Abstract The intellectual assets underpinning the modern knowledge economy are not normally associated with activities in the primary sector. This raises the question whether resourcebased developing countries are eternally relegated to the Also-Runs in global competition or at least whether they need to disassociate themselves from their economic mainstay in order for catch-up to materialise. The answer to this question is of paramount importance to many developing countries, especially in Latin America and Africa. This analysis contributes to the discussion in two novel ways. The first is the focus on technological trajectories that start in or around resource-based activities and subsequently become more knowledge intensive. Hence the study shows the direct contribution resource-based activities make towards the development of a knowledge economy. The second is the attempt systematically to compare technological trajectories in Africa’s most sophisticated economy with those in three Latin American countries at different stages of development. By contrast, this study concentrates on countries from continents that are customarily lumped together in the failure category. It analyses examples of technological learning and focuses on what works (not), and why, and whether insights from a collection of case studies can inform a broader policy discussion about how best to reconcile the demands of the knowledge economy with intensive resource endowments.

The migration of living cells plays an important role in immune response, hemostasis, cancer progression, delivery of nutrients, and microfluidic technologies such cell separation/enrichment and flow cytometry. Using three-dimensional computational algorithm for multiphase viscoelastic flow and mass transport, this study is focused on the investigation of the effects of cell size, viscoelasticity, cortical tension, fluid inertia and cell-cell interaction on passive migration and deformation of leukocytes, and active deformation of circulating cells during chemotactic migration in a rectangular microchannel. The results of the passive migration modeling show that there is an almost linear increase in the distance between the wall and the lateral equilibrium position of liquid drops or leukocytes with the particle diameter-to-channel height ratio increased from 0.1 to 0.5. Drops with different bulk viscosities can be efficiently separated if their interfacial tension is low or the flow rate is sufficiently high. The microfluidic technology is well suited for the separation of leukocytes with different cytoplasmic viscosities and relaxation times, but it is much less sensitive to cortical tension. When a series of closely spaced cells with same size are considered, they generally undergo damped oscillation in both lateral and translational directions until they reach equilibrium positions where they become evenly distributed in the flow direction (self-assembly phenomenon). For a series of cells with different sizes, bigger cells could collide repeatedly with smaller ones and enter the other side of the channel (above or below the centerline). For a series of cells with different deformability, more deformable cells upon impact with less deformable cells move to an equilibrium position closer to the centerline. The results of our study provide better understanding of cell margination in bloodstream and cell separation/enrichment in microfluidic devices. The simulation data on active migration of cells show the formation of a finger- or lamellipodium-like projection of the cell membrane towards the chemoattractant source and indicate that lowering the cortical tension facilitates cell protrusion. / acase@tulane.edu

The ability to control the motion of particles and cells in microchannels has been a center of fascination since the advent of microfluidics. Entire fields have been created in order to accomplish separation, volume reduction and overall positioning of particles and cells within microfluidic devices in the fastest and most accurate manner possible. While most of these technologies rely on low Reynolds number operation, one technique entitled inertial focusing takes advantage of the inertia of the surrounding fluid and the interaction between a particle and the channel itself which cause the lateral migration of particles across streamlines to equilibrium positions within a flow. The major advantage of inertial microfluidics in biomedical and microfluidic applications is that it is inherently high throughput being dependent on inertia whereas most microfluidic concepts are dependent on low Reynolds number operation. / Engineering and Applied Sciences

Viscoelastic fluid flow with immersed boundaries of complex geometry is widely found both in nature and engineering processes. Examples include haemocytes moving in human blood flow, self-propulsion of microscopic organisms in complex liquids, hydraulic fracturing with sand in oil flow, and suspension flow with viscoelastic medium. Computational modelling of such systems is important for understanding complex biological processes and assisting engineering designs. Conventional simulation methods use conformed meshes to resolve the boundaries of complex geometry. Dynamically updating the conformed mesh is computationally expensive and makes parallelization difficult. In comparison, Cartesian grid methods are more promising for large scale parallel simulation. Using Cartesian grid methods to simulate viscoelastic fluid flow with complex boundaries is a relatively unexplored area. In this thesis, a sharp interface Cartesian grid method (SICG) and a smoothed interface immersed boundary method (SIIB) are developed in order to simulate viscoelastic fluids in complex geometries. The SICG method shows a better prediction of the stress on stationary boundaries while the SIIB method shows reduced non-physical oscillations in the computation of drag and lift forces on moving boundaries. Parallel implementations of both solvers are developed. Convergence of the numerical schemes is shown and the implementations are validated with a few benchmark problems with both stationary and moving boundaries. This study also focuses on the simulation of flows past 2D cylindrical or 3D spherical particles. Lateral migration of particles induced by inertial and viscoelastic effects are investigated with different flow types. Equilibrium positions of inertia-induced migration are reported as a function of the particle Reynolds number and the blockage ratio. The migration in the viscoelastic fluid is simulated from zero elastic number to a finite elastic number. The inclusion of both inertial and viscoelastic effects on the lateral migration of a particle is the first of its kind. New findings are reported for the equilibrium positions of a spherical particle in square duct flow, which suggest the need for future experimental and computational work.

