Mobility at the scale of meters

When archeologists discuss mobility, we are most often referring to a phenomenon that operates on the scale of kilometers, 1 - 4 but much of human mobility, at least if measured in terms of frequency of movement, occurs at much smaller scales, ranging from centimeters to tens of meters. Here we refer to the movements we make within the confines of our homes or places of employment. With respect to nomadic peoples, movements at this scale would include movements within campsites. Understanding mobility at small scales is important to archeology because small‐scale mobility decisions are a critical factor affecting spatial patterning observed in archeological sites. In this paper, we examine the factors affecting small‐scale mobility decisions in a Mongolian reindeer herder summer camp and the implications of those decisions with regard to archeological spatial patterning.     

A transformation of the Domin scale

Some of the problems associated with the use of both percentage cover and cover-abundance scales for describing vegetation are discussed. A transformation, referred to as Domin 2.6, is outlined for use with the Domin scale. This transformation allows more accurate estimates of means of Domin scores to be obtained, than are produced by direct averaging of the Domin scores themselves. The transformation is a close approximation to the relationship between percentage cover and the Domin scale and permits rapid transformation of one to the other.Domin 2.6 is tested on both simulated and field data. The results show that Domin 2.6 corrects for the underestimation of means, calculated by the direct averaging of Domin scores. This is particularly noticeable when widely differing Domin scores are involved. A number of possible uses for this transformation are introduced and discussed.     

Ceramide composition of the psoriatic scale

This paper investigates the ceramide composition of the psoriatic scale compared with that of normal human SC. A method was optimalized, based on TLC separation followed by densitometry, allowing the provision of good resolution and quantification of ceramide fractions from both normal and pathological specimens. Seven ceramide fractions were isolated and submitted to compositional analysis. The obtained results suggested a revisitation of previous ceramide designation. Therefore a simple classification is suggested, based on grouping ceramides carrying structural similarities under common codes. According to these rules, ceramides were grouped into five classes designated as: (1) Cer[EOS], which contains ester-linked fatty acids, ω-OH fatty acids and sphingosines; (2) Cer[NS], which contains non-OH fatty acids and sphingosines; (3) Cer[NP], which contains non-OH fatty acids and phytosphingosines; (4) Cer[AS], which contains α-OH fatty acids and sphingosines; (5) Cer[AP], which contains α-OH fatty acids and phytosphingosines. Analysis of ceramides from the psoriatic scale, compared to those from normal human SC, resulted in an impairment of the Cer[EOS] content as well as of the ceramides containing phytosphingosine, with concurrent increase in ceramides containing sphingosine, being the total amount maintained identical. Since one of the suggested pathways for phytosphingosine biosynthesis involves the water addition to the corresponding sphingosine double bond, we can speculate that the observed alterarion is due to a deranged water bioavailability, associated with psoriaris.     

Spite and the scale of competition

In recent years there has been a large body of theoretical work examining how local competition can reduce and even remove selection for altruism between relatives. However, it is less well appreciated that local competition favours selection for spite, the relatively neglected ugly sister of altruism. Here, we use extensions of social evolution theory that were formulated to deal with the consequences for altruism of competition between social partners, to illustrate several points on the evolution of spite. Specifically, we show that: (i) the conditions for the evolution of spite are less restrictive than previously assumed; (ii) previous models which have demonstrated selection for spite often implicitly assumed local competition; (iii) the scale of competition must be allowed for when distinguishing different forms of spite (Hamiltonian vs. Wilsonian); (iv) local competition can enhance the spread of spiteful greenbeards; and (v) the theory makes testable predictions for how the extent of spite should vary dependent upon population structure and average relatedness.     

Molecular mechanisms of protective reactions of the body: time scale, specificity scale

Heterogeneous conformation transition (HCT) peculiar to proteins is the earliest protection of the organism from poisons, toxins and pathological metabolites, HCT is conjugated with the biosynthesis of heat shock proteins (HSP), glycosylation of modified albumin and with an increase in the biosynthesis of soluble lectins, acute phase reactants (APR). All phases except for HCT are regulated at different levels of the protein biosynthesis. Their individual time corresponds to the evolution stages.     

