Podcasts about Tongji University

Researchers from Tongji University in Shanghai found the frozen continent suddenly reversed its decades-long trend of catastrophic melting and actually gained record amounts of ice in recent years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI in the 2024 Election: More Memes, Less Misinformation  AI's influence on the 2024 election is manifesting more through humorous memes than dangerous lies. While AI-generated content is widespread, it's mostly recognizable as satire, not deception. However, there's concern that the proliferation of AI imagery might erode public trust, making it harder to distinguish between real and fake content as Election Day nears. LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault Turns to AI Amid Declining Sales Amid declining sales and a reduced net worth, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault is pivoting towards AI, investing over $300 million in AI startups in 2024. Despite luxury sales slowing, Arnault aims to leverage AI technologies to revitalize his company's portfolio, including innovations like AI-powered digital fitting rooms and customer behavior analysis platforms. Study Debunks AI's Existential Threat Myth A new study led by computer scientists Iryna Gurevych and Harish Tayyar Madabushi finds that large language models (LLMs) aren't capable of going rogue. The models are limited by their programming, debunking fears of AI developing dangerous, independent abilities. AI Predicts Future Disasters by Spotting Tipping Points A new AI algorithm developed by scientists at Tongji University can predict catastrophic tipping points, such as ecological collapse or financial crashes. The AI combines neural networks to analyze complex systems, accurately predicting transitions like tropical forests turning into savannahs. This breakthrough could help mitigate damage from sudden, critical shifts. AI Revolutionizes Disease Detection with Tongue Scans A new AI model identifies diseases with 98% accuracy by analyzing tongue scans, using advanced imaging and machine learning. The XGBoost algorithm, tested on over 5,260 images, excels in detecting health issues like diabetes and respiratory problems, enhancing non-invasive diagnostics. AI Could Help Diagnose OCD Faster: Promising Study from Stanford A Stanford study shows that AI, specifically large language models like ChatGPT-4, could significantly improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The AI models outperformed human professionals, suggesting potential for earlier detection and better patient outcomes. AI Drives Breakthroughs in Polymer Discovery Georgia Tech researchers are using AI to accelerate the discovery of next-generation polymers for applications like energy storage and recyclable plastics. Their AI models predict polymer properties before lab testing, speeding up development and transforming industrial materials R&D. Challenges include data quality and real-world validation.

Plus We finally Made a Holodeck More women are using AI companion apps like Replika and Nomi for connection. These apps offer customizable avatars and empathy, raising privacy and human relationship concerns. Like this? Get AIDAILY, delivered to your inbox, every weekday. Subscribe to our newsletter at https://aidaily.us AI Boyfriends Attracting More Women A growing number of women are turning to AI companion apps like Replika and Nomi for connection and support. These apps, which offer customizable avatars and persistent memory, provide an alternative to human interactions. Users appreciate the reliability and empathy of these AI relationships, although concerns about privacy and the impact on human relationships remain. AI Researchers Develop "Holodeck" for Training AI Agents in Virtual Environments Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and AI2 have developed "Holodeck," a system using AI to generate diverse 3D environments for training robots. This system significantly improves training efficiency and realism, leveraging large language models to create detailed virtual spaces quickly, outperforming previous methods. AI May Kill Us All, But Not the Way You Think The real threat from AI might not be sentient robots taking over, but rather the immense energy consumption required for AI operations. Training AI models and running data centers consume significant electricity, contributing to carbon emissions. Addressing this issue requires more equitable distribution of power and sustainable practices. AI Job Interviews Are on the Rise, but Concerns Remain AI job interviews, now being used by companies like Meituan, Siemens, and Estee Lauder, promise to eliminate bias in hiring. However, critics argue that these systems can still embed biases from their training data. Candidates are also turning to AI for assistance, indicating the need for greater transparency and bias mitigation in AI hiring practices.  AI Predicts Tipping Points in Complex Systems AI can now predict when complex systems, such as forests or power grids, will undergo critical transitions. This breakthrough, achieved by combining two neural networks, aims to prevent disastrous events like financial crashes, disease outbreaks, and blackouts, according to researchers from Tongji University in China.  AI and Drones: Protecting Forests from Climate Threats Climate change makes forests more vulnerable to stressors like wildfires, pests, and diseases. The FAO's report emphasizes innovative solutions, including AI and drones for data analysis, mass timber for sustainable construction, and inclusive policies to engage local communities. These strategies aim to bolster forest resilience and promote sustainability in the forestry sector. For Palestinians, AI Apocalypse Is Already Here AI and Big Tech have exacerbated violence in Palestine, with companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft supporting Israeli surveillance and military operations. Israeli tech firms, often started by ex-intelligence officers, use occupied Palestinian territories to test their surveillance technologies before marketing them globally. This AI-driven approach to warfare has led to severe human rights violations, as seen in Israel's recent military campaign in Gaza.

A 17-year-old student recently amazed millions of people worldwide by ranking 12th in the preliminary round of a global math competition, despite being up against formidable rivals from top universities, her own mentor and even artificial intelligence.最近，一名17岁的中专生姜萍在阿里巴巴全球数学竞赛初赛中排名第12位，引发网友热议。她的强大对手有来自顶尖大学的学生、她的导师甚至人工智能。Jiang Ping, who is majoring in fashion design at Lianshui Secondary Vocational School in Huai'an, Jiangsu province, taught herself advanced mathematics for about two years, and then made it to the finals of the 2024 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition with a high score of 93 out of 120.江苏涟水中等专业学校服装设计专业的姜萍自学了两年的高等数学，以93分（满分120分）的高分入围2024年阿里巴巴全球数学竞赛的决赛。She became the first vocational school student to reach the finals and the only girl among the top 30 contestants. Most of the finalists, totaling around 800, are from prestigious institutions such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, MIT and Princeton University. 她成为第一位进入决赛的中专在读生，也是前30名参赛者中唯一的女生。大多数决赛选手来自北京大学、清华大学、麻省理工学院和普林斯顿大学等著名学府，总计约800人。Vocational schools like the one Jiang attends usually focus on providing students with practical knowledge and training related to specific professions. 姜萍所就读的这类中等职业学校通常专注于为学生提供特定专业的实践知识和培训。Jiang's story, which has touched and inspired countless internet users, clearly demonstrates that one's potential does not necessarily depend on one's educational background, and that dreams do come true if one is diligent and persistent.姜萍的故事感动和启发了无数网民，人的潜力并不一定取决于教育背景，只要勤奋和坚持，梦想终会成真。Jiang's keen understanding of numbers began in junior high school, when she was easily able to solve complex math problems. Most students in China learn advanced math in college.她对数字的敏锐理解始于初中，当时她能够轻松解决复杂的数学难题。而大部分中国学生大学才开始学习高等数学。"I lean toward subjects such as advanced math, as they spark my desire to explore," she said. "I enjoy the step-by-step process of mathematical deductions, and reaching the desired result brings me great joy." Jiang said she believes that regardless of which subject she is studying, fashion design or advanced mathematics, interest and effort are both crucial.“我倾向学习高等数学，因为它们激发了我的探索欲望。我喜欢循序渐进的数学演绎，得到我想证明的让我觉得很有成就感。”姜萍说，她认为无论学习是学习服装设计还是高等数学，兴趣和努力都是至关重要的。The teen, who spends most of her spare time solving math problems, keeps an English dictionary handy, so that language doesn't become a barrier when she's learning from Lawrence C. Evans' book Partial Differential Equations. 姜萍将课余时间花在解决数学问题上，她随身携带英语词典，在自学（PDE）《偏微分方程》时，英语不会成为她数学道路上的障碍。All of Jiang's books are full of notes, as she hopes to attend college someday and further explore her interest in math.她所有的书都写满了笔记，因为她希望能考上大学，进一步探索数学世界。Wang Runqiu, a teacher at the vocational school, recognized Jiang's talent in mathematics and recommended books to her on the subject. He offered her personal guidance and encouraged her to give the Alibaba competition a shot.Wang, who himself ranked 125th in the preliminary round of the contest, said, "I want to help young people as much as possible, and let them know they can have a different future."姜萍的数学老师王闰秋在本次竞赛初赛中排名第125，他认可了姜萍在数学方面的天赋，并向她推荐了这方面的书籍，提供辅导，并鼓励她去尝试阿里巴巴全球数学竞赛。“我想尽力帮助年轻人，他们能够拥有不同的未来。”王闰秋说。Multiple top universities congratulated Jiang on her success, and some even encouraged her to pursue higher studies at their campus. 许多顶尖大学都对姜萍表示祝贺，甚至鼓励她在进入本校深造。In a post addressed to Jiang on Sina Weibo on Friday, Shanghai-based Donghua University wrote: "Welcome to apply to Donghua University!" Two photos uploaded with the post showed the university's leading position in China in both fashion design and math.6月14日，东华大学在新浪微博上发给姜萍的帖子中写道：“欢迎申请东华大学！”随帖上传的两张图片显示了其服装设计和数学在中国大学名列前茅。Jiangsu University, based in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, also welcomed Jiang through Weibo. Tongji University in Shanghai said on Weibo: "Every effort will bring its own rewards."位于江苏镇江的江苏大学也通过微博欢迎姜萍。同济大学在微博上发布：“每一次努力都会带来回报。”Jiang's story has also received widespread attention on social media. A hashtag item about her, which read "In a life not defined by others, anyone can be a dark horse", garnered more than 16 million views as of Sunday. 姜萍的故事在社交媒体上也受到了广泛关注。关于她的话题标签写着“#在不受他人定义的生活中，任何人都可以成为一匹黑马#”。截至6月16日，该话题已获得超过1600万的阅读量。The annual Alibaba math competition, which started in 2018, is open to all math enthusiasts regardless of age and background. Tens of thousands of people from across the globe participate in it every year.一年一度的阿里巴巴数学竞赛始于2018年，向所有数学爱好者开放，不分年龄和背景。每年，数万名来自世界各地的数学爱好者参与其中。This time, the competition was open to AI, but it failed to enter the finals.本次比赛也对人工智能（AI）开放，但AI未能进入决赛。The competition's organizing committee told JSTV.com that questions asked in the preliminary round were equivalent to undergraduate level, while those in the final round would be comparable to doctoral programs. The eight-hour final round is scheduled for Saturday, and all participants will answer online.比赛组委会告诉江苏卫视，初赛的问题相当于本科水平，而最后一轮的问题与博士课程相当。八小时的决赛将于6月22日线上进行，所有参赛者将线上作答。This year's competition will select five gold medalists, 10 silver medalists, 20 bronze medalists and 50 excellent award winners. The total prize money is $560,000, according to the competition's website. 今年的比赛将诞生金奖5人，银奖10人，铜奖20人 ，优秀奖50人。比赛的总奖金高达400万元。Alibaba Global Mathematics Competitionn.阿里巴巴全球数学竞赛vocational schooln.中等职业学校

Today, I am talking with Yue Zhu, After law school, it was privacy he pursued. Yue worked as a researcher for ByteDance, His work ensures that privacy is enhanced!

Yifang Cheng, Tongji University, Shanghai Earthquake focal mechanisms offer insights into the architecture, kinematics, and stress at depth within fault zones, providing observations that complement surface geodetic measurements and seismicity statistics. We have improved the traditional focal mechanism calculation method, HASH, through the incorporation of machine learning algorithms and relative earthquake radiation measurements (REFOC). Our improved approach has been applied to over 1.5 million catalog earthquakes in California from 1980 to 2021, yielding high-quality focal mechanisms for more than 50% of these events. In this presentation, I will elucidate how analyzing the focal mechanisms of small earthquakes advances our understanding of fault zone behaviors at varying scales, from major plate boundaries to microearthquakes. We integrate focal mechanism data with geodetic observations, and seismicity analysis to elucidate the fine-scale fault zone structure, stress field, as well as local variations of on-fault creep rate and creep direction. All observed fine-scale kinematic features can be reconciled with a simple fault coupling model, inferred to be surrounded by a narrow, mechanically weak zone. This comprehensive analysis can be applied to other partially coupled fault zones for advancing our understanding of fault zone kinematics and seismic hazard assessment. Additionally, we utilized the new focal mechanism catalog to construct a statewide stress model for California, shedding light on stress accumulation and release dynamics within this complex fault system. Our analysis suggests that local stress rotations in California are predominantly influenced by major fault geometries, slip partitioning, and inter-fault interactions. Major faults not optimally oriented for failure under the estimated stress regime are characterized by limited stress accumulation and/or recent significant stress release. Finally, I will present ongoing work that employs focal mechanisms and P-wave spectra to determine microearthquake source properties, including fault orientation, slip direction, stress drop, and 3D rupture directivity. This approach markedly improves microearthquake source characterization, thereby offering an extensive dataset for probing fine-scale fault mechanics and earthquake source physics.

New Zealand engineers and researchers have been in Shanghai to test low-impact solutions for earthquake resilience. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to one of the most public incidences of a phenomenon known as sloppy science, or slodderwetenschap in Dutch. Professor Michael Lissack, from the College of Design and Innovation at Tongji University in China, and Brenden Meagher from non-profit Jhpiego explain the concept of slodderwetenschap and advise how good research design and rigorous interrogation can work together to prevent sloppy science. Read more in Research Outreach Read the original research: doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2021.10.001

Learn more about our guest: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiangyang-xin-28b0872/ Website: ⁠https://www.xxyinnovation.com/ ------------------------------ We're excited to welcome Professor Xin Xiangyang. Professor Xin is a distinguished professor and doctoral supervisor at Tongji University and the founder of XXY Innovation, a consultancy firm specializing in design thinking and strategic consulting. And I used to work at XXY Innovation as a design consultancy intern. With a Ph.D. in Design Philosophy from Carnegie Mellon University and an impressive background, Professor Xin has made significant contributions to emerging fields such as interaction design, user experience, service design, and design strategy. He has developed important theories and methods such as the "Five Elements of Interaction," "Behavioral Logic," and "Design Butterfly Effect." Professor Xin has made his mark in the field of interaction design by organizing international conferences, receiving numerous honors for his research, judging prestigious design competitions, and offering consultancy services to prominent organizations like P&G, the United States Postal Service, and Huawei. Join us as we explore Professor Xin's groundbreaking work and gain insights into the future of HCI and design. ------------------------------ Topic Covered: 00:00 Introduction 02:40 More on Prof. Xin's design education experiences 04:00 Reflections on past & current design education in China 08:05 Reasons for starting another reform; re-positioning of global design education 15:11 Reasons for looking beyond products and services in design education 19:47 Talks about XXY Innovation & comment on China-US business & social context 22:20 Organizational advice for companies (vision, strategy and decision-making) & examples 28:09 Projects that made transformative impacts (healthcare, tourism, desert business, etc)

Reduce your cost of living to the bare minimum in order to build a sustainable Flexpat lifestyle. - What are the easiest ways to reduce the cost of living? - How can international children attend public school? - Why should children attend Chinese kindergarten and school? - How do you deal with performance pressure? - How can you build a sustainable Flexpat profile and perform? - Why should international companies hire Flexpats? Currently, Dr. Lockstrom is a Senior Associate Professor of Operations Management at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, China, where he is teaching and doing research in the areas of purchasing, logistics, and supply chain/operations management. He is also currently serving as Director of the Centre for Case Development (CCD). Dr. Lockstrom received his BSc/MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management at Chalmers University of Technology and his Ph.D. in Operations Management from European Business School, Germany. He has previously taught graduate courses at European Business School, Moscow State University, Tongji University, and MBA courses at CEIBS. He has published more than 50 academic and practice-oriented papers and book chapters, and made more than 60 conference appearances. Prof. Lockstrom has more than two decades of consulting experience working with multinational corporations such as BMW, Atlas Copco, DuPont, and EY, among others, and has also founded and operated multiple business ventures in the past. WeChat: loco_barocco ____ Please also tune in to episode 123 on working in China as an academic professional (professor) 129 why Flexpats are leaving 111 Prepare Expat assignment 107 Transition from Expat to Flexpat 90 Flexpat Lifestyle 25 Transition from Expat to Flexpat - Kids in Homeschooling Contact Francis (Wechat: Flexpat2020) if you want to join our Flexpat wechat community

Study in China! Start your international career while you are in university. - How do German universities cooperate with Tongji University in China? - What is the cost of studying in China to German students? - How can they get scholarships? - How should they plan their study semester and internship in China? - How can students start work in China as a flexpat and get a work visa? Links Oliver mentioned: CDHAWA - Tongji University: https://cdhaw.tongji.edu.cn/zde/main.htm DHIK: https://www.dhik.org/ueber-uns/netzwerk/ Campus China: https://www.campuschina.org/ The 3 different types of CSC scholarship: https://tribe.cucas.cn/question/97 Oliver Schirmer is Vice Director of the Sino-German University of Applied Sciences "Chinesisch Deutsche Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (CDHAW)" of the Tongji University Shanghai. He got his double degree with Tongji in Business and Engineering. Holds an MBA in International Business and is currently working on his Ph.D. Life-long learning! LinkedIn: Oliver Schirmer Email: oliver.schirmer@outlook.com ____ Please also tune in to episode 125 Study in China and start your career 2 Study and do an Internship in China (also at Tongji) 19, 60 Find entry-level jobs in China 20 Start your Flexpat career 21 From Entry Level to Top Management 33 Prepare for job interviews 99 Work for Chinese companies abroad 100 Get your first Management Job in China 113 Young China - Chinese companies going global Contact Francis (Wechat: Flexpat2020) if you want to join our Flexpat Wechat community

