Sequence and annotation of the 288-kb ATCV-1 virus that infects an endosymbiotic chlorella strain of the heliozoon Acanthocystis turfacea

Acanthocystis turfacea chlorella virus (ATCV-1), a prospective member of the family Phycodnaviridae, genus Chlorovirus, infects a unicellular, eukaryotic, chlorella-like green alga, Chlorella SAG 3.83, that is a symbiont in the heliozoon A. turfacea. The 288,047-bp ATCV-1 genome is the first virus to be sequenced that infects Chlorella SAG 3.83. ATCV-1 contains 329 putative protein-encoding and 11 tRNA-encoding genes. The protein-encoding genes are almost evenly distributed on both strands and intergenic space is minimal. Thirty-four percent of the viral gene products resemble entries in the public databases, including some that are unexpected for a virus. For example, these unique gene products include ribonucleoside-triphosphate reductase, dTDP-d-glucose 4,6 dehydratase, potassium ion transporter, aquaglyceroporin, and mucin-desulfating sulfatase. Comparison of ATCV-1 protein-encoding genes with the prototype chlorella virus PBCV-1 indicates that about 80% of the ATCV-1 genes are present in PBCV-1.     

Care of women with breast cancer on a surgical ward: nurses' opinions of the need for support for women,relatives and themselves

BACKGROUND: In Sweden women with newly diagnosed breast cancer are admitted to surgical wards in order to undergo surgery and receive postoperative care. On these wards, nursing staff take care of women both with newly diagnosed breast cancer and those with cancer in advanced stages. Nurses have to meet the varying needs of patients and their relatives. AIM: To describe nurses' opinions of the need for care and support for women and their relatives in connection with surgery for breast cancer, as well as their own need for support on a surgical ward. METHODS: Thirty-one nurses from a surgical ward participated in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thereafter a step-by-step, qualitative content analysis was carried out. RESULTS: The nurses described the need to talk and receive information as being the most important among women and their relatives, as well as among themselves. Only a few nurses mentioned the need for physical care among the women. Contact with relatives was described as being almost nonexistent. There was a discrepancy between what nurses described as important needs and how these needs were provided for. CONCLUSION: This study shows that what the nurses described as being the most important needs, and the way how these needs were provided for, was more often seen from a theoretical point of view with few examples of self-experienced situations in the daily care. Needs among women and their relatives seemed to be not fully known to nurses and therefore, possibly, were not met. Nurses themselves had a pronounced need for support, which was sometimes unsatisfactorily met.     

Prostaglandin E<Subscript>2</Subscript> Suppresses NK Activity In Vivo and Promotes Postoperative Tumor Metastasis in Rats

Background: Prostaglandins (PGs) were shown in vitro to suppress several functions of cellular immunity. It is unclear, however, whether physiological levels of PGs can suppress cellular immunity in vivo and whether such suppression would compromise postoperative host resistance to metastasis.Methods: Fischer 344 rats were administered PGE₂ in doses (18 to 300 g/kg subcutaneously) that increased the serum levels approximately 2- to 4-fold. We then assessed the number and activity of circulating natural killer (NK) cells, as well as rats resistance to experimental metastasis of a syngeneic NK-sensitive tumor (MADB106). To study whether endogenously released PGs after surgery compromise these indices, we tested whether laparotomy adversely affects them and whether a cyclooxygenase-synthesis inhibitor, indomethacin (4 mg/kg), attenuates these effects.Results: PGE₂ dose-dependently suppressed NK activity per NK cell and dose-dependently increased 4- and 24-hour MADB106 lung tumor retention (LTR); 240 g/kg of PGE₂ quadrupled the number of lung metastases counted 3 weeks later. Selective depletion of NK cells abrogated the promotion of LTR by PGE₂. Surgery significantly suppressed NK activity and increased MADB106 LTR, and indomethacin halved these effects without affecting nonoperated rats.Conclusions:PGE₂ is a potent in vivo suppressor of NK activity, and its postoperative release may promote tumor recurrence.     

