Biometrical Study of Morphology and Development of the Pennsylvanian Trilobite \u3ci\u3eAmeura sangamonensis\u3c/i\u3e (Meek and Worthen)

Biometrical study of morphology and development in a sample of 100 cranidia, 94 pygidia, 26 free cheeks, and 9 complete specimens of the trilobite Ameura sangamonensis (Meek and Worthen) from the Bonner Springs Shale (Pennsylvanian; Missouri Series) in eastern Nebraska indicates that the dominant growth pattern was isometric. Evidence supporting this conclusion consists of rectilinear size relations among eight pairs of cranidial dimensions, three pairs of pygidial dimensions, and three pairs of dimensions of the free cheeks. Qualitative changes in pygidial morphology during development include a progressive decrease in prominence of the border, increasing width of the posterior border relative to the lateral borders, and a progressive change in outline from a smoothly rounded semi-circular margin to one that is subtriangular or subparabolic. All the complete specimens in the sample are holaspides. There is some indication of point clustering on scatter diagrams among the smallest cranidia which suggests that the sample may contain a few late meraspides. However, if meraspid cranidia and free cheeks are present, they are morphologically very similar to the small holaspides

Field Guide to the Geology of the Harlan County Lake Area, Harlan County, Nebraska — with a History of Events Leading to Construction of Harlan County Dam

The year 2002 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of completion of the Harlan County Dam and Multi-Purpose Reservoir. This seems a good time to write about the history of and reasons for building the dam, the effects of the dam and reservoir on the Republican River valley, and the geologic features seen along the shores of the lake and areas nearby. As many junior authors helped produced this educational circular, they are listed in the table of contents. All other sections were written by the senior author. Includes July 2016 update: Addendum of photographs showing fault traces on drought-exposed lake bottom. Cretaceous Niobrara Chalk Formation and the younger Pierre Shale are also shown. Table of Contents Introduction 1 Location 1 Republican River Floods 1 The Republican River Flood of 1935 - D R Mohlman 1 Cautionary Notes (sidebar) 1 Events After the Flood Leading to Creation of Harlan County Lake 9 Stormer Ford Dog Town (sidebar) 10 Water 10 Surface Water Hydrology - S Summerside 10 Shoreline Springs and Seeps - F: E Harvey and K J Warren 12 Introduction 12 Using Water Chemistry to Identify Spring and Seep Origin 1 2 Geology 15 General Conditions Leading to Good Exposures 15 Stratigraphy of Unconsolidated Sediments and Rock Strata 15 Cretaceous System - Upper Cretaceous Series 15 Niobrara Formation - Smoky Hill Chalk Member 15 Pierre Shale 15 Tertiary System - Miocene Series 16 Ogallala Group -Ash Hollow Formation 16 Quaternary System - Pleistocene Series 16 Crete (?) Formation (Sands and Gravels) 1 6 Loveland Loess 16 Gliman Canyon Formation 16 Peoria and Bignell Loesses 16 Quaternary System - Holocene (Recent) Series 1 6 Unnamed Fluvial, Eolian, and Colluvial Deposits 16 Paleontology of the Various Formations 16 Plants 16 Invertebrates - R K Pabian 17 Cretaceous Marine Fossils 17 Niobrara Formation 17 Foraminifers 17 Post-Devonian Stromatoporoids 1 9 Mollusks 19 Bivalves 19 Ammonites 19 Pierre Shale Formation 19 Bivalves 19 Ammonites 19 Quaternary - Pleistocene (Ice Age) Invertebrate Fossils 19 Vertebrate Fossils - R G Corner 24 Late Cretaceous Fossils 24 Niobrara Formation 24 Niobrara Fishes 24 Niobrara Mosasaurs 29 Pierre Shale Formation 30 Protosphyvaena gladius: Giant Mystery Fish 30 Pierre Mosasaurs 32 Late Miocene Ogallala Group 32 Bone Cove I Fauna 32 Bone Cove II Fauna 32 Quaternary - Pleistocene (Ice Age) 33 Crete (?) Sands and Gravels 33 Gilman Canyon Formation 33 Peoria Loess 35 Late Pleistocene Fauna 35 Late Pleistocene Environments 37 Geologic Processes Affecting the Strata 37 Modem and Ancient Landslides 37 Modern Landslides D A Eversoll 37 Ancient Landslides - D A Eversoll and R F Diffendal, Jr 39 Geologic Structures 41 Introduction and Previous Work 41 Angular Unconformities 45 Joints 45 Faults and Folds 45 Ancient Landscapes (Paleotopography) 50 Quaternary River Terraces 50 Concluding Remarks 50 References Cited 51 Glossary Keywords: flooding 1930s, vertebrate fossils, earthquake faults, landslides, groundwater qualit

Chronic mild stress alters the somatostatin receptors in the rat brain

RATIONALE: The involvement of somatostatin (SST) and its receptors in the pathophysiology of depression and stress has been evidenced by numerous studies. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to find whether chronic mild stress (CMS), an animal model of depression, affects the SST receptors in the rat brain and pituitary, as well as the level of SST in plasma. METHODS: In CMS model, rats were subjected to 2 weeks of stress and behaviorally characterized using the sucrose consumption test into differently reacting groups based on their response to stress, i.e., stress-reactive (anhedonic), stress-non-reactive (resilient), and invert-reactive rats (characterized by excessive sucrose intake). We measured specific binding of [(125)I]Tyr(3)-Octreotide, expression of mRNA encoding sst2R receptors in the rat brains, expression of SST and its receptors in rat pituitary, and the level of SST in the plasma. RESULTS: The obtained results show decreases in binding of [(125)I]Tyr(3)-Octreotide in most of rat brain regions upon CMS and no significant differences between three stressed groups of animals, except for significant up-regulation of sst2 receptor in medial habenula (MHb) in the stress-reactive group. In the same group of animals, significant increase in plasma SST level was observed. CONCLUSIONS: There are two particularly sensitive sites distinguishing the response to stress in CMS model. In the brain, it is MHb, while on the periphery this predictor is SST level in plasma. These changes may broaden an understanding of the mechanisms involved in the stress response and point to the intriguing role of MHb

Impact of Virtual Simulation and Coaching on the Interpersonal Collaborative Communication Skills of Speech-Language Pathology Students: A Pilot Study

Communication between clinicians, teachers, and family members is a critical skill when addressing and providing for the individual needs of patients. However, graduate students in speech-language pathology (SLP) programs often have limited opportunities to practice these skills prior to or during externship placements. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of virtual-reality based rehearsal with coaching on the interpersonal collaborative communication skills of SLP graduate students when delivering information regarding a singular patient to different stakeholders. Three graduate students completing their third semester in a SLP program participated in the study. Each participant was provided a clinical case scenario and asked to deliver recommendations related to the client’s communication abilities to a single adult avatar portraying either a parent, teacher, or pediatrician. This task was repeated twice to allow assessment of performance across multiple trials. A brief reflection and coaching period was provided between trials with the same avatar. All interactions were scored using the Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation, and Communication (SBAR-C) tool. All participants demonstrated improved communication skills between their first and second trial with each avatar as measured by the SBAR-C. Social validity surveys with participants revealed that they found the intervention to be valid and acceptable

Call for emergency action to restore dietary diversity and protect global food systems in times of COVID-19 and beyond: Results from a cross-sectional study in 38 countries

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the fragility of the global food system, sending shockwaves across countries\u27 societies and economy. This has presented formidable challenges to sustaining a healthy and resilient lifestyle. The objective of this study is to examine the food consumption patterns and assess diet diversity indicators, primarily focusing on the food consumption score (FCS), among households in 38 countries both before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 37 207 participants (mean age: 36.70 ± 14.79, with 77 % women) was conducted in 38 countries through an online survey administered between April and June 2020. The study utilized a pre-tested food frequency questionnaire to explore food consumption patterns both before and during the COVID-19 periods. Additionally, the study computed Food Consumption Score (FCS) as a proxy indicator for assessing the dietary diversity of households. Findings: This quantification of global, regional and national dietary diversity across 38 countries showed an increment in the consumption of all food groups but a drop in the intake of vegetables and in the dietary diversity. The household\u27s food consumption scores indicating dietary diversity varied across regions. It decreased in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, including Lebanon (p \u3c 0.001) and increased in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries including Bahrain (p = 0.003), Egypt (p \u3c 0.001) and United Arab Emirates (p = 0.013). A decline in the household\u27s dietary diversity was observed in Australia (p \u3c 0.001), in South Africa including Uganda (p \u3c 0.001), in Europe including Belgium (p \u3c 0.001), Denmark (p = 0.002), Finland (p \u3c 0.001) and Netherland (p = 0.027) and in South America including Ecuador (p \u3c 0.001), Brazil (p \u3c 0.001), Mexico (p \u3c 0.0001) and Peru (p \u3c 0.001). Middle and older ages [OR = 1.2; 95 % CI = [1.125–1.426] [OR = 2.5; 95 % CI = [1.951–3.064], being a woman [OR = 1.2; 95 % CI = [1.117–1.367], having a high education (p \u3c 0.001), and showing amelioration in food-related behaviors [OR = 1.4; 95 % CI = [1.292–1.709] were all linked to having a higher dietary diversity. Conclusion: The minor to moderate changes in food consumption patterns observed across the 38 countries within relatively short time frames could become lasting, leading to a significant and prolonged reduction in dietary diversity, as demonstrated by our findings

