Interest rates mapping

The present study deals with the analysis and mapping of Swiss franc interest rates. Interest rates depend on time and maturity, defining term structure of the interest rate curves (IRC). In the present study IRC are considered in a two-dimensional feature space - time and maturity. Geostatistical models and machine learning algorithms (multilayer perceptron and Support Vector Machines) were applied to produce interest rate maps. IR maps can be used for the visualisation and patterns perception purposes, to develop and to explore economical hypotheses, to produce dynamic asses-liability simulations and for the financial risk assessments. The feasibility of an application of interest rates mapping approach for the IRC forecasting is considered as well.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. Presented at Applications of Physics in Financial Analysis conference (APFA6), Lisbon, Portugal, 200

Spin-glass instability of short-range spherical ferromagnet

In structurally disordered ferromagnets the weak random dipole-dipole exchange may transform the polydomain state into a spin-glass one. To some extent the properties of such phase in disordered isotropic ferromagnet can be qualitatively described by the spherical model with the short-range ferromagnetic interaction and weak frustrated infinite-range random-bond exchange. This model is shown to predict that spin-glass phase substitute the ferromagnetic one at the arbitrary small disorder strength and that its thermodynamics has some similarity to that of polydomain state along with some significant distinctions. In particular, the longitudinal susceptibility at small fields becomes frozen below transition point at a constant value depending on the disorder strength, while the third order nonlinear magnetic susceptibilitiy exhibits the temperature oscillations in small field near the transition point. The relation of these predictions to the experimental data for some disordered isotropic ferromagnets is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Consolidating orientation of pedagogic functions of university teachers in international students training

© 2016 Fedorenko and Bykova. Open Access terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.This article is focused on the development of the structure and content of consolidating orientation of pedagogical functions of university teachers in international students’ training. The leading method of research is the modeling method that allows producing of the established structure’s and content’s justification of consolidating orientation of teachers’ pedagogical functions. The article deals with the structure and content of the concept “consolidating orientation of university teachers’ pedagogical functions”; defines the content of educational process’s updating in international students’ training through the implementation of the consolidating orientation of teachers’ pedagogical functions; substantiates the educational-methodical complex of educational process’s updating of international students on the basis of the results of the study. The productivity of educational-methodical complex is proved using the criteria of formation of: cross-cultural interaction competence; ability to overcome barriers of cross-cultural communication; skills of objective evaluation of their own positions in the cross-cultural interaction with teachers, fellow students, in society; ability to plan cross-cultural interaction with others in the course of their professional activities; planning abilities of “settling” in the region, and others

Spin ice in a field: quasi-phases and pseudo-transitions

Thermodynamics of the short-range model of spin ice magnets in a field is considered in the Bethe - Peierls approximation. The results obtained for [111], [100] and [011] fields agrees reasonably well with the existing Monte-Carlo simulations and some experiments. In this approximation all extremely sharp field-induced anomalies are described by the analytical functions of temperature and applied field. In spite of the absence of true phase transitions the analysis of the entropy and specific heat reliefs over H-T plane allows to discern the "pseudo-phases" with specific character of spin fluctuations and define the lines of more or less sharp "pseudo-transitions" between them.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figure

Critical region of the random bond Ising model

We describe results of the cluster algorithm Special Purpose Processor simulations of the 2D Ising model with impurity bonds. Use of large lattices, with the number of spins up to $10^6$, permitted to define critical region of temperatures, where both finite size corrections and corrections to scaling are small. High accuracy data unambiguously show increase of magnetization and magnetic susceptibility effective exponents $\beta$ and $\gamma$, caused by impurities. The $M$ and $\chi$ singularities became more sharp, while the specific heat singularity is smoothed. The specific heat is found to be in a good agreement with Dotsenko-Dotsenko theoretical predictions in the whole critical range of temperatures.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figures (674 KB) by request to authors: [email protected] or [email protected], LITP-94/CP-0

Spectral and mechanical properties of the materials structured with carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are considered as the good candidate to modify the surface properties of the organic and inorganic structures. Both the spectral and mechanical properties as well as quantum chemical simulation are discussed to explain the increase in transmission and hardness of the nanostructured polyvinyl alcohol films, magnesium fluoride, etc. The basic features of carbon nanotubes are regarded to their small refractive index, strong hardness of C⎯C bonds as well as complicated and unique mechanisms of charge carrier moving. The structures of the composite films and their mechanical properties are modeled too. The peculiarities of new nanostructured materials and their possible optoelectronics and display applications will be under consideration. The results have been supported by RFBR grant #10-03-00916 and RAS Presidium Program # 21

Evaluation of the regulatory effect of carnosine and alpha-lipoic acid on the cytokine profile of the cerebral cortex of Wistar rats under induced obesity

