Exceptional Conditions Research Articles

A hydrozoan from the eurypterid-dominated Silurian Bertie Group Lagerstätten of North America

AbstractFossil capitate hydrozoans require exceptional conditions for preservation. Here we describe Bertratis ciurcae new genus, new species from the Silurian (Pridoli) of southern Ontario and upper New York State, where it occurs in association with a diverse assemblage of eurypterids. Only the float (pneumatophore) is well preserved, surviving as a thick carbonaceous compression. The new taxon is the largest fossil capitate reported, reaching a width of 17 cm, and the third Porpita-like example known from the Paleozoic. It was a rare pelagic component of the biota of the well-known Bertie Group Lagerstätten.UUID: http://zoobank.org/1eb789e3-67b4-4e46-9baf-6320d4b67d6c

Fostering Learning Goals at Work: The Interplay of Dispositional and Workplace Learning Goal Orientation and Supervisor Appraisal Behavior.

A workplace that emphasizes personal learning and task mastery fosters employee development and performance. However, it is yet unclear which specific factors support such a learning goal-oriented workplace. Based on research in the educational domain, we investigated the reciprocal effects of dispositional learning goal orientation, supervisor's appraisal behavior, and a learning goal-oriented workplace. In a study with a repeated measurement design (N = 144 employees), we did not find support for an effect of supervisor's appraisal behavior (operationalized by the perceived use of self-reference norms and constructive handling of errors by employees) on workplace learning goal orientation over time. However, we found that a dispositional learning goal orientation of employees supports a learning goal-oriented work environment. Furthermore, workplace learning goal orientation had a cross-lagged effect on dispositional learning goal orientation and supervisor's appraisal behavior. By comparing our results from work to findings from the educational context, our results convey important theoretical implications about the construct of workplace goal orientation and suggest practical applications to foster a learning goal-oriented workplace in terms of personnel development and performance management.

A rare Macristium-stage Bathysaurus mollis (Aulopiformes, Bathysauridae) from the South Pacific

We describe a rare larva of the family Bathysaurus mollis which was collected off the coast of New Caledonia on November 30, 2014. Larval stages of the two species of the family Bathysauridae (B. mollis and B. ferox) are exceptionally rare and only 11 were reported for both species together including our specimen. In 1903 Regan described the first larva as a new species, Macristium chavesi, not aware that the individual is the larval form of a species already known to science, Bathysaurus ferox. Based on the larvae known to date, the size of the larvae ranges from about 20 mm to 127 mm standard length, indicating a long duration of the larval stage. Our larva is in exceptional condition and with 98.6 mm standard length on the larger side of the larval phase. We further summarize the literature and comment on the reduction of the maxilla in bathysaurids.

It’s a Matter of Trust: How Thirty Years of History Prepared a Community-Based Organization to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic drew public attention to the essential work and vulnerability of low-income Latina immigrants. Less recognized were the ways immigrant community organizations mobilized under exceptional conditions to provide immediate support to their communities while continuing to work toward durable systematic change. This paper analyzes the approach of Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over three decades, MUA developed an organizing model that builds transformative relationships among peers and provides direct services and leadership development for civic engagement. MUA has a long history of research collaborations and self-study aligned with critical community-engaged research methods and values. In 2019, MUA formed a research team of its leaders and academics to analyze the impact of their model. Since data collection occurred between March 2020 and December 2022, the research also documented the organization’s response to COVID-19. This paper argues that specific organizational values and practices of liderazgo, apoyo, and confianza (leadership, support, and trust) proved to be particularly powerful resources for sustaining individuals and community work through the pandemic, enabling women who have experienced multiple forms of structural violence to perceive themselves as capable of healing themselves and their communities while working to address root causes of trauma and inequity.

