Добірка наукової літератури з теми "Mechanism of cost formation"

Spatial formations of swarm robots are increasingly applied in many domains in which the environments are dynamic and unpredictable. The autonomy of the individual robots and decentralization of the entire system increase the complexity of the response to environmental changes, which could prolong the formation convergence and significantly increase the communication cost. To address these issues, we propose an adaptive mechanism with three basic behaviours for each individual robot and design a grouping-based spatial formation algorithm for swarm robots to respond to changes and accomplish shape formation. Specifically, the robots are automatically partitioned into several groups based on their spatial neighbours. In this manner, the interactions and self-organization of robots are primarily performed at the intra-group rather than inter-group level, leading to decreased communication costs. Furthermore, this grouping mechanism naturally supports parallel formation and therefore improves the convergence speed. Our simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method significantly improves the convergence speed and decreases the communication cost, thus validating the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive mechanism.

On the basis of the developed model and the basic scheme for improving the process of formation of production costs, a technique allowing to optimise the operation of the construction complex enterprises cost mechanism by selecting the best option for the ratio of the influence of production cost factors levels to cost indicators and their manageability levels is being proposed.

The article analyzes existing approaches to cost management; system and process approaches are defined as the most applicable. It is determined that with both of these approaches the object of cost management is managerial actions and relationships arising in the process of formation of certain characteristics of the status of costs (compliance with the limits of the remuneration fund, consumption of raw materials etc.); the subject of management are structural subdivisions of the enterprise and responsible persons who carry out cost management procedures. The system approach considers cost management as a system in which a set of interconnected elements is allocated, there are links, mechanisms of interaction between individual elements, which help to achieve a certain goal, are determined. The process approach proposes to apply a management cycle to manage costs. Therefore, to improve the efficiency of cost management, it is advisable to apply dualism of approaches, for which it is proposed to combine system and process approaches. It is proved that the cost management system should consist of two subsystems: 1) the formation of a cost management system and 2) the functioning of the cost management system. These subsystems differ in such features as: purpose, tasks, functions, elements, mechanism of interaction. Two subsystems of the cost management system are connected as follows: the purpose of the subsystem of the cost management system formation is to develop methodological support for the functioning of the cost management subsystem. At the same time, the functioning of the subsystem of the cost management system is the management cycle: planning, accounting, control, analysis. This shows the implementation of the process approach to cost management.

The article analyzes existing approaches to cost management; system and process approaches are defined as the most applicable. It is determined that with both of these approaches the object of cost management is managerial actions and relationships arising in the process of formation of certain characteristics of the status of costs (compliance with the limits of the remuneration fund, consumption of raw materials etc.); the subject of management are structural subdivisions of the enterprise and responsible persons who carry out cost management procedures. The system approach considers cost management as a system in which a set of interconnected elements is allocated, there are links, mechanisms of interaction between individual elements, which help to achieve a certain goal, are determined. The process approach proposes to apply a management cycle to manage costs. Therefore, to improve the efficiency of cost management, it is advisable to apply dualism of approaches, for which it is proposed to combine system and process approaches. It is proved that the cost management system should consist of two subsystems: 1) the formation of a cost management system and 2) the functioning of the cost management system. These subsystems differ in such features as: purpose, tasks, functions, elements, mechanism of interaction. Two subsystems of the cost management system are connected as follows: the purpose of the subsystem of the cost management system formation is to develop methodological support for the functioning of the cost management subsystem. At the same time, the functioning of the subsystem of the cost management system is the management cycle: planning, accounting, control, analysis. This shows the implementation of the process approach to cost management.

Formulation of the problem. The current state of development of the Ukrainian economy requires new approaches to cost management and tariff policy formulation at utilities. The purpose of the article is to develop theoretical and methodological provisions for identifying the financial mechanism for optimizing the cost policy of heat supply companies, and to develop practical recommendations for the use of methods and tools that can optimize the cost policy of enterprises. The subject of the study is the regularity of the occurrence and course of the cost policy of heat supply companies. Methods used in the study: analysis, synthesis, abstract-logical, comparative and statistical, generalization and grouping; system-structural, functional, integral method and the like. Research hypothesis. Presence of necessity of differentiation of mechanism of formation of full cost of realization of thermal energy. Presenting main material. It is established that the current system of cost management in the housing and communal services industry is not able to contain the growth of costs, reduce the unproductive costs of material, labor and energy resources, ensure the efficiency of production of housing and communal services, break-even activities of enterprises of the industry, achieve their stable development. The originality and practical significance of the study are to develop a comprehensive mechanism for the formation of the cost of heat released, based on the separate formation of costs for the production of heat energy source heat and transport it through thermal networks. Conclusions of the study. The mechanism of formation of the full cost of the released thermal energy is developed, based on the separate formation of costs for the production of thermal energy by the source of heat supply and its transportation through thermal networks. Due to the high degree of wear and tear of fixed assets, it is suggested to include the costs of disaster recovery in the direct production costs for the production and transportation of heat. The proposed measures make it possible to fully calculate the cost of producing and transporting heat.

As a result of the base-rock corrosion effects and the suspension-carrying capability of polymer in the system of strong base ASP flooding, the concentration of silicon ions in reservoir liquid increases. As the liquid flows into the surface pipelines with tracer heating water injecting, thermodynamics and kinetics conditions change. Suspending power and pH value also decrease. Heavy oil (which content is more than 25%), silts, carbonates and silicates co-deposite, which can cause surface pipelines jamming and even production stopping. Physical or chemistry methods can prolong the rinsing cycles of surface pipelines. Pilot tests indicated that injecting resistance sedimentation agents cost little which had a long rinsing cycle above one year. Hot washing technology had a low cost but with a short rinsing cycle about 2-4 months and the treatment efficiency was easy influenced by the content of oil in blockages. Cavitating water jets technology had good effects and its rinsing cycle were 6 months but cost was high.

Among the key technologies of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) leader–follower formations control, formation reconfiguration technology is one of the main technologies to ensure that multiple AUVs successfully complete their tasks in a complex operating environment. The biggest drawback of the leader–follower formations technology is the failure of the leader and the excessive communication pressure of the leader. Aiming at the problem of leader failure in multi- AUV leader–follower formations, the Hungarian algorithm is used to reconstruct the failed formation with a minimum cost, and the improvement of the Hungarian algorithm can solve the problem of a non-standard assignment. In order to solve the problem of an increased leader communication task after formation reconfiguration, the application of an event-triggered mechanism (ETM) can reduce unnecessary and useless communication, while the efficiency of the ETM can be improved through increasing the event-triggered conditions of the sampling error threshold. The simulation results of multi-AUV formation control show that the Hungarian algorithm proposed in this paper can deal with the leader failure in the multi-AUV leader–follower formation, and the ETM designed in this paper can reduce about 90% of the communication traffic of the formation which also proves the highly efficient performance of the improved ETM in the paper.

A class of intensively studied materials with application in areas where complex structures with precise geometry are needed (i.e. electronics), are the self-organized nanomaterials. Polymer, metallic and composite self-organized nanomaterials have been in researchers� attention the last decades. They are not only appealing scientifically, by revealing the intrinsic atomic and molecular interactions that might be difficult to detect otherwise but may also hold the key for the development of novel functional structures and devices. The different mechanisms and forces involved in the self-formation of organized nanostructures are discussed in the present manuscript. Further on, key formation fundamentals involved in the fabrication of self-organized nanostructures are described. Between the known manufacturing methods, the electrochemical synthesis is considered extremely simple and cost effective. On the other hand, it involves a wide range of synthesis parameters (e.g. voltage, electrolyte type, temperature, experiment duration, pH etc.) that may lead to the formation of ingenious structures with complex geometries at different length scales. Finally, some representative scientific investigations are mentioned together with applications of self-organized nanomaterials in different engineering and life areas.

The features of the mechanism of using the tools of the marketing complex in the sales process are investigated in this paper. It is proved that in market economy, the given concept of «4P» does not completely reveal the essence of marketing activities and should be supplemented by several components. This approach promotes the use of three more components that form appropriate standards for service enterprises. The concept of «sale», which is considered as oral exchange between the buyer and the seller, during which the seller makes the presentation of the goods for the purpose of concluding transaction is considered and supplemented. It is analyzed that the interpretation of the sales process only as a sphere of personal communication between seller and buyer does not take into account the preparation and organization of sales, physical movement of goods to the point of sale, but only establishes and maintains contacts with consumers. In this case, sales act as one of the tools of communication with the consumer and is aimed to find a buyer, convince him to buy the product and provide necessary sales. It is proved that it is the communication component of the sales process that distinguishes it from other concepts – sales and distribution and expands the scope, focusing on the end result and taking care of meeting the needs of consumers. Communication in this case plays the role of the tool by which the sales process is performed. In addition, it is also one of the sources for collecting information about the target consumer and formation of the company’s image, which aims to increase the number of loyal customers. It is proved that the purpose of formation of sales complex at the enterprise is the delivery of finished goods to the consumer and its effective realization for balance establishment between market demand and goods offer. The effectiveness of sales in this case is that the cost of relevant marketing activities of the enterprise must be recouped and give a direct and indirect effects, presented in the form of meeting consumer needs and increasing their loyalty to the company and its products, or in the form of profit growth per hryvnia of sales budget.

