need friends

　澳洲外长唐纳透露，美国早于03年6月决定与盟国举行定期秘密会议，商讨中国日增的经济及政治影响力，并邀请日本、英国、加拿大、纽西兰及澳洲参加，但澳洲拒绝邀请。唐纳称，美国希望与盟国在秘密会议中讨论中国崛起。
澳恐激怒北京拒美邀请？
　　最近一次秘密会议在今年1月举行，传媒指出，澳洲政府拒绝美国的邀请，担心会议会激怒中国，及认为澳洲现在与华盛顿的双边讨论已经足够。唐纳昨日驳斥传媒的说法，这间接证实了秘密会议定期举行及美国欲围堵中国。

Inhaled insulin proves effective in new study

The inhaled insulin, a promise for decades, has proven effective in the first large-scale study for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The Food and Drug Administration is analyzing the results to determine whether it is safe and effective enough to approve its use.
The decision should come by year's end, said Dr. Jay Skyler, associate director of the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami. Skyler led the study, which appears in the July issue of Diabetes Care, a research journal published by the American Diabetes Association.
Patients would still require a daily injectable dose of insulin, but the inhaled form could be used before meals to balance the diabetic's insulin levels, Skyler said.
"I like it much better than injections,"

当心生命中5个魔鬼时刻

当你清晨从梦中醒来，便进入了一天中的第一个“魔鬼时间”段（清晨6-9时），诸如心脏病、中风、支气管炎、肺气肿、哮喘乃至癌症等疾患，就在你的身边蠢蠢欲动，例如，心肌缺血的发作高峰为早晨7-8时；心律失常的发生以早晨6-9时最频繁。
　　另外，世界卫生组织调查过4769例心肌梗死病人，其中28％在早晨6-10时发病。
　　一天中的另一个魔鬼时间段是在傍晚以后，此时心脏病发作几率再度升高。假如你在晚间7时左右饮酒，肝脏排除酒精所需的时间比一天中其他任何时间都要长，故此时饮酒最易醉人，肝脏也最易受损。
　　一天中，人最危险的时刻要数黎明。据研究表明，人在黎明时分，血压、体温变低，血液流动缓慢，血液较浓稠，肌肉松弛，容易发生缺血性脑中风。调查显示，凌晨死亡的人数占全天死亡人数的60％。

　　在一个星期中，星期一是心脑血管病人的危险时间，发病及死亡危险比其他几天高出40％，在德国称为“黑色的星期一”。
　　此外，芬兰专家也证明，星期一中风最多，星期天下降至最低。
　　防范措施是：清晨起床后服一片阿司匹林，不要出远门，老年人要有家人陪伴，以防不测。

Special scalpel reduces blood loss, facial nerve trauma in salivary surgery

A harmonic scalpel that uses ultrasound to coagulate as it cuts can reduce blood loss and postoperative facial paralysis in patients who need a portion of their salivary gland removed, surgeons say. Infection of the sponge-like parotid gland is uncomfortable but temporary, says Dr. Christine G. Gourin, otolaryngologist at the Medical College of Georgia. But when the gland develops cancerous or benign tumors or stones that interfere with saliva flow, a rather tricky surgery to remove part or all of the gland is needed. Surgical removal is delicate because the parotid sits between the cheekbone and jawbone and the facial nerve runs right through it, Dr. Gourin says of the gland which contributes a watery fluid to the saliva mix that helps lubricate the mouth and tongue and digest food. The standard approach is making an incision in a skin fold in front of the ear that runs back into the hairline - the same as for a facelift - then using surgical scissors to remove the gland and surgical ties or electrocautery to stop bleeding. A small pilot study published in Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery in 2004 described how the harmonic scalpel could reduce operative time and blood loss in patients who had benign disease and needed only a portion of their gland removed. The new expanded study, published in the June issue of Laryngoscope, compared a larger mix of patients: 41 patients who underwent conventional surgery and 44 who underwent harmonic scalpel parotidectomy for benign or malignant disease and required superficial or total gland removal. In the superficial group, the harmonic scalpel reduced blood loss during surgery, drainage afterward and facial nerve trauma, says Dr. Gourin, corresponding author on the study. In the 13 patients who needed total parotidectomy, no significant differences were noted between the four who had conventional surgery and the nine who had harmonic scalpel parotidectomy. Researchers say their findings warrant further study of the scalpel's potential in patients with malignancies who need their entire gland removed.
Anything we use in the parotid gland to cut tissue or stop bleeding cannot harm the nerve. Standard electrocautery is not a great option because there is a rim of thermal injury around the tip of the cautery blade that can theoretically injure facial nerve branches,” Dr. Gourin says. The harmonic scalpel, which uses ultrasonic vibrations instead of electricity to coagulate tissue, doesn't have this potential for collateral injury. Facial nerve injury, resulting in paralysis including a droopy smile and inability to completely close the eye, is the biggest risk of parotidectomy. Another consequence can be a sunken-look where the parotid is removed. Dr. Gourin and her MCG colleagues now use fat from the abdomen to fill the deficit. “We are doing it more and more,” even with cancer because the fat will not interfere with follow-up treatment, she says. She noted that about 80 percent of parotid tumors are benign but must be removed because they keep growing and risk becoming malignant. The harmonic scalpel came into use in 1993 and is widely used for other head and neck surgeries, such as thyroid surgery, where it's been shown to reduce surgery time, and tonsillectomy, where it reduces postoperative pain.

GDP and Translocation

how messenger RNAs are translated into proteins is challenged by new research published today in the Open Access journal Journal of Biology. The study suggests that EF-G, the GTPase that facilitates tRNA translocation in bacteria, enters the ribosome bound to a different guanine nucleotide than previously thought - GDP, not GTP. The ribosome itself then seems to act as the guanine-nucleotide exchange factor, not some as-yet-unidentified factor as previously assumed. This finding questions the prevailing model for RNA translocation. According to the textbook model EF-G provides the energy needed for the translocation phase of translation by bringing GTP into the ribosome where GTP is subsequently hydrolysed into GDP. Andrei Zavialov, Vasili Hauryliuk and Måns Ehrenberg from Uppsala University in Sweden first performed an important purification step ensuring that their GTP was not contaminated by GDP (and vice versa), as had been the case with previous studies using these purified components. They next measured the affinity of EF-G for GTP and GDP. Their results strongly suggest that EF-G is bound to GDP in the cytoplasm and that it binds to the pre-translocation complex - composed of the ribosome, tRNA and mRNA strand - as a EF-G-GDP complex. The ribosome itself then seems to act as a GTP exchange factor that swaps GDP for GTP, which results in a modification in the structure of the ribosome. This triggers partial translocation of the mRNA, which is completed after GTP hydrolysis. "Our results suggest that the ribosome plays a previously unidentified dual role of both guanine-nucleotide exchange factor and GTPase-activating protein" explain the authors. EF-G then detaches from the ribosome in its GDP-bound form, ready to be used again by another ribosome. These findings differ radically from all previous models and as such may represent a considerable step forward in our understanding of translocation, a fundamental mechanism in protein synthesis and gene expression. RNA translation is a highly conserved mechanism and these results using a bacterial system are likely to be applicable to higher organisms as well. This should spur more research in the field to confirm or disprove the findings and give us a clearer picture of RNA translation. In particular, the present clarification of the translocation process at the biochemical level may allow a deeper understanding of how relative movements of the ribosomal subunits can accomplish thousands of translocation events without frame-shifting or loss of tRNA-bound nascent protein chains during peptide elongation.

GDP and Translocation

how messenger RNAs are translated into proteins is challenged by new research published today in the Open Access journal Journal of Biology. The study suggests that EF-G, the GTPase that facilitates tRNA translocation in bacteria, enters the ribosome bound to a different guanine nucleotide than previously thought - GDP, not GTP. The ribosome itself then seems to act as the guanine-nucleotide exchange factor, not some as-yet-unidentified factor as previously assumed. This finding questions the prevailing model for RNA translocation. According to the textbook model EF-G provides the energy needed for the translocation phase of translation by bringing GTP into the ribosome where GTP is subsequently hydrolysed into GDP. Andrei Zavialov, Vasili Hauryliuk and Måns Ehrenberg from Uppsala University in Sweden first performed an important purification step ensuring that their GTP was not contaminated by GDP (and vice versa), as had been the case with previous studies using these purified components. They next measured the affinity of EF-G for GTP and GDP. Their results strongly suggest that EF-G is bound to GDP in the cytoplasm and that it binds to the pre-translocation complex - composed of the ribosome, tRNA and mRNA strand - as a EF-G-GDP complex. The ribosome itself then seems to act as a GTP exchange factor that swaps GDP for GTP, which results in a modification in the structure of the ribosome. This triggers partial translocation of the mRNA, which is completed after GTP hydrolysis. "Our results suggest that the ribosome plays a previously unidentified dual role of both guanine-nucleotide exchange factor and GTPase-activating protein" explain the authors. EF-G then detaches from the ribosome in its GDP-bound form, ready to be used again by another ribosome. These findings differ radically from all previous models and as such may represent a considerable step forward in our understanding of translocation, a fundamental mechanism in protein synthesis and gene expression. RNA translation is a highly conserved mechanism and these results using a bacterial system are likely to be applicable to higher organisms as well. This should spur more research in the field to confirm or disprove the findings and give us a clearer picture of RNA translation. In particular, the present clarification of the translocation process at the biochemical level may allow a deeper understanding of how relative movements of the ribosomal subunits can accomplish thousands of translocation events without frame-shifting or loss of tRNA-bound nascent protein chains during peptide elongation.

