Rational Conditions Research Articles

Two-parametric game-theoretic model of concession in communal heating

In this study, we propose to model the operation of a service concession arrangement in the economic area of municipal heat supply utilities. We offer a scheme of interaction between the concedent and concessionaire in this concessionary arrangement. Currently, the existing regulations regarding the temperature of coolant focusses on the daily average outdoor temperature, and the determination of a “normative” demand for heat energy. On any day of the heating period, this demand is a random variable, whose distribution can be described through the distribution of daily average air temperature.
 In our model, heat energy is paid for at a fixed price, and the concessionaire pays a penalty for each unit of unsatisfied normative demand. The price and penalty values are the concession parameters, and are determined by the concedent. The concedent’s goal is to minimise the thermal energy cost; the concessionaire’s purpose is to maximise profit. The interaction is formalised as a two-move game model. First, the concedent determines the price and the value of the penalty. Then the concessionaire selects the capacity to be created. The concession’s parameters should be set so that the individual rationality and incentive compatibility conditions are met.
 Our results prove the existence of Stackelberg equilibrium, and we derive the relevant formulas for computing its parameters. In equilibrium, the optimum capacity for the concessionaire provides a sufficient probability of meeting demand. The price of thermal energy is minimal under this condition. We also formulate a one-parameter model (thermal energy price as a parameter), which is based on a typical concession scheme. In the two-parameter model, the equilibrium capacity and price do not exceed the corresponding parameters of the one-parameter model. The main advantage of the two-parameter model is an “embedded” economic mechanism that prevents the concessionaire’s opportunistic behaviour. By contrast, in the one-parameter model there is no such mechanism.
 The proposed approach can be applied to a concession for the production of any good or service, provided the concerned parties are interested in the availability and reliability of meeting a corresponding need, which may be described as a random variable. However, typical concession schemes do not penalise unsatisfied demand, so the implementation of our two-parametric model is possible only after modification of the pertinent concession legislation.

Influence of colloid-chemical state of solutions on fluorescence and spectrophotometry analytical signals of surfactants in reaction with eosin Y

The regularities of the influence of the colloid-chemical state on the analytical signal of cationic surfactants in solutions of associates with the counterion have been investigated. These studies have carried out to create rational conditions for the determination of organic cations using analytical systems with reduced influence of colloidal aggregation of analytical forms. The significant influence of turbidity of solutions on the magnitude of the fluorescence and spectrophotometry analytical signal of cationic surfactants in the association reaction with eosin Y and the accuracy of its measurement has been shown. Herewith, the maximum value of turbidity corresponds to the formation of the reagent–cationic surfactant electroneutral associate and the minimum value of turbidity coincides with the formation of the charged associate. It has been shown that the minimal turbidity of aqueous solutions of reagent–cationic surfactant associates of different hydrophobicity corresponds to the formation of associates of the smallest size. The influence of the colloid-chemical state on the analytical signal of cationic surfactants in solutions of associates with the reagent in the presence of Triton X-100 has been investigated to eliminate the negative effects of colloidal aggregation. The non-ionic surfactant concentration dependences made it possible to trace the largest changes of the scattering factor when adding Triton X-100 to the solution in the field of stoichiometric molar ratios of the associate’s components. It has been found that non-ionic surfactants of the Triton X-100 type eliminate the influence of turbidity and scattering factor on the analytical signal of cationic surfactants.

Common fixed points of fuzzy maps under nonexpansive type condition

In this paper, we obtain a common fixed-point theorem for a sequence of fuzzy mappings satisfying a rational contractive condition involving nonexpansive mapping.

Abduction as a Method of Inductive Metaphysics

Abstract Like scientific theories, metaphysical theories can and should be justified by the inference of creative abduction (sec. 1–2). Two rationality conditions are proposed that distinguish scientific from speculative abductions: achievement of unification and independent testability (sec. 3). Particularly important in science is common cause abduction (sec. 4). The justification of metaphysical realism is structurally similar to scientific abductions: external objects are justified as common causes of perceptual experiences (sec. 6). While the reliability of common cause abduction is entailed by a principle of (Markov) causality (sec. 5), the latter principle has an abductive justification based on statistical phenomena (sec. 7).

EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATION OF CUTTING RESISTANCE STRENGTH AT ASPHALT CONCRETE DESTRUCTION WITH A SINGLE CUTTING ELEMENT

Introduction. The article is devoted to the research results on cutting resistance of a road asphalt concrete in the process of the removal of worn coatings by the working elements of milling machines. The relevance of the work is due to the occurring of new brands of asphalt concrete alongside with the use of new types of cutting elements, for which it is difficult to predict the load on the working element when solving the problems of designing new ones and substantiation the operating conditions of the current machines. The purpose. The objective of the study of the interaction of a single cutting element of a road mill with a material at the best fit of speed and geometric parameters of a cutting process with real machines is solved.Materials and methods. The experimental work was carried out by determining the tangential component of a cutting resistance strength, as well as the work of this strength on a pendulum desk using a unit recording equipment. Four different types of asphalt concrete were being destroyed. A two-factor experiment was conducted for each type of the material. The tangential components of a cutting resistance strength depending on the thickness of the cut chips and the temperature of the material were evaluated.Results. As a result of the experiment, the data were obtained that make it possible to reasonably determine the loads on the teeth of road milling machines, to determine a power capacity of the process and the drive power of the working element. It was found that the growth of the tangential component to a cutting resistance strength occurs quite intensively alongside with an increase in the thickness of the cut chips, only at the initial stages of the penetration of the cutter. With an increase in the thickness of the cut chips, the growth of the tangential component to a cutting resistance strength does not occur so intensively. In all cases the temperature of the material has an impact on the value of a cutting resistance strength, but this effect is less significant for asphalt concrete with a higher crushed stone content.Discussion and conclusion. The obtained data make it possible not only to determine the tangential strength to cutting resistance on the cutting elements of the working element of the milling machine, but also to find rational ways to place the cutting elements on the working element, as well as to determine the rational operation conditions of the current and new machines. This is possible when using the results in a mathematical model that describes the operation of the milling working element as a whole.Financial transparency: the authors have no financial interest in the presented materials or methods. There is no conflict of interest.

Obtaining and characterization of modified mannan from the coffee sludge

Mannans are polysaccharides of natural origin. Their main chain consists of residues of D-mannose. They have an immunomodulatory effect, able to induce macrophage activation, inhibit tumor growth and virus development, normalize blood cholesterol, etc. Manooligosaccharides are effective prebiotics The main way to obtain mannan is to extract their alkaline solutions. This makes it impossible to use this polysaccharide in food technologe. This study proposes a biotechnological method of producing water-soluble mannan from coffee sludge. As a source of mannan used a by-product of obtaining instant coffee at the Odessa Combine Food Concentrates which is formed in the processing of coffee beans Arabica. The chemical composition of this coffee sludge was investigated. It is dominated by water-insoluble carbohydrates which are represented by hemicellulose polysaccharides and cellulose. Analysis of the monosaccharide composition of hemicelluloses showed that the hydrolyzate contains mannose, glucose and galactose residues in a ratio of 6: 0,5: 3., which may indicate the presence of galactomannan in their composition. The developed method involves the treatment of the coffee sludge with enzyme preparation with beta-mannanase activity. The process was carried out in aqueous medium at temperature 50 °C, varying the hydromodule in the range of 30… 50, the ratio of enzyme: substrate (1:25, 1:50 and 1:100) for 24…72 hours. This study presents the characteristics of the monomer composition and molecular weight distribution of polysaccharide samples obtained in this way. Only mannose was found in the hydrolyzate of water-soluble mannan. The rational conditions of enzymatic processing of raw materials are determined. The modified mannan is soluble in water. It contains the highest number of target fragments with a molecular weight of about 20 kDa which are considered to be the most physiologically active. Subsequently the modified mannan can be used in nanotechnology functional food ingredients and dietary supplements.