Процеси формування ринкових відносин в Україні вимагають глибоких перетворень у методах управління витратами промислових підприємств. Посилюється необхідність використання сучасних ринкових критеріїв ефективності, підвищуються вимоги до гнучкості управління. Головним орієнтиром та мірилом успішності функціонування підприємств є обсяги отриманого прибутку. В той же час, проблемі ефективного формування витрат в багатьох випадках приділяється недостатня увага. У зв’язку з цим, для сучасного етапу розвитку вітчизняних підприємств промисловості значною мірою характерні стихійність та непередбачуваність процесів формування витрат виробництва. Потребують більш детальної уваги взаємозв’язки та взаємообумовленість різних видів діяльності та функцій управління у формуванні витрат виробництва, в тому числі: нормування, планування, облік та аналіз. Існуючі недоліки в управлінні витратами ведуть до розбалансування всього процесу їх формування, а в результаті – до надлишкових витрат, чому можна запобігти при раціональній організації відповідного процесу. Наслідком цього став надмірно високий рівень витрат на ряді вітчизняних підприємств у порівнянні з аналогічними підприємствами розвинутих країн. У дисертаційний роботі викладено теоретичні положення, методичні та практичні аспекти щодо особливостей механізму формування витрат на промислових підприємствах. У дисертаційній роботі здійснено теоретичне узагальнення і розроблено новий підхід до комплексного вирішення важливого науково-практичного завдання щодо застосування механізму формування витрат на промислових підприємствах. За результатами дослідження наукових підходів вітчизняних та іноземних авторів, які вивчали проблематику механізму формування витрат на промислових підприємствах дозволили удосконалити тлумачення економічної сутності поняття «механізму формування витрат» як комплексного аналізу поточного стану і перспектив розвитку підприємства з метою прийняття виважених управлінських рішень щодо розв’язання проблем і використання переваг, які виникають та створюються в процесі його діяльності. Наукою розроблено різні підходи до вирішення завдання зниження витрат, однак у сучасних кризових умовах господарювання використання багатьох з них стримується необхідністю вкладення значних інвестицій. Через те пошук малоінвестиційних способів підвищення ефективності використання витрат є надзвичайно актуальним. Великі обсяги інформації про витрати та різноманітність підходів до їх дослідження, які розроблено наукою, потребують певної адаптації для їх ефективного використання в сучасних умовах. Для удосконалення інформаційно-аналітичних основ побудови механізму формування витрат на промислових підприємствах необхідно теоретично обґрунтувати й розробити методичні положення на сучасному етапі економічного розвитку. У ринкових умовах господарювання необхідно визначити економічну сутність та еволюцію поняття витрат підприємств, систематизувати ознаки класифікації витрат та напрямів їх використання, розглянути формування системи нормативного регулювання витрат. Ефективна діяльність промислових підприємств вимагає дослідження концепції управління витратами, аналізу досконалості методичного забезпечення формування витрат, побудови процесів формування витрат в промисловості. Для вирішення проблем управління витратами промислових підприємств використовуються можливості системного підходу для управління витратами та визначення складових системи управління ними. Удосконалено модель оцінювання ефективності управління витратами промислового підприємства на засадах системного підходу, а також обґрунтовано та розроблено механізм формування витрат, вбудований в загальну систему управління витратами промислового підприємства. Використовуючи функціонально-вартісний аналіз за функціями на підприємстві та за центрами витрат, удосконалено багатоступеневу систему визначення рангу функцій у залежності від відсотка витрат, що, на відміну від існуючих, дозволяють їх зменшити за допомогою АВС-методу, заснованого на принципі Парето та експертних оцінках з врахуванням значущості функцій у забезпеченні життєдіяльності підприємств. У процесі дисертаційної роботи було визначено економічну сутність та еволюцію поняття витрат підприємств відповідно до ринкових умов господарювання. Систематизовано ознаки класифікації витрат та напрямів їх використання, формування системи нормативного регулювання витрат. Досліджено концепцію управління витратами та здійснено аналіз досконалості науково-методичного забезпечення формування витрат виробництва. Для потреб управління витратами промислового підприємства розроблено структурно-логічні схеми процесів формування витрат в промисловості. Було обґрунтовано можливості використання системного підходу для управління витратами та визначення складових системи управління ними, а також розроблено механізм формування витрат, вбудований в загальну систему управління промисловими підприємствами. Розроблено модель оцінювання ефективності управління витратами промислового підприємства на засадах системного підходу. Для прийняття управлінських рішень необхідно використовувати механізм формування витрат виробництва, вбудований в загальну систему управління витратами промислового підприємства, який, на відміну від існуючих підходів, дозволяє приймати управлінські рішення на початковому етапі. У процесі дослідження здійснено систематизацію витрат у взаємозв’язку з функціями управління, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, включає використання певного класифікатора витрат для їх ідентифікації та прогнозування, сформовано концепцію управління витратами на засадах синтезу, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, буде враховувати особливості підприємств, та буде чутливою до будь-яких змін стратегії їх діяльності. Проаналізовано теоретико-методичні аспекти систематизації витрат шляхом використання порівняльного аналізу вітчизняних та зарубіжних систем класифікації для визначення відмінностей у напрямах застосування інформації про витрати за різними ознаками і встановлення взаємозв’язку між ними, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, розширює рамки їх дослідження, а також здійснено визначення інструментів, принципів та способів формування витрат для формування системи управління підприємством, що дозволило висунути вимоги, яким повинні відповідати сучасні ефективні системи управління витратами з метою їх використання у практичній діяльності. Здійснено формування та реалізацію заходів оптимізації витрат виробництва, які на етапі планування робіт, на початковому етапі дозволяють спрогнозувати витрати і отримані вигоди, що, на відміну від існуючих, дозволяють достовірно прогнозувати оптимальні значення витрат виробництва. Розглянуто систему моніторингу витрат виробництва, яка включає елементи еластичності і, на відміну від існуючих підходів, використовує кореляційну модель залежності витрат від результатів виробництва. Проаналізовано показники еластичності, які в умовах наявності великої кількості характеристик, на відміну від існуючих підходів, дозволяють здійснювати превентивну перевірку планової обґрунтованості витрат для прогнозування майбутньої вартості та ціни продукції. Удосконалено визначення та реалізацію резервів зниження рівня витрат у промисловості за рахунок виключення в процесах планування неефективних витрат і удосконалення процесу управління ними за системним підходом. За результатами дисертаційної роботи удосконалено механізм формування витрат виробництва, вбудований в загальну систему управління промисловим підприємством, який, на відміну від існуючих підходів, дозволяє приймати управлінські рішення на початковому етапі. Здійснено систематизацію витрат у взаємозв’язку з функціями управління, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, включає використання певного класифікатора витрат для їх ідентифікації та прогнозування, а також запропоновано систему управління витратами на засадах синтезу, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, враховує особливості підприємств, та є чутливою до будь-яких змін стратегії їх діяльності. В роботі розроблено систему аналізу ефективності формування витрат, яка, на відміну від існуючих підходів, враховує оцінку слабких і сильних сторін функціональної структури управління і дозволяє впорядкувати поточну діяльність та розвиток підприємства. Сформульовано теоретико-методичні аспекти систематизації витрат шляхом використання порівняльного аналізу вітчизняних та зарубіжних систем класифікації для визначення відмінностей у напрямах застосування інформації про витрати за різними ознаками і встановлення взаємозв’язку між ними, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, розширює рамки їх дослідження. Проведено визначення інструментів, принципів та способів формування витрат для формування системи управління підприємством, що дозволило висунути вимоги, яким повинні відповідати сучасні ефективні системи управління витратами з метою їх використання у практичній діяльності. Охарактеризовано показники еластичності, які в умовах наявності великої кількості характеристик, на відміну від існуючих підходів, дозволяють здійснювати превентивну перевірку планової обґрунтованості витрат для прогнозування майбутньої вартості та ціни продукції. Дисертаційна робота є науковою працею, в якій удосконалено механізм формування витрат промислового підприємства. Сформульовані у дисертації наукові результати отримані автором самостійно і є особистим доробком. Наукові результати дисертації опубліковані у фахових та економетричних наукових виданнях.
