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Product Name: Saw palmetto P.E.
Latine Name: Serenoa repens (bartram) small
Appearance: white powder
Active ingredients: fatty acids
Detection Mothed: GC
Specfication:25%
Details:
Herbal therapies are one of the most widely used alternative modalities in the U.S. with sales exceeding $18 billion in 2005. Among the most commonly used phytotherapeutics is an extract of the berry of the saw palmetto plant, a dwarf palm tree native to the southeastern U.S. Saw palmetto extracts are generally used to relieve symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), one of the most common medical conditions in aging men, is caused by the non-malignant growth of the prostate gland. More than 50% of men over 50 years of age have been found at autopsy to display histological signs of BPH, and by the seventh and eighth decades, this rate increases to over 90%. Over 40% of men aged 70 and older complain of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), which manifest as urgency, increased frequency, hesitancy, dribbling, weak stream, nocturia, dysuria, and incomplete emptying of the bladder

Product Name: Ginger P.E.
Latine Name: Zingiber officinale
Appearance: brown powder
Active ingredients: Gingerols
Detection Mothed: HPLC
Specfication:5% 6% 8%
Details:
Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberacae) is widely used around the world in foods as a spice. For centuries, it has been an important ingredient in Chinese, Ayurvedic and Tibb-Unani herbal medicines for the treatment of catarrh, rheumatism, nervous diseases, gingivitis, toothache, asthma, stroke, constipation and diabetes . Several reviews have appeared in the literature about this plant, and this may reflect the popularity of the subject and its common use as a spice and a medicinal plant.

Ginger and many of its chemical constituents have strong anti-oxidant actions. As several metabolic diseases and age-related degenerative disorders are closely associated with oxidative processes in the body, the use of either ginger or one or more of its constituents as a source of anti-oxidants to combat oxidation warrants further attention. Ginger andmany of its chemical constituents have been shown, in numerous clinical studies, to be useful in combating postoperative vomiting and vomiting of pregnancy. It may be worthwhile investigating the effect of ginger on vomiting during cancer chemotherapy, as the crude drug and its constituents have themselves anti-cancer actions. More studies are also required on the kinetics of ginger and its constituents and on the effects of their consumption over a long period of time. Ginger is considered to be a safe herbal medicine with only few and insignificant adverse/side
effects.

Product Name: Senna Leaf P.E
Latine Name: Folium Sennae
Appearance: Yellow-Green Powder
Active ingredients: Sennoside
Detection Mothed: UV
Specfication:8%

Details:
Senna leaves and rhubarb roots are used as oriental laxative medicines. These plants contain a wide variety of compounds including monomeric anthraquinones, together with their glycosides and dimeric anthrones glycosides. Sennosides are the purgative principles of these plants ~ and like other glycosides are metabolized by animals and humans into monomeric rhein or other anthraquinones which are the active metabolites.

The natural free anthraquinones are not effective and it has been confirmed that they are reduced into anthrones and anthranoles in the human intestine, and act as laxative compounds The stimulant laxatives composed of the anthraquinones are the cause of the greatest side-effects and are often abused by the public, therefore the identification and analysis of anthraquinones in herbal samples, pharmaceutical preparations and biological fluids are of greatimportance.

Product Name: Wolfberry P.E.
Latine Name: Lycium barbarum L.
Appearance: brown powder
Active ingredients: Lycium barbarum Polysaccharides
Detection Mothed: UV
Specfication: 50%

Details:
Chinese wolfberry, which is a plant belonging to the family Solanaceae, is regarded in traditional Chinese medicine as a medical herb for eternal youth and long life, a nourishing ingredient, and a tonic to reduce the risk of arteriosclerosis and essential arterial hypertension. Used as tea in the Orient for more than 2000 years due primarily to the staminaimproving, tranquillizing, and thirst-quenching activities, wolfberry are considered a healthful food. Besides abundant betaine, a phytochemical used to abate the risk of fatty liver or as a digestive aid for persons with insufficient production of acid in the stomach, wolfberry contain anti-aging vitamins ascorbic acid and tocopherols , a group of antioxidative compounds such as rutin and chlorogenic acid , and lyciumoside I, a methanol extract showing antimicrobial activities against gram positive rods. Moreover, wolfberry reportedly increased the amino acids content of broiler meat while improving its flavor, taste, and tenderness, indicating their potential application as feed supplement.

