4 research outputs found
Tchebycheffian B-splines in isogeometric Galerkin methods
Tchebycheffian splines are smooth piecewise functions whose pieces are drawn
from (possibly different) Tchebycheff spaces, a natural generalization of
algebraic polynomial spaces. They enjoy most of the properties known in the
polynomial spline case. In particular, under suitable assumptions,
Tchebycheffian splines admit a representation in terms of basis functions,
called Tchebycheffian B-splines (TB-splines), completely analogous to
polynomial B-splines. A particularly interesting subclass consists of
Tchebycheffian splines with pieces belonging to null-spaces of
constant-coefficient linear differential operators. They grant the freedom of
combining polynomials with exponential and trigonometric functions with any
number of individual shape parameters. Moreover, they have been recently
equipped with efficient evaluation and manipulation procedures. In this paper,
we consider the use of TB-splines with pieces belonging to null-spaces of
constant-coefficient linear differential operators as an attractive substitute
for standard polynomial B-splines and rational NURBS in isogeometric Galerkin
methods. We discuss how to exploit the large flexibility of the geometrical and
analytical features of the underlying Tchebycheff spaces according to
problem-driven selection strategies. TB-splines offer a wide and robust
environment for the isogeometric paradigm beyond the limits of the rational
NURBS model.Comment: 35 pages, 18 figure
End-stage liver disease Is a strong predictor of early mortality in cryptococcosis
Background. Cryptococcosis in the setting of end-stage liver disease (ESLD) has been associated with high mortality. We sought to compare the outcome of cryptococcal disease in patients with ESLD to that of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients and to those patients without HIV or ESLD. Methods. We assembled a retrospective cohort of 232 consecutive cases of cryptococcosis in our institution, from 2002 to 2014, inclusively. We analyzed the cases for comorbidities, type of infection, and survival. Data were analyzed with t tests, Fishers Exact test, and Kaplan-Meyer analysis. Results. Twenty-five (10.8%) patients with cryptococcal infection had concomitant ESLD; of these, 5 (20%) presented with peritonitis. Most (17 of 25, 68%) did not have any other cause of immunocompromise that has been more classically associated with cryptococcosis. Patients with ESLD had a significantly higher mortality than HIV-positive patients and HIV-negative patients without ESLD (HIVNE) (80% vs 13.6% and 22.7%, respectively; P < .001). In addition, fatal outcome in ESLD patients occurred more rapidly than in HIVNE patients, with a median survival of 6 days (vs 17), despite a comparable time to diagnosis (6.2 vs 6.6 days). Conclusions. Cryptococcosis is an important morbidity in patients with ESLD. Patients with ESLD who are infected with Cryptococcus have a high and rapid mortality. This suggests that a high level of vigilance for cryptococcal infection should be kept in patients with ESLD
Preparation and evaluation of cilnidipine microemulsion
Cilnidipine, a calcium channel blocker having neuroprotective action and BCS Class II drug, hence formulating in Microemulsion will increase solubility, absorption and bioavailability. The formulation was prepared using titration method by tocotrienol, tween 20 and transcutol HP as oil, surfactant and co-surfactant and characterized for dilutability, dye solubility, assay (98.39±0.06), pH (6.6±1.5), Viscosity (98±1.0 cps) and Conductivity (0.2±0.09 μS/cm). The formulation was optimized on basis of percentage transmittance (99.269±0.23 at 700 nm), Globule size (13.31±4.3 nm) and zeta potential (-11.4±2.3 mV). Cilnidipine microemulsion was found to be stable for 3 months