At the Forefront of Transport Education and Industrial Science in Russia: the 125th Anniversary of Russian University of Transport

The article is dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the founding of Russian University of Transport (MIIT), the largest transport university in the country. Over the years of its existence, the University has gone from an engineering school to a national-wide transport university, a leading center for science and education.The history of the University is examined through the prism of formation and development of schools of sciences. The University established world-known schools of sciences of structural mechanics and bridge construction, hydraulic theory of friction, bridge construction and welding, structural mechanics, design and operation of railways, design and thermal calculations of steam locomotives, etc.Over the years, the University has trained many tens of thousands of highly qualified specialists for the transport industry of the country. Loyalty to traditions, the ability to respond to demands of the time and work for the future allow Russian University of Transport to remain in the ranks of the leading universities in Russia.

Voting with the shilling: The 'Money Talks Factor' in Kenya's Public Policy and Electoral Democracy

The influence of money in elections has become an important ingredient in determining electoral outcomes worldwide. The use of money in political activities has adversely affected the nature of public policy, governance, competition, the rule of law, transparency, equity and democracy. Although there are laws, policies and guidelines governing the use of money during elections, there is little political will to implement them. This paper examines how money, or the lack thereof, determines electoral outcomes in multi-party democracies with a focus on Kenya, employing both the hydraulic theory and the push-and-pull paradigm. The study found that in most cases, victory in elections follows those with money; in other cases, it is the potential for victory that attracts money from self-interested donors. The study calls on electoral bodies such as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to honour their mandate and demand compliance with set laws and regulations in a bid to entrench governance and create a level playing field for contestants.

INFLUÊNCIA DO CANHÃO FINAL NA DISTRIBUIÇÃO DE PRESSÃO E VAZÃO DA LINHA LATERAL DE UM PIVÔ CENTRAL

INFLUÊNCIA DO CANHÃO FINAL NA DISTRIBUIÇÃO DE PRESSÃO E VAZÃO DA LINHA LATERAL DE UM PIVÔ CENTRAL VICTOR BUONO DA SILVA BAPTISTA1; ALBERTO COLOMBO2; THIAGO HENRIQUE BURGARELLI TEIXEIRA3; PIETROS ANDRÉ BALBINO SANTOS4; ADRIANO VALENTIM DIOTTO5 E LESSANDRO COLL FARIA6 1 Professor Assistente, Departamento de Engenharia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitario, s/n, Caixa Postal 3034, CEP 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brasil. Email: [email protected] 2 Professor Titular, Departamento de Recursos Hídricos e Saneamento, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitario, s/n, Caixa Postal 3034, CEP 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brasil. Email: [email protected] 3 Doutorando, Programa de Pós-graduação em Recursos Hídricos, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitario, s/n, Caixa Postal 3034, CEP 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brasil. Email: [email protected] 4 Doutorando, Programa de Pós-graduação em Recursos Hídricos, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitario, s/n, Caixa Postal 3034, CEP 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brasil. Email: [email protected] 5 Professor Adjunto, Departamento de Recursos Hídricos e Saneamento, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitario, s/n, Caixa Postal 3034, CEP 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brasil. Email: [email protected] 6 Professor Associado, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Rua Gomes Carneiro, Centro, CEP 96010-610, Pelotas, RS, Brasil. Email: [email protected] 1 RESUMO O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a influência da presença do canhão final, com diferentes vazões, na distribuição de pressão e vazão da linha lateral de um sistema de irrigação do tipo pivô central utilizando o simulador hidráulico EPANET em comparação com um modelo analítico. Foram realizadas simulações de uma linha lateral do pivô central, localizado em Lavras/MG, com a inserção de um canhão final fictício de altas vazões. Houve também a diminuição do diâmetro da linha lateral, visando provocar maior perda de carga. Os resultados obtidos pelo EPANET foram comparados com resultados determinados a partir de um método analítico. Dessa forma, este estudo demonstrou a influência do acréscimo de vazão na distribuição de pressão da linha lateral do pivô central, devido à presença do canhão final. Os resultados também demonstraram a qualidade da simulação hidráulica do EPANET, que apresentou desvio relativo máximo de 1% em relação ao método analítico. Keywords: simulação hidráulica, distribuição de pressão, EPANET, modelagem. BAPTISTA, V. B. S.; COLOMBO, A.; TEIXEIRA, T. H. B.; SANTOS, P. A. B.; DIOTTO, A. V.; FARIA, L. C. INFLUENCE OF END GUN IN THE PRESSURE AND FLOW RATE DISTRIBUTION OF A CENTER PIVOT LATERAL LINES 2 ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to analyze the influence of the presence of the end gun, with different flow rates, on the pressure distribution and lateral line flow of a center pivot irrigation system using the EPANET hydraulic simulator compared to an analytical model. Simulations were performed on center pivot lateral line located in Lavras/MG. In the simulations was inserted an end gun operating under high flow. There was also decrease lateral line diameter aiming to cause greater head loss. The results obtained were compared with the use of EPANET parameters and with an analytical method. Thus, this study showed the influence from flow increase in the pressure distribution of the pivot lateral line, since there was an end gun in the end of the lateral. The results also demonstrated a satisfied estimative of EPANET's hydraulic theory. Keywords: hydraulic simulation, pressure distribution, EPANET, modeling.

Got Milk? How Freedoms Evolved From Dairying Climates

The roots and routes of cultural evolution are still a mystery. Here, we aim to lift a corner of that veil by illuminating the deep origins of encultured freedoms, which evolved through centuries-long processes of learning to pursue and transmit values and practices oriented toward autonomous individual choice. Analyzing a multitude of data sources, we unravel for 108 Old World countries a sequence of cultural evolution reaching from (a) ancient climates suitable for dairy farming to (b) lactose tolerance at the eve of the colonial era to (c) resources that empowered people in the early industrial era to (d) encultured freedoms today. Historically, lactose tolerance peaks under two contrasting conditions: cold winters and cool summers with steady rain versus hot summers and warm winters with extensive dry periods (Study 1). However, only the cold/wet variant of these two conditions links lactose tolerance at the eve of the colonial era to empowering resources in early industrial times, and to encultured freedoms today (Study 2). We interpret these findings as a form of gene-culture coevolution within a novel thermo-hydraulic theory of freedoms.

Rotating Shallow-Water Models as Quasilinear Hyperbolic Systems, and Related Numerical Methods

The chapter contains the mathematical background necessary to understand the properties of RSW models and numerical methods for their simulations. Mathematics of RSW model is presented by using their one-dimensional reductions, which are necessarily’one-and-a-half’ dimensional, due to rotation and include velocity in the second direction. Basic notions of quasi-linear hyperbolic systems are recalled. The notions of weak solutions, wave breaking, and shock formation are introduced and explained on the example of simple-wave equation. Lagrangian description of RSW is used to demonstrate that rotation does not prevent wave-breaking. Hydraulic theory and Rankine–Hugoniot jump conditions are formulated for RSW models. In the two-layer case it is shown that the system loses hyperbolicity in the presence of shear instability. Ideas of construction of well-balanced (i.e. maintaining equilibria) shock-resolving finite-volume numerical methods are explained and these methods are briefly presented, with illustrations on nonlinear evolution of equatorial waves.