Jettisoning system for a parachute's canister

Three-point automatically released suspension and jettisoning system operates independently of lander's power system and releases parachute on touchdown. The system is based on a ball-lock device operated by the shock of the parachute's opening and by the subsequent decay in the load on the main cord

Simple control device senses solar position

The amount of solar radiation incident on a specially prepared bimetallic strip is simply and reliably controlled by a light valve. This device is valuable for systems requiring temperature regulation

Attitude control for spacecraft Patent

Attitude control system for spacecraft based on conversion of incident solar radiation on movable control surfaces into mechanical torque

Bacterial carbon demand and growth efficiency in a coastal upwelling system

Eleven culture experiments were conducted in the coastal upwelling ­system of the Ría de Vigo (NW Iberian Peninsula) by inoculating GF/C filtrated (10%) in 0.2 µm filtrated (90%) surface seawater collected under contrasting hydrographic conditions. Short-term (4 d) laboratory incubations were performed in the dark at 15°C. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, bacterial biomass (BB), bacterial production (BP) and electron transport system (ETS) activity were then monitored to: (1) study the course of bacterial carbon demand (BCD) and growth efficiency (BGE) during the incubation period; and (2) determine how BCD and BGE were linked with changing environmental conditions. Following the 4 d incubation, BP decreased by <4 times its initial values (range from 3 to 11 times) and ETS activity increased by 6 times its initial values (range from 1 to 75 times). As a result, BCD increased by 5 times (range from 1 to 16 times) and the BGE decreased by 15 times (range from 2 to 55 times) over the same period. BGE integrated over the 4 d incubation period ranged from 7 ± 1% to 55 ± 11% (mean ± SD: 27 ± 15%); integrated BGE increased significantly (R2 = 0.64, p < 0.003) with the initial concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and decreased significantly (R2 = 0.55, p < 0.01) with the C:N ratio of the bioavailable dissolved organic matter (BDOM). A multiple linear regression with DIN and the C:N ratio of BDOM explained 89% of the observed variability in the integrated BGE, demonstrating the strong dependence of growth efficiency on nutrient conditions and the quality of the organic substrate feeding the community of this coastal embayment.This study was funded by fellowships to C.L. from the early-stage training site ECOSUMMER (MESTCT-2004-020501) and the Carlsberg Foundation.Peer reviewe

Effects of the photochemical transformation of dissolved organic matter on bacterial physiology and diversity in a coastal system

8 páginas, 2 tablas, 1 figuraThe effect of solar radiation on dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the subsequent impact of photo-altered DOM on bacterial activity and community structure were assessed during two experiments in the coastal system of the Ría de Vigo (NW Iberian Peninsula). After exposure of 0.2 μm filtered seawater for 3.5 days to dark and full sunlight, an inoculum of the bacterial community collected at the same time as the exposed water was added and the mixture was incubated for 4 days in the dark at 15 °C. Changes in bacterial production (BP), diversity (assessed by Fluorescence in situ hybridization) and electron transport system (ETS) activity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) and DOM humic-like absorption and fluorescence were followed. The exposure to sunlight had no effect on DOM concentrations while an average (±SD) decrease in DOM humic fluorescence of 45 ± 10% was found. The incubations with photo-altered DOM had lower BP (57 ± 11%), ETS (42 ± 9%) and bacterial carbon demand (BCD) (42 ± 8%) compared with the dark incubations, while bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) was unaffected. This suggests that DOM photo-alteration had a negative effect on bacterial metabolism in the study system. The bacterial growth on irradiated DOM resulted in a significant enrichment of the Gammaproteobacteria group compared with the dark control, indicating that solar exposure of DOM led to rapid changes in the bacterial community composition of the Ría de Vigo.This study was funded by fellowships to C.L from the early stage training site ECOSUMMER (MEST-CT-2004-020501) and the Carlsberg FoundationPeer reviewe

Electrostatically driven dynamic capacitor employs capacitive feedback

Three-part signal electrode provides capacitive feedback to an oscillator driven dynamic capacitor in an electrometer circuit

High-impact survival

Electronic equipment design and packaging with capability of surviving hard impacts in unmanned lunar and planetary landing

Depth Dependent Relationships between Temperature and Ocean Heterotrophic Prokaryotic Production

9 páginas, 2 figuras, 1 tabla.-- This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these termsCorrigendum: Depth Dependent Relationships between Temperature and Ocean Heterotrophic Prokaryotic Production, Frontiers in Marine Science 4: 91 (2017) https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00091Marine prokaryotes play a key role in cycling of organic matter and nutrients in the ocean. Using a unique dataset (>14,500 samples), we applied a space-for-time substitution analysis to assess the temperature dependence of prokaryotic heterotrophic production (PHP) in epi- (0–200 m), meso- (201–1000 m) and bathypelagic waters (1001–4000 m) of the global ocean. Here, we show that the temperature dependence of PHP is fundamentally different between these major oceanic depth layers, with an estimated ecosystem-level activation energy (Ea) of 36 ± 7 kJ mol−1 for the epipelagic, 72 ± 15 kJ mol−1 for the mesopelagic and 274 ± 65 kJ mol−1 for the bathypelagic realm. We suggest that the increasing temperature dependence with depth is related to the parallel vertical gradient in the proportion of recalcitrant organic compounds. These Ea predict an increased PHP of about 5, 12, and 55% in the epi-, meso-, and bathypelagic ocean, respectively, in response to a water temperature increase by 1°C. Hence, there is indication that a major thus far underestimated feedback mechanism exists between future bathypelagic ocean warming and heterotrophic prokaryotic activityFinancial support for this project was provided by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and a grant from the Carlsberg Foundation to CL. XA, XM and JG were funded by the Malaspina expedition 2010 (grant n° CSD2008–00077) and HOTMIX (grant n° CTM2011–30010–C02–02) projects. TR was supported by the PADOM project (Austrian Science Fund grant n° P23221-B11). GH was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) project I486-B09 and by the European Research Council under the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC grant agreement No. 268595 (MEDEA project).Peer reviewe

Do motivations for using Facebook moderate the association between Facebook use and psychological well-being?

Previous investigations of the relationship between Facebook use and psychological well-being have most commonly considered variables relating to the quantity (e.g., time spent online) and underlying motivations (e.g., making new friends) of Facebook consumption. However, previous research has reached contradictory conclusions in that quantity of Facebook use has been linked to both higher and lower levels of psychological well-being. The current study investigated whether these contradictory findings of quantity of Facebook use could be explained by considering users’ motivations for accessing Facebook. We predicted that quantity of use would be positively associated with psychological well-being when users primarily accessed Facebook to maintain existing relationships but negatively associated with psychological well-being when primarily accessed to create new relationships. In a sample of college undergraduates (N = 119), we found that the relationship of quantity of Facebook use on psychological well-being was moderated by the motivation of the user. Quantity of Facebook use was associated with higher levels of psychological well-being among users that accessed Facebook for friendship purposes but was negatively associated with psychological well-being among users that accessed Facebook for connection purposes (e.g., making new friends). We also replicated our results across dimensions of psychological well-being (e.g., anxiety and life satisfaction). The current findings provide initial evidence that quantity and motivations of Facebook use interact with potentially serious implications for psychological well-being and also provide a possible explanation for why quantity of Facebook use can be linked with both positive and negative psychological well-being