Morder-Client Food Service

In the Morder-Client Food Service, a waiter/waitresses orders meals via a wireless handheld device. By reading the order items listed on the screen of a personal computer which is in a kitchen, the cook can make the correct dishes. This system can improve service quality and efficiency

Uncertainty in an Interconnected Financial System, Contagion, and Market Freezes

This paper studies contagion and market freezes caused by uncertainty in financial network structures and provides theoretical guidance for central banks. We establish a formal model to demonstrate that, in a financial system where financial institutions are interconnected, a negative shock to an individual financial institution could spread to other institutions, causing market freezes because of creditors' uncertainty about the financial network structure. Central bank policies to alleviate market freezes and contagion, such as information policy, bailout policy and the lender of last resort policy, are examined

Mastitis in Chinese Breastfeeding Mothers: A Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: Mastitis is a common problem encountered by breastfeeding mothers. This study investigated the incidence and risk factors of lactation mastitis among Chinese women. Subjects and Methods: A prospective cohort study on infant feeding practices was conducted during 2010 and 2011 in Jiangyou, Sichuan Province, China. Poisson regression analysis was performed to determine factors influencing the incidence of mastitis within 6 months postpartum. Results: Of the 670 Chinese mothers who were breastfeeding at discharge, 42 women (6.3%) experienced at least one episode of mastitis during the first 6 months after delivery. The cumulative incidence of mastitis was 10.3%. Mothers with a cracked and sore nipple (incidence rate ratio 2.24; 95% confidence interval 1.38, 3.63) and those who felt stressed (incidence rate ratio 3.15; 95% confidence interval 1.56, 6.37) appeared to sustain more episodes of mastitis. Conclusions: The incidence of lactation mastitis was low among Chinese mothers. To further reduce the risk of mastitis, instructions on the correct positioning of the baby during breastfeeding should be emphasized. Providing new mothers with guidance on how to cope with stress may also prevent the recurrence of the condition

Full Daytime Sub-Ambient Radiative Cooling in Commercial-like Paints with High Figure of Merit

Radiative cooling is a passive cooling technology that acts by reflecting sunlight and emitting radiation in the sky window. Although highly desirable, full daytime sub-ambient radiative cooling in commercial-like single-layer particle-matrix paints has not been achieved. Here, we demonstrate full daytime sub-ambient radiative cooling in CaCO3-acrylic paint by using large band gap CaCO3 fillers, a high particle concentration of 60%, and a broad size distribution. Our paint shows a high solar reflectance of 95.5% and a high normal emissivity of 0.94 in the sky window. Field tests show cooling power exceeding 37 W/m2 and a surface temperature of \u3e1.7 degrees C below ambient at noon. A figure of merit RC is proposed to compare the cooling performance independent of weather conditions. The standard RC of our paint is 0.49, among the best radiative cooling performances, while offering the benefits of convenient paint form, low cost, and compatibility with commercial paint fabrication processes

N-(2-Chloro-2-nitro-1-phenyl­prop­yl)-4-methyl­benzene­sulfonamide

In the title compound, C16H17ClN2O4S, the dihedral angle between the phenyl and benzene rings is 19.4 (2)°. The crystal packing is stabilized by inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, as well as by intra- and inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Techniques of replica symmetry breaking and the storage problem of the McCulloch-Pitts neuron

In this article the framework for Parisi's spontaneous replica symmetry breaking is reviewed, and subsequently applied to the example of the statistical mechanical description of the storage properties of a McCulloch-Pitts neuron. The technical details are reviewed extensively, with regard to the wide range of systems where the method may be applied. Parisi's partial differential equation and related differential equations are discussed, and a Green function technique introduced for the calculation of replica averages, the key to determining the averages of physical quantities. The ensuing graph rules involve only tree graphs, as appropriate for a mean-field-like model. The lowest order Ward-Takahashi identity is recovered analytically and is shown to lead to the Goldstone modes in continuous replica symmetry breaking phases. The need for a replica symmetry breaking theory in the storage problem of the neuron has arisen due to the thermodynamical instability of formerly given solutions. Variational forms for the neuron's free energy are derived in terms of the order parameter function x(q), for different prior distribution of synapses. Analytically in the high temperature limit and numerically in generic cases various phases are identified, among them one similar to the Parisi phase in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model. Extensive quantities like the error per pattern change slightly with respect to the known unstable solutions, but there is a significant difference in the distribution of non-extensive quantities like the synaptic overlaps and the pattern storage stability parameter. A simulation result is also reviewed and compared to the prediction of the theory.Comment: 103 Latex pages (with REVTeX 3.0), including 15 figures (ps, epsi, eepic), accepted for Physics Report

Antisense-induced suppression of taxoid 14β-hydroxylase gene expression in transgenic Taxus × media cells

The enzyme taxoid 14β-hydroxylase (14OH) directs a side-route of taxol pathway to 14β-hydroxy taxoids. Suppression of this side-route could increase the production of taxol. To suppress taxoid 14β- hydroxylase gene (14OH) expression in theTaxus × media TM3 cell line, antisense RNA inhibition approach was used in this study. Following the construction of an antisense RNA expression vector of 14OH from Taxus chinensis, the antisense 14OH cDNA (as14OH) was introduced into TM3 cells by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Southern blot analysis of hygromycin phosphotransferase gene (HYG) revealed that this selection gene was integrated successfully into the genome of Taxus × media cells. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis showed that the 14OH mRNA level in transgenic cells dropped dramatically, suggesting that the expression of endogenous14OH gene was significantly suppressed by the exogenous as14OH gene. Correspondingly, the total yield of three major C-14 oxygenated taxoids (yunnanxane, taxuyunnanine C, sinenxan C) was markedly reduced in the silenced cell lines when compared with those of the nontransgenic controls. These results indicated that the antisense RNA strategy is a useful tool in suppressing the expression of genes in Taxus and this method could be used to silence other important genes that divert Taxol pathway to side-route metabolites

Association between ideal cardiovascular health metrics and depression in Chinese population : A cross-sectional study

The study aimed to examine the association between ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics and depression. We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study of 6,851 participants aged 20 years or older (3,525 men and 3,326 women) living in Tangshan City, China. Information on the seven CVH metrics (including smoking, body mass index, dietary intake, physical activity, blood pressure, total cholesterol and fasting blood glucose) was collected via questionnaires, physical examination and laboratory test. Depression status was assessed using the Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and a score of 16 or above was considered depression. The relationship between CVH metrics and depression was analyzed using logistic regression. Of the 6,851 participants, 525 (7.7%) were in depression status. After adjustment for potential confounders, men in the highest quartile of ideal CVH metric summary score had a reduced likelihood of having depression compared to those in the lowest quartile (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.28–0.75, p = 0.002). A similar trend was found among women, even though the association was not significant (AOR = 0.74, 95%CI: 0.46–1.18, p = 0.211). This study suggested that better CVH status is associated with a lower risk of depression especially in Chinese male and young population

The effects of biomineralization on the localised phase and microstructure evolutions of bacteria-based self-healing cementitious composites

Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is one of the most effectivemechanisms to achieving self-healing abilities in cementitious composites. However, there has only been limited understanding of the effect of the MICP process on the mineralogy and microstructure of the cementitious matrix closely mixed with the healing products. This study systematically assessed the effect of biomineralization on the localised cementitious binders at micro and atomic level combining different characterisation techniques (i.e. XRD, FTIR and μCT). The results show that, in addition to the formation of CaCO3 polymorphs that close the crack space, the MICP process will also modify the phase assemblages near the healed cracks. For the first time we observed that when the most common source of calcium for the MICP process (calcium hydroxide) is limited, ettringite and C-S-H can also act as the providers of the calcium for the biomineralization process to take place. The detailed microstructure characterisations support that, apart from the dense thin layer (around 0.5 mm) of healing products formed on the surface of the cracks, loose particle-like calcium carbonate crystals can also form in pores and voids, suggesting that healing can also be generated in deeper sections of the crack. The outcomes of this study advance the fundamental understanding of the MICP process in Portland cement binders, and will also assist the further evaluation of the durability performances of these self-healed cementitious composites

Generation of ring-shaped optical vortices in dissipative media by inhomogeneous effective diffusion

By means of systematic simulations we demonstrate generation of a variety of ring-shaped optical vortices (OVs) from a two-dimensional input with embedded vorticity, in a dissipative medium modeled by the cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with an inhomogeneous effective diffusion (spatial-filtering) term, which is anisotropic in the transverse plane and periodically modulated in the longitudinal direction. We show the generation of stable square- and gear-shaped OVs, as well as tilted oval-shaped vortex rings, and string-shaped bound states built of a central fundamental soliton and two vortex satellites, or of three fundamental solitons. Their shape can be adjusted by tuning the strength and modulation period of the inhomogeneous diffusion. Stability domains of the generated OVs are identified by varying the vorticity of the input and parameters of the inhomogeneous diffusion. The results suggest a method to generate new types of ring-shaped OVs with applications to the work with structured light.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures; Nonlinear Dynamics, in pres