Ancient poem ( 2,000 years ago)

曹植诗选
名都篇

名都多妖女，京洛出少年。宝剑值千金，被服丽且鲜。斗鸡东郊道，走马长楸间。驰骋未能半，双兔过我前。
揽弓捷鸣镝，长驱上南山。左挽因右发，一纵两禽连。余巧未及展，仰手接飞鸢。观者咸称善，众工归我妍。归来宴平乐，美酒斗十千。脍鲤隽鲐虾，炮鳖炙熊蹯。鸣俦啸匹侣，列坐竟长筵。连翩击鞠壤，巧捷惟万端。白日西南驰，光景不可攀。云散还城邑，清晨复来还。

traveller's poem ( 2030 years ago)

门有万里客。问君何乡人。褰裳起从之。果得心所亲。挽裳对我泣。太息前自陈。本是朔方士。今为吴越民。行行将复行。去去适西秦

Endocarditis Infection Commonly due to Health Care Factors

An international study reveals that infective endocarditis, infection and inflammation involving the heart valves is commonly associated with health care factors and is increasingly due to staphylococcal infection
S aureus is now the most common cause of IE in many areas of the developed world. Patients with IE due to S aureus exhibit distinct characteristics compared with patients with IE due to other pathogens. Health care-associated IE is emerging as the most common form of S aureus IE and has distinct features compared with more familiar forms of S aureus IE, such as community-acquired injection drug use-associated infection. MRSA is now encountered internationally as a relatively common cause of IE and is associated with persistent bacteremia.

Cervical cancer vaccine

Cervical cancer vaccine coming

Moves to save the lives of more women from cervical cancer advanced a step further last week when the World Health Organization (WHO) announced plans to introduce a new vaccine that will protect against cervical cancer mostly in women even as no fewer than eight life - saving vaccines will be develop in the next decade.
Already, to accelerate the development and introduction of the vaccine to be known as ‘human papillomavirus’ (HPV), WHO has received a grant of US$ 7 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Announcing this during the sixth annual WHO Global Vaccine Research Forum, attended by top vaccine scientists, researchers and public health experts to discuss new vaccines and vaccination policy, the Director - General of WHO, Dr. Lee Jong-wook said the grant was part of a joint international effort with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Harvard University and the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), which have also received new grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

40岁前预警前列腺增生

80岁以上老年男性发病率高达80%

前列腺增生多出现在40岁以后
　　“前列腺增生是老年男性的常见疾病，一般在40岁后开始发生增生的病理改变，50岁后出现相关症状。”王主任说。
　　自出生后到青春期前，前列腺的发育、生长缓慢；青春期后，生长速度加快，约至24岁左右发育至顶峰。40岁以后，由于内分泌失调一部分人出现增生，腺体体积逐渐增大，若明显压迫前列腺部尿道，可造成膀胱出口部梗阻而出现排尿困难等症状。　
　　拒绝喝酒吃辣，避免久坐或着凉可防
　　“一旦发现尿频、夜尿增多、排尿不畅等症状，就应及时到有泌尿专科的正规医院泌尿外科就诊。”王晓峰主任提醒中老年男性：“在日常生活中注意调节饮食和生活习惯。不要着凉，一天饮用的水量限制在1500-2000毫升左右，少喝酒、咖啡和少吃辣和解痉类药物。大小便时尽量用力排干净，平时可做盆部训练，如跑步爬山，活动筋骨

世卫:转基因食品对人无害

世界卫生组织２３日发表一份报告称，对目前市场销售的转基因食品的检验表明，这些食品对人体健康和环境没有任何危害。
　　然而，世卫组织仍主张继续就转基因食品对人体健康的影响进行更深入评估，对每一种新的转基因食品进行检测，因为不管哪一种食品，人们不经过长期跟踪研究就很难知道它对人体健康的长期影响。不过，世卫组织说，从目前来看，进入市场的所有转基因食品都是安全的。
　　这份题为“现代食品生物技术，健康与发展：具体实例研究”的报告长达８７页。报告指出，发展转基因食品提供了提高农作物产量的途径。
　　世卫组织仍然主张对发展转基因食品持谨慎态度，尤其要慎重引进国外没有经过严格检验的转基因产品。世卫组织同时强调加强食品监控系统建设。　
　　据世卫组织透露，截至２００４年底，转基因作物种植面积占全球总耕地面积的比例不足４％。自上个世纪９０年代中期转基因食品进入市场后，转基因玉米、大豆、油菜和棉花等纷纷进入市场

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Zheng He

The number of his voyages vary depending on method of division, but he travelled at least seven times to "The Western Ocean" with his fleet. He brought back to China many trophies and envoys from more than thirty kingdoms -- including King Alagonakkara of Ceylon, who came to China to apologize to the Emperor.
There are speculations that some of Zheng He's ships may have travelled beyond the Cape of Good Hope. In particular, the Venetian monk and cartographer Fra Mauro describes in his 1457 Fra Mauro map the travels of a huge "junk from India" 2,000 miles into the Atlantic Ocean in 1420.

The Kangnido map (1402) predates Zheng He's voyages, and suggests that he had quite detailed geographical information on the totality of the Old World, from Europe and Africa in the west, to Korea and Japan in the east.

CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER

Interesting to study with the help of http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnono/

Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies decreased by more than 2°C in the eastern equatorial Pacific during May

The decreased sea surface temperature is related to wind blowing towards west.
That is going to increase rainfall to China and southeast Asia during southwest monsoon duringthe next few months.

The wind from centre Pacific may help the sailing boat built for 600 years anniversary of Zheng He to navigate from Shanghai to SouthEast Asia and then to Indian Ocean.

频含喉片致口腔溃疡

许多喉片中含有微量抗生素或中药成分，通过其抑菌作用来缓解咽喉症状，但一旦过量服食就会大量杀死口腔细菌，而口腔内部自然成菌，细菌与真菌相互平衡制约，一旦内部平衡失调，真菌就会泛滥，导致真菌感染，长期使用更将导致菌群失调，形成严重的口腔疾病。

Treatment Preserves Insulin-Making Cells in Type 1 Diabetes

Treatment with a monoclonal antibody, a new type of therapy, may help preserve insulin-making abilities in people who have recently developed type 1 diabetes .
New European research shows that just one six-day course of the experimental treatment resulted in improvements lasting 18 months.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease caused by T lymphocyte cells targeting and destroying insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreas. About five percent of all diabetics carry the type 1 form of the disease, which is usually diagnosed in childhood or adolescence.
The success of the new therapy "clearly shows that our understanding of the basic science is beginning to translate into clinical application,"

nice green back ground and cool shade. 3000 metres above sea level, really cool 

little house of red roof in front of snow mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan, China 

blue sky, white snow peak, Lijiang, China 

ice cool water, Lijiang, Yunnan, China 

local colurs, Lijiang, Yunnan,China 

ice water at the back ground 

snow peak, shifting cloud, Yunnan, China 

cold water from snow peak and the Salmon fish, Lijiang, Yunnan, China 

green pine, snow peak, Yunnan, China 

snow and hard rock at Glacier, Yunnan, China 

The blue'lagoon or lake' is deep , in contrast with the high mountain range of Yunnan, China. The mountain range is related to Himalayas mountain range and many snow peak through out the whole year 

aeroplane approaching Yunnan, China 

contribution to mankind

The late scientist:
集成电路发明人逝世

诺贝尔物理奖获得者、集成电路（integrated circuit）的发明人杰克·基尔比（Jack Kilby）在与癌症抗争数年后，于当地时间周一在其达拉斯的家中逝世，享年81岁。
　　47年前，年仅32岁的基尔比建造了世界上首个电子电路，从而引领人类进入了数字时代，他本人也因此获得2000年度诺贝尔物理学奖。
　　1958年基尔比加盟德州仪器公司（Texas Instrument）。当年夏季，他利用借来的设备设计了全球首个集成电路，将所有的电器元件集成在一块只有半个纸夹大的半导体材料上。基尔比发明的集成电路成为当代电脑微芯片的先驱，它取代了曾经在第一代电脑中使用的笨拙的开关和真空管。
　　此外，基尔比也是手持计算器的联合发明人之一。他还拥有60多项美国发明专利权，包括1959年立项的锗集成电路。数年后，英特尔公司联合创始人罗伯特·诺伊斯才申请了更为复杂的硅集成电路的专利，广泛应用于现代电脑中。

联合国改革触动中国核心利益

在联合国改革问题上，中国终于首次表明了自己的态度，反对日本、德国、巴西和印度“四国集团”提出的要求增加安理会常任理事国的决议草案，并声明如果“四国集团”将决议案提交联合国改革大会表决，中国会动用否决权。中国这样做，无疑是因为如果联合国的这一改革付诸实施，中国的核心国家利益必然会受到极大的损害。

Original company should have the original constitution. Possible to set up a new company?

non Fossil energy

wind power was only profitable because of generous Government subsidies, while solar power broke even on a cash basis.
He said that Shell treated its renewable energy investments equally, pouring resources into whichever started to look promising.
"The philosophy is pots on the fire: try everything and, by 2015, we should have to make up our mind," he said. "If one of the pots starts to boil, we will increase the size of the pot."
For that to happen, it would have make $250m profit a year, he said. Shell was making a bet on renewables which would not pay out for decades, he admitted.
"Even in 2015, renewables will take off later. It is still too expensive. Longer term you will see that technology will help to move costs down. You have to take a 50-year horizon when one will be getting cheaper. So you better join the game now."
Shell was appointing a "Mr or Mrs CO2" to report to the board on Shell's plans for dealing with carbon dioxide emissions.
The company predicts that, by 2050, one third of total energy consumption will come from non-fossil fuels, including nuclear energy

“夜班族”的自我保健

从事夜班工作，这就必然改变人们习惯的“日出而作，日落而息”的生活规律，常会使人感到疲乏无力，工作效率下降，甚至会损害健康。因此，经常上夜班的人，很有必要提高自我保健意识，科学地安排好夜班后的生活，避免健康受到影响。
人的大脑活动，具有兴奋和抑制两种过程，当人们劳动、工作和学习的时候，兴奋过程占优势，睡眠时抑制过程占优势，其兴奋活动即被抑制所限制或替代。其兴奋活动即被抑制所限制或替代
在膳食安排上要增加一些营养丰富可口的饭菜，吃些富有动物蛋白和植物蛋白的食物，如瘦肉、鱼虾、蛋类及豆制品、蔬菜等，尤其是劳动强度较大的夜班工人更应注意。夜班工作多在光线较暗的环境下，尽管电灯光较亮，但由于周围环境较暗，明暗差大，很容易导致视觉疲劳，而维生素A是参与调节视多膜感光的重要物质——视紫红质合成的重要成分，能提高眼睛对昏暗光线的适应能力，对防止工伤事故有益。因此，夜班工作人员要注意补充含维生素A较多的食物，如动物的肝脏、蛋黄、鱼子等，蔬菜、黄豆、蕃茄、胡萝卜、红辣椒含有较多胡萝卜素，也可在体内转化为维生素A

英要在大部分公共场所禁烟

英国每4个成人当中，就有1人抽烟。弗林特形容，这禁烟计划出炉，可说是“大跃进”。
　　弗林特表示，新法律生效后，当局会分阶段落实，禁止人们在工作地点、餐馆、公共建筑等场所吸烟；预计到2008年底，99%的公共场所都会禁烟。

Chinese farmers 'must not give human drug to poultry'

Researchers fear that giving the drug to chickens could help H5N1, the virus responsible for the bird flu epidemics in Asia, become resistant to it.
This would mean the drug could not be used to protect humans from H5N1.
Drug resistant strands of H5N1 have already been found in Thailand and Vietnam.

People with bigger brains are smarter ?

when intelligence is correlated with a biological reality such as brain volume, it becomes harder to argue that human intelligence can be measured or that the scores do not reflect something meaningful,?said McDaniel.As an industrial and organizational psychologist, McDaniel works with employers to screen job applicants and measure their performance. He said employers will appreciate his findings because intelligence tests are the single best predictor of job performance.

As an industrial and organizational psychologist, McDaniel works with employers to screen job applicants and measure their performance. He said employers will appreciate his findings because intelligence tests are the single best predictor of job performance.n average, smarter people learn quicker, make fewer errors, and are more productive,?

办公室男性的健康运动

办公室白领男性尤其面临发胖的危险。原因如下：
　　1、长时间久坐办公，由于工作紧张而缺乏运动；
　　2、心情抑郁从食物或酒精中寻求安慰；
　　3、体重和你所承受的压力会形成恶性循环：一般人在压力之下容易饮食过量、消化不良而造成体重过重，于是更易受压力的影响；
　　4、有人认为“心宽体胖”，胖起来是一种无忧无虑的表现。从心理学的角度来讲，这种说法不无道理，这也就是为什么大多数的男性结了婚以后身体就像气球被吹起来一样迅速发胖的原因之一；
　　5、一般男人的体内有大约300亿个脂肪细胞，随着年龄的增长，这些细胞就会重一些。因此，几乎每一个男人在30岁以后总是要比以前重一些。并且他的基因、荷尔蒙和减慢了的新陈代谢都开始对他的腹部产生影响。
　　尽管男性不崇尚“骨感美”，但日渐发福也并不是一件好事，至少你会非常希望不借助镜子就能看到自己的腰带扣。男性易发胖的部位和女性不同，“啤酒肚”便是年轻男士最头痛的事。但是，啤酒肚并不是不可避免的，去掉它你会更好看，精力会更充沛，也会更长寿。
　　减肥其实就是改变一下你的运动和饮食习惯。现在你无论你从事什么工作，你仍然会有消耗热量的办法。其实，日常生活中锻炼的机会到处都有
减肥其实就是改变一下你的运动和饮食习惯。现在你无论你从事什么工作，你仍然会有消耗热量的办法。其实，日常生活中锻炼的机会到处都有，发现它们，持之以恒，白领男士们大学校园里那种匀称身材会失而复得。
　　1、骑自行车、跑步、游泳、散步等有氧运动是消耗体内热量的最有效办法；
　　2、你别像秃鹰寻找猎物一样在车满为患的停车场寻找车位，把车放得远一点，你可以享受散步的乐趣；
　　3、走进大楼，不要乘电梯，自己爬上楼去；
　　4、休息时毫不犹豫地去散步而不是去喝咖啡、可乐，因为散步比任何一种饮料都能使你头脑清醒。
　　你干什么没有关系，只要能使你的心跳加速至少持续20分钟。科学证明，减肥是全身性的，不可能只减掉某一部分，而其他部分保持不变。所以减肥不能心急。

limate changes

Rising levels of greenhouse gases are expected to cause changes in climate. Already, the global average surface temperature has increased by about 0.6oC. Globally, the 1990's was the warmest decade and 1998 was the warmed year since 1861, when instrumental records began. Temperature analyses also show that they were also the warmest for the northern hemisphere during the previous 1000 years. As well as temperature changes, snow cover and ice extent has decreased by about 10% since the 1960's, global average sea level has risen and ocean heat content has increased.

父亲节:为父亲健康把脉

父亲节这一天，让我们把视线停留在那些辛勤工作的父亲身上，关注一下他们的健康。老人有些健康方面的问题，或许就在不经意地交谈中被发现。
　　问题1您最近一次体检情况如何？
　　男人一过50岁，许多病就如影随形地来了，你必须及时知道父亲是否得了糖尿病、高血压和高胆固醇。即使他的健康良好，也要继续问一些重要数据，如胆固醇、血压、血脂、血糖等任何可能潜藏危险的数据都不要忽视，然后交给医生分析，以了解父亲的健康状况。
　　问题2睡眠如何？
　　虽然老年人的睡眠时间普遍较少，且多半易惊醒、多梦，但如果关注了睡眠要则，同样能睡个好觉。可以看看老人用的卧具是否恰当。尽量不要使用软垫或棕绷床，最好能睡木板床，以免造成老人骨关节的不适；晚上临睡前不要大量喝水，这易引起膀胱充盈而增加起夜次数；也不要在临睡前牵挂家事，看刺激的电视片等，否则会影响安然入眠。
　　提示：如果发现老人在白天有昏昏欲睡的现象，记得要注意老人的血压是否偏高？如果老人出现晚上睡眠质量差、时间特别少，要帮助老人排除心脏、胃肠不适、神经衰弱等病症。
　　问题3是否大腹便便？
　　腰臀比(WHR)是反映身体脂肪分布的一个简单指标，世界卫生组织通常用它来衡量人体是肥胖还是健康，保持臀围和腰围的适当比例关系，对成年人体质和健康及其寿命有着重要意义。许多研究已证明，该比值与心血管发病率有密切关系。标准的腰臀比为男性小于0.8，女性小于0.7。根据美国运动医学学会1997年推荐的标准，男WHR＞0.95和女WHR＞0.86就是具有心血管疾病危险性的腰臀比数据。
　　提示：注意，测量时一定要采取站姿。
　　问题4最近胃口怎么样？
　　如果父亲胃口很好，证明他目前身体状况良好。否则要注意他是否有胃部、肝脏部位的病变。男性患胃癌的概率是女性的两倍。胃癌是癌症中比较危险的一种，因为它的症状出现较晚。最初是不太明显的腹部不舒服，然后发展为呕吐，体重减轻。如果你父亲有胃癌家族史或他的血型为Ａ的话，则更要注意提防胃癌。
　　问题5心情好吗？
　　平时是经常“闷”在家中还是主动与周围老年朋友交流？是不是会因为儿女不在身边而经常感到孤独？事实上，不少老年性疾病的发生都与心情有关。尤其是那些身患慢性疾病的老人，除了关心他们的生理健康外，更要注意他们的心理状况

more about Admiral Zheng He os China, almost 600 years ago

20 th July 1605 Zheng He and his 27,800 navy sailors started their voyage.....

