Medical & News: Bird's Nest & Cancer?

Swiftlets making nests
Image from birdsnestsupplier

Bird's Nest anyone?

Ages ago rumours has it that patients undergoing cancer treatments such as chemotherapy should not consume any bird's nest, but now there is evidence showing that a growth factor called Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) exists in bird's nests [1], and because this EGF promotes the cell growth of both good and bad cells, failure to inhibit EGF increases the risk of cancer [2], which means taking more EGF (from bird's nest) will increase the risk of cancer.

You might be thinking, "Doesn't matter! How much EGF could there be?" Well, it has come into light that it is not only the EGF that is playing a part in the risk, there are other cancer-inducing compounds which can also do the job! Here's a news article from WantChinaTimes,

Hong Kong researchers reveal birds' nest contamination Han Cheng-yen   2011-09-25   11:48 (GMT+8) Birds' nests are some of the priciest food items in China, most frequently used in birds' nest soup. (File Photo/CFP) Scientists from Hong Kong University of Science & Technology found a cancer-inducing compound in 47 samples of edible birds' nests, but said that cooking and extended immersion in water could remove most of the chemical. Birds' nests are used for their healing properties associated with Chinese traditional medicine. The scientists tested samples of birds' nests, primarily imported from Indonesia and Malaysia, including the common white cubilose and rare varieties such as yellow and red cubilose. The test results showed that all of the samples contain nitrite, with some exceeding the legal limit. While Hong Kong doesn't have a standard for nitrite levels in edible birds' nests, it stipulates a maximum of 200 milligrams per kilogram for meat products. One of the red cubilose batches had amounts 31 times above the limit, at 6,400 milligrams per kilogram. Karl Tsim, professor from the Life Sciences department at Hong Kong University, told the Shanghai Daily that nitrites were not added during production, but were natural. These nests, he believed, may be contaminated by bird excrement. Tsim said people should not worry too much about chemicals in the nests. He said 97% of the nitrites can be removed by submerging nests in water for three to 15 hours, rinsing twice with clean water, then cooking for at least half an hour. Michael Lam, a professor from City University of Hong Kong pointed out that although the water could wash away nitrites, long-term consumption could still destroy the function of red blood cells. He warned that if combined with acid, nitrite could lead to cancer. Last month in Zhejiang province, red cubilose birds' nests used in a brand of soup were found to be fakes containing high levels of nitrites. The incident has led authorities in Shanghai and Hong Kong to investigate the nests, and birds' nest sales in Hong Kong have dropped 30%-50%.

Snow Ear
Image from Wikipedia

Snow Ear after cooking
Image from Food Trail

Like I always say, if you want to eat bird's nest, why not have Snow Ears (Tremella fuciformis) instead? It contains polysaccharides and definitely helps to regulate your blood sugar level and prevent you from hypoglycemia [3] and it also helps to fight bacterial infections due to its ability to inhibit quorum sensing, or the control of gene expression in response to cell density [4].




Vocabulary:
edible -- (adj) suitable or safe for eating
immersion -- (n)  [C or U] formal put something or someone completely under the surface of a liquid
cubilose -- name of a type of bird's nest
nitrite -- a chemical compund (NO₂^- )
stipulate -- (vb)  [T] formal to state exactly how something must be or must be done
excrement -- (n)  [U] formal the solid waste which is released from the bowels of a person or animal
hypoglycemia -- (n) low blood sugar
inhibit -- (vb) [T] to prevent someone from doing something, or to slow down a process or the growth of something


Resources:

Bird's Nest @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird%27s_nest_soup

Epidermal Growth Factor @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidermal_growth_factor

[1] Evidence that epidermal growth factor is present in swiftlet's (Collocalia) nest @ ScienceDirect
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0305049187901337

[2] Review of epidermal growth factor receptor biology @ International Journal of Radiation Oncology
http://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(04)00331-1/abstract

Hong Kong researchers reveal birds' nest contamination @ Want China Times
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1103&MainCatID=11&id=20110925000024

Snow Ear @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_ear

Hypocholesterolemia @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocholesterolemia

Cytokine @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine

[3] Polysaccharides in fungi. XXXIII. Hypoglycemic activity of an acidic polysaccharide (AC) from Tremella fuciformis]. @ PubMed.gov
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8014840

Nitrite @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrite


Hypoglycemia @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoglycemia


[4] Inhibition of Bacterial Quorum Sensing-Regulated Behaviors by Tremella fuciformis Extract @ Springer
http://www.springerlink.com/content/dj852u0j8v7r2034/

Quorum Sensing @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quorum_sensing

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/edible?q=edible
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/immerse?q=immersion
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/stipulate?q=stipulate+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/excrement?q=excrement+

People: Rest In Peace -- Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011
Image from Apple.com

I remember that before I had written the entry People: Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address, I thought Warren Buffett is possibly the best speaker in the world, then of course, my admiration for him overrode the content. Of course, Buffett thinks with lightning speed and is spontaneous with questions, but content wise Steve Jobs prepared a much better piece of speech than Buffett. His three stories are focused and simplistic (same as his mantra) and are the awakenings for  many audiences. If you haven't watched his speech or you would like revise again, I recommend you visit the following page on our English Playground,

 People: Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

And if you would like to read more quotes from Steve Jobs, you are highly recommended to visit this page from The Guardian.

Steve Jobs quotes: the man in his own words @ The Guardian

Although the market and the fans do not appreciate the miscarriage of iPhone 5 (I am one of them), no one will blame Steve Jobs for this because everyone knows, Steve Jobs was always and will always be, faultless.

Will there by another genius like Steve Jobs? Yes, definitely, because this is evolution, using Steve Job's words, "It clears out the old to make way for the new". But like many of the greats of the human kind, there will always be a space for Steve Jobs, "The One" Steve Jobs in the mind of every owner of any Apple's products.

Toy Story by Pixar
Image from Pixar

I do not own any Apple's products, but I truly appreciate the dreams he realised in the Pixar movies and the as-never-before reality he created through the iProducts.

Rest In Peace -- Steve. I will remember you and your spirit.

Think Different - narrated by Steve Jobs. Who among us will push the human race forward and change the world.

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Vocabulary:

spontaneous -- (adj) happening or done in a natural, often sudden way, without any planning or without being forced

mantra -- (n) [C] a word or phrase which is often repeated and which sometimes expresses a belief

awakening -- (n) [S] when you start to understand something or feel something

miscarriage -- (n)  [C or U] an early unintentional end to a pregnancy when the baby is born too early and dies because it has not developed enough

faultless -- (adj) approving perfect and without any mistakes

genius -- (n) [C or U] very great and rare natural ability or skill, especially in a particular area such as science or art, or a person who has this

as-never-before from "as never before" -- in a way that has never been possible before

misfit -- (n) [C] someone who is not suited to a situation or who is not accepted by other people because their behaviour is strange or unusual
rebel -- (n)[C] a person who is opposed to the political system in their country and tries to change it using force, or a person who shows their disagreement with the ideas of people in authority or of society by behaving differently
the status quo -- (n)[S] the present situation
glorify -- (vb) [T] to praise and honour God or a person
vilify --  [T] formal to say or write unpleasant things about someone or something, in order to cause other people to have a bad opinion of them

Resources:

People: Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/03/people-steve-jobs-2005-stanford.html

Steve Jobs quotes: the man in his own words @ The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/06/steve-jobs-quotes

Stocks lose Apple appeal @ The Standard

http://thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=31&art_id=115827&sid=33973656&con_type=1

Apple

http://www.apple.com/

Pixar

http://www.pixar.com/

Apple Steve Jobs The Crazy Ones - NEVER BEFORE AIRED 1997 @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rwsuXHA7RA

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/spontaneous?q=spontaneous+

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/mantra?q=mantra+

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/awakening

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/miscarriage?q=miscarriage+

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/faultless?q=faultless

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/genius?q=genius+

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/as-never-before?q=never-before#as-never-before__1

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/misfit?q=misfit
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/rebel_1?q=rebel
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/the-status-quo?q=status+quo
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/glorify?q=glorify
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/vilify?q=vilify+

Sport: Bowling on Birthday-Eve 2011

Thanks to all my lovely students for organising a bowling-karaoke birthday celebration for me! It was definitely great fun! I'm also happy to know that a 10-pound ball isn't for me but a 8-pound ball with two thumb holes can do me miracle! It was really a day to remember!

