All issues

Kinetics of complex formation between components of the photosynthetic electron transport chain — flavodoxin and membrane complex photosystem I has been studied using computer model based on methods of multiparticle simulation and Brownian dynamics. We simulated Brownian motion of several hundreds of flavodoxin molecules, taking into account electrostatic interactions and complex shape of the molecules. Our model could describe experimental nonmonotonic dependence of the association rate constant for flavodoxin and photosystem I. This lets us conclude that electrostatic interactions are sufficient to form such kind of nonmonotonic dependence.

Cognitive and regulatory processes in organism are ensured by the functioning of several different network systems — neural, endocrine, immune, and gene ones. These systems are, however, closely related and form a single integrated neurogenohumoral cognitive-regulatory dynamic system of organism. A review of publications is given which shows that it is possible to associate with this dynamic system a corresponding Lyapunov function (energy function, potential function) and that analyzing this function allows, due to its geometrical insight, to easily discover a set of general properties of cognitive and regulatory functioning of organism.

Crises in social systems are considered by analogy with phase transitions and the corresponding critical phenomena in «non-living» many-particle physical systems. We present two qualitative physical models: (i) a historical and demographic progress as a gradual condensation of economical domains with an improvement of living conditions, and (ii) the modern economical crisis as a result of a spontaneous «condensation» of assets in a free expansion of the U.S. economy in 1990th and 2000th, reducing a control over large business enterprises formed in this process. The first model explains the observed hyperbolic growth of world population in the I–XX centuries A.D. without any additional assumption while the second model points to the analogy between the economic expansion with a drop of competition, and the expansion of gas into vacuum with a drop of temperature.

New method for calculation of spatial light distribution of differently oriented LEDs is proposed. The main idea is combination of coordinate systems associated with these light sources. Unlike other conventional approaches, this method can be applied to the emitters with light distribution with arbitrary symmetry or without symmetry at all.

The paper has a goal to identify a set of parameters of the environment and infrastructure with the most significant impact on institutional-matrices that dominate in different countries. Parameters of environmental conditions includes raw statistical indices, which were directly derived from the databases of open access, as well as complex integral indicators that were by method of principal components. Efficiency of discussed parameters in task of dominant institutional matrices type recognition (X or Y type) was evaluated by a number of methods based on machine learning. It was revealed that greatest informational content is associated with parameters characterizing risk of natural disasters, level of urbanization and the development of transport infrastructure, the monthly averages and seasonal variations of temperature and precipitation.

It is known that the internal mobility of DNA molecules plays an important role in the functioning of these molecules. This explains the great interest of researchers in studying the internal dynamics of DNA. Complexity, laboriousness and high cost of research in this field stimulate the search and creation of simpler physical analogues, convenient for simulating the various dynamic regimes possible in DNA. One of the directions of such a search is connected with the use of a mechanical analogue of DNA — a chain of coupled pendulums. In this model, pendulums imitate nitrous bases, horizontal thread on which pendulums are suspended, simulates a sugarphosphate chain, and gravitational field simulates a field induced by a second strand of DNA. Simplicity and visibility are the main advantages of the mechanical analogue. However, the model becomes too cumbersome in cases where it is necessary to simulate long (more than a thousand base pairs) DNA sequences. Another direction is associated with the use of an electronic analogue of the DNA molecule, which has no shortcomings of the mechanical model. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using the Josephson line as an electronic analogue. We calculated the coefficients of the direct and indirect transformations for the simple case of a homogeneous, synthetic DNA, the sequence of which contains only adenines. The internal mobility of the DNA molecule was modeled by the sine-Gordon equation for angular vibrations of nitrous bases belonging to one of the two polynucleotide chains of DNA. The second polynucleotide chain was modeled as a certain average field in which these oscillations occur. We obtained the transformation, allowing the transition from DNA to an electronic analog in two ways. The first includes two stages: (1) the transition from DNA to the mechanical analogue (a chain of coupled pendulums) and (2) the transition from the mechanical analogue to the electronic one (the Josephson line). The second way is direct. It includes only one stage — a direct transition from DNA to the electronic analogue.

Base long-term modern scenarios of hydrochemical and temperature regimes of the Sea of Azov were considered. New schemes of modeling mechanisms of algal adaptation to changes in the hydrochemical regime and temperature were proposed. In comparison to the traditional ecological-evolutionary schemes, these models have a relatively small dimension, high speed and allow carrying out various calculations on long-term perspective (evolutionally significant times). Based on the ecology-evolutionary model of the lower trophic levels the impact of these environmental factors on the dynamics and microevolution of algae in the Sea of Azov was estimated. In each scenario, the calculations were made for 100 years, with the final values of the variables and parameters not depending on the choice of the initial values. In the process of such asymptotic computer analysis, it was found that as a result of climate warming and temperature adaptation of organisms, the average annual biomass of thermophilic algae (Pyrrophyta and Cyanophyta) naturally increases. However, for a number of diatom algae (Bacillariophyta), even with their temperature adaptation, the average annual biomass may unexpectedly decrease. Probably, this phenomenon is associated with a toughening of competition between species with close temperature parameters of existence. The influence of the variation in the chemical composition of the Don River’s flow on the dynamics of nutrients and algae of the Sea of Azov was also investigated. It turned out that the ratio of organic forms of nitrogen and phosphorus in sea waters varies little. This stabilization phenomenon will take place for all high-productive reservoirs with low flow, due to autochthonous origin of larger part of organic matter in water bodies of this type.

