Objective To detect different activated patterns of heavy smokers in different states as well as between smokers and non-smokers. Methods Seventeen subjects including 12 heavy smokers and 5 non-smokers (controls) were examined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) performing smoking-related olfactory cue tasks. The data were processed with SPM2. These different patterns were compared between the two groups. Results When smokers were exposed to the smoking olfactory cue in the abstinent state, activation was found on the left superior frontal gyrus (BA8, 9, 10, 11), left middle frontal gyrus (BA8, 10, 11, 46), left inferior frontal gyrus (BA9), left medial frontal gyrus (BA6, 8, 10,11), right superior frontal gyrus (BA10), right middle frontal gyrus (BA8, 9), right inferior frontal gyrus (BA45, 47), right medial frontal gyrus (BA9, 11), left callosal gyrus (BA24, 31), right callosal gyrus (BA24, 37), right middle temporal gyrus (BA21) and both sides of the thalamus and cerebellum. When smokers were exposed to the smoking olfactory cue in the satiated state, activation could be found on both sides of the prefrontal lobe and cerebellar hemisphere, while there was no activation on the other brain regions. No activation was found on the whole brain of the nonsmokers,except for a little small volume active points appeared in individual subjects, possibly caused by the picture noise. Conclusion The Limbic system (cingulate cortex, thalamus) and the prefrontal lobe play an important role in the cue-induced smoking craving approved from the new perspective of the olfactory. It is feasible to research smoking addicts' brain activation and the role of neural mechanisms using olfactory stimulation with clinical 1.5T MRI equipment.

Two pairs of primer targeting to the genes encoding the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) and the polymorphic membrane protein (PMP) of Chlamydophila psittaci (Cps) designed and used in the fluorescent quantitative PCR assay in the detection of this microorganism were compared in the their sensitivity and specificity.It was demonstrated that both pairs of primer could be used successfully to detect the presence of Cps of the epidemic strains isolated in China.The specificity of PMP primer used was higher than that of MOMP primer. In case of high target concentration in samples, the sensitivity of the former was also superior to that of the latter, but the amplification efficiency of the former was lower than that of the latter. The MOMP primer seemed to be more suitable to detect Cps by using the real-time quantitative assay.As demonstrated by the real-time quantitative PCR assay, great difference in the genomic copy numbers of the PMP gene existed in the epidemic strains of Cps isolated in China.

Metastasis is a multistep process involving modification of morphology to suit migration, reduction of tumor cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix, increase of cell mobility, tumor cell resistance to anoikis, and other steps. MicroRNAs are well-suited to regulate tumor metastasis due to their capacity to repress numerous target genes in a coordinated manner, thereby enabling their intervention at multiple steps of the invasion-metastasis cascade. In this study, we identified a microRNA exemplifying these attributes, miR-124, whose expression was reduced in aggressive MDA-MB-231 and SK-3rd breast cancer cells. Down-regulation of miR-124 expression in highly aggressive breast cancer cells contributed in part to DNA hypermethylation around the promoters of the three genes encoding miR-124. Ectopic expression of miR-124 in MDA-MB-231 cells suppressed metastasis-related traits including formation of spindle-like morphology, migratory capacity, adhesion to fibronectin, and anoikis. These findings indicate that miR-124 suppresses multiple steps of metastasis by diverse mechanisms in breast cancer cells and suggest a potential application of miR-124 in breast cancer treatment.
Anoikis ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Adhesion ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Connective Tissue Growth Factor ; metabolism ; DNA Methylation ; Down-Regulation ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; rho GTP-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; rho-Associated Kinases ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the prevalence of pertussis in infants and children with persistent cough in Beijing during 2011-2016.Methods The eligible infants and children from over ten hospitals who were suspected to have pertussis from 2011 to 2016 were enrolled for detection.Nasopharyngeal secretions and blood samples were collected.Multiplex-PCR was performed for Bordetella pertussis and real-time PCR was performed for nucleic acid of Bordetella pertussis.Results A total of 1 318 eligible cases were enrolled,including 820 males and 498 females.Pertussis was detected positive in 534 cases,including 81.3％ (434/534) of B.pertussis positive cases and 31.8％ (170/534) of IgG positive cases.There were 13.1 ％ (70/534) had double positive for bacteria and antibodies.From 2011 to 2016,the enrolled patients were increased from 103 cases per year to 460 cases per year,and the test positive patients were increased from 29 cases to 194 cases.Among the pertussis patients,466 (87.3 ％) cases were younger than one year old.From the first quarter to the fourth quarter of the year,There were 65 cases,151 cases,205 cases,and 113 cases,respectively.In further analysis of the 268 cases from Children's Hospital affiliated to Capital Institute of Pediatrics,90.7％ of the patients who had whooping cough were scattered children;185 cases (69.0％) of the patients had not begun programmed immunization,71 cases (26.5％) did not complete programmed immunization and 12 cases (4.5％)completed the programmed immunization.Of all the inpatients,21.6％ were critical ill,0.8％ (2 cases) dead,and the remaining patients were recovered and discharged.Conclusions The prevalence of pertussis is increasing,especially in summer.Infants are the most susceptible population.Bordetella pertussis is one of the most important pathogen that can induce persistent and chronic cough.