Photovoltaic power resource at the Atacama Desert under climate change

The Atacama desert is a region with exceptional conditions for solar power production. However, despite its relevance, the impact of climate change on this resource in this region has barely been studied. Here, we use regional climate models to explore how climate change will affect the photovoltaic solar power resource per square meter (PVres) in Atacama.Models project average reductions in PVres of 1.5% and 1.7% under an RCP8.5 scenario, respectively, for 2021-2040 and 2041-2060. Under RCP2.6 and the same periods, reductions range between 1.2% and 0.5%. Also, we study the contribution to future changes in PVres of the downwelling shortwave radiation, air temperature and wind velocity. We find that the contribution from changes in wind velocity is negligible. Future changes of downwelling shortwave radiation, under the RCP8.5 scenario, cause up to 87% of the decrease of PVres for 2021-2040 and 84% for 2041-2060. Rising temperatures due to climate change are responsible for drops in PVres ranging between 13%–19% under RCP2.6 and 14%–16% under RCP8.5.We conclude that climate change has the potential to impact the PVres in the Atacama region while retaining exceptional conditions for solar power production.

The Role of Autopsy in Quality Assurance: Pilot Study of a Method for Prospective Reporting of Diagnostic Errors Discovered at Autopsy.

Hospital autopsies frequently reveal errors in diagnosis that could have affected the patient's clinical outcome. The aims of this study were (1) to investigate the ability of autopsy at our institution to elucidate unrecognized antemortem diagnoses and (2) to pilot a method for tabulating diagnostic discrepancies on a prospective basis. The study sample consisted of 296 cases from our hybrid hospital/forensic autopsy service during the period 2016 to 2018. Discrepancies in autopsy and clinical diagnosis were reported by pathologists at the time of autopsy report generation using a standard form. The rates of major discrepancies between autopsy and clinical diagnoses were 37.5% for in-hospital cases and 25% for patients who died outside our hospital (P < 0.05). The most common discrepant category was infection. The overall rates of discrepant causes of death were 14% (in hospital) and 8% (out of hospital) (ns). Overall percentages of cases with major diagnostic discrepancies were higher in our study than have been previously reported. It is possible that the nature of our patient population plays a role in this result. This study describes an important prospective reporting tool that will allow us to track rates of medical errors and improve diagnosis and treatment of the critically ill.

Taxonomic diversity and functional potential of microbial communities in salt lakes Gudzhirganskoe and Nukhe-Nur (Barguzin depression, Baikal Rift Zone)

On the territory of the Barguzin depression (Baikal Rift Zone) there are salt lakes, which are unique natural formations formed in exceptional natural conditions and experiencing extreme shifts in seasonal environmental conditions. This paper presents the results of the study of the microbial communities in the sulfate Lake Gudzhirganskoe and the soda Lake Nukhe-Nur in winter and summer seasons: from the assessment of the taxonomic composition to potential metabolic pathways. For the first time, based on the 16S rRNA gene sequencing data, the diversity of the microbial community of bottom sediments in summer and winter was studied. Environmental conditions such as pH, temperature and mineralization mainly determined the microbial community composition and led to noticeable shifts in the composition of the community at the level of families and genera. The change of the "summer" obligate and moderately alkalphilic and halophilic community to the "winter" alkali-, halotolerant/halophilic microbial community is observed in the winter period in Lake Gudzhirganskoe. In Lake Nukhe-Nur, a change from mesophilic-thermophilic community in summer to mesophilic-psychrophilic microbial community in winter was revealed. The totality of the obtained results gives an idea about the main trends in the seasonal dynamics of extremophilic microbial communities in the studied lakes in response to fluctuations in environmental parameters. The prediction of the metabolic pathways of prokaryotic communities using the Tax4Fun program made it possible to reveal similarities and differences in the metabolic potential of the microbial communities of the studied lakes. Potential functional genes have been found for all stages of the C, N and S cycles, with the exception of nitrification and aerobic CH4 oxidation.Only small qualitative and quantitative variations in the relative abundance of predicted functional genes were found between the microbial communities of the studied lakes. We predicted metabolic pathways that play an important role in the adaptation of microorganisms to changing environmental conditions. In general, it has been shown that there is a change in the dominant taxa at the level of families and genera in the microbial community in the summer and winter seasons, however, the predicted functional potential of microbial communities differed slightly by season and between the studied lakes.

