Solving Solar Neutrino Puzzle via LMA MSW Conversion

We analyze the existing solar neutrino experiment data and show the allowed regions. The result from SNO's salt phase itself restricts quite a lot the allowed region's area. Reactor neutrinos play an important role in determining oscillation parameters. KamLAND gives decisive conclusion on the solution to the solar neutrino puzzle, in particular, the spectral distortion in the 766.3 Ty KamLAND data gives another new improvement in the constraint of solar MSW-LMA solutions. We confirm that at 99.73% C.L. the high-LMA solution is excluded.Comment: 6 eps figure

Endothelial-Dependent and Independent Vascular Relaxation Effect of Tetrahydropalmatine on Rat Aorta

Tetrahydropalmatine (THP) is an active natural alkaloid isolated from Corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang which has been widely used for treating pain and cardiovascular disease in traditional Chinese medicine. Previous studies suggested THP have various pharmacological effects in neural and cardio tissue while the vascular reactivity of THP was not fully established. The present study found that THP relaxed rat aorta which contracted by phenylephrine (Phe), KCl, and U46619. The vascular relaxation effect of THP was partially attenuated by PI3K inhibitor wortmannin, Akt inhibitor IV, endothelial nitric oxide synthetase (eNOS) inhibitor L-NAME, guanylate cyclase inhibitors and the mechanical removal of endothelium. Also, the eNOS substrate L-arginine reversed the inhibition effect of L-NAME on THP-induced vascular relaxation. THP also induced intracellular NO production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. However, Pre-incubation with β-adrenergic receptor blocker propranolol, angiotensin II receptor 1 (AT1) inhibitor losartan, angiotensin II receptor 2 (AT1) inhibitor PD123319 or angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril enhanced the vascular relaxation effect of THP. THP did not affect the angiotensin II induced vascular contraction. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) inhibitor indomethacin did not affect the vascular relaxation effect of THP. Furthermore, pre-treatment THP attenuated KCl and Phe induced rat aorta contraction in standard Krebs solution. In Ca2+ free Krebs solution, THP inhibited the Ca2+ induced vascular contraction under KCl or Phe stress and reduced KCl stressed Ca2+ influx in rat vascular smooth muscle cells. THP also inhibited intracellular Ca2+ release induced vascular contraction by blocking Ryr or IP3 receptors. In addition, the voltage-dependent K+ channel (Kv) blocker 4-aminopyridine, ATP-sensitive K+ channel (KATP) blocker glibenclamide and inward rectifying K+ channel blocker BaCl2 attenuated THP induced vascular relaxation regardless of the Ca2+-activated K+ channel (KCa) blocker tetraethylammonium. Thus, we could conclude that THP relaxed rat aorta in an endothelium-dependent and independent manner. The underlying mechanism of THP relaxing rat aorta involved PI3K/Akt/eNOS/NO/cGMP signaling path-way, Ca2+ channels and K+ channels rather than COX2, β-adrenergic receptor and renin-angiotensin system (RAS). These findings indicated that THP might be a potent treatment of diseases with vascular dysfunction like hypertension

Short-term effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on sleep bruxism:a pilot study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on patients with sleep bruxism (SB). Twelve patients with SB were included in an open, single-intervention pilot study. rTMS at 1 Hz and an intensity of 80% of the active motor threshold was applied to the ‘hot spot' of the masseter muscle representation at the primary motor cortex bilaterally for 20 min per side each day for 5 consecutive days. The jaw-closing muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity during sleep was recorded with a portable EMG recorder at baseline, during rTMS treatment and at follow-up for 5 days. In addition, patients scored their jaw-closing muscle soreness on a 0–10 numerical rating scale (NRS). Data were analysed with analysis of variance. The intensity of the EMG activity was suppressed during and after rTMS compared to the baseline (P = 0.04; P = 0.02, respectively). The NRS score of soreness decreased significantly during and after rTMS compared with baseline (P < 0.01). These findings indicated a significant inhibition of jaw-closing muscle activity during sleep along with a decrease of muscle soreness. This pilot study raises the possibility of therapeutic benefits from rTMS in patients with bruxism and calls for further and more controlled studies

Protective effects of selenium on oxidative damage and oxidative stress related gene expression in rat liver under chronic poisoning of arsenic

Arsenic (As) is a toxic metalloid existing widely in the environment, and chronic exposure to it through contaminated drinking water has become a global problem of public health. The present study focused on the protective effects of selenium on oxidative damage of chronic arsenic poisoning in rat liver. Rats were divided into four groups at random and given designed treatments for 20 weeks. The oxidative damage of liver tissue was evaluated by lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes. Oxidative stress related genes were detected to reflect the liver stress state at the molecular level. Compared to the control and Na2SeO3 groups, the MDA content in liver tissue was decreased and the activities of antioxidant enzymes were increased in the Na2SeO3 intervention group. The mRNA levels of SOD1, CAT, GPx and Txnrd1 were increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the combined Na2SeO3 + NaAsO2 treatment group. The expressions of HSP70 and HO-1 were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in the NaAsO2 group and reduced in the combined treatment group. The results indicate that long-term intake of NaAsO2 causes oxidative damage in the rat liver, and Na2SeO3 protects liver cells by adjusting the expression of oxidative stress related genes to improve the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved