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The innovations of agricultural production and their extensive dispersal promoted the transformation of human livelihoods and profoundly influenced the evolution of human-land relationships in late prehistoric Eurasia. The Steppe and Silk Roads (SSRs) played important roles in the transcontinental exchange and dispersal of cereal crops and livestock related to agricultural innovation across Eurasia before the Han Dynasty (202 BC to AD 220), while the geographical-temporal variations in prehistoric subsistence in relation to the spread and exchange of cereal crops and livestock originating from different areas of Eurasia still remain unclear. In this paper, we explore these issues based on the review and analysis of published archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, and carbon-stable isotope data from human bones from Neolithic-Early Iron Age sites in areas along the SSRs, with a comparison to updated results based on radiocarbon dating and ancient DNA analyses. Our results suggest that humans engaged in hunting game, while foxtail/broomcorn millet cultivation gradually became the primary subsistence strategy in Eastern SSRs from 10,500 to 6000 a BP. In contemporaneous Western SSRs, humans mainly cultivated wheat/barley and raised sheep/goats, cattle, and pigs. Trans-Eurasian exchange, which is reflected by the mixed utilization of wheat/barley and millet, emerged in the south-central Steppe during 6000–4000 a BP, while millet cultivation and pig husbandry became the dominant livelihoods in most areas of Eastern SSRs. During 4000–2200 a BP, Silk Roads became the major passageway for trans-Eurasian exchange, the interactive development of oasis agriculture and pastoralism facilitated intensive human settlement in the Central Silk Roads, and subsistence strategies substantially changed with significant geographical differences in Eastern SSRs, while subsistence in some areas of Western SSRs was evidently affected by the introduction and adoption of millet crops after 3000 a BP. The geographical-temporal variations in subsistence in the SSRs from the Neolithic to Early Iron Age were primarily affected by the prehistoric dispersal of farming groups across Eurasia, which was accompanied by the spread of cereal crops/livestock, while the impacts of climate change still need to be further evaluated.

Human settlement and agricultural development are closely linked to local geomorphological and climatic environments. However, the variation in agricultural systems in different environmental and prehistoric contexts remains unknown. We report new archaeobotanical and radiocarbon dates from 34 Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in the Hutuo River Valley (HTRV) in north-central China and compare them with updated archaeobotanical studies in the Sushui River Valley (SSRV) and Henan Province (HNP), to explore the similarities and differences of agricultural patterns under different geomorphologic and climatic environments in north-central China. Our results reveal that humans consistently cultivated foxtail and broomcorn millet in the HTRV from the Miaodigou (6000–5700 cal. a BP) to the Shang-Zhou (3600–2256 cal. a BP) period, despite the introduction of wheat and barley into the area around 4000 a BP. Climate conditions and hilly landforms in the HTRV, SSRV and some parts of the HNP led people to develop foxtail and broomcorn millet dry land farming practices between 7000 and 3000 a BP. Alternatively, in other areas of the HNP, the climate conditions and alluvial plains enabled people to develop a mixed agriculture of millets, soybeans, and rice from 7000 to 4000 a BP, with the addition of wheat between 4000 and 3000 a BP. Farmers’ different agricultural technologies and interactions with foreign cultures may have also influenced the formation of different agricultural patterns in the three regions between 7000 and 3000 a BP. Population growth during 7000–3000 a BP can explain the overall propensity of the higher-yield foxtail millet rather than broomcorn millet as the main cultivated crop. In the HTRV, however, higher proportions of broomcorn millet (as compared to the SSRV and HNP), may reflect the greater drought and heat tolerance of broomcorn millet, representing an adaptive agricultural strategy in the river valley.

The Proto-Shang, the Shang and the Zhou dynasties (∼2000-221 BCE: Before Common Era) are key periods in the origin and evolution of ancient civilizations in China since the periods include the processes and mechanisms of social development in the Central Plains of China during the Bronze Age. However, human-environment interactions in the context of trans-Eurasia cultural exchange during that time are not well-understood. In this study, isotopic analysis and radiocarbon dating of human and animal bones from Xinancheng cemetery in southeast Shanxi Province are reported. It was deduced that, for the period ∼1000-800 BCE, humans buried in Xinancheng cemetery relied primarily on C4-based foods and upper-status individuals consumed more animal protein and probably C3 crops. Also, considering the paleoclimate and other archaeological data of the Central Plains, the human diet and subsistence strategies changed significantly with more C3 staples such as wheat being consumed during the Eastern Zhou (770-221 BCE), as evidenced by an increased intake of wheat by lower-status individuals and the development of a mixed wheat and millet agricultural system. It is argued that the socio-economic change around the late western Zhou-early eastern Zhou Dynasty occurred as a result of the necessity to adapt to the aggravation caused by climate deterioration and population pressures, factors which profoundly influenced the economic and lifestyle patterns in ancient China. The socio-economic system of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty displayed more resilience to climate change than that of earlier periods.