Link para registrar a frequência e mandar perguntas para Emanuel: https://forms.gle/dqLhUi16588ZJESs6 Investimento chinês em clubes de futebol em outros países e Brasil recebendo megaeventos esportivos, de um lado; Catar, Abu Dhabi e Arábia Saudita comprando clubes europeus e organizando eventos da FIFA, do outro. Estes são exemplos de estratégias de softpower e sportwashing, respectivamente. Mas e a onda atual do capital estadunidense em clubes de outros países ou a realização dos Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 1996 em Atlanta e a Copa do Mundo FIFA 1994 e 2026 nos Estados Unidos? Por que não se fala disso no mesmo sentido? É para tratar dessas duas estratégias estatais sobre investimentos no futebol e as considerações sobre diferenças de tratamento entre países que o curso de extensão Economia Política do Futebol recebeu o pesquisador Emanuel Leite Júnior na aula “Perspectivas críticas sobre softpower e sportwashing no futebol”. Emanuel Leite Junior é Pesquisador Associado do International College of Football, da Tongji University, China. É doutor em Políticas Públicas pela Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal, com foco na política, economia política e implicações geopolíticas do futebol na China. Anteriormente bolsista de Pós-doutoramento em Estudos Chineses, Departamento de Línguas e Culturas, Universidade de Aveiro (DLC-UA), Portugal. Anteriormente, Investigador do Centro de Estudos Asiáticos do Departamento de Ciências Sociais, Políticas e Territoriais (DCSPT-UA). Bacharel em Direito pela Universidade Católica de Pernambuco e Bacharel em Comunicação Social – Jornalismo – pelo Centro Universitário Maurício de Nassau. Co-autor do livro “China, Football and Development: Socialism and Soft Power” (Routledge), com lançamento previsto para agosto de 2023. Autor dos livros “A história do futebol na União Soviética” (2018) e “Cotas de televisão do campeonato brasileiro: apartheid futebolístico e risco de espanholização” (2015). Curso de Extensão EPF O Curso de Extensão Economia Política do Futebol ocorre desde o dia 24 de janeiro e irá até 30 de maio, com coordenação do professor Anderson Santos na Unidade Educacional Santana do Ipanema da UFAL. Parte-se da Economia Política da Informação, da Comunicação e da Cultura (EPC) para tratar de diversos temas relativos ao futebol profissional masculino na atual etapa do modo de produção capitalista. Depois desta, ainda haverá uma última aula aberta, sobre “Resistência e democracia torcedoras”, com Irlan Simões, em 09 de maio. Curta nossa página no Facebook - http://fb.me/JogandoDadosPodcast Nos siga no Instagram - @jogandodadospodcast Se inscreva em nosso canal no YouTube - Jogando Dados no YouTube Email para contato - jogandodadospod@gmail.com

This month on Episode 46 of Discover CircRes, host Cynthia St. Hilaire highlights four original research articles featured in the March 3 and March 17th issues of Circulation Research. This episode also features an interview with Dr Andrew Hughes and Dr Jessilyn Dunn about their review, Wearable Devices in Cardiovascular Medicine.   Article highlights:   Delgobo, et al. Deep Phenotyping Heart-Specific Tregs   Sun, et al. Inhibition of Fap Promotes Cardiac Repair After MI   Sun, et al. Endosomal PI3Kγ Regulates Hypoxia Sensing   Johnson, et al. Hypoxemia Induces Minimal Cardiomyocyte Division   Cindy St. Hilaire:        Hi, and welcome to Discover CircRes, the podcast of the American Heart Association's Journal, Circulation Research. I'm your host, Dr Cindy St. Hilaire from the Vascular Medicine Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, and today I'm going to share four articles selected from the March 3rd and March 17th issues of CircRes. I'm also going to have a discussion with Dr Andrew Hughes and Dr Jessilyn Dunn about their review, Wearable Devices in Cardiovascular Medicine. And the Review is also featured in our March 3rd issue.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        First, the highlights. The first article I'm going to present is Myocardial Milieu Favors Local Differentiation of Regulatory T-Cells. The first author is Murilo Delgobo and the corresponding author is Gustavo Campos Ramos. After myocardial infarction, the release of autoantigens from the damaged heart cells activates local and infiltrating immune cells such as the T-cell. Studies in mice have shown that fragments of the muscle protein myosin can act as autoantigens, and these myosin fragments are the dominant driver of the T-cell response.   But how do these myosin specific T-cells behave in the damaged heart to drive inflammation and repair is unknown. To find out, Delgobo and colleagues studied endogenous myosin specific T-cells, as well as those transferred into recipient mice. They found, whether exogenously supplied or endogenously created, the myosin specific T-cells that accumulated in the animals' infarcted hearts tended to adopt an immunosuppressive T-regulatory phenotype.   Strikingly, even if the exogenous cells were differentiated into inflammatory TH-17 cells prior to transfer, a significant proportion of them were still reprogrammed into T-regs within the heart. Although cells pre-differentiated into an inflammatory TH-17 phenotype were less inclined to change after the transfer, the results nevertheless indicate that, by and large, the infarcted heart promotes T-cell reprogramming to quell inflammation and drive repair. Yet exactly how the heart does this is a question for future studies.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        The next article I'm going to present is titled Inhibition of FAP Promotes Cardiac Repair by Stabilizing BNP. The first authors of the study are Yuxi Sun and Mengqiu Ma, and the corresponding author is Rui Yue, and they are from Tongji University. After myocardial infarction, there needs to be a balance of recovery processes to protect the tissue. Fibrosis, for example, acts like an immediate bandaid to hold the damaged heart muscle together, but fibrosis can limit contractile function.   Similarly, angiogenesis and sufficient revascularization is required to promote survival of cardiomyocytes within the ischemic tissue and protect heart function. To better understand the balance between fibrotic and angiogenic responses, Sun and colleagues examined the role of fibroblasts activated protein, or FAP, which is dramatically upregulated in damaged hearts, and brain natriuretic peptide, or BNP, which promotes angiogenesis in the heart.   In this study, they found that genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of FAP in mice reduces cardiac fibrosis and improves angiogenesis and heart function after MI. Such benefits are not seen if BNP or its receptor, NRP-1, are lacking. The in vitro experiments revealed that FAP's protease activity degrades BNP, thus inhibiting the latter's angiogenic activity. Interestingly, while FAP is upregulated in the heart, its levels drop in the blood, showing that BNP inhibition is localized. Together, these results suggest that blocking FAP's activity in the heart after MI could be a possible strategy for protecting the muscle's function.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        The next article I want to present is Hypoxia Sensing of Beta-Adrenergic Receptor is Regulated by Endosomal PI-3 Kinase Gamma. The first author of this study is Yu Sun, and the corresponding author is Sathyamangla Naga Prasad. Hypoxia is the most proximate acute stress encountered by the heart during an ischemic event. Hypoxia triggers dysfunction of the beta-adrenergic receptors, beta-1AR and beta-2AR, which are critical regulators of cardiac function.   Under normoxic conditions, activation of PI3K-gamma by beta-adrenergic receptors leads to feedback regulation of the receptor by hindering its dephosphorylation through inhibition of protein phosphatase 2A or PP2A. Although it is known that ischemia reduces beta-adrenergic receptor function, the impact of hypoxia on interfering with this PI3K feedback loop was unknown.   Using in vitro and in vivo techniques, this group found that activation of PI3K-gamma underlies hypoxia sensing mechanisms in the heart. Exposing PI3K-gamma knockout mice to acute hypoxia resulted in preserved cardiac function and reduced beta-adrenergic receptor phosphorylation. And this was due to a normalized beta-2AR associated PP2A activity, thus uncovering a unique role for PI3K-gamma in hypoxia sensing and cardiac function.   Similarly, challenging wild-type mice post hypoxia with dobutamine resulted in an impaired cardiac response that was normalized in the PI3K-gamma knockout mice. These data suggests that preserving beta-adrenergic resensitization by targeting the PI3K-gamma pathway would maintain beta-adrenergic signaling and cardiac function, thereby permitting the heart to meet the metabolic demands of the body following ischemia.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        The last article I want to highlight is Systemic Hypoxia Induces Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy and Right Ventricle Specific Induction of Proliferation. First author of this study is Jaslyn Johnson, and the corresponding author is Steven Houser, and they're at Temple University.   The cardiac hypoxia created by myocardial infarction leads to the death of the heart tissue, including the cardiomyocytes. While some procedures such as reperfusion therapy prevent some cardiomyocyte death, true repair of the infarcted heart requires that dead cells be replaced. There have been many studies that have attempted new approaches to repopulate the heart with new myocytes. However, these approaches have had only marginal success.   A recent study suggested that systemic hypoxemia in adult male mice could induce cardiac monocytes to proliferate. Building on this observation, Johnson and colleagues wanted to identify the mechanisms that induced adult cardiomyocyte cell cycle reentry and wanted to determine whether this hypoxemia could also induce cardiomyocyte proliferation in female mice.   Mice were kept in hypoxic conditions for two weeks, and using methods to trace cell proliferation in-vivo, the group found that hypoxia induced cardiac hypertrophy in both the left ventricle and the right ventricle in the myocytes of the left ventricle and of the right ventricle. However, the left ventricle monocytes lengthened while the RV monocytes widened and lengthened.   Hypoxia induced an increase in the number of right ventricular cardiomyocytes, but did not affect left ventricular monocyte proliferation in male or in female mice. RNA sequencing showed upregulation of cell cycle genes which promote the G1 to S phase transition in hypoxic mice, as well as a downregulation of cullen genes, which are the scaffold proteins related to the ubiquitin ligase complexes. There was significant proliferation of non monocytes in mild cardiac fibrosis in the hypoxic mice that did not disrupt cardiac function.   Male and female mice exhibited similar gene expression patterns following hypoxia. Thus, systemic hypoxia induced a global hypertrophic stress response that was associated with increased RV proliferation, while LV monocytes did not show increased proliferation. These results confirm previous reports that hypoxia can induce cardiomyocyte cell cycle activity in-vivo, and also show that this hypoxia induced proliferation also occurs in the female mice.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        With me today for our interview, I have Dr Andrew Hughes and Dr Jessilyn Dunn, and they're from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. And they're here to discuss the review article that they helped co-author called Wearable Devices in Cardiovascular Medicine. And just as a side note, the corresponding author, Evan Brittain, unfortunately just wasn't able to join us due to clinical service, but they're going to help dissect and discuss this Review with us. Thank you both so much for joining me today. Andy, can you just tell us a little bit about yourself?   Andy Hughes:             Yeah, thank you, Cindy. I'm Andy Hughes. I'm a third year medicine resident at Vanderbilt University who is currently on an NIH supported research year this year. And then will be applying to cardiology fellowships coming up in the upcoming cycle.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        Great, thank you. And Jessilyn, I said you are from Vanderbilt. I know you're from Duke. It was Evan and Andy at Vanderbilt. Jessilyn, tell us about yourself.   Jessilyn Dunn:             Thanks. I am an Assistant Professor at Duke. I have a joint appointment between biomedical engineering and biostatistics and bioinformatics. The work that my lab does is mainly centered on digital health technologies in developing what we call digital biomarkers, using data from often consumer wearables to try to detect early signs of health abnormalities and ultimately try to develop interventions.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        Thank you. We're talking about wearable devices today, and obviously the first thing I think most of us think about are the watch-like ones, the ones you wear on your wrists. But there's really a whole lot more out there. It's not just Apple Watches and Fitbits and the like. Can you just give us a quick summary of all these different types of devices and how they're classified?   Jessilyn Dunn:             Yeah, absolutely. We have a wide variety of different sensors that can be useful. A lot of times, we like to think about them in terms of the types of properties that they measure. So mechanical properties like movement, electrical properties like electrical activity of the heart. We have optical sensors. And so, a lot of the common consumer wearables that we think about contain these different types of sensors.   A good example that we can think about is your consumer smartwatch, like an Apple Watch or a Fitbit or a Garmin device where it has something called an accelerometer that can measure movement. And oftentimes, that gets converted into step counts. And then it may also have an optical sensor that can be used to measure heart rate in a particular method called PPG, or photoplethysmography. And then some of the newer devices also have the ability to take an ECG, so you can actually measure electrical activity as well as the optical based PPG heart rate measurement. These are some of the simpler components that make up the more complex devices that we call wearables.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        And how accurate are the measurements? You did mention three of the companies, and I know there's probably even more, and there's also the clinical grade at-home ECG machines versus the one in the smartwatch. How accurate are the measurements between companies? And we also hear recent stories about somebody's Apple Watch calling 911 because they think they're dead, things like that. Obviously, there's proprietary information involved, but how accurate are these devices and how accurate are they between each other?   Jessilyn Dunn:             This is a really interesting question and we've done quite a bit of work in my lab on this very topic, all the way from what does it mean for something to be accurate? Because we might say, "Well, the more accurate, the better," but then we can start to think about, "Well, how accurate do we need something to be in order to make a clinical decision based off of that?" And if it costs significantly more to make a device super, super accurate, but we don't need it to be that accurate to make useful decisions, then it actually might not be serving people well to try to get it to that extreme level of accuracy.   So there are a lot of trade-offs, and I think that's a tough thing to think about in the circumstances, is these trade-offs between the accuracy and, I don't know, the generalizability or being able to apply this to a lot of people. That being said, it also depends on the circumstances of use. When we think about something like step counts, for example, if you're off by a hundred step counts and you're just trying to get a general view of your step counts, it's not that much of a problem.   But if we're talking about trying to detect an irregular heart rhythm, it can be very bad to either miss something that's abnormal or to call something abnormal that's not and have people worried. We've been working with the Digital Medicine Society to develop this framework that we call V3, which is verification, analytic validation and clinical validation. And these are the different levels of analysis or evaluation that you can do on these devices to determine how fit for purpose are they.   Given the population we're trying to measure in and given what the goal of the measurement is, does the device do the job? And what's also interesting about this topic is that the FDA has been evolving how they think about these types of devices because there's, in the past, been this very clear distinction between wellness devices and medical devices. But the problem is that a lot of these devices blur that line. And so, I think we're going to see more changes in the way that the FDA is overseeing and potentially regulating things like this as well.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        These consumer-based devices have started early on as the step counters. When did they start to bridge into the medical sphere? When did that start to peak the interest of clinicians and researchers?   Jessilyn Dunn:             Yeah, sure. What's interesting is if we think back to accelerometers, these have been used prior to the existence of mobile phones. These really are mechanical sensors that could be used to count steps. And when we think about the smartwatch in the form that we most commonly think of today, probably looking back to about 2014 is when ... maybe between 2012, 2014 is when we saw these devices really hitting the market more ... Timing for when the devices that we know as our typical consumer smartwatch today was around 2012 to 2014.   And those were things that were counting steps and then the next generation of that added in the PPG or photoplethysmography sensor. That's that green light when we look on the back of our watch that measures heart rate. And so, thinking back to the early days, probably Jawbone, there was a watch called Basis, the Intel Basis watch. Well, it was Basis and then got acquired by Intel. Fitbit was also an early joining the market, but that was really the timing.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        How good are these devices at actually changing behavior? We know we're really good at tracking our steps now and maybe monitoring our heartbeat or our oxygen levels. How good are they at changing behavior though? Do we know yet?   Andy Hughes:             Yeah, that's a great question and certainly a significant area of ongoing research right now with physical activity interventions. Things that we've seen right now is that simple interventions that use the wearable devices alone may not be as effective as multifaceted interventions. And what I mean by that is interventions that use the smartwatch but may be coupled with another component, whether that is health education or counseling or more complex interventions that use gamification or just in time adaptive interventions.   And gamification really takes things to another level because that integrates components, competition or support or collaboration and really helps to build upon features of behaviors that we know have an increased likelihood of sustaining activity. With that being said, that is one of the challenges of physical activity interventions, is the sustainability of their improvements over the course of months to years.   And something that we have seen is the effects do typically decrease over time, but there is work on how do we integrate all of these features to develop interventions that can help to sustain the results more effectively. So we have seen some improvement, but finding ways to sustain the effects of physical activity is certainly an area of ongoing research.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        I know it's funny that even as adults we love getting those gold stars or the circle completions. All of these devices, whether it's smartwatches like we're just talking about, or the other things for cardiac rehabilitation, they're generating a ton of data. What is happening with all this data? Who's actually analyzing it? How is it stored and what's that flow through from getting from the patient's body to the room where their physician is looking at it?   Andy Hughes:             And that is certainly a challenge right now that is limiting the widespread adoption of these devices into routine clinical care is, as Jessilyn mentioned. The wearables generate a vast amount of data, and right now, we need to identify and develop a way as clinicians to sort through all of the noise in order to be able to identify the information that is clinically meaningful and worthy of action without significantly increasing the workload.   And a few of the barriers that will be necessary in order to reach that point is, one, finding ways to integrate the wearables' data into the electronic health record and also developing some machine learning algorithms or ways with which we can use the computational power of those technologies to be able to identify when there is meaningful data within all of the vast data that comes from wearables. So it's somewhere that certainly we need to get to for these devices to reach their full clinical potential, but we are limited right now by a few of those challenges.   Jessilyn Dunn:             I was just going to say, I will add on to what Andy was saying about this idea behind digital biomarkers because this fits really nicely with this idea that giving people this huge data deluge is not helpful, but if we had a single metric where we can say, "Here's the digital biomarker of step count, and if you're above some threshold, you're good to go. And if you're below some threshold, some intervention is needed." That's a lot of the work that we've been doing, is trying to develop what are these digital biomarkers and how can they be ingested in a really digestible way?   Cindy St. Hilaire:        Yeah, that's great. Regarding the clinical and the research grade devices, I know a Fitbit or Apple Watch can sometimes be used for those, but I guess I'm talking also about the other kind of more clinically oriented devices, how good is compliance and how trustable is that data? Everybody's on probably their best behavior when they're in the office with the physician or if they're on the treadmill in the cardiac lab, but home is a different story. And what don't we know about compliance when people are out of the office and the reliability of that data that's generated in that space?   Andy Hughes:             I think you touched on a really important point right here, and one of the potential advantages of these wearable devices is that they provide continuous long-term monitoring over the course of weeks to months to years as opposed to those erratic measurements that we get from the traditional office visits or hospitalizations where, for example, the measurements we're taking are either in a supervised environment with a six-minute walk distance, for example, or self-reported or questionnaires.   So we build upon that information, but then additionally, we go beyond the observer effect where many individuals, the first week or two that you're wearing this new device, you may be more prone to increase your activity because you know that you're being monitored or you have this novel technology, but as you wear it for months to years, you outgrow those potential biases and you really can garner more comprehensive information.   In terms of compliance, we can speak to some of the research studies that have either really struggled with compliance and that limits the interpretability of their results and something we'll need to address in the future, but I think that's something that can be addressed with future studies keeping in mind all of the advantages that these devices offer compared to some of the traditional measures that we have used in the past.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        With all this data we're collecting, whether it be biological data or even just behavioral data, have we actually learned anything new? And I mean that in terms of All Of Us study this, I don't know, it was like 5,000 patients I think, and lo and behold, it found out that higher step count correlated with lower risk for a ton of diseases, which is not exactly groundbreaking. So are we, at this point in time, learning anything new from the use of these at-home devices, or are they really just able to help us enforce what we thought we knew regarding behavior?   Andy Hughes:             I think these devices have certainly provided some novel insights that build upon our understanding of physical activity. Many of us can hypothesize that decreased activity would have poor outcomes on health, which the studies have demonstrated in many facets. But in reference to All Of Us study that you mentioned, I think it's interesting to look as well at some of the diagnoses or conditions that were associated with decreased activity.   For example, reflux disease was also highlighted in that study, which may not have been identified if we didn't have the vast data and ability to really look for associations with diseases that have not been previously studied or thought to be related to physical activity. So I think that's one of the strong features of that database, is the wealth of knowledge that really will be hypothesis generating and help to inform future studies as we look even beyond cardiovascular conditions.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        One question, and you did bring it up in a bit of the discussion in your piece, is the bias that is in these devices. We know from COVID at-home pulse oximeters do not work as efficiently on darker skin. We actually know that going into bathrooms with the hand sensors that spit out the paper towels. So what kind of disparities or biases do these devices create or reinforce in the population?   Jessilyn Dunn:             This is such a critical topic because a lot of these issues had been discovered retrospectively because the people who were developing the technologies were not the representative of the people who were using the technologies. I think that's something that across the board we've been looking at from device development to AI implementation, which is having people who are going to be using the devices in the process of developing the technology and having voices heard from across the board.   We did a detailed look when we were evaluating devices for their accuracy at this exact question of where the heart rate sensors in smartwatches use optical based technology. And there was some evidence that was also an issue for people with varying skin tones, for people with wrist tattoos or more hair or freckles. And so, we did a deep dive and the generation of devices that we looked at which would meet this study was probably about three years ago.   We didn't see any discrepancies. And so, that's just one study and there are many more to be done, but I think prior to the technology development as well as once the technology comes out, keeping an eye on how that technology is doing, whether there are continued reports of failure of the technologies is really important. And there are a lot of ways that we can be vigilant about that.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        Yeah, that's great. And so, Andy, regarding patient populations, I can also see perhaps socioeconomic implications of this because smartwatches are not cheap. So how do we see that in terms of helping our patients? Are we going to be able to get a smartwatch through our insurance company?   Andy Hughes:             I think that's one of the really important next steps, is finding ways to make sure that as we advance the field of wearable devices in clinical care, that we recognize some of the existing inequities in terms of access to care, access to digital technologies that currently exist, and find ways by partnering with health insurance companies and the industry and providers and members of that community, finding ways to not only advance wearables, but use it in a way that we can decrease health disparities by really helping to increase access for these digital technologies to the underserved communities.   Jessilyn Dunn:             Yeah, the beauty of these technologies is that truthfully, at their core, they're very cheap. They're not difficult to develop, they're not difficult to build and disseminate. So a lot of what we think about is the infrastructure that goes around these devices. Does it require a smartphone to transfer data? Does it require internet access? What are the other pieces that need to be in place for these devices to work within an ecosystem? So this starts to get to questions beyond the devices themselves, but there's certainly a lot to think about and be done in the area of equity and ensuring that these devices can help everyone.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        And there's also the, I guess, ethical considerations of who owns this data. Obviously, if it's a consumable that you went and bought at Target, that's probably different than the one you're getting from your cardiologist. But who owns the data? Who has access to it? And are there any cases in the literature where an individual who's had certain measurements taken, have those measurements come back to bite them?   And I guess I'm thinking of something like cardiac rehab. If a patient doesn't get up and move enough or doesn't follow their physical therapy enough or lose weight quick enough, could their insurance coverage get cut? Could their premiums go up? What safeguards are in place for these very tricky situations? Are there safeguards in place?   Andy Hughes:             And on the clinical side, I think it will be important to treat this information just like any other protected health information that we have as part of the electronic health record. And so, there will be inherently safeguards around that in a similar manner for how we treat other protected health information.   But I think another important component of that will be a very clear consent policy when we reach the point that patients are consenting to include this information and their electronic health record, in terms of what the proposed benefits are and the potential risks associated with it, because it really is a vast amount of unique data that needs to be protected and safeguarded. And part of that comes by treating it as protected health information, but we will also need to make sure that there's a very clear consent policy that goes with it.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        Yeah. What do we see as the next steps in wearable devices? What do you guys see as the next big thing? I know one's coming from the actual AI and device side of things, and the other one is coming from the clinical side of things. What do each of you see as the next thing in this field?   Jessilyn Dunn:             I think on the device and AI side of things, I think we're thinking toward improving battery life, increasing the suite of sensors that are being added to these devices so we have a wider variety of measurements that are more representative of physiology, and then better algorithms to have better detection of sleep or activity or certain types of activity or certain types of arrhythmias. This combination of hardware and software and algorithms, I think coming together as all of these different pieces evolve will show us some really cool technology in the years to come.   Andy Hughes:             And I think from a clinical side, it's really twofold moving forward. I think as Jessilyn mentioned, there's a lot of novel sensor technologies that have a lot of exciting and evolving potential that we can hopefully integrate into the clinical space, but on the other hand, it's how can we use these wearable devices to enhance traditional therapies that we're already using?   For example, if we take the heart failure population, is there a way that we can use the wearable devices and the existing measurements with heart rate and physical activity and blood pressure to find a way to improve remote management and safely up-titrate guideline directed medical therapy, which are medications that we know have clinical benefit. But can we augment their clinical benefit and their utility by using some of the existing technologies that we already have?   And then lastly, building upon the initial studies with larger trials in more diverse generalizable populations to really enhance our understanding of the benefits that these devices may have for different cardiovascular conditions.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        Well, this was wonderful. Dr Andrew Hughes and Dr Jessilyn Dunn, thank you so much for joining me. The review, Wearable Devices in Cardiovascular Medicine, will be out in our March 3rd issue of Circulation Research. I forget which one, so I'll have to edit that out. Thank you so much for joining us, and I learned a ton. This was great.   Jessilyn Dunn:             Thank you.   Andy Hughes:             Thank you.   Cindy St. Hilaire:        That's it for our highlights from the March 3rd and March 17th issues of Circulation Research. Thank you for listening. Please check out the Circulation Research Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram with the handle @CircRes and #DiscoverCircRes. Thank you to our guests, Dr Andrew Hughes and Dr Jessilyn Dunn.   This podcast is produced by Ishara Ratnayaka, edited by Melissa Stoner, and supported by the editorial team of Circulation Research. Some of the copy texts for the highlighted articles is provided by Ruth Williams. I'm your host, Dr Cindy St. Hilaire, and this is Discover CircRes, you're on-the-go Source for the most exciting discoveries in basic cardiovascular research.   This program is copyright of the American Heart Association, 2023. The opinions expressed by speakers in this podcast are their own, and not necessarily those of the editors or of the American Heart Association. For more information, visit ahajournals.org.  

