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Here is the news. China's spacecraft engineers have repurposed a cutting -edge barrier film to maintain the health and freshness of people's daily meals.
Originally designed for the Orbital Space Station, the product was unveiled by the China Academy of Space Technology in the form of an advanced, flexible film that can block gases and germs, providing exceptional protection for food.
Tsai Yuhong, a member of the research team, said that the current barrier film, widely used for food preservation in the Chinese market, is a silver aluminium foil film like like that commonly found inside potato crisp packaging.
However, this aluminiumised film has certain drawbacks, such as opacity and being unsuitable for microwave processing.
Tsai said that the new high -barrier film was originally designed to protect the cables of the space station from atomic oxygen.
In low orbital space, sunlight can break down oxygen molecules into atomic oxygen, which can erode spacecraft materials and components.
Therefore, engineers apply a barrier coating to prevent erosion.
Since 2016, the China Academy of Space Technology has proposed the concept of utilizing space coating technology for the development of next generation high barrier films, after four years of exploration.
The research team has established the country's first mass production line for the high barrier film.
The new generation of film meets stringent requirements for water resistance.
Dong Maojin, who is responsible for the product development, And drew an analogy, that if a football pitch was covered with such a film, the amount of water molecules that could pass each day would be equal to the size of a human thumb.
The new high -barrier film has been increasingly used for packaging high -end food, such as caviar and white truffles.
It has the potential for wide application once the cost decreases.
According to the research team, such high barrier packaging materials could potentially serve as an alternative to food preservation in the future, reducing or even eliminating the need for additives in food.
This would ensure the quality and extend its shelf life.
A group of Chinese scientists have developed an artificial intelligence platform that can help to double the detection rate for early -stage esophageal cancer.
Esophageal cancer is often asymptomatic.
But experienced clinicians can detect tumors and precancerous legions with endoscopies.
The five -year survival rate is over 90 % when the tumor is treated period, during the early stages, while the clinical outcomes would decline sharply once patients start experiencing symptoms.
The study, published in the journal Science -Translational Medicine, described an architecture driven driven by deep learning algorithms, which are trained via datasets of more than a hundred and ninety thousand esophageal images gathered from several clinics in China.
The clinical trial, run by researchers from Taizhou Hospital in Zhejiang Province and Wuhan University's Renmin Hospital, recruited more than 3 ,000 participants who underwent endoscopies.
The AI system was used on half the volunteers.
According to the study, this platform helps double the detection rate for high -risk esophageal lesions, which is 1 .8%, compared with 0 .9 % in the control group.
Also, the real -time AI tool has shown a high sensitivity and specificity of 89 % and 98 % respectively in the real world.
Mao Xin Li, the corresponding author of the paper from Taijo Hospital, said that the endoscopic assistance system, to a significant extent, enables doctors, with less experience, to enhance detection rates of high -risk esophageal lesions, thereby reducing the number of missed diagnosis.
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After learning about an automatic pill dispenser in class, 20 -year -old Tang Shejiei recommended the machine to his mother, who operates a nursing home in Chengzhou in East China's Tung often played and did homework at the nursing home during childhood, viewing many of the old people there as friends and wishing to help improve their life quality.
Tung majors in Elderly Care Services and Management at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine.
Tanh and his fellows attend multidisciplinary curriculums and extracurricular activities, including doing internships at elderly care enterprises and service -rating institutions, seeking to build skills in policy research and medical care.
According to Peng Xiang, an associate professor at the university, there is greater awareness among the public about the elderly care industry these days.
The professor noted that during consultations, fewer parents and students would ask questions, like what elderly care is.
Instead, they are more concerned about course content and the career potential of this major.
Peng said that the stereotype of low education levels and low salaries of practitioners in industry has been changing.
This March, 168 elderly care practitioners in Jiangsu were accredited with professional titles among the earliest in the country.
Lin Li, an official in the civil affairs department of Jiangsu, said that the professional title system is expected to increase the social recognition of elderly care practitioners and give them a sense of achievement, thus attracting more talent to the industry.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's population, aged 60 and above, reached 297 million by the end of last year.
Accounting for 21 percent of the country's total population against the backdrop of a rapidly aging society, China released a guideline earlier this year to boost the silver economy, highlighting talent cultivation and infrastructure construction.
A smart senior care service platform providing emergency support for elderly people has entered operation in Foushan, in South China's Guangdong province, with staff on duty around the clock.
A seventy -seven -year -old resident, surnamed her, recalled the time she turned to the emergency service for help during a medical emergency.
As she tried to get out of bed, her vision went black and she slumped down on the side.
Her relatives relatives were living far away, so she pressed the emergency button on a device connected to the platform.
Her recalled that in less than ten seconds a voice from the device told her that an ambulance had been arranged and she was later sent to a hospital.
The platform also gathers enterprises through establishing an online shop, providing over 140 services including daily care, meal preparation, and assistance with bathing.
In March, an industrial park focusing on the silver economy was established in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, finance, providing financial support to accredited enterprises.
The first batch of companies, in the fields of biotechnology, medical equipment, and live streaming, have signed agreements and settled in the park.
The scale of China's silver economy is currently estimated at about seven trillion yuan, about US $985 billion, while it is expected to reach about US $30 trillion by 2035.
Han Raidong, a researcher with the State Information Centre said that during the initial stage of developing the silver economy, which has certain public welfare attributes, policy support and guidance are needed to support the private sector.
in China and around the world.
