We design the micro-architecture of thin elastic panels to control their macroscopic behavior, accounting simultaneously for in-plane stiffness, out-of-plane stiffness and extension–bending coupling effects. Our topology optimization method combines inverse homogenization, Hadamard shape derivative a level set in diffuse interface context systematically capture within unit cell optimal micro-ar...

We present a non-perturbative technique to study pulse dynamics in excitable media. The method is used to study propagation failure in one-dimensional and twodimensional excitable media. In one-dimensional media we describe the behaviour of pulses and wave trains near the saddle node bifurcation, where propagation fails. The generalization of our method to two dimensions captures the point wher...

In consideration of working memory as a means for goal-directed behavior in nonstationary environments, we argue that the dynamics of working memory should satisfy two opposing demands: long-term maintenance and quick transition. These two characteristics are contradictory within the linear domain. We propose the near-saddle-node bifurcation behavior of a sigmoidal unit with a self-connection a...

OBJECTIVES Reports indicate that repair procedures for ischaemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) are less durable than previously thought. Repair failure has been shown to be stress related. Leaflet curvature is the major determinant of valve stress. Theoretical and animal experiments have shown that saddle-shaped annuloplasty optimizes leaflet curvature when compared with standard flat ring annulop...

Transient dynamics is pervasive in the human brain and poses challenging problems both in mathematical tractability and clinical observability. We investigate statistical properties of transient cortical wave patterns with characteristic forms (shape, size, duration) in a canonical reaction-diffusion model with mean field inhibition. The patterns are formed by ghost behavior near a saddle-node ...

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is the most common cause of primary mitral regurgitation (MR), which represents leaflet or chordae elongation and is frequently accompanied by ruptured chordae. In almost all patients with this entity, annular dilatation is a common lesion. It is well known that the normal annulus has a unique saddle shape, but the saddle is flattened in MVP, and its dynamic characte...

Background: Cases of acquired saddle nose have been reported; however, reports of sarcoidosis with acquired saddle nose are very rare. The main cause of sarcoidosis is estimated to be an abnormal immune reaction rather than infection. Aim: Rhinoplasty using an autologous rib was planned and performed without plate fixation. Case Presentation: Our patient was diagnosed with sarcoidosis at the ag...

Self-assembled molecular films of two cobalt porphyrins with amine groups at different positions-(5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(2-aminophenyl) porphyrin-cobalt(II), [Co(II) (T(o-NH(2))PP)] and (5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(4-aminophenyl) porphyrin-cobalt(II), [Co(II)(T(p-NH(2))PP)]-were formed on a gold substrate. The functionalized surfaces were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy a...

The problem of the limit shape of large alternating sign matrices (ASMs) is addressed by studying the emptiness formation probability (EFP) in the domain-wall six-vertex model. Assuming that the limit shape arises in correspondence to the 'condensation' of almost all solutions of the saddle-point equations for certain multiple integral representation for EFP, the limit shape of large ASMs is fo...

We investigate chaotic behavior of ordinary differential equations with a homoclinic orbit to a dissipative saddle point under a general time dependent forcing without any periodicity in time. We study Poincaré return maps in extended phase space, introducing a characteristic function that generalizes the classic Melnikov function. We then show that the dynamics of the solutions of these equati...