AN INVESTIGATION OF QR CODE USE IN INDIANAPOLIS FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

poster abstractAccording Mostyn, market research specialist, (2012), global smartphone shipments increased by 62.7 percent in 2011. In the US, smart phones are gaining in popularity. A Quick Response (QR) code is a type of barcode that can be read by smart phones. It can be used to link print to other interactive information (e.g. access URLs, send an e-coupon, download video, etc.). The QR code is considered new technology in food and beverage industry and there is limited information about its use. Nation’s Restaurant News (2011) reported that QR codes are slowly being used to promote restaurants, such as Taco Bell and Boudin Bakery. The purpose of this research is to investi-gate if and how QR codes are being used in the Indianapolis restaurant in-dustry. The study will provide baseline information and the potential for QR code use in the Indianapolis restaurants. Effective use of QR codes may even influence consumer choices and/or company profitability. Archival and web search in addition to interviews with restaurant managers is the method of data collection. Approximately 10 restaurants in the Indianapolis area will be sampled. Some interview questions include: What is the purpose of using QR code? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of using QR codes? The study is currently in the data collection phase. Preliminary results sug-gest that QR code use is in its infancy in Indianapolis, when compared to restaurants in Chicago or Vancouver. Also, more franchise restaurants and big chain restaurants have embraced this technology than the smaller family owned restaurants. QR codes are typically used for menu nutrition and res-taurant history information, marketing via coupons, and customer surveys. This study was sponsored by the IUPUI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

New flaring of an ultraluminous X-ray source in NGC 1365

We have studied a highly variable ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) in the Fornax galaxy NGC 1365, with a series of 12 Chandra and XMM-Newton observations between 2002 and 2006. In 2006 April, the source peaked at a luminosity ~ 3 x 10^{40} erg/s in the 0.3-10 keV band (similar to the maximum luminosity found by ASCA in 1995), and declined on an e-folding timescale ~ 3 days. The X-ray spectrum is always dominated by a broad power-law-like component. When the source is seen at X-ray luminosities ~ 10^{40} erg/s, an additional soft thermal component (which we interpret as emission from the accretion disk) contributes ~ 1/4 of the X-ray flux; when the luminosity is higher, ~ 3 x 10^{40} erg/s, the thermal component is not detected and must contribute < 10% of the flux. At the beginning of the decline, ionized absorption is detected around 0.5-2 keV; it is a possible signature of a massive outflow. The power-law is always hard, with a photon index Gamma ~ 1.7 (and even flatter at times), as is generally the case with bright ULXs. We speculate that this source and perhaps most other bright ULXs are in a high/hard state: as the accretion rate increases well above the Eddington limit, more and more power is extracted from the inner region of the inflow through non-radiative channels, and is used to power a Comptonizing corona, jet or wind. The observed thermal component comes from the standard outer disk; the transition radius between outer standard disk and Comptonizing inner region moves further out and to lower disk temperatures as the accretion rate increases. This produces the observed appearance of a large, cool disk. Based on X-ray luminosity and spectral arguments, we suggest that this accreting black hole has a likely mass ~ 50-150 Msun (even without accounting for possible beaming).Comment: 14 pages, to appear in MNRA

Large Highly-Ionized Nebulae Around Ultra-luminous X-ray Sources

We present the results of deep optical spectroscopic observations using the LRIS spectrograph on the Keck I 10-m telescope of three ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs), Ho IX X-1; M81 X-6; and Ho II X-1. Our observations reveal the existence of large (100 - 200 pc diameter) highly-ionized nebulae, identified by diffuse He II (4686 Angstrom) emission, surrounding these sources. Our results are the first to find highly-ionized nebulae of this extent, and the detection in all three objects indicates this may be a common feature of ULXs. In addition to the extended emission, Ho IX X-1 has an unresolved central component containing about one-third of the total He II flux, with a significant velocity dispersion of ~ 370 km/s, suggestive of the existence of a photo-ionized accretion disk or an extremely hot early-type stellar counterpart. Most of the He II emission appears to be surrounded by significantly more extended Hbeta emission, and the intensity ratios between the two lines, which range from 0.12 - 0.33, indicate that photo-ionization is the origin of the He II emission. Sustaining these extended nebulae requires substantial X-ray emission, in the range ~ 10^{39} - 10^{40} ergs/s, comparable to the measured X-ray luminosities of the sources. This favors models where the X-ray emission is isotropic, rather than beamed, which includes the interpretation that ULXs harbor intermediate-mass black holes.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Rapid Syphilis Tests as Catalysts for Health Systems Strengthening: A Case Study from Peru.

