drawbridge castellated

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

One step closer to robotic refueling demonstrations on space station

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2012) ? NASA completed another successful round of Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) operations on the International Space Station with the Canadian Dextre robot and RRM tools, leaving the RRM module poised for the highly-anticipated refueling demonstration scheduled for late summer 2012.

A joint effort between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), RRM is an external station experiment designed to demonstrate the technologies, tools, and techniques needed to robotically repair and refuel satellites in orbit, especially those not built with servicing in mind. RRM results and lessons learned are reducing the risks associated with satellite servicing and bolstering the foundation for future robotic servicing missions.

"Now that these tasks are complete, our eyes are now set on the RRM refueling demonstration and the eventual benefits that it will bring to the aerospace industry," says Benjamin Reed, deputy project manager of the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

"Every year, functional satellites providing weather, communications, and other essential services are retired because they have reached the end of their fuel supply," continued Reed. "We envision a future where refueling services extend the lifespan of these satellites and increase capacity for users and consumers. RRM is designed to prove this robotic refueling technology, and we are looking forward to practicing this task in late summer 2012."

Satellite-servicing capabilities function like a reliable toolkit to help humans build, repair, and maintain critical space assets. Repair and refueling technologies similar to the ones demonstrated by RRM could be used to extend the lifespan of existent satellites, support the assembly of large structures on orbit, and mitigate orbital debris, among other benefits. In turn, these advances could make spaceflight more efficient, sustainable, and cost effective.

The RRM Gas Fittings Removal task that occurred June 19-22, represents the second on-orbit use of the RRM tools developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. During the task, robot operators at NASA's Johnson Space Center remotely controlled Dextre to retrieve the RRM Multifunction Tool. They executed the tasks required to remove representative fittings found on many spacecraft to fill various fluids and gases prior to launch.

"The International Space Station (ISS) has been an excellent test bed for demonstrating satellite-servicing technology," says Reed. "We are extremely grateful to the space station and to our essential partners, the Canadian Space Agency, for their support."

"Accurately simulating space on the ground is very costly and fraught with compromises. So to be able to develop our satellite servicing strategies in space, with all the essential services (power, command, telemetry, robotics) provided, makes for better technology development for fewer dollars. Sign me up as a charter member of the ISS Fan Club."

Dextre, the space station's twin-armed robotic "handyman," was developed by the CSA to perform delicate assembly and maintenance tasks on the station's exterior as an extension of its 57-foot-long (17.6 meter) robotic arm, Canadarm2. CSA wrote the software to control Dextre during RRM operations.

RRM operations are monitored and remotely controlled by flight controllers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Canadian Space Agency's control center in St. Hubert, Quebec.

Drawing upon 20 years of experience servicing the Hubble Space Telescope, the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office initiated the development of RRM in 2009. RRM results to date were recently presented at the Second International Workshop on On-Orbit Satellite Servicing, hosted and held at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center May 30-31.

Satellite servicing with astronauts is not new for NASA. Skylab, NASA's first space station, was repaired in space in 1973. Solar Maximum and Syncom IV, with help from the shuttle, were successfully repaired in the 1980's. In the 1990's NASA serviced the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, Intelsat VI, and executed a series of highly successful servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope.

More recently, human and robotic servicing capabilities have contributed to the assembly, upkeep, repair, and maintenance of the space station. With RRM, NASA is maturing specific robotic satellite-servicing technologies needed for the development of future robotic servicing spacecraft.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA. The original article was written by Dr. Tony Phillips,
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/XxGphEfZGTw/120703141419.htm

jerry sandusky Colorado fires supreme court college board summer solstice Summer Solstice 2012 Waldo Canyon fire

SAfrica: Chimps who attacked US student to live

This undated photo provided by the Facebook group HelpAndrewOberle shows graduate student Andrew Oberle observing chimps. Doctors are reporting improvement in the condition of Oberle, who was attacked by chimps he was studying in South Africa. (AP Photo/HelpAndrewOberle)

