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Metal hydrides are an interesting class of chemical compounds that can reversibly bind a large amount of hydrogen and are, therefore, of interest for energy applications. Understanding the factors affecting the kinetics of hydride formation and decomposition is especially important. Features of the material, experimental setup and conditions affect the mathematical description of the processes, which can undergo significant changes during the processing of experimental data. The article proposes a general approach to numerical modeling of the formation and decomposition of metal hydrides and solving inverse problems of estimating material parameters from measurement data. The models are divided into two classes: diffusive ones, that take into account the gradient of hydrogen concentration in the metal lattice, and models with fast diffusion. The former are more complex and take the form of non-classical boundary value problems of parabolic type. A rather general approach to the grid solution of such problems is described. The second ones are solved relatively simply, but can change greatly when model assumptions change. Our experience in processing experimental data shows that a flexible software tool is needed; a tool that allows, on the one hand, building models from standard blocks, freely changing them if necessary, and, on the other hand, avoiding the implementation of routine algorithms. It also should be adapted for high-performance systems of different paradigms. These conditions are satisfied by the HIMICOS library presented in the paper, which has been tested on a large number of experimental data. It allows simulating the kinetics of formation and decomposition of metal hydrides, as well as related tasks, at three levels of abstraction. At the low level, the user defines the interface procedures, such as calculating the time layer based on the previous layer or the entire history, calculating the observed value and the independent variable from the task variables, comparing the curve with the reference. Special algorithms can be used for solving quite general parabolic-type boundary value problems with free boundaries and with various quasilinear (i.e., linear with respect to the derivative only) boundary conditions, as well as calculating the distance between the curves in different metric spaces and with different normalization. This is the middle level of abstraction. At the high level, it is enough to choose a ready tested model for a particular material and modify it in relation to the experimental conditions.

Instrument of numerical-analytical modeling of characteristics of propagation of electromagnetic waves in chaotic space plasma with taking into account effects of gravitation is developed for interpretation of data of measurements of astrophysical precision instruments of new education. The task of propagation of waves in curved (Riemann’s) space is solved in Euclid’s space by introducing of the effective index of refraction of vacuum. The gravitational potential can be calculated for various model of distribution of mass of astrophysical objects and at solution of Poisson’s equation. As a result the effective index of refraction of vacuum can be evaluated. Approximate model of the effective index of refraction is suggested with condition that various objects additively contribute in total gravitational field. Calculation of the characteristics of electromagnetic waves in the gravitational field of astrophysical objects is performed by the approximation of geometrical optics with condition that spatial scales of index of refraction a lot more wavelength. Light differential equations in Euler’s form are formed the basis of numerical-analytical instrument of modeling of trajectory characteristic of waves. Chaotic inhomogeneities of space plasma are introduced by model of spatial correlation function of index of refraction. Calculations of refraction scattering of waves are performed by the approximation of geometrical optics. Integral equations for statistic moments of lateral deviations of beams in picture plane of observer are obtained. Integrals for moments are reduced to system of ordinary differential equations the firsts order with using analytical transformations for cooperative numerical calculation of arrange and meansquare deviations of light. Results of numerical-analytical modeling of trajectory picture of propagation of electromagnetic waves in interstellar space with taking into account impact of gravitational fields of space objects and refractive scattering of waves on inhomogeneities of index of refraction of surrounding plasma are shown. Based on the results of modeling quantitative estimation of conditions of stochastic blurring of the effect of gravitational lensing of electromagnetic waves at various frequency ranges is performed. It’s shown that operating frequencies of meter range of wavelengths represent conditional low-frequency limit for observational of the effect of gravitational lensing in stochastic space plasma. The offered instrument of numerical-analytical modeling can be used for analyze of structure of electromagnetic radiation of quasar propagating through group of galactic.

