Localised edge states nucleate turbulence in extended plane Couette cells

We study the turbulence transition of plane Couette flow in large domains where localised perturbations are observed to generate growing turbulent spots. Extending previous studies on the boundary between laminar and turbulent dynamics we determine invariant structures intermediate between laminar and turbulent flow. In wide but short domains we find states that are localised in spanwise direction, and in wide and long domains the states are also localised in downstream direction. These localised states act as critical nuclei for the transition to turbulence in spatially extended domains.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Turbulence transition and the edge of chaos in pipe flow

The linear stability of pipe flow implies that only perturbations of sufficient strength will trigger the transition to turbulence. In order to determine this threshold in perturbation amplitude we study the \emph{edge of chaos} which separates perturbations that decay towards the laminar profile and perturbations that trigger turbulence. Using the lifetime as an indicator and methods developed in (Skufca et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 96}, 174101 (2006)) we show that superimposed on an overall $1/\Re$-scaling predicted and studied previously there are small, non-monotonic variations reflecting folds in the edge of chaos. By tracing the motion in the edge we find that it is formed by the stable manifold of a unique flow field that is dominated by a pair of downstream vortices, asymmetrically placed towards the wall. The flow field that generates the edge of chaos shows intrinsic chaotic dynamics.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Enantiospecific antitrypanosomal in vitro activity of eflornithine

The polyamine synthesis inhibitor eflornithine is a recommended treatment for the neglected tropical disease Gambian human African trypanosomiasis in late stage. This parasitic disease, transmitted by the tsetse fly, is lethal unless treated. Eflornithine is administered by repeated intravenous infusions as a racemic mixture of L-eflornithine and D-eflornithine. The study compared the in vitro antitrypanosomal activity of the two enantiomers with the racemic mixture against three Trypanosoma brucei gambiense strains. Antitrypanosomal in vitro activity at varying drug concentrations was analysed by non-linear mixed effects modelling. For all three strains, L-eflornithine was more potent than D-eflornithine. Estimated 50% inhibitory concentrations of the three strains combined were 9.1 muM (95% confidence interval [8.1; 10]), 5.5 muM [4.5; 6.6], and 50 muM [42; 57] for racemic eflornithine, L-eflornithine and D-eflornithine, respectively. The higher in vitro potency of L-eflornithine warrants further studies to assess its potential for improving the treatment of late-stage Gambian human African trypanosomiasis