Ancient Members Research Articles

Competition of tribes and cooperation of members algorithm: An evolutionary computation approach for model free optimization

Metaheuristic algorithms are a series of intelligent algorithms that are inspired by natural phenomenon and achieve the optimal searching via utilizing behaviors from nature. The rising complexity and dimensions of practical engineering problem in reality, a significant number of metaheuristic algorithms are promoted and applied in various of fields. Inspired by ancient tribes competition and members cooperative behavior, this paper proposes the Competition of Tribes and Cooperation of Members Algorithm (CTCM). Subsequent experiments are conducted on 23 benchmark test functions and exhaustively compared with other state-of-the-art algorithms, including particle swarm optimization (PSO), grey wolf optimizer (GWO), sparrow search algorithm (SSA), egret swarm optimization (ESOA), beetle antennae search (BAS) and whale optimization (WOA). The standard deviation and average, as well as statistic test are utilized to compare the performance of each algorithms, which reveal that CTCM outperforms in most kinds of problem. And from the result of Wilcoxon and Friedman rank test, the CTCM achieve the first place in all categories of problems, which indicate that CTCM possesses strong global optimization search capability and stability, and has faster convergence speed. The superiority of CTCM is then proofed on practical engineering optimization problems, in which CTCM achieve all the optimal solution for each engineering problem.

Phylogeny and disease associations of a widespread and ancient intestinal bacteriophage lineage

Viruses are core components of the human microbiome, impacting health through interactions with gut bacteria and the immune system. Most human microbiome viruses are bacteriophages, which exclusively infect bacteria. Until recently, most gut virome studies focused on low taxonomic resolution (e.g., viral operational taxonomic units), hampering population-level analyses. We previously identified an expansive and widespread bacteriophage lineage in inhabitants of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Here, we study their biodiversity and evolution in various human populations. Based on a phylogeny using sequences from six viral genome databases, we propose the Candidatus order Heliusvirales. We identify heliusviruses in 82% of 5441 individuals across 39 studies, and in nine metagenomes from humans that lived in Europe and North America between 1000 and 5000 years ago. We show that a large lineage started to diversify when Homo sapiens first appeared some 300,000 years ago. Ancient peoples and modern hunter-gatherers have distinct Ca. Heliusvirales populations with lower richness than modern urbanized people. Urbanized people suffering from type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as inflammatory bowel disease, have higher Ca. Heliusvirales richness than healthy controls. We thus conclude that these ancient core members of the human gut virome have thrived with increasingly westernized lifestyles.

Colonization of the ocean floor by jawless vertebrates across three mass extinctions

BackgroundThe deep (> 200 m) ocean floor is often considered to be a refugium of biodiversity; many benthic marine animals appear to share ancient common ancestry with nearshore and terrestrial relatives. Whether this pattern holds for vertebrates is obscured by a poor understanding of the evolutionary history of the oldest marine vertebrate clades. Hagfishes are jawless vertebrates that are either the living sister to all vertebrates or form a clade with lampreys, the only other surviving jawless fishes.ResultsWe use the hagfish fossil record and molecular data for all recognized genera to construct a novel hypothesis for hagfish relationships and diversification. We find that crown hagfishes persisted through three mass extinctions after appearing in the Permian ~ 275 Ma, making them one of the oldest living vertebrate lineages. In contrast to most other deep marine vertebrates, we consistently infer a deep origin of continental slope occupation by hagfishes that dates to the Paleozoic.ConclusionOur results establish hagfishes as ancient members of demersal continental slope faunas and suggest a prolonged accumulation of deep sea jawless vertebrate biodiversity.

Applicability Evaluation of Modified Epoxy Resin in the Repair and Reinforcement of Ancient Building Timber Members

To investigate the potential of modified epoxy resin for repairing and strengthening historical wooden structures, this study utilized polyurethane and silicone-modified epoxy resin as the base, alongside a polyamine curing agent. The resin mixture was cured at ambient temperature, resulting in the creation of ten unique epoxy resin systems. Investigation into the chemical structure and alterations to the glass transition temperature were conducted. The study conducted tests and characterization of viscosity, curing rate, mechanical properties, stress failure mode, hygrothermal aging resistance, and bonding properties. The results reveal that the curing degree of the two modified epoxy resins is high after being cured at room temperature, and the chemical structure and curing rate show insignificant changes. The range of the glass transition temperature for the modified epoxy resin is between 61.31 °C and 70.51 °C. The incorporation of polyurethane and silicone molecular chains into the epoxy resin cross-linking curing system enhances the toughness of the epoxy resin. The modified resin achieves a maximum elongation at break that is 5.18 times greater than that of the unmodified resin, along with a maximum tensile strength and a compressive strength that are 7.94 and 1.74 times, respectively, higher than those in the Chinese technical specifications for the maintenance and reinforcement of ancient wooden structures. The increase in toughness changes the failure mode of the cured epoxy resin. The modified epoxy resin exhibits great bonding ability to aged wood, with a shear strength of up to 9.6 MPa along the grain. As a result, the modified epoxy resin meets the requirements for the reinforcement and repair of the timber members of ancient buildings.

The Characteristics of Ancient Residence Wood from the Qing Dynasty in Yunnan Province

This study takes the wooden components of the different parts of the ancient buildings at the site of the Zhuangzishang Conference as the object of study, and investigates the deterioration state of the different wood components. To assess their degree of degradation, the wood anatomy, basic density (BD), maximum water content (MWC), cell wall major components, X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and thermogravimetry (TG) were used to compare the samples of new and old wood from the same species. The window (W) was identified by microscopic characterization as cypress (Cupressus sp.), the footing beam (FB) and the weatherboard (WB) as pine (Pinus spp.), the purlin (P) and the column (C) as Chinses fir (Cunninghamia spp.), and the floor (F) as spruce (Picea sp.). In terms of their physical properties, the old wood had a lower basic density of 2.58%–38.19%, a lower air-dry density of 2.87%–39.81%, and a higher maximum moisture content of 8.52%–41.38% compared to the reference wood. The degradation of the FB, which has been subjected to moisture and sunlight, and the P, which has been subjected to termite damage, was greater than that of their conspecifics. The integrated holocellulose of the ancient wood was 3.34%–16.48% less, and the hemicellulose was 1.6%–21.92% less compared to that of the reference wood, and the lignin was 1.32%–25.07% more. The XRD results showed that the crystallinity of the cellulose was greater in the different species of ancient wood compared to the control wood, which was caused by the decrease in the amorphous zones of the hemicellulose and cellulose in the ancient wood. The IR indicated that the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose occurred in the old wood of all species, from the new lignin uptake peaks in the UV-exposed W, FB, and WB compared to the control timber. The pyrolytic behavior of the ancient and control timber is mainly related to the degradation of the tree species and the ancient wood holocellulose. These results show that the differences in the wooden components of the different parts of the ancient buildings at the Zhuangzishang Conference site are mainly related to the species of trees used in the components, and are secondly related to the location of the ancient wood members, which provides useful information for the protection and repair of the ancient buildings at the site.

Research on standardization and quantitative extraction of information of ancient building components based on BIM

Abstract The standardization and quantitative extraction of component information are accomplished by establishing an information model of ancient buildings. Based on BIM technology, i.e., model visualization, virtual simulation and BIM-related software, this paper combines the dimensional types of components to realize the parameterization settings of components and further designs the information structure of ancient building components. The standardization rate, repetition rate, repeatability coefficient, and standardization coefficient of the components were calculated by quantitative methods, followed by the determination of standardized components and the quantitative extraction of component attribute features based on the BIM model map. Based on the standardization of the information of the five-room, nine-purlin-hipped ancient building members based on BIM, the spatial location of the ancient building members was determined with the following parameters: bucket size 32.5 mm, eaves height 2180 mm, net height 1802.8 mm, and side legs 23.1 mm. BIM application provides a new way of thinking for archiving and protecting ancient architectural data.

Blood Purification and the Temple in Revelation

Abstract This article argues that many of Revelation’s ancient Jewish, Greek, and Roman audience members would have recognized a cosmic blood purification ritual at work in chapters 15–16. I contend first that many early audiences would have perceived the cosmos in Revelation as an operational temple (at least in Rev 4–16). I, then, expose similarities between the bowls of wrath and ancient blood purification rituals for sacred space. In the final section of this article, I demonstrate how many ancient audiences would have understood global pollution to be a major problem for Revelation’s narrative and how the blood purification-like ritual of Rev 15–16 resolves it.

Role of a small GTPase Cdc42 in aging and age-related diseases.

A small GTPase, Cdc42 is evolutionarily one of the most ancient members of the Rho family, which is ubiquitously expressed and involved in a wide range of fundamental cellular functions. The crucial role of Cdc42 includes regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, cell polarity, morphology and migration, endocytosis and exocytosis, cell cycle, and proliferation in many different cell types. Many studies have provided compelling yet contradicting evidence that Cdc42 dysregulation plays an important role in cellular and tissue aging. Furthermore, Cdc42 is a critical factor in the development and progression of aging-related pathologies, such as neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disorders, diabetes type 2, and aging-related disorders of the joints and bones, and the inhibition of the Cdc42 demonstrates potentially significant therapeutic and anti-aging effects in animal models of aging and disease. However, regulation of Cdc42 expression and activity is very complex and depends on many factors, such as the origin and complexity of the tissues, hormonal status, etc. Therefore, this review is focused on current advances in understanding the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with Cdc42 activity and regulation of senescence in different cell types since they may provide a foundation for novel therapeutic strategies and targeted drugs to reverse the aging process and treat aging-associated disorders.

African Suid Genomes Provide Insights into the Local Adaptation to Diverse African Environments.

African wild suids consist of several endemic species that represent ancient members of the family Suidae and have colonized diverse habitats on the African continent. However, limited genomic resources for African wild suids hinder our understanding of their evolution and genetic diversity. In this study, we assembled high-quality genomes of a common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), a red river hog (Potamochoerus porcus), as well as an East Asian Diannan small-ear pig (Sus scrofa). Phylogenetic analysis showed that common warthog and red river hog diverged from their common ancestor around the Miocene/Pliocene boundary, putatively predating their entry into Africa. We detected species-specific selective signals associated with sensory perception and interferon signaling pathways in common warthog and red river hog, respectively, which contributed to their local adaptation to savannah and tropical rainforest environments, respectively. The structural variation and evolving signals in genes involved in T-cell immunity, viral infection, and lymphoid development were identified in their ancestral lineage. Our results provide new insights into the evolutionary histories and divergent genetic adaptations of African suids.

Effects of natural ageing on macroscopic physical and mechanical properties, chemical components and microscopic cell wall structure of ancient timber members

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of natural ageing on macroscopic physical and mechanical properties, chemical components, and microscopic cell wall structure of larch (Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr) and nanmu (Phoebe zhennan S. Lee) timber members in ancient architecture. In this work, aged larch and nanmu timber members were obtained from the restoration architecture and their ages were determined based on accelerated mass spectrometer 14C method. Macroscopic physical, mechanical properties and chemical components were tested and determined of each timber members; meanwhile, the microstructural changes of cell wall were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Finally, Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted to reveal the relationships among them. The results indicated that natural ageing has a significantly effect on the macroscopic physical and mechanical properties, chemical components, and microscopic cell wall structure. First, equilibrium moisture content (EMC), the coefficient of wet swelling coefficient (SW) and colour parameters considerably changed of larch and nanmu timber members with aging years. Mechanical property parameters of larch timber show a significant decrease, and the changes of chemical components and microstructure of cell structure of nanmu specimens indicates the mechanical property parameters decreased. Further, the relative contents of cellulose and hemicellulose were significantly reduced, obvious damage and deformation were observed in the cell wall of larch and nanmu timber specimens. The results explained the change of macroscopic physical and mechanical properties, especially negative effects on mechanical properties. It was concluded that the relative contents of cellulose and hemicellulose were decreased, and the microstructure was damaged under the natural ageing effect, resulting in a decrease in mechanical properties with an increase in colour properties and dimensional stability.

