A Graph Grammar for Modelling RNA Folding

We propose a new approach for modelling the process of RNA folding as a graph transformation guided by the global value of free energy. Since the folding process evolves towards a configuration in which the free energy is minimal, the global behaviour resembles the one of a self-adaptive system. Each RNA configuration is a graph and the evolution of configurations is constrained by precise rules that can be described by a graph grammar.Comment: In Proceedings GaM 2016, arXiv:1612.0105

A plea for music

Citation: Keen, Letta Birdilla. A plea for music. Senior thesis, Kansas State Agricultural College, 1902.Morse Department of Special CollectionsIntroduction: “As the guardian angel is said to follow us through life, so music seems to be ever with us in our journey from the cradle to the grave.” She sings beside our cradle, she kneels before the door of our tomb. In religion and in war she is ever present. At the dance and at the banquet, at every solemnity and at every feast. The songs of childhood, the songs which our mothers sang; who can be forgetful of their charm. The very youngest child is lulled and cheered by song before it knows the meaning of spoken words. When loves gentle impulse for the first time takes possession of the heart, the maiden gives expression to them in song, while the youthful lover delights in a serenade. It is hard to decide which is the mightier music or love. When listening with a believing mind and a feeling heart to the soft melody of the organ, the strains of the choir and the mighty song of the congregation, our souls are lifted upward on the wings of song until in the imagination we are in the blessed realms above. Music appeals to the better class of feelings as does nothing else. It has little or no power to arouse the uglier emotions. There is nothing stronger than music to make the sad joyful, the joyful sad, and the timid bold, to charm the haughty to humility, to calm and quiet excessive love, to lessen envy, and hatred. Tears have been started, hearts softened, sorrows stilled, religion deepened, aspiration awakened by music, but there never was and never can be written a strain of music which would excite the passion of greed, avarice, gluttony, angry or envy in the listener. It is through music that we communicate, or best of all commune with nature, for nature is the best musician, and he who has eyes to see but no lass to her beauties is in danger of never really knowing her. Music has been called “The Language of Heavens.” It might, perhaps better be said, music is the language of nature

Weather, climate and total factor productivity

Recently it has been hypothesized that climate change will affect total factor productivity growth. Given the importance of TFP for long-run economic growth, if true this would entail a substantial upward revision of current impact estimates. Using macro TFP data from a recently developed dataset in Penn World Tables, we test this hypothesis by directly examining the nature of the relationship between annual temperature shocks and TFP growth rates in the last decades. The results show a negative relationship only in poor countries. While statistically significant, the estimate upper bound is a reduction of TFP growth is less than 0.1%, i.e., climate change will decelerate but not reverse economic growth. This finding increases concerns over the distributional issues of future impacts, and restates the case for complementarity between climate policy and poverty reduction

Abordagem comunicativa do professor : o uso da linguagem científica durante a aplicação de uma sei como uma de suas ações para a promoção da argumentação e a construção do conhecimento

Neste trabalho estudamos uma das ações do professor(a) em sala de aula de ciências: o uso da linguagem científica para a promoção da argumentação. Para isso, reanalisamos os dados coletados pelo corpus de Sasseron (2008), onde a autora nos mostrou o processo de desenvolvimento da Alfabetização Científica e a promoção da Argumentação em sala de aula de Ciências a partir de uma Sequência de Ensino Investigativo (SEI). No entanto, nosso foco foi analisar as ações doprofessor(a) nessas mesmas aulas a partir de sua abordagem comunicativa e a interação dos argumentos dos alunos a partir dessa abordagem. Com isso, construímos categorias de análise para essas ações e chegamos a resultados parciais que nos indicam a importância dessa abordagem comunicativa

Italian ex-PM Enrico Letta: ‘We have to move towards a two-circle Europe’

Enrico Letta was prime minister of Italy from 2013 to 2014, leading a grand coalition of parties from the left and right. He is now Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po in Paris. Ros Taylor spoke to him just before he delivered a lecture at the LSE on 12 February 2016, shortly after the draft renegotiation deal was published

Bulla Regia: urbanistica ed edilizia residenziale

La tesi prende in considerazione l'urbanistica residenziale di Bulla Regia,città dell'Africa proconsolare. Viene messa in luce con particolare cura la singolare tipologia di domus munita di ampi e sontuosi ambienti sotterranei

Spatial heterogeneity in price (dis)incentives: evidence from the Ugandan maize value chain

Impact assessments of policy interventions on agricultural commodity prices are carried out by international organizations using nationwide measures which overlook the effects of spatial heterogeneity in incomplete markets. We introduce a multi-step methodology to build spatially-disaggregated nominal rates of protection in a data-scarce environment and test it along the maize value chain in Uganda. Results confirm that the spatial dispersion of farmers plays a key role in determining heterogeneity in nominal rates of protection. This finding has far-reaching policy implications: i) the assumption of a nationally representative market pathway is unrealistic; ii) pan-national interventions may exacerbate, rather than reduce, price distortions

Seizing the moment for euro area reform: a three-step action plan

On 31 May, the European Commission published a reflection paper on the deepening of the economic and monetary union. Henrik Enderlein, Enrico Letta and Aart De Geus outline proposals that they believe should have been contained in the paper. Their plan includes three key building blocks for a lasting and workable reform: a first aid kit, a structural reform and investment agenda, and significant risk-sharing

The European Border and Coast Guard Addressing migration and asylum challenges in the Mediterranean? CEPS Task Force Report, 1 February 2017

The humanitarian refugee crisis in Europe of 2015-2016 has revealed several unfinished elements and shortcomings in current EU policies and approaches to migration, asylum and borders, particularly those applying in southern EU maritime borders and frontier states in the Mediterranean. This book provides a critical examination of the main issues and lessons learned from this crisis and gives an up-to-date assessment of the main policy, legal and institutional responses that have been put in place at the EU level. It further examines the extent to which these responses can be expected to work under the current system of sharing responsibilities among EU member states in assessing asylum applications and ensuring a consistent implementation of EU legal standards that comply with the rule of law and fundamental rights. This report is based on original research and draws upon the existing literature, along with the discussions of a CEPS Task Force that met over six months, under the chairmanship of Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute, Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po and former Prime Minister of Italy. The rapporteurs offer specific recommendations and possible scenarios for policy optimisation and assess the extent to which the establishment of a European Border and Asylum Service (EBAS) could address the current gaps and challenges in EU and member states’ migration policies