Volume 4, Issue 2, Total issues 13 June 2, 1999

ONMUAA Editorial Board Wishes You and Your Family a Very Happy Summer.

Executive Editor: Dawei Xu, MD78, GS84, IUPUI, Indianapolis, [email protected]
Editor in Chief: Huang, Xupei, PH77, Houston, [email protected]
Associate Editors: Chen, Bei, PH80, San Francisco, [email protected]
He, Zhigang, MD79, San Francisco, [email protected]
Liu, Youcheng, PH78, New Haven,
[email protected]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. [Brief News]
* ONMUAA Joining Welcome Team to Greet PM Zhu Rongji's Visit to Boston
* The 2nd "JIANGSU ZI YOU"(Friends of Jiangsu) Annual Convention
for Overseas
Organizations/Associations
* About NMU President's visit
2. [Alumni Activities]
* Qingyi Wei's Report: Basic Research on Environmental Health Sciences
3. [Alumni opinion]
* Question: Why did they do so?
* U.S. Congress will be very happy!
4. [Information Exchange]
* Ten Great Achievements in Public Health
* Information Needed for New Anti-Oncogenes
5. [Alumni on Move]
6. [Job Opportunity]
* Postdoctoral Fellow/Research Associate Position
7. [Humor and Jokes]
* Bill and Hillary
* Rocket Scientist
* The Story of Two Men
*********************************************************
1. [Brief News]

1). ONMUAA Joining Welcome Team to Greet PM Zhu Rongji's Visit to Boston
(Provided by Liang-feng Tao)

Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji visited Boston on April 14, 1999.
About one month before, ONMUAA joined Welcome Committee of Chinese
Residents in Great Boston Area. Along with other 80 organizations,
associations, companies or institutions, the Committee published welcome
advertisement for at least 10 days in 6 different Chinese newspapers and
3 English newspapers covering both US East Coast area and great Boston
area. Most advertisements listed ONMUAA's full English name and Chinese name,
together with other university alumni associations. ONMUAA also took the
responsibility to make more than 70 welcome posters for the Committee,
which were used by welcome team around MIT where Mr. Zhu delivered his
important speech. On 4/14, many of our alumni living in Boston area came
to MIT to greet Mr. Zhu, even that day was work day. One of our alumni
was chosen as a representative of Chinese residents to meet Zhu's
delegation at Logan Airport. Many alumni contributed their time and
effort to improvement of US-Sino relationship. This is the second time ONMUAA
joined important activities launched by local Chinese circles.

2). The 2nd "JIANGSU ZI YOU"(Friends of Jiangsu) Annual Convention
for Overseas
Organizations/Associations
(Provided by Wei Yang and Liang-feng Tao)
ONMUAA has received an invitation from the government of Jiangsu province
for this meeting. Last year, our alumni Wei Qingyi and Yang Wei attended
the great 1st Convention in Nanjing. This year's schedule is as follows:
Oct. 1, 1999---- Registration, in Nanjing.
Oct. 2-3, 1999---- Visit activities in Nanjing.
Oct. 3, 1999---- Leave Nanjing to visit other 10 cities for 5 days.
The government will be responsible for all expenses in visiting activities
during the meeting(not for air ticket).
Any ONMUAA alumni who would like to attend this meeting are welcome and
encouraged. Please contact Yang Wei for details if you are interested.

3). About NMU President's visit
(Provided by Liang-feng Tao)
In last issue of the newsletter, we reported the news that NMU
President Dr. Chen
Ronghua would soon visit U.S. and Canada. However, we have not
received any further
information from NMU campus about this visit. A guess is, the visit
may be delayed or
called off. We will keep you informed.
=============================================================
2. [Alumni Activities]

