Characteristics.

Plain language.

Plain Language refers to the use of writing strategies that help readers find, understand, and apply information to fulfill their needs. It has a vital role to play in improving health literacy. In conjunction with readers education, provider cultural training, and system design, plain language helps people make more informed health choices.  Plain language is not, however, a one-size-fits-all approach. Some strategies can be used to improve communication among medical professionals, while others will improve communication with patients and caregivers. It is in this area of provider-patient communication that health literacy efforts have been strongest. Patients and consumers in general need to understand concepts that professionals often refer to in technical terms. Health professionals must know their audience in order to better serve their patients and general readers or listeners.  Plain language is defined by the International Plain Language Federation as writing whose "wording, structure, and design are so clear that the intended readers can easily find what they need, understand what they find, and use that information.“  Some key elements of plain language include:  The National Institute of Health (NIH) recommends that patient education materials be written at a 6th-7th grade reading level; further recommendations provided by the NIH Office of Communications and Public Liaison are published in their "Clear Communication" Initiative.  International expert Romina Marazzato Sparano also recommends strategies for peer-to-peer medical communication and asserts "plain language is also for experts." She promotes a "step-wise approach" to writing materials for the general public whereby a clear technical version (often the result of editing a not so clear one) serves as the basis for a clear lay version. She insists term replacement in technical writing is not enough to turn a technical communication into a lay communication. Writers must also consider information density, depth, flow, relevance, register, and style

Factors.

Many factors determine the health literacy level of health education materials or interventions: readability of the text, the patient's current state of health, language barriers of the patient, cultural appropriateness of the materials, format and style, sentence structure, use of illustrations, and numerous other factors.  A study of 2,600 patients conducted in 1995 by two US hospitals found that between 26% and 60% of patients could not understand medication directions, a standard informed consent form, or materials about scheduling an appointment. The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) conducted by the US Department of Education found that 36% of participants scored as either "basic" or "below basic" in terms of their health literacy and concluded that approximately 80 million Americans have limited health literacy.

History.

The young and multidisciplinary field of health literacy emerged from two groups of experts: physicians, health providers such as nurses, and health educators; and Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English as a second language (ESL) practitioners in the field of education. Physicians and nurses are a source of patient comprehension and compliance studies. Adult Basic Education / English for Speakers of Languages Other Than English (ABE/ESOL) specialists study and design interventions to help people develop reading, writing, and conversation skills and increasingly infuse curricula with health information to promote better health literacy. A range of approaches to adult education brings health literacy skills to people in traditional classroom settings, as well as where they work and live.

Biomedical approach.

The biomedical approach to health literacy that became dominant (in the U.S.) during the 1980s and 1990s often depicted individuals as lacking health literacy or "suffering" from low health literacy. This approach assumed that recipients are passive in their possession and reception of health literacy and believed that models of literacy and health literacy are politically neutral and universally applicable. This approach is found lacking when placed in the context of broader ecological, critical, and cultural approaches to health. This approach has produced, and continues to reproduce, numerous correlational studies.  Level of health literacy is considered adequate when the population has sufficient knowledge, skills, and confidence to guide their own health, and people are able to stay healthy, recover from illness, and/or live with disability or disease.  McMurray states that health literacy is important in a community because it addresses health inequities. It is no coincidence that individuals with lower levels of health literacy live, disproportionally, in communities with lower socio-economic standing. A barrier to achieving adequate health literacy for these individuals is a lack of awareness, or understanding of, information and resources relevant to improving their health. This knowledge gap arises from both patients being unable to understand information presented to them and hospitals' inadequate efforts and materials to address these literacy gaps.  A more robust view of health literacy includes the ability to understand scientific concepts, content, and health research; skills in spoken, written, and online communication; critical interpretation of mass media messages; navigating complex systems of health care and governance; knowledge and use of community capital and resources; and using cultural and indigenous knowledge in health decision making. This integrative view sees health literacy as a social determinant of health that offers a powerful opportunity to reduce inequities in health.  This perspective defines health literacy as the wide range of skills, and competencies that people develop over their lifetimes to seek out, comprehend, evaluate, and use health information and concepts to make informed choices, reduce health risks, and increase quality of life. While various definitions vary in wording, they all fall within this conceptual framework.  Defining health literacy in that manner builds the foundation for a multi-dimensional model of health literacy built around four central domains:  The cited paper by Zarcadoolas et al. focussed on "the public discourse about terrorism and bioterrorism that dominated the mass media during the anthrax threat in the United States during 2001." A newer paper focusses on the COVID-19 pandemic.  There are several tests, which have verified reliability in the academic literature that can be administered in order to test one's health literacy. Some of these tests include the Medical Term Recognition Test (METER), which was developed in the United States (2 minute administration time) for the clinical setting. The METER includes many words from the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) test. The Short Assessment of Health Literacy in Spanish and English populations (SAHL-S&E) uses word recognition and multiple choice questions to test a person's comprehension. The CHC-Test measures Critical Health Competencies and consists of 72 items designed to test a person's understanding of medical concepts, literature searching, basic statistics, and design of experiments and samples.

Patient safety and outcomes.

According to an Institute of Medicine (2004) report, low health literacy negatively affects the treatment outcome and safety of care delivery. The lack of health literacy affects all segments of the population. However, it is disproportionate in certain demographic groups, such as the elderly, ethnic minorities, recent immigrants, individuals facing homelessness, and persons with low general literacy. These populations have a higher risk of hospitalization, longer hospital stays, are less likely to comply with treatment, are more likely to make errors with medication, and are more ill when they initially seek medical care. The mismatch between a clinician's communication of content and a patient's ability to understand that content can lead to medication errors and adverse medical outcomes. Health literacy skills are not only a problem in the general population. Health care professionals (doctors, nurses, public health workers) can also have poor health literacy skills, such as a reduced ability to clearly explain health issues to patients and the public. In addition to tailoring the content of what health professionals communicate to their patients, a well arranged layout, pertinent illustrations, and intuitive format of written materials can improve the usability of health care literature. This in turn can help in effective communication between healthcare providers and their patients.  Outcomes of low levels of health literacy also include relative expenditures on health services. Because individuals with low health literacy are more likely to have adverse health statuses, their use of health services is also increased. This trend is compounded by other risk factors of low health literacy, including poverty. Homelessness and housing insecurity can hinder good health and recovery in attempts to better health circumstances, causing the exacerbation of poor health conditions. In these cases, a variety of health services may be used repeatedly as health issues are prolonged. Thus overall expenditures on health services is greater among populations with low health literacy and poor health. These costs may be left to individuals and families to pay which may further burden health conditions, or the costs may be left to a variety of institutions which in turn has broader implications for government funding and health care systems.  A review of studies that focused on health literacy and its associated costs concluded that low levels of health literacy is responsible for 3-5% of healthcare cost—approximately $143 to 7,798 per individual within the healthcare system. For example, studies have shown that the increased prevalence of poor health and low health literacy has resulted in a greater use of emergency services by homeless individuals. A study conducted in San Francisco showed that “72% of the total cost of emergency services may be attributed to the top 13% of homeless users”. In this way, low health literacy produces financial outcomes as well as those of health.

Risk identification.

Identifying a patient as having low health literacy is essential for a healthcare professional to conform their health intervention in a way that the patient will understand. When patients with low health literacy receive care that is tailored to their more limited medical knowledge base, results have shown that health behaviors drastically improve. This has been seen with: correct medication use and dosage, utilizing health screenings, as well as increased exercise and smoking cessation. Effective visual aids have shown to help supplement the information communicated by the doctor in the office. In particular, easily readable brochures and videos have shown to be very effective. Healthcare professionals can use many methods to attain patients' health literacy. A multitude of tests used during research studies and three minute assessments commonly used in doctors offices are examples of the variety of tests healthcare professionals can use to better understand their patients' health literacy.  The American Medical Association showed that asking simple single item questions, such as "How confident are you in filling out medical forms by yourself?", is a very effective and direct way to understand from a patient's point of view how they feel about interacting with their healthcare provider and understanding their health condition.

Homelessness.

Individuals facing homelessness constitute a population that holds intersectional identities, is highly mobile, and is often out of the public eye. Thus the difficulty of conducting research on this group has resulted in little information regarding homelessness as a condition that has increased risk of low health literacy levels among individuals. Nonetheless, studies that do exist indicate that homeless individuals experience increased prevalence of low health literacy and poor health—both physical and mental—due to vulnerabilities brought on by the insecurity of basic needs among homeless individuals. The combination of poor health and homelessness has been found to increase the risk for further decline in health status and increased housing insecurity, all of which is highly affected—and in many cases perpetuated—by low levels of health literacy.

Intervention.

In order to be understood by patients with insufficient health literacy, health professionals must intervene to provide clear and concise information that can be more easily understood. Avoidance of medical jargon, illustrations of important concepts, and confirming information by a "teach back" method have shown to be effective tools to communicating essential health topics with health illiterate patients. A program called "Ask Me 3" is designed to bring public and physician attention to this issue, by letting patients know that they should ask three questions each time they talk to a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist:  There have also been large-scale efforts to improve health literacy. For example, a public information program by the US Department of Health and Human Services encourages patients to improve healthcare quality and avoid errors by asking questions about health conditions and treatment. Additionally, the IROHLA (Intervention Research on Health Literacy of the Ageing population) project, funded by the European Union (EU), seeks to develop evidence-based guidelines for policy and practice to improve health literacy of the ageing population in EU member states. The project has developed a framework and identified and validated interventions which together constitute a comprehensive approach of addressing health literacy needs of the elderly.

Health illiterate-related diabetes prevalence in Vietnamese-American populations.

