Northern China harbored the world's earliest complex societies based on millet farming, in two major centers in the Yellow (YR) and West Liao (WLR) River basins. Until now, their genetic histories have remained largely unknown. Here we present 55 ancient genomes dating to 7500-1700 BP from the YR, WLR, and Amur River (AR) regions. Contrary to the genetic stability in the AR, the YR and WLR genetic profiles substantially changed over time. The YR populations show a monotonic increase over time in their genetic affinity with present-day southern Chinese and Southeast Asians. In the WLR, intensification of farming in the Late Neolithic is correlated with increased YR affinity while the inclusion of a pastoral economy in the Bronze Age was correlated with increased AR affinity. Our results suggest a link between changes in subsistence strategy and human migration, and fuel the debate about archaeolinguistic signatures of past human migration.

Unlike polyolefins (e.g., isotactic polypropylene), it is still a great challenge to form rich shish-kebabs in biodegradable poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) because of its short chain length and semirigid chain backbone. In the present work, a modified injection molding technology, named oscillation shear injection molding, was applied to provide an intense shear flow on PLLA melt in mold cavity, in order to promote shear-induced crystallization of PLLA. Additionally, a small amount of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with flexible chains was introduced for improving the crystallization kinetics. Numerous shish-kebabs of PLLA were achieved in injection-molded PLLA for the first time. High-resolution scanning electronic microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering showed a structure feature of shish-kebabs with a diameter of around 0.7 μm and a long period of ~20 nm. The wide-angle X-ray diffraction results showed that shish-kebabs had more ordered crystalline structure of α-form. A significant improvement of the mechanical properties was obtained; the tensile strength and modulus increased to 73.7 and 1888 MPa from the initial values of 64.9 and 1684 MPa, respectively, meanwhile the ductility is not deteriorated. Interestingly, when shish-kebabs form in the PLLA/PEG system, a bamboo-like bionic structure comprising a hard skin layer and a soft core develops in injection-molded specimen. This unique structure leads to a great balance of mechanical properties, including substantial increments of 26, 20, and 112% in the tensile strength, modulus, and impact toughness, compared to the control sample. Further exploration will give a rich fundamental understanding in the shear-induced crystallization and morphology manipulation of PLLA, aiming to achieve superior PLLA products.

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