Summer atmospheric circulation over Greenland in response to Arctic amplification and diminished spring snow cover

The exceptional atmospheric conditions that have accelerated Greenland Ice Sheet mass loss in recent decades have been repeatedly recognized as a possible dynamical response to Arctic amplification. Here, we present evidence of two potentially synergistic mechanisms linking high-latitude warming to the observed increase in Greenland blocking. Consistent with a prominent hypothesis associating Arctic amplification and persistent weather extremes, we show that the summer atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic has become wavier and link this wavier flow to more prevalent Greenland blocking. While a concomitant decline in terrestrial snow cover has likely contributed to this mechanism by further amplifying warming at high latitudes, we also show that there is a direct stationary Rossby wave response to low spring North American snow cover that enforces an anomalous anticyclone over Greenland, thus helping to anchor the ridge over Greenland in this wavier atmospheric state.

Unprecedented snow-drought conditions in the Italian Alps during the early 2020s

Snow represents a fundamental water resource for mountain and lowland areas. Changes in the frequency and magnitude of snow droughts can significantly impact societies and ecosystems that rely on snowmelt to satisfy their water demands. Here we documented and quantified the snow drought that affected the Italian Alps during the early 2020s. We used 15 long-term snow-depth series (period 1930–2023, elevation range: 864–2200 m a.s.l.) to simulate the snow water equivalent (SWE), in conjunction with climatic reanalysis data and river discharge observations. We found that the March SWE anomaly in 2022 reached the lowest value in the last century, due to an unprecedented combination of drier- and warmer-than-normal conditions in the period December 2021–March 2022. This event contributed to causing critical hydrological conditions in the Po and Adige rivers which, during summer 2022, experienced the worst hydrological drought ever recorded. Despite its unprecedented magnitude, the snow drought in 2022 is part of a recent pattern of increased intensity and frequency of snow-drought events since the 1990s, due to the combined increasing occurrence of warmer- and drier-than-normal climatic conditions during the snow season. Remarkably, three out of the five most severe snow-drought events occurred in the last five years, with exceptional snow-drought conditions even occurring in the last two consecutive winters, 2022 and 2023. The snow-drought conditions that occurred in the early 2020s in the Italian Alps warn of the pressing need for the implementation of impact mitigation measures to adapt to the fast changing snow and climatic conditions.

Hybrid Threat and Information Influence in Connection with Security of Supply

Hybrid threat is a multidimensional and hard-to-detect activity. It includes a wide range of actions, from influencing information to the military means by which the hybrid actor achieves its goals. These goals can include weakening or even destroying the target. Security of supply means preparedness and continuity management actions, which aim to safeguard economic activities and related systems that are necessary for the population’s livelihood, the country’s economic life, and national defense in the event of exceptional conditions and comparable serious disruptions. Both hybrid threat and information influencing can disrupt the realization of the goals of security of supply. This work-in-progress paper proposes a framework, which consists of hybrid threat and its sub-classification, and information influencing as one of the means to implement hybrid threat. The framework also describes the security of supply and elements that are used to combat information influence and maintain the security of supply. In addition, the framework paper discusses what kind of elements measuring the maturity level of an organization’s prevention of information influence could consist of.

Patent Foramen Ovale Closure in a Nonagenarian With Platypnoea-Orthodeoxia Syndrome

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common congenital cardiac abnormality that affects one-quarter of the general population. Hypoxaemia, because of large right-to-left shunt, is a rare complication of PFO and occurs under exceptional physiological conditions. Case: This 90-year-old lady presented with progressive dyspnoea over several months. At presentation to hospital, she was hypoxaemic with pO2 of 53 mmHg and oxygen saturation of 89% despite 15L of oxygen via a mask. While lying supine for a computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA), it was noted that her oxygen saturation normalised. The CTPA excluded pulmonary embolus and intrapulmonary vascular anomaly. Intermittent intracardiac shunt was suspected and confirmed on formal shunt testing with a shunt fraction calculated at 32%. Transthoracic echocardiogram and cardiac CT failed to demonstrate an intracardiac shunt. Transoesophageal echocardiogram confirmed a PFO with dynamic right-to-left shunting on colour Doppler and with agitated saline. She underwent percutaneous closure with a 25-mm Amplatzer PFO Occluder, with a good procedural result and resolution of her symptoms. At the 2-month follow-up she remained well with no breathlessness and no device-related complications. This case illustrates an unusual cause of platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome due to PFO in a nonagenarian. It was hypothesised that a prominent Eustachian valve, and anatomical factors including enlarged tortuous aorta and pectus excavatum, had gradually progressed over time, distorting the cardiac anatomy, and contributing to significant shunting. Percutaneous PFO closure resulted in immediate symptomatic benefit.