The processes of forming market relations in Ukraine require profound changes in the cost management methods of industrial enterprises. The need to use modern market performance criteria is increasing, and the requirements for management flexibility are increasing. The main guideline and measure of the success of the enterprise is the amount of profit. At the same time, the problem of cost-effective formation is in many cases receiving insufficient attention. In this regard, the modern stage of development of domestic industrial enterprises is largely characterized by spontaneity and unpredictability of the processes of formation of production costs. They need more attention to the interconnections and interdependencies of the various activities and management functions in generating production costs, including rationing, planning, accounting, and analysis. Existing deficiencies in cost management lead to an imbalance in the whole process of their formation, and as a result, to excess costs, which can be prevented in the rational organization of the process. This resulted in an excessively high level of costs for a number of domestic enterprises compared to similar enterprises in developed countries. The dissertation presents theoretical provisions, methodological and practical aspects regarding the peculiarities of the mechanism of cost formation at industrial enterprises. The thesis generalizes the theoretical generalization and develops a new approach to the complex solution of an important scientific and practical problem on the application of the mechanism of formation of costs at industrial enterprises. According to the results of research of scientific approaches of domestic and foreign authors, who studied the problems of the mechanism of formation of costs at industrial enterprises allowed to improve the interpretation of the economic essence of the concept of «mechanism of formation of costs» as a comprehensive analysis of the current state and prospects of enterprise development in order to make prudent management decisions to solve problems and take advantage of the benefits that arise and are created in the course of its operations. Science has developed different approaches to solving the problem of reducing costs, but in the current economic crisis, the use of many of them is constrained by the need to make significant investments. Therefore, finding low-cost ways to increase cost-effectiveness is extremely important. The large amount of information on costs and the variety of approaches to their research that шы developed by science, need some adaptation for their effective use in today's environment. In order to improve the information and analytical bases of building the mechanism of cost formation in industrial enterprises, it is necessary to theoretically substantiate and develop methodological provisions at the present stage of economic development. In market conditions, it is necessary to determine the economic nature and evolution of the concept of enterprise costs, to systematize the features of the classification of costs and directions of their use, to consider the formation of a system of regulatory costs. Effective activity of industrial enterprises requires the study of the concept of cost management, the analysis of the perfection of methodological support for the formation of costs, the construction of processes of cost formation in industry. To solve the problems of cost management of industrial enterprises, a systematic approach is used to manage costs and identify the components of a management system. The model of estimation of efficiency of cost management of industrial enterprise on the basis of systematic approach is improved, as well as the mechanism of formation of expenses, built into the general system of cost management of industrial enterprise, is grounded and developed. Using feature-based cost-per-enterprise and cost center analysis, the multi-stage percentage ranking system has been defined as a percentage of costs, which, unlike existing ones, allows them to be reduced by ABC-based Pareto method and expert judgment from taking into account the importance of functions in ensuring the livelihood of enterprises. In the course of the dissertation, the economic nature and evolution of the concept of enterprise costs according to market conditions were determined. The signs of cost classification and directions of their use are systematized, formation of the system of normative regulation of expenses. The concept of cost management is researched and the perfection of scientific and methodological support of production cost formation is analyzed. For the needs of cost management of industrial enterprise, structural and logical schemes of processes of cost formation in industry have been developed. The possibility of using a systematic approach to cost management and defining the components of the management system was substantiated, as well as a mechanism of cost formation, integrated into the overall management system of industrial enterprises. A model for evaluating the cost management of an industrial enterprise based on a systematic approach has also been developed. To make management decisions, it is necessary to use the mechanism of formation of production costs, built into the general cost management system of an industrial enterprise, which, unlike the existing approaches, allows to make management decisions at an initial stage. In the process of research systematization of costs in relation to management functions was carried out, which, unlike the existing approaches, includes the use of a certain cost classifier for their identification and forecasting, the concept of cost management on the basis of synthesis was formed, which, unlike the existing approaches, will be taken into account the specificities of enterprises, and will be sensitive to any changes in the strategy of their activities. Theoretical and methodological aspects of cost systematization are analyzed by using comparative analysis of domestic and foreign classification systems to identify differences in the directions of application of cost information on different traits and to establish correlation between them, which, unlike existing approaches, extends the scope of their research, and also identified the tools, principles and methods of cost formation for the formation of an enterprise management system, which allowed to put forward the requirements that accord modern effective cost management system to be used in practice. The formation and implementation of measures for optimization of production costs, which at the stage of work planning, initially allow predicting costs and benefits, which, unlike the existing ones, can reliably predict the optimal value of production costs. The system of production cost monitoring is considered, which includes elements of elasticity and, unlike the existing approaches, uses a correlation model of cost dependence on production results. The elasticity indices are analyzed, which in the presence of a large number of characteristics, unlike the existing approaches, allow to carry out a preventive check of planned reasonableness of expenses for forecasting future value and price of production. The definition and implementation of cost reduction reserves in the industry have been improved by eliminating unnecessary costs in the process of planning unnecessary costs and improving the process of managing them by a systematic approach. According to the results of the dissertation, the mechanism of formation of production costs has been improved, built into the general system of industrial enterprise management, which, unlike the existing approaches, allows to make managerial decisions at an initial stage. Costs have been systematized in conjunction with management functions, which, in contrast to existing approaches, involves the use of a specific cost classifier for their identification and forecasting, and a cost management system based on synthesis, which, in contrast to existing approaches, takes into account the peculiarities enterprises, and is sensitive to any changes in their business strategy. The system of cost-effectiveness analysis is developed in the work, which, unlike the existing approaches, takes into account the assessment of weaknesses and strengths of the functional management structure and allows to streamline the current activity and development of the enterprise. Theoretical and methodological aspects of cost systematization are formulated by using comparative analysis of domestic and foreign classification systems to identify differences in the directions of application of cost information on different traits and to establish correlation between them, which, unlike existing approaches, extends the scope of their research. The definition of tools, principles, and methods of cost formation for the formation of the enterprise management system was carried out, which made it possible to put forward requirements that modern effective systems of cost management must meet in order to be used in practical activity. The indicators of elasticity, which in the presence of a large number of characteristics, unlike existing approaches, allow to carry out a preventive check of planned reasonableness of expenses for forecasting future cost and price of production. The dissertation is a scientific work in which the mechanism of formation of costs of an industrial enterprise is improved. The scientific results formulated in the dissertation are obtained by the author independently and are a personal achievement. The scientific results of the dissertation are published in professional and econometric scientific publications.

Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(農学)
甲第13127号
農博第1632号
新制||農||942(附属図書館)
学位論文||H19||N4253(農学部図書室)
UT51-2007-H400
京都大学大学院農学研究科森林科学専攻
(主査)教授 今村 祐嗣, 教授 矢野 浩之, 教授 杉山 淳司
学位規則第4条第1項該当

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Apr. 25, 2008). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Chemistry with Emphasis in Biophysics." Discipline: Chemistry; Department/School: Chemistry.

Biomedical research has shown that one-dimensional nanostructures present many potential advantages as delivery vehicles for drugs and biologics. These elongated structures have high aspect ratios that enable increased drug loading capacities and have been shown to have longer in vivo circulation times than other spherical nanoparticles. The increasing interest in these one-dimensional structures has necessitated the developments of fabrication methods for the precise control of the final morphology. A simple, cost effective means of producing nanotubes and nanorods is known as solution template wetting. While this technique has been used to fabricate many different types of elongated nanostructures, the parameters governing the final morphology remain ambiguous. The objectives of this research are to investigate these critical parameters, and furthermore to develop an understanding of the physical mechanism of nanostructure formation. The effects of the infiltration technique, dipping time, polymer molecular weight and template pore size on the morphology of the resulting nanostructure have been evaluated. Key results have established that the infiltration technique is a critical parameter that can enable the formation of stable nanotubes at very low polymer concentrations. Additionally, a tube to rod transition occurs as the infiltration time is increased over 18 hr. An investigation of the rheological properties of high and low molecular weight solutions also indicates that the capillary flow and infiltration of polymer occurs differently. Finally, the pore size was also shown to affect the ability to form hollow, stable structures, and that relatively large pore sizes are necessary for nanotube formation. The culmination of these results is an understanding of the physical layering mechanism of structure formation, and the tube to rod transition can thus be predicted by researchers investigating the use of elongated nanostructures for biomedical applications.

"The monograph is devoted to the development of a financial mechanism for the transformation of the national economic system from a relatively low growth rate and their significant instability of the export-raw materials model to a model of sustainable industrial growth. In the first chapter, the rationale is made for the feasibility (to solve the problem of forming an economy of sustainable industrial growth) of developing cooperation between the banking sector and the state in the field of financing the manufacturing industry based on the implementation of the interests of all key stakeholders of such projects, the interests of the state, the banking sector and manufacturing enterprises are identified, and the completeness of their implementation within the existing mechanisms of bank-state investment in the economy is assessed. The second chapter describes the algorithm of transactions for lending to industrial enterprises as part of the financial mechanism for forming an economy of sustainable industrial growth, and also develops methods for implementing the interests of the bank, the authorized state institution (creditors) and the manufacturing industry (borrower) when providing the latter with financing and in a situation of problem debt. In the third chapter, the author formulates a method for determining the "locomotive" industries, investment in which will stimulate the growth of the national economic system to the greatest extent

Due to the collapse of the Union, there was a reduction in funding for health care costs, as well as deterioration in the infrastructure and quality of medical services. The transitional economy in the Kyrgyz Republic has identified additional features in the health system. The main ones are the low level of funding, the presence of the shadow market of medical services, inefficient structure and the prevalence of high-cost hospital treatment. The market mechanism is developing, however, without state regulation. The Kyrgyz Republic continues to reform its health-care system. The task was to improve the methods of their financing. New mechanisms for financing medical services have been introduced. Despite the reduction in the number of hospitals, the number of patients treated in hospitals has increased.

