4,654 research outputs found
Hexatic phase and water-like anomalies in a two-dimensional fluid of particles with a weakly softened core
We study a two-dimensional fluid of particles interacting through a
spherically-symmetric and marginally soft two-body repulsion. This model can
exist in three different crystal phases, one of them with square symmetry and
the other two triangular. We show that, while the triangular solids first melt
into a hexatic fluid, the square solid is directly transformed on heating into
an isotropic fluid through a first-order transition, with no intermediate
tetratic phase. In the low-pressure triangular and square crystals melting is
reentrant provided the temperature is not too low, but without the necessity of
two competing nearest-neighbor distances over a range of pressures. A whole
spectrum of water-like fluid anomalies completes the picture for this model
potential.Comment: 26 pages, 14 figures; printed article available at
http://link.aip.org/link/?jcp/137/10450
Phase diagram of softly repulsive systems: The Gaussian and inverse-power-law potentials
We redraw, using state-of-the-art methods for free-energy calculations, the
phase diagrams of two reference models for the liquid state: the Gaussian and
inverse-power-law repulsive potentials. Notwithstanding the different behavior
of the two potentials for vanishing interparticle distances, their
thermodynamic properties are similar in a range of densities and temperatures,
being ruled by the competition between the body-centered-cubic (BCC) and
face-centered-cubic (FCC) crystalline structures and the fluid phase. We
confirm the existence of a reentrant BCC phase in the phase diagram of the
Gaussian-core model, just above the triple point. We also trace the BCC-FCC
coexistence line of the inverse-power-law model as a function of the power
exponent and relate the common features in the phase diagrams of such
systems to the softness degree of the interaction.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure
The antiquity of hydrocephalus: the first full palaeo-neuropathological description
The Pathology Museum of the University of Florence houses a rich collection of anatomical specimens and over a hundred waxworks portraying pathological conditions occurring in the nineteenth century, when the museum was established. Clinical and autopsy findings of these cases can still be retrieved from the original museum catalogue, offering a rare opportunity for retrospective palaeo-pathological diagnostics. We present a historical case of severe hydrocephalus backed by modern-day anthropological, radiological and molecular analyses conducted on the skeleton of an 18-month-old male infant deceased in 1831. Luigi Calamai (1796-1851), a wax craftsman of La Specola workshop in Florence, was commissioned to create a life-sized wax model of the child's head, neck and upper thorax. This artwork allows us to appreciate the cranial and facial alterations determined by 30 lb of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulated within the cerebral ventricular system. Based on the autopsy report, gross malformations of the neural tube, tumours and haemorrhage could be excluded. A molecular approach proved helpful in confirming sex. We present this case as the so-far most compelling case of hydrocephalus in palaeo-pathological research
GeMS: an advanced software package for designing synthetic genes
A user-friendly, advanced software package for gene design is described. The software comprises an integrated suite of programs—also provided as stand-alone tools—that automatically performs the following tasks in gene design: restriction site prediction, codon optimization for any expression host, restriction site inclusion and exclusion, separation of long sequences into synthesizable fragments, T(m) and stem–loop determinations, optimal oligonucleotide component design and design verification/error-checking. The output is a complete design report and a list of optimized oligonucleotides to be prepared for subsequent gene synthesis. The user interface accommodates both inexperienced and experienced users. For inexperienced users, explanatory notes are provided such that detailed instructions are not necessary; for experienced users, a streamlined interface is provided without such notes. The software has been extensively tested in the design and successful synthesis of over 400 kb of genes, many of which exceeded 5 kb in length
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