Volunteering at a nursing home is an often overlooked volunteer area and yet one of the most needed. Statistics show that only 50 percent of nursing home residents have no close relatives and 46 percent have no living children. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}However, the self gratification and relationships you will receive is too unusual to be replaced.

    Make a list of nursing homes you are able to volunteer at on a regular basis. When doing this, use any resources from family members, friends, or even use an online search engine to find nursing homes. When choosing your home, also keep in mind your schedule; make sure that you can be fully committed to any obligations that the nursing home may give you. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Before calling, choose your times wisely, anytime between 9am-11am and 2pm-5pm would be a good option. By avoiding meal times or later at night, you'll have a better chance for getting information and finding people who are free to talk with you.

    Ask for an application form. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}This step is also where your applicant process begins. They will hand you all necessary applicant information. Most nursing homes will conduct interviews, do background checks, and may even have you receive vaccines and take drug tests.

    Become a "volunteer in training" at the nursing home. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Because of the wide variety of possible areas, you may experience variations in your training length and the content may vary.

A. Expect to attend training if your application is approved.

B. Call or visit the top three of your chosen nursing home options.

C. Volunteering at a nursing home can be a really wonderful experience.

D. From your list, choose the top three that cater to what you are looking for.

E. You will be taken into training depending on the area you are assigned to train in.

F. The process of becoming a volunteer at a nursing home can often be a little too long.

G. The activity director or volunteer coordinator will handle all of your information from here.

    Here's some good news for the foodies in the USA: One of China's most popular and fastest-growing restaurant chains is coming to the United States,and folks better watch out.This braised（炖，焖）chicken rice shop could upend a lot of competitors in the area.

    First opened in 2011,Yang's Braised Chicken Rice is definitely the new kid on the fast food block.However,the chain already has 5,000 locations globally,proving that they're perfect when it comes to speed,service,and flavor.

    They've even been compared to the most popular In-N-Out burger for their business model,swift output,and delicious food.Similar to the burger legend,Yang's specializes in just one item and does it right: Huang Men Braised Chicken Rice.The only customization you can make to this dish is the level of spiciness.Other than that,the base to every clay pot of this Shandong delicious food is the exact same.

    In fact,the recipe has barely changed over the past 80-plus years.That's because Yang's Huang Men chicken recipe is originally from the 1930s.Xiao Lu Yang,the founder of the new restaurant powerhouse,has inherited the recipe from his grandmother.He's made some slight changes,but otherwise it's the same chicken dish Yang's grandmother first sold in the 1930s.

    Yang first opened his namesake chain when he discovered the national popularity of Huang Men chicken served with rice,and it's still the only item sold in the chain's 5,000-plus locations.Many of those locations are in China,but some locations are in Melbourne,Singapore,and Japan as well.

    On September 10th,Yang's Braised Chicken Rice will open its first USA location in Tustin,California.Yang's sole menu offering,the Huang Men chicken with rice,sells for $9.99 per clay pot.Each pot comes with a generous helping of rice and chicken thighs（鸡腿肉）that braise with vegetables in Yang's secret sauce.The sauce is actually made in China and shipped to the US,meaning the flavor should almost perfectly replicate what Yang's sells in China.

    If you want to be one of the first people to taste the food in the US restaurant,make sure to reserve a spot for this September 10th grand opening.Otherwise,Yang's does plan to expand out to the rest of the country and beyond. Franchise offers have already come in from Chicago,Los Angeles,New York,and Canada.

EVENTS

Aug.31-Sept.4,Laughter Bus

Cape Town, South Africa

Lovely sightseeing tour with laughter, fun and festivities. The tour departs(启程) from Cape Town towards the Garden Route, stopping at beautiful and interesting places, enjoying lunch at the seaside and sharing laughter with local communities. Cost:$800.

+277222-97454, info@laughterbus.co.za  Sept. 17-18, Laughter Yoga 2-day Certified Leader Training

Irvine, California, USA

10 am-5 pm daily at Irvine Valley College. Learn to laugh for health without the need of jokes. Start a laughter club, share laughter with elders and kids, and earn income sharing happiness. Includes practice with Jeffrey Briar. Costs: $ 295.

▪ (949)376-1939, JBriar@LYInstitute.org

Set. 30, Laughter is Serious Business Workshop

St. Albans, Hertfordshire, UK

A workshop for those who have completed Laughter Leader/Skills courses and want to get ideas and real advice on how to promote(提升) themselves. 10 am-3 pm with lunch break. Costs:￡100 (includes a￡25 DVD)

+44(0)1727-741-050, Jotte@unitedmind.co.uk Oct. 7-9, Laguna Laughter Club Mountain Retreat(静修)

Angelus Oaks, California, USA

Everyone is welcome on this three-day retreat in the pine forest of Redlands. Daily laughter yoga sessions, music, dancing, hiking, and vision-sharing. Costs:$150 (includes meals).