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on smoking (waterpipe and cigarette) and participants' BMI across various sociodemographic groups in Arab countries in the Mediterranean Region

INTRODUCTION: Tobacco smokers are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19. Lockdown was a chosen strategy to deal with the spread of infectious diseases; nonetheless, it influenced people's eating and smoking behaviors. The main objective of this study is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on smoking (waterpipe and cigarette) behavior and its associations with sociodemographic characteristics and body mass index. METHODS: The data were derived from a large-scale retrospective cross-sectional study using a validated online international survey from 38 countries (n=37207) conducted between 17 April and 25 June 2020. The Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO-EMR countries) data related to 10 Arabic countries that participated in this survey have been selected for analysis in this study. A total of 12433 participants were included in the analysis of this study, reporting their smoking behavior and their BMI before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between smoking practices and the participant's country of origin, sociodemographic characteristics, and BMI (kg/m2). RESULTS: Overall, the prevalence rate of smoking decreased significantly during the lockdown from 29.8% to 23.5% (p<0.05). The percentage of females who smoke was higher than males among the studied population. The highest smoking prevalence was found in Lebanon (33.2%), and the lowest was in Oman (7.9%). In Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, the data showed a significant difference in the education level of smokers before and during the lockdown (p<0.05). Smokers in Lebanon had lower education levels than those in other countries, where the majority of smokers had a Bachelor's degree. The findings show that the BMI rates in Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, and Saudi Arabia significantly increased during the lockdown (p<0.05). The highest percentages of obesity among smokers before the lockdown were in Oman (33.3%), followed by Bahrain (28.4%) and Qatar (26.4%), whereas, during the lockdown, the percentage of obese smokers was highest in Bahrain (32.1%) followed by Qatar (31.3%) and Oman (25%). According to the logistic regression model, the odds ratio of smoking increased during the pandemic, whereas the odds ratio of TV watching decreased. This finding was statistically significant by age, gender, education level, country of residence, and work status. CONCLUSIONS: Although the overall rates of smoking among the studied countries decreased during the lockdown period, we cannot attribute this change in smoking behavior to the lockdown. Smoking cessation services need to anticipate that unexpected disruptions, such as pandemic lockdowns, may be associated with changes in daily tobacco consumption. Public health authorities should promote the adoption of healthy lifestyles to reduce the long-term negative effects of the lockdown

An Evaluation of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Perceived Social Distancing Policies in Relation to Planning, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy Meals: An Observational Study in 38 Countries Worldwide

Objectives: To examine changes in planning, selecting, and preparing healthy foods in relation to personal factors (time, money, stress) and social distancing policies during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: Using cross-sectional online surveys collected in 38 countries worldwide in April-June 2020 (N = 37,207, Mage 36.7 SD 14.8, 77% women), we compared changes in food literacy behaviors to changes in personal factors and social distancing policies, using hierarchical multiple regression analyses controlling for sociodemographic variables. Results: Increases in planning (4.7 SD 1.3, 4.9 SD 1.3), selecting (3.6 SD 1.7, 3.7 SD 1.7), and preparing (4.6 SD 1.2, 4.7 SD 1.3) healthy foods were found for women and men, and positively related to perceived time availability and stay-at-home policies. Psychological distress was a barrier for women, and an enabler for men. Financial stress was a barrier and enabler depending on various sociodemographic variables (all p < 0.01). Conclusion: Stay-at-home policies and feelings of having more time during COVID-19 seem to have improved food literacy. Stress and other social distancing policies relate to food literacy in more complex ways, highlighting the necessity of a health equity lens. Copyright 2021 De Backer, Teunissen, Cuykx, Decorte, Pabian, Gerritsen, Matthys, Al Sabbah, Van Royen and the Corona Cooking Survey Study Group.This research was funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (G047518N) and Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HBC.2018.0397). These funding sources had no role in the design of the study, the analysis and interpretation of the data or the writing of, nor the decision to publish the manuscript.Scopu