Theoretical model for diffusion-reaction based drug delivery from a multilayer spherical capsule

Controlled drug delivery from a multilayer spherical capsule is used for several therapeutic applications. Developing a theoretical understanding of mass transfer in the multilayer capsule is critical for understanding and optimizing targeted drug delivery. This paper presents an analytical solution for the mass transport problem in a general multilayer sphere involving diffusion as well as drug immobilization in various layers due to binding reactions.

Frequency domain analysis of the gravitational wave energy loss in hyperbolic encounters

The energy radiated (without the 1.5PN tail contribution which requires a different treatment) by a binary system of compact objects moving in a hyperboliclike orbit is computed in the frequency domain through the second post-Newtonian level as an expansion in the large-eccentricity parameter up to next-to-next-to-leading order, completing the time domain corresponding information (fully known in closed form at the second post-Newtonian of accuracy).

Hypoxia-regulated miRNAs in human mesenchymal stem cells: Exploring the regulatory effects in ischemic disorders

Human mesenchymal/stromal stem cells (hMSC) are the most promising cell source for adult cell therapies in regenerative medicine. Many clinical trials have reported the use of autologous transplantation of hMSCs in several disorders, but with limited results. To exert their potential, hMSCs could exhibit efficient homing and migration toward lesion sites among other effects, but the underlying process is not clear enough. To further increase the knowledge, we studied the co-regulation between hypoxia-regulated genes and miRNAs.

Mesoscale modelling of droplets' self-assembly in microfluidic channels

A recently proposed mesoscale approach for the simulation of multicomponent flows with near-contact interactions is employed to investigate the early stage formation and clustering statistics of soft flowing crystals in microfluidic channels. Specifically, we first demonstrate the ability of the aforementioned mesoscale model to accurately reproduce main mechanisms leading to the formation of two basic droplet patterns (triangular and hexagonal), in close agreement with experimental evidence.

Evaluating visibility at sea: Instrumental data and historical nautical records. Mount Etna from the Calabrian Ionian coast (Italy)

Visibility has an encompassing importance in humans' perception of the landscape, since the first encounter with a new environment normally occurs through sight. In historical and archaeological studies, two main methods (i.e., the geometric method and the Geographical Information System [GIS] computation) have been employed to determine the distance from which an object can be recognized. However, neither is exhaustive when applied to a maritime context, where the main factor affecting the visibility radius is weather.

A time-modulated Hawkes process to model the spread of COVID-19 and the impact of countermeasures

Motivated by the recent outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), we propose a stochastic model of epidemic temporal growth and mitigation based on a time-modulated Hawkes process. The model is sufficiently rich to incorporate specific characteristics of the novel coronavirus, to capture the impact of undetected, asymptomatic and super-diffusive individuals, and especially to take into account time-varying counter-measures and detection efforts. Yet, it is simple enough to allow scalable and efficient computation of the temporal evolution of the epidemic, and exploration of what-if scenarios.

Emulating complex simulations by machine learning methods

Background: The aim of the present paper is to construct an emulator of a complex biological system simulator using a machine learning approach. More specifically, the simulator is a patient-specific model that integrates metabolic, nutritional, and lifestyle data to predict the metabolic and inflammatory processes underlying the development of type-2 diabetes in absence of familiarity. Given the very high incidence of type-2 diabetes, the implementation of this predictive model on mobile devices could provide a useful instrument to assess the risk of the disease for aware individuals.

Three-stage multiscale modelling of the NMDA neuroreceptor

We present a new multistage method to study the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) neuroreceptor starting from the reconstruction of its crystallographic structure. Thanks to the combination of Homology Modelling, Molecular Dynamics and Lattice Boltzmann simulations, we analyse the allosteric transition of NDMA upon ligand binding and compute the receptor response to ionic passage across the membrane.

Computational corroboration of the flow of rock glaciers against borehole measurements

In this study, we computationally corroborate the flow of rock glaciers against borehole measurements, within the context of a model previously developed (2020). The model is, here, tested against the simulation of the sliding motion of the Murtel-Corvatsch alpine glacier, which is characterized in detail in the literature with internal structure description and borehole deformations measurement.