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Martes is one of the most widely spread genera and probably has the longest evolutionary history among the living Carnivora, yet its fossil record is incomplete, especially those related to the crown group of Martes. Here we describe a fossil species, Martes crassidens sp. nov. from the Jinyuan Cave, Luotuo Hill, Dalian Puwan Economic Zone, Liaoning Province in northeastern China. The materials were found from the lower deposits belonging to the early-middle Early Pleistocene. Our morphological comparison, morphometric and morphotype analyses suggest the fossil species shows a clear affinity to the Holarctic marten group (here referred to HMG), i.e. Martes martes, Martes zibellina, Martes melampus, Martes americana, in having robust dentition, enlarged P4 protocone and M1 inner lobe. It also has unique characters, e.g. relatively large body size, very robust carnassial, high crowned m1 and relatively short talonid, which is different from any living and known fossil species and probably suggests a durophagous dietary behavior. Martes crassidens represents so far the earliest record of the HMG, and provides evidence for the chronological framework of the crown marten diversification.

Pollen evidence from a 25.3-m-long section (~2.2–0.41 Ma) in the Jinyuan Cave, Liaodong Peninsula, indicates that from the Early–Middle Pleistocene, the climate showed a trend of gradual cooling and drying, with obvious fluctuations. The vegetation was represented by temperate broad-leaved forest from ca. 2.2 to 1.87 Ma, suggesting a relatively warm and humid climate. The period from 1.87 to 1.82 Ma witnessed an obviously cold and dry event, and coniferous and broadleaved mixed forests developed from 1.82 to 1.76 Ma. From 1.52 Ma to the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT), the vegetation was dominated by forest steppe, and the climate became cold in the later stage. During the 0.59–0.41 Ma period, steppes developed, and the climate was cold and arid. At the same time, with climate variation, the faunal communities also changed obviously and co-evolved with vegetation types. In the early stage of the Early Pleistocene, the warm and humid climate was related to the presence of a wide range of thermophilous animals. From 1.7 to 1.5 Ma, the transition from forest to forest steppe might have promoted the emergence of certain grassland-adapted animals. During the MPT, grassland-adapted animals became dominant due to the flourishing forest steppe vegetation. The Middle Pleistocene witnessed the expansion of steppe and animals adapted to the arid grassland environment at that time.

Chronological sequences of Quaternary terrestrial mammalian faunas can provide important information about the evolutionary history of mammals, regional biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental changes. Here we report the results of studies of a thick, nearly-continuous sedimentary sequence from Jinyuan Cave, in Liaoning Province, northeast China; the sequences contains four mammalian faunas ranging in age from the Late Pliocene to the late Middle Pleistocene. Detailed paleomagnetic and U-series age determinations date the upper unit of the sedimentary sequence to ~2.2–0.3 Ma. The results suggest that cave development and infilling were closely associated with the tectonic evolution of the Bohai Basin, including the subsidence of the basin and the uplift of the surrounding mountains, such as Luotuo Hill. Together with the large mammalian faunas from both south and north China, we suggest that these mammalian faunas were smaller in size and lower in species diversity during the Middle Pleistocene Transition (MPT) (1.2–0.7 Ma) than in the earlier and later Pleistocene. This indicates that major climatic variations during the MPT in north China may have reduced their taxonomic abundance and diversity. The extremely warm and wet interglacial climates that followed the MPT in monsoonal East Asia provided an ecological niche for the evolution and migration of these mammalian faunas, resulting in an increase in the numbers and diversity of mammals in East Asia.

The discovery of a fossil Equus skull in Jinyuan Cave, Luotuo Hill, Dalian, is reported herein. The specimen was identified as Equus qingyangensis, based on the complexity of morphological features, and is considered to be as young as 1.2 Ma. Combined with the new finding, the known specimens of E. qingyangensis were reviewed and compared with other stenonid horse species in Eurasia. A skull previously reported as E. teilhardi, unearthed in the Nihewan Basin, is revised as E. qingyangensis. The recorded locations of E. qingyangensis findings are Bajiazui, Nihewan (s. s.), and the Jinyuan Cave. According to paleomagnetic data, mammalian fauna correlations, and significant environmental events, the ages of the Bajiazui and Nihewan (s. s.) localities are considered to be 2.1–1.7 Ma and correspond with the late Villafranchian faunae in Europe. Thus, based on the records, the temporal range of E. qingyangensis is 2.1–1.2 Ma. With climate change and exposure of the Bering Strait, the occurrence of E. qingyangensis in China was a significant biotic event. E. qingyangensis and another gracile species, E. stenonis, appeared and dispersed throughout Eurasia, and wolf-like canids and the large hyenid Pachycrocuta emerged during this period. Considering the roles equid and canid species played, we propose that this Equus–Canis occurrence represented a substantial biotic event during a series of major environmental and ecological changes.

