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This study provides a causal estimate of the mental health consequences of coal heating. Using a regression discontinuity design based on the start dates of heating service across different cities in China, the results show that heating significantly increases the risk to mental health. The study finds a 1.3-point increase in the indicator measuring depressive symptoms, which accounts for nearly 47% of the average score. The coal heating also significantly raises the likelihood of experiencing mild depression by 14% and has an 8.8% effect on moderate depression. Mechanism analysis shows that reduced exercise activity, delayed bedtime, and air pollution stemming from heating could be the underlying channels. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating mental health outcomes into the evaluation of coal heating policy effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resumen: El impacto negativo de la contaminación atmosférica en la oferta de trabajo está bien documentado, pero apenas se ha estudiado si la transparencia informativa sobre la calidad del aire influye o no en ese resultado. Los autores investigan el programa chino de información ambiental como perturbación exógena. El método de diferencias en diferencias, aplicado a datos de encuestas sobre trabajadores migrantes, muestra que las horas de trabajo en espacios exteriores disminuyeron tras la implantación del programa, que la información pública puede provocar cambios conductuales en los trabajadores, y que medir el costo de la contaminación sin abordar el problema de la asimetría informativa puede introducir sesgos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using nationally representative samples from population census and mini-census of China, this study analyzes important employment dynamics in China from 1990 to 2015. The share of routine manual jobs decreased significantly, from 57% to 32%. The share of routine cognitive jobs as well as that of adults not working increased significantly, from 8% to 19%, and from 16% to 31%, respectively. However, the share of non-routine jobs did not change significantly. Our decomposition analysis reveals the composition effect resulting from the change in the composition of population demographics, the propensity effect from change in the probability of people with given demographic characteristics sorting into different employment categories, and the interaction effect of the co-movement of demographic group size changes and propensity changes given demographic characteristics. For the decline in routine manual jobs, each of these three effects contributes 68%, 66%, and −34%, respectively. Meanwhile, for the rise in routine cognitive jobs, each effect is 16%, 74%, and 11%, respectively. Finally, for the rise in the not-working population, each effect is 7%, 93%, and 0.3%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines economic returns to Communist Party membership and its possible effects on other human capital, for college graduates in Mainland China. Different analytical methods return highly comparable results that suggest party membership has no direct effect on starting salaries of college graduates. However, party membership improves college graduates' possibility of being admitted to Chinese universities for advanced studies and that of obtaining permanent urban residence (hukou). The latter possibly results from party members' enhanced chances of entering state-owned enterprises. Party membership does not crowd out other human capital investments; on the contrary, it seems to have positive effects on technical certificate earning, student leadership experience, and GPA rankings and thus may impact salaries indirectly. This study is a meaningful addition to existing literature: it shows that party membership, though exerting no direct effect on salaries, may bring indirect and hidden returns. This conclusion is consistent with what may be observed in reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Do nonhuman primates, such as Tibetan macaques, exhibit personalities that influence their collective movements? In this study, we not only confirmed the presence of three personality types in Tibetan macaques but also found that individuals with higher sociability scores, higher rank, or lower anxiousness scores were more likely to initiate successful collective movement. We found that macaques with lower anxiousness scores or higher rank attracted more followers, and that higher-rank individuals tended to join movements earlier. Moreover, individuals with higher sociability and boldness scores exhibited shorter joining latency in group movements. These findings provide valuable insights into how personality influences collective movement in nonhuman primates. Collective movement has emerged as a key area of interest in animal behavior. While individual differences are often viewed as a potential threat to group cohesion, growing evidence suggests that these differences can actually influence an animal's behavior as an initiator or follower during collective movements, thereby driving the group's movement and decision-making processes. To resolve the divergence, we asked how personality can affect the dynamics of collective movements in one group of free-ranging Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) in Huangshan, China. We assessed individual personality using principal component analysis