Expert

Panda twins in Atlanta zoo get names

2017年1月12日

  Atlanta Zoo’s twin panda cubs, formerly known as Cub A and Cub B, receive their names during their 100-day naming celebration last December 12, 2016. Zoo Atlanta President and CEO Raymond B. King joyfully announced the cubs’ names to the public. The twins were named as Ya Lun and Xi Lun which means “Lun Lun’s elegant and happy daughters.” The panda twins are the sixth and seventh offspring of their mum Lun Lun and dad Yang Yang. The twin cubs’ names were chosen by public vote out of the seven pairs of names provided by the zoo’s panda conservation partners. The 100-day naming ceremony is a Chinese tradition that…
Read more

Expert

Schools for young offenders instead of jails

2017年1月10日

Juvenile offenders will soon be held in schools rather than in youth jails. This is part of the United Kingdom government’s plan to put education at the center of youth rehabilitation and to reduce recidivism. Justice Secretary Liz Truss pledged an additional £15 million for this project. The project with start with two schools. Juvenile offenders will study core subjects like English and Math. To secure a better future for youth offenders who have completed their time, work training and internship programs shall also be put in place. Instrumental to this government project on youth offenders is the study of child behavioral expert, Charlie Taylor. His study is focused on…
Read more

Expert

New York SantaCon

2017年1月9日

Revelers in New York City recently took part in a Christmas fundraiser. All alcohol-loving people attended the fundraiser aptly called SantaCon. SantaCon, besides being a fundraiser, is also known as the annual Christmas pub crawl. SantaCon involves merrymakers dressing in festive costumes and heading for the bars. Some say this event has become so rowdy that concerned citizens have had failed attempts to shut it down. The organizers say SantaCon celebrates Christmas traditions of festive dress and good cheer. It also raises a considerable amount of money for charity. In 2016, the event took place on December 10. The annual bar crawl was held in 380 cities across the US…
Read more

Expert

Even mild smoking can cause early death

2017年1月6日

A new study suggests that non-frequent smokers still have a higher chance of dying early than non-smokers. Smoking just once per day gives one a 64% chance of dying early. Those who smoke less than one cigarette per day are also nine times more likely to die of lung cancer. On the other hand, heavy smokers or those smoking one to 10 cigarettes per day have an 87% chance at an early death than non-smokers. They are also 12 times more likely to die of lung cancer. Although this research is too limited as most of its repondents were older and caucasian, this is an important research as it is…
Read more

Expert

University of Oxford ranked best in the world

2016年12月27日

Oxford University gained the top spot among the best ranking universities for the year 2016. Oxford surpassed California Institute of Technology this year because of a more substantial research budget and increased international reception. Oxford is really excited by this recent turn of events, being that the recent Brexit could have entirely jeopardized the university’s funding, collaborative projects and international reception. Joining Oxford are Cambridge and Imperial College London in the fourth and eight spots respectively. They join the ranks of top Amercian universities like Stanford, Harvard, Princeton & MIT. The recent positioning of the universities likewise demonstrates the rising impact of Asian universities, especially those in China, which are…
Read more

Expert

Labor shortage

2016年12月23日

Japan’s apparent aging and decreasing population is causing the greatest shortages of manpower for labor-intensive sectors. Industries like hotels, restaurants, and elderly care facilities are less capable of offering competitive wages as they hit lowest on productivity per employee. Also, the elderly care system is undermined by government efforts that set the compensation down. In 2015, the average monthly wages in Japan fell for the fourth consecutive year. The central bank’s target for the average monthly wage increase is 2% for 2016, but the labor ministry data records an increase of only 1% in September. Adding to this labor predicament is the sabotage of employees’ bargaining power due to the…
Read more

Expert

A winter deer-calling event

2016年12月23日

According to folklore, deer are considered sacred. People believe that deer were messengers of the Gods. That’s why all the wild deer must roam freely. The Shikayose or deer-calling in Kasugataisha Shrine, Nara prefecture is held every morning during winter. Shikayose is also held during summer. As people wait in Tobihino, a man blows a horn, then hundreds of wild deer begin running to gather around. Tourists can play with the deer, pet them or take pictures with them. They can also buy some shika senbei or deer crackers for 150 yen per pack. After that, most of the deer will leave and go back to their routine. Don’t miss…
Read more

Expert

Japan broadcasters to air in advanced TV formats

2016年12月22日

  A good portion of Japanese broadcasting companies is setting high expectations on advanced television broadcasting formats. The Association for Promotion of Advanced Broadcasting Services(A-PAB) conducts tests on 4k and 8k, which are higher resolution broadcasting formats, through satellite channels. Home electronic companies sign up to change their current airing formats to 4k and 8k. The 4k format is expected to deliver four times the number of pixels of the current high-definition format and 8k should be around sixteen times better. Although the technology is looked forward to, large sums should be invested to make the technology widely available.   Vocabulary: format – the form, design or arrangement of the…
Read more

Expert

Fake U.S. embassy in Ghana shut down after a decade of issuing visas

2016年12月22日

  GHANA—A fake U.S. Embassy was discovered in the capital city of Accra. It was issuing illegally obtained authentic visas for the past decade. The fake embassy was operating in a dilapidated pink two-storey building with a corrugated iron roof, along with the U.S. Flag outside and a portrait of President Barack Obama inside. The fake embassy was said to be operated by both Ghanian and Turkish organized crime rings, along with a Ghanian lawyer practicing immigration and criminal law. Turkish citizens who can speak English and Dutch posed as consular officers. Investigations revealed that the crime ring charges $6000 for illegally obtained U.S. Visas, identification documents and birth certificates….
Read more

Expert

New Lung Transplant Technique To Save More Lives

2016年12月19日

  A new life-saving method has been devised to lengthen the time needed by doctors to perform lung transplants. Surgeons will be given double the time to perform each operation with the ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) in contrast to their typical six hours. The technique works to keep the lungs functioning, given that they are out of the human body for almost half a day, that is crucial to the recipient’s survival. Getting the organs to the patients on time is a matter of life and death. Fortunately, the EVLP can push the organ delivery for over 12 hours to the operation. The EVLP ices the lungs and pumps liquid…
Read more

Expert