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aging (14). It was important to distinguish previously described increase in EOTAXIN in the advanced CTCL patients (17) from normal aging. We found EOTAXIN and MIP-1B to be significantly higher across all age groups in patients with MF/SzS, suggestive of their relevance to the disease pathogenesis (Fig. S1).In conclusion, we demonstrate for the first time that the immune profiles of MF/SzS cluster closer to HIV and then to normal controls and demonstrate unique, cancer-specific and age-related immunological changes. It underscores an immunological dysbalance and immune-compromised state of patients with MF/SzS. AcknowledgementsWe thank Sue McCann, MRN for technical support with blood collection. This work was supported by SPORE NIH 5P50CA121973-03, Project 5 (to LJG) and UL1 RR024153 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). Author contributionsLG and OA designed the study, analysed the data and wrote the paper. AL performed the Luminex assay. YL performed the statistical analysis. AL participated in the design of the work and the critical review of the paper. Conflict of interestThe authors state no conflict of interest. Supporting InformationAdditional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article: Figure S1. Age dependent biomarker expression in patient with MF/SzS and age matched controls. Table S1. Comparative analysis of soluble proteins. Medicine, Korea, Abstract: Recently, we demonstrated that leucine-rich glioma inactivated 3 (LGI3) is expressed in human skin. However, the effects of LGI3 on melanocytes remain unknown. The present study demonstrated that LGI3 can serve to stimulate melanogenesis without affecting cell viability. To determine the effects of LGI3 on melanin synthesis, normal human melanocytes and Mel-Ab cells were treated with recombinant LGI3 and melanin content was measured. Our results showed that LGI3 promoted melanin synthesis in both cell types. Moreover, upregulation of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) and tyrosinase was observed at both the mRNA and protein levels via RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining showed that the expression of LGI3 increased in the basal layer of melasma skin samples, whereas it decreased slightly in vitiligo samples. These results suggest that LGI3 may play a role as a melanogenic cytokine in human skin.

We examined the effects of a community outreach program for maternal health in Tigray, Ethiopia, on women's knowledge about pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum care, and family planning, and assessed their participation in antenatal care, postpartum checkups, institutional childbirth, and contraceptive use. Methods: We recruited Ethiopian women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) in Tigray, Ethiopia. Two villages in Tigray, Kihen and Mesanu, which have similar population sizes and living environments, were chosen as the intervention and comparison groups, respectively. A two-group pretest-posttest design with cluster sampling was employed. We conducted self-report questionnaire surveys using face-to-face interviews. The 2.5-year community outreach program was developed based on Rogers' diffusion of innovation theory. It consisted of mass media use and health education for lay women in the community, along with training of health care providers, including nurses, midwives, and health extension workers, in maternal health care. Results: The intervention group showed significant increases in knowledge and behaviors regarding maternal health and family planning compared to the comparison group (p < .001). In particular, there was a dramatic increase from 10.8% to 93.5% in the institutional birth rate in the intervention group. Conclusion:The community outreach program and health care professional training effectively improved knowledge and behaviors regarding maternal health in Ethiopian women. Mass media and interpersonal communication channels for health education may be useful health interventions in developing countries.

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