Device for coupling a first vehicle to a second vehicle

A device is disclosed, carried by a first vehicle such as an orbiting space shuttle, having a plurality of contact members for engaging and holding an annular ring on a second vehicle such as an orbiting payload. The contact members are connected to manipulator arms which are mounted at a fulcrum point and which are moved by an iris type mechanism. Movement of the manipulator arms causes the contact members to grasp or release the annular ring. Bumper devices are provided to axially align the annular ring and draw the contact members into engagement therewith

Coupling device for moving vehicles

A mechanical system is disclosed to capture and/or deploy a device or vehicle having relative motion with respect to another vehicle. The mechanism includes an onboard controlled collapsible iris assembly located at the end of a controlled manipulator system carried by one moving vehicle. The iris assembly by means of the manipulator system encircles a probe located on the other moving vehicle whereupon the iris assembly is activated and one or more iris elements close around the probe, thus capturing, and axially aligning the other vehicle with the iris assembly. Additionally, a rotator assembly is included for spinning the iris assembly in a manner adapted to engage the probe of a spinning vehicle. Deployment of the other vehicle is accomplished by reversing the capture procedure

Carried meaning in the Mahābhārata

The Mahābhārata describes itself as both a comprehensive and exhaustive text, incorporating a range of genres while presenting diverse perspectives through a matrix of interacting narratives. Its main story and subtales are the subject of productive contemporary studies that underscore the significance of the Sanskrit epic, though this scholarship is also famously criticized for overlooking literary inquiry. The following dissertation enacts a close reading of four subtales, Nala’s Tale, Rāma’s Tale, Sāvitrī’s Tale, and The Yakṣa’s Questions, in context with the larger work to uncover the implications of a literary study of the Mahābhārata. By conducting translations of passages from the epic, this dissertation builds sites of alliance among frame and subtale, literary and translation theory, critical analysis and contemporary scholarship, as well as the Mahābhārata and other works of literature in order to consider the ways in which meaning is generated throughout the text. Language, constituent parts, and operative principles are found to reverberate in the epic, eschewing didacticism and stasis for literary vitality. Themes of loss, love, disguise, and discovery veer throughout the subtales as sideshadows that at once collaborate and contradict to continuously redefine one another. The Mahābhārata’s self-conscious and reiterative reinterpretation of its own constructs presents critical insights on translation as dialogical correspondence, occurring within utterances as well as between languages. The act of translation, utilized by the poem itself to develop and proliferate significance, reveals difference and bears legibility within the epic.Asian Studie

FiBL-Réseau bio. Rapport annuel 2005.

Le présent rapport annuel est le premier rapport des activités du nouveau « Réseau Bio » du FiBL. Il contient la description de la mise en place et des modifications du réseau, ainsi qu’un résumé des activités ayant eu lieu au cours de l’année 2005. Le rapport se présente comme suit: Tout d’abord, on y présente les nouveautés organisationnelles du réseau. Puis suivent les résumés des activités de l’année 2005. L’enquête réalisée est détaillée dans un chapitre séparé. Il concerne l’atelier thématique „Qualité de vie“, qui s’est déroulé dans le cadre des assemblées annuelles. Enfin, en annexe figurent les questionnaires sur le thème „Qualité de vie sur l’exploitation agricole“

FiBL-Betriebsnetz. Jahresbericht 2005

Der vorliegende Jahresbericht ist der erste Bericht zu den Aktivitäten im neuen FiBLBetriebsnetz. Er beinhaltet die Beschreibung des Auf- und Umbaus des Netzes, sowie eine Zusammenfassung der Tätigkeiten, welche im Laufe des Jahres 2005 stattgefunden haben. Der Bericht ist folgendermassen aufgebaut: Zuerst werden organisatorische Neuigkeiten zum Betriebsnetz beschrieben. Danach folgt die Zusammenfassung der Tätigkeiten des Jahres 2005. In einem separaten Kapitel werden die Workshops zum Thema Lebensqualität, welche im Rahmen der Jahrestagungen stattgefunden haben, beschrieben. Am Schluss sind im Anhang die Fragebogen zum Thema Lebensqualität beigefügt

Folgenabschätzung des Direktzahlungskonzepts der Vision Landwirtschaft (Teilmodell 1 und 2)

