A power-law distribution for tenure lengths of sports managers

We show that the tenure lengths for managers of sport teams follow a power law distribution with an exponent between 2 and 3. We develop a simple theoretical model which replicates this result. The model demonstrates that the empirical phenomenon can be understood as the macroscopic outcome of pairwise interactions among managers in a league, threshold effects in managerial performance evaluation, competitive market forces, and luck at the microscopic level.     

Controlled/living polymerization of 2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate and its block copolymer with tert‐butyl methacrylate by atom transfer radical polymerization

Polymerization of 2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DEAEMA) via homogeneous atom transfer radical polymerization under various reaction conditions is described. The effects of the initiators and solvents were examined. With 1,1,4,7,10,10‐hexamethyl triethylenetetramine/copper(I) chloride/p‐toluenesulfonyl chloride as the ligand/catalyst/initiator system in methanol, poly(DEAEMA) with a polydispersity index as low as 1.07 was synthesized. Kinetic studies demonstrated the polymerization was very well controlled and exhibited the living characteristic of the process. Well‐defined block copolymers of DEAEMA and tert‐butyl methacrylate (tBMA) were successfully synthesized. The copolymers could be synthesized with equally good results by starting with either p(DEAEMA) or p(tBMA) as the macroinitiators. However, only the macroinitiators terminated with chlorine should be used. The corresponding macroinitiators with bromine as a transferable group did not yield well‐defined copolymers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 2688–2695, 2003     

Spectrophotometric determination of germanium with Catechol Violet and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide

A ternary complex between germanium, Catechol Violet (CV) and cetyltrimethylanunoniuni bromide is proposed for the determination of germanium. The stoichiometric ratio Ge:CV is 1:2. Beer's law is obeyed from 0.1 to 1.0 ppm of Ge. The method is highly selective. Interference from Sn(IV), Fe(III), Bi(III), Cr(VI), Mo(VI), V(V) and Sb(III) in mg amounts is eliminated by extracting the germanium into carbon tetrachloride from 9M HC1 and then stripping into water before the photometric determination.     

Rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric ring opening of oxabicyclic alkenes with sulfur nucleophiles

The synthesis of 2-sulfanyl-1,2-dihydro-naphthalen-1-ols is described. This methodology is based on rhodium catalysis and enables various thiols to undergo an asymmetric SN2' ring opening of oxabenzonorbornadiene. Under the reaction conditions ([Rh(COD)Cl](2) (2.5 mol %), (S)-(R)-PPF-P(t)Bu(2) (6 mol %), AgOTf (7 mol %), NH(4)I (1.7 equiv), galvinoxyl (5 mol %), THF, 85 degrees C), aryl- and alkyl-sulfide adducts are obtained in good to excellent yield and in high enantiomeric excess (>90% ee).     

ToF-SIMS analysis of surface-anchored organometallic clusters

ToF-SIMS analysis of the organometallic cluster Os₃(μ-H)(CO)₁₀(μ-SCH₂CH₂SH) chemically attached onto a silver or gold surface, and of the cluster fragment Os₃(μ-H)(CO)₁₀(μ-OSi) on a silica surface, allows for identification of the surface organometallic species, and also gives information on its reactivity.     

Effects of steric and hydrophobic forces on the rheological properties of ZrO2 suspensions

 The effect of pH on the flow behavior of ZrO₂ suspensions containing polyacrylic and octanoic acids was evaluated. In the flocculated pH regime, the flow behavior is highly shearthinning and can be described by a power-law model. The shear-thinning behavior increases with increasing degree of flocculation. Maximum shearthinning was observed at the zero zeta potential condition. Hydrophobic interaction arising from adsorbed octanoic acid was found to enhance the shear-thinning behavior. No such enhancement was observed for adsorbed polyacrylic acid. It was also illustrated that the viscosity–pH behavior is a mirror image of the yield stress–pH behavior. A quantitative particle-pair interactions model incorporating steric and hydrophobic interactions was proposed to explain the effects of polyacrylic and octanoic acids on the maximum yield stress. Received: 23 May 1997 Accepted: 4 June 1997     

Reduced Overlap Population Analysis for Triosmium Clusters

The use of reduced overlap population (ROP) analysis from EHMO calculations as a means to gauge the presence of metal–metal bonds in triosmium clusters is examined. A number of triosmium clusters containing bridging ligands have been used as test cases, including the bis-ethoxy bridged cluster Os₃(μ-OEt)₂(CO)₁₀, 1b, and some of its group 15 derivatives Os₃(μ-OEt)₂(CO)₉(EPh₃), 2. These latter clusters are newly synthesized and have been characterized completely, including by single-crystal X-ray crystallographic studies. In honour of Professor Dieter Fenske on his 65th birthday.     

Physical and electrochemical characterizations of microwave-assisted polyol preparation of carbon-supported PtRu nanoparticles

PtRu nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72 carbon and carbon nanotubes were prepared by a microwave-assisted polyol process. The catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The PtRu nanoparticles, which were uniformly dispersed on carbon, were 2-6 nm in diameter. All PtRu/C catalysts prepared as such displayed the characteristic diffraction peaks of a Pt face-centered cubic structure, excepting that the 2theta values were shifted to slightly higher values. XPS analysis revealed that the catalysts contained mostly Pt(0) and Ru(0), with traces of Pt(II), Pt(IV), and Ru(IV). The electro-oxidation of methanol was studied by cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. It was found that both PtRu/C catalysts had high and more durable electrocatalytic activities for methanol oxidation than a comparative Pt/C catalyst. Preliminary data from a direct methanol fuel cell single stack test cell using the Vulcan-carbon-supported PtRu alloy as the anode catalyst showed high power density.     

Thermally responsive polymeric micellar nanoparticles self-assembled from cholesteryl end-capped random poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N,N-dimethylacrylamide): synthesis, temperature-sensitivity, and morphologies

Cholesteryl end-capped thermally responsive amphiphilic polymers with two different hydrophobic/hydrophilic chain-length ratios were synthesized from the hydroxyl-terminated random poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N,N-dimethylacrylamide) and cholesteryl chloroformate. The hydroxyl-terminated precursor polymers with narrow molecular weight distributions were synthesized by free-radical polymerization using 2-hydroxyethanethiol as a chain-transfer agent. The aqueous solutions of the cholesteryl end-capped copolymers exhibited reversible phase transitions at temperatures slightly above human body temperature, with the lower critical solution temperature values being 37.7 and 38.2 degrees C, respectively. The critical micelle concentration values of the two cholesteryl end-capped polymers were 9 and 25 mg/L, respectively. Polymeric micellar nanoparticles were prepared from the amphiphilic polymers using a dialysis method as well as a direct dissolution method. Transmission electron microscope studies showed that the micellar nanoparticles existed in different morphologies, including spherical, star-like, and cuboid shapes. Pyrene as a model hydrophobic compound could be readily encapsulated in these polymeric nanoparticles, at loading levels of 1.0 and 0.8 mg/g for the two cholesteryl end-capped polymers, respectively. The temperature sensitivity and unusual morphology of these novel polymeric nanoparticles would make an interesting drug delivery system.