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A richly illustrated celebration of the mysterious world of worms in science and culture. This book celebrates the mysterious world of worms from gardens to toothaches and beyond. Kevin Butt introduces all manner of worms, including many that bear only superficial resemblance to our limbless, sinuous friends in the dirt. To trace the intimate history between worms and people, he discusses worms that live in bodies, soil, and water as well as worms from literature and mythology. Throughout the ages, worms have been portrayed as benign, even beautiful, yet at other times spitefully ostracized as deadly creatures. This richly illustrated book looks at the microscopic and the very large indeed, asking what the future holds for both human- and worm-kind.

Experimental burial of polychaete (Nereis) and crustacean (Crangon) carcasses in kaolinite, calcite, quartz, and montmorillonite demonstrates a marked effect of sediment mineralogy on the stabilization of nonbiomineralized integuments, the first step in producing carbonaceous compression fossils and Burgess Shale–type (BST) preservation. The greatest positive effect was with Nereis buried in kaolinite, and the greatest negative effect was with Nereis buried in montmorillonite, a morphological trend paralleled by levels of preserved protein. Similar but more attenuated effects were observed with Crangon. The complex interplay of original histology and sediment mineralogy controls system pH, oxygen content, and major ion concentrations, all of which are likely to feed back on the preservation potential of particular substrates in particular environments. The particular susceptibility of Nereis to both diagenetically enhanced preservation and diagenetically enhanced decomposition most likely derives from the relative lability of its collagenous cuticle vs. the inherently more recalcitrant cuticle of Crangon. We propose a mechanism of secondary, sediment-induced taphonomic tanning to account for instances of enhanced preservation. In light of the marked effects of sediment mineralogy on fossilization, the Cambrian to Early Ordovician taphonomic window for BST preservation is potentially related to a coincident interval of glauconite-prone seas.

Data on the first appearances of major animal groups with mineralized skeletons on the Siberian Platform and worldwide are revised and summarized herein with references to an improved carbon isotope stratigraphy and radiometric dating in order to reconstruct the Cambrian radiation (popularly known as the ‘Cambrian explosion’) with a higher precision and provide a basis for the definition of Cambrian Stages 2 to 4. The Lophotrochozoa and, probably, Chaetognatha were first among protostomians to achieve biomineralization during the Terreneuvian Epoch, mainly the Fortunian Age. Fast evolutionary radiation within the Lophotrochozoa was followed by radiation of the sclerotized and biomineralized Ecdysozoa during Stage 3. The first mineralized skeletons of the Deuterostomia, represented by echinoderms, appeared in the middle of Cambrian Stage 3. The fossil record of sponges and cnidarians suggests that they acquired biomineralized skeletons in the late Neoproterozoic, but diversification of both definite sponges and cnidarians was in parallel to that of bilaterians. The distribution of calcium carbonate skeletal mineralogies from the upper Ediacaran to lower Cambrian reflects fluctuations in the global ocean chemistry and shows that the Cambrian radiation occurred mainly during a time of aragonite and high-magnesium calcite seas.

Educational data literacy is defined as the competence to accurately observe, analyze, and respond to various types of data, with the aim of continuously improving teaching and learning processes at both classroom and school levels. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool to assess preschool teachers' perceptions of their competencies in educational data literacy. A quantitative research approach was adopted in the study. The study group consisted of 579 preschool teachers working in early childhood education institutions affiliated with the Ministry of National Education across 81 provinces of Türkiye during the 2022–2023 academic year. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0. and AMOS 24.0. software. The results of the exploratory factor analysis revealed that the scale comprises six dimensions and 39 items. The findings from the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the model's fit indices were within acceptable limits. The internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach’s Alpha) of the scale was calculated as .97. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the developed Educational Data Literacy Competency Perception Scale is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing preschool teachers’ perceptions of their educational data literacy competencies.

Dans cet article, on analyse la transmission d’une prescription ad uermes in homine aut in caballo dans trois compilations médicinales du Haut Moyen Âge. Jusqu’à présent, la prescription a été localisée exclusivement dans l’un d’entre eux, le Receptarium Laureshamense. Cette analyse et la comparaison des chapitres qui fournissent la prescription permettent l’interprétation de la maladie pour laquelle elle est indiquée (uermes), qui s’inscrit dans le cadre de la Médecine Vétérinaire et n’a rien à voir avec les lumbrici. En outre, on fournit de nouvelles données pour l’identification possible de la plante utilisée dans la prescription, appelée cromella. In this article we analyze the transmission of a prescription ad uermes in homine aut in caballo in three medicinal compilations from Early Middle Ages. So far the prescription has only been found in one of them, the Receptarium Laureshamense. This analysis and the comparison of the chapters that provide the prescription appear to allow us to interpret the disease for which it is indicated (uermes), which falls within the scope of Veterinary Medicine and has nothing to do with the lumbrici. In addition, we provide new data for a possible identification of the plant that is used in the prescription, called cromella.