Product Name: Ganoderma lucidum Extract，Reishi Extract， Reishi Mushroom Extract
Latine Name: Ganoderma Lucidum
Appearance: brown powder
Active ingredients: Ganoderma lucidum Polysaccharide，nucleosides, terpenoids
Detection Mothed: UV
Specfication: Polysaccharide 20% 30%
Details:
Ganoderma lucidum (Fr.) Karst. (Polyporaceae) is a medicinal mushroom known to the Chinese as ‘Lingzhi’. Its fruiting bodies have been used for medicinal properties in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2000 years. This mushroom is described in detail in the Chinese Materia Medica classics, Shen Nung Ben Cao Jin (dated 206 BC–8 AD), and the Compendium of Materia Medica. G. lucidum has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for promotion of vitality and longevity, and more recently used in the treatment of debility and weakness, insomnia, hepatitis, bronchitis and asthma, diabetes, altitude sickness, cardiovascular disease, AIDS, and cancer . In addition to the fruiting bodies, the spores and cultivated mycelia of Ganoderma have been recently
consumed as health food and herbal medicines.
Chemical investigations on the fruiting bodies, spores, and mycelia of G. lucidum reveal that they contain various bioactive substances. Active constituents of G. lucidum include polysaccharides, proteins, nucleosides, fatty acids, terpenoids, sterols, and cerebrosides. Water or alcohol extracts of G. lucidum have been used to investigate biological activities, as these extracts contain compounds mainly responsible for the immunological and anti-inflammatory properties. Alcohol extracts contain biological compounds that lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels, blood
pressure, and inhibit histamine release, while the liver-protective, antiviral and anti-tumor effects
can be attributed to both the water-soluble polysaccharides and alcohol-soluble triterpenes. Ofparticular interest among the reported biological/pharmacological properties of G. lucidum are theiranti-tumor activities, including the effects on cell cycle arrest, apoptosis induction, motility inhibition, antiangiogenic, and antimutagenic activities.

Product Name: Ginkgo biloba P.E.
Latine Name: Ginkgo Biloba L.
Appearance: brown powder
Active ingredients: Gingko flavanone gingko lactone
Detection Mothed: HPLC
Specfication: Gingko flavanone ≥24% gingko lactone ≥6%
Details:
herbal products account for a substantial portion of the current interest in alternative treatments and Ginkgo biloba (GB) figures prominently in this interest. Interest in GB. however, has a long history. Fossil records place its origins 150 to 250 million years ago.’ Ginkgo (derived from the Chinese Yin-Kuo, meaning “silver apricot”) biloba (refering to its two-lobed, fan-shaped leaves) is derived from the leaf of the Maidenhair tree, which is believed to live 2,000 to 4,000 years.
Interest in the medicinal properties of GB can be traced back some 5,000 years to ancient China, where the healer Chen Noung (2767 to 2687 BC) described the medicinal properties of the plant in the first known pharmacopoeia. called the Chen Noung Pen T’sao.’ Indications included ailments of the heart and lungs with the notation that inhaling its steam and imbibing its tea were palliative for both asthma and bronchitis.
While firmly rooted in antiquity, GB is today the most frequently prescribed herbal preparation in Germany and one of the most commonly used over-the-counter (OTC) herbal preparations in the United States. In 1964, a GB extract called EGb 761 was developed by a German pharmaceutical company, and since that time hundreds of studies have examined ginkgo’s effects in human and animal models. The German Commission Es has approved GB for symptomatic treatment of deficits in memory, concentration, and depression from organic brain disease. Now, it has widely applied as the chemical additive in domains and so on healthy product, food, drink, cosmetic.

Product Name: Cnidii Fructus P.E.
Latine Name: Fructus Cnidii
Appearance: yellow powder
Active ingredients: osthole
Detection Mothed: HPLC
Specfication:10-98% 10:1
Details:
Osthole is an active compound isolated from Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson and Angelica pubescens. The fruit of Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson is a well known traditional Chinese medicine, and has been used to treat itchy skin, rashes, eczema, and ring-worm. Osthole is a derivative of coumarin, which is known to have a variety of pharmacological and biological uses; both are considered to have therapeutic applications. Because of osthole’s diverse pharmacological activities, it has been proposed the possibility of its development as a promising lead compound for drug discovery. Recent scientific research indicates that osthole has many biological functions, including anti-osteoporotic, anti-hepatitic, anti-allergic, anti-seizure, and anti-proliferative functions. Other research points to improvements in lipid metabolism and fatty liver.

