Clash of the Paladins: India's Hindu-nationalism in decline?

Hindu-nationalism is generally portrayed by most observers as the largest threat to India's democracy

Serotonergic treatment normalizes midbrain dopaminergic neuron increase after periaqueductal gray stimulation-induced anticipatory fear in a rat mode

Background: Electrical stimulation of the dorsolateral periaqueductal gray (dlPAG) in rats has been shown to elicit panic-like behaviour and can be a useful tool for modelling anticipatory fear and agoraphobia. Methods: In this study, we further analysed our previous data on the effects of escitalopram (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI) and buspirone (a 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist) on dlPAG-induced anticipatory fear behaviour in a rat model using freezing as a measure. We then used tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry to probe the effects on dopaminergic neurons. Results: Although acute treatment of escitalopram, but not buspirone, was effective in reducing anticipatory freezing behaviour, chronic administrations of both drugs were comparably effective. We found that the number of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) was lowered in both chronic buspirone and escitalopram groups. We showed a strong correlation between the number of dopaminergic neurons and freezing in the VTA. We further showed positive correlations between dopaminergic neurons in the VTA and substantia nigra pars compacta in escitalopram and buspirone groups, respectively. Limitations: Although our data strongly hint to a role of dopaminergic mechanisms in the dlPAG induced fear response, more in-depth studies with larger sample sizes are needed to understand the neuronal mechanisms underlying the interactions between serotonergic drugs and dopaminergic cell number and fear behavior. Conclusion: Chronic treatment with an SSRI and a 5-HT1A agonist decrease the number of dopaminergic neurons in the VTA. These effects seem to be associated with reduced dlPAG-induced anticipatory freezing behaviour

Isolation of mitochondrial control region for white-nest swiftlets (Aerodramus fuciphagus) using primer walking techniques

This paper reports on a novel DNA sequence located at the mitochondrial control region (D-loop) of the white-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus). This hypervariable control region sequence is potentially useful for studying genetic relationships among the white-nest swiftlet populations. The isolation of the control region involves a primer walking technique, which is simple, fast and cost-effective. In this study, the variability of the control region was assessed and discussed

A decade of progress in deep brain stimulation of the subcallosal cingulate for the treatment of depression

Major depression contributes significantly to the global disability burden. Since the first clinical study of deep brain stimulation (DBS), over 446 patients with depression have now undergone this neuromodulation therapy, and 29 animal studies have investigated the efficacy of subgenual cingulate DBS for depression. In this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the progress of DBS of the subcallosal cingulate in humans and the medial prefrontal cortex, its rodent homolog. For preclinical animal studies, we discuss the various antidepressant-like behaviors induced by medial prefrontal cortex DBS and examine the possible mechanisms including neuroplasticity-dependent/independent cellular and molecular changes. Interestingly, the response rate of subcallosal cingulate Deep brain stimulation marks a milestone in the treatment of depression. DBS achieved response and remission rates of 64–76% and 37–63%, respectively, from clinical studies monitoring patients from 6–24 months. Although some studies showed its stimulation efficacy was limited, it still holds great promise as a therapy for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Overall, further research is still needed, including more credible clinical research, preclinical mechanistic studies, precise selection of patients, and customized electrical stimulation paradigms

Respiratory Infections during SARS Outbreak, Hong Kong, 2003

The effect of community hygienic measures during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong was studied by comparing the proportion of positive specimens of various respiratory viruses in 2003 with those from 1998 to 2002. Community hygienic measures significantly reduced the incidence of various respiratory viral infections

Homoserine and quorum-sensing acyl homoserine lactones as alternative sources of threonine:A potential role for homoserine kinase in insect-stage Trypanosoma brucei

10.1111/mmi.12853Molecular Microbiology951143-15

Oseltamivir- and Amantadine-Resistant Influenza Viruses A (H1N1)

Surveillance of amantadine and oseltamivir resistance among influenza viruses was begun in Hong Kong in 2006. In 2008, while both A/Brisbane/59/2007-like and A/Hong Kong/2652/2006-like viruses (H1N1) were cocirculating, we detected amantadine and oseltamivir resistance among A/Hong Kong/2652/2006-like viruses (H1N1), caused by genetic reassortment or spontaneous mutation

Growth and properties of ferromagnetic In(1-x)Mn(x)Sb alloys

We discuss a new narrow-gap ferromagnetic (FM) semiconductor alloy, In(1-x)Mn(x)Sb, and its growth by low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy. The magnetic properties were investigated by direct magnetization measurements, electrical transport, magnetic circular dichroism, and the magneto-optical Kerr effect. These data clearly indicate that In(1-x)Mn(x)Sb possesses all the attributes of a system with carrier-mediated FM interactions, including well-defined hysteresis loops, a cusp in the temperature dependence of the resistivity, strong negative magnetoresistance, and a large anomalous Hall effect. The Curie temperatures in samples investigated thus far range up to 8.5 K, which are consistent with a mean-field-theory simulation of the carrier-induced ferromagnetism based on the 8-band effective band-orbital method.Comment: Invited talk at 11th International Conference on Narrow Gap Semiconductors, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A., June 16 - 20, 200