When the Chinese sailors reached Calicut, India, their giant ships created a stir. The ruler there presented his visitors with sashes made of gold spun into hair-fine threads and studded with large pearls and precious stones. The Chinese were entertained with music and songs. One crew member wrote that the Indians' musical instruments were "made of gourds with strings of red copper wire, and the sound and rhythm were pleasant to the ears."
On the way back to China, the fleet threaded its way through the Straits of Malacca, stopping at the large islands of Sumatra and Java. Zheng He established a base at the Straits that he would use for each of his seven voyages. There are thousands of smaller islands in this vast archipelago, and some were pirates' lairs. The pirates preyed on unwary fishermen and small merchant vessels. Zheng He, showing how the emperor treated those who disrupted harmony, attacked and destroyed a fleet of pirate ships. He captured the leader and brought him back to Beijing for execution.
When Zheng He returned, the emperor was pleased. He sent his admiral on ever-longer voyages. Seven times, Zheng He's ships set sail for unknown lands. On and on he went, following his orders to travel as far as he could. He reached Arabia, where he fill-filled a personal dream. He made the pilgrimage to Mecca that is the duty of every good Muslim once in his lifetime. He also visited Muhammad's tomb in Medina. On the fifth voyage, he reached the coast of Africa, landing in Somalia on the east coast.
Zheng He organized each expedition on an enormous scale. Some consisted of as many as 27,000 men. Besides sailors and navigators, they included doctors, scribes, shipwrights, and cooks. On some voyages Muslim religious leaders and Buddhist monks were brought along to serve as diplomats in lands where people were Muslim or Buddhist.
Each ship brought enough food to last the whole voyage, in case "barbarian" food was not acceptable. In addition to rice and other food that could be preserved, the ships carried huge tubs of earth on deck so that vegetables and fruit could be grown.
On each voyage the fleet anchored at the Malacca base, where provisions, tribute, and gifts were stored in warehouses. Zheng He found that foreign kings and princes particularly admired the famous blue-and-white Ming porcelain dishes, vases, and cups. Foreigners still yearned for Chinese silk, for cotton printed with Chinese designs, and for the coarse but long lasting, brownish yellow cloth known as Nankeen because it was made in Nanking (now Nanjing). The holds of Zheng He's ships were also crammed.with gold and silver, iron tools, copper kitchenware, and perfumes.
In exchange for such wares, and as tribute, Zheng He brought back medicinal herbs, dyes, spices, precious, gems, pearls, rhinoceros horns, ivory, and exotic animals. On the homeward voyage, the fleet again stopped at their base to sort out the foreign goods and wait for a favorable wind to return to China.
The expeditions were an important source of information about foreign countries. A crew member described the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal off the east coast of India:
Its inhabitants live in the hollows of trees and caves. Both men and women there go about stark naked, like wild beasts, without a stitch of clothing on them. No rice grows there. The people subsist solely on wild yams, jack fruit and plantains, or upon the fish which they catch. There is a legend current among them that, if they wear the smallest scrap of clothing, their bodies would break into sores and ulcers, owing to their ancestors having been cursed by Buddha for having stolen and hidden his clothes while he was bathing.
In Sri Lanka, the Chinese visited Buddhist Temple Hill, where Buddha was said to have left his footprint on a rock. They marveled at all the temples, particularly one that held a relic of the Buddha tooth. According to a crew member, the people of the island
do not venture to eat cow flesh, they merely drink the milk. When a cow dies they bury it. It is capital punishment for anyone to secretly kill a cow; he who does so can however escape punishment by paying a ransom of a cow head made of solid gold.
Sri Lanka seemed like a treasure island, where rubies and other precious stones were abundant. The people harvested pearls from the sea and had discovered the trick of making cultured pearls by planting a speck of sand inside an oyster shell.
The king of Sri Lanka was an ardent Buddhist who treated both cows and elephants with religious respect. However, because he did not show proper respect for the ambassadors from the Son of Heaven, he was taken back to China for "instruction." He was returned to his island on a later voyage.
When the Chinese reached the east coast of Africa, they found people who built houses of brick. "Men and women wear their hair in rolls; when they go out they wear a linen hood. There are deep wells worked by means of cog wheels. Fish are caught in the sea with nets." The Africans offered such goods a "dragon saliva, incense, and golden amber." The Chinese found the African animals even more amazing. There included "lion, gold-spotted leopards, and camel-birds (ostriches), which are six or seven feet tall." The most exciting thing that Zheng He ever brought back to the emperor count was a giraffe.
The animal came from today's Somalia. In the Somali Language, the name for giraffe sounds similar to the Chinese word for unicorn. It was easy to imagine that this was the legendary animal that had played an important part in the birth of Confucius. Surely, it must be a sign of Heaven's favor on the emperor's reign.
When the giraffe arrived in 1415, the emperor himself went to the palace gate to receive it, as well as a "celestial horse" (zebra) and a "celestial stag" (oryx). The palace officials offered congratulations and performed the kowtow before the heavenly animals.
When Zheng He came back from his seventh voyage in 1433, he was sixty-two years old. He had accomplished much for China, spreading the glory of the Middle Kingdom to many countries that now sent tribute and ambassadors to the court. Though he died soon afterward, his exploits had won him fame. Plays and novels were written about his voyages. In such places as Malacca and Java, towns, caves, and temples were named after him.
However, a new Ming emperor had come to the throne. His scholar-officials criticized Zheng's achievements, complaining about their great expense. China was now fighting another barbarian enemy on its western borders and needed to devote its resources to that struggle. When a court favorite wanted to continue Zheng He's voyages, he was turned down. To make sure, the court officials destroyed the logs that Zheng He had kept. We know about his voyages only from the pillar and some accounts that his crew members wrote.
Thus, China abandoned its overseas voyages. It was a fateful decision, for just at that time, Portugal was beginning to send its ships down the west coast of Africa. In the centuries that followed, European explorers would sail to all parts of the world. They would establish colonies in Africa, America, and finally in the nations of East Asia. China would suffer because it had turned its back on exploration. Zheng He had started the process that might have led the Middle Kingdom to greater glory Unfortunately the rulers of the Ming Dynasty refused to follow his lead.

