Unique burial practice by ancient cavemen of the Hoa Binh civilization in Vietnam

The discovery of a female skeleton is reported, which can be ascribed to the Hoa Binh civilization, existing about 10,000 years before now. The most remarkable fact concerning this finding is the existence of seashells (Cyprea arabica), which were found in the eye sockets. The reasons for this in Southeast Asia so far unique burial practice are discussed.     

Risk Assessment of Desertification for Binh Thuan Province,Vietnam

Vietnam is one among five ranked countries with high-risk injury due to the phenomenon of climate change. Geographically, Binh Thuan, a coastal province, is located in the Southern Centre area. Currently, natural disasters have become more frequent, particularly drought. Desertification has become more serious. Besides the natural causes as described above, there are several affected by human activities such as high population and poverty, inappropriate cultivating technique, deforestation, ill-adopted legal framework, weak management capacity, lack of adequate knowledge, and a lack of awareness in local population. To assess risks of desertification for the Binh Thuan province (Vietnam), a risk assessment model based on a Leopold matrix was applied. As a result, a model of cause and effect showed six degrees of impacts of environmental and social conditions on the socioeconomic developments from very highly to very unlikely significance. Risk assessment allows for a general figure of various impacts of desertification on the socioeconomic developments in Binh Thuan, Vietnam.     

Prevalence of Opisthorchis viverrini-Like Fluke Infection in Ducks in Binh Dinh Province,Central Vietnam

Following the first report of Opisthorchis viverrini infection in a domestic duck in Phu My District of Binh Dinh Province, Central Vietnam, many other cases were observed in the province. We determined the infection rate and intensity of O. viverrini infection in ducks in 4 districts of the province. A total of 178 ducks were randomly selected from 34 farms for examination of flukes in the liver and gall bladder. An infection rate of 34.3% (range 20.7-40.4% among districts) was found; the intensity of infection was 13.8 worms per infected duck (range 1-100). These findings show the role of ducks as a host for O. viverrini, duck genotype, which is sympatric with the human O. viverrini genotype in this province. It also stresses the need for investigations on the zoonotic potential and the life cycle of this parasite.     

Dengue Dynamics in Binh Thuan Province,Southern Vietnam: Periodicity,Synchronicity and Climate Variability

Background

Dengue is a major global public health problem with increasing incidence and geographic spread. The epidemiology is complex with long inter-epidemic intervals and endemic with seasonal fluctuations. This study was initiated to investigate dengue transmission dynamics in Binh Thuan province, southern Vietnam.

Methodology

Wavelet analyses were performed on time series of monthly notified dengue cases from January 1994 to June 2009 (i) to detect and quantify dengue periodicity, (ii) to describe synchrony patterns in both time and space, (iii) to investigate the spatio-temporal waves and (iv) to associate the relationship between dengue incidence and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices in Binh Thuan province, southern Vietnam.

Principal Findings

We demonstrate a continuous annual mode of oscillation and a multi-annual cycle of around 2–3-years was solely observed from 1996–2001. Synchrony in time and between districts was detected for both the annual and 2–3-year cycle. Phase differences used to describe the spatio-temporal patterns suggested that the seasonal wave of infection was either synchronous among all districts or moving away from Phan Thiet district. The 2–3-year periodic wave was moving towards, rather than away from Phan Thiet district. A strong non-stationary association between ENSO indices and climate variables with dengue incidence in the 2–3-year periodic band was found.

Conclusions

A multi-annual mode of oscillation was observed and these 2–3-year waves of infection probably started outside Binh Thuan province. Associations with climatic variables were observed with dengue incidence. Here, we have provided insight in dengue population transmission dynamics over the past 14.5 years. Further studies on an extensive time series dataset are needed to test the hypothesis that epidemics emanate from larger cities in southern Vietnam.     

Notes on the development of a mother-reared orang-utan: The first six months

Reproductive behavior is a topic of extreme importance in the literature of primate behavior. This report concerns the mother-infant interaction system in a captiveborn, mother-reared infant orang-utan during the first six months of its life. Of particular interest are the sexual behaviors directed by the mother toward the infant, and the regular stimulation of the infant's genitals. The behaviors described herein are compared to other mother-infant pairs of this and other anthropoid species. This research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health to the Yerkes Regional Primate Center (RR00165), the Emory University Psychology Department (HD00208), and a faculty research grant to the first author from Emory University's McCandless Fund for Biomedical Research.     

