高效液相色谱/氢化物发生/原子荧光快速检测尿砷形态

本文对砷形态分析方法进行了评述。提出了人尿中Ａｓ（Ⅲ）、Ａｓ（Ⅴ）、一甲基砷（ＭＭＡ）和二甲基砷（ＤＭＡ）的快速、灵敏的形态分析方法。方法基于在１５ｃｍ长、３μｍ粒径的ＨＰＬＣ柱上快速分离不同形态的砷后以灵敏的氢化物发生／原子荧光检测。常见砷的四种形态的分析只须４ｍｉｎ即可完成,检出限在μｇ／Ｌ级。标准样品尿中砷的形态分析结果与标准值吻合很好。本法已应用于摄取砷糖前、后所采集的尿样中砷的形态分析研     

Arithmetic returns for investment performance measurement

This paper introduces new money-weighted metrics for investment performance analysis, based on arithmetic means of holding period rates weighted by the investment’s market values. This approach generates rates of return which measure a fund’s or portfolio’s performance and a fund manager’s performance. It also enables to show that the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is a weighted mean of holding period rates associated with interim values which differ from market values, so that value additivity is violated. The manager’s Arithmetic Internal Rate of Return (AIRR) is shown to be the true period equivalent of the cumulative Time Weighted Rate of Return (TWRR), whereas the period TWRR (a geometric return) provides a different ranking. The method is easily generalized for coping with varying benchmark rates. We also cope with the practical problem of estimating interim values whenever they are not available.     

Universal prediction-based adaptive fault estimator applied to secure communication

In this paper, a communication scheme that could use a nonlinear dynamical system to create encrypted keys with an additional dimension is proposed, and the scheme could keep encrypted keys not to diverge. Since the divergence of encrypted keys (nonlinear signals) easily happens in non-linear systems coupled with other systems, the adaptive control approach, proposed in this paper, uses the universal state-space adaptive observer-based fault diagnosis/estimator and the high-performance tracker to eliminate the divergence of encrypted keys. At the same time, the receiver of communication retrieves informal messages by the universal state-space adaptive observer-based fault diagnosis/estimator and the high-performance tracker. Thus, this paper takes advantage of the merit of digital redesign methodology for a practical implementation of secure-communication, and the estimator solves the problem of secure communication. Thus developed a new approach could add more dimensions into nonlinear secure-communication systems without having the problem of divergence of encrypted keys.     

Spectral Changes Due to Performance Environment in Singers, Nonsingers, and Actors

From postrecording interviews of professional singers, it was hypothesized that recording environments, i.e., sound-treated environment versus an auditorium, may induce different vocal behaviors. To test this hypothesis, three groups consisting of nonsingers, singers, and actors were recorded in two different recording environments: a sound-treated booth (IAC) and an auditorium (AUD). Three recordings were obtained from each participant: recording one (IAC) and two (AUD1) required the participants to read in a normal voice; recording three (AUD2) required participants to pretend that they were "performing" before a full house. Results indicated that only the singers and the actors exhibited significant spectral and/or frequency/duration differences from one recording environment to another, with the most dramatic differences exhibited by the singers. It was concluded that the environment in which we record experimental samples from professional voice users, especially singers, should be considered as a variable that can affect results.     

线性滑轨支撑微型斯特林制冷机的开发及性能调试

介绍了独立开发的采用线性滑轨支撑的微型整体式斯特林制冷机,对结构设计的要点进行了详尽的分析,指出采用线性滑轨支撑将大大改善旋转电机驱动斯特林制冷机的可靠性.文中还介绍了对影响制冷机性能特性的因素进行综合试验的情况.     

