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The article considers a mathematical model of decomposition of a complex product into assembly units. This is an important engineering problem, which affects the organization of discrete production and its operational management. A review of modern approaches to mathematical modeling and automated computer-aided of decompositions is given. In them, graphs, networks, matrices, etc. serve as mathematical models of structures of technical systems. These models describe the mechanical structure as a binary relation on a set of system elements. The geometrical coordination and integrity of machines and mechanical devices during the manufacturing process is achieved by means of basing. In general, basing can be performed on several elements simultaneously. Therefore, it represents a variable arity relation, which can not be correctly described in terms of binary mathematical structures. A new hypergraph model of mechanical structure of technical system is described. This model allows to give an adequate formalization of assembly operations and processes. Assembly operations which are carried out by two working bodies and consist in realization of mechanical connections are considered. Such operations are called coherent and sequential. This is the prevailing type of operations in modern industrial practice. It is shown that the mathematical description of such operation is normal contraction of an edge of the hypergraph. A sequence of contractions transforming the hypergraph into a point is a mathematical model of the assembly process. Two important theorems on the properties of contractible hypergraphs and their subgraphs proved by the author are presented. The concept of $s$-hypergraphs is introduced. $S$-hypergraphs are the correct mathematical models of mechanical structures of any assembled technical systems. Decomposition of a product into assembly units is defined as cutting of an $s$-hypergraph into $s$-subgraphs. The cutting problem is described in terms of discrete mathematical programming. Mathematical models of structural, topological and technological constraints are obtained. The objective functions are proposed that formalize the optimal choice of design solutions in various situations. The developed mathematical model of product decomposition is flexible and open. It allows for extensions that take into account the characteristics of the product and its production.

An isolated system, which possesses a discrete set of microscopic states, is considered. The system performs spontaneous random transitions between the microstates. Kinetic equations for the probabilities of the system staying in various microstates are formulated. A general dimensionless expression for entropy of such a system, which depends on the probability distribution, is considered. Two problems are stated: 1) to study the effect of possible unequal probabilities of different microstates, in particular, when the system is in its internal equilibrium, on the system entropy value, and 2) to study the kinetics of microstate probability distribution and entropy evolution of the system in nonequilibrium states. The kinetics for the rates of transitions between the microstates is assumed to be first-order. Two variants of the effects of possible nonequiprobability of the microstates are considered: i) the microstates form two subgroups the probabilities of which are similar within each subgroup but differ between the subgroups, and ii) the microstate probabilities vary arbitrarily around the point at which they are all equal. It is found that, under a fixed total number of microstates, the deviations of entropy from the value corresponding to the equiprobable microstate distribution are extremely small. The latter is a rigorous substantiation of the known hypothesis about the equiprobability of microstates under the thermodynamic equilibrium. On the other hand, based on several characteristic examples, it is shown that the structure of random transitions between the microstates exerts a considerable effect on the rate and mode of the establishment of the system internal equilibrium, on entropy time dependence and expression of the entropy production rate. Under definite schemes of these transitions, there are possibilities of fast and slow components in the transients and of the existence of transients in the form of damped oscillations. The condition of universality and stability of equilibrium microstate distribution is that for any pair of microstates, a sequence of transitions should exist, which provides the passage from one microstate to next, and, consequently, any microstate traps should be absent.

We present a novel model for the dynamical trap of the stimulus – response type that mimics human control over dynamic systems when the bounded capacity of human cognition is a crucial factor. Our focus lies on scenarios where the subject modulates a control variable in response to a certain stimulus. In this context, the bounded capacity of human cognition manifests in the uncertainty of stimulus perception and the subsequent actions of the subject. The model suggests that when the stimulus intensity falls below the (blurred) threshold of stimulus perception, the subject suspends the control and maintains the control variable near zero with accuracy determined by the control uncertainty. As the stimulus intensity grows above the perception uncertainty and becomes accessible to human cognition, the subject activates control. Consequently, the system dynamics can be conceptualized as an alternating sequence of passive and active modes of control with probabilistic transitions between them. Moreover, these transitions are expected to display hysteresis due to decision-making inertia.

Generally, the passive and active modes of human control are governed by different mechanisms, posing challenges in developing efficient algorithms for their description and numerical simulation. The proposed model overcomes this problem by introducing the dynamical trap of the stimulus-response type, which has a complex structure. The dynamical trap region includes two subregions: the stagnation region and the hysteresis region. The model is based on the formalism of stochastic differential equations, capturing both probabilistic transitions between control suspension and activation as well as the internal dynamics of these modes within a unified framework. It reproduces the expected properties in control suspension and activation, probabilistic transitions between them, and hysteresis near the perception threshold. Additionally, in a limiting case, the model demonstrates the capability of mimicking a similar subject’s behavior when (1) the active mode represents an open-loop implementation of locally planned actions and (2) the control activation occurs only when the stimulus intensity grows substantially and the risk of the subject losing the control over the system dynamics becomes essential.