Rational evaluation of human serum albumin coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles for xenogenic-free stem cell therapies

The supplementation of stem cell culture medium with fetal bovine serum (FBS) for maintenance and propagation of cell lines in vitro is associated with immunogenicity and disease transmission by prions, bacteria, and viruses. Therefore, establishing xenogenic-free cell culture media for the benefit of rational testing conditions for stem cells in terms of eliminating the disadvantages is essential. In parallel, a number of investigations have been carried out on nanoparticle (NP) aided stem cell-based therapies. To use NP-integrated stem cell therapy in clinical applications, NP behavior in xenogenic-free stem cell cultures needs to be understood in detail. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) are profusely used in biomedical applications and have also shown great potential in stem cell therapies. One of the strategies to make them compatible with stem cell therapy is to alter their surface functionalization. In line with this notion, the main interest of the present investigation was to study the impact of human serum albumin (HSA) association with differently surface-modified MSN, and rationalize the MSN utilization in xenogenic-free stem cell culture by employing C2C12 myogenic progenitor cells as a model system. Our results revealed that HSA coating on differently surface-modified MSN is a promising strategy to improve the colloidal stability of MSN, stem cell viability, and imparts no adverse effects on the differentiation of stem cells.

Model Operational Matrix for the Betterment of Ruthenium As a Catalyst for the Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Reaction to Ammonia in Aqueous Electrolytes

Ammonia (NH3), as a green energy carrier, potential transportation fuel and chemical for fertilizer synthesis, plays an indispensable role in the agricultural, plastic, pharmaceutical and textile industries1. Industrially, NH3 manufacturing is dominated by the Haber–Bosch (HB) process, which consumes more than 2% of the global energy supply, and releases 1.87 tons of greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), per 1 ton of NH3 2. This energy-intensive process is also inefficient and relatively low conversion ratio are achieved due to unfavorable chemical equilibrium 3. Hence, it is of great significance to develop alternative routes for more efficient N2 fixation under milder conditions. Recently, a worldwide gold rush has been triggered, and many pioneering methods are being investigated to convert N2 to NH3, including biological catalysis 4, photocatalysis 5,6and electrocatalysis 2,7. Particularly, electrochemical reduction of N2 to NH3 is thermodynamically predicted to be more energy efficient than the HB process by about 20% 7,8 . An electrochemical process could also provide the benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emission as the source of H2 is the electrolysis of water molecules instead of natural gas. With this scenario, ammonia would be synthesized in a carbon-neutral manner if renewable electrical energy is used.In the electrochemical N2 reduction reaction (NRR) system, though electrocatalysts are the paramount components, a rational cell design, synthesize and operation conditions are very vital 4. Most of recent studies have looked on a single parameter (or two) such as catalyst morphology, catalyst deposition and loading, nitrogen reduction potential or type, temperature, pressure and components of cell and electrolytes. However, the fact that NRR and catalyst deposition is a multistep process, sampled parameters study might not provide sufficient information about the actual electrocatalytic process. Therefore, our group tried to determine the best working conditions and ways of designing NRR experiments in order to draw conclusions on the process efficiency in terms of charge used and NH3 yield. In the present study, electrochemically deposited Ru metal catalysts have been investigated. It is found that in ambient reaction conditions and in highly concentrated electrolytes, a Faradic Efficiency as high as 1.2 % can be reached by optimizing the Ru deposition morphology and deposition time (loading), as well as the NRR potential, nature of cation/anion exchange membranes and size of the counter cations in the electrolyte. This is a 4-fold improvement compared to the maximum efficiency reported 4 with the same catalyst (< 0.3 %).

Fixed Point Theorem for Set Valued Mapping with Rational Condition

In this paper, we generalized the principle of Banach contractive to the relative formula and then used this formula to prove that the set valued mapping has a fixed point in a complete partial metric space. We also showed that the set-valued mapping can have a fixed point in a complete partial metric space without satisfying the contraction condition. Additionally, we justified an example for our proof.

