Background
Oral nicotine pouches are a new form of tobacco-free nicotine products launched in recent years with a variety of flavors.
Objective
This study aims to examine the public perceptions and ...discussions of oral nicotine pouches on Reddit, a popular social media platform for sharing user experiences.
Methods
Between February 15, 2019, and February 12, 2021, a total of 2410 Reddit posts related to oral nicotine pouches were obtained over a 2-year period. After the removal of unrelated or commercial posts, 653 Reddit posts related to oral nicotine pouches remained. Topics and sentiments related to oral nicotine pouches on Reddit were hand coded.
Results
The number of Reddit posts related to oral nicotine pouches increased during the study period. Content analysis showed that the most popular topic was “sharing product information and user experience” (366/653, 56%), in which sharing oral nicotine pouch products and user experiences were dominant. The next popular topic was “asking product-related questions” (product properties and product recommendations; 115/653, 17.6%), followed by “quitting nicotine products” such as vaping or smoking through use of oral nicotine pouches or quitting the oral nicotine pouches themselves (83/653, 12.7%) and “discussing oral nicotine pouch–related health” symptoms or concerns related to oral nicotine pouches (74/653, 11.3%). The least popular topic was “legality and permissions” related to oral nicotine pouches (15/653, 2.3%). In addition, a greater number of Reddit posts described positive attitudes compared to negative attitudes toward oral nicotine pouches (354/653, 54.2% vs 101/653, 15.5%; P<.001).
Conclusions
Reddit posts overall had a positive attitude toward oral nicotine pouches and users were actively sharing product and user experiences. Our study provides the first insight on up-to-date oral nicotine pouch discussions on social media.
TFE3 (transcription factor binding to IGHM enhancer 3) nuclear translocation and transcriptional activity has been implicated in PINK1-PRKN/parkin-dependent mitophagy. However, the transcriptional ...control governing the mitophagy in TFE3/Xp11.2 translocation renal cell carcinoma (TFE3 tRCC) is largely unknown. Here, we investigated the role and mechanisms of PRCC-TFE3 fusion protein, one of TFE3 fusion types in TFE3 tRCC, in governing mitophagy to promote development of PRCC-TFE3 tRCC. We observed and analyzed mitophagy, transcriptional control of PRCC-TFE3 on PINK1-PRKN-dependent mitophagy, PRCC-TFE3 fusions nuclear translocation, cancer cell survival and proliferation under mitochondrial oxidative damage in PRCC-TFE3 tRCC cell line. We found that nuclear-aggregated PRCC-TFE3 fusions constitutively activated expression of the target gene E3 ubiquitin ligase PRKN, leading to rapid PINK1-PRKN-dependent mitophagy that promoted cell survival under mitochondrial oxidative damage as well as cell proliferation through decreasing mitochondrial ROS formation. However, nuclear translocation of TFE3 fusions escaped from PINK1-PRKN-dependent mitophagy. Furthermore, we confirmed that PRCC-TFE3 fusion accelerated mitochondrial turnover by activating PPARGC1A/PGC1α-NRF1. In conclusion, our findings indicated a major role of PRCC-TFE3 fusion-mediated mitophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis in promoting proliferation of PRCC-TFE3 tRCC.
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•Selectively regulating PDS-to-∙OH conversion was achieved over irradiated MIL-100(Fe).•CUSs and coordinated H2O played pivotal roles in PDS-to-∙OH conversion.•The mechanism of ...PDS-to-∙OH conversion over irradiated MIL-100(Fe) was investigated.•PDS/MIL-100(Fe) exhibited high stability and reusability for pollutant degradation.
Selective regulation of peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation-to-hydroxyl radical (·OH) production (PDS-to-·OH) is important for in situ chemical oxidation. However, the regulation mechanisms still lack reasonable explorations. Herein, a novel system involving the selective regulation of PDS-to-·OH was investigated using Fe-based metal-organic frameworks (MOF; MIL-100(Fe)) under visible light irradiation. Spectroscopic characterizations and controlled experiments indicated that the PDS chemically linked between coordinatively unsaturated metal sites (CUSs) and coordinated H2O in MIL-100(Fe) plays critical role in regulating the PDS-to-·OH transformation. Consequently, the constructed PDS/MIL-100(Fe) system showed improved performance not only in the organic degradation rate but also in PDS utilization efficiency compared with that of the traditional sulfate radical (SO4·-)-mediated PDS/MIL-68(Fe) system. This work provides new insights into the regulation of PDS activation to ·OH generation over heterogeneous catalysis. Moreover, considering the diverse compositions and structures of MOFs, this work also demonstrates their feasibility as efficient light-induced materials for in situ chemical oxidation.