The article proposes a method of joint analysis of multidimensional financial time series based on the evaluation of the set of properties of stock quotes in a sliding time window and the subsequent averaging of property values for all analyzed companies. The main purpose of the analysis is to construct measures of joint behavior of time series reacting to the occurrence of a synchronous or coherent component. The coherence of the behavior of the characteristics of a complex system is an important feature that makes it possible to evaluate the approach of the system to sharp changes in its state. The basis for the search for precursors of sharp changes is the general idea of increasing the correlation of random fluctuations of the system parameters as it approaches the critical state. The increments in time series of stock values have a pronounced chaotic character and have a large amplitude of individual noises, against which a weak common signal can be detected only on the basis of its correlation in different scalar components of a multidimensional time series. It is known that classical methods of analysis based on the use of correlations between neighboring samples are ineffective in the processing of financial time series, since from the point of view of the correlation theory of random processes, increments in the value of shares formally have all the attributes of white noise (in particular, the “flat spectrum” and “delta-shaped” autocorrelation function). In connection with this, it is proposed to go from analyzing the initial signals to examining the sequences of their nonlinear properties calculated in time fragments of small length. As such properties, the entropy of the wavelet coefficients is used in the decomposition into the Daubechies basis, the multifractal parameters and the autoregressive measure of signal nonstationarity. Measures of synchronous behavior of time series properties in a sliding time window are constructed using the principal component method, moduli values of all pairwise correlation coefficients, and a multiple spectral coherence measure that is a generalization of the quadratic coherence spectrum between two signals. The shares of 16 large Russian companies from the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2016 were studied. Using the proposed method, two synchronization time intervals of the Russian stock market were identified: from mid-December 2013 to mid- March 2014 and from mid-October 2014 to mid-January 2016.

Mechanical unfolding of two identical in structure but differ in their amino acid sequences immunoglobulinbinding domains of proteins L and G under the action of external forces have been investigating  using the method of molecular dynamics with explicit model of solvent. Mechanical characteristics of these proteins have been calculated. It has been shown that in the way of the mechanical unfolding of both proteins appear intermediate states. Calculations revealed three significantly different ways of mechanical unfolding of proteins L and G.

Database to store, search and retrieve DNA physical properties profiles has been developed and its use for analysis of E. coli promoters has been demonstrated. Unique feature of the database is in its ability to handle whole profile as single internal object type in a way similar to integers or character strings. To demonstrate utility of such database it was populated with data of 1227 known promoters, their nucleotide sequence, profile of electrostatic potential, transcription factor binding sites. Each promoter is also connected to all genes, whose transcription is controlled by that promoter. Content of the database is available for search via web interface. Source code of profile datatype and library to work with it from R/Bioconductor are available from the internet, dump of the database is available from authors by request.

The paper reviews possibilities to predict buckling of thin cylindrical shells with non-destructive techniques during operation. It studies shallow shells made of high strength materials. Such structures are known for surface displacements exceeding the thickness of the elements. In the explored shells relaxation oscillations of significant amplitude can be generated even under relatively low internal stresses. The problem of the cylindrical shell oscillation is mechanically and mathematically modeled in a simplified form by conversion into an ordinary differential equation. To create the model, the researches of many authors were used who studied the geometry of the surface formed after buckling (postbuckling behavior). The nonlinear ordinary differential equation for the oscillating shell matches the well-known Duffing equation. It is important that there is a small parameter before the second time derivative in the Duffing equation. The latter circumstance enables making a detailed analysis of the obtained equation and describing the physical phenomena — relaxation oscillations — that are unique to thin high-strength shells.

It is shown that harmonic oscillations of the shell around the equilibrium position and stable relaxation oscillations are defined by the bifurcation point of the solutions to the Duffing equation. This is the first point in the Feigenbaum sequence to convert the stable periodic motions into dynamic chaos. The amplitude and the period of relaxation oscillations are calculated based on the physical properties and the level of internal stresses within the shell. Two cases of loading are reviewed: compression along generating elements and external pressure.

It is highlighted that if external forces vary in time according to the harmonic law, the periodic oscillation of the shell (nonlinear resonance) is a combination of slow and stick-slip movements. Since the amplitude and the frequency of the oscillations are known, this fact enables proposing an experimental facility for prediction of the shell buckling with non-destructive techniques. The following requirement is set as a safety factor: maximum load combinations must not cause displacements exceeding specified limits. Based on the results of the experimental measurements a formula is obtained to estimate safety against buckling (safety factor) of the structure.

In present work we used the methods of molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemistry to study the concept, according to which aspartic and glutamic residues play a key role in initiation of helix formation in oligopeptides. It has been shown, that the first turn of the alpha-helix can be organized from various amino acid sequences with Asp and Glu residues on the N-terminus. Thermodynamic properties of such a process were analyzed. The obtained results do not interfere with known experimental and statistical data and they substantially elaborate present views on the processes of early peptide folding stages.

Recently we have developed a new method for studying DNA based on ultrasound - induced cleavage of DNA sugar-phosphate backbone. Relative cleavage rates of the phosphodiester bonds in all 16 dinucleotides have been determined. The increased amount of data sampling (of more than 20 000 nucleotides) made it also possible to obtain cleavage rates in all 256 possible tetranucleotides. These values quantitatively characterize sequence effects on conformational dynamics of DNA sugar phosphate backbone. Same type of DNA heterogeneity have been discovered and studied using its chemical cleavage induced by various chemical agents and DNAse I. The presence of essential heterogeneity in structural properties of DNA might be a key for physical mapping of the genomes, i.e. determining the structural profiles being responsible for DNA recognition by gene expression regulation machinery.

It is known that in the native state the DNA molecule always contains some amount of locally unwound regions, often called the open states of DNA. It is believed that these states play an important role in DNA-protein recognition and that the study of the open states dynamics may shed further light on the mechanisms of regulation of transcription and replication. In this paper we consider the effect of the thermostat on the movement of the open states in the artificial sequence consisting of four homogeneous regions. We construct the energetic profile of the sequence and investigate the trajectories of the movement of the open states under the action of a random force.