Planet could be 'unrecognizable' by 2050, experts say

A growing, more affluent population competing for ever scarcer resources could make for an "unrecognizable" world by 2050, researchers warned at a major US science conference Sunday.

The United Nations has predicted the global population will reach seven billion this year, and climb to nine billion by 2050, "with almost all of the growth occurring in poor countries, particularly Africa and South Asia," said John Bongaarts of the non-profit Population Council.

To feed all those mouths, "we will need to produce as much food in the next 40 years as we have in the last 8,000," said Jason Clay of the World Wildlife Fund at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

"By 2050 we will not have a planet left that is recognizable" if current trends continue, Clay said.

The swelling population will exacerbate problems, such as resource depletion, said John Casterline, director of the Initiative in Population Research at Ohio State University.

But incomes are also expected to rise over the next 40 years -- tripling globally and quintupling in developing nations -- and add more strain to global food supplies.

People tend to move up the food chain as their incomes rise, consuming more meat than they might have when they made less money, the experts said.

It takes around seven pounds (3.4 kilograms) of grain to produce a pound of meat, and around three to four pounds of grain to produce a pound of cheese or eggs, experts told AFP.

"More people, more money, more consumption, but the same planet," Clay told AFP, urging scientists and governments to start making changes now to how food is produced.

Population experts, meanwhile, called for more funding for family planning programs to help control the growth in the number of humans, especially in developing nations.

"For 20 years, there's been very little investment in family planning, but there's a return of interest now, partly because of the environmental factors like global warming and food prices," said Bongaarts.

"We want to minimize population growth, and the only viable way to do that is through more effective family planning," said Casterline.

Source: AFP

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Posted in: Science

Đề nghị dừng siêu dự án 250 tỷ USD

Lãnh đạo tỉnh Phú Yên vừa gửi văn bản đến Chính phủ, đề nghị cho phép dừng dự án đặc khu kinh tế có tổng vốn đầu tư 250 tỷ USD của tập đoàn Sama Dubai (Các tiểu vương quốc Ả Rập thống nhất) vì chậm triển khai.

Phó Bí thư Tỉnh ủy, Chủ tịch UBND tỉnh Phú Yên Phạm Đình Cự cho biết thông tin này vào hôm 24/2.

Theo ông Cự, cơ sở để tỉnh đề nghị Chính phủ cho dừng dự án là vì tập đoàn Sama Dubai chịu thiệt hại do suy thoái kinh tế nên

nhiều năm qua không triển khai dự án.

Đây được xem là siêu dự án, còn gọi là đặc khu kinh tế với tổng vốn đầu tư ban đầu là 250 tỷ USD (gấp 13 lần so với thu hút FDI của cả nước năm 2010) và khả năng được nâng lên gấp đôi. Quy mô lên đến 300.000 ha (3.000 km2), tương đương 60% diện tích toàn tỉnh Phú Yên, bao gồm hầu hết vùng đất khu vực phía Tây và phía Bắc tỉnh, thuộc địa bàn các huyện Tuy An, thị xã Sông Cầu, huyện Đồng Xuân và khu vực cao nguyên Vân Hòa huyện miền núi Sơn Hòa, giáp với tỉnh Bình Định. Trong khu vực này có rất nhiều danh lam thắng cảnh, di tích lịch sử, văn hóa cấp quốc gia.

(Gành Đá Dĩa, một thắng cảnh của Phú Yên, nơi tập đoàn Sama định đặt tổng hành dinh cho siêu dự án 250 tỷ USD. Ảnh: Khoa Thy)

Nếu được thực hiện thành công, đặc khu kinh tế này sẽ là một “siêu đô thị” vượt xa Hong Kong. Trong nội dung dự thảo ghi nhớ giữa tập đoàn Sama Dubai với tỉnh Phú Yên, soạn thảo sơ bộ ngày 25/6/2008, đặc khu có quyền tự quản lý ở mức độ cao đối với môi trường kinh doanh, thiết lập một hệ thống quản lý, pháp lý, tư pháp theo tiêu chuẩn quốc tế. Vùng đất thuộc đặc khu kinh tế được dựng hàng rào để ngăn cách với xung quanh; người Việt Nam không được đăng ký cư trú trong khu vực dự án…

Chủ đầu tư yêu cầu được thuê đất dự án trong 70 năm đầu tiên, sau đó ký tiếp hai lần nữa, mỗi giai đoạn là 70 năm. Tổng cộng 210 năm.

Bước đầu của dự án, UBND tỉnh Phú Yên đã trao giấy chứng nhận đầu tư 3 dự án con trong tổng thể dự án là Khu du lịch Gành Đá Dĩa (500 triệu USD), nâng cấp sân bay Tuy Hòa lên cấp 4C (300 triệu USD) và xây dựng tuyến đường cao tốc nối từ sân bay Tuy Hòa tới khu du lịch gành Đá Dĩa (150 triệu USD).

Đến nay, tập đoàn Sama Dubai chưa triển khai đầu tư gì đối với dự án này, ảnh hưởng rất lớn đến thu hút đấu tư, phát triển kinh tế tại khu vực này và cả tỉnh Phú Yên.

Thu hút FDI của Việt Nam cả năm 2010 đạt 18,6 tỷ USD, giảm 17% so với năm trước đó..

4 năm trước, Việt Nam cũng từng có một siêu dự án số vốn đăng ký hơn 30 tỷ USD. Khi cơ quan chức năng vào cuộc, dự án được kết luận không có khả năng triển khai.

Khoa Thy

Theo Vnexpress.net

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Posted in: Business

Central bank denies rumors about VND1 mln note

The State Bank of Vietnam Monday denied a rumor that a new VND1 million banknote would soon be released.

The rumor of the new bank note, spurred by fears of further inflation, appeared on a number of online forums, the bank said on its website.

Bank officials added that it had not developed a formal policy on the new bill and dismissed the rumors as groundless.

Currently, the largest denomination of Vietnam’s monetary system is the VND500,000 note, issued in 2003.

This is not the first time Vietnam has had such a rumor.

In December 2009, the country’s financial market was roiled by rumors that the central bank planned to issue VND1 million note. The bank promptly denied the rumors.

Inflation quickened to a two-year high in February. Prices rose 12.31 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 12.17 percent pace in January, according to figures released by the General Statistics Office in Hanoi on Wednesday.

Reported by T. Trung

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Posted in: Business

Vietnam PM approves plan for tighter policy to fight prices

Vietnam will restrain lending growth and narrow the budget deficit as Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung seeks to curb inflation and revive investor confidence in an economy that has devalued its currency four times in 15 months.

Dung cut the credit-growth target to below 20 percent from 23 percent for 2011, according to a resolution approved by the prime minister, which was presented by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung to government and central bank officials at a meeting in Hanoi on Thursday. He told ministries to narrow the budget deficit to less than 5 percent of gross domestic product this year and ordered a “cautious and tight” monetary policy.

The country’s benchmark stock index has slid 6.7 percent in the past year and Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings cut Vietnam’s sovereign-credit rating last year. Inflation accelerated to a two-year high of 12.31 percent this month, adding to signs of an overheating economy, and may be spurred further by higher electricity prices in March.

“The package of measures that the government just signed is still not strong enough and the main concern is that the general macroeconomy is still bad,” said Cao Thi Hong, vice general director of Hanoi-based Vietnam International Securities Co. “Local investors are losing confidence while foreign investors remained net sellers in the stock market recently.”

Rate increases

The central bank raised its refinancing rate by 2 percentage points to 11 percent last week, and boosted its reverse repurchase rate on February 22, joining neighbors from Thailand to China in tightening policy as inflation accelerates.

The economy showed signs of overheating in January, Ho Chi Minh City-based Viet Capital Securities said this month. The government expects economic growth this year of as much as 7.5 percent, up from a 6.8 percent pace in 2010.

The central bank devalued the dong on February 11 to curb the nation’s trade shortfall and narrow the gap between official and black-market exchange rates. The devaluations raise the risk of higher import costs, while a planned increase in power tariffs of about 15 percent next month may also spur prices.

“Concern about inflation is just one issue,” Pham Thanh Thai Linh, Hanoi-based head of market strategy at Bao Viet Securities Co., a unit of Vietnam’s biggest insurer, said by phone on Thursday. “The overall situation is monetary policy tightening, so the upside for stocks will be much less, while other investment channels, like gold or foreign-exchange, are more attractive.”

Gold trading

PM Dung’s resolution asked the central bank to slow the growth and proportion of lending in non-productive sectors, especially property and stock trading.

The central bank will “gradually” restrict and abolish trading of gold in non-jewelry form in the “free market,” according to the resolution. Dung will instruct ministries and provinces to reduce public spending by 10 percent for the next nine months.

