For centuries, in the countries of South and Southeast Asia, the elephant has been an important part of the culture, economy and religion. And nowhere more so than in Thailand. Unlike its African cousin, the Asian elephant is easily domesticated. The rare so­called white elephants have actually lent the power of royalty to its rulers, and until the 1920s the national flag was a white elephant on a red background. To the early Western visitors, the country's romantic name was "Land of the White Elephant"．

    Today, however, the story is very different. Out of work and out of land, the Thai elephant struggles for survival in a nation that no longer needs it. The elephant has found itself more or less deserted by previous owners who have moved on to a different economic world and a society in the western part. And while the elephant's problems began many years ago, now it has a very low national advantage.

    How does the national symbol turn into ignored animals? It is a story of worse environment and the changing lives of the Thais themselves. According to Richard Lair, Thailand's expert on the Asian elephant and author of the report Gone Astray, at the turn of the last century, there may well have been as many as 100,000 national elephants in the country.

    In the north of Thailand alone, it was estimated that more than 20,000 elephants were employed in transport, 1,000 of them alone on the road between the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Saen. This was at a time when 90 percent of Thailand was still forest—a habitat that not only supported the animals but also made them necessary to carry goods and people. Nothing ploughs through thick forest better than lots of sure­footed elephants.

    By 1950 the elephant population had dropped, but still to the number of 13,397. However, today there are probably no more than 3,800, with another 1,350 wandering free in the national parks. But now, Thailand's forest covers only 20 percent of the land. This deforestation (采伐森林) is the central point of the elephant's difficult situation, for it has effectively put the animals out of work. This century, as the road network grew, the elephant's role as a beast of burden decreased.

    Bus Tours in Washington DC

    The Lights Night Tour in Washington DC

Duration: 3 hours $56.33

    Highest-rated Night Tour in DC! The ONLY DC Night Tour where the Tour Guides

    HOP OFF with you at each stop and tell you about each monument and attraction. Hop aboard the Lights Night Tour! The best time to take a tour of Washington DC is at, night.

    Best Mount Vernon & Arlington Cemetery Tour from Washington DC

    Duration: 6 hours. $78.96.

    See Arlington Cemetery, Old Town Alexandria and George Washington's Mount

    Vernon Estate on this small group bus tour from Washington DC. Your tour guide will accompany you through Mount Vemon, telling you about all of the attractions there and the history of George Washington's home on the Potomac River.

    The Best Minibus Tour in Washington DC.

    Duration: 3 hours $ 46.92

    See all the key attractions DC has to offer in a 3-hour format. You will learn all about the history and trivia that surrounds Washington and visit the major monuments and attractions DC has to offer.

    Please Note: Rates for this tour vary by day of the week. When you choose your specific date on the availability calendar, the rates for that date will be displayed.

    The Blossoms Tour in Washington DC.

    Duration: 3 hours $ 56.99

    BEST WAY to Experience the Cherry Blossoms! Each year from mid March to mid April, see the beautiful Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC and get great photos because you'll be led to all the best spots by the best guides. The annual spring bloom in DC is a magical time and this tour promises to provide the very best tour opportunity for you!

    The last time I visited my eighty­three­year­old mother­in­law, I asked how she was feeling. It's a valid question. She has, after all, had two knee replacements and a liver transplant. She moves slowly to avoid another fall.

    But she hasn't stopped moving. She and my father­in­law attended their first Jimmy Buffet concert this summer. Here's the thing about my in­laws: They never say no to an invitation or a new adventure. If they can make it work, they're willing to try just about anything. When we need them to come to stay with the kids, we have to get on their calendars far in advance.

When asked how she was feeling, my motherinlaw responded, "Well, everything hurts every day. But you know what I've discovered? It doesn't hurt to smile. So that's what I've decided to do... smile at everyone I see. I may not be able to do all the things I used to do, but I can at least brighten someone's day."

    It is such simple wisdom. Moving the focus from what we don't have and from what we've lost to what we can offer others is the difference between living in the dark and radiating light. They inspire us daily.

    The key to a life worth living, I think, is to change our views. You don't have to make great changes. Sometimes change looks similar to everyday kindness. Sometimes change begins with holding the door for a mother with an armful of groceries.

    In theory, the butterfly effect says that the smallest breeze(微风) from a butterfly's wing can change the path of a hurricane halfway. Imagine, then, the possibilities that exist within a single smile.

