10 killed in blast
INITIAL investigations suggest a chemical substance used in manufacturing processes at a health food factory caused the fatal explosion that ripped the place apart on Wednesday morning.
Ba Yin - ancient musical instruments
AS early as the Bronze Age (21st century BC-221 BC), music had already been flourishing in China. There is a great amount of historical documentation on the music of that period, but with the passage of time, these ancient music compositions no longer exist today. What we know about ancient music is limited to the extant ancient musical instruments. The ancient instruments, called "Ba Yin" (eight sounds from instruments made of different materials) refer to the following: Jin (metal), Shi (stone), Si (strin
Devouring nation's wildlife
THERE is a saying that some Chinese people will eat anything that flies, crawls or swims.
Bank helps train laid-off workers
A GROUP of 1,091 laid-off workers completed a training programme yesterday in Shanghai. The programme was supported by Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Educational Fund.
International business centre for 21st century
CHINA'S largest industrial and commercial centre Shanghai is building itself into an international economic, financial, trade and shipping centre, Mayor Xu Kuangdi said on Wednesday.
Non-stop flights to San Francisco
UNITED Airlines of the United States is expected to open a non-stop service from Shanghai to San Francisco on April 3.
Women today more beautiful
"SHANGHAI women look more and more beautiful now," said Hosoi Yukiko, a Japanese woman living in the city. "They were all in grey and blue when I first came to the city in 1976 as a member of a university student delegation."
Websites for women prosper
WOMEN make up 21 per cent of China's total "netizens," according to the latest statistics from CNNIC. IT experts estimate the number of female Internet users will hit 6 million.
The common cold or tympanitis?
By Tao Yungang
AS cases of the common cold soar in Shanghai, experts are warning parents of the possible danger of ear problems in children who are unwell. "We discovered over 48 per cent of young children with colds in our hospital had signs of tympanitis or inflammation of the eardrum in a recent survey done the week before last," said doctor Lu Pei from Shanghai Children's Hospital attached to Shanghai Medical University (SCHSMU). He said that the symptoms of tympanitis are coughing and a running nose, so parents might mistake it for the common cold and it might even be missed by some doctors. In China, there are no regular ear check-ups for children. "But we strongly urge that children, especially babies younger than two years old, should have an ear check-up if they catch a cold," said doctor Lu. He said some preventative treatment can help prevent the virus penetrating children's ears which aren't yet fully developed. Sudden changes in the weather in Shanghai in the spring of 2000 have seen a sharp rise in the number of patients suffering serious from colds or mild flu. Most of the victims are children. SCHSMU has seen 1,450 child patients suffering with colds every day on average since one week after the Spring Festival, a sharp rise compared with previous months. "Among them, many have had problems with their ears, which might later be developed into serious tympanitis," said Lu. According to reports from different monitoring sites in the city, there have been over 20 per cent increases in the number of patients with colds compared with the same period of 1999, said doctor Li Yanting from Shanghai Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (SCDCP). Hospitals such as Huashan, Zhongshan and Ruijin have been inundated with cold patients. "Over one fourth of patients at the clinic and about 50 per cent of emergency patients had colds or mild flu," said doctor Qin Sicui from Zhongshan Hospital. Doctor Li Yanting from the CDCP still blames the B-type flu virus for the sharp rise of patients. "This type will not spread on a large scale because it is less infectious," she said. Other doctors say they don't believe this is a flu outbreak. "Judging from the symptoms of most children - not very high temperatures, just coughing and a runny nose, I believe it more likely to be a virus," said doctor Lu Pei from SCHSMU. "We are not likely to see an epidemic," he said. Doctor Lu recommends wearing clothes to suit the weather and good ventilation in rooms.
Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.