No description available.

La migration latérale est reconnue comme un processus majeur à préserver pour le bon fonctionnement des écosystèmes aquatiques. Ce travail explore sa variabilité spatiale dans le Sud-Est de la France en appui à la mise en œuvre de la Directive Cadre sur l’Eau.Une première partie développe un cadre méthodologique et des outils géomatiques pour la caractérisation géomorphologique et l’analyse multi-scalaire des systèmes fluviaux à partir de données disponibles à large échelle. Un premier article présente la démarche générale basée sur l’agrégation et la désagrégation spatiale d’objets vectoriels. Un second article aborde spécifiquement le problème de l’agrégation spatiale et vise à comparer des techniques statistiques pour la sectorisation d’un continuum en tronçons homogènes. Des exemples illustrent l’intérêt et les limites des outils développés.Une seconde partie porte sur la régionalisation de la dynamique latérale des lits fluviaux. Un troisième article caractérise et modélise son intensité à partir de variables simples à extraire à l'échelle régionale. Il montre qu’elle est structurée spatialement et positivement corrélée à la puissance fluviale. Néanmoins, des limites inhérentes à la modélisation empirique et la nécessaire prise en compte de variables complémentaires à l’échelle régionale émergent (apport sédimentaire notamment). Un quatrième article porte spécifiquement sur les lits à tresses et montre que près de la moitié des 1200 kilomètres recensés avant la construction des grandes infrastructures ont disparu du fait de pressions anthropiques directes et indirectes. Il révèle par ailleurs la grande diversité géomorphologique de ce style fluvial dans le bassin rhodanien. / The channel migration is a key process for preserving the aquatic ecosystem functioning. This work explores its spatial variability throughout the South-East French hydrographic network for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive.A first part develops a methodological framework and geomatic tools for the characterization and analysis of the fluvial systems for a range of scales from spatially continuous data available at the large scale. A first paper introduces the methodological framework based on the spatial disaggregation and aggregation of geographical objects. A second paper focuses specifically on the aggregating problem and aims to compare statistical techniques for delineating homogeneous reaches along a continuum. Examples illustrate the potentialities and limits of the tools we developed. A second part focuses on the regionalization of the channel migration. A third paper characterizes and models the migration rates from simple variables that can be extracted at the large scale. We show that the migration rate is spatially organized and positively controlled by the gross stream power. Nevertheless, limits of the regional-scale empirical modeling emerge, as well as additional variables that should be integrated (particularly the sediment supply). A fourth paper focuses specifically on braided rivers and shows that near the half of the 1200 kilometers censed prior to the major infrastructure construction disappeared due to direct and indirect human impacts. It also reveals the high geomorphic diversity of the contemporary braided rivers in the Rhône basin.

Multiphase flows abound in nature and enterprises. Our daily interactions with fluids - washing, drinking, and cooking, for example - occur at a free surface and within the realm of multiphase flows. The applications of multiphase flows within the context of emulsions, which are caused by mixing two immiscible fluids, have been of interest since the nineteenth century: compartmentalizing one fluid in another is particularly of interest in applications in pharmaceutical, materials, microfluidics, chemical, and biological engineering. Even more control in compartmentalization and delivery can be obtained through the usage of double emulsions, which are emulsions of smaller drops (i.e., inner drop) within larger drops (i.e., outer drop). The goal of this work is to understand the dynamic behavior of compound drops in confined flow at low Reynolds numbers. These behaviors include the migration patterns, limit cycles, and equilibrium locations in confined flows such as channel flows.<br> <br>Firstly, we look at non-concentric compound drops that are subject to simple shear flows. The eccentricity in the inner drop is either within the place of shear, normal to the plane of shear, or mixed. We show unreported motions that persist throughout time regardless of the initial eccentricity, given that the deformations of the inner and outer drops are small. Understanding the temporal dynamics of compound drops within the simple shear flow, one of the simplest background flows that may be imposed, allows us to probe at the dynamics of more complicated background flows.<br> <br>Secondly, we look at the lateral migration of compound drops in a Poiseuille flow. Depending on the initial condition, we show that there are multiple equilibria. We also show that the majority of initial configurations results in the compound drop with symmetry about the short wall direction. We then show the time it takes for the interfaces to merge if a given initial configuration does not reach the aforementioned symmetry.<br> <br>Thirdly, while the different equilibria of compound drops offer some positional differences at different radii ratio, we show that the lift force profiles at non-equilibrium locations offer distinctly different results for compound drops with different radii ratio. We then look at how this effect is greater than changes that arise due to viscosity ratio changes, and offer insights on what may create such a change in the lift force profile.