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Chapman University

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

2015

Fluid dynamics

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Large Amplitude, Short Wave Peristalsis And Its Implications For Transport, Lindsay D. Waldrop, Laura A. Miller Aug 2015

Large Amplitude, Short Wave Peristalsis And Its Implications For Transport, Lindsay D. Waldrop, Laura A. Miller

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Valveless, tubular pumps are widespread in the animal kingdom, but the mechanism by which these pumps generate fluid flow is often in dispute. Where the pumping mechanism of many organs was once described as peristalsis, other mechanisms, such as dynamic suction pumping, have been suggested as possible alternative mechanisms. Peristalsis is often evaluated using criteria established in a technical definition for mechanical pumps, but this definition is based on a small-amplitude, long-wave approximation which biological pumps often violate. In this study, we use a direct numerical simulation of large-amplitude, short-wave peristalsis to investigate the relationships between fluid flow, compression frequency, …


The Role Of The Pericardium In The Valveless, Tubular Heart Of The Tunicate, Ciona Savignyi, Lindsay D. Waldrop, Laura A. Miller Jul 2015

The Role Of The Pericardium In The Valveless, Tubular Heart Of The Tunicate, Ciona Savignyi, Lindsay D. Waldrop, Laura A. Miller

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Tunicates, small invertebrates within the phylum Chordata, possess a robust tubular heart which pumps blood through their open circulatory systems without the use of valves. This heart consists of two major components: the tubular myocardium, a flexible layer of myocardial cells that actively contracts to drive fluid down the length of the tube; and the pericardium, a stiff, outer layer of cells that surrounds the myocardium and creates a fluid-filled space between the myocardium and the pericardium. We investigated the role of the pericardium through in vivo manipulations on tunicate hearts and computational simulations of the myocardium and pericardium using …