By means of a retrospective analysis of the key positions of various schools of economic thought, the features of understanding the theory of cost are described. Special attention is paid to the study of cost theory of value, shows a mechanism of its transformation, given the formation of a new stage of socio-economic development of society, information economy.

Abstract Gravel-packed wells in the "C" field located in offshore Angola are prone to damage by a variety of factors including scales, fines migration, paraffin and asphaltene deposition resulting in skin values of 45-95. This paper focuses on the approach used for 2 subsea open hole gravel packed wells located within "C" field. Rigless subsea stimulations in approximately 470 m of water using an intervention vessel with the downline deployed via the vessel moonpool. Additionally, a stimulation vessel was utilized to provide pumping and fluid capacity without disturbing the primary intervention operations. This paper documents the efforts made to restore the wells forecasted production by bullheading the acid stimulation treatment from the stimulation vessel through the open-water hydraulic access system installed on the intervention vessel. Well history attributes the impairment to fines migration accumulation and scale and paraffins deposition. The proposed stimulation fluids were designed to treat as many damage mechanisms as possible during a single intervention. The basis for design incorporated a primary solvent pre-flush to clean possible paraffin and asphaltene deposition as well as prepare the reservoir and proppant pack for further stimulation fluids by stripping away hydrocarbon residue. The preflush was followed by a second treatment fluid consisting of HCl acid to remove any carbonate-based damage. The final treatment fluid utilizing a combination of HCl acid and hydrofluoric acid (HF) was specifically designed to remove fines contained in the gravel pack and screens. Injectivity tests were performed to evaluate the reservoir prior to and after the acid treatment as well as to help understand the damage mechanism. Based on the bottomhole pressure response during acid-treatment stages, measurable improvements were evident on both wells, which supports the pre-treatment damage diagnosis. The efficient and cost-effective execution of the treatment campaign, combined with the conclusive post-stimulation production data, confirms the effectiveness of open-water hydraulic access by utilizing an intervention vessel and a stimulation vessel, allowing to provide pumping and fluid capacity without disturbing the primary intervention operations on complex subsea wells. Post-stimulation results after the successful removal of wellbore scale and formation damage in the two subsea wells showed an average increase in oil production of 60%. Skin damage was reduced by 66% on Well A and a complete removal of skin on Well B. The results confirm the effectiveness of cost-driven acid stimulations on complex subsea wells without the use of a drilling rig as well as demonstrating the ability to address multiple damage mechanisms from a single intervention.

Abstract Hard zones in large diameter pipe have been identified as the cause of the Kashagan pipelines failure, the replacement of which is estimated to cost $3.6B [1–4]. Some hard zone formation mechanisms have been known for years, but one mechanism is “new”, or more precisely, newly recognized. This mechanism can occur during the Thermomechanical Control Processing (TMCP) of plate and specifically during accelerated cooling. The hard microstructure is lath bainite and is isolated in thin (200–500 μm) surface regions. To distinguish the new mechanism from the others these surface regions are given the name local hard zones (LHZs). There are currently no validated industry standard inspection methods that can be used to detect LHZs. This situation is challenging for an industry that relies on TMCP pipe for sour service applications. This paper explains the LHZ formation mechanism while a companion paper (Newbury, et al [59]) will describe TMCP monitoring techniques that can be used to mitigate the risk of LHZs.

Abstract Economical production from unconventional reservoirs including tight dolomite require some forms of stimulation techniques to increase the effective contact areas between wellbore and formation. However, productivity improvement of these formations with conventional techniques (e.g. acid stimulation) is very limited and mostly unfeasible. In this paper, an efficient chemical treatment is proposed to stimulate tight dolomite formation through wormholing mechanism and scale-based damage removal. The formation damage in tight reservoirs are much more severe due to the smaller pore/throat size. Among them, the scale-based permeability impairment or phase trapping can cause significant production lost. In this study, the proposed treatment fluid is used to remove the scale-based formation damage, mostly caused by drilling mud. To this aim, the damage removal efficiencies of dolomite cores, artificially damaged by scale precipitation, were investigated after HPHT coreflood treatment. In addition, the performance of the treatment fluid was evaluated as a mean to bypass the damaged zones around hydraulic fractures (caused by liquid phase trapping or significant net stress). To evaluate this, a series of coreflooding experiments were also performed on untreated tight dolomite cores and the feasibility of the wormholing mechanism was studied. The permeabilities of tight dolomite rocks were measured before and after the treatment. To visualize the wormhole propagation inside the cores, computed CT scanning were performed. The rock-fluid interaction was also investigated by analyzing the effluent samples by ICP. The main mechanism of this treatment technique is pore body/pore throat enlargement by slow rock dissolution. From the pore scale analysis, it is found that even at lower concentrations, the active ingredient reacts with rock minerals. A damaged dolomite core was also treated, and the results showed that the removal of Barite-based scale can be achieved even in the presence of native calcite or dolomite minerals. Also, it is found that wormholing can be only achieved at certain concentrations (>10 w%). It also depends on the injection rate and other field conditions such as temperature. Even at low concentration, the rock permeability of the damaged dolomite core can be increased by a factor of 35 (Kf/Ki=35). Finally, dolomite reservoir cores (25-30 μD) were treated at low injection rates (0.08-0.1 ml/min) imposed from the well injectivity condition. It was shown that despite an order of magnitude lower injection rate (compared to those in conventional acidizing) still an optimum injection rate is needed to extend the wormhole across the core. It is also verified that the active ingredient can be used in alcohol-based solutions for special applications such as tight gas and gas condensate reservoirs. The corrosion rate is far below the accepted corrosion level of 0.05 lb/ft2 and it is fully compatible with other additives and high salinity brines. The proposed treatment method is cost effective and experimentally proven to be efficient and long-lasting. Such treatment is recommended to tackle the low productivity of unconventional tight reservoirs. This treatment can be even applied to remove the additional formation damages usually caused during conventional stimulations such as hydraulic fracturing to boost the production.

