http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/21/business/la-fi-greenwash-20110521
With booming interest in the environment, more companies are trying to cash in by promoting themselves and their products as green ~
2011年10月11日 星期二
10.28-10.29
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/07/science/la-sci-rovers-20110607
10.28
Toward year's end, NASA plans to send its $1.8-billion rover to scout for evidence that life could have existed on the Red Planet. Nicknamed Curiosity, the craft will examine rocks that scientists believe could have formed only in warm, wet conditions that may have harbored living beings. ~
10.29
A nuclear-powered lab on wheels, Curiosity has a nearly two-year mission targeting sites containing clay rocks called phyllosilicates that could hold clues about the Martian climate. ~
10.28
Toward year's end, NASA plans to send its $1.8-billion rover to scout for evidence that life could have existed on the Red Planet. Nicknamed Curiosity, the craft will examine rocks that scientists believe could have formed only in warm, wet conditions that may have harbored living beings. ~
10.29
A nuclear-powered lab on wheels, Curiosity has a nearly two-year mission targeting sites containing clay rocks called phyllosilicates that could hold clues about the Martian climate. ~
10.26 -10.27
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/heartdisease/story/2011/05/Eating-a-heart-healthy-diet/47027968/1
10.26
So says Gina Lundberg, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association ~
10.27
Research shows that people can lower their blood pressure by following this low-sodium, high-fiber eating plan, Lundberg says. ~
10.26
So says Gina Lundberg, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association ~
10.27
Research shows that people can lower their blood pressure by following this low-sodium, high-fiber eating plan, Lundberg says. ~
10.24 -10.25
http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2011-05-22/news/29573160_1_machine-translation-interpreters-and-translators-language-services
10.24
Dale Eggett, who will finish a master's degree in less than three weeks, will go to work the week after, having had no problem landing a job.~
10.25
But a more fundamental and ongoing struggle is to educate employers about the difference between being simply bilingual and truly qualified.~
10.24
Dale Eggett, who will finish a master's degree in less than three weeks, will go to work the week after, having had no problem landing a job.~
10.25
But a more fundamental and ongoing struggle is to educate employers about the difference between being simply bilingual and truly qualified.~
10.21 -10.22
Does Family Size Matter?
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/story/2011/05/Does-size-matter-For-todays-families-it-does/46858842/1
10.21
Two may well be the number of kids favored by most Americans, at least according to years of Gallup polls on ideal family size. ~
10.22
Age is a consideration for many would-be parents today, as women have their first child later on average than in the past. The average age for first-time mothers was 25.1 in 2008 (the most recent year for which data are available), up 3.6 years from 1970, when it was 21.4,~
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/story/2011/05/Does-size-matter-For-todays-families-it-does/46858842/1
10.21
Two may well be the number of kids favored by most Americans, at least according to years of Gallup polls on ideal family size. ~
10.22
Age is a consideration for many would-be parents today, as women have their first child later on average than in the past. The average age for first-time mothers was 25.1 in 2008 (the most recent year for which data are available), up 3.6 years from 1970, when it was 21.4,~
2011年10月10日 星期一
10.17 -10.20
4篇不同地方來的文章
10.17
Online learning for high schoolers inspires praise, suspicion
http://www.kingstonhighlights.com/student-life/2011/05/01/online-learning-for-high-schoolers-inspires-praise-suspicion/
10.18
http://travel.usatoday.com/news/story/2011/03/-How-to-fight-germs-and-stay-healthy-when-you-travel/44483150/1
Be wary of the airplane lavatory.With scores using a tiny restroom on a flight, it's "hands-down the germiest place on the trip,"
10.19
10.17
Online learning for high schoolers inspires praise, suspicion
http://www.kingstonhighlights.com/student-life/2011/05/01/online-learning-for-high-schoolers-inspires-praise-suspicion/
10.18
http://travel.usatoday.com/news/story/2011/03/-How-to-fight-germs-and-stay-healthy-when-you-travel/44483150/1
Be wary of the airplane lavatory.With scores using a tiny restroom on a flight, it's "hands-down the germiest place on the trip,"
10.19
10.14- 10.15
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/01/business/la-fi-apple-chineseapps-20110601
Chinese see Apple's App Store as portal to global market
10.14
Lu Miao speaks very little English. He's never traveled outside of Asia. He's not a software engineer. But in a few short months, he became the founder of a successful software company selling apps in the United States and Europe.~
10.15
"The overall landscape has changed," said Allen Hsieh, director of operations and client services for Mobile Now International Inc., a Shanghai-based iPhone app developer that has published the games King of Frogs and Super Ball Escape under the brand PlayLithium. "The little guy can now actually do something."~
Chinese see Apple's App Store as portal to global market
10.14
Lu Miao speaks very little English. He's never traveled outside of Asia. He's not a software engineer. But in a few short months, he became the founder of a successful software company selling apps in the United States and Europe.~
10.15
"The overall landscape has changed," said Allen Hsieh, director of operations and client services for Mobile Now International Inc., a Shanghai-based iPhone app developer that has published the games King of Frogs and Super Ball Escape under the brand PlayLithium. "The little guy can now actually do something."~
10.12 10.13
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/13/business/la-fi-hospital-ceo-20110513
A Story Behind Every Door
10.12
The psychiatric clinic specialized in broken kids.~
10.13
Feinberg wanted to be a pediatrician from the time he was a boy in Northern California. His childhood doctor inspired him with a combination of smarts and kindness.
~
A Story Behind Every Door
10.12
The psychiatric clinic specialized in broken kids.~
10.13
Feinberg wanted to be a pediatrician from the time he was a boy in Northern California. His childhood doctor inspired him with a combination of smarts and kindness.
~
2011.1010-1011
目前只有先找出文章來源還沒細部比對
http://wvgazette.com/ap/ApBusiness/201105220118
1010
In the ballroom of a tony hotel in downtown Beijing, a dozen women dressed in gold to resemble Oscar statuettes gathered on a stage lined with giant rolls of unfurled film.
1011~
Known for its big-format, 50- to 60-foot-wide screens, Imax uses proprietary projection and sound systems intended to envelop the viewer
http://wvgazette.com/ap/ApBusiness/201105220118
1010
In the ballroom of a tony hotel in downtown Beijing, a dozen women dressed in gold to resemble Oscar statuettes gathered on a stage lined with giant rolls of unfurled film.
1011~
Known for its big-format, 50- to 60-foot-wide screens, Imax uses proprietary projection and sound systems intended to envelop the viewer
2011年2月7日 星期一
※02/07-02/08
http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2010/10/21/r_nklvvzexspe3v7by3z5juq/index.xml
Taking a page from its popular iPhone, Apple is going to be opening an App Store for the Mac.
As with the one introduced for the iPhone, which also serves the iPad and iPod touch, the store will allow Mac users to buy, download and automatically install applications for their computers over the Internet. As is the case with the iPhone App Store, the Mac OS store also will alert users when updates are available for their software and allow them to download updates for multiple programs at once.
Apple’s move marks the first time that one of the two major PC operating system vendors – Microsoft and Apple – has built an application store into their software.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the Mac App store at a small media event at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters Oct. 20. Jobs also unveiled an updated version and a new, smaller model of its ultra-thin MacBook Air notebook computer with quicker start-up times and a longer-lasting battery, and an update to Apple’s iLife creative software suite.
Additionally, Jobs showed off some of the new features in the next version of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system – dubbed “Lion” – [which will be released in summer 2011,] and announced that the company’s FaceTime video chat software is coming to the Mac[, with a test version of it available immediately.] [ ……. ]代表為文章中無
X…
The new App Store could be a huge move for Apple. The App Store the company introduced for the iPhone has been a runaway success. The store has some 300,000 applications in it – more than 3 times the number in the application marketplace that Google put together for its Android operating system – and consumers have downloaded some 7 billion applications since it launched, Jobs said.
Thanks to that success, the iOS App Store has revolutionized the way consumers get applications on their smart phones. [Since its debut, every other major maker of a smart-phone operating system has launched application stores for its devices that are integrated into their software.] [ ……. ]代表為文章中無
By offering developers a relatively inexpensive way of getting their applications out to a large audience of users, the App Store has encouraged the development of a wide range of low-cost applications.
※02/08
The Mac App Store may not be similarly successful. But it shores up a problem faced by Mac users, analysts say. With few PC software stores around these days and electronics and general retailers devoting little space to PC software – much less Mac software – Mac programs can be hard to find outside of Apple’s own retail stores.
Ben Bajarin, an…………………….[這一小段找不到]
X…
The Mac App Store will have some important differences from the iOS one. It won’t carry iOS software, and it won’t work on every Mac. Consumers will have to be running the latest version of the Mac OS X software – 10.6 Snow Leopard – to access the store.
Moreover, unlike the iOS App Store, the Mac one won’t be the only way consumers obtain software for their devices. Mac users will still be able to buy packaged software at retail stores and will still be able to download software over the Internet.
The other new feature coming to Macs is FaceTime, which will allow Mac users to make video calls with their friends on iPhones or iPod Touch devices.Apple introduced FaceTime when it unveiled the iPhone 4 in June. Last month, the company added the feature to its iPod Touch line when it updated the handheld device with two cameras. Apple has now shipped some 19 million FaceTime devices between the iPhone 4 and the new iPod Touch, Jobs said.
X…
The new MacBook Air includes a 13.3-inch LED display, a Core 2 Duo processor and a FaceTime camera. Instead of an optical drive or hard disk drive, it only includes a solid-state flash memory drive. “It’s one of the most amazing things we’ve ever created,” Jobs said. “We think it’s the future of notebooks.”
Taking a page from its popular iPhone, Apple is going to be opening an App Store for the Mac.
As with the one introduced for the iPhone, which also serves the iPad and iPod touch, the store will allow Mac users to buy, download and automatically install applications for their computers over the Internet. As is the case with the iPhone App Store, the Mac OS store also will alert users when updates are available for their software and allow them to download updates for multiple programs at once.
Apple’s move marks the first time that one of the two major PC operating system vendors – Microsoft and Apple – has built an application store into their software.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the Mac App store at a small media event at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters Oct. 20. Jobs also unveiled an updated version and a new, smaller model of its ultra-thin MacBook Air notebook computer with quicker start-up times and a longer-lasting battery, and an update to Apple’s iLife creative software suite.
Additionally, Jobs showed off some of the new features in the next version of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system – dubbed “Lion” – [which will be released in summer 2011,] and announced that the company’s FaceTime video chat software is coming to the Mac[, with a test version of it available immediately.] [ ……. ]代表為文章中無
X…
The new App Store could be a huge move for Apple. The App Store the company introduced for the iPhone has been a runaway success. The store has some 300,000 applications in it – more than 3 times the number in the application marketplace that Google put together for its Android operating system – and consumers have downloaded some 7 billion applications since it launched, Jobs said.
Thanks to that success, the iOS App Store has revolutionized the way consumers get applications on their smart phones. [Since its debut, every other major maker of a smart-phone operating system has launched application stores for its devices that are integrated into their software.] [ ……. ]代表為文章中無
By offering developers a relatively inexpensive way of getting their applications out to a large audience of users, the App Store has encouraged the development of a wide range of low-cost applications.
※02/08
The Mac App Store may not be similarly successful. But it shores up a problem faced by Mac users, analysts say. With few PC software stores around these days and electronics and general retailers devoting little space to PC software – much less Mac software – Mac programs can be hard to find outside of Apple’s own retail stores.
Ben Bajarin, an…………………….[這一小段找不到]
X…
The Mac App Store will have some important differences from the iOS one. It won’t carry iOS software, and it won’t work on every Mac. Consumers will have to be running the latest version of the Mac OS X software – 10.6 Snow Leopard – to access the store.
Moreover, unlike the iOS App Store, the Mac one won’t be the only way consumers obtain software for their devices. Mac users will still be able to buy packaged software at retail stores and will still be able to download software over the Internet.
The other new feature coming to Macs is FaceTime, which will allow Mac users to make video calls with their friends on iPhones or iPod Touch devices.Apple introduced FaceTime when it unveiled the iPhone 4 in June. Last month, the company added the feature to its iPod Touch line when it updated the handheld device with two cameras. Apple has now shipped some 19 million FaceTime devices between the iPhone 4 and the new iPod Touch, Jobs said.
X…
The new MacBook Air includes a 13.3-inch LED display, a Core 2 Duo processor and a FaceTime camera. Instead of an optical drive or hard disk drive, it only includes a solid-state flash memory drive. “It’s one of the most amazing things we’ve ever created,” Jobs said. “We think it’s the future of notebooks.”
2011年1月31日 星期一
◎02/28
http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/buffalo-news/mi_8030/is_20101122/online-degrees-slowly-gain-respect/ai_n56343071/
Does an online degree pack the same punch as a traditional degree obtained through classroom attendance?
According to a recent Society for Human Resource Management survey: Probably not.
Forty-nine percent of hiring officials polled said they view an online degree less favorably than a "traditional" degree.
Does that mean online degrees are a waste of time for workers striving to advance their careers?
Again, probably not.
Seventy-nine percent of the human resource officials said their organizations had hired job applicants with online degrees in the past 12 months.
But there's one caveat: That assumes the online degree is from an accredited institution.
The relatively lawless nature of the Internet creates a feeding ground for unscrupulous and less-than-professional opportunists. Buyer beware. In education services, as in product purchases, be sure you're buying quality.
Human resource professionals know the trend lines. As more people seek to augment their credentials by adding advanced degrees, more will turn to online purveyors because of cost and time advantages.
"The majority of surveyed HR professionals said they think online degrees are viewed more favorably today than five years ago," said Mark Schmit, director of research at the society. "And a growing number see individual courses taken online as equally credible to courses taken at traditional universities."
Most hirers said they will consider the online schools' reputations and certifications to help decide how much value they'll give to applicants' education credentials.
The survey also noted that it's getting harder to distinguish between online and traditional educators, as more online companies are offering classroom locations and brick-and-mortar schools are offering online programs.
For now, though, six out of 10 hirers agreed their organizations prefer job applicants with "traditional" degrees over those with online degrees, presuming similar work experience.
Does an online degree pack the same punch as a traditional degree obtained through classroom attendance?
According to a recent Society for Human Resource Management survey: Probably not.
Forty-nine percent of hiring officials polled said they view an online degree less favorably than a "traditional" degree.
Does that mean online degrees are a waste of time for workers striving to advance their careers?
Again, probably not.
Seventy-nine percent of the human resource officials said their organizations had hired job applicants with online degrees in the past 12 months.
But there's one caveat: That assumes the online degree is from an accredited institution.
The relatively lawless nature of the Internet creates a feeding ground for unscrupulous and less-than-professional opportunists. Buyer beware. In education services, as in product purchases, be sure you're buying quality.
Human resource professionals know the trend lines. As more people seek to augment their credentials by adding advanced degrees, more will turn to online purveyors because of cost and time advantages.
"The majority of surveyed HR professionals said they think online degrees are viewed more favorably today than five years ago," said Mark Schmit, director of research at the society. "And a growing number see individual courses taken online as equally credible to courses taken at traditional universities."
Most hirers said they will consider the online schools' reputations and certifications to help decide how much value they'll give to applicants' education credentials.
The survey also noted that it's getting harder to distinguish between online and traditional educators, as more online companies are offering classroom locations and brick-and-mortar schools are offering online programs.
For now, though, six out of 10 hirers agreed their organizations prefer job applicants with "traditional" degrees over those with online degrees, presuming similar work experience.
●02/25-02/26
●02/25
http://articles.ocregister.com/2010-10-19/sports/24819888_1_nba-vice-president-technical-fouls-fines
Welcome to the new NBA, where whining about officiating — and showing contempt through "overt" reactions — is no longer acceptable.
Five years ago, the league instituted a new dress code aimed at cleaning up its image, requiring players to dress for success on game nights. Coats and ties, collared shirts and sweaters, dress slacks and hard-soled shoes were in; baggy jeans, T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts were out.
This year, David "Very" Stern's image reparation edict revolves around cleaning up behavior on the court.
Specifically, the NBA is cracking down on whiners, complainers and on what it deems unsportsmanlike conduct.
This is the way Stu Jackson, NBA vice president of basketball operations and the league's czar of discipline, recently explained it: "We're going to expand the universe of unsportsmanlike actions that will be penalized. They will include air-punching at an official. Waving him off as a sign of disrespect. Running up to an official from across the court to voice a complaint. Flailing arms in disbelief. Jumping up and down and pirouetting in disbelief or clapping sarcastically at an official.
"Those are some of the types of actions that really have no place in our game."
And, of course, straightforward objections to perceived bad calls will not be tolerated, either. Essentially, verbal complaints about whistles and demonstrative reactions to them will be uniformly penalized. And all of the above will henceforth earn technical fouls — and free throws for the opposing team — as well as increased fines.
X…
X…
Reaction to the crackdown has been predictably varied. Initially, Lakers coach Phil Jackson was in favor of the idea and said he believed players eventually would adjust to what the refs were calling. But Tuesday night he didn't sound convinced when I asked him if the new guidelines could be fairly enforced.
●02/26
http://articles.ocregister.com/2010-10-19/sports/24819888_1_nba-vice-president-technical-fouls-fines/2
"It's another one of those interpretive things that makes it very difficult to call," Jackson said before the Lakers' exhibition game against Utah at Honda Center.
"We had a situation the other night at the end of the game against Utah where consecutive fouls were called against (Lakers rookie) Devin Ebanks, and both of them were suspicious calls. He got upset, threw his hands up as a gesture (of protest) and got a technical."
The technical came with 45 seconds left at Staples Center, and the free throws put the game out of reach of the Lakers in a 99-94 loss.
It was only an exhibition game, but Jackson said, "You don't want to see something like that change the course of a game."
X…
It's been happening in exhibition games around the league. Four technicals were called in a 16-second span in a Boston-New York game last week. So you have to wonder if the NBA is overdoing it. Are NBA games destined to become stop-and-start whistle-fests?
What's next? Is Lakers guard Derek Fisher going to be called for a technical for smiling after a questionable call, as he likes to do?
Fisher tiptoed around the subject when I talked to him before Tuesday night's game, not surprising considering he is president of the NBA Players Association executive committee.
What he would say is he thinks there should be more discussion between players and owners about the new policy on technical fouls.
"The fans deserve to see the game played a certain way," he said carefully. "For the best basketball to be played, there should be a way we can be ourselves on the court."
And be allowed to show emotion?
He nodded. Then Fisher mentioned that Billy Hunter, director of the NBAPA, had released a statement decrying the "new unilateral rule changes as unnecessary and unwarranted overreaction" by the league and that there would be an "appropriate legal challenge."
X…
Stay tuned for the next whistle.
http://articles.ocregister.com/2010-10-19/sports/24819888_1_nba-vice-president-technical-fouls-fines
Welcome to the new NBA, where whining about officiating — and showing contempt through "overt" reactions — is no longer acceptable.
Five years ago, the league instituted a new dress code aimed at cleaning up its image, requiring players to dress for success on game nights. Coats and ties, collared shirts and sweaters, dress slacks and hard-soled shoes were in; baggy jeans, T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts were out.
This year, David "Very" Stern's image reparation edict revolves around cleaning up behavior on the court.
Specifically, the NBA is cracking down on whiners, complainers and on what it deems unsportsmanlike conduct.
This is the way Stu Jackson, NBA vice president of basketball operations and the league's czar of discipline, recently explained it: "We're going to expand the universe of unsportsmanlike actions that will be penalized. They will include air-punching at an official. Waving him off as a sign of disrespect. Running up to an official from across the court to voice a complaint. Flailing arms in disbelief. Jumping up and down and pirouetting in disbelief or clapping sarcastically at an official.
"Those are some of the types of actions that really have no place in our game."
And, of course, straightforward objections to perceived bad calls will not be tolerated, either. Essentially, verbal complaints about whistles and demonstrative reactions to them will be uniformly penalized. And all of the above will henceforth earn technical fouls — and free throws for the opposing team — as well as increased fines.
X…
X…
Reaction to the crackdown has been predictably varied. Initially, Lakers coach Phil Jackson was in favor of the idea and said he believed players eventually would adjust to what the refs were calling. But Tuesday night he didn't sound convinced when I asked him if the new guidelines could be fairly enforced.
●02/26
http://articles.ocregister.com/2010-10-19/sports/24819888_1_nba-vice-president-technical-fouls-fines/2
"It's another one of those interpretive things that makes it very difficult to call," Jackson said before the Lakers' exhibition game against Utah at Honda Center.
