Memory states in small arrays of Josephson junctions.

We study memory states of a circuit consisting of a small inductively coupled Josephson junction array and introduce basic (write, read, and reset) memory operations logics of the circuit. The presented memory operation paradigm is fundamentally different from conventional single quantum flux operation logics. We calculate stability diagrams of the zero-voltage states and outline memory states of the circuit. We also calculate access times and access energies for basic memory operations.

Validation of a 3D computational fluid-structure interaction model simulating flow through an elastic aperture.

This work presents a validation of a fluid-structure interaction computational model simulating the flow conditions in an in vitro mock heart chamber modeling mitral valve regurgitation during the ejection phase during which the trans-valvular pressure drop and valve displacement are not as large. The mock heart chamber was developed to study the use of 2D and 3D color Doppler techniques in imaging the clinically relevant complex intra-cardiac flow events associated with mitral regurgitation. Computational models are expected to play an important role in supporting, refining, and reinforcing the emerging 3D echocardiographic applications. We have developed a 3D computational fluid-structure interaction algorithm based on a semi-implicit, monolithic method, combined with an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian approach to capture the fluid domain motion. The mock regurgitant mitral valve corresponding to an elastic plate with a geometric orifice, was modeled using 3D elasticity, while the blood flow was modeled using the 3D Navier-Stokes equations for an incompressible, viscous fluid. The two are coupled via the kinematic and dynamic conditions describing the two-way coupling. The pressure, the flow rate, and orifice plate displacement were measured and compared with numerical simulation results. In-line flow meter was used to measure the flow, pressure transducers were used to measure the pressure, and a Doppler method developed by one of the authors was used to measure the axial displacement of the orifice plate. The maximum recorded difference between experiment and numerical simulation for the flow rate was 4%, the pressure 3.6%, and for the orifice displacement 15%, showing excellent agreement between the two.

Numerical simulation of rheology of red blood cell rouleaux in microchannels.

An elastic spring model is applied to simulate the skeletal structure of the red blood cell (RBC) membrane and to study the dynamical behaviors of the red blood cell rouleaux (aggregates) in microchannels. The biconcave shape of RBCs in static plasma and the tank-treading phenomenon of single RBCs in simple shear flows have been successfully captured using this model. The aggregation and dissociation of RBCs with different deformability have been investigated in both shear and Poiseuille flows by taking into consideration the rheology of the cells and the intercellular interaction kinetics. It is found that the equilibrium configuration of the rouleaux formed under no-flow condition, the motion of the rouleaux in the flows, and the rheological behavior of individual cells in the rouleaux is closely related to the intercellular interaction strength, hydrodynamic viscous forces, and the deformability of the cell membrane.

A model for influence of exercise on formation and growth of tissue bubbles during altitude decompression.

In response to exercise performed before or after altitude decompression, physiological changes are suspected to affect the formation and growth of decompression bubbles. We hypothesized that the work to change the size of a bubble is done by gas pressure gradients in a macro- and microsystem of thermodynamic forces and that the number of bubbles formed through time follows a Poisson process. We modeled the influence of tissue O(2) consumption on bubble dynamics in the O(2) transport system in series against resistances, from the alveolus to the microsystem containing the bubble and its surrounding tissue shell. Realistic simulations of experimental decompression procedures typical of actual extravehicular activities were obtained. Results suggest that exercise-induced elevation of O(2) consumption at altitude leads to bubble persistence in tissues. At the same time, exercise-enhanced perfusion leads to an overall suppression of bubble growth. The total volume of bubbles would be reduced unless increased tissue motion simultaneously raises the rate of bubble formation through cavitation processes, thus maintaining or increasing total bubble volume, despite the exercise.