The First Documentation of a Lower Middle Pennsylvanian Upland Flora from the Eastern Margin of the Eastern Interior Basin (Illinois Basin)

The primary objective of this study is to reconstruct the paleofloristics of an unnamed shale of lower Middle Pennsylvanian age. The shale is periodically exposed in the highwall of the Ashboro Pit, Log Cabin Coal Company, Clay County, Indiana. This will be the first upland fossil flora to be described from the eastern margin of the Eastern Interior Basin (Illinois Basin). The gray shale containing the upland flora lies directly above the Upper Block Coal (SW 1/4, SE 1/4, sec. 17, T. 11N., R. 6W.) Two collections, collected on three different occasions were made available for analysis: Smithsonian Natural History Museum (1980, 1982) and Illinois State Museum (1978). The facies that contained this upland plant association could not be relocated. Numerous attempts were made between Fall 1989 through Spring 1991. It is believed that the facies was discontinuous and was not present in the exposed highwalls of the mine during the times examined. A complete historical literature review on this particular paleoflora was conducted, particularly those citations of Megalopteris and Lesleya. Comparisons of upland associations in other parts of the Illinois Basin, for example Rock Island County, Illinois, as well as similarities and differences among other Pennsylvanian paleofloras are discussed. Significant fossils identified from the Smithsonian and Illinois State Museum Ashboro collections are: Lepidostrobophyllum, Sigillaria, Sphenophyllum cuneifolium, Alethopteris lonchitica, A. serli, Aulacotheca, Eusphenopteris morrowensis, Lesleya cheimarosa, Megalopteris southwellii, Neuropteris heterophylla, Pecopteris serrulata, P. plumosa, Cardiocarpus, Cordaianthus, Cordaites principalis and Samaropsis. Within the two collections there exists specimens that have never been associated with an upland floral association. These specimens are: Alethopteris missouriensis, Neuropteris obliqua, Neuropteris ovata, Callipteris flabellifera var. moorei, Asterophyllites charaeformis, Sphenophyllum majus, Carpolithus, and Calamites. The environmental interpretations suggest the dark shale facies that contained the fossils represented a more organically rich, less oxygenated, low energy depositional environment. The light, fine grained shale is indicative of a high moving stream, less organically rich, more oxygenated. Preservation of the floral association did not appear to differ in respect to the different color or grain size. Upland floras were considered to be much more sensitive to environmental variations than swamp floras, therefore more likely to be the gene pool from which evolutionary advances were destined to occur

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

The First Documentation of a Lower Middle Pennsylvanian Upland Flora from the Eastern Margin of the Eastern Interior Basin (Illinois Basin)

The primary objective of this study is to reconstruct the paleofloristics of an unnamed shale of lower Middle Pennsylvanian age. The shale is periodically exposed in the highwall of the Ashboro Pit, Log Cabin Coal Company, Clay County, Indiana. This will be the first upland fossil flora to be described from the eastern margin of the Eastern Interior Basin (Illinois Basin). The gray shale containing the upland flora lies directly above the Upper Block Coal (SW 1/4, SE 1/4, sec. 17, T. 11N., R. 6W.) Two collections, collected on three different occasions were made available for analysis: Smithsonian Natural History Museum (1980, 1982) and Illinois State Museum (1978). The facies that contained this upland plant association could not be relocated. Numerous attempts were made between Fall 1989 through Spring 1991. It is believed that the facies was discontinuous and was not present in the exposed highwalls of the mine during the times examined. A complete historical literature review on this particular paleoflora was conducted, particularly those citations of Megalopteris and Lesleya. Comparisons of upland associations in other parts of the Illinois Basin, for example Rock Island County, Illinois, as well as similarities and differences among other Pennsylvanian paleofloras are discussed. Significant fossils identified from the Smithsonian and Illinois State Museum Ashboro collections are: Lepidostrobophyllum, Sigillaria, Sphenophyllum cuneifolium, Alethopteris lonchitica, A. serli, Aulacotheca, Eusphenopteris morrowensis, Lesleya cheimarosa, Megalopteris southwellii, Neuropteris heterophylla, Pecopteris serrulata, P. plumosa, Cardiocarpus, Cordaianthus, Cordaites principalis and Samaropsis. Within the two collections there exists specimens that have never been associated with an upland floral association. These specimens are: Alethopteris missouriensis, Neuropteris obliqua, Neuropteris ovata, Callipteris flabellifera var. moorei, Asterophyllites charaeformis, Sphenophyllum majus, Carpolithus, and Calamites. The environmental interpretations suggest the dark shale facies that contained the fossils represented a more organically rich, less oxygenated, low energy depositional environment. The light, fine grained shale is indicative of a high moving stream, less organically rich, more oxygenated. Preservation of the floral association did not appear to differ in respect to the different color or grain size. Upland floras were considered to be much more sensitive to environmental variations than swamp floras, therefore more likely to be the gene pool from which evolutionary advances were destined to occur

Optimising child outcomes from parenting interventions: fathers’ experiences, preferences and barriers to participation

Abstract Background Early childhood interventions can have both immediate and long-term positive effects on cognitive, behavioural, health and education outcomes. Fathers are underrepresented in interventions focusing on the well-being of children. However, father participation may be critical for intervention effectiveness, especially for parenting interventions for child externalising problems. To date, there has been very little research conducted to understand the low rates of father participation and to facilitate the development of interventions to meet the needs of fathers. This study examined fathers’ experiences of, and preferences for, parenting interventions as well as perceptions of barriers to participation. It also examined how these factors were associated with child externalising behaviour problems, and explored the predictors of participation in parenting interventions. Methods A community sample of 1001 fathers of children aged 2–16 years completed an online survey about experiences with parenting interventions, perceived barriers to participation, the importance of different factors in their decision to attend, and preferred content and delivery methods. They also completed ratings of their child’s behaviour using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results Overall, 15% of fathers had participated in a parenting intervention or treatment for child behaviour, with significantly higher rates of participation for fathers of children with high versus low levels of externalising problems. Fathers rated understanding what is involved in the program and knowing that the facilitator is trained as the two most important factors in their decision to participate. There were several barriers to participation that fathers of children with high-level externalising problems were more likely to endorse, across practical barriers and help-seeking attitudes, compared to fathers of children with low-level externalising problems. Almost two-thirds of fathers of children with high-level externalising behaviour had not participated in a parenting intervention or treatment. The only significant predictors of intervention participation were severity of child externalising behaviour problems and child age. Conclusions The findings have important implications for services seeking to increase father engagement and highlight a number of strategies to enhance the promotion and delivery of parenting interventions to fathers. These strategies include more public health messaging about parenting programs and the importance of father participation

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least 4 m. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the 6.5 m James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 yr, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit