Dutch masters exhibition in Beijing

    The 17th century Dutch Golden Age had several significant artists and a range of great pieces produced during the period—including Jan Vermeer's Young Woman at Virginal,Jan Lievens' Boy in a Cape,and Turban and Rembrandt's Self-Portrait with Shaded Eyes.

    Some of the most refined examples of the time,including the three pieces mentioned above,will make their debut（首次亮相）in China as part of a world tour of The Leiden Collection.

    If you go:

    9 a.m.-5 p.m.,June 17-Sept 3 (closed on Mondays).National Museum of China,I Wusi Avenue,Dongcheng district.010-6400-1476.

    Ticket: 50 yuan ($7)

    The Age of Mechanical Reproduction

    The Age of Mechanical Reproduction,the latest exhibition at the Riverside Art Museum,features 41 artworks of US pop icon Andy Warhol,covering art installations,paintings and photographs.Warhol's well-known installation Electric Chair is a highlight of the show,which is also its debut in Asia.

    If you go:

    10 a.m.-5 p.m.,through August 28 (closed on Mondays).The Riverside Art Museum,Hongyan Road,Chaoyang district.010-5309-2062.

    Ticket: 60 yuan

    Back with a bang

    Beijing-based hand Escape Plan will hold a concert in Beijing this weekend.The band is most famous for the song The Brightest Star in the Night Sky.

    If you go:

    7:30 p.m.,June 17.Beijing Worker's Gymnasium,Gongti Beilu,Chaoyang district.400-610-3721.

    Ticket: 280-980 yuan

    Purple clay teapots

    Yixing purple clay potteries are a vital part of Chinese pottery culture and have been included in China's list of national intangible cultural heritage（国家非物质文化遗产）.A selection of more than 80 purple clay teapots will go on display at the Poly Art Museum starting Friday.The exhibit will include a range of delicate teapot works of Ji Yishun,Wang Xiaolong and Gao Lijun,who are all inheritors（继承人）the time-honored（历史悠久的）pottery handicraft.

    If you go:

    9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.(closed on Sundays),through June 30.Poly Art Museum,New Poly Plaza,1 Chaoyangmen North Street 9.010-6500-8117.

    Ticket: 20 yuan

    A new study has discovered that meditation（冥想）and oxygen sport together reduce depression. The Rutgers University study found that this mind and body combination, done twice a week for only two months, reduced the symptoms for a group of students by 40 percent.

    “We are excited by the findings because we saw such a meaningful improvement in both clinically depressed and non-depressed students,” said lead author Dr. Brandon Alderman. “It is the first time that both of these two behavioral ways have been looked at together for dealing with depression.”

    Researchers believe the two activities have an interactive effect on combating depression. Alderman and Dr. Tracey Shors discovered that a combination of mental and physical training (MAP) enabled students with major depressive disorder not to let problems or negative thoughts defeat them.

    Rutgers researchers say those who participated in the study began with 30 minutes of focused attention meditation followed by 30 minutes of oxygen sport. They were told that if their thoughts drifted to the past or the future they should refocus on their breathing, enabling those with depression to accept moment-to-moment changes in attention.

    Shors, who studies the production of new brain cells in the hippocampus—part of the brain involved in memory and learning—says scientists have shown in animal models that oxygen sport exercise keeps a large number of certain cells alive.

    The idea for the human intervention（干预）came from her laboratory studies, she says, with the main goal of helping individuals acquire new skills so that they can learn to recover from stressful life events.

    By learning to focus their attention and exercise, people who are fighting depression can acquire new learning skills that can help them process information and reduce the overwhelming recollection of memories from the past, Shors says.

    “We know these treatments can be practiced over a lifetime and that they will be effective in improving mental health.” said Alderman. “The good news is that this intervention can be practiced by anyone at any time and at no cost.”

    When you go to St. Petersburg, the number of attractions can seem overwhelming. If you're short on time, or just want to make sure to hit the highlights, these are the top must-see sights in St. Petersburg.

    The Hermitage Museum

    The Hermitage Museum is one of the most important sights to see for any visitor to St. Petersburg. There you can see lots of different paintings of old masters inside the Hermitage. Prepare to come face-to-face with classic Western artists.

    The Russian Museum

    The Russian Museum holds one of the largest collections of Russian art in the world. View Russian art creations through the ages, from Byzantine (拜占庭)-style icons to the Socialist Realism of Stalin's times.

    Kizhi Island

    Kizhi Island is an open-air museum of wooden buildings from the Karelia Region of Russia. These impressive structures are made without any nails (钉子) — the wood fits together with joints and grooves (沟槽).

    Peterhof

    Peterhof is as beautiful as it is fun. You'll be charged for admission (门票), but go to Peterhof when the fountains (喷泉) are working — during the day in the summer. They are shut off in winter as well as in the evenings.

