Foreshortened convolute section for a pressurized suit Patent

Development of improved convolute section for pressurized suits to provide high degree of mobility in response to minimum of applied torqu

Omnidirectional joint Patent

Cord restraint system for pressure suit joint

Pressure garment joint Patent

Design and development of flexible joint for pressure suit

Pressurized suits can be fabricated with adjustable dimensions

Root cords sewn within tube-like channels form a fabric convolute. Cord length adjusts to individual wearer's dimensions

Do you cov me? Effect of coverage reduction on metagenome shotgun sequencing studies

Shotgun metagenomics sequencing is a powerful tool for the characterization of complex biological matrices, enabling analysis of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms and viruses in a single experiment, with the possibility of reconstructing de novo the whole metagenome or a set of genes of interest. One of the main factors limiting the use of shotgun metagenomics on wide scale projects is the high cost associated with the approach. We set out to determine if it is possible to use shallow shotgun metagenomics to characterize complex biological matrices while reducing costs. We used a staggered mock community to estimate the optimal threshold for species detection. We measured the variation of several summary statistics simulating a decrease in sequencing depth by randomly subsampling a number of reads. The main statistics that were compared are diversity estimates, species abundance, and ability of reconstructing de novo the metagenome in terms of length and completeness. Our results show that diversity indices of complex prokaryotic, eukaryotic and viral communities can be accurately estimated with 500,000 reads or less, although particularly complex samples may require 1,000,000 reads. On the contrary, any task involving the reconstruction of the metagenome performed poorly, even with the largest simulated subsample (1,000,000 reads). The length of the reconstructed assembly was smaller than the length obtained with the full dataset, and the proportion of conserved genes that were identified in the meta-genome was drastically reduced compared to the full sample. Shallow shotgun metagenomics can be a useful tool to describe the structure of complex matrices, but it is not adequate to reconstruct-even partially-the metagenome

Deformation history of the blueschist-facies sequences from the Villa de Cura unit (Northern Venezuela)

The Serrania del Interior terrane is located in Northern Venezuela, that represents the southern margin of the Caribbean plate. This terrane includes the Villa de Cura unit, which mainly consists of multiple sub-units of metamorphosed and deformed Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary sequences. These sequences are commonly interpreted as generated in a supra-subduction zone setting. The structural history of the Villa de Cura blueschists-facies units includes four main deformational phases, from D1 to D4. The first D1 phase is mainly represented by a relict S1 schistosity developed under HP/LT conditions. The relic S1 schistosity is deformed by isoclinal to subisoclinal F2 folds showing similar geometry. The F2 folds are characterized by a continuous S2 crenulation cleavage developed under greenschist-facies metamorphism. The parallelism between the A2 axes and the related L2 mineral lineations suggests an interpretation of the F2 folds as sheath folds developed during non-coaxial deformation. The kinematic indicators suggest a top-to-W sense of shear for the D2 phase. The D3 phase is distinguished by asymmetric, parallel F3 folds with a S vergence. Finally, the D4 phase consists of F4 open, gentle folds with high-angle to sub-vertical axial planes. The collected data suggest a complex deformation history, characterized by coupling of strike-slip tectonics and shortening during the retrograde evolution of the blueschist-facies sequences

Ophiolite-bearing Vermoshi Flysch (Albanian Alps, Northern Albania): elements for its correlation in the frame of Dinaric-Hellenic Belt

The tectonic setting of the Albanian Alps, Northern Albania, is characterized by a thick pile of tectonic units whose uppermost structural level is represented by the Vermoshi Unit, cropping out just few km north of the Shkoder-Péc Line. This unit includes a single formation, the Vermoshi Flysch, characterized by turbidite deposits consisting of arenites, shales and marls. The Vermoshi Flysch has been sampled for paleontological datings and petrographical analyses of the arenite beds along five selected and well exposed sections in the Vermoshi Valley. The nannoplancton and forams associations detected in the analyzed samples point out to a Barremian age, whereas the petrographical modal analysis of arenites indicates that all the samples have a mixed/hybrid silicilastic-carbonate composition, ranging from quartz-rich sublitharenites to quartz-poor litharenites. However, the main feature ot these arenites is the occurrence of fragments derived from an ophiolite sequence. The petrographical data suggest that these deposits can be regarded as supplied by two different source areas, represented by the margins of the basin where the Vermoshi Flysch was deposited. Whereas one of the border was represented by the Adria continental margin, the opposite one was characterized by an advancing nappe, constituted by ophiolites and their sedimentary cover. In this frame, the Vermoshi Flysch can be regarded as the southernmost part of the Vranduk Flysch, cropping out in Serbia and Croatia. This type of deposits, widespread in the Dinaric-Hellenic belt, can be considered as the sedimentary marker of the Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous tectonic phases related to the closure of the oceanic area present between the Adria and the Eurasia plate

Deformation history of the eclogite- and jadeitite-bearing mélange from North Motagua Fault Zone, Guatemala: insights in the processes of a fossil subduction channel

In Guatemala, along the northern side of the Motagua Valley, a me ́lange consisting of blocks of eclogite and jadeitite set in a metaserpentinitic and metasedimentary matrix crops out. The metasedimentary rocks display a complex deformation history that includes four tectonic phases, from D1 to D4. The D1 phase occurs only as a relic and is characterized by a mineral assemblage developed under pressure temperature (P–T) conditions of 1.00–1.25GPa and 206–2638C. The D2 phase, characterized by isoclinal folds, schistosity and mineral/stretching lineation, developed at P–T conditions of 0.70–1.20 GPa and 279–4098C. The following D3 and D4 phases show deformations developed at shallower structural levels. Whereas the D1 phase can be interpreted as the result of underplating of slices of oceanic lithosphere during an intraoceanic subduction, the following phases have been acquired by the me ́lange during its progressive exhumation through different mechanisms. The deformations related to the D2 and D3 phases can be regarded as acquired by extrusion of the me ́lange within a subduction channel during a stage of oblique subduction. In addition, the structural evidences indicate that the coupling and mixing of different blocks occurred during the D2 phase, as a result of flow reverse and upward trajectory in the subduction channel. By contrast, the D4 phase can be interpreted as related to extension at shallow structural levels. In this framework, the exhumation- related structures in the me ́lange indicate that this process, probably long-lived, developed through different mechanisms, active in the subduction channel through time

Polyphase folding at upper structural levels in the Borbera valley (Northern Apennines, Italy): implications for the tectonic evolution of the linkage area between Alps and Apennines

The Borbera Valley (northwestern Italy) is located in a complex geological area where the linkage between Alps and Apennines occurs. In this area the Antola Unit (Late Cretaceous–Palaeocene) is unconformably overlain by the Upper Eocene–Miocene succession of the Tertiary Piedmont Basin. The structural analysis indicates the occurrence of a folding phase of Late Oligocene–Early Miocene age, characterised by recumbent F2 folds. These folds are superposed onto D1 structures related to an early folding phase of Middle Eocene, affecting only the Antola Unit. The occurrence of map-scale D2 folding phase structures that affect the Tertiary Piedmont Basin succession suggests that the linkage area between Alps and Apennines was reactivated during the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene