Settlement Hierarchies and Political Complexity in Nonmarket Societies: The Formative Period of the Valley of Mexico

Archaeologists have long recognized that increases in political centralization often coincide with the growth of regional settlement hierarchies. Here I develop a theoretical model which explicitly relates certain aspects of political complexity to variation in settlement size. This model applies specifically to hierarchical societies without well-developed market economies—societies which Service would classify as chiefdoms and (perhaps) simple states. Using settlement data from the Formative Period Valley of Mexico, I show how this model is useful in measuring (1) the number of levels in a regional hierarchy, (2) the degree of political centralization, and (3) the relative amount of surplus food mobilized to support the political establishment.     

Evolutionary physiology by data of publications for 1965–2005

Evolutionary physiology as independent direction of physiology was formed in the XX century and was rapidly developing in its second half. To evaluate some tendencies of this process, we analyzed publications in Journal of Evolutionary Biochemistry and Physiology, one of the leading specialized periodicals on this problem. Analysis of works published for 4 decades has shown that the majority of papers deals with study of evolution of function of the nervous system (40–60 papers per year), less papers concern study of functions of sensory and visceral systems (20–30 per year). Among the used method, the most widely spread is the comparative-physiological method. By the end of the 1990s the number of works with use of methods of embryophysiology decreased. In the performed studies, predominant are physiological methods. Use of biochemical methods decreased, while of methods of molecular biology increased. The most often used objects of studies were mammals. By the end of the XX—beginning of the XXI century, in the greater number of papers the object of study has become human, while the number of publications in which experiments were performed on amphibians, reptiles, and birds decreased. More than a half of all works were carried out in St. Petersburg (Leningrad); the number of papers submitted from Moscow institutions gradually decreased, but the number of works from regions of Russia rose. Most studies were performed at institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and universities, while the number of papers from institutes of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences decreased. For the last few years, several generalizations on evolution of functions and functional evolution have been formulated; handbooks and monographs on problems of evolutional physiology have been published.     

Expression and subcellular location of native and mutant hTNFα proteins in Escheriahia coli

Abstract Several mutant hTNFα genes were constructed by deletion and stepwise reconstitution of regions coding for C-terminal sequences. The mutant hTNFα proteins behaved differently from native hTNFα when expressed in Escherichia coli . They were either sensitive to proteolytic degradation or formed insoluble aggregates depending on the strains and conditions used for expression. By contrast, native hTNFα was always present in a soluble form and had a tendency to associate with the cytoplasmic membrane. It was even transported to the periplasmic space in E. coli as shown by both cell fractionation and immunoelectron microscopy. The different behaviour of mutant hTNFα proteins probably results from a disturbance of protein folding.     

Comparing the Powers of the Wald-Wolfowitz and Kolmogorov-Smirnov Tests

The Wald-Wolfowitz test and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test are two well-known tests which can be used to test for differences between two population distributions, where these distributions could differ in means, variances or shapes. This paper compares the simulated power of the Wald-Wolfowitz test to that of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test in several situations. Differences in location only, differences in variance only, and differences in both location and variance are considered. In most cases, equal sample sizes of 10 and 20 are used.     

The role of 1-octen-3-ol as a host-odour attractant for the biting midge, Culicoides impunctatus Goetghebuer, and interactions of 1-octen-3-ol with a volatile pheromone produced by parous female midges

Abstract. 1-octen-3-ol, a component of the body odour of ruminants, is demonstrated to be an attractant for host-seeking, parous female Culicoides impunctatus Goetghebuer (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae).This compound was electrophysiologically and behaviourally active and, in the field, released at 0.11 ± 0.01 mg/day, increased female C.impunctatus catches over a seven-day period compared with control catches.When 1-octen-3-ol was combined either with live female midges or an extract of female midges in an electroantennogram assay, additive effects were recorded.Behaviourally, the same combination resulted in both enhanced attraction and repellency, depending on concentration.Attraction was recorded mainly when sub-threshold concentrations of the separate components were combined.The potential of such a combination as an effective field bait is discussed.