Rensselaer scientists unlock some key secrets of photosynthesis

Public release date: 2-Jul-2012
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Contact: Mary Martialay
martim12@rpi.edu
518-276-2146
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, N.Y. New research led by chemists in the Baruch '60 Center for Biochemical Solar Energy Research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is seeking to detail the individual steps of highly efficient reactions that convert sunlight into chemical energy within plants and bacteria.

In a paper published in the recent edition [DOI:10.1039/C2EE21210B] of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Energy & Environmental Science, the scientists led by K. V. Lakshmi, Rensselaer assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology and scientific lead at the Baruch '60 Center have provided important information on a specific portion of the photosynthetic process called photosystem II. It has been a major challenge to directly observe the individual steps of the solar water-splitting reaction that takes place in photosystem II, Lakshmi said. This finding provides new foundational research into how plants efficiently convert energy from the sun and could help inform the development of a new, highly robust, and more efficient generation of solar-energy technologies.

Lakshmi was joined in the research by Rensselaer students Sergey Milikisyants, Ruchira Chatterjee, and Christopher Coates, as well as Faisal H.M. Koua and Professor Jian-Ren Shen of Okayama University in Japan. The research is funded by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy.

"The photosynthetic system of plants is nature's most elaborate nanoscale biological machine," said Lakshmi. "It converts light energy at unrivaled efficiency of more than 95 percent compared to 10 to 15 percent in the current man-made solar technologies. In order to capture that efficiency in solar energy technology, we must first tackle the basic science of photosynthesis by understanding the chemistry behind its ultra-efficient energy conversion process in nature."

The new research focuses on the first of two photochemical reactions that plants use to convert solar energy into chemical energy that takes place within photosystem II. Specifically, the researchers studied the binding and activation of the substrate water molecules in the catalytic site of photosystem II. Photosystem II is a protein complex in plants and cyanobacteria that uses photons of light to split water molecules. This is known as the solar oxidation of water. The protons and electrons resulting from this split are then used by the plant to fuel the remaining systems in the photosynthetic process that transforms light into chemical energy.

"Photosystem II is the engine of life," Lakshmi said. "It performs one of the most energetically demanding reactions known to mankind, splitting water, with remarkable ease and efficiency."

One of the difficulties in studying photosystem II is that conventional methods have not yet been able to deeply probe the photosystem II complex, according to Lakshmi, and the mechanism of the photochemical reactions must be fully understood before bio-inspired technologies that mimic the natural processes of photosynthesis can effectively be developed.

In the new research, the scientists investigated the catalytic site of photosystem II, referred to as the oxygen-evolving complex. This is part of the system that breaks down the water. It does so in five distinct stages. Only the first two of these stages have been investigated in any detail, according to Lakshmi, because the remaining stages are relatively unstable and quickly change.

To understand the more unstable stages of the process, scientists need advanced scientific tools that can probe these complex systems at the atomic level. For this research, Lakshmi and her colleagues trapped three different species of photosystem II in one of the more unstable stages of the process the third stage in the oxygen-evolving complex called photochemical S2 intermediate by using low-temperature illumination of photosystem II. They then analyzed the system using an advanced spectroscopic technique called two-dimensional hyperfine sub-level correlation spectroscopy.

The tool detects the weak magnetic interactions in the catalytic site to uncover the structure and activation of the substrate water molecules in the S2 intermediate of photosystem II. The technology, found in few labs in the world, according to Lakshmi, identified four important groups of hydrogen atoms arising from substrate water molecules within the oxygen-evolving complex. This is a significant step in determining the fate of the water molecules in the solar water oxidation reaction that occurs within photosystem II, Lakshmi said.

"Water is a very stable molecule and it takes four photons of light to split water," she said. "This is a challenge for chemists and physicists around the world as the four-photon reaction has very stringent requirements."

###

To learn more about this research go to: http://www.baruch60center.org/group/index.php.

