Ichnological analysis: A tool to characterize deep-marine processes and sediments

The deep-marine environment is a complex setting in which numerous processes —settling of pelagic and hemipelagic particles in the water column, sediment gravity flows (downslope density currents; turbid flows), and bottom currents— determine sediment deposition, hence a variety of facies including pelagites/hemipelagites, contourites, turbidites and hyperpycnites. Characterization and differentiation among deep-sea facies is a challenge, and numerous features may be highlighted to this end: sedimentary structures, geochemical data, micropaleontological information, etc. Ichnological information has become a valuable, yet in some cases controversial, proxy, being in most of cases understudied. This paper gathers the existing ichnological information regarding the most frequent deep-sea facies —from those in which ichnological analyses are numerous and detailed (e.g. pelagites/hemipelagites and turbidites), to those for which ichnological information is lacking or imprecise (hyperpycnites and contourites). This review analyses palaeoenvironmental (i.e., ecological and depositional) conditions associated with deep-sea sedimentary processes, influence of these changes on the tracemaker community, and associated ichnological properties. A detailed characterization of trace fossil assemblages, ichnofabrics and ichnofacies is presented. Special attention is paid to variations in trace fossil features, approached through sedimentary facies models and the outcrop/core scale. Similarities and differences among deep-sea facies are underlined to facilitate differentiation. Pelagic/hemipelagic sediments are completely bioturbated, showing biodeformational structures and trace fossils, being characterized by composite ichnofabrics. The trace fossil assemblage of muddy pelagites and hemipelagites is mainly assigned to the Zoophycos ichnofacies, and locally to the distal expression of the Cruziana ichnofacies. Turbidites are colonized mostly from the top, determining an uppermost part that is entirely bioturbated, the spotty layer; below it lies the elite layer, characterized by deep-tier trace fossils. Turbidite beds pertain to two different groups of burrows, either “predepositional”, mainly graphogliptids, or “post-depositional” traces. Turbidite deposits are mostly characterized by the Nereites ichnofacies, with differentiation of three ichnosubfacies according to the different parts of the turbiditic systems and the associated palaeoenvironmental conditions. There are no major differences in the trace fossil content of the hyperpycnite facies and the classical post-depositional turbidite, nor in the pelagic/hemipelagic sediments, except for a lower ichnodiversity in the hyperpycnites. Trace fossil assemblages of distal hyperpycnites are mainly assigned to the Nereites ichnofacies, while graphogliptids are scarce or absent. Ichnological features vary within contourites, largely related to palaeoenvironmental conditions, depositional setting, and type of contourite. Ichnodiversity and abundance can be high, especially for mud-silty contourites. The ichnological features of mud-silty contourites are similar to those of the pelagic/hemipelagic sediments (the tiering structure probably being more complex in pelagic/hemipelagic) or to the upper part of the muddy turbidites (contourites probably being more continuously bioturbated). No single archetypal ichnofacies would characterize contourites, mainly assigned to the Zoophycos and Cruziana ichnofacies

Evaluating tracemaker recovery after the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary event: different biotic responses at the Caravaca section