In the 1930s, a stone pillar was discovered in a town in Fujian province. It held an inscription that described the amazing voyages of a Chinese admiral named Zheng He. Five hundred years earlier, Zheng He had chosen "a lucky day" to place this pillar in the Temple of the Celestial Spouse, a Taoist goddess.
Zheng He described how the emperor of the Ming Dynasty had ordered him to sail to "the countries beyond the horizon," all the way to the end of the earth." His mission was to display the might of Chinese power and collect tribute from the "barbarians from beyond the seas."
The pillar contains the Chinese names for the countries Zheng He visited. Altogether, Zheng He visited thirty nations from Asia to Africa, traveling more than "one thousand li" about 35,000 miles. He wrote:
We have?.beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising sky-high, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapors, while our sails, loftily unfurled like clouds, day and night continued their course rapid like that of a star, transversing the savage waves as if we were treading a public thoroughfare.
In all, Zheng He made seven wondrous voyages of discovery between 1405 and 1433. His achievements show that China had the ships and navigational skills to explore the world. Mysteriously, China did not follow up on these voyages. The Chinese destroyed their ocean going ships and halted further expeditions. Thus, a century later, Europeans would "discover" China, instead of the Chinese "discovering" Europe.
China has a very old seafaring tradition. Chinese ships had sailed to India as early as the Han Dynasty. Chinese sailors had an important invention to help them-the compass. The compass, or "south pointing spoon," started out as a fortune-telling instrument used like an Ouija board. By the Song era, sailors had taken it up. As a foreign ship captain wrote, "In dark, weather they look to the south pointing needle, and use a sounding line to determine the smell and nature of the mud on the sea bottom, and so know where they are.
Chinese shipbuilders also developed fore-and-aft sails, the stern post rudder, and boats with paddlewheels. Watertight compartments below decks kept the ship from sinking. Some boats were armor plated for protection. All these developments made long distance navigation possible.
After the Mongols were overthrown in 1368, the emperor of the new Ming Dynasty wanted to assert Chinese power. Because China was no longer part of a land empire that stretched from Asia to Europe, the emperor turned to the sea. He decided to build a navy. The Chinese made elaborate plans that would not be fulfilled for many years. A shipyard was built at the new capital of Najing (Nanking). Thousand of varnish and tung trees were planted on nearby Purple Mountain to provide wood for shipbuilding. The emperor established a school of foreign languages to train interpreters. While all this was going on, the man who would lead the navy was still an infant.
Zheng He was born in 1371 in Kunyang, a town in southwest Yunnan Province. His family, named Ma, were part of a minority group known as the Semur. They originally came from Central Asia and followed the religion of Islam. Both his grandfather and father had made the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. Zheng He grew up hearing their accounts of travel through foreign lands.
Yunnan was one of the last strongholds of Mongol support, holding out long after the Ming Dynasty began. After Ming armies conquered Yunnan in 1382, Zheng He was taken captive and brought to Nanjing. The eleven year old boy was made a servant of the prince who would become the Yong Le Emperor. It was Yong Le who renamed the boy Zheng He.
Zheng He is described in Chinese historical records as tall and heavy, with "clear-cut features and long ear lobes; a stride like a tiger's and voice clear and vibrant." He was well liked and admired for his quick wit in argument. Moreover, he was a brave soldier. When his prince seized the Chinese throne from nephew, Zheng He fought well on his behalf. As a result, Zheng He became a close confidant of the new emperor and was given an important position at court.
The Yong Le emperor had ambitious plans. A vigorous man, he rebuilt the Great Wall to the condition in which it exists today. He also built his new capital at Beijing, next to the remains of the former Yuan capital. The emperor decided to go ahead with the sea voyages that had long been planned. He appointed Zheng He to lead them and gave him the title "Admiral of the Western Seas."
At each country Zheng He visited, he was to present gifts from the emperor and to exact tribute for the glory of the Ming. The Chinese had a unique view of foreign relations. Because China developed its culture in isolation from other great civilization, it says itself as the center of the world. The Chinese called their country "the Middle Kingdom."
The Chinese emperor's duty was to attract "all under heaven" to be civilized in Confucian harmony. When foreign ambassadors came to the Chinese court, they "kowtowed" as they approached the emperor. (The required process of "kowtow" was to kneel three times and bow one's head to the floor three times at each kneeling.) In return for tribute from other countries, the emperor sent gifts and special seals that confirmed their rulers' authority. In fact, these foreign kings were officially made part of the Ming Dynasty.
In 1405 Zheng He set out on his first voyage. No nation on earth had ever sent such a fleet onto the ocean. It included sixty-two large ships, some 600 feet long, larger than any other on the seas. Hundreds of smaller vessels accompanied them. A Chinese historian described them; "The ships which sail the Southern Sea are like houses. When their sails are spread they are like great clouds in the sky."
Zheng He's first port of call was in Champa, a part of today's Vietnam. He was surprised to find many Chinese living there. Merchants and craftsmen had emigrated from the coastal provinces since the time of the Tang Dynasty. They had already helped to spread Confucian ideals, and Champs's ruler willingly offered tribute for the Chinese emperor. In return, of course, Zheng He presented the king with lavish gifts that were probably more valuable.
Zheng He sailed away from the coast, westward across the Indian Ocean. The ships traveled for days out of sight of any land. Then they encountered a hurricane. The ships tossed wildly in the fierce storm and seemed to be on the verge of sinking. The terrified sailors prepared to die; some prayed to the Taoist goddess called the Celestial Spouse. Then a "divine light" suddenly shone at the tips of the mast. "As soon as this miraculous light appeared, the danger was appeased," Zheng He wrote.
The miraculous light that appeared on the mast was probably St. Elmo's fire, static electricity that is familiar sight to experienced sailors. Because the sailors had prayed to the Taoist goddess, they believed it was her sign of protection. From then on, they followed wherever Zheng He led them. That was why he later placed a pillar of thanksgiving at the Temple of the Celestial Spouse in Fujian province.

story related to Admiral Zhenghe of China

A western navigation engineer may be more objective in history. For this year 2005, is the year of 600 anniversary of Zhenghe's first voyage to Malacca and many other countries by fleet with navy of 27,800 soldiers with gifts and treasures to many countries.
*****