The article published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Energy & Environmental Science can be found at: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/ee/c2ee21210b

The Baruch '60 Center for Biochemical Solar Energy Research is an integrated research and education program at Rensselaer that was inaugurated in October 2008 under the auspices of President Shirley Ann Jackson and Thomas R. Baruch '60, a member of the Rensselaer Board of Trustees. Researchers at the center are working to develop the next generation of solar technology by studying one of the most powerful energy-converting machines in world plants. Researchers use sophisticated new technologies and techniques that are being developed at the Baruch '60 Center to understand the energy-converting power of plants and develop new technologies that mimic this extremely efficient natural system.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 2-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Mary Martialay
martim12@rpi.edu
518-276-2146
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, N.Y. New research led by chemists in the Baruch '60 Center for Biochemical Solar Energy Research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is seeking to detail the individual steps of highly efficient reactions that convert sunlight into chemical energy within plants and bacteria.

In a paper published in the recent edition [DOI:10.1039/C2EE21210B] of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Energy & Environmental Science, the scientists led by K. V. Lakshmi, Rensselaer assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology and scientific lead at the Baruch '60 Center have provided important information on a specific portion of the photosynthetic process called photosystem II. It has been a major challenge to directly observe the individual steps of the solar water-splitting reaction that takes place in photosystem II, Lakshmi said. This finding provides new foundational research into how plants efficiently convert energy from the sun and could help inform the development of a new, highly robust, and more efficient generation of solar-energy technologies.

Lakshmi was joined in the research by Rensselaer students Sergey Milikisyants, Ruchira Chatterjee, and Christopher Coates, as well as Faisal H.M. Koua and Professor Jian-Ren Shen of Okayama University in Japan. The research is funded by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy.

"The photosynthetic system of plants is nature's most elaborate nanoscale biological machine," said Lakshmi. "It converts light energy at unrivaled efficiency of more than 95 percent compared to 10 to 15 percent in the current man-made solar technologies. In order to capture that efficiency in solar energy technology, we must first tackle the basic science of photosynthesis by understanding the chemistry behind its ultra-efficient energy conversion process in nature."

The new research focuses on the first of two photochemical reactions that plants use to convert solar energy into chemical energy that takes place within photosystem II. Specifically, the researchers studied the binding and activation of the substrate water molecules in the catalytic site of photosystem II. Photosystem II is a protein complex in plants and cyanobacteria that uses photons of light to split water molecules. This is known as the solar oxidation of water. The protons and electrons resulting from this split are then used by the plant to fuel the remaining systems in the photosynthetic process that transforms light into chemical energy.

"Photosystem II is the engine of life," Lakshmi said. "It performs one of the most energetically demanding reactions known to mankind, splitting water, with remarkable ease and efficiency."

One of the difficulties in studying photosystem II is that conventional methods have not yet been able to deeply probe the photosystem II complex, according to Lakshmi, and the mechanism of the photochemical reactions must be fully understood before bio-inspired technologies that mimic the natural processes of photosynthesis can effectively be developed.

In the new research, the scientists investigated the catalytic site of photosystem II, referred to as the oxygen-evolving complex. This is part of the system that breaks down the water. It does so in five distinct stages. Only the first two of these stages have been investigated in any detail, according to Lakshmi, because the remaining stages are relatively unstable and quickly change.

To understand the more unstable stages of the process, scientists need advanced scientific tools that can probe these complex systems at the atomic level. For this research, Lakshmi and her colleagues trapped three different species of photosystem II in one of the more unstable stages of the process the third stage in the oxygen-evolving complex called photochemical S2 intermediate by using low-temperature illumination of photosystem II. They then analyzed the system using an advanced spectroscopic technique called two-dimensional hyperfine sub-level correlation spectroscopy.

The tool detects the weak magnetic interactions in the catalytic site to uncover the structure and activation of the substrate water molecules in the S2 intermediate of photosystem II. The technology, found in few labs in the world, according to Lakshmi, identified four important groups of hydrogen atoms arising from substrate water molecules within the oxygen-evolving complex. This is a significant step in determining the fate of the water molecules in the solar water oxidation reaction that occurs within photosystem II, Lakshmi said.

