMBAI (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical gelatin maker Sterling Biotech Ltd expects 30-35 percent growth in net profit

and revenue for two years, as it expands capacity to meet rising demand, a senior company official said on Monday.Mumbai-based Sterling,

which follows a calendar year, last week said first-quarter profit jumped 45 percent to 550.9 million rupees. Profit for 2007 rose 36 percent

to 1.8 billion rupees on a 50 percent revenue rise to 9.1 billion rupees.Sterling plans to spend $100 million to raise manufacturing capacity

of gelatin and CoQ10, a co-enzyme used to treat a variety of diseases that the company started making recently, said Shashikant Jadhav, vice

president, corporate strategy."Our capacity additions will keep on giving us this kind of growth," Jadhav told Reuters in an interview. "Our

capacities are fully booked."CoQ10 capacity will be doubled by December while gelatin production will be raised 10 percent to 18,000 tonnes

by early 2009, he added.He declined to give the current production figures for CoQ10, citing competition, but said its contribution to total

revenue will rise to about 15 percent in 2008, from about 10 percent last year. By 2009, this will rise to 25 percent.Gelatin, which made up

for 90 percent of revenue last year, is a protein extracted from animal bones that is used to make capsule coverings.In 2008, profit margins

will be maintained at 22 percent for the company, he added.

Tag: Architecture Coating Just six kilometers from downtown, the unique home has existed for nearly 150 years, according to the owner Nguyen

Kim Chung.He says it was built by Nguyen Van Trong, his great grandfather who once governed the district.The house has now been inhabited by

six generations of the family.It is said that Trong, a Hue resident, brought sculptors from central Vietnam to build the house using bricks

and tiles from France.Other than an annual lime coating, the house has needed very few major upgrades.The home is a combination of French and

southern Vietnamese architecture and certain details highlight central Vietnam’s Hue style.It also boasts a dome ceiling and the furniture

and lamps have been intricately carved with four sacred animals (the dragon, kylin, tortoise and phoenix).The house covers some 276 square

meters and stands on a plot of 1.6 hectares.Nearly 90 percent of it remains in good condition and despite the modernization of neighboring

areas, it still looks timeless and being peaceful surrounded by trees and ponds.Chung’s house is among a few homes in HCMC that are over a

century old, but this one is particularly special since so much of its original structure and interior have been preserved.It has even

appeared in several renowned Vietnamese films.Chung and his relatives, he said, are happy to receive visitors to the house (provided they are

contacted beforehand) and to date, they have received many groups of guests and researchers.The family, Chung said, is committed to

preserving the house and its ancient architecture.“I will not expand visits for business purposes but I am ready to welcome anyone who

wishes to study the ancient architecture without charging a fee,” he said.The century-old house is located at 18/9 Hamlet 7, Nha Be

District, HCMC.

Tag: automotive belt LV Wrice took his overheating Geo Metro to Al's Automotive repair shop."They changed the water pump and the timing

belt, but not the radiator," says Wrice. Wrice says when he picked up his Geo Metro and paid the $400 repair bill, he thought his vehicle was

fully repaired "When I drove away it overheated again and when I checked, it had the same radiator it had in the beginning," says Wrice.He

knows because he had marked his radiator. Then he showed us an invoice that indicates he paid $150 to remove and replace the radiator.The

mechanic at Al's Automotive says the problem is he made a mistake on the invoice. He said the charge should have been for replacing the

timing belt, nevertheless, he will refund the $150.Al Zeaiter the owner of the business says the check is waiting for Wrice. Al's Automotive

is registered and licensed with Florida's Division of Consumer Services.And the state says the business has no complaints in its history.When

looking for an auto repair shop to fix your vehicle, follow these consumer tips. First, find out if the shop is licensed with the state. Call

1-800-435-7352 to check the shop's complaint history with state consumer services. And start with a minor repair. If you're pleased with the

results, check some of the shop's references before using it for more complicated work.