A depositional model for deep-lacustrine, partially confined, turbidite fans: Early Cretaceous, North Falkland Basin

This paper presents a model of facies distribution within a set of early Cretaceous, deep‐lacustrine, partially confined turbidite fans (Sea Lion Fan, Sea Lion North Fan and Otter Fan) in the North Falkland Basin, South Atlantic. As a whole, ancient deep‐lacustrine turbidite systems are under‐represented in the literature when compared with those documented in marine basins. Lacustrine turbidite systems can form extensive, good quality hydrocarbon reservoirs, making the understanding of such systems crucial to exploration within lacustrine basins. An integrated analysis of seismic cross‐sections, seismic amplitude extraction maps and 455 m of core has enabled the identification of a series of turbidite fans. The deposits of these fans have been separated into lobe axis, lobe fringe and lobe distal fringe settings. Seismic architectures, observed in the seismic amplitude extraction maps, are interpreted to represent geologically associated heterogeneities, including: feeder systems, terminal mouth lobes, flow deflection, sinuous lobe axis deposits, flow constriction and stranded lobe fringe areas. When found in combination, these architectures suggest ‘partial confinement’ of a system, something that appears to be a key feature in the lacustrine turbidite setting of the North Falkland Basin. Partial confinement of a system occurs when depositionally generated topography controls the flow‐pathway and deposition of subsequent turbidite fan deposits. The term ‘partial confinement’ provides an expression for categorising a system whose depositional boundaries are unconfined by the margins of the basin, yet exhibit evidence of internal confinement, primarily controlled by depositional topography. Understanding the controls that dictate partial confinement; and the resultant distribution of sand‐prone facies within deep‐lacustrine turbidite fans, is important, particularly considering their recent rise as hydrocarbon reservoirs in rift and failed‐rift settings

Development and Evaluation of Methods for Surveying Fish Populations in Nearshore Waters

