Working Shifts Can Harm Women's Fertility

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　　Schools in north China's Shanxi Province have been banned from organizing overseas study tours for profit after a plane crash killed two Chinese girls in San Francisco.

 

　　The provincial¹ education department announced the ban in a statement issued on Tuesday, as well as pledged to launch an investigation² into local schools' participation³ in organizing overseas summer or winter camps and study tours.

 

　　The statement said the number of teachers should be assigned in proportion to the number of students taking part in the activities.

 

　　It noted⁴ that teachers' travel expenses must be jointly⁵ funded by schools and partner institutions, rather than be shifted onto students.

 

　　Meanwhile, the municipal education bureau of Zhejiang's city of Quzhou on Monday ordered local schools and related institutions to suspend all summer camps and study tours.

 

　　China Daily

 

　　Summer Smog Will Become Common, Experts Say

 

　　Weather experts say the spell of thick smog that blanketed Tian'anmen Square for 18 days in June will not be a thing of the past.

 

　　Yan Peng, a researcher of the Meteorological Observation Center of the China Meteorological Administration, said the smog this summer may become a common occurrence if the high humidity remains⁶ steady.

 

　　According to the CMA, the number of smoggy days per month in Beijing soared from July to August. Over the past decade, each month had an average of about 15 days of smog.

 

　　Experts said vehicle exhaust and the burning of coal are the main contributors to the capital's smog.

 

　　The only way to reduce the number of smoggy days is to control emissions⁷.

 

　　The Telegraph

 

　　Working Shifts Can Harm Women's Fertility

 

　　New research has found women who work irregular shift patterns are almost twice as likely to suffer fertility problems.

 

　　According to the study, those whose rotas varied⁸ took longer to conceive a child, and were more likely to suffer menstrual disruption.

 

　　Women who only worked night shifts did not suffer when trying to conceive, but were significantly more likely to have a miscarriage⁹.

 

　　Researchers analyzed¹⁰ all studies on the subject since 1969, providing data on some 120,000 women.

 

　　They found that those whose shifts varied, mixing up daytime, evening and night working, had an 80 per cent higher rate of subfertility – meaning that they were unable to conceive within 12 months – compared with those working regular hours.

 

　　Women working irregular patterns also had a 33 per cent higher rate of menstrual disruption.

 

　　However, the study did not establish why irregular shifts were associated with fertility problems.

 

　　The Japan News

 

　　70% Don't Want Life-Prolonging Treatments

 

　　About 70 percent of Japanese said they do not wish to undergo life-prolonging treatments such as gastrostomy or artificial ventilation if they are suffering from terminal cancer or dementia.

 

　　Gastrostomy refers to a procedure in which a surgical¹¹ opening is created into the stomach for the insertion of a feeding tube, among other purposes.

 

　　The survey on terminal care was conducted by the Health, Labor¹² and Welfare Ministry¹³.

 

　　A total of 5,000 men and women aged¹⁴ 20 or older participated in the survey.

 

　　When asked about terminal cancer, 61 percent of respondents said they wanted to receive drip infusions¹⁵ for fluid replacement¹⁶. However, 72 percent said they did not wish to have a gastrostomy.

 

　　Sixty-seven percent also said they did not want to undergo artificial ventilation.

 

　　The survey on terminal care was conducted by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

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