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Background/Objectives Obesity in pregnancy has been associated with increased childhood cardiometabolic risk and reduced life expectancy. The UK UPBEAT multicentre randomised control trial was a lifestyle intervention of diet and physical activity in pregnant women with obesity. We hypothesised that the 3-year-old children of women with obesity would have heightened cardiovascular risk compared to children of normal BMI women, and that the UPBEAT intervention would mitigate this risk. Subjects/Methods Children were recruited from one UPBEAT trial centre. Cardiovascular measures included blood pressure, echocardiographic assessment of cardiac function and dimensions, carotid intima-media thickness and heart rate variability (HRV) by electrocardiogram. Results Compared to offspring of normal BMI women (n = 51), children of women with obesity from the trial standard care arm (n = 39) had evidence of cardiac remodelling including increased interventricular septum (IVS; mean difference 0.04 cm; 95% CI: 0.018 to 0.067), posterior wall (PW; 0.03 cm; 0.006 to 0.062) and relative wall thicknesses (RWT; 0.03 cm; 0.01 to 0.05) following adjustment. Randomisation of women with obesity to the intervention arm (n = 31) prevented this cardiac remodelling (intervention effect; mean difference IVS −0.03 cm (−0.05 to −0.008); PW −0.03 cm (−0.05 to −0.01); RWT −0.02 cm (−0.04 to −0.005)). Children of women with obesity (standard care arm) compared to women of normal BMI also had elevated minimum heart rate (7 bpm; 1.41 to 13.34) evidence of early diastolic dysfunction (e prime) and increased sympathetic nerve activity index by HRV analysis. Conclusions Maternal obesity was associated with left ventricular concentric remodelling in 3-year-old offspring. Absence of remodelling following the maternal intervention infers in utero origins of cardiac remodelling. Clinical trial registry name and registration number The UPBEAT trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN89971375.

Since its first appearance in the early Miocene, the cheilostome bryozoan genus Microporella has been cosmopolitan, recorded from most continents. However, Miocene Microporella records in New Zealand are scarce, and currently limited to a single middle Miocene species identified as Microporella hyadesi (a Recent bifoliate erect form originally described from Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego) from the Mt. Brown ‘E’ Limestone Formation of North Canterbury. Here, we describe and illustrate three new early Miocene (Otaian–Altonian New Zealand stages corresponding to the Aquitanian–Burdigalian) species, namely Microporella incurvata sp. nov., M. gladirostra sp. nov. and M. whiterocki sp. nov., that represent the geologically oldest regional examples of the genus to date. A fourth species is left in open nomenclature because complete ovicells are not preserved in the only recovered specimen. The colonies of Microporella were collected from several rock formations exposed in limestone quarries on the South Island. The three new species share ovicells with a personate structure, but differ in the appearance of the ooecial surface (evenly pseudoporous versus imperforate), shape of the ascopore opening (cribrate versus non-cribrate), number of oral spine bases, and shape of the avicularian rostrum and crossbar. We also illustrate for the first time ovicells of another fossil species, Microporella rusti, from the Pleistocene Nukumaru Limestone Formation of the Wanganui Basin on the North Island. The ovicells of this taxon are rare, being found in only six of several hundred specimens collected to date. The ovicells of M. rusti are also very large, covering the entire orifice of the maternal zooid, similar to those of some other Microporella species all characterized by erect bifoliate colonies contrasting with the encrusting colonies of M. rusti.

Few bryozoans have been described from the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway (WIS), which is consistent with the low diversity of other typically stenohaline groups in this large expanse of relatively shallow marine water. Here we describe a new cheilostome bryozoan, Conopeum flumineum n. sp., based on well-preserved material from the Campanian Judith River Formation of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in north-central Montana. The new species shows strong morphological similarities with Conopeum seurati, a Recent species that is often categorized as brackish, but which is euryhaline and can also be found in marine and stenohaline environments. The new Campanian bryozoan species was found in a locality also containing fragmentary remains of dinosaurs and other terrestrial vertebrates, as well freshwater mollusks and terrestrial plant debris. The sedimentology and facies associations of the fossil-bearing site suggest that the depositional setting was a swamp or tidally influenced fluvial backwater on the Judith River coastal plain. The proximity of the site to the western shoreline of the WIS presumably made it susceptible to occasional marine flooding during storms or extreme tides. Previous occurrences of Conopeum in the Cretaceous of the Western Interior have also been associated with dinosaur remains, corroborating the very nearshore and at times even ‘upstream’ distribution of this euryhaline genus.UUID: http://zoobank.org/bb1fdc8a-5017-44c5-9251-9e24ef3995e3.