    I'd like to share a little story with you about something that happened when I was four. I remember it clearly. Our loving family dog was nearing the end of his life. My father picked him up and put him in a little bed we had made for him. Our dog, my companion, whom we had cared for, bit my father when he attempted to help him. How could he? Why? I couldn't understand it. I didn't like him anymore.

    I hadn't thought about that story for a long time but something that happened last week brought it back to me. I went to speak with a friend. When I knocked on the door, I met in an instant an angry look and a few harsh(尖刻的)words. When the door was slammed(砰地关上)in my face, I stood there shocked, and in a rush, I was reminded of my dog bit my father 20 years ago or so. What brought that story back was that same feeling of betrayal.

    Both stories taught me something the next day. You see, when I got up in the morning and was told my dog had died, it became clear to me that he must have been in great pain. For him to have bitten a family member, he could not have been himself. Much the same for the other story when I learned that my friend's wife had just left him.

    We are all beings of our environments, our opinions and feelings. And all of those things can cause you to say and do things that can't be understood by those who are not in the same situation with you.

    If you meet someone either behaving out of character or acting in a way that doesn't seem to fit the situation, put out your hand and be patient when you think it is least possible for him to do so. You may turn around a story that has a sad ending simply by your actions.

    The blooming of social media and interactive smartphone-based apps has proved that e-marketing is an unchangeable trend. In the case of China, the latest battlefield is beauty camera apps, which have become an overnight hit in the West.

    ⒈MeituPic

    Developed by the Xiamen-based Meitu Inc MeituPic is the company's flagship beauty camera app and was the first to become a big hit among Western users. The app has drawn some 456 million users, who use it to post more than 6 billion photos every month.

    In addition to MeituPic, Meitu Inc has developed a series of beauty camera apps such as Beauty Plus, Poster Labs and Meipai, each specializing in facial feature improvement, video editing and many other features.

    ⒉Pitu

    Tian Tian Pi Tu, is a beauty app developed by China's Internet giant Tencent. Similar to other photo-editing apps, Pitu offers a number of beautifying filters, blemish(瑕疵) removing tools and virtual makeup choices for users to choose from.

    Launched in 2014, Pitu has accumulated 106 million monthly active users (MAUs). While the number is not as impressive as that of Meitu's apps, some argue that the user base of Tencent's gaming products and chat applications, such as QQ and WeChat, gives Pitu great potential for further growth. According to Chinese app watchers, Pitu's target audience is younger and more individualized than that of MeituPic. 80 percent of Pitu's users are younger than 25, giving the app more room to try out more new features.

    ⒊FaceU

    In contrast with most other beauty apps, FaceU, focuses more on the social feature, encouraging users to video chat with friends and even strangers while playing with its fun stickers (贴纸) — and the strategy is undoubtedly working. Launched in 2016, the app, which mainly targets female users between 15 and 35, has twice made it onto the Apple store's Chart for top apps.

    Why elephants rarely get cancer is a mystery that has confused scientists for decades. A study was led by researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah and Arizona State University, including researchers from the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation may have found the answer. According to the results, elephants have 38 additional modified copies of a gene (基因) that encodes p53, a well-defined tumor (肿瘤) suppressor, as compared to humans, who have only two. Further, elephants may have a more powerful mechanism for killing damaged cells that are at risk for becoming cancerous. In isolated elephant cells, this activity is doubled compared to healthy human cells, and five times that of cells from patients with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, who have only one working copy of p53 and more than a 90 percent lifetime cancer risk in children and adults. The results suggest extra p53 could explain elephants' increased resistance to cancer.

    "Nature has already figured out how to prevent cancer. It's up to us to learn how different animals overcome the problem so we can adapt those strategies to prevent cancer in people," says co-senior author Joshua Schiffman, M.D., pediatric oncologist (肿瘤学家) at Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, and Primary Children's Hospital.

    According to Schiffman, elephants have long been considered a walking problem. Because they have 100 times as many cells as people, they should be 100 times more likely to have a cell slip into a cancerous state and cause the disease over their long life span of 50 to 70 years. And yet it's believed that elephants get cancer less often, a theory confirmed in this study. Analysis of a large database of elephant deaths estimates a cancer death rate of less than 5 percent compared to 11 to 25 percent in people.