Factors contributing to weight loss, nutrition-related concerns and advice received by adults undergoing cancer treatment.

PURPOSE: The opinions and perceptions of patients are crucial throughout the cancer treatment process, as treatment is more effective when patient concerns are addressed. The present study was designed to identify history of weight loss since initiation of cancer treatment, specific nutrition-related problems and concerns (including food aversions, factors contributing to poor food intake and perceived nutrition-related problems), nutrition advice received by cancer treatment patients, and relations between items studied and reported unintentional weight loss. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A 23-item survey was completed by a convenience sample of 79 patients from treatment centers at a community hospital and oncologist office, of which 66 were included in the final analysis. Descriptive statistics included means, standard error, 95% confidence intervals, and frequency distributions. ANOVA and Pearson chi2 were used to evaluate differences in responses by treatment type and relations between items studied and reported unintentional weight loss. Twenty-seven (41%) of the 66 (27 males, 39 females) were receiving radiation, 20 (30%) chemotherapy, and 19 (29%) both. RESULTS: Unintentional weight loss occurred for 41% since initiation of treatment (13% deficit), 27% had food aversions, 52% reported factors contributing to poor food intake, 50% had nutrition-related problems since initiation of treatment, and 89% had received nutrition advice. The prevalence of unintentional weight loss was significantly greater among patients who reported having food aversions, factors that had contributed to poor food intake, or nutrition-related problems. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that adults commonly present with factors that contribute to poor food intake and perceive nutrition-related problems resulting from cancer treatment. Further, there is a greater prevalence of unintentional weight loss among those who report food aversions and perceive nutrition-related problems. The findings provide a framework that may aid healthcare providers in recognizing nutrition-related concerns and needs of cancer patients.

Genetic divergence in the cacophony IVS6 intron among five Brazilian populations of Lutzomyia longipalpis.

Genes involved in the reproductive isolation are particularly useful as molecular markers in speciation studies. Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), a putative species complex, is a vector of visceral leishmaniasis in Latin America. We isolated from this species a fragment homologous to cacophony, a Drosophila gene that encodes features of the lovesong, an acoustic signal that is important in the sexual isolation of closely related species and known to vary considerably among L. longipalpis putative siblings species. Using an intron of the sandfly cacophony as a marker, we analyzed the molecular variation and sequence divergence among five populations of L. longipalpis from Brazil, three allopatric (Jacobina, Lapinha and Natal) and two putative sympatric sibling species from the locality of Sobral. A high level of polymorphism was found and analysis of the data indicates that very little gene flow is occurring among the populations of Jacobina, Lapinha, and Natal. A high level of differentiation was also observed between the two putative sympatric species of Sobral, one of which seems to be the same sibling species found in Natal, while the other is somewhat more related to Jacobina and Lapinha. However, the amount of estimated gene flow among the Sobral siblings is about seven times higher than the previously estimated for period, another lovesong gene, perhaps indicating that introgression might be affecting cacophony more than period. The results suggest that L. longipalpis is not a single species in Brazil, but it is yet not clear whether the different populations studied deserve species status rather than representing an incipient speciation process.

Isolation and partial characterization of gypsy moth BTR-270, an anionic brush border membrane glycoconjugate that binds Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1A toxins with high affinity.

BTR-270, a gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) brush border membrane molecule that binds Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1A toxins with high affinity, was purified by preparative gel electrophoresis. Rabbit antibodies specific for the Bt toxin-binding molecule were raised. Attempts to label BTR-270 by protein-directed techniques were futile, but it was degraded by proteases with broad specificity indicating the presence of a peptide. Carbohydrate was detected by labeling with digoxigenin hydrazide following periodate oxidation. Mild alkaline hydrolysis destroyed toxin and antibody binding, suggesting O-linked glycans are involved in the activity. GC/MS composition analysis showed that the predominant sugars were galactose, glucose, and N-acetyl galactosamine with lesser amounts of N-acetyl glucosamine, glucuronic acid, xylose, and fucose. The carbohydrate moiety accounted for 73% of its total mass. Amino acid analysis showed a high content of aspartic/asparagine, threonine, and serine residues in the protein moiety. The purified glycoconjugate was not visualized using Coomassie or silver staining procedures, but stained "blue" using the cationic dye Stains-all. BTR-270 was labeled with biotin and used as a diagnostic probe for screening and identifying toxins that bind to the receptor. Toxin-binding kinetics obtained using a biosensor demonstrated that the receptor binds Cry1Aa and Cry1Ab toxins with high affinity, and displays a weaker affinity for Cry1Ac, in correlation with the toxicity of these toxins towards gypsy moth. Arch.

Analysis of D2 and D3 receptor-selective ligands in rats trained to discriminate cocaine from saline.