Taylor, Paul D., Villier, Loïc (2022): Cretaceous microporid cheilostome bryozoans from the Campanian historical stratotype of southwest France. Geodiversitas 44 (18): 515-525, DOI: 10.5252/geodiversitas2022v44a18

Twenty-four Recent species of the boreal-Arctic and Pacific cheilostome bryozoan genus Rhamphostomella are described. The species R. tatarica and R. pacifica are transferred to Rhamphostomella from Posterula and Porella, respectively. Eight species are new: R. aleutica n. sp., R. aspera n. sp., R. commandorica n. sp., R. echinata n. sp., R. microavicularia n. sp., R. morozovi n. sp., R. multirostrata n. sp. and R. obliqua n. sp. Neotypes are selected for six species, and lectotypes for eight species. Mixtoscutella n. gen. is established for several Rhamphostomella-like species, including M. androsovae [formerly Smittina androsovae Gontar], M. cancellata [formerly Escharella porifera forma cancellata Smitt], M. harmsworthi [formerly Schizoporella harmsworthi Waters], M. ovata [formerly Cellepora ovata (Smitt)], and M. ussowi [formerly Schizoporella ussowi (Kluge)]. In addition to taxonomic revision, the morphology (frontal shields, ovicells and multiporous septula), ecology and zoogeography of these cheilostomes are discussed, and identification keys are presented. Most species of Rhamphostomella have broad bathymetric distributions. Some have long protuberances on their basal walls that allow them to grow elevated above allelopathically active substrates such as sponges. The diversity of Rhamphostomella peaks in the northwestern Pacific.

All skeletal marine invertebrate phyla appeared during the Cambrian explosion, except for Bryozoa with mineralized skeletons, which first appear in the Early Ordovician. However, the skeletal diversity of Early Ordovician bryozoans suggests a preceding interval of diversification. We report a possible earliest occurrence of palaeostomate bryozoans in limestones of the Cambrian Age 4 Harkless Formation, western United States. Following recent interpretations of the early Cambrian Protomelission as a soft-bodied bryozoan, our findings add to the evidence of early Cambrian roots for the Bryozoa. The Harkless fossils resemble some esthonioporate and cystoporate bryozoans, showing a radiating pattern of densely packed tubes of the same diameter and cross-sectional shape. Further, they show partitioning of new individuals from parent tubes through the formation of a separate wall, a characteristic of interzooecial budding in bryozoans. If confirmed as bryozoans, these fossils would push back the appearance of mineralized skeletons in this phylum by ~30 million years and impact interpretations of their evolution.

Serpentinization of ultramafic rocks in the sea and on land leads to the generation of alkaline fluids rich in molecular hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) that favour the formation of carbonate mineralization, such as veins in the sub-seafloor, seafloor carbonate chimneys and terrestrial hyperalkaline spring deposits. Examples of this type of seawater–rock interaction and the formation of serpentinization-derived carbonates in a shallow-marine environment are scarce, and almost entirely lacking in the geological record. Here we present evidence for serpentinization-induced fluid seepage in shallow-marine sedimentary rocks from the Upper Cretaceous (upper Campanian to lower Maastrichtian) Qahlah Formation at Jebel Huwayyah, United Arab Emirates. The research object is a metre-scale structure (the Jebel Huwayyah Mound) formed of calcite-cemented sand grains, which formed a positive seafloor feature. The Jebel Huwayyah Mound contains numerous vertically orientated fluid conduits containing two main phases of calcite cement. We use C and O stable isotopes and elemental composition to reconstruct the fluids from which these cements precipitated and infer that the fluids consisted of variable mixtures of seawater and fluids derived from serpentinization of the underlying Semail Ophiolite. Based on their negative δ13C values, hardgrounds in the same section as the Jebel Huwayyah Mound may also have had a similar origin. The Jebel Huwayyah Mound shows that serpentinization of the Semail Ophiolite by seawater occurred very soon after obduction and marine transgression, a process that continued through to the Miocene, and, with interaction of meteoric water, up to the present day.