"We had a situation the other night at the end of the game against Utah where consecutive fouls were called against (Lakers rookie) Devin Ebanks, and both of them were suspicious calls. He got upset, threw his hands up as a gesture (of protest) and got a technical."
The technical came with 45 seconds left at Staples Center, and the free throws put the game out of reach of the Lakers in a 99-94 loss.
It was only an exhibition game, but Jackson said, "You don't want to see something like that change the course of a game."
X…
It's been happening in exhibition games around the league. Four technicals were called in a 16-second span in a Boston-New York game last week. So you have to wonder if the NBA is overdoing it. Are NBA games destined to become stop-and-start whistle-fests?
What's next? Is Lakers guard Derek Fisher going to be called for a technical for smiling after a questionable call, as he likes to do?
Fisher tiptoed around the subject when I talked to him before Tuesday night's game, not surprising considering he is president of the NBA Players Association executive committee.
What he would say is he thinks there should be more discussion between players and owners about the new policy on technical fouls.
"The fans deserve to see the game played a certain way," he said carefully. "For the best basketball to be played, there should be a way we can be ourselves on the court."
And be allowed to show emotion?
He nodded. Then Fisher mentioned that Billy Hunter, director of the NBAPA, had released a statement decrying the "new unilateral rule changes as unnecessary and unwarranted overreaction" by the league and that there would be an "appropriate legal challenge."
X…
Stay tuned for the next whistle.
※02/23-02/24
※02/23
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0614-nature_oped_langlie-lesnik.html
If someone saves your life, you want to express your gratitude however you can -- a gesture, a "thank you,", or somehow returning the favor. Yet when you owe your life to a plant found thousands of miles away, the task becomes much harder.
As a nurse, I’ve known for years that many life-saving medicines come from plants and animals found around the world. But I never thought that one day I would have to rely on the bark of a rare Asian tree to survive.
Nine years ago, I was diagnosed with appendiceal cancer and told that I had only months to live. The mother of two young children at the time, I could not accept the prognosis. Luckily, I found a doctor who was willing to help me fight. I had major abdominal surgery and months of chemotherapy.
Today I am cancer free, in large part because of irinotecan. A drug that helps block the growth of cancer cells, irinotecan is derived from a tree with banana-shaped pods found only in China and Tibet and aptly called the "Chinese Happy Tree." Yet, this tree and many other potential sources of future treatments are endangered and could soon be gone forever.
I have lived many years past my life expectancy. And countless others are alive and healthy today because of other medicines -- from those that help lower cholesterol to those used to fight malaria -- originally derived from natural sources.
Across the globe, however, many of our remaining wild areas that shelter plants and animals that could be the future source of numerous other new drugs, are quickly disappearing. The razing of a forest in what seems like a remote corner of the world could have life-or-death consequences for people. ……**…
※02/24
Plants can’t move to escape harm, so they use a complex chemical arsenal to protect themselves from insects, diseases, and other threats. And many of these compounds have the potential to protect not only plants, but us as well. Indeed, half of all of the new drugs developed in the past 25 years, and 70 percent of the drugs currently used to treat cancer, have been derived from nature.下接
X…
……**…Medicines have also been obtained from many animal species, some on the verge of extinction.
In 40 years, however, the habitats of these plants and animals may be gone. We lose 32 million acres of forests each year -- an area almost the size of Louisiana. Scientists estimate that two-thirds of all species could become severely endangered by the end of this century. Yet researchers have only had the opportunity to test 1 percent of rainforest plants for organic compounds that could benefit human health. If we don't act soon, natural sources that could cure cancer, arthritis, HIV, diabetes, heart disease and innumerable other illnesses, may be lost to us forever.
Most of the planet’s species live in the world’s poorest nations and that's why I travelled, along with other cancer survivors from around the nation, to Washington last month to support a new effort in Congress to strengthen our nation's international conservation efforts. Introduced earlier this spring, the Global Conservation Act would establish a national strategy that will help our government assist in preserving the natural areas of developing countries that are too poor to do so on their own.
I’m grateful for the Chinese Happy Tree, which helped save my life and allowed me to watch my two daughters grow up. Speaking out for nature and all the medical treatments that come from it is just my way of saying “thank you.”
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0614-nature_oped_langlie-lesnik.html
If someone saves your life, you want to express your gratitude however you can -- a gesture, a "thank you,", or somehow returning the favor. Yet when you owe your life to a plant found thousands of miles away, the task becomes much harder.
As a nurse, I’ve known for years that many life-saving medicines come from plants and animals found around the world. But I never thought that one day I would have to rely on the bark of a rare Asian tree to survive.
Nine years ago, I was diagnosed with appendiceal cancer and told that I had only months to live. The mother of two young children at the time, I could not accept the prognosis. Luckily, I found a doctor who was willing to help me fight. I had major abdominal surgery and months of chemotherapy.
Today I am cancer free, in large part because of irinotecan. A drug that helps block the growth of cancer cells, irinotecan is derived from a tree with banana-shaped pods found only in China and Tibet and aptly called the "Chinese Happy Tree." Yet, this tree and many other potential sources of future treatments are endangered and could soon be gone forever.
I have lived many years past my life expectancy. And countless others are alive and healthy today because of other medicines -- from those that help lower cholesterol to those used to fight malaria -- originally derived from natural sources.
Across the globe, however, many of our remaining wild areas that shelter plants and animals that could be the future source of numerous other new drugs, are quickly disappearing. The razing of a forest in what seems like a remote corner of the world could have life-or-death consequences for people. ……**…
※02/24
Plants can’t move to escape harm, so they use a complex chemical arsenal to protect themselves from insects, diseases, and other threats. And many of these compounds have the potential to protect not only plants, but us as well. Indeed, half of all of the new drugs developed in the past 25 years, and 70 percent of the drugs currently used to treat cancer, have been derived from nature.下接
X…
……**…Medicines have also been obtained from many animal species, some on the verge of extinction.
In 40 years, however, the habitats of these plants and animals may be gone. We lose 32 million acres of forests each year -- an area almost the size of Louisiana. Scientists estimate that two-thirds of all species could become severely endangered by the end of this century. Yet researchers have only had the opportunity to test 1 percent of rainforest plants for organic compounds that could benefit human health. If we don't act soon, natural sources that could cure cancer, arthritis, HIV, diabetes, heart disease and innumerable other illnesses, may be lost to us forever.
Most of the planet’s species live in the world’s poorest nations and that's why I travelled, along with other cancer survivors from around the nation, to Washington last month to support a new effort in Congress to strengthen our nation's international conservation efforts. Introduced earlier this spring, the Global Conservation Act would establish a national strategy that will help our government assist in preserving the natural areas of developing countries that are too poor to do so on their own.
I’m grateful for the Chinese Happy Tree, which helped save my life and allowed me to watch my two daughters grow up. Speaking out for nature and all the medical treatments that come from it is just my way of saying “thank you.”
●02/21-02/22
●02/21
http://www.physorg.com/news202626447.html
You once had to leave home to see a psychiatrist for therapy, a music teacher for guitar lessons or a makeup artist for face-to-face consultations. Now they can come to you, virtually, through video chat.
Long the darling of science fiction aficionados, video chat has never much caught on for personal calls. But this year, with the technology being incorporated into a widening array of digital gadgets, professionals specializing in one-to-one services are experimenting with video chat as a way to vastly extend their reach.
X…
X…
X…
Online video chat technology, once the province of geeks and corporate users with IT departments, has become far more user friendly and available. Last month, Apple's iPhone 4 and HTC's Evo 4G phone debuted, both with video chat capability. Selected televisions ……**… now come with built-in cameras for video chat. On computers, Skype, Yahoo Messenger, iChat and other messaging services have offered video chat for several years. But image quality, reliability and user-friendliness have greatly improved over time.
"Previously, people had to be kind of tech-savvy to use video chat," said Alfred Poor, an analyst with research group GigaOm Pro. "Now, with new products coming on the market with video chat already installed, that kind of barrier is no longer there."
GigaOm is so bullish on the technology that it estimates the annual number of video chats will increase from 600 million worldwide in 2008 to 30 billion by 2015.
Susan Fussell, associate professor of communications at Cornell University, doubts that personal calls will be a huge part of that boom if it comes. Crowds famously lined up to see AT&T's Picturephone at the 1964 New York World's Fair, but the technology didn't catch on in homes.
"Back when the Picturephone came out, housewives thought they had to put on makeup and dress up," Fussell said. "No one wants to do that on a day-to-day basis."
●02/22
接02/21網址加文章
X…
X…
The geographic factor is perhaps the biggest attraction for video chat services.
Christian Phoenix was taking guitar lessons when he lived in Huntington Beach, Calif. Then five years ago he moved to Pierre, S.D.
"Guitar lessons were nowhere to be found," said Phoenix, 33, a computer consultant. "There wasn't even a music store nearby."
David Fisher was a guitar teacher who lived in a city with no such shortage.
"There are tons of guitar teachers in Nashville (Tenn.), as you can imagine," Fisher said. He started giving online lessons to "stay afloat and stay competitive."
Now about half of Fisher's students come to him by video chat. Phoenix found him on Craigslist this year and began taking lessons for $35 an hour.
"The main thing with the webcam lessons is that initially you have to get used to it," Phoenix said. "Sometimes you have to zoom so the teacher can see your fingers.
X…
X…
X…
X…
X…
An area that's ripe for video chat expansion is medicine, said market analyst Ken Hyers of Technology Business Research.
"We're seeing a broad push across markets," he said. "The infrastructure is much more able to support it now."
Mental health professionals, who rely on talk and visual cues, have adopted the technology.
In February, during a blizzard on the East Coast, two of psychiatrist Patrick Barta's patients were snowed in and couldn't make it to his Towson, Md., office. In both cases, he suggested video chat sessions.
"I could see their mannerisms and felt safe enough to prescribe them the meds they needed," [Barta said.]
Video chat sessions now account for 20 percent of his practice. Most of these clients are under 35. "The older crowd tends to be more leery of it," Barta said.
http://www.physorg.com/news202626447.html
You once had to leave home to see a psychiatrist for therapy, a music teacher for guitar lessons or a makeup artist for face-to-face consultations. Now they can come to you, virtually, through video chat.
Long the darling of science fiction aficionados, video chat has never much caught on for personal calls. But this year, with the technology being incorporated into a widening array of digital gadgets, professionals specializing in one-to-one services are experimenting with video chat as a way to vastly extend their reach.