OBJECTIVES: Untreated maternal syphilis leads to adverse pregnancy outcomes. The use of point of care tests (POCT) offers an opportunity to improve screening coverage for syphilis and other aspects of health systems. Our objective is to present the experience of the introduction of POCT for syphilis in Peru and describe how new technology can catalyze health system strengthening. METHODS: The study was implemented from September 2009-November 2010 to assess the feasibility of the use of a POCT for syphilis for screening pregnant women in Lima, Peru. Outcomes measured included access to syphilis screening, treatment coverage, partner treatment, effect on patient flow and service efficiency, acceptability among providers and patients, and sustainability. RESULTS: Before the introduction of POCT, a pregnant woman needed 6 visits to the health center in 27 days before she received her syphilis result. We trained 604 health providers and implemented the POCT for syphilis as the "two for one strategy", offering with one finger stick both syphilis and HIV testing. Implementation of the POCT resulted in testing and treatment on the first visit. Screening and treatment coverages for syphilis improved significantly compared with the previous year. Implementation of POCT has been scaled up nationally since the study ended, and coverages for screening, treatment and partner treatment have remained over 92%. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of POCT for syphilis proved feasible and acceptable, and led to improvement in several aspects of health services. For the process to be effective we highlight the importance of: (1) engaging the authorities; (2) dissipating tensions between providers and identifying champions; (3) training according to the needs; (4) providing monitoring, supervision, support and recognition; (5) sharing results and discussing actions together; (6) consulting and obtaining feedback from users; and (7) integrating with other services such as with rapid HIV testing

Quasiparticle dynamics and spin-orbital texture of the SrTiO3 two-dimensional electron gas

Two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) in SrTiO$_3$ have become model systems for engineering emergent behaviour in complex transition metal oxides. Understanding the collective interactions that enable this, however, has thus far proved elusive. Here we demonstrate that angle-resolved photoemission can directly image the quasiparticle dynamics of the $d$-electron subband ladder of this complex-oxide 2DEG. Combined with realistic tight-binding supercell calculations, we uncover how quantum confinement and inversion symmetry breaking collectively tune the delicate interplay of charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom in this system. We reveal how they lead to pronounced orbital ordering, mediate an orbitally-enhanced Rashba splitting with complex subband-dependent spin-orbital textures and markedly change the character of electron-phonon coupling, co-operatively shaping the low-energy electronic structure of the 2DEG. Our results allow for a unified understanding of spectroscopic and transport measurements across different classes of SrTiO$_3$-based 2DEGs, and yield new microscopic insights on their functional properties.Comment: 10 pages including supplementary information, 4+4 figure

Control of a two-dimensional electron gas on SrTiO3(111) by atomic oxygen

We report on the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the bare surface of (111) oriented SrTiO3. Angle resolved photoemission experiments reveal highly itinerant carriers with a 6-fold symmetric Fermi surface and strongly anisotropic effective masses. The electronic structure of the 2DEG is in good agreement with self-consistent tight-binding supercell calculations that incorporate a confinement potential due to surface band bending. We further demonstrate that alternate exposure of the surface to ultraviolet light and atomic oxygen allows tuning of the carrier density and the complete suppression of the 2DEG.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

NGC2180: a disrupting open cluster

The spatial dependence of luminosity and mass functions of evolved open clusters is discussed in this work using J and H 2MASS photometry. The target objects are the overlooked open cluster NGC2180 and the intermediate-age open cluster NGC3680. We conclude that, although in an advanced dynamical state (mass segregated), NGC3680 does not present strong signs of dissolution. On the other hand, NGC2180 presents flat, eroded LFs throughout its structure, indicating that in addition to mass segregation, Galactic tidal stripping has been effective in depleting this cluster of stars. Accordingly, NGC2180 may be the missing link between evolved open clusters and remnants. We study both clusters in the context of dynamical states estimated from diagnostic-diagrams involving photometric and structural parameters. Both clusters are dynamically evolved systems. In particular, NGC2180 is closer to open cluster remnants than NGC3680.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure