A study on the relationships between ambient air pollutants (PM2.5, SO2 and NO2) and hospital emergency room visits (ERVs) for respiratory diseases from 2013 to 2014 was performed in both urban and suburban areas of Jinan, a heavily air-polluted city in Eastern China. This research was analyzed using generalized additive models (GAM) with Poisson regression, which controls for long-time trends, the “day of the week” effect and meteorological parameters. An increase of 10 μg/m3 in PM2.5, SO2 and NO2 corresponded to a 1.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.7%, 2.1%), 1.2% (95% CI: 0.5%, 1.9%), and 2.5% (95%: 0.8%, 4.2%) growth in ERVs for the urban population, respectively, and a 1.5% (95%: 0.4%, 2.6%), 0.8% (95%: −0.7%, 2.3%), and 3.1% (95%: 0.5%, 5.7%) rise in ERVs for the suburban population, respectively. It was found that females were more susceptible than males to air pollution in the urban area when the analysis was stratified by gender, and the reverse result was seen in the suburban area. Our results suggest that the increase in ERVs for respiratory illnesses is linked to the levels of air pollutants in Jinan, and there may be some urban-suburban discrepancies in health outcomes from air pollutant exposure.

Grain yield and salt tolerance are critical for crop production. However, the genetic and biochemical basis underlying the trade-off of these characters remain poorly described in crops. We show here that SiPLATZ12 transcription factor positively regulates multiple elite yield traits at the expense of salt tolerance in foxtail millet. SiPLATZ12 overexpression increases seed size, panicle length, and stem diameter, while reduces plant height and salt tolerance in foxtail millet. A 9-bp insertion in the SiPLATZ12 promoter has a significant effect on the different expression of SiPLATZ12, multiple yield traits mentioned above, and salt tolerance between foxtail millet and its wild ancestor green foxtail. Moreover, SiPLATZ12 upregulates the expression of genes involved in seed development, but repressing the transcription of NHX and SOS related genes to regulate Na+, K+ and pH homoestasis. Therefore, our results uncover a domesticated site that could be used to improve grain yield in foxtail millet.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relation between anxiety and the Big Five personality traits, especially conscientiousness and extraversion. Methods: 121 participants aged 13-55 (M = 31.94) were evaluated anxiety levels using the BIS scale of anxiety; for conscientiousness and extraversion, they were measured by Big-Five Factor Markers. Results: There was a significant negative correlation between anxiety and conscientiousness; The results also showed that 1) While considering the multivariate model, conscientiousness and extraversion did not have independent effects on anxiety; a mediation effect existed. 2) There existed an interaction effect between conscientiousness and extraversion: for people who were high on extraversion, conscientiousness was less strongly related to anxiety. Conclusion: Results suggested that a small amount of variance in anxiety can be explained by conscientiousness and extraversion.

Salt stress is an important limiting factor of crop production. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) is an important model crop for studying tolerance to various abiotic stressors. Therefore, examining the response of foxtail millet to salt stress at the molecular level is critical. Herein, we discovered that SiDi19-3 interacts with SiPLATZ12 to control salt tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis and foxtail millet seedlings. SiDi19-3 overexpression increased the transcript levels of most Na+/H+ antiporter (NHX), salt overly sensitive (SOS), and calcineurin B-like protein (CBL) genes and improved the salt tolerance of foxtail millet and Arabidopsis. Six SiDi19 genes were isolated from foxtail millet. Compared with roots, stems, and leaves, panicles and seeds had higher transcript levels of SiDi19 genes. All of them responded to salt, alkaline, polyethylene glycol, and/or abscisic acid treatments with enhanced expression levels. These findings indicate that SiDi19-3 and other SiDi19 members regulate salt tolerance and other abiotic stress response in foxtail millet.

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