Diabetes is a rapidly growing health problem among immigrants—affecting approximately 10 percent of Asian-Americans. It is the fifth-leading cause of death in Asian-Americans between the ages of 45 and 64. In addition, type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease. Those who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have high levels of blood glucose because the body does not effectively respond to insulin. It is a lifelong disease with no known cure. Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating, and costly social burden—costing healthcare systems about $100 billion annually.  Diabetes disproportionately affects underserved and ethnically diverse populations, such as Vietnamese-American communities. The relationship between the disease and health literacy level is in part because of an individual's ability to read English, evaluate blood glucose levels, and communicate with medical professionals. Other studies also suggest lack in knowledge of diabetes symptoms and complications. According to an observational cross-sectional study conducted, many Vietnamese-American diabetic patients show signs of poor blood glucose control and adherence due to inadequate self-management knowledge and experience. Diabetes health literacy research is needed to fully understand the burden of the chronic disease in Vietnamese-American communities, with respect to language and culture, health literacy, and immigrant status. Ethnic minority groups and immigrant communities have less knowledge of health promoting behavior, face considerable obstacles to health services, and experience poor communication with medical professionals. According to a recent review, studies have supported an independent relationship between literacy and knowledge of diabetes management and glucose control, but its impact on patients has not been sufficiently described. With the demand of chronic disease self-management (e.g., diabetic diet, glucose monitoring, etc.), a call for cultural-specific patient education is needed to achieve the control of diabetes and its adverse health outcomes in low- to middle-income Vietnamese-American immigrant communities.

Oral health literacy in school teachers of Mangalore, India.

The problem of low oral health literacy (OHL) is often neglected which may lead to poor oral health outcomes and under utilization of oral care services. A cross-sectional survey of school teachers working in schools at Mangalore, India was undertaken. Details regarding demographics, medical, and dental history, oral hygiene practices and habits, diet history, and decay promoting the potential of school teachers were obtained using face-to-face interview method. The Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry-99 (REALD-99) was used to assess their OHL.The OHL was high in the school teachers with the REALD-99 scores ranging from 45 to 95 with a mean score of 75.83 ± 9.94. Th This study found that there was a statistically significant difference between OHL and education, frequency of brushing and the filled teeth. Although this study indicated high OHL levels among school teachers in Mangalore, India the magnitude of dental caries in this population was also relatively high and very few had a healthy periodontium.

eHealth literacy.

eHealth literacy describes an individual's ability to search for, access, comprehend, and appraise desired health information from electronic sources and to then use such information to attempt to address a particular health problem. It has become an important topic of research due to the increasing use of the internet for health information seeking and health information distribution. Stellefson (2011) states, "8 out of 10 Internet users report that they have at least once looked online for health information, making it the third most popular Web activity next to checking email and using search engines in terms of activities that almost everybody has done." Though in recent years, individuals may have gained access to a multitude of health information via the Internet, access alone does not ensure that proper search skills and techniques are being used to find the most relevant online and electronic resources. As the line between a reputable medical source and an amateur opinion can often be blurred, the ability to differentiate between the two is important.  Health literacy requires a combination of several different literacy skills in order to facilitate eHealth promotion and care. Six core skills are delineated by an eHealth literacy model referred to as the Lily model. The Lily Model's six literacies are organized into two central types: analytic and context-specific. Analytic type literacies are those skills that can be applied to a broad range of sources, regardless of topic or content (i.e., skills that can also be applied to shopping or researching a term paper in addition to health) whereas context-specific skills are those that are contextualized within a specific problem domain (can solely be applied to health). The six literacies are listed below, the first three of the analytic type and the latter three of the context-specific:  According to Norman (2006), both analytical and context-specific literacy skills are "required to fully engage with electronic health resources." As the World Wide Web and technological innovations are more and more becoming a part of the healthcare environment, it is important for information technology to be properly utilized to promote health and deliver health care effectively. Furthermore, it was argued by Hayat Brainin & Neter (2017), that digital media fosters the creation of interpersonal ties, that can supplement eHealth literacy. According to Hayat Brainin & Neter (2017), individuals with low eHealth literacy who were able to recruit help when performing online activities demonstrated higher health outcomes compared to similar individuals who did not find help. Also relating to the proliferation of digital media is the fact that many individuals now can create their own ‘media content’ (user-generated content). This means that the boundary between “information” and “media” content, as proposed by Norman in 2006, now is increasingly blurred, creating additional challenges for health practitioners (Holmberg, 2016).  It has also been suggested that the move towards patient-centered care and the greater use of technology for self-care and self-management requires higher health literacy on the part of the patient. This has been noted in several research studies, for example among adolescent patients with obesity.

Improvement.

Incorporate information through the university level.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services created a National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy. One of the goals of the National Action Plan is to incorporate health and science information in childcare and education through the university level. The target is to educate people at an early stage; that way individuals are raised with health literacy and will have a better quality of life. The earlier an individual is exposed to health literacy skills the better for the person and the community.  Programs such as Head Start and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) have impacted our society, especially the low income population. Head Start provides low-income children and their families early childhood education, nutrition, and health screenings. Health literacy is integrated in the program for both children and parents through the education given to the individuals. WIC serves low-income pregnant women and new mothers by supplying them with food, health care referrals, and nutrition education. Programs like these help improve the health literacy of both the parent and the child, creating a more knowledgeable community with health education.  Although programs like Head Start and WIC have been working with the health literacy of a specific population, much more can be done with the education of children and young adults. Now, more and more adolescents are getting involved with their health care. It is crucial to educate these individuals in order for them to make informed decisions.  Many schools in the country incorporate a health class in their curriculum. These classes provided an excellent opportunity to facilitate and develop health literacy in today's children and adolescents. The skills of how to read food labels, the meaning of common medical terms, the structure of the human body, and education on the most prevalent diseases in the United States should be taught in both private and public schools. This way new generations will grow with health literacy and would hopefully make knowledgeable health decisions.

Framework and potential intervention points.

The National Library of Medicine defines health literacy as:  Based on this clinical definition, health literacy gives individuals the skills that they need to both understand and effectively communicate information and concerns. Bridging that gap between literacy skills and the ability of the individual in health contexts, the "Health Literacy Framework" highlights the health outcomes and costs associated with health contexts including cognitive abilities, social skills, emotional state, and physical conditions such as visual and auditory contributions.  "Potential Intervention Points" are illustrated in reflection of the "Health Literacy Framework." While these potential intervention points include interactions such as those of individuals and the education systems that they are engaged with, their health systems, and societal factors as they relate to health literacy, these points are not components of a causal model. The three potential intervention points are culture and society, the health system, and the education system. Health outcomes and costs are the products of the health literacy developed during diversity of exposure to these three potential intervention points.  Referring to shared ideas, meanings, and values that influence an individual's beliefs and attitudes, cultural and societal influences are a significant intervention point for health literacy development. As interactions with healthcare systems often first occur at the family level, deeply rooted beliefs and values can shape the significance of the experience. Included components that reflect the development of health literacy both culturally and societally are native language, socioeconomic status, gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as mass media exposure. These are pathways to understanding American life paralleling conquests for a health literate America.  The health system is an intervention point in the "Health Literacy Framework". For the purposes of this framework, health literacy refers to an individual's interaction with people performing health-related activities in settings such as hospitals, clinics, physician's offices, home health care, public health agencies, and insurers.  In the United States, the education system consists of K-12 curricula. In addition to this standard educational setting, adult education programs are also environments in which individuals can develop traditional literacy skills founded in comprehension and real-world application of knowledge via reading and writing. Tools for educational development provided by these systems impact an individual's capacity to obtain specific knowledge regarding health. Reflecting components of traditional literacy such as cultural and conceptual knowledge, oral literacy (listening and speaking,) print literacy (reading and writing,) and numeracy, education systems are also potential intervention points for health literacy development.

Development of a health literacy program.

A successful health literacy program will have many goals that all work together to improve health literacy. Many people assume these goals should communicate health information to the general public, however in order to be successful the goals should not only communicate with people but also take into account social and environmental factors that influence lifestyle choices. A good example of this is the movement to end smoking. When a health literacy program is put into place where only the negative side effects of smoking are told to the general public it is doomed to fail. However, when there is a larger program put in – one that includes strategies outlining how to quit smoking, raises tobacco prices, reduces access to tobacco by minors, and reflect social a social unacceptability of smoking – it will be much more effective.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests a National Action Plan to implement a comprehensive Health Literacy Program. They include 7 goals: These goals should be taken into account when implementing a health literacy program.  There are also goals for the outcomes of a Health Literacy Program.  "Health Related Goals"  In the creation of a program aimed to improve health literacy, it is also important to ensure that all parties involved in health contexts are on the same page. To do this, programs may choose to include the training of case managers, health advocates, and even doctors and nurses. Due to the common overestimations of health literacy levels of patients, the education of health literacy topics and training in the identification of low health literacy in patients may be able to create significant positive change in the understanding of health messages. The Health Belief Model has been used in the training of health professionals in order to share insight on the knowledge that it has been shown to most likely change health perceptions and behaviors of their patients. The use of the health belief model can provide basis for which patient health literacy may grow. The training of health workers may be seen as a “work around intervention” but is still a viable option and opportunity for mediating the negative outcomes of low health literacy. Effective health literacy programs are created with cultural competency, and individuals working within health institutions can support individuals with low health literacy by being culturally competent themselves.  In working to improve the health literacy of individuals, a multitude of approaches may be taken. Systematic reviews of studied interventions reveal that one works to improve health literacy in one patient may not work for another patient. In fact, some interventions were found to worse health literacy in individuals. Nonetheless, studies have illuminated general approaches that help individuals understand health messages. A review of 26 studies concluded that “intensive mixed-strategy interventions focusing on self-management” and “theory basis, pilot testing, emphasis on skill building, and delivery by a health professional” do aid in increasing levels of health literacy among patients. Another study revealed that programs aimed at targeting more than one behavior through increased health literacy are no less successful than programs with a single focus. The importance of dignity and respect is emphasized when creating programs for increasing health literacy of vulnerable individuals. In intervention programs created for homeless individuals in specific, it has been found that “successful intervention programs use aggressive outreach to bring comprehensive social and health services to sites where homeless people congregate and allow clients to set the limits and pace of engagement”. A social justice model is recommended for homeless individuals which is based on shared support of the community and their health literacy needs by those who provide services for this underserved group as well as the professionals who create and implement health literacy interventions.

