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The tectonic evolution of the Sibumasu Block during the Permian remains controversial, and Permian faunas and their paleobiogeographic affinities provide some insight into its paleogeographic and tectonic evolutionary histories. In this paper, a new brachiopod fauna dominated bySpinomartinia prolificaWaterhouse, 1981 is described from the uppermost part of the Taungnyo Group in the Zwekabin Range, eastern Myanmar. This brachiopod fauna includes 23 species and its age is well constrained as late Kungurian by the associated conodonts, i.e.,Vjalovognathus nicolliYuan et al., 2016 andMesogondolella idahoensis(Youngquist, Hawley, and Miller, 1951), contrary to the late Sakmarian age given to the same brachiopod faunas previously reported from southern Thailand and Malaysia. Based on comprehensive comparisons of the Cisuralian brachiopod faunas and other data in different parts of the Sibumasu Block, we consider that they are better subdivided into two independent stratigraphic assemblages, i.e., the lower (earlier)Bandoproductus monticulus-Spirelytha petaliformisAssemblage of a Sakmarian to probably early Artinskian age, and the upper (younger)Spinomartinia prolifica-Retimarginifera alataAssemblage of a late Kungurian age. The former assemblage is a typical cold-water fauna, mainly composed of Gondwanan-type genera, e.g.,BandoproductusJin and Sun, 1981,SpirelythaFredericks, 1924, andSulciplicaWaterhouse, 1968. The latter assemblage is strongly characterized by an admixture of both Cathaysian and Gondwanan elements, as well as some genera restricted to the Cimmerian continents. Notably, the spatial distribution pattern of these two separate brachiopod assemblages varies distinctly. The Sakmarian cold-water brachiopod faunas have been found in association with glacial-marine diamictites throughout the Sibumasu Block including both the Irrawaddy and Sibuma blocks. In contrast, the Kungurian biogeographically mixed brachiopod faunas are only recorded in the Irrawaddy Block, unlike the Sibuma Block that contains a contemporaneous paleotropical Tethyan fusuline fauna. Thus, it appears likely that by the end of Cisuralian (early Permian), the Sibumasu Block comprised the Irrawaddy Block in the south with cool climatic conditions, and the Sibuma Block in the north with a temperate to warm-water environment, separated by the incipient Thai-Myanmar Mesotethys.

Summary The use of electronic cigarettes (ECs) has grown exponentially over the past few years in China. To obtain the basic information of Chinese EC users, a questionnaire survey was performed to collect the data that describe characteristics of study populations, including daily usage, consumption preference, and risk perception. Volunteers were recruited from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen cities of China. In total, among the 511 participants that were included in the analysis, 491 participants (95%) used refillable ECs in the past 3 months. There was a strong association between EC use and traditional cigarette smoking. The majority of participants were dual users and the number of cigarettes smoked decreased with the use of ECs. After using an EC, 20.7% of conventional cigarette smokers attempted to quit smoking. Young people were the primary users across all geographic locations. Specifically, the daily usage for the participants who were 18–39 years old, was higher than those over 40 years old. The majority of participants (59.9%) preferred fruit flavors and 57.8% of them used 1–5 mg/mL nicotine-concentration liquids. Most EC users are motived to quit smoking, and 74.6% claimed that the ECs had no irritant effect on the oral cavity. A total of 50.5% of family members of the study participants reported an improvement of health status while the participants used ECs instead of traditional cigarettes. Overall, the results of this Chinese survey indicate that the per-day cigarette consumption of the dual users decreased whereas their proportion of smokers of low-“tar” cigarettes increased.

The Permian marine-terrestrial system of the North China block provides an exceptional window into the evolution of northern temperate ecosystems during the critical transition from icehouse to greenhouse following the late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA). Despite many studies on its rich hydrocarbon reserves and climate-sensitive fossil flora, uncertain temporal constraints and correlations have hampered a thorough understanding of the records of geologic, biologic, and climatic change from the North China block. We present a new chronostratigraphy based on high-precision U-Pb chemical abrasion–isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry (CA-ID-TIMS) geochronology of tuffs from a near-complete latest Carboniferous–Permian succession in North China. The results indicate that the predominance of continental red beds, climate aridification, and the disappearance of coals and characteristic tropical flora were well under way during the Cisuralian (Early Permian) in the North China block, significantly earlier than previously thought. A nearly 20 m.y. hiatus spanning the early Kungurian to the mid-Guadalupian (or later) is revealed in the northern North China block to have close temporal and spatial associations with the closure and/or subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean and its related tectonic convergence. This long hiatus was concomitant with the prominent loss of the highly diverse and abundant Cathaysian floras and the widespread invasion of the monotonous Angaran floras under arid climate conditions in the North China block. Similarities in the floral and climate shift histories between Euramerica and North China suggest that aside from the regional tectonic controls and continental movement, extensive volcanism during the Cisuralian may have played a major role in the global warming and aridification in the aftermath of the LPIA.