"Water is a very stable molecule and it takes four photons of light to split water," she said. "This is a challenge for chemists and physicists around the world as the four-photon reaction has very stringent requirements."

###

To learn more about this research go to: http://www.baruch60center.org/group/index.php.

The article published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Energy & Environmental Science can be found at: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/ee/c2ee21210b

The Baruch '60 Center for Biochemical Solar Energy Research is an integrated research and education program at Rensselaer that was inaugurated in October 2008 under the auspices of President Shirley Ann Jackson and Thomas R. Baruch '60, a member of the Rensselaer Board of Trustees. Researchers at the center are working to develop the next generation of solar technology by studying one of the most powerful energy-converting machines in world plants. Researchers use sophisticated new technologies and techniques that are being developed at the Baruch '60 Center to understand the energy-converting power of plants and develop new technologies that mimic this extremely efficient natural system.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/rpi-rsu070212.php

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Young Afghans seek solace from war in heavy metal rock

KABUL (Reuters) - On a dimly lit stage the godfather of Afghan rock prepares for the next song, as images of the French movie La Haine (Hate) flicker above and his audience is asked what song would they sing if they were lying in the gutter dying.

For "District Unknown", Afghanistan's first heavy metal band, the answer could be "Two Seconds After the Blast", from their soon-to-be recorded first album, "A 24-hour life time".

"We live under the constant fear of sudden death," says Qasem Foushanji, guitarist with "District Unknown", one of a handful of bands to emerge with mentoring from Afghanistan's first school of rock, which opened in May.

The thumping, heavy metal rock and aggressive lyrics which reverberate within the sound-proof walls of Kabul's "Sound Centre" music school allows young Afghans to vent their anger at the violence they have witnessed during years of war before and after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

The District Unknown song "The Beast" has lyrics like: "I scream loud and harsh; For you to run away".

"The beast in the song is fear, and if one can defeat fear then they can make a better reality for themselves," says Pedram Foushanji, Qasem's brother, and band's songwriter and drummer.

Kabul's rock music school, housed inside the small "Venue" restaurant in the Afghan capital, also reflects the return, although sometimes tentative, of social and individual freedoms since the end of Taliban rule in 2001.

The Taliban's extreme interpretation of Islam banned cinema, TV and most music, except that rooted in religion, and forbid women and girls from working or studying. Under the Taliban, a rock school would have been destroyed and its musicians killed.

Even now, 11 years since Taliban rule ended, Afghanistan's young rock musicians are sometimes forced to wear masks when performing to avoid being attacked by religious conservatives.

And the shadow of the Taliban looms large ahead of the 2014 transition when most foreign combat troops leave and hand security control back to Afghan forces.

The Taliban staged a 12-hour siege at a popular lakeside hotel outside Kabul this month, accusing hotel hostages of drinking and prostitution. At least 20 people were killed.

Women and girls continue to suffer rights abuses at the hands of pro-Taliban conservatives. In April, about 150 schoolgirls were poisoned after drinking contaminated water in an attack blamed on those opposed to female education.

"Our music is not about heartbreak or boy-girl relationships. We don't live that," says Qais Shaghasi, guitarist with District Unknown.

"It's about watching a 15-year-old being married off to a 50-year-old man by her father for money. That's what we see," says Shaghasi, wearing a black T-shirt depicting U.S. trash metal band Slayer.

SEEDS OF ROCK SOWN

After years of Western influences filtering into traditionally conservative Afghanistan, via foreigners associated with NATO-led forces, radio, film, the Internet and a sprinkling of CD music shops, the seeds of rock were sown.

Afghanistan's school of rock was the brainchild of an unlikely trio: Boston cellist Robin Ryzek, who came to teach classical music; former Pakistan refugee Humayun Zardan, forbidden from learning guitar as a youth but determined to see young Afghans rock in his restaurant; and Australian punk rock guitarist Travis Beard, regarded as the godfather of Kabul rock.

"Most Afghans have no clue about what they're hearing, it's just something new and they're drawn to it," explains the pony-tailed Beard.