Libraries.

Libraries have increasingly recognised that they can play a role in health literacy since the 2000s, influenced by the Medical Library Association. Library initiatives have included running education programs, fostering partnerships with health organisations, and using outreach efforts.

Health literacy is the ability to obtain, read, understand, and use healthcare information in order to make appropriate health decisions and follow instructions for treatment. There are multiple definitions of health literacy, in part, because health literacy involves both the context (or setting) in which health literacy demands are made (e.g., health care, media, internet or fitness facility) and the skills that people bring to that situation.

健康素养(Health literacy)也称为健康识读,是有能力获得医疗卫生资讯,并且阅读、理解,进而应用此资讯来进行健康相关的决定,也可以依照指示接受治疗。有许多有关健康素养的定义。


Name.

Magu's name compounds two common Chinese words: "ma" "cannabis; hemp" and "gu" "aunt; maid".  "Ma"—the modern Chinese character for which is, deriving from a Zhou Dynasty bronze script ideograph that shows drying in a —originally meant "hemp, "Cannabis sativa"". Cannabis has been continuously cultivated in China since Neolithic times ; for example, hemp cords were used to create the characteristic line designs on Yangshao culture pottery and the fibres were used to produce cloth prior to the introduction of cotton. "Ma" has extended meanings of "numbed; tingling" (e.g., ), "pockmarked; pitted" (), "sesame" (), and an uncommon Chinese surname.  "Gu" (, combining the "woman" radical and a "gu" "old" phonetic) is primarily used in female Chinese kinship terms for "father's sister" (e.g., "gugu" ), "husband's sister" ("dagu" "elder sister-in-law"), and "husband's mother" ("wenggu" "husband's parents"). "Gu" can also mean "young woman, maiden, maid" ("guniang" "girl; daughter; prostitute"), and religious titles ("daogu" "Daoist priestess", "nigu" "Buddhist nun").  Translating Magu into English is problematic, depending upon whether her name is interpreted as a "maid", "priestess", or "goddess" of "hemp", "marijuana", or something else. Victor H. Mair (1990) proposed that Chinese "wu" ( "shaman"), pronounced *"myag" in Old Chinese, was a loanword from Old Persian *"maguš" "magician; magi", which is hypothetically comparable with Magu.  Chinese Magu () is called Mago in Korean and Mako in Japanese. Mago () is a cosmogonic goddess in Korean creation myths. calls her "the Great Goddess" and proposes "Magoism, the archaic gynocentric cultural matrix of East Asia, which derives from the worship of Mago as creatress, progenitress, and sovereign." According to the Budoji, Korean mytho-history began with the "Era of Mago." Japanese Mako () is usually a literary reference to the Chinese story (below) about Magu's long fingernails, for instance, "Mako sōyō" ( "Magu scratches the itch") metaphorically means "things going like one imagined".

Cultic origins.

While Magu folktales are familiar in East Asia, the sociologist Wolfram Eberhard was the first Western scholar to analyze them. He categorized Magu under a cultural chain of Yao love songs and festivals. Based on references in Chinese texts, Eberhard proposed two centers for the Magu cult, in the present-day provinces of Jiangxi and Hubei. Evidence for an "original cultic center" near Nancheng () county in southwestern Jiangxi includes several place names, including two mountains. The famous Magu Shan ( "Magu Mountain") is located in Nancheng, and Taoists regard its Danxia Dong ( "Cinnabar Cloud Grotto"; see ) as the 28th of 36 sacred "dongtian" "Grotto-heavens, heaven-reaching grottos"). The famous Tang Dynasty Daoist calligrapher Yan Zhenqing visited Mt Magu and inscribed the "Magu Shan Xiantan Ji" ( "Record of the Mountain Platform where Magu Ascended to Immortality"). A second Magu Mountain is located in Jianchang county (, near Nanfeng ). Magu Wine () is made in Jianchang and nearby Linchuan. In addition, Magu is an alternate name for Huagu ( "flower maid") Mountain in Xuancheng county of Anhui. Evidence for a secondary area for the Magu cult in Hubei includes the Song dynasty temple near Hankou, along with the Magu Temple on Mount Heng. Several early folktales from Sichuan province associate Magu with caves and one describes a shaman who invoked her. Regarding the traditions that she was born in Jiangxi and became an immortal "xian" in Shandong, says, "This ascent to heaven, typical of Taoists, connects her with the immortal saints, and indeed she is regarded as a symbol of long life and rebirth, and therefore in the Chinese drama, appears a good omen during birthday celebrations."

Early descriptions.

Campany (2002:259-270) provides details of Magu mythology in his annotated translation of Ge Hong's "Shenxian zhuan" ( "Biographies of Divine immortals", ca. 317 CE). He compares four Chinese textual variations of Magu stories.  (1) The "Shenxian Zhuan" Daoist hagiography of Wang Yuan (, or Wang Fangping ) and Magu has the longest early descriptions of her. Wang was supposedly a Confucianist scholar who quit his official post during the reign (146-168 CE) of Emperor Huan of Han and went into the mountains to become a Daoist "xian". Later, while traveling in Wu (modern Zhejiang), Wang met Cai Jing, whose physiognomy indicated he was destined to become an immortal, and taught him the basic techniques. After Cai had been gone for "over a decade", he suddenly returned home, looking like a young man, announced that Lord Wang would visit on the "seventh day of the seventh month" (later associated with the Cowherd and Weaver Girl lovers' festival), and ordered preparations for a feast. After Wang and his celestial entourage arrived on the auspicious "double-seven" day, he invited Magu to join their celebration because "It has been a long time since you were in the human realm." She replied by invisible messenger. "Maid Ma bows and says: 'Without our realizing it, more than five hundred years have passed since our last meeting!'" After apologizing that she would be delayed owing to an appointment at Penglai Mountain (a legendary island in the Eastern Sea, where the elixir of immortality grows), Ma arrived four hours later. She appeared to be a handsome woman of eighteen or nineteen; her hair was done up, and several loose strands hung down to her waist. Her gown had a pattern of colors, but it was not woven; it shimmered, dazzling the eyes, and was indescribable – it was not of this world. She approached and bowed to Wang, who bade her rise. When they were both seated, they called for the travelling canteen. The servings were piled up on gold platters and in jade cups without limit. There were rare delicacies, many of them made from flowers and fruits, and their fragrance permeated the air inside [Cai's home] and out. When the meat was sliced and served, [in flavor] it resembled broiled "mo", and was announced as "kirin" meat. <br> Maid Ma declared: "Since I entered your service, I have seen the Eastern Sea turn to mulberry fields three times. As one proceeded across to Penglai, the water came only up to one's waist. I wonder whether it will turn to dry land once again." Wang answered with a sigh, "Oh, the sages all say that the Eastern Sea will once again become blowing dust." This "traveling canteen" is the "xingchu" (), an exotic banquet that "xian" transcendents have the ability to summon at will.  Magu legends frequently mention these mulberry fields in the East Sea. When Magu was introduced to the women in Cai's family, she transformed some rice into pearls as a trick to avoid the unclean influences of a recent childbirth. Then Wang presented Cai's family with a strong liquor from "the celestial kitchens", and warned that it was "unfit for drinking by ordinary people". Even after diluting the liquor with water, everyone became intoxicated and wanted more. Maid Ma's fingernails resembled bird claws. When Cai Jing noticed them, he thought to himself, "My back itches. Wouldn't it be great if I could get her to scratch my back with those nails?" Now, Wang Yuan knew what Cai was saying in his heart, so he ordered him bound and whipped, chiding, "Maid Ma is a divine personage. How dare you think that her nails could scratch your back!" The whip lashing Cai's back was the only thing visible; no one was seen wielding it. Wang added, "My whippings are not given without cause."  Some later versions of this legend say Ma was Wang's sister. The poet Li Bai immortalized two Classical Chinese expressions from this story. "Magu saobei" ( "Magu scratches [my] back") refers to her extraordinary fingernails. "Canghai sangtian" ( "blue ocean [turns to] mulberry fields") means "great changes over the course of time"; says early Daoists observed seashells in mountainous rocks and recognized the vast scale of geologic transformations.  (2) The "Lieyi zhuan" ( "Arrayed Marvels", late 2nd or early 3rd century), attributed to Cao Pi (187-226 CE) has three stories about Wang Fangping. The third gives a version of the incident of Cai Jing's inappropriate fantasy concerning Maid Ma and her luxuriant four-inch nails. Here, Cai Jing's home is located in Dongyang; he is not whipped but rather flung to the ground, his eyes running blood; and Maid Ma herself, identified as "a divine transcendent" ("shenxian"), is the one who reads his thoughts and does the punishing.  (3) The "Yiyuan" ( "Garden of Marvels", early 5th century), by Liu Jingshu (), records a story about Meigu ( "Plum Maid") or Magu, and suggests her cult originated during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE). During Qin times, there was a Temple to Maid Mei – or, as one version has it, Maid Ma – beside a lake. When alive, she had possessed arts of the Dao. She could walk on water in her shoes. Later she violated the laws of the Dao, and her husband, out of anger, murdered her and dumped her body in the lake. Following the current, it floated on the waves until it reached the [present site of] the temple. A subordinate shaman directed that she be encoffined but not immediately buried. Very soon a square, lacquered coffin appeared in the shrine hall. [From then on], at the end and beginning of each lunar month, people there could make out through the fog an indistinct figure, wearing shoes. Fishing and hunting were prohibited in the area of the temple, and violators would always become lost or drown. Shamans said that it was because the Maid had suffered a painful death and hates to see other beings cruelly killed.  Campany reads this legend to describe founding a temple, probably on Lake Gongting, and translates these "shaman" and "shrine" references in the future tense. Compare the present tense translation of who interprets her body floating to an existing temple.  (4) The "Qi Xie ji" (, 6th century) associates Magu with snakes. It describes her as a commoner from Fuyang, Zhejiang, rather than a Daoist transcendent, who loved raw meat hash. She captured a strange beast resembling a sea turtle and a serpent, and ate it with her companion Hua Ben ( "Flower Root"). When Ma started choking, Hua could see a snake flicking its tongue inside her mouth. She later enjoyed a meal at Hua's house, but upon learning that they had eaten snake meat, she vomited blood and died. Campany concludes: This story hints at an even older stratum of legend behind the Maid Ma cult: like other territorial gods known to Chinese religious history, she may have begun as a theriomorphic deity (perhaps snake-headed) who gradually metamorphosed into a human being and finally – the process culminating in Ge Hong's "Traditions" narrative – into a full-fledged transcendent. Seen in this light, several details of the "Traditions" hagiography might be read as betraying these chthonic origins. Among these are Maid Ma's long nails, the featuring of meat dishes among the fantastic foods served by the travelling canteen, and the scene describing the "summoning" of Maid Ma, which is reminiscent of shamanic invocations of deities to attend spirit-writing sessions.