Die Schweizer Direktzahlungspolitik zugunsten der Landwirtschaft ist seit einiger Zeit wieder Gegenstand öffentlicher Diskussionen. Von verschiedenen Seiten wird u.a. bemängelt, dass das bisherige System keine optimalen Anreize für die Erbringung von multifunktionalen Leistungen bietet (Bosshard und Schläpfer, 2005; Mann, 2005; Rentsch, 2006; Schläpfer, 2006). Der Bundesrat hat deshalb im Juni 2009 vorgeschlagen, die Direktzahlungen künftig auf die von der Bevölkerung gewünschten gemeinwirtschaftlichen Leistungen der Landwirtschaft auszurichten (Bundesrat, 2009). Für die Fachorganisation Vision Landwirtschaft gehen diese Überlegungen grundsätzlich in die richtige Richtung. Allerdings fehlt ihr bei den derzeitig bekannten Reformvorschlägen eine konkretere Ausgestaltung. Um die Verfassungsziele effizient zu erreichen, bedarf es ihrer Ansicht nach weitreichender Veränderungen in der Agrarpolitik (Schläpfer, 2009). Die Vision Landwirtschaft fordert u.a., dass die bisherigen allgemeinen Direktzahlungen, die 80% aller Direktzahlungen an die Bauern ausmachen, in Beiträge mit klaren Zielen umgewandelt werden. Hierzu hat sie ein alternatives Direktzahlungsmodell erarbeitet, dass aus drei Basisprogrammen (Beiträge für einen erweiterten ökologischen Leistungsnachweis, Erschwernisbeiträge und ÖLN-Plus-Beiträge), sechs Leistungsprogrammen für die die Honorierung von spezifischen Leistungen in den Kategorien Versorgung, Umwelt, Biodiversität, Tierwohl, Landschaft und Soziales sowie Übergangsbeiträgen zur Vermeidung von sozialen Härtefällen besteht (vgl. Anhang 1). Um die möglichen Auswirkungen des Konzeptes abschätzen zu können, hat die Vision Landwirtschaft das Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (FiBL) beauftragt, für die Massnahmen, die im Modell FARMIS des FiBL abgebildet werden können, eine modellbasierte Analyse durchzuführen. Es handelt sich dabei um die Basisprogramme „ÖLN“, „Erschwernisbeitrag“ und „ÖLN-Plus“ sowie um einzelne Module der Leistungsprogramme „Biodiversität“ und „Tierwohl“ (siehe Abschnitt 3). Der vorliegende Bericht fasst die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung zusammen und dokumentiert damit die Analysen, die im Weissbuch Landwirtschaft Schweiz (Bosshard et al. 2010) unter „Teilmodell 1“ und „Teilmodell 2“ beschrieben sind. Zunächst wird das verwendete Modell kurz beschrieben. Zur Erleichterung der Einordnung und Interpretation der Ergebnisse erfolgt im Anschluss eine Darstellung der zu Grunde gelegten Szenarien. Daran schliesst sich die Darstellung und Diskussion der Modellergebnisse zu den Auswirkungen der untersuchten Direktzahlungsmassnahmen an

ALPIS - Konzept für ein modernes alpwirtschaftliches Informationssystem

Das Sömmerungsgebiet setzt sich zusammen aus den traditionellen, nicht ganzjährig bewirtschafteten Weidegebieten im Jura‐ und im Alpenbogen. Es ist ein wichtiges Element der Schweizer Kulturlandschaft und umfasst gemäss Arealstatistik rund ein Drittel der landwirtschaftlich genutzten Fläche der Schweiz. Der Wandel der Agrarstrukturen im Talgebiet, die Klimaveränderung und neue gesellschaftliche Ansprüche beeinflussen auch die Nutzungsformen des Sömmerungsgebietes. Diese Veränderungen stellen die Kantone und die Alpwirtschaft vor neue Herausforderungen. Um diesen Herausforderungen gewachsen zu sein, brauchen die Behörden, die Alpwirtschaft, die Beratung und die Politik aktuelle und historische Informationen aus dem Sömmerungsgebiet