Objectives: We hypothesised that maternal diet-induced-obesity has adverse consequences for offspring energy expenditure and susceptibility to obesity in adulthood, and that the prebiotic polydextrose (PDX) would prevent the consequences of programming by maternal obesity. Methods: Female mice were fed a control (Con) or obesogenic diet (Ob) for 6 weeks prior to mating and throughout pregnancy and lactation. Half the obese dams were supplemented with 5% PDX (ObPDX) in drinking water throughout pregnancy and lactation. Offspring were weaned onto standard chow. At 3 and 6 months, offspring energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (EE by indirect calorimetry) were measured, and a glucose-tolerance test performed. Offspring of control (OffCon), obese (OffOb) and PDX supplemented (OffObP) dams were subsequently challenged for 3 weeks with Ob, and energy balanced reassessed. Potential modifiers of offspring energy balance including gut microbiota and biomarkers of mitochondrial activity were also evaluated. Results: Six-month-old male OffOb demonstrated increased bodyweight (BW, P < 0.001) and white adipose tissue mass (P < 0.05), decreased brown adipose tissue mass (BAT, P < 0.01), lower night-time EE (P < 0.001) versus OffCon, which were prevented in OffObP. Both male and female OffOb showed abnormal glucose-tolerance test (peak [Glucose] P < 0.001; AUC, P < 0.05) which was prevented by PDX. The Ob challenge resulted in greater BW gain in both male and female OffOb versus OffCon (P < 0.05), also associated with increased EI (P < 0.05) and reduced EE in females (P < 0.01). OffObP were protected from accelerated BW gain on the OB diet compared with controls, associated with increased night-time EE in both male (P < 0.05) and female OffObP (P < 0.001). PDX also prevented an increase in skeletal muscle mtDNA copy number in OffOb versus OffCon (P < 0.01) and increased the percentage of Bacteroides cells in faecal samples from male OffObP relative to controls. Conclusions: Maternal obesity adversely influences adult offspring energy balance and propensity for obesity, which is ameliorated by maternal PDX treatment with associated changes in gut microbiota composition and skeletal muscle mitochondrial function.

Horneridae (Cyclostomata; Cancellata) is a family of marine bryozoans that form tree-like colonies bearing functionally unilaminate branches. Colony development in this clade is not well understood. We used micro-CT and SEM to trace zooidal budding in Hornera from the ancestrula onwards. Results show that hornerid branches are constructed by dual zooidal budding modes occurring synchronously at two separate budding sites at the growing tips. Frontal autozooids bud from a multizooidal budding lamina. Lateral autozooids bud from discrete abfrontal budding loci by 'exomural budding', a previously undescribed form of budding centred on hypostegal pores in interzooidal grooves on the colonial body wall. These two budding modes are integrated during primary branch morphogenesis, forming composite, developmentally bilaminate, branches. Tracing development back to the founding zooids shows that the ancestrula and adventitious periancestrular autozooids are the first-formed lateral autozooids. They grow as a vertical stem onto which new laterals bud exomurally, intercalating with earlier autozooids to form an expanding funnel. The inner wall of this funnel becomes a ring-shaped budding lamina, from which the first frontal autozooids bud centripetally. When the branch crown splits, the ring lamina is subdivided, each fragment becoming a paramedial budding lamina in its own branch, while new laterals continue to be budded exomurally onto the frontal walls of existing laterals. Co-occurrence of two rare cyclostome frontal budding types - adventitious budding on the ancestrula and exomural budding on the branches - suggests they may be homologous. Patterns of exomural budding vary among hornerids. Narrow-branched taxa possess a single medial line of budding sites on the abfrontal wall; wide-branched species have up to six parallel lines of loci. Exomural budding also occurs sporadically in Calvetia osheai, a radial-branching hornerid. Future studies of cancellate taxonomy and phylogeny may benefit from morphological concepts presented here.

