Small Box Research Articles

Proximity-store introductions: A new route to big-box retailer success?

To accommodate consumers’ increasing demand for access convenience and immediacy, big-box grocery retailers have started to rethink their store formats – adding small-box proximity stores to complement their traditional large-size super- and hypermarkets. Building on a unique data set covering all proximity-store openings in 60+ geographic markets in France by Carrefour, one of the world's largest big-box grocery retailers, the authors adopt an Empirics-First approach to investigate whether, and in what settings, opening proximity stores cannibalizes, or rather acts synergistically with, the retail chain's existing on- and off-line operations. In most markets, small box stores affect the parent store's market position. However, there is considerable heterogeneity in terms of both the channel that is affected (off- or online) and the direction of that impact (positive or negative). The authors identify several contingency factors that help explain this heterogeneity. Interestingly, some location factors that are commonly believed to nurture proximity store appeal turn out to be detrimental to the chain's overall on- and/or offline performance. Even though the authors reveal several novel insights and identify various contingency factors, numerous questions remain unanswered. To that extent, the authors conclude with a research agenda that may help shed insight in how to maintain and strengthen brick-and-mortar store relevance to convenience-seeking customers.

Surface corrosion evaluation of steel cable for suspension bridge using electromagnetic method

The cables of suspension bridges are normally made of galvanized steel wires. Corrosion may happen with the galvanized steel wires from the surface after serving for a long time. We developed a compact, low-cost electromagnetic system to evaluate the corrosion of steel cables. AC magnetic field was produced by an excitation coil and eddy current was induced in the steel wires. A detection coil was used to measure the magnetic field produced by the eddy current. In our experiments, the excitation coil was 100 turns with a diameter of 3 cm, the detection coil was 60 turns with a diameter of 1 cm and the excitation frequency was about 80 kHz. A lock-in amplifier was used to get the X signal (same phase signal with the excitation field) and Y signal (90-degree phase different signal with excitation field). From the slope of the X–Y graph, the degree of corrosion can be judged. To make the system portable, the excitation coil, detection coil, amplifier, lock-in amplifier, and AD converter were put in a small box with the size of 85 mm × 170 mm × 60 mm; only a USB cable was used for the power and data transferring. The electric power required for the system was less than 1 W. We prepared some galvanized steel wires with and without corrosion and did some experiments in the laboratory. The degree of corrosion of galvanized steel wires was successfully evaluated using the system.

Effect of Mechanical Harvesting Technology Type and Harvester Ownership and Services Acquisition Methods on Profitability of Wild Blueberry Production

ABSTRACT The profitability of wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) production using two alternative mechanical harvesters was evaluated under three different harvester ownership/service arrangements commonly used by farmers. Production data for the economic analysis were obtained from on-farm trials conducted in Nova Scotia, Canada. Net returns were CAD$323 ha−1 using a semi-automatic bin handling system compared with CAD$281 ha−1 for a small box handling system with outright harvester purchase. By comparison, net returns were CAD$90 ha−1 using the semi-automatic bin handling system and CAD$63 ha−1 using the small box system using rental harvesting services. The results are more sensitive to changes in yield than price.

Agreement of Computerized QT and QTc Interval Measurements Between Both Bedside and Expert Nurses Using Electronic Calipers.

In hospitalized patients, QT/QTc (heart rate corrected) prolongation on the electrocardiogram (ECG) increases the risk of torsade de pointes. Manual measurements are time-consuming and often inaccurate. Some bedside monitors automatically and continuously measure QT/QTc; however, the agreement between computerized versus nurse-measured values has not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to examine the agreement between computerized QT/QTc and bedside and expert nurses who used electronic calipers. This was a prospective observational study in 3 intensive care units. Up to 2 QT/QTc measurements (milliseconds) per patient were collected. Bland-Altman test was used to analyze measurement agreement. A total of 54 QT/QTc measurements from 34 patients admitted to the ICU were included. The mean difference (bias) for QT comparisons was as follows: computerized versus expert nurses, -11.04 ± 4.45 milliseconds (95% confidence interval [CI], -2.3 to -19.8; P = .016), and computerized versus bedside nurses, -13.72 ± 6.70 (95% CI, -0.70 to -26.8; P = .044). The mean bias for QTc comparisons was as follows: computerized versus expert nurses, -12.46 ± 5.80 (95% CI, -1.1 to -23.8; P = .035), and computerized versus bedside nurses, -18.49 ± 7.90 (95% CI, -3.0 to -33.9; P = .022). Computerized QT/QTc measurements calculated by bedside monitor software and measurements performed by nurses were in close agreement; statistically significant differences were found, but differences were less than 20 milliseconds (on-half of a small box), indicating no clinical significance. Computerized measurements may be a suitable alternative to nurse-measured QT/QTc. This could reduce inaccuracies and nurse burden while increasing adherence to practice recommendations. Further research comparing computerized QT/QTc from bedside monitoring to standard 12-lead electrocardiogram in a larger sample, including non-ICU patients, is needed.

