内蒙古岱海DH99a岩芯沉积物碳含量变化与湖区全新世气候变迁

Daihai Lake, a graben-type closed lake, lies ca. 10 km east of Liangcheng County, Inner Mongolia, north-central China. For its location at the transition of semi-humid and semi-arid areas, and in the north edge of the East Asian monsoon, the lake is sensitive to changes in climate and environment. Based on analyses of total inorganic carbon (TIC), total organic carbon (TOC) and the ratio of total organic carbon to total nitrogen (C/N ratio) of DH99a core sediments recovered in the central part of Daihai Lake, the data suggest Holocene climatic history of the lake region is reconstructed. In this paper, the TIC and TOC contents of the lake sediments are closely related to climate changes. 1) Changes in TIC content of the lake sediments is closely related to climate, which directly reflect changes of temperature in the lake region, i.e., higher TIC content is linked with warmer temperature and stronger evaporation; 2) Changes in TOC and C/N ratio reflect the regional precipitation, i.e., relatively higher TOC content and C/N ratio indicate higher rainfall which results in stronger river flow and more organic matter entering into the lake. Data of the TIC content, TOC content and C/N ratio of DH99a core sediments suggest that climatic history of the Daihai Lake region is characterized by 4 stages. During the interval of ca. 11200-7500 a BP, higher TIC content, relatively lower TOC content and C/N ratio value indicate a warmer and slight dry condition over the lake area. From ca. 7500 to 4500 a BP, high values of TIC content, with an increase in TOC content and C/N ratio suggest the climate was warm and humid. Changes of TIC content, TOC content show that both temperature and precipitation displayed obvious fluctuations during the period, i.e., slightly cool and humid ca. 7500-6700 a BP, warm and moist ca. 6700-5300a BP, mild and comparatively humid ca. 5300-4500a BP. Between ca. 4500 and 2900 a BP, TIC content and TOC content decreased gradually while fluctuating, C/N ratio displayed a decreasing trend. These data imply that the climate generally became cooler and drier than the preceding period. The lowest values of TIC content, TOC content and C/N ratio during the interval of ca. 2900-0 a BP, demonstrate that the climate was severe, and became cool and dry. However the relative higher values of TIC content, TOC content and C/N ratio between ca. 1700 and 1300 a BP may denote an increase both in temperature and in precipitation. Data of TIC content, TOC content and C/N ratio in Daihai DH99a core sediments indicate that the warm period was asynchronous with the humid time, the warm interval began in ca. 11200 a BP, and ended in ca. 2900 a BP. The humid period was ca. 7500-2900 a BP. During ca. 7500^500 a BP, the climate was warm and humid, which was the climatic optimum of the Holocene Epoch in the Daihai Lake region. Data of TIC content, TOC content and C/N ratio in Daihai DH99a core sediments imply that the Holocene climate was unstable, the fluctuating events happened occasionally. Such as the cold and dry climate in ca. 4400-4200a BP, the warm and humid climatic condition in the period between ca.1700 and 1300a BP.

宁夏固原寺口子剖面磁性地层与孢粉植物群初步研究

In Asia continent, several significant environmental events happened during the Cenozoic era, such as uplift of the Tibet Plateau, formation of the Asian Monsoon system, aridification of the temperate inland region in Central Asia. To investigate the history of long-term palaeoclimate evolution during the late Cenozoic, a lacustrine sequence located at Sikouzi, Guyuan county, Ningxia-Hui Autonomous Region, was studied. The Sikouzi section is about 2880 m in thickness and has a general continuous nature according to field observation. Thus this thick lacustrine record is an important archive to further understand those environmental events. In this study, detailed field measurement, layer-after-layer description and sampling, and magnetostratigraphy and palynoflora investigations are conducted at the Sikouzi section and some preliminary results have been achieved as follows. Based on Hipparion fauna, pollen data and long distinctive patterns of the local magnetozones, the confident correlation of the Sikouzi magnetostratigraphic polarity to the GPTS (CK95) is best established, indicating that the top boundary of the Sikouzi formation is dated back to -19.8 Ma B.P. and consequently no Oligocene sediments deposited locally. On the other hand, both the field observation and the correlation to GPTS indicate a nearly continuous nature for the whole sequence. The palynological results show that the grassland has been a dominant vegetation in the Sikouzi area since ~19.8 Ma B.P, although some trees/shrubs were present sparsely during the intervals of relatively warm and wet climatic conditions. This implies that the onset of the aridification in northwestern China is dated back to at least 19.8 Ma B.P. ago. The Neogene Global Climatic Optimum (-16.0 Ma B.P.) occurring between the late Early Miocene and the early Middle Miocene is well documented in the Shanwang formation, Shandong Province. However, such event was not found in the Sikouzi record, and neither in the Guide and the Hualong basins, Qinghai province. This may lead us to the conclusion that the East-Asian Summer Monsoon system remained weak during the period of the Miocene Climatic Optimum although the onset of it was traced back to the Early Oligocene. In the Sikouzi area, it was warm between the latest Miocene and the early Pliocene and then became cool in the late Pliocene. This pattern is consistent with the palaeoclimate record of the Pliocene from other areas in the world.

