Anisotropy in Homogeneous Rotating Turbulence

The effective stress tensor of a homogeneous turbulent rotating fluid is anisotropic. This leads us to consider the most general axisymmetric four-rank ``viscosity tensor'' for a Newtonian fluid and the new terms in the turbulent effective force on large scales that arise from it, in addition to the microscopic viscous force. Some of these terms involve couplings to vorticity and others are angular momentum non conserving (in the rotating frame). Furthermore, we explore the constraints on the response function and the two-point velocity correlation due to axisymmetry. Finally, we compare our viscosity tensor with other four-rank tensors defined in current approaches to non-rotating anisotropic turbulence.Comment: 14 pages, RevTe

Signatures of two-dimensionalisation of 3D turbulence in presence of rotation

A reason has been given for the inverse energy cascade in the two-dimensionalised rapidly rotating 3D incompressible turbulence. For such system, literature shows a possibility of the exponent of wavenumber in the energy spectrum's relation to lie between -2 and -3. We argue the existence of a more strict range of -2 to -7/3 for the exponent in the case of rapidly rotating turbulence which is in accordance with the recent experiments. Also, a rigorous derivation for the two point third order structure function has been provided helping one to argue that even with slow rotation one gets, though dominated, a spectrum with the exponent -2.87, thereby hinting at the initiation of the two-dimensionalisation effect with rotation.Comment: An extended and typos-corrected version of the earlier submissio

An hydrodynamic shear instability in stratified disks

We discuss the possibility that astrophysical accretion disks are dynamically unstable to non-axisymmetric disturbances with characteristic scales much smaller than the vertical scale height. The instability is studied using three methods: one based on the energy integral, which allows the determination of a sufficient condition of stability, one using a WKB approach, which allows the determination of the necessary and sufficient condition for instability and a last one by numerical solution. This linear instability occurs in any inviscid stably stratified differential rotating fluid for rigid, stress-free or periodic boundary conditions, provided the angular velocity $\Omega$ decreases outwards with radius $r$. At not too small stratification, its growth rate is a fraction of $\Omega$. The influence of viscous dissipation and thermal diffusivity on the instability is studied numerically, with emphasis on the case when $d \ln \Omega / d \ln r =-3/2$ (Keplerian case). Strong stratification and large diffusivity are found to have a stabilizing effect. The corresponding critical stratification and Reynolds number for the onset of the instability in a typical disk are derived. We propose that the spontaneous generation of these linear modes is the source of turbulence in disks, especially in weakly ionized disks.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, to appear in A&

Quasi-static magnetohydrodynamic turbulence at high Reynolds number

We analyse the anisotropy of homogeneous turbulence in an electrically conducting fluid submitted to a uniform magnetic field, for low magnetic Reynolds number, in the quasi- static approximation. We interpret disagreeing previous predictions between linearized theory and simulations: in the linear limit, the kinetic energy of transverse velocity components, normal to the magnetic field, decays faster than the kinetic energy of the axial component, along the magnetic field (Moffatt (1967)); whereas many numerical studies predict a final state characterised by dominant energy of transverse velocity components. We investigate the corresponding nonlinear phenomenon using Direct Numerical Simulations of freely-decaying turbulence, and a two-point statistical spectral closure based on the Eddy Damped Quasi-Normal Markovian model. The transition from the three-dimensional turbulent flow to a "two-and-a-half-dimensional" flow (Montgomery & Turner (1982)) is a result of the combined effects of short-time linear Joule dissipation and longer time nonlinear creation of polarisation anisotropy. It is this combination of linear and nonlinear effects which explains the disagreement between predictions from linearized theory and results from numerical simulations. The transition is characterized by the elongation of turbulent structures along the applied magnetic field, and by the strong anisotropy of directional two-point correlation spectra, in agreement with experimental evidence. Inertial equatorial transfers in both DNS and the model are presented to describe in detail the most important equilibrium dynamics. Spectral scalings are maintained in high Reynolds number turbulence attainable only with the EDQNM model, which also provides simplified modelling of the asymptotic state of quasi-static MHD turbulence.Comment: Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 201

Turbulence anisotropy and the SO(3) description

We study strongly turbulent windtunnel flows with controlled anisotropy. Using a recent formalism based on angular momentum and the irreducible representations of the SO(3) rotation group, we attempt to extract this anisotropy from the angular dependence of second-order structure functions. Our instrumentation allows a measurement of both the separation and the angle dependence of the structure function. In axisymmetric turbulence which has a weak anisotropy, this more extended information produces ambiguous results. In more strongly anisotropic shear turbulence, the SO(3) description enables one to find the anisotropy scaling exponent. The key quality of the SO(3) description is that structure functions are a mixture of algebraic functions of the scale with exponents ordered such that the contribution of anisotropies diminishes at small scales. However, we find that in third-order structure functions of homogeneous shear turbulence the anisotropic contribution is always large and of the same order of magnitude as the isotropic part. Our results concern the minimum instrumentation needed to determine the parameters of the SO(3) description, and raise several questions about its ability to describe the angle dependence of high-order structure functions