Auditing the Representation of Female Versus Male Athletes in Sports Science and Sports Medicine Research: Evidence-Based Performance Supplements

Although sports nutrition guidelines promote evidence-based practice, it is unclear whether women have been adequately included in the underpinning research. In view of the high usage rates of performance supplements by female athletes, we conducted a standardised audit of the literature supporting evidence-based products: β-alanine, caffeine, creatine, glycerol, nitrate/beetroot juice and sodium bicarbonate. Within 1826 studies totalling 34,889 participants, just 23% of participants were women, although 34% of studies included at least one woman. Across different supplements, 0–8% of studies investigated women exclusively, while fewer (0–2%) were specifically designed to compare sex-based responses. The annual publication of female-specific studies was ~8 times fewer than those investigating exclusively male cohorts. Interestingly, 15% of the female participants were classified as international/world-class athletes, compared with 7% of men. Most studies investigated performance outcomes but displayed poorer representation of women (16% of participants), whereas health-focussed studies had the greatest proportion of female participants (35%). Only 14% of studies including women attempted to define menstrual status, with only three studies (~0.5%) implementing best practice methodologies to assess menstrual status. New research should target the efficacy of performance supplements in female athletes, and future sports nutrition recommendations should specifically consider how well female athletes have contributed to the evidence-base.     

Food and Nutrient Displacement by Walnut Supplementation in a Randomized Crossover Study

The aim of this article is to evaluate the effect of a daily supplement of walnuts on the overall daily diet and nutrient profile of healthy adults. A randomized controlled trial with crossover design was conducted for two 6-month diet periods in southeast Californian communities. Subjects were randomized to receive a control diet or a walnut-supplemented diet, then switched. The walnut supplement represented approximately 12% of their daily energy intake. Trained nutritionists collected seven 24 h dietary recalls from each participant (a total of 14 recalls for both periods). Ninety participants were able to complete the study, including 50 females and 40 males. The average age of the participants was 54.3 years. Diets in the walnut period had significantly higher vegetable protein, total fat, total PUFA, PUFA 18:2, PUFA 22:6, and total dietary fiber (p < 0.05), while also exhibiting significantly lower PUFA 20:5. All mineral levels were higher on the walnut-supplemented diet. Calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc were, particularly, significantly higher among the walnut-supplemented group (p < 0.05). Displacement occurred in more than one-third of the entire nuts and seeds group; four-fifths of the non-alcoholic beverages and desserts groups; and the majority of the candy, sugar, and sweets group. Walnut supplementation can lead to favorable modifications in nutrient and food intake profiles that may contribute to chronic disease prevention. Nutrient and food displacement may be a mechanism to explain the favourable association between walnut intake and improved diet.     

Rizatriptan RPD for severe migraine in the emergency department--a multicenter study

Many patients with severe migraine come to the Emergency Department (ED) due to failure of different drug regimens to stop their headache. We treated 98 patients with severe migraine who were seen in three different EDs. We used rizatriptan RPD wafers 10 mg and observed the patients for 2 h. We found that at 2 h, 92.9% (91/98) of the patients had pain relief, and 73.5% were pain free. The mean time to pain relief was 26.9 +/- 29.6 min with a median of 15 min, and the time to pain free was 70.2 +/- 47.3 min with a median of 75 min. Eighty-five percent of the patients were free of associated symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting, at 2 h with a mean time to symptom free of 55 +/- 47.5 min and a median of 45 min. Rizatriptan was reported to be much better than other drugs by 74.4% of the patients. Side effects were minor and transient. Recurrence of migraine occurred part of the day in 17.1% of the patients and all day or almost all day in 8.6% of the patients only. The results were consistent in all three EDs. We conclude that rizatriptan RPD is very effective and reliable as a first-line therapy for acute migraine in the ED. It dissolves immediately in the mouth without the inconvenience of an injection. It works fast and has few side effects and low headache recurrence.