Skeletal resorption - the physiological removal of mineralised parts by an organism - is an important morphogenetic process in bryozoans. Reports of its occurrence and function across the phylum are patchy, however, and have not previously been synthesised. Here we show that resorption occurs routinely across a wide range of bryozoan clades, colony sizes, growth forms, ontogenetic stages, body wall types, skeletal ultrastructures and mineralogies. Beginning in the early Paleozoic, different modes and functions of resorption have evolved convergently among disparate groups, highlighting its utility as a morphogenetic mode in this phylum. Its functions include branch renovation, formation of branch articulations, excavation of reproductive chambers, part-shedding, and creation of access portals for budding beyond previously formed skeletal walls. Bryozoan skeletons can be altered by resorption at microscopic, zooidal and colony-wide scales, typically with a fine degree of control and coordination. We classified resorption patterns in bryozoans according to the morphology and function of the resorption zone (window formation, abscission or excavation), timing within the life of the skeletal element resorbed (primary or secondary), and scale of operation (zooidal or multizooidal). Skeletal resorption is probably greatly underestimated in terms of its utility and role in bryozoan life history, and its prevalence across taxa, especially in fossil forms. It is reported proportionally more frequently in stenolaemates than in gymnolaemates. Some modes of resorption potentially alter or remove the spatial-temporal record of calcification preserved within a skeleton. Consequently, knowledge that resorption has occurred can be relevant for some common applications of skeletal analysis, such as palaeoenvironmental interpretation, or growth and ageing studies. To aid recognition we provide scanning electron microscopy, backscattered electron scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy examples of skeletal ultrastuctures modified by resorption.

The status of Conopeum Gray, 1848 in New Zealand is clarified, confirming the presence of three living species – one a naturalised alien, one new to science, and a third that is also known in the P...

Although phosphatized bryozoans have been described recently from the early Cambrian, the first unequivocal bryozoan fossils with hard skeletons are known from the Ordovician. Recent discoveries of bryozoans in the early Ordovician (Tremadocian) of South China have greatly expanded our understanding of the diversification of these colonial lophophorates. In particular, the Fenhsiang Formation of Late Tremadocian age (Migneintian) in Hubei Province is proving to be particularly rich in bryozoans. Here we record 24 species, including several yet to be formally described, belonging to 18 genera and four palaeostomate suborders (Esthonioporata, Cystoporata, Trepostomata, and Cryptostomata). Bryozoan diversity in the Fenhsiang Formation matches levels more typical of younger faunas of Middle Ordovician age. The presence of diverse and morphologically disparate taxa close to the base of the Ordovician suggests rapid diversification following the first appearance of bryozoans with calcified skeletons, and/or the existence of as yet unknown biomineralized bryozoans in the Cambrian.

Bryozoans (also known as ectoprocts or moss animals) are aquatic, dominantly sessile, filter-feeding lophophorates that construct an organic or calcareous modular colonial (clonal) exoskeleton1–3. The presence of six major orders of bryozoans with advanced polymorphisms in lower Ordovician rocks strongly suggests a Cambrian origin for the largest and most diverse lophophorate phylum2,4–8. However, a lack of convincing bryozoan fossils from the Cambrian period has hampered resolution of the true origins and character assembly of the earliest members of the group. Here we interpret the millimetric, erect, bilaminate, secondarily phosphatized fossil Protomelission gatehousei9 from the early Cambrian of Australia and South China as a potential stem-group bryozoan. The monomorphic zooid capsules, modular construction, organic composition and simple linear budding growth geometry represent a mixture of organic Gymnolaemata and biomineralized Stenolaemata character traits, with phylogenetic analyses identifying P. gatehousei as a stem-group bryozoan. This aligns the origin of phylum Bryozoa with all other skeletonized phyla in Cambrian Age 3, pushing back its first occurrence by approximately 35 million years. It also reconciles the fossil record with molecular clock estimations of an early Cambrian origination and subsequent Ordovician radiation of Bryozoa following the acquisition of a carbonate skeleton10–13., Interpretation of the early Cambrian fossil Protomelission gatehousei9 as a potential stem-group bryozoan realigns the fossil record with molecular clock estimations of the origins of Bryozoa.