Product Name: Milk Thistel P.E.
Latine Name: Silybum Marianum
Appearance: Yellow brown fine powder
Active ingredients: silymarin
Detection Mothed: HPLC
Specfication: 50% 70%
Details:
Silymarin, isolated from Silybum marianum L. Gaertn (milk thistle), is a mixture of mainly three flavonolignans, i.e., silybin, silydianin, and silychristin, among which silybin is the most active component. Historically, milk thistle was used medicinally to treat disorders of the liver, spleen, and gallbladder. Well known as a hepatoprotector, silymarin was found effective clinically to treat a variety of liver disorders, including acute and chronic viral hepatitis, toxin- and drug-induced hepatitis and cirrhosis, and alcoholic liver disease. It was also found effective in treating certain cancers, such as breast, prostate, and skin cancers. Mechanisms of silymarin action include: stabilization of hepatocytes by inhibition of hepatotoxin binding to receptor sites on hepatocyte membranes; reduction of glutathione oxidation to increase glutathione levels in the liver and intestines; antioxidant activity; stimulation of ribosomal RNA polymerase and subsequent protein synthesis, leading to enhanced hepatocyte regeneration

Product Name: Bilberry P.E
Latine Name: Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.
Appearance: purplish red powder
Active ingredients: Anthocyanidin
Detection Mothed: UV
Specfication:25%
Details:
Pigments derived from natural sources, display a wide range of colours and are usually regarded as safe. Among those pigments, anthocyanins assume an important role when dealing with natural
colourants. These polyphenolic compounds constitute the largest group of water-soluble pigments throughout the plant kingdom. These natural pigments are usually associated with red fruits, but
are present also in vegetables, roots and cereals.
In addition to their colour features, anthocyanins have more interest due to their possible health attributes, such as a reduced risk of coronary diseases, reduced risk of stroke, anticarcinogen
activity, anti-inflammatory effects and improved cognitive behaviour.
The consumption of anthocyanins reported in the literature isaround 200 mg per day in the US. These values are higher for frequent red wine consumers. However, despite not being the best source of anthocyanins compared to fruit berries, anthocyanins from red wine may complex with other wine components, thereby their consumption levels will be significantly higher than initially expected . Also, anthocyanins may undergo several chemical transformations in red wine, yielding new classes of anthocyanin-derived pigments.

Product Name: Aloes P.E
Latine Name: Aloe Vera
Appearance: Yellow-brown powder
Active ingredients:
Detection Mothed: HPLC
Specfication: 20% 40%
Details:
Genus Aloe Genus Aloe plant has been traditionally applied for the medicinal practice over thousands of years in many cultures of the world. There are at least four Aloe species that are reported having the therapeutic effects, namely, Aloe barbadensis Miller, Aloe ferox, Aloe arborescens and Aloe perryi baker, among which Aloe vera is the most widely studied species so far for its clinical effectiveness against a variety of skin disorders including burns and wounds. The new reported positive influence of Aloe vera on skin wound repair, for example ,anti-inflammation,antimicrobial, immunomodulation and hematopoiesis stimulation and absorbent quality, have been attributed to its diverse constituents, in particular, the polysaccharides. Apart from polysaccharides,miscellaneous bioactive constituents have been identified from the leaves and roots of Aloe plant. These Aloe compounds belong to different classes such as alkaloids, anthraquinones, saccharides, enzymes, amino acids, inorganic mineral, etc.. In regards to the healing properties, many researches have demonstrated that the mucilaginous polysaccharides contained in the clear pulp of Aloe leaf are the major ingredient responsible for the healing.

Product Name: Lisea Cubeba P.E.
Latine Name: Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers
Appearance: Light yellow oil
Active ingredients: Citral
Detection Mothed:GC
Specfication:70%
Details:
Litsea cubeba is an evergreen tree and belongs to the Lauraceae family. It is native in China, Indonesia, Taiwan and other parts of Southeast Asia. A Chinese report has mentioned that the active principles of L. cubeba can be used to treat coronary heart disease .