Class monitor Alan even went online to learn to play better bowling before the day! Great attitude! And he inspired me to write something about bowling.

There are several types of bowling, the one we played yesterday is one of the most common indoor 10-pin bowling (others include nine-pin and five-pin, and also outdoor versions as well)

First thing to learn is to choose a ball, as describe by the expert in the video, roughly 10% of your body weight is the desirable weight.

And then, it is how to hook / curve a ball. I also recommend the last method he describes of hooking a ball, especially for ladies who do not have enough strength.

If you want to learn more about bowling, you are recommended to watch the videos in this playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/user/eHowSports#p/c/ED35E4C23462542B/0/CQ4dPckD_Xc

And you will learn more about the types of bowling balls, such as plastic, urethane and resin.

Like snooker, some like to play trick shots in bowling as well!

Here's a video of what trick shots are about:

Not to mention that another student KK did something that looks like the following video yesterday (too bad we didn't take video):

I think I'm already into the game of bowling!

Resources:
Bowling @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling

Bowling Tips & Techniques : What Weight Bowling Ball to Use @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXvj2TiZSQg

Bowling Tips & Techniques : How to Hook the Ball in Bowling @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ4dPckD_Xc&feature=related

Top Ten Bowling Tricks Taps @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMNmGr96O9U

Crazy Bowling Shot @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjNF7HoQ6yY

Vocabulary: A Helpless Man Sponge Naitard (Updated 2013-10-23)

A great day with my beloved students-cum-friends, and lots of questions and vocabulary inquiries, led me into a total brain-dead situation.

When my mind was finally cleared and my brain was functioning again, the answers start flooding back to my mind.

There were so many questions, one of them was how to describe "a romantic relationship between a student and a teacher", almost like an everyday news these days in Hong Kong. My answer was a "Student-teacher relationship", but they didn't believe me. Well, here's my proof if you are not convinced.

Student-teacher relationships: Don't stand so close to me @ The Independent

It is kind of like, Boy-Girl Relationship to mean that a boy and a girl are in relationship, no tricks really. Then again, "student-teacher relationship" can also refer to a normal one, so... can't really tell from the word itself.

Another one was how do we describe "a man who relies or survives on the money or any cash-equivalent materials of a woman", and the answer was discovered by the person who asked the question himself, Angus Cheng, as he found the verb phrase"sponge off". However, "sponge off" doesn't really talk about a person but talks about the action of sucking money or other forms of materials from another, and it definitely doesn't specifically describe "a man" as it can be "a woman" too! So the best answer should be a "male sponge" or a "man sponge", since this word has never been used on the internet, dictionaries, or the British National Corpus and the Corpus of Contemporary American English till now, I will share the credit with Angus for creating this word!!! So guys, use it more!!!!!

A sponge
Image from topnews.in

Oh, and by the way, since there is "male sponge" and "man sponge", there should be "female sponge" and "woman sponge" as well, sounds logical to say so(?), but I think there is already a word for that, which is gold digger. So unless you really love the word "female / woman sponge", gold digger is still the word to use.

Image from blogspot

Then if "someone feels that he has no control of the situation", normally we just say "there's nothing you can do about it", but if we really want a word to describe this, it can be real tricky! First of all, for having no control of a situation we can say "uncontrollable", "his arms are tired (up)", "c'est la vie", "that's life", or you can be creative to say "a man tied on an iceberg", "you got owned!", the feeling should be somewhat discontented, dissatisfied, obliged, unwilling, and according to Wikipedia, helpless fits best to the meaning of "Wu Nai" in Mandarin Chinese as it is actually from the Chinese idiom "Wu ke nai he".

Lastly, my student Peggy Leung used her quick wit and created a new word from "naive" and "retard" to describe someone as a naive retard, and the word? You can guess, "naitard"! This has got to be the word that sounds better than my "typhooliday". And of course, Peggy takes all the credit for that word!

When you are have reached a good level of English, you can start playing with the words, and that is exactly why our blog is called an English Playground.




