Dust on furniture may be bad news for waistlines (腰围). But it's far too early to add dusting to a weight-loss plan. Dietary fats and other materials that make up indoor dust can send a signal to human fat cells, telling them to grow. That process, in turn, might slow the body's rate of burning energy. Such changes could add to any weight problems a person might have.

    “We don't know what that means to long-term health and certain diseases yet,” says Heather Stapleton, one of the study's authors. But she notes that her team's findings also raise a question of whether pollutants in dust might play some role in the growing, global problem of obesity (肥胖).

    Stapleton and her colleagues collected dust from homes and offices. Studies found that some materials in the dust could turn on a protein (蛋白质) called PPAR-gamma 1. It's found in many human tissues. Turning this protein on can cause fat cells to grow. Researchers think this protein may be involved in obesity. But a second study now finds evidence that certain fats are mostly to blame. Cooking oils may send out some of these fats into the air, where they eventually find their way into house dust. Or, the authors say, the fats might enter house dust as part of the hair or skin cells shed (脱落) by people or pets.

    “While the findings are amazing,” says Mitchell Lazar, another study author, “these findings need to be taken as very limited.” Indeed, he adds several cautions about how the findings should be understood. “For one thing, people eat these fats in foods all of the time. That is likely to be a lot more than would be consumed from indoor dust,” he said.

    The national environmental watchdog has declared that boosting efforts to cut air pollution in northern China, especially winter smog from the burning of coal, is a mission for this year.

    Burning coal for winter heating has been listed as one of the primary causes of air pollution, Chen Jining, minister of environmental protection, said on Monday at the annual meeting on environmental protection in Beijing.“As much as 60 percent of smog content is caused by coal burning in the starting phase of each smog”, said Fang Li, an official with Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau. Therefore, Beijing has declared that it will wipe out coal use in its most rural areas by 2020.

    To start with, Beijing will replace coal-fired heating stoves with those powered by electricity or gas in 400 villages this year, before taking the campaign to the districts of Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai and Shijingshan by 2017,said Guo Zihua, a municipal rural development official. Beijing's downtown districts of Dongcheng and Xicheng eliminated coal burning last year, officials said.

    The capital and other places in northern China experienced several smog alerts in November and December, when peak readings were many times higher than the national safety level. Obviously, the situation is deteriorating, and will become a norm. So the government came up with a “smog subsidy (津贴)” for those who work outdoors, and 95 percent of the respondents to a survey support it.

    The Trade Union in Zhengzhou City surveyed subscribers to its official WeChat account and found that 88 percent of nearly 400 respondents said priority should be given to outdoor workers on smoggy days But 9 percent said air pollution affects everyone so it would be unfair to only address the concerns of people who work outdoors.

    Over half of the respondents think the extra subsidy, if applied, could come in the form of protective tools or cash. Twenty-two percent said money is the easiest way. To finance the proposed subsidy, 53 percent think the government and companies should jointly pay the bill, while 44 percent said central and regional governments should be responsible.

    Whenever we see a button, we are eager to press it because we know something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example on a doorbell and on the "on/off" button on the TV. But some buttons are actually fake, like the "close" button on a lift.

    Many people are in the habit of pressing the "close" button because they don't have the patience to wait for the lift doors to shut. But lifts "close" buttons are a complete scam, at least in the US-the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.

    It started in the 199os when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the US, making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only US firefighters and repairmen can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys.

    But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren't completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control." Perceived（能够感知的）control is very important. It reduces stress and increases well-being," Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor, said," Having a lack of control is associated with depression."

    Experts have revealed that a lot of buttons that don't do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose. For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats（温度调节器）because people tend to feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.

    But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little" white lies", they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.

   "That habit is here to stay," John Kounios, a psychology professor, said," Even though I have real doubts about the traffic light buttons, I always press them. After all, I've got nothing else to do while waiting.  So why not press the button in the hope that this one will work?"

