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The program for automatic revealing of threshold values for characterizing physiological state of vessels and detection of early stages of retina pathology is offered. The algorithm is based on checking character of crossing sites of vessel images with the "mask" consisting of concentric circumferences (the first circumference is imposed directly on the sclera capsules of an optic nerve disk). The new method allows revealing of a network of blood vessels and flanking zones and detection of initial stage of pathological changes in a retina by digital images.

The paper considers models of platelet thrombus formation in blood plasma flow in a cylindrical vessel, based on the “advection–diffusion” equation and the Fokker–Planck equation. The comparison of the results of calculations based on these models is given. Considered models show qualitatively similar behavior at the initial stage of thrombus formation. А detailed investigation of large clots requires models’ improvement.

The purpose of research was to develop a mathematical model for pulsating blood flow in the part of aorta with their branches. Since the deformation of this most solid part of the aorta is small during the passage of the pulse wave, the blood vessels were considered as non-deformable curved cylinders. The article describes the internal structure of blood and some internal structural effects. This analysis shows that the blood, which is essentially a suspension, can only be regarded as a non-Newtonian fluid. In addition, the blood can be considered as a liquid only in the blood vessels, diameter of which is much higher than the characteristic size of blood cells and their aggregate formations. As a non-Newtonian fluid the viscous liquid with the power law of the relationship of stress with shift velocity was chosen. This law can describe the behaviour not only of liquids but also dispersions. When setting the boundary conditions at the entrance into aorta, reflecting the pulsating nature of the flow of blood, it was decided not to restrict the assignment of the total blood flow, which makes no assumptions about the spatial velocity distribution in a cross section. In this regard, it was proposed to model the surface envelope of this spatial distribution by a part of a paraboloid of rotation with a fixed base radius and height, which varies in time from zero to maximum speed value. The special attention was paid to the interaction of blood with the walls of the vessels. Having regard to the nature of this interaction, the so-called semi-slip condition was formulated as the boundary condition. At the outer ends of the aorta and its branches the amounts of pressure were given. To perform calculations the tetrahedral computer network for geometric model of the aorta with branches has been built. The total number of meshes is 9810. The calculations were performed with use of the software package ABACUS, which has also powerful tools for creating geometry of the model and visualization of calculations. The result is a distribution of velocities and pressure at each time step. In areas of branching vessels was discovered temporary presence of eddies and reverse currents. They were born via 0.47 s from the beginning of the pulse cycle and disappeared after 0.14 s.

The paper presents a review of recent developments of hybrid discrete-continuous models in cell population dynamics. Such models are widely used in the biological modelling. Cells are considered as individual objects which can divide, die by apoptosis, differentiate and move under external forces. In the simplest representation cells are considered as soft spheres, and their motion is described by Newton’s second law for their centers. In a more complete representation, cell geometry and structure can be taken into account. Cell fate is determined by concentrations of intra-cellular substances and by various substances in the extracellular matrix, such as nutrients, hormones, growth factors. Intra-cellular regulatory networks are described by ordinary differential equations while extracellular species by partial differential equations. We illustrate the application of this approach with some examples including bacteria filament and tumor growth. These examples are followed by more detailed studies of erythropoiesis and immune response. Erythrocytes are produced in the bone marrow in small cellular units called erythroblastic islands. Each island is formed by a central macrophage surrounded by erythroid progenitors in different stages of maturity. Their choice between self-renewal, differentiation and apoptosis is determined by the ERK/Fas regulation and by a growth factor produced by the macrophage. Normal functioning of erythropoiesis can be compromised by the development of multiple myeloma, a malignant blood disorder which leads to a destruction of erythroblastic islands and to sever anemia. The last part of the work is devoted to the applications of hybrid models to study immune response and the development of viral infection. A two-scale model describing processes in a lymph node and other organs including the blood compartment is presented.

An approximate mathematical model of blood flow in an axisymmetric blood vessel is studied. Such a vessel is understood as an infinitely long circular cylinder, the walls of which consist of elastic rings. Blood is considered as an incompressible fluid flowing in this cylinder. Increased pressure causes radially symmetrical stretching of the elastic rings. Following J. Lamb, the rings are located close to each other so that liquid does not flow between them. To mentally realize this, it is enough to assume that the rings are covered with an impenetrable film that does not have elastic properties. Only rings have elasticity. The considered model of blood flow in a blood vessel consists of three equations: the continuity equation, the law of conservation of momentum and the equation of state. An approximate procedure for reducing the equations under consideration to the Korteweg – de Vries (KdV) equation is considered, which was not fully considered by J. Lamb, only to establish the dependence of the coefficients of the KdV equation on the physical parameters of the considered model of incompressible fluid flow in an axisymmetric vessel. From the KdV equation, by a standard transition to traveling waves, ODEs of the third, second and first orders are obtained, respectively. Depending on the different cases of arrangement of the three stationary solutions of the first-order ODE, a cnoidal wave and a soliton are standardly obtained. The main attention is paid to an unbounded periodic solution, which we call a degenerate cnoidal wave. Mathematically, cnoidal waves are described by elliptic integrals with parameters defining amplitudes and periods. Soliton and degenerate cnoidal wave are described by elementary functions. The hemodynamic meaning of these types of decisions is indicated. Due to the fact that the sets of solutions to first-, second- and third-order ODEs do not coincide, it has been established that the Cauchy problem for second- and third-order ODEs can be specified at all points, and for first-order ODEs only at points of growth or decrease. The Cauchy problem for a first-order ODE cannot be specified at extremum points due to the violation of the Lipschitz condition. The degeneration of the cnoidal wave into a degenerate cnoidal wave, which can lead to rupture of the vessel walls, is numerically illustrated. The table below describes two modes of approach of a cnoidal wave to a degenerate cnoidal wave.

