A Periodic Systems Toolbox for MATLAB

The recently developed Periodic Systems Toolbox for MATLAB is described. The basic approach to develop this toolbox was to exploit the powerful object manipulation features of MATLAB via flexible andfunctionally rich high level m-functions, while simultaneously enforcing highly efficient and numerically sound computations via the mex-function technology of MATLAB to solve critical numerical problems.The m-functions based user interfaces ensure user-friendliness in operating with the functions of this toolbox via an object oriented approach to handle periodic system descriptions. The mex-functions are based on Fortran implementations of recently developed structure exploiting and structure preserving numerical algorithms for periodic systems which completely avoid forming of lifted representations

Computation of Kalman Decompositions of Periodic Systems

We consider the numerically reliable computation of reachability and observability Kalman decompositions of a periodic system with time-varying dimensions. These decompositons generalize the controllability/observability Kalman decompositions for standard state space systems and have immediate applications in the structural analysis of periodic systems. We propose a structure exploiting numerical algorithm to compute the periodic controllability form by employing exclusively orthogonal similarity transformations. The new algorithm is computationally efficient and strongly backward stable, thus fulfils all requirements for a satisfactory algorithm for periodic systems

Research report on the physiological effects of air ions and their significance as environmental factors

The series of experiments performed have shown that small air ions generated artificially using radioactive materials produced physiological effects in all test subjects, which are described. These results show that the air ions were important climatic factors in the production of comfortable and healthy room climates

Generalized LFT-Based Representation of Parametric Uncertain Models

In this paper, we introduce a general descriptor-type linear fractional transformation (LFT) representation of rational parametric matrices. This is a generalized representation of arbitrary rationally dependent multivariate functions in LFT-form. As applications, we develop explicit LFT-realizations of the transfer-function matrix of a linear descriptor system whose state-space matrices depend rationally on a set of uncertain parameters. The resulting descriptor LFT-based uncertainty models generally have smaller orders than those obtained by using the standard LFT-based modelling approach. An example of an uncertain vehicle model illustrates the capability of the method

On Renyi entropies characterizing the shape and the extension of the phase space representation of quantum wave functions in disordered systems

We discuss some properties of the generalized entropies, called Renyi entropies and their application to the case of continuous distributions. In particular it is shown that these measures of complexity can be divergent, however, their differences are free from these divergences thus enabling them to be good candidates for the description of the extension and the shape of continuous distributions. We apply this formalism to the projection of wave functions onto the coherent state basis, i.e. to the Husimi representation. We also show how the localization properties of the Husimi distribution on average can be reconstructed from its marginal distributions that are calculated in position and momentum space in the case when the phase space has no structure, i.e. no classical limit can be defined. Numerical simulations on a one dimensional disordered system corroborate our expectations.Comment: 8 pages with 2 embedded eps figures, RevTex4, AmsMath included, submitted to PR

Alterations in electrodermal activity and cardiac parasympathetic tone during hypnosis

Exploring autonomic nervous system (ANS) changes during hypnosis is critical for understanding the nature and extent of the hypnotic phenomenon and for identifying the mechanisms underlying the effects of hypnosis in different medical conditions. To assess ANS changes during hypnosis, electrodermal activity and pulse rate variability (PRV) were measured in 121 young adults. Participants either received hypnotic induction (hypnosis condition) or listened to music (control condition), and both groups were exposed to test suggestions. Blocks of silence and experimental sound stimuli were presented at baseline, after induction, and after de-induction. Skin conductance level (SCL) and high frequency (HF) power of PRV measured at each phase were compared between groups. Hypnosis decreased SCL compared to the control condition; however, there were no group differences in HF power. Furthermore, hypnotic suggestibility did not moderate ANS changes in the hypnosis group. These findings indicate that hypnosis reduces tonic sympathetic nervous system activity, which might explain why hypnosis is effective in the treatment of disorders with strong sympathetic nervous system involvement, such as rheumatoid arthritis, hot flashes, hypertension, and chronic pain. Further studies with different control conditions are required to examine the specificity of the sympathetic effects of hypnosis

Transforming growth factor-beta stimulation of lung fibroblast prostaglandin E2 production.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF beta) stimulated the production of total protein, collagen, and fibronectin by normal human lung fibroblasts. The stimulatory response was maximal at 100 pM TGF beta and reversed toward control at higher concentrations. Inhibition of fibroblast prostaglandin (PG) synthesis enhanced TGF beta-induced stimulation of total protein, collagen, and fibronectin production and reversed the negative slope of the dose-response curve at high concentrations of TGF beta. Determination of the steady-state levels of Types I and III procollagens and fibronectin mRNAs employing specific cDNA probes demonstrated that inhibition of fibroblast PG production increased the stimulatory effect of TGF beta on the levels of these transcripts. Exogenous PGE2 abrogated the stimulatory effects of TGF beta. These findings suggest that fibroblast stimulation by TGF beta may be down-regulated by endogenous PG synthesized in response to TGF beta. This notion was supported by the demonstration that TGF beta markedly stimulated fibroblast PGE2 production. These results indicate that TGF beta-induced stimulation of fibroblast PGE2 production may be an autoregulatory control mechanism to limit the effects of TGF beta on connective tissue protein synthesis