BackgroundMaternal obesity may increase offspring risk of cardiovascular disease. We assessed the impact of maternal obesity on cardiac structure and function in newborns as a marker of fetal cardiac growth.MethodsNeonates born to mothers of healthy weight (body mass index (BMI) 20–25 kg/m2, n=56) and to mothers who were obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2, n=31) underwent 25-minute continuous ECG recording and non-sedated, free-breathing cardiac MRI within 72 hours of birth.ResultsMean (SD) heart rate during sleep was higher in infants born to mothers who were versus were not obese (123 (12.6) vs 114 (9.8) beats/min, p=0.002). Heart rate variability during sleep was lower in infants born to mothers who were versus were not obese (SD of normal-to-normal R-R interval 34.6 (16.8) vs 43.9 (16.5) ms, p=0.05). Similar heart rate changes were seen during wakefulness. Left ventricular end-diastolic volume (2.35 (0.14) vs 2.54 (0.29) mL/kg, p=0.03) and stroke volume (1.50 (0.09) vs 1.60 (0.14), p=0.04) were decreased in infants born to mothers who were versus were not obese. There were no differences in left ventricular end-systolic volume, ejection fraction, output or myocardial mass between the groups.ConclusionMaternal obesity was associated with increased heart rate, decreased heart rate variability and decreased left ventricular volumes in newborns. If persistent, these changes may provide a causal mechanism for the increased cardiovascular risk in adult offspring of mothers with obesity. In turn, modifying antenatal and perinatal maternal health may have the potential to optimise long-term cardiovascular health in offspring.

Enlarged, ‘compound zooecia’ are described for the first time in a trepostome bryozoan. Several of these zooecia are visible in tangential sections of Eostenopora guizhouensis (Hu) from the Devonian (Eifelian) Houershan Formation of Houershan, Dushan, southern Guizhou, China. They are broad and occupy the space of two or occasionally three or four normal autozooecia. Some have bridging walls extending partway across the enlarged zooecial chamber. Without serial sectioning, the origin of compound zooecia in E. guizhouensis is debatable. However, the existence of irregular gaps in some zooecial walls leads to the hypothesis that compound zooecia originated from the loss by resorption of the skeletal walls between two normal autozooecia. The bridging walls are interpreted as a response by the bryozoan to restore the integrity of the constituent zooecia. By analogy with the ‘Doppelganger’ zooids of some modern cheilostome bryozoans, compound zooecia of E. guizhouensis may have housed the lophophores of more than one zooid.

Di Martino, E., Taylor, P.D., Fernando, A.G.S., Kase, T. & Yasuhara, M. 3 June 2019, 2019. First bryozoan fauna from the middle Miocene of Central Java, Indonesia. Alcheringa 43, 461–478. ISSN 0311...

The Glen Rose and Walnut formations of southcentral and northcentral Texas comprise shallow-water carbonates deposited during the late Aptian to middle Albian on a carbonate platform. The formations are famous for their rich fossil faunas. Although bryozoans are absent in late Aptian sediments, they are frequently found encrusting bivalve shells from the early to middle Albian parts of these formations. Here, we describe the cyclostome bryozoan fauna, which includes six species;Stomatoporasp.,Oncousoecia khirarn. sp.,Reptomultisparsa mclemoreaen. sp.,Hyporosopora keeran. sp.,Mesonopora bernardwalterin. sp., and ?Unicaveasp. Most cyclostomes are found encrusting rudist shells from Unit 2 of the Lower Member of the Glen Rose Formation and units 3 and 6 of the Upper Member of the Glen Rose Formation.UUID:http://zoobank.org/4380dcb5-63b2-4aa9-959c-09eb6b03831f