Trace fossils are an aid to characterize major extinction events, enriching evolutionary paleoecology research. Ichnological analysis at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) marine boundary interval, worldwide, points to a relatively minor disruption in the macrobenthic tracemaker community; that is, trace-fossil assemblages do not change significantly across the K–Pg boundary, showing relatively rapid recovery, locally in just a few years post-impact. To evaluate the incidence of this event and the rapid recovery of the tracemaker community afterwards, the evolution of planktic and benthic groups at the K–Pg boundary interval was analysed in the Caravaca section (Betic Cordillera) based on the integration of available data. In general terms, planktic foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton dropped in abundance and diversity at the K–Pg boundary, whereas benthic foraminifera did not show significant extinction, but rather a sudden and dramatic decrease in diversity and reorganization. After the K–Pg boundary event, planktic communities exhibit a prolonged delay in recovery—mainly occurring above the dark boundary layer—with respect to benthic foraminifera. The K–Pg boundary event did not induce a severe crisis for the burrowing macroinfauna, as revealed by the similarity between pre- and post-event ichnotaxa, showing a comparatively rapid first colonization phase, less than 2 ky after the event. The record of Zoophycos and Chondrites at the base of the dark boundary layer evidences an opportunistic behaviour of tracemakers and a high independence from oxygen in pore waters and food in the sediment, allowing for the colonization of an overall unfavorable environment.En los últimos años las pistas fósiles se han revelado como una herramienta fundamental para caracterizar eventos de extinción mayores, mejorando la investigación sobre paleoecología evolutiva. El análisis icnológico del intervalo Cretácico–Paleógeno (K–Pg) en secuencias marinas muestra una menor incidencia del evento sobre la comunidad macrobentónica bioturbadora, las asociaciones de trazas no cambian significativamente a lo largo del límite K–Pg, así como una recuperación relativamente rápida, localmente en el rango de los pocos años, tras el impacto. En esta investigación se estudia el intervalo del límite K–Pg en la sección distal y continua de Caravaca (Subbético Externo, Cordillera Bética) con el objetivo de evaluar la incidencia del evento y la recuperación comparativamente rápida de la comunidad bioturbadora tras el mismo, comparándola con la evolución de diferentes grupos planctónicos y bentónicos. La zonación bioestratigráfica de alta resolución junto con la calibración temporal existentes facilitan este estudio. En términos generales, foraminíferos planctónicos y nanoplancton calcáreo colapsan en abundancia y diversidad en el límite K–Pg, mientras los foraminíferos bentónicos no muestran una extinción significativa sino una caída brusca en la diversidad y la reorganización de la comunidad. Tras el evento del límite K–Pg, las comunidades plantónicas experimentan una recuperación prolongada, registrada, fundamentalmente, por encima de la capa oscura del límite, en comparación con los foraminíferos bentónicos. En este contexto de una incidencia comparativamente menor del evento del límite sobre el hábitat bentónico en Caravaca, es particularmente interesante la respuesta de la comunidad macrobentónica bioturbadora. El evento del límite no induce una crisis severa para la comunidad bioturbadora, como se refleja en la similitud entre las asociaciones de pistas antes y después del evento, mostrando una comparativamente rápida primera fase de colonización en menos de 2 ka. El registro de Zoophycos y Chondrites en la base de la capa oscura del límite evidencia el comportamiento oportunista de los productores y la alta independencia del oxígeno entre poros y del alimento en el sedimento, permitiendo la colonización de ambientes poco favorables

WORKING EFFECTIVELY WITH IMMIGRANT FAMILIES IN THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

The purpose of the study was to examine what social work students and early career professionals need from their agencies, supervisors, and colleagues to work effectively with immigrant clients in child welfare. The literature on social work with immigrants suggests that this work is challenging due to a plethora of barriers related to language, culture, citizenship, eligibility, and organizational environment. The study uses in-depth, qualitative interviews with seven social work students and early career social workers who work in child welfare settings in Southern California, either as interns or full-time employees. These interviews were conducted by the researchers from Fall of 2021 through Spring of 2022. Thematic analysis revealed the following themes: language, cultural humility and competence, awareness and motivation, organizational, technical, bias and judgment, and social work education. The results that emerged from this study clearly indicates that child welfare agencies have neglected to provide the right tools and address the challenges that child welfare providers have encountered in working with immigrant families. The findings of this research can be used in social work practice and education. Child welfare agencies could improve training and education for social work interns and professionals by providing workshops to promote diversity awareness and cultural diversity. Schools of social work could improve social work curriculum to enhance cultural competence and skills needed to work with diverse groups by adding a specific course dedicated to working with immigrants and offer electives that promote immigrant students to get in touch and bring awareness with their culture and empower students