The first Episiphneus (Myospalacinae, Rodentia, Mammalia) fossils of the Late Pliocene from Northeast China are described here as E. dalianensis sp. nov., which were collected from the lowermost fossiliferous deposits from Jinyuan Cave of Luotuo Hill in Dalian, Liaoning Province. The new fossils include intact skull, mandibles and molars with roots. The skull is characterized by a flat occiput and the supra-occipital process cohering with the lambdoid crest; meanwhile distinctive dental features include rooted molars and anterior cap of m1 coated with enamel. The new species is morphologically distinct from those of the tribe Prosiphneini with convex occiput, as well as species of the tribe Mesosiphneini with occipital concavity; and should be referred to the genus Episiphneus of the trible Myospalacini. Episiphneus was previously represented by a single species, E. youngi, whose geographical distribution is restricted to North China during the Early Pleistocene, such as Zhoukoudian Locality18 (ZKD Loc.18), Beijing. The Jinyuan specimens are similar to E. youngi in cranial dome of both species bear flat occiput without interparietal, rooted hypsodont molars, and appreciably reduced M3/m3. Nonetheless, there are also differences in morphology between the new species and E. youngi, the type species of Episiphneus. For example, E. dalianensis sp. nov. is slightly smaller in size, with incisive foramen surrounded by premaxilla, and a well-developed 1st lingual reentrant angle (LRA1) on the M1. With relatively smaller size, rooted molars, thick enamel and developed enamel lakes formed by the reentrants, E. dalianensis sp. nov. is apparently more basal to Myospalax prosilurus and Myospalax psilurus. All the three species have the incisive foramen surrounded by premaxilla, the evident 1st lingual reentrant angle (LRA1) on the M1, obviously reduced M3/m3, and overlapping geographical distribution, suggesting that E. dalianensis sp. nov. represents a putative ancestor of the two others. As the first discovery of fossil Episiphneus from Northeast China, E. dalianensis sp. nov. is also the earliest and most primitive species of the genus. Its discovery has significant implications for reconstructing the origin, evolution and dispersal pattern of Myospalacinae in Northern China, as well as for discussing its palaeoecological variation.

Recently, rich fossiliferous deposits dated to the late Cenozoic have been discovered from Jinyuan Cave at Luotuo Hill, an extremely large-sized cave site situated within in the Dalian Puwan Economic Zone of Dalian Municipality, Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Abundant and diverse vertebrate fossils unearthed from different fossiliferous layers of Jinyuan Cave, a site of enormous size with a sedimentary thickness of over 40 m and its deposits can be roughly divided into three fossiliferous deposit units, altogether containing six fossiliferous layers belonging to different ages from the Late Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene. Based on a combination of biostratigraphic and geochronological evidence, the fossil assemblages from Jinyuan Cave can be divided into three successive faunas that span the Late Cenozoic (ca. 3.60–0.35 Ma): the Wanghai fauna from upper faunal unit (Middle Pleistocene, 0.78–0.35 Ma), the Jinyuan fauna from middle-lower faunal unit (Early Pleistocene, 2.60–0.78 Ma) and the Luotuoshan fauna of the bottommost faunal unit (Late Pliocene, 3.6–2.6 Ma). The mammalian faunal evolution of Jinyuan Cave can be divided into four temporal stages during the late Cenozoic. The new discovered Jinyuan Cave provides a unique and nearly-continuous faunal and sedimentary sequence stretching from the Late Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene, hugely significant for establishing the Quaternary Mammal Fauna Sequence of Northeast China for the first time based on a combination of biostratigraphy, geochronology, and for discussing the environmental background.

The giant short-faced hyena, Pachycrocuta brevirostris, was the largest and most spectacular bone-cracking hyena that ever existed. Although already extinct long ago, it was extensively distributed across Eurasia during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. P. brevirostris is remarkable for a series of iconic craniodental adaptations in sway with a commitment to scavenging off carcasses of other large herbivores, such as the powerfully built skull and massive premolars, yet the most eye-catching aspect is the enormous size as emphasized by its vernacular name. The largest hitherto known skull of this species is the holotype from Sainzelles in Auvergne, France, discovered over a century ago. We hereby report a new discovery from Jinyuan Cave in Dalian, China, which slightly surpasses the holotype in craniodental dimension, posing a new record in Pachycrocuta body size. Three skull fragments of the same individual unearthed from the site are described in detail herein and compared with other P. brevirostris discoveries from both Europe and Asia. Thorough comparative studies show that the newly discovered materials are very close to the holotype from Sainzelles both metrically and morphologically, which fully indicates that the European morphotype, namely Pachycrocuta brevirostris brevirostris, surprisingly appeared in Northeast Asia as well, and further challenges the conventional concept of the population or subspecies. The giant hyenas from Asia were originally proposed as independent species, such as Pachycrocuta licenti or P. sinensis, but now broadly accepted as conspecifics of the European Pachycrocuta brevirostris, forming only different subspecies. The occurrence of P. b. brevirostris in Northeast Asia forcefully demonstrates that the differentiation is more of temporal than geographical significance, i.e., the subspecies of Eurasia basically constituted an ancestor-descendant sequence, from licenti to sinensis via brevirostris. Moreover, represented by the newly discovered specimens, the forerunner of P. b. brevirostris with transitional features appeared in Northeast Asia as early as 2.0 Ma, which implies the population of Europe most likely originated and dispersed from Northeast Asia. A hypothesis of “out of Northeast Asia” is hereby proposed for P. b. brevirostris. In the present paper, a series of diagnostic craniodental characters, such as carnassial morphology, the accessory cuspids of the premolars and the shape of the skull profile, are also discussed and re-valuated to investigate their potential significance in phylogenetic analysis.