By now you've probably heard about Burning Man, the festival that in recent years attracts over 80,000 participants to the deserts of Nevada. But did you know that there's an equivalent event in China called Dragon Burn (龙焰)?   Today's guest on the Mosaic of China podcast is Francesca Valsecchi, a professor at Tongji University in Shanghai and one of the active participants behind Dragon Burn. In our fun and wide-ranging chat, we discuss how she combines these two worlds under the principles of communality, immediacy and de-commodification.   The episode also includes a catch-up interview with: Alex Shoer from Season 02 Episode 11 https://mosaicofchina.com/season-02-episode-11-alex-shoer   00:00 - Trailer & Intro 01:58 - Part 1 25:19 - Part 2 38:32 - Outro 40:55 - Catch-Up Interview   Subscribe to the PREMIUM version, see the visuals, and/or follow the full transcript for this episode at: https://mosaicofchina.com/season-03-episode-16-francesca-valsecchi Join the community: Instagram https://instagram.com/oscology LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/mosaicofchina Facebook https://facebook.com/mosaicofchina WeChat https://mosaicofchina.com/wechat

By now you've probably heard about Burning Man, the festival that in recent years attracts over 80,000 participants to the deserts of Nevada. But did you know that there's an equivalent event in China called Dragon Burn (龙焰)?Today's guest on the Mosaic of China podcast is Francesca Valsecchi, a professor at Tongji University in Shanghai and one of the active participants behind Dragon Burn. In our fun and wide-ranging chat, we discuss how she combines these two worlds under the principles of communality, immediacy and de-commodification.

Aric Chen is general and artistic director of the Het Nieuwe Instituut, the Dutch national museum for architecture, design and digital culture in Rotterdam. During one of those careers that makes you wonder what on earth you've been doing with your time, he has also been creative director of Beijing Design Week, lead curator for design and architecture at M+ in Hong Kong, curatorial director of the Design Miami fairs in Miami Beach and Basel, and professor and founding director of the Curatorial Lab at the College of Design and Innovation at Tongji University in Shanghai.As a result, he has a genuinely global perspective of the design industry. In this episode we talk about: the Instituut's new show that looks at design and energy; issues around decarbonising the grid; his problem with design manifestos; how the Instituut is becoming a ‘Zoop' and giving non-humans a voice (you read that right); providing agency to microbes; making new ideas visible; why he didn't become an architect; his first job in PR; the relationship between journalism and curating; the similarities between the US and China; and how the Instituut will curate next year's London Design Biennale. (For various reasons – mainly to do with microphones being held up in EU customs – the sound on this episode isn't up to our usually quality. Apologies but, frankly, I'm blaming Brexit.)Support the show

In this special edition of Lung Cancer Considered, three esteemed oncologists and lung cancer experts explore the issues facing the medical profession in China. Host Dr. Chunxia Su, Professor of Oncology at Tongji University and Deputy Director of Medical Oncology at Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, welcomes guests Prof. Shun Lu, Director of the Chinese Lung Cancer Association, Board Member of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology, and Director of the Shanghai Lung Cancer Center; and Prof. Caicun Zhou, Chief Physician and Director of Medical Oncology at Tongji University in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital and current member of the IASLC Board of Directors.

In China, the number of people over the age of 65 has reached 190 million, and will increase rapidly to 390 million in 2050. To respond to the social challenges this situation involves, the country is currently building new types of multi-functional and inclusive care institutions for the elderly. Sima Lei is an architect and associated professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University and she talks to us about these plans. Notre politique de confidentialité GDPR a été mise à jour le 8 août 2022. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Unser heutiger Gast zählt zu den jüngsten Gästen, mit denen wir in unseren 326 Folgen gesprochen haben. Er hat seinen Bachelor of Science in International Business Administration an der renommierten Otto Beisheim School of Management - besser bekannt unter den 3 Buchstaben WHU - absolviert, inklusive eines Auslandssemesters an der University of South Carolina sowie einer Studienreise an die Tongji University of Economics and Management in Shanghai. Er hat zahlreiche Praktika absolviert und sich dann nach erfolgreichem Studienabschluss dazu entschlossen, zu gründen. Nach einer Suchphase in der er zusammen mit Freunden in verschiedenen Märkten nach Chancen gesucht hat, fiel die Entscheidung für das Thema Klimaschutz. Seit Janur 2021 ist er mit CLIME am Start. Das Versprechen? So einfach wie sinnvoll: “We help companies to measure, reduce and offset the personal CO2-footprint of their employees.” Seit gut 5 Jahren beschäftigen wir uns nun schon mit der Frage, wie Arbeit den Menschen stärkt - statt ihn zu schwächen. Wie kann ein Thema, das einen so wesentlichen Anteil in unserem Alltag einnimmt, wieder mehr Sinn in unserem Leben stiften? Wie können wir dazu beitragen, dass die wirklich drängenden Fragen in unserer Gesellschaft beantwortet werden, und welche Rolle können dabei junge Unternehmerinnen und Unternehmer spielen? Wir suchen nach Methoden, Vorbildern, Erfahrungen, Tools und Ideen, die uns dem Kern von New Work näher bringen! Und darüber hinaus beschäftigt uns auch diese Woche wieder die Frage, ob wirklich alle Menschen das finden und leben können, was sie im Innersten wirklich, wirklich wollen. Ihr seid bei On the Way to New Work - heute mit Lennart Pantlen

Olá! Tudo bem? Falamos com Camilla Ferreira França, CEO da FX Brazil. E este são os principais pontos deste bate papo que aconteceu no auge da pandemia: Os mercados de aceitação dos produtos brasileiros. Brasil como potência da América do Sul. Os principai desafios das pequenas e médias empresas para internacionalização. Os motivadores para as pequenas e médias empresas para internacionalização. Pequenos passsos para iniciar a exportação. Competitividade com Mercosul. Importância de conhecer outras línguas. Apoio para exportação: Agências do governo, órgãos de classe, empresas especializadas. Imposto Digital, o que muda no processo de entrega do infoproduto? Certificado de origem: para o que serve? Networking: os desafios de como fazer no mercado internacional. Mulheres no comando de empresas de exportação: preconceito? E muito mais! Ouça e comente! E assine nossa newsletter para você ficar por dentro de todas as novidades e não perder nenhum episódio! https://podcastplaneta.com Um abraço e que você tenha uma vida extraordinária! Líder de Elite - Vida e Liderança Extraordinárias Carlos Hoyos PS. Gostou? Deixe sua avaliação no iTunes! * Sobre Camilla França * CEO da FX Brazil, tem 15 anos de experiência em prospecção e vendas para o mercado nacional e internacional, bem como em negociações com fornecedores locais e estrangeiros. Possui vasta experiência em prospecções de mercado in loco, com mais 30 países visitados, bem como na construção de planos estratégicos de médio e longo prazo. É professora em cursos de Inovação, empreendedorismo e Coaching em diversas instituições. Participou de Seminários de estudos Internacionais à China pela Lingnan College University, Tongji University e East Normal China University (2016), pela Cambridge University e Bocconi University (2017). Em 2018, integrou-se no Seminário de Inovação pelo Silicon Valley Institute for Business Innovation (SVIBI) em Berkeley University, todos patrocinados pelo Projeto Pró-Futuro da FIA/USP. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilla-ferreira-frança-53422513 * Sobre Carlos Hoyos * Carlos Hoyos é o host do podcast Planeta e do canal do YouTube "Líder de Elite". Carlos é empresário e empreendedor, Coach Executivo & Empresarial, especialista em alta performance e inteligência emocional para líderes, facilitador de treinamentos, mentor de coaches e empreendedores e consultor empresarial. Pai da Clara e do Benjamin, é apaixonado por desenvolver líderes, executivos, e empresários para que possam atingir seu potencial maior em suas vidas, famílias, equipes e empresas. https://carloshoyos.com/ https://www.youtube.com/CarlosHoyosLDE https://www.instagram.com/CarlosHoyosLDE https://www.linkedin.com/in/CarlosHoyosLDE

Guest Name: Johannes Kern, General Manager at Xiezhi Supply Chain Consulting, Language: English, Publication date: Dec, 21. 2021 Johannes Kern is an Affiliated Professor of Supply Chain Management at Tongji University and General Manager of Xiezhi Consulting, China. His research focuses on Supply Chain Management and International Management, particularly on Digital Transformation and on the impact of cultural influences on Buyer-Supplier relationships. He teaches MBA and Master's students from around the world in Digital Transformation, Supply Chain Management, and International Management. His practitioner-oriented research is published with the OECD, Harvard Business School Publishing, and in books from Springer, Elsevier, and Wiley. Johannes supports international companies in China to improve their decision-making and increase their performance along the whole supply chain. Prior to that, he worked in various purchasing and logistics functions at the Bosch Group in Asia-Pacific, where he led teams and managed strategic projects in China, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, and India. Johannes holds a Ph.D. from Technical University Darmstadt in Germany. Some of the highlights of questions from the podcast include: Why are skills in SCM a vital topic now? What skills in SCM are most important now and how to build up these skills? For a young supply chain professional, what advice you can offer to them to keep staying agile in response to the recent challenges? Connect with Johannes on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanneskern/ About Xiezhi Supply Chain Consulting - is a boutique consulting firm that helps German companies in China to optimize the whole Supply Chain, including Sourcing, Transportation, Warehousing, and Production. As a spin-off from TU Darmstadt and Tongji University, a systematic and analytical approach, incorporating state-of-the-art research is used. Xiezhi blends German quality with an understanding of the Chinese market and intercultural competency. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bicarasupplychain/message

Aric Chen is a curator, writer, and design historian. He was recently appointed the general and artistic director of Rotterdam's Het Nieuwe Institute (The New Institute) and previously served as curatorial director for Design Miami, curator at large for M+ and creative director of Beijing Design Week. He also is a professor and founding director of the Curatorial Lab at the College of Design and Innovation at Tongji University. In this episode, Jarrett and Aric talk about the value of wide interests and multidisciplinary careers, building M+'s collection, and what he hopes to do in his new job.Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/196-aric-chen. — If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Episode 047: Talent Development in PracticeHow are architects successfully bringing talent development into practice? Guest: Amy Perenchio, AIA, NCARB is a Principal at https://www.zgf.com/ (ZGF Architects) and licensed architect in Portland, Oregon.  Dedicated to the professional growth and development of the design staff at ZGF, Amy oversees the staffing and recruiting efforts for a group of 130+ designers and architects and works at the intersection of people and practice.  Amy previously held director positions on the National AIAS and NAAB boards, and various committees and task forces for NCARB.  She is passionate about teaching and growing the next generation of architects and has been a course instructor at University of Oregon since 2017 and adjunct professor for the Global Track program at the University of Hawaii and Tongji University.

