Awareness of tobacco-related health hazards among adults in China / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the level of awareness of the hazards of tobacco smoking and secondhand smoke inhalation among adults in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Household surveys were conducted with a total of 13,354 respondents aged 15 years or over from 100 counties of 28 Chinese provinces using a stratified multi-stage geographically clustered sample design.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The findings revealed that 81.8% of the population was aware that smoking causes serious diseases, and 27.2% and 38.7% were aware that smoking causes stroke and heart attack, respectively. Only 64.3% of respondents were aware that secondhand smoke can cause serious diseases, and 27.5%, 51.0%, and 52.6% were aware that secondhand smoke causes heart disease in adults, lung disease in children and lung cancer in adults, respectively. Awareness regarding smoking-related hazards across all participants was significantly associated with several factors, including gender, smoking status, urban/rural residency, education level and exposure to tobacco control publicity in the last 30 days. Awareness regarding tobacco-related hazards in smokers was significantly associated with urban/rural residency, education level, exposure to tobacco control publicity in the last 30 days, and physician's advice. Awareness relating to the hazards of inhaling secondhand smoke was associated with smoking status, urban/rural residency, age, education level, and exposure to tobacco control publicity in the last 30 days. Medical professionals were found to know more about the health hazards of tobacco compared with people in other types of employment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Overall awareness of the health hazards of tobacco has improved in the last 15 years in China, but is still relatively poor. Improved means of communicating information and more effective warning labels on cigarette packaging are necessary for increasing public awareness of tobacco hazards, particularly among rural residents and people with less education.</p>

Population-based molecular epidemiologic study of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis in rural area of eastern China / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To describe the drug resistance-related molecular characterization and clustering feature of rifampicin-resistant (RIFr) M.tuberculosis (M.tb) in rural area of eastern China. Methods All patients diagnosed as RIFr M.tb in Deqing and Guanyun county during one year period from 2004 to 2005 were included in the study. By proportion method of drug susceptibility test, 65 isolates were identified resistant to rifampicin and regarded as the studied strains. Hotspots of rpoB gene and katG gene were detected by direct DNA sequencing. Beijing genotype M.tb strains were identified by spoligotyping. IS6110-RFLP (IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism) and clustering analysis were performed on all RIFr M.tb isolates available. Results The mutations in 81 bp rifampicin-resistance determination region (RRDR) of the rpoB gene were observed among 60 (92%) RIFr M.tb isolates, with mutation in locus 531 observed in the majority of RIFr isolates (37/65). 49(82%) of the 60 isolates were multidrug resistant TB (MDR-TB), which were referred to as resistant to both RIF and isoniazid (INH). Through spoligotyping, 54(83%) isolates were identified as Beijing genotype strains. In clustering analysis of IS6110-RFLP, 24 isolates were grouped into 11 clusters, suggesting that the recent transmission of M.tb did exist among patients. Regarding the drug resistance profile in clusters, all the isolates in clusters were also MDR-TB. 7 clusters contained isolates carrying different mutations were related to RIF-resistance. Multivariate analysis showed the proportion of new cases in clustered patients is higher than that in the un-clustered patients (new/previously treated: OR=3.342; 95% CI: 1.081-10.32). Conclusion The acquisition of rifampicin resistance in M.tb was more likely to be resulted from the selective growth of RIFr M.tb in the specific drug resistant M.tb such as isoniazid-reisistant M.tb. Previous elongated irregular treatment might favor the epidemic of RIFr M.tb.

Selective revealing of gap junction currents in single inspiratory tracheal motor neurons / 生理学报

Little is known about how gap junctions are involved in the respiratory-related or other types of physiological neuronal activity since physiologically active gap junction currents (GJCs) have never been characterized from single respiratory-related neurons or from single neurons of any other types. In the present study we hypothesized that GJCs could be selectively revealed from single neurons by elimination of transmembrane electrochemical gradients in voltage patch-clamp recording, and this hypothesis was tested in single inspiratory tracheal preganglionic vagal motor neurons (I-TPVMs). The results showed that GJCs were selectively revealed in all I-TPVMs when the transmembrane electrochemical gradients were eliminated in voltage patch-clamp recording, and were rhythmically activated by central inspiratory activity. Therefore, this method may be used as a fast way to detect GJCs within spontaneously active neuronal networks.

GABAergic neurons innervating the preganglionic cardiac vagal neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus receive tonic glutamatergic control / 生理学报

The glutamatergic innervations and the GABAergic innervations are respectively the major excitatory and inhibitory inputs of preganglionic cardiac vagal neurons (CVNs). Whether and how these two kinds of innervations interact in the regulation of CVNs is unknown. Using retrograde fluorescent labeling of CVNs and voltage patch-clamp technique, we demonstrated that mixed global application of glutamatergic NMDA and non-NMDA antagonists AP(5) and CNQX, while had no effect on the GABAergic synaptic events of the CVNs in the nucleus ambiguus (NA), significantly decreased the GABAergic synaptic events of the CVNs in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMNX). These results suggest that the GABAergic neurons preceding the CVNs in the DMNX receive tonic glutamatergic control, whereas the GABAergic neurons preceding the CVNs in the NA receive little, if any, glutamatergic innervations. This differential central regulation of the CVNs in the DMNX from those in the NA might be a possible mechanism that enables the CVNs in the DMNX play different roles from those in the NA in the parasympathetic control of heart rate and cardiac functions.

Effect of intravenous injection of corticosterone on the presympathetic neurons in rostral ventrolateral medulla of rats / 第二军医大学学报

Objective: To study the role of glucocorticoid i n the integration of sympathetic nervous system and cardiovascular activity. Methods: Neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) were extracelluarly recorded and identified as the presympathetic neurons of adult rats. The spontaneous discharge of the presympathetic neurons in the RVLM were observed by bolus intravenous injection of corticosterone (50, 100, 150 μg/kg） . Results: The firing rate of 12 presympathetic neurons was incr eased by intravenous application of corticosterone (P<0.05), and this effect showed a dose-dependent manner. The latency of excitatory effect was (104±2 5) s. Conclusion: Corticosterone can rapidly excite the presym pathetic neurons in the RVLM, this action might be involved in the integration o f sympathetic nervous system through the “rapid membrane effects”.

Effect of intravenous injection of corticosterone on the presympathetic neurons in rostral ventrolateral medulla of rats / 第二军医大学学报

Objective: To study the role of glucocorticoid i n the integration of sympathetic nervous system and cardiovascular activity. Methods: Neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) were extracelluarly recorded and identified as the presympathetic neurons of adult rats. The spontaneous discharge of the presympathetic neurons in the RVLM were observed by bolus intravenous injection of corticosterone (50, 100, 150 μg/kg） . Results: The firing rate of 12 presympathetic neurons was incr eased by intravenous application of corticosterone (P<0.05), and this effect showed a dose-dependent manner. The latency of excitatory effect was (104±2 5) s. Conclusion: Corticosterone can rapidly excite the presym pathetic neurons in the RVLM, this action might be involved in the integration o f sympathetic nervous system through the “rapid membrane effects”.