Chemostratigraphy and depositional environment of an Ordovician sedimentary section across the Miramichi Group - Tetagouche Group contact, northeastern New Brunswick

A thick section of Ordovician sedimentary rocks underlies and overlies felsic to mafic volcanic rocks of the Tetagouche Group, Bathurst Mining Camp. The dark grey quartzose slates and siltstones of the Patrick Brook Formation (Miramichi Group) occur below the volcanic rocks, whereas the dark grey to black slates and siltstones of the Boucher Brook Formation (Tetagouche Group) are intercalated with the volcanic rocks and overlie the sequence. The Miramichi-Tctagouche contact represents the interpreted Gander-Dunnage boundary in northeastern New Brunswick. Distinguishing between these two simitar formations is important for stratigraphic and geo-tectonic interpretations of the Bathurst Mining Camp and for exploration in these sequences. The geochemical composition of a semi-con form able section of rocks from the Boucher Brook (Middle to Late? Ordovician) and Patrick Brook (Early to Middle Ordovician) formations was determined to identify geochemical chemostratigraphic discriminants, as well as to determine the depositional environment in which these were deposited. The high AI2O3 and distinctly higher high-field-strength elements (LREE, Th, HREE, and Y) in the Patrick Brook rocks are characteristic of mature sedimentary rocks and indicate intense chemical weathering (tropical environment) in the source regions, which is consistent with their compositional similarity to Avalon-derived shales analogous to Gander Zone sedimentary rocks. The Boucher Brook slates and siltstones are immature sedimentary rocks based on the preservation of albite and the less coherent trace-element systematics to phyllosilicate indices (AI2O3 and K2O). The Boucher Brook Formation is probably derived from the associated volcanic rocks. The higher Mn and Fe and positive Ce/Ce* anomaly in some Boucher Brook Formation compared to the Patrick Brook rocks indicate that the Boucher Brook rocks in this section were deposited in a transitional anoxic/ oxic environment. The Patrick Brook rocks that immediately precede felsic volcanism and formation of massive sulphide deposits are highly reduced based on C and S contents, which is consistent with the sulphur isotope data. Moderately heavy δ34S values are indicative of SO42- reduction to H2S under anoxic conditions, which is significant in the formation and preservation of massive sulphides in the basal Tetagouche sequence. RÉSUMÉ Une section épaisse de roches sédimentaires de l’Ordovicien est sus-jacente ct sous-jacente à des roches volcanomafiques à volcanofelsiques du groupe de Tetagouche, dans le Camp minier de Bathurst. Des siltstones et des schistes quartzeux gris foncé de la Formation de Patrick Brook (groupe de Miramichi) sont présents au-dessous des roches volcaniques, tandis que des schistes et des siltstones gris foncé à noirs de la formation de Boucher Brook (groupe de Tetagouche) sont intercales dans les roches volcaniques et recouvrent la séquence. La surface de contact de Miramichi-Tetagouche représente ce qu'on interprèts comme la limite de Gander-Dunnage dans le nord-est du Nouveau-Brunswick. Il est important d'établir une distinction entre ces deux formations semblables pour les interprétations stratigraphiques du Camp minier de Bathurst et pour l'exploration dans ces séquences. On a détermine la composition géochimique d'une section semi-concordante de roches de Boucher Brook (Ordovicien moyen à tardif?) et de Patrick Brook (Ordovicien inférieur à moyen) afin de repérer les discriminants chimiostratigraphiques géochimiques ainsi que pour définir le milieu sédimentaire dans lequel ceux-ci ont été deposes. La quantité prononcée d'Al2O3 et la présence distinctement supérieure d'éléments d'intensité de champ élevée (éléments de terres rares légers, Th, éléments de terres rares lourds et Y) dans les roches de Patrick Brook constituent des traits caractérstiques de roches sédimentaires matures; el les témoignent d'une altération climatique chimique intense (milieu tropical) dans les regions d'origine, ce qui est compatible avec la similarité de leur composition avec les schistes en provenance d'Avalon analogues aux roches sédimentaires de la zone de Gander. Les schistes et les siltstones de Boucher Brook sont des roches sédimentaires immatures basées sur la conservation d'albite et la corrélation d'éléments traces moins cohérents avec les indices de phyllosilicates (AI2O3). La Formation de Boucher Brook provient probabtement de roches volcaniques connexes. La proportion supérieure de Mn et de Fe et l’anomalie positive de Ce/Ce* dans certaines parties de la Formation de Boucher Brook révèlcnt que les roches de Boucher Brook de cette section ont été déposées dans un milieu anoxique / oxique de transition. Les roches de Patrick Brook qui ont immédiatement précedé le volcanisme felsique et la formation de gitcs de sulfures massifs ont, à en juger par Icur teneur en C et en S, subi une réduction importante, ce qui correspond aux données isotopiques relatives au soufre. Les valeurs moyennement prononcées de δ34S temoignent d'une réduction du SO42- en H2S dans des conditions anoxiques, un phénomène déterminant dans la formation et la conservation des sulfures massifs dans la séquence basale de Tetagouche. [Traduit par la rédaction