Campus Connect - A College Bus Tracking System

Abstract: A variety of technologies is recommending the sophisticated environment more and more often. Modern business practises are frequently improved by the corresponding advancements in technology. The most recent and quickly evolving technology available to all consumers or users in today's industry is called Android. Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in end-user assent. The proposal is based on the most recent GPS technology using the Internet of Things, allowing college students to monitor the movement of the college buses, keep a timetable, and provide real-time bus positions for users. The seamless running of the bus system and the switching of vehicles are impacted by the exceptional road conditions. Additionally, daily challenges like traffic, unexpected delays, and dispatching events involving damaged vehicles occur. As a result, the student’s schedules are impacted, and they are forced to wait for their specific bus to arrive as well as make an effort to miss it. This application's main goal is to display the precise position of each user's individual buses on Google Maps. It also has the unique feature of alerting the driver if the user is close to the bus stop. It is a real-time system since the latitude and longitude coordinates of the bus's current location are updated every single second and sent to the user's application via the Google Map API. The user can view the estimated arrival time of the bus at their designated stop. This could be particularly useful for students who need to plan their schedules in advance. If the bus is running behind schedule, users could view the delay time to see how long they will need to wait for the bus to arrive. Users could have the option to pay their bus fees directly through the college bus tracking system. This could be done using a variety of payment methods, such as credit card or through Net banking.

Collagenous gastritis in children: A national cohort

BackgroundCollagen gastritis is a rare disease that manifests in children mainly as isolated gastric involvement associated with martial deficiency anemia. There are no recommendations for the management and follow-up of these patients. We aimed to describe the clinical data, endoscopic findings, and treatments deployed in France's children with collagenous gastritis. MethodsAll French pediatric gastroenterology centers and pediatric centers for rare digestive diseases (Centres de Maladies Rares Digestives) were contacted to collect cases of collagenous gastritis, defined on gastric biopsies and diagnosed before 18 years of age. ResultsA total of 12 cases diagnosed (4 males and 8 females) between 1995 and 2022 could be analyzed. The median age at diagnosis was 12.5 years (7–15.2). The most frequent clinical presentation was abdominal pain (6/11) and/or nonspecific symptomatology attributed to anemia (8/10). Anemia was present in all children (11/11; Hb 2.8–9.1 g/dL). Nodular gastritis was present in 10 patients (antrum: 2; fundus: 4; in antrum and fundus: 4). All patients had a basement membrane thickening (from 19 to 100 μm). The treatments received were PPI (11), oral or intravenous martial supplementation (12), budesonide (1), and prednisone (1). Martial supplementation improved anemia in all cases. At discontinuation, nine of 10 patients had a recurrence of anemia. ConclusionCollagenous gastritis is an exceptional condition, clinically manifested in children as abdominal pain and iron deficiency anemia probably of hemorrhagic origin. Patients require long-term follow-up and monitoring of their disease to describe the risk of progression better.

Generalized Universality for Compositions of the Riemann Zeta-Function in Short Intervals

In the paper, the approximation of analytic functions on compact sets of the strip {s=σ+it∈C∣1/2&lt;σ&lt;1} by shifts F(ζ(s+iu1(τ)),…,ζ(s+iur(τ))), where ζ(s) is the Riemann zeta-function, u1,…,ur are certain differentiable increasing functions, and F is a certain continuous operator in the space of analytic functions, is considered. It is obtained that the set of the above shifts in the interval [T,T+H] with H=o(T), T→∞, has a positive lower density. Additionally, the positivity of a density with a certain exceptional condition is discussed. Examples of considered operators F are given.