Permian plant fossils have never been reported from the Shan Plateau in eastern Myanmar. Recently, a black to gray carbonaceous mudstone unit containing abundant plant fossils was discovered just below the lowest part of Thitspin Limestone Formation from the Linwe Area, eastern Myanmar. Although only five taxa were identified, the plant assemblage provides the first evidence of the occurrence of Cathaysian elements in eastern Myanmar and potentially indicates the presence of a highly diverse Permian flora. Among the five species, Cordaites principalis and Annularia mucronata were cosmopolitan species; while Callipteridum cf. koraiense, Taeniopteris crassinervis Mo and Rhipidopsis lobata were mostly recorded in the Cathaysia Flora. Therefore, the present assemblage generally indicates a palaeobiogeographical affinity to the Cathaysian Province. Stratigraphically, Callipteridum cf. koraiense was mainly reported from Cisuralian to Wordian; whereas Taeniopteris crasssnervis Mo and Rhipidopsis lobata were recorded from Capitanian to Changhsingian, which suggests a general Permian age based on the plant assemblage itself only. However, the carbonaceous mudstone at the outcrop is overlain by the Thitspin Limestone Formation containing middle Guadalupian fusulinids. Based on previous faunal analyses, the Sibumasu terrane contains typical Gondwanan cold-water faunas during the early Cisuralian, warm-water faunas occurred after Sakmarian. Thus, age of the fossil-plant-containing carbonaceous mudstone is very likely between late Cisuralian and early Guadalupian as constrained by its overlying fusulinids and its warm Cathaysian palaeobiogeographical affinity.

A foraminiferal fauna consisting of 15 genera and 19 species is documented for the first time from the topmost part of the Xiala Formation in the Aduogabu area in Tsochen County, central Lhasa Block. This foraminiferal fauna is dominated by Colaniella, indicating a broadly Changhsingian age. The presence of Colaniella, Reichelina and absence of the typical tropical fusuline genus Palaeofusulina in the fauna indicate that the Lhasa Block has not merged into equatorial regions during the Changhsingian. More importantly, the widespread Lopingian (Late Permian) marine carbonates with warm-water faunas and the stable platform carbonate sequence through the Guadalupian and Lopingian in the Lhasa Block present an obvious contrast against the contemporaneous sequences in the South Qiangtang Block and Gondwana margin. It suggests that both the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean and the Neotethys Ocean would have opened by the Guadalupian and Lopingian.

Permian faunal affinity in the Lhasa Block plays a critical role in reconstructing its paleogeographic evolution. Cisuralian and Guadalupian faunas have been described from the Lhasa Block, but very few Lopingian (late Permian) brachiopods have been reported so far. In this paper, a new diverse brachiopod fauna consisting of 17 species of 17 genera and an unidentifiable Orthotetoidea is described from the uppermost part of the Xiala Formation at the Aduogabu section in the central part of the Lhasa Block. The age of this fauna can be assigned to the Changhsingian (late Lopingian) as indicated by the associated foraminifersColaniella parva(Colani, 1924) andReichelina pulchraMiklukho-Maklay, 1954. Characteristic brachiopods includeSpinomarginifera chengyaoyenensisHuang, 1932,Haydenella wenganensis(Huang, 1932), andAraxathyriscf.dilatatusShen, He, and Zhu, 1992. They also generally suggest a Changhsingian age. Paleobiogeographically, this fauna is uniformly composed of typical Tethyan elements represented bySpinomarginiferaHuang, 1932 andHaydenellaReed, 1944, and some cosmopolitan elements, but no typical cold-water taxa of Gondwanan affinity. This is in contrast to the contemporaneous brachiopod faunas from the Tethys Himalayan region that are characterized by typical cold-water taxa of Gondwanan affinity, e.g.,Costiferina indica(Waagen, 1884),Retimarginifera xizangensisShen et al., 2000,Neospirifer(Quadrospina)tibetensisDing, 1962. Thus, it is strongly indicative that the Lhasa Block had drifted into a relatively warm-water regime during the Changhsingian. An analysis of the paleobiogeographic change of brachiopods in the Lhasa Block throughout the entire Permian further suggests that the Lhasa Block probably had rifted away from the northern peri-Gondwanan margin between the latest Cisuralian and middle Guadalupian, that is, the Neotethys Ocean had opened before middle Guadalupian.

The rugose corals described in this study were collected from the Gyanyima section in the Ngari region of southwestern Tibet (Xizang) and are assigned to three genera and 11 species, including a new genus and seven new species:Waagenophyllum(Waagenophyllum)ngarienseHe, 1990;W. (W.)elegantulumHe in Luo et al., 1989;W. (W.)minutumZhao, 1981;W. (W.)tachtabulasicumIlyina, 1997;W. (W.)gyanyimaensen. sp.,W. (W.)intermediumn. sp.,Waagenophyllum(Liangshanophyllum)clisicolumellumn. sp.,Ipciphyllum naoticumn. sp.,I. floricolumellumn. sp.,I. zandaensen. sp., andGyanyimaphyllum crassiseptatumn. gen. n. sp. Ontogeny and intraspecific variation are given special attention when describing and discussing these taxa. Coral reefs, withWaagenophyllumas the major skeletal reef builder, occur in several horizons in the uppermost part of the section. The accompanying foraminifers indicate the rugose coral fauna is a late Permian Changhsingian age. Therefore, this is possibly one of the latest Permian rugose coral reefs in the world known up to now.UUID:http://zoobank.org/b9e621cb-197d-4208-8267-14d62f382a1b

