Johnson Smith
Founder and CEO
Johnson Review

    For Suilasaikhan, a man living in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(IMAR)(内蒙古自治区), life was hard years ago. When the wind blew, the sand made it almost impossible for him to see anything. He had to find his way back home by following the barking of dogs.

    Thankfully, things are much better today. About one third of the desert is now covered with trees, and sandstorms are less common. Ian Teh, who comes from Malaysia, came to China last year and was amazed to see people planting trees in the several deserts in northern China. "To be honest, it was hard to imagine it was ever a desert at all," he said.

    These are the results of Chinas years-long efforts to deal with desertification (沙漠化). In the 1950s, this widespread problem affected the life of about 400 million people in 18 provinces and autonomous regions in China. So China started several programs to deal with it. For example, the Three-North Shelter Forest Program, saw thousands of trees planted in northern China.

    In 1994, China joined the United Nations' convention (公约) against desertification and created the world's first law on sand prevention in 2001. With these efforts, the past five years have seen the area of desert in China decrease by 242,400 hectares.

    Desertification isn't the problem only in China. With china's success in dealing with desertification, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) believes the country is a good example for other countries to follow. "China is one of the most successful countries in greening the desert and has lessons to share with the world." UNEP Executive Director Erik Solheim told Xinhua.

How Room Designs Affect Our Work and Feelings

    Architects have long had the feeling that the places we live in can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. But now scientists are giving this feeling an empirical（经验的，实证的） basis. They are discovering how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep people focused and lead to relaxation.

    Researches show that aspects of the physical environment can influence creativity. In 2007, Joan Meyers-Levy at the University of Minnesota, reported that the height of a room's ceiling affects how people think. Her research indicates that higher ceilings encourage people to think more freely, which may lead them to make more abstract connections. Low ceilings, on the other hand, may inspire a more detailed outlook.

    In additions to ceiling height, the view afforded by a building may influence an occupant's ability to concentrate. Nancy Wells and her colleagues at Cornell University found in their study that kids who experienced the greatest increase in greenness as a result of a family move made the most gains on a standard test of attention.

    Using nature to improve focus of attention ought to pay off  academically, and it seems to, according to a study led by C. Kenneth Tanner, head of the School Design & Planning Laboratory at the University of Georgia. Tanner and his team found that students in classrooms with unblocked views of at least 50 feet outside the window had higher scores on tests of vocabulary, language arts and maths than did students whose classrooms primarily overlooked roads and parking lots.

    Recent study on room lighting design suggests than dim（暗淡的） light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner or at parties could increase relaxation. Researchers of Harvard Medical School also discovered that furniture with rounded edges could help visitors relax.

    So far scientists have focused mainly on public buildings. "We have a very limited number of studies, so we're almost looking at the problem through a straw（吸管）," architect David Allison says. "How do you take answers to very specific questions and make broad, generalized use of them? That's what we're all struggling with."

    We can video chat with astronauts aboard the International Space Station and watch live footage from the frozen heights of Everest. But communicating with a submarine (潜艇）or a diver is not so easy. The lack of practical methods for sharing data between underwater and airborne devices has long been a frustration for scientists. The difficulty stems from the fact that radio signals work perfectly in air travel but poorly in water. Sonar (声呐）signals used by underwater sensors reflect off the surface of the water rather than reaching the air.

    Now, researchers at MIT have developed a method with the potential to revolutionize underwater communication. "What we've shown is that it's actually feasible to communicate from underwater to the air," says Fadel Adib, a professor at MJT's Media Lab, who led the research.

    The MIT researchers designed a system that uses an underwater machine to send sonar signals to the surface, making vibrations (震动)corresponding to the ls and Os of the data. A surface receiver then reads and decodes these tiny vibrations. The researchers call the system TARF. It has any number of potential real-world uses, Adib says. It could be used to find downed planes underwater by reading signals from sonar devices in a plane's black box and it could allow submarines to communicate with the surface.