This study examined the role of dopamine D3 receptors in the stimulus generalization produced by 7-OH-DPAT and PD 128907 in rats trained to discriminate cocaine from saline. Twelve male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate cocaine (10 mg/kg) from saline in a two-choice operant procedure using a FR20 schedule of water reinforcement. Stimulus generalization tests were administered with the D3-preferring agonists (+/-)-7-OH-DPAT (0.01-0.3 mg/kg), (+)-7-OH-DPAT (0.01-0.3 mg/kg), and PD 128907 (0.01-0.3 mg/kg), and the selective D2 agonist PNU-39156 (0.01-0.3 mg/kg). Complete generalization to cocaine was observed with (+/-)-7-OH-DPAT at doses that markedly suppressed response rate. Only partial stimulus generalization was observed with (+)-7-OH-DPAT and PD 128907 when these compounds were administered intraperitoneally, although subcutaneous injections of these compounds produced complete substitution. Response rate was also significantly reduced by these compounds. The selective D2 agonist, PNU-91356 also fully substituted for the cocaine cue and suppressed response rate in a dose-dependent manner. To ascertain the importance of D3 receptor actions in the stimulus generalization produced by (+/-)-7-OH-DPAT (0.1 mg/kg) and PD-128907 (0.3 mg/kg), the fairly selective D3 antagonist, PNU-99194A (2.5-20 mg/kg) was also tested in combination with these compounds. Although PNU-99194A partially attenuated the stimulus generalization produced by (+/-)-7-OH-DPAT, it failed to block PD-128907 substitution for cocaine. These results indicate at least some involvement of D3 receptors in the stimulus effects of (+/-)-7-OH-DPAT, although further investigations are clearly warranted. The present results also suggest that the cue properties of cocaine may be dissociated from the locomotor activating effects of this drug, because D3/D2 receptor agonists suppress locomotor activity but produce stimulus generalization to cocaine.

Cloning and complete sequence characterization of two gypsy moth aminopeptidase-N cDNAs, including the receptor for Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac toxin.

The complete cDNAs corresponding to two distinct gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larval gut aminopeptidases, APN1 and lambda APN2, were cloned and sequenced. The 3.4 kilobasepair cDNA of APN1 which encodes a 1017 amino acid prepro-protein corresponds to the previously-identified gypsy moth APN (APN-1) that specifically binds the Cry1Ac delta-endotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis. Analysis of the primary structure of APN1 revealed a cluster of five potential N-linked glycosylation sites near the N-terminus and a C-terminal sequence characteristic of a putative glycosylphosphatidyl-inositol (GPI) anchor signal sequence. The cDNA of APN1 encodes the N-terminal peptide sequence and nine internal sequences obtained from the purified brush border membrane vesicle Cry1Ac receptor by protein sequencing. The lambda APN2 cDNA encodes a shorter protein with 51% similarity to APN1 that also appears to have a GPI anchor signal sequence. Expression of the APN1 cDNA in a baculovirus vector was confirmed by immunoblotting.

Identification of a non-LTR retrotransposon from the gypsy moth.

A family of highly repetitive elements, named LDT1, has been identified in the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. The complete element is 5.4 kb in length and lacks long-terminal repeats. The element contains two open reading frames with a significant amino acid sequence similarity to several non-LTR retrotransposons. The first open reading frame contains a region that potentially encodes a polypeptide similar to DNA-binding GAG-like proteins. The second encodes a polypeptide resembling both endonuclease and reverse transcriptase sequences. All members of the LDT1 element family sequenced thus far have poly-A tails or A-rich tails of 12-18 nucleotides in length, but lack a poly-A addition signal in the expected location. The amplification of retrotransposon insertion junction regions in different gypsy moth individuals indicates that polymorphisms exist at some of the insertion sites, suggesting that this element is or was, until recently, capable of transposition.

The dopamine D3 receptor antagonist PNU-99194A fails to block (+)-7-OH-DPAT substitution for D-amphetamine or cocaine.

The present study examined the role of dopamine D3 receptor actions in the stimulus generalization produced by (+)-7-OH-DPAT in rats trained to discriminate either D-amphetamine or cocaine from saline. Twelve male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate D-amphetamine (1.0 mg/kg) and 12 rats were trained to discriminate cocaine (5.0 mg/kg) from saline in a two-choice, water-reinforced operant procedure. Stimulus generalization tests were administered with the D3 receptor-preferring agonist, (+)-7-hydroxy-N, N-di-n-propyl-2-aminotetralin ((+)-7-OH-DPAT, 0.01-1.0 mg/kg) as well as the D3-preferring antagonist, 5,6-di-methoxy-2-(dipropylamino)indan-hydrochloride (PNU-99194A, 5-40 mg/kg). PNU-99194A (10-40 mg/kg) was also administered in combination with the training dose of D-amphetamine or cocaine to test for antagonism of each training drug cue. Finally, to assess the role of D3 receptor actions in the stimulus generalization produced by (+)-7-OH-DPAT (0.1 mg/kg), PNU-99194A (10, 20 mg/kg) was tested in combination with this compound in each training group. The results showed complete stimulus generalization with (+)-7-OH-DPAT in rats trained to discriminate D-amphetamine, although only partial stimulus generalization was observed with this compound in rats trained to discriminate cocaine. PNU-99194A produced partial substitution for both training drugs, and failed to block the discriminative stimulus effects of either D-amphetamine or cocaine. Moreover, this compound failed to block the stimulus generalization produced by (+)-7-OH-DPAT in rats trained to discriminate D-amphetamine. These results question the importance of D3 receptor actions in the discriminative stimulus effects of psychostimulants and their similarities to (+)-7-OH-DPAT.

