scholarly journals Offshore marine actinopterygian assemblages from the Maastrichtian–Paleogene of the Pindos Unit in Eurytania, Greece

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e10676
Author(s):  
Thodoris Argyriou ◽  
Donald Davesne

The fossil record of marine ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) from the time interval surrounding the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction is scarce at a global scale, hampering our understanding of the impact, patterns and processes of extinction and recovery in the marine realm, and its role in the evolution of modern marine ichthyofaunas. Recent fieldwork in the K–Pg interval of the Pindos Unit in Eurytania, continental Greece, shed new light on forgotten fossil assemblages and allowed for the collection of a diverse, but fragmentary sample of actinopterygians from both late Maastrichtian and Paleocene rocks. Late Maastrichtian assemblages are dominated by Aulopiformes (†Ichthyotringidae, †Enchodontidae), while †Dercetidae (also Aulopiformes), elopomorphs and additional, unidentified teleosts form minor components. Paleocene fossils include a clupeid, a stomiiform and some unidentified teleost remains. This study expands the poor record of body fossils from this critical time interval, especially for smaller sized taxa, while providing a rare, paleogeographically constrained, qualitative glimpse of open-water Tethyan ecosystems from both before and after the extinction event. Faunal similarities between the Maastrichtian of Eurytania and older Late Cretaceous faunas reveal a higher taxonomic continuum in offshore actinopterygian faunas and ecosystems spanning the entire Late Cretaceous of the Tethys. At the same time, the scarcity of Paleocene findings offers tentative clues for a depauperate state of Tethyan ichthyofaunas in the aftermath of the K–Pg Extinction.

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 488-491
Author(s):  
Bhavya Narala ◽  
Afsha Aurshina ◽  
Anil Hingorani ◽  
Natalie Marks ◽  
Sareh Rajaee ◽  
...  

Objective: The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is a not-for-profit medical society, whose goal is to further advance in vascular health on a global scale. With its 10th anniversary in sight, we were interested in analyzing the impact of a specific scholarship given under the SVS, the International Scholars Program. Our goal was to examine the awardees’ characteristics and academic productivity. Materials and Methods: We measured the number of peer-reviewed articles, before and after the program, using PubMed® and Google Scholar® (2008-2018) of the scholarship recipients. Editorials, book chapters, letter to editor, and oral/poster presentations were excluded. A survey was sent out to assess the awardees’ current status. Results: The average number of applicants/year was 15.4 (standard deviation ± 6.69), with 17.5% females and a mean age of 37 ± 3.37 years, with 5.6 ± 2.30 years status post vascular fellowship. Brazil had the highest number of recipients (n = 5; 18.5%) followed by China (n = 4; 14.8%). No significant difference was noted between each country in terms of publications ( P = .45), nor with after the SVS scholarship program compared to before ( P = .14, 1.84 vs 2.76). The survey concluded 33% had attended a subsequent SVS meeting after the program, with 27% having presented their research (n = 15). The recipients noted the program helped adopt new practices in clinical management (n = 13, 87%), learn new procedures (n = 10, 67%), gain local/regional leadership (n = 9, 60%), and improve technical skills (n = 8, 53%). The most visited clinical sites were Massachusetts General Hospital and Mayo Clinic (n = 4, 27%). The program was given a 9.1/10 rating. Conclusion: The program was successful in maintaining academic productivity by continuing to publish research even after the scholarship, while teaching recipients skills to further improve their career goals. The award remains a competitive process that selects highly skilled recipients and still has much growth and progress to look forward to over the next decade.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Corentin ◽  
Emmanuelle Puceat ◽  
Pierre Pellenard ◽  
Nicolas Freslon ◽  
Michel Guiraud ◽  
...  