Hemp goddess.

Hellmut Wilhelm's book review of Eberhard's original German book suggested that Magu was associated with cannabis. Eberhard dismissed this hypothesis in the English version. I have no indication that the goddess ever was a goddess of the hemp plant ("ma") as H. Wilhelm surmised ("Monumenta Serica" vol. 9, p. 213 note 9). She often wears aboriginal attire, a dress with a collar made of leaves, but not of hemp, which only sometimes has developed, according to a late fashion into a cape of cloth.  The historian and sinologist Joseph Needham connected myths about Magu "the Hemp Damsel" with early Daoist religious usages of cannabis. "Cannabis sativa" is described by the oldest Chinese pharmacopeia, the (ca. 100 CE) "Shennong Bencaojing" ("Shennong's Materia Medica Classic"). "The flowers when they burst (when the pollen is scattered) are called ["mafen"] or ["mabo"]. The best time for gathering is the 7th day of the 7th month. The seeds are gathered in the 9th month. The seeds which have entered the soil are injurious to man. It grows on Mount Tai."  The Shangqing School of Daoism provides a good example. Yang Xi (330-c. 386 CE) was "aided almost certainly by cannabis" in writing the Shangqing scriptures during nightly visitations by Daoist "immortals". Tao Hongjing (456-536 CE), who edited the official Shangqing canon, also recorded ("Mingyi bielu" "Supplementary Records of Famous Physicians", ), "Hemp-seeds (["mabo"] ) are very little used in medicine, but the magician-technicians (["shujia"] ) say that if one consumes them with ginseng it will give one preternatural knowledge of events in the future."  Needham concluded, Thus all in all there is much reason for thinking that the ancient Taoists experimented systematically with hallucinogenic smokes, using techniques which arose directly out of liturgical observance.... At all events the incense-burner remained the centre of changes and transformations associated with worship, sacrifice, ascending perfume of sweet savour, fire, combustion, disintegration, transformation, vision, communication with spiritual beings, and assurances of immortality. "Wai tan" and "nei tan" met around the incense-burner. Might one not indeed think of it as their point of origin?

Magu () is a legendary Taoist "xian" () associated with the elixir of life, and a symbolic protector of females in Chinese mythology. Stories in Chinese literature describe Magu as a beautiful young woman with long birdlike fingernails, while early myths associate her with caves. "Magu xian shou" () is a popular motif in Chinese art.

麻姑是中国古代神话传说中的长寿女神,也是下八洞神仙中的一柱得道女仙。然而她又是一位妇孺皆知的传奇人物。宋代封为「真寂冲应元君」,又改封为「虚寂冲应真人」,传说她因为被父亲麻秋关在牢里,不堪忍受,只好出逃,在一座桥上成仙。后人为了纪念她,就把那座桥称为麻桥。


Origin.

Three main factors are responsible for the heightened traffic load during the Chunyun season.  First, it is a long-held tradition for most Chinese people to reunite with their families during Chinese New Year. People return home from work or study to have reunion dinner with their families on New Year's Eve. Since the Chinese economic reforms of the late 1970s, new economic opportunities have emerged, often at a considerable distance from people's hometowns. Places such as the Special Economic Zones and the wealthy coastal regions offer employment and often, a more sought-after lifestyle. Consequently, there has been a massive migration from rural to urban areas over the course of the last few decades, reminiscent of other industrial revolutions around the world. The number of these migrant workers was estimated at 50 million at 1990 and unofficially estimated at 150 million to 200 million in 2000. During the Chunyun season, many of these laborers return to their home towns.  Second, Chinese education reforms have increased the number of university students, who often study outside of their hometown. The Spring Festival holiday period falls around the same time frame as their winter break. Among the 194 million railway passengers of the 2006 Chunyun period were 6.95 million university students.  Finally, because the Spring Festival Period is one of the week-long holiday periods in the People's Republic of China (the only other being National Day, Oct 1), many people choose to travel for pleasure around this time. Tourism in mainland China is reaching record levels, further adding to the pressure on the transportation system.  These factors exacerbate current problems with China's current inter-city transportation systems. The railway network is insufficient to handle the number of passengers, and does not reach enough places. The locations not serviced by rail must rely on buses for transportation, which faces problems such as inadequate equipment and road network.

Impact on transportation systems and related problems.

The most affected modes of transportation are inter-city surface passenger transportation systems, namely railway and road networks. Most Chinese middle-class citizens cannot readily afford air transport. International, urban and waterway transportation are slightly affected. Until 2007, due to the high demand, the prices of tickets are increased during the period. In 2007's Chunyun period (Feb 4-March 14), however, the government imposed strict regulations against inflated prices on railway tickets.  In 2012, the PRC government announced that national highways would be toll free for Golden Week, and as a result 86 million people traveled by road (13% increase compared to the previous year). The same year, 7.6 million people traveled via domestic airlines, and 60.9 million people traveled via railway.

Railways and buses.

The Ministry of Railways estimated that 340 million passengers would take trains during the 2009 Chunyun period. However, the average daily capacity of the Chinese railway system is 3.4 million. The shortage of railway resources led many passengers to pay double or even triple-priced tickets from scalpers or to wait in lines for up to a day at railway stations.  Because of the extremely long waiting period, many customers become frustrated. Inquiries by customers are not always answered correctly or at all; customers are not offered many options to begin with. The same problem is found with phone lines, which saves the anxiety of waiting in line, but are severely overloaded. In Shenzhen it is estimated that 23 days worth of tickets can be gone in a matter of 14 minutes if telephone was the only method employed. An internet system is present, but at times inadequate.  To fit demand, hundreds of "temporary trains" ("Linke") and hundreds of thousands of temporary buses are operated during this period, the number of ticket offices is increased and selling periods are extended to cope with the demand, with temporary booths springing up. Batch orders from schools and factories are organized to distribute tickets ahead of time. These measures, however, are generally inadequate and often tampered with. For example, during the 2005 Chunyun period, the ticket offices in Shenzhen had tens of telephone lines, and at times got millions of calls per hour. In the Guangzhou area, the number of calls reached 19.91 million per hour. Guangzhou Railway Group increased the number of telephone lines at their ticket offices to 8,000 in the 2006 Chunyun period.  Due to the basic nature of Chinese railway tickets and the loosely set limitations on the number of "standing tickets" (which is basically a pass to get on a crowded railway car), Scalpers ("piaofanzi" 票贩子 or "huangniu" 黄牛, lit. "yellow bull" in Chinese) profit greatly during the Chunyun season. Organizations of scalpers have emerged, and the scalpers inside the sometimes intricate network work collectively to make the most gain out of the tickets. They pick up tickets in great numbers minutes after they go on sale, and then deal them out in and around the railway station at inflated prices. A significant problem has also emerged with the illegal dealing of tickets through obsolete ticket modification or even printing outright fake tickets using computer technology. Measures have been put in place to prevent fake tickets, and the government has issued many warnings and begun various campaigns to crack down on the scalpers.  There is also a greater risk for theft and fraud during the Chunyun season. Passenger supervision and checks on luggage become stricter. The common belief in the safety of railway travel is undermined by the fact that many railway cars are severely overcrowded. Bus companies, in order to gain a bigger profit, overwork the bus drivers on irregular schedules, overloading people every round, causing a higher accident rate. Trains also face a problem with scheduling, as an overcrowded network cannot ensure the overall accuracy of train schedules, and some trains are habitually late hours at a time, cause unease and frustration with passengers. The government has taken to passing legislation to regulate late trains, and make a public notice and apology for late trains mandatory.  The passenger flow during the Chunyun season is usually imbalanced. Before the Spring Festival, passengers usually gather in developed coastal cities, railway interchange cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and basically flow from more developed urban areas to less developed rural areas. The passenger flow direction is reversed after the Spring Festival. In addition, passenger flow is very sensitive to disruption, such as bad weather. In 2007, round-trip train tickets became available for college students.  Severe snow storms in late January 2008 stranded many thousands of migrant workers as they attempted to get home. At one time over 100,000 people were at the main railway station in the southern city of Guangzhou. Around 1.3 million troops and reservists were drafted in around the country to clear blocked roads and rail lines to enable people to travel.

"Real name and ID" requirement for train tickets.

Despite initial opposition from the Chinese Ministry of Railways, train tickets were upgraded in late 2009 to accommodate QR codes on a ticket, thus enabling personal information to be stored. This would link the ticket with its legal purchaser, paving the way for a "real name and ID" requirement to be implemented. Such a policy went into effect on a trial basis beginning early 2010 (for the duration of the Chunyun period on all non high-speed trains). In 2011, the "real name and ID" requirement expanded to more cities in China, and was made permanent for the Wuhan-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway even after the Chunyun period. The requirement became mandatory for all CRH high speed trains with effect from June 1, 2011 and was expanded to nearly all passenger trains on January 1, 2012. It is now policy for station staff and rail police to check all riders against their document of identity and to deny boarding to those without a ticket or with no linked ID.  As a result, stations that see large passenger flow, such as the Beijing West railway station, are obliged to set up extra ticket inspection counters to allow only legal holders of train tickets to enter the waiting area or the station area at all, especially during the Spring Festival travel peak. The result has been a requirement for more passengers to arrive earlier at stations. It did not completely eradicate scalpers, but did reduce their activity significantly.

