APPLICATIONS OF VORONOI AND DELAUNAY DIAGRAMS IN THE SOLUTION OF THE GEODETIC BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEM

Voronoi and Delaunay structures are presented as discretization tools to be used innumerical surface integration aiming the computation of geodetic problemssolutions, when under the integral there is a non-analytical function (e. g., gravityanomaly and height). In the Voronoi approach, the target area is partitioned intopolygons which contain the observed point and no interpolation is necessary, onlythe original data is used. In the Delaunay approach, the observed points are verticesof triangular cells and the value for a cell is interpolated for its barycenter. If theamount and distribution of the observed points are adequate, gridding operation isnot required and the numerical surface integration is carried out by point-wise. Evenwhen the amount and distribution of the observed points are not enough, thestructures of Voronoi and Delaunay can combine grid with observed points in orderto preserve the integrity of the original information. Both schemes are applied to thecomputation of the Stokes’ integral, the terrain correction, the indirect effect and thegradient of the gravity anomaly, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil area

Borderline CD30+ Cutaneous Lymphoproliferative Disorder: Report of a Case with Expression of Cytotoxic Markers and Response to Clarithromycin

CD30+ cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders (CLPDs) are usually characterized by a benign clinical course. The prognostic value of cytotoxic markers in these lymphomas has not been evaluated in large series. We describe a case of borderline CD30+ CLPD with cytotoxic phenotype, presenting in a 22-year-old male patient as an ulcer on the forearm. He reported having had similar ulcers on the buttock and thigh that spontaneously regressed over the course of 1 year. The lesion resolved with a single course of clarithromycin; a subsequent lesion, too, responded to clarithromycin, and no recurrences or systemic involvement have been documented in the 9-month follow-up. A conservative approach in the management of CD30+ CLPD is recommended. We believe that the anti-inflammatory and apoptotic effects of clarithromycin on T cells may have hastened the remission process

Indicações técnicas para minimizar a contaminação de trigo por micotoxinas.

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Reentrant behaviour in Landau Fermi liquids with spin-split Pomeranchuk instabilities

We study the effects of spin-antisymmetric interactions on the stability of a Landau-Fermi liquid on the square lattice, using the generalized Pomeranchuk method for two-dimensional lattice systems. In particular, we analyze interactions that could induce instabilities of the so called spin-split type, that is when spin-up and spin-down Fermi surfaces are displaced with respect to each other. The phase space is studied as a function of the strength of the interaction $V$, the electron chemical potential $\mu$ and an external magnetic field $h$. We find that such interactions produce in general an enhancement of the instability region of the Landau-Fermi liquid. More interestingly, in certain regions of the $V$-$\mu$ phase space, we find a reentrant behaviour as a function of the magnetic field $h$, similar to that found in recent experiments, e.g. in URu$_2$Si$_2$ and Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Prevalence and determinants of chronic kidney disease in the Swiss population.

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY: The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing worldwide, corresponding to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The latest study on prevalence of CKD involving the three linguistic regions of Switzerland dates back to 2002-2003 and definitions have changed since then. We aimed to assess the current prevalence and determinants of CKD in the Swiss general population. METHODS: We analysed the data of 1353 participants from a cross-sectional population-based survey performed in 2010-2012 in the three linguistic regions of Switzerland. The prevalence of CKD and the derived cardiovascular risk categories were assessed according to the Kidney Disease - Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) 2012 classification, using estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR; CKD-Epidemiological Collaboration equation) and albuminuria level. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyse factors associated with CKD. RESULTS: We included 660 men and 693 women, equally distributed in four age categories (15-29, 30-44, 45-59 and over 60 years). The overall prevalence of CKD was 10.4%. The prevalence in the low, moderate, high and very high risk KDIGO categories were 89.6%, 8.4%, 1.6% and 0.5%, respectively. The prevalence of CKD was similar in all linguistic regions. In multivariate analysis, female gender, older age, diabetes and uric acid were independently associated with CKD in persons ≥45 y. In younger participants, diabetes and lower educational level were associated with CKD. CONCLUSIONS: In the general Swiss population, CKD affects one in ten adults. Subjects older than 60 years, as well as patients with diabetes and hypertension, show a high prevalence of CKD. Systematic screening may be recommended in this population

Analytical and numerical analyses of the micromechanics of soft fibrous connective tissues

State of the art research and treatment of biological tissues require accurate and efficient methods for describing their mechanical properties. Indeed, micromechanics motivated approaches provide a systematic method for elevating relevant data from the microscopic level to the macroscopic one. In this work the mechanical responses of hyperelastic tissues with one and two families of collagen fibers are analyzed by application of a new variational estimate accounting for their histology and the behaviors of their constituents. The resulting, close form expressions, are used to determine the overall response of the wall of a healthy human coronary artery. To demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed method these predictions are compared with corresponding 3-D finite element simulations of a periodic unit cell of the tissue with two families of fibers. Throughout, the analytical predictions for the highly nonlinear and anisotropic tissue are in agreement with the numerical simulations