Suni Tohumlanan Kraliçe Arının Koloniye Kabulü için Yöntemlerin Değerlendirilmesi

: When artificial insemination practices in honey bees are used correctly, they actively increase yield characteristics. However, producers may experience serious problems when accepting artificially inseminated queen bees to the colonies. To minimize this problem, inseminated queen bees are first accepted into small mating boxes. Small colonies are formed, supported, and developed after admission to the new colony. In addition to spending serious effort and time, this process causes maimed queen bees and even colony losses if they fail. In the study, 21 queen bees were used, 7 of which were queen bees in each group. 7 queen bees were naturally mated. After 7 queens were artificially inseminated, they were first given to small mating colonies using the classical method. Queen bees that accepted and laid eggs were introduced to colonies with 4-5 laths of worker bees. 7 colonies were given as queen bee thimbles 2 days before hatching. Queens that had hatched were inseminated and given to the same colonies. Whether the queen bees given to the colonies in 3 different groups were accepted into the colonies was evaluated after 10 days. The egg-laying rates of the queens admitted to the colony were checked after the egg appeared. In the controls, it was seen that the acceptance of the queen bees kept individually in their own colony was less laborious and more successful than the classical method.

Thermal and Acoustic Performance of Gypsum Plasters Mixed with Different Additives: Influence of Bio-Based, Synthetic, and Mineral Fillers

Due to the high impact of the building sector on the environment, a growing interest focuses on insulating materials able to ensure good thermo-acoustic performance for the building envelope from a sustainable and circular economy perspective. In this context, Moroccan natural gypsum was mixed with local natural waste materials. The thermal and acoustic properties of the samples were measured; they were compared to those of synthetic- and mineral-based gypsum plasters manufactured with the same technique. A Small Hot Box apparatus was used for thermal characterization, whereas acoustic performance was investigated by means of a Kundt’s Tube. Natural and synthetic additives result in a reduction in density and an improvement in thermal performance. Conductivity values in the 0.181–0.238 W/mK range were obtained, depending on the type of natural additive, with respect to 0.275–0.323 W/mK of mineral-based gypsum plasters. The acoustic measurements showed that all the composites have similar performance in terms of acoustic absorption, whereas high transmission loss values were obtained for the natural additives (TL = 35–59 dB). Petiol of Palm and Stipa Tenacissima were found to be materials able to improve both thermal and acoustic properties.

Humans can sense small numbers of objects in a box by touch alone.

Everyday experiences suggest that a container, such as a box of chocolate sprinkles, can convey pertinent information about the nature of its content. Despite the familiarity of the experience, we do not know whether people can perceive the number of objects in the container from touch alone and how accurately they can do so. In three experiments, participants handled containers holding between one and five objects and verbally estimated their number. Containers were small cardboard jewelry boxes, and objects were round beads of varying diameter and weight. Any useful visual and auditory cues were precluded. Experiment 1 demonstrated very accurate performance, provided the objects were of sufficient weight. Experiment 2 demonstrated that withholding information about the possible number of objects inside the container does not affect accuracy at a group level but does produce occasional overestimations at an individual level. Experiment 3 demonstrated that removing the weight cue leads to systematic underestimations but does not eliminate people's ability to distinguish between different numbers of objects in the container. This study contributes to a growing picture that container haptics is surprisingly capable.

Evaluating a Century of Progress on the Cognitive Science of Adjective Ordering

AbstractThe literature on adjective ordering abounds with proposals meant to account for why certain adjectives appear before others in multi-adjective strings (e.g., the small brown box). However, these proposals have been developed and tested primarily in isolation and based on English; few researchers have looked at the combined performance of multiple factors in the determination of adjective order, and few have evaluated predictors across multiple languages. The current work approaches both of these objectives by using technologies and datasets from natural language processing to look at the combined performance of existing proposals across 32 languages. Comparing this performance with both random and idealized baselines, we show that the literature on adjective ordering has made significant meaningful progress across its many decades, but there remains quite a gap yet to be explained.

Heuristic algorithms based on column generation for an online product shipping problem

In this paper, we consider a product shipping problem (PSP). Given a time horizon and a set of products, each with a weight, a release date, and a due date, the PSP calls for product shipping to be planned between a fixed origin–destination pair so as to minimize the total shipping cost. Given several types of boxes with different sizes and shipping costs, packing several products into one larger box may lead to cheaper shipping costs than sending them separately in smaller boxes. The online PSP is a problem with an online constraint that requires a decision to be made for each day without knowing about future demands or being able to change boxes that have already been packed and shipped. For the online PSP, we propose column-generation-based algorithms with six different criteria, incorporating ideas such as iterative surplus reduction, and heuristic column generation. In the computational experiments, we tested 15 types of online algorithms under each criterion. Computational results on three different sets of instances show that one type of the proposed algorithms with one of the six criteria called “regret with cost of remaining capacity” obtains high-quality solutions with average gaps of 3.4% over all the tested instances.

Constraining accuracy of the pairwise velocities in N-body simulations using scale-free models

ABSTRACT We present a continuation of an analysis that aims to quantify resolution of N-body simulations by exploiting large (up to N = 40963) simulations of scale-free cosmologies run using abacus. Here, we focus on radial pairwise velocities of the matter field, both by direct estimation and through the cumulative two-point correlation function (using the pair conservation equation). We find that convergence at the 1 per cent level of the mean relative pairwise velocity can be demonstrated over a range of scales, evolving from a few times the grid spacing at early times to slightly below this scale at late times. We show the analysis of two different box sizes as well as from averaging results from the smaller boxes, and compare the power of the two aforementioned estimators in constraining accuracy at each scale. Down to scales of the order of the smoothing parameter, convergence is obtained at ∼$5~{{\rm per\, cent}}$ precision, and shows a behaviour indicating asymptotic stable clustering. We also infer for LCDM simulations conservative estimates on the evolution of the lower cut-off to resolution (at 1 and 5 per cent precision) as a function of redshift.

Quasi-free states on a class of algebras of multicomponent commutation relations

Multicomponent commutations relations (MCRs) describe plektons, i.e. multicomponent quantum systems with a generalized statistics. In such systems, exchange of quasiparticles is governed by a unitary matrix [Formula: see text] that depends on the position of quasiparticles. For such an exchange to be possible, the matrix must satisfy several conditions, including the functional Yang–Baxter equation. The aim of the paper is to give an appropriate definition of a quasi-free state on an MCR algebra, and construct such states on a class of MCR algebras. We observe a significant difference between the classical setting for bosons and fermions and the setting of MCR algebras. We show that the developed theory is applicable to systems that contain quasiparticles of opposite type. An example of such a system is a two-component system in which two quasiparticles, under exchange, change their respective types to the opposite ones ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]). Fusion of quasiparticles means intuitively putting several quasiparticles in an infinitely small box and identifying the statistical behavior of the box. By carrying out fusion of an odd number of particles from the two-component system as described above, we obtain further examples of quantum systems to which the developed theory is applicable.