Small satellites can be constructed at a fraction of the cost of a full-size satellite. One full-size satellite can be replaced with a multitude of small satellites, which offers a benefit in covering more area at the same time, achievable through formations. However, the shortcoming to the smaller size is usually a lack of thrusting capabilities. Furthermore, current designs for small satellite deployment mechanisms are only capable of low deployment velocities (on the order of meters per second). Prior research in using a pneumatic launcher shows that it is possible to achieve higher deployment velocities (75–125 m/s). This is beneficial in that it opens the possibility for limited but useful orbit placement and small satellite formations. Achieving a formation is done by reformulating the classical orbital mechanics equations to find the required deployment velocity vectors that yield the desired formation.

Abstract The complexity, high cost, and potential environmental concerns of chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods have diminished their field applications considerably. However, considering the significant incremental oil recoveries that can be obtained from these methods encourage researchers to explore ways to reduce both complexity, cost, and environmental concerns of such systems. This is especially important in carbonate formations, where after waterflooding, much of the oil remains trapped in complex reservoir pores—especially if the reservoir contains an interconnected fracture network of flow channels within the bulk rock matrix. In this paper, we present an experimental assessment of several simple chemical EOR waterflooding systems comprising of small concentrations of a low cost, low molecular weight ketone and a non-ionic surfactant in association with low-salinity brine. The experiments were conducted in carbonate cores from a Permian Basin San Andres Formation. Four different oil displacement scenarios were investigated using San Andres carbonate cores from the Central Vacuum Field in New Mexico. This included 1) low-salinity brine, 2) low-salinity brine with a surfactant, 3) low-salinity brine with a ketone, and 4) low-salinity brine with a combined ketone-surfactant system. Static imbibition experiments were conducted using a spontaneous imbibition apparatus in addition to the use of a high-speed centrifuge to saturate the cores to irreducible brine saturation. Adding a 1% concentration of 3-pentanone and a 1% non-ionic surfactant to a low-salinity brine yielded oil recoveries of 44% from the 3-pentanone system, compared to 11.4% from low-salinity brine only. The oil recovery is enhanced by a single mechanism or synergy of several mechanisms that includes interfacial tension (IFT) reduction by surfactant, capillary imbibition, favorable wettability alteration by ketone, and osmotic low-salinity brine imbibition. The IFT decreased to 1.79 mN/m upon addition of non-ionic surfactant to low-salinity brine, and it reduced to 2.96 mN/m in a mixture of 3-pentanone and non-ionic surfactant in low-salinity brine. Furthermore, ketone improved the core wettability by reducing the contact angle to 43.9° from 50.7° in the low-salinity brine experiment. In addition, the low-salinity brine systems caused mineral dissolution, which created an alkali environment confirmed by an increase in the brine pH. We believe the increase in pH increased the hydrophilic character of the pores; thus, increasing oil recovery.

The cost and quality of aluminum produced by the reduction process are strongly dependent on heat treated (baked) carbon anodes. A typical aluminum smelter requires more than half a million tons of carbon anodes for producing one million ton of aluminum. The anode baking process is very energy intensive, approximately requires 2GJ of energy per ton of carbon anodes. Moreover, pollutant emissions such as NOx and soot formation are of major concern in the aluminum anode baking furnace. The current study aims at developing an accurate numerical platform for predicting the combustion and emissions characteristics of an anode baking furnace. The Brookes and Moss model, and the extended Zeldovich mechanism are employed to estimate soot and NOx concentration, respectively. Considering a fire group of three burner bridges, one after the other in the fire direction, combustion and emissions features of these three firing sections are interrelated in terms of oxidizer’s concentration and temperature. In the present study, considering this interconnection, the effect of diluted oxygen concentration at elevated oxidizer’s temperature (∼1200°C), which are the key features of the moderate or intense low oxygen dilution (MILD) combustion are analyzed. It is observed that by circulating some of the exhaust gases through the ABF crossovers, oxygen dilution occurs which results in higher fuel efficiency, lower pollutant emissions, and more homogeneous flow and temperature fields.