The article substantiates the need to develop and analyze mathematical models that take into account the mutual influence of long (Kondratiev) waves of economic development. The analysis of the available publications shows that at the model level, the direct and inverse relationships between intersecting long waves are still insufficiently studied. As practice shows, the production of the current long wave can receive an additional impetus for growth from the technologies of the next long wave. The technologies of the next industrial revolution often serve as improving innovations for the industries born of the previous industrial revolution. As a result, the new long wave increases the amplitude of the oscillations of the trajectory of the previous long wave. Such results of the interaction of long waves in the economy are similar to the effects of interference of physical waves. The mutual influence of the recessions and booms of the economies of different countries gives even more grounds for comparing the consequences of this mutual influence with the interference of physical waves. The article presents a model for the development of the technological base of production, taking into account the possibilities of combining old and new technologies. The model consists of several sub-models. The use of a different mathematical description for the individual stages of updating the technological base of production allows us to take into account the significant differences between the successive phases of the life cycle of general purpose technologies, considered in modern literature as the technological basis of industrial revolutions. One of these phases is the period of formation of the appropriate infrastructure necessary for the intensive diffusion of new general purpose technology, for the rapid development of industries using this technology. The model is used for illustrative calculations with the values of exogenous parameters corresponding to the logic of changing long waves. Despite all the conditionality of the illustrative calculations, the configuration of the curve representing the change in the return on capital in the simulated period is close to the configuration of the real trajectory of the return on private fixed assets of the US economy in the period 1982-2019. The factors that remained outside the scope of the presented model, but which are advisable to take into account when describing the interference of long waves of economic development, are indicated.

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.

The early embryos developing in vitro to the blastocyst stage have low implantation potential. In the current work the microinjection was used to evaluate the most viable blastocysts with high implantation ability on the basis of morphology changing. The recovery rate of the embryo volume allows assessing the functional activity of trophoblast cells that involved in implantation. The predictive model is suggested to forecast the development effectiveness of blastocysts in vitro. It’s shown the recovery rate of the blastocyst volume after microinjection is the most important feature of implantation potential of early embryos. The maximal recovery rate of blastocyst volume (35.7 % of initial volume per 1 h) correlates with the embryos ability to generate the colonies 72 h after microinjection. By the area under receiver operator curve (AUC) it was shown that combination of such characteristics as blastocyst stage (middle and late) and recovery rate after microinjection allowed to predict the blastocyst development.

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.

A new method for calculating the initiation and development of narrow local damage zones in specimens and structural elements subjected to various modes cyclic loadings is proposed based on multi regime two criteria model of fatigue fracture. Such narrow zones of damage can be considered as quasi-cracks of two different types, corresponding to the mechanism of normal crack opening and shear.

Numerical simulations that are aimed to reproduce the left and right branches of the full fatigue curves for specimens made from titanium and aluminum alloy and to verify the model. These branches were constructed based on tests results obtained under various modes and cyclic loading schemes. Examples of modeling the development of quasi-cracks for two types (normal opening and shear) under different cyclic loading modes for a plate with a hole as a stress concentrator are given. Under a complex stress state in the proposed multi regime model, a natural implementation of any considered mechanisms for the quasi-cracks development is possible. Quasi-cracks of different types can develop in different parts of the specimen, including simultaneously.