1). Qingyi Wei's Report: Basic Research on Environmental Health Sciences

Dr. Qingyi Wei (PH78), Associate Professor of Epidemiology, The University
of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Dr. Xingru Wang(GS84), Professor
and Vice President of NMU unexpectedly met each other during XiangShang
Symposium "Basic Research on Environmental Health Sciences" held in
XiangShang, Beijing on April 20-23, 1999. A total of thirty five top
scientists(5 members of the Academy, 24 full professors and others) from the
county were invited to attend this symposium sponsored by Chinese Academy of
Sciences. Dr. Qingyi Wei (PH78) was the only oversea scholar invited.
Presentations and discussion were fucused on 1) Environmental behaviors
of environmental toxic pollutants; 2) Interactions between environmental
toxic pollutants and the host (humans) at the levels of genes, proteins, and
cells; 3) Theory and technology of detecting early health effect of
environmental hazard/risk factors. Bio-marker research, etiology of
environmental cancer, molecular epidemiology, and the human genome
project were the main topics under intensive discussion. This symposium was
designed to provide scientific advice on the research focus and strategy
and to help lay the foundation for environmental health science projects
to be considered in The 973 Program as one of the China Top Projects . The
973 Program has received $300 millions and will run from 1998 through
2003. The projects to be included will go through an intensive nationwide
competition. Last year, China had selected 15 projects to inaugurate
one of the largest basic research programs in the country's history. Each
project will receive $2.5 to $7.5 millions over 5 years (Equivalent to
a US NIH Program Project. These funds should provide more resources for
research because they do not need to pay the personnel. For more
detailed information about The 973 Projects, please see Sciences, 282:2171,
1998). The research areas of the projects included life sciences, information
sciences, agriculture, resources and the environment, energy resources,
new materials. One medical project was "Fundamental investigation of human
carcinogenesis" led by Dr. Cheng, Shu-Jun (P.I.), Professor of Genetic
Toxicology and Deputy Direct of Cancer Institute (Hospital), Chinese
Academy of Medical Sciences. (If any ones who are seeking collaboration,
you can contact Dr. Cheng at Tel. 86-10-6778-2323 or Fax 86-10-6771 3359;
e-mail: [email protected].)
=============================================================3.
[Alumni opinion]

1). Question: Why they did it so?
(Provided by Xu Dawei)
Here is the 1999 version of the story. NATO has bombed Yugoslavia for 72 days,
It made great pressure to Milosevic, the president of Yugoslavia. So
he made decision
to accept the agreement made by the 8 countries last month. It means
he will give up
on this war, Kosovo will be independent. It's said this result would
make new troubles in
"independence movement" in China, such as Taiwan and Tibet. But the
fact is opposite. The
first, Dalai Lama said he did not request Tibet independence, he just
asked high autonomy.
Second, Taiwan Min Jin Dang (Democratic Advance Party) has changed
their Taiwan Independent creed.
These all means they stopped their actions to dissociate China. Who
can answer this question: Why they did it so?

2). U.S. Congress will be very happy!
(Provided by Xu Dawei)
Recently, U.S. House has issued "Cox Report" and said Chinese
government used Chinese
scholars who work in U.S.A. to steal high technology for Chinese
weapon system. It makes
a difficult time to every Chinese scholar working in U.S.A. Did
anyone feel this hard time?
I don't think our medical scholars would have these problems.
Because, if we "steal" the
high medical technology to China, It will make China's great medical
advance, the final
result may be that cancer can be cured in China. If it is true, U.S.
Congress will be very
happy, as that contribution will benefit them as well as whole world.
=============================================================
4. [Information Exchange]

1). Ten Great Achievements in Public Health-- United States, 1900-1999
(Provided by Youcheng Liu)
During the 20th century, the health and life expectancy of persons
residing in the United States improved dramatically. Since 1900, the
average lifespan of persons in the United States has lengthened by
greater than 30 years; 25 years of this gain are attributable to
advances in public health. To highlight these advances, MMWR will
profile 10 public health achievements (see below) in a series of reports
published through December 1999.
Many notable public health achievements have occurred during the 1900s,
and other accomplishments could have been selected for the list. The
choices for topics for this list were based on the opportunity for
prevention and the impact on death, illness, and disability in the
United States and are not ranked by order of importance.
The first report in this series focuses on vaccination, which has
resulted in the eradication of smallpox; elimination of poliomyelitis in
the Americas; and control of measles, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria,
Haemophilus influenzae type b, and other infectious diseases in the
United States and other parts of the world.