I am really excited to interview Neil Leach, an architect and interdisciplinary scholar. Besides teaching at FIU, he is also Visiting Professor at Harvard GSD and Tongji University, Professor at the European Graduate School, a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Fellow and an academician of the Academia Europaea. In this interview, you will get to know Neil's journey, his research work, thoughts on applications of AI in Architecture, alongwith advice to young engineers and students to get started who wish to do similar work. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mayur-m-mistry/message

Ana Cristina Vasquez is doing a PhD in Marine Sciences at the Tongji University, in Shanghai, China where she is researching stable isotopes and river geochemistry. In this episode Ana chats with Danni about changing her field of research and practice from social sciences and human rights to STEM and marine sciences, about moving from Costa Rica to China, about science communication, research during Covid pandemic, and being a foreigner student in China. During this episode Ana drank Costa-Rican coffee and Danni drank (of course) Amaretto.Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)Follow Ana on Twitter @criskotsuAna's Linkedin PageFollow us on Twitter: @What2DoWithTHATFollow us on Facebook: @What2DoWithTHATFollow us on Instagram: @What2DoWithTHATSubscribe to our YouTube ChannelOur website: www.what2dowiththat.comEnjoy the episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jie served in the New York Public School System for 28 years. She started teaching math in a prison school and has been in numerous positions including former Principal at Stuyvesant High School, one of the top high schools in the United States. She was also the Superintendent of the New York Military Academy. Currently she is the principal for two international schools in China and serves as the consultant for Sino-American Educational Research Association (S-AERA). Born and raised in China, Mrs. Zhang majored in Electrical Engineering at Tongji University in China. She received a Master's degree in applied mathematics from Stony Brook University. In our interview, Jie shares a whole lot. She talks about how her early experiences during the Cultural Revolution and her down to earth nature influenced and informed some of her success, how playing the accordion helped her first gain superb people skills, and how EQ, empathy, and communication skills, and constantly maintaining high expectations for herself has driven her successfully through her career.

PaceUp Invest Helps Women to Create and Manage Wealth – Founded by a Woman90% of the clients of robo advisors in Germany are still men. This has not changed. The interfaces look all the same. They are not targeting women properly. Rukayyat Kolawole, Founder and CEO PaceUP Investment Don’t Miss Any Blog Post, Video, or Audio PodcastSubscribe to our newsletter on Substack here: https://startupradio.substack.com/subscribe The FounderRakuyyat Kalowole (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rukayyat-modupe-kolawole-cfa/) is originally from Nigeria but had already very interesting life. Since her regular visits to her grandmother, who was an active trader, she is fascinated with the fast pace of trading in capital markets. She studied at Georgetown University in the US, Tongji University in China, as well as Mannheim Business School in Germany. Being fascinated by capital markets all her life, it comes as no surprise, that she joined Goldman Sachs in London, as well as Bloomberg in Reuters in London as well. When she relocated to Germany, to study in Mannheim, she also set up a shop there with her hybrid Robo advisor for women. Affiliate LinksWhy not learn from entrepreneurs and executives who are open to sharing their favorite books. We skimmed through some recommendations and that is what we found. Recommended by: Bill Gates “Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker” https://amzn.to/2XAENlBRecommended by: Jeff Bezos “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras” https://amzn.to/2RGKGKeRecommended by: Elon Musk “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel” https://amzn.to/2REbHhwRecommended by: Tony Hsieh “Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization by Dave Logan” https://amzn.to/34KgraQRecommended by: Warren Buffet “Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales From the World of Wall Street by John Brooks” https://amzn.to/2K92z06Recommended by: Tim Cook “Competing Against Time by George Stalk and Thomas Hout” https://amzn.to/3cjMMYn On our platform there will be a lot of impact investing, so women can choose how they want to invest according to their values and needs. Rukayyat Kolawole, Founder and CEO PaceUP Investment The StartupPaceUp Investment (https://www.paceupinvest.com/) is a hybrid Robo advisor headquartered in Mannheim Germany. We have talked about Mannheim before, but a short wrap-up: It is the only city in Germany set up in squares. Mannheim is the first city in the world, where a car drove (Carl Benz lived close by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Benz) and the place where the world’s first electric elevator was installed here in 1880 (Werner von Siemens). Rakuyyat set up her company PaceUP here to help women build wealth with a hybrid approach, combining remote investment advice with a Robo advisor. PaceUp provides women the tools to understand the basics. Then they offer advisory and coaching, before investing with their Robo advisor. Full service with LicensePacUp will be able to offer its full service only after regulatory approval. They are currently looking at Q4 2021 or Q1 2022 to go live. PaceUp on Social MediaFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/2399668980113869Instagram https://www.instagram.com/paceupinvest/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8788895/YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3EIqAHmEF0dnPB-IAy6gPw Venture Capital FundingPaceUp is currently funded by an angel investment in combination with a government grant of the state of Baden Wurttemberg. They will start their next fundraising soon, looking at 900k €. When I got in a bank to get a mortgage to buy my first apartment, my bank advisor asked me “where is your husband”. … other women had similar experiences Rukayyat Kolawole, Founder and CEO PaceUP Investment Further Readings / Additional ResourcesCapital Markets: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_marketForex: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/forex.aspDerivatives: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/derivative.aspImpact investments: https://thegiin.org/impact-investing/need-to-know/ETFs: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/etf.aspBaFin: https://www.bafin.de/EN/Homepage/homepage_node.htmlFeedbackReach out to us, here is our audience survey, to give us feedback, suggest topics, interview partners or just to say “Hallo!” https://forms.gle/mLV6mVKwGwKuut8BA The InterviewerThis interview was conducted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him: LinkedIn Twitter Email Follow usInstagram https://www.instagram.com/startuprad.io/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/4837115/ Twitter https://twitter.com/startuprad_io Newsletter: https://startupradio.substack.com/subscribe Keep Up to DateHere is our publication calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=MDEyaTI3YWs1MjVxaTNzbWdqbDh2OXRiaW9AZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ Folge direkt herunterladen

This is the fintech track of Startuprad.io. Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fintech_germany Learn more about us at www.startuprad.io PaceUp Invest Helps Women to Create and Manage Wealth – Founded by a Woman90% of the clients of robo advisors in Germany are still men. This has not changed. The interfaces look all the same. They are not targeting women properly. Rukayyat Kolawole, Founder and CEO PaceUP Investment Don’t Miss Any Blog Post, Video, or Audio PodcastSubscribe to our newsletter on Substack here: https://startupradio.substack.com/subscribe The FounderRakuyyat Kalowole (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rukayyat-modupe-kolawole-cfa/) is originally from Nigeria but had already very interesting life. Since her regular visits to her grandmother, who was an active trader, she is fascinated with the fast pace of trading in capital markets. She studied at Georgetown University in the US, Tongji University in China, as well as Mannheim Business School in Germany. Being fascinated by capital markets all her life, it comes as no surprise, that she joined Goldman Sachs in London, as well as Bloomberg in Reuters in London as well. When she relocated to Germany, to study in Mannheim, she also set up a shop there with her hybrid Robo advisor for women. Affiliate LinksWhy not learn from entrepreneurs and executives who are open to sharing their favorite books. We skimmed through some recommendations and that is what we found. Recommended by: Bill Gates “Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker” https://amzn.to/2XAENlBRecommended by: Jeff Bezos “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras” https://amzn.to/2RGKGKeRecommended by: Elon Musk “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel” https://amzn.to/2REbHhwRecommended by: Tony Hsieh “Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization by Dave Logan” https://amzn.to/34KgraQRecommended by: Warren Buffet “Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales From the World of Wall Street by John Brooks” https://amzn.to/2K92z06Recommended by: Tim Cook “Competing Against Time by George Stalk and Thomas Hout” https://amzn.to/3cjMMYn On our platform there will be a lot of impact investing, so women can choose how they want to invest according to their values and needs. Rukayyat Kolawole, Founder and CEO PaceUP Investment The StartupPaceUp Investment (https://www.paceupinvest.com/) is a hybrid Robo advisor headquartered in Mannheim Germany. We have talked about Mannheim before, but a short wrap-up: It is the only city in Germany set up in squares. Mannheim is the first city in the world, where a car drove (Carl Benz lived close by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Benz) and the place where the world’s first electric elevator was installed here in 1880 (Werner von Siemens). Rakuyyat set up her company PaceUP here to help women build wealth with a hybrid approach, combining remote investment advice with a Robo advisor. PaceUp provides women the tools to understand the basics. Then they offer advisory and coaching, before investing with their Robo advisor. Full service with LicensePacUp will be able to offer its full service only after regulatory approval. They are currently looking at Q4 2021 or Q1 2022 to go live. PaceUp on Social MediaFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/2399668980113869Instagram https://www.instagram.com/paceupinvest/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8788895/YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3EIqAHmEF0dnPB-IAy6gPw Venture Capital FundingPaceUp is currently funded by an angel investment in combination with a government grant of the state of Baden Wurttemberg. They will start their next fundraising soon, looking at 900k €. When I got in a bank to get a mortgage to buy my first apartment, my bank advisor asked me “where is your husband”. … other women had similar experiences Rukayyat Kolawole, Founder and CEO PaceUP Investment Further Readings / Additional ResourcesCapital Markets: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_marketForex: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/forex.aspDerivatives: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/derivative.aspImpact investments: https://thegiin.org/impact-investing/need-to-know/ETFs: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/etf.aspBaFin: https://www.bafin.de/EN/Homepage/homepage_node.htmlFeedbackReach out to us, here is our audience survey, to give us feedback, suggest topics, interview partners or just to say “Hallo!” https://forms.gle/mLV6mVKwGwKuut8BA The InterviewerThis interview was conducted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him: LinkedIn Twitter Email Follow usInstagram https://www.instagram.com/startuprad.io/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/4837115/ Twitter https://twitter.com/startuprad_io Newsletter: https://startupradio.substack.com/subscribe Keep Up to DateHere is our publication calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=MDEyaTI3YWs1MjVxaTNzbWdqbDh2OXRiaW9AZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ

Michael kommt aus Ruhrgebiet und ist ein ehegeiziger Tennisspieler. Als Professor für Germanistik hat er USA, Finnland und China bereist. Er hatte Professurstellen an den Universitäten LMU München, Tongji Unitvierstät, Universität Hamburg und Universität Duisburg-Essen. In 2020, er ist nach China zurückgekehrt und ist jetzt Professor am BIT in Beijing. Er gibt uns Einblick in die Forschung an den chinesischen Universitäten und erklärt uns, warum die chinesische Messaging-App WeChat eine virtuelle Sprachinsel für die deutschen Expates und die deutschen KMU ist.

Professor Herzog ist seit 2006 Mitglied von acatech – Nationale Akademie der Technikwissenschaften, und seit 2008 Fellow der Gesellschaft für Informatik. Seit 2015 arbeitet er an der Tongji University in Shanghai als Summit Professor, wo er Methoden der Künstlichen Intelligenz für Industrie 4.0 und die Planung intelligenter Städte einsetzt. 2019 wurde er zu einem der zehn einflussreichsten Köpfe der Künstlichen Intelligenz in Deutschland gewählt. Er erklärt uns, warum China jetzt schon an der Weltspitze der Technologien steht und mehr.

Dr. Stellios Plainiotis is the founder and CEO of NEAPOLI, an Environmental Design & Engineering consultancy firm with offices in Kuala Lumpur and Seoul. Considered as one of Asia's leading Sustainability experts, he has spent over 20 years in academic, policy and private sectors across the Europe, South East and East Asia. He has consulted over 80 important construction projects which include Crystal Palace Park and Hoxton Square in London, Rohansky Ostrov Masterplan in Prague, Issam Fares Institute in Beirut, Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, TRX, Menara PNB, the Petronas Cititowers in KL and the multiple award winning project PKNS HQ, reaching prestigious awards as the recipient of the Europa Award for Sustainability 2017 (Best Sustainability Leader). He will shares with our audience his expertise in designing consciously and respectfully, thinking about sustainability as a more integral whole. Tropical lifestyle and urbanism will be some of the topics he will touch, above, the problem of affordability housing crisis connected to the Green Building Movement. He is the co-author of the first Chinese Guidebook “Design for Sustainability”, which is now used as a textbook at the Tongji University, Shanghai and the University of Nottingham (UK).

In this interview, Thomas Schielke shares his journey in architectural lighting, professional work alongwith advice to students and professionals. Thomas Schielke works in the didactic and communications division at the lighting manufacturer ERCO. He is co-author of the books "Light Perspectives - between culture and technology" and “SuperLux - Smart Light Art, Design & Architecture for Cities”. He has taught lighting design at different universities and was invited for lectures at institutions like Harvard GSD, MIT, Columbia GSAPP, Tongji University and ETHZ. His column “Light Matters” on ArchDaily reveals various perspectives of architectural lighting. In this interview, you will get insights about architectural lighting. Three Parts of Interview Journey 0:24 Background 2:24 Inspiring book 5:37 Impact of travel on lighting philosophy 6:20 Role model 8:12 Biggest challenge in doctoral thesis Professional Work 9:16 Publications and Projects 12:00 His Book 14:13 Challenges faced in career 15:27 Intention behind his work 17:10 Things designers should keep in mind 18:34 Emerging trends in architectural lighting 20:40 Tips for a creative flow 22:08 Collaboration Advice to Students and Young Professionals 23:40 Best advice received till date 25:21 First thing post-pandemic 25:39 Travel recommendations 26:43 Conference on architecture lighting 27:35 Artists' Inspiration 28:55 Upcoming Projects 30:11 Follow his work Links : ArchDaily https://www.archdaily.com/tag/light-m... ERCO www.erco.com Journal Semiotics and Light Video Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k829M... Light and Material Glass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfYNF... Workshop with Students, Shanghai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1t-t... Media Facade Timeline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uaum... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mayur-m-mistry/message

Brig. Gen. Robert S. Spalding III assumed the duties of Special Assistant to the U.S. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff in February 2018. General Spalding received his commission through Fresno State University's ROTC program in 1991. He earned his doctorate in economics and mathematics from the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 2007. The general attended undergraduate pilot training in 1993, and was subsequently assigned as a B-52 Stratofortress co-pilot in the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. He subsequently transitioned to the B-2 Spirit at Whiteman AFB, Missouri. In 2001, he was selected as one of three Air Force Olmsted Scholars, and was a distinguished graduate of Mandarin Chinese language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. Afterward, the general attended Tongji University in Shanghai as a graduate research student. He then returned to Whiteman AFB as a B-2 evaluator pilot and assistant director of operations for the 393rd Bomb Squadron. The general was then assigned to the Office of Secretary of Defense’s Prisoner of War Missing Personnel Office as the military assistant for the deputy assistant secretary of defense. During the Iraq surge in 2007, General Spalding deployed to Baghdad and directed the Personal Security Coordination Center. After a stint at the Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, he was reassigned to the B-2 at Whiteman AFB. While at Whiteman AFB, he was the chief of safety, operations group commander and vice wing commander. He was then selected as a Military Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York. General Spalding then served as the chief China strategist for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, Washington D.C. His next assignment led him back to China as the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attache to China in Bejing, China. Prior to his current assignment he served at the White House as the Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council, Washington D.C. About Us: https://www.mythicistmilwaukee.com/what-we-do/ If you like our videos please support our Patreon: http://tinyurl.com/ofa37jg