X…
X…
X…
Online video chat technology, once the province of geeks and corporate users with IT departments, has become far more user friendly and available. Last month, Apple's iPhone 4 and HTC's Evo 4G phone debuted, both with video chat capability. Selected televisions ……**… now come with built-in cameras for video chat. On computers, Skype, Yahoo Messenger, iChat and other messaging services have offered video chat for several years. But image quality, reliability and user-friendliness have greatly improved over time.
"Previously, people had to be kind of tech-savvy to use video chat," said Alfred Poor, an analyst with research group GigaOm Pro. "Now, with new products coming on the market with video chat already installed, that kind of barrier is no longer there."
GigaOm is so bullish on the technology that it estimates the annual number of video chats will increase from 600 million worldwide in 2008 to 30 billion by 2015.
Susan Fussell, associate professor of communications at Cornell University, doubts that personal calls will be a huge part of that boom if it comes. Crowds famously lined up to see AT&T's Picturephone at the 1964 New York World's Fair, but the technology didn't catch on in homes.
"Back when the Picturephone came out, housewives thought they had to put on makeup and dress up," Fussell said. "No one wants to do that on a day-to-day basis."
●02/22
接02/21網址加文章
X…
X…
The geographic factor is perhaps the biggest attraction for video chat services.
Christian Phoenix was taking guitar lessons when he lived in Huntington Beach, Calif. Then five years ago he moved to Pierre, S.D.
"Guitar lessons were nowhere to be found," said Phoenix, 33, a computer consultant. "There wasn't even a music store nearby."
David Fisher was a guitar teacher who lived in a city with no such shortage.
"There are tons of guitar teachers in Nashville (Tenn.), as you can imagine," Fisher said. He started giving online lessons to "stay afloat and stay competitive."
Now about half of Fisher's students come to him by video chat. Phoenix found him on Craigslist this year and began taking lessons for $35 an hour.
"The main thing with the webcam lessons is that initially you have to get used to it," Phoenix said. "Sometimes you have to zoom so the teacher can see your fingers.
X…
X…
X…
X…
X…
An area that's ripe for video chat expansion is medicine, said market analyst Ken Hyers of Technology Business Research.
"We're seeing a broad push across markets," he said. "The infrastructure is much more able to support it now."
Mental health professionals, who rely on talk and visual cues, have adopted the technology.
In February, during a blizzard on the East Coast, two of psychiatrist Patrick Barta's patients were snowed in and couldn't make it to his Towson, Md., office. In both cases, he suggested video chat sessions.
"I could see their mannerisms and felt safe enough to prescribe them the meds they needed," [Barta said.]
Video chat sessions now account for 20 percent of his practice. Most of these clients are under 35. "The older crowd tends to be more leery of it," Barta said.
◎02/17-02/19
◎02/17
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html
For lunch, Denis Weil chills out in the contemporary lounge he created.
X…..
Weil spritzes a lime over his salad, enjoying the laid-back vibe that lets him focus on the food. "I love this salad, it's so cravable," he coos in a slight European accent. ……**…
……**…His contemporary lounge sits smack in the middle of a newly revamped McDonald's in Oak Brook, Illinois. Yes, McDonald's. Weil, McDonald's VP of concept and design, has spent the past five years educating Carras (VP of U.S. restaurant development) and a host of other executives and franchisees throughout the $23 billion company that a McDonald's restaurant doesn't have to mean primary colors and fiberglass booths.
X….
……**…"It's a community center," says Weil of the restaurant, meaning McDonald's is one of the few places cheap and casual enough to be accessible to nearly everyone. "There are very few public places left where private things happen." The restaurant in Oak Brook has been divided into four "seating zones," each designed for a different activity -- chilling out, working, casual dining, and group events. ……**…
McDonald's grown-up thinking about design is part of its "Plan to Win" growth strategy, initiated in 2003 when executives realized their core markets had gorged on expansion. From 1974 to 2003, the company supersized from 2,259 storefronts in the United States and just 13 internationally to more than 30,000 in 100-plus countries, each one basically a facsimile of the one before it.
……**…The strategy's three pillars are menu innovation, store renovation, and an upgrade of the ordering experience. ……**…
The next phase, McDonald's execs say, depends on design. "People eat with their eyes first," says president and COO Don Thompson. "If you have a restaurant that is appealing, contemporary, and relevant both from the street and interior, the food tastes better."
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html?page=0%2C1
"As the younger generation starts to see McDonald's as a place you go to eat instead of just picking up food, you could very well change their behavior for years to come," says Darren Tristano of restaurant consultancy Technomic. "The next step," he says, "is to draw people in for a dining experience."
◎02/18
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html?page=0%2C1
X…
……**…McDonald's is a decentralized beast -- 81% of its restaurants are run by franchisees (McDonald's calls them "owner-operators"), a constituency divided by not only national borders and time zones but also by cultural expectations. Design also has to function within what the company calls the "system"; no changes can interfere with its operational prowess. The question, Weil says, is, "How do you increase service speed and efficiency and optimize the customer experience at the same time?"
The answer will soon pop up in a neighborhood near you. Weil has created what he calls a "living network" where ideas bubble up from McDonald's global partners -- owner-operators, suppliers, outside design firms -- and are relentlessly filtered and tested by Weil and his team. "One of the strengths of my job is to conceptualize what happens in the marketplace and distill the principle out of it," Weil explains. ……**…
X…
A decade ago, in the midst of French globalization protests and charges of cultural imperialism, Pierre Woreczek, chief brand and strategy officer for McDonald's Europe, realized that the giant clown and prefab furniture had to go if McDonald's was to have a future on the continent. "Everything that was global was seen as not very quality, but efficient and profit-driven," he says. ……**…
X…
X…
……**…"We are not competing with our direct competitors anymore," Woreczek says. "We are competing with the streets," noting that each region will need to seem more in tune with what is hip to attract customers.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html?page=0%2C2
X…
X…
"If Martians came down to Earth and visited a McDonald's, a post office, and a bank, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference," Weil says while enjoying a late-morning snack of fries and Chicken McNuggets. (Weil grew up in a kosher household, so he never tasted much of McDonald's wares until recently.) "They would just see that everything starts with a line, has a counter that acts as a divider where the money exchanges, and has something hidden going on way in the back."
X…
X…
X…
……**…"I've been on a quest to figure out how to merge design and business," he says. [此he是指Weil]
◎02/19
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html?page=0%2C3
……**…"We don't design in a vacuum here. If an idea doesn't come alive in the restaurant, it doesn't work." [Weil says] ……**…
X…
Weil's scientific design method has led to some subtle but important changes in redesigned stores. ……**…Weil has restored some live entertainment value by positioning McCafé barista stands next to the registers ……**… and has also redesigned menus with larger-than-life photos of the food -- a 21st-century stab at telegraphing quality. 下接 http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html?page=0%2C4
X…
……**…Weil has added an overhead screen that flashes order numbers for pickup to alleviate a clogged register area. ……**…
X…
"It's a very contemporary and inviting restaurant," says Paul Hendel, an owner-operator with 19 franchises in New York, of the European model. Last October, he redid his 186-seat restaurant in the Chelsea neighborhood using the French-inspired design. With its open glass-front entry, multicolored chairs, and oasis-like second floor, his joint saw an immediate sales rush. Though he won't share numbers, Hendel says he's serving more customers with a higher check average than ever before. That prompted him to invest in a new "wow" gadget: a handheld order taker that will allow roving waitstaff to funnel orders from the back of the lines into the kitchen.
……**…What happens when the novelty factor wears off? ……**…
Williams, the lead Australian designer, says that by reshuffling, reupholstering, and switching out graphics, his first store design in Melbourne, built in 2000, has lasted a decade. "A lot of the planning principles we use have longevity to them," he says. ……**… "Yes, let's make them relevant," Williams says, "but let's also make them last."
After finishing his lunch in Oak Brook, Weil heads over to a garbage can to demonstrate his latest innovation. Rather than the usual swinging gate in front of the trash bin, this one is open faced with a slimmer, oval-shaped slot. ……**… He leans over and slides his trash off the tray and into the receptacle. ……**… "It always took two hands to operate. ……**… I wanted it to be quick and easy, to leave the customer with a good impression as they leave. ……**…
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html
For lunch, Denis Weil chills out in the contemporary lounge he created.
X…..
Weil spritzes a lime over his salad, enjoying the laid-back vibe that lets him focus on the food. "I love this salad, it's so cravable," he coos in a slight European accent. ……**…
……**…His contemporary lounge sits smack in the middle of a newly revamped McDonald's in Oak Brook, Illinois. Yes, McDonald's. Weil, McDonald's VP of concept and design, has spent the past five years educating Carras (VP of U.S. restaurant development) and a host of other executives and franchisees throughout the $23 billion company that a McDonald's restaurant doesn't have to mean primary colors and fiberglass booths.
X….
……**…"It's a community center," says Weil of the restaurant, meaning McDonald's is one of the few places cheap and casual enough to be accessible to nearly everyone. "There are very few public places left where private things happen." The restaurant in Oak Brook has been divided into four "seating zones," each designed for a different activity -- chilling out, working, casual dining, and group events. ……**…
McDonald's grown-up thinking about design is part of its "Plan to Win" growth strategy, initiated in 2003 when executives realized their core markets had gorged on expansion. From 1974 to 2003, the company supersized from 2,259 storefronts in the United States and just 13 internationally to more than 30,000 in 100-plus countries, each one basically a facsimile of the one before it.
……**…The strategy's three pillars are menu innovation, store renovation, and an upgrade of the ordering experience. ……**…
The next phase, McDonald's execs say, depends on design. "People eat with their eyes first," says president and COO Don Thompson. "If you have a restaurant that is appealing, contemporary, and relevant both from the street and interior, the food tastes better."
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html?page=0%2C1
"As the younger generation starts to see McDonald's as a place you go to eat instead of just picking up food, you could very well change their behavior for years to come," says Darren Tristano of restaurant consultancy Technomic. "The next step," he says, "is to draw people in for a dining experience."
◎02/18
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html?page=0%2C1
X…
……**…McDonald's is a decentralized beast -- 81% of its restaurants are run by franchisees (McDonald's calls them "owner-operators"), a constituency divided by not only national borders and time zones but also by cultural expectations. Design also has to function within what the company calls the "system"; no changes can interfere with its operational prowess. The question, Weil says, is, "How do you increase service speed and efficiency and optimize the customer experience at the same time?"