White Collar worker, Zhang Yixian, now calls herself an office farmer, harvesting her first desktop bananas in April.
28 -year -old Zhang said that to care for and observe the growth of fruit is a fantastic stress reliever for her, adding that, when a green banana, whose Chinese name is similar to anxiety, turns yellow, it symbolizes the passing of nervous worry.
Zhang is among a growing number of office workers who are shunning common workplace foliage in favour of fruit -bearing plants, including pineapples and tomatoes, the office farmer phenomenon is more than evident on the lifestyle platform Shaohongshu, where a simple search for those two words yields thousands of results.
The number of retailers sellers selling decorative banana plants alone, totals more than 5 ,000, on the e -commerce platform Taobao.
Chadwick Wang, a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, who focuses on the sociology of science and technology, said that the office -farming trend is a new way of bringing good luck or unwinding personal or professional pressures.
Such plants require minimal effort to care for, because most are delivered with half -ripened fruit already growing on the branches.
The office farmers need only to change the water regularly, give the plant's container a gentle scrub, and add plant nutrient solutions.
Some share on the lifestyle platform that desk gardens have become office attractions, as their colleagues would stop by to check on the progress of the fruit.
Office farming harks back to China's rich pastoral heritage and combines it with a modern -day yearning to add a slice of nature to drab concrete buildings.
The trend's popularity is also adding a new category to China's surging indoor market for decorative plants, which was estimated to be valued at more than 3 billion yuan, around 410 million US dollars, last year.
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An ecological restoration project carried out in China's Chao -hui Lake Basin has been selected created as a demonstrative case by a United Nations initiative, led by the UN Environment Programme and the UNFAO, Food and Agriculture Organisation.
The initiative, known as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, was proposed to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems across the world.
Chao Hu Lake is one of five major freshwater lakes in China.
In 2017, Hefei, the capital city of east China's Anhui province, launched a wetland restoration project at a polder area near Chao Hu Lake.
Since the 1960s, the 18 -polder area saw a surge in population due to continuous lake reclamation and population aggregation.
The interference of long -term human activity led to the fragility of the local wetland ecosystem.
system, the restoration plan was carried out in stages.
Notably, the Third Phase project for the core -polder area covered approximately 4 .3 square kilometres and was completed in July 2022.
The Third Phase project mainly saw the transformation of artificial wetlands, including several breeding ponds, into multi -functional wetland ecosystems serving for water quality purification, biodiversity protection, as well as flood storage and green production systems.
By the 4 .1 km2, had been restored to an ideal habitat for birds, along with over 2 .6 km2 of forest and grass vegetation.
According to the Chao Hu Lake Management Bureau, So, the number of bird species increased from 63 to 117 at the Polder area in 2022.
Some 15 species of aquatic plants have also been found for the first time in the area.
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English. That is the end of this edition of Special English.
To recap, I am going to read one of the news items again, at normal speed.
Please listen carefully.
After learning about an automatic pill dispenser in class, 20 -year -old Tang Shijiei recommended the machine to his mother, who operates a nursing home in Changzhou, in East China's Jiangsu province.
Tang often played and did homework at the nursing home during childhood, viewing many of the old people there as friends and wishing to help improve their life quality.
Tang made his in -elderly care services and management at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine.
Tang and his fellows attend multidisciplinary curriculums and extracurricular activities, including doing internships at elderly care enterprises and service -rating institutions, positions, seeking to build skills in policy research and medical care.
According to Peng Xiang, an associate professor at the University, there is greater awareness among the public about the elderly care industry these days.
The professor noted that during consultations, fewer parents and students would ask questions like what elderly care is.
Instead, they are more concerned about course content and the career potential of this major.
Pung said that the stereotype of low education levels and low salaries of practitioners in the industry has been changing.
This March, 168 elderly care practitioners in Jiangsu were accredited with professional titles among the earliest in the country.
Lin Li, official in the Civil Affairs Department of Jiangsu, said that the professional title system is expected to increase the social recognition of elderly care practitioners partners, and give them a sense of achievement, thus attracting more talent to the industry.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's population, aged 60 and above reached 297 million by the end of last year, accounting for 21 % of the country's total population.
Against the backdrop of a rapidly ageing society, China released a guideline earlier this year to boost the silver economy, highlighting talent cultivation and infrastructure construction.
A smart senior care service platform providing emergency support for elderly people has entered operation in Fushan, in South China's Guangdong Province, with staff on duty around the clock.
A 77 -year -old resident, surnamed her, recalled the time she turned to the emergency service for help during a medical emergency.
As she tried to get out of bed, her vision went black and she slumped down on the side.
Her relatives were living far away, so she pressed the emergency button on the device connected to the platform.
Her recalled that in less than 10 seconds, a voice from the device told her that an ambulance had been arranged and she was later sent to a hospital.
The platform also gathers enterprises through establishing an online shop providing over 140 services, including daily care, meal preparation and assistance with bathing.
In March, an industrial park focusing on the silver economy was established in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, providing financial support to accredited enterprises.
The first batch of companies in the fields of biotechnology, medical equipment and live streaming have signed agreements and settled in the park.
The scale of China's silver economy economy, is currently estimated at about USD 7 trillion, about USD 985 billion, while it is expected to reach about USD 30 trillion by 2035.
Hanray Dong, a researcher with the State Information Center, said that during the initial stage of developing the silver economy, which has certain public welfare attributes, policy That is the end of today's programme.
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