<p>The Late Cretaceous period records a pronounced decrease in marine temperatures at a global scale initiating the last greenhouse-icehouse transition, whose origin still remains enigmatic. Continental weathering represents a major sink of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> through silicate weathering reactions yet the importance of this process in the Late Cretaceous cooling has only been scarcely explored.</p><p>In this study we explore the impact of the eastern South American margin uplift, concomitant to the long-term Late Cretaceous cooling, on the evolution of chemical weathering of the Brazilian margin, using a new proxy of silicate weathering based on the coupled Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd isotope systems in clays. This proxy, expressed as Δε<sub>Hf</sub>, has been recently calibrated in modern environments (Bayon et al., 2016) but has only been scarcely applied to deep-time environments. This proxy, applied on sediments from DSDP site 356 on the São Paulo Plateau, highlights a marked increase in silicate chemical weathering of the southeastern Brazilian margin from the Santonian to the Maastrichtian, also supported by the evolution of the chemical index of alteration (CIA) and clay mineralogy.</p><p>This increase follows an episode of enhanced mechanical erosion of the margin revealed in the Turonian to Santonian by an increase of primary clay mineral (illite, chlorite) and Ti/Al ratio, linked to the tectonic uplift of the margin. Clay mineral assemblages additionally point to an evolution of local climatic conditions from arid to a more hydrolysing climate following this episode, that we link to a “rain shadow effect” affecting the eastern side of the newly formed relief that would have enhanced chemical weathering of the margin.</p><p>Importantly the temporal coincidence of the increase in chemical weathering depicted here with the marked acceleration of the global cooling recorded worldwide during the Campanian points to a potentially important role of this process on the overall climate decline initiating the descent into our icehouse climate mode. Although records from additional sites are needed to establish the spatial extent of the margin affected by this process, our new dataset brings new insights about the impact of tectonic forcing on climate.</p><p>Bayon et al. (2016) EPSL 438, p. 25-36.</p>


1994 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 425-436
Author(s):  
Charles B. Officer

The present Cretaceous/Tertiary extinction debate started with findings by Alvarez et al. (1980) of enhanced levels of iridium at K/T sections in Italy, Denmark and New Zealand. They postulated that the iridium was extraterrestrial in origin and related to a 10 km diameter asteroid impact which would have produced a crater some 200 km in diameter. They further suggested that a giant dust cloud would have been injected into the stratosphere from the impact with a residence time of several years and that the resulting darkness would have suppressed photosynthesis with a consequent elimination of succeeding members in the biological food chain — ergo, a mass extinction event.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thibault Guinaldo ◽  
Simon Munier ◽  
Patrick Le Moigne ◽  
Aaron Boone ◽  
Bertrand Decharme ◽  
...  

Abstract. Lakes are of fundamental importance in the Earth system as they support essential environmental and economic services such as freshwater supply. They also modify the local hydro-meteorological continuum as a lower boundary of the atmosphere. Sentinels of climate change and anthropization, these open water bodies are facing disruptions of their equilibrium generally leading to a notable reduction of their levels worldwide. Stream-flow variability and temporal evolution are impacted by the presence of lakes in the river network, therefore any change in the lake state can induce a modification of the regional hydrological regime. Despite the importance of the impact of lakes on hydrological fluxes and the water balance, a representation of the mass budget is generally not included in climate models and global scale hydrological modeling platforms. The goal of this study is to introduce a new lake mass module, MLake (Mass-Lake model), into the river routing model CTRIP to resolve the specific mass-balance of open water bodies. Based on the inherent CTRIP parameters, the development of the non-calibrated MLake model was introduced to examine the influence of such hydrological buffer areas on the global scale river routing performances. In the current study, an off-line evaluation was performed for four river networks using a set of state-of-the-art quality atmospheric forcings and a combination of in situ and satellite measurements for river discharge and lake level observations. The results reveal a general improvement in CTRIP simulated discharge and its variability, while also generating realistic lake level variations. MLake produces more realistic streamflows both in terms of daily and seasonal correlation. Excluding the specific case of Lake Victoria having low performances, the mean skill score of Kling-Gupta Efficiency (KGE) is 0.41 while the Normalized Information Contribution (NIC) shows a mean improvement of 0.56 (ranging from 0.15 to 0.94). Streamflow results are spatially scale-dependent, with better scores associated with larger lakes, and increased sensitivity to the width of the lake outlet. Regarding lake levels variations, results indicate a good agreement between observations and simulations with a mean correlation of 0.56 (ranging from 0.07 to 0.92) which is linked to the capability of the model to retrieve seasonal variations. Discrepancies in the results are mainly explained by the anthropization of the selected lakes which introduces high-frequency variations in both streamflows and lake levels that degraded the scores. Anthropization effects are prevalent in most of the lakes studied, but they are predominant for Lake Victoria and are the main cause for relatively low statistical scores for this river. However, results on the Angara and the Neva rivers also depend on the inherent gap of ISBA-CTRIP processes representation which relies on further development such as the partitioned energy budget between the snow and the canopy over a Boreal zone. The study is a first step towards a global coupled land system that will help to qualitatively assess the evolution of future global water resources leading to improvements in flood risk and drought forecasting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Legay ◽  
L Marcellin ◽  
P Santulli ◽  
A E Millischer ◽  
C Bordonne ◽  
...  

