Approach range and velocity determination using laser sensors and retroreflector targets

Rockwell International is conducting an ongoing program to develop Laser Docking Sensors (LDS) that provide high performance and high intrinsic value while meeting all mission objectives. These LDS systems are now being required to aid future spacecraft docking, station keeping, and berthing/capture systems. Improved automated tracking, rendezvous, soft docking, and capture will be required in the construction and support of SSF and future orbiting platforms. The development of a practical LDS requires an easy-to-operate, low-cost, compact system. A wide range of options for laser range detection equipment, ranging from commercial technology to specialized military systems, was evaluated. This evaluation focused on both direct applicability of existing systems and usability of specific technologies contained in these systems. From these efforts it was determined that a new approach provided the greatest promise of fulfilling all mission requirements at the lowest life-cycle cost

Levels of Abnormal Prion Protein in Deer and Elk with Chronic Wasting Disease

Infected deer may pose a higher risk than elk for disease transmission

Optimising Community-Based Forest Management Policy in Indonesia: a Critical Review

Community-based forest management (CBFM) is a popular concept in many countries, covering over 400 million hectares worldwide. In Indonesia, CBFM is viewed as an important component of the forestry sector with the government's goal to establish 5.6 million hectares of CBFM by 2011 (twice the area of industrial plantation forests). The Indonesian government is pursuing CBFM as a strategy to reduce deforestation of tropical forests, to alleviate poverty in rural communities, and to contribute timber supplies to the processing industry.There has been a belief that CBFM can lead to a physical and socio-economic transformation at the local level. However, in practice, especially in Indonesia, this claim appears problematic because in over 35 years since it has been officially introduced it does not appear to have contributed significantly to address the problems of deforestation and rural poverty.Despite the government's ambitious goal for CBFM, there are several challenges, for instance the entrenched poverty of many rural communities and inconsistent and unsupportive policies of CBFM at the national, provincial, and local government. This paper is intended to explore, discusses, and criticize the implementation of CBFM policies in various countries and in particular in Indonesia. This paper also aims to explore its challenges in the future development in Indonesia

Communicating REDD+ Issues at Local Level: Creating Latent and Manifest Conflict

”Carbon offsetting”in forestry-related projects is widely regarded as the ideal solution to the three challenges of the 21st Century: climate change, biodiversity conservation andsocio-economic development. At the same time, there is scepticism about the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) proposal particularly because of the weak governance and institutional capacities in many developing countries, which could jeopardize the delivery of benefits at the local level. One major problem is that most people have little knowledge on the causes and consequences of the climate change. This is partly because the information is largely scattered among scientific journals, and obscured by jargon and sophisticated mathematical models. Consequently, REDD+ is beyond thereach of manyof the people affected by REDD+. This paper examines the efforts and the capacity of the local governments and other development agents in explaining the REDD + issues and its impacts on the local people, especially customary communities. The research shows that lack of policy communication and promotion, as well as consultations with the affected groups arethe main contributing factors to latent and manifest conflicts. In turn, this conflicth as proven that NGOs, district governments and scientists have not been successful intermediaries. Thus, in the future policy communication on REDD+ should beaimed at improved network formation (i.e. between farmer groups with business partners and NGOs and other related actors), learning, negotiation and relationship building (i.e. between members of farmer groups, not only withtheir leaders within the farmer groups but also with governmental and business sectors). Policy communication should also create a new configuration of support and services in form of advocacy, empowerment and management skills and technical skills for conserving their natural resources, for adaptation to climate change and building more equitable governance and transparency at local level

Family support and cardiac rehabilitation: A comparative study of the experiences of South Asian and White-European patients and their carer's living in the United Kingdom

Background: Effective lifestyle modification facilitated by cardiac rehabilitation is known to reduce the occurrence of adverse coronary events and mortality. South Asians have poorer outcomes after a myocardial infarction than the general UK population, but little is known about their experiences of family support, cardiac rehabilitation and lifestyle change. Aims: To explore the nature of family support available to a sample of South Asian and White-European cardiac patients and to highlight similarities and differences between these groups with regard to cardiac rehabilitation and lifestyle modification. Methods: Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews (in 1 of 6 languages) were conducted by researchers with; 45 South Asian patients and 37 carers and 20 White-European patients and 17 carers. Interviews were conducted in a home setting, up to eighteen months after discharge from hospital following myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass surgery or unstable angina. Results: The main themes that emerged related to the provision of advice and information, family support and burden, dietary change and exercise regimes. Conclusions: Several cultural and ethnic differences were identified between patients and their families alongside similarities, irrespective of ethnicity. These may represent generic characteristics of recovery after a cardiac event. Health professionals should develop a cultural repertoire to engage with diversity and difference. Not every difficulty a person encounters as they try to access appropriate service delivery can be attributed to ethnic background. By improving services generally, support for South Asian populations can be improved. The challenge is to know when ethnicity makes a difference and mediates a person's relationship with service support and when it does not. (C) 2007 European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The extremophilic pharmacy:drug discovery at the limits of life

[No abstract

The extremophilic pharmacy:drug discovery at the limits of life

[No abstract