USAF Brigadier General Robert S. Spalding III assumed the duties of Special Assistant to the U.S. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff in February 2018. General Spalding received his commission through Fresno State University's ROTC program in 1991. He earned his doctorate in economics and mathematics from the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 2007. The general attended undergraduate pilot training in 1993, and was subsequently assigned as a B-52 Stratofortress co-pilot in the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. He subsequently transitioned to the B-2 Spirit at Whiteman AFB, Missouri. In 2001, he was selected as one of three Air Force Olmsted Scholars, and was a distinguished graduate of Mandarin Chinese language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. Afterward, the general attended Tongji University in Shanghai as a graduate research student. He then returned to Whiteman AFB as a B-2 evaluator pilot and assistant director of operations for the 393rd Bomb Squadron. The general was then assigned to the Office of Secretary of Defense’s Prisoner of War Missing Personnel Office as the military assistant for the deputy assistant secretary of defense. During the Iraq surge in 2007, General Spalding deployed to Baghdad and directed the Personal Security Coordination Center. After a stint at the Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, he was reassigned to the B-2 at Whiteman AFB. While at Whiteman AFB, he was the chief of safety, operations group commander and vice wing commander. He was then selected as a Military Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York. General Spalding then served as the chief China strategist for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, Washington D.C. His next assignment led him back to China as the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attache to China in Bejing, China. Prior to his current assignment he served at the White House as the Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council, Washington D.C. Correction: The Council on Foreign Relations was developed in 1921 as a post-WWI think tank. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iantrottier/support

Do you feel like you're living on another planet right now? There's a reason. Humans are social animals and social distancing and isolation is not our normal here on Earth. Mark sits down with his son Tristan, and Carmel Johnston, two crew members from NASA's HI-SEAS IV study to learn what is required to survive and even thrive during an extended mission to Mars and how we can adapt our own behaviors to stay happy here on Earth. Transcript:  MARK BASSINGTHWAIGHTE: Welcome. You're listening to ALPS In Brief, the podcast that comes to you from the historic Florence building in beautiful downtown Missoula, Montana. I'm Mark Bassingthwaighte, the Risk Manager here at ALPS, and today we're going to have a little fun, do something a little bit interesting. Believe it or not, I'm going to try to make some connections between Mars and all of these stay-at-home or stay-in-place orders all over the country. Now, how are we going to do that? I guess saying Mars is a little bit misleading. We are going to talk about a Mars simulation and I am so pleased and excited to have two very special guests on today and honestly both of them are very special people in my life and in the life of my wife. The first is Carmel Johnston. MARK: Carmel is quite an outdoorsman. Boy, trying to get her to do a podcast can be a bit of a challenge, but just because you never know where she is. I was watching this morning, a YouTube of her as she was doing a TV show in Australia of all places, but she also spends quite a bit of time now in Glacier National Park, another place that is near and dear to many of our hearts as folks in Montana. Carmel has a background from Montana State University, a master of science in land resources and environmental sciences. And now she is the Utility Systems Repairer and Operator at the National Park Service. And actually, Carmel, you're going to have to explain, is that the same position in Glacier? CARMEL JOHNSTON: Yeah, so it's called Utility Systems Repair Operator, but essentially it's a water and wastewater operator position so, all the water that people drink we create, and then all the wastewater that happens afterwards, we treat before it is given back to the earth. MARK: Okay, very good. And I'll explain a little bit more about Carmel here in just a minute. The other guest that I'd like to introduce is someone that goes back in my life quite a few years. We first met in, I believe it was, Tristan, wasn't it 1984 if I'm remembering correctly? This is Tristan Bassingthwaighte and Tristan among, and again, like Carmel, these two, you can find them all over the world at different times. Of note, Tristan received his Masters in Architecture from Tongji University in Shanghai, and then went on to complete his Doctorate of Architecture from the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Tristan has done all kinds of things, but my interest in having him visit with us today is, some of what he does is, how would you describe it, in terms of the different, I'm losing my words here, Tristan, but what type of architecture ties in here? TRISTAN BASSINGTHWAIGHTE: I specialize in the design of habitats, research bases, even you could say, drilling platforms, the areas people would go on earth or in outer space that are isolated, dangerous working environments, confined environments, and then how to understand the social and psychological issues that occur with people there, being removed from family and society and walks in the park and fresh coffee, and trying to address them architecturally, so that we could say, live on Mars for 10 years and not have everybody go crazy or something along those lines. MARK: My senior moment was extreme environment design. That's what I was struggling with, just every once in a while recall isn't what it should be. While you listeners might be wondering why I have these two guests visiting with us today and what Mars has to do with stay-at-home orders. Both of these folks were participants in a Mars simulation. It was, what is called HI-SEAS IV, and it was a 366 day mission, and Carmel was the crew commander for this mission and Tristan was the crew space architect, and they really have all kinds of stories and insights and experiences to share. But this was a project between NASA and the University of Hawaii, and they literally lived in a very small space for 366 days, never being able to go outside on the side of, it was Mauna Loa, if I'm remembering correctly, but Carmel, could I have you just share a very brief little background in terms of what this experience was about? And Tristan, of course jump in anytime. TRISTAN: Hmm. CARMEL: Yeah, so we were the six participants of the Hawai'i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation Mission Number Four and that consisted of the six of us living in a 1200 square foot dome on the side of Mauna Loa for the year, and like you said, we couldn't go outside unless we were wearing a space suit and we lived off freeze dried, dehydrated powdered ingredients for the year unless we were able to grow our own vegetables, and we were the guinea pigs studying the effects of isolation and confinement on all of us and out of all the different tools and techniques that people have thought of up to this point for dealing with those psychological aspects of confinement. MARK: Yes. Yep. Very good. And Tristan, maybe you can share just a little bit when we talk about isolation, there were six for those of you listening, a total of six individuals participated in this year long mission and I believe it's to this day, the longest isolation experiment run yet here in the States anyway, but there's isolation, too, in terms of communication and Tristan, could you share a little bit about that? TRISTAN: Yeah. When you actually go up there, you find you've got your row of laptops so we can all do our work and research and everything. You've got several electronic devices like iPads and everything to do quizzes and surveys, enter the various information for the experiments we're doing, write about how we feel, et cetera, sort of tracking our emotions and reactions during the course of the year. But also there's a viciously delayed internet that only allows access to a few research sites because that's what we were doing. Phones don't work. TRISTAN: There's no real time communication with anybody that's not in the dome. So if I was going to say, write an email to grandma, I could compose the whole thing and send it off and it would be held in an ESSA server for 20 minutes and then delivered to her. So, all of our digital communications that people focus on these days are light speed delayed the way they would be if we were actually on Mars. So, you're very, very, very removed from everybody physically and in terms of communication and every way you can imagine. So it's not just, oh, you're in a tent but you can hang out on Snapchat if you want. MARK: Very good, thank you. When you guys signed up for this and got selected in terms of what you were thinking it would be like versus what you ultimately discovered, did you know what you were getting into? TRISTAN: Yeah, I would say I had a fair idea because I was actually applying to this near the tail end of my Masters research and the Masters research was also on [inaudible 00:08:24] environmental architecture, sociology, psychology, and I only found HI-SEAS because I was trying to research analogs that were on earth and then honestly, just ask some of the participants questions and that accidentally turned into applying. MARK: How about you, Carmel? CARMEL: Yeah, I think we knew a lot about what we were getting into, but there's definitely a component to it that we had no idea how isolating it really would be. And several of us had done previous analog simulations before, not to that length of time, but two week simulations here and there, and each simulation you go through whether it's HERA or MDRS or HI-SEAS or SIRIUS, any of those, they all have different components to it. And so, ours was the delayed communications. You had unlimited amount of data to be dropping data packages if NASA needed to send us something, but it would be delayed and it would be in the say, constraints of how they would actually send data to Mars. CARMEL: Whereas other ones it's, oh you have unlimited real time communication but you only get a certain amount of data per day or per week or something. And then every simulation space suits are different and the different things that you're testing are different, which is great because we're compiling all these resources of the different aspects of isolation and confinement, and then, the ultimate test is going there. And so, hopefully if we practice all these different components to it here, then it will it make easier for actually getting there. MARK: Maybe, I'm just going to take a tangent for a quick second, in light of our listening audience here and I really didn't explain what HI-SEAS stands for. It is the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation. So it's H-I dash S-E-A-S, if you ever want to look something up and see what HI-SEAS is all about. Was it hard? CARMEL: Oh yeah. MARK: How so? CARMEL: I would say that it, well, up to this point, it's been the hardest thing I've done in my life, but that is barring that my parents are still here and so when they go, that'll probably be the hardest thing I have to deal with. But having a lack of communication because our connection to society and our friends and family is humongous and each one of us, Tristan will tell stories about his friends that fell off. Each one of us had friends that wouldn't write back or they'd forget about us until the Martian came out, and then all of a sudden we get a lot of emails and people saying, "Oh, we're thinking of you." And you're like, well, where were you two months ago when I really needed you to respond back to an email? CARMEL: And it's kind of the out of sight, out of mind concept of as soon as you're gone then people forget because you're not in their regular life all the time. And we were just stuck up there doing our research and it was very easy to feel disconnected from the people that we cared about the most, which made us feel like, well, maybe we don't mean that much to them or you start playing all these games in your head about why people don't respond back. It's probably because they have kids and they're living their lives. But to you it seems like, well, this is really important to me. MARK: Tristan? TRISTAN: Yeah, I would definitely agree with that. I had all sorts of people that kind of vanished and dropped away. I mean, half of our relationships these days seem to be over email or text anyways. So, you'd think they'd be able to keep up, but it kind of gave you a good opportunity to, healthy or unhealthy, coping mechanisms can help get you through some stuff. So, it was a chance to pick up some hobbies and try and focus on work and do some other things as well, but you definitely feel it. MARK: Mm-hmm (affirmative). How did you make peace with that, I guess? How were you able to move forward? Because nobody at the end came out crazy, ready to be hospitalized. Nobody died, in terms of, you didn't kill each other, that kind of thing. So how'd you do it? TRISTAN: I think the big thing for me was a string of tiny little fun victories mixed with a few larger goals over the course of the last eight months perhaps. So, Carmel and Cyprian got really into trying to run a marathon and I thought that was the worst idea ever because who wants to run forever? That just hurts. And eventually, Carmel talked me into it and I ended up doing that. So I mean that was a, what did I do, like two and a half months of training to actually get up to that? CARMEL: Yeah, I don't remember having to talk you into it. I think you were like, "Hey, I think I could do this." And we were like, "Well, make your training plan. You can totally do it." TRISTAN: Yeah. Yeah, something like that. So, you start to run and everything and then I think she and Cyprian were coming by every half hour leaving treats on the treadmill and spraying me with water bottles and stuff. So, you've got your camaraderie on the inside and then when there's not some massive thing that you're working on or accomplish that day, Carmel and I invented the pizza cupcake, a lot of fun, small things that like, "Oh, this is today's victory. I have changed the culinary world." MARK: Can you, Carmel, just share for everybody listening again what running a marathon in a dome looks like? CARMEL: So, we have a treadmill there and at the beginning of the year, the treadmill was kind of adjacent to the window and then we found that Cyprian kept falling off of it because he was looking out the window, and so we put it in front of the window and then at least you had the same Mars landscape to look at while you're running, but for the most part you have to watch a lot of movies because running a marathon in general is pretty time consuming depending on how fast you're grounding. Either way, it's a lot of movement and listening to movies or watching movies or listening to podcasts or something, it's kind of the only way to take away from the monotony of one foot in front of the other for so darn long. MARK: Yeah, and for those listening again, can you appreciate what they're sharing? They're running marathons on a treadmill and trust me, this isn't a state-of-the-art brand new high tech thing, in front of, I wouldn't say a window, my memory is it was the window, and it is about the size of maybe a large pizza pan. It's just a circle and you're looking out at volcanic rock. There's nothing out there. So, just trying to put that in perspective. Crazy kinds of stuff. Did you want to share? Go ahead. I think I cut you off. CARMEL: Oh, you're okay. Sometimes there were clouds so that really broke it up and made it a little change of scenery. But yeah, it was pretty monotonous the whole time when you're running, but at the same time, that's the thing that's breaking the other monotonous cycle of your life, which is research and cooking food and being around the same people all day every day, and so that's actually kind of an escape is doing something pretty monotonous. It's funny that way. MARK: Let's shift gears just a little bit. These stay-in-place orders really are having an impact on people. I've been talking with some lawyers in recent weeks, several of whom work in the domestic relations space and they're reporting tremendous increase in families, whether it's just some abuse kinds of things going on to just divorce. People are getting a little crazy and stir crazy. A lot of people I heard in Paris for instance, you're not allowed to exercise outside now and I'd love for you guys to talk about what going outside meant for you, both in terms of how it was done and what it meant for you, but Michigan has just issued an order forbidding contact now with friends and family in terms of extended, you are not to go out and visit with anybody. You can only interact with people that are in your physical home. MARK: Now, of course, I guess you can say hi or smile at somebody at the grocery store. But that's a different thing. So, in light of the challenges, so many are having to face, that have never dealt with anything like this, and for some it's going to be four to six weeks. Others, it might be eight to 10 weeks, nothing like 366 days. But perhaps through the context of sharing your stories, how you survived and things, you could share some tips and insights into how people going through these stay-at-home, stay-in-place orders can again, come out the other side without too many bruises and nobody's killed each other. So, I'll let you guys chat here for a little bit on that. TRISTAN: Yeah well, I mean part of it is this is being forced on everyone, where as we got to volunteer. So we had to begin ours with slightly different mindset, which helps out. But I think, when you go into something like this, the problems that occur sort of, I mean you, you can imagine them being created because you're stuck inside and can't leave and there's no communication, whatever. But really, wherever you go, like when you go on a vacation, your problems are waiting for you when you get back because you were just on vacation. And when you go into isolation. You're just taking your life and your problems with you. So, I would argue that the people who are getting to spend a month with their spouse and then realize they can't stand the way they chew food and they get divorced, probably had other issues, it was likely not the the quarantine them split them all up. TRISTAN: So if you're going to be stuck somewhere and you can't go to the bars and hang with all your friends and do the normal life distraction stuff that defined your existence before all of this, you're going to, whether you realize it or not, meet yourself in some ways and realize where your priorities lay, the character traits that you actually enjoy and hate about the people you're living with. Even start to ask existential questions maybe. I know in the last like couple of weeks I've been like, what am I doing with my life and trying to just figure some of that stuff out again because I've got the time now. MARK: Mm-hmm (affirmative). That's great. You're so spot on. Carmel. CARMEL: Yeah, I think that's really well put, especially because we did choose to be isolated and so, it takes a special kind of special to even want to do that. And I mean honestly, isolation isn't for everyone and we know that because there are only certain people that volunteer for isolation studies or to go to other planets or to live on the ISS or go to Antarctica. Not everyone's volunteering to do that because it just doesn't mesh well with them, and you see people who choose to overwinter in Antarctica year after year. They enjoy it or they are at least able to get through it because that matches with that personality. So, having this forced upon everyone in the world right now really is kind of taking a lifestyle choice for some people and making it a mandatory lifestyle. So, finding coping mechanisms, things that help you make your life as easy as possible for where you are at right now is probably the best step for a lot of people because they might enjoy certain aspects of it, but they definitely aren't going to enjoy everything about it, as we did as well. There are certain things I miss terribly about the dome and then there are some things I'm like, I never need to go back there again for others. MARK: What would you say you missed? I find that interesting. TRISTAN: Oh, the food. CARMEL: The food. I actually kind of do miss the isolation because we were up there and you could just get so much work done and you didn't have a lot of distractions in some ways and I had a treadmill that I could run on most of the time because a couple of weeks ago they took away the gym at work and so now you're forced to exercise outside except for that it's snowing all the time, and they closed the park and they closed the reservation and you literally can't leave a one mile square radius anymore. And so, I'm going a little crazy for other reasons right now. MARK: You raised the term coping mechanisms and I think that's a good, can we explore that a little bit and just have both of you talk, what were your coping mechanisms? What really worked for you and if there was something that you tried and didn't, I'd love to hear that as well. TRISTAN: Yeah, I mean, I would say, part of the reason that we had said food was such a great thing is because Carmel's mom actually taught her to cook very well and I got to be sous chef two days out of the week inventing new things or learning how to make old favorites, whatever. We actually pulled off a super respectable salmon eggs Benedict, a double layer chocolate cake, the aforementioned pizza cupcakes. We made Swedish meat, no, not Swedish meatballs, oh, what were the meatballs we made? Italian meatballs or something and they were actually better than the meatballs at the restaurant we went to when we all got out. So it was a bit of a playing around and creative aspect there. MARK: I was working on my dissertation while I was there so I had some of my personal work as well. Some of my best selling tee shirts, I came up with the ideas and drew them while I was up there because I had the time. You sort of have the option between say, for people going through isolation now, you can do something that is numbing like getting through your favorite series or watching Battlestar, all four seasons, over the course of two weeks and you're sort of pausing yourself as a person in your life while you enjoy something. Or you could say, well I'm going to do something productive or creative and actually find ways to engage the part of yourself that wants to learn the language or an instrument or start doing art or becoming an incredible bonsai Shaffer person. One of those will actually let you survive a year and one of them will let you get through a couple of weeks. TRISTAN: So, I think we're actually going to start to see as these stay- at-home orders carry on, more problems, because a lot of people are doing the numbing route, where they're investing heavily in say, television or whatever, something that's sort of a passive hobby, instead of something that actually lends meaning to what they're doing and helps them feel like they are progressing. MARK: Following up on that, I get concerned, too, about alcohol abuse. If there's not, the numbing kind of thing, just to kind of get through it and it's so easy to just casually increase and increase and increase and what becomes after dinner or before dinner beverage or two, you have a little bit at lunch, you have some in the afternoon. What the heck? I've got another beer or so in the fridge to get the nine o'clock movie and on and on. Carmel, how about you? Your thoughts. CARMEL: Yeah, I think, I have lots of thoughts. I've been thinking about this for five years now. I think right now it's okay to acknowledge that it sucks. Nobody's really having a great time right now and it's okay to say, this is not where we wanted to be and it's changing everything and it's hard, but what can we gain out of it? And it's okay to live in the grumpy mood for a little bit, but then the thing that's going to bring you out of it is planning and having a goal for the day, or I had one person who was retired, they told me the other week, I have at least one thing I have to accomplish every day, even if it's just making my bed or it's stacking firewood or something else. I have to write on the list, I did one thing every day because then once you do one, it'll be find, you'll start doing a bunch of other things, but if you sit in bed first thing in the morning and start watching a show, then it's six shows later, you're like, hmm, I guess I'm kind of hungry now and I might make something or I might just eat leftovers. And so having things to do in your day that need to be done that day is actually helpful because you have a drive and a reason to go. CARMEL: And I'm so thankful that I am still working right now because I have something that makes me, I mean, I would be not getting out of bed otherwise, but you know I have a purpose and I am contributing every single day right now and that gives me a lot of fulfillment knowing that I am still able to do this and I'm not forced to be at home because that would be extremely challenging for anyone to be told, you can't go to work, you're still getting paid, but then you're like, well heck, what am I even contributing right now? So, as Tristan said, coming up with workouts or a craft or a hobby or something you want to master that gives you a purpose for every single day. It's very easy for all your days to run together and to not know what day of the week it is, but if you have something that keeps you going forward every single day, that's a longterm game plan versus a short term plan. MARK: I obviously vicariously went through this experience just as a parent and trying to stay in touch and so I kind of lived the experiment as an earthling. It seemed apparent to me that two coping mechanisms that were very, very effective, and I think not only for the two of you, but that became effective and helped others in the dome, and that would be the use of humor and the ability to get outside. Now, I want to underscore for people listening, getting outside of the dome is not like you get to walk through the air lock and take your tee shirt off and get a little sun and go for a run up the hill. You're in spacesuits, you don't get the fresh air, the sun isn't on your skin for 366 days. Either both of you, if you would just share some thoughts about the importance of, did that matter? How did it matter, in terms of humor or just a change of scenery? TRISTAN: Yeah, I mean the big thing is it's a new stimulus. So, instead of the treadmill to try and escape from whatever's going on or doing our work or our hobbies, you actually can go over the landscape. The physical exertion is, while it has the same unpleasantness as jogging for a long time, it can at the same time feel cathartic and like you're moving your body because you are, so it can help meet some of your exercise goals and help you workout some stress. TRISTAN: But we were lucky enough that, I don't know if it's on the entire mountain, but we had several in the local area we were allowed to explore, but we had lava tubes so you could schedule an EVA, and do all this paperwork and get everything set up, and then the next day, you suit up and go outside and your teams and everything. And instead of just walking around on a barren landscape, which can be beautiful for its own aesthetic reasons, you're getting to wiggle through strange holes and cracks and find giant house-sized volumes under the lava that are totally empty or have a little skylight at the top with a shaft of light and trees and it's dark and a little scary but super pretty, and just this really wonderful fun exploring thing. And that was a massive stimulus and change of pace compared to whatever was going on inside the dome because we had dozens of these lava tubes and pits and everything that you could explore. MARK: Very cool. Carmel. CARMEL: Yeah, I agree that those are probably, I'd say humor, going outside, and exercise are the top three mechanisms for keeping yourself sane while you're there. Tristan was the diffuser of almost all situations we had when anything would get tense, he'd crack a joke about something and we'd be laughing and then everything would be better or at least, it would be better than it was before. And so, one of the most valuable roles you have in a crew is to have humor, to maintain humor around a situation. You can be serious and get your work done, but being lighthearted for certain things is absolutely necessary because if you can't laugh about it then you're going to be in a world of hurt later. CARMEL: And I agree, going outside was huge and we did have, most of our EVAs were, our extra vehicular activities, [inaudible 00:30:28] outside. We put on our space suit and most of them were meant for doing geology research or lava tubes or the different tasks that the research team had for us to do out there. But sometimes it was just to go have fun because things would be so tense. You're like, I just need to go outside and maybe walk in a straight line because you can only do like 21 steps in the dome before you have to turn and round a corner, and you can't just keep doing laps. You have to go back and forth and just go outside and use your long distance vision and stretch all your muscles and you can even just run down the road if you wanted to, just totally different than being inside, and so mixing up that, like Tristan said, the stimuli of being indoors versus outdoors was really, really important. MARK: Yeah, I'm finding that's what's helping me right now. Now I telecommute so a stay-at-home order isn't quite the same impact for my wife and I than with other family situations perhaps, but I've been getting out. Since the stay-at-home, Tristan, you might be impressed here with your old man. I put 150 miles on my bike since the stay-at-home, just get outside, you can still socially distance. Nobody's within six feet of me, but I'm pedaling like crazy, and it's just been good. It really does make a difference, even just in mood. CARMEL: Fresh air is super good for everyone. That's got to be good for, if you are sick, having some fresh air go through your lungs and if you're not sick, helping keep yourself healthy and moving strong. MARK: Well, I feel like I've taken a lot of your time here and I so, so appreciate your willingness of both of you to share a little bit with the ALPS audience. Before I let you go, do you have one final tip or comment you'd like to share in terms of just, this is your chance to say it again, people that are just trying to make it work and figure out how not to go stir crazy. A final thought from each of you. TRISTAN: Yeah, I mean, I'd say the biggest is you've got the time down to let your vices squeeze you. So try and balance that out with less immediately fun but more longterm productive goals because it sucks now. Nobody wants to go and work out for two hours a day or do that paperwork that's lying around but actually producing something instead of just indulging in something will make four weeks feel a lot more like four and less like 10. MARK: Yeah, yeah. Carmel. CARMEL: I like that. I like that a lot. I also think, finding more than one thing, because one of my downfalls in the dome was that running was my thing and then anytime the treadmill wasn't available, whether it was power or it was broken or whatever, I was a wreck because I just didn't have the ability to do my one coping mechanism, and so having a whole suite of them, whether it's painting or you have some online videos you could do or a whole variety of things that make you happy and are helping you and can be productive at the same time, that would be good because if all of a sudden the gym closes and then it's bad weather outside. Then now you're like, well, what am I supposed to do? And you have all this stress or anxiety built up that I can't get rid of. You need to have a whole suite of things you can do in order to be able to relieve that. MARK: Yeah. To that, I would like to add in terms of the comments both of you shared. Just as a family member that was on earth during this whole experience, I would like to underscore the importance of social connectivity that both Carmel and Tristan talked about earlier in this podcast. We can't necessarily go out and meet friends at the local brew pub or something and have a nice evening, but there are alternatives, and to try to just call a little bit more, talk on the phone, do some Zoom meetings with family. We've done a little bit of this with some of the kids and that's been a lot of fun. MARK: So, don't underestimate as well, the value of staying socially connected. I think that can make a big difference. Well, that brings the podcast to an end. To those of you listening, thank you very much for taking the time. I hope you found something of value and please don't hesitate to reach out to me at ALPS. It's m bass, mbass, B-A-S-S @alpsinsurance.com. Happy to try and help in terms of any questions, concerns you might have on ethics, risk management, or even just getting through a stay-at-home order. That's it, folks. Have a good one. Bye bye.

