321 research outputs found
Detecting vapour bubbles in simulations of metastable water
International audienceThe investigation of cavitation in metastable liquids with molecular simulations requires an appropriate definition of the volume of the vapour bubble forming within the metastable liquid phase. Commonly used approaches for bubble detection exhibit two significant flaws: first, when applied to water they often identify the voids within the hydrogen bond network as bubbles thus masking the signature of emerging bubbles and, second, they lack thermodynamic consistency. Here, we present two grid-based methods, the M-method and the V-method, to detect bubbles in metastable water specifically designed to address these shortcomings. The M-method incorporates information about neighbouring grid cells to distinguish between liquid- and vapour-like cells, which allows for a very sensitive detection of small bubbles and high spatial resolution of the detected bubbles. The V-method is calibrated such that its estimates for the bubble volume correspond to the average change in system volume and are thus thermodynamically consistent. Both methods are computationally inexpensive such that they can be used in molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations of cavitation. We illustrate them by computing the free energy barrier and the size of the critical bubble for cavitation in water at negative pressure
The phase diagram of water from quantum simulations
The phase diagram of water has been calculated for the TIP4PQ/2005 model, an
empirical rigid non-polarisable model. The path integral Monte Carlo technique
was used, permitting the incorporation of nuclear quantum effects. The
coexistence lines were traced out using the Gibbs-Duhem integration method,
once having calculated the free energies of the liquid and solid phases in the
quantum limit, which were obtained via thermodynamic integration from the
classical value by scaling the mass of the water molecule. The resulting phase
diagram is qualitatively correct, being displaced to lower temperatures by
15-20K. It is found that the influence of nuclear quantum effects are
correlated to the tetrahedral order parameter.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl
Public perceptions of forests across Italy: An exploratory national survey
In a context of progressive expansion of the Italian forest area, we present the results of a national survey exploring public perception of forests across different geographical scales in Italy. Perceptions of forests are assessed in rela-tion to popular beliefs on relevant environmental issues such as countering climate change, protecting biodiversity, and promoting social cohesion and environmental education. Participants (N = 1059) living in five different regions of Northern (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Piemonte), Central (Lazio, Molise) and Southern Italy (Puglia), were recruited in the survey and completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Survey questions regarded the estimated percentage of forest cover, the perceived importance of different environmental issues and of different material and non-material forest products, as well as partici-pants’ perceptions regarding connectedness to nature. Results revealed a gen-eralized tendency to overestimate the extension of forest surface area in the participants’ region, in Italy, and in the European Union. Results also showed high scores for participants’ perceived importance of environmental issues, such as climate change and biodiversity protection, and in their belief that forests could play a positive role in addressing these issues and providing im-portant outcomes and benefits for the quality of human life, such as health and well-being or social cohesion
A saturated consensus linkage map of Picea abies including AFLP, SSR, STS, 5S rDNA and morphological markers
International audienc
Impairment of Sexual Life in 3,485 Dermatological Outpatients From a Multicentre Study in 13 European Countries
Skin conditions may have a strong impact on patients' sexual life, and thus influence personal relationships. Sexual issues are difficult to discuss directly in clinical practice, and a mediated instrument may be useful to capture such information. In this study item 9 of the Dermatology Life Quality Index was used to collect information on sexual impact of several skin conditions in 13 European countries. Among 3,485 patients, 23.1% reported sexual problems. The impairment was particularly high in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa, prurigo, blistering disorders, psoriasis, urticaria, eczema, infections of the skin, or pruritus. Sexual impact was strongly associated with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. It was generally more frequent in younger patients and was positively correlated with clinical severity and itch. It is important to address the issue of sexual well-being in the evaluation of patients with skin conditions, since it is often linked to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Anomalies in water as obtained from computer simulations of the TIP4P/2005 model: density maxima, and density, isothermal compressibility and heat capacity minima
The so-called thermodynamic anomalies of water form an integral part of the
peculiar behaviour of this both important and ubiquitous molecule. In this
paper our aim is to establish whether the recently proposed TIP4P/2005 model is
capable of reproducing a number of these anomalies. Using molecular dynamics
simulations we investigate both the maximum in density and the minimum in the
isothermal compressibility along a number of isobars. It is shown that the
model correctly describes the decrease in the temperature of the density
maximum with increasing pressure. At atmospheric pressure the model exhibits an
additional minimum in density at a temperature of about 200K, in good agreement
with recent experimental work on super-cooled confined water. The model also
presents a minimum in the isothermal compressibility close to 310K. We have
also investigated the atmospheric pressure isobar for three other water models;
the SPC/E and TIP4P models also present a minimum in the isothermal
compressibility, although at a considerably lower temperature than the
experimental one. For the temperature range considered no such minimum is found
for the TIP5P model.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figure
Self-assembly scenarios of patchy colloidal particles
The rapid progress in precisely designing the surface decoration of patchy
colloidal particles offers a new, yet unexperienced freedom to create building
entities for larger, more complex structures in soft matter systems. However,
it is extremely difficult to predict the large variety of ordered equilibrium
structures that these particles are able to undergo under the variation of
external parameters, such as temperature or pressure. Here we show that, by a
novel combination of two theoretical tools, it is indeed possible to predict
the self-assembly scenario of patchy colloidal particles: on one hand, a
reliable and efficient optimization tool based on ideas of evolutionary
algorithms helps to identify the ordered equilibrium structures to be expected
at T = 0; on the other hand, suitable simulation techniques allow to estimate
via free energy calculations the phase diagram at finite temperature. With
these powerful approaches we are able to identify the broad variety of emerging
self-assembly scenarios for spherical colloids decorated by four patches and we
investigate and discuss the stability of the crystal structures on modifying in
a controlled way the tetrahedral arrangement of the patches.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, Soft Matter Communication (accepted
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