The valanginian weissert oceanic anoxic event recorded in central-Eastern Sardinia (Italy)

Investigations on the S\u2019Ozzastru section from the northern part of the Mt Albo area (central-eastern Sardinia, Italy) for integrated litho- bio- and chemostratigraphy allowed the identification of the Valanginian Weissert Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE), testified by a positive carbon isotope excursion (CIE). The section, which represents the deepest-water succession of the Valanginian in Sardinia, is composed of the Schiridd\ue8 Limestone followed by the Siniscola Marl, both proposed as new lithostratigraphic units. The presence among the ammonites of Busnardoites campylotoxus allows the attribution of the Schiridd\ue8 Limestone to the upper Lower Valanginian Inostranzewi Zone of Reboulet et al. 2014. Further characterization of this unit was not possible since it is barren/almost barren of nannofossils. The Siniscola Marl can be ascribed to the lower Upper Valanginian on the basis of the ammonite fauna indicating the Verrucosum Zone, and of the nannofossil content suggesting the Zone NK3. The carbon isotope record in the Siniscola Marl is characterized by a positive excursion with values up to 2.98 \u2030. In the nannofossil assemblages, nannoconids are not particularly abundant and are found, among others, together with C. oblongata, D. lehmanii, and pentaliths. The scarcity of nannoconids is regarded as a biostratigraphic support for the identification of the Weissert OAE, as it possibly reflects the \u201cnannoconid decline\u201d interval which characterizes this event. The end of the Weissert OAE CIE is not recorded probably because of suppression of the upper part of the succession for tectonic causes

The Effect of Preterm Birth on Thalamic and Cortical Development

Preterm birth is a leading cause of cognitive impairment in childhood and is associated with cerebral gray and white matter abnormalities. Using multimodal image analysis, we tested the hypothesis that altered thalamic development is an important component of preterm brain injury and is associated with other macro- and microstructural alterations. T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance images and 15-direction diffusion tensor images were acquired from 71 preterm infants at term-equivalent age. Deformation-based morphometry, Tract-Based Spatial Statistics, and tissue segmentation were combined for a nonsubjective whole-brain survey of the effect of prematurity on regional tissue volume and microstructure. Increasing prematurity was related to volume reduction in the thalamus, hippocampus, orbitofrontal lobe, posterior cingulate cortex, and centrum semiovale. After controlling for prematurity, reduced thalamic volume predicted: lower cortical volume; decreased volume in frontal and temporal lobes, including hippocampus, and to a lesser extent, parietal and occipital lobes; and reduced fractional anisotropy in the corticospinal tracts and corpus callosum. In the thalamus, reduced volume was associated with increased diffusivity. This demonstrates a significant effect of prematurity on thalamic development that is related to abnormalities in allied brain structures. This suggests that preterm delivery disrupts specific aspects of cerebral development, such as the thalamocortical system

Global and Regional Differences in Brain Anatomy of Young Children Born Small for Gestational Age

In children who are born small for gestational age (SGA), an adverse intrauterine environment has led to underdevelopment of both the body and the brain. The delay in body growth is (partially) restored during the first two years in a majority of these children. In addition to a negative influence on these physical parameters, decreased levels of intelligence and cognitive impairments have been described in children born SGA. In this study, we used magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain anatomy in 4- to 7-year-old SGA children with and without complete bodily catch-up growth and compared them to healthy children born appropriate for gestational age. Our findings demonstrate that these children strongly differ on brain organisation when compared with healthy controls relating to both global and regional anatomical differences. Children born SGA displayed reduced cerebral and cerebellar grey and white matter volumes, smaller volumes of subcortical structures and reduced cortical surface area. Regional differences in prefrontal cortical thickness suggest a different development of the cerebral cortex. SGA children with bodily catch-up growth constitute an intermediate between those children without catch-up growth and healthy controls. Therefore, bodily catch-up growth in children born SGA does not implicate full catch-up growth of the brain

A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Middle Jurassic of Sardinia (Italy) based on integrated palaeobotanical, palynological and lithofacies data assessment

