The Sound of Silence: Minorities,Abstention and Democracy

Despite the existence of an extensive literature, no definitive conclusion seems to emerge on the extent to which minorities are guaranteed by democratic rules in political systems. This paper contributes to this debate by proposing a modified Heigselmann and Krauss two-dimensional model of preferences in order to capture the role of abstention on minority representativeness. Regardless of the typology of abstention, simulation results show that voter abstention always benefits minorities.     

A Simple Relation between Line Shifts and Atomic Parameters

A comprehensive study of Xe II line shifts (after considering more than 900 transitions) provides the basis for establishing a simple empirical linear relation between the shifts and the inverse of the ionization potential for the er level.     

First total synthesis of A(2) isoprostane

A stereoselective Julia-Lythgoe olefination has allowed the first total synthesis of A(2) isoprostane (1), a recently discovered member of the growing isoprostane family. This elusive compound opens up numerous new avenues for the molecular biology of cyclopentenone prostaglandins, which are endowed of intriguing biological effects such as antitumor, antiinflammatory, and antiviral activities.     

k—Very Ample Line Bundles on Del Pezzo Surfaces

A k-very ample line bundle L on a Del Pezzo Surface is numerically characterized, improving the results of Biancofiore— Ceresa in [7].     

Uniqueness of solutions for some nonlinear Dirichlet problems

We consider here a class of nonlinear Dirichlet problems, in a bounded domain , of the form

Determination of continuous variable entanglement by purity measurements

We classify the entanglement of two-mode Gaussian states according to their degree of total and partial mixedness. We derive exact bounds that determine maximally and minimally entangled states for fixed global and marginal purities. This characterization allows for an experimentally reliable estimate of continuous variable entanglement based on measurements of purity.     

Boosts in an Arbitrary Direction and Maximal Causal Velocities in a Deformed Minkowski Space

We discuss boosts in a deformed Minkowski space, i.e., a four-dimensional spacetime with metric coefficients depending on nonmetric coordinates (in particular on the energy). The general form of a boost in an arbitrary direction is derived in the case of space anisotropy. Two maximal trivector velocities are mathematically possible, an isotropic and an anisotropic one. However, only the anisotropic velocity has physical meaning, being invariant indeed under deformed boosts.     

A prototype calix[4]arene-based receptor for carbohydrate recognition containing peptide and phosphate binding groups

A novel class of macrobicyclic receptors for carbohydrate recognition based on upper rim, peptide-bridged calix[4]arenes has been designed and synthesized. Receptor 12, in which a charged phosphate group cooperates with peptide hydrogen-bonding donor and acceptor groups in the binding process, is the most efficient and selective in the complexation of simple carbohydrate derivatives. The selectivity observed is toward beta-glucoside 13a, which is better bound (DeltaG degrees = 19.6 kJ mol(-)(1)) compared to the corresponding alpha anomer 13b (DeltaG degrees = 17.0 kJ mol(-)(1)) and to the beta-galactoside 13c (DeltaG degrees = 17.7 kJ mol(-)(1)) in CDCl(3). A substantial drop in the stability constant is observed by esterification of the phosphate group in the host 12 or by alkylation of the OH groups in the 2 and 3 positions in the beta-glucoside and beta-galactoside derivatives. On the basis of a careful analysis of the (1)H NMR data available, a binding mode of the beta-octylglucoside 13a to receptor 12 is proposed.     

Some noncoercive parabolic equations with lower order terms in divergence form

This paper deals with existence and regularity results for the problem $ \cases{u_t-\mathrm{div}(a(x,t,u )\nabla u)=-\mathrm{div}(u\,E) \qquad in \Omega\times (0,T),\cr u=0 \qquad on \partial \Omega\times (0,T), \cr u (0)= u_0 \qquad in \Omega ,\cr} $ under various assumptions on E and $ u_0 $. The main difculty in studying this problem is due to the presence of the term div(uE), which makes the differential operator non coercive on the "energy space" $ L^2 (0, T; H_0^1 (\Omega)) $.AMS Subject Classification: 35K10, 35K15, 35K65.