In this photo taken Feb. 1, 2011, chimpanzees sit in an enclosure at the Chimp Eden rehabilitation center, near Nelspruit, South Africa. A paramedic official says chimpanzees at a sanctuary for the animals in eastern South Africa bit and dragged a man at the reserve, badly injuring him. In a statement, Jeffrey Wicks of the Netcare911 medical emergency services company said the man he described as a ranger was leading a tour group at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden Thursday June 28, 2012 when two chimpanzees grabbed his feet and pulled him under a fence into their enclosure. The international institute founded by primatologist Jane Goodall opened the sanctuary in 2005. It is a home to chimpanzees rescued from further north in Africa, where they are hunted for their meat of held captive as pets. (AP Photo/Erin Conway-Smith)

This undated photo provided by the Facebook group HelpAndrewOberle shows graduate student Andrew Oberle sitting with a chimp. Doctors are reporting improvement in the condition of Oberle, who was attacked by chimps he was studying in South Africa. (AP Photo/HelpAndrewOberle)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Two adult chimpanzees that viciously attacked a U.S. student at a primate sanctuary in South Africa were defending their territory and will be allowed to live, the lead government investigator said Tuesday.

Conservationist Dries Pienaar blamed human error for Thursday's attack.

But one of the sanctuary managers, Eugene Cussons, said he did not blame Andrew F. Oberle for crossing between two safety fences to retrieve a rock that the chimps were in the habit of throwing at tourists.

Oberle was in critical condition and in a medically induced coma in the hospital by Monday night. On Tuesday, doctors refused to describe his condition saying the family, who had arrived from the United States, is asking for privacy.

Pienaar told The Associated Press that the chimps tore some fingers off one of Oberle's hands, among other injuries. This was "to my astonishment, I couldn't believe it because I know those chimps personally," he said.

He said he found no negligence on the part of the Jane Goodall Institute's Chimpanzee Eden SA in eastern South Africa.

"The only thing that happened is Andrew stepped over the small barrier fence and went right up to the electric fence," he said. "We all know that they are tame chimps, but he shouldn't have done that, he's a researcher, he's supposed to read the body language."

Oberle was leading a group of tourists at the time. The visitors were 10 meters (33 feet) from the second fence, as required by safety rules. After Oberle stepped over the first fence, the chimps dragged him under the electric fence and mauled him around the head and arm.

Cussons said he was happy that Pienaar's investigation found the chimps were involved in territorial defense and would not therefore be killed or punished.

He said he was forced to shoot one of the chimps, but not mortally, after he and a ranger failed to scare the animals into releasing Oberle, even when they drove a car at them.

Chimp Nikki, aged about 16, was injured in the abdomen and is being treated at the Johannesburg Zoo.

The other attacker, Amadeus, in its 20s, is on lockdown with his family at the sanctuary.

Pienaar, who has worked as a conservationist for 33 years, said he condoned the shooting, a last option under protocols that recommend first shock treatment or pepper sprays.

"Other than that I'm happy with things," Pienaar said. "I'm not having the chimps put down. I don't think there's reason for that."

Oberle is studying anthropology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. It was his second trip to study at the South African institute, which takes in orphaned and abused chimpanzees.

___

On the Net:

Photo of Nikki at The Jane Goodall Institute South Africa: http://www.janegoodall.co.za/images/Nikki_Photo_David_Devo_Oosthuizen_All_Rights_Reserved.jpg

___

Associated Press writer Emoke Bebiak contributed to this report from Johannesburg.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-03-South-Africa-Chimp-Attack/id-c48cc10dabfc44239439ef507f0dd953

match play championship the national enquirer marie colvin cm punk cm punk lint justin theroux

Monday, July 2, 2012

Ark. gov weighing Medicaid expansion after ruling

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ark-gov-weighing-medicaid-expansion-ruling-160843372--finance.html

robert de niro winner of x factor cheesecake recipe leona lewis carlos beltran air jordan 11 concord unemployment extension

