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Are fireworks factories exploding because inferior quality chemicals are being used? Josanne Cassar speaks to two importers of pyrotechnic materials Charles Briffa and Saviour Muscat

Speculation is rife that the latest tragedy which claimed six lives at the Farrugia brothers fireworks factory in Gharb, Gozo last Sunday was caused by chemicals of “inferior quality” which are supposedly being imported from China. Similar rumours were circulating following the death of another man at the Dwejra fireworks factory two days before the feast of Santa Maria.

The Malta Independent on Sunday contacted Charles Briffa who confirmed with this newspaper that he is one of the several chemical importers on the Maltese islands.

“We have been manufacturing fireworks since 1933 and exporting it since the early 60s and until today we have never had an accident. We give professional advice on the manufacture of fireworks both locally and internationally to all who enquire.”

Asked about the allegations that fireworks are being manufactured using poor quality material, he answered that this is untrue. “Local professional manufacturers know that my firm imports the best products from the most renowned chemical manufacturers in Europe who invest millions to produce excellent quality. Chemical batches are accompanied with necessary certificates and documentation. Chinese fireworks are all over Europe and they have CE certificate. All the fireworks brought to Malta by European competitors in the Maltese fireworks festival are China made. Maltese manufacturers buy it as well to upgrade their shows. It is not fair to insult Chinese products.”

Mr Briffa went on to explain that, “Explosions have nothing to do with the raw materials; fireworks accidents happen all over the world. Some fireworks manufacturers never had an accident and they use the same products, while some do not take full precautions. Prevention and skill is the secret of survival in the manufacture of fireworks.”

The process of importing pyrotechnic material is a highly regulated one and he confirmed that the necessary procedures are followed with all the authorities concerned and that he even stores chemicals at AFM premises as required by the law.

Asked whether it is possible for these chemicals to be purchased over the Internet, he said “You can purchase anything over the Internet and it is delivered to your door.”

When asked the same set of questions, Saviour Muscat (who happens to be the father of Opposition leader Joseph Muscat) chose to answer the questions through his lawyer.

“I have been involved in this business for the past 40 years. I hold all the necessary trading and import licences and follow all procedures. Over and above, I hold a licence A for manufacturing and supervision of fireworks, which is not mandatory to get such a trading licence.”

Mr Muscat pointed out that he sources his products from mainland Europe. “Nevertheless, I would caution against classifying quality of products solely based from their country of origin. I do not import or sell igniters.”

When asked what he thinks is causing the recent spate of explosions at fireworks factories, he answered, “I will not be presumptuous and anticipate the results of the ongoing inquiry. What I can say is that I have for the past years sourced certificates of analysis and compatibility from suppliers for the products I sell.”

Describing the procedure to buy the required chemicals, Mr Muscat explained that one must apply for the necessary trade and import permits. “We are obliged to store Potassium Chlorate and Potassium Nitrate at AFM stores. These products are sold on a quota basis.”

While he too has heard the rumours that chemicals are being purchased over the Internet, he said he is not aware of how this procedure is carried out and that he has never resorted to this system.

Mr Muscat did not wish to speculate about what caused the recent Gharb or Dwejra explosions, adding, “I would not want to anticipate the conclusion of the inquiry, but I think that these events will be examined independently.”

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A treatment for poisoning from pesticides and similar chemicals has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in children, nearly 50 years after it was first approved for adults.

Pralidoxime chloride (Protopam Chloride) was approved by the FDA in 1964 as an antidote to pesticides and other chemicals in the organophosphate class. The injected antidote slows the attachment of the poisonous chemical to a person’s nerve endings, the agency said in a news release.

The FDA acknowledged the drug already has been used “for many years” as an emergency antidote in children, and that approving it for pediatric use would “give health-care professionals better guidance on how to use this drug safely and effectively.”

Organophosphates are commonly used at farms and by licensed exterminators, the agency said. Symptoms of ingestion could include mild reactions such as runny nose, teary eyes or vomiting, to more serious symptoms including trouble breathing and convulsions.

Adverse reactions to the antidote itself could include blurred vision, dizziness, headache, fatigue, nausea, difficulty breathing and increased heart rate or blood pressure, the agency said.

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Winner Medical Group Inc. (Nasdaq: WWIN; “Winner Medical”), a leading manufacturer of medical dressings, medical disposables and non-woven PurCotton(R) materials for the medical and consumer products industries in China, today announced that it will present at the Rodman & Renshaw Annual Global Investment Conference, to be held September 12-15, 2010, at the New York Palace Hotel in New York City.