Risk assessment of PCP lift system using a fishbone diagram and MICMAC method

Hydrocarbons demand by industrialized and developed nations and the oil prices conditions last few years; many companies have turned again to fields that were not previously considered attractive to produce, to identify them as an alternative to meet that demand. This research shows the identification of a condition, which should be taken into account to produce a mature field by progressive cavity pumping (PCP) artificial lift system, an evaluation with the MICMAC method and the identification of the key variables to achieve the development in this practice. The results make possible to identify highest influence elements, which can guide intervention strategies and form the basis to formulate guidelines and policies for the PCP implementation. The results allow us to conclude that pressures and mechanical designs in field wells should be the guidelines for optimum production, the market rate improvement, and the reservoir productive life

Addressing mechanism bias in model-based impact forecasts of new tuberculosis vaccines

In tuberculosis (TB) vaccine development, multiple factors hinder the design and interpretation of the clinical trials used to estimate vaccine efficacy. The complex transmission chain of TB includes multiple routes to disease, making it hard to link the vaccine efficacy observed in a trial to specific protective mechanisms. Here, we present a Bayesian framework to evaluate the compatibility of different vaccine descriptions with clinical trial outcomes, unlocking impact forecasting from vaccines whose specific mechanisms of action are unknown. Applying our method to the analysis of the M72/AS01E vaccine trial -conducted on IGRA+ individuals- as a case study, we found that most plausible models for this vaccine needed to include protection against, at least, two over the three possible routes to active TB classically considered in the literature: namely, primary TB, latent TB reactivation and TB upon re-infection. Gathering new data regarding the impact of TB vaccines in various epidemiological settings would be instrumental to improve our model estimates of the underlying mechanisms

Evolution of Magnetism in Single-Crystal Honeycomb Iridates

We report the successful synthesis of single-crystals of the layered iridate, (Na$_{1-x}$Li$_{x}$)$_2$IrO$_3$, $0\leq x \leq 0.9$, and a thorough study of its structural, magnetic, thermal and transport properties. The new compound allows a controlled interpolation between Na$_2$IrO$_3$ and Li$_2$IrO$_3$, while maintaing the novel quantum magnetism of the honeycomb Ir$^{4+}$ planes. The measured phase diagram demonstrates a dramatic suppression of the N\'eel temperature, $T_N$, at intermediate $x$ suggesting that the magnetic order in Na$_2$IrO$_3$ and Li$_2$IrO$_3$ are distinct, and that at $x\approx 0.7$, the compound is close to a magnetically disordered phase that has been sought after in Na$_2$IrO$_3$ and Li$_2$IrO$_3$. By analyzing our magnetic data with a simple theoretical model we also show that the trigonal splitting, on the Ir$^{4+}$ ions changes sign from Na$_2$IrO$_3$ and Li$_2$IrO$_3$, and the honeycomb iridates are in the strong spin-orbit coupling regime, controlled by \jeff=1/2 moments.Comment: updated version with more dat

Macaronichnus ‘co-occurrence’ in offshore transition settings: Discussing the role of tidal versus fluid muds influence