Non-destructive evaluating the density and mechanical properties of ancient timber members based on machine learning approach

The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of ancient timber members by combining non-destructive testing (NDT), colour parameters, and machine learning (ML) approaches. In this study, 175 small clear specimens were obtained from seven ancient timber members of different ages and used to obtain the parameters of NDT, apparent colour, and physical and mechanical properties. Pearson’s correlation among the parameters was analysed first, and relevance vector machine (RVM) models were developed after optimising the kernel function using the genetic algorithm method, while multiple linear regression (MLR) models were established as a comparison method. The results indicate that the developed RVM models have better evaluation performance than the MLR models. In addition, the mean absolute relative error between the test and predicted values was less than 10%, and R2 was higher than 0.98 for the physical and mechanical property parameters in the verification tests, indicating that the developed RVM models had good generalisation ability and accuracy. Finally, an evaluation method for on-site application was proposed, particularly the method of obtaining the colour parameters of timber members. It was concluded that the proposed combined NDT, colour parameters, and ML approach provide an effective and accurate tool for the non-destructive evaluation of the density and mechanical properties of ancient timber members.

Activation of endo-lysosomal two-pore channels by NAADP and PI(3,5)P2. Five things to know.

Two-pore channels are ancient members of the voltage-gated ion channel superfamily that are expressed predominantly on acidic organelles such as endosomes and lysosomes. Here we review recent advances in understanding how TPCs are activated by their ligands and identify five salient features: (1) TPCs are Ca2+-permeable non-selective cation channels gated by NAADP. (2) NAADP activation is indirect through associated NAADP receptors. (3) TPCs are also Na+-selective channels gated by PI(3,5)P2. (4) PI(3,5)P2 activation is direct through a structurally-resolved binding site. (5) TPCs switch their ion selectivity in an agonist-dependent manner.

New data on gastropod genus Hirsuticyclus (Caenogastropoda, Cyclophoridae) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber

Abstract The genus Hirsuticyclus Neubauer, Xing and Jochum, 2019 was the first record of an exceptionally preserved land snail with dense periostracal hairs from mid-Cretaceous Kachin (Burmese) amber. Here, we document four newly-discovered shells from Kachin amber, one belonging to the type species Hirsuticyclus electrum Neubauer, Xing and Jochum, 2019 and the remaining three shells belonging to a new species, Hirsuticyclus canaliculatus sp. nov. Well-preserved morphological characteristics of these two species could be clearly demonstrated under light microscopy combined with modern micro-CT scans with computer 3D reconstructions. Our new material of the type species amends the generic diagnosis based on a better-preserved shell including the peristome and operculum. The new species shows distinctive shell characteristics such as numerous spiral keels and a flaring, folded peristome interrupted by two canals. These excellently preserved fossils contribute to our understanding of the morphological diversity and evolution of these ancient members of cyclophoroids.

Glycyrrhiza uralensis Nodules: Histological and Ultrastructural Organization and Tubulin Cytoskeleton Dynamics

Chinese liquorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. ex DC.) is widely used in the food industry and as a medicine. Like other legumes, G. uralensis forms symbiotic nodules. However, the structural organization of G. uralensis nodules is poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed the histological and ultrastructural organization and dynamics of the tubulin cytoskeleton in various cells from different histological zones of indeterminate nodules formed by two strains of Mesorhizobium sp. The unusual walls of infection threads and formation of multiple symbiosomes with several swollen bacteroids were observed. A large amount of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate accumulated in the bacteroids, while the vacuoles of meristematic and uninfected cells contained drop-shaped osmiophilic inclusions. Immunolocalization of the tubulin cytoskeleton and quantitative analysis of cytoskeletal elements revealed patterns of cortical microtubules in meristematic, infected and uninfected cells, and of endoplasmic microtubules associated with infection structures, typical of indeterminate nodules. The intermediate pattern of endoplasmic microtubules in infected cells was correlated with disordered arrangement of symbiosomes. Thus, analysis of the structural organization of G. uralensis nodules revealed some ancestral features more characteristic of determinate nodules, demonstrating the evolutionary closeness of G. uralensis nodulation to more ancient members of the legume family.

The Temple of Demeter Chthonia at Hermione

This paper presents the results of an architectural survey of the foundations of a Classical temple, presumably that of Demeter Chthonia, located inside the chief sanctuary of the ancient city of Hermione. It also studies ancient architectural members built into the walls of the Taxiarches Church situated on top of the temple foundations. By analysing these material remains and connecting them to the observations of 19th-century travellers to Kastri (Hermione), the paper draws conclusions about the original size and appearance of the Temple of Demeter Chthonia.