BACKGROUND: The model of obesity under experimental conditions is reproduced by using high-calorie diets in animals. It has been established that metabolic disorders cause meta-inflammation not only in peripheral organs and tissues, but also in brain structures. The search for effective neuroprotective antioxidants to suppress inflammatory processes in the cerebral cortex in obesity is an urgent task due to the widespread prevalence of this disease.AIM: to evaluate the effect of minor biologically active substances — carnosine (CAR) and α-lipoic acid (ALA) on the cytokine profile of the frontal cortex of the left hemisphere of the brain in Wistar male rats with obesity induced by a high-calorie choline-deficient diet.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The studies were carried out on male Wistar rats with an initial body weight of 150±10 g. The animals were randomized by body weight into 5 groups. For 8 weeks, rats of the 1st (control) group received a complete modified diet of AIN93M; rats of the 2nd group consumed a high-calorie choline-deficient diet (HCHDR), the fat content of which was 45%, fructose — 20% of the energy value of the diet; rats of the 3rd group received HCHDR with the addition of CAR at a dose of 75 mg per 1 kg of body weight; rats of the 4th group received HCHDR with the addition of ALA at a dose of 75 mg per 1 kg of body weight; rats of the 5th group received HCHDR with the addition of the CAR + ALA complex in a total dose of 150 mg per 1 kg of body weight. Animals were removed from the experiment by decapitation under ether anesthesia. The levels of triglycerides (Tg) and free fatty acids (FFA) in blood plasma (mmol) were determined on a biochemical analyzer (Konelab 20i, Thermo Clinical Labsystems Oy, Finland). Content of cytokines and chemokines (pg/ml): GM-CSF, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-12p40, IL-12p70, IL-1α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IFN-γ, MCP-1, M-CSF, MIP-1α, MIP-2, MIP-3α, RANTES, and TNF-α in cerebral cortex lysates were determined by multiplex immunoassay using a Luminex 200 analyzer (Luminex Corporation, USA). To assess the relationship between the level of cytokines in blood plasma and changes in their concentrations under the influence of HCCDR in lysates of the cortex of the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere of the brain, the ratio was calculated: the level of cytokines pg/ml in blood plasma [1]/the content of cytokines pg/ml in lysates (pl/ lys) for each sample.RESULTS: On the model of obesity in rats, the presence of an inflammatory process in the cerebral cortex was established, as evidenced by an increase in the content of pro-inflammatory factors: IL-2, M-CSF, MIP-1α and RANTES and a decrease in the content of immunoregulatory cytokines of varying severity: IL-10, IL17A, IL-12p40, IL-12p70, TNF-a, MIP-2 and MIP-3α in group 2 rats. (HCHDR) compared with the control group. Enrichment of HCHDR with biologically active substances: CAR, ALA or their complex, ensured the normalization of lipid metabolism, as evidenced by the decrease in the ratio of circulating Tg to FFA in the blood serum of rats to control values: 1st gr. (control) — 1,04±0.23; 2nd gr. (HCHDR) — 1,64±0.63; 3rd gr. (CAR) — 0,98±0.31; 4th gr. (ALA) — 0,86±0.31; 5th gr. (CAR+ALA) — 1,02±0.38. Enrichment of HCHDR with CAR, ALA or their complex led to a decrease in the content of pro-inflammatory and apoptosis-regulating cytokines and chemokines in the cortex of the frontal lobe of the rat brain: IL-1α, IL-2, IL-17A, M-CSF, MCP-1, MIP3α and RANTES, along with an increase in the level of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, which indicates the suppression of the inflammatory process induced by the consumption of HCHDR in rats.CONCLUSION: The data obtained indicate the prospect of using CAR and ALA or their complex as neuroprotective antioxidants to reduce the inflammatory process in brain structures in obesity

Assessment of the epidemic situation in the incidence of Siberian tick-borne typhus in the Altai Krai

The article presents the results of a retrospective epidemiological analysis of the incidence of the population of the Altai Territory by Siberian tick-borne typhus (STBT), which is endemic in this region of the Siberian Federal District. The epidemiological situation of STBT in the urban and rural areas of the region was assessed in the period from 2000 to 2017. Specific features of the incidence of STBT among adults and children's age cohorts of the population are determined. An assessment is made of the relationship between the trend in the dynamics of the incidence of STBT and the number of people who have suffered from tick bites.В статье представлены результаты ретроспективного эпидемиологического анализа заболеваемости населения Алтайского края сибирским клещевым тифом (СКТ), как эндемичного по данной инфекции региона Сибирского федерального округа. Дана оценка эпидемической ситуации по СКТ в городских и сельских территориях региона в период с 2000 по 2017 годы. Определены особенности заболеваемости СКТ среди взрослой и детской возрастных когорт населения. Представлена оценка взаимосвязи между тенденцией динамики заболеваемости СКТ и числом пострадавших от укусов клещей лиц