Xiuyuan Fang, Chief Financial Officer, and Peng Zhai, Manager of Investor Relations, will present on behalf of the company on Monday, September 13, 2010, at 3:40 pm ET. The Company management will also participate in one-on-one meetings with analysts and investors. The presentation will be webcast live and a replay will be archived on the company’s investor relations web site at http://ir.winnermedical.com .

About Winner Medical

Winner Medical is a leading manufacturer and the largest exporter by volume in the medical dressing industry in China. Headquartered in Shenzhen, the Company has eight wholly owned operating subsidiaries and four joint ventures with over 5,000 employees. The Company engages in the manufacturing, sale, research and development of medical care products, wound care products, home care products and PurCotton(R) products, a non-woven fabric made from 100% natural cotton. The products are sold worldwide, with Europe, the United States, China and Japan serving as the top four markets. The Company currently holds more than sixty patents and patent applications for various products and manufacturing processes and is one of the few Chinese companies licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ship finished, sterilized products directly to the United States market.
Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements that may include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein, are “forward-looking statements” including statements regarding Winner Medical and its subsidiary companies’ business strategy, plans and objectives and statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects” or similar expressions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although Winner Medical believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Winner Medical’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in Winner Medical’s periodic reports that are filed with and available from the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements attributable to Winner Medical or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, Winner Medical does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

ShenZhen,China.

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Titanium dioxide could outfox Listeria biofilms

Related topics: Quality & Safety

Nanostructured photocatalysts disinfect contaminated surfaces in combination with ultraviolet (UV) light and could be used to enhance food safety within the plant as well as ensuring efficiency and cost gains, claims new research.

Researchers based at the Department of Food Science and Technology at the Agricultural University of Athens, who published their findings in Food Microbiology found that a method using titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts along wtih ultraviolent A light is an alternative means for Listeria monocytogenes biofilm disinfection in food processing.

The researchers said that TiO2 particles can catalyze the killing of bacteria by near-UV light, probably due to the generation of highly active free hydroxyl radicals by photoexcited TiO2 particles.

Biofilms

The occurrence of biofilms in food-processing environments can cause post-processing contamination leading to lowered shelf-life of products and potential consumer illnesses.

“Biofilms not only present a considerable hygiene risk in the food industry but also cause economical losses by technical failures in water systems, cooling towers, heat exchangers, etc.

Sessile micro-organisms have advantages in that they are more difficult to mechanically remove from food-contact surfaces and are more resistant to disinfectants compared with planktonic forms,” said the researchers.

The authors note that previous studies have shown rapid formation of biofilms of various L. monocytogenes strains, under static conditions at 37 °C in food production facilities.

They claim that while a great number of disinfectants have been reported as potential agents for controlling biofilm formation, research on alternative methodologies such as advanced oxidation processes is rather limited.

Method

In their study, the authors said they employed different TiO2 nanostructured thin films, which were deposited on surfaces such as stainless steel and glass using the doctor-blade technique.

The researchers explained all the surfaces were placed in test tubes containing Brain Heart (BH) broth and inoculated with L. monocytogenes. Test tubes were then incubated for 10 days at 16 °C in order to allow biofilm development.

After biofilm formation, they continued, the surfaces were illuminated by ultraviolet A light (UVA; wavelength of 315–400 nm).
And they explained that the quantification of biofilms was performed using the bead vortexing method, followed by agar plating and/or by conductance measurements.
Result

The presence of the TiO2 nanoparticles resulted in a fastest log-reduction of bacterial biofilm compared to the control test. “The biofilm of L monocytogenes for the glass nanoparticle 1 (glass surface modified by 16 per cent w/v TiO2) was found to have decreased by 3 log CFU/cm2 after 90 min irradiation by UVA.”

The researchers claim that further developmental work on the use of TiO2 for food plant surface decontamination could result in potent disinfecting solutions.

And they urge additional investigation to optimize the process efficiency and establish protocols for using TiO2 photocatalysts as effective biofilm disinfectant in food processing facilities.

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I m a business consultant and I am working for hiwtc.com – a global free B2B marketplace which collect and dispatch business opportunities for chemical ,home/office appliance and gifts&crafts. my work is to research e-Commerce and get business advices from experienced professionals for international trade. Welcome to visit!

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e-mail: pr@hiwtc.com

One of the folks over at Chemistry Blog has run into a shortage: he and his labmates have tried to order (-) sparteine from every supplier in the book, and there’s none to be had. So if anyone has a big dusty bottle of it sitting around, you might drop these desperate chemists a line. But that got me thinking about the way things suddenly dry up like this.

