Shaun the Sheep

We watch "Shaun the Sheep" on ABC1 every morning before we go to work. It is quite humor.

Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated children's television series produced by Aardman Animations, first aired in the UK on CBBC in March 2007.

Shaun the Sheep image from wiki.

I think many people will agree that many animations for children are also suitable for adult, especially when you need to cheer up yourself.
Read more!

Chocolate monster

We used to buy 10-20 bags after certain holidays such as Valentine Day, Halloween holiday, Christmas/New Year holidays in US because they are on sale after these certain holidays. This makes sure that we can eat several pieces of chocolate every day. We think that we are chocolate monster.

The chocolate is more expensive in Australia, then we won't be able to eat them like we did in US. We saw chocolate is on sale last night. Two packs (250 g/pack) 5 AUD. We bought them without any consideration. Only chocolates are taxed in all the goods we bought yesterday. Sigh! Why do they tax chocolate? I need chocolate to keep myself alive. I think that they discriminate people who need chocolate to survive. ^_^ Just joking.

I just asked my husband that can I....? I did not even finish my sentence, but my husband said that he knew that I mean "eating chocolate". I asked him how could he know I meant "eating chocolate". He said that my tone tell my secrete.
Read more!

Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard

This is a book written by a friend. It reminds me that there are still tremendous amount of unknown stuffs we are using daily that might hurt our health.

Book name: The Strenuous Long Way— a Way to Resist Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard (漫長苦行—對抗電磁輻射公害之路)
Author: Chen Jiau-hua, president of the Taiwan Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard Protection and Control Association
Publisher: Taiwan Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard Protection and Control Association,
Oct. 1, 2008

Introduction

It's the first book that introduces the situations such as base stations densely-covered in Taiwan, records of hazards resulted from improperly-installed HV cables, etc., in order to represent the current situation of electromagnetic radiation hazard in Taiwan. As a part of global village, we welcome assistance from every country’s people who concerns about this, for the purpose of making legislation for a safer electromagnetic-radiation environment.

In Taiwan, numerous protests about transformer stations, HV cables and base stations have been held continuously. Although singular events are probably made by some small groups of people, the number of such events will be considerably large in sum. It may be the environmental issue with the greatest number of most-seriously victimized protesters in Taiwan history. However, due to scattered locations, these protests are not united, resulting in victimized protesters’ never-ending protest transmigration. The mistakenly loose standards and specifications make people have no choice. Because of the numb public departments as well as experts and scholars with conservative perspectives, many victims who suffer from symptom-complex of electromagnetic waves such as cancers have no way to ask for help; they have to die with grievances not clarified. Therefore, many people choose to move away and escape, which has made telecommunication companies and the power company more aggressive in strengthening their expansion. We seem to have no choice but to endure.

Since 1993, Ms. Chen Jiau-hua, a mother and the author of this book, has become an environmental-protection fighter leading this organization, engaging in environmental-protection matters with the mindset of providing a better environment for kids. Ten years later, as a victim and sensitive person to electromagnetic radiation, she begins to promote protective precautions against electromagnetic waves. Her own experiences are written down in this book, a sorrowful record kept step-by-step about the electromagnetic radiation hazard in Taiwan.
Three years ago, Ms. Chen got an Electromagnetic Waves Detector by chance. She used it to detect the surrounding environment, and shockingly found that she was a victim by double electromagnetic waves from HV cables of Ultra-low Frequency and Radio Frequency. After undergoing the painful process of surgical operation and fighting cancer, she has better understanding about the victims’ hardship of mental and physical prostration. Also, she has deeper understanding about the weakness and defects in the lack of protective precaution systems in Taiwan. Hence, she has begun to investigate the hazardous situations everywhere actively. At the same time, she has collected and introduced the systematizations of protective standards in every country around the world. Also, she has begun to connect the Self-help Associations everywhere, plan and establish TEPCA (Taiwan Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard Protection and Control Association), and unit power from all walks of life to endeavor to promote the legislation of electromagnetic waves protection. This book specifies a period of sorrowful Taiwanese history, but it is not an end. We hope that the experiences in this book can be spread in communities and schools, in order to strengthen the entire power of protective precaution and invite many more people to support the promotion of protection legislation, for creating a safer electromagnetic-wave environment jointly. Then, following the sorrow, a promising new era of safer electromagnetic-wave protection will come, which is also this book’s most-important intent.

PS. We welcome people in every country to assist in translating and publishing this book. Please contact with the author via e-mail: jiauhua@ms18.hinet.net

The Strenuous Long Way— a Way to Resist Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard

Read more!

Imported Ingredients

We have checked the place of manufacture every time when we buy anything. But we found that there are many foods labeled as "Made in Australia from local and/or imported ingredients" without addressing where and what are imported.

This is really driving me nuts. This kind of label does not give any useful information because there are so many possible additives in those food products. People in certain counties tend to add toxic stuffs in some additives to reduce the price. These people do not care if others will die and become sick after eating these contaminated food.

How does consumer know where the ingredient comes from and is it safe or not? I think the manufactures should take more responsibility.
Read more!

Bank Deposit Guarantee

Australia government is discussing about Bank Deposit Guarantee. Hmmm, it means that people need to pay fee to guarantee their bank deposit won't be robbed by ....

More detail information could be found by google.
Read more!

Late-Oct papers

There are so many interested papers in this period.


A cyclophilin links redox and light signals to cysteine biosynthesis and stress responses in chloroplasts, Jose R. Dominguez-Solis, Zengyong He, Amparo Lima, Julie Ting, Bob B. Buchanan, and Sheng Luan, PNAS 2008 105:16386-16391 (October 21, 2008).

KANADI1 regulates adaxial–abaxial polarity in Arabidopsis by directly repressing the transcription of ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2, Gang Wu, Wan-ching Lin, Tengbo Huang, R. Scott Poethig, Patricia S. Springer, and Randall A. Kerstetter, PNAS 2008 105:16392-16397 (October 21, 2008).

A membrane-tethered transcription factor defines a branch of the heat stress response in Arabidopsis thaliana, Hongbo Gao, Federica Brandizzi, Christoph Benning, and Robert M. Larkin, PNAS 2008 105:16398-16403 (October 21, 2008).

Gene regulation: A tiny missing link for regulatory networks, Nature Reviews Genetics 9(11):813 (NOVEMBER 2008).

Evolution: Cis dominates but trans is dominant, Nature Reviews Genetics 9(11):816 (NOVEMBER 2008).

Biological principles of microRNA-mediated regulation: shared themes amid diversity, Alex S. Flynt & Eric C. Lai, Nature Reviews Genetics 9(11):831 (NOVEMBER 2008).
MicroRNAs exert their regulatory effects by potently repressing some targets, fine-tuning other targets or coordinately regulating target batteries. MicroRNA-mediated control can also be reversible. These regulatory themes underlie the exploitation of microRNA control in diverse biological circuits.

Epigenome dynamics: a quantitative genetics perspective, Frank Johannes, Vincent Colot & Ritsert C. Jansen, Nature Reviews Genetics 9(11):883 (NOVEMBER 2008).
Current approaches for dissecting complex traits largely ignore epiallelic variation. To overcome this limitation the authors propose a quantitative approach to identifying the dynamic interplay between DNA sequence, chromatin and environmental contributions to the phenotype, across generations and developmental time points.

Botany: Growing flowers, Nature 455(7216):1010 (23 October 2008).

Plant chemistry: Banana blues, Nature 455(7216):1010 (23 October 2008).

A Look at Next-Generation Sequencing Technologies, Nature Reviews Genetics 9(11): (November 2008).
DNA sequencing is undergoing a revolution. Sanger sequencing has reached its limits and is being replaced by a new generation of technologies that promise faster and cheaper delivery of sequencing information. Nature Genetics and Nature Reviews Genetics present a Poster and Podcast that explore the conceptual basis of these next-generation sequencing technologies, their myriad applications and challenges for the future.

BIOFUELS: Eyeing Oil, Synthetic Biologists Mine Microbes for Black Gold, Robert F. Service, Science 322(5901):522 - 523 (24 October 2008).
Biotechnology researchers want to reengineer microorganisms to turn agricultural products into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

Can We Nip Obesity in Its Vascular Bud? C. Ronald Kahn, Science 322(5901):542 - 543 (24 October 2008).
The origin of fat tissues and identity of factors that direct fat development in animals are becoming more clear.

Splicing Factors Facilitate RNAi-Directed Silencing in Fission Yeast, E. H. Bayne et al., Science 322(5901):602 - 606 (24 October 2008).
In fission yeast, RNA splicing factors unexpectedly participate in the silencing of centromeric DNA by RNA interference derived from centromeres.

Model-guided design of ligand-regulated RNAi for programmable control of gene expression, Chase L Beisel, Travis S Bayer, Kevin G Hoff & Christina D Smolke, Molecular Systems Biology 4:224 (28 October 2008).

A quantitative comparison of sRNA-based and protein-based gene regulation, Pankaj Mehta, Sidhartha Goyal & Ned S Wingreen, Molecular Systems Biology 4:221 (14 October 2008).

Transient transcriptional responses to stress are generated by opposing effects of mRNA production and degradation, Ophir Shalem, Orna Dahan, Michal Levo, Maria Rodriguez Martinez, Itay Furman, Eran Segal & Yitzhak Pilpel, Molecular Systems Biology 4:4 (14 October 2008).

Grains on the chessboard, Nature Genetics40(11):1261 (November 2008).
Recent progress in mapping quantitative growth traits (QTLs) in rice yields insights into mechanisms of plant growth, hints at genomic signatures of the domestication process and promotes the prospect of agricultural improvement via introgression of beneficial variants.

Single-copy insertion of transgenes in Caenorhabditis elegans, Christian Frøkjær-Jensen, M Wayne Davis, Christopher E Hopkins, Blake J Newman, Jason M Thummel, Søren-Peter Olesen, Morten Grunnet & Erik M Jorgensen, Nature Genetics40(11):pp1375 - 1383 (November 2008).
Erik Jorgensen and colleagues report a highly efficient method for generating single-copy transgene insertions in C. elegans. Notably, these single-copy transgenes are expressed at endogenous levels and can be expressed in the female and male germlines.

Read more!

Eight Below

We watched this movie, Eight Below, this afternoon with tears. I love the dogs. I guess I love most movie with dog. They are pure, cute and loyal.

Here are some informations. There is the whole story in wiki website.

Eight Below is a Walt Disney Pictures film directed by Frank Marshall and written by David DiGilio, which was released on February 17, 2006 in the United States.

Eight Below: In the Antarctic, after an expedition with Dr. Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood), the sled dog trainer Jerry Shepherd (Paul Walker) has to leave the polar base with his colleagues due to the proximity of a heavy snow storm. He ties his dogs to be rescued after, but the mission is called-off and the dogs are left alone at their own fortune. For six months, Jerry tries to find a sponsor for a rescue mission while his dogs fight for survival. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Read more!

Salty Eggs

The other food we will try to make is salty egg.

salt : water = 1 : 4 (w/w) (ps. You can add some peppers.)
Put clean eggs into cool salty water. Remember the salty water has to cover all the eggs.
Seal and keep in room temperature for 20-30 days.
Steam or boil before use.
(ps. Some people suggest to try one first at 20 days to see if it is salty enough. If it is salty enough, then steam or boil them because the yolk will shrink if keeping them in salty water too long.)

We don't have big glass container to do it now. The only glass bottle we have can put 4 eggs only. Hmmm, 4 eggs is fine. We don't have balance, here it is:

400 mL water + 80 mL salt (i.e. 4 TBSP)
Microwave 2 minutes, then wait to cool down.
Pour the salty water into the bottle to cover those eggs.
We checked one egg after 3 weeks on Nov. 16, 2008, it tasted light salty only.
We checked the other egg after 4 weeks on Nov. 23, 2008, .....