State-owned companies will be ordered to focus their capital on their main businesses, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade will consider reducing and exempting import tax on raw materials for some industries, including garment, textile, footwear, seafood and medical sectors, according to the resolution.

The central bank will manage interest rates and money supply flexibly, the resolution showed.

Dung also urged state-owned companies to sell dollars to the central bank to help control the dong exchange rate.

“How can you hoard US dollars when we are in this difficult situation?” he said, referring to state-owned companies, in his closing remarks at the meeting with ministries in Hanoi.

Policy shift

“The announcement of the Prime Minister’s plan indicates a clear shift in policy stance from over-emphasis on growth towards stabilizing the economy,” Deepak Mishra, the World Bank’s lead economist in Vietnam, said in an e-mail on Thursday. “This augurs well for Vietnam’s economy as it shows a strong resolve on the part of the government to address the macroeconomic vulnerabilities that have plagued the country for some time.”

The measures, if implemented effectively, will help Vietnam to regain its macroeconomic stability “soon,” he said.

The government’s target to keep inflation at or below 7 percent this year will be difficult to meet, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Vietnam newspaper reported this week, citing Nguyen Tien Thoa, the head of price control at the Ministry of Finance.

Electricity prices will rise by an average 15.3 percent, starting March 1. Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance raised petroleum prices including gasoline, diesel and kerosene, effective from Thursday.

Source: Bloomberg

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Posted in: Society

Word of the Day for Friday, February 25, 2011

lexicography \lek-suh-KAH-gruh-fee\, noun:

1. The writing or compiling of dictionaries; the editing or making of dictionaries.
2. The principles and practices applied to writing dictionaries.

Dictionary of American Regional English, Volume I heroically preserves our rapidly disappearing folk expressions, and many of the rich, salty words and phrases found in its 904 pages could encourage a taste for lexicography.
-- Shirley Horner, review of "Dictionary of American Regional English", New York Times, December 8, 1985

Jim is a dictionary writer by trade, one of those sedentary wordsmiths who spend their lives in the library and retire with watery eyes and schoolteacher salaries--except he found a way to abandon lexicography and make a windfall fortune in the Internet economy.
-- Christopher McDougall, "The Secret of Vuleefore", Outside magazine, September 2000

The final arrangement of "set," achieved under the by then septuagenarian Murray, is perhaps lexicography's Eroica Symphony.
-- Hugh Kenner, "Ode on an OED" review of The Oxford English Dictionary, The Oxford English Dictionary,New York Times, April 16, 1989

I am not so lost in lexicography as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven.
-- Samuel Johnson, preface to his Dictionary of the English Language

Lexicography is derived from the Greek lexicon (biblion), a word- or phrase-book (from lexis, a phrase, a word) + graphein, to write. A lexicographer (thought to be formed on the pattern of geographer) is a compiler or writer of a dictionary -- as defined by Samuel Johnson in his own Dictionary of the English Language, "a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge."

(n)Lý thuyết và thực hành biên soạn tài liệu

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Posted in: Learning English

Moammar Gadhafi: The Making of a Libyan Strongman

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Moammar Gadhafi came to power in Libya on September first, nineteen sixty-nine. He led a military overthrow while King Idris was away. Early relations with the United States were generally good, says Bruce St John, the author of seven books on Libya.

BRUCE ST JOHN: “In the early years, he was very much focused on Arab nationalism, Arab unity, Arab socialism. And in fact, the United States government in the first two or three years -- maybe even until nineteen seventy-four -- there were people in the United States government who thought we could work with the man and work with his regime. It was only later that he began to employ terrorist-type techniques, not only in North Africa and the Middle East, but eventually throughout the world.”

Colonel Gadhafi distrusted his own generals, so over the years he built up special brigades. He built these forces with his sons and members of the military loyal to his native tribe and its allies. He also brought in foreign forces -- African mercenaries.

During the nineteen seventies, he tried to unite Libya with other Arab countries. Experts say that was also when he began to provide aid to what some governments considered terrorist organizations. These included the Irish Republican Army and the Abu Nidal Group.

AP
Moammar Gadhafi on national television Tuesday

Relations with the United States fell to an all-time low during the eighties when Ronald Reagan was president. He called Colonel Gadhafi "the mad dog of the Middle East."

Author Bruce St John points to two events from that time. In December of nineteen eighty-five, terrorists attacked the Rome and Vienna airports. And in April of nineteen eighty-six, a bomb exploded at a West Berlin discotheque popular with American troops. Two soldiers died.

