The outbreak of electronic-cigarette/vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI) has made thousands ill. This lung injury has been attributed to a physical interaction between toxicants from the vaping solution and the pulmonary surfactant. In particular, studies have implicated vitamin E acetate as a potential instigator of EVALI. Pulmonary surfactant is vital to proper respiration through the mechanical processes of adsorption and interface stability to achieve and maintain low surface tension at the air−liquid interface. Using neutron spin echo spectroscopy, we investigate the impact of vitamin E acetate on the mechanical properties of two lipid-only pulmonary surfactant mimics: pure 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and a more comprehensive lipid mixture. It was found that increasing vitamin E acetate concentration nonlinearly increased membrane fluidity and area compressibility to a plateau. Softer membranes would promote adsorption to the air−liquid interface during inspiration as well as collapse from the interface during expiration. These findings indicate the potential for the failure of the pulmonary surfactant upon expiration, attributed to monolayer collapse. This collapse could contribute to the observed EVALI signs and symptoms, including shortness of breath and pneumonitis.
In recent decades, public perceptions of old people have been shifting towards negativity. Stereotypes of ageing may shape behaviours towards the aged, and may complicate the social, nutritional, psychological and health conditions of the elderly. The perception and attitude of people toward the aged cannot be separated from the informal learning outcomes that flowed through or permeated their interactional episodes as well as their encounters and specific events. From the premise of cultivation theory, it is assumed that the stereotypes surrounding beliefs and attitudes about the aged are cultivated from informal, everyday learning through the media. Thus, study examines ageism among young people and the extent to which these beliefs match the ways the elderly are portrayed in the media. Using Nollywood movies as an example of media form to which young people in Nigeria are exposed, the study tests the hypothesis that convergence exists in the extent of ageist beliefs and representations in the media among students of tertiary institution in Ibadan. The result shows that all the dimensions of ageism measured through the modified ageing quiz are represented or enacted in Nollywood movies. While respondents have ageist perceptions of their own, the representations of older persons they encounter in movies are not so different. One effective way to address ageism is to employ the channel through which these stereotypes were constructed in the first place. Through informal learning arrangements, advocacy may be kick-started by exposing the aged and other members of the society to accurate information on what ageing entails.
In recent years, vaping has increased in both popularity and ease of access. This has led to an outbreak of a relatively new condition known as e-cigarette/vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI). This injury can be caused by physical interactions between the pulmonary surfactant (PS) in the lungs and toxins typically found in vaping solutions, such as medium chain triglycerides (MCT). MCT has been largely used as a carrier agent within many cannabis products commercially available on the market. Pulmonary surfactant ensures proper respiration by maintaining low surface tensions and interface stability throughout each respiratory cycle. Therefore, any impediments to this system that negatively affect the efficacy of this function will have a strong hindrance on the individual’s quality of life. Herein, neutron spin echo (NSE) and Langmuir trough rheology were used to probe the effects of MCT on the mechanical properties of pulmonary surfactant. Alongside a porcine surfactant extract, two lipid-only mimics of progressing complexity were used to study MCT effects in a range of systems that are representative of endogenous surfactant. MCT was shown to have a greater biophysical effect on bilayer systems compared to monolayers, which may align with biological data to propose a mechanism of surfactant inhibition by MCT oil.
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