Effects of shopping addiction on consumer decision-making: Web-based studies in real time

Background and aims: Most research into compulsive buying has focused on its causes: questionnaires have been used to study its association with various factors assumed to be important in its etiology. Few studies have dealt with the effects of being a compulsive buyer on shopping decisions. Also, processes underlying compulsive buying are dynamic but questionnaires give access only to a retrospective view of them from the standpoint of the participant. The aim of the current study was to investigate the decision processes underlying compulsive buying. Methods: Two simulated shopping experiments, each with over 100 participants, were used to compare the decision processes of compulsive shoppers with those of non-compulsive shoppers. This approach allowed us to measure many features of consumer decision-making that are relevant to compulsive shopping. Results: Compulsive shoppers differed from general shoppers in six ways: choice characteristics, searching behavior, overspending, budget-consciousness, effects of credit card availability, and emotional responses to overspending. Conclusions: Results are consistent with the view that compulsive buying, like other behavioral addictions, develops because the cognitive system under-predicts the extent of post-addiction craving produced by emotional and visceral processes

A balanced homodyne detector for high-rate Gaussian-modulated coherent-state quantum key distribution

We discuss excess noise contributions of a practical balanced homodyne detector in Gaussian-modulated coherent-state (GMCS) quantum key distribution (QKD). We point out the key generated from the original realistic model of GMCS QKD may not be secure. In our refined realistic model, we take into account excess noise due to the finite bandwidth of the homodyne detector and the fluctuation of the local oscillator. A high speed balanced homodyne detector suitable for GMCS QKD in the telecommunication wavelength region is built and experimentally tested. The 3dB bandwidth of the balanced homodyne detector is found to be 104MHz and its electronic noise level is 13dB below the shot noise at a local oscillator level of 8.5*10^8 photon per pulse. The secure key rate of a GMCS QKD experiment with this homodyne detector is expected to reach Mbits/s over a few kilometers.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figure

The relation of cytokines of IL-17/IL-23 axis to Th1/Th2 cytokines and disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus

INTRODUCTION: Interleukin (IL)-17 is recently linked to the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) but its relation to disease activity has not been well characterised. The objectives of this study were to examine the relation of serum cytokine levels from the IL-17/IL-23 axis (IL-17, IL-23) to Th1 (IL-12, IFN-γ), Th2 (IL-10, IL-6, IL-4) cytokines and disease activity in SLE patients. METHODS: Serum cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Disease activity was determined by SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI), anti-dsDNA antibody, C3 and C4 levels. RESULTS: Serum levels of IL-17, IL-10 and IFN-γ were higher in SLE patients (n=70) compared to age- and sexmatched controls (n=14) [P<0.001]. Higher serum IL-23 level was found in active lupus patients who had cutaneous manifestation (P=0.003) and serositis (P=0.03) compared to those who had not. Serum IL-17 was not different between patients who had active lupus nephritis (n=23), non-renal active lupus (n=13) and inactive disease (n=34) [P=0.23]. However, an inverse correlation between serum IL-17 with proteinuria was found among all SLE patients (r= –0.27, P=0.03). Serum IL-17 level was, otherwise, not related to SLEDAI, glomerular filtration rate, activity or chronicity score and ISN/RPS class among patients with active lupus nephritis and was not found to correlate with serum IFN-γ or IL-10. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated serum IL-23 was found in patients with inflammatory manifestations including cutaneous involvement and serositis. Serum IL-17 level was not shown to correlate with disease activity but demonstrated an inverse correlation with proteinuria suggesting urinary loss of IL-17 and its involvement in lupus renal pathology.published_or_final_versionThe 15th Medical Research Conference (15th MRC), Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 16 January 2010. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2010, v. 16 n. 1, suppl. 1, p. 45, abstract no. 7

Security proof of a three-state quantum key distribution protocol without rotational symmetry

Standard security proofs of quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols often rely on symmetry arguments. In this paper, we prove the security of a three-state protocol that does not possess rotational symmetry. The three-state QKD protocol we consider involves three qubit states, where the first two states, |0_z> and |1_z>, can contribute to key generation and the third state, |+>=(|0_z>+|1_z>)/\sqrt{2}, is for channel estimation. This protocol has been proposed and implemented experimentally in some frequency-based QKD systems where the three states can be prepared easily. Thus, by founding on the security of this three-state protocol, we prove that these QKD schemes are, in fact, unconditionally secure against any attacks allowed by quantum mechanics. The main task in our proof is to upper bound the phase error rate of the qubits given the bit error rates observed. Unconditional security can then be proved not only for the ideal case of a single-photon source and perfect detectors, but also for the realistic case of a phase-randomized weak coherent light source and imperfect threshold detectors. Our result on the phase error rate upper bound is independent of the loss in the channel. Also, we compare the three-state protocol with the BB84 protocol. For the single-photon source case, our result proves that the BB84 protocol strictly tolerates a higher quantum bit error rate than the three-state protocol; while for the coherent-source case, the BB84 protocol achieves a higher key generation rate and secure distance than the three-state protocol when a decoy-state method is used.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 2 column

Design and Development of Mobile Games By Cocos2d-X Game Engine

Since modern humans have a busy lifestyle, they usually have only limited and short period for rest each day. The purpose of this study is to develop a game for this type of scenario so that people can play this mobile game during their rest period. This game is immediate and brainwashing and a player is allowed to take pauses and resume the game anytime to continue the game at the pauses. Moreover, the operations are simplified so that people of all ages and both sexes can play this game without any problem. The game is programmed to have unlimited levels so that a player can continue playing this game. Upon the end of each level, a player is allowed to buy various types of equipment in order to keep strengthening his/her characters and refreshing the highest score. The development of modern mobile games is much simplified than the earlier days. Various types of game engines and development packages are ready for developers to use so that mobile game development is much simpler. The cocos2d-x game engine is selected in this study as the development environment. It features a convenient animation-making environment and a physics engine so that it is particularly suitable for action role-playing game (ARPG). A new game is created based on Japanese fantasy style and its music and artworks are designed and developed by the researchers in this study. It is a new game that belongs to the research team. &nbsp; &nbsp; Keywords: Cocos2d-x, Android, action gam