The sabertoothed cat Megantereon is an iconic carnivore in the Pleistocene of Eurasia, yet its fossil record is extremely rare and highly fragmentary in southern China (and the whole Oriental Realm...

A large number of hominin fossil-bearing caves in South China have yielded evidence for the occupation of early modern humans during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. However, the geology of these caves and the paleoenvironmental context of human occupation remain poorly documented and understood. In this study, we obtained new ages yielded by MC-ICPMS uranium-series dating of speleothems from Zhiren Cave, Guangxi, where a partial early modern human mandible and 2 M have been recovered. The ages demonstrate that cave infilling of Zhiren Cave began at ~1 Ma, much earlier than the date previously suggested. Our dating results also suggest that fossils of anatomically modern human were deposited in Zhiren Cave during marine isotope stage (MIS) 6, between ~190 and ~130 ka, representing the oldest known anatomically modern human remains in East Asia. The cave's sedimentary processes and the paleoenvironmental changes were reconstructed based on detailed analyses of lithostratigraphy, grain-size, pollen assemblages and the chemical weathering intensity of the sediments inside Zhiren Cave. The results show that major climatic changes in the Middle Pleistocene led to the accelerated incision of local streams and the erosion of cave sediments by controlling the regional hydrological response during the Early to Middle Pleistocene. After ~300 ka, increased climatic contrasts between glacial and interglacial periods dominated the accumulation of sediments and the occupation of mammals and early modern humans in Zhiren Cave. Gradually desiccating climatic conditions and reduced forest cover during the penultimate glacial period (MIS 6) may have define a temporal window for the human occupation of Zhiren Cave, providing ideal environmental conditions. However, floodwater incursion and/or dense vegetation cover corresponding to a much warmer and wetter climate in the subsequent last interglacial (MIS 5) may have discouraged humans from further occupying Zhiren Cave.

Background The phase correction on transcranial focused ultrasound is essential to regulate unwanted focal point shift caused by skull bone aberration. The aim of the current study was to design and investigate the feasibility of a ray-based phase correction toolkit for transcranial focused ultrasound. Results The peak pressure at focal area was improved by 140.5 ± 7.0% on target I and 134.8 ± 19.1% on target II using proposed phase correction toolkit, respectively. A total computation time of 402.1 ± 24.5 milliseconds was achieved for each sonication. Conclusion The designed ray-based phase correction software can be used as a lightweight toolkit to compensate aberrated phase within clinical environment.

Brachiosauridae is a lineage of titanosauriform sauropods that includes some of the most iconic non-avian dinosaurs. Undisputed brachiosaurid fossils are known from the Late Jurassic through the Early Cretaceous of North America, Africa, and Europe, but proposed occurrences outside this range have proven controversial. Despite occasional suggestions that brachiosaurids dispersed into Asia, to date no fossils have provided convincing evidence for a pan-Laurasian distribution for the clade, and the failure to discover brachiosaurid fossils in the well-sampled sauropod-bearing horizons of the Early Cretaceous of Asia has been taken to evidence their genuine absence from the continent. Here we report on an isolated sauropod maxilla from the middle Cretaceous (Albian–Cenomanian) Longjing Formation of the Yanji basin of northeast China. Although the specimen preserves limited morphological information, it exhibits axially twisted dentition, a shared derived trait otherwise known only in brachiosaurids. Referral of the specimen to the Brachiosauridae receives support from phylogenetic analysis under both equal and implied weights parsimony, providing the most convincing evidence to date that brachiosaurids dispersed into Asia at some point in their evolutionary history. Inclusion in our phylogenetic analyses of an isolated sauropod dentary from the same site, for which an association with the maxilla is possible but uncertain, does not substantively alter these results. We consider several paleobiogeographic scenarios that could account for the occurrence of a middle Cretaceous Asian brachiosaurid, including dispersal from either North America or Europe during the Early Cretaceous. The identification of a brachiosaurid in the Longshan fauna, and the paleobiogeographic histories that could account for its presence there, are hypotheses that can be tested with continued study and excavation of fossils from the Longjing Formation.

Elephas maximus and Stegodon orientalis were two keystone proboscideans in southern Asia that coexisted mainly after the Middle Pleistocene in many regions. The long-term paleoecology and possible foraging competition of these two species have not been intensively investigated yet. Here, we applied stable isotope (C, O) analysis to the tooth enamel of coexisting Elephas maximus, Stegodon orientalis, and other associated mammalian species in Quzai Cave, southern China, dated to the early Late Pleistocene, to explore their paleoenvironmental context and foraging ecology. The δ13C values of Elephas maximus were widely distributed between −17.9‰ and −11.9‰ (n = 10), while Stegodon orientalis δ13C values ranged from −16.7‰ to −14.7‰ (n = 7). These results suggest that Elephas maximus was possibly a mixed feeder with a broader range of dietary resources than Stegodon orientalis, which probably browsed on a narrower range of plant resources in more densely forested landscape. A chronological comparison (from 8 Ma to recent) of published δ13C data for these two species from Asia showed that none of them were dietary specialists. However, Elephas had a more flexible foraging ecology and a stronger ability to exploit abrasive grasses than Stegodon. The niche partitioning and perceived different foraging behaviors of Stegodon and Elephas might have reduced the level of interspecific competition and allowed them to coexist during the Pleistocene. Moreover, the high-level of ecological flexibility of Elephas might have helped them to survive until the present day, while Stegodon eventually went extinct by the terminal Pleistocene ∼12 ka. An extensive comparison and evaluation of the δ13C data from fossil mammals in mainland southeast Asia during the Early to Late Pleistocene suggests that southern China was dominated by C3 vegetation throughout the Pleistocene, in contrast with the evidence of C4 biomes in neighboring Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. Southern China experienced relatively stable environments during the Pleistocene, which can be attributed to the wide range of mountainous regions that acted as ecological refugia from human interference and climatic fluctuations, and allowed the preservation of high biodiversity. The isotopic data we present here provides new evidence about the ecological complexity of mainland southeast Asia and elucidates the need for more systematic research to investigate extinction models and ecological conservation in this region.

The tribe Lyncodontini (Mammalia, Carnivora, Mustelidae) was widely distributed in Eurasia during the Plio-Pleistocene. In East Asia, only Eirictis and Oriensictis are known so far. Herein, we describe a new complete cranium of Lyncodontini from Layer 2 of Jinyuan cave of Luotuo Hill, Puwan area of Dalian, Liaoning Province in Northeast China and undertake detailed comparisons with related taxa. The specimen is similar to Oriensictis, especially Oriensictis melina in Locality 1 of Zhoukoudian in tooth morphology and represents the same species of the latter, but the cranial characters are strikingly similar to those of Enhydrictis galictoides from Sardinia. We therefore relegate Oriensictis to a subgenus of Enhydrictis as East Asian members of the clade in the Middle Pleistocene, whereas the subgenus Enhydrictis is endemic to Sardinia. The craniodental characters of E. melina are more derived than those of E. galictoides in many aspects, so it is unlikely to be a direct ancestor to E. galictoides. The Early Pleistocene Martellictis ardea from Saint Vallier probably represents the ancestor group of this genus. This clade immigrated along the Paratethys during the Late Villafranchian. Part of this metapopulation probably dispersed into East Asia during the late Early Pleistocene or early Middle Pleistocene along with other carnivores (e.g. Xenocyon sp. and Panthera youngi) during interglacial period, whereas others dispersed back to Europe during the Middle Pleistocene, as represented by the Sardinia population. The E. melina from Layer 2 of Luotuo Hill is morphologically more derived than the Middle Pleistocene E. nipponica from Japan, thus the age of Layer 2 is possibly not older than Middle Pleistocene.

This study presents the fabrication and characterization of a piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT, radius: 40 &mu, m) using a patterned aluminum nitride (AlN) thin film as the active piezoelectric material. A 20 &times, 20 array of pMUTs using a 1 &mu, m thick AlN thin film was designed and fabricated on a 2 &times, 2 mm2 footprint for a high fill factor. Based on the electrical impedance and phase of the pMUT array, the electromechanical coefficient was ~1.7% at the average resonant frequency of 2.82 MHz in air. Dynamic displacement of the pMUT surface was characterized by scanning laser Doppler vibrometry. The pressure output while immersed in water was 19.79 kPa when calculated based on the peak displacement at the resonant frequency. The proposed AlN pMUT array has potential applications in biomedical sensing for healthcare, medical imaging, and biometrics.

Hereditary hierarchy is one of the major features of complex societies. Without a written record, prehistoric evidence for hereditary hierarchy is rare. Intentional cranial deformation (ICD) is a ritualized and cross-generational cultural practice that embodies social identity and cultural beliefs in adults through the behavior of permanently and immutably altering infant head shape. Therefore, ICD is usually regarded as an archeological clue for the occurrence of hereditary hierarchy. With a calibrated radiocarbon age of 11,245–11,200 years BP, a fossil skull of an adult male discovered in Northeastern China is among the oldest-known ICD in the world. The fossil demonstrates the oldest application of the more sophisticated tabular deformation methodology that requires securing hard flat surfaces to the forehead and back of the skull of infants, differing from the other earliest-known records of ICD that used other processes. Along with the other earliest global occurrences of ICD, this discovery points to the early initiation of complex societies among the non-agricultural local societies in Northeastern Asia in the early Holocene. A population increase among previously more isolated terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene hunter-gatherer groups likely increased their interactions, possibly fueling the formation of the first complex societies.

We recently demonstrated that leukocyte Ig-like receptor 4 (LILRB4) expressed by monocytic acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells mediates T-cell inhibition and leukemia cell infiltration via its intracellular domain. The cytoplasmic domain of LILRB4 contains three immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIMs); the tyrosines at positions 360, 412, and 442 are phosphorylation sites. Here, we analyzed how the ITIMs of LILRB4 in AML cells mediate its function. Our in vitro and in vivo data show that Y

Numerous dinosaurian, crocodyliform, and testudine fossils have been recently recovered from the mid-Cretaceous of the Yanji Basin, Jilin Province, China. Among the crocodyliform remains, the specimen (YJDM 00009) described here represents a new genus and new species, Yanjisuchus longshanensis gen. et sp. nov. It is the third Cretaceous crocodyliform found in Jilin Province after Paralligator sungaricus and Rugosuchus nonganensis. Y. longshanensis is a medium-to-large neosuchian characterized mainly by the frontal with a wedge-shaped elevation anteriorly, a transversely oriented, grooved preorbital ridge, the fused dentaries, and the dentary dentition with a diastema. Y. longshanensis was situated phylogenetically within the Paralligatoridae, with Rugosuchus nonganensis and many other species of Paralligator from Central Asia. The discovery of Y. longshanensis not only adds a new group to the local reptilian fauna but also is important to our understanding of the biogeography and diversity of Paralligatoridae in Asia.

Fascin2 (FSCN2) is an actin cross-linking protein that is mainly localized in retinas and in the stereocilia of hair cells. Earlier studies showed that a deletion mutation in human FASCIN2 (FSCN2) gene could cause autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa. Recent studies have indicated that a missense mutation in mouse Fscn2 gene (R109H) can contribute to the early onset of hearing loss in DBA/2J mice. To explore the function of the gene, Fscn2 was knocked out using TALEN (transcription activator-like effector nucleases) on the C57BL/6J background. Four mouse strains with deletions of 1, 4, 5, and 41 nucleotides in the target region of Fscn2 were developed. F1 heterozygous (Fscn2+/−) mice carrying the same deletion of 41 nucleotides were mated to generate the Fscn2−/− mice. As a result, the Fscn2−/− mice showed progressive hearing loss, as measured in the elevation of auditory brainstem-response thresholds. The hearing impairment began at age 3 weeks at high-stimulus frequencies and became most severe at age 24 weeks. Moreover, degeneration of hair cells and loss of stereocilia were remarkable in Fscn2−/− mice, as revealed by F-actin staining and scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, compared to the controls, the Fscn2−/− mice displayed significantly lower electroretinogram amplitudes and thinner retinas at 8, 16, and 24 weeks. These results demonstrate that, in C57BL/6Jmice, Fscn2 is essential for maintaining ear and eye function and that a null mutation of Fscn2 leads to progressive hearing loss and retinal degeneration.

We here report an ankylosaurian ilium from the Albian–Cenomanian Longjing Formation of Yanji City, Jilin Province, northeastern China. The diagnostic features allowing referral of this specimen to Ankylosauria include: an ilium rotated horizontally dorsal to the acetabulum with the primitive lateral surface facing ventrally; long and laterally divergent preacetabular process; and a shallow, cup-like acetabulum. This new specimen represents the first definitive ankylosaurian dinosaur from Jilin Province, and the easternmost ankylosaurian occurrence in China. The present discovery demonstrates the potential for future finds in the Longjing Formation, especially in the Longshan fossil beds of Yanji City, such as additional ankylosaurian or other dinosaur remains that might provide significant data on dinosaur evolution during the middle Cretaceous of eastern Asia.

