Complete integrability of information processing by biochemical reactions

Statistical mechanics provides an effective framework to investigate information processing in biochemical reactions. Within such framework far-reaching analogies are established among (anti-) cooperative collective behaviors in chemical kinetics, (anti-)ferromagnetic spin models in statistical mechanics and operational amplifiers/flip-flops in cybernetics. The underlying modeling -- based on spin systems -- has been proved to be accurate for a wide class of systems matching classical (e.g. Michaelis--Menten, Hill, Adair) scenarios in the infinite-size approximation. However, the current research in biochemical information processing has been focusing on systems involving a relatively small number of units, where this approximation is no longer valid. Here we show that the whole statistical mechanical description of reaction kinetics can be re-formulated via a mechanical analogy -- based on completely integrable hydrodynamic-type systems of PDEs -- which provides explicit finite-size solutions, matching recently investigated phenomena (e.g. noise-induced cooperativity, stochastic bi-stability, quorum sensing). The resulting picture, successfully tested against a broad spectrum of data, constitutes a neat rationale for a numerically effective and theoretically consistent description of collective behaviors in biochemical reactions.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures; accepted for publication in Scientific Report

The contribution of sensorimotor simulation to conscious perception of facial expression in a binocular rivalry paradigm

openRiconoscere le emozioni è un aspetto fondamentale nei rapporti sociali. L’estrazione di informazioni dal volto è un processo che va oltre l’informazione visiva: i dati fino ad oggi raccolti nella letteratura delle neuroscienze evidenziano un ruolo chiave dell’informazione sensorimotoria. Wood e colleghi (2016) hanno proposto un modello di simulazione sensorimotoria per spiegare questo complesso fenomeno, proponendo che i segnali sensorimotori possano fornire un feedback alle aree visive così da favorire il processamento delle espressioni facciali. A completamento allo studio di Quettier et al. (2021), questo studio ha indagato il ruolo della mimica facciale nella percezione consapevole di espressioni emotive. E’ stato adottato un paradigma di rivalità binoculare, che prevede la presentazione di due differenti immagini a ciascuno dei due occhi: il cervello si trova in conflitto e la risoluzione dello stesso viene resa con l’alternarsi di immagini che competono per la dominanza nella consapevolezza. L’ipotesi, dunque, è che la manipolazione della mimica facciale possa influenzare le fasi di dominanza e soppressione della rivalità binoculare. Nel gruppo sperimentale sono state incluse partecipanti di sesso femminile (N = 28) reclutate tramite annunci presso l’Università di Padova. Nell’esperimento, ognuna delle partecipanti è stata sottoposta a stimoli in rivalità binoculare con espressione felice e neutra in due condizioni sperimentali: in una era possibile usare liberamente la mimica facciale, nell’altra era necessario stringere un chopstick tra i denti, attivando così lo zigomatico (muscolo associato all’espressione facciale di felicità). I risultati evidenziano l’importanza della mimica nell'elaborazione consapevole delle espressioni facciali: il contenuto consapevole relativo all’espressione felice, infatti, permane in fase di dominanza più a lungo quando la mimica è facilitata dalla manipolazione congruente. Questi dati supportano il ruolo della simulazione sensorimotoria nel processamento di espressioni facciali

Country differences in the gender effect on poverty in Europe

This paper evaluates to what extent differences in population and structural characteristics between countries can explain country differences with respect to the gender effect on poverty. Our study aims to advance research on the structural dimension in the predominantly individually-oriented study field of poverty. To facilitate an approach that integrates individual and structural context dimensions we take advantage of multilevel techniques to test differences among a large number of countries regarding the effect of the gender gap on the risk of being poor, entering into poverty, and exiting from poverty. We use the European Union Survey on Income and Living Conditions for the years 2007-2008. From our analyses, we conclude that structural effects seem to be more relevant than individual effects in explaining country differences with regard to the gender poverty gap.The financial support from Spanish Ministry of Education through grant ECO2009-11117 and Junta de Andalucía though grant P07-SEJ-03261

Consumer willingness to pay for catechin-enriched yogurt: Evidence from a stated choice experiment

In recent years, food manufacturers have been devoting a large portion of their R&D budgets to the development of functional foods. Although functional foods exhibit a significant level of information asymmetry, consumers appear to be increasingly appreciative, recognizing their role in preventing or reducing health risks and/or improving other physiological functions. This paper quantifies the willingness to pay of a representative sample of 600 Italian consumers for a hypothetical yogurt using a web-based stated choice experiment. The willingness to pay for two functional attributes (probiotics and catechin enrichment) was measured using the panel data version of a Random Parameters Logit model. The results show that respondents are willing to pay a premium for a catechin-enriched yogurt (0.38 €/jar), which is well above their willingness to pay for the probiotic attribute (0.21 €/jar). Averaging the individual values across sample sub-groups indicates that the willingness to pay for catechin enrichment may be related to age, income, health status, lifestyle and education. [EconLit citation: C25, C93, D12

La propuesta ortográfica de la lengua española de Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809)

L’objet de cet article est de décrire la proposition de réforme de l’orthographe de la langue castillane exposée par Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809) dans son «École Espagnole de sourd-muets ou L’art de leur enseigner à écrire et parler la langue espagnole » (1795). L’article offre également des informations biographiques et bibliographiques permettant de comprendre les raisons théoriques et pratiques qui justifient la présence d’une réforme de l’orthographe dans un ouvrage destiné à l’instruction des sourds.The aim of this paper is describing the spelling reform of Spanish-Castillian language proposed by Jesuit scholar Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809) in his 1795 work on the education of the deaf-mute, entitled «Escuela española de sordomudos o Arte para enseñarles a escribir y hablar el idioma español, dividida en dos tomos». This article also offers some biographical and bibliographical data as well as the theoretical and applied reasons for understanding the presence of a spelling reform in a work intended for the instruction of deaf people.El objetivo de este trabajo es describir la propuesta de reforma ortográfica de la lengua española que Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro (1735-1809) expuso en Escuela española de sordomudos o Arte para enseñarles a escribir y hablar el idioma español, dividida en dos tomos (1795). Asimismo da algunas indicaciones biográficas y bibliográficas que permiten comprender las razones teóricas y prácticas de la presencia de una reforma ortográfica en una obra dirigida a la instrucción de personas sordas

The socioeconomic gradient in health: The role of intra-household resource allocation

This paper aims to analyse the impact of different household financial regimes on the health status of males and females in a number of European countries. Using the EU-SILC 2010 on intra-household sharing of resources, we find that each member of the couple is worse off if his/her partner has most decision-making responsibilities. Additionally, the presence of children in the household plays a role in the effect that household financial regimens exert on individual self-assessed health, especially among females. We conclude that family arrangements regarding resource allocation and decision-making have important consequences and should be given some attention in the task of identifying individuals predisposed to health problems.Universidad de Málaga Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. ECO2012-33993,and ECO2015-63734-P (MINECO/FEDER) and the Fundación Ramón Areces (Research Project: Determinants of social exclusion and recommendations for combating it

El trabajo de fin de Grado (TFG) en las Universidades españolas. Análisis y discusión desde las Defensorías Universitarias

En el marco del XVIII Encuentro Estatal de Defensores Universitarios, celebrado en la Universidad Europea de Madrid en noviembre de 2015, tuvimos la oportunidad de trabajar acerca de los diferentes problemas asociados al Trabajo de Fin de Grado (TFG). Gracias a las discusiones, debates y aportaciones realizadas por todos los defensores y defensoras, tanto en la encuesta previa como en las mesas de trabajo, hoy podemos presentar este pequeño documento que trata de resumir todos o casi todos los problemas de índole académica y administrativa que supone la impartición en nuestros Grados de una asignatura como el Trabajo de Fin de Grado. Para poder elaborar este documento, en las semanas previas al XVIII Encuentro de la CEDU se pidió a las diferentes defensorías que rellenaran una encuesta (v. Anexo)1 a propósito de las cuestiones que, en este trabajo, se numeran del I al V. Como se puede observar, estos puntos trataban de abarcar de una forma exhaustiva diferentes aspectos relacionados con la gestión y la administración académica de la asignatura TFG, a lo que se añadía la visión desde nuestras Oficinas. Desde aquí queremos agradecer su colaboración a todos los miembros de la CEDU así como sus aportaciones a este trabajo, bien a través de la encuesta, bien a través de los debates en las mesas de trabajo