This book is dedicated to the multiple aspects, that is, biological, physical and computational of DNA and RNA molecules. These molecules, central to vital processes, have been experimentally studied by molecular biologists for five decades since the discovery of the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953. Recent progresses (e.g. use of DNA chips, manipulations at the single molecule level, availability of huge genomic databases...) have revealed an imperious need for theoretical modelling. Further progresses will clearly not be possible without an integrated understanding of all DNA and RNA aspects and studies.

The book is intended to be a desktop reference for advanced graduate students or young researchers willing to acquire a broad interdisciplinary understanding of the multiple aspects of DNA and RNA. It is divided in three main sections:

The first section comprises an introduction to biochemistry and biology of nucleic acids. The structure and function of DNA are reviewed in R. Lavery's chapter. The next contribution, by V. Fritsch and E. Westhof, concentrates on the folding properties of RNA molecules. The cellular processes involving these molecules are reviewed by J. Kadonaga, with special emphasis on the regulation of transcription. These chapters does not require any preliminary knowledge in the field (except that of elementary biology and chemistry).

The second section covers the biophysics of DNA and RNA, starting with basics in polymer physics in the contribution by R. Khokhlov. A large space is then devoted to the presentation of recent experimental and theoretical progresses in the field of single molecule studies. T. Strick's contribution presents a detailed description of the various micro-manipulation techniques, and reviews recent experiments on the interactions between DNA and proteins (helicases, topoisomerases, ...). The theoretical modeling of single molecules is presented by J. Marko, with a special attention paid to the elastic and topological properties of DNA. Finally, advances in the understanding of electrophoresis, a technique of crucial importance in everyday molecular biology, are exposed in T. Duke's contribution.

The third section presents provides an overview of the main computational approaches to integrate, analyse and simulate molecular and genetic networks. First, J. van Helden introduces a series of statistical and computational methods allowing the identification of short nucleic fragments putatively involved in the regulation of gene expression from sets of promoter sequences controlling co-expressed genes. Next, the chapter by Samsonova et al. connects this issue of transcriptional regulation with that of the control of cell differentiation and pattern formation during embryonic development. Finally, H. de Jong and D. Thieffry review a series of mathematical approaches to model the dynamical behaviour of complex genetic regulatory networks. This contribution includes brief descriptions and references to successful applications of these approaches, including the work of B. Novak, on the dynamical modelling of cell cycle in different model organisms, from yeast to mammals.

. Provides a comprehensive overview of the structure and function of DNA and RNA at the interface between physics, biology and information science.

The book aims to counter the normative functioning of creativity in contemporary capitalism with a plethora of alternatives to radical creative practices. In the first part, titled "Creative Capitalism", five authors analyze the forms of contemporary capitalism: on the one hand, there are new ways of working which include flexibility, mobility, and especially precarity; on the other, there are new forms of recovery and accumulation. In the second part, titled "Multitudinous Creativities: Radicalities and Alterities", the book reflects on more autonomous creative experiments in the world. The third part, titled "Creativity, New Technologies, and Networks", analyses the issues related to the work of creative capitalism and the possible resistance within the digital and collaborative platforms.

Brembo, a leader in the development and production of high performance braking systems is turning 60. Over the decades, the principal mission of the Italian company has been to brake to best effect the greats on two and four wheels as well as daily users of private cars and motorcycles. The history, evolution and on-going success of this prestigious Italian company are the themes of this official book, which opens with a preface by the Brembo chairman, Alberto Bombassei. The book reviews the diverse facets of the "Brembo universe": from its commitments in the automotive, motorcycling and motorsport fields to its attention to all aspects of design, always one of Brembo's strong suits, from the progressive internationalization of the company through to the particularly topical aspects of sustainable production. The contributions of the six principal authors - Vincenzo Borgomeo, Massimo Clarke, Gaetano Cocco, Patrizia Giangualano, Lorenzo Ramaciotti and Umberto Zapelloni - are complemented by a similar number of testimonies from figures from within the company and those who worked there at length. The Brembo "phenomenon" is also presented through a wealth of fascinating photographs, mostly drawn from the company archives, which document the unique story of a manufacturing company born in Italy and now a true icon of Italian excellence throughout the world.

The exhaustion of neoliberal globalization is marked by three great tendencies or inflections: the first is the scornful failure of the South-American attempt to construct a neo-developmentalist exit; the second is the increasingly unavoidable Chinese-effect macro and micro dynamics within globalization; the third is the combination of austerity policies and monetary emissions (Quantitative Easing) that characterize, for instance, the financial conduct of the Central European Bank. The dramatic failure to renew traditional state interventionism in the sphere of Pink Tide in Latin American politics-in particular with the violent recession of the biggest economy on the Latin American continent, Brazil-shows and confirms that the escape from neoliberal regulation does not pass through the return of the traditional role of the state. At the same time, the Chinese economy came to play a double role. On one hand, it appears to represent the great and irreversible novelty of neoliberal globalization, particularly when our point of perspective is South America. While almost nothing remains of the legacy of the center-left-leaning regimes, the last South American decade appears to have genuinely been a Chinese decade. The Chinese advance is seen, especially by voices of the critical globalization studies, as a new "outside" of Empire, as something that stands for an alternative path, even if it is nothing more than an "old new" outside. Meanwhile, the role played by the financial sector continues to be regarded per se as the fundamental problem of contemporary capitalism. For some, this is a case of a deviation from an otherwise "good capitalism, the misleading result of a fictitious and unreal sphere (as opposed to the sphere of material economy, of good old bosses and hard workers), while for others, it is a case of one of the moral characteristics of Western civilization: infinite debt, and capitalism happens to be its modern drift.

An almost complete collection of the papers given at the International Workshop on Imaging in High Energy Astronomy (Anacapri, Italy, 1994). These proceedings, which concentrate on imaging above 10 keV, represent the state of the art in the field, resulting from the success of many missions (I.C. Granat and CGRO) carrying detectors for high energy astronomy with imaging capabilities. The main topics of the book are Bragg concentrators, coded mask-modulation collimators, double Compton telescopes, the occultation method, tracking chambers, and new experimental techniques. The book also contains some papers dealing with image reconstruction and processing, with an emphasis on the above techniques.

With the spread of information and communication technologies (ICTs) comes the potential both for new social and economic equalities and new forms of inequalities. Information, Power, and Politics: Technological and Institutional Mediations demonstrates that ICTs can act as an impetus for democratizing information and knowledge, while at the same time new institutional frameworks can limit one's use of and access to strategic information and knowledge. The volume's contributors address ways to strengthen and affirm the socially marginalized as well as suggest how best to incorporate (semi)peripheral countries and regions into the international system. Information, Power, and Politics offers a refreshing and timely perspective on the ever-evolving relationship between information, knowledge, and communication.

The design of most modern engineering systems entails the consideration of a good trade-off between the several targets requirements to be satisfied along the system life such as high reliability, low redundancy and low operational costs. These aspects are often in conflict with one another, hence a compromise solution has to be sought. Innovative computing techniques, such as genetic algorithms, swarm intelligence, differential evolution, multi-objective evolutionary optimization, just to name few, are of great help in founding effective and reliable solution for many engineering problems. Each chapter of this book attempts to using an innovative computing technique to elegantly solve a different engineering problem.

This open access book explores how children draw god. It looks at children's drawings collected in a large variety of cultural and religious traditions. Coverage demonstrates the richness of drawing as a method for studying representations of the divine. In the process, it also contributes to our understanding of this concept, its origins, and its development. This intercultural work brings together scholars from different disciplines and countries, including Switzerland, Japan, Russia, Iran, Brazil, and the Netherlands. It does more than share the results of their research and analysis. The volume also critically examines the contributions and limitations of this methodology. In addition, it also reflects on the new empirical and theoretical perspectives within the broader framework of the study of this concept. The concept of god is one of the most difficult to grasp. This volume offers new insights by focusing on the many different ways children depict god throughout the world. Readers will discover the importance of spatial imagery and color choices in drawings of god. They will also learn about how the divine's emotional expression correlates to age, gender, and religiosity as well as strategies used by children who are prohibited from representing their god.

The design of most modern engineering systems entails the consideration of a good trade-off between the several targets requirements to be satisfied along the system life such as high reliability, low redundancy and low operational costs. These aspects are often in conflict with one another, hence a compromise solution has to be sought. Innovative computing techniques, such as genetic algorithms, swarm intelligence, differential evolution, multi-objective evolutionary optimization, just to name few, are of great help in founding effective and reliable solution for many engineering problems. Each chapter of this book attempts to using an innovative computing technique to elegantly solve a different engineering problem.

An almost complete collection of the papers given at the International Workshop on Imaging in High Energy Astronomy (Anacapri, Italy, 1994). These proceedings, which concentrate on imaging above 10 keV, represent the state of the art in the field, resulting from the success of many missions (I.C. Granat and CGRO) carrying detectors for high energy astronomy with imaging capabilities. The main topics of the book are Bragg concentrators, coded mask-modulation collimators, double Compton telescopes, the occultation method, tracking chambers, and new experimental techniques. The book also contains some papers dealing with image reconstruction and processing, with an emphasis on the above techniques.