Cavity-breeding birds create specific microhabitats for diverse arthropod communities in boreal forests

The nests of secondary cavity-nesters located in tree cavities may form specific microhabitats of conservation importance due to their limited accessibility and availability. Species-specific nesting materials in nests of different secondary cavity-nesters may furthermore provide very different microhabitats for arthropods. The potential differences in arthropod communities inhabiting nests of different bird species in excavated cavities or nest boxes have, however, rarely been studied despite their relevance for conservation. Here we investigated the diversity and composition of arthropod communities in these different cavity types and bird species’ nests in managed boreal forests. We identified morphologically and by DNA-metabarcoding arthropods in nest materials that were collected in and compared between (i) woodpecker-size cavities from seven different combinations of cavity type (nest box or excavated cavity), tree species (aspen or pine) and accumulation history of nest materials (single-season cleaned or uncleaned nest boxes that accumulated nests of passerines or an owl species); and (ii) nests of two different passerine species in small nest boxes. We identified 64 arthropod taxa in ten orders, from which Diptera, Coleoptera, Siphonaptera, and Lepidoptera were the most abundant. Shannon diversity index was similar among the cavity-nest-type combinations, but taxa richness was the highest in the owl nests. The arthropod communities (especially Histeridae beetles) deviated most from the other types of nests in owl and aspen cavity nests with more advanced decomposition of nest material (soil or wet environment related taxa). The differences in arthropod communities between the different nest types point out the importance of the ecological chain “tree cavities—bird nests—arthropod communities”.

Þistil, mistil, kistil: Plants of Death, Rebirth, and Magic in Medieval Scandinavian Runic Inscriptions

<i>Þistil, mistil, kistil</i>: Plants of Death, Rebirth, and Magic in Medieval Scandinavian Runic Inscriptions

The SATIN project – I. Turbulent multiphase ISM in Milky Way simulations with SNe feedback from stellar clusters

ABSTRACT We introduce the star formation and supernova (SN) feedback model of the satin (Simulating AGNs Through ISM with Non-Equilibrium Effects) project to simulate the evolution of the star forming multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) of entire disc galaxies. This galaxy-wide implementation of a successful ISM feedback model tested in small box simulations naturally covers an order of magnitude in gas surface density, shear and radial motions. It is implemented in the adaptive mesh refinement code ramses at a peak resolution of 9 pc. New stars are represented by star cluster (sink) particles with individual SN delay times for massive stars. With SN feedback, cooling, and gravity, the galactic ISM develops a three-phase structure. The star formation rates naturally follow observed scaling relations for the local Milky Way gas surface density. SNe drive additional turbulence in the warm (300 &amp;lt; T &amp;lt; 104 K) gas and increase the kinetic energy of the cold gas, cooling out of the warm phase. The majority of the gas leaving the galactic ISM is warm and hot with mass loading factors of 3 ≤ η ≤ 10 up to h = 5 kpc away from the galaxy. While the hot gas is leaving the system, the warm and cold gas falls back onto the disc in a galactic fountain flow. The inclusion of other stellar feedback processes from massive stars seems to be needed to reduce the rate at which stars form at higher surface densities and to increase/decrease the amount of warm/cold gas.

Color superconductivity on the lattice — analytic predictions from QCD in a small box

We investigate color superconductivity on the lattice using the gap equation for the Cooper pair condensate. The weak coupling analysis is justified by choosing the physical size of the lattice to be smaller than the QCD scale, while keeping the aspect ratio of the lattice small enough to suppress thermal excitations. In the vicinity of the critical coupling constant that separates the superconducting phase and the normal phase, the gap equation can be linearized, and by solving the corresponding eigenvalue problem, we obtain the critical point and the Cooper pair condensate without assuming its explicit form. The momentum components of the condensate suggest spatially isotropic s-wave superconductivity with Cooper pairs formed by quarks near the Fermi surface. The chiral symmetry in the massless limit is spontaneously broken by the Cooper pair condensate, which turns out to be dominated by the scalar and the pseudo-scalar components. Our results provide useful predictions, in particular, for future lattice simulations based on methods to overcome the sign problem such as the complex Langevin method.

