Bedtime Prayers

<正>Julie was saying her bedtime prayers. 'Please God', she said, 'Make Naples the capital of Italy. Make Naples the capital of Italy.'

What is the destiny of a threatened fish, Ptychobarbus chungtienensis, now that non-native weatherfishes have been introduced into Bita Lake, Shangri-La？

Biological invasion is a pervasive negative force of global change, especially in its effects on sensitive freshwater ecosystems. Even protected areas are usually not immune. Ptychobarbus chungtienensis is a threatened freshwater fish now almost confined to Bita Lake, in the Shangri-La region of Yunnan province, China. Its existence is threatened by the introduction of non-native weatherfishes （Misgumus anguillicaudatus and Paramisgurnus dabryanus） by an unusual method known as ＇prayer animal release＇ Periodic surveys revealed the ratio of invasive weatherfishes to P. chungtienensis has been increasing since the former species was first recorded from the lake in August, 2009. Ptychobarbus chungtienensis shows low genetic diversity in the relict Lake Bita population. Weatherfishes, however, have highly successful survival strategies. The degree of dietary overlap between the species is alarming and perhaps critical if food is found to be a limiting factor.

Effect of prayer on the self-care agency and hope in hemodialysis patients

Background:The level of self-care of hemodialysis patients is important in controlling the disease process and symptoms.Nursing care has an important place in the process of resolving existing or developing problems of patients receiving hemodialysis treatment and in adapting to treatment.Prayer is not only a resource that encourages religious/spiritual coping,it is also a spirituality that strengthens hope.Objective:The objective of this study is to determine whether prayer has an effect on self-care agency and hope in hemodialysis patients.Materials and Methods:This is a descriptive and correlational study which was conducted with 180 patients in a private and a public dialysis center.The data of 173 hemodialysis patients who met the inclusion criteria were collected using personal information form,Herth Hope Scale,Self-care Agency Scale,and Prayer Attitude Scale.Results:A positive,moderate,and statistically significant correlation was found between the Prayer Attitude Scale and total score(r=0.144,P=0.048)and sub-scale future(r=0.350,P=0.000)of Herth Hope Scale.And there was positive correlation between the Prayer Attitude Scale and the total score of Self-care Agency Scale(r=0.599,P=0.000)and its five sub-dimensions drug use(r=0.566,P=0.000),diet(r=0.619,P=0.000),self-monitoring(r=0.522,P=0.000),hygienic care(r=0.576,P=0.000)and mental status(r=0.328,P=0.000).Conclusions:The study found that prayer had a positive effect on self-care agency and hope in hemodialysis patients.

Rebuilding the Ancestral Temple and Hosting Daluo Heaven and Earth Prayer and Enlightenment Ceremony

Kuo,Yeh-Tzu founded Taiwan’s Sung Shan Tsu Huei Temple in 1970.She organized more than 200 worshipers as a group named“Taiwan Tsu Huei Temple Queen Mother of the West Delegation to China to Worship at the Ancestral Temples”in 1990.At that time,the temple building of the Queen Mother Palace in Huishan of Gansu Province was in disrepair,and Temple Master Kuo,Yeh-Tzu made a vow to rebuild it.Rebuilding the ancestral temple began in 1992 and was completed in 1994.It was the first case of a Taiwan temple financing the rebuilding of a far-away Queen Mother Palace with its own donations.In addition,Sung Shan Tsu Huei Temple celebrated its 45th anniversary and hosted Yiwei Yuanheng Lizhen Daluo Tiandi Qingjiao(Momentous and Fortuitous Heaven and Earth Prayer Ceremony)in 2015.This is the most important and the grandest blessing ceremony of Taoism,a rare event for Taoism locally and abroad during this century.Those sacred rituals were replete with unprecedented grand wishes to propagate the belief in Queen Mother of the West.Stopping at nothing,Queen Mother’s love never ceases.

Out of Witchcraft to Zhuyou:Healing by Prayer

Zhuyou is one of the methods to treat diseases in ancient China.It is controversial in modern times because of its mysterious form.Based on the observation and analysis of literature records as well as the folk customs of traditional Chinese medicine,this article discusses the methods of treating herpes zoster and nocturnal fretfulness in infants by using Zhuyou,with a purpose to summarize its therapeutic mechanism and principle,while taking its essence to make use of the past to serve the present.

A Wing and a Prayer

文章真短,似微缩盆景。然读后方知其妙,回味更叹其绝！ 人生在世数十载,见到的场景不计其数,但是,大多数如同过眼云烟,而有的镜头稍瞬即逝,却刻骨铭心,永世难忘！ 本文作者仅叙事,无议论,却让读者心潮澎湃,思绪飞越。再精彩的议论在读者看来也是“蛇足”!而国人成文,似喜好议论,所谓“夹叙夹议”是也。然而,人们往往疏漏了一点:你的叙述是否已足以激活读者的思想? 作者是一个退役的飞行员,一日在山里干活,用餐时分,他坐下歇息,但见眼前景致不俗: Sitting on a log,I unwrapped a sandwich and surveyed the rugged scenery,Twoturbulent streams joins to form a clear,deep pool before roaring down a heavily woodedcanyon. 放眼观景,渐入佳境。岂料却有黄蜂来扰,大扫雅兴。于是: Now,losing patience,I swatted the pest to the ground and crunched it into thesand with my boot. 难以置信的是:My tormentor emerged with its wings buzzing furiously. “我”欲置其于死地而后快: I stood up and ground the insect into the sand with all my 210 pounds. 读者认定:此黄蜂必死无疑。文章若就此打住,何成佳作? 作者以其精细的笔触,入微的观察,驰骋的想象,厚重的思辨写了此黄蜂 “死”而复生的全?