We made another set of 4 eggs on Nov. 23, 2008 with 320 mL water + 3 TBSP salt.

Read more!

Ice Cream maker

We have thought about making ice cream at home because they are expensive and not tasty in here. We have been searching for ice cream maker several weeks and finally found it in the shopping mall yesterday.

We found 3 models in Myers and bought the cheapest one right away. The one we bought is Sunbeam Snowy Frozen Desert Maker GL5400. It takes 20-22 hours to freeze the Freezer Canister in the -18 oC freezer according to its manure. Hope we will have homemade ice cream to eat tonight.

The first trial is:
250 mL water + 80 mL milk powder + 60-70 mL sugar
-> heat to dissolve sugar and milk powder
-> cool down, then add 250 mL cold cream (40% fat)
-> beat
-> add to ice cream maker and stir 20 minutes, add some chocolate chips in
-> move to a container and freeze
Read more!

Slippers

I remember some pro-KMT mid-class people have criticized Taiwanese in southern Taiwan are low-class because they wear slippers when taking a walk in their neighbor sometimes. I found that many Australian (20-30%?) like to wear slippers to school and shopping mall and when they take public transportation. I did not see this in US or other countries I have been.

Hmmm, I don't mind that people wear slippers for a walk in their neighbor, but it is a little bit strange to see people wear slippers in school, shopping mall or on bus. Well, maybe those pro-KMT mid-class people should come to Australia, but I think they won't say anything about this.
Read more!

Raining bus

There was thunderstorm while we came home today. The rain was really big around 6 pm. Everybody was running.

After I took the seat, I found that there was water dropping onto me, so we changed to different seats. Unfortunately, I found this second seat was completely wet and more water dropping on me when the bus started moving. We changed to another seats and saw it was also raining inside this bus. Sigh! Who told me that it is dry in Australia?
Read more!

Alternative splicing

This is the topic I am interested. Here are some links.

Plant Genome Database (GDB): Alternative splicing in plant (ASIP)
Genome-wide comparative analysis of alternative splicing in plants, Bing-Bing Wang and Volker Brendel, PNAS 103:7175-7180, 2006.
Cross-Species EST Alignments Reveal Novel and Conserved Alternative Splicing Events in Legumes, Bing-Bing Wang, Mike O.Toole, Volker Brende, Nevin D. Young, BMC Plant Biology 2008, 8:17.

Arabidopsis Splicing Variations

Intron Sequence Information System (ISIS)
ISIS, the intron information system, reveals the high frequency of alternative splicing in the human genome, Larry Croft, Soeren Schandorff, Francis Clark, Kevin Burrage, Peter Arctander & John S. Mattick, Nature Genetics 24, 340 - 341 (2000).

Alternative Splicing Database (ASD)
ASD: the Alternative Splicing Database, Nucleic Acids Res. 32(Database issue): D64–D69 (Jan 1, 2004), T. A. Thanaraj, Stefan Stamm, Francis Clark, Jean-Jack Riethoven, Vincent Le Texier, and Juha Muilua.

Pineapple DB website
PineappleDB: An online pineapple bioinformatics resource, Moyle, R. L., Ripi-Koia, J., Crowe, M. L., Fairbairn, D. J. and Botella, J. R. (2005), BMC Plant Biology, 5 21: 1-5.
(Moyle L Richard r.moyle1@mailbox.uq.edu.au, Crowe L Mark m.crowe@imb.uq.edu.au, Ripi-Koia Jonni jhr2@waikato.ac.nz, Fairbairn J David d.fairbairn@uq.edu.au, Botella R José j.botella@uq.edu.au)

Alternatively spliced mRNA
Data accesses and reference

Understanding alternative splicing: towards a cellular code, Arianne J. Matlin, Francis Clark & Christopher W. J. Smith, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 6, 386-398 (May 2005).

Non-coding RNA, Mattick, J. S. and Makunin, I. V. (2006), Human Molecular Genetics, 15 1: R17-R29.

RNAdb - a comprehensive mammalian noncoding RNA database, Pang, K. C., Stephen, S., Engstrom, P. G., Tajul-Arifin, K., Chen, W. S., Wahlestedt, C., Lenhard, B., Hayashizaki, Y. and Mattick, J. S. (2005), Nucleic Acids Research, 33 Sp. Iss. SI: D125-D130.

The transcriptional landscape of the mammalian genome, Carninci, P., Kasukawa, T., Katayama, S., Gough, J., Frith, M. C., Maeda, N., Oyama, R., Ravasi, T., Lenhard, B., Wells, C., Kodzius, R., Shimokawa, K., Bajic, V. B., Brenner, S. E., Batalov, S. and The FANTOM Consortium: (2005-09-02), Science, 309 5740: 1559-1563.

Splicing bypasses 3 ' end formation signals to allow complex gene architectures, Frith, MC, Carninci, P, Kai, C, Kawai, J, Bailey, TL, Hayashizaki, Y and Mattick, JS (2007), Gene, 403 1-2: 188-193.

Read more!

Contract

We watch several TV series since we were in US, such as CSI, NCIS, CSI-NY, Criminal Mind, House, Cold Case, Without a Trace, etc. Every time we saw an actress or actor disappears from the series, we will say that s/he does not get the contract for the next season.

Well, I felt sad when the actress or actor I like died in the series in the past. But I don't feel much after thinking it in this different way.
Read more!

Christmas Season?

The department stores such as Myers, Target, and KMart in Australia have started to decorate and sale stuffs for Christmas holiday at least 2-3 weeks ago. We can hear Christmas songs in these major department store now. It is very strange. It is late September or early October only.

There are still 3 months to Christmas holiday, why do they start it now? Maybe there are too few holidays in Australia? Hmmm, maybe Australian should create more big holidays like American, then people have so many opportunities to buy gifts and foods to stimulate economics. In US, New Year, Valentine Day, Easter Day, Independent Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. People spend money in these holidays.
Read more!

Glory the Lord

I don't know where this article came from because my friend did not include its source. Just post in here. If anybody know the source and has the English version, please let me know and I will cite them. Thanks.

牛頓 (Issac Newton)

我們一生的年日是七十歲，若是強壯可到八十歲；但其中所矜誇的不過是勞苦愁煩，轉眼成空，我們便如飛而去。 (詩90:10)

愛因斯坦說：「在人類的歷史上，能夠結合物理實驗、數學理論、機械發明成為科學藝術的人，只有一位-----那就是牛頓。」

牛頓發現萬有引力定律；發明微積分；首先提出 可見光是由紅橙黃綠藍成為七個分光組成；他將數學導入科學，使物理、化學成為更為更精確的學問；在牛頓的運動力學三定律裡，奠定了數學成為描述宇宙運動的語言。種種傑出成就，為他羸得今日「歷史上最傑出的科學家」與「近代物理學之父」的尊稱。

市面上有許多牛頓的傳記，大多歌頌牛頓的科學 成就或是提到那顆掉到地上的蘋果，卻遺漏或扭曲了牛頓的信仰。例如牛頓在解釋宇宙間為什麼會存在萬有引力，他基於科學的假設說：「宇宙間可能有一種物質叫乙太（ether），是引力的傳導。」結果有本著作中翻譯成：「宇宙間存在有諸神，諸神是引力的傳達。」硬是把牛頓扭曲成了多神教徒。

本文的目的在於：很據牛頓自己的手稿，說明信仰在牛頓科學出涯中所佔的地位。

哈拿的禱告

牛頓 (Issac Newton)生於 1642年12月25日午夜，是一個早產兒。在那個嬰兒死亡率很高的年代，一個早產兒能夠活下來是很少有的事。牛頓的父親是不識字的農夫，與個性堅強的妻子哈拿．艾思克一起經營在英國為烏斯扥普的小農場，夫妻倆都屬於「清教徒」-----一群信仰堅定的基督徒。

在牛頓出生前三個月，他的父親病逝，缺乏人力的小農場沒有收成，家境更是貧窮。等到牛頓出生時，家徒四壁，哪有錢去購買營養品來餵養這個早產兒？哈拿才死了丈夫，眼看惟一的孩子也要死了，在最絕望的時候想起聖經上也有一個名叫哈拿的女子，在難過時向神的禱告：「你若垂顧婢女的苦情，眷念不忘背婢女，賜我一個兒子，我必使他終身歸與你」（撒母耳記上一章11節）牛頓的母親懷抱著她的早產兒，向神發出同樣的禱告。

筆記間的沈思記錄

在牛頓的一生中，母親的這個禱告對於他的個性與信仰他有很深刻的影響。

牛頓在成長過程留下的最早記錄就是他的禱告，他經常在課堂筆記空白處記下禱告，例如在一六六二年，他大學二年級時寫下：

神啊！若我心偏於邪惡，請勿成全我；
不容我單靠自己的信念去生活；
不以愛神做為我不愛人的籍口；
不是為得祝福來跟隨你；
不是只在教會中渴慕你；
讓我做個敬畏你的人，
且因著敬畏你，
而不畏懼人。

牛頓經常思索神當年聽他母親的禱告，神讓他活下來一定有些事是要他去完成的。

到牛頓三歲時，因為家裡實在太窮，母親只好再嫁給鄰村一位六十三歲的鰥夫----- 巴拿巴．史密斯牧師。史密斯牧師靠著微薄的薪水把牛頓養大，八年後過世，母子倆領了一些輔恤金，牛頓下課後還要替人看牛管馬才夠生活。

牛頓的風箏

原來牛頓住的烏靳扥普村，是英國生產馬車最有名的地方。這裡的小孩長大後的願望大多是做個馬車夫。牛頓可不同，他的個性安靜，尤其史密斯牧師給他留下一大堆包括聖經、神學、詩歌、數學、歷史、法律、機械等類的書籍，成為他家裡最好的寶藏。他經常在藏書的閣樓看書，連看牛看馬時也帶著書去看。他的母親在一旁靜靜地觀察，發現這小孩真有點不同。

牛頓進中學時，開始顯出他的特殊天才。學校要做風箏，許多學生立刻動手去裁紙、綁支架，牛頓卻先在書桌上放一張紙，仔細設計風箏的尺寸，計算一番才開始動手做。他的風箏交得最慢，但是一試飛，讓全班同學連 老師司扥克斯都嚇一跳：牛頓的風箏怎麼飛那麼高又那麼快？事後司扥克斯老師對牛頓的母親說，無論如何要讓這個孩子去唸大學。哈拿微微一笑：她早就準備好這孩子的大學學費了。

一六六一年六月牛頓進劍橋大學。當時劍橋大學的紈姱學生流行喝酒、打牌，稱這是「單純的娛樂」。

牛頓是個窮學生，母親存的錢只夠付學費，他必 須為 老師做實驗的助手，才能賺取生活費。

如此無意中使他接近當時劍橋的優秀教授承襲了這些教授一生的研究精華，成為牛頓後來的名言：「我看的比別人遠，是因我站在巨人的肩頭上。」

一所大學的優秀，決定於三個條件：一、老師的素質 二、圖書館與儀器設備，三、學校的建築物與校園的氣質。

其中尤以第一項最為重要。許多人進了大學，不曾漫步在大學的迴廊，不曾倘佯在大學的草地上呼吸學術的自由，真是浪費大學的資源。

好學的牛頓在劍橋大學不但不浪費任何資源，還遇到了影響他一生的好老師。

牛頓的讀書法

亨利．摩爾是影響牛頓科學與信仰最深的老師。

摩爾是數學家，也是位虔誠的基督徒，他說：「神創造這個世界的目的，是要使人認識他，尋求他，感謝他。若有人輕看這世界奇妙的受造物，要看到世界所沒有的才算神蹟，那是自大。」

