WASHINGTON -- Good news for Arlington dog owners: the city's health department now lets restaurants apply for a variance to allow dogs in outdoor dining areas.
This comes just months after the public health department reminded restaurants that non-service animals weren't allowed in any dining areas, ARLnow points out. At the time, Arlington County Department of Human Services spokesman Kurt Larrick said that "[t]he presence of animals would create a risk of people getting sick due to fecal contamination."
The policy reversal comes as D.C. gears up for warmer weather and outdoor dining season. As we wait to see which Arlington restaurants will offer dog-friendly dining, here are 10 places where pooches are already welcome:
Art and Soul
<a href="http://www.artandsouldc.com/" target="_blank">Art and Soul</a> loves your dog almost as much as you do, and it shows in the restaurant's <a href="http://www.artandsouldc.com/puppy-patio-menu.html" target="_blank">Pooch Patio menu</a>. With options like "Hungry Dawg" (6 oz. grilled steak) and non-alcoholic Bowser Beer, it almost sounds good enough for a human to eat.
Pat Troy's Ireland's Own
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/13/pat-troys-dog-friendly_n_1671389.html" target="_blank">America's most pet-friendly restaurant</a> is right in our backyard. <a href="http://irelandsownpub.com/" target="_blank">Pat Troy's Ireland's Own</a> features an entire menu just for dogs, with options like lamb and beef stew, and will even help you throw a doggie birthday party.
Hotel Monaco Alexandria
Kimpton hotels are famously pet friendly and the <a href="http://www.monaco-alexandria.com/" target="_blank">Hotel Monaco Alexandria</a> goes a step beyond with its seasonal <a href="http://www.monaco-alexandria.com/alexandria-hotel/doggie-happy-hour.html" target="_blank">Doggie Happy Hour</a>. The 'yappy' hours are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, April through October.
DC Bread and Brew
Dogs are welcome on the deck at <a href="http://breadandbrew.com/index.html" target="_blank">DC Bread and Brew</a> in Dupont Circle. During seasonal doggy happy hour, there are treats for both pets and owners.
The Dairy Godmother
Cool down with your dog at <a href="http://www.thedairygodmother.com/" target="_blank">The Dairy Godmother</a> in Del Ray, which sells frozen <a href="http://www.thedairygodmother.com/treats-for-pups/" target="_blank">Puppy Pops and baked 'Squirrels'</a> to its canine clientele. President Obama <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/20/obama-fathers-day-treat-t_n_218485.html" target="_blank">picked up treats for Bo</a> when he visited in 2009.
Barrel Oak Winery
Get away for the day with a trip to Virginia wine country at dog-friendly <a href="http://www.barreloak.com/" target="_blank">Barrel Oak Winery</a>. Mom and Dad can drink wine cultivated from the 22-acre vineyard with Fido at their side.
The Argonaut
Bring your pups to the Argo-Mutts Happy Hour Saturday afternoons at <a href="http://argonautdc.com/" target="_blank">The Argonaut</a> for half-price hush puppies, happy hour drink specials and dog treats.
Cantina Marina
At <a href="http://www.cantinamarina.com/" target="_blank">Cantina Marina</a> on the D.C. waterfront, dogs are welcome on the extensive patio. Hanging out on the deck with your dog, it almost feels like you're not in D.C. anymore.
Qualia Coffee
Caffeine and canines play well together at <a href="http://qualiacoffee.com/" target="_blank">Qualia Coffee</a>, where water bowls are available and "<a href="http://qualiacoffee.com/2011/11/04/on-dogs/" target="_blank">[t]here?s also a tin of dog treats around here somewhere</a>."
Potomac Riverboat Company
Celebrate happy hour on the high seas (a.k.a. the Alexandria Seaport) with <a href="http://www.potomacriverboatco.com/canine-cruise.php" target="_blank">Potomac Riverboat Company's Canine Cruise</a>. The 40-minute drinks-and-snacks cruise departs on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. from the Alexandria docks.