Abstract
The BIG Data Center at Beijing Institute of Genomics (BIG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences provides freely open access to a suite of database resources in support of worldwide research ...activities in both academia and industry. With the vast amounts of omics data generated at ever-greater scales and rates, the BIG Data Center is continually expanding, updating and enriching its core database resources through big-data integration and value-added curation, including BioCode (a repository archiving bioinformatics tool codes), BioProject (a biological project library), BioSample (a biological sample library), Genome Sequence Archive (GSA, a data repository for archiving raw sequence reads), Genome Warehouse (GWH, a centralized resource housing genome-scale data), Genome Variation Map (GVM, a public repository of genome variations), Gene Expression Nebulas (GEN, a database of gene expression profiles based on RNA-Seq data), Methylation Bank (MethBank, an integrated databank of DNA methylomes), and Science Wikis (a series of biological knowledge wikis for community annotations). In addition, three featured web services are provided, viz., BIG Search (search as a service; a scalable inter-domain text search engine), BIG SSO (single sign-on as a service; a user access control system to gain access to multiple independent systems with a single ID and password) and Gsub (submission as a service; a unified submission service for all relevant resources). All of these resources are publicly accessible through the home page of the BIG Data Center at http://bigd.big.ac.cn.
Limited by spatial and temporal resolution, traditional optical microscopy cannot image the delicate ultra-structure organelles and sub-organelles. The emergence of super-resolution microscopy makes ...it possible. In this review, we focus on mitochondria. We summarize the process of mitochondrial dynamics, the primary proteins that regulate mitochondrial morphology, the diseases related to mitochondrial dynamics. The purpose is to apply super-resolution microscopy developed during recent years to the mitochondrial research. By providing the right research tools, we will help to promote the application of this technique to the in-depth elucidation of the pathogenesis of diseases related to mitochondrial dynamics, assistdiagnosis and develop the therapeutic treatment.
To evaluate the preliminary clinical outcomes on the Chinese standard temporomandibular joint (TMJ) prostheses.
Patients who underwent Zimmer Biomet and Chinese standard prostheses by one surgeon ...between January 1st 2016 and June 30th 2017 were included in the study. Maximum incisal opening (MIO), pain, diet, and joint function were measured; CT scans were taken before and after the operation and during at least a 12-months follow-up for evaluation.
Thirty-five patients including 12 with Chinese standard prostheses and 23 with Biomet stock prostheses participated in the study. After an average of 14.3 months follow-up, both types of prostheses could significantly improve MIO, diet, and joint function, and relieve pain (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in diet, pain level and joint function either before or after the operation between the two types of prostheses, whereas after the operation, the MIO with Chinese standard prostheses was significantly larger than with the Biomet stock prostheses (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference before operation (p > 0.05). A computed tomography (CT) scan showed that no prostheses dislocated or broke, no screws loosened, and ectopic bone formation appeared around the alloplastic condyle.
Chinese standard TMJ prostheses are effective and stable in clinical application. They can significantly improve mouth opening, diet, and joint function and relieve pain.
•After modification of Biomet stock TMJ prosthesis.•Chinese standard alloplastic prosthesis is safe and effective in clinical application.
Microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR) causes testicular inflammation and hinders spermatogenesis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the immune responses to MC-LR in the testis have not been ...elucidated in detail. In this study, we show that MC-LR induced immune responses in Sertoli cells (SC), germ cells (GC), and Leydig cells (LC) via activating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), resulting in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 10 (CXCL10). The observed effects were attributed to reduced activity of protein phosphatases 2A (PP2A) as a result of binding of MC-LR to the catalytic subunit of PP2A in SC and GC. By contrast, innate immune responses were triggered by Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) in LC because MC-LR could not enter into the LC and subsequently inhibit the PP2A activity. PI3K/AKT/NF-κB were also activated in SC, GC, and LC in vivo, with the enrichment of TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, and CXCL10 in the testis. Following chronic exposure, MC-LR-treated mice exhibited decreased sperm counts and abnormal sperm morphology. Our data demonstrate that MC-LR can activate innate immune responses in testicular cells, which provides novel insights to explore the mechanism associated with MC-LR-induced orchitis.