Air.

Air transportation is less affected as most travelers are workers who cannot afford air transport, but nevertheless the Chunyun impact is increasing. In 2008 roughly 28 million passengers used air transportation as their method of travel inside China. Xiamen Airlines, for example, added nearly 210 flights to its roster during the Chunyun season, with thirty flights especially placed to Hong Kong and Macau and another ten flights to international destinations in Southeast Asia and Korea. Cross-strait flights between Taiwan and mainland China were also permitted during this period before regular year-round flights were established. To prevent accidents in the air, the Chinese government has brought in very strict regulations on not overloading planes. The General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) estimates at least 36 million passengers will fly during the 2009 Chunyun period.

Taiwan.

In Taiwan, spring travel is also a major event.  The majority of transportation before the Lunar New Year in western Taiwan is southbound long distance travel, in which people travel from the urbanized north to their hometowns in the rural south. Transportation in eastern Taiwan and between Taiwan and outlying islands is somewhat less convenient. Cross-strait flights between Taiwan and mainland China began in 2003 as part of Three Links, mostly for "Taiwanese businessmen" to return to Taiwan for the New Year. After the New Year, there are many local family tours throughout the holidays. On the second and the third day, there is a second wave of medium-long distance travel when the families go to the hometowns of the wives. Near the end of the holidays there is a wave of northbound returning travels which is less concentrated than the southbound travels. In 2012, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, there were an estimated 3 million cars on the island's freeways, and on the 8th day (the Friday of the holiday week) there were "2.7 million vehicles, about 1.7 times the average daily traffic volume of about 1.6 million."

Chunyun (), also referred to as the Spring Festival travel season or the Chunyun period, is a period of travel in China with extremely high traffic load around the time of the Chinese New Year. The travel season in China usually begins 15 days before New Year's Day and lasts for around 40 days. In 2016 it was predicted that there would be 2.9 billion passenger journeys during that year's Chunyun season. It has been called the largest annual human migration in the world. Rail transport experiences the biggest challenge during the period, and several problems have emerged. This phenomenon is also seen in parts of East Asia such as Japan, Vietnam and South Korea.

春运,即“春节期间的交通运输”的简称,是中国大陆在农历春节前后发生的一种大规模的高交通运输压力及堵塞的现象,一般发生在春节节前15天及节后25天左右,在此期间,民众返乡和外出活动增加,全国旅客数量持续上升,探亲流、学生流、民工流、旅游流叠加,出现交通拥挤状况。中国中央电视台形容春运为“全球罕见的人口流动现象”,也被号称是「地表最大规模人口迁徙」。


Origins.

The verb "splain" has been in use for more than 200 years, originally as a colloquial pronunciation of the Late Middle English word "explain". It came increasingly to refer to condescending or verbose explanations. The term "mansplaining" was inspired by an essay, "Men Explain Things to Me: Facts Didn't Get in Their Way", written by Rebecca Solnit and published on TomDispatch.com on 13 April 2008. In the essay, Solnit told an anecdote about a man at a party who said he had heard she had written some books. She began to talk about her most recent, on Eadweard Muybridge, whereupon the man cut her off and asked if she had "heard about the very important Muybridge book that came out this year"—not considering that it might be (as, in fact, it was) Solnit's book. Solnit did not use the word "mansplaining" in the essay, but she described the phenomenon as "something every woman knows".  A month later the word appeared in a comment on the social network LiveJournal. It became popular among feminist bloggers before entering mainstream commentary. The word was included in 2010 by the "New York Times" as one of its words of the year, nominated in 2012 for the American Dialect Society's "most creative word of the year" honor, and added in 2014 to the online "Oxford Dictionaries".  Solnit later published "Men Explain Things to Me" (2014), a collection of seven essays on similar themes. Women, including professionals and experts, are routinely seen or treated as less credible than men, she wrote in the title essay, and their insights or even legal testimony are dismissed unless validated by a man. She argued that this was one symptom of a widespread phenomenon that "keeps women from speaking up and from being heard when they dare; that crushes young women into silence by indicating, the way harassment on the street does, that this is not their world. It trains us in self-doubt and self-limitation just as it exercises men's unsupported overconfidence."  In 2018, during a lecture at Moe's Books in Berkeley, California, Solnit said, “I’m falsely credited with coining the term ‘mansplaining’. It was a 2010 "New York Times" word of the year. I did not actually coin it. I was a bit ambivalent about the word because it seems a little bit more condemnatory of the male of the species than I ever wanted it to be.”

Usage.

Journalists have used the word to describe the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney; President Donald Trump; Governor of Texas Rick Perry; MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell; various characters on the HBO drama series "The Newsroom"; music executive Jimmy Iovine; Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull; actor Matt Damon; and consumer rights advocate Ralph Nader. In February 2016 the term sparked an argument between two members of a committee of the Australian Senate, when Labor senator Katy Gallagher told Communications Minister Mitch Fifield: "I love the mansplaining. I'm enjoying it."  In 2013 Dictionary.com said it was adding both "mansplain" and the suffix (libfix) "-splain" to its dictionary. Its announcement read in part: "In addition to being creative, this term, particularly the "-splaining" part, has proven to be incredibly robust and useful as a combining form in 2013." Dictionary.com noted that the meaning of "mansplain" had changed somewhat since 2009, from "intense and serious to casual and jocular", while older "-splain" words still have "heavy cultural and political connotations and are often added to the names of politicians".  Mansplaining has also engendered parallel constructions such as "womansplaining", "whitesplaining", "rightsplaining", and "Damonsplaining". In November 2017 Dr. Jennifer Gunter suggested in "The New York Times" that the collective noun "rash" be used for mansplainers, as in "a rash of mansplainers", partly because "[i]n medicine a rash can be a mild annoyance that goes away and never returns."

Criticism.

MPR News Staff disputed the usefulness of the term. Given its gender-specific nature and negative connotation, Lesley Kinzel described it as inherently biased, essentialist, dismissive, and a double standard. In a 2016 "Washington Post" article, Cathy Young wrote that it is just one of a number of terms using "man" as a derogatory prefix, and that this convention is part of a "current cycle of misandry". Meghan Daum, in a 2015 "Los Angeles Times" article, wrote that "To suggest that men are more qualified for the designation than women is not only sexist but almost as tone deaf as categorizing everything that a man says as mansplaining." In 2014 Solnit herself said she had doubts about it: "[I]t seems to me to go a little heavy on the idea that men are inherently flawed this way, rather than that some men explain things they shouldn't and don't hear things they should." As the word became more popular, several commentators complained that misappropriation had diluted its original meaning. Joshua Sealy-Harrington and Tom McLaughlin wrote in newspaper "The Globe and Mail" that the term has been used as an "ad hominem" to silence debate.

Mansplaining (a blend word of "man" and the informal form "splaining" of the gerund "explaining") is a pejorative term meaning "(of a man) to comment on or explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified manner". Author Rebecca Solnit ascribed the phenomenon to a combination of "overconfidence and cluelessness". Lily Rothman, of "The Atlantic," defined it as "explaining without regard to the fact that the explainee knows more than the explainer, often done by a man to a woman".

Mansplaining,是一个英语的复合词(或),由man(人或男人)与splaining(explaining,「解释」一词的动名词态)组合而成,经常带有贬义,意指「以居高临下的说教姿态向他人解释,且认定对方所知甚少(或不把对方的见解当一回事)」,有时又特指男人向女人解释她已知的事物。


Structure.

The bridge has 11 pillars and 12 spans with a total length of 1255.20 meter and a width 9.4 meters.

History.

The bridge was a conceived as a key infrastructure element for the Tianjin-Pukou Railway. On January 13, 1908 the Qing government signed the "Tianjin Pukou Railway Loan Agreement". Work on the railway was split between German and British companies. The Luokou Yellow River Railway Bridge was part of the German portion that ran from Tianjin to Hanzhuang in Shandong and had a length of 626 km. The site of the bridge was selected after careful exploration and was placed at a site where the course of the Yellow river was constrained by Que Hill to the north and an existing dam to the south.  The bridge was built by MAN (M.A.N.-Werk Gustavsburg bei Mainz), with the contract being signed on August 12, 1908 and the groundbreaking ceremony held on October 15 in the same year. Construction work began in July 1909 and was completed on November 16, 1912 when the official opening ceremony was held. The total construction cost for the bridge was 11.66 million German marks.  In 1928, during the Northern Expedition, the local warlord Zhang Zongchang, an ally of the Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin, tried to halt the Kuomintang forces by detonating explosives at the 8th pillar. The pillar was damaged over a length of 3.8 meters, but the bridge was repaired within eight months. In 1930, during the Central Plains War the bridge was again damaged by artillery fire exchanged between the troops of Chiang Kai-shek on one side and the troops of Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang on the other. The artillery shells damaged many steel beams. In 1931, the Jin-Pu Railway Administration repaired the bridge at a total cost of 26,700 yuan. In November 1937, the bridge was severely damaged again by explosives when the Kuomintang governor Han Fuju tried to halt the advance of the Japanese troops after evacuating his own forces south of the Yellow River. When the Japanese forces attacked the northern bridge head, more than 50 villagers that lived around Que Hill were killed (). In January 1938, the repair work on bridge was undertaken by a Japanese car company. The work lasted for six months, cost a total of 3.76 million yuan, and involved 4,000 tons of steel. The last time the bridge was damaged in fighting was in February 1949, during Chinese Civil War, when Kuomintang aircraft fired on the bridge and inflicted minor damage that was easily repaired.  The bridge was in danger again during the Yellow River flood of 1958, when Premier Zhou Enlai rushed to Jinan on August 6 to spur on the defense of the bridge. In 1959, a major overhaul of the bridge was undertaken. During the second half of the twentieth century the Beijing–Shanghai railway was gradually duplicated and options for duplication of the tracks at the Yellow River began to be considered in 1958. Although the bridge had originally been designed for two tracks, it was not considered structurally sound to support two tracks. A new bridge, the Caojiaquan Yellow River Bridge to carry the Beijing–Shanghai railway, was completed on 39 June 1976. On 21 April 1991, the bridge was closed for passenger trains, because of the dangers posed by silt that had built up around it. However, in the following year (1992) it was decided to build a new railway line between Jinan and Handan and to investigate further use of the Luokou Yellow River Railway Bridge. As a result, work on reinforcing the bridge began in 1998 and the bridge was again opened to traffic on May 31, 2000.

