The topic of controlled drug release has received much attention in recent years, for example in the design of tablets and in local drug delivery devices such as stents, transdermal patches, therapeutic contact lenses and orthopaedic implants. In recent years, we have developed a series of models for such devices to describe drug release from a polymeric platform, drug transport in surrounding biological tissues and fully coupled models of them.

We discuss the problem of partitioning a macroscopic system into a collection of independent subsystems. The partitioning of a system into replica-like subsystems is nowadays a subject of major interest in several fields of theoretical and applied physics. The thermodynamic approach currently favoured by practitioners is based on a phenomenological definition of an interface energy associated with the partition, due to a lack of easily computable expressions for a microscopic (i.e. particle-based) interface energy.

The time-reversal properties of charged systems in a constant external magnetic field are reconsidered in this paper. We show that the evolution equations of the system are invariant under a new symmetry operation that implies a new signature property for time-correlation functions under time reversal. We then show how these findings can be combined with a previously identified symmetry to determine, for example, null components of the correlation functions of velocities and currents and of the associated transport coefficients.

We present a comprehensive study of concentrated emulsions flowing in microfluidic channels, one wall of which is patterned with micron-size equally spaced grooves oriented perpendicularly to the flow direction. We find a scaling law describing the roughness-induced fluidization as a function of the density of the grooves, thus fluidization can be predicted and quantitatively regulated. This suggests common scenarios for droplet trapping and release, potentially applicable for other jammed systems as well.

In this article we propose a mathematical model for the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease based on transport and diffusion equations. We regard brain neurons as a continuous medium and structure them by their degree of malfunctioning. Two different mechanisms are assumed to be relevant for the temporal evolution of the disease: i) diffusion and agglomeration of soluble polymers of amyloid, produced by damaged neurons and ii) neuron-to-neuron prion-like transmission.

The existence of solutions to a one-dimensional problem arising in magneto-viscoelasticity is here considered. Specifically, a non-linear system of integro-differential equations is analysed; it is obtained coupling an integro-differential equation modelling the viscoelastic behaviour, in which the kernel represents the relaxation function, with the non-linear partial differential equations modelling the presence of a magnetic field.

The boundedness of the Hardy-Littlewood maximal operator is proved in weighted grand variable exponent Lebesgue space with power weights.

The surface structure and composition of a multi-component catalyst are critical factors in determining its catalytic performance. The surface composition can depend on the local pressure of the reacting species, leading to the possibility that the flow through a nanoporous catalyst can affect its structure and reactivity. Here, we explore this possibility for oxidation reactions on nanoporous gold, an AgAu bimetallic catalyst. We use microscopy and digital reconstruction to obtain the morphology of a two-dimensional slice of a nanoporous gold sample.

We present a novel application of the Lattice Boltzmann Method to the study of pulsed reactive flows in transitional Knudsen number regimes, namely 0.1 < Kn < 1. We characterize the conversion efficiency of catalytic particles for different geometries and configurations, including single catalytic particle and nanoporous gold (npAu) spheres, within pulsed-flow reactors.

Fever plays a role in activating innate immunity while its relevance in activating adaptive immunity is less clear. Even brief exposure to elevated temperatures significantly impacts on the immunostimulatory capacity of dendritic cells (DCs), but the consequences on immune response remain unclear. To address this issue, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of normal human monocyte-derived DCs from nine healthy adults subjected either to fever-like thermal conditions (39 degrees C) or to normal temperature (37 degrees C) for 180 minutes.