Paternal and Maternal Smoking Habits before Conception and During the First Trimester: Relation to Spontaneous Abortion

PURPOSE: This study examined the association between maternal smoking before and during the first trimester of pregnancy and spontaneous abortion.

METHODS: We have been conducting a hospital-based case-control study on risk factors for spontaneous abortion in the greater Milan area. We collected information from 782 cases of spontaneous abortions and 1543 controls (women who delivered at term healthy infants).

RESULTS: With respect to never smokers, the odds ratio (OR) were 0.7 (95%, confidence interval (CI), 0.5–1.0) for women who quit smoking and 1.3 (95% CI, 1.0–1.6) for those who continued during pregnancy. Women who smoked more than 10 cigarettes/day in the first trimester were at increased risk of miscarriage, with an OR of 1.4 (95% CI, 1.0–2.1). No relationship was evident between the number of cigarettes smoked before conception and the risk of abortion. Likewise, no association emerged between paternal smoking and miscarriage. Moreover, no significant interaction or modification effect was obtained when strata of age and other major characteristics were investigated.

CONCLUSIONS: The risk of abortion associated with cigarette smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy was measurable and noticeable in this population, and accounted for 9% (95% CI, 6–13%) of all cases. The increased risk of spontaneous abortion in women smoking during pregnancy is a further reason to encourage pregnant women to quit.     

Learning and sexual deficiencies in transgenic mice carrying a chimeric vasoactive intestinal peptide gene

The molecular mechanisms responsible for behavior are largely unknown. A state of the art model, paving the path from genes to behavior, is offered by transgenic animals. Candidate molecules are classic neuropeptides, such as vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). Transgenic mice harboring a chimeric VIP gene driven by the polyoma promoter were produced. Behavioral studies revealed learning impairment and prolonged retardation in memory acquisition in the genetically altered animals. Furthermore, reduced performance was observed when the male transgenic mice were tested for sexual activity in the presence of receptive females. Surprisingly, radioimmunoassays showed an approx 20% decrease in the VIP content of the transgenic mice brains. To directly assess genetically reduced VIP content as a cause for learning impairment, transgenic mice carrying diphtheria toxia-encoding sequences driven by the rat VIP promoter were created. These animals had reduced brain VIP and exhibited deficiencies in learning abilities, strongly supporting an important neurobiological function for VIP in vivo.     

Expression of c-fos, fos B, and egr-1 in the medial preoptic area and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis during maternal behavior in rats

The spatial and temporal pattern of expression of the protein products of immediate early genes (IEGs) c-fos, fos B, and egr-1 were mapped in medial preoptic area (MPOA) and ventral bed nucleus of stria terminalis (VBST) during maternal behavior in rats. Immunocytochemical analysis indicated significant increases in the number of cells expressing c-Fos after 2 h of pup exposure, while Fos B levels showed a delayed response, reaching maximal levels after 6 h.     

Elevated hypothalamic neuropeptide Y levels in rats with dorsomedial hindbrain lesions

Lesions centered on the area postrema (AP) and adjacent nucleus of the solitary tract (AP/mNTS-lesions) are reported to result in increased consumption of highly palatable diets. Recent studies suggest that neuropeptide Y (NPY) may cause a preference for carbohydrate-rich diets. Thus, it is possible that NPY may play a role in the enhanced intake of highly palatable diets by AP/mNTS-lesioned rats. In the studies reported here, we found that lesions centered on the AP result in increased levels of NPY-immunoreactivity in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. Additionally, steady-state NPY mRNA in the basomedial hypothalamus including the arcuate nucleus was elevated. Enhanced NPY was not found throughout the hypothalamus however, as NPY-immunoreactivity was not elevated in the lateral hypothalamus or the tissue bordering the anteroventral third ventricle. These data suggest the possibility that elevated hypothalamic NPY, particularly in the arcuate and paraventricular nuclei, may contribute to the altered food intake and energy balance observed in rats with lesions centered on the AP.     

Functional restoration in chronic low back pain

Conventional treatments have not slowed down the ever expanding low back pain (LBP) problem. Traditional treatment has most probably contributed to the growth of the problem. Therefore, in a search for new solutions, 'functional restoration' has been devised. In connection with chronic LBP the term has been associated with a full-day program lasting from 3 to 5 weeks. it includes multidisciplinary treatment of patients in groups with intensive physical and ergonomic training, psychological pain management, back school, as well as teaching in social/work related issues. The key concepts are 'acceptance of the pain', 'activity', 'self-responsibility', 'multidisciplinary' and 'quantitative functional evaluation (QFE)'. The latter is aimed so that the participants can feel the physical improvement, encouraging them to be able to go back to work, or at least to lead a more active life style. Several controlled studies suggest a lasting effect in terms of regaining their ability to work and improving pain behavior for a good part of disabled chronic LBP patients. However, it is noteworthy that randomized studies seemingly show poorer results than studies not employing randomized controls.     