Currently, knowledge of dietary preferences throughout the evolutionary history of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus is ambiguous due to the absence of quantified proxy from the Late Pleistocene. In this study, carbon and oxygen stable isotope analysis on the fossilized mammal teeth from the faunal assemblage recovered at Baxian Cave in Guangxi, South China was undertaken in order to reconstruct the dietary behavior and foraging ecology of Elephas maximus during the Late Pleistocene. The analyses of X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) on several samples showed that all teeth bioapatite was well-preserved. The isotopic data indicate that all the mammals relied entirely on C3-based foodstuff, revealing that C3 vegetation was dominant in this region. Two groups of the Asian elephants are observed in this study on the basis of isotopic difference. This isotopic variation among the Asian elephants evaluated in this study may suggest that they were mixed feeders. The dietary difference of the two groups observed may relate to elephant ages, seasonal variation and/or subspecies differences. In combination with previously published isotopic data, the dietary transition from substantial C4 plants to C3 plants of Elephas is discussed, indicating flexible dietary behavior throughout the evolution of the genus.

Zhiren Cave in southern China is an important site for the study of the origin and the environmental background of early modern humans. The combination of Elephas kiangnanensis , Elephas maximus , and Megatapirus augustus , indicates an early representative of the typical Asian elephant fauna. Previous U-series dating of flowstone calcite has pinpointed an upper age limit for the fossils of about 100 ka. In order to achieve a better comprehension of the chronology of the modern human and contemporaneous faunal assemblage, paleomagnetic, stratigraphic, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods have been applied to the cave sediments. Paleomagnetic analyses reveal that there is a reversed polarity excursion below the fossiliferous layer. This excursion can be regarded as the Blake excursion event, given the U-series ages of the overlying flowstone calcite, the OSL measurements, the virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) path of the excursion, the two reverse polarity zones within this excursion event, and the characteristic of the fauna assemblage. The human remains and mammalian fauna assemblage can be bracketed to 116–106 ka. Application of OSL dating leads to erroneous ages, largely due to the uncertainty associated with the estimation on the dose rates.

New Carnivore remains associated with Gigantopithecus blacki are described from Yanliang Cave, Chongzuo, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China. New specimens of Megantereon have been identified as Megantereon microta sp. nov. based on the previously unknown characteristics, such as small overall size, p4 and m1 dental proportions, p3 with two separated roots and large P4 protocone. M. microta sp. nov. differs from Megantereon whitei from Africa mainly by the characters of p3 and lacking a p3–p4 diastema. Compared with other Megantereon species from China, M. microta sp. nov. is considered to be more primitive in dental characters, such as large P4 protocone, p3 with two separated roots, and short canine-p3 diastema. The Pachycrocuta licenti and Ursus thibetanus from Yanliang Cave are consistent with their appearance during the early Early Pleistocene in southern China. Combining the biostratigraphical and biochronological evidence, the Yanliang fauna can be best correlated with Baikong fauna in the same area, which is the early Early Pleistocene (∼2.0 Ma).

As one of the most important Quaternary mammalian faunas in southern China, the Gigantopithecus-Sinomastodon fauna has received much attention. The large-primate fossil teeth newly collected from Juyuan karst cave in Boyue Mountain, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of southern China, can be identified as Gigantopithecus blacki . The morphology and size of these G. blacki teeth differ from those of the middle Pleistocene Gigantopithecus teeth which hold evidently larger dental dimensions and more complex crenulations from Hejiang Cave also in Guangxi and Tham Khuyen Cave in Vietnam. However, the G. blacki teeth from Juyuan Cave are relatively similar to those from Early Pleistocene Mohui Cave and Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave both in Guangxi, which suggests that the three cave sites have similar age. The Juyuan fauna associated with Gigantopithecus blacki , consisting of 45 mammalian species (such as Sinomastodon yangziensis , Ailuropoda wulingshanensis , Stegodon huananensis , and Rhinoceros fusuiensis ), is a typical Early Pleistocene Gigantopithecus-Sinomastodon fauna of southern China. The Juyuan fauna is mostly similar to Mohui fauna, also implying their contemporaneity. Paleomagnetic analyses demonstrate that the fossil-bearing sediments in Juyuan Cave are dominated by normal polarity. Combining the faunal analysis and magnetostratigraphic evidence, the Juyuan sediments can be best correlated with the Olduvai normal subchron, giving an estimated age of 1.8 Ma.

Gigantopithecus blacki was once a common primate during Early Pleistocene, distributed throughout southern China, but then it gradually declined with time and finally became extinct probably during Middle Pleistocene. Black Cave in Guangxi (the Zhuang Nationality Autonomous Region) was the first site yielding G. blacki teeth in-situ in 1956. It also produced numerous mammalian fossils belonging to the typical Middle Pleistocene Stegodon–Ailuropoda fauna from sediments overlying the G. blacki level. The present study carried out coupled ESR/U-series dating study of five Bovidae teeth from this palaeontological layer and obtained a weighted mean age of 383 ± 20 ka for this Stegodon–Ailuropoda fauna. This age estimate on fossil teeth is constrained by two 230 Th/U ages of 404 ± 24 ka and 382 ± 9 ka obtained on speleothems formed below and above the level of the Stegodon–Ailuropoda fauna. The Black Cave Stegodon–Ailuropoda fauna can be therefore correlated with MIS 11, and the remains of G. blacki should be older than 400 ka.