The Luokou Yellow River Railway Bridge () is a railway bridge across the Yellow River in Jinan, Shandong, China built in the early 20th century. The bridge represented a major engineering achievement that was unique in the region at the time. The bridge was of great strategic importance during the first half of the 20th century and was repeatedly damaged and repaired as a result.

济南泺口黄河铁路大桥位于山东省济南市,是原津浦铁路和现邯济铁路跨越黄河的大桥,始建于1909年4月,1912年10月竣工,由德国承建,是当时全国孔径最大的铁路桥梁。2013年被列为第七批全国重点文物保护单位。


History.

Nutanix was founded on September 23, 2009 by Dheeraj Pandey, Mohit Aron and Ajeet Singh. In early 2013 Aron left Nutanix to start Cohesity, a privately held enterprise storage company.  Venture capital firms invested $312.2 million over five rounds of funding in Nutanix. The company reached a $1 billion valuation by 2013, which made it known as a "unicorn startup". It raised $140 million in a Series E round of financing in 2014, valuing the company at approximately $2 billion.  Nutanix filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in December 2015, reporting a net loss in its fiscal year ending July 2015 of $126 million. It reported about 5340 employees as of Jul 2019. Updated registration statements were published several more times, including one on August 16, 2016, showing growing losses as well as revenue, along with positive cash flow from operations. Later in August 2016, Nutanix announced it had acquired PernixData.  The IPO on September 30, 2016, raised about $230 million after selling 14,87 million shares at a price of $16. This was the biggest IPO of 2016. Analysts expected Nutanix's public offering would be delayed.  In May 2017, Nutanix partnered with IBM to create a series of data center hardware using IBM Power Systems for business apps.  In March 2018, Nutanix announced the acquisition of Minjar, based in Bangalore.  On June 1 2019, Nutanix appointed Brian Stevens to its board of directors. In March 2020, Sohaib Abbasi joined the company's board of directors.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nutanix announced a furlough impacting about 1,500 employees in April 2020.

Operations.

Nutanix provides an enterprise cloud platform which combines storage, computing, and virtualization for clients. The company's software product families include Acropolis and Prism. In 2015, Nutanix was reported to have built a hypervisor in order to make managing computer infrastructure easier.  Nutanix is considered a leader in hyper-converged infrastructure. Nutanix's backers include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Blumberg Capital.  As of 2020, the company is working to shift to a subscription-based model for billings.

Nutanix, Inc. is a cloud computing company that sells hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) software, cloud services (such as Desktops as a service, Disaster Recovery as a service, and cloud monitoring), and software-defined storage.

路坦力(英语:Nutanix),是一家设计与销售超融合基础架构设备的资讯科技公司。


Early and personal life.

Sir Chen Chien-jen was born at his family home in Cishan, Kaohsiung County, in 1951, as one of eight children. His father, Chen Hsin-an, served as Kaohsiung County Magistrate from 1954 to 1957. Chen's mother Chen Wei Lien-chih managed a daycare. Chen is married to Lo Fong-ping, whose family is from Nanjing.  Chen Chien-jen is a devout Catholic. Chen and his wife were invited to visit the Vatican several times by Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. He has been invested as a Knight of the Equestrian of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (2010) and a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (2013). He served on the board of trustees of Fu Jen Catholic University.

Career as researcher.

Chen obtained a master's degree in public health from the National Taiwan University, and received his Sc.D in human genetics and epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University in 1977 and 1982, respectively. He began his medical career by researching hepatitis B, and helped raise awareness about vaccination for the disease in Taiwan. Chen further researched on the liver cancer risk of people with hepatitis B. Chen also discovered a link from arsenic to blackfoot disease. The arsenic research lead to the revision of international health standards for arsenic exposure. Between 2011 and November 2015, Chen was a vice president of Academia Sinica.

Political career.

Chen served as Minister of Health from 2003 to 2005. As health minister, he was praised for effectively managing the SARS epidemic through quarantine and screening procedures, despite Taiwan's non-membership in the World Health Organization complicating the coordination of research efforts. His successor Hou Sheng-mao credited Chen with reforming the National Health Insurance program. Chen led the National Science Council from 2006 to 2008.

Vice presidency.

On 16 November 2015, Chen was confirmed as the running mate for Tsai Ing-wen in the 2016 Taiwanese presidential election after media speculation earlier in the month. During the campaign, Chen became known by the nickname Brother Da-jen (大仁哥), after a character portrayed by Chen Bolin on the romantic drama "In Time with You". Chen is the first Catholic vice presidential nominee in Taiwan. On 16 January 2016, Tsai and Chen won the presidential election in a landslide. Chen took up his post as Vice President on 20 May 2016.  In March 2019, Chen announced that he would not seek a second term as vice president alongside Tsai. Chen received international attention for his role in leading Taiwan's response to the COVID-19 pandemic due to his unique position as both vice president and his epidemiologist background. Days before he stepped down from the vice presidency, Chen stated that he would return to the Academia Sinica as a research fellow and thus forgo the pension connected to his political office.

Chen Chien-jen (, born 6 June 1951) is a Taiwanese epidemiologist and politician. He joined the Chen Shui-bian presidential administration in 2003 as leader of the Department of Health, serving through 2005. He later headed the National Science Council between 2006 and 2008. Chen then served as a vice president of Academia Sinica from 2011 to 2015. Later that year, Chen joined Tsai Ing-wen on the Democratic Progressive Party presidential ticket. He served one term as Vice President of the Republic of China, from 2016 to 2020.

陈建仁,(,1951年-6月6日),台湾流行病学家及政治人物,前任中华民国副总统(第14任),同时担任国家年金改革委员会、总统府人权咨询委员会召集人。高雄旗山出身,父亲为中国国民党白派大老、前高雄县长陈新安。美国约翰·霍普金斯大学公卫博士,并为世界科学院院士、美国国家科学院外籍院士、中研院院士。婚后随妻子罗凤苹成为天主教徒,圣名「方济各」,并获圣座册封为圣大额我略教宗骑士团勋章爵士与耶路撒冷圣墓骑士。


Structure.

The AT and AT receptors share a sequence identity of ~30%, but have a similar affinity for angiotensin II, which is their main ligand.

Members.

AT.

The AT receptor is the best elucidated angiotensin receptor.

Location within the body.

The AT1 subtype is found in the heart, blood vessels, kidney, adrenal cortex, lung and circumventricular organs of brain, basal ganglia, brainstem and mediates the vasoconstrictor effects.

Mechanism.

The angiotensin receptor is activated by the vasoconstricting peptide angiotensin II. The activated receptor in turn couples to G and G and thus activates phospholipase C and increases the cytosolic Ca concentrations, which in turn triggers cellular responses such as stimulation of protein kinase C. Activated receptor also inhibits adenylate cyclase and activates various tyrosine kinases.

Effects.

Effects mediated by the AT receptor include vasoconstriction, aldosterone synthesis and secretion, increased vasopressin secretion, cardiac hypertrophy, augmentation of peripheral noradrenergic activity, vascular smooth muscle cells proliferation, decreased renal blood flow, renal renin inhibition, renal tubular sodium reuptake, modulation of central sympathetic nervous system activity, cardiac contractility, central osmocontrol and extracellular matrix formation.

AT.

AT receptors are more plentiful in the fetus and neonate. The AT receptor remains enigmatic and controversial – is probably involved in vascular growth. Effects mediated by the AT receptor are suggested to include inhibition of cell growth, fetal tissue development, modulation of extracellular matrix, neuronal regeneration, apoptosis, cellular differentiation, and maybe vasodilation and left ventricular hypertrophy. In humans the AT2 subtype is found in molecular layer of the cerebellum. In the mouse is found in the adrenal gland, amygdaloid nuclei and, in small numbers, in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and the locus coeruleus.

AT and AT.

Other poorly characterized subtypes include the AT and AT receptors. The AT receptor is activated by the angiotensin II metabolite angiotensin IV, and may play a role in regulation of the CNS extracellular matrix, as well as modulation of oxytocin release.

The angiotensin II receptors, (AGTR1) and (AGTR2), are a class of G protein-coupled receptors with angiotensin II as their ligands. They are important in the renin–angiotensin system: they are responsible for the signal transduction of the vasoconstricting stimulus of the main effector hormone, angiotensin II.

血管紧张素受体(英语:angiotensin receptors)是以血管紧张素作为配体的G蛋白偶联受体。它是肾素-血管紧张素系统的重要组成部分。


Early life and education.

Casandra Brené Brown was born in 1965 in San Antonio, Texas, where her parents, Charles Arthur Brown and Casandra Deanne Rogers, baptized her in the Episcopal church. When her family moved to New Orleans, they brought her up as a Catholic. She left the church for two decades and later returned to it with her husband, Steve Alley, and their two children. The family now lives in Houston. She completed a BSW at the University of Texas at Austin in 1995, followed by a MSW in 1996 and a PhD in social work at the University of Houston in 2002.

Career.

Brown has spent her research career as a professor at her alma mater, the University of Houston's Graduate College of Social Work. With research focused on the themes of authentic leadership and wholeheartedness in families, schools, and organizations, she has presented a 2012 TED talk and two 2010 TEDx talks. In March 2013, she talked with Oprah Winfrey on "Super Soul Sunday" about her book, "Daring Greatly". Brown says she drew the title of that book from a 1910 Theodore Roosevelt speech "Citizenship in a Republic", given at the Sorbonne. Brown is CEO of “The Daring Way,” a professional training and certification program on the topics of vulnerability, courage, shame, and empathy.