Evaluating Collapse Fragility Curves for Existing Buildings Retrofitted Using Seismic Isolation

Few studies have investigated so far the collapse capacity of buildings with base-isolation. In such studies, preliminary considerations have been drawn based on a number of assumptions regarding: (i) the methodology used for assessing the collapse capacity, (ii) the collapse conditions and failure modes assumed for both superstructure and isolation system, and (iii) the numerical modeling assumptions. The main results pointed out that the collapse conditions of base-isolated buildings may occur for intensity levels slightly higher than those associated with the design earthquake. In this paper, further developments are made through the use of enhanced models for the description of the behavior of a rubber-based isolation system and the assumption of more rational collapse conditions. Collapse fragility functions, in terms of mean and dispersion values, are proposed for two archetypes representative of existing buildings retrofitted using the seismic isolation technique. The collapse margin ratio (median collapse capacity Sa,C, namely the spectral acceleration associated to a probability of exceedance equal to 50%, divided by the design spectral acceleration at the collapse prevention limit state) has been evaluated for each examined case-study. Values ranging from 1.10 to 1.45 were found.

Contracts for Joint Downlink and Uplink Traffic Offloading With Asymmetric Information

Motivating the potential offloading nodes (PONs) to cooperate with the offloading request nodes (ORNs) is an essential issue of traffic offloading in 5G. Nevertheless, in the coupled traffic offloading case where the PONs' uplink and downlink channel state information (CSI) of both the access and fronthault links is unknown to the ORNs, it is very difficult for the ORNs to provide an appropriate reward which is consistent with the PONs' effort. In this paper, we propose a contract-based framework to tackle this challenge, where the PONs are agents characterized by a two-tuple type, while the ORNs are the principles providing contracts in the form of (offloading quality, monetary reward). Since it is a tradeoff between offloading quality and monetary reward, when designing the contract, the ORN integrates these two factors into the offloading utility function, and then optimizes the utility under the constraints of individual rationality and incentive compatibility conditions. Through mathematical analysis, the necessary and sufficient conditions of the formulated problem for the one-ORN scenario is simplified. Then a gradient descent algorithm is proposed to find the optimal solutions, i.e., the optimal contract. Furthermore, the study on the PON cooperation stimulation problem is extended to the multi-ORN scenario, where the decision-making process of the ORNs and the PONs is formulated into a matching game. To find the stable solution to the matching game, a revised deferred acceptance algorithm is proposed and then proved to be convergent and have low computational complexity. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme achieves higher offloading utility and energy efficiency compared with the existing schemes.

Определение рациональных параметров акустической обработки с целью активации пивных дрожжей

В бродильных производствах, в частности, в пивоварении актуальными являются задачи повышения бродильной активности дрожжей и/или интенсификация накопления их биомассы. Для ее решения в настоящее время предлагаются различные способы, одним из которых может быть предварительная обработка волновыми или полевыми воздействиями. Ранее в наших исследованиях была показана принципиальная возможность интенсификации развития дрожжевых популяций за счет предварительной обработки звуком слышимого диапазона. Данная статья посвящена изучению влияния параметров акустической обработки на такие характеристики процесса культивирования дрожжей, как прирост общего титра клеток, доля нежизнеспособных клеток, убыль веса среды культивирования. Определяли эффективность обработки засевных дрожжей Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Saflager W34/70) звуком слышимого диапазона, варьируя следующие параметры акустического воздействия: частоту звука, продолжительность обработки, амплитуду, расстояние от источника звука до обрабатываемого объекта (навески сухих дрожжей). Обработанными и необработанными звуком дрожжами засевали модельные среды (стерилизованные 5 %-ные растворы сахарозы) и вели культивирование при комнатной температуре без принудительного перемешивания в течение 4 сут. Сразу после засева и ежедневно в процессе культивирования определяли контролируемые показатели. На основании полученных результатов был сделан вывод о том, что предварительная акустическая обработка, проведенная в рациональных условиях, позволяет увеличить прирост общего титра дрожжевых клеток и степень утилизации компонентов питательной среды при сохранении процента нежизнеспособных клеток на уровне контроля. Это создало предпосылки для апробации предлагаемого способа активации пивных дрожжей в условиях, приближенных к производственным.