and applied the generalized linear mixed model and linear mixed model to examine the influence of personality on decision making during collective movements. Our findings reveled three distinct personality types among Tibetan macaques: sociability, boldness, and anxiousness. Individuals with higher sociability scores and rank, or those with lower anxiousness scores, were more likely to initiate successful collective movements. Older individuals were less successful in initiating movements compared to young adults. Leaders with lower anxiousness scores or higher rank attracted more followers, with females attracting larger groups than males. As for followers, individuals with higher rank tended to join the collective movement earlier. Additionally, individuals with higher sociability or boldness scores had shorter joining latency in collective movement. Finally, there was a longer joining latency for middle-aged adults compared to young adults. These results suggest that individual differences are a potential driver of collective movements. We provide some insights into the relationships between personality and decision making in Tibetan macaques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phellodendron chinense Schneid (P. chinense Schneid) is a traditional Chinese woody medicinal plant which contains berberine, phellodendrine and other bioactive compounds, and has an important function on anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, bacteriostasis, reducing blood sugar and fat. The growth and alkaloid biosynthesis of P. chinense Schneid are affected by drought stress, while influence the yield and quality. However, the molecular mechanism of P. chinense Schneid seedlings response to drought stress at transcriptional and physiological levels are not clear. In this study, physiological and transcriptomic responses of P. chinense Schneid seedling leaf to drought stress were investigated. The P. chinense Schneid seedlings were irrigated to field capacity (NC), 40% field capacity (moderate drought, MD) and 20% field capacity (severe drought, SD). The results showed that MD and SD treatments promoted ROS generation, reduced Chl contents and photosynthetic efficiencies, inhibited shoot growth, but increased phellodendrine contents in leaves compared to the NC treatments. A total of 54325 unigenes were identified in MD and SD treatment samples, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were primarily involved in several pathways of photosynthesis, phytohormone biosynthesis and signal transduction and isoquiholine alkaloid biosynthesis, with the ethylene (ET) signaling pathway especially. Moreover, some transcription factors from DEGs were revealed, which chiefly related to ET signal transduction, leaf development and alkaloid biosynthesis. Our study suggested that the P. chinense Schneid seedlings responded to drought stress mainly through ET signaling pathway. • Drought stress inhibited the growth and development by decreasing photosynthetic efficiency, increased the activities of SOD and CAT, soluble protein and phellodendrine contents, and also increased the relative expression levels of key genes in the pathway of ET biosynthesis and signal transduction for improving the adaptability and resistance of leaf in P. chinense Schneid seedlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Butylphthalide, a prescription medicine recognized for its efficacy in treating ischemic strokes approved by the State Food and Drug Administration of China in 2005, is sourced from the traditional botanical remedy Ligusticum chuanxiong. While chemical synthesis offers a viable route, limitations in the production of isomeric variants with compromised bioactivity necessitate alternative strategies. Addressing this issue, biosynthesis offers a promising solution. However, the intricate in vivo pathway for butylphthalide biosynthesis remains elusive. In this study, we examined the distribution of butylphthalide across various tissues of L. chuanxiong and found a significant accumulation in the rhizome. By searching transcriptome data from different tissues of L. chuanxiong, we identified four rhizome-specific genes annotated as 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase (2-OGDs) that emerged as promising candidates involved in butylphthalide biosynthesis. Among them, LcSAO1 demonstrates the ability to catalyze the desaturation of senkyunolide A at the C-4 and C-5 positions, yielding the production of butylphthalide. Experimental validation through transient expression assays in Nicotiana benthamiana corroborates this transformative enzymatic activity. Notably, phylogenetic analysis of LcSAO1 revealed that it belongs to the DOXB clade, which typically encompasses genes with hydroxylation activity, rather than desaturation. Further structure modelling and site-directed mutagenesis highlighted the critical roles of three amino acid residues, T98, S176, and T178, in substrate binding and enzyme activity. By unraveling the intricacies of the senkyunolide A desaturase, the penultimate step in the butylphthalide biosynthesis cascade, our findings illuminate novel avenues for advancing synthetic biology research in the realm of medicinal natural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how a household's consumption rate is affected by its relative income and income inequality within a community. Based on the theory of social status seeking in consumption, we test hypotheses related to these factors using a unique panel data set of rural households in China observed within a few hundred villages between 2003 and 2006. We find that the household's consumption rate is negatively related to the relative income position after controlling for the absolute income, and positively related to the income inequality of the village. We confirm these with different measurements of relative position. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of government actions on social trust after controlling for individual and community characteristics. Using unique individual level data drawn from the provincial capital cities across China, we find that trust in other people is strongly correlated with government actions. Positive actions by the government that facilitate information flow, including active communication and information transparency, significantly increase trust. Negative actions by the government, including corruption, violent law enforcement, and abuse of privilege, significantly reduce trust. These actions affect people''s trust in the government in similar ways that they affect trust in other people. We also find that most individual characteristics are not strongly related to trust in others, while being a member of the Communist party increases the likelihood of trust. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Thanks to globalization, some countries achieve economic growth despite underdeveloped institutions, raising the issue of whether institutions or other factors might contribute more to economic growth. With settler mortality during colonization as an IV for current institutions of former colonies, Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson found a tremendous, positive effect of institutions on economic performance. We argue that their study ignored an important factor, i.e. globalization, which may both relate to colonial history and affect current economic development, thus potentially biasing the estimate of the impact of institutions. This is because colonial history by English-speaking countries may affect a country's English proficiency, which in turn may affect its economic globalization and social globalization and thus its economic development, with the United Kingdom and the United States as the world leader in succession. Correspondingly, we add globalization and examine the concomitant effects of globalization and institution on economic performance. With settler mortality and length of colonization by English-speaking countries as instrument variables, we find that globalization contributes greatly to economic performance and the effect of institutions becomes not statistically significant once globalization is taken into account. Of the sub-indices of globalization, the index of social globalization has the strongest and most stable impact on economic performance. Specifically, a one-point increase in overall globalization of a country or region corresponds to about 9.8% increase in its GDP per capita; and a one-point increase in social globalization corresponds to about 7.3% increase in GDP per capita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of ovarian cancer G-protein-coupled receptor 1 (OGR1) protein on proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer cells, as well as its molecular mechanism were investigated. The MCF-7 cell line highly expressed OGR1 was constructed by transient transfection of eukaryotic expression vector using breast cancer cells. At the same time, cells were transfected with empty vector as controls. The effects of highly expressed OGR1 on cell growth, proliferation, apoptosis and other abilities were identified. In addition, the effects of highly expressed OGR1 on serine-threonine kinase (AKT), p53 and other genes were studied. It was proved in apoptosis experiment that highly expressed OGR1 protein in breast cancer cells could effectively increase the proportion of apoptosis of cells. Cell proliferation experiment revealed that the growth and proliferation abilities of breast cancer cells with highly expressed OGR1 were inhibited to some extent, compared with those of breast cancer cells with low expression of OGR1. Results of western blotting showed that the gene and protein expression levels of p53 in breast cancer cells with highly expressed OGR1 were increased. There was no significant difference in protein expression of AKT between breast cancer cells with low expression of OGR1 and those with highly expressed OGR1. However, the protein content of phosphorylated-AKT (p-AKT) in breast cancer cells with highly expressed OGR1 was lower than that in breast cancer cells with low expression of OGR1. The proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer cells are influenced by the changes of OGR1 expression, which are correlated with the gene expression levels of AKT and p53 to some extent, but the detailed molecular mechanism requires additional study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Soybean (Glycine max) was domesticated from its wild relative Glycine soja. One‐hundred‐seed weight is one of the most important domesticated traits determining soybean yield; however, its underlying genetic basis remains elusive.We characterized a soybean seed size 1 (sss1) mutant featuring large seeds compared to its wild‐type background. Positional cloning revealed that the candidate gene GmSSS1 encoded a SPINDLY homolog and was co‐located in a well‐identified