Ten Great Public Health Achievements -- United States, 1900-1999
Vaccination
Motor-vehicle safety
Safer workplaces
Control of infectious diseases
Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke
Safer and healthier foods
Healthier mothers and babies
Family planning
Fluoridation of drinking water
Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard
Future reports that will appear in MMWR throughout the remainder of 1999
will focus on nine other achievements:
Improvements in motor-vehicle safety have resulted from engineering
efforts to make both vehicles and highways safer and from successful
efforts to change personal behavior (e.g., increased use of safety
belts, child safety seats, and motorcycle helmets and decreased drinking
and driving). These efforts have contributed to large reductions in
motor-vehicle-related deaths.
Work-related health problems, such as coal workers' pneumoconiosis
(black lung), and silicosis -- common at the beginning of the century --
have come under better control. Severe injuries and deaths related to
mining, manufacturing, construction, and transportation also have
decreased; since 1980, safer workplaces have resulted in a reduction of
approximately 40% in the rate of fatal occupational injuries.
Control of infectious diseases has resulted from clean water and
improved sanitation. Infections such as typhoid and cholera transmitted
by contaminated water, a major cause of illness and death early in the
20th century, have been reduced dramatically by improved sanitation. In
addition, the discovery of anti-microbial therapy has been critical to
successful public health efforts to control infections such as
tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke have resulted
from risk-factor modification, such as smoking cessation and blood
pressure control coupled with improved access to early detection and
better treatment. Since 1972, death rates for coronary heart disease
have decreased 51%.
Since 1900, safer and healthier foods have resulted from decreases in
microbial contamination and increases in nutritional content.
Identifying essential micronutrients and establishing food-fortification
programs have almost eliminated major nutritional deficiency diseases
such as rickets, goiter, and pellagra in the United States.
Healthier mothers and babies have resulted from better hygiene and
nutrition, availability of antibiotics, greater access to health care, and
technologic advances in maternal and neonatal medicine. Since 1900, infant
mortality has decreased 90%, and maternal mortality has decreased 99%.
Access to family planning and contraceptive services has altered social
and economic roles of women. Family planning has provided health
benefits such as smaller family size and longer interval between the
birth of children; increased opportunities for pre-conceptional
counseling and screening; fewer infant, child, and maternal deaths; and
the use of barrier contraceptives to prevent pregnancy and transmission
of human immunodeficiency virus and other STDs.
Fluoridation of drinking water began in 1945 and in 1999 reaches an
estimated 144 million persons in the United States. Fluoridation safely
and inexpensively benefits both children and adults by effectively
preventing tooth decay, regardless of socioeconomic status or access to
care. Fluoridation has played an important role in the reductions in
tooth decay (40%-70% in children) and of tooth loss in adults (40%-60%).
Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard and subsequent public
health anti-smoking campaigns have resulted in changes in social norms
to prevent initiation of tobacco use, promote cessation of use, and
reduce exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Since the 1964 Surgeon
General's report on the health risks of smoking, the prevalence of
smoking among adults has decreased, and millions of smoking-related
deaths have been prevented.
The list of achievements was developed to highlight the contributions of
public health and to describe the impact of these contributions on the
health and well being of persons in the United States. A final report in
this series will review the national public health system, including
local and state health departments and academic institutions whose
activities on research, epidemiology, health education, and program
implementation have made these achievements possible.
(Reported by CDC)

2). Information Needed for New Anti-Oncogenes
(Provided by Xu Dawei)
Hello, everybody: My name is Dawei Xu, I'm working in IU medical
center to do some
research in cancer gene-therapy field, so I am very interested in
anti-oncogene.
Last month, I searched with "anti-oncogene" as keyword on internet. I
got more than
1000 papers in last 5 years, but only one old kind of anti-oncogene,
P53, has been found.
I have worked on this gene for 3 years, it was nice. But I hope some
new anti-oncogenes
have been found. Who have some information about this? Please tell me
by Email. My
e-address is: [email protected] Thank you very much!
=============================================================
5. [Alumni on Move]

New Address

Sizhuang (Steve) Yan, MD 77
Clinical Microbiology Service
Clinical Center, NIH
Building 10, Rm 2C-385
Bethesda, MD 20892-1508
301-402-3528 (O)
301-907-2953 (h)
E-mail: [email protected]

Shang-Ling Liang, NS 84
215i Michener park
Edmonton, albert, Canada T6H4M5
Tel: 403-437-7684
=============================================================
6. [Job Opportunity]

1). Postdoctoral Fellow/Research Associate Position
(Provided by Shan Lu)
Unique positions available to join an active "translational"
research lab. Seeking candidates with desire to turn their solid
training in any major disciplines of basic biomedical research (such
as molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, microbiology,
protein chemistry) into pre-clinical studies of DNA based novel
vaccines or therapeutics development. For more details, please
contact us at the following address (along with CV and names of 2
references if interested):
Shan Lu, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine, University of Mass.
Medical School, 55 Lake Ave. North, Worcester, MA 01655; E-mail:
[email protected]
=============================================================
7. [Humor and Jokes]

