Parameter estimation tools for cardiovascular flow modeling of fetal circulation

Usually, clinicians assess the correct hemodynamic behavior and fetal wellbeing during the gestational age thanks to their professional expertise, with the support of some indices defined for Doppler fetal waveforms. Although this approach has demonstrated to be satisfactory in the most of the cases, it can be largely improved with the aid of more advanced techniques, i.e. numerical analysis and simulation. Another key aspect limiting the analysis is that clinicians rely on a limited number of Doppler waveforms observed during the clinical examination.

Approximate Method to Compute Hypersingular Finite-Part Integrals with Rapidly Oscillating Kernels

In this paper, an algorithm for the numerical evaluation of hypersingular finite-part integrals with rapidly oscillating kernels is proposed. The method is based on an interpolatory procedure at zeros of the orthogonal polynomials with respect to the first kind Chebyshev weight. Bounds of the error and of the amplification factor are also provided. Numerically stable procedure are obtained and the corresponding algorithms can be implemented in a fast way.

One-Dimensional Failure Modes for Bodies with Non-convex Plastic Energies

In this paper, a complete picture of the different plastic failure modes that can be predicted by the strain gradient plasticity model proposed in Del Piero et al. (J. Mech. Mater. Struct. 8:109-151, 2013) is drawn. The evolution problem of the elasto-plastic strain is formulated in Del Piero et al. (J. Mech. Mater. Struct. 8:109-151, 2013) as an incremental minimization problem acting on an energy functional which includes a local plastic term and a non-local gradient contribution.

A Novel Fractional-Order RothC Model

A new fractional q-order variation of the RothC model for the dynamics of soil organic carbon is introduced. A computational method based on the discretization of the analytic solution along with the finite-difference technique are suggested and the stability results for the latter are given. The accuracy of the scheme, in terms of the temporal step size h, is confirmed through numerical testing of a constructed analytic solution. The effectiveness of the proposed discrete method is compared with that of the classical discrete RothC model.

Sensitivity Analysis of a 2D Stochastic Agent-Based and PDE Diffusion Model for Cancer-on-Chip Experiments

The present work extends a previous paper where an agent-based and two-dimensional partial differential diffusion model was introduced for describing immune cell dynamics (leukocytes) in cancer-on-chip experiments. In the present work, new features are introduced for the dynamics of leukocytes and for their interactions with tumor cells, improving the adherence of the model to what is observed in laboratory experiments. Each system's solution realization is a family of biased random walk trajectories, affected by the chemotactic gradients and in turn affecting them.

Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation and Degradation on the Innate Immune System Response: Insights on SARS-CoV-2

Vitamin D has been proven to be a strong stimulator of mechanisms associated with the elimination of pathogens. Because of its recognized effectiveness against viral infections, during SARS-CoV-2 infection, the effects of Vitamin D supplementation have been the object of debate. This study aims to contribute to this debate by the means of a qualitative phenomenological mathematical model in which the role of Vitamin D and its interactions with the innate immune system are explicitly considered.