Phase transitions and hysteresis in a cellular automata-based model of opinion formation

A particular case of a cellular automata-based model of two-state opinion formation in social groups with a strong leader is studied. We consider a 2D Euclidian geometry of social space and mutual interactions 1/r ⁿ . The model shows an interesting dynamics which can be analytically calculated. There are two stable states of the system: a cluster around the leader and unification. Unstable clusters may also appear. A variation in parameters such as the leader's strength or the social temperature can change the size of a cluster or, when they reach some critical values, make the system jump into another state. For a certain range of parameters the system exhibits bistability and hysteresis phenomena. We obtained explicit formulas for the cluster size, critical leader's strength, and critical social temperature. These analytical results are verified by computer simulations.     

Distance distributions and dynamics of a zinc finger peptide from fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements

Time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements were used to measure distance distributions and intramolecular dynamics (site-to-site diffusion) of a 28-residue single-domain zinc finger peptide in the absence and presence of zinc ion. Energy transfer was measured between TRP₁₄ and a N-terminal DNS group. As expected, the TRP-to-DNS distance distribution for zinc-bound peptide is shorter and narrower (R _av=11.2 Å,hw=2.8 Å) than the metal-free peptide (R _av=20.1 Å,hw=14.5 Å). The degree of mutual donor-to-acceptor diffusion (D) was also determined for these distributions. For zinc-bound peptide there is no detectible diffusion (D0.2 Ų/ns), whereas for metal-free peptide a considerable amount of motion is occurring between the donor and the acceptor (D=12 Ų/ns). These results indicate that the zinc-bound peptide folds into a unique, well-defined conformation, whereas the metal-free conformation is flexible and rapidly changing. The absence of detectible mutual site-to-site diffusion between the donor and the acceptor in the metal-bound zinc finger peptide indicates that intramolecular motion is essentially frozen out, on the FRET time scale, as a consequence of zinc coordination.Dedicated to the memory of Barbara D. Wells.     

An Electrostatic Bond Energy Model for Enthalpies of Formation of Chloroalkanes in Gaseous States

An electrostatic bond energy model is formulated to fit the enthalpies of formation and dipole moments of the alkanes and chloroalkanes. In this model, the charge distributions are calculated by an electrostatic approach similar to the "MSE" method, and the enthalpy of formation of a molecule is the sum of the bond energy terms plus the electrostatic energy of the interactions between the charges on all atoms. All parameters of this model are obtained by parameterization. The calculated dipole moments for 13 chloroalkanes and enthalpies of formation for 19 alkanes and non-geminal chloroalkanes agree with the determined values very well. To calculate the enthalpies of formation of geminal chloroalkanes, a correction mainly attributed to the van der Waals interactions in the geminal substituted group, about 24 kJ/mol per pair of geminal chlorine atoms, is introduced.     

Cellular automata approach to site percolation on ℤ2. A numerical study

We present a cellular automata model as a new approach to Bernoulli site percolation on the square lattice. A new macroscopic quantity is defined and numerically computed at each level step of the automata dynamics. Its limit manifests a critical behavior at a value of the site occupancy probability quite close to those obtained for site percolation on ² with the best-known numerical methods.     

Aryl-bis(triorganylphosphine)nickel phenoxides

Compounds of general formulatrans-ArNi(PR₃)₂OAr' (R = Et, cyclohexyl; Ar = 2-MeC₆H₄, 2-FC₆H₄; Ar' = 4-FC₆H₄, 4-NO₂C₆H₄) were synthesized by the reaction of Ar'OK with cationic nickel complexes generated by treatment of ArNi(PR₃)₂Cl with TlBF₄. Syntheses of 4-fluorophenoxide complexes, ArNi(PR₃)₂OC₆H₄F-4, additionally give some quantities oftrans-[ArNi(PR₃)₂OC₆H₄F-4][HOC₆H₄F-4] adducts. Exchange reactions MeC₆H₄Ni(PEt₃)₂OC₆H₄F-4 + XC₆H₄OH 2-MeC₆H₄Ni(PEt₃)₂OC₆H₄X + 4-FC₆H₄OH were studied in THF. The equilibrium is shifted to the right as the acidity of ArOH increases. A linear relationship between lgK _eq and pK _a of XC₆H₄OH in DMSO was found. A conclusion concerning the strong polarization of the Ni-O bond was made on the basis of an analysis of the chemical shifts of fluorine atoms in 2-MeC₆H₄Ni(PEt₃)₂OC₆H₄F-4.Translated fromIvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2266–2271, November, 1995.     

A simple method for the characterization of OHO-hydrogen bonds by H-solid state NMR spectroscopy

A set of OHO hydrogen bonded systems with known neutron diffraction structure has been studied by fast ¹H-MAS echo spectroscopy. It is shown that the application of a simple rotor synchronized echo sequence combined with fast MAS allows a faithful determination of the chemical shift of the proton in the hydrogen bond. Employing the empirical valence bond order model, the experimental ¹H chemical shifts of the hydrogen bonded protons are correlated to the hydrogen bond geometries. The resulting correlation between the proton chemical shift and the deviation of the proton from the center of the hydrogen bond covers a broad range of substances. Deviations from the correlation curve, which are observed in certain systems with strong hydrogen bonds, are explained in terms of proton tautomerism or delocalization in low-barrier hydrogen bonds. These deviations are a highly diagnostic tool to select potential candidates for further experimental and theoretical studies. Thus, the combination of the ¹H-MAS echo sequence with the correlation curve yields a simple and versatile tool for the structural analysis of OHO hydrogen bonds.     

Classifying Structural Characteristics to Enhance Computation of Enthalpy of Formation of Halohydrocarbons

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are made and least squares calibration performed for various halohydrocabons, which were 27 straight‐chain alkyl halides, 20 branch‐chain alkyl halides and 19 aromatic halides, to determine their enthalpies of formation (ΔH_f). The mean absolute error (M. |A.E.|) in ΔH_f across 66 molecular computations was only 7.8 kJ/mol (1.9 kcal/mol). Grouping the molecules by their structural characteristics improved M. |A.E.| of ΔH_f by 0.2–2.2 kJ/mol over that obtained using corresponding modified data for the same 66 unclassified molecules.     

Formation of sol-gel nanostructured mullite by additions of fluoride ion

Summary The subject of this study was to investigate the effect of fluoride ions addition on the temperature of sol gel mullite formation based on the hypotheses that the presence of fluoride ions can decrease the temperature of mullite formation (in respect to common 980°C, in sol-gel processing). Polymeric sols were prepared by mixing TEOS and aluminum nitrate nanohydrate and by adding fluoride ions (from 2 to 5 mass%). DTA, TG, XRD and SEM were used for characterisation of mullite gel and crystalline mullite. The experimental results confirmed that the addition of fluoride ions decrease the temperature of mullite formation up to 890°C for the fluorine concentration of 3.5 mass%. Experimental results showed that the temperature of mullite formation is not a simple function of the fluoride ion content. The mechanism of fluorine effect was discussed in terms of the gelling process, gel structure and the phase separation before the mullite formation.     

A view and a review of the melting of alkali metal halide crystals

Summary A representational model, proposed to account for the physical changes that accompany the melting of alkali halides, was described in Part 1 [1]. The liquid is portrayed as undergoing continual dynamic structural reorganization of its constituent ions between individual small domains, zones of various regular, crystal-type arrays. These alternative arrangements are stabilized by the enthalpy of melting, which, in liquids, relaxes the restriction for solids that only the single, most stable, crystal structure can be present. The dynamic character of the melt accounts for its fluid character and the loss of long-range order [1, 2]. This model is extended here to consider the phase diagrams of binary, common ion, alkali halide mixtures comprehensively reviewed in [3]. Factors determining whether each of these yields a eutectic, or a solid solution, on cooling are discussed and several trends in the 70-phase diagrams are identified. Eutectic formation, involving maintenance of the liquid state below the melting points of the pure components, is ascribed to the participation, in an extended dynamic equilibrium, of additional domains having the regular structures characteristic of double salts. The known crystalline double binary halides [3], Li/Cs or Rb/F, Cl, Br or I, melt at temperatures well below those of the simpler pure component salts. It is concluded that the set/liq model for melting, proposed in [1, 2], accounts for some important properties of the phase diagrams presented in [3].     

Macrocycle opening in crown ethers

Macrocycle opening in derivatives of benzocrown ethers under the action of amines is affected by the nature of the heteroatoms in the macrocycle, the nature of the functional group in the benzene ring of the crown ether, and the length, branching, and number of hydrocarbon radicals at the amine nitrogen atom. A distinguishing feature of this reaction is the template effect of MeNH₃ ⁺, Me₂NH₂ ⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺ ions.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 687–692, March, 1996.For Part I see Ref. 1.