甘肃西峰晚第三纪红粘土地层中的蜗牛化石记录及其古环境意义

In this study, 260 mollusk fossil samples from a Red Clay sequence at Xifeng, Gansu province, in the northern China were analyzed quantitatively. 12 fossil species and four fossil zones have been identified. Three main ecological groups were determined based on ecological requirement of each mollusk taxon. According to fossil composition and succession of three ecological groups, the author discussed the origin and sedimentary environment of the red clay deposits, and the process of ecological environmental changes as well as the variations of the East Asia monsoons during 6.2-2.4 Ma in the Loess Plateau. A preliminary study on periodicity of paleoclimatic changes was also conducted by using spectral analysis method. The main results and conclusions are presented as follows:A continuous land mollusk fossil sequence of 6.2-2.4 Ma from Xifeng Red Clay Formation has been established, which provided a basic data for studying the environmental changes during late Miocene to Pliocene.The study of composition and preservation condition of mollusk fossils reveals a terrestrial in situ ecological population in the Red Clay Formation. All of identifiable mollusk species are composed of terrestrial taxa, which support the view that the Red Clay is an eolian origin, similar to the overlying Quaternary loess deposits.The mollusk record reveals the processes of ecological and environmental changes during 6.2-2.4 Ma in the Loess Plateau. Climatic changes experienced cold and dry from 6.2-5.4 Ma, warm and wet during 5.4-4.5 Ma, mild and moderate from 4.5-3-4 Ma, to rapid cooling and drying after 3.4 Ma. From '5.4- 2.4 Ma, climate was stepwise cooling. The cooling trend is in good agreement with a general1 0global cooling trend during this period, as documented by marine 5 0 records.4. Three remarked ecological shifts took place in mollusk assemblages from 6.2-2.4 Ma, focused on about 5.4, 4.5 and 3.4 Ma. The warming shift around 5.4 Ma was probably related to the rising of the global temperature. The cooling shifts around 4,5 and 3.4 Ma however might be closely linked to the uplift of Tibet Plateau and the development of Northern Hemisphere ice sheet.The succession in mollusk ecological groups also recorded the variability of the East Asian winter and summer monsoon. The winter monsoon dominated two periods from 6.2-5.4 Ma and from 3.4-2.4 Ma, while the summer monsoon was strong during 5.4-4.5 Ma. The variations in winter and summer monsoons were in phase during 4.5-3.4 Ma. Monsoon regimes changed with the duration about 1 Ma, which roughly corresponds to the cycle driven by tectonic activity on the time scales of ICP-IO7 years. In addition, mollusk fossils recorded the large amplitude and high frequency fluctuations overlapped on 105-107 years climate cycle.The maximum entropy spectral analysis and filter-band analysis of total mollusk individuals and three typical ecological groups suggest that the climate changes controlled mainly by solar insolation had periods about 70 ka and 40 ka on the time scales of 105 during late Miocene-Pliocene. Climatic periodicity intensified from 4.0 Ma, which reflected strengthened forcing by high latitude ice volume.