Broomcorn and foxtail millet were the most important crops in northern China during the Neolithic period. Although the significance of broomcorn millet in human subsistence exceeded that of foxtail millet during the early Neolithic, this pattern was reversed by the end of Neolithic period. However, the process underlying this shift remains unclear. The recent excavation of the Gedachuan (GDC) in Zhangjiachuan county has revealed an abundance of relics including millet crop remains from relatively continuous strata of the Yangshao and Qijia cultures, and therefore provides a unique opportunity to examine how and when foxtail millet replaced broomcorn millet as the dominant crop in the western Loess Plateau during the Neolithic period. In this study, we identify 1,738 and 2,686 broomcorn and foxtail millet remains, respectively, from 74 flotation samples, accounting for 38.81% and 59.98% of total plant remains, respectively. Compared with 23 direct dates of carbonized crop grains in GDC, we propose that the weight of foxtail millet in plant subsistence of GDC first exceeded that of broomcorn millet as early as ∼5,500 BP, filling an important gap in the archaeobotanical record from the western Loess Plateau. Further comparative analysis of multidisciplinary data suggests the shift in significance of these two millet crops during the late Neolithic may have been triggered by variations in human settlement intensity and climate change in the western Loess Plateau. The results of this study also suggest that the Banpo Phase of Yangshao Culture survived in the western Loess Plateau as late as ∼5,600 BP.

Depression has been widely recognized as an important accelerating factor contributing to the aggravation of cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. Previous studies show that microglia-mediated neuroinflammation is a common and critical event in the etiology of both depression and dementia, but whether and how microglia participate in the process of depression-exacerbating AD pathology is largely unknown. By establishing the learned helplessness depression model on 5×FAD mice, we confirmed that depression can indeed promote Aβ plaque deposition and deteriorate the cognitive performance of the AD mice. Importantly, we found that microglial lactate concentration is dramatically increased in the depressed AD brain, leading to activation of potassium channel Kv1.3 likely through non-direct-lactylation. The activated Kv1.3 further facilitates Aβ-containing exosome spreading from microglia in the vicinity of Aβ plaque into the surrounding brain tissue. Notably, conditional knock-out of Kv1.3 in microglia can reverse the depression-induced acceleration of AD pathology and cognitive decline. Together, our study highlights an important function of microglia Kv1.3 in the promotion of Aβ propagation in the context of depression-exacerbating AD pathology.

Human subsistence strategies and husbandry practices for sheep, goats, and cattle in the Gan-Qing region between the late Neolithic and Bronze ages remain ambiguous. This study sought to uncover this history by analyzing animal assemblages and reconstructing animal dietary intake using faunal remains derived from three settlement sites in the region and their isotopic data. We isotopically analyzed a total of 387 animal samples and found that from 5300 to 4900 BP and 4100 to 3600 BP pigs were free-range and/or raised at inhabitation sites and dogs may have been free-range and may have hunted with humans and/or remained close to habitation sites. These flexible ways of raising pigs and dogs may have enabled inhabitants to make full use of natural resources and to save millet fodder. Meanwhile, sheep, goats, and cattle were mainly herded in grasslands during the Bronze Age, with their diets dominated by C 3 and mixed C 3 /C 4 plant consumption, which differs notably from the husbandry practice in the Central Plains. In addition, the δ 15 N values of wild herbivorous animals in arid regions were higher than those in semi-arid regions, suggesting that animal δ 15 N values may vary with aridity. This paper not only sheds light on the progress of and plausible reasons for pastoralist and mobile pastoralist practice in the Gan-Qing region during these periods but, in doing so, also provides a nitrogen baseline for reconstructing human diets in the Gan-Qing region.

For almost two decades, the relationship between prehistoric natural disasters that struck the Guanting Basin in northeast Tibetan Plateau and the destruction of Lajia, an archeological site, has attracted scholarly attention and been widely discussed. Whereas most studies have focused on the impacts of disasters on a single site within the Guanting Basin, few have examined patterns of spatiotemporal evolution of human settlements from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Consequently, there is a lack of clarity on the processes and mechanisms underlying the evolution of prehistoric human-land relationships in the Guanting Basin. We therefore examined spatiotemporal variations in settlements in the Guanting Basin during the period, based on the locations, altitudes, and areas of archaeological sites. We found that four sites were located on the third terrace of the Yellow River during the late Yangshao period （5500-5000 cal yr BP） and distributed within a small area. During the period between the Majiayao and Qijia cultures （5300-3600 cal yr BP）, the number of sites evidently increased and the scale and distribution of settlements expanded, with settlements generally shifting toward the lower elevation areas of the Guanting Basin. During the Xindian period （3400-2700 cal yr BP）, the number and scale of sites showed a downward trend and the distribution of settlements contracted. The Xindian settlement underwent altitude-based spatial differentiation, with some groups moving to areas at higher altitudes and others remained in lower altitude areas. Moreover, we found that the number, scale, and distribution range of Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in the Guanting Basin were closely related to the evolution and distribution patterns of prehistoric cultures in the regions of Gansu and Qinghai, which were further affected by climate change and agricultural development. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the altitudinal distribution pattern of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements in the Guanting Basin was influenced by paleofloods rather it was primarily influenced by changes in subsistence strategies.

