Jack Butland backs Rangers star to shine against Celtic in Hampden final after lighting up Europa League Nico Raskin was awarded player of the match in midweek draw with Spurs Midfielder has impressed this season on his return from injury Butland believes he could play a key role in Sunday's Premier Sports Cup final By STEPHEN MCGOWAN Published: 22:30, 13 December 2024 | Updated: 22:30, 13 December 2024 e-mail 52 shares View comments In the post-match melee of the game against Tottenham , Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland made a beeline for the player of the match. Plagued by injuries for much of his two years in Glasgow, Nico Raskin embodies the recent improvement at Ibrox. With every game, with every victory, he grows a little stronger. Against Ange Postecoglou ’s expensively assembled English Premier League outfit, the Belgian had his best game in a Rangers jersey to date. Replicate the same performance against Celtic at Hampden tomorrow and Rangers have a chance of nullifying their oldest rivals to retain the Premier Sports Cup. ‘I said it to him after the game, it’s one of the best — if not the best — I’ve ever seen him play,’ revealed Butland. ‘So hopefully he can top that on the weekend. ‘I’m really, really pleased for him. He’s been brilliant, as were so many the other night. I thought Dio (Mohamed Diomande) was fantastic as well. Hamza (Igamane), the way he led the line. Tav was brilliant. So was Jefte. Jack Butland has hailed the performances of Nico Raskin during Rangers' recent run Raskin was a standout performer against Tottenham in the Europa League midweek Hamza Igamane put Rangers in front in the second half against the English giants at Ibrox ‘They’re dealing with some real attacking threats and they were top. So Nico was brilliant, as was everyone else. We need more of that on the weekend.’ For Butland, progress at Rangers has always been a marathon and not a sprint. A test of endurance — for fans as much as players — with hurdles and obstacles to be overcome. The first half of the race was a dogged test of staying power, the team gasping for breath after a 1-1 draw with Dundee United almost broke them. A day when Philippe Clement’s position looked untenable, promises of jam tomorrow rang increasingly hollow. Trailing to a Sam Dalby goal and booed from the pitch by an irate fanbase at half-time, a frank exchange of views provoked a second-half improvement and, in hindsight, the point secured by Vaclav Cerny’s equaliser can be viewed as a turning point. Evidence of unexpected powers of endurance. A thumping win over Nice in France announced the arrival of Igamane as a Rangers starter. Marrying the results in Europe with some overdue consistency on home soil, victories over St Johnstone and Ross County followed, before a six-goal thrashing of Kilmarnock. A Europa League point against a star-studded Tottenham side altered the narrative further. Rangers have a second wind now, with the final hurdle a long overdue win over Celtic. Written off all of two weeks ago, Butland emits a wry smile at the change of fortunes. Phillipe Clement hopes to earn his first win over Celtic in six attempts this weekend ‘That’s what people tend to do with this club and hopefully we continue to disappoint people and get back to where we should be,’ said the former England No 1. ‘It’s a long journey. There’s still things that we need to improve, but we’re getting there and the work ethic and desire in the group and around the club is to be successful. We really want that. ‘There were things that we didn’t do in the first half of that Dundee United game. It wasn’t about the goal that we conceded. It was about what we didn’t do and the things that we just didn’t quite get on the same page with in the first half. ‘The second half of that game, we had it and we created enough chances to win two or three games. But sometimes things will go your way and sometimes it doesn’t. It didn’t that day and we got punished for it. ‘In recent weeks we’ve learned from that and really taken the game to people, which is what we need to do.’ The aggressive intent and intensity was apparent from the start against Tottenham. Sensing the vulnerability of a team with one win from their last seven, Nedim Bajrami forced Fraser Forster into a stunning fingertip save. But for the former Celtic keeper — a thorn in Rangers’ side in the League Cup final of 2019 — Clement’s team would have overcome the loss of Dejan Kulusevski’s late equaliser to claim a famous victory. In very Cyriel Dessers fashion, the substitute did everything right during a mazy solo run late in the game before Forster denied the home side a win for the ages. Celtic's Adam Idah scored the winner against Butland in last year's Scottish Cup Final The keeper was the only Spurs player to earn pass marks and that spoke volumes for the Rangers performance. There was no time to bask in the afterglow. While Celtic flew home from Zagreb to rest and recuperate ahead of Hampden, Rangers were left with precious little time to do the same. Despite dropped points in the league against Celtic, Dundee United, Hearts, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen, none of the slips followed a Thursday night game in Europe. Butland added: ‘We’ve done Thursday-Sunday and Wednesday-Saturday for the last 18 months since I’ve been here and long before that. So, there’s no excuse on that front.’ Share or comment on this article: Jack Butland backs Rangers star to shine against Celtic in Hampden final after lighting up Europa League e-mail 52 shares Add commentUnique among ‘Person of the Year’ designees, Donald Trump gets a fact-check from Time magazineAlyssa Nakken, the first woman coach in Major League Baseball history, is leaving the Giants to join the Cleveland Guardians as an assistant in player development, as first reported by 95.7 The Game’s Steven Rissotto. Nakken is the latest member of last year’s coaching staff to depart from the team, joining Justin Viele (Rangers), Pedro Guerrero (Marlins) and Bryan Price (stepped down). Additionally, Pete Putila, the team’s general manager in 2023 and 2024, and Michael Schwartze, the team’s former director of baseball analytics, have joined the Braves. In Cleveland, Nakken will be reunited with a pair of former Giants coaches in Craig Albernaz and Kai Correa. Under Stephen Vogt, the 2024 American League Manager of the Year, Albernaz is an associate manager while Correa is a field instructor. Nakken, 34, made no shortage of history during her five seasons with the team. On April 12, 2022, Nakken became the first woman to appear in an on-field role, coaching first base after former first base coach Antoan Richardson was ejected. Last offseason, the Giants interviewed Nakken for their vacant manager opening after firing Gabe Kapler, becoming the first woman to interview for the position. The jersey that Nakken wore during her first major league game on July 23, 2020 was sent to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Earlier this year, Nakken gave birth to her first child, Austyn. A standout softball player at Sacramento State, Nakken first joined the Giants in 2014 as a baseball operations intern, serving various front-office roles before joining the major-league coaching staff. ©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at mercurynews.com . 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Choosing between any two of the top five banks in Canada can be a task that’s more difficult than it may seem. For one, these large lenders are highly correlated, meaning that it doesn’t really matter which bank stock one picks; they’re most likely going to move in the same direction. From a and growth perspective, it’s also true that yields and growth rates are likely to be about roughly the same. So, why not simply buy a sector-weighted exchange-traded fund (ETF) and call it a day? There are some differences between Canada’s largest banks that are worth pointing out. These differences could lead to relative outperformance over a medium-term time frame. Here’s a breakdown of two of Canada’s largest banks and which is the stock I’d call the likely prospective winner over the next five years or so. Toronto-Dominion Bank ( ) offers retail and corporate banking services, wealth management and related financial solutions. The services list includes accounts, cards, certificates of deposits, life and non-life insurance, mortgage and borrowings, international banking, merchant solutions, investment, cash management, and wealth advisory services. Toronto-Dominion Bank can produce a good level of financial performance despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. In the third quarter of its fiscal year 2024, which ended in July, TD posted a 3% year-over-year increase in its adjusted earnings to $2.05 per share. It also managed to post a solid 8.9% year-over-year rise in its revenue to $14.2 billion, thanks to continued strength in its core banking operations, particularly in the Canadian market. In fact, despite the AML investigation and the not-so-easy macroeconomic environment, Toronto-Dominion Bank has shown it can still grow revenue and protect its earnings. Its Canadian personal and commercial banking operations touched record during the July 2024 quarter. Its revenue segment rose about 9% year over year to about $5 billion. Apart from this, the segment’s net profit also rose by about 13%, reflecting the strength of its customer base and leading market position. Royal Bank of Canada ( ) offers personal, institutional, and business banking products and wealth and asset management services. It operates through a network of branch offices, ATMs, and online portals and serves individual, business, SMEs, institutional, and high and ultra-high net worth individual clients. Royal Bank of Canada is supporting its steady dividend with a reliable history over the last 10 years, supported by a low payout ratio of just 49%, which is sustainable. However, its yield at 3.42% is a little below the average of the major Canadian dividend players but sits at a discount to the estimated fair value. Recent fixed-income offerings are said to be strategic financial maneuvers to bring support to growth and stability. The company might better position itself for greater financial oversight and strategic direction in pursuing efforts at constant growth by appointing its new chief financial officer. The bank has sound financial health with high earnings, good quality of credits, and excellent customer satisfaction, which comes well for the bank. However, the rise of noninterest expenses, gross impaired loans, and a high price-to-earnings ratio compared to peers indicate various issues. The growth opportunities include achieving expense synergies and enhancement of trade finance offerings. However, it will balance these factors against the economic uncertainty and additional regulatory hurdles surrounding the bank. The verdict Overall, taking into account valuation, dividend potential, and growth potential, Toronto-Dominion Bank is better than Royal Bank. It has more upside if it can beat the money-laundering allegations or even if it just pays out a moderate amount of fines and settlements. Royal Bank is pretty well-valued by banking standards, and at 13 times earnings with little growth, it is not cheap. However, it is a pretty conservative bank, so you are unlikely to lose your shirt on it.Japanese monkeys living in Launceston will be prevented from reproducing due to concerns of disease and inbreeding within the group. For more than 40 years, visitors to Launceston’s City Park have been able to view the macaques frolicking about in an enclosure. But by 20250 it is expected there will be no monkeys left in the park. In 2000, it was revealed the herpes B virus had spread through the monkeys, although previous discussions of euthanising the troop were politically unpopular. Now there are increasing concerns about a lack of genetic diversity within the group. The City of Launceston has decided to desex the male members of the macaque troop to prevent the animals from breeding. It is expected that the desexing of the troop will take two years to complete. The council said while it was grateful to receive the monkeys, by today’s standards they would not keep these animals in an enclosure. They