亚洲地形和海陆分布变化对东亚环境格局形成演化的作用：数值模拟与地质记录对比

Earlier studies on the distribution of geological environmental indicators in China revealed drastic changes from a zonal climate pattern (planetary-wave-dominant pattern) in the Paleogene to a monsoon-dominant one in the Neogene, which suggested an inception of the initial East-Asian summer monsoon. However, there are different views about the time and causes of the changes.Here, we attempt to compile a series of paleoenvironmental maps based on newly collected climate indicators from the literatures and chronologically constrained evidence of geological maps in order to re-examine the temporal and spatial evolution of climate belts in China during the Cenozoic with special emphasis on the changes of the arid belt. These indicators include mammalian fauna, coal, carbonate concretions, jarosite, salt, gypsum deposits and pollen assemblages etc, with chronological controls that we believe reliable. Pollen assemblages and mammalian fauna have been classified into three categories (arid, semi-arid/sub-humid, humid) to reflect the intensity of aridity/humidity. Salt, jarosite and gypsum deposits are classified as the arid indicators. Carbonate concretions and coal are classified into the semi-arid/sub-humid and humid one respectively. Paleoenvironmental maps at 8 time slices have been reconstructed. They are the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Early Miocene, Middle Miocene, Late Miocene and Pliocene.And furthermore, we attempt to use IAP^AGCM to simulate the evolution of climate belts in emphasizing on the changes of the rain band, and compare the results with the paleoenvironmental maps in order to examine the causes of the drastic paleoenvironmental changes near the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. 36 sensitive numerical experiments are carried out using the IAP__AGCM to analyze the impacts of the uplift of the Himalayan-Tibetan complex, shrinkage of the Paratethys Sea, expansion of the South China Sea and the development of the polar ice sheets on rain band in China.The main conclusions are as follows:The obtained results essentially confirm the earlier conclusions about a zonal climate pattern in the Paleogene and a different pattern in the Neogene, and illustrate that a monsoon-dominant environmental pattern with inland aridity formed by the Early Miocene, which is temporally consist with the onset of eolian deposits in China.Cenozoic cooling and the formation of polar ice sheets are unlikely the main causes to the changes of environmental patterns mentioned above in China. But northern hemispheric cooling and the ice-sheets can intensify the Siberian High Pressure, and strengthen the winter monsoon circulations and enhance the aridity in the west part of China. These results support the earlier studies.Shrinkage of the Paratethys Sea and uplift of the Himalayan-Tibetan complex played important roles in strengthening the East Asian monsoon and induceing the above changes of environmental pattern, which is consistent with the earlier studies. Furthermore, "the monsoon-dominant pattern" appears when the Himalayan-Tibetan complex reaches to about 1000-2000 meters high and the Paratethys Sea retreats to the Turan Plate.4) Expansion of the South China Sea is another significant factor that drives the evolution of environmental patterns. We believe that the above three factors co-act and drive the change of the environmental patterns from a planetary-wave-dominant one to a monsoon-dominant one. However, the impacts of each factor vary by regions. The uplift mainly increases the humidity in Southwestern China and the aridity in northwestern country. The shrinkage mainly increases the humidity in Northern China and also enhances the aridity in the northwestern country. The expansion greatly increases the humidity in the south part of China.

岱海岩芯沉积的粒度组成与湖区全新世降水变化历史

Sediment cores DH99a and DH99b recovered in the central part of Daihai Lake in north-central China were analysed at 2- to 4-crn intervals for grain-size distribution. Grain-size distributions of the lake sediments are inferred to be a proxy for past changes in East Asian monsoon precipitation, such that greater silt-size percentage and higher median grain size reflect increased monsoonal precipitation rates. The grain-size record of Daihai Lake sediments spanning the last ca 11,000 yr indicates that the monsoonal precipitation in the lake region can be divided into three stages: the Early, Middle and Late Holocene. During the Early Holocene before ca 7900 cal yr BP, the median grain size (Md) and the silt-fraction content were relatively low and constant, suggesting relatively low precipitation over the lake region. The Middle Holocene between ca 7900 and 3100 cal yr BP was marked by intensified and highly variable monsoonal precipitation, as indicated by high and variable Md values and silt contents of the lake sediments. During this period, average precipitation rate gradually increased from ca 7900 to 6900 cal yr BP, displayed intense oscillations between ca 6900 and 4400 cal yr BP, and exhibited a decreasing trend while fluctuating from ca 4400 to 3100 cal yr BP Although generally high during the Middle Holocene, both the Md and the silt content assumed distinctly low values at the short intervals of ca 6500-6400, 6000-5900, 5700-5600, 4400-4200 cal yr BP, implying that monsoonal precipitation might have been significantly reduced during these intervals. During the Late Holocene since ca 3100 cal yr BP, grain-size values suggest that precipitation decreased. However, during the Late Holocene, relatively higher Md values and silt contents occurring between ca 1700 to 1000 cal yr BP may denote an intensification of hydrological cycles in the lake area. Changes in the East Asian monsoonal precipitation were not only directly linked with the changing seasonality of solar insolation resulting from progressive changes in the Earth's orbital parameters, but also may have been closely related to variations in the temperature and size of the Western Pacific Warm Pool, in the intensity of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, and in the path and strength of the North Equatorial Current in the western Pacific.