Honours and awards.

In 2009 "Houston Woman Magazine" voted Brown one of that city's most influential women. She has also received teaching awards, including the Graduate College of Social Work's Outstanding Faculty Award. In 2016 the Huffington Foundation pledged $2 million over four years to endow a research chair in her name at the Graduate College of Social Work, where she guides the training of social work students in grounded theory methodology and in her research into vulnerability, courage, shame, and empathy.

Casandra Brené Brown (born November 18, 1965) is a professor, lecturer, author, and podcast host. Brown holds the Brené Brown Endowed Chair at the University of Houston's Graduate College of Social Work and is a visiting professor in management at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

布芮尼‧布朗(英语:Casandra Brené Brown,1965年-11月18日),是休士顿大学社会工作研究院的研究教授,致力于研究人们的脆弱、勇气、价值感以及自卑感,并著述成书。


Background and personal life.

Torres graduated from Boise High School in 1996. He received a BS in Political Science from Boise State University in 2001. In 2004, he began to work with his brother at Torres Brothers, Attorneys at Law.  Torres has six children with his wife, the former Diann Mendiola Tudela: Ralph Anthony, Vaniqa Marie, Deon Titus, Tristan Dane, Divannie and Ryan. Torres is of Chamorro ancestry.

Political career.

Commonwealth Legislature.

In 2008, Torres won the election to the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives. In 2010, he won the election to the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, acting in a variety of roles. From 2010 to 2015 he was Chairman of the Health & Welfare Committee. In February 2013, he became the President of the Senate.

Lieutenant Governorship.

As half of the winning ticket in the 2014 gubernatorial election, Torres became Lieutenant Governor on January 12, 2015.

Governorship.

Upon the death of incumbent Governor Eloy Inos, Torres became the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands on December 29, 2015. In accordance with the constitution, the Senate president, Victor Hocog, became Lieutenant Governor.  Torres approved a bill, public law 19-42, that adds a $1,000 excise tax on pistol purchases, this is the highest tax on pistols sales in the US. However this excessive tax was later ruled as unconstitutional according to the United States Constitution and over turned by the United States District Court.  In February 2018, "Bloomberg Businessweek" reported that Torres and his family have received millions of dollars in payments from Hong Kong-based Imperial Pacific casino.  On November 7, 2019, the FBI executed a search and seizure warrant to raid Torres' office, home, and car as well as his brothers' law firm and various other businesses across Saipan for evidence of wire fraud, schemes to defraud, conspiracy, money laundering, and illegal campaign contributions.  In November 2019 the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives called for the impeachment of Torres amid an ongoing investigation by the FBI into his businesses.  Torres faced further impeachment backlash with growing evidence of the misuse of local funds that violated CNMI procurement laws

Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres (born August 6, 1979) is an American Republican politician from Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. He has served as the ninth Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands since the death of Governor Eloy Inos on December 29, 2015. He previously served as the tenth Lieutenant Governor, having been elected to that post in 2014.

拉尔夫·德莱昂·格雷罗·托雷斯(英语:Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres;1976年-8月6日),是一名北马里亚纳群岛政治人物。他在2014年北马里亚纳群岛总督选举当选为北马里亚纳群岛副总督。


High school career.

Born and raised in Spearville, Kansas, Cauley-Stein as a sophomore transferred to Olathe Northwest High School in Olathe, Kansas, where he played basketball and football. As a junior, he averaged 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.  Considered a four-star basketball recruit by Rivals.com, Cauley-Stein was listed as the No. 9 center and the No. 40 player in the nation in 2012.  Cauley-Stein was not eligible to play varsity football until his senior year, but he was convinced to play wide receiver when he did. In 2011, he helped his high school win a 7-on-7 football tournament at the University of Kansas and was offered a football scholarship on the spot. In his senior season, Cauley-Stein averaged 19.7 yards per catch while sometimes playing as cornerback. He finished with 64 catches for 1,265 yards and 15 touchdowns.

College career.

Freshman season.

Cauley-Stein started out his college career as a bench center, backing up top prospect Nerlens Noel. During his time as a back-up, Cauley-Stein ended up averaging 7.8 points on 63.9% field goal shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.0 assists, and 0.8 steals in 20 games of play.  Cauley-Stein earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice. Cauley-Stein's season-high came against Vanderbilt as he posted 20 points to go with 7 rebounds. In a couple weeks prior, he was a perfect 5–5 from the field against Auburn.  On February 12, 2013, in a game against the Florida Gators, Noel tore the ACL in his left knee after blocking a Florida lay-up, forcing him to sit out the remainder of the season. Cauley-Stein was given the starting center position due to Noel's season-ending injury. In Noel's absence, he recorded three double-doubles in six games including 10 points and 11 rebounds against Georgia and 13 points, 10 rebounds to go with four blocks at Arkansas.  After SEC play ended he was named to the All-SEC Freshman team. At the end of the season he averaged 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game after appearing in 29 games while making 14 starts.

Sophomore season.

During the 2013–14 season, he appeared in 37 games, making 18 starts while averaging 6.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. His tallied 106 blocks for the season is a total that ranks as the second-most in a single season in school history.  His terrific sophomore season led to him being named to the All-SEC Defensive Team. He recorded a career-high nine blocks twice during the season against Providence and Boise State. He really started coming into his own towards the end of the season. In the SEC Tournament, he recorded 10 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks vs. #1 Florida in the SEC Championship game.  Due to an injury to his leg suffered during the 2014 NCAA Tournament in a game against Louisville, Cauley-Stein missed the remainder of the season. He decided to return for his junior season due to his injury; he was a projected top-15 pick in the 2014 NBA draft prior to his injury.

Junior season.

In 2014–15, Cauley-Stein was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He was also selected to the All-SEC First Team, the All-SEC Defensive Team and the USA Today first team All-American Team.  On April 9, 2015, Cauley-Stein along with Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, and Karl-Anthony Towns all declared to enter their names into the NBA draft.

Professional career.

Sacramento Kings (2015–2019).

On June 25, 2015, Cauley-Stein was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. On July 16, he signed with the Kings. He made his debut for the Kings in their season opener on October 28, recording two points and two rebounds in a 111–104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He made his first career start two days later and recorded 17 points and nine rebounds in a 132–114 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Cauley-Stein missed most of December with a right index finger injury. On January 20, he recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a 112–93 win over the Lakers. On March 25, he scored a then career-high 26 points in a 116–94 win over the Phoenix Suns. At the season's end, he earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors.  On February 23, 2017, following the DeMarcus Cousins trade, Cauley-Stein was given extended minutes off the bench and came through with a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds to help the Kings defeat the Denver Nuggets 116–100.  On January 6, 2018, Cauley-Stein recorded a career-best seven steals in a 106–98 win over the Denver Nuggets.  On October 29, 2018, Cauley-Stein scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 123–113 win over the Miami Heat. On December 23, 2018, he had 22 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a 122–117 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.  On June 28, 2019, the Kings extended a qualifying offer to Cauley-Stein in order to make him a restricted free agent. The qualifying offer was later rescinded to make more cap space for the Kings to land Cory Joseph.

Golden State Warriors (2019–2020).

On July 8, 2019, Cauley-Stein signed with the Golden State Warriors. Cauley-Stein made his Warriors debut on October 10 against the Phoenix Suns, scoring 12 points on 5 of 5 shooting and 2 of 2 from the line, with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and three fouls in 12 minutes.

Dallas Mavericks (2020–present).

On January 25, 2020, Cauley-Stein was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for a 2020 second-round pick. He made his debut three days later in a 104–133 loss to the Phoenix Suns, recording four points and two rebounds in 12 minutes.

Personal life.

On May 1, 2015, Willie officially filed a name-change order with the Probate Division of the Fayette District Court to change his birth name. He did it to honor his mother, Marlene Stein, and his maternal grandparents Norma and Val Stein, who raised him after his father left him when he was four. He also added "Trill" as a middle name, a nickname given to him by friends.  Cauley-Stein's father, Willie Cauley, played college basketball at Dodge City Community College and for one season at the University of Pittsburgh. Willie Cauley met Cauley-Stein's mother, Marlene Stein, while she was playing college basketball for St. Mary of the Plains College.  Marelne Stein, Cauley-Stein's mother, was of Jewish descent.

Willie Trill Cauley-Stein (born Willie Durmond Cauley Jr. on August 18, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats. He previously played with the Sacramento Kings for four seasons before signing the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 offseason. In January 2020 he was traded to the Mavericks.

威利·考利-斯坦(英语:Willie Cauley-Stein,1993年-8月18日),美国篮球运动员,2015年NBA选秀被萨克拉门托国王于第一轮第六顺位选中,现效力于达拉斯独行侠。


Natural history.

"Thomomys" gophers are highly fossorial. They rely on their incisors for digging more than most other gophers. They feed on plants, largely from beneath the surface, but they do come above ground at night. Roots, stems, leaves, and bulbs are eaten. When not directly in an agricultural field they are a benefit to humans by enriching soil and preventing runoff.

Species.

Over one hundred subspecies have been described, but not all are currently recognized by modern authorities. Like many fossorial rodents, "Thomomys" shows a great deal of allopatric variation.

General characteristics.

"Thomomys", commonly referred to as smooth-toothed pocket gophers, is a group of rodents belonging to the family Geomyidae. Members of "Thomomys" are unique among gophers in that they have smooth upper incisors, free of the grooves that are common in other species. All species share the trait of fur-lined, external cheek pockets that allow them to move food material to and from their underground dwellings. Size varies among species, but commonly ranges from the size of a smaller mole to a larger rat. Coloration can range from yellow, to grey, to brown, and even black. They are all full-bodied with squat legs, short hair, and small eyes and ears.  Pocket gophers have special visual adaptations to match their extreme and unique subterranean lifestyle. Though the size of their eyes are typical for rodents, the lens is able to transmit light rays that fall into the ultraviolet range. They possess three different photopigments: two cone pigments specific to 367 nm and 505 nm, and a rod pigment at 495 nm. Overall, the pocket gophers have less rod density than nocturnal rodents.