The situation is different than for an industrial chemical shortage, like the acetonitrile crunch that we went through a while back (and which has long since eased up). It’s quite unusual for a bulk chemical like that to go down; several factors hit all at once in that case, and it affected an awful lot of people who needed the solvent. But fine chemicals are much weirder. When you trace some of them back to their real sources, you sometimes find that there are really only a couple of people in the world at any given time making some of these things. Or, in many cases, you find that there’s no one making it at all – someone made a bunch a few years ago for some reason, sold the excess to a supplier, and everyone else has been buying it from that same bottle ever since.

So when one of these small-scale itemsevaporates, the reason can be supply: no one makes it any more. Or it can be demand-driven: a single drug company’s scale-up group can deplete the world’s commercial supply of some strange little molecule when they suddenly switch to a 500-gram run. Everyone working in such a group knows to call all the suppliers when they have a prep calling for some weirdo starting material, and they’ll often take the precaution of ordering whatever’s out there to be had. (That serves as a cushion while they contract someone else to crank out a batch or figure out how to make it themselves). Naturally, you’d rather have your drug candidates depend only on things that can be ordered in tank car lots, but that’s just not always possible.

So it could be that someone needed a lot of (-) sparteine for an asymmetric synthesis recently, and bought up the existing world stocks. But this one sounds like more of a supply problem. There would appear to be customers out there, who have been draining the existing stocks, but no one’s been able to replenish them. TCI apparently stated that it’s the starting material for (-) sparteine that has become unavailable, but that sounds a bit funny, since it would surprise me if the material on the market is synthetic. Sparteine is a naturally occurring alkaloid, found in several species of plant, and it’s very hard to compete with isolation of the natural product in those cases.

Perhaps TCI means that the usual plant source is unavailable – that’s happened before, too. A spike in Tamiflu demand a few years ago suddenly sent the price of star anise up to record levels, since the chiral starting material (shikimic acid) in the usual synthesis was most conveniently isolated from that source. But for sparteine, it looks as if the isolation comes from plants in the broom family, which are not exactly rare shrubs, so I’m not sure what’s going on. Any ideas?

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Facts About Hydrochloric Acid

Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen and chlorine, otherwise called, hydrogen chloride (HCl) that can be found in water. This substance is a highly acidic, strong, mineral acid which is naturally exist within gastric acid which is one of the primary elements that works in the stomach to digest food and get rid of waste matter. Gastric acid also works in the body as a shield against bacteria in order to ward off infection. The gastric acid comprises mainly of hydrochloric acid which break down the stomach contents.

Chloride (Cl minus) and hydrogen (H plus) ions are excreted separately in the stomach region which rest at the top of the stomach by parietal cells of the gastric mucosa into a secretory system known as canaliculi before it enters the stomach lumen. After leaving the stomach, the hydrochloric acid of the chyme is neutralize in the duodenum by sodium bicarbonate. The intestinal tract is guarded from the strong acid by the release of a thick, protective mucus layer, and by secretin induced buffering with sodium bicarbonate. If hydrochloride is present in the esophagus, it can aggravate the lining of the esophagus and lead to the sensation like peptic ulcers or heartburn.

Apart from being naturally produced in the body, hydrochloric acid is commonly used as a powerful inorganic acid in many industrial processes. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was utilized by alchemist in the pursuit of the philosopher’s stone, and later on by European scientists such as Davy, Glauber and Priestley in their scientific studies. Historically it was named ‘muriatic acid’ or ‘spirits of salt’, developed from vitriol and regular salt. Hydrochloric acid became widely used at the start of the Industrial Revolution, when it was employed in the chemical industry as a chemical reagent in the extensive manufacturing of vinyl chloride used to make PVC plastic, and MDI/TDI for polyurethane.

Hydrochloric acid is mainly used to produce chlorides, for distilling ore in the manufacturing of tin and tantalum, for the pickling and cleansing of metal products, in electroplating, in eliminating scale from boilers, to neutralize basic systems, as a laboratory reagent, as a catalyst and substance in organic syntheses, in the fabrication of stimulants and dyes, for hydrolyzing starch and proteins in the preparation of certain food products and in the photographic, textile, and rubber business. It is also used in numerous smaller-scale purposes, involving household cleaning, production of gelatin and other food preservatives, descaling, and leather processing. About 20 million metric tons of hydrochloric acid is produced yearly.