中国黄土的磁组构特征及其古风向指示意义

The transportation and deposition of eolian materials of Chinese loess is correlated and effected by the monsoon from the mid-high latitude. Therefore study of the winter monsoon evolution can help us to understand the dynamic mechanism to climate changes in the east-Asian areas. The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) measurements have been carried out on the samples from the last 250ka wind -blown loess-paleosol sequences at Baicaoyuan and Luochuan. And the main conclusions are following:The magnetic foliation is almost horizontal of the two sections. AMS canthus be represented by an oblate ellipsoid with average K3 perpendicular to thebedding plane and Ki within the bedding plane. It has also shown that the ^-factor isless than 0.5 of the majority of samples. So the two sections are normal magneticfabric for sediments.The degree of anisotropy always shows a strong correlation with the foliationrather than with lineation, therefore the anisotropy is controlled by the foliation.Furthermore the foliation is nearly less than 1.02 and shows the typical wind-blownsediments anisotropy.The intensity of winter monsoon, grain size of the eolian inputs, the foliationand the degree of anisotropy are somewhat inter-related. Generally, the higherintensity of the winter monsoon will carry coarser-grained eolian material, therebyresulting in a larger foliation during deposition. Also the post-depositional compactioncontributes to the anisotropy.The AMS features between loess and paleosol are somewhat different. Wefound that the F, P values of paleosol are lower than that of its parent loess respectively. Moreover, the difference does also exists between the two sections. The anisotropy of Baicaoyuan is more significant than Luochuan section, which maybe related with the location and the intensity of the post-deposition reworks.5. We note that the declination of the long axis is NWW in Baicaoyuan section and the observed NWW direction of the winter monsoon winds based on AMS is consistent with the view that the winter monsoons prevail along the NW-SE direction. But at the Luochuan section, because of the strong affection of the post-deposition reworks, the direction of the long axis is nearly random in the foliation and hardly recognizes the paleowind direction since the last two interglacials.Correlation between the two loess-paleosol sequences implies that it is available in arid or semi-arid areas to take AMS to recognize the paleowind directions on the Loess Plateau.

The political philosophy of Miki Kiyoshi: A close reading of the philosophical foundations of cooperative communitarianism

The thesis is a historical and philological study of the mature political theory of Miki Kiyoshi (1897-1945) focused on Philosophical Foundations of Cooperative Communitarianism (1939), a full translation of which is included. As the name suggests, it was a methodological and normative communitarianism, which critically built on liberalism, Marxism and Confucianism to realise a regional political community. Some of Miki’s Western readers have wrongly considered him a fascist ideologue, while he has been considered a humanist Marxist in Japan. A closer reading cannot support either view. The thesis argues that the Anglophone study of Japanese philosophy is a degenerating research programme ripe for revolution in the sense of returning full circle to an original point. That means returning to the texts, reading them contextually and philologically, in principle as early modern European political theory is read by intellectual historians, such as the representatives of Cambridge School history of political thought. The resulting reading builds critically on the Japanese scholarship and relates it to contemporary Western and postcolonial political theory and the East Asian tradition, particularly neo-Confucianism. The thesis argues for a Cambridge School perspective radicalised by the critical addendum of geo-cultural context, supplemented by Geertzian intercultural hermeneutics and a Saidian ‘return to philology’. As against those who have seen radical reorientations in Miki’s political thought, the thesis finds gradual progression and continuity between his neo-Kantian, existentialist, Marxian anthropology, Hegelian and finally communitarian phases. The theoretical underpinnings are his philosophical anthropology, a structurationist social theory of praxis, and a critique of liberalism, Marxism, nationalism and idealism emphasising concrete as opposed to abstract theory and the need to build on existing cultural traditions to modernise rather than westernise East Asia. This post-Western fusion was imagined to be the beginning of a true and pluralistic universalism.