Apple threatened in Italy with fine, temporary closure

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apple-threatened-italy-fine-temporary-closure-165109182.html

made in america icam patrice o neal. osteopathy osteopathy diphtheria diphtheria

Hormone discovered that preserves insulin production and beta cell function in diabetes

ScienceDaily (July 2, 2012) ? Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found protective, anti-diabetic functions for a hormone that, like insulin, is produced by the islet cells of the pancreas. The new hormone was found to stimulate insulin secretion from rat and human islet cells and protect islet cells in the presence of toxic, cell-killing factors used in the study.

The study, which was supported by JDRF, a global leader in type 1 diabetes research, appears in the July 3 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.

The findings provide insight into the health and survival of beta cells, a type of islet cell that produces insulin to regulate sugar levels. The discovery could open pathways for further research toward prevention and treatments for type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

The researchers gave the hormone, TLQP-21 to Zucker Diabetic Fatty rats, which have a genetic propensity to develop type 2 diabetes. They saw a significant improvement in insulin and glucose (sugar) levels and less beta cell death in the treated animals.

"We think this finding is important because it is the first demonstration that TLQP-21 prevents deterioration of the beta cells and stimulates insulin secretion in the presence of glucose," said senior author Christopher B. Newgard, Ph.D., director of the Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center, and the W. David and Sarah W. Stedman Distinguished Professor. "Because diabetes starts to take hold when the number of beta cells dwindles and insulin production drops, finding the best way to produce more of this protective hormone could be valuable."

Although the researchers have so far only tested TLQP-21 in models of type 2 diabetes, they plan to test the hormone in type 1 in future studies.

Both types of diabetes are characterized by a loss of functional beta cell mass. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease characterized by selective and progressive loss of functional insulin-producing beta cells and is more severe. Type 2 is a disease characterized by beta cell dysfunction as well as peripheral insulin resistance. Most people with type 2 eventually become insulin-dependent.

"These exciting findings provide novel insight into how beta cell health and survival may be regulated in the body," said Patricia Kilian, Ph.D., director of the beta cell regeneration program at JDRF. "We are looking forward to studies that will further test how this novel hormone affects beta cell function in T1D (type 1 diabetes) models."

TLQP-21 is similar in some of its functions to another naturally occurring hormone produced in the digestive tract, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Through different mechanisms, both hormones protect and promote insulin secretion. GLP-1 or drugs that stabilize it are widely used to treat type 2 diabetes, but with some side effects, including increased heart rate and reduced stomach emptying, that have resulted in cessation of therapy in some people.

"What's exciting is that in the animal studies of TLQP-21, we didn't see these side effects," said lead author Samuel B. Stephens, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the Stedman Center. "The rats had typical appetites and ate normal amounts of food, and didn't show any changes in heart rate or digestion patterns when they were given large doses of the hormone."

The next step is to find a small molecule that could stimulate the islet cells to produce more of the TLQP-21 hormone, or to develop more potent or stable versions of injected hormone. Research toward a longer-acting drug will help accelerate its eventual testing in type 1 diabetes, said Newgard, who is also a professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology.

The work was a collaboration with Geoffrey Pitt, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of medicine in cardiology who heads the Duke Ion Channel Research Unit, and Albert Y. Sun, M.D., a cardiovascular disease fellow in the Pitt lab, who ran the tests to determine whether TLQP-21 raised heart rates. Other authors of the study include Jonathan C. Schisler, Ph.D., Hans E. Hohmeier, M.D., Ph.D., and Jie An, Ph.D.

The work was supported by grants from the JDRF, the National Institutes of Health (DK58398), and an American Heart Association post-doctoral fellowship, as well as a sponsored research agreement with Eli Lilly, with whom Dr. Newgard consults.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University Medical Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120702162319.htm

danny gokey sonny rollins sweet caroline lottery winning numbers pro bowl roster quirky chrissy teigen