Selection of Multiteam System Boundary Spanners: An Assessment of Motivation to Communicate between Teams

Interteam communication is critical to MTS (multiteam system) success and boundary spanners, individuals responsible for communicating across teams, take on much of the responsibility of this task (Mathieu et al., 2001). Individual level of motivation to communicate across teams should predict higher performing boundary spanners who have the ability to drive MTS success. This project seeks to create a scale that will assess individual motivation to communicate across teams through the development of an initial item pool, review by subject matter experts, and sampling of a working population to assess initial descriptive and reliability statistics. An initial item pool of noncognitive items modified from previously validated scale of motivation and communication and generated from the research literature will be sent to a subject matter expert (SMEs), including identified researchers and practitioners with expertise in the management of boundary spanners in multiteam systems. Specifically, 6 items have been adapted from the Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale (Tremblay et al., 2009) and 5 items have been adapted from the Short Scales for Proactive Personality Scale (Janssen et al., 2017) with other items created based on currently available research. This assessment of motivation to communicate between teams could be used to improve boundary spanner selection outcomes in multiteam systems. Future work could expand on this project by undertaking a large-scale field study to establish criterion-related and construct validity for the proposed scale. (Bandalos, 2018)

The Importance of Applicant Perceptions When Recruiting Employees to Teams

Abstract This study examined the recruitment of employees to work in teams through an investigation into the impact of perceptions of teams on pre-hire recruitment variables in team and individual positions. A repeated measures design with a sample of 123 college students produced evidence to support the idea that perceptions of teams do influence pre-hire recruitment variables. This study provides evidence for the effect of recruitment information concerning job requirements, such as the high interdependence required for team jobs, and previous experiences with teams on applicant perceptions and behaviors. Though studies have looked at perceptions of teams and recruitment individually, none have combined the two areas to investigate the effect of perceptions on traditional pre-hire recruitment variables

Why Dirty Work? An investigation of factors impacting stigmatized worker job satisfaction.

Understanding dirty work and its workers is an emerging area of study related to all elements of society. Dirty work is defined as occupations that society views as physically, socially, and/or morally tainted. Dirty workers (e.g., sanitation workers, morticians, social workers) perform services that fulfill societal needs, yet these occupations are stigmatized by society and considered by many to be undesirable jobs. Many varieties of dirty work exist and can be understood by the degree of associated occupational prestige, public perception of an individual’s social standing based on their professional position (lower and higher occupational prestige). Regardless of the prestige associated with dirty work the presence of dirt or “taint” exists. Taint can be categorized into three stigmatized groups: physically, socially, and morally. “Dirty” occupations have attached stigma that becomes a central part of the stigmatized group members\u27 image and identity, which can lead to a significant part of their life being engaged in creating an identity separate from their beneficial yet dirty work. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the impact of occupation prestige, financial insecurity, stigmatized perceptions, and employee engagement on job satisfaction in stigmatized workers. Hypotheses include 1) Positive relationship will exist between occupational prestige and job satisfaction and employee engagement and job satisfaction, 2) Negative relationships will exist between financial insecurity and job satisfaction and stigmatized perceptions and job satisfaction, and 3) Occupational prestige and employee engagement will have a greater impact on job satisfaction than stigmatized perceptions and financial insecurity. Participants will include employees from 6 dirty work occupations. Occupations will consist of two occupations per type of taint, one that is considered to have a higher occupational prestige, and another that is considered to have lower occupational prestige. Participants will complete a combination of assessments including a job satisfaction survey, financial insecurity survey, measure of stigmatized perceptions, and employee engagement. Results of this research will inform and further expand the current body of research for dirty work professions by identifying factors influencing the satisfaction employees experience in dirty work occupations. This study will be the first to assess relationships across all three taints, while using occupational prestige as a factor impacting job satisfaction in dirty work occupations

