The human raphe-hippocampal tract and affective sensitivity: a probabilistic tractography study.

Serotonergic system plays critical roles in modulating affective control. The raphe nucleus has been known to be the origin of forebrain 5-HT afferents. Specifically, the Raphe-Hippocampal projection has been shown to modulate affective sensitivity in rodents.

Activation of the alternative complement pathway by extracts of cotton dust.

Extracts of cotton dust were tested for their ability to activate the alternative complement pathway in fresh normal human serum (NHS). Alternative pathway activation was determined by a haemolytic assay utilizing glutathione-sensitized human erythrocytes, consumption of alternative pathway components in terms of alternative pathway CH50 units and an immunoelectrophoretic assay to detect split products of activation of factor B. All assays were performed under conditions that have been shown to block the initial steps of classical pathway activation but permit activation of the alternative complement pathway.