    The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood

    Love it or hate it, the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood is an attractive must-see sight. The beautiful look may make your eyes brighten, and the paintings inside the church will make you say “Wow!”

    The Bronze Horseman Statue

    The Bronze Horseman is a part of Russian Culture and a symbol of St. Petersburg. Made famous by Alexander Pushkin (普希金), this statue of Peter the Great sitting on his horse can truly show Peter the Great's influence on the Russian idea of greatness.

    They say the average person makes 35, 000 decisions a day. Yet in her new book, How Woman Decide, Therese Huston explores a widespread phenomenon that many women fail to notice. "There's a huge double standard when it comes to how men and women are viewed as decision﹣makers," explains Therese, a psychologist from Seattle University. Therese decided to write the book after looking at her bookshelf: At one end, there were bestselling books about how to be a clever decision﹣maker ﹣ all written by men and featuring interviews with men like athletes. At the other end were books aimed at women on gaining leadership skills and confidence.

    "Once those women are at the table, will their decisions be taken as seriously as men's？" Therese wondered. "Men are respected as decision﹣makers more than women, especially in the workplace, largely because there's this cultural belief that women are unable to make smart choices at work. "

    So, Therese set out to pick apart the stereotypes（固有印象）to see what scientific research had found. "Scientific research shows that men and women struggle with decision-making equally. The only disadvantage I found was that during the teenage years-teenage girls are more indecisive than teenage boys. Otherwise, there's little difference between the genders（性别）.

    However, there are some differences. "Women are more collaborative（协作的）, "says Therese. "A female boss is more likely to ask the opinions of those around her when making a choice. Women ask for input, which helps make better decisions. However, this is often seen as a weakness rather than a strength.

    Therese also found that during times of stress, men and women make different choices, and the outcomes are often better when women are involved.

    Study after study backs this view up. Neuroscientists Mara Mather and Nicole Lighthall from the University of Southern California studied the way men and women make decisions and found that in times of stress, they react very differently.

    During their study, which involved playing a virtual gambling（赌博）game, they found that when the females became stressed, they made smart decisions ﹣ quitting while they were ahead or taking safe bets. But when the men became stressed, they did the opposite, risking everything for a slim chance of a big win.

    If you're planning on travelling, there are a few simple rules about how to make life easier both before and after your journey.

    First of all, always check and double­check departure (起程) time. It is amazing how few people really do this carefully. Once I arrived at the airport a few minutes after ten. My secretary had got the ticket for me and I thought she had said that the plane left at 10：50. When I arrived at the airport, the clerk at the departure desk told me that my flight was closed. Therefore, I had to wait three hours for the next one and missed an important meeting.

    The second rule is to remember that even in this age of credit cards, it is still important to have at least a little of the local currency (货币) with you when you arrive in a country. This can be necessary if you are flying to a place few tourists normally visit. Once I arrived at a place at midnight and the bank at the airport was closed. The only way to get to my hotel was by taxi and because I had no dollars, I offered to pay in pounds instead. "Listen! I only take real money!" the driver said angrily. Luckily I was able to borrow a few dollars from a clerk at the hotel, but it was embarrassing.

    The third and last rule is to find out as much as you can about the weather at your destination before you leave. I feel sorry for some of my workmates who travel in heavy suits and raincoats in May, when it is still fairly cool in London or Manchester, to places like Athens, Rome or Madrid, where it is already beginning to get quite warm during the day.

Cattle manure(粪肥) has become one of the world's greatest environmental killers, but one Dutch artist is using chemistry to turn it into something that is both eco-friendly and valuable.

In recent years, scientists around the world have made great progress in their attempts to recycle cattle manure, including turning it into natural fertilizer, but Eindhoven designer Jalila Essaidi didn't think they were efficient enough to solve the global manure problem. So she started on her very own solution, one that approached animal waste as a valuable material that could be processed into useful products.

She started by separating the waste, with the dry manure used to get pure cellulose(纤维素) from the grass that cows eat. From the wet manure, she got acids used to create a natural liquid plastic which was used to make fiber that are later turned into fabric(material used for making clothes).

This new material was named Mestic, from mest, the Dutch word for manure. Essaidi claim that it has the same function as plastic from fossil fuels, but is bio-degradable(可生物降解的). Better yet, the degradability can be dealt with in the lab, making it possible to create materials that last for different periods of time depending on their purpose. "This is not the first time that scientists have been looking for ways to solve the manure problem, but it is the first time that manure is being considered as a valuable resource." the Dutch designer said.

Last year, Jalila Essaldi partnered with the city of Eindhoven to produce a fashion show using Mestic-based fabrics. Her Mestic collection was so impressive that clothing giant H&M awarded her the Global Change Award and a $1million prize. And cow manure is just the beginning of Jalila Essaldi's experiments with animal waste. "After cows, we'll deal with pigs and other animals," she said.