▪ (949)376-1241, Anne@LaughingAnne.com

Oct. 29-Nov. 5, Laughter Cruise in the Caribbean

The tour departs from Miami, Florida, USA. Daily laughter sessions, onboard programs, easy yoga classes, creating new exercises, fun and friendship! Holland America Lines. Costs: $719.

▪ (941) 349-6069, amy.ferrell@verizon.net

    When the natural climate changes due to global warming, it can surely affect seals. The majority of them live in the Antarctic region so as the ice is melting, their natural habitat（栖息地）can be seriously affected. These changes don't take place overnight. They can be the result of many years of additional temperatures in the area. The seals then have to find ways to adapt.

    Seals depend on the cool air currents to bring plenty of food for them. When the temperatures get higher, there is less and less food and the seal population starts to get depleted. Mothers aren't healthy enough to feed their babies. Many of them end up abandoned as the mothers have to leave to find their own source of food.

    The fact that their desire to produce young can be changed by the warmer temperatures is frightening too. It is also believed that the warmer temperatures can allow different diseases and viruses to attack the seals. This is a huge concern as they can rapidly wipe out huge numbers of seals out there.

    However, these changes in climate and temperature aren't all bad for other species of seals. Scientists have found that those living in warmer climates are producing more young due to the changes. Research also shows that the females are moving further to find food and water. When they are out of the reach of the governing males, they are more willing to accept the moves of other males in the group.

    This is good news too because it means that there will be more selection in the gene pool（基因库）for future generations. It can help the seals as a species adapt to changes in their natural environment more easily.

    The climate change problem for seals is directly linked to humans. When we take action to change what we let out into the environment, we will make positive changes for the seals. However, it is going to take a very long time to reverse（彻底改变）the effects of what has already been done.

    Very few people enjoy going to the dentist, especially for a filling. Often fillings need to be replaced during the patients' lifetime. But is filling the cavity (蛀洞)with a foreign material really the best treatment? What if the tooth could repair itself with its own material–dentine(齿质)? Researchers at King's College London have found a process that may replace the traditional method.

    Paul Sharpe of King's College says a new treatment for cavities is simpler. It uses a drug that causes the tooth to fill in the hole naturally with dentine. "It involves putting a drug in the hole. It excites a natural process, which starts to occur anyway following the damage, so you can actually get the big hole repaired and the repair is a production of the natural material, the dentine."

    Usually a new drug requires repeated testing before it is approved for treatment. However, this drug that produces the re-growth in teeth has already been approved. It is a drug used to treat Alzheimer's disease and other disorders of the nervous system. Researchers explain that they use only a small amount and they use it locally. Usually that means the medicine is put directly on the affected area. It does not travel through the patient's blood.

    Nigel Carter heads Britain's Oral Health Foundation. He describes the new treatment as an exciting possibility for dental care. But Carter also has a warning. "Actually re-growing the tooth that has been lost with a cavity would be really a huge step forward. But, it's also important that we remember that we shouldn't be getting the cavity in the first place. We're talking about a totally preventable disease."

    China plans to launch 156 small satellites by 2025 to provide Internet services in low signal areas and places with adverse natural environment, according to China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).

    Due to environmental conditions of deserts, mountains and seas, half of the world's population has no access to the Internet, and the information deficiency hampers local development.

    It will be China's first broadband Internet access system with small satellites hovering in low orbit, which will also help meet the needs of commercial space development.

    The project, named Hongyun, plans to send the first satellite by 2019, and launch four more by 2020. By the end of 2025, CASIC plans to have all of the 156 satellites in operation.

    The Hongyun Project, which focuses on communication, remote sensing and navigation, can offer communication and Internet services for China and less-developed 3 countries with reduced latency. Meanwhile, the project can also benefit emergency communication, sensor data collection and remote control of unmanned equipment.

    Currently, international maritime satellites are widely used in communications in mountainous areas and airplanes, but those satellites, 36, 000 kilometers above the Earth, have time and signal delay as well as high cost for providing services.

    The small satellites sent by the Hongyun Project will hover in low orbits only hundreds of kilometers to 1, 000 kilometers above the Earth, and thus could improve the Internet access. However, the low orbit satellites may face challenges in power supply, as they need more energy to reduce the influence of air-resistance compared to high orbit satellites. Experiments are needed to determine whether solar energy alone is enough.