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Industrial robots have made it possible for robotics to become a worldwide discipline both in economy and in science. However, their capabilities are limited, especially regarding contact tasks where it is required to regulate or at least limit contact forces. At one point, it was noticed that elasticity in the joint transmission, which was treated as a drawback previously, is actually helpful in this regard. This observation led to the introduction of elastic joint robots that are well-suited to contact tasks and cooperative behavior in particular, so they become more and more widespread nowadays. Many researchers try to implement such devices not with trivial series elastic actuators (SEA) but with more sophisticated variable stiffness actuators (VSA) that can regulate their own mechanical stiffness. All elastic actuators demonstrate shock robustness and safe interaction with external objects to some extent, but when stiffness may be varied, it provides additional benefits, e. g., in terms of energy efficiency and task adaptability. Here, we present a novel variable stiffness actuator with a magnetic coupler as an elastic element. Magnetic transmission is contactless and thus advantageous in terms of robustness to misalignment. In addition, the friction model of the transmission becomes less complex. It also has milder stiffness characteristic than typical mechanical nonlinear springs, moreover, the stiffness curve has a maximum after which it descends. Therefore, when this maximum torque is achieved, the coupler slips, and a new pair of poles defines the equilibrium position. As a result, the risk of damage is smaller for this design solution. The design of the joint is thoroughly described, along with its mathematical model. Finally, the control system is also proposed, and simulation tests confirm the design ideas.

Self-organization of molecules on a solid surface is one of the promising directions for materials generation with unique magnetic, electrical, and optical properties. They can be widely used in fields such as electronics, optoelectronics, catalysis, and biology. However, the structure and physicochemical properties of adsorbed molecules are influenced by many parameters that must be taken into account when studying the self-organization of molecules. Therefore, the experimental study of such materials is expensive, and quite often it is difficult for various reasons. In such situations, it is advisable to use the mathematical modeling. One of the parameters in the considered adsorption systems is the multiparticle interaction, which is often not taken into account in simulations due to the complexity of the calculations. In this paper, we evaluated the influence of multiparticle interactions on the total energy of the system using the transfer-matrix method and the Materials Studio software package. The model of monocentric adsorption with nearest interactions on a triangular lattice was taken as the basis. Phase diagrams in the ground state were constructed and a number of thermodynamic characteristics (coverage $\theta$, entropy $S$, susceptibility $\xi$) were calculated at nonzero temperatures. The formation of all four ordered structures (lattice gas with $\theta=0$, $(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3}) R30^{\circ}$ with $\theta = \frac{1}{3}$, $(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3})R^{*}30^{\circ}$ with $\theta = \frac{2}{3}$ and densest phase with $\theta = 1$) in a system with only pairwise interactions, and the absence of the phase  $(\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}) R30^\circ$ when only three-body interactions are taken into account, were found. Using the example of an atomistic model of the trimesic acid adsorption layer by quantum mechanical methods we determined that in such a system the contribution of multiparticle interactions is 11.44% of the pair interactions energy. There are only quantitative differences at such values. The transition region from the  $(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3}) R^{*}30^\circ$ to the densest phase shifts to the right by 38.25% at $\frac{\varepsilon}{RT} = 4$ and to the left by 23.46% at $\frac{\varepsilon}{RT} = −2$.

When determining therapeutic absorbed doses in the process of radioiodine therapy, the method of individual dosimetric planning is increasingly used in Russian medicine. However, for the successful implementation of this method, it is necessary to have appropriate software that allows modeling the pharmacokinetics of radioiodine in the patient’s body and calculate the necessary therapeutic activity of a radiopharmaceutical drug to achieve the planned therapeutic absorbed dose in the thyroid gland.

Purpose of the work: development of a software package for pharmacokinetic modeling and calculation of individual absorbed doses in radioiodine therapy based on a five-chamber model of radioiodine kinetics using two mathematical optimization methods. The work is based on the principles and methods of RFLP pharmacokinetics (chamber modeling). To find the minimum of the residual functional in identifying the values of the transport constants of the model, the Hook – Jeeves method and the simulated annealing method were used. Calculation of dosimetric characteristics and administered therapeutic activity is based on the method of calculating absorbed doses using the functions of radioiodine activity in the chambers found during modeling. To identify the parameters of the model, the results of radiometry of the thyroid gland and urine of patients with radioiodine introduced into the body were used.