摩爾認為把數學放在教育中的目的在於：「教育是一種道德與思考的培育，數學課程的設立是為了訓練學生，使他們的思考更精密。長期受數學教育，對學生是一種有壓力的操練，為的是要激發一個人有刻苦的心志。有刻苦的心志才能使人長期持守道德的準則，而道德的準則來自神。因此數學與信仰是相輔相成的。」

摩爾教授以一個老師對學生的敏銳直覺，一下子就發現牛頓的不同。他發現牛頓每學期開學以前，先利用假期，將要上課的所有課本都看完，等到上課時，牛頓已經在看比那門課更進階的研究報告了。

牛頓自己也寫道：「當我走進教室上課時，常發現對上課內容的了解深度，已經超過了我的老師。」這種讀書法會令一般老師備受壓力，摩爾卻找牛頓來，給他更深的書，像開普勒的「光學」，桑德森的「邏輯學」，並把自己擁有的一千八百本藏書，成為「隨時向牛頓開放的圖書館」摩爾也長期支付牛頓的生活費。

除了讀書方法與人不同之外，牛頓因為家裡貧窮，仔細記錄他的支出，他認為「用錢謹慎將是基督生活的基本學習」。

牛頓經常在日記中或課本空頁寫下自己的禱告，有些記載仍保存在大英博物館中。

他寫道：「企圖光以迫切禱告祈求神的祝福，來取代自己所該付出的努力，是一種不誠實的行為，是出於人性的懦弱。」

我想牛頓大概不會做那種「禱告後，考試都考到我昨夜剛讀到的。」之類的見證，因為這樣，神對平時用功的學生就太不公平了。

踏實的信仰絕非尋找成功的捷徑。

金錢的享受對一個窮學生是一種莫大的吸引，牛頓寫下：「主啊，赦免我，因為我的心想以賺錢為樂，多於渴想你的同在。-----但是在主曰擘餅聚會裡，我的心又重新與你聯合。」

牛頓和他的室友魏克金斯經常在校外分發聖經給窮人，向他們傳福音，購買要分發的聖經成為牛頓學生生涯中除了房租與伙食費外最大的花費。

蘋果與花園

一六六四年，牛頓開始利用課餘進行自巳的研究。他首先以三菱鏡研究光的結構，發現光的分光有不同的折射率。一六六五年至一六六七年，英國發生可怕的黑死病，死了許多人。大學宣布停課，政府並且下令所有人不准離家遠行，以免傳播或感染黑死病。當全國籠罩在黑死病的陰影下，風聲鶴唳之際，牛頓事後寫道：這兩年多沒課可上、沒地方可去，是他「人生思想邁向顛峰的時刻」。

在這時他由無窮等比級數的解法裡創立了一門很重要的數學--------微積分。

事後有人問牛頓，為什麼他能夠有這麼偉大的發現，牛頓答道：「我始終把思考的主題像一幅畫般擺在面前，再一點一線的去勾勒，直到整幅畫慢慢的凸顯出來。這需要長期的安靜與不斷的默想。」

牛頓對科學的思索與他的禱告生活有密不可分的關係。

他常在信仰的思索裡想到科學，在科學的思索他想到信仰。

在一六六六年他開始思索地球在軌道上的運轉，並且計算運轉時的電力與離心力的關係，一六六九年他在筆記上寫下他的發現-------萬有引力定律（Law of Gravity）。你知道嗎？宇宙裡如果沒有這一條不變的定律，所有的物體，小至一粒沙，大至一個星球，都將亂飛亂撞，成為混沌（chaos）。

牛頓是在什麼情況下發現萬有引力定律的呢？他的好友史塔克利答道：「牛頓經常在花園散步，有一天中午他回來了，對我說他看到一位蘋果掉到地上，想到了萬有引力。」這粒蘋果後來成為牛頓發現萬有引力的標誌，其實更重要的是，牛頓有獨自來到花園禱告與默想的習慣。

紐約大學歷 史系 教授曼紐，一九六八年在他所著的（牛頓傳）中寫下：「近代的科學是源自牛頓對神的默想。」

啊，原理！

當時許多科學家、教授都看不懂牛頓的傑出發現，甚至譏諷為：「又是一群解釋天體論的陳腔濫調。」

幸好這時有貝若（Isaac Barrow）的支持。

貝若是當時歐洲的光學泰斗，劍橋大學首屈一的數學與天 文 教授，是少數能仔細驗證牛頓數學與物理觀念的人，也是一位基督徒。

他找牛頓來，對這個最優秀的學生，私下給與最嚴格的要求。

貝若要求牛頓：「回到物理學上最基本的假設，精密地驗證每個假設，一次、一次又一次，幾乎無止境地反覆驗證，並把所有的精力都投入，以免浪費在無用的芝麻小事上。」

然後貝若申請退休，讓才二十七歲的牛頓接續他的職位，成為劍橋大學的教授。

劍橋的教職並不是牛頓的桃花源。當時貝若的職位有多少人在背後垂涎，牛頓一接任，立刻嚐到號稱學術自由、獨立的大學裡面，眾多的派系紛爭、人事傾軋；喜歡安靜思考、不愛交際的牛頓，也被排擠成為權力圈外的邊緣人。

牛頓的老友魏克金斯寫下：「牛頓看起來更孤獨、沉默，三十歲不到，頭髮已經半白。」

牛頓立志不涉入這些糾紛，他定睛永恆，不管人家怎麼論斷、怎麼中傷他，只把努力放在科學的研究，與對基督的信仰上，而不陷入被中傷後的自憐中。

牛頓寫下：「我的心經常是認真與安靜，不陷入憂鬱。」

慢慢的，他將更深的思索與實驗結果寫成曠出名作《原理》（Principle）一書。

這本書不只記載牛頓的科學發現，也反覆提到他的「機械論」與神的關係，他說真神與假神的差別是假神沒有掌管宇宙，沒有不變的旨意，沒有最後的判決，屬於必朽壞的受造之物。

書中不斷提到「掌管」（dominant）這個字，他認為這是神的屬性裡，最神聖又是最奇妙的，讓尋求他的人可以明白；機械論做為神掌管宇宙的法則，是神擺在宇宙裡讓人明白他能力的法則。

愛因為坦說：「宇宙裡最奧秘的，就是人竟然可以去明白這個宇宙。」

牛頓在《原理》一書中寫著：

如同生來是瞎眼的人不了解光，我們無法明白神的智慧與全能。神的形像沒有人看到、聽到、接觸到，更不是世上必朽壞的假神所能代表，
-------我們只能在他所創造的萬物中了解他，他仍在掌權，我們都在他的掌管下。
而假神沒有掌管的權柄，沒有永遠的看顧，沒有創世的起初，不過是虛無、有限，與大自然一樣。
-------因著神的掌權，我們稱他是主（Lord）。我們是他的僕人，不過是有限與不完全。

死蔭的幽谷

一六七二年牛頓加入英國皇家科學協會------全國最高的科學研究協會。

〈原理〉的出版，對全歐洲的科學界是一大震憾，引來稱讚也招來攻擊。雖然如此，牛頓仍在皇家科學會裡提出「星球運轉橢圓軌道的原理」（1676~1677年），與「萬有引力的數學證明」（1680~1684年）。

牛頓的學生艾斯頓後來寫道：「牛頓講話慎重、緩慢。他儘量避免意氣之爭，不見利忘義，不奉承人，寧願默默忍受侮辱，也不願披掛著一身的裝甲去與人爭戰。

牛頓說。「一個人如果控制不了自己的脾氣，脾氣將控制你。」引導牛頓一生的，是信仰而非起伏不定的脾氣。」

牛頓並非是科學研究上的常勝軍。他從一六六九年至一六九一年長期研究實驗化學，也沒有獲得什麼發現，不過因此結識了有「近代化學之父」之稱的波義耳，兩人通信長達十六年。

年長敬虔的波義耳，不僅幫助牛頓研究工作，而且在牛頓遭受猛烈抨擊的時候，他的榜樣更堅固了牛頓的信仰。

牛頓身為一個傑出的科學家，喜歡公開表白自己的信仰，又有個不擅與人交際、喜愛獨自安靜工作的個性，現實的社會對像他這種善良、單純的人，有時是非常殘酷的。

當時：

宗教分子攻擊他有一流的科學，卻有三流的神學
科學分子攻擊他有一流的神學，卻有三流的科學
政治分子攻擊他的科學、神學、人際關係都屬三流
有人看他孝順母親又終身未婚，就中傷他心理不健全
現今還有人說牛頓有戀母情結
有人看他對學生好，就說他有同性戀。

這種種無情的攻擊搞得牛頓幾乎發瘋。一六九二年，日內瓦來的拜特教授大力抨擊牛頓，謔稱他是「倫敦先知」，說：「牛頓的萬有引力定律是來自對宗教的默想，而非科學的發現，------他必須撇清，如果這是科學就不要寫到神如何如何，如果是與神有關的就不要放入科學範疇。」

拜特一開砲，許多人就群起圍攻牛頓。平常沒有想到防備的牛頓幾乎赤裸裸地站在科學的刑場上，接受無情的攻擊。

一六九三年九月三十日牛頓寫下：「我陷在極端的難過中。過去十二個月，我無心進食也無法安穩地入睡，我心動搖，無法思想。」

無情攻擊持續下去，一六九四年有人黑函中傷牛頓與女人搞性關係；一六九五年牛頓幾乎精神失常，各地都傳聞牛頓死了。

牛頓百口莫辯，更退出人群；他寫道：「史賓賽著的《希伯來律法》一書成為我困難中的安慰」

在英國國王出面，任命他為「英國皇家協會會長」後，這些攻擊就突然消失了。

牛頓在以後數十年，根據過去兩年半受中傷的經驗，堅持給科學界建立「誠實的體系」而他本身就是最好的模範。

成為一個誠實的科學家，是波義耳在死前（1691年）給牛頓及以後所有科學家最好的勸導。

波義耳寫道：

我老了，這該是我將所知的化學知識寫下來的時候了。這些知識，有的是經過多年的實驗；有的是與別人仔細討論而得。

我認為是確實的，就盡力寫下來；有些是困難不易明白的，我儘可能寫清楚，好讓後來的人能夠仔細判斷。
我把每個研究細節一一寫下，透過真實無偽的記載，將知識有效地傳遞下去。
但是，儘管我盡了所有的努力，我仍無法窺得知識的全貌。
現今，我把一生的成果放在你們的手中，願你們像鑑賞家鑑定藝術品一般。
在那一刻，是我呈現對人類與化學深愛的獻禮。」

不讓別人的錯誤成為自己的絆腳石

苦難並沒有離開牛頓。當時間的腳步進入十七世紀末，忽然有些基督徒自稱是神派來的先知，到處呼喊「世界末日就要來了」。

這波「世界末日說」傳自法國，Cevennes。野火般的燒遍英國各大城。

許多人起來附和，聲稱看到異象：有一艘滿載鮮血的船在英國大街上飛過；有人說看到許多人浴血倒臥沙灘邊，說這是神要來審判的先兆。

短時間內成千上萬的販夫走卒跟隨末世先知，連皇家科學院的一些優秀科學家也趨之若鶩，因為一名優秀的科學家，也可能因著對宗教的無知，而陷入異端的泥沼。

牛頓本人是基督徒，他長期的研究聖經但以理書與啟示錄，相信聖經裡提到的這個世界有結束的一天，那是基督耶穌要來審判的時候，但是沒有人知道那是哪一天，而且面對末世正確的態度，應該是感恩，多於恐懼，坦然多於逃避。

