Nearshore euxinia in the photic zone of an ancient sea:Part II – The bigger picture and implications for understanding ocean anoxia

Biomarker, palaeontological and isotopic evidence suggests that the Late Permian carbonate seas, i.e. the Northern (NPB) and Southern (SPB) Permian basins of northern Pangea, were characterized by significant spatial and temporal variations in the palaeowater-column redox state. This is particularly the case with regard to the deposition of the Lopingian Zechstein cycle 2 carbonate rocks. A shelf to basin reconstruction of environmental conditions was achieved by analysing nearly 400 core samples from 49 wells. This allowed an evaluation of the spatial variations in facies and broad oceanographic conditions at the basin scale. Specifically, in the lower slope and shallow-basin facies of the northern margin of the SPB (present-day northern Poland and eastern Germany), highly variable concentrations of the green sulphur bacterial biomarkers chlorobactane and isorenieratane (and their likely degradation products, C15 to C31 2,3,6-aryl isoprenoids, indicative of photic zone euxinia) and homohopane indices (indicative of anoxia), combined with the presence of a benthic fauna and bioturbation, indicate a variable but occasionally anoxic/euxinic water column. Locally in lagoonal facies in the northern and southern margin of the SPB, euxinic conditions also developed but these were likely associated with localised conditions or benthic production in association with microbialites. The presence of gammacerane in the eastern SPB (south-eastern Germany and eastern Poland) suggests elevated salinities there, compatible with the restricted configuration of the basin. However, a lack of these signatures in basinal settings of the eastern SPB indicates that strongly reducing conditions were restricted to the lower slope and shallow-basin locations and restricted lagoons, and were not developed in the basin centre. Moreover, this anoxia/euxinia in marginal settings is restricted to the north-eastern part of the SPB. The south-eastern part of the SPB (SE Poland), in contrast, is devoid of evidence for PZE. The southern margin of the SPB is also characterized by generally oxic-suboxic conditions, with local anoxia limited to more restricted embayments, and elevated salinities limited to restricted oxic-anoxic lagoons. In the western SPB (NE England and adjacent offshore) and the NPB (Outer Moray Firth, offshore Scotland) the water columns were oxic-suboxic. Overall, it appears that high but episodic primary bioproductivity of organic matter was concentrated on (or even limited to) the lower slopes of the SPB's north-eastern margin and the restricted lagoons and shallow basin of its southern margin, leading to the formation of source rocks for petroleum in these areas. In addition, the temporal and geographical restriction of anoxia appears to have prevented the accumulation of large and more widespread quantities of organic matter; in fact TOC contents exhibit a poor correlation with ecological and anoxia indicators. Crucially, this work confirms that the strong evidence for PZE observed in shelf and lower slope/shallow-basin facies of the north-eastern SPB need not be associated with widespread, basin-scale anoxia; this conclusion has implications for organic matter burial, carbon cycling and biotic crises during other times in Earth history

Zechstein Main Dolomite oil characteristics in the Southern Permian Basin:I. Polish and German sectors

Geochemical analyses were used to classify 39 Zechstein (Late Permian, Lopingian) Main Dolomite (Ca2) crude oil samples from fields in the eastern and southern sector of the Southern Permian Basin (SPB) of Europe and to provide new insights into the origin of the oil. Geochemical data indicate that Ca2 oils were generated in the early-to-late oil window and are mostly non-waxy oils. Various biomarker and stable carbon isotopic ratios were used to identify source and depositional settings for source rocks of Ca2 oils arranged within 10 distinct oil groups. Specifically, the geochemical analyses and oil-oil correlations revealed a set of characteristic biomarkers including an even-over-odd predominance (EOP) for the C20-30n-alkanes, C40 carotenoid occurrence (isorenieratane, chlorobactane, β-isorenieratane), bisnorhopane/hopane (BNH/H) ratios >0.1, high abundances of C35 homohopanes and elevated concentrations of C32 and C34 homohopanes, a predominance of C29 homologues among 4-desmethyl steranes in the majority of oil samples, and a high abundance of diasteranes. Stable carbon isotopes and biomarkers provided ample evidence that Ca2 oils were generated from predominantly algal-rich marly carbonate/evaporite source rocks located in the lower slope/shallow-basin and lagoonal facies of the Ca2 basin, all deposited under suboxic-anoxic (euxinic) conditions. In the case of all higher maturity oils, the source rocks could not be reliably identified but high (>2) C24Tet/C23 values suggest a carbonate-evaporite depositional setting

