Loops are abundant in native RNA structures and proliferate close to the unfolding transition. By including a statistical weight approximately l(-c) for loops of length l in the recursion relation for the partition function, we show that the heat capacity depends sensitively on the presence and value of the exponent c, even for a short explicit tRNA sequence. For long homo-RNA, we analytically calculate the critical temperature and critical exponents which exhibit a nonuniversal dependence on c.
Van Inwagen proposes that besides simples only living organisms exist as composite objects. This paper suggests expanding van Inwagen's ontology by also accepting composite objects in the case that physical bonding occurs (plus some extra conditions). Such objects are not living organisms but rather physical bodies. They include (approximately) the complete realm of inanimate ordinary objects, like rocks and tables, as well as inanimate scientific objects, like atoms and molecules, the latter filling the ontological gap between simples and organisms in van Inwagen's original picture. We thus propose a compositional pluralism claiming that composition arises if and only if bonding or life occurs.
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