Until the 8th century A.D., Chinese water-borne technology was concentrated in river and eventually canal craft. However, various Arab, Persian and Singhalese merchants came to southern China in the 5th through 8th centuries to trade in medium sized (about 500 ton) ocean-going ships. As early as the 6th century, Chinese were building some river and canal ships of up to five decks, but for the 5th through 7th centuries, more is read about in surviving documents of ocean shipping in foreign hulls.3 Needham quotes a passage from Thang Yu Lin (Miscellanea of the Thang Dynasty), compiled in the Sung (12th century) from Thang documents by Wang Tang, which refers to the 8th century A. D.: In the Ta-Li and Chen-Yuan reign-periods (766 to 779 and 785 to 804) there were the (large) ships of the Yu Ta-Niang. The crews of these ships lived on board; they were born, married and died there. The ships had, as it were, lanes (between the dwellings), and even gardens (on board). Each one had several hundred sailors. South to Chiangsi and north to Huainan they made one journey in each direction every year, with great profit..... The sea-going junks (hai-po) are foreign ships. Every year they come to Canton and An-i. Those from Ceylon are the largest, the companion-ways alone being several tens of feet high. Everywhere the various kinds of merchandise are stacked up. Whenever these ships arrive, crowds come forth into the streets, and the whole city is full of noise. There is a foreign Headman (Fan-Chhang) in charge.....When these ships go to sea, they take with them white (homing) pigeons, so that in case of shipwreck the birds can return with messages.4
This source thus speaks of very large Chinese river and canal boats (nearly 700 tons) but of foreign ships controlling the ocean-going trade in the 8th century. Beginning in the 8th century, it became the practice to carry large cargoes of grain from the south to Hopei, the northern province menaced by Chhi-tan and Koreans. This period was a high point of maritime intercourse among China, Japan and Korea. From the 9th to the 12th century, large Chinese sea-going ships were apparently developed. The first Sung emperor often visited shipyards, which produced both river and sea-going vessels. In 1124 two very large ships were built for the embassy to Korea. There is a relief carving on the Bayon temple built by Jayavarman VII in Angkor Thom in Cambodia cited in Needham.5 Dating from circa 1185, it pictures a Chinese junk with two masts, Chinese matting sails, and stern-post rudder. A Nan Sung scholar, Mo Chi of the Imperial University, is reported as sailing far to the north in Chhi Tung Yeh Yu.6 In 1161, the main fleet of the Sung navy fought a larger Jin Empire fleet off the Shandong Peninsula and won.7 Thus, the Southern Sung of the 12th century gained complete control of the East China Sea.8 There were four decades of maritime strength for the Sung (until the first decade of the 13th century), when the Sung navy declined and the Mongols started building a navy to help conquer the Sung. In 1279, the Mongol Khubilai Khan had conquered the Sung capital and then his quickly created fleet chased a large Sung junk with the renegade Sung court and the last Sung prince, who leaped into the water and drowned.9
The Yuan (Mongol) dynasty of the 13th and 14th centuries maintained the large fleet, sent emissaries to Sumatra, Ceylon, and southern India to establish influence, and Yuan merchants gradually took over the spice trade from the Arabs. It was the Yuan ships of this era that Marco Polo saw and reported, consisting of four-masted ocean-going junks with sixty individual cabins for merchants, up to 300 crew and watertight bulkheads.10 The Yuan dynasty greatly favored sea power (somewhat at the expense of lake and river combatants, which had been developing human-powered paddlewheel ships up until this period).11 However, while the Yuan achieved greater foreign contacts and overseas trading success,12 Khubilai Khan failed spectacularly in his two massive maritime expeditions against Japan (1274 and 1281), and also in expeditions against the Liu Ch'iu (Ryukyu) Islands.13 Initial successes of a Yuan armada against Java were followed by a forced retirement.14 A major feature of the Mongol rule of the Yuan dynasty was a dramatic lessening of Confucian influence in the Imperial court, and a great opening to foreign influences.15
When the Manchus retook the Imperial throne and thus founded the Ming dynasty in the second half of the 14th century, the early Ming emperors inherited much of the Yuan maritime technology and policy. There were huge ocean-going warships, large ocean capable cargo ships, a regular coastal grain delivery system transporting grain from the southern provinces to the northern ones, and considerable foreign contacts, primarily in south east Asia but extending to Ceylon and India. However, two other dynamics were at work. First, the Ming dynasty was continually working to restore her native culture after a century-long of foreign rule.16 The Grand Canal, initially completed during the Sui dynasty (6th century AD), with a vast remodelling and extension to the new northern capital at Peking during the Yuan (13th century), was initially in disrepair due to the extensive conflict between the Yuan and Ming. The early Ming saw the rebuilding and improvement of the Grand Canal and other canals, paved highways, bridges, defenses, temples, shrines and walled cities.17 Second, the Ming administration was being restructured, with a resurgence of Confucian scholars as senior officials and a great development in the use of eunuchs in high office as well.18 These two categories of high officials were in considerable conflict throughout the Ming period. The Confucians were generally ascendant, but during the rule of the third Ming Emperor, Zhu Di, the eunuch administrators and warriors were greatly trusted and given great power. This was largely because Zhu Di was a rebel warrior prince who usurped the throne of his nephew, with an initial power base purely in the north. Many of the government ministers disapproved of his usurpation early in his reign, so Zhu Di preferred to entrust eunuchs with a large share of the business of government. Many of the eunuch administrators had been loyal retainers to Zhu Di in the frontier wars and the rebellion for decades, whereas the Confucian administrators and warrior princes had defended the old, recently defeated regime.19
In the case of the Ming Indian Ocean expeditions, the Emperor Zhu Di chose as his agent and leader of the expeditions the eunuch Admiral Zheng He. Born 1372 into a Muslim family named Ma in Yunnan, he was taken at age ten into the Ming service, and subsequently castrated at age thirteen and placed into the household of the twenty-five year old Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, the fourth son of the first Ming emperor. Over the next ten years, from Yunnan to the northern frontier, Ma He (who was to be given the name Zheng He when the prince became emperor) served in the field doing frontier defense with Prince Zhu Di. The large, commanding and battle experienced eunuch distinguished himself during Prince Zhu Di's bid for the throne, in both the 1399 defense of Beiping and the final campaign of 1402 to capture Nanjing.20
In 1403 the new emperor Zhu Di issued orders to begin construction of an imperial fleet of warships and support ships to visit ports in the China seas and the Indian Ocean. The Ming Tong Jian, an unofficial history of the period, says: Regarding the Jianwen emperor's escape, there are some who say he is abroad. The emperor ordered Zheng He to seek out traces of him.21 The fleet was larger than required to reopen trade with the southern and western regions, but such magnificence might well convince any foreign ruler harboring the deposed Chinese emperor of Zhu Di's strength. And foreign trade, such as that which had occurred fifty years previously under the Yuan dynasty, might well help a treasury depleted by a long civil war.22 An imperial history compiled in 1767, the Li-Tai Thung Chien Chi Lan (Essentials of the Comprehensive Mirror of History), states: In the third year of the Yung-Lo reign-period [Zhi Di's dynastic title, 1405], the Imperial Palace Eunuch Zheng He was sent on a mission to the Western Oceans. The emperor [Zhu Di], under the suspicion that (his nephew) the (previous) emperor might have fled beyond the seas, commissioned Zheng He, Wang Ching-Hung and others, to pursue his traces. Bearing vast amounts of gold and other treasures, and with a force of more than 37,000 officers and men under their command, they built great ships and set sail from...the prefecture of Suchow, whence they proceeded by way of Fukien to Chan-Chheng (Indo-China), and thence on voyages throughout the western seas....Every country became obedient to the imperial commands, and when Zheng He turned homewards, sent envoys in his train to offer tribute.....Zheng He was commissioned on no less than seven diplomatic expeditions, and thrice made prisoners of foreign chiefs.....At the same time, the different peoples, attracted to the profit of Chinese merchandise, enlarge their mutual intercourse for purposes of trade, and there was uninterrupted going to and fro.23
At the time of the Ming Indian Ocean voyages, Chinese ocean-going technology was somewhat superior to the European, with the exception of navigation. In ship size, the Chinese had by far the larger ships. The largest ships of the Zheng He expeditions were about 500 feet long. The dimension of the ships given in Chinese histories was always subject to the accusation of exaggeration. However, in 1962, an actual rudder post of one of Zheng He's treasure ships was discovered at the site of one of the Ming shipyards near Nanking. This timber was 36.2 feet long, and when reverse engineered to typical proportions, this yields a ship length of 480 to 536 feet, depending upon different assumptions about the draught.24 In comparison, the ocean-going European ships of this period were considerably smaller, more typically 100 feet long (i.e. 1500 tons for Zheng He and perhaps 300 tons for the Portuguese explorers). The Chinese had been using multi-masted ships for several centuries, while the Portuguese had just in the past century developed this innovation with their new, secret design caravel. In compartmentation, the Chinese had a clear advantage, with large ships of up to thirteen watertight compartments for centuries prior the period of examination. Western ships were not provided with watertight compartments until the middle of the 19th century, after reports of Chinese compartmentation illuminated the advantages in surviving a hole in the ship's hull.25 In sail technology, the Europeans had long sufficed with square sail rigs on their ocean vessels (while with some lateen rigs on smaller ships since the 3rd century), which were good running before the wind but unhandy in beating upwind. The Chinese had been using fore-and-aft lugsails (more efficient in beating upwind) since the 3rd century AD, and since the 9th century in ocean-going ships, and were thus long able to steer closer to the wind.
In summary, before the 15th century, the Chinese were ahead in oceangoing ship technology, with larger compartmented ships and efficient fore-and-aft lugsails on multiple masts. In the 15th century, the Chinese and the Europeans were in rough overall parity. The Chinese were ahead in ship size and hull construction, and the Portuguese were ahead in the arts of navigation, and there was parity in sail technology (the Chinese with battened lugsails, the Portuguese with lateen sails). Neither had a distinct overall advantage. Both were technologically capable of great voyages of discovery, mercantile enterprise, and colonization. In tracing the developments, what is distinctive is that the rate of progress in nautical technology of the West was considerably faster than that of the East. By the 16th century, the West was clearly superior in ocean-going maritime technology (especially considering the regression that occurred in China due to policy influences).
What about unification versus fragmentation as the conventional postulate for decline of Asian maritime technology? Certainly Europe was fragmented; there were hundreds of principalities, and the Columbus story of requesting support for an epic undertaking is both true and illuminating. However, how unified was Asia? For China proper, a review of China's history does indeed reveal 'more' centralization, but it is by no means the 'single ruler' thesis put forth by Professor Diamond. In the 2nd century B.C., the Ch'in state became dominant (temporarily), lent its name to China, and then civil war followed. The Han dynasty dominated for four centuries, which provided considerable cultural unity. However, this was followed by almost four centuries of political division of the "Three Kingdoms", then a brief reunification followed by division into the "Northern" (Mongol and Turk invaders) and "Southern" (Chinese) dynasties. There was again reunification in 589 to 907 under the Sui and then Tang dynasties, and they encountered the young Moslem Arab empire. For most of the 10thcentury, China was broken up into competing "Five Dynasties". Then, the Sung dynasty gathered not quite all of China proper for three centuries, followed by the 1279 - 1368 Yuan (or Mongol) dynasty rule, which included considerable direct foreign and Western contact, including the famous Marco Polo expedition. The 1368 - 1644 Ming dynasty saw the massive Indian Ocean naval expeditions, raids by the Japanese on Chinese coasts, and pressure on the north by the Mongols. So there was notable lack of unity within China proper for much of the preceding millennia and a half. However, measuring Asian unity by Chinese unity is somewhat akin to measuring European unity by the strongest empire therein, for instance Spain in the 16th century. There were other powers, and other potential or realized seapowers, in Asia. Mentioning only known maritime powers, there are quite a few over the centuries. The Arab shipmasters were strong enough in 758 to burn and loot Canton, just a century after the first Arab embassy to China (651 A.D.).30 Large Persian ocean-going trading ships were active (during the Tang period the Moslem Arabs overthrew the Zoroastrian Sassanid line in Persia but Indian Ocean trade was dominated up to the 12th century by ethnic Persians and Arabs).31 The Singhalese of Ceylon were also active in trading, bringing large 500 ton merchant ships to southern China in the 8th century. There were large sea battles between Chinese and Annam (modern Vietnam), Korea, and Japan fleets, encompassing several centuries. In many cases there was tributary trade going on between these countries, in which the Chinese felt they were acknowledged as supreme and the Japanese or Ceylonese felt it was simply a method of trade.
This discussion of non-unity in Asia does not attempt to counter the clear fact that China was the single most dominant power for a wide range of centuries in Asia. It does bring into question whether the decision of a single ruler could terminate ocean-going trade and technology development throughout the Asian region. By making a central and large tract of Asia incommunicado on the subject, progress was surely slowed. However, Japan, Korea, and Arabia had the size and energy of Europe's modest Portugal, with similar geographic position on the periphery. If the political will had been present in any of these over the long term, maritime technology and exploration could have made the same progress, from an equal level in the 15th century.
An answer perhaps lies in a detailed comparison of the seapower organization of the East and the West. The requisite level of comparison is beyond the scope of this paper. However, it is clear that Chinese seapower progress was most substantial during the Sung and the Yuan dynasties, when the motive was the expansion of trade. The Sung were driven into a southern power base, and deprived of the greater agricultural tax revenues of the north, sought maritime trade to fill the gap.32 The Yuan were foreign rulers, without the fear of foreign contamination so common to indigenous Chinese ruling lines, and valued trade as demonstrated by the opening of both overland and maritime trade routes. The zenith of Chinese seapower was reached during the Ming dynasty, but it was fleeting and carried by the momentum of opportunities created by the earlier Sung and Yuan maritime advances. The Ming maritime effort was primarily prestige and diplomacy.33 In Yuan times, the tax income from ship duties essentially paidthe costs of maritime activities. In the early Ming period, excessive, empire-wide taxation developed a fleet that was magnificent but overly expensive for the limited benefits gained. The tributary revenues of the Ming Indian Ocean treasure fleet flowed straight to the emperor for the construction of palaces and temples, far removed from the maritime shipyards.34 In effect, it was over-taxation, with the Ming maritime organization set up to take the blame. In Europe, the maritime structure was initially governmental, but the continuing long term effort was generally mercantile. Companies were set up, groups of individuals invested in colonies in expectation of personal profit. The Spanish in Central and South America, the Portuguese in Brazil, Africa and the Indian Ocean, the Dutch in Africa and India and the English in North America and the Indian subcontinent all shared this aggressive mercantile nature. The British East India Company, so powerful for centuries with its own sepoy army and Bombay Marine, is merely the most famous and most powerful of a host of lesser yet effective Western merchant corporations dedicated to the expanse of trade. The West also had the impetus of a centuries long and bitter war versus Islam. By aggressive exploration and exploitation, the Portuguese could hope to gain an alternative and lucrative sea-route to the East Indies and also take the Islamic competitors from the rear.
The geography of the compared regions (Europe and southeast Asia) may bring light upon the maritime and continental strategies that became dominant in each region. Ming China of the 15th century was beset by several threats. By far the overarching threat was that of the Mongols to the north. This was a continental threat. Other, lesser threats included Annam to the south (continental and maritime), Korea to the northeast (continental and maritime) and Japan (maritime). In Europe, Spain has eminently defensible land borders with the mountainous constriction of that peninsula, so in most of Spain's dealings a maritime strategy dominated. The island of Britain is even a more clearcut case for maritime dominance. Holland was so dependent on overseas trade, as a relatively small landmass, that Dutch considerations have also been maritime. In Europe, France and Germany have been the traditional continental powers, due to each having wide borders with several powerful competitors.
Alfred Thayer Mahan, an American naval officer of the late 18th, early 19th centuries, suggested that the growth of the British Empire was predicated on her command of the seas. Mahan perceived that seapower was developed by the combination of (1) geographic position, (2) physical conformation, (3) extent of territory, (4) number of population, (5) character of the people, and (6) character of the government.35 While China is blessed with plenty of territory and a large population, her geographic position is to be largely surrounded by land, with sea trade routes not particularly convenient, with most of the people far from the sea (the exception being the south coastal Chinese), and with governments through the ages generally disinterested in the seapower or ocean commerce.36 In a few periods of history, Chinese governments have managed (Sung and Yuan dynasties) to fight these natural factors. However, when it comes down to either army or navy, or either agricultural or maritime trade, in China the army/agriculture side has always won. The navy/maritime trade aspect is a luxury to be discarded in China when the strategic situation is deteriorating and resources are limited.
The debate within the Ming dynasty in the early 15th century was between the Confucian scholar officials and the eunuch administrators, with topics of domestic agriculturalism versus sea-borne trade, canal transport versus coastal transport, and cultural purity through isolationism versus cultural improvement through extensive foreign contacts. This set of debates with application to relative worth of maritime power was common to most dynasties, and in most the Confucian, agriculture, canal and cultural purity side of the debate won, and not without good reason. The primary threat was generally from the broad land boundary to the north from the Mongols. The canal transport system was safer from marauding sea-pirates and weather. The Chinese were culturally inclined to be disinterested in non-Chinese products and ideas, with a few notable exceptions. And the Confucian ideals had longer powers of persuasion than any temporary good eunuch leadership, especially since the eunuch system more often than notcreated abuses. The early Ming period, especially that of the third Ming emperor Zhu Di, was unique. As a recently established successful rebel, Zhu Di had trusted, capable and experienced eunuchs available to fill a leadership gap. He had a need to create personal and dynastic prestige combined with maritime technology inherited from the Sung and Yuan (and extrapolating upon the ever present Chinese canal and river boat marine technology). The damaged canal system, due to the long civil war, was supplemented by the coastal transport route, which required sea-going protection and created a nursery of deep-water sailors. However, in 1411 the important Grand Canal was fully repaired and brought to full capacity in all seasons by an improved water supply at the summit section.37 After the efficiency of the inland canal grain transport route had been proven in supplying the northern capital, the coastal grain transport service was abolished in 1415, while thousands of new canal sailing barges were constructed. As Zhu Di settled into his emperor role and the nephew he had deposed never reappeared, the need for expensive overseas prestige diminished. The expense of the maritime adventure was put on the political account of the eunuchs, who were placed in a defensive political position. Finally, challenges on the northern border from the Mongols became more serious, and they required investment in land power (army, land defenses) for survival. Zhu Di, who had created the treasure fleet, himself diminished the sea service after the fifth expedition that was conducted from 1416 to 1419 due to these pressures. There was a single, much smaller sixth expedition to return the fifth expedition ambassadors to their countries conducted in 1421, but Admiral Zheng He came back early from that expedition for the dedication of the new Forbidden City in Peking (the grand palace). Soon after dedication, lightning from a spring storm struck three great ceremonial halls. Fire quickly spread, burned for a full day, and it was considered the most ill of portents. Zhu Di was shaken by the disaster, and after conferring with his advisors, issued the following imperial edict: My heart is full of trepidation. I do not know how to handle it. It seems that there has been some laxness in the rituals of honoring Heaven and serving the spirits.....Is this what brought about [the fires]? Harshness to the people below; and, above, going against Heaven. I cannot find the reason in my confusion....If our actions have in fact been improper, you should lay these out one by one, hiding nothing, so that we may try to reform ourselves and regain the favor of Heaven.38 Zhu Di remitted a substantial number of taxes to reduce the burden of the people and temporarily suspended future voyages of the treasure fleet. But Zhu Di was old and sick, his regime sorely troubled, and he died on campaign in 1424 at age 64. His successor was his studious elder son Zhu Gaozhi. The new emperor was no warrior, and began plans to reverse many of his father's policies including the heavy taxation for military campaigns and public projects. However, Zhu Gaozhi died (perhaps heart failure, perhaps poison) after only nine months as emperor, and was succeeded in turn by Zhu Zhanji (age twenty-six) in 1426.39 This fifth Ming emperor was a good combination of his warrior, spendthrift grandfather and scholarly, fiscally conservative father, and his reign was a time of peace, prosperity and good government. He commissioned Zheng He to accomplish one final, seventh treasure ship expedition in 1430, for increased prestige and restoration of the tribute trade. This was the largest expedition,with 300 ships and 27,500 men. However, Confucian courtiers and a general trend towards a sterile conventionalized version of Neo-Confucianism, very idealistic in metaphysics, led to a widespread loss of interest in geographical science and maritime techniques. The introspective culture of the Middle and Late Ming periods was one cause of many for a decline in many branches of science and technology.

