Icosahedron-fcc transition size by molecular dynamics simulation of Lennard-Jones clusters at a finite temperature.

We studied finite-temperature ensembles of solid clusters produced by cooling liquid droplets either by evaporation or by a thermostat through a molecular dynamics calculation using the Lennard-Jones potential. The ensembles consist of either single or binary component clusters with 25% of the atoms 8% smaller in diameter than the other 75%. These clusters (380 clusters in total) exhibit various structures in the size range of n=160-2200, where n is the number of atoms in a cluster. For increasing size, the clusters show a gradual transition from icosahedral to a variety of structures: decahedral, face centered cubic, a small amount of hexagonal, and some icosahedral structures. They are asymmetrical or faulted. Electron diffraction patterns calculated with average structure factors of clusters after grouping them into several size regions are very similar to those experimentally observed. The size transition is around n=450 for single component clusters whatever the cooling process, evaporation or thermostat. This size is smaller than the experimental transition size estimated for argon clusters formed in a supersonic expansion. The transition size for binary component clusters is around n=600 for evaporative cooling, and larger for thermostatic cooling. The larger transition size found for the binary component clusters is consistent with the large icosahedral Au-Fe and Au-Cu alloy clusters observed experimentally.

Hydrogen bonding and dipole moment of water at supercritical conditions: a first-principles molecular dynamics study.

We present a first-principles molecular dynamics study of water near and above the critical point ( T = 647 K, rho = 0.32 g/cm(3)). We find that the systems undergo fast dynamics with continuous formation and breaking of H bonds. At low density, the system fragments mostly into trimers, dimers, and single molecules. At a higher density, more complex structures appear and an extended, albeit very dynamical, H-bond network can be identified. These structures have important consequences for the screening properties of the system. This offers a clue to understanding the peculiar chemical behavior of a supercritical system and allows thermodynamical tuning of its solvent properties.

Dispersion studies of Culex pipiens fatigans tagged with 32P in the Kemmendine area of Rangoon, Burma.

The flight range and the dispersion of a vector are important factors when control or eradication measures are being considered and when general biological information is desired. The present work on Culex pipiens fatigans was carried out under conditions where breeding is intensive and housing congested. The radioactive tagging method adopted seemed to be harmless to the mosquito and gave excellent results.Radioactive adults emerging under normal conditions from larvae collected in the centre of the Kemmendine Experimental Area did not appear to differ in flight behaviour from radioactive adults released at one time in the centre. Mosquitos of both sexes dispersed fairly evenly in all directions from the release point; this fact is likely to be of practical value in control and biological experiments. Some mosquitos even crossed a river over one-third of a mile (500 m) wide and specimens were collected by hand more than (1/2) mile (800 m) from the release point without the use of lures or traps.The method also yielded valuable data on the daily mortality of adults and on the total mosquito population in the area. There seems little doubt that the radioisotope tagging technique can be a most valuable weapon in the hands of the biologist or epidemiologist.

Attractant and stimulant factors for oviposition of Culex pipiens fatigans in natural breeding-sites.

The breeding of mosquito larvae in the field is determined by the ovipositing behaviour of the gravid females. Investigation of the chemical factors that induce oviposition is therefore important for understanding mosquito ecology. These substances may also prove to be useful in assessing and controlling mosquito populations.The author has demonstrated two chemical factors, an ovipositing attractant and an ovipositing stimulant, in surface-water. The ovipositing attractant, extracted from surface-water by distillation and extraction with diethyl ether, was found to be quite effective when used to recapture known numbers of gravid mosquitos released in a large calf-shed. The presence of the stimulant factor was established by forcing gravid females to touch the testing water with tarsi and proboscis. After such contact, they began oviposition three times more rapidly on surface-water than on tap-water.The importance of these factors was demonstrated in the larval populations of Culex pipiens fatigans in pit-latrines in Rangoon, Burma.