Numerical modeling of shear-induced platelet activation in haemodialysis arteriovenous fistulas was carried out in this work. The goal was to investigate the mechanisms of threshold shear-induced platelet activation in fistulas. For shear-induced platelet activation to take place, shear stress accumulated by platelets along corresponding trajectories in blood flow had to exceed a definite threshold value. The threshold value of cumulative shear stress was supposed to depend on the multimer size of von Willebrand factor macromolecules acting as hydrodynamic sensors for platelets. The effect of arteriovenous fistulas parameters, such as the anastomotic angle, blood flow rate, and the multimer size of von Willebrand factor macromolecules, on platelet activation risk was studied. Parametric diagrams have been constructed that make it possible to distinguish the areas of parameters corresponding to the presence or absence of shear-induced platelet activation. Scaling relations that approximate critical curves on parametric diagrams were obtained. Analysis showed that threshold fistula flow rate is higher for obtuse anastomotic angle than for sharp ones. This means that a fistula with obtuse angle can be used in wider flow rate range without risk of platelet activation. In addition, a study of different anastomosis configurations of arteriovenous fistulas showed that the configuration “end of vein to end of artery” is among the safest. For all the investigated anastomosis configurations, the critical curves on the parametric diagrams were monotonically decreasing functions of von Willebrand factor multimer size. It was shown that fistula flow rate should have a significant impact on the probability of thrombus formation initiation, while the direction of flow through the distal artery did not affect platelet activation. The obtained results allowed to determine the safest fistula configurations with respect to thrombus formation triggering. The authors believe that the results of the work may be of interest to doctors performing surgical operations for creation of arteriovenous fistulas for haemodialysis. In the final section of the work, possible clinical applications of the obtained results by means of mathematical modeling are discussed.

The article analyzes empirical data on the long-term demographic and economic dynamics of the countries of the world for the period from the beginning of the 19th century to the present. Population and GDP of a number of countries of the world for the period 1500–2016 were selected as indicators characterizing the long-term demographic and economic dynamics of the countries of the world. Countries were chosen in such a way that they included representatives with different levels of development (developed and developing countries), as well as countries from different regions of the world (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa). A specially developed mathematical model was used for modeling and data processing. The presented model is an autonomous system of differential equations that describes the processes of socio-economic modernization, including the process of transition from an agrarian society to an industrial and post-industrial one. The model contains the idea that the process of modernization begins with the emergence of an innovative sector in a traditional society, developing on the basis of new technologies. The population is gradually moving from the traditional sector to the innovation sector. Modernization is completed when most of the population moves to the innovation sector.

Statistical methods of data processing and Big Data methods, including hierarchical clustering were used. Using the developed algorithm based on the random descent method, the parameters of the model were identified and verified on the basis of empirical series, and the model was tested using statistical data reflecting the changes observed in developed and developing countries during the period of modernization taking place over the past centuries. Testing the model has demonstrated its high quality — the deviations of the calculated curves from statistical data are usually small and occur during periods of wars and economic crises. Thus, the analysis of statistical data on the long-term demographic and economic dynamics of the countries of the world made it possible to determine general patterns and formalize them in the form of a mathematical model. The model will be used to forecast demographic and economic dynamics in different countries of the world.

The theoretical study of consensus makes it possible to analyze the various situations that social groups that make decisions in this way have to face in real life, abstracting from the specific characteristics of the groups. It is relevant for practice to study the dynamics of a social group consisting of loyal experts who, in the process of seeking consensus, yield to each other. In this case, psychological “traps” such as false consensus or groupthink are possible, which can sometimes lead to managerial decisions with dire consequences.

The article builds a mathematical consensus model for a group of loyal experts based on modeling using regular Markov chains. Analysis of the model showed that with an increase in the loyalty (decrease in authoritarianism) of group members, the time to reach consensus increases exponentially (the number of agreements increases), which is apparently due to the lack of desire among experts to take part of the responsibility for the decision being made. An increase in the size of such a group leads (ceteris paribus):

– to reduce the number of approvals to consensus in the conditions of striving for absolute loyalty of members, i. e. each additional loyal member adds less and less “strength” to the group;

– to a logarithmic increase in the number of approvals in the context of an increase in the average authoritarianism of members. It is shown that in a small group (two people), the time for reaching consensus can increase by more than 10 times compared to a group of 5 or more members), in the group there is a transfer of responsibility for making decisions.

It is proved that in the case of a group of two absolutely loyal members, consensus is unattainable.

A reasonable conclusion is made that consensus in a group of loyal experts is a special (special) case of consensus, since the dependence of the time until consensus is reached on the authoritarianism of experts and their number in the group is described by different curves than in the case of a regular group of experts.