Conversion of Used Goods to Prevent Children Consumptive Behaviour in Kesetnana Village, South Central Timor, Indonesia

This community service activity was carried out in Kesetnana Village with the number of community service participants, namely 8 children. The stages in this activity are: Preparatory stage, at this stage the community service team conducts site visits and initial observations at community service locations to see first-hand the conditions and problems faced by children, namely community service activities that have been carried out are considered monotonous and the material presented has been forgotten by children so that children need new material and learning styles. Furthermore, the community service team coordinated with the local RT head to carry out community service activities. The implementation of the initial activity program was carried out by inviting the children to collect used bottles, small cardboard boxes, and other needed waste. After the tools and materials have been collected, while the community service participants provide the material, the children are given the opportunity to practice the material provided. Furthermore, the community service team asked questions to the children regarding the activities carried out and checked success according to the targets set. The method used is the socialization method and direct practice of using used goods. This community service activity has succeeded in achieving its main goal, namely in addition to preventing consumptive behaviour in children, children also gain knowledge about how to reduce plastic waste around the environment. After the dedication was completed, the level of concern and creativity of children towards cleanliness and environmental health began to increase. This can be seen from the enthusiasm of the children in finding plastic waste and managing the existing waste into various kinds of handicrafts besides piggy banks, namely plastic flowers and so on.

Healing Words

Healing Words

Frequency-dependent hydrodynamic finite size correction in molecular simulations reveals the long-time hydrodynamic tail.

Finite-size effects are challenging in molecular dynamics simulations because they have significant effects on computed static and dynamic properties, in particular diffusion constants, friction coefficients, and time- or frequency-dependent response functions. We investigate the influence of periodic boundary conditions on the velocity autocorrelation function and the frequency-dependent friction of a particle in a fluid, and show that the long-time behavior (starting at the picosecond timescale) is significantly affected. We develop an analytical correction allowing us to subtract the periodic boundary condition effects. By this, we unmask the power-law long-time tails of the memory kernel and the velocity autocorrelation function in liquid water and a Lennard-Jones fluid from simulations with rather small box sizes.

CT Imaging of Eustachian Tube Balloon Dilation: Method Development on Cadaver Heads.

Objective: To develop a methodology for the measurement of balloon dilation (BD) effects on Eustachian Tube (ET) structure using Computerized Tomography (CT) images. Methods: The BD of the ET was performed on three cadaver heads (five ears) through the nasopharyngeal orifice. The axial CT images of the temporal bones were obtained before dilation, while an inflated balloon was in the lumen of ET, and after balloon removal in each ear. Utilizing Dicom images captured by the ImageJ software 3D volume viewer function, the anatomical landmark coordinates of the ET were matched with their pre- and post-dilation counterparts, and the longitudinal axis of the ET was captured with serial images. The histograms of the regions of interest (ROI) and three different lumen width and length measurements were obtained from captured images. The densities of air, tissue, and bone were determined with histograms as a baseline to determine the BD rate as a function of increased air in the lumen. Results: The small ROI box included the area of prominently dilated ET lumen after BD and best represented the visually obvious changes in the lumen, compared to the ROIs that extended the wider areas (longest and longer). Air density was the outcome measure for comparison with each corresponding baseline value. The average increase in air density in the small ROI was 64%, while the longest and long ROI boxes showed 44 and 56% increases, respectively. Conclusion: This study describes a method to image the ET and quantify the outcomes of BD of the ET using anatomical landmarks.

Tiny trains – new hope? Or the same issues in a smaller box?

The report card from Australia’s decade-long liquefied natural gas (LNG) construction boom makes for sobering reading. From 2009 to 2019, there were 15 new trains turned on, which lifted LNG production to a record 77 million tonnes in 2019. They are clearly big plants, with big production trains and with big capital expenditure to match. But the plants seemed to come with big problems. Not just in construction, but sometimes in production too. Now times have changed. Advances in technology, together with new market dynamics, have sparked new interest in small trains. A number of projects in the USA are now being proposed with multiple smaller units rather than the big trains that have dominated the last decade. For Australian owners and operators a new questions emerges. Do these ‘tiny trains’ represent a new step on the journey to a more efficient and effective commercialisation of region gas? Or will the new trains deliver the same issues, just in a smaller box? This paper provides: lessons learned from the Australian LNG boom between 2009 and 2019, an overview of the new ‘small train’ technologies including real world examples, a discussion of the risks and benefits of this approach, a case study from US owners/operators and discussion of where this approach might suit the needs of Australian LNG. The paper will appeal to oil and gas producers, major contractors and service providers.