Apr. 4, 2013 ? Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have illuminated the mechanism at the heart of one of the most useful processes in modern chemistry. A reaction that is robust and easy to perform, it is widely employed to synthesize new pharmaceuticals, biological probes, new materials and other products. But precisely how it works had been unclear since its invention at TSRI more than a decade ago.
"These new findings allow us to exert greater control of the reaction and make it faster and more efficient under the most challenging conditions," said chemist Valery Fokin, an associate professor at TSRI, who was principal investigator for the new study. "The reaction-tracking techniques we developed here also can be applied to the study of other complex processes, both chemical and biological."
The report, which sheds light on the reaction known as copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), appears on April 4, 2013 in Science Express, the advance online edition of the journal Science, and in the April 18, 2013 issue of the journal.
Classic Click Reaction
Fokin and his laboratory, and the laboratory of K. Barry Sharpless, a Nobel laureate and the W.M. Keck Professor of Chemistry at TSRI, reported the discovery of the CuAAC reaction in 2002. Danish researchers independently reported a similar reaction in the same year. The reaction involves the use of copper compounds to catalyze the linkage of two functional groups, a nitrogen-containing azide and a hydrocarbon alkyne, to make a stable five-membered heterocycle, 1,2,3-triazole. Azides and alkynes are small functional groups that can be easily introduced into a wide variety of structures using chemical or biological methods without interfering with normal biological processes.
The experimental simplicity and reliable performance of CuAAC under virtually all conditions, including in water and in the presence of oxygen, has made it a "go-to" method whenever covalent stitching of small human-made molecules or large biopolymers is needed, exemplified by protein and nucleic acid labeling, in vitro and in vivo imaging, drug synthesis and the forging of complex molecular architectures with surgical precision.
"Despite its many uses, the nature of the copper-containing reactive intermediates that are involved in the catalysis had not been well understood, in large part due to the promiscuous nature of copper, which rapidly engages in dynamic interactions with other molecules," said Fokin.
Previous studies had hinted that in the swirl of short-lived bondings and partings that occur during a given CuAAC reaction, not one but two copper-containing catalytic units -- "copper centers" -- are needed to help build the new triazole structure. To confirm this, Fokin and two of his graduate students, Brady Worrell and Jamal Malik, tried to reproduce key steps of the CuAAC catalytic cycle with either one or two copper atoms available. Analysis of the reaction course by tracking the heat given off by each reaction as well as product yield indicated whether it worked efficiently. "By monitoring the reaction in real time, we showed that both copper atoms are needed and established the involvement of copper-containing intermediates that could not be isolated or directly observed," said Worrell, who was the paper's first author.
In a second set of experiments, Worrell, Malik and Fokin introduced a pure isotope of copper -- which differs slightly in mass from the isotope blend found in natural copper -- as one of the two copper centers so that they could track their respective fates during the reaction. "We hypothesized that the two copper centers would have distinct roles, but found unexpectedly that their functions during key steps in the reaction are effectively interchangeable," said Malik.
New Linkages
The research reveals the popular CuAAC reaction in unprecedented detail. In addition to the fundamental insights into the chemistry of copper and its interactions with organic molecules, the techniques will lead to better understanding of many chemical and biological processes involving copper. The current study also enables development of new reactions that exploit weak interactions of copper catalysts with carbon-carbon triple bonds. In fact, based on the new findings, Fokin and his team have begun to devise new reactions in which one copper center can be replaced with a different element, to pursue complementary biocompatible and efficient techniques.
Funding for the study was provided by grants from the National Science Foundation (CHE-0848982) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health (GM-087620).
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Scripps Research Institute, via Newswise.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
B. T. Worrell, J. A. Malik, and V. V. Fokin. Direct Evidence of a Dinuclear Copper Intermediate in Cu(I)-Catalyzed Azide-Alkyne Cycloadditions. Science, 4 April 2013 DOI: 10.1126/science.1229506
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Glacial ice in the Peruvian Andes that took at least 1,600 years to form has melted in just 25 years, scientists reported Thursday, the latest indication that the recent spike in global temperatures has thrown the natural world out of balance.