Complex dynamics in the distribution of players’ scoring performance in Rugby Union world cups

The evolution of the scoring performance of Rugby Union players is investigated over the seven rugby world cups (RWC) that took place from 1987 to 2011, and a specific attention is given to how they may have been impacted by the switch from amateurism to professionalism that occurred in 1995. The distribution of the points scored by individual players, _Ps$P_s$, ranked in order of performance were well described by the simplified canonical law _Ps∝(r+?)^−α$P_s\propto {(r+?)}^{-\alpha }$, where r$r$ is the rank, and ?$?$ and α$\alpha$ are the parameters of the distribution. The parameter α$\alpha$ did not significantly change from 1987 to 2007 (α=0.92±0.03)$(\alpha =0.92\pm 0.03)$, indicating a negligible effect of professionalism on players’ scoring performance. In contrast, the parameter ?$?$ significantly increased from ?=1.32$?=1.32$ for 1987 RWC, ?=2.30$?=2.30$ for 1999 to 2003 RWC and ?=5.60$?=5.60$ for 2007 RWC, suggesting a progressive decrease in the relative performance of the best players. Finally, the sharp decreases observed in both α(α=0.38)$\alpha (\alpha =0.38)$ and ?(?=0.70)$?(?=0.70)$ in the 2011 RWC indicate a more even distribution of the performance of individuals among scorers, compared to the more heterogeneous distributions observed from 1987 to 2007, and suggest a sharp increase in the level of competition leading to an increase in the average quality of players and a decrease in the relative skills of the top players. Note that neither α$\alpha$ nor ?$?$ significantly correlate with traditional performance indicators such as the number of points scored by the best players, the number of games played by the best players, the number of points scored by the team of the best players or the total number of points scored over each RWC. This indicates that the dynamics of the scoring performance of Rugby Union players is influenced by hidden processes hitherto inaccessible through standard performance metrics; this suggests that players’ scoring performance is connected to ubiquitous phenomena such as anomalous diffusion.     

Minimal Informationally Complete Measurements for Pure States

We consider measurements, described by a positive-operator-valued measure (POVM), whose outcome probabilities determine an arbitrary pure state of a D-dimensional quantum system. We call such a measurement a pure-state informationally complete (PS I-complete) POVM. We show that a measurement with 2D−1 outcomes cannot be PS I-complete, and then we construct a POVM with 2D outcomes that suffices, thus showing that a minimal PS I-complete POVM has 2D outcomes. We also consider PS I-complete POVMs that have only rank-one POVM elements and construct an example with 3D−2 outcomes, which is a generalization of the tetrahedral measurement for a qubit. The question of the minimal number of elements in a rank-one PS I-complete POVM is left open.     

Benchmarking with quality-adjusted DEA (Q-DEA) to seek lower-cost high-quality service: Evidence from a U.S.bank application

Benchmarking is a widely cited method to identify and adopt best-practices as a means to improve performance. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been demonstrated to be a powerful benchmarking methodology for situations where multiple inputs and outputs need to be assessed to identify best-practices and improve productivity in organizations. Most DEA benchmarking studies have excluded quality, even in service-sector applications such as health care where quality is a key element of performance. This limits the practical value of DEA in organizations where maintaining and improving service quality is critical to achieving performance objectives. In this paper, alternative methods incorporating quality in DEA benchmarking are demonstrated and evaluated. It is shown that simply treating the quality measures as DEA outputs does not help in discriminating the performance. Thus, the current study presents a new, more sensitive, quality-adjusted DEA (Q-DEA), which effectively deals with quality measures in benchmarking. We report the results of applying Q-DEA to a U.S. bank's 200-branch network that required a method for benchmarking to help manage operating costs and service quality. Q-DEA findings helped the bank achieve cost savings and improved operations while preserving service quality, a dimension critical to its mission. New insights about ways to improve branch operations based on the best-practice (high-quality low-cost) benchmarks identified with Q-DEA are also described in the paper. This demonstrates the practical need and potential benefits of Q-DEA and its efficacy in one application, and also suggests the need for further research on measuring and incorporating quality into DEA benchmarking. The review process of this paper was handled by the Edit-in-Chief Peter Hammer.