牛磺酸与大脑发育关系的初步探讨——牛磺酸与行为

本实验将断乳大鼠随机分成三组。补充0.6％牛磺酸组(ST组);未补充牛磺酸组(TF组);及5703大鼠常备膳组(5703组)。用水迷宫及食物偏爱性试验观察补充牛磺酸对大鼠学习、记忆能力的影响。结果表明,三组大鼠在水迷宫试验总潜伏期,总错误次数,无误率及持续时间四项指标上均存在高度显著差异。ST:TF P<0.01;ST:5703 P<0.01;5703:TF P<0.05。ST与TF在食物偏爱性试验上存在显著差异(P<0.05)。上述结果表明:牛磺酸与大脑发育有关,表现为补充了牛磺酸的大鼠在学习、记忆等方面的提高。而牛磺酸缺乏对幼鼠大脑及智力发育有不利影响,表现为学习、记忆能力的不足。     

Selective inhibition of MAO-A,not MAO-B,results in antidepressant-like effects on DRL 72-s behavior

The effects of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) that selectively inhibit the MAO-A or MAO-B forms of MAO were studied in rats performing under a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-s (DRL 72-s) schedule of reinforcement. Clorgyline and CGP11305A, irreversible and reversible MAO-A inhibitors, respectively, increased the reinforcement rate, decreased the response rate, and enhanced temporal discrimination. The irreversible MAO-B inhibitor (–)-deprenyl did not produce similar effects. Pargyline did not increase the reinforcement rate at low doses that selectively inhibit MAO-B, but did increase the reinforcement rate at doses that inhibit MAO-A by more than 90%. The present results are in accord with clinical data demonstrating that MAO-A inhibitors are effective therapeutic agents in treating depression while MAO-B inhibitors are of questionable antidepressant efficacy. The present findings provide further evidence that the DRL 72-s schedule may be useful both as a screen for identifying new antidepressants and for investigating the neurochemical effects of antidepressant drugs that are responsible for their therapeutic effects.     

分级诊疗背景下多病共存患者就医机构选择行为及其影响因素研究

背景 近年来,国内针对多病共存患者在分级诊疗背景下就医机构选择行为的研究较少,研究多病共存患者的就医机构选择行为有重要的现实意义。目的 以分级诊疗为视角,分析多病共存患者就医机构选择行为及其影响因素,为进一步落实分级诊疗制度和合理配置医疗资源提供研究参考。方法 采用随机抽样法,选取2019-06-01至2020-01-01在上海市杨浦区中心医院医疗联合体（上海市杨浦区中心医院和上海市杨浦区定海、延吉、长白社区卫生服务中心）就诊的多病共存患者为研究对象。采用自设问卷对其进行调查,收集多病共存患者的一般资料,了解其对分级诊疗政策的认知情况及实际遵守情况、在不同疾病控制状况下至社区卫生服务中心首诊的意愿,以及其选择就诊医疗机构时考虑的因素等。采用二分类Logistic回归分析多病共存患者此次因病就医是否选择至社区卫生服务中心首诊的影响因素。结果 共发放1 100份问卷,回收有效问卷1 072份,有效问卷回收率为97.45%。1 072例多病共存患者中,老年（≥60岁）多病共存患者占85.07%(912/1 072)。624例（58.21%）患者表示知晓分级诊疗制度;940例（87.69%）患...     

Projections of the ventral subiculum to the amygdala, septum, and hypothalamus: a PHAL anterograde tract-tracing study in the rat.

The projections of the ventral subiculum are organized differentially along the dorsoventral (or septotemporal) axis of this cortical field, with more ventral regions playing a particularly important role in hippocampal communication with the amygdala, bed nuclei of the stria terminalis (BST), and rostral hypothalamus. In the present study we re-examined the projection of the ventral subiculum to these regions with the Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHAL) method in the rat. The results confirm and extend earlier conclusions based primarily on the autoradiographic method. Projections from the ventral subiculum course either obliquely through the angular bundle to innervate the amygdala and adjacent parts of the temporal lobe, or follow the alveus and fimbria to the precommissural fornix and medial corticohypothalamic tract. The major amygdalar terminal field is centered in the posterior basomedial nucleus, while other structures that appear to be innervated include the piriformamygdaloid area, the posterior basolateral, posterior cortical, posterior, central, medial, and intercalated nuclei, and the nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract. Projections from the ventral subiculum reach the BST mainly by way of the precommissural fornix, and provide rather dense inputs to the anterodorsal area as well as the transverse and interfascicular nuclei. The medial corticohypothalamic tract is the main route taken by fibers from the ventral subiculum to the hypothalamus, where they innervate the medial preoptic area, "shell" of the ventromedial nucleus, dorsomedial nucleus, ventral premammillary nucleus, and cell-poor zone around the medial mammillary nucleus. We also observed a rather dense terminal field just dorsal to the suprachiasmatic nucleus that extends dorsally and caudally to fill the subparaventricular zone along the medial border of the anterior hypothalamic nucleus and ventrolateral border of the paraventricular nucleus. The general pattern of outputs to the hypothalamus and septum is strikingly similar for the ventral subiculum and suprachiasmatic nucleus, the endogenous circadian rhythm generator.     

"Necklace olfactory glomeruli" form unique components of the rat primary olfactory system

A distinct subset of rat primary olfactory neurons was identified immunohistochemically by means of a polyclonal antibody against human placental antigen X-P2 (hPAX-P2), an incompletely characterized substance found in all estrogen-biosynthetic organs. The subset of olfactory receptor cells was distributed widely over the olfactory epithelium with some degree of concentration on the dorsocaudal walls of nasal subcavities. The subset formed unique "necklace olfactory glomeruli," which were composed of seven to nine solitary glomeruli located in the caudal end of the olfactory bulb. One of them was located in the "modified glomerular complex" reported to be involved in rat suckling behavior. The projectional patterns of the necklace olfactory system, albeit diffuse, indicated some degree of spatial correspondence between zones of olfactory epithelium and specific glomeruli. Axons emanating from neighboring cells can project to several glomerular loci. From the necklace olfactory system, an average of 150-200 receptor cells were estimated to converge onto a single necklace glomerulus.