Vocabulary:
"Student-teacher relationship" -- a relationship between a student and a teacher
sponge sb off -- (vb) phrasal verb -- to rely on others for things one wants or needs, especially food, shelter, etc.
male sponge /  man sponge -- (n)[C] a word invented by Locky and Angus which describes "a man who relies or survives on the money or any cash-equivalent materials of a woman".
"female sponge" / "woman sponge" -- (n)[C] a word invented by Locky and Angus which describes "a woman who relies or lives on the money or any cash-equivalent materials of a man".
gold digger -- (n)[C] a woman / girl who goes out with a man for their money.
uncontrollable 
his arms are tired (up)
c'est la vie --  exclamation used to say that situations of that type happen in life, and you cannot do anything about them, literally means "Such is life" (This is life, That's life or life is like this)
a man tied on an iceberg 
own -- (vb)[T] -- To be made a fool of; To make a fool of; To confound or prove wrong; embarrasing someone: Being embarrased.
discontented -- (adj) a feeling of wanting better treatment or an improved situation
dissatisfied -- (adj) not pleased with something; feeling that something is not as good as it should be
obliged -- (adj) be/feel etc. obliged

[+ to infinitive] to be or feel, etc. forced to do something or that you must do something

unwilling -- (adj) not willing
helpless -- (adj) unable to do anything to help yourself or anyone else
wit -- (n) [S or U] the ability to use words in a clever and humorous way
naive -- (adj) too willing to believe that someone is telling the truth, that people's intentions in general are good, or that life is simple and fair. People are often naive because they are young and/or have not had much experience of life
retard -- (n)  [C] offensive a stupid or mentally slow person
naitard -- (n) [C] OFFENSIVE a word invented by Peggy Leung to describe someone who is a naive retard.
typhooliday / typhoo-liday -- (n)[C] A word created by Locky, meaning a holiday brought about by the issue of high intensity Typhoon signals


Resources:

Student-teacher relationships: Don't stand so close to me @ The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/studentteacher-relationships-dont-stand-so-close-to-me-433946.html

http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-of/sponge-off
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sponge
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gold+digger
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C'est_la_vie
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=owned
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/discontent?q=discontented
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/dissatisfied?q=dissatisfied
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/obliged_1?q=obliged
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/unwilling?q=unwilling
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/helpless?q=helpless
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%84%A1%E5%A5%88
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/wit_1?q=wit
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/naive?q=naive
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/retard_2

British National Corpus
http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/

Corpus of Contemporary American English
http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/

Culture: "Typhoo-lidays", Britons and Weather @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/06/culture-typhoo-lidays-britons-and.html

Gold Digger Prank! @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iyeUcFKRv4

Message: Nesat Brings First Typhooliday In 2 Years?

Image from HKO

When you need one, it never comes; when you least expect, two come along at once.

Well, not really, just one for now, the other one is still spinning outside the Philippines.

Image from HKO

A typhoon to remember-- Nesat. A day to remember 29th September 2011. A word to remember -- typhooliday (typhoo-liday)!

Image from HKO

Image from HKO

No work for the morning, hopefully the afternoon and tonight as well. Why? Not because I dislike working, every working day is a money earning day for me, but I just missed the day which I can do typhoon-photography (some other guys even do time lapses of typhoon!)

What is time lapses of typhoon? I'm reposting this video to recall your memory a bit.

Let's hope that typhoon 8 will stay and I don't have to suddenly return to work. As for now, I'm getting back to my bed.

Resources:
Culture: "Typhoo-lidays", Britons and Weather @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/06/culture-typhoo-lidays-britons-and.html


Environment: Hong Kong Typhoon Chase @ Locky's English Playground

http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/10/environment-hong-kong-typhoon-chase.html

News: The Most Intense Tropical Cyclones Ever Recorded -- Super Typhoon Megi (Updated 2010-10-20)  @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/10/monday-morning-and-piece-of-good-news.html

Timelapse Typhoon Nangka over Hong Kong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po_eDhZwLqw

Medical & News: New polio outbreak hits China

Polio (Poliomyelitis)
Image from cdn.sheknows

Read a CNN news about a week ago that caught my attention.

