Transportation Management in a Distributed Logistic Consumption System Under Uncertainty Conditions

The problem of supply management in the supplier-to-consumer logistics transport system has been formed and solved. The novelty of the formulation of the problem consists in the integrated accounting of costs in the logistic system, which takes into account at the same time the cost of transporting products from suppliers to consumers, as well as the costs for each of the consumers to store the unsold product and losses due to possible shortages. The resulting optimization problem is no longer a standard linear programming problem. In addition, the work assumes that the solution of the problem should be sought taking into account the fact that the initial data of the problem are not deterministic. The analysis of traditional methods of describing the uncertainty of the source data. It is concluded that, given the rapidly changing conditions for the implementation of the delivery process in a distributed supplier-to-consumer system, it is advisable to move from a theoretical probability representation of the source data to their description in terms of fuzzy mathematics. At the same time, in particular, the fuzzy values of the demand for the delivered product for each consumer are determined by their membership functions.Distribution of supplies in the system is described by solving a mathematical programming problem with a nonlinear objective function and a set of linear constraints of the transport type. In forming the criterion, a technology is used to transform the membership functions of fuzzy parameters of the problem to its theoretical probabilistic counterparts – density distribution of demand values. The task is reduced to finding for each consumer the value of the ordered product, minimizing the average total cost of storing the unrealized product and losses from the deficit. The initial problem is reduced to solving a set of integral equations solved, in general, numerically. It is shown that in particular, important for practice, particular cases, this solution is achieved analytically.The paper states the insufficient adequacy of the traditionally used mathematical models for describing fuzzy parameters of the problem, in particular, the demand. Statistical processing of real data on demand shows that the parameters of the membership functions of the corresponding fuzzy numbers are themselves fuzzy numbers. Acceptable mathematical models of the corresponding fuzzy numbers are formulated in terms of bifuzzy mathematics. The relations describing the membership functions of the bifuzzy numbers are given. A formula is obtained for calculating the total losses to storage and from the deficit, taking into account the bifuzzy of demand. In this case, the initial task is reduced to finding the distribution of supplies, at which the maximum value of the total losses does not exceed the permissible value

Probabilistic models to describe the dynamics of migrating microbial communities

In all but the most sterile environments bacteria will reside in fluid being transported through conduits and some of these will attach and grow as biofilms on the conduit walls. The concentration and diversity of bacteria in the fluid at the point of delivery will be a mix of those when it entered the conduit and those that have become entrained into the flow due to seeding from biofilms. Examples include fluids through conduits such as drinking water pipe networks, endotracheal tubes, catheters and ventilation systems. Here we present two probabilistic models to describe changes in the composition of bulk fluid microbial communities as they are transported through a conduit whilst exposed to biofilm communities. The first (discrete) model simulates absolute numbers of individual cells, whereas the other (continuous) model simulates the relative abundance of taxa in the bulk fluid. The discrete model is founded on a birth-death process whereby the community changes one individual at a time and the numbers of cells in the system can vary. The continuous model is a stochastic differential equation derived from the discrete model and can also accommodate changes in the carrying capacity of the bulk fluid. These models provide a novel Lagrangian framework to investigate and predict the dynamics of migrating microbial communities. In this paper we compare the two models, discuss their merits, possible applications and present simulation results in the context of drinking water distribution systems. Our results provide novel insight into the effects of stochastic dynamics on the composition of non-stationary microbial communities that are exposed to biofilms and provides a new avenue for modelling microbial dynamics in systems where fluids are being transported

Raman-scattering study of the phonon dispersion in twisted bi-layer graphene

Bi-layer graphene with a twist angle \theta\ between the layers generates a superlattice structure known as Moir\'{e} pattern. This superlattice provides a \theta-dependent q wavevector that activates phonons in the interior of the Brillouin zone. Here we show that this superlattice-induced Raman scattering can be used to probe the phonon dispersion in twisted bi-layer graphene (tBLG). The effect reported here is different from the broadly studied double-resonance in graphene-related materials in many aspects, and despite the absence of stacking order in tBLG, layer breathing vibrations (namely ZO' phonons) are observed.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, research articl

The effect of interactions between a bacterial strain isolated from drinking water and a pathogen surrogate on biofilms formation diverged under static vs flow conditions

AimsInteractions with water bacteria affect the incorporation of pathogens into biofilms and thus pathogen control in drinking water systems. This study was to examine the impact of static vs flow conditions on interactions between a pathogen and a water bacterium on pathogen biofilm formation under laboratory settings.Methods and ResultsA pathogen surrogate Escherichia coli and a drinking water isolate Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was selected for this study. Biofilm growth was examined under two distinct conditions, in flow cells with continuous medium supply vs in static microtitre plates with batch culture. E. coli biofilm was greatly stimulated (c. 2–1000 times faster) with the presence of S. maltophilia in flow cells, but surprisingly inhibited (c. 65–95% less biomass) in microtitre plates. These divergent effects were explained through various aspects including surface attachment, cellular growth, extracellular signals and autoaggregation.ConclusionsInteractions with the same water bacterium resulted in different effects on E. coli biofilm formation when culture conditions changed from static to flow.Significance and Impact of StudyThis study highlights the complexity of species interactions on biofilm formation and suggests that environmental conditions such as the flow regime can be taken into consideration for the management of microbial contamination in drinking water systems.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140002/1/jam13596.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140002/2/jam13596_am.pd

The role of dredge-up in double white dwarf mergers

We present the results of an investigation of the dredge-up and mixing during the merger of two white dwarfs with different chemical compositions by conducting hydrodynamic simulations of binary mergers for three representative mass ratios. In all the simulations, the total mass of the two white dwarfs is $\lesssim1.0~{\rm M_\odot}$. Mergers involving a CO and a He white dwarf have been suggested as a possible formation channel for R Coronae Borealis type stars, and we are interested in testing if such mergers lead to conditions and outcomes in agreement with observations. Even if the conditions during the merger and subsequent nucleosynthesis favor the production of $^{18}{\mathrm O}$, the merger must avoid dredging up large amounts of $^{16}{\mathrm O}$, or else it will be difficult to produce sufficient $^{18}{\mathrm O}$ to explain the oxygen ratio observed to be of order unity. We performed a total of 9 simulations using two different grid-based hydrodynamics codes using fixed and adaptive meshes, and one smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code. We find that in most of the simulations, $>10^{-2}~{\rm M_\odot}$ of $^{16}{\mathrm O}$ is indeed dredged up during the merger. However, in SPH simulations where the accretor is a hybrid He/CO white dwarf with a $\sim 0.1~{\rm M_\odot}$ layer of helium on top, we find that no $^{16}{\mathrm O}$ is being dredged up, while in the $q=0.8$ simulation $<10^{-4}~{\rm M_\odot}$ of $^{16}{\mathrm O}$ has been brought up, making a WD binary consisting of a hybrid CO/He WD and a companion He WD an excellent candidate for the progenitor of RCB stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Osteoblastoma-like Osteosarcoma of the Cuboid: A Case Report

Osteosarcoma most commonly arises in the long bones of the skeleton, and rarely develops in the bones of the foot. We describe a patient who presented with left foot pain, whose radiographic evaluation revealed a lytic destructive mass in the cuboid bone. A biopsy showed an osteoblastoma-like variant of osteosarcoma and the patient was treated with preoperative chemotherapy and amputation. Osteosarcoma of the foot is uncommon and the literature reveals that it is often associated with a delay in diagnosis