Third virial coefficients and critical properties of quadrupolar two center Lennard-Jones models

We report numerical results for the third virial coefficient of two center Lennard-Jones quadrupolar molecules. Calculations are performed for 35 models with different elongations and quadrupoles over a temperature range from half to twice the critical temperature. It is found that increasing the elongation at fixed quadrupole has the effect of increasing B3. On the other hand, at fixed elongation B3 first decreases with increasing quadrupole at low temperatures, then increases with increasing quadrupole at higher temperatures. We estimate the temperature at which the third virial coefficient vanishes. Although both this temperature and the critical temperature increase with the quadrupole moment, their ratio remains almost constant. We predict the critical properties using two different truncated virial series. The first one employs the exact second and third virial coefficients. The second one approximates the fourth order contribution by using estimates obtained for hard diatomics. It is found that both methods yield fairly good predictions, with a somewhat better performance of the approximate fourth order expansion. The two methods are complementary, however, because they consistently bracket the exact value as determined from computer simulations

Population genomics of post-glacial western Eurasia.

Western Eurasia witnessed several large-scale human migrations during the Holocene <sup>1-5</sup> . Here, to investigate the cross-continental effects of these migrations, we shotgun-sequenced 317 genomes-mainly from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods-from across northern and western Eurasia. These were imputed alongside published data to obtain diploid genotypes from more than 1,600 ancient humans. Our analyses revealed a 'great divide' genomic boundary extending from the Black Sea to the Baltic. Mesolithic hunter-gatherers were highly genetically differentiated east and west of this zone, and the effect of the neolithization was equally disparate. Large-scale ancestry shifts occurred in the west as farming was introduced, including near-total replacement of hunter-gatherers in many areas, whereas no substantial ancestry shifts happened east of the zone during the same period. Similarly, relatedness decreased in the west from the Neolithic transition onwards, whereas, east of the Urals, relatedness remained high until around 4,000 BP, consistent with the persistence of localized groups of hunter-gatherers. The boundary dissolved when Yamnaya-related ancestry spread across western Eurasia around 5,000 BP, resulting in a second major turnover that reached most parts of Europe within a 1,000-year span. The genetic origin and fate of the Yamnaya have remained elusive, but we show that hunter-gatherers from the Middle Don region contributed ancestry to them. Yamnaya groups later admixed with individuals associated with the Globular Amphora culture before expanding into Europe. Similar turnovers occurred in western Siberia, where we report new genomic data from a 'Neolithic steppe' cline spanning the Siberian forest steppe to Lake Baikal. These prehistoric migrations had profound and lasting effects on the genetic diversity of Eurasian populations

The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe

From around 2750 to 2500 bc, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 bc. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts. We detected limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and thus exclude migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, migration had a key role in the further dissemination of the Beaker complex. We document this phenomenon most clearly in Britain, where the spread of the Beaker complex introduced high levels of steppe-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain’s gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the east-to-west expansion that had brought steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe over the previous centuries

Growth And The Growth Hormone-Insulin Like Growth Factor 1 Axis In Children With Chronic Inflammation:Current Evidence, Gaps In Knowledge And Future Directions

Growth failure is frequently encountered in children with chronic inflammatory conditions like juvenile idiopathic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and cystic fibrosis. Delayed puberty and attenuated pubertal growth spurt is often seen during adolescence. The underlying inflammatory state mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokines, prolonged use of glucocorticoid and suboptimal nutrition contribute to growth failure and pubertal abnormalities. These factors can impair growth by their effects on the growth hormone-insulin like growth factor axis and also directly at the level of the growth plate via alterations in chondrogenesis and local growth factor signaling. Recent studies on the impact of cytokines and glucocorticoid on the growth plate studies further advanced our understanding of growth failure in chronic disease and provided a biological rationale of growth promotion. Targeting cytokines using biologic therapy may lead to improvement of growth in some of these children but approximately one third continue to grow slowly. There is increasing evidence that the use of relatively high dose recombinant human growth hormone may lead to partial catch up growth in chronic inflammatory conditions, although long term follow-up data is currently limited. In this review, we comprehensively review the growth abnormalities in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and cystic fibrosis, systemic abnormalities of the growth hormone-insulin like growth factor axis and growth plate perturbations. We also systematically reviewed all the current published studies of recombinant human growth hormone in these conditions and discuss the role of recombinant human insulin like growth factor-1

Critical properties of molecular fluids from the virial series

We present results for the fourth virial coefficient of quadrupolar Lennard-Jones diatomics for several quadrupole moments and elongations. The coefficients are employed to predict the critical properties from two different truncated virial series. The first one employs the exact second and third virial coefficients, calculated in our previous work. The second includes also the exact fourth virial coefficient as obtained in this work. It is found that the first method yields already fairly good predictions. The second method significantly improves on the first one, however, yielding good results for both the critical temperature and pressure. Particularly, when compared with predictions from perturbation theories available in the literature, the virial series to fourth order compares favorably for the critical temperature. The results suggest that the failure of perturbation theories to predict the critical temperature and pressure is not only related to the neglect of density fluctuations, but also to poor prediction of the virial coefficients

Critical properties of molecular fluids from the virial series

We present results for the fourth virial coefficient of quadrupolar Lennard-Jones diatomics for several quadrupole moments and elongations. The coefficients are employed to predict the critical properties from two different truncated virial series. The first one employs the exact second and third virial coefficients, calculated in our previous work. The second includes also the exact fourth virial coefficient as obtained in this work. It is found that the first method yields already fairly good predictions. The second method significantly improves on the first one, however, yielding good results for both the critical temperature and pressure. Particularly, when compared with predictions from perturbation theories available in the literature, the virial series to fourth order compares favorably for the critical temperature. The results suggest that the failure of perturbation theories to predict the critical temperature and pressure is not only related to the neglect of density fluctuations, but also to poor prediction of the virial coefficients

Propiedades físico mecánicas de los granitos empleados en la catedral de Avila procedentes del yacimiento de "La Colilla" (Avila)

The physico mechanical properties of granites from the "La Colilla" quarries have been studied. These materials have been employed in construction and later restorations of Avila cathedral