因此他不贊同這些到處宣傳末世的先知。他認為敬虔的信仰是在熱忱中帶著節制而非放縱，真正的被聖靈充滿，是由神的靈主動，而不是出於自稱先知者近乎催眠與暗示的教導。

牛頓對這批先知的反對，立刻引來許多偏激基督徒苦毒的批評與責罵。這種誤解實在傷透牛頓的心。

牛頓的一生中有一段漫長的信仰動搖期（1698~1707年）就是在這個時候。

對基督徒而言，來自其他基督徒無情的咒詛，比被一般人傷害更難受。

傷害容易使人走向極端，後來許多人要證明牛頓是無神論者或不可知論者，就是引自牛頓這段時期的言行。

不過信仰的成長，本來就不是一帆風順的，難免常經憂患。

一七○七年英國國王下令，這批所謂的先知，已經利用宗教得到太多不法利益，便把他們送入倫敦監獄。世界的末日尚未來到，他們的末日倒先來到。自此，末世之風才逐漸平息。

撿貝殼的男孩

時間往往是最佳的療傷劑。

牛頓從苦境中轉回，他的信仰又逐漸堅固，並且能區分信仰的真實與偏激，能夠分別順服在聖經真理前與在人話語前的不同，且重新思索物理、數學與光學。

他在再版的《原理》上寫著：「讓人知道我是帶著對神的信仰來完成這浩大的工作，是我出版這本書最大的喜悅。」

牛頓晚年名滿歐洲，貢獻普獲肯定。他老年最大的樂趣就是跟小孩玩耍。

有一天他對他的小姪兒講：「我不知道這個世界將來怎麼看我，對我而言，我只像海灘邊玩耍的男孩，偶然間發現了一粒比較圓的石頭，和一粒比較漂亮的貝殼，就覺得很愉快，但是在我前面，尚未被發現的石頭、貝殼仍然多如大海。」

牛頓死於1727年3月20日，晚年寫下：

「不管任何環境下，要守住耶穌基督救贖的真理與最大誡命------愛人如己。」

Read more!

Mid-Oct Papers

Transient transcriptional responses to stress are generated by opposing effects of mRNA production and degradation, Ophir Shalem, Orna Dahan, Michal Levo, Maria Rodriguez Martinez, Itay Furman, Eran Segal & Yitzhak Pilpel. Molecular Systems Biology 4: 4 (14 October 2008).

The death of microarrays? Heidi Ledford, 15 October 2008 | Nature 455, 847 (2008).
High-throughput gene sequencing seems to be stealing a march on microarrays. Heidi Ledford looks at a genome technology facing intense competition.

Snapshot: Green ham (no eggs), 15 October 2008 | Nature 455, 848 (2008), This year's chemistry Nobel.

Editor's Summary: Cell cycle: what a difference a splice makes, Nature 455 (16 October 2008).
Genome-wide analyses in yeast have shown that the switch from mitosis to gamete-forming meiosis is associated with a dramatic change in gene expression profiles.

Molecular biology: Bound to splice, Bruce Futcher and Janet K. Leatherwood, Nature 455, 885-886 (16 October 2008).
Messenger RNAs don't usually correspond exactly to DNA — portions of the primary transcript, known as introns, are removed by splicing. A study reveals new ways in which splicing can be regulated.

Promoter-driven splicing regulation in fission yeast, Alberto Moldón, Jordi Malapeira, Natalia Gabrielli, Madelaine Gogol, Blanca Gómez-Escoda, Tsvetomira Ivanova, Chris Seidel & José Ayté, Nature 455, 997-1000 (16 October 2008).

GENETICS: It's the Sequence, Stupid! , H. A. Coller and L. Kruglyak, Science 322 (5900):380 - 381 (17 October 2008).
Differences in regulatory DNA sequences drive species-specific gene expression.

Read more!

Humid and rain

I thought that Australia is as dry as US before I came. But I am wrong.

We had a humidifier in our home at MD, USA. Maryland is humid when you compare it to many other states in US. In Queensland, I am thinking to buy a de-humidifier because it is so humid at home. Several persons told me that it is like living in a steamer in here in summer. Sigh!

My labmate told me last Friday that the level of water dam around here was 16% in last year and 40% currently. Wa! I am wondering if I am in Australia. There have been raining so many days since I came here in July.

The worst day is today. We saw thunder and flash on our way home by bus. It started to rain a little bit and became heavy rain right after we got off the bus. Well, we got home completely wet from top to bottom. The rain was freezing cold and it was so big that I almost couldn't open my eyes. The road side was flood and looked like a small river, so we have to step into the water and some residues floating in it. It is not fun to be wet completely and has no way to dry everything at home.

I remember when I traveled to Salt Lake city, Utah, I was sightseeing in thunderstorm and heavy rain. It happened again when I visited LA. There were heavy rain for several days.
Read more!

Ice cream

The taste of ice cream in Australia is not much and it is difficult to find the one I want as I did in US. The price of ice cream in Australia is very unattractive. This makes me thinking about to make our own ice cream. I went to google and found some interested websites. Maybe I will think about it in the future. I think I will try the ones without egg yolk.

Old-Fashioned Homemade Ice Cream

Make Ice Cream
(1) Custard Ice Cream Base Recipe
This custard base is used for nearly all custard ice cream recipes.

1 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cups of milk
1/3 cup + 1 tbs. sugar
2 egg yolks

Method: Heat the milk, cream, and 1/3 cup sugar in a saucepan. Stir until mixture is hot and all the sugar has dissolved
-> Whisk the egg yolks and 1 tablespoonsugar in a seperate bowl. Still whisking add one cup of the hot liquid to the egg yolks. Poor the mixture back into the sauce pan while continually stirring the mixture. (all the stirring is so that the eggs don't cook, you don't want little peices of scrambled eggs in your ice cream!)
-> Cook the mixture over medium heat until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. (stir constantly and do not allow to boil, or mixture will curdle). Mixture should take around
-> 5 minutes to thicken. Now strain the custard ice cream base into a clean bowl and use as directed in recipes.
-This ice cream base can also be made into a simple ice cream with no additional flavorings.
-the milk to cream ratio can be adjusted depending on if you want your ice cream to be more or less rich.

(2) Easy Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
2 pints strawberries
1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon sugar
8 teaspoons lemon juice
Method: Puree the strawberries. (in food processor).
-> Mix together all ingredients
-> Chill mixture in fridge or freezer and add to ice cream maker.
---------------------------------------
Ice Cream receipe

Take your ice cream recipe mixture and carefully pour it into the bowl, then chill in the fridge for up to 2 hours, checking on it after 1 hour. The reason it can take longer than an hour is when a recipe mixture has had cooked ingredients added, therefore thorough chilling will take longer.
-> Take the bowl out of the fridge and transfer to the freezer for about half an hour. Then check just how much the mixture has frozen - ideally, it should have started to freeze at the edges but not fully through to the centre.
-> Take the bowl out of the freezer and beat the ice cream mixture until it’s creamy once again (to dislodge and break up the ice crystals that have formed).
-> Put it back in the freezer for another half hour, then remove and once again beat with a whisk.
-> Do this again so that you have beaten the mixture a total of 3 times whilst freezing in between.
-> Put the mixture back into the freezer for a final time until it’s ready to eat. This can take anything from 30 minutes upwards, depending upon the quantity and type of ice cream you’re making and also how you like the consistency of your ice cream (some people like it softer, some harder).

Quick chocolate ice cream recipe

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons of cocoa,
1 can (large) condensed milk,
1/2 pint (250ml) milk

Mix together the milk and condensed milk. Dissolve the cocoa in a little hot water. When fully dissolved stir it into the milk/condensed milk mixture.

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 (250ml) pint milk
1/2 pint (250ml) double/heavy cream
3oz (75g) sugar
5oz (125g) plain chocolate (grated)

Place the milk and sugar into a saucepan and heat gently, dissolving the sugar. Place the milk to one side to cool and when cold, stir in the cream.

Transfer the complete mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions BUT remember to add the grated chocolate as the ice cream begins to thicken.
=======================

Method 1 uses Cuisinart frozen yogurt, ice cream and sorbet maker. The problem is I don't know where to buy this. Method 2 might be too tired to make it. Method 3 looks easy, but is it safe to eat raw egg yolk?

1. 分享個最常用的較低脂低熱量香草冰淇淋配方: (ps. This website uses Cuisinart frozen yogurt, ice cream and sorbet maker)
鮮奶450cc
鮮奶油200cc
砂糖110g
蛋黃3個
香草精5cc或香草粉1/4茶匙
玉米粉1/2茶匙

做法:
將蛋黃和約一半的砂糖一起攪打成濃稠乳液狀，加入香草精和玉米粉攪拌均勻。
鮮奶加熱到小滾(加入另一半的糖)，慢慢倒入先前的蛋黃液中邊倒邊攪拌以免局部蛋黃被燙熟而結塊。
再將全體用篩網過濾，在到回鍋中小火加熱到約八十五度，或是一邊攪拌約加熱個七八十秒後熄火。(此步驟是要殺菌，但不要將蛋黃煮熟，會變蛋花湯!)
放到冷卻後移入冰箱，或是泡冰塊水降溫。
接著打發剛從冰箱取出的鮮奶油，稍微打發後和降溫的冰淇淋液混合，再將冰過一夜的冰淇淋機冰桶取出，倒入攪拌個二三十分鐘即可成為綿密的冰淇淋。

加巧克力粉30g就是巧克力冰，加草莓粉2g就是草莓口味了。口味隨人喜好。
-----------------

2. 自製冰淇淋不用冰箱喔！Unplug版！

材料：巧克力醬(或是果汁)、牛奶、鹽、冰塊、夾鏈袋、大塑膠袋。可以準備果醬或是水果粒裝點冰淇淋。
將夾鏈袋裡裝入巧克力醬與牛奶(比例為1:2)，如果有鮮奶油，則巧克力、牛奶與鮮奶油的比例為1:1:1。
然後將夾鏈袋密封好，充分搖勻。(只要裝九份滿即可，太滿不容易密封及鏈袋，也不好搖勻。)
將大塑膠袋裡放入冰塊與鹽巴。(冰塊與鹽巴的多寡會影響到接下來夾鏈袋裡的液體變成固體也就是冰淇淋的時間喔！所以...兩者要多準備！)
接下來就是製作冰淇淋過程裡，最...最...最讓人咬緊牙關的部份了。將裝滿的夾鏈袋置入剛剛裝滿冰塊與鹽巴的大塑膠袋裡，儘量將夾鍊帶埋藏在鹽巴與冰塊中，然後將塑膠袋收口，拼命、使勁的上下搖晃。

(ps. I saw the other website talking about the ingredients are 鮮奶 100 CC，鮮奶油 100 CC，蛋黃 1 個，糖適量，香草精少許，then it uses the similar way to seal and shake the mixtures to make ice cream.)
---------------

3. 自製冰淇淋
材料： 布丁200g（買三個就對了）雞蛋一個（只要蛋黃）鮮奶油50cc（做蛋糕那種較濃稠的） 做法：

１、將布丁挖出來，焦糖部分另外裝，暫時先只用黃色布丁部分。
２、將黃色部分的布丁、50cc的鮮奶油、以及蛋黃一個放入果汁機裡攪拌30秒。
３、倒入容器中，放入冰箱冰硬了就可以吃了！（我是利用原來的布丁容器） 夠簡單吧！！

