Predicting the release performance of a drug delivery device is an important challenge in pharmaceutics and biomedical science. In this paper, we consider a multi-layer diffusion model of drug release from a composite spherical microcapsule into an external surrounding medium. Based on this model, we present two approaches for estimating the release time, i.e. the time required for the drug-filled capsule to be depleted.

Sex dimorphism in cell response to stress has previously been investigated by different research groups. This dimorphism could be at least in part accounted for by sex-biased expression of regulatory elements such as microRNAs (miRs). In order to spot previously unknown miR expression differences we took advantage of prior knowledge on specialized databases to identify X chromosome-encoded miRs potentially escaping X chromosome inactivation (XCI).

Presentazione delle attività di ricerca su computational immunology e network medicine al workshop "Hot Topics in Systems" all'interno della conferenza PLACE2019

In this study, we developed a predictive model of in vivo stent based drug release and distribution that is capable of providing useful insights into performance. In a combined mathematical modelling and experimental approach, we created two novel sirolimus-eluting stent coatings with quite distinct doses and release kinetics. Using readily measurable in vitro data, we then generated parameterised mathematical models of drug release. These were then used to simulate in vivo drug uptake and retention.

We present a general mechanistic model of mass diffusion for a composite sphere placed in a large ambient medium. The multi-layer problem is described by a system of diffusion equations coupled via interlayer boundary conditions such as those imposing a finite mass resistance at the external surface of the sphere. While the work is applicable to the generic problem of heat or mass transfer in a multi-layer sphere, the analysis and results are presented in the context of drug kinetics for desorbing and absorbing spherical microcapsules.

The migration of endothelial cells (ECs) is critical for various processes including vascular wound healing, tumor angiogenesis, and the development of viable endovascular implants. EC migration is regulated by intracellular ATP and recent observations in our laboratory on ECs cultured on line patterns - surfaces where cellular adhesion is limited to 15 m-wide lines that physically confine the cells - have demonstrated very different migration behavior from cells on control unpatterned surfaces.

Much work has been devoted to analysing thermodynamic models for solid dispersions with a view to identifying regions in the phase diagram where amorphous phase separation or drug recrystallization can occur. However, detailed partial differential equation non-equilibrium models that track the evolution of solid dispersions in time and space are lacking. Hence theoretical predictions for the timescale over which phase separation occurs in a solid dispersion are not available.

The relevant role of freight lorry parking facilities as a tool to reduce nuisances and impact of economic activities in densely populated urban areas is widely recognised in the literature. Nevertheless, the literature currently lacks specific contributions addressing the use of a complex Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach for coping with an optimal location of freight lorry parking facilities in the urban context.

Network-based ranking methods (e.g. centrality analysis) have found extensive use in systems medicine for the prediction of essential proteins, for the prioritization of drug targets candidates in the treatment of several pathologies and in biomarker discovery, and for human disease genes identification. Here we propose to use critical nodes as defined by the Critical Node Problem for the analysis of key physiological and pathophysiological signaling pathways, as target candidates for treatment and management of several cancer types, neurologic and inflammatory dysfunctions, among others.