This Lego recreation of Han Solo's DL-44 heavy blaster is incredible. Right down to the wood-colored handle and the offset scope, it looks as authentic as a Lego-built blaster can without actually firing lasers. More »
Maybe you were hoping for something radically new and different from a Facebook phone. If so, Zuck just broke your heart. But so what. Facebook never does anything new. New doesn?t matter in the blue. What matters is this: What ...
The rise of the "Internet of Things" promises to connect us wirelessly to all the gadgets around us, making our lives easier. That includes some surprising devices that are now networked.
By Rachel Rosmarin
", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/jk/networked-devices-01-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/nN/networked-devices-01-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide2", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-2", slidetype: "image", title: "Pet Feeder", description: "Working late? Feed Fido by tapping the screen on your iOS, Android, or Windows 8 app. The Wi-Fi-connected kibble receptacle can hold from 5 to 10 pounds of pet food, and dispense whatever amount you choose\n
\nUsers also can trust Pintofeed to know when their pet wants to eat based on when they\'ve eaten in the past. The device will come up with a feeding schedule and notify you via text, email, Facebook, or Twitter when each meal has been served. Pintofeed is heading into production now; you can reserve one for $129.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/wz/networked-devices-02-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/f2/networked-devices-02-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide3", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-3", slidetype: "image", title: "Weather Cube", description: "A glance at your phone\'s weather app will reveal tomorrow\'s temperature. But it won\'t let you feel it. The thermoelectric element inside this Wi-Fi-connected metal cube can take it down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit or up to 100. Touching the temperature you\'ll be feeling tomorrow on the Cryoscope makes it real?you\'ll know for certain whether you need to take a sweater.", credit: "Robb Godshaw", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/fw/networked-devices-03-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/lg/networked-devices-03-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide4", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-4", slidetype: "image", title: "Doorbell", description: "In the Harry Potter books, Mrs. Weasley owns a clock that tells her where her family members are. MIT Media Lab\'s Tangible Media Group envisions something similar: A doorbell that chimes a different sound when each member of the household is nearing home. It pulls data from each family member\'s Google Latitude account, a location-based mobile app that relies on Google Maps for GPS and cell-tower triangulation data. The doorbell alert means you won\'t have to stop cooking dinner when you want an update on your kids\' commute.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/0D/networked-devices-04-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/tn/networked-devices-04-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide5", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-5", slidetype: "video", title: "Mirror", description: "Flat-panel displays are everywhere?even screens at gas stations and in elevators tell us the weather and the news. But this one by Cybertecture is also a Wi-Fi-connected mirror. Put it in the bathroom and it will relay health data, let you browse social networks, watch video, and even check your form while exercising. The mirror gleans health data from an optional peripheral: a sensor pad that functions as a scale that calculates body fat, muscle mass, and bone mass, in addition to weight.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/SW/networked-devices-05-0413-smn.jpg", videotype: "embedded" }, { id: "slide6", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-6", slidetype: "video", title: "Piano", description: "\"Play it, @StanleyPiano. Play \'As Time Goes By.\'\"\n
\nSeattle agency Digital Kitchen created a player piano that receives tweets of song titles. It then takes MIDI files of those songs and turns them, via a USB interface, into ivory-tickled keynotes using a hardware controller. There\'s no satisfaction quite like commanding an old-school analog instrument to strike up a tune via your smartphone.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/F6/networked-devices-06-0413-smn.jpg", videotype: "embedded" }, { id: "slide7", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-7", slidetype: "image", title: "Lightbulb", description: "Another Kickstarter success story, the energy-efficient Lifx bulb (available for preorder at $69 apiece) screws into existing sockets and is controlled via Wi-Fi on an iOS or Android app. You can tell it (or them, if you install multiple bulbs) to turn on and off at different times, dim and brighten slowly, change colors, flash in patterns, and more. The manufacturer also promises \"robot dancing.\" While the prospect of an Internet-enabled living-room rave sounds fun, the lazy comfort of dimming the lights from the couch or turning on the light in the basement before heading down the steps is even more appealing.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/kr/networked-devices-07-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/0m/networked-devices-07-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide8", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-8", slidetype: "image", title: "Environmental Sensors", description: "In Star Trek, the Tricorder is the ultimate environmental sensor and data-analysis device. Curious earthbound types who\'ve wished for one may soon be able to play-act with the Sensordrone, a gadget with built-in sensors that sends data directly to smartphones in real time. The phones can then relay data to the Web via tweets and other social media. This is the Swiss Army Knife of data gathering.\n