A Podcast By Tessy Antony De Nassau. Dirk Daenen recently started and is currently the Dean of the British Chamber Academy for Belgium and the EU. He frequently guest lectures at universities around the world, including Vietnam National University, Tongji University in China, Novi Sad University in Serbia and Clark University in the USA. Alongside his academic work, he regularly coaches / consults for a range of international companies and public sector organisations. Dirk is also a huge fan of TED Talks, having hosted and / or coordinated numerous TEDx events including currently TEDxLuxembourgCity. Having lived and worked in Brazil, Germany, UK, France, USA and Belgium, he understood from a young age that cultures are diverse and the people that make them can not possibly be educated in a one-size fits all manner. He has since been travelling, observing and teaching in as many countries as he can get to. Together with his students he always examines the question: "in communication, is it all about perception?" - they call him the perception guy. https://www.dirkdaenen.com/

Today on The Negotiation, Kevin Johannes Wörner discusses his background in venture capital and the startup space in China. The German-born entrepreneur developed an “appetite” for the Chinese market at an early age. He studied at Tongji University before working for some time in Germany as a management consultant. Following this, he founded the business accelerator Properas in Berlin.It was around this point, however, that he decided it was time he made the move to China. He got in touch with Wei Zhou, founder of XNode, and today Kevin works on the company's startup acceleration practice. XNode does three things: 1) coworking spaces, 2) corporate innovation, and 3) startup acceleration (with a focus on cross-border acceleration).One distinguishing feature of XNode's two-month acceleration program is that the company works closely with governments. It is by building trust with these governments that XNode is able to bring in a steady flow of international startups to work with. Not only does this make working relationships easier, but it also allows XNode to leverage this worldwide network to find even more startups and entrepreneurs to partner with. The ultimate goal that XNode has for each and every one of its startups is a tangible business impact.When asked about the difference between how Chinese and Western startups scale their businesses, Kevin says that the Chinese practice the Lean Startup methodology, which makes them practical, incredibly fast, and highly responsive to the market. This was the source of much cultural shock during Kevin's first month working in China, having been so used to the more gradual speed of German business.If Western companies wish to catch up to China's speed, Kevin encourages cultural exchange. It is not enough to simply preach speed, pragmatism, or innovation—this will change nothing. Instead, Kevin wishes to have more Western companies and governments working together by “building bridges”. This involves reaching out to those already working in China—which include Westerners such as Todd and Kevin themselves who have developed a deep understanding and appreciation of the market over time.On the topic of “mobile-first, mobile-only”, Kevin likes to differentiate between B2B and B2C. For B2C startups, it is difficult to create applications for Chinese consumers. Instead, it is better to use existing platforms to do sales and marketing. On the other hand, it is easier for B2B startups to create new mobile solutions simply due to their smaller ecosystems—there is no need to change a consumer culture shared by millions (if not billions) of people.

In this episode, host Andrew Geary and Xinming Wu discuss the present and future on deep learning for seismic interpretation. Xinming and Andrew discuss how deep learning can improve training data sets, the importance of open software packages, the value of understanding seismic interpretation across the workflow, and what would happen if this topic reached its full potential. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/8847 for the complete show notes. BIOGRAPHY Xinming Wu serves as a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, where he started the Computational Interpretation Group. Xinming received an engineering degree (2009) in geophysics from Central South University, an M.Sc. (2012) in geophysics from Tongji University, and a Ph.D. (2016) in geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines where he was a member working with Dave Hale at the Center for Wave Phenomena. He received SEG awards for Best Paper in GEOPHYSICS with Dave Hale in 2016, Best Student Poster Paper with Sean Bader and Sergey Fomel in 2017, and an Honorable Mention for Best Paper presented at the 2018 SEG Annual Meeting with Sergey Fomel. He also received the Shanghai excellent master thesis award in 2013. Xinming writes a lot of software packages for his research on seismic structural and stratigraphic interpretation, deep learning (e.g., FaultSeg), subsurface modeling, joint seismic and well-log interpretation, and geophysical inversion with geologic constraints. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Jennifer Crockett, Ally McGinnis, and Mick Swiney. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. Your reviews bring a smile to our faces.

Dr. Elle Wang is the Founder & CEO of Emilia George, a maternity workwear company that she started during her pregnancy to produce high-quality and professional-looking maternity clothing. The company uses high-end eco-friendly fabrics that not only will make the mom-to-be feel extra comfortable during her pregnancy but will also make sure her professional image is preserved with well- designed and highly functional maternity workwear. In addition, Elle is the founder of the Fabrics Matter Movement, which is currently being trademarked. Fabrics matter for maternity and postpartum clothing because when a mom is holding her baby, what she wears is what the little one wears as well. Elle’s son George twice had irritated skin after she held him close to her chest while wearing clothes that contained harsh dye. Elle wants to raise awareness of the importance of fabrics not only for baby’s clothes, but also for mom’s clothes. Elle is also an advisor and strategist for Partnerships, Business Development, and stakeholder management at the United Nations in New York. She has traveled around the world for her job, including to Bidibidi Refugee camps in Northern Uganda and post-hurricane regions in Haiti.  Elle obtained her doctorate in public policy at George Mason University in Virginia, an MPP in international relations and economics from the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University in California, and a BA in broadcast journalism from Tongji University, Shanghai. On this episode Elle and Blessing discussed what it's like to build a career and a business, ask for and receive support in caring for her son, engage in meaningful work while challenging and pushing boundaries in fashion and business. Follow Elle Wang's Emilia George and let her know we sent you! The Mother Honestly podcast is sponsored by Motor City Woman.

To understand the history and nature of design we invited one of the most important design theorists practicing today. Richard Buchanan, author of Discovering Design and a professor in the United States and China, joins the show. Richard Buchanan, Professor of Information Systems in the Department of Design and Innovation at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and also Chaired Professor of Design Theory and Practice at the College of Design and Innovation at Tongji University in Shanghai, joins Dirk and Jon to share his frameworks for design and creativity while exploring the past, present, and future of this profession that will dominate much of our upcoming Season 03.