Intellectual Property, Open Science and Research Biobanks

In biomedical research and translational medicine, the ancient war between exclusivity (private control over information) and access to information is proposing again on a new battlefield: research biobanks. The latter are becoming increasingly important (one of the ten ideas changing the world, according to Time magazine) since they allow to collect, store and distribute in a secure and professional way a critical mass of human biological samples for research purposes. Tissues and related data are fundamental for the development of the biomedical research and the emerging field of translational medicine: they represent the “raw material” for every kind of biomedical study. For this reason, it is crucial to understand the boundaries of Intellectual Property (IP) in this prickly context. In fact, both data sharing and collaborative research have become an imperative in contemporary open science, whose development depends inextricably on: the opportunities to access and use data, the possibility of sharing practices between communities, the cross-checking of information and results and, chiefly, interactions with experts in different fields of knowledge. Data sharing allows both to spread the costs of analytical results that researchers cannot achieve working individually and, if properly managed, to avoid the duplication of research. These advantages are crucial: access to a common pool of pre-competitive data and the possibility to endorse follow-on research projects are fundamental for the progress of biomedicine. This is why the "open movement" is also spreading in the biobank's field. After an overview of the complex interactions among the different stakeholders involved in the process of information and data production, as well as of the main obstacles to the promotion of data sharing (i.e., the appropriability of biological samples and information, the privacy of participants, the lack of interoperability), we will firstly clarify some blurring in language, in particular concerning concepts often mixed up, such as “open source” and “open access”. The aim is to understand whether and to what extent we can apply these concepts to the biomedical field. Afterwards, adopting a comparative perspective, we will analyze the main features of the open models – in particular, the Open Research Data model – which have been proposed in literature for the promotion of data sharing in the field of research biobanks. After such an analysis, we will suggest some recommendations in order to rebalance the clash between exclusivity - the paradigm characterizing the evolution of intellectual property over the last three centuries - and the actual needs for access to knowledge. We argue that the key factor in this balance may come from the right interaction between IP, social norms and contracts. In particular, we need to combine the incentives and the reward mechanisms characterizing scientific communities with data sharing imperative

Nitrogen transfers off Walvis Bay: a 3-D coupled physical/biogeochemical modeling approach in the Namibian upwelling system

Eastern boundary upwelling systems (EBUS) are regions of high primary production often associated with oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). They represent key regions for the oceanic nitrogen (N) cycle. By exporting organic matter (OM) and nutrients produced in the coastal region to the open ocean, EBUS can play an important role in sustaining primary production in subtropical gyres. However, losses of fixed inorganic N through denitrification and anammox processes take place in oxygen depleted environments such as EBUS, and can potentially mitigate the role of these regions as a source of N to the open ocean. EBUS can also represent a considerable source of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere, affecting the atmospheric budget of N2O. In this paper a 3-D coupled physical/biogeochemical model (ROMS/BioEBUS) is used to investigate the N budget in the Namibian upwelling system. The main processes linked to EBUS and associated OMZs are taken into account. The study focuses on the northern part of the Benguela upwelling system (BUS), especially the Walvis Bay area (between 22° S and 24° S) where the OMZ is well developed. Fluxes of N off the Walvis Bay area are estimated in order to understand and quantify (1) the total N offshore export from the upwelling area, representing a possible N source that sustains primary production in the South Atlantic subtropical gyre; (2) export production and subsequent losses of fixed N via denitrification and anammox under suboxic conditions (O2 < 25 mmol O2 m−3); and (3) the N2O emission to the atmosphere in the upwelling area. In the mixed layer, the total N offshore export is estimated as 8.5 ± 3.9 × 1010 mol N yr−1 at 10° E off the Walvis Bay area, with a mesoscale contribution of 20%. Extrapolated to the whole BUS, the coastal N source for the subtropical gyre corresponds to 0.1 ± 0.04 mol N m−2 yr−1. This N flux represents a major source of N for the gyre compared with other N sources, and contributes 28% of the new primary production estimated for the South Atlantic subtropical gyre. Export production (16.9 ± 1.3 × 1010 mol N yr−1) helps to maintain an OMZ off Namibia in which coupled nitrification, denitrification and anammox processes lead to losses of fixed N and N2O production. However, neither N losses (0.04 ± 0.025 × 1010 mol N yr−1) nor N2O emissions (0.03 ± 0.002 × 1010 mol N yr−1) significantly impact the main N exports of the Walvis Bay area. The studied area does not significantly contribute to N2O emissions (0.5 to 2.7%) compared to the global coastal upwelling emissions. Locally produced N2O is mostly advected southward by the poleward undercurrent

Valoriser et conserver le pin de Salzmann en France -

Cet article fait le point sur l'état des connaissances disponibles sur le pin de Salzmann, dans les domaines écologique, sylvicole et de diversité génétique. Il fait aussi état des risques qui menacent cette ressource française originale, caractéristique de la forêt méditerranéenne et indique quelles sont les stratégies actuelles employées pour sauvegarder et utiliser durablement les populations naturelles

BMC Public Health

BACKGROUND: Population health intervention research raises major conceptual and methodological issues. These require us to clarify what an intervention is and how best to address it. This paper aims to clarify the concepts of intervention and context and to propose a way to consider their interactions in evaluation studies, especially by addressing the mechanisms and using the theory-driven evaluation methodology. MAIN TEXT: This article synthesizes the notions of intervention and context. It suggests that we consider an "interventional system", defined as a set of interrelated human and non-human contextual agents within spatial and temporal boundaries generating mechanistic configurations - mechanisms - which are prerequisites for change in health. The evaluation focal point is no longer the interventional ingredients taken separately from the context, but rather mechanisms that punctuate the process of change. It encourages a move towards theorization in evaluation designs, in order to analyze the interventional system more effectively. More particularly, it promotes theory-driven evaluation, either alone or combined with experimental designs. CONCLUSION: Considering the intervention system, hybridizing paradigms in a process of theorization within evaluation designs, including different scientific disciplines, practitioners and intervention beneficiaries, may allow researchers a better understanding of what is being investigated and enable them to design the most appropriate methods and modalities for characterizing the interventional system. Evaluation methodologies should therefore be repositioned in relation to one another with regard to a new definition of "evidence", repositioning practitioners' expertise, qualitative paradigms and experimental questions in order to address the intervention system more profoundly