Coronaviruses (CoVs) are large, enveloped, positivestranded RNA viruses of zoonotic origin that belong to the Coronaviridae family of the Nidovirales order, and can be divided into four types: α, β, δ, and γ CoVs (1,2). α and β CoVs chiefly infect mammals, while δ and γ CoVs predominantly infect birds (3). Human CoVs include α-CoVs, β-CoVs, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and 2019 novel coronavirus (1,3). SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-

No abstract

Holocene geomorphic changes have fundamentally shaped the spatial-temporal distributions of prehistoric and historical settlements in North China. Through intensive field surveys and careful field examination of typical sedimentary sequences, we reconstructed the Late-Pleistocene and Holocene geomorphic history in the two major basins of the mid-lower Fen River, central-south Shanxi, China. Our first-hand data provides crucial information for reconstructing the dynamic relationship between the characteristics of Holocene geomorphic changes and settlement distribution patterns in the two basins from the Neolithic period to the Bronze-Age Xia-Shang Dynasties. In the Taiyuan Basin, due to river downcutting processes from the end of the Late Pleistocene to the Early Holocene, edge of the basin emerged and evolved into tablelands. The elevation of the flat lands atop the tablelands that was significantly above the level of floodwater provided an ideal environment for early settlements. The Holocene geomorphic changes are characterised by continous fluvio-lacustrine aggradation, and the central basin became void of human settlements due to uninhabitable hydrological and gemorphic conditions and especially due to frequent floods. Instead, most settlements were located along the basin, displaying a unique "around-basin" distribution pattern. In the Linfen Basin, following large-scale incision of the main channels and branches of the Fen River during the Late Pleistocene, platform-type plain with deep incised valleys was formed. Similar to the surrounding loess tableland, the central basin became an optimal environment for human activities and settlement construction, forming a "full-basin" like settlement distribution pattern that is distinctively different from the "around-basin" distribution pattern in the Taiyuan basin.

The Hangjiahu Plain in the lower Yangtze is one of the core areas that sustained the flourishment of the Liangzhu Civilization. This study reconstructed Holocene environmental change on the Hangjiahu Plain based on a sediment core collected from the Tangqi ZK-3 location situated on the low-lying Hangzhou-Taihu region of the Yangtze Delta. We applied OSL dating, grain size analysis, pollen analysis, and magnetic susceptibility to reconstruct Holocene environmental change and compared our data with other published results. Our results showed that (i) before ~7.0 ka B.P., the ZK-3 core recorded a strong hydrodynamic force, resulting in the widespread deposition of light grayish silt clay or clayey silt in the region. The climate was warm and humid,