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<b><i>Background:</i></b> Human genetic resources are an important material component for life science research and have strategic significance for medical science and technological innovation. In this study, we employ frameworks from social psychology and the science of human behavior to study human genetic resource providers. <b><i>Aims:</i></b> We used structural equation techniques to explain factors affecting the intention to provide human genetic resources and the mechanisms for providing such resources. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We conducted an online survey with respondents from ethnic minorities (<i>n</i> = 912). Our model integrates key variables informed by the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the theory of benefit and risk assessment (BRA), as well as variables that represent the policy and political system. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Our results show that the factors affecting the intention to provide human genetic resources, ranked from highly influential to less influential, are perceived benefits, privacy risk, attitudes toward providing human genetic resources, perceived behavioral efficacy, psychological risk, subjective norms, and physical risk. The variables informed by the TPB all have a significant positive effect on the intention to provide human genetic resources. With the exception of physical risk, the variables informed by the theory of BRA have a significant effect on the intention to provide human genetic resources. Respondents with different health conditions have significantly different levels of physical risk. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The results of our study provide insights into how to improve people's intention to provide human genetic resources. We also proposed ways to protect such resources globally.

The study aimed to investigate the relationship between smoking, Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) consumption and tooth brushing among adolescents in China. A valid sample of 6084 middle school students from the Zhejiang province was included. Participants were questioned about smoking status, SSB consumption, tooth brushing, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Among the participants, smoking prevalence was 1.9% and nearly half of the students consumed SSBs. The demographic factors associated with smoking were gender, place of residence, and parental level of education. There are co-variations between smoking status, SSB consumption, and tooth brushing. Logistic regression showed that smoking adolescents were more likely to brush their teeth less than once per day (OR = 1.74, p < 0.05), consume soft drinks once or more per day (OR = 2.18, p < 0.01) and have a higher score on the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (OR = 1.05, p < 0.05) after adjusting for demographic factors. The findings provide compelling evidence for governments and related stakeholders to intervene in the lifestyle of adolescents. Future studies are needed to understand the interaction effects of such behaviors, and should help to inform appropriate interventions.

Jiaqi Li,1,2 Jing Zhao,2 Huan Wang,2 Xiaohan Li,2 Aixia Liu,2 Qin Qin,1,3 Boan Li1,2 1Basic Medicine College, Navy Military Medical University of Chinese PLA, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China; 2Center for Clinical Laboratory, The 302nd Hospital of Chinese PLA, Beijing 100039, People's Republic of China; 3Department of Laboratory Medicine, Changhai Hospital, Navy Military Medical University of Chinese PLA, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China Background: Pregnane X receptor (PXR), which is a member of the nuclear receptor protein family (nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group I member 2 [NR 1I2]), mediates the drug-resistance in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) via enhancing the expression of drug-resistance-related genes which accelerate the clearance of antitumor drugs, eg, sorafenib. However, there are few reports on miRNA targeting PXR participating in the epigenetic regulation of PXR in HCC cells. Materials and methods: TargetScan 7.2, an online method, was used to predict the miRNAs potentially targeting PXR. The expression of PXR and PXR downstream genes was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and Western blot. The clearance of sorafenib in HCC cells was monitored by liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer/mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). The effects of miRNA on sorafenib's efficacy were examined by in vitro methods, eg, MTT, and in vivo methods, eg, subcutaneous or intrahepatic tumor model. Results: By virtual screening, we identified that miR-140-3p possibly targets PXR and then confirmed that the overexpression of miR-140-3p via lentiviral particles inhibited the expression of PXR in HCC cells. The downregulation of PXR's expression by miR-140-3p led to the reduction of PXR downstream genes' expression, which finally resulted in the decelerating clearance of sorafenib in HCC cells and enhanced the sensitivity of HCC cells to sorafenib. The effect of miR-140-3p could not modulate the expression of mutated PXR and the effect of miR-140-3p could also be inhibited by miR-140-3p's inhibitor. Moreover, miR-140-3p enhanced the antitumor effect of sorafenib in both the subcutaneous and intrahepatic HCC tumor models. Conclusion: Our study suggests that targeting PXR by miR-140-3p is a promising strategy for enhancing sorafenib's efficacy during HCC treatment. Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, microRNA, pregnenolone X receptor, sorafenib