BRUCE ST JOHN: “Gadhafi and his regime -- the evidence was somewhat murky -- but the United States government believed that they were involved in both of those instances. And it was particularly the La Belle discotheque incident that led the Reagan administration to take a decision to punish the Gadhafi regime and put it on notice that we no longer tolerate that kind of activity.”

American planes attacked targets in Benghazi and Tripoli. Many people were killed, including the adopted daughter of Colonel Gadhafi.

In nineteen eighty-eight, a bomb blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Two hundred seventy people died, including many Americans. Another bombing took place the following year on a French plane over Niger.

Libya refused to surrender suspects in the two bombings. Libya faced years of United Nations sanctions until it finally surrendered the two suspects in the Lockerbie bombing.

One of them, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, was found guilty. But Scotland released him in two thousand nine, saying he was dying of prostate cancer. He is still alive.

In two thousand three -- the year of the American-led invasion of Iraq -- Moammar Gadhafi became more cooperative with Western countries. He agreed to pay the final amount of money owed to families of the Lockerbie bombing victims. And he announced that Libya was ending its programs to make weapons of mass destruction.

The United States reopened diplomatic relations with Libya in two thousand six, but waited three more years to send an ambassador.

The uprising in Libya began last week in the east. Colonel Gadhafi, in a speech Monday, noted China's use of tanks against pro-democracy demonstrators in nineteen eighty-nine. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, died. In his words: "The unity of China was more important than those people on Tiananmen Square."

Reporting on the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has been limited in China. Workers put construction barriers around a site in Beijing where an online campaign has been urging weekly protests on Sunday afternoons.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. For more news, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

___

Contributing: Elizabeth Arrott, Stephanie Ho, Andre de Nesnera and Edward Yeranian
From: VOAnews.com

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Posted in: Learning English

This Year's Oscar Choices: From 'True Grit' to True Stories

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STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

BARBARA KLEIN: And I’m Barbara Klein. Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California. The awards are called Oscars. They are the American film industry’s top honors. This year’s awards ceremony will be held next Sunday.

Today we tell about the movies nominated for best picture. We also hear what some local moviegoers have to say about them.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: This year marks the eighty-third Academy Awards. Nominees and other members of the film industry will gather for the awards ceremony at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood on February twenty-seventh. About six thousand members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences vote for the winners by secret ballots. Oscars are given in twenty-five categories. They include best actors, directors, writers and producers among others.

BARBARA KLEIN: But the top award, best picture, is announced last. Last year the academy increased the number of best picture nominees from five to ten. The change was an attempt to increase interest and gain more television viewers for the Academy Awards show. It seems to have worked. Nearly forty-two million people watched last year’s television broadcast of the awards show. That was an increase of five million viewers from the year before.

This year Academy Awards producers are targeting younger audiences. Actress Anne Hathaway and actor James Franco will host the awards show. A new marketing campaign will include behind-the-scenes live streaming at Oscar.com before the show.

Viewers will see video from about thirty cameras capturing movie stars entering the theater on the famous red carpet as well as the control room and press room.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: This year’s best picture nominees include several films based on true stories about a king, a boxer, a website creator and a rock climber. There is also a psychological thriller about ballet and an animated children’s movie. The stars of most of these movies are also nominated for acting awards.

One of the most highly praised films of the year is “The King’s Speech.” This historical film tells the story of how Britain’s King George the Sixth overcame a speech problem in order to speak to his country during World War Two. It deals with friendship and the universal problems of loneliness and communication. The drama has earned twelve nominations, the most of any film this year.

BARBARA KLEIN: Another film based on a true story is “127 Hours.” The film documents the near-death experience of rock climber Aron Ralston. In two thousand three, the twenty-six-year-old became trapped in a canyon in Utah.

The climber, played by James Franco, spends one hundred twenty-seven hours trapped alone with little chance of survival. In order to break free, he cuts off his arm and escapes.

STEVE EMBER: “True Grit” is a movie based on the novel by Charles Portis. It was written and directed by Oscar-winning brothers Ethan and Joel Coen. It tells the story of a young girl trying to bring her father’s killer to justice. It is a remake of a nineteen sixty-nine western movie starring John Wayne. “True Grit” is nominated in ten categories.