*****It is interesting to contact experts for more information:

Michael L. Bosworth
Michael Bosworth is a retired naval officer, naval architect and part-time doctoral student. He pursues his historical interests as a member of Ship`s Company, a naval living history group based in Baltimore and Washington DC. He also sings sea shanties with the Ship Company chanteymen, who host an open pub sing each first Tuesday of the month at the Royal Mile Pub on Price Street in Wheaton Maryland, and third Tuesdays at the Hard Times Cafe in Alexandria, Virginia. He is an Advisor to Journal of the War of 1812 and the Era 1800 to 1840.
Mike can be contacted at michael.bosworth@verizon.net

Zhenghe constructed many wooden ships, some of which are the largest in the history, in Nanjing. Three of the shipyards still exist today.
Remember Admiral Zheng He, 2005 is 600 years anniversary for his fleet's first voyage to Malacca, Malaysia......by Michael L. Bosworth
Over fifty years before the first intrepid Portuguese caravels inspired by Prince Henry the Navigator traversed the southern tip of Africa to first enter the Indian Ocean in 1488, fleets of hundreds of immense Chinese junks sent by the Ming Emperor Zhu Di traversed from the China Sea past Sumatra to Ceylon, India, Arabia and East Africa. Seven epic Chinese naval expeditions from 1405 to 1433 explored and brought under the Chinese tributary system the vast periphery of the Indian Ocean.
 

the multideck ship at the back groud( in China) is only 35 meters long. Zheng He's hsip was 150 meters in length. that could be the reason why they planted fruits, vegetables on the top deck in those huge ships. They prevented Beri Beri and many other sickness. They were good in preventive medicine ? ! Sing and features of Maize and Tobacco grown around southern china back dated to 5 to six hundred years ago is interesting and link to the indirect proof of Zheng He navigated to America and got Maize and Tobacco plant. ( They could have planted on top of the ship on their way back to China. 

they are on the multi deck ship( not in a house). There were 180 doctors in Zheng He's fleet of navy of 27,800 staffs. They have the top deck of many ships equiped with garden facilities to plant green vegetables, strawberry, herbs( medicine) and other experiment. 

