Jaws and teeth of the earliest bony fishes

Extant jawed vertebrates, or gnathostomes, fall into two major monophyletic groups, namely chondrichthyans (cartilaginous fishes) and osteichthyans (bony fishes and tetrapods). Fossil representatives of the osteichthyan crown group are known from the latest Silurian period, 418 million years (Myr) ago, to the present. By contrast, stem chondrichthyans and stem osteichthyans are still largely unknown. Two extinct Palaeozoic groups, the acanthodians and placoderms, may fall into these stem groups or the common stem group of gnathostomes, but their relationships and monophyletic status are both debated. Here we report unambiguous evidence for osteichthyan characters in jaw bones referred to the late Silurian (423-416-Myr-old) fishes Andreolepis hedei and Lophosteus superbus, long known from isolated bone fragments, scales and teeth, and whose affinities to, or within, osteichthyans have been debated. The bones are a characteristic osteichthyan maxillary and dentary, but the organization of the tooth-like denticles they bear differs from the large, conical teeth of crown-group osteichthyans, indicating that they can be assigned to the stem group. Andreolepis and Lophosteus are thus not only the oldest but also the most phylogenetically basal securely identified osteichthyans known so far.     

太极拳干预社区中老年人亚健康状态的临床随机对照试验

目的:评价太极拳干预中老年亚健康的疗效。方法:采用随机单盲方法,将符合亚健康诊断标准的受试者100例,随机分为太极拳干预组和一般运动干预组。两组受试者分别进行每周三次,每次30min的太极拳锻炼和一般体育运动锻炼,疗程均为16周。临床疗效观察采用SF-36生命质量评分。结果:太极拳干预组生命质量干预前后评分差值与一般体育运动组比较显示:在总体健康和生命活力两个维度的差异有统计学意义。结论:太极拳较一般运动能更好地改善中老年亚健康人群生命质量。     

A primitive sarcopterygian fish with an eyestalk

The discovery of two Early Devonian osteichthyan (bony fish) fossils has challenged established ideas about the origin of osteichthyans and their divergence into actinopterygians (teleosts and their relatives) and sarcopterygians (tetrapods, coelacanths, lungfishes and related groups). Psarolepis from China and an unnamed braincase from Australia combine derived sarcopterygian and actinopterygian characters with primitive features previously restricted to non-osteichthyans, suggesting that early osteichthyan evolution may have involved substantial parallellism between sarcopterygians and actinopterygians. But interpretation of these fossils has been hampered by poor phylogenetic resolution. Here we describe a basal sarcopterygian fish, Achoania gen, et sp. nov., that fills the morphological gap between Psarolepis and higher sarcoptergyians. We also report the presence of eyestalk attachments in both Achoania and Psarolepis, showing that this supposedly non-osteichthyan feature occurs in basal sarcopterygians as well as the actinoptergyian-like Australian braincase.     

A uniquely specialized ear in a very early tetrapod

The Late Devonian genus Ichthyostega was for many decades the earliest known tetrapod, and the sole representative of a transitional form between a fish and a land vertebrate. However, despite being known since 1932 (ref. 1) from a large collection of specimens, its morphology remained enigmatic and not what was expected of a very primitive tetrapod. Its apparent specializations led it to be considered as a "blind offshoot" or "sidebranch" off the tetrapod family tree, and recent cladistic analyses have disagreed about its exact phylogenetic position within the tetrapod stem group. In particular, its braincase and ear region defied interpretation, such that conventional anatomical terms seemed inapplicable. Using new material collected in 1998 (ref. 9), preparation of earlier-collected material, and high-resolution computed tomography scanning, here we identify and interpret these problematic anatomical structures. They can now be seen to form part of a highly specialized ear, probably a hearing device for use in water. This represents a structurally and functionally unique modification of the tetrapod otic region, unlike anything seen in subsequent tetrapod evolution. The presence of deeply grooved gill bars as in its contemporary Acanthostega suggest that Ichthyostega may have been more aquatically adapted than previously believed.     

福建省青少年游泳运动员比赛表现的影响因素探析

采用文献资料法、问卷调查法、数理统计法,对影响福建省青少年游泳运动员比赛表现的影响因素进行研究。经过对34个因素进行因子分析,得出影响运动员比赛表现的影响因素的9个主因子。对9大因子进行分析得知,运动员比赛表现是个人技战术水平、心理能力、客观环境、人为因素、赛前准备、教练信任、对手作用、最佳体验与自我评价等多方面因素影响的结果,为我国游泳运动员训练和赛前控制比赛状态提供理论参考。     

Ventastega curonica and the origin of tetrapod morphology

The gap in our understanding of the evolutionary transition from fish to tetrapod is beginning to close thanks to the discovery of new intermediate forms such as Tiktaalik roseae. Here we narrow it further by presenting the skull, exceptionally preserved braincase, shoulder girdle and partial pelvis of Ventastega curonica from the Late Devonian of Latvia, a transitional intermediate form between the 'elpistostegids' Panderichthys and Tiktaalik and the Devonian tetrapods (limbed vertebrates) Acanthostega and Ichthyostega. Ventastega is the most primitive Devonian tetrapod represented by extensive remains, and casts light on a part of the phylogeny otherwise only represented by fragmentary taxa: it illuminates the origin of principal tetrapod structures and the extent of morphological diversity among the transitional forms.     

基于人力资本视角下上海市高校体育教师培训体系的研究

运用人力资本理论,从改善上海市高校体育教师培训质量,优化体育教师人力资本等角度探讨了构建上海市高校体育教师培训体系的必要性,并设计出由培训需求评价、培训计划制定、培训过程实施与控制以及培训效果评估等各环节共同组成的科学培训体系。     

The origin of the internal nostril of tetrapods

The choana, a unique 'internal nostril' opening from the nasal sac into the roof of the mouth, is a key part of the tetrapod (land vertebrate) respiratory system. It was the first component of the tetrapod body plan to evolve, well before the origin of limbs, and is therefore crucial to our understanding of the beginning of the fish-tetrapod transition. However, there is no consensus on the origin of the choana despite decades of heated debate; some have claimed that it represents a palatally displaced external nostril, but others have argued that this is implausible because it implies breaking and rejoining the maxillary-premaxillary dental arcade and the maxillary branch of nerve V. The fossil record has not resolved the dispute, because the choana is fully developed in known tetrapod stem-group members. Here we present new material of Kenichthys, a 395-million-year-old fossil fish from China, that provides direct evidence for the origin of the choana and establishes its homology: it is indeed a displaced posterior external nostril that, during a brief transitional stage illustrated by Kenichthys, separated the maxilla from the premaxilla.     

拓展训练在大学生情商教育中的价值探析

情商教育是高校教育中十分重要的环节,对大学生综合素质的培养有着重要意义。目前很多大学生情商较低,拓展训练作为高校情商教育的载体,能够提高大学生自信心、毅力、合作能力、人际交往能力和认知情绪能力。