(SOUND: "True Grit")

STEVE EMBER: The movie stars Jeff Bridges as the United States Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn. Newcomer actress Hailee Steinfeld plays Mattie Ross. She hires Cogburn to help her find the killer, Tom Chaney, played by Josh Brolin.

BARBARA KLEIN: The thriller “Black Swan” is another best picture nominee. It stars Natalie Portman who trained intensely to play the part of Nina Sayers, a ballerina with a New York ballet company. Nina struggles to perform the leading role in “Swan Lake” while dealing with a controlling mother, played by Barbara Hershey.

The film explores the competitive world of ballet that Nina lives in and that threatens to destroy her.

STEVE EMBER: Another best picture nominee is “The Social Network.” It received eight Academy Award nominations. This film is based on the story of the creation of the extremely popular Internet website Facebook.

Jesse Eisenberg plays Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. In two thousand three, Zuckerberg and his friends invented the website while students at Harvard University. The success of Facebook made him the youngest billionaire in history. However, some of his friends brought lawsuits in disputes over rights and ownership to the website.

(SOUND: "The Social Network")

BARBARA KLEIN: The best picture nominees includes one animated film, Pixar’s “Toy Story 3.” The children’s movie continues the story told in two earlier versions. A boy named Andy’s beloved toys are accidentally given to a daycare center when Andy goes off to college. At first, the toys enjoy the new attention from children. But they soon realize they are imprisoned by an evil teddy bear. They must work together to plan an escape.

Toy Story 3

STEVE EMBER: Also up for best picture is “Winter’s Bone.” This film was made on a very small budget. The main character, Ree Dolley, is a seventeen-year-old living in a poor rural area in southern Missouri.

She cares for her mentally ill mother and her younger brother and sister. Her father is a local drug dealer who has disappeared. Her family risks losing their home if her father does not show up for court. Ree sets out to find her father and discovers secrets about him. Ree is played by newcomer actress Jennifer Lawrence.

BARBARA KLEIN: “Inception” is a movie about dreams. It received eight nominations. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb who steals valuable information from people’s minds while they dream. His rare skill makes him a valuable corporate spy.

He has sacrificed everything for his work. Now he is being given a chance to get his life back if can complete one last job. This time, however, instead of stealing information, he must plant information in the mind of one man. He comes up with a plan for the inception using a series of dreams within dreams.

(SOUND: "Inception")

BARBARA KLEIN: Cobb must now face the question of what is reality and what is only a dream.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: Another best picture nominee is “The Fighter.” The story takes places in the nineteen eighties in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is based on the true story of boxer Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg, and his rise to become a junior welterweight champion.

Christian Bale plays Dickie Ecklund, Micky’s half-brother. Dickie’s boxing career was cut short by his addiction to drugs. So he spends his time training Micky with their mother Alice as manager. But Micky cannot win a fight. He decides to stand up to his family and quit boxing.

Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in "The Fighter"

(SOUND: "The Fighter")

STEVE EMBER: But then Micky gets one more chance in the ring, under one condition: his family has to stay out of his career. The movie is a story of family struggles and relationships between brothers as well as boxing.

BARBARA KLEIN: “The Kids Are All Right” is another movie about a family. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play a same sex couple with two teenage children. Their children decide to find their biological father. But the mothers worry that Paul is not a good influence for their children. Paul begins spending more and more time with the family and everyone’s lives are affected.

STEVE EMBER: We talked to movie goers recently at a theater near Washington to hear about their favorite movies of last year.

ERNA ATKINS: "I did see ‘The Fighter’ and ‘Social Network.’ I think ‘Social Network’ could win, the writing was amazing.”

STEVE EMBER: That was Erna Atkins, from Alexandria, Virginia. She said she liked the movies for different reasons.

ERNA ATKINS: “The wit of ‘The Social Network,’ and the bond of brotherhood in ‘The Fighter.’”

STEVE EMBER: We spoke with Barbara, from northern Virginia, who was leaving the theater after seeing “True Grit.”

BABARA KLEIN: "That was very good. We were just saying the young girl who starred should've had top billing. She was fabulous.”

STEVE EMBER: Michael Claros-Saenz is a member of the United States military stationed in Okinawa, Japan. He took his two younger brothers to the movies while visiting family in Virginia. Michael said he thinks ‘Toy Story 3’ could win best picture.

MICHAEL CLAROS-SAENZ: "It was a great way to end it. It made me really sad, because I was growing up with ‘Toy Story’ my whole life so just to see them being passed on was very touching."