Reconstructing the fallen arch of Notre-Dame. New insights into Gothic vault-building

During the fire in April 2019, part of the central vaulting of the nave of Notre-Dame de Paris collapsed beneath the impact of the fallen spire. The blocks composing the transverse arch were decontaminated, then subjected to archeological examination prior to attempting to dry-mount them (i.e., without mortar) on the ground. The purpose was to collect as much information as possible about the arch itself (its state of conservation, geometry, fashioning of the blocks, assembly, etc.), to consider the possibility of putting the fallen stones back in their original places, and more broadly to improve knowledge about mediaeval cathedral vaulting.This article describes the method used during this mounting, which took place in winter 2020/21. Five criteria of differing kind and importance guided decisions on where to place the voussoirs, which way round to position them, and which to associate with which. Three were taken into consideration from the outset, with the interpretation of two of these changing over time: the non-standardized dimension of the voussoirs (their thickness), the presence of a cross mark on one of the joint faces, and the presence of rectangular notches on the extrados of the blocks for housing the end of a centering system for constructing the vault compartments. Two other criteria were incorporated as work progressed, pertaining to the order in which the blocks were collected after the fire, and the geological facies of the stones, thus introducing the idea of degree of confidence.By the end of this operation, only four blocks had been placed with certainty. Nevertheless, the criteria thereby defined and their weighting have been used as a starting point for other investigation methods. In terms of archaeology, the observations carried out on this arch in these exceptional conditions suggest we should reconsider the dating of the nave vaulting, while throwing light more broadly on the relative chronology of building works on this landmark monument of Gothic architecture.

Synchronous anal mucinous adenocarcinoma and anal tuberculosis presenting as chronic anal fistula: Challenging management

Metachronous anal tuberculosis to an anal adenocarcinoma is an exceptional condition. The aim of our study was to report management of the first case of synchronized anal canal adenocarcinoma and anal canal tuberculosis and report our multidisciplinary approach. A 71-year-old man was admitted for non-healing anal fistula. Rectal examination at supine position showed an ulcerative growth at the medio-superior quadrant on a radius of 2cm from the anal verge. Digital rectal examination assessed no tumor in the anorectum. Biopsy of fistulae confirmed diagnosis of anal mucinous adenocarcinoma with coexisting anal tuberculosis. Further exploration confirmed diagnosis with no distal metastasis, no active pulmonary tuberculosis and no immunodepression. Adjuvant anti-bacillary chemotherapy was initiated 1 month prior to adjuvant radio-chemotherapy. Patient was re-admitted at the 6th week following the last dose of radio-chemotherapy for surgery. On long-term evaluation at 10 months, the patient reported absence of symptoms with weight gain. Association of both entities is rare. Chronic inflammatory damage may possibly initiate a sequence of metaplasia and dysplasia, resulting in neoplastic transformation. Anal canal adenocarcinoma treatment follows same guidelines as rectal cancer. Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis treatment follows anti-bacillary protocol with consequent side effects. Therefore, our case is a unique clinical challenge for physicians. Management decision was multidisciplinary process. Their pathophysiology relationship is yet to be understood. Moreover, each entity has defined and individual therapeutic protocols and indications. All this taken into consideration, such case presents a clinical and therapeutic challenge for physicians.

Do natural catastrophic events and exceptional climatic conditions also affect parasites?

Parasites and parasitologists have always lived together in good and bad luck in a sort of forced marriage. In recent times bad luck certainly prevailed, because of increasing man-made emergencies such as wars, chemical disasters, but also because of natural disasters, amplified by climate change, that condition more and more parasite–host equilibrium. The symposium at the National Congress of the Italian Society for Parasitology, was a first occasion for Italian parasitologists to reason about ‘disaster parasitology’ and researchers’ responsibilities. Extreme weather events and their impacts on parasites’ epidemiology are illustrated, comparing disasters that recently occurred in Italy with literature data. In particular, the Sardinian Island was hit subsequently by fires and floods exacerbating the effects on ecosystems and parasite–host-relationships. Examples of Cryptosporidium outbreaks in man and Fasciola hepatica infections in various hosts after heavy rains are reviewed and effects of droughts on pasture borne parasites, such as gastro-intestinal nematodes of ruminants are discussed. Heavy rains may also cause dissemination of toxic substances released accidentally from chemical plants as happened e.g. in Milan province (IT) after the dioxin hazard. The overlapping effects of strictly man-made disasters with climate change dependent extreme weather events is further challenging the understanding of what are the consequences of disasters on ecosystems and parasite epidemiology.GIS applications combined with AI programs may help to face the complex challenges, allowing the collection and analysis of spatial/temporal data at whatever level desired. Examples illustrated in the article suggest their employment also in a more systematic, prevention-oriented manner.