Gymnolaemate bryozoans are common encrusters on bivalve shells from the early to middle Albian parts of the Glen Rose and Walnut formations of southcentral and northcentral Texas. Here, we report for the first time the presence of seven gymnolaemate bryozoans, all of which represent new species. They include the bioimmured ctenostome Simplicidium jontoddi n. sp., and the cheilostomes Rhammatopora glenrosa n. sp., Iyarispora ikaanakiteeh n. gen. n. sp., Iyarispora chiass n. gen. n. sp., Charixa bispinata n. sp., Charixa sexspinata n. sp., and Charixa emanuelae n. sp. The Glen Rose bryozoans slightly antedate the commencement of an explosive bryozoan radiation and the first appearance of neocheilostomes in the late Albian. Although the diversity of cheilostomes in the Glen Rose and Walnut formations is similar to that of cyclostomes, cheilostomes are more abundant and produced larger colonies. These formations therefore yield the oldest known bryozoan assemblage dominated in terms of biomass by cheilostomes. The genus concept of Charixa is discussed and amended.UUID: http://zoobank.org/d9e8f1a4-ae6a-4455-abb3-3b0a75a7d294

Bryozoans are among the most common macrofossils in the Late Cretaceous Chalk. They include many species that encrusted hard substrates, notably echinoid tests, forming habitat islands on the Chalk seabed. The growth strategies adopted by these bryozoans, as well as the occurrence of reparative structures, provides evidence of the conditions experienced by bryozoans and other benthic animals during the accumulation of this unique pelagic sediment deposited over large areas of the continental shelf. Here, we use historical material in the Natural History Museum, London, to provide qualitative evidence that whereas available substrates, including irregular echinoids, were long-lasting, most individual bryozoan colonies were probably short-lived. Some cheilostome species produced heavily calcified polymorphic zooids at the outer edges of the colony that persisted after loss of the feeding autozooids and became the source of regenerative colony growth. Short-term (possibly annual) periodicity is suggested in the benthic environment experienced by encrusting bryozoans, which may have possibly been a result of cyclical variations in dinoflagellate food supply and/or swamping by unpalatable and potentially poisonous coccolithospheres.

Summary A caesarean section (CS) can be a life-saving intervention when medically indicated, but this procedure can also lead to short-term and long-term health effects for women and children. Given the increasing use of CS, particularly without medical indication, an increased understanding of its health effects on women and children has become crucial, which we discuss in this Series paper. The prevalence of maternal mortality and maternal morbidity is higher after CS than after vaginal birth. CS is associated with an increased risk of uterine rupture, abnormal placentation, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, and preterm birth, and these risks increase in a dose–response manner. There is emerging evidence that babies born by CS have different hormonal, physical, bacterial, and medical exposures, and that these exposures can subtly alter neonatal physiology. Short-term risks of CS include altered immune development, an increased likelihood of allergy, atopy, and asthma, and reduced intestinal gut microbiome diversity. The persistence of these risks into later life is less well investigated, although an association between CS use and greater incidence of late childhood obesity and asthma are frequently reported. There are few studies that focus on the effects of CS on cognitive and educational outcomes. Understanding potential mechanisms that link CS with childhood outcomes, such as the role of the developing neonatal microbiome, has potential to inform novel strategies and research for optimising CS use and promote optimal physiological processes and development.