Citral is an important fragrance ingredient appreciated for its powerful lemon-aroma and is widely used in fragrance formulations in numerous consumer products. Citral is a common component of many essential oils, such as lemongrass and litsea cubeba oils. It may be produced synthetically or obtained from natural oils. Citral is generally recognized as a safe food additive and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in foods (FDA, GRAS,21 CFR 182.60). The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) has issued a standard on the use of citral in fragrance formulations based on its allergenic potential (IFRA, 1980).

Product Name: Stevia P.E.
Latine Name: Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Hemsl
Appearance: white or off white fine powde
Active ingredients: stevioside Total Steviol Glycosides
Detection Mothed: HPLC
Specfication:90%,95%,98%
Details:
Natural sweeteners that can substitute for sucrose have caught great attention due to the growing incidence of obesity and diabetes. Much attention has been placed on stevioside Stevioside, an abundant component of Stevia rebaudiana leaf, has become well-known for its intense sweetness (250-300 times sweeter than sucrose) and is used as a non-caloric sweetener in several countries. A number of studies have suggested that, beside sweetness, stevioside along with related compounds, which include rebaudioside A (second most abundant component of S. rebaudiana leaf), steviol and isosteviol (metabolic components of stevioside) may also offer therapeutic benefits, as they have anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-diarrheal, diuretic, and immunomodulatory actions. It is of interest to note that their effects on plasma glucose level and blood pressure are only observed when these parameters are higher than normal. As steviol can interact with drug transporters, its role as a drug modulator is proposed.

Stevioside is considered to be a sugar substitute and commercialsweetener, both in the form of stevioside and stevia extract. They are used in variety of foods and products, such as pickled vegetables, dried seafood, soy sauce, beverages, candies, chewing gum, yogurt and ice cream, as well as in toothpaste and mouth wash. Stevia extract and stevioside are officially approved as food additives in Brazil, Korea and Japan and in the United States, they are permitted as a dietary supplement. In 2006, the meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additive (JECFA) toevaluate certain food additives and ingredients, flavoring agents, and natural constituent of food announced a temporary accepted daily intake (ADI) of stevioside of up to 5.0 mg/kg body weight (BW)

Product Name: Fructus Gardeniae P.E.
Latine Name: Fructus Gardeniae
Appearance: white powder
Active ingredients: Gardenoside
Detection Mothed: HPLC
Specfication:95% 98%
Details:
Gardeniae Fructus, the dried ripe fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis (Rubiaceae), is widely used in traditional medicine for its cholagogue,sedative, diuretic, antiphlogistic, and antipyretic effects. Additionally, it is an externally used drug with a long heritage and tradition in the treatment of sprain. Many iridoid glycosides were isolated from Gardeniae Fructus in previous investigations. Some of them,e.g. geniposide possess diverse biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, neuritogenic, and cholagogue activities.

Product Name: Grape Seed P.E
Latine Name: Vitis vinifera L.
Appearance: red-brown powder
Active ingredients: Proanthocyanidins
Detection Mothed: UV
Specfication:95%
Details:
Proanthocyanidins (PAs), also known as condensed tannins, are naturally occurring polyphenolic bioflavonoids widely present in the bark of many trees,leaves of tea, fruits, nuts and seeds of many plants such as grape(Vitis vinifera L.), apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), and persimmon(Diospyros kaki), where they provide protection against predation. PAs also give flavour and astringency to beverages such as wine, fruit juices and teas, and have been increasingly recognised as having beneficial effects on human health due to a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, anti-tumoural, and antigenotoxic.

Grape seeds proanthocyanidins (GSPs) have appeared on the market as nutritional supplements mainly in the United States,Australia, Japan, Korea, where it is used as antioxidant, in preventing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, and for dislipidemy treatment. Earlier studies have demonstrated the potent free radical scavenger ability of grape seed procyanidins and grape seed proanthocyanidin extract both in vitro and in vivo. Pas extracted from grape seeds were found to be non- mutagenic, non-clastogenic and non-aneugenic. Some authors have suggested that GSPs have anti-tumoural activity andincrease the anti-tumoural activity of the chemotherapeutic agent

Product Name: Giant Knotweed Rhizome P.E.
Latine Name: Polygonum cuspidatum
Appearance: white powder
Active ingredients: Resveratrol
Detection Mothed: HPLC
Specfication:20%,50%,98%

