Adaptive block dynamic surface control for integrated missile guidance and autopilot

A novel integrated guidance and autopilot design method is proposed for homing missiles based on the adaptive block dynamic surface control approach. The fully integrated guidance and autopilot model is established by combining the nonlinear missile dynamics with the nonlinear dynamics describing the pursuit situation of a missile and a target in the three-dimensional space. The integrated guidance and autopilot design problem is further converted to a state regulation problem of a time-varying nonlinear system with matched and unmatched uncertainties. A new and simple adaptive block dynamic surface control algorithm is proposed to address such a state regulation problem. The stability of the closed-loop system is proven based on the Lyapunov theory. The six degrees of freedom （6DOF） nonlinear numerical simulation results show that the proposed integrated guidance and autopilot algorithm can ensure the accuracy of target interception and the robust stability of the closed-loop system with respect to the uncertainties in the missile dynamics.

Control on the Morphology of ABA Amphiphilic Triblock Copolymer Micelles in Dioxane/Water Mixture Solvent

This work offers a typical understanding of the factors that govern the nanostructures of poly（4-vinyl pyridine）-b-polystyrene-bpoly（4-vinyl pyridine）（P4 VP-b-PS-b-P4 VP） block copolymers（BCs） in dioxane/water, in which water is a selective solvent for the P4 VP block. It is achieved through an investigation of the amphiphilic triblock copolymer micelles by variation of three different factors, including water content（above CWC but under the immobile concentration）, temperature（ranging from 20 °C to 80 °C）, and copolymer composition（low and high PS block length）. Transition of bead-like micelles to vesicles is observed with the increase of water content due to the increase of interfacial energy between the copolymer and the solvent. Effect of temperature superposed on that of water content results in various morphologies, such as beads, fibers, rods, capsules, toroids, lamellae, and vesicles. The interfacial tension between the BC and the solvent increases with the increase of water content but decreases with the increase of temperature, indicating that the micellar morphologies are resulted from the competitive interplay between the temperature and the water content and always change in a direction that decreases the interfacial energy. Based on the micellar structures obtained in this work and the effects of temperature superposed on water concentration, a diagram of phase evolution of different micellar morphologies is illustrated here, covering the temperature range from 20 °C to 80 °C and the water content changing from 20 vol% to 35 vol%. For the investigation of BC composition, morphological transition of vesicle-to-fiber, for high PS length, is observed as compared with bead-to-capsule for low PS length, as the temperature changes from 20 °C to 80 °C. Our research complements the protocols to control over the morphologies and the phase diagram describing P4 VP-b-PS-b-P4 VP micellar nanostructures in aqueous solution.

Building Blocks for Tobacco Control

The tobacco epidemic is a global challenge demanding concerted global and national action. Recognizing that globalization is accelerating the epidemic’s spread and perceiving the limits of national action to contain a public health problem with transnational dimensions, Member States of the World Health Organization negotiated and adopted a unique public health treaty for tobacco control. Today, the WHO FCTC contains the blueprint for coordinated global action to address one of the most significant risks to health.