A three-field,bi-domain based approach to the strongly coupled electromechanics of the heart

We propose a novel, unconditionally stable and fully coupled finite element method for the bidomain based approach to cardiac electromechanics. To this end, the transmembrane potential, the extracellular potential, and the displacement field are treated as independent variables such that the already coupled electrophysiology problem in the bidomain setting is further extended to the electromechanical coupling. In this multifield problem, the intrinsic coupling arises from both excitation-induced contraction of cardiac cells and the deformation-induced generation of intra-cellular currents. The respective bidomain reaction-diffusion and the momentum balance equations are recast into the corresponding weak forms through a conventional isoparametric Galerkin approach. The resultant set of non-linear residual equations is consistently linearized. The monolithic scheme is employed to avoid stability issues that may arise due to the strong coupling between excitation and deformation. The performance of the put forward framework is further assessed through three-dimensional representative electromechanical initial-boundary value problems. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Least-squares finite element methods for the Navier-Stokes equations for generalized Newtonian fluids

In this contribution we present the least-squares finite element method (LSFEM) for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. In detail, we consider a non-Newtonian fluid flow, which is described by a power-law model, see [1]. The second-order problem is reformulated by introducing a first-order div-grad system consisting of the equilibrium condition, the incompressibility condition and the constitutive equation, which are written in residual forms, see [2]. Here, higher-order finite elements which are an important aspect regarding accuracy for the present formulation are investigated. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Synthesis and Structural Studies of 6-（2,5-Dimethyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl）pyridin-2-amine

6-(2,5-Dimethyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)pyridin-2-amine (1) was synthesized and characte-rized by elemental analyses,1H-NMR and 13C-NMR,FTIR,Uv-Vis,mass spectral studies and single-crystal X-ray diffraction.All data obtained from spectral studies support the structural properties of 1.Intermolecular N-H…N hydrogen bonds produce an R22(8) ring.An extensive three-dimensional network formed by C-H…π and N-H…π-facial hydrogen bonds is responsible for the crystal stabilization.The combination of C-H…π interactions produces R33(12),R43(19) and R44(20) rings.     

A short note on solvability of systems of interval linear equations

In this note we formulate necessary and sufficient conditions for strong solvability and feasibility of systems of linear interval equations in terms of absolute value inequalities.     

Swelling of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-vinylcaprolactam-dodecyl methacrylate gel in {heptane + toluene} mixtures

A copolymer gel has been synthesized from N-vinylcaprolactam and dodecyl methacrylate in ethanol using the free radical cross-linking polymerization method. Characterizations of the gel were performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. Swelling behavior of the gel was investigated in heptane, toluene, and their binary mixtures with different compositions. Swelling value in toluene is higher than that in heptane and swelling value increases with the increasing initial content of toluene in the binary mixture with heptane. The swelling values are correlated by the first- and second-order differential equations, and the best model correlating the experimental results is a second-order one. Diffusion coefficients have also been calculated for heptane and toluene at each concentration by power-law and first-order equations. While the diffusion mechanism of the gel in heptane is a Fickian one, the gel swelled in toluene exhibits a non-Fickian character. Diffusion mechanisms of the gels in binary mixtures are much more complicated. Because of the higher swelling degree in toluene compared to that in heptane, selectivity of the gel in different {heptane + toluene} mixtures with selectivity close to 1 has also been taken into consideration.     

Centri-voltammetry for biosensing systems: biocentri-voltammetric xanthine detection

Centri-voltammetry is a method that combines centrifugation and voltammetry. This method, developed by our group in 2003, yielded promising results when applied to trace analysis of metal ios. We demonstrate here the first application of centri-voltammetry to biosensing systems. A xanthine biosensor was constructed by immobilizing xanthine oxidase on a planar platinum electrode which then was placed at the bottom of a centri-voltammetric cell. The experimental parameters were optimized to give two linear ranges. The first is from 0.1 to 1???M, and the second from 5 to 50???M. The RSD is 3.4 (n?=?5). The biosensor was applied to the determination of xanthine in wine and in urine. Calculated recoveries are 101?±?0.61% (n?=?3) for wine samples, and 102?±?0.556% (n?=?3) for urine samples.

The investigation of 0<Superscript>+</Superscript> ↔ 0<Superscript>−</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis> decay in some spherical nuclei

The 0⁺ ↔ 0⁻ first-forbidden β decay transitions have been investigated for some spherical nuclei. The theoretical framework is based on a proton-neutron quasiparticle random phase approximation (pnQRPA). The Woods-Saxon potential basis has been used in our calculations. The transition probabilities have been calculated within the ξ approximation. The relativistic β moment matrix element has been calculated both directly without any assumption and assuming that it is proportional to the non-relativistic one.     

Soft set theory and uni–int decision making

We firstly redefine the operations of Molodtsov’s soft sets to make them more functional for improving several new results. We also define products of soft sets and uni–int decision function. By using these new definitions we then construct an uni–int decision making method which selects a set of optimum elements from the alternatives. We finally present an example which shows that the method can be successfully applied to many problems that contain uncertainties.     

Optimal ship navigation with safety distance and realistic turn constraints

We consider the optimal ship navigation problem wherein the goal is to find the shortest path between two given coordinates in the presence of obstacles subject to safety distance and turn-radius constraints. These obstacles can be debris, rock formations, small islands, ice blocks, other ships, or even an entire coastline. We present a graph-theoretic solution on an appropriately-weighted directed graph representation of the navigation area obtained via 8-adjacency integer lattice discretization and utilization of the A^∗ algorithm. We explicitly account for the following three conditions as part of the turn-radius constraints: (1) the ship’s left and right turn radii are different, (2) ship’s speed reduces while turning, and (3) the ship needs to navigate a certain minimum number of lattice edges along a straight line before making any turns. The last constraint ensures that the navigation area can be discretized at any desired resolution. Once the optimal (discrete) path is determined, we smoothen it to emulate the actual navigation of the ship. We illustrate our methodology on an ice navigation example involving a 100,000 DWT merchant ship and present a proof-of-concept by simulating the ship’s path in a full-mission ship handling simulator.