A coupled fixed point theorem for maps satisfying rational type contractive condition in dislocated quasi b-metric space

A coupled fixed point theorem for maps satisfying rational type contractive condition in dislocated quasi b-metric space

Development of Conditions of Surface Biosynthesis of Prodigiosin Pigment Serratia marcescens

Background. Prodigiosin is a red pigment produced as a secondary metabolite by Serratia marcescens , characterized with unique tripyrrole structure and exhibits such pharmacological characteristics as antitumor, antimicrobial, antioxidant, immunodepressant, and also used in various branches of biotechnology as a natural dye or marker of petroleum products. However, pigmentation is only present in a small percentage of isolated cultures among different S. marcescens strain, therefore, the effectiveness of biotechnological productivity is primarily determined by the producer strain, as well as the rational conditions for biosynthesis. Pigment production levels are strongly influenced by various factors, such as the set and ratio of the components of the culture medium (concentration of a particular substrate, C:N ratio) and cultivation conditions (temperature, pH). Besides, the use of relatively low-cost substrates is an important condition for reducing financial costs for the production of culture media and increasing the level of biosynthesis of the target product. Therefore, the determination of the influence of the culture medium for the strains of S. marcescens and the identification of the main factors contributing to the accumulation of the pigment prodigiosin to develop biotechnologies for the production of drugs for therapeutic purposes is relevant. Objective. The purpose of the paper is investigation of pigment-forming strain of S. marcescens under cultivation conditions on the surface of solid nutrient media, determination of biochemical features, and rational cultivation conditions that contribute to the accumulation of the pigment prodigiosin. Methods. The strain of S. marcescens isolated from the bentonite clays of Kurtsivskyi deposit (Crimea, Ukraine) was cultured in Petri dishes on solid nutrient media with different temperatures, pH, carbon and nitrogen sources. The influence of various values of the studied factors was established by the level of pigment accumulation, which was determined by the gravimetric method. The acidity of the nutrient medium was determined by the potentiometric method. Results. The influence of the initial pH values of solid nutrient medium, temperature, and various sources of carbon and nitrogen on the accumulation of pigment during the cultivation of the strain S. marcescens was studied. The temperature, pH, and compounds, sources of carbon and nitrogen, favorable for obtaining the pigment, were determined. Conclusions. It was found that the rational parameters for cultivation are the temperature +27–28 °C and the acidity of the nutrient medium of 6–7, and the best sources of carbon and nitrogen for prodigiosin accumulation are glycerin and peptone (as well as casein hydrolysate, yeast extract or ammonium (nitrate) inorganic compounds), respectively.

Вплив орієнтаційного витягування на властивості сумішей поліефірів ПЕТg/ПЕТ

Rational conditions for orientational drawing of PETg/PET polyester blend during processing into tape products are established. Tensile strength and elongation at break for all test specimens were determined according to ISO 527-2: 2012. Tensile modulus - ISO 527-1: 2019, specimen density - PN-EN ISO 1183-1, change of linear dimensions of specimens - ISO 16012: 2015. It was found that the introduction of PET into PETg leads to an increase in tensile strength of the blend, which is probably due to the process of orientational crystallization of PET. When the orientations are higher than 5.5 times in the PETg /PET mixtures, cavitation foaming occurs, which leads to a decrease in the blend density, its turbidity and a decrease in tensile strength. Blends with a high content of PETg have a significant thermal shrinkage, which should be taken into account when processing and applying these polymers. Physical and mechanical properties of PETg/PET polyesters blend with different ratio in the process of orientational stretching are established. The tensile strength increases with the increase drawing ratio for blends with high PET content due to its orientation crystallization. The phenomenon of cavitation foaming in polyester blend with draw ratio more than 5.5 times is found, which is accompanied by a decrease in the density of the samples and their tensile strength. Presence of PETg in PET matrix decrease tensile strength and elongation and significantly increase thermal shrinkage. Low elongation at break found for PETg/PET blend specimen without orientation which increases dramatically with low draw ratios and then decrease with higher drawing ratio. The technological modes of realization of cavitation foaming for the PETg/PET mixture at orientation drawing ratio above 5.5 due to the different phase structure of the components of the mixtures have been established. The introduction of PETg into PET leads to a significant increase in thermal shrinkage and reduces the physical and mechanical performance of oriented products.

