Benzalkonium chloride initiates proinflammatory responses via NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

A representative surfactant, benzalkonium chloride (BAC) is used as a disinfectant, but sometimes causes serious side effects, including lung disorders such as interstitial pneumonia. However, its pathogenic mechanisms remain unexplained. In this study, we identified a novel mechanism by which BAC initiates inflammatory responses that may be responsible for its side effects.

The role of parents' and adolescents' critical reflection in the development of white youths' commitments to dismantling oppression.

Given the access that white youth have to privilege and power, it is important to understand how they might develop life goals related to dismantling multiple forms of oppression, which we term critical purpose. Parents may support their children's critical purpose via their own critical reflection (understanding of the root causes of disparities in society), which may be associated with their child's critical reflection. Structural equation models of two waves of data from 351 white youth showed an indirect relationship between parent critical reflection and youth critical purpose through youth critical reflection.

Trajectories of sociopolitical stress during the 2020 United States presidential election season: Associations with psychological well-being, civic action, and social identities.

Sociopolitical stress arises in reaction to awareness of, exposure to, and/or involvement in political events. Among a longitudinal cohort of 628 college students from 10 universities across the U.S.

Associations between hope and trajectories of critical consciousness among U.S. youth of color.

We examined associations between hope as an internal asset that supports positive youth development, and growth trajectories of three critical consciousness components. Using five waves of data collected over the course of high school (N = 618), we modeled growth trajectories of awareness of inequity (critical reflection), a sense of agency about taking sociopolitical action (critical agency), and behaviors targeting systems of oppression (critical action). Hope was highest among those with high trajectories of critical agency and critical action.

Critical Action Among Asian and Hispanic/Latinx Youth: Identifying a Multidimensional Measure and Exploring Within-Group Differences.

Critical action-behaviors aimed at dismantling systems of oppression-must be examined within youths' racialized experiences and should incorporate cultural and sociohistorical factors. We considered an expansive list of items capturing youth behaviors to create a novel four-factor (service, community change, expression, and care) measure of critical action for Asian and Hispanic/Latinx youth. Multiple distinct profiles of critical action were identified within both racial-ethnic groups, and associations between the profiles and sociodemographic and contextual support variables were explored.

Gradient Tracking by Yeast GPCRs in a Microfluidics Chamber.

Cells typically exist in a highly dynamic environment, which cannot easily be recreated in culture dishes or microwell plates. Microfluidic devices can provide precise control of the time, dose, and orientation of a stimulus, while simultaneously capturing quantitative single-cell data. The approach is particularly powerful when combined with the genetically tractable yeast model organism.

A three-dimensional strain measurement method in elastic transparent materials using tomographic particle image velocimetry.

Background: The mechanical interaction between blood vessels and medical devices can induce strains in these vessels. Measuring and understanding these strains is necessary to identify the causes of vascular complications. This study develops a method to measure the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of strain using tomographic particle image velocimetry (Tomo-PIV) and compares the measurement accuracy with the gauge strain in tensile tests.