The answer will soon pop up in a neighborhood near you. Weil has created what he calls a "living network" where ideas bubble up from McDonald's global partners -- owner-operators, suppliers, outside design firms -- and are relentlessly filtered and tested by Weil and his team. "One of the strengths of my job is to conceptualize what happens in the marketplace and distill the principle out of it," Weil explains. ……**…
X…
A decade ago, in the midst of French globalization protests and charges of cultural imperialism, Pierre Woreczek, chief brand and strategy officer for McDonald's Europe, realized that the giant clown and prefab furniture had to go if McDonald's was to have a future on the continent. "Everything that was global was seen as not very quality, but efficient and profit-driven," he says. ……**…
X…
X…
……**…"We are not competing with our direct competitors anymore," Woreczek says. "We are competing with the streets," noting that each region will need to seem more in tune with what is hip to attract customers.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html?page=0%2C2
X…
X…
"If Martians came down to Earth and visited a McDonald's, a post office, and a bank, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference," Weil says while enjoying a late-morning snack of fries and Chicken McNuggets. (Weil grew up in a kosher household, so he never tasted much of McDonald's wares until recently.) "They would just see that everything starts with a line, has a counter that acts as a divider where the money exchanges, and has something hidden going on way in the back."
X…
X…
X…
……**…"I've been on a quest to figure out how to merge design and business," he says. [此he是指Weil]
◎02/19
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html?page=0%2C3
……**…"We don't design in a vacuum here. If an idea doesn't come alive in the restaurant, it doesn't work." [Weil says] ……**…
X…
Weil's scientific design method has led to some subtle but important changes in redesigned stores. ……**…Weil has restored some live entertainment value by positioning McCafé barista stands next to the registers ……**… and has also redesigned menus with larger-than-life photos of the food -- a 21st-century stab at telegraphing quality. 下接 http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/149/super-style-me.html?page=0%2C4
X…
……**…Weil has added an overhead screen that flashes order numbers for pickup to alleviate a clogged register area. ……**…
X…
"It's a very contemporary and inviting restaurant," says Paul Hendel, an owner-operator with 19 franchises in New York, of the European model. Last October, he redid his 186-seat restaurant in the Chelsea neighborhood using the French-inspired design. With its open glass-front entry, multicolored chairs, and oasis-like second floor, his joint saw an immediate sales rush. Though he won't share numbers, Hendel says he's serving more customers with a higher check average than ever before. That prompted him to invest in a new "wow" gadget: a handheld order taker that will allow roving waitstaff to funnel orders from the back of the lines into the kitchen.
……**…What happens when the novelty factor wears off? ……**…
Williams, the lead Australian designer, says that by reshuffling, reupholstering, and switching out graphics, his first store design in Melbourne, built in 2000, has lasted a decade. "A lot of the planning principles we use have longevity to them," he says. ……**… "Yes, let's make them relevant," Williams says, "but let's also make them last."
After finishing his lunch in Oak Brook, Weil heads over to a garbage can to demonstrate his latest innovation. Rather than the usual swinging gate in front of the trash bin, this one is open faced with a slimmer, oval-shaped slot. ……**… He leans over and slides his trash off the tray and into the receptacle. ……**… "It always took two hands to operate. ……**… I wanted it to be quick and easy, to leave the customer with a good impression as they leave. ……**…
●02/14-02/16
●02/14
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-diamonds-environmental-impact.html
Diamonds are known as a girl's best friend due to their splendid sparkle, but they are also held in very high regard by industrialists, who prize their unmatched density, excellent thermal conduction and other properties.
……**…
Exploiting these unique properties is the key to a new kind of semiconductor that researchers hope could be a revolutionary advance in energy-efficient technology.
The artificial diamond super semiconductor is being developed by the Diamond Research Laboratory of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan.
Artificial diamonds are most commonly produced by decomposing methane gas in a microwave oven at temperatures of about 1,000 Celsius. This process produces minute flakes of carbon, which pile up like accumulated snow to form a thin layer, or laminate, of diamond.
The AIST team has found a way to accelerate that process, and can efficiently produce diamond laminates measuring 2.3 centimeters square and 0.4 millimeter thick -- a size that ranks alongside the largest artificial diamonds produced.
While diamond has natural insulating qualities, adding minute amounts of boric acid and some other substances during the methane-decomposition process produces a diamond that also acts as an excellent semiconductor.
……**…The AIST team last year created a prototype semiconductor element measuring 1.6 centimeters square. ……**…If about 10 such elements were combined to form one large element, it would be suitable for use in the power control system of a hybrid vehicle, Shikata said. ……**…
A hybrid car equipped with such technology would consume about 960 kilowatt hours less per year than a conventional hybrid.
If every hybrid vehicle currently in use worldwide had such a system in place, their collective carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by about 5 million tons over 40 years, he said.
X…..
"We'd like to see diamond semiconductors become commonplace some day, since they would be sure to help realize a low-carbon society," ……**…
●02/15
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/22/science/la-sci-moon-water-20101022
The moon is a much wetter — and more chemically complicated — place than scientists had believed, according to new data released Thursday by NASA.
Last year﹝In 2009﹞, after the space agency hurtled a rocket into a frozen crater at the moon's south pole and measured the stuff kicked up by the crash, scientists calculated that the plume contained about 25 gallons of water. But further analysis over the last 11 months indicates that the amount of water vapor and ice was more like 41 gallons. ……**…
"It's twice as wet as the Sahara desert," said Anthony Colaprete, the lead scientist for the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, mission at NASA Ames Research Center in Northern California.
The instruments aboard the satellite, including near-infrared and visible light spectrometers, scanned the lunar debris cloud and identified the compounds it contained. They determined that about 5.6% of the plume was made of water, give or take 2.9%. It also included a surprising array of chemicals, including mercury, methane, silver, calcium, magnesium, pure hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
The findings were reported in six related papers published online Thursday by the journal Science.
"The lunar closet is really at the poles, and I think there's a lot of stuff crammed into the closet that we really haven't investigated yet," said Peter Schultz, a planetary geologist at Brown University in Providence, R.I., and one of the LCROSS team members.
The new measurements allowed Colaprete to estimate that the entire Cabeus crater could hold as much as 1 billion gallons of water.
Potentially, that would be really handy for future space explorers who might use the moon as an interplanetary way station. Along with providing water to drink, it could be mined for breathable oxygen and used to make hydrogen fuel for long-distance spacecraft.
●02/16
http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/healthcare/hospitals/2010-10-20-surgery20_st_N.htm
Training doctors and nurses to work as teams — using safety techniques borrowed from the aviation industry — cut the death rate from surgery by 18%, a new study shows.
Surgical teams in the study, which included 108 hospitals around the country, focused on low-tech techniques, such as holding briefings and debriefings before and after each operation, says study author and former astronaut James Bagian, a professor at the University of Michigan's medical and engineering schools.
These briefings, which are routinely conducted before airplane flights, allow crews to anticipate and prepare for potential safety risks, Bagian says.
Briefings helped surgical teams make important discoveries, such as learning that patients were on blood thinners, which increase the risk for serious bleeding during surgery. "You don't want to be surprised in the middle of surgery," he says.
Researchers trained operating room staff at 74 hospitals. Teams learned to recognize red flags, challenge each when they found safety risks and develop presurgical checklists, according to the study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. The more training surgical teams received, the safer they became, Bagian says.
But Bagian notes his study has limitations. The 34 hospitals that hadn't yet undergone training at the time of the study also improved, reducing their surgical mortality rate by 7%, he says. And the design of his study prevents him from concluding that training actually caused the drop in mortality, although the link seems strong.
But the study is also "really, really important" and the largest and most rigorously designed of its kind, says Peter Pronovost, a doctor and safety advocate who wrote an accompanying editorial.
X…..
"For decades, surgery and anesthesiology have focused on the technical work," Pronovost says. "But the harm that's occurring (from surgery) is happening due to teamwork failure, not technical failures. This is something every hospital can do."
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-diamonds-environmental-impact.html
Diamonds are known as a girl's best friend due to their splendid sparkle, but they are also held in very high regard by industrialists, who prize their unmatched density, excellent thermal conduction and other properties.
……**…
Exploiting these unique properties is the key to a new kind of semiconductor that researchers hope could be a revolutionary advance in energy-efficient technology.
The artificial diamond super semiconductor is being developed by the Diamond Research Laboratory of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan.
Artificial diamonds are most commonly produced by decomposing methane gas in a microwave oven at temperatures of about 1,000 Celsius. This process produces minute flakes of carbon, which pile up like accumulated snow to form a thin layer, or laminate, of diamond.
The AIST team has found a way to accelerate that process, and can efficiently produce diamond laminates measuring 2.3 centimeters square and 0.4 millimeter thick -- a size that ranks alongside the largest artificial diamonds produced.
While diamond has natural insulating qualities, adding minute amounts of boric acid and some other substances during the methane-decomposition process produces a diamond that also acts as an excellent semiconductor.
……**…The AIST team last year created a prototype semiconductor element measuring 1.6 centimeters square. ……**…If about 10 such elements were combined to form one large element, it would be suitable for use in the power control system of a hybrid vehicle, Shikata said. ……**…
A hybrid car equipped with such technology would consume about 960 kilowatt hours less per year than a conventional hybrid.
If every hybrid vehicle currently in use worldwide had such a system in place, their collective carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by about 5 million tons over 40 years, he said.
X…..
"We'd like to see diamond semiconductors become commonplace some day, since they would be sure to help realize a low-carbon society," ……**…
●02/15
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/22/science/la-sci-moon-water-20101022
The moon is a much wetter — and more chemically complicated — place than scientists had believed, according to new data released Thursday by NASA.
Last year﹝In 2009﹞, after the space agency hurtled a rocket into a frozen crater at the moon's south pole and measured the stuff kicked up by the crash, scientists calculated that the plume contained about 25 gallons of water. But further analysis over the last 11 months indicates that the amount of water vapor and ice was more like 41 gallons. ……**…
"It's twice as wet as the Sahara desert," said Anthony Colaprete, the lead scientist for the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, mission at NASA Ames Research Center in Northern California.
The instruments aboard the satellite, including near-infrared and visible light spectrometers, scanned the lunar debris cloud and identified the compounds it contained. They determined that about 5.6% of the plume was made of water, give or take 2.9%. It also included a surprising array of chemicals, including mercury, methane, silver, calcium, magnesium, pure hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
The findings were reported in six related papers published online Thursday by the journal Science.