A Comparative Study of the Chinese Trickster Hero Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong is a fictional hero from the Chinese classic The Journey to the West. As a well-known trickster, Wukong has a lot of similarities with several other tricksters around the world. In order to analyze him, I try to explain both his similarities with, and differences from, other tricksters, especially in the Ancient Greek folklore and myth traditions. The first half of the paper focuses on the general characteristics of tricksters. As a very distinctive group in global mythology, tricksters have particular features. The definition and symbolization of tricksters are illustrated by comparing Wukong and major Greek tricksters, such as Hermes, Odysseus, and Prometheus. The second part of the paper is concentrated on the heroic features of tricksters and the cultural values reflected in the Wukong narrative. How tricksters become cultural heroes is the main theme of Chapter Three. I explain their evolution by elaborating on the change in their nature mentioned in the second chapter. The fourth chapter illustrates the reason why Wukong is an East Asian cultural hero.I explore the personalities of Wukong and see how they fit the dominant philosophy and cultural values of the region. The last chapter briefly shows how popular Wukong is in Chinese and the entire East Asian culture.

Phylogeny and ancient DNA of Sus provides insights into neolithic expansion in Island Southeast Asia and Oceania

Human settlement of Oceania marked the culmination of a global colonization process that began when humans first left Africa at least 90,000 years ago. The precise origins and dispersal routes of the Austronesian peoples and the associated Lapita culture remain contentious, and numerous disparate models of dispersal (based primarily on linguistic, genetic, and archeological data) have been proposed. Here, through the use of mtDNA from 781 modern and ancient Sus specimens, we provide evidence for an early human-mediated translocation of the Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis) to Flores and Timor and two later separate human-mediated dispersals of domestic pig (Sus scrofa) through Island Southeast Asia into Oceania. Of the later dispersal routes, one is unequivocally associated with the Neolithic (Lapita) and later Polynesian migrations and links modern and archeological Javan, Sumatran, Wallacean, and Oceanic pigs with mainland Southeast Asian S. scrofa. Archeological and genetic evidence shows these pigs were certainly introduced to islands east of the Wallace Line, including New Guinea, and that so-called "wild" pigs within this region are most likely feral descendants of domestic pigs introduced by early agriculturalists. The other later pig dispersal links mainland East Asian pigs to western Micronesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. These results provide important data with which to test current models for human dispersal in the region. © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

Biometric gonioscopy and the effects of age, race, and sex on the anterior chamber angle.

AIM:

To utilise a novel method for making measurements in the anterior chamber in order to compare the anterior chamber angles of people of European, African, and east Asian descent aged 40 years and over.

METHODS:

A cross sectional study on 15 people of each sex from each decade from the 40s to the 70s, from each of three racial groups-black, white, and Chinese Singaporeans. Biometric gonioscopy (BG) utilises a slit lamp mounted reticule to make measurements from the apparent iris insertion to Schwalbe's line through a Goldmann one mirror goniolens. The main outcome measures were BG measurements of the anterior chamber angle as detailed above.

RESULTS:

There was no significant difference in angle measurement between black, white, and Chinese races in this study. However, at younger ages people of Chinese race appeared to have deeper angles than white or black people, whereas the angles of older Chinese were significantly narrower (p = 0.004 for the difference in slope of BG by age between Chinese and both black and white people).

CONCLUSION:

The failure to detect a difference in angle measurements between these groups was surprising, given the much higher prevalence of angle closure among Chinese. It appears that the overall apparent similarity of BG means between Chinese and Western populations may mask very different trends with age. The apparently more rapid decline in angle width measurements with age among Chinese may be due to the higher prevalence of cataract or "creeping angle closure." However, longitudinal inferences from cross sectional data are problematic, and this may represent a cohort phenomenon caused by the increasing prevalence of myopia in the younger Singaporean population.

Distribution of soil selenium in China is potentially controlled by deposition and volatilization?

Elucidating the environmental drivers of selenium (Se) spatial distribution in soils at a continental scale is essential to better understand it's biogeochemical cycling to improve Se transfer into diets. Through modelling Se biogeochemistry in China we found that deposition and volatilization are key factors controlling distribution in surface soil, rather than bedrock-derived Se (<0.1 mg/kg). Wet deposition associated with the East Asian summer monsoon, and dry deposition associated with the East Asian winter monsoon, are responsible for dominant Se inputs into northwest and southeast China, respectively. In Central China the rate of soil Se volatilization is similar to that of Se deposition, suggesting that Se volatilization offsets it's deposition, resulting in negligible net Se input in soil. Selenium in surface soil at Central China is roughly equal to low petrogenic Se, which is the main reason for the presence of the Se poor belt. We suggest that both deposition and volatilization of Se could play a key role in Se balance in other terrestrial environments worldwide.

