167 research outputs found
Isomorphs in model molecular liquids
Isomorphs are curves in the phase diagram along which a number of static and
dynamic quantities are invariant in reduced units. A liquid has good isomorphs
if and only if it is strongly correlating, i.e., the equilibrium
virial/potential energy fluctuations are more than 90% correlated in the NVT
ensemble. This paper generalizes isomorphs to liquids composed of rigid
molecules and study the isomorphs of two systems of small rigid molecules, the
asymmetric dumbbell model and the Lewis-Wahnstrom OTP model. In particular, for
both systems we find that the isochoric heat capacity, the excess entropy, the
reduced molecular center-of-mass self part of the intermediate scattering
function, the reduced molecular center-of-mass radial distribution function to
a good approximation are invariant along an isomorph. In agreement with theory,
we also find that an instantaneous change of temperature and density from an
equilibrated state point to another isomorphic state point leads to no
relaxation. The isomorphs of the Lewis-Wahnstrom OTP model were found to be
more approximative than those of the asymmetric dumbbell model, which is
consistent with the OTP model being less strongly correlating. For both models
we find "master isomorphs", i.e., isomorphs have identical shape in the
virial/potential energy phase diagram.Comment: 20 page
Strong pressure-energy correlations in van der Waals liquids
Strong correlations between equilibrium fluctuations of the configurational
parts of pressure and energy are found in the Lennard-Jones liquid and other
simple liquids, but not in hydrogen-bonding liquids like methanol and water.
The correlations, that are present also in the crystal and glass phases,
reflect an effective inverse power-law repulsive potential dominating
fluctuations, even at zero and slightly negative pressure. In experimental data
for supercritical Argon, the correlations are found to be approximately 96%.
Consequences for viscous liquid dynamics are discussed.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett., in pres
Growing Correlation Length on Cooling Below the Onset of Caging in a Simulated Glass-Forming Liquid
We present a calculation of a fourth-order, time-dependent density
correlation function that measures higher-order spatiotemporall correlations of
the density of a liquid. From molecular dynamics simulations of a glass-forming
Lennard-Jones liquid, we find that the characteristic length scale of this
function has a maximum as a function of time which increases steadily beyond
the characteristic length of the static pair correlation function in the
temperature range approaching the mode coupling temperature from above
Diffusion and jump-length distribution in liquid and amorphous CuZr
Using molecular dynamics simulation, we calculate the distribution of atomic
jum ps in CuZr in the liquid and glassy states. In both states
the distribution of jump lengths can be described by a temperature independent
exponential of the length and an effective activation energy plus a
contribution of elastic displacements at short distances. Upon cooling the
contribution of shorter jumps dominates. No indication of an enhanced
probability to jump over a nearest neighbor distance was found. We find a
smooth transition from flow in the liquid to jumps in the g lass. The
correlation factor of the diffusion constant decreases with decreasing
temperature, causing a drop of diffusion below the Arrhenius value, despite an
apparent Arrhenius law for the jump probability
Energy landscape of a Lennard-Jones liquid: Statistics of stationary points
Molecular dynamics simulations are used to generate an ensemble of saddles of
the potential energy of a Lennard-Jones liquid. Classifying all extrema by
their potential energy u and number of unstable directions k, a well defined
relation k(u) is revealed. The degree of instability of typical stationary
points vanishes at a threshold potential energy, which lies above the energy of
the lowest glassy minima of the system. The energies of the inherent states, as
obtained by the Stillinger-Weber method, approach the threshold energy at a
temperature close to the mode-coupling transition temperature Tc.Comment: 4 RevTeX pages, 6 eps figures. Revised versio
A programme for the prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder in midwifery (POPPY): indications of effectiveness from a feasibility study
Background: Midwives can experience events they perceive as traumatic when providingcare. As a result, some will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with adverse implications for their mental health, the quality of care provided for women and the employing organizations. POPPY (Programme for the prevention of PTSD in midwifery) is a package of educational and supportive resources comprising an educational workshop, information leaflet, peer support and access to trauma-focused clinical psychology intervention. A feasibility study of POPPY implementation was completed.
