Strong asymptotic convergence of evolution equations governed by maximal monotone operators with Tikhonov regularization

We consider the Tikhonov-like dynamics where A is a maximal monotone operator on a Hilbert space and the parameter function ε(t) tends to 0 as t→∞ with . When A is the subdifferential of a closed proper convex function f, we establish strong convergence of u(t) towards the least-norm minimizer of f. In the general case we prove strong convergence towards the least-norm point in A⁻¹(0) provided that the function ε(t) has bounded variation, and provide a counterexample when this property fails.     

Eliminating fast reactions in stochastic simulations of biochemical networks: a bistable genetic switch

In many stochastic simulations of biochemical reaction networks, it is desirable to "coarse grain" the reaction set, removing fast reactions while retaining the correct system dynamics. Various coarse-graining methods have been proposed, but it remains unclear which methods are reliable and which reactions can safely be eliminated. We address these issues for a model gene regulatory network that is particularly sensitive to dynamical fluctuations: a bistable genetic switch. We remove protein-DNA and/or protein-protein association-dissociation reactions from the reaction set using various coarse-graining strategies. We determine the effects on the steady-state probability distribution function and on the rate of fluctuation-driven switch flipping transitions. We find that protein-protein interactions may be safely eliminated from the reaction set, but protein-DNA interactions may not. We also find that it is important to use the chemical master equation rather than macroscopic rate equations to compute effective propensity functions for the coarse-grained reactions.     

Uniform and Pointwise Quantitative Approximation by Kantorovich–Choquet Type Integral Operators with Respect to Monotone and Submodular Set Functions

In this paper, for the univariate Bernstein–Kantorovich, Szász–Mirakjan–Kantorovich and Baskakov–Kantorovich operators written in terms of the Choquet integral with respect to a monotone and submodular set function, we obtain quantitative approximation estimates, uniform and pointwise in terms of the modulus of continuity. In addition, we show that for large classes of functions, the Kantorovich–Choquet type operators approximate better than their classical correspondents. Also, we construct new Szász–Mirakjan–Kantorovich–Choquet and Baskakov–Kantorovich–Choquet operators, which approximate uniformly f in each compact subinterval of \([0, +\infty )\) with the order \(\omega _{1}(f; \sqrt{\lambda _{n}})\), where \(\lambda _{n}\searrow 0\) arbitrary fast.     

A generalization of the Fujisawa-Kuh global inversion theorem

We discuss the problem of global invertibility of nonlinear maps defined on the finite dimensional Euclidean space via differential tests. We provide a generalization of the Fujisawa-Kuh global inversion theorem and introduce a generalized ratio condition which detects when the pre-image of a certain class of linear manifolds is non-empty and connected. In particular, we provide conditions that also detect global injectivity.     

Potassium sorbate release from poly(vinyl alcohol)-bacterial cellulose films

Active packaging materials are the subject of research because their performance exceeds that of traditional packaging. From this class, antimicrobial materials extend the shelf-life of products and reduce the risk of contamination by pathogens. In this paper, new composite materials with antimicrobial properties are obtained by using polyvinyl alcohol and bacterial cellulose powder. Potassium (2E,4E)-hexa-2,4-dienoate was used as the antimicrobial agent. The films thus obtained were characterised using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Mass transfer phenomena concerning the release of potassium (2E,4E)-hexa-2,4-dienoate were investigated. The results indicated that the new biocomposite films could be used as antimicrobial packaging materials.     

Baouendi–Trèves approximation theorem for CR functions with values in a complex Fréchet space

We study CR functions with values in a complex Fréchet space X. We prove a vector valued analog to a result by Baouendi and Trèves (Ann Math 113:387–421, 1981), i.e. any X-valued CR function of Teodorescu class B ¹ may be locally approximated by X-valued holomorphic functions on ${{\mathbb C}^n}$ . We show that any CR function ${u \in C^\omega (M, X)}$ on a real analytic CR hypersurface ${M \subset {\mathbb {C}}^n}$ admits a unique holomorphic extension ${f \in {\mathcal {O}}(\Omega, X)}$ to some open neighborhood ${\Omega \supset M}$ .     

Boundary optimal control for nonlinear antiplane problems

We consider a nonlinear antiplane problem which models the deformation of an elastic cylindrical body in frictional contact with a rigid foundation. The contact is modelled with Tresca’s law of dry friction in which the friction bound is slip dependent.The aim of this article is to study an optimal control problem which consists of leading the stress tensor as close as possible to a given target, by acting with a control on the boundary of the body. The existence of at least one optimal control is proved. Next we introduce a regularized problem, depending on a small parameter ρ, and we study the convergence of the optimal controls when ρ tends to zero. An optimality condition is delivered for the regularized problem.     

Sustainable production technologies which take into account environmental constraints

We formulate and study a multiobjective programming approach for production processes which implements suitable constraints on pollutant emissions. We consider two alternative optimization problems: (a) minimum pollution risk; (b) maximum expected return. For each pollutant, we define three different contamination levels: (a) the desirable or the target pollution level, (b) the alarm (warning or critical) level and (c) the maximum admissible (acceptable) level, and introduce penalties proportional to the amounts of pollutants that exceed these levels. The objective function of the minimum pollution risk problem is not smooth since it contains positive parts of some affine functions, resulting in mathematical difficulties, which can be solved by formulating an alternative linear programming model, which makes use of additional variables and has the same solutions as the initial problem. We investigate various particular cases and analyze a numerical example for a textile plant.     

Towards light scalar meson structure

The origin of the lightest scalar mesons is studied in the framework of the instanton liquid model of the QCD vacuum. The impact of phonon-like vacuum excitations on the σ-meson features is qualitatively analyzed. In particular, it is noticed that the changes produced in the scalar sector may unexpectedly become quite considerable in spite of insignificant values of corrections to the dynamical quark masses and then the medley of σ-meson and those excitations may reveal itself as broad resonance states of different masses.