"The lunar closet is really at the poles, and I think there's a lot of stuff crammed into the closet that we really haven't investigated yet," said Peter Schultz, a planetary geologist at Brown University in Providence, R.I., and one of the LCROSS team members.
The new measurements allowed Colaprete to estimate that the entire Cabeus crater could hold as much as 1 billion gallons of water.
Potentially, that would be really handy for future space explorers who might use the moon as an interplanetary way station. Along with providing water to drink, it could be mined for breathable oxygen and used to make hydrogen fuel for long-distance spacecraft.
●02/16
http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/healthcare/hospitals/2010-10-20-surgery20_st_N.htm
Training doctors and nurses to work as teams — using safety techniques borrowed from the aviation industry — cut the death rate from surgery by 18%, a new study shows.
Surgical teams in the study, which included 108 hospitals around the country, focused on low-tech techniques, such as holding briefings and debriefings before and after each operation, says study author and former astronaut James Bagian, a professor at the University of Michigan's medical and engineering schools.
These briefings, which are routinely conducted before airplane flights, allow crews to anticipate and prepare for potential safety risks, Bagian says.
Briefings helped surgical teams make important discoveries, such as learning that patients were on blood thinners, which increase the risk for serious bleeding during surgery. "You don't want to be surprised in the middle of surgery," he says.
Researchers trained operating room staff at 74 hospitals. Teams learned to recognize red flags, challenge each when they found safety risks and develop presurgical checklists, according to the study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. The more training surgical teams received, the safer they became, Bagian says.
But Bagian notes his study has limitations. The 34 hospitals that hadn't yet undergone training at the time of the study also improved, reducing their surgical mortality rate by 7%, he says. And the design of his study prevents him from concluding that training actually caused the drop in mortality, although the link seems strong.
But the study is also "really, really important" and the largest and most rigorously designed of its kind, says Peter Pronovost, a doctor and safety advocate who wrote an accompanying editorial.
X…..
"For decades, surgery and anesthesiology have focused on the technical work," Pronovost says. "But the harm that's occurring (from surgery) is happening due to teamwork failure, not technical failures. This is something every hospital can do."
€02/11-02/12
€02/11
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/06/science/la-sci-new-language-20101006
X…..
Koro, a tongue brand-new to the scientific world that is spoken by just 800 to 1,200 people, could soon face extinction as younger speakers abandon it for more widely used languages such as Hindi or English.
Koro is unlike any language in the various branches of the Tibeto-Burman family, a collection of 400 related languages used by peoples across Asia, according to the two National Geographic fellows who announced the discovery. ……**…
The researchers, linguists K. David Harrison of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and Gregory D.S. Anderson, director of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages in Salem, Ore., said they are not sure yet how old Koro is or how it developed. But they believe it could yield a wealth of knowledge about the way humans develop and use language.
[Until now,] The speakers of Koro had remained invisible to outside observers because their bright red garments, the rice beer they made and other details of their lives seemed no different from that of the speakers of Aka, the socially dominant language in the region, Harrison said.
"There's a sort of a cultural invisibility; they're culturally identical in what they wear, what they eat, the houses they live in.... They just happen to have a different word for everything," Harrison said.
X….
"I expect that there are many such hidden languages around the world," said M. Paul Lewis, who edited the 16th edition of "Ethnologue: Languages of the World;" he was not affiliated with the work. "The lesser-known languages quite often are overlooked and understudied."
€02/12
Anderson and Harrison, along with Indian colleague Ganesh Murmu, came across Koro by chance in 2008. They previously had identified the area in Arunachal Pradesh state as a hot spot of language diversity. After obtaining a permit to visit the area, they rode for two days into the Himalayan foothills and then crossed a river on a bamboo raft to get to the remotest of the villages.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/06/science/la-sci-new-language-20101006/2
The researchers had been told about the so-called dialect of Aka. But when they sat down to record the words of a villager they assumed to be speaking it, they were surprised by the unfamiliarity of the words and could tell this was no mere dialect.
"We noticed it instantly," Anderson said. "We started with a body-part word list, and there wasn't a single word in common." After further study, they realized that Koro was not only a language in its own right, but one as different from Aka as English is from Russian.
The linguists say there are still many mysteries they hope to unravel, such as why the speakers don't seem to notice how vastly different their languages are, and how the Koro speakers, who seem to blend in with Aka speakers in every other way, have managed to preserve their distinct language for so long.
The answers, said the linguists, are probably related to the community's relative isolation from the rest of the world.
Now globalization is ending that isolation, and it may end Koro's existence, too. In many families, the parents speak Koro while the children speak Hindi, the politically dominant language in India. Few Koro speakers are younger than 20.
X….
The endangerment of languages such as Koro threatens more than a loss to history, anthropology and human cognitive studies, Harrison said. Speakers in remote regions that contain rich ecological diversity hold knowledge as yet untapped by science.
"They've learned to live sustainably in harsh environments. The knowledge they have about the medicinal use of plants is uniquely encoded in a way that cannot be translated.’’
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/06/science/la-sci-new-language-20101006
X…..
Koro, a tongue brand-new to the scientific world that is spoken by just 800 to 1,200 people, could soon face extinction as younger speakers abandon it for more widely used languages such as Hindi or English.
Koro is unlike any language in the various branches of the Tibeto-Burman family, a collection of 400 related languages used by peoples across Asia, according to the two National Geographic fellows who announced the discovery. ……**…
The researchers, linguists K. David Harrison of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and Gregory D.S. Anderson, director of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages in Salem, Ore., said they are not sure yet how old Koro is or how it developed. But they believe it could yield a wealth of knowledge about the way humans develop and use language.
[Until now,] The speakers of Koro had remained invisible to outside observers because their bright red garments, the rice beer they made and other details of their lives seemed no different from that of the speakers of Aka, the socially dominant language in the region, Harrison said.
"There's a sort of a cultural invisibility; they're culturally identical in what they wear, what they eat, the houses they live in.... They just happen to have a different word for everything," Harrison said.
X….
"I expect that there are many such hidden languages around the world," said M. Paul Lewis, who edited the 16th edition of "Ethnologue: Languages of the World;" he was not affiliated with the work. "The lesser-known languages quite often are overlooked and understudied."
€02/12
Anderson and Harrison, along with Indian colleague Ganesh Murmu, came across Koro by chance in 2008. They previously had identified the area in Arunachal Pradesh state as a hot spot of language diversity. After obtaining a permit to visit the area, they rode for two days into the Himalayan foothills and then crossed a river on a bamboo raft to get to the remotest of the villages.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/06/science/la-sci-new-language-20101006/2
The researchers had been told about the so-called dialect of Aka. But when they sat down to record the words of a villager they assumed to be speaking it, they were surprised by the unfamiliarity of the words and could tell this was no mere dialect.
"We noticed it instantly," Anderson said. "We started with a body-part word list, and there wasn't a single word in common." After further study, they realized that Koro was not only a language in its own right, but one as different from Aka as English is from Russian.
The linguists say there are still many mysteries they hope to unravel, such as why the speakers don't seem to notice how vastly different their languages are, and how the Koro speakers, who seem to blend in with Aka speakers in every other way, have managed to preserve their distinct language for so long.
The answers, said the linguists, are probably related to the community's relative isolation from the rest of the world.
Now globalization is ending that isolation, and it may end Koro's existence, too. In many families, the parents speak Koro while the children speak Hindi, the politically dominant language in India. Few Koro speakers are younger than 20.
X….
The endangerment of languages such as Koro threatens more than a loss to history, anthropology and human cognitive studies, Harrison said. Speakers in remote regions that contain rich ecological diversity hold knowledge as yet untapped by science.
"They've learned to live sustainably in harsh environments. The knowledge they have about the medicinal use of plants is uniquely encoded in a way that cannot be translated.’’
◎02/09-02/10
◎02/09-02/10
◎02/09
http://fremonttribune.com/news/opinion/columnists/article_7a64ba98-655a-11df-896b-001cc4c002e0.html
This small village on the Zouma River - inside the municipal boundaries of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province - is the site of a fascinating effort to fight one of China's biggest problems: the dangerous levels of pollution in its rivers and streams.
"In the last 30 years, China's economic miracle has helped pull millions from poverty, but has put tremendous pressure on its ecosystems," said Ma Jun, whose 1999 book "China's Water Crisis" has been compared to Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." "Sixty percent of our rivers are polluted," and "300 million rural residents have no clean drinking water."
China's leadership has recognized the problem and adopted new regulations on industrial and agricultural pollution. But that doesn't guarantee that all local officials - let alone polluters - will follow the rules.That's why some government officials, hard-pressed to meet the new standards, may support Chinese nongovernmental organizations that work to clean up the environment. And that's how I came to be hurtling down a country road to look at a project run by the Chengdu Urban Rivers Association, or CURA, which works to persuade the public of the need to save the rivers.
X….
"Half of our problem is agricultural pollution," said Tian Jun, CURA's energetic general secretary, who formerly worked for the government on projects to treat two terribly polluted rivers running through Chengdu. Despite progress, officials faced a continuing problem of runoff from chemical pesticide used by farmers living upstream from Chengdu.
So Tian left government and helped form CURA to try to strengthen environmental awareness in the rural communities living on waterways that feed the city's rivers. The group received support from Chengdu's mayor and about $14,000 in seed money contributed by local real estate developers who didn't want Chengdu's rivers to be smelly. (It now receives support from other individual donors, a Hong Kong NGO, and the local government.)
◎02/10
http://fremonttribune.com/news/opinion/columnists/article_7a64ba98-655a-11df-896b-001cc4c002e0.html
The group focused on Anlong and two adjacent villages, which form a collection of whitewashed bungalows - with concrete floors, tile roofs, modest furnishings and indoor toilets - dispersed among trees and riverside farmland. Their goal: to end the farmers' "addiction" to chemical fertilizers and encourage organic farming. They also wanted to promote an alternative energy cycle in which farmers would use human and animal waste to produce methane gas for cooking (heating huge woks from below), as well as for fertilizer.
The going was rough: 100 families (out of 1,000 in a three-village cluster) are now using biogas, but only four of the 20 families who tried organic farming are still committed to it. The reason: Organic farming is more labor-intensive, and the land takes three to five years to recover from chemical fertilizers, meaning farmers' incomes drop in the short term.
