Donna Comissiong

Two-phase fluid flow in a porous tube: a model for blood flow in capillaries

A theoretical study of blood flow, under the influence of a body force, in a capillary is presented. Blood is modeled as a two-phase fluid consisting of a core region of suspension of all erythrocytes, represented by a micropolar fluid and a plasma layer free from cells modeled as a Newtonian fluid. The capillary is modeled as a porous tube consisting of a thin transition Brinkman layer overlying a porous Darcy region. Analytical expressions for the pressure, microrotation, and velocities for the different regions are given. Plots of pressure, microrotation, and velocities for varying micropolar parameters, hydraulic resistivity, and Newtonian fluid layer thickness are presented. The overall system was found to be sensitive to variations in micropolar coupling number. It was also discovered that high values of hydraulic resistivity result in an overall slower velocity of the micropolar and Newtonian fluid.

A modified predator-prey model for the interaction of police and gangs

A modified predator–prey model with transmissible disease in both the predator and prey species is proposed and analysed, with infected prey being more vulnerable to predation and infected predators hunting at a reduced rate. Here, the predators are the police and the prey the gang members. In this system, we examine whether police control of gangs is possible. The system is analysed with the help of stability analyses and numerical simulations. The system has five steady states—four of which involve no core gang members and one in which all the populations coexist. Thresholds are identified which determine when the predator and prey populations survive and when the disease remains endemic. For parameter values where the spread of disease among the police officers is greater than the death of the police officers, the diseased predator population survives, when it would otherwise become extinct.