Project Theme: Fluid Dynamics and Disease
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Unsteady fragmentation of a fluid bulk into droplets is important for epidemiology as it governs the transport of pathogens from sneezes and coughs, or from contaminated crops in agriculture. It is also ubiquitous in industrial processes such as paint, coating, and combustion. Unsteady fragmentation is distinct from steady fragmentation on which most theoretical efforts have… more
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The treatment of hydrocephalus often involves the placement of a shunt catheter into the cerebrospinal ventricular space, though such ventricular catheters often fail by tissue obstruction. While diverse cell types contribute to the obstruction, astrocytes are believed to contribute to late catheter failure that can occur months after shunt insertion. Using in vitro microfluidic cultures of astrocytes, we show that applied… more
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Understanding what shapes the drop size distributions produced from fluid fragmentation is important for a range of industrial, natural and health processes. Fluid fragmentation plays an important role in pathogen transmission in particular. A particular example is from impacts on contaminated surfaces already, some dry, and others already wet, supporting sessile drops. These are ubiquitous… more
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Bubbles are ubiquitous in industrial and environmental processes, indoors and outdoors, and have an important impact on a wide range of systems. They can be beneficial in mixing bulk water, they contribute significantly to the planetary-scale transfer of chemical and organic compounds from water bodies to the atmosphere and they are also a source of… more
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Plant diseases represent a growing threat to the global food supply. The factors contributing to pathogen transmission from plant to plant remain poorly understood. Statistical correlations between rainfalls and plant disease outbreaks were reported; however, the detailed mechanisms linking the two were relegated to a black box. In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we… more
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Plant diseases are a major cause of losses of crops worldwide. Although rainfalls and foliar disease outbreaks are correlated, the detailed mechanism explaining their link remains poorly understood. The common assumption from phytopathology for such link is that a splash is generated upon impact of raindrops on contaminated liquid films coating sick leaves. We examine… more
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Flows driven by surface tension are both ubiquitous and diverse, involving the drinking of birds and bees, the flow of xylem in plants, the impact of raindrops on animals, respiration in humans, and the transmission of diseases in plants and animals, including humans. The fundamental physical principles underlying such flows provide a unifying framework to… more
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Bubbles and drops are ubiquitous in nature and play critical roles in many important environmental processes. Most familiar is the life-sustaining role of rain. Less familiar are their roles in the thermal budget of the atmosphere and their role in pathogen dispersal. In this paper, we highlight new applications where drops and bubbles have important… more
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Flows driven by surface tension are both ubiquitous and diverse, involving the drinking of birds and bees, the flow of xylem in plants, the impact of raindrops on animals, respiration in humans, and the transmission of diseases in plants and animals, including humans. The fundamental physical principles underlying such flows provide a unifying framework to… more
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Hospital-acquired infections represent significant health and financial burdens to society. Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a particularly challenging bacteria with the potential to cause severe diarrhea and death. One mode of transmission for C. difficile, as well as other pathogens, which has received little attention is the potential air contamination by pathogen-bearing droplets emanating from… more