\nSensors include temperature, humidity, light, IR barometer, blood alcohol level, carbon monoxide, and gas. Blood-pressure monitors are expected soon, but no word on whether a radiation detector is in the works. You can set your smartphone to automatically tweet data gathered from the sensors.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/nq/networked-devices-08-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/Hn/networked-devices-08-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide9", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-9", slidetype: "image", title: "Gardening Assistant", description: "Attention hydroponic gardeners: Not sure about optimum light, water, and temperature levels for your plants? Sensors placed in your planters can measure water, temperature, humidity, brightness, pH, and nutrient concentration, and can help to yield a better crop. Bitponics\' gear, currently in development, takes measurements from the air and soil and uploads them automatically to a Web interface for analysis, helping to turn your black thumb to green.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/9D/networked-devices-09-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/TX/networked-devices-09-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide10", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-10", slidetype: "image", title: "Paper-Craft Toys", description: "ReaDIYmates are pattern kits for paper-craft toys (monsters and sculptures). Each one comes with a paper body, a built-in motor and speaker, and a tiny processor with some flash memory and a Wi-Fi radio. Thanks to this hardware, you can turn these bits of paper and wire into amiable creatures by using your creative touch.\n
\nWith simple Web commands, for example, teach them to dance using your iPhone\'s accelerometer, tweet, or send voice memos. Have them holler and shimmy when someone likes your latest Facebook post. Or use these highly personalized toys to entertain someone, even from a Web browser half a world away.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/SI/networked-devices-10-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/f7/networked-devices-10-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide11", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-11", slidetype: "image", title: "Music Box", description: "Miss the tactile feel of mix tapes, but don\'t want to store your music on flimsy disposable media? The Spotify box, a prototype built by designer Jordi Parra, appeals to nostalgic types who\'ve lamented the Internet-only aspect of modern music consumption but don\'t want to eschew the endless variety available online. Tiny RFID tokens link directly to Spotify music playlists or artist tags that play when you place them on the Web-connected box.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/d5/networked-devices-11-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/A0/networked-devices-11-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide12", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-12", slidetype: "image", title: "Lamps", description: "The Good Night Lamp is a beautifully designed light fixture shaped like a house. It comes with a larger and smaller version of the same design. Turning on the big lamp at your home also turns on the little one, which might be in your daughter\'s dorm room. The two users decide what on and off mean; turning the light off could mean \"I\'m asleep,\" or turning it on could mean \"I have time to talk on the phone now.\"\n
\nSure, people could send these messages by text. But the Good Night Lamp\'s designers think of it as a way to feel the presence of someone located far away. The lamp failed to meet its Kickstarter goals, but its creators still plan to move forward with the project.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/sV/networked-devices-12-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/R0/networked-devices-12-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 } ] };
Air Quality Egg
Air-quality levels monitored and reported by the government don't take into account the conditions right outside your doorstep. If you knew that nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide levels in your neighborhood or near your child's school were especially high on any given day, you might choose to keep young lungs inside.
The Air Quality Egg gives you exactly this information. Sensors measure air quality outside your front door, and then an RF transmitter sends the data to an egg-shaped base station in your house. The Egg, which turns different colors to alert you to changes in the air quality, sends the data on to a service that graphs it for the public.