New polio outbreak hits China Children are particularly vulnerable to the polio virus Image from i2.cdn.turner.com/ Beijing (CNN) -- An outbreak of polio has been confirmed in China for the first time since 1999, leaving one person dead and hospitalizing another nine, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The disease, a contagious viral illness that in its most severe form causes paralysis, difficulty breathing and sometimes death, broke out in the prefectures of Hotan and Bazhou in the country's western Xinjiang province. Among the ten cases confirmed, six are in children under three years old and four are young adults. The WHO said evidence indicates the virus is genetically linked to polio cases currently circulating in Pakistan, which borders Xinjiang. Pakistan has been affected by the nationwide transmission of the same WPV1 strain. It also warned the virus could spread beyond the current affected area. The polio virus can travel great distances and find susceptible populations, no matter where they live Helen Yu, WHO "Although other areas in China or other countries are not immediately at risk due to the geographic distance to the affected province, the polio virus can travel great distances and find susceptible populations, no matter where they live," Helen Yu, from the WHO's Beijing office told CNN. According to China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ministry of Health has dispatched a group of public health experts to the affected region to help treat the virus. It said the local government had launched a mass vaccination campaign starting in early September. WHO confirmed initial vaccination campaigns carried out by mid-September had reached over 3.5 million children -- children being particularly vulnerable to polio. Further vaccination campaigns will be conducted in the near future to ensure this outbreak is brought completely under control, according to the health ministry. "No matter how long a country has been polio-free, as long as global polio eradication has not yet been achieved, the risk for importation remains and constant vigilance is required." said Yu. Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is usually transmitted through contaminated food and water. It invades the nervous system and often leads to permanent paralysis. It can be prevented by immunization. This is the first outbreak of polio in China since 1999, when a case was reportedly brought into the country from India.

Elvis receives polio shot
Image from abigailpadgett.files.wordpress

Polio made an impression when I watched House M.D. Season 4 episode 6 and I went to search for more information on that. In that episode, an insane candidate claims that he cured polio with high dosage of Vitamin C which House later pointed out that polio has no cure.

Opinions:

How bad is polio really?

Since polio is a virus that spreads by unclean food and water, we all better eat clean and live clean while we still can.

Let's not forget, there are still many other viruses around like the Legionnaire's Disease and parasites such as the Anisakis.

Vocabulary:

contagious -- (adj) describes a disease that can be caught by touching someone with the disease or a piece of infected clothing
paralysis -- (n) [C or U]  when you are unable to move all or part of your body because of illness or injury
vaccination --(n) [C or U]  to give someone a vaccine, usually by injection, to prevent them from getting a disease
vulnerable --(adj) able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally hurt, influenced or attacked
outbreak --(n) [C] 
eradication -- (n) [U] the process of getting rid of completely or destroy something bad
transmit -- (vb) [I or T] to broadcast something, or to send out or carry signals using radio, television, etc.
contaminated -- (adj) made something less pure or made it poisonous
invade -- (vb) [I or T] to enter a place in large numbers, usually when unwanted and in order to take possession or do damage
immunization -- (n) [C or U] the process of giving a person or animal protection against a particular disease by introducing a special substance into their body, usually by injection

insane -- (adj) mentally ill

Resources:
New polio outbreak hits China @ CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/21/health/china-polio-outbreak/?hpt=ias_c2

House MD Episodes: Season 4 #406 "Whatever it Takes" @ House MD Guide
http://www.housemd-guide.com/season4/406whatever.php

I have polio - Waxaan abaa cudurka dabaysha @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dut--mDk1Co

Medical: Legionnaires' Disease @ QE  @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/04/medical-legionnaires-disease-qe.html

Food, Dining & TV: Sushi, Sashimi & Monsters Inside Me @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/09/food-dining-tv-sushi-sashimi-monsters.html

News & Opinions: A Big Day (News Digest) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/05/news-opinions-big-day.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/contagious?q=contagious+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/paralysis?q=paralysis+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/vaccinate?q=vaccination+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/vulnerable?q=vulnerable+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/outbreak?q=outbreak+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/eradicate?q=eradication+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/transmit_1?q=transmit+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/contaminate?q=contaminated+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/invade?q=invade+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/immunize?q=immunization+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/insane_1?q=insane