Two new Middle Permian foraminifer faunas are described from the Xiala Formation in the Zhabuye and Xiadong sections in the central Lhasa Block. The presence of some significant taxa in paleobiogeography such as Shanita, Lysites biconcavus, Hemigordiopsis subglobosa, indicates that the Lhasa Block was in the Cimmerian Province in paleobiogeography during the Middle Permian. Furthermore, the Nankinella-Chusenella fusuline assemblage that occurs in the upper part of the Xiala Formation in the Xiadong section resembles contemporaneous fusuline faunas from the Xainza and Bashor areas in the Lhasa Block and the northern part of the Tengchong Block. The endemism of the Nankinella-Chusenella assemblage in the Lhasa and Tengchong blocks indicates that these two blocks were isolated from both the South Qiangtang Block and the northern Gondwanan margin during the Middle Permian. It further suggests that both the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean and the Neotethys Ocean would have opened before the Middle Permian. A new species Chusenella tsochenensis sp.nov. was described.

A major discrepancy for the age of the Selong Group from middle Cisuralian (Early Permian) to Changhsingian resulted from previous reports of Sakmarian, Kungurian and Guadalupian (Middle Permian) conodonts and Lopingian (Late Permian) brachiopods. Recently, Cisuralian and Guadalupian conodonts were reported again from the Selong Group and the basal part of the Kangshare Formation at the Selong section, but the age discrepancy remains. We present our conodont materials based on large samples collected from the Selong Group and our interpretation based on identifications using a sample population approach. Three conodont zones are recognized in our re-investigation of the upper part of the Selong Group. They include the Vjalovognathus sp., the Mesogondolella hendersoni, and the M. sheni zones, in ascending order. These zones are overlain by the basal Triassic Hindeodus parvus Zone and the Otoceras woodwardi Zone. Our reassessment of conodonts reported by previous studies from Selong and nearby sections suggest that all specimens consistently point to a Lopingian age; the upper part of the Selong Group is latest Changhsingian in age based on the presence of Clarkina orchardi and Mesogondolella sheni. Previously reported early Cisuralian and Guadalupian conodonts are misidentified using a form species concept. A hiatus may be present at the erosional surface between the Selong Group and the Waagenites Bed of the basal part of the Kangshare Formation. However, the hiatus is minimal because conodont and brachiopod assemblages above and below this surface are very similar, and it results from a latest Changhsingian transgression just before the extinction that follows a global latest Changhsingian regression. There is a distinct rapid end-Permian mass extinction at Selong within the Waagenites Bed, as indicated by the disappearances of all benthic brachiopods, rugose corals and Permian bryozoans. The burst of Clarkina species in the Waagenites Bed and throughout the entire Lower Triassic at Selong is interpreted as a southward migration of equatorial conodont animals associated with the rapid global warming beginning at the end of the Permian. The cool- or cold-water species of Mesogondolella, in the upper part of the Selong Group and the basal part of the Kangshare Formation, are representative of the uppermost Permian in the bipolar/bi-temperate cold-water province and are not reworked from the underlying Selong Group or any other unknown Cisuralian or Guadalupian deposits.

The paleogeographic evolution of the North Qiangtang Block during the Middle and Late Permian has been a contentious issue in recent decades. In this study, the Permian foraminiferal faunas were studied from the Raggyorcaka and Wangka areas in northern and eastern Tibet. The foraminifera from the Xueyuanhe Formation in the Raggyorcaka area suggest a Changhsingian rather than a Guadalupian (Middle Permian) age, as previously determined. A review of Permian strata in the North Qiangtang Block confirms the widespread onset of the Lopingian (Late Permian) paralic sedimentary facies containing gigantopterid plant fossils and the fusuline Palaeofusulina fauna, which lies unconformably over the different pre-Lopingian strata. The similar Lopingian facies and pronounced unconformity across the North Qiangtang and Simao blocks are interpreted as the initial collision between the Simao/Indochina and the South China blocks.

The objectives of this paper are to examine the effect of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) on the morphological changes in the kidney of growing rats and to explore the mechanisms underlying the CIH-induced renal damage. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups: 2 and 4 weeks CIH groups (2IH, 4IH), and in the control group 2 and 4 weeks air-stimulated groups (2C, 4C), with 10 rats in each group. Pathological changes of renal tissue were observed by HE staining, PAS staining, and Masson staining. Real-time PCR method was used to detect the mRNA expression of HIF-1α, CuZnSOD/ZnSOD, and MnSOD in renal tissue. (1) Intermittent hypoxia (IH) caused morphological damage in the kidney. Hypertrophy of epithelial cells in the kidney tubules and dilation in the glomeruli were observed under light microscope in HE and PAS stain, especially in 4IH group. Masson staining showed no significant fibrotic response in the IH groups. (2) Compared with the corresponding control groups, the levels of serum SOD were significantly lower in CIH groups, and especially in 4IH group. The mRNA expression of Cu/ZnSOD and MnSOD in CIH groups decreased significantly as compared to control groups. The mRNA levels of HIF-1α in the kidney were significantly higher in CIH groups than those in the corresponding control groups. Oxidative stress played a critical role in renal damage by up-regulating HIF-1α transcription and down-regulating Cu/ZnSOD and MnSOD transcription after chronic intermittent hypoxia exposure in growing rats.