Objective: This study aimed to identify potential impacts of POPPY on midwives’ understandingof trauma, their psychological well-being and job satisfaction. Method: POPPY was implemented in one hospital site. Before taking part in the POPPY workshop (T1) midwives (N = 153) completed self-report questionnaires, which measured exposure to work-related trauma, knowledge and confidence of managing trauma responses, professional impacts, symptoms of PTSD, burnout and job satisfaction. Measures were repeated (T2) approximately 6 months after training (n = 91, 62%).
Results: Midwives’ confidence in recognizing (p = .001) and managing early traumaresponses in themselves and their colleagues significantly improved (both p < .001). There was a trend towards reduced levels of PTSD symptomatology, and fewer midwives reported sub clinical levels of PTSD (from 10% at T1 to 7% at T2). The proportion of midwives reporting high and moderate levels of depersonalization towards care was reduced (33% to 20%) and midwives reported significantly higher levels of job satisfaction at T2 (p < .001). Reductions in self-reported stress-related absenteeism (12% to 5%), long-term changes to clinical allocation (10% to 5%) and considerations about leaving midwifery (34% to 27%) were identified.
Conclusions: In conclusion, POPPY shows very positive potential to improve midwives’ mental health and the sensitivity of care they provide, and reduce service disruption and costs for trusts. Large-scale longitudinal evaluation is required
Isomorph invariance of the structure and dynamics of classical crystals
This paper shows by computer simulations that some crystalline systems have
curves in their thermodynamic phase diagrams, so-called isomorphs, along which
structure and dynamics in reduced units are invariant to a good approximation.
The crystals are studied in a classical-mechanical framework, which is
generally a good description except significantly below melting. The existence
of isomorphs for crystals is validated by simulations of particles interacting
via the Lennard-Jones pair potential arranged into a face-centered cubic (FCC)
crystalline structure; the slow vacancy-jump dynamics of a defective FCC
crystal is also shown to be isomorph invariant. In contrast, a NaCl crystal
model does not exhibit isomorph invariances. Other systems simulated, though in
less detail, are the Wahnstrom binary Lennard-Jones crystal with the Laves crystal structure, monatomic FCC crystals of particles
interacting via the Buckingham pair potential and via a novel purely repulsive
pair potential diverging at a finite separation, an ortho-terphenyl molecular
model, and SPC/E hexagonal ice. Except for NaCl and ice, the crystals simulated
all have isomorphs. Based on these findings and previous simulations of liquid
models, we conjecture that crystalline solids with isomorphs include most or
all formed by atoms or molecules interacting via metallic or van der Waals
forces, whereas covalently- or hydrogen-bonded crystals are not expected to
have isomorphs. Crystals of ions or dipolar molecules constitute a limiting
case for which isomorphs are only expected when the Coulomb interactions are
relatively weak. We briefly discuss the consequences of the findings for
theories of melting and crystallization
Effective one-dimensionality of AC hopping conduction in the extreme disorder limit
It is argued that in the limit of extreme disorder AC hopping is dominated by
"percolation paths". Modelling a percolation path as a one-dimensional path
with a sharp jump rate cut-off leads to an expression for the universal AC
conductivity, that fits computer simulations in two and three dimensions better
than the effective medium approximation.Comment: 6 postscript figure
A comparative analysis of European press coverage of children and the internet
This article reports a content analysis of press coverage of children and the internet in order to examine cross-cultural similarities and differences in the news values framing accounts of the benefits from and risks facing children online. By comparing media reporting in 14 European countries, the study found greater coverage of online risks than opportunities across Europe, which appears to be due to the high position of crime stories on the news agenda.. Thus readers, including parents, are exposed to media representations that often show the online world as being risky for children, which may affect perceptions of the prevalence of risk. However, there is national variation in terms of which risks receive more press attention, meaning that parents in different countries are potentially sensitised to different risks
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