Switching and defect dynamics in multistable liquid crystal devices

We investigate the switching dynamics of multistable nematic liquid crystal devices. In particular, we identify a remarkably simple two-dimensional device which exploits hybrid alignment at the surfaces to yield a bistable response. We also consider a three-dimensional tristable nematic device with patterned anchoring, recently implemented in practice, and discuss how the director and disclination patterns change during switching.

Mathematical model of insulin kinetics accounting for the amino acids effect during a mixed meal tolerance test

Amino acids (AAs) are well known to be involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism and, in particular, of insulin secretion. However, the effects of different AAs on insulin release and kinetics have not been completely elucidated. The aim of this study was to propose a mathematical model that includes the effect of AAs on insulin kinetics during a mixed meal tolerance test. To this aim, five different models were proposed and compared.

Retrieval of surface emissivity from FORUM-EE9 simulated measurements: optimization of constraints

FORUM (Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring) is a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) that will fly as the 9th ESA's Earth Explorer mission. FORUM will sound the atmosphere in the 100-1600 cm-1 region, covering the Far Infrared (FIR) and part of the Middle Infrared (MIR), accounting for more than 95% of the outgoing longwave flux lost by our planet. We review the constrains for the emissivity retrieval.

De la Vallée Poussin interpolation method for image resizing

The aim of this talk is to show how de la Vallee Poussin type interpolation based on Chebyshev zeros of rst kind, can be applied to resize an arbitrary color digital image. In fact, using such kind of approximation, we get an image scaling method running for any desired scaling factor or size, in both downscaling and upscaling. The peculiarities and the performance of such method will be discussed.

Static and dynamic Melvin universes

We briefly review the known properties of Melvin's magnetic universe and study the propagation of test charged matter waves in this static spacetime. Moreover, the possible correspondence between the wave perturbations on the background Melvin universe and the motion of charged test particles is discussed. Next, we explore a simple scenario for turning Melvin's static universe into one that undergoes gravitational collapse. In the resulting dynamic gravitational field, the formation of cosmic double-jet configurations is emphasized.

Deformation and breakup dynamics of droplets within a tapered channel

In this paper, we numerically investigate the breakup dynamics of droplets in an emulsion flowing in a tapered microchannel with a narrow constriction. The mesoscale approach for multicomponent fluids with near contact interactions is shown to capture the deformation and breakup dynamics of droplets interacting within the constriction, in agreement with experimental evidence. In addition, it permits us to investigate in detail the hydrodynamic phenomena occurring during breakup stages.

Convexity properties of dirichlet integrals and picone-type inequalities

We focus on three different convexity principles for local and nonlocal variational integrals. We prove various generalizations of them, as well as their equivalences. Some applications to nonlinear eigenvalue problems and Hardy-type inequalities are given. We also prove a measure-theoretic minimum principle for nonlocal and non- linear positive eigenfunctions.

Functional Source Separation-Identified Epileptic Network: Analysis Pipeline

This proof-of-concept (PoC) study presents a pipeline made by two blocks: 1. the identification of the network that generates interictal epileptic activity; and 2. the study of the time course of the electrical activity that it generates, called neurodynamics, and the study of its functional connectivity to the other parts of the brain.

Existence and uniqueness for a p-laplacian nonlinear eigenvalue problem

We consider the Dirichlet eigenvalue problem, (the eigenfunction) and ? > 0 (the eigen value), ? is an arbitrary domain in RN with finite measure, 1 < p < ?, 1 < q < p*, p* = Np/(N - p) if 1 < p < N and p* = ? if p >= N. We study several existence and uniqueness results as well as some properties of the solutions. Moreover, we indicate how to extend to the general case some proofs known in the classical case p = q. © 2010 Texas State University - San Marcos.

Dissolution of irregularly-shaped drug particles: mathematical modelling

The prediction of drug dissolution profiles is crucial for elucidating the pharmacokinetic behaviour of drugs and the bioavailability of dosage forms. In this work, we develop a mathematical model to describe the dissolution process of irregularly shaped particles. We use a complete dissolution model that accounts for both surface kinetics and convective diffusion. The mechanistic relationship between the mass transfer coefficient and the local curvature is derived from the fundamental physical laws governing these processes.