Assessing the density and mechanical properties of ancient timber members based on the active infrared thermography

The objective of this study was to assess the density and mechanical properties of ancient timber members based on the active infrared thermography (IRT). Based on the unsteady heat transfer theory, the cooling constant (Ve) was proposed and the relationship between Ve and density as well as the mechanical properties of timber was analyzed. The cooling tests were conducted on 50 small clear specimens of ancient timber members to obtain the Ve and the cooling law of specimens. In addition, the effect of heating on the dynamic modulus of elasticity (Eus) and color of ancient timber members was investigated. At the same time, static mechanical tests and density measurement test were carried out to analyze the relationship between Ve and density as well as mechanical properties. The results indicated that there was unobservable influence on Eus and color parameters (L*, a* and b*) of specimens with its heating process in evaluation of the density and mechanical properties based on active IRT. Meanwhile, the initial excess temperature θ0 and initial temperature T0 had no influence on the cooling constant Ve as well as the relationship between τ and θ in the cooling process of specimens. Moreover, Ve had a strong negative correlation with density, modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rigidity (MOR) and compressive strength parallel to grain (CSPG) of specimens (R2 = 0.9768, 0.8493, 0.8714 and 0.8865). In addition, the validation test result show that there is satisfactory predictive ability for density, MOE, MOR and CSPG of ancient timber members based on the prediction models established.

Examining the Evidence for Regulated and Programmed Cell Death in Cyanobacteria. How Significant Are Different Forms of Cell Death in Cyanobacteria Population Dynamics?

Cyanobacteria are ancient and versatile members of almost all aquatic food webs. In freshwater ecosystems some cyanobacteria form “bloom” populations containing potent toxins and such blooms are therefore a key focus of study. Bloom populations can be ephemeral, with rapid population declines possible, though the factors causing such declines are generally poorly understood. Cell death could be a significant factor linked to population decline. Broadly, three forms of cell death are currently recognized – accidental, regulated and programmed – and efforts are underway to identify these and standardize the use of cell death terminology, guided by work on better-studied cells. For cyanobacteria, the study of such differing forms of cell death has received little attention, and classifying cell death across the group, and within complex natural populations, is therefore hard and experimentally difficult. The population dynamics of photosynthetic microbes have, in the past, been principally explained through reference to abiotic (“bottom-up”) factors. However, it has become clearer that in general, only a partial linkage exists between abiotic conditions and cyanobacteria population fluctuations in many situations. Instead, a range of biotic interactions both within and between cyanobacteria, and their competitors, pathogens and consumers, can be seen as the major drivers of the observed population fluctuations. Whilst some evolutionary processes may theoretically account for the existence of an intrinsic form of cell death in cyanobacteria, a range of biotic interactions are also likely to frequently cause the ecological incidence of cell death. New theoretical models and single-cell techniques are being developed to illuminate this area. The importance of such work is underlined by both (a) predictions of increasing cyanobacteria dominance due to anthropogenic factors and (b) the realization that influential ecosystem modeling work includes mortality terms with scant foundation, even though such terms can have a very large impact on model predictions. These ideas are explored and a prioritization of research needs is proposed.

In Situ Observations on the Crack Morphology in the Ancient Timber Beams

The conservation of ancient structures is, in the construction panorama, a highly eco-sustainable operation. In fact, it provides for a very limited consumption of resources. This article provides an in-depth analysis of ancient wooden material, an essential element for drawing up correct conservation interventions. Ancient timber beams have a peculiar morphology of failure dependent on many factors, among which are the species of wood, the quality of the material-knots, presence of fissures caused by shrinkage (checks), direction of the grain, and environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. In addition, it is linked to load conditions and static configuration. This paper presents a case study of failed ancient timber members still in place and describes the type of failure as well as the origin and propagation of the cracks. The objective is to provide a classification of the causes and of the effects and their evolution, useful to practitioners and to those who have to make decisions on the timber structures conservation.