Diversity and community patterns of testate amoebae in Bau Sen and Bau Trang lakes in Binh Thuan Province,Vietnam

The species composition and distribution of testate amoebae in Bau Sen and Bau Trang lakes (Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam) were investigated. Fifty-three species, varieties and forms have been identified from the water column and sediments. Twenty-seven species, varieties and forms from the genera Arcella, Centropyxis, Cyclopyxis, Difflugia and Pyxidicula were found in Vietnam for the first time. The updated list of testate amoebae in Vietnam now includes 286 taxa. The genera Arcella, Centropyxis and Difflugia are characterized by the highest frequency of occurrence. The species diversity of Arcella, Centropyxis, Difflugia was the highest. Centropyxis aculeata, Arcella discoides, Difflugia schurmanni, Netzelia oviformis and Difflugia limnetica were the most common species. Many species have shown restricted distribution, some species have been found only in one lake and not been found in another lake. The number of observed species, varieties, and forms in each lake is 34. The average number of the species per sample on the shores of the lakes subjected to human agricultural activity was significantly higher than in the samples from the shores of the lakes with less anthropogenic disturbance. The curves of “cumulative species number vs. sampling effort” are well fitted by equations S = 7.60 N ^0.69 for Bau Sen lake and S = 12.52 N ^0.46 for Bau Trang. The curves are unsaturated, which indicates that more intensive investigations of testate amoebae should be expected to reveal more species.     

A canine tooth from the Siwaliks: first recorded discovery of a fossil ape?

Archival research reveals that it is highly probably that the first discovery of a fossil ape was made by Hugh Falconer and his associates in the 1830s during surveys of Neogene deposits in the Siwalik hills of British Colonial India. However, priority is commonly awarded to Edouard Lartet who, in 1837, brought to light a fossil primate specimen from the Miocene beds at Sansan in France to which Paul Gervais gave the namePliopithecus. Falconer's letters and scientific papers announcing the find of a fossil primate group from the Siwalik Hills were antecedent to Lartet's report to the French Academy of Sciences, Paris. The circumstances surrounding this misconception over priority of discovery of fossil apes are reviewed with attention to the historic significance of the Siwalik fossil primates and with respect to the development of paleoanthropology in South Asia.     

Types of morphogenesis of the dermal skeleton in fossil sharks

Four types of morphogenesis of the dermal skeleton can be distinguished. They differ with regard to scale growth, scale replacement and insertion of new scales during ontogeny. Three of the types occur exclusively in fossil sharks and have been found in only a few articulate specimens. In only one case (Jurassic hybodontids) it is possible to trace the phyletic transition from one type to another. The adaptive significance, both of different types of morphogenesis of the dermal skeleton as well as different types of scale shapes, is discussed.     

The first known neonate Ichthyosaurus communis skeleton: a rediscovered specimen from the Lower Jurassic,UK

Numerous specimens of Ichthyosaurus are known, but only very few small examples (total length of <1 m) have been assigned beyond Ichthyosaurus sp. Here, we report on a very small specimen (preflexural length of 560 mm) that can be unequivocally assigned to Ichthyosaurus communis due to possessing a unique combination of diagnostic skull and postcranial characters that are found in larger examples of the species. Furthermore, the specimen is identified as a neonate because of the small size, large sclerotic ring relative to the orbital region, and poorly ossified (highly cancellous) bones of the skull and postcranium. It is not an embryo as it is not preserved within an adult specimen and stomach contents are clearly evident. This is therefore the first neonate Ichthyosaurus communis skeleton to be described. The specimen, in the Lapworth Museum of Geology, University of Birmingham, has no provenance data associated with it. A microfossil analysis of the matrix in which the ichthyosaur skeleton is preserved strongly suggests a stratigraphic range of uppermost Hettangian to lowermost Sinemurian age (Lower Jurassic), but does not provide any geographical information.     

Assessing the impact of ecological security and forest fire susceptibility on carbon stocks in Bo Trach district,Quang Binh province,Vietnam

An assessment index of landscape ecological security (LES), different from other ecological models namely Pressure-State-Response (PSR), will be more accurate to capture temporal and geographic changes in landscape as well as ecosystem resilience and resistance to interference. In the present study, the impact of ecological security and forest fires on the carbon stock of forests in Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province, central Vietnam was evaluated and analyzed based on remote sensing data and a hybrid model of ant colony optimization (ACO) and neuro-fuzzy system (NFS). The present study indicated that forest fires are generally high throughout the study area, concentrating on areas exposed to and affected by human reclamation and production activities. The artificial neural network (ANN) model based on principal component analysis (PCA) combined Sentinel-1A data performed a higher prediction accuracy (R² = 0.74), being much greater than biomass estimation using optical data. It reveals that there is a reliability in estimating the aboveground carbon stocks (AGCs) from the aboveground biomass (AGB). The calculated data suggest the AGCs in the study area is high, but these parameters will loss severely in the coming years due to the nature and humans impacts. These results show that utilizing remote sensing combined with PCA-ANN model would have increased the accuracy of forest fire susceptibility, and detected assessment of the LES and forest fires on the AGCs. The above obtainings supply helpful information for managers and forest rangers to guard the forests in the study area better, and to limit human encroachment, thereby offering actions that contribute to sustainable development.     

