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The Cathaysian Coastal Mountains are thought to be an ancient high‐topographic feature that existed along the margin of South China. They are characterised by extensive Jurassic–Cretaceous magmatism; however, their formation mechanism and timing remains uncertain. In this paper, we present sedimentological and detrital zircon analyses from Cretaceous–Eocene strata and drainage sediments from Hainan Island. Our analyses show a change in provenance from a proximal Cathaysian Coastal arc source in Cretaceous strata to a widely distributed intra‐island granite source in the Eocene strata and modern river sediments. Reconstruction of the crustal thickness evolution for the South China margin from Eu/Eu*‐in‐zircon proxy shows significant crustal thickening during the Late Jurassic–Cretaceous, thereby suggesting the existence of the Cathaysian Coastal Mountains. Together with a compilation of detrital zircon U‐Pb ages in the northern basins of the South China Sea margin, we conclude that the Cathaysian Coastal Mountains extended from the Red River region to Taiwan along the South China margin during the Late Jurassic–Cretaceous and then collapsed/eroded from northeast to southwest during the Eocene–Miocene. This large mountain range supplied detrital sediments to the marginal basins in the northern South China Sea and formed a topographic barrier that prohibited moist Pacific air to reach the relatively arid inland area of South China during the Late Jurassic–Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Little is known about inter-individual variation in psychological stress in modernizing rural populations in developing countries. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibody titer, a biomarker of psychological stress, and lifestyle parameters in rural communities in Hainan Island, China. Methods EBV antibody titer was measured in dried blood spot (DBS) samples collected from 240 adults living in rural communities in Hainan Island. Measures of two major lifestyle changes in rural areas of Hainan Island, i.e., diet and commercial goods possession, were examined by using information on the weekly frequency of pork consumption and monthly mobile phone fees. Both parameters were standardized to create two composite scores: a total affluence index (TAI-the sum of these scores), and an investment tendency index (ITI-the difference between them). Least-squares regression analysis was used to investigate the association between EBV antibody titer and these lifestyle parameters. Results A positive association was found between the frequency f pork consumption and EBV antibody titer ( P = 0.040), whereas a negative association was found between mobile phone fees and EBV antibody titer ( P = 0.028). A negative association was also observed between ITI and EBV antibody titer ( P = 0.002) after adjusting for the effect of TAI. Conclusion Psychological stress among local residents was linked to the type of lifestyle changes they had experienced, where the adoption of a more market-oriented lifestyle, irrespective of current affluence, was associated with less psychological stress. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 26:36-42, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]