But conversations with the organic farmers give insights into rural life and values. In the Gao family, daughter Qing Rong, who returned home after 10 years as a migrant factory worker, says her new work gives her "more dignity. ……**…
Her brother, Gao Hai, a former disc jockey in Shanghai, cooked up an organic feast for journalists from the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies' International Reporting Project: several varieties of greens, celery with vegetarian "pork," potato puree, squash, long green beans and luscious tea made with lemongrass and peppermint - all picked that day.
When asked whether she minded earning less, the Gaos' mother, Li Zhilan, responded: "We don't think about this. We think organic food is good for us to eat, good for the soil and good for the people who eat what we grow."
And the Gaos' income is increasing: They deliver their organic produce directly to 150 families in the city, in a van labeled with huge Chinese characters that read: "No chemical fertilizers or pesticides, everything is healthy." If Chengdu starts a farmers' market or its trendy restaurants go organic, demand could increase.
Tian Jun hopes CURA can promote this model to other areas and develop a "river protection belt." Officials from other towns already have come to examine the project.
X…..
◎02/09
http://fremonttribune.com/news/opinion/columnists/article_7a64ba98-655a-11df-896b-001cc4c002e0.html
This small village on the Zouma River - inside the municipal boundaries of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province - is the site of a fascinating effort to fight one of China's biggest problems: the dangerous levels of pollution in its rivers and streams.
"In the last 30 years, China's economic miracle has helped pull millions from poverty, but has put tremendous pressure on its ecosystems," said Ma Jun, whose 1999 book "China's Water Crisis" has been compared to Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." "Sixty percent of our rivers are polluted," and "300 million rural residents have no clean drinking water."
China's leadership has recognized the problem and adopted new regulations on industrial and agricultural pollution. But that doesn't guarantee that all local officials - let alone polluters - will follow the rules.That's why some government officials, hard-pressed to meet the new standards, may support Chinese nongovernmental organizations that work to clean up the environment. And that's how I came to be hurtling down a country road to look at a project run by the Chengdu Urban Rivers Association, or CURA, which works to persuade the public of the need to save the rivers.
X….
"Half of our problem is agricultural pollution," said Tian Jun, CURA's energetic general secretary, who formerly worked for the government on projects to treat two terribly polluted rivers running through Chengdu. Despite progress, officials faced a continuing problem of runoff from chemical pesticide used by farmers living upstream from Chengdu.
So Tian left government and helped form CURA to try to strengthen environmental awareness in the rural communities living on waterways that feed the city's rivers. The group received support from Chengdu's mayor and about $14,000 in seed money contributed by local real estate developers who didn't want Chengdu's rivers to be smelly. (It now receives support from other individual donors, a Hong Kong NGO, and the local government.)
◎02/10
http://fremonttribune.com/news/opinion/columnists/article_7a64ba98-655a-11df-896b-001cc4c002e0.html
The group focused on Anlong and two adjacent villages, which form a collection of whitewashed bungalows - with concrete floors, tile roofs, modest furnishings and indoor toilets - dispersed among trees and riverside farmland. Their goal: to end the farmers' "addiction" to chemical fertilizers and encourage organic farming. They also wanted to promote an alternative energy cycle in which farmers would use human and animal waste to produce methane gas for cooking (heating huge woks from below), as well as for fertilizer.
The going was rough: 100 families (out of 1,000 in a three-village cluster) are now using biogas, but only four of the 20 families who tried organic farming are still committed to it. The reason: Organic farming is more labor-intensive, and the land takes three to five years to recover from chemical fertilizers, meaning farmers' incomes drop in the short term.
But conversations with the organic farmers give insights into rural life and values. In the Gao family, daughter Qing Rong, who returned home after 10 years as a migrant factory worker, says her new work gives her "more dignity. ……**…
Her brother, Gao Hai, a former disc jockey in Shanghai, cooked up an organic feast for journalists from the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies' International Reporting Project: several varieties of greens, celery with vegetarian "pork," potato puree, squash, long green beans and luscious tea made with lemongrass and peppermint - all picked that day.
When asked whether she minded earning less, the Gaos' mother, Li Zhilan, responded: "We don't think about this. We think organic food is good for us to eat, good for the soil and good for the people who eat what we grow."
And the Gaos' income is increasing: They deliver their organic produce directly to 150 families in the city, in a van labeled with huge Chinese characters that read: "No chemical fertilizers or pesticides, everything is healthy." If Chengdu starts a farmers' market or its trendy restaurants go organic, demand could increase.
Tian Jun hopes CURA can promote this model to other areas and develop a "river protection belt." Officials from other towns already have come to examine the project.
X…..
●02/03-02/05
●02/03
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/25/local/la-me-chinese-gifts-20100725
George Bao felt like a rich man the first time he flew back to China from America.
He had so many gifts for his family and friends, he was lugging eight cardboard boxes in addition to his suitcase. That was in the 1980s, when flights weren't crowded. The airline didn't even charge him for the extra luggage.
As for what the gifts were, the memory makes him laugh. He had brought secondhand clothes scavenged from yard sales.
"My father was so happy," said Bao, who watched the elderly farmer put on his first Western suit, beaming even though it didn't fit well. "China had nothing back then. Anything I brought back from the States was considered special."
Times have changed. Living standards in China have risen fast — especially in the wealthier coastal areas. Hand-me-downs from the U.S. will no longer do.
And now that China has transformed itself from communist backwater to manufacturing powerhouse, it's not so much what the gift is but where it comes from that matters, said Bao.
"They may not all speak English, but everyone in China recognizes those three words," he said. "When they see the label 'Made in China,' they will think, 'How come you gave me this?' "
﹝These days,﹞ in other words, buying gifts to take to China is a major headache ﹝for Chinese Americans.﹞
"It really does consume people when they make preparations to go back to China," said Clayton Dube, associate director of the U.S.-China Institute at USC.
Like many visitors to China in the 1980s, Dube knew just what to get his in-laws. He bought a Japanese color TV in Hong Kong, then a British colony, and lugged it on and off trains and buses to their home in mainland China. Back then, televisions, refrigerators and washing machines were luxury items. Few Chinese families could afford them.
Now all manner of electronics are abundantly available in China﹝, but giving remains important.﹞
●02/04
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/25/local/la-me-chinese-gifts-20100725
"People can't imagine going back to China without bringing something," said Dube. "The gift is part of the ritual."
Summer is peak season for travel to China. And although gift-giving options have dwindled, there are some safe choices. American-made nutritional supplements — multivitamins, fish oil, cod liver oil, gingko extract and ginseng root — are popular.
"I always run into people in the same aisles shopping for health supplements before going back to China," said Jin Ma of Irvine, who heads to Costco to pick up large bottles of colorful, chewable multivitamins.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/25/local/la-me-chinese-gifts-20100725/2
She used to take Nike shoes, which were rare and prized.
"Now it would be so tacky," said Ma, "because we have so many more styles and choices right there in China."
Health-related gifts came into vogue in recent years amid a slew of scandals surrounding tainted food in China. Their popularity also is a sign of rising living standards and health consciousness.
"In the old days, they didn't have enough food to eat. What are they going to do with ginseng?" said Bao, who picked up boxes of the dried root for his 82-year-old mother from Ginseng Mark Inc., located in an Arcadia strip mall that caters to those bound for China.
Among the most prized are roots grown in Wisconsin — packaged in boxes that say "American" and feature the U.S. flag.
Foreign cosmetics — such as Lancôme and Clinique, drugstore body lotions, even lip balm — also are welcome gifts, as long as they're not made in China.
Those still scratching their heads can find company on the Web, in Chinese American chat rooms focused on gift ideas. Many of the suggestions are for American food: dried cranberries or blueberries, pistachios or macadamia nuts, chewing gum and big jars of strawberry jam and honey.
●02/05
One person who goes by the screen name "Mrs. LA" offered a long list of possibilities on ChineseInLA.com: cordless phones, electric razors, Zippo lighters, blood-pressure monitors — all made in America, of course.
Mrs. LA also suggested "Greetings from America" stamps from each state, collections of state quarters and $2 bills showing the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
"The most frustrating thing for me was figuring out what to give to people. It nearly ruined my trip," wrote Mrs. LA.
While frequent travelers are familiar with the parameters of what to give and what not to give, others had to learn the hard way.
"The village people now have money in their pockets. Many of them have only one child and they can't wait to spoil them," said Bao, who recalls getting awkward looks after he gave people dresses that had been his daughter's. "My brother took me aside and told me people don't need this stuff anymore. If you can't afford something nice, maybe you should just not bring anything at all."
Embarrassed, Bao, a veteran reporter for Chinese-language newspapers, started handing out $100 bills to the children of his immediate family members.
Yunxiang Yan is an anthropology professor from UCLA who has written extensively about gift-giving in Chinese culture. But even for him, figuring out what to take has become so overwhelming that he now chooses not to give any gifts.
"One reason I don't give gifts is because I go back so frequently, a couple of times a year," said Yan. "We are living in a shrinking global village with increased communication and traveling. Now, going to China is like visiting a next-door neighbor who lives a similar lifestyle. So there is no more need."
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/25/local/la-me-chinese-gifts-20100725
George Bao felt like a rich man the first time he flew back to China from America.
He had so many gifts for his family and friends, he was lugging eight cardboard boxes in addition to his suitcase. That was in the 1980s, when flights weren't crowded. The airline didn't even charge him for the extra luggage.
As for what the gifts were, the memory makes him laugh. He had brought secondhand clothes scavenged from yard sales.
"My father was so happy," said Bao, who watched the elderly farmer put on his first Western suit, beaming even though it didn't fit well. "China had nothing back then. Anything I brought back from the States was considered special."
Times have changed. Living standards in China have risen fast — especially in the wealthier coastal areas. Hand-me-downs from the U.S. will no longer do.
And now that China has transformed itself from communist backwater to manufacturing powerhouse, it's not so much what the gift is but where it comes from that matters, said Bao.
"They may not all speak English, but everyone in China recognizes those three words," he said. "When they see the label 'Made in China,' they will think, 'How come you gave me this?' "
﹝These days,﹞ in other words, buying gifts to take to China is a major headache ﹝for Chinese Americans.﹞
"It really does consume people when they make preparations to go back to China," said Clayton Dube, associate director of the U.S.-China Institute at USC.
Like many visitors to China in the 1980s, Dube knew just what to get his in-laws. He bought a Japanese color TV in Hong Kong, then a British colony, and lugged it on and off trains and buses to their home in mainland China. Back then, televisions, refrigerators and washing machines were luxury items. Few Chinese families could afford them.
