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The Berrechid sub-basin contains records of the opening history of the Central Atlantic Margin (CAM) during the late Triassic-Early Jurassic. This syn-rift sub-basin encompasses (i) a Lower Salt-Mudstone Formation (LSM Fm), (ii) tholeiitic basalt flows related to the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), and (iii) an Upper Salt-Mudstone Formation (USM Fm). Significant tectonic, sedimentary, and climatic episodes have determined the depositional environment of the (USM Fm) which remains a matter of debate. We thoroughly investigate the sedimentological and mineralogical features of core materials, mine, and field outcrops covering the Hettangian evaporites, dated recently using palynological assemblage, and red beds of the Lower and Upper Members that constitute the (USM Fm). The following interpretations were based on the identified lithology, mineralogy, sedimentary structures, and textures. Particular consideration was also given to the lithostratigraphic variation along the sub-basin.The Lower Member comprises a repetitive sequence of alternating primary bedded halite and syn-depositional displacive halite, whereas the Upper Member consists of bedded anhydrite/gypsum and siliciclastic mudstone. The bedded halite displays chevron and cumulate crystals, implying precipitation in shallow saline brines. The displacive halite encloses cubic crystals, randomly oriented in mudstone, suggesting the deposition in a wet saline mudflat. The siliciclastic mudstone associated with the bedded anhydrite/gypsum has various sedimentary aspects, characteristic of a subaerial dry mudflat environment. The distinct diagenetic features recognizable throughout the (USM Fm) include grey reduction spots and dissolution pipes filled with blocky clear halite cement. All these lithologies have registered periods of flooding, evapoconcentration, and desiccation, suggesting deposition in an arid continental setting. The absence of distinctive marine lithofacies and the lack of carbonates are additional evidence for our inference.Both Lower and Upper Members are affected by a network of NNE-SSW to NE-SW normal faults. They show a varying thickness along the cores and outcrops, indicating the syn-sedimentary tectonic character of the studied Formation during the Early Jurassic time. The lateral migration of the paleoenvironments mentioned above is hence mainly controlled by the sub-basin’s architecture as half-graben jointly with the ongoing subsidence and sediments supply.These interpretations of the USM Fm’s paleoenvironment highlight the continental context of the series during the Early Jurassic time. These results provide new insights on the paleogeography of the late syn-rift phase of the Moroccan Central Atlantic Margin.

The Permian–Triassic was a major transition in the evolution of life in the earth history, when happened the greatest mass extinction during the Phanerozoic and an unusually prolonged or delayed recovery. Most studies have been carried in the marine facies while very few in the continental facies. On land, plants play a great role in the interaction of climate and terrestrial ecosystems. Here we present a regional case of stepwise recovery of vegetation in North China. Prior to the Permian–Triassic mass extinction, the voltzialean conifer forest community dominated in the Changhsingian. Consequently, the extinction event wiped out of the voltzialean conifer forest community, probably conciding with the extension of the red beds. The first post-crisis flora was an Induan herbaceous lycopsid community, succeeded by the Pleuromeia–Neocalamites shrub marsh community. A pteridosperm shrub woodland community dominated for a short time in the late Early Triassic along with the reappearance of insect herbivory. In the early Middle Triassic, gymnosperm forest communities gradually rose to predominate in both uplands and lowlands along with other diverse plant communities, indicating the beginning of the establishment of the Mesophytic Flora. In the late Middle Triassic–Late Triassic, it was occupied by the Danaeopsis–Symopteris flora and the opportunism elements gradually were replaced by the advanced taxa, which represents the complete establishment of the Mesophytic Flora.