Aortic stenosis and other forms of aortic valve dysfunction are associated with impaired intracardiac hemodynamics, left ventricular overload, and an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. Assessment of valve function requires not only integral clinical indicators but also local mechanical and hemodynamic characteristics, which, as a rule, cannot be measured directly in vivo. Therefore, mathematical modeling is regarded as one of the main tools for the quantitative analysis of the aortic valve. Despite the widespread use of various deformable-solid models and coupled fluid-structure interaction formulations, FSI, for describing leaflet dynamics, the limits of applicability of simplified formulations relative to the fully coupled problem remain insufficiently defined. In this study, an idealized model of the aortic root with the sinuses of Valsalva and a tricuspid valve was considered. The leaflets were described using an anisotropic hyperelastic material model. Five computational scenarios were compared, including a fully coupled FSI formulation that accounts for both solid and fluid dynamics, as well as a deformable-solid model with four loading variants replacing the effect of blood flow, differing in the way pressure was represented and in the direction of load application to the leaflets. The comparison criteria included deformation, displacement, von Mises stress, leaflet oscillatory dynamics, and the geometric opening area of the valve. It was shown that the FSI model provides the most consistent description of valve function, including asymmetric leaflet opening, smoother opening dynamics, and the absence of pronounced nonphysiological flutter. Structural formulations with loads applied along the local normal to the leaflet surface lead to overestimation of deformation and stress, as well as to more pronounced oscillatory regimes. Scenarios with restricted load direction produce a more moderate response, but they also fail to reproduce the spatial load structure and the temporal organization of leaflet opening. It was concluded that, in aortic valve modeling, not only the magnitude of the pressure difference but also the way it is applied to the leaflets in space and time is of decisive importance. Structural deformable-solid models may be used for the qualitative assessment of selected mechanical trends, but they cannot serve as a full substitute for the FSI formulation in the analysis of leaflet kinematics, oscillatory regimes, stress-strain state, and valve opening dynamics.

In case of vessel wall damage or contact of blood plasma with a foreign surface, the chain of chemical reactions called coagulation cascade is launched that leading to the formation of a fibrin clot. A key enzyme of the coagulation cascade is thrombin, which catalyzes formation of fibrin from fibrinogen. The distribution of thrombin concentration in blood plasma determines spatio-temporal dynamics of clot formation. Contact pathway of blood coagulation triggers the production of thrombin in response to the contact with a negatively charged surface. If the concentration of thrombin generated at this stage is large enough, further production of thrombin takes place due to positive feedback loops of the coagulation cascade. As a result, thrombin propagates in plasma cleaving fibrinogen that results in the clot formation. The concentration profile and the speed of propagation of thrombin are constant and do not depend on the type of the initial activator.

Such behavior of the coagulation system is well described by the traveling wave solutions in a system of “reaction – diffusion” equations on the concentration of blood factors involved in the coagulation cascade. In this study, we carried out detailed analysis of the mathematical model describing the main reaction of the intrinsic pathway of coagulation cascade.We formulate necessary and sufficient conditions of the existence of the traveling wave solutions. For the considered model the existence of such solutions is equivalent to the existence of the wave solutions in the simplified one-equation model describing the dynamics of thrombin concentration derived under the quasi-stationary approximation.

Simplified model also allows us to obtain analytical estimate of the thrombin propagation rate in the considered model. The speed of the traveling wave for one equation is estimated using the narrow reaction zone method and piecewise linear approximation. The resulting formulas give a good approximation of the velocity of propagation of thrombin in the simplified, as well as in the original model.

The paper proposes a mathematical model for the therapy of glioma, taking into account the blood-brain barrier, radiotherapy and antibody therapy. The parameters were estimated from experimental data and the evaluation of the effect of parameter values on the effectiveness of treatment and the prognosis of the disease were obtained. The possible variants of sequential use of radiotherapy and the effect of antibodies have been explored. The combined use of radiotherapy with intravenous administration of $mab$ $Cx43$ leads to a potentiation of the therapeutic effect in glioma.

Radiotherapy must precede chemotherapy, as radio exposure reduces the barrier function of endothelial cells. Endothelial cells of the brain vessels fit tightly to each other. Between their walls are formed so-called tight contacts, whose role in the provision of BBB is that they prevent the penetration into the brain tissue of various undesirable substances from the bloodstream. Dense contacts between endothelial cells block the intercellular passive transport.