Analysis on the Selection of Technological Innovation Mode in Enterprises under Government Subsidy Mechanism Based on Evolutionary Game Theory

Under the conditions of information asymmetry and limited rationality, with the help of the theory of evolutionary economics, an evolutionary game-based mode for selection of innovation pattern in enterprises under government subsidy mechanism is constructed to study the problem of selecting innovation pattern in enterprises under the influence of government policy, and the evolutionary equilibrium strategy of the mode when different parameters change is simulated with MATLAB software. The results indicate that government subsidy, open innovation cost and open innovation revenue are the relational factors affecting the evolutionary game system among enterprises. Therefore, increasing government subsidies for open innovation modes, reducing subsidies for closed innovation, lowering the cost of open innovation and increasing the benefits of open innovation can help guide enterprises to evolve towards open innovation modes.

Application of choline-based deep eutectic solvent for the extraction of crude-oil contaminated soils

ABSTRACT Choline-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have many outstanding features as they are easy to prepare, inexpensive, low-toxic, low volatile, and biodegradable, which make them increasingly attractive in industrial chemistry and green chemistry. In this paper, the abilities of three different kinds of DESs for crude oil removal from contaminated soils were compared and it was found the DES formed by phenylpropionic acid and choline chloride (mole ratio = 2:1) had the best performance. The effects of extraction time, temperature and the solvent–soil ratio on phenylpropionic acid/choline chloride DES performance were evaluated. The rational extraction conditions were recommended as follows: mass ratio of DES to soil was 10:1 and 60 min extraction time at 80°C. The extraction (desorption) process could be described by Freundlich desorption isotherm mode. In addition, the phenylpropionic acid/choline chloride DES could be recycled and the oil removal efficiency was about 90% after 10 cycles. This finding suggested that choline-based DES extraction was a promising technology for crude oil removal from contaminated soil.

Food commodity market under uncertainty: regulation of access and influence on decision making

The article reveals the principles of functioning of food products market in Russia in conditions of uncertainty. The current reality has arisen not only because of the decisions of foreign countries in the field of international trade, but also because of the emergence of threats to the lives of the population through the spread of a particularly dangerous infection throughout the world. Governments of many countries had to accept the new conditions of uncertainty as an objective necessity to reconstruct the economic system, identify weaknesses in the economy and build medium-term plans for the development of trade relations between the countries. The author cites the market of agro-industrial complex as the object of analysis of this research. In the course of the work, the place of Russia in the structure of export and import of food products was considered, the foreign trade balance for the last three years was calculated, and the barriers to entry into the market of food products in the near future were assessed. In conclusion, it is highlighted that the state, by building a sustainable institutional environment under conditions of limited rationality, influences the decisions of the country’s food market participants in order to ensure the competitiveness of the sector of the economy.

Some fixed point theorems on nonlinear contractive mappings in Hilbert space

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to establish the existence and uniqueness of a common fixed point for a pair of continuous self mappings over a closed subset of Hilbert space satisfying certain nonlinear rational type contraction condition. Further this result is extended and generalized for some positive integers powers of a pair of continuous self mappings and then is devolved for a sequence of continuous self mappings in the Hilbert space. Our results generalize and extend many well known results in the literature.

Some Fixed Point Results for Multivalued Mappings in b−Multiplicative and b−Metric Space

The main outcome of this paper is to introduce the notion of Hausdorff b-multiplicative metric space and to present some fixed point results for multivalued mappings in this space. Moreover, we obtain some fixed point results satisfying rational type contractive condition on closed ball for multivalued mappings in b-metric space.The proven results are original in nature.