Majorana CP Violation in Approximately \mu-\tau Symmetric Models with det(M_\nu)=0

We discuss effects of Majorana CP violation in a model-independent way for a given phase structure of flavor neutrino masses. To be more predictive, we confine ourselves to models with $\det(M_\nu)=0$, where $M_\nu$ is a flavor neutrino mass matrix, and to be consistent with observed results of the neutrino oscillation, the models are subject to an approximate $\mu$-$\tau$ symmetry. There are two categories of approximately $\mu$-$\tau$ symmetric models classified as (C1) yielding $\sin^22\theta_{23} \approx 1$ and $\sin^2\theta_{13} \ll 1$ and (C2) yielding $\sin^22\theta_{23} \approx 1$ and $\Delta m_\odot^2/|\Delta m_{atm}^2|\ll 1$, where $\theta_{23(13)}$ stands for the mixing of massive neutrinos $\nu_2$ and $\nu_3$ ($\nu_1$ and $\nu_3$) and $\Delta m_ \odot ^2$ ($\Delta m_{atm}^2$) stands for the mass squared difference for atmospheric (solar) neutrinos. The Majorana phase can be large for the normal mass hierarchy and for the inverted mass hierarchy with $m_1\approx -m_2$ only realized in (C1) while they are generically small for the inverted mass hierarchy with $m_1\approx m_2$ in both (C1) and (C2). These results do not depend on a specific choice of phases in $M_\nu$ but hold true in any models with $\det(M_\nu)=0$ because of the rephasing invariance.Comment: 28 pages, 7 Figures, typos in equations and references corrected, version to appear in Prog. Theor. Phys. 123, No. 4 (2010, April

Two cases of retrobulbar meningioma excised by skull base approaches

We present two cases of orbital meningioma which were totally excised by a neurosurgical and craniomaxillofacial team using skull base approaches

Numerical estimation of a tsunami source at the flexural area of Kuril and Japan Trenches in the fifteenth to seventeenth century based on paleotsunami deposit distributions in northern Japan

Paleotsunami deposit investigations and numerical tsunami computations have been performed to elucidate the source and size of large tsunamis along the Kuril to Japan Trenches, particularly for unusual tsunamis that occurred in the seventeenth century, the 1611 CE Keicho tsunami (M 8.1) along the Japan Trench and seventeenth-century tsunami (> Mw 8.8) along the Kuril Trench, which caused serious damages on the coastal residents and environments. Moreover, several paleotsunami deposits dating from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries have been reported along the area between the Kuril and Japan subduction zones, but their sources have not been clarified. In this study, we estimated the tsunami sources from numerical simulations using the distribution of fifteenth- to seventeenth-century tsunami deposits at Sekinehama along the coast of the Shimokita Peninsula. Based on numerical simulations with previously proposed fault models, the tsunami deposits showing similar ages at Sekinehama and another site on the coast of Shimokita Peninsula, which are within 50 km apart, could not be explained except with the huge earthquake models (> Mw 9.1), whose rupture zones extend to not only the Kuril or Japan Trenches but also their flexural area. Thus, we modified or newly proposed twelve fault models located in the flexural area between the two trenches to explain tsunami deposits possibly around the seventeenth century at the above-mentioned two sites on the coast of Shimokita Peninsula. Simulations using these models elucidated that the rupture in the shallow or deep plate boundaries with > 14–32 m slip (> Mw 8.55–8.76) is necessary. If the tsunami deposits around the seventeenth century along the Iburi–Hidaka coast in Hokkaido and those at the two sites mentioned above might be left by an identical event, an interplate earthquake with > 18–40 m slip (> Mw 8.62–9.2) in the flexural area is needed. Moreover, this interplate earthquake might have occurred in the deep plate boundary than in the shallower plate boundary based on slip deficit and slow earthquake distribution data. Our results offer significant insights into a large earthquake (> M 8) along the Kuril and Japan Trenches in the fifteenth to seventeenth century

Ovarian clear cell carcinoma meets metabolism; HNF-1β confers survival benefits through the Warburg effect and ROS reduction.

Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) constitutes one of the subtypes of ovarian cancers, but it has unique clinical, histological and biological characteristics, one of which is chemo-resistance. It is also known to develop from endometriotic cyst, a benign ovarian tumor, at relatively high frequency. Recently, it is becoming well known that most of OCCCs express HNF1β, a transcription factor, which is closely associated with the development of liver, pancreas and kidney, as well as occurrence of familial forms of type 2 diabetes. Expression of HNF1β is now regarded as a hallmark of this tumor. Nevertheless, exact biological function of this gene in OCCC has not been clarified. We have shown in previous studies that microenvironment in endometriotic cysts contains severe oxidative stress and OCCC develops under such stressful environment as stress-resistant tumor, which may lead to chemo-resistance. We also showed that increased expression of HNF1β facilitates glucose uptake and glycolysis, which is known as Warburg effect. In the previous issue of this journal, by using comprehensive metabolome analysis, we report that HNF1β actually reduces and protects themselves from internal oxidative stress by dramatically changing cellular metabolism. In this article, we review the relevance and significance of cancer-specific metabolism and how they are associated with biological characteristics of OCCC via expression of HNF1β, along with future clinical implications of targeting cancer-specific metabolism

An experimental framework for designing document structure for users' decision making -- An empirical study of recipes

Textual documents need to be of good quality to ensure effective asynchronous communication in remote areas, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, defining a preferred document structure (content and arrangement) for improving lay readers' decision-making is challenging. First, the types of useful content for various readers cannot be determined simply by gathering expert knowledge. Second, methodologies to evaluate the document's usefulness from the user's perspective have not been established. This study proposed the experimental framework to identify useful contents of documents by aggregating lay readers' insights. This study used 200 online recipes as research subjects and recruited 1,340 amateur cooks as lay readers. The proposed framework identified six useful contents of recipes. Multi-level modeling then showed that among the six identified contents, suitable ingredients or notes arranged with a subheading at the end of each cooking step significantly increased recipes' usefulness. Our framework contributes to the communication design via documents

The efficacy of secondary cytoreductive surgery for recurrent ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal cancer in Tian-model low-risk patients.