Parsing the Streptococcus pneumoniae virulome

Thesis advisor: Tim van OpijnenStreptococcus pneumoniae is a prominent gram-positive commensal and opportunistic pathogen which possesses a large pan-genome. Significant strain-to-strain variability in genomic content drives the use of varied pathways to perform similar processes between strains. Considering this variation, we employ a set of 36 strains, representative of 78% of total pan-genome diversity, with which to perform functional studies. We previously determined the set of genes required by 22 of the 36 strains to maintain successful infection in a host, or the virulome. In this work, we sought to parse from the virulome the genes required specifically for nasopharyngeal adhesion, a crucial step in S. pneumoniae colonization and transmission, and often a precursor to invasive disease, as well as gene requirements for subversion of the macrophage. We performed in vitro attachment Tn-seq in the 22 strains to D562 human nasopharyngeal epithelial cells, identifying thirteen factors that exhibit requirements for adhesion, and preliminarily validated a proposed universal requirement for survival of the macrophage by a killing assay using J774A.1 murine migratory macrophages.Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2020.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: A&S Honors.Discipline: Biology

Adaptation of Poa alpina to altitude and land use in the Swiss Alps

Current land use and climate change are prompting questions about the ability of plants to adapt to such environmental change. Therefore, we experimentally addressed plant performance and quantitative-genetic diversity of the common Alpine Meadow Grass Poa alpina. We asked how land use and altitude affect the occurrence of P. alpina in the field and whether its common-garden performance suggests adaptation to conditions at plant origin and differences in quantitative genetic diversity among plant origins. Among 216 candidate grassland sites of different land use and altitude from 12 villages in the Swiss Alps, P. alpina occurred preferentially in fertilized and grazed sites and at higher elevations. In a common garden at 1,500m asl, we grew two plants of >600 genotypes representing 78 grassland sites. After 2years, nearly 90% of all plants had reproduced. In agreement with adaptive advantages of vegetative reproduction at higher altitudes, only 23% of reproductive plants from lower altitudes reproduced via vegetative bulbils, but 55% of plants from higher altitudes. In agreement with adaptive advantages of reproduction in grazed sites, allocation to reproductive biomass was higher in plants from grazed grasslands than from mown ones. For 53 grasslands, we also investigated broad-sense heritability H2, which was significant for all studied traits and twice as high for grazed as for mown grasslands. Moreover, possibly associated with their higher landscape diversity, H2 was higher for sites of villages of Romanic cultural tradition than for those of Germanic and Walser traditions. We suggest promoting diverse land use regimes to conserve not only landscape and plant species diversity, but also adaptive genetic differentiation and heritable genetic variatio

Omnipresence of leaf herbivory by invertebrates and leaf infection by fungal pathogens in agriculturally used grasslands of the Swiss Alps, but low plant damage

Agriculturally used grasslands in the Alps are characterised by a trade-off between high fodder production in some and high plant species richness in others. In contrast to plant species richness and production, however, little is known on the relevance of biological interactions between plants, invertebrate herbivores, and fungal pathogens for grasslands in the Alps. At the time when the vegetation was fully developed, but prior to agricultural use, we examined whether leaf damage by herbivory and fungal pathogen infection, and their diversity, are affected by plant functional group, land use, and altitude. Moreover, we studied whether extent and diversity of leaf damage are related to each other, to plant species richness, and to standing crop. We recorded the leaf area damaged by ten types of herbivory and five types of fungal pathogen infection on 12,054 plant leaves of legumes, other forbs, and graminoids collected in 215 grassland parcels in 12 valleys in the Swiss Alps. With 83% of all leaves infested, herbivory and fungal pathogen infection were omnipresent. However, only 2.7% leaf area was damaged by herbivory and 1.2% by fungal pathogens. Damage by herbivory was highest on legumes, and damage by fungal pathogens was highest on graminoids. More leaf damage by herbivory occurred in traditionally mown sites and at lower altitudes, while damage by fungal pathogen infection was independent of land use and altitude. Most types of herbivory were found on legumes and on leaves from fertilised sites, whereas the number of fungal pathogen types was highest on graminoids and in unfertilised sites. Larger standing crop was associated with higher leaf damage and diversity of herbivory types per leaf. Neither damage by herbivory nor by fungal pathogens was correlated with plant species diversity. In more plant species rich parcels, the number of herbivory types was lower at the leaf level, but tended to be higher at the parcel level. Our results highlight the omnipresence of plant-herbivore and plant-pathogen interactions. They suggest that current land use changes from mowing to grazing or to abandonment decrease the diversity of herbivory, and that fertilisation decreases pathogen diversity. As our results did not reveal conservation conflicts between diversities of plants, herbivores, and fungal pathogens, and as the damage from herbivory and pathogens is generally low, we conclude that for protecting the high diversity of plant-herbivore and plant-pathogen interactions a diverse low-intensity land use should be maintaine