Optimal Inventory Policies with Service-Level Constraints

In a practical situation it is often difficult to determine the value of the shortage costs for use in in ventory-control systems. However, in cost-minimization problems including service-level constraints, shortage costs are implicitly prevailing. With the purpose of exploring these relations, a continuous review (Q, r) stock-control system is considered, where the order points and lot sizes are computed simultaneously. Instead of explicitly expressing the shortage cost in the objective function, it is taken into consideration through a service-level constraint. The shadow price of this constraint can in some sense be interpreted as the shortage cost corresponding to the requested service level. By changing the value of the service level, interesting relations between shortage costs and service levels can be viewed for different sets of other inventory parameters. In order to investigate the sensitivity for probabilistic variations in the input data, two different probability distributions are used to describe the lead-time demand.     

Stationary axisymmetric solutions in the vacuum Jordan-Brans-Dicke theory

It is shown that any stationary axisymmetric solution to the vacuum field equations of the Jordan-Brans-Dicke (JBD) theory may be obtained from a composition of any stationary axisymmetric vacuum Einstein spacetime with the Weyl class of metrics. Thus, generating solution techniques can be used to obtain any stationary axisymmetric JBD vacuum solution. In this manner, C. B. G. McIntosh's results concerning this topic are improved upon.     

Acoustic susceptibility of an insulating spin-glass

High frequency acoustic measurements have been performed at temperatures around the freezing pointT _c in a cobalt insulating spin-glass. Assuming a Waller coupling mechanism between the spins and the acoustic wave, the data are interpreted in the framework of a dynamical model which takes into account the modulation of the reaction field. As a result, at the freezing temperature the characteristic relaxation time has no anomaly while the relevant susceptibility presents a maximum. The peculiar frequency dependence (as ^1/2) atT _c of the complex elastic constant is experimentally put in evidence.Associated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UA 789)     

Searching for optimal configurations by simulated tunneling

Optimization theory deals with algorithms finding the lowest cost (energy) configuration in a minimal number of steps. When the cost function has many local minima, the deterministic algorithms become easily trapped in suboptimal solutions. The simulated annealing method tries to overcome this difficulty by introducting thermal noise in the problem. Here we explore the possibility of implementing search procedures analogous to the quantum tunneling effect. The suggested dynamics is a guided diffusion process of an interactingpopulation of configurations. Different dynamical aspects of the search process are formulated first in a simple one-dimensional tight-binding model with a hierarchical potential. The new algorithm is then applied to the Traveling Salesman Problem. It is demonstrated that the use of interacting, evolving populations of tours representing our wave packet leads to systematic improvements and possibly, to the optimal tour. In addition, the structure of the cost function landscape for a given instance becomes locally accessible. The performance of the algorithm and its implications for parallel computing and genetic programming are briefly discussed.     

A validated spectrofluorometric method for the determination of celecoxib in capsules

A rapid, selective, sensitive and simple fluorescence method was developed for the direct determination of celecoxib in capsules. The capsules were emptied, pulverized and dissolved in either ethanol or acetonitrile, sonicated and filtered. Direct fluorescence emission was measured at 355±5 nm (exciting at 272 nm). The method was fully validated and the recoveries were excellent, even in presence of excipients.     

Synthesis,crystal structures and electrochemical properties of group 6 metal carbonyl anion complexes

A series of [M(CO)₅I]⁻ and [M₂(CO)₁₀I]⁻ anion complexes have been synthesized by the photochemical reaction of PhCH₂N(CH₃)₃I or FcCH₂N(CH₃)₃I (Fc=ferrocenyl) with M(CO)₆ (M = Cr, Mo or W), and characterized by elemental analyses, i.r., ¹H-n.m.r. and ¹³C-n.m.r. spectra in the case of the molybdenum and tungsten complexes. These complexes exhibit considerably different electrochemical behavior, when investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The crystal structures of [PhCH₂N(CH₃)₃][Cr(CO)₅I] and [FcCH₂N(CH₃)₃][W₂(CO)₁₀I] have been determined by X-ray diffraction, indicating that only weak contacts maybe exist between anions and cations by the I...H bond in the former, and there are no direct interactions between anions and cations in the latter.