633 research outputs found
Longitudinal Structure Functions in Decaying and Forced Turbulence
In order to reliably compute the longitudinal structure functions in decaying
and forced turbulence, local isotropy is examined with the aid of the isotropic
expression of the incompressible conditions for the second and third order
structure functions. Furthermore, the Karman-Howarth-Kolmogorov relation is
investigated to examine the effects of external forcing and temporally
decreasing of the second order structure function. On the basis of these
investigations, the scaling range and exponents of the longitudinal
structure functions are determined for decaying and forced turbulence with the
aid of the extended-self-similarity (ESS) method. We find that 's are
smaller, for , in decaying turbulence than in forced turbulence. The
reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. Analysis of the local slopes of the
structure functions is used to justify the ESS method.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figure
Statistics of Dissipation and Enstrophy Induced by a Set of Burgers Vortices
Dissipation and enstropy statistics are calculated for an ensemble of
modified Burgers vortices in equilibrium under uniform straining. Different
best-fit, finite-range scaling exponents are found for locally-averaged
dissipation and enstrophy, in agreement with existing numerical simulations and
experiments. However, the ratios of dissipation and enstropy moments supported
by axisymmetric vortices of any profile are finite. Therefore the asymptotic
scaling exponents for dissipation and enstrophy induced by such vortices are
equal in the limit of infinite Reynolds number.Comment: Revtex (4 pages) with 4 postscript figures included via psfi
Intermittency and structure functions in channel flow turbulence
We present a study of intermittency in a turbulent channel flow. Scaling
exponents of longitudinal streamwise structure functions, ,
are used as quantitative indicators of intermittency.
We find that, near the center of the channel the values of
up to are consistent with the assumption of homogeneous/isotropic
turbulence. Moving towards the boundaries, we observe a growth of intermittency
which appears to be related to an intensified presence of ordered vortical
structures. In fact, the behaviour along the normal-to-wall direction of
suitably normalized scaling exponents shows a remarkable correlation with the
local strength of the Reynolds stress and with the \rms value of helicity
density fluctuations. We argue that the clear transition in the nature of
intermittency appearing in the region close to the wall, is related to a new
length scale which becomes the relevant one for scaling in high shear flows.Comment: 4 pages, 6 eps figure
Periodically kicked turbulence
Periodically kicked turbulence is theoretically analyzed within a mean field
theory. For large enough kicking strength A and kicking frequency f the
Reynolds number grows exponentially and then runs into some saturation. The
saturation level can be calculated analytically; different regimes can be
observed. For large enough Re we find the saturation level to be proportional
to A*f, but intermittency can modify this scaling law. We suggest an
experimental realization of periodically kicked turbulence to study the
different regimes we theoretically predict and thus to better understand the
effect of forcing on fully developed turbulence.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Phys. Rev. E., in pres
Probability density function of turbulent velocity fluctuation
The probability density function (PDF) of velocity fluctuations is studied
experimentally for grid turbulence in a systematical manner. At small distances
from the grid, where the turbulence is still developing, the PDF is
sub-Gaussian. At intermediate distances, where the turbulence is fully
developed, the PDF is Gaussian. At large distances, where the turbulence has
decayed, the PDF is hyper-Gaussian. The Fourier transforms of the velocity
fluctuations always have Gaussian PDFs. At intermediate distances from the
grid, the Fourier transforms are statistically independent of each other. This
is the necessary and sufficient condition for Gaussianity of the velocity
fluctuations. At small and large distances, the Fourier transforms are
dependent.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures in a PS file, to appear in Physical Review
Supersonic turbulence and structure of interstellar molecular clouds
The interstellar medium (ISM) provides a unique laboratory for highly
supersonic, driven hydrodynamics turbulence. We present a theory of such
turbulence, confirm it by numerical simulations, and use the results to explain
observational properties of interstellar molecular clouds, the regions where
stars are born.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures include
Dynamical Organization around Turbulent Bursts
The detailed dynamics around intermittency bursts is investigated in
turbulent shell models. We observe that the amplitude of the high wave number
velocity modes vanishes before each burst, meaning that the fixed point in zero
and not the Kolmogorov fixed point determines the intermittency. The phases of
the field organize during the burst, and after a burst the field oscillates
back to the laminar level. We explain this behavior from the variations in the
values of the dissipation and the advection around the zero fixed point.Comment: 4 pages, REVTex, 3 figures in one ps-fil
Vortex tubes in velocity fields of laboratory isotropic turbulence: dependence on the Reynolds number
The streamwise and transverse velocities are measured simultaneously in
isotropic grid turbulence at relatively high Reynolds numbers, Re(lambda) =
110-330. Using a conditional averaging technique, we extract typical
intermittency patterns, which are consistent with velocity profiles of a model
for a vortex tube, i.e., Burgers vortex. The radii of the vortex tubes are
several of the Kolmogorov length regardless of the Reynolds number. Using the
distribution of an interval between successive enhancements of a small-scale
velocity increment, we study the spatial distribution of vortex tubes. The
vortex tubes tend to cluster together. This tendency is increasingly
significant with the Reynolds number. Using statistics of velocity increments,
we also study the energetical importance of vortex tubes as a function of the
scale. The vortex tubes are important over the background flow at small scales
especially below the Taylor microscale. At a fixed scale, the importance is
increasingly significant with the Reynolds number.Comment: 8 pages, 3 PS files for 8 figures, to appear in Physical Review
Human liver stem cell-derived microvesicles accelerate hepatic regeneration in hepatectomized rats
Several studies indicate that adult stem cells may improve the recovery from acute tissue injury. It has been suggested that they may contribute to tissue regeneration by the release of paracrine factors promoting proliferation of tissue resident cells. However, the factors involved remain unknown. In the present study we found that microvesicles (MVs) derived from human liver stem cells (HLSC) induced in vitro proliferation and apoptosis resistance of human and rat hepatocytes. These effects required internalization of MVs in the hepatocytes by an α4-integrin-dependent mechanism. However, MVs pre-treated with RNase, even if internalized, were unable to induce hepatocyte proliferation and apoptosis resistance, suggesting an RNA-dependent effect. Microarray analysis and quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that MVs were shuttling a specific subset of cellular mRNA, such as mRNA associated in the control of transcription, translation, proliferation and apoptosis. When administered in vivo, MVs accelerated the morphological and functional recovery of liver in a model of 70% hepatectomy in rats. This effect was associated with increase in hepatocyte proliferation and was abolished by RNase pre-treatment of MVs. Using human AGO2, as a reporter gene present in MVs, we found the expression of human AGO2 mRNA and protein in the liver of hepatectomized rats treated with MVs. These data suggested a translation of the MV shuttled mRNA into hepatocytes of treated rats. In conclusion, these results suggest that MVs derived from HLSC may activate a proliferative program in remnant hepatocytes after hepatectomy by a horizontal transfer of specific mRNA subsets
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