Potassium nitrate which is a chemical compound is also used to safely store food as a common ingredient of salted meat since the Middle Ages, though its use has been mostly discontinued and replaced by sodium nitrate (and nitrite) because they are more reliable in safeguarding food from bacterial infection. But it is still used in some food products, such as charcuterie and the brine used to make corned beef. Potassium nitrate was also used long ago for a number of burning fuses, for example slow matches, stimulant in amateur rocket propellants, and in several fireworks such as smoke bombs. The major commercial source of the nitrate ion during the Late Middle Ages through to the 19th century is decaying urine.

As compost, potassium nitrate is used as a contributor of nitrogen and potassium, which is two of the macro nutrients for plants. Potassium nitrate is also the main component for tree stump remover because it accelerates the natural decaying of the stump. It is used as a solution in the heat treatment of metals in the post-wash. It works well as a quick-fix rust inhibitor because of its capability to oxidize, water contents at a low cost. It has also been used in the production of ice cream and can be identified in some toothpaste particularly created for delicate teeth. Potassium nitrate is also one of the three elements of black powder, along with pulverized charcoal and sulfur, where it works as an oxidizer.

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Catalysis(pronounced cat-AL-uh-sis) is the process by which some substance is added to a reaction in order to make the reaction occur more quickly. The substance that is added to produce this result is the catalyst (pronounced CAT-uh-list).

Read more: Catalyst and Catalysis – humans, body, used, water, process, chemical, form, energy, reaction, gas, oxygen, air, cause, substance, change, History, Types of catalysis http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ca-Ch/Catalyst-and-Catalysis.html#ixzz0xrpcVc6r

You are probably familiar with the catalytic convertor, a device used in car exhaust systems to remove gases that cause air pollution. The catalytic convertor gets its name from the fact that certain metals (the catalysts) inside the device cause exhaust gases to break down. For example, when potentially dangerous nitrogen(II) oxide passes through a catalytic convertor, platinum and rhodium catalysts cause the oxide to break down into harmless nitrogen and oxygen. Nitrogen(II) oxide will break down into nitrogen and oxygen even without the presence of platinum and rhodium. However, that process takes place over hours, days, or weeks under natural circumstances. By that time, the dangerous gas is already in the atmosphere. In the catalytic convertor, the breakdown of nitrogen(II) oxide takes place within a matter of seconds.

History
Humans have known about catalysis for many centuries, even though they knew nothing about the chemical process that was involved. The making of soap, the fermentation of wine to vinegar, and the leavening of bread are all processes involving catalysis. One of the first formal experiments on catalysis occurred in 1812. Russian chemist Gottlieb Sigismund Constantin Kirchhof (1764–1833) studied the behavior of starch in boiling water. Under most circumstances, Kirchhof found, no change occurred when starch was simply boiled in water. But adding just a few drops of concentrated sulfuric acid to the boiling water had a profound effect on the starch. In very little time, the starch broke down to form the simple sugar known as glucose. When Kirchhof found that the sulfuric acid remained unchanged at the completion of the experiment, he concluded that it had simply played a helping role in the conversion of starch to sugar.

The name catalysis was actually proposed in 1835 by Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779–1848). The word comes from two Greek terms, kata (for “down”) and lyein (for “loosen”). Berzelius used the term to emphasize that the process loosens the bonds by which chemical compounds are held together.

Types of catalysis
Catalysis reactions are usually categorized as either homogeneous or heterogeneous reactions. A homogeneous catalysis reaction is one in which both the catalyst and the substances on which it works are all in the same phase (solid, liquid, or gas). The reaction studied by Kirchhof is an example of a homogeneous catalysis. Both the sulfuric acid and the starch were in the same phase—a water solution—during the reaction.

A heterogeneous catalysis reaction is one in which the catalyst is in a different phase from the substances on which it acts. In a catalytic convertor, for example, the catalyst is a solid, usually a precious metal such as platinum or rhodium. The substances on which the catalyst acts, however, are gases, such as nitrogen(II) oxide and other gaseous products of combustion.

Some of the most interesting and important catalysts are those that occur in living systems: the enzymes. All of the reactions that take place within living bodies occur naturally, whether or not a catalyst is present. But they take place so slowly on their own that they are of no value to the survival of an organism. For example, if you place a sugar cube in a glass of water, it eventually breaks down into simpler molecules with the release of energy. But that process might take years. A person who ate a sugar cube and had to wait that long for the energy to be released in the body would die.

Fortunately, our bodies contain catalysts (enzymes) that speed up such reactions. They make it possible for the energy stored in sugar molecules to be released in a matter of minutes.

Industrial applications
Today catalysts are used in untold numbers of industrial processes. For example, the commercially important gas ammonia is produced by combining nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas at a high temperature and pressure in the presence of a catalyst such as powdered iron. In the absence of the catalyst, the reaction between nitrogen and hydrogen would, for all practical purposes, not occur. In its presence, the reaction occurs quickly enough to produce ammonia gas in large quantities.

