From Structure to Function in Open Ionic Channels

We consider a simple working hypothesis that all permeation properties of open ionic channels can be predicted by understanding electrodiffusion in fixed structures, without invoking conformation changes, or changes in chemical bonds. We know, of course, that ions can bind to specific protein structures, and that this binding is not easily described by the traditional electrostatic equations of physics textbooks, that describe average electric fields, the so-called `mean field'. The question is which specific properties can be explained just by mean field electrostatics and which cannot. I believe the best way to uncover the specific chemical properties of channels is to invoke them as little as possible, seeking to explain with mean field electrostatics first. Then, when phenomena appear that cannot be described that way, by the mean field alone, we turn to chemically specific explanations, seeking the appropriate tools (of electrochemistry, Langevin, or molecular dynamics, for example) to understand them. In this spirit, we turn now to the structure of open ionic channels, apply the laws of electrodiffusion to them, and see how many of their properties we can predict just that way.Comment: Nearly final version of publicatio

Critical Semiotic Analysis and Cultural Political Economy.

A case is made for cultural political economy (CPE) by exploring the constitutive role of semiosis in economic and political activities, economic and political institutions, and social order more generally. CPE is a post-disciplinary approach that adopts the �cultural turn� in economic and political inquiry without neglecting the articulation of semiosis with the interconnected materialities of economics and politics within wider social formations. This approach is illustrated from the emergence of the knowledgebased economy as a master discourse for accumulation strategies on different scales, for state projects and hegemonic visions, for diverse functional systems and professions, and for civil society

Youth Homelessness

CCH estimates that, over the course of a year, more than 25,000 youth in Illinois experience homelessness. Homeless youth are between the ages of 14 and 21 who have left home because of serious family problems, are not in a safe and stable living situation, and cannot be reunited with their families

Emergent Electroweak Gravity

We show that any massive cosmological relic particle with small self-interactions is a super-fluid today, due to the broadening of its wave packet, and lack of any elastic scattering. The WIMP dark matter picture is only consistent its mass $M \gg M_{\rm Pl}$ in order to maintain classicality. The dynamics of a super-fluid are given by the excitation spectrum of bound state quasi-particles, rather than the center of mass motion of constituent particles. If this relic is a fermion with a repulsive interaction mediated by a heavy boson, such as neutrinos interacting via the $Z^0$, the condensate has the same quantum numbers as the vierbein of General Relativity. Because there exists an enhanced global symmetry $SO(3,1)_{space}\times SO(3,1)_{spin}$ among the fermion's self-interactions broken only by its kinetic term, the long wavelength fluctuation around this condensate is a Goldstone graviton. A gravitational theory exists in the low energy limit of the Standard Model's Electroweak sector below the weak scale, with a strength that is parametrically similar to $G_N$.Comment: 4 page

The 2004 Elections in Northern Ghana

A study of the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2004 in Ghana, focusing on the particular issues that led to the three Norethern Regions defying the nnational trend and voting for the opposition NDC. The study reveals that the key factors behind this were local and traditional rather than regional or national. This indicates the continuing importance of inter and intra-ethnic rivalries in those regions

The Government’s financial support for fossil fuel companies is being overlooked

Bob Ward explores the subsidies currently doled out by the government to fossil fuel companies and asks why it has not attracted the same degree of criticism as subsidies for the renewable energy industry

Spain’s labour market reforms are unlikely to lead to economic growth or a drop in unemployment

In early 2012, Spain introduced labour market reforms aimed at boosting competitiveness and economic performance. Bob Hancké looks at recent claims that these reforms have started to boost the Spanish economy, finding that they may have boosted productivity at the expense of weaker companies that have been affected by the crisis. He writes that as long as productivity growth outstrips economic growth, it is unlikely that unemployment will fall