Abstract: Provided is a pharmaceutical composition including gastrodin and a use thereof for the prevention or the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The pharmaceutical composition is effective in reducing neuronal axon degeneration and neurofibromin accumulation, improving symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and extending life of patients of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Abstract: Applications of butylidenephthalide (BP), comprising the use of BP in providing a kit for promoting differentiation of stem cells into brown adipose cells, and the use of BP in preparing a medicament, wherein the medicament is used for inhibiting the accumulation of white adipose cells, promoting the conversion of white adipose cells into brown adipose cells, inhibiting weight gain and/or reducing the content of triglycerides, glucose, and total cholesterol in blood.

Abstract: A method of providing exercise management service for a sports center, wherein the sports center includes an exercise management service system, an exercise recording device and at least one exercise equipment. The method includes establishing a personal database by the exercise management service system, establishing an exercise record by the exercise recording device, transmitting the exercise record to the exercise management service system by the exercise recording device, and generating an exercise prescription according to the personal database and the exercise record by the exercise management service system.

Abstract: The present invention is a method for identifying a Most-Probable-Point (MPP) in original space obviating the need for a probability transformation, for use in first order/second order reliability analysis. It comprises generating the linear approximation of a limit-state-function, g(x) about the median, mean point, or mode of random variables, x of g(x). g(x) is defined so that g(x)f0 denotes a failure set. The Most-Probable-Point-Locus (MPPL) of g.sub.1, MPPL.sub.1, is constructed by the steps of: i) identifying the mode of x; ii) identifying the MPP of g.sub.1 (x)=c, where c is an arbitrary constant, and iii) constructing said MPPL.sub.1 by connecting said mode of x from step i), above, and the MPPs corresponding to different c's from step ii), above. A quadratic search algorithm is to identify point MPP.sub.1, the intersection of MPPL.sub.1 and g(x)=0, based on the following convergence criteria: ##EQU1## The process is then stopped, unless the convergence criteria are not satisfied. g.sub.