Rheologic and dynamic behavior of sheared vesicle suspensions

The rheology and dynamics of suspensions of fluid vesicles is investigated by a combination of molecular dynamics and mesoscale hydrodynamics simulations in two dimensions. The vesicle suspension is confined between two no-slip shearing walls. The flow behavior is studied as a function of the shear rate, the volume fraction of vesicles, and the viscosity ratio between inside and outside fluids. Results are obtained for the interactions of two vesicles, the intrinsic viscosity of the suspension, and the cell-free layer near the walls.

New Results on Rational Approximation

First asymptotic relations of Voronovskaya-type for rational operators of Shepard-type are shown. A positive answer in some senses to a problem on the pointwise approximation power of linear operators on equidistant nodes posed by Gavrea, Gonska and Kacs is given. Direct and converse results, computational aspects and Gruss-type inequalities are also proved. Finally an application to images compression is discussed, showing the outperformance of such operators in some senses.

Numerical solution of the Perspective Shape- from-Shading problem

We study the Perspective Shape from Shading problem from the numerical point of view pre- senting a simple algorithm to compute its solution. The scheme is based on a semi-Lagrangian approximation of the first order Hamilton-Jacobi equation related to the problem. The scheme is converging to the weak solution (in the viscosity sense) of the equation and allows to compute accurately regular as well as non regular solutions.

Short interspersed DNA elements and miRNAs: a novel hidden gene regulation layer in zebrafish?

In this study, we investigated by in silico analysis the possible correlation between microRNAs (miRNAs) and Anamnia V-SINEs (a superfamily of short interspersed nuclear elements), which belong to those retroposon families that have been preserved in vertebrate genomes for millions of years and are actively transcribed because they are embedded in the 3? untranslated region (UTR) of several genes. We report the results of the analysis of the genomic distribution of these mobile elements in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and discuss their involvement in generating miRNA gene loci.

An empirical study on optic disc segmentation using an active contour model

The accurate segmentation of the optic disc (OD) offers an important cue to extract other retinal features in an automated diagnostic system, which in turn will assist ophthalmologists to track many retinopathy conditions such as glaucoma. Research contributions regarding the OD segmentation is on the rise, since the design of a robust automated system would help prevent blindness, for instance, by diagnosing glaucoma at an early stage and a condition known as ocular hypertension.

A patient with PMP22-related hereditary neuropathy and DBH-gene-related dysautonomia

Recurrent focal neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies is a relatively frequent autosomal-dominant demyelinating neuropathy linked to peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) gene deletions. The combination of PMP22 gene mutations with other genetic variants is known to cause a more severe phenotype than expected. We present the case of a patient with severe orthostatic hypotension since 12 years of age, who inherited a PMP22 gene deletion from his father. Genetic double trouble was suspected because of selective sympathetic autonomic disturbances.