Impact of COVID 19 on Higher Learning Community

The societal upheaval related to the COVID-19 pandemic was far-reaching and continues to impact individuals in both personal and professional ways. Attempts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 included quarantining at home and temporarily closing schools, businesses, and other public spaces. As these disruptions of everyday life eased and restrictions were lifted, individuals and organizations alike are reflecting on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic continues to have differential effects across industry types. Higher education institutions (HEIs) are a particularly unique example as they serve as both an organization navigating employee needs as well as providing learning services and support to students who may also be working outside of classes. This study aimed to investigate the unique impact of the pandemic on employee and student experiences within a HEI. As part of a larger study, the current researchers sought to understand how higher education professionals (faculty and staff) and employed students navigated work during and since the peak of the pandemic. To measure the employment impact of COVID-19, a survey consisting of 43 items from established scales measuring work-family conflict (WFC and FWC), job demands, job autonomy, job stress, job insecurity, perceived supervisor and organizational support (PSS, POS), work engagement, and job satisfaction was administered to university employed staff (n = 133), university faculty (n = 118), and off-campus employed students (n = 379). ANOVAs with Welch homogeneity corrections were conducted to account for unequal variances between samples. Results revealed significant differences among students, faculty, and staff in their experiences of WFC, FWC, job demands, job autonomy, job stress, and work engagement. Students reported the highest levels of conflict and stress, and the lowest levels of autonomy and job satisfaction. Faculty and staff exhibited higher work engagement and job satisfaction despite experiencing high job demands, perhaps in part related to their higher reported levels of job autonomy and supervisor support. These findings underscore the urgency for targeted interventions to alleviate identified challenges. University-based support measures are recommended to help manage ongoing competing demands and work-related stress. These resources should be customized to meet the specific needs of each group and go beyond generalized campus counseling services and EAPs, towards a culture that demonstrates that the health and wellbeing of the campus community is valued. The data offer a comprehensive understanding of the complex impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different employment groups within higher education, thereby extending the current literature

Predicting Aviation Performance in Rotor-Wing Students

A critical shortage of commercial fixed and rotor-wing pilots has elevated the importance of the recruitment, training, and certification of pilots. The U.S. Department of Labor has identified situational awareness, selective attention, and inhibitory function as important and frequently occurring Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) for the job of commercial pilot. Previous research has shown that success in situation awareness training performance predicts future fixed-wing airline pilot performance. In addition, the flanker task, measuring selective attention and inhibitory function, has been shown to predict performance across a variety of professions. The purpose of the current study will be to predict student performance in instrumentality courses of a rotor-wing aircraft program using assessments of situation awareness, selective attention, and inhibitory function. Currently, no research has investigated the predictive ability of situational awareness, selective attention, and inhibitory function in rotor-wing aviation student course performance. The hypothesis for the current study is: Higher student scores on situational awareness, selective attention, and inhibitory function assessments will have a positive relationship with course performance measures. Participants will be rotor-wing aviation students enrolled in instrumentality courses at a local university. Participants will complete a modified version of the Factors Affecting Situation Awareness (FASA) assessment of situational awareness and a modified Flanker task measuring participants\u27 ability to avoid the interference of distractors via reaction time. Scores from each measure will be compared to various student course performance measures collected throughout their Aviation program courses. Results of this research can be used to improve the recruitment and training process of academic and commercial training programs for commercial pilots. The identification of KSAs that predict future pilot performance could be used to improve the training pipeline for commercial pilots, thereby reducing the critical shortage currently impacting the domestic and global markets