Abstract Study question How to assess the different adenomyosis phenotype before and after pregnancy on magnetic resonance imaging according to stringent validated criteria ? Summary answer Diffuse adenomyosis increases significantly after pregnancy while the rate of focal adenomyosis and the mean volume of focal adenomyosis lesions decrease significantly after pregnancy. What is known already Adenomyosis and endometriosis are benign hormone-dependent disorders associated with pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea and/or infertility. The natural course of adenomyosis and endometriosis is still unclear, particularly during pregnancy. Pregnancy is considered to have a positive impact on endometriosis. Several studies regarding the impact of adenomyosis on pregnancy are available. Adenomyosis can cause fertility disorders, miscarriage, preterm birth. However, available data evaluating the effect of pregnancy on adenomyosis are lacking. Study design, size, duration Between January 1st 2010 and September 30th 2020, 139 patients were followed in our referral care center (Gynecology department of Port-Royal Hospital, Paris) for symptomatic adenomyosis and or endometriosis. For each of them, a magnetic resonance imaging were performed before and after pregnancy. The data based on magnetic resonance imaging, pre- and post-pregnancy, were analyzed in a single retrospective study. Participants/materials, setting, methods Patients had to be over 18 years old, to be pregnant and to be followed for symptomatic adenomyosis or endometriosis without any previous surgery. Each pelvic magnetic resonance imaging were performed by a single experienced radiologist. The protocol was identical on a 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging machine based on validated criteria. The rate of diffuse and focal adenomyosis, the volume of focal adenomyosis lesions and the thickness of maximal junctional zone were reported. Main results and the role of chance The mean age of patients was 34.6 ± 3.4 years old, 83 (59.7%) of patients underwent assisted reproductive technology to be pregnant. The mean time interval between the MRI and the delivery was 55.2 months and the mean time interval between the delivery and the MRI was 32.2 months. Before pregnancy, there was 96 (69.1%) patients with adenomyosis, all phenotype combined versus 111 (79.9%) after pregnancy (p = 0.04) on magnetic resonance imaging. The rate of diffuse adenomyosis increased significantly on magnetic resonance imaging after pregnancy compared to before pregnancy (n = 22 (15.8%) vs n = 41 (29.5%), p = 0.01). The thickness of junctional zone maximal was significantly higher after pregnancy (8.0 mm ± 5.1 vs 12.0 mm ± 4.8, p < 0.01). The rate of focal adenomyosis (n = 55 (39.6) vs n = 34 (24.5), p = 0.01) as well as the volume of focal adenomyosis lesions (6.7 mm3 2.5± vs 6.4 mm3 ± 2.3, p < 0.01) decreased significantly after pregnancy on magnetic resonance imaging. Limitations, reasons for caution This single-center study was conducted in a referral center whom patients presented more severe forms of adenomyosis, which could have affected the external validity of this study. The mean time interval between delivery and MRI was 32.2 month which implies a short follow up period to observe long term outcomes. Wider implications of the findings The hypothesis that a specific hormonal environment during pregnancy may imply a positively impact of the evolution of focal adenomyosis is raised by this study. The evolution of focal adenomyosis after pregnancy is similar to the evolution of endometriosis lesions volume that support shared etiopathogenic mechanisms between the two entities. Trial registration number ‘not applicable’


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72
Author(s):  
Herlin Hamimi ◽  
Abdul Ghafar Ismail ◽  
Muhammad Hasbi Zaenal