Based on radiocarbon dating and our analysis of plant and animal remains from Buziping, a Majiayao (5300–4300 BP) and Qijia (4200–3800 BP) period site located in Dingxi, Gansu Province, China, and our review of archaeobotanical studies in the Western Loess Plateau and adjacent areas, we discuss subsistence strategies during the Majiayao and Qijia periods. We also discuss the development of agriculture in the Western Loess Plateau and its influence on cultural expansion during the late Neolithic period. Humans settled at Buziping for the first time during the Majiayao period (4890–4710 cal. yr BP by 14C dating). Charred seeds from the site indicate that people engaged in millet-based agricultural production. People continued this type of agriculture during a second phase of occupation (4130–3880 cal. yr BP by 14C dating) during the Qijia period, but the proportion of foxtail millet to broomcorn millet increased from the Majiayao to Qijia period. Raising domestic animals was another aspect of subsistence during the Qijia period. The main domestic animals were likely pigs and dogs, although hunting of wild animals also took place. Subsistence at Buziping site was affected by the rapid development of intensive agriculture that diffused across eastern Gansu Province during the late Neolithic. Our work suggests that millet-based agriculture spread from east to west across the Western Loess Plateau and likely promoted the expansions of those two cultures in the area during the Majiayao period and early–mid Qijia period. Climate change might have also promoted Majiayao and Qijia expansions and probably facilitated the adoption of rain-fed agriculture in this region.

The history of fruit-tree utilization by prehistoric people has become an important issue that has attracted increasing attention in recent years. However, the question of how people used fruit trees has not yet been answered; in particular, the impacts of different subsistence strategies on human behavior regarding fruit-tree utilization (wild gathering or conscious cultivation) have not yet been considered. Here, we present the results of charcoal identification of fruit trees from 16 dated archeological sites in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP) spanning the period c. 5,200–2,600 BP. We combine this with reported multidisciplinary evidence to explore the history of fruit-tree utilization as well as its relation to the subsistence strategy in the NETP during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. Our results demonstrate that Rosaceae [ Prunus L., Prunus Padus L., Maloideae L., and Malus baccata (L.) Borkh ], Elaeagnaceae ( Hippophae L. and Elaeagnus angustifolia L.), and Rhamnaceae (only Ziziphus Mill.) were used by people in the NETP, and there was a downward trend in the use of fruit trees during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. This is in notable contrast to the situation in the Chinese Loess Plateau in the parallel period. The cold-dry climate during the Bronze Age seemed to be one of the reasons. The fruit trees used by people in the NETP were likely gathered from the wild rather than consciously cultivated, and the subsistence strategy of agropastoralism may have played a significant role during the processes.

Objectives The accuracy of cognitive screening tools to detect poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) was investigated using various neuropsychological definitions. Methods Hospital‐based stroke patients underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. The rate of PSCI was estimated using thresholds of 1, 1.5, or 2 standard deviations below the normal control and memory impairment defined by a single or multiple tests. Meanwhile, the diagnostic accuracy of cognitive screening through face‐to‐face assessment using the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), and telephone assessment using a 5‐minute NINDS‐Canadian Stroke Network (NINDS‐CSN) scale and a six‐item screener (SIS), was both tested under different definitions, with the optimal cutoff selected based on the highest Youden index. Results In stroke patients, the rate of PSCI ranged from 46.3% to 76.3% upon different definitions. The face‐to‐face MoCA was more consistent with the comprehensive cognitive assessment compared to MMSE. The optimal cutoff of PSCI was MMSE ≤ 27 and MoCA ≤ 19. For the telephone tests, the 5‐minute NINDS‐CSN assessment was more reliable, and the optimal cutoff was ≤23, while for SIS ≤ 4. Conclusions Cognitive screening tools including the face‐to‐face MMSE and MoCA, together with the telephone assessment of NINDS‐CSN 5‐minute protocol and SIS, were simple and effective for detecting PSCI in stroke patients. The corresponding threshold values for PSCI were 27 points, 19 points, 23 points, and 4 points. The rate of cognitive impairment varied as neuropsychological definitions differed. Cognitive screening cutoffs for MMSE, MoCA, NINDS‐CSN 5‐minute protocol, and SIS were 27, 19, 23, and 4.