COMPARING SARTORIAL INDICES: COSTUME AND COURTLY CULTURE IN MING CHINA AND MUGHAL INDIA

Mughal India and Ming China, two of the greatest empires in medieval Asia, were successful in influencing the cultures of their respective territories and beyond. Although the two empires differed on many grounds like art, society, environment etc., there are nonetheless striking similarities between the two. These similarities are often overshadowed and neglected because of the differences. One such similarity is the clearly defined social hierarchy in the society, articulated explicitly in the functioning of the court, of both these empires. An individual’s attire in Ming China clearly reflected his/her position in the courtly hierarchy. Building on this, we tried to look at the role played by attire in establishing social rank in an equally powerful and hierarchical empire of the Mughals in India. Utilizing both primary as well as secondary sources for the purpose of this study, we have tried to bring out parallels in both the empires on practices related to attire or material possessions that led to the nurturing or establishment of social hierarchy. We could observe that, although attire facilitated the establishment of hierarchy in both the empires, the degree to which it affected the court varied. Our primary sources include contemporary political texts of the period such as “Ain-i-Akbari” and “Da Ming Hui Dian” along with the study of Mughal miniature paintings and classical portraits belonging to the Ming era.  During the course of research, we also realized, little work has been done on the relation between attire and social hierarchy, especially in the context of these two empires. Existing scholarship on the subject is mostly by historians of art or fashion specifically. Thus, we believe our work will add to the emerging research on the topic, and takes into view a new perspective to clothing, which is not limited to certain streams of history

Serotonin regulates mitochondrial biogenesis and function in rodent cortical neurons via the 5-HT2A receptor and SIRT1–PGC-1α axis

Mitochondria in neurons, in addition to their primary role in bioenergetics, also contribute to specialized functions, including regulation of synaptic transmission, Ca2+ homeostasis, neuronal excitability, and stress adaptation. However, the factors that influence mitochondrial biogenesis and function in neurons remain poorly elucidated. Here, we identify an important role for serotonin (5-HT) as a regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis and function in rodent cortical neurons, via a 5-HT2A receptor-mediated recruitment of the SIRT1–PGC-1α axis, which is relevant to the neuroprotective action of 5-HT. We found that 5-HT increased mitochondrial biogenesis, reflected through enhanced mtDNA levels, mitotracker staining, and expression of mitochondrial components. This resulted in higher mitochondrial respiratory capacity, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) efficiency, and a consequential increase in cellular ATP levels. Mechanistically, the effects of 5-HT were mediated via the 5-HT2A receptor and master modulators of mitochondrial biogenesis, SIRT1 and PGC-1α. SIRT1 was required to mediate the effects of 5-HT on mitochondrial biogenesis and function in cortical neurons. In vivo studies revealed that 5-HT2A receptor stimulation increased cortical mtDNA and ATP levels in a SIRT1-dependent manner. Direct infusion of 5-HT into the neocortex and chemogenetic activation of 5-HT neurons also resulted in enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis and function in vivo. In cortical neurons, 5-HT enhanced expression of antioxidant enzymes, decreased cellular reactive oxygen species, and exhibited neuroprotection against excitotoxic and oxidative stress, an effect that required SIRT1. These findings identify 5-HT as an upstream regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis and function in cortical neurons and implicate the mitochondrial effects of 5-HT in its neuroprotective action.Fil: Fanibunda, S. E.. International Centre Of Theoretical Science. Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research; España. Kasturba Health Society; IndiaFil: Deb, Sukrita. International Centre Of Theoretical Science. Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research; EspañaFil: Maniyadath, Babukrishna. International Centre Of Theoretical Science. Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research; EspañaFil: Tiwari, Praachi. International Centre Of Theoretical Science. Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research; EspañaFil: Ghai, Utkarsha. International Centre Of Theoretical Science. Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research; EspañaFil: Gupta, Samir. International Centre Of Theoretical Science. Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research; EspañaFil: Figueiredo, Dwight. International Centre Of Theoretical Science. Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research; EspañaFil: Weisstaub, Noelia V.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Gingrich, Jay A.. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Vaidya, Ashok D.B.. Kasturba Health Society; IndiaFil: Kolthur Seetharam, Ullas. International Centre Of Theoretical Science. Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research; EspañaFil: Vaidya, Vidita A.. International Centre Of Theoretical Science. Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research; Españ