Fossils of plant–insect interactions are direct evidence of paleoecological relationships between these two dominant groups in terrestrial ecosystems. We present a variety of plant–insect interactions from the late Early Cretaceous (latest Albian) in the Estercuel locality in northeastern Spain (Iberian Peninsula), affecting two types of terrestrial angiosperms and the basal eudicot Klitzschophyllites, which is one of the oldest putative members of aquatic Ranunculales found to date. The study of these interactions revealed 23 different damage types belonging to eight functional feeding groups (hole feeding, margin feeding, skeletonization, surface feeding, piercing and sucking, mining, oviposition and galling), suggesting these angiosperms were an important source of food and lodging for insects in the Iberian ecosystems during the late Early Cretaceous. Notably, the diversity of damage in the leaves of angiosperms suggests a diverse community of herbivorous insects and a variety of strategies of interactions with plants at the end of the Early Cretaceous in the southwestern Tethys realm.

Although diverse fossil angiosperms (including their reproductive organs) have been reported from the Early Cretaceous, few of them are well-documented due to poor preservation and limited technologies available to apply. For example, paraffin sectioning, a routine technology applied to reveal the anatomical details of extant plants, was hitherto at most rarely applied to fossil plants. This undermines the comparability between the outcomes of studies on fossil and extant plants, and makes our understanding on plants incomplete and biased. Here, we applied paraffin sectioning technology, in addition to light microscopy, SEM, and TEM, to document a fossil reproductive organ, Xilinia gen. nov., from the Early Cretaceous in Inner Mongolia, China. The anatomical details of this new reproductive organ were documented. Xilinia bears a remarkable resemblance to conifer cones, although its ovules are enclosed in carpels. The paradoxical cone-like morphology of Xilinia appears to represent a transitional snapshot of plant evolution that is absent in extant plants. Chinese Academy of Sciences | Ref. XDB26000000 National Natural Science Foundation of China | Ref. 41688103 National Natural Science Foundation of China | Ref. 91514302 National Natural Science Foundation of China | Ref. 42288201

The global pattern of plant evolution through the Permian−Triassic mass extinction is uncertain, and the extent to which land plants were affected is debated. Detailed studies undertaken at a regional scale can help evaluate this floral transition, and thus we provide a detailed account of floral evolution from the Permian to Middle Triassic of North China based on new paleobotanical data and a refined biostratigraphy. Five floral transition events are identified from before, during, and after the Permian−Triassic crisis, including the disappearance of the gigantopterid flora (associated with loss of coal deposits), the end-Permian mass extinction of Paleophytic taxa, and gradual recovery in the Triassic with the stepwise appearance of the Mesophytic vegetation. The record begins with a Cisuralian gigantopterid-dominated rainforest community, and then a Lopingian walchian Voltziales conifer-ginkgophyte community that evolved into a voltzialean conifer-pteridosperm forest community. The last is associated with a change amongst terrestrial vertebrates from the Jiyuan fauna to a pareiasaur-dominated fauna, found in red beds that lack coal deposits due to arid conditions. The disappearance of the voltzialean conifer forest community may represents the end-Permian mass extinction of plants although it could also be a consequence of the non-preservation of plants in sedimentary red-beds. The first post-crisis plants are an Induan herbaceous lycopsid community, succeeded by the Pleuromeia-Neocalamites shrub marsh community. A pteridosperm shrub woodland community dominated for a short time in the late Early Triassic along with the reappearance of insect herbivory. Finally, in the Middle Triassic, gymnosperm forest communities gradually rose to dominance in both uplands and lowlands along with other diverse plant communities, indicating the establishment of the Mesophytic Flora.

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUG The Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary transition is widely distributed within the West Cameros Basin. This horizon is constituted by the Tera Group, consisting of two depositional sequences (DS1 and DS2) comprising four geological formations spanning the Tithonian to the Berriasian. Here, a combined sedimentological and palynostratigraphic study was made covering the Tera Group. The sedimentological results for the DS 1 differentiate three facies associations (FA 1-1, 1-2 and 1-3) corresponding to floodplains and braided channels of a distributive fluvial system shifting to shallow lacustrine facies in a semi-arid climate. For the DS 2, three FA were also differentiated (FA 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3), corresponding to tidal-influenced meandering channels and floodplains in a distal fluvial to a delta-plain system that shifts to shallow lacustrine facies. The palynological results were only productive in samples from the Jaramillo Formation. The palynological record shows an assemblage dominated by spores including Concavissimisporites, Leptolepidites and Taurocusporites, as well as Classopollis pollen. According to the stratigraphic ranges of some selected taxa, the suggested chronostratigraphic assignment is lower Berriasian for the Jaramillo Fm. A comparison of the microfloras from the Tithonian–Berriasian recorded in the Iberian Peninsula was carried out. The following observations can be concluded: 1) the change in the plant communities, already observed since the Late Jurassic onwards, became more pronounced between the Tithonian–Berriasian boundary and the late Berriasian; and 2) a noteworthy occurrence of some biostratigraphically important taxa, specifically for the Tithonian–Berriasian interval. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2014-52670-P Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PGC2018-094034-B-C21 Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PGC2018-094034-B-C22 Xunta de Galicia | Ref. EDC431-2019/28 Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2020/175 Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2019/243 Chinese Academy of Sciences | Ref. XDB26000000

/SUMMARYDNA methylation is environment-sensitive and can mediate plant stress responses. In long-lived trees, changing environments might cumulatively shape the methylome landscape over their lifetime. However, because high-resolution methylome studies usually focus on single environments, it remains unclear to what extent the methylation responses are generic or stress-specific, and how this relates to their long-term stability.Here, we studied the methylome plasticity of a single poplar genotype,Populus nigracv. ‘Italica’. Adult poplar trees with diverse environmental histories were clonally propagated, and the ramets exposed to experimental cold, heat, drought, herbivory, rust infection and salicylic acid treatments. Then, we identified and compared stress-induced vs. naturally occurring DNA methylation changes using whole genome bisulfite sequencing data.Methylation changes mainly targeted transposable elements and when occurring in CG/CHG contexts, the same regions were often affected by multiple stresses, indicating a generic response. Drought triggered a unique CHH hypermethylation response in transposable elements, affecting entire superfamilies and often occurring near drought-responsive genes. Stress-induced methylation variation in CG/CHG contexts showed striking overlap with methylation differences observed between trees from distinct geographical locations.Altogether, our results indicate that generic methylome stress responses can persist as epialleles in nature while some environments trigger more transient but large and specific responses, with possible functional consequences.

Abundant fossils of vertebrates (mainly footprints and bones of dinosaurs) and numerous invertebrates occur in the Upper Jurassic deposits of the Lastres Formation in the Asturias region, North of Spain. However, no palynological study has been published from this geological formation; therefore, much palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological information is still unknown. In this study, a total of 62 morphospecies, belonging to 49 different morphogenera were identified, including pollen, spores, algae remains, fungi spores, dinoflagellates, foraminifera, and scolecodonts from four different locations on the Asturian coast. Spores are the dominant group of palynomorphs, both in diversity and abundance, contrasting with the minor diversity of pollen grains. The age of some key taxa indicates that the palynological assemblage cannot be older than the Kimmeridgian, suggesting a Kimmeridgian-Tithonian age. The botanical and environmental affinities of the pollen and spores indicate the presence of different plant assemblages, including plant communities from humid areas such as the margin of rivers and small freshwater ponds that were dominated by bryophytes and ferns, and a coastal plant community that would inhabit arid areas and would be dominated by gymnosperms and some pteridophytes. The SEM analyses of wood remains show the abundance of charcoalified remains suggesting that wildfires were usual in “The Dinosaur Coast” of Asturias during the Kimmeridgian.

Sysciophlebia ‘sp. form Villablino’, the first Iberian representative of the Palaeozoic–Early Mesozoic family Spiloblattinidae, is described and illustrated. Its forewing colour pattern is strongly similar to those of the Gzhelian–early-middle Asselian species Sysciophlebia euglyptica, Sysciophlebia ilfeldensis, Sysciophlebia rubida, and ‘Sysciophlebia sp. form KBQ’, supporting the currently proposed Gzhelian age for its type locality. It supports the use of the representatives of the Spiloblattinidae for stratigraphic purposes. The diagnoses and limits of the families Subioblattidae, Phyloblattidae, Compsoblattidae, Spiloblattinidae, and of the spiloblattinid genera are discussed.