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN: Our program was written and produced by Brianna Blake. I’m Barbara Klein.

STEVE EMBER: And I’m Steve Ember. Tell us about your favorite movie of last year. You can comment at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

Source: voanews.com

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Posted in: Learning English

Old Folk Remedy Revived: How Tansy May Be a Treatment for Herpes

ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2011) — For centuries, tansy has been used as a folk remedy, but now scientists from Britain and Spain believe the plant may have medical benefits after all, as a treatment for herpes. The team's findings, published in Phytotherapy Research, are the result of joint work between two teams to established scientific evidence for traditional medicines.

---

Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, is a flowering plant found across mainland Europe and Asia. From the Middle Ages onwards the plant, whose folk names include Golden Buttons and Mugwort, has been used as a remedy for various conditions, from fevers to rheumatism. However, it's supposed medical benefits have always been questioned.

"Our research focused on the anti-viral properties of tansy, especially the potential treatment it may represent for herpes," said lead author Professor Francisco Parra from the Universidad de Oviedo. "We currently lack an effective vaccine for either HSV-1 or HSV-2 stands of the disease, which can cause long term infections."

Professor Parra's team which specialises in investigating new antiviral compounds, both through design or by screening natural plant extracts, began joint work on the properties of tansy with the research group led by Dr Solomon Habtemariam from the University of Greenwich, which studies European medicinal plants to establish the scientific evidence for traditional medicines.

Through a mechanistic-based antiherpetic activity study, the teams revealed which constituents of the plant are responsible for antiviral activity.

"Our study revealed that parthenolide is not one of the major anti HSV-1 principles of tansy, as has been suggested. However we found that tansy does contains known antiviral agents including 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (3,5-DCQA) as well as axillarin, which contributes to its antiherpetic effect," said Parra. "This shows that multiple properties of the plant are responsible for the supposed antiviral activity of tansy."

The joint study used an established anti-HSV study model on both crude extracts of the aerial parts and roots of tansy, as well as some purified compounds to analyse the plants anti-viral activity.

"Although the precise molecular targets for tansy extract require further research this study reveals the clear potential of tansy to treat the dermatological lesions caused by HSV, concluded Parra. "This shows that systematic pharmacological and phytochemical studies such as this can play pivotal roles in the modernisation of European traditional herbal medicines.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Wiley - Blackwell, via AlphaGalileo.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Ángel L. Álvarez, Solomon Habtemariam, Malindra Juan-Badaturuge, Caroline Jackson, Francisco Parra. In vitro anti HSV-1 and HSV-2 activity of Tanacetum vulgare extracts and isolated compounds: An approach to their mechanisms of action. Phytotherapy Research, 2010; DOI: 10.1002/ptr.3382

Source: sciencedaily

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Posted in: Science

Gucci and Richmond: modern dandy meets party girl

©AFP / Christophe Simon

Models display creations as part of Gucci Fall-Winter 2011-2012 ready-to-wear collection during the Women's fashion week in Milan.

Models for Gucci

MILAN (AFP) - Gucci's brightly-coloured birds of prey stalked down the catwalk Wednesday as Milan's Fashion Week got into full swing.

Emerald green and teal feathers adorned violet hats worn rakishly over 1970s-style fur stoles in Gucci designer Frida Giannini's autumn-winter creations.

The look was accompanied by full-sleeved dresses pulled in with a sliver of a belt at the waist or flared trousers.

"The collection captures a contemporary female dandy who fuses glamour and seduction," Giannini told buyurs and guests.

"She is a polished woman with a decisive personality, who is attentive to detail and willing to dare."

Pant-skirts and silk culottes were matched with diaphanous blouses with v-necklines plunged to the waist. Simple, sleek black and white graphic prints were topped with magnificent stoles of fox, mink and goat hair.

As the show came to a crescendo, flares and fur were swapped for abstract floral sculptures, rust-coloured organza petals in chiffon that spilled over shoulders and down to veil dresses beneath.

Earlier in the day, Roccobarocco's show had aimed to wed nostalgia with optimism for the future.

Frida Giannini

Closely fitting, sober black-and-white checkered dresses with wide shoulders were glamorised with large silver bows, sweeping trains and lace cuffs.

The models strode down the runway to The Killer's "Mr Brightside" on the soundtrack, the soles of their high-heeled shoes painted in startling greens and reds, decorated with studs.

The Neapolitan designer splashed out on silver satin chic, toning down fur-collared jackets and sleek blouses with ripped black jeans, to the delight of the younger crowd, some of whom had managed to sneak in univited.