quantitative trait locus (QTL)‐rich region on chromosome 19. Knocking out GmSSS1 resulted in small seeds, while overexpressing GmSSS1/Gmsss1 induced large seeds. Modulating GmSSS1/Gmsss1 in transgenic plants can positively influence cell expansion and cell division. Relative to GmSSS1, one mutation leading to an E to Q substitution at the 182nd residue in Gmsss1 conferred an enhancing effect on seed weight.GmSSS1 underwent diversification in wild‐type and cultivated soybean, and the alleles encoding the Gmsss1‐type substitution of 182nd‐Q, which originated along the central and downstream parts of the Yellow River, were selected and expanded during soybean domestication and improvement.We cloned the causative gene for the sss1 mutant, which is linked with a seed weight QTL, identified an elite allele of this gene for increasing seed weight, and provided new insights into soybean domestication and breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes of postmortem corneal opacity are often used to roughly estimate the postmortem interval (PMI) in forensic practice. The difficulty associated with this time estimate is the lack of objective means to rapidly quantify postmortem corneal changes in crime scenes. This study constructed a data analysis model of PMI estimation and implemented an intelligent analysis system for examining the sequential changes of postmortem corneal digital images, named Corneal‐Smart Phone, which can be used to quickly estimate PMI. The smart phone was used in combination with an attachment device that provided a darkroom environment and a steady light source to capture postmortem corneal images. By segmenting the corneal pupil region images, six color features, Red (R), Green (G), Blue (B), Hue (H), Saturation (S), Brightness (V) and four texture features Contrast (CON), Correlation (COR), Angular Second Moment (ASM), and Homogeneity (HOM), were extracted and correlated with PMI model. The results indicated that CON had the highest correlation with PMI (R2 = 0.983). No intra/intersubject variation in CON values were observed (p > 0.05). With the increase in ambient temperature or the decrease in humidity, the CON values were increased. PMI prediction error was <3 h within 36 h postmortem and extended to about 6–8 h after 36 h postmortem. The correct classification rate of the blind test samples was 82%. Our study provides a method that combines postmortem corneal image acquisition and digital image analysis to enable users to quickly obtain PMI estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phellodendron chinense Schneid is an important Chinese herb with berberine and phellodendrine in stems and leaves, but with little information available on in vitro culture of this species. Disinfection of explants in 75% alcohol for 45 s, sterilization in 0.1% HgCl2 for 20 min, and submersion in 1.0 mol L−1 gibberellin3 (GA3) solution for 24 h was the optimal condition for seed germination. Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium supplemented with 2.0 mg L−1 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) in combination with 1.5 mg L−1 1-naphthylacetic acid (NAA) was optimal for callus induction. MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg L−1 6-BA was the appropriate medium for induction of adventitious shoots, and 1/2MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg L−1 indole-3-butytric acid (IBA) and 0.5% active carbon was the optimal medium for root induction. The 15-d survival rate of regenerated plantlets after transplanting to basins containing perlite and peat moss (1:4) was greater than 80%, and the berberine and phellodendrine accumulation was lower in callus compared with regenerated plantlets. The establishment of highly efficient regeneration system provides technical support for genetic breeding of Phellodendron chinense Schneid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Chemical modulators of macroautophagy (herein referred to as autophagy) have aroused widespread interest among biologists and clinical physicians because of their potential for disease therapy. Pterostilbene (PT), a natural small-molecular compound, has been demonstrated to inhibit oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-induced apoptosis in vascular endothelial cells (VECs). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether and how PT could induce VEC autophagy. PT at 0.5 or 1 μM could effectively induce autophagosome formation in human umbilical vein VECs (HUVECs). PT promoted autophagy via a rapid elevation in intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) concentration and subsequent AMP-activated protein kinase α1 subunit (AMPKα1) activation, which in turn inhibited mammalian target of rapamycin, a potent inhibitor of autophagy. PT-induced AMPKα1 activation and autophagy were refractory to the depletion of serine/threonine kinase 11 but depended on calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase-β activation. Interestingly, PT stimulated cytoprotective autophagy so as to aid in the removal of accumulated toxic oxLDL and inhibit apoptosis in HUVECs. Our study provides a potent small molecule enhancer of autophagy and a novel useful tool in exploring the molecular mechanisms for crosstalk between apoptosis and autophagy. PT could serve as a potential lead compound for developing a class of autophagy regulator as autophagy-related diseases therapy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]