We thank the Associate-Editor, Emmanuel Fara, and the reviewer, Alfred Uchman, for their detailed and useful comments that significantly contributed to improve the manuscript. This research was funded by Grants PID2019-104625RB-100 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and Grants BRNM-072-UGR18, A-RNM-368-UGR20 and P18-RT-4074 funded by Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. Research Group RNM178 (Junta de Andalucía), as well as the “Ichnology and Paleoenvironmental Research Group” (UGR). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBUA.Macaronichnus is a key trace fossil in palaeoceanographic, palaeoclimatic, and petroleum exploration research. Small ichnosubspecies such as Macaronichnus segregatis segregatis, M. s. lineiformins, M. s. maeandriformis and M. s. spiriformis, typically occur in wave-dominated foreshore sands where large M. s. degiberti was never found. The latter shows a wide environmental distribution, occurring in sandy deposits of tidal channels, tidal bar sand sandridges, tidal-flat sand sheets, shorefaces, bioturbated sandy shelf, shelf storm-sheets, shelf sand ridges, and upper slopes. Small M. segregatis and large M. s. degiberti have not been observed to date due the ecological segregation of the tracemakers. An abundant record of large M. s. degiberti in a Tortonian (Late Miocene) mixed carbonate-siliciclastic unit from the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain) has been studied. Occurrence of M. s. degiberti is the result of the interaction of tidal and waves, storm influenced environment determining high-energy conditions and associated palaeoenvironmental parameters as shifting substrates, organic matter availability, and oxygenated pore and bottom-waters. Locally, associated to M. s. degiberti appear small, sinuous traces infilled by light material that were originally assigned to M. s. maeandriformis, and very rare M. s. spiriformis. However, the absence of the typical rim of Macaronichnus avoid a conclusive assignment. The coexistence of both small traces (?M. s. maeandriformis) and large M. s. degiberti is identified in the deposits underlying mudstone layers, revealing the importance of mud deposition during tidal slack water intervals or linked to fluid mud events favouring the co-occurrence of the trace makers of both Macaronichnus ichnosubespecies. This fact would have significant palaeobiological and palaeoecological implications, and could be the first record of both ichnosubspecies in the same intervals.MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033: PID2019-104625RB-100Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación BRNM-072-UGR18, A-RNM-368-UGR20, P18-RT-4074“ERDF A way of making Europe”Junta de Andalucía: Research Group RNM178“Ichnology and Paleoenvironmental Research Group” (UGR)Universidad de Granada / CBU

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Sheep management and production enhancement are difficult for farmers due to the lack of dynamic response and poor welfare of the sheep. Poor welfare needs to be mitigated, and each farm must receive an expert-level assessment of critical importance. To mitigate poor welfare, researchers have conducted machine learning-based studies to automate the sheep health behavior monitoring process instead of using manual assessment. However, failure to recognize some sheep health behaviors degrades the performance of the model. In addition, behavior challenges, parameters, and analysis must be considered when conducting a study based on machine learning. In this paper, we discuss the different challenges: what are the parameters of the sheep health behaviors, and how to analyze the sheep health behaviors for automated machine learning systems to be helpful in the long term? The hypothesis is based on a different review of the literature of precision-based animal welfare monitoring systems with the potential to improve management and production.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Northernmost (Subarctic) and deepest record of Paleodictyon: paleoecological and biological implications

The data were collected in the framework of the AleutBio project of BMBF grant 03G0293A to Prof. Dr. Angelika Brandt, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Germany. The research of O. Miguez-Salas was funded by a Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Humboldt Foundation and a Margarita Salas Fellowship from the Ministry of Spain and EU Next Generations projects. The research of F.J. Rodríguez-Tovar was supported by grant PID2019- 104625RB-100 funded by MCIN/AEI/ https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033.The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34050-wPaleodictyon is one of the most iconic and widespread of trace fossils in the geological record. However, modern examples are less well known and restricted to deep-sea settings at relatively low latitudes. Here, we report the distribution of Paleodictyon at six abyssal sites near the Aleutian Trench. This study reveals for the first time the presence of Paleodictyon at Subarctic latitudes (51°–53°N) and at depths over 4500 m, although the traces were not observed at stations deeper than 5000 m suggesting that there is some bathymetric constraint for the trace maker. Two small Paleodictyon morphotypes were recognized (average mesh size of 1.81 cm), one having a central hexagonal pattern, the other being characterized by a non-hexagonal pattern. Within the study area, Paleodictyon shows no apparent correlation with local environmental parameters. Finally, based on a worldwide morphological comparison, we conclude that the new Paleodictyon specimens represent distinct ichnospecies that are associated with the relatively eutrophic conditions in this region. Their smaller size may reflect this more eutrophic setting in which sufficient food can be obtained from a smaller area in order to satisfy the energetic requirements of the tracemakers. If so, then Paleodictyon size may provide some assistance when interpreting paleoenvironmental conditions.EU Next Generations PID2019-104625RB-100Ministry of SpainWolfgang BorchertAlexander von Humboldt-Stiftung AvHBundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung 03G0293A BMBFMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación MICINNAgencia Estatal de Investigación AE