Long-Term Occupational Consequences for Families of Children With Type 1 Diabetes: The Mothers Take the Burden

Dehn-Hindenberg A, Saßmann H, Berndt V, et al. Long-Term Occupational Consequences for Families of Children With Type 1 Diabetes: The Mothers Take the Burden. Diabetes Care. 2021: dc210740.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occupational and financial consequences for parents following the onset of type 1 diabetes in their child.; RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A questionnaire assessing occupational and financial situations before and in the first year after the onset of diabetes was distributed to all families with a child ≤14 years of age at diagnosis with a diabetes duration of at least 12 months in nine German pediatric diabetes centers.; RESULTS: Data of 1,144 children (mean age at diagnosis 6.7 [3.6] years; 46.5% female) and their families were obtained. Mothers' occupational status reflected in paid working hours was significantly reduced in the first year after their child's diabetes diagnosis (P < 0.001). Overall, 15.1% of mothers stopped working, and 11.5% reduced working hours. Mothers of preschool children were particularly affected. Fathers' working status hardly changed (P = 0.75). Nearly half of the families (46.4%) reported moderate to severe financial losses. Compared with an earlier similar study in 2003, significant negative occupational consequences for mothers and financial burden on families remained unchanged in 2018 (P = 0.59 and 0.31, respectively).; CONCLUSIONS: Mothers of young children with newly diagnosed diabetes experienced negative consequences in their occupational situation. This inequality for mothers can have long-term negative consequences for their mental health and future economic situation. There is an urgent need for action to reduce the burden on families and to provide professional, social, and regulatory support, especially for mothers of young children with diabetes. © 2021 by the American Diabetes Association

Understanding Daily, Emotional, and Physical Burdens and Needs of Parents Caring for Children with Type 1 Diabetes

Aims. To investigate (1) daily, emotional, and physical caregiving burdens in parents of children with type 1 diabetes, (2) the sociodemographic and clinical predictors of three burdens, and (3) support measures that parents wish to receive. Methods. The study was a multicenter cross-sectional survey conducted in nine German pediatric diabetes centers. A questionnaire assessing three types of burdens and wishes for support was distributed to parents with a child with type 1 diabetes visiting one of the pediatric centers for a routine check-up. Results. Data from 1,107 parents (83% mothers) were analyzed. Parents reported significantly higher emotional burdens compared to daily and physical burdens (p<0.0001). Mothers felt more burdened than fathers did. Parents of younger children reported higher daily and physical burdens compared to the parents of older children, and similarly, parents of technology users reported higher daily and physical burdens compared to the parents of nontechnology users. However, emotional burdens did not differ in both comparisons. Other demographic factors (i.e., parent’s age, migration status, and single-parent family status) predicted high levels of daily or physical burdens, but only HbA1c level and the parent’s gender (mother) predicted a high emotional burden. Independent of the level of burden, 78% of parents wanted additional diabetes training. Conclusion. Despite parents reporting high emotional burdens in connection with diabetes care, HbA1c and the gender of the reporting parent were the only risk factors. As the child gets older, parents’ daily and physical distress decrease but not the emotional burden. Diabetes training including regularly offered booster sessions as well as low-threshold interventions for mental health issues and practical self-care skills is recommended to provide continuous support for parents