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Here's the news. A team of researchers from China and Singapore has designed an implantable miniaturized sensor capable of conducting wireless ultrasonic monitoring of signals within the human skull.
In the clinical monitoring of physiological indicators like intracranial pressure, the use of conventional wired sensors demands surgical implantation.
Additionally, the wireless sensors currently available are relatively large, requiring minimally invasive surgery.
The researchers from Hua Zhong University of Science and Technology and Nanyang Technological University, developed a hydrogel cube sensor, measuring just 2 millimeters in size, which can be implanted into the intracranial space using a puncture needle.
According to the study in the journal Nature, upon injection, the hydrogel deforms in response to physiological environmental changes which results in shifts of the peak frequency of the reflected ultrasound waves.
These shifts can be non -invasively measured wirelessly by an external ultrasound probe.
The sensor is capable of independently measuring intracranial pressure, temperature, pH and flow rate, with a detection depth reaching up to 10 centimeters.
The hydrogel maintains its stability for a period of 3 to 4 weeks, subsequently starting starting to degrade around the fifth week, and is nearly completely decomposed within 18 weeks, causing no systemic immune responses in rats.
Zhang Jianfeng, one of the corresponding authors of the paper, said that the ultrasonic sensing technology is versatile and can be adapted for use beyond the brain.
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A scorching heatwave gripping China has triggered a surge in ice cream consumption, with budget -friendly options taking center stage.
The early arrival of summer has brought sweltering temperatures with some provincial -level regions – such as Shandong, Hebei and Xinjiang seeing highs of 40 degrees Celsius recently.
A salesperson surnamed Zhang said that ice cream sales has definitely spiked with the rising mercury.
Zhang works at a Beijing ice cream vendor that is selling around 2 ,000 ice creams a day.
He attributed the shop's success to a high -volume, low -margin strategy.
The shop doesn't have minimum purchase requirements.
brands. Even single units are sold at the wholesale price.
It's an approach that has found favor among a price -conscious clientele.
Zhang said that young people prioritize taste and quality, but only to a certain extent, with ice creams costing more than twenty yuan rarely being bought.
Ice creams costing as much as fifty yuan were more common in the past, leading to the coining of the term ice cream assassin in 2022, referring to ice cream with plain packaging and whopping prices.
The sales of many expensive brands have declined, with ice cream from high -end brand Chise Cream, game, known as Zhongxue Gao in Chinese, no longer stocked in most offline stores, according to a livestream sales session by the brand.
Deliveries of online purchases are limited to parts of provincial level regions, including Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong.
Its sales revenue in 2021 was more than 1 billion yuan.
Li Hong, a Beijing doctoral student, recalled that she succumbed to the allure of trendy expensive options, sometimes costing more than 50 yuan during her undergraduate and master's studies.
Lee said that initially, it was curiosity but later she felt embarrassed to return the products after realizing the price.
Li said that she now prioritizes affordability and always checks prices beforehand.
Zhou Kang, an assistant professor from the School of Economics at Zhejiang University, attributes the declining fortunes of ice cream assassins to growing consumer awareness, saying that consumers are savvier now and less willing to pay inflated prices.
data from online retailer Daojia .jd .com shows that in the first four months of last year ice creams priced under 10 Yuan accounted for 60 % of sales revenue value, and 70 percent of sales volume.
To stay competitive, Joe advises ice cream brands to focus on quality, prioritize food safety, offer fair pricing, and diversify product lines.
He also anticipates a rise in health -conscious ice -cream options, saying that the future likely lies in functional ingredients, like plant -based, high protein, and natural components that cater to consumers' growing focus on well -being.
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Having graduated from Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in 2008 and gaining work experience elsewhere, Hao Xiyuan never lost his passion for ceramics.
Hao, also a founder of a workshop focused on educational tourism, noted that he wanted to go a step further and help more people appreciate the beauty of ceramics.
With a ceramic history spanning over two thousand years, Jingdezhen, situated in Eastern China's Jiangxi Province, boasts a distinctive charm and artistic ambiance bestowed by its rich traditional ceramic culture.
According to the local government, in recent years, more than 60 ,000 non -locals, like Hao, have moved to Jingdezhen.
Among them, over 5 ,000 are from other countries, countries, including the United States, France, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea.
They have established studios and organized pottery activities in the city.
The Tao Xituan International Art Center in Jingdezhen hosts a three -month residency program each year, inviting overseas artists to reside in the city and explore their creativity, with all expenses covered.
In exchange, participants are asked to leave behind one third of their artworks.
This year, the center has received a record number of over 1 ,000 applications from foreign artists eager to work on site there.
Chun Yeo, deputy director of the Service Center for Ceramic Talent in Jingdechun, said that amid the trend, local authorities provide these cultural immigrants with comprehensive services, including housing, healthcare, children's education, and loans.
Even artists shy on money can come to Jingdezhen to use public kilms to create their works, pursuing their dreams at a low cost.
