To assess the rapidly changing psychological status of nurses during the acute phase of the 2003 SARS outbreak, we conducted a prospective and periodic evaluation of psychiatric morbidity and psychological adaptation among nurses in SARS units and non-SARS units. Nurse participants were from two SARS units (regular SARS [N=44] and SARS ICU [N=26]) and two non-SARS units (Neurology [N=15] and CCU [N=17]). Participants periodically self-evaluated their depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, sleep disturbance, attitude towards SARS and family support. Results showed that depression (38.5% vs. 3.1%) and insomnia (37% vs. 9.7%) were, respectively, greater in the SARS unit nurses than the non-SARS unit nurses. No difference between these two groups was found in the prevalence of post-traumatic stress symptoms (33% vs. 18.7%), yet, three unit subjects (SARS ICU, SARS regular and Neurology) had significantly higher rate than those in CCU (29.7% vs. 11.8%, respectively) (p<0.05). For the SARS unit nurses, significant reduction in mood ratings, insomnia rate and perceived negative feelings as well as increasing knowledge and understanding of SARS at the end of the study (all p<0.001) indicated that a gradual psychological adaptation had occurred. The adjustment of nurses in the more structured SARS ICU environment, where nurses care for even more severely ill patients, may have been as good or better than that of nurses in the regular SARS unit. Occurrence of psychiatric symptoms was linked to direct exposure to SARS patient care, previous mood disorder history, younger age and perceived negative feelings. Positive coping attitude and strong social and family support may have protected against acute stress. In conclusion, the psychological impact on the caring staffs facing future bio-disaster will be minimized with lowered risk factors and a safer and more structured work environment.

1 Resveratrol, naringenin and naringin are naturally occurring¯avonoids in grapes and grapefruits. The anti-in¯ammatory e ects of these¯avonoids have been well documented, but the mechanism is poorly characterized. High concentration of NO are produced by inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in in¯ammation, and the prevention of the expression of iNOS may be an important anti-in¯ammatory mechanism. In this study, the e ects of these¯avonoids on the induction of NO synthase (NOS) in RAW 264.7 cells activated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 50 ng ml 71 ) were investigated. 2 Resveratrol was found strongly to inhibit NO generation in activated macrophages, as measured by the amount of nitrite released into the culture medium, and resveratrol strongly reduced the amount of cytosolic iNOS protein and steady state mRNA levels. However, the inhibitory abilities of naringenin were lower, and the inhibitory abilities of naringin were almost negligible. 3 In electrophoretic mobility shift assays, the activation of NFkB induced by LPS for 1 h was inhibited by resveratrol (30 mM). Furthermore, in immunoblotting analysis, cells treated with LPS plus resveratrol showed an inhibition of phosphorylation as well as degradation of IkBa, and a reduced nuclear content of NFkB subunits. 4 The¯avonoids may be of value for inhibiting the enhanced expression of iNOS in in¯ammation through down-regulation of NFkB binding activity.

A review of global epidemiological studies of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) within 2 decades was undertaken to compare the incidence, mortality rate, patients' age, gender, causes, and severity of injury between developed countries and developing countries. The incidence rates varied greatly, and there was also a 2-fold difference between the highest mortality rate in developing countries and that in developed countries. Male sex and age from 30 to 50 years are strong risk factors in both these groups. Traffic accidents are the leading cause of injury in developed countries, whereas falls are the leading cause in developing countries. To clarify regional differences, future studies should contain long-term data about TSCI characteristics in a region-based population.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)Q Q transcription factor has been implicated in anti-inflammatory response. Of the compounds tested, apigenin, chrysin, and kaempferol significantly stimulated PPARQ Q transcriptional activity in a transient reporter assay. In addition, these three flavonoids strongly enhanced the inhibition of inducible cyclooxygenase and inducible nitric oxide synthase promoter activities in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages which contain the PPARQ Q expression plasmids. However, these three flavonoids exhibited weak PPARQ Q agonist activities in an in vitro competitive binding assay. Limited protease digestion of PPARQ Q suggested these three flavonoids produced a conformational change in PPARQ Q and the conformation differs in the receptor bound to BRL49653 versus these three flavonoids. These results suggested that these three flavonoids might act as allosteric effectors and were able to bind to PPARQ Q and activate it, but its binding site might be different from the natural ligand BRL49653. ß 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

Obesity has been associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis (OA). However, the mechanism by which obesity contributes to OA remains uncertain. Adiponectin, an adipocyte-derived hormone, has shown anti-diabetic and anti-atherogenic properties. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the potential role of adiponectin in OA disease. We demonstrated that adiponectin was present in OA synovial fluid (SF) and its expression level was almost 100-fold decrease compared with that in OA plasma. FPLC and ELISA studies revealed the distribution and abundance of the adiponectin complexes in plasma and SF from patients with OA. The percentage of high molecular weight (HMW) per total adiponectin in OA SF was lower than in OA plasma, while that of the hexamer form was similar and the trimer form was higher. The expression levels of adiponectin receptors AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 were examined in human OA tissues by RT-PCR. AdipoR1 was abundantly expressed in cartilage, bone and synovial tissues, whereas AdipoR2 was rarely detected. Finally, the effects of adiponectin on primary chondrocyte functions were studied by using antibody-based protein array and RT-PCR. The patterns of mRNA expression and protein production strongly indicate that adiponectin is involved in the modulation of cartilage destruction in chondrocytes by up-regulating TIMP-2 and down-regulating IL-1beta-induced MMP-13. Together these findings clearly indicate that the adiponectin may act as a protective role in the progression of OA, and this also provide new thinking on the relationship between obesity and OA.