    Right now the technology is low-resolution. The initial study was conducted in the MIT swimming pool at maximum depths of around 11 or 12 feet. The next steps for the researchers are to see if TARF is workable at much greater depths and under varying conditions—high waves, storms, schools of fish. They also want to see if they can make the technology work in the other direction— air to water.

    If the technology proves successful in real-world conditions, expect "texting while diving" to be the latest underwater fashion.

Sleep Patterns and Health Troubles

    When Carol Gee turned 55, she made a new friend: 4 a.m. In the past, she usually slept through it. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} She's not the only older adult to have the same experience. In 2017, a national vote conducted by the University of Michigan found that 46 percent of adults 65 and older have trouble falling asleep on a regular basis.

     {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Brains can slow. Wounds take longer to heal. And sleep patterns shift, too. The most noticeable ­ and often most annoying ­ changes are how sleep and wake-up times change and sleep gets lighter, often beginning in middle age. This can come as news to many, says Michael V. Vitiello, a psychologist at the University of Washington who specializes in sleep in aging.

    Studies have found that poor sleep can have a particular threat to older adults. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    Falls, depression and anxiety, problems with memory, and increased suicide risk are among the impacts of sleepless issues in this population group that researchers have found.

    As with changes in sleep architecture and timing, scientists are still unsure why those risk associations exist. Kristine Yaffe, a neuropsychiatrist (神经精神病学家) at the University of California's San Francisco School of Medicine who specializes in dementia, warns that there are more questions than answers when it comes to dementia and sleep. He found that if people have dementia, they tend not to sleep well. Do sleep problems actually lead to dementia?

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    What is clear is the association between good sleep and psychological well-being in older adults. But sleep quantity didn't show the same effects. And therein, experts say, may lie the key to understanding sleep as you age. If you're sleeping less, but don't feel negative effects out of bed, the changes you notice may just be normal age-related.

    Your bedtime pattern changes as you age, is that a sign of trouble? {#blank#}5{#/blank#} "A lot of older adults recognize that they don't sleep the same as they did when they were 18, but they can still function and they're OK. And all is well with the universe."

A. Researchers think it's hard to say.

B. But recently it has become her new wake-up time.

C. Over time, Vitiello says, sleep patterns simply change.

D. Statistics indicate that restless night is bad to our health.

E. As people age, the body changes in all sorts of predictable ways.

F. Too much work and pressure in life often cause you to wake up earlier.

G. Changes in the brain can be associated with a number of types of dementia.

In 1985, 16-year-old Douglas Casa, ran the championship 10, 000 meter track race at the Empire State Games. Suddenly, with just 200 meters to go, he collapsed on the final straightaway, with his body temperature at dangerous levels. He had suffered an exertional heat stroke（运动型中暑）or sunstroke. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

From ancient soldiers on the battlefield to modern warriors on the gridiron（足球球场）, exertional heat stroke, has long been a serious concern. And unlike classical heat stroke, which affects people such as babies and the elderly during heat waves, exertional heat stroke is caused by intense exercise in the heat. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

So how do you diagnose an exertional heat stroke? The main criterion is a core body temperature greater than 40℃ along with signs of central nervous system disfunction such as confused behavior, or loss of consciousness. 

As far as treatment goes, the most important thing to remember is cool first, transport second. The human body can withstand a core temperature above 40℃ for about 30 minutes before cell damage sets in. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}After any athletic or protective gear has been removed from the victim, place them in an ice water tub while stirring the water and monitoring vitals continuously. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}As you wait, itˈs important to keep the victim calm while cooling as much surface area as possible until emergency personnel arrive. If medical staff are available on site, cooling should continue until a core temperature of 38. 9℃ is reached. 

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}As Dr. J Levick wrote of exertional heat stroke in 1859, "It strikes down its victim with his full armor on. Youth, health and strength oppose no obstacle to its power. " But donˈt be frightened so much for it has been 100% survivable with proper care.