The development of maternal tolerance to the fetal allograft in critical for the maintenance of the pregnancy, and it is accompanied by the development of a special decidual natural killer (dNK) cell tolerance phenotype. To understand the factors that influence dNK cells during early pregnancy, the present study aimed to identify mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from human first‑trimester deciduas, termed decidual MSCs (DMSCs), and to investigate the effect of DMSCs on the regulation of dNK cells via collagen. Decidual samples were collected from women with normal pregnancy that had undergone elective vaginal surgical terminations at 6‑9 weeks gestation. DMSCs derived from human decidual tissues were cultured under differentiation conditions to examine their multipotent differentiation capacities, and the expression of MSC‑specific markers, including cluster of differentiation (CD)44, CD73, CD105, CD90, CD34, CD31, CD14, CD45, CD11b and human leukocyte antigen‑antigen D related, was determined. dNK cells were co‑cultured with DMSCs in order to examine the effect of DMSCs on the tolerance phenotype of dNK cells. The expression of cell surface molecules, natural cytotoxicity triggering receptor 3 and killer cell immunoglobulin‑like receptor (KIR) 2DL1, and the secretion of cytokines, including interferon‑γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α, interleukin (IL)‑10, IL‑4 and perforin, were examined by flow cytometry analysis. To determine whether the regulation of dNK cells by DMSCs was mediated by collagen, DMSCs were pre‑treated with human recombinant leukocyte‑associated immunoglobulin‑like receptor (LAIR)‑2 and transfected with pScoR‑GFP‑hP4H to inhibit the interaction between LAIR‑1 and collagen. The present results demonstrated that collagen produced by DMSCs increased the expression of KIR2DL1 and IL‑4, decrease the expression of NKp30 and TNF‑α. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that DMSCs may be cultured in vitro for prolonged periods, whilst retaining the ability to differentiate into different cell lineages. In addition, DMSCs may modulate the function of dNK cells via the interaction between collagen and LAIR‑1.

Underwater sensors that detect the distance and direction of acoustic sources are critical for surveillance monitoring and target detection in the water. Here, we propose an axial vector sensor that utilizes a small (~1 cm3) compressive-type piezoelectric accelerometer using piezoelectric single crystals. Initially, finite element analysis (FEA) was used to optimize the structure that comprised piezoelectric Pb(Mb1/3Nb2/3)O3-28%PbTiO3 single crystals on a tungsten seismic mass. The receiving voltage sensitivity (RVS) was enhanced through geometric optimization of the thickness and sensing area of the piezoelectric material and the seismic mass. The estimated maximum RVS of the optimized vector sensor was &minus, 212 dB. FEA simulations and practical measurements were used to verify the directivity of the vector sensor design, which exhibited a dipole pattern. The dipole beam pattern was used to obtain cardioid patterns using the simulated and measured results for comparison. The results clearly showed the feasibility of using the proposed piezoelectric single-crystal accelerometer for a compressive-type vector sensor.

Hereditary hierarchy is one of the major features of complex societies. Without a written record, prehistoric evidence for hereditary hierarchy is rare. Intentional cranial deformation (ICD) is a cross-generational cultural practice that embodies social identity and culture beliefs in adults through the behavior of altering infant head shape. Therefore, ICD is usually regarded as an archeological clue for the occurrence of hereditary hierarchy. With a calibrated radiocarbon age of 11245-11200 years BP, a fossil skull of an adult male displaying ICD discovered in Northeastern China is among the oldest-known ICD practices in the world. Along with the other earliest global occurrences of ICD, this discovery points to the early initiation of complex societies among the non-agricultural local societies in Northeastern Asia in the early Holocene. A population increase among previously more isolated terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene hunter-gatherer groups likely increased their interactions, possibly fueling the formation of the first complex societies.

The arterial structure cyclically fluctuates in three-dimensions (3-D) caused by pulsatile blood flow. The evaluation of arterial wall motion and hemodynamics contributes to early diagnosis of carotid atherosclerosis. Ultrasound is one of the most appropriate imaging modalities to evaluate arterial wall motion in real time. Although many previous studies have discussed the mechanical properties of the carotid artery bifurcation (CAB) from the two-dimensional (2-D) view, the spatio-temporal variation of carotid artery geometry in 3-D has not yet been investigated in detail. In this study, the 3-D data set of CAB from rats was acquired using a high spatio-temporal resolution ultrasound imaging system with a 40 MHz probe using mechanical sector scanning. A total of 31 slices of cross-section images were stored and a spoke scan algorithm was implemented to radially scan the lumen area in polar coordinates based on a pre-tracked seed point. The boundary of the arterial lumen was segmented using intensity-threshold-based boundary detection and fitted by polynomial regression. Two operators, who were trained with the same protocol to minimize inter- and intra-operator variability, manually segmented the lumen boundary on systolic and diastolic phase from the gray-scale images. Finally, the 3-D lumen geometries of CAB during one cardiac cycle were constructed based on the segmented lumen boundaries. From this constructed 3-D geometry, we observed that the CAB geometry favorably expanded to the anterior/posterior direction, parallel to the sagittal plane; and the manually segmented geometry also confirmed the asymmetrical change in bifurcation geometry. This is the first study on visualization and quantification on the asymmetrical variation of the CAB geometry of a rat in 3-D during a whole cardiac cycle. This finding may be useful in understanding hemodynamic etiology of various cardiovascular diseases such as arterial stenosis and its complications, and also provides reference information for numerical simulation studies on arterial wall motion.

