155 research outputs found
Set of Boundary Conditions for Aerodynamic Design
Robust and flexible numerical methodologies for the imposition of boundary conditions are required to formulate well-posed problems. A boundary condition should be Robust and flexible numerical methodologies for the imposition of boundary conditions are required to formulate well-posed problems. A boundary condition should be nonreflecting, to avoid spurious perturbations that can provocate unsteadiness or instabilities. The reflectiveness of various boundary conditions is analyzed in the context of the Godunov methods. A nonlinear, isentropic wave propagation model is used to investigate the reflection mechanism on the flowfield borders, and a parameter Ï„ is defined to give a measure of the boundary reflectiveness. A new set of boundary conditions, in which Ï„ =0, that is, totally nonreflecting, is then proposed. The approach has been integrated in an aerodynamic design procedure using a distributed boundary control
Scaling Behavior of Response Functions in the Coarsening Dynamics of Disordered Ferromagnets
We study coarsening dynamics in the ferromagnetic random bond Ising model in
d = 1; 2. We focus on the validity of super-universality and the scaling
properties of the response functions. In the d = 1 case, we obtain a complete
understanding of the evolution, from pre- asymptotic to asymptotic behavior.
The corresponding response function shows a clear violation of
super-universality. Further, our results for d = 1; 2 settle the controversy
regarding the decay exponent which characterizes the response function
Control of the urban pigeon Columba livia population and the preservation of common swift Apus apus and bats Chiroptera during the restoration of the Ghirlandina tower in the city of Modena (Italy)
Ferri, M., Ferraresi, M., Gelati, A., Zannetti, G., Domenichini, A., Ravizza, L., Cadignani, R
Development and testing of a new instrument to measure self-care in patients with osteoporosis: the self-care of osteoporosis scale
Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop and test the Self-Care of Osteoporosis Scale (SCOS), a new instrument
to measure self-care in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The SCOS was developed by a panel of experts and it was theory-driven. Confirmatory factor analysis (N = 544) was used to test the instrument’s factorial validity; Cronbach’s alpha and
McDonald’s omega were used to derive the measure’s internal consistency reliability; an intraclass correlation coefficient
was used to evaluate test-retest reliability.
Results: Confirmatory factor analysis resulted in supportive fit indices for the hypothesized three-factor structure of the
SCOS (RMSEA = 0.065; CFI = 0.99). The SCOS was demonstrated to have content validity, internal consistency and
test-retest reliability.
Conclusions: The SCOS demonstrated excellent psychometric characteristics in terms of validity and reliability. It may
be used by healthcare providers to identify if patients show lower self-care and require educational interventions
Inhibition of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Homing Towards Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Microenvironment Using an Anti-PDGFRβ Aptamer
Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are shown to participate in tumor progression by establishing a favorable tumor microenvironment (TME) that promote metastasis through a cytokine networks. However, the mechanism of homing and recruitment of BM-MSCs into tumors and their potential role in malignant tissue progression is poorly understood and controversial. Here we show that BM-MSCs increase aggressiveness of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines evaluated as capability to migrate, invade and acquire stemness markers. Importantly, we demonstrate that the treatment of BM-MSCs with a nuclease-resistant RNA aptamer against platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ) causes the inhibition of receptor-dependent signaling pathways thus drastically hampering BM-MSC recruitment towards TNBC cell lines and BM-MSCs trans-differentiation into carcinoma-associated fibroblast (CAF)-like cells. Moreover, in vivo molecular imaging analysis demonstrated the aptamer ability to prevent BM-MSCs homing to TNBC xenografts. Collectively, our results indicate the anti-PDGFRβ aptamer as a novel therapeutic tool to interfere with BM-MSCs attraction to TNBC providing the rationale to further explore the aptamer in more complex pre-clinical settings
Fluctuation-Dissipation relations far from Equilibrium
In this Article we review some recent progresses in the field of
non-equilibrium linear response theory. We show how a generalization of the
fluctuation-dissipation theorem can be derived for Markov processes, and
discuss the Cugliandolo-Kurchan \cite{Cugliandolo93} fluctuation dissipation
relation for aging systems and the theorem by Franz {\it et. al.}
\cite{Franz98} relating static and dynamic properties. We than specialize the
subject to phase-ordering systems examining the scaling properties of the
linear response function and how these are determined by the behavior of
topological defects. We discuss how the connection between statics and dynamics
can be violated in these systems at the lower critical dimension or as due to
stochastic instability.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure
Scaling and Crossover in the Large-N Model for Growth Kinetics
The dependence of the scaling properties of the structure factor on space
dimensionality, range of interaction, initial and final conditions, presence or
absence of a conservation law is analysed in the framework of the large-N model
for growth kinetics. The variety of asymptotic behaviours is quite rich,
including standard scaling, multiscaling and a mixture of the two. The
different scaling properties obtained as the parameters are varied are
controlled by a structure of fixed points with their domains of attraction.
Crossovers arising from the competition between distinct fixed points are
explicitely obtained. Temperature fluctuations below the critical temperature
are not found to be irrelevant when the order parameter is conserved. The model
is solved by integration of the equation of motion for the structure factor and
by a renormalization group approach.Comment: 48 pages with 6 figures available upon request, plain LaTe
Early stage scaling in phase ordering kinetics
A global analysis of the scaling behaviour of a system with a scalar order
parameter quenched to zero temperature is obtained by numerical simulation of
the Ginzburg-Landau equation with conserved and non conserved order parameter.
A rich structure emerges, characterized by early and asymptotic scaling
regimes, separated by a crossover. The interplay among different dynamical
behaviours is investigated by varying the parameters of the quench and can be
interpreted as due to the competition of different dynamical fixed points.Comment: 21 pages, latex, 7 figures available upon request from
[email protected]
Condensation vs. phase-ordering in the dynamics of first order transitions
The origin of the non commutativity of the limits and in the dynamics of first order transitions is investigated. In the
large-N model, i.e. taken first, the low temperature phase is
characterized by condensation of the large wave length fluctuations rather than
by genuine phase-ordering as when is taken first. A detailed
study of the scaling properties of the structure factor in the large-N model is
carried out for quenches above, at and below T_c. Preasymptotic scaling is
found and crossover phenomena are related to the existence of components in the
order parameter with different scaling properties. Implications for
phase-ordering in realistic systems are discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev.
Overall time evolution in phase-ordering kinetics
The phenomenology from the time of the quench to the asymptotic behavior in
the phase-ordering kinetics of a system with conserved order parameter is
investigated in the Bray-Humayun model and in the Cahn-Hilliard-Cook model.
From the comparison of the structure factor in the two models the generic
pattern of the overall time evolution, based on the sequence ``early linear -
intermediate mean field - late asymptotic regime'' is extracted. It is found
that the time duration of each of these regimes is strongly dependent on the
wave vector and on the parameters of the quench, such as the amplitude of the
initial fluctuations and the final equilibrium temperature. The rich and
complex crossover phenomenology arising as these parameters are varied can be
accounted for in a simple way through the structure of the solution of the
Bray-Humayun model.Comment: RevTeX, 14 pages, 18 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
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