ㄟˊ？！焦糖部分呢？

其實，黃色布丁部分做出來的冰淇淋是香草口味的。將焦糖部分用同樣的做法做出來的會是焦糖口味的冰淇淋。做出來的就會像右圖一樣顏色不同喔。

不過，因為焦糖部分不多，要算好比例喔！我是按布丁：鮮奶油=4：1的比例去調，但是記得蛋黃也只要一點點，要不然會太濃。 另外以上的材料用布丁容器裝可以做出四個來。不過，焦糖部分真的比較少，嫌麻煩的人可以當做醬淋在冰淇淋上。或是一開始就不要把焦糖部分分開，這樣做出來的冰淇淋就是布丁口味啦！
------------------

4. 阿榮嫂的自製冰淇淋 (ps. this website uses Panasonic BH-941P ice cream maker)

糖 40g + 鮮奶: 80mL + 鮮奶油 (whippee) 120 mL + 蛋黃＊3
把糖＋蛋黃＊3＋鮮奶: 80ml，用小火把他們煮到稠，不是煮到熟歐！
把鮮奶油: 120 ml 打到發！何謂發，就是當鮮奶油可以站起來就叫“發“
把 煮到稠的糖＋蛋黃＋鮮奶 和打到發的鮮奶油倒在一起！把他們混勻！快完成了
把頭蓋起來！按黃扭！放到冷凍庫，等2 hrs 就 OK 啦！
------------------------------------

5. 自製冰淇淋
自製冰淇淋來解解暑氣吧!不用製冰器也能做冰淇淋喔~

(1) 百香果肉 約5顆，糖 80g，牛奶 80g，植物性鮮奶油 150g。
做法:
1.先將百香果肉連籽取出備用
2.將糖+牛奶+鮮奶油混合打發(至8分發)
3.再將百香果肉拌入打發的鮮奶油中攪拌均勻,倒入保鮮盒中後,放進冰箱冷凍,約每1小時取出攪拌一次,約拌3次即可完成冰淇淋~

(2) 奇異果肉 約3顆，糖 50g，植物性鮮奶油 140g。
做法:
1.先將奇異果去皮,用湯匙將果肉壓成泥狀備用
2.將糖+鮮奶油打發(至8分發),再將奇異果泥倒入攪拌均勻,倒入保鮮盒放入冰箱冷凍,每隔1小時取出攪拌,約拌3次即成冰淇淋喔~。如果怕酸可再加10g的糖,不過酸甜的奇異果冰淇淋讓人一吃想再吃~

(3) 草莓糖果-15顆(要硬的那種,像過年用的水果喜糖)，水-2杯，玉米粉-3大匙，糖-半杯，植物性鮮奶油-1杯，市售小優格果凍-5個(有很多顏色的那種-有紫色.粉紅.橘色,我用有櫻桃小丸子圖案的那種)。

做法:
1.將糖果+水加熱溶化成糖水後轉小火,再將玉米粉過篩加入攪拌,再煮至濃稠狀後熄火放涼備用,記住要一邊煮一邊拌,才不會讓底部煮焦喔!
2.另外將半杯糖+鮮奶油一起打發至8分發,再拌入到冷卻的草莓糖糊裡,攪拌均勻後,再將優格果凍切成碎丁,拌入即可。
3.再將攪拌完成的草莓果凍糊倒入保鮮盒中,放入冷凍,每隔1小時攪拌一次,約拌3次左右就可以吃冰淇淋了~
---------------

5. 自製冰淇淋 (ps. the author suggested to try 88321 because it is too sweet for her/him.)
取材Food Network的節目Good Eats. Alton Brown表示好吃的冰淇淋因是組織細密,坊間的冰淇淋大都加入空氣,故組織空洞口感不佳.照他的配方做出的冰淇淋真的很好吃,11/2夸特要價約8美元,而且保證高熱量,吃時請節制.體重增加了不負責.

材料:
9 oz 糖
8個 蛋黃
3杯 half & half
2小匙 香草精
1杯 heavy whipping cream

做法:
1.half & half 及whipping cream到入鍋中,加熱至有小泡出現,熄火.
2.蛋黃打發,慢慢加入糖,打發至顏色變為淡黃色.
3.一點一點的將熱牛奶慢慢加入蛋糖中,直到約加入了三分之一的牛奶,如此兩邊的溫度差不多時,再將蛋糖到入熱牛奶中拌勻,開小火,不停攪拌,直到牛奶溫度逹到華氏170度,離火,倒入容器中,放涼.
4.加入香草精,放入冰箱,冷藏到溫度降至華氏40度.
5.倒入製冰淇淋機器,30分鐘後好吃的冰淇淋就完成了.
--------------------

6. 家庭自製14種冰淇淋的方法 (ps. very strange. Can beating up water + milk + fruit become ice cream??)

(1) 蘋果冰淇淋
材料：蘋果500g，白糖150g，新鮮牛奶兩瓶。
method：將蘋果洗淨，去皮挖核，切成薄片，攪成漿狀，放入白糖及1000克開水，加入煮沸的牛奶，攪拌均勻，倒入盛器內冷卻後置於冰箱凍結即成。
特點：果香味濃，滋味可口。

(2).香蕉冰淇淋
材料：香蕉750g，檸檬1只（或檸檬汁一小碗），奶油450g，白糖450g。
method: 將檸檬1只洗淨切開，擠汁待用；白糖加1500克水，煮沸過濾；香蕉去皮搗成泥漿，加入糖水調勻，再調入檸檬汁，待冷卻後拌入奶油，注入模具，置於冰箱凍結即成。
特點：清香可口，別具風味，助消化、清火和通便。

(3).果子露冰淇淋
材料：牛奶400g，糖100g，玉米粉（或富強粉）100g，果子露（草莓、石榴、杏仁及薄荷等）100g，鮮奶油50g。
method：將玉米粉（或富強粉）倒入半杯涼牛奶中調勻，剩下的牛奶加糖一起加熱，加入調好的玉米粉不停攪拌，煮10秒鐘，牛奶變稠後離火，再攪拌片刻，冷卻後摻入果子露和鮮奶油，放入冰箱中，凝結後即成。特點：獨特的異國情調。

(4).奶油冰淇淋
原料：奶油200毫升，白糖適量，蛋清2只，蛋黃1隻或各種果醬香草精。
method: 在鮮奶油中加入白糖1匙，充分攪拌均勻後放置一旁；
-> 另取一隻大碗，放入蛋清，充分攪拌至起泡，放入白糖適量，繼續攪拌；
-> 在攪拌均勻的蛋清中加入蛋黃，充分混合後，加入香草精再攪拌；
-> 攪拌後放入鮮奶油碗中，繼續攪拌。若不喜歡雞蛋冰淇淋，可直接在鮮奶油中加入自己喜歡的果醬，均勻混合；
-> 把混合好的食物放入冰箱冷凍間冷凍，約2-3小時後就可以吃了。如果在冷凍期間取出攪拌2-3次，它的味道會更好。

(5).皇冠冰淇淋
主料：適合個人口味的八喜冰淇淋
配料：新鮮水果如香蕉、獼猴桃等；果汁，一般是櫻桃汁；鮮奶油何華夫餅。
method: 將八喜冰淇做成球狀，盛入冰淇淋杯中2個；
-> 將果汁和鮮奶油淋在冰淇淋上(根據個人口味調放)；
-> 香蕉和獼猴桃切片後放在冰淇淋上；
-> 最後插上華夫餅作為點綴。
特點：色澤鮮豔，水果味濃。

(6).鴨梨冰淇淋
取牛奶2瓶，鴨梨500克，白糖和奶油各150克，香精微量。製作方法與“蘋果冰淇淋”相同。色澤乳白，具有潤肺清熱之功效。

(7).香蕉冰淇淋
method: 將檸檬1只洗淨切開，擠汁待用；白糖450克加水1500克，煮沸過濾；把香蕉750克去皮搗成泥漿，加入糖水調勻，再調入檸檬汁，待冷卻後拌入奶油450克，注入模具，置於冰箱凍結即成。具有清香可口，別具風味，助消化、清火和通便的特點。

(8).西瓜冰淇淋
將1500克西瓜瓤打碎後取出瓜子，再加400克白糖、2隻雞蛋和1000克白開水攪勻，然後以高溫加熱滅菌，冷卻後放入電冰箱中，凝結後即成西瓜冰淇淋。

(9).雞蛋咖啡冰淇淋
基本原料：雞蛋三個
輔助原料：速容咖啡一包
method: 雞蛋去蛋黃（小竅門：把一個雞蛋打進平底盤內，用一個空塑料飲料瓶，用手按下飲料瓶把空氣排出不要放手，瓶口對著蛋黃，放開手蛋黃就被吸進瓶子裡了。動作要快，把瓶口抬高，蛋黃倒出留作它用，接著第二、三個雞蛋依次將蛋黃去除。）
-> 把蛋清從盤子中倒入碗裡，用打蛋器將蛋清打至起泡，再把速容咖啡倒入，繼續打勻，直至粉末完全溶解為止。
-> 將完成的液體裝進有蓋子的塑料杯內，放入冷凍室冰5個小時左右，取出即可食用。

(10).檸檬冰淇淋
配料:檸檬1個，奶油5克，蛋黃5克，水500克。
method:檸檬去皮、擠汁；檸檬皮搗爛備用，澱粉用水浸透；再把白糖放入鍋內，加500克水煮沸，加入搗爛的檸檬皮，使其降溫，隨後用紗布濾去檸檬皮。另取一鍋，倒入濾出的檸檬糖水，加入蛋黃，不斷攪打至起泡沫，倒入澱粉，再將鍋置於文火上加熱，使混合液變稠，離火，仍繼續攪拌，晾涼後，加入檸檬汁和攪拌過的奶油，調勻後，入冰箱凍結即可。
作用:清熱解暑，富含蛋白質。

(11).牛奶冰淇淋
原料配方: 鮮牛奶500克奶油12.5克白砂糖150克蛋黃100克食用香草精微量
method: 將稱好的白砂糖加入蛋黃中混合攪打。再把經過煮沸的鮮牛奶慢慢倒入糖與蛋黃的混合液中，充分攪拌調製均勻後，移至另一容器中慢慢地用微火加熱使溫度保持在70～75℃時，不斷攪拌，然後停止加溫，當溫度逐漸下降直至有一定稠度為止，然後用細目篩(或乾淨的紗布)過濾，過濾液冷卻後再加入奶油和食用芳草香精，裝裝另一清潔衛生的容器內進行凍結，(其體積比原來增加30～50%)。經冷凍後的牛奶冰淇淋可立即食用。也可再增加工序和輔料，製成三色和果仁冰淇淋。

(12).三色冰淇淋
原料配方: 可可粉15克白砂糖5克草莓果醬30克牛奶冰淇淋750克食用色素微量
method: 往稱好的白砂糖內加入糖重量50%的水後，進行加熱使糖充分溶解，然後過濾，再加入可可粉，並充分攪拌調和均勻，這樣就初步製成了可可糖漿。
-> 把按上法調製好的可可糖漿倒入250克牛奶冰淇淋中備用。
-> 另外稱取250克牛奶冰淇淋，加入草莓果醬、色素並調製均勻備用。同時剩下的250克牛奶冰淇淋，加入少許香草香精，並充分調和均勻，作下道工序用。
-> 將上述三種具有不同色、味的冰淇淋液，依次裝入事先準備好衛生乾淨的容器中，送入冰箱內進行冷凍，冷凍後即為外形美觀的三色冰淇淋。

(13).果仁冰淇淋
原料配方: 果仁醬75克牛奶冰淇淋1公斤
method: 往稱好的果仁醬中加入少量的熱牛奶，調製成稀糊狀備用。
-> 按牛奶冰淇淋的製作方法，往蛋黃中加入熱牛奶之前，先加入果仁牛奶糊攪拌均勻，備用。
-> 把經攪拌均勻的糊狀體裝入容器內，送進冰箱內進行冷凍，成品即為果仁冰淇淋。