The overall goal of this research was to elucidate the factors affecting early development of Metarhizium spp. (previously named M. anisopliae) on ticks or tick cuticle extracts and the molecular basis of these early infection processes. The original objectives were: 1. Characterize the pre-penetration events (adhesion, germination and appressorium formation) of spores of M. anisopliae strains with high or low virulence during tick infection. 2. Create GFP-expressing strains of M. anisopliae tick pathogens having high and low virulence to compare their progress of infection by microscopy. 3. Use microarray analyses, primarily with existing M. anisopliae EST sequences in GenBank, to identify and characterize fungal genes whose expression is regulated in response to host cuticle extracts. Objective 3 was later modified (as approved by BARD) to use RNAseq to characterize the early stages of fungal gene expression during infection of intact host cuticles. This new method provides a massively larger and more informative dataset and allows us to take advantage of a) recently published genomes of Metarhizium robertsii and M. acridum for RNAseq data analysis, and b) newly developed and highly efficient cDNA sequencing technologies that are relatively low cost and, therefore, allow deep sequencing of multiple transcriptome samples. We examined pre-penetration and penetration events that differentiate high and low virulence strains of Metarhizium spp., focusing on spore adhesion, germination, appressorium formation, and penetration of tick integuments. Initiation of fungal infection was compared on susceptible and resistant tick species at different tick developmental stages. In vitro studies comparing the effects of protein and fatty acid profiles from tick cuticle extracts demonstrated that resistant tick cuticles contain higher concentrations of specific lipids that inhibit fungal development than do susceptible tick cuticles, suggesting one mechanism of Ixodidae resistance to fungal entomopathogens (Objective 1). We used molecular markers to determine that the three M. anisopliae strains from Israel that we studied actually were three distinct species. M. brunneum is highly virulent against the tick Rhipicephalus annulatus, M. pingshaense and M. robertsii are intermediate in virulence, and M. majus is of low virulence. We transformed all four Metarhizium species to express GFP and used them in pathogenicity assays against diverse tick species. Key findings were that a) resistant ticks inhibit Metarhizium infection prior to hemocoel invasion by reducing fungal viability on the cuticle surface (Objective 2), as was supported by the in vitro studies of Objective 1, and b) Metarhizium kills susceptible ticks after cuticle penetration but prior to hemocoel colonization. Transcriptome studies of the most virulent species, M. brunneum, are in progress and include analyses of ungerminated conidia and conidia germination and development on a low nutrient medium or on susceptible R. annulatus exoskeleton (Objective 3). We anticipate these studies will contribute to identifying fungal genetic factors that increase virulence and speed of kill and may help reveal tick chemistries that could be included in biocontrol formulations to increase efficacy. Methodologies developed to screen tick cuticle extracts for ability to support conidia germination and development may help in the selection of wild fungi with increased virulence against resistant ticks. The overall knowledge gained should contribute not only to the improvement of tick control but also to the control of other blood-sucking arthropods and related plant pests. Use of bio-based agents for controlling arthropods will contribute to a healthier, more sustainable environment and serve a growing number of organic food farmers.

An analysis of the experience of professional training bachelors of electromechanics in Ukraine and abroad made it possible to determine that one of the leading trends in its modernization is the synergistic integration of various engineering branches (mechanical, electrical, electronic engineering and automation) in mechatronics for the purpose of design, manufacture, operation and maintenance electromechanical equipment. Teaching mechatronics provides for the meaningful integration of various disciplines of professional and practical training bachelors of electromechanics based on the concept of modeling and technological integration of various organizational forms and teaching methods based on the concept of mobility. Within this approach, the leading learning tools of bachelors of electromechanics are mobile Internet devices (MID) – a multimedia mobile devices that provide wireless access to information and communication Internet services for collecting, organizing, storing, processing, transmitting, presenting all kinds of messages and data. The authors reveals the main possibilities of using MID in learning to ensure equal access to education, personalized learning, instant feedback and evaluating learning outcomes, mobile learning, productive use of time spent in classrooms, creating mobile learning communities, support situated learning, development of continuous seamless learning, ensuring the gap between formal and informal learning, minimize educational disruption in conflict and disaster areas, assist learners with disabilities, improve the quality of the communication and the management of institution, and maximize the cost-efficiency. Bachelor of electromechanics competency in modeling of technical objects is a personal and vocational ability, which includes a system of knowledge, skills, experience in learning and research activities on modeling mechatronic systems and a positive value attitude towards it; bachelor of electromechanics should be ready and able to use methods and software/hardware modeling tools for processes analyzes, systems synthesis, evaluating their reliability and effectiveness for solving practical problems in professional field. The competency structure of the bachelor of electromechanics in the modeling of technical objects is reflected in three groups of competencies: general scientific, general professional and specialized professional. The implementation of the technique of using MID in learning bachelors of electromechanics in modeling of technical objects is the appropriate methodic of using, the component of which is partial methods for using MID in the formation of the general scientific component of the bachelor of electromechanics competency in modeling of technical objects, are disclosed by example academic disciplines “Higher mathematics”, “Computers and programming”, “Engineering mechanics”, “Electrical machines”. The leading tools of formation of the general scientific component of bachelor in electromechanics competency in modeling of technical objects are augmented reality mobile tools (to visualize the objects’ structure and modeling results), mobile computer mathematical systems (universal tools used at all stages of modeling learning), cloud based spreadsheets (as modeling tools) and text editors (to make the program description of model), mobile computer-aided design systems (to create and view the physical properties of models of technical objects) and mobile communication tools (to organize a joint activity in modeling).