Nicolas Turchi is a designer currently working at Zaha Hadid Architects and a Digital Futures PhD scholar at Tongji University. Nicholas holds a Master in Architecture II from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Bologna and University of West of England. He has worked for several firms including Eisenman Architect, Xefirotarch, Mario Cucinella Architects and 5+1AA. Nicolas is particularly interested in emergent technologies and how they affect the theoretical aspect of the discipline. He has also been studying the relationship between architecture and philosophy and graduated with a thesis on Time and Space in architecture, influenced by the thought of Henri Bergson and Edmund Husserl. For today's episode we will be talking to Nicolas Turchi about why it is so important for him to expose himself to new circumstances, new cultures, new places, new ideologies, new everything in order to stay ahead. We talk about his different backgrounds, from Italy, to London, to the United States, and to London again… We talk about why he loves working at Zaha Hadid Architects, and he gives us some insights into his thesis project and life long obsession, time and architecture and specifically why he believes that architects must bring something from outside of the discipline, to have a more well-rounded profession. We also talk at great lengths about how parametricism is becoming a new norm, but how we as designers should always stay above that term, and not let the computer design for us nor have parametric designs for the sake of being innovative, but using parametric workflows to be more efficient and have better performance. Really interesting conversation, I am really excited about it, hope you all enjoy! Let the talk begin... --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Jane Ferguson:                Hi everyone. Welcome to Getting Personal: Omics of the Heart, the podcast from Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine. I'm Jane Ferguson and this is episode 30 from July 2019.                                            First up we have a paper, the Subtype Specificity of Genetic Loci Associated With Stroke in 16664 cases and 32792 Controls, from Matthew Trailer and colleagues on behalf of the NINDS Stroke Genetics Network and the International Stroke Genetics Consortium.                                            They were interested in understanding whether genetic loci previously found to be associated with stroke have distinct associations with stroke subtypes, specifically ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. They compiled data sets through an international consortium to analyze 16664 stroke cases and 32792 controls, all of European ancestry. The cases were subtyped using two different stroke classification systems: the Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment, or TOAST system, and the Causative Classification of Stroke, or CCS system.                                            They selected genetic loci for consideration based on previous association with stroke in general or stroke subtypes in the MEGASTROKE consortium, which had included a large number of the subjects included in the present study. They used a Bayesian multinomial logistic regression approach to evaluate the association of snips at each locus with stroke subtypes identified under the TOAST and CCS classifications, giving five different case groups compared with a set of controls.                                            16 loci were taken forward for further analysis. There were seven loci which associated with both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes subtypes, four which clearly associated with either ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, with the rest showing less consistent effects. One locus, EDNRA, showed opposite affects for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Overall, the findings indicate a large degree of genetic heterogeneity, but some overlap, suggesting common underlying pathophysiological pathways in different stroke subtypes, potentially related to small vessel disease. More detailed phenotyping and further analysis in large samples is required to fully understand genetic mechanisms underlying the risk of different stroke subtypes.                                            And, just to add, this paper was previously submitted to the pre-print server Bio Archive. We support open science and are always happy to consider papers that have been submitted to pre-print servers. So, if you have a particularly cool paper on Bio Archive that fits our scope, do feel free to send it our way.                                            Next up, we have a paper from Fabiola del Greco, Cristian Pattaro, Peter Pramstaller, Alessandera Rossini, and colleagues, from Eurac Research Institute for Biomedicine. This paper, entitled Lipidomics, Atrial Conduction, and Body Mass Index, Evidence from Association, Mediation, and Mendelian Randomization Models, aims to investigate the mechanisms underlying associations between circulating lipids and atrial conduction. They used mass spectrometry measurement of 151 sphingo- and phospholipids in plasma or serum from individuals who had undergone electrocardiogram measurements to ascertain P-wave duration.                                            They first looked for associations in 839 individuals from the micro islets in South Tyrol, or MICROS study, based in Italy, and replicated in 951 participants of the Orkney Complex Disease Study, ORCADES, based in Scotland. They identified and replicated an association between levels of phosphatidylcholine 38-3 and P-wave duration, which was independent of cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose levels.                                            However, the association was mediated by BMI, and suggested that increased BMI may cause both increased levels of PC38-3 and longer P-wave duration, suggesting a role for body mass in altered lipids in atrial electrical activity.                                            The next paper is a research letter from Hana Bangash, Iftikhar Kullo, and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic on Use of Twitter to Promote Awareness of Familial Hypercholesterolemia.                                            Scientists and health professionals are increasingly using Twitter to communicate. This team wondered whether organized awareness campaigns, including Twitter events like Tweetathons, really make a different. They analyzed Twitter activity related to familial hypercholesterolemia in September 2018, during national cholesterol education month, which included an international familial hypercholesterolemia awareness day and Tweetathon. They also analyzed tweets from August and October 2018, where there was no formal awareness campaign and compared the FH Twitter activity with that of colorectal cancer, which did not have any formal awareness campaigns at that time.                                            In September, FH-related tweets increased by 152.9% compared to August, and then declined by over 58% in October. The topic reach for familial hypercholesterolemia was 11.1 million in August, and increased over 250% in September to 37.7 million. The reach declined by over 71% in October to just over 10 million. In comparison, the reach for colorectal cancer declined from 453 million in August to 300 million in September and then increased to 677 million in October, which happened to be breast cancer awareness month.                                            These data suggest that awareness campaigns like national cholesterol education month do lead to an increase in Twitter activity. However, this increase isn't necessarily sustained during the following month, and it remains unclear whether Twitter activity actually translates into a wider awareness amongst providers or patients, which could translate into clinical benefits. Nonetheless, as the use of Twitter increases, this may be a promising avenue to promote awareness and to disseminate knowledge.                                            And, of course, I have to take this opportunity to mention that Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine is on Twitter and you can follow us @Circ_Gen to keep up with what's going on at the journal.                                            Next up, we have a letter entitled B-iallelic Mutations in NUP205 and NUP210 Are Associated with Abnormal Cardiac Left-Right Patterning from WeiCheng Chen, Yuan Zhang, Sunhu Yang, Xiangyu Zhou, and colleagues from Tongji University.                                            They set out to understand the genetic underpinnings of cardiac left-right patterning and to probe why individuals with situs inversus totalis, or SIT, where the chest organs are in a complete mirror image to typical, have almost no symptoms or complications, while individuals with heterotaxy, who have abnormal organ arrangement that is not a mirror image, typically have severe phenotypes including congenital heart disease.                                            They performed whole exome and whole genome sequencing in 61 family trios with SIT or heterotaxy and identified ballielic missense mutations in nucleoporins NUP205 and NUP210. Nucleoporins comprise the main components of the nuclear pore complex in eukaryotic cells. The team generated induced pluripotent sense cells from peripheral blood cells of an affected patient and a healthy control, and found that there were impairments in protein interactions in the variant cells, particularly interactions with another crucial nucleoporin, NUP93.                                            In zebra fish, NUP205 knockdown resulted in left-right assymetry and defects in heart looping formation in a subset of fish embryos. Knockdown of both NUP205 and NUP93 resulted in impairments in cilia and human retinal pigment epithelial cells. Gene expression analysis revealed affects in known cilia genes NEC2 and NEC3.                                            Overall, this study provides evidence that mutations in nucleoporins NUP205 and NUP210 may cause defects in cardiac left/right patterning, potentially through effects on ciliary function.                                            This issue closes with a letter and response conversation around a recent article on missense mutations in the FLNC gene, causing familial restrictive cardiomyopathy. Hisham Ahamed and Muthiah Subramanian from Amrita Institute of Medical Scientists write to share a case of a woman presenting with features of heart failure and muscular weakness consistent with distal myopathy who was found to carry a deletion in exome 37 of the FLNC gene. This case adds to the previous evidence published by Alvaro Roldan Sofia and Julian Palomino-Doza in March 2019 in our journal, Highlighting Mutations in the FLNC Gene in Cardiomyopathy.                                            That's all for this month. Come back in August for your roundup of the next issue. Thanks for listening!                                            This podcast was brought to you by Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine, and the American Heart Association Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine. This program is copyright American Heart Association, 2019.  

Heute im Gespräch mit Anna Lassonczyk Dirk Daenen: Dirk Daenen ist Kommunikationstrainer, Universitätsdozent und TEDx-Organisator. Er hat in Brasilien, Deutschland, Großbritannien, Frankreich, den USA und Belgien gelebt und gearbeitet. Bereits in jungen Jahren merkte er das die Kulturen unterschiedlich sind. Als ehemaliger Dekan der UBI (anerkannter Partner der Middlesex University London) hält er regelmäßig Gastvorlesungen an Universitäten auf der ganzen Welt, darunter an der Vietnam National University, der Tongji University in China, der Novi Sad University in Serbien und der Clark University in den USA. Als Kommunikationstrainer berät er regelmäßig internationale Unternehmen und öffentlicher Institutionen, darunter auch das Europäische Parlament. Dirk ist auch ein Botschafter von TED, der zahlreiche TEDx-Veranstaltungen koordiniert hat, darunter TEDxLuxembourgCity mit Videos die mehr als 10 Millionen Menschen gesehen haben. In der Episode spricht Dirk + darüber wann er selbst einen TED-Talk hält + über die Backstage-Atmosphäre bei TED-Talks + und über das was man wirklich braucht um einen erfolgreichen TED-Talk zu bestehen https://www.dirkdaenen.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkdaenen/ Deutschland und Andere Länder mit Anna Lassonczyk (Dipl. Kulturwirtin, internationale Speakerin, interkulturelle Trainerin) Der erste und einzige Podcast in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, der sich mit interkultureller Kommunikation beschäftigt, spannende Impulse über fremde Länder liefert, entfernte Kulturen näher bringt und erfolgreiche Menschen mit internationaler Erfahrung interviewt. https://www.intercultural-success.de/ https://www.facebook.com/Interculturalsuccess/

Heute im Gespräch mit Anna Lassonczyk Dirk Daenen: Dirk Daenen ist Kommunikationstrainer, Universitätsdozent und TEDx-Organisator. Er hat in Brasilien, Deutschland, Großbritannien, Frankreich, den USA und Belgien gelebt und gearbeitet. Bereits in jungen Jahren merkte er das die Kulturen unterschiedlich sind. Als ehemaliger Dekan der UBI (anerkannter Partner der Middlesex University London) hält er regelmäßig Gastvorlesungen an Universitäten auf der ganzen Welt, darunter an der Vietnam National University, der Tongji University in China, der Novi Sad University in Serbien und der Clark University in den USA. Als Kommunikationstrainer berät er regelmäßig internationale Unternehmen und öffentlicher Institutionen, darunter auch das Europäische Parlament. Dirk ist auch ein Botschafter von TED, der zahlreiche TEDx-Veranstaltungen koordiniert hat, darunter TEDxLuxembourgCity mit Videos die mehr als 10 Millionen Menschen gesehen haben. In der Episode spricht Dirk + über seine große Passion andere Menschen etwas zu vermitteln und zu lehren, um damit ihr Leben positiv zu beeinflussen + über die Faszination eines TED-Talks + über die Herausforderungen einen TED Talk zu organisieren und darüber wie unterschiedlich die Vorträge von den Besuchern und Zuschauchern wahrgenommen werden. https://www.dirkdaenen.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkdaenen/

IFE Distinguished Visitor Lecture, recorded 26 July 2018 at QUT

IFE Distinguished Visitor Lecture, recorded 26 July 2018 at QUT

Radio Yidali in occasione del Festival Internazionale del Cinema di Shanghai ha intervistato Nico Cirasola, regista, attore e produttore cinematografico.Sono Rocco Laoshi e ho il piacere di presentarvi Rudy Valentino l'ultimo film di Nico Cirasola girato a Castellaneta in provincia di Taranto. Il ruolo di Rodolfo Valentino è interpretato da Pietro Masotti e Tatiana Luter fa l a part di Natascia Rambova. Nel cast artistico ci sono anche Claudia Cardinale, Nicola Nocella, Luca Cirasola, Rosaria Russo e Alessandro Haber.Il film racconta il ritorno di Rodolfo Valentino, nel suo amato paese d'origine, Castellaneta, con sua moglie Natascia Rambova, per ritrovare i luoghi e le persone a lui cari, in un viaggio alla ricerca della sua identità.Sono andato a fare una chiaccherata con Nico Cirasola e l'ho incontrato alla TongJi University di Shanghai in occasione della proiezione di Focaccia Blues e del trailer Rudy Valentino.Ecco quello che ci siamo detti. Buon ascolto da Radio Yidali 

Radio Yidali in occasione del Festival Internazionale del Cinema di Shanghai ha intervistato Nico Cirasola, regista, attore e produttore cinematografico.Sono Rocco Laoshi e ho il piacere di presentarvi Rudy Valentino l'ultimo film di Nico Cirasola girato a Castellaneta in provincia di Taranto. Il ruolo di Rodolfo Valentino è interpretato da Pietro Masotti e Tatiana Luter fa l a part di Natascia Rambova. Nel cast artistico ci sono anche Claudia Cardinale, Nicola Nocella, Luca Cirasola, Rosaria Russo e Alessandro Haber.Il film racconta il ritorno di Rodolfo Valentino, nel suo amato paese d'origine, Castellaneta, con sua moglie Natascia Rambova, per ritrovare i luoghi e le persone a lui cari, in un viaggio alla ricerca della sua identità.Sono andato a fare una chiaccherata con Nico Cirasola e l'ho incontrato alla TongJi University di Shanghai in occasione della proiezione di Focaccia Blues e del trailer Rudy Valentino.Ecco quello che ci siamo detti. Buon ascolto da Radio Yidali 

Maurizio Sciarra è il presidente della Apulia Film Commision e regista di fama internazionale. L&`&ho incontrato alla TongJi University in occasione della presentazione del film Focaccia Blues di Nico Cirasola e del trailer Rudy Valentino che sarà presentato in anteprima mondiale il 21 e il 22 giugno 2017 durante il Festival Internazionale del Cinema di Shanghai.

This is Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news. China's unmanned submarine has dived to a depth of 10,767 meters, setting a new record for the country. The Chinese Academy of Sciences said the "Haidou-1" set the record in the West Pacific. During a scientific expedition between June and August, the submarine dived more than 10,000 meters below the sea surface twice. The new record makes China the third country after Japan and the United States to have built submarines capable of reaching depths in excess of 10,000 meters. During the expedition, scientists also collected more than 2,000 biological samples in the deep sea, including some unidentified species. In 2012, China's manned submarine the "Jiaolong" reached a depth of 7,000 meters, marking a breakthrough for China's deep sea experiment. This is Special English. China has unveiled the design of its Mars probe, hours after announcing that one of its unmanned submarines had dived to a depth of more than 10,000 meters in the ocean. The Mars probe will consist of three parts, which are the orbiter, the lander and the rover. The rover will have six wheels and four solar panels. China plans to send an unmanned probe to Mars to orbit and land on the planet around 2020. Officials of China's Mars exploration program said the mission is on schedule, with Chinese scientists having completed their technological preparations and finalizing the probe's design. Scientists have begun to produce the probe's subsystems. The mission will be accomplished in 2020 without delay. The officials explain that the favorable launch time for a Mars mission appears once every 26 months, so there will be three such opportunities before the end of 2020. The distance between the Earth and Mars is around 400 million kilometers, and it will take the probe almost seven months before it reaches the Martian atmosphere. The orbiter will then release the lander and the rover and continue to orbit Mars to survey the planet. The lander will soft-land on the Martian surface and deploy the rover. The entire process will require good communication among each craft and between them and Earth. You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Four major cities in Northeast China have announced in a joint statement that they will work together to build a world-class city cluster in a bid to boost the region's economy. Harbin in Heilongjiang province, Shenyang and Dalian of Liaoning province and Changchun in Jilin province will consolidate their leading roles in Northeast China and build a large urban cluster of major cities in the region. The cities aim to break a new path in revitalizing the old northeastern industrial bases and collaborate in accelerating regional economic integration. According to the plans, they will carry out structural reforms and foster emerging industries and new engines for economic growth, as well as enhance cooperation and exchange. This is Special English. Shanghai has invited its residents to contribute ideas to its ambitious plan for development through 2040, aiming to lift the living, working and learning conditions of the city's people to a new high. The public can provide opinions through September 21. The basic philosophy of the development plan is to prioritize people as well as to further make Shanghai "a city of prosperity, innovation, happiness and humanity". Shanghai's planning bureau said many changes are planned by which Shanghai will strive to place itself in the world's first echelon of economic, financial and cultural centers. According to the Shanghai Master Plan for the period between 2016 and 2040, Shanghai will pursue a path of meticulous growth. The ceilings will be set for the city's permanent resident population and the overall land planned for construction. The ceiling for the city's permanent resident population is targeted for around 25 million by 2040, an increase of 850,000 from the current figure. Overall land planned for construction will be kept within 3,200 square kilometers, an increase of around 100 square kilometers from the present. Researchers at Tongji University say that Shanghai is ranked in the world's top 10 regarding economic development, but it lags far behind when it comes to cultural and environmental indicators. You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That's mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues. As giant panda cub Bei Bei in the Washington National Zoo turns one year old, Chinese President Xi Jinping's wife Peng Liyuan sent a message to wish him a healthy and happy childhood. Peng said in the message that as Bei Bei's first birthday draws near, she is sending greetings from China, the home country of pandas, half way around the world. She said giant pandas are China's national treasure. Bei Bei's birth is the fruit of collaboration between China and the United States and a strong symbol of their friendly relations. She also thanked the staff of the National Zoo for taking good care of Bei Bei and to all American friends who love and cherish pandas. Peng recalled her visit last September with the U.S. first lady Michelle Obama to the zoo and jointly named Bei Bei, which means "precious treasure" in Chinese. She was in town accompanying her husband, President Xi, who was on his first state visit to the United States at the time. U.S. first lady Michelle Obama also celebrated Bei Bei's birthday via social media. This is Special English. Around 900 Malaysians rode the bullet train from Beijing to Tianjin to experience the trademark Chinese technology in the wake of the announcement of a planned Malaysia-to-Singapore high-speed rail link. Fauwati Abdul Rahman, a businesswoman from Malaysia, said she was excited to ride the train. Rahman was part of a trip organized by the Malaysia-China Friendship Association, which invited Malaysians, especially those with high social and economic status, to visit China and experience its high-speed rail. Malaysia is planning to invest in a new urban transportation system, including the Malaysia-Singapore high-speed rail plan. Last month, the Singapore and Malaysia governments announced plans for a high-speed rail linking Singapore with the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Chinese companies have shown an interest in bidding on the project, as are others from Japan, Europe and South Korea. In recent years, China has eyed many high-speed rail projects. It built the Jakarta-Bandung railway in Indonesia and the Moscow-Kazan railway in Russia. China Railway Corporation said China has mastered world-leading technology to build high-speed railways. In addition, it has experience in various environments, including extremely hot and cold weather conditions. China's high-speed rail network covers more than 19,000 kilometers, accounting for 60 percent of the world's high-speed rail tracks. You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Effective pollution control measures adopted in 160 major Chinese cities have greatly improved air quality. A green organization said that of the cities, 90 percent have reached their goals, and 14 cities have managed to cut their PM2.5 concentration by over 20 percent. Clean Air Asia is an environmental group headquartered in Manila in the Philippines. It released an annual assessment of the Chinese government's efforts to fight air pollution. Last year, major pollutants including sulfur dioxide were reduced by 22 percent year-on-year, and the average PM2.5 reading was lowered by 14 percent in the cities. However, the report said eight cities saw increases in PM2.5 levels. PM2.5 refers to airborne particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microns that poses risks to human health. An environment expert at Tsinghua University says reducing pollution is not a simple issue that only needs strong determination. It also requires scientific and technological support. The expert said cities didn't realize the importance of the technology behind their ambitious targets. The report said that among the thorny issues concerning environment protection is the increasing ground-level ozone, making it the second biggest pollutant in the country. Environmental experts agreed that most of the cities can reach the targets set for 2017. This is Special English. The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, has begun to renovate one of its major former imperial courtyard houses. The move aims to better protect the building that is almost 500 years old and to set an example for preserving other historical buildings. The Yangxin Dian, or the Hall of Mental Cultivation, was built in 1537, and hasn't been renovated in around 35 years. It is expected to be reopened in 2020 with almost 2,000 ancient artifacts on display. The courtyard compound was the residence and office of eight emperors in China's last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, which ended in 1911. It was where the emperors managed state affairs and received senior officials. The Palace Museum said that as a pivotal place for the former Qing authorities, the heritage has enormous historical value with the finest Chinese paintings, collections of ancient books and decorations of bronze, porcelain and jade. A comprehensive plan has been made for the three-year renovation project after a year of thorough investigation into the history and culture of the heritage. The renovation includes preserving the building itself and setting up a database for the collections in the compound. According to previous media reports, 220 million yuan, roughly 33 million U.S. dollars, is slated for the renovation project. The funds were mostly from donations. This is Special English. Tourists who suffer from vertigo need not apply. The world's highest glass-bottom bridge has opened in Zhangjiajie, one of the most popular tourist destinations in China. The bridge spans the canyon between two mountain cliffs in the national park in Central China's Hunan province. It is 430 meters long and 300 meters above ground. The bridge is six meters wide and made of 99 panels of clear glass. It is capable of holding up to 800 people at the same time. Tourists can walk across the bridge, which is the longest glass-bottom bridge in the world. It is designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan. After another glass bridge cracked in Central China's Henan province last year, authorities in Zhangjiajie were eager to demonstrate the safety of the structure. They organized a string of media events, including one where people were encouraged to try to smash the bridge's glass panels with a sledgehammer, and another where they drove a car across it. Only 8,000 people are allowed to walk across the bridge each day. （全文见周日微信。）

