Are Constitutional States Able to Drive the Global Technological Change?

Abstract. The present paper aims at assessing the possible efficiency of the principle of national contributions, assumed in the 2015 Paris Framework Convention on Climate Change. Strong historical evidence indicates that any significant development of constitutional states used to take place, in the past, on the rising tide of demographic growth. Presently, we are facing global demographic slowdown, and contesters argue that constitutional states are not the right address to write to if we want breakthrough technological change. This paper assumes that the capacity of constitutional states to carry out the obligations declared in the Framework Convention, i.e. to carry out deep technological changes in the global economy, depends on their economic power, which can be estimated as their capacity to appropriate capital. Empirical data, examined in this article, indicates that since the 1980s, constitutional states have been losing their economic power, and that the overall technological progress is more and more disconnected from that economic power of governments. Moreover, constitutional states seem to be losing their capacity to experiment with their own institutions.Keywords. Institutions, Constitutional state, Political economy.JEL. H00, H10, H30 H80

Financial Equilibrium in the Presence of Technological Change

Abstract. This article explores the issue of observable instability in financial markets interpreted as a long-term process of adaptation to demand for money, which, in turn, is based on the expected depreciation of fixed assets. Exploration is based on verifying empirically the hypothesis that the velocity of money is significantly, negatively correlated with the pace of technological change. The purpose of exploration is to assess the well-founded of policies, which use financial and monetary tools, rather than the straightforwardly fiscal ones, to stimulate technological change. Empirical research suggests that aggregate depreciation of fixed assets is a significant factor inducing slower a circulation of money.Keywords. Money, Financial markets, Technological change.JEL. E10, E30

RNA extraction protocol development for the assay of temporal gene expression in batch-cultured Escherichia coli K-12

The sigma S subunit (RpoS) of RNA polymerase acts as the master regulator of stress in Escherichia coli, allowing adaptation and survival under unfavourable conditions such as nutrient deprivation. RpoS regulates and integrates the signals of hundreds of genes (about 10% of the genome) organized into complex networks and modules that govern the response to stress and entry of the cell into stationary phase. Although microarray studies have been performed on starvation models in E. coli, the expression of the RpoS regulon has not been studied in long-term cultures due to the difficulty of isolating RNA from starving cells. In this study, the development of a protocol for isolating RNA from stationary phase cells, employing hot acid phenol without the use of DNase, is described. In addition, the expression of several genes during different phases of growth is analyzed by RT-qPCR in order to validate preliminary microarray data obtained from 24 and 48 hour-old cultures. Although the results obtained by RT-qPCR agree well with the literature, they do not corroborate preliminary microarray data at the 24 and 48 hour timepoint.Master of Science (MSc