TARDIS: A Numerical Simulation Package for Drive Systems

TARDIS is a digital computer simulation package originally intended to simulate drive systems. Its versatility has proved to be very useful in other areas as well. It is designed to replace the functionality of analog computers so that the user who cannot afford to have one can use the program on a personal or mainframe computer. The author believes that it is one of the most efficient and accurate simulation programs of its kind at this point even though not all of its potential has been exploited to. the fullest. It can handle index 0 and 1 differential-algebraic systems with discontinuities

Integrin α2β1 Expression Regulates Matrix Metalloproteinase-1-Dependent Bronchial Epithelial Repair in Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is caused by inhalation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which damages the bronchial epithelial barrier to establish local infection. Matrix metalloproteinase-1 plays a crucial role in the immunopathology of TB, causing breakdown of type I collagen and cavitation, but this collagenase is also potentially involved in bronchial epithelial repair. We hypothesized that the extracellular matrix (ECM) modulates M. tuberculosis-driven matrix metalloproteinase-1 expression by human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs), regulating respiratory epithelial cell migration and repair. Medium from monocytes stimulated with M. tuberculosis induced collagenase activity in bronchial epithelial cells, which was reduced by ~87% when cells were cultured on a type I collagen matrix. Matrix metalloproteinase-1 had a focal localization, which is consistent with cell migration, and overall secretion decreased by 32% on type I collagen. There were no associated changes in the specific tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases. Decreased matrix metalloproteinase-1 secretion was due to ligand-binding to the α2β1 integrin and was dependent on the actin cytoskeleton. In lung biopsies, samples from patients with pulmonary TB, integrin α2β1 is highly expressed on the bronchial epithelium. Areas of lung with disrupted collagen matrix showed an increase in matrix metalloproteinases-1 expression compared with areas where collagen was comparable to control lung. Type I collagen matrix increased respiratory epithelial cell migration in a wound-healing assay, and this too was matrix metalloproteinase-dependent, since it was blocked by the matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor GM6001. In summary, we report a novel mechanism by which α2β1-mediated signals from the ECM modulate matrix metalloproteinase-1 secretion by HBECs, regulating their migration and epithelial repair in TB

Theory of the temperature and doping dependence of the Hall effect in a model with x-ray edge singularities in d=oo

We explain the anomalous features in the Hall data observed experimentally in the normal state of the high-Tc superconductors. We show that a consistent treatment of the local spin fluctuations in a model with x-ray edge singularities in d=oo reproduces the temperature and the doping dependence of the Hall constant as well as the Hall angle in the normal state. The model has also been invoked to justify the marginal-Fermi-liquid behavior, and provides a consistent explanation of the Hall anomalies for a non-Fermi liquid in d=oo.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, To appear in Phys. Rev. B, title correcte

Intrinsic hole mobility and trapping in a regio-regular poly(thiophene)

The transport properties of high-performance thin-film transistors (TFT) made with a regio-regular poly(thiophene) semiconductor (PQT-12) are reported. The room-temperature field-effect mobility of the devices varied between 0.004 cm2/V s and 0.1 cm2/V s and was controlled through thermal processing of the material, which modified the structural order. The transport properties of TFTs were studied as a function of temperature. The field-effect mobility is thermally activated in all films at T<200 K and the activation energy depends on the charge density in the channel. The experimental data is compared to theoretical models for transport, and we argue that a model based on the existence of a mobility edge and an exponential distribution of traps provides the best interpretation of the data. The differences in room-temperature mobility are attributed to different widths of the shallow localized state distribution at the edge of the valence band due to structural disorder in the film. The free carrier mobility of the mobile states in the ordered regions of the film is the same in all structural modifications and is estimated to be between 1 and 4 cm2/V s.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

Microcystic cyanobacteria causes mitochondrial membrane potential alteration and reactive oxygen species formation in primary cultured rat hepatocytes.

Cyanobacteria contamination of water has become a growing public health problem worldwide. Microcystis aeruginosa is one of the most common toxic cyanobacteria. It is capable of producing microcystins, a group of cyclic heptapeptide compounds with potent hepatotoxicity and tumor promotion activity. The present study investigated the effect of microcystic cyanobacteria on primary cultured rat hepatocytes by examining mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) changes and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation in cells treated with lyophilized freshwater microcystic cyanobacteria extract (MCE). Rhodamine 123 (Rh-123) was used as a fluorescent probe for changes in mitochondrial fluorescence intensity. The mitochondrial Rh-123 fluorescence intensity in MCE-treated hepatocytes, examined using a laser confocal microscope, responded in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The results thus indicate that the alteration of MMP might be an important event in the hepatotoxicity caused by cyanobacteria. Moreover, the parallel increase of ROS formation detected using another fluorescent probe, 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate also suggests the involvement of oxidative stress in the hepatotoxicity caused by cyanobacteria. The fact that MMP changes precede other cytotoxic parameters such as nuclear staining by propidium iodide and cell morphological changes suggests that mitochondrial damage is closely associated with MCE-induced cell injury in cultured rat hepatocytes

Quasiparticle thermal Hall angle and magnetoconductance in YBa_2Cu_3O_x

We present a way to extract the quasiparticle (qp) thermal conductivity Kappa_e and mean-free-path in YBa_2Cu_3O_x, using the thermal Hall effect and the magnetoconductance of Kappa_e. The results are very consistent with heat capacity experiments. Moreover, we find a simple relation between the thermal Hall angle Theta_Q and the H-dependence of Kappa_e, as well as numerical equality between Theta_Q and the electrical Hall angle. The findings also reveal an anomalously anisotropic scattering process in the normal state.Comment: 4 pages in Tex, 5 figures in EPS; replaced on 5/12/99, minor change

Umklapp scattering from spin fluctuations in Copper-Oxides

The $\mathbf k$-dependent electronic momentum relaxation rate due to Umklapp scattering from antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations is studied within a renormalized mean-field approach to an extended $t-J$ model appropriate to YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$ and other cuprates. Transport coefficients are calculated in a relaxation time approximation. We compare these results with those obtained with the phenomenological assumption that all scattering processes dissipate momentum. We show that the latter, which violates momentum conservation, leads to quite different magnitudes and temperature dependences of resistivities and Hall coefficients.Comment: replaced by LaTeX file (due to problems with PostScript