The Permian Period is punctuated by Earth system changes unlike any other in geological history. The start of the Permian witnessed the termination of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age, followed by the climatic transition from icehouse to greenhouse conditions. The Guadalupian-Lopingian (Middle-Late Permian) was characterized by two biocrises associated to volcanisms: (i) the end-Guadalupian crisis and (ii) the end-Permian mass extinction. Seawater Sr isotope (87Sr/86Sr) records can shed light on the evolution of the Permian Earth system. The Permian 87Sr/86Sr record suffers from a number of issues including low resolution and potential diagenetic alteration. In this paper, we summarize the existing Permian 87Sr/86Sr records and focus on the current challenges. We also present a new, high-resolution Permian 87Sr/86Sr curve derived from pristine brachiopod shells based on data resulting from careful diagenetic screening. Our new record shows that the 87Sr/86Sr of seawater decreased continuously from the earliest Permian to the middle Capitanian (late Guadalupian), with the lowest ratio of 0.706832 registered in the Colania douvillei-Kahlerina pachiytheca Zone. Subsequently, 87Sr/86Sr ratios increased from the late Capitanian to the latest Permian and reached a ratio of 0.707167 just 0.8 m below the first occurrence of the Hindeodus parvus. We employed a stochastic oceanic box model to explore the potential drivers of the Permian seawater Sr isotope record. Our results support that changes in the hydrothermal input, rather than changes in continental weathering intensity, are the most likely controlling factor for the observed variations in Permian seawater 87Sr/86Sr. Therefore, we suggest that the marine hydrothermal system (and hence ocean basin dynamics and deep-sea temperatures) may have been the driver of the pronounced decreasing 87Sr/86Sr trend across the Permian.

The Cimmerian continent is composed of a series of blocks that were attached to the northern margin of Gondwana during the Carboniferous-Permian time, and as a consequence therefore, developed glacial sediments during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA). These blocks rifted from Gondwana in the Early Permian, and then drifted towards the tropical area, and as a result their deposits are characterized by the mixture of warm and cool water sediments. With these previously acknowledged diagnostic features, the recognized Cimmerian blocks include Shan-Thai, Tengchong, Baoshan, Lhasa, southern Qiangtang, southern Afghanistan, and southern Iran. Carboniferous and Permian sediments and faunas in these blocks are reviewed in detail here, and disclose the most significant character of Cimmerian blocks, that is the absence of upper Carboniferous sediments, which makes them more similar to Australia and India/Pakistan, and significantly different from South China and other Tethyan regions. By the same token, central Iran, central Afghanistan, and central Pamir should be excluded from the Cimmerian blocks for distinct geological histories. The lower Carboniferous sediments present in all the Cimmerian blocks are composed of Tournaisian and Visean stages, characterized by chert nodules or lenses and oolites. Tournaisian brachiopod Syringothyris, rugose coral Cyathaxonia fauna and Siphonophyllia, and Visean bryozoan Fenestella are typical components, but overall the early Carboniferous fauna shows a Eurasian affinity. Lower Permian deposits are glacial-marine siliciclastic sequence containing cool/cold-water bivalves, small solitary non-dissepimented corals, characteristic brachiopods, low diversified but highly abundant fusulinds Pseudofusulina and Eoparafusulina, which belong to the Peri-Gondwanan fauna. The basaltic magmatism event that took place in the Cimmerian blocks was mainly in the Artinskian, which was most likely related to the initial rifting of the Cimmerian from the northern margin of Gondwana. Upper Lower Permian to Middle Permian include siliciclastics and carbonates in which cold- and warm-water mixed fauna and warm-water genera developed indicating the northward drifting of Cimmerian blocks. The marine fossils in this period are named as the Cimmerian fauna to include such characteristic taxa as the rugose coral Thomasiphyllum, fusulinids Monodiexodina and Eopolydiexodina, as well as some tropically-distributed Tethyan elements. The Upper Permian are mainly dolomitic limestones which contain the typical Cimmerian foraminifera Shanita and Hemigordius in addition to other Tethyan taxa such as the compound coral Waagenophyllum.

The paleogeographic evolution of the Lhasa Block in northern Tibet during the Permian has been a contentious issue during the past decades. Several pioneering studies have highlighted the significance of faunas and their paleobiogeography in this block. In this paper, a new Middle Permian foraminiferal fauna is documented from the Xiala Formation in the Zhabuye area in the central Lhasa Block. This fauna is characterized by the presence of the Shanita-Hemigordiopsis foraminiferal assemblage, with its age to be the early Midian (Wordian) based on the coexisting fusulines Neoschwagerina craticulifera (Schwager), N. cheni Sheng and Kahlerina tenuitheca Wang, Sheng and Zhang. A review of the Shanita-Hemigordiopsis assemblage globally confirms that the age of this assemblage ranges from the late Murgabian to the Midian rather than extending into the Dzhulfian as previously recognized. This assemblage is widely distributed on the Cimmerian microcontinents and Gondwanan margin, but absent from the South China and Indochina blocks, which were approximately at the same latitude with Turkey in equatorial regions. Such a distribution pattern is better explained by the influence of oceanic currents flowing from equatorial regions to the Gondwanan margin along the Neotethys Ocean. It further suggests that the Neotethys Ocean may have opened by the Middle Permian to facilitate oceanic currents.