Mitochondrial DNA diversity in gorillas.

A highly variable portion of the mitochondrial DNA control region was sequenced in 63 free-living and captive gorillas including representatives of the three recognized subspecies. This region has proven useful for evaluation of relative levels of genetic variability in populations, for clarification of the subspecies identity of a wild population, and for examination of the phylogenetic relationships of the three subspecies. The eastern lowland (Gorilla gorilla graueri) and mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei) sequences are distinct but closely related, with low variability within each subspecies. Two currently isolated populations of mountain gorillas, one in the Virungas Volcanoes region and the other in the Bwindi Forest, are indistinguishable using this mitochondrial DNA region for comparison. The subspecies identity of the Bwindi Forest group has previously been debated. Mitochondrial D-loop DNA variability within the western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is very high. The genetic distance between the most divergent gorilla sequences is approximately as great as the distance between sequences of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus).

Identification and characterization of a RAPD-PCR marker for distinguishing Asian and North American gypsy moths.

The recent introduction of the Asian gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) into North America has necessitated the development of genetic markers to distinguish Asian moths from the established North American population, which originated in Europe. We used RAPD-PCR to identify a DNA length polymorphism that is diagnostic for the two moth strains. The polymorphism maps to an autosomal locus with codominant Mendelian inheritance. DNA sequence analyses of the Asian and North American forms enabled development of locus-specific primers so that this marker, designated FS-1, will be useful for strain identification under varying conditions in different laboratories.

A comparison of the beta A-and beta B-globin gene clusters of sheep.

Domestic sheep have two common alleles at the adult beta-globin locus, beta A and beta B. Here we report the structure of the beta-globin locus of A-haplotype sheep. The locus consists of 12 genes, organized as a triplicated 4-gene set: 5' epsilon 1-epsilon II-psi beta I-beta C-epsilon III-epsilon IV-psi beta II-beta A-epsilon V-epsilon VI-psi beta III-beta F 3'. This arrangement is identical to that of the closely related goat locus. Sheep with the B haplotype have a locus arrangement consisting of a duplicated four-gene set, lacking the beta C gene as well as three other genes present in A sheep and goats. In order to understand the evolutionary history of the B sheep locus, we have sequenced the beta B gene from these sheep, and the beta C gene from A-haplotype sheep, and compared the sequences to those of the sheep beta A, goat beta C, and beta A, and cow adult beta genes. Our results indicate that the beta B gene has diverged recently from the beta A gene, and therefore the beta B locus structure may have resulted from a recent deletion from a triplicated locus.

Structural organization of the beta-globin locus of B-haplotype sheep.

Goats and some sheep synthesize a juvenile hemoglobin, Hb C (alpha 2 beta C2), at birth and produce this hemoglobin exclusively during severe anemia. Sheep that synthesize this juvenile hemoglobin are of the A haplotype. Other sheep, belonging to a separate group, the B haplotype, do not synthesize hemoglobin C and during anemia continue to produce their adult hemoglobin. To understand the basis for this difference we have determined the structural organization of the beta-globin locus of B-type sheep by constructing and isolating overlapping genomic clones. These clones have allowed us to establish the linkage map 5' epsilon I-epsilon II-psi beta I-beta B-epsilon III-epsilon IV-psi beta II-beta F3' in this haplotype. Thus, B sheep lack four genes, including the BC gene, and have only eight genes, compared with the 12 found in the goat globin locus. The goat beta-globin locus is as follows: 5' epsilon I-epsilon II-psi beta X-beta C-epsilon III-epsilon IV-psi beta Z-beta A-epsilon V-epsilon VI-psi beta Y-beta F3'. Southern blot analysis of A-type sheep reveals that these animals have a beta-globin locus similar to that of goat, i.e., 12 globin genes. Thus, the beta-globin locus of B-haplotype sheep resembles that of cows and may have retained the duplicated locus of the ancestor of cows and sheep. Alternatively, the B-sheep locus arrangement may be the result of a deletion of a four-gene set from the triplicated locus.

Localization and characterization of members of a family of repetitive sequences in the goat beta globin locus.

We have characterized a family of repetitive DNA elements in the beta-globin locus of the goat. These sequences are structurally analogous to the Alu families of repeats of other mammals. Repetitive elements are located both in the intervening sequences and in the intergenic regions of the goat beta-globin locus. Nucleotide sequence analysis of five repetitive elements located within the large intervening sequence of the beta-like globin genes, and four repeats located 5' to the major developmentally regulated beta-globin genes has resulted in the definition of a consensus sequence for this family of repeats.