Transmitting Chinese Medicine: Changing Perceptions of Body, Pathology, and Treatment in Late Imperial China

Historians of Chinese medicine acknowledge the plurality of Chinese medicine along both synchronic and diachronic dimensions. Yet, there remains a tendency to think of tradition as being defined by some unchanging features. The Chinese medical body is a case in point. This is assumed to have been formalised by the late Han dynasty around a system of internal organs, conduits, collaterals, and associated body structures. Although criticism was voiced from time to time, this body and the micro/ macrocosmic cosmological resonances that underpin it are seen to persist until the present day. I challenge this view by attending to attempts by physicians in China and Japan in the period from the mid 16th to the late 18th century to reimagine this body. Working within the domain of cold damage therapeutics and combining philological scholarship, empirical observations, and new hermeneutic strategies these physicians worked their way towards a new territorial understanding of the body and of medicine as warfare that required an intimate familiarity with the body’s topography. In late imperial China this new view of the body and medicine was gradually re-absorbed into the mainstream. In Japan, however, it led to a break with this orthodoxy that in the Republican era became influential in China once more. I argue that attending further to the innovations of this period—commonly portrayed as one of decline—from a transnational perspective may help to go beyond the modern insistence to frame East Asian medicines as traditional.

Contribution to the geology of Thailand and implications for the geodynamic evolution of Southeast Asia