OPTIMIZATION OF THE METHOD OF DNA ISOLATION FROM FOSSILS

The history of the origin and domestication of farm animals has always interested mankind. However, these issues are covered in the literature in great detail only from the time when herds of domestic animals have already formed. Most often, the genesis of individual species, the original forms that formed the basis of domestication, remain unclear. [2] An example is the history of domestication of the horse, as the horse played a central role among other domestic animals in the development of human society. In the study of mammal fauna of the Pleistocene-Holocene of Europe there is a problem of studying the origin of the domestic horse Eguus cabalus L., ie, the establishment of wild ancestors of domesticated breeds, place, time and process of their domestication. Analysis of literature data on paleontological and archaeological finds in Ukraine showed that most researchers believe that the first domesticated horses began to recognize horses, the remains of which were found during archaeological excavations of the settlement of the third millennium BC. BC in Botai (Northern Kazakhstan), but from which taxon the opinions of scientists differ. Some believe that it could be Tarpan, however, there is an opinion that a large horse could not come from a small tarpan and Przewalski's horse. Therefore, preference was given to the hypothesis of the origin of the domestic horse from the ancient Pleistocene. At present, the problem of the origin of the domestic horse does not go beyond hypotheses and assumptions, and this is primarily due to the slight difference between the bones of the domestic and wild horse. The plasticity of the skeleton of the genus Eguus is very weak and this explains the problems faced by paleontologists in trying to develop the evolutionary history of horses. Thus, to understand the processes of domestication of this animal, in addition to archaeological and paleontological research methods, it is necessary to use tools from other fields of science, such as molecular genetic analysis of DNA samples. One of the variants of test systems for studying genetic polymorphism is the use of ISSR markers, which allow to analyze DNA fragments and make certain phylogenetic connections in the studied groups.
 In the laboratory of genetics of the Institute of Breeding and Genetics of Animals named after M.V.Zubets NAAS began research in the field of paleogenetics, namely – the study of the molecular genetic component in the fossils of ancient members of the genus Eguus using ISSR-markers. Inverted repeats are of particular interest because they are unevenly distributed throughout the genome and do not require prior knowledge of the nucleotide sequence of the test DNA. A significant point in the selection of research methods for us was that intermicrosatellite polymorphism is used to study interspecific and intraspecific genetic variability. It is believed that DNA fragments obtained by ISSR analysis can be species- and breed-specific, and this method is widely used by researchers in the study of breed groups.
 The purpose of our work is to develop a new method of DNA isolation from fossil remains (bones) of ancient horses and the production of ISSR-PCR with isolated DNA samples in the laboratory of genetics IRGT. M.V.Zubets NAAS according to the available reagents and existing protocols.
 The research was carried out on samples of fossil bones of horses of the Pleistocene period (about 10 thousand years BC). One bone was found in the village. Beeches of Zhytomyr region in a career. Excavations were carried out in 1960, the metacarpal bone (os. Tarsicentral). Another bone was found in Novgorod-Siversky, Chernihiv region. in a career. Excavations were conducted by Boriskovsky PI in 1935. A tooth found in the village of Tarpan was used to study a wild tarpan horse (4.5 thousand years BC). Skibnytsia, Trostyanets district, Vinnytsia region. Excavations were conducted in 1959 by VM Danylenko. The paleontological material for the study was provided by the Kyiv National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Department of Paleontology.
 As a result of this work for the first time in the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology IRGT. Research on paleogenetics has been started by M.V.Zubets. We optimized the method of extracting genetic material from fossils and obtained DNA from the bones of a horse of the Pleistocene period (about 10 thousand years BC) and the tooth of a wild horse tarpan (4.5 thousand years BC). Also, the optimal conditions for PCR were selected to work with DNA obtained from fossil remains, to study polymorphism with ISSR markers, and electrophoregrams of amplification products were obtained.

Screening for internal defects of timber members based on impact evaluation method

This paper proposes a screening method and quantitative criteria for screening the internal defects of ancient timber members. Based on the impact evaluation (IE) method, two parameters, i.e. time of impact (TI) and proportion of integral area (PIA), were used to assess the internal defects. Impact tests were also conducted to study the effects of different influencing factors on the parameters (TI and PIA). The results demonstrated the satisfactory screening ability of PIA when the optimal proportion for the boundary value (fb) in the frequency domain was set as 50%. TI had a strong correlation with both the length of internal defects (ld) and the surface hardness (R2 = 0.74 and 0.93); however, PIA only had a significant correlation with ld (R2 = 0.84). The validation test results revealed that the proposed method and quantitative criteria could be used to detect the internal defects of ancient timber when the distance between internal defects and the surface (ha) was less than 35 mm.