Classification and Identification of Pfiesteria and Pfiesteria-Like Species

Dinoflagellates can be classified both botanically and zoologically; however, they are typically put in the botanical division Pyrrhophyta. As a group they appear most related to the protistan ciliates and apicomplexans at the ultrastructure level. Within the Pyrrhophyta are both unarmored and armored forms of the dominant, motile flagellated stage. Unarmored dinoflagellates do not have thecal or wall plates arranged in specific series, whereas armored species have plates that vary in thickness but are specific in number and arrangement. In armored dinoflagellates, the plate pattern and tabulation is a diagnostic character at the family, subfamily, and even genus levels. In most cases, the molecular characterization of dinoflagellates confirms the taxonomy on the basis of external morphology; this has been demonstrated for several groups. Together, both genetic and morphological criteria are becoming increasingly important for the characterization, separation, and identification of dinoflagellates species. Pfiesteria and Pfiesteria-like species are thinly armored forms with motile dinospore stages characterized by their distinct plate formulae. Pfiesteria piscicida is the best-known member of the genus; however, there is at least one other species. Other genetically and morphologically related genera, now grouped under the common names of Lucy, Shepherd\u27s crook, and cryptoperidiniopsoid, are being studied and described in separate works. All these other heterotrophic dinoflagellate groups, many of which are thought to be benign, co-occur in estuarine waters where Pfiesteria has been found

Characterization of the Metabolically Healthy Phenotype in Overweight and Obese British Men

We calculated the prevalence of the metabolically healthy but obese (MHO) phenotype in (n=9 177) British men (age 48.9±7.4 years) attending preventive health screening between 2000 and 2009. We examined differences in cardiorespiratory fitness (Fitness) and self-reported physical activity levels, according to whether the men were metabolically healthy (<2 components of the metabolic syndrome), and by BMI category (normal-weight, over-weight, obese). Fitness was estimated from treadmill exercise as VO2peak and classified as: Low, Moderate, or High using age-specific cut-offs. We identified 21.6% of our sample as obese, of whom 83.1% were metabolically healthy. Compared with the metabolic unhealthy obese (MUO; 3.7% of sample), MHO phenotypes were fitter (effect size d=0.21) and were more physically active (d=0.31). Logistic regression showed high fitness (OR=2.40, 95%CI 1.38-4.19), and being physically active (OR=1.71, 95% CI 1.14-2.56) to be independently associated with the MHO phenotype. Our findings agree with US data suggesting that higher cardiorespiratory fitness is a characteristic of the MHO phenotype. Our finding that meeting physical activity guidelines was associated with the MHO phenotype independent of fitness is, however, novel. If confirmed, our findings indicate that public health messages that en-courage active lifestyles to promote fitness should be encouraged regardless of weight sta-tus

Accelerated SARS-CoV-2 Intrahost Evolution Leading to Distinct Genotypes During Chronic Infection

The chronic infection hypothesis for novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant emergence is increasingly gaining credence following the appearance of Omicron. Here, we investigate intrahost evolution and genetic diversity of lineage B.1.517 during a SARS-CoV-2 chronic infection lasting for 471 days (and still ongoing) with consistently recovered infectious virus and high viral genome copies. During the infection, we find an accelerated virus evolutionary rate translating to 35 nucleotide substitutions per year, approximately 2-fold higher than the global SARS-CoV-2 evolutionary rate. This intrahost evolution results in the emergence and persistence of at least three genetically distinct genotypes, suggesting the establishment of spatially structured viral populations continually reseeding different genotypes into the nasopharynx. Finally, we track the temporal dynamics of genetic diversity to identify advantageous mutations and highlight hallmark changes for chronic infection. Our findings demonstrate that untreated chronic infections accelerate SARS-CoV-2 evolution, providing an opportunity for the emergence of genetically divergent variants