A Surprise Party (on Your Computer)?

Iv?n Arce of Core Security Technologies looks at the current state of malware and introduces the articles he selected for this special issue.     

Micromechanism of corrosion fracture of the plates of heat exchangers

We have studied the micromechanism of corrosion fracture of heat-transfer plates of a heat exchanger. The operation of heat exchangers under conditions of contamination of the plates with a sediment from water leads to their local corrosion under the sediment. The conditions of operation of the heat exchangers being equal, heat-transfer plates made of AiSi316Ti steel worked 2.36 times as long as those of AiSi304L steel. The corrosion fracture of plates under the sediment began from pitting initiation near nonmetallic inclusions of a certain nature. Afterwards, these pittings built up into corrosion spots by the mechanism of stress corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement. __________ Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 110–116, January–February, 2007.     

Organizing the production of heat-insulating inserts for ingot-mold hot tops

The Zlatoust Metallurgical Plant has developed a technology that employs semi-dry pressing to make two-layer (composite) heat-insulating inserts for ingot-mold hot tops. The working layer is made of a mixture of materials based on quartz sand, while the insulating layer is based on foamed vermiculate. The binders are sodium silicate solution and commercial lignosulfonate with a density of 1.12–1.20 g/cm³.     

Optimal systems for moving-object detection and classification

Translated from Kibernetika i Sistemnyi Analiz, No. 5, pp. 137–145, September–October, 1993.     

Hull-less Barley Varieties: Storage Proteins and Amino Acid Distribution in Relation to Nutritional Quality

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has had an important impact on human nutrition. Hull-less barley is a genetically improved type that has been widely used in recent years. Six Brazilian hull-less barley varieties (IAC-IBON 214-82; IAC 8612-421; IAC 8501-31; IAC 8501-12; IAPAR 39-ACUMAI; IAC 8501-22) were analyzed for storage protein constituents, amino acid contents, and similarity among the hull-less barley varieties. Albumins, globulins, prolamins I and II, and glutelins were extracted and separated by SDS-PAGE. The total protein amino acid contents of the flour were also determined for each variety by TLC and HPLC. Variations in intensity and appearance and disappearance of protein bands were observed among the varieties suggesting genetic variability. However, the amino acid profile did not indicate any major variations in the amino acid concentrations. The high lysine and threonine total concentrations detected in the seeds of the hull-less barley varieties encouraged an investigation into the regulation of amino acid metabolism and storage protein synthesis.     

Distribution of investments in the stock market, information types, and algorithmic complexity

For a simplest mathematical model of a stock market, the problem of optimal distribution of investments among different securities (stocks, bonds, etc.) is considered. Our results, which are obtained in terms of algorithmic complexity, allow to discuss heuristically the properties of sufficiently complex security portfolios in the conditions of daily changing return rates. All considerations are given in the combinatorial framework and do not use any probabilistic models.     

Uncertain fuzzy models and their applications: III. Optimal estimation

The quality-estimation and decision-making criteria based on the values of error possibility likelihood measures, error necessity likelihood, error possibility confidence, and error necessity confidence are considered. The criteria are formulated for the adequacy of an uncertain fuzzy (UF) model and conclusions based on the UF model for the object under investigation and the UF observation model.