How the rise of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman impacts India

As the new Saudi Crown Prince gains more control, Pieter-Jan Dockx writes that India has a new balancing act to play between the House of Saud and the Islamic Republic. While counter-terrorism cooperation may increase, other indicators foretell a gloomy future

Good governance, the best counter narrative and antidote to radicalisation

Nearly a month ago, Pakistan launched a religious fatwa against terrorism and use of violence against the government. Pieter-Jan Dockx on why this is a narrow understanding of counter narratives and the only solution to radicalisation and fundamentalism can be found in good governance

Pharmacokinetics, absolute bioavailability and tolerability of ketamine after intranasal administration to dexmedetomidine sedated dogs

Intranasal ketamine has recently gained interest in human medicine, not only for its sedative, anaesthetic or analgesic properties, but also in the management of treatment resistant depression, where it has been shown to be an effective, fast acting alternative treatment. Since several similarities are reported between human psychiatric disorders and canine anxiety disorders, intranasal ketamine could serve as an alternative treatment for anxiety disordered dogs. However, to the authors knowledge, intranasal administration of ketamine and its pharmacokinetics have never been described in dogs. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the pharmacokinetics, absolute bioavailability and tolerability of intranasal ketamine administration compared with intravenous administration. Seven healthy, adult laboratory Beagle dogs were included in this randomized crossover study. The dogs received 2 mg/kg body weight ketamine intravenously (IV) or intranasally (IN), with a two-week washout period. Prior to ketamine administration, dogs were sedated intramuscularly with dexmedetomidine. Venous blood samples were collected at fixed times until 480 min post-administration and ketamine plasma concentrations were determined by liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry. Cardiovascular parameters and sedation scores were recorded at the same time points. Non-compartmental pharmacokinetic analysis revealed a rapid (Tmax = 0.25 +/- 0.14 h) and complete IN bioavailability (F = 147.65 +/- 49.97%). Elimination half-life was similar between both administration routes (T1/2el IV = 1.47 +/- 0.24 h, T1/2el IN = 1.50 +/- 0.97 h). Heart rate and sedation scores were significantly higher at 5 and 10 min following IV administration compared to IN administration, but not at the later time-points

Diseño de filtros activos

Nuestro desconocimiento respecto a nosotros y a las cosas que nos rodean no proviene tanto de una dificultad de obtener la información, sino de la poca precisión o de su escasez. Ello se debe, en cambio, a la enorme abundancia y a la confusión de nociones que la humanidad ha acumulado en el transcurso del tiempo. En relación con los filtros activos se han publicado numerosos artículos dispersos en varias revistas y cada autor usa un enfoque personal. En el presente artículo se trata de encontrar una línea común al introducir una variable normalizada y algunas formas canónicas

Prolonged walking with a wearable system providing intelligent auditory input in people with Parkinson's disease

Rhythmic auditory cueing is a well-accepted tool for gait rehabilitation in Parkinson's disease (PD), which can now be applied in a performance-adapted fashion due to technological advance. This study investigated the immediate differences on gait during a prolonged, 30 min, walk with performance-adapted (intelligent) auditory cueing and verbal feedback provided by a wearable sensor-based system as alternatives for traditional cueing. Additionally, potential effects on self-perceived fatigue were assessed. Twenty-eight people with PD and 13 age-matched healthy elderly (HE) performed four 30 min walks with a wearable cue and feedback system. In randomized order, participants received: (1) continuous auditory cueing; (2) intelligent cueing (10 metronome beats triggered by a deviating walking rhythm); (3) intelligent feedback (verbal instructions triggered by a deviating walking rhythm); and (4) no external input. Fatigue was self-scored at rest and after walking during each session. The results showed that while HE were able to maintain cadence for 30 min during all conditions, cadence in PD significantly declined without input. With continuous cueing and intelligent feedback people with PD were able to maintain cadence (p = 0.04), although they were more physically fatigued than HE. Furthermore, cadence deviated significantly more in people with PD than in HE without input and particularly with intelligent feedback (both: p = 0.04). In PD, continuous and intelligent cueing induced significantly less deviations of cadence (p = 0.006). Altogether, this suggests that intelligent cueing is a suitable alternative for the continuous mode during prolonged walking in PD, as it induced similar effects on gait without generating levels of fatigue beyond that of HE

The long-term effects of single and repeated subanaesthetic ketamine administration on regional cerebral blood flow in healthy dogs measured with 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT

Subanaesthetic ketamine has recently been established as an effective and rapid treatment for major depressive disorder showing antidepressant effects for up to 1 week on average. The use of repeated ketamine infusions has been put forward to augment and to prolong the antidepressant response and increase the remission rates. The underlying neurobiological mechanisms responsible for ketamine's antidepressant effects remain unclear. Nevertheless, it has been shown, both in dogs and humans, that ketamine can alter neuronal perfusion and therefore neuronal function in brain regions involved in psychiatric and behavioural disorders. Consequently, the aim of the current placebo controlled study was to assess the long-term effects on cerebral perfusion of single and repeated subanaesthetic ketamine infusions in dogs. Twelve healthy, laboratory dogs were scanned at six different time points following single and repeated ketamine administration, using Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography with the radiotracer Tc-99m-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime. We hypothesised that repeated infusions could lead to more prolonged perfusion alterations in brain regions critical for behaviour regulation. We found that repeated subanaesthetic ketamine administration did not result in more prolonged cerebral perfusion alterations compared to a single ketamine administration