The school's walls are covered with murals and paintings by local artists, and guitars and speakers have been donated from every corner of the world. Three grungy sound-proof rooms mean restaurant diners and gun-toting neighbors remain unaware of the rock revolution within.

The school has attracted some 20 students, including a handful of girls, seeking refuge in rock.

Pedram and Qasem were living in Iran when they were given an album by the U.S. heavy metal band Metallica, along with a warning about its "harsh" sound, which is in stark contrast to Afghanistan's traditional string and drum music.

The brothers immediately took a liking to the fast-paced, aggressive sound, saying a childhood spent amid war and violence helped them to connect with the music.

"I feel most comfortable playing metal music because you go out there in everyday life and you get a lot of negative energy," Pedram said. "Playing metal makes me feel better. It does for me what meditation does for others."

It was probably no surprise that young Afghan men like the Foushanji brothers picked heavy metal to express themselves, said Mohammad Zaman Rajabi, a Kabul psychologist.

Just like young U.S. soldiers turned to 60s rock when confronted with the horrors of the Vietnam War.

The fast-paced thrash of heavy metal rock is a magnet for youths desensitized to violence, said Rajabi, citing the rock fights and wrestling among Afghan youths on Kabul's streets.

"It gives them an opportunity to express their deepest emotions in a very aggressive, masochistic way," he said.

"It's a smarter way to cope with the reality. In classical music you need a stable state of mind to express yourself through traditional instruments like the sitar, but in rock or heavy metal the kids feel more free."

ROCK REBELLION

Rising above oppression seems a theme within the school.

"La Haine", screened during a performance by the school's founders, depicts the tough lives of three young 20-something migrants in an impoverished French housing project.

During the performance, students also listened to an audio clip from the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line", when famed U.S. record producer Sam Phillips asks Cash if he was lying in the gutter dying what would be the one song he'd sing -- "One song that would let God know how you felt about your time here on Earth. One song that would sum you up".

"It's given them attitude. Three years ago they were shy little boys," explains co-founder Beard of the school's impact.

"One of the biggest problems in this country is that there's no way for people to voice their opinions, you can't go out in the street and start saying stuff, people will beat you up. The only place you can really do things freely is on a stage or on a canvas," said Beard.

Pedram juggles a double life of engineering student and rock musician, but Qasem has dropped out of college to pursue art and music full-time. "Pedram got harassed at school with people saying he was a lover of Satan," Shaghasi said.

On a recent Sunday night both the Foushanji and Shaghasi families watched their sons perform for the first time.

"I was always very worried about what he was doing, but now after seeing him perform I feel a lot better about it," Shaghasi's mother said after the show.

Beard said it is a common misconception for rock music to be labeled as Satanic or anti-Islam by conservatives.

"If you come to a show though you'll see it's all just innocent fun, with really loud and sometimes hard-to-listen-to noise," he said.

Nevertheless, Beard said the musicians take safety precautions and sometimes cancel concerts. Kabul might be accepting of the school but it would be unrealistic to play rock music in other parts of the country under Taliban influence.

"Kabul's a bubble, we wouldn't be able to go to Kandahar and do this," he said of the southern province that is the birthplace of the Taliban.

The acceptance of Western music in Kabul has seen the "Rock in Kabul" festival grow to six concerts a year. Organized by Beard, the festival draws in an audience of around 450 people. At first only 10 percent were Afghans, but now the split between foreigners and Afghans is 50/50.

FEMALES STILL STRUGGLE TO BE HEARD

Kabul's school of rock is also allowing young Afghan girls to strut their stuff on stage. Unlike most schools in Afghanistan there is no segregation of sexes here.

"I always wanted to learn to play rock music and tried to learn in other courses, but there were taught by men and had all male students, so they used to harass us," said Sahar Fetrat, wearing a black scarf while strumming her guitar.

Fetrat, a 16-year-old high school student learning to play guitar, said she attends the school with her sister Sadaf, 20, who is learning to play drums.

"The teachers at this school are used to being around women. The students too. They don't make it uncomfortable. I want to learn to play rock because I'm a very active and hyper person, and rock is wild and I can be wild playing it," she said.