Details:
Resveratrol (RV), a dietary constituent found in grapes and wine, exerts a wide variety of pharmacological activities. Because the grape skins are not fermented in the production process of white wines, only red wines contain considerable amounts of this compound.. RV has been identified as an effective candidate for cancer chemoprevention due its ability to block each step in the carcinogenesis process by inhibiting several molecular targets such as kinases, cyclooxygenases, ribonucleotide reductase, and DNA polymerases. In addition, RV protects the cardiovascular system by a large number of mechanisms, including defense against ischemicreperfusion injury, promotion of vasorelaxation, protection and maintenance of intact endothelium, anti-atherosclerotic properties, inhibition of low-density lipoprotein oxidation, and suppression of platelet aggregation, thereby strongly supporting its role in the prevention of coronary disease.

Tis the season to watch movies fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la and there are plenty to choose from be it in the cinema, on DVD or on television. The only problem is deciding what to watch. Here’s a list of some of the absolute classic must-see Christmas films.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

One of the greatest and bleakest openings to Christmas you are likely to see. Nestling exactly between Beckett and Dickens, Brown (Charlie) has no idea how he is supposed to feel at Christmas. Disillusioned and sad he seeks true meaning amongst commercial greed and finds himself more alone than ever. Recorded with real children’s voices, the script strikes a curious balance between the child and adult worlds of Charlie Brown. How about this for an opening line:
Charlie Brown: I just don’t understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and
sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I’m
still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed.
Linus van Pelt:
Charlie Brown, you’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. Maybe Lucy’s right. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you’re the Charlie Browniest.

A Christmas Carol

Well, it must be in the list, mustn’t it? Dickens’ classic filmed in black and white is a dark tale of redemptive cheer. You know the story but you might not have seen it looking quite this bleak.

A Muppets Christmas Carol

If the original doesn’t feel you with the warm sensation you want then the muppets are guaranteed to have you reaching for the mistletoe. There’s Christmas. There’s Michael Caine. And there are all the colourful and hilarious muppets in probably their best full length feature.

Bad Santa

Most Christmas films paint Santa as a big fat happy man dutifully coping with the enormous pressure of delivering presents to every boy and girl on the planet on Christmas Eve. There’s always a hitch, a naughty child, a difficult reindeer and a lot of good will. Bad Santa was different. Father Christmas was a drunk who liked to have sex. And he did both things very well.

Die Hard

You need to decide what you want from your Christmas flick. Snow? Music? Guns and terrorists? If you answered yes to all of the above then the chances are you’ll be settling down to another viewing of Die Hard this Christmas. It’s not only Father Christmas who has to save the world. Bruce Willis changed everything, and he did it all in a vest.

Elf

Christmas is about magic and what could be more magic than a giant adopted Elf leaving the North Pole to seek his real father in New York! Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell) is one lost and misunderstood little big guy. Join him on his hilarious and really quite sweet travels to the Big Apple for a huge hug of Christmas cheer. It’s full of incredibly funny one liners and sees Will Ferrell at his very best.

Gremlins

There are usually a few monsters lurking around cinemas at Christmas but none have been so wickedly entertaining as The Gremlins. The green critters run riot chewing, clawing and killing pretty much everything in their path. And to think it all starts with a cute little Mogwai named Gizmo. Do not feed or water the animals!

Home Alone

No-one had ever heard of the child star abandoned by his parents and left alone to fend off burglars before this Christmas film had been released. Then Home Alone became a massive massive hit and Macauley Culkin found himself an overnight phenomenon. Burglar Joe Pasquale steals the show in what became an instant Christmas classic. Macauley Culkin later went on to become Michael Jackson’s best friend. Ow!

It’s A Wonderful Life

If you like your Christmas films full of angels and despair then this one is definitely for you. So popular you’ve probably seen it twice already, its blend of alcohol, attempted suicide and tragedy has struck a huge Christmas nerve with audiences all over the world. Maybe it’s the happy ending.

Miracle On 34th Street

So good they remade it this absolute Christmas classic proved that Santa Claus was real after all. After a tense court trial that is. The tale of a shopping centre Santa accused of being crazy stole the hearts of small children and families and guaranteed reruns for eternity.

