An Optical Frequency Comb Tied to GPS for Laser Frequency/Wavelength Calibration

Optical frequency combs can be employed over a broad spectral range to calibrate laser frequency or vacuum wavelength. This article describes procedures and techniques utilized in the Precision Engineering Division of NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) for comb-based calibration of laser wavelength, including a discussion of ancillary measurements such as determining the mode order. The underlying purpose of these calibrations is to provide traceable standards in support of length measurement. The relative uncertainty needed to fulfill this goal is typically 10⁻⁸ and never below 10⁻¹², very modest requirements compared to the capabilities of comb-based frequency metrology. In this accuracy range the Global Positioning System (GPS) serves as an excellent frequency reference that can provide the traceable underpinning of the measurement. This article describes techniques that can be used to completely characterize measurement errors in a GPS-based comb system and thus achieve full confidence in measurement results.     

全球药妆品市场概览

对美国、法国、白本和中国的药妆品市场状况进行了概述。对美国药妆品市场的专业化特色进行了介绍。认为日本是亚洲化妆品市场的领航者和风向标，对日本药妆品市场、药妆连锁店的品牌推广及经营理念进行了论述。     

Patent search on biologics as potential biosimilar candidates

The biological pharmaceutical market is one of the fastest growing sectors in the health care business. Sales of biologic drugs reached $120 billion in 2008 [1] and the worldwide market of biologics continues to grow (IMS Health). As patents on first generation of biologic drugs, including epoetin, insulin granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and interferon alpha, will soon expire, if they have not already, and patents on some of the second generation of biological drugs, such as antibody drugs, are going to be expire in the next few years, there exists a great opportunity in developing biosimilars, especially for large pharmaceutical companies which face great challenges in developing new blockbuster drugs. In the past few years, the United States, Canada, and Japan have debated or passed legislation on biosimilars with active involvement from top pharmaceutical and generic drug companies. The successful leader in this field will be the one that has the foresight and resources to position themselves well to gain in the future. So what are biosimilars? What are the technological differences between biosimilars and small molecule generic drugs? Finally, what are the considerations for biosimilars in terms of patent searching? An example on a biosimilar study is given here.     

Learning in a changing environment.

Multiple cue probability learning studies have typically focused on stationary environments. We present 3 experiments investigating learning in changing environments. A fine-grained analysis of the learning dynamics shows that participants were responsive to both abrupt and gradual changes in cue–outcome relations. We found no evidence that participants adapted to these types of change in qualitatively different ways. Also, in contrast to earlier claims that these tasks are learned implicitly, participants showed good insight into what they learned. By fitting formal learning models, we investigated whether participants learned global functional relationships or made localized predictions from similar experienced exemplars. Both a local (the associative learning model) and a global learning model (the Bayesian linear filter) fitted the data of the first 2 experiments. However, the results of Experiment 3, which was specifically designed to discriminate between local and global learning models, provided more support for global learning models. Finally, we present a novel model to account for the cue competition effects found in previous research and displayed by some of our participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimal and self‐tuning weighted measurement fusion Kalman filters and their asymptotic global optimality

For the multisensor linear discrete time‐invariant stochastic systems with unknown noise variances, using the correlation method, the information fusion noise variance estimators with consistency are given by taking the average of the local noise variance estimators. Substituting them into two optimal weighted measurement fusion steady‐state Kalman filters, two new self‐tuning weighted measurement fusion Kalman filters with a self‐tuning Riccati equation are presented. By the dynamic variance error system analysis (DVESA) method, it is rigorously proved that the self‐tuning Riccati equation converges to the steady‐state optimal Riccati equation. Further, by the dynamic error system analysis (DESA) method, it is proved that the steady‐state optimal and self‐tuning Kalman fusers converge to the global optimal centralized Kalman fuser, so that they have the asymptotic global optimality. Compared with the centralized Kalman fuser, they can significantly reduce the computational burden. A simulation example for the target tracking systems shows their effectiveness. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

美军GPS的装备保障应用研究

全球定位系统（global positions system，GPS）技术的军事应用，给美军带来了巨大的军事效益。介绍了美军GPS的功能，分析了GPS技术在美军装备保障中的应用和影响，提出了国产导航定位系统装备保障应用的启示。     

A dual‐response strategy for global logistics under uncertainty: a case study of a third‐party logistics company

This paper examines global logistics problems experienced by a third‐party logistics (3PL) company that is responsible for transporting goods from one country to another by road, as well as warehousing goods in two countries. Because of the limited fleet capacity, the logistics company has to hire additional trucks from two countries in advance. However, customer's shipment information is uncertain, and the accurate shipment notice is only available on the shipping day. This paper proposes a dual‐response logistics strategy to be as responsive as possible for coping with short shipment notice time and uncertainty involved. A two‐stage stochastic mixed 0–1 programming model is formulated to satisfy customer demand while minimizing the total logistics cost. A series of experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed stochastic model. Compared to the corresponding expected value model, the stochastic model provides a more responsive and less expensive global logistics system.     

A grouping-based global harmony search algorithm for modeling of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

In recent years, accurate identification of voltage versus current (V-I) characteristics of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has attracted significant attention in the literature. However, the main drawback in accurate modeling is the lack of information about the precise values of the model parameters. In this paper, in order to overcome this drawback a grouping-based global harmony search algorithm, named GGHS, is proposed for parameter identification issue. The proposed algorithm attempts to provide an efficient way in which a new harmony can be properly improvised. In order to study the capability of the proposed algorithm, the results obtained by GGHS are compared with those obtained by two versions of harmony search (HS) algorithms, three versions of particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms, as well as seeker optimization algorithm (SOA). Simulation results accentuate the superiority of the GGHS over the other methods.     

On the asymptotic property analysis for a class of adaptive control systems with σ‐modification

With the effect of σ‐modification in adaptive control systems, robustness is achieved at the potential expense of destroying some of the convergence properties. This paper proposes a qualitative analysis method for the situations where the σ‐modification may lead to perfect tracking and also, given the prior knowledge of system parameters, may allow proper modification of the adaptive algorithm. The applicability of the proposed analysis method is illustrated by two examples, where the system control gains that lead to global asymptotic convergence are given explicitly. Further, simulations are performed to verify the qualitative analysis results. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.