Nearshore areas provide critical habitat for a range of fish species targeted by commercial and recreational fisheries, both of which make an important contribution to local economies in rural areas. However, established trawl survey methods are not suited to many nearshore areas, owing to shallow depths, obstructions on the sea bed or vulnerable habitats, so there is a lack of information on fish abundance in these areas. The aim of the present project was to develop and test survey methods applicable to Scottish inshore waters, focussing on baited underwater cameras, fish traps, systematic rod-and-line surveys and observations of fish bycatch in crustacean trap fisheries, and to carry out associated studies of fish movements. A lightweight baited underwater camera system was developed that could be deployed by two persons from inshore fishing vessels and small boats. The system consisted of a digital camera and strobes in underwater housings, mounted on a frame of aluminium alloy tubing, suspended above the seabed by sub-surface floats on one leg of a J-shaped mooring. The camera was baited with oily fish and a standardized 1 hour deployment period was used, to minimize variability in results due to changing tidal currents and bait degradation. Photographs were taken at 30 second intervals throughout the deployment period. On retrieval, the photographs were examined to derive indices of fish abundance, such as the time to first arrival of particular species (TFA) and the maximum number of individuals seen in the field of view at any time during the deployment (MaxN). The BUC system was developed and tested in the Firth of Clyde and then deployed at a range of other locations in Lamlash Bay, Arran, the Firth of Lorn, the Sound of Mull, Loch Sunart, Loch Etive, around Skye, Galloway and in Orkney. The BUC system was successfully deployed from a range of types of vessel in depths down to 40 m. Over thirty species of fish were recorded in total, including species of commercial interest, with lesser spotted dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula, being the most commonly recorded. The number of species and indices of abundance were highest at sites on the Galloway peninsula. When compared within a single area, BUC detected more species than angling or fish traps, but less than in visual transects by SCUBA divers. BUC shows great potential as a cost-effective survey method, able to show relative differences in abundance between areas. It is likely that it would also be effective in detecting temporal trends, though this was outside the scope of the present project. A Norwegian design of collapsible cod trap, Roscoff traps designed for common prawns and Norway lobster creels were investigated as fish traps. There were differences in catch rates and species composition related to the trap design. Roscoff traps appeared to be suitable for sampling juvenile cod (Gadus morhua) in complex habitat in shallow water, whereas collapsible cod traps are suitable for larger fish, but need to be fished in greater numbers to obtain sufficient data. Creel fisheries were surveyed by questionnaire and by on-board catch sampling. A range of fish species is taken as bycatch in creels, with some obvious differences in species composition between crab fishing and Norway lobster fishing in relation to the depths and ground types fished. The present results suggest that the catch rates of commercial fish species may be too low for creeling to be a useful way of monitoring fish stocks, but sampling throughout the year in different areas would be desirable to assess this more fully. A small-scale pilot study in Galloway indicated some potential for rod-and-line surveys to generate useful information on the abundance of certain fishes. The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network and the Scottish Shark Tagging Project already collect information on catches of angling target species and on tagging and recaptures of tagged fish. This would be augmented by encouraging anglers to submit returns with an indication of fishing duration even when they have not caught anything. However, we were unsuccessful in recruiting volunteers to participate in a randomized angling survey. Further work is required to develop statistically robust angling surveys in which volunteer anglers would be willing to participate. Experience indicates that payment of expenses would be required for volunteers to agree to fish according to a survey protocol. To study movements of a species of interest to recreational sea anglers, spurdog (Squalus acanthias), ten specimens in Loch Etive were tagged with data storage tags designed to record water temperature and depth. To date, one tag has been recovered and the downloaded data shows an interesting pattern of nocturnal movements into shallow water. More information should become available when more of the tagged spurdog are recaptured. The following recommendations arise from the present study: To improve our understanding of baited methods of surveying fish and to develop improved estimates of abundance, modelling studies of bait odour dispersal and fish responses are required, building on previous work in this area. Further trials of baited underwater cameras at different sites and under different conditions are required to assess the degree of variability in the different types of abundance index that can be derived. Further work to compare different survey methods is required at sites with greater fish abundance, e.g. at sites around the Galloway peninsula. A BUC system with greater depth limit (e.g. 200 m) should be developed to extend the range of habitats in which it can be used to include other species of interest. Further work is required to assess the size and species selectivity of different designs of fish trap. An intensive pilot survey of an area of interest, such as an actual or proposed marine protected area, by BUC and fish traps would provide a good test of the ability of these methods to generate data of use to inshore fishery managers and conservation interests. Seasonal sampling of fish bycatch in Norway lobster and crab creel fisheries is desirable to further assess the potential for creel fisheries to be used to monitor fish populations. Ongoing analysis of recreational sea-angling catch and tagging records should be encouraged and supported by Marine Scotland. There should be continued engagement between recreational sea-anglers and fishery scientists in Marine Scotland and universities

Risk of Psychosis Among Individuals Who Have Presented to Hospital With Self-harm:A Prospective Nationwide Register Study in Sweden

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: Recent research showed that young people who presented to hospital with self-harm in Finland had a significantly elevated risk of later psychosis. We investigated the prospective relationship between hospital presentation for self-harm and risk of psychosis in an unprecedentedly large national Swedish cohort.STUDY DESIGN: We used inpatient and outpatient healthcare registers to identify all individuals born between 1981 and 1993 who were alive and living in Sweden on their 12th birthday and who presented to hospital one or more times with self-harm. We compared them with a matched cohort, followed up for up to 20 years, and compared the cumulative incidence of psychotic disorders. Furthermore, we examined whether the strength of the relationship between hospital presentation for self-harm and later psychosis changed over time by examining for cohort effects.STUDY RESULTS: In total, 28 908 (2.0%) individuals presented to hospital with self-harm without prior psychosis diagnosis during the follow-up. For individuals who presented to hospital with self-harm, the cumulative incidence of diagnosed psychosis was 20.7% at 20 years follow-up (hazard radio = 13.9, 95% CI 13.3-14.6, P-value &lt;5 × 10-308). There was no evidence of a dilution of the effect over time: while the incidence of hospital self-harm presentation increased, this did not result in an attenuation over time of the strength of the relationship between hospital self-harm presentation and subsequent psychosis.CONCLUSIONS: Individuals who present to hospital with self-harm in their teens and 20s represent an important risk group for psychosis prediction and prevention.</p