The present-day Cantabrian Mountains (North Spain) represent the western continuation of the Pyrenean-Cantabrian Orogen, which arose from a Cenozoic collision between the Iberian and Eurasian plates. The early Alpine sedimentary record of the Cantabrian basin is represented by the latest Carboniferous-Permian and Triassic rocks, mostly of continental origin. A lack of palaeontological data has led, until recently, to erroneous interpretations of the stratigraphic position of this sedimentary record. Within the framework of the Triassic sedimentary record in northern Spain, the precise age of six samples was determined and they were grouped into four palynological assemblages according to their taxonomic composition. The study of these assemblages includes a review of all the Triassic assemblages published to date as regards the Cantabrian Mountains, thereby optimising our Triassic palynostratigraphical knowledge of this area enabling comparisons with other Triassic assemblages of Central and SW Europe.

Annual Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition, ECCE (11th. 2019. Baltimore, USA), This work was supported in part by the Research, Technological Development and Innovation Programs of the Spanish Ministry Economy and Competitiveness, under grant MINECO-17-ENE2016-80047-R and by the Government of Asturias under project IDI/2018/000188 and FEDER funds

The evolution of flowers is among the foremost topics in evolutionary science. The question for botanists of how flowers evolved exists mainly due to lack of relevant fossil evidence, especially of well-preserved flowers. Dominican amber has yielded abundant fossils (including those of flowers) and thus opens a unique window on flower evolution. Here we report a unique flower preserved in mid-Miocene Dominican amber, Dinganthus pentamera gen. et sp. nov. The flower is actinomorphic, pentamerous, bisexual flower including two bracts, five tepals, 10 stamens, and gynoecium. The stamens are dorsifixed, filamentous, and latrorse. The gynoecium in the centre comprises three portions, namely, a basal gynophore, multiple ovaries in the middle, and an apical style. Supplementing to the developmental and genetic evidence, the unique morphology of Dinganthus suggests that a flower is a condensed shoot with lateral appendages, a long-held belief in botany.

Thermal and magnetization state monitoring of permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) is important for reliability purposes. Use of magnet high-frequency (HF) resistance has been proposed both for thermal and magnetization state monitoring, as it directly depends on PM temperature and magnetization state. Machine d -axis HF inductance has been recently proposed for thermal state monitoring, though its use for magnetization state estimation remains to be explored yet. This article reviews the use of HF-signal-injection-based methods for thermal and magnetization state monitoring on PMSMs, including the use of the HF inductance for magnetization state monitoring.

Hydrothermal palaeoenvironments are very uncommon in Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits worldwide. We present new plant and insect remains from travertines formed during the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary in northern Spain (Aguilar Fm., Palencia province). A total of 136 plant specimens and three insect wings were collected and studied. This entomofauna consists of dragonfly (Odonata) wings including Cymatophlebiidae and an undetermined new genus and species of Aktassiidae, representing the first report of these families for the Iberian Peninsula. The fossil flora shows different morphotypes of plants, which have been tentatively assigned to three different genera. The taphocoenosis of the flora was dominated by Bennettitales (98.5%) including cf. Pterophyllum sp., Ptilophyllum cf. acutifolium, Ptilophyllum cf. pecten, Ptilophyllum cf. pectiniformis and cf. Ptilophyllum sp., and the occasional presence of ferns (1.5%) represented by the taxon Cladophlebis cf. denticulata. The presence of the Anisoptera Cymatophlebia cf. longialata suggests a higher affinity for a Tithonian age of the studied site, and the anatomy and palaeogeographical distribution of this species suggest capacity to migrate for rather long distances. The floristic composition of the site differs remarkably from other Tithonian-Berriasian floras of the Iberian Peninsula. The presence of Odonata and the distinctive flora in (semi)arid conditions could be due to the hot-spring providing an environmental niche with constant conditions of warmth and humidity forming an ‘ecological oasis’. Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades de España | Ref. PGC2018-094034-B-C22 Chinese Academy of Sciences | Ref. XDB26000000 Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2019/243 Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2020/175