The Guadalupian Epoch represents one of the most critical intervals during the Earth history which is characterized by a series of global geological and biological events. However, it is poorly constrained by radioisotopic ages in comparison with the high-precision dates from the Lopingian and lowest Triassic in South China and the Cisuralian in southern Urals, Russia. In this study, we report combined CA-ID-TIMS and SIMS U-Pb zircon geochronology for three ash beds from the base and lower part of the Kuhfeng Formation in the Chaohu area, southeastern China. Zircons from Ash Beds A, C and D were initially analyzed by SIMS and yielded weighted mean 206Pb/238U dates of 269.0 ± 1.4 Ma (MSWD = 1.03, n = 31), 266.3 ± 2.2 Ma (MSWD = 2.2, n = 29) and 262.2 ± 1.7 Ma (MSWD = 1.0, n = 20) in ascending order. However, high-precion U-Pb geochronology of the same ash beds by the CA-ID-TIMS method point to important inaccuracies in the SIMS results due to Pb-loss in zircons. Ash Beds A and C yielded two TIMS weighted mean 206Pb/238U dates of 272.95 ± 0.11 Ma (MSWD = 1.9, n = 7) and 271.038 ± 0.097 Ma (MSWD = 2.2, n = 8), respectively. The depositional age of 272.95 ± 0.11 Ma for Ash Bed A is postulated as the traditional Cisuralian-Guadalupian boundary (CGB) age in South China. Our new geochronology suggests that the Guadalupian Series in South China had a total duration of 13.85 ± 0.52 myr given a Guadalupian-Lopingian boundary (GLB) age of 259.1 ± 0.5 Ma. The new age calibration of the base of the Guadalupian Series is ca. 0.65 (± 0.51) myr older than – and improves upon – the previous estimates for the CGB age and the duration of the Guadalupian Epoch based on the 2016 International Chronostratigraphic Chart (ICC) and the 2012 Geologic Time Scale (GTS).

A brachiopod fauna including 15 species belonging to 14 genera is described from a thin carbonate succession of the Lugu Formation at the Anmu section in the northern part of the South Qiangtang Block, which is about 15 km south to the Longmu Co-Shuanghu Suture. The brachiopod fauna is late Kungurian or early Guadalupian in age in terms of the presence of the brachiopod species Vediproductus punctatiformis, “Cryptospirifer” omeishanensis, and Paraplicatifera regularis. This is also generally consistent with the age indicated by the fusulines (e.g., Cancellina, Chusenella, Monodiexodina, Nankinella, Neofusulinella, Pseudofusulina, and Sphaerulina) from this formation at the nearby Mari and Duoma A (DMA) sections. Palaeobiogeographically, the brachiopod fauna exhibits a typical Cathaysian affinity and all the species are reported commonly from the equivalents in South China and Cimmerian blocks, which strongly suggest that the South Qiangtang Block had drifted to a position in the warm-water or temperate regime close to South China.

A non-fusuline foraminiferal fauna consisting of 20 genera and 27 species was documented from the middle part of the Xiala Formation at the Mujiucuo section of Xainza County, central Tibet. This fauna consists mostly of porcelaneous-walled genera such as Agathammina, Midiella, Hemigordiopsis, Neodiscus, Multidiscus , and a new genus Megacrassispirella Zhang gen. nov. These taxa indicate a Midian (Capitanian) age. The climatic amelioration, triggered by climatic warming after the Late Paleozoic Ice Age or by northern drift of the Lhasa Block, promoted diversification of the non-fusuline foraminifers in the middle part of the Xiala Formation. Warm oceanic currents also played an important role in bringing biota from low latitude areas to the northern Gondwanaland margin through the newly-formed Neotethys Ocean. One new genus, Megacrassispirella gen. nov., with Megacrassispirella xarlashanensis (Wang, 1986) emend. Zhang as type species, and one new species, Agathammina vachardi Zhang sp. nov., are described.

Body size is a fundamental and defining character of an organism, and its variation in space and time is generally considered to be a function of its biology and interactions with its living environment. A great deal of body size related ecological and evolutionary research has been undertaken, mostly in relation to extant animals. Among the many body size-related hypotheses proposed and tested, the size–bathymetry relationship is probably the least studied. In this study, we compiled a global body size dataset of Changhsingian (Late Permian, ca. 254 Ma–252 Ma) brachiopod species from low-latitude areas (30°S–30°N) and analyzed their species diversity and body size distribution patterns in relation to the nearshore–offshore–basin bathymetric gradient. The dataset contained 1768 brachiopod specimens in 435 species referred to 159 genera and 9 orders, from 135 occurrences (localities) of 18 different palaeogeographic regions. Treating the whole of the Changhsingian Stage as a single time slice, we divided the nearshore–offshore–basin bathymetric gradient into three broad depth-related environments: nearshore, offshore and basinal environments, and compared how the species diversity and body size varied along this large-scale bathymetric gradient. Here, we report an array of complex patterns. First, we found a clear overall inverse correlation between species diversity and water depth along the nearshore–offshore–basin gradient, with most species concentrating in the nearshore environment. Second, when the median sizes of all low-latitude brachiopod species from the three environments were compared, we found that there was no significant size difference between the nearshore and offshore environments, suggesting that neither the wave base nor the hydrostatic pressure exerts a critical influence on the body size of brachiopods. On the other hand, the median sizes of brachiopods from the nearshore environment and, to a lesser extent, the offshore environment were found to be significantly larger than that of basinal brachiopods. This trend of significant size reduction in basinal brachiopods mirrors the relative low species diversity in the basinal environment, and neither can be easily explained by the tendency of decreasing food availability towards deeper sea environments. Rather, both trends are consistent with the hypothesis of an expanding Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) in the bathyal (slope to deepsea) environments, where hypoxic to anoxic conditions are considered to have severely restricted the diversification of benthos and favored the relative proliferation of small-sized brachiopods. Finally, a significant difference was also found between eurybathic and stenobathic species in their body size response to the nearshore–offshore–basin gradient, in that eurybathic species (species found in all three environments) did not tend to change their body size significantly according to depth, whereas stenobathic forms (species restricted to a single environment) exhibit a decline in body size towards the basinal environment. This pattern is interpreted to suggest that bathymetrically more tolerant species are less sensitive to depth control with respect to their body size change dynamics, in contrast to stenobathic species which tend to grow larger in shallower water depths.