John Richmond stuck to his classic rock style, entertaining an excitable crowd with models who sauntered down the mirrored runway in leather, denim and back-combed hair.

There was a touch of the 70s again, with copper-coloured suits with flared trousers. The British designer also went for fur, setting off military jackets with short fur sleeves or large fur ear muffs.

One of the starring pieces was a midnight blue full-length dress with painted fabric reminiscent of Caravaggio's "Fruit Bowl".

"I had fun with this collection, it's really vamp. I wanted it to be all about women who enjoying partying," designer John Richmond told AFP.

A model for John Richmond

"It's not about getting blind drunk, it's about the intelligent woman who enjoys dressing up, having her make-up done and going out and having a great time," he said backstage after the show, champagne in hand.

His enthusiasm was echoed in Alberta Ferretti's collection, which she said was inspired by the "dynamic woman of the future".

Ferretti's exquisitely tailored designs had a 1960s touch, with wide tunics in blocks of orange, emerald green, teal and fuschia lifted by glittering sequin details on the lapel or cuff.

Her eveningwear collection starred a sleeveless satin all-in-one with flared trousers, a full-length bronze dress with bow at the back, and coral and light blue translucent dresses that seemed to float.

"I feel a positive energy. There may be some nostalgic touches in my collection, but it's important to be looking to the future, making something for today's women, who live a demanding world," she said.

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Posted in: Experimental Society

Bruce Lee - Be Like Water

Notes:
Bruce Lee (Lý Tiểu Long) is explaining an important concept of Taoism: If you resist life, life will crash you because life is always bigger than you. But if you flow with life you will always find a way through it. You will always go over the obstacles, like a river going through hills and mountains. Below is the beginning of this conversation:

"Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves."

This is what it is, ok? I said: Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. Now, you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

This is what it is, ok?

I said: Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. Now, you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

1. empty /ˈempti/ (v) to remove everything that is in a container, etc: đổ, trút hết, bỏ hết, không nghĩ tới nữa (nghĩa bóng)

• I emptied my mind of all thoughts of you. Tôi không còn nghĩ tới em nữa.
• to empty my heart: trút bỏ nỗi niềm của mình
• to empty your head = to empty your mind ~ to forget your worries: bỏ hết ưu phiền ~ to stop thinking
• to empty (out) the rubbish bin: đổ thùng rác

2. flow /fləʊ/ (v) to move like a river, smoothly and going round obstacles instead of crashing into them: chảy, trôi chảy, tuôn chảy

• to flow into the sea: đổ / chảy ra biển
• Her tears flows freely. Nước mắt cô ta cứ tuôn trào.

Usage notes:

• ADV. easily, freely, smoothly We talked, and the conversation flowed freely. Wine and beer flowed freely. | fast, swiftly The river flows quite fast here. | slowly | naturally In a good production of the play, the action and the words flow naturally. | directly Some of these changes will flow directly from the legislation. | constantly, continuously | away, back, in, out, past
  

• VERB + FLOW seem to | begin to, start to | continue to Imported food aid continued to flow in.
  

• PREP. across, along, between, down a small stream that flowed down the hillside | from Blood was still flowing from the wound. | into One day seemed to flow into the next. | out of, over, through Information flows continuously through the network. | to to get blood flowing to the brain

Lời dẫn:
Lý Tiểu Long đang giải thích một khái niệm quan trọng của Đạo Lão: Nếu bạn chống lại cuộc sống, cuộc sống sẽ tấn công lại bạn bởi vì so với cuộc sống, bạn luôn luôn bé nhỏ. Nhưng nếu bạn hòa nhịp với cuộc sống, bạn sẽ luôn tìm được một lối đi. Bạn sẽ luôn vượt được những chướng ngại, giống như dòng sông chảy xuyên những dốc đồi, ngọn núi. Dưới đây là phần mở đầu của cuộc luận đàm này, không có trong đoạn video:

“Hãy giống như nước tạo cho nó con đường xuyên qua những khe nhỏ hay ngóc ngách. Đừng cứ muốn cái gì cũng theo ý mình, hãy thích nghi với hoàn cảnh, rồi bạn sẽ chinh phục được nó thôi, trực tiếp hay gián tiếp. Nếu bản ngã của bạn thông suốt thì thế giới bên ngoài sẽ tự phơi bày chúng.”