Supermassive black hole wake or bulgeless edge-on galaxy?

A recent paper reported the serendipitous discovery of a thin linear object interpreted as the trail of star-forming regions left behind by a runaway supermassive black hole (SMBH) kicked out from the center of a galaxy. Despite the undeniable interest in the idea, the actual physical interpretation is not devoid of difficulty. The wake of a SMBH produces only small perturbations in the external medium, which has to be in exceptional physical conditions to collapse gravitationally and form a long (40 kpc) massive (3 × 109 M⊙) stellar trace in only 39 Myr. Here we offer a more conventional explanation: the stellar trail is a bulgeless galaxy viewed edge-on. This interpretation is supported by the fact that its position–velocity curve resembles a rotation curve, which, together with its stellar mass, puts the object exactly on the Tully–Fisher relation characteristic of disk galaxies. Moreover, the rotation curve (Vmax ∼ 110 km s−1), stellar mass, extension, width (z0 ∼ 1.2 kpc), and surface brightness profile of the object are very much like those of IC 5249, a well-known local bulgeless edge-on galaxy. These observational facts are difficult to interpret within the SMBH wake scenario. We discuss in detail the pros and cons of the two options.

The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the birth experiences of women attending a postnatal discussion service in the UK

AbstractIntroductionThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has had a significant impact on the perinatal mental health of women. The aim of this study is to understand the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on birth experiences of women attending postnatal discussions.MethodsRetrospective cohort of 434 women attending postnatal discussion appointments at a single obstetrics centre in Cambridge, UK. Data were extracted from electronic medical records. Pre‐COVID (January 2019–October 2019) and COVID (January 2021–October 2021) periods were designated.ResultsThe percentage of women seeking postnatal discussion appointments was not different between the COVID 4.1% vs. 3.9% pre‐COVID period (relative risk [RR] = 1.06, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.88, 1.27), nor was the percentage of women reporting negative birth experiences during COVID 75% vs. 77% pre‐COVID (RR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.88, 1.09). There was a higher rate of mental health issues antenatally during the COVID period 27.1% vs. 16.6% (RR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.12, 2.37) in the pre‐COVID period, but not postnatally COVID 24.9% vs. 30.2% pre‐COVID (RR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.61, 1.12). There was an increase in the number of women giving birth without their partner present during COVID 6.1% vs. 2.4% during pre‐COVID (RR = 2.51, 95% CI: 0.92, 6.85) and reduced birth‐related trauma rates reported by partners during COVID 4.8% vs. 11.7% pre‐COVID (RR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.82).ConclusionThere was no increase in the rate of women attending our service who reported negative birth experiences or postnatal mental health issues. However, there were important impacts of the pandemic on antenatal mental health and partner involvement. Our findings could help guide maintenance of safe and considerate maternity services under exceptional conditions.

Containers for Specification in SPARK

The SPARK tool analyzes Ada programs statically. It can be used to verify both that a program is free from runtime exceptions and that it conforms to a specification expressed through contracts. To facilitate dynamic analysis, Ada contracts are regular expressions which can be evaluated at execution. As a result, the annotation language of the SPARK tool is restricted to executable constructs. In this context, high-level concepts necessary for specification by contracts need to be supplied as libraries. For example, the latest version of the Ada language introduces unbounded integers and rational numbers to the standard library. In this article, we present the functional containers library which provides collections suitable for use in specification. We explain how they can be used to specify and verify complex programs through concrete examples that have been developed over many years.