Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and e-health literacy(e-HL) to investigate the tobacco control intentions and behaviors of non-smoking college students in China: a cross-sectional investigation.

BACKGROUND: Non-smoking college students are starting to smoke in increasing numbers, which shows that their tobacco control situation seems not optimistic. The UTAUT and e-HL are commonly used models and theories to predict health behaviors, while there are few studies on tobacco control. This paper aims to study the influencing factors of tobacco control intention and behavior of non-smoking college students in China by combining the UTAUT and e-HL. METHODS: Based on the stratified sampling method, 625 college students from 12 universities were selected. Data were collected using a self-made questionnaire designed based on the UTAUT and e-health literacy scales. Data were analyzed by SPSS 22 and AMOS 26, including descriptive statistics, one-way variance analysis and structural equation model analysis. RESULTS: The results of one-way variance analysis showed that there were significant differences in the score of non-smoking college students' tobacco control intention or behavior by hometowns, monthly living expenses, and parents' smoking history. Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence had direct positive effects on behavioral intention. Facilitating condition, behavioral intention had direct positive impacts on use behavior and e-HL had an indirect positive impact on use behavior. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of the UTAUT and e-HL can be used as an appropriate framework to predict the influencing factors of non-smoking college students' intention and behavior of tobacco control. Improving performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and e-HL among non-smoking college students, creating positive social environments, and providing facilitating condition are key aspects of increasing their tobacco control intention and behavior. It is also beneficial to promote the implementation of smoke-free campus and smoke-free family projects.

NLRP3 inflammasome activation promotes the development of allergic rhinitis via epithelium pyroptosis.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a worldwide highly prevalent nasal inflammatory disease with elusive mechanisms about the regulation of innate immune response. The roles and mechanisms of NLRP3, a typical inflammasome, in AR development remain unclear. Here we investigate the roles of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the development and progression of AR and try to uncover its potential mechanisms underlying. Wildtype and NLRP3 knockout mice were applied to construct the ovalbumin (OVA)-induced AR model. Caspase-1 specific inhibitor Belnacasan and inflammasome activator ATP were used for adjuvant stimulation of AR-model mice respectively. We found that the production of IL-1ß and the activation of inflammasome were increased in both patients and mice with AR. NLRP3 deficiency markedly suppressed AR progression with reduced inflammatory response and epithelium pyroptosis in mice with AR. Furthermore, Caspase-1 inhibitor treatment in vivo ameliorated the development and progression of AR with favorable outcomes. Mechanistically, inflammation augments and nasal mucosa injury during AR were partially due to ASC-specks accumulation and subsequent cell pyroptosis. Our study reveals the previously unknown roles of NLRP3 inflammasome in promoting the development and progression of AR via enhancing inflammatory response and epithelium pyroptosis and thus provides a potential clue for allergic disease interventions.

Construction of an irreversible allergic rhinitis-induced olfactory loss mouse model.

Clinical data show that part of patients with sinonasal diseases suffered from olfactory dysfunction, especially with allergic rhinitis (AR) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). However, the mechanisms responsible for AR-induced olfactory loss are still largely unknown. Because of the difficulty to obtain human olfactory mucosa, an AR-induced olfactory loss animal model needs to be constructed to clarify the mechanism. The AR mouse model was induced by intraperitoneal sensitizing with ovalbumin (OVA) followed by intranasal challenge lasted from 1 to 12 weeks. For groups with recovery, mice were housed for another 4-week long without any treatment after the last intranasal challenge. Olfactory function, olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) density and leukocytes infiltration were examined at different time points. Olfactory loss occurs immediately after 1-week intranasal challenge and deteriorates almost to anosmia after 8th week, and after that olfactory loss become irreversible. Nasal inflammation induces significant infiltration of leukocytes into olfactory epithelium (OE), which negatively correlated with the density of ORNs and mouse olfaction in a time dependent manner. The neutrophilic subtype dominates in number amongst the total infiltrated leukocytes, indicating its pivotal role in nasal inflammation-induced olfactory dysfunction. In this study, we constructed a persistent AR-induced olfactory loss mouse model, losing the ability to recover from dysfunction if the disease duration more than eight weeks, which implies that timely treatments are necessary. Meanwhile, this mouse model could provide an easy and reliable system to clarify the mechanisms of AR-induced irreversible olfactory dysfunction.

Inhibition of Cyclin D1 Expression in Human Glioblastoma Cells is Associated with Increased Temozolomide Chemosensitivity.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Cyclin D1 (CCND1) is frequently overexpressed in malignant gliomas. We have previously shown ectopic overexpression of CCND1 in human malignant gliomas cell lines. METHODS: Quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western Blot (WB) was performed to investigate the expression of CCND1 in glioma tissues and cell lines. The biological function of CCND1 was also investigated through knockdown and overexpression of BCYRN1 in vitro. RESULTS: Here we reported that CCND1 expression was positively associated with the pathological grade and proliferative activity of astrocytomas, as the lowest expression was found in normal brain tissue (N = 3) whereas the highest expression was in high-grade glioma tissue (N = 25). Additionally, we found that the expression level of CCND1 was associated with IC50 values in malignant glioma cell lines. Forced inhibition of CCND1 increased temozolomide efficacy in U251 and SHG-44 cells. After CCND1 overexpression, the temozolomide efficacy decreased in U251 and SHG-44 cells. Colony survival assay and apoptosis analysis confirmed that CCND1 inhibition renders cells more sensitive to temozolomide treatment and temozolomide-induced apoptosis in U251 and SHG-44 cells. Inhibition of P-gp (MDR1) by Tariquidar overcomes the effects of CCND1 overexpression on inhibiting temozolomide-induced apoptosis. Inhibition of CCND1 inhibited cell growth in vitro and in vivo significantly more effectively after temozolomide treatments than single temozolomide treatments. Finally, inhibition of CCND1 in glioma cells reduced tumor volume in a murine model. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these data indicate that CCND1 overexpression upregulate P-gp and induces chemoresistance in human malignant gliomas cells and that inhibition of CCND1 may be an effective means of overcoming CCND1 associated chemoresistance in human malignant glioma cells.

Regional Evaluation Study of VFTO Interference to Secondary Side Cables Based on Cloud Model and MARCOS.

With the advent of the data era, most power secondary side equipment tends to be digitized. The power system needs more accurate numerical results to further improve its operating efficiency. Therefore, it is important to study the electromagnetic interferences of very fast transient overvoltage (VFTO) generated by gas-insulated switchgear (GIS). To protect the secondary side cable from interferences, the secondary side cable is wrapped with an outer shield and the shield is grounded. When the interference of VFTO comes, it will couple the interference current and interference voltage on the shield of the cable. By grounding, the interference is greatly discharged. However, due to the grounding resistance, there will be a potential difference between the grounding points at the two ends of the shield of the cable. This causes a corresponding interference current to flow through the shield, which will affect the transmission of signals inside the cable. In the actual substation, the resistivity of the soil, the ambient temperature and humidity of the area, and so on will have impacts on the grounding resistance. In addition, the irregularity of the cable arrangement and the time of the use of the cable will have impacts on the signal transmission of the cable. Based on the abovementioned issues, this article proposed a comprehensive assessment method based on the combination of the cloud model and measurement of alternatives and ranking according to compromise solution (MARCOS). The method brings the cloud model into MARCOS by the algorithm of the contribution of the cloud droplets. It overcomes the difficulty of cloud model quantification. By comparing the results of the proposed method with the actual conditions at the substation and the results of the common MARCOS assessment method, the validity of the method is verified, and a reference scheme is provided for substation optimization.