Students have to produce mixed-sex performances every week.

"Segregation of sexes causes a lot of unnecessary problems in this country," said Beard, who plans to form a girlband.

"The male population in the music scene here do not even want to give the girls a chance. They laugh at them before they've even started to play music," he said.

"What's really annoying is that these are not the mullahs or the conservatives. We're talking about the Afghan youth who are already playing music here, who are going to parties and living a semi-Western lifestyle. They're still close-minded about women, which is ridiculous."

(This story has been corrected to fix year Taliban rule ended)

(Editing by Michael Perry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/young-afghans-seek-solace-war-heavy-metal-rock-091239016.html

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Former Israeli prime minister Shamir laid to rest

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-israeli-prime-minister-shamir-laid-rest-162357289.html

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U.S. storms kill 13, cut power to millions

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Millions across the mid-Atlantic region sweltered Saturday in the aftermath of violent storms that pummeled the eastern U.S. with high winds and downed trees, killing at least 13 people and leaving 3 million without power during a heat wave.

Power officials said the outages wouldn't be repaired for several days to a week, likening the damage to a serious hurricane. Emergencies were declared in Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, the District of Columbia and Virginia, where Gov. Bob McDonnell said the state had its largest non-hurricane outage in history, as more storms threatened. "This is a very dangerous situation," the governor said.

In West Virginia, 232 Amtrak passengers were stranded Friday night on a train that was blocked on both sides by trees that fell on the tracks, spending about 20 hours at a rural station before buses picked them up. And in Illinois, storm damage forced the transfer of dozens of maximum-security, mentally ill prisoners from one prison to another.

In some Virginia suburbs of Washington, emergency 911 call centers were out of service; residents were told to call local police and fire departments. Huge trees fell across streets in Washington, leaving cars crunched up next to them, and onto the fairway at the AT&T National golf tournament in Maryland. Cell phone and Internet service was spotty, gas stations shut down and residents were urged to conserve water until sewage plants returned to power.

The outages were especially dangerous because they left the region without air conditioning in an oppressive heat. Temperatures soared to highs in the mid-90s in Baltimore and Washington, where it had hit 104 on Friday.

"I've called everybody except for the state police to try to get power going," said Karen Fryer, resident services director at two assisted living facilities in Washington. The facilities had generator power, but needed to go out for portable air conditioning units, and Fryer worried about a few of her 100 residents who needed backup power for portable oxygen.

The stranded train passengers spent more than 20 hours on the train after they stopped around 11 p.m. on Friday at a station near rural Prince, W.Va.

Brooke Richart, a 26-year-old teacher from New York City, said she was among the stuck passengers. To pass the time, she read half a book, talked to the people around her and took walks outside the train.

"We tried to walk up the side of the mountain to see if anyone could get cell service. We didn't have cell service the entire time we were down there," she said.

Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm said the passengers were picked up by buses, which departed by 8:20 p.m. Saturday. The buses will travel to the stations along the original route, dropping off passengers along the way.

The stranded passengers on the train bound from New York to Chicago had lights, air conditioning and food the entire time, Kulm said. He wasn't aware of any injuries or health problems.

Richart was traveling to her hometown of Cincinnati. She said the ride had mostly been smooth, with a few delays, before they stopped in Prince. The storm had already passed through by the time they stopped.

She said the train attendants and her fellow passengers were extremely nice ? watching each others' children and sharing food.

She said her family had a hard time figuring out where she in conversations with Amtrak customer service representatives. But by the time the buses arrived, her father had also come to pick her up and drive her the rest of the way.

"It gets a little trying," she said. "Thankfully we could go in and out of the train because we were there so long. If you wanted to stretch your legs or take a walk, you could do that."

The storm did damage from Indiana to New Jersey, although the bulk of it was in West Virginia, Washington and suburban Virginia and Maryland. At least six of the dead were killed in Virginia, including a 90-year-old woman asleep in bed when a tree slammed into her home. Two young cousins in New Jersey were killed when a tree fell on their tent while camping. Two were killed in Maryland, one in Ohio, one in Kentucky and one in Washington.