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•MC-LR induces immune responses in testicular cells.•PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway are involved in immune responses in testicular cells in vivo and in vitro.•The acute or chronic exposure to MC-LR induced significant enrichment of pro-inflammatory cytokines in testis.•Chronic exposure to MC-LR impairs spermatogenesis.
MC-LR induces immune responses in testicular cells resulting in orchitis and abnormal spermatogenesis.
Aim
The functions and molecular mechanisms of SPI1‐related protein (SPIB) were examined in cervical cancer (CC) cells.
Methods
Genes related to miscarriage and prognosis in CC were identified by ...Kaplan–Meier and differential expression analysis, respectively. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were examined by cell counting kit‐8, flow cytometry, transwell migration, and transwell invasion assays, respectively. The potential functions and molecular mechanisms of SPIB in CC were speculated by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) analysis. The mRNA and protein levels of genes were examined by RT‐qPCR and western blot assays, respectively. The effect of SPIB on macrophage cells was tested by macrophage recruitment assay and bioinformatics analysis.
Results
A total of 753 dysregulated genes were identified in 88 TCGA CC samples with a history of one or more miscarriages versus 208 CC samples with no miscarriage history. Also, 91 genes related to CC prognosis were identified. SPIB, a gene related to both miscarriage and CC prognosis, inhibited Hela cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and facilitated Hela cell apoptosis. GSEA analysis disclosed that SPIB might play vital roles in immunity, chemokine signaling pathway, and macrophage chemotaxis/activation in CC. Moreover, SPIB inhibited C‐X‐C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8), C‐C motif chemokine ligand 17 (CCL17), and C‐C motif chemokine ligand 25 (CCL25) expression in Hela cells, and SPIB overexpression in Hela cells hampered THP‐1 cell migration. Higher SPIB expression was associated with less M2 macrophage infiltration in CC.
Conclusions
SPIB inhibited CC‐cell progression and hindered macrophage cell migration in CC.
Background Amphiregulin (AR) is a growth factor that resembles the epidermal growth factor (EGF) and serves various functions in different cells. However, no systematic studies or reports on the role ...of AR in human oocytes have currently been performed or reported. This study aimed to explore the role of AR in human immature oocytes during in vitro maturation (IVM) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) in achieving better embryonic development and to provide a basis for the development of a pre-insemination culture medium specific for cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs). Methods First, we examined the concentration of AR in the follicular fluid (FF) of patients who underwent routine IVF and explored the correlation between AR levels and oocyte maturation and subsequent embryonic development. Second, AR was added to the IVM medium to culture immature oocytes and investigate whether AR could improve the effects of IVM. Finally, we pioneered the use of a fertilization medium supplemented with AR for the pre-insemination culture of COCs to explore whether the involvement of AR can promote the maturation and fertilization of IVF oocytes, as well as subsequent embryonic development. Results A total of 609 FF samples were examined, and a positive correlation between AR levels and blastocyst formation was observed. In our IVM study, the development potential and IVM rate of immature oocytes, as well as the fertilization rate of IVM oocytes in the AR-added groups, were ameliorated significantly compared to the control group (All P < 0.05). Only the IVM-50 group had a significantly higher blastocyst formation rate than the control group (P < 0.05). In the final IVF study, the maturation, fertilization, high-quality embryo, blastocyst formation, and high-quality blastocyst rates of the AR-added group were significantly higher than those of the control group (All P < 0.05). Conclusion AR levels in the FF positively correlated with blastocyst formation, and AR involvement in pre-insemination cultures of COCs can effectively improve laboratory outcomes in IVF. Furthermore, AR can directly promote the in vitro maturation and developmental potential of human immature oocytes at an optimal concentration of 50 ng/ml.
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