In summarizing the concepts and results of the most popular fuzzy multicriteria methods, using numerical examples, this work examines all the most recently developed methods. Each one of the 22 chapters include practical applications along with new results.

Diverse and locally abundant Lowermost Triassic (lower Induan, Griesbachian) trace-fossil assemblages are described and their significance for the location and characteristics of western Pangean environmental refugia are assessed. Trace fossils within the Montney Formation in northwestern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia record the activities of a wide variety of marine invertebrates. Many forms represent the dwelling and feeding traces of allochthonous storm-transported colonizers. Anachronistic forms—more typical of Paleozoic than Mesozoic successions—including Cruziana, Diplichnites, Monomorphichnus, and Trichophycus, are common. Notably these Paleozoic holdovers, as well as Rhizocorallium, Thalassinoides, and Spongeliomorpha, were likely constructed by marine arthropods. Trace fossils are rare in both shallow water (upper shoreface and foreshore) and offshore depositional settings, but are abundant in offshore transition to distal lower shoreface depositional settings. Low diversity and low ichnofabric indices characterize autochthonous infauna in Montney offshore transition settings, whereas high diversity, low ichnofabric indices distinguish allochthonous infauna in the same settings. High diversity and high ichnofabric indices typify distal lower shoreface successions. Several lines of evidence, including diminutive trace fossils and low diversity of resident infauna in proximal-offshore settings, support the hypothesis of shallow marine anoxic to dysoxic conditions in the study area during the Griesbachian. This trace-fossil distribution, and the abundance of allochthonous faunas in the study interval, reflect an infauna whose distribution was limited by both wave-stressed proximal settings and oxygen-stressed distal settings, resulting in colonization of a very narrow habitable zone. High diversity of trace-fossil assemblages in the study interval suggests the presence of shallow marine refugia wherein organisms survived the extinction interval and weathered the adverse conditions that dominated the world's oceans during the lowermost Mesozoic. Mid- to high paleolatitude refugia, such as the Pedigree-Ring-Kahntah area, played a crucial role in both extinction survival as well as post-event recolonization of the world's oceans.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to gain insight into the solution-oriented modalities utilized by Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) in clinical diagnosis and intervention for children with Speech Sound Disorder (SSD). Method: A constructivist modality was employed within a qualitative paradigm, with phenomenology serving as the main study methodology to delve into how SLTs administer therapy to children with SSD. Interpretive phenomenology was chosen as the analytical modality to uncover the often unconscious meanings embedded in common life practices. 12 SLPs with professional experience ranging from 1 to 20 years participated in the research. The research data were collected through online access and semi-structured one-on-one interviews between the researcher and the participants. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed, and a dataset was created. To strengthen the validity of the research findings, direct quotes from the participants were included when compiling the report. To ensure the consistency of data analysis, the data was analyzed by another field expert other than the researchers. Results: The findings indicate that SLTs employ a range of evaluations for diagnosing SSD, often complemented by observation and a case design approach. The selection of intervention strategies is influenced by factors such as the child's preferences, age, specific diagnosis, and severity of the disorder. Additionally, SLTs emphasize the significant role of parents in both the diagnosis and intervention processes. Conclusion: These findings underscore the necessity for (a) distinguishing which condition, SSD or any accompanying disorders, is more pronounced in the child, (b) the development of a fast and easy-to-apply comprehensive differential diagnosis tool to assess daily life participation, (c) updates to existing evaluation tools, and (d) the dissemination of practices/training to promote the preference for evidence-based intervention modalities in clinical practice for SSD.

Wronascolex is a taxon of palaeoscolecids. It is commonly represented by isolated button-like microfossils or compressed individuals, which are found worldwide in strata ranging from the Cambrian Series 2 to Series 3. The earliest representative of Wronascolex is known from the Sinsk Formation of the lower Cambrian of the Siberian Platform. Other species occur in Burgess Shale-type biotas of Cambrian age from Australia, Spain and North America. New palaeoscolecid material from the Balang Fauna of the Cambrian Series 2 of eastern Guizhou represents a new species of Wronascolex, W. geyiensis sp. nov., and extends the geographic and stratigraphic distribution of Wronascolex, as well as providing additional evidence for understanding its morphology based upon correlation of body configuration and cuticular ornaments.

We report the occurrence of organically preserved microfossils from the subsurface Ediacaran strata overlying the East European Platform in Poland, in the form of sclerites and cuticle fragments of larger organisms. They are morphologically similar to those known from Cambrian strata and associated with various metazoan fossils of recognized phyla. The Ediacaran age of the microfossils is evident from the stratigraphic position below the base of the Cambrian System and above the isotopically dated tuff layers at c. 551±4Ma. Within this strata interval, other characteristic Ediacaran microorganisms co-occur such as cyanobacteria, vendotaenids, microalgae, Ceratophyton, Valkyria and macroscopic annelidan Sabellidites. The recent contributions of organic sclerites in revealing the scope of the Cambrian explosion are therefore also potentially extendable back to the Ediacaran Period when animals first appear in the fossil record.