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

If your biggest problem with Christmas is your family then the best thing you can do is invite them all round and sit down in front of Chevy Chase doing his very best to save Christmas Day from being the most miserable day of the whole bloody year.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Thanksgiving isn’t Christmas, that’s an important thing to remember if you’re an American. But if the sight of John Candy in a big hat trudging through the snow doesn’t fill you with Christmas cheer then you might as well not celebrate anything. Plus the dates are pretty close. Come on! You’ll be crying at the end because it’s just brilliant. I’ll put Uncle Buck in here too. That’s two films for the price of one.

Santa Claus The Movie

Starring a quite magnificent little Dudley Moore as Patch the overzealous elf versus a money-making Christmas-hating toy manufacturer John Lithgow this very 1980s twist on the festive feature was a treat when I saw it. Santa Claus starts out as a friendly old toy-maker, Patch goes from good to bad to good and the movie has an orphan boy and a posh little girl. It’s not the best but if you’re young it’ll certainly do.

Scrooged

If you’ve ever seen a better final speech than the one Bill Murray gives viewers in this modern day remake of A Christmas Carol then I’m yet to hear it. Murray is a delight in a film that could have been so sickly sweet you’d have been put off Christmas dinner for life. Instead it somehow makes you wanting Christmas Day to be extended to the other 364 days of every single year.

The Apartment

An absolute masterpiece beautifully put together and brilliantly acted The Apartment really did change cinema. It’s a twisting tale of love, friendship, life, work and a whole lot more. The action culminates throughout the Christmas holidays as one man struggles to do the right thing.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Christmas isn’t supposed to be scary and in this Tim Burton animation it wasn’t, despite the skulls and pumpkins and the undead. A musical extravaganza The Nightmare Before Christmas twisted the genre while maintaining a very pure heart. Tim Burton has rarely done better.

And we thought the Pope was concerned about intellectual property misuse these days. As a whole bunch of you have sent in, reports are coming out claiming that the Vatican has announced a special sort of “copyright” on all things Pope-related:

“…the Vatican has felt it necessary to declare that “it alone has the right to ensure the respect due to the Successors of Peter, and therefore, to protect the figure and personal identity of the Pope from the unauthorized use of his name and/or the papal coat of arms for ends and activities which have little or nothing to do with the Catholic Church.”

As the report makes clear, this is targeted at those who are using the symbols to “attribute credibility and authority to initiatives,” so it actually seems more like a makeshift “trademark” (without the “trade” part) or maybe a “publicity right” rather than a copyright. That is, this is much more about preventing people from falsely suggesting that the Pope is endorsing something he is not. That said, it’s unclear how such a rule is enforceable, since every country has their own laws that this shouldn’t impact at all. I guess since this is likely directed at Catholic organizations misusing Papal symbols that they will then obey the Pope, but otherwise, this doesn’t seem like a huge deal.

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Eco Factor: Energy saving park and ride facility in Utrecht.

KCAP Architects and Planners together with JHK Architecten have won the competition to design a P&R facility in Utrecht. The project has been commissioned by the Municipality of Utrecht and will be realized in two phases each requiring the construction of a 31,000 square-meter building with 1000 parking spaces.

(more…)

Firefox has come a long way since its launch in 2004 but, on the whole, Internet Explorer still dominates the landscape, though its lead is diminishing. When it comes to the market share of individual browser versions, Mozilla Firefox 3.5 is now the most popular browser in the world, according to web analytics firm StatCounter with a 21.9 percent market share for the December 14 to 20 week.

Firefox 3.5 manages to edge out Internet Explorer 7 and the rising Internet Explorer 8, which now have a 21.2 percent and 20.3 percent market share, respectively. This is the first time in more than a decade that any one browser has managed to beat Internet Explorer in market share, but don’t get too excited yet, this is the result of some favorable circumstances and not Firefox beating IE heads on, though the open-source browser’s accomplishments can’t be dismissed.

The reason why Firefox 3.5 has managed to uptake any IE version has to do with the release dates of IE 8 and to a lesser degree of Firefox itself. Microsoft’s latest browser is slowly building up market share at the expense of IE 7 as Windows 7 picks up steam and Vista and XP users update their browsers.

On the whole though, when all versions are added up, Internet Explorer still dominates without too much to worry about. Firef… (read more)

Congrats to the three winners of the Fling-ama-String giveaway:

• Kim (comment #22)
• Caroline (comment #621)
• Natalie (comment #1038)

May your kitties play gleefully into the New Year!