Thinking at the global scale

The noosphere concept was originally proposed as a sphere of mind or thought that has emerged from the biosphere over the course of human evolution. Two versions of the noosphere concept were developed in the 20th century and they differed with respect to whether the noosphere was to be considered separate from the biosphere or a new form of the biosphere. Both versions shared an assumption that collective human thought based on a scientific epistemology would achieve a benevolent relationship with the biosphere. Research in global ecology continues to reveal the growing influence of humanity on the biota and on the global biogeochemical cycles, but recent history has not confirmed humanity's ability to self‐regulate. Nevertheless, the noosphere concept remains useful because it acknowledges the uniquely subjective aspect of human brain functioning and the propensity for humans to share ideas and work collaboratively. Both of these features will be needed to develop a structured coupling of humanity and the biosphere that preserves the biophysical processes sustaining the ecosphere.     

A new amphipathy scale I. Determination of the scale from molecular dynamics data

Two new amphipathy scales elaborated from molecular dynamics data are presented. Their applications contribute for the identification of the hydrophobic or hydrophilic regions in proteins solely from the primary structure. The new amphipathy coefficients (AC) reflect the side chain/solvent molecules configurational energies. A polar (water) and an apolar solvent, CCl4, were used resulting in the two ACwater and ACCCl4 scales. These solvents were chosen to simulate the aqueous phases and the transmembrane ambients of cellular membranes where the membrane proteins act. The new amphipathy scales were compared with some previous scales determined by different methods, which were also compared between them, indicating more than 90% of the correlation coefficients are less than 0.9: the scales are strictly dependent on the methodologies used in their determination. The ACCCl4 scale is related with the size of side chain amino acids while ACwater is related with the hydrophobicity of side chain amino acids. The quality of the scales was confirmed by an example of application where ACwater was able to identify correctly the transmembrane, hydrophobic regions of a membrane protein. These results also indicate that water is an important factor responsible for the tertiary structure of membrane proteins.     

A new amphipathy scale: I. Determination of the scale from molecular dynamics data

Two new amphipathy scales elaborated from molecular dynamics data are presented. Their applications contribute for the identification of the hydrophobic or hydrophilic regions in proteins solely from the primary structure. The new amphipathy coefficients (AC) reflect the side chain/solvent molecules configurational energies. A polar (water) and an apolar solvent, CCl₄, were used resulting in the two AC_water and AC_CCl4 scales. These solvents were chosen to simulate the aqueous phases and the transmembrane ambients of cellular membranes where the membrane proteins act. The new amphipathy scales were compared with some previous scales determined by different methods, which were also compared between them, indicating more than 90% of the correlation coefficients are less than 0.9: the scales are strictly dependent on the methodologies used in their determination. The AC_CCl4 scale is related with the size of side chain amino acids while AC_water is related with the hydrophobicity of side chain amino acids. The quality of the scales was confirmed by an example of application where AC_water was able to identify correctly the transmembrane, hydrophobic regions of a membrane protein. These results also indicate that water is an important factor responsible for the tertiary structure of membrane proteins.     

Enzymatic synthesis of on the preparative scale

The problems inherent in the enzymatic and chemical synthesis of (SAM) led us to develop an efficient, simple method for the synthesis of large amounts of labeled SAM. Previously, we reported that the problem of product inhibition of E. coli SAM synthetase encoded by the metK gene was successfully overcome in the presence of sodium p-toluenesulfonate (pTsONa). This research has now been expanded to demonstrate that product inhibition of this enzyme can also be overcome by adding a high concentration of β-mercaptoethanol (βME), acetonitrile, or urea. In addition, a recombinant strain of E. coli has been constructed that expresses the yeast SAM synthetase encoded by the sam2 gene. The yeast enzyme does not have the problem of product inhibition seen with the E. coli enzyme. Complete conversion of 10 mM methionine to SAM was achieved in incubations with either the recombinant yeast enzyme and 1 molar potassium ion or the E. coli enzyme in the presence of additives such as βME, acetonitrile, urea, or pTsONa. The recombinant yeast SAM synthetase was used to generate SAM in situ for use in the multi-enzymatic synthesis of precorrin 2.