A software package for modeling the kinetics of radioiodine during its oral intake has been developed. For patients with diffuse toxic goiter, the transport constants of the model were identified and individual pharmacokinetic and dosimetric characteristics (elimination half-lives, maximum thyroid activity and time to reach it, absorbed doses to critical organs and tissues, administered therapeutic activity) were calculated. The activity-time relationships for all cameras in the model are obtained and analyzed. A comparative analysis of the calculated pharmacokinetic and dosimetric characteristics calculated using two mathematical optimization methods was performed. Evaluation completed the stunning-effect and its contribution to the errors in calculating absorbed doses. From a comparative analysis of the pharmacokinetic and dosimetric characteristics calculated in the framework of two optimization methods, it follows that the use of a more complex mathematical method for simulating annealing in a software package does not lead to significant changes in the values of the characteristics compared to the simple Hook – Jeeves method. Errors in calculating absorbed doses in the framework of these mathematical optimization methods do not exceed the spread of absorbed dose values from the stunning-effect.

We consider an approach based on linear algebra methods to analyze the rate of electron transport through the cytochrome $b_6 f$ complex. In the proposed approach, the dependence of the quasi-stationary electron flux through the complex on the degree of reduction of pools of mobile electron carriers is considered a response function characterizing this process. We have developed software in the Python programming language that allows us to construct the master equation for the complex according to the scheme of elementary reactions and calculate quasi-stationary electron transport rates through the complex and the dynamics of their changes during the transition process. The calculations are performed in multithreaded mode, which makes it possible to efficiently use the resources of modern computing systems and to obtain data on the functioning of the complex in a wide range of parameters in a relatively short time. The proposed approach can be easily adapted for the analysis of electron transport in other components of the photosynthetic and respiratory electron-transport chain, as well as other processes in multienzyme complexes containing several reaction centers. Cryo-electron microscopy and redox titration data were used to parameterize the model of cytochrome $b_6 f$ complex. We obtained dependences of the quasi-stationary rate of plastocyanin reduction and plastoquinone oxidation on the degree of reduction of pools of mobile electron carriers and analyzed the dynamics of rate changes in response to changes in the redox state of the plastoquinone pool. The modeling results are in good agreement with the available experimental data.

The collective behavior of crowd leaving a room is modeled. The model is based on molecular dynamics approach with a mixture of socio-psychological and physical forces. The new algorithm for complicatedly branched space is proposed. It suggests that each individual develops its own plan of escape, which is stochastically transformed during the evolution. The algorithm includes also the separation of original space into rooms with possible exits selected by individuals according to their probability distribution. The model is calibrated on the base of empirical data provided by fire case in the nightclub “Lame Horse” (Perm, 2009). The algorithm is realized as an end-user Java software. It is assumed that this tool could help to test the buildings for their safety for humans.

In the first section of the paper a definition of presentation (perception) functions — components of individual’s subjective view of the world — are proposed. Using the basic psychophysical law formulated by S. Stevens, and relying on the hypotheses of socialization, rationality, individual choice, complexity of informational influences, dynamics of ideas and perceptions, and accessibility, formal dependence was derived allowing to calculate the function of presentation (perception) for probabilistic indicators (with known distribution function or subjective probability) and of interval type. In the second and third sections parameters of the presentation function according to surveys of the U.S. population related to the war in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq are estimated.

A crucial component of distributed computing systems is network infrastructure. While networking forms the backbone of such systems, it is often the invisible partner to storage and computing resources. We propose to integrate Network Elements directly into distributed systems through the workload management layer. There are many reasons for this approach. As the complexity and demand for distributed systems grow, it is important to use existing infrastructure efficiently. For example, one could use network performance measurements in the decision making mechanisms of workload management systems. New advanced technologies allow one to programmatically define network configuration, for example SDN — Software Defined Networks. We will describe how these methods are being used within the PanDA workload management system of the ATLAS collaboration.