The collective information from Eggs around the world could ultimately help researchers studying the environmental causes for a variety of diseases, such as heart and lung disease.
CAIRO (Reuters) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team resumed long delayed negotiations with Egypt on Wednesday on a $4.8 billion loan to ease an economic crisis in the most populous Arab country, a government official said.
After two years of political upheaval, foreign currency reserves have fallen to critically low levels, limiting Egypt's ability to buy wheat, of which it is the world's biggest importer, and fuel.
President Mohamed Mursi's government initialled an IMF deal in November but postponed ratification in December due to unrest ignited by a political row over the extent of Mursi's powers.
The IMF mission met officials at the Finance Ministry and was expected to meet Prime Minister Hisham Kandil later.
Cairo must convince the global lender it is serious about reforms aimed at boosting growth and curbing an unaffordable budget deficit. That implies tax hikes and politically risky cuts in state subsidies for fuel and food including bread.
An IMF deal has long eluded Egypt, despite on-off talks first with an army-led government and now with Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood-led administration.
Economists say the IMF appears to question whether Egypt has the political consensus needed to enact reforms, doubts that months of turmoil have done nothing to ease.
Parliamentary elections that were due to start this month have been pushed back until October and a new legislature may not be in place until December.
Finance Minister Al-Mursi Al-Sayed Hegazy said on Monday the government hopes to have a loan agreement completed by the IMF's spring meetings, held later in April. But IMF officials have not given a timeline and some private economists say a full deal before the parliamentary polls seems unlikely.
Just before the visit, the government announced an increase in the price of subsidised cooking gas. But it has postponed plans to ration subsidised fuel using smart cards until July 1 and some reports say that date may be pushed back further.
The Egyptian pound has lost a tenth of its value against the dollar this year and is trading even lower on the black market, driving up inflation. Shortages meanwhile threaten to exacerbate tension in the street, where Mursi's opponents have been airing political grievances in protests that frequently turn violent.
POUND TUMBLES
The United States and the European Union have urged Egypt to build a broad political consensus in support of reforms required by an IMF programme, but the main political parties have become increasingly polarised.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that Egypt was at a "tipping point", telling reporters: "We share a very real concern in the Obama Administration about the direction that Egypt is apparently moving in."
"We have been working very, very hard in the last weeks to try to get the government of Egypt to reach out to the opposition, to deal with the IMF, to come to an agreement which will allow Egypt to begin to transform its economy and improve the lives of its citizens," Kerry said.
The leftist Popular Current party led by Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in last year's presidential election, denounced the proposed IMF loan in a statement on its Facebook page and joined calls for demonstrations outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday against the IMF visit.
"This loan will lead to colonisation and the continued dependency of the Egyptian economy," Popular Current said, adding it would have negative effects on the economy and on the social and living conditions of Egyptians.
Seeking to protect the Egyptian pound, the central bank has raised interest rates, increasing the cost of borrowing needed to finance a state deficit expected to hit 12.3 percent of GDP without reforms.
A medium-term economic plan submitted to the IMF envisages cutting the deficit to 9.5 percent in the 2013-2014 fiscal year beginning in July.
The financial crunch has forced the government to cut back on fuel imports, leading to shortages that have caused transport disruptions and power cuts. To ease shortages, Cairo has said it aims to import oil from Iraq and neighbouring Libya while paying off some of the money it owes to foreign energy firms.
Egypt has also cut back on wheat imports, running down grain reserves in the hope that a bumper harvest will be enough to feed its 84 million people.
A government statement on Wednesday said wheat reserves have fallen to 2 million tonnes, enough to last 81 days. On March 27, the government said it had a stock of 2.116 million tonnes, or 85 days' supply.
Without a deal, Cairo could perhaps still limp along for several more months with help from friendly Arab states such as Qatar, but it would not be comfortable.
