Nutrient intake, serum lipids and iron status of colligiate rugby players

BACKGROUND: There are two main playing positions in rugby (backs and forwards), which demonstrate different exercise patterns, roles, and physical characteristics. The purpose of this study was: 1) to collect baseline data on nutrient intake in order to advise the athletes about nutrition practices that might enhance performance, and 2) to compare serum lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins (apo), lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity, and iron status of forwards and backs. METHODS: The sporting group was divided into 18 forwards and 16 backs and were compared with 26 sedentary controls. Dietary information was obtained with a food frequency questionnaire. RESULTS: There were significant differences among the three groups. The forwards had the highest body weight, body mass index, percentage of body fat (calculated by sum of four skinfold thicknesses), as well as the highest lean body mass, followed by the backs and the control group. The mean carbohydrate intake was marginal and protein intake was lower than the respective recommended targets in all three groups. The mean intakes of calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A, B(1), B(2), and C were lower than the respective Japanese recommended dietary allowances or adequate dietary intakes for the rugby players. The forwards had significantly lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and HDL(2)-C than the backs and had significantly higher apo B and LCAT activity than the controls. The backs showed significantly higher HDL-C, HDL(3)-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and apo A-I, and LCAT activity than the controls. Four forwards (22%), five backs (31%), and three controls (12%) had hemolysis. None of the rugby players had anemia or iron depletion. CONCLUSION: The findings of our study indicate that as the athletes increased their carbohydrate and protein intake, their performance and lean body mass increased. Further, to increase mineral and vitamin intakes, we recommended athletes increase their consumption of green and other vegetables, milk and dairy products, and fruits. The forwards showed more atherogenic lipid profiles than the backs, whereas the backs showed not only anti-atherogenic lipid profile, but also showed more atherogenic lipid profile relative to the control group. Additionally, our study showed none of the rugby players experienced anemia and/or iron depletion

Observation of a Highly Spin Polarized Topological Surface State in GeBi2_{2}Te4_{4}

Spin polarization of a topological surface state for GeBi$_2$Te$_4$, the newly discovered three-dimensional topological insulator, has been studied by means of the state of the art spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. It has been revealed that the disorder in the crystal has a minor effect on the surface state spin polarization and it exceeds 75% near the Dirac point in the bulk energy gap region ($\sim$180 meV). This new finding for GeBi$_{2}$Te$_{4}$ promises not only to realize a highly spin polarized surface isolated transport but to add new functionality to its thermoelectric and thermomagnetic properties.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

EGFR遺伝子陽性NSCLCにニボルマブが有効であった１例

Nivolumab is approved for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC）who experience progression of disease on or after standard platinum-based chemotherapy. But there are still a few reports of nivolumab treatment in after EGFR-TKI treatment since NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations has been said to have poor effect on anti-PD-1/PD-L1 agents. Also, there are several reports of severe interstitial pneumonitis when Nivolumab is used after EGFR-TKI treatment. A88‐year‐old woman was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma with an EGFR exon21 L861Q mutation（clinical stage ⅢA ; cT4N0M0）. She had received Gefitinib for 18 months, until she had disease progression（PD）. Re-biopsy showed T790M-negative, ALK-negative and PD-L1 0%. Several other drugs were attempted after Gefitinib, but none of them showed any effect. Nivolumab treatment was initiated as her sixth chemotherapy, four and a half years after being diagnosed. Her tumor responded well to Nivolumab treatment and still remains effective without any severe side effects such as interstitial pneumonitis. Our case suggests that Nivolumab treatment is a treatment option for NSCLC patients with EGFR uncommon mutations who are refractory to EGFR-TKI treatment

PET/CT shows subjective pain in shoulder joints to be associated with uptake of 18F-FDG

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the capability of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in the screening of musculoskeletal inflammation and injury of the shoulder region. Materials and methods: The study included 122 participants (69 men and 53 women) who complained of shoulder pain at rest and 122 age-matched and sex-matched controls who did not experience pain at rest. Standardized uptake values (SUVs) were calculated for both the left and right shoulders and compared using a four-point visual analog scale of subjective shoulder pain. Correlations between SUVs and uric acid and C-reactive proteins were also evaluated. Results: SUVs for shoulder joints with rest and/or motion pain were significantly higher than those for pain-free shoulder joints. SUVs associated with mild and severe pain at rest were significantly higher than those associated with absence of pain at rest, and SUVs associated with moderate and severe pain on motion were significantly higher than those associated with absence of motion pain. Furthermore, SUVs were significantly correlated with uric acid in men (β=0.21, P=0.02) and in all participants (β=0.22, P<0.001). Conclusion: 18F-FDG-PET/CT may be useful for the screening of musculoskeletal inflammation and injury of the shoulder region. As shoulder pain is common, especially among elderly individuals, we should carefully consider the necessity of further examination when identifying the uptake of 18F-FDG in shoulder joints

The experience of a COVID-19 cluster in a clinical training hospital

We experienced a hospital cluster of COVID-19 in April 2021. The index case developed respiratory failure during hospitalization and was diagnosed with COVID-19 on day 8 of admission. Eleven people in the same ward were diagnosed with COVID-19 in relation to the case. All the patient in the ward were isolated. The ward stopped accepting new admissions. A task force was set up to conduct COVID-19 screening, infection control, patients and family support, and public information. No new cases occurred after day 12 of the outbreak. We started accepting new admissions to the ward on day 24, and declared convergence on day 47 of the outbreak. Since COVID-19 epidemic, our hospital had been developing infection control such as preoperative screening and providing education to the medical staff on infection prevention, which was not enough to prevent from the occurrence and spread of the COVID-19 nosocomial infections. The author, who was a clinical resident in the clinical training hospital at the time, experienced the outbreak and the process how it had been converged. From the resident’s perspective, we analyzed the factors that caused the outbreak, and discussed the efforts we had taken to converge it

Massless or heavy due to two-fold symmetry : Surface-state electrons at W(110)

The C2v symmetry of the W(110) surface influences strongly the spin-polarized Dirac-cone-like surface state within a spin-orbit-induced symmetry gap. We present a detailed angle-resolved photoemission study with s- and p-polarized light along three different symmetry lines. The Dirac-cone-like feature appears along ΓH̅ and ΓS̅ while it is strongly deformed along ΓN̅ . A two-fold Σ3 symmetry of the d-type surface state is identified from photoemission experiments using linearly polarized light. Our results are well described by model calculations based on an effective Hamiltonian with C2v symmetry. The flattened Dirac cone of the surface state is caused by hybridization with bulk continuum states of Σ1 and Σ2 symmetry. The spin texture of this state obtained from the model calculations shows a quasi-one-dimensional behavior. This finding opens a new avenue in the study of d-electron-based persistent spin helix systems and/or weak topological insulators