also said it was important to take into consideration the needs of the monkeys and the greater community. On Thursday afternoon, a council meeting voted 10-1 in favour of sterilisation, after hearing there were signs of miscarriages and stillbirths in the troop. “We know the Launceston community cares very much about the welfare of the City Park monkeys,” Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood said. “That’s a sentiment that’s also very much shared by both councillors and staff. “The inability to introduce new genetic stock and the serious impacts on their health and wellbeing means we need to begin to consider the future of the troop. “[The] decision was a difficult one, but it prioritises the welfare of the monkey troop so we can keep them as healthy and happy as possible for as long as possible. Mr Garwood said he would write to the mayor of Ikeda following the decision. Councillor Andrea Dawkins said if the city was offered this same opportunity today the city would be unlikely take it. “There is a lot of interest in these monkeys as there should be because there is so much interest in the way humans react with animals and we take it for granted they are a part of our lives,” she said. “Communities have changed and animals in captivity for the enjoyment of humans is some; thing we’ve moved through.” Originally published as Launceston council to sterilise iconic Japanese macaques
Quantum-inspired design boosts efficiency of heat-to-electricity conversion November 21, 2024 Rice University Researchers have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Engineers designed a thermal emitter that can deliver high efficiencies within practical design parameters. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email Researchers at Rice University have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Using an unconventional approach inspired by quantum physics, Rice engineer Gururaj Naik and his team designed a thermal emitter that can deliver high efficiencies within practical design parameters. The research could inform the development of thermal-energy electrical storage, which holds promise as an affordable, grid-scale alternative to batteries. More broadly, efficient TPV technologies could facilitate renewable energy growth -- an essential component of the transition to a net-zero world. Another major benefit of better TPV systems is recouping waste heat from industrial processes, making them more sustainable. To put this in context, up to 20-50% of the heat used to transform raw materials into consumer goods ends up being wasted, costing the United States economy over $200 billion annually. TPV systems involve two main components -- photovoltaic (PV) cells that convert light into electricity and thermal emitters that turn heat into light. Both of these components have to work well in order for the system to be efficient, but efforts to optimize them have focused more on the PV cell. "Using conventional design approaches limits thermal emitters' design space, and what you end up with is one of two scenarios: practical, low-performance devices or high-performance emitters that are hard to integrate in real-world applications," said Naik, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. In a new study published in npj Nanophotonics, Naik and his former Ph.D. student Ciril Samuel Prasad -- who has since earned a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from Rice and has taken on a role as a postdoctoral research associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- demonstrated a new thermal emitter that promises efficiencies of over 60% despite being application-ready. "We essentially showed how to achieve the best possible performance for the emitter given realistic, practical design constraints," said Prasad, who is the first author on the study. The emitter is composed of a tungsten metal sheet, a thin layer of a spacer material and a network of silicon nanocylinders. When heated, the base layers accumulate thermal radiation, which can be thought of as a bath of photons. The tiny resonators sitting on top "talk" to each other in a way that allows them to "pluck photon by photon" from this bath, controlling the brightness and bandwidth of the light sent to the PV cell. "Instead of focusing on the performance of single-resonator systems, we instead took into account the way these resonators interact, which opened up new possibilities," Naik explained. "This gave us control over how the photons are stored and released." This selective emission, achieved through insights from quantum physics, maximizes energy conversion and allows for higher efficiencies than previously possible, operating at the limit of the materials' properties. To improve on the newly achieved 60% efficiency, new materials with better properties would need to be developed or discovered. These gains could make TPV a competitive alternative to other energy storage and conversion technologies like lithium-ion batteries, particularly in scenarios where long-term energy storage is needed. Naik noted that this innovation has significant implications for industries that generate large amounts of waste heat such as nuclear power plants and manufacturing facilities. "I feel confident that what we have demonstrated here, coupled with a very efficient low bandgap PV cell, has very promising potential," Naik said. "Based on my own experience working with NASA and launching a startup in the renewable energy space, I think that energy conversion technologies are very much in need today." The team's technology could also be used in space applications such as powering rovers on Mars. "If our approach could lead to an increase in efficiency from 2% to 5% in such systems, that would represent a significant boost for missions that rely on efficient power generation in extreme environments," Naik said. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation (1935446) and the U.S. Army Research Office. Story Source: Materials provided by Rice University . Original written by Silvia Cernea Clark. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Journal Reference : Cite This Page :