Heat shock proteins are induced by stressful stimuli and have been shown to protect cells and organs from such stresses both in vitro and in vivo. This study examined the regulation of HSP70 mRNA expression and detected the effect of aging on RNA expression in hippocampus of rats. The stress models were built by using forced-swimming in 25℃ and 4℃ water, respectively. Two groups of male rats, 2-month-old and 16-month-old, respectively, were randomly divided into three subgroups: acute stress (AS) model, chronic habituation stress (CHS) model and chronic dishabituation stress (CDS) model. Observation of exploratory behavior in an open-field (OF) test indicated stress levels. The expression of HSP70 mRNA in hippocampus was measured by RT-PCR after 0, 30, 60, 180, and 360 min of stress, respectively. Results showed that the number of quadrant crossing in both aged CHS and young CHS groups decreased gradually with the process of stress, reflecting an adaptation to the stress condition. Repeated swimming in warm water resulted in habitual expression of HSP70 mRNA in both young and aged CHS group, indicating an adaptation to the stress. The RNA expression of young CHS group was significantly stronger than that of the aged CHS group at 30, 60, 180, and 360 min after stress (P<0.05). Meanwhile, in an intensive stress level in which the rats swam in 4°C water, a high expression level of HSP70 mRNA was achieved in CDS groups, producing a dishabituation that proved the habitual expression from the other side. These results showed that senescence dramatically affected both exploratory behavior and HSP70 mRNA expression in rats' hippocampus. The results also suggested that chronic stress could lead to the habituational expression of HSP70 mRNA, but high intensive stress could reverse the habituational state and lead to the dishabituational expression. Moreover, the duration of stimuli is one of the important factors that affect the level of HSP70 mRNA expression.

Several studies have demonstrated that 30%-40% of cancer patients suffer from psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety and adjustment disorders.1-3 The more positively the breast cancer patients rated their appraisal and tangible dimensions of social support, the lower value their mean cortisol level.4 Malignant melanoma patients who received 6-week structured intervention showed a lessening of emotional discomfort, augmentation of immune function and a decreased recurrence rate and mortality.5,6 Brief structured psychological intervention is a new type of psychotherapy,7 which can help relieve negative emotions of patients who experience stress and give psychological support to reduce posttraumatic syndrome.8 We developed a brief structured psychological intervention covering knowledge of breast cancer treatment, coping strategy and social support.

Background: Within-and between-subject variability of susceptibility for motion sickness is well established, but which factors determine susceptibility is less well known. Objective: We investigated whether and to what degree sex, race, and head movements contribute to the development of nausea and vomiting (N&V) during pseudorotation in a vection drum in healthy participants. Methods: Male and female, Chinese and white subjects were exposed to 5×1 minute of circular vection in a conventional rotation drum, with half of the participants performing nausea-enforcing head movements. The symptom ratings (SR) at baseline and after stimulation, the time to perception of illusory self-motion (vection), and the total rotation tolerance (RT) were noted and compared between groups using a 2×2×2 analysis of variance. Results: A total of 48 healthy young adults (24 Chinese, 24 white; 12 males, 12 females in each group) screened for susceptibility to develop motion sickness participated in this study. SR at baseline and after rotation were significantly lower in Chinese compared with white subjects (for baseline SR: F=20.04, P<0.001; for maximal SR: F=7.09, P=0.011). Vection was equal between both groups, with no effects of gender or head movements. Rotation tolerance was significantly shortened for Chinese compared with white participants (mean [SEM], 216.5 [15.4] sec vs 262.6 [11.3] sec, respectively; F=7.21, P=0.011), with independent influence of head movements (F=8.84, P=0.005) but not of gender. Conclusions: In this study, the strongest intrinsic factor that contributed to N&V during circular vection was racial origin, whereas sex played a minor role in the degree of N&V under the conditions studied. Head movement-induced vestibular stimulation was a further contributing factor.

Susceptibility to motion sickness (MS) is known to beaffected by gender and ethnic origin, but whether gender and ethnicityare interacting is unknown. Methods: We investigated MS developmentin healthy Caucasian subjects (n±227), and in subjects of Chineseorigin (n±82). All subjects were exposed to nausea-inducing bodyrotations in a rotation chair, and rotated around the yaw axis for 5±1min, while they were instructed to move their heads. Prior to rotation,subjects had to fill out a motion-sickness susceptibility questionnaire(MSSQ). Total rotation tolerance time (RT) was noted. Symptom ratings(SR) were performed at the beginning, and immediately after the end ofeach rotation, and 15 and 30 min later. Results: The average RT wassignificantly higher in Caucasian (163±6s) than in Chinese subjects(111±7 s) (F±24.84, p±0.0001). The adult MSSQ score wassignificantly lower in Caucasians (17.8±1.1) than in Chinese volunteers(24.2±2.1) (F±6.05, p ±0.014). Maximal SR post rotation wassimilar in Chinese and Caucasian subjects. RT was highly predictablefrom the MSSQ scores, but separate for both genders. Conclusion:Susceptibility to MS is affected by both ethnic origin and by gender in arather complex fashion. The most reliable prediction of RT can be basedon the individual’s history as assessed by the MSSQ.