    Going back to school can be an anxious time for many students. But one institution in Texas is doing its part to make sure middle schoolers are returning refreshed and inspired to learn.

    Through a process called the "bathroom inspiration project," teachers and administrators at Warren Middle School, spent their summer beautifying the school's restrooms by painting motivational murals (壁画) on each of the stalls (小隔间).Forming messages like "Your mistakes don't define you" and "Scatter (撒播) kindness," the brightly colored words are exactly what a young student needs to see when having a rough day-or any school day for that matter. And now that classes are officially in session, people are already noticing a positive impact.

    Since posting photos of upgrades to the school in July, Principal Joshua Garcia says that the alterations have aroused a great response.

    "Students have been talking about the murals from the moment the pictures had been posted. Some even took the time to find a reason to come up to the campus to see the murals," he says. "I think what makes this small little action so valuable is that it has set the tone for our campus."

    And not only is that important to students, parents, and fellow staff, but it is also vital for the school's new principal, who is trying to gain the trust of the community during a time in which trust is so necessary for schools.

    "Being new to the campus, I think the parents were able to see how much I value their children and have their best interest at heart," Garcia continues. "I have had many parents tell me how they can just feel a difference in the campus climate and how much they are enjoying seeing their children wanting to come here. These murals have put trust back in the campus and its teachers, and by doing so we are able to build a culture in which our students want to be here and learn."

In a heartwarming tale from Georgia, a 72-year-old senior recently celebrated his college graduation in cinema studies, an achievement made even more special by the presence of his proud 99-year-old mother.

Sam Kaplan of Lawrenceville decided to start on his educational journey at Georgia Gwinnett College in 2019, half a century after he had firstly chosen not to get higher education following his high school graduation in 1969. The catalyst for his return to academia came when he heard a radio announcement about a degree programme in cinema studies.

Recalling that moment, Kaplan said, "I was driving down the highway when I heard about the degree programme. The next exit led to Collinsville, so I immediately exited, and within five minutes, I was enrolling in classes. I've always had a passion for writing and storytelling. I longed to transform my narratives into screenplays, but I realized I needed the basic knowledge to do so,"

Kaplan admitted that the journey was a mix of anxiety and excitement, but it proved to be greatly rewarding. He graduated with a 3.975 grade point average and perfect grade honours, majoring in cinema and media arts, and had desires to continue creating screenplays in the future.

"It was an exciting and nerve-wracking (神经紧张的) challenge. Re-recognizing myself with the art of studying and communicating with fellow students was a lot of fun," he told FOX5 Atlanta.

The most heartwarming thing of Kaplan's graduation day was the presence of his mother, 99-year-old Virginia Kaplan, during the ceremony. Virginia expressed her huge pride, saying, "I am so proud of him. He faced numerous challenges but insisted, and I am delighted, pleased, and extremely proud," the mother also added. "With his new degree, he's going to stand out in whatever he does. Who knows, I might even make an appearance in the movies."

My writing career began at the age of ten. That year, my mother gave me my first journal to help me deal with the 1 of my grandmother's death. In many ways, my grandmother was the 2 behind my own writing career. 

When she was alive, my grandmother had 3 much emotional pain, but she also knew that writing was her key to 4 . While growing up in Galicia, Poland, during World War I, she 5 both her parents, and then had to care for herself and her eight-year-old sister. She found solace (慰藉) in journal writing. 

Many years after her death, I 6 her journal and read every word. The void(空虚感) she had left in my life became stronger as the years progressed and I had my own health issues to 7 , such as being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 47. My 8 caused me to write down my grandmother's life story, based on the 9 of her journal. Although at times the writing was 10 , it did bring me close to her once again and help me more 11 understand her many hardships. 

Keeping journals has helped me 12 emotionally. Whether you're 13 by change, loss or pain, finding the time to write is 14 to the healing process. So why not 15 your pen and write down whatever comes to your mind?