Nanjinganthus is an Early Jurassic angiosperm recognized based on the study of over 200 specimens. However, some other authors have misinterpreted these fossils. Here the authors try to remedy the problems, by pointing out the logical pitfalls in these publications and underscoring a long-used, workable criterion for early angiosperms. The paper explains the cons and pros of this criterion, hoping to bring palaeobotany and plant taxonomy back to a consistent and practical track. Nanjinganthus is an angiosperm.

In the western European basins, the paleoflora of late Pennsylvanian-early Permian transition is still a matter of discussion in terms of its age determination and biostratigraphic ranges. This study represents a review of the Upper Carboniferous and Permian stratigraphy of the Central and Eastern Pyrenees from continental successions with interbedded volcanic-volcaniclastic rocks, coupling new palynological data and known palynological assemblages to calibrate them with recent SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages dates obtained in previous works. In this light, the first continental unit overlying the Variscan basement bears a Gzhelian palynological association, which fits perfectly with the isotopic SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating of the associated pyroclastic rocks (304.6 ± 1.5 Ma and 300.4 ± 1.4 Ma). In order to provide a solid base to characterize the Carboniferous-Permian microflora evolution in the western Tethys sub-basins, we have compared radiometrically dated palynological assemblages of the Euramerican Province such as Spain, southern France, the Alps and Sardinia (Italy). The new biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic information presented here confirms the validity of the classical Carboniferous Palynological Zonation of Western Europe., This research wassupported by the CGL2014-52699P (Spanish Ministry) and GRC 2015/020 projects (Xunta de Galicia). Joan Lloret received financial supportfrom the PhD research program of the University of Pavia (Italy)

The near-basal angiosperm family Chloranthaceae (with four living genera) is prominently represented in the Early Cretaceous fossil record by pollen and flowers, but its leaves, other vegetative pa...

International audience; Palaeobotany and palynology are the main direct sources of evidence for studying vegetation diversity dynamics through geological time. However, plant fossil diversity is affected by various factors other than vegetation diversity, which need to be taken into account in such studies. The use of fossil-taxa will potentially inflate perceived plant diversities, requiring taxonomic lists to be normalised. Autochthonous floras provide the most direct evidence of vegetation diversity but these are rare; most plant beds are allochthonous with plant remains that have been subjected to varying levels of fragmentation, transportation and time averaging. Local-scale vegetation diversity is especially difficult to determine from the fossil record, even with rigorous sampling protocols and detailed sedimentological analysis. Landscape-scale and regional-scale vegetation diversities are more reliably determined but usually at the rank of family. Macrofossil and palynological data tend to reveal evidence of different aspects of plant diversity, and the best results are obtained if the two diversity signals are integrated. Despite the inherent difficulties, the plant fossil record provides clear evidence of the dynamic history of vegetation through geological times, including the effects of major processes such as climate changes and mass extinctions

We present here the first record of plant-insect interactions from an ephemeral volcanic island that was placed 150 km away from the nearest continental mass. The island was formed and destroyed during the Aalenian (Middle Jurassic) in a shallow sea of the southwestern Tethyan realm corresponding today to a place located in eastern Spain. These plant-insect interactions were mainly documented in leaves of Cycadophytes (comprising both Cycads and Bennettitales), and they have been described and classified into different Damage Types (DTs) and Functional Feeding Groups (FFGs). The interactions were assigned to 11 different DTs including different types of hole feeding, margin feeding, surface feeding, piercing and sucking, mining(?), and some putative ovipositional scars. The presence of these interactions implies that the island was colonized by different groups of insects, including orders such as Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Odonata, or Lepidoptera. The low variety and incidence of interactions comparing with other Middle Jurassic plant-insect interactions assemblages indicate that the diversity of insects was not high, possibly due to the difficulty of reaching this island by various lineages, the small size of the landmass of the island, and the limited food availability (mainly Cycadophytes). Possible colonization strategies could be by atmospheric dispersion, using floating remains of plants or pterosaurs as vectors, by active flight for Lepidoptera, or by rafting and floating in marine currents for flightless or other insects. Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUG Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PGC2018-094034-B-C22 Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2019/243

