1,963 research outputs found
Intermittency and non-Gaussian fluctuations of the global energy transfer in fully developed turbulence
We address the experimentally observed non-Gaussian fluctuations for the
energy injected into a closed turbulent flow at fixed Reynolds number. We
propose that the power fluctuations mirror the internal kinetic energy
fluctuations. Using a stochastic cascade model, we construct the excess kinetic
energy as the sum over the energy transfers at different levels of the cascade.
We find an asymmetric distribution that strongly resembles the experimental
data. The asymmetry is an explicit consequence of intermittency and the global
measure is dominated by small scale events correlated over the entire system.
Our calculation is consistent with the statistical analogy recently made
between a confined turbulent flow and a critical system of finite size.Comment: To appear in Physical Review Letter
Stochastic Resonance in a simple model of magnetic reversals
We discuss the effect of stochastic resonance in a simple model of magnetic
reversals. The model exhibits statistically stationary solutions and bimodal
distribution of the large scale magnetic field. We observe a non trivial
amplification of stochastic resonance induced by turbulent fluctuations, i.e.
the amplitude of the external periodic perturbation needed for stochastic
resonance to occur is much smaller than the one estimated by the equilibrium
probability distribution of the unperturbed system. We argue that similar
amplifications can be observed in many physical systems where turbulent
fluctuations are needed to maintain large scale equilibria.Comment: 6 page
Numerical study of dynamo action at low magnetic Prandtl numbers
We present a three--pronged numerical approach to the dynamo problem at low
magnetic Prandtl numbers . The difficulty of resolving a large range of
scales is circumvented by combining Direct Numerical Simulations, a
Lagrangian-averaged model, and Large-Eddy Simulations (LES). The flow is
generated by the Taylor-Green forcing; it combines a well defined structure at
large scales and turbulent fluctuations at small scales. Our main findings are:
(i) dynamos are observed from down to ; (ii) the critical
magnetic Reynolds number increases sharply with as turbulence sets
in and then saturates; (iii) in the linear growth phase, the most unstable
magnetic modes move to small scales as is decreased and a Kazantsev
spectrum develops; then the dynamo grows at large scales and modifies
the turbulent velocity fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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Dynamo action at low magnetic Prandtl numbers: mean flow vs. fully turbulent motion
We compute numerically the threshold for dynamo action in Taylor-Green
swirling flows. Kinematic calculations, for which the flow field is fixed to
its time averaged profile, are compared to dynamical runs for which both the
Navier-Stokes and the induction equations are jointly solved. The kinematic
instability is found to have two branches, for all explored Reynolds numbers.
The dynamical dynamo threshold follows these branches: at low Reynolds number
it lies within the low branch while at high kinetic Reynolds number it is close
to the high branch.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Development of a pig jejunal explant culture for studying the gastrointestinal toxicity of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol: histopathological analysis
The digestive tract is a target for the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), a major cereals grain contaminant of public health concern in Europe and North America. Pig, the most sensitive species to DON toxicity, can be regarded as the most relevant animal model for studying the intestinal effects of DON.
A pig jejunal explants culture was developed to assess short-term effects of DON. In a first step, jejunal explants from 9-13 week-old and from 4-5 week-old pigs were cultured in vitro for up to 8 hours. Explants from younger animals were better preserved after 8 hours, as assessed by morphological scores and by villi lengths. In a second step, dose-related alterations of the jejunal tissue were observed, including shortened and coalescent villi, lysis of enterocytes, oedema. After 4h of DON exposure of explants from 4-5 week-old pigs, a no-effect concentration level of 1 µM was estimated (corresponding to diet contaminated with 0.3 mg DON/kg) based on morphological scores, and of 0.2 µM based on villi lengths.
In conclusion, our data indicate that pig intestinal explants represent a relevant and sensitive model to investigate the effects of food contaminants
Effects of Mycotoxins on the Intestine
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by several fungal species. They can contaminate human food and animal feed, and have been a threat for thousands of years. The gastrointestinal tract is the first target when ingesting mycotoxin-contaminated food or feed. As unlikely as it sounds, the investigations concerning the effects of mycotoxins on the intestine are still in their early stages. This book gathers the most recent advances related to the characterization of the intestinal toxicity of mycotoxins. Substantial data assembled on the damage caused to a number of histological structures and functions of the intestine remove any remaining doubt about this organ being a primary target for the toxicity of mycotoxins. An interesting overview of the detrimental effects of mycotoxins on the gut-hosted microbiota—now regarded as a fully-fledged organ associated with the gut—is also given. Finally, outstanding contributions in this book address questions relating to the suitability of current regulations to protect against alterations of the intestine, and to the efficacy assessment of new detoxification strategies using the intestinal toxicity of mycotoxins as a relevant endpoint
Characterizing flows with an instrumented particle measuring Lagrangian accelerations
We present in this article a novel Lagrangian measurement technique: an
instrumented particle which continuously transmits the force/acceleration
acting on it as it is advected in a flow. We develop signal processing methods
to extract information on the flow from the acceleration signal transmitted by
the particle. Notably, we are able to characterize the force acting on the
particle and to identify the presence of a permanent large-scale vortex
structure. Our technique provides a fast, robust and efficient tool to
characterize flows, and it is particularly suited to obtain Lagrangian
statistics along long trajectories or in cases where optical measurement
techniques are not or hardly applicable.Comment: submitted to New Journal of Physic
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