The literature on the geochemistry of gallium is very extensive and several problems arise in an attempt to summarise the available information in a short account. Only a small proportion of the many determinations of gallium in rocks and minerals has been made by the most precise and accurate procedures, and ana lyses by emission spectrographic methods constitute a dominant part of the data given here. In Table 31-1 are summarised the results of determinations of gallium in two standard rocks by various procedures. These results show that the generally less precise spectrographic procedures give, on average, values of adequate accuracy. In view of this and also the quite low dispersion of gallium in common rocks and minerals, the average results of the less precise analyses often constitute abundance data of reasonable quality. Individual determinations or whole series of determina tions by these methods are sometimes inaccurate, however, and it remains difficult to assess questions such as the extent to which differences in concentrations recorded for various areas represent genuine regional variations as distinct from systematic analytical errors. Furthermore, the low dispersion of gallium leads to an interest in relatively small variations in processes such as magmatic differentiation, and these variations tend to be obscured in many investigations through the use of imprecise methods."

This open access book explores how children draw god. It looks at children's drawings collected in a large variety of cultural and religious traditions. Coverage demonstrates the richness of drawing as a method for studying representations of the divine. In the process, it also contributes to our understanding of this concept, its origins, and its development. This intercultural work brings together scholars from different disciplines and countries, including Switzerland, Japan, Russia, Iran, Brazil, and the Netherlands. It does more than share the results of their research and analysis. The volume also critically examines the contributions and limitations of this methodology. In addition, it also reflects on the new empirical and theoretical perspectives within the broader framework of the study of this concept. The concept of god is one of the most difficult to grasp. This volume offers new insights by focusing on the many different ways children depict god throughout the world. Readers will discover the importance of spatial imagery and color choices in drawings of god. They will also learn about how the divine's emotional expression correlates to age, gender, and religiosity as well as strategies used by children who are prohibited from representing their god.

The study of most scientific fields now relies on an ever-increasing amount of data, due to instrumental and experimental progress in monitoring and manipulating complex systems made of many microscopic constituents. How can we make sense of such data, and use them to enhance our understanding of biological, physical, and chemical systems? Aimed at graduate students in physics, applied mathematics, and computational biology, the primary objective of this textbook is to introduce the concepts and methods necessary to answer this question at the intersection of probability theory, statistics, optimisation, statistical physics, inference, and machine learning. The second objective of this book is to provide practical applications for these methods, which will allow students to assimilate the underlying ideas and techniques. While readers of this textbook will need basic knowledge in programming (Python or an equivalent language), the main emphasis is not on mathematical rigour, but on the development of intuition and the deep connections with statistical physics.

In contemporary western society, family patterns are undergoing considerable transformations: new housing courses for young people, migratory flows, the formation of one-parent families and the increasing number of people living alone ensure that the traditional family is no longer the dominant social unit, with the consequent need to diversify the housing offer. Moreover, if we consider that in 2030 two thirds of the world's population will live in the main urban areas and that the population over 65 years old will represent more than 25% of the total, it is at least necessary to consider housing density and functional complexity as fundamental features in modern collective housing. In order to meet modern residential needs, the Patronat Municipal de l'Habitatge de Barcelona (PMHB), main administrator of the Catalan city's housing clusters, has launched a process of the public offer's diversification by building high-standard architectural housing models specific for the most vulnerable categories of society. The book introduces the most significant 10 collective residential projects, realised by the PMHB in the last years. These projects allowed the PMHB to strengthen its position among the most representative European entities experimenting and innovating to meet the communities' needs. Text in English and Italian.

Chester finds himself forced to take part in a project he can no longer turn his back on, destiny has already paved his way and all he can do is to follow it, if he wants to regain charge of his life, which is falling apart. From one day to the next, he loses all certainty, his money, his home, he no longer has a job and all his hopes are lost, when he finds himself with his head in his hands in a desolate alley way. After having fainted, he is revived with a slap in the face by a stranger who tries to convince him of crazy notions with no sense. On his arduous journey he will encounter evil characters who will stop at nothing to achieve power, but he will also find people ready to risk their own lives to help him complete his important mission: to free the Human race from the forces of evil. Chester, who at the beginning feigned madness to escape a prison sentence, will ultimately give up his existence for the common good, saving the lives of his unexpected, but much beloved children.