(14).香蕉冰淇淋
原料配方: 香蕉(成熟無霉爛)500克檸檬果半個白砂糖300克奶油300克
method: 把檸檬沖洗乾淨，並用力擠壓出檸檬汁備用。
-> 將事先稱好的白砂糖放入約500克的水中，加熱使其充分溶解，然後進行過濾。
-> 備好的香蕉洗淨並剝皮，用力搗成醬，加入過濾的糖水，充分攪拌均勻後，再加入新鮮的檸檬果汁攪拌均勻。
-> 完成上述工藝後的半成品，待其冷卻後拌入稱好的奶油，裝入容器內，送進冰箱進行冷凍，成品即為香蕉冰淇淋。

---------------
7. 自製抹茶冰淇淋

a 牛奶 400 ml (或1+2/3杯)
b 抹茶粉 15g(或3大匙)
c 蛋黃 4個
d 細砂糖 100g (1/2杯) 份量可斟酌
e 玉米粉 1大匙
f 鮮奶油 360ml (1+1/2杯)
g 蜜紅豆(煮熟的甜紅豆粒) 100g (份量可隨意. 注意整體甜度)做法:

1. 牛奶加熱, 取一部分溫熱的牛奶與抹茶攪拌, 將攪拌好的抹茶加入鍋中與牛奶混合.攪拌均勻繼續加熱到液體冒煙.
2. 將蛋黃放在鋼盆中, 加入糖, 攪拌混合約20秒
3. 將1/4~1/3的抹茶牛奶(1)加入(2)中攪拌均勻, 再加入剩餘牛奶, 攪拌. 篩入一大匙玉米粉, 攪拌混合.
4. 將(3)放在爐火上, 邊煮邊攪, 煮至接近稠狀.(如勾芡的薄濃湯狀). 煮好後將盆子放在冷水中.等待液體完全涼.
5. 將鮮奶油打發至稠稠的糊狀. 濃稠度和(4)類似. 然後與(4)混合均勻. 最後加入蜜紅豆.
6. 將(5)倒入金屬盒子內, 放在冰箱冷凍. 30~40分鐘後取出攪拌, 將蜜紅豆從底下撈起, 表面弄平, 重覆約3~4次. 再冰到完全硬後食用. (大約隔夜). 這是口感細緻綿密的冰淇淋.較易融化.
----------------------

8. 自製冰淇淋
鮮奶100CC，鮮奶油100CC，蛋黃一個，糖適量，香草精少許，均勻攪拌後,倒入密封袋中(一定要密封好)，另一個塑膠袋放入冰塊和除濕後的水(一定要除濕桶的)，將材料密封袋放入冰塊袋中,用力晃動冰塊袋五分鐘後完成。
-------------------------

9. 自製冰淇淋

Hokey Pokey:
1/2 cup brown sugar + 2TBSP golden syrup
-> boil 4 min
-> + 1 Tbsp baking soda and stir
-> spread onto non-stick baking paper
-> break to small piece when it cools down and solidify

Ice cream:
beat 450 mL whipping cream to sticky
-> add few drops of valina + 400 g condensed milk + 150 mL milk
-> mix well
-> add Hokey Pokey
-> put into freezer
-> mix 3 times in the first 1 hour
-> freeze to finish
--------------------------

10. 牛奶冰淇淋
原料配方：鮮牛奶500克　奶油12.5克　白砂糖150克　蛋黃100克　食用香草精微量

將稱好的白砂糖加入蛋黃中混合攪打。再把經過煮沸的鮮牛奶慢慢倒入糖與蛋黃的混合液中，充分攪拌調製均勻後，移至另一容器中慢慢地用微火加熱使溫度保持在70～75℃時，不斷攪拌，然後停止加溫，當溫度逐漸下降直至有一定稠度為止，然後用細目篩(或乾淨的紗布)過濾，過濾液冷卻後再加入奶油和食用芳草香精，裝裝另一清潔衛生的容器內進行凍結，(其體積比原來增加30～50%)。經冷凍後的牛奶冰淇淋可立即食用。也可再增加工序和輔料，製成三色和果仁冰淇淋。

11. 香蕉冰淇淋

材料：四條香蕉（根據經驗，最好大條一點，不然香蕉味會被煉乳味蓋過）、200ml鮮奶油一瓶（總統牌很好買，一小罐剛剛好）、350ml的煉乳一罐（如果買到雀巢的，375ml，那香蕉最好再多一點），就這樣，非常方便準備。

作法：先把香蕉壓成泥狀（我偷懶過，結果香蕉塊結在冰裏，一咬到感覺太膩），然後跟鮮奶油和煉乳全拌在一塊兒，充份拌勻後送進冷凍庫裏冰至少二三個小時，之後拿出來，用攪拌器低速打散打發（打進空氣變鬆軟），然後再冰進冷凍庫裏，再結冰出來，就是口感像Gelato一樣的香蕉凍糕啦！

Read more!

Vector NTI

I should find time to learn how to use Vector NTI. Unfortunately the computer in the lab with Vector NTI is always occupied by one person whole day even when that person did not use computer. Sigh! I don't have time to learn it at home because I have other things need to do and I only have older version. Anyway, here are several websites might be useful.

Using Vector NTI
Introduction to Vector NTI 10 Workshop
Vector NTI 10 user guide
Vector NTI online user guide (by InforMax)
Vector NTI Suite 8 for Microsoft Windows
Vector NTI Tutorial
Script to install Vector NTI with Wine (ubuntu forums)

Read more!

AUD devaluation

Australia dollar keeps devaluation. I am crying for our money lose when we transferred TWD to AUD before we moved to Australia in early June.

Date for AUD : USD (ANZ buys/sells): TWD (CT buys/sells)
April 13, 2009 = 1 : 0.7316 (0.7105) : 24.2530 (24.5530)
March 4, 2009 = 1 : 0.6491 (0.6300) : 22.1350 (22.4350)
Jan 17, 2009 = 1 : 0.6785 (0.6586) : 22.3180 (22.6180)
Dec 6, 2008 = 1 : 0.6559 (0.6366) : 21.4990 (21.7990)
Nov 19, 2008 = 1 : 0.6557 (0.6364) : 21.3820 (21.6820)
Nov 5, 2008 = 1 : 0.7071 (0.6866) : 22.3980 (22.6980)
Nov 2, 2008 = 1 : 0.6916 (0.6714) : 21.6070 (21.9070)
Oct 30, 2008 = 1 : 0.6762 (0.6563) : 22.3040 (22.6040)
Oct 27, 2008 = 1 : 0.6282 (0.6095) : 21.2070 (21.5070)
Oct 17, 2008 = 1 : 0.6954 (0.6752) : 21.8960 (22.1960)
Oct 14, 2008 = 1 : 0.6901 (0.6699) : 22.6870 (22.9870)
Oct 12, 2008 = 1 : 0.6670 (0.6474) : 21.2390 (21.5390)
Oct 8, 2008 = 1 : 0.7137 (0.6970) : 23.3010 (23.6010)
Sep 6, 2008 = 1: 0.81xx : 26.2xxx
June 4, 2008 = 1 : 0.96xx : 28.9xxx (29.166)

Read more!

Early-Oct papers

There are some interested papers related to coral symbioses, bud and light quality, plant architecture, clock protein and flowering, adaption to environmental stimuli, Agrobacteria T-DNA protein complex and plant nucleosome, and floral organ abscission.
Plant, Cell & Environment, Volume 31, Issue 11, 14 Jul 2008.

Pages: 1523-1533
Host pigments: potential facilitators of photosynthesis in coral symbioses
SOPHIE G. DOVE, CARLI LOVELL, MAOZ FINE, JEFFRY DECKENBACK, OVE HOEGH-GULDBERG, ROBERTO IGLESIAS-PRIETO, KENNETH R.N. ANTHONY

Pages: 1534-1544
Light controls shoot meristem organogenic activity and leaf primordia growth during bud burst in Rosa sp.
TIFFANIE GIRAULT, VERONIQUE BERGOUGNOUX, DIDIER COMBES, JEAN-DANIEL VIEMONT, NATHALIE LEDUC

Pages: 1545-1556
The hydraulic architecture of Juniperus communis L. ssp. communis: shrubs and trees compared
BARBARA BEIKIRCHER, STEFAN MAYR
==========================
Plant Physiology, October 2008; Vol. 148, No. 2

Two New Clock Proteins, LWD1 and LWD2, Regulate Arabidopsis Photoperiodic
Flowering
Jing-Fen Wu, Ying Wang, and Shu-Hsing Wu
Plant Physiol. 2008;148 948-959 Open Access

Importance of Lineage-Specific Expansion of Plant Tandem Duplicates in the
Adaptive Response to Environmental Stimuli
Kousuke Hanada, Cheng Zou, Melissa D. Lehti-Shiu, Kazuo Shinozaki, and
Shin-Han Shiu
Plant Physiol. 2008;148 993-1003 Open Access
================
PNAS, 7 October 2008; Vol. 105, No. 40

Association of the Agrobacterium T-DNA–protein complex with plant nucleosomes
PNAS 2008 105:15429-15434, Benoît Lacroix, Abraham Loyter, and Vitaly Citovsky

Regulation of floral organ abscission in Arabidopsis thaliana
PNAS 2008 105:15629-15634, Sung Ki Cho, Clayton T. Larue, David Chevalier, Huachun Wang, Tsung-Luo Jinn, Shuqun Zhang, and John C. Walker

Read more!

Scalp

This is for my own reference. My scalp has been itching for a couple years. Sigh! I feel that I can't tolerate it anymore and am trying to find a way to solve it now. I tried to google to see how other people do and find some information. Here is just some information for myself.

Some keywords or products: ZP (Head & Shoulders), ketoconazole (Nizoral anti-dandruff shampoo 2% ketoconazole 仁山利舒, minoxidil 2%), polytar (for more serious symptom). natur e's gate (no SLS, SLES), Naturtint & Rausch 柳樹 shampoo, Davines anti-dandruff shampoo, Lush 精油洗髮乳

The followings are quoted from other websites:

GENERIC NAME: ketoconazole

BRAND NAME: Nizoral

DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: Ketoconazole is an antifungal medication. Fungi are organisms normally found on the skin and in moist areas of the body. When the skin is injured or chronically moistened, or normal bacteria flora of the body are altered due to prolonged antibiotic treatment, fungus can proliferate to cause inflammation of the skin or moist body areas. Fungus organisms can also infect the lungs and other body tissues especially in patients with weakened immune systems.

PRESCRIPTION: yes

GENERIC AVAILABLE: yes

PREPARATIONS: Tablets: 200 mg; Shampoo: 2%; Cream:2%.

STORAGE: Ketoconazole tablets: store at 59-86degrees F, protect from moisture. Ketaconazole shampoo: store at a temperature not above 77 degrees F, protect from light.

PRESCRIBED FOR: Ketoconazole is used to treat a variety of fungal infections. Examples of these fungal infections include candida infections of the skin or mouth (thrush), blastomycosis, histoplasmosis, coccidiomycosis, and others. Ketoconazole is also used to treat fungal infections that have not responded to griseofulvin, another antifungal medication.

Nizoral (Generic Name: Ketoconazole, Product Name: Nizoral)
Indication of Nizoral:
Nizoral is a medication used to treat systemic and deep fungal infections that does not respond to other treatment. Conditions treated include resistant pityriasis versicolor, prevention of mucocutaneous candidiasis in mmunocompromised, mucocutaneous candidiasis and vaginal thrush where topical treatment has failed.

