As firefighters battled a five-alarm fire al a supermarket in the Bronx earlier this month, New York City officials gathered beside what they said was the cause of the fire: the blackened shell of what was once a sit-on electric scooter. The burning joined the more than 200 fires in New York City last year caused by batteries from e-bikes, electric scooters and similar devices. Lithium-ion (锂)battery explosions are now the third leading cause of fires in the city, the fire department says. In short, there are more fires because there are so many more e-bikes and scooters these days.

Lithium-ion batteries power many rechargeable devices that are part of our modern lives: cell phones, laptops, vapes, cordless power tools and electric vehicles of all kinds, from cars to scooters to e-bikes to hoverboards. They’re small, lightweight and powerful but they’re also prone to overheating and catching fire, said Michael Pecht, a professor of engineering at the University of Maryland. “Ever since lithium-ion batteries started to be popular in products, we’ve seen fires, ” he said.

At issue is the high density of the batteries, which is a double-edged sword, said Pecht, who also serves as director of the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering, a university research center that consults with companies on reliability and safety issues, including batteries.

“They can provide a lot of power to our cell phones and to our computers for a relatively long period of time in a very small volume, ” he said. “But because we have so much energy packed in that small volume, if there is a problem, then they’re very flammable. ” Defects or contamination in the manufacturing process can eventually lead to short circuiting or other failures.

There’s not currently much regulation of e-bikes and scooters. But fire officials add that. you should charge your device away from flammable materials like furniture and pillows, and that you shouldn’t charge or store your device in a location that blocks your access to an exit. If your battery starts to fail, it may be safest to buy a new one. “Don’t repair anything yourself and buy from a company where you know that they’re using brand-name batteries,” Pecht said.

There is an old saying in China that goes, “The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days. ”Sanjiu period", which is in Minor Cold, refers to the third nine﹣day period(the 19th to the 27th day) after the day of the Winter Solstice (冬至). There are many different customs related to Minor Cold in China.

Eating hotpot

During Minor Cold people should eat some hot food to benefit the body and defend against the cold weather. Winter is the best time to have hotpot and braised mutton with soy sauce. But it is important to notice that too much spicy food may cause health problems.

Eating huangyacai

In Tianjin, there is a custom to have huangyacai, a kind of Chinese cabbage, during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender, it is fit for frying, roasting and braising.

Eating glutinous rice(糯米饭)

According to tradition, the Cantonese eat glutinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved (腌制的) pork, sausage and peanuts and mix them into the rice.

Eating vegetable rice

In ancient times, people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously, but as time went by, the celebration of Minor Cold gradually disappeared. However, the custom of eating vegetable rice is still followed today. The rice is steamed and is unspeakably delicious. Among the ingredients(原料), aijiaohuang (a kind of green vegetable), sausage and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.

You are walking down a busy street on your way to work. You pass a busker (艺人) playing a song you haven’t heard in years. Suddenly, you’re mentally reliving the first time you heard the song. The music takes you right back to where you were, who you were with and the feelings associated with that memory. This experience is known as a music-evoked autobiographical memory. It’s a common experience and it just comes to mind spontaneously. Amazing, isn’t it?

Research has recently begun to explore the connections between music and evoking memories. First, music tends to accompany many distinctive life events, such as celebrations, graduations, weddings and funerals, so it can play an important role in reconnecting us with these self-defining moments. Music also often arrests our attention, due to the way it affects our minds, bodies and emotions. When music draws our attention, this increases the likelihood that it will be encoded in memory together with details of a life event. And this then means it is able to serve as an effective reminder of this event years later.

Another recent study found that more familiar music evokes more memories and brings memories to mind more subconsciously. And the reason is that we typically reengage with songs more often over our lifetime compared to films, books or TV shows.

Indeed, the power of music to connect us with our past shows how music, memories and emotions are all linked—and it seems certain songs can act as a direct line to our younger selves.

“It seems then that music appears to have the ability to reconnect us with more emotionally positive moments from our pasts. This suggests that using music therapeutically may be particularly fruitful. That will be great news for some patients.” says Kelly Jakubowski, Assistant Professor in Music Psychology, Durham University.