The article deals with the modeling of the number of employed population by branches of the economy at the national and regional levels. The lack of targeted distribution of workers in a market economy requires the study of systemic processes in the labor market that lead to different dynamics of the number of employed in the sectors of the economy. In this case, personal strategies for choosing labor activity by economic agents become important. The presence of different strategies leads to the emergence of strata in the labor market with a dynamically changing number of employees, unevenly distributed among the sectors of the economy. As a result, non-linear fluctuations in the number of employed population can be observed, the toolkit of agentbased modeling is relevant for the study of the fluctuations. In the article, we examined in-phase and anti-phase fluctuations in the number of employees by economic activity on the example of the Jewish Autonomous Region in Russia. The fluctuations found in the time series of statistical data for 2008–2016. We show that such fluctuations appear by age groups of workers. In view of this, we put forward a hypothesis that the agent in the labor market chooses a place of work by a strategy, related with his age group. It directly affects the distribution of the number of employed for different cohorts and the total number of employed in the sectors of the economy. The agent determines the strategy taking into account the socio-economic characteristics of the branches of the economy (different levels of wages, working conditions, prestige of the profession). We construct a basic agentoriented model of a three-branch economy to test the hypothesis. The model takes into account various strategies of economic agents, including the choice of the highest wages, the highest prestige of the profession and the best working conditions by the agent. As a result of numerical experiments, we show that the availability of various industry selection strategies and the age preferences of employers within the industry lead to periodic and complex dynamics of the number of different-aged employees. Age preferences may be a consequence, for example, the requirements of employer for the existence of work experience and education. Also, significant changes in the age structure of the employed population may result from migration.

The paper presents a comparative analysis of the enterprises of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZ RF) on economic indicators in accordance with the rating of the Polar index. This study includes numerical data of 193 enterprises located in the AZ RF. Machine learning methods are applied, both standard, from open source, and own original methods — the method of Optimally Reliable Partitions (ORP), the method of Statistically Weighted Syndromes (SWS). Held split, indicating the maximum value of the functional quality, this study used the simplest family of different one-dimensional partition with a single boundary point, as well as a collection of different two-dimensional partition with one boundary point on each of the two combining variables. Permutation tests allow not only to evaluate the reliability of the data of the revealed regularities, but also to exclude partitions with excessive complexity from the set of the revealed regularities. Patterns connected the class number and economic indicators are revealed using the SDT method on one-dimensional indicators. The regularities which are revealed within the framework of the simplest one-dimensional model with one boundary point and with significance not worse than p < 0.001 are also presented in the given study. The so-called sliding control method was used for reliable evaluation of such diagnostic ability. As a result of these studies, a set of methods that had sufficient effectiveness was identified. The collective method based on the results of several machine learning methods showed the high importance of economic indicators for the division of enterprises in accordance with the rating of the Polar index. Our study proved and showed that those companies that entered the top Rating of the Polar index are generally recognized by financial indicators among all companies in the Arctic Zone. However it would be useful to supplement the list of indicators with ecological and social criteria.

This work is devoted to the analysis of conformational changes in tubulin dimers and tetramers, in particular, the assessment of the bending of microtubule protofilaments. Three recently exploited approaches for estimating the bend of tubulin protofilaments are reviewed: (1) measurement of the angle between the vector passing through the H7 helices in $\alpha$ and $\beta$ tubulin monomers in the straight structure and the same vector in the curved structure of tubulin; (2) measurement of the angle between the vector, connecting the centers of mass of the subunit and the associated GTP nucleotide, and the vector, connecting the centers of mass of the same nucleotide and the adjacent tubulin subunit; (3) measurement of the three rotation angles of the bent tubulin subunit relative to the straight subunit. Quantitative estimates of the angles calculated at the intra- and inter-dimer interfaces of tubulin in published crystal structures, calculated in accordance with the three metrics, are presented. Intra-dimer angles of tubulin in one structure, measured by the method (3), as well as measurements by this method of the intra-dimer angles in different structures, were more similar, which indicates a lower sensitivity of the method to local changes in tubulin conformation and characterizes the method as more robust. Measuring the angle of curvature between H7-helices (method 1) produces somewhat underestimated values of the curvature per dimer. Method (2), while at first glance generating the bending angle values, consistent the with estimates of curved protofilaments from cryoelectron microscopy, significantly overestimates the angles in the straight structures. For the structures of tubulin tetramers in complex with the stathmin protein, the bending angles calculated with all three metrics varied quite significantly for the first and second dimers (up to 20% or more), which indicates the sensitivity of all metrics to slight variations in the conformation of tubulin dimers within these complexes. A detailed description of the procedures for measuring the bending of tubulin protofilaments, as well as identifying the advantages and disadvantages of various metrics, will increase the reproducibility and clarity of the analysis of tubulin structures in the future, as well as it will hopefully make it easier to compare the results obtained by various scientific groups.