Research and Analysis Container Shipping Line on the Basis of Simulation

Container transport is the main and leading form of transportation in shipping. Selection of the route for each voyage is determined by the nature of the traffic and operating conditions of the fleet. The best way to avoid any inconvenience when solving the predictive task of the liner ships is to use simulation taking into account both deterministic and stochastic processes arising from the operation of liner ships. The article describes a simulation model of a sea container line, for example, the company Fesco, working on a regular container line in St. Petersburg (Russia), using mathematical model and proposed model “follow the leader” to describe the movement of ships. The main task in the simulation is to achieve an optimal balance between ship traffic and the decision on group forecast issues with the composition of the ships on the line

Contact potential that recognizes the correct folding of globular proteins

We have devised a continuous function of interresidue contacts in globular proteins such that the X-ray crystal structure has a lower function value than that of thousands of protein-like alternative conformations. Although we fit the adjustable parameters of the potential using only 10,000 alternative structures for a selected training set of 37 proteins, a grand total of 530,000 constraints was satisfied, derived from 73 proteins and their numerous alternative conformations. In every case where the native conformation is adequately globular and compact, according to objective criteria we have developed, the potential function always favors the native over all alternatives by a substantial margin. This is true even for an additional three proteins never used in any way in the fitting procedure. Conformations differing only slightly from the native, such as those coming from crystal structures of the same protein complexed with different ligands or from crystal structures of point mutants, have function values very similar to the native's and always less than those of alternatives derived from substantially different crystal structures. This holds for all 95 structures that are homologous to one or another of various proteins we used. Realizing that this potential should be useful for modeling the conformation of new protein sequences from the body of protein crystal structures, we suggest a test for deciding whether a nearly correct approximation to the native conformation has been found.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29791/1/0000133.pd

Size-independent comparison of protein three-dimensional structures

Protein structures are routinely compared by their root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) in atomic coordinates after optimal rigid body superposition. What is not so clear is the significance of different RMSD values, particularly above the customary arbitrary cutoff for obvious similarity of 2–3 Å. Our earlier work argued for an intrinsic cutoff for protein similarity that varied with the number of residues in the polypeptide chains being compared. Here we introduce a new measure, Ρ, of structural similarity based on RMSD that is independent of the sizes of the molecules involved, or of any other special properties of molecules. When Ρ is less than 0.4–0.5, protein structures are visually recognized to be obviously similar, but the mathematically pleasing intrinsic cutoff of Ρ>1.0 corresponds to overall similarity in folding motif at a level not usually recognized until smoothing of the polypeptide chain path makes it striking. When the structures are scaled to unit radius of gyration and equal principle moments of inertia, the comparisons are even more universal, since they are no longer obscured by differences in overall size and ellipticity. With increasing chain length, the distribution of Ρ for pairs of random structures is skewed to higher values, but the value for the best 1% of the comparisons rises only slowly with the number of residues. This level is close to an intrinsic cutoff between similar and dissimilar comparisons, namely the maximal scaled Ρ possible for the two structures to be more similar to each other than one is to the other's mirror image. The intrinsic cutoff is independent of the number of residues or points being compared. For proteins having fewer than 100 residues, the 1% Ρ falls below the intrinsic cutoff, so that for very small proteins, geometrically significant similarity can often occur by chance. We believe these ideas will be helpful in judging success in NMR structure determination and protein folding modeling. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/38521/1/340220308_ftp.pd

Some Experiences of Specialists in Maritime Transport Education at SUAI (Russia) and the University of Dubrovnik (Croatia)

Transport sector is traditionally globally oriented, so education is necessarily connected with standardization. The importance of experience exchange between education centers and schools is obvious. More and more skills that are necessary for specialist in transport sector are connected with logistics and ICT. The most effective approach is that one in which the education is governed by simulators and especially educated instructors with great experience from real sector. In this paper, we have presented some experiences from Saint-Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation (SUAI) in Russia and Maritime Department from The University of Dubrovnik in Croatia

Mathematical modelling and research of passenger flows in marine passenger port

Modern passenger terminals are characterized by dynamic processes variability, diverse options consideration, taking into account the criteria of safety, reliability analysis and the continuous research of passenger processing. For any modern marine passenger terminal it is necessary to use the tool to simulate passenger flows. In this way it is possible to obtain the analytical information and use it for decision-making when solving the problem of the amount of personnel required for passenger services.in line with the original ship arrival schedule, to solve problems of forecasting groups at the terminal. Of particular relevance is the choice of the mathematical transport model and the practical conditions for the implementation of the model in the real terminal operation. In this article the analysis technique of simulation-based terminal services, provides a mathematical model of passenger movement inside the terminal. Also, the conditions of implementation of the transportation model during the operation of marine passenger terminal are examined. The object of the research is the marine Passenger Port of St. Petersburg "Marine Facade". The paper discusses advantages of using such systems and their introduction in the early stages of operation of the terminal. In addition, the conclusion about the effectiveness of such systems for the analysis of the correctness of internal space of the marine terminal. The study represents an example of analytical information used for the forecast of the terminal operations, the analysis of the workload and efficiency of the organization of the marine terminal

Significance of Root-Mean-Square Deviation in Comparing Three-dimensional Structures of Globular Proteins

In the study of globular protein conformations, one customarily measures the similarity in three-dimensional structure by the root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) of the C[alpha] atomic coordinates after optimal rigid body superposition. Even when the two protein structures each consist of a single chain having the same number of residues so that the matching of C[alpha] atoms is obvious, it is not clear how to interpret the RMSD. A very large value means they are dissimilar, and zero means they are identical in conformation, but at what intermediate values are they particularly similar or clearly dissimilar? While many workers in the field have chosen arbitrary cutoffs, and others have judged values of RMSD according to the observed distribution of RMSD for random structures, we propose a self-referential, non-statistical standard. We take two conformers to be intrinsically similar if their RMSD is smaller than that when one of them is mirror inverted. Because the structures considered here are not arbitrary configurations of point atoms, but are compact, globular, polypeptide chains, our definition is closely related to similarity in radius of gyration and overall chain folding patterns. Being strongly similar in our sense implies that the radii of gyration must be nearly identical, the root-mean-square deviation in interatomic distances is linearly related to RMSD, and the two chains must have the same general fold. Only when the RMSD exceeds this level can parts of the polypeptide chain undergo nontrivial rearrangements while remaining globular. This enables us to judge when a prediction of a protein's conformation is "correct except for minor perturbations", or when the ensemble of protein structures deduced from NMR experiments are "basically in mutual agreement".Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31835/1/0000782.pd

‘Superior to Disney’: colour animation at Lenfilm, 1936-41

This article examines the phenomenon of colour-film animation at Lenfilm during the period 1936–1941. It discusses the development of colour technologies at the studio during the 1930s and the ways in which its artists responded to the aesthetic challenge of colour. Three of the seven short films produced during this period have been selected as case studies; they are examined here in the context of filmed animations in the Soviet Union during the 1930s, in particular the debates prompted by the screening of three Disney animations in Technicolor at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1935. The formal analysis of the case studies is based on the digital restorations in recent years at the Russian State Film Archive (Gosfilmfond), but also the inspection of one nitrate-positive of Mstislav Pashchenko’s Dzhiabzha (1939), which has survived intact at the archive. The technical difficulties posed by the hydrotype process developed at Lenfilm, as well as the challenge of producing sufficient prints for mass distribution, also form part of the discussion