Vol. 1 Ch. 2 At the Heart of Fort Ancient

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Bladelets, Blood, and Bones: Integrating Protein Residue, Lithic Use-Wear, and Faunal Data from the Moorehead Circle, Fort Ancient

Modified teeth and jaws have long been recognized as important ceremonial objects during the Middle Woodland period of eastern North America. Direct evidence for the manufacture of the objects is exceedingly rare because they are typically recovered from mortuary contexts or ceremonial caches. Here, we present multiple lines of evidence pointing to the manufacture of modified teeth and jaws at the Moorehead Circle post enclosure within the Fort Ancient Earthworks. The convergence of protein residue, lithic use-wear, and faunal data indicate that bear and likely canid bones were modified by artisans working within the Moorehead Circle. These findings add an important new layer of understanding to our knowledge of these objects, human–animal relations, and craft production in the Middle Woodland

Groups of diffeomorphisms and geometric loops of manifolds over ultra-normed fields

The article is devoted to the investigation of groups of diffeomorphisms and loops of manifolds over ultra-metric fields of zero and positive characteristics. Different types of topologies are considered on groups of loops and diffeomorphisms relative to which they are generalized Lie groups or topological groups. Among such topologies pairwise incomparable are found as well. Topological perfectness of the diffeomorphism group relative to certain topologies is studied. There are proved theorems about projective limit decompositions of these groups and their compactifications for compact manifolds. Moreover, an existence of one-parameter local subgroups of diffeomorphism groups is investigated.Comment: Some corrections excluding misprints in the article were mad

The effects of interleukin-8 on airway smooth muscle contraction in cystic fibrosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many cystic fibrosis (CF) patients display airway hyperresponsiveness and have symptoms of asthma such as cough, wheezing and reversible airway obstruction. Chronic airway bacterial colonization, associated with neutrophilic inflammation and high levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8) is also a common occurrence in these patients. The aim of this work was to determine the responsiveness of airway smooth muscle to IL-8 in CF patients compared to non-CF individuals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Experiments were conducted on cultured ASM cells harvested from subjects with and without CF (control subjects). Cells from the 2^ndto 5^thpassage were studied. Expression of the IL-8 receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2 was assessed by flow cytometry. The cell response to IL-8 was determined by measuring intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i), cell contraction, migration and proliferation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The IL-8 receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2 were expressed in both non-CF and CF ASM cells to a comparable extent. IL-8 (100 nM) induced a peak Ca²⁺release that was higher in control than in CF cells: 228 ± 7 versus 198 ± 10 nM (p < 0.05). IL-8 induced contraction was greater in CF cells compared to control. Furthermore, IL-8 exposure resulted in greater phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC₂₀) in CF than in control cells. In addition, MLC₂₀expression was also increased in CF cells. Exposure to IL-8 induced migration and proliferation of both groups of ASM cells but was not different between CF and non-CF cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ASM cells of CF patients are more contractile to IL-8 than non-CF ASM cells. This enhanced contractility may be due to an increase in the amount of contractile protein MLC₂₀. Higher expression of MLC₂₀by CF cells could contribute to airway hyperresponsiveness to IL-8 in CF patients.</p

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Non-Standard Errors

In statistics, samples are drawn from a population in a data-generating process (DGP). Standard errors measure the uncertainty in estimates of population parameters. In science, evidence is generated to test hypotheses in an evidence-generating process (EGP). We claim that EGP variation across researchers adds uncertainty: Non-standard errors (NSEs). We study NSEs by letting 164 teams test the same hypotheses on the same data. NSEs turn out to be sizable, but smaller for better reproducible or higher rated research. Adding peer-review stages reduces NSEs. We further find that this type of uncertainty is underestimated by participants