Proactive management in the power industry: Tool support

Increasingly dynamic, non-linear and all too often chaotic changes in the global environment and tougher competition, including at the geopolitical level, call for radical transformations in strategic management of the power industry. The article provides the results of a study into proactive actions of energy company management, which are becoming increasingly important. The article offers a framework of concepts relating to proactive management and sums up ideas of a number of authors on diagnostics of weak signals as possible harbingers of threats to sustainable power industry development. The authors have determined a general approach to mechanisms of threat identification and developed methodological principles of shaping a corporate management model capable of reacting to new challenges. The article provides a thorough study of some components of the model and an assessment of factors that ensure successful implementation of the authors’ conceptual solutions in energy companies. © 2017 WIT Press.ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The work was supported by the Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006

Ensuring resilience and agility of complex organizational-technical systems

Modern organizational and technical systems have been developing in an environment that is marked by capriciousness, uncertainty, risk, variability, and evolution (CURVE factors). As organizational-technical systems grow bigger, their internal complexity increases, too, both structurally and dynamically. The article substantiates the appropriateness of employing the principles of systems engineering for managing such systems. The authors analyzed various theoretical concepts of and practice-based approaches to the development of systems engineering in the context of ensuring the resilience and agility of complex organizational-technical systems. Using the case of power engineering and hi-tech industries, the authors show that for organizations that operate critical infrastructure facilities it is essential to make sure that the system stays functional in adverse conditions and is able to recover quickly after a failure. It is demonstrated that for addressing the above task it is critical to use instruments that nurture interdisciplinary competences in individual professionals and in teams that manage the development of complex systems and implement major innovation projects. As part of the study, the authors also look at the possibility of using the principles of resilient systems design and the fundamental principles for agile systems engineering when managing critical infrastructure facilities. © 2018 WIT Press.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work was supported by Act 211 of the Government of the Russian Federation, contract No. 02.A03.21.0006

Evaluation of selected lactic acid bacteria as starter cultures for gluten-free sourdough bread production

Received: January 30th, 2021 ; Accepted: April 8th, 2021 ; Published: May 19th, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] is one of the most promising technologies for gluten-free bread. The selection of appropriate starter cultures for the production of gluten-free sourdoughs is of a great importance, since not all microorganisms can adapt equally to the same raw material. The aim was to create a new starter microbial composition for gluten-free sourdough preparation, allowing improving the quality and the microbiological safety of gluten-free bread. Screening was conducted on 8 strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and 5 strains of yeast previously isolated from spontaneously fermenting rice and buckwheat sourdoughs. The strain S. cerevisiae Y205 had the highest fermentative activity and alcohols content. The lactic acid bacteria L. brevis E139 and L. plantarum Е138 were also experimentally selected for new gluten-free sourdoughs on the basis of acidity and volatile acids production and antagonistic activity. Two types of microbial composition were created and its influence on sourdough biotechnological indicators was studied. Sourdough with L. plantarum Е138 had in 1.2 times lower titratable acidity, in 3.4 times lower volatile acids content compared to sourdough with L. brevis E139. Alcohol content was the same in both sourdoughs similarly to yeast cells amount. Sourdough dough proofing time increased in 1.2–1.3 times compared to the control. Sourdough did not affect the specific volume, porosity and compressibility of gluten-free bread, but its sensory characteristics were improved. Bread made with sourdoughs had more pronounced taste and flavor, brighter crust color and better texture compared bread without sourdough. The microbiological safety of sourdough gluten-free bread was also increased, especially when L. brevis E139 was used

Complex systems management competency for technology modernization

Industrial technology modernization requires solutions to the problems of the complex systems evolution. Entities involved in the process of modernization lack unified centralized control and act as standalone businesses, while stakeholders in the processes pursue their own, all too often conflicting interests. Having to operate amid severe external uncertainty, these standalone businesses act as isolated agents, with their make-up changing at different periods, yet the success of technology modernization depends on their coordinated action. It is critical for the success of the system evolution to have enough highly qualified personnel with expertise and competencies, engineering and economic ones in the first place, that match the complexity of the systems being managed. The article analyzes the tasks that pop up throughout the course of modernization. The analysis is used as a basis for defining engineering and economic competencies and for substantiating their significance as a key resource of the industrial systems of the future. This assumption finds a confirmation in a summary of appropriate global trends done by the authors. Systems engineering is used as a case of the application of the competencies as part of methodologies that were created in response to challenges associated with the growing complexity of technological and organizational systems. The study also gives examples of the need for engineering and economic competencies arising in the course of technology modernization in the electric power industry. © 2017 WIT Press.ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The work was supported by Act 211 of the Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006