Abstract The purpose of this study is to unravel the geodynamic evolution of Thailand and, from that, to extend the interpretation to the rest of Southeast Asia. The methodology was based in a first time on fieldwork in Northern Thailand and Southernmost Myanmar, using a multidisciplinary approach, and then on the compilation and re-interpretation, in a plate tectonics point of view, of existing data about the whole Southeast Asia. The main results concern the Nan-Uttaradit suture, the Chiang Mai Volcanic Belt and the proposition of a new location for the Palaeotethys suture. This led to the establishment of a new plate tectonic model for the geodynamic evolution of Southeast Asia, implying the existence new terranes (Orang Laut and the redefinition of Shan-Thai) and the role of the Palaeopacific Ocean in the tectonic development of the area. The model proposed here considers the Palaeotethys suture as located along the Tertiary Mae Yuam Fault, which represents the divide between the Cimmerian Sibumasu terrane and the Indochina-derived Shan-Thai block. The term Shan-Thai, previously used to define the Cimmerian area (when the Palaeotethys suture was thought to represented by the Nan-Uttaradit suture), was redefined here by keeping its geographical location within the Shan States of Myanmar and Central-Northern Thailand, but attributing it an East Asian Origin. Its detachment from Indochina was the result of the Early Permian opening of the Nan basin. The Nan basin closed during the Middle Triassic, before the deposition of Carnian-Norian molasse. The modalities of the closure of the basin imply a first phase of Middle Permian obduction, followed by final eastwards subduction. The Chiang Mai Volcanic Belt consists of scattered basaltic rocks erupted at least during the Viséan in an extensional continental intraplate setting, on the Shan-Thai part of the Indochina block. The Viséan age was established by the dating of limestone stratigraphically overlying the basalts. In several localities of the East Asian Continent, coeval extensional features occur, possibly implying one or more Early Carboniferous extensional events at a regional scale. These events occurred either due to the presence of a mantle plume or to the roll-back of the Palaeopacific Ocean, subducting beneath Indochina and South China, or both. The Palaeopacific Ocean is responsible, during the Early Permian, for the opening of the Song Ma and Poko back-arcs (Vietnam) with the consequent detachment of the Orang Laut Terranes (Eastern Vietnam, West Sumatra, Kalimantan, Palawan, Taiwan). The Late Triassic/Early Jurassic closure of the Eastern Palaeotethys is considered as having taken place by subduction beneath its southern margin (Gondwana), due to the absence of Late Palaeozoic arc magmatism on its northern (Indochinese) margin and the presence of volcanism on the Cimmerian blocks (Mergui, Lhasa). Résumé Le but de cette étude est d'éclaircir l'évolution géodynamique de la Thaïlande et, à partir de cela, d'étendre l'interprétation au reste de l'Asie du Sud-Est. La méthodologie utilisée est basée dans un premier temps sur du travail de terrain en Thaïlande du nord et dans l'extrême sud du Myanmar, en se basant sur une approche pluridisciplinaire. Dans un deuxième temps, la compilation et la réinterprétation de données préexistantes sur l'Asie du Sud-est la été faite, dans une optique basée sur la tectonique des plaques. Les principaux résultats de ce travail concernent la suture de Nan-Uttaradit, la « Chiang Mai Volcanic Belt» et la proposition d'une nouvelle localité pour la suture de la Paléotethys. Ceci a conduit à l'établissement d'un nouveau modèle pour l'évolution géodynamique de l'Asie du Sud-est, impliquant l'existence de nouveaux terranes (Orang Laut et Shan-Thai redéfini) et le rôle joué par le Paléopacifique dans le développement tectonique de la région. Le modèle présenté ici considère que la suture de la Paléotethys est située le long de la faille Tertiaire de Mae Yuam, qui représente la séparation entre le terrain Cimmérien de Sibumasu et le bloc de Shan-Thai, d'origine Indochinoise. Le terme Shan-Thai, anciennement utilise pour définir le bloc Cimmérien (quand la suture de la Paléotethys était considérée être représentée par la suture de Nan-Uttaradit), a été redéfini ici en maintenant sa localisation géographique dans les états Shan du Myanmar et la Thaïlande nord-centrale, mais en lui attribuant une origine Est Asiatique. Son détachement de l'Indochine est le résultat de l'ouverture du basin de Nan au Permien Inférieur. Le basin de Nan s'est fermé pendant le Trias Moyen, avant le dépôt de molasse Carnienne-Norienne. Les modalités de fermeture du basin invoquent une première phase d'obduction au Permien Moyen, suivie par une subduction finale vers l'est. La "Chiang Mai Volcanic Belt" consiste en des basaltes éparpillés qui ont mis en place au moins pendant le Viséen dans un contexte extensif intraplaque continental sur la partie de l'Indochine correspondant au bloc de Shan-Thai. L'âge Viséen a été établi sur la base de la datation de calcaires qui surmontent stratigraphiquement les basaltes. Dans plusieurs localités du continent Est Asiatique, des preuves d'extension plus ou moins contemporaines ont été retrouvées, ce qui implique l'existence d'une ou plusieurs phases d'extension au Carbonifère Inférieur a une échelle régionale. Ces événements sont attribués soit à la présence d'un plume mantellique, ou au rollback du Paléopacifique, qui subductait sous l'Indochine et la Chine Sud, soit les deux. Pendant le Permien inférieur, le Paléopacifique est responsable pour l'ouverture des basins d'arrière arc de Song Ma et Poko (Vietnam), induisant le détachement des Orang Laut Terranes (Est Vietnam, Ouest Sumatra, Kalimantan, Palawan, Taiwan). La fermeture de la Paléotethys Orientale au Trias Supérieur/Jurassique Inférieur est considérée avoir eu lieu par