Scaling and universality in proportional elections

A most debated topic of the last years is whether simple statistical physics models can explain collective features of social dynamics. A necessary step in this line of endeavor is to find regularities in data referring to large-scale social phenomena, such as scaling and universality. We show that, in proportional elections, the distribution of the number of votes received by candidates is a universal scaling function, identical in different countries and years. This finding reveals the existence in the voting process of a general microscopic dynamics that does not depend on the historical, political, and/or economical context where voters operate. A simple dynamical model for the behavior of voters, similar to a branching process, reproduces the universal distribution.     

Wavelength-dispersive spectral analysis and quantification of monazites by electron-probe microanalysis

The problem of determining the chemical composition of monazite grains through electron probe microanalysis is studied, by using a scanning electron microscope with a wavelength dispersive spectrometer. A careful qualitative analysis is performed with the purpose of determining all the elements present in the samples, the lines to be used in the quantifications trying to minimize interferences, the angular positions and the acquisition times for the measurement of peak and background intensities and the crystals to be used. Particular emphasis is devoted to the analysis of Th, U and Pb, which are used to determine the age of the rock by means of the U-Th-Pb method, commonly used in geochronology. Quantitative determinations of the chemical composition of monazite grains are performed, optimizing the experimental conditions on the basis of the qualitative analysis. The determinations were made under two different criteria of quantification of oxygen, and the dissimilar results obtained are discussed.     

Diversity through a branched reaction pathway: generation of multicyclic scaffolds and identification of antimigratory agents

A library of 91 heterocyclic compounds composed of 16 distinct scaffolds has been synthesized through a sequence of phosphine-catalyzed ring-forming reactions, Tebbe reactions, Diels-Alder reactions, and, in some cases, hydrolysis. This effort in diversity-oriented synthesis produced a collection of compounds that exhibited high levels of structural variation both in terms of stereochemistry and the range of scaffolds represented. A simple but powerful sequence of reactions thus led to a high-diversity library of relatively modest size with which to explore biologically relevant regions of chemical space. From this library, several molecules were identified that inhibit the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells and may serve as leads for the development of antimetastatic agents.     

Quantum mechanics: cleaning up metaphysical baggage

The dynamic electronic structure of atoms and molecules can be directly observed by means of the (e, 2e) reaction, which measures the distribution of energies and momenta of two electrons in coincidence after a knockout reaction initiated by an electron beam of known momentum incident on a molecular gas target. The molecular state for each event is identified by the electron separation energy. The recoil momentum for each event is known from the difference of measured initial and final momenta. It has been verified that values of this momentum are equal under suitable conditions to the momentum of the electron in the target immediately before knockout. Thus the spherically-averaged electron momentum distribution for each molecular orbital is measured. This is directly related to molecular orbitals calculated by the methods of quantum chemistry. Properties obtained by this method for different types of molecules are discussed.     

Room temperature phosphorescence from a platinum(II) diimine bis(pyrenylacetylide) complex

Room temperature phosphorescence has been observed in a synthetically facile Pt(II) complex, Pt(dbbpy)(CtriplebondC-pyrene)(2) (dbbpy = 4,4'-di(tert-butyl)-2,2'-bipyridine; CtriplebondC-pyrene = 1-ethynylpyrene), in fluid solution. The static and time-resolved absorption and luminescence data are consistent with phosphorescence emerging from the appended CtriplebondC-pyrenyl units following excitation into the low energy dpi Pt --> pi* dbbpy metal-to-ligand charge transfer absorption bands.     

Crystallographic report: Ethyltriphenyltin(IV), Et(Ph)3Sn

The crystal lattice of the title compound comprises isolated molecules. The coordination polyhedron is a slightly distorted tetrahedron with C–Sn–C bond angles ranging from 106.62(17)° to 113.9(3)°. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A plasma klystron for generating ultra-short electron bunches

A technique for producing ultra-short electron bunches (e.g., ⩽100 fs) from a continuous electron beam using a short plasma wave section and a drift space is explored. The bunches are a fraction of a plasma wavelength long and are spaced by a plasma wavelength, making them of interest for injection into plasma accelerators or for driving a klystron-like structure to produce infrared radiation     

The electrochemistry of gold in acid aqueous solutions containing chloride ions

Results obtained with differently prepared gold electrodes in acid solutions containing chloride ion at temperatures ranging from 22 to 65°C are reported. Potentiostatic techniques and rotating disc electrodes were employed. The anodic dissolution, the onset of passivity and the cathodic deposition of the metal are investigated under different experimental conditions. The anodic dissolution of Au is discussed in terms of possible reaction mechanisms involving the participation of different adsorbed species. The onset of passivation is related to the depletion of chloride ion at the reaction interface. The experimental voltammograms can be reporduced by means of an equation which considers the diffusion of chloride ion, the activation polarization related to the dissolution of Au and the establishment of passivity.