Illinois corrections officials transferred 78 inmates from a prison in Dixon to the Pontiac Correctional Center after storms Friday night caused significant damage, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Stacey Solano said.

No one was injured, Solano said. Generators are providing power to the prison, which is locked down, confining remaining inmates to their cells.

Utility officials said it could take at least several days to restore power to all customers because of the sheer magnitude of the outages and the destruction. Winds and toppled trees brought down entire power lines, and debris has to be cleared from power stations and other structures. All of that takes time and can't be accomplished with the flip of a switch.

"This is very unfortunate timing," said Myra Oppel, a spokeswoman for Pepco, which reported over 400,000 outages in Washington and its suburbs. "We do understand the hardship that this brings, especially with the heat as intense at is. We will be working around the clock until we get the last customer on."

Especially at risk were children, the sick and the elderly. In Charleston, W.Va., firefighters helped several people using walkers and wheelchairs get to emergency shelters. One of them, David Gunnoe, uses a wheelchair and had to spend the night in the community room of his apartment complex because the power ? and his elevator ? went out. Rescuers went up five floors to retrieve his medication.

Gunnoe said he was grateful for the air conditioning, but hoped power would be restored so he could go home.

"It doesn't matter if it's under a rock some place. When you get used to a place, it's home," he said.

More than 20 elderly residents at an apartment home in Indianapolis were displaced when the facility lost power due to a downed tree. Most were bused to a Red Cross facility to spend the night, and others who depend on oxygen assistance were given other accommodations, the fire department said.

Others sought refuge in shopping malls, movie theaters and other places where the air conditioning would be turned to "high."

In Richmond, Va., Tracey Phalen relaxed with her teenage son under the shade of a coffee-house umbrella rather than suffer through the stifling heat of her house, which lost power.

"We'll probably go to a movie theater at the top of the day," she said.

Phalen said Hurricane Irene left her home dark for six days last summer, "and this is reminiscent of that," she said.

Others scheduled impromptu "staycations" or took shelter with friends and relatives.

Robert Clements, 28, said he showered by flashlight on Friday night after power went out at his home in Fairfax, Va. The apartment complex where he lives told his fiancee that power wouldn't be back on for at least two days, and she booked a hotel on Saturday.

Clements' fiancee, 27-year-old Ann Marie Tropiano, said she tried to go to the pool, but it was closed because there was no electricity so the pumps weren't working. She figured the electricity would eventually come back on, but she awoke to find her thermostat reading 81 degrees and slowly climbing. Closing the blinds and curtains didn't help.

"It feels like an oven," she said.

At the AT&T National in Bethesda, Md., trees cracked at their trunks crashed onto the 14th hole and onto ropes that had lined the fairways. The third round of play was suspended for several hours Saturday and was closed to volunteers and spectators. Mark Russell, the PGA Tour's vice president of rules and competition, couldn't remember another time that a tour event was closed to fans.

"It's too dangerous out here," Russell said. "There's a lot of huge limbs. There's a lot of debris. It's like a tornado came through here. It's just not safe."

The outages disrupted service for many subscribers to Netflix, Instagram and Pinterest when the storm cut power to some of Amazon Inc.'s operations. The video and photo sharing services took to Twitter and Facebook to update subscribers on the outages. Netflix and Pinterest had restored service by Saturday afternoon.

___

Associated Press writers Vicki Smith in Morgantown, W.Va.; Larry O'Dell in Richmond, Va.; Pam Ramsey in Charleston, W.Va.; Norman Gomlak and Jonathan Drew in Atlanta; Jeffrey McMurray in Chicago; Doug Ferguson in Bethesda, Md.; and Rebecca Miller in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eastern-us-storms-kill-13-cut-power-millions-204808305.html

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Iceland's defiant president wins record fifth term

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/icelands-defiant-president-wins-record-fifth-term-131440253--sector.html

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Rookie Dillon rides No. 3 to Nationwide victory

SPARTA, Ky. (AP) ? Austin Dillon lived up to the legend of the No. 3 car, then had his victory called into question Friday night.