Action of Nizoral:
Nizoral contains ketoconazole which belongs to a group of medicine called antifungals. It works by killing or stopping the growth of certain types of fungi or yeasts that cause the infection.

Dose Advice of Nizoral:
Dose information:

Nizoral may be used for various fungal infections. The usual dose for adults is one 200mg tablet once daily. However, the dose may vary depending on the type of fungal infections.
The period of treatment may vary between 2 weeks to 6 months.
If you are taking Nizoral tablets for longer than 2 weeks, you are advised to have a regular blood test (about once a month) for early detection of liver problems. Liver problems can be recognised by the following symptoms: unusual tiredness, nausea and vomiting, jaundice, dark urine, pale stools, lack of appetite, abdominal pain and fever.
Nizoral tablets should be taken during meals or with food for maximal absorption.
Do not take antacids or medicines that suppress the production of stomach acid within 2 hours of taking Nizoral. This is because sufficient stomach acid is required to ensure that Nizoral tablet is properly absorbed by the body.

醫學名稱：頭癬 (Tinea capitis)
俗稱：臭頭
好發年齡：常見於小孩。
分佈部位：頭皮

致病原因：頭癬最常見的菌種是毛髮癬菌(Trichophyton)及小芽孢癬菌(Microsporum)。侵入髮幹與頭皮所引發，常由無症狀的帶菌者或有頭癬的同學、家人、寵物、動物傳染而罹病。

症狀與特徵：頭癬在外觀上以主要以出現頭皮屑、容易不規則點狀落髮、毛根變形斷的特徵，嚴重時頭皮還會腫脹、化膿，然後造成疤痕型禿髮的現象，因此俗稱頭癬為「臭頭」。黴菌侵犯毛髮的部位隨菌種的不同而有所差異，其病變在顯微鏡下可分下列幾種：
毛髮內感染(Ectothrix infection)：以小芽孢癬菌(Microsporum)之菌種為主。黴菌孢子存在毛髮外，導致皮膚的破壞。
毛髮外感染(Endothrix infection)：以毛髮癬菌(Trichophyton)之菌種為主。黴菌孢子存在毛幹中，而沒有皮膚的破壞。

頭癬可區分成五種表現型：
非發炎型頭癬(漏脂型)：外觀類似脂漏性皮膚炎，有類似頭皮屑般的鱗狀落屑及搔癢性的斑塊，有時有脫髮的現象
黑點型(black dot)：為毛髮內感染的變異型。頭髮因黴菌寄生於毛幹內，使頭髮變脆，因此容易折斷，之後只剩下黑點般的毛根殘留在頭皮上，於是患處的外觀看起來有許多的黑點。此類型的頭癬通常是在頭皮上同時多發性的受到感染 。看起來與脂漏性皮膚炎類似。
禿瘡型(Kerion)：為毛髮內感染的變異型。頭皮有一大型化膿性、發炎性、塊狀突起的落髮結節病灶，極疼痛，病灶表面有許多蜂巢狀排膿的小孔並且伴有頭頸部的疼痛性淋巴結腫大。癒後常呈疤痕型禿髮的現象。
黃癬型(Flavus)：為毛髮內感染的變異型。可在髮幹中看到小氣泡及黴菌孢子菌絲。這種類型的頭癬可在頭皮上看到許多惡臭、黃色的黏性厚痂皮沿著毛囊的周圍生長及塊狀掉髮。癒後容易會有疤痕型禿髮的現象。
灰斑型(Gray patch)：為一又圓又大的角質化斑狀落髮。由於頭髮斷在靠近頭皮表面處，使得病灶看起來像一塊被收割過的稻田。

診斷頭癬主要是靠微生物的檢查，可將懷疑受到感染區域的頭髮取下，在顯微鏡下以KOH染色觀察，如果有發現菌絲或孢子，便可確定診斷。

治療
頭癬使用外用抗黴菌藥物治療通常無效，故以口服抗黴菌藥物(Griseofulvin、Ketoconazole、Terbinafine、Itraconazole)治療為主，療程約四至十二週。合併使用抗黴菌配方(ketoconazole, selenium sulfide)的洗髮精，可縮短療程。
此外，病人的梳子、帽子、枕頭、床、毛巾一定不能與他人共用，且要經常用熱水燙過，以免傳染他人。

菌男黴女／成人也會長頭癬　五類型對症下藥 (2001/07/05 00:00)
文／林揚志(馬偕紀念醫院皮膚科主治醫師)

歐巴桑在診間內一坐定，還不待我開口詢問病情，就張口要求我處方那一種一天一顆吃一個多月就會長頭髮的白色藥丸，她突然而來的要求在我腦海裡如同電腦硬碟般來回反覆不停的搜尋著，就是反應不出到底那一種生髮口服藥效果如此神效，一天一顆，一個月就見效呢？

她大概看我一臉胡疑的神色，便伸手遞給我一張字條上面寫著「療黴舒」斗大的三個字，這時我的腦子才轉了過來，原來他指的是治療「頭癬」的口服藥。

掉頭髮的原因很多，「頭癬」只佔其中的一小部份，而頭癬常見於小孩子頭上罕見於成年人，所以往往有成年人抱怨掉髮，醫師卻遺漏「頭癬」這個診斷。

頭癬是由皮癬菌侵入髮幹與頭皮所引起，在外觀上除了容易落髮外，可區分成五種表現型：
黑點型：頭髮因黴菌寄生，硬度轉脆，容易折斷，殘留黑點的毛根在頭皮上。
禿瘡型：頭皮突起塊狀發炎性的病灶。
漏脂型：似頭皮屑般的鱗狀落屑。
膿疱發炎型：類似長疔子般的大膿疱散佈在頭皮上。
灰斑型：斑狀落髮。

成年人長頭癬罕見的原因，一方面成年人免疫力佳，另一方面成年人髮幹半徑粗，黴菌較不易侵入。常見的致病菌種也與小孩大不相同；然而成年人頭癬有一特殊的現象，好發於停經後的女性與免疫機能低下的族群；推測主要原因與停經後頭皮上的油腺出油量降低，皮脂分泌量高的環境，是不利皮癬菌生長；其次是因為皮屑芽胞菌的數量減少，皮屑芽胞菌本身有對抗皮癬菌侵入頭皮與頭髮的能力。

成年人長頭癬容易被醫師疏忽的原因主要在表現上，若呈現大量頭皮屑或落髮，這是一種常見皮膚病脂漏性皮膚炎的特徵；如果呈現膿疱發炎型，又與細菌性毛囊炎，頭皮發炎症狀類似，常令醫師先考慮這些常見的細菌性疾病，轉了個圈，才會想到「頭癬」，所以診斷時還得藉助黴菌氫氧化鉀檢查，吳突氏燈照射、頭髮黴菌培養、頭皮病理切片檢查來證實臆測。

頭癬的治療方法首重口服藥物由四至十二週，甚而更長，視口服藥物的藥效好壞而定；其他的治療方法都是輔助治療包括全家人每週使用抗黴菌洗髮精三次，每次在頭上停留至少五分鐘，直到症狀消失減少擴散的機會；外用抗黴菌的藥膏；避免梳子、美髮用品共用；患者本身也要避免經由自己的頭皮屑黏附在衣物、家具上，而傳染給他人；如經證實傳染來自寵物(貓、狗、兔)，則寵物亦需同步治療。總之，頭癬並非一件難纏的疾病，端賴正確的診斷與確實的治療。

療黴舒
諾華藥廠的療黴舒最近在報章雜誌，或是電子媒體都廣告的很火熱，那到底療黴舒是個什麼東西呢?療黴舒這東西到底用來治療什麼疾病？夏天最容易得到的疾病就是香港腳了，說起香港腳這毛病可不容易擺脫，就跟戒菸差不多，戒了幾百次，菸癮都在；香港腳癢起來可真麻煩，又不能當庭廣眾下抓，可是很多藥膏雖然都號稱能夠短期止香港腳的癢，可靠的都是類固醇的功勞，療黴舒利害的地方在於它可一點都沒有含類固醇，療黴舒可以徹底的將黴菌殺死，讓患處的香港腳不易復發，而且療黴舒效果相當迅速，只要七天就能見效．
療黴舒的適應症為治療皮膚表淺性黴菌感染，如足癬(香港腳)，股癬，體癬，汗斑．
療黴舒的成分是terbinafine，商品名是Lamisil，療黴舒是allylamine的衍生物，具有抗黴菌作用，對皮癬菌具有殺黴菌作用．對酵母菌的作用，則依不同的種屬，而有殺死黴菌的或抑制黴菌的作用．
療黴舒可干擾黴菌生合成麥角硬脂醇的先期步驟．導致麥角硬脂醇不足，且因細胞內積聚過多的squalene引起黴菌死亡．療黴舒的作用機轉是抑制黴菌細胞膜上的squalene eposidase，此酵素的作用與細胞P450系統無關，且療黴舒並不會影響荷爾蒙或其他藥物的代謝．
療黴舒塗抹在身體上，僅有5%的劑量被吸收，全身性的作用非常輕微，經身體代謝後的代謝物並無抗黴菌的活性，且主要由尿液及糞便排出，排除半衰期為17小時，並無蓄積現象．目前為止，療黴舒可以說是治療香港腳最有效的藥品之一．

Terbinafine（Lamisil療黴舒噴劑 凝膠 乳膏 油劑 碇劑 250mg）

Terbinafine 只可用於治療表淺性皮膚黴菌感染症。
一、體外敏感性範圍
1.中度敏感：Dermatophytes；M. furfur；Dimorphic fungi；Mycetoma
2. 輕度敏感：C. parapsilosis；C. neoformans；Aspergillus spp.
3.無敏感：Candida albicans；C. tropicalis；Fusarium spp.；Zygomycetes

二、製劑
Terbinafine只有口服劑型。

三、劑量
成人：250 mg QD (PO) 兒童：無資料

四、不良反應
1. 肝毒性，有報告引起肝臟衰竭而死亡或需肝臟移植。
2. 腸胃道不適，包括噁心、食慾不振及腹痛。
3. 過敏反應，包括皮疹與皮癢，不常見。
4. Terbinafine 可降低 rifampin 之血中濃度。
5. Terbinafine 在一般常規使用時，其藥物不良反應之發生率
約為10.5%，大部分非屬於嚴重之副作用，有5.3%需要停藥，
至於嚴重的副作用則如血管性水腫，支氣管痙攣或
多形性紅斑等水疱症 ，約為0.046%。
五、說明
於慢性或活動性肝炎病患，不可使用terbinafine。
治療前必須檢查肝功能，治療中若有任何症狀懷疑是肝炎時，
必須立即停藥。
雖然於體外對 Cryptococcus、Aspergillus、Candida 有感受性，
但對實驗動物之上述全身性感染症無效。
六、Lamisil（Terbinafine）健保規範：限

1.手指甲癬及足趾甲癬病例使用，每日250mg，手指甲癬最長使用六週，足趾甲癬最長使用12 週，並各在6及12 個月內不得重複使用本品或其他同類口服藥品。
2.其他頑固性體癬、股癬、頭癬病例使用，每日一次，最長使用2 週，治療期間不得併用其他同類藥品。

中英文藥品名：LAMISIL TABLETS 療黴舒錠
成分及劑量：TERBINAFINE 250 MG
給藥途徑：口服
適應症：甲癬（ＯＮＹＣＨＯＭＹＯＳＩＳ）、髮癬（ＴＩＮＥＡ　ＣＡＰＩＴＩＳ），嚴重且廣泛且經局部治療無效的皮膚黴菌感染。
副作用：頭痛、消化不良、噁心、腹瀉、皮膚出疹、關節疼痛等
懷孕分級：B
Note：服藥期間如有無理由之持續噁心、食慾缺乏、疲倦及肝功能異常時,請停藥就醫。本藥須依醫師指示服藥與停藥。