Now all manner of electronics are abundantly available in China﹝, but giving remains important.﹞
●02/04
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/25/local/la-me-chinese-gifts-20100725
"People can't imagine going back to China without bringing something," said Dube. "The gift is part of the ritual."
Summer is peak season for travel to China. And although gift-giving options have dwindled, there are some safe choices. American-made nutritional supplements — multivitamins, fish oil, cod liver oil, gingko extract and ginseng root — are popular.
"I always run into people in the same aisles shopping for health supplements before going back to China," said Jin Ma of Irvine, who heads to Costco to pick up large bottles of colorful, chewable multivitamins.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/25/local/la-me-chinese-gifts-20100725/2
She used to take Nike shoes, which were rare and prized.
"Now it would be so tacky," said Ma, "because we have so many more styles and choices right there in China."
Health-related gifts came into vogue in recent years amid a slew of scandals surrounding tainted food in China. Their popularity also is a sign of rising living standards and health consciousness.
"In the old days, they didn't have enough food to eat. What are they going to do with ginseng?" said Bao, who picked up boxes of the dried root for his 82-year-old mother from Ginseng Mark Inc., located in an Arcadia strip mall that caters to those bound for China.
Among the most prized are roots grown in Wisconsin — packaged in boxes that say "American" and feature the U.S. flag.
Foreign cosmetics — such as Lancôme and Clinique, drugstore body lotions, even lip balm — also are welcome gifts, as long as they're not made in China.
Those still scratching their heads can find company on the Web, in Chinese American chat rooms focused on gift ideas. Many of the suggestions are for American food: dried cranberries or blueberries, pistachios or macadamia nuts, chewing gum and big jars of strawberry jam and honey.
●02/05
One person who goes by the screen name "Mrs. LA" offered a long list of possibilities on ChineseInLA.com: cordless phones, electric razors, Zippo lighters, blood-pressure monitors — all made in America, of course.
Mrs. LA also suggested "Greetings from America" stamps from each state, collections of state quarters and $2 bills showing the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
"The most frustrating thing for me was figuring out what to give to people. It nearly ruined my trip," wrote Mrs. LA.
While frequent travelers are familiar with the parameters of what to give and what not to give, others had to learn the hard way.
"The village people now have money in their pockets. Many of them have only one child and they can't wait to spoil them," said Bao, who recalls getting awkward looks after he gave people dresses that had been his daughter's. "My brother took me aside and told me people don't need this stuff anymore. If you can't afford something nice, maybe you should just not bring anything at all."
Embarrassed, Bao, a veteran reporter for Chinese-language newspapers, started handing out $100 bills to the children of his immediate family members.
Yunxiang Yan is an anthropology professor from UCLA who has written extensively about gift-giving in Chinese culture. But even for him, figuring out what to take has become so overwhelming that he now chooses not to give any gifts.
"One reason I don't give gifts is because I go back so frequently, a couple of times a year," said Yan. "We are living in a shrinking global village with increased communication and traveling. Now, going to China is like visiting a next-door neighbor who lives a similar lifestyle. So there is no more need."
※02/01-02/02
※02/01
http://www.latimes.com/sns-travel-sintra-portugal-travel-tips,0,1253709.story
Eccentric millionaire Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro would have gotten a good laugh.
We're exploring the mystical grounds of his romantic Quinta da Regaleira mansion, inching through pitch-black tunnels, climbing medieval-like turrets, and traipsing along serpentine paths.
X…..
X…..
X…..
X…..
Carvalho Monteiro definitely captured the spirit of this magical town only 19 miles northwest of Lisbon, where Portugal's kings and aristocrats once spent their summers and tourists now flock on holiday. ……**…接下一段The Romans called Sintra "The Mountain of the Moon," and we recognize we're in another world as we take the scenic 20-minute walk from the train station to town. Pieces of modern art lining a park greet us, and we glimpse two towering white cones peeking through the trees. ……**…
They are the distinctive chimneys of the National Palace, which dominates the historic town center.
X…..
X…..
X…..
……**…We have the National Palace to ourselves as we wander through the 16 rooms, chapel, patios, and squares built mostly in the 15th and 16th centuries. ……**…
Interior walls are decorated with various styles of tiles and mosaics, including what is said to be the most extensive collection of Mudejar azulejos, or Spanish colored and glazed tiles, in the country. We marvel at the breathtaking ceilings, which also tell some of the palace's most colorful tales.
……**…The dome in the Coat-of-Arms Room displays the emblems of all of Portugal's royal families, except for the one that had planned a revolt.
X…..
After touring the palace and circling the town on the tram, we settle at a bistro table for a late-afternoon drink and snack. The crowds are thinning, but the shops are still selling souvenirs, antiques and wine, a street performer is dancing on a corner, and the palace is reflecting the waning sunlight.
http://www.latimes.com/sns-travel-sintra-portugal-travel-tips,0,1253709.story?page=2
X…..
X…..
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As we walk back to our apartment, the fresh late-night air feels the same comfortable 68 degrees it's been all day and would be the next day, perfect for exploring the hills of Sintra.
※02/02
http://www.latimes.com/sns-travel-sintra-portugal-travel-tips,0,1253709.story?page=2
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At the imposing Moorish Castle, an invigorating walk up the long trail takes us past granaries, a guard's house, and the shell of the first parish church, built in the 12th century. Stairs lead to the top of the ramparts and a series of lookout spots.
Standing at the highest point, the Castle Keep, I can see the hazy Atlantic and the town as clouds drift by. No wonder the Moors fortified this position in the ninth century to monitor the coastline, and Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, took control of it in 1147.
The mix of medieval and more modern stonework reminds us that most of today's castle was rebuilt in the mid-1800s by Fernando II, a German-born prince. ……**…
Fernando built his fantasyland on the site of a 12th-century chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena and a 16th-century monastery, which he restored. His German architect designed the sprawling complex at the height of Portuguese romanticism, mixing Moorish, Gothic, Renaissance, and Manueline features — with a touch of Bavarian castle on the Rhine.
X…
From this vantage point nearly 1,500 feet above sea level, Lisbon can be seen on a clear day.
X…
The 403 bus quickly leaves the town behind, winding through the rolling countryside on its 35-minute drive to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of Europe.
Along the way, we pass a few clusters of white- and cream-colored houses and produce stands. Squat Old World windmills contrast with cell towers and satellite dishes.
At the point, a short cream-and-red lighthouse and a stone marker topped with a cross stand as sentries . ……**…The view of endless blue-green ocean is surprisingly dramatic, dotted by islands of sunlight formed by breaks in the clouds.
It's the clouds that enhance Sintra's mystique and magic, teasing us with its charms. And when they part, we find a beautiful, romantic, timeless land — as Lord Byron called it, "this glorious Eden."
http://www.latimes.com/sns-travel-sintra-portugal-travel-tips,0,1253709.story
Eccentric millionaire Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro would have gotten a good laugh.
We're exploring the mystical grounds of his romantic Quinta da Regaleira mansion, inching through pitch-black tunnels, climbing medieval-like turrets, and traipsing along serpentine paths.
X…..
X…..
X…..
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Carvalho Monteiro definitely captured the spirit of this magical town only 19 miles northwest of Lisbon, where Portugal's kings and aristocrats once spent their summers and tourists now flock on holiday. ……**…接下一段The Romans called Sintra "The Mountain of the Moon," and we recognize we're in another world as we take the scenic 20-minute walk from the train station to town. Pieces of modern art lining a park greet us, and we glimpse two towering white cones peeking through the trees. ……**…
They are the distinctive chimneys of the National Palace, which dominates the historic town center.
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……**…We have the National Palace to ourselves as we wander through the 16 rooms, chapel, patios, and squares built mostly in the 15th and 16th centuries. ……**…
Interior walls are decorated with various styles of tiles and mosaics, including what is said to be the most extensive collection of Mudejar azulejos, or Spanish colored and glazed tiles, in the country. We marvel at the breathtaking ceilings, which also tell some of the palace's most colorful tales.
……**…The dome in the Coat-of-Arms Room displays the emblems of all of Portugal's royal families, except for the one that had planned a revolt.
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After touring the palace and circling the town on the tram, we settle at a bistro table for a late-afternoon drink and snack. The crowds are thinning, but the shops are still selling souvenirs, antiques and wine, a street performer is dancing on a corner, and the palace is reflecting the waning sunlight.
http://www.latimes.com/sns-travel-sintra-portugal-travel-tips,0,1253709.story?page=2
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As we walk back to our apartment, the fresh late-night air feels the same comfortable 68 degrees it's been all day and would be the next day, perfect for exploring the hills of Sintra.
※02/02
http://www.latimes.com/sns-travel-sintra-portugal-travel-tips,0,1253709.story?page=2
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At the imposing Moorish Castle, an invigorating walk up the long trail takes us past granaries, a guard's house, and the shell of the first parish church, built in the 12th century. Stairs lead to the top of the ramparts and a series of lookout spots.
Standing at the highest point, the Castle Keep, I can see the hazy Atlantic and the town as clouds drift by. No wonder the Moors fortified this position in the ninth century to monitor the coastline, and Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, took control of it in 1147.
The mix of medieval and more modern stonework reminds us that most of today's castle was rebuilt in the mid-1800s by Fernando II, a German-born prince. ……**…
Fernando built his fantasyland on the site of a 12th-century chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena and a 16th-century monastery, which he restored. His German architect designed the sprawling complex at the height of Portuguese romanticism, mixing Moorish, Gothic, Renaissance, and Manueline features — with a touch of Bavarian castle on the Rhine.
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From this vantage point nearly 1,500 feet above sea level, Lisbon can be seen on a clear day.
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The 403 bus quickly leaves the town behind, winding through the rolling countryside on its 35-minute drive to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of Europe.
Along the way, we pass a few clusters of white- and cream-colored houses and produce stands. Squat Old World windmills contrast with cell towers and satellite dishes.
At the point, a short cream-and-red lighthouse and a stone marker topped with a cross stand as sentries . ……**…The view of endless blue-green ocean is surprisingly dramatic, dotted by islands of sunlight formed by breaks in the clouds.
It's the clouds that enhance Sintra's mystique and magic, teasing us with its charms. And when they part, we find a beautiful, romantic, timeless land — as Lord Byron called it, "this glorious Eden."
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