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Expand the description and view the text of the steps for this how-to video. Check out Howcast for other do-it-yourself videos from Chris_Davis and more videos in the Cell Phones category.

You can contribute too! Create your own DIY guide at www.hiwtc.com or produce your own Howcast spots with the Howcast Filmmakers Program at www.hiwtc.com It should come as no surprise that water and electronics don’t mix.

But don’t panic—your cell phone can be saved. To complete this How-To you will need: A plastic container with a lid A blow-dryer A towel And two silica gel packs Step 1: Remove battery Remove your phone’s battery. Many circuits inside the phone will survive if they are not attached to a power source when wet. Step 2: Remove sim card Consult the manual to remove your phone’s Sim card, which stores the phone’s data and allows it to connect to your service provider. Sim cards can survive water damage. Step 3: Dab w/ towel Dab the phone, battery, and Sim card with a towel, then set the last two items aside. Step 4: Dry with blow-dryer With your blow-dryer set on low (or the cool air blast), dry your phone, getting as much water out of the unit as possible. Step 5: Seal with silica gel packs Place your phone, battery, and Sim card in the plastic container with the silica gel packs. These absorb moisture and can be found in packaging, craft stores, or online. Allow the container to sit sealed for three days.

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Washington: There’s an elixir that needs no prescription, has no side-effects and almost comes for free. Just two cups of water taken before meals can help you win the battle of the bulge, a new clinical trial has confirmed.

Researchers at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) presented these results.

‘We are presenting results of the first randomised controlled intervention trial demonstrating that increased water consumption is an effective weight loss strategy,’ said Brenda Davy, senior study author, Virginia Tech Institute, US.

Also see: 10 steps to successful weight loss | Ten smart ways to lose weight and abdominal fat Gallery

‘We found that over a course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals three times a day, lost about five pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake,’ she said.

‘People should drink more water and less sugary, high-calorie drinks. It’s a simple way to facilitate weight management,’ Davy added, according to a Virginia Tech statement.

Davy pointed out that experiment and everyday experience has long suggested that water can help promote weight loss.

But surprisingly, there has been little scientific information on the topic. Previous studies hinted that drinking water before meals reduces intake of calories.

The study included 48 adults aged 55-75 years, divided into two groups. One group drank two cups of water prior to their meals and the other did not.

All of the subjects ate a low-calorie diet during the study. Over 12 weeks, water drinkers lost about 15.5 pounds while the non-water drinkers lost about 11 pounds.

Davy said water may be effective simply because it fills up the stomach with a substance that has zero calories. People feel fuller as a result and eat less calorie-containing food during the meal.

‘Increased water consumption may also help people lose weight if they drink it in place of sweetened calorie-containing beverages,’ Davy said.

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Vaseline is a petroleum jelly product that has been around since the 19th Century and was originally marketed as a healing ointment for cuts, scrapes and burns. After some testing, it was realized that it did seal in moisture and keep out germs, but it wasn’t a miracle healing medicine.

Despite the revelation, it continued to make its way into millions of medicine chests worldwide. And is still, well over 100 years later, a household staple.

While Vaseline is commonly used to relieve chapped lips, nasal dryness, dry skin and chafing, it has a solid place in the beauty world. There are oodles of reasons to keep a jar of Vaseline in your beauty arsenal.

15 Beautiful Uses for Vaseline

1. Before bed, rub some on your feet and put on a pair of socks for softer skin in the morning

2. Two words: lip gloss

3. Put some on your teeth before you use lipstick and it will prevent and color from sticking to your pearly whites

4. Apply a thin layer to your face on cold, wintery days to prevent chapping and windburn

5. Use it to remove your makeup

6. Put on a thin layer at perfume points like wrists, neck and between your cleavage for longer last fragrance (apply before using perfume)

7. Apply to elbows daily for soft skin

8. Apply a layer around the outside of your hairline before dying your tresses. It keeps your color on your hair not your forehead

9. After grooming your eyebrows, apply a thin layer of Vaseline to keep them smooth

10. Rub some into your bare nails to prevent them from getting hard or brittle

11. Use it to remove the leftover glue from your false lashes

12. If you use fake tanning lotions, apply a thin layer to dry skin to avoid blotchy, uneven coloring

13. Put a dab on your fingers and rub on split or dry hair ends to keep them smooth

14. Apply a thin coat to your eyelashes to stimulate the growth of longer, thicker lashes

15. Apply to cuticles to make them softer, healthier and easier to work with

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