Mapping the local viscosity of non-Newtonian fluids flowing through disordered porous structures.

Flow of non-Newtonian fluids through topologically complex structures is ubiquitous in most biological, industrial and environmental settings. The interplay between local hydrodynamics and the fluid's constitutive law determines the distribution of flow paths. Consequently the spatial heterogeneity of the viscous resistance controls mass and solute transport from the micron to the meter scale. Examples range from oil recovery and groundwater engineering to drug delivery, filters and catalysts. Here we present a new methodology to map the spatial variation of the local viscosity of a non-Newtonian fluid flowing through a complex pore geometry. We use high resolution image velocimetry to determine local shear rates. Knowing the local shear rate in combination with a separate measurement of the fluid's constitutive law allows to quantitatively map the local viscosity at the pore scale. Our experimental results-which closely match with three-dimensional numerical simulations-demonstrate that the exponential decay of the longitudinal velocity distributions, previously observed for Newtonian fluids, is a function of the spatial heterogeneity of the local viscosity. This work sheds light on the relationship between hydraulic properties and the viscosity at the pore scale, which is of fundamental importance for predicting transport properties, mixing, and chemical reactions in many porous systems.

Pegylated Bovine Carboxyhemoglobin (SANGUINATE) in a Jehovah's Witness Undergoing Liver Transplant: A Case Report.

Liver transplantation in practicing Jehovah's Witnesses is challenging because of their religious beliefs preventing them from accepting allogenic blood products. Pegylated bovine carboxyhemoglobin (SANGUINATE) is an oxygen transfer agent, currently under investigation for the treatment of sickle cell disease, which may play a role in these patients by maximizing perioperative oxygen delivery. We report a case involving the use of SANGUINATE in a Jehovah's Witness undergoing liver transplant.

Pore-Scale Hydrodynamics in a Progressively Bioclogged Three-Dimensional Porous Medium: 3-D Particle Tracking Experiments and Stochastic Transport Modeling.

Biofilms are ubiquitous bacterial communities that grow in various porous media including soils, trickling, and sand filters. In these environments, they play a central role in services ranging from degradation of pollutants to water purification. Biofilms dynamically change the pore structure of the medium through selective clogging of pores, a process known as bioclogging. This affects how solutes are transported and spread through the porous matrix, but the temporal changes to transport behavior during bioclogging are not well understood. To address this uncertainty, we experimentally study the hydrodynamic changes of a transparent 3-D porous medium as it experiences progressive bioclogging. Statistical analyses of the system's hydrodynamics at four time points of bioclogging (0, 24, 36, and 48 h in the exponential growth phase) reveal exponential increases in both average and variance of the flow velocity, as well as its correlation length. Measurements for spreading, as mean-squared displacements, are found to be non-Fickian and more intensely superdiffusive with progressive bioclogging, indicating the formation of preferential flow pathways and stagnation zones. A gamma distribution describes well the Lagrangian velocity distributions and provides parameters that quantify changes to the flow, which evolves from a parallel pore arrangement under unclogged conditions, toward a more serial arrangement with increasing clogging. Exponentially evolving hydrodynamic metrics agree with an exponential bacterial growth phase and are used to parameterize a correlated continuous time random walk model with a stochastic velocity relaxation. The model accurately reproduces transport observations and can be used to resolve transport behavior at intermediate time points within the exponential growth phase considered.

Intermittent Lagrangian velocities and accelerations in three-dimensional porous medium flow.

Intermittency of Lagrangian velocity and acceleration is a key to understanding transport in complex systems ranging from fluid turbulence to flow in porous media. High-resolution optical particle tracking in a three-dimensional (3D) porous medium provides detailed 3D information on Lagrangian velocities and accelerations. We find sharp transitions close to pore throats, and low flow variability in the pore bodies, which gives rise to stretched exponential Lagrangian velocity and acceleration distributions characterized by a sharp peak at low velocity, superlinear evolution of particle dispersion, and double-peak behavior in the propagators. The velocity distribution is quantified in terms of pore geometry and flow connectivity, which forms the basis for a continuous-time random-walk model that sheds light on the observed Lagrangian flow and transport behaviors.

Laminar superlayer at the turbulence boundary.

In this Letter we present results from particle tracking velocimetry and direct numerical simulation that are congruent with the existence of a laminar superlayer, as proposed in the pioneering work of Corrsin and Kistler (NACA, Technical Report No. 1244, 1955). We find that the local superlayer velocity is dominated by a viscous component and its magnitude is comparable to the characteristic velocity of the smallest scales of motion. This slow viscous process involves a large surface area so that the global rate of turbulence spreading is set by the largest scales of motion. These findings are important for a better understanding of mixing of mass and momentum in a variety of flows where thin layers of shear exist. Examples are boundary layers, clouds, planetary atmospheres, and oceans.

A specific feedback by anti-IgE autoantibodies on the cytokine network in allergy.

During recent years we have shown that anti-IgE antibodies can have different biological functions. Depending on their epitope specificity they can be anaphylactogenic or not, they interfere with IgE binding to its receptor or not, and they enhance or inhibit IgE synthesis. Therefore we propose a theoretical model implying that anti-IgE autoantibodies are specific feed back molecules that neutralize IgE induced by the cytokine network. In the normal individual this system would be beneficial, where as the atopic individual, due to differences in its B cell repertoire, will produce the wrong type of anti-IgE antibody. The wrong type of anti-IgE antibody may even aggravate the disease as some of these autoantibodies may induce IgE synthesis or trigger effector cells that in turn generate a Th2 like cytokine pattern.