36 -year -old Ai Fu Ling said that people can set up a free stall at the night market and live in a youth hostel for 500 yuan, less than US $70 a month.
I quit her job at an advertising company nine years ago and moved to Jingdechun to start her own business.
Now I has her own shop with monthly sales of nearly 150 yuan.
Taoshi Quan Art Center has incubated over 20 ,000 entrepreneurs, like her, resulting in 2 ,900 business entities.
Currently, about 150 ,000 people in Jingdezhen are engaged in ceramics and related industries, nearly a quarter of the city's population.
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When you've got the chance to visit some big museums...
You may or may not have noticed that in the section of the Chinese exhibits, there are a lot of Chinese porcelain works, either as cultural relics or artifacts.
A major part of them share a similar pattern that is composed of only two colours, which is blue and white.
You may wonder why so many China wares displayed in museums are designed in this kind of unique pattern.
So now let's talk about China.
While this is not about the country, but the handicraft, there is a unique kind of porcelain called Qing Hua Tzu, or blue and white porcelain that is really popular and famous in China and even the world.
The blue and white porcelain covers a wide range of white pottery and porcelain decorated under the glaze with the blue pigment.
The decoration is commonly applied by hand, originally by brush painting.
The The pigment it uses is one of the very few that can withstand the highest firing temperatures that are required.
Today, as we are talking about the blue and white porcelain, it is a must to mention Jingde the Zhen in Jiangxi Province.
The blue and white porcelain was originated in the Tang Dynasty, but that was just a very beginning without too much development.
Several hundred years later, in the Yuan Dynasty, a foreign trade with the rest of the world expanded quite a lot.
The unique pigment for the blue could be easier obtained than before, which greatly boosted the development of this unique craftsmanship.
It was during this period that Jingdezhen began to produce a lot of blue and white porcelain works, and the quantity and quality of them helped this small town in central China nail the position of the capital of the Chinese porcelain.
The Yuan dynasty mainly during the 14th century is thought to be a prime time for the growth of the blue and white porcelain.
In the following Ming Dynasty however, due to some historical reasons, the foreign trade in China has fallen sharply, so the obtainment of the unique blue pigment and the sales of porcelain production products were consequently both getting limited.
The production of blue and white porcelains went through a low tide.
During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the The blue and white porcelain production ushered in a new era with great progress in both craftsmanship and art.
With the ever expanding influence of the blue and white porcelain, it was widely exported and inspired imitative wares in Islamic ceramics and in Japan and later the European tint glazed earthenware.
They are decorated with many different contents ranging from people to animals, from plants to poetry, and so on, and the The people are always some famous historical Chinese figures, either heroes or literati and the animals are usually Chinese dragons, phoenixes, or kylans.
This is a kind of imaginary divine animal in ancient China, or mandarin ducks, or fish, and so on.
Next time, if you've got a chance to visit a museum that houses the blue and white porcelain, take a closer look at this ancient, yet vibrant masterpiece.
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That's the end of this edition of Special English.
To recap, I'm going to read one of the news items again at normal speed.
Please listen carefully.
Having graduated from Jingde Zun Ceramic Institute in 2008 and gaining work experience elsewhere, Hao Xi -1 never lost his passion for ceramics.
Hao, also a founder of a workshop focused on educational tourism noted that he wanted to go a step further and help more people appreciate the beauty of ceramics.
With a ceramic history spanning over 2 ,000 years, Jingde Zun situated located in eastern China's Jiangxi Province boasts a distinctive charm and artistic ambiance bestowed by its rich traditional ceramic culture.
According to the local government, in recent years, more than 60 ,000 non -locals, like Hao, have moved to Jingdejun.
Among them, over 5 ,000 are from other countries, including the United States, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea.
They have established studios and organized pottery activities in the city.
The Taoshi Quan International Art Center in Jingdezhen hosts a three -month residency program each year, inviting overseas artists to reside in the city and explore their creativity with all expenses covered.
In exchange, participants are asked to leave behind one -third of their artworks.
This year, the center has received a record number of over a thousand applications from foreign artists eager to work on site there.
Chun Yeo, deputy director of the Service Center for Ceramic Talent in Jingdezhen, said that amid the trend, local authorities provide these cultural immigrants with comprehensive services including housing, healthcare, children's education and loans.
Even artists shy on money can come to Jingdezhen to use public kilns to create their works, pursuing their dreams at a low cost.
36 -year -old Ai Fu -Ling said that people can set up a free stall at the night market, and youth hostel for 500 yuan, less than 70 US dollars a month.
Ay quit her job at an advertising company in nine years ago and moved to Jingdezhen to start her own business.
Now, Ay has her own shop with monthly sales of nearly 150 ,000 yuan.
Taohsi Quan art center has incubated over 20 ,000 entrepreneurs like her, resulting in 2900 business entities.
Currently, about a 150 ,000 people in Jingdezhen are engaged in ceramics and related industries, nearly a quarter of the city's population.
This is the end of today's program.
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