No one had regularly driven the No. 3 car since Dale Earnhardt's death on the track at the 2001 Daytona 500. On a warm night in the Bluegrass state, Dillon routed the field, only to have the car fail its postrace inspection.

Dillon took the lead early and was on top for 192 of the 200 laps to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

"I love running the 3," Dillon said. "It pressures me every week to give 110 (percent)."

Roughly an hour after the trip to victory lane, the No. 3 failed the inspection for being too low in the rear. NASCAR announced it would issue a ruling early next week.

Reached at the garage, Dillon's crew chief, Danny Stockman, wiped sweat from his forehead as he left a meeting with officials.

"We've had an issue before. We addressed it in a meeting," Stockman said. "It should have been addressed. That's the only comment I've got."

A similar situation took place earlier this season at Iowa where a car also failed a postrace inspection. The crew chief was fined $10,000 and six points were subtracted from the team.

The No. 3, of course, was driven to fame by Earnhardt, who raced for the Richard Childress team. Childress is Dillon's grandfather and also his team owner.

As Dillon was clinching the win, his grandfather said over the radio, "Dale would have been proud of that."

He added, "I couldn't be prouder as a grandfather and a team owner. I know Dale's looking down smiling to see that 3 win tonight."

It was the first Nationwide victory for Dillon, a rookie who captured the Truck Series title a year ago.

"It takes a little off your back when you get that first win," Dillon said with a broad smile while wearing a white cowboy hat with his black ? what else? ? driving suit.

Dillon had asked to drive the No. 3 car, which has made it's only appearances since Earnhardt's death with Dillon behind the wheel in the Truck Series ? and with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in three other races, including a victory at Daytona in the Nationwide event two years ago.

Dillon has marked himself as one of the fastest rising drivers in the sport. Childress was careful in his reply when asked if he might ever back another team in the Sprint Cup ? the big leagues of stock car racing ? in car No. 3.

"I don't plan on running the 3. Dale made that stylized 3 famous," he said. Then, with a grin, he added, "We don't have any intention of running that (stylized 3) in the Cup. That leaves an opening, doesn't it?"

Dillon, a 22-year-old native of Lewisville, N.C., also tentatively took over the series lead with the victory. He came into the night just a point back of leader Elliott Sadler after seven top-five finishes: five fifths and two fourths.

Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch was a distant second, 9.828 seconds back. Third went to another Cup driver and the No. 2 qualifier, Kevin Harvick, who was followed by Michael Annett and Justin Allgaier.

"Austin Dillon, he was just in his own zip code," Busch said. "Congratulations to him. It's been nice to see him develop."

Busch said he thought he had a car that could run down the pole-sitter, but that charge never materialized.

"He was just too strong tonight," Busch said. "He just had that car dialed in. There was nothing we could do."

Harvick, who took over Earnhardt's Sprint Cup ride after Earnhardt's death, said he admired what he had seen out of the young Dillon.

"I'm proud to see Austin and those guys get their first win," he said. "He works hard to make himself better and he's a good kid."

Asked what he thought of seeing the No. 3 car returning to victory lane, Harvick said, "I'm sure it's important to Richard and his family. Richard started with the 3. He and Dale had a lot of success with the 3. So I'm sure it's important to them."

The race was contested in ideal conditions after gusting winds earlier delayed qualifying for the Cup Series.

Rounding out the top 10 were Sam Hornish Jr., Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Sadler and James Buescher, who won the Truck Series race on Thursday night. Keselowski won the Nationwide event a year ago in Kentucky.

The tributes to Dillon came from all quarters after the race.

"I envy his first win," said Danica Patrick, who finished 12th.

Childress beamed as he spoke of his relationship with Earnhardt and what might be for his grandson.

"Austin has come so far," he said. "To watch him tonight, he's so patient. You'd think he's been racing a long time."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rookie-dillon-rides-no-3-nationwide-victory-032747220--spt.html

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Breathalyzer tests compulsory on all vehicles in France

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/breathalyzer-tests-compulsory-vehicles-france-162910224.html

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