Habitat.

Members of "Thomomys" inhabit southwestern Canada, the western United States, and a large percentage of Mexico. They thrive in fertile land often used for agriculture, but can be found in many different localities. They prefer areas with high primary productivity and nitrogen soil concentrations.

Diet.

They are fossorial herbivores that consume an extensive amount of food for their body size. This could be due to the fact that they expend copious amounts of energy excavating and maintaining their elaborate tunnel systems. It is estimated that burrowing uses 360-3400 times the amount of energy required for above-ground travel. They selectively consume underground parts of perennial and annual grasses, forbs, and woody plants. They are also known to forage above ground, usually close to their burrow entrances. They are choosy and prefer certain species and parts of plants, perhaps due to their high daily energy expenditure.

Behavior and environmental effects.

Tunneling and mounds.

"Thomomys" pocket gophers live underground and create extensive systems of tunnels through which they traverse. They move earth from below ground, and deposit it above ground in piles known as mounds. In snowy regions, they create tunnels through the snow known as earthcores. Earthcores and mounds together can cover up to 30% of the surface in highly excavated areas. The most prominent ecological effect would be that of their tunneling and mounds. The mounds are thought to increase ecological diversity of plants by providing a space for fugitive species that would otherwise have been eliminated due to competition over time. The flora of mounds differs noticeably from the surrounding areas, often with increased numbers of forbs and annuals. The actual mound soil differs in composition from that of the surrounding area as well, creating a different texture and water-holding potential. The ecological impact of this is still relatively unexplored.

Effects on agriculture and development.

These gophers are able to alter the mineral availability, organic molecule concentration, texture, and moisture content of soil. This can be either a benefit or a nuisance depending on the soil condition and usage. In arid or semi-arid environments, these changes enhance vegetation growth and soil quality. They are thought to be able to help generate and regenerate prairie lands that have degraded. However, they are commonly known as pests in areas of agriculture and development. They have and can cause a heavy loss to farmers by consuming the roots or underground crops themselves. Farmers try to control and limit their population in crop areas using a variety of means. In the wild however, their presence is encouraged and advantageous.

Control and eradication.

Many different methods have been used to try to eliminate overpopulation of pocket gophers. These include chemicals, propane blasting, and trapping. A park in Penn Valley, CA installed owl boxes to encourage the habitation of barn owls, a natural pocket gopher predator.  Recommendations released by the University of California, Davis suggest the use of a gopher probe to locate the main burrow. Then a shovel can be used to widen the opening to the main burrow and traps can be set at opposite directions within the burrow. A wide array of different traps can be used, including the choker-style box trap and the pincher trap. Baiting a trap is not always necessary, though it may afford quicker or better results. Lettuce and other vegetables can be used as the bait. It is best to cover the traps with canvas or dirt to conceal the light. If two days pass without success, it is advisable to move the traps. Toxic bait can also be used, but involves a different trap placement strategy.  Fumigation is usually unsuccessful because gophers can quickly seal off their burrows at the first whiff of fumes. The exception to this is fumigation with aluminum phosphide; however, this can only be used by a professional.  Gas explosives and flooding have commonly been utilized to force gophers from their burrows, and while sometimes successful, are not guaranteed to achieve full eradication.

The smooth-toothed pocket gophers, genus Thomomys, are so called because they are among the only pocket gophers without grooves on their incisors. They are also called the western pocket gophers because they are distributed in western North America. They are considered distinct enough from other pocket gophers to be recognized as a separate subfamily or tribe.

平齿囊鼠属(学名"Thomomys"),囓齿目囊鼠科的一属,与其他囊鼠不同,它们的门牙上没有凹槽。由于只分布于北美洲西部,所以也叫西囊鼠。平齿囊鼠属常被单独列为一个亚科。


Plot.

The introductory screens set the background of the film: during the Second World War, Estonia was occupied by Nazi Germany, who drafted most of the men into the German army, and then occupied by the Soviet Union, who considered soldiers of the German army criminals. Following the war, the Soviets incorporated Estonia into the USSR.  A young man, Endel Nelis, arrives in Haapsalu, Estonia (then part of the Soviet Union) in the early 1950s, having left Leningrad to escape the secret police. He finds work as a teacher and founds a sports club for his students, where he starts teaching them his great passion – fencing. Disapproving, the school's principal starts investigating Endel’s background. Meanwhile, Endel's friend (and coach) Aleksei warns him not to return to Leningrad under any circumstances.  Fencing becomes a form of self-expression for the children, and Endel becomes a role model and father figure. He learns to love the children, many of whom have been orphaned. When the children want to participate in a national fencing tournament in Leningrad, Endel must make a choice; risk everything to take the children to Leningrad or put his safety first and disappoint them.

Critical response.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 85% based on 52 reviews, and an average score of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, ""The Fencer"s inspirational coming-of-age arc is given added heft through sensitive direction, affecting performances, and a moving, fact-based story." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 60 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

The Fencer (, is a 2015 internationally co-produced drama film adapted from the life story of Endel Nelis, an accomplished Estonian fencer and coach. It was directed by Klaus Härö and written by Anna Heinämaa. Filming began in Estonia in late February 2014.

《击剑选手》(,是一部2015年芬兰和爱沙尼亚合拍的剧情片,芬兰导演克劳斯·哈洛执导、Anna Heinämaa编剧,讲述爱沙尼亚前击剑运动员、教练恩德尔·奈利斯的真实故事。2014年2月下旬在爱沙尼亚开拍,代表芬兰角逐第88届奥斯卡最佳外语片。获得第73届金球奖最佳外语片提名。


Career.

Kapás won Hungary's first ever gold medal at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in 200 m butterfly. Qualified for the final with the best time, she swam a personal best 2:08.72, finishing 1.4 seconds ahead of second placed Judit Ignacio. She won one more gold medal in 400 m freestyle and a silver medal in 200 m freestyle.  At the 2010 European Short Course Swimming Championships in Eindhoven Kapás won the silver medal in 800m freestyle, with a time of 8:18.56. The event was notable in that it was a heat-declared result (medals based on times from heats with no final swum), where Kapás won the heat for the top seeded swimmers by a comfortable margin; however, lost the event to Federica Pellegrini who had raced earlier in the'slower' heat.  She passed the Olympic A-standard in 800m freestyle and earned a quota for the Games at the first meeting of the 2011 Mare Nostrum series in early June. In July 2011 at the 2011 Swimming World Championships she set a new national record in the same distance with a time of 8:24.79, which was enough for the fifth place. In November Kapás suffered a rib injury, that forced her to miss both the 2011 European Short Course Swimming Championships and the United States–Europe swimming gala.  After returning from injury, Kapás won the 800m freestyle event of the 2012 European Aquatics Championships on home soil in Debrecen.  At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Kapás came third in the 800m freestyle behind Katie Ledecky and Jazz Carlin, thus getting the bronze medal. She set a new national record time for this event of 8:16:37.  At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships she won the gold medal in the 200m butterfly event.  In the 2019 ISL season she was in team London Roar and they got the second place in the first ISL final in history.

External links.

Boglárka Kapás (; born 22 April 1993) is a Hungarian competitive swimmer. She is the world champion (2019 Gwangju) in 200 m butterfly and a bronze Medalist at the Olympic Games (2016 Rio de Janeiro) in 800 m freestyle.

卡帕斯·博格拉尔卡(,1993年-4月22日)是一名擅长长距离自由泳的匈牙利女子运动员,她曾参加过2008年、2012年和2016年三届奥运会。参加2008年奥运会时,她年仅15岁,是当时匈牙利代表团年龄最小的运动员。


History.

LightInTheBox was founded in June 2007 by Quji (Alan) Guo, Xin (Kevin) Wen, Liang Zhang, Jun Liu and Chit Jeremy Chau. The company operated as Light In The Box Limited until March 2008, when it was restructured and incorporated as LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd., acting as the ultimate holding company.  The founders of LightInTheBox took the opportunity to build a company that would take advantage of China’s manufacturing and supply chain. On June 6, 2013, LightInTheBox opened for trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "LITB". In the three months leading up to June 30, 2013, LightInTheBox cleared $72.2 million in net revenue with 1.2 million customers served in the second quarter of 2013.

Products and services.

As of October 2013, LightInTheBox offers products in three core categories: apparel, small gadgets, and home and garden. As of March 31, 2013, LightInTheBox had more than 220,000 product listings, and added an average of 14,000 products each month in the preceding three months.  LightInTheBox uses global online marketing platforms such as Google and Facebook to reach consumers, accepts payments through major credit cards and electronic payment platforms such as PayPal, and delivers goods via major international couriers, including UPS, DHL and FedEx.

Financial results.

Net revenues in the second quarter of 2013 were $72.2 million, an increase of 52.6% from $47.3 million in the same quarter of 2012, primarily driven by an increase of 140.0% in total number of customers served in the second quarter of 2013, which increased to 1.2 million from 0.5 million. Net income for the second quarter of 2013 was $0.6 million, compared to a net loss of $1.4 million in the same quarter of 2012. Net income margin improved to 0.9% from a negative 2.9% in the prior year period.  Net revenues in the second quarter of 2013 increased by 52.6% to $72.2 million from $47.3 million in the same quarter of 2012. The increase was primarily driven by growth in the number of customers and total orders.

LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd. () is an international online retail company that claims to deliver products to consumers in over 200 countries and territories. It attracts the consumer by showing its lifestyle products through LightInTheBox.com, MiniInTheBox.com, and its other websites, which are available in 26 major languages as of October 2013.

兰亭集势(英语:LightInTheBox)是一家以技术驱动、大数据为贯穿点,整合供应链生态圈服务的在线B2C互联网跨境电子商务公司。