Transparency in complex dynamic food supply chains

Food supply chains are increasingly complex and dynamic due to (i) increasing product proliferation to serve ever diversifying and globalising markets as a form of mass customisation with resulting global flows of raw materials, ingredients and products, and (ii) the need to satisfy changing and variable consumer and governmental demands with respect to food safety, animal welfare, and environmental impact. Transparency in the food supply chain is essential to guarantee food quality and provenance to all users of food and food products. Intensified information exchange and integrated information systems involving all chain actors are needed to achieve transparency with respect to a multitude of food properties.In this paper, specific challenges of food supply chains are highlighted. Major elements are addressed that support transparency to consumers, the government and food companies, which are considered the claimants of transparency. Elements considered to be enablers of transparency are governance mechanisms, quality and safety standards and information exchange. The paper specifies these transparency claimants and enablers for food supply chains and identifies major information system functions and information technology applications needed to comply with transparency demands. It thereby provides a framework for transparency analysis in food supply chains.     

PVC/SBS/MBS三元共混体系的力学性能及光学透明性研究

采用冲击实验、拉伸实验、超景深三维显微镜、扫描电镜和分光光度计等手段，对PVC／SBS／MBS三元共混体系的冲击强度、拉伸强度、形态结构以及光学透明性等进行了研究。实验结果表明，MBS能有效改善PVC／SBS共混体系的界面相容性。当SBS和MBS的总量不变时，随着MBS相对含量的增加，共混体系的缺口冲击强度逐渐增加，透光率在m（MBS）／m（SBS）=28／80时达到最大值，光学透明性能最好。     

Adjacent versus coincident representations of geospatial uncertainty: Which promote better decisions?

3D geological models commonly built to manage natural resources are much affected by uncertainty because most of the subsurface is inaccessible to direct observation. Appropriate ways to intuitively visualize uncertainties are therefore critical to draw appropriate decisions. However, empirical assessments of uncertainty visualization for decision making are currently limited to 2D map data, while most geological entities are either surfaces embedded in a 3D space or volumes.This paper first reviews a typical example of decision making under uncertainty, where uncertainty visualization methods can actually make a difference. This issue is illustrated on a real Middle East oil and gas reservoir, looking for the optimal location of a new appraisal well. In a second step, we propose a user study that goes beyond traditional 2D map data, using 2.5D pressure data for the purposes of well design. Our experiments study the quality of adjacent versus coincident representations of spatial uncertainty as compared to the presentation of data without uncertainty; the representations' quality is assessed in terms of decision accuracy. Our study was conducted within a group of 123 graduate students specialized in geology.     

一种基于内容的可扩展性透明Web Cluster体系结构的设计

主要探讨基于内容的Web Cluster，在分析现有方案不足的基础上提出了一种新的基于内容的可扩展性透明Web Cluster体系结构。叙述了其工作机理及所采用的技术方案，重点论述了该集群架构的优越性，最后给出了该集群架构在Linux环境下的模拟实现。     

Proof-of-concept study of chitosan-based carbon dioxide indicator for food packaging applications

A chitosan-based carbon dioxide (CO₂) indicator was developed to monitor freshness or quality of packaged foods during their storage, as elevated CO₂ levels inside a package is one of the prime indicators of microbial spoilage of food. The objective of this proof-of-concept study, therefore, was to develop a chitosan-based CO₂ indicator and to investigate its performance in different operating environments. For the enhancement of signal strength of indicator, 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) was used as an additive to the chitosan solution. Aqueous chitosan–AMP suspensions were prepared by addition of chitosan (0.1%, 0.2% and 0.4%) and AMP (0%, 5%, 10% and 20%) to distilled water at pH 7.0. Thereafter, the aqueous chitosan suspensions were incubated under 100% and 20% CO₂ test atmospheres. The aqueous solubility of chitosan, which in turn impacts the degree of transparency of the suspension, was tested at different pHs and time intervals, spectrometrically. The transparency of 0.2% chitosan aqueous suspension increased dramatically below pH 6.5 under 20% or 100% CO₂ incubation. The addition of a 5% AMP concentration to the chitosan suspension was found optimal for maximum CO₂ absorption and this, therefore, increased transparency by more than 90%.     

Exploring the tension between transparency and datification effects of open government IS through the lens of Complex Adaptive Systems

Government agencies worldwide continue their commitment to providing open data in order to increase transparency of education, healthcare and other public services. Focusing on open government information systems (IS) that provide performance-related data, this paper explores the ongoing tension between government’s goal of transparency and the resulting largely opaque datification effects. Our research insights are derived from an empirical longitudinal study of a controversial open government IS called My School, currently providing performance data on almost 10,000 schools in Australia. We investigate the tension between transparency intended with schools’ open performance data and datification effects they create within the education system and a broader society, through the theoretical lens of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS). Our study reveals how the tension emerges due to unpredictable use, propagation and reinterpretation of open data by more and more users. Consequently, the original meaning of data gets distorted, as these users continue to reconstruct and reinterpret ‘data’ in their own contexts and adapt their behavior in pursuit of their strategic goals. We also identify and theorize seven datification patterns underlying the tension and the ways they produce various social consequences. Based on these research contributions we discuss important strategic implications for government decision makers and identify new opportunities for future research on open government IS.     

一个含多个可信第三方的不可否认协议

提出了一个含多个脱线TTP的公平的不可否认协议。与以前的不可否认协议相比,其特点是把一个TTP的任务分散到t个TTP,减少了对一个TTP的依赖,还可以检测出不诚实的TTP,并且实现了TTP的透明性。     

Two-step pulsed electric current sintering of transparent Al2O3 ceramics

Abstract

Fully densified Al₂O₃ ceramics with fine grain size were obtained by pulsed electric current sintering through a two-step heating profile (referred to as TS-PECS). Highly transparent Al₂O₃ polycrystals with fine grain size (400 nm) were successfully fabricated by the TS-PECS process, namely, sintering at 1000°C for 1 h and followed at 1200°C for 20 min under uniaxial pressure of 100 MPa. Effects of the first step temperature and heating rate were discussed for bulk density, grain size and transparency. The temperature in the first step strongly affects densification and grain growth of Al₂O₃. On the other hand, heating rate, even of 100 K min^?1, in TS-PECS does not give significant influences on densification and grain growth of Al₂O₃. Inline transmittance at 640 nm in wavelength normalised to 1 mm in thickness is increased by decreasing heating rate even in TS-PECS.     

勒·柯布西耶绘画中空间观念的转向:纯粹主义前后

本文回溯了勒·柯布西耶在纯粹主义运动(1918—1925年)前后,其绘画中空间观念所经历的转向。彼时的让纳雷以绘画作为实验工具,发展了他对于空间的理解。本文把勒·柯布西耶在纯粹主义前后的绘画探索分为四个阶段,通过比较四个阶段的作品,指出勒·柯布西耶的空间观念经历了由注重写实与透视,到关注对象平面中的几何与秩序,再到用透明的块面相互叠加来营造深度感,最后转为对于大自然、人体等有机形式的探索,揭示出其不同绘画题材背后隐藏着的形式逻辑的必然联系。     

Organosoluble semi-alicyclic polyimides derived from 3,4-dicarboxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-tert-butyl-1-naphthalene succinic dianhydride and aromatic diamines: Synthesis,characterization and thermal degradation investigation

Semi-alicyclic polyimides (PI-1–PI-4) have been prepared from a newly-developed alicyclic dianhydride, 3,4-dicarboxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-tert-butyl-1-naphthalene succinic dianhydride (TTDA) and various aromatic diamines. The asymmetrical alicyclic tetralin structure in TTDA endowed the derived PI resins good solubility in various organic solvents. They were soluble not only in polar aprotic solvents but also in solvents with low boiling points including dichloromethane and tetrahydrofuran. Flexible and tough PI films were successfully cast from their N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solution except PI-1 derived from TTDA and 4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA). The PI films exhibited good optical transparency in the ultraviolet and visible light region with optical transmittances around 80% at a wavelength of 400 nm. The PI films showed good thermal stability up to 400 °C in nitrogen, after that they thermally decomposed rapidly. The thermal degradation behaviors of the PIs were investigated by means of thermogravimetric analysis-mass spectrometry (TG-MS), thermogravimetric analysis-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (TG-FTIR) and the real time FTIR spectra (RT-FTIR) analysis techniques. The results revealed that the decomposition of PI-1 (as a representative) took place mainly in the range of 450–550 °C. The major degradative fragments at 500 °C were clearly identified as the tert-butyl-substituted tetralin moiety and its dealkylation products. Therefore, it can be deduced that for the TTDA-PIs, the single bond bridge attached the maleic anhydride and tetralin anhydride units in TTDA moiety might break first during the heating; thus producing the tetralin fragments.