The mathematical model consists of a continuous part and a discrete one. Experimental data on the volume of glioma show the following interesting dynamics: after cessation of radio exposure, tumor growth does not resume immediately, but there is some time interval during which glioma does not grow. Glioma cells are divided into two groups. The first group is living cells that divide as fast as possible. The second group is cells affected by radiation. As a measure of the health of the blood-brain barrier system, the ratios of the number of BBB cells at the current moment to the number of cells at rest, that is, on average healthy state, are chosen.

The continuous part of the model includes a description of the division of both types of glioma cells, the recovery of BBB cells, and the dynamics of the drug. Reducing the number of well-functioning BBB cells facilitates the penetration of the drug to brain cells, that is, enhances the action of the drug. At the same time, the rate of division of glioma cells does not increase, since it is limited not by the deficiency of nutrients available to cells, but by the internal mechanisms of the cell. The discrete part of the mathematical model includes the operator of radio interaction, which is applied to the indicator of BBB and to glial cells.

Within the framework of the mathematical model of treatment of a cancer tumor (glioma), the problem of optimal control with phase constraints is solved. The patient’s condition is described by two variables: the volume of the tumor and the condition of the BBB. The phase constraints delineate a certain area in the space of these indicators, which we call the survival area. Our task is to find such treatment strategies that minimize the time of treatment, maximize the patient’s rest time, and at the same time allow state indicators not to exceed the permitted limits. Since the task of survival is to maximize the patient’s lifespan, it is precisely such treatment strategies that return the indicators to their original position (and we see periodic trajectories on the graphs). Periodic trajectories indicate that the deadly disease is translated into a chronic one.

The biological structure is considered as an open nonequilibrium system which properties can be described on the basis of kinetic equations. New problems with nonequilibrium boundary conditions are introduced. The nonequilibrium distribution tends gradually to an equilibrium state. The region of spatial inhomogeneity has a scale depending on the rate of mass transfer in the open system and the characteristic time of metabolism. In the proposed approximation, the internal energy of the motion of molecules is much less than the energy of translational motion. Or in other terms we can state that the kinetic energy of the average blood velocity is substantially higher than the energy of chaotic motion of the same particles. We state that the relaxation problem models a living system. The flow of entropy to the system decreases in downstream, this corresponds to Shrödinger’s general ideas that the living system “feeds on” negentropy. We introduce a quantity that determines the complexity of the biosystem, more precisely, this is the difference between the nonequilibrium kinetic entropy and the equilibrium entropy at each spatial point integrated over the entire spatial region. Solutions to the problems of spatial relaxation allow us to estimate the size of biosystems as regions of nonequilibrium. The results are compared with empirical data, in particular, for mammals we conclude that the larger the size of animals, the smaller the specific energy of metabolism. This feature is reproduced in our model since the span of the nonequilibrium region is larger in the system where the reaction rate is shorter, or in terms of the kinetic approach, the longer the relaxation time of the interaction between the molecules. The approach is also used for estimation of a part of a living system, namely a green leaf. The problems of aging as degradation of an open nonequilibrium system are considered. The analogy is related to the structure, namely, for a closed system, the equilibrium of the structure is attained for the same molecules while in the open system, a transition occurs to the equilibrium of different particles, which change due to metabolism. Two essentially different time scales are distinguished, the ratio of which is approximately constant for various animal species. Under the assumption of the existence of these two time scales the kinetic equation splits in two equations, describing the metabolic (stationary) and “degradative” (nonstationary) parts of the process.

Atherosclerotic diseases such as carotid artery diseases (CAD) and chronic kidney diseases (CKD) are the major causes of death worldwide. The onset of these atherosclerotic diseases in the arteries are governed by complex blood flow dynamics and hemodynamic parameters. Atherosclerosis in renal arteries leads to reduction in arterial efficiency, which ultimately leads to Reno-vascular hypertension. This work attempts to identify the localization of atherosclerotic plaque in human abdominal aorta — renal artery junction using Computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

The atherosclerosis prone regions in an idealized human abdominal aorta-renal artery junction are identified by calculating relevant hemodynamic indicators from computational simulations using the rheologically accurate shear-thinning Yeleswarapu model for human blood. Blood flow is numerically simulated in a 3-D model of the artery junction using ANSYS FLUENT v18.2.

Hemodynamic indicators calculated are average wall shear stress (AWSS), oscillatory shear index (OSI), and relative residence time (RRT). Simulations of pulsatile flow (f=1.25 Hz, Re = 1000) show that low AWSS, and high OSI manifest in the regions of renal artery downstream of the junction and on the infrarenal section of the abdominal aorta lateral to the junction. High RRT, which is a relative index and dependent on AWSS and OSI, is found to overlap with the low AWSS and high OSI at the cranial surface of renal artery proximal to the junction and on the surface of the abdominal aorta lateral to the bifurcation: this indicates that these regions of the junction are prone to atherosclerosis. The results match qualitatively with the findings reported in literature and serve as initial step to illustrate utility of CFD for the location of atherosclerotic plaque.