subduction sous sa marge méridionale (Gondwana), à cause de l'absence de magmatisme d'arc sur sa marge nord (Indochinoise) et de la présence de volcanisme sur les blocs Cimmériens de Lhassa et Sibumasu (Mergui). Résumé large public L'histoire géologique de l'Asie du Sud-est depuis environ 430 millions d'années a été déterminée par les collisions successives de plusieurs continents les uns avec les autres. Il y a environ 430 millions d'années, au Silurien, un grand continent appelé Gondwana, a commencé à se «déchirer» sous l'effet des contraintes tectoniques qui le tiraient. Cette extension a provoqué la rupture du continent et l'ouverture d'un grand océan, appelé Paléotethys, éloignant les deux parties désormais séparées. C'est ainsi que le continent Est Asiatique, composé d'une partie de la Chine actuelle, de la Thaïlande, du Myanmar, de Sumatra, du Vietnam et de Bornéo a été entraîné avec le bord (marge) nord de la Paléotethys, qui s'ouvrait petit à petit. Durant le Carbonifère Supérieur, il y a environ 300 millions d'années, le sud du Gondwana subissait une glaciation, comme en témoigne le dépôt de sédiments glaciaires dans les couches de cet âge. Au même moment le continent Est Asiatique se trouvait à des latitudes tropicales ou équatoriales, ce qui permettait le dépôt de calcaires contenant différents fossiles de foraminifères d'eau chaude et de coraux. Durant le Permien Inférieur, il y a environ 295 millions d'années, la Paléotethys Orientale, qui était un relativement vieil océan avec une croûte froide et lourde, se refermait. La croûte océanique a commencé à s'enfoncer, au sud, sous le Gondwana. C'est ce que l'on appelle la subduction. Ainsi, le Gondwana s'est retrouvé en position de plaque supérieure, par rapport à la Paléotethys qui, elle, était en plaque inférieure. La plaque inférieure en subductant a commencé à reculer. Comme elle ne pouvait pas se désolidariser de la plaque supérieure, en reculant elle l'a tirée. C'est le phénomène du «roll-back ». Cette traction a eu pour effet de déchirer une nouvelle fois le Gondwana, ce qui a résulté en la création d'un nouvel Océan, la Neotethys. Cet Océan en s'ouvrant a déplacé une longue bande continentale que l'on appelle les blocs Cimmériens. La Paléotethys était donc en train de se fermer, la Neotethys de s'ouvrir, et entre deux les blocs Cimmériens se rapprochaient du Continent Est Asiatique. Pendant ce temps, le continent Est Asiatique était aussi soumis à des tensions tectoniques. L'Océan Paléopacifique, à l'est de celui-ci, était aussi en train de subducter. Cette subduction, par roll-back, a déchiré le continent en détachant une ligne de microcontinents appelés ici « Orang Laut Terranes », séparés du continent par deux océans d'arrière arc : Song Ma et Poko. Ceux-ci sont composés de Taiwan, Palawan, Bornéo ouest, Vietnam oriental, et la partie occidentale de Sumatra. Un autre Océan s'est ouvert pratiquement au même moment dans le continent Est Asiatique : l'Océan de Nan qui, en s'ouvrant, a détaché un microcontinent appelé Shan-Thai. La fermeture de l'Océan de Nan, il y a environ 230 millions d'années a resolidarisé Shan-Thai et le continent Est Asiatique et la trace de cet événement est aujourd'hui enregistrée dans la suture (la cicatrice de l'Océan) de Nan-Uttaradit. La cause de l'ouverture de l'Océan de Nan peut soit être due à la subduction du Paléopacifique, soit aux fait que la subduction de la Paléotethys tirait le continent Est Asiatique par le phénomène du « slab-pull », soit aux deux. La subduction du Paléopacifique avait déjà crée de l'extension dans le continent Est Asiatique durant le Carbonifère Inférieur (il y a environ 340-350 millions d'années) en créant des bassins et du volcanisme, aujourd'hui enregistré en différents endroits du continent, dont la ceinture volcanique de Chiang Mai, étudiée ici. A la fin du Trias, la Paléotethys se refermait complètement, et le bloc Cimmérien de Sibumasu entrait en collision avec le continent Est Asiatique. Comme c'est souvent le cas avec les grands océans, il n'y a pas de suture proprement dite, avec des fragments de croûte océanique, pour témoigner de cet évènement. Celui-ci est visible grâce à la différence entre les sédiments du Carbonifère Supérieur et du Permieñ Inférieur de chaque domaine : dans le domaine Cimmérien ils sont de type glaciaire alors que dans le continent Est Asiatique ils témoignent d'un climat tropical. Les océans de Song Ma et Poko se sont aussi refermés au Trias, mais eux ont laissé des sutures visibles

Genetic variants in novel pathways influence blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk.

Blood pressure is a heritable trait influenced by several biological pathways and responsive to environmental stimuli. Over one billion people worldwide have hypertension (≥140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure or  ≥90 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure). Even small increments in blood pressure are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. This genome-wide association study of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which used a multi-stage design in 200,000 individuals of European descent, identified sixteen novel loci: six of these loci contain genes previously known or suspected to regulate blood pressure (GUCY1A3-GUCY1B3, NPR3-C5orf23, ADM, FURIN-FES, GOSR2, GNAS-EDN3); the other ten provide new clues to blood pressure physiology. A genetic risk score based on 29 genome-wide significant variants was associated with hypertension, left ventricular wall thickness, stroke and coronary artery disease, but not kidney disease or kidney function. We also observed associations with blood pressure in East Asian, South Asian and African ancestry individuals. Our findings provide new insights into the genetics and biology of blood pressure, and suggest potential novel therapeutic pathways for cardiovascular disease prevention.