The article describes the modes with the exacerbation of social and biological history. The analysis of the possible causes of the sharp acceleration of biological and social processes in certain historical periods is carried out. Using mathematical modeling shows that hyperbolic trends in social and biological evolution may be the result of transitional processes in periods of expansion of ecological niches. Accelerating biological speciation due to the fact that its earlier life change inhabitancy, making it more diverse, saturating the organic, thus creating favourable conditions for the emergence of new species. In the social history of the expansion of ecological niches associated with technological revolutions, of which the most important were: Neolithic revolution — the transition from appropriating economy to producing economy (10 thousand years ago), “urban revolution” — a shift from the Neolithic epoch to the bronze epoch (5 thousand years ago), the “axial age” — transition to the development of iron tools (2.5 thousand years ago), the industrial revolution — the transition from manual labor to machine production (200 years ago). All of these technological revolutions have been accompanied by dramatic population growth, changes in social and political spheres. So, observed in the last century, hyperbolic nature of some demographic, economic growth and other indicators of world dynamics is a consequence of the transition process, which began as a result of the industrial revolution and to prepare for the transition of the society to a new stage of its development. Singularity point of hyperbolic trend shows the end of the initial phase of the process and marks the transition to the final stage. The mathematical model describing the demographic and economic changes in the era of change is proposed. It is shown that a direct analogue of the contemporary situation in this sense is the “axial age” (since 8 century BC to the beginning of our era). The existence of this analogy allows you to see into the future by studying the past.

In this paper, we address the mathematical modeling of robots based on tensegrity structures. The pivotal property of such structures is the forming elements working only for compression or tension, which allows the use of materials and structural solutions that minimize the weight of the structure while maintaining its strength.

Tensegrity structures hold several properties important for collaborative robotics, exploration and motion tasks in non-deterministic environments: natural compliance, compactness for transportation, low weight with significant impact resistance and rigidity. The control of such structures remains an open research problem, which is associated with the complexity of describing the dynamics of such structures.

We formulate an approach for describing the dynamics of such structures, based on second-order dynamics of the Cartesian coordinates of structure elements (rods), first-order dynamics for angular velocities of rods, and first-order dynamics for quaternions that are used to describe the orientation of rods. We propose a numerical method for solving these dynamic equations. The proposed methods are implemented in the form of a freely distributed mathematical package with open source code.

Further, we show how the provided software package can be used for modeling the dynamics and determining the operating modes of tensegrity structures. We present an example of a tensegrity structure moving in zero gravity with three rigid rods and nine elastic elements working in tension (cables), showing the features of the dynamics of the structure in reaching the equilibrium position. The range of initial conditions for which the structure operates in the normal mode is determined. The results can be directly used to analyze the nature of passive dynamic movements of the robots based on a three-link tensegrity structure, considered in the paper; the proposed modeling methods and the developed software are suitable for modeling a significant variety of tensegrity robots.

A simple model based on a kinetic-type equation is proposed to describe the spread of a virus in space through the migration of virus carriers from a certain center. The consideration is carried out on the example of three countries for which such a one-dimensional model is applicable: Russia, Italy and Chile. The geographical location of these countries and their elongation in the direction from the centers of infection (Moscow, Milan and Lombardia in general, as well as Santiago, respectively) makes it possible to use such an approximation. The aim is to determine the dynamic density of the infected in time and space. The model is two-parameter. The first parameter is the value of the average spreading rate associated with the transfer of infected moving by transport vehicles. The second parameter is the frequency of the decrease of the infected as they move through the country, which is associated with the passengers reaching their destination, as well as with quarantine measures. The parameters are determined from the actual known data for the first days of the spatial spread of the epidemic. An analytical solution is being built; simple numerical methods are also used to obtain a series of calculations. The geographical spread of the disease is a factor taken into account in the model, the second important factor is that contact infection in the field is not taken into account. Therefore, the comparison of the calculated values with the actual data in the initial period of infection coincides with the real data, then these data become higher than the model data. Those no less model calculations allow us to make some predictions. In addition to the speed of infection, a similar “speed of recovery” is possible. When such a speed is found for the majority of the country's population, a conclusion is made about the beginning of a global recovery, which coincides with real data.