During the Jurassic, Sardinia was close to continental Europe. Emerged lands started from a single island forming in time a progressively sinking archipelago. This complex palaeogeographic situation gave origin to a diverse landscape with a variety of habitats. Collection- and literature-based palaeobotanical, palynological and lithofacies studies were carried out on the Genna Selole Formation for palaeoenvironmental interpretations. They evidence a generally warm and humid climate, affected occasionally by drier periods. Several distinct ecosystems can be discerned in this climate, including alluvial fans with braided streams (Laconi-Gadoni lithofacies), paralic swamps and coasts (Nurri-Escalaplano lithofacies), and lagoons and shallow marine environments (Ussassai-Perdasdefogu lithofacies). The non-marine environments were covered by extensive lowland and a reduced coastal and tidally influenced environment. Both the river and the upland/hinterland environments are of limited impact for the reconstruction. The difference between the composition of the palynological and palaeobotanical associations evidence the discrepancies obtained using only one of those proxies. The macroremains reflect the local palaeoenvironments better, although subjected to a transport bias (e.g. missing upland elements and delicate organs), whereas the palynomorphs permit to reconstruct the regional palaeoclimate. Considering that the flora of Sardinia is the southernmost of all Middle Jurassic European floras, this multidisciplinary study increases our understanding of the terrestrial environments during that period of time

Data on comprehensive investigation on attiéké vending and consumption in three mains cities of Burkina Faso

The Data presented in this article was collected in 2022 and contains information on the behaviors of attiéké sellers and consumers in three mains cities in Burkina Faso. The data was collected via a questionnaire. Personal, sale sites characteristics and behavioral factors of consumers and vendors of attiéké have been considered. Socio-demographic characteristics, Good Hygienic Practices and vending aspects data were collected by face-to-face interview. The level of hygiene training, the healthiness of the immediate surroundings of sellers and the means of transporting the attiéké were assessed. The packaging, variety, service of the attiéké to the clients, consumer’s perceptions of the attiéké quality, the mode, the places, the frequency and periodicity of attiéké consumption were also included in these data. The analysis of the data presented here can be helpful in improving public health and creating awareness of the risk of consumption of attiéké.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Epilithic organisms in Priabonian marls with pillow lavas of Euganean Hills (NE Italy)

In the Castelnuovo area of the Euganean Hills, upper Priabonian marls (referred to as Brendola Marl) are associated with products of submarine basaltic eruptions, including pillow lavas and lava flows, pertaining to the first, late Eocene magmatic phase in the district. A biostratigraphical revision of the marl by means of calcareous nannofossils allowed to ascribe the succession to the Priabonian Zone CNE19 (Agnini et al., 2014) and to the upper part of planktonic foraminiferal Zone E15, with an estimated age of 35.3-34.3 Ma (Berggren and Pearson, 2005). The benthic foraminiferal assemblage provided a palaeodepth estimation suggesting a deep neritic environment. A reconstruction of the late Priabonian events in the study area indicates various episodes of submarine eruptive activity with formation of pillows and associated hyaloclastic material, alternating with phases of colonization of the upper parts of the pillows and larger hyaloclasts by epilithic and vagile organisms such as crinoids, cirripeds, brachiopods and cidarid echinoids, followed by their post-mortem disaggregation, dispersal and eventual burial due to the uninterrupted marly sedimentation. These episodes ceased with the emplacement of a lava flow, whose flat top was colonized only by sparse cirripeds

Geo-petrographic data on the metamorphic rocks with Cambrian, Silurian and Devonian fossils in the Agordo area (Southalpine metamorphic basement of the Eastern Alps, Italy).

Recently, in the Agordo area, some unquestionable fossils have been described: 1) Latest Cambrian acritarchs, within trivial black, fine grained phyllites (Col di Foglia); 2) Aeronian graptolites, within boudins along a recrystallized shear zone cutting low-grade metapelites (Ponte Alto); 3) Middle Devonian Rugosa corals, within metalimestone boudins along the mentioned shear zone. These fossil findings are unique in this basement, therefore, the rocks containing them deserve a careful petrographic investigation. This paper presents the basic petrographic features of the rock samples containing the fossils. All the rocks underwent a greenschist facies metamorphism (chlorite zone) under a thermal gradient of ca. 38\ub0C/Km. The most interesting rocks are those bearing well preserved graptolites which mainly consist of quartz, fluorapatite (up to 70%.), carbonaceous matter and sulphides. T in the boudins turns out to be slightly lower than in the surrounding matrix