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam which has a function of faith, social and economic functions. Muslims who can pay zakat are required to give at least 2.5 per cent of their wealth. The problem of poverty prevalent in disadvantaged regions because of the difficulty of access to information and communication led to a gap that is so high in wealth and resources. The instrument of zakat provides a paradigm in the achievement of equitable wealth distribution and healthy circulation. Zakat potentially offers a better life and improves the quality of human being. There is a human quality improvement not only in economic terms but also in spiritual terms such as improving religiousity. This study aims to examine the role of zakat to alleviate humanitarian issues in disadvantaged regions such as Sijunjung, one of zakat beneficiaries and impoverished areas in Indonesia. The researcher attempted a Cibest method to capture the impact of zakat beneficiaries before and after becoming a member of Zakat Community Development (ZCD) Program in material and spiritual value. The overall analysis shows that zakat has a positive impact on disadvantaged regions development and enhance the quality of life of the community. There is an improvement in the average of mustahik household incomes after becoming a member of ZCD Program. Cibest model demonstrates that material, spiritual, and absolute poverty index decreased by 10, 5, and 6 per cent. Meanwhile, the welfare index is increased by 21 per cent. These findings have significant implications for developing the quality of life in disadvantaged regions in Sijunjung. Therefore, zakat is one of the instruments to change the status of disadvantaged areas to be equivalent to other areas.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Jeky El Boru

Abstract: This research aims to analyze the impact of Janti Flyover Construction toward the growth of layout at Janti Urban Area, including structured space, open space, and linkage. Method used for data collecting are observation, air photograph monitoring, and interview, whereas the analysis method is qualitative description, which is the superimposed method of two layers, that are the layout condition before and after flyover construction. The result shows that the impact of Janti Flyover construction can be seen on building mass (solid), the increasing number of open spaces, including the road network, parking place, and park, whereas the relation between spaces, visually and structurally, can be seen on the growth of buildings which have new shapes and styles, therefore the performance of the overall building does not have a proportional shape. Considering Janti Street at the collective relation, its role is getting stronger as the main frame road network.Keywords: Flyover construction, layout changing, Janti AreaAbstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh pembangunan Jalan Layang Janti terhadap perkembangan tata ruang Kawasan Janti, meliputi ruang terbangun, ruang terbuka, serta hubungan antar ruang (“linkage”). Metode pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui observasi, pengamatan foto udara, dan wawancara; sedangkan metode analisis melalui deskripsi secara kualitatif yang berupa “superimposed method” dari dua lapisan kondisi lahan, yakni kondisi tata ruang sebelum dan sesudah pembangunan jalan layang. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pengaruh pembangunan Jalan Layang Janti terdapat pada massa bangunan (“solid”), pertambahan ruang terbuka yang berupa jaringan jalan, parkir, dan taman; sedangkan pada hubungan antar ruang ̶ secara visual dan struktural ̶ yakni tumbuhnya bangunan dengan bentuk dan gaya baru, sehingga bentuk tampilan bangunan secara keseluruhan tidak proporsional. Pada hubungan kolektif, Jalan Janti semakin kuat perannya sebagai kerangka utama jaringan jalan.Kata kunci : Pembangunan jalan layang, tata ruang, Kawasan Janti


1970 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Mahadzir Ismail ◽  
Saliza Sulaiman ◽  
Hasni Abdul Rahim ◽  
Nordiana Nordin

The Financial Master Plan (2001- 2010) aims to enhance the capacity of banking industry so that higher effic iency and productivity can be reaped in the future. This study seeks to determine the impact of merger on the efficiency and productivity ofcommercial banks in Malaysia for the period 1995 until 2005. The study uses a non-parametric approach, nam ely DEA (data envelopment analysis?) to estimate the efficiency scores and to construct the Malmquist productivity index. To enable this estimation, three bank inputs and outputs are used. Amongst the findings are those banks exhibit higher efficiency score after the merger and thefo reign banks are more efficient than the local banks. Productivity of the banks is calculated in both periods, before and after the merger: The results show that, it is the local banks that have improved the most after the merger. The main source of productivity is technical change or innovation. The findings support the existing policy of having larger domestic banks in term of size.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-17
Author(s):  
Mahsa Assadi

This study reports a pre-experimental research on the impact of metacognitive instruction on EFL learners’ metacognitive awareness and their listening performance. To obtain the goal of the study, a group of 30 Iranian intermediate EFL learners, including 14 males and 16 females, were selected randomly. Their ages range from 20 to 24. The participants took part in 16 weeks’ intervention program based on metacognitive pedagogical sequence consisted of five stages. The metacognitive awareness listening questionnaire (MALQ), and a listening test were also used to find changes in metacognitive awareness and listening performance before and after the treatment. The results of comparing pre and posttests scores revealed that metacognitive instruction raised the learners’ metacognitive awareness and helped them improve their listening comprehension ability.


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