This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Here is the news. A China-led space gravitational wave detection project is recruiting researchers from around the world. The Tianqin project was initiated in July by Sun Yat-sen University in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong province. It centers on research of key technology in space gravitational wave detection. To make the project more competitive, global talents in areas including gravity theory, space gravity experiments and precision measurement are sought with an annual salary of up to 1 million yuan, roughly 153,000 U.S. dollars. The president of Sun Yat-sen University and head of the Tianqin project Luo Jun says the detection of gravitational waves is a huge challenge, and the project is a feasible plan and reflects the research capacity of China. The 15-billion-yuan project aims to send wave-detection satellites into space in 15 to 20 years. Construction of a research center and observatory will start soon. American scientists have detected gravitational waves caused by two black holes merging around 1.3 billion years ago. It was the first time the elusive phenomenon was directly detected since it was predicted by Albert Einstein 100 years ago. The detection of gravitational waves is believed to help scientists understand more mysteries of the cosmos. This is NEWS Plus Special English. The United Nations Environment Program, UNEP, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tongji University of China to renew cooperation on areas that promote sustainable development and the green agenda. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and Professor Yang Xianjin, President of Tongji University, witnessed the signing of a new accord to elevate partnership between the two institutions to a new level. Steiner said during the ceremony held in Nairobi in Kenya that the partnership between the two sides is unique and has led to the establishment of a center of excellence on research and training to promote sustainable development. In 2002, UNEP and Tongji University jointly established the Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development at Tongji University to facilitate knowledge transfer on environmental sustainability. Steiner hailed the strategic partnership between the global environment body and Tongji University to advance sustainable development in the Asia Pacific and the global south. He noted that the institute has created a platform for promoting environmental and sustainable development discourse. He says Tongji University has a proud tradition of academic research and training that has created the next generation of entrepreneurs in green technology. He adds that a partnership between UNEP and the University has been instrumental in advancing the green agenda in Africa. This is NEWS Plus Special English. Chinese ambassador to Argentina has met with some 50 Argentine students who returned home after pursuing academic studies in China with grants offered by the Chinese government. Ambassador Yang Wanming urged them to promote exchange between Argentina and China. Addressing the students at the House of Chinese Culture in Buenos Aires, Yang expressed the hope that they will be able to apply what they have studied in China in their future careers at home. The program of government grants offered by China began in 2007 as a cultural exchange initiative. Each year, the Chinese government offers more than 30 grants to qualified Argentines for pursuing academic studies in China and this number keeps growing. One of the grant-holders said going to China was one of the best experiences of her life, and she always wanted to understand the Chinese culture, history and literature. To Alexandra Conconi, the experience of living in China will be a "huge help" because as a project coordinator at a local consultancy firm, she partially works as a cultural mediator when her company does business with Chinese companies, including Sinopec and electronic giant Huawei. Karina Fiezzoni, a lawyer with a law firm in Argentina, first went to Beijing to learn Chinese in 2004 and later acquired her Master's degree in China. Fiezzoni says her experience in China was crucial as there are many differences between the two countries, both in terms of culture and the law. She adds that she is helping investors from the two sides overcome problems they encounter due to the two countries' different legal systems. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. China is to increase to more than half the proportion of new energy vehicle purchases made by some government departments. The State Council, China's Cabinet, says the decision is aimed at increasing green development as the country attempts to rein in pollution. The government has been promoting electric vehicles as a way to reduce the smog that frequently blankets cities. The State Council says new energy vehicles should account for more than 50 percent of annual new vehicle purchases of central government organs, public institutions and some cities. The ratio was set at 30 percent in July. The State Council also announced a new set of other policies designed to encourage the use of new energy vehicles. As part of efforts to achieve "revolutionary breakthroughs" in battery performance, cooperation will be encouraged among enterprises, universities and research institutions. More battery charging facilities will be built, with the sector receiving increased investment and subsidies. Other measures include increasing the share of new energy vehicles in the public transportation system and enhancing their quality. The policies come as the central government looks to industry to push industrial upgrades, ease pressure on the environment and foster new growth engines. This is NEWS Plus Special English. A survey says middle school teachers in Shanghai are among the world's most qualified. The survey was conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It interviewed 4,000 Shanghai teachers from 200 junior middle schools in 2015 along with teachers from 37 other countries and regions. Shanghai's education impressed the world after students of the city won first place in the Program for International Student Assessment in 2009 and 2012. The program is the organization's math, science and reading tests for students from dozens of countries. The survey results show that almost 99 percent of the polled teachers in Shanghai have bachelor's degrees or higher, while the global average is 93 percent. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. You can access the program by logging onto NEWSPlusRadio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That's mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues. After life, would you like to be interred in a soulless box or have your ashes fertilizing living, growing flora? China wants you to choose the latter. According to a regulation unveiled recently, China will promote eco-burials to ensure a harmonious relationship between humans and nature. Eco-burials save the land, reduce funeral costs and do less harm to the environment. That is according to the document jointly released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and eight other central authorities. There are plans for facilities to support eco-burial services across the country by the end of 2020. The cremation rate will also be increased. Chinese traditionally believe that souls only rest in peace if their bodies are covered by soil. Due to land scarcity and pollution, ground burial is banned in most cities. However, it is still allowed in many rural and minority areas. The national cremation rate was 46 percent in 2014. Nowadays people are becoming more open to other options. By the end of 2014, Beijing had seen 78,000 eco-friendly burials. The change is also prompted by expensive entombing service. In Beijing, a tomb site for preserving the cremation urn can cost from 3,000 to more than 30,000 U.S. dollars. Many have to bury their family members in neighboring Hebei Province and some even joke that they can't afford to die. The ministry has said it will strive to encourage eco-burials across the nation, pushing tree, flower and sea burial in areas with strict cremation policies and encouraging deep burial, smaller tombs or replacing gravestones with trees. Those opting for eco-burials will be awarded by the government. You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Rare brown giant panda Qi Zai has faced temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius in the remote Qinling Mountains of west China this winter, but has come through unscathed. According to staff with a "training base" toughening him up for release into the wild, the six-year-old male is the world's only completely brown giant panda, found among a colony of pandas with some brown in their coats. Qi Zai has been kept in the Wild Panda Training Base in Shaanxi Province's Foping Nature Reserve for two years. Staffers initially fed Qi Zai artificially, but have left him to fend for himself this winter. The Qinling giant panda is a subspecies of the giant panda family that was recognized in 2005. Qinling giant panda has a smaller and rounder skull, shorter snout and less fur than the more familiar Sichuan subspecies. The world's first brown panda was discovered in 1985 in the Qinling Mountains. Since then, there have been eight brown pandas found, but Qi Zai is the last remaining alive. Weighing around 105 kilograms, Qi Zai was energetic and ate 50 kilos of bamboo a day during the winter. The local animal keepers are preparing to allow it to mate with a black giant panda when it becomes sexually mature, which may help to figure out the genetic mystery behind his brown fur. This is NEWS Plus Special English. A Chinese museum has begun a process to preserve a giant sperm whale through a technique known as plastination, making the world's largest such whale specimen. The 14-meter and 41-tonne whale was one of two that ran aground on beach in east China's Jiangsu Province recently. The plastination involves replacing water and fat with plastics; and the whole process will take at least three years to complete. The Dalian Mystery of Life Museum in northeast China's Dalian City says after the plastination, the whale can be kept for at least 100 years. The museum completed the world's first finback whale plastination in 2009. The process took almost two years, and the seven-meter specimen is now housed in the museum. Whale preservation is a seriously disgusting task. A dead whale accumulates a lot of gas, and improper treatment could cause an explosion. This is NEWS Plus Special English. （全文见周日微信。）

完整文稿看周日微信第三条，你懂的呦~ This is NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Liu Yan in Beijing. Here is the news.A total of 24 radio and television entities from countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road have signed a memorandum on broadcast cooperation.The countries include China, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan.Cooperation will feature visits by institution leaders, as well as program and personnel exchanges.China encourages media cooperation along the "Belt and Road", and called for the creation of a collaboration mechanism.China&`&s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said audiences will be exposed to varied information and culture, and increase understanding through broadcasting cooperation.Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the "Belt and Road" Initiative aims to revive the ancient trade routes between Asia and Europe, break infrastructure bottlenecks and boost efficient allocation of resources. This is NEWS Plus Special English.China will hold photo exhibitions in more than 150 countries and regions throughout August and September to mark the 70th anniversary of its World War II victory on Sept. 3.More than 300 historical pictures will be on display in order to underline the oriental battleground&`&s contribution to the victory of the world anti-fascist war.The exhibitions will be translated into six languages.Meanwhile, between July 15 and September 15, the People&`&s Liberation Army will stage an exhibition on the important role the Communist Party of China played in the war. The exhibition will be held in the Military Museum of the Chinese People&`&s Revolution in Beijing.This year marks the 70 anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Japan signed its formal surrender on Sept. 2, 1945, and China celebrated its victory the following day.A major military parade will be held on Sept. 3 at Beijing&`&s Tian&`&anmen Square to commemorate the event.China&`&s silver screens and theater stages will be dominated by war stories about Japan&`&s invasion of China in the early half of last century.War-themed stage performances, including symphonies, concerts, traditional operas and puppet shows will be staged nationwide from this month. This is NEWS Plus Special English.The Ministry of Education has named and shamed university employees who had broken regulations relating to "righteous life and work styles".The ministry named staff from three universities involved in five cases concerning travel expenses paid for with public funds, fraudulent retiree compensation claims, and accepting financial gifts at weddings.In one case, faculties under Tongji University&`&s School of Economics and Management were found to have financed an overseas visit with public funds in 2013.Punishments were meted out to violators, including disciplinary warnings.A rule on bureaucracy, formalism and extravagance was introduced at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee at the end of 2012.You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Liu Yan in Beijing.China&`&s first "Internet Plus" innovation and entrepreneurship contest for college students will take place between July and October.The Ministry of Education says the contest aims to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship and promote employment opportunities for college graduates.Applications are underway; and preliminary heats will be held between July and September, with the final in mid-October.Participants are encouraged to come up with ideas or programs related to the Internet; for example, how to combine the Internet with traditional industries, or using online platforms to provide public services.The contest will invite established entrepreneurs, investors, university teachers and higher education experts as judges to select around 300 teams and award funds for further developing their projects.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Wildlife advocates have cheered the removal of the Tibetan antelope from the endangered species list, but pledged to continue their protection efforts. Environment and animal protection authorities announced last month that the Tibetan antelope was no longer an endangered species.Thanks to effective protection efforts, there are now around 200,000 Tibetan antelopes in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau area, and the population is steadily climbing.Tibetan antelopes mainly live in western China, including Qinghai Province, and Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions, with the majority living in northern Tibet.Poachers in search of the animal&`&s pelts resulted in the sharp decline of the antelope population in the 1990s. By the beginning of 2000, only 70,000 of them were left.Shahtoosh, ultra-soft shawl made of yarn from the down fur of the animal, can fetch upward of 40,000 U.S. dollars each. On average, it takes the hide of three antelopes to create one Shahtoosh.In 1996 and 1997, a total of more than 840 kilograms of yarn were seized by two customs offices in Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Tusi Sites, the remains of an ancient political system adopted by the central authorities to govern ethnic minority regions in southwest China, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List.The World Heritage Committee made the decision at its annual meeting in Germany, in recognition of the "universal value" reflected in the Sites.The Tusi Sites are located separately in the mountainous areas of Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou provinces.Tusi means hereditary tribal headmen appointed by the central authorities to govern the often unruly ethnic minority regions in southwestern China.The committee said the system aimed at unifying national administration while simultaneously allowing ethnic minorities to retain their customs and way of life.The inscription of the Tusi Sites inz

This is Yingxiu(映秀), a town less than 2-hour drive from China's southwestern city of Chengdu. It was the epicenter of the massive earthquake back in 2008 which killed more than 85-thousand people. Six years later, the town has become a tourist destination. Each day, thousands of visitors come here to mourn the deaths of the victims. There's nothing left of the original town except for a local middle school. The schoolyard has been converted into an earthquake museum. The half-fallen ruins of school buildings with cracks on their external walls are a reminder to visitors that natural disasters are actually not so far away. Entry into these buildings is, of course, prohibited. Local girls in their twenties serve as guides for visitors. Here, one guide is telling an earthquake story about how a 28-year-old teacher saved all her 42 students before the building collapsed. The teacher, however, wasn't able to get out in time. Her body was later found buried under the debris of the place where she spent her days. Stories like this echo through the museum everyday. A local girl, who goes by Miss Zhu, is one of the story-tellers. She became a guide 2 years ago. The job guarantees her a monthly income of over 2-thousand yuan or three hundred US dollars from May to November each year, a time when the town receives the highest number of visitors. She says that when the earthquake happened, she was right in front of her house. She was lucky not to get hurt. But not many people are as fortunate. Prior to the earthquake, the town had a population of around 12-thousand. More than half of them died in the disaster. Currently, the town's population is approximately six thousand two hundred. Zhu says almost all of them works in one particular industry. "Now, almost everyone here make a living by involving themselves in the tourism industry. For old people, they can choose to open up a hotel in their new houses. That's also part of the tourism industry. Locals will not migrate to other places unless they are well-educated and are able to find a stable job outside." But, the rise in tourism does not lead to a better economy. Before the earthquake, the town boasted more than 30 enterprises which attracted more than two thousand employees from other places. These people were also the majority of consumers for local businesses like restaurants and barber shops. The earthquake has destroyed all of them. Even though there is an increase in the number of visitors to the area, Zhu says tourists are not stable consumers. "Now, we Yingxiu(映秀) has a very unique tourism industry. The industry is based on people's sympathy to the town for what it suffered. Not a single ticket is ever charged at visitors. So it is possible for any tourist to have zero spending here. They can come here, take a look and then simply leave." Natural disasters like earthquakes are rampant in the surrounding areas. This makes the number of visitors unpredictable. In July of last year, there was a massive landslide during the season when a higher number of tourists is expected. Despite the slow recovery of the local economy, the quality of life is telling a different story. Here is one official from the Foreign Affairs Office of the prefectural government of Wenchuan, to which Yingxiu(映秀) Town belongs. He prefers to remain anonymous. "All earthquake survivors are living relatively well now. Our country has beneficial policies for them. They are fully covered with things like health insurance and low-income insurance, everything." One change that have excited local residents is their new houses. The newly built town is right across the river from its original location. It only takes three minutes to walk from one place to the other. For Zhu, if there was one thing to complain about her new house, it would be the size. (Sound-bite Act 4 Zhu in Chinese) "My new house is surely much better than the previous one. But the only thing not so good about it is that it is much smaller. In the past, a bedroom could contain a large bed, a large cupboard, and more. But now that's impossible." Smaller, but more quake-resistant. The town's reconstruction plan came from Shanghai's Tongji University, one of China's top academies in architecture and city planning. All houses for local residents are designed to be capable of resisting an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. For public houses such as hospital and school, the standard is even higher. Luo Qiyuan(罗其缘) is from the Development and Reform Commission of the Sichuan Provincial Government, the department in charge of the reconstruction after the earthquake. "After all these years since the recovery and reconstruction, it is fair to say that basically all reconstructed houses in Sichuan have been proved safe in front of disasters. Over the past few years, there have been some massive floods and landslides. But the houses stood firm." In Yingxiu(映秀), the majority of the new houses are of European style. Each has no more than three storeys. But not all of them look the same, as some of the inhabitants are ethnic minorities. Almost each family now runs a business on the first floor of the new houses.

Richard T LeGates Chinese Cities: Their Amazing Rise and Possible Futures Since China’s “reform and opening up” beginning in the late 1970s, China has had double-digit gross domestic product (GDP) growth almost every year, including close to a 50% increase in GDP since the global economic crisis began in 2007. From an impoverished rural country where more than 80% of the population engaged in near-subsistence farming, half of China’s population now live in cities. What are the impacts of China’s urban transformation on the ground? What are China’s greatest urban planning accomplishments, failures, and challenges for the future? Join Michael Lerner for this discussion with Richard LeGates about China’s urbanization and China’s urban future. Richard T. LeGates Richard is a professor emeritus of Urban Studies and Planning at San Francisco State University and an authority or urbanization and city and regional planning. Earlier in 2012 he was a visiting professor of urban planning at Tongji University in Shanghai and Renmin University in Beijing and a Fulbright scholar at the Technical Institute of Bandung, Indonesia. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.

Jan Stael von Holstein, CrystalCG Chair Professor, The College of design & Innovation, Tongji University offers luxury brands doing business in China advice on how to capitalize on social media. Prof. Holstein was speaking at an L2 seminar on “The Social Graph: China”, jointly hosted by CEIBS at the school’s Shanghai Campus on October 14, 2011. The half-day seminar brought together thought leaders from academia and industry, who contextualized China's unique social media landscape and the opportunity for luxury brands.