Climate warming, probably as a result of massive degassing of greenhouse gases from the Siberian Traps magmatism, has often been acclaimed as a major cause of the end-Permian mass extinction. Indeed, several studies have documented a sudden rise in seawater temperatures during the latest Permian-earliest Triassic, as evidenced by oxygen isotopic records measured on conodont apatite. However, whether such a rapid increase in seawater temperatures occurred before, during, or after the mass extinction remains controversial. Moreover, the pattern of this rise in seawater temperatures and its timing relative to the latest Permian-earliest Triassic carbon cycle disruption, mass extinction, as well as the Siberian Traps magmatism still need to be rigorously examined in various regions. In this study, we present high-resolution oxygen isotopic records of conodont apatite (δ18Oapatite) from the Upper Permian-lowermost Triassic interval at the Abadeh section, central Iran that are analyzed with in situ secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) method. The δ18Oapatite results from Abadeh demonstrate a clear pattern consisting of three phases: (1) From the lower Wuchiapingian Clarkina dukouensis Zone to the end-Permian mass extinction horizon, δ18Oapatite values are relatively stable, fluctuating in the range of 18.28-20.15‰ with an average of 19.44‰. (2) δ18Oapatite value remains high as 19.26‰ at the mass extinction horizon. Above this horizon, a sudden decrease occurs in the Clarkina hauschkei Zone and reaches a low value of 17.05‰ close to the Permian-Triassic boundary. (3) In the lowermost Triassic, δ18Oapatite values maintain a low baseline in the range of 16.92-17.39‰ with an average of 17.11‰. Overall, the most dramatic change in δ18Oapatite values (i.e., a decrease of ~2‰), converting into an abrupt warming of ~10 °C, occurred above the mass extinction horizon and below the Permian-Triassic boundary at Abadeh. The Abadeh δ18Oapatite record is consistent with previous results documented in South China, Iran, and Armenia in terms of the timing and magnitude of a substantial warming, and therefore represents a global signature. If applying the high-precision temporal framework established in the well-dated Meishan GSSP section to Abadeh, the abrupt warming of ~10 °C took only a maximum duration of ~37 kyr (thousand years). By projecting the carbon cycle change, temperature rise, mass extinction at the Abadeh and Meishan sections, and the temporal evolution of the Siberian Traps magmatism onto a unified timescale, the temporal correlation strongly suggests that the switch from dominantly extrusive eruptions to widespread sill intrusions is probably the most annihilating phase of the Siberian Traps magmatism, and is temporally consistent with the end-Permian mass extinction.

The Guadalupian Epoch is marked by the formation of the Pangean supercontinent, global sea-level change, rifting and drifting of the Cimmerian continents, formation of large igneous provinces and dramatic biotic changes. A high-resolution biostratigraphic, chemostratigraphic and high-precision geochronologic framework of this critical transition is fundamental to understanding these events. Extensive studies of the latest Cisuralian and Guadalupian Series in both South China and North America reveal the same conodont lineages, but the conodont interval zones based on Jinogondolella within the Guadalupian Series are slightly diachronous. High-precision U-Pb geochronological studies (CA-ID-TIMS method) calibrate the base of the Guadalupian Series (base Roadian) at 273.01 ± 0.14 Ma. A previously reported age from an ash bed overlying the Emeishan flood basalts, 259.51 ± 0.21 Ma, is adopted for the Guadalupian/Lopingian boundary (GLB). Based on recently published geochronology and Bayesian age modeling from the Guadalupian Series, the base of the Capitanian is constrained at 264.28 ± 0.16 Ma and the base of the Wordian is interpolated to be 266.9 ± 0.4 Ma. The Illawarra Reversal is of early-middle Wordian age. Both North America and South China possess a distinct negative δ13Ccarb excursion of 3-5‰ at the latest Kungurian and early Roadian (LK-ER CIE), which coincides with the early stages of a significant 3rd order sea-level rise. The large end-Guadalupian δ13Ccarb negative excursion may have been affected by post-depositional diagenesis or a warming event associated with the Emeishan volcanism. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios in both regions declined from the latest Kungurian to the late Capitanian, but have different ratios and reveal several fluctuations in the middle Guadalupian. Measured δ18Oapatite values suggest that the Delaware Basin was 3-4°C cooler than the eastern Yangtze Block. Analysis of a new high-resolution database of marine taxa indicates only a minor pre-Lopingian diversity drop from 261.04 Ma to 259.98 Ma, which coincides with the peak Emeishan volcanism. The widely-perceived “end-Guadalupian mass extinction” in North America is evidently masked by, and possibly an artefact of, a stratigraphic truncation effect due to rapid lithofacies changes from limestone to laminated evaporites with the closure of the west Texas basins.

