Institute of Forensic Science

Skeletal muscle repair after injury requires coordinated immune responses. The cannabinoid type 2 receptor (CB2R) has been implicated in this process; however, its molecular mechanism in regulating inflammation and muscle regeneration, particularly whether it involves modulating macrophage pyroptosis-a specific pro-inflammatory cell death-remains elusive. This study proposes and validates a novel mechanism: CB2R activation protects skeletal muscle by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling axis, thereby suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis in macrophages and ultimately fostering a pro-regenerative microenvironment. Using a mouse contusion model and conditioned medium assays, we demonstrate that CB2R deficiency exacerbates macrophage pyroptosis, elevates inflammatory mediators, and impairs muscle repair. This effect is driven by hyperactivation of the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway, as blocking this pathway alleviated the inflammatory response and restored the expression of muscle regeneration markers. Furthermore, inflammatory signals released from CB2R-deficient macrophages directly impaired the development of muscle cells in the conditioned medium-based assay. Our findings uncover a novel non-cell-autonomous mechanism whereby CB2R supports skeletal muscle regeneration by restraining macrophage-driven inflammation and maintaining a repair-permissive environment, providing new insights into skeletal muscle repair from the perspective of the regenerative microenvironment and further expand the current understanding of muscle regeneration following injury. This work provides a robust mechanistic rationale for repurposing CB2R agonists as promising therapeutic strategies for muscle injury.

A flexible ammonium ion-sensing skin patch was developed based on a three-dimensional (3D) polystyrenesulfonate:polyaniline/copper microflower (PSS:PANI/CuMF) nanoarchitecture deposited on a flexible graphene electrode. The hierarchical 3D nanostructure integrates CuMF with a PSS:PANI network, providing a high-density electroactive surface, enhanced charge-transfer pathways, and stable ion-doping sites for NH4+ detection. The transducer was fabricated via a two-step electrochemical process and characterized using SEM and FTIR, confirming the formation of nanostructured CuMF and uniform nanopolymer coating. Coupled with adsorptive stripping voltammetry (AdSV), the sensor exhibited dual linear ranges (0.01–20 mM and 20–60 mM), high sensitivity (127.9 μA mM–1 cm–2 in the low range), and a low detection limit of 3.3 μM. The nanoscale PSS:PANI framework enables reversible NH4+ doping/dedoping through fixed sulfonate sites, while CuMF enhances electron-transfer kinetics. Integration into a wearable patch platform demonstrated reliable detection of NH4+ in artificial sweat using a skin-mimicking model. This work presents a nanostructured, flexible electrochemical platform for noninvasive ammonium monitoring, with potential applications in wearable bioanalysis.

Considering TikTok’s increasing geopolitical influence, this article presents the TikTok Global Observatory (TKGO) as a case of data-reappropriation and introduces the concept of platform-mediated proximity as a counter-data mapping framework for data activist research. While TikTok enables global connection beyond local and cultural boundaries, its content is sensitive to locally specific conditions to which the platform provides no public insight. To counter this lack of transparency, the TKGO makes data for global and cross-national analysis of TikTok feeds available and navigable to the research community. The TKGO is an archive, updated daily, that collects the metadata of videos scraped from the non-logged-in web version of TikTok’s for you page (FYP) across 197 countries and territories. The tool’s main feature is a geographic map that allows users to view, filter, sort, and extrapolate the FYP data as prioritized in different geographical locations. This offers a unique access point for researchers, journalists, and activists investigating cross-national trends, content moderation, and content promotion. In this article, we firstly present the TKGO and contextually position its development in the contentious politics of data access, archiving, and mapping practices. Secondly, we elaborate on the notion of platform-mediated proximities, a conceptual lens that highlights how TikTok remediates geographical proximities through algorithmic content recommendation. Lastly, we apply this framework to the mapping of a three-month sample of the TKGO data, showing how TikTok’s cross-national content prioritization patterns generate new geographical boundaries, observing regional and geopolitical clustering as well as notable exceptions.

Background & Objective: Alterations in global DNA methylation levels and repetitive elements are commonly observed in various cancers and in response to environmental pollutants, particularly petroleum products such as benzene. Long-term benzene exposure is harmful to human health and is associated with an increased risk of hematological malignancies. This study aimed to investigate the association between chronic occupational exposure to benzene and DNA methylation status in TGFβ2, MAGE-A1, and LINE-1 repetitive elements among gasoline station workers. Material and Methods: This case–control study included 30 male gasoline station workers and 30 male controls. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples using the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN) and treated with sodium bisulfite via the EpiTect Fast DNA Bisulfite Kit. Singleplex MethyLight PCR was performed to assess methylation status of MAGE-A1, TGFβ2, and LINE-1. Results: Significant differences were observed in working hours (p = 0.004) and direct benzene exposure (p < 0.0001) between workers and controls. Percent MethyLight Reference (PMR) values were significantly different between the two groups for LINE-1 (p < 0.0001), TGFβ2 (p = 0.0194), and MAGE-A1 (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Chronic benzene exposure is associated with altered DNA methylation patterns. Singleplex MethyLight analysis revealed significant PMR differences for MAGE-A1, LINE-1, and TGFβ2 between benzene-exposed workers and controls, highlighting the potential of DNA methylation profiling in occupational health risk assessment.