Israel says it successfully tests new missile defense

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel carried out a successful test of its upgraded Arrow interceptor system on Monday, which is designed to destroy in space the kind of missiles held by Syria and Iran, the Israeli Defense Ministry said.

The U.S.-backed Arrow III system deploys "kamikaze" satellites that target ballistic missiles above the earth's atmosphere, hitting them high enough to allow for any non-conventional warheads to disintegrate safely.

Monday's test was the first live flight for the Arrow III, but did not involve the interception of any target.

"The test examined for the first time the capabilities and the performance of the new Arrow III, considered to be the most innovative and revolutionary interceptor in the world," the Defense Ministry said.

A ministry official said the test, which was conducted from a site along Israel's Mediterranean coast and lasted six and a half minutes, was "100 percent successful".

Designers say the system has proved a success in up to 90 percent of previous tests.

"The success of the test is an important milestone in the operational capabilities of the state of Israel to be able to defend itself against threats in the region," the ministry statement added.

But the ministry official said the timing of the test, which took months to prepare, was not related to current tensions with Iran or Syria. He said Israel plans another flight test followed by a simulated interception in space over the Mediterranean.

U.S. BACKING

Arrow is the long-range segment in Israel's three-tier missile shield. This also includes the successfully deployed "Iron Dome", which targets short-range rockets and projectiles, and the mid-range "David's Sling", still under development. They can be deployed alongside other U.S. systems.

Officials say that if Arrow failed to hit an incoming missile at high altitude, there would still be time to destroy it with other systems before it hit its intended target.

The Pentagon and the U.S. firm Boeing are partners in Arrow. Washington has described its support for Israeli missile interceptors as a means of reassuring Israel, which in the past has launched preventative wars against perceived threats, that it has a more passive means of defending itself.

Israel has accused Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons and has hinted it might strike the Islamic Republic in an effort to halt its atomic program.

Boeing thinks that potential clients for the system may include India, Singapore and South Korea.

"As we prove out that technology, and show that it's not only affordable but effective, we think there will be additional global market opportunities for that capability," Dennis Muilenburg, chief executive of Boeing's defense, space and security arm, told Reuters last year.

The United States and Israel have been developing Arrow jointly since 1988. Boeing's counterpart on the project is state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries.

The U.S. financial contribution to progressively improved versions of the Arrow system tops $1 billion, the Congressional Research Service said in a March 2012 report to lawmakers.

(Reporting by Dan Williams; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-carries-arrow-missile-interceptor-test-official-064443952.html

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Four new species of water-gliding rove beetles discovered in Ningxia, China

Feb. 25, 2013 ? Four new species from the Steninae subfamily of the large family of rove beetles (Staphylinidae) have been discovered in the Ningxia Autonomous Region, China, as part of an exploration of the insect fauna of the Liupan Shan Natural Reserve, where a large number of specimens has been collected. The expedition also yielded 11 new records for the Ningxia province of previously described Steninae species. The study was published in the open access, peer reviewed journal Zookeys.

The Ningxia Autonomous Region is mainly known as a dry, desert-like land. The region of the Liupan Shan Natural Reserve, however, is part of the Liupan Shan mountains, also known as the green pearl on the Loess Plateau. The area is also regarded as a "Kingdom of Animals" for its great biological diversity.

The rove beetle family, Staphylinidae, is one of the most widely distributed beetle families in the world. However, the representatives of the Steninae subfamily are of particular interest. These fascinating beetles are known for their unique ability to glide on the surface of water.This special skill is made possible through evolutionary adjustment allowing the production of special gland secretions that reduce surface tension.

Out of the four newly described species two are from the genus Dianous, and as all representatives are experts in water gliding. The other two belong to the genus Stenus where this ability is only partly present. One of the species, Stenus liupanshanus lives in leaf litter and is therefore believed to not demonstrate the ability. However the other one, Stenus biwenxuani, was found on shore and is therefore considered to be a water glider.

Steninae are also specialist predators of small invertebrates such as collembola, which are frequently found in leaf litter. What is fascinating is the special hunting technique used by those beetles to catch their prey. Species in the genus Stenus can eject some of its mouth parts using blood pressure. The thin rod of the labium ends in a pair of pads with bristly hairs and hooks, called paraglossa, and between these hairs are small pores that exude an adhesive glue-like substance, which sticks to prey to secure a perfect catch and no escape.

Dr. Liang Tang from the Department of Biology, Shanghai Normal University, comments: "As far as the Steninae are concerned, Ningxia Autonomous Region is one of the most poorly explored regions, with merely two species being recorded until 2008. In the summer of 2008, a team surveyed the insect fauna of the Liupan Shan in southern Ningxia and collected a large number of Steninae. In this paper, we report the results of the study, which includes two new Stenus and two new Dianous species, and new province records for eleven Stenus species."

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Journal Reference:

1. Liang Tang, Li-Zhen Li. Discovery of Steninae from Ningxia, Northwest China (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae). ZooKeys, 2013; 272 (0): 1 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.272.4389

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/top_news/~3/gYGGjjiBkBw/130225102551.htm

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Access Recovery Software What Is Its Need And How To Select An ...

Access databases are individual user based and can store decent amount of data in them. But like any other database, even MDB files can get corrupt and cause issues for the user while accessing their database. In such situations, users are left with no other option than to invest on a third party Access Recovery software offering them with a repaired Access database without putting in manual efforts. In this segment you will you get to know about one of the strongest reasons causing corruption within Access database and some tips regarding the selection of an idealistic application to repair Access database. Referring below will let you know how can Access database get corrupt and how worse it can get over time along with the proper selection tips of an ideal Access Recovery software program have been discussed.

How Multiple User Usage Can Damage Access Database?

Unlike large database management systems like SQL Server which are based on client-server, Access database is a Jet database engine that is file based to permit more than one number of users to share equal file. A lock file is used by Jet engine which is created with the extension .ldb so that read/writes of a particular database can be synchronized successfully. But regrettably, usage of the Lock file depends on the Windows operating system API for handling file synching that in turn depends on the file transfer intercommunicating protocols.

Many a times network related issues leave database in a suspect mode without causing corruption and this depends on what was the user doing while the issue took place. And one of the strongest scenarios is where user had been performing a huge SQL append query which may likely end up corrupting the database.

Thats how the need and requirement of the best external Access Recovery software arises and makes users go from pillar to post searching for an ideal one suiting their requirements and convenience level.

How To Do The Selection?

Selecting any third party application including Access Recovery software has just one useful criterion if used wisely. You are supposed to look out for an application which comes with a free of cost trial version also that lets you take a glance at the software functions and operational end beforehand. This way you can avail highly technological yet dependable applications for repairing MDB database like; Access Recovery software which is one of the best in its category.

This Company gave rise to a wide range of software domains like Email Recovery, Data Recovery, etc whereas Access Recovery software belongs to the MS Office File Repair domain and renders MDB access recovery.

Source: http://www.articleswide.com/article/15873-Access_Recovery_Software_What_Is_Its_Need_And_How_To_Select_An_Ideal_One.html

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