1 . Researchers have designed a hand-held device that can obtain and change water molecules (分子) from the air into drinkable water using only surrounding sunlight as its energy source.

This atmospheric water harvester (大气层水分收集器) used an ultra-porous (超多孔的) material, known as a metal-organic framework (MOF). It can obtain water repeatedly in the hottest and driest place in North America, Death Valley National Park. The tests showed the device could provide clean water anywhere, addressing an urgent problem, as climate change speeds up drought conditions.

“Almost one-third of the world’s population lives in water-stressed areas. The UN predicts that almost 5 billion people on our planet will experience some kind of water stress for a significant part of the year 2050,”said Omar Yaghi. He is the Berkeley chemistry professor who invented MOFs and is leading this study. “It is very important to take advantage of a new source for water.”

Other kinds of materials, such as salts or hydrogels (水凝胶), cannot operate in extreme weather conditions in an energy-efficient manner. The new MOF-powered harvesters can be a powerful tool to address water shortage issues related to anything from drinking water to agriculture. This technology can also be used to obtain pure water in areas where water is plentiful but not clean.

It’s also extremely efficient at harvesting water, releasing 85 to 90 percent of the water it obtains. It harvested up to 285 grams of water per kilogram of the metal-organic framework in a day, the amount of a cup of water. It’s also smaller than the earlier type but it is even more energy-efficient. It produced 200 grams of clean water per square meter of water vapor, more than three times the water productivity rate of the earlier type.

There will likely be further developments in efficiency and size for this device. Yaghi said, “He can see one day the widespread adoption of household-based MOF-powered water harvesters and community-scale (社区规模的) water harvesters with the help of data science and machine learning. Those can be in kitchens or even next to air conditioners to supply homes with clean water for cooking and cleaning. And some companies are already working on this.”

2 . USITCC Regional Competition

The Department of Information Technology and Cyber Security in the College of Business is proud to host the U. S. Information Technology Collegiate Conference (USITCC) Regional Competition on October 26-28. The event is open to students majoring in business or computer science.

USITCC is quickly becoming the nation’s top IT competition, networking and career-building event. In one single weekend, student attendees can prove their technology skills in a variety of IT competitions, meet with industry professionals and connect with IT employers providing internships (实习工作) and/or full-time positions.

Kentwood Hall, 701 E. St. Louis St., Springfield, MO 65806 is a historic six-story building. Kentwood offers private rooms, two-person rooms, super doubles, and three-person rooms.

Each room is carpeted and offers a bathroom and height-adjustable beds. All rooms have Wi-Fi and a mid-sized refrigerator. All rooms are smoke-free. Basic bedding will include sheets, a light blanket, and towels.

The early bird rate is $35/person before September 30, and the price will increase to $45/person after that date.

Yours,

Li Hua

7 . Phenomenal Los Angeles Exhibitions To See Right Now

While there are tons of world-class museums in Los Angeles to lose yourself in all year round, there are a few that stand out as must-sees. Here are two of the best art exhibits in Los Angeles that you simply cannot miss.

 Hip Hop Til Infinity

Explore the extensive history and enduring influence of hip hop at this exciting new exhibition on Sunset Blvd. Guests will embark on a 50-year journey of the genre, from its origins in New York through its presence here in Los Angeles. You can also expect immersive virtual concerts, vibrant listening parties, meet-and-greets with influential artists, iconic photography displays, and an original soundtrack by DJ Clark Kent. Remember that reservations are required before your visit.

Tickets: ＄15 per ticket.

Dates: On view now, tickets available through April 2024

Location: 6400 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles

 Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms

We’re lucky to have two of Yayoi Kusama’ s Infinity Mirror Rooms available to visit for free right here in LA.

 Infinity Mirrored Room: An enclosed mirror-lined space filled with flashing LED lights that visitors physically step into. Since guests enter the space one group at a time, the Broad requires that you make a timed reservation to foster the best possible experience. Find it on the first floor of The Broad.

 Longing for Eternity: A mirrored chamber filled with pulsating neon lights that guests peer into one by one. There’s no need to make a reservation for this, so just join the line on the third floor.

Tickets: Free to visit.

Dates: On view now, no end date announced

Location: The Broad, 221 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles

8 . Often, during his formative years, a 500-year-old ginkgo tree (银杏树) that did not sprout leaves for two to three years at a stretch used to be a daily sight for Yang Zhongkai on his way to and from high school. Since villagers widely regarded it as one that made their wishes come true, they used to kneel down in front of the “lucky” tree and burn offerings under it. This, Yang recalled, led to long-time heat exposure at its roots, stunting its growth.

“Millions of such old trees are in urgent need of protection given their importance as vital biological resources and symbols of ecological civilization,” said Yang, the initiator of a team — Zhiyue — dedicated to protecting ancient trees.

“But the recording and management of ancient and famous trees nationwide commonly rely on Excel spreadsheets, which are troubled by information silos (信息孤岛), lack of real-time updates and incomplete content,” he said.

However, things have changed of late.

Yang and his team now use the artificial intelligence technology developed by Tencent Cloud to identify and register trees accurately, based on individual traits and GPS tracking. They are part of the fourth Light Technology Public Welfare Creation Camp, a science and technology public welfare platform launched by Tencent Holdings. As one of the most influential technology public welfare platforms in China, it aims to encourage more people to solve social problems using scientific and technological knowledge and open up more than 300 AI functions of Tencent Cloud to participants. More than 3,600 teams and 18,000 developers have participated in this influential tech charity platform since its establishment in 2020.

“Digital technologies, represented by AI, large models, and virtual reality, will deeply impact charity through platforms like the camp. Such efforts will create greater value for social development and human progress,” said Guo Kaitian, senior vice-president of Tencent.

No doubt, one of the most admired Chinese paintings of all time is the Qingming Shang He Tu,     1     Along the River During the Qingming Festival. The painting is on a silk scroll that is 24.8 cm wide and 528.7 cm long,     2     (bear) Emperor Huizong’s name. It was painted by Zhang Zeduan, who was a court painter during the Northern Song Dynasty.

This amazingly     3     (detail) painting quickly became a national treasure. Over the centuries that followed, hundreds of copies of it were made, many of     4     became national treasures themselves.     5     the original painting was lost for some time, it is now     6     (proud) placed in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The painting     7     (exhibit) for only brief periods every few years. However, using computer animation, the painting has been remade into     8     animated digital version for all to enjoy.

The Qingming Shang He Tu is not only a true work of art, but it also gives us a rare insight     9     daily life of ancient China. So often, history only contains the stories of emperors, generals, and important events. This painting’s great appeal is     10     it provides us with a look into ordinary people's lives in the Song Dynasty.