A remarkable new species of Alloscorpiops Vachon, 1980 from a cave in Vietnam (Scorpiones,Euscorpiidae, Scorpiopinae)

Among the genera of the subfamily Scorpiopinae Kraepelin, 1905 Alloscorpiops remains rather discrete. Only recently new species were added to this genus, increasing its number from two to five. Therefore, species of Alloscorpiops remain rare. One remarkable new species, Alloscorpiops troglodytes sp. n., is described on the basis of a single male specimen collected inside a cave from Song Thanh Nature Reserve, Cha Vanh Commune, Nam Giang District in Vietnam. The new species presents most features exhibited by scorpions of the genus Alloscorpiops, but it is characterized by reduced size, slender body and elongated pedipalps. This new scorpion taxon represents the third species of Scorpiopinae discovered in a cave system, and may be another endemic element in the fauna of Vietnam.     

贵州波多洞和甲良洞内部分环境因子与动物群落结构的相关性

在2002-2005年的2月和7月多次赴荔波波多洞和甲良洞对肉眼能见到的软体动物、节肢动物和脊索动物进行了观察和采集。在波多洞共获标本1045号,隶属3门6纲13目27科45种或类群,在甲良洞共获标本469号,隶属3门6纲9目24科52种或类群。根据上述两洞内各光带中动物种类和数量组成,可划分为6个动物群落。经群落多样性分析,物种丰富度、群落多样性、最大多样性、均匀度、优势度和相似性指数最高的分别是群落D（8.3223）、D（3.4677）、D（3.8286）、D（0.9057）、C（0.0404）和D-E（0.6611）。环境因子与群落多样性的相关分析结果显示：土壤中有机质的含量与物种数、物种丰富度、群落多样性和群落最大多样性指数都呈极显著正相关（相关系数分别为0.908、0.913、0.826和0.818）,与群落均匀度指数呈显著正相关（相关系数为0.674）;空气中CO2的含量与物种数、物种丰富度、群落多样性、群落最大多样性和均匀度指数都呈负相关（相关系数分别为-0.324、-0.552、-0.573、-0.345和-0.742）。这些结果暗示土壤有机质的含量和空气中CO2的含量是影响洞穴动物群落变化的重要因子。     

The first find of fossil seals (phocidae,carnivora, mammalia) in the Maikop beds of Kalmykia

The data on a presumable lumbar vertebra of a fossil seal from the Maikopian beds of Kalmykia are provided. The specimen is confined to a suffocation taphocoenosis.     

The oldest complete skeleton of an Australopithecus in Africa (StW 573)

Although 78 years have elapsed since the discovery at Taung of the Australopithecus africanus, and despite intensive fieldwork in East Africa which resulted in 32 years of non-stop excavation at Sterkfontein, there has not been a discovery to date of a reasonably intact skull and associated skeleton of an ape-man. The following report is an account of an extraordinary series of events that led to the discovery of a complete skeleton on an Australopithecus, and a preliminary assessment of the significance of the fossil, which is still 5 years after its discovery largely embedded in the Member 2 breccia of the Sterkfontein Caves near Krugersdorp, South Africa.     

The species concept in a long-extinct fossil group,the conodonts

Conodonts are an extinct group of organisms, known from the Upper Cambrian to the Triassic. They have no extant representatives, and tooth-like buccal elements are usually the only remains of the animal found in the sediments. Therefore, most of their taxonomy rests on these elements that are good stratigraphic tools for these ancient periods, due to their rapid morphological evolution. Conodont species are usually described species that are based on either clusters of elements corresponding to an entire apparatus (natural assemblages), or on the most frequently preserved element. These described species are acceptable stratigraphic tools, but hardly consider the dimension of the variation that a biological species can encompass through time and space. In order to tackle temporal, environmental and biogeographical changes, recent studies have shown that morphological variation should be taken into account by quantitative analyses, aiming at getting at the closest of what the former species might have been.     

The first complete chloroplast genome sequence of a lycophyte, Huperzia lucidula (Lycopodiaceae)

We used a unique combination of techniques to sequence the first complete chloroplast genome of a lycophyte, Huperzia lucidula. This plant belongs to a significant clade hypothesized to represent the sister group to all other vascular plants. We used fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to isolate the organelles, rolling circle amplification (RCA) to amplify the genome, and shotgun sequencing to 8× depth coverage to obtain the complete chloroplast genome sequence. The genome is 154,373 bp, containing inverted repeats of 15,314 bp each, a large single-copy region of 104,088 bp, and a small single-copy region of 19,657 bp. Gene order is more similar to those of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts than to gene order for other vascular plants. For example, the Huperzia chloroplast genome possesses the bryophyte gene order for a previously characterized 30 kb inversion, thus supporting the hypothesis that lycophytes are sister to all other extant vascular plants. The lycophyte chloroplast genome data also enable a better reconstruction of the basal tracheophyte genome, which is useful for inferring relationships among bryophyte lineages. Several unique characters are observed in Huperzia, such as movement of the gene ndhF from the small single copy region into the inverted repeat. We present several analyses of evolutionary relationships among land plants by using nucleotide data, inferred amino acid sequences, and by comparing gene arrangements from chloroplast genomes. The results, while still tentative pending the large number of chloroplast genomes from other key lineages that are soon to be sequenced, are intriguing in themselves, and contribute to a growing comparative database of genomic and morphological data across the green plants.