Neutrino Oscillations and Lepton Flavor Mixing

In view of the recent announcement on non-zero neutrino mass from Super-Kamiokande experiment, it would be very timely to investigate all the possible scenarios on masses and mixings of light neutrinos. Recently suggested mass matrix texture for the quark CKM mixing, which can be originated from the family permutation symmetry and its suitable breakings, is assumed for the neutrino mass matrix and determined by the four combinations of solar, atmospheric and LSND neutrino data and cosmological hot dark matter bound as input constraints. The charged-lepton mass matrix is assumed to be diagonal so that the neutrino mixing matrix can be identified directly as the lepton flavor mixing matrix and no CP invariance violation originates from the leptonic sector. The results favor hierarchical patterns for the neutrino masses, which follow from the case when either solar-atmospheric data or solar-HDM constraints are used.Comment: Latex, 9 page

Immunomodulatory effect of water soluble extract separated from mycelium of Phellinus linteus on experimental atopic dermatitis

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is becoming a popular treatment for modulating diverse immune disorders. Phellinus linteus (P. linteus) as one of the CAMs has been used to modulate cancers, inflammation and allergic activities. However, little evidence has been shown about its underlying mechanism of action by which it exerts a beneficial role in dermatological disease in vivo. In this study, we examined the immunomodulatory effects of P. linteus on experimental atopic dermatitis (AD) and elucidated its action mechanism. Methods: The immunomodulatory effect of total extract of P. linteus on IgE production by human myeloma U266B1 cells was measured by ELISA. To further identify the effective components, P. linteus was fractionated into methanol soluble, water soluble and boiling water soluble extracts. Each extract was treated to U266B1 cells and primary B cells to compare their inhibitory effects on IgE secretion. To test the in vivo efficacy, experimental atopic dermatitis (AD) was established by alternative treatment of DNCB and house dust mite extract into BALB/c mice. Water soluble extract of P. linteus (WA) or ceramide as a positive control were topically applied to ears of atopic mouse every day for 2 weeks and progression of the disease was estimated by the following criteria: (a) ear thickness, clinical score, (b) serum total IgE, IgG and mite specific IgE level by ELSIA, (c) histological examination of ear tissue by H&E staining and (d) cytokine profile of total ear cells and CD4+ T cells by real time PCR and ELSIA. Results: Treatment of total extracts of P. linteus to U266B1 inhibited IgE secretion. Among the diverse extracts of P. linteus, water soluble extract of P. linteus (WA) significantly reduced the IgE production in primary B cells and B cell line U266B1. Moreover, treatment of WA reduced AD symptoms such as ear swelling, erythema, and dryness and decreased recruitment of lymphocyte into the inflamed site. Interestingly WA treatment significantly reduced IgE level without affecting IgG levels and also down-regulated the levels of pathogenic cytokines (IL-4, IL-13, IL-12 and IFN-γ) and chemokines (CCL17 and CCL22) involved in AD development. Conclusions: Our study indicates that protective effect of water soluble extract of P. linteus in atopic dermatitis is mediated by inhibiting IgE production and expression of AD associated pathogenic cytokines as well as chemokines, suggesting the beneficial effect of P. linteus to modulate allergic skin disease

Idiopathic severe hypermagnesemia in an extremely low birth weight infant on the first day of life

A preterm female infant born at 27 weeks of gestation with a birth weight of 990 g developed acute hypotonia, apnea, hypotension and bradycardia mimicking septic shock syndrome at 14h after birth. Laboratory tests indicated a severe hypermagnesemia of 45 mg/dL. The renal function, complete blood count and maternal blood concentrations of magnesium were normal, and the blood cultures were negative. The patient recovered with treatment including exchange transfusion. However, the etiology of the severe hypermagnesemia remains unknown

Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Latency Locus Compensates for Interleukin-6 in Initial B Cell Activation

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is considered a proliferation and survival factor for B cells. To assess the role of IL-6 in Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) latency, KSHV latency locus-transgenic mice (referred to as latency mice) lacking IL-6 were evaluated. IL-6 −/− latency mice had the same phenotypes as the latency mice, i.e., increased frequency of marginal zone B cells, hyperplasia, and hyperglobulinemia, indicating that the KSHV latency locus, which includes all viral microRNAs (miRNAs), can compensate for lack of IL-6 in premalignant B cell activation

Korean Ginseng-Induced Occupational Asthma and Determination of IgE Binding Components

A number of case reports on occupational asthma caused by herbal medicines have been issued, for example, on Sanyak, Chunkung, Banha, and Brazilian ginseng. Recently, cases of occupational asthma induced by Sanyak and Korean ginseng have been reported, but the pathogenic mechanisms involved are unknown. This study was carried out to evaluate the immunologic mechanism underlying Korean ginseng-induced occupational asthma. A patient engaged in Korean ginseng wholesale was referred for recurrent dyspnea, wheezing, and nasal symptoms, which were aggravated at work. Allergen bronchial provocation testing to Korean ginseng extract showed a typical immediate response, and skin prick testing to Korean ginseng extract also showed a strong positive response. Moreover, serum-specific IgE levels to Korean ginseng extract were significantly higher than in controls. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) inhibition tests showed a dose-dependent inhibition by Korean ginseng, but not by Dermatophagoides farinae, wheat flour, or Chinese balloon flower. Sodium dodecylsulfate-poly-acrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting revealed four specific Immunoglobulin E (IgE) binding components at 26, 30, 47, and 60 kDa, which were not bound by control sera. These results strongly suggest that occupation asthma induced by Korean ginseng is induced via an IgE-mediated mechanism

Earlier versus later start of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected adults with tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis remains an important cause of death among patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Robust data are lacking with regard to the timing for the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in relation to the start of antituberculosis therapy

Hawking-Page Phase Transition of black Dp-branes and R-charged black holes with an IR Cutoff

We show that the confinement-deconfinement phase transition of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with 16 supercharges in various dimensions can be realized through the Hawking-Page phase transition between the near horizon geometries of black Dp-branes and BPS Dp-branes by removing a small radius region in the geometry in order to realize a confinement phase, which generalizes the Herzog's discussion for the holographic hard-wall AdS/QCD model. Removing a small radius region in the gravitational dual corresponds to introducing an IR cutoff in the dual field theory. We also discuss the Hawking-Page phase transition between thermal $AdS_5$, $AdS_4$, $AdS_7$ spaces and R-charged AdS black holes coming from the spherical reduction of the decoupling limit of rotating D3-, M2-, and M5- branes in type IIB supergravity and 11 dimensional supergravity in grand canonical ensembles, where the IR cutoff also plays a crucial role in the existence of the phase transition.Comment: 34 pages, 18 figures, JHEP3, v2, references added, v3, some explanations adde

Inorganic sulfur reduces the motility and invasion of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells

This study investigated the effects of inorganic sulfur on metastasis in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. MDA-MB-231 cells were cultured in the absence or presence of various concentrations (12.5, 25, or 50 µmol/L) of inorganic sulfur. Cell motility, invasion, and the activity and mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) were examined. Numbers of viable MDA-MB-231 cells did not differ by inorganic sulfur treatment from 0 to 50 µmol/L within 48 h. Inorganic sulfur significantly decreased cell motility and invasion in the MDA-MB-231 cells in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05), as determined using a Boyden chamber assay and a Matrigel chamber. The activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were significantly reduced by inorganic sulfur in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). The inorganic sulfur also significantly inhibited MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in the cells (P < 0.05). These data suggest that inorganic sulfur can suppress cancer cell motility and invasion by inhibiting MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity and gene expression in MDA-MB-231 cells