Asset Management Tools in The Digital Environment

The paper summarizes the changing approaches to asset management of manufacturing companies amid the unprecedented uncertainty in markets, progressing digital transformation and production facilities being enriched with intelligent information and communication systems. A conceptual model has been designed that reflects the new principles and the key conditions of asset management systems' operation in the digital industry. Having examined the cases of the energy sector and high-tech industries, the authors identify the main trends in the innovative development of production asset management: cutting-edge reliability-focused repair and maintenance methods, the digital twin technology, and platform solutions for business customization. The results of the study could be used for asset management strategy development in manufacturing and for improvement of the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks, including the international standards PAS 55 and ISO 55000. © 2021 WIT Press.The work was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract No. 02.A03.21.0006

Structural and magnetic dimers in the spin-gapped system CuTe2O5

We investigated the magnetic properties of the system CuTe2O5 by susceptibility and electron spin resonance measurements. The anisotropy of the effective g-factors and the ESR linewidth indicates that the anticipated structural dimer does not correspond to the singlet-forming magnetic dimer. Moreover, the spin susceptibility of CuTe2O5 can only be described by taking into account interdimer interactions of the same order of magnitude than the intradimer coupling. Analyzing the exchange couplings in the system we identify the strongest magnetic coupling between two Cu ions to be mediated by super-super exchange interaction via a bridging Te ligand, while the superexchange coupling between the Cu ions of the structural dimer only results in the second strongest coupling

Methodologies for managing complex systems under uncertainty

The problems of managing socio-technical systems, the complexity of which is constantly increasing, in a time when the external environment becomes more and more volatile, and large-scale changes develop unpredictable effects, requires managers to have an adequate response and act pre-emptively in unexpected situations. In this regard, it appears practical to apply methods of systems engineering that was created for designing complex systems and keeping them functional throughout their lifecycle. An analysis of various theoretical concepts and practical approaches employed in systems engineering showed their potential for being adapted to the purposes of managing complex systems under uncertainty. For example, the method of engineering resilience could be used for training interdisciplinary teams that need to be able to handle complex problems with speed, coordination, initiative and mutual support. It also appears usable for setting up coordination centers that produce strategic assessments of implications, set priorities, distribute resources, motivate teams and provide training, thus building preparedness to address unforeseen problems. The method of Agile systems engineering is effective for pre-empting problems that occur as a result of intensive technological development and are characterized by capriciousness, uncertainty, risk, variability, and evolution. The above methods were applied for training breakthrough teams - an original project of the authors that has proved highly efficient for solving tasks of high complexity and uncertainty in energy companies and at Ural Federal University. © 2020 WIT Press.The work was supported by Act 211 of the Government of the Russian Federation, contract number 02.A03.21.0006

Cold-induced changes in gene expression in brown adipose tissue, white adipose tissue and liver

Cold exposure imposes a metabolic challenge to mammals that is met by a coordinated response in different tissues to prevent hypothermia. This study reports a transcriptomic analysis in brown adipose tissue (BAT), white adipose (WAT) and liver of mice in response to 24 h cold exposure at 8°C. Expression of 1895 genes were significantly (P<0.05) up- or down-regulated more than two fold by cold exposure in all tissues but only 5 of these genes were shared by all three tissues, and only 19, 14 and 134 genes were common between WAT and BAT, WAT and liver, and BAT and liver, respectively. We confirmed using qRT-PCR, the increased expression of a number of characteristic BAT genes during cold exposure. In both BAT and the liver, the most common direction of change in gene expression was suppression (496 genes in BAT and 590 genes in liver). Gene ontology analysis revealed for the first time significant (P<0.05) down regulation in response to cold, of genes involved in oxidoreductase activity, lipid metabolic processes and protease inhibitor activity, in both BAT and liver, but not WAT. The results reveal an unexpected importance of down regulation of cytochrome P450 gene expression and apolipoprotein, in both BAT and liver, but not WAT, in response to cold exposure. Pathway analysis suggests a model in which down regulation of the nuclear transcription factors HNF4α and PPARα in both BAT and liver may orchestrate the down regulation of genes involved in lipoprotein and steroid metabolism as well as Phase I enzymes belonging to the cytochrome P450 group in response to cold stress in mice. We propose that the response to cold stress involves decreased gene expression in a range of cellular processes in order to maximise pathways involved in heat production