Objective: In patients with recurrent ovarian cancer (ROC) in whom surgery is likely to render them disease-free, it is unclear whether secondary cytoreductive surgery (SCS) combined with chemotherapy is superior to chemotherapy alone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the 2 treatment options in Tian-model low-risk patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 118 ROC cases treated in our hospital between 2004 and 2016. Of these, 52 platinum-sensitive cases were classified as low-risk (complete resection anticipated) using the Tian model. Prognostic factors were assessed with univariate and multivariate analysis using Cox's regression model. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared in patients treated with SCS plus chemotherapy (SCS group) and those treated with chemotherapy alone (chemotherapy group), using a propensity-score-based matching method. Results: By multivariate analysis, the only factor associated with better OS was SCS. PFS and OS were significantly longer in the SCS group compared to the chemotherapy group in the matched cohort (median PFS: 21.7 vs. 15.1 months, p=0.027 and median OS: 91.4 vs. 33.4 months, p=0.008, respectively). In cases with multiple-site recurrence, the SCS group also showed significantly longer OS than the chemotherapy group (median 91.4 vs. 34.8 months, p=0.022). In almost all SCS cases, cooperation was required from other departments, and operation time was lengthy (median 323 minutes); however, no serious complications occurred. Conclusion: SCS combined with chemotherapy results in better PFS and OS than chemotherapy alone in first platinum-sensitive ROC patients categorized as low-risk by Tian's model

Correlation between Leptonic CP Violation and mu-tau Symmetry Breaking

Considering the $\mu$-$\tau$ symmetry, we discuss a direct linkage between phases of flavor neutrino masses and leptonic CP violation by determining three eigenvectors associated with ${\rm\bf M}=M^\dagger_\nu M_\nu$ for a complex flavor neutrino mass matrix $M_\nu$ in the flavor basis. Since the Dirac CP violation is absent in the $\mu$-$\tau$ symmetric limit, leptonic CP violation is sensitive to the $\mu$-$\tau$ symmetry breaking, whose effect can be evaluated by perturbation. It is found that the Dirac phase ($\delta$) arises from the $\mu$-$\tau$ symmetry breaking part of ${\rm\bf M}_{e\mu,e\tau}$ and an additional phase ($\rho$) is associated with the $\mu$-$\tau$ symmetric part of ${\rm\bf M}_{e\mu,e\tau}$, where ${\rm\bf M}_{ij}$ stands for an $ij$ matrix element ($i,j$=$e,\mu,\tau$). The phase $\rho$ is redundant and can be removed but leaves its effect in the Dirac CP violation characterized by $\sin (\delta + \rho)$. The perturbative results suggest the exact formula of mixing parameters including that of $\delta$ and $\rho$, which turns out to be free from the effects of the redundant phases. As a result, it is generally shown that the maximal atmospheric neutrino mixing necessarily accompanies either $\sin\theta_{13}=0$ or $\cos(\delta+\rho)=0$, the latter of which indicates maximal CP violation, where $\theta_{13}$ is the $\nu_e$-$\nu_\tau$ mixing angle.Comment: 16 pages, ReVTeX, references updated, typos corredcted, published version in Physical Reviews

Development of a shutterless continuous rotation method using an X-ray CMOS detector for protein crystallography

A shutterless continuous rotation method using an X-ray complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) detector has been developed for high-speed, precise data collection in protein crystallography. The new method and detector were applied to the structure determination of three proteins by multi- and single-wavelength anomalous diffraction phasing and have thereby been proved to be applicable in protein crystallography

Novel method to rescue a lethal phenotype through integration of target gene onto the X-chromosome.

The loss-of-function mutations of serine protease inhibitor, Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) gene are associated with human chronic pancreatitis, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We previously reported that mice lacking Spink3, the murine homologue of human SPINK1, die perinatally due to massive pancreatic acinar cell death, precluding investigation of the effects of SPINK1 deficiency. To circumvent perinatal lethality, we have developed a novel method to integrate human SPINK1 gene on the X chromosome using Cre-loxP technology and thus generated transgenic mice termed "X-SPINK1". Consistent with the fact that one of the two X chromosomes is randomly inactivated, X-SPINK1 mice exhibit mosaic pattern of SPINK1 expression. Crossing of X-SPINK1 mice with Spink3+/- mice rescued perinatal lethality, but the resulting Spink3-/-;XXSPINK1 mice developed spontaneous pancreatitis characterized by chronic inflammation and fibrosis. The results show that mice lacking a gene essential for cell survival can be rescued by expressing this gene on the X chromosome. The Spink3-/-;XXSPINK1 mice, in which this method has been applied to partially restore SPINK1 function, present a novel genetic model of chronic pancreatitis