Maternal obesity (MO) leads to offspring metabolic problems. The mechanisms involved are multifactorial. The small intestine plays an important role in the absorption of nutrients and is modified as we age. Few studies have explored MO programming effects on offspring (F1) small intestine morphology. The aim of this study was to investigate MO effects on old adult F1 intestinal morphology, and whether any F1 intestinal changes due to MO were modified by maternal resveratrol supplementation. From weaning throughout pregnancy and lactation, female Wistar rats (F0) ate standard chow (controls, C: 5%-fat) or high-fat diet (MO: 25%-fat). One month before mating at postnatal day (PND) 120 through lactation half of each group received 20 mg/kg/day of resveratrol orally (Cres or MOres). After weaning F1 were fed with chow diet until the end of the study at PND 650. Body weight, percent of fat, glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride serum concentrations were determined. F1 small intestinal samples were collected for histological analysis. Male F1 body weight was higher in MO and MOres compared with C and Cres. Female F1 body weight and percent of fat was higher in MO than C and MOres. Triglyceride concentrations were higher in MO and MOres male F1 compared with C and Cres. There were no differences among groups in female triglyceride concentrations. Male F1 duodenal villus height was smaller in MO compared with MOres. Female F1 duodenal and jejunal crypt depth was smaller in MO compared with C and was greater compared with MOres. Female F1 villus height in jejunum was greater in MO compared with MOres. In conclusion, exposure to the developmental challenge of MO changed the aged F1 intestinal morphological and metabolic profiles. Maternal resveratrol supplementation ameliorated these effects in an F1 sex dependent manner.

Fil: Brezina, Soledad Silvana. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología. Río Negro, Argentina. Fil: Taylor, Paul D. Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, UK. Fil: Romero, María V. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Buenos Aires, Argentina Fil: Palópolo, Evangelina E. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología. Río Negro, Argentina. Fil: Palópolo, Evangelina E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Buenos Aires, Argentina Fil: Casadío, Silvio Alberto. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología. Río Negro, Argentina. Fil: Casadío, Silvio Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Buenos Aires, Argentina The specimen-rich and diverse bryozoan fauna encrusting oyster shells from the Maastrichtian and Danian Jagüel and Roca formations in the Neuquen Basin (Patagonia, Argentina) is described. Thirteen cyclostome species are recorded, along with 18 cheilostomes. We introduce two new species: Akatopora kaufmanni sp. nov. and Eoporella lunata gen. et sp. nov. The latter is a homeomorph of the common MioceneeRecent genus Microporella. Ten of the cyclostomes and ten of the cheilostomes could not be identified at species-level because of preservational limitations or lack of diagnostic characters in the available specimens. The most common bryozoans present are sheet-like colonies, among which the ascophoran cheilostome Balantiostoma is particularly well represented. Results show that in northern Patagonia the diversity of encrusting bryozoans associated with oyster shells exhibits no major changes across the K/Pg boundary. However, an important increase in the diversity is recorded during the upper Danian. .

Background: maternal obesity is associated with offspring cardiometabolic risk. UPBEAT was a randomised controlled trial of an antenatal diet and physical activity intervention in 1,555 women with obesity. The intervention was associated with lower gestational weight gain, healthier diet and metabolic profile in pregnancy, and reduced infant adiposity at six months. Objective: we have investigated whether the UPBEAT intervention influenced childhood cardiometabolic outcomes or was associated with sustained improvements in maternal lifestyle 3-years after delivery. Methods: in UPBEAT mother-child dyads at the 3-year follow-up, we assessed childhood blood pressure, resting pulse rate, and adiposity (body mass index, skinfold thicknesses, body fat, waist and arm circumferences) and maternal diet, physical activity, and anthropometry.Results: 514 three-year-old children attended the appointment (49% intervention, 51% standard care). There was no difference in the main outcome of interest, subscapular skinfold thickness, between the trial arms (-0.30mm, 95% confidence interval: -0.92, 0.31). However, the intervention was associated with a lower resting pulse rate (-5bpm (-8.41, -1.07)). There was also a non-significant lower odds of overweight/obesity (OR 0.73; 0.50, 1.08). Maternal dietary improvements observed in the UPBEAT trial, including glycaemic load and saturated fat were maintained 3-years postpartum.Conclusion: this study has demonstrated that an antenatal dietary and physical activity intervention in women with obesity is associated with lower offspring pulse rate and sustained improvement in maternal diet. Whilst larger than previous cohorts, there remains potential for bias from attrition and these findings require validation in future cohorts.