Khái niệm đó là vậy. Được chứ?

Thế này nhé: Hãy làm đầu óc bạn trống rỗng, trở nên vô định hình. Không có hình dạng xác định, giống như nước vậy. Giờ, bạn rót nước vào một chiếc cốc, nước trở thành chiếc cốc. Bạn rót nước vào cái chai, nước trở thành cái chai. Bạn rót nước vào bình trà, nước trở thành bình trà. Đấy! Nước có thể chảy hay những vật đó có thể vỡ. Hãy là nước nhé, bạn của tôi!

Bruce Lee - Be Like Water
Edited by Natasha Alexander - Banh Thi Uyen Uyen Thursday, Jan 13, 2011
1. According to Bruce Lee, a mind like water is a beautiful thing and a grounded mode of existence. A. True B. False 2. Our mind should be like a teapot or a bottle depending on the moments of our life, and our thoughts and attitudes should be like the element water, formless itself and taking the form of the container A. True B. False
Check Answer

Edited by Natasha Alexander - Banh Thi Uyen Uyen

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Posted in: Learning English

Obama sends U.S. disaster response team to New Zealand

By the CNN Wire Staff

New Zealand has the "enduring friendship and support of many partners around the world," President Obama says.

Washington (CNN) -- The United States is sending a disaster assistance group that includes an urban search-and-rescue team to New Zealand to help recovery efforts after the Christchurch earthquake, President Barack Obama announced Tuesday.

In a White House statement, Obama offered "our deepest condolences" to the people of New Zealand and the families and friends of earthquake victims.

"To assist in the rescue and recovery efforts, we have agreed to deploy a U.S. Agency for International Development Disaster Assistance Response Team, including an Urban Search and Rescue Team, and we stand ready to provide more assistance as needed," the statement said.

"As our New Zealand friends move forward, may they find some comfort and strength in knowing that they will have the enduring friendship and support of many partners around the world, including the United States," it concluded.

Christchurch, one of New Zealand's largest cities, lay in ruins after the powerful earthquake Tuesday killed at least 65 people, toppled buildings and left scores trapped beneath chunks of concrete. The 6.3-magnitude quake struck Christchurch during the lunchtime rush.

"Significant numbers of people" were trapped inside two downtown buildings that "suffered major collapse," police said Wednesday.

source: cnn.com

Bài dịch

Tổng thống Obama gửi đội cứu hộ thiên tai tới New Zealand

Tổng thống Mỹ Obama nói: New zealan có được tình hữu nghị bền vững và sự hỗ trợ của nhiều đối tác khắp thế giới.

Theo CNN, Tổng thống Mỹ Obama thong báo hôm thứ ba rằng: Mỹ sẽ gửi nhóm trợ giúp thiên tai gồm đội cứu hộ và tìm kiếm đô thị tới New Zealand để trợ giúp những lỗ lực phục hồi sau trận động đất ở thành phố Christchurch.

Trong cuộc phát biểu ở nhà Trắng, ông Obama gửi lời chia buồn sâu sắc nhất tới người dân New Zealand và tới gia đình cũng như bạn bè của những nạn nhân

Người phát ngôn nói: “Để giúp đỡ trong lỗ lực phục hồi và cứu hộ, chúng tôi đồng ý triển khai một cơ quan Mỹ của nhóm đáp ứng trợ giúp thiên tai phát triển quốc tế, bao gồm nhóm cứu hộ tìm kiếm đô thị và chúng tôi sẵn sàng hỗ trợ nhiều giúp đỡ nữa nếu cần”

“Khi người bạn New Zealand tiến về phía trước, có thể họ thấy an ủi và sức mạnh trong việc nhận biết rằng họ sẽ có tình bạn lâu dài và sự hỗ trợ của nhiều đối tác trên thế giới, trong đó có Hoa kỳ ”

Christchurch, là một trong những thành phố lớn nhất của New Zealand, nằm trong đống đổ nát sau trận động đất mạnh hôm thứ ba đã làm chết ít nhất 65 người, những tòa nhà bị lật đổ và số còn lại bị mắc kẹt dưới đống bê tông. Trận động đất 6.3 độ Richter xảy ra ở Christchurch vào giờ ăn trưa.

Cảnh sát cho biết: “Số lượng người đáng kể bị mắc kẹt bên trong hai tòa nhà mà bị sụp đổ lớn ở trung tâm thành phố “

Người dịch: Trung Kiên

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Posted in: Learning English