Funds were provided by projects PGC2018-098272-B-100 and CGL2015-70970-P “FALPINO” (Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities)., Lloret, J; Lopez-Gomez, J; Heredia, N; Martin-Gonzalez, F; De la Horra, R; Borruel-Abadia, V; Ronchi, A; Barrenechea, JF; Garcia-Sansegundo, J; Gale, C; Ubide, T; Gretter, N; Diez, JB; Juncal, M; Lago, M

We describe new evidences of plant-insect interactions from the Late Pennsylvanian of northern Iberian Peninsula (Leon, Spain). We document nine different Damage Types (DTs) among 216 fossil plant specimens. The interactions include four different Functional Feeding Groups (FFGs), including margin feeding (DT12 and DT13), hole feeding (DT09), galling (DT33, DT80, and DT116), and oviposition (DT67, DT100, and DT102) on Pteridophytes, Pteridospermatophytes, and Coniferophytes. Margin feeding and hole feeding were identified on different species of Polymorphopteris (P. polymorpha, P. cf. pseudobucklandii, and P. integra); galling on Mixoneura wagneri, Pecopteris apicalis, and Oligocarpia gutbieri; and oviposition on Polymorphopteris integra, Cordaites cf. angulostriatus and Polymorphopteris cf. integra. The oviposition scars represent the oldest record of oviposition from the Iberian Peninsula so far. In addition, it is the first evidence of plant-insect interactions on Oligocarpia and Polymorphopteris leaves in the area. These evidences reveal various ecological interactions between different groups of plants and insects in the Late Pennsylvanian forests of Spain, suggesting that these plants were a relevant source of food and lodge for a variety of arthropods (mainly insects). We also explore the possible culprits of these damages and the climatic implications. We appreciate the "Asociacion Paleontologica Alcarrena Nautilus" for the support received during the sampling works in open-cast mines in Leon. This work was supported by the project GRC2019/028 (ED431C-2019/28) of the Galician Government. Artai Santos is supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the Galician Government (Department of Culture, Education and University Planning) co-financed by the European Social Fund (Ref: ED481A-2019/243). Funding for open access charge: Universidade de Vigo/CISUG. We also thank the editors, Dr. Esther Pinheiro, and one anonymous reviewer for the constructive suggestions that have helped to improve the manuscript. All the samples are in the Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Alava (MCNA).

Background and objective: The number of patients who start dialysis due to graft failure increases every day. The best dialysis modality for this type of patient is not well defined and most patients are referred to HD. The objective of our study is to evaluate the impact of the dialysis modality on morbidity and mortality in transplant patients who start dialysis after graft failure. Material and methods: A multicentre retrospective observation and cohort study was performed to compare the evolution of patients who started dialysis after graft failure from January 2000 to December 2013. One group started on PD and the other on HD. The patients were followed until the change of dialysis technique, retransplantation or death. Anthropometric data, comorbidity, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at start of dialysis, the presence of an optimal access for dialysis, the appearance of graft intolerance and retransplantation were analyzed. We studied the causes for the first 10 hospital admissions after starting dialysis. For the statistical analysis, the presence of competitive events that hindered the observation of the event of interest, death or hospital admission was analyzed. Results: 175 patients were included, 86 in DP and 89 in HD. The patients who started PD were younger, had less comorbidity and started dialysis with lower eGFR than those on HD. The mean follow-up was 34 ± 33 months, with a median of 24 months (IQR 7–50 months), Patients on HD had longer follow-up than patients on PD (35 vs. 18 months, p =