1). Bill and Hillary
Bill and Hillary are out driving in the country near Hillary`s hometown.
They are low on fuel, so Bill pulls into a gas station for a fill-up. The
attendant comes out and begins to pump gas into the first couple's tank.
As he is doing this, he looks into the passenger window. "Hey, Hillary. We
used to date in high school, do you remember me?" he asks. They chat for a
few minutes, Bill pays and the first couple leaves. As they drive Bill is
feeling very proud of himself and looks over at Hillary. "You used to date
that guy? Just think what it would be like if you had married him," he says
smugly. Hillary looks at Bill and shrugs. Then she replies, "Well I guess
you'd be pumping gas and he would be the President!"

2). Rocket Scientist
Sometimes it DOES take a rocket scientist.....
Scientists at NASA have developed a gun built specifically to
launch dead chickens at the windshields of airliners, military jets
and the space shuttle, all traveling at maximum velocity. The idea is to
simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl to test
the strength of the windshields.
British engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it
on the windshields of their new high speed trains. Arrangements
were made, but when the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as
the chicken hurled out of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof
windshield and smashed it to smithereens, crashed through the
control console, snapped the engineer's backrest in two and embedded
itself in the back wall of the cabin.
Horrified, Britons sent NASA the disastrous results of the experiment,
along with the designs of the windshield, and begged the US scientists for
suggestions. NASA's response was just one sentence: "THAW THE CHICKEN!"

3). The Story of Two Men
(Provided by Jingda Shi)
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man
was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help
drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only
window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and
families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military
service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the
man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by
describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods
where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity
and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a
lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their
model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of
every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and
a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail,
the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine
the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window
described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear
the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the
window portrayed it with descriptive words.
Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring
water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by
the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened
and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it
seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to
the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making
sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first
look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing
it for himself.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It
faced a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased
roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this
window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even
see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
Epilogue. . . .There is tremendous happiness in making others
happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow,
but happiness when shared, is doubled.

********************************************************** ***
ONMUAA newsletter is a quarterly publication of overseas Nanjing
Medical University Alumni Association (ONMUAA), a free service
provided by a group of volunteers. Its contents are solely the
responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the
official views of ONMUAA. The Editorial Board welcomes and
appreciates contributions from alumni, and encourages volunteers to
join the Board or serve as one-issue editor. To publish an
articalarticle or join, please contact any of the editorial board
members (see the end for more information).
********************************************************** ***
Overseas Nanjing Medical University Alumni Association (ONMUAA)

Executive Committee:
Liangfeng Tao(PH79), President
Wei Yang (PH79), President-Past
Fuhu Wang (MD79), President-Elected
Ning Jin (NS84), E-mail Center Coordinator
Fuhu Wang (MD79), Homepage Coordinator
Bei Chen (PH80), Treasury and Fundraising Coordinator
Yongjian Liu (MD78), Chair of 97-99 Governing Board

Editorial Board:
Bao, Gang, MD78, Louisville, [email protected]
Chen, Bei, PH80, San Francisco, [email protected]
Chen, Jin, PH78, Palo Alto, [email protected]
He, Zhigang, MD79, San Francisco, [email protected]
Huang, Xupei, PH77, Houston, [email protected]
Jin, Ning, NS84, Ann Arbor, [email protected]
Liu, Guoqin, GS82, [email protected]
Liu, Qianjin, MD78, St. Louis, [email protected]
Liu, Yongjian, MD78, [email protected]
Liu, Youcheng, PH78, New Haven, [email protected]
Lu, Li, MD77, Baltimore,
[email protected]
Lu, Shan, MD77, Northboro, [email protected]
Shen, Benquan, PH78, San Francisco, [email protected]
Tao, Liangfeng, PH79, Chemsford, [email protected]
Wang, Fuhu, PH79, Ottawa, [email protected]
Wei, Qingyi, PH78, Houston, [email protected]
Yang, Qinghua, San Diego, [email protected]
Yang, Wei, PH79, Carson City, [email protected]
Yu, Yongjia, PH77, Galveston, [email protected]

End --