The Quaternary record of fossil snakes (Reptilia, Squamata) in Asia is extremely rare; any information is noteworthy. An articulated snake skeleton was recovered from the early Pleistocene (2.15–2....

Herein the new Perissodactyl fossils associated with Giantopithecus blacki recovered from Yanliang Cave, Guangxi of southern China were described as Hesperotherium sinense, Tapirus sanyuanensis and...

Dentognathic remains of Gigantopithecus blacki from the newly discovered Early Pleistocene locality of Yanliang Cave, Guangxi, South China are described. These include an incomplete mandible, only ...

In this paper we examine the change in the composition of the Pleistocene primate fauna in southern China based on about 3600 fossil teeth collected from 14 cave sites in Chongzuo area, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Although it is often difficult to identify the taxonomic position of isolated Pleistocene primate teeth, nine genera were provisionally identified: Homo , Gigantopithecus , Pongo and Nomascus (Hominoidea), Procynocephalus , Macaca , Rhinopithecus , Pygathrix , and Trachypithecus (Cercopithecoidea). Among these genera, all but Gigantopithecus and Procynocephalus are extant, some of which are not presently distributed in Chongzuo and its neighboring area. More than half of the primate specimens belong to Macaca , which probably includes three to five species, while other genera likely consist of single species. There is a possibility that some of the early macaque species may have been replaced by later members of the genus. All primate genera make their first appearance in the Early Pleistocene, seven of which likely survived until the Holocene in Chongzuo. The extinctions of Procynocephalus and Gigantopithecus are probably due to different factors. The former was likely adapted to cooler and drier environments, and distributed mainly in the area of relatively high latitude. The Early Pleistocene fossil record at Chongzuo is its southernmost occurrence and it may be the youngest record in eastern Eurasia. The latter was a common taxon during the Early Pleistocene, but it disappeared in the early Late Pleistocene. This was probably due to vegetational change, including the loss of their preferred diet, such as bamboo.

Gigantopithecus blacki is a typical member of the Stegodon–Ailuropoda faunal complex (sensu lato) that inhabited southern China or, more broadly, mainland Southeast Asia during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. Current evidence indicates that the giant ape became extinct during the Middle Pleistocene. Recently, new remains of G blacki and associated mammalian fossils have been unearthed from a karst cave site, Hejiang Cave, in Chongzuo City, Guangxi, South China. The age of the Gigantopithecus-bearing depositional unit is estimated to be 400–320 ka using 230Th–234U disequilibrium U-series dating of flowstone samples bracketing the deposits. These finds document the latest occurrence of Gigantopithecus and provide potential insights regarding its extinction. Comparisons of dental dimensions between the Hejiang G. blacki remains, more than four hundred isolated teeth from Early Pleistocene localities, and over ninety isolated teeth from local drugstores show that the Hejiang teeth are slightly larger in their buccolingual dimensions. In addition, the crowns of the three unerupted upper premolars differ from those of all of the other Gigantopithecus material in having more complex crenulations. The differences in dental dimensions and morphology are possibly reflective of dietary responses to environmental changes that eventually led to the extinction of Gigantopithecus.

In order to investigate molar enamel thickness and distribution in Gigantopithecus blacki, two maxillary and three mandibular molars were micro-CT scanned, and the 3-dimensional (3D) shape of the enamel crown cap was digitally reconstructed. Results show that G. blacki molars have very thick enamel, over 6 mm in places. 3D average thickness of the entire crown relative to crown size was shown to be comparable to that of modern Homo sapiens, and thinner than in the very thick enameled robust Australopithecus condition. Durability of the tooth, calculated as the enamel volume relative to maximum horizontal area of the crown, was shown to be comparable to that of fossil hominids, including Australopithecus robustus. The thick occlusal enamel of G. blacki molars was found to be accompanied by a buccolingual gradient in which thicker enamel occurs on the cusps of the “functional” side. This is associated with higher crown height on the “functional” side of the crown, and implies an adaptation to differential buccolingual wear. These results indicate that G. blacki molars were adapted to heavy wear, but probably in a manner that was different from Pliocene and Pleistocene hominids.