頭皮屑頭皮癢看過來

Ａns：你可以先試試看用海倫仙度絲的洗髮精加它家的潤髮乳（它的潤髮乳是要抹在頭皮上按摩的，可以加強效果而且沖掉後頭髮會變很滑順，很神奇我很愛）（註１），或是用仁山利舒洗髮精，若是這兩者還不行再用polytar，因為polytar有股味道而且洗完頭髮頗乾澀

這是網友在留言版問我的，我覺得有很多人有類似的問題，所以把它貼到網誌上，另外再補充一些。

這種情況我們叫做脂漏性皮膚炎，輕者只要改變洗髮精就可以控制（記得按摩頭皮並且讓它留在頭皮上３－５分鐘再沖掉），嚴重者還必須再加上外用藥物及口服藥。

脂漏性皮膚炎是一種體質性的疾病，所謂體質，就是說爸媽生給你的，沒辦法斷根，但是我們可以用藥物或一些方法控制住。

上述洗髮精中，海倫仙度絲含ＺＰ，仁山利舒含Ketoconazole （註２），都可以自行在超市／藥妝店／量販店找到，症狀較輕者用這兩者就可以了，而Polytar適用於較嚴重者，可以用健保開，少數藥局也有賣。

此外，有這種症狀的人最好少吃辣的／刺激性的食物，保持心情愉快，以免惡化。

註１：一般潤絲精是不能直接抹到頭皮上的，會讓頭皮變油惡化，但是海倫仙度絲她家的潤絲精很奇特，擦在頭皮上可以完全被水沖去，而且還能加強對症狀的控制。

註２：其實還有很多牌子的洗髮精含有相同成分，只是這兩個牌子最有名，一說出來病人就知道。

頭皮屑原因和改善方法

頭皮和皮膚相同，由基底細胞分裂，形成角質，一到春夏之交，秋冬季節變化，許多人發現最近頭皮屑特別嚴重，現代人壓力大、染燙機會增加，頭皮變得比較敏感，頭皮屑問題也跟著產生。

頭皮屑增多的問題，在一些病理因素或外在環境刺激下，常使頭皮細胞的角質化不正常，有些形成沾黏在頭皮的厚皮，有些變成大片皮屑脫落。頭皮屑及頭皮癢的問題主要是皮屑芽孢菌過度增生引起，不過許多人忽略了想要根絕頭皮屑問題，不但要選擇使用抗屑洗髮精，也要重新檢視生活習慣，要避免抽菸、少吃高熱量、高脂肪及刺激性食物，同時要減少工作壓力及減少熬夜，使情緒保持輕鬆的狀態，還要留意工作環境的通風設備，保持空氣清新流暢。染燙過後不但會改變毛髮的狀態，染燙藥劑的刺激也會使頭皮有刺痛灼熱，最好選擇與健康髮質酸鹼度接近的護理產品，透過指腹按摩放鬆頭皮，可以深層護理同時將殘留的染燙藥劑除去，頭皮健康後就不會有乾燥或搔癢的感覺。

拒絕頭皮屑從根本做起
天氣酷熱，多數人都有頭皮癢、出油或頭皮屑等問題，這些症狀看似普通，但那已經是皮屑芽孢菌過度增生的現象了，要讓頭皮享有清爽的夏天，就要好好與皮屑芽孢菌和平共處～

皮屑芽孢菌是一種與人體正常共生的黴菌，通常存在於人體皮脂腺分泌較多的部位，當量少時可以與人們和平共處，但當皮脂腺分泌過度旺盛時，皮屑芽孢菌會迅速增加。如此不但會造成頭皮問題的產生，嚴重時還可能引起皮膚炎、皮膚發紅等現象。

由於天候乾燥，頭皮角質太乾而形成的乾性頭皮屑往往更為嚴重，加上現代人生活壓力較大，熬夜、不規則的生活作息、高熱量、高脂肪飲食、煙酒、麻辣等等食物的剌激，情緒緊張或其他身體疾病，造成皮屑芽孢菌增加，使頭皮的新陳代謝加速，不成熟的角質大量脫落，形成頭皮屑。

皮屑芽孢菌在夏天悶熱的氣候與環境下容易造成滋生，加上工作環境需常戴安全帽，或頭皮長處悶熱環境等因素影響下，可能會進一步引發脂漏性皮膚炎，導致大量掉髮。

皮屑芽孢菌比較
正常人皮屑芽孢菌含量：46%，頭皮屑者皮屑芽孢菌含量：74%，脂漏性皮膚炎皮屑芽孢菌含量：83%，顯示皮屑芽孢菌為造成頭皮屑等頭皮問題的主要因素。
想要有效抑制皮屑芽孢菌的過度增生，揮別頭皮屑，從現在開始，除了選擇專用洗髮精外，正常清淡的飲食與生活作息也是不可忽略的一環。

抗屑洗髮乳永遠不換
醫師建議抗屑洗髮精應持續使用二至三週，若情況改善後應減少使用次數。此外，頭皮屑也有可能是生活壓力或脂漏性皮膚炎造成，若是後者，應請教專業皮膚科醫生才是正確之道。

造成頭皮屑的原因包括
‧脂漏性皮膚炎
是頭皮屑過多最常見的原因。皮膚泛紅且產生脫皮現象，常分布在頭皮、眉間、鼻側，嚴重時連胸前及外耳道都有。脂漏性皮膚炎與體質有關，患者通常從青春期開始發病，在生活壓力大、睡眠不足及季節變化，尤其秋冬之際，常會惡化，原因至今不明，頭皮中皮屑芽孢菌過多佔重要角色，卻不是唯一原因，皮膚炎的反應也會造成癢感。
‧異位性皮膚炎、乾燥性皮膚炎
頭皮雖然皮脂腺比其他部位發達，但是乾燥性皮膚或特殊體質的人，在秋冬氣候轉變成乾冷之際，頭皮分泌油脂及水分功能失去平衡，就會像其他部位的皮膚一樣，因乾燥而產生癢、脫皮的現象，如果又用過熱的水、或去汙力太強的洗髮精，天天洗頭常會加重病情。
‧身心壓力
睡眠不足、熬夜、生活作息不正常、長途旅行、生病住院等，都能造成頭皮屑增多。
‧身心壓力
‧其他皮膚疾病
‧錯誤的洗頭、護髮方式
頭皮的感覺神經比其他部位遲鈍，我們常不知不覺用過熱的水洗髮，用力搔抓或用近距離的熱風直吹。不適合的染髮、護髮用品、髮膠、定型液等，都會長期刺激，使頭皮癢或皮屑增多。

改善方法
‧改善頭皮屑過多，首先要戒掉過當的清潔方式，不該用太燙的水洗頭，水溫高雖可暫時減輕癢感，但高於40℃常造成皮表保護膜破壞，不但洗完後癢感加劇，連頭皮屑都會變多。

‧用指甲、梳子等尖銳物摳抓頭皮的壞習慣，也要戒除。治療頭皮屑不像清掃落葉，事先搖下落葉就能清除乾淨。用尖銳的物品摳弄頭皮，雖然把將掉的皮屑弄掉，看起來好像比較乾淨了，但反而刺激頭皮增長，加重頭皮屑形成。
‧生活作息的調適也很重要，避免熬夜及過大的壓力。
‧如果上述的保養方法都正確了，卻還是飽受頭皮屑、頭皮癢之苦，最好能請專科醫師診斷治療。希望在冬天，能自信地穿上深色衣服，秀出閃亮頭髮，輕鬆地和頭皮屑說拜拜。

頭皮毛病多 護理不同
頭皮上可能產生的問題很多，以患者所描述的長疹子、發炎、有滲出液、長膿包等，有幾種可能的原因。
第一可能是頭癬，黴菌感染引起，頭上的皮膚可能會發紅、脫屑、長膿包，繼而毛囊受到破壞、掉頭髮等，引起疤痕性禿髮。

其次是細菌感染引起毛囊炎，毛囊受到細菌的侵入，有些患者原本頭皮就容易出油，又未能勤清洗，毛孔阻塞而使細菌更為繁殖，此時毛囊出口處就會長出小小顆的膿包，很容易讓人誤以為是長痘痘。 第三，更嚴重的毛囊炎，就會變成癤子，很大一顆，有如腫塊，會有明顯的出膿、紅腫。

如果是細菌造成，可以用抗生素預防掉髮，外用加上口服，保持患處清潔，大約一、二周即可治癒；如果是黴菌感染引起，因為黴菌比較不容易預防掉髮，所以必須口服抗黴菌藥三至六個月，才能逐漸好轉。

常洗頭可使細菌減少，所以細菌感染若不嚴重，可以用常清洗的方式來改善；若細菌毒性較強或患者抵抗力差，就必須用抗生素預防掉髮。但如果是黴菌則比較不容易清洗去除，因為從髮幹到底部都很容易有黴菌侵入，只用清潔的方式是無法斷根的，必須使用藥物預防掉髮。

現代人的必備課題─頭皮的健康護理─頭皮反應身體健康
人的頭皮佈滿了經絡穴脈分別掌管中心，自律等神經系統，缺乏運動又不保養，血液循環不良、新陳代謝不正常，會引起：油脂分泌過旺、老化角質堆積、發炎嚴重掉髮等頭皮問題。

Read more!

Wrong turn

This morning, the driver of bus 414 turned wrong 3 times. He drove around to come back to its route in the first time, but did not do it for the 2nd and 3rd times. Well, no passenger said anything. Maybe the driver was trying to show us different part of this suburban.

This evening, the bus 414 was about 15 minutes late. It stopped in the other side of the road in UQ station and did not come to the bus stop until 15 minutes later than its schedule. The driver made one wrong turn too.

I think that the Brisbane transportation should maintain their bus better. It seems that the evening bus might have some mechanical problem.

This week might be UQ's spring break. Not many students take bus.
Read more!

Homemade noodles

Yes, we did it. After a long time consideration, we finally bought a Marcato Atlas pasta maker on Sunday (Sep 28) which was made in Italy. We tried to make our first homemade noodle in Monday night with flour:wather=3:1 (v:v). The noodle just stuck to each other and barely cut separately.

We tried it again with flour:water = 4:1.2 (v:v) today and it works perfectly. Yeah!

This is for 4 people:

4 cups of plain flour (ps. this cup is rice cup which is about 160 mL)
1.1 cups of water
1 Tsp salt
-> knead the dough well
-> rise for 20 minutes inside microwave
-> separate the dough to small piece
-> pass it through the roller -> fold it (ps. repeat 5-6 times)
-> pass it through the roller on number 2, 3, and 4 to desired thickness
*(-> put some flour on the surface and pass it through the cutting rollers)
*(-> put some flour onto the noodle to avoid them stick together)
-> keep half of them in fridge for dinner on tomorrow

*: No need to add flour if using 1.1 cup of water. But it will be a little bit difficult to knead the dough. 1.2 cup of water will make the dough easier to knead, but then you will need to add some flour before passing through the roller of pasta maker.

We added broccoli and baked chicken into our noodle. It is fun and it does taste good. We might try to add something into the mixture to make different noodles in the future.

There are 2 meanings to make our own noodles. First, it is healthier and fresh. Second, it might save us some money. 1 Kg noodles is $3.6 and 2 Kg noodles is $6.99 in Brisbane's Asian store. 2 Kg flour is $1.85. We usually eat noodles 7 times per week. 2 Kg noodles is about 1 week. If 2 Kg flour is also for 1 week. Then we save about 5 dollars per week. Yeah! We will earn the pasta maker back after 20 weeks.
Read more!