Topic Reading-Vol.2248-6/7/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Alibaba reveals new driverless delivery bot

Another high-tech surprise by China’s retail giant, Alibaba. A driverless delivery vehicle. Despite the world’s largest population, China has been experiencing a shortage of workforce in manufacturing and service sectors due to rising labor costs. To cope with the challenge, delivering robots and order-and-payment app in restaurants, as well as delivery drones, have already been part of Alibaba’s ventures. Now, the e-retail innovator has introduced a new automated multi-functional vehicle that could be used for delivery and coffee vendor.

The key technology being used in this driverless delivery bot is solid state Lidar, the laser sensors to create a 3-D map of the surroundings in real time. It is an essential part of the technology used for autonomous driving. It works much like radar, but it emits pulses of infrared light instead of radio waves. Once the sensor identifies objects, the car's Ai-powered computer can predict how they will behave and controls the vehicles accordingly. Unlike conventional lidars that spin continuously on top of the car roof, this Alibaba-version lidar is solid state, which makes the vehicle looks less odd on the street despite the unattractive appearance.

Many break-through ideas and innovations come from Silicon Valley and SF Bay Area in the U.S. But Hangzhou, where Alibaba headquartered, and Shenzhen, where Tencent and many high-tech ventures are located, in China seem to be driving businesses much faster these days.

Enjoy reading and think how many these auto-delivering bots are running on the streets on and after this year’s Single’s-day Sales on November 11^th across China.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44330891

Topic Reading-Vol.2247-6/6/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

What does your accent say about you?

Accent is a distinctive way of pronouncing a language, especially one associated with a particular region, social class, or sometimes education. A well-known example is American English and British English. Indeed, people who live in the other side of the pond speak quite differently from each other, though they share the same origin. However, not all the people in Britain or the US speak the same way. There are distinct regional accents within both countries, such as Boston accent and Sothern accent in the U.S., and Liverpool accent and Irish accent in the U.K. There is also a noticeable difference in pronunciation by social class, such as received pronunciation, or the Queens English, and Cockney English, the accent of working-class Londoners.

Whichever the case is, studies found that people seem to have a natural preference for familiar accent, even babies and children who are not as socially biased as adults.

Do people stereotype others by accent?

Enjoy reading and learn what accent means to people.  

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180307-what-does-your-accent-say-about-you

Topic Reading-Vol.2246-6/5/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Two of the world's biggest brands are now Chinese

Brand equity is a value premium that a company creates from its products, services, and activities. It is intangible asset of the company. For example, when a company tries to expand its product line, say a new car or game, consumers assume that the quality and value of the new product is in line with other products of the brand. The company can leverage the brand recognition and save money, time and effort to market the new product.

Until recently, Chinese brands haven’t been so popular or recognized in other marketplaces. But now, smartphone brands like Xiaomi and Oppo, drone manufacturer DJI, and online game, e-commerce and payment giants like Alibaba, and Tencent are popular in many countries. And when their brand value is measured, Tencent and Alibaba are within top 10 in the BrandZ ranking along with Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook. Indeed, all of these brands are also the world top 10 most valued companies in term of market capitalization.

Enjoy reading and think which comes fast, brand value or corporate value.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/28/news/companies/biggest-brands-ranking-2018-alibaba-tencent/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2245-6/4/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Childhood obesity is high in home of Mediterranean diet

When a person’s body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person's weight by the square of the person's height, is over 30 kg/m2, he or she is classified as obese, and if the index ranges between 25-30 kg/m2, they are considered overweight. So, a person who weighs heavier than another whose height is the same, or a person who weighs the same but shorter in height, has higher BMI.

A new study from the World Health Organization has revealed that children in the Mediterranean diet region, such as Greece, Italy, and Spain, have higher BMI than those who live in northern part of Europe. Since the Mediterranean diet is considered healthy and prevents cardiovascular diseases and Type 2 diabetes, the results were surprising to many.

Typically, the Mediterranean diet includes a lot of colorful vegetables olive oil, a modest intake of fish, and little dairy foods, red meat, and sweets.

Then, why do children in the healthy diet are becoming fatter? Change in lifestyle or eating habits? Whichever the cause is, childhood obesity raises the risk of adult obesity and other diseases later in their lives.

Enjoy reading and think if the difference in height of children in different regions might also have affected the data.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/29/health/childhood-obesity-europe-mediterranean-study-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2244-6/3/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Fog harp makes water out of thin air

Just as electricity is generated by solar panels or wind turbines, water can be collected from relatively easily-available natural resource. Fog collection. As the exposed surface of fog-collection net cools in the morning or evening, moisture in the air condenses faster than it evaporates, and then water droplets are formed. The droplets, or dew, then flow down towards a trough below the fog net, providing precious water for people, plants, and livestock in dry areas. This idea has been practiced since the 1980s in many parts of the world, such as South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East where water is scarce.

In our mother nature, this phenomenon is observed on plant leaves and blades of grass, creating dew. So, researchers at Virginia Tech University have developed more efficient fog net by observing plants’ leaves and branches. They call it fog harp because of its appearance.

Nature has evolved over billions of years. There seem to be a lot to learn and earn from nature.

Enjoy reading and learn about fog harp.

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/fog-harp-virginia-tech/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2243-6/2/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

How Michael Jackson's tilt defied gravity

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, was an American singer, songwriter, and more notably dancer. His smooth slides and spins, racy crotch grab, and moonwalk thrilled the whole world regardless of the language or culture.

In 1988, the world was even more shocked to see him lean forward 45 degrees backs straight and feet flat upon the floor. This anti-gravity lean seemed physically impossible even for MJ who had extraordinary strength in his muscles and athletic ability. So how did he do it? Were his ankles and Achilles tendons far stronger than ordinary humans? Then, what about his fellow dancers who performed the same leaning with him? There must have been some trick. You might wonder if they were hung by piano wires or some sort. No. Then how?

Enjoy reading and find how MJ “beat” the gravity.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/22/health/michael-jackson-dance-moves/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2242-6/1/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The health benefits of eggs

There are all kinds of cooking methods for eggs, boiled, fried, poached, scrambled, and coddled, just to name a few. Also, the number of egg dishes is uncountable, such as eggs benedict, omelet, French toast, egg salad, and deviled eggs. Furthermore, eggs are a key ingredient used in many cooking applications, including baking, dressings, mayonnaise, sauces such as hollandaise and béarnaise. Yes, eggs are one of the most popular foods in the world.

An egg consists of three main parts: the white, yolk, and shell. While the white is primarily protein, the yolk has fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Indeed, eggs are rich in nutrients.  Some people worry about the cholesterol that is mainly contained in the yolk. However, cholesterol in food is found to affect our blood cholesterol much less than the saturated fat, such as meat fat, butter, and cheese.

Eggs are also economically and environmentally friendly. Eggs are produced only by feeding hens. They lay an egg every day if they are fed with grain and calcium. Eggs can be produced almost anywhere, transported and stored at normal temperature for weeks. They are an ideal source of energy and nutrition even in under-developed, remote, and poor places.

Enjoy reading and learning about the benefits of eggs.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/ingredient-focus-eggs