An Early Permian (Cisuralian) conodont fauna is reported for the first time from the Sibumasu Terrane in eastern Myanmar. The conodont fauna includes Vjalovognathus nicolli and typical Mesogondolella idahoensis; some M. idahoensis possess transitional characters with M. lamberti and M. siciliensis. This fauna indicates a late Kungurian age. The longest range of the Taungnyo Group was from late Tournaisian to late Kungurian, and the range of the overlying Moulmein Limestone might be from late Kungurian through Guadalupian (Middle Permian). The nearly synchronous occurrence of identical conodont faunas from eastern Myanmar, the Lhasa Block and northwestern Australia provides important evidence that these tectonic units had a close paleogeographic, paleobiogeographic and paleoclimatic evolution during the late Cisuralian. The occurrence of this conodont fauna across the continuous boundary interval between the Taungnyo Group and Moulmein Limestone might indicate a paleoclimatic transition from Early Permian cool-water conditions to a Middle to Late Permian warm-water setting due to tectonic drifting of the relevant blocks and/or paleoclimatic amelioration after the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) from Carboniferous to Cisuralian. This discovery also suggests that the terranes in eastern Myanmar are complicated by subsequent tectonic mergence and possibly of multiple origins based on the conodont and fusuline faunal affinities in different areas of eastern Myanmar.

Climatic warming has been widely cited as a driver for many mass extinction events in Earth history, including the middle-late Permian Guadalupian-Lopingian boundary (GLB) mass extinction and end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) investigated in this study. However, the role of warming in driving the EPME event is under debate because current paleotemperature studies indicate the rapid increase in sea-surface temperature postdate the onset of the EPME event, and a reliable paleotemperature record across the GLB event is lacking. Here, we present a high-resolution and successive δ 18 O record using low-Mg calcite shells of brachiopods (bLMCs) from a single stratigraphic section in central China to reconstruct paleotemperature changes from the middle to the latest Permian. After a rigorous screening for diagenesis, our data show a ∼1.0‰ decrease in δ 18 Ocalcite (and thus climatic warming) during the middle Capitanian, followed by a gradual ∼2.0‰ increase (climatic cooling) during the late Wuchiapingian. From the latest Wuchiapingian to the early Changhsingian, δ 18 O decreased gradually and reached the lowest values of -4.0‰ (and thus rapid climatic warming) immediately before the Permian-Triassic boundary. The two warming events are coeval with the onset of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province and the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province, respectively, suggesting the two volcanic events are the plausible drivers of these climatic warming events. A close comparison of paleontological and geochemical records indicates that the warming events occurred predate the GLB and EPME events, this is in contrast with conodont δ 18 Oapatite data which document the rapid climatic warming lagged the onset of the extinction event. The comparison between δ 18 O of bLMCs and δ 18 O of conodonts from the same section shows that the long-term trends are similar, but, at higher temporal resolution, discrepancies are present, entailing further investigation in the near future. Our study confirms that δ 18 O of the brachiopod shells underwent important changes during the end of Paleozoic, highlighting that sea surface temperature is a key factor to understand the biosphere history, since it changes simultaneously with the biological crises, and that bLMCs are invaluable archive for tracking physical and chemical conditions of past oceans.

The Guadalupian Epoch was characterized by major changes in paleogeography, paleoclimate, and biodiversity. Yet, the paucity of precise and accurate radioisotopic dates from the Guadalupian stages in their type area, Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas has rendered their calibration inadequate. In this study, we report high-precision U-Pb zircon geochronology by the CA-ID-TIMS method from three ash beds (2σ internal errors only) in the Rader Member of the Bell Canyon Formation at the Back Ridge Section (262.127 ± 0.097 Ma, MSWD = 0.89, n = 3), the lower Pinery Member of the Bell Canyon Formation at the Frijole Section (264.23 ± 0.13 Ma, MSWD = 0.89, n = 8) and the basal South Wells Member of the Cherry Canyon Formation at the Monolith Canyon Section (266.525 ± 0.078 Ma, MSWD = 0.62, n = 5). The Bayesian interpolation statistics method is used to establish an age-stratigraphy model that estimates the base of the Capitanian to be 264.28 ± 0.16 Ma, serving as the best age estimate for the Capitanian Stage at present. In addition, we review the existing geochronology from the Guadalupian Series in West Texas and seek to propose more precise temporal estimates of Guadalupian geological and biological events. These data constrain the high-frequency sequences of the Cherry Canyon and Bell Canyon formations in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park area. Accordingly, the base of the Wordian is estimated at 266.9 ± 0.4 Ma and the Illawarra geomagnetic polarity reversal in West Texas at 267.4 ± 0.4 Ma to 266.5 ± 0.3 Ma. The global end-Guadalupian extinction began in the conodont zone of Jinogondolella altudaensis above the base of the Reef Trail Member of the Bell Canyon Formation and might continue to the Clarkina postbitteri postbitteri Zone in the earliest Wuchiapingian. The conodonts display a rapid evolutionary rate during this interval. This constrains the biotic crisis from ca. 260 Ma to 259 Ma based on our conodont age estimation. The emplacement of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP) in South China has been constrained to ca. 260 Ma to 257.4 Ma based on zircon U-Pb geochronology by the CA-ID-TIMS method, overlapping with the end-Guadalupian extinction, which provides support for the temporal relationship between them. Additionally, the ELIP persisted into the early Wuchiapingian and may have hampered ecosystem restoration during the post-extinction interval.

As an important tool in natural resource exploration, palaeogeography provides a portrayal of deep time Earth. The South China Block located in the eastern Palaeotethys includes multiple natural resources (e.g., coal, shale gas, bauxite, etc.) in the Permian, which are well known for their important economic significance. In this paper, data gathered from literature amount to 431 stratigraphic sections of Wuchiapingian age from South China. These data were quantitatively analyzed and dynamically reconstructed in the global context under the revised plate motion model by GPlates software for the first time. A schematic 3-D model was constructed based on the high-resolution reconstructions in this paper, showing two relatively large highlands developed in the South China Block during the Wuchiapingian, including the Kangdian Highland in the west and the Cathaysia Highland in the east and a small Yunkai Highland in the south. A broad platform-dominated depositional system with small uplifts and depressions was developed between these two highlands. These reconstructions show great potential to explore enriched coal seams and shale gas in the peripheral areas of the two ancient highlands in the west and east of the South China Block. Based on the dynamic evolution of this depositional system, South China experienced an overall sea-level rise with frequent secondary transgressions and regressions during the Wuchiapingian. This is in contrast to the widespread continental and evaporite deposits on much of Pangea and its surrounding margins after the end-Guadalupian global regression. Compilation of conodont biostratigraphic data suggest that the temporal and spatial constraints on the unconformity across the Guadalupian-Lopingian boundary (GLB) resulted from Dongwu Uplift movement. The regression began during the Jinogondolella shannoni Zone and ended in the Clarkina leveni Zone, but the response time varies in different localities of South China. These results provide detailed information about sea-level eustacy, tectonic uplift, sedimentary hiatus, resource accumulation and palaeoclimate change from the South China Block during the Wuchiapingian.

To explore clinical efficacy of cannulated screw internal fixation in treating sustentaculum tali fractures with articular surface.From August 2012 to June 2017, 13 sustentaculum tali fracture patients with articular surface were treated by cannulated screw internal fixation, including 10 males and 3 females, aged from 26 to 58 years old. Joint plane flatness was evaluated by calcaneal width, clearance distance of middle-range and posterior talar articular surface on coronal position of CT scan before operation and 1 year after operation. AOFAS score at 1 year after operation was applied to evaluate clinical efficacy.All patients were followed up from 9 to 70 months. The fractures were healed well from 8 to 16 weeks. No subtalar arthritis and tenosynovitis occurred. Calcaneal width before operation was from 46.2 to 52.7 mm, and decreased from 35.2 to 39.2 mm after operation; clearance distance of middle-range before operation was from 4.5 to 4.8 mm, and decreased from 1.9 to 2.2 mm after operation; clearance distance of posterior talar articular surface before operation was from 2.4 to 2.8 before operation, and decreased from 1.9 to 2.3 mm after operation. AOFAS score at 1 year after operation ranged from 77 to 94, and 1 got excellent result and 12 moderate.The clinical efficacy of two cannulated screws with cross internal fixation for sustentaculum tali fractures with articular surface is satisfactory, sustentaculum tali fracture could obtain good reduction, recover smooth of middle talar articular surface, and the function of feet were improved.

The Qiangtang Metamorphic Belt (QMB) was considered to have either formedin situby amalgmation of the North and South Qiangtang blocks or been underthrust from the Jinsha suture and exhumed in the interior of a single ‘Qiangtang Block’. A newSphaeroschwagerinafusuline fauna discovered in the Raggyorcaka Lake area supports the interpretation that the North and South Qiangtang blocks were separated by a wide ocean during Asselian (Early Permian) time, indicating that the QMB was formed by the suturing of the Palaeotethys Ocean along the Longmu Co-Shuanghu suture.

The Tibetan Plateau, the highest plateau in the world, is relatively difficult to access. Therefore, the stratigraphy and fossils in this area are poorly known, although they are very important for interpreting the palaeogeographical evolution of different tectonic blocks. Here we report the new discovery of an abundant conodont fauna from the lowest part of the Xiala Formation in the central part of the Lhasa Block, Tibet. This conodont fauna includes three genera and four species (Mesogondolella idahoensis, M. siciliensis, Vjalovognathus nicolli Yuan, Shen & Henderson sp. nov. and Hindeodus sp.). The conodont fauna indicates that the lowest part of the Xiala Formation is late Kungurian in age based on the presence of abundant Mesogondolella idahoensis and the denticle characters of Vjalovognathus nicolli sp. nov. The presence of the conodont genus Vjalovognathus, the associated small solitary corals and the absence of any fusulinids clearly suggest a cool-water condition in the lower part of the Xiala F...