Mathematical models of the battle between parties for electorate or between companies for markets

A model of optimization of strategies for any number of political parties (companies) in election (advertising) campaigns is proposed. We formulated the problem of choosing an optimal strategy for allocating scarce resources among regions (markets) in which political parties (companies) have different influences. The optimization model is analyzed and the existence of a unique solution is proved for different functions of dependencies between investments and winning. An analytical solution to the model is found for the case of two parties (companies). A direction for further development is the study of the sensitivity of an optimal solution to model parameters and formation of a stochastic model.     

Technological indicators of different schemes for accumulating heat in soil

Results from analyzing the operation of heat exchangers for accumulating heat in soil are presented. Indicators characterizing their performance when placed in the accumulating strata in single-and group-wise manners are compared.     

Hybrid Static and Magnetic-Pulsed Loading in Sheet Stamping

Russian Engineering Research - In new hybrid sheet-stamping technologies, the workpiece is subjected simultaneously to static and magnetic-pulse loading. To that end, inductors connected to a...     

Investigation into the state of metal during radial-shear rolling on a SRVP-130 mill

Radial-shear rolling (RSR) plays an important role in the production of titanium alloys in OAO VSMPO-AVISMA (Verkhn. Salda), having a number of advantages over other processes of metal formation. A software complex for modeling formation and heat transfer in the metal volume has been developed during this investigation on the basis of engineering computation techniques, and the rolling of a bar of the VT6 alloy with a diameter of 155 mm has been studied using it. The ThemoRSR program, making it possible to image computational data in the Mathcad environment, is developed; rolling is modeled with a DEFORM-3D package; and conditions of its application are shown. Promising methods for measuring the rolling temperature and the torsion torque on a mill spindle are considered.     

MedISys: An early-warning system for the detection of (re-)emerging food- and feed-borne hazards

We evaluated the Medical Information System (MedISys) as an early-warning system for the detection of food- and feed-borne hazards. Nine hazards were selected in the period from January 2007 to March 2009 from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and traced back on MedISys and ProMED-mail. In addition, from January to March 2009, food- and feed-borne (re-)emerging hazards were monitored on MedISys and traced back on ProMED-mail and RASFF. MedISys has demonstrated to be an effective early-warning system for food- and feed-borne hazards. However, further customization is required to improve its sensitivity, in particular by increasing the number of multi-lingual categories related to food and feed items. MedISys tended to detect food- and feed-borne hazards earlier and more frequently than ProMED-mail, but the information from both systems was often complementary.     

Thermal Evolution of Solid Products Derived from Germanium-Containing Preceramic Polymer

The products formed during thermolysis of poly(germasilethyne) have been studied within temperature range 20–1600°C by means of Raman spectroscopy, XRD and EDS analysis, and SEM analysis. The evolution of solid products derived from poly(germasilethyne) as a function of heat-treatment temperature passes through several stages. At earlier stages the cross-linking of polymer molecules and the formation of rigid three-dimensional network occur. The particularity of the first stage of thermal transformation of poly(germasilethyne) in comparison with silicon analogue is not only the formation of the skeleton in the solid phase but also the release of disordered carbon phase. The stage of intensive thermal decomposition of germanium-containing polymer includes the escape of gaseous products, the formation of strongly disordered carbon, amorphous covalent silicon–germanium-carbon network and germanium as inorganic phase (most likely Si_1–x–yGe_xC_y). High-temperature treatment results in the evaporation of germanium, the formation and ordering of carbon and -SiC phases. The presence of germanium in the products of thermolysis of polymer leads to a faster growth of the oxides during exposition of thermolyzed polymer to air at high temperatures.     

Effect of fluorinated substituents on hydrodynamic and conformational properties of hyperbranched polycarbosilane in solutions

Fractions of hyperbranched polycarbosilane modified with fluorine-containing end groups are studied by the methods of molecular hydrodynamics and optics in dilute solutions in hexafluorobenzene, methyl tert-butyl ether, chloroform, tetrahydrofurane, and toluene. The results are compared with the data available for the original polymethylallylcarbosilane. The incorporation of fluorinated groups leads to a change in the hydrodynamic parameters of the hyperbranched polymer. In this case, in thermodynamically better solvents, the patterns of the molecular-mass dependence of intrinsic viscosity for fluorinated and original hyperbranched polycarbosilanes coincide since the macromolecules of the polymers under comparison are characterized by similar shapes and almost the same hydrodynamic sizes. In a thermodynamically worse solvent (toluene), the above-mentioned changes in hydrodynamic parameters and the character of the molecular-mass dependences are related to compaction of macromolecules and a decrease in their shape asymmetry. This tendency is probably associated with the selectivity of this solvent with respect to the fluorine atom.