Search

This paper illustrates a methodology to get a reliable estimation of the local wave properties, based on the reconstruction of the motion of a moving sailboat by means of GNSS receivers installed on board and an original kinematic positioning approach. The wave parameters reconstruction may be used for many useful practical purposes, e.g. to improve of autopilots, for real-time control systems of ships, to analyze and improve the performance of race sailboats, and to estimate the local properties of the waves. A Class 40 oceanic vessel (ECO40) left from the port of "Riva di Traiano" located close to Rome (Italy) on 19 October 2014 to perform a non-stop sailing alone around the world in energy and food self-sufficiency. The proposed system was installed on ECO40 and the proposed method was applied to estimate the wave properties during a storm in the Western Mediterranean Sea. The results compared against two sets of hindcast data and wave buoy records demonstrated the reliability of the method.

Pharmacokinetics induced by drug eluting stents (DES) in coronary walls is modeled by means of a one-dimensional multi-layered model, accounting for vessel curvature and non-homogeneous properties of the arterial tissues. The model includes diffusion mechanisms, advection effects related to plasma filtration through the walls, and bio-chemical drug reactions. A non-classical Sturm-Liouville problem with discontinuous coefficients is derived, whose closed-form analytical solution is obtained via an eigenfunction expansion. Soundness and consistency of the proposed approach are shown by numerical computations based on possible clinical treatments involving both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. The influence of the main model parameters on drug delivery mechanisms is analyzed, highlighting the effects induced by vessel curvature and yielding comparative indications and useful insights into the concurring mechanisms governing the pharmacokinetics., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.)