Predicting risk along the suicidality continuum: A longitudinal, nationally representative study of the Irish population during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: Little is known about the lifetime prevalence of different indicators of suicidality in the Irish general population; whether suicidality has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what factors associated with belonging to different points on a continuum of suicidality risk. Methods: A nationally representative sample of Irish adults (N = 1,032) completed self-report measures in May 2020 and a follow-up in August 2020 (n = 715).Results: Lifetime prevalence rates were 29.5% for suicidal ideation, 12.9% for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and 11.2% for attempted suicide. There were no changes in past two-week rates of NSSI and attempted suicide during the pandemic. Correlations between the indicators of suicidality supported a progression from ideation to NSSI to attempted suicide. Suicidal ideation alone was associated with being male, unemployed, higher loneliness, and lower religiosity. NSSI (with no co-occurring attempted suicide) was associated with a history of mental health treatment. Attempted suicide was associated with ethnic minority status, lower education, lower income, PTSD, depression, and history of mental health treatment.Conclusion: Suicidal ideation, NSSI, and attempted suicide are relatively common phenomena in the general adult Irish population, and each has unique psychosocial correlates. These findings highlight important targets for prevention and intervention efforts

How can cunent slaughter and dressing procedures in UK pig slaughterhouses be improved to reduce contamination of pig meat with pathogenic bacteria?

In pork slaughterhouses a number of dressing stages have the potential to improve the hygienic condition of the carcass surface. The operations performed at each of these dressing stages can be undertaken using a diverse range of mechanized systems that each have different reductive effects on the levels of microbial contamination. Our results show that pre-washing optimizes the effectiveness of condensation scalding in improving carcass hygiene, and that the same areas of carcasses are consistently not effectively heated by singeing/flaming, independent of the different systems used in pork and bacon slaughterhouses

Influence du sevrage et de l’addition de levures vivantes sur la population bactérienne fécale chez le porcelet

Influence of weaning and live yeast on faecal bacteria populations in pigsThe current studies describe how the diversity of faecal bacteria is affected by weaning and incorporation of live yeast into the post-weaning diet of pigs. Pigs were weaned at 28 days of age onto an experimental weaner diet with or without Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 (4 x 106 CFU/g in feed, plus an extra dose of 3 x 109 CFU delivered through oral drenching). A longitudinal analysis was performed, collecting faecal samples of the same individual pigs pre-weaning and at + 4 and + 11 days post-weaning. Culture-based and next generation sequencing (16S rDNA) approaches were used to describe the diversity and composition of the faecal bacterial community. We observed that a different and characteristic bacterial diversity depicts the faecal bacteria microbiota of individual pigs at weaning and after both 4 and 11 days post-weaning. In addition, our results show a difference in bacterial diversity and community structure between pigs fed live yeast versus control and that this difference may be attributable to changes in the composition of low abundance taxa. The specific changes on microbiota induced by adding live yeast to pig diets will then be investigated

Earliest rock fabric formed in the Solar System preserved in a chondrule rim

Rock fabrics – the preferred orientation of grains – provide a window into the history of rock formation, deformation and compaction. Chondritic meteorites are among the oldest materials in the Solar System1 and their fabrics should record a range of processes occurring in the nebula and in asteroids, but due to abundant fine-grained material these samples have largely resisted traditional in situ fabric analysis. Here we use high resolution electron backscatter diffraction to map the orientation of sub-micrometre grains in the Allende CV carbonaceous chondrite: the matrix material that is interstitial to the mm-sized spherical chondrules that give chondrites their name, and fine-grained rims which surround those chondrules. Although Allende matrix exhibits a bulk uniaxial fabric relating to a significant compressive event in the parent asteroid, we find that fine-grained rims preserve a spherically symmetric fabric centred on the chondrule. We define a method that quantitatively relates fabric intensity to net compression, and reconstruct an initial porosity for the rims of 70-80% - a value very close to model estimates for the earliest uncompacted aggregates2,3. We conclude that the chondrule rim textures formed in a nebula setting and may therefore be the first rock fabric to have formed in the Solar System