600 years ago, Zheng He's ship was 150 meters long, and home for one thousand navy officers. 61 other ships of 130 meters ( more than 300 feet length) and 53 supply ships and support ships carried total 27,800 navy set sailed with gifts of silk, jade, art and 'culture' plus knowledge to share with the world in need of peace. 

dockyard of ship building at Zhang Jia ko is still in good shape till today. The size of the dockyard is consistent with the size of the ships used by Zheng He. How big was the ships and Zheng He's flag ship? let us find out 

art at Yunnan. The houses are decorated with traditional culture. Admiral Zheng He who set sailed on the 15th of 6th Chinese Calendar month ( Farmer's calendar or Yin Calendar), set sailed at Liu Jia port near Shanghai. We understand that expert can sail west south west by south wind. So they reached Vietnam, then east coast of Malay Peninsula, west of pulau Puteh, north of Batam then made use of stronger south wind to sailed north to Malacca. They had started their voyage in early summer to make use of gentle south wind. If they set sail by August or September of that year...they might have encounter typhoon and at least strong south wind which could prove too strong to handle by late summer. Luck ? science? 

old castle wall in China. photo taken in Yunnan, the birth place of Admiral Zheng He, who set sailed 600 years ago to Malaka( Malacca), Malaysia and to many other countries. UK Navy officer stated that Zheng He had navigated round the world, and his fleet had traveled for peace voayging thousand os miles. The the voyage in 1433 lasted 2 years...who can prove the route of the voyage ? 

peaceful Kuching scenery at Santubong river, near Damai Resort 

A woman's weight may influence the dosage of chemotherapy drugs

Adjuvant chemotherapy is given to breast cancer patients with no measurable spread of cancer beyond the primary tumor. This treatment is meant to improve the chances of disease-free and overall survival in these patients. In some cases, doctors decide to reduce doses of adjuvant chemotherapy, which are calculated based on body weight, given to heavier women because the doctors are concerned about possible toxic effects from the treatment.
Of the women in the study, 62 percent were above a healthy weight, 31 percent were overweight, 17 percent were obese and 14 percent were severely obese.
Among the severely obese patients, 37 percent had a first-cycle chemotherapy dose reduction of at least 10 percent, compared with 20 percent of obese patients, 11 percent of overweight women and 9 percent of women with a healthy weight.
There was wide variation in the practices' use of first-cycle chemotherapy dose reductions in their overweight and obese breast cancer patients. About 60 percent of the practices reduced the doses in more than 10 percent of their overweight and obese patients, while 33 percent did not reduce doses for any of their overweight and obese patients.

牙周病可能诱发脑梗塞

脑梗塞因其具有发病率高、死亡率高、致残率高等特点，已经成为危害我国中老年人群健康的常见疾病，给社会和家庭造成了巨大负担。公认的脑梗塞危险因素包括吸烟、高血压、高血脂、高血糖等，近年来，国内外大量研究发现，牙周病也是心脑血管疾病的独立危险因素。与牙齿健康者相比，牙周病患者发生脑梗塞的风险明显升高，重度牙周炎者患脑梗塞的风险甚至高达4.3倍！
　　
　　牙周病是老年人最常见的感染性疾病，在人群中有较高的患病率，发达国家约15%的人患有牙周炎。我国口腔健康知识相对不普及，老年人牙周炎包括重症牙周炎的患病率就更高，而有关这方面的工作尚未引起人们的重视。
　　
　　牙周病主要包括牙龈炎、牙周炎。牙颈部、龈沟中牙菌斑内的微生物长期刺激牙龈，首先引起牙龈炎。炎症继续扩展，损害深部牙周组织，导致牙周袋形成、牙槽骨吸收、牙齿松动，最后导致牙齿脱落，即为牙周炎。曾有学者形象地比喻患重症牙周炎相当于口腔中有个20厘米长的慢性伤口，因此患者的口腔就成了一个大细菌库。一方面，细菌可在咀嚼、刷牙等情况下进入血流，释放毒素，诱导和加速动脉粥样硬化的形成；另一方面，引发的菌血症可激活促凝血物质，产生血栓，如果堵住了脑血管，即发生脑梗塞。研究还发现，当牙周病与吸烟、高血脂、糖尿病等共同存在时，脑梗塞发生率更高。

美发现第一颗太阳系外岩状行星

possible Alien's new centre ??

天文学家今天宣布，他们发现了太阳系外迄今最小的岩状行星。这颗行星的质量约为地球的7.5倍，宽度为地球的2倍，新发现的这颗行星可能是绕太阳系外恒星旋转的第一颗岩状行星。美国华盛顿卡内基研究所的研究人员巴特勒说：“这是目前探测到的太阳系以外最小的岩状行星，它就如同地球的‘表兄’。”目前，科学家已发现了150颗太阳系外行星，而且发现的行星也日益增多，但大多数行星都是像木星一样的大型气状行星。
　　美国国家科学基金会今天在其总部举行新闻发布会，宣布发现了地球遥远的“表兄”。美国圣塔克鲁兹加州大学的沃格特说：“我们正在与太阳系外的‘地球’越来越接近。”
　　新发现的行星围绕宝瓶座Gliese867———即一种15光年远的M矮星———旋转。这颗超级“地球”并不孤独，在同一恒星系统中还存在2颗其他行星，这2颗行星的大小都同木星差不多。新发现的这第三颗行星，还是由于它引起了中央恒星的微弱摇摆而被科学家注意到的。根据这一摇摆，研究人员测量出，新行星绕恒星旋转一周为1.94天，距中心恒星为320万公里，仅为地球距太阳距离的2%%。
　　该行星的轨道距恒星如此之紧，以至科学家推测，新行星的温度大约在200摄氏度至400摄氏度。科学家认为，也许正是由于温度太高，才使得这颗行星不能像木星那样保持太多的气体，因此估计行星可能大部分是固态的。
　　圣塔克鲁兹加州大学的劳林说：“行星质量很容易保持在大气以下。它仍被认为是岩状行星，可能具有铁核心和硅地幔，甚至可能有浓密的多蒸汽水层

牙龈出血的易感人群

牙龈出血的易感人群主要有：
　　1.混合牙列时段的儿童，常因乳恒牙替换，牙列出现暂时性排列不齐，易导致牙床发炎，如不注意口腔卫生，易引起萌出性龈炎导致牙龈出血。
　　2.青春期少年，因易患青春期龈炎，牙龈出血也常见。主要原因是卫生习惯不良，再加之青春期内分泌（性激素）的变化较明显，使牙龈组织对微量局部刺激物，易产生明显的炎症反应，出现牙龈出血。



　　3.妊娠期的女性，如果妊娠前就已患有慢性龈炎，在妊娠期间孕激素水平升高后，常造成牙龈的自发性出血，妊娠时牙龈乳头可出现瘤样增生称“妊娠性龈瘤”，极易出血，一般在经期和分娩后，龈瘤和出血症状可消失或部分消失。　　
　　4.患某些系统性疾病（糖尿病、心血管疾病等）的中老年人，糖尿病患者由于牙床毛细血管缺氧，抵抗细菌能力下降，易造成牙床感染出血；另外有些高血压、冠心病的中老年患者，因警惕心梗血栓等，长期口服阿司匹林，如有牙龈炎症更易出血，长期服用者应警惕。　　
　　5.长期卧床不起，生活不能自理的患者，口腔护理不佳者也是牙龈出血的易感人群

牙周病可能诱发脑梗塞

脑梗塞因其具有发病率高、死亡率高、致残率高等特点，已经成为危害我国中老年人群健康的常见疾病，给社会和家庭造成了巨大负担。公认的脑梗塞危险因素包括吸烟、高血压、高血脂、高血糖等，近年来，国内外大量研究发现，牙周病也是心脑血管疾病的独立危险因素。与牙齿健康者相比，牙周病患者发生脑梗塞的风险明显升高，重度牙周炎者患脑梗塞的风险甚至高达4.3倍！　　　　牙周病是老年人最常见的感染性疾病，在人群中有较高的患病率，发达国家约15%的人患有牙周炎。我国口腔健康知识相对不普及，老年人牙周炎包括重症牙周炎的患病率就更高，而有关这方面的工作尚未引起人们的重视。　　　　牙周病主要包括牙龈炎、牙周炎。牙颈部、龈沟中牙菌斑内的微生物长期刺激牙龈，首先引起牙龈炎。炎症继续扩展，损害深部牙周组织，导致牙周袋形成、牙槽骨吸收、牙齿松动，最后导致牙齿脱落，即为牙周炎。曾有学者形象地比喻患重症牙周炎相当于口腔中有个20厘米长的慢性伤口，因此患者的口腔就成了一个大细菌库。一方面，细菌可在咀嚼、刷牙等情况下进入血流，释放毒素，诱导和加速动脉粥样硬化的形成；另一方面，引发的菌血症可激活促凝血物质，产生血栓，如果堵住了脑血管，即发生脑梗塞。研究还发现，当牙周病与吸烟、高血脂、糖尿病等共同存在时，脑梗塞发生率更高。

want to make your own piece of paper, which last for one thousand years. ( if one make it with the correct method), Yunnan, China 

do you think this is a natural blue rose ? ( Kunming, Yunnan, China) 

supporters of UNESCO heritage site, Yunnan, China 

back of the lodge, just stonesLijiang, world UNESCO heritage site, Yunnan, China 

The stones, the name of the village, just handsome mountain of stones...see the background, next photo