Nature's choice? a study of the displacement of incumbents in elections

Como choques econômicos afetam eleições em democracias? Usando dados eleitorais do Congresso dos Estados Unidos, eu testo se choques adversos podem afetar desigualmente partidos incumbentes e oponentes. Esse efeito é identificado, entre vários procedimentos, por uma regressão em descontinuidade. Eu considero possibilidades teóricas para esse efeito, quando cidadãos não conseguem observar perfeitamente se a falta de bens públicos é devido a um choque adverso, ou a consumo privado do político. Quando o choque é observável, não há efeito; enquanto se não fosse, haveria. As evidências empíricas são consistentes com a teoria.

Investigation of the two-photon absorption cross-section in perylene tetracarboxylic derivatives: Nonlinear spectra and molecular structure

We investigated the 2PA absorption spectrum of a family of perylene tetracarboxylic derivatives ( PTCDs): bis( benzimidazo) perylene ( AzoPTCD), bis( benzimidazo) thioperylene ( Monothio BZP), n-pentylimidobenzimidazoperylene ( PazoPTCD), and bis( n-butylimido) perylene ( BuPTCD). These compounds present extremely high two-photon absorption, which makes them attractive for applications in photonics devices. The two-photon absorption cross-section spectra of perylene derivatives obtained via Z-scan technique were fitted by means of a sum-over-states ( SOS) model, which described with accuracy the different regions of the 2PA cross-section spectra. Frontier molecular orbital calculations show that all molecules present similar features, indicating that nonlinear optical properties in PTCDs are mainly determined by the central portion of the molecule, with minimal effect from the lateral side groups. In general, our results pointed out that the differences in the 2PA cross-sections among the compounds are mainly due to the nonlinearity resonance enhancement.

Deriving the magnitude of niobium off-center displacement in ferroelectric niobates from infrared spectroscopy

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Evidence for conformational changes in the yeast deoxyhypusine hydroxylase Lia1 upon iron displacement from its active site

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Resonant excitation of Mn local vibrational modes in the higher order Raman spectra of nanocrystalline Ga(1-x)Mn(x)N films

The effect of manganese on the vibrational properties of Ga(1-x)Mn(x)N (0 <= x <= 0.18) films has been investigated by Raman scattering using 488.0 and 632.8 nm photon excitations. The first-order transverse and longitudinal optical GaN vibrational bands were observed in the whole composition range using both excitations, while the corresponding overtones, as well as a prominent peak located in 1238 cm(-1) (153.5 meV) were only observed in the Mn-containing films under 488.0 nm excitation. We propose that the peak observed at 1238 cm(-1) is due to resonant Mn local vibrational modes, the excitation process being related to electronic transitions involving the Mn acceptor band.

Cubic approximation for the transverse displacement in BEM for elastic plates analysis

This work presents an application for the plate analysis formulation by BEM where 3 boundary equations are used, written for the transverse displacement w and the normal and tangential derivatives partial derivativew/partial derivativen and partial derivativew/partial derivatives. In this extension, the transverse displacement w is approximated by a cubic polynomial and, as a consequence, partial derivativew/partial derivatives has a quadratic approximation. This alternative BEM formulation improves the analysis of thin plates, when compared to the formulation using the linear approximation for the displacements, mainly in the obtaining of the bending moments at the boundary of the plate. The implementation of this proposal to the computational codes is simple. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Behaviour of displacement, cast-in-place piles on collapsible soil

The paper presents the results of instrumented compression load tests carried out in three uncased cast-in-place piles (pounded piles, called apiloadas in Brazil) which is largely used in interior part of the state of São Paulo. The tests were conducted with the soil in the natural condition and after soaking with water, before loading, in order to evaluate the influence of the soil collapsibility in the results. The values of the ultimate loads (total, point and lateral loads) obtained in the tests are presented and compared with the values predicted by empirical methods that utilize SPT and CPT results.

Real spectra for the non-Hermitian Dirac equation in 1+1 dimensions with the most general coupling

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A simple interferometric method to measure the calibration factor and displacement amplification in piezoelectric flextensional actuators

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

High sensitivity fiber optic angular displacement sensor and its application for detection of ultrasound

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Force and displacement transmissibility of a nonlinear isolator with high-static-low-dynamic-stiffness

Engineers often face the challenge of reducing the level of vibrations experienced by a given payload or those transmitted to the support structure to which a vibrating source is attached. In order to increase the range over which vibrations are isolated, soft mounts are often used in practice. The drawback of this approach is the static displacement may be too large for reasons of available space for example. Ideally, a vibration isolator should have a high-static stiffness, to withstand static loads without too large a displacement, and at the same time, a low dynamic stiffness so that the natural frequency of the system is as low as possible which will result in an increased isolation region. These two effects are mutually exclusive in linear isolators but can be overcome if properly configured nonlinear isolators are used. This paper is concerned with the characterisation of such a nonlinear isolator comprising three springs, two of which are configured to reduce the dynamic stiffness of the isolator. The dynamic behaviour of the isolator supporting a lumped mass is investigated using force and displacement transmissibility, which are derived by modelling the dynamic system as a single-degree-of-freedom system. This results in the system dynamics being approximately described by the Duffing equation. For a linear isolator, the dynamics of the system are the same regardless if the source of the excitation is a harmonic force acting on the payload (force transmissibility) or a harmonic motion of the base (displacement transmissibility) on which the payload is mounted. In this paper these two expressions are compared for the nonlinear isolator and it is shown that they differ. A particular feature of the displacement transmissibility is that the response is unbounded at the nonlinear resonance frequency unless the damping in the isolator is greater than some threshold value, which is not the case for force transmissibility. An explanation for this is offered in the paper. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estudo termoanalítico de medicamentos de referência, genérico e similar

This study aimed to apply, thermogravimetriy /derivative Thermogravimetriy (TG/DTG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), to conduct a comparative study on drug reference, generic and whose active principles are similar captopril hydrochlorothiazide, ampicillin, paracetamol, aspirin and mebendazole sold in local pharmacies. Samples of the active ingredients and dosage forms were also characterized by absorption infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and microscopy scanning electron (SEM). The TG / DTG curves showed a general similarity in the thermal behavior of the samples, but also showed the influence of excipients on the thermal stability. The DSC curve of the generic base hydrochlorothiazide showed no peak on the fusion of the drug due to interference of lactose as a diluent, which causes interaction with the active principle causing their degradation before the merger. The DSC curves of the drugs consisting of paracetamol showed reproducibility at the melting point of the active and the other thermal events. The DSC result of binary mixtures involving captopril / magnesium stearate and mebendazole/magnesium stearate showed possible interactions or incompatibilities evidenced by the displacement of the melting point of both drugs. The other mixtures showed no change. The infrared spectra presented were very similar, indicating the presence of functional groups characteristic of the constituents of the samples. The X-ray diffraction showed peaks indicative of crystalline structure of the active ingredients as well as some of the ingredients in the formulation of the drug and the micrographs indicate a general heterogeneity in the size distribution of particles in the samples

Síntese, caracterização e estudo fotofísico de complexos de 4,4- diaminoestilbeno-2,2-dissulfonato com íons lantanídeos

This is a work involving fundamental studies of chemistry where the synthesis and structural characterization, as well as a possible future application of these new compounds as luminescent sensors or sunscreen agents, complexes with 4,4 diaminostilbene-2,2-disulfonic (DSD) and trivalent lanthanide ions La3+, Nd3+, Eu3+, Gd3+ and Yb3+, were synthesized in the ratio of 3 mmol: 1 mmol (DSD: lanthanides). The complexes obtained with these ions were present in powder form and were characterized by complexometric titration with EDTA CHN Elemental analysis, molecular absorption spectroscopy in the ultraviolet region, the absorption spectroscopy in the infrared, thermal analysis (TG / DTG), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance - NMR 1H and Luminescence Spectroscopy. The complexometric titration and CHN analysis, confirmed the TG / DTG which suggest that these complexes have the following general chemical formulas: [La2(C14H12S2O6N2)2(H2O)2Cl2].7H2O,[Nd2(C14H12S2O6N2)2(H2O)2Cl2].6H2O,[Eu2(C14 H12S2O6N2)2(H2O)2Cl2].7H2O,[Gd2(C14H12S2O6N2)2(H2O)2Cl2].4H2O e [Yb2(C14H12S2O6N2)2(H2O)2].6H2O. The disappearance of the bands in the infrared spectrum at 2921 cm-1 and 2623 cm-1 and the displacement of the bands in the spectra of the amine complex indicate that the lanthanide ion is coordinated to the oxygen atoms and the sulfonate groups of the nitrogens amines, suggesting the formation of the dimer. The disappearance of the signal and the displacement signal SO3H amines in the 1H NMR spectrum of this complex are also indicative coordination and dimer formation. The Thermogravimetry indicates that the DSD is thermally stable in the range of 40º to 385°C and their complexes with lanthanide ions exhibit weight loss between 4 and 5 stages. The Uv-visible spectra indicated that the DSD and complexes exhibit cis isomers. The analysis of luminescence indicates that the complexes do not exhibit emission in the region of the lanthanides but an intense emission part of the binder. This is related to the triplet states of the ligand, which are in the lowest energy state emitting lanthanide ions, and also the formation of the dimer that suppress the luminescence of ion Eu3+. The formation of dimer was also confirmed by calculating the europium complex structure using the model Hamiltonian PM6 and Sparkle

Effects of aluminum-copper alloy filtration on photon spectra, air kerma rate and image contrast

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)