A Twenty Year Science Vision for European Astronomy
Three years ago, a group of European funding agencies, plus ESA and ESO, put forward the Astronet program to ensure close coordination of the astronomical developments within the Continent. One prime objective of this ERANET contract financed by the European Commission is to produce a long-term (∼ 20-year) strategic plan, similar in scope and content to the recurrent US decadal surveys. This is being pursued through a two-step process, first articulating a ’Science Vision’ with a set of prioritised science goals as well as an analysis on the generic facilities needed to reach them, followed by an Infrastructure Roadmap outlining the ways and means to implement the Vision. The first step is now completed, with the Science Vision document published at the end of September 2007; this paper presents the process that has been followed and the main conclusions reached.
Report by the ESA-ESO Working Group on "The Herschel-ALMA Synergies"
The Herschel Satellite and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) are two very large sub-mm and far infrared (FIR) astronomy projects that are expected to come into operation in this decade. This report contains descriptions of these instruments, emphasising the overlaps in wavelength range and additional complementarities. 
A short rationale for studying sub-mm and far infrared astronomy is given. Following this, brief presentations of Herschel and ALMA are presented, with references to more detailed documents and use cases. Emphasis is placed on the synergies between these facilities, and the challenges of comparing data produced using both. Specific examples of projects are given for a number of areas of astronomical research where these facilities will lead to dramatic improvements. 
This report is addressed to an audience of non-specialist astronomers who may be interested in extending their areas of research by making use of Herschel and ALMA instruments.
Line Arrester Energy Discharge Duties
Surge arresters could practically eliminate lightning flashovers on distribution lines, if they are properly deployed in large enough numbers, and if they could survive the current and energy discharge duties imposed by high-magnitude lightning strokes. The discharge duty depends on complex interactions between the arrester locations, grounding, shielding from nearby objects, and the local lightning environment. But many factors of traditional concern with distribution arrester application, such as the lead length, surge front time, and protective margin, play little or no role in the discharge duty. Probabilistic methods determine the expected arrester failure rate. This should be much lower than the original flashover rate on the line insulation, otherwise the design is not acceptable. A transient program such as EMTP/ATP provides the best tool for calculating the discharge duty, but simplified methods are also available