Worry as a mechanism of the relationship between perceived new knowledge and discouragement to smoke elicited from graphic cigarette warnings

Journal of Behavioral Medicine - Evidence supports the use of graphic warnings to educate the public about the health harms of smoking and suggests warnings eliciting negative emotional responses...     

On the legacy of normalization

In 1998 Howard Parker, Judith Aldridge & Fiona Measham published Illegal Leisure, a ground‐breaking study of profound changes in British youth cultures in the 1990s, and the place of drugs and drug use in these upheavals. This work introduced the ‘normalization thesis’ to the social sciences, offering a novel vocabulary for re‐imagining the normative character of young people's attitudes towards and experiences of illicit drug use. Arriving at the dawn of the new century, the book offered a thoroughgoing re‐thinking of the character of youth cultures at a time of great social, cultural, economic and technological disruption. In so doing, the book deftly anticipated many of the most interesting currents of critical drug studies that followed.     

Dexamethasone potentiates in vitro blood-brain barrier recovery after primary blast injury by glucocorticoid receptor-mediated upregulation of ZO-1 tight junction protein

Owing to the frequent incidence of blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) in recent military conflicts, there is an urgent need to develop effective therapies for bTBI-related pathologies. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown has been reported to occur after primary blast exposure, making restoration of BBB function and integrity a promising therapeutic target. We tested the hypothesis that treatment with dexamethasone (DEX) after primary blast injury potentiates recovery of an in vitro BBB model consisting of mouse brain endothelial cells (bEnd.3). DEX treatment resulted in complete recovery of transendothelial electrical resistance and hydraulic conductivity 1 day after injury, compared with 3 days for vehicle-treated injured cultures. Administration of RU486 (mifepristone) inhibited effects of DEX, confirming that barrier restoration was mediated by glucocorticoid receptor signaling. Potentiated recovery with DEX treatment was accompanied by stronger zonula occludens (ZO)-1 tight junction immunostaining and expression, suggesting that increased ZO-1 expression was a structural correlate to BBB recovery after blast. Interestingly, augmented ZO-1 protein expression was associated with specific upregulation of the α⁺ isoform but not the α⁻ isoform. This is the first study to provide a mechanistic basis for potentiated functional recovery of an in vitro BBB model because of glucocorticoid treatment after primary blast injury.     

沙苑子本草考证

沙苑子为我国常用中药,药用历史悠久。通过查阅本草文献,对沙苑子名称、基原、功效、产地及伪品5个方面进行考证,得知其名称演变大致经过"白蒺藜""沙苑蒺藜""沙苑子"3个阶段;历代本草记载沙苑子基原为扁茎黄芪的干燥成熟种子,古今应用品种基本一致;沙苑子补肾固精功效的记载自宋《本草衍义》起逐渐清晰明确;沙苑子道地产区自宋时起为陕西沙苑,明清时期产地逐渐转到陕西潼关、山西等地,建国后以陕西省为主向北扩散,以陕西潼关为佳;沙苑子建国前有马薸子、色微绿伪品及紫云英子等混伪品,建国后有紫云英、猪屎豆、华黄芪和直立黄芪的种子等混伪品。为沙苑子正本清源,并为其进一步深入开发提供参考。     

腰硬联合镇痛及患者自控镇痛对产程及分娩结局的影响

目的 探讨腰硬联合(CSEA)及患者自控镇痛(PCEA)对产程及分娩结局的影响。方法 随机选取2014年1~12月足月待产、无妊娠合并症和并发症初产妇996例,其中503例产妇于活跃期实施CSEA+PCEA镇痛(分娩镇痛组),493例未行分娩镇痛(对照组),分别记录并比较两组产妇各产程时间、子宫收缩、镇痛效果、运动神经阻滞程度、产程中缩宫素的使用率、产后出血率、羊水Ⅲ度污染率、新生儿Apgar评分、产钳助产和剖宫产率。结果 分娩镇痛组第一产程、第二产程较对照组有所延长,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);第三产程无明显改变;子宫收缩力减弱;分娩镇痛组较对照组镇痛效果显著,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);运动阻滞程度低;缩宫素使用率、产后出血率、羊水Ⅲ度污染率、及新生儿Apgar评分及产钳助产和剖宫产率两组比较,差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论 腰硬联合分娩镇痛可能会